↳ CHAPTER TEN:

SOUR AFTERTASTE ↵

        SEREN KNEW THAT HER HAIR WAS FINE and would be covered in a cap but did she need makeup... or would she be fine without? She didn't want to look like she was trying too hard. Rather, look natural. With a firm nod to herself, she raised her wand and let magic help her.

Barely a minute had passed and Seren studied herself in the mirror, surprised with how well she looked. She looked pretty, actually.

She hurried herself up, pulling on her hat and scarf, studying her outfit. She wore a thick green sweater, topped off with her black leggings, hat, and scarf. Easy for sports and perfect for the cooling weather.

She was glad that the girls in her dorm were down in the hall eating breakfast still, she didn't want them making a fuss over her going out with a Slytherin.

It's not a date, she scolded herself as she ran down the flight of stairs from her dormitory and into the large halls that would lead her outdoors.

Seren rushed down the hill, ignoring the few strange stares she got. No one really thought much to the girl who stuck her head in books. But Seren Lupin? With a broomstick in hand? Everyone was curious. 

Seren didn't mind what other students at Hogwarts thought of herself, she knew that she was a bookworm that occasionally could be "cool". She rather kept her attention to keep Remus' reputation on the good side. But, with being friends with Sirius Black and James Potter, Remus was more popular than Seren would have liked. Being a werewolf could be difficult to hide and even though Professor Dumbledore had a system for Remus, one day it would fail. 

Seren noticed Lucius' blond hair in the distance and hurried up, thrumming her fingers on her broom nervously. 

"Good morning, love." Lucius called out, holding a quaffle in hand as he greeted the Gryffindor girl. "Ready to get your arse kicked?"

Seren snorted as she approached the tall blond, a grin in place as she grabbed the quaffle from him. "Not going to happen, Malfoy." She smirked up at him, noticing how much taller he was than her and how her head barely reached his shoulders. 

Surprising Lucius, Seren took the quarrel with her and mounted onto her broom. "Game on," she called out before flying upwards. Leaving a moment to have Lucius catch up, Seren took in her surroundings. She was glad it was a good morning where no one was out in the stands waiting to play, or watch. For some reason, being alone with the Slytherin was best. She didn't want to hear gossip around Hogwarts about her dating Malfoy. 

No, this was a friendship. . . she thought.  Nothing more.

º º º

Seren gasped, dropping her broom to the ground after two hours of back and forth play with the Slytherin boy. "You're going to pay for that, Malfoy!" She ignored how her broomstick fell to the ground with a thump, rather involved with crossing her arms and looking at Lucius with a peeved expression.

Lucius laughed, holding tightly to his broomstick. "I told you that I'd win."

"But you cheated!" Seren came up to Lucius and poked his chest in accusation. "Y-You can't do tha–"

He leaned in close and Seren held her breath. She was so close to him that she could notice the small details of his face and memorise them. She saw no flaw in his skin. Her eyes focused on his, noting the small specs of blue in his grey eyes.

Lucius smirked knowing the affect he had on the young girl, "do what?"

"D-Do that," Seren breathed out. "Flirt with me, play with my emotions." She kept her voice from wavering, she couldn't be obvious that she had a minor crush on the Slytherin– it was bad for her to even think of him that way. He was a Slytherin.

"Why not?" He breathed out, letting his hands grip her waist lightly. Seren found breathing to be difficult as Lucius' warm hands met her skin on her hip.

Seren ripped away from Lucius, her eyes avoiding looking at him. "Because you're a Slytherin." She spat, grabbing her broom from the grass. "I thought it'd be nice to be friends with you but if all you're looking for is someone to go to bed with, I suggest you find some other girl." The light tone of the morning had turned quite suddenly and Seren wished that she didn't join him– he was a Slytherin. He loved the Dark Arts. He was bad news. 

But Seren only thought she could see the good side to Lucius. Maybe there wasn't a good side to him.  The morning turned sour, leaving a bad mood with Seren. She was too naive to realise, she couldn't change someone like him. 

Little did she know, Lucius was staring at her with dark eyes full of want. He licked his lips as she sped walked away from him, broom in hand. Seren Lupin wasn't like the other ditzy girls he slept with. She had personality and was probably a pureblood. As a Malfoy, he was blessed with wealth and a superiority rule in Slytherin. Those helped him achieve whatever he desired.

And what Lucius Malfoy wanted, he would get it.

And Seren was definitely what he wanted.

º º º

"Oi! Seren!"

Sirius slung his arm over Seren's shoulder, smiling down at her. Sirius saw her red eyes and frowned at her upset expression. She had managed to get to the castle without crying but now, she wasn't in the mood for anyone to be around her.   

"Sirius," Seren sighed, she was done with enough bullshit for the day. She didn't want to play nice with Sirus– even if she could start liking him now. "I'm really grateful for what you did the other night but... that doesn't make us friends. You played me, last year. You only get to do that once and you can not play with me. I forgave you for that."

She paused turning her head to see Sirius staring at the ground, frown in place.

"Maybe, with time... we can be friends. I-I just can't be near you right now, I'm–"  Seren ran away, ignoring the fact she started crying and how Sirius Black was the only one at school who saw her that way. Vulnerable. 

Sirius smiled softly at the girl who stood her ground against him, the flirt. He liked that. He would take caution around her... he wanted to be friends with her, maybe more. He knew something had just happened to her and even though he desperately wanted to fix her situation. . . 

And he didn't want to mess that up.