A/N: hey guys, sorry it took so long but look! its an.... duh da duh daaah an UPDATE!!!

please R&R, i will try and update again ASAP. its really shameful, 7 months since the last update hangs head

anyway, i was typing this (i wrote it at the begining of the year) i ended up changing almost the entire thing... i got these really clear pictures in my mind... so i rewrote it to put them in... now i'm cheesed coz its gonna speed up certain events in the fic, but i couldnt help it... it'll work, i think :P

anyway, please review!

Finding Rigel

For the rest of the week, Rigella didn't speak to Sirius. She sat with Kat and the other girls in classes, and walked past Sirius in the corridors as though she couldn't see him. At first she still sat with the Marauders at meal times, but on Wednesday, tired of awkward silences and the boys' attempts to reconcile her with Sirius, she walked past the Gryffindor table and sat beside Snape with the Slytherins.

Sirius wasn't angry at her, but he didn't try to talk to her either. He couldn't believe what was happening and he couldn't comprehend the effect it was having on him. After five days with only the Marauders for company, Sirius realised that all he wanted was to talk to Rigella.

He wanted to apologise, even though he still hated Snape. Nothing could change that. Sirius didn't think his actions had been wrong; Snape clearly only had one thing in mind when he looked at Rigella.

By the time Saturday came around, Sirius knew he had to do something. He was going insane; even James's jokes weren't funny anymore. All he wanted was to lie on the grass and watch the stars with Rigella again.

The castle was nearly empty when he went looking for Rigella. Most people were outside, enjoying the cold November sun. After breakfast, Sirius pulled on his cloak and left the castle. He trekked all over the grounds for hours, dodging snowballs and toboggans, but to no avail. Rigella wasn't there.

Feeling cold and frustrated, Sirius strode back into the Great Hall for lunch. After gulping down some pie and Butterbeer, he started methodically searching the castle.

He checked Library, the trophy room and every single classroom. He wandered the corridors and secret passages, and even paid a rosy-cheeked Hufflepuff first year girl a galleon to check all the girls' bathrooms. By dinnertime the only places he could think of that he hadn't checked were the green houses and the common room.

He sighed; the green houses were out of bounds except during class. There was not much chance that she'd be there. Dragging a hand through his hair, Sirius racked his brain. She had to be somewhere

His eyes drifted upwards as he stood in a small courtyard beneath the old astronomy tower. The sun was setting, and across the pale pink and golden sky, the first handful of stars glittered softly. If only he could-

The old astronomy tower! Of course! Sirius' eyes widened and he swung back around to face the tall stone pinnacle atop the castle. Was it hope playing tricks on him, or did his eyes make out the shape of a person standing there?

In an instant he was running towards the stone archway before him, heading for the nearest staircase. Reaching the first flight, he began to climb.

Thirteen flights later, he was at the top.

Puffing, Sirius came out on the landing at the top of the Old Astronomy Tower and stopped, momentarily speechless. The view from up here was stunning; before him lay the sparkling, snow-encrusted grounds, their shimmering whiteness slightly stained by the fading apricot-pink twilight. Higher up, the sky's peak was deep blue, tinted with purple and littered with glimmering silver stars.

Sirius had never seen anything so beautiful…

Except for one thing… one person

He turned his gaze from the grounds back to the platform on which he stood. The landing ringed the top of the tower, which, Sirius noticed, had one carved oaken door. The soft gold-coloured wood shone slightly, darkened with age, covered in vines and tiny faces that peeped out from between the carved leaves. On one side was set a heavy golden lock.

But it was not the door that drew Sirius' attention. It was the cloaked figure sitting beside it that captured his gaze.

Rigella sat with her back to the grey stone of the wall, her hair hanging loose about her face and down the side of her neck. Her knees drawn up to her chest, her whole body was shrouded in a long cloak that was apparently black but somehow not. The lining of the hood thrown back from her face wasn't quite mauve, just as it wasn't quite pale grey. Despite the cold, her head was bare, and the hands that lay on her knees were white as the frost below. As Sirius watched, transfixed, she lifted her chin so slightly, tipping her head back to rest on the wall. In the heartbeat that they were open, Sirius saw the pale tears that fell from her anguished blue eyes.

Her hands clenched, echoing the feeling in his heart, and her nails dug into her palms. She sobbed softly, a look of agony flashing across her face. "Sirius…" she whimpered, as though praying her call would summon him, although as far as she knew he was stories below her at dinner.

But her plea did call him. In an instant, Sirius was at her side.