"There is no evil in sorcery. Only in the hearts of men."
- Merlin
Almost everyone in the wizard community know who the Weasley Family is; an old line of purebloods with red hair, freckles and enough children to start their own Quidditch team. But S...
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In the weeks leading up to the finals nearly every student at Hogwarts seemed to have their noses stuck in books. Regulus held onto his promise from last year and 'forced' her to help him study for his OWLs. Balancing that with her own studies, Seraphina split her time between the Slytherin Dungeon and the library until she'd finished her final exam.
That meant she hadn't seen much of Sirius since their make-out session in an alcove. At least not alone. A few times he'd showed up when she studied with Remus — and had even joined them — but other than that their interactions were limited to stolen glances across the classroom or crowded hallways.
The first time Seraphina saw James after finding out he'd asked Lily for some space — until the end of summer — she apologised for her little outburst. Her words were only meant to protect him and he assured her that he held no grudge against her for speaking her mind.
With only two days left of her Sixth Year, Seraphina made sure to return all of the books she'd borrowed. Making an enemy out of Madam Pince really did not feel like a good way to go into her last year at Hogwarts.
"Sephy," Sirius's voice made her stop in her tracks just as she put a book on its shelf.
"Black," Seraphina said, keeping her voice casual. This was not the first time the two of them had kissed and then pretended like it did not happen. "You are rarely in the library when you have homework, so what brings you here?"
"You," Sirius said like it was obvious. He swaggered towards her, an easy grin on his face, "Do you know how annoying it is that you took your name off the map?"
"Yes, to find me you must do like the rest of us mortals and actually look for people," Seraphina placed another book in its place.
"I don't know how you do it," Sirius followed after her.
"So what can I do for you, Black?" Seraphina asked, picking up the last book from her bag. Unfortunately the shelf was too high up for her to reach.
"Need some help?" Sirius asked, stopping just behind her, close enough that she could feel his body brush against hers.
"No," Seraphina said stubbornly, spinning around to face him. The infuriating smirk adoring his lips only prompted her to follow her first instinct to not accept help.. "I just need a chair — Merlin's beard!" she exclaimed when Sirius bent down and encircled her legs with his arms, hoisting her up in the air. "Put me down, Black!"
Ignoring her, he turned around so that she was the one facing the shelf. Deciding that the battle already was lost, she placed the final book on the bookshelf and Sirius obeyed her request, lowering her down on the ground. Only his arms remained wrapped around her waist, holding her close.
"No," Sirius shook his head. Then he let go, took her hand and started leading her further into the library. The place was already pretty empty since everyone was going home in two days — only a handful of Ravenclaws could be seen searching for their summer reads — yet Sirius didn't stop until he reached the most desolate part with books no one ever read.
"Sirius-"
"No," Sirius said again, stopping as he turned around to face her. "It's always 'we can't' never 'I don't want to'. I would never — never — force you into anything you don't want." When she looked down, he placed a finger beneath her chin, forcing her to look at him, "But I want you to answer me honestly: do you have feelings for me?"
"I —," Seraphina's voice died in her throat.
Her and Sirius friendship had always been different from the bond she shared with the other boys. And kissing him — it made her feel things she'd never felt before. That one time she slept with Pucey was good but the only feeling she had towards him happened to be attraction.
Admittedly, she was attracted to Sirius — which really couldn't be considered weird if you were a straight woman — yet it went further than that. Had attraction been the only thing she felt, Sera would either have pushed him away years ago or she would have given into temptation and shagged. However the fear of losing Sirius in her life held her back.
Pushing away him and all of her friends made it easier to ignore those feelings. Being mad at him meant she could squash any attraction down by ignoring his very existence. Only he continued to work himself into her life.
"I," Seraphina tried again, "may have some feelings for you." Cringing at how awkward she felt, Seraphina nearly missed Sirius's smile. Upon noticing it, she asked, "Why are you so happy?"
"When the girl you fancy finally admits she fancies you back — you are allowed to smile," Sirius shrugged, hands going into the pockets of his black trousers.
"These feelings you have for me will pass," Seraphina told him. "That's what you always do: you find a girl, charm her and once you've shagged her once or twice you move on to the next."
"Not with you," Sirius said firmly, shaking his head. "I don't want to shag you — okay, that's a lie, I do want to — but that's not everything. I —," he rubbed his neck nervously, "I am not exactly James when it comes to love confessions."
"Thank Salazar for that," Seraphina said.
"But I need you to know that if you give me a chance, I will do everything in my power to make sure you won't regret it," Sirius vowed, reaching up to brush a red strand of hair away from her forehead. "You don't have to give me an answer now. Take the summer if you want."
"I will," Seraphina promised.
"Brilliant," Sirius said, "now we need to find the lads." He grabbed her hand and started dragging her through the library once more.
"Why?" Seraphina frowned in confusion.
"Because the End of the Year Prank is back on and we need your help."
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The next day, when the doors to the Great Hall opened for the end of the year feast, the students and teachers were all shocked by the sight of popcorn covering the entire hall. The layer of popcorn was about one metre high, casing all four tables.
"POTTER! BLACK! LUPIN! PETTIGREW!" McGonagall roared, searching the crowd of students for the four troublemakers.
"Yes, Minnie?" Sirius said in the most innocent tone he could muster. Perhaps it was that Gryffindor courage that prevented him from shaking in fear when McGonagall turned her glare towards them.
"Now, now, Minerva," Dumbledore said calmly, "let us not point fingers." In that moment, Sera had no doubts that should it come to a fight Albus Dumbledore — the most powerful wizard of his time — would not stand a chance against the raging McGonagall.
Leaning against a nearby wall, Seraphina watched in amusement as Dumbledore tried to prevent McGonagall from murdering the Marauders in front of the entire school.
Feeling three pairs of eyes on her, Seraphina asked, "What?"
"There is no way those four pulled that off on their own," Pucey scoffed.
"And you kept stalling us so that we wouldn't arrive too early," Avery added in a low voice.
"Not to mention that you're brilliant in Charms," Regulus finished quietly. "What spell did you use?" he asked curiously. That the prank amused him was likely an exaggeration but the magic behind it required talent.
"I am completely innocent," Seraphina gasped dramatically. "Although — if I must guess, I'd say this is an effect of the Gemino Curse — with a tweak."
