Chapter 5

On the train Marianne met Kate again and the two joined another group of Hufflepuffs in one compartment. The batchers chatted about their holidays and the newest gadgets that had come out before playing some rounds of exploding snap. The game had been invented only four years prior and was a giant hit with the Hogwarts population. All in all it was a fun and cheerful train ride.

Arriving at the train station and climbing into the carriage Marianne was giddy with excitement. She was going to HOGWARTS! The drive up to the castle was over pretty quick and Marianne was mostly silent, the view out of the window had left her speechless while the carriage made it's way up the winded path.

The castle in front of her was absolutely breath taking and awe inspiring!

Still slightly stunned Marianne relied on Kate to lead her through the double door entrance to the Great Hall and to their place at the Hufflepuff table. Marianne was only shaken out of her trance like state when Kate asked her concerned if everything was alright because she had been so silent since getting off the train. A quick smile sent into the blondes' direction and a misleading sentence about a headache and being tired rectified the situation. The rest of the evening Marianne enjoyed the feast and the cheerful chatter around her, first in the Great Hall and than in the common room and the dorm room, Hufflepuff was really the most welcoming house of all of them.

After changing into her pajamas Marianne fell asleep very quickly and dreamed about dogs, red eyed snakes and potion cauldrons. Weird.

The next few days turned into a blur of finding her way around the castle and exploring a bit. Marianne especially enjoyed the Hogwarts grounds and found a somewhat hidden spot at the Black Lake, you had to walk a bit through the woods to reach it. This quiet spot was perfect for her, she needed this alone time being still somewhat unused of having people around her nearly twenty four hours. Marianne started a habit of taking her guitar down there and practice a bit while she replayed classes and gossip in her head. Hufflepuff gossip queens had a habit of sitting in her hearing range when she did her homework in the common room. The curriculum was very exciting to her and thankfully she hadn't had any problems with the practical part, her body just did the moving for her once she had set her mind on a spell. To be absolutely sure about her ability Marianne tried to get in as much spell casting as possible in abandoned classrooms.

And so it came that Marianne sat again in her favorite spot when she was surprised by the most unlikely Gryffindor.

Marianne jerked and squeaked when Sirius Black suddenly sat down beside her, she hadn't heard anybody coming, and expected someone like Sirius Black even less. The blonde witch had been lost in her music and only concentrated on her guitar play. Marianne had needed something to calm her down after the encounter with the Slytherins today and so she just started to play random songs that always had a calming effect on her.

Taking in his relaxed form Marianne couldn't decide if she should swoon and blush or be wary of him. Damn the young Marianne's feelings and hormones, of course her counterpart had to have a crush the size of the Grand Canyon on Hogwarts resident play boy. But oh, nobody could deny that Sirius had the bad boy image down to a T. Especially now that he had run away from his home and lived with the Potters.

"Hey" grinned Sirius charmingly as he leaned back in the warm grass, his well developed upper body propped up on his elbows.

"…Hi…" Marianne whispered shyly back while she stared down on her guitar.

Merlin be damned, she was twenty four years old, she shouldn't act like a swooning teenager. Why oh why did she have to be so awkward with men and who had thought it was a good idea to put her into this body with those raging hormones?

"Can you continue playing? I liked the last piece. I'm Sirius Black by the way.", the dark haired boy said cautiously while he sent her a lazy smile.

"Oh, eh yeah, uhhm,… I'm Marianne Abbott,… that song is called Lullaby for a stormy night" inside Marianne kicked herself while she stumbled over her words.

"Does it have a lyric?" the now curious wizard asked while he fixated the blonde in front of him.

Marianne played nervously with the hem of her cardigan before she answered, "Uhm yes, but I'm not that good at singing."

"Oh come on you can't be that bad! I won't laugh." The Black said while he smiled irresistibly up at her.

'Oh god you have NO idea' Marianne grumbled to herself, but she couldn't say no to this charming smile, even if it meant she had to utterly embarrass herself.

song by Vienna Teng

little child, be not afraid
though rain pounds harshly against the glass
like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger
I am here tonight

little child, be not afraid
though thunder explodes and lightning flash
illuminates your tear-stained face
I am here tonight

and someday you'll know
that nature is so
the same rain that draws you near me
falls on rivers and land
on forests and sand
makes the beautiful world that you'll see
in the morning

little child, be not afraid
though storm clouds mask your beloved moon
and its candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams
I am here tonight

little child, be not afraid
though wind makes creatures of our trees
and their branches to hands, they're not real, understand
and I am here tonight

for you know, once even I was a
little child, and I was afraid
but a gentle someone always came
to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears
and to give a kiss goodnight

well now I am grown
and these years have shown
that rain's a part of how life goes
but it's dark and it's late
so I'll hold you and wait
'til your frightened eyes do close

and I hope that you'll know...

everything's fine in the morning
the rain'll be gone in the morning
but I'll still be here in the morning

Marianne couldn't believe it, her old body may have not been able to carry a tune, but this one could definitely sing, and that pretty well; unbelievable! She cautiously glanced at Sirius who was lying beside her.

Sirius liquid dark silver eyes were holding her grey blue ones captive and then snorted, "Can't sing, my ass, you're really good!"

Blushing Marianne looked away, that couldn't be happening that was a sixteen year old boy and not a man beside her and she felt like swooning and squealing. Okay she conceded, so he was more man than boy already, but still.

The blonde Hufflepuff answered truthfully, "Thank you, but I'm really not that good, and normally I never sing."

After some convincing and flattering from Sirius' side she played for the rest of the time until shortly before curfew, Sirius in the mean time sat beside her and listened while he relaxed with closed eyes into the cool grass around them and enjoyed it. Dare Marianne say that Sirius looked peaceful? After an awkward goodbye from her side Marianne practically ran into the Hufflepuff dormitories, Merlin and Morgana how embarrassing. Black was surely laughing about her shyness.

Sirius Interlude

While sitting in the Gryffindor common room Sirius thought back on this strange afternoon. He was confused, how had that little Hufflepuff girl managed to intrigue him so much that he had changed his plans? Normally when he was set on a girl becoming his next conquest nothing could dissuade him from his goal but that little slip of a girl had somehow done it.
That warm Friday afternoon would have been perfect to make a move on the little Abbott but the music that waved from her spot at the Black Lake had somehow stopped him. Her playing on the guitar made her suddenly a lot more interesting than his other dates. So he took a step back and just observed. She was kind of cute in a shy and girl next door way. Not his normal type, most of the time he went for the stunning, curvy and outgoing girls but the longer he watched the surer he became about the fact that this girl had something that he couldn't quite put into words.

She squeaked when he approached her, that was kind of funny and she also turned beet red when he had sat down. Sirius grinned to himself while his eyes wandered through the Common Room and wasn't that an ego boost? Laying his head onto the back of the couch his thought wandered back to the shy blonde girl. She was so vulnerable and innocent; it had been so easy to convince her to sing even though she was clearly uncomfortable about it. Although he didn't understand why, she had a soothing voice, very clear; listening to her had made the whole experience even more enjoyable, Sirius couldn't tell when he had felt this relaxed last time.

Funnily enough, now that he had talked to her and had time to observe her a bit more, her voice and her hands were the most attractive features to him. Her hands were just so small and dainty; Sirius was curious how they would feel when they were buried in his hair. Before this afternoon the eldest Black son had been attracted to her, for her age generous breasts and hips, he had always liked it when he could hold onto something during sex and so the younger girl had fallen right into his prey pattern.

Sirius looked up as James interrupted his musings with a quick yell across the common room with a small sigh he stood up and made his way over to his friends. Sitting down between Remus and James, Sirius decided that at the moment Marianne Abbott was too interesting to just serve as a relief for his sexual frustration. The little blonde didn't know it yet but she would see a lot more of him in the near future and when she became boring he would take her to bed to get these curves out of his system.