A/N: Staying home in quarantine means churning out chaps faster :) Hope you like this one as much I did writing it :)

Stay home, stay safe.


Chapter 24: The Tale & The Bargain


Unedited...

She watched the smoke wafting from her pipe and disappear into nothingness, reminding her that this was the ultimate truth for everything—that her sacrifices were not special, that ultimately, it was all for nothing.

The stillness that persisted in the house this very instant was so potent, it could smother one dead... Nothing moved, not even the pair of large brown eyes that watched her from the door, stalk still, and if she was being entirely honest, a little frightful.

She was not well, she was sure about that.

She had started to get sick ever since her mother decided to shove a five-year-old in a dungeon with no windows and no food for three days just because she had found her playing with a Muggle peasant's daughter in the backyard. 'You're no daughter of mine!' she had screamed before plunging her into an eternity of darkness...

The little girl had curled up into a ball and remained in that position for three full days, not even daring to cry lest the rats found her and ate her, even as her parents threw a grand ball for their kith and kin a level above, oozing with elegance and drinking wine as if all was just perfect with the world.

She was haunted by the nightmares from that dungeon ever since, so much so that she felt imprisoned in her own sleep, night after night. She could not, for the life of her, close her eyes and revel in the darkness, because the rats WILL find her... and eat her...

To this day, the horrors of that night remained as raw as the whiplashes on her back that her father had doled out every time she had cried.

Because, Blacks don't cry.

A Black never cries.

Walburga Black did not listen to The Tales of Beedle the Bard growing up. Nor The Founders' Tale, no. Instead, her mother read to her from an ancient tome that emitted a faint smell of mildew and bound with faded gold—Toujours Pur.

Blood.

A word she understood intimately, even as a child... A word that made her who she was today. The word without which she was nothing.

She felt the familiar prickling in the corners of her eyes as the reality of those words ripped through her very core. She really was NOTHING without it, wasn't she?

Instinctively, however, her face hardened, trained to crush all emotions and feel nothing but pride. With a shaky hand, she wiped the tear off her face and turned towards Kreacher whose hands were now trembling with the weight of the tray he had held for over an hour by the door now.

"Place it here!" she barked out and the old elf obediently rushed forwards, dutifully following her instructions. She raised a perfectly lined brow, gritting her teeth in indignation. "Well?! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? POUR ME SOME TEA!" she shrieked, to which Kreacher gladly obliged with a, "Of course, my Mistress! Anything for my Mistress!" and sounded almost delighted to have been given a direct order by the Lady.

Right next to the tray lay the letter she had received from Sirius around Christmas last year, one that had deeply disturbed her. The words, 'I'm not entirely sure you know WHAT your dear second son was actually invited to the the Lestranges'. Might you look into it a little? Quite sure you won't like what you hear,' had played in her mind over and over again, and as much as she hated to admit it, Sirius never talked about things that weren't true. Walburga knew that as the future Lord of House Black, Sirius desperately needed to gain acceptance from their kind, or the Blacks would lose their stronghold among Purebloods. She had to ensure her sons were feared and commanded respect among their cousins and the only way to do it was by accepting invitations and attending high-end parties.

But Sirius had spat in her face yet again and when she had finally opened her door, only one of her sons had returned home from the Lestranges'.

Her first thought upon seeing it was to draw his sleeve back over his forearm and deny that she had ever seen it. It must have been her imagination. A trick of the lighting. She would have to tell Kreacher to bring more candles.

But then, she looks up into his eyes only to find him brimming with happiness, with a sense of utmost accomplishment. Almost as if he had gone through all this trouble just for her; as if expecting his mother to finally accept him, be proud of him. And for a second, she thinks she's looking at her oldest again. The son who loathed her for caring too much about him. The son she no longer had. The son who had died in her womb.

But no, this was Regulus. Her Regulus. Her Regulus with that mark on his arm!

The look in his eyes turned to one of confusion when, instead of pulling him into an embrace, she held shock in her stare.

"No!" she had whispered with deathly softness. And he knew, having spent years and years under this roof that for her to scream was a million times better than this sinister silence. "No!" she said more loudly this time. "NO! Not you too... NOT YOU TOO!" she had finally screamed, clutching her bosom and almost entirely losing track of time and space. Shrieking like the world had come crashing in on her, she had collapsed to her knees, screaming up at the Heavens for having played such a dirty trick on her.

"NOT YOU TOO!" she had howled over and over, sinking her nails into her palms and wailing loud enough to bring the roof down.

"Mother! MOTHER!" Regulus had cried, terrified of his mother's reaction. "What did I do wrong?" he wept, but his voice was drowned by her incessant shrieks. "I thought you'd be proud of me... Proud of upholding our family name! I only wanted to make you happy...!" he had sobbed helplessly, looking perplexed at the very least. He had been lost... Shaken. It killed him to see his mother so pained by his actions, to watch her bawl her eyes out as if she had just lost her second child as well... He didn't understand... He had only done what he thought would finally bring back happiness for her—he had failed her yet again.

With tears streaming down his face, and scorching under his mother's raw hatred for him, the little boy had got down on his knees and wrapped his bony hands around her, hoping and praying that it would comfort her in some form. And the two of them had cried on the floor well into the night.

What had she done so bad to deserve so much sadness?

Blinking back into the present, she took a sip of tea from her cup, her mind still racing, still mulling over how any of this could have happened, tearing open EVERY single detail trying to understand how things had gotten so bad. How could Sirius not see that she was only doing what was best for him...? How did Regulus still not understand what she really wanted of him...?

Everything changed after that night.

Neither of them speak of the incident again, and as a way of distracting herself, Walburga set out on a project to find the perfect pureblooded witch for her younger son, pretending and lying even to herself that all was well. And Regulus never rolls up his sleeves again within Grimmauld Place; nor does he tell her where he goes night after night...

A dull trance crept up within her, plunging her into a state of floating while her eyes wandered over the ancient tapestry that was glinting and glimmering in the light from the candles.

The Black family tree. Her pride.

She scanned the tapestry lovingly, her eyes falling over every branch and every leaf that represented this ancient family. But then, her eyes fell on the name 'Ixius Black'... and a cold shockwave ripped through her soul. As a Black, every child was mandatorily narrated one story over and over to educate them on just how powerful the blood of the Blacks was: The Tale of the Sixth Knight.

Several centuries ago, at the stroke of midnight, a child was born on the eighth day of the Sextillus month, finally ending the curse of stillbirths for Amorecia Black née Tripe. Amorecia was so terrified about losing her child yet again that mere hours after she had given birth, she picked up her infant and disappeared into the night with nothing but a blanket wrapped around his head. A heart-broken Licorus Black searched for his wife and son for several months to no avail, until finally, he was convinced that Death had claimed them both this time, and remarried her sister, Magenta Tripe. The two of them lived happily ever after.

What Licorus was not aware of was that, in a land far, far away, Amorecia lived in secret, nursing her newborn to health, homeless and penniless. When Ixius was ten years old, it was believed he ran into an old woman, bent double with age, who carried a mast for a wand. Legend has it that the old woman was actually a very powerful sorceress who immediately presented him with a tiny Clock and declared him as the Sixth Knight. She told him that the future of Magic lay in his hands and that, the day he presents his match with a ring, he ought to turn the Clock once and replace it at the heart of Woldorin in order to reverse the curse on The Pair.

To this day, no one has ever set eyes on such a witch, but it is believed that she would one day return to meet the Seventh and final knight, an encounter on which rests the fate of Magic itself.

The smell of tea caught in her nostrils and brought her back to the present. An odd fear crept up her spine as Phineas's words echoed in her head. Not hours after he had been born had Phineas walked into his portrait in Grimmauld Place and announced that Sirius would be the Seventh and final knight, having finally ended the curse of girls being born in the family.

You're going mad, Walburga! she scolded herself. Your son is not The Pair, he is NOTHING! she screamed at herself, and swiftly got up, her expensive bottle green robes ruffling behind her. She hadn't taken one step when her eyes fell on something that flung her instantly into mad panic... There, beyond the fence of her house at the far end of the road, was the dark silhouette of a cloaked old witch, leaning on to her mast and watching her through her window like a hawk on its prey.

...

"That's it for today! Thank you, class!" screeched Elfbough at the end of a fantastic Full Body-Bind Curse lesson, followed by the usual scuffle of activity as everyone pushed their chairs back and packed their bags. "Also, anyone WITHOUT their essays on the origin of the Disarming Charm need not even bother sitting for the A.P.E.s because you will be failed!" she added, prompting a loud round of groans from the Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws.

Although Isabella hadn't been entirely successful, she had still managed to snap together Evanora Snow's elbows together that had earned her five points.

But there was one person who was even more proud of their performance in class today than Isabella. "Aha! Finally a worthy skill learned have I, after spending YEARS being scorned at my falls by mine own dear comrades!" cried a slightly deranged-sounding Mary as they stepped out of class.

Everyone blinked. "Is that supposed to be a poem?" asked a bewildered Claiborne as the girls watched her valiantly draw an invisible sword and brandish it front of her, as if ready to combat.

"More like a 'monostich', thank you very much!" Mary asked, melodramatically narrowing her eyes at her.

"Mare, are you alright?" asked Isabella, holding back a snort and watching the fiercely comical expression on her face.

"Silence! Come, follow me, gentle ladies, and I shall forever lead you to victory!" she cried, screwing up her face even more now, making it turn a deep shade of purple from the effort. Claiborne and Isabella exchanged glances, both seemingly bursting at the seams. "I foughteth bravely today—"

"—That's not a word, Mare—" Alice weakly offered.

"—Got wounded, but I am only an enchantier!" she bellowed.

"—She means 'enchanter'," Alice muttered to the others, pitifully watching her best friend massage the part of her hand where Roberta Raven had successfully cast the binds and nearly strapped it together.

"'Tis but a scratch—"

"—A scratch? She nearly tore your arms off!" Claiborne protested, her lips still twitching fiercely.

A pregnant pause followed that, when Mary turned dramatically to face Claiborne. "NOBODY ASKED YOU, JONES!" she finally screeched, only to make the rest of them finally burst out laughing until their lungs bled. Tears streamed down Isabella's face who was still chortling, when she heard footsteps approaching them. Looking up, she saw Sirius hurrying towards her, his face looking solemn.

"Hey, Sirius, what's—?" but he had already jogged up to her and grabbed her by the hand, muttering, "I need you, Izzy."

"Au revoir!" Mary cried in her direction, making her break into laughter yet again at her terrible accent. "If that boy messes with you, call upon Mary MacDonald, for I am your knight in shining armour!" she spat out with a comical fold-like-a-book bow that had Isabella in splits!

"Yeah, don't hold thy breath!" Isabella called back, still grinning uncontrollably while Sirius merely rolled his eyes and continued to lead her down the corridor. Wiping her eyes and finally catching her breath, she realised they were heading towards the dungeons. Her eyebrows immediately scrunched together in confusion.

"Sirius, where are we going?" she asked, as they reached the first floor landing, only to receive silence from him. "Whoa, hold it!" she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him back, quickly sensing something was up. "What's going on?" she asked, scanning his features as they halted in the nearly empty corridor.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something only to end up sighing worriedly. "I... It's Regulus..." he said, hardly meeting her eyes. "He's back," he muttered, chewing on his bottom lip.

"Good heavens, finally!" exclaimed Isabella, but quickly realised why he looked so jittery. Their eyes met for just a split second and she immediately felt immense pain for him in her heart. Pouting apologetically, she mutely slipped her hands around his waist and pulled him into a warm hug. "You're being ridiculous," she simply said, smiling against his chest even as his hands gratefully curled around her neck, pulling her closer to him.

"Am I? Am I, really?" he asked, and she could literally visualise him sulking petulantly.

"Look, you just have to be gentle with h—"

"—I'm a dickhead, I don't do 'gentle'."

"But, I don't think he'd want me there, Sirius..."

"Okay, now you're being ridiculous!" he said, looking down at her.

Grinning uncontrollably, she looked up. "Fine, I'll come," she said, patting him reassuringly on the back and watching a flood of relief wash over his face. He gave her one last squeeze before muttering, "Thank you," against her hair and released her.

"Let's go," she said and took his hand in hers.

The two of them quickly weaved their way through the cold dungeons until they reached Slughorn's office.

It took a moment for the door to open and reveal Slughorn's large belly covered in deep violet robes with a fur collar before the light from the candles revealed his face. His great walrus moustache curved up in greeting upon seeing them. "Sirius, m'boy!" he boomed, scooping him up in a genial bear-hug, as if the two had shared a cradle together. "And here I was thinking I'd never have the pleasure of your company in my little office. Come in, come in!" he said, grinning broadly and ushering them inside. "Alright there, Miss Williams?" he added.

"Fine, thanks, Professor," she replied politely.

"Have a seat then, my dears, and I shall send little Regulus along," he boomed, before bustling out of sight into his quarters.

The two of them glanced at each other before gingerly sitting down in their high-backed chairs, waiting.

A moment later, the iron door rumbled open and out stormed a sulking Regulus, looking as savage as a hippogriff. "Look, I don't want you BABY-SITTING ME, alright?!" he roared snarling nastily before stopping dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in surprise. Sirius and Isabella stood up at once, but said nothing.

Regulus's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, and seemed fully taken aback. "Izzy?" he finally said.

"Hey, Reg..." she muttered, her eyes starting to water at the mere sight of him. Isabella was still at least two inches taller than Regulus, but it was evident that he had grown a great deal ever since his disappearance.

Regulus was an almost exact photocopy of Sirius except he wasn't as tall as him. He was lankier and his jet black hair was slightly longer. His eyes weren't the same stormy grey as his brother's, but a more greyish-blue in colour that drooped in the corners. The only other difference in their faces, perhaps, ought to be the absence of prominent cheek and jaw bones that made Regulus's face rounder than Sirius's, but nonetheless, he was still coldly handsome.

"You left me alone to deal with this knobhead. How could you?" Isabella said mock-crossly, pointing at Sirius and trying to sound as casual as possible.

A scornful smirk cut across Regulus's face, that made him seem a lot older than thirteen. "Oh, he's a knobhead, alright!" he spat out, sneering hatefully in Sirius's direction but swiftly crossing the room and throwing his hands around Isabella. "How are you?" he breathed, his voice sounding gruffer than usual, smiling gratefully up at her as they broke apart.

"Alright," she said offhandedly. "And you?" she asked, noticing that Sirius had sank back into his chair, mutely watching the pair. Told you, he mouthed vehemently at her when their eyes met.

"How do you think?" he asked, his face falling immediately. "Ashamed..." he said, staring down at his shoes. "I humiliated myself... Brought shame to the family... To mum," he mumbled.

"What, no! That's rubbish!" Isabella said consolingly. "Reg, your mother could never be ashamed of you, you saw how she fought for you with the Wizengamot, didn't you?" she said, shaking him up lightly by the shoulder.

"You don't understand, Izzy..." he said, finally looking up, his eyes bloodshot now. "I failed her," he mumbled, his lips twitching violently with emotion. "I did everything I could to keep her happy, let go of friends she didn't approve of, I dressed appropriately, went to ALL of those boring parties she took me to, even joined the movement, look—!" he tore back his sleeve and Isabella and Sirius's jaws dropped open. It was a faint grey tattoo of a snake coiled about itself and spitting back at them in the most fearful way that made Isabella's blood run cold.

"Oh, my god, REGULUS!" yelled Sirius, bolting up to his feet and grabbing his hand. "What... What have you done...? What is this?" he asked perplexed.

"Gerroff me!" Regulus growled, tearing his hand out of his grip. "You have NO right to talk to me! Heck, you don't even have the right to breathe the same air as me—!"

"Stop it, Regulus!" hissed Isabella.

"Regulus, I'm your brother and the ONLY one that cares about your well-being—!" Sirius shot back.

"NO! You abandoned us, abandoned your family, you abandoned ME! You're JUST as non-existent as father is, you're JUST LIKE HIM!" Regulus yelled, his face shaking uncontrollably with emotion.

"How dare you...?" stared Sirius.

"I was the one keeping the family together while you were busy shacking up with your STUPID girlfriends and father was passed out in the study with a bottle in his hand and yet, mum always loved you more!" he screamed, his face contorted in rage. "I had to be the sane one around a drunk father, an absent brother and a deranged mother!" he howled. "I had to be the responsible one while each of you got to do EXACTLY as you please, so NO, Sirius, you don't get to tell me what is right and wrong!" he bellowed shakily, pacing the tiny room in unfathomable anger.

No one said anything for a while, and simply stood there, basking in the aftermath of his words. And she didn't even have to look to know that Sirius was seething in hurt, because, somewhere deep down he knew Regulus was right...

Isabella knew their family dynamic too well and, having known Regulus from even before he was born, it pained her to imagine the load he had brought upon himself from such a young age. The kind of maturity he was showing made him seem older than even Sirius sometimes.

"The fact that you know mum's cracked in the head and are still following her orders appalls me, Regulus..."

"Sirius, don't," Isabella cut in before Regulus erupted once again.

"Yeah, sod this, I'm done," muttered Sirius and sprang up to his feet and before she could stop him, he had stormed out through the door, slamming it behind him as he did.

Regulus's chest was still heaving and falling from having let out years' worth of pent up emotions and Isabella let him collect himself for a bit.

"Let's get some air," she muttered and coiled her hand around Regulus, leading him out through the door.

Several moments later, the two of them were sat at the Slytherin table with a cold chocolate drink in front of them, allowing the silence to linger on for a just a little longer. Isabella and Regulus had been extremely close growing up. Even as a child, he had always wanted to be on Isabella's team during games and loved taking piggy-back rides with her while Sirius and Angela plotted to break them up. But, as he grew up, he started to grow cold and distant with her until they stopped talking entirely.

"So, that's why you stopped talking to me?" she asked, taking a sip of her drink and feeling the chill down her throat.

"It made her unhappy," he simply said.

"A lot of things make her unhappy, Reg," she reasoned. "Look, I know you love your mother—"

"—You don't know anything, Izzy!" he snapped back.

"But, I DO know that Sirius is worried sick about you!" she muttered severely. "I'm worried sick about you! What have you got yourself embroiled in, Reg, this is scary—!"

"—No, Izzy, she's right! Magic has been defiled!" he argued back. "Dirty blood has streamed in and ruined everything! Witchcraft and wizardry used to be ten times more powerful centuries ago than now, and it's ONLY because schools like Hogwarts let Half-Breeds and Muggle-borns like you practice Magic..."

"Are you listening to yourself? Do you even SOUND like yourself?!" she chided, except she was not in the least offended by what he said. "Look, I know Sirius messed up but what you're doing is an OVER-correction in trying to get your mother's attention and not in the least healthy, Reg..."

He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Yeah, give me advice when I actually come to you for it, okay, Izzy?" he said, already rising up.

"I'm not trying to give you advice," she started, desperately beckoning him back to sit down.

"Look, I couldn't even convince Sirius about this, and I'm sure as hell not trying to convince YOU. You hate me, so be it!" he yelled and grabbed his mug off the table.

"Nobody hates you, Reg!" she called out, but he had already turned his back on her and walked out of the Great Hall with the drink in his hand, leaving her staring after him. She couldn't believe Regulus had already slipped through their fingers... He was already too far gone and she had NO idea how she was going to let Sirius know about it.

Ten minutes later, she was back in her Common Room and made her way straight towards a sulking Sirius who was sitting on the window sill in the hallway that led to the boys' dorms. Wordlessly, she took her place next to him, hanging her legs off the ledge too like him.

If he noticed her arrival, he did not show it.

Distractedly running his hand through his hair, he glanced curtly in her direction. "I'm a horrible... Horrible person..." he started.

"NO, you're not!" Isabella said solemnly, swiftly cutting hims short. "No, you're not, Sirius... You're the strongest, bravest person I know," she said, looking straight into face even as he looked ahead and avoided her gaze. "You could have easily become what Regulus has today, but you didn't. Despite the pressures from society, from your mother, from your whole situation, you still knew right from wrong and stuck by it!" she said, blinking back hot tears. "You did it all alone, Sirius... And you have NO idea how proud I am of you, how grateful I am for that—"

"—No! NO! Stop glorifying my crap, Iz!" he snapped, clearly more angry at himself than her. "STOP telling me I'm okay when I'm not!"

"Sirius..."

"Nooo! Regulus is right!" he spat out bitterly, drowning in mind-numbing guilt. "He... He shouldn't have to keep this family together when I'm around..." he whispered, his leg shaking more than ever in agitation now. "It shouldn't have been his concern that mum was losing her mind, because that should've been mine!" he muttered shakily, and all Isabella could do was stare helplessly as he fully lost control of his emotions. All she could do was watch her best friend punish himself for something that was never in his control, but what could she possibly say to make him feel better? How could ever make him feel better about something as sad as this...? "He's right, I am the biggest prat the world ever saw...! I wasn't there for him—!"

"—Sirius, please stop!" she cut him. "Stop doing this to yourself because that is not true! You were always there for him, Sirius!" she said, only to see him wave her off. "NO! You listen to me right now!" she said, slamming his hand down and staring fiercely at him. "You were ALWAYS there for him. Then and now. He didn't let you in and that was HIS choice!" she said stiffly, making him slump back in defeat.

The two of them fell silent and let the breeze blow on their faces for a while. And Isabella knew that, after this little chat with Regulus, Sirius was secretly blaming himself for every little thing that was wrong with his family to the point of hating himself in the process.

"What do we do now, Izzy?"

"Nothing. There's nothing we can do anymore. If this is what Reg wants, that's what he'd get."

Another silence followed that, as he let the reality of those words sink in.

"We've really lost him, huh?" he asked at long last.

Isabella simply nodded. "This is his choice... And the most supportive thing you can do as his brother, is to let him go down the path of his choice," she said, taking his hand in hers.

Sirius's eyebrows shot up, looking mildly impressed. "Wow... When did you get this good with advice?" he said, nudging her lightly and making her blush awkwardly. A moment later, however, his face fell once again. "I do miss her," he suddenly said and looked down at her for the first time since she got there, his face etched with heart-wrenching sadness. "I miss her terribly—"

"—I know," she said, coiling her hand with his and resting her head on his shoulder, gulping down the painful lump. She had no idea how he did it, how did he not let himself go astray despite the horrible living conditions he had growing up. How was there still so much kindness in him, so much joy and goodness despite having to deal with pure evil and malice day after day in that dungeon-like house.

And then it hit her. Hogwarts—Hogwarts was what saved him. The Marauders—his brothers—became his whole life. They kept him grounded, just like how they kept Remus grounded during his monthly transformations, and when they didn't get him, he leaned on and her and Lily for emotional support and that's why, friendship for him was so sacred. That's how he thrived in a household without the slightest semblance of normalcy for fifteen years...

"You're a good person, Sirius Orion Black," she said. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

She felt him smile from the side. "What would I ever do without you, Isabella Grace Williams?" he chuckled while discreetly wiping his own face.

...

~oO Later that night...

"Psst! Izzy!" someone hissed into the stillness.

Isabella's brain was telling her something important but she didn't know just what to do... Should she get up? Should she continue rowing this fine boat in this fantastically still, blue lake? Or should she think up strategies to somehow overthrow the fiery dragon and get into the high castle that was burning down to ashes...?!

"Izzy!"

"Huh?!" she jolted awake from her bed and nearly rolled over the edge. "Wh... Wha... Wha's goin' o'?" she slurred, her head still spinning wildly from the shock.

"Shhhhh!" Lily hissed crossly. "Get up! We have work to do!" she whispered urgently, tearing open her blinds as noiselessly as possible.

It took her a full minute to shake herself awake and realise exactly where she was. The pristine blue lake had disappeared and the tireless old monster of a dragon was nowhere to be seen and, quite sadly, she was back in her bed, with a very eager redhead and blonde sitting next to her.

"What's going on?" she asked, sitting up straighter now.

"Midnight Mission!" Lily said, in a determinedly calm voice. "Hurry up, we're wasting time!" she whispered and the three girls bolted out at once. Isabella rummaged in her trunk and pulled out an oversized grey zip-up sweater and paired it with a tight body-hugging blue jeans watching Lily pull a red jumper over head, while Claiborne chose a simple white top and grey jeans. Quickly slipping into her trainers, Isabella grabbed her wand and the three girls quietly slipped out of their dorm leaving a sleeping Alice and Mary behind.

Ten minutes later, the three of them were sat opposite four very suspicious-looking boys on James's bed with the blinds on, a Muffliato spell around so they don't wake up poor Edgar and light emanating from the tips of their wands for effect.

"Let me see if I've heard this right..." James started, his eyes narrowed to the point of them now being mere slits. "You want my... Invisibility Cloak...?" he asked, dislodging his jaw quite dangerously as he did.

"That is correct," Lily nodded curtly and the two of them continued staring each other down in this late-night fake mafia trade-off. "State your terms, Potter," she added, watching him through the bridge of her nose.

James looked at Sirius and Peter and pretended to mind-read their thoughts before nodding dramatically to himself. "I want to know WHY you need it."

"Overruled," she immediately said, sitting up straighter. "That's top secret."

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this, mate" Remus muttered, surveying her very carefully and pursing his lips in mock-distrust. "The only reason she doesn't want to divulge this fact is if she's planning something EXTREMELY illegal and doesn't want me, a fellow-Prefect to know about her rule-breaking ways!" he whispered dramatically, immediately sending James, Sirius and Peter gasping in revelation. Isabella and Claiborne exchanged nervous glances—this was not going well!

"Look, you can't ask us why we need it, but you can draw up a bargain!" hissed Isabella sensibly, making the boys get into yet another of their ridiculous mind-reading sessions, before all four nodded in agreement.

"Go for it, Prongs," muttered a shirtless Sirius, except he was having trouble keeping a straight face. "You're our soldier," he smirked. "Bargain the crap out of her!" he guffawed, finally losing control.

Lily still sported a determined calm while James nodded solemnly.

"Okay, Lily, you want to make this real? FINE! I will give you my Cloak IF..." he paused dramatically for effect, "we can accompany you on this Mission!"

"Rejected. This is a Girls-Only Mission!" she retorted most professionally.

"Fine!" he mumbled irritably. "Aha! I've got it! I will give you my Cloak IF you use it to hex Snivelly in the balls!"

"If you're trying to find out if my mission concerns Severus, I walk!" she hissed back.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey! Easy there, Tigress!" James smirked, clearly enjoying himself more than he should. "Fine, you can have the Cloak for one hour if you agree to lend us your homework for thirty days."

"Three hours and one day."

"TWO hours and fifteen days."

"Two and a HALF hours and five days and one prank on Severus."

Sirius nearly choked to death at that proposition from Lily. "Mate, TAKE IT!" he hissed violently, "Not quite, Pads!" James hissed back and held his hand up. "Two and a half hours, ten days and THREE pranks."

"Three hours, two days, one prank and one Wizard's Chess match."

James raised a confident eyebrow, seemingly amused and impressed at the same time. "Two and a half hours, five days, one Wizard's Chess match and one hex from you on a Slytherin DURING Transfiguration!" he hissed, excitedly leaning forward.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're pushing it, Potter," she said coldly.

"Shut up and take it," James replied, challenging her in the most sexy way ever that it brought an instant blush to her face.

Shaking off the butterflies, she exhaled, her face working fiercely to remain cold despite the smirk that was bursting at the corners of her lips. "Fine. Three hours... Three days..." she said, considering her terms carefully, "no match, but TWO pranks, NO HEX but I would help you orchestrate one flooding of the girls' bathroom."

James shook his head curtly. "Nope, sorry," he said, inhaling deeply and displaying a rather exaggerated feeling of regret on his face. "We've done that too many times and it's in our rules, Rule Number Four, 'Thou shalt not pull the same prank TWICE'!"

"Oh, come on, Potter!" Lily hissed violently. But when she realised he was not budging, she rolled her eyes yet again. "Fine! Three hours... Three days..." she started again, her mind racing for ideas, "No match, but TWO pranks, NO HEX but..." she said, pausing dramatically, "ONE potion exchange during class!"

James scoffed. "Evans, please," he started, appalled that she would even consider something as menial as this. "Have you forgotten you're dealing with geniuses here? We can handle potion-making quite fine, thank you very much!" he guffawed and rolled his eyes nice and wide for emphasis.

Lily sighed in frustration and threw her head back exasperatedly. "FINE!" she roared, as if finally preparing herself to give him her all. "Three hours, three days... No match, two pranks... no hex, BUT..." she paused, and glanced nervously at Isabella and Claiborne who egged her to go on. Sighing nervously once again, she winced and finally said it in one breath, "One hour in the library... Just you and me."

A collective gasp went up as the rest of them swung their heads in her direction in SHEER INCREDULITY. "Is she that desperate for a stupid Cloak?!" whispered Remus more to himself than anyone, even as Isabella's hand flew to her mouth.

James though, merely sat there, taking in her tiny frame in a cold stare, dumbstruck beyond belief at what she was offering. Raising yet another arrogant eyebrow, he leaned forward slowly, chewing on his left cheek and obviously working VERY hard to seem as casual and nonplussed as possible, while completely burning under Lily's gaze. Exhaling silently, he looked her straight in the eye this time. "Three hours... No match, no pranks, no hexes... BUT..." he paused, his hand shaking ever so lightly in nervousness, "I need one hour in Honeydukes... Just you and me..."

Isabella's jaw dropped.

And Lily looked like she had just been dunked into a bucket of cold water!

"And Izzy and Clay aren't allowed to be within twenty feet of where we're sitting..." James added, staring her down most deliciously. Isabella was almost tempted to applaud at James's tact... That was SO smoothly done, he put the BUTTER to shame! The rest of them exchanged nervous glances quite unsure how Lily was going to respond.

Lily, though, had to chew on her lips to keep herself from blushing furiously. Drawing in another breath, she leaned forwards too, leveling up with his face, desperately trying to retain the upper-hand in this trade-off. "Final offer..." she breathed. "Three hours, thirty days. Take it or leave it," she said, curling her lips to stop herself from smiling.

James, who was now smirking uncontrollably to himself, leaned back, lazy arrogance oozing from every inch of his body. "Really, Evans?" he asked, still challenging her with a raised brow. "You can't handle ONE hour with me?"

"I'd rather be eaten by a Griffin," she replied, folding her hands across her chest.

"Even if I pointed out the 'fact' that you are TERRIFIED of spending one hour with me... Because you know that's all it would take for you to fall head over heels for me?" he smirked, the cocky bastard.

Lily wasn't even trying to hide her blush now, as she sat there fully avoiding his stare. "Do we have a deal or not?" she asked coldly, except she was smiling uncontrollably to herself.

James, the cocky bastard, leaned forward, forced her face up with the tip of his finger, stared deep into her eyes, and sighed silently. "I would've agreed to just one day of homework..."