Antlia left Sirius in the library soon after she spoke her chilling words. She went to her classes, avoiding his eyes, but without the tension that had filled the space between the pair for the past few weeks. There was no longer that feeling of wrongness that had permeated the air whenever Antlia had gazed at Sirius.

Antlia had felt good. She had been having a good week, a pleasing letter from her father coming from the family owl. A rare smile on the face of Antlia had been seen by the whole castle, not just the select few who were Antlia's real friends.

Antlia had known then that good things didn't last forever. What she hadn't known was how fast good things could go away. What she hadn't known was how soon her world could come crashing down.

—

Antlia took her father's letter to the abandoned classroom that she met with Sirius in and waited for him there. Minutes later, the boy slipped in through the wooden door. Sirius had watched Lia take the letter from the snow-white owl and excuse herself from the Slytherin table that morning at breakfast. Eyes were everywhere, spies for both sides of the war, spies for the side of light and spies for the side of death.

Sirius found Antlia sitting completely still on the top of one of the many desks in the room. Her eyes were downcast and directed onto the letter in her hands. "What is he going to say this time?" Her broken voice whispered to Sirius, tripping over the words. "I'm going home tomorrow. I'm going to have to see him. He's going to tell me something big. That's what he said in his last letter. What he says is going to happen soon."

"Do you want me to open it?" Sirius asked gently. His own eyes were staring at the seal of the Avery family that adorned the back of the thick letter. "I can read it to you."

If you read it, I think I'm going to cry. I don't want to hear poison words coming from your voice, a voice that normally sounds like an antidote to the poison my father spills. But I'm going to say yes, I can't help it. Saying no has never been my talent. And Antlia did just that. She said yes to Sirius and handed him the envelope. Antlia watched his hands as they broke the wax seal that held the flap of the letter down. You have beautiful hands, Siri. Sirius' hands were long and spindly as they slowly pulled out the letter from the envelope.

"I'm going to read it, okay?" Sirius asked, unfolding the thick white paper. When Lia nodded, Sirius' eyes began scanning the paper. Antlia watched his dark irises move back and forth as he took in the words.

"What does it say?" Lia asked quietly, her voice trembling. I hate being weak like this. I hate how my father makes me feel. I hate how my father has power over me. I hate it. I hate this feeling so much.

Sirius didn't respond, dark eyes still skimming over the letter. His black hair was flopping over his face and hiding his expression, one that if Antlia had looked into a mirror she would have seen the same expression staring back at her. Sirius looked up, his eyes filling with worry for Antlia.

"Sirius, what does it say? What does it say?" The words came out as a broken, forceful stream, spinning across the room to Sirius. Antlia was glaring at the letter, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Lia, he wants you to get the Dark Mark over the holiday," Sirius said. He waited for Lia's reaction, concerned when the tears in her eyes began to dry.

"You must have read it wrong. It's too soon. He said not for another few years." No emotion was present anywhere in Antlia's body. Her face was a solid slab of stone, no expression chiseled into the rock. Her voice was flat, disguising how she felt. I don't want this life. I don't want to serve the dark, signing my life over to this "lord". I don't want this life. I never have.

"You've talked to your father about getting the Dark Mark before?" A look of horror was present on the face of the black-haired boy. "Antlia, I thought that you didn't want that."

Tears threatened to break over the dam that held them in as Antlia began to speak, her voice loud and rough. "I don't want it, Sirius! I don't have a way out like you do. I don't have a best friend to take me in like you have James. Lyra is great and her father doesn't support the things that my father does, but if I went to her my father would be able to find me. I don't have a way out!" Droplets of water began to drip down Lia's face, the girl turning to face away from Sirius. Her back was facing the boy, hunched over on top of the desk. I don't want you to see me cry. I don't want you to see me be weak.

Sirius reached out a hand to place on Lia's shoulder. The classroom was silent, Antlia's silent tears still streaming down her face. "Antlia, I will find you a way out. I've told you this before, but I will tell you again. If you aren't able to escape from your father on your own, I will find you a way. We will work together to find you a way." Sirius stepped closer to Lia, pulling her around to face him. "It's going to be okay."

"You can't know that." Lia buried her face into Sirius' chest, muffling her tears. "I feel like we always meet like this, with one of us breaking down."

Sirius laid his head on top of Lia's, resting his chin in her hair. "How can we not when we live like this? We live from one week to the next, waiting for the next letter from our parents. They control our lives, and I hate it."

"Siri, I hate it too." Antlia pulled away from Sirius. She was finally going to give a voice to her hatred, finally going to make it real. "I hate him. I hate him so much." Sirius didn't need to ask who "him" was. He already knew that the single word referred to Antlia's father. There was no love lost between Arcturus Avery and Sirius Black, despite the man having the same name as one of his grandfathers. If anything, the connection to family only served to expand the bond of hatred that existed.

"I know Lia. One day he won't be able to reach you. You will be safe one day. I promise." Sirius said.

"You can't promise me that, but I will believe you anyway." Antlia laid her head on his chest, leaning into Sirius. The pair sat still together for the next few minutes, savoring the time together, enjoying the time without eyes watching them.

Eventually, Sirius and Lia pulled away from each other. Sirius slid off the desk that he had been sitting on and walked to one that was near the entrance of the classroom. A package was lying on the wooden surface, wrapped in red and gold paper. He picked it up and handed it to Lia.

She looked curiously at the package in her hands, feeling its odd shape.

"Sorry about the paper and the wrapping," Sirius said sheepishly. "Lily has to help me because I couldn't figure out how to wrap it. It's an odd shape and I didn't have a box."

Lia laughed then. Siri, you always do make me feel better. You always have the ability to make me laugh. "You're a mess, Siri."

"Aren't we all?" A handsome grin spread across Sirius' face. "Now open it!"

Antlia opened the package from one end, peeling the tape off before pulling the wrapping paper apart. She ended up with a necklace lying on a square piece of paper. Draping the golden chain between her fingers, Lia held the breathtaking piece of jewelry up to her eyes to see it better. A sparkling diamond was set in golden prongs, hanging off a delicate gold chain. "Sirius, this is gorgeous."

"Just like you. It matches the bracelet that I gave you in Third Year." Sirius winked at Lia, who blushed in return.

"Could you help me put it on?" Lia turned her back to Sirius and lifted the curtain of silky brown hair that usually blocked him from seeing the expanse of skin above the neckline of the dark green shirt that Antlia was wearing.

A blush now coated the cheeks of Sirius like a bright pink paint splatter as the boy clasped the necklace around Lia's neck. "There," he said softly, pulling away to look at his handiwork.

Antlia ticked the necklace under her shirt before bringing out her own package. This one was wrapped neatly in green paper. She handed the parcel to Sirius, and if their hands connected for a few seconds longer than needed, neither would tell you. "It's not as nice as your present for me, but it's all I was able to get without my father being suspicious. He was carefully tracking my bank account at Gringotts when I withdrew the money for my holiday shopping."

Sirius nodded. "I understand," he said, tearing into the paper. Shreds went all over until he unearthed a stack of cards.

"They are what Muggles call 'gift cards'. Honeydukes and Zonkos's just started selling them." Antlia closed Sirius' hand over the plastic cards. "I bought them for you because I wanted you to have independence from your parents, or whoever you are getting your money from. I know that you are a prankster, and I don't want to encourage that, but I want you to be happy. I want you to be happy, Sirius." I want everyone to be happy. I want everyone feeling trapped by their family to be happy.

"I'm happy when I'm with you. You make me happy." Sirius smiled at Lia, and she smiled back at him. The two smiled at each other, smiled through the pain they felt. Smiled through the tears, smiled through the rain.

Author's Note:

Hi everyone! I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter. As always, if you have any comments, please leave them! I would love to hear from you! Anyway, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. It took me a while to write. I hope that you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading!

- Nicole