A/N: This is my favourite chapter so far. It was written on my birthday on 11th Sept, so I decided to let my favourite OC share the same birth date too. Hope you'll like this chapter :)
Sirius And His Girl
"No! Sirius, don't!" Harry cried, standing between his godfather and the door.
"Get out of my way, Harry!" Sirius growled.
"It'll not help, Sirius. You'll just make things worse for April!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Hermione has a point," quipped Ron.
Sirius decided that he would not let three kids stand in his way. "Things can't get any worse than this," he barked at them.
"No, it can," Harry said, taking a few cautious steps towards his godfather. "Trust me. I know Professor Snape and I know he can get nastier. Hermione's right. If you confront him now, it'll only make things worse for April."
Hermione saw that Sirius was beginning to listen at last and quickly added, "You're not exactly his favourite person, Sirius. If he knows that his treatment of April bothers you so much, he may just make it even more unpleasant for her."
Sirius stood still, trying to clear his thoughts and think straight. Much as he hated to admit it, the youngsters were making sense.
Harry, Ron and Hermione let out collective breaths of relief when Sirius slipped his wand back into his robes.
"I'll go talk some sense into April then," Sirius said as he moved towards the door.
Hermione gave such a loud sigh that he stopped abruptly and turned to look at her. "What is it this time?" he snapped.
"April will not listen. She's every bit as stubborn as you are."
Harry noticed the older man's displeasure at Hermione's words and hastily added, "No, April is the more stubborn one. Sirius is listening and he has decided not to confront Professor Snape."
"Alright, if you want to see things this way," Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry, before turning her attention back to Sirius, "Somehow I have this feeling that the more you ask April not to do something, the more she'll want to do it."
Ron cleared his throat and said slowly, "So the best person to approach is neither Professor Snape nor April. It's Professor Dumbledore."
The other three looked at him in amazement and fresh respect. Ron Weasley had outsmarted them this time.
*
"You have to get her out of this!" Sirius told Dumbledore desperately, for the umpteenth time.
"No, I can't, Sirius. This is her decision and it is up to April to get herself out of it."
"But she's being tortured by Snape!"
"I'll not go so far as to call it torture," Dumbledore replied calmly. "Snape is a little harder to get along with, but he will never torture the girl."
"But she's miserable!"
"Then perhaps you can cheer her up."
Sirius stared at Dumbledore with shock. "How?" he asked after some time.
"It happens to be her birthday today," the headmaster replied, eyes twinkling.
"What?"
"If you visit her quarters right now, you'll find it filled with gifts. There was an extraordinarily large number of owls this morning. I wonder if she has worked through the pile to my gift yet," the elderly man chuckled.
"I didn't know…she didn't mention it was her birthday…" Sirius was at a lost for words.
"I offered to arrange a little celebration dinner for her, but she declined."
Sirius thought quickly. It was almost ten in the night and he had only two hours left before her birthday was over. He quickly excused himself and left the school grounds.
*
April was lying on her bed, waiting for time to pass. She did not like birthdays. Birthdays were never celebrated in the Flamel family. Life was never celebrated in a place where death was unheard of. Birthdays just signified that another long year had passed and served as a reminder that there were many more long years ahead.
She dreaded leaving her bedroom, as every inch of the floor in the outer room of her quarters was occupied with presents and flowers. She always get lots of presents – mostly from wizards and witches she hardly knew, some whom she had never even met. There were many who wanted to fawn on her – especially after she became known as the only surviving Flamel, besides a mentally-disturbed Aaron. Ever since she had inherited the Flamel wealth, which took up a staggering 74 vaults in Gringotts, many strangers had approached her hoping to benefit in some way from her wealth. She wearily decided that she would go though the pile the next day, and discard everything from people she did not hold close to her heart – people other than Albus, Moody, McGonagall, Hagrid, her two favourite elves and a few old family friends.
*
April heaved a breath of relief at a quarter to midnight. The day would soon be over.
Just as she thought it was safe to get ready for bed, she heard loud pounding on her door. At first, April thought of ignoring it. But it could be something important due to the unearthly hour and it sounded urgent.
She reluctantly got out of her bedroom and tiptoed across the outer room, trying not to step over the presents strewn on the floor. Finally, she reached the door and yanked it open.
April was unprepared to see the great-looking Sirius Black standing before her. He was panting and little beads of perspiration had formed at his temples.
"Sirius! Is everything alright?"
"I'm on time," Sirius flashed her a grin while trying to catch his breath.
"I don't remember arranging to meet you," she replied slowly, wondering what was going on.
Sirius ignored her statement. "You're not inviting me inside?" he asked, peering past her into the room.
"It's really messy," she replied quickly. "Let's go take a walk." April stepped out and hurriedly closed the door behind her.
They walked out of the building and past the courtyard in silence. Sirius chose a spot beside the lake and sat on a huge rock. April settled down beside him.
He was the one who broke the silence. "Your room is really piled high with presents," he remarked playfully.
April looked at him in surprise. "You saw them?"
"Sure, unless you think I'm blind," he said easily. "So how many of those are from your admirers?"
She smiled. "I've not had the chance to look at the presents yet. But I usually receive some gifts that come with marriage proposals at this time of the year."
"Marriage proposals?" Sirius almost choked on these two words.
April's smile grew wider. "Don't be jealous," she teased. "I don't know any of these suitors very well."
"Then why are they proposing marriage?"
"For my money. You must have known that the Sorcerer's Stone could turn all metals into gold. I have plenty of galleons in the Gringotts."
"Oh," Sirius thought that was a silly reason to want to marry someone. Marriage, to him, should be based on love and not financial gains. But he decided not to comment. Afterall, he had never experienced poverty.
Sirius suddenly remembered the time. It was already almost midnight and he could no longer afford to delay.
"Close your eyes," he commanded abruptly.
"What?"
"Trust me. Close your eyes." He spoke with such urgency that April obeyed. As soon as her eyes were shut, she felt Sirius grab hold of her hand and something light and cool was slipped into her upturned palm.
"Can I open my eyes now?"
There was no reply. Instead, she felt him lean close to her, his breath on her face as he pressed his lips to her forehead. The kiss was light as a feather.
April's eyes fluttered open in surprise. She found herself staring into Sirius' dark eyes that were only inches away from her own.
"Sirius," she called his name uncertainly.
"Happy birthday, Baby," Sirius said softly, before leaning away.
April's gaze fell onto the object on her palm and she gasped in delight. It was a delicate necklace strung around a beautiful pendant in the shape of a star.
"It's lovely! It's sapphire?" she asked, looking at the stone set in the pendant.
"Your birthstone," Sirius told her.
"How did you know about my birthday?"
Sirius shrugged. "I have my ways."
"Was it Albus, Moody, Minerva or Hagrid?
"You mean so many of them knew? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Then I won't have to…"
"Won't have to do what?"
Sirius was glad it was dark, so she couldn't see the colour of his burning cheeks. "I only learnt about about your birthday barely two hours ago. I had to bang on the shops at Hogsmeade and force them to let me in to pick your present."
She flashed him a lovely smile that lit up her whole face. "So that explains why you were out of breath just now. You were trying to give me this before midnight?"
"Dumbledore said you didn't want us to know about your birthday. Why?"
"I don't celebrate my birthdays." The smile was off her face. "I don't want to talk about that right now." She returned her attention to the pendant. "It's a star. I love stars."
"It's not an ordinary star. It's the Sirius star - the luminary of the constellation Canis Major which represents Orion's larger hunting dog."
April looked deep into Sirius' eyes, saw the raw emotions within and her heart melted. For the first time ever, she was actually glad that it was her birthday.
"Will you put it on for me?" She handed the necklace to Sirius who took it from her wordlessly.
April held up her hair while Sirius slipped the necklace around her slim elegant neck and carefully fastened the clasp.
"Thanks, Sirius," she whispered as she fingered the necklace lovingly. "This is the best birthday present I've ever received."
Sirius found himself unable to reply, silenced by emotions.
"I'll cherish this. I'll wear it all the time so that the brightest star in the sky will always be with me."
"Not just the star. Take Sirius the man too," he whispered hoarsely, leaning close to her and kissed her gently on the lips.
He could feel April shivering.
"You're cold? It's windy out here. I should have reminded you to bring along a coat." Sirius' protective instincts took over again. He started to remove his coat for her.
"No, I know of a better way to keep warm," April told him softly as she slipped both arms around his waist.
Sirius gathered her close, and sighed contentedly. He never knew that he could fall in love so deeply and completely.
At that very moment, Sirius realised he had embarked on a journey where there was no return.
Sirius Black had already given his entire heart and soul to the woman he was holding in his arms.
* * *
Ms. Padfoot : You'll be reading more about what happens in Snape's lessons soon.
Lil Lupin : I have a love-hate relationship with Snape. You'll find out…
star-prancer : Thanks for reading & reviewing! You're right – Harry is a fifth-year student.
an-angel36 : I've granted your wish :)
Chickabiddy : I've finished reading Book Five. BTW, who's Cuaron?
OutofAzkaban : There is Sirius-April action here. So where's the chapter that you promised me? LOL
Summerkins : YAY! :)
lildarkkitty : I hope this chapter will make you feel hyper too…or nice and warm inside :)
SjabRox : I try to write whenever I can. This is to make up for times when I'm too busy to write. For instance, this chapter was written more than a week ago, and guess what? The next chapter is not even done so I've run out of 'existing stock'. Oh, and Sirius will not kill Snape. What will happen to my fic if he goes to Azkaban?! I can't imagine writing about that dreary place! And thanks for introducing your friend to my fic. Are you and peachgirl1608 competing to outdo one another? Hee… Maybe it's just cuz we share the same National Day! ;) Anyhow, I luv you both!
nunnya buiznes : Toilet papering for homecoming??? What's that? Doesn't sound very pleasant… *sob*
Someone Reading : Were you injured/sick? Oh no… You'll find out more about how Sirius and Remus react.
peachgirl1608 : Thanks for the wish. You're right, Snape was mean!
Annoriel : You're my 494th reviewer! And I luv you too! :)
Star06 : You like Snape huh? Than maybe I'll be nicer to him. LOL. Oh yeah – Snape hates Sirius, so he's nastier to April cuz she hangs around with Mr Black.
Lily Skylo : Here's more soon! But the next chapter may take longer. Don't hex me, ok?
Fire'N'Ice : Er…she's still friends with Remus, you know. So she may still talk about him. But at least she's nicer to Sirius, right?
black-cat-on-the-wall : You were ALMOST my 500th reviewer! You were the 498th.
AprilSkrutin : Hi April! :) Hmm…feel like I'm calling my own OC. LOL
LILRKCHK : Know something? YOU'RE MY 500TH REVIEWER!!! Yay! Your wish is granted. Really! I was going by the number of reviews I receive in my 'Stats' column instead of the haywire reviews-counter that's flashed at the top of each chapter.
Ainsley Sloan : You're reviewer 501, instead of 503. How about another party?
Charma1219 : Thanks! :)
HP-rawks xcept da 5th bk : Yay! Mine is the first story! Thanks! Have you finished reading all the chapters? To answer your question, BlackLupin is a 'she'.
I've uploaded my second fic! It's on Remus, but of course Sirius (and James!) will be featured too. Please give it a read when you have fifteen minutes to spare! :)
