Chapter 26

The next few days leading up to the Halloween ball seemed to mock me. Everyone was abuzz with excitement, new couples were forming left, right and centre, and all I could think of was how big of a fool I was.

'When you were hurt, it wasn't me who you needed.'

Dammit.

Why did I need Sirius that time? What was so special about him? Why couldn't I stop thinking about him when I should have been thinking of Rodger?

The girls were trying to be sensitive to my situation, but I could tell they were finding it difficult to mask their excitement about the event with indifference.

In an effort to take my mind off things, and not be a ominous disturbance to everyone around me with my gloomy mood, I spent my time studying. Thinking of all the end of year exams past the ball, I would spend almost every spare minute in the library writing notes for potions, defence, care of magical creatures and every other subject.

If I wasn't in the library, I was down on the grounds spending time with Niffy, my unlikely friend. It was better than going insane after being cooped up surrounded by books.

To worsen things further, professor McGonagall had decided it only appropriate to award my life-threatening visit to the forbidden forest with detentions. For both me and Sirius. Ah justice.

So I found myself after class one day, sitting by myself in the kitchens, scoffing down a few treacle tarts and chocolate pudding.

And of course, the door had to swing open while I was in the middle of a rather large bite of tart. And of course, in had to walk Sirius Black.

His eyes widened when they landed on me, and he made his way over slowly.

I stared at him with a neutral expression and idly calculated what kind of exchange this would lead to.

"Hey" he said as he sat down across from me.

"Hi" I answered back nonchalantly, and resumed my eating, not quite as unattractively, but not quite lady-like enough to warrant acceptable.

Sirius asked the elves for some cauldron cakes and leant back in his chair with his arms crossed. I knew he was looking at me but I didn't bother to look up and meet his gaze, or slow down the rate of food being shovelled into my mouth.

We sat in silence until his food arrived and for a while nothing was heard except the faint noise of chewing.

"So, how are you?" He asked.

An adequate address I thought drily.

"As well as I can be I suppose" I answered with a sigh, mostly because the sentence caused a break in my enjoyment of the delicious food in front of me.

He said nothing. I looked up at him and I was surprised at his face.

He wasn't smug, irritated, or cynical like I expected him to be, no, he looked cautious, like he was treading carefully, like a single word could cause me to shatter into a million pieces. Maybe it would.

And even deeper I discerned in his eyes, concern.

I put my spoon down. Was I being unfair? My break up with Rodger had been entirely my fault. Sirius had confessed his feelings to me, and I had chosen to ignore them and continue spending time with him. I had been subconsciously blaming the break up on Sirius when it was all me.

This brought on a fresh wave of depressive thoughts, and I picked up my spoon again and continued doing what I came here to do, eat until I forget what I was worried about. A most intelligent tactic.

"So we have detention tomorrow night" he said in a low voice, not looking up from his food.

"Yeah, seems to happen every time I almost get myself killed" I spat out bitterly.

"Bells..."

"I can't even survive an inch of the forbidden forest, a great witch I'll be." I said self-deprecatingly.

He reached across the table to touch my hand, I instinctively flinched, he noticed and pulled away before I realised I didn't have a reason to be hesitant anymore. I brushed off the disappointment and looked at Sirius, if he felt annoyed at my actions he didn't show it.

"Even Dumbledore isn't invincible Bells, you were attacked by a beast three times your size and you think you're a bad witch because you didn't defeat it? That's crazy. You're the most gifted and talented witch I know. I've witnessed your potion making skills first hand and I don't have to know a thing about potions to know that was way too advanced for students. And more than that, you're good Bella, that's what matters. I find your ambitions to be a healer and help people so amazing and I can't wait to see you realise how incredible you are yourself."

I blinked. Racking my brains for a response and finding none, I was left speechless, staring back at his sincere eyes.

I became aware of our audience of gushing elves after a few moments, and bowed my head, face aflame.

When I looked up, he was standing and heading to the door, lifting up a hand, "see you in detention", he exited in a blink.

Why do I feel so disappointed?

"More pudding miss?" An elf asked me beside my elbow.

I wordlessly nodded.

Needless to say, I went through several serves of desserts before I left the room.

I was surprised when McGonagall informed me that detention was to be served in Greenhouse 2 with professor Sprout.

Hoping we weren't going to be made to trim any venomous tentactula or similar unpleasant herbs, Sirius and I headed down the chilly Hogwarts grounds towards the greenhouses on a thursday evening.

I tried to make some conversation, "so the moon is almost full" I said, looking up at the sky, it was indeed almost full, illuminating the whole grounds.

"..."

He said nothing. Okay that didn't work.

The rest of the journey passed by in silence.

When we finally reached the greenhouses, Sprout was there to greet us, as was, to our surprise, professor Flitwick.

Both were sporting cheerful smiles on their faces, and I wondered if they had been told we were sent here for extra curricular activity rather than detention.

"Good evening Mr Black, Miss Harper" Flitwick waved us over.

"Today we have a real treat for you both, we know you're both very talented students and we thought we could use your help this detention!" Sprout whispered excitedly with a sparkle in her eyes.

We cautiously followed them inside through the door, I looked around and reflected on the large dark shapes lining every inch of the room, slightly stirring and emitting odd noises here and there. The whole scene was a lot eerier at dark.

They led us to a table in the middle of the greenhouse, and Flitwick climbed on a stool and placed to glass jars with glowing orbs inside them, on the table, to shed light.

On the table were three pots with the same plant in each. Small light pink shrubs that were stirring as if asleep. One of the plants had a faint glow illuminating it. When Sirius reached out with a finger, it squeaked and sunk beneath the surface of the soil.

"Shy critters, they are" Sprout murmured with affection. Reaching into her pockets and retrieving a small capped jar of potion, she dropped some onto her finger and carefully rubbed it on the soil with expert fingers. The plant rose slowly to the surface once again.

"Just line your hands with this potion when you go to handle them, and they won't bury themselves. These are Mugworts, only young ones of course, and you will be practicing charms on them!" She continued animatedly.

"Charms, professor?" I asked, puzzled.

"That's right" Flitwick jumped in, equally as excited. "I've been developing a new charm that ensure that plants never die!" He said with his hand pressed together in victorious fists.

I raised my eyebrows.

"Well let's get cracking to it, the charm is memorium ebenaza. Recite that and move your wand like this" he indicated a figure eight motion, which ended in a complicated swish. "When it works, the plant should faintly glow" he indicated one of the three pots which was glowing. "I've only been able to achieve this with this very plant right here! But I have not been able to replicate it. I just want you to repeat these motions and see if the plants glow, otherwise I will be back to square one" he sighed, but his vigour soon returned "well we will return in an hour to see the results!"

After demonstrating the motions a few more times, he clapped his hands excitedly, jumped down from his stool and headed out the door with Professor Sprout, leaving us here with the sinister looking mugworts.

"Well I think we should practice the wand movements and then the incantation and then put it together" I said after a confused pause.

We did just that, about thirty times before we began to practice on the plants.

After forty five rolled on by without any results, we began to tire of the routine.

"Why isn't it working!? We've been copying the movements exactly!" I exclaimed.

Sirius was looking puzzled. "They basically left us here to waste time."

I sighed and put my wand back into my pocket and went to sit down on a nearby stool. Before I could, Sirius grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me upright, startled, I stared at him.

He indicated the spot where I was about to plant my backside, and there sat a spiky cactus that was hissing faintly.

"Oh merlin. Thanks Sirius" I laughed.

So we remained standing awkwardly beside the plants.

I looked over at Sirius and felt a rush of emotions. When I was with him, I forgot all about Rodger and exams and everything else.

"Hey Sirius, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this saturday?"

He looked up and promptly dropped his wand which he was using to poke a mugwort.

Silence echoed in the greenhouse, the sound of his wand clattering to the floor made all the plants still.

"What?" He asked dumbly.

"Hogsmeade. This saturday. I thought we could go together" I shrugged, looking down.

"Um" he scratched the back of his head. He looked like he was regretting something, and scrunched up his face. "Bella, I uh, Remus ah..that is, I would love to... but I can't." He finished lamely.

"You can't."

"Not this week at least. I uh, I'm doing something with the guys...sorry" he looked like he wanted to kick himself. "But hey! What about next week?"

"Next week is the Halloween ball."

"Oh. I'm sorr-"

"No it's fine" I put on a smile, which I knew he saw through "It was a random thought anyway"

I felt like my stomach had dropped out of my body, but I was desperate to hide my disappointment.

Sirius took a step towards me and began to say something, when the door opened.

"How is it coming along?" Professor Flitwick sang happily as he bounced into the room, followed closely by Professor Sprout who looked equally as excited.

I breathed a sigh of relief and Sirius cursed under his breath.

"No luck professors, we're sorry we tried so many times."

I felt a pang of misplaced guilt at their crestfallen faces.

"Oh, I see. Well thank you very much for your help, you've still five minutes but I think you can leave now."

Sirius picked up his wand from the floor and headed towards the door.

"I think I'd like to stay a bit longer and practice some more" I said to the professors.

I felt Sirius eyes on me, then he turned and headed out the door, picking up on the hint that I wasn't willing to make the lonely long walk back up to the castle with him.

I watched him as he left, his figure silhouetted by the glowing near-full moon.

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What did you think of the chapter? Hopefully everyone understood why Sirius said no, because that won't be explained explicitly in the coming chapters.

Stay sweet! :)
- Sugar~