Bellatrix Black had never been one to underestimate her cousin Sirius Black, and so when she returned from her night of 'tying loose ends', she was hardly surprised to find him waiting for her in the school grounds. Her immediate reaction when she had rounded a corner of an entrance she knew she was most unlikely to be caught by was shock as of course she hadn't assumed there would be around at 1 in the morning.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed, running her hands through her hair and furrowing her eyebrows at her cousin who was hidden in the darkness of the shadows. She was finally cleaned up, and she had done so when she had left her Master not ten minutes before. She had removed the makeshift bandages from her thigh, but the pain was sill excruciating.
"I could ask you the same." He said bluntly.
Bellatrix stared at her cousin for a second before she rolled her eyes, "who died and made you Head Boy? Don't be a brat."
Inclining his head ever so slightly, he nodded, "fine. Don't tell me."
Bellatrix pushed past her cousin, she was exhausted and didn't feel like staying around to talk.
"But," Sirius said as he watched his cousin walk a few steps away, "I'm guessing you were with that wonderful sounding man at the Hog's Head."

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes as she turned back. She was quick to walk back to her cousin and push him back hard against the wall, "You followed me?" she hissed angrily.
"You're damn right I did. And I get it now, I know what you've been up to." He growled back, shoving her away from him.
"You have no right-"
"No right!" He scoffed, "Don't make me laugh, I seem to be the only one here with any interest in your safety."
"I don't need your concern for my 'safety'." she snapped.
"No?" Sirius answered sarcastically.
"What does that mean!? I can look after myself as I have been doing for so long now!" she hissed angrily, clearly offended.
"Yeah you can really look after yourself; I could tell by the way he hit you." He spat sarcastically.

Bellatrix said nothing for a moment before she scoffed and turned away. Sirius was quick to grab his cousin's arm and pull her back, "Who was he?"
"That's none of your concern." She answered back.

"He's who you've been seeing the whole of summer, isn't he?" Sirius asked suddenly. Bellatrix didn't answer and attempted to pull away from him. His grip was unrelenting and as she tugged once more he gripped her forearms to push her back up against the wall and continue, "He's why you were so secretive all the time, isn't he? What is it? You owe him more than just a favour I can see, maybe you work for him?"

"Get off me." She snapped, pushing her cousin away as best as she could, though he refused to let go. She turned her head away, but he was quick to grip her jaw and force her to look at him.

"Why did you let him hit you?" he asked angrily though this time his tone wasn't quite the same. She pulled away from his hand on her face.
"It's none of your business." She said quietly.
"Yes it is!" he growled, still refusing to let go of her upper arms as he had her back to the wall.
"Why!?" she suddenly shrieked not caring if she would attract attention, "Why do you 'care' so much cousin?! How could it possibly be any of your business what I do outside of these school grounds –at all even!? You lost that right to 'care' so much when you went and got yourself disowned from our family! The day you left you gave up your right to care!"

Bellatrix shoved her cousin away from her, suddenly pushing him hard. He stumbled back a few steps, his expression now of complete shock of his cousin's outburst. She straightened herself out, composing herself immediately as she sighed slightly and turned once more.

No sooner had she turned around than a faint glow at the end of the corridor appeared. They both knew instantly it was Filch and Mrs Norris, and this was the last way they wanted to be caught. They would get into far too much trouble.

Sirius grabbed his cousin by her arm and pulled her, immediately moving out of the way. She was quick to follow as he tugged her into an empty bathroom on the first floor. They had no way to hide if he were to come in, and so immediately they hid behind the circular row of sinks and mirrors. They were pressed together to hide and neither said anything to the other. Eventually as they heard footsteps go past the bathroom doors, they snuck out once more. Sirius was first to look out, and once he saw the path was clear, he gestured for him to follow her.

"You're better off going this way." He said still thinking of what his cousin had just said to him.
She nodded, not wanting to say anything more to him and turned to leave. Sirius watched his cousin for some time until she was out of sight before he transformed himself into his animagus form and was back in his dorm room.

After about an hour of tossing and turning, Sirius got up once more from his bed. His cousin would be asleep by now and Filch would have given up his search after not having found anyone out of their common room past time. Sirius made his way up to the fifth floor, where the empty observatories and corridors were. They were wide and open, and no one was ever up there. He needed to think. They faced the Ravenclaw bridge where the Ravenclaw ghost Rowena Ravenclaw stayed, though he had never seen her. A large window he sat beside when it was open was his place to think, and often drink.

However when he got there, he saw something else. About to turn and walk away, he paused before he realised it was his cousin. She had cleaned her face of her makeup and her hair was thrown up into a messed bun she clearly hadn't taken much care to do. This was how he knew her, dressed down in nothing more than an old shirt –interestingly enough one of his, and her Slytherin joggers. She was barefoot and sat at the large, round window, in which the pale moonlight was streaming through brightly, illuminating the skin of her shoulder that was showing from how big the shirt was. Sirius watched her for a moment before he joined her, not saying anything and sitting beside her. She didn't say anything, or even look at him but he watched her as she chewed on her lower lip, a bottle of firewhiskey in one hand and in the other something Sirius only presumed was a joint.

"You know that's muggle stuff, don't you?" he said, a slight smile twitching at his lips.
"The one thing they're good for." She said simply, taking a long drag of the blunt between her fingers.
"I'd not take you to be one to do that." He said honestly, taking the bottle of fire whiskey and taking a few gulps.
"I bet you'd not take me for a killer either." She stated coldly, fixated on a spot in front of her.
"No... No that's quite believable." He grinned. She couldn't help but laugh a little and nod, taking the drink back and taking a few gulps herself.

The cousins remained in silence for a while. They swapped the bottle of whiskey back and forth, Bellatrix not drinking as heavily as her cousin who was used to the burning liquid and the feeling of it going down his throat. Sirius placed the bottle down after a moment and took a look at his cousin. She was cold, clearly because the huge window was open and though she wasn't shivering, she had gooseflesh on her illuminated skin. He was wearing similar to her, his sweats and a jumper. He had a shirt underneath and wasn't cold, so he took off his jumper and handed to her. She took it without saying anything and moved closer to him. His hand found hers, which he brought to his mouth to press a kiss to.

"You've really... Killed?" he asked carefully, watching his cousin's expression.
She said nothing. She couldn't tell him more. One day she might, but right now she couldn't. It wasn't that she wasn't proud, she was incredibly proud, had it been anyone else –like all the Slytherins, she'd have told them without a second's hesitation. But this was her cousin, and here he was, willing and open to listen to her –but she couldn't bring herself to tell him. And in that way, he understood her silence, he understood she had her secrets and with a mute nod of understanding, he left it at that.