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xixx. CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

A LONG WAY HOME.
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           THREE MONTHS LATER.

           "How about tomorrow night?" Briar asked Sirius, quietly. They were curled up in the Room of Requirement again, talking. It was becoming rather exhausting for both of them, considering the only time they really got to spend together was at night. "I'm not busy."

           "Quidditch practice," Sirius replied, frowning. "Debbie asked for an extra practice session; she's still not confident about playing Slytherin next term and we break for Christmas in two days."

          Briar frowned, tightening the hand that was holding Sirius'. Debbie, as she was fondly called, was the new Gryffindor Keeper. She was a spunky fifth year, who talked loudly and enjoyed jokes and laughter just as much as the Marauders did. Admittedly, she was a little clumsy, which was why she needed the extra practice. "You've had practice almost every day this week."

         "I know. I can't help it. I'm exhausted too."

Briar looked up at Sirius, smiling when his grey eyes met hers. Although it was tiring, and a lot of effort, every moment that she spent with Sirius was worth it. It was almost odd how dependent she was on him. It had been four months since they'd started their relationship, but Briar still felt the same rush of adrenaline whenever he looked at her with those passionate grey eyes, or said something with his cheeky smile.

"Are you going home for Christmas?" Briar asked softly.

Sirius shrugged. "I suppose. I went to the Potters' last year and before that. Are you planning on staying? I don't mind keeping you company. Maybe we'll finally get to spend some time together."

Briar shook her head. The idea of spending Christmas at Hogwarts with Sirius was tempting, but it wasn't possible. "Mother wrote me to come home. It's the first letter I've received from her all year."

Sirius glanced down at Briar, and saw the she was staring sadly at the carpet. Briar hadn't spoken to her family in months, and although she tried to hide it, Sirius could see how much it was affecting her. She was used to getting letters and packages from home all the time. Now, it was as though her family had forgotten she existed. "Are you all right?"

Briar nodded. "I'm fine. I just miss them a little."

Sirius frowned, he couldn't understand why she still seemed to cling onto her parents. Briar rarely talked about them to him, mainly because she knew that he wouldn't understand. Sirius had left his family and never looked back. He bit his lip, and looked down at her. "Still? After everything?"

Briar sighed. "They're my parents, Sirius. It's odd not writing to my mother about everything that happens in school. I'm just not used to it yet."

"Do you regret deciding to leave them?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Briar looked up at him in shock. "What? No. I don't regret anything, Sirius. I'm just having trouble adjusting, that's all. It's a scary thought, knowing that I'm on my own. That they're not there to protect me from everything."

Sirius frowned. "You're not on your own. You have me, you'll always have me, until I'm no longer alive and breathing, you'll have me."

Briar looked up at him, softness adoring her features. It seemed to her that Sirius got extremely uncomfortable and defensive whenever Briar talked about her parents. It was almost as if he was expecting her to announce that she would be going back to them, and that she'd changed her mind about everything. She had no idea how to reassure him that she wasn't going anywhere.

"I know I have you. You gave me the strength to make the right choice, I'll always be grateful to you for that," she replied honestly.

Sirius brightened up a little. "Eternal gratitude, eh? I rather like the sound of that."

"Shut up."

"No, really. How do you intend to make it up to me?"

"How about I don't smack that grin off your face?"

"I'd rather you kissed it off."

Briar rolled her eyes playfully, and leaned up to kiss him. Sirius' arms tightened around her, and the heat spread up her body, a fire settling just between her thighs as she squeezed them together as a attempt to extinguish it, only it didn't help. Her eyes fluttered closed as he pulled her closer into his lap, his hands riding up her skirt and dangerously close to her butt. She could feel the stubble on his cheeks brushing against her face, and she pulled away, giggling.

"What?" Sirius demanded.

"You need to shave," Briar replied, running her hand down his cheek. He caught her fingers in his, and brought them up to his lips slowly. He placed butterfly kisses on her fingertips, smiling.

"You don't like the rugged, handsome look?" he challenged. "I think it rather suits me. Debbie thinks it looks good. She said so."

Briar raised an eyebrow. "Oh she did, did she?"

"Are you jealous?"

Briar rolled her eyes. To be honest, she'd never met Debbie personally. But although the clumsy, athletic girl seemed like a sweet person, she wasn't the type to inspire jealousy in anyone. As a matter of fact, Lily seemed to think that Gryffindor's new Keeper fancied James, and not Sirius. "I think you want me to be jealous."

"I've never had girls fight over me before," Sirius replied cheekily, hands rubbing her thighs. "It seems like it might be fun."

"I'm not fighting with anyone over you, especially not a fifth year Gryffindor and Lily thinks she fancies James."

Sirius shrugged. "Not really, debbie looks up to him, though. Head Boy, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain; the bloody fucker is turning into a bit of a role model for the younger students. Forget them. Where were we?"

"We were talking about you needing to shave."

"Before that, genius."

Briar laughed, as Sirius pulled her lips down to meet his again.

☁️✨🥀

Gemma Prince shook Briar awake on Saturday morning.

"Briar, get up! It's Saturday, remember? Hogsmeade weekend! You promised that you'd come help me pick out a pair of shoes for that dress my Mum gifted me!"

             Rochelle sat up, and blinked at Gemma. She had promised that? Briar couldn't remember doing anything of the sort, and she shook her head, before pushing it back into the pillow. "After a while."

           "You have fifteen minutes to get dressed. I'll be waiting for you in the Great Hall."

         Briar sighed, and tugged herself out of bed sleepily. She got dressed slowly, and trudged down to the Slytherin common room. It was just past 9 o' clock, and most students had already headed down for a late breakfast. The teenage girl noticed Lucius sitting alone in a corner, reading the Daily Prophet.

         "Morning, Briar," he greeted, folding the paper. Briar nodded back sleepily, before the headline caught her eye. Blinking, she took the paper from Lucius.

          "Another Muggle attack? This is the second one this week!" Briar cried, as she flipped open the Prophet to read the entire story. The sight of it made her feel slightly sick. She glanced up at Lucius, whose expression was made of stone.

         "It is."

          She narrowed her eyes at him. "They're occurring more regularly. Any reason?"

           Lucius frowned. Briar never talked about the fact that he was a Death Eater. It often seemed like she was trying to forget. He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not involved in the planning. I get orders and I follow them."

           There was a pause, and she looked up from the paper. "Have you ever..."

         Lucius wasn't sure what she was trying to say. Have you ever been behind one of the attacks? Or was it Have you ever killed a Muggle? It didn't matter, not really. The answer to them both was the same. She probably knew it as well. "Yes."

          "When?" she asked, softly.

         "A few times, my first was the night of July 23rd."

         Briar's stomach lurched. She'd been there that night. It was the night she went to a movie with Lily, James and Sirius. Sirius had hid them both in an abandoned store, and they'd managed to escape unscathed. "Oh, the one in Ambleside."

        Lucius gave her a sharp look. "I'm surprised you remember. Do you keep a track of all the Muggle attacks that take place in England?"

         But she only shook her head, sourly. "No. It would be a difficult task. I'm sure even the Dark Lord can't count them all."

           "Well, yes, the attack in Ambleside was the first time I actually joined in. If you must know, it wasn't supposed to be there. The attack was scheduled to be in Aylestone. Two miles away from Cokeworth, if you were wondering."

           Briar gave him a sharp look. "Why would it matter to me?"

         Lucius rolled his eyes. "You can stop acting, Brir. Do you take me for an idiot? I know you were at Lily Evans's home that night. Funny, your mother seemed to think the girl was a half-blood. I convinced Father that we should go to a bigger town, so that you wouldn't get hurt."

           Briar's eyes widened. "You told him that I was at Lily's?"

         "No, I simply said that Aylestone was a very sparsely populated town, and that we should go somewhere bigger. You're lucky that he didn't ask many questions. To be honest, the Dark Lord was rather pleased with my suggestion. No thanks is necessary."

         Briar gave him a dirty look. "I'm supposed to thank you for murdering innocent Muggles?"

        "No, you're supposed to thank me for keeping your bloody secret and saving your little Mudblood friend's arse," Lucius snapped. "But I can see that gratitude is something that seems to evade you, recently. You might have abandoned your family, Briar, but there are people who still care about you."

        "If your idea of caring is simply shifting the location of where you torture innocent Muggles, you can see why I'm not particularly feeling the love."

          Lucius stood up, getting ready to leave. "The time is coming, Briar. You can't hide. I suggest that you take the first offer of protection you get, otherwise you'll find yourself in a very dangerous place."

           He walked away, and Briar glared after him, her fingers scrunching the Daily Prophet into a paper ball.

               Briar sat with Sirius on the train ride home for Christmas. Lily and James were in a separate compartment, and both Remus and Peter were staying at Hogwarts. The train ride was long, and Sirius was silent for most of it. The platinum blonde knew that he didn't like the idea of her going home, but she had no choice.

         Admittedly, her relationship with her parents was strained but not completely broken off. She didn't want to do anything that might make them suspect her. Although her time at Hogwarts was slowly coming to an end, it still wasn't too late to change schools or for her parents to decide to drop her education entirely.

         "Is someone coming to pick you up?" Sirius asked, as he helped her lift her trunk off the train. They stood on the platform, and Briar glanced around.

        "Yes. I see Dipsy, she's right over there."

         Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Your house elf comes to pick you up?"

        "Why not?"

          He shrugged lightly, before glancing at the house elf that was starting to make it's way over to them. Sirius turned back to Briar, his grey eyes looking worried. "You'll write, won't you?"

         "Of course."

           He nodded, pulling her close and kissing her lightly on the lips. Horrified, Briar quickly wriggled out of his grasp, and glared at him. "Are you crazy? Someone could have seen that! You can't kiss me in front of my family's elf!"

         Sirius glanced back at Dipsy, who was watching them both with an open mouth. The little house elf looked horrified that she had just seen an unknown man kiss her mistress in public. He rolled his eyes. "So? It's an elf, you tell it to keep its mouth shut. Write, won't you?"

          "Yes," Briar replied, a little disgruntled. She couldn't believe how careless Sirius had been. Was he trying to get them caught? She watched him walk away, and then allowed Dipsy to take her luggage. Briar took a deep breath.

          She was going home.

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hiiiii, how are y'all doing?? i've missed you but i'm back with a new update for y'all <33 school is kicking my ass but we move.
ilyyy
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