Sirius opened his eyes slowly. With each passing second of being conscious, he was becoming more aware of every ache in his body. Memories of running around with furry-Remus were playing through his head as he pushed himself up. He blindly groped the mattress beside him for Harmony, whom he found curled up under his blankets with a book clutched loosely in her fingers at five in the morning, when he returned to the dorm.
She must have sonic hearing or something because the second he hit the mattress next to her, her eyes opened and she forced him to sit up so she could assess his wounds. They weren't that bad, thankfully, and within fifteen minutes the two had fallen deeply asleep. Now, the bed was empty.
The door opened and Sirius' head whipped around to find Harmony strolling in, a tray holding a small mountain of food balanced in her arms. She was dressed in her uniform - kilt, knee-high socks, white button-down with the sleeves rolled up loosely, and her hair swept up in a ponytail.
She wordlessly placed the food on the mahogany desk and strolled over to the side of his bed, leaning down to kiss him swiftly on the cheek. "How did you sleep?"
"Good." he said, his voice cracking. Harmony tried not to react to how hot his voice was in the morning. He cleared his throat and went on, "How did you sleep?"
"Peachy." Harmony replied, then noticed Sirius looking around the empty room. "James and Peter just left a couple minutes ago. It's lunch time so they went to get some food." she explained.
"Aw." Sirius refocused his attention on her. "And you brought me some up here?"
Harmony nodded, smiling. "Mainly because you're cute. And I generally like dogs."
"Thanks." Sirius smirked.
"How was last night?" Harmony asked, as she got up to retrieve the platter off the desk.
"It was good. I didn't get hurt too badly." Sirius replied. He stood up just as the tray was placed on his bed. He caught Harmony in a hug.
"I noticed." Harmony commented into his shoulder, her arms wrapping around his bare waist. "But I do want to have a good look at that bruise on your back, though. What's it from?"
"I decided it'd be a laugh to hump Moony. Moony didn't think it was a laugh." Sirius told her.
"You're brainless sometimes."
Sirius barked out a laugh, and they broke apart. He toppled onto the bed, pulling Harmony down with him. "We're going to spill all that food I just brought you-" Harmony laughed, then her face was being shoved into a pillow as Sirius rolled over her to retrieve a piece of toast. He was bloody starving.
She pushed him off, spitting her own hair out of her mouth. "Thanks for that."
"No problem." he said, his mouth full of bread. They both laid on their backs, looking up at the canopy.
"Why is there a black spot over there?" Harmony asked, her index finger extended to point out a little spot of black among the bright red canopy.
"I set a firework off back in third year." Sirius explained, and laughed out loud when Harmony held up her fist for a props. "Hey, do you still carry fireworks and such around with you?"
"For the most part, I do." Harmony answered. "It's not as bad as it was like five months ago, but I still set things on fire quite often." She reached into the waistband of her kilt and retrieved a firework. "I only have this one today."
"Why do you like fire?"
"Why do you like air?"
Sirius laughed again, and Harmony joined in. He started pelting her with strawberries and she moved her head in all directions in an attempt to catch them. "You're aim is horrendous." she commented, and just then one went sailing right into her mouth, causing her to almost choke on the bloody thing.
"FUCKING BALLS." she sat up and spat it out on Sirius just as the unwelcome strawberry was about to slide down her throat. He was laughing so hard that he barely even registered the slobbery piece of fruit resting on his bare chest.
"That was the best example of karma I've ever witnessed." Sirius wiped tears off his cheeks and sat up, flicking the soggy fruit off of him. Apparently he flicked it a little too hard, as it flew over onto James' bed and completely out of view - deep within the mess of blankets and pillows.
Harmony snorted and collapsed back on the bed again. "He'll find it eventually."
Sirius laughed and started forking eggs into his mouth at lightening speed.
"Why are you eating like that?" Harmony's nose wrinkled. "This isn't another bloody food-eating race between you and James."
"Class starts in twenty." Sirius replied.
"You're not actually going?" Harmony asked, disapproving. "Sirius, it was a full moon last night."
"But you're going to be all alone in class." he countered sweetly.
Harmony chuckled. "Sirius, I'm fine. You need to sleep and heal. But thank you."
Sirius narrowed his grey eyes at her for a second, irresistibly ran a hand through his messy head of dark locks, then sighed. "Fine. But come back as soon as class is over, alright?"
"Of course. Now let me see that bruise before I go." Harmony told him, rolling off the bed. Sirius obediently stood up, still eating, and turned around to show her his back. There was a nasty dark purple patch just below his shoulder blade and every time he moved in the slightest the muscles beneath his skin contracted painfully. She pulled out her wand and cast a silent healing spell over his wound. The darkness faded away slowly as she focused on one area at a time. Soon enough, just as Sirius was starting to complain that he couldn't reach the massive plate of food, the bruise had almost gone completely.
"Stop whining you twit." Harmony said, then she shoved him in the direction of his bed. He grabbed another piece of toast and turned back around.
"Thank you." he said, his mouth stuffed with food. He started to come in for a hug when she stopped him.
"Finish that before you come near me. I don't need bits of chewed up toast on my uniform, thanks." Harmony sassed, her greenish brown eyes lighting up.
"Don't sass me, young lady. I raised you." Sirius replied, in a heavy South American accent.
"Don't ever say that to me again." Harmony threw her head back and laughed, walking over to the mirror and inspecting her light makeup job. She was so tired that the bags under her eyes were officially non-concealable. Her eyes were rimmed with fallen mascara from rubbing her exhausted, heavy eyes all damn morning. She ran her finger under them in an attempt to wipe away the darkness.
Sirius came up behind her and pulled out her ponytail, then redid it. "Thanks." she yawned, leaning into him. She inspected their reflections in the mirror.
"You look so tired, Harmful." Sirius muttered into neck.
"Well that's kinda how it always is." Harmony replied lamely. Sirius slipped his arms around her waist and started dragging her towards the warm bed.
"Ditch class with me." Sirius replied in her ear and Harmony was overcome with a sense of rebellion. She wanted to stay here in this warm bed with this amazing boy all afternoon and not have to worry about anything. She wanted to, so badly. But she couldn't.
"I can't, Sirius." Harmony replied. "You make it so tempting, though." she whined, her eyes already half-shutting from the concept of a nap.
He pouted, but stopped pulling her away. "When you come back from class, I'll be waiting here with a nice coffee for you. How does that sound?"
Harmony grinned spinning in his arms to give him a kiss. His lips were soft against hers. "That sounds fabulous. You need a trim." she commented, holding his dark waves in between her fingers. "Look at how long it's getting."
Sirius shrugged. "I'll go next Hogsmeade."
"I have to go to class." Harmony sighed, pulling away from him.
"No." he chased her across the room, where she was picking up her bag. "Don't go."
"I have to. I need to keep my marks up." Harmony told him.
He grabbed her waist from behind and refused to let go. "Sirius, I have to go!" she laughed, attempting to pull away.
She then spent the next five minutes dragging herself along with Sirius down the boys' staircase. Harmony was huffing and Sirius had his head against her lower back as he sunk completely to the floor, still holding on. He was laughing loudly.
"Sirius!" Harmony was trying not to succumb to the fit of laughter fighting to get out of her own chest. "I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Fiiiine." he huffed, standing up. She admired him briefly in his plaid pyjama bottoms and lack of shirt. Lack of shirt. She mainly admired the lack of shirt part.
"Go upstairs just in case Tianna is in the common room. I don't want her to see you without a shirt. She might pass out." Harmony told him.
"Do I get a kiss for my efforts?" Sirius said, leaning against the railing, arms crossed.
"I just burned off my lunch doing that." Harmony answered, avoiding the question to make him annoyed.
Sirius ignored that and attempted to pull a seductive face. He started wriggling his hips in a way that made Harmony cringe. "What the fuck? Where's your pole? What are you trying to accomplish?"
He threw his arms up and said, "I just want a kiss!"
"Fine!" she said back, equally as loud and exasperated, before she slammed herself into him, kissing him on the mouth. It took several minutes for them to break away again.
"Good?" Harmony asked, out of breath.
"Good." Sirius grinned widely, then gently pulled on her ponytail. They were still very close to each other.
"I'm going to be so fucking late because of you."
"Am I worth it?"
"Totally." Harmony sighed, then she pulled her fingers out of his hair and rested them on his shoulders, instead. They embraced for a moment before she pulled away.
Harmony immediately felt the absence of his warm hands on her waist. "See you in a couple hours, pup."
He tackily blew her a kiss and she laughed. "Bye, Harms!"
Harmony then hurriedly ran off to Potions, a million excuses running through her mind as to why she was both late and smelling like a bucket of cologne. Oh lordy.
"James!" Harmony yelled, shoving her books into her bag as the class rapidly cleared out after the shrill bell echoed around the room. She rapidly put her hair up in a ponytail.
"Yeah?" he called back, retreating steps into the class.
She caught up to him and they left the room together. "First off, aren't you exhausted?"
"Yes." he answered, ruffling his black messy hair. "Very. But we can't always skip the day after the full moon. We need a cover, remember?"
"True." Harmony agreed, nodding. They turned a corner and started walking back to Gryffindor Tower. "Secondly, can you have that talk with Regulus Black anytime soon? Like today?"
James turned serious in an instant. "Yeah. I can do it before dinner."
"Thank you, James, really. I know how much shit this could cause." Harmony reached over and gave him a quick, one-armed hug.
"He's my best mate and I hate to do this but I know it's for the best…" James sighed. "So what should I say again?"
"Tell him like it is: he needs to leave Hogwarts or we're going to the Ministry. Just be blunt." Harmony explained.
"What if he decapitates me?" James asked, and Harmony was forcefully reminded of how alike James and Sirius were because that was exactly the sort of question he would ask.
"Decapitate him back." Harmony replied, smiling.
"How-"
"You're a wizard. Figure it out."
James laughed, but she could still sense the wisps of nervousness below his breezy attitude. They were suddenly forced to walk in single file down the crowded and noisy corridor. Harmony opened her mouth to speak again, as the density of students had thinned out in the hall over, but Liven bounded up to them, all bubbly and loud.
They walked back to the common room in a comfortable conversation, Liven doing most of the talking. Harmony nodded at James as he quickly excused himself to go "get his forgotten wand from the classroom". He nodded back, and just like that James was off to hunt down Regulus Black so that little Voldemort minion could erase from their lives all together.
"Harmony!" A deep voice yelled. She was just about to enter the Great Hall after Sirius, who had just slipped in the doors, when the urgent voice caught her attention. "Harmony!" it yelled again, and she was suddenly yanked away from the large double doors. It was James.
He turned around and she saw how he had a stream of blood flowing freely from his nose and his cheek looked a little dark. They stumbled in a corridor off to the side of Great Hall and Harmony leaned in closer to get a better look at him. "Fuck! What happened?"
"He panicked and just bloody attacked me! I was telling him he really had to leave, and that we both knew he didn't have anything at Hogwarts for him anymore, and he just started sending spells in my direction-" James tried to stem the steady flow of blood from his nose with his sleeve.
"Tilt your head." Harmony told him. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I'm so sorry. Where did he go?"
"It's not your fault." James said thickly. "He ran off. I have no idea where, Harmony."
"Fuck!" Harmony yelled, wanting to break something. "What do I do?"
James looked at her. "I…I think you need to tell Dumbledore, Harmony."
"I can't do that to Sirius, though!" She sank down on the floor, feeling a full blown panic attack coming on. Where did he go? Was he going to tell Sirius anything? Was he going to hurt someone?
"He's a Death Eater, Harmony!" James countered. He pulled out his wand and muttered a healing spell, the point aimed at his swollen nose.
"Shit. Shit. Shit." Harmony sighed. She felt like crying. She hated Regulus Black so much that it hurt.
"Woah-" a voice echoed down the corridor, and Sirius emerged out of the shadows. "What's going on? James, what happened?"
James looked at Harmony and said, "I'll meet you in the Great Hall, okay?"
She nodded and stood up slowly. Her eyes met Sirius' confused ones. "Did you cheat on me with James?" he asked in disbelief.
"No, Sirius!" Harmony said. "Ew."
"Then what's going on?" he asked, crossing his arms and approaching her.
She took a deep breath then said, "We have to tell Dumbledore about Regulus."
He looked at her, eyebrows furrowed, for a couple seconds while he registered her words. "What?"
"He's a Death Eater, Sirius. We know for a one hundred percent true fact that he's working under Voldemort's power. And he's still in this castle, walking the halls with people as young as eleven." Harmony reasoned quietly. Her heart was pounding, waiting for his reaction.
"Harmony, he's my brother." Sirius replied. "We can't do that."
"I know, he is. I know, but what if he hurt someone? What if he did something and we knew the entire time at what he was capable of and we didn't say anything?" Harmony let her hands rest at her side, eyes not leaving the boy in front of her.
"He's my fucking brother." Sirius repeated. "I kept my mouth shut when it was yours."
Harmony flinched at his tone. "And I think that was stupid of us. Thankfully he left before anything happened-"
"You so realize you're re-opening some wounds right now, right?" Sirius said, his eyes betraying no hint of acceptance for her proposition.
Oh, fuck.
"I'm sorry."
"You're being inconsiderate, Harmony. He's my brother - I'm not going to sell him out." Sirius crossed his arms and his jaw was clenched. The sun was rapidly setting outside and the shadows in the deserted corridor were darkening, taking over.
"He may be your brother, Sirius, but he's also a bloody Death Eater! At the blink of an eye Voldemort could give him an order and half the school would be dead by the time we get on scene." Harmony said.
"Harmony I didn't say one fucking word about your brother and here you are telling me to hand my own brother over to the Ministry!" Sirius dropped his hands. This was escalating quickly.
"My brother is barely fifteen, a muggle-born and completely useless to Voldemort! You're brother is practically an adult with extensive training in the Dark Arts and not to mention he has a fucking Dark Mark!" Harmony sighed in frustration.
"You don't get it, Harmony!" Sirius yelled, his eyes flashing. She'd never been yelled at by Sirius before and her mind and body both decided right there and then that it was one of the worst feelings she'd ever experienced.
"Yeah, you're right. I fucking don't! Here, we have a bloody known Death Eater under this castle's roof, which just so happens to be your brother, and you're just going to leave it alone? Wait until something happens? Wait until he hurts someone?" Harmony yelled back, taking a step closer to Sirius.
"He's my brother! I'm not going to do that to someone I love!" Sirius spat. "I can't believe you right now."
"Well that makes two of us!" Harmony threw her head back. "I know you. You always focus on the greater good of everyone, and here you are refusing to do anything about this. Ridiculous. That's what I think you're being right now."
"Tell me honestly, Harmony. Did the thought even cross your mind to go to the Headmaster about your brother?" Sirius asked. It was dark in the hall now, and their shouting voices were all that was filling the empty coldness the shadows left in their wake.
"No. No, I didn't think about it and that was stupid and irresponsible of me. I was being selfish like you're being now." Harmony told him, putting her hands in her hair in stress. "If you were me right now, laying out the exact same reasons, I would agree, though."
"But I didn't lay out those reasons for you. Instead I was with you until you felt better. I wasn't telling you to personally be responsible for getting him arrested and sent to Askaban." Sirius snapped.
"What the fuck, Sirius?" she yelled.
He ignored it. "I can't just fucking do that to my own brother, Harmony. And you can't, either."
Fury and hurt pulsed through her veins, making her hands shake. "Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Sirius! I might just go and find the bloody headmaster now, actually."
"Don't you dare." Sirius hissed. "You wouldn't."
"Yeah well, I just might." Harmony said back, equally as furiously. "You're being an illogical prick right now, Sirius."
"Well you're being completely insensitive and rude, Harmony. I don't know if you took a fucking potion or something but you're the one trying to convince me to sell out my own brother at the moment."
"You're brother is a fucking Death Eater! Did you see James' face? Regulus did that in a millisecond, under panic. Imagine what he's capable of doing if he planned! He's dangerous and I can't stand around and wait for him to hurt someone!" Harmony told him. She was about three seconds away from crying.
"You are something else." Sirius said harshly. "Wow."
A tear that was mainly caused by anger slipped down her cheek. "Ditto."
"What the fuck happened with James?" Sirius asked, ignoring her again.
She wiped her eyes angrily. "I made him go talk to Regulus. Tell him to leave before we tell someone. He lost it and ran." Harmony felt like complete shit.
"You made James go and talk to him? What the fuck?" Sirius asked.
"Fuck, Sirius! What if Regulus hurt you? I could never forgive myself! I was desperate and I didn't want it to end this way, okay? So I practically begged James to do it. It's not his fucking fault."
"Yeah, it's yours." Sirius said harshly.
"You're being a complete dick right now!" Harmony yelled hysterically, her chest feeling heavy and full.
"I have a bloody good reason! I cannot believe you right now, Harmony Sea." Sirius' eyes were flashing like a summer storm.
"I'm trying to make sure your brother doesn't murder half the school! I'm trying to make sure your brother doesn't murder you!"
"Save it." Sirius hissed, backing away.
Harmony was barely aware of the smoking tapestry beside her. You know she's mad when inanimate objects start bursting into flame around her. "You need to listen to me, Sirius."
"I done listening to you." Sirius replied. He looked dark and furious and half of his body was concealed by shadows.
"I think you should just come and find me when you're done thinking like a bias three-year-old!" Harmony blurted loudly. She threw her arms down.
"You come find me when you're done acting like an insensitive bitch!" Sirius shouted back, and suddenly James and Liven burst into the corridor, shock written on all of their faces.
Harmony took one look at them all and shouted, "Fuck it. Have fun cleaning blood off the fucking tiles, Sirius."
She turned away as fast as she could so they didn't see her burst into tears. Her feet carried her far away from the dark scene, away from her two shocked friends, away from Sirius. Away from their first fight.
Harmony ran through the castle, not paying close attention to where she was going whatsoever. Five minutes later, she found herself at the entrance to a random broom closet deep within the castle's labyrinth. There, she threw open to door, plopped down on the ground, and let the betraying sobs escape her. She started igniting her wand on fire several times, desperately searching for something to set fire to. As there was virtually nothing but herself to set aflame, Harmony settled on leaning her head against the wall and closing her eyes, trying to get a grip back on herself, on everything.
Harmony awoke several hours later with a nasty headache and a sharp memory. Everything Sirius said raced through her mind over and over again until she couldn't stay seated on that cold stone floor anymore. She couldn't even feel her butt as she stood up unstably, and threw open the cupboard door, stepping out. The windows showed her the pitch black, starless sky outside. Harmony had absolutely no idea what time it was or even how long she had been sleeping, for that matter. Her stomach rumbled painfully as she walked back in the general direction of her dorm, very aware of how she skipped dinner.
Harmony studied the portraits and their occupants as she walked down the halls. She sort of wished she was in one - no problems, the same environment everyday, the same people with the same attitudes who were so old they probably didn't even know how to call someone a bitch…
Yup, she was done with that train of thought.
Harmony worked on shutting her mind off for the remainder of the journey back to Gryffindor Tower. When she arrived at the portrait hole, the Fat Lady was completely passed out in her frame, about nine bottles of wine surrounding her. "Hey!" Harmony called, trying to wake her up. She was freezing out here in nothing but a t-shirt. It may be late May, but it still got really cold when the sun set.
The Fat Lady snored on. "Hey! I need to get in!" Harmony tried again. Nothing. Finally, Harmony had had enough. "OI! I need to get in, please! Wake up!" she yelled.
"Do you know the hour?" The Fat Lady's booming voice asked, one of her eyes opening.
"I don't actually and that's part of the reason I need to get inside!" Harmony snapped.
"Don't sass me," The Fat Lady started, but then she decided she was too tired to fight. "Password?"
"Jelly doughnuts." Harmony answered, and the portrait swung forward to emit her inside.
The common room was dark and empty, the fires dim. It was somewhat warmer in there, thankfully. She carried herself up the stairs to her dorm, not really tired anymore after sleeping for so long.
She creaked open the door and was met with four sets of eyes. Liven, Alice, Becca and Lily were all sitting on Liven's bed. They all looked at each other for a moment, before Liven stood up, strutted up to Harmony, and threw her arms around her. "Fucking sucks, doesn't it?"
Harmony nodded wordlessly, really thankful for Liven. She understood this stuff perfectly, where this was all new territory for Harmony.
"What happened?" Liven asked quietly, pulling Harmony over to the group of mates seated on her bed.
"I told him we should tell Dumbledore about Regulus because he's a Death Eater." Harmony explained. Lily started playing with her hair and Harmony smiled a little bit.
"Oh." Liven said. "That was a nasty row."
"I know. It was pretty bad." Harmony whispered. It was quiet again while everyone looked at her.
"Where did you go?" Becca asked. "It's nearly one."
"I don't know. Some broom cupboard and I fell asleep." Harmony replied. "Should I talk to him?" Out of the corner of her eye, Harmony saw Lily look at Liven. "What?"
"It's just…"
"Did he cheat on me or something?" Harmony asked, panicked.
"No." Liven shook her head. "It's just that he ran off too, except he came back to get firewhiskey before he went."
"He's drunk?" Harmony sighed, crashing back on her back.
"I don't know if he still is, but James and Remus had to practically carry him up the stairs."
"Lovely." Harmony buried her face in the pillow, then she sat up, getting off Liven's bed. "You guys should sleep. I'm good."
"Liar." Liven stated, but laid back on her mattress nonetheless. The rest of the gils climbed off and went over to their own beds. Just before Alice shut the curtains on hers, she shot Harmony a smile, which was reciprocated by Harmony.
The candles were blown out and the only source of light in the room was the dimly cackling fireplace. Harmony laid awake on her bed, not even underneath the covers, and studied the canopy overhead. She didn't usually sleep with the curtains drawn around her bed because she always searched out the window for the stars.
No stars tonight, though. How fitting.
Harmony thought about everything that she'd told Sirius, and the more she thought, the worse she felt. She really was horrible and insensitive to ask Sirius to do that. How could he? If it came down to it, she didn't even know if she would sell Ryan out to the Ministry no matter how much she convinced herself that she would. Harmony knew how much Regulus meant to Sirius, so how on Earth could she expect him to do that? Harmony was suddenly disgusted with herself and the dark sensation in the pit of her stomach only grew with every racing thought.
He was probably too hammered to even comprehend anything at the moment, so she couldn't even go see him. She wasn't sure she was ready for that, anyway. Would he be able to forgive her for being such a bitch about all this? Harmony sat up in bed and looked around the dark dorm. It had been five minutes since she laid down, but already the sound of slow breathing that comes with being asleep filled the silence. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to forget about this. But, she couldn't. Harmony knew she'd be up all night.
Sirius and Harmony never fought. They never got angry or yelled and they rarely differed in opinion on matters this huge. It was weird, being on the receiving end of Sirius' anger, and Harmony hated it so much. She hated the way he got mad, she hated how angry she got back, she hated the yelling and the name-calling and the way all of this made her feel. How could she even let this happen? How could she be so horrible? Sirius was completely right. He was there for her through all of her own brother drama,, and here she was telling him he should go hand his own brother over to the Ministry? She really was an insensitive bitch.
Harmony couldn't sit in that bed anymore with nothing but the company of her dark thoughts. She needed to get up, go somewhere, do something. She stood and went over to the wardrobe, pulling out a pair of pyjama pants and t-shirt, changing quickly. Before she knew it, she was crying quietly all over again. What a fucking baby, Harmony thought, all I do is cry about everything.
She went into the bathroom, and avoiding looking at her reflection, she pulled out her ponytail and shook her hair out. Her scalp hurt for a few seconds, as her mass of dark hair had been pulled back all day. Harmony grabbed a tissue and wiped her nose, before leaving the washroom to grab a book off her bedside table. She slipped out of the dorm, shoeless, and made her way down the dark staircase and into the common room in desperate need of a change of scenery.
Even though she had the entire common room's selection of armchairs to choose from, she chose the nearest one by a massive fireplace to curl up in. Harmony pulled out her book and flipped to a random page. She didn't read a word. Instead, she tried to force herself to stop crying. She focused on this for about twenty minutes before completely giving up.
A quarter of an hour later, Harmony heard footsteps on the boys' staircase and she hurriedly stood up, desperately trying to think of an acceptable excuse as to why she looked like she just sobbed a river's worth of tears - and how she cried for thirty-five consecutive minutes was beyond her.
Sirius' face appeared at the end of the staircase. He was pale and sick looking - no doubt from the liquor. Harmony froze completely, half standing. Her eyes were wide and wet, hair sticking up a little bit, and her hands were holding her open book loosely.
Sirius caught sight of Harmony and an emotion flashed across his face that was unrecognizable to her. As soon as it was there, it disappeared. They looked at each other for a good ten seconds, before Harmony choked out a cry and then they were dodging armchairs and couches and tables while they clumsily ran at each other.
"I'm sorry." Harmony said, as she ran up and threw her arms around Sirius' neck. Her legs were lifted into the air, and she wrapped them around Sirius' waist. "I'm sorry." she repeated.
"I'm sorry, too." he said quietly. "I really am, Harms."
"I was wrong and I shouldn't have asked you to do that to your own brother. I was being a shitty girlfriend." Harmony told him into his neck. Her tears were soaking his shirt and she desperately tried to make herself stop fucking crying for once in her life.
"No, you weren't, Harmony." Sirius pulled back and Harmony slid her legs back onto the floor reluctantly. "You really weren't and I shouldn't have reacted like that."
Harmony's lip wobbled again. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." Sirius whispered, yanking her close to him again. "That's the first time you've actually referred to yourself as my girlfriend, even though that's what you are. It's always half-of-the-constellation."
"True." Harmony laughed. "We've been together for some months now so I guess it was coming. You smell like booze." she told him.
"I feel like shit." he replied. "I have no idea how I didn't pass out, but I'm sure as hell glad I didn't."
Harmony sniffed loudly and only hugged him even tighter. "I was wrong." she repeated herself.
Sirius tugged on the back of her thighs and she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist again. "Don't cry." Sirius told her, and he carried them over to a couch, where he sat down. Harmony was still on him.
"I don't want to cry." she laughed, and she closed her eyes for a second in an attempt to get a grip on herself.
"I told Dumbledore." Sirius blurted. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I told him but when they went to go get him, he was gone. James scared him off, I think. He left - just like your brother. Funny how this all worked out." It wasn't funny at all.
Harmony had no idea how to react. "Sirius…" she took his jaw into her hands.
"I came back and got some firewhiskey and then went to the Room of Requirement to get hammered by myself." Sirius finished, his hands resting on Harmony's thighs.
"We actually got in a fight." Harmony said, still shocked. "I didn't know we could do that."
"Also you're definitely not an insensitive bitch, and I realized that about four seconds after you ran away crying." Sirius said, and his voice was laced with guilt.
"Well you're not a selfish dick, either." Harmony told him. "Oh, the things we say in anger."
"That was horrible and I'm really, really sorry." Sirius told her.
Harmony looked down at him for a moment, then she leaned in and kissed him. He kissed her back, his tongue already finding its way into her mouth. She adjusted herself on him and her legs rested on either side of his middle again, hands in his hair.
They snogged for quite some time in which Harmony found Sirius' hands brushing the bare skin of her back underneath her loose t-shirt. When she pulled back to catch her breath, Sirius immediately went down to her neck and continued kissing her there.
They kept snogging until, finally, they pulled away from each other, lips numb. Harmony rested her head on Sirius' shoulder. She was still straddling him, but had no intention of climbing off anytime soon.
Sirius' lightly scratched her back. Every few seconds the tips of his fingers would catch on the back of her bra beneath her shirt, but she couldn't have cared if she tried; it felt so good and he was so warm and she was all happy inside again. She wasn't tired, though.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked him, brushing his hair with her hand.
"There's not much to talk about." Sirius replied. "I need to just not focus on it for a little while and I'll eventually let go of it. I thought I had gotten past it but evidently not."
Harmony sighed, then asked, "Want me to tell you a story?"
"Yeah." Sirius' hands didn't still on her back as he quieted in preparation for Harmony to start talking.
"Okay, so this one time I snuck out to go drink with Becca in the summer - I believe it was just after fourth year, so I had just turned fifteen. I climbed out the toilet window, and managed to avoid all those bloody muggle camera things my dad had around the house. I went into the forest and met her at the treehouse where we drank practically a whole bottle of some muggle liquor she stole - which, for the record, was very strong and resulted in me getting pretty drunk after about four or five shots. We were laughing and yelling and just being typical drunk girls, right?
"Suddenly, we hear this noise from somewhere in the forest. Like it was really loud. It sounded like someone had threw a big stick at the trunk of a tree and it broke, so naturally we started flipping out. This was after a couple more shots, mind you, so we were probably at a good eight or ten shots in. I was completely hammered, and still this day I have no idea how I remember this. Anyway, we shut off the light we brought with us, and we were silent - trying to hear what the noise was. Becca started muttering about murderers and man-eating-wolves and how she's heard a ton of legends of both of those things inhabiting the forest. I was so wasted that these things suddenly seemed really realistic to me, and the next thing I knew we were both scrambling to get down the ladder.
"I couldn't even see straight, Sirius. Like, the next morning I found out I had this massive bruise on my hip because I think Becca pushed me out of the bloody thing, but she swears that I fell. She doesn't even remember as much as I do so I'm pretty sure I'm right about this…anyway." Harmony stopped and took a breath. She was sitting straight up in Sirius' lap and he was watching her with rapt attention while she spoke, his eyes reacting to the story while a smile danced on his parted lips.
"We didn't even grab the bag or anything that Becca brought. Somehow, she had managed to take the bottle though, and she spilled the rest of the contents all over herself as we full out ran out of that forest - I yelled at her for that afterwards because I wanted more and I remember her throwing a rock at me.
"Okay, so we made it out to the road and it was deserted. Then we sort of both just fell into the bush - you remember that bush you hid in the time we snuck out together? - well, we were in there. We were probably crouched there for a good five minutes until I felt something warm on my leg - oh Becca would fucking murder me if she knew I was telling you this - because Becca fucking peed on my leg."
Sirius threw his head back and laughed loudly. "She peed on you?"
"She peed on me." Harmony nodded, smiling widely at his reaction. "Like, full out. Then, she pulled back and laughed at me. For like ten minutes. And finally I just realized that whoever was in that forest wasn't going to make an appearance so I told her these words, which I remember perfectly, 'Fuck you, Becca. How am I supposed to explain to my mum why I have piss and booze all over me?' and I shit you not, she whispered back, 'Hakuna matata.', pulled off her shirt, and literally ran home."
Sirius was laughing so hard that he had to wipe at his eyes. "She ran home? That's fucking golden." he gasped, his lungs still rattling while he laughed.
Harmony laughed, too. "Isn't it? I still can't even say the story without cracking up and I'm thankful each and every day that I remember that. Becca hates it when I tell it and so I've decided that I'm going to say it at her wedding."
"Actually?" Sirius choked out, still laughing so hard that he could barely breathe. "I-I need a minute-" he continued to laugh for two. Then three. By that time, Harmony had joined in, and she was clutching at his shirt for support. Apparently it wasn't enough, though, because she toppled off him and onto the floor. Her hands still grasped his t-shirt, so, naturally he came right down on top of her. That only made them laugh harder.
Then they ended up snogging again, while still guffawing. Lots of saliva. It was gross. But Harmony didn't give one fuck - she was so happy to have this boy in the right place again.
"Wait wait." Sirius stopped and caught his breath, his arms encasing them against the rug-clad floor. "So you never found out what that noise was?"
"No!" Harmony laughed. "And the next morning I went to Becca's - she initially didn't remember anything at all so I had to fill her in - and then together, both of us massively hungover, we went back into the forest to get the bag and clean up our mess and stuff." Sirius was looking at her with an open-mouthed smile as he listened, eyes fixed on her face attentively. He loved it when she spoke. "There was like broken glass everywhere and one of Becca's shoes was on the ground. When we looked around a bit more, there was no evidence of anyone else being there at all. I'm still kinda creeped out, to be honest, because that noise sounded like, close, in my memory. It made both of us, two wasted teenage girls making a ton of noise already, stop and fall silent. That's an accomplishment."
Sirius leaned forward and pressed his lips against Harmony's. "I like your stories." he concluded. He liked more how her hair was splayed out around her, how her cheekbones stood out so prettily, how her eyes would light up with excitement and emotion while she spoke, how her lips moved so smoothly over each sound.
Harmony laughed. "Glad you do. I don't know anyone else who does."
Sirius cocked an eyebrow. "Good. Then you can save all of the stories just for me."
"We should make some of our own stories." Harmony suggested. "I feel like this summer is going to be great."
"Definitely. Even if you moved houses, we can still find ways to have fun. Break into a local swimming pool. Light fireworks off in corner stores. Get drunk in your bedroom. Apparate in people's closets and then disaparate away really quickly." Sirius named.
Harmony grinned and wrapped her arms around Sirius' toned middle. "Are we good?"
"We're better than good." he told her. Harmony smiled so widely her cheeks hurt but her heart healed.
A/N: I kinda like this chapter. I don't know. I just do. I hope you like it. FOR ALL THE PEOPLE ASKING ABOUT HARMONY AND SIRIUS BEING INTIMATE: BE PATIENT. DON'T ASK. YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS, KIDS.