Atheyas

𝟏𝟑: 𝖆 𝖇𝖊𝖆𝖚𝖙𝖎𝖋𝖚𝖑 𝖕𝖎𝖊𝖈𝖊

             Lively chatter filled the Gryffindor Common Room as the Marauders occupied the space for their weekly hangout session. While James and Lily were busy arguing about the prank James' pulled earlier this morning, Remus, Peter, and Laav were engaged in a heated conversation about a controversial topic, Voldemort. Peter had stated; given a chance, he would want to be the most powerful wizard of all time while both Laav and Remus agreed that they would too but not with dark magic being the main sorcery. Peter, however, disagreed with that statement jokingly and said he would do it under any circumstance. Peter's opinion had now attracted both James and Lily to the conversation, instantly turning it into a debate. Laav was so focused on trying to express her opinions on dark magic that she hadn't noticed Sirius walk in. That was until he summoned a grand piano to the common room announcing his presence rather spectacularly.

            Laav had been seeing Sirius a lot lately since he was always around James. According to James, Sirius had mentioned that he was avoiding being home because both the brothers had argued over what he said was a trivial matter- not caring to elaborate further. However, Sirius had not uttered a word to Laav ever since the drunken incident. It was no place for her to demand an explanation since it was his personal life and it didn't look like Sirius was going to bother to explain either. That night was just a coincidence. She was there when he needed someone. That was it. Nothing more. While Laav felt like she was being ignored completely, Sirius on the other hand was ashamed of what he had done. He couldn't look her in the eye. He couldn't look his brother in the eye without feeling guilt. Guilt because he didn't regret waking up next to her, in fact, he would do it all over again. She was like that last bit of sunlight that everyone tries to savor during the final days of summer and he loved that.

            His fingers effortlessly danced among the ivory, in sync with one another, creating a perfect harmony while the sun poured through the window adding a glowing light to his display of talent. Her thoughts were lost in the melody and for the time being, everything seemed okay. She was utterly transfixed. You wouldn't think someone as rebellious as this would be as intelligent and talented. Little did she know, as his fingers caressed the keys like a gentle waltz, he shivered at each note, the melody resonating within him. He was telling the piano about her.

"A beautiful piece, that was. Is it an original?"

            Laav automatically turned her head in the direction of the voice. "Nice to see you too, Emily," Remus greeted sarcastically. Sirius' gaze still fixed on the keys. "Yes," Sirius replied before getting up from the seat. He was trying his best to hold back a smile at Remus' sarcastic comment. "Hello, everybody," Emily greeted walking towards Sirius and wrapping her hands around his neck earning a laugh from James and a snicker from Remus."Moony!" Lily whispered, elbowing Remus in the stomach. "I don't like her, that's all," he said dryly. "You ready to go?" she smiled, enveloping Sirius in a passionate kiss not giving him a chance to reply. Laav averted her gaze away from the romance that unfolded in front of her. "Yes, Sirius! Get it," Peter whistled, teasing him.

            Lily noticed the switch in Laav's expression when she saw Peter teasing the couple. Lily hadn't known Laav for as long as James did but she sure knew her long enough to know when she was upset. "Hey, Laav. I'm off to the kitchen to grab a beer, do you wanna come along with?" Lily smiled. "Yes, please. You know I can't handle the romance," Laav playfully joked in attempt to cover up her pain. Sirius pulled away, narrowing his eyes towards Laav to find her making her way towards the kitchen. She wasn't bothered at all. "Come on, let's go," Sirius grabbed Emily by the waist heading out the door. "Evanesco," he flicked his wand at the piano before disappearing into the hallway of stairs.

          "Hey, I've been meaning to ask. It's been some time since we saw Regulus. Is everything okay?" Lily grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge, offering Laav one. Laav shook her head at the offer. "Regulus and I broke up actually, two weeks ago." Lily shot Laav a sympathetic look. "Oh, dear, I'm sorry. Why though?" "Because she's in love with Sirius," Laav looked up, her mouth slightly agape to find James leaning against the doorway. "I'll leave the both of you alone," Lily smiled warmly, hugging Laav before walking out. James remained silent for a while studying the expressions on Laav's face.

           "Enough lying to everyone. To yourself." James walked towards Laav, his tone soft. "I see the pain in your eyes every time you see him with her," he cupped her face in his palms. Laav didn't have to utter a word to express the way she was feeling as James embraced her in a hug. She hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest. "I can't do this," she whispered in his arms as he rested his chin on her head. "Yes, you can. It will get better soon," James consoled her. "What if I break?" "Everything in life is destined to break at some point, darling."

          "Don't fight back the tears, Laav. You've been doing it your whole life. It's time you learn how to let go," he whispered. She could hold the feeling no longer and she fell to the floor in a disheveled heap, pulling James along with her. Her frustrations poured out in a flood of uncontrollable tears, running down her olive skin pane. "I can't get him out of my head, and it hurts. It hurts so bad because I'm not the one he wants," she sobbed, losing control of her emotions. The emotions that always kept her in check. Everything was coming back to her. She felt as though she was re-living the moment from her mother's funeral. That was the first time she had broken down in front of James, and he held her the same way he did back then. The pain pulled at her then and it did again, now. She silently wished that Sirius could see how his silence hurt her more than his words did. It hurt her to think that he didn't care at all. James caressed her hair gently, holding her tight to his chest.

"Then, it's his loss."