Breaking Black (A Sirius Black Love Story)

Chapter 14

"Oooh, how about this one!" Lily said excitedly as she read from Felix's book of pranks. Lazily, she was sitting in the common room chair upside down, her long hair falling around her face to the ground. She had been reading the book to me all afternoon.

"You can totally do this! It involves setting his eyebrows on fire!" she squealed. As tempting as that sounded, I didn't want to do it.

"No... I don't think so Lil," I sighed and looked up at her from my transfiguration essay.

"Come on! I hate seeing you so down! Just one little prank!" Lily coaxed. Ever since the fight with Snape, I wasn't in the mood to prank Sirius. Of course, I missed it with a passion. But every time I brought myself to do something to him, it felt wrong. He stood up for me.

I owed him, in a way, for that day when he helped me. It had been over a month since my last prank! Maybe Sirius felt the same way about his pranks, he hadn't done anything to me in a while too. Every time I passed him in the corridors or sat near him, we exchanged only awkward small talk. If it was the beginning of a friendship, Merlin help me, it was a strange one.

"I can't bring myself to do it Lily." I sighed and fell back in the chair, letting my quill fall across my unfinished essay.

"Well... We have to do something to get you out of your slump!" Lily said and shut the book of pranks. "We can go to the library later, Sev and I are meeting there and maybe you can talk to him and-"

"For the hundredth time, Lil, no," I decided immediately. "I can't bring myself to forgive him. Not now, not ever."

I could tell my gloomy mood for the last month was starting to wear on Lily. She had always been my sunny best friend, but now that her two best friends weren't talking, she was quieter and less... Fiery. What happened between the Slytherins and I happened, and there was no way I could forgive Snape. He even tried to talk to me a few times, but I ignored him.

"Please bring my wild Lexi back!" Lily prayed and twirled around on her seat, so she was staring at me with her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees. "Please one prank? It'll make you feel better! I'll even help you!"

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Lily Evans?" I joked, watching her bat her long eyelashes innocently. "Whatever happened to your retirement from pranks?"

"I'll come out of it if you let loose and bring back the jokester Lexi! I'm sick of the moping Lexi!" Lily huffed.

"I... I just can't," I sighed. Part of me did want to ask Sirius to help me prank Filch, but I couldn't stoop that low... Just yet. "Why don't you go meet up with Snape like you planned..."

"I don't want to leave you here all alone!"

"It's fine, Remus is going to work on his potions essay with me later... I can always see what Mary Macdonald is up to..." I explained and thought about the blonde-haired girl who shared our dorm but I never really talked to.

"Remus? Mary?" Lily asked. "Remus isn't even here and you never talk to Mary!"

"I'll be fine Lily!" I spat irritably. Hurt flashed across her marvelous green eyes before she looked away and stood up.

"Oh... I guess I'll go then..." Lily trailed off and picked up her stack of books before exiting the portrait hole. I was starting to miserably push my friends away. Staring at my unfinished essays on the table, I sat alone, just listening to the crackle of the fire. End of the year exams were over a month and a half away, but the teachers were already piling on the work.

The minutes seemed to tick by as I waited for Remus to join me. A few of the older Gryffindors gave me strange looks as I just sat there staring out the window. Rain splattered against the pane, the April weather reflecting my dreary mood for the last month. Suddenly, the portrait hole swung open and a drenched Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter filed in.