Chapter 15::: Choices

Sirius Black fidgeted on his hospital bed, trying not to look to his right at the glaring girl with a red bloodstained handkerchief pressed against her nose.

Emily's eyes burned with hatred.

Burn…set him ablaze.

Sirius shivered and finally met her gaze. "Look, I didn't know you were behind the door. And don't even try and retaliate 'cause I know what you're going to say."

Emily raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Yes I do." Sirius said immediately, as if she actually asked him a question. "You were going to say, 'Well what kind of an idiot slams open both doors to an infirmary when there could be someone on the other side of the door?' Right?"

Emily remained silent and just glared harder.

Sirius took that as a yes.

He smirked and looked at the white ceiling of the infirmary. "I know I'm right. And to respond to that predictable statement, I have a true emergency that outshines the minor injury inflicted upon you." Her ran a hand through his hair that looked perfectly normal, besides the fact that it was bright neon green and sparkly silver. "The stray spell that hit me in Charms can't be reversed without the aid of a potion."

The potion Sirius spoke of was unfortunately not in Pomfrey's medical cabinet and she had to go to the dungeons to get another supply from Slughorn, leaving Sirius and Emily alone in the infirmary. Much to Emily's displeasure as Sirius would not stop talking to her.

Sirius glanced at her and found no sympathy in her glaring eyes, not that he expected any. He looked away again and continued speaking.

"Now, unlike you, silver and green are not my colors. I'll stick to red and gold, much nobler colors, don't you think?"

He didn't let her answer and he snickered. "Wait, I know that answer too. 'Black you are such an insufferable git!'" He raised the pitch of his voice to try and copy Emily's voice.

Emily remained silent still and continued to glare.

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, I got that right too."

Emily growled.

Sirius raised an eyebrow and looked into the angry girl's eyes. "Something the matter Potter?"

"Yes, you." She said thickly.

Sirius held a hand to his ear. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Speak up deary."

"You are de most arrogant basdard I'b eber met! What is wrong wid you? Is id a goal of yours do make by life worse? James 'as given up on be long ago, so what makes you dink dat you can act dis way wid me and dink dat I actually care? Why can't you leabe be alone do live out by life de way I want?" She ranted, her voice thick from her broken nose, pressing the handkerchief closer to her nose.

Sirius stared at her for a second before promptly bursting out laughing. "You…You sound so stupid!"

Emily let out a screech and launched herself at him, hitting him wherever she could reach with her uninjured arm, not caring that she was no longer holding the handkerchief and blood was covering both her and Sirius.

"Ah! Emily! What the bloody hell-"

"I hate you! I hate you!" She yelled, kicking and hitting him.

Sirius struggled, but succeeded in grabbing the younger girl's wrist and ceasing her strikes. She tried to hit him with her wounded hand, but he grabbed the cast. When she tried to kick him he flipped them over, but only succeeded in flipping them off the bed.

Emily's back hit the floor and she knocked her head painfully against the linoleum floor. If the sudden flaming pain in her back and head wasn't enough, Sirius's body fell directly on top of Emily's knocking to wind out of her.

Emily slowly opened her eyes, which she had closed during the fall, and glared up at Sirius painfully. "I…hate you…so much."

Sirius smirked, his hands still gripping Emily's wrists. One was by her head, while her cast covered wrist was held near her hip. "I know."

Emily noticed an unfamiliar look enter his eyes, but she couldn't dwell on it for long as a coppery taste entered her mouth and throat. The blood from her broken noise was entering her airway, slowly. She coughed and struggled against Sirius.

Sirius immediately got off her and Emily turned to her side and coughed up the blood.

Sirius winced and took out his wand, pointing it at Emily's nose as she sat back up.

Emily's eyes widened as a spell hit her face before she had time to move. She closed her eyes tightly and expected pain, discomfort, or a queasy feeling of some sort to consume her, but nothing came. Instead, she could no longer feel the warm blood coming out of her nose, and the stinging sensation of her broken nose was gone. She opened her eyes and slowly reached up to feel her nose. She was shock to feel no pain.

Sirius had healed her broken nose.

She turned her shocked brown eyes to his. "You…healed me."

Sirius looked both smug and surprised. "I know. I can't believe it worked."

Emily's eyes turned disbelieving and she pushed him, causing Sirius to fall back. "You git! You mean you used a spell on me without knowing if you could perform it or not?!"

Sirius sat up and glared. "I've seen Madame Pomfrey do it a million times, so I knew there was a chance it would work-"

"And a chance it wouldn't!"

"-But it did, so I don't see the problem." Sirius concluded. He pointed his wand at himself and cast a cleaning charm to get rid of the blood Emily had got on him, and then cast one on Emily as well. He then pocketed his wand and stood up, and smug smile on his face as he held out a hand to Emily.

Emily growled and Sirius once again found himself fending against the angry girl. Luckily they fell back on the bed sideways so when Sirius flipped them they didn't fall off.

He forced down her arms and legs and smirked mockingly down at her. "Who is this fiery and captivating girl who resorts to muggle fighting, and what happened to the calm and collected boring Slytherin?"

"She's with the wand Madame Pomfrey confiscated after she tried to hex you for breaking her nose." Emily said, trying to break out of his hold.

Sirius tightened his grip slightly and leaned closer to whisper in her ear. "Then maybe Pomfrey should keep it. I like you more this way."

Emily stopped struggling and stared up at the ceiling. "Which do you like Sirius? Messing with me and driving me crazy, or me?"

"Both."

Emily scoffed. "You can't pick both. It's either one or the other…or neither. Personally I wish it was neither, because it then you would leave me alone."

Sirius lifted his head to look at Emily. "I can pick both if it's because of me messing with you and driving you crazy that brings out the side of you that I like."

Emily looked away. "You shouldn't like me at all. I don't even know how you can say that. You're James's best friend and one of the biggest Slytherin haters in the entire school. You should hate every part and side of me."

"I know I should," Sirius said. "But every time I'm able to get a rise out of you I can see a flicker in the cold Slytherin front you have up."

Emily looked him in the eye. "There is no front. I am a cold hearted Slytherin who puts blood purity before friendship and love."

Sirius laughed, much to Emily's surprise, and let go of one of her wrists to tuck a strand of Emily's hair behind her ear. "If I was anyone but myself, I might have believed that."

"And why don't you?"

"Having grown up in the home that I did I would know a little about Slytherin personalities and masks. Before Hogwarts I was trained to be the perfect pureblooded son. I had to go along with the stupid façade to make living bearable. It wasn't until given a taste of freedom did I realize that I didn't have to be who my parents wanted me to be."

"Yes, and all it cost you was your home, family, and inheritance." Emily said.

Sirius sighed. "Those don't matter when you find true friends and are able to be yourself."

Emily glared at him. "That is all well and great, but our situations are completely opposite. You can be yourself and be accepted. If I try and be myself…It wouldn't work."

Sirius stood up angrily. "Why can't you?! Everything would be better if you stopped acting this way! James would-"

Emily sat up. "James would what? He'd suddenly accept me again? Don't be so naïve Black. Cruel people can't just change in a day."

"James isn't a cruel person-"

"I'm talking about me!"

Sirius looked taken aback.

Emily looked away. "I've done too much and worked too hard to turn back now. I'm dating Regulus, people see me now, talk to me now. If I change everything will be ruined."

"So what?" Sirius growled. "A bunch of Slytherin gits won't like you anymore. I think that would be a good thing."

"Well I don't!"

"Why-"

"Because I don't want to be ignored again! I don't want to be alone." She stood up and walked over to the window, refusing to look at Sirius.

"You won't be alone. I'll-"

"You'll what?" She asked sharply, her back still facing him. "You'll accept me, start hanging out with me? Yeah right. If I tried to walk up to you in the hallway when James was around you'd mock me or hex me. Stop trying to trick me. I don't know what kind of prank you're playing, but it's not funny."

"This is not a prank. I can see that this isn't who you are, and if you'd let me finish for once I would explain that you won't be alone because I will be here." Sirius reassured. "And I'll show James that he's got you wrong."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Are you trying to be cheesy, or are your usual pick-up lines and flirting techniques molding with your regular speeches?" Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but Emily interrupted.

"But okay, let's pretend for a second that I believe you and that you do actually get James to accept me, what's going to happen when you leave?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Sirius said confused.

She refused the urge to roll her eyes again. "When you graduate dunderhead."

"Oh." He muttered. "Well you can just find other friends from different houses."

"Oh, find other friends. What a wonderful idea, why haven't I thought of that?" She asked sarcastically. "I'm sure the Gryffindors, who are even more narrow-minded than you, will jump at the opportunity to be my friend. And the Hufflepuffs, they won't cower in fear if a Slytherin girl tries to befriend them."

"And the Ravenclaws?"

She snorted. "Right. What a fun and dandy time that will be. Spending my free time with teenagers who have less of a spines than the books they're always reading."

Sirius's lip twitched, but he soon frowned. "So you're going to continue to pretend to be someone you're not?"

She shrugged. "It seems to be working out so far."

Sirius grabbed her shoulders in a tight grip and spun her around to face him. "And if it keeps working? Don't you realize that if you keep doing this you're going to end up just like the rest of the Slytherins? A servant to the next pureblood obsessed maniac rising in power. Fighting the noble fight against the impure."

She glared. "Do you really think I'm stupid enough to do that? I'm just trying to get through school. If I tried to stay this way the rest of my life I'd drive myself insane. I may hate James and my father enough to make them think that I'm just like the rest of these Slytherins, but I'm not going to risk my own life to follow someone doing something I could care less about.

"Lord Voldemort can kill as many people as he wants, innocent or not, and that goes for his followers, his Death Eaters, as well, because I will have no part in it. When I leave Hogwarts all I plan on doing is finding a job and living my life until I die old in my bed."

"And if they don't give you a choice?" Sirius questioned.

"Then I'll leave the country, or I can do what Narcissa is doing…" She trailed off.

Sirius sneered. "Yeah, and what is my dear cousin going to do?"

"She's going to marry and bear healthy heirs while her husband does their Dark Lord's bidding." She watched him intently, gauging his reaction. "I'm sure Regulus would rather I be safe at home with the children instead of fighting."

Sirius's eyes flashed and his grip tightened. "So that's the life you're going to choose?" He asked in a whisper.

Emily's head lolled back and she stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I find that I have little choice of how my life is to be lived anymore. Others are choosing for me and I will take what I am given as different opportunities arise."

She moved her head to stare into Sirius's eyes. "So unless you can give me an alternative choice…" She tried to pull away but Sirius moved his hands from her shoulders to her waist, pulling her closer.

"Me…Choose me."

Sirius lowered his head and crashed his lips against Emily's