- Rating:
- PG-13
- House:
- Schnoogle
- Ships:
- James Potter/Lily Evans Original Female Witch/Remus Lupin Original Female Witch/Sirius Black
- Characters:
- James Potter Lily Evans Lucius Malfoy Original Female Witch Peter Pettigrew Sirius Black
- Genres:
- Romance Drama
- Era:
- 1970-1981 (Including Marauders at Hogwarts)
- Spoilers:
- Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix
- Stats:
-
Published: 03/16/2004Updated: 05/05/2005Words: 219,914Chapters: 40Hits: 40,219
If Love is a Game...
Lanni Weasley
- Story Summary:
- It's the Marauders' final year at Hogwarts and they have everything - and that includes a few big problems. James matures and finally wins over Lily; Remus falls head over heels for Lucius Malfoy's cousin; and Sirius finally gets the girls of his dreams. But that girl is supposed to marry Malfoy and her parents hate Sirius and her friends. Soon, she must choose between being the next Mrs. Lucius Malfoy or the early deaths of Sirius and her friends. Deep trouble is on the horizon of bliss.
Chapter 05
- Chapter Summary:
- It's James's and Sirius's Seventh Year at Hogwarts and they have everything - although a few big problems. James matures and finally wins over Lily; Remus falls for Lucius Malfoy's cousin; and Sirius finally gets the girls of his dreams. But that girl is supposed to marry Malfoy and her parents hate Sirius and her friends. Soon, she must choose between being the next Mrs. Lucius Malfoy or the early deaths of Sirius and her friends. Deep trouble is on the horizon of bliss. CH5: The setting up of the prank begins; Sirius and Krystyna are forced to confront their feelings while having difficulties with a closet.
- Posted:
- 08/26/2004
- Hits:
- 1,265
- Author's Note:
- Well, I didn't add much to this chapter, just changed a few things.
Chapter Five
A Shoulder to Sleep On
Krystyna sat in a chair behind a table in the Gryffindor common room late at night. She was scribbling away on a piece of parchment with a quill. Sara had come back from her Charms Club meeting a few minutes ago, exhausted out of her mind, and had immediately shuffled up to bed; she was probably out. Lorena had not come back from her "secret" meeting with Professor McGonagall yet, strangely enough. Lily and James were still in her meeting with Professor Dumbledore, too.
Remus and Krystyna had done their Prefect Patrols already, but while Remus went to find Sirius and Peter, Krystyna grabbed her pack and stuff. She had to get started on that Potions essay or she'd never be able to drag herself to do it. Professor Lector was feeling irritated with the leaking in the dungeons enough to give them an essay on the first day back.
That reminded her, she'd agreed to help with a prank with Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter tonight, but they were no where to be found. Of course - they were the kings of mischief makers - that was probably not all they were going to be doing. She had a sneaking suspicion that James and Remus were up to something, even though the thought of Remus being involved still gave her a bit of confusion.
That just left Krystyna still sitting at the little table, a single candle flickering on the table beside the parchment. What time was it? It had to be real late. She sat the quill down and yawned. Suddenly, her peace and quiet was shattered when someone burst through the portrait hole. She looked back to see Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James clamber in loudly. Before the portrait shut, Lily walked in quietly. Sirius quickly spotted Krystyna in the darkness. He walked over to her.
"Ah, I was beginning to wonder if you might've fallen asleep!" Sirius exclaimed. "Sorry, we would've gotten here sooner, but Lily had a few surprise questions to ask Dumbledore."
Lily blushed and looked into the dormant fire.
"They were very important questions," James added hastily, surveying the common room with much fondness. Krystyna sighed and stood up. Sirius looked over her Potions essay.
"Just doing a little homework on what we're playing on," Krystyna said with a wink. Sirius grinned and walked back over to James. Peter walked around the room, his eyes darting around the place edgily.
"Don't you find it a little...creepy in here when it's only lit by one candle?" Peter asked Krystyna quietly, his eyes roving into the darkness with an unpleasant expression.
"No, not really, should I?" Krystyna replied, shrugging her shoulders and slipping her shoes back on carelessly.
Peter shuddered.
"Okay, we need some black cloaks," James noted. "You know, so we'll be harder to spot in the darkness." Everyone looked down at themselves. Krystyna suddenly remembered that she'd taken off her black Gryffindor robe to get it cleaned after a dirty Herbology lesson. She was only wearing her white long-sleeve blouse, her gray skirt that was about two inches above her knees, and white cotton socks - now with black shoes. "Lily, you're in luck that I bought an extra black cloak in Diagon Alley this summer - just in case my first one was damaged. I know you only buy school robes."
Lily rolled her eyes.
"How convenient..." Lily mumbled sarcastically, but she smiled anyway. James grinned smugly. Sirius, Remus, and Peter quickly shuffled to the boys' dormitory up the stairs. Lily walked over to Krystyna.
"What about you?" Lily asked.
"I'd say it's a little too cold just to wear a blouse and skirt...unless you planned on cuddling with Sirius," James pointed out casually. Krystyna blushed immediately.
Lily spun around and stared at James hard. "James!" she admonished. But James merely shrugged his shoulders. She turned back to Krystyna who was still blushing. "Well?"
"I only have one cloak, and it's for the very bad winter weather; I'd die if I wore it with this temperature," Krystyna whispered. "I don't have any huge black cloaks for this time of year. Remember, I told you that I'm on a budget now - courtesy of my wonderful parents."
James tugged on Krystyna's arm and then let go. He looked back. Lily looked surprised.
"C'mon, I'm sure Sirius will have an extra cloak for you to...cuddle in," James said. Krystyna turned bright red as James walked up the stairs laughing, forgetting that some people were sleeping.
"James!" Lily snapped again. She turned to Krystyna, giving her an apologetic look. "Forgive him, let's go up there."
Lily and Krystyna cautiously made their way to the boys' seventh year dormitory. They'd never been in the boys' dormitory before and were yet to find out. Krystyna pushed the door open and she and Lily walked in. The place was covered with Quidditch posters and pretty much...everything Quidditch.
"Welcome to our humble dormitory!" Sirius exclaimed.
"It's the best in the world!" James added, diving onto the bed he missed. He laid his head on the pillow and let his legs hang off the side of the bed. Lily sat on the closest bed. Krystyna wasn't sure what to do, so she leaned against the wooden pole. James hung over his bed then and began digging in his trunk.
"Sirius, Krystyna needs a black cloak; it appears as if she's on a budget and could not get a black cloak," James notified, sitting up. He tossed Lily a large black cloak and then began to pull his on. Sirius raised an eyebrow at James, whose head popped out of the top of his robe. "I know you have a bunch since you're selfish and keep your cloaks from every year, even though you can't fit in them. Why don't you share the love and lend her a cloak for tonight."
Sirius's immediate response was to stick his head in his open trunk and mumble something that was impossible to decipher. Krystyna was careful not to slide off of the pole when leaning. Sirius pulled his head out of his truck, pulling a long black cloak over his head. He pulled the hood over his head and slowly made his way for Peter.
"O-o-o," Sirius murmured. Peter turned around to see what looked like a Dementor coming for him. He yelped and fell backwards off of his bed. There was a thump noise and then cackling. Sirius pulled his hood down and un-buttoned the buttons from the cloak while Peter sat back up, embarrassed. He turned to Krystyna. "So, you need a cloak?"
"Er, yeah, I need one," Krystyna muttered.
Sirius grinned and pulled out a black cloak. "I was gonna say..." He didn't need to finish the sentence; she knew what he was going to say, and he cackled.
He threw a cloak to her and she caught it. When she put it on, it was longer than expected. Sirius had long arms and her hands were hidden. He was also taller and the bottom trailed on the ground. And considering that he was wider than her - probably because of muscle and her lack of food at home - the cloak hung very loosely on her body. She looked like she'd shrunk and her clothes were now all too big for her. James laughed, and she blushed.
"Now, that's a Dementor size, Sirius," James chortled. Peter snickered. He was pulling a cloak over his head when he tripped over his trunk and fell over. They all laughed. "You okay, Peter?"
Peter pulled his head through and nodded it. James helped him up.
"Well, we should get going now," Remus sighed lazily, looking at his watch. As they walked out, Krystyna was careful not to trip over the long cloak, aware of Sirius's continuing curious stare.
~*~
Krystyna walked with Lily in the back of the group. James and Sirius were up front, looking extremely bouncy. Peter was a little nervous and Remus was calmly walking ahead of him. Lily looked a little frightened of getting in trouble and Krystyna was just confused on how she'd gotten herself into this.
Well, Sirius asked me, and Remus said I could get back at Malfoy - the nark, I hate him - and that Lily was coming and then I looked back at Sirius and I...and I said okay, Krystyna thought confusedly. I didn't know I was that easy to be manipulated! Oh, great, if word gets out, which it probably will, they'll be thinking Sirius and I are a couple!
Is that such a bad thing? the voice asked. Krystyna really wished it wouldn't sound so much like Lorena.
Oh, just shut up, I'm in no mood to argue about if I like Sirius Black or not! I'm just a little confused and - he's looking back again! Krystyna screamed in her mind when she spotted Sirius taking a chance in looking back at her.
Lily looked over at her with a frightened and worried look. Krystyna look back and grinned, trying to keep her head straight. James was holding a piece of parchment in front of him - a map of some sort. Biting her lip, Krystyna moved a little to the left to get a better look.
Luckily, she didn't need glasses so she could see it pretty good. It was a map - the perfect map - of Hogwarts. She looked over it and saw many red dots on it, labeled with names. She looked more closely and noticed the name Krystyna Melanie was labeled under a dot. Utterly amazed, she continued to stare at it. Then, Peter shifted his position to mutter something to Remus and blocked her view of the map. She sighed deeply and remembered her nervousness.
Well, I don't think it'll be that bad and with what happens to the Slytherins, I think I'll actually like doing this, Krystyna thought, trying to be positive. And it's not like this is a date or anything. A date - ha! - they'd never get me in on that. How could it be one anyway? I mean, with Lily, Remus, James, and Peter here, it'd be kind of hard. Okay, so this won't be as bad as I thought it would be. And I'm not doing that essay. Well, anything to get me out of doing that is fine. I feel a lot better, thank you very much.
Krystyna's thoughts were interrupted when she walked right into Remus's back. She stumbled backward a bit; he looked back. She mouthed an apology; he shrugged his shoulders. She looked over at Lily, who looked completely clueless. Well, she wasn't the only one then. Krystyna looked back in front of her.
They were in front of Professor Lector's office; they were in the dungeons. A breeze came out of nowhere, but Krystyna felt warm. She was now glad that she'd let Sirius give her his over-sized cloak, but she still looked like a Dementor - and she hated those things.
"James, what are we going to do now?" Lily whispered worriedly. "You, of all people, should know that Professor Lector locks his office door in case of this. You've been going to this school for six years now, James."
James turned back to her with a smug-looking grin. "Ah, but, Lily, he only locks it with a few charms. He's not the best at this kind of stuff, you know. We've done it countless times, as I remind you," he explained nonchalantly. Sirius took out his wand and tapped it on the handle; it glowed and he grinned. He put his wand down to his side.
"He only used two small, simple charms," Sirius sighed. "Would anyone like to do the honor of breaking in?"
Peter looked down at his feet; Lily shifted her weight nervously; and Krystyna put her hands behind her back and let her eyes wander. Remus was standing still, gazing at the door blankly, thinking about something.
"Remus, why don't you do it?" Sirius said loudly, slapping his hand on Remus's shoulder and making he jump. Remus stared at Sirius for a few seconds and everyone was silent, watching them. Remus relaxed and brushed past Sirius.
"Sure, okay, Lector is always easy, and I don't want to get too rusty," Remus said lazily, pulling his wand out.
Krystyna watched Remus inquisitively. Although she knew that he was bound to be a mischief maker because he was good friends with James Potter and Sirius Black, she'd never seen him in the act of doing it.
And because they were Prefects and stopped trouble-makers innumerable times, it felt strange and odd seeing him doing the mischief. It didn't really fit him correctly, but he had many masks, she supposed. After all, she wasn't the most devote rule follower in Hogwarts. She'd broken many rules in her years at Hogwarts; she broke the more important rules at home.
Remus gazed over the door, muttered a few counter-curses and the door clicked. Remus grinned, put his hand on the handle, and opened the door quietly. James, Sirius, and Peter walked in like they'd seen him do it every day while Lily and Krystyna stood there, gaping at him. He shook his head.
"C'mon, it's no big deal," Remus noted, pulling Krystyna into the room with Lily following behind slowly. Lily stopped and scampered back to shut the door. The room was completely dark with no candles lit.
"Oops, I just didn't want Filch noticing the door open; I'll find the light," Lily's voice came next to Krystyna. "Jus, er, watch out. I'm really sorry about that."
There was the shuffling of many feet.
"Ouch! Lily, you stepped on my foot!" Peter squealed in the dark somewhere.
"That wasn't me," Lily's voice replied.
"It wasn't a ghost, was it?" Peter sounded slightly worried.
"No, it was a Dementor," James's voice sighed lightly. "O-o-o..."
There were more shuffling.
"James, don't do that!" Peter yelled.
"It wasn't me; it was the Dementor!" James exclaimed, probably holding in a few sniggers. There was more shuffling of feet and someone bumped into Krystyna hard. She fell to the ground, her wrist slipping out of Remus's grip. She landed on the floor.
"Hey, who bumped into me?" Krystyna questioned, feeling for her wand on the floor. She'd dropped it. Someone else bent down and they bumped heads.
"Ouch!"
"Oh, sorry, Krystyna, I dropped my wand," Sirius's voice apologized. There was a lot of shuffling when someone else bumped into someone else. Peter squealed when Lily accidentally stepped on his foot, Lily apologizing in the background and James and Remus laughing. Krystyna's hands wandered on the ground aimlessly. She'd never find it in this mess. Suddenly, someone grabbed her hand. At first, Krystyna did nothing and whoever did it did nothing.
"Uh..." Whoever it was, let go of her hand and moved away from her a little.
"Sorry again, Krystyna," Sirius's voice said quietly. "I was just looking for my wand."
"Yeah, it's okay, I'm just looking for mine too," Krystyna replied, feeling her cheeks warm up. She could almost envision blush creeping on Sirius's cheeks. Then, she felt a small sleek wand on the ground. "Aha, found it!"
She grabbed the wand and stood up, careful not to step because she might step on Sirius's wand. There was a crash and two more people fell to the ground.
"Oh, James, I didn't hurt you, did I?" Lily squealed worriedly.
"No, no, not at all," James said. There was a shuffle. "Here, give me your hand so I can help you up, Lily."
"Where's your hand, James?" Lily asked.
There was silence.
"Er, out in front of me," James muttered.
"Well, where exactly are you?" Lily asked, giggling.
James didn't answer immediately.
"Er, I think I'm standing in front of you, but I'm not for sure," he then sighed in the dark. "I can't really see you."
Lily giggled and helped herself up.
"It's okay, James," Lily laughed, "where ever you may be."
Peter and Remus snickered. Krystyna rolled her eyes in the darkness.
"Okay, this is just silly," she said, voicing Remus's thoughts. "I'm giving us some light."
"How can you?" Peter asked from her left. "We can't see where the candles are and the door is shut so we can't see it either."
"I said I was sorry!" Lily yelled from somewhere. "What more do you want?"
"I wasn't blaming you; I've done it plenty of times," Peter mumbled.
"Oh, sorry," Lily replied.
"Aha, I found my wand!" Sirius said triumphantly. He stood up beside Krystyna without knowing. There was a lot of shuffling again in the darkness. Then, someone bumped into Sirius again. "Heeeey!" As he fell again, Sirius crashed into someone and whoever it was shouted. They fell with a loud thump. At first, no one was speaking and there was complete silence. Whoever he'd knocked over, he was laying over top of them.
"Lumos!" Krystyna mumbled. "Peter, that's how-"
A dim light escaped from her wand; and when her eyes came into focus, she found herself nose-to-nose with Sirius. His eyes locked on hers. The dim light lit the entire room. James laughed.
"Sirius, are you going to ask before you get that close?" he laughed loudly. Sirius rolled off of her embarrassedly, bright red, and looked away from Krystyna who sat up, blushing furiously. He shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Krystyna," Sirius murmured.
"Oh, it's alright, really," Krystyna sighed. "It's not like I'm going to hex you for it or anything."
Even though for the last six years, she would've done just that probably. However, she was terribly reminded of her spell with Malfoy after the Transfiguration class and shuddered. She pulled her wand up to her face.
"Hey, wait a minute, this isn't my wand..." Krystyna said softly, looking at it.
Sirius brought up the wand he was holding. "And this isn't my wand..." he noted. They looked up at each other and then the wands they were holding.
"You have my wand," the two said in unison. "Sorry."
They switched wands and Sirius stood up. He extended his hand and Krystyna took it. He helped her up; she let go of his hand quickly. James moved around and hopped over a chair. Remus picked up a chair that he'd tripped on and sat it up straight. James said a few charms and unlocked the cupboard. He opened it up and they saw an assortment of Potions ingredients. Peter gagged when James took out something that looked like intestines...or Muggle hotdogs to Lily. She looked away in disgust. James eyed the glass with calmness.
"Not the prettiest sight in the world, is it," he sighed with mild distaste and sat the jar back in its place in the cupboard. He pulled out a bag of purple sand. He held it up in the air like it was a trophy and flashed a conniving grin at Sirius who mirrored it.
"What's that, Prongs?" Peter asked curiously, staring at it.
"This, Wormtail, my friend, is our ticket to some loud laughs and a hilarious sight," James said happily. "Abergott sand is key ingredient to the Hair Colour Changing Potion, so if it's changed, the potion will be completely different."
"But...what happens if a Gryffindor takes the Potion first?" Lily questioned skeptically, eying the sand with her green eyes.
"We've already planned that," Remus said lazily, moving forward. "Do you notice four other cupboards?"
Lily and Krystyna looked around the room and, sure enough, there were four other closed and locked cupboards. Sirius was unlocking one of them though.
"Yeah, so?" Lily replied, not sounding convinced of anything.
"Well, each cupboard is for a different House and one is Lector's private stash of ingredients," Remus answered. "The one James is in is the Slytherin cupboard and Sirius has just opened the Gryffindor cupboard."
"Oh, so you'll only change the Slytherin sand!" Lily exclaimed loudly. James nodded his head. Then, Lily looked confused again. "Then...why is he opening the Gryffindor cupboard?"
Sirius had his head stuck in the cupboard, searching for something.
"Well, Lily, I think it would be a little obvious to the Slytherins if they had red coloured sand and we had purple," James sniggered, his eyes closed and nodded his head. Then, he opened his eyes and grinned. "So, Sirius is going to change the colour of the Abergott sand to red while Remus and I switch the tags of the Abergott and Calypse sand and move them around."
Lily's brow furrowed. "Why not just change the colour of the Calypse sand to purple?" she asked. But James shook his head quickly.
"No way, if you change the colour of Calypse sand, it may result in an explosion and we'll all have singed hair," James replied in a matter-of-factly tone. In Krystyna's mind, she saw Lily trying to change the colour of the sand and then an explosion. The smoke cleared away and they all had black faces and messed up hair.
It'd happened in her fourth year when she had thrown a rat spleen in Malfoy's potion when he'd made fun of Lily and hit on Krystyna in the same breath. It had not been a pretty sight.
"Er, I don't want to repeat history," Krystyna said, shaking her head serenely. Sirius pulled out a bag filled with purple sand. "Let's just hurry up and switch the labels." James and Remus grinned. Peter was pacing around the room, looking slightly frightened. Lily watched James switch the labels with his wand. Krystyna watched Sirius stick his wand in the bag and change the colour of the sand. He zipped it back up and placed it in the cupboard. James and Remus pulled back and then shut the cupboard. Sirius shut the other cupboard.
"Ah, I can't wait until double Potions," James said calmly, walking to Lily. Peter stopped pacing; his eyes looked as though they were about to pop out.
"C-c-c-c-c-ca-" Peter sputtered, doing an anxious dance.
"What is it, Peter?" Remus asked calmly, turning around to face his friend.
"C-c-ca-" Peter stammered, bouncing up and down on his feet.
"Spit it out, Wormtail," James said more firmly, staring at his friend, bewildered.
"C-c-ca-ca-" Peter stuttered, jumping up and down, pointing at the door wildly.
"Peter!" Sirius yelled.
Peter all of a sudden stopped dancing. "Cat!" he yelped. "Cat - there's a cat at the door!"
Everyone's head whipped to the door and saw a small cat sitting at the door, watching them. It meowed.
"Mrs. Norris, oh crap, Filch will be coming any second now!" Sirius hissed. He cursed the cat angrily. "Crap! Damn cat always tries to get us in trouble! Damnit!"
James pulled something out from underneath his black cloak in panic. He didn't care anymore. He wasn't going to hide it, get caught, get it confiscated, and get in huge trouble. He didn't care if Lily and Krystyna saw it.
"Everyone, get under this now!" James ordered sternly. Krystyna gasped when she saw the Invisibility Cloak. She'd seen one of those before. Her father had one; and she'd taken it plenty of times to sneak out of the house at night.
"James, there isn't enough room to fit all of us under it!" Remus whispered worriedly. Peter was bouncing on his feet, horrified that he'd get in serious trouble for breaking into the Lector's office. Lily was standing completely still, looking stunned. Krystyna collapsed in a chair, thinking, and Sirius was pacing the room agitatedly. "There's only enough room for four of us!"
James stood still for a moment and then flashed a grin at Remus. "That's right," James said quietly. They began to hear wheezing; Filch was near. "Alright, Lily, Peter, Remus, you get under the cloak with me and we'll hide. Sirius, Krystyna, there's an empty closet over there you can hide in. I'll lock the door with a charm so that Filch won't be able to get in."
"What - wait a minute-" Krystyna began. But James and Remus shoved her in the closet.
"James, what are you-" Sirius started. But James and Remus shoved him too in the closet.
"You'll thank me later," James whispered so that only Sirius heard. He grinned and shut the closet door. He muttered the spell and threw the Invisibility Cloak over them. At that exact moment, Filch walked in.
"What have you found here?" Filch wheezed softly to his cat. He looked around the room. It looked all the same. He went over to the closet and stared at it.
Krystyna and Sirius could hear Filch's wheezy breathing from inside the closet. Krystyna leaned back against the wall and stared at the door in the dark; she'd extinguished her wand light and only a shred of light came in from the other side of the closet from Filch's lantern. Filch began trying to open the door. They held their breath tightly. He muttered something and then walked away. They sighed with relief when they heard the door shut; Filch was gone.
"Alright, James, let us out," Sirius called. No one answered him. "James, nice trick, but let us out now."
Still, no one answered him.
"Lily, open the door for us!" Krystyna said loudly.
No one answered her. Sirius got a little frustrated and banged on the locked door.
"James, let us out!" he shouted. Still, no one answered. Krystyna sighed deeply and leaned against the back of the wall. The closet was empty, but there still wasn't a lot of room and from the looks of it, they'd be in here for a while. Sirius sighed grumpily. "I'm sorry for James doing this to you. Since he used that special charm, he's the only one that can let us out of here."
"Oh, well, it's okay, really," Krystyna sighed. Sirius sat down and leaned against the wall. Krystyna fell down to the floor, her knees against her chest. The pictures of that dream she'd had over the summer flashed in her mind again.
Great, I'm locked in a closet with Sirius Black - not that it's a bad thing, Krystyna thought.
"It could've been worse," Krystyna blurted, flashing a grin. What was she talking about? Sirius cocked his head.
"Oh, what's worse than being locked in a closet with me?" he grumbled, remembering that Krystyna probably hated him now.
"I could be locked in a closet with Snape..." Krystyna said thoughtfully. Sirius smiled. That was true. "Or even worse, I could be locked in a closet with Malfoy."
They both laughed.
"But still..." Sirius mumbled. Six years of Krystyna snapping at him flashed before his eyes. He could see every time he flirted with her and she just rolled her eyes. Every time she yelled at him and docked points off of Gryffindor because of him - every single time Krystyna told him that she did not like him at all came to mind.
"Oh, you're not bad," Krystyna sighed. Sirius looked over to her quickly. "I don't blame you at all. It's James, and I only think of him as this way. I'm just so tired and wish I could go to bed..."
Sirius rubbed his eyes and remembered that he was tired too.
"Yeah, me too," he yawned.
They were silent for a while.
Sirius leaned his head against the wall and sighed. It was dark. James had locked him in a closet with Krystyna Melanie. It had been a dream that seemed so far away, but now that it'd actually happened, he didn't know what to do except sulk or panic. It was a lousy dream, if this was all that was going to happen.
Krystyna leaned her head against the wall and began to think. But she didn't want to think at all; she was too tired to think. And everything was just too much to think about. She was being forced to confront her new feelings about Sirius by being locked in a small closet with him. She was going to murder James when she got out of here.
But, as she couldn't do that just yet, she closed her eyes. The wall wasn't as comfortable as her pillow and bed; the wall was hard and her pillow was soft. She was never going to be able to go to sleep. Sirius was burning up so he took the huge black cloak off and just left his Hogwarts robes on.
Krystyna was also burning up, but she didn't want to take the black cloak off and then get cold and put it back on. There was no sense in it; it was pointless. But she was burning up. The breeze and cold didn't seem to get through to this closet. After she started sweating, she took the cloak off. Luckily, she didn't feel cold at all - still burning - and decided to leave it off.
It was strange for the both of them though - Sirius especially. After all, he was the boy that could make girls swoon. Yet, Krystyna had never done that, and she was the one that he'd always liked - somehow differently than all the other girls he'd ever dated. He had an utmost confidence when talking with girls. Yet, with Krystyna, he was either an idiot or a prat. If this were any other pretty girl - like that one from Ravenclaw -he'd probably be snogging her right now. Yet, with Krystyna, he couldn't do that. He wasn't brave enough to do that.
And I'm a Gryffindor, really, Sirius thought, laughing in his mind.
For Krystyna, she was stuck in a closet with a boy she wasn't sure if she liked or disliked. Her emotions and thoughts were unbalanced. She thought she disliked him, but now her heart was saying that she did like him after all. And she was also tired. That didn't help her any. Why did life and emotions have to be so confusing?
"We'll probably never fall asleep," Sirius blurted. "I'm sorry."
Krystyna grinned and he could see it slightly as she opened her tired eyes.
"It's okay, and you don't have to keep apologizing; I don't blame you a bit," she replied calmly.
They were quiet. A question was tugging on Krystyna's mind. She wanted to ask it so bad so she just did.
"What's it like?" Krystyna asked out of the blue.
Sirius stared at her, bewildered. "What's what like?" he repeated.
Krystyna searched for the words in her mind. "What's it like to be free from your parents?" she asked quietly, looking down at her feet. She moved her legs so that her knees weren't against her chest. Sirius stared at her and looked into her eyes.
"It's...the best," he said, not wanting to make her feel bad. "I don't get punished for hanging out with James and I can eat all I want. I can have fun, be loud, and run around. I don't get yelled at constantly and I don't get punished."
Krystyna looked away.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you feel bad," he apologized quickly.
"No, no, you didn't make me feel bad, it's quite alright," she replied, dismissing it quickly with a wave of her hand. She didn't feel bad, she felt good actually.
At the end of the year, it would be over and she could severe all ties with her family (except Andrew). She'd go to the Auror Academy; learn to become a top-notch Auror; and never have to see the rest of her family again. The torture would be over. She had a lot to look forward to.
"I'm just thinking of how it'll be like after I graduate this year." She closed her eyes and a tear fell down her cheek. "It sounds great."
James didn't expect this to happen, Sirius thought, staring at a girl he'd never thought as fragile before.
Yet, he knew all the words to say because this was exactly how he felt the night before he'd run away to live with James. He mustered all of his Gryffindor courage - which seemed so small but was actually a lot - and grabbed her hand. She looked back at him with her eyes open and they stared at each other.
"Yeah, it is," Sirius replied, smiling faintly. "And I really respect that you could handle it longer than I ever could. It's-it's just plain amazing that you could withstand all that punishment and your brother's. I respect that a lot. I never could."
"Your parents probably did it harder than mine-"
But Sirius shook his head, interrupting her. "No way, I just hang out with James," he said firmly. "You hang out with Lily Evans, a Muggle-born witch. That's like a blow to your parents. You also defy them in being set up with Lucius Malfoy. You know, they treat you worse than my parents ever did."
There was silence in which Krystyna smiled.
"Thanks," she suddenly whispered.
Sirius grinned. They were both extremely tired and were both extremely uncomfortable in the closet, yet, comfortable with who they were stuck in the closet with. There was no tension in the air at all. There was an immediate change in the air around them, a change that neither of them seemed to mind or care about.
Krystyna yawned sleepily and laid her head against Sirius's shoulder. Sirius grinned as he saw her close her eyes. She didn't care anymore. She felt comfortable being around him now. She leaned up against him and curled her legs up behind herself. She nuzzled herself closer to him and exhaled.
It wasn't so bad. Actually, it was pretty nice. He was a lot better than the closet wall, and he was actually soft. Her free hand lay at her feet. Sirius was warm; and she finally felt safe after everything that had happened today...
Sirius leaned in on Krystyna and laid his head on hers. He smiled softly. He put his free hand around her small waist and closed his eyes. She was warm and soft. Her hair smelled of strawberries too.
Yeah, I'll thank you when I get out of here, James, Sirius thought. You were right. I'll definitely thank you when I get out of here...
Before he could think of anything else, Sirius drifted off into a sleep that was actually nice. He was comfortable and everything just seemed right in the world. Every bad memory he had had disappeared. None of his troubles mattered anymore. He felt really good. If Dementors sucked good memories out of him, Krystyna took the terrible memories away.
Sirius and Krystyna fell asleep leaning on each other in the closet.
Author notes: Thank you for reading.