Chapter 11: Dark and Black
A cold breeze blew over their faces, tingling the emptiness that prevailed between them. They may not have seen too much, but it went without saying that this was just the tip of the iceberg... What was coming for them in actuality was much, much bigger and the mere thought of it left Isabella numb with dread...
Neither had moved in a really long time, feeling far too weak to come to terms with the reality just yet. And how could they? How could they feel safe anymore when there was a self-proclaimed Dark Lord at large who was forming an army of blood-obsessed fascists, feeding their minds with assurance and hope that one day Magic will be 'exclusive' again and, going to such lengths as using children as throwaway tools to run errands for him? Who does that...?
"What's the world coming to...?" Isabella finally breathed, staring into empty space, too lost for words. "Does the Ministry..."
"They don't know shit!" Sirius growled and sighed heavily, as if his whole world had come crumbling before his eyes. "Merlin's Beard, is this really happening?" he said, hyperventilating at the mere thought. "That was Dark Magic, wasn't it...? Regulus is performing Dark Magic at thirteen..."
"Sirius, no..."
"No, we have to find him, Izzy! Should we call the boys...? Peter's too far away but James would come in a heartbeat, you know...?"
"What? No!" said Isabella immediately, sensing the direction he was headed in. "No, no, no, Sirius, don't do that, don't lose it just yet, what's the matter with you? We don't even know what we're dealing with and you're already planning on getting MORE people involved in this?"
"Well, what else do I do?"
"Staying CALM would be good, thank you!"
"Wh—Excuse me?" he said, gaping incredulously at her. "Stay calm...? Stay CALM?" he stressed one more time, as if reconfirming if he had heard her right. "HOW do we stay calm after what we just saw?!" he yelled, his eyes the size of tennis balls now.
"Sirius, for goodness' sake...!" said Isabella and stamped her foot in frustration.
"No!" he bellowed and inched ominously close to her "They've got Regulus... Izzy," he said almost lifelessly, the desperation more than evident in his voice. "Merlin knows who all he is dealing with or what they're even doing to him this very second! We have to do something and we have to do it NOW!" he yelled, glaring daggers at her.
"Absolutely NOT! You may feel solely responsible for him, but don't forget that you're underage too, Sirius! You too are still a CHILD!" she shrieked back and attempted to match the ferocity of his glare. When he opened his mouth to retaliate, she swiftly cut him again. "No, I don't care how much of a 'stud' you think you are, I WON'T let you storm senselessly into Bellatrix's face and demand an explanation!"
"Oh?" he bellowed sarcastically and got ready to destroy her entirely. "Nice! LOVE the care and concern, by the way, it's precious. Tell me, though, what do you suggest we do, then, summon DUMBLEDORE instead?"
"MAYBE!" she yelled and froze in place as a sudden realisation dawned on her. "Maybe..." she repeated and a shiver ran up her spine. Sirius looked a little taken aback too at the odd expression on her face as her mind started to race with information. "Yes, we... We write to Dumbledore perhaps..." she said, more to herself than to Sirius.
"Are you fucking serious?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed breathily, and unconsciously held on to the front of his shirt for support. "Yes, I've never been more serious and you better listen to me right now!" she said and stared straight into eyes even as waves and waves of revelation suddenly hit her out of nowhere. "More than a month ago Dumbledore had asked me to read up about an ancient legend regarding the Gryffindors... He thought I might find it 'interesting' for some reason and I didn't understand then as to why he felt that way, but I think I get it now... I think he was trying to send me a message, a forewarning. I think he wanted me looking out for you!" she exclaimed, shaking from head to toe with the sudden realisation.
Sirius merely blinked. "Begging you to start making sense..."
"Merlin's Beard, do you listen at all? The old witch called you 'one half of The Pair.' Sirius, there's a myth that an ancestor of Slytherin cursed the Gryffindor bloodline to be doomed every time two people from the cursed lineages formed a bond!" she said, shaking more than ever. "They're called 'The Cursed Pair' and I think I know who this may be about... I think you are the carrier of that curse..." she concluded, hardly audible now.
Sirius didn't say anything and simply stared at her, gawking incredulously. "Why, isn't that the most absurd thing I've ever heard..."
"I know how it sounds!" she screamed, writhing in frustration. "But if Dumbledore thinks there's something there, I'm going to believe it," she said, decidedly. "Which is why I think it's best if we actually write to him..."
"Yeah, you're actually FULL mental right now."
"No, I'm not! Look. Do you trust me?" she asked and roughly shook him by his shoulders.
Sirius didn't reply immediately and simply stared into her boiling red face as if tossing that question over and over in his head.
"Izzy, what if something were to...?"
"NOTHING'S going to happen to Regulus, you think they'd dare to lay a finger on him knowing he's Walburga Black's son? She'd skin them alive and you know it! Besides, by the looks of it, Dumbledore already seems to be on to something here... He knows and sees what's happening, something even the Ministry is completely blind to. And I know him well enough to say that he wouldn't dream of putting his students' lives in danger! Nothing is going to happen to Regulus and you have to trust me on that, Sirius."
Sirius still didn't look convinced enough.
"Well?" she repeated, looking fiercer than ever. And even as he continued to stare at her, a wave of tranquility seemed to wash over his face. "Yes," he finally said, nodding most sincerely. "Okay, fine, you're right, you made a pretty good point there," he said, finally cracking a smile. "Wow, you're aggressive!" he added, grinning for full measure now.
"Well, I have to be when I'm dealing with knobheads like you, don't I?" she sniffed, stifling a smile herself. "Let's get back inside, I'm freezing," she added, pulling the jacket tighter around her body.
"And I'm starving!"
"How'd you find me, though?" she asked, as they made their way back to Williams' Cottage.
"You left the door open!" he said, rolling his eyes at her. "My feet started to freeze, and when I woke up, I found the door ajar, wrapping paper strewn everywhere, a hideous lookalike of the Shrieking Shack sitting next to it..."
"...it's Hogwarts!"
"...and an empty coat stand! And since I am more than aware of how circumspect you are," his voice dripped of sarcasm, "I knew right away that you'd gone looking for trouble," he said, shaking his head unforgivingly at her. "Thanks, though."
"What for?"
"Everything... Had you not gone, I would not have come after you, and Regulus would've been alone there. So, thank you for that. Thanks for letting me stay..." he said counting through his fingers. "And thanks for that, she's a beauty," he said, nodding fondly at the 1959 Triumph 650 T-120 Bonneville standing outside her house. "Must've been crap expensive... How're you paying for it?" he grinned as they slipped into the living room once again.
Isabella simply smiled and pulled out the teapot to fix them with something warm. "Well, dad paid for it and I'm paying him back in monthly installments," she said, beaming at him.
"Wow," he muttered, as he settled down on the kitchen counter looking mildly impressed. "I'm a... I'm a lousy friend, aren't I?" he said, running his hand through his long, jet black hair.
Isabella nodded enthusiastically. "The worst," she confirmed.
"Why'd you do it then?"
"'Scuse me?" she said, handing him his mug of piping hot tea while taking a sip herself.
"The motorbike. I suck as a human being..." he said matter-of-factly. "You shouldn't be so nice to me and yet, you are. So, I want to know what the deal is..." he said, suddenly cracking up a mischievous smile. "Does... this have something to do with your 'hearty'" he said making air quotes with his fingers, "confession of feelings for me...? Back in the train?" he asked, doing everything in his power to keep a straight face.
"Oh, my GOD!" she exclaimed, almost like an involuntary response at that stupendously gross suggestion. "You did not just..." she started and huffed angrily, but no matter how hard she tried, the smile that he was flashing her way seemed to make her face burn so much, it made her tea seem cold. "Obviously NOT!" she finally managed to say. "I got it for you 'cause I've spent the last four years watching you drool over cousin Al's motorbike. It's something your mother would never let you have, and I... I liked watching that sparkle in your eyes when you ride one, so..."
"Ah, I get it now!" Sirius exclaimed, nodding his head more teasingly than ever. "You wanted to check me out when I am on of those... Quite understandable! Don't worry, I'm not judging you," he guffawed, almost spraying out all the tea in his mouth. "When something's this good," he said, gesturing at his own face and broke out laughing, as if it needed no further explanation.
Shaking her head weakly, she muttered, "Merlin, help me," and quickly downed her tea as he cracked up laughing even more at her face. "So, in conclusion," he started, rounding up on her even as she avoided full eye-contact with the prat, "you did get me the motorbike because you fancy me!" he laughed looking down at her from over her shoulder as she grudgingly washed her mug in the sink. "I still want to know one other thing, though..."
"How to choke and die in your own vomit?" she suggested, hissing into his face and grabbed his mug and got down to washing it too because she desperately wanted to be doing something other than simply blush furiously. "No," he said matter-of-factly. "I want to know how long you've... You know," he said, gesturing to all of himself, again going on the presumption that he didn't need any words to get his point across.
She rolled her eyes as dramatically as possible and said, "I'd rather stick my wand in my eye than tell you that," making him howl in laughter. "You're funny," he wheezed even as she irritatedly dashed towards to the living room.
"Whoa, Izzy, wait!" he called out and pulled her casually by the hand, wearing the biggest smile she'd ever seen on him. "Honestly, come on, I need to know, alright? It's... Kind of important," he swung her around to face him and looked teasingly into her face.
"WHY? Just let me GO!"
"No, why would I? This is GOLD!" he chuckled wide-eyed, making her want to club him more than ever. "Now, quick, give me a number."
"I am not telling you that, what's the matter with you?!"
"I'm just curious, is all!"
"GO TO HELL!" she said firmly before yanking her hand out of his grip and power-walking her way to the living room.
She could hear him chuckling to himself behind her again. Jogging towards her, he threw his hand around her neck and grinned cheekily before saying, "But I need to know! And you KNOW it's faster if you just tell me now instead of fighting me. You'll never win this battle, Williams, don't be delusional now!" he snickered when she opened her mouth to contradict that ridiculous fact.
Gritting her teeth in annoyance, and swaying under Sirius's abnormally heavy arm, she turned to look at him and said, "Why do you want to know so bad?"
"Why don't you want to talk about it?"
"Why would ANYONE want to talk about this, Sirius, what are you, cracked in the head?!"
"No, it's just very interesting to know that you're even remotely capable of crushing on someone! All this while, you seemed like a tree to me, you know? All dry and dull and dead and boring! So, imagine my surprise when I learn that my childhood best friend really is a 'human with feelings'!" he gasped, looking at her wide-eyed like a child who was shoved into Neverland. "And believe me, I am HONOURED that you have the hots for me of all..."
She scoffed. "You wish!"
Sirius suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and turned her around to face him, looking oddly too solemn for words. "How long, Izzy?" he asked her one more time.
"Three years," the words simply slipped out of her lips on its own accord.
His eyebrows shot up a little in surprise. "Three years...? Why didn't you tell me all along?"
"Didn't see the point."
"D'you always assume shit like that?"
"Tell me I'm wrong."
Sirius didn't say anything and simply stared down at her, too blown away for words. "I thought we told each other everything," he said at long last.
"Sirius, I don't even know which leggy blonde is your latest conquest as of yesterday. So, don't kid yourself..."
At that very instant, a sudden ticking resounded around them, breaking the spell entirely. "Oh, damn," Sirius muttered as he lifted his left hand and found fifteen tiny moons in their different phases swirling serenely around his wrist. "It's time already...?" he muttered distractedly to himself, as a near full moon cast it's cool light on their faces.
"Wow..." Isabella cooed, awestruck at the brilliance. "You magicked my watch to do that?"
"Firstly, it's mine now," he said with a deadpanned look, although still sounding oddly nervous. "Secondly, help me pack, I have to leave to Remus's in sometime."
- o -
And just like that, he was gone, with his backpack laden with tons and tons of food that included at least fifty corned beef sandwiches, a thousand chocolate chip cookies and two large cakes baked personally by Mrs. Williams for him and the boys. And in a couple more days, the girls would leave too to spend New Year's with their families and Isabella was left missing them all already...