W00t! A whole entire chapter! I lost the last few pages, so I just rewrote the chapter. I spent like 4 hours toiling over it, after reading 600 pages in the last book. Fun, fun. I really should get going on my essay for lit…it's a bit tacky and I took a few plot shortcuts (this chapter, I mean), but other than that, it should be fine.
So read and review ppl, read and review!
Chapter Ten :: Steorra/Sirius
Steorra ran up and down the corridors as she and Sirius made their way down to the Gryffindor common room. Save for the holes in her back, which were heavily swathed in bandages, there was nothing a little help from Madam Pomfrey couldn't heal. The bandages wrapped around her upper torso was tight, cutting off her circulation, which she supposed was a good thing, as that meant the bleeding would stop. She occasionally ran around Sirius and jumped on him to make him give her a piggy-back ride for a flight of stair.
"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" Sirius asked, "You seem a bit…hyper…" They'd reached the Gryffindor common room, Sirius panting a little from the effort of carrying Steorra up the final two flights of stairs required to reach the tower.
"Oh, yeah, fine. I might have taken a bit too much Tylenol, but I'm fine other than that."
"Tylenol?"
"Muggle painkillers. Really quite useful. Don't know what I'd do without them," Steorra waltzed around the common room, a phantom in the last dying glows of the fire.
"Pain?"
"Oh, yes. You wouldn't believe the pain I'm in most of the time. You really should think about therapy and taking a load off. Any mental pain from you equals physical pain for me. But nothing a bit of Tylenol can't handle," Steorra waltzed into a large armchair by the fire, looking a little more sober now.
Sirius reflected up what Steorra had just said. He was happy most of the time, wasn't he? Yes, there was the loads of crap from his family for not being in Slytherin.
"Gryffindor's nothing but a load of mudbloods," his mother had told him and tried to get him a transfer into Slytherin. Thankfully, Dumbledore had refused.
"That stupid old ass, it's about time he dropped dead," Mrs. Black had said after that.
But other than that, he was fine. He had loyal friends who would stand by him no matter what, astonishingly good looks (Sirius smiled at this), and a family, a weird family, but at least a family. And there was the Black family name, not to mention the seemingly endless Black family fortune to back him. Sirius had it made. So what was Steorra rambling on about? Must be the Tylenlol. But wasn't he the reason she was on Tylenol in the first place? Sirius didn't want Star to be in pain, especially if Sirius seemed to be the source of it all.
"Go to bed, Siri," Steorra said, breaking the silence, "Don't worry about what I just said. The drugs really go to my head sometimes." She trudged tiredly up the stairs and into the girl's dormitories.
Sirius roused Remus, Peter and as many of the Gryffindor Quidditch team as he could find before falling into bed himself, not realizing what a long day it had been. So many events had occurred, each intertwined with the others. At that moment, Sirius wanted to fall asleep and never wake up again. He turned over and slammed his fit into the stone wall. Damn! This wasn't fair! Not at all! He was only seventeen! He just wanted to get laid and have a good time! He didn't want to be some stupid chose idiot who'd wander off and get himself killed for the greater good. Why him? What had he done to deserve this load of shit dumped on him?!
A cold hand touched his arm. Sirius turned to see Steorra silhouetted in the weak light of dawn. She laid down next to him and wrapped her arms around his torso. Sirius tensed, then relaxed and felt calmness wash over him. His eyelids felt heavy and roped down. He was asleep before he realized what was going on.
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Sirius was rudely smacked awake. He groaned and opened his eyes, squinting at the mid-morning sun streaking through the windows. The dormitory was empty save for Steorra, who lay beside him, sprawled and taking up most of the bed. It was her arm that seemed to have accidentally fonged him across the face. A giant wet stain was on her pillow, where her drool had gathered.
"Star, get up," Sirius prodded her with his foot as he clambered out of bed, stripping as he headed for the showers.
"Mmmfhmm," was all that came out of Steorra's mouth as she pulled a pillow over her head.
"Hey, come on, Sleeping Beauty, it's 11:30," Sirius said as he doubled back for some towels.
Steorra peaked out from under her pillow, "It's just Transfiguration. Do we really need to know how to changed books into vases?"
"No, but do you really want detention with McGonagall for the rest of the year?"
"You've got a nice butt," Steorra giggled as she buried herself under the covers again.
"And here I thought you were a morning person," Sirius sighted and stepped into the showers.
When Steorra did wake up, it was being bodily dragged out of bed by Sirius, subsequently also receiving a large bruise on her hip. After laying, apparently passed out on the floor for a few minutes, Steorra stood up and made her way to her own dorms, her head groggy as if she was hung over.
Sirius stood waiting for her at the entranceway of the common room. They set off for Transfiguration at a brisk walk, remembering that class was when all this fiasco started and at the same time not wanting to risk more detention than necessary.
Steorra pushed open the door to the class only to find no one there but McGonagall. The hole in the floor had been seamlessly repaired.
"Ah, Ming, Black. I see you two have finally decided to attend classes. I think it shall be…a month's detentions should do it." She said.
"But no one else is here either," Steorra protested, dreading the thought of missing a month's worth of Quidditch practice. James would have her skin. Her heart sunk at the thought of James. Whatever Dumbledore's plan may have been, she desperately hoped that it worked.
"That's because they're all in the infirmary seeing to Mr. Potter. If you two had been on time, you would be up there with them," Professor McGonagall replied curtly.
Sirius and Star stood unmoving.
"Well, don't just stand there gawking, you tow. Go up there and see to James," Professor McGonagall shooed them out of the room.
Steorra and Sirius set off at a run for the infirmary, their heavy bags clanking painfully at their sides. There's more bruises, Steorra thought darkly.
They arrived to find the infirmary crowded and filled to the brim; a very indignant Madam Pomfrey flittering about the edges, trying unsuccessfully to quiet everyone down.
"Well, really, now. You lot aren't the only ones in this infirmary. There are others who need silence and sleep," she tried to shout.
Steorra and Sirius forced their way to the center of the crowd, where James sat up on the bed, propped up by some pillows, looking a bit pale, but otherwise fine. Not to mention at least awake. Lily sat at the foot of the bed, her hand clasped tightly over James', looking very happy indeed. Someone, probably the Gryffindor Quidditch team had managed to steal a Snitch and it flittered over everyone's heads, creating a constant, droning buzz. Remus sat by the bed railing on the ground, head drooping and lightly dozing. Peter was dead asleep at his side, his tiny form seemed even smaller curled up into a ball.
Steorra threw her arms around James and started sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh, I'm sorry, James," she managed between heart-wrenching, heavy sobs and the spasmodic paroxysms that shook her body. "I'm sorry, I couldn't control it...it's the blood." James was taken aback by this and patted her back awkwardly.
Sirius blanched as he saw bright red tears spring from Steorra's eyes, a bright red stain covered James' chest from where the tears had fallen. Sirius sat down beside James and pulled Steorra up, trying to cover up the crimson tears. "Now's not the time," he whispered into her ear, wiping away the tears with his sleeve, thankful that his robes were black. James realized this, knotted his brows in confusion, and pulled his covers up to cover the stain. Madam Pomfrey had finally been heard as she walked around, whacking everyone over the head with a broom. Most filed out of the room. The Gryffindor Quidditch Team lingered for a bit before finally being shooed out. James put on his sweet act and persuaded Madam Pomfrey to let Sirius, Lily, and Steorra stay. Peter and Remus were carried off to other beds. Steorra wondered what made them so tired.
"What the hell was that?" James asked as soon as he made sure no one was within hearing range, and looked at the dried tear streaks plastered to Steorra's cheeks.
"Tears...I guess," Sirius answered slowly.
"Of course," Lily said, "That's why that one night with the...Marie thing, there was blood smeared all over her but minimal amount of blood on the...body. It's because it was Star's blood."
"Come again?" James asked.
Sirius silently shook his head at Lily, who was about to launch into a huge explanation. "It's...it's a genetic defect thing...not enough vitamins, that kind of thing..."
James didn't seem convinced but didn't pursue the topic further.
"Good to see you up and at it again," Sirius smiled at James, wondering how he'd react. "So how'd they get you to wake up?" Sirius asked in a casual, off-handed way.
"Well...there was an awful lot of people shouting my name. I suppose I had no choice but to come back," James answered.
"That's it? That was Dumbledore's wonderful plan?" Sirius sounded incredulous.
"Yeah, basically."
They chatted some more. The subject of Sirius and Lily's visit to James' mind was not broached. The whole time, Steorra cried, uncontrollably, blaming herself and drowning in guilt (quite uncharacteristic of her). Lily did what she could, but it didn't help much. Neither did Tylenol. There was no end in sight to the tears. They were the only ones in the room now.
Finally, an exasperated James sighed. "Star, shut up, will ya? I'm expecting a full two hours of Quidditch practice tonight and I can't have you in pieces like that."
Steorra stopped her sobbing and looked up, but not before messily wiping her nose with Sirius' robe. "Don't worry," she said miserably, not noticing Sirius' disgusted look on his face, "I've got a month of detention with McGonagall to serve."
"Wha--what?!" James sputtered, "a whole friggin' month? I haven't even managed that."
"Yeah, well, I was tired, and I didn't wake up until 11:30," Steorra shrunk back a little, "and Siri here did the same," she added quietly, as if that would make everyone all right-- that Sirius did it too.
James looked from one to the other, and a sly smile crept across his face. "Wait...don't tell me..."
"No, it wasn't anything like that," Steorra turned a nice shade of Christmas red, "I mean yeah, we slept in the same bed, but--"
"You guys slept in the same bed?" Lily's eyes lit up.
"But nothing happened," Steorra protested.
"You're telling me, that you put a pretty girl into bed with this sexaholic, and nothing happened?" Lily guffawed in disbelief.
"Well, it's true..." Steorra managed weakly.