"that was her magic: she could see the sun even on the darkest days"
*
About a week later, Eva lay awake in her bed, unable to shut her mind off. After her conversation with James before tryouts, she couldn't stay mad. While she wanted to hurt Sirius, she was hurting too much to stay away from him.
She checked the clock. 1:42. He'll definitely be awake. However he managed it, Sirius operated on about five hours of sleep regularly. She learned that last year when she'd fallen asleep in the common room studying, woke up two hours later, and found him as alert as before.
Eva quietly rolled out of her bed and slipped on a robe. She was halfway to the door before she heard Lily's voice behind her, muffled through pillows.
"It's about time."
"What? Go back to bed."
"What's going on?" Marlene whispered through a yawn. "Are you finally gonna talk to him?"
"Is everyone rooting for this?" Eva asked, exasperated.
"If by 'everyone' you mean all of our friends, then yes." Lily sat straight up in bed. "You two are making it really awkward to hang out with the whole group."
"You know what else is awkward?" Eva asked, ready to turn the attention off of her in one perfectly-timed comment. "The tension between you and James this year."
Marlene burst out laughing while Lily's cheeks burned as red as her hair. "What?"
"Oh, that was perfect!" Marlene said through gasps. "Perfect! I'm not going to get out of bed, but I'd high five you if I was."
"Thank you." She curtsied.
"That arrogant toerag? Over my dead body!" Lily buried herself back under the covers. "You two are insane!"
"Deny it all you want, but just so you know, there's money at stake, so don't let me down."
Her head shot up, her bottle-green irises bright in the dark. "Money? You two are betting on this?"
"Not just us," Marlene said, grinning. "Eva and I have five Galleons on the two of you. The boys are in on it, too, and if Sirius was telling the truth, McGonagall and Dumbledore have a bet, too."
"No!!! Stop it!"
"I'll see you two in a bit. Happy arguing."
Eva left her two best friends to bicker about James Potter being a "stupid idiot whose stupid glasses barely fit on his stupid head" and crept down the stairs, being extra careful not to trip. Of course, she was being so careful that she missed the last step and went tumbling to the ground.
"Ow," she muttered.
"Are you okay?" Sirius pulled her to her feet and glanced over her as if she'd been brutally injured. She noticed he still wore his school robes from the day and felt self-conscious in her robe even though he wouldn't care.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just tripped."
He let out a low, bark-like chuckle. "I don't understand how you're so smooth on a broom but can't make it two feet on land without crashing."
"It takes a talented individual."
"I'll bet it does."
The two stood awkwardly for a moment, looking anywhere but each other.
"Um... you want to go sit? I really need to talk to you," He nodded, and they sat down on the floor in front of the fireplace, facing each other. Eva tapped her fingers nervously on the floor before speaking. "I'm sorry."
"Why? I was the one who screwed up."
She sighed. "You did, but I made it worse. It's clear that you're sorry. I should've just accepted that and moved on."
"I didn't blame you for being upset," he said under his breath. "I'm sorry, too."
"What happened?" She whispered, her voice so soft that he could barely hear it over the roaring fire. "I want to try and understand."
"A lot happened this summer." He tried to find a logical place to begin, but gave up and started at the beginning. "I got back from Hogwarts and things went back to normal. Normal for around there, I mean. It wasn't great. And with Voldemort out there, it's getting worse."
"You-Know-Who? Are your parents Death Eaters?" Eva had never met any members of the Black family save Regulus, and Sirius never liked to talk about them. She knew enough to know that she would never be welcome to meet any of them.
He shook his head. "Nah. They do reckon he's taking a step in the right direction, though, which doesn't make this any easier."
"What does Regulus think about all this?" she asked. Sirius shrugged, trying to act indifferent towards his younger brother. This didn't fool her one bit. Even as an only child, she understood the affection he had for Regulus even though they'd gone their separate ways. Nothing would change the fact that they'd grown side by side.
"He's torn. Goes back and forth, I think. He definitely doesn't want to end up like me, though."
"Why wouldn't he want to be like you?" Sirius was everything Eva wished she could be. Charming, talented, attractive... the list went on and on.
"I didn't say he didn't want to be like me. I said he didn't want to end up like me. There's a big difference."
"Why not?"
"Maybe because they all hate me?" He laughed bitterly, the humor never reaching his eyes. "He's their favorite son. I'm the only Gryffindor in a family of Slytherins. The only one who stands up for Muggles at Christmas dinner. The only one Kreacher glares at every time I ask him for something."
"You're a good person, Sirius," she whispered, taking his hand. He hesitated before lacing his fingers in hers. "If they can't see that, it's their loss."
"Why do you think that? I still have the 'most noble and ancient' surname stuck to my name. What makes me any better than the lot of them?"
"Because you don't want to be like them."
Maybe it was a trick of the firelight, but she thought she saw a glassy look in his gray eyes. "I got your letters. I read them all. I wrote responses to every single one of them, kept saying 'This is it. I'm finally going to send one.' But I couldn't. I'm so sorry. I swear, my parents are screening my owls at home. I missed you so much. And then my uncle died and I was just so angry at everyone and I picked up smoking again and shut everyone out. I stopped sending letters to everyone by the end, not just you. I didn't know what to do-"
"Shh, it's okay. I'm not upset anymore." She pulled him close, stroked his hair as he shook against her. She had never seen him like this, so vulnerable and human.
"It's so hard," he mumbled into her chest. Hot tears slid down his cheeks, tears he fought so hard to keep in check. "I hate them. I hate them all. Sometimes I wish-"
"Sirius, it's going to be okay, I promise. You're not there anymore. You're here with James, and Remus, and Peter, and me. Even Lily and Marlene. We're here for you."
"I missed you so much. That was the worst summer of my life."
"Then let's make a pact. This will be the best year of our lives."
He stared at her with admiration in his expression. He loved her like this best: inspired and excited.
It was an accident, his falling for her. But no one ever decides for it to happen. It just does.
"You think?"
"Definitely. Here, give me your hand." He did as she said. "I, Eva Taylor, swear that this year will be the best of my life." She nodded at him. "Now you."
"I, Sirius Black, swear that this year will be the best of my life."
She grinned at him and lowered his hand but didn't drop it. "There."
"There."
She felt his eyes on her and fought hard not to look back.
"Tell me about your summer," Sirius said softly, staring down at his hands. "How's your mum?"
"She's very well. I think she gets stressed out every time I leave for Hogwarts, so it was good having the time with her. She's still working like crazy, but she loves it. I volunteered a lot this summer. We went on a trip to Italy, too. It was so beautiful there."
"I've never been to Italy. What did you see?"
"All of the prettiest paintings I've ever seen. Everything's prettier everywhere else, I'm convinced of it." As she spoke, he began to play with her blonde curls. She closed her eyes at his gentle touch. "We went to Venice. They have canals there, these boats that sail through the city. There aren't many streets. Everything is water. And the houses are all painted different pastels. It was the most beautiful place I've ever seen."
"Was it odd being back in the Muggle world?"
She nodded. "Yes! I missed magic, and I really missed playing Quidditch. But it was nice, too. In some ways, it's less complicated. Back home, I don't have to worry about potions or hexes."
"That makes sense. Done, by the way." He draped a long braid over her shoulder. She stared at it in shock.
"How did you learn to do that?"
"Marlene taught me last year after the O.W.L.s. She wanted to braid my hair, and I said she could if I could do hers."
"You know, I can't wait until I turn seventeen and I can legally use my wand outside of school," she said wistfully.
"That's only a few weeks away for me."
"That's right. You'll be an adult!"
"Don't say that." He laughed, and she joined in. "That makes everything seem too big. Everyone else is in such a hurry to grow up. But once it happens, we'll all graduate and leave. Who knows what happens next?"
Eva thought about this. "We stay in touch. We keep each other safe."
"You say it like it's simple."
"I mean, it can be. If we want it to be."
Sirius smiled and put a strong arm around her shoulders. "All right. I'll keep you safe."
"See? Simple." She yawned and regretfully glanced at the staircase to her dormitory. It was late. She knew how exhausted she'd be in the morning, but something in her wanted to stay by the fire with Sirius. "I should probably be getting to bed. I'm bad enough at Potions with sleep."
"Oh, yeah, of course. I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow."
She stood up and squeezed his shoulder before walking to the stairs. "Night, Sirius."
"Night, Eva."