Firebolt

(B3, 222 The castle is decked for Christmas: full of Christmas trees, decorations, and smells like the holidays)

Christmas morning, Siria and Hermione woke to the ground around the bed surrounded in presents. Siria helped Hermione climb onto her desk then offered her a hand while she stepped down. Hermione rolled her eyes as Siria gave a huge yawn. "How is it you yawn more when you sleep well?" Hermione asked.

"Do you want me to have nightmares or do you want me to yawn?" Siria asked while she tore the wrapping from what was unmistakably her new Weasley sweater.

"The yawning. My bed is your bed." Hermione smiled at her while they sat down the floor.

Mrs. Weasley had sent Siria a new emerald green sweater and a new cherry red one for Hermione. Each of the girls had gotten a tin of homemade fudge and a lovely handwritten note, expressing to ask permission to come to the Burrow over summer. Siria pulled the sweater over her head while she smiled at how Mrs. Weasley had wrote "ask your godFather, who, like the carrying parent he is, will allow you at least a week…"

"What is it?' Hermione asked. Siria had bitten into a piece of the fudge, but stopped to smile to herself.

"Hm?" Siria asked with the piece of fudge still between her teeth.

"You're smiling like an idiot." Hermione told her flatly. Siria bit through and licked her teeth. She rested the letter on her knee and looked to the presents.

"'Mione, is it crazy to say that I would trade all this" Siria gestured to her presents, "that" she pointed to her trunk, "and everything else that's mine for Sirius to adopt me? For Sirius to WANT to adopt me?"

"No." Hermione shook her head. "But, you know, I think there's more to being family than paperwork."

"Because we're sisters?" Siria grinned wider and tilted her head, which caused her messy tangle of hair to flop to one side. Hermione mirrored Siria's joy.

"Yes."

Chloe had sent Siria a violently purple box, which opened in tens of ways and seemed to be full of colored powders, gels, and tubes. She had sent Hermione a soft, pale pink box of the same design, but full of different colors. "It's a makeup box." Hermione told Siria, as Siria continued to rub the brushes along her hand. "Seems we'll be busy this summer— a week at the Burrow and a week with Sirius, if Chloe gets things her way." Hermione extended a letter that had been taped to the top her box, which had Chloe's demand that Hermione "absolutely must come! It's the more important thing you'll do all summer. I'll handle everything."

"Well, Chloe does what she wants." said Siria. Hermione folded the letter back up and placed it into the top compartment of her box.

"Speaking of Chloe…" Hermione looked to Siria.

"I still don't know if Sirius is dating anyone. He only ever tells me that it'd cut into his time with me. I don't know if that's the excuse he gives other people or what," Siria confessed as she opened Remus's gift, a book on Defensive Charms.

"Hermione," Siria paused while peeling back the paper of Hermione's gift.

"Yes?" Hermione prompted while opening Siria's gift to her.

"What's it like to like someone?" To Siria's surprise, Hermione broke into a small fit of giggles. She rolled onto the ground while she laughed and gasped for breath. Then she sat up and flattened her bushy hair.

"I'm sorry Siria, but I'm hardly the person to ask. I've only ever liked one person." Hermione confessed.

"You liked someone? Who?" Siria pried. Hermione nervously flattened her hair more.

"Well, it's silly, really. There was this assistant that helped in the library at my old school." Hermione blushed softly. "I always wanted to talk with them, but they were in secondary school. I got so nervous that I never got close enough. There was just something about them that made my heart flutter, but I couldn't even get close enough to see if I had a crush on a boy or girl— but…" Hermione sighed.

"Sorry," she grumbled "it's probably weird to hear I might have liked a girl."

"Why?" Siria asked. "Is that weird?" she felt the panic in her voice.

"No? Maybe? I don't know." Hermione confessed.

"But you said it was weird." Siria pointed. Hermione fell back onto the cold floor.

"Lavender and Parvati only ever talk about which boys are cute. When they talk about other girls, it's what they don't like about them." Hermione pressed her eyes closed.

"They're jealous— really!" Siria insisted when Hermione scoffed. "They say Travers is 'too tall', the Penelope Clearwater's hair is 'too curly', and that you're 'too smart'! No one can be any of those things!"

Hermione didn't seem convinced and Siria spent the next quarter of an hour going over the negative things Lavender and Parvati had said about other girls. When she was done, Hermione only said "I suppose" and sighed heavily. They went back to unwrapping their presents, while the thought of finding another girl pretty being weird haunted Siria in the back of her mind.

The girls packed away their new presents and changed into their day clothes. Siria pulled back the curtain around her bed and dropped her blanket on the floor in surprise. "A broom!" She exclaimed and began tearing the paper from around what was unmistakably a broom. Siria paused with the torn wrappings in her hands, she looked from the broom to Hermione then back. "This— this is a Firebolt!"

The way its ash handle seemed to glitter before her left her starstruck. Its fine, birch tail seemed as if each twig were polished. In her hands, the Firebolt vibrated. She let go and the broom was suspended in midair, unsupported, at the perfect height for her to mount it (B3, 223). Hung loosely around the base of the broom was a long, thin silver ribbon with a letter strunk through.

Dear Siria,

Tuesday night, the 31st, sit by the fire in the common room. Don't fly until the weather's better.

Love,

Sirius

As if the broom were a crown, Siria carried it before her, down the stairs, into the common room, and into the boys' dorm. "FIREBOLT!" She bellowed into Ron's room. Hermione sighed, but Ron practically flew out of his bed at the sight of the broom in Siria's hands.

"You got a Firebolt?" Ron exclaimed. He went to touch the broom, but simply carrassed the air above it. "Siria," Ron gave an echoing laugh, "Malfoy! Wait until he sees you on this!" (B3, 224) She shifted the broom away from Ron.

"Ron" Hermione scolded as she pet Crookshanks.

"Yeah. I mean, Malfoy sucks, but he did try to save me." Siria argued.

"You'd have been fine! It's like George said, your glasses didn't even break." Ron waved it off.

"I might have, but he didn't know that. I'm not saying he's okay now, but don't ruin the enjoyment of the Firebolt by saying the person that may have saved my life is going to be jealous." Siria didn't know how she felt about Malfoy any more.

Malfoy was a selfish jerk who called her friends names. When she had nearly swallowed the Snitch in her first year, Malfoy told everyone a frog would be replacing her in the next match. Their second year he had not only called Hermione a "Mudblood", but said he hoped she died. This year, he'd gone out of his way to try spread her humiliation about fainting over the dementors. He still shouted about it, even if he'd stopped his spirited impressions of her fainting spell.

Siria looked from the broom to Ron and sighed. She extended it out, for him to hold. "You're right though— he is going to go mad with envy. I heard his father got him the Nimbus Two Thousand and Three." The two talked at length about her broom until it was nearly lunchtime. Siria secured the Firebolt into her trunk then went to the Great Hall with Hermione and Ron.

(Book: B3, 227 the Great Hall's usual tables have been removed for a table of twelve because there's so few of them that Dumbledore thought this would be better. Aside from Hermione, Ron, & Siria there are two very nervous first years & a sullen faced fifth year Slytherin plus some of the Professors)

At the sight of the Slytherin fifth year, Siria's heart stopped. Of all the students in the school, why was it Travers? Her thick kniky hair bounced around her beautiful face. She had flecks of red and green glitter in her hair and had painted her nails to match. Travers's expression lightened when she saw Siria and she pulled the chair beside her out.

"Potter," Travers grinned. Siria's words got lost on the way out and she gave an odd grunt while she sat beside Travers. Hermione sat beside Siria while Ron took the last seat. "It's good to see a friendly face," Travers told Siria. Snape and Filch were the only ones not smiling or otherwise looking friendly. Even the first years were at least smiling awkwardly.

(Book: B3, 228-230 Professor Trelawney comes down and says she saw herself leaving her tower then says she can't sit because then there will be 13 people, but the others insist, so she sits. After two hours of food & exploding snap, Ron & Siria rise from the table. Trelawney shrieks and asks which stood first, but they don't know who did. Professor McGonagall says that "unless a mad axe-man is waiting outside the doors to slaughter the first into the entrance hall" it doesn't matter)

Hermione and Travers followed Ron and Siria into the entrance hall. Travers tugged on Siria's arm and smiled at the other two. "I'm just going to steal Potter for a quick minute— then she'll be all yours!" She told them. Siria looked pleadingly to Hermione.

"We can wait," Hermione assured Travers.

"Then wait," and Travers pulled Siria by her arm toward the stairs leading to the Slytherin dorm. Siria watched over her shoulder as Hermione and Ron withdrew their wands and looked ready for a fight. She shook her head. Travers wasn't going to attack her; of that, she was certain.

"It's about my cousin, kind of" Travers prefaced. "All us purebloods are related at the end of it." Siria nodded. She'd learned that last year, when Sirius had pulled out his family tree. "Thing is, behind your back, everyone's saying he likes you." Siria had to repress a sigh. She didn't catch the name of which cousin Travers said " Do you like him?" Siria's jaw dropped. It didn't matter which cousin of Travers she was asking about, Siria didn't like any of them. All of the nerves Siria had about being pulled away seemed to wash off her.

"No. I don't like your cousin." Siria told Travers, rather flatly.

"Damn," Travers cursed under her breath. "Fair enough." She patted Siria's messy mane. "Alright, your friends are waiting," and Travers twirled her wrist in gesture for Siria to leave.

"Are you dating Warrington?" Siria spat out. A blush skidded across Travers's nose.

"Yeah." She smirked and scratched sheepishly behind her ear.

"How do you know you like him?" Siria asked, "if you don't mind." Her eyes fell to the stone floor. Travers grinned and cocked her head up.

"Siria Potter asking a Slytherin about love— who'd've thought the day would come?" Travers asked with a tone of affection. She crossed her arms and shrugged. "It started out with the whole tongue-tied, butterflies in the stomach garbage, but…" A playful smile crossed her face. "One day, I got over that and I just felt calm around him. Like, when I was freaking out over finals, being near him felt like I'd taken a Calming Draft. He's my giant, awkward sloth."

Travers pointed one of her long, red painted, green glitter striped nails at Siria. "You tell anyone, Potter," Travers ran the finger over her neck "and you're dead." she finished. Siria nodded in reply and waved. She started making her way up the stairs, but rushed back down them. Down the empty hall, Siria shouted "Hey Travers, I hope I can be as cool you!" Siria exclaimed. Travers nodded at her and waved.

Tired and yawning, Siria crawled into her own bed. Hermione looked to her. "Are you sure?" she asked. Siria looked at the empty room, which suddenly felt colder than it had in weeks. She shook her head and crawled in beside Hermione. "Sorry." She yawned.

"You'd do the same." said Hermione.

They were startled awake sometime later by a harsh and piercing sound of crushed wood. Hermione and Siria grabbed their wands off the headboard of the bed and blasted through the curtains "Expelliarmus!" As they pulled Hermione's curtains, they caught a flash of a person, who was gone before they fully saw him. Siria's bed was a mess of cords and seemed partially Transfigured into a cage. They looked from the bed to each other.

"RON!" Hermione shouted. She grabbed hold of Siria's hand and rushed out of their dorm. The spiral staircase had turned into a slide. Hermione and Siria tightened their grip on their wands and headed for the boys' dorm. Siria pulled the blankets from Ron's bed to drag him out.

"Bloody hell" he groaned. Ron glared up at them.

"Someone was in our room!" Siria hissed.

"Someone's in my room!" Ron shouted back.

"Someone broke in and we came to check on you!" Hermione barked at him. Her wand shook in her hand.

"Bloody hell" he whispered under his breath.

Wands in their hands, the trio rushed from Gryffindor Tower, calling for Professor McGonagall. The three showed her Siria's bed. Not even ten minutes later, the professors, Hermione, Ron, Siria, Travers, and the two first years were in the Hospital Wing. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick closed all the doors and windows of the wing while Professor Dumbledore informed the small lot that the castle needed to be searched (B3, 162).

Madam Pomfrey eyed them and insisted they tuck themselves in. She brought Hermione and Siria a potion for Dreamless Sleep. Hermione downed hers almost immediately, but Siria eyed it suspiciously. Into the dark and quiet wing, she whispered "but what if something else happens?"

"Then I'll wake you, Potter."