Sirius simply couldn’t believe the scene that was unfolding before his very eyes. What on earth did Sam think he was doing? Slytherins and Gryffindors alike were staring at the unlikely couple with absolute revulsion and the other members of the hall were looking on in disbelief.
The sound of a chair scraping along the floor beside him reached Sirius’ ears and he swivelled his head around to see Emma standing, shaking with anger. Before any of them could stop her, however, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the hall, angry tears falling down her cheeks.
“Em!” shouted Lily, jumping up from her seat and running after Emma, anxiety etched into every line of her face.
“Looks like the party’s over,” stated Peter sombrely.
James sighed deeply before both he and Peter made their way out of the hall after the two girls, looking at Sam and Sian with disgust and confusion as they passed them. Hayley and Remus stopped dancing and finally disentwined themselves from each others’ arms before following the mass of students that were now exiting the hall, concern for Emma present on both their faces.
Sirius stood up from his chair and stretched, readying himself to return to the common room. “Come on, Kirst, time we were going-“ He turned to survey Kirsty but found her sound asleep, her head still resting upon her folded arms. “Lightweight,” he stated, shaking his head and smiling. He whispered her name, gently shoving her shoulder. No response. It looked as if she was definitely out for the count. Seeing no other option, Sirius carefully scooped her up into his arms and the top of her head came to rest under his chin. When he was sure that Kirsty was secure, Sirius joined the throng and walked steadily out of the Great Hall.
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“Would you like me to walk you back to your common room?” asked Remus with a kind smile.
Hayley was still glowing with happiness from the two of them dancing together and without hesitation she replied, “That would be nice.”
Remus offered his arm out to her and Hayley took it, though her grip was more tentative than it had been earlier when she was on Sirius’ arm, for she always felt slightly awkward with Remus in situations such as this.
They walked along, the conversation flowing effortlessly between them, but tonight the air between her and Remus felt different, tenser. Hayley and Remus had always got along well; they could talk about anything for hours on end. Hayley appreciated Remus’ dry sense of humour and he appreciated her logical take on things. But Hayley had to admit to loving the little disagreements between her and Remus the most; he was just the best person to have a mock argument with. He just loved to tease her about her blonde moments and she would continuously taunt him about his neurotic organisation skills.
Soon, far too soon in Hayley’s opinion, the two of them climbed the tight, spiralling staircase that lead up to the Ravenclaw common room and came to a stop outside its entrance.
Remus, having never ventured to this part of the castle before, was looking at the door with no keyhole and no handle with utmost intrigue. “How do you get in?” he asked, interestedly.
“Sorry, I’m afraid that information is confidential,” Hayley replied mischievously. Remus laughed, probably at how hypocritical she was being. “But maybe I’ll let you in on the secret some other time,” she relented.
“Does that mean that I’m allowed to escort you up here again?” he asked hopefully.
“If you play your cards right,” she informed him coyly. Remus raised his eyebrows at her slightly an amused smile gracing his lips. “I’d better-“ she announced, indicating the door behind her as her fellow Ravenclaws filed passed.
“Yeah I’d better be going too,” replied Remus, “before one of the teachers finds me and has my guts for garters.” Tentatively he took a couple of steps forward. “Goodnight, Hayley,” he stated softly, leaning in towards her and kissing her lightly on the cheek.
Hayley’s skin prickled as she looked up to meet his gaze, a slight twinkle was present in his eye, but for the life of her Hayley couldn’t figure out what it meant.
“Goodnight, Remus,” she whispered back.
Remus coughed and stepped away abruptly and Hayley quickly masked her disappointment. “I’ll see you in the morning, down at breakfast?” he asked, though it seemed like more of a request than a question.
“You can count on it,” she answered, breaking into a grin. Remus nodded and turned away. “Remus!” Hayley yelled after him before her last bout of courage deserted her. Remus swiftly turned back around looking slightly perplexed. Hayley took a deep breath. “You looked gorgeous tonight.”
Remus beamed at her and Hayley waited for him to mock her. “So did you,” he admitted truthfully. And with that he turned away from her once again and descended the spiralling staircase.
Hayley watched him go regretfully and as soon as his head disappeared from view she leant back against the wall and sighed contentedly.
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Navigating the seven floors of staircases up to the Gryffindor common room had been a very tricky endeavour indeed, but Sirius and Kirsty had somehow managed to make it unscathed. “Snidget,” Sirius muttered to the Fat Lady and she granted him entrance almost instantaneously.
Now he was in a dilemma. Sirius couldn’t possibly carry Kirsty up to the girls’ dorms without triggering the alarm, and it was far too cold to leave her lying down in the common room as the fire had long since been extinguished. There was nothing else for it; Kirsty would have to endure a night in the boys’ dorms.
Thanking his lucky stars that this was the last staircase that he would have to climb that night, Sirius began his weary ascent up to his dorms. Upon reaching the door, he stopped and listened intently for any noises that would signify that his fellow dorm mates were still awake. Hearing nothing but deep, rhythmic breathing, he crept quietly into the room, glad that his bed was the one situated nearest to the entrance. A loud snore emanated from behind James’ closed hangings, making Sirius jump ever so slightly.
Moving slowly so as to not wake Kirsty, Sirius gently laid her down on his bed. Without Sirius’ notice, Kirsty’s arm had snaked itself around his neck, and so when he placed her on the bed, the pressure of it pulled him down slightly. His face was now mere inches away from her own, and yet still she slept on. Taking his left hand, Sirius removed her arm cautiously from around his neck and placed it down by her side where his hand remained clinging softly to it. Taking his other hand, he brushed a lock of her currently short brown hair away from her eyes and inching forwards he whispered against the top of her head, “Sweet dreams.”
He stood up, releasing his hold on her hand and pulled the duvet cover over the top of her sleeping form, costume and all. He then conjured up a pillow with his wand before moving to the foot of the bed where he quietly rummaged around within his trunk. Catching a glimpse of the shiny surface Sirius tugged on the material to produce his sleeping bag. He rolled the bag out beside his own bed and placed the pillow at its head. He quickly stripped off his makeshift Halloween costume and stood there in nothing but his boxer shorts. Shivering slightly, due to the slight chill in the air, he waved his wand and the hangings closed around Kirsty and his bed. With that done, Sirius crawled inside his sleeping back, snuggled his head against the pillow and fell asleep within moments. He slept so soundlessly that he didn’t even hear Remus enter the dorms after his own night time adventure.
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Kirsty blearily opened her eyes but they were hastily closed again when they were met by bright rays of autumn sunlight. Her head ached something chronic and her stomach was churning unpleasantly. What the hell had happened to her? With her eyelids batting down the hatches against the onslaught of sunlight, she had to rely on her other senses to assess the situation and report back to her “ quietly. She squirmed around slightly where she lay, the rustling of the bed sheets seeming ten times louder than usual. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the pillow. It smelt different, though not altogether unpleasant, just much different than her own. In fact, the whole place smelt different than her dorm: kind of earthy with chocolate, Butterbeer and a hint of smoke thrown in for good measure. The part of her brain that seemed to be working this morning, if indeed it was morning, was telling her that she was familiar with this smell, but the rest of her brain was refusing to both acknowledge and remember this fact. The glare of sunlight that Kirsty could still see from behind her closed eyelids was blotted out as a shadow fell across her face.
“And how are we this morning?” asked an amused voice.
“Sirius?” she questioned, squinting up at him.
“The one and only. Morning, Sugar!”
“Sugar?” she enquired, wrinkling her nose with distaste.
Sirius laughed and even more pain shot through Kirsty’s head making her wince. “Sorry,” stated Sirius quietly, moving closer to the bed.
“Where am I?” asked Kirsty, knowing full well that Sirius wouldn’t be able to enter the girls’ dorms.
“In my bed,” he replied simply.
“What? Why? What happened?” she asked hysterically.
“You mean to tell me that you have absolutely no recollection of one of the best nights of my entire life?” Sirius asked, aghast.
“But… we… we didn’t, you know, did we?” babbled Kirsty. Sirius roared with laughter. “What did we say about the laughing?” asked Kirsty meekly.
“Sorry,” replied Sirius quelling his mirth. “Nothing happened between us last night, Kirst, you fell unconscious down in the hall and I brought you up here.” Kirsty was still looking at him worriedly. “Honestly, you even had the bed to yourself, I slept down on the floor beside you,” Sirius told her, judging her look accurately.
“Oh. Good,” she announced, breathing a sigh of relief.
Sirius’ eyebrows raised slightly at this response and a dark look past over his face.
“So why are you up here now?” she asked quietly.
“I wanted to check and see if you were okay,” he informed her softly, taking another step closer. “And to bring you those-“ He indicated to the Pepperup Potion, the cup of tea and the plate of toast resting on the bedside table. “-and those.” He indicated over to the foot of the bed where some of Kirsty’s laundered clothes had been placed.
“Brilliant!” she whispered enthusiastically, instantly grabbing the potion from beside her and downing it in one. “How did you manage to get hold of this?” she asked Sirius once the liquid had made its way down her throat.
“Madam Pomfrey’s pretty much giving these away today,” answered Sirius morosely.
“Oh, how come?” she asked him, intrigued.
“Well, rumour has it that the punch was spiked at the party last night,” said Sirius, sitting down on the bed next to her.
“You’re kidding! So that’s why I feel so ill!”
“That’ll be it. After all, you did drink quite a bit.”
“Well, you get thirsty when you’ve been dancing all night,” Kirsty retorted defensively. There was then a lull in the conversation in which Kirsty looked down in order to assess her current state. “I’m still in my costume!” she cried, surprised.
“Well I didn’t think you’d appreciate me taking you out of it,” noted Sirius dryly.
“So how’s everybody else doing this morning?” asked Kirsty, choosing to ignore this comment.
“Good question,” replied Sirius simply. “From what I know not everybody is feeling quite as ill as you are this morning.”
“So unfair,” commented Kirsty childishly.
“You know,” began Sirius, shifting closer to her so that he was virtually leaning over her duvet covered form. “I never realised how visible your scar was before.” Kirsty gave him a perplexed look, but her heart began to beat faster at his closeness. He extended his forefinger out towards her and gently grazed it across her forehead where the scar in question resided. “Does it hurt?”
“Scars don’t hurt, you idiot, they tell stories.”
Sirius then did something that puzzled Kirsty to no end; he leaned in towards her and left a lingering kiss on her forehead. He pulled back slightly, searching her face before leaning forwards again but this time he planted a kiss on the tip of her nose.
In one swift movement, he had moved away from her and hopped down off the bed, leaving Kirsty to stare at his back in confusion.
“Right, I’m going back downstairs; need to brag a bit more to my fellow Marauders about having a girl in my bed. Make sure you get something to eat; it’ll make you feel better. And feel free to use our showers if you want,” rambled Sirius, seeming a bit more distant than usual.
“Thanks, Sirius, for all of this,” she replied compassionately.
“Don’t mention it,” he replied graciously as he left the dorms and jogged back down the staircase.
Kirsty heaved herself out of bed, instantly missing the warmth of her covers, and as she stood up the world span around her. Bloody alcohol!
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Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the school, in the dark, damp, cavernous surroundings of her Slytherin dormitory, Sian Morgan stirred into consciousness.
As her eyes slowly adjusted to her surroundings, she became aware of her head splitting hangover and a wave of nausea washed over her. She hastily sat up, ignoring the spinning room, and reached for her water jug. Ice cold water ran down the back of her throat, quelling her feeling of sickness and forcing her mind to focus.
Whilst she sat there slowly drinking down her water, a feeling of utmost dread encompassed her entire being, but try as she might she simply could not pinpoint its origin. A niggling feeling in the back of her mind was telling her that something had happened last night, something important, something that she must remember at all costs. Moaning with frustration, she kicked off her covers, the chilly autumn breeze making her feel slightly more awake, and rushed into the bathroom to prepare herself for facing the day.
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Regulus lay on his stomach in front of the Slytherin common room’s roaring fire, parchment strewed all around him. With his quill he scratched out the line he had just been writing for the fourth time as yet another loud pop emanated from behind him.
“Will you cut that out?” he raged as he turned to survey Lucinda Devlin, who was sat poised and elegant on the sofa in front of the fire.
“As you wish,” she simpered, resorting to simply twirling her wand around in her hands as opposed to her original activity of producing bubbles and popping them annoyingly loud.
Lucinda had long, light brown hair which tumbled down to the middle of her back and she was pale with dark, heavy-lidded eyes which reminded Regulus very much of his cousin Bellatrix. She encompassed the very essence of aristocratic good looks, even more so than some members of the Black family in Regulus’ opinion. Her full lips were always coated with bright, blood red lipstick in order to match her talon-like fingernails that Regulus had always suspected could render someone dead with one fell swipe to the neck.
She was best friends with Sian Morgan, or as close to best friends as Slytherins could get, and like all the other older Slytherins, she treated Regulus with the utmost contempt.
“Your brother looked extremely gorgeous last night, as always,” she drawled.
Regulus gritted his teeth, trying to ignore her as he carried on with his homework assignment. Lucinda’s favourite pastime of late was taunting Regulus with outrageous compliments about his older brother. “I can’t say I noticed,” he seethed.
“No, I daresay you didn’t,” commented Lucinda standing up and beginning to pace around the room. “You know, it’s a real shame that he ended up in Gryffindor; he would have really brightened things up around here. After all, a girl needs someone nice to look at every morning.”
“It’s a shame that Sirius ended up being a piece of Mudblood loving scum then, isn’t it?” Regulus shot at her, sitting upright and giving up the battle with his essay.
Lucinda sneered at him, sensing that he was very much irked. “Maybe we should ask Dumbledore if we can trade,” she announced, looking Regulus up and down in distaste. “Send you over to jolly old Gryffindor tower and bring Sirius down here to join the snakes.” She had circled around the back of him now and he could feel her breath on his neck as she moved her lips to the spot next to his ear.“After all, we all know that Sirius is the better of the two Black brothers, don’t we, Reggie?”
Something within him finally snapped and Regulus whipped his arm around, grabbing a firm hold on Lucinda’s wrist. Standing in one fluid motion, he pinned her up against the wall by the fireplace. It was safe to say that Lucinda was shocked, for he had never reacted like this before. “Sirius is a spineless sap who never had what it takes to become a Slytherin, let alone a Death Eater. I’m the new Black family heir; I’m the one who has been accepted into the Dark Lord’s inner circle at the tender age of sixteen, whereas you, Lucinda, have received no such privilege.” He spoke every word with his lips inches away from the underside of her chin. “And what’s more, I’m just as good looking as my arrogant git of a brother,” he finished, gazing dangerously into her eyes.
“I seem to have hit a nerve,” she sneered in response.
Regulus pulled out his wand and pointed it at her throat. “Apologise,” he ordered, with a devilish smirk.
“Make me,” retorted Lucinda, daring present in her eyes.
Regulus didn’t know which he wanted to do more, make her apologise with a good punch, or make her apologise with a kiss. That was his problem with Lucinda, she caused him to burn with a hatred that felt as if it would consume him, but she also intoxicated him more than any other girl he had ever met. He came to his senses, however, and decided that neither option would be advisable at present as footsteps echoed from one of the staircases behind him.
He removed his hand from beside Lucinda’s head and slinked away from her. From the look on Lucinda’s face, she looked as if she had been denied a real treat. “Look what the Kneazle dragged in,” she announced, glancing over Regulus’ head.
Regulus spun around on the spot to see Sian standing, looking uneasy on her feet, at the bottom of the girls’ staircase. He burst into sardonic laughter at the very sight of her. “And how was your night?” he asked tantalisingly.
Sian groaned and slumped down into the nearest armchair.
“Feeling rough?” taunted Lucinda as she brushed past Regulus and sat back down on the sofa, taking a Cauldron Cake out of her cloak pocket with the air of someone who was very much enjoying the show.
“I don’t suppose there’s any Pepperup Potion lying about is there?” asked Sian hopefully. Regulus summoned the bottle from a table on the far side of the common room. “Oh,” stated Sian, surprised. “Where did this come from?”
“Madam Pomfrey’s been handing them out all morning,” explained Lucinda.
“Why?” asked Sian.
“Because the punch was spiked at the party last night,” Regulus informed her.
“And that’ll be the reason for the disastrous headache that you seem to have this morning,” Lucinda told her gleefully.
“So would you care to explain to us what exactly happened last night?” queried Regulus sneeringly.
“Why? What happened last night?” asked Sian, sounding slightly hysterical.
“You mean you don’t remember?” queried Lucinda, letting out a squeal of laughter.
“No, I don’t really remember too much of last night, to be honest.”
Just then the portrait hole opened from behind Regulus and he turned around to see Mulciber, Snape, Avery, Wilkes and Rosier enter the room.
“Well, if it isn’t the disgrace of Slytherin herself,” drawled Mulciber, looking Sian up and down with distaste.
“Excuse me?” asked Sian uncertainly.
“It would appear, gentleman, that Miss Morgan here has no recollection of last night’s events,” stated Regulus as he strolled towards the seventh years.
“Oh, how convenient,” commented Snape nastily.
“Guys, you’re seriously worrying me now,” said Sian, sounding unnerved. “What happened last night? Lucinda?”
“Oh, no, no, no,” tutted Avery, sitting down on the sofa beside Lucinda. He was sitting so close to her that he was practically on her lap. “I think it best that we let her stew for a bit? Don’t you, Cind?” Avery looked to Lucinda with a leering smile as he draped his arm slowly around her shoulders.
Regulus’ jaw twitched and vindictively he informed Sian, “You kissed a Gryffindor last night at the dance.”
Sian turned her head sharply to face him. “I-I d-did what?” she asked, stuttering.
“Gave everybody a right show,” added Wilkes, devilishly.
“Which Gryffindor?” asked Sian, her voice coming out as a small squeak.
“That sap Sam North,” replied Lucinda with relish.
“Oh, God,” muttered Sian, burying her head in her hands.
“It could have been worse,” announced Rosier from where he stood lounging against the wall, repeatedly throwing an orange up in the air and catching it again effortlessly. “At least it wasn’t Black.”
Regulus flinched ever so slightly; he hated it when his brother was mentioned in conversations.
“I need a coffee,” Sian stated suddenly, getting to her feet. “I’ll see you all later.” And with that Sian darted out of the portrait hole.
“And that’s that,” stated Lucinda simply. There was a pause. “Do you guys want to go to breakfast and see what happens?” Manic laughter followed this statement and Lucinda stood along with Avery, whose arm had now slipped down around her waist, and walked purposefully out of the common room after her so called best friend.
As Regulus watched the couple leave, a burning hatred seared inside his chest and he very much wanted to knock Avery’s block off.
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As soon as Sian escaped to the cold corridor just outside of the Slytherin common room she slumped against the wall and groaned. She closed her eyes and straight away the events of the night before flashed through her mind like a movie reel. Her remembrance of the feel of Sam’s lips on hers made her feel much more ill than she had done previously. Then, hearing the sound of movement from inside her common room, she took a calming breath and readied herself for facing the school populous. Bloody alcohol!
Things Aren't Always Black and White by padfootsgirl1981
Chapter Notes: Yay! We're back! Woot! I'm so glad that I can post on here again, it's been slowly killing me I swear lol! Once again I have succeeded in making this chapter uber long so it will be posted in two parts! And as a side note, Things Aren’t Always Black and White has now been posted on here for over a year now. Although it may not seem like it due to the low number of chapters (damn GCSEs!!). I've also been writing it for two years as of March 16th, so happy birthday to story *waves banner*! So I would like to thank you all for constantly making my day either by simply reading or providing me with praise in you reviews, you guys ROCK! Okay, so I’m going to stop talking now and let you read as I’m betting that you’re dieing to know what happens with the whole Sam, Emma, Sian love triangle thing, in fact you’ve probably already skipped this bit! Thanks again to my super duper beta star_falling13 and thanks to moonysgirl79 for her input into this chapter as well. Happy reading everybody!
Chapter Endnotes: And there we have it, we've finally delved into the dank depths of the Slytherin common room. I'll put part two of this chapter in the queue as soon as part one has been validated. Thanks for reading, lease take the time to review!