Sirius looked around at all of his friends and then dashed out of the Great
Hall after her. He found Auria in the classroom they usually snuck out to.
She was standing by the window looking out at the lake, tears streaming
down her face. Sirius silently opened the door and closed it behind him
with a small click. At the sound of the door Auria spun around to look at
her intruder. As she gazed at him Sirius noticed that her eyes were filled
with a sadness deeper then he had ever seen.
"It's my fault he's dead!" she suddenly screamed, grabbing a chair and throwing it across the room. It splintered into several pieces as it hit the blackboard with a loud crash. "I should have known Snape would do something this mean, especially after he gave Voldemort the information needed to kill my father. He probably asked Voldemort to kill Brendan," she continued between sobs.
Sirius cautiously made his way over to her, afraid that she might throw another chair. When Auria buried her face in her hands and began to kneel down Sirius rushed over and wrapped his arms around her.
"Shhhh, shhhhh" he said smoothing down her hair. "This was just an unlucky coincidence, Snape didn't have anything to do with it."
"Yes he did" Auria said, pulling away. "I told him all about Brendan when we wrote to each other last summer."
"How could you be so stupid?" Sirius screamed suddenly. "You knew that he was obsessed with the Dark Arts and probably in a league with He-Who-Must- Not-Be-Named. What did you do, tell him all your deepest secrets over the course of a month?" he ended in a sarcastic tone.
Auria just stared at him in shock She decided that now might no be the best time to mention her insulting letter to Voldemort.
"Next time you should be more careful who you tell your secrets to" he yelled. "How come Snivellus, who you only talked to for a month, knows more about you then I do huh? I only found out about Brendan a few weeks ago."
Auria looked at the floor and shrugged.
"Then Brendan did die because of you, because you were stupid enough to trust a Dark Arts loving Slytherin with your secrets" Sirius said cruelly. He gave Auria one last angry look before stomping out of the room.
After he left Auria just stood there staring at the door. Finally, after several minutes she sunk to the floor and sobbed.
Auria had never felt worse or more alone in all her life. One of her good friends was dead because of her, and she didn't even have Sirius' shoulder to cry on.
"Why, why did I tell Snape all those things? Sirius is right, I am stupid," she thought to herself. "But why did Sirius yell at me, I really don't need him to be angry at me right now. That stupid git" she said out loud as her grief turned to anger. "He's still jealous that I talked to Snape, so instead of being here with me now, he's probably off complaining to James that Snape knows more about me then he does. Well it serves him right that he knows less. Some boyfriend he's being right now."
However, Auria's anger passed and was once again replaced with morning and guilt. No matter how much she thought about hating Snape or being angry with Sirius, the knowledge that Brendan's death was her fault, would not go away. Auria sat on the floor of the classroom crying and beating the ground until she ran out of tears and her fists were bruised. Just as the moon was fading below the horizon, her sobs stopped and she lay down on the floor exhausted.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was the pain in her side that woke Auria up the next morning. She forced her puffy eyes open and looked around. In a wave of sorrow, she suddenly remembered the events of the previous night. Auria moaned and covered her eyes with her hand. A moment later a warm hand pulled hers away from her eyes and gently squeezed it. Auria looked up and found herself gazing into Sirius' gentle brown eyes. In a sudden flash of anger she let go of his hand and sat up. Sirius turned away and looked at the ground.
Flexing her stiff back muscles Auria took in her surroundings. She was still lying on the floor of the classroom, but she was now covered by a heavy blanket her and there was a pillow behind for her head. Glancing over a Sirius, she saw that he had his homework set up beside her and to his right lay a plate of French toast.
"What are you doing here?" she asked softly.
"I wanted to talk to you as soon as you woke up" he replied still not looking at her.
"Well I'm up now" she said hotly.
Sirius took a deep breath and looked into her eyes.
"I'm so sorry about last night. I acted like such an ass" he confessed. "I should never have yelled at you, or blamed you for Brendan's death, and I definitely shouldn't have left you here alone,"
"Especially when I needed you the most," she retorted, her eyes filling with tears again.
"I know," he said sounding ashamed and then very quickly blurted out, "I don't think you're stupid, I don't blame you for his death and I am jealous of Snape. I'm so sorry, please forgive me."
Auria's eyes bored into him.
"That was so selfish of me, to get angry at you for telling Snape things you haven't told me. Auria I'm sorry" he continued, his voice cracking at the end.
He looked up and met her eyes. To Auria's shock she found that his eyes were filled with tears.
"I'll do anything to make it up to you, just please, don't hate me, don't break up with me" he whispered desperately.
Auria looked away as a tear ran down her cheek. It was a long time before Sirius finally got an answer.
"I don't hate you and I won't break up with you" she replied, fidgeting with the edge of the blanket. "But I'm still mad at you. You said some very mean things that you can never take back, or make up with some French toast. While I admit it was a mistake, I'm not going to apologize for talking to Snape over the summer, no matter how much you hate him."
Sirius nodded.
"You were right, I should never have told him so much, but I did it because I thought that if he had a friend maybe he'd be a little nicer. You guys make his life miserable and you're so mean to him all the time. However, now I don't really care what you do to him. But in general, you have to be nicer to people Sirius, you and James don't rule the school" she continued coldly.
Sirius simply nodded again.
"I have to go" Auria said suddenly, standing up.
"It wasn't your fault you know" Sirius said gently. "Snape convinced you to trust him and he broke your trust."
"And for that he is going to pay dearly" she said darkly. Auria walked towards the nearest window and opened it.
"Wait" Sirius called quickly. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Auria turned around and looked at him. "Yes, there is one thing."
"Name it" he said brightly.
"Don't ever call me stupid again" she replied in a threatening tone. Just as she turned back towards the window Sirius jumped up and grabbed her arm.
"Auria, I'm really sorry," he said looking into her eyes.
"So am I," she whispered. The instant Sirius let go of her arm she changed into a phoenix, jumped onto the windowsill and flew away.
Sirius remained standing there, gazing out the window, long after Auria had disappeared from sight. He kept cursing himself for being so mean and selfish. Sirius would have given everything he owned to take back what he had said. When the sun reached its peak he turned and left the room, wondering if things between him and Auria would ever be the same again.
"It's my fault he's dead!" she suddenly screamed, grabbing a chair and throwing it across the room. It splintered into several pieces as it hit the blackboard with a loud crash. "I should have known Snape would do something this mean, especially after he gave Voldemort the information needed to kill my father. He probably asked Voldemort to kill Brendan," she continued between sobs.
Sirius cautiously made his way over to her, afraid that she might throw another chair. When Auria buried her face in her hands and began to kneel down Sirius rushed over and wrapped his arms around her.
"Shhhh, shhhhh" he said smoothing down her hair. "This was just an unlucky coincidence, Snape didn't have anything to do with it."
"Yes he did" Auria said, pulling away. "I told him all about Brendan when we wrote to each other last summer."
"How could you be so stupid?" Sirius screamed suddenly. "You knew that he was obsessed with the Dark Arts and probably in a league with He-Who-Must- Not-Be-Named. What did you do, tell him all your deepest secrets over the course of a month?" he ended in a sarcastic tone.
Auria just stared at him in shock She decided that now might no be the best time to mention her insulting letter to Voldemort.
"Next time you should be more careful who you tell your secrets to" he yelled. "How come Snivellus, who you only talked to for a month, knows more about you then I do huh? I only found out about Brendan a few weeks ago."
Auria looked at the floor and shrugged.
"Then Brendan did die because of you, because you were stupid enough to trust a Dark Arts loving Slytherin with your secrets" Sirius said cruelly. He gave Auria one last angry look before stomping out of the room.
After he left Auria just stood there staring at the door. Finally, after several minutes she sunk to the floor and sobbed.
Auria had never felt worse or more alone in all her life. One of her good friends was dead because of her, and she didn't even have Sirius' shoulder to cry on.
"Why, why did I tell Snape all those things? Sirius is right, I am stupid," she thought to herself. "But why did Sirius yell at me, I really don't need him to be angry at me right now. That stupid git" she said out loud as her grief turned to anger. "He's still jealous that I talked to Snape, so instead of being here with me now, he's probably off complaining to James that Snape knows more about me then he does. Well it serves him right that he knows less. Some boyfriend he's being right now."
However, Auria's anger passed and was once again replaced with morning and guilt. No matter how much she thought about hating Snape or being angry with Sirius, the knowledge that Brendan's death was her fault, would not go away. Auria sat on the floor of the classroom crying and beating the ground until she ran out of tears and her fists were bruised. Just as the moon was fading below the horizon, her sobs stopped and she lay down on the floor exhausted.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was the pain in her side that woke Auria up the next morning. She forced her puffy eyes open and looked around. In a wave of sorrow, she suddenly remembered the events of the previous night. Auria moaned and covered her eyes with her hand. A moment later a warm hand pulled hers away from her eyes and gently squeezed it. Auria looked up and found herself gazing into Sirius' gentle brown eyes. In a sudden flash of anger she let go of his hand and sat up. Sirius turned away and looked at the ground.
Flexing her stiff back muscles Auria took in her surroundings. She was still lying on the floor of the classroom, but she was now covered by a heavy blanket her and there was a pillow behind for her head. Glancing over a Sirius, she saw that he had his homework set up beside her and to his right lay a plate of French toast.
"What are you doing here?" she asked softly.
"I wanted to talk to you as soon as you woke up" he replied still not looking at her.
"Well I'm up now" she said hotly.
Sirius took a deep breath and looked into her eyes.
"I'm so sorry about last night. I acted like such an ass" he confessed. "I should never have yelled at you, or blamed you for Brendan's death, and I definitely shouldn't have left you here alone,"
"Especially when I needed you the most," she retorted, her eyes filling with tears again.
"I know," he said sounding ashamed and then very quickly blurted out, "I don't think you're stupid, I don't blame you for his death and I am jealous of Snape. I'm so sorry, please forgive me."
Auria's eyes bored into him.
"That was so selfish of me, to get angry at you for telling Snape things you haven't told me. Auria I'm sorry" he continued, his voice cracking at the end.
He looked up and met her eyes. To Auria's shock she found that his eyes were filled with tears.
"I'll do anything to make it up to you, just please, don't hate me, don't break up with me" he whispered desperately.
Auria looked away as a tear ran down her cheek. It was a long time before Sirius finally got an answer.
"I don't hate you and I won't break up with you" she replied, fidgeting with the edge of the blanket. "But I'm still mad at you. You said some very mean things that you can never take back, or make up with some French toast. While I admit it was a mistake, I'm not going to apologize for talking to Snape over the summer, no matter how much you hate him."
Sirius nodded.
"You were right, I should never have told him so much, but I did it because I thought that if he had a friend maybe he'd be a little nicer. You guys make his life miserable and you're so mean to him all the time. However, now I don't really care what you do to him. But in general, you have to be nicer to people Sirius, you and James don't rule the school" she continued coldly.
Sirius simply nodded again.
"I have to go" Auria said suddenly, standing up.
"It wasn't your fault you know" Sirius said gently. "Snape convinced you to trust him and he broke your trust."
"And for that he is going to pay dearly" she said darkly. Auria walked towards the nearest window and opened it.
"Wait" Sirius called quickly. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
Auria turned around and looked at him. "Yes, there is one thing."
"Name it" he said brightly.
"Don't ever call me stupid again" she replied in a threatening tone. Just as she turned back towards the window Sirius jumped up and grabbed her arm.
"Auria, I'm really sorry," he said looking into her eyes.
"So am I," she whispered. The instant Sirius let go of her arm she changed into a phoenix, jumped onto the windowsill and flew away.
Sirius remained standing there, gazing out the window, long after Auria had disappeared from sight. He kept cursing himself for being so mean and selfish. Sirius would have given everything he owned to take back what he had said. When the sun reached its peak he turned and left the room, wondering if things between him and Auria would ever be the same again.