/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟒.𝟙𝟙.𝟣

"and again she felt alone in the presence of her old antagonist, life." ~ Virginia Woolf

~april 1975~

Artemis was sitting on her usual couch in the common room, flipping through a bridal magazine, when she felt a shift in the cushions as Sirius sat down next to her. She didn't look up, but adjusted herself to make more room for him. He leaned over her shoulder and pointed to a bridesmaid's dress in the top left corner of the page. "I like... that one," he said, and rested his other arm on the cushion behind Artemis's head.

She smiled. "Do you really?"

"Yeah, why?"

"My mum ordered it for me two days ago," said Artemis, flipping the page in the magazine. "It's my favorite too and it matches the colors of her wedding."

Sirius leaned back, his arm still partially around Artemis. "Ahhh, that's right. The wedding."

Artemis made a noncommitted noise and closed the magazine. "Yeah, the wedding. Anyway, I never properly apologized for slapping you in the common room that one night."

"Old news," Sirius said, waving his hand as if to wave the conversation away. "We're all good now. Hey, did you hear Marlene slept with my cousin?"

"Old news," Artemis copied him, shifting to look up at his face. "Which, by the way, I assume you'll help me get some revenge on your dear cousin?"

Sirius grinned and ruffled Artemis's hair. "Your wish is my command- I mean, as much of a shame as it would be to... I dunno... slip bleach into her shampoo?"

"Send her a false letter telling her she was granted Warlock status?"

"Find someone dumb enough to date her and then have him break her heart?"

The two laughed, mischief etched across their faces. Sirius's laughter faded to a kind smile. "In all seriousness, though, I wanted to talk about, you know, the fight?"

Artemis groaned. "That's all anyone wants to talk about."

"Just... you know the whole school's talking about Percy Goyle's secret sister, right?"

Artemis rolled her eyes. "No, Sirius, I thought all of the people following me around in the hallways wanted my autograph."

"I just wanted to know what you were planning on doing about it," Sirius said, raising his hands in innocence.

Artemis shrugged. "Do about it? Nothing. I'm just going to let it run its course. It's Percy's last year here, anyways, so I'll only have to deal with it for a few more weeks."

"Fair enough," Sirius said, nodding his head. "Now, lemme see that magazine again."

"Why, interested in the dresses?"

"Just the models," said Sirius, knowing it would annoy Artemis.

She backhanded him in the chest, then re-opened the magazine and leaned over so Sirius could see. "You're disgusting, Sirius."

Across the common room, Frank was gearing up for the quidditch house cup taking place that afternoon. "So remember, Gid, you get the quaffle you pass it to-"

"You or James immediately, I know, Mitch has said it, like, a hundred times," Gideon said, but he was bouncing with excitement.

Mitch joined them at the sound of his name. "You boys ready? This is it. The big one."

"Last game, McKinnon," James said, pounding his captain on the back. "Don't worry, we'll do you proud."

"We'll crush Slytherin like-" Frank started, but he was sidetracked by Alice coming down from her dormitory in a pair of short red shorts and a Gryffindor t-shirt. "Oi- Fortescue!" Frank called, unable to help himself.

Alice grinned and crossed the common room to face Frank. "What's up? You ready?"

"Wish me luck, and I will be," said Frank, tilting his head to smile at her.

Alice's hair slipped from her shoulders as she threw her head back and laughed. "Fine, good luck not falling off your broom with that thick skull of yours." She reached up to mess with Frank's hair.

"Hey, that was harsh!" Frank complained, brushing her off and fixing her hair hurriedly, but he couldn't keep the wild grin off his face. "Just promise you'll cheer me on."

"I always do," Alice said lightly, and pranced off to join Dorcas in hyping up Emmeline.

Before the game, Artemis tracked down Patricia behind the stands with a group of friends. "Hey," she said softly, approaching the group with caution. "Can I have a word?"

Patricia shrugged and slipped through the crowd to walk with Artemis. "What's up?"

Artemis stared down at the muddy ground, the memory of the dirt splattering over her face after the fight with her brother still all-too-present in her mind. "Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for breaking up with you."

"Trying to win me back?" Patricia said with a short laugh.

"No, no," said Artemis, shaking her head, her expression deadly serious. "I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry. And I shouldn't have done it like that- with no warning, you know? It wasn't fair to you. I just wanted you to know I wasn't... using you... you know, experimenting or anything. I genuinely had a good time with you."

"Then why'd you break up with me?" Patricia didn't sound sad, just confused.

Artemis shrugged warily. "My friends say I have problems with commitment."

Patricia snorted. "Sounds about right."

"Look, I just wanted to apologize-"

"I know," said Patricia, stopping in her tracks and wheeling around to face Artemis. "You've said it, like, ten times now. I get it. We're cool."

"Are we?"

"Yeah, we're fine, but I've moved on. I'm dating Harlem Byers now."

Artemis raised her eyebrows. "Really? That fast?"

"Maybe you're not the only one with 'commitment issues," Patricia said, putting the words in air quotes. Then, she flipped her red hair over her shoulder and turned to head back to her friends.

Artemis stared after her, her mouth slightly ajar. "Yeah," she muttered to herself. "Yeah, I deserved that."

The quidditch house cup was one of the biggest events of the school year. The sky was darkened by clouds as everyone in the school filed into the stands, but nobody was deterred by the likelihood of rain. Artemis joined Sirius, Remus, and Peter under Peter's enormous umbrella and took a 'Pack it, Potter' sign from Sirius. All three of the boys had vibrant red and gold paint on their faces and Peter had even gotten Mary to paint a Gryffindor lion on his forehead. "How'd that go?" Sirius asked, jutting his chin to a few stands below where Patricia was standing with her friends.

"Only a little brutal," Artemis said with a shrug. "She's got a new girlfriend now, so I think she's okay."

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, imagine that, someone being able to live without the great Artemis Blake in their life."

"Oh, shut up," Artemis scolded.

Thunder boomed ahead just as the match kicked off, but the Gryffindor team only seemed to fly with more intensity, hoping to win the match before the storm got too bad. "Go James!" Remus shouted as James got possession of the quaffle and wove his way through the Slytherin players to score the first goal of the match.

The crowd went wild. Artemis jumped up and down in the stands, shouting and cheering with the boys. Marlene scored the second goal and Gryffindor was ahead by twenty points. "Yeah, Frank!" Artemis screamed, waving her banner in the air as large raindrops splattered on the umbrella.

Slytherin was fighting back with all they had, but there was no question that Gryffindor had the strongest team in the school that year. Artemis and Sirius shouted their voices hoarse with every goal James and Frank made and every time Mitch made a save. "Come on, Marly!" Artemis roared, her throat cracking painfully. She didn't care. Marlene had just spotted the snitch and was diving at full speed, the Slytherin seeker just behind her.

Sirius's eyes widened and he grabbed onto Artemis's sleeve in excitement. "She's got it! She's got it!"

Marlene's hand closed around the snitch and she pulled out of her dive just in time to land gracefully on the ground, holding her fist up triumphantly. The Slytherin seeker face-planted not two feet from her, but she didn't pay him any attention. She was beaming, staring up at the tumultuous crowd with sheer pride covering her face, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Marlene! Marlene! Marlene!" Artemis started the chant and the people around her followed suit as Gryffindor stormed down from the stands to hoist Marlene up onto their shoulders. Artemis found James in the crowd and threw her arms around her. "You did it! You won!"

"We won!" James shouted, throwing one arm around Artemis and reaching out to pull Peter in with the other. "We won! We won!"

Rain soaked the cheering crowd but nobody payed it any notice. Everyone started back up to the castle, talk of a raging party in the common room soaring between the Gryffindor students. Artemis followed the group, but quickly lost sight of James and Sirius in the hoards of people heading across the grounds.

Then, Mitch McKinnon was at her side. "Great match, huh?"

Artemis grinned at him. "It was fantastic. You save every goal."

"Not every one," Mitch said in an attempt to be humble. "But most of them, yeah."

His hair was plastered to his forehead with rain and his robes were soaked, but he was smiling at her like she was the only person he could see. He's a seventh year, Artemis reminded herself. This is ridiculous. All the same, her eyes softened. "Not that I could tell," she said, smiling. "Your playing was amazing."

"Oh yeah?"

Artemis felt breathless, still riding the high from the match. "Yeah," she said softly.

Rain dripped through the cracks under the bleachers, but Artemis didn't care. She couldn't even feel the coldness of her clothes gripping her skin under Mitch's hands moving over her waist, up and down her back, through the tangles of her dripping hair. She was breathless as her lips moved over his, the thought of pulling apart never once crossing her mind. She wanted more. She gripped at his quidditch robes and pushed his hair from his face as he moved down to kiss her neck. She let out a breathy sigh as her fingers intertwined in the hair at the back of his head.

Mitch's hand slid between her robes and her shirt, sliding over the wet fabric and moving upwards. Artemis's breath caught in her throat and her lips collided with his again, pulling him closer and closer. "Art," he breathed, one hand cupping the side of her face.

"Art?!" a different voice came from behind them and Artemis leapt back, suddenly snapped out of her reverie. Marlene, Lily, and Mary were standing side by side, staring in horror at Mitch and Artemis. Marlene's mouth was open and her brow was furrowed in anger. "Oh, you've reached a new low, Artemis," she snarled. "My brother? My fucking brother?!"

"Marlene," Artemis groaned, pushing past Mitch to get to Marlene, but the girls had already turned and started quickly back to the castle.

Artemis tried to run after them, but then they were through the large oak front doors and out of sight. She stopped walking, staring after her friends, all of the elation she'd felt after the game seeping out of her like air from a balloon. She stood stalk still in the rain for a long time, misery sinking into her mind. Then, with heavy steps, she continued back up to the castle to try and make amends.

The party in the common room was fully raging when Artemis climbed through the portrait hole. A few people tried to stop her and offer her drinks, but she brushed them off, clambering up the stairs to the girls' dormitory and hoping with all her might she'd find her friends there. She could apologize- tell them it was an accident- a one time thing. God, what had she been thinking?

When she reached the door of her dormitory, she reached out and took the knob, turning it. It didn't move. "Locked," she muttered, and leaned her head against the closed door. "Of course." She raised a fist and banged on the door. "Marlene? Marly? Come on, let me in. I can explain everything, Marly." No answer. "It was a mistake! I'm sorry!" Still, nothing. She tried the door again. It wouldn't budge. She pulled out her wand. "Alohamora." She tried again. Still, nothing. There must have been some protection on the dormitory doors to ward off unwanted guests. "Shit," Artemis murmured under her breath. "Shit." Then, she turned and trudged off down the hallway.

~

"That was awesome," Remus slurred as he followed Sirius, James, and Peter up to their dormitory after the party. "Bloody fucking awesome."

James turned to Remus, grinning ear to ear. "How much did you have to drink?"

"So much, Jamie. So, so much." Remus leaned against Sirius's shoulder and Sirius wrapped an arm around him so he wouldn't fall, laughing.

"I think I like you drunk, Remus," he said, supporting him on their way down the hallway.

Remus giggled. "Hopefully not too much."

James, Sirius, and Peter all roared with laughter. "You need to drink more often, Remus, this is great content," said James as they reached the door of their dormitory. "I mean... oh." He'd swung the door open and the boys all crowded into the room. James immediately crossed over to Sirius's bed, where a figure was lying on her stomach, hair dark with water sprawled over the pillow. "Shit."

Sirius lowered Remus into his bed and then joined James at the foot of his own. "Why'd she pick mine?" he groaned. "She's getting the pillow all wet."

"Oh, shut up," said Peter, and sat down gently beside Artemis on the bed. He reached out and shook her shoulder lightly. "Art?"

"Hey- Art?" James said, his hand hovering over her shoulder, unsure whether to shake her awake or not.

"Hey, Art, you're getting my bed all wet," said Sirius. Remus held a hand up from his own bed, like he was asking a question in class. Sirius looked at him in amusement for a second, and then said, "Yes, Mr. Lupin?"

"That could be taken in a number of ways," Remus said, and then his breathing got heavy as he fell asleep.

Sirius stifled laughter as James and Peter continued to wake Artemis up. She opened her eyes, then slowly sat up and brushed her hair from her shoulders. "Huh?"

"Hey, what're you doing here?" James asked softly, kneeling in front of her as Sirius took the space on the bed on her other side, across from Peter. "Why weren't you at the party?"

Artemis looked confused for a second and then, to the boys' horror, her eyes filled with tears. "I fucked up, James," she said, and then buried her face in Sirius's shoulder and sobbed.

Sirius's eyes widened and he stared at James with no idea what to do. James jerked his head towards Artemis, sending a silent message. Sirius only looked more confused, but he awkwardly put an arm around Artemis's shoulders and patted her back. "Uh... no... I'm sure... I'm sure you didn't," he said, still looking like he'd just seen a ghost.

"Yeah, Art, what happened?" asked James, propping his elbows on his knees and looking at Artemis in concern.

"If this is about getting my bed wet, it's really no big deal," Sirius said, and James reached out to punch him in the leg. "Ouch! Okay, okay, forget the bed. What'd you do, Art?"

Artemis raised her tearful face from Sirius's shoulder, but leaned into his side, making him look even more uncomfortable. "I made out with Mitch McKinnon and now everyone's mad at me and Marlene won't let me in our dormitory."

The boys were silent for a long moment. "Oh, so you really did fuck up," said Sirius.

"Sirius!" Peter scolded, and put a comforting hand on Artemis's shoulder. "Look, it was just one time, right? I'm sure it'll all blow over."

James nodded and gave Artemis what seemed to be an encouraging smile. "Exactly. Look, why don't you just stay here tonight?"

"You can take my bed, seeing as it's already soaked," Sirius muttered.

"Again," Remus mumbled from his bed, "-could be taken a number of ways."

"And you can borrow some dry clothes, okay?" said James. "And we'll help you figure everything out in the morning."

Artemis gave them a wounded smile and wiped at her nose. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Yeah," said James. "Here." He stood up and crossed to his trunk, where he rifled around for a bit before coming up with a pair of sweatpants and a huge Puddlemere United t-shirt.

Artemis stood up, much to Sirius's relief, and took the clothes. "I'm just gonna go... change in the bathroom real quick."

"Yeah, you do that," said Sirius. When she closed the door behind her, he turned to James and Peter. "Think she's alright?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you," James said with a soft laugh.

Sirius shrugged and raised his hands in surrender. "I was only breaking the tension! So what do we do?"

James thought for a moment. "We let her stay in here until Marlene comes around. And none of us should get involved. Let Artemis deal with it, she wouldn't want us doing anything."

"Right," said Sirius, turning back to his bed and flipping the pillow to the dry side. "I'm gonna sleep in my bed, Art can take the dry one." He collapsed into his bed. "If she's not out by the time I fall asleep, tell her there's spare blankets in the closet."

"Yeah, I'll do that," said James, falling back onto his own bed. "Man... what a mess."