Someone To Understand

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and any OCs.

As Crystal gazed absently into the fire, she became aware of someone behind her staring at her. She was angry at being forced to play the dutiful daughter at this party and had, in an effort to try and calm herself down taken to watching the flames dancing across the hearth of the fire place in the grand drawing room of Malfoy Manor. She was however also bored, and angry at being stared at, so, smoothing her short sapphire coloured silk dress robes she turned to confront whoever had been staring at her, and was shocked to find herself suddenly staring into the stormy grey eyes of Sirius Black.

Sirius was looking at her with a shocked, slightly glazed expression, whilst sitting in an arm chair in the far corner of the room, he was clearly, like her, attempting to hide from notice, and avoid unpleasant conversation, and she couldn't help noticing that he looked incredible. The poor lightening in the room gave his skin an eerie translucent quality, and caused shadows to form under his elegant high cheek-bones, he was wearing fine dress robes of black velvet with ornate silver embroidery and, as usual his silky black hair was falling into his eyes with casual elegance whilst his dark stormy grey eyes themselves were swirling with intensity. At that moment she could indeed see what the girls at Hogwarts meant when they said that he was 'sexy', sitting in that gloomy corner he looked rather like a brooding poet, all intensity and boxed up passion, a very alluring combination.

Angry, Crystal mentally slapped herself for her silent musings, this was, after all, Sirius Black, Hogwarts resident heart breaker! She could not think that he was 'sexy'!

Trying desperately not to blush under his gaze, Crystal reminded herself that he was merely an annoying pest that made her life hell, and thought he was God's gift to women, nothing more! However, try as she might to believe this, she could not quite succeed, hadn't he been driving her crazy the past few weeks trying to talk to her, and when that failed, watching her at every meal to check if she were safe and well? There was, also, something different about him, sitting alone, brooding in that armchair, trying to escape the notice of his family.

For once Sirius actually looked vulnerable, lost and alone, in a room full of people that he knew he could not trust, letting his guard drop for only a moment, to reveal what he was truly feeling believing, of course, that no-one was watching, and that there was therefore no reason to keep up the pretence of being invincible.

For once Crystal actually felt her heart soften towards Sirius, after all, here, sat, perhaps, the only person in the world, who could ever truly understand her.

Seemingly snapping out somewhat from his stunned state Sirius shuttered his eyes, bringing them back to their usual cocky, impassive form and wiped all emotion from his face, he, like Crystal was clearly skilled at hiding what he was truly feeling from the world behind a mask of unconcern and arrogance, a skill necessary to survive in aristocratic society and something which Crystal had to admit, she had not really noticed in him before.

After Sirius had rescued her from Marius in the library that day Crystal had asked him if he was really arrogant enough to believe that he was the only one with these type of problems with his family, but grudgingly she now realised that she had done the same. She had never really considered how rough he had it with his own family, sure she could guess, but seeing the proof sitting in front of her was quite another matter, it was just that Sirius always seemed so confident and arrogant, that it had never really occurred to her, that it could all be an act which he used to try and defend himself, in the same way that she used her supposed shyness as a shield of anonymity to protect her from the gazes of the people at school.

It seemed clear to Crystal in that moment that they were both trapped by the over-bearing aristocratic pure blood society that they had been born into, but she could not afford to use this as a reason to show weakness, for as much as she longed for someone to love and understand her, the way her family never could, she was not fool enough to really believe that Sirius Black could ever truly love anyone. Furthermore, it was hopeless to dream of such things, because even if Sirius Black could ever love, their families would never allow it, not that they would an object to an alliance between the Maycombs and the Blacks, but simply because neither side would be fool enough to allow an alliance between the 'white sheep of the Black family', and the Maycomb's 'bad egg',(Together they might, after all, find the strength to rebel, join the other side and reveal all the skeletons in the Black's and Maycomb's respective closets!), therefore a relationship would be too dangerous for both of them, and if they were disowned, neither had anywhere to go.

However, breaking out from her pensive musings and realising, for the first time all evening, that she was not completely alone at this horrible gathering, her heart rose, and she could not prevent herself from smiling at him, after all, despite her concerns, his company was preferable to her than no company, or worse still the company of anybody else in the room. So deciding that she might as well say 'hi', and generally give him a chance, if only for the duration of the holiday, she set off across the room to talk to him.

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Sirius could not quite believe his eyes, "What is Crystal doing at this gathering, and why is she suddenly smiling at me and walking over here?", he frantically wondered as she made her approach.

Sirius realised that before Crystal had started walking she had got far too close a look at him with his defences lowered, he only hoped that he had shuttered his expression again in time to prevent any awkward questions, but he still could not help himself from smiling back as she approached, successfully wiping all thoughts of what she might have seen from his mind, with a mere smile.

She looked stunning in the firelight with her silky black girls held carefully out of her face by a pretty silver clip, and her face cast into shadow by the dim light of the room, leaving only her startling blue eyes clearly visible to him. Her sapphire blue dress robes were low cut, exposing her pale elegant shoulders, they clung to every curve, and, at her throat hung a silver and sapphire pendant of the Maycomb family crest, she looked absolutely incredible, an angel appearing out of the gloom.

In that moment Sirius wondered how he could ever have not noticed a creature like Crystal at school before, she was simply breath taking, everything about her was beautiful, including her movements, which were fluid and graceful. She seemed to radiate inner strength and serenity, though he knew that this must have been an illusion she projected, remembering the way she had looked when Marius was torturing her.

Crystal, Sirius realised, shocked, was just like him, having to hide who she really was from her family, having to bite her tongue when they said things she didn't agree with and having to paper over any cracks in her armour rather than let them know what she was feeling, knowing, as he did, that any weakness she showed, even to her family, could be used against her.

Breaking himself from the trance like state merely thinking about Crystal seemed to induce in him, Sirius smiled at her, eager for the chance to talk to her again, and prove to her, that despite his past behaviour, he was a decent human being, and did care for her, even if he had been a prick to her friend Sienna.

"Hi," Sirius began nervously looking up at Crystal, "I didn't expect to see you..." he trailed off, unsure of what to say, and unsure of even how to act. Groaning inwardly he stopped, angry with himself, he always knew how to talk to girls, he was never nervous!

"What?", she questioned him, saving him from further embarrassment, and an awkward silence, "Here at Death Eaters R'US", she commented dryly, her blue eyes twinkling with amusement, before continuing more seriously, "Well I didn't intend to be here but my parents said that they'd disown me if I didn't come, since Lucius is my cousin." She finished looking slightly concerned at the idea, which in Sirius', albeit coloured opinion, made her look even more beautiful.

"Same," admitted Sirius darkly, "Narcissa's my cousin, as you may have guessed, so I had to come," he explained, "Personally I would have preferred to spend Christmas at Hogwarts like usual, but what can you do?" he finished staring irritatedly over at his parents, knowing that Crystal would understand what he meant without him having to explain, like he would have had to do with anyone else, even James.

Crystal gazed at him kindly, her blue eyes filled with concern and sympathy, a look, he discovered, that he didn't mind if directed at him by her, though he would have minded had anyone else done it. She then reached out and, to Sirius' shock, squeezed his hand, in a friendly gesture smiling at him and saying kindly, "Well at least your parents let you stay at Hogwarts for Christmas sometimes," she told him, "mine never do.", she admitted sadly casting her face down towards the floor with seeming shame at her admission, this was the first time she had ever really shown Sirius any sign of weakness willingly, and he was momentarily stunned, but then, letting his need to comfort her take over, he reacted without speaking.

Carefully, Sirius, his hand still tingling with excitement from where she had squeezed it, reached out and cupped her chin gently with his hand forcing her to look up at him again, whilst gently running his other hand across her porcelain cheek and giving her an intense look, which clearly said, "That is not your fault, you have nothing to be ashamed of.", before smiling at her kindly and dropping his hands from her face, slightly embarrassed at how strongly he had reacted to her admission and trying desperately not to blush. Crystal had been slightly shocked at his actions, but she had made no move to move away from him, for which he was truly grateful, how was it that this girl could get him so worked up and embarrassed by doing practically nothing?

Hoping to change the subject to something that Crystal would find more comfortable he gently offered her his arm and suggested that they go to the buffet to get something to eat. Fortunately she accepted his offer and, arm in arm they headed towards the buffet.

Sirius could not believe his luck in running into Crystal at this horrible party, no girl had ever made him feel like this before, she hadn't even kissed him, in fact she was barely touching him but his heart was still beating a mile a minute, his hands were clammy, he was nervous, and every time she touched him it sent shivers down his spine and made his skin tingle with excitement.

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Crystal herself could not believe how kind and considerate Sirius was being to her, the way he had reacted to her accidental admission, especially surprising her with its tenderness, "Is this the same jerk from school who so casually broke Sienna's heart, or has he really changed?", she wondered silently as he gently took her arm in his and led her swiftly towards the buffet, eliciting tingles all along her arm where their bodies touched.

At the buffet itself, he was a perfect gentleman, filling her plate for her and carrying it to a table, it was hard to believe that he had ever been that arrogant prat that had made her life so difficult.

They sat talking together at the table, long after they had finished eating, they talked about anything and everything, no subject was out of bounds, even the things that they could not discuss with their closest friends, it was as though they instinctively understood each other and much of the time, words were not even necessary to get across what they were feeling, they were so in tune with each other, it was as though they had known each other for years.

However, their conversation did not go unnoticed for long, and it was Marius and Regulus, their two biggest problems that discovered them talking together. Sirius was the first to notice their observation, and suggested that they move, however, Crystal knew better, if they moved her brother would only follow them, so if they were going to loose him, then they would have to go somewhere where he couldn't follow, like the dance floor...

Realising their opportunity she grabbed Sirius's hand and, her heart beating a million miles a minute, explained to him in hushed whispers her plan of escape, whilst he wrapped his strong arms around her and began steering her around the dance floor. Trying not to let herself get too distracted by Sirius' close proximity, she kept Regulus and Marius in her sights whilst Sirius subtly steered them off the dance floor and out of the room.

Crystal was ecstatic, her plan had worked, Marius and Regulus had not seen them leave, and would now, have no idea where to find them, or so she thought. These illusions were quickly shattered however, when the two people she least wanted to see suddenly appeared from the drawing room. Fortunately Sirius had seen them first, and, still holding her from the dance, had pulled her with him, to hide behind a large statue of a basalisk where they were concealed, quite effectively, by the bulky marble snake, and could not be seen by either Marius, or Regulus, though it had been close.

They waited a minute, Crystal wrapped in Sirius' arms, the gap they had wedged themselves into being quite small and there not really being enough room for two people, and watched as Marius and Regulus left in different directions to search for them. Crystal looked up at Sirius and smirked, they had clearly won this round!

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Pleased to have lost Marius and Regulus Sirius sighed with relief, unconsciously wrapping his arms tighter around Crystal and breathing in deeply the scent of her silky ebony coloured hair. It was only at her slight, unconscious, movement in his arms that he realised what he was doing, and blushing, and sighing with irritation at having to let her go he carefully dislodged them from their hiding place, removing his arms reluctantly from around her waist and respectfully stepping back a step.

"Well what shall we do now?", questioned Sirius hesitantly, his voice not coming out nearly as strongly as he would have liked, as he looked Crystal straight in her intense ocean blue eyes.

"Well I don't know about you," began Crystal quietly, "but I've no intention of going back in there again, I've already made the social rounds, and..." she started hesitantly, as if afraid to tell him something, before carrying on regardless, and saying it anyway, "Regulus is starting to creep me out, he keeps asking to dance, and I just don't trust him, aside from the fact that Abbie already considers him her property and Marius would therefore kill me if I went anywhere near him."

Sirius looked at Crystal intently for a minute, momentarily shocked that even Regulus would be so stupid as to try and mess with the Maycombs, but seeing nothing but truth in her eyes, he answered her simply. "Yeah, I'm not going back in there either", he began seriously, before considering carefully what he said next, "There is probably somewhere we can hide out in this house, although I don't much fancy being caught in one of the security spells that are doubtless everywhere..." he trailed off, not sure what to say next, and desperately not wanting to suggest one place where he knew they could go, realising that with his reputation, Crystal was not likely to agree to it.

"We could always just hang out in one of our rooms then", began Crystal innocently, suggesting calmly what Sirius had been afraid to, "I don't know about you," she started again, looking even more nervous, "but I don't much like the thought of being alone in my room in this house with all these people." She explained carefully, looking down with shame at admitting that being with her own family frightened her.

"Yeah," Sirius answered, "I can see why you'd feel that way." , he whole-heartedly agreed with her, and though he would never admit it, the thought of being alone in a house with so many Death Eaters, had been praying on his mind a lot, in the days leading up to the holiday, and he was glad to know now, that he was not entirely alone in the house.

"Well shall we go to my room then?", Crystal asked him tentatively determinedly looking anywhere but Sirius, "We can hide there until the party breaks up." She finished logically, finally looking him in the eye again, piecing him with her fierce blue gaze.

"Sure," Sirius answered happily, pleased to be spending more time with her, and emboldened by her nervousness, he took her hand gently in his, squeezing it and giving her a smile, whilst gesturing with his other hand for her to lead the way.

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Pleased at his consent, Crystal could not help beaming at Sirius before turning to lead the way through the many passages of Malfoy Manor, to her room on the second floor of the east wing. She silently berated herself for being so transparent about how much she wanted him to stay with her, after all, she was not in the habit of showing people what she was feeling, as it was usually not a tactically wise thing to do with her family.

Arriving at the old oak door at the entrance to her room's Crystal again turned to Sirius and smiled, opening the door and gesturing for him to come inside politely. However her outward calm demeanour masked her turbulent inner emotions, on the one hand she did not want to admit, even to her self, that she needed anyone, especially not Sirius, whilst on the other she desperately wanted someone to stay with her in her room that night, protect her, the way she had never been protected before, from anyone who might wish to hurt her.

Irritated with herself for her internal conflict and weakness Crystal followed Sirius into the room, closed the door behind her and turned the key in the lock, remembering that though normally a lock wouldn't stop Marius, now, outside of school he could not perform magic to break in. She smiled nervously at Sirius and watched as he, feigning confidence, sprawled out on the bed, the only uncluttered piece of furniture in the room, considering that she had, in her haste to get dressed, covered the only sofa in dozens of expensive dress robes.

Finally able to let her guards down, after an evening of mental torture, which only her strict social conditioning had enabled her to survive, Crystal flopped down onto the bed beside Sirius and promptly buried her head into a soft, purple velvet throw pillow, sighing tiredly and removing the silver clip from her hair, placing it on a bedside table. The evening had been even worse than she had expected, with Marius following her every move with his eyes, she knew that the next time he had a chance, he would make her pay for every tiny mistake, that she had made that night, the thought terrified her, and despite her large amount of practice, at these situations, she could not help but feel tears prickling at the corners of her eyes, though she was determined not to cry.

To her shock, after several moments of silence on his part, Sirius, almost seeming to read Crystal's mood, brought his arms softly around her waist and buried his head in her hair, not saying anything, just holding her and understanding. In that moment Crystal lost whatever tenuous hold she had had over her emotions, and cried, not sobbing, simply letting the tears slide down her face in silence. She cried for every time in her life that she had wanted to cry, and couldn't because of her fear of showing weakness, she cried for every time she had been beaten as a child, instead of hugged, she cried for the life she could have had, had she not been a Maycomb, and said nothing, she didn't need to, she knew he felt it too.

After several hours of sobbing Crystal fell into a fitful sleep in Sirius' arms, forgetting that she didn't trust him, for once in her life, forgetting to think at all, just simply existing and being secure in the knowledge that, for the first time, she was being held by someone who understood, who cared, who loved her...

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