A/N: Thank you for my first review! Please enjoy this chapter below, and let me know your thoughts!
November 1st, 1976
Monday morning I was the first person in the Great Hall for breakfast. I was anxiously hoping that Alphard would write back, and that mail would be delivered before Sirius decided to come downstairs. I had just tucked in to a plate of eggs and toast when Lily slid in next to me.
"Morning, Lils," I said brightly, looking up towards the ceiling. No owls yet.
"Good morning! You were out early this morning," Lily said, pulling a pot of tea towards herself. She fixed her tea light and sweet, and stirred it for a good minute before taking a sip, just as she did every morning.
"I'm waiting on a letter," I quickly told her that I had written Sirius's uncle, asking for a watch. Her eyes opened wide when I told her I had approached Regulus, and her jaw dropped when I told her he had actually helped me.
"I don't know if Sirius is going to be mad that you talked to his brother, or happy that you put in so much effort," Lily wondered, biting her lip.
"I'm worried about that too. I also definitely shit on his family in a letter to their head of house, but I think if Alphard does respond it will mean a lot to Sirius. I had to try," I said with a shrug of my shoulders.
"Sirius shits on his family all the time, so I don't think he'll care too much about that. He knows that half of his family are death eaters, and the other half are married to death eaters. If post comes while he's down here, I'll try to distract him for you," Lily assured me, taking another dainty sip of her tea.
"Thanks, Lil. So, on another note, are you going to talk to James anytime soon?" I asked, shooting her a pointed look.
"No. I know that he was just defending you, but I really though he had matured. He just reminded me that saving Sev– …Snape one time last year doesn't mean that he's reformed. He reminded me that below the good looks and charm, he's just a big bully who thinks with his fists," she said, putting her cup down and not looking me in the eye. Her eyes were glassy, like she was about to cry.
"Have you spoken to him?" I asked her, knowing she knew I wasn't speaking about James anymore.
"No. How do you come back from your best friend calling you a mudblood?" She asked defiantly, tracing the edge of the table with her pointer finger.
"Well I swear Avery and Mulciber are one step away from joining the death eaters, and he's always at their side lately. I think it could be a good thing that the break happened now, before he really went down a dark path," I said honestly. The Slytherin gang – including Avery, Mulciber, Rosier, Wilkes, and now Severus Snape – were well known to pick on muggle-borns. Nothing terribly violent had happened yet, but with the group coming of age this year, I can only imagine that initiation will follow closely behind. Sirius's brother was also starting to hang around with the gang, which I knew bothered Sirius more than he let on.
"I know, and I'd been warning him about them for years. He didn't want to listen, and I did everything I could," She said, shrugging her shoulders. I hated seeing her like this, especially over Severus Snape, who had insulted her and destroyed their friendship. If it were me, I'd have walked away with a smile on my face knowing I'd dodged a bullet; but Lily was more empathetic than any of us. Once she loved you, she loved you forever.
I was happy that the post came just as I was trying to decide what to say to Lily, because the disruption allowed the subject drop without any awkward pauses. I eagerly looked up, scanning for the school owl I had borrowed. I spotted him, carrying a parcel. He dropped it down in front of my plate, and I gave him a bit of bacon as thanks. I ripped open the letter, which was written in predictably perfect script.
Miss Jones,
I was delighted to receive your impromptu – and brash, if I may say so – letter last night. It is good to see that Sirius has found himself a woman with a strong head on her shoulders; he desperately needs someone who will be able to keep him in line. Please see attached the watch, as requested.
All the best,
Alphard Black
The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
P.S. With a woman like you behind him, I truly do believe that Sirius will bring our house back to greatness.
I breathed a sigh of relief, and passed the letter to Lily who was blazing a hole into the side of my head with the intensity of her stare. I opened the parcel, a small box wrapped in thick brown paper. The box inside was a rich mahogany, with the Black family crest etched into the front. When I opened the box, the inside was lined with deep green velvet; sitting in the middle was a thick gold watch with a black face. Emeralds were nestled inside the face, and the Black family motto was engraved onto the back. I admired it openly, knowing that this was a goblin-made work of art, and worth more than all of my jewelry combined.
"He's coming," Lily hissed, throwing the letter back to me. I shoved the box and letter into my bag, and covered up the sudden movement by rummaging in my bag for a hair tie. I sat back up as Sirius sat next to me; James sat down across from me, next to Lily. She got up immediately.
"See you in Ancient Runes," Lily said to Remus and me, pulling Mary up with her. James looked utterly defeated at being ignored; Mary protested, having not eaten yet, but Lily shoved a couple of pieces of toast into her hand and dragged her from the hall.
"Morning, Addison," Sirius said, kissing my cheek as he reached across my plate for the pumpkin juice. He refilled my glass before filling his own, and I smiled at his thoughtfulness.
"She's never going to talk to me again, is she?" James asked, his head dropping onto the table.
"Well, you won her over once before! I'm sure it won't take six years this time!" I said brightly.
"Just do exactly what you did before, minus the jinxing Snivellus in the hallways, and she should be yours by…. the time our kids are going to Hogwarts!" Sirius joked. James groaned from his spot on the table.
"Come on Padfoot, don't kick a Prongs when it's down," Remus said consolingly. "Now, can we talk about something serious, besides James's love life?"
"What's up?" I asked, knowing there must have been an article in the Daily Prophet, which Remus had just finished skimming. Remus was the only one of us mature enough to subscribe to a newspaper and actually read it every day. James's had a subscription for a term, but it ended up being turned into paper airplanes in so many classes that he was politely asked to stop receiving the paper.
"There was an attack last night in Surrey. Nine muggles were attacked. Two were killed," He said, pushing the newspaper towards us, so that we could read the article. I read the title "Dark Lord on the Rise?" and looked over towards the Slytherin table. They were all chattering happily, none looking bothered at all by the state of the world. Across the rest of the Great Hall, there were pockets of students with their heads together at each table, whispering tersely, just like we were.
"Do you think any of our classmates have joined up?" I asked, glancing at Sirius to judge his reaction.
"Based on what was going on at my house this summer, I'd say a couple of them will be initiated by the end of the year," Sirius said gruffly, his eyes darkening as he looked at his brother.
"After what Mulciber did to Mary last year, I'd say he'll be first in line," Remus agreed, his voice almost a growl as he remembered the incident. I shuddered as I remembered; Mary was a muggle-born, and was frequently a target for the Slytherins.
"They're definitely nasty, and in to the dark arts, but do you really think they're going to join You-Know-Who?" James asked, his brow furrowed as he continued to read the article.
"Look, Lucius Malfoy was branded days after his 17th birthday. His wedding to Narcissa was attended by at least 20 branded death eaters. Avery, Mulciber, and Rosier's fathers are all death eaters, and in You-Know-Who's inner circle. They'll follow Lucius, and Snape will follow them. Regulus will be marked before his 17th birthday if my parents get their way. My parents tried to get me marked, the night I ran away." Sirius admitted. He had clearly not told the Marauders this, as they all gasped along with me. I grabbed Sirius's hand; my stomach was churning at the thought of Sirius being forced to take the mark.
"You didn't tell me that. I thought they were going after Regulus?" I asked.
"Well, they are. But Regulus isn't exactly putting up a fight. I tried to step in for him and get them to leave him alone, but they told me that I was going to be marked whether I liked it or not; that I wasn't going to disappoint the family any further, and that I was going to set a good example for my brother. I got away during the fight that followed that revelation. Hopefully, Lucius had already called You-Know-Who, and hopefully they were all punished when he showed up and I wasn't there," Sirius continued.
"Padfoot, why didn't you tell us?" James asked in disbelief.
"Because it's embarrassing! My family is full of death eaters, and they either want me to join them or die," Sirius said angrily, starting to get heated.
"Sirius, just talk to us. Don't get upset. We're your family, too," I said soothingly. Sirius looked at me, his gaze softening as he realized he was overreacting. James and Remus quickly parroted my sentiment; I glared at Peter when I realized he hadn't said anything. In fact, he hadn't said anything all morning. Peter had been suspiciously absent almost all year. I made a mental note to look in to that later.
"Yeah, Padfoot. You have us," He squeaked quickly, when he realized we were waiting on him to say something.
"Sorry, guys. It just makes me feel so hopeless to be related to my family and knowing they're going to take Reg down with them, and there's nothing I can do about it," Sirius said finally, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"It's really incredible that you can get him to calm down like that. And he apologized, too," Remus said in disbelief. He wasn't wrong. Sirius usually would have stormed out and tracked down a Slytherin to jinx by now.
"I am still sitting right here, Moony," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. I laughed and kissed his cheek.
"Awww, bumblebear, did Moony hurt your feelings?" I said in an exaggerated whiney voice, still hanging onto his shoulder.
"Come on guys! Do you have to be all lovey when my heart was just ripped out?" James asked.
"Sorry, Prongs," Sirius said, snickering, but removing his arm from my shoulder. I looked down in mock piousness, but quickly dissolved into giggles. The bell rang, and I jumped up.
November 3rd, 1976
Ancient Runes was the only class I didn't share with Sirius. Remus, Lily, Mary, and I were the only Gryffindors in the class, and we sat at a table together in the back. Mary and Lily had obviously beaten us to class, and had snagged our table for us. I slid in next to Lily, and Remus sat next to me at the end.
"Lily, are you going to torture James forever?" I asked, slamming my bag down.
"Yes. But more importantly, can we talk about that letter?" Lily said, putting her hand out expectantly. I put the letter down in her hand, so that she could reread it.
"What letter?" Remus asked, suspiciously.
"I wrote to Sirius's Uncle Alphard and asked if he would send me a watch to give Sirius on his birthday," I explained, blushing at the look Remus gave me. It was a mixture of awe and pity.
"Sirius is going to kill you," Remus laughed.
"It's sweet!" Lily defended, passing the note to Remus to read. He read it quickly, and gave it back to me.
"He's going to be pissed that you went to Regulus. Remus said after reading the letter. "His Uncle Alphard has always been good to him, so it doesn't surprise me that he wrote back."
"Well, hopefully my girlish charm will be enough to convince him not to be mad at me," I giggled, shoving the letter back into my bag. My stomach fell though, knowing that Remus was probably right; I thought I had done the right thing, but maybe I wasn't thinking about what would be best for Sirius.
The morning of Sirius's birthday was bright and sunny, which did not match his stormy mood. Last night, Peter and Remus had delivered on keeping Sirius occupied so I could sneak into the kitchens and bake a double chocolate cake with butterbeer frosting; unfortunately, Filch had caught them as they were charming the Slytherin's robes maroon in the laundry room, and he had forced them to wash and fold all of their laundry until 2AM. When they got back, Sirius had stormed off to bed without so much as a goodnight.
Sirius was sulking alone in the common room when I came downstairs, where we had agreed to meet before breakfast. He was sitting in the corner, tie undone and hair messy, looking so good that I wasted no time in rushing over to him. I slid into his lap, threw my arms around shoulders and kissed him. He deepened the kiss, one hand in my hair and one hand on my leg.
"Well, good morning! I love a sexy kitten in the morning," He said with a chuckle, his grey eyes were darkening and looking at me in a way that I was starting to get used to. A familiar warmth started in my belly and spread throughout my body; if he kept looking at me like that, we may not make it downstairs to breakfast. Not that we had done anything more than snog! Sirius had shown serious restraint with me, not once even pressuring me for more. It made me want to tear his clothes off and push him up against a wall, but if we was going to show restraint, so was I.
"Good morning, birthday boy!" I giggled, kissing his cheeks and his nose. "Is my honeyboo more bark or more bite today? I'm scarred from last night,"
Sirius barked, with surprising accuracy. I laughed loudly, straight from the gut, in the way that only Sirius could coax out of me. Sirius laughed with me, barking a few more times, which sent us back into hysterics.
"Let's go eat, I'm starving!" I said once we had calmed down. I snuck one more kiss in before hopping off of his lap. We walked down to the Great Hall hand in hand; he spent the entire walk complaining about the pair of boxers he found in a pair of robes, that he swore must have been Snivellus's. He had me laughing again, and by the time we made it to the Entrance Hall, I was chasing him pretending to be the big bad pair of underwear. I chased him all the way to our table screaming, "COME WEAR ME!"
Some students at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw table were chuckling at us, but the Gryffindor table was ignoring us – not because they were used to our antics, but because they knew it would just encourage us if they gave us a reaction. I collapsed next to Sirius on the bench, and just like that our game was over. We began making our plates, like nothing had just happened.
"Happy Birthday, Sirius!" Lily, Mary, Alice, and Marlene shouted. Lily was holding Cauldron Cake with a candle, and the other girls had charmed their wands like sparklers.
"For me?" Sirius said with fake modesty, putting a hand to his heart. He blew out the candle with a flourish.
"What'd you wish for?" James asked, with a smile.
"What else? A fit girlfriend!" Sirius joked back. I hit his shoulder in mock outrage.
"Do you see? All I have is a violent witch! Kitten has claws," Sirius said, grabbing his shoulder and pretending I had hurt him.
"Watch your mouth, or this kitten with dump you on your birthday," I said sternly. Sirius just laughed and kissed my cheek.
"Could you two please, try not to make me sick this early in the morning," Marlene asked, rolling her eyes. James nodded his head in agreement, but Marlene's comment reminded me that I still had to talk to her about Sirius.
"Lay off, Marlene. I think they're precious," Lily chastised her with a strict look. I shot Lily a wink, thanking her for having my back.
Classes passed with little fanfare, and after a very short dinner, James pulled us into Quidditch practice. We had our first match of the year against Hufflepuff on Saturday, and James had us practicing until it was too dark to see. He finally called it when Kelly was hit in the face by a stray bludger sent by Peakes. We showered and changed quickly, after a long winded motivational speech by James that half of the team ignored.
"Can you believe that James kept us this late on my birthday?" Sirius whined, grabbing my hand and pulling me back up to the common room.
"Yes. It's James," I said honestly, laughing at James sprinting up behind us trying to catch up.
"You guys weren't going to wait for me?" He asked, panting slightly from him run up the hill.
"No. I'm rushing to enjoy the rest of my birthday evening with several glasses of the nice firewhiskey that I stole from my parents before I left their house," Sirius said, increasing his speed. I winked over my shoulder at James; Sirius had no idea that we were throwing him a surprise birthday party. Which he honestly should have realized we were, because we have thrown him a party every year since he turned 13.
Sirius was the first person through the portrait hole, so James and I heard the "SURPRISE!" echo down the hallway. When we emerged, I saw that the room had been transformed. To the left was a snack table loaded with Honeyduke sweets, pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, and the huge chocolate cake that I had made last night. Straight ahead was a bar, stacked with every type of liquor imaginable; Robert Boot was manning the bar, and he had a glass of firewhiskey pre-poured for Sirius, which was a nice touch. To the right was a table laden with presents. Above the presents was a huge banner with a lion on it. The lion was charmed to roar, and "Happy 17th Birthday, Sirius" was flashing in all different colors. Someone had pulled down a record player from their dorm room, and it was playing rock music throughout the room.
"This is…" Sirius started, clearly shocked.
"Perfect?" I asked, coming up behind him and wrapping my arms around his waist. James peeled off and met up with Remus and Peter.
"Yes, absolutely perfect. I love it, kitten," He said, turning around in my arms to kiss me. "Want a drink?"
"Absolutely," I smiled, pulling him over to the bar. Sirius picked up the firewhiskey that had been poured for him.
"Thanks, man! Can I get a firewhiskey and butterbeer for Addie?" Sirius asked.
"Happy birthday, mate. Coming up," Boot said, mixing my drink for me. I took a sip, smiled my thanks, and pulled Sirius away.
"Too much butterbeer?" Sirius asked, noting my expression.
"Just a tad," I said, touched that Sirius knew me so well. He grabbed the drink from my hands and took a sip. He made a face and abandoned the drink on a table behind him.
"Looks like we're doing straight shots all night!" Sirius exclaimed, laughing. People started coming up to Sirius to wish him a happy birthday, so with a kiss I left him to find the girls. Lily and Mary were standing in the middle of the room, dancing to the music and laughing. I joined them, and Mary handed me a shot that she just happened to be holding. I took it quickly, and I scanned the room for Marlene.
"Do you guys think that Marlene has been acting weird? Like about me and Sirius?" I asked them. Lily and Mary shared a look.
"I think that it's more that there was a boy who didn't want her, than that she's upset the two of you are together," Mary said wisely.
"But she has Robert! And she could have any wizard in the entire school, if she wanted them. Why does she have to want my man?" I whined, realizing that the firewhiskey had already made my head feel fuzzy. Speaking of Robert, Marlene was now standing behind the bar, snogging Robert while he ignored a line of people looking for a drink.
"That's just how Marlene is. Don't let it bother you. It's clear that Sirius is crazy about you. He hasn't stopped looking at you the entire time you've been dancing," Lily smirked. I turned to look for Sirius, but he was coming towards me with a suggestive look on his face. He was carrying two shots in his hands.
"I am the luckiest bloke in the world. Look at you girls; you all look great! And you, kitten, look absolutely stunning," He said, giving me the shot. We took the shots, and he wrapped his arms around my waist and started swaying to the music. It was clear that since I had walked over to the girls, he had had several more drinks. He kept kissing my neck, and his hands were straying further down my arse than they usually did.
"Sirius, sweetheart. You're getting a little handsy there," I said, grabbing his hand that was making a beeline for the bottom of my skirt. Sirius immediately removed his hand, and took a step back.
"Sorry, love. Lots to drink tonight and you really do look amazing. I wasn't thinking. These hands will stay in their place from now on," He said sincerely, holding up both of his hands as proof.
"Don't worry, I know you don't mean it," I said, grabbing his hands and putting them back around my waist. I was being honest; Sirius wasn't even making me uncomfortable. Honestly, I wanted him to keep going. I had never felt this way with Jase, like I wanted to take that next step. That choice was taken away from me, and the thing that was making me uncomfortable wasn't that Sirius was touching me…but that I wanted him to. What did that say about me, that less than two weeks after starting to date someone I wanted to have sex with him?
We spent the entire night together, dancing and making fun of our friends attempting to flirt. Marlene and Robert had disappeared hours ago, so the bar was every man for himself; James had drunk himself silly after Lily had refused to talk to him again, and was now spinning around on the dance floor alone. Mary had struck up a conversation with Michael Brown, and they were sharing sweet looks with each other while feeding each other sweets. Alice and Frank were the last ones dancing, holding each other close and swaying to slow rock songs, oblivious to anyone else in the room. Sirius and I cheered, loudly, when they finally leaned in and shared a sweet kiss; the entire common room joined in. People began to filter out of the common room and head to bed after Sirius cut the cake. He thanked me with a long snog, and a declaration that his witch was the best witch!
The party ended with the Marauders, Lily and I, sitting on the floor in front of the fire, sipping out of a bottle of firewhiskey that we were passing among ourselves. Lily had softened slightly towards James, and was sitting next to him. I attribute that to the six shots I had made her take with me, but James swears it was the lily he transfigured a chocolate bar into. I did notice that she had the lily tucked in to her back pocket, so maybe that had worked a little bit.
Everyone took turns giving Sirius their presents. James gave him a key to Potter manner, and a promise that he would always have a home. Sirius got chocked up at this, and pulled James into one of those guy hugs where they both pretend they're not about to cry. Peter gave him a broomstick cleaning kit, which Sirius thanked him for profusely. Remus gave him a book on charming muggle motorcycles to fly, which Sirius assured him would get put to use over the Christmas break. Lily gave him a big box of sweets, including a chocolate cauldron that was filled with firewhiskey. Sirius was shocked at her for breaking the rules, but she assured us that since it was legal for him, her conscious was clear.
I waited until last to give my present to Sirius. I handed him the box, and watched with baited breath while he opened it, and pulled the watch off of the emerald velvet.
"Is this… the Black Family watch?" Sirius asked, looking at me in disbelief.
"Yes." I said, hesitantly. Sirius had leaned away from me, and I was unsure how he was going to react.
"How?" He asked tersely. He was staring at the watch in his hands, and hadn't looked at me.
"How." It was less like a question and more like a demand this time.
"I…spoke to Regulus and asked for his help," I admitted. Lily was looking at me with pity in her eyes, and Peter was pretending to be super involved in reading the back of the book Remus had bought. James and Remus were looking at us intently, wondering if they were going to have to step in. James looked very drunk, leaning on his hands, but ready to jump up and assist.
"And you thought that was a good idea? To speak to my brother?" Sirius asked, his voice deadly soft, barely above a whisper.
"I just wanted you to have something from your family," I said, defending myself. My heart was beating like crazy, and I just wanted to see his grey eyes but he refused to look at me.
"And you thought speaking to my DEATH EATER BROTHER, ALONE, WAS THE WAY TO GO?" He screamed, finally looking up. He jumped up from his spot on the floor, eyes blazing. I hadn't seen him this mad in years, not since Regulus made the Quidditch team the same year he had.
"Sirius, mate, calm down," James said, getting up and putting a hand on Sirius's shoulder.
"You don't get to tell me what to do, Prongs. And you, Addison, certainly don't get to talk to a death eater and then act casual about it. What if he had hexed you? It would have been my fault. It was incredibly reckless of you; you put yourself in danger for me. I'M NOT WORTH IT!" He screamed at me. He kicked the watch box across the room, and stalked off out of the portrait hole. I got up, and made to go after him, but thought better of it.
Everyone got up and started clamoring, but honestly I didn't hear a word they had said. Sirius was mad. He was more mad at me than he had ever been before. And not because I had mailed his uncle, but because I had put myself in danger. I didn't know if I should be upset that he was angry, and happy because he cared so much about my safety that he was angry at me. It didn't really make much sense either way to me, since he was angry either way, so I decided to go to bed and think about it in the morning. After all, what damage could Sirius really do at 3AM?
