chapter five.
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SEPTEMBER HAD FLOWN BY AND OCTOBER WAS NOW UPON THEM, and Freya could not deny that this was one of her favorite times of the year. Sometimes, she thought the months of October and November were overlooked by December, due to the holiday season. But, she adored the fall season.
The way the trees hung over the castle in bright hues of red, yellow and orange made everything seem more worthy of being. Even when she was a child, watching the large oak tree on her family's estate change with each season made the fall just a bit more bearable in her so-called "home" as it seemed to only grow colder with the years that passed.
Not to mention, she had always loved warm cups of tea or coffee. Anything warm, really, she liked. Especially when it was pouring rain outside, and she could sit by the window and watch the droplets of water trickle down as she sipped on a cup of cinnamon tea.
This particular Saturday in October, though, was reserved for Hogsmeade. She loved visiting Hogsmeade, and as the first trip of the year, she was especially excited to go with her friends.
"This is such a great escape from the castle." Marlene sighed out dreamily, walking down the cobblestone path that was wedged in between the shops in Hogsmeade. They were all bundled up in jackets and scarves, as there was a slight chill in the air that day.
"I told James we would meet them at The Three Broomsticks." Freya blurted out, thinking back to the conversation she had with James the previous night as they completed homework together in the common room.
"Of course you did." Lily retorted, sending her friend a knowing smirk, to which Freya rolled her eyes at.
"What did you expect me to say? I wasn't going to tell him no, he seemed so excited for the butterbeer." Freya defended, laughing slightly as they walked towards the pub that was a hot-spot for Hogwarts students every time they visited Hogsmeade.
"Or, maybe it's just because you can't say no to him in general." Marlene pointed out teasingly, opening the door to the pub for her two friends, allowing them to go inside before her.
The girls laughed as they walked inside the pub, knowing Marlene was correct with her previous statement. Freya's eyes traveled through the pub, attempting to pick out James, which she did rather quickly.
James smiled softly to himself when he caught her gaze, waving her over and muttering to Sirius to move over so she could sit next to him. Sirius glanced over at Freya as the girls approached, sending her a tight-lipped smile before moving over to make room for her to sit down.
"I'm glad you could make it." James spoke up as Freya sat down, sliding a glass of butterbeer in front of her. "I hope this is what you were going to order." He added, watching as Freya raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise.
"Yeah, actually, a butterbeer sounds great right now. Thanks, James." Freya spoke truthfully, smiling softly up at him while ignoring the looks Lily and Marlene were exchanging from across the table.
"Here, take your jacket off." James offered, helping her slide the jacket off of her shoulders, hanging it on the back of her chair for her afterwards.
"You're being oddly kind to me again. Is there something you need?" Freya asked suspiciously, watching as he hung her jacket while she took a sip of the butterbeer.
"What makes you think I need something?" James asked in a teasing manner, leaning his elbows on the table as he looked over at her, a slight bit of adoration apparent on his face.
"Because you're never this nice without wanting something." Remus cut in, earning an eye-roll from James, who glanced over at his friend, noticing the smirk he was wearing.
"I can be nice!" James defended, glancing over at Freya, noticing that she was trying to suppress her laughter. "What? You really don't think I'm nice?" He asked, glancing over at Sirius for help, who just shrugged, his eyes on Freya, who was carefully wiping her upper lip to get the foam from her drink off.
"James, I'm just saying, you're acting weird today." Freya stated simply, looking up to meet his gaze.
"Well, don't take it for granted then." James retorted, earning a laugh from Freya, which was music to his ears. "Also, you've got a little something right here." He added, motioning to his upper lip, which made Freya's cheeks turn a deep red.
Freya quickly wiped at her upper lip, but James only shook his head, letting out a quiet chuckle.
"Here, just sit still." James muttered, grabbing a napkin and carefully wiping at her lip, smiling slightly at her afterwards. "Now it's gone." He added, pulling his hand away from her face quickly.
"Thanks." Freya spoke quietly, smiling slightly before turning her attention to Marlene, who was talking about how her older brother was working with the ministry.
"He claims that they are all relatively scared of what's to come with the Dark Lord. They keep having to... clean up his attacks on muggles." Marlene explained in a grim tone, playing with her hands as she spoke. Freya could tell she was nervous for her brother, being so close to the Dark Lord's schemes and all, and she wish she could tell her she didn't have to worry, but she knew she couldn't lie like that.
"I bet it will just get worse before it gets better. If it ever gets better." Peter spoke up, his hands wrapped around the glass of butterbeer in front of him.
Freya shifted in her seat slightly, thinking about her future; everything she would be forced to do and become. She hoped more than anything she would at least be able to have fun in her last few years at Hogwarts, and that she wouldn't be constantly thinking about her fate, but she could tell that wasn't going to be the case.
Sirius glanced at Freya, noticing her fixated gaze on her glass of butterbeer. He could practically feel her knee shaking, considering she was sat right beside him; he was surprised James hadn't noticed it, too.
"Does anyone want to go the sweets shop?" Sirius offered, changing the subject to hopefully alleviate a bit of Freya's apparent stress. Most of them nodded quickly, even Freya, who had lifted her gaze to meet Sirius' concerned one.
"I need to stock up on sweets for our dormitory." James blurted out, standing up and putting his jacket on.
Freya tore her gaze from Sirius quickly, standing up to grab her jacket, but James beat her to it.
"Here, allow me." James offered, taking her jacket and helping her put it over her shoulders. Freya blushed slightly as she felt his cold fingers brush across the bit of exposed skin on her shoulders, zipping the jacket up once he was finished.
"Thanks." Freya smiled softly at James, turning around to face him, noticing he had his arm held out for her to take.
"M'lady." James joked, earning a quiet laugh from Freya, who shook her head and took his arm, wrapping her hands around his bicep.
The group of friends enjoyed the rest of the day at Hogsmeade, trying new sweets and laughing when James tripped over a lopsided piece of cobblestone. They ignored the gloom of the conversation they had earlier, convincing themselves that, hopefully, the effect of the events to come would have nothing to do with them.
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WHEN THEY ARRIVED BACK AT HOGWARTS, they were greeted by Dumbledore, who had an envelope in his hands.
"Ms. Driscoll, this arrived for you while you were gone. You might want to teach your owl some manners." Dumbledore suggested, handing Freya the envelope, who smiled sheepishly in return.
"Sorry, Professor." Freya replied, glancing down at the envelope, although she already knew who it was from.
"Another letter from your father? You two could be pen pals at this rate." Marlene spoke up after Dumbledore walked away, glancing over Freya's shoulder at the letter.
"I'll meet you guys in the Great Hall for supper in a bit, alright? I'm just going to go read this real quick." Freya stated simply, offering her friends a small smile before heading into the castle, going to the corridor she knew was almost always empty.
Freya ripped open the envelope, pulling the letter out and scanning it quickly to see what her father had to say.
"Freya,
I see Potions is treating you well.
Do not bother coming home for the holidays, your mother and I will be away.
Think of acquainting yourself with the Black family at some point."
Freya felt a few tears slip from her eyes, although she wasn't quite sure why she was so upset. She knew she would much rather spend Christmas in the castle than at home, but she wished her parents would have shown a bit of regret for not being able to spend it with her. Not to mention, she barely got any praise for her grade in Potions, which, in her eyes, was rather good.
"Freya." Sirius spoke up, approaching her in the corridor, having followed her into the castle from outside.
Freya whipped around, meeting Sirius' concerned gaze for the second time that day.
"Sirius, you really need to stop following me." Freya stated firmly, wiping at the tears that had fallen from her eyes.
"This doesn't really seem like it's 'no big deal', though, Freya." Sirius pointed out, noticing the redness in her eyes and the letter clutched in her hand.
"It's fine. I don't need your help, believe it or not." Freya retorted, to which Sirius shook his head, stepping closer to her cautiously.
"I don't believe you." Sirius replied simply, looking down at Freya, desperately trying to reason with her. "You can trust me." He added in a softer tone, which caused Freya to finally meet his gaze again, shaking her head.
"Sirius, it's not that. I know I can, it's just... I don't want you to be dragged into this. You don't deserve that." Freya explained, blinking back the tears that began to pool in her eyes again. She hated that Sirius was seeing her in such a vulnerable state; that she couldn't put up her usual guard.
"I don't care. Just let me in, Freya. Let me try to help you." Sirius replied, watching as Freya let out a soft sigh, shaking her head.
"I don't want to be a bad person, Sirius. I'm not a bad person. He's trying to make me one, and I can't do anything about it." Freya explained, her voice cracking slightly at the end of her sentence, which made Sirius' face falter slightly. His suspicions of her becoming a Death Eater had been confirmed, and he hated the fact that he had been right.
Sirius carefully reached out to Freya, enveloping her in a tight hug. He could feel her trembling, attempting to hold back tears as she wrapped her arms around his torso.
"We're going to find a way out of this, okay?" Sirius attempted to console Freya, lifting one of his hands up to stroke her hair slowly. "You don't have to agree to this." He added, holding her closely to his body.
"I don't have a choice." Freya whispered, her face pressed into Sirius' chest so he wouldn't see the tears that were rolling down her cheeks, even though she knew he could feel them soak into the fabric of his shirt.
Sirius held Freya for a while in the empty corridor that evening, his warm embrace calming her fears of the future she had been forced into.
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A/N!
i'm in love with sirius black