The Tree of Blacks (English version)

Flying Lesson

"For Sirius. When it comes to Snape he's incapable of reasoning. I wanted to avoid a repeat of the December incident." replied James promptly, giving Alya an eloquent look.

But she didn't stop staring at him reproachfully.

"But you didn't think twice before pointing your wand at my brother! First you defend Sirius and then you try to strike him from behind!" she rebuked him harshly. Her expression had become as hard as granite.

"That was a completely different situation... Sirius was attacking you!"

"Well, Potter, I'm perfectly capable of defending myself against Sirius, as well as anyone else. Even without your help!" asserted Alya, haughtily.

"I can't argue with that. You really are phenomenal with spells!" commented James with sincere admiration, remembering the ease with which the Slytherin had disarmed him and his friend days before.

"Don't try to distract me with your flattery! I mean it, Potter: don't meddle in the problems between Sirius and me! It's none of your business. And don't you dare point your wand at him ever again! Even if my brother throws an Unforgivible Curse at me, you must stay out of it!" Alya's tone had risen a couple of octaves again. She appeared furious, but it was her way of concealing a hidden fear that had worked its way into her heart. The fear that the friendship that bound James and Sirius tightly could be shattered because of her.

Tired of all those recriminations, the Gryffindor surrendered, babbling unwillingly, "Alright, alright, I'll stay away from the Black battle!", raising his arms in surrender.

Both remained silent, peering at each other with glances that brimmed with unspoken words.

James resented the lecture, but he had picked up on the fact that behind the young Black's harsh and abrupt tone lurked a deep apprehension. In her own way, Alya had tried to convey to him how much she had been worried about him.

He couldn't help but look at her fondly, as the girl, as if to confirm the Gryffindor's intuition, approached him. Gently, she grasped his hand that Snape had snatched.

He lifted it and turned it over so that he could better observe her palm. The girl's grey eyes lingered for a long time on the fully healed skin, now free of gashes or blood.

Still very gently, Alya touched with the fingertip of her index finger the spot where the shadow of a scar was visible, the only remnant of the curse. The contact was light, but it gave James an intense shiver of pleasure, which rose from his hand, from the point where Alya had touched him, all the way down his back.

A light breeze rose from the forest and a sweet smell of lavender suddenly invaded his nostrils. It was the scent of her, her hair and her skin. James inhaled it deeply and felt his heartbeat suddenly accelerate as he stared at the maiden, all focused on inspecting the veins in her hand.

"That Snape - You shouldn't have let him get off so easily! He deserves to be punished!" she sighed, lividity back in her voice. But she wasn't angry with James. Not any more, at least. Her anger, now, was directed solely at the greasy Slytherin, whose malicious grimace that had crossed his yellowish face as he boasted in front of Mulciber and Avery that he had hurt James, Alya remembered all too well. The desire for revenge made her blood boil.

"Believe me, Black, no one wants to see Snape in trouble more than me, but I didn't want to risk it. Safeguarding Sirius from his vicious reactions was my priority." reiterated James, who had meanwhile released his hand from Alya's grasp to caress her cheek. With a fine gesture, he slid down to below her chin, lifting her face so that she could look up into his face. When the Slytherin's silver gaze locked into the lenses of her round glasses, James had to suppress the burning urge to kiss her.