BURN FOR YOU, sirius black

03. tear-stained

Sirius didn't sleep that night. How could he when the only thing that raced around his mind throughout the night was the sight of Claudia Cyprus? His mind continued replaying the image of her covered in Snape's blood while she stared at the bleeding bloke with nothing but hatred. The moment Sirius returned to his dorm after the altercation, he was met with a furious and confused James Potter, who seemed to have been waiting for him to return to their dorm. As the Potter boy cleaned Sirius of the blood-stained hands and clothing, the raven-haired wizard completely spilled his guts out to James. It was hard not to when James looked at him with such curious and endearing eyes, a feature he indeed received from Euphemia. James listened as Sirius explained the situation, his blue eyes raging when Sirius admitted the words Snape threw at him. Sirius reassured his friend that a mysterious blonde handled it. James furrowed his eyebrows in absolute shock that Cooky Claudia came to his friend's rescue despite loathing the entire friend group deeply.

Sirius expressed the same shock as he rambled on about Claudia, being sure to leave out how beautiful he found the sight of her. James immediately shut down his infatuation with a shake of the head. "She's fucking insane, Sirius. You don't want to get involved with someone like her." James reminded him. For some inexplicable reason, his words ignited Sirius with an unknown annoyance. However, he quickly masked his agitation with an assuring smile before stomping over to his bed, lying awake as the rest of his roommates slept peacefully. Sirius couldn't help but wonder why she reacted with such hostility and defense for him, the boy she claimed to loathe, a hatred he frankly deserved.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a complete dick to her. The double standards between the two were clear. He was praised for being full of angst and violence. People swooned when he walked past, despite his history of violence. Sure, people were still scared of catching him in a bad mood, but his treatment was nothing compared to what the girl endured every day.

The day Lily brought the blonde with her to the Grand Hall, all heads turned to Claudia. What was the violent shrew of the school doing with Gryffindor's sweetheart? The girl had insults thrown at her as she walked to the table, even getting bits of food tossed her way, which Lily quickly scolded the culprits for. Sirius himself spat words of disgust at the blonde the moment she sat down between Lily and Marlene. The girls and Remus were the only ones who didn't scowl at her company. Within minutes of her presence, Claudia quickly left the hall after only eating a mere chicken leg, Sirius almost swearing he saw unfallen tears welling up in her eyes as she walked.

Sirius was furious with himself. He was horrid to her, albeit she wasn't exactly an angel to him in return, throwing hexes at him when he wasn't paying attention. He had to fix this if he wanted to get anywhere near the girl again. Apologies weren't exactly his strong suit, but he was sure he'd figure it out.

The boy sat in his Potions class, which he shared with both Lily and the exact blonde he'd been trying to reach all day. Sirius sat beside his friend, messing with his rings as he thought of what to say. Lucky for him, he sat next to the only student who seemed to have any relationship with Claudia. "Evans!" Sirius hissed as Slughorn had his head turned. Lily turned away from her notes, raising an eyebrow in response as Sirius inched his seat closer to the redhead. "You're friends with Co- Claudia, right?" He corrected, making a mental note to practice saying the witch's name rather than the replacement he was used to saying.

Lily pursed her lips as memories of her efforts a few nights prior came back to her. "I wouldn't say we're friends. Roommates, I suppose." She whispered guiltily. In truth, Lily felt horrible for letting the girl go so quickly. James approached her moments after Claudia stormed out of the hall, urging her and her friends to stay away from the short fuse that was Claudia Cyprus for "her safety," as he put it. Stupidly enough, Lily listened to him, keeping her distance from Claudia, leaving the blonde girl utterly alone again. In her defense, Claudia didn't seem to have any intentions of interacting with Lily or the others again, not after the embarrassment she was put through.