Percy and Padfoot

Again, Siria paced outside the Hufflepuff common room. Despite Angelina saying they would take the best Keeper, Ron made the team. Vicky Frobisher flew the best, but wouldn't prioritize Quidditch. Geoffrey Hooper was a close second, but supposedly complained too much. So Siria was here, pacing the corridor, to show she prioritized Quidditch and without a word to Angelina, so no one thought she was a complainer too. [B5, 276]

Angelina booked the Quidditch pitch for tomorrow afternoon, which overlapped Siria's date. How was she supposed to fall in love at this rate? Siria slumped down, against the wall, and pressed her head into her hands. She massaged her fingers over her scar. To say it hurt would be an overstatement, but stung more than it had over summer. "No," Siria thought, "now it hurts," but it was gone as quickly as it arrived.

Someone warm slid down, beside her. Lily Moon crouched down, in her blue robe. There were little cartoon characters on her pajama pants. "If you look that distressed, it makes it hard for me feel disappointed," Lily Moon told her.

"Don't be disappointed," Siria requested, "Angelina booked the field for tomorrow afternoon— so, when works best for you?" Lily Moon glanced sideways at Siria as she mulled it over.

When Siria returned the common room, she raised her arms for praise. Lily Moon rescheduled. There was a chance for love after all. Colin and Dennis, congratulated her, then dashed up to their dorm. Siria eyed the door, then Fred and George, who met Siria's eyes then turned away.

"What are they up to?" Siria cornered George when he went to get another butterbeer.

"What's who up to?" George asked. He peered around Siria, innocently. She crossed her arms.

"The Creevey brothers."

"Didn't they head up to bed?" George asked. "Good boys, the Creevey brothers," he patted Siria, "your brothers. Heard their mother's already invited you to Christmas."

"They're coming over, instead," Siria said. "Wait—" she caught George's arm as he tried to slip away. "What are you all planning?"

George raised the four butterbeers he was holding. "Well, I'm planning on snogging Jessica Thompson, though I think she might like you more," he winked at her. Siria let go and sighed. "Oh! Sheck my pocket," he told her. George turned his back to her.

"Which one?" She asked and eyed the butterbeers she would rather take.

"Back," and George nodded over his left shoulder. Siria tucked her hand into his pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves.

"Already?" She asked him. "I just asked for them yesterday."

"Well, Fred and I take our investors' requests very seriously," George smiled. Siria rolled her eyes and gave him a nudge.

"Good luck with Thompson."

Siria squeezed herself onto the armrest of the armchair Hermione nodded off in. She slipped Hermione's left glove off. Hermione startled awake and took her hand to her chest. Her large, round brown eyes blinked in their tired haze.

"What are you doing?" Hermione yawned. Siria tapped the gloves against Hermione's nose.

"These are for your frozen fingers, 'Mione," she said. Hermione took the gloves. They were fuzzy and light pink with blue argyle. "Though your hand doesn't feel that cold to me."

"I'm freezing," Hermione snapped. She rose out of the chair, which made Siria slide into it. "Thank you," and she marched away without looking back.

Over the armchair, Siria searched for Ron, who was being congratulated by Lavender Brown. "Didn't even get to mention my scar," Siria muttered. She pulled her legs over the arm of the chair and let her too-tall-to-sit-this-way self drape over the other arm.

"Siria Potter-Black," someone called loudly and confidently. Siria cracked her eyes open to see a girl with large dark eyes, a prominent chin, and long black hair, standing over her. "Hi, Siria," she smiled down at Siria, "I'm Romilda. Romilda Vane." [B6, 138]

"I know who you are," Siria sighed, but did not move from her uncomfortable draped position. She linked her fingers over her stomach.

"Do you really?" Romilda smiled. She stepped closer.

"Yeah. You're the girl who thinks my favorite photographer's photos are 'lame'," Siria said flatly. Romilda's smile faltered.

"Who?"

"Colin Creevey." Siria stared at blankly at Romilda.

"Well, I suppose his are good."

"Well, I suppose you ought to tell him that," Siria clicked her tongue, hopped to her feet, and headed for bed.

Morning came too quickly after another night of the same corridor and same locked door. Parvati braided Siria's hair into a crown around her head. Lavender hung another earring up to Siria's earlobe. She had gone through the box twice.

"There's just nothing that says 'you'," Lavender told Siria. Siria chuckled.

"And what says 'me'?" Siria asked.

"Telling Romilda Vane to bugger off," Parvati beamed. "You know, she called my Yule Ball bangles 'tacky'. I had half a mind to stab her with Lavender's hairpin."

"You should have," Siria joked.

"You should have been nicer," Hermione told Siria. "Sometimes people like that just need a little kindness."

"Draco Malfoy," Siria named.

"Yes, well," Hermione tucked her hair behind her ear, "we haven't actually been kind to him in a long while."

"When Malfoy's kind to you, I'll reconsider."

In the Great Hall, Siria took a seat beside Ron. "How did it go?" he asked. Siria sighed and poured herself some water. "That bad?"

"I didn't realize you were actually supposed to study on a 'study date'," Siria confessed. "I thought people just put 'study' in front so they could, I don't know."

"Did you tell her?" Hermione asked.

"No," Siria sighed. "I did get to hold her hand though," Siria nodded in approval at this victory as she sprinkled some greens onto her plate.

"Nice," Ron patted Siria on the back.

"Not really," Siria said. "It was because I 'accidentally' bumped it."

"That's smooth though," Ron assured her. "She's bound to have butterflies." Siria wasn't so sure if Lily Moon did, but she certainly had some in her stomach.

"What're they doing?" Siria asked. Her fork fell onto her plate as she rose to her feet. Colin and Dennis Creevey approached Lily Moon at the Hufflepuff table. Fred and George gave Siria two thumbs up. "What's happening?" Siria asked when Lily Moon looked to her. Siria smiled, waved, and hoped the terror that twisted her stomach was for nothing. Lily Moon nodded and smiled back. "Why is she smiling now?" Siria asked through clenched teeth.

Colin and Dennis gave Siria a thumbs up. They sat with the twins, on the end of the Gryffindor table furthest from Siria. She pressed her fist to her mouth. "Everything's fine," Siria told herself. "Please, let everything be fine," she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Are you dating Lily Moon?" a bold voice asked loudly, too loudly. The nearby chatter died out. Siria stiffened. She put her hands down on the table and glared over her glasses, at Romilda Vane.

"Don't see how that'd be anyone's business," Siria said in the most controlled tone she could manage.

"Holding hands in the library isn't dating," Romilda Vane told Siria. "I want to snog the person I like."

"It's fine to think that way, but holding hands in the library is dating for some people," Siria said.

"She's so much shorter than you," Romilda Vane said. "I'm the perfect height," and she raised herself up, to still shorter than Lily Moon.

"Ms. Vane," Professor McGonagall swept down on them, "five points from Gryffindor. How dare you cause such a scene in the Great Hall. Who Potter-Black may or may not be dating is not anyone's business!"

"But, professor," she tried to protest.

"Do not make me take any more points," Professor McGonagall told her. "I suggest you go sit with Ms. Thompson and Ms. Cole."

"Thank you," Siria mouthed to Professor McGonagall as she left.

When the team stepped onto the field there was a clash of cheers with jeers and catcalls. The Slytherin Quidditch team sat with some of their friends, half way up one side of the stands. The Hogwarts Herald members and some other students from the Sunday study group sat with Hermione on the other side. A wide grin cracked over Siria's face. Settled between the Creevey brothers and Hermione, sat Lily Moon. [B5, 290]

"Focus, Potter-Black," Angelina snapped at Siria as they kicked off. "We're going to start with some passes," Angelina told them.

"Hey, Johnson, what's with that hairstyle anyway?" Pansy Parkinson shrieked from below. "Why would anyone want to look like they've got worms coming out of their head?" (B5, 291)

"Want me to hex her?" Siria offered in a hushed tone. Angelina shook her head and brushed her long braids from her face.

"Want us to?" Fred offered.

Angelina had them spread out. The team wasn't bad, but they were distracted. Ron missed every other pass to him. Siria couldn't focus on the Quaffle. She was too busy telling herself "play it cool" and "don't reply."

"Sure you don't need a lie down?" Malfoy called to Siria with a jab about how much time she normally spent in the hospital wing. Siria clenched her teeth together. [B5, 291]

"Nice of you to keep an eye on me" is what she wanted to say. Maybe "only if you're offering your lap" might throw him off. She shook her head like it could shake him out of it.

Siria swayed left to catch the Quaffle. She tossed it to Ron, who barely caught it, who passed to Katie, right through her hands, and smacked her in the face. Fred, George, and Siria flew to Katie and her bloody nose. [B5, 291-292]

"Take his," Fred offered Katie a purple sweet. Siria pushed his hand and the sweet away from Katie.

"May I?" Siria extended her hand. Katie nodded. She winced when Siria grazed her finger along. Siria clicked her tongue. She pulled her wand out and pointed it at Katie's nose "Episkey!" She rubbed Katie's blood with her sleeve. Katie felt her nose.

"Thanks."

"Show off," George called Siria.

"If there's already a spell for it, we might as well use it," Siria told him.

"There's a spell for everything," Fred tsked.

Angelina had the twins release the other Quidditch balls. Siria soared over to Lily Moon. "Gotta give the Snitch a head start," Siria told herself.

"Siria!" Colin shouted. FLASH. Siria hovered still while she blinked the spots from her eyes.

"Yes, Colin?" She asked as irritation dripped from her voice.

"Am I really your favorite photographer?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I—" Siria squeezed her eyes shut as Colin took another photo. "I like the pictures without me and I came to say 'hi' to Lily Moon!" Siria ruffled his hair.

"Hi," Lily Moon said. Her voice was quiet and soft. The blush in her cheeks was beautiful. It made Siria's heart skip.

"Hey Moon," Siria bit her lip. "You came to—"

Angelina's whistle blew. Siria gritted her teeth. She turned over her shoulder to find Angelina glaring at her. "Potter-Black, think the Snitch is well and lost— go get it," Angelina snapped. Siria forced a smile.

"Have a good practice," Lily Moon told Siria. Her light red hair was bunched into a white and navy knitted cap with a pom pom at the end.

"See you after?" Siria asked, with a tilt of her head.

"I hope so," and Siria had not ever wanted to kiss someone so much. Lily Moon was so close.

"Siria," Hermione hissed. There were too many other people. Siria nodded. She flipped, just to show off, before she hunted down the Snitch.

For some reason, Ron slowly slid to whatever hoop was more inline with the Chasers, even if they were halfway across the field. Once he managed to hover before the center hoop, he improved a lot. Ron just also had to be reminded to return to the center. Their second practice match was probably his best.

After Siria caught the Snitch for the third time, Angelina called an end to practice. The Slytherins had taken to chanting "Gryffindor are losers" and Ron went back to missing saves. When the team landed, Pansy Parkinson broke into more shrill laughter than usual.

"What's she on about now?" Ron cursed. Siria patted his shoulder.

"Maybe she's finally looked in a mirror," Siria joked.

"Hey, Moon!" Pansy shouted across the field. Ron slammed his hands on Siria's shoulders at her knee jerk reaction to hop back on her broom. Siria was ready to dive at Pansy. "If you want a boyfriend, don't settle for Potter— She's not really a boy; she's just huge."

"That little—" Siria swore through clenched teeth. "I'm not that tall."

"Taller than us," said Fred.

"Barely," Siria told him, "by like a hair," and she pressed her fingers together as if the difference between their heights wasn't noticeable. "And girls can be tall."

"You're a girl," George reminded her.

"I know I am," Siria snapped.

While Ron did his homework, Hermione knitted house elf clothes. It was something that took her a few weeks of practicing magic over summer to finally cave in and use magic for. She knitted a hanger box of little house elf hats, socks, and dresses. Hermione's knitting needles flashed in front of her while she chatted with Ginny.

Siria sat on the floor, at the table, with a book of Korean fairy tales. Maddy's cousin, Eun Jung Baek, mixed it in with some spell books she sent. Baek hoped it would help with Siria's Korean. So far, it just made Siria feel inadequate with how frequently she looked at her dictionary.

Occasionally, Colin or Dennis would ask about their homework or else the story Siria read. All of Siria's responses were as short as her temper. "Blood curses," "Monkeys falling from trees," and "I have no idea." Mostly, they gave Siria more questions.

"Hermione, do we have anything like a blood curse?" Siria asked when she finished "A Tale of Two Brothers" for the second time.

"Maledictions," Hermione noted. "That's very old and dark magic though. Just like there's no one who can cure it, I doubt there's anyone that can cast it."

"What? You think I want to give Voldemort one?" Siria joked.

"Seeing as how they pass mother to daughter, no" said Hermione.

"Then why did the brother have it?" Siria asked. She rose up and showed Hermione the page.

"Well, are you sure you're reading it right?" Hermione asked. She squinted at the writing on the page, as though it could translate itself for her. "It's probably something else. Why don't you write to ask?"

Siria shook her head and sat back down on the floor. How could she write to ask about the children's book that was meant for easy reading? She dwelt on the story until Ginny went to bed. The Creevey brothers followed after Dennis fell asleep in the armchair. Ron continued his homework and Siria changed to planning lessons. They were interrupted by rapting on the window. It was Hermes, Percy's owl.

Ron took the letter and Hermes flew off before it was even opened. "Hey." Siria said in what she hoped was a soothing tone, "can't be that bad." From the look on Ron's face, it was. He pushed the letter at Siria, who scanned over it with Hermione. [B5, 296]

Siria tried to keep her face impassive. Percy congratulated Ron on making prefect, but noted "I have always been afraid you would take what we might call the 'Fred and George' route." He went on to claim the prefect route as his own, as if Bill and Charlie had not been prefects before him. It was the stuff about Siria that made her clench her jaw. Percy, who had known her for four years, sided with the Ministry. [B5, 297]

"Dumbledore may not be in charge at Hogwarts much longer," Siria read aloud. Ron reached to take the letter, but Siria pressed it against herself. "No, Ron, I don't care about the other stuff," she lied. "This is important though, Fudge thinks that Dumbledore is trying to overthrow him, so he's trying to overthrow Dumbledore."

"We're not a monarchy," Ron grumbled.

"No, Ron," Hermione said. "I think… no… maybe…" and Hermione took the letter from Siria. She paced the common room and muttered to herself. [B5, 296-298]

"Really I'm more worried about whatever's happening tomorrow," Siria confessed to Ron. "Hermione barely caught that bit about Podmore being arrested for 'trespass'; it was like they were trying to hide it."

"You agree that it was a setup?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. I don't know if they could set Dumbledore for something, but it's not like we can use science to disprove it," Siria sighed. She leaned her head on Ron's shoulder. [B5, 287]

"Sorry," Ron muttered to Siria as they watched Hermione pace. "He's a prat, so don't worry about him."

"He's your brother," said Siria. "I don't hold it against him," she hoped she wouldn't. "Look at the twins— they're seeking their fortunes, Percy's just doing it differently."

"But Fred and George got the money from you and Cassius," Ron said as though it made a difference.

"Technically, Cassius and I got it from the Ministry, so the twins did too," Siria tried to reason.

"Would you ask Kreacher if he wouldn't mind bringing powdered horn of a bicorn and shredded skin of a boomslang?" Hermione asked Siria. Siria nodded.

"Why did you set him free?" Ron asked.

"I'm not about to hash this out with you again," Siria said.

"I just mean, he'd be happy to do it either way— it's weird for them to be free," Ron said.

"Tell that to the house elves in the kitchen," Siria told him.

"Speaking of which, I'm hoping to visit, before the Herald tomorrow," Hermione began.

"We'll come," Ron and Siria said. They smiled at the other.

Cold radiated from Siria's jacket pocket. She shivered and opened her mirror, to Sirius's face. They dove right into the letter and Siria beamed when Sirius agreed with her. The smile was short lived though.

"Heard you got detention with Snape," Sirius said. He focused his tone on parental, rather than anger with her.

"He called me 'sir'," Siria smiled sheepishly. She punched Ron in the arm when he laughed. "He was being so much. He asked if I could read— should have told him I read more languages than he does." A smile flickered over Sirius's face, but was replaced by a firm expression.

"You need to keep your head down, with the Ministry watching over your shoulder. Hermione as well," Sirius added. "The lot of you need to stay out of detention and out of trouble."

"It's really late, I think I'm gonna go to bed," Siria said.

"Siria—" he started, and she gave a huge yawn, "alright. Good night."

"How much do you need?" Siria asked Hermione as she dropped the mirror back into her pocket.

"But he just said—" Hermione started.

"Quitting already?" Siria baited. She grinned and leaned toward Hermione.

"Enough for two regular batches, for now," Hermione said. "We're going to see if Potions are like making cookies."

"What are we making?" Ron asked. He dropped his voice to a whisper, as if they weren't the only ones in the common room.

"An alibi."