March 1975
"PADFOOT!"
Sirius looked up, startled by the furious shout.
"Missy?" Sirius asked as the dark-haired thirteen year old girl came storming up to him where he was lounging by the Great Lake, hazel eyes flashing with anger. He frowned.
"What's the matter with you?" He wondered aloud.
"That's my line!" Ari yelled back at him, surprising him with her anger as she came to a stop before him.
Ari Potter had a temper, there was no denying it and even she wouldn't deny it, but it wasn't like his or even James's. Sirius had a hot temper that flared and died fairly easily even if he rarely forgot or forgave; James was a little slower to anger, Sirius's best mate having more patience than Sirius ever could even if it was only by a few grains. Ari was definitely the most patient of the three, but that just meant that her anger was slower to rise. And of course, that meant that when it did burn, it was much harder to kill than Sirius's or James's; but never before had she ever turned her temper on him. Or any of the other Marauders, for that matter.
"How could you do that to Moony?"
"What'd I do?" Sirius asked, genuinely bewildered.
Ari's eyes narrowed into slits and she screamed at him, "You almost made him into a murderer, that's what you did, you prat!"
Sirius's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
"How did you hear about that?" He demanded and Ari shrieked, "What does it matter?!"
"Because no one's supposed to know!" Sirius yelled, standing up. "And if Snivellus is blabbing-"
"You'll try to get him killed again?" Ari yelled at Sirius. "What is wrong with you, Sirius? I knew you hated the guy and I'm not too fond of him myself, but I still wouldn't want to actually murder the guy! And I certainly wouldn't use Remus's monthly weakness to do it!"
Sirius was now gaping at her.
"Wait, you-you know about-?" Sirius began in renewed shock.
"His 'furry little problem'?" Ari snapped at him. "Of course I do, you dolt, you think you and James were the only ones clever enough to realize he disappeared every full moon? I figured it out ages ago!"
"So why didn't you say anything?" Sirius demanded and she yelled at him in a fury, "What does that matter right now?! Are you even sorry for what you did?"
"Ari, look, would you give it a rest? I didn't expect-" Sirius began, uncomfortable now.
But Ari gave him a withering look as she demanded, "Didn't expect what, Sirius? Didn't expect Snape to survive and tell the tale? I knew you could be mean but this, this is different! It's cowardly and cruel, and I would never have expected it from a Gryffindor, least of all you! Not to mention you're supposed to be Moony's friend. He trusted you with his secret and this is what you do?!"
"Hang on." Sirius snapped, growing angry. "Who do you think you are that you can yell at me and call me a coward? I already told James and Dumbledore and Moony that I'm sorry, I don't need to say it to you too! I was just angry that Snivellus wouldn't stop snooping around so I thought if I told him the truth by making it sound like a lie, he'd leave it alone! I never thought the idiot would actually try to follow Moony! I mean, what kind of guy goes looking for a werewolf?"
"The kind of guy who's been harrassed and bullied and cornered." Ari hissed back at him. "Don't look surprised, you know you're not entirely innocent in this stupid, childish feud you and James have with Snape. At least James has the excuse that he's jealous because Lily actually gets along with Snape while she hates James - what's your excuse?"
"Excuse me? Are you forgetting that this is the guy who made your life miserable and hexed you every time he could when you first got to Hogwarts?" Sirius demanded.
"Yeah, and he did that because he was getting back at you and James! Remember?" Ari yelled. "You're also to blame, and you pushed Snape enough to want to destroy you guys! Of course he was going to take any chance to discredit you, and you gave him the perfect opportunity knowing it could probably get him killed! Merlin, were you aiming for that all along?"
"I didn't think that far, all right?!" Sirius shouted back. "I was just angry with him, and I thought he'd back off! I wasn't trying to hurt Moony or even Snivellus, why else would I have told James or gone to Dumbledore?! I wasn't thinking-"
"You weren't thinking about the consequences." Ari finished, her voice icy. "When are you going to grow up, Sirius? I've defended you and James against Lily countless times but now I'm starting to see she might have a point. You're just a childish, selfish boy who doesn't know when playtime's over."
There was a deadly silence as the two faced each other, the only sound the lapping of the tiny waves that appeared on the surface of the Great Lake as the chilly Spring wind blew around them.
"Say that again." Sirius said quietly, his grey eyes dark with anger as he stared down at Ari. "Say that again, I dare you."
"You're a selfish boy who doesn't know when to grow up." Ari repeated hotly, her own hazel eyes hard as she glared right back at Sirius. "And I hate that about you."
"Yeah? Well, I pity you because you're a jealous little girl who can't tell when she's unwanted." Sirius replied harshly, the stinging hurt turning into equally stormy anger. "At least I know my friends like me and can forgive me when I make a mistake - but you? You're a spoilt little girl in her popular brother's shadow and one day, you're going to turn your snooty little nose around and you'll realize that you have no one who likes you."
"Are you sure that's not what you see when you look in the mirror?" Ari shot back.
Sirius's glare darkened and he hissed at her, "Get out of here, Potter, before I do something you'll regret."
"Don't worry, Black, I don't want to smell your foul stench either." Ari replied.
Sirius had come very close to hexing her as she walked away, the closest he'd ever come to harming Ari. Only the knowledge that she was James's sister, that James would kill him if he hurt her, and that he did still care about her, kept Sirius from raising his wand. Instead, he watched darkly as Ari strode away.
Ari was too angry to think as she stormed off, but even then she fought tears. That was the worst she'd ever fought with Sirius in the three years they'd known each other, and she somewhat regretted yelling the way she had. A tiny part of her considered turning around and going back to the boy whom she had grown to see as an almost brother, to ask forgiveness for the way she had lost herself to her temper and work things out.
But then the memory of the haunted boy sitting in the Hospital Wing, barely being reassured by James that he had done nothing wrong, that he was no monster, sprang to mind. Her anger toward the grey-eyed Pureblood who had caused that horrified look to appear in Ari's kind-hearted friend's eyes returned, and that anger and her own pride kept Ari's head high as she re-entered the castle, leaving the dark-haired boy behind.
Present
"Earth to Missy."
Ari blinked before she looked up to find Sirius staring at her with one eyebrow raised.
"Padfoot?" She asked, confused to see him, and he grinned.
"I've been told I'm dreamy, but I didn't think that was literal." He joked. "Did I amaze you with my beauty to the extent you floated off into a fantasy about me?"
"Right, maybe in your dreams." Ari snorted while Remus observed, "I don't think she even realized you'd come over and were talking with me, Padfoot."
"Ouch." Sirius pretended to hold a hand over his heart. "Double burn. I'd expect it from this sharp-tongued vixen, Moony, but I didn't think you'd betray me so. Who could not notice this handsome face?"
Remus laughed at Sirius's dramatics as the dark-haired teen tossed his head back with the back of his hand touching his forehead while his other hand continued to press against his heart. Ari smiled. She observed the way Sirius was looking so relaxed, his expression light and his eyes dancing, and she wondered, again, how she'd been able to hold her anger against him for an entire year. She knew the answer to that: she hadn't. But both she and Sirius had been far too proud to try and make amends when they'd returned from the summer. It hadn't been until the next summer, the one most recently passed, that they were finally able to move on and become friends again.
"Ari, you're drifting away again." Sirius snapped his fingers before her face and she blinked at him.
"Right… wait, what are you even doing here?" Ari asked, confused. "How are you here?"
"Finally, she asks." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Moony asked me to come by about an hour after he and Evans left the Tower. Said you would probably not want to stay at the party much longer."
Ari narrowed her eyes and looked at Remus, who smiled innocently when she said, "You know me so well."
"Of course I do - I have watched you for five years, Ari." Remus chuckled as he stood up.
"You don't know everything." Ari commented, sneaking a glance at Sirius as she thought back to their fight - their secret.
"Maybe not." Remus agreed. "But I know more than you think, Ari. You are, after all, very special to me."
That caught her by surprise and Ari stared at Remus.
"Really?" She asked, perking up and Remus nodded.
"Of course." He answered. "You are and always will be special to all of us."
Ari deflated slightly at his words - of course, he meant as James's sister. Sirius's words from the last year came back and although she knew they were words of anger that weren't any reflection of truth (just as hers had been), it still made her mood dip. Sirius seemed to notice something but oddly enough Remus didn't as he looked back over his shoulder and toward Slughorn's party.
"I should probably look for Lily." Remus added. "If I leave her to James's mercy for too long, she really will hate me for life. Sirius, would you mind walking Missy back to Gryffindor Tower? I'm hoping I can get James to walk Lily back with me to give him another chance… and hope he doesn't blow it."
"Sure." Sirius shrugged and Remus turned to Ari.
"You don't mind, right, Ari?" He asked and Ari smiled lightly.
"Not at all - and if anything, I should be thanking you for looking out for my brother even though I'm a terrible friend to Lily for not stopping you." Ari grinned.
Remus smiled back while Sirius chimed in, "But you're the best sister."
"I knew I liked you for a reason." Ari beamed, making both boys chuckle.
"I'll see you both later." Remus promised as he picked up his cloak.
"Cheers, Moony." Sirius called over his shoulder as he threw an arm around Ari and he began to walk them off.
"Bye, Moony. Don't let Lily kill James!" Ari added.
"No promises!"
Ari laughed at Remus's response before she and Sirius were rounding a corner and Remus disappeared from sight before he even re-entered Slughorn's office.
"So, what were you thinking about earlier?" Sirius asked curiously as they walked at a comfortable pace. Ari noticed he was purposefully matching his normally long strides to hers but Sirius didn't even seem to be conscious of the fact, which made her smile fondly as she mused how kind he really was underneath his sarcastic swagger.
"Hm?" Ari hummed, and Sirius explained, "You seemed really absorbed - thinking about me?"
He winked teasingly and Ari smiled.
"Actually, yes." She admitted and he looked surprised. "I was thinking of our fight last Spring."
Understanding crossed his face and Sirius went quiet while Ari took a deep breath and shifted out from under his arm.
"Look, Padfoot, I've been meaning to say the whole summer-" Ari began but Sirius cut her off.
"Don't say you're sorry, Ari. If anything, I'm sorry. I said some pretty bad things, things I didn't mean, when you were just telling me the truth."
"Now that's not true." Ari answered. "You weren't nearly as bad as I made you out to be, not even close. Yeah, what you did wasn't right, but you honestly weren't trying to cause trouble; not that kind of trouble. I shouldn't have said the things I did, but I was just so angry with you-"
"I was angry with myself." Sirius sighed. "I was so angry and I took it out on you. I saw the disappointment in your eyes, and I… I just snapped."
He looked down at her morosely and Ari shook her head.
"That past is past." She said firmly. "I don't hold anything you said against you. I just wanted to let you know, I am sorry for losing my temper with you when you didn't need me to be hounding you on top of everyone else."
"And I'm sorry for taking out my frustration with myself, on you." Sirius offered with a small smile. "Forgive me?"
"Like I said," Ari smiled back. "There's nothing to forgive."
The two friends grinned and continued, heading up the stairs toward Gryffindor Tower when Sirius suddenly stopped them.
"Whoops, look out." Sirius grabbed Ari and held her back. "Mistletoe."
Ari looked up in surprise to see the sprig of foliage was indeed floating above their heads dangerously.
Magicked mistletoe was unfortunately more of an inconvenience than it was a lucky charm. Many young girls who first found out about the spell the mistletoes at Hogwarts cast, thought it to be quite romantic and envisioned a scenario where they became caught with their crush and they ended up hopelessly in love.
More often than not, however, unfortunate students who were caught unawares ended up trapped beneath the seemingly innocent leaves, unable to get free unless a professor came along to free the poor souls or if the spell-bound pair kissed. Many a young girl's dream had been crushed by the awkwardness and it was actually amusing to see how many boys trooped away from mistletoes, awkwardly bro-coughing as they stepped away from whatever professor saved them while both avoided their best mate's eye for the rest of the day.
The one exception that students knew of was James Potter and Sirius Black. A rather determined fangirl had attempted to pull Sirius under a mistletoe back in his Third Year and Ari's Second. Unfortunately, the very startled Sirius had grabbed onto his best mate when he had been tugged so abruptly, and the two boys had ended up caught under the mistletoe instead. When they realized what had happened, both Sirius and James had laughed and - to the fangirl's and many watching students' mixed horror and awe - kissed each other soundly to break free of the spell.
Of course, the rumour mill swirled after that, especially when another of Sirius's fans started a rumour that Sirius had done the same with Remus not long after. Ari knew for a fact that Remus and James's first kisses had indeed been Sirius (all thanks to Sirius's wilder fans, all of whom gave up after Sirius made it obvious he'd rather kiss his best mates than any of them) but she also knew that neither her brother nor her secret crush had been Sirius's first kiss.
"Wow - thanks." Ari said now as she and Sirius stepped around the mistletoe, although she gave Sirius an odd look. "You keep an eye out for mistletoe?"
"Yeah." Sirius shrugged. "Only when I'm with you, though."
"Me?" Ari asked in surprise and Sirius nodded.
"Well, I know first kisses are supposed to be important to girls and… you know." Sirius shrugged again. "You're like my sister. I didn't think you'd want your first kiss to be with me, even if I'm dashingly good-looking."
He smirked as he spoke, but Sirius froze at Ari's next words.
"I've had my first kiss."
"What?' Sirius asked, shocked before his brotherly mantle was back on. "With who? You've never even had a boyfriend! When was this?! Don't say Diggory!"
Ari was looking extremely amused as she watched him while Sirius ranted, his protective brotherly instincts kicking in, and she couldn't help messing with him a little bit longer.
"Well, a lady never kisses and tells, Padfoot..." Ari began coyly.
Sirius wasn't the slightest bit amused, and he narrowed his eyes dangerously at the younger girl.
"Ari Potter, you tell me who it was," He demanded. "Or I will tell James and we'll both hunt him down."
"You can go ahead and tell James." Ari answered him frankly. "You two would never have the guts to go after the guy."
Sirius's eyes narrowed further at that and he cocked his head.
"Ari…" He said slowly. "Who was it?"
"Gideon Prewett."
At Sirius's stunned expression, Ari finally let loose her laughter.
"How?" Sirius finally managed to get out, feeling a mix of shock, horror and a twinge of amusement. The realization that Ari could have only been eleven years old at the time given that her first year was the one and only year she and Gideon were at Hogwarts together, left him torn between wanting to chase after the older male and hex him for daring to take advantage of James's little sister and his admiration of the older prankster who had taught him and James everything they knew. Well, everything Fabian and Gideon had known - James and Sirius reckoned they'd outdone their masters by the time they were fifteen. Even Remus had agreed it was undeniable by the time they entered sixth year.
"We got stuck under mistletoe and couldn't get out." Ari explained, wiping tears of mirth and having thoroughly enjoyed the expression on Sirius's face while it lasted. "I was just a First Year, obviously, but I'd snuck out after hours. Gideon was running from Filch after setting up another prank when we got caught. Obviously, we couldn't exactly call for a teacher."
She snorted just thinking about it.
"But it was a rather bad situation for an eleven year old girl to find herself in. I remember I almost started crying when we both realized he would have to kiss me if we wanted to walk away, but he was really nice about it. Said he was fine with getting caught if I really didn't want to kiss him, but… well, you can imagine me."
Sirius nodded despite his shell-shocked state. He could just picture young Ari on the verge of tears as any young girl about to lose her first kiss so unromantically would be but stubbornly unwilling to be caught out of bed after hours. Especially not if it got the school's resident troublemaker and her brother's hero into trouble too.
"After we escaped Filch, he told me I was the prettiest girl he ever kissed."
Ari laughed again as she remembered her first kiss fondly.
"I know he was lying, but it did help an eleven year old girl to laugh after losing her first kiss so anticlimactically."
"Huh." Sirius commented, still reeling from Ari's revelation.
But even he could see the humour, and as they resumed their walk back to Gryffindor Tower, he was smiling again although he couldn't quite stop a joke from passing his lips.
"Well, well, Missy, and to think we thought you were innocent. When really you were kissing seventeen year old guys at just eleven years of age - and they call me a player." Sirius smirked and Ari hit his shoulder.
"Oh, shut up." Ari replied fondly. "You are a player, even if the rest of the school doesn't actually know it."
And it was true - it was the general consensus at Hogwarts that, despite his aristocratic good looks and numerous admirers who would probably kill for a chance, Sirius Black never got involved with anyone. He had snogged a few girls over the years but it was always only once and never more. Being privy to his personal life, however, Ari knew better and she was aware that over the last two summers, Sirius had definitely hooked up with a few Muggle girls. Part of it was to spite his Pureblood parents (not that they knew; if they did, he would likely be dead) and part of it was because he was still a normal teenage boy with normal hormones and abnormally good looks.
But Sirius would jump off the Astronomy Tower before he risked a one-night stand with any Hogwarts girl - it would make his slightly madder fangirls think there was hope for them. And Sirius did not want to deal with them any more than he already had to. It was never something he had been interested in and given he had no urges to settle down any time soon, he was perfectly content with the school wondering if he was either asexual or gay and in love with one (or all) of his best mates.
"Besides," Ari added slyly as Sirius's barking laugh faded into a chortle. "You're one to talk about innocence, Sirius."
"Come off it - everyone knows that me and James were a joke."
Sirius rolled his eyes, but he froze when Ari said in a sing-song voice, "I wasn't talking about James."
Sirius narrowed his eyes at her and he pulled her to another stop just outside the Fat Lady's portrait.
"How did you know about that?" Sirius asked.
"Know about what?" Ari asked innocently. "That you kissed Letitia Scamander in your Second Year?"
Sirius's lips twitched, and he looked like he was fighting a smile as he said in a neutral tone, "James wouldn't have told you, not his sweet, innocent baby sister. And I trust Moony and Wormtail with bigger things."
"You're right - none of them told." Ari confirmed, her hazel eyes sparkling with mirth. "But if you think the hidden passageway behind the tapestry on the fifth floor is a secret, then you are quite sadly mistaken."
"How did I not see you?" Sirius wondered with a slight frown and Ari laughed.
"Dear Padfoot." She chuckled as she gave the password to the Fat Lady, disappointing the painting as the lady was forced to swing open and unable to listen to the rest of their conversation. "Let's just say, to escape Filch without my brother's cloak, it was a very good thing I was with a seventh year Gryffindor who knew how to cast Disillusionment Charms."
Sirius froze halfway through the portrait hole and his jaw dropped when Ari added with a barely concealed laugh, "And let's just say, a seventh year Gryffindor's empty reassurances on my so-called beauty was not the only thing that cheered me up after my rather depressing first kiss."
"I knew Gideon was the one who jinxed me that night!" Sirius exclaimed as he finally followed Ari into the Common Room amidst her laughter. "And you let him?"
"Hey, I had just lost my first kiss for a prank!" Ari pointed out. "The fact that you, a thirteen year old boy, got interrupted from snogging a fifteen year old girl because you suddenly began levitating was quite entertaining. Besides, as far as Gideon's pranks went, that was extremely harmless."
"You're lucky I like you." Sirius smirked although he was also laughing goodnaturedly as he recalled his embarrassing but hilarious first kiss. Besides, the girl had found the whole thing endearing and snogged him again in the air - pity that it was that incident that later made him realize he never wanted to hook up with a Hogwarts girl if he wanted his insane fans to leave him alone.
"Or what?" Ari scoffed with a cheeky smile back at him. "Anyway, you have to admit that now at least you can appreciate the joke. Otherwise you'd just be stuck with a memory of a first kiss with a fangirl that led to the whole fiasco that ended with you kissing my brother and Moony."
"True." Sirius grimaced at the memory.
Letitia had been sweet but not too bright and she'd slipped to a friend that Sirius was a swoony kisser. He doubted it - he had been thirteen - but the girl had been infatuated with him so she might have played the kiss up in her memory. Either way, the rumour had quickly spread amongst his fanclub which had led to the awful Christmas the following year when his fans attempted to snatch his lips in any desperate attempt. Thank Merlin James and Remus were quite cool headed, and Sirius thanked the stars further that he'd never found himself in the predicament with Peter. Collected, his mousey friend was not, not to mention Peter would definitely overthink anything that happened between them even if it had been a joke.
Shaking his head to clear away thoughts on his more dim-witted friend, Sirius looked up as Ari moved to the stairs up to the girls' dormitory while calling to him, "Well, I'm heading to bed. Goodnight, Padfoot."
"Night, Missy." Sirius called back absently, before another thought occurred to him. "Oh and hey, Ari?"
"Yeah?" Ari asked, pausing up the stairs to look back down at him.
Sirius's face softened as he looked up at where she stood, bathed in moonlight that made her curled ebony hair shine and her pale English skin glow. In the amber-coloured dress that looked like liquid gold on fire, she appeared like a Gryffindor goddess.
Sirius's smile was one that none outside his closest friends saw on the resident jokester as he said, "You're the prettiest girl, ever."
Ari blinked before she blushed as Sirius added sincerely, "And you look beautiful tonight."
Ari beamed at the compliment.
"Thanks, Padfoot." She replied with a similarly fond and a little shy smile. "And you know you're handsome. Always."
He grinned and winked, making them both laugh. Sirius watched her turn and continue up the steps to the girls' dormitories before he made his own way back to his room. And it was only when she was undressing to get into bed that Ari only realized that she hadn't at all minded the fact that Remus had left her to Sirius to walk back to the Tower.