April 29th - Room of Requirement
Ellie and Nephera were hanging out in the room of requirement, enjoying the peace and quiet that came with the secret room. It had morphed into a small space with two hammocks hanging from the ceiling, each girl occupying one.
"Did the hat ever consider anything other than Hufflepuff?" asked Nephera, the weed in her system making her ask the most random of questions
"Where did that come from?" asked the blonde, but the brunette just shrugged "Not really, my sorting was over in a second. Yours took a bit longer than that, right?"
"Yeah," sighed the Slytherin "Believe it or not, I was almost a Gryffindor,"
Ellie snorted, "Nephera Winchester, a Gryffindor. I would've paid to see that,"
"Bullied the hat out of it," she laughed, "I told it that I'd set in on fire if it dared do so,"
"So you always did threaten your way through,"
"Like father like daughter, right?" joked the Slytherin
"Don't make jokes like that," insisted the Hufflepuff, but Nephera only rolled her eyes in response "Oh, and please don't hate me, but I invited Lily, Marlene and Alice,"
Nephera stood up abruptly "Why the hell-"
"Because Lily's dating James, and frankly, she's a good person," stated the blonde "And I'm getting tired of the back-and-forth between you and Marlene"
As if the sound of their own names had summoned them, the three girls walked into the room, and three more hammocks appeared instantly. Ellie greeted them, the blonde being liked by all of the Gryffindors, while Nephera rolled another blunt, knowing that she'd need it.
Alice, Ellie, and Lily immediately started conversing with each other, while Nephera and Marlene stayed as far away as they could, brooding. It was clear that neither of the two wanted to be there.
Alice looked around, and sighed "They're not even looking at each other," she whispered
"Great," spat Lily "This was all for nothing,"
"Look, if Neph and Sirius could become friends, so can those two," stated the Hufflepuff determinedly
A deck of cards appeared on the table, and the two Gryffindors looked at the blonde, shooting her a questioning glance "Poker. It's Nephera's favorite and she's always in a better mood when she wins something,"
Lily laughed, "I'm not playing with real money, Winchester's going to win, we all know this,"
"Your call," said the pixie-haired witch "Marls, Winchester, come here,"
The two girls looked at each other before approaching the table that had appeared in the middle of the room, sitting on opposite chairs.
"What are we doing?" asked the blonde Gryffindor
"Poker," replied Alice, shuffling the cards expertly
Nephera grinned at that. It was undoubtedly Ellie's idea, the Hufflepuff knew how much she loved the game, but it had worked nevertheless, for it already put her in better spirits.
They played with money, despite Lily's initial hesitation. Soon, it became clear to Nephera why the redhead didn't want to bet too much. The girl was absolutely horrible at the game, every move she made or wanted to make, was evident in her face. She folded first, which came to no surprise for anyone on the table.
Next, was Alice, who gave up after Nephera raised the bet too high. The pixie-haired witch's tell was evident, she drummed her fingers on the edge of the table every time she lied, and it was clear that her cards weren't good at all.
Ellie backed out third, and soon, it was only Nephera and Marlene still playing. The Gryffindor was harder to read than the Slytherin thought, and she stared at her intently trying to figure out whether she was bluffing or not.
"Just give up at this point, Winchester," said Marlene "It'll make it less painful,"
"Is there a reason why you'd want me to quit?" asked Nephera, raising an eyebrow "Perhaps a bad hand?"
"If you're so sure, then why don't you raise?"
Nephera shook her head and did just that, looking at the girl in front of her intently. The money wasn't a question, after sending her parents to Azkaban, she had full control over the Winchester vault at Gringotts, so she decided to raise the stakes significantly.
"Riase you fifty galleons," she said
Nephera's cards weren't the best, not by a longshot, but she'd be damned if she gave up in front of Marlene McKinnon of all people. She noticed the blonde look down at her cards for a brief second and tightening her grip.
Marlene was stumped. Poker was one of her favorite games, and she rarely lost, although she'd never played against Nephera before. She never believed what they said about the girl being a stone wall when it came to revealing anything until that point.
"Alright, maybe we should lower the bets," said Lily, sensing the tension rise in the room
"Shut up," both girls growled at the same time, looking at each other and scoffing afterwords
"Raise you sixty," said Marlene
"I don't like this," muttered Alice
"Don't worry, it's working," replied Ellie in a hushed voice
The two of them kept raising the stakes, glaring at each other, although by that point, the frowns had turned to smirks.
"Call," yeilded Marlene first, matching the previous bet
The two showed their cards, and it became evident that neither of them had a good hand. In the end, to everyone's surprise, Marlene ended up winning, and to everyone's bigger surprise, Nephera didn't seem too angry at that.
"You're not that bad," mused the Slytherin "At poker, I mean,"
Marlene chuckled "Well, you're not so bad either. Especially when I'm taking all your money,"
"Holy shit it did work," exclaimed Alice
"Told you," replied Ellie smugly
"You're like the Winchester whisperer," added Lily, before all three tuned back to the conversation of the two girls at the table
"Don't get too excited, I'll be winning my money back soon,"
"Oh no, love, I'm smart enough to know how to quit while I'm ahead," replied Marlene, shaking her head "But you know, none of this would've happened if it wasn't for them,"
The Gryffindor and the Slytherin turned to look at the other three girls, who instantly got up after they saw their expressions, "Now, now, we just wanted the fighting to end,"
"Oh don't worry," said Nephera approaching them
"It did," concluded Marlene, following after the Slytherin
The students of Hogwarts had seen many weird things over the years, but Marlene McKinnon and Nephera Winchester chasing Alice Fortesque, Lily Evans, and Ellie Adams around the grounds was definitely one of them.
---
May 3rd - Hogwarts
Nephera and Sirius were on their way to the library, albeit walking very slowly and making as many pitstops as possible. With exams only a month away, Lily was on a warpath, making everyone meet in the library almost every day for intense study sessions almost no one wanted to attend.
"I'm ready to ditch this whenever you are," suggested Sirius, dreading the hours he would have to spend at the library
"And have to suffer through Evan's whining? No thank you," she replied
"I thought you two were fine now,"
"We are, doesn't make her voice less annoying," said Nephera nonchalantly
Sirius laughed loudly at that, putting a hand around the girl's shoulders. Nephera noticed a lot of people sending the two of them dirty looks, most of the girls staring at her while most of the guys staring at Sirius.
"You know I get stopped about ten times a day by horny guys asking me to back off of you?" he commented
"Really?" she said, raising an eyebrow "I, on the other hand, am getting harassed daily by your little Fanclub,"
"What can I say, love, I have influence,"
Neither of them knew why the idea of them being together appealed to them so much, nor did they know why Sirius's hand around Nephera's shoulders felt so natural.
What Sirius did know, however, was that h liked having her all to himself. It felt easy, being around her, and he never found himself being bored. Their once malicious arguments had developed into playful banter and swift responses, and he both loved that dynamic.
"Nephera!" the girl heard a familiar voice, and she turned around to see her two favorite twins coming down the corridor
"Nephera?" muttered Sirius to himself, tightening his arm around her shoulders and not liking the fact that the guy in front of him was calling her by her first name
He knew of the Prewett twins, they had graduated two years ago. The two of them were quite popular, pranksters, just like the marauders, but Sirius always thought he was better. He had forgotten about them until that Easter when he saw them at St. Mungos'. The Gryffindor remembered how eager they were to accompany Nephera back to the manor so she could pack, but he didn't know when they had reached first-name basis.
"Fabian, Gideon!" exclaimed Nephera, shrugging Sirius's grip on her with some difficulty and meeting the twins halfway, pulling them into a hug
Sirius felt his blood boil when he saw that. He knew Nephera was never one for physical affection, she rejected everyone but him, for some reason, and he liked being the only one she allowed to hug her. Well, he supposed, him and those twins. The feeling increased when he saw one of them grip her a little too low and a little too tight around the waist.
"Evening mates," he said, approaching them and ending the hug, "What are you doing here?"
"Black," said Gideon, greeting the teenager "We're just here to talk with Dumbledore,"
Fabian continued for his brother, looking down at the girl in front of him, "You're welcome to join, Nephera,"
The raven-haired boy hated the fact that the Prewetts were in on whatever it was that Dumbledore had Nephera doing, and he wasn't. He knew it was dangerous, and he wanted to be the one that was helping her, not them. After all, they had worked on the journal together, and in his opinion, they made a very good team.
He pulled her by the wrist closer to him, "I'm sure she is, but unfortunately, we have somewhere to be,"
The Slytherin looked at him, perplexed as she pulled her arm out of his grasp, "Yeah, forgive me if I chose them over studying in the library," she laughed "Are you sure Dumbledore won't mind?"
Fabian put his arm around her shoulders, looking at her pointedly "And since when do you care about what he says?"
"Point taken," she stated, turning away from Sirius and walking with the other two in the direction of Dumbledore's office, "I'll see you later, Sirius," she called out, not turning to look at him
The Gryffindor didn't take his eyes off of the three of them until they turned the corner, at which point he truly hoped looks actually did kill. He had never been jealous before in his life, least of all over a girl, because he knew that there was always another one waiting around the corner.
As though someone had heard him, a brunette girl walked up to him, "Hey Sirius... I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmead with me next weekend?"
He turned to look at her, shooting her his signature smirk and running a hand through his hair, "No need to wait until then, sweetheart, let's go grab a butterbeer now,"
"You- you mean sneak out?"
"It's what I do best," he answered cheekily, grabbing her bag for her and leading her out of the school
Inside Dumbledore's office, the atmosphere was relaxed since Moody had just been informing them about how the Aurors had managed to apprehend three more Death Eaters.
"Winchester," said Madeye "Do the names Smith, Wilson, and Davies ring a bell?"
Nephera frowned, raking her brain, "They're definitely not from the Scared Twenty Eight, I've never heard of them. Why?"
Gideon answered before the older Auror could, "They were the ones we caught last week,"
The Slytherin nodded, "They're definitely not high level, I suppose they were newer recruits, doubt they know anything important. What did you say you caught them doing?"
"Breaking into a house, half-blood family," answered Dumbledore
"I was right," said the girl "They are low-level, that sounds like an initiation of some sort,"
"Elaborate," grunted Madeye
"If I was Voldemort, I'd have my followers follow through with some sort of task, testing their loyalty. The family wasn't known targets, were they?"
"She's right," commented Fabian, "They were random,"
"Great, so this psychopath has his followers killing random people for sport," huffed his twin "Can we give them veritaserum, question them? They could've always heard something,"
"Veritaserum is regulated by the ministry," replied the Headmaster "We know they have spies in there, it's likely they'll be dead before we can give it to them, even if they don't know anything,"
"We could still try," said Gideon, standing by his suggestion, "Worst case scenario, a couple of Death Eaters end up dead,"
Dumbledore turned his gaze towards the redhead, "One should not dismiss human life like that, Mr. Prewett, even if they are fighting for the wrong side,"
"They do!" shouted Fabian, but simmered down after Moody sent him a harsh glare
"They're right," stated Nephera in support of her friends "We're never going to win this war if we don't bend our morals a little bit,"
"This conversation is pointless," interrupted Moody, "Dumbledore, you know as well as I do that the ministry will never waste veritaserum on the lower-levels,"
The brunette huffed, shaking her head. They keep forgetting who they're dealing with, "I can get my hands on some," she shrugged, and everyone turned to look at her surprised
"You can?" asked the Headmaster, looking at her intently, to which she only rolled her eyes
"I've brewed it before, back in the second year. I'd do it again, but it takes a full month. I have some contacts, they could give me a vial in a week, at most,"
"That's illegal," pointed out Gideon, although the smirk in his face said that he didn't object to the idea at all
"What are you going to do, arrest me?" she shot back, knowing that there was no chance that would happen
"I can't wait until you work for me, kid," said Moody, and the Slytherin shot him a small grin, "Dumbledore, what do you think?"
The older wizard looked around the room, taking in everyone's expression. He knew Nephera had connections, but he hadn't realized just how extensive they were until that moment, "May I ask who it is that you'll be contacting?"
Nephera felt a pressure inside her mind, someone was trying to get through her Occlumency and she strengthened it in defense, it wasn't hard to guess who, "You know I can't tell you that, Professor. And you know I'll never let you inside my head,"
Moody grunted, while the Fabian grinned and Gideon let out a low whistle, "Very well, Mrs. Winchester, contact whoever it is. And let's keep this between us,"
Everyone nodded, and Moody flooed out with a final nod towards Nephera. Gideon followed after, but Fabian decided to stay and visit Rosmerta down at the pub.
Once they finally left Dumbledore's office, and the statue of the Gargoyle sealed itself shut behind them, the redhead let out a loud laugh.
"Holy shit, you're amazing," he said "You even got Moody to like you,"
"I'm good with words," she shrugged "And that is an interesting bracelet,"
Fabian looked down to his wrist, where a thin silver chain with a small crystal was attached. He shook his head, wondering when the girl would see it. In reality, he had visited the Hawaiian witch in Kockturn Alley more times than he'd like to admit. The witch, only one year older than him, had gifted him the bracelet one time, saying that the crystal served as protection.
"Yeah," he blushed "Lani's a great person, although slightly scare sometimes,"
Nephera smiled at the use of the nickname. She had seen Fabia looking at the witch when she introduced them, but she didn't think he'd continue seeing her.
"She really is," she said "How are you getting to Hogsmead?"
"You didn't think your little group of Gryffindors were the only ones who knew about the secret passages, did you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow
They said goodbye, promising to meet sometime soon, and Nephera turned to go back to her dorm, while Fabian walked towards the statue.
Sirius's date with the girl had gone fine if the multiple hickeys littering his neck were any indication. The girl had left some time ago, and now he was sitting at the Three Broomsticks, drinking some friewhiskey.
As much as he hated to admit it, all the time he had spent with Andriana, if he remembered her name correctly, he was thinking about Nephera.
Nephera hugging the Prewet.
His arms around her waist.
Her ditching him for them.
On top of that, he still couldn't figure out when they had become so close. As far as he knew, Nephera hadn't been writing letters to them, nor was she receiving any. And she hadn't mentioned seeing them anywhere.
"Rosie, how are you?" came a voice, and Sirius turned around to see none other than Prewett, Fabian, he guessed even though it was hard to tell, walk inside the pub
Pouring himself another shot from the bottle, he did everything he could to block the sound of his voice from his head. It seemed impossible, though, after Rosemerta squealed when she saw the redhead, why is it that everyone liked the guy so much?
He continued drinking, which probably wasn't the best idea, especially when he saw Fabian leave and decided to follow after him.
"Prewett," he yelled catching up to the older boy
"Black, can I help you?" said the redhead, taking a few steps back after he noticed how drunk Sirius was
Even when Fabian was still in school, he knew of Sirius's reputation of being able to hold his own in a fight, and he didn't want to test the theory. However, he too had drunk a few drinks too many, so instead of apparating, as he should've, he decided to stay and provoke the boy.
"You can, actually, what was it that you wanted with Nephera today?" he asked
The older wizard sighed, "I can't tell you that,"
That's what did it for Sirius. He was tired of the secrecy, he was tired of other people thinking they know Nephera better than he did. So, he did exactly what the drunk haze in his mind told him, he pushed the boy back into a wall.
"You can tell me everything when it concerns my best friend and her being in danger,"
He wouldn't tell anyone this, but the title 'best friend' left a sour taste in his mouth.
Fabian pushed him back, putting some distance between them, "You're not the only one that cares about her," he stated "And if you want to learn so badly, ask her, she's a big girl, she can make her won choices,"
"Quit talking like you know her!" yelled the Gryffindor,
"I do know her,"
The insinuation made Sirius angrier than he should've, as wrapped a hand around his neck and pushed him roughly against the wall, "You don't know shit, mate,"
The Prewet twins were not known for their decision-making, because if they were, Fabian would've stopped talking by that point.
"I know where she was the four days she wasn't at Hogwarts," he grinned
Sirius landed the first punch, and he couldn't find it in himself to feel sorry.
A/N
3.3k words
honestly I was stuck and then jamespotterisadilff commented the idea about Fabian, so thank you for that lmao
don't forget to comment and vote!
xx