It was after one o'clock before Sirius finally rolled out of his bed on Saturday to find himself abandoned in his empty dorm room. It had been an extremely trying and stressful week for Sirius as he fought to get back into the swing of life at Hogwarts. After washing up Sirius headed down to the common room where he proceeded to work on his Arethmancy homework. The Gryffindor common room although virtually empty was aglow with warm light from the torches, which had to be lit early due to the dreary wet day that was occurring outside. He had been lost in his assignment for hours before realizing how late it had gotten, suddenly becoming terribly curious as to where his friends were. Knowing that James would not miss a meal Sirius decided to head down to dinner in the Great Hall after stowing his homework in his room.
Sirius strode casually into the Great Hall which was full of bustling chattering students, and spotting James, Remus, and Peter all huddling together at the far end of the Gryffindor dinning table he began to walk towards them. Sirius was wearing dark blue jeans with a loose ribbed sweater that was oddly enough dark gray with a dull green stripe across the chest and arms. His long black house robes flowing gently behind him as he made his way down the isle to where his friends sat.
Since entering the hall Sirius was forced to make a concerted effort not to look at the Slytherin dinning table in search of Bella, but alas he was not strong enough to fight his own desires. He glanced quickly over towards the area of the table where she usually sat and disastrously met the eyes of Rudolphus instead.
Rudolphus had barley taken notice of him until he saw Sirius flinch and glance away as if they hadn't made eye contact. Normally on one of these occasions Sirius would shoot him a broad smile and make a lewd gesture, but to humbly glance away? Rudolphus had hated Sirius for far to long to pretend that Sirius had a humble bone in his body.
Rudolphus grabbed Lucius' arm and leaned in to say in a hushed voice as both boys now watched Sirius take his place among his band of friends.
"Did you see that Lucius?" Asked Rudolphus in a calculating tone.
Lucius didn't answer he just continued to watch Sirius.
"Who was Black looking for?" Rudolphus said his mind obviously working as he starred in curious wonder at Sirius.
"What are you getting at?" Asked Lucius dryly, eyeing Rudolphus with an mildly inquisitive look.
Rudolphus quickly glanced to the other side of Lucius where Narcissa sat looking over at him uneasily and then to the empty space between himself and his older brother Rabastan where Bella would have been forced to sit.
"What do you want with her I wonder?" Rudolphus said quietly his eyes narrowed at Sirius' back as his companions began to understand what Rudolphus was thinking.
Sirius took a seat next to James.
"Where have you three been all day?" Sirius demanded feeling a little upset to be so easily left out of whatever his freinds were up to.
"Oh my GOD!" Cried Peter excitedly. "Its bloody brilliant, Moony's a genius!"
"Shut it, Peter!" Hissed James roughly.
"What? You can't tell me?" Sirius said sounding completely thrown.
"Are you kidding?" Grinned James. "How could we not include our most scandalous Marauder?" At this all of the boys grinned mischievously.
"Come on! Grab something to eat and bring it with you, we've been dying to tell you but we can't talk about it here." James said cautiously glancing around to be sure that no one was paying attention to their conversation.
"Besides we have to actually show you the map for you to get the full effect." James said swiftly getting up from the table with Remus and Peter excitedly following him.
"Of course we've just begun working on it but we really need your help with certain things." Remus said smiling and throwing his arm around Sirius' neck as the four boys made there way out of the Great Hall.
*
Sirius was lost, he felt like he had been walking along the thin winding corridor for hours and he hadn't seen the first sign that the passage he was currently attempting to map was leading anywhere. With the tip of his wand lit he continued to forge forward even though the tunnel seemed to become smaller, colder, and danker with every few steps.
"This damnable passage has to lead somewhere!" Sirius said desperately to himself. "Or maybe it's just a decoy to lead stupid kids wanting to map the schools secrets for their own misguided purposes to there death." With this thought Sirius grinned to himself thinking back on Remus and James' words earlier in the evening.
"We need your help Sirius, you know some of these passages better than anyone." James had insisted knowing that the best way to get Sirius to agree with something was to feed his ego.
"Right, between all of us we can split off areas of the castle to map the hidden portions." Remus had said excitedly. That's when Sirius had asked the question that had landed him in his current situation.
"So what area am I to have?" He had asked innocently. He should have known that they would want him to map some unexplored crawl space that no one had ventured into in years. Sirius came around a sharp bend in the tunnel and quickly extinguished his wand with a jump upon hearing a screeching noise.
His heart was beating furiously as he stood in the dark waiting for his eyes to adjust. Starring into the black nothingness facing him at every direction Sirius growled. "Lupin and his brilliant damn ideas!" Just then Sirius noticed a narrow crease of light coming from about 20 feet down the passage. Carefully he began to make his way to the source feeling a bit relieved at the prospect of getting the hell out of the musty hole in the wall.
Sirius, feeling around with his hands, inspected what seemed to be a long broken crack in the stone wall. It was as if the grout between the large rounded stones that made up the wall had fallen away in a jagged line from the floor to just above his head. In groping the walls his left hand came across a tiny symbol carved into one of the stones. He immediately attempted to trace the symbol with his finger curious to know what it was.
As he touched the carving, the crack in the wall spread apart silently just enough to let Sirius' form through to the other side. As Sirius stepped through the narrow opening it closed immediately behind him leaving only the unobtrusive crack in the wall once more.
He quickly glanced around searching his new surroundings. He seemed to be standing by a small wood pile in an alcove looking directly across a fireplace and into another identical alcove at the far wall. Sirius was about to venture forth when he again heard the screeching sound that had startled him before, he could hear some rustling beyond small wall that separated him from the rest of the room.
"Oh Vishnu. Don't be cross my darling." Came a sweet catering voice from the room, and then very lightly Sirius could hear the voice gently whispering a song in a language foreign to him.
Kim vaapyekam paraayanam?
Paramam yo mahat-tejah
Paramam yo mahat-tapah
Paramam yo mahat-brahma
Paramam yah paraayanam.
Sirius ventured to peak around the wall out of shear curiosity, and to his astonishment saw the long form of Bella standing on a bed laying her head on the sill of a high open window, dashes of faint moonlight causing her face and eyes to glow. Sitting perched on one of the low bars affixed to her window was a regal looking falcon that was gazing at Bella as she crooned softly while absently smoothing the stately birds tawny feathers. Sirius was completely enchanted by the image that he was watching.
Bella's thick ebony hair hung in long loose curls that spilled down her back over the pale pink, silk nightgown that clung to her body. Sirius could not make sense of anything at the moment, not why he was there or how he had been brought to her. Before he could think of a way to handle the situation calmly, the falcon flicked its head to look at Sirius with it's glinting black eyes. The bird let out a shrill screech before turning on its makeshift perch and flying from the window out into the dark oblivion of the sky.
Startled, Bella jumped back from the window her eyes falling on Sirius. Bella let out a shrill shriek of her own upon noticing her intruder. Sirius darted quickly from his hiding place with his hands forward to stop her.
"Bella please, shhh!" He begged her urgently in a low voice, quickly realizing that he must be in the Slytherin dorms and the peril that would await him if caught.
"Sirius!" She hissed. "What the hell are you doing in here, and how…" Bella's voice trailed as she looked to where Sirius had appeared from. In one long step from her bed to the floor Bella came at Sirius, putting her hands on his chest and proceeded to push him back into his corner.
"I don't care, how you got here but you must go now!" She commanded her hair brushing over her bare arms.
"Bella the passage is closed! I don't know how to get it to open again." Sirius said as Bella attempted to push him through the now solid wall.
"Oh that's severely responsible of you!" She snarled giving Sirius a small push and then letting her hands fall to her sides.
"What kind of sense does that make Sirius? Busting through a passage that you don't know, into God knows where, and with no rout of escape?" Bella stood panting her chest heaving from the excitement. Then scowling she growled. "Are you sure you're a Black?"
Just then a knock came from the door, the two stood starring at one another each hoping for an answer.
"Well…say something!" Sirius insisted in a whisper. Bella hesitated as if she didn't know what to say. Sirius shot Bella a disgusted look rolling his eyes in exasperation, finally taking it upon himself to call out imitating her voice.
"Yes?" At this Bella almost laughed, smiles beginning to bloom on both of their faces.
"Bella are you alright?" Came Lucius' voice from the other side of the door. At hearing Lucius' voice Sirius turned a sick shade of gray and promptly strode over to the crack in the wall and began searching for anyway out.
"No. I'm fine." Bella answered distractedly as she watched Sirius' frantic search of the wall.
"I thought I heard you scream, are you sure you're okay?" Lucius questioned again.
"Um…yes I'm fine." Bella answered nervously laughing. Sirius turned to her with a look of annoyance and gave her a sarcastic thumbs up sign.
"Great job lying. Are you sure you're a Black!" Sirius whispered. At this insult Bella narrowed her eyes and called out to Lucius.
"Actually Lucius there's a rat in here maybe you can help me take care of it!" Sirius ran to Bella grabbing her about the waist and sliding his hand over her mouth.
"Are you mad? Do you have any idea what they would do to me…and to you?" Sirius whispered urgently. Bella glared at him then whipping her head to the side she bit his pinky hard and slipped away from his clutch fleeing him as he grasped his hand and stifled his cry of pain.
Bella headed to the door and flung it open breathlessly. Lucius was leaning on the doorframe dressed in his black turtleneck, faded blue jeans and house robes.
"Took you long enough." He grinned. Bella glanced behind herself, immediately sorry for having been so brash about opening the door, her pride always able to get the best of her, but Sirius was no where to be found. She gulped a relieved breath and turned back to Lucius.
"I think it's gone." She said still trying to regain her breath. Lucius was gazing down at her indifferently but Bella could feel his eyes pouring over her. She suddenly realized that this whole time with Sirius and now in front of her sister's fiancée not to mention head boy of Hogwarts, she was wearing only a pale pink silk nightgown.
The gown was embroidered with elegant black flowers around the edges and though it hung past her knees it clung to her all to well and she felt as though she were bare. Bella flushed, feeling terribly uncomfortable and tried to face Lucius.
"I could come in and make sure that it's gone." Lucius said slyly, reaching down to glide his fingers along a thick wave of her hair.
"Lucius, I don't think that is quite appropriate, maybe you should go." Said Bella
"What's so inappropriate about you and I?" he asked very nonchalantly, grinning down at her.
"You're to marry my sister!" She said in a disgusted tone.
"Only because my father thought she would be a better choice for a wife than you. With the prophecy and all, but that never bothered me." His words caused Bella's face to darkened.
"Then I will expect that the next time you address me you will remember whom you're speaking to!" Bella threatened slamming the door forcefully in Lucius' face unwilling to listen to anymore of his pointless words.
"Disgusting Malfoy's!" Bella grimaced turning back into the center of her room suddenly remembering Sirius.
"Sirius are you still here?" She said sounding concerned but there was no sound from anywhere in the room. Bella walked over to her night stand and uncorked a large crystal perfume decanter from which she poured a brown liquid into a hi-ball glass that she procured from the nightstand's draw and threw it back in one swallow.
"Well good job Bella you bit him, that's just great." She grumbled to herself playing with the decanter's thick crystal cork.
"That's okay. I forgive you." Sirius said grinning broadly and leaning against the wall in front of his alcove. Her back to him, a lovely smile glanced across Bella's face upon hearing his voice, but she quickly bit it back and turned to him feigning indifference.
"Well that's to bad cause now how are you going to get out?" She said sharply. Sirius walked casually over to Bella, he could swear that he was able to hear her heart beat quicken as he approached her.
"Why are you here Sirius? What do you want from me?" She said in an almost scared tone. Sirius smiled and bounced down on to the bed.
"To spend the night." He grinned gorgeously up at her. Bella gazed down at Sirius with out a trace of emotion on her face still holding the empty glass carelessly in one hand.
"Why do you always toy with me?" Bella asked him bluntly. Sirius' smile lightly crept off his face not knowing what to say, he wasn't used to girls pursuing conversation at this point.
"Is that what you think I'm doing?"
"I don't know what you think your doing." She said softly still gazing at him, her brilliant green eyes looking huge and uncommonly innocent.
Sirius couldn't help but smile slightly. She was mesmerizing as she picked up the crystal decanter once more and poured another glass, her long silky hair caressing her pale skin with every movement. She turned back to him holding the glass out in offering. Sirius slowly sat forward to take it from her and found himself so close that he could feel the heat emanating off of her body once again catching the soft sweet sent of vanilla. He was beginning to feel a little dizzy as he took the glass of what he knew to be Brandy, a signature drink of the Black family, and much in the same way as Bella had, drank it down in one smooth shot.
He could feel the drink as it traveled swiftly through out his body setting him on fire. He let the empty glass fall to the bed beside him as he reached out to pull Bella toward him. Feeling the quick effects of the accursed drink he used more force than he meant, pulling her over so that she landed roughly on the bed, her black hair fanning out across the crimson chenille blanket. Sirius brushed his lips over her slick silk gown dragging his fingers gently along her side. Bella shivered in reaction to his advance allowing a small gasp, which she had desperately tried to hold back escape her lips.
Sirius came too hover directly over Bella meeting her eyes. She starred up at him barely breathing with the same angelic wide eyes. He could feel her heart attempting to pound it's way out of her chest as he bent his head to kiss her causing her body to tense. She put her hands up to his chest as if to stop him and began to sit up feeling suddenly nervous and uncomfortable.
"You have to stop." She said breathlessly.
Saying nothing Sirius leaned forward pressing against her hands just able to brush his lips against hers. Bella's skin flushed as Sirius leaned in closely to kiss her more completely. Sirius moved his hand to her neck running his thumb along her well-defined jaw line again laying her back down on to the chenille blanket with out parting from her lips. Finally surrendering to Sirius' unrelenting pursuit of her Bella began to timidly return his kisses while pulling her hands through his soft dark hair.
"Sirius." Bella whispered, her lips brushing seductively against his cheek as he grazed his teeth gently along her neck causing her to gasp.
"Why are you doing this?" She panted desperately becoming more alarmed at feeling his strong hands slip beneath her gown making her body go ridged against the press of his weight. Sirius slid his lips across her smooth skin connecting with her mouth and forcing her silent, quieting the questions for which he did not have answers.
Sirius only knew one thing, he wanted her with every fiber of his being. He had been seduced by her very presence the moment that he had laid eyes on her. Kissing Bella gently letting his lips brush against the dark lashes of her eyes he could feel her let out a deep breath, sighing against his shoulder her body shivering in anticipation.
"Sirius…please…I…" Bella fought to speak through the firey sensation building within her as Sirius pressed forcefully at her boundaries focused on breaking Bella's chastity.
Pulling back from her grip so that he could muse at the mix of terror and elation on her delicate face he smiled gently and began to kiss her neck forcing her to writhe beneath him. Bella let out a long breath and the torches in the room went dark leaving only the dying fire light. As he bit her earlobe making her whimper in pleasure Sirius whispered to her.
"I love you too Bella." She cried out softly as he entered her, heat rising in her skin her entire body pulsing with desire as their movements became unified. Their cries of passion rising into the night through the open window only to be marry with the blowing of the wind and rustle of the tress.
The sky outside had begun to turn a deep violet color and mist hung on the grounds of the school as Bella and Sirius drew each other close nestled under piles of blankets their bare skin mingling in the soft warmth of their embrace. The fire had died out hours ago but their passion had only just been satisfied as they lay gently kissing and caressing one another. Sirius smiled contently with his eyes closed.
"To think that great pompous prat, Lucius thought that he would be the one lying her with you. HA!" Sirius snorted. Bella snuggled closer to Sirius upon the mention of Lucius' name.
"Bella, can I ask you about something?" said Sirius curiously.
"Anything." She replied dreamily, feeling spent and thoroughly safe in Sirius' arms.
"What prophecy was Lucius talking about tonight?" Bella's eyes flashed open at this question.
"Prophecy?" She asked in a startled tone. Bella turned over to face Sirius and looking up at him with a pained expression.
"Our prophecy, the one made by our great-great grandmother Aralia Nigelous just before she died with both of our mothers pregnant at her bedside." Sirius looked at Bella as if she had stopped speaking coherently.
"Bella what are you talking about? You are joking, right?" He asked trying to sound lighthearted. But Bella winced and shook her head hugging herself tight to him.
"Can we just not mention it? Just pretend that you didn't hear that." Bella said hopefully but knew that it was to late for such things.
"I can't tell you. Not now! I thought all of this time that you knew and you just didn't care and now I find out that your mum decided not to even share what could have been your own destiny with you." Bella buried her face in Sirius' chest trying to hide the tears that had begun to silently roll down her cheeks.
Sirius, totally bewildered and not exactly in the mood to hear family secrets grabbed up Bella's face with his hands forcing her to look at him. Bella's eyes clinched shut against the hot tears that were now dripping from her chin on to his bare chest. The room was dark but Sirius could see the pain on her face and feel the tenseness, that had for a short while disappeared from her body, return.
"It's not important Bella, please don't be upset." Sirius said urgently wanting her to stop crying.
"It is important and I just can't believe that she would do this! Leave you to find out the truth on your own…and it just follows suit that I should be the one forced to tell you."
"I don't think I want to know." Sirius said leaning back from Bella a little uneasy about the mention of his mother. Bella stopped crying and putting her hands lightly on his face.
"No. You must know. I have to tell you, and this is a family secret Sirius. One that you should have known of long ago." Sirius didn't speak he just turned on to his stomach hugging his pillow and looking at the wall waiting for her to continue knowing deep inside that she was a Black and to brace himself against whatever was about to come to light.
Bella following Sirius' lead turned on to her pillow her black hair spilling around her though Sirius was not looking at her she gazed at him trying to gage his feelings.
"I don't know if you're aware that Great-great grandmother Nigelous was a terribly gifted seer." Bella started slowly "Just before she died and before either you or I were born she had a prophetic vision and told our parents that one of us would be born to be the hand of a Dark Lord."
Sirius stopped looking at the wall and met Bella's searching eyes, her eyelashes still wet from her tears.
"What?" Sirius asked looking as though he was thinking deeply on the subject his brow furrowed.
"When you and I were born everyone assumed that you were the one, you being a boy and a male heir to the Black family. Your parents were evidently really proud, you became the center of their world." Bella swallowed hard in Sirius' uncomfortable silence.
"Then we both started school and I guess you became really rebellious and outspoken about learning the dark arts, and about our families position with the newly proclaimed Dark Lord. He had met you before of course but after seeing your reactions he paid my family a visit and proclaimed after meeting with me that I was the child of the prophecy and that our parents had been mistaken." Bella paused again looking at Sirius who was starring at her dryly. Starting again Bella took a deep breath.
"Your mum was furious. She actually came after me threatening that she would destroy me for ruining both of your lives." At the mention of this she looked down playing with her hair. "I suspect that my lord set her straight, for after that day she has always treated me with the utmost regard." Sirius could see the faintest hint of smile dancing behind Bella's somber expression, and began to study her a little more closely. Sliding over to Sirius she gently pressed her lips against his and began to slowly and softly kiss him.
"I'm to be the hand of the Dark Lord, Sirius." She said pulling him down to her as she lay back into the pillows of the bed to be claimed again by the desire to be one.
Night turned to morning and with it brought the dawn. The room was swimming in sunlight from the small window slightly warming the cool chill that hung in the air of the silent dorm room. Bella was at rest curled in Sirius' arms, streams of her shining hair flowing softly over both of their bodies. Sirius had not been able to sleep, he laid there holding her replaying everything that had happened and everything that had been said. He wished that she had never told him of the prophecy or of her fate, he could have lived without feeling this way. Now here he was having all of these feelings that were so totally unfamiliar to him right along with the familiarity of shame and guilt that now plagued his mind as he watched his beautiful kindred spirit sleep.
He just couldn't convince himself that this bright young girl was really supposed to be some kind of dark warrior. He had felt like she was one of the only girls that could ever fully understand him, know him completely like she always had.
"It's just ridiculous. Only my family could be so naive to live their lives based on a dying woman's twisted dream." Sirius whispered to himself bending to kiss Bella's head. He couldn't deny that he now wished that he had known before he had become so irreversibly entangled with her.
Bella rolled to her back, her eyes blinking slowly bringing him into focus. She almost looked a little shocked to see him lying next to her gazing down at her with a very worried look shadowing his lovely smooth face.
"What's the matter?" She asked in a barley audible whisper, still attempting to keep her eyes focused on his. For a moment he just looked down into her face as if studying her.
"I think you are all wrong." He said.
"I'm sorry?" Bella asked unsure of what he meant by this.
"Oh Bella prophecies are a bunch of nonsense! That crazy old woman probably just wanted to start some trouble before she was gone, and look at what a good job she's done." Sirius said sounding rehearsed. Bella smiled lifting her hand to tousle his hair.
"Have you been thinking about that al this time?" She asked seeming surprised.
"Well…yeah." Sirius said feeling a little exposed.
"Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter we have a lot more important things to be concerned with like how in the world we are going to get you out of here." Bella said, lighthearted laughter ringing in her voice.
Bella slipped from his arms and gathering the soft chenille blanket about her, the dark vibrant red contrasting intensely with the milky pallor of her skin now gleaming in the sun light. She walked around to Sirius' side of the bed and picked his cloths up from the floor and thrusting them at him.
"Now take your things and get out!" Sirius starred at her with a slightly amused look playing on his face as Bella fought back her smile. Sirius grabbed her pulling her into his lap before she could get away and began to bite her neck and jaw causing her to squeal.
A knock came from the door and they froze in their love play both trying hard not to laugh. The knock came again.
"Bella answer me." Narcissa's voice came shrill and forceful.
"Bella's not here." She answered sarcastically grinning at Sirius and leaning in to kiss him defiantly.
"Are you coming out of there today? It's not good for you to stay so cooped up." Narcissa said feigning friendliness.
"As if you care." Bella said to herself securing the blanket around her and getting up.
"What was that?" Narcissa growled through the door.
The tone of her sister's voice immediately infuriated Bella beyond all reason, storming to the door she swiftly forced it opened and pushed herself into the opening. Sirius almost choked the last thing that he had expected her to do was to open the door to her evil, nosey sister. He quickly dove for the floor between the two beds. Upon Sirius' warm bare skin making contact with the frigid stone floor he gasped and jumped to a crouching position on his feet.
"What the hell Narcissa, I will be out later! Why have you decided to pester me this morning?" Bella said curtly. Narcissa gazed smiling at Bella unnaturally.
"I just wanted to spend some time with you, is that okay?" Narcissa said her voice coating her lies like honey.
"NO." Bella said beginning to close the door but Narcissa stopped her.
"What happened to you?" Narcissa asked curiously looking her sister up and down with questioning on her face.
"Um…bad dreams." Bella said again attempting to close the door, but Narcissa holding it open gave her another strange look.
"Are you not wearing any cloths?" She asked aghast, eyeing Bella's blanket sari. Narrowing her eyes at her sister Bella snapped back.
"That is none of your business you freak! Now get your hand off of my door before I remove it myself!" Hissed Bella violently.
Narcissa removed her hand giving Bella a snide look as Bella slammed the door in her face. Turning and leaning her back against the door she saw Sirius now fully dressed popping up from between the beds.
"You really need to stop doing that when I'm visiting." He said looking a bit annoyed.
"Sorry." Bella said looking a little disappointed to see him ready to leave her, and suddenly feeling extremely uneasy about how things would now be between them. Trying to push her feelings of insecurity aside she focused on fidgeting with the blanket. Sirius taking notice of the change stepped in front of his young conquest. Leaning over her one hand on the door he pulled her chin up so that she was looking directly into his beautiful deep blue eyes. Everything about him was appealing to her, and she almost became dizzy at the thought that he was risking so many things to be with her.
Sirius grinned at her, understanding the mixed emotions that were so apparent on her angelic face.
"Uncertainty becomes you my love." He said as he leaned in to ever so gently place a warm kiss on her full pale lips. Bella felt that same excitement surge through her that she had felt the first time that they kissed. Caught in the passion of the moment Bella reached up to pull Sirius's face closer to hers to kiss him more thoroughly. The crimson blanket fell to the floor in a puddle at her feet as she pressed her body against his soft gray sweater. Sirius embraced her loving the smell of her hair and skin and breathing it in deeply understanding that he would have to leave before anyone caught them. Gently he pulled away.
"I have to go. I don't want to, but I wouldn't be able to live with whatever punishments that they would enact on you if we were caught together." Saying this he grabbed her neck and kissed her quickly on the corner of her mouth.
"But how do you plan to get out?" She asked hurriedly wondering nervously why he was heading towards the door.
"The only way out." He said matter-of-factly, rubbing his hand roughly through his hair much like James would have done. GOD they're gonna wonder what happened to me, Sirius though to himself for the first time in several hours thinking of his group of friends who were hopefully covering for him.
"Sirius, that's madness! You can't just waltz out into the Slytherin common room and not expect to be noticed, besides what if someone sees you leaving my room? At this Sirius smiled the biggest smile that he could muster.
"Just promise you won't be mad." He said almost laughing to himself. Bella just looked at him as if he were crazy, as Sirius headed over to the alcove where he had come through the wall the night before. He went to retrieve his small satchel that held all of his mapping materials from the corner. Walking back to Bella looking very pleased with himself, he said.
"Didn't you wonder for a moment where I went when you decided to open the door for Lucius last night?"
Bella said nothing as she warped herself in a long fluffy white robe that absolutely engulfed her. From the satchel Sirius pulled a wad of silvery material which he unfurled and slung around himself becoming invisible.
"An invisibility cloak, and you've had it the whole time." She said beginning to feel like the naive little girl that she was. Pulling the cloak off Sirius smiled apologetically his dark hair falling in all different directions.
"And aren't we both the better for it not showing up until this morning?" He said still grinning.
"I can't believe it, I was completely duped." She said astonished.
"You did bite me." Sirius reminded her, as she stood in shocked amazement.
"I should have been able to read that from you." She said.
"Oh Bella, what's the matter? Not feeling much like the Dark Lord's henchman anymore? Maybe he was wrong maybe it is me!" Sirius said this last bit with lots of theatrical emphasis smiling brightly.
Then throwing the satchel over his shoulder he quickly covered himself with the cloak.
"How do I look?" He asked her from nowhere. At this Bella smiled, and Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. It was the strangest sensation being hugged by nothing then without warning he bit her neck playfully. Bella screamed in laughter quickly stifling herself.
"Are you ready?" She asked him.
"I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready to leave you." He whispered as he slowly opened the door to let her out.
Bella blushed viciously as she moved down the hall toward the girl's bathroom, unsure of where Sirius was.
"I love you Bella." his voice whispered softly in her ear. At first startling her slightly but then causing tears to well up in her eyes.
"I love you Sirius Black" She said back unsure if he was still there.
Sirius stalked down the corridors of the Slytherin dorms being very carefully to avoid contact with anything. He had made it to the common room and almost to the portrait hole when something caught his attention. In the far corner of the grand room Sirius saw Severus working diligently on an Astronomy project that was really quite elaborate.
Severus had painstakingly charmed what looked like a thousand small glass beads, most clear but some in vivid blues and reds to be an exact replica of the Pleiades solar system. It was massive hanging in midair and twinkling in the rolling turquoise light of the Slytherin common room. Severus' face was focused as he charmed the last crystal bead in place triumphantly.
Sirius could not resist the temptation, it was to perfect, he shouldn't do it but it was too late the wheels were already set into motion. Sirius made his way silently over to Severus and moved around the marvelous creation so that he was able to see Severus through the replica. With one swatting motion of his invisible arm Sirius sent hundreds of small crystal beads flying in every direction in the common room.
Severus gasped and quickly lunged to the floor in a feeble attempt to rescue some of the crystals. In silent hysterics Sirius stood clutching his stomach, as Severus growled profanities at the half destroyed project that still hung in the air. At this Sirius swatted the solar system again this time sending the majority of the beads scattering through out the room, leaving only a few scattered crystals still motionless in the air.
Sirius skulked away having satisfied his craving to get back at Severus for being such a hassle in the Astronomy Tower. Silently crawling through the portrait hole Sirius thought to himself, Ah Snively, you should have excepted my deal while you had the chance.
Sirius trotted down the hall where a few Slytherin students were already heading up to Sunday morning breakfast. He smiled to himself, I'm starving he thought, and I bet they're all waiting for me. Happily he made his way towards the boys bathrooms to quickly wash up and stash the invisibility cloak.
Feeling on top of the world Sirius did not notice Professor Dumbledor walking by.
"I hope the Slytherins will not sorely miss whatever it is that you've taken from them Mr. Black." Dumbledor said in a hushed, nonchalant voice glancing over the rim of his half moon shaped spectacles directly at Sirius' invisible form, but never slowing his pace. Sirius had stopped dead in his tracks.
"We'll talk about this later Sirius." Dumbledor called back to him now several paces down the hall striding forward without looking back.
