Roses Have Thorns, Daisies Wilt
April passed without much event, as did May. June brought along the N.E.W.T. exams; Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, which determined what jobs the seventh years were qualified to hold after Hogwarts. Tensions were high, as were stress levels and the demand for free time. Even the Marauders let the tests slip by without the usual mayhem they caused at the end of the year. Everyone could feel their last year of Hogwarts drawing to a close.
Finally the last exam was finished, and the seventh years had a free night of no studies. Sirius and Shayna sat side by side at the Gryffindor table that night, chatting quietly. James sat between Lily and Remus, and Jocelyn sat next to Lily. James and Remus kept glancing at Sirius nervously. When both Sirius and Shayna were finished eating, Sirius held his hand out and Shayna grasped it, standing up and interlacing their arms at the elbows. They walked out the Great Hall and onto the grounds.
"Sha-Sha, I have a surprise for you," Sirius whispered quietly in her ear.
Shayna laughed, both at the use of the silly nickname and Sirius's breath tickling her ear. "What is it?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise!" Sirius exclaimed. "Now, come on, because we're not very far from it."
Shayna leaned into Sirius and smiled. They headed towards the lake. "Please tell me?"
"Not yet," Sirius laughed. They reached the edge of the lake as the sun was setting in the distance—it took very careful timing on Sirius's part for it to work out this way. "Okay, now, when the sun sets, close your eyes." The sun dipped below the horizon only moments later, turning their world into night. "Okay, close your eyes."
Shayna's eyes fluttered closed, and she heard Sirius mutter a charm. "Can I open them now?" she asked quietly. She felt the need to whisper, as though the magic of the night would disappear if she talked too loudly.
"In a second," Sirius whispered back, flicking his wand. "Okay, open."
Shayna opened her eyes and gasped. She stood in the middle of a circle of scented candles, on a blanket made of rose petals and cushions made of daisies. "Merlin, Sirius!" she breathed. "You did all this…for me?"
Sirius nodded, sitting down on the blanket of rose petals and patting a spot next to him. "Come, sit," he whispered. Shayna stepped carefully, afraid of ruining all that he carefully planned, and sat gingerly next to him.
"Why?" Shayna asked him.
"Does it matter?" Sirius replied. "Just enjoy." He smiled and pulled out his wand again, giving it a flick. A plate of strawberries and banana slices appeared in front of them, along with a miniature chocolate fountain. Sirius picked up a banana slice and put it under the fountain, letting chocolate run over it and splatter on his fingers. He popped one into his mouth, then picked up another and put it into Shayna's mouth. Shayna giggled and licked the chocolate from her lips.
"Yum," she said, taking a strawberry from the plate and eating it. "Sirius, you have some chocolate on your mouth…let me get that for you." She leaned in and kissed him lightly, and Sirius wrapped his arms around her slim waist. She shrugged her shoulders and let her cloak slip off to her elbows. She pulled back from the kiss and pulled off her cloak. "Maybe we should finish inside the castle," she said breathlessly, standing up.
"Shayna, wait," Sirius said quietly. He took hold of her hand and stood on one knee, pulling a box from behind his back.
Shayna gasped and put her free hand to her mouth, holding back tears. "Oh, Merlin!" she whispered.
"I know you said you wouldn't move in with me because we weren't engaged, and so…" Sirius swallowed hard. "So, I want to make sure you have no reason not to stay with me." He pulled her hand in front of her and kissed the inside of her palm. "Er—Well…here it goes," he sighed. "Will you—" he began, but suddenly something on her arm caught his eye, something that made him look up at her in disgust. "What the bloody hell is that?!"
Shayna's eyes widened in horror. "Sirius, I—I can explain!" she gasped.
A gust of cold wind blew from the north, and the candles surrounding them flickered out. "You don't need to explain, Shayna," Sirius said quietly, his voice sounding hurt and angry. "There's nothing to explain. You're in league with him."
Tears streamed down Shayna's cheeks as another gust of wind blew the rose petal blanket away and toppled the daisy cushions into the lake. They floated for a moment before sinking lower and lower until they could no longer be seen. "Sirius, please, listen to me!" Shayna begged as Sirius stood up. "Please, there was no other choice! He would have killed me! And you!"
Sirius frowned, his gray eyes looking at her coldly and with contempt. "He'll do it anyway, but I thought you would rather die knowing you did it to save your friends." Sirius's tone remained deathly calm, but his cheeks flushed with anger.
"Sirius, please!" Shayna pleaded, tears rushing down her cheeks. "Sirius, you know me!"
"Funny, I'm not sure I do anymore," Sirius spat. He opened the box he had clenched in his hand and took out a beautiful gold ring, encrusted with two small diamonds. "This was for you." He sighed. "But it's not anymore. Go inside, Shayna. I can't look at you anymore."
Shayna sniffled and picked up her cloak, and turned to go into the castle. "I love you, Sirius," she whispered.
She got no reply. Sirius had turned to face the lake and was staring into its icy depths. He heard her footsteps retreating into the distance, and he looked at the small ring in his hand, a ring that would have been shown proudly on Shayna's left ring finger. Wind whipped Sirius's hair and robes. He frowned, and a single teardrop splattered on the diamond engagement ring. Sirius pulled back his arm and threw the ring as far as he could into the lake, where it would lay at the bottom, left to rust and linger there forever.
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Some time later, Sirius walked back to the Gryffindor common room, alone. Remus and James were sitting there waiting for him with pained expressions on their faces. Sirius flopped dejectedly into an armchair and sighed.
"What happened, mate?" James asked quietly. "Shayna came in by herself about two hours ago! She packed her stuff and she's speaking with Dumbledore now. I think she wants to leave."
"Let her leave," Sirius growled.
"Why?" Remus asked. "What happened?"
"She's a Death Eater, that's what!" Sirius exclaimed, standing up abruptly. James and Remus glanced at each other in shock.
"Shayna? A Death Eater? Are you sure?" Remus asked skeptically.
"Yeah, I saw the Mark with my own eyes," Sirius exclaimed. "Everything was going perfect until then! If I'd have known, I would NEVER—"
"Sirius, mate, calm down," James said. "It's not your fault! It's nobody's fault but her own! Nobody would have suspected her!"
"I'm disgusted," Sirius said quietly, "to think that I loved a Death Eater."
"Sirius, you didn't know," Remus said. "There was no way you could have known."
Suddenly footsteps sounded from the girls' staircase, and Lily and Jocelyn walked down the stairs in their bathrobes and slippers. "What's going on?" Lily asked. "I stayed to see how Shayna's date with Sirius went, but she came in and didn't say anything to us at all!"
"Other than that she's leaving," Jocelyn added. "I think she said her mother was sick or something, and she wanted to be home. She's leaving tonight."
"That's not why," Sirius said grimly. "Sit."
Lily and Jocelyn sat, sharing worried glances at the scowl on Sirius's face. "What's wrong, Sirius?" Lily asked from where she sat next to James.
"Shayna's what's wrong," Sirius replied. "I was going to—oh Merlin, I can't believe what I was going to do."
Remus grimaced. "He was going to propose."
Lily and Jocelyn gasped. "Why didn't you?" Jocelyn asked earnestly.
"She's a Death Eater," James answered for Sirius, who had his head in his hands. "He saw the Mark on her arm when he took her hand."
Lily put her hand to her mouth. "SHE'S A WHAT? DID I HEAR YOU RIGHT?"
"She's a Death Eater," Sirius repeated weakly. "The Mark's on her arm. Bloody horrible thing, it is. A skull, with a serpent for a tongue."
"But—but—why?" Jocelyn exclaimed, tears streaming down her face.
"She was scared, why else?" Remus replied, with a hint of disgust in his voice.
"Who would've thought our Shayna would—would—well, would do…that?" Lily stuttered, clutching James's arm with shaking hands. She reached out a hand and took Sirius's. "Sirius, we're still here for you," she said quietly. "All of us. It'll be alright."
A/N: Don't get mad. You still have the last chapter to read, so click the little arrow & I'll make my big speech there!