word count: 1,448

CHAPTER NINETEEN:

↳ DWELLING IN SILENCE 

     IT WAS QUIET AS SEREN SAT besides the fire, watching Sirius Black from the corner of her eye. His shirt was unbuttoned slightly, his chest exposed, and his sleeves cuffed and out of his way. Sirius had built the fire in her room at the Three Broomsticks after rescuing her from Lucius Malfoy. The fire was crackling loudly, stifling the conversations before they reached the cracks in the wooden walls.

"I'm sorry I ruined your date," Seren whispered as they sat in silence. She knew that his date with Marlene was the last thing on Sirius' mind but she didn't know what else to say. Lily and James sat in the corner of the room, whispering to each other. It was one of the rarest moments where the two were not fighting.

Sirius scoffed, turning towards the injured girl beside him, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. "That's what you're sorry about? Why aren't you sorry about dating that tosser?" Sirius dropped down beside Seren on the couch. "I warned you, Seren, that he wasn't a good person."

"He didn't talk about the Dark Arts at all," Seren protested, knowing that it was falling on deaf ears, Sirius would not want to hear it. "I'm not even sure what just happened–"

"When did it all change?" Sirius asked her, not wanting to broach the subject yet.

"On our way here to Hogsmeade. It was weird that Lucius was suddenly a Prefect and that his friends wanted to follow us..." Seren's voice trailed off.

"They were following you because they knew you were an easy target." Sirius sighed, turning towards his friend's sister... his friend? "You were naive, Seren."

"I know," Seren whispered, she wasn't sure how she could report what had happened... Whatever confusion charm he used on them distorted the truth... How could they ever find out the truth?

"Hey Ren," Lilly interrupted their conversation and Seren smiled at her brave friend. "James and I are going to go back to the Gryffindor common room. Are you going to stay here?" Lilly gestured to the room that Seren had rented for the night. 

Seren struggled to stand up and Sirius was by her side in a split second as she began to fall over. Her head was foggy from the exertion of moving. 

The four realised that Seren was too weak to go anywhere. She had to stay in Hogsmeade tonight and get some rest. She could make the trek to Hogwarts tomororow.

"What will you say when you get back tomorrow?" Lily asked her best friend, worried. She wasn't sure what to do if James and her got caught getting back into the castle.

"Do you really think they'll notice I'm gone?" Seren said wryly. "If we did explain this... I don't know what we would say. All of us were jinxed by Lucius so our stories won't match up. And it's not really substantial evidence to say he's a prick."

Lilly and James nodded in agreement, albeit begrudgingly knowing it was the truth. The two exited the rooms with soft farewells, leaving Sirius with Seren. He nodded goodbye to his friend but stayed silent until they were gone. 

Sirius sat beside Seren on the couch, looking her over to double check if she was okay. The curse Lucius had place on her left her in a weakened state. The only physical indication of what had occurred was a small scratch on her pale cheek. 

"Episkey," Sirius mumbled under his breath his wand brushing lightly against the tiny wound, his hand followed his wand and gently carressed her cheek. The marred skin healed up instantly, leaving no trace behind. Seren sighed, reaching out for Sirius' hand in thanks, leaning back against the couch in relief. She felt better already, as if his touch was enough for her. 

"Why don't you go back to the Castle, Sirius?" Seren asked the young boy beside her. She was feeling sleepy– and guilty. "I don't want you to get in trouble, you're always in trouble as is."

"Because you're here, I'm not leaving. Screw the punishment" Sirius replied, his fingers tracing her skin. He wasn't going to leave her alone, not again. Not after Lucius Malfoy.

Seren pulled herself up onto her elbows from her position of resting in Sirius' lap. She was closing in on Sirius suddenly. "Sirius?" 

"Ren?" Sirius replied coyly, his eyes darting up from her lips to her eyes. "What are you doing?" 

Seren was blushing hard, nervous suddenly. "I want to do something. After this, please pretend it didn't happen, okay?" 

Sirius nodded slowly, his eyes focused on the girl in front of him. She struggled to lift a hand up to Sirius' cheek, cupping it. She pulled the boy closer to him until their lips softly met. 

Seren was surprised when the kiss was reciprocated with enthusiasm. She had been unsure if Sirius had felt the same way, now she knew. The kiss was full of emotion– passion, adoration, and patience. 

It ended faster than Seren would have liked but her body hurt and she knew exerting herself shouldn't happen. She let her head fall back into Sirius' lap and his hands tangled into her hair, combing through the strands. 

"That was a surprise," Sirius admitted after a moment of silence. "Are you sure you want me to pretend it didn't happen?"

"I know," Seren closed her eyes, enjoying the scalp massage Sirius was giving her right now. "I'll apologise now for it though."

"Apologise?" Sirius paused his massage until Seren opened her eyes. Looking down at the girl in his lap, she looked breathtaking. Her brown hair was splayed out on his lap and her piercing green eyes gazed up at him. "Seren, why in the world would you need to apologise for?" 

"In case if the kiss was a bad idea..." Seren felt embarrassed. This was her twin's best friend.

"I don't think the kiss would've been a bad idea, unless you think it is?" Sirius felt his heart beat faster, he hoped she didn't regret it. She covered her face with her hands, slightly embarrassed with how red she had gotten. Sirius pried her hands away from her face to look down at her. 

"Seren, it could never be a bad idea to kiss you." Sirius then leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Both of them were content with what had happened. Although Seren said to pretend it didn't happen... both knew that would be hard. 

Seren fell asleep, her head in Sirius' lap, listening to Sirius' gentle humming. 

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REMUS LUPIN BARELY COULD KEEP HIS COMPOSURE AS HIS SISTER entered the Gryffindor Common Room. He engulfed his twin in a tight hug, apologising profusely for not being there for her in a moment of need.  

"It's okay, Rem," Seren said lightly, pushing herself out of the hug to look up at her brother. "I'm okay, don't worry." 

"James told me what had happened to you and Lily– if they hadn't been there..." Remus looked ten years older than he was in that moment and Seren's heart ached for him. His scars were more prominent in the early morning light that flooded the Gryffindor Common Room. Remus needed sleep desperately, but he would not admit that. 

"We're both okay.. me and Lily. So don't worry, okay?" Seren said, hugging her brother. She needed to reassure him before he overanalised and worried too much. 

"I'm your brother! And I wasn't there for you... I will be there for you next time, okay?" Remus promised his twin sister, vowing to himself that he wouldn't be useless– he wouldn't let his sister suffer. 

"I know you will be," Seren comforted her brother.

"So what are we going to do about that leach, Lucius?" James spat out and Seren flinched at the sound of his name out loud.

"We aren't going to do anything," Seren said with a shuddering breath. Everyone was silent as they watched Seren tear up. "He's a monster and I didn't see that– he's far from help. We need to avoid him at all cost."

"But isn't he still your boyfriend...?" Lily asked timidly, and from behind James. She didn't want to bring it up but it was reality. 

"To say the least, we've broken up. And if he thinks we're still together... then he's officially lost it." Seren stated, her eyes glancing to Sirius. She had a hard time believing what she was saying. Lucius was powerful in the pureblood community, he could do anything. Seren wouldn't say that to anyone. She didn't want to worry her brother. 

Seren didn't think it's over though... And that was the truth.

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