Chapter 24: Today

Cressida sits in the alcove of an arched window, watching other students meander around, in and out of the nearby courtyard. A charms book lies on the stone ledge with her, notes scribbled in on the margins with pencil.

James had Head Boy duties to attend to, and Remus and Peter elected to go to the library for study. Merlin knows where Sirius went, so Cressida decided to just settle for some light revision with a nice view. The calmness and ease of what she's reading is actually quite relaxing and a pleasant change from the heavy material that is drummed into them.

James released the Quidditch teams a week or so ago, and to her delight, the young Jacobs boy, Bastian, made Chaser. Following Sirius' advice, Kirk was made the second beater, Hackley still the Keeper and Cressida taking the reins with Seeker once more.

At least she's found some serenity being back at Hogwarts.

Of course even that can't last long.

The sound of frantic bickering echoes down the corridor. Cressida peaks out past the stone alcove, eyes searching through the light crowd. Two heads with matching colour of hair move back and forth. Sirius' tall figure looms over Regulus' slightly shorter stance, but the younger brother is holding his own. She can't hear what they're arguing about, but it's heated and looking ugly. Not taking her eyes off of them, she quickly folds her book close, tucking it into her small side bag and slides off the stone ledge.

As she marches towards them, students around the brothers steer off to the sides, eyes watching them cautiously as though prepared to jump out of the way of the casualties of a duel.

Sirius' face is tinted red, the veins of his throat protruding and his eyes black. "You're a coward," he spits, shoving a finger in his brother's chest. "You always were. It's no wonder you're just like them."

Regulus' face is paler than usual, but the tips of his ears are a flaming red. Cressida walks faster. "I'm not the coward who ran!" he spits right back, knocking the finger away.

Sirius shakes his head, lips pressed in a tight line. "I didn't run! I escaped!" There is nothing but pure hatred and anger in his voice. That's not her Sirius. "I'm fighting for what's right."

"And I'm fighting for my family." Unlike Sirius' loud cries, Regulus' voice remains in a low growl. "The one that you disgraced."

Sirius' offensive stance softens, but his defences don't waver. "They're not my family. And neither are you." Cressida is barely ten feet away as Sirius finally looks and sees her coming. He looks back to his brother once more, then turns on his heels, marching directly towards her. Cressida slows, watching him come, but Sirius only brushes straight past her.

She stops, spinning around with her lips parted. He keeps walking away, not even looking over his shoulder or slowing to wait for her. Cressida looks back to Regulus, who is holding his head strong. The muscles of his jaw twitch and his nose flares in and out. She doesn't know what to say to him. Nothing. She could care less about him right then and there.

Cressida takes off again, this time at a slow run to catch up with her friend's steadfast pace. "Sirius!" She calls. If he hears her, he doesn't stop. "Sirius please!" Her bag flounces against her thigh, strands of hair falling from her poorly tied bun which her wand is poked through. Finally close enough to reach for him in a long-abandoned corridor, that is exactly what she does. Her fingers close around the length of his white school shirt but it is torn away as soon as there is tension.

Cressida falters as Sirius purposefully pulls from her grip. She tries again, only met with the same reaction. She won't give up.

Jumping forward, she moves right in front of him, arms bending outwards. He walks right into her, their chests clashing. Cressida arms instantly bend back inwards, fingers wrapping around each of his arms. "Please," she begs. Sirius turns his head away. His chest is moving rapidly and she can hear each breath from his nose. His eyes are rimmed with red and gloss and like his brother, the muscles in his jaw are tensing.

"Leave me alone, Cress."

Cressida shakes her head. "No," she breathes. "No, no. You don't leave me alone, and I'm not leaving you." He fights her hold for another few moments, trying to push away her hands but she doesn't give in. His pushes become weaker by the second and his chest heaving deeper. His bottom lip curls, eyes narrowing, and he leans forward. "Please don't cry."

Her meek whisper seems to break him, and the resistance falls completely. His head drops to her shoulder and Cressida releases his shirt from her tightly constricted fingers. Sighing in relief, Cressida closes her eyes, pressing her cheek against the side of his head and wraps her arms around his neck. He sobs, the sound sending a stabbing pain through her heart and stomach. Her eyes open again, feeling the openness of the corridor creeping up her spine. Sirius would hate to have someone walk in on them.

"Hey, hey." She lifts his head up with her hands, her thumbs wiping under each of his eyes. "I got somewhere I want to show you. You've never been there before."

A spark of light shines in his eye. "Impossible," he whispers.

Shaking her head, smiling softly, she says, "No. Only James and I have."

Her hands travel down to his hand, taking one in both of hers. No resistance. Cressida guides him towards the staircases, his fingers lacing between hers and squeezing tight. Every time they pass a student, his head hangs lower, long locks curtaining. They travel all the way to the seventh floor.

"Think of what you want," she instructs, leading him down the hall. "It will give it to you." Sirius doesn't answer, but she knows he is doing so by the look in his eye. They arrive at the spot, and Cressida looks up at the empty wall. Sirius stops behind her, looking around while her eyes are pointed at the one spot.

At first there is nothing, but then it appears. A door; appearing out of nothing. Dark swirls of crafted metal, arching into a room that shouldn't exist. "You knew about this?"

"Yeah," whispers Cressida. "I forgot about it, honestly. Haven't really had a need for it other than a getaway." Her curiosity grows, wondering what would await her inside this time. For her and James, it had mostly been a small, cosy place to study. But this would be Sirius' desire. One hand stays with his, the other stretching out and unlatching the lock. It sounds heavy but is easy to push.

The first thing she sees is how big it is. Well beyond the physical capabilities that a non-magical room could hold. The next thing she notices is the lack of furniture. From wall to wall there is almost nothing, except an oversized beanbag in the middle. The final thing—that makes everything else seem insignificant—is the roof. Or rather, the sky.

Like the Great Hall is sometimes enchanted to do, they cannot see the stone carvings off the roof, but rather a night sky. Thousands of stars glimmer and shine in front of a dark blue sky of a well-lit night. They aren't in any random order either. Cressida recognises Aquarius, the constellation that Sirius had taught her last year.

Sirius walks past her. There are tears down his face that must have fallen while she wasn't looking. The tracks reflect the white light as his head hangs backwards, entranced by the sky. "What is this place?" he murmurs.

"Don't know. I call it The Room with the Hidden Door." Cressida walks towards him, not wanting to pull him away from the adorning expression, but also knowing that he can't just ignore what happened. "You want to tell me why you and Reg were talking?" Her eyes linger on his arm, slowly rising up, afraid of what his expression will turn to.

Sirius' eyes turn colder, the glint of happiness disappearing. "No," he swallows. "I don't." Her chest sinks, knowing she can't force it out of him. Besides, maybe it is one of those times where it is best forgotten.

Cressida smiles, folding her arms loosely over her stomach. She looks back up to the sky. "What were you thinking of to get this? What did you desire?"

"Sex."

Cressida's lips part silently, her eyes closing over and her breath catching before she lets out a soft chuckle. "Lovely. Glad to know that I've been brought to your ideal location for getting shagged."

Sirius shakes his head, his own chuckle just as soft and airy. "I'm kidding. Stargazing… it's… my favourite thing to do with you." Cressida smiles up at him, reaching up to wipe away the fresh tracks of tears.

"Happy to know it's not sex. You've been scaring me with some of the comments you make," she taunts, tipping her head to the side with a teasing smirk. "I think you're annoying James."

"That's one of my favourite things to do with him… To him." Sirius laughs, shaking his head. "Ever since you told me he was getting jealous over the idea that I fancy you, I just can't help myself. He kicked me the other day because he thought I was staring at your arse."

"Were you?"

"Beside the point."

Cressida scoffs, grinning and turning around the gaze upon the stars again. Sirius takes her hand, leading them both to the large beanbag. It's an odd thing to see inside of Hogwarts. Sirius sinks into it first, spreading his body along it as much as he can before holding both his hands up to her. She lies alongside him, her neck taking rest in the junction of his arm and chest. "You feel better now?" she whispers, head falling to the side.

Sirius smiles to the ceiling. "Yeah."

They stay there, Cressida watching as the argument with his brother drips away from his memory until the tears return from laughter at their bantering of some senseless topic. She could almost fall asleep there, slowly moving with the pattern of his breathing. He traces shapes into her palm, and after a while she figures out that they're constellations.

"You know what you're going to do?" she whispers to him.

Sirius tips his head to the side. "Eat a lot of dessert tonight?" he guesses.

Cressida stifles a chuckle. "Yes," she agrees. "But you're going to make someone very happy one day. I hope you know that."

Sirius smiles curiously at her, tipping his head the other way. "I make you happy, don't I?"

Cressida nods with a slow blink. "That's how I know." Sirius smiles bashfully, which is not a common look.

"Then it's not one day," he whispers back.

Once they have looked at the stars long enough that their light has stained their eyes, they leave the Room. Sirius stares at the door as it disappears, etching it into his memory. "This isn't on the Map." Cressida shakes her head.

Instead of returning to the dorm, or somewhere else enclosed, the pair take to the courtyard, following a path that leads to the Viaduct; Hogwarts' long bridge that walks them over a deep chasm. It is sometimes a lonely place, but also one of the most peaceful ones.

"I wonder if anybody has ever fallen over," Cressida muses as they enter the bridge. "Suppose nobody would really know unless someone saw it." With a hearty grin, she leans in closer. "Good place for a murder."

Sirius chuckles, peering over the fenced side. "I think they have enchantments on here actually. Kinda like the ones on our broom. If you fall, it won't kill you."

"Pity." Their pace is leisurely, movements almost in a daze. Cressida looks down the long bridge, spying two people leaning against the edge. Their faces are covered by one of the beams so she doesn't bother taking much notice of them. Until she spots the familiar sweater and hair of flaming red. Her arm jolts out to the side, stopping Sirius in his path. "That's Remus and Lily," she hisses, peeking closer.

"Really?" Sirius pushes her to the opposite side and together they lean to try and see as much as they can from the safe distance. It is them. "What are they doing out here, so far away from everyone else?" he questions slyly. "Let's give them the privacy they want."

Sirius tugs on her arm, but Cressida pouts. "I want to watch them."

"First of all, creepy," he laughs. "And second of all, we have a special map that'll let us watch their every move."