A/N: In which Vivian finds a better place to work where there are no annoying Gryffindors, and then finds herself once more surrounded by said Gryffindors despite her best efforts.
gwenwesley: He will definitely feel a lot of grief over how he's treated her, but I'll have him make it up to her tenfold! As for admitting that he likes her, he's definitely getting there. I just don't want to move things too quickly on that front and make it seem out of place, considering what the overall pace of the story is
Marnie Quiera: Bookshop co-owner psh I love that ;) That might happen...I don't have any definite plans yet in that regard. It's still up in the air. But I do plan on having her friendship with Gavin continue on into Season 2
x3sunnydaay: Soon I swear! Relatively speaking. I mean, I can't give you a solid answer because plans may change and I can't see that far ahead yet. Lol this is the pain of writing
Anne J Black: I will too! Lol. We need to build up to it a little more but I don't think it will be too long now. But thank you! I wouldn't enjoy the writing process nearly as much if I didn't have so many great readers along on the journey with me!
Vvls: Thank you :) I felt that the world needed another Sirius/Slytherin OC story. I haven't found a lot of really good ones which is a travesty. As for Jily, I'm so happy that's finally happening now!
haleygur7: Thanks I try I try
CataclysmicClio: Thank you! That's so kind of you to say :) I'm really glad you're enjoying the story
LilyBlack18: They're finally starting to get there. I have plans for James and Lily that I think everyone will enjoy as well!
LunaEvanna Longbottom: I know, it's truly shocking!
Toffeeloveryes: Regulus is in this chapter, though you'll start to find that they're starting to drift away a bit now. It's inevitable I'm afraid. He'll have his redeeming moments before the end! He is starting to see some signs though, as you'll see soon.
Guest1515: No worries! I post a new chapter every Sunday evening EST time
This Muse: Thank you :) I didn't think this story was going to be such a slow burn either. It sort of took off on me! It's nice hearing your perspective of the story, Vivian, James/Lily etc. It's always good getting some constructive criticism that will ultimately help me make things more clear and concise. This story has so many sub-plots that I feel like it can be a little all over the place at times, so your feedback is really appreciated! Especially concerning the transitions between scenes - I'll definitely keep that in mind for the future. I do agree that Vivian has gone full 'ostrich' on her problems (that phrase is so great lol). I have a plan on what will happen regarding all of that but, as you know, it's taking a bit longer than expected to work itself out. Anyway thanks again for your review and I'm glad you're enjoying the story!
Chrysanthemum: He will most definitely feel guilty about those letters!
Guest1515: Vivian doesn't really have any extended family of note...at most, maybe a few aunts or uncles, but no one her age hence I haven't bothered building any characters of that sort. True though, she does have a lot of Blacks in her life!
Guest: She is trying to distance herself from it...and it will bite her in the ass!
Guest: Thanks so much :) Really glad you're enjoying the story so far! I haven't really thought about Vivian's birthday. But as a fellow astrology lover I don't know...I see her more as a Taurus sun (stubborn, slow to get angry enough to retaliate, set in her ways, etc.) Cancer moon maybe? Emotionally speaking, I could definitely see that! ;) Anyway thank you again!
Anon: Thank you!
hallie annalise: Thanks! I do have a few scenes planned for Sirius and Regulus in the future, so things will get more heated in that relationship as we move forward
Guest: Hmm I actually do like that idea...I will keep that in mind for future Lily and Vivian scenes!
laleh: That is a good way of putting it. The plot concerning Vivian/Regulus in this season is going to start getting more intense the closer we get to graduation, so Vivian will eventually come to terms with that. Plus it will be a main plot in Season 2 as well
Thanks to all my new readers/reviewers, it's great hearing from you all and getting to know your perspectives on the story. Onto this chapter...is it full of cliches? Yes. Am I sorry about that? Nope. Hope you all enjoy :)
Chapter Forty Two | Indictum sit
[Leave it unsaid]
Time is something that Vivian has little of, these days. With classes taking up the entirety of the morning and afternoon, and detentions stealing what time she has in the evenings, she makes use of every spare moment in between, throwing herself into her research in hopes of creating her spell. So far, she hasn't had much success. Magic is temperamental and difficult to focus without the proper words and wand movements, which need to align perfectly if one wants to concentrate the spell into a specific outcome. This isn't the problem in itself. The main issue holding her back is the simple fact that she doesn't have anything to test the spell on, and therefore has little way of knowing whether her attempts thus far will actually give her the end result that she's searching for.
She's taken to cloistering herself in the library between classes, bunkering down in an unused aisle where no one will disturb her. A stack of books teeters on the table in front of her. Most of them are opened to a specific passage or chapter that she had thought might be useful, but the brunt of her attention is on one book in particular.
'Advanced Latin for the Journeyman Linguist' sits propped up in her lap. Despite the rather boring, difficult to follow nature of the book, Vivian all but devours it, eyes trained to the ancient pages as she jots down notes onto a spare roll of parchment. She has endeavored first to focus on the wording of the spell, and has several ideas written down already which will need further consideration.
It is difficult to concentrate, though. Despite the quiet aisle that she's claimed, the sounds of other students grate on her nerves. Not only that, but her mind seems to be everywhere at once, these days. Whenever she begins to focus on her reading, her thoughts drift off and away, to avenues better left alone.
Agonized screams, the scent of firewhiskey, Mulciber's eyes that seem to follow her wherever she goes – Sirius's voice…
"…You don't believe me, then?"
It's dreadful, and she's growing more and more annoyed at her failure to pay attention. Who knows how much time she has left to complete this spell? She wasn't given a deadline, but she can't imagine that the Dark Lord is a patient man. Adrian especially enjoys reminding her of that.
"Better get a move on, Blair. The Dark Lord doesn't extend mercy to those who fail to do his bidding."
She clenches her jaw and flips the page of her book too firmly. Worst of all is that she also can't stop thinking about everything else. Of what Sirius had said that night in detention, how Dumbledore would simply take her out of her current life and displace her into a new one, where she would have all the freedom she's ever wanted. Would it really be that easy? Surely, there would be consequences that would threaten whatever stability she would be able to achieve.
She frowns and rubs her forehead, exhausted with both her endless thoughts as well as her lack of sleep these past few nights. With the detentions holding up her time in the evenings, she's taken to staying up late into the night trying to finish all of her assignments as well as work more on this spell. She'd hardly gotten more than four hours of sleep last night, and it seems that it's becoming a new routine. To be honest, though, she's almost grateful for the distraction. Ever since Hogsmeade, she's had nightmares.
They weren't so bad, at first, but that is sometimes the nature of such things. What was initially restless sleep has progressed into dreams that make her reject sleep altogether, and it's only when she can't avoid nodding off that she actually allows sleep to come at all.
She's a mess, but at least no one seems to have noticed it, not even her own dormmates, who believe that she's merely stressed out because her nightly detentions restrict her from getting all of her homework done in a timely manner. She'd never thought she'd ever say this, but she's grateful that her mother had taught her all of those beauty spells back when her puberty kicked in, because she's been using them nearly every morning these days to combat her bruised, tired eyes and pallid skin.
Her mood, too, has taken a downward turn. She can't claim to be an optimistic sort of person, but with the weight of this task on her shoulders and the confusing new elements of her personal life to deal with, she's been more snappish than usual. It's enough to keep Mulciber and his friends at bay, and most of her housemates leave her be during classes and such, but apparently it isn't enough to keep the truly optimistic members of society away from her.
Lily Evans proves that when she suddenly appears in Vivian's quiet aisle and sends her a friendly smile. Vivian doesn't smile back, nor does she attempt to move any of her things when Lily approaches her table.
"Vivian," she greets pleasantly, pushing her red mane of hair over her shoulder and blinking down at the many opened books that span across Vivian's table. "You seem…busy," she notes, and pulls out a chair despite the limited amount of workspace.
Vivian sends her a suspicious look and nudges her Latin book closer to her body. It's hardly discriminatory to read a book on language, but she still doesn't like the notion of Lily knowing what has so occupied her. Unfortunately, she can't as easily close any of the other books without appearing suspicious herself, so she merely resorts to waiting for Evans to leave.
She doesn't. Vivian's puckered, unfriendly silence might have frightened off the majority of the student body, but Gryffindors are annoyingly tenacious. Lily looks slightly awkward as she clears her throat and shifts beneath Vivian's baleful eyes, but she doesn't move.
"Curses of the Seventeenth Century'?" Lily reads, glancing at the topmost book of the stack on the corner of the table, unopened for now. She raises an eyebrow, her gaze drifting down to read some of the other titles. She seems to find Vivian's choice of reading a bit grim.
'Dark Creatures of the Night'
'The Spellman's Vocabulary and Latin Translations'
'Dark Duelcraft'
'Inferi: An Application of Creation and Preservation'
Lily looks somewhat unnerved.
"Did you want something?" Vivian drawls, raising an eyebrow. Her hopes that her questionable reading material might scare Lily off doesn't come to fruition, though. Gryffindors are frustratingly brave when they have no right to be.
Lily sets her shoulders back and takes it upon herself to push the stack of books out of her way. As she pulls out what appears to be the Charms homework that Flitwick had assigned that morning, she replies, "Not particularly. It's just that the library is a bit noisy today and this is a nice, quiet table. You don't mind if I join you, do you?"
From the way Lily starts leafing through her Charms textbook, it's clear that Vivian's opinion doesn't matter either way. Vivian is, admittedly, quite annoyed by this. Her bad mood has only been growing since the night before, when she'd returned to the Slytherin common room and had realized just how friendly Sirius and her and been, and how she had fallen right into that trap without thought. It doesn't matter that whenever she recalls the look he'd sent her way, she feels the lightest flutter in her chest; or that his jokes even now make her feel the slightest need to smile; or that some part of her actually believes that perhaps he does like her, in some way, at least enough to actually want to help her. Even so, in the light of day, she can't help but think that the whole thing had been a mistake. This is Sirius Black, after all. He's a Gryffindor through and through, but he's got a Slytherin heart, and nothing he does is ever without reason. When it all comes down to it, she doesn't trust him enough to believe that his selflessness is fully genuine, and that he doesn't want something from her in return.
"I didn't miss an assignment, did I?" Lily suddenly wonders, eyes drifting back to Vivian's stack of books. "Besides the patronus work, did Professor Anderson assign us anything else?"
Considering that this is Lily Evans, who takes her classes very seriously, it seems like an innocent enough inquiry. Still, Vivian doesn't much appreciate the question and doesn't even bother responding, instead just focusing on her book of Advanced Latin and ignoring Lily's presence entirely.
But – Gryffindors. They're tenacious.
"So…how'd your detention go last night?" Lily awkwardly asks, grimacing to herself as she ducks her head and pretends to start reading her Charms book.
Vivian purses her mouth and holds back an annoyed sigh.
"It was a detention. How do you think it went?" Vivian wonders sarcastically.
"Er – right," Lily responds, and falls silent again. For several minutes, at least. It's only when Vivian is starting to focus on her book once more that Lily breaks her concentration to say, "Sirius seemed like he was in a good mood after he got back to the common room."
Unlike her other, awkward statements, these words are delivered in a more casual manner, almost point-blank in their bluntness. They certainly don't have a casual effect on Vivian, though.
Pausing, Vivian stares at her Latin book and tightens her grasp of it. "Why should I care?" she demands, but inwardly wonders at Lily's words, and whether they are true or not. Or, more precisely, on whether she wants them to be true.
"Well it's just that your relationship has never been smooth, so I was curious if he did something last night…" Lily slowly explains, and glances up at Vivian's expression. When she sees the faintest touch of confusion in her eyes, she adds, "A prank or something, maybe? He looked a bit smug."
Vivian immediately scoffs. "He's insane, Evans. He practically lives for detentions. I doubt I had anything to do with it."
Even as she says the words, though, they seem like a stretch.
Lily thinks so too, but before she can say anything else, Vivian snaps, "If you came to the library to chat, why don't you move to someone else's table?"
The demand makes Lily fall silent, looking awkward once more. Vivian takes great pride in this and turns back to her book. The only problem is that – well, Lily is a Gryffindor. Frustrating. Tenacious. Annoying.
"It's just weird. I think he actually really likes you, Vivian. In fact I think he might be really – "
"I'm trying to work," Vivian deadpans, cutting Lily off unapologetically, and rather forcefully at that, because she has a feeling that she knows what Lily was about to say. Rather than listen to those words, Vivian abruptly stands up and throws her materials into her bookbag, intent on escaping this thoroughly annoying conversation before she well and truly loses it. She definitely doesn't want Pince to kick her out of the library. These books are important and she doesn't have very many places to properly research what she needs to know.
Lily, for her part, looks quite chagrined. "Vivian – " she begins, and stands up too.
Vivian, though, ignores her. With a flick of her wand, the opened books on her table close and lift up into the air, drifting back to their shelves. Then Vivian grabs her bag, heaves it over her shoulder, and hastens off before Lily can stop her.
Lily just sighs and sits back down, running a hand through her hair. Once again, she wonders what on earth she'd been thinking when she had agreed to help James.
As for Vivian, she can't get out of the library fast enough. She ends up snapping at several loitering students who are in her way, shouldering through their group unapologetically and glaring at them when one of their fellows tries to stop her. It is in this way that she moves through the castle, angry and annoyed to have had her peace broken by Lily. She follows the path that she usually takes down to the dungeons, thinking to perhaps find a small corner in the Slytherin common room to continue her research, but doesn't make it any further than the grand staircase when an idea comes to mind.
Hogwarts is an enormous castle, and while its student population is large, there are a number of hidden alcoves and unused classrooms which might make for an ideal place to sit down and study. These empty classrooms are off limits to students, but that certainly doesn't stop them from occasionally making use of them, mostly by snogging couples after curfew. As a prefect, Vivian has caught plenty of them over the course of the last few months, and she knows which classrooms are used more than others, and on which floors and such.
The third floor is too far away from every common room to be a proper meeting place, and what's more, it is not a place much frequented in the castle. For as long as she can recall, it's always been empty. The doors leading into the third floor are nearly always shut. One might think that this would make it an ideal place for a rendezvous, but most of the students are somewhat wary of the grating silence here, and of the fact that it hasn't been cleaned in what seems like decades. The eerie quiet keeps most people away.
Oh, there are a few classes on the third floor, but the classrooms that those few classes utilize are located nearer to the grand staircase. The further in you go, the darker and eerier it becomes, and the more obvious it is that Filch avoids the place as much as possible.
Vivian makes a face at the cobwebs and dust, and draws out her wand to summon some light. At first, she walks slowly down the corridors, wand lifted high above her head. The midday sun wafts into the space via the windows, but the emptiness makes it seem more oppressing and dark, and she steps carefully into the winding hallways with tentative uncertainty. Most of the classrooms are locked, but she makes quick work of that with a bit of magic, poking her head each one in her search for a good space. She wants a room without windows, so that when it is dark and she needs more light, it won't be detected from the grounds. Ideally, it would also be emptied of desks and chairs, which would only get in her way when practicing her spellwork and wand movements. The less destructive she is, the less chances of getting caught out of bounds.
She finds something close to what she's looking for some corridors into the third floor, far enough away from the grand staircase to be fairly discreet while, at the same time, being close enough to make a quick escape in case Filch or his scraggly cat realizes that she's there. It's a small classroom without windows, removed of desks save for a few that are pushed back against the far wall, unused and nearly falling apart in disrepair. One of the chairs is in decent condition, though, and she figures that she can always find a sturdier desk for her books and research from one of the other classrooms. The rafters are high and her footsteps echo somewhat as she steps inside, observing the thick dust that layers over every surface. There is a musty scent of disuse that perforates the space. It's clear that no one has stepped foot inside this room for a long time.
Hands on her hips, Vivian surveys the area with a hum. Why hadn't she thought of this before? This is the perfect spot to work on her task, without worrying about Mulciber leering over her shoulder and asking how far she's come, or reminding her that she has limited time. No one will hear her trying to work out the spell, because no one ever ventures this deep into the third floor. With a little bit of magic, she'll be able to clean this place up enough to utilize it properly, and because she's a prefect, it won't be overly suspicious if she's caught walking to and from the third floor after hours.
Best of all, there are no annoying Gryffindors.
She snorts at the thought and lifts her wand to scourgify the nearby chair before taking a seat and dropping her bag to the floor. She sits there for a long moment, gazing up into the rafters of the eerily quiet classroom before reaching down to pull out 'Advanced Latin for the Journeyman Linguist'.
Then, in the blissful silence, she begins to read.
No one seems to have noticed Vivian's afternoon absence, though this doesn't surprise her. She's always preferred being alone, so when she joins up with Morrigan, Narcissus, and Rosalind before dinner some hours later, they don't even bat an eye, nor do they think to ask her where she's been. There are other people, however, who do wonder.
"Vivian," Regulus greets when he sees her stepping into the Slytherin common room. The area is crowded with students, most of which appear to be third and fourth years, and so nobody cares to notice the careful expression on Regulus's face or the immediate way Vivian pauses, appearing as if she is considering turning on her heel and avoiding him altogether.
To say that she has mixed feelings about Regulus Black would be the understatement of the century. On the one hand, she appreciates his quiet demeanor and dry humor, and there is a part of her that melts beneath his perceptive grey eyes. On the other hand, though, all she can think about when she sees him is how eager he is to join the Dark Lord, and how disappointed he'd sounded when Bellatrix hadn't given him a task for which to prove himself to the cause. Maybe it is both of those reasons which spark within Vivian a desire to avoid him. The more time she spends around Regulus, the more she likes him, and the more she realizes that he is quickly drifting beyond her reach.
"Where've you been?" she wonders, but isn't sure she wants to know. "You missed the prefect meeting last night."
Even as she asks the question, she steps around him, still warring with the desire to remove herself from his presence whilst at the same time wanting to stay put.
Regulus hesitates, and she knows then that wherever he was, it was most likely with Mulciber.
He follows her into the common room. "I could ask you the same thing. I've barely seen you at all since the Hogsmeade trip. You're always missing dinner these days – "
"I've been busy," is her only excuse, and heads towards her dorm. Regulus stops her, though, when he reaches out to take her arm and pull her to a stop.
"You need to eat, Vivian," he says with a frown. "I know you're stressed out because of your task, but – "
"Regulus – " she begins, cutting him off, but he seems quite adamant, and pulls her over to the corner of the common room before she can tell him to stop bothering her.
"No, listen to me, Vivian," he says, grey eyes flashing. "It's been two weeks since Hogsmeade. Please tell me you have a spell figured out, or – at least started."
She looks at him closely, raising an eyebrow. He seems worried, now that she properly studies the way his eyes lock with hers. There is no trace of such an emotion in his expression, but Vivian has started to realize that reading him isn't so very difficult. His eyes give him away.
She pauses, and then murmurs, "I'm working on it. I've got plenty of time."
Regulus furrows his brow, though, and she suddenly wonders if that's actually true.
"Oh come on. It's only been two weeks – "
"You have until the end of April," he tells her.
Vivian stares at him. April? But that's only three months away! Normally, it would be plenty of time to create a spell – she's done it in days, before – but never one so important. There are things to do before she can present it to the Dark Lord. Steps to take, to make certain that it actually works. And besides all of that, she feels as if she still has no idea what Latin words she needs or how she has to string it all together, and she hasn't even gotten started on the wand movements yet –
"I thought I had until graduation," she says.
Regulus purses his mouth. "Bellatrix sent a letter this morning. You skipped breakfast, so Mulciber took the liberty of reading it."
Vivian narrows her eyes at this. "He read my letter?"
Regulus, seeing the murderous glance that Vivian shoots towards the boy's dormitories, clenches his hands down around her shoulders and draws her further into the corner lest she storm away to enact revenge.
"That's another thing we need to talk about," he says lowly. "Your marriage."
He can see that, the moment the words leave his lips, Vivian's anger seems to increase tenfold. The reason for this is apparent. She is not silent on her feelings towards the matter.
With a glower, she hisses, "I don't want to talk about Adrian Mulciber. Let's talk about you, instead."
He doesn't seem to expect this, and raises an eyebrow at her. "What about me?" he wonders, seemingly caught off guard.
Vivian scoffs. "Are you really going to join Him, when you know full well what it's going to cost you? I thought you were smarter than that, Regulus."
He frowns at her and glances around the common room, not quite liking the fact that she's bringing this up in such a crowded place. But no one even notices them, and the room is too loud with chatter for anyone else to overhear her words – or his, when he mutters, "I've already told you, I agree with his views and I – "
"You're going to become a murderer and a criminal, just because you think purebloods are supreme to every other witch and wizard out there," she finishes, to his annoyance.
"You think the same," he retorts, his voice raising just so. It isn't enough to draw anyone's attention, though. The world outside of their corner overlooks their presence entirely, even when Vivian exclaims, "No I – "
And here, she pauses, as Regulus stares at her with a surprised expression. "Of course I do," she breathes, but it's halfhearted and he doesn't believe her.
Regulus stares at her for a long moment, in which she holds herself so still that it almost feels as if she's trying to become a statue – to press her emotions out of sight, to freeze herself over so that she gives nothing away – until at last, he releases a deep breath and raises a hand to run his fingers through his hair.
"Do you?" he asks, looking at her so closely that it seems as though all of her attempts at holding herself back have utterly failed, and he sees her for what, and who, she truly is. He doesn't seem to like what he sees, because he shakes his head at her and mutters, "You've changed, Vivian, and I not sure that it's for the better."
Then, giving her one last close look, Regulus turns and walks away, disappearing through the door of the common room and from her sight. And she doesn't like it, that look he'd sent her, but at the same time, she can't help but think that perhaps she has changed. Perhaps she is different, and maybe it isn't for the better. But then she thinks about Gavin, and how much she appreciates his friendship. She thinks about Mauve, and how her supposed lesser blood doesn't change the fact that she's rather fun to be around. She even thinks about Sirius, though she wouldn't ever admit it, and how his blood traitor status doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't possess some half-decent qualities.
Still, Regulus's judgmental eyes aren't easy to forget, even when she heads down to dinner with Morrigan later on, and keeps her gaze as far away from Regulus as she can. The memory of that look on his face is there behind her eyes whenever she blinks, and her thoughts are full of his words even when she drags herself to Filch's office after dinner to serve her next detention. She barely hears Filch's gleeful explanation of this evening's punishment because she's too busy thinking about Regulus.
It isn't until the other addition to her new evening routine makes a hasty arrival that Vivian's mind clears, only to be replaced with yet another confusing train of thoughts. Lately, being around Sirius Black has been making her head absolutely spin, and not necessarily in a good way. To say that she's confused about him would also be the understatement of the century, and tonight is no different. If anything, she becomes even more confused.
"You want us to wash all of these tapestries? By hand?" Sirius repeats, when Filch happily informs them what their detention will entail. He's led them down to the Great Hall, now emptied of students. The House Elves must have come in to take all the tapestries down, for the room is filled with enormous mountains of fabric. Every house has their own banners, and there's also the Hogwart's insignia and crest as well. On top of those, Filch must have thought it was a superb idea to make them clean the banners and tapestries from the Quidditch pitch, too, because those are also forming their own mountains in the center of the hall.
"Well you ain't gonna use magic, now are you?" is all Filch says in return, before he leers triumphantly at them and takes his leave, shutting the doors loudly in his wake.
Despite Sirius's protestations, though, he doesn't seem all that annoyed with Filch's punishment. In fact – much to Vivian's incredulity – he actually starts whistling as he strolls over to where a large bin of water has been left for them, complete with tallow soap and several buckets and brushes.
"Are you going to make me do all the work, Godric?" he calls, glancing over his shoulder at her with a raised brow. Vivian sends him a suspicious glower and crosses her arms, thinking that perhaps she might, since he seems so happy to do it himself. After a moment, though, and several loud complaints from Sirius, she steps forward and pushes up her sleeves to join him.
Now, a few months ago, Vivian Blair would never have knelt down beside Sirius Black, nor would they have worked in silence without breaking out into a scathing argument or some such thing. To be fair, she still feels quite wary about approaching him now, and half suspects him to get water all over her just for the hell of it. He doesn't, though, and while she finds this somewhat strange, she also supposes that he can't be an immature arsehole every single second of the day – that would be too exhausting even for him. So she kneels down several feet away from him and silently reaches for one of the tapestries, not saying a single word.
Like the night before, they both fall into silence. Unlike the night before, this silence is slightly less companionable. The main reason for this is because Vivian can't quite ignore him like she'd been able to last night, because he's too close to her and she's too aware of him – and her heart keeps beating too quickly, and once, when she accidentally reaches out for the soap, her fingers brush against his arm and her entire body seems to erupt into shivers.
If Vivian Blair wanted to be honest with herself, she would admit that she may know the reason for this. But she won't be honest, because this is Sirius Black and she hates him, and she always has and she always will, and that will never change.
"So are you gonna tell me, or not?" Sirius says after about fifteen minutes pass them by.
Vivian sends a haughty look his way. "Tell you what?"
He doesn't bother looking at her at all, and just begins to wring out the tapestry. As the water collects into the large metal bin, he clarifies, "Your task."
And just like that, the non-companionable but not quite so awful silence drops away. Just those two words make Vivian clench her fingers around the tapestry that she's washing as her heart ricochets off to a new tune, just as fast as before but for different reasons.
She stares hard at the Hufflepuff banner in her hands and scowls, "I'm not sure what you mean."
Sirius snorts. He stands up to finish wringing the water from the tapestry, as it's too large to do otherwise, and drawls, "I was honest with you last night," in a voice that tells her that she ought to be honest back.
Well.
"About that," Vivian says, not about to let that particular distraction go to waste. She certainly isn't going to tell him anything about her extracurriculars. As if he has any right to know. "When you said you like me, did you mean that you like me, or that you just feel bad about being a complete arsehole to me since first year?" She pauses, and then adds, "Because to be honest, Black, the thought of you liking me in that way is making me want to vomit."
Sirius turns to her with his mouth parted in frustrated surprise, and tosses the damp tapestry into a pile with the other ones. "I haven't been a complete arsehole to you. And don't lie, Godric. I know you think I'm gorgeous."
Vivian shoots him a look and responds, "As if. And yes, you have."
He narrows his eyes at her. "I have not. I mean, I might've taken things a bit too far sometimes, but so have you."
She sniffs, "Name one time I've ever crossed the line, then."
Now this feels like familiar footing. She's almost relieved that they're arguing. The silence had felt wrong without insults flying back and forth.
He scoffs and grabs another tapestry. As he submerges it into the water and reaches for the soap, he says, "Okay. How about all the times you've called me a blood traitor?"
She starts wringing out the Hufflepuff banner and retaliates, "How about all the times you've called me a bitch?"
He glowers. "You put a snake in my dorm room back in fourth year."
"You've done much worse. Besides, the snake wouldn't have hurt you."
"It bit Peter and he had to go to the hospital wing because his mouth started foaming!"
"Well how was I supposed to know that your idiotic friend would react that way?"
"You know what? I don't know why I'm trying to help you. You obviously haven't changed at all."
Vivian pauses upon hearing this. Her mouth opens to send back her retort, but it isn't vocalized. His words hit a little too close to home, and despite them not being an insult, Vivian feels rather offended by them.
"As if you're one to talk. You still have the mentality of a five year old," she shoots back angrily.
"Is that the only insult you've got?" he returns, wringing out the next tapestry with a vengeance.
"Why, does it annoy you to hear the truth?"
"I think that a part of you likes me, you just don't want to admit it."
"I don't like anything about you," she swiftly denies. Perhaps a little too swiftly.
Sirius smirks, turning his head to eye her with a knowing look that she most certainly does not appreciate, because she absolutely does not like him in any way.
"You must like arguing with me, otherwise you would've stopped by now," he informs her airily, as if he's got her pegged. She doesn't much appreciate that, either.
With a scowl, Vivian stands up to hang the Hufflepuff banner on one of the racks that Filch had provided for them (which, so far, Sirius hasn't bothered to use). She reaches down to grab another tapestry and skewers Sirius with a baleful look. Sirius, obviously seeing said look, seems to think that it's a wonderful idea to do something that actually warrants being on the receiving end of it. Why else would he reach out and sweep his hand through the soapy water, sending a handful of it right into her face?
While Sirius Black is, occasionally, wise to the workings of the female race, there is another part of his personality that more often than not supersedes such wisdom. It is the part of him that makes him into a Marauder: a penchant for wreaking havoc and making mischief. It's also a part of him that, in this moment in time, Vivian loathes.
"I am literally going to murder you," she says through gritted teeth, and turns her head to glare at him so fitfully that Sirius actually pauses and feels the slightest smidgen of regret for having riled her up once again.
It doesn't last very long, though.
"Y-you look absolutely hilarious," Sirius stumbling a bit over his words because not only is he seconds away from being murdered, but he's also seconds away from bursting out into laughter.
That smidgen of regret that he had felt before, though? It comes back. Specifically when Vivian grabs one of the buckets and slings its contents into his face.
For a moment, Sirius just kneels there on the ground in front of the tub, eyes closed as water drips from his hair into his face and soaks through his uniform shirt. Vivian, who had just been wrangling with the intense desire to kill him, is now overcome by an even more intense desire to laugh at the sight he makes. Especially when Sirius shakes out his hair, looking very much like a wet dog in the process.
Feeling quite proud, she smirks, "That's how you start a water fight, Black. Take notes."
Sirius raises an eyebrow and stands up. "Oh, is that what we're doing?" He reaches for one of the other buckets, and Vivian freezes.
"Don't you dare – " she begins. She doesn't get to finish.
Sirius's smirk is downright smug when Vivian sends him a vengeful look. It isn't nearly as potent as her usual glares, though, which is probably because she's completely drenched from head to toe. Current circumstances don't exactly help her to achieve the glowering Slytherin countenance that she often favors.
"Did I say I was going to murder you? I meant wipe you from the face of the earth," she growls.
He can't help but snicker at the combination of her voice and her drenched appearance. "You started it," he shrugs, much to her disbelief.
"You started it," she argues, and cringes because yes, she's very much aware that she sounds like a child. Even more annoyed by this, Vivian takes her bucket and dunks it into the tub of water, and Sirius immediately edges back.
What happens next will be remembered with varying degrees of both endearing warmth (some years from now), and embarrassment (tomorrow). For, when Vivian straightens up with an overflowing bucket, she fails to take into account the fact that the ground near the basin of water is currently a mess of twisting fabric that has yet to be washed. As she's lifting the bucket and turning to Sirius with the intent to enact her just revenge for the second time tonight, her ankle catches into one of the folds of fabric and she trips.
Now, if this incident had occurred months before, Sirius would have been in stitches with laughter. But, though his first reaction is humor, it doesn't last very long at all before it is replaced with worry. Vivian does end up falling rather hard on the ground, after all.
Within seconds, he's kneeling beside her and asking, "Are you okay? Vivian?"
His fingers are gentle when he tentatively reaches up to push her hair away from her face, which is set into a grimace.
"Did I just trip and fall on my face right in front of you?" she croaks, keeping her eyes firmly closed, as if she's hoping that perhaps this entire thing is just a dream. Sirius purses his mouth to avoid the amused smile that wants to appear.
He coughs back a laugh and soothes, "No, of course you didn't. It was much more graceful than that."
Vivian groans, and reaches up to cover her face with an arm.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sirius asks again, leaning over her as he tries to move her arm away from her face. His question is genuine enough, which seems to be the only reason as to why Vivian allows him to do so. Her eyes flutter open at last.
"I can't believe that just happened," she mutters, and frowns at him. "It was all your fault, of course."
The corner of Sirius's mouth tilts up just slightly, and he nods empathetically. "Of course," he agrees, though it sounds very much as if he's patronizing her. Not in a rude way, but rather in the sort of manner in which a parent might go along with a child for a time, knowing that they're just being young and silly. Vivian glowers at him for it, but cringes before she can turn it into a proper glare, and reaches up to rub her head.
"You are hurt – let me see," he demands, and helps her into a sitting position. Her head hurts a bit too much for her to be stubborn. She does draw the line, though, when Sirius lays his hand against the back of her head as if he's searching for some kind of mortal injury.
Vivian bats his hand away and mutters, "I'm fine. It's just a bump. Now let me go."
Sirius, finally realizing just how close they are and just how strange it is that he's got his fingers practically buried in her hair, mumbles, "Er – right. Yeah," and pulls away. Then, clearing his throat again, he grabs the nearest tapestry and shoves it at her, cheeks flushing just so in the dim light of the Great Hall.
Vivian raises an eyebrow at him, confused. Until, of course, he reaches up to rub the back of his neck and explains, "Your shirt is…um…well, see-through."
That's about the time when Vivian recalls that Sirius had enacted his own revenge some minutes before her highly embarrassing ("spectacular," Sirius will one day recall) display, and she flushes so deeply that Sirius has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep his laughter in check. He knows for a fact that if he shows any sign of said laughter, she will make good on her death threats.
Ah – that's also the time when Vivian realizes which tapestry Sirius had grabbed.
"Are you serious?" she deadpans, and clenches her fist into Gryffindor red.
Sirius tilts his head and wonders, "Do you really want me to answer that?"
She would have kicked him, then, if he was closer.
Despite his valiant efforts to keep his laughter at bay, he does snicker a bit at the expression she sends him in that moment. The glower would have been slightly more accomplished had it not been for the fact that Vivian is still blushing, and it only makes her look petulant rather than truly angry.
Sirius makes to stand up, and then reaches down to offer her a hand. For a moment, he thinks that she means to shun the offer (she is quite stubborn), and so he's surprised when Vivian grudgingly allows him to pull her up, still clutching the Gryffindor banner against her drenched white uniform shirt as if her life depends on it.
His mouth twitches upward. "You can wear my blazer, if you want," he suggests. Vivian immediately opens her mouth to tell him that there is no way in hell she's wearing something of his, but then he adds, "Or you can just wear the Gryffindor banner like a toga for the rest of the detention. Either way, I can't complain." He smirks crookedly, eyes rather smug.
Vivian takes a breath (she so dearly wants to kick him) and glances around the mountain of tapestries. Sirius seems to know what she's looking for, because his crooked smirk becomes even wider when drawls, "Sorry, Godric. We've already washed all the Slytherin banners. Tough luck, that. I guess you could always wear Ravenclaw, if you're feeling desperate."
She glares at him. He smiles happily back.
"Blazer," she demands, and holds her hand out as if she's speaking to a dog.
Sirius sniffs and breezily responds, "Be polite."
She grits her teeth and hisses out a, "Please", which really doesn't sound very polite at all, but Sirius decides to take what he can get.
He's all but grinning when he goes to collect his blazer, which he had shrugged off at the start of the detention. When he hands it to her, he presents it with a dramatic flourish, taking a moment to buff the Gryffindor badge that is proudly sewn into the front.
Vivian glares at said badge before glaring at him, and snaps, "Turn around."
The look he gives her almost mournful, but he does indeed turn around when her glare becomes slightly more severe. Trading the Gryffindor tapestry for an equally Gryffindor blazer is not what she would call a proper bargain, but at least she won't have to be afraid that it will fall or slip down for the rest of the detention, and she does grudgingly admit that she feels less ridiculous (though not much).
Sirius looks extremely pleased with himself when he sees her, though. His grin is nearly blinding, and he looks like he's seconds away from bursting into laughter. Thankfully, for his own sake, he refrains, but it is a feat of true willpower. Of course, he can't quite stop himself from quipping, "Now you look like a proper 'Godric'," which naturally makes Vivian tell him to do something that shan't be repeated, for it is quite rude (but definitely deserved).
By the time they finish up their detention and all the tapestries have been hung up to dry, two more hours have passed and Vivian, for one, is very much ready to return to familiar territory and remove herself from anything resembling her rival house. Sirius doesn't look like he cares overmuch to have his blazer returned to him, though. In a rare act of genteelness (of which Vivian will soon realize is actually not rare at all, only he doesn't often grace Slytherins with it), Sirius tells her to hold onto it.
"Your shirt is probably still damp," he shrugs, as if it is no big thing, lending something of his to Vivian Blair, Slytherin rival and enemy of six and a half years. She doesn't argue because her shirt is still damp, and even though it's late enough where most of her housemates are probably in their dorms, she doesn't much like the thought of parading through the castle in a transparent shirt. She doesn't thank him, though, because she figures that it would probably resurrect his smug smile from before.
After Filch checks on their work and tells them that they can leave, they loiter for a moment outside the Great Hall. Something strange has happened tonight, and in the darkness of the corridors, it seems as if some hidden door has been opened that had, before, been tightly locked. It's an odd feeling, almost refreshing. Those strange side-effects that she has been adamantly ignoring aren't even bothering her now. She is suddenly bizarrely comfortable being near him, despite the fact that it's, well, him.
"So…good night, I guess," Sirius says, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he peers at her in the dim light of the torches that blaze on either side of the doors to the Great Hall.
Vivian coughs. "Yeah. Good night."
If she's expecting him to turn and walk away, though, he doesn't. Instead, Sirius just keeps standing there, watching her quietly, his grey eyes a deep charcoal. It's fascinating, how many shades of grey exist where they hadn't before.
"You know, you've got a smudge of dirt on your cheek," he suddenly tells her. She raises her eyebrows and reaches up to rub at her face, only for him to smile that crooked smile and shuffle just a little bit closer. She freezes at his proximity, staring at him as he tentatively brushes his fingers over her cheekbone, just beneath her eye. His touch lingers there for a moment, before he slowly pulls back, fingertips skimming down her cheek just so before lifting up and away.
"There," he whispers, and she releases a shaky breath that she hadn't known she was holding, until the moment his eyes flicker up and lock with hers. When Sirius sends her that crooked smirk, she thinks that she finally sees why so many girls have lost their good senses upon being on the receiving end of it – and she thinks, also, that maybe she has too.
Of course, she regains every last ounce of it when Sirius sends her a wink, and as he strides off towards the grand staircase, calls back, "By the way, Blair, I definitely like you in blue!"
Admittedly, it takes her a moment to come out of her daze. When she does, though, she glowers at his retreating back and shouts, "You are such a fucking pervert, Black!"
He just snickers, and decides not to mention that she hadn't actually had a smudge of dirt on her cheek after all.
When Vivian returns to the Slytherin common room some minutes later, her mind is spinning with thoughts of what had just happened, which is probably why she ends up storming through the room and throwing herself into the nearest chair she can find. It's well after curfew by the time the detention is over, and the common room is empty. At least, she thinks it's empty, otherwise she wouldn't bury her face in her hands and let out an exasperated, bewildered sigh. It is only after her loud entrance that she realizes she is not as alone as she'd thought.
"What are you wearing?" Regulus wonders, sounding quite aghast as he eyes the Gryffindor badge looking so out of place on her person. His sudden presence makes Vivian let out a startled gasp. She jerks her head up, only to find that he's sitting over by the fire that burns green in the hearth. He's staring at her as if she's gone insane.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Vivian clears her throat and mutters, "Your brother let me borrow it after my shirt got wet."
She watches Regulus's mouth pull back. He mutters something beneath his breath that sounds quite scathing. She huffs and gets up from her chair to go join him on the couch, sitting down a little more gracefully than she had before.
"I'm not in a good mood," he tells her. The way he voices it sounds like a warning, but Vivian isn't always very good at taking such things to heart, and she just rolls her eyes.
"I'm not either," she returns, voice just as short as his.
Regulus glances at her with a frown. "I'm also still annoyed at you."
Vivian snorts. "If anyone has the right to be annoyed, it's me. I just spent three hours with your idiotic brother, and you – " she glowers, "were a complete prat this afternoon."
"I was a prat?" he repeats, letting out a sharp laugh. "You're the one who keeps looking down on me, telling me what you think I should do."
Vivian opens her mouth to deny this, but instead just grouses, "I just don't want you to become like Mulciber. You're better than he is."
Regulus turns to look at her again. This time, his frown is a little less dark. They fall silent for a few moments before he sighs, "Vivian, if I could get you out of this task, I would. You know I would. But it doesn't change the fact that this is what I want."
Vivian tightens her already crossed arms and stares into the green fire. She doesn't turn her head to look at Regulus when she whispers, "I know," and he doesn't say anything more on the subject for a long time. Together, they just sit there staring at the flames, and they say nothing at all.
And then…
"I've thought about it, you know," she says. "Marrying you."
With a start, Regulus whips his head to stare at her, eyes wide. He clearly hadn't been expecting her to say that. In truth, Vivian hadn't expected it either, not entirely. It's true, though. She has thought about it, and wondered if perhaps things would be easier if Mulciber wasn't involved. That maybe, if she just married Regulus, she would be content.
It's just that Vivian doesn't want to be content. She wants to be swept over. She wants a love made from thunder – breathless and brimming over with passion.
But she has thought about it, and that's why she slowly adds, "I don't think it would be fair to you, though."
Regulus is so still beside her that he seems almost like he's frozen over into stone.
"I don't think I could ever – "
"I wouldn't be able to marry you anyway," Regulus interrupts, and Vivian doesn't get the chance to tell him that she doubts she could ever love him, truly love him, because of the path he's on. She doesn't get that chance, and Regulus is glad for it, because he isn't sure he could bear to hear her say those words aloud.
She turns to look at him, only to find that he's already staring back. He is not stone now; instead he's buzzing with energy, hand clenching down on the back of the couch as he turns to face her, eyes wild and painfully truthful.
"Mulciber already has a claim on you," he murmurs, and he knows she doesn't like the way it's phrased but it's true. Mulciber does have a claim on her, whether she likes it or not. Regulus can't just step in and break up a betrothal like that. It would be seen as a slight of the highest degree, and the backlash would be tremendous. But he's thought about it, too. Of course he has.
Vivian frowns, but doesn't reply, and Regulus sighs again and mumbles, "I'll see you tomorrow, Vivian," before standing up and leaving her there in the empty common room, wild thoughts spinning through her head.