A/N: Here's another quick one for you, it's the second half of the chapter I posted on Monday. It's one of those annoying things where the chapter seemed far too long as a whole, but now I've split it in two, both chapters feel really short! What do you guys prefer, longer or shorter chapters?
Thank you thank you thank you to the lovely people (malfoy-weasley1959, MYPO, and Plastz9219) that reviewed my last chapter! It's so good to hear that you're enjoying the rewrite - I was pretty nervous about putting it out there again. When I first started posting this fic back in 2018, I had mixed reviews on Aurelia's characterisation and when I read the story back I realised I'd made her out to be a bit of a wet lettuce, which was definitely not my intention. So I'm now trying to convey more clearly that she has her own thoughts and motivations but that she also feels responsible for a lot of people, and we'll be exploring how that holds her back in future chapters. She's a woman who has grown up in a very traditional patriarchal environment where her perceived life's worth is placed on marriage and motherhood; Aurelia has been raised to prioritise other's needs before her own without question or recognition that sometimes it's okay to look out for number one.
It's something I don't think Sirius really understands at this point in the story, which is partly why he gets so frustrated with Aurelia for some of the decisions she makes. I like to think that she and Sirius are actually quite similar in terms of being headstrong, it's just that their loyalties lie in very different places. Or so they think.
Anyway, here's to chapter six! Next update will be on Sunday. Have a great week, all :)
Chapter Six
"Waiting for me, little Lia?" Regulus' voice made Aurelia jump up from her spot on one of the sofas in the Slytherin common room where she'd been waiting for the team to return from their quidditch match.
"Reggie!" She squeaked, enveloping him in an excited hug. "Well done, you were amazing!" Regulus had caught the snitch, leading to their team winning the match 170-90. It was lucky that he'd caught the snitch at the point he did, for the Gryffindors had taken advantage of the Slytherin keeper being out of action and scored a further six goals.
They took a seat as the rest of the house fussed over the rest of the team and a recently healed Emmett, congratulating them on their win. Emmett was enjoying the crowd that had gathered around him as he began to describe his fight with Sirius; they hung off every malicious word like bats to a tree.
"-hit him so hard his ribs cracked, he cried like a little girl after that, begged me to stop!"
"Brilliant!" Called one of the Slytherins.
"What happened after that?"
"Managed to kick him in the skull didn't I, pretty difficult considering how fast we were falling-"
"He's disgusting!" Aurelia spat. She turned away and took a long breath as a wave of nausea threatened to turn into a retch. Everyone had seen the fight from the stands, they had clearly been shouting at each other, although no one could hear what they were saying as the wind was too strong. Then all of a sudden Sirius had lunged on Emmett and the two began punching the living daylights out of each other.
"I doubt it was as bad as he's making out," Regulus reassured, taking each of Aurelia's hands in turn and uncurling them gently, "Sirius can hold his own in a fight."
Aurelia sighed deeply, eventually pulling her gaze from the fire and onto Regulus. "What were they even fighting about though? It must have been bad for him to attack Emmett like that!"
Regulus shrugged. "How should I know?"
"Reg!" Aurelia widened her eyes imploringly. "I saw you flying beneath them! Surely you heard something?"
He exhaled slowly, his fingers playing with the ends of her hair absent-mindedly as he weighed up his options.
"Reggie, please?" She whined.
"Fine," he sighed. "But I don't want you to get…carried away with this information, alright?"
"Alright," she agreed slowly, eyeing him with apprehension.
"Emmett was uh- showing off, so to speak."
"Showing off? About what?"
Regulus' jaw clenched. "About you. About how you didn't follow Sirius when he…" he tailed off, it was still painful for him to talk about.
"Riiight," Aurelia said slowly. The fact that she hadn't followed Sirius wasn't exactly news, so she didn't know why he would react so badly to Emmett's taunts. "I don't get it," she added when he didn't continue.
Regulus sighed. "Well he was saying all that and then he was showing off about what happened in my father's study, you know, with you and the Mulcibers."
"I remember, thanks," Aurelia snapped. She and Regulus had never discussed what had happened, but she knew he would've found out after the Black's sent her home. It was an uncomfortable topic for them both. At least Regulus had the good grace to look ashamed on behalf of his family.
Embarrassed tears began to well up in Aurelia's eyes. She glared at the back of Emmett's head, hoping it would start smoking and then there'd be a big hole where her laser vision had been focused. Maybe it could burn out the part of his brain that made him an arsehole? Just a thought.
"Come here," Regulus commanded, opening his arms for her to snuggle close. He pulled a blanket over them and held her tightly, trying to ignore Emmett as he continued bragging about how he'd mutilated his brother.
"Is Sirius okay?" Aurelia asked after a while.
"He's fine. He'll be in the hospital wing tonight but Madam Pomfrey will sort him out. No need for you to worry your pretty little head about it," he attempted to comfort, but his tone was forced. Aurelia hugged him tighter.
"Lia?" Regulus asked after ten minutes had passed.
"Mmhmm?" She mumbled, her eyes growing heavy against his chest.
"Don't visit him. I'll deal with Emmett, but I can't risk anyone seeing you if you go to the hospital wing." He paused for a moment before adding, "promise me?"
Aurelia sighed heavily, wishing Regulus hadn't mentioned it. "I promise."
If one thing was true of all Slytherins, it was that they only kept their promises when it suited them.
It didn't suit Aurelia.
She stood outside the doors of the Hospital Wing; she'd been there for ten minutes already but couldn't muster up enough courage to go inside. After privately berating herself a few more times for ignoring Regulus' advice, she pushed the doors open and sneaked inside, praying that there wouldn't be anyone else in there that would recognise her. Luckily, there was only one other patient in the ward aside from Sirius: a first year Hufflepuff who was chatting to her friend who had come to visit; neither of them noticed her enter.
Sirius lay perfectly still, he was propped up in bed and had a magazine in his lap but he wasn't reading it, instead he just stared blankly out of the window opposite. She walked over to him tentatively and coughed when she was close, blushing when his eyes snapped to her and widened with surprise.
"Peach? What are you doing here?"
She blushed again, feeling stupid for thinking he'd want to see her, but managed to mumble, "I've got a free period before Charms, thought I might come and see how you are."
"I see," he said expressionlessly. He stared at the wall in front of him, not giving away anything further.
"So um… How are you? You look pale." She pressed her hand to his forehead gently and her brow furrowed as she examined him.
"I'm just tired."
Aurelia busied herself with brushing his hair out of his face, leant closer to him so that the Hufflepuffs wouldn't hear her and spoke softly, "Reg told me about what happened with you and Emmett."
"I think the whole school saw what happened, Peach," he grumbled, his eyes closing as she continued to stroke his hair, "it's not exactly a secret."
"No," she whispered, "he heard you both shouting!"
Sirius didn't answer straight away, but when he did it was with his eyes still closed. "He did huh? And what do you think about that?"
She sighed and stopped stroking his hair, causing him to open his eyes reluctantly. "I think that you're incredibly stupid," his jaw stiffened, "because you could've killed yourself, jumping off your broom like that!" she added quickly. He looked unsure of her and she realised that she'd have to elaborate. "But I am grateful…in a weird kind of way."
He chuckled weakly, the gesture bringing some colour back to his face. "Well that fits I suppose, we have a weird kind of relationship."
Aurelia didn't smile as he did though. "That looked painful, when you hit the ground. I'm surprised you're not in St Mungo's."
"Been worrying about me, have you?" He asked with a wink.
It had the desired effect: she laughed loudly. "I mean, how could I not? I need you to bring my Transfiguration grade up, remember?"
He smiled. "Nah it wasn't too bad, the ground was soft from all the rain."
Aurelia rolled her eyes. "Alright, big man," she teased. She took a seat on the edge of his bed and fished around in her robe pocket, pulling out a small envelope. "Here," she said, giving it to him.
He opened it to find a bit of card folded in half with a sketch of a motorbike on the front. He smiled; he used to harp on about motorbikes to her for hours on end, and although she was never too sure about what their function was or why muggles loved them, she had always tried to take an interest.
"Just a card," Aurelia said with a shrug, "you can put it with the others." She stood up to go.
He flipped the card open and an old polaroid fell out. It was a photograph of them from a night they had spent in his house over the summer between their fifth and sixth years.
"I didn't know you still had pictures?"
She shifted uncomfortably but tried to look unaffected. "Nicked a bunch from your house before they chucked me out," she shrugged as if to say 'no big deal'.
He looked back down at the picture, the mini versions of themselves moving between forced smiles and looking down at the ring on Aurelia's hand. "What happened to the ring?" He asked, looking back up at her; he hadn't seen her wear it since that summer.
"Dunno, haven't seen it in a while. Your mum probably sent Kreacher to steal it back."
Sirius scoffed, his grey eyes rolling. "Nice to know you kept a close eye on it, clearly meant a lot."
"My bad." Her tone making it clear it wasn't a big loss. "Anyway," she said, sounding bored, "just wanted to check you're not dead. Should be time for dinner soon, catch you later." And she disappeared as quickly as she had come.
"Bye!" He called back lamely, his attention still on the photograph still in his lap as he recalled the events leading up to it being taken.
"Sirius?" Aurelia called from the stairway of 12 Grimmauld Place. The door to his room clicked open and soft footsteps became louder as she approached his bed; it creaked slightly as she sat down beside him. "Why are you hiding up here? Your mother's looking for you!"
He cocked his brow in a most sarcastic manner at her words, arms folded across his chest in annoyance. "That's precisely why I'm up here."
"Ah," she said shortly. "Well you won't be able to hide for much longer, why don't you come down with me now? Lucius and the Lestranges are here, and your cousins too, we should have enough numbers to play a game of Quidditch?"
Sirius huffed deeply. She always managed to find a way to make him be sociable with his loathsome relatives over the summer break.
"Fine, I'll come."
She grinned and grabbed his hands, pulling him off the bed with a great heave and then attempting to drag him towards the door.
"Wait! Wait a minute, Peach," he said reluctantly, pulling a small satin box from his pocket and pressing it into her hands. She just looked at him in confusion. "Mother will want to see it," he said with a shrug, confusing her further. "Just open it!"
She complied, mouth falling open as she gazed down at a delicate ring formed by two intertwining strands of platinum and sprinkled with an array of twinkling cyan-blue diamonds.
"Sirius," she breathed, "is this-"
"A promise ring?" He finished. "Yeah. Mother wanted you to have one of the family rings but they're all pretty hideous so I bought that one for you instead."
She stared down at it again, hardly able to believe her eyes. Carefully, she lifted it from its cushioned casing and slipped it onto the fourth finger of her left hand, admiring how it glittered even in the low light of Sirius' room. "I don't know what to say," she said eventually, looking up at Sirius who'd been watching her curiously. "It's-it's-"
"It doesn't mean anything, don't worry." Sirius cut in. "It's just to get my bloody psycho of a mother off my back."
"Right...yes of course, it doesn't mean anything." She stood up quickly and made a show of brushing the creases from her dress in an attempt to hide her blatant hurt. However, as always, Walburga managed to make an appearance at the most inconvenient point. Her lips pursed into a thin line as she entered the room, she normally chose to avoid it and had been blissfully unaware of the posters of muggle girls and motorbikes slapped onto the walls. Sirius smirked at her reaction, silently enjoying his victory. That was until she spotted the ring on Aurelia's finger.
"Oh excellent!" She squawked. "You like the ring then, dear?" She smiled slyly at her son, whose previous mirth had been wiped from his face.
"Yes of course it's beau-"
"Kreacher!" She screeched, not bothering to hear the end of Aurelia's sentence. "Fetch me the camera, I need to take a picture of the happy couple."
Why had she given him this? It couldn't exactly be the nicest photo of them she owned, especially if she'd found any of the ones hidden in his bedroom - those were all shots of carefree games and smiles.
Turning the photograph back around, he examined Aurelia. She was standing arm in arm with him; though while he was looking around, irritated and desperate to leave, she was looking directly at him. And unless his recent blow to the head had made him completely mad, he was sure she was looking at him with an expression akin to want or longing… Was she trying to tell him something?
No.
He almost laughed at his own stupidity, it was just a random photo. Deciding he'd probably drunk too much anti-paralysis potion, he settled down into his pillows and closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift into a hazy slumber and forget any notions of hidden meanings.
The bell signalling that it was time for dinner had only just rung by the time Aurelia reached the Great Hall, meaning first dibs on the best bits. Result.
She'd just swung her legs over a bench at the bottom of the long Slytherin house table when her chirpy friend from Astronomy came bouncing up to her. "Hey Aurelia!"
Aurelia couldn't help but smile at her friend, Primrose, she was just that kind of person that would light up a room. "Alright, Prim? Astronomy isn't till later you know?"
Prim waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah, I know," she said, distracted. "No, we're having a party next Friday to celebrate the end of the term, wanna come?"
The Ravenclaws usually threw a pretty good party and Aurelia got on quite well with most of the seventh years, having attended a number of their parties by now. Why not? "Sounds fun, who's going?"
"Oh just the upper year Ravenclaws and some other randoms, should be mainly in-house." Prim smiled.
Aurelia laughed. "Love that I'm one of those 'randoms', but yeah sounds good."
"Amazing! I can't wait!" She did a little jump of excitement to prove her point. "Anyway, I need to go find Henry and the guys, we need to figure out what we're doing for drinks. See you later?"
Aurelia nodded and waved her friend off. She hadn't really got to know Primrose properly until fourth year, when she'd plonked herself next to Aurelia in Astronomy because she was avoiding her then-boyfriend, Henry, another seventh year Ravenclaw and the captain of the quidditch team. Prim had spent the entirety of the lesson venting about how all Henry could talk about was quidditch and how he'd never ask how her day had been or comment on her appearance, and Aurelia had kind of been forced to be friends with her after that. It was nice, she didn't have many proper friends.
