"Harmony!" Sirius' voice cut through the wall of consciousness dividing herself and the world around her. She groaned loudly and turned over.
"Harmony!" Sirius called again.
She kept her eyes closed as she sat up groggily. "What the fuck of you want? It's like the crack of dawn."
There was rustling as Sirius replied, "No, it's not and if we go now we can go for the last part of breakfast. We woke up late so we didn't get to see the prank pan out." she could hear the frown in his voice.
"Ugh," Harmony rubbed her eyes furiously and finally opened them reluctantly. "It's so fucking early. I'm tired."
"Well, we were up till five." Sirius countered. She looked at him as he approached her bed. "C'mon." he tossed her some clothes.
"Slow the fuck down, hot shot." she started, trying to process the prank and all the fun mischief they got up to the night before. She was just so damn tired. "I'm sorry I'm just really confused. Hold on."
Sirius snorted, enjoying how disoriented she was. He was so used to it by now. "We woke up late, so we didn't make the beginning of breakfast. In the Great Hall that we decorated Gryffindor colours last night."
"Oh shit, right." Harmony stumbled out of bed, her eyes still half closed. "I kinda wanted to watch the fireworks blow up. I like fireworks." she mumbled stupidly. "What time is it?"
"Nine-thirty." Sirius said, and he ran his hand through his hair as he sat down on the side of Harmony's bed. She noticed that the dorm was completely empty already, as her mates had no doubt gone down for breakfast. Harmony didn't even want to think about Lily's reaction to all this. Lily was like the scary mother that you didn't want to piss off. And if you did, she would ground you for like four consecutive months.
"It's a Sunday!" Harmony groaned, rubbing her eyes again. She was suddenly very aware of the white tank top and grey sweat pants she was wearing, along with her lack of makeup. "Oh I bet I look like hell." she glanced into the mirror hanging on the far side of the room and internally groaned again. Her eyes were rimmed with dark bags from the four and a half hours sleep she got and her hair was hanging loose and tangled down her back. At least she didn't have any nightmares last night or she'd really look like something that crawled out of the marauder's shower drain.
"Never." Sirius hugged her from behind, then pulled away. "Get dressed." he tossed her some clothes that he must have gone into his drawers to receive.
"Promise me we can take a nap afterwards?" Harmony sort of collapsed against Sirius' strong frame before he could escape the bubble of her personal space.
He laughed again. "You're a hoot in the mornings. But yeah, okay."
Harmony gestured for him to turn around and he complied, with a trace of a smile on his face. She slipped on the jumper and then proceeded to replace her sweatpants with her comfiest pair of jeans, which Sirius must have known as he picked up that specific pair off the floor (or wherever the fuck he found them; Harmony wasn't paying attention). "Ready?" she asked tiredly.
He nodded and they left together. With every step towards the Great Hall, Harmony became more alert of how huge their prank was. No doubt the whole school saw it, of course, and something in her stomach twitched. Excitement? Nerves? They were either going to be expelled or congratulated. Probably expelled. It's not like they harmed anyone, though, right?
The tired couple arrived outside of the massive hall doors and Harmony glanced up to see the huge, prowling lion still pacing in its two dimensional image on the wood. She gave Sirius a nervous smile and together they pushed open the doors leading into the vast hall wafting the smell of bacon and toast.
Inside, the hall was positively roaring with conversations and laughter, everyone fresh and eager to discuss the details of their own dramas over a cup of tea and toast, and, of course, the huge prank that was pulled on the whole school. They mostly talked about the prank.
Harmony looked around and suppressed a grin when her eyes were bombarded with a blindingly vibrant shade of red that cloaked the entire hall. Everything was red. It hurt her eyes that early in the morning. "I didn't realize how bloody much we did last night." Harmony commented to Sirius, as they slowly walked over to the Gryffindor table.
"Damn," Sirius said, grinning from ear to ear and admiring their late-night work. "It was so dark last night! Look at how bright the red is."
Someone whooped from across the hall, "Nice one, Black!" a couple cheers followed this and everyone was starting to focus their eyes on Harmony and Sirius as they fast-walked towards their friends seated at the appropriate house table.
Harmony was extremely aware of how her and Sirius were probably the only people late for breakfast on that Sunday morning, and no doubt most of the student body realized that the two, exhausted looking teenagers who just stumbled in the hall were the masterminds behind the little prank. Given their extensive pranking history, Harmony realized, there was really no question about who did it.
She plopped down on the bench beside Liven, Sirius following suit. They looked up to find all their mates gaping at them with looks ranging from horror (Lily), admiration (James), and complete shock (Becca and Peter, mostly).
"Did you guys actually-" Liven started.
"-do this?" James finished, his food forgotten in front of him. It took a lot for James Potter to forget about his food. "And not tell us?" James added in.
Sirius grinned even wider and nodded furiously. "Like what we did?"
"Oh my actual fuck! You are so badass!" Liven shouted loudly, then she picked up a red goblet and examined it with an open mouth. Hundreds of eyes were gazing upon them and the people closest to the group heard Liven, loud and clear.
"It does look pretty good." Harmony granted, scanning the Slytherin table. She wiggled her fingers with immense satisfaction at a particular angry looking Slytherin who waved the remains of a firework at Harmony before shooting her the finger.
"Shit, Harmony," Becca said, looking at the Slytherin then back at her friend. "You've pissed off the Slytherins. Not a good idea." Becca was thinking about the other time, that despite seeming a lifetime ago, was still a major contributor to Harmony's first attack by the gang of Death Eaters, back in December.
"How did they react? When the fireworks blew up?" Harmony asked eagerly, disregarding Becca's warning and looking down the Slytherin table to see many people staring at her with absolute fury in their eyes.
"Well," Becca started, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "we got here and everyone was in complete shock. Then the teachers started arriving and some were pissed the fuck off but then Dumbledore, Hagrid and a few others sort of chuckled." Harmony looked towards the staff table to see many teachers conversing behind palms with their eyes focused on Harmony and Sirius. Dumbledore turned and looked at Harmony, and to her complete shock he smiled and raised his tea in a gesture that said 'cheers'.
"Everyone was like, yelling and pointing everywhere." Liven interjected.
"What were you thinking?" Lily burst suddenly, and everyone looked at her. Her cheeks were red, a drastic contrast to her emerald eyes. "Those Slytherins are so mad, Harmony…you can get in so much trouble with not only them but Dumbledore, too!"
"I highly doubt it," Remus said, gesturing to Dumbledore. "Did you see the way he just tipped his tea at Harmony? He loved it!" Remus laughed and so did everyone else.
Students openly gaped at them from all of the house tables, all the houses except Slytherin sending Harmony smiles laced with laughter. A Hufflepuff came over to the Gryffindor table. He was blonde and well-built, with nice blue eyes and a friendly smile. He spoke in a thick Irish accent, "Did you guys pull this?"
Harmony looked at Sirius and he just smiled proudly. No sense hiding it now they knew that they weren't going to be expelled. "Yeah." she laughed.
He held out his palms and both Harmony and Sirius slapped them in a high-five. "The way those fireworks blew up in the snakes' faces…you made my week, guys." he said, then laughed, "Thanks."
The boy walked away and pretty soon students started trickling over to hear the truth for their own ears: that it was in fact the famous pair, Harmony Sea and Sirius Black, that pulled off this massive prank of Gryffindor pride.
Dumbledore cleared his throat just before the student body started to exit the hall and start on their Sunday-things. "Usually I don't address the school on Sunday morning breakfasts, but today seems to be an exception." his eyes flashed around the room and Harmony's heart started to pound in her chest, not knowing what was going to come next. "I would just like to send my acknowledgements to the young minds behind this practical joke, as it did take quite a lot of effort and research to perform the spells needed to obtain these results." Dumbledore chuckled heartily and looked directly at Sirius and Harmony.
"However, I do recall that I asked these two individuals to remain in their dorms past curfew. So, on Professor McGonagall's request, I would ask these two students to go to our caretaker, Mr Filch's, office and assist in the polishing of trophies for the next three nights starting at 8."
Harmony turned to Sirius and shrugged. "I was expecting worse." he nodded in agreement.
"But, thank you for giving me a refreshing laugh to awaken me this morning! And with that," he turned away from Harmony and Sirius, addressing the entire school again. "I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and we shall gather once again for lunch in a few short hours!" Dumbledore stepped down from the podium, a glint in his eye and the hems of his navy blue robes swishing across the stone floor.
Conversations sparked up and students started to leave the hall, their eyes drinking in the image of the red decor and massive felines for the last time as they left.
"Ready?" Sirius grinned and he held out his hand for Harmony to take.
"Ready for a nap." she replied, and together they waved to their mates and trekked back to Gryffindor tower, amidst threats (from the Slytherins), laughter, pats on the back and congratulations (from Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors alike).
Harmony let her head finally fall into the circle of her arms as she started to doze off in the midst of a Transfiguration lesson. McGonagall didn't usually use lectures to get her point across in class, but today was a detour from the usual routine. A week had passed since the prank was pulled, and it was a busy and exciting week because the long-awaited ball was the next day.
However, hardly any of the class was even conscious at the moment; and the ones that were awake were already preparing for a long-awaited nap. It seemed that Lily was the only exception; Harmony could see her quill scribbling quickly across the parchment as she copied down notes in her neat, pretty handwriting.
Harmony tried to keep her heavy eyes open, though they weren't doing much good as she was just blankly staring into nothingness. Her thoughts drifted to where they always seemed to go; Ryan, Voldemort, her family. She wasn't sure if they were in the middle of war, or if it was just beginning. The prospect that things could get even worse compared to the current conditions made Harmony's stomach turn.
The prophecy, that was presumably made about herself, just sort of loomed in the back of her mind, not quite occupying her thoughts but not completely gone, either. She knew that she was underestimating the enormity of this whole ordeal, but Harmony just couldn't bring herself to believe it. It didn't matter that Dumbledore was already convinced she was the person the prophecy spoke about. Maybe it was just a symptom of denial, but something about her being so important in the outcome of this war was unrealistic and unfitting. Harmony was the epitome of a (somewhat) ordinary girl. Nothing was remotely special about her, and nor did she possess any rare talents. It felt like she was picked at random, just a name drawn from a hat, to be targeted. How on earth was she supposed to be responsible for the "many negative fates" of old Voldy's army?
Harmony felt her eyes slide shut. Not four seconds after, a finger poked her cheek. "What?" she muttered, face still pressed against the desk.
"Look." Sirius' voice quietly replied beside her. Harmony looked up at him sitting beside her. His long finger was extended towards a ripped piece of parchment resting beside her elbow that Sirius had clearly written on.
Harmony read the parchment: You. Me. Pancakes. Harmony smiled tiredly, and replied, That's a winning combination.
Sirius took the parchment back and read it quickly. Harmony observed how his hair was ruffled slightly more on one side and how the buttons sewn into the upper part of his shirt were undone beneath his school vest. Sirius wore his uniform on the verge of improper; McGonagall had opened her mouth several times to tell Sirius off, but thought better of it. Sirius pretty much looked like he just rolled out of bed looking hot and unkept, as usual.
I've asked the house-elves to save a couple pancakes from breakfast so we could eat them tonight, he wrote back.
Harmony grinned widely at Sirius, which he reciprocated.
"However, the spell can only be performed if…is anyone paying attention?" McGonagall stopped the steady flow of words out of her mouth, and for the first time in an hour the classroom wasn't filled with her voice. People suddenly started hurriedly sitting up and rubbing their eyes. Several people glanced towards the clock. "It seems that Miss Evans will be the only one to pass the class at this rate. I shouldn't have to remind you that your final exams are just months away, and the results will determine what classes you can and cannot take for your final year. It is imperative that you at least try in this class, ladies and gentlemen."
The class nodded in rhythm, just as the bell signalled the end of the day. Harmony stood up slowly, and stretched.
"So, what do you reckon?" Sirius asked.
"About the pancakes? Fuck yeah."
Sirius poked her belly at she continued to stretch, which caused Harmony to jump protectively and double over on instinct momentarily. "Hey-" she laughed.
Liven cut into the conversation as she gathered her untouched books off the desk behind the pair. "What's this I hear about pancakes?"
The three walked out of the classroom together into the busy corridor swamped with students. "We're skipping out of dinner to have pancakes." Harmony explained.
"That's cute." Liven smiled, her dark hair whipping out behind her. "I have a favour to ask of you guys, then, if you're going to be nipping around while everyone is in the Great Hall."
"What's that?" Sirius asked, narrowly avoiding collision with a scurrying first year, carrying too many books.
"Well, I've snogged this Ravenclaw, Jack Morrison, a couple of times - actually a lot of times - but I heard that he's slipping his tongue down that fourth-year, Tianna's, throat. Just give me a shout if you see them together. I highly, highly doubt it's the case but her friends have been spreading it around so there's no harm in investigating!" and with that bold statement, Liven bounced off to join Becca and Remus, who were trying very hard not to hold hands.
"I wish she'd settle down with someone and not keeping jumping from boy to boy, you know?" Harmony reached inside the pocket of her robes and retrieved an elastic to tie her hair back in a ponytail because it was irritating her.
"Maybe she's still stuck in the searching stage." Sirius said, holding Harmony's books while she fixed her hair.
"Thanks," she said, taking the load back into her arms. "I understand that she wants to find the right guy, of course, but she doesn't have to snog half the school to do that. I just don't want guys to take advantage of her because of how she chooses to act."
"I know what you're saying." Sirius ran a hand through his hair as they continued through the castle, back to the common room. "Maybe you ought to talk to her?"
"Yeah, I think I will. I'm going to have to find a way to say it without implying that she's a whore, because she's not." Harmony sighed. "It's not like she actually sleeps with half the school. She just snogs them."
Just then, a very excited James came bounding up to the pair. "Guys! I'm going to do it - I'm going to ask Lily to the ball tonight. I convinced Remus to take a night off of his prefect rounds with Lily so I could go around the castle with her instead and I'll ask her then. We start just after dinner."
"That's good, James, that's a great idea." Harmony was smiling. "Make sure you smell good. Lily has a thing for boys who smell good. Not that you don't," Harmony said quickly as James had opened his mouth to retort. "I'm just saying put a good cologne on, but don't, like, bathe yourself in it."
"I'm getting nervous all over again." James said anxiously. "I bullied myself into to actually doing it, and now you're making me scared again."
"Don't be a baby and chicken out." Harmony said firmly, then she stopped and turned to James. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look. It doesn't have to be spectacular, but don't make it unremarkable. Just be yourself - the James that isn't a dickhole - and you'll be fine. Seriously. You're going to do great." James nodded and smiled weakly. "Maybe you should give him a better pep talk." Harmony leaned over and whispered to Sirius.
"Don't know if I can do much better, but I'll try." They arrived at the portrait hole and told the Fat Lady the password.
"Dingleberries." Harmony said to the awaiting portrait, before it swung forward to reveal the common room crowded with students just returning from class.
"See you for dinner, then?" Sirius turned to Harmony.
"Sure." she smiled, and kissed his cheek quickly. "Where exactly are we going to eat these pancakes?"
"Eh, we'll find a place."
"How romantic." Harmony laughed. Sirius winked at her, and they both went their separate ways for the time being.
"Harmony," James said nervously. "I really, really like Lily. Really."
Harmony kind of enjoyed how nervous and vulnerable James was being, as it was not everyday you got to see one of the most popular boys in the entire school whine and twitch anxiously in his jeans and plaid button-down.
"James. You look perfect. You smell good. Believe me, love, you're going to be wondering why you were so nervous in about two hours from now."
"But I'm bloody terrified! This is Lily Evans!" he said somewhat hysterically.
"Prongs. Calm those iddy-bitty titties." Sirius interjected helpfully.
Harmony shot him a look of exasperation, just as they reached the entrance to the Great Hall.
"Alright, James. Go on in. Engage in conversation. Don't be a prick. Be nice-James. Be modest-James. Don't be rude-James." Harmony shoved him into the hall without hesitation, then she turned to Sirius. "After dinner me and you are going to follow those two so we can listen in."
Sirius looked at her with laughter in his eyes. "What if they snog?"
"I might cry in happiness." Harmony dead-panned. "That would make my night."
Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "Hopefully one day we get to walk in on them snogging in the corridor. I can't wait to repay James in all the inappropriate and embarrassing remarks he made about us."
"That would be nice. Remember that time, back after New Year's, when they walked in on us snogging in the corridor? With Dumbledore and the matron?"
"How could I forget?" Sirius snorted. "If it happened to anyone else, it would've been hilarious. But since it was us…I guess it'll be funny in a couple of years." Sirius replied thoughtfully.
"I can't get over how Dumbledore was there it just…ugh, it was so embarrassing. Okay! Change of subject." Harmony was blushing although the incident happened months ago. Though Dumbledore had a knack for remembering everything, unfortunately.
"Let's talk about these pancakes, because I'm starving and I'm so excited for them I could pee." Sirius started jumping childishly.
"You're so cute I might die." Harmony laughed freely while he bounced like Charlotte after eating too much chocolate.
They entered the massive Hogwarts kitchens, and were greeted with the full effect of hundreds of house-elves putting the finishing touches on the feast. Little heads were bobbing everywhere and high voices were squealing out reminders and praises. A platter of chicken legs barely missed the side of Harmony's head as it went floating across the vast room. "Mr Black!" a small, unrecognizable house-elf called. "I's saved pancakes for yous, and puts them in this basket."
"Thank you, very much." Sirius smiled kindly to the creature, and it bowed.
They left soon after, not wanting to be in the way of the busy happenings. "So, where are we going?"
"I scoped out an empty classroom earlier, so we can eat in there." Sirius replied, taking Harmony's hand in his and leading them in the direction of their destination.
They walked in silence for a couple minutes until finally reaching the classroom. Inside, there were candles lit up around the room, and a small tablecloth was strewn across a desk, with two chairs tucked in on either side. It screamed the word 'date', but Harmony actually liked it a lot because they didn't usually do things like this.
"Sirius, this is so adorable." Harmony said, a little flustered. "Why did you…?"
"I don't know." he shrugged, being modest. "I just reckoned we barely do anything date-like, so I thought we needed something like this."
Harmony smiled at how tacky this all seemed, but she loved it. "Alright, can we eat? I'm starved. I absolutely love the candles, Pup. It adds a nice touch."
"Why thank you. It does look rather good in here, doesn't it?" Sirius said, and in no time they had set out two plates and forks with a steaming pile of pancakes waiting to be consumed between them.
"What the hell, Sirius, you even remembered what I eat on my pancakes? Why are you being so bloody sweet tonight?" Harmony pulled out a container of strawberries and a jar of honey.
Sirius grinned widely. "You've been stressed. I want to help take it away."
"Alright I'm so going to kiss you right after I stuff my face with these glorious things." Harmony said, before she ungracefully stabbed a pancake and put it on her plate. Sirius did the same, and pretty soon they were eating and laughing happily, the stack of pancakes between them steadily decreasing in quantity.
"You know what I've always wanted to get?" Harmony asked him, wiping her mouth with a napkin as she swallowed.
"What's that?" Sirius asked, his mouth still full.
"A cat." Harmony replied. He raised a dark eyebrow and Harmony chuckled. "I don't know why. I just like cats. They're great. I used to have one when I was younger, but we think it got stolen."
"Someone stole your cat?"
"His name was Valentino, and I absolutely adored him. But one day," Harmony popped a strawberry in her mouth. "he was just gone. We let him out do do his business, and ten minutes later all that was left was a pile of his…anyway, the point is that he loved me, and I loved him, and he just left. He couldn't have possibly ran away."
"I think you're in denial, Harms." Sirius was trying not to laugh.
"No such thing!" Harmony gasped mockingly. "My mum told me that little leprechauns took him away because he was a lucky cat, but I was around seven and no longer believed in those things." Sirius gave Harmony a look, and she explained herself. "I didn't know I was a witch when I was seven! I had no idea that leprechauns actually existed."
"Well, your mum could be right, then. Maybe leprechauns took your cat away. Although I'm ninety percent sure that leprechauns feed off of cats and other small creatures. Nasty little buggers." Sirius said casually, just to watch Harmony's reaction.
Harmony's hazel eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. "Sirius, you're horrible! Are you trying to stain all of my childhood memories?" Harmony laughed, putting her napkin on her plate and leaning back in the chair. She felt full enough to burst; and not just from the food. This was probably the best meal she'd had in a long time; it was nice to get away from all the people and routines for a little while.
She surveyed him under her thick lashes, as tried his best to contain laughter. "I'm just being realis-" He abruptly stopped in the middle of his sentence and turned his head towards the door, which was behind Harmony.
"What?" Harmony spun around in her seat, arms crossed. The doorway remained empty.
"I thought I saw…" Sirius trailed off, then started packing up the food. "Never mind. Let's get going back, yeah?"
"Who did you see?" Harmony asked, slowly standing up and starting to blow out the candles, completely confused as to why they were making an emergency exit all of the sudden.
"No one. I was imagining things." Sirius said, without looking at her. His dark hair fell in his eyes and Harmony resisted the urge to push it back. She watched him shove things back into the basket for about five for seconds, then she grabbed his hands, preventing him from moving. "Who did you see, Sirius?" she demanded.
"No one!" Sirius said again, still not looking at her.
"Fine." Harmony sighed, knowing that he wasn't telling her the truth, but intending to find out what exactly it was.
Before they left the class, Harmony glanced at the clock to see that it was just after nine. They walked quietly through the castle, and Sirius kept looking at her.
"What, Sirius?" she asked gently. "What's going on?"
He looked at her seriously for a moment, hesitated, then forced a smile. "You just look so pretty."
"Thank you," she said, not really feeling like the compliment was the only thing on his mind.
Suddenly, a female voice rang out down at the end of the empty corridor. "Yeah, I'm not really sure what I want to go into, yet. My plan is to just take everything and make the decision at the last second." The explanation was followed by the familiar and light laugh of Lily Evans.
Harmony looked at Sirius with wide eyes. He quickly pulled her behind a suit of armour.
"That sounds good." James' deep chuckle echoed down the hall, just as they came into view. Lily was smiling and looking up at James shyly, while he was looking down on her. "I think I want to be an auror. I want to do something, and make an impact."
"I know what you mean." Lily said, and they stopped and looked at each other for another moment, before Lily continued on walking, her cheeks red.
Sparks were fucking flying.
"Before," James told her, hands in his jean pockets. "I only liked the idea of an auror because I thought I'd be the big savour or something. But now, I'm doing it because of everything that's actually happening. It's insane, this war, and I hate it so much that I'm driven by it. The hate."
"I don't think there's anything I'd like more in this world than to see that snake brought down." Lily agreed, nodding. She hesitated before speaking again. "And James?"
"Yeah?" his whole demur changed when she said his name, he relaxed, and a little smiled tugged on the corner of his mouth.
"I never thought I'd say this but…I really like talking to you." Lily went furiously red.
So did James. "I like talking to you, too." he smiled widely, and his hazel eyes were happy and round behind his glasses.
They kept walking in silence for a few moments, before Lily said. "We should probably check in here…" she gestured towards the broom cupboard that was a popular place for couples to go and snog in.
James walked up to the cupboard and threw open to door, peering inside. "No, no one's here. You'd think that there'd be people hiding out everywhere, on a Friday night."
"There usually is." Lily said. "I'm not quite sure why there isn't tonight."
"Everyone is probably cooped up in their dorms planning out what they're going to wear to this ball tomorrow night." James watched Lily for a reaction very carefully.
She didn't appear to really react at all. "Yeah, probably. You should have seen Liven, planning out everyone's makeup and such."
"Harmony seems excited, too." James commented. They were getting closer to the spot where Sirius and Harmony were hiding.
"I think she is, in a way. The dress she's wearing is absolutely stunning. And so is Liven's, actually. Both of those girls are always stunning so…"
"So are you." James said, and immediately his eyes went wide in horror. "Look-"
"It's alright, James. Thank you." Lily turned her head away from him and smiled a little.
"Wait." James stopped, and Lily turned back around and looked at him curiously with her large, emerald eyes. "I, um-" James bit his lip nervously. "I understand, of course, if you don't want to, because I was a complete dick about this stuff in the past, and I don't even know if we're friends or not, or if you even like me as a person, but I hope you do." James anxiously toed the ground with his trainer. "Would you want to, maybe, go to the ball with me? Just as friends. I won't make a move, or be an arse, because I know how much you hate that. I just thought that we could maybe be friends, or something-"
Lily's eyes were wide, and she was a deep shade of red which made her eyes stand out more. She hesitated, for a couple seconds, before saying. "You know what? yeah, I'd really like that, James. I'll come to the ball with you."
James was frozen for a solid three seconds. "Seriously?" he gasped at last, eyes wide.
"Yes."
James composed himself, with difficulty. "Thank you, Lily, really. Does this mean we can give a shot at an actual friendship?"
"Of course," Lily replied.
Harmony could see that it was taking James a lot of willpower not to kiss Lily, but he was doing fine. "What-what colour dress are you wearing?" he said, and his voice still radiated shock. He was trying to keep the conversation casual and calm, but Harmony could tell that Lily was freaking out internally just as much as James was.
"Green." Lily told him, smiling. Her cheeks were putting the Gryffindor banners to shame.
"Like the colour of your eyes?" James asked.
"Yeah, maybe a bit darker." Lily laughed, adjusting the sleeves on her navy jumper.
The conversation continued on, now tinted with a little bit of awkwardness but excitement. They turned the corner, and soon their voices were no longer in earshot of Sirius and Harmony.
Harmony looked at Sirius, her mouth hanging open. He had the same expression on his face. "Wholy shit, Sirius!"
"She said yes!" he exclaimed. "James and Lily! They're going to the ball together!"
Harmony grabbed Sirius' face and kissed him right on the mouth. "I KNEW IT. I KNEW SHE COULDN'T RESIST ANYMORE!"
Sirius took Harmony around the waist and they started spinning in ridiculous circles until Sirius breathlessly called out, "Alright those pancakes are going to make a reappearance if we keep spinning."
Harmony laughed, and they started back to the common room together, still discussing the most recent happening.
The pair had just passed the portrait of the Fat Lady's friend, Violet, which was a signal that they were getting closer to the common room, when Sirius completely froze up. All the muscles in the arm that Harmony was clutching suddenly became solid, and Harmony immediately saw why.
A boy, who was about the same height as Sirius, but a lot scrawnier, was walking down the hall in the opposite direction. Harmony recognized it as Regulus Black, Sirius' brother. Regulus had the same dark hair as Sirius but instead of the messy way Sirius wore his, Regulus slicked it back in a way that oozed superiority. Regulus' eyes were a dull grey, missing all the passion and emotion that Sirius' held, and Regulus' face looked thinner and less handsome. He'd perfected the facial expression that made people quiver in fear, yet they pitied him on some level because of how young he was to be emitting that kind of hatred.
"Sirius." Regulus muttered, not even sparing his brother a glance. Harmony noticed, from the few encounters she had witnessed, that Regulus seemed to lose some of his courage and confidence when in the presence of his brother. Maybe it was because of how Sirius was taller and more full in body type, or it was the weight of the brothers' heavy past.
"Are you too good to look at me now, Reg?" Sirius asked loudly, coming to a full stop to stare at his brother.
"Never implied that." Regulus said back, easily. Despite how scary Regulus looked, he was soft-spoken and seemed to fear Sirius. All together Harmony was always left with he impression that Regulus was just a sad, broken kid desperately trying to please too many people at once.
"Sure seemed like you did." Sirius told him back. "How's mum? Still hitting you for asking her to pass the jam at the breakfast table?"
"Don't talk about Mother like that!" Regulus snapped, defensively. His grey eyes flashed at Sirius.
"As far as I'm concerned, she isn't my mother anymore. Just some wicked woman I used to know."
"Sirius," Harmony warned, tugging on his tense arm. "Don't pick a fight. Let's go, now."
"Yeah, Sirius, go. Don't pick a fight with me. You'll regret it." Regulus' smooth face broke into a sneer. "Listen to your little girlfriend, now."
"Yeah? Why's that? Why will I regret it?" Sirius asked suddenly. "Do you have something I don't?" Those words felt like they and been practised and perfected after long hours of mulling and imagining.
Regulus was still smiling cruelly. Harmony didn't remember him being this wicked. "You don't know anything, Sirius. I advise you to keep your pretty little nose out of everything, for once. And you," he turned to Harmony. "the longer you wait, the worse it gets."
"Is that a threat?" Harmony asked icily, against her better judgement.
"All depends on how you take it." Regulus said back. He was no longer smiling. Actually, he seemed scared. "I'd do the smart thing, if I were you. Your brother seems to have figured that out."
"Leave my fucking brother out of this." Harmony hissed back.
Sirius cut in. "It doesn't have to be like this, anymore. You can always get away before you're in too deep-"
Regulus looked strangely sad when he said the next words. His eyes bored into Sirius', and his body language seemed to deflate. "I'm already in too deep."
Sirius slowly looked up at his only brother in shock. Harmony was still registering his words when Sirius lunged at Regulus. Only, Harmony realized that Sirius didn't want to hurt the boy in front of him, rather he was trying to get to his left sleeve.
"Get-get off!" Regulus looked completely panicked, his face void of the previous sneer and malice. He was desperately trying to pry off Sirius, before Sirius could lift up the sleeve to reveal the arm that would show how committed to Voldemort he actually was.
Suddenly, Sirius and Regulus were on the ground, wrestling each other. "Sirius!" Harmony yelled, running over to them and trying to pull Regulus away from him before Sirius got hurt. Finally, Sirius wrenched himself away. Regulus was still on the ground, frozen. Before he could make a run for it, Harmony grabbed his arm.
Everything changed. Regulus just gave up, completely; he went limp and stopped struggling. He smiled through his bloody lip, and something about this smile was darker than the other ones. "You want to know, then? Fine. Go ahead, brother."
Regulus got to his feet, and Sirius only allowed a split second's hesitation before he yanked the shirt sleeve up on his brother's left arm, revealing a Dark Mark.
Harmony leapt back in complete shock. There, standing out against the pale skin of its wearer, was the legendary tattoo that was a symbol for the workings of Voldemort. A sleek snake body curled and slithered on his thin arm, almost daring anyone brave enough to challenge it. Harmony was in a horrified trance while watching the slow and seductive movements of the branded snake.
Harmony looked at Sirius. His eyes were wide, and swirling dangerously with a mixture of anger and absolute betrayal. Regulus snatched his arm away and said darkly, "I couldn't save myself, brother, and neither could you."
Sirius shook his head slowly, unbelieving. "Just…just go." His voice shook violently.
"I'll say hi to your brother for you, Sea!" Regulus called, although his voice was more sad than anything, now. It was missing all the taunt that was intended to go with that remark.
"Fuck you." Harmony said, and she'd never before meant it more than she did in that moment. "Don't even try to look at Sirius anymore," Harmony hissed at Regulus, who had turned and had his arms wrapped around his skinny arms. "You've done enough damage. I hope I never see your face again."
Harmony took Sirius firmly by the arm, and started dragging him away from his brother, from everything, as fast as she could. "Come on."
She was trying to hide her paralyzing shock. What a contrast: from Lily and James' happy news to this. The closer that Sirius got to the common room, the more he started to shake. "Don't-I can't tell-"
"Shh," Harmony told him, storing all the anger she felt deep down inside herself, just for his sake. He was hurting enough for both of them and exposing this level of fury to him wouldn't help matters in the slightest. "I'm not going to tell anyone, Sirius."
"He's a Death Eater, Harmony!" Sirius exclaimed, stopping and putting his hands over his face. He was pressing so hard that his skin was turning white.
"Sirius, it's not your fault!" Harmony whispered back. "Don't you dare for a minute think it is! He made those decisions, not you. There is no way you could have stopped him. Do you understand me, Sirius Black?"
Sirius pulled his hands away from his distressed face, looking as though he just committed some colossal crime. "It is though!" Sirius was on the verge of hitting something, Harmony could tell.
"Dingleberries." Harmony told the portrait quickly, and it swung forward, emitting the pair to the Gryffindor common room. Sirius immediately put his hands over his face, and together they made a beeline for the boy's staircase. Harmony didn't even dare look for their mates, because as soon as eye contact was made everyone would come run to the rescue and that's not what Sirius needed now.
Harmony pulled him up to his own dorm, and Sirius let her. He was sort of emotionless, and that scared Harmony even more than if he was screaming and crying.
"Come here," Harmony said, and she pulled him in for a hug. His face was buried in her neck, and she felt him start to shake in anger and hurt even more. "It's not okay, but it will be." she whispered to him through the darkness of the dorm room.
Rain was pattering against the windows outside, making the steady, soft sound of water droplets falling echo around the room. "I've completely failed, Harmony! I was supposed to protect him! He was going to run away with me, did you know that? We made plans to run away together, when we were younger. We used to talk about it." His arms were warm and tight around her; they were gripping her as if she was the only thing keeping him there right now. Harmony had a strong sense that she was. She could practically feel his universe spinning out of control; his seemingly steady stars exploding around him as he tried so hard to keep hold of the one star that wasn't turning into a mass of heat and light. She wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't going anywhere. She was here. She'd always be here.
"And why didn't you?" Harmony asked, afraid to hear the answer. She ran her fingers through his hair gently and she felt the muscles in his face screw up and contract against her neck.
"Because the day I left I was acting horribly. Causing all kinds of trouble, and so my parents just had enough and they beat the shit out of me, and that's when I grabbed my bags that had been packed for weeks and just left. But before I went, I looked at him and he just shook his head. I remember it. Vividly. And I think I knew since then that he'd wind up where he is now." Sirius said, his voice cracking.
Harmony pulled away from him just enough so she could see his face. He wouldn't look in her eyes. "That is not your fault. You can't save everyone, Sirius. You just can't. And I know how much you're hurting, and I know how angry and betrayed you feel right now, because the same thing is going to happen to me someday, I think. Either that or Ryan's a goner. Regulus is a pureblood, you have that on your side. He isn't so easily disposed of."
Sirius nodded, then let go of Harmony and started pacing in a furious kind of trance. He picked up some clothes at random and whipped them across the room so hard that Harmony could hear the air rushing past the fabric as it flew. He pushed all the books off the desk and watched them clatter to the ground noisily before throwing himself down in the chair. He started to bang his head on the desk and Harmony walked over there quickly. "Sirius."
He ignored her. She noticed how hard he was gripping the side of the chair, but that only made her take another step forward. "Sirius."
He let out a strangled cry of frustration and anger. Letting his head rest on the desk, Sirius started to breathe quicker, his face still hidden. Suddenly, Sirius banged his fists on the mahogany desk and stood up again, back facing Harmony.
Then Sirius took his sleeves and started wiping his eyes furiously.
Harmony stepped closer to him and got one glimpse of his face, her stomach dropping. Sirius crying was one of the most sad and beautiful things Harmony had ever witnessed, and she knew that that face was going to haunt her for as long as she lived.
Harmony slowly stood in front of him, and was at loss for words. "Sirius…" he had his hands in fists and they were pressed tightly against his eyes, preventing her from seeing. "You don't…" she swallowed, trying not to cry herself. "You don't need to hide from me." In those seven words, she tried to convey that he needn't hide his weaknesses from her.
Sirius let a tear slip down his cheek. "I never thought that he'd actually do it." he voice was choked, and Harmony could see that single tear glistening in the dull moonlight from the window that was blurry with rain.
"And nor did I." Harmony whispered, and because she couldn't stand to see him standing there, hurting, by himself, she grabbed him and hugged him as tight as she could while he broke his composure for a couple rare moments. It was a new sensation, feeling his tears, for once, on her skin. She held him so tightly that it didn't feel like there were two people embracing anymore, but rather they were one.
"This is worse than him dying." Sirius let out a strangled sob and Harmony's heart shattered into a million pieces, having never witnessed anything so horrible and heart-wrenching.
"I know." Harmony said gently, still holding onto him, as she ran her fingers through his hair. She had her eyes glued to the dark window in an attempt to keep her own composure.
Suddenly, light flooded into the dark dorm as the door opened, revealing James standing frozen in the entrance with an elated smile on his face. He held it there for a split second longer until he registered the scene in front of him. Harmony shook her head wildly, and motioned for him to leave. He raised his eyebrows, no trace of a smile on his face anymore. James' mouth opened in shock, and he quickly shut the door. His footsteps were heard thumping down the stairs multiple at a time, no doubt to go question their mates on what in the world was going on.
Sirius didn't even seem to notice, as he had his head in the crook of Harmony's neck and both his arms wrapped tightly around Harmony's back and waist. "I just want to sleep." he croaked.
"Of course."
"Stay. Please." he muttered, pulling away and using his sleeves to wipe his eyes again. She nodded as Sirius pulled off his shirt distractedly and stumbled across the room onto the bed.
Harmony laid down beside him, and pushed his hair off his face. She started wiping his tears from his cheekbones as he watched her through his glowing silver eyes.
They seemed so alive for him feeling so dead.
Sirius just grabbed her hand and held it for a moment, before his eyes closed. "I want to be sad, and get it all out, so there'll be no more place for me to be so."
Harmony leaned in to kiss him for a moment. He needed to feel a connection. He needed to feel that bond. When she started to pull away, Sirius just leaned forward so they didn't break the kiss. He was still half-crying as Harmony laid down, still letting her lips run against his.
She rolled on top of Sirius, holding both his hands. Suddenly, she was straddling him before pulling away to catch her breath. Her hair created a curtain around their faces as she studied him. He just looked back at her with sad eyes the colour of the raging thunderstorm outside. Every couple of seconds, a strike of lightening would illuminate the room even more than the dull moonlight did, enhancing the sharp shadows on Sirius' face.
Harmony leaned down again and let her lips touch his gently, before she pulled back. Her legs slid back to rest on top of his as the pair burrowed underneath the thick blanket. "How fucked is this?" Sirius muttered, and his eyes closed again.
"I know, love." Harmony whispered, letting her head fall into his neck. "I know."
Not twenty minutes later, Sirius had fallen fast asleep. Harmony reluctantly rolled off him, knowing that she ought to go let their mates know what in the hell was going on. She tucked the blankets back around the sleeping form of the other half of her constellation, then brushed his hair away from his tear-streaked face.
Harmony tiptoed down the cold stairs to the less full common room. As soon as James spotted her, he came bounding over. "What the fuck? Was Sirius crying?" his hazel eyes were wide and confused, not to mention worried. Harmony was forcefully hit with a surge of affection for Sirius and James' friendship.
"Guys." Harmony addressed the whole group. Everyone looked at her from their seats on the couches and plush armchairs. "Sirius' brother…"
"Is he dead?" Becca asked, immediately.
"Close enough." Harmony replied, looking into the fire and recalling Sirius' heartbroken face. She turned to the group and looked them in the eyes. "He has a Dark Mark."
They stared at her for a second, before Lily said. "A-a Dark Mark? Like a You-Know-Who-?"
"What?" Remus yelled, then lowered his voice for people were starting to look over. "He has a-?"
Harmony nodded. "Sirius is…just, don't talk to him about it. I've never seen him like that, ever."
James nodded, his mouth slightly open. Everyone was still wrapping their minds around this. Hell, Harmony was still wrapping her mind around this. "That's fucked up." James muttered, both his hands in his messy hair in a distressed fashion.
Lily didn't even tell him off for swearing.
"Was he actually crying?" James asked, in utter disbelief.
Harmony nodded again. "I told you. I've never seen him like this. It's horrible." she said, her voice cracking. She internally yelled at herself.
"That is fucked up." Lily said, and everyone sort of gaped at her for a moment. You know the situation was bad when Lily Evans dropped the f-bomb.
Alice looked to be in sort of a horrified trance. "I need to-I need to go-" she hurried off to the girls' dorm.
"Let her go," Harmony said to Liven, who looked like she wanted to go after her. "Alice can never handle these things very well. Let her process it for a moment before you help."
"True." Liven said, and sat back down. She looked down at her hands and Harmony could still see her shocked expression.
"Did you-did you see it?" Remus asked, his face portraying nothing but complete shock.
Harmony nodded, fighting off the urge to let her chin tremble. "We passed Regulus in the hallway, they started taunting each other, and Sirius just sort of…jumped on Regulus and…in the end his sleeve got pulled up and…"
"It's okay." Lily said, putting on her brave face. "I mean it's not, but it will be." Lily hugged her friend for a long moment, and Harmony was glad because she didn't want anyone to see her eyes glisten momentarily.
"Thanks," Harmony said, refusing to cry. "It's just the most horrible thing, seeing Sirius like this. I can't even imagine-" she cut off, took a deep breath, the continued. "I think I'm just going to go to bed. I came down to let you guys know what happened, and please do keep it to yourselves, but I just need to sleep."
Everyone nodded, and Liven left to go see Alice. "You'll be staying in ours?" James asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah, I think I should." Harmony replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. Peter, Remus, James and Harmony went up to the dorm a moment later after they said weak goodnight's.
Once under the warmth of Sirius' blankets with his sleeping form beside her, Harmony used her remaining strength to pull of her jeans off with her feet, before casting them aside and hearing them hit the floor with a dull whoosh. The other beds in the room were cracking with the weight of their owners climbing into them.
"Goodnight, guys." James whispered out. Remus and Peter replied but Harmony didn't trust her voice to be steady enough to talk. She slipped her fingers through Sirius' under the blanket and squeezed gently. He squeezed back, and Harmony found herself so inexplicably sad for him that her insides ached. Tomorrow was going to be hell.
A/N This was mega-intense to write. Wow. I enjoyed it, though. Hope you guys like it! I have the next chapter finished so it'll be up super super soon. More soon than this one was (oops).