𝙰 𝙳𝚘𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙰 𝙳𝚘𝚟𝚎 - 𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘

Chapter 22

Euphemia knew something was up the moment Sirius and Aurelia arrived home, rosy-cheeked and huddled side by side. She stood at the banister looking over the entrance to her home, noting how Sirius held Aurelia's hand in his own, how Aurelia looked up at him with the same look James shared with Lily.

How both of their lips were just slightly bruised.

"I was wondering when you two would finally admit it to each other," she said softly, grinning down at the two teenagers. Sirius, who hadn't realised Euphemia had been watching them, flinched, clutching at his heart as if he'd suffered from a heart attack.

"Godric, Mia, you frightened the pants off of me!" Sirius exclaimed, leaning on Aurelia for support. "I think I need bloody therapy now."

"Ah, you'll be fine," Euphemia said, waving off Sirius' whining. "I'd much prefer to know how it was my two practically adopted children came home hand in hand looking as if they'd been pashing for quite some time."

Aurelia's cheeks turned a deep crimson as Sirius choked on air, both now trying their hardest to not look at one another. Euphemia chuckled under her breath, turning on her heel, and as she walked towards James' room to check up on him, she spent one last glance at Sirius and Aurelia, who still held each other's hands.

"I want the full story after supper, you two," she called back, smoothing down a crease in her skirt. "And you have no way of getting out of that duty."

☽ ☼ ☾

Euphemia forced the new couple to tell the story of their evening three times before she finally let them go upstairs to see James, who was far better than he had been that morning. His bedroom was covered with quidditch posters and muggle bands that Sirius had shown him, as well as pictures of him and the Marauders, and every single letter he had ever received from Lily.

Even snippets of her handwriting from notes passed in class were pinned to the wall, above the one photo James had taken with her on a date last October. To say their friends had been surprised was an understatement – Alice had fainted, and Remus had barely caught her, only getting there thanks to his heightened senses.

Aurelia could not help the grin that still lay plastered to her face, nor the hand that had refused to leave her boyfriend's the entire time.

Oh, she liked that word.

Never, in all of her premonitions and dreams, had she ever dreamt about Sirius asking her to be his girlfriend, let alone become one of her closest friends. It was strange – she'd never had a premonition about her personally, despite knowing the near futures of all of her loved ones.

But Aurelia could not care less. She'd always resented her gift, as those who knew of it called it, because she didn't just see people with the futures of their dreams, living until old age caught up with them.

She'd dreamt Eleanor and Kasey Louderman's deaths the day Lord Voldemort had announced himself to their world as the saviour to the Pure-Bloods, and since then, had been forced to watch as muggle and muggle-born fates alike were sealed, unchangeable as destiny had made her choice.

Knowing these things did not make the grief any better, and Aurelia knew that if her friends knew of the dark things she foreseen, word about her gift would spill from the tip of someone's tongue, and she'd become the most wanted witch in the entire wizarding world.

"Lia?"

Sirius' clear voice snapped Aurelia from her spiral of thoughts, and his dark grey eyes came into view, his hand caressing her cheek as if she were the most fragile jewel in the entire world. "You zoned out, Lia. Are you alright?"

Aurelia nodded, swallowing a few times as she realised her mouth had become dry, but Sirius was not convinced by the action, furrowing his brow as James called out to Aurelia. She bounded over to him, finally letting go of Sirius' hand, as the older boy looked over to where she'd been staring at the picture of Lily and James, who looked so in love despite the red-headed witch claiming otherwise.

Sirius knew how to lie. He'd done it for years until James had finally figured out what had really been happening at home, which had only been because Sirius had been asleep and James had slumped in late, accidentally falling on Sirius, causing him to hiss in a way he'd never done before from the pain of his injuries.

Sirius also knew how to spot liars, and he knew Aurelia was the most talented liar in his life. He knew she knew things, things of their futures that she'd never spill just so that they were all happy, but at the cost of her own happiness.

As he looked over to James and Aurelia now, both of whom were smiling in a tight hug, his own refused to pick up. He loved the girl so deeply and purely, that seeing her cover up what she'd seen each night in her dreams crushed his heart, even before he'd realised, he loved her.

She did not need to lie to him, and he was going to show her that in any way he could, no matter how many obstacles stood in his path. She'd suffered enough in her life from her past, and Sirius hated that now the future was also causing her to suffer silently. If not for her immense wisdom, Sirius would have pinned her for a Gryffindor, always protecting her loved ones from anything that could hurt them.

"Oi, Padfoot! Dove here tells me you finally admitted your feelings to each other," James said in a hoarse tone, grinning like a mad child on Christmas receiving the top gift on their wish list. Aurelia glanced up at Sirius, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, as James wrapped an arm around her, kissing her cheek.

"Welcome to the family, Dove," he hollered, coughing a few times into his free elbow. Aurelia blushed, shoving James off of her, and beckoned for Sirius to come over, patting a free spot on James bed beside her. Looking ever the innocent flower amongst the loudness of James and the rough exterior of Sirius, the latter could see just why so many accepted any lie from her tongue like it was a book of truth.

Never, could anyone imagine the horrors she saw every night in her dreams when Death and Destiny knocked at her door for a visit. Yet Sirius could see everything and knew he would not cower from the girl he loved.

He'd only offer support and love against that darkness.