the ties were black, the lies were white

♛

Celeste rose to her feet at the sound of the opening door. Relief washed over her. "Sirius."

It had been a day since she bargained with Voldemort. Though she had no regrets, the secret was eating away at her. So, she had spun up a clever excuse and gotten away to spend the evening at the Potter Manor. 

Sirius locked eyes with her at once. He was dressed in his usual leather jacket, his hair unruly and tousled, like he had messed it up on purpose. 

He moved over to her, wasting no time to wrap an arm around her waist. "Are you alright? Has anything―"

Celeste nodded, ever so slightly. 

Sirius' face drained, instantly imagining the worst. "What is it?"

Celeste looked away. She was certain that if she met his gaze, he might be able to read her like an open book. "Tell me that you won't be upset. Whatever it is."

Sirius nodded hurriedly, feeling so anxious that he could fall into pieces. "Of course I wo―"

"Promise me," Celeste cut him off, urgency pressing on her voice. 

He nodded, slowly. "I promise."

"Okay." She swallowed, bracing for his reaction. "I... I met You Know Who. And he made a deal. With me."

There was a beat of silence.

"What was the deal?"

Celeste's eyes flickered towards him. "He said that when the time is right, he will require my assistance. And you know that I couldn't really say 'no' to his face. So in turn... I've been allowed to attend his... meetings."

Sirius loosened his grip, disbelief and worry clouding his face."Celeste, bargaining with that man― the amount of danger you've put yourself in―"

"I realize that," Celeste interrupted. "I promise. You need to trust me."

He closed his eyes. "You know that I do."

"Woah," a female voice cut in, bright as a summer sun. "Are we having a wedding?"

The couple separated quickly as caught students in a Hogwarts broom closet. 

Sirius gave Marlene an irritated look. 

Marlene's face dropped when she realized. "Whoops. I... forgot." Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, instead replaced with a pained look. 

Not really knowing how to answer, Celeste simply returned the smile, shrugging. "When did you get here?"

"Just now. I went through the floo. But Lily asked if you wanted to help make dinner. Apparently she's going to do some fancy muggle baking."

Sirius brightened. "Sounds fun."

Celeste side eyed him, recalling an interesting afternoon from their Hogwarts days when they had decided to picnic by the lake with their friends. "Are you sure you should be allowed in the kitchen? I'm afraid you'll eat everything before the table is set."

Sirius grinned, leading the way to the kitchen. "Hey Prongsie! Where's Mia and Monty?"

James had his sleeves rolled to his elbows, struggling to cut vegetables with a knife. "They're out on a mission for tonight. But it's nice to see you too, Padfoot, thanks for asking."

Sirius snatched a piece of cut celery and popped it into his mouth. "Anytime. Where's Evans? I thought she was making something."

James tried to swat his hand away. "Lilyflower went to the pantry to get... something I don't remember the name of."

Celeste looked around. "Where's Remus? And Peter?"

"They aren't coming," Marlene answered. "Remus said he isn't feeling well. And Peter said he's at his mum's or something." 

Sadness and something similar to guilt washed over her. It was only a matter of time before true disaster struck. Celeste knew that Remus bore anxiety worse than most. Now Peter was spending time with his family. And it was all because of of this miserable war.

Lily emerged from the pantry, a triumphant grin on her face, cutting off Celeste's train of thought. "I found it! Vanilla extract!"

Celeste brightened. "What's that?"

"Our secret weapon for these cookies we're about to make!" Lily flounced past Celeste when she voice went deadly quiet. "What are you doing here?"

Celeste turned, taken aback by Lily's tone. "What did you say, Lils?"

But Lily wasn't looking at her. Any sort of former excitement had vanished from Lily's face. She was stone cold, with a furious look burning in her eyes.

"I said," she repeated, eerily calm towards Sirius. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you on about, Evans?" Sirius asked, clear confusion written across his face. But he took a step back. "We're supposed to be here."

"Why were you late? I heard the door open just earlier," Lily asked, coldness lacing her words.

"Evans," Sirius laughed, trying to be reasonable. "I'm always late!"

"Lily, what's going on?" James tried to interrupt. 

Lily ignored him. "Not when Celeste is coming, you aren't."

Sirius folded his arms. "Evans, what are you trying to say? I haven't got a clue."

Celeste's eyes darted between them. "Lils, I'm not quite understanding. Maybe we should―"

"No!" Lily shouted, angrily setting down the bottle of vanilla extract. "Sirius Black, you're a disgusting liar. You should have told her the second you walked through the front door. She's your girlfriend for Godric's sakes!"

Marlene held up a hand. "Hold on here! It can't possibly be that serious. We all need to breathe and speak like good and normal people. I really want to get a start on those cookies."

Celeste's throat tightened. "Tell me what?" she said quietly.

"It wasn't a big deal," Sirius started. "I was going to tell you soon."

Celeste nodded, hoping to believe him. "Okay. Tell me."

"Promise me that you won't be upset," Sirius said, averting his gaze. "Just like I did earlier."

A strong sense of dread seemed to take over her thoughts. It must have been a big deal then. How could he say it wasn't, if he was making her promise? Celeste stole a glance towards Lily. Lily's fury was still strong as ever, glaring daggers towards Sirius. Her anxiety heightened. But still, she said, "I promise to try."

Sirius locked eyes with her, guilt and shame replacing his expression. "It was an accident. I'd never do it on purpose. I swear that I―"

"Stop spewing disclaimers!" Lily shouted. "You did what you did. Out with it!"

Sirius shifted uncomfortably.

"If you won't do it, I will," Lily warned.

Sirius sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Celeste, we should talk somewhere else."

Celeste nodded, and followed him out into the backyard. They stood on the patio, facing each other. The sun slowly sank closer to the horizon, casting brilliant rays of golds, pinks, and oranges on them. A gentle breeze fluttered by.

Sirius was quiet, thinking.

"Tell me," Celeste said again, softly. But she twisted her fingers and anxiously played with the hem of her sleeve.

He finally said, "Do you remember Olivia Dolos?"

Celeste nodded unsurely. "From school? Isn't she the one that asked you out to Hogsmeade in front of us?"

"Yes."

Her heartbeat thundered in her chest. "And what about her?"

"I've been seeing her sometimes." Sirius's words tumbled out, all rushed and hurried. "It only started a week or two ago. I didn't― I didn't mean to drag it out for this long. I realised that you're getting married to someone else and I... got drunk at a pub. And I heard someone who sounded like you. Celeste, I knew― I knew it was wrong. Please believe that I'm sorry. I know it's my fault. I― I screwed up. Lily found out yesterday― when she saw Olivia's things at my flat."

Despite the tangled words, Celeste understood him just fine. And something inside her crumpled.

She wanted to shout and scream at him till her voice went hoarse. But she couldn't. She had frozen. Because for once, her heart did not belong to him. The beautiful boy that stood before her, who had mended her soul and held her together. 

He looked like something too distant and foreign to be called her lover. 

In a way, he was still that beautiful boy. But now it was beautiful in a cruel and devastating kind of way. Like the ending of a doomed love story. She couldn't speak, or think, or breathe. Sirius Black had been her heaven, haven, and anchor. And she could feel herself drifting away from him all too quickly. 

Some part of her desperately wanted to find forgiveness for him. But she could not muster it. Surely if he did it once, he would do it again. And surely, it meant that she was not enough for him. The thought of it stung. 

Perhaps they had been cursed from the very start. After all, they had been a shotgun shot in the dark. They had been fresh, glowing snow, free falling towards Hell. 

She didn't know if Sirius had said more. She didn't hear it. He tried to reach out for her but she stumbled backwards to avoid his touch.

Keeping her oath to not be upset with him, she gathered the strength to speak to him once more. 

"We're done."

And then, she turned and left and did not look back. 

Celeste Malfoy did not return that night, or ever again. 

END OF GETAWAY CAR: PART 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

lol

I can start by saying that I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE. It's been a very stressful and busy time in my life right now, but I promise I'm writing as fast as I can. Matter of fact I just got home and hauled my ass upstairs to wrap up this chapter. 

I've had this planned for some time and I'm so excited that you've made it this far into this story. I know HP fanfictions have kinda died out, so I'm extremely awed at the amount of attention you brought to this one.

Part 3 will be out asap! 

lots of love,

aria <3