Love and Trust
By: Apolla
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story except for Serena and her entire family. Oh, and any other unfamiliar names of random friends and characters I might choose to throw in here.
Setting: Except for the Prologue and Epilogue, the entire story takes place in what we'll call "Marauder time" – when Sirius, James, Lily, and the rest attended Hogwarts.
Note: This takes place after OotP, using some of the info we learn in THBP, and as this was written before TDH, nothing in that book pertains to this story (although I did love the 7th book).
Pairings: Mainly Sirus/OC with a little James/Lily on the side.
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A few days later, Serena Apparated to Lily's house. She knocked on the front door and was relieved when Lily answered.
Serena had been spending the past few afternoons at the Evans home since her brother was usually gone for the entire day. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were both very nice, although Mr. Evans was gone at work during the day, but Lily's sister Petunia was just awful. Apparently she was engaged to some Muggle named Vernon, and she spent every waking moment planning her wedding. Mrs. Evans was helping, of course, but Lily and Serena usually escaped upstairs.
"Quick, make a run for it," Lily whispered, and the two dashed up the stairs.
They locked themselves in Lily's room. "Tomorrow we're going to my house," Serena said to her friend.
Lily nodded. "Agreed."
Serena had told Lily her address, and Lily had passed it on to James and Sirius. She thought that by now, all of their friends would know it – except for Peter, who was vacationing in Hungary with his mother. "I miss everyone," Serena said.
"I know, me too. I've only seen you, James, and Sirius since the summer's started."
"And I've only seen you," Serena said.
Truth be told, she missed Sirius terribly – even though it had been less than a week since school had ended. Serena knew that this was definitely not a good sign, since she and Sirius had agreed to keep it casual. "Hey, James wants us to go looking for a flat with him and Sirius sometime tomorrow," Lily told Serena as she sat on her bed and started flipping through Witch Weekly.
"James is getting a flat?"
Lily shook her head. "No, Sirius is. His uncle died and left him some money, so he's getting a flat."
Serena didn't say anything, and Lily smiled to herself. Serena always seemed to stop herself from asking Lily any questions about Sirius, although Lily knew that her friend wanted to. Serena had it bad for Sirius, and Lily wanted to spend some time watching the two of them together to see how Sirius felt.
Frank and Alice, Remus and Madison – Lily would love to add Serena and Sirius to her list of friends who had coupled up.
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The next day, Lily Apparated to Serena's house in a good mood. Her plan was going to work perfectly. Her family thought she was at Serena's all day. James' parents were at work all day. If she and James ditched Serena and Sirius, then they could be alone at James' house.
Besides, Lily told herself. Maybe with some alone time, something could happen between Serena and Sirius.
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That same morning, Sirius also awoke in a good mood. All he had to do was figure out a way to ditch James and Lily, and then he could finally be alone with Serena. He felt like he hadn't seen her in weeks.
He went down to the kitchen and he and James both ate breakfast more quickly than usual. "Is it time yet?" Sirius asked James.
James looked at his watch. "Well – it's a little early. But who cares?"
With that, both boys Apparated into Serena's kitchen.
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Lily, Serena, and Al were sitting around the breakfast table when James and Sirius Apparated right into the kitchen, causing all three of them to jump. "What are you doing?" Lily asked.
"You can't Apparate into someone's kitchen!" Al said, sounding annoyed.
Serena hurried to smooth things over. "It's fine, Al. This way no one saw them coming in from outside."
Al and James didn't like each other. James didn't like Al because he thought Al liked Lily. Al didn't like James because James had never been very nice to him. "Sirius, right?" Al asked.
Serena had introduced him to all of her friends, but Lily and James were the only ones he remembered – Lily because he had actually spent time with her, and James because he was a jerk. "Yeah, that's me," Sirius said, trying his best to avoid looking at Serena.
Serena, meanwhile, was also trying not to look at Sirius. Why had she thought that keeping this a secret was a good idea? She wanted nothing more to be able to kiss Sirius right now.
Serena looked to the side and saw Lily staring at her, a knowing look in her eye. Serena gave her friend an innocent look. Oh yeah. That's why.
"I'm going to go," Al said, getting up.
"'Bye Al," Lily said.
"'Bye Lily. Nice to meet you again," he said to Sirius, pretty much ignoring James all together.
Serena followed her brother to the front hall. "Your friend James is a prick," Al said, putting on his cloak.
Serena rolled her eyes. "He thinks you like Lily."
"Give me a break. She's your age. Practically a kid."
"I'll be sure to pass that message on to James," Serena said.
Al shrugged. "I don't care if you do or not. But tell him not to Apparate into our kitchen anymore. I was about to curse the hell out of him."
"I'll tell him."
She gave her brother a hug, he stepped outside, and with a loud crack he disappeared. Serena went back into the kitchen, where Sirius was sitting with his feet propped on the table and James and Lily were arguing. Sirius patted the seat next to him. "Front row for the show," he told Serena with a grin.
Serena grinned back and sat down. Sirius squeezed her hand quickly before going back to watching James and Lily.
"Should we be finding this amusing?" Serena whispered as their friends continued to argue, Lily threatening to hex James so bad he wouldn't be able to speak for a month.
She and Sirius were both trying very hard not to laugh. "Probably not," Sirius said. "But I've always had a weird sense of humor."
Finally, Serena got bored, and she stood up to put an end to her friends' fight. She moved in between them and put a Silencing Charm on both. "Now listen to me, both of you," she said.
She looked at Lily. "Lily, I know that James is being a stupid prat, but instead of yelling at him, maybe you should just reassure him that he's your boyfriend. He seems very insecure."
At that, James let out a muffled grunt as he tried to talk, but couldn't. He settled for glaring at Serena instead. Serena turned to him. "James, you're really being very stupid. You don't have to worry about my brother and Lily. For one thing, he thinks of her as a kid. And Lily, for some unfathomable reason, is in love with you."
She broke the Silencing Charms on her friends, and they exchanged a look. Serena was pleased with herself when she saw that they no longer seemed angry with one another. However, they then turned to Serena and started yelling at her, objecting to what she had said.
Serena groaned. Sirius came up behind her. "You should have just watched the show," he said with a shake of his head.
She sighed.
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Later that day, after James and Lily had made up with each other and Serena, the four friends made their way to London to go looking for a flat for Sirius. An hour later Sirius, who wasn't very picky, had found one that he liked and before they knew it, it was his.
"I'll come by and get my stuff from your place later," he said to James, who nodded in assent.
"Well – it's been fun, Sirius – I'm glad you have your own place," Lily said.
She elbowed James, who hastily added, "We'll give you some time alone. We're going to go back to my place."
Serena grinned to herself. "Oh, can I come, too?" she asked innocently.
The expressions on James and Lily's faces were priceless. "Um – " James started.
"Uh – we – that is – " Lily stammered.
"Oh, never mind, I'll just go on home. See you later!" Serena said with a smile.
James and Lily looked immensely relieved. "'Bye Serena, 'bye Sirius," they said.
With a loud crack, they both Disapparated. "Finally!" Serena said, turning to Sirius.
"I thought they'd never leave," he said, putting his arms around her.
He began kissing her. "I missed you," Serena said in between kisses.
She could feel Sirius smile against her mouth. "I know," he said, talking between kisses as well. "I'm irresistible."
Serena, who had been running her hands through his hair, pulled it a little at his comment. Sirius nipped her lip in response.
Oh, she had missed him.
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A few weeks later, Serena had a routine. She ate breakfast with Al, who then disappeared for the rest of the day. She then Apparated to Sirius' apartment and spent the rest of the day with him. They usually met up with James and Lily, or Remus and Madison, later in the afternoon – all the while keeping it from their friends that they were together.
Serena didn't mind keeping her relationship with Sirius a secret. She found it more exciting, actually. And a part of her was afraid that if everyone knew, they would make a big deal out of it and it would be ruined somehow.
And when this is ruined……when it ends……then what will happen? Serena wondered. Can Sirius and I still be friends?
Serena hoped so. She really liked Sirius, not just as a boyfriend, but as a friend. He was funny, smart, loyal, fun. He was also arrogant, stubborn, and quick-tempered. Still, she loved spending time with him. It was never dull.
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Sirius' routine almost mirrored Serena's. He would wake up, scrounge around for something to eat, then make sure he was back at his apartment by the time Serena would Apparate there. He would spend the morning with her, then usually see some of his other friends in the afternoon. At night, he went home with James and ate dinner with the Potters before returning back to his flat to go to sleep.
Sirius liked it. He liked how he got to spend every day – with Serena and a few friends. He even still got to see Mr. and Mrs. Potter, who were practically his parents as well as James'.
And Serena's pretty great. She's pretty, smart, funny. She has the same mean sense of humor that I do; it's nice to be with a girl who doesn't constantly tell me I'm awful for playing pranks and laughing at people – is it my fault people do stupid things that are funny? I definitely want to keep seeing her for awhile. I mean, sure, it annoys me sometimes that we're hiding our relationship because I can't kiss her or anything in front of our friends, but everything's great otherwise.
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A week later, Serena made it home mere minutes before her brother did. "Hey," Serena greeted her brother as he came into the kitchen.
He didn't say anything. "What happened?" Serena asked apprehensively.
"Uncle Alastor's been hurt. He's at St. Mungo's."
"Oh no! Will he be all right? How did it happen?"
"He should be fine. It was Death Eaters," Al replied. "Uncle was sent there by the Ministry when the Dark Mark was seen hovering over the Montgomery home."
"Montgomery?" Serena repeated. "I know a Montgomery – a Hufflepuff fifth year, Evan Montgomery."
She looked at her brother, who stared back at her sadly. "Oh," Serena said softly.
"I'm sorry," Al said. "The entire family was home."
"Why?" Serena asked. "Why the Montgomerys?
"The parents were Muggle-born," Al said simply.
"It's not fair, Al," Serena said as her brother put his arm around her. "How long will it take for someone to stop Voldemort?"
"I don't know."
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The next morning, Serena and Al went to the hospital to visit their uncle. Serena had written Sirius a brief note before she had left, simply saying that she couldn't see him today because she was spending it with her brother. "Hello Uncle," Serena said as she and Al went into his hospital room.
Serena's uncle, Alastor Moody, looked at her and her brother grumpily. "No reason for you two to come see me," he told them gruffly.
Serena kissed her uncle's cheek, even as he made a show of rolling his eyes and shaking his head. She knew that he actually liked it when she showed affection towards him, although he would never say it out loud. "You knew we'd come, Uncle Alastor," Al said to his uncle, rolling his own eyes.
Serena took a step back and looked at her uncle. A big bandage covered his nose and one eye, and Serena wondered what his face would now look like without the bandages. Serena had decided long ago that although she hated Dark wizards, she would never be an Auror. Seeing her uncle – how he lived, how he looked – had been enough to put her off that career track.
"Did your brother tell you what he found out?" he asked.
Serena nodded. "Yes."
She sat down in the chair next to her uncle's bed. "Do you have any idea why he's after us, Uncle?" she asked, a hint of urgency in her tone. "A part of me, although it makes me sick, can understand why he killed Mother – maybe even why he killed my father. But why me and Al? We can't possibly know anything about Mother's research. So why come after us?"
"I don't know yet," her uncle replied, looking at Serena and Al. "Dumbledore, your brother, and I are working on finding out why. Voldemort may be mad, but he that doesn't mean he doesn't have what he considers sound reasons for wanting you two dead."
"All we have to do is stay alive long enough to figure it out," Al added wryly.
"And then what?" Serena asked. "How will that help us figure out a way to avoid certain death?"
"Constant vigilance," her uncle barked. "If you know why someone's after you, it can always help you escape him."
If that's true, Serena thought. We better find out why he wants us dead soon.
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Sirius had received Serena's owl early that morning, and it had thrown him to realize that his whole day was planned around her. If she wasn't coming over to his flat……then who would he spend his time with? He decided to head over to James' house. "Sirius," James said, looking surprised. "You're here early."
"Is Lily here?" Sirius asked.
"Not yet."
Sirius knew that since he had moved out, and James' parents were gone all day, Lily had been spending a lot of time at James' house. He also knew what it meant – James and Lily had had sex. Well, and James had told him that, of course.
Finally. Sirius couldn't believe that it was the first time his friend had done it since he had started dating Lily. That was more than a year!
That's insane, he told himself. Sure, he and Serena hadn't done it yet either, but it had only been a month or two. Plenty of time.
Not that he was only with Serena for sex. He could get with any girl for that. He really liked her.
Sirius' thoughts were interrupted when Lily arrived. "Hey Sirius," she said after greeting James with a kiss.
He grinned at her. "Where's my hello kiss?" he asked.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Alice and Frank want us to meet them at Diagon Alley," she said. "They thought we could go shopping."
"Shopping?" Sirius repeated.
"You can stop in the Quidditch store," Lily told him in a sing-song voice.
"Oh, all right," Sirius grumbled.
They Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, then sat there waiting for Frank and Alice. "So where's Serena?" James asked while they waited.
"With her brother," Sirius answered.
"At the hospital," Lily replied at the same time.
"What?" Sirius asked, turning to Lily.
"She and Al went to visit her uncle," Lily explained.
"Why is her uncle in the hospital?" James asked.
Lily shrugged, her eyes on Sirius. Sirius hadn't said anything else, but he didn't look happy. She could tell that something was bothering him. Maybe that Serena hadn't confided in him?
Lily smiled to herself. If that was true, then Sirius definitely had a thing for Serena. And that pleased Lily immensely.
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"So how's it going with Gregory?"
Serena was at Isabelle's house. After she and Al had spent most of the day at St. Mungo's with their uncle, they had gone home and Al had said he would be gone for awhile. He didn't want Serena to stay home alone, and she had agreed to go to Isabelle's, whom she had barely spent any time with over the summer. She missed her friend.
"It's going well, I think," Isabelle said. "He's my first boyfriend, and I just – I really like him, and I don't want to do anything wrong, you know?"
"You can't do anything wrong," Serena said. "Just be yourself. He likes you for you."
Isabelle smiled. "How about you? Anyone lately?"
Serena ran her pendant back and forth on its chain. "Me? I spend most of my days with Sirius, James, and Lily. What do you think?"
"Well, James is with Lily, and you and Sirius?"
Isabelle gave a little laugh. "What? What's so funny?" Serena asked, confused.
"Just the idea of you and Sirius……it's funny."
"Why?" Serena asked, trying not to sound defensive as Isabelle kept laughing.
Her friend sobered up a bit as she tried to explain. "It's just – you hated him. Sure, you're friends now, but still. And besides, this is Sirius. It's not like it would be a lasting relationship."
Why do people keep telling me that? Serena asked herself, trying to ignore how much it bothered her to think about Sirius getting tired of her.
"Well, who says I want a lasting relationship?" Serena countered.
Isabelle looked surprised. "What's the big deal?" she asked. "It's not like you and Sirius are a couple."
"Right," Serena agreed.
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The next day Serena overslept. She got dressed, ate breakfast on her own – Al had already left for the morning – and then Apparated to Sirius' flat. "Hey," he said as she came in.
Serena had let herself into his flat, and he was sitting on the couch. He didn't get up, and Serena came over and sat down next to him. "Hey," she said, leaning in and giving him a kiss.
Sirius didn't really kiss her back, and Serena pulled back. "What's the matter?" she asked, confused.
"Where were you yesterday?" he asked.
"Didn't you get my note?"
"Yeah. Why didn't you tell me you were at the hospital? I had to find out from Lily."
Serena felt surprised. "I barely had time to write you a note – my uncle was hurt in a Death Eater attack, and Al took me to the hospital to see him."
"But you had time to write to Lily."
"Well – yeah, I guess – why are you so upset?" Serena asked.
"You told Lily, and not me."
Serena felt herself growing angry. What was he getting at? Why was he mad at her? "So what?" she asked, her voice growing louder. "What's your problem?"
Serena saw the moment Sirius snapped. He had been sitting there, jaw clenched, talking to her in a voice he had been fighting to control, but at her anger his own was unleashed. He stood up, pacing as he yelled. "My problem?" he repeated, sounding incredulous. "I don't have a problem, you do! Why wouldn't you tell me your uncle was in the hospital? Am I not important enough to you?"
"You know that's not it. I – "
"I'll tell you what your problem is," Sirius continued, his voice unnaturally loud. "You don't let anyone in. Everything's always a secret. And – "
"That is not true!" Serena protested furiously. "What have I held back from you?"
"Why didn't you tell me where you were yesterday?"
"Oh. My. GOD!" Serena screamed, throwing her hands in the air. "How can you be so hung up on this?"
"Because you told Lily and not me!" Sirius roared.
"Stop yelling at me!" Serena said, covering her ears with her hands.
"You're screaming right back at me!" Sirius said, reaching over and yanking her hands away from her ears.
Serena ripped her hands away from him, gave him a fulminating look, and Disapparated.
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Sirius was furious. He couldn't believe she had just left! They were in the middle of an argument; she couldn't leave!
It figures that she'd run away to avoid confrontation. After all, when she's angry and yelling, something she doesn't want anyone to know usually slips out. Why would she tell Lily and not me? Did she do it on purpose? Why?
Sirius didn't understand why this was bothering him so much. So Serena had told Lily and not him. What was the big deal?
Suddenly Sirius realized something. The reason this was upsetting him so much was because he wanted to be the first to know when things happened in Serena's life. Lily was Serena's best friend, but if Sirius was her boyfriend, than he would take precedence in her life. Being Serena's friend and snogging partner wasn't enough; he wanted a serious relationship with her. He wanted her to be his girlfriend.
Feeling slightly unsettled, Sirius decided that the sooner he informed Serena of his decision, the better. He got ready to Apparate to her house.
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After Apparating back to her house, Serena paced back and forth angrily in her kitchen. Sirius was being so pigheaded and unreasonable that she just had to escape.
What the hell is his problem, anyway? Yes, I wrote Lily first and told her, and then I didn't have time to write Sirius the whole story. So what? It's not like I did it on purpose. I just ran out of time. Besides, it was no excuse for him to get so angry with me. He's just so quick-tempered.
Serena suddenly heard a loud crack and whirled, her wand at the ready. She sighed in anger and lowered her wand. "What are you doing here?" she snapped at him. "You're following me now?"
He grinned at her. "Sorry, sweetheart," he said, walking towards her slowly.
She backed up. "What's going on? Why are you smiling at me?" she asked.
His grin widened, and he kept moving towards her as she kept backing up. She stopped when she hit a wall. "Uh-oh," Sirius said, putting his hands on the wall beside her shoulders. "Now you're cornered."
Serena was utterly confused. "Why aren't you mad anymore?" she asked, looking wary.
"I had an idea," he replied.
"What was it?" Serena asked suspiciously.
"I want you to be my girlfriend."
Sirius tried to hide his anxiety as Serena stared at him. "What?"
"You heard me," Sirius snapped out.
Serena's eyes narrowed, and he tried smiling at her again. "You don't like serious relationships," she told him.
"That's true."
"And I don't either."
"Right," Sirius agreed.
"I've only had one serious relationship before."
"And I've never had one," Sirius put in helpfully.
Serena stared at him for a moment, not saying anything, and he stared back at her hoping she couldn't see the nervousness in his eyes. Suddenly her face broke out into a smile. "Then I guess I'll be your first," she said, her voice full of innuendo.
Feeling happy and relieved, Sirius leaned forward and kissed her, his hands still pressed against the wall. Serena, pressed against the wall, kissed him back passionately.
"What the hell are you doing?" a voice boomed out behind them.
Serena and Sirius froze. "It's Al," she whispered.
Sirius backed up and turned around, seeing Serena's angry brother. "You're home early," Serena said to him.
"Sorry, did I interrupt?" he asked sarcastically.
Serena rolled her eyes. "Come on, Al. Quit being – "
"Don't you dare finish that sentence," he snapped at her, taking a step closer to his sister.
Uneasy with Al's anger, Sirius unconsciously took a step in front of Serena. Al noticed this and glared at Sirius. "You think I'd hurt my sister?" he asked Sirius, his voice hard.
Sirius, who tended to go on the offensive when attacked, shrugged noncommittally. "Maybe," he said casually, knowing it was the right thing to do to irritate Al.
Serena groaned, and Al's eyes flashed menacingly. "Get the hell out of my house."
"Al – " Serena started.
"Get out!" he yelled at Sirius.
Sirius didn't move, and seeing Al's face darken even more, Serena turned to Sirius. "Just go, okay?" Serena asked. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"No you won't," Al put in.
"Shut up, Al," Serena snapped.
"Serena – " Sirius started, glaring at Al.
"Just go. Please?"
She looked at him with pleading eyes, and Sirius felt himself weaken. "All right," he agreed.
With a last glare at Al, Sirius Disapparated.
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Author's Note: Review, please. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE reviews.
