[5]
BLACK
"Firewhiskey for two please," Sirius said urgently to the bartender. He wore a leather jacket on top of his messy black work dress shirt and a pair of ripped black jeans with short leather boots. His unruly curly black hair and the scar above his left eye was cherry on top to his bad-boy persona. Rebel, rebel Auror, the irony.
"I don't drink," Krystal replied, rolling her eyes at the dashing man in front of her. Krystal wore a tight crimson dress and black stilettos, her hair curled into a fishtail that rang down on the side of her face. She had large blue eyes sharpened by the dark mascara, lips coated with matching crimson and a sharp nose that held delicate elegance. Her wand was skilfully hidden away from sight inside her dress.
"Liar," Sirius replied with a casual smirk although his tone hinted with jealousy, "I saw you with him. Drinking with Shacklebolt a few days ago right here. You were laughing at something he said. You never laugh at me. It's not your thing. Tell me, was he your rebound?"
"You're spying on me. Congratulations, you've swooped to a new low," Krystal quipped, her eyebrows forming a deep frown. Sirius only smiled back sheepishly with no sign of apologising. "Shacklebolt is an arranged marriage. We don't like each other. And, he is not a rebound. Marlene and I broke up, it was a mutual break up, okay? I don't need a rebound. We were just not fit with each other romantically. Also, I like somebody."
"So I have a chance? Because God I don't want your husband in Scotland to come and punch me in the face," Sirius stated, smiling devilishly, ignoring the last part of the girl's sentence.
Krystal glared at him.
The bartender slid two fire whiskeys between them and muttered: "annoying sexual tension" making Krystal who had been getting the first sip on her fire whiskey to choke.
Sirius then cleared his throat as if ready to say something very important. He opened his palm, a little wine-red rose appeared, growing larger and larger.
"I have something to say to you that I have kept inside for a really long time. I love you, Krystal, your curvy brunette hair reminds me of the sweetest chocolate, your blue eyes reminds me of the depth of the most ethereal oceans, and you're perfect. Sometimes—" Sirius stated, his remainder hand reaching out to grab hers. Krystal withdrew her hand immediately.
"No," came Krystal's silky yet bored voice.
"Let me finish! Sometimes, actually whenever. Whenever I am around you, I feel like the world is spinning—"
"Just get to the point Sirius!"
"Will you be my girlfriend?" Sirius asked for what seemed like the fiftieth time (and probably is). His grey eyes sparkled with little hope that the wonderful girl in front of him will say yes.
"No," Krystal replied bluntly before taking more sips from her firewhiskey.
"Why not?" Sirius feigned hurt although he knew the answer was always going to be the same.
"I barely know you," she pointed out making Sirius groan in response.
"I am Sirius Black, but I am not part of the snobby Black ancestry at all. I am an Auror, I am your age. I have two best friends called Remus Lupin and James Potter. You know them both. I have curly black hair, and stunning grey eyes that add to my charm, oh, and my intelligence is a bonus. Mind you, I got five O's on my NEWTs."
"I know that."
"What do you want to know then?"
"Your personality, Sirius. I want to know who you are beside of your looks and occupation."
"I live on four hours of sleep and fire whiskey. I am the most charming guy you've ever met. I am also a very loyal person who is going to be an amazing boyfriend, fiancé and husband."
"You slept with Bree and Marge both last week," Krystal pointed out.
"Who?" Sirius asked blankly, obviously having no idea who the two girls are.
"Your flings."
"I would stop those for you. I would do anything for you," Sirius said deeply before muttering to himself, "God I sound like school girl James."
"What? Actually, it doesn't matter. I need to go. I have Auror duties tonight," Krystal replied, standing up and taking the fire whiskey with her, "But, I am not rejecting a free drink."
Sirius just winked at her.
"Sleep tight. Don't be late tomorrow," with that Krystal walked towards the door of the bar, slipped out her hidden wand, gave it a small wave. Her crimson dress turned to a leather jacket, jeans and a pair of combat boots.
"That's hot," Sirius remarked, taking another sip of his fire whiskey. Then a piece of paper flew in from the windowsill, slowly descending until it landed perfectly in front of him.
I have some duties to discuss with you. I am waiting.
Then the paper burnt itself, leaving only the ashes on the table as if nothing had happened.
Alerted and awakened from his dream, he took out his wand and apparated in front of his house.
Sirius lived in a two-storey house with his roommate and friend, Remus Lupin, a block down from James Potter's house. The house was fancy in a minimalistic yet grande way. It was coated with white and black paint by Sirius himself. There are graffitis on both sides of the wall although the house was new and elegantly built, all that was done by Remus.
He crept to the door slowly, pushing open the door slowly, attempting to stay invisible. However, much against his pleading, the door opened up with a big slow screech as the metal bent.
"Much for disguise, oh well," Sirius muttered to himself as he stood up and marched into the room with his wand in front of him. As he walked through the empty corridor to the lit-up living room. He saw the intruder stand and open his arms.
"Sirius, I hope I am not intruding," the faint figure of Albus Dumbledore came into view. His familiar blue eyes twinkled the way Sirius knowns well with his handful of trouble when he was at Hogwarts.
"Hi Dory," Sirius said, smiling sheepishly, lowering his wand, "it's a bit of a mess, isn't it? Well, it's a lot like me."
"Same as always," Dumbledore replied with the same twinkle in his eyes. "I come with an important task that may be vital for our future. We all know he'll be back and we have to be prepared. Which reminds me of a muggle story—"
"A task? I have a feeling that I am not going to like this," Sirius groaned leaning against the kitchen counter after waving the door close.
"I don't think you will, but you must understand that this is very important," he sighed, "I may have to ask for you to reconnect with your niece."
"What niece?" Sirius asked feigning confusion, trying to sink the horrible feeling.
"Your only niece, Persephone Riddle."
"Shit."
Dumbledore gave him an unamused look.
"Doesn't she live with his great grandfather or something?" Sirius asked, his voice full of dismissal.
"Marvolo Gaunt, an abusive alcoholic, died five years ago. There was no funeral."
An uncomfortable silent fell into the room. "Then where does she live?" Sirius tried, his voice quietening.
"She lives alone, I believe."
"What do you want me to do?" Sirius looked away, holding up a glass that has been neatly placed not he counter.
"I want you to contact and attempt to reconnect—
The glass in his hand shattered as it made contact with the marble floor. Sirius cleared his throat: "Not happening."
"Please do not interrupt me as I speak this," Dumbledore sighed, his voice serious and calm, "I fear that she may turn dark. I fear that she will be like her parents."
A silence fell upon the room like a looming shadow.
"Did she do anything at Hogwarts? A snake isn't she? I knew she would be, that ugly smile," he purposely left out the part where he saw the little girl's adorable smile in his dreams for almost a year after she had left. It haunted him, he had sworn he was going crazy.
"She made many allies. She has made herself very famous. She has indeed inherited some of her father's looks but you will find many similarities between her and Capella," Dumbledore replied, very much surprised by Sirius' horrible outburst. His voice holding a sincerity Sirius could not place.
"She is going to become just like her father—"
"Sirius, I believe you are familiar with the phrase, 'never to judge people by who they are but their decisions'," Dumbledore stated, his expression stern and without a taint of the humour that has been present when he first entered the room.
Sirius was utterly speechless.
The truth was that maybe, maybe he was scared, maybe, maybe, Sirius Black was scared. He was scared that the little girl will be just like her mother. He was scared that he'll trust and love her as if she was his child, and she will just leave him. He was scared that she'll leave him alone, in the dark again. Just like Capella did.
He remembered crying himself to bed every night as a teenager, all alone in a household full of people he didn't seem to know even if he had lived with them all his life. He remembered hitting his pillow, again and again, whispering with a shaky breath, why do you leave, why do you leave, why do you have to leave me? He remembered the hollowness in his soul made heartbeat feel like hammering steel. He would listen to it as he let the tears slid down his eyes, counting them until he fell asleep. He had never felt so lonely, so lost and so desperate for help. His sister, his only anchor in his so-called family, was gone, leaving him just like everyone else that had hurt him. Sirius had been terrified for the first time in his life. Terrified for his sister, terrified for his safety and even more, for his sanity. He remembered the darkness that had surrounded his universe, as if it had been the aftermath of an explosion, a cosmic phenomenon, dimming his life. It was so suffocating, he could barely breathe. He remembered monsters that lived in the shadows of his room and those that haunted his nights. He remembered crying until he felt all his energy had been sucked out of his soul as if he has been kissed by a dementor. Eternal darkness was what he had once doomed his future.
"I don't want to," is what Sirius blurted out despite knowing the task was inevitable. His hands twitched, and his eyes softened as he reminisced his younger years.
A short silence fell once again.
"Sirius, she won't leave you again," Dumbledore replied, his face softening.
Then, the moment was broken as another figure entered the house. The man was pale and had light brown hair that, as he progressed into his thirties, had become more and more grey from the overwhelming stress his body suffered each full moon due to his werewolf conditions.
"Sirius, I got a job!" The man exclaimed, his eyes scanned the letter he held on his right hand as he banged the door close.
"Remus?" Sirius mumbled in a low voice.
"Yes?" Remus replied questioningly, his tone excited, walking into the living room, his eyes still scanning the letter excitedly.
"Remus!"
Remus looked up, his gaze stopping at the headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore." His excitement diminishing as sense slipped back into his mind. "I can't do this."
"Why ever not?"
"I am a werewolf. I will be a danger if I am there."
"Have you ever hurt a student?"
"Yes."
"Severus' accident was not your fault Remus." Sirius bowed his head. "You've never hurt a student."
"Luckily, Severus has discovered Ms Dove Riddle's recipe and is capable of replicating it—" Dumbledore said slowly, softening his voice as he mentioned Dove's name.
"Did he call it Wolfsbane?" Remus asked quietly, almost like a whisper, cutting off the professor.
A pause. "Yes, he did."
"Good. That's what Dove wanted," Remus replied, fighting to keep the smile on his face.
"Do you want the job?"
Remus couldn't help but reminisce a memory that he had once tried to bury at the edge of his mind.
The library was warm and comfortable as they sat at the end of the fiction section, next to the blazing fireplace. The two students sat next to each other, with their uniform messy and untucked, their books, quills and sweets that were supposed to boost their motivation to finish off their homework. The boy sat on the left, scribbling furiously onto the parchment for his potions essay as the girl, on the right, threw paper balls distractedly into the fireplace.
"What do you want to do?" Dove asked, her eyes not leaving the fireplace, "I mean after this horrid war, I really hope it will come to an end soon."
Remus shrugged, taking a chocolate from the pile, "with my condition, I really don't know. Maybe something in the muggle world. You?"
"I want to become the potions Professor. I bet Slughorn will retire soon. I'm counting the days."
"You'll be great," Remus told her sincerely, looking up from his essay. "Are you done with Charms essay?"
"And then you can be the DADA professor! You'll be amazing," the girl continued excitedly ignoring his question.
"I'm a werewolf—" Remus told the girl hesitantly.
"Hush now, do you think Dumbledore, big good guy Dumbledore won't let you become DADA professor because you're a werewolf? No matter how much I actually hate him, we agreed on this. And, he knows how amazing you are so it won't be a problem," Dove butted in, meeting Remus' brown eyes."Then we can be together, at this amazing place, forever. How good does that sound?"
"Perfect, it sounds perfect," Remus replied, not wanting to ruin the moment, with a big grin, attempting to give the girl a small peck making the girl dodge quickly, nearly losing balance and falling straight into the fireplace.
"Stop there now, Lupin. You have to earn your kisses," Dove teased breathily as she recovered to her initial position but with her hands crossed and her head held high. "And, I will have you know, I finished that charms essay yesterday."
"Whatever you say, Ms I-Am-A-Perfect-Student," Remus laughed, whistling.
"Yes, I want it," Remus let out, surprised that his voice didn't crack. Dove had left him for fourteen years, yet every memory of them together stay flawlessly in Remus' mind. It used to drive him crazy, when every night after she fell to a coma, he would see her face, her smile, her black hair flying in the wind in his dreams. After all, it's his fault that Dove was no longer here anymore.
"That's all set," Dumbledore clapped his hands together, "And Sirius, it is vital to do which I have asked. Remus, I say I will see you soon."
"Thank you, Albus," Remus told the older man.
Dumbledore nodded back, walking out of the door Remus had just come through. As the door closed, Sirius dramatically fell to the floor.
"What did he ask you to do?" Remus asked amusedly to his friend.
"Send a letter to that niece. I'm going to stab myself, don't stop me, Remus! Just let me!"
A/N
Here's a snapshot of Sirius and Remus! Yeah. Wolfstar woohoo! Actually wait, I'm supposed to ship my story. Krystal x Sirius :):):)
Also yes, Dove is Tom Riddle's younger sister who had a complicated and tragic love story with Remus Lupin that I'm not going to spoil any further. Um, in my story, Sirius only goes to Azkaban for a year since Lily and James did not die and kind of helps him get out of Azkaban legally. No more spoiling, lads, all will be revealed soon.
For the next chapters, there might be some 'Persephone hunting down Horcruxes' or 'Persephone being sadistic kinda thing with a little dose of my Hadrian bean. Yep. I just realised I spent to much time writing her life outside of Hogwarts (I lowkey have 3/4 more chapters about Christmas) which is like 1/100th of her life. BUT, it will be interesting, well hopefully.
Yes I'm done here. I had like 5 hours of sleep last night and it's really late right now.
-Grace <3
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