Madame Black || L. Evans

~five~

Some Odette/Sirius bonding in this chapter

+++

Odette traced her fingers over the creases in her book, made from decades of folding the pages.

"You shouldn't bend your books," Bellatix reminded her. "Then again, you could always just buy a new one."

"Bella, leave her alone," Narcissa whispered. "She hasn't been feeling well."

Bellatrix leaned down so she could look Odette in the eyes. "What's the matter with you, Detty? You've been acting weird since I told you I was engaged."

Odette looked back down at the book. "Its nothing, I promise."

"Tell me the truth," Bellatrix pressed. "I can tell when you're lying."

"I'm not lying, sister. Nothing is wrong."

"Don't lie to me!" she shouted.

"Bella!" Narcissa shouted. "Leave Odette alone!"

"Why should I Cissy? She's being a liar, and you know what we do with liars." Bellatrix traced her crooked wand with her long fingers, and looked at Odette. "Don't you?"

Odette's breath hitched in her throat. She knew that Bellatrix wouldn't show her any mercy. Bella didn't care whose blood was spilled, as long as it covered the stones.

"Nothing is wrong, Bella, I swear. I'm simply a little under the weather," Odette breathed.

Bellatrix sucked in her cheeks and took one last look at her sister. "Fine." She snatched the book from her and flipped through the creased pages. "What are you reading?"

Odette froze. It was a muggle book, and she knew how her family reacted to things like this. She quickly grabbed the book from her sister and shoved it under her pillow.

"Odette!" Narcissa scolded. "Why would you do that?"

"I have to go," she said. "Detention. I don't want to be late."

"Why do you have detention?" Narcissa asked.

"For hexing Snape and throwing ink," Odette said.

Bellatrix frowned. "Fine, then. We'll continue this discussion later."

Odette quickly left Narcissa's dorm and to Slughorn's classroom. She entered the room and saw someone else sitting at one of the desks with a sponge in hand. Sirius.

"Ah, hello, Miss Black," Slughorn said cheerily. "You can join Mr. Black in scrubbing the desks. No magic allowed, and sponges are in the front. I'll see you in an hour," he instricted before leaving.

Odette bit the inside of her cheek and pulled one of the sponges out of a soapy bucket. She started scrubbing the desks, and ignored when Sirius bumped into her.

"Never thought I'd see Little Miss Golden Girl in detention," he remarked. "I always thought you were too perfect."

Odette exhaled from her nose and started to scrub harder.

"Unless you aren't the angel Mummy and Daddy think you are," Sirius continued. "Maybe you're just as bad as me. The blood traitor and delinquent. Not to mention I'm gay. But you're probably just as straight as the rest of them, huh? You're too much of a rule follower to be anything else."

Odette whirled to him, causing flecks of water to get on her robes. "What is it, Sirius? Why are you so intent on picking on me, but you're soooo nice when you need my help? Hmm?" Sirius was silent. "Maybe you're not as different from the rest of us than you think."

Sirius' jaw clenched. "At least my sister didn't ditch me for her boyfriend. That must sting, huh, Detty?"

Odette flung her yellow sponge at her cousin, and it hit cheek. The sponge slid down his cheek before landing on the floor with a plop.

"Don't talk about my sister," she hissed. "Or I'll hit you with something a lot more painful than a sponge."

She turned away from him and pulled another sponge out of the bucket.

"I'm sorry," Sirius said a few moments later. "I shouldn't have brought Andromeda up. I know it's a sensitive subject."

Odette continued scrubbing the desk, and without looking up said: "You should be sorry."

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost Reg," Sirius continued. "I'm not as strong as you are, Odette. You're like this insane force of nature that can take down anything in her path. I'm more of a tree that gets cut down. "I'm not the best with metaphors, but you get what I'm saying. You're my cousin, Odette, and we both need someone on our sides."

Odette turned to him and looked him dead in the eyes, her blue irises meeting his grey ones. "What's with the sudden change of heart, Siruis? Why are you so desperate to apologize?"

Sirius looked at the floor and kicked it gently with his foot. "I was being a jerk. I guess I was jealous of you and Andromeda. You and her always seemed to have some sort of a special bond, and I would kill to have that with Reggie."

"You do have that," Odette assured him. "Not with Regulus, maybe, but you have it with James, Remus, and Peter. They're your brothers too, you know."

Sirius smiled. "Yeah. They are."

"Now," Odette said, holding up her sponge, "are you going to help me finish or what?"

Sirius saluted and picked up his sponge. "Yes, ma'am."

+++

Lily was in the Astronomy Tower trying to hide from James Potter. She was flipping through Alice in Wonderland, but she wasn't really paying attention to the words. She was much more interested in what was happening below her.

In the courtyard, Odette was reading on a bench. Lily craned her neck to catch the title, but she kept moving the cover.

Her black hair was waving in the wind, and her green Slytherin scarf was wrapped around her neck. She would make a face when there was something she found disturbing, and she would make a small smile when there was something amusing.

Lily Evans thought Odette Black was much more interesting than Alice. She was so much more mysterious, and not nearly as curious to what lay beyond. If she was, no one knew it. Lily never knew what Odette was thinking; no one did. She was a puzzle waiting to be solved, and Lily was the woman for the job.

She turned her book to the cover page and pulled a pencil out of her robes. She wrote down "Things I Know About Odette Black" before adding a few bullet points below.

- Her middle names are Druella and Lucille
- Sirius and Regulus are her cousins
- Her favorite sister in Andromeda, but no knows really knows
- She's really smart
- She always has her hair pulled back so it doesn't get in her face
- She better suited for Ravenclaw, but she told the hat to put her into Slytherin
- She's a lesbian
- Her best friend is Flaire Persueus
- She reads a lot of muggle books, but she puts different covers on them so no one knows
- She's very reserved, and doesn't open up to just anyone.

Lily smiled to herself before closing the book and slipping her pencil into a pocket. She looked back down at Odette, who looked up into the sky and sighed. Her blue eyes met Lily's green ones, and Lily waved. Odette gave her a small smile.

It was fortunate that Lily was so good at puzzles.

Word Count: 1159

QOTD: What's your first and secondary Hogwarts house?