October 18th, 1976
We walked down to the greenhouses hand in hand. Sirius did make me take the long path, across the bridge to avoid the Great Lake. I smiled to myself, remembering Peter teasing that Sirius would rather kiss the Giant Squid than me…had that only been two days ago? Had it only been two days since we had studied together in the library, and the night of the party? Only two days ago I had been denying my feelings for Sirius, and now he was my boyfriend. The craziest part was that up until mid September, I had hated him! Looking over at him now, I couldn't imagine thinking that I hated him. His olive skin, steel grey eyes, long dark hair and perfect smile? He was the picture perfect pure-blood heir, but he had defied his family's expectations and become the best friend of blood-traitors and muggle-borns. I couldn't be more proud to call this rebel, with his loosened tie and un-tucked shirt, my boyfriend.
As we got to the top of the hill with the greenhouses at the bottom, I paused, pulling on Sirius's hand.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked him, starting to get insecure knowing that everyone was going to see Sirius with me. Sirius was gorgeous – objectively much more attractive than any man I could reasonably expect to look my way. I had a relatively athletic body – thank you James and your ridiculous practices – but otherwise I was nothing remarkable. I brought a hand up to my long brown hair, which I had thankfully tamed into a ponytail this morning. I hadn't bothered to put on any makeup, as usual, and it usually didn't bother me, but right now I was started to panic. Sirius, noting my panic, titled my head up so he could look into my brown eyes.
"Why wouldn't I want to walk in with the fittest witch in school on my arm?" He asked, planting a kiss firmly on my lips, fully in view of the entire class. I heard wolf whistles coming from the peanut gallery so, with one last peck, I turned and started down the rest of the hill. I was blushing, but Sirius's affirmation and public display of affection had settled my nerves. I only started to get nervous again when I remembered…James.
He was standing at the bottom of the hill, glaring up at us as we walked down. As we approached him, Remus slapped Sirius on the back and said, "I'm proud of you man. Pete, pay up."
Peter slid a couple of galleons into Remus's open palm with a sigh. "I should have known you would win. You have a sixth sense for these kind of things."
"You BET on us?" I exclaimed in disbelief, shaking me head.
"Well, yeah. I figured your hatred was just undeveloped sexual tension, and you'd either have shagged or killed each other by the end of the year. Pete was betting that you'd never get together." Remus said, nonchalantly and without regret. I shook my head at him, impressed that he had seen it coming before I had.
"Well, you knew before I did," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I only started to figure it out at the beginning of the year."
"Well, I for one, am thrilled for you!" Lily beamed at me, hugging Alice in excitement. I turned to James, who still hadn't spoken. He was glaring at our entwined hands intently.
"You don't get to be upset about this, James." I reminded him. "And after last night, you definitely owe me." James looked up from our hands to scan my face. He must have seen something that made him understand that I was happy about this, because his face softened and he turned to Sirius to pull him into a half hug.
"I know I probably don't have to say this, but you know if you hurt her, I will hurt you," James said seriously, his hand still gripping Sirius's shoulder.
"I know, Prongs. I promise that I will never let anyone hurt her, ever again," Sirius said, just as solemnly, putting his hand on James's opposite shoulder. They stood like that for a moment, sharing a silent promise between themselves. Professor Sprout opened the greenhouse door then, and shuffled us in to begin class. Sirius insisted that I join their group to work on repotting our bouncing bulbs; as we were working in groups of four, this meant Peter was forced to join Lily, Alice and Anne Abbot, a very nice Hufflepuff that usually worked with us. Marlene had dropped the class this year because she hated getting her hands dirty, and Mary hadn't achieved the necessary OWL to continue on. The girls gladly accepted Peter, and Anne shot us a grin when she realized why Sirius was insisting on changing groups.
Sirius shot one of the bulbs at me, and laughed when it hit me in the face. James managed to catch it as it ricocheted off my face– showing off those chaser skills – and threw a look at Lily to see if she noticed. Lily pointedly stared into her pots, where she had just planted her own bulb, ignoring James completely.
"Nice catch, Prongs!" Remus said, and James's face lit up. Lily coughed and turned her back to us completely; James's face fell. I put a hand on his back consolingly, but turned to Remus.
"So, you're telling me that you've known for how long that Sirius and I would end up together?" I asked him, giving Sirius a look as he picked up a second bulb. "If you shoot that thing at me again, this will be the shortest relationship Hogwarts has ever seen."
"Well, it would still be my longest relationship ever, so you should consider yourself lucky, kitten," Sirius winked at me, but seeing the venom in my glare, he hastily began to plant the bulb.
"That whole exchange there? Those little moments have been happening since at least the beginning of third year. Pete and I made the bet right before Christmas break that year." Remus said, pointing between the two of us. "Have you never noticed that you are the only one who can get Sirius to do what you tell him to do? And Pads, have you ever noticed that you're the only one who can get Addie to break the rules?"
"That's not true!" Sirius and I said at the same time. We both turned to glare at each other, before the three of us cracked up.
"It is kind of freaky how I never realized how alike the two of you are. You're both moody, proud and stubborn," James said, scratching his forehead and leaving behind dirt from his gloves. For that comment, I decided not to tell him about the dirt.
"Hey, you leave my moody, proud, stubborn, beautiful girlfriend alone!" Sirius said in mock anger, throwing his arm around my shoulder and kissing my temple.
"Ugh, Merlin, if I have to see you two snogging everywhere, I'm going to throw myself off the top of the astronomy tower," James cried. In answer, I stood up on tiptoes – had Sirius always been this much taller than me? – and kissed Sirius straight on the lips. Sirius grabbed the back of my head and deepened the kiss, dipping me low to the ground.
"Excuse me, Miss Jones, Mr. Black. In case you have forgotten, you are in the middle of a Herbology lesson, not locked in a broom cupboard. Your bulbs, please?" Professor Sprout said, as she walked over to us from the front of the room.
"Oh yes, ma'am, bulbs are nice and planted!" Sirius said with a wink and a charming smile. Professor Sprout rolled her eyes and looked in to our pots to double check.
"Very well, but no more funny business, got it?" Professor Sprout said with a sigh and a pointed look at Sirius and I, when she realized that our bulbs had in fact all been repotted.
"Sorry, Professor," I said, trying to hide my smile into Sirius's arm.
October 31st, 1976
The rest of the week passed in equal bliss. I spent my days in class, avoiding gossiping girls snickering that I had confounded Sirius to get him to go out with me. It didn't bother me that they assumed I had confounded him, since it was a break in pattern from Sirius's usual behavior to commit to one girl. If it had been any other girl, I might have thought the same thing. It did bother me that they assumed I was shagging him just because of the reputation that Sirius had – I even overheard Mandy Dore tell Henrietta Smith, a fellow Hufflepuff, that she guaranteed we would be over by Halloween, since he would have had his fill of me by then. Marlene had come out of nowhere and hit Mandy with a stinging hex that sent her to the hospital wing overnight; Lily had given her a detention for hexing another student, but told us in the privacy of our dorm later that evening that she had deserved it.
My evenings were spent curled up on the nice couch in front of the fire, leaning on Sirius's legs while I did classwork. I always ended up tucked under his arm while he played with my hair and I read a book. Lily hadn't softened up to James at all, so he spent his evenings sending the two of us envious looks, while staring wistfully across the common room towards Lily, who had taken to sitting with Alice and Mary near the girl's staircase.
The first Hogsmeade visit of the year was that Saturday. The Marauders spent the morning comforting James, who had waited near the Grand Staircase for Lily for two hours, hoping she would change her mind. When she didn't show, the boys surrounded him with claps on the back and promises of more Zonko's products than his pockets could hold. Sirius tried to ditch the boys to take me on our first proper date, but I waved him off; James needed him more than I did. With a big kiss on the cheek, and a promise to make it up to me, Sirius had run back to the boys. I walked down to the village with Mary – Marlene was on a date with Robert Boot, and Alice was with Frank – and we spent the day browsing through different stores and buying sweets from Honeydukes. Lily had decided she wanted to spend the day catching up on some classwork, so she had stayed behind in the castle. None of us had been able convince her to come with us, so we reluctantly let her sulk alone. She met us in the Great Hall that night with a fake smile plastered on her face, and her eyes glammered so we wouldn't notice she had spent the entire day crying in our dorm.
Halloween came before I knew it. The Great Hall was decorated with giant pumpkins the size of carriages, live bats flying around, and smoke hanging from the enchanted ceiling, giving the whole hall an eerie vibe. I took my chance while Sirius and James were serving their detention to bring up the topic that had been weighing on my mind all week. I hadn't had any time to bring it up, since every time I thought it was safe to broach the subject, Sirius would appear out of nowhere and wrap his arms around my waist, or grab my hand and pull me towards him with a playful "Hey, kitten." In other words, he was being the perfect boyfriend and I was annoyed that he hadn't given me time alone to plan his birthday party.
"Alright, everyone. Wednesday is Sirius's 17th birthday. He's going to be the first of us to turn of age, so we have to throw him the greatest party we've ever thrown," I said, getting all – minus the absent Sirius and James – of the 6th year Gryffindor's attention.
"We're on top of snacks and booze," Remus confirmed. "Pete and I are going to do a Hogsmeade run on Wednesday before dinner, while James keeps Sirius distracted with a long Quidditch practice. To be honest, James had forgotten about Padfoot's birthday and planned the practice before we told him our plan. He's been hyper-focused on the match next weekend against Hufflepuff."
"Of course he has, Quidditch is the only thing he cares about." Lily said quietly, rolling her eyes. We all ignored her, knowing there was nothing any of us could say to get Lily to change her mind about James before she had decided to calm down about the Jase incident.
"Alice and I have been working on a little charm for him, so we'll cover decorations," Mary said with a smile. Alice and Mary were excellent at charming fabric, so I expected a large banner of some sort.
I looked over at Marlene, who had yet to say anything. Marlene had been distant with me since Sirius and I started dating, despite coming to my aid with Mandy in the hallway the other day. I remembered that at the beginning of the year, Marlene had tried to flirt with Sirius, but Sirius hadn't been interested. But she had moved on to Boot quickly, so I hadn't thought to even talk to her before starting to date Sirius. I should probably have a conversation with her…
"I'll be providing fashion advice to the girls, which will benefit the boys. We'll be the fittest witches in the castle once I'm done with us," She said with a smirk; Peter looked like he was going to pass out at the thought.
"My gift will be looking the other way at the booze, and letting the party go past our usual 11PM curfew," Lily said with a big smile, knowing that this would likely be one of Sirius's favorite presents.
"I'm going to bake him his favorite cake Tuesday night, so Remus and Peter if you could distract Sirius with some sort of prank, that would be great," I said, looking at the two boys, who nodded.
"Did you decide what you're going to get for him, Addie?" Lily asked me, as she bit into a pumpkin pasty delicately.
"I have an idea. But I'm not looking forward to it," I replied, with a quick look over to the Slytherin table. Nobody pushed me for more information, and they fell back in to normal conversation now that the party details had been ironed out. Knowing that the boys would fill James in later, and that Marlene would spread the word to the rest of the house, I let my eyes wander and watch for the black haired boy to get up from the Slytherin table. A couple of minutes later, he did, and I got up quickly. Luckily, he had gotten up alone so I was able to trail him down towards the dungeons.
"Uhm, excuse me, Regulus?" I asked tentatively. If he was shocked that I had broken the eerie silence of the dungeons, he didn't show it. Regulus Black turned around slowly and regally, his hooded eyes roaming my body slowly. His gaze wasn't sexual; I could tell he was sizing me up before speaking.
"Jones. What do you want?" He asked, not unkindly. His whole demeanor screamed indifference, but his eyes were sharp and inquisitive. He stood with the air of a perfectly trained pure-blooded heir; Sirius sometimes slipped back in to this behavior when he was in a particularly stressful situation, and the years of pure-blood traditions that had been drilled in to him for years by his family manifested.
"As you know, Sirius's 17th birthday is this Wednesday," I began tentatively. I continued when Regulus remained silent, his eyebrows raising slightly the only sign that he had heard me.
"Right, so, I know that it's a custom in pure-blood families to give a wizard a watch when he comes of age. I bought him one in Hogsmeade this weekend, but I figured before I gave it to him, I would ask if there were any Black heirlooms I could give him instead. I know Sirius and your parents aren't exactly on the best terms right now, but I know it would mean a lot for him to have something traditional to represent his family," I said emphatically, trying to portray with my words how much I know it would mean to Sirius for his family to recognize his coming of age.
Regulus stared at me for a moment before answering. His voice was deeper than it had been a minute ago, but his face remained indifferent. "You're the girl who's been dating my brother, right?" I nodded, unsure where he was going with this.
"You must really care about him if you're willing to put yourself in the middle of Black family drama." He said simply, still sizing me up, but a small smirk forming on his lips.
"I do care about him. More than I think he even realizes. I know he misses you, and based on the fact that you didn't immediately dismiss me, I think you miss him too," I said, leaning against the wall next to Regulus. The move made me look completely at ease, but really my heart was beating out of my chest. Was I taking it too far?
Regulus didn't answer me, but did rummage through his bag looking for something. He pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, and scribbled something on the parchment before handing it to me. In perfect penmanship, which greatly resembled Sirius's flowing script, the note read:
Alphard Black
London, England
"Little King"
"Send an owl to my Uncle Alphard. He's always had a soft spot for Sirius, and I'm sure he will send one of the Black watches. It's traditional for the head of the house to give his watch to the heir when they come of age. My parents would say that watch should go to me, but I think Uncle Alphard will argue that it should go to Sirius. His opinion is really the one that matters, in this situation. Tell him that little king gave you his information, so he knows that you spoke to me. It's what my name means in Latin, and it's been his nickname for me since I was a child," Regulus said, his black eyes displaying an emotion that I couldn't quit place. Regret? Sadness?
"Thank you," I said resolutely, holding the parchment with both hands and nodding gratefully at him. Regulus didn't respond, once again, but turned on his heel and began to walk away. I watched him for a moment, before turning myself to begin walking out of the dungeons.
"Jones," Regulus called over his shoulder quietly.
"Black," I said, turning around the look at him.
"Take care of my brother. He needs someone like you," Regulus said nodding once more at me. He turned a corner quickly and was out of my sight. I couldn't tell what emotion had dominated that conversation for him, but one thing was for sure; Regulus loved his brother, but familial pride and prejudice had gotten in the way of their relationship. Knowing that he had taken a huge risk in giving me an introduction to Alphard Black, I vowed to honor his request and do everything in my power to take care of Sirius for as long as I could.
I hurried up to the owlery from the dungeons. I still had an hour before curfew, and I needed to send this letter as soon as possible if I hoped to get a response by Wednesday. I sat on the widow ledge, pulled out a piece of parchment, and began to write my letter.
Mr. Black,
I hope this letter finds you well, and that you excuse the intrusion of your privacy. My name is Addison Jones, and I am dating your nephew Sirius Black. Little king gave me your information, and told me that you may be able to help me. As you know, Sirius's 17th birthday is this Wednesday, and it is traditional for a wizard to receive a watch when they come of age. I have purchased a watch to give to Sirius, but I know it would mean so much more if that watch were to be passed down from a Black relative, as is the custom in your family. Sirius may not show his Black family traits in the traditional sense, but I can't think of a person who embodies "always pure" more than Sirius Black. If given the chance, I know he could purge the family of the darkness it has fallen in to, and bring the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black back to greatness. If you agree with me, I hope you will gift your heir his birthright, and instill a vote of confidence in him that he has completely lost from the rest of the family.
Hoping for your reply,
Addison Jones
I looked over my note with an inquisitive eye. I know that I was probably out of line to send this letter to Alphard; who was I to tell the head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black that his house had fallen into disrepair? I figured that knowing someone in his family agreed that the Black's had fallen from their motto "Toujours Pur" would mean more to Sirius than getting a watch from someone who wanted Sirius to conform to his family's viewpoints. It was worth the risk; Sirius wouldn't want a watch from someone who thought his ideals were wrong. If Alphard was offended by my letter and decided not to send the watch, I would just give him the watch I had picked up in Hogsmeade. With one last look, I folded up the parchment, addressed it, and attached it to one of the school's owls.
I hurried back downstairs to the common room, making it just minutes before curfew. I spotted Sirius in our corner with James, Peter and Remus. I hurried over, dropped my bag on the floor, and surveyed the seating arrangements. Peter and James were sitting on the ground, across from each other at the coffee table, playing a game of exploding snap. Remus was sitting in an armchair, legs crossed at the knee, reading a book titled "Practical Defensive Magic and its Use Against the Dark Arts". Sirius was stretched on the couch, hands behind his head, watching the game unfurl below him.
When Sirius noticed me, he broke out into a huge grin and sat up. He pulled me down next to him, basically in his lap, and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed the side of my neck, and buried his face into my hair.
"Hi, kitten," He whispered into my neck, his breathe tickling my skin. My body broke out in gooseflesh, and I smiled widely back.
"Hi, honeybee," I giggled back. I hadn't been able to decide what pet name to call him, as they all seemed wrong in my mouth, so I had taken to calling him any ridiculous name I could come up with. I settled in to his arms, and let him nuzzle into my neck.
"Where were you? You didn't come back from dinner with everyone else," Sirius asked, playing with the long strands of brown hair that had fallen into his face.
"I had to send a letter. Lewis sent me one last week that I never got around to answering," I lied, hoping Sirius wouldn't hear my heart speed up. Not that he could, only Remus was likely to hear something like that and he was engrossed in a book. Sirius was rubbing circles on my back, and didn't seem to notice anything.
"Well I'm happy you're back," He said happily. I turned and kissed him quickly, before settling down to watch James beat Peter spectacularly. Peter's eyebrows were singed after his last card exploded in his face.
"How was detention?" I asked.
"McGonagall had us help grade some second year papers. All things considered, it really wasn't that bad. She did ask us more than once what the fight was about, but we kept it tight lipped," James answered, getting off the ground and sitting in the armchair across from Remus. Sirius shot him a look, which clearly said that they had agreed not to say anything to me. I knew that James and Sirius wanted me to tell McGonagall everything, but I hadn't been able to work up the nerve. If I told McGonagall, she would definitely owl my parents, who would tell Lewis, and I wasn't ready for everyone to know yet. Plus, I think I want to be the ones to tell my family.
"Well, what was the fight about?" Peter asked, curled up in a ball on the floor. He was looking up at the four of us, and looked upset that he was being left out. Sirius tightened his hold on me, and glared down at Peter.
"Wormtail, we've already told you that it's none of your business," Sirius said protectively.
"Well, why does Remus get to know then," Peter whined, looking over at Remus in his chair.
"I don't know what happened, but it's between Addison and Jase, so I haven't stuck my nose into it," Remus said haughtily, without even looking up from his book. He turned a page casually.
"Fine. I'm going to bed," Peter said, getting up suddenly and stalking upstairs. I felt bad that Peter felt left out, but he didn't need to know the specifics – especially before my own family knew.
"Thank you guys. I really don't want Peter to know. Something about him has never clicked with me," I said honestly. "Remus, I know that you know some of what happened, so thank you for looking out for me."
"You're an honorary Marauder," Remus said with a shrug, as if that explained everything. And looking around at the three faces around me, my heart filling with love, I knew that it did explain everything. Marauders took care of family; and I was lucky enough to be considered family.
