Chapter Two: On the Other Side
The fear in her eyes intensified as her worst fear became reality; Sirius Black was dangling her life in his fingertips. Remaining calm and not immediately reaching for the wand in the inside pocket of her robe, she nodded.
"O-Okay," she stuttered, then gained some confidence. "But I'll have you know I'm a teacher here, and it will be noticed if I'm not here come Monday--" Sirius cut her off with a nasty laugh, and pressed the knife he held into her neck ever so slightly, just enough to draw blood in a thin, two inch line. Lucille whimpered.
"You're really not in the position to be making threats, Love," he drawled. "I suggest you come quietly." He took the pressure of the chilling blade off her. "Do you accept my suggestion?" Lucille nodded weakly, and with his arm still around her neck, he pulled her over to the hippogriff and settled her in front of him.
"Up, Buckbeak," Sirius commanded, and they took off in the direction Lucille had seen him begin in before. Lucille could tell it was going to be a long night.
An hour later, Sirius had landed them all the way on the other side of the Forbidden Forest.
"Off," he ordered Lucille, and she whimpered.
"But I'm scared! I've never even been even a little in the forest; now I'm on the other side, and I don't know what's on this side, and the werewolves and the vampires and I'm scared! P-Please Mr. Black," she sobbed, finally breaking into tears and turning half way to face him. "Please don't leave me here!" Sirius stared at the tears spilling from the large blue eyes.
"I'm not stranding you," he said. "I'll even get off first, and then you can get off. Just don't try anything funny." He easily slipped off Buckbeak's back and held out his arms for her to steady herself with. Lucille, trying to get off as quickly as possible so as not to upset him, clumsily fell off into Sirius's arms. She quickly pulled away, blushing so furiously that Sirius could see her face tinge red in the moonlight. He half smiled. He wasn't sure if she was blushing because she was horrified that she'd touched the notorious "heir apparent to Lord Voldemort" or because she seemed about his age and maybe remembered him from the days when he was the dashing and attractive Sirius Black. She did look vaguely familiar...perhaps he did know her.
"Do you have a wand?" he asked her. Lucille hesitated, and Sirius realized she probably thought he was going to steal it off her. "I just want to build a fire, that's all."
"Oh," she answered, and pulled out her wand carefully. "Inciendo," she said clearly, pointing her wand to the ground, and a neat little camp-like fire sprouted from the ground. Sirius sprawled out in front of it, and motioned for her to do the same, so Lucille sat down Indian-style across from him. As the weather had been quite warm that evening, she'd been wearing a pair of muggle shorts under her lavender summer robes, and her long legs stuck out from her robes. She now wished she'd worn jeans; who knew how long she'd be held hostage? She watched Sirius as he stared dimly into the flames, and before she knew what she was doing, she opened her mouth.
"How did you do it?" she asked curiously. Her eyes grew and her throat tightened as he turned his dark stare to her.
"Do what?"
"Break out."
"Why do you want to know," he replied, his voice low and even. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Sorry," she squeaked. Sirius laughed, and it almost seemed like a dog's bark.
"Don't be afraid. They have had the wrong man. Although you probably don't believe me," he stated calmly.
"I...I do, actually," Lucille said suddenly. She surprised herself as well as Sirius. She didn't know what made her say it. She just did, and she really did believe him. They remained silently a second, Sirius just gazing at Lucille.
"Do I know you?" he asked after a while. Lucille blushed and tried to hid her smile. Sirius raised his eyebrows and a smile came to his own lips. Maybe she'd blushed before because she did know him from school.
"I don't think so...I remember you though...from school...but I was only a third year in your seventh," she mumbled shyly, having trouble keeping eye contact with him.
"I thought you looked familiar...what house were you?" he asked interestedly.
"Um...Hufflepuff," she half-whispered, feeling a bit on the embarrassed. Everyone always made fun of the Hufflepuffs. She hated feeling ashamed, she practically loathed herself for it, but she couldn't help it.
"Sorry, couldn't hear you," Sirius said, putting a hand to his ear.
"Hufflepuff," she murmured again.
"What?" Sirius said loudly. He crawled over to her and sat beside her. "Tell me, don't be shy. You weren't a Slytherin, were you?" He laughed as though it was a very funny joke, and Lucille smiled with him.
"I was in...Hufflepuff," she told him reluctantly, reddening again. Sirius smiled. Her blushing was beginning to almost become endearing to him. When was the last time a girl blushed in his presence? Especially with the little problem of being in Azkaban for twelve years.
"What's wrong with that?"
"Well, everyone always made fun of us. Even now I hear the Slytherins calling them duffers and other things..." Lucille looked away from Sirius, her face still very red. "I always hated being made fun of. All I ever wanted to do was blend in, and I've become very good at it too." Sirius took in Lucille's body. She was very nicely shaped, slender and tall, a faint tan, the youthful blue eyes and golden hair that was pinned up.
"How do you blend in?" he asked wonderingly. Lucille gave him a very surprised look. "I mean, you're very...extremely...incredibly...beautiful," he finished, finding himself for the first time at a loss for words when it came to talking with girls. What do you know, twelve years away from flirting may cause a glitch. And he'd thought it'd be like riding a bicycle; once you know how, you never forget. Lucille laughed, and Sirius realized how much he missed the sound of a girl's laugh when he'd turned his charm on them. Giving her his trademark smile, he added, "You know, I'm not too good at this capturing a hostage deal. I forgot to ask you your name."
"I don't think you have to ask your hostage their name, actually," Lucille told him, feeling oddly comfortable with him. "In fact, you don't really have to do anything you don't want to do with them."
"I'd still like to know. I feel like I know who you are...are you sure we never spoke in school?" Sirius asked.
"Oh, I'm positive," Lucille laughed. Sirius smiled. She'd lightened up pretty quickly for someone who was the hostage of an escaped supposed-lunatic.
"Tell me your name anyway," he coaxed. Lucille smiled. Never once at thirteen or any other age did she think that Sirius Black would become an insane murderer, take her hostage and seemingly try to...seduce her?
"My name's Lucille...Bones," she added as an afterthought. Sirius's jaw dropped slightly, brow raised.
"Leggy Lucy Bones?" he choked out, half laughing. "No bloody way..." He chuckled. Lucille glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest.
"What are you talking about?" she asked skeptically. Sirius looked at her in surprise.
"Well, uh...er, well...when you were younger--and now, too, don't get me wrong--not that I'm looking--"
"Why don't you cut to the chase?" she said in a stiff tone. She seemed to have forgotten she was an assumed mass murderer's hostage, now, and quite ironically, so had Sirius as he gulped at her McGonagall-like demeanor.
"You had great legs and I thought you were pretty cute back in school--for a third year," he shot out quickly, only half-telling the truth.
"What?!" Lucille yelled, and Sirius winced.
"Okay, okay, I thought you were better looking than most of the girls older than you too," he admitted, surprised she was so good at legilmency. Lucille's jaw dropped, and Sirius realized she hadn't been mind reading after all. She covered her eyes with her hands.
"Tell me your joking," she said quietly.
"I'm joking…?"
"You're lying."
"Yeah, sorry." They were silent for a few minutes, Lucille's hands still over her eyes.
"You know, if it makes you feel any better, you started out kind of mousy--"
"No it doesn't make me feel any better, thanks!" she snapped. Yes, she'd completely forgotten which of them was the captor and which was the hostage.
"Look, I don't understand what the big deal is. So I thought you were cute, so sue me."
"I was cute?" Sirius sighed frustrated.
"And you're beautiful now, but please, don't bite my head off." Sirius waited for her to say something. "I thought you wanted to be unnoticed anyway?"
"Well, I'm probably going to die, it'd be nice to die knowing I was pretty," Lucille joked dryly. Sirius laughed.
"You're a funny girl Lucy. And don't worry, you're…very pretty," he said, letting his slow-growing smile come to his face. "And I won't let anything hurt you here, so don't worry."
"Yeah, 'cos you'll probably kill me first," Lucille pouted, remembering finally who they were and why they were there.
"I thought you said you believed me," Sirius asked.
"That was before you made up things about our school days."
"Really Lucy, I did call you that; all the guys did. I think it was the only thing Lucius Malfoy and I ever agreed on. Only thing we ever will, too." Lucille made a gagging sound.
"I believe I'm going to retch now."
"Aw, c'mon Lucy Love…"
"Why do you insist on calling me Lucy?"
"I dunno…it's just…how I remember you I guess," he said teasingly, his charming grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. Very much against her will, Lucille swooned inwardly as she did so many years ago as a young school girl. The extremely few and very brief times that she'd ever been in any contact with Sirius in school usually left her speechless and dumbfounded. She couldn't believe that she was actually bossing him around now, especially since (for the millionth time she reminded herself) she was his captive.
"You disgust me," she told him sharply, standing up and walking away from him. She didn't go too far--she didn't think wandering into the forest so late was a good idea.
"Aw, Lucy, don't be vexed. C'mon, you should consider yourself lucky; how many girls would jump at the chance to be alone with me in the Forbidden Forest? And I bet the fact that I'm a "misunderstood bad boy" wouldn't hurt my chances either," he laughed, gaining back the confidence that had only seemed to need a little polishing. He followed her and slung his arm boldly around her shoulder. Lucille's huge eyes widened more than Sirius thought possible and she backed away from him.
"P-Please don't, I'm--I'm waiting…" she trailed nervously. Sirius gave her a confused look.
"Do what? What are you waiting for?" Sirius asked, then laughed at her seriously distressed face. "Oh good God, you thought I was going to--"
"Well you would too, if you had an escaped convict making advances on you as he told you your legs still looked as good when you were thirteen," Lucille huffed. She softened for a second. "Do they really still look that good?" she asked as an after thought. Sirius laughed his bark-laugh again.
"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true," he promised, bowing his head at her as he smiled apologetically. They were silent as they stared at each other a moment.
"Was your hair always that short? I remember it longer," Sirius said after a while.
"It's just pinned up," Lucille informed him, and pulled out the clip holding her hair up, and her hair bounced to her shoulder blades with a bit of a wave in it from being pulled back. "I usually wear it back to keep it out of my face," she added, patting it self-consciously. Sirius pulled her hand away from it.
"It looks good down," he told her. Lucille smiled and looked away from him and the forest, quiet again for a while.
"What are you thinking about, Luce?" She turned back to him.
"Well, I was wondering--"
"When I'd be taking you home," Sirius finished. "I don't know." He sat down at the fire dejectedly. He hadn't really thought about what he was going to do with her. Sirius knew he couldn't drag her about all over the world, especially since she had a week or so left to teach. "What do you teach at Hogwarts, anyway?" he asked suddenly, to distract her from the unanswerable question.
"Muggle Studies," she told him plainly. Lucille sat down beside him again. "And I don't care if you think it's boring." Sirius laughed.
"Well, someone takes their subject seriously," Sirius joked. "I never took it myself. But Lily was--" Sirius broke off, and Lucille noticed the tears welling up in his eyes. "Lily was a muggle, and she took it. She said she wanted to see how wizards and witches saw muggles and the things they did. Thought it would be interesting." Sirius snorted and threw a twig into the fire. "She was so brilliant--obvious why she became head girl. James was smart too, don't get me wrong." Sirius paused and bowed his head a moment. "But how he was able to win Lily over, I'll never know." Lucy watched Sirius laugh. It sounded to her like a laugh he hadn't had in ages; strong and loud. But it didn't last long. Tears spilled down his cheeks and he put his face in his hands as he broke into sobs. "I swear, if I'd have known, I'd have killed Pettigrew before he'd ever betrayed us! I wouldn't have been so stupid! How could I…I practically handed them to Voldemort! I helped ruin lives because I was a proud fool," he choked out. Lucille felt her heart drop to her stomach as she watched none other than Sirius Black breaking down to hysterics like a small child. She was sure beyond belief that Sirius hadn't killed them now, as she cautiously reached out and touched his shoulder gently.
"Sirius, they wouldn't blame you; you couldn't have known. No one blames you," she whispered, coming closer and putting her arms around him. Lucille didn't even care about the state of his robes or that he had threatened her and took her hostage as she held him and rocked him as she would a baby. She didn't say a single word to him as he sobbed and babbled about James and Lily; only prayed that the black velvet above them would give them the sleep they both needed, and eventually her prayer was answered.
