Chapter 9: After the Fight
A/N I know I left the last chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger and I'm sorry, but I had to. And now I think you might hate me some more (at least for most of this chapter), but I had to do it. So, please, forgive me for this chapter and for making you all wait so long for this chapter. At least it is a long chapter though. Also, please note that this chapter takes place immediately after the end of the last chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything in this story that appears to come from anything Harry Potter related. The only thing that I own in this story is my OC, Jasmine, as well as the plot of this story.
Once in their dorm room after the big fight, all Lily could get out of Jasmine was "What have I done, Lils?" before the girl broke down into tears and was sobbing. Jaz eventually fell asleep on Lily in her own bed. Lily maneuvered herself out from under her cousin in order to let Jaz rest in peace. When she finally escaped and closed the curtains around her cousin, the rest of their dorm mates were waiting for her. Lily expected this, so she quietly explained what she knew, which wasn't much. She told Mary, Maureen, and Alice, "She had a huge fight with Sirius for some reason. I have no idea what it was about or much of anything else. All I got out of her before she broke down was a terrified relation of what she had done." The girls glanced over at the bed Jasmine was in with the curtains closed now. There was pity on their faces. They knew how much that boy meant to her, so if he was the reason for her tears, they were going to make him pay.
Maureen was the one to voice this revenge mindset. "Well, if Black is the reason for her tears, he's going to pay. Right, girls?" They all smiled and nodded, all but Lily.
"Let's not do anything too drastic yet girls." Lily felt the need to defend Sirius. She had gotten close to him by association, and she doubted that Sirius would have made Jaz cry on purpose. It wasn't in his character. "Let me get the full story from Mina before we do anything."
"Fine, Lily," the three girls said in agreement. Then Mary pointed out, "We wouldn't want to start some kind of prank war or something with the boys if it wasn't at least completely justified." The others agreed before turning in again.
Meanwhile, James and the other Marauders were dealing with a Sirius who was freaking out. "What have I done, Prongs? I can't believe that I said that. I didn't mean any of it…"
Sirius was about to go off on a tangent of what ifs and regrets and James knew it. So, he cut Sirius off before he could continue. "Padfoot! You need to stop. It will do you no good to worry about the what ifs and what you can't change." Sirius shut up right then and looked up at his best mate. The look in Sirius's eyes told James that his best mate was still flipping out inside. James knew just how much this relationship meant to Sirius. He had seen just how much Sirius had changed since he and Jasmine had started dating just last Christmas. They were coming up on their first anniversary, and James hoped that they would make it to that anniversary. It would be awful if this stupid fight was the end of them after all the two of them had been through and after all James and Lily had done to finally get them together. As James thought about the fight, he realized he didn't even know what it was even about. If James was to help Sirius fix this, he needed to know what the actual issue was. "Pads, what was the fight even about? What even brought about it?"
Sirius tensed up for a moment. He shot James a look that said I'll tell you [and only you] later. James nodded in understanding. "It was just something stupid and I let my anger get the best of me," Sirius said. His answer was vague but good enough for the other Marauders for now as they were quite tired and just wanted to go to sleep.
As the other Marauders all got back into their own beds, James waited for Remus and Peter to shut their curtains before creeping over the Sirius's bed. "Pads," James whispered to his best mate who was now sitting on his bed. "Come on."
Sirius figured James wouldn't be able to wait to be told about the truth of the fight, so he sighed and got up. He motioned toward the door and James nodded. The two boys crept quietly out of the dorm and out of the common room. Sirius, who still had the invisibility cloak, much to James's surprise, took out the cloak and threw it over them as they headed toward the typical place they went to talk alone. It was the same place that Sirius revealed to James that he was being abused by his parents. Once there, Sirius threw the cloak off of them and turned to James, who was looking expectantly at his best mate.
"Well, I've been secretly going out and meeting up with my brother behind all of your backs since the start of term," Sirius finally said after a few moments of silence. He continued before James could stop him. It was the only way he would be able to get through this. "Reg's the one who showed me the room that Jaz and I were in on my birthday that I told you guys about. That room is where we have been meeting up because we could make it private. Anyway, I told Jaz about my meetings with Regulus not too long ago and she had expressed wanting to meet him. That meeting finally happened tonight. I thought it had gone great. I mean sure, Regulus was a bit pushy at times, but I expected that. It's who he is, partially because of the household he grew up in. And by the time the meeting finished, Regulus told me that he liked Jasmine, which I really appreciated. If he didn't like her, it wasn't going to stop me from still seeing her, but it was nice to know that my brother approved, especially since he didn't trust people easily. Also, since Jasmine is a half-blood, I thought he would instantly dislike her because she wasn't of pure blood, so I'm glad that wasn't an issue."
Sirius paused for a moment thinking about how he wanted to say the next part. "Well, I figured Jaz felt the same way about Regulus as he did about her, but I assumed wrong. It wasn't until we got back to the common room that she told me how she really felt about Regulus. Now, you should know this, Prongs, I'm very protective of my little brother even though you never really understood why. He's my brother and my blood despite his beliefs and ideals and all that pureblood bullshit. I can't change that about him. So, when Jaz finally said that she didn't like Regulus, I was offended. I could see all the reasons why Reg wouldn't like her, but I didn't understand why she wouldn't like him. So, I got so mad and protective of Regulus, and I took that anger out on Jasmine. Now, I've ruined everything. I didn't mean what I said, but I don't know what to do James. I love them both so much, but Regulus is my brother, my blood. I don't want this to be the end of me and Jasmine, but I don't know how we can get past this." As Sirius finally finished his speech, he finally let himself break. He was now slumped on the ground with his face in his hands. He was clearly in distress, but he had yet to break down into tears.
James stared down at his best mate in complete shock. He hadn't been expecting that. "I guess the fight wasn't as stupid as I thought." James thought before sinking down next to Sirius. He put his arm around Sirius to try and comfort his best mate. "I'm sorry, Pads. I really don't know what to say." James wasn't sure what the right thing to say here was. And well, James didn't want to say the wrong thing. He didn't want to give the wrong advice and that lead to things getting worse between Sirius and Jasmine. So, for the time being, he said nothing. Instead, he just went over to his best mate, slung an arm over his shoulder, and assured him, "You guys will get past this. You'll see, it will all be good once you talk it out in a couple of days after you both have cooled off. You can clear the air and it will all be good again."
Sirius smiled over at James, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes and James felt bad for his best friend. He knew that Regulus was a rather touchy subject for Sirius (one of the main reasons James never brought the Slytherin up). James knew how protective Sirius was of his little brother, so it would take more than clearing the air and talking to resolve this disagreement between the couple. James had just wanted to reassure his mate for the time being. He could figure out how he could help better after he talked with Lily tomorrow.
The next morning was probably the strangest morning the marauders ever experienced. It was even worse than the morning after Sirius pulled that prank on Snape. At least when that happened, the boys weren't exactly forced to pick sides, and although they were upset with Sirius, they did understand after he told them about the letter. It was a bit uncomfortable at times, but it was nothing compared to breakfast that next morning.
James and Lily had both felt that after last night's fiasco between their best mates that it would be best that, for now, they spent some time apart. This was in part because they didn't want another argument to start, which they feared would happen if they saw each other so soon after their first major fight. Thus, not wanting that to happen or for either of them to cause a scene in the Great Hall, the girls went down to breakfast separate from the boys, much to James's dismay. See, ever since James and Lily had started dating, the girls from Lily and Jaz's dorm and the Marauders had been going down to breakfast together. So, James was disappointed even though he knew as well as Lily that this was for the best at the moment, but that didn't mean he had to like it (and neither did she). After all, because of this, James was unable to sit next to the girl he loved and was now dating.
So, breakfast was a rather awkward and strange affair, not only for the Marauders but the rest of Hogwarts as well. The tension in the room was almost unbearable to anyone who was at breakfast that morning. No one except for the Marauders exactly knew what had happened, but they all knew that something was wrong and that it involved the Marauders.
There was one particularly observant Slytherin by the name of Regulus Black that took interest in the developing tension that was coming from the Gryffindor table. He had a terrible feeling that it was all his fault in a way, which he hoped it wasn't since that is not what he wanted from last night. After all, despite their differences, Reg didn't want to be the cause of his brother's unhappiness. And now after finally spotting him that morning, Reg could see that Sirius was clearly in distress. He no longer held that effortless smile on his face that Reg almost always saw on his face. Not only that but what was more concerning was that Sirius was not sitting with Jasmine for breakfast as would be typical. Reg had spotted his brother's girlfriend at the opposite end of the table with Lily Evans and some other girls that Regulus didn't entirely recognize. Seeing this, Regulus knew that this had something to do with him, and he felt slightly guilty for causing his brother misery. It hadn't been his intention. He just hoped that it wouldn't stay like this and the two would work it out. Regulus did believe that the two were good together as well as good for each other.
Meanwhile, over at the Gryffindor table, the tension was high, and everyone could feel it. It was rather uncomfortable for everyone else sitting at the table. That tension didn't go away until Jasmine finally had enough of it. She couldn't take it anymore, so she abruptly stood up, grabbed Lily, and basically stormed out of the Great Hall. As she left, Sirius's eyes followed her out, but he made no move to follow the two girls despite desperately wanting to. What prevented him was his fear of matting things worse. And that was the last thing he wanted to do.
Upon exiting the Great Hall, Jasmine dragged Lily down several corridors eventually ending up in an empty classroom that was far away from the Great Hall. Jasmine cast the usual spells to keep people out and from hearing their conversation. Meanwhile, Lily took a seat in an empty chair and waited. She figured her cousin had dragged her here for a reason, which Lily hoped was to tell her what exactly happened last night. Thankfully she was right.
"Lils," Jaz began sounding on the verge of breaking. Lily couldn't see Jaz's face at the moment as she was facing the door, but if Lily had to guess, she would say Jaz was trying not to break down crying. Thus, Lily got up to comfort Jasmine before the girl had a chance to continue. So, Lily pulled her cousin into a hug and soon felt her shirt being dampened by tears from her cousin.
Lily just let her cousin cry, not caring at all about her shirt. Instead, she pulled her closer and rubbed circles on her back whispering comforting words in her ear. "Oh, Mina, I'm so sorry," Lily whispered in Jaz's ear. "I'm sorry for all the hurt you're feeling. I wish I could take it all away, but I don't even understand how this happened. After all, you two were so happy together just yesterday at the quidditch match." Lily didn't get a response for several minutes though she wasn't expecting an immediate response, after all, her cousin was still crying on her shoulder.
Eventually, Jasmine stopped crying and released Lily. Jaz took a few steps back before going over to a nearby chair and collapsing into it she had her hands over her face and Lily was afraid she would start crying again. Thankfully, that's not what happened. Instead, Jaz removed her hands from her face and finally looked up at Lily with her bloodshot eyes that had shed too many tears in the past day than they should have. Lils," Jaz began again before asking (again), "What have I done?"
Lily had no idea (yet again) what to say. So, she said nothing, opting to pull a chair over to her cousin and sit with her. Lily was willing to wait as long as Jasmine needed. She could wait for an explanation, but upon seeing that Jaz was looking at her expectantly (like she was waiting for a response) Lily finally said something. "I don't know, Mina. What even happened last night?"
Jasmine took a deep, calming breath before finally explaining her version of the events of last night. She started off by explaining how Sirius had been secretly seeing his brother Regulus and how he was the one that showed Sirius the room that Jaz and Sirius had told Lily and the others about earlier that month. This revelation came as a shock to Lily. She never thought Sirius was that close to his brother, what with how his parents treated him. Lily had just assumed his brother was just as bad as his parents. Evidently, that was not the case. "Oh, wow! I didn't realize Sirius was so close with his brother. I just thought he felt the same way about him as he did his parents. Though, I guess I shouldn't be so shocked given how he gave up quidditch so he wouldn't hurt him again. I guess I just thought that when he left home, he cut all contact with his family. I never would have thought that his brother meant so much to him."
"It's a bit of a touchy subject for him. He rarely ever talks about Regulus, especially since he feels he abandoned him. Also, since Regulus is in Slytherin, Sirius doesn't like bringing him up, especially given the company he keeps. It is why they have been meeting in secret because if any of the Slytherins found out, I'm sure it would get back to their parents quickly." Jasmine explained to Lily. "So, Lils you can't tell anyone about this. I promised Sirius I wouldn't say anything, but I had to tell you so you could understand what happened last night."
"Don't worry, Mina. Your secret's safe with me." Lily promised. "Though, I'm sure Sirius has told James by now, at least I hope he has. I'll let James bring it up first when we meet later." Lily thought. She was meeting James later to go over patrol schedules. They were still head boy and head girl after all. Though, Lily suspected that they would spend most of that time talking about Sirius and Jasmine rather than what they were supposed to be talking about.
"Thanks, Lils." Jasmine let out a sigh of relief before continuing her explanation of last night's events and how they got to where they are now, "Anyway when I first found out, I told Sirius I wanted to meet Regulus. His brother matters so much to him, so I wanted to get to know him."
"Of course. It's like how I'm taking James home for Christmas to introduce him to my parents."
"Wait! What?!" Jasmine exclaimed. That's when Lily realized she hadn't actually told Jasmine yet because she and James had agreed to wait until closer to the end of term to tell everyone. They didn't want anyone telling them they were moving too fast or anything else of the sort. They were going through with it no matter what anyone else said.
Seeing it wasn't possible to take back what she said, Lily tried to brush it off. "Oh, nothing. Just continue on, Mina. "
Sadly, Lily's tactic didn't work. "No, no, no." Jasmine protested. Did you just say you were planning on taking James Potter home for Christmas? Does James know what you have planned?"
Lily knew Jaz wasn't going to drop this, so she just gave in. "Yes, that's what I said. I hadn't told you yet because James and I were planning on telling you all near the end of term, so none of you could talk us out of it. So, there! Can we go back to how you ended up fighting with Sirius now?"
Jasmine let out a small giggle at Lily's exasperated state, but she obliged her cousin's request. She could always come back to James and Lily's Christmas plans later. "Okay, fine," Jaz agreed. "Anyway, Sirius had talked Regulus and he had agreed to let me come to their next meeting, which happened to be last night. Now, these meetings weren't regularly scheduled, so I had only found out about it yesterday. Thus, I hadn't really prepared myself to meet him. Now, Lils, you have to understand, Sirius's family isn't made up of the greatest people."
Lily stopped Jaz before she could say any more. "Mina, there is no need to explain. You do remember I used to be friends with Snape. I understand that Regulus has likely been hanging out with those same Slytherins Snape hangs out with. I know they've been messing around with the Dark Arts. I won't hold it against him, if that's what you are worried about, Mina. I know what kind of household Sirius and his brother grew up in, so there is no need to explain because I know."
Jasmine, still slightly surprised at Lily's interjection, pushed on. "Well, anyway, before the meeting, Sirius was really nervous. I think he was afraid Regulus wouldn't like me or something like that. I really don't know, but it led to us bickering. I can't exactly remember why we were bickering just that as we approached the room, we were quietly bickering about something. It seems so stupid now." A tear fell down Jasmine's face, but she quickly wiped it away. She refused to let herself succumb to tears again. So, she sniffled and continued on. "Now Sirius has only told me so much about Regulus, so I was completely unprepared for the interrogation he put me through. By the time he finished asking me his questions, I felt as though I had just been interrogated. The questions he asked and how he asked them made it feel so intrusive. By the end, I felt like I had been violated in a way, and I just sat there and let it happen. It appeared that Sirius knew Regulus was like this based on the way they interacted after my interrogation, which upset me that he didn't at least warn me about how Regulus was so I could have prepared myself. Anyway, by the time the meeting was finished, I couldn't stand Regulus. At one point he even refused to call me Jasmine after I told him he could, and instead purposefully called me Dupont. I really tried to like him, Lils, but apparently that wasn't good enough for Sirius. So, when I told him that when we got to the common room, he was not happy. I knew he wouldn't be either, which is why I was so reluctant to tell him the truth. But he kept pushing and eventually I broke and once the truth was out there, Sirius got really upset. Eventually, we were screaming at each other. Oh, it was awful, Lils and it was all my fault. If I had only tried harder or just lied to him, we wouldn't be here right now. What have I done, Lils?"
Lily stared at her cousin for a moment as Jasmine tried to fight back the tears in her eyes. It was a losing battle, and eventually, Jaz gave in and was once again sobbing. Lily, in response, pulled her into another hug. Lily j held her cousin and tried her best to comfort the crying girl. They stayed like this for quite some time, and eventually, Jasmine stopped crying. Lily stayed silent as her cousin began to wipe away her tears. She wasn't exactly sure what to say because in her opinion this was not Jasmine's fault at all, bustily doubted her cousin would be receptive to her reasoning at the moment. So, Lily decided to save her breath. She would try to reason with Jasmine when she knew her cousin would actually listen to her. Hopefully, that would be sooner rather than later.
After their rendezvous in that empty classroom, Jasmine and Lily went back to Gryffindor Tower. They went straight up to their dorm and proceeded to work on their homework and do some revising. They went to their dorm to avoid confrontation with the boys, though Lily was starting to miss James's company slightly. Anyway, they stayed like this, not really talking, until Lily had to leave to go meet up with James for their weekly Heads meeting. Before leaving though, Lily wanted to make sure Jasmine would be okay without her.
"I'll be fine, Lils," Jasmine reassured. She even smiled to try to convince Lily she was fine, but it hadn't reached her eyes, so Lily knew it was fake. When that didn't work, Jasmine continued on. "Now go have fun with your boyfriend. If I need anything, I'm sure one of the girls can help me." The girls that were present in the room (Maureen and Mary) nodded their heads in agreement.
Reassured, Lily flashed a smile at her cousin before turning and leaving the room. She found James waiting for her in the common room, so she hurried down the stairs to greet him. She wasn't very quiet in her descent, so James immediately took notice and went to wait for her at the bottom of the girls' staircase. It was there that James was taken by surprise and was forced to act quickly in order to catch Lily who had flung herself at him. Thanks to those quick quidditch reflexes, James was able to catch her and even spin her around in a hug after catching her. He was so happy to finally see his girlfriend.
He set Lily down after a few moments and smiled down at her. "I'm so happy to see you, Lils. I feel like it has been forever since we saw each other when it was only just yesterday that we were together."
Lily smiled back at James but said nothing in response. Instead, she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the common room. At first, James resisted, but then he came to his senses and let himself be dragged along. He had momentarily forgotten that they typically have this meeting in an empty classroom because they didn't want anyone interrupting or distracting them from their duties. It would get done faster that way, but James had a feeling this meeting was going to take longer than it typically would.
Lily was the first to speak after they arrived in the classroom and cast the usual spells to prevent anyone from overhearing and prevent interruptions. "I think we both know that the rounds schedule is not really going to change this week." James nodded, knowing where Lily was going with this but waited for her to finish before speaking. "So, what we really need to talk about is our best mates. I figure we can compare Sirius and Jasmine's sides of the story to see if there is anything we can do to help them out."
James nodded. "Okay, I'll go first." James thought back to what Sirius had told him last night. "I'm sure Jazzy told you that Sirius has been secretly meeting up with his brother Regulus Black in that room they told us about."
Lily sighed in relief glad that James had brought that up first. "Yeah, she did, but she made me promise not to tell anyone, so I wouldn't tell anyone else, James. It could mean bad things for both Blacks, especially if it got back to their parents."
"I wasn't planning on it, Lils," James promised. "Anyway, since Jazzy told you that, I'm sure you know that the fight was about Regulus and a meeting they both had with him yesterday." Lily nodded. "Now that that's been established, last night Sirius told me that he thought the meeting had gone great. He didn't go into any detail about it just saying Regulus was his usual pushy self. He did mention that Regulus told him that he like Jazzy, which he was elated about. From what I know about Regulus from the little Sirius has told me, that is not an easy task. He is very different from Sirius, but neither of them trusts people easily. It took several years to get Sirius to finally tell me what had been going on at home before he finally ran away. It took a long time for the three of us to fully earn his trust and get him to open up."
Lily stared at James for a moment before finally speaking. "James, I had no idea. I hadn't even realized until now just how little I know about Sirius and his childhood."
"Yeah, it's a touchy subject for him, especially since before he came to Hogwarts he wasn't treated like an outcast by his parents. I don't know much else though. He doesn't like talking about it, and I'm not sure if I really want to know much more." James shuddered to think what horrors Sirius wasn't telling him about, but he chose not to dwell on that much. Rather, James preferred to live in the present and look to the future. "Anyway, Sirius told me that he had been really worried about Regulus not liking Jazzy for various reasons, and he was so focused on his brother not liking Jazzy, he didn't even think that she wouldn't like Regulus. So, when Jazzy told him that she didn't like Regulus, Sirius was surprised and angry. Sirius is really protective of Regulus so Jazzy saying that really set him off. So, he lashed out at Jazzy and said some things he didn't mean. He was really upset and distraught thinking that he ruined one of the best things that has ever happened to him. I felt so bad for him, but I didn't know what to say. I'm not good at giving advice, that's more Remus's strong suit, so I just tried to reassure him it was all going to work out and everything would be fine. I didn't know what else to say, Lils."
Lily was quiet for a few seconds before speaking up. "Wow. I was not expecting that, especially after hearing Mina's side of the story." Lily paused expecting James to say something. He didn't speak up, so Lily carried on. "Don't worry about not knowing what to say, James. I didn't say anything to Mina either, but that was mainly because she thinks it is all her fault."
"Wait a minute, Jazzy thinks it's her fault?" James questioned. "Okay, you are going to explain, Lily."
"Okay, so," Lily started. "Mina told me all that stuff about the meeting and such, but she went into much more detail than Sirius did. See, these meetings with Regulus weren't regularly scheduled or anything. So, Mina had only found out yesterday about meeting up with Regulus. She had no time to prepare, and Sirius had only told her so much about Regulus. Unfortunately, Sirius hadn't told her that Regulus doesn't trust people easily and he would be putting her through an interrogation, at least that is how Mina described it. She said that Regulus had asked her a bunch of questions and by the time she was done, she felt like he had violated her in a way. So, by the end of the meeting, she could stand the boy and I completely understand why. If someone treated me that way, I would not like or trust them either. It was completely one-sided."
Lily was a bit frustrated at this point, so James decided to speak up before she said anymore. "You know, I feel really bad for Jazzy. I wish she didn't have to go through that. That is awful."
"I wish Sirius had realized that what Regulus was doing was wrong in the first place and had stopped him," Lily stated. James nodded his head in agreement. "Anyway, after Mina told Sirius what she thought of Regulus, they started yelling at each other as you know. She knew that would happen because she knew he wouldn't be happy that she didn't like his brother. Now, I don't think she thought they were going to start yelling at each other, but she knew Sirius would be mad, so she had been reluctant to tell him what she thought of Regulus. Sirius kept pushing, though, so she relented and told him. Now she thinks it's all her fault because she should have tried harder with Regulus or should have lied to Sirius about what she thought of Regulus."
James couldn't believe it, nor did he understand it. "I still don't get why Jazzy would think it was her fault. Logically, it seems like it's Sirius's fault, not that I'm taking sides or anything."
"You weren't there James when she broke down and told me what her mother had been doing to her for all those years since her father died," Lily explained. "You know her mother verbally and emotionally abused her. So, I'm sure Sirius, not intentionally, said something to the effect that she should have tried harder. And because of that verbal and emotional abuse, she went through with her mother she believed it to be true. Mina might not show it, but I know that her mother's words cut her deeply. They scarred her so much that sometimes she has asked me whether I think she is a freak. It's not often, but she does do it. Each time I reassure her that she isn't a freak, nor will she ever be, but I can't stop it when those words creep themselves back into her subconscious. I wish I could, but I can't." Lily now had tears streaming down her face. She hated that she couldn't help her cousin.
James, noticing the tears, pulled Lily into a hug. "Oh, Lils. That's awful. I'm so sorry. I wish Jazzy didn't have to go through that." James tried his best to comfort Lily, but he wasn't the best at this sort of thing. Thankfully, it wasn't long before Lily had stopped crying. She didn't pull away from the hug though, instead, she snugged into James's embrace, enjoying his warmth.
Eventually, they separated. Lily broke the silence first. "Thank you, James. I needed that." She smiled up at him.
"No problem, Lils." James returned her smile before continuing. "Anyway, I'm not sure how much we can do to help them right now. I think they are going to have to work it out for themselves, but if it doesn't get better by next week, we can come up with a plan to help them." Lily nodded in agreement before the two quickly went over the patrol schedules for the coming week before heading back to their dorms for the night.
Over the next week, things between Jasmine and Sirius went from bad to worse. That first fight between the couple that was thought to be a one-time thing was only the beginning (of what appeared to be the end for them). This was because every time they talked to each other, it ended in a fight. The fights were stupid too. It seemed as though every little thing pissed them off. What was worse was that after each fight they would both go to their best mates (after their classes) and break down. Lily had had to comfort a sobbing Jasmine more times that week than she ever wanted to. James, on the other hand, had to deal with a distraught Sirius who was almost always on the brink of tears. Nothing seemed to make him feel any better.
Each time Sirius would tell James the same thing, "I don't know why we keep fighting and arguing, Prongs. I just want to apologize and fix all of this, but every time I do, we end up having a row instead of making up. What am I doing wrong?"
James would never answer because he really didn't know what Sirius was doing wrong. Mainly that was because Sirius didn't really tell him much about what led to the two of them arguing. Also, James couldn't comprehend why the two were constantly arguing. He really wished he did because that would make fixing this so much easier. And he needed to fix this because it was getting to the point where James was afraid that he was going to have to pick sides, which he couldn't do. James had told Sirius when he started dating Jaz that he would hurt him if he hurt her, which he was doing. On the other hand, Sirius is James's best mate and his brother basically. "What kind of 'brother' would I be if I went against Sirius?" James thought. Then he realized that that is what started all of this in the first place. Jasmine had placed herself between the bond of two brothers, and that was not something you wanted to do. Despite this new insight, James still had no idea how to get Jasmine and Sirius's relationship back on track.
Meanwhile Lily was busy consoling Jasmine, who was almost always in tears when she was around Lily. When she wasn't crying or sobbing, though, Jaz asked Lily for advice. "Lils, I'm not sure what to do. The littlest things seem to set me and Sirius off each time we talk. It's terrible, but I don't know how to stop it from happening. What should I do?"
Lily didn't know what advice to give Jaz, that is until Friday rolled around. It had taken all week, but Lily had finally thought of an answer to Jasmine's questions. So, when Jasmine asked Lily the same thing that evening before dinner, Lily responded, "Mina, why not give Regulus another change? Maybe it was the pressure of Sirius being there that ruined your first impression of him. I don't see why you can't give him another shot. By giving him another chance, Sirius can't say that you didn't try hard enough, and who knows, maybe Regulus is not one of those people that you can judge based on first impressions."
Jaz stared at Lily for several seconds. "How would that solve the fact that we are still fighting? We aren't even fighting about Regulus anymore."
Lily sighed. "Well, Mina, that's what started this all, isn't it? Plus, I figure the reason you two are still arguing is that you both are still upset with each other about that first fight whether you realize it or not."
Jasmine was quiet at first. "Wow, I hadn't thought about it that was Lils. I guess I am still a little upset at Sirius for not defending me or anything from Regulus's questioning." Jaz paused for a moment, thinking about Lily's suggestion. "I think you're right, Lils. I'll give Regulus another chance without Sirius around." And with that, Jasmine went to write Regulus a secret message the same way that she saw Sirius do last week. She sent it the same way as Sirius had and got a response back almost immediately. After decoding it, the note read:
Usual spot? Tomorrow night after dinner?
~RAB~
Jasmine responded with a yes. She got no response back, but she knew Regulus got it after catching his eye at dinner that night and he nodded his head slightly. So, it was official. Jasmine would be meeting Regulus in the Room of Requirement after dinner tomorrow night. It would be a week after they had first met, but Jasmine was ready this time. She knew what to expect and had a plan. She just hoped Regulus would go along with it.
It was not long before it was time for Jasmine's secret meeting with one Regulus Black. She had arrived outside of the room first, mainly because she didn't want to be late and secondly because she wanted to surprise Regulus. It was a little prank she wanted to pull on the boy after he had surprised them last week. So, she hid herself using the Disillusionment charm. Then she stood in wake of Regulus's arrival. When she heard footsteps approaching, she got ready to reverse the charm figuring it had to be Regulus, which it was. She waited until he made the door appear before reversing the charm and jumping at him saying "Boo!"
Regulus was a bit startled at the sudden appearance of his brother's girlfriend (at least he hoped she still was), but he didn't really show it. The only real indication that he was at all surprised was the way his eyes went wide, which sent Jasmine into a fit of giggles, but that didn't last long as Regulus pulled her into the room with him.
It was the same room as last time, but instead of taking a seat in the chair as he did last week, Regulus sat on one end of the couch in his usual seat. Jasmine took what was typically Sirius's seat on the other end of the couch. She sat down, sitting crisscross and facing Regulus. She had a big smile on her face, that Regulus didn't believe was real for a second. It was a rather cheeky grin than a genuine smile, so Reg knew Jasmine had something in store for him. But before she could execute her plan, Regulus had to settle something that has been on his mind since Sunday morning. "So, Jasmine, are you and my brother still together?"
Jasmine's cheeky smile dropped and was replaced with a sad sort of smile. "For now, we are, but I'm not sure how much longer if we keep at it the way we have been."
Regulus nodded solemnly. "I've heard. I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to cause a rift between you two. After all, I think you are good for him in a weird way despite everything. You two are good together and I told Sirius as much after our meeting last week."
Jasmine was shocked. This was the first time she was hearing this bit of information. "Wait, are you telling me that you like me?"
"Well, in a way, yes. There are things about you I can't stand, but overall, you aren't a terrible person, and you make my brother happy, or at least you use to."
"See, I wish I had known that."
"Why's that?" Regulus asked, perplexed.
"Well, it just would have been nice to know. It still wouldn't have changed my opinion of you after that first meeting, but I might have been more open to meeting with you earlier if I had known you 'approved' of me," Jasmine responded.
"What was your opinion of me then?" Regulus had to know. He had a feeling it wasn't good given how the couple had been fighting and arguing all week long. Plus, most people didn't like him after their first encounter with him. He's not the easiest fella to get along with or even like.
"Well, I didn't like you. I hated how you asked me a ton of personal and invasive questions and I didn't even get the chance to ask you anything. How was I supposed to like you when I knew nothing about you other than you are rude and don't trust anyone?"
Regulus was not surprised. "Most people have that kind of first impression with me. I'm not the easiest person to like. It's just I don't trust anyone, and I like to have my secrets as I believe everyone deserves to have."
Satisfied with his answer, Jasmine moved on to her plan. "Well, I figured since you got to ask all the questions last week, I could get to ask all the questions this week. And of course, you don't have to answer all of the questions like last week. I won't ask you anything related to your relationship with the dark arts or anything like that, but I want to get to know you Regulus because I still know so little."
Regulus thought for a moment. He was about to say no when he thought better of it. "Fine. It's only fair, I guess. So, ask away."
And ask away is just what Jasmine did. She asked him the same sort of stuff that he did about his favorite subject (potions) and professor (Slughorn) and color (green). After that, she moved on to some more personal stuff about his family. She asked him stuff that she had asked Sirius about, but he had always clammed up about. Regulus only did that for about half of the questions, which was better than what Jaz thought she would get from the Slytherin. By the end of the question session, Jasmine felt like she knew so much more about the Black family than she ever did. She even learned about a Black family tradition after asking, "I know that Sirius and Regulus are both constellations, does the rest of your family have constellation or space-themed names?"
"It's a Black family tradition. Don't ask me why, it just is. There have not been many, if any at all, members of the Black family that I know of that haven't been named after a constellation, at least to my recollection. I'm not sure when it started, but it's continued ever since for the most part.
Jasmine smiled thoughtfully. "That's rather interesting. I wonder…"
"I doubt Sirius will want to continue that tradition, Jasmine so don't be getting any ideas. And I don't plan on having any children, so I guess the trend will end with us unless one of my cousins continues it. Though, it won't really be a Black anymore as they are all girls and will end up marrying into another pureblood family."
Jasmine was about to ask why he wasn't going to have any children but thought better of it. Instead, she just dropped the subject and moved on. But the idea of continuing the Black family tradition (mainly as a way to spite Sirius's family) never really left her. She couldn't help but think that it would make them so angry since if she and Sirius did end up getting married and having a child together, it would be a half-blood.
After the meeting, Jasmine realized that she actually enjoyed her time with Regulus. She still didn't trust him, but she doubted that Sirius trusted him completely anyway, but at least she could now tell Sirius that she actually did like his brother. Regulus, as per usual, just made a bad first impression on Jasmine.
Jasmine was elated and planned to tell Sirius the next morning about how she now liked Regulus. Sadly, that never happened. Before Jasmine was able to say anything to Sirius, they ended up arguing again. He had said something that set her off and they were at each other's throats again. It seemed Lily's plan had backfired slightly. And now they were going to be entering their final week before break and they would still be fighting.
As the two were still fighting, as promised, by the time James's weekly heads meeting with Lily rolled around, the two were going to make a plan to get the two back on track and help them fix their relationship. Now, James was extremely grateful. He had spent very little time with his loving girlfriend in the past week due to the ongoing drama between Jasmine and Sirius. So, he was glad he would get some time alone with her. Not only that, but maybe she had some thoughts on how to help with the ongoing drama between their best mates because he had no idea what to do.
So, here the head boy and head girl were now, the same place as they were last week: in an empty classroom for their weekly meeting. Both knew they were going to be talking about the same thing as they did last week as they said they would. Clearly, their best mates could not solve this without their help. Though they both had offered some advice and help already, James less so than Lily.
James was the first to speak this time. "Lils, I know we said we would get involved if they couldn't fix it on their own, but I have no idea what we could possibly do. I've tried to help Sirius, but I have no idea what other advice I can give him other than to stop arguing with Jasmine. I'm really not great at giving out the advice."
"I know what you mean James," Lily said. "I actually got Mina to give Regulus another chance thinking that if she realized that she didn't actually hate him that would solve everything. Well, she doesn't hate him anymore and actually enjoyed her time with him. The only thing is Sirius won't give her the chance to tell him. Or if he does give her the chance, he says something that pisses her off and she starts arguing with him. It is awful. I can only do so much to comfort her when she comes to me crying after another argument with Sirius."
James sat there thinking about what they could possibly do to help out their friends when it suddenly hit him. "Wait a minute." Lily who had also been thinking, looked over at James. "You are really good at giving advice, right?"
"Well, I think I am, and I guess the other girls would agree with that too. Why?" Lily wasn't sure where James was going with this.
"Well, I'm obviously great at cheering up people, which by what you said is exactly what Jazzy needs. And well, as I said, Sirius keeps asking for my advice, which I'm rubbish at giving. So, I thought, why don't I talk with Jasmine, and you talk with Sirius. Maybe you can knock some sense into him, and maybe I can bring some cheer back into Jasmine's life."
"That is a brilliant idea James," Lily agreed. "We have to do it sometime before the end of the week though. I can't bear to tell Sirius that you won't be spending Christmas with him this year while he is already so unhappy." Lily hoped that James didn't catch on to the fact that she didn't include Jasmine in that statement.
Unfortunately for her, he did notice. "Don't you mean Jasmine and Sirius?"
"Um…" Lily flashed him a sheepish smile. "Actually, I might have accidentally told Jasmine last week. It was completely by accident. I wasn't thinking before I spoke, and it just came out."
"Oh, Lils," James said. "It's fine. I guess that just means there is one less person to tell then." James changed the subject back to his plan. "Anyway, I think we should do what I suggested tomorrow after classes. That way, we are getting it done sooner rather than later." Lily agreed and that was that. They soon moved on to the patrol schedules before turning in for the night.
Monday evening rolled around quite quickly for James and Lily. Time seemed to fly by, and they were eternally grateful for that, especially after Sirius and Jasmine had gotten into another argument that morning before breakfast. It was over something stupid again, which was nothing new, unfortunately.
Anyway, that evening after classes, Jasmine was once again upset because of all the arguing and went running to Lily for comfort. What she found instead was one James Potter lounging on her cousin's bed in her dorm room (Lily had helped him get up there by standing on the staircase as he went up the steps). Now, Jasmine had missed the Marauders quite a lot since she had been fighting with Sirius. Though, she still saw Remus as they were prefects together and did their patrol together. But besides Remus, Jasmine didn't really see James or Peter all that much and she was really starting to miss them. So, upon seeing James in Lily's bed, Jasmine wasn't concerned. Rather she was elated to him there. She showed that by running over to the bed. She would have hugged him, but it wasn't really feasible given that he was lying down. "James, what are you doing here?" Jasmine asked with an almost genuine smile on her face. She had almost completely forgotten why she had come in here in the first place.
James looked up at the girl for the first time with a wide grin on his face. "Well, I'm here to see you, Jazzy. I feel like it's been ages since we spent time together, just the two of us. So, I thought we could do that now." James stood up and grabbed Jasmine's hand pulling her out of the room and out of the common room. He had a plan to cause some mischief if Jasmine was up for it. He planned to do his best to take her mind off of all the terribleness of the past week.
As she was being pulled along, Jasmine was giggling. She wasn't expecting this, but she was happy to join James in whatever he had planned. She really needed this after the week that she's had.
Meanwhile, Sirius had found Lily reading in James's bed when he went looking for his own best mate. He was not expecting to see the redhead there. Nonetheless, he thought that Lily might be able to give help him out anyway. She had given him some rather good advice after she found out about his home life in their 4th year. It was only fitting that she could give him some advice now too. So, he strolled over to James's bed and sat next to her. "Hey, Lily, what are you doing here?"
"Well, James is currently busy at the moment, so he thought that I could fill in for him." Lily and James had agreed not to tell Jasmine and Sirius the full truth lest they get upset with them for interfering. "So, what's up, Sirius?
"Well, as you know, I've been fighting with Jaz a lot lately. I keep going up to her to apologize and instead we end up arguing instead. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, Lily. I just want this all to end. I miss her so much. It's been awful without her, especially with Christmas and our first anniversary coming up. I've never been with anyone this long before. I don't know what I would do if I lost her."
"Oh, Sirius! Don't worry, you won't lose her. Not if I can help it." Lily assured. "My advice is that instead of going up to her intending to apologize, why don't you just let her talk? I have a feeling if you hear her out, you might just like what she has to say. Also, Sirius, make sure to hear her out completely before you say anything. I know that if you actually listen to her, you can work this out. You guys are too good together to let this relationship fall apart now."
Sirius didn't know what to say. Clearly, there is something that Jasmine had been wanting to tell him but hadn't been able to. "Really? That's all I have to do? You really think that will work, Lily?"
"I think it will at least get you both back on track and stop all the arguing," Lily said. "But you both have said some terrible things to each other that you can't take back. It will take some time for you to get back to where you were before you started arguing."
Sirius nodded and got up to find Jasmine. He was stopped though by Lily. "You are going to have to wait until after dinner. She's a bit preoccupied at the moment and you wouldn't want to ruin this for her."
Sirius gave her a questioning look but decided he could wait until after dinner. "So, what do you want to do until then, Lily?" Sirius asked a bit mischievously, but Lily had other plans in mind for them.
"I thought it best we could do some work and revising. I hear you still have yet to do your potions essay. If you want I can help you with it." Sirius sighed but relented because he really did need to work on that essay. Plus, Lily was offering her help, something she didn't often do (not that he needed it though).
The rest of the day went by rather fast and soon Jasmine and Sirius were heading up to the common room (not together, but still). Once in the Gryffindor common room, Sirius grabbed Jasmine's hand and pulled her over to the seats by the fire. Meanwhile, fearing they were going to start fighting again, the common room cleared out. Besides the couple, James and Lily were the only other ones in the common room. They were hidden in a part of the common room so they could see if their plan worked out.
Jasmine let herself be let hoping against hope that she and Sirius could finally put an end to all of this fighting and arguing going on between them. After the time she spent with James, her sense of hope that they might actually be all right was restored. She really believed that eventually, they would be okay and that they would stay together. She was especially grateful to James for that.
Sirius, on the other hand, was sweating balls. He was so nervous he would screw this up and cause a fight again. But he took a deep breath and calmed himself before taking a seat on the couch next to Jasmine.
They were quiet for several minutes waiting for the other to speak. Jasmine, seeing that Sirius wasn't going to explain himself anytime soon, decided to finally break the tense silence. She figured this was her chance to finally tell Sirius about her second meeting with Regulus. "So, I met up with Regulus again to give him a second chance. It went much better than the first time, Pads. I really do like him, and I enjoyed my time with him. I actually got him to tell me some more personal stuff and about your family. I had no idea that you and Regulus weren't the only ones with star names," Jasmine told him.
Sirius gaped at his girlfriend. He hadn't expected that at all, but it was amazing news. "Really? That's wonderful, Mare. I'm so glad you gave him another chance. I know that I should have told you about his pushiness and rudeness before, but I didn't want you to go in there with an immediate dislike for him." Sirius pulled Jasmine in for a hug. Then her words caught up with him and he realized what she had said. "Wait a minute!" He pulled back slightly from the hug. "How much did Regulus actually tell you? Because don't you getting any ideas."
"Oh, he told me enough," Jasmine teased. "But I have to confess, if we were in some distant future to end up getting married and having a baby together, I think we should continue the Black Family tradition."
"Wha-" Sirius started, but Jaz put her finger on his lips stopping him from saying any more.
"Shh. Let me explain." Jasmine smiled that cheeky little smile of hers. "I think naming a potential future child of ours that would in fact be a half-blood, would be the best kind of revenge on them, don't you think? Just imagine how furious they would be that their tradition was continued, and the child wasn't even 'pure of blood.' After all, the baby would still have the last name Black."
Sirius thought about it for a moment and laughed. "That is absolutely brilliant, Mare. I love it." Then he pulled her in for a kiss, something that hadn't been done for over a week. It was also something Sirius missed doing. Sirius pulled back after a few seconds though and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Mare. I hope we can get back to what was before. I love you." Then he crashed his lips back onto hers, not giving her the chance to reply. Though, given that she was smiling into the kiss, he knew she felt the same way. And so, the couple was happy and no longer arguing. All was well, at least for now…
A/N Again, I'm sorry for all the fighting and arguing going on with Sazzy in this chapter. At least now it's all better, sort of. I mean they are better now. Anyway, I'm hoping to get the next chapter will get done soon. I would have liked to have finished it before Christmas, but sadly it isn't looking like it will be. Anyway, Please let me know what you think of this chapter because that's the only way that I have any idea if what I am writing is rubbish or not. So, please, review, comment, whatever, and also favorite the story or whatever.
Merry Christmas,
🎅 Knk6700 🎅