Chapter 49 – The Identity of the Unknown Man

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Regulus had just gathered all his ingredients and placed them neatly on his workspace when a small knock came from the door.

"Come in." Professor Slughorn called out. The door creaked open and to Regulus surprise and relief, Isabelle entered the classroom. "Oh, miss Black. Come in, come in." He smiled broadly, gesturing her in. He never stopped calling her miss Black, it seemed to have stuck. "Professor Flitwick already informed me you were coming. Let's see -" He was starting to rummage through his papers on his desk. Regulus tried to catch her eye, but it was firmly fixed on the Potions' professor. "Here we go." He laid the parchment flat on his desk. "These are the potions that are a possibility for your NEWT's. I listed them as the most likely to least, so I suggest you start at the top." He tapped the first potion with his chubby finger. "You're welcome to sit anywhere."

"Thank you, professor." She smiled at him, taking the parchment. When she turned, she looked around the room and when her eyes fell on Regulus, she walked over with a small smile. The sixth year Gryffindors looked at her curiously, but she sat down next to Reg. "Hi."

"Isabelle." He engulfed her in a tight hug, not caring if people were staring at them. He breathed in her familiar scent. "Where have you been?"

"I needed time alone."

"But I saw you in Hogsmeade disappear with some man." He said as he pulled back.

"I'll explain later, okay? To everyone."

"A-alright." He said a little disappointed. "What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have Charms?"

She quickly explained her change in schedule to prepare her for the NEWT's in just a few months before she started working on her first potion on the list. Regulus kept shooting her sideway glances, trying to read her face but she could be put in Slytherin with a blank face like that. She showed no emotion whatsoever. He scribbled down a note for Remus, pretending it was notes for Potions before sending it on its way. He thought, he saw Isabelle's gaze shift to him, but she didn't say anything. When she reached the part where the potion needed to shimmer for ten minutes, she cleaned up her workstation. Once clean she sat back down next to him.

"So, you and Remus came forward?" She suddenly whispered.

Regulus blushed, keeping his eye on the potion. He knew she was smirking. "Uhm, yeah. I don't want to hide anyone I love. And it's been okay. The other houses glance and whisper but nothing more. I get snarky remarks and dirty looks from some Slytherins but that's about it. Evan and Barty have my back, I can still stay in the common room. Nobody's trying to hex me or anything."

"They better not." She huffed. "Or they literally won't know what hit them."

Regulus gave her a crooked grin. "You're so protective, you love me." He chuckled.

"Of course, I love you. You're my brother."

"If I'm your brother -" He started slowly, carefully. "What is Sirius?"

"You don't want to know what I think about him right now." She said before going over to large shelves on the wall that were filled with vials. She grabbed one from the shelve and headed back. "I'm happy for you and Remus." She said as she ladled the potion in the vial before he could say something.

"He's miserable." He leaned closer to whisper. She snorted as a response. "Talk to him."

"He can talk to someone he trusts." She snapped, grabbing the potion from the desk and headed over to the professor. She walked out of the classroom without looking back.

"Shit." He muttered. Now she's mad at me. Great few days for the Black brothers. He thought to himself. He jotted down another note and send it to Remus.

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The rest of the day, she only talked to Lily and Remus about class as they sat next to her. She was happy that Sirius wasn't in any of her classes that day, so she didn't feel his stare burning on the back of her head. She saw that Remus and Lily wanted to talk about what happened and where she disappeared to this weekend, but they just needed to wait. She didn't join them at lunch, telling them she needed to use the loo and she never came to the great hall. It was just the same at dinner. But the others didn't let her go that easily, once they noticed she wasn't in the great hall, they passed the kitchen and walked up to the Gryffindor common room with food in their arms. Sirius was nervously wringing his hands together as they came closer to the portrait of the fat lady.

"I shouldn't have brought him up." Regulus was biting his lip, and Remus wrapped an arm around his reassuringly. "She's never been mad at me."

"She's not mad at you, love." Remus kissed his temple. "She just didn't want to talk about it. I get bet your life savings on it." He winked.

"Blast-ended Skrewt." Lily said before she ran into the common room. Everyone followed and Sirius hung at the back. Izzie was sitting on the windowsill, writing on a muggle notepad with a pen instead of parchment and a quill. She looked up and to everyone's surprise, she said.

"Oh, good! You are all here." She offered them a smile, but they noted it didn't reach her eyes. She looked at everyone but Sirius. She closed the notepad and tucked it behind her. When they walked closer, she reached out her hands for Regulus, who took them, afraid of her reaction. "I'm sorry about this morning, I shouldn't have snapped at you."

He squeezed her hands. "It's okay, I shouldn't have meddled." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. When he pulled back, she smiled. Regulus chose to sit next to her on the windowsill, while the others sat down around them. She could feel Sirius eyes on her, but she turned to James.

"James, since it was sort of your idea." She tossed him a bundle of keys. He easily caught it with his quick reflexes.

"Why are you giving me keys?" He looked from the keys to her.

"Those are three sets of keys, for three houses." James's eyes widened, just like the others. "You guys can check them out next weekend. The real estate agent, that was the man you saw me with, says it's okay to go in, they are uninhabited. Two of them are in muggle area but a lot of wizards and witches live there. The other is in a small wizarding village. They all have large backyards so you can play quidditch and they all have a library." She looked to Lily, Reg and Remus at the last part.

"You got us a house?" Remus whispered, looking stunned.

"Not really. They are all for lease, when you choose one, you can work out the details among yourselves later."

"Why -" Sirius cleared his voice that shook, and Izzie finally looked his way, but her eyes focussed on his cheek rather than his eyes. "Why does it sound like you're not going to live there too?"

"I got my own flat." She said quietly and her eyes darted to the fire.

"What?!" Lily and James gasped.

"No, Izzie!" Remus voice was sad.

"Isabelle." Regulus whispered taking her hand in his, but Sirius spoke again.

"Izzie, don't do this because of me." Everyone could hear his voice break, or more so his heart.

"I can't live with someone who doesn't trust me." She turned to James. "Let me know which one and I'll pass it on." She hopped off the windowsill and untangled her fingers from Reggie's before she walked out of the common room.

Remus made a move to stand up and go after his best friend, but his boyfriend stopped him by taking his hand. "Remus, love." He gave the slightest shake of his head before he turned to his brother. "Are you just going to sit there or are you going after her?!"

Sirius looked wide-eyed at his younger brother for a moment. You could only hear the firewood crack in the fireplace. If any of them wouldn't be looking at him, they would have missed how he sped out of the common room.

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Sirius ignored how the fat lady muttered behind the portrait, his eyes already scanning the grand staircase. He just saw a piece of black robe disappear around the corner a level below him and raced after, hoping it would be her. Her caramel brown hair flittered in the Charms classroom. Of course, she would be there, it was her safe haven. He was slowing down; he didn't want to barge in and scare her. When he came closer to the classroom, he heard her sing softly. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall right next to the door, just enjoying the sound of her voice. It calmed him almost instantly. Then he heard the ukelele, her fingers playing with the strings until a dreamy melody filled the room.

"Are you just going to stand there?" She suddenly said. Sirius's eyes flew open as he thought she was standing in front of him, but she was still in the classroom. He looked through the gape of the door, she was still sitting with her back to him, her fingers playing with the strings. He took in a shaky breath before pushing the door open and chose to sit across from her. He stared at her. He couldn't help himself. The way her hair fell forward on one side like a curtain, the other side was tucked behind her ear. The way her eyes flittered over the strings of her tiny guitar. Or the way her lips twitched as she hummed a song so softly it barely reached his ears. She continued to play, not looking up at him, her eyes focussed on her fingers. They sat like that for a while, just the sound of the ukelele filling their ears.

"If you're just going to stare -" Her fingers stopped for a second before they continued to play. "You can leave."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asked, still not looking up but her voice was strained.

"For accusing you. I -"

"Never trusted me, I know. I would accuse you too if the roles were reversed." She stopped playing the ukelele but she didn't look up. Sirius saw her face harden.

"Izzie, no!" He jumped up but didn't come closer. "I do trust you."

"If you did -" She finally looked up to him, her face was hard, but her eyes were filled with tears. "You wouldn't have asked me if I poisoned you!" She twitched her hand and the ukelele disappeared. She hopped off the desk and turned her back to him, her hands grabbing the desk so firmly her knuckles turned white. "I -" Even with that single short word, he could hear her voice break. "I think we should take a break."

"Izzie, please no." He pleaded. He took a large step forward and wrapped his hand around her elbow. "I can't lose you." He turned her around, wrapping his arms around her with all his strength. He held her even though she was fighting him. Then she relaxed against his chest, and he could feel his shirt getting wet. He buried his head in her hair, blinking away his own tears. "Please, don't do this."

"I love you, Sirius." She pulled back, craning her neck to look at him. "I will always love you, but I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me."

"Then stay with me." His hand went to her cheek, rubbing his thumb in slow circles against her skin. "I love you, more than anything. And I trust you more than anyone." He could feel her pulling away as she shook her head, so the grip around her tightened, keeping her in place, resting against his chest. "I've trusted you since – Merlin, I think I've always trusted you since I figured out you and Remus were so close. I trust you with him, with his secret. I trust you with giving James advice about Lily, I trust you with my little brother."

"But you don't trust me with you."

"I trust you with my life." He meant it. He frowned as he looked down between them. "I can't explain why I said what I said, but I never ever thought you used a potion like that on me. I was angry at how many times girls used it on me, that they used me. And it just came out without another thought. When I registered what I said, I knew I didn't believe it. I wanted to take it back the moment the words left my lips. I'm so sorry that I made you feel this way." He caressed her cheek again; his heart stopped a second when she leaned into his touch. "I love you. I love you so much it feels like I might explode. I couldn't love someone like that if I didn't trust them. Please, believe me." His pleading voice pulled her gaze up to his.

"I want to. You can't believe how much I want to." She turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand. "But -"

"Please, no buts." He closed his eyes, still feeling the way her lips felt against his hand. "Please, don't give up on us, give up on me. I can't stand the idea of losing you."

Then her lips grazed over his. His grip on her tightened and pulled her closer to him, lips moving against each other. He stepped forward until her back hit the desk. He picked her up with the arm around her waist and placed her on the desk. Her arms curled around his neck, and her legs around his waist as the kiss deepened. Sirius heart was beating in a pace that would be called unhealthy. But he couldn't control it, he never could when it came to her. The way her citrus shampoo hit his nose the moment he had pulled her close to him. The way her skin felt against his.

"Does this mean -" He said a little breathlessly. Her legs untangled from his waist, but their faces remained close.

"I'm not giving up on us, Sirius." She looked up at him with large blue eyes. "But I need time."

"What does that mean?" He asked tucking away her hair behind her ear. "Do you still want to take a break?" He feared the worst when she looked down.

"No." She reached for his hand and squeezed it softly before she looked back up at him. "I need time, but we've lost so much time being together already, being forced apart. I can't lose you either."

Sirius leaned back in, kissing her slowly. Trying to pour everything he felt into the kiss, a hand tangled up in her silky caramel locks. He didn't know what she meant by needing time, maybe she didn't know either but at least she wasn't pushing him away, at least she wasn't giving up on him.