Alya Merope Black, twin to Sirius, beloved sister to Regulus and daughter to Walburga and Orion Black.
The complete opposite to her twin Sirius, Alya is the typical pureblood Slytherin, full of ambition and arrogance.
But something strange is going...
After an all-too-quiet day, devoid of the dreaded Valentine's Day slushes, Alya was enjoying the warmth of the fire gushing from the marble fireplace in the Slytherin common room.
With a lazy glance, she studied the time marked by the snake-shaped hands of the wall clock.
It was almost ten o'clock. All her companions had already taken refuge in their respective rooms, but Alya had remained where she was, placidly sitting on the black leather sofa. Even Philippa, Melyssa and Beth had preceded her. After all, it was young Black herself who had given them such instructions. That evening she and Maynard Nott had arranged to meet in front of the sumptuous marble fireplace; the boy's plan was to spend a few romantic moments with his algid and beautiful girlfriend.
Alya had escaped with relief the cloying tantrums she feared she would receive during the day, but she could not escape that appointment. A deliberate refusal on the Valentine's Day would surely have sent Nott over the edge.
Alya wasn't enthusiastic about the evening programme that awaited her, yet she reluctantly consented to the fate that her role as fiancée imposed on her.
At ten o'clock on the dot, Maynard Nott appeared in all his finery in the common room, wrapped in an impeccable black suit.
Alya, who hadn't minded such finery, hadn't bothered to change her clothes, remaining in her school uniform.
"Forgive me for keeping you waiting," he exclaimed, his voice gallant and set.
"You're right on time, Maynard. As always," Alya reassured him, casting a glance at the wall clock. If Nott had one virtue, it was surely his ability to arrive on time, smashing the minute, to any appointment.
Only Quidditch slowed him down.
"Anyway, you didn't need to dress up like this. We're in our common room, not in a noblemen's restaurant," she scolded him, considering her knight's attire excessive.
But Nott answered her with a winking, haughty smile.
"Well, we are noble people," the boy pointed out. "Besides, it's Valentine's Day and I wanted to make this evening special... I wanted to surprise you." declared Nott, going to sit down next to Alya, encircling her shoulders with a gesture that shone a little too confidently.
"It won't be a nice tailored suit which will leave me speechless," the girl teased him, in a defiant mood.
"I suspected as much," agreed Nott, with a grin. He slipped his hand into one of his trouser pockets and pulled out a small package, wrapped in shimmering emerald-green wrapping paper and bundled with silver ribbon, a clear reminder of the Slytherin colours.
"For you." he announced triumphantly, handing the package to the girl, who stared at him dumbfounded. Even though it was Valentine's Day and she knew that boyfriends were in the habit of exchanging romantic thoughts, she hadn't given the slightest thought to procuring a gift to give to her knight. Part of her had also hoped not to receive one herself.
