A sixteen year old sighed upon entering a darkened common room, brushing his long fingers through his shaggy black hair.
"Lumos," a small feminine voice whispered from one corner of the room.
From the tip of the wand, a ball of light spread to reveal the red-haired girl in her nightshirt with a long red braid over her shoulder and her green eyes shining. It also shone onto a dark-haired boy with a sharp jaw and sharp gray eyes.
"Black." She called cooly.
"What the hell are you doing up, Evans?" The boy questioned.
"I'm a prefect, never knew patrol was such a horrid thing. How about you, why are you out so late after hours?"
"Fell asleep in the library."
"Yeah, right. Is that your explanation for the last seven times it's happened in the last two weeks?"
"C'mon, Evans, you know compulsive studying quite well." He smirked coldly and she was less that amused, "How d'you know I've been out?"
"I keep my sources secret."
"Lupin, dirty bas-"
"Watch it, Black!"
"Or you'll do what, mudb-- Evans? Take twenty house points?"
"You're such an asshole!" She said, disbelief edging her words, "Even after Remus told me how nice you were, how it was only an outward act. I actually believed him. But I always thought you really were a jerk."
"Believe your instincts," he said callously.
"Besides, I severely doubt taking house points would phase you. Ever since day one you've been pro-Slytherin, even now you're less vocal about it. You've been disowned, but honestly, once a Black, always a Black."
Sirius's eyes flashed dangerously, "Take it back!" he hissed, gripping his wand with his teeth gritted together.
"Dare I say, Black, are you threatening me?" She said, mock-disbelief adorning the warm corners of her face.
"What if I am!?" He questioned, wand ready, and suddenly that she was looking down a wand, her eyes widened in unmistakenable fear and he was taken aback at how totally innocent she looked.
Slowly, his grip loosened on the wand and he shoved it back into his cloak pocket, "S-s-sorry." He said, running a hand through his locks again.
"Black?" She asked genuinely and he looked up at her.
"Y'know the trouble with you, Evans? You can read everything from your eyes." And as soon as the warmth between them had been felt, he dropped his head away from her green eyes.
"So I've heard," she mumbled, a bit crestfallen by his lack of enthusiasm for conversation, "You weren't really in the library?" she prodded and he laughed huskily under his breath.
"Of course not."
"Can you tell me where you were?"
"No."
"Didn't think so."
"So what's my punishment, Miss Prefect? Dentention?"
"No."
"What?" he asked, finally looking up to study her face but instead was faced with the top of her red head.
"I'll let it slide. Just go to bed, Black. You have Remus's good faith in you to thank." She looked up, finally, and smiled. He returned the gesture and the two made their ways to the respective staircases to their dormitories.
"Evans?" He asked once he had reached the landing before the staircase spiraled.
"Yes?" She responded, poking her head round the corner.
"I was with my brother." He said lightly, looking her in the eyes, "he's bloody homesick, the git, and hates me more than anything cos I don't live in the house anymore. Usually one of his beloved cousins will stay with him, but Bella, the youngest, has begun dating some slime. Its better he's beating up on me than hexing the daylights out of his housemates."
Confusion was evidently etched onto her face of why he still concerned himself with the family he'd been disowned from the summer before.
"As you yourself said, once a Black, always a Black."
Author's note: You prolly need to read some more of my Blackfics (Breathing or Blackened) to get the characterization and why Sirius would call Lilly a mudblood. If you got it regardless, then nevermind. This is set like a week after my other fanfiction "Relations" though you wouldn't have to read it to tell. Short, huh? I've been writing Sirius... weirdly enough. He's one of my least favorite characters in cannon. Really. Ugh. But fannon Sirius is fun because he's horridly for the Black family and then learns Gryffs aren't too bad and gets disowned. This was inspired by this guy (haha) and his and my relationship - or lack thereof. That's where the 'good jaw' thing comes in. Mwah. I love that he goes back to be with Reggie, its so very not-right. The reason Sirius backed down was cos he was acting like too much of a Black, methinks, and it frightened him.
Review, please!