8th Symptom
Family
"Were you scared ?" asked James.
Hermione raised her gaze to meet his but didn't answer him. She couldn't open her mouth even if she tried, still trying to process everything that had just happened. She was scared. She was scared by how lost she was, as if her entire universe escaped from her grasp as easily as sand would.
She wasn't confused anymore, just angry at how naive she had been until then. Theses boys were all...messed up. She had been arrogant enough to believe that she knew them, or that they wouldn't be hard to figure out, like all teenage boys were. She had forgotten the world she lived in. The world as it was. She had been blinded by their smile without thinking that behind the brightest light could only be the most unscrutable shadows.
There were many, many shadows behind the charming smile of Sirius Black, many secrets under the playful gaze of James Potter. And she didn't know if she was ready to see them all.
When she finally was able to talk she just asked "He wouldn't have stopped, right ?"
James didn't answer, but the truth was bared inside his brown eyes. They just looked at each other before the Gryffindor talked again. "Siri...has grown up in a pretty messed up place, you know ? He was...hurt. Badly hurt. He doesn't say anything but... I know him. I know that he can't sleep alone without having nightmares. He doesn't always recognize violence because he is just so freaking used to it. But...his heart is in the right place. He would die for the ones he considers his own. And-"
"I won't run away, James." she cut, a weak smile playing on her lips.
The boy looked at her, surprised, and she couldn't say if he was more surprised by her answer or by the fact that she had understood. He stared at her for a while before a wide smile appeared on his face. "Of course you won't run away ! Who talked about that kind of stuff ? I mean...We're family, now. Right ?"
Ah...That was it. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them and looking at the familiar and oh so foreign face. "Yes...I suppose we are."
§§§
Sirius came out from MacGonagall's office, seeming more calm but completely drained.
A strange light appeared in his eyes as he recognized Hermione. He stopped in his tracks before running towards her and crushing her in his embrace. She huffed under the shock as he sighed, whispering in happy tone "I knew you would wait for me."
Did he ? The witch couldn't help to ask herself. Did he really ? The marauders looked at them with a reassured and happy expression and she felt as if she had passed some kind of test. They hadn't been sure of her reaction, they hadn't been sure that she would stay with what she saw, the part that wasn't all charm and glitter.
However, she was quite sure that it wasn't the first time that Sirius lost control of himself, and everyone in Hogwarts had already excused his behaviour. The girls, the ones who hadn't seen anything, just talked about a fight, and Sirius was the courageous knight who had saved his pretty cousin. The story was already everywhere, spreading like a wildfire and found on every lips and behind every walls.
It was oversimplified and presented like a tale which came to its happy ending, with a new engagement. The news of James Potter's bethrotal could not have taken place in any other way, and certainly not after the gruesome scene that some, with bad intentions that was evident, tried to paint.
But Hermione knew what she had seen, and she also remembered what Narcissa had said : Sirius was ready to kill someone.
She did not condemned his anger, but couldn't help but notice that this was his vision of a just punishment : death. And yet she believed James as he told her that Sirius did not recognize this as abnormal, that it was the kind of violence he was acclimated to, and she was almost afraid to know what the young wizard had seen in the house of Orion and Walburga Black.
"What has Miss MacGonagall said ?" she finally asked, slowly breaking away from the embrace.
Sirius let her take a step back and said, his jaw set "Malfoy has been taken to the infirmary, and his family has been notified...I know the Malfoys, they will not let this go easily."
"Will you ?"
He met her gaze and stayed silent for a bit, as if contemplating if he should tell the truth or stay silent. His eyes were strange, still burning, but in the quiet way of a simmering fire. He was not sated yet. In this moment they both knew it, and when he vocalized it, the evidence was already heavy in the air.
"No. This is not over."
Hermione felt something cold and calm wash over her. The desire to kill Lucius Malfoy was not an impulse, it was not the compulsion of anger, but a craving still very present in the mind of the Gryffindor.
"You are not invincible, Sirius. And this is a very dangerous and slippery slop that we are treading on. You have to be careful."
A strange smile curved his full lips and he closed his eyes, letting his forehead meet hers as he lowly said "Sorry, Minnie, I think you'll have to be that for both of us."
§§§
Hermione twisted her quill between her fingers, seeing the board with arithmetic formules through unfocused eyes as her brain was going at more than a hundred miles an hour.
The Malfoys should have been notified of the events that took place by now. They not only knew of the fight, or rather of the beating that their son had received from Sirius Black but also of the fact that Narcissa Black had officially accepted the proposal of James Potter, declaring Sirius her official male guardian.
It was only a matter of hours before the news arrived to the ears of the Blacks...The news of two engagement. If neither professor MacGonagall nor professor Dumbledor had send word of the new fiancé of the Black heir, she was quite sure that nothing was stopping an angry Lucius Malfoy of bringing the scandalous tidings to Grimmaud Place.
It would not be surprising to see the heads of both families soon in the halls, demanding explanations. And then what ? What if Walburga Black came ? Please everything but her...She did not know a thing about Orion Black but could not envision how he could be worse than Sirius's mother. And even if she didn't came...Then what ? What would they say ? They were a group of sixteen years old and-...
Deep breaths, she reminded herself. Deep breaths. Panicking never brought anything good. Think. Think. She had to think.
"Hey." she heard a familiar voice whisper in her ear. She almost fell from the wooden bench with how hard she jumped back. Her gaze met an amused silver one and for the life of everything good she had never felt so torn between incredulity and exasperation before.
"What are you doing here ?" she furiously whispersed. "You don't even have this class !"
"I know." Sirius simply said, making himself a place of the bench, facing her, his elbows on his tights as she became the focus of his entire attention, apparently content to just keep looking at her with a thoughtful gaze.
"Then, What. Are. You. Doing. Here ?" she repeated, all of her anxieties transforming into sheer exasperation.
"What are you worrying your pretty little head about Minnie ?" he asked instead of answering, not seeming phased by her shrill voice.
She passed an angry hand in her curls and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before responding. "Isn't that obvious ? The real question is why none of what is happening seem to worry you. Your family will know not only about Narcissa but also about us in just a matter of hours...And then what ? How do you think they will take your engagement to an unknown pauper ?"
Everything she said seemed to slip on him without leaving a scratch of concern. She furrowed her brows, incredulous, and was for a moment tempted to raise her hands toward the ceiling in a sign of sheer unbelief before his relaxed attitude.
Suddenly a smile appeared on his lips. It was a slow grin that curved his full lips into something thoroughly charming. He was almost properly dressed, she remarked, his tie was still too loose, and his white shirt had several buttons undone, his silky hair fell before his bright grey eyes as he put the curl that had escaped her hair tie behind her ear. His gaze never quit hers as he slowly said "Breathe."
She hadn't even noticed that she had stopped. She passed her hand on her face, as if to wake herself up before Sirius took both of her wrists inside on of his palms.
"Hey, hey...Minnie, look at me."
Hermione met his gaze once more and she was shocked by the complete calm she found there. "We're fine." he said.
He let her wrists go and took her face in his palms, bringing her closer. She could see almost every details of his eyes, and she felt as though looking through a pale winter sky and asking herself just how deep it was. "We're fine" he repeated. "Okay ? I may or may not have a wildcard in this, doll. You trust me ?"
His quiet confidence was almost seeping into her, her shoulders relaxed and an hesitant smile appeared on her lips. This seemed to be enough for him and an answering smile appeared on his face. His eyes seemed now lit with an all too familiar mischievous light as he brought her face close enough so that she could feel his every breath caressing her lips.
" You know...I always said that worrying was suffering twice. Are you always thinking so much about everything ?" he asked.
"Is thinking such an abberration to you, Black ?" she answered while arking one her brows.
"Oh, I am thinking about many things doll..." he let his hands fall from her face and bended towards her so that he could speak in her ear. "Right now, I am thinking about all the ways that I could make you stop thinking. Wanna hear about my ideas ?"
Hermione could already felt herself becoming incandescent. She opened her mouth to go in an indignant rant when they were cut by a witch's voice "Mister Black ! I do not remember you being a part of my class. Shouldn't you be in divination ?"
It seemed that the entire class had now their eyes fixed on them. Correction, the entire class had now their eyes fixed on them. Sirius rose from the bench seeming completely in his element as he pushed his fists in the pockets of his uniform and gave Professor Vector a winning smile.
"I only came here in a noble quest for new horizons, Professor...But I think I stayed for the company." he finished with a wink.
Hermione vainly tried to hide her face between her crossed arms, facing the table. She didn't know what was the worst, the confidence with which he spewed that kind of words or the fact that...it worked. Professor Vector seemed to only repress a smile by the strenght of her long years of teaching, but her tone was still far too light and amused as she said. "Out, Black."
He executed a mock salute, before bending, and pressing a long kiss on Hermione's forehead. "I will wait for you outside, doll...Think about me."
She tossed a quill in his direction as he left the room with a laugh.
§§§
Sirius's wildcard came in the morning. Their presence had been requested by the professor Dumbledor in his office at ten.
Hermione was sure of very little things, but one of them was that she hated, just hated being surprised. There was no word strong enough to qualify the feeling of discomfort that invaded her when she was out of her element. She had spend the entire night in the library studying everything she could on the dynamics in pureblood families and magical bethrotals.
But sadly there was nothing beside history. It seemed that the internal pratices of theses families were only jealously discussed between people of the same social standing and breeding. She had expected it, but it did not make her frustration abide. She still angrily red everything there was to read on the history of the Potter and Black family, all the while berating herself of not having done so earlier.
She pressed her palms against the bags stubbornly resting under her eyes, before abstenmindedly straightening her tie and vainly trying to pat her hair flat. She just couldn't believe it. She had been there for three days. Three. Days. And it was the third time that she was in Dumbledor's office.
The situation didn't seem to phase Sirius at all, and close to them, Narcissa was anxiously checking her face in a pocket mirror, as if dreading to find if only the shadow of a bruise marring an otherwise too perfect face. Hermione still felt uncomfortable with the blond, there was something about her that made one doubt that she was...human ? If the Gryffindor witch had not seen her, afraid, unsure, crying and hurt, she could have thought her of a fay race. Everything about her, from the pale waterfall of hair falling down her back to her pale blue eyes, to the every details forming her unnaturally pretty face made you thing of an albaster statue. And yet there was something now in her frosty gaze, like the hesitant trepidations of a first hope that made Hermione's heart tighten with compassion.
When the four of them entered the room under the call of Professor Dumbledor, the first thing that she saw was the back of a tall black-haired man standing in front of the desk of the director of Hogwarts, in what seem to be a particularly stubborn silence. So he was the wildcard... Sirius didn't wait for one minute before jumping on his back, his arms around his neck, making the man bend in two with a "huff" before finally fending off the weight of the young man.
As he did, Hermione eventually saw his profile facing Sirius's smiling one. It was a Black without a doubt. His hair were far shorter than Sirius's and combed to frame his face in perfectly controlled and heavy waves, his eyes were the typical silver colouring of the household and a light of amusement and affection shone through his indifferent expression, and perfectly arched brow.
"Control yourself, dear nephew, one could hardly believe that you come from the tender care of Walburga and Orion Black with theses dreadful manners of yours." He then turned a particularly attractive face toward the rest of them, levelling them with an expression of casual disinterest "Narcissa."
"Uncle Alphard." answered Narcissa in a demure tone, respectfully lowering her gaze.
Alphard ? Alphard...Black. Alphard. She had heard that name before. Well she had certainly red about him, he was the only Black choosing to live outside of Grimmaud Place while still retaining his place on the family tree. A lot of things seemed to be permitted for him : he was not married, didn't seem particularly invested in the family affairs and still communicated with members of the family that had been shuned while conducting other buisinesses with pureblood pariahs.
As she looked at the gleaming silver head of his cane, and impeaccable black velvet robes she was reminded why. Alphard Black was to this day the richest member of the Black family, and most of its members were only leading their opulent life thanks to his keen sense of buisness...
"My uncle Alphard left me quite a bit of gold actually...Well after that, he was blasted of the family tree."
She pinched her lips not to scream victory as the memory danced before her eyes. So this was who that was...
"Where were you ?" cutted Sirius. "How could you just go leave me in Grimmaud fucking loony bin for so long ? Don't you have a heart, uncle ? "
"Well I came, didn't I." He then turned toward Dumbledor, putting his cane under his arm as he adjusted his black jacket under his robes. "Whatever my nephew did, professor, I assure you that there is no need to inform his parents. I hold myself responsible for his actions and will pay the appropriate price in compensation."
"I'm afraid that this matter will not be so easily dealt with, Alphard. But I am happy that you will not put yourself against young Mr. Black engagement." Dumbledor answered, seeming extremely entertained by the situation.
The veil of indifferent distinction so elegantly worn by Alphard seemed to break in this moment, he turned his head toward Sirius so fast that one could almost hear the crack of his neck. "You are... what now ?"
She didn't have the time to pounder on this thought as she felt her hand being grasped by Sirius as he pulled her to his side, so she could face Alphard. Immediately the pale grey eyes of the man focused on her. There was something quite unnerving in being studied by theses cold silver eyes. She knews this gaze. It was a gaze that she had often received before she proved herself to be the brightest witch of her age. She felt her heart beating hard at the unworded challenge and raised her chin high, leveling him with the same gaze as she stood as tall as she could.
Nothing was said for a while before she saw the fleeting appearance of an amused smile on the full lips of Alphard Black as he turned back to Professor Dumbledor.
"Who knows ?" he said, having recovered all the appearance of graceful detachement.
"Well, the every teachers of the school has been notified not to talk about it outside the school, but since Mr. Black broke Mr. Malfoy's jaw yesterday, I would think that Orion and Walburga should be informed of the new events. Just as Cygnus must now know of the bethrotal of our Narcissa into in the Potter family."
This time the only sign of surprise appearing on Alphard's face was a delicately arched eyebrow in the direction of Narcissa who hesitantly put his arm, as if deeply startled by the fact that his niece seemed to have taken a decision by herself. He looked at Sirius with a stern gaze "You declared yourself her male guardian, didn't you ?" He didn't wait for his answer as he sighed "Of course you did." He turned once again towards Professor Dumbledor "If the news have already arrived to the ears of Walburga and Cygnus, I am afraid that there is nothing that I can do anymore. What is the reason of my presence here, Professor ?"
"I know that you are a busy man, Alphard. Theses young people have come to find me, expressing their worry of their guardian's treatment of the bethrotals."
"You know what will happen, uncle" cutted Sirius, walking until he was the closest to Alphard.
"No matter what, it will happen Sirius, I am not the head of the Black family, I can only do so much to protect you."
"But you could be." Narcissa's voice suddenly rose, her delicate hand now fisting the fabric of Alphard's cape in a death grip. "You could be the head of the family."
"Cissa, what are you saying-..." started Sirius, furrowing his eyebrows.
"You are older than aunt Walburga, and older that uncle Orion."
"Cygnus is older than me, Narcissa, primogeniture will not work."
"But Cygnus has no sons."
A silence reigned in the room as Alphard was looking at Narcissa with furrowed brows. Apparently no one had anticipated what Narcissa would say. Sirius appeared lost in front of the sudden turns of events. Still Hermione could say that this was not an improvisation, it seemed that the Slytherin had planned this.
You have seen me in a very embarrassing situation but do not be mistaken, I am not defenseless. And what I have now, I will do everything to protect it.
The words of Narcissa Black rang again and again in her ears as she looked at the young lady. A flame seemed to have appeared behind her pale eyes and Hermione understood why she had been so uncomfortable with her, now : Narcissa Black was dangerously intelligent.
"I have no sons, Narcissa." continued Alphard, but in a tone that suggested that he already knew what she meant.
"You could have." calmly said the witch. "Sirius is the heir. Not because he is the son of Walburga and Orion Black. But because he is the first born son of the Black family. Thus Walburga and Orion Black are only the Heads, because they have the heir. If you adopt Sirius-"
"Regulus is still there."
"If I go, Regulus will come." said confidently Narcissa.
Alphard stayed once more quiet before saying "The banishement of three persons of the Black family is a purge, Narcissa. But me taking Sirius, Regulus and you...This is cessation."
"It is, isn't it ?" continued the blond calmly.
"I do not desire being the Head of the Black family."
Her hold on his cape tightened as she brought herself closer to him, and said in an amused tone "Don't you ?"
Oh...Doesn't he ? The familiar voice rang in Hermione's head.
"I do not want to." intervened Sirius, his gaze dark as he fixed it on Narcissa. "This whole family is trash, Cissy. I did not came to convince Alphard to make sure that we all inherit this garbage."
"And what if we don't, Sirius ?" said the blond. "Don't you see ? The Blacks are ending. Andromeda will leave, Regulus is weak and Bellatrix is mad. If Bellatrix and Rodolphus inherit..." she shook her head as if chasing a bad thought. "Every trinket, every spell, every coin of gold, piece of political weight will be put in the service of Him who they serve."
At theses words a complete silence fell on the room. Hermione felt every hair on her body raise as she passed the timeline again and again. Bellatrix as eighteen, she had left Hogwarts already which could only mean one thing. Already she had joined him. There must have been talked already inside the family, Regulus was groomed and on the next summer, an explosion of violence would reasonate in Grimmaud Place and Sirius would leave to never return.
Narcissa felt theses things, she saw the degradation and the darkness becoming heavier and heavier on the Black Household, but she had been traped and now, she wasn't anymore.
The eyes of the Professor Dumbledor were lit with a strange light, and Hermione felt that they all were in on of theses moments, one of theses moments where History was written.
Narcissa let go of Alphard's coat and brought herself closer to Sirius. "Grimmaud Place is a pit with no light and no hope." she continued a voice even lower. "But we could make it different...See ? We could erase all of this and do everything all over again. Can you imagine it ? No punishment, no fear, no pain...Just family."
"Nothing can be done with this much filth, Cissy."
The witch pale hands came to grip Sirius's jacket and she fisted it into trembling hands. "Then you take out the trash Sirius, I will burn it."
Sirius shook his head taking a step back, letting his dark locks hide his face, whispering as if for himself "I don't want anything to do with them...nothing..."
"Will you run away again ?" asked Narcissa in an almost inaudible voice, speaking only for her cousin. "Will you leave me behind again ? Just after you gave me hope ?"
Sirius raised his head as if she had slapped him. His hands were shaking and he passed them trembling into his hair before saying "I have to leave, I need air." He crossed the room almost running, opening the door with with a violent desperation as he left the office.
Hermione looked at the door for a while. Sirius had always wanted to break free from the Blacks, his reaction was expected and in a sense Narcissa's too. She was a Slytherin. And she was also a very proud witch, very much attached to her heritage. Hermione could hardly imagine Narcissa Black accepting to be banished from her family, to be nothing more than a stain on the tapestry of greatness. Nor could she imagine that she was pleased to see her Household approaching its demise.
What surprised her was the confidence that the witch seemed to have in Sirius. Narcissa clearly knew her cousin very well, so she knew that he was a loose canon, that he was rash, and she also knew how deeply ran his resentment for the Blacks. Yet, above genuinly loving him, she seemed to deeply admire him. Maybe because he always had shown the courage that she lacked.
Still, even Hermione could see how the affair would benefit Sirius. When he had been imprisoned, he had no one. No member of the Black stepped up for him, no member of his family defended him, and with all the Potters dead, he was completely alone. At each of his steps, she had seen jealousy following admiration very closely, and many of the mouths swearing that he was the poster child of Gryffindor must have just as quickly called him a death-eather.
She felt anger rose once again inside of her. Of course. Sirius had tried to shed his name all his life, and yet this was this very name that finished to be the chief proof of his guilt.
Then why not take advantage of it ?
No. This was too big of a risk. And yet...Yet, knowing Sirius, it would be impossible for him to arrive to his thirties without appearing at least once before a tribunal. He did need protection. She had to be careful for the two of them now.
"Narcissa...Even if you achieved to change Sirius's mind, which would be nothing short of a miracle, you know that I never engage in an affair that I might loose." said Alphard, his brows furrowed as he fixed the door that Sirius had just passed through.
"But you would not loose." Hermione said before she could stop herself. Everything was turning inside her mind a mile an hour as the pieces of the puzzle came together. Quick, every alternative, every scenario, what could've been, what could be. "The Black needed the money that Narcissa's wedding would bring. The battle for the headship of the family is not over, had Cygnus been able to marry Narcissa and Lucius he would have the financial ascendent on all the family and if Narcissa had given him a son, he could have become the new head in the blink of an eye...But without Lucius Malfoy, the family is still dependent on your financial assets" she said while raising her eyes to meet Alphard's surprised gaze.
For a moment she almost felt herself falter as every single eyes of the room was now fixed on her. But she cleared her throat before continuing. "If Sirius shifted into your custody, and you were in charge of organizing the wedding of Narcissa and James, it would mean that the entire future generation of Black would be in the palm of your hand. If you...If you are in charge of the dealing with Potter family you will also affirming yourself as the figure of reference of Black dealings with the outside world. The Potter and the Malfoys have been rivals for a very long time. The Potters could prove themselves to be far better allies than the Malfoys, and even better friends. You are a very smart man, Mr Black, where do you see the future of the Black family ?"
Alphard looked at her differently now, and she almost let a self-satisfied smile escape her before understanding just what had happened. Again. She had done it again. She had once again done something for which she could not with all her strenght imagine the consequences.
God, again. She closed her eyes and pointed the door with an unsure finger. "I should go...and see how...Sirius. I should...It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Black." she quickly finished before leaving the room on quick steps.
§§§
"Why am I surprised that you found me ?" said Sirius, and his smile let a puff a smoke escape. He had an almost finished cigarette between his fingers as he was sat under on of the windows of the astronomical tower.
She pinched her lips and for a moment he seemed amused by her severe and disapproving expression, raising his hands in surrender before tossing the burned out butt through the window.
She approched and let herself fall on the cold stone to sit beside him.
For a long moment none of them said anything and then Sirius voice rang, the determination in his words almost perfectly hiding the anxiety of his tone. "I do not want to inherit anything of this family."
He did not let his gaze fall away from the window, and the cold autumn wind came in, chilling her almost to the bone. The sky was so dark that one could almost belive that it was night. And she just smiled, a sad pathetic thing she was sure, but still a smile as she hummed "Mmmh."
"Everything about this family is rotten, Minnie. Every single thing. And I am not like them."
Hermione hesitated, before saying as softly as she could "Narcissa is family...Is she not ?"
He gave her a glance in the corner of his eyes "Cissy is different. She is still a sneaky little thing, you know ? I mean Jamie Boy is gone for her since he is five, but I know her and she can be quite vicious."
"She seems to love you." added Hermione.
Sirius squared his jaw and looked at the dark coulds again. "Something like that." he finished by saying.
"Alphard is family." continued Hermione.
To this he answered nothing, furrowing his brows. She almost didn't dare to talk again but she pursued "And this...Andy ?"
"I know what you're trying to make me say and I won't say it" he cutted.
She knew that she was treading along a very thin limit, and yet she was not worried, nor was she afraid of him getting angry at her. She closed her eyes and sighed "They can't all be rotten, now can they ? But I get it, you would be terrible as the future Head of the Black family."
He turned his head toward her surprised as she continued, opening her eyes and letting amusement coupled with healthy disapprobation filter through her eyes. "You smoke. I am pretty sure that you drink. And if this is like everything you do, I will add too much. It is also a strong possibility that you may punch Malfoy, or Crouch, or both in a Wizenmagot session."
The sound of a repressed laughter made his shoulders shake and he finally turned away from the heavy clouds in the horizon. His eyes were now shining with a malicious light and his lips were pinched to prevent a smile before breaking in one of his most genuinely charming one. "Would you come and see me every day if I went to jail for agression in the Ministry ?"
"Me alive, you will never go to jail, Black."
"Oh I don't know about that doll, with Malfoy I think I now have a dozen people that I want to stab. Cissy would apparently be ready to help me hide the corpses...And if I inherit Grimmaud Place, I am pretty sure that I would just burn the fucking place down."
"Well they would have to burn me first before thinking of putting you in jail." she insisted, looking at him as seriously as she could.
Slowly Sirius's smile disappeared and his eyes burned harder before he lowered his face letting his long bands cover it. "You really mean it, don't you ?" he finally said, almost talking for himself.
"I really do." she said, almost whispering too. She let her feet touch his in a gentle gesture before asking "Are you afraid ?"
He laughed a joyless thing, dry and high-pitched as if he was ready to break the glass of the window, scream and cry and the same time. "Afraid ? I am fucking terrified, Minnie." He passed his two hands through his hair and fisted them. "I don't want to go back there. I don't want to see them. I always said that I was different from them. What if...If I stay in this family, what if I become like them ? What if I can't escape this name ?"
She rose to her knees and took his hands of his hair, combing them back in place before taking his face in her hands. "One very wise fool once told me that fear was the I quote "dumbest reason not to do stuff" and also that "worrying was suffering twice". I mean, seriously are you always thinking this much about everything, Black ?"
Sirius looked at her with a surprised gaze, before a slow smile spread on his lips. He took her hands into his and looked at them for a while "Yeah ? I think that dude must like...the smartest bloke alive. Is that what made you stuck with him ? Or maybe it was his killing bod'? Also heard he is smoking hot."
She freed one of her hand to give him a slap on the arm, and he laughed letting his head fall back. "I can't believe that I've just been such a wuss..." He then looked at her with shining eyes, every bit of excitement now shining. She almost let out a cry as he pulled her wrist letting her fall on his knees. "But you are right...I seem to have been caught...thinking. You think you can do something about that, girl ? Any ideas to make me stop for a while." he asked, a laugh in his voice and his each of his breath teasing hers.
"I don't seem to have very good ideas around you, Black."
"Admit it girl, you and I...it's a great idea. It would be quite unreasonnable to deny it. And we know that you are a very level-headed witch."
To be continued...
Let me know what you think it's always a pleasure !