Anything that rings a bell belongs to JK Rowling

Chapter Thirty Eight: Take My Hand

Jude licked her lips, and grimaced. The lipstick she had on didn't taste very nice, even if Marlene had insisted it was her shade. The girls were very kind this morning, helping her get ready, even though she wasn't even sure this was a date.

"I don't even know when's the last time she's slept in the dorm." Lily muttered, glaring behind them at Aiza's long dark hair fluttering in the light breeze, until it disappeared through the door to the Hogs Head.

"Thursday." Jude answered, looping her hand through her redhead friend's arm to calm her down, "You know, I don't think Mulciber is that bad, he just hangs out with a rotten bunch."

Lily shook her head, "That's the same thing. My mother always said we are the reflection of our friends! What does she see in him?" Jude rubbed her arm sympathetically and was glad to see Lily's glare simmer down, "Sorry. Here you are on your first date and I'm being all negative. You do look so lovely!"

"Thank you, but it's not a date. I think. You'll be there too, so it can't really be one, right?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "Farren only invited me because I happened to be in the circle whilst they were talking about this last night. But I am glad he did, it should be fun!"

Jude couldn't agree more, as she and her friend entered the small building. They glanced around, taking in the booklined walls and the large glass cases spread out in the centre. She quickly walked forward, already inpspecting the objects on display.

"Hello." She turned, as Regulus and Snape walked into the room from a door behind the ticket counter.

Regulus was wearing a cerulean sweater which made the blue in his eyes stand out, paired with black slacks. Jude was again reminded at how alike he and Sirius were, their noses almost identical, but his lips were quite different from his older brother's, not as symmetrical, but still pleasant. Sirius was all perfect angular features, and Regulus was a bit rougher around the edges, this was quite ironic as they carried themselves in the contrast. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course. Thanks for the invite! I've never been to a Rune exhibition before!"

"Well technically I should be thanking you, as you'll be a big help. Professor Farren and his friend have been consulting on this exhibit, and he asked me last night if I could give him feedback before they open to the public in a few weeks."

Jude felt as if Regulus was making it clear that this was definitely not a date, which she appreciated him for, she liked transparency. She hadn't thought it was a date when Regulus wrote her this morning asking her to join him. After all, if he wanted to take her out, this Hogsmeade Trip had been planned for months, and would have asked earlier. But, Lily and Marlene were so excited, and she actually enjoyed her friends teasing… it made her feel like she was truly one of them.

"You look very nice. That shade of blue suits you. And your hair is pretty."

Okay, well that confused things again. "Thank you. My foster mother's bought me enough clothes to last me a lifetime. She's always wanted a daughter and she likes dressing me. Oh and Lily did this." She gestured at the two thin braids that circled her head like a thin crown.

"You're like a life sized doll for them." She didn't know if that had been a compliment or not, so she just busied herself with shrugging off her coat and placing it on the rack. She noticed that Lily and Snape were already whispering in the corner by a glass case that held a large tome.

Lily told Jude that they had made amends last night, and she was happy to hear that. She didn't like Snape much, but she knew he was an important person in her friend's life, so she was happy if Lily was.

"Shall we?" She nodded to Regulus' gesture downstairs, and followed him as he walked down. It would seem the proper artefacts were kept in the basement. "Professor Farren says that his friend Katerina discovered lots of these on her most recent expedition. She's training as a curse breaker at Gringotts, and the goblins are pretty good at letting you have the artefacts as long as they get the gold.

"This is the Kylver Stone! Good Godric, how did they get it here!" Jude had found the large brown rock in the middle of the room.

"Apparently extensive negotiations with some muggle Swedes who had it in a museum in Gotland, not far from where it was discovered."

"It's Elder Futhark. Real runes!" Jude grinned up at the boy and he offered her a brief smile.

"I didn't think I'd meet anybody who liked Runes as much as me."

She didn't know what to say to that, distracted by the stones in varying sizes that sat behind the glass casing. She saw a little description next to the Kylver Stone, reading it swiftly, "This stone was used to seal a grave?"

He nodded, standing next to her, "Yes. It caused quite a stir in runic circles as the grave was sealed, with the runes facing in. Some Nordic Runists think it's ancient magic that was made to confine a great power."

"Fascinating." She muttered, narrowing her eyes at the thin indentations in the boulder, "What do they think it means?"

"That's debatable. Some say it's just a grave marker, but then, why would it be facing in. Some say it's meant to be a comforting saying for the dead it contains."

"What do you think?" She turned to him, impressed by his wealth of knowledge despite being a year younger than her.

The boy tilted his head at the relic, and Jude caught his thoughtful expression in the clear glass protective casing, realising that she and him were actually matching. Her top was a shade darker than his sweater, but Marlene had paired it with a black mini skirt and black stockings, that complemented his black slacks.

"I think the dead cannot read. If it were a gravemarker, it was a poor one, because they never found a body under the stone. Either way, I think it's a good story for the exhibit. Professor Farren thinks they all need to be interesting tales, or people won't come."

She nodded, in agreement, "It would be the first musuem of sorts in Hogsmeade, it would be good if it's a success."

Regulus shrugged, walking down the long aisle, "I think it shouldn't matter if there's some story there. People should come out of respect for objects that have survived near a millenia. Some of these are older than Hogwarts."

Jude grinned at the boy, who was always so pragmatic, "I agree, but people often find Runes to be an inaccessible magic, that you either have a natural talent for it, or your don't. It would be nice if someone is drawn in by an interesting story just to find that they grow to care about the academic content as well, and that Runes, like anything else, is a magic that if you work hard at, you'll reap reward."

Jude didn't realise that the boy had been staring at her as she was talking, too busy taking in a Mexican stone tablet, "You have a very generous outlook on life."

She didn't really know how to respond to that, and she walked to another glass case, taking in the Icelandic runes upon it.

"It's admirable." She glanced to Regulus, but he was looking ahead at a triangular shaped rock, "I've been called a pessimist all my life, you see, so I quite envy your kind. The glass half-fullers."

"Who has being calling you a pessimist all your life?"

He narrowed his eyes, taking in something in the engraving, "My brother, mostly. Sometimes my cousin, Andromeda, but she usually just parroted whatever he said."

Jude did wonder when she asked the question, if Sirius would be the answer, and stared at the boy's face, trying to guage his feelings for his brother, but he was the epitome of stoicism.

"Do you have any siblings?" He walked to the next relic, and then turned to her suddenly, "I'm sorry. That's incredibly rude of me. It's none of my business."

"You can ask if I have siblings, we're friends!" She smiled placatingly, "And I…" She hesitated, actually, she promised Charlus she would still keep the fact that she was living with James a secret. "No. Just my foster parents."

He looked at her, and she could tell he wanted to ask her something but was stopping himself. "Go on." She prodded kindly.

"Well, how did you come about being fostered?"

"My parents died." She fed the lie she was told to, and she felt guilty for doing so, "I lost my ability to speak after that. They think it was the grief."

"I wondered if it was something like that." He walked along the aisle, "It must be…a bit odd. Living with strangers?"

"Oh no! My foster parents are wonderful. I'm very, very lucky." She beamed, "My foster mother's always wanted a daughter, and she's quite possibly the most patient and kind human I have ever met. My foster father is the sort of man that just makes you feel really, really safe. He's the type of person that if you go to them with your problem, they say 'leave it with me' and, you just relax, because they're that dependable. And you know, he isn't as doting as his wife, but… he noticed that I like to do jigsaw puzzles. And every now and again, without saying a word, he'd leave a new one on the dining room table." She blushed as Regulus stared down at her, and she knew she had been gushing about Dorea and Charlus too much, "Sorry, I know I'm probably just describing a very typical parent-child relationship."

"No. Not at all. My father's never taken an interest in any of my hobbies. Well, no, over the summer he did take me for a quidditch match for the first time in my life, but I found out that was just some excuse to see my brother."

Jude's brows rose and Regulus' cheeks pinked at oversharing, "How do you know that?"

"Because James Potter's father bumped into us the day before and mentioned that they'd be going to the match, and suddenly we also have box seats, despite me asking to go months back and being told there was no time for it." Jude didn't like the way Regulus said James' name, and she folded her arms, and he turned away from the bronze statue he was inspecting to look at her, "Sorry. I suppose they are your housemates. It's rude of me to complain about them in your presence."

She didn't respond immediately, staring at a large round metal disc with black markings on the side.

"Have I upset you?"

"No." Jude responded quickly, noticing a hint of discomfort in the boy's voice, "I understand that you and Sirius must have your reasons for disliking each other. I just don't see what that has to do with James Potter."

"It has everything to do with James Potter." He grumbled, and Jude straightened her back. She liked Regulus, but she wasn't going to let anybody insult James. Especially when he was going through this fight with Sirius. She couldn't believe those two had an actual argument, and over Azura Carmichael of all people. "Though, I suppose, it wasn't his fault my brother preferred him more than me."

Jude's arms fell to her side as his words pulled her to the present, and her features softened, "That's not true." She softly touched his back to comfort him and she felt it tense, but he didn't move away from her, "I think your brother loves you very much. He just…" She sighed, staring at herself in the relfection of the glass, "I think when you spend a very long time not fitting in, when you do find that sense of belonging, you want to latch onto it, hold it so tight, because you think it might be fleeting. And perhaps if you're holding on to that, you're letting other things go." She looked up at Regulus, really wanting him to understand her, because she wanted him and Sirius to be friends again.

"Well, he has more than one hand." He muttered, not looking at Jude, "At the end of the day, my brother's made his choices."

"Oh Regulus, does it have to be mutually exclusive? I mean, we're friends." She stepped closer to him, "And I'm friends with…Lily." She was going to say Sirius but decided not to at the last moment.

"Evans is alright. But, look at her and Severus. If she's friends with him, she can't be friends with those other girls you eat lunch with. Dawson and that chubby one."

Jude let out a small gasp, "Regulus!"

"What, I don't know her name. Am I supposed to know the name of every girl in school, I'm not my brother." He rolled his eyes and Jude scowled at him.

"That's not very kind. How would you like if someone described you by a feature you dislike the most about yourself."

He made an elaborate thinking face, "I wouldn't mind if someone described me as the boy with the crooked toes." His lips quirked up and she laughed, happy he was being playful. "What would yours be?"

"Me?" She thought, "I guess I'd be that boring skinny girl."

"You're so far from boring, you'd have to break the apparition by four points to get there." She looked up at him, utterly perplexed, "Well, you can't apparate further than four thousand miles at a time, and the furthest two cities in the world is twelve thousand miles apart. So…it was stupid." He turned, walking back to the stairs, embarrassed.

"No, that's such a kind thing to say. Thank you so much, Regulus."

He nodded quickly, and ascended the stairs, but stopped halfway up, "And you're not skinny. You're not fat, of course. You're fine. Don't worry about that." Jude smiled in gratitude at his nice words.

They walked back into the main area of the shop, finding the room to be busier than when they left it.

"- just bumped into each other on the street, and she invited me in, I hope it's okay."

"Sure you bumped into each other." Lily's green eyes somersaulted below her flame red hair, and Jude was surprised to find her friend looking annoyed.

"Now, now, Miss Evans. Kat is a dear friend, and the insinuation that my dear friend would be meeting with a student under my care by any means but accidental ones, would be very, very, disappointing." Professor Farren responded to Lily, but his eyes had been fixed on the tall stranger, a redhead woman stood next to…

"Sirius." Jude whispered and the boy turned around, stepping back immediately after spotting her and his eyes whizzed about, processing Regulus, the closed door behind them, their close proximity.

"Ah, the gang's all here! So, what do we think?"

The room was silent.

Snape was glaring at Sirius, who looked like he had woke up to find he lost all his hair. Jude knew those dark locks were his most prized possession and can only imagine his face so glum for that reason.

Jude stepped forward, "It's amazing, Professor Farren. Regulus and I were just saying that the stories are so entertaining, whilst also keeping that factual element that is necessary in a museum. Right?"

Regulus didn't speak, his eyes soldiered on his brother's.

"Yeah, and we were saying that we agree with the way the displays are split by area, rather than type of runes, gives you a better understanding of the cultural history, and not just the linguistics." Lily stated, glancing between Snape and Sirius.

They needed to get Sirius out of here.

"That's brilliant. Now, I don't want to take too much of your time, I am aware you're here for fun." Farren laughed, "Regulus, do you want to join Kat and I for a quick chat about internships."

"Actually," Kat, who must be the redhead stranger that had been very quiet until this point, "I mentioned to Sirius that he can come along as well."

"Why? He doesn't care about Runes." Regulus finally spoke up.

"Who said I don't care about Runes. I'm not obsessed about them-"

"I'm not obsessed with them. You always say people are obsessed with things just because they like things. There's nothing wrong with liking things."

"Calm down, Kid, it's not like I broke your replica of the Rosetta Stone again." Sirius had a very unkind smirk on his face and Jude stared at him sternly as she looked at Regulus' hands balling into fists.

"Now now, Black. Brothers." Farren shook his head, clearly not reading the atmosphere in the room, "Well, Sirius is pretty good in my class. Nothing on Devon of course." He nodded at Jude and she blushed, Ancient Runes was her best subject and he her favourite teacher.

"Well, I have a suggestion." Jude looked at Kat, and was surprised to find the woman staring at her, curiously. "Let's make things interesting."

-x-x-x-

Sirius didn't think he could feel worse than he did after his argument with James last night, but seeing Jude walk out of a secluded room with his brother easily topped that.

Merlin's sake, they were even matching! Were they a couple? Surely he would have heard a rumour like that! He had been avoiding talking to her but he still couldn't help seeing her around the Castle and he definitely didn't see her with his brother before.

"Do you even want to do an internship with Gringotts?" Lily was stood next to Sirius, staring up at the mountain in front of them.

"Sure." He muttered, taking off his sweater, looking up at the terrain again, and unbottoning his shirt.

"Black, what the hell!" At the girl's squeak, Jude, Snivellus and Regulus who stood a few feet away, turned to find Sirius now standing in just his trousers.

"I like this shirt, I don't want to ruin it." Also, he knew he was much fitter than his brother and Snivellus, who were varying shades of undernourished. Sirius took good care of his body, partially because it always annoyed his mother, who found physical exercise too muggle-esque. He caught Jude's sparkling grey eyes, and was surprised she didn't even glance at his body…she was however, looking at him with concern.

"Well your friend isn't here to show off to, so put this on." Lily shoved a shirt that she must have transfigured at him, and he rolled his eyes, pulling it on.

"For the last time, I bumped into Kat. Honestly." He really didn't want Lily to think anything was remotely going on with the older woman, especially now that she and Jude were good friends.

Sirius had actually been looking for James when Kat spotted him on the Hogsmeade high street. He hated fighting with him, and wanted to set things right.

"Okay! So it's all set up! Contestants!" Farren called them over, and they complied, "So being a curse breaker isn't all translating runes, and wielding wands. Some places are often warded against magic, and often we have to get in there with just our bare hands. So, up there, in that cave-" He gestured at a specific one in the mountain, and Sirius took in its orientation, trying to understand it's general height and direction. "-is a rune for you translate. And of course, the trick is, you got to get up there without magic. First one back with the correct translation, gets the internship with Kat."

Sirius smirked, there's no way Snivellus or Reg were able to climb this mountain without a wand. His smirk fell away very quickly, "What are you doing?"

Jude had taken a little back pack with climbing necessities from Professor Farren, "I'm taking part."

"No you're not." Sirius barked, looking at the group, bewildered as to why they were not fighting her on this as well. The girl dislocated her shoulder getting out of a carriage!

"Typical. You don't want her to take part because she's better than you at Runes." Regulus shook his head at his brother.

"No." Sirius looked at Lily for help, who was not taking part because she didn't care for the internship, "It's dangerous. You don't know how to climb a mountain!"

"And any of you do?" Jude laughed, and Sirius grew more annoyed. Why was nobody taking him seriously!

"Look, maybe Sirius has a point." Farren regarded the mountain before them, it was one of the smaller ones in the range, and the caves were not too high on it.

"Maybe they can go in pairs." Lily suggested. "Just to get up to the caves. And then whoever translates the runes up there, wins."

"Brilliant as always, Evans." Sirius smiled, "Lions versus Snakes?"

"Fairest way is probably random." Farren responded.

"I think Black has a point. It makes sense to go by House." It was historic, for once he and Snivellus agreeing on something. But Sirius knew the evil git well enough that he didn't want to chance getting him, who he hated, or Jude, who he thought was weak.

"Random, I think." Kat spoke up, "Fairest of them all." She winked at Sirius at that, kicking off the wall she was leaning on, and conjured a deck of cards, taking out four from the pack. "Well, kiddies, let's see what the fates have in store for you lot."

-x-x-x-

Sirius glanced behind him, already annoyed that Snivellus was allowing Jude to go ahead of him up the rocks. He growled, the tosser should lead so he figures out the proper footholds first! Does the git know nothing!

"What?" Regulus was below him, they didn't have to climb as yet, for now scrambling over large rocks that were allowing them to ascend quickly. Sirius strained his neck, trying to get a better view of the two that were so far behind them it was getting hard to spot them. In doing so, he caught the look on his brother's face and just remembered.

Regulus was afraid of heights.

When they were children, he would walk up the stairs clinging to the wall. Their house elf, Kreacher, would often have to apparate him up and down the floors of their manor, until their mother found out about it and forbade that from happening, seeing that behaviour as encouraging weakness.

"We're not too far from the caves." Sirius said, trying to keep only the notes of encouragement in his voice.

Sirius hoisted himself on a large rock, panting, turning around to find his brother staring up at the surface ahead that loomed taller than him. Sirius had to jump to get purchase on the top, and hoist himself up, but he knew Regulus couldn't do that mentally or physically.

His brother's breath was coming out in quick spurts, and he realised that he may have been going too fast. Sirius pretended he needed to drink some water, and used that as an excuse to give his brother a breather and spot Jude, who actually wasn't doing too bad. He had only managed to give her a few quick tips at the start, but she was doing well at testing each off her holds for strength before she used it as leverage. Just as he was watching, she slipped and Sirius yelped, but she managed to right herself before falling. Regulus had snapped his head around at the noise and Sirius could tell that his brother only just registered how high they were.

"Ohhh." He had never heard his brother make such noises, and Sirius dropped to his knees, hanging over the ledge that was just feet away from the cave entrance.

"Hey hey hey. Look up here. Look at me!" Reg's large blue-grey eyes found Sirius', and something in his chest whirred to life… they were practically the same height these days, Sirius only a few inches taller, but right now, Regulus looked like he did when they were kids.

Small and frightened.

"I don't…I don't think I can."

"It's okay. You don't have to jump to get purchase." Sirius slithered forward, his belly to the dirt, hanging off the ledge, "You just need to put your left foot on that white rock that's jutting out there, and your right one just above that spiky bush. At no time is your body going to be disconnected from the ground if you do that, I promise you."

Regulus let out a shaky breath, "I don't think-"

"You've got this, Regulus. Come on, you just need to move two steps, and then you're practically up here. Okay?"

The boy closed his eyes, his face blotchy and his white tee shirt stained with sweat and dirt. When he opened his eyes, Regulus quickly did exactly as Sirius instructed. Thankfully Farren had transfigured them some decent shoes. With those two steps his brother managed to lean up, but instead of grabbing on the steady ledge, he caught a loose rock and Sirius watched him lose his grip but was on alert for that.

He held his brother's arm firmly, managing to keep the skinny boy from falling with sheer strength, "It's okay. It's okay, I've got you." Regulus was whimpering in fear, and Sirius gripped him tighter, "Come on, I won't let you go. Come on. Take my hand."

The boy's whimpering stopped at those words, and somehow he became very still and quiet. Sirius felt his brother's hand in his and heaved him up, letting out an uncontrollable bark of excitement at doing the near impossible.

Regulus quickly found the wall, wiping at his snot covered face and panting, staring ahead of him with an unstable gleam in his eye.

They didn't say anything for a few moments, just staring at each other, and Sirius passed him the bottle of water, and turned around catching Jude scurrying up the mountain like a little spider monkey, "Hey! Slow and steady, Devon!"

The girl looked up, a large smile on her face, Snivellus feet behind her.

"She doing okay?"

He turned, suddenly remembering that Jude and his brother had in fact been on a date, and the excitement drained from his body, "Better than Snivellus. She should reach here in a few minutes, so you can go ahead and start that puzzle of yours."

"Aren't you going to try?"

There is zero chance he is letting Jude attempt to get up this ledge by herself. "I'll join in a few minutes."

"You're being awfully sexist."

Sirius practically barked at the hypocritical comment, "Says the boy who has no women on his quidditch team! Also, I'm not doing this because she's girl." He hesitated, not knowing what explanation he should give, "She's a foot shorter than we are, there's no way she's making this without help."

"She's stronger than anybody gives her credit for. And you just want to use this act of chivalry as an excuse for losing when you do, and I want to beat you fair."

Sirius didn't need his brother to tell him that Jude was strong, he knew her far better than he did.

He did, right ?

He slung his backpack off, and pulled out the climbing rope, making sure to grip it onto something with excellent hold, swinging the other end down. She could easily climb up that now.

"You had a rope this whole time?" Regulus glared at him, and Sirius shrugged.

"I forgot."

The boy made his way into the cave, disgruntled and he followed him, trying not to be amused by his behaviour. He needed to remember that his brother, just a few weeks ago, tried to kill him.

That did the trick.

They found a black tablet at the back with gold runes. Regulus was already on his knees, inspecting the inscription. Sirius looked down, it was Indian, they had just covered Runes from South Asia, but he wasn't familiar with this script. It looked a bit like Sanskrit but some of the letters were very different.

Regulus was already furiously transcribing, and for a while the cave had been pleasantly filled with the noise of his scribbling. Sirius wasn't that bothered about losing, but his brother clearly cared about beating him so he took out his parchment and pretended to try and figure out the script.

The truth is, Sirius didn't want to get this internship, and have to spend time with Kat. He only joined in to annoy Regulus. And perhaps supervise this date he happened upon.

He realised the cave was quiet once more, and glanced at his brother, who was looking at him.

"Are you already done?" That was incredibly impressive.

"Not quite." He said softly, chewing on his quill, a habit that annoyed their mother to no end, "Sirius, about Paris." Regulus ducked his head down, pretending to look at the runes, "I had no idea Rabastan was going to do that."

"By that, you mean try to kill me?"

"I didn't even know you were there." He whispered, "Rabastan was angry, he and Bella were fighting and I just followed him so he wouldn't do anything reckless. I dragged him away once I saw you."

Sirius didn't know what to say. He couldn't be grateful for this, afterall, was his brother admitting to be involved in what happened that night?

"What were you doing there, Reg ?"

He stood, walking to the corner and kicking a rock, "I didn't want to go to that party, but Bella was going so I had to."

"She's married now, you're not responsible for her."

He shrugged, "Father says I'm to be responsible for everyone. Blood is blood. Changing your last name doesn't change that."

Sirius scoffed, sure, blood was important to Orion now, but he could turn his back on his own son at his convenience.

They were hypocrites, the lot of them.

"How did you get so good at climbing?"

"I'd been sneaking out of fourth floor of Grimmauld since I was eight, the skillset is quite transferrable." He chuckled quietly, "Also, I've come out here a few times and had a go of it."

"With Potter?"

Sirius was surprised at the question, "No, by myself. Sometimes if you're early enough, you can catch the sunrise over the castle." He turned, looking out the cave, remembering that image, "It's pretty beautiful."

"I'll take your word for it." He laughed at his brother's fearful tone.

"I forgot that you were scared of heights. Why'd you sign off on this if you are - you know father could probably get you an internship if you asked him."

His eyes found the floor, "Father doesn't want me 'playing' with runes anymore, he wants me learning about the family businesses."

Sirius just realised that Regulus' long time ambition of being a curse breaker would no longer be allowed now that he was heir to the family name, not only did he need to be trained for when he took over the role as head, it was also a far too dangerous job for one so important.

"I'm sorry." Sirius whispered, actually meaning it. He heard a voice in the distance, and was glad that it sounded chipper…Jude. "By the way, you and Jude Devon…"

He didn't finish the sentence, expecting his brother to do so himself, but Reg stared back at him blankly.

"Jude and I?"

Sirius scratched the back of his neck, "I didn't realise you were dating." He said it like a statement and hoped to the Founders it was going to be disputed.

"We're not. I asked her to join me today because she loves Runes."

"Ahhh." Sirius tried to hide his smile with a stretch, twisting his back, flinging his arms about, "And, would you like to date her?"

He had been bent over touching his toes, but quickly straightened when his brother didn't respond. His face gave nothing away which meant he was working very hard for it to do so.

"I don't know. No. I don't know."

Oh no.

"She's very kind. And smart. And pretty."

"Oh?" Sirius pretended like this was news to him. "So, you like her?"

Regulus let out an annoyed huff, "Why does everything have to be about that to you." He suddenly turned back to his parchment, back to his translation just as Jude and Snivellus entered.

"Thanks for the rope, Sirius!" Jude patted his arm in thanks and he felt it in the pit of his stomach, and she quickly sat before the black stone rune, excitedly beginning to transcribe it.

Thirty minutes later Kat was congratulating Regulus on winning a place for the Gringotts internship. Sirius silently hoped that their father would allow him to go for it.

"So, celebratory drinks?" Kat suggested, pointedly staring at Sirius, but Farren shook his head.

"These lot need to get back to the castle before curfew."

Sirius avoided her green gaze, and walked quickly ahead, surprised to find Lily catching up to him.

"Did you sneak that woman a lust potion? She's almost as persistent as Potter in our fourth year." She teased and he rolled his eyes, using that as an excuse to glance at Jude and his brother who were quietly walking behind them with a sulking Snivellus.

"Some of us don't need paltry potions to hoodwink people." He said loudly, hoping Snivellus heard him. "Also you can't blame my boy for coming on a bit strong. That was the summer Lily bloomed!" He barked a laugh as she pelted him with smacks to his right arm.

"You. Are. Incorrigible!" But her glare was diluted by the grin on her face. "So, you find that picture you were looking for?"

"Haven't had a chance to look through it yet." Sirius was trying to pay close attention to the conversation behind him, which had thankfully been all about the Vedic Sanskrit runes they were translating back in the cave. He caught a knowing look on Lily's face and he quickened his step, leading them all to do so.

When they got to the castle, he slowed down, conflicted if he wanted to get in the way of his brother, or not.

He knew the right thing to do was to let Jude decide which Black brother she preferred.

And then it occurred to him…that was completely right.

Jude should decide! And the only way she can is if she has all the information.

He hovered in the Entrance Hall as Jude and Lily bade the Snakes goodbye, his brother tossing him a neutral stare as he descended down the dungeons, Snivellus steps ahead of him.

"Jude, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

Her lips parted in surprise and she tucked a dark strand behind her ear, her Mary Janes finding each other as she tapped her feet together, "Yes, I'd like that."

"Good. I'll meet you outside the common room in an hour?"

She glanced at Lily, who had a small smile on her face that Sirius would never have predicted he would have helped put there. He turned and ran ahead of them knowing that he had a very busy hour ahead. First he had to shower, he was drenched with sweat. He then needed to find James, make up with him for their fight last night, and also explain to him that he had in fact asked his sister out on a date. And then he actually had to figure out what would be a worthy first date to take Jude on.

"Mate!" Remus grumbled as he pushed passed him and Peter on his way up the stairs to their room.

"Sorry!" He shouted over his shoulders, barging into their room and flinging his clothes off, jumping into the shower, telling himself he wasn't being a bad brother. If Jude told him she had feelings for Regulus, he would step back, give them space. But, if she felt the same way he did…

"Fuck!" He spat as he turned the shampoo bottle upside down. Completely empty. He stuck his head out, "Who used my shampoo!"

"I didn't use it, I accidentally knocked it over…sorry! I've already ordered you a new bottle!"

He sighed, annoyed at his clumsy friend but not wanting this to ruin his mood, "It's alright Wormy."

He slammed the door shut again, he hated the drug store brand Remus and Peter used. Sirius got his shipped from Paris… he spotted James' black bottle…the range had been discontinued and this was the last of its kind…

Oh well, in the grand scheme of things, his friend was probably going to be so pissed off that he asked his sister out on a date, he probably wouldn't care he used his shampoo as well.

He took a generous amount of the product and lathered it into his dark locks, trying to work off the sweat he mustered today. Imagining that perhaps Jude might even run her hands through these very tresses later on, and he wanted them softer than ever for her. Godric she smelled good today, he loved how her sweat mingled in with the bergamot and pink peppercorn perfume she used. Sirius knew this as he had spent ages trying to decipher the scent, he had a pretty good nose for this sort of thing.

A few minutes later, he left the bathroom.

"Sorry again about the shampoo, Padfoot." But Sirius wasn't paying attention to his friend, he was sniffing the air, catching the scent that had consumed his body. "Are…you alright." Peter glanced at Moony, as they watched their friend sniff at James' bedsheet…naked.

"Padfoot." Remus got out of bed, brows furrowed in concern.

But just then, Sirius caught the scent he was looking for.

"Amato Animo Animato Animagus."

"Padfoot!" Remus screeched, gaping at the large black dog that was now sat in front of them.

Before his friend could utter another word, Padfoot was out the door.

A/N: Oh what Mischief these lot manage! I hope you're enjoying the story so far - any guesses as to what has happened here?

Thank you for taking the time to read this!