00. MOONLIT NIGHTS.

SEPTEMBER 1ST, 1975.

IT WASN'T OFTEN that Aeliana Montgomery smoked. She found that the taste of cigarettes wasn't appealing, yet she could always appreciate how smoking them made her feel a bit lighter afterwards. As if all of her worries would dissipate as she sent clouds of smoke billowing into the air, if only for a moment. She'd smoked quite a lot of cigarettes over the summer. Never enough to where the scent lingered on her clothes and thus alerted her parents, but just enough to where she found she was able to cope a bit better.

Cope with the fact that her father wasn't as present as he used to be. Cope with the fact that there was a war brewing, looming closer and closer every day. Cope with the fact that she was newly single and uncharacteristically relieved by it. Cope with the sharp pang of hurt that ran through her each and every time that she laid eyes on one Sirius Black. The same Sirius Black who had asked her to meet her on the Astronomy Tower no later than 11 o'clock that night and had yet to show up despite the fact that it was nearing midnight.

Aeliana heaved a heavy sigh as she glanced at her watch once more, a stream of smoke expelling past her lips as she did so. To say that it was only the first of September, there was a coolness to the air that made her wish that she'd grabbed a jumper, rather than the thin cloak that she was currently sporting. She glanced down at the fag that she was holding, debating on whether she should continue smoking, or simply put it out and return to Ravenclaw tower.

She'd hardly had more than a few seconds to ponder her decision when she heard footsteps approaching her. Footsteps that were drastically (thankfully) different from the heavy steps of Mr. Filch. Aeliana turned just as Sirius began to approach her, his sterling eyes trained on her, and an amused smile playing at his lips.

"D'you mind sharing? I've not had a fag all summer."

Aeliana doesn't reply but instead waits for Sirius to take a seat beside her before wordlessly passing the cigarette along. She remains silent, wrapping her all-too-thin cloak tighter against her frame. She could feel Sirius' eyes on her, and whilst his gaze brought heat to her cheeks, it did nothing against the chill in her bones.

"You're late." She said softly, doing her damnedest not to look at the boy that sits only a few meters from her.

"Yeah; Nearly ran into Filch on the way up here. Had to hide out for a bit."

Aeliana merely hums in reply, hardly sparing a glance at Sirius.

"I heard about you and Shacklebolt." Sirius says, passing the spliff back to her, "It's a shame, really. I thought you two made a good match."

There isn't much that Aeliana particularly had to say on the topic of her split with Kingsley, especially in the company of Sirius. So she settles for a small shrug instead.

"He's focused on passing his N.E. . I've got O. to worry about."

"Right..." Sirius chuckles, "And you're sure that it's got nothing to do with—"

"What is it that you want, Sirius?" Lia interrupts, unable to keep up her impartial facade any longer.

Sirius raises a brow at the girl's tone but otherwise appears unperturbed by her iciness. He'd grown rather used to it over the past year.

"Not in the mood to talk, I see."

"How very observant of you," She scoffs, her words dripping with sarcasm.

Deciding it best to cut to the chase,–lest he continue to draw Aeliana's ire–Sirius finally utters the question he'd been meaning to ask, "Have you got the ingredients for that potion?"

Aeliana doesn't say a word in reply, but instead reaches into her pocket and produces a small box before handing it over to Sirius. He eyes her for a moment before breaking out into a small smile.

"Undetectable extension charm?" He questions, nodding towards her cloak.

Lia ignores this question, instead choosing to take another drag of her cigarette before speaking once more.

"It's all there."

"You're a lifesaver. You've got no idea how blasted difficult it's been to find everything—"

"I do, actually." She interrupts.

There's a moment of silence that passes between the two 5th years. Aeliana takes the opportunity to hand the cigarette over to the Gryffindor once more. Sirius accepts it with a grateful nod before taking a rather long drag. He then watches as Aeliana stands to her feet, tightening her cloak so as to offer some protection from both the chill and his intense stare.

"You off then?"

"Yeah. I promised Genie that I'd be back within 15 minutes or so. So, I'm sure she's not very pleased that I've been away for over an hour."

"Mm. Glad to see that you two are still close."

Aeliana can't help but scoff at this. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he'd left her waiting for over an hour, or perhaps it had nothing to do with that at all, but for whatever reason, Lia couldn't seem to hide her annoyance towards Sirius.

"She's stuck by me longer than most. We'll always be close."

If he was phased by this slight dig, he didn't show it. Instead, Sirius only nods in understanding. Aeliana stares at him for a moment before turning away, fully intending on walking off, until Sirius began to speak.

"You've not told her what all this is for, have you? Ainsworth, I mean."

"No. Though I'm sure she'll eventually figure it out. A Hawk Moth Chrysalis isn't a commonly used ingredient, as far as Potions go."

"I figured as much. But, d'you think she'll say anything?"

It was clear what Sirius was really asking, and Aeliana had to take in a deep breath in order to calm herself.

"No. She won't."

"And I can trust that you won't say anything either? Not to anyone?"

Aeliana gives a humourless chuckle at Sirius' insinuation.

"Do you honestly think that I would willingly incriminate myself by telling Dumbledore or McGonagall that I gave you and your mates the ingredients to illegally brew an Animagus potion?"

"I'm being serious, Aeliana. I need your word. No one else can know about this. Not about our meeting tonight, not about the potion, or about Remus' condition, alright? No one."

"And I can assure you, Sirius," She spat, as though his name were venomous on her tongue," that you have my word. But if that isn't good enough for you, then I've no problem with making the Unbreakable Vow."

She was bluffing, of course. While she had no intentions of saying anything, she wasn't exactly keen on putting her life on the line in order to prove it. But then Sirius' eyes snapped to meet Aeliana's and for just a moment, it appeared as though he would ask her to do just that. And despite it being her idea, (bluff or not) it still hurt to see that he would even consider doing such a thing. After all this time, was it really that hard for him to just take her word?

"...You'd put your life on the line to protect me?"

Yes.

"No." She says, her tone as impartial as ever, "This is about more than just you."

He peers at her intently, sterling eyes fixated on her visage. There's a hint of emotion behind those steely orbs. An emotion that Lia can't quite place. But as suddenly as it appears, it's gone. Sirius' lips quirk into a smirk as he lets out a chuckle.

"Right, then."

And that's it. There are no expressions of gratitude, nor any semblance of a 'goodbye.' Aeliana tells herself that perhaps it's better this way: the fewer words said between them, the better. But the prickling of tears in her eyes and the heavy feeling weighing on her heart suggest otherwise.

She turns once more, setting off before she can do anything irrational—like cry. Sirius' eyes follow her, his ears noting her every step until they become imperceptible. It's only when Aeliana's gone that he heaves a heavy sigh.

"Remus better be bloody grateful f'this." He mutters under his breath, flicking the spent remnants of Lia's cigarette off of the tower as he fixates his gaze on the night sky; staring out at the starry expanse.

He doesn't leave the Astronomy Tower for quite some time, busying himself with his tumultuous thoughts and mapping out the constellations that gleamed up above. By which time his fingertips had gone numb; deathly cold from the crisp air of autumn. He descends the stairs two at a time, desperate to retreat to the warmth of his own dormitory at last.

The small, ornate box tucked securely into the pocket of his jacket is heavy; the weight accumulating from nothing other than the secrecy among former flames.