My Little Decoy {Serendipity}

[Yunalesca]

Sixth year, one year out from being done with school. It was the most convenient time to find a guy to take home to the parents, but Rayna McKinnon wondered if that would happen this year. She sat alone on platform 9 ¾, without a boyfriend. It didn’t bother her much, but her parents had been on her for some time about it. She’d had a few guys over the course of her school career, but none had really lasted. She wasn’t tame enough for anything to go steady for too long. Of course her disinterest didn’t bother one certain person who pursued her almost relentlessly. At the thought of the would-be suitor made her slam her book in irritation and bounce her foot aggressively. He was a Slytherin and she was a Gryffindor. The match was as impossible as him. He only wanted her for her looks. She knew he would consider her his 'trophy'.

The witch ran a hand through her hair and straightened her suit top. There had been one boy who had caught her eye, however. It was unlikely anything would ever occur, but she couldn’t help but be attracted to Sirius Black. She’d gotten plenty of warnings from her friends to know he was trouble, but then she was too. She didn’t delve into quite the things she knew he and his friends did, but she wasn’t quite the proper girl that her little sister Sophia was. It irritated her parents to no end, both wishing for her to become some sort of high ranking member of the Ministry court. That didn’t interest her, too boring a job really.

She began to wonder what it would be like to run around with one of the most reckless boys at school. It was unlike her to think about boys, but she was alone and undisturbed at the moment; without anything to keep her mind busy she became an average teenage girl. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the Slytherin boy's voice echoing down the platform. He was talking with some of his friends and she had the aching feeling it was about how he'd get her this year. Before he would get too close, she grabbed her trolly, loaded with her trunks and owl, and wheeled it behind a pillar. She could handle him, her skills just as good as his, but if she could avoid interaction she would. The last thing she wanted was to encourage him by what he called, 'playing hard to get'.

His voice grew nearer and she pressed her back against the bricks and remained quiet. She always stood up and faced her enemies, but now that they were older, more experienced in magic; he'd been after her for two years, she felt he would start using force. It seemed to be very much the Slytherin thing to do. They always got what they wanted in any way they could. It wouldn't take much for him and his friends to overpower her. She didn't want to think about what he would try to do. They were almost adults and with hormones. She cringed until his voice faded away.

We took a walk that night, but it wasn't the same
We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain
She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go
She couldn't scream while I held I close
I swore I'd never let her go

After a few moments she poked her head around and saw the platform starting to bustle with students. Figuring it was safe, she wheeled her trolley back into the open. Her long eared owl hopped around on his perch and hooted to its owner. "I know. I want to go too, Argo." She said and pet the bird through the bars. Argo rubbed his head against her fingers, but then looked away and started to hoot. "What is it?" She asked and looked over to where her owl's hoots were directed. James Potter was coming her way and she felt he heat rise in her face. Where James was, his troupe was sure to be right behind him. She'd hardly ever seen James without the three other boys, Sirius, Remus, and Peter (whom she'd never cared for in the least bit). While she was distracted she didn't hear the warning of a first year as he lost control of his trolley. When she did look his trolley ran into hers and he flew over it and knocked her over. She hit the floor hard and provided padding for the boy when he landed. "Bloody hell!" She said aloud and gripped her arm as pain started to shoot down it.

"I'm sorry, miss!" The boy said as he got off her and fell back onto his rump. She got to her feet and brushed the dirt off her white breeches.

"S'alright." She said and bit back harsh comments. He was only a first year after all. He had to be a nervous wreck as it was and she didn't need to add to it. Sighing she pulled him to his feet and gathered her things. Argo squawked at her as she lifted his cage back onto the trunks. She glared at him as she quickly arranged everything. She had to get out of there. She quickly pushed her trolley ahead and raised her hand to her brow to try and cover her red cheeks. She was royally flushed with embarrassment. She could just imagine everyone remembering that during Quidditch tryouts this year.

Tell me what you want to know
Oh come on, oh come on, oh come on
There ain't no motive for this crime
Jenny was a friend of mine
So come on, oh come on, oh come on

When the train arrived, the blonde boarded before anyone else and secured a compartment in the back of the train, hopefully far away from everyone else. Her face was still red as she thought about the incident that'd happened. She almost wished she'd had a confrontation with the Slytherin boy instead. At least then she would have some dignity if there were a fight. Instead she'd been knocked over by a first year in front tons of people. She took a deep breath and let it out to calm herself. In a hundred years, who's going to care?

As she was loading her luggage above the seat she heard someone slide open her compartment door. "Sorry,"she started. "I'd like this to myself..." She turned and saw a rather tall guy before her dressed in Slytherin robes. She knew him, they called him Goyle and he was one of her would-be suitors buddies. "Leave me alone." She said and went to grab her wand from the seat. Before she could grab it he had a hold on her hair and started to drag her out into the hall. "Let me go!" She yelled, knowing it was falling on deaf ears. She should've known better. Slytherin's almost always preferred the back of the train and they'd just mock her as she was dragged down the hall by her hair screaming for help.

"Hey Lucius! Look what I found in the back. A little mouse in a compartment all alone."Goyle laughed as they got closer to the man who'd been trying for her for years. Lucius Malfoy turned around and smiled down at her as she pulled from Goyle's grip.

"My, how you like to play hard to get, my little Rayna McKinnon." Lucius said and ran a finger down the side of her cheek as another of his henchmen, Crabbe, held her by the arms so she couldn't struggle. He looked her over from top to bottom and she hated it. She wished she'd changed into her robes earlier because in her current top she felt very out in the open under his gaze.

"Let me go Lucius." She said in a warning tone before kicking him over and wriggling free of Crabbe and Goyle's grips. She jumped over the kneeling Lucius and started to run. She didn't get far as a Slytherin boy tripped her and she fell to the floor. Without a pause she rolled onto her back and started to scoot away from Lucius as he angrily started for her. She'd never been afraid of him until now. His icy eyes were full of terrible intentions. She knew what he wanted to do to her.

She tried to get up and run, but he caught up to her and grabbed her then slammed her back first against the wall. "I'm tired of your games Rayna. I think it’s time you give in and let me have you." He said in her ear as she turned her face away. Many of the Slytherins were in the hall watching and laughing at her. She never should've wished to have a confrontation with Lucius Malfoy. But then she hadn't known how far he'd go to get what he wanted. "Are you done with your games, my pet?" He asked her and she clenched her eyes closed. She could feel his breath on her neck and she couldn't do anything but try not to cry. She was defenseless without her wand and Lucius was much bigger than her. He pressed his body against her and she tried to fight against him.

"Stop it!"She pled and it made everybody laugh at her once more.

"Just a little kiss, Rayna. We'll start with just a kiss." He said and nuzzled her neck.

"Stop, please stop it Lucius!"She cried as he kissed her neck this time. The last place in the world she wanted to be right then was pinned against the wall of the train by Lucius Malfoy. She felt she was afraid of very little in the world, but the Malfoy's were something to definitely be afraid of. If Lucius became half the man his father was he would be frightening still. They are an old family that held prominence in the wizarding world and generally got what they wanted. That was Lucius's mindset and he may never stop until he had her.

His nose had been steadily moving up her neck, but it stopped at her chin and he pulled back slightly to look her in the eye. She had closed them as though it would make it stop and she refused to open them now. She doubted he had a conscience and felt bad about what he was doing, but maybe if he witnessed her pain he might just stop. "I'll stop harassing you if you just say yes," he whispered in her ear, his voice making her grow even colder.

"Why would I ever do that?" She whispered in return and he chuckled deep in his throat.

"Just date me and this will be over. Date me and I won't have to force this on you anymore." He offered to her and she felt like throwing up. However, this had been gokng on for so long she didn't know how much longer she could handle it. She still had a year of him being around and he was impervious to reprimanding. Could he keep doing this?

"I'll date you," she finally whispered back and had to fight the bile rising in her throat as she did so. She had just signed a deal with the devil, paying for it with her soul.

I know my rights, I've been here all day and it's time
For me to go, so let me know if it's alright
I just can't take this, I swear I told you the truth
She couldn't scream while I held her close
I swore I'd never let her go

[Serendipity]

I'm a reckless mistake
I'm a cold night's intake
I'm a one night too long
I'm a come on too strong

Sirius Black was leaning against one of the many pillars lining platform 9 ¾, arms folded across his chest and legs crossed at the ankles. He was waiting for his friends knowing he was the first of them to arrive at the Hogwarts Express and so he had already picked out a compartment, put his trunk away, changed into his school robes, pissed off a few of the fourth years with a prank or two and almost gotten into a fight with a Slytherin but since he was three years younger than Sirius he had left it alone. But growing impatient waiting for James, Remus and Peter’s arrival he’d gotten off the train to wait for them on the platform instead.

“Sirius!”

The tall dark haired Gryffindor turned his gaze towards the sound of James’s voice, his striking grey orbs honing in on his messy haired friend. He uncurled himself from the pillar and stretched his arms over his head, smiling broadly as James drew closer. He was extremely happy to see his friend after a long summer stuck in Black Manor with his horrible family. “’bout time, where the bloody hell were you, and have you seen Moony yet?” He asked when James was in earshot trying to stifle some of his annoyance for being made to wait so long for them. If they didn’t hurry someone else might stake claim to the compartment he had found when he first arrived, all of his things were stored away inside but another group of students could easily take it if they wanted too. Sirius wasn’t keen on sharing with anyone else but his friends, their secret business was not to fall on anyone else’s ears but their own.

James shook his head as he leant against his trolley he straightened his black rimmed glasses on his nose, “No, not yet…but there was a small commotion back there a bit maybe he’s got caught up in it.” The boy shrugged a little. “And…I can’t help it if my mother makes a fuss, you’d think she’d get over it by now, I’ve been going to Hogwarts for six years now,” James rolled his eyes behind his glasses. “At least your mother worries about you, mine just can’t wait until I leave again,” Sirius was quick to point out quirking his brow at his best friend and received a sympathetic glance from James briefly before the two of them made their way onto the train.

Sirius was sure his own mother counted the days until it was time for him to go back to Hogwarts for another year. She and his father were not happy about the choices he’d made in the last six years, starting with getting sorted into Gryffindor rather than Slytherin like they’d expected him too. He didn’t care for their blood purity beliefs; a witch was a witch and a wizard a wizard in his opinion this ‘full blood’ nonsense was just that…nonsense. “Moony can find us on the train, I don’t want to lose the compartment I found earlier,” He said though he quickly glanced back over his shoulder just to make sure Moony hadn’t suddenly made an appearance. He hadn’t.

I'm a hold my cards close
I'm a wreck what I love most
I'm a first class let down
I'm a shut up sit down

He had found a compartment somewhere in the middle of the train to James’s surprise, he’d been sure Sirius would pick a compartment at the back since Remus hadn’t been there to protest. The majority of the Slytherin’s sat at the back of the train and Remus was always imploring both James and Sirius to stay clear of the back of the train for that exact reason. “I didn’t feel like listening to Remus tell us how he wants us to stay out of trouble at least until we got to Hogwarts.” Sirius shrugged when James asked why they didn’t sit in the back with the Slytherin’s. Remus finally arrived as James finished putting his trunk away and Sirius was placing a silencing spell on the compartment so they could talk about anything they wanted without some nosy first year overhearing. The four friends had secrets they’d much rather keep to themselves and Sirius never liked having their business spread all around the school.

“Has anyone seen Wormtail? I thought he’d find us by now. I swear that boy is missing a few brain cells…” He posed the question between James and Remus and although his words were slightly offending towards Peter there was a hint of fondness in his voice. They had all gotten used to Peter’s absent-minded personality, he made up for it by always being willing to help them out with a prank or spy on another fellow student if need be. Remus looked at him through narrowed eyes and shook his light brown head, he never liked to speak ill of anyone – unless it was a Slytherin- and especially not a friend. James shook his head also but didn’t seem too fussed by the lack of Peter’s presence.

“I bet he’s getting picked on by a Slytherin,” Sirius pondered aloud; “I should go find him. He might get hurt.” He suggested and before Remus could point out that he only wanted to make trouble he slipped through the compartment door, he hadn’t bothered to hide his mischievous grin as he left. The dark haired Gryffindor hurried down towards the back of the train before Remus could stop him. It wasn’t long before he was amongst the Slytherin’s and apart from a few deathly stares most of them ignored him and he didn’t bother with them anyway. He was on the lookout for one particular greasy haired Slytherin. He’d find Snape first and look for Peter later; it had been too long since he’d taught Snape another lesson about interfering in their business.

However, oddly enough, it didn’t appear that the other boy was down with the other Slytherins. A disappointed frown took over Sirius’s dark features as he realized he might just have to wait until they reached the school before he could taunt the greasy haired git. With a sigh he was about to turn around and head back, this time taking a proper look for Peter, when a girl's frantic cry caught his attention coming from one of the very end compartments. A curious Sirius decided to see what was going on and moved closer to the end compartment as quietly as he could. The boy ducked a ducked a little so he wouldn’t be seen through the window, crouching down outside the door before peering up into the window in time to see Lucius Malfoy pin a girl up against the far wall of the room. Either this was some strange Slytherin foreplay or Lucius was ignoring the girl's protests and look of distaste on her face, frankly Sirius couldn’t decide what was going on but his first instincts were to rush inside and help the girl.

"Just a little kiss, Rayna. We'll start with just a kiss." Sirius heard Lucius whisper as he seemed to nuzzle her neck. He tried not to gag at the sight of Lucius Malfoy necking someone and quickly decided that whatever was happening in there it was none of his business although he did think he recognised the girl from somewhere but with Malfoy all over her he couldn’t place who she was or where he’d seen her before. But she had to be another Slytherin, there was no way any Gryffindor or Hufflepuff would make out with a Slytherin. If she were a Ravenclaw maybe…

His thoughts were interrupted as Goyle moved inside the compartment Sirius was spying on and before he was caught he snuck away from the door as though he’d never been there in the first place. Peter obviously wasn’t down this way so it was time to head back, they would find him eventually. Sirius couldn’t help glancing back one last time at the end compartment, something bugged him about the whole thing but he ignored the unsettling feeling rather than acknowledging it.

Remus met him on the way back, obviously out to make sure he hadn’t gotten himself into trouble. “Hey Moony, you’ll never believe what I just saw! Quite disturbing really…” Sirius greeted his friend and filled him in on what he’d witnessed on the way back to their compartment.

All my life I've been living in the fast lane,
Can't slow down, I'm a rollin' freight train
One more time, gotta start all over
Can't slow down I'm a lone red rover

[Yunalesca]

What have I done she thought to herself as she stepped off the train, now in her robes and contemplating burning the clothes she had been wearing on the train. She didn't think it would matter, however, as she felt like scrubbing her skin until it came off. No amount of soap or fire could possibly wipe away the disgust she was feeling with herself now that she had become Lucius' girlfriend. Girlfriend she thought and almost banged her head on the train engine. She had done this so he would stop stalking her, stop making her life miserable, but she felt like this was a bigger mistake to have made. Now he would always be there and she would have to do as he said or his hands would be all over her again. But how long would he be patient with her? Once she had humored him he had been a gentleman on the train, though she had not been allowed to leave his side until she had to change when they were almost to Hogwarts. He had relatively ignored her as he had gotten what he wanted, but his hand on her thigh was a reminder she was property now. She was an idiot and felt there was no safe way out of this predicament. If she backed out on him he might make it even worse, his threats could become very real and she wasn't so sure any teacher could protect her from it. She would have to be careful on how this was handled, the first step was in not throwing up when she was beside him. She had never really had a reputation at the school but she feared one might grow the moment she was forced to step out with him.

I've ended my own life she thought to herself as students passed her by, a few glancing at her as to wondering why she wasn't moving and maybe why she was so pale. Lucius was letting her go now as she had to sit with her housemates, but he might insist on walking her to the carriage if she didn't hide herself in the crowd. She had to enjoy what freedom she had at this moment as she was already clued in to the fact that Lucius would control her free time and it would have to be with him. He had been gentle in telling her she would warm up to him in time, but she knew she never would. Before she had been able to hide from him but now she had to seek him out lest he come looking for her. She had struck the deal in the heat of the moment, obliging to anything to get him off her, but maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. She wanted to entertain this idea even though it wouldn’t be so. She wanted to think it would be easier to play house with him for a while each day instead of spending every waking moment trying to avoid him. She wanted to believe this would make it easier for her. They were all lies and she knew that in the bottom of her heart, but if she lied to herself right now she might survive the night without throwing up. She didn’t even want to consider eating, but if she didn’t people were bound to notice. She liked her cauldron cakes and mashed potatoes; it would be entirely obvious something was wrong if she wasn’t indulging in those. Pretend it never happened, pretend he doesn’t exist. That’s always worked she mused before making herself step away from the train and toward the carriages that would carry the students to the castle.

*

She was fortunate to arrive to the Great Hall without a Slytherin escort, because that would look great, but she was not so fortunate in avoiding one of her friends. Selia Abbott was a relatively popular member of Gryffindor with a quick wit and no nonsense attitude though she had a passionately sensitive side if you were lucky enough to witness it as her friends did. Unfortunately another trait of hers was that she had to know everything, it was a wonder at times as to why she hadn’t been sorted into Ravenclaw. Of course Rayna was grateful to have her for a friend as she wasn’t particularly great at making them, but now she was more of a nuisance since the blonde wanted nothing more than for the day to end given how awful it had begun. She had spent much of the summer staying with the Abbott’s as her parents had been focused on readying her younger sister for school, Beauxbatons luckily. The last thing Rayna needed was to draw her sister into the disaster that had become her life. “You didn’t sit with us on the train, did you meet a boy?” Selia prodded with an air of excitement at the possibility, but upon seeing how tight her friends face got at the question her attitude quickly changed. Now was not when Rayna wanted to disclose anything to her, but it was obvious the brunette was not having her silence. When she tried to shrug off the question, Selia took hold of her arm and halted her from advancing on the Gryffindor table and the few seats that were left for upper classmen.

“Did something happen?!” She urged, making Rayna look her in the eyes as others made their way around them to find their seats. She really did not want to do this now. She really didn’t want to do this ever if she were being completely honest with the situation.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she dismissed and pulled from Selia momentarily before she was stopped again, her friend standing in her path now. She swore if this was going to cause a scene she may as well drop out and go home, call it a year and try again later. Surely she wouldn’t be the first to drop out of school, right?

“Does it have something to do with this?” She questioned and produced Rayna’s mahogany wand which in turn made her swallow any excuse she might have come up with. Selia wasn’t stupid and wouldn’t fall for some lame excuse when she had left her wand behind. Apparently her friends had gone looking for her and found her things instead, that surely didn’t look good for her. She quietly took her wand with cold hands and turned her eyes away as it seemed she wasn’t going to move until she got an explanation. Selia would stand there out of stubbornness; she would make a scene if it got her answers.

“Lucius,” was all she uttered before Selia’s brows flicked upward curiously and she was easily sidestepped. Rayna had to pause, however, as she saw there were few seats left at this point and those few seats were rooted right next to a group of boys she really didn’t want to sit by. Please don’t let this be happening she wailed in her mind as she noted Sirius Black deep in conversation with his friends. This was it, this was the point she would say no more. She turned to make an exit from the hall, but her friend stopped her and turned her back toward the seats, holding her arm and making her move toward them. “No, we can’t sit there,” Rayna whispered harshly to her friend but she was having none of it.

“There’s nowhere else left. He’s not even going to notice you, he hasn’t in the last five years, why would he possibly notice now?!” She responded with a bit of a grumble. She was well aware of Rayna’s from afar infatuation with the boy and had grown tired of her never making a move. The blonde was comfortable with not being noticed and not making a fool of herself, Selia was able to flirt with boys and not be worried. They were opposite sides of the coin and that was why Rayna needed her friend more than the brunette needed her.

Rayna sat on the far side from the group, making Selia roll her eyes before she slipped into her seat with barely an acknowledgement of those around her. She wasn’t interested in them anyway, she was interested in what Rayna had to say. “What’d he do this time? Try kiss you again? Threaten the lives of little puppies?” She remarked in a lower voice as this was a sensitive topic.

“I’d rather that be what he did,” she returned before shaking her head and forcefully drinking water from the goblet before her. The old Lucius was childs play, the current Lucius was becoming a monster who refused to be ignored any longer.

“You can tell me. I’ll march over there and hex him now. You would have if you’d had your wand, I wonder what he’d look like with…”

“I’m dating him.” There. It tumbled out and she couldn’t take it back. The truth had set itself free and it made Selia stop dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened at first, then turned to a look of humor as though it were a joke, then one of anger as she realized Rayna was serious.

“Stop it. It’s not funny.” Her friend said in a threatening manner before Rayna had to swallow her own anger, anger at herself for being drawn into this.

“It’s not funny. And it’s real.” She whispered back before the Headmaster was calling their attention. Selia stared at her friend in horror as she forced her eyes up to the front of the room and the first years as they began their sorting. Nothing further could be said at that moment as it would be considered rude. For this, Rayna was grateful.

[Serendipity]

Sirius was a little disappointed that Remus had only reacted with a nod then a shrug to his big news about what he had just witnessed. The other boy didn’t seem too concerned by the fact that Lucius was necking some girl in his compartment and more concerned that Sirius had used his time to spy on the Slytherin rather than look for Peter. “I looked. He’s not here.” Sirius explained although even to his own ears it didn’t sound like he had tried very hard to search for their friend. “Fine,” He sighed heavily, “Let’s keep looking.” Sirius said and both boys searched the back of the train once more for Peter before continuing their search elsewhere.

They found Peter in their compartment with James some time later, it appeared that the boy had found them as Sirius had first said he would. He quickly curbed his frustration over wasting almost the entire train ride to Hogwarts by eagerly filling James in on what he’d seen earlier. James was far more interested in this knowledge then Remus had been, at least for a little while until the speculation over who the girl was lost its appeal after they came to the conclusion that she just had to be a Slytherin and Lucius dating another Slytherin was old news.

Sirius forgot about what he’d discovered as the conversation turned to Quidditch and all the pranks they could pull being sixth years now. There were a ton of new spells they were now allowed to practice, not that it had stopped them anyway, but they didn’t have to hide it now. They were still talking about how they were going to pull off their first prank of the year as they stepped off the train and waited for the carriages to arrive.

---- ---- ---- ----

Sirius and his friends found their seats in the Great Hall all of them eager for the feast to begin as they had all complained at least once of how hungry they were during the carriage ride up to the castle. As usual the Hall was filled with excited chatter about everyone’s summer and guesses of which house the new students would be sorted into. “He looks like a Gryffindor for sure!” Sirius pointed to a first year with flaming red hair and freckles who looked like he was about to throw up at any moment. Not the best attribute for a Gryffindor but Sirius remembered how rough the boat ride up to the castle could be and couldn’t blame the boy for feeling a little sickly afterwards.

“Quite possibly.” Remus nodded as he poured himself a cup of pumpkin' juice and then passed the jug along to James once he was done. The jug was passed around until all four of them had a full glass of pumpkin' juice and Sirius placed the jug back in the middle of the table, grinning with amusement as it re-filled itself. His amusement vanished as two figures came to sit at the table beside them, not because he didn’t want anyone else sitting next to them but because something about the blonde girl who sat down on the opposite side of the table next to James bothered him. Her friend sat beside him and was already hunching over the table so they could whisper between themselves.

“Sirius?” James called for his attention and it was only then that the black haired male realised he hadn’t been paying attention to his own group of friends. “Huh?” He turned his gaze back over to James who was shaking his head now and snickering a little to himself. “I was saying…”

But Sirius didn’t hear him as it finally clicked as to why the blonde Gryffindor seemed familiar. She was the girl from the train and she wasn’t a Slytherin at all! The two girls must have been whispering about what had happened on the train, retelling the sordid details as girls liked to do. Thankfully the Headmaster called for their attention and Sirius was distracted by the sorting process.

“The Slytherin’s didn’t get as many this year!” James happily pointed out as the ceremony ended and the feast was laid out before them. It was always a good thing whenever the Slytherin House lost out in some way and this time it was in the amount of first years they’d received. “A lot less of them to torment though.” Sirius added in slight disappointment but still it meant the Slytherin ranks hadn’t grown too much.

His attention turned back to the girl across the table. “I’ll bet Lucius isn’t pleased that there won’t be enough Slytherin’s to boss around this year. I heard he makes all the first years personal slaves.” He wasn’t certain why he’d felt the need to comment, perhaps because Lucius himself wasn’t around to make said comment to. “You’ll have to comfort him some more.” He said an almost sly grin crossing his lips as he hinted that he knew what she’d been up to on the train.

[Yunalesca]

The sorting ceremony was the only peace she was going to get for a while so she basked in it while trying to figure out what to say when Selia would surely pounce her verbally as it ended. This was not a good place to be talking about it, but the brunette wasn’t going to care about the venue to which the conversation was taking place. Rayna didn’t want anyone to overhear and overhear they would if it broke out into an argument that she was betting on happening. It didn’t really make a difference as everyone would know soon enough when she was forced to step out hand in hand with the Slytherin’s golden boy, but if she could prolong the looks and whispers she would. Gryffindors and Slytherins brutally hated eachother so seeing them dating was going to be the talk of the school no matter who it was; with Lucius being one half of the equation it was going to be a nightmare she would never wake up from. What have I done?

“Call it off. Whatever you did, call it off before this blows up.” Selia jumped in with the moment she could. She had been sitting there stewing throughout the ceremony and Rayna had made it a point to ignore her in hopes she might keep her mouth shut for the time being. She wasn’t that lucky, but then this whole day had been a disaster so it should be no surprise to her by now.

“I can’t.” She returned with as she made a plate, though she probably wouldn’t eat any of it. She had felt nauseous ever since stepping off the train and her friend ragging on her was making it all the worse. She knew Selia thought she was helping but she didn’t understand the circumstances and couldn’t possibly understand it if she did. Rayna had grown tired of being chased after and took an easy way out that was secretly a trap with no light at the end of the tunnel.

“You can and you will. He isn’t impervious…” Rayna stopped listening as she heard a voice that had sounded always so pleasant to her before, but it held malice now. She bravely turned her gaze to Sirius Black just as he was commenting about her, who else could he be speaking to? At first her eyes held panic as she realized he had seen what had happened, but it was quickly replaced with anger. Her lips tightened and her jaw clenched. He had seen it and done nothing!

“The witless wonder does speak! Drafting a theory without knowing what’s going on, it’s a wonder you haven’t blown yourself up in potions by now.” Selia cut in quickly, not even having heard all of what the boy had said but jumping to Rayna’s defense regardless. She’d never had an issue with Sirius, but picking on a friend of hers made her into a viper real quick. “That’s a pretty flabbergasted face you have there. Were my words too big for you? Your mushy little brain struggling to keep up?” She hissed anew as Rayna’s chest heaved. All these years she had wanted his attention and now she wished she had never had it. People had been right, he was a cruel person.

“You know nothing about me.” Rayna finally spoke, voice strong and threatening before she took her gaze away and rose from the bench. She had entertained the idea of eating before, but now she couldn’t stomach any of it. She had never felt so much white hot anger rise up from inside her, even when Lucius was around. Now that it was specifically reserved for him, the one person she had always fancied, was like the cherry on top of her shitpile of a day. She wouldn’t stick around for anymore humiliation, especially at his hands.

She left the Great Hall then, hearing Selia give one last insult before she was hot on her heels. Rayna wanted to be left alone if the truth were to be told, but her friend would never allow that to happen. Being alone with your own shame was a destructive thing and she knew it. It might hurt her more later when the anger had worn off, but right now she could think of nothing but getting far and fast from Sirius.

[Serendipity]

He was not cruel. Well, not usually but he was a Black and there was cruelness in his family that ran so deep that the best of them couldn’t escape, and even Sirius hadn’t been able to escape it now. Perhaps it was his hatred for the Malfoy’s shining through, the boy wasn’t there to torment so he’d chosen the next best thing - his girlfriend. At least...he’d assumed she was his girlfriend but from the flash of panic that crossed her face before anger took over he could have very well been wrong. Well it wasn’t the first time.

Her friend quickly came to her defence before she could say anything and before he could even consider the mistake he’d made and apologise. Perhaps what he’d seen earlier on the train wasn’t what he’d thought he’d seen. But it was too late to back peddle and the insults were already out so he supposed he could only cop what quite possibly was well deserved. His face dropped a second as the insults kept coming but his pride suddenly took over and he sat up straighter ready to exchange further insult. “You’ll have to forgive me, my mushy little brain doesn’t believe it was talking to you.” Sirius replied in a rather calm voice only sparing her friend a quick glance before his gaze focused back on the blonde Gryffindor.

James and the others had realised that something was going on and now turned their attention his way but Sirius didn’t notice. The dark haired male opened his mouth to address the blonde but she was speaking before he could say anything and he promptly shut his mouth again at her threatening tone. Which he didn’t like one bit. “I know you were-”

“Padfoot, shut up!” Remus declared turning a dark glare his way before Sirius could finish his sentence. Sirius hadn’t realised he was on the verge of letting the whole Gryffindor table know that she and Lucius were an ‘item’ until Remus had, rightly, told him to shut up. The male huffed and turned a matching glare towards his sandy-haired friend, and when he looked back the blonde was already halfway out of the Great Hall. Her friend however hung around a moment longer to throw another insult in his direction before she too stormed off out of the Great Hall after the other girl.

“Did you really just tell Sirius to shut up, Remus?” James asked in an amused manner whilst Sirius watched, flabbergasted, as the two females disappeared. “Shut up, James.” Lilly, who had come out of nowhere hissed in her boyfriend's ear before sitting down beside him where the blonde had just been. The messy haired boy blinked, confused by her sudden appearance but not surprised that she’d told him to shut up, she was always telling him to shut up.

“I’ll catch up with you guys in the common room later.” Sirius found himself saying, quickly rising to his feet as he spoke. What are you doing! He didn’t listen to the scolding voice inside his head this time - actually, when did he ever listen to it? He was jogging away before they could protest, snatching up a few bread rolls as he went.

He had no idea where this need to torment and tease this girl was coming from, he usually liked girls and for the most part left them out of his pranks but for some reason she was in his sights. It didn’t take him long to catch up to the two Gryffindor’s and he slowed his jog to a walk allowing them a few extra moments to argue before they noticed him.

“Why so testy?” He asked, announcing his presence to them both. “And why, oh why are you dating that slimy git?” You see Sirius never knew when to leave well enough alone.

[Yunalesca]

She knew there was no escaping what she had done and it had barely even begun, but after leaving the Great Hall she had expected to feel some sort of relief or as though she was free of a great burden. That feeling never came and it weighed down on her heavily as she strode for the staircase. It seemed so far away especially with Selia calling after her to stop and talk with her. She heard the soft patter of faster footsteps behind her to alert her the girl was running now and she took hold of the blonde's arm yet again to stop her from advancing. "Let me go, Selia." She warned. She was not in the mood to be bothered and it felt as though her day couldn't get any worse, though she refused to let herself think of all the bad that had happened already. She wanted to go to bed and forget it.

"Talk to me. What happened on the train, what happened back there?!" She questioned and Rayna could only close her eyes and shake her head. She had always been too shy or afraid to try and talk to Sirius, but just now she had quite clearly threatened him to leave her alone. Her world was on its head, everything she ever thought was completely thrown to the wind. She was disgusted with Sirius Black and dating Lucius Malfoy, that was supposed to be reversed.

"I was upset and felt threatened, what else was I supposed to do? You're always telling me to be stronger. Was that strong enough?!" She snapped, though it wasn't Selia she was mad at. What she -wanted- was to cry and be in her own bed. She -wanted- for this day to never have happened but she could do nothing about it but deal with the fallout. They didn't make time-turners to undo things like this unfortunately. She turned her eyes back to see her friend's eyes soften as she realized how bad she was hurting, but the sound of more footsteps made both their heads turn. Sirius slithered through her mind with distaste.

"Why are you dating that slimy git?" rolled over in her mind painfully before she did something impulsively, something she had never done before. Her fist flew past Selia and straight into the face of someone she once admired. She put everything into it, her rage and her pain, and he dropped to the shock of Selia. She didn't know who was more surprised at that moment, herself, Selia or Sirius who found himself on the floor before he could comprehend what was happening. She was pretty sure that was not the reaction he generally got from women. Rayna's hand hurt, but she kept it clenched at her side and her face was stone as she looked down at him in anger. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of her pain any longer.

When he shifted, Selia whipped out her wand and was pointing it at him. "Don't even think of moving just yet," she ordered, quickly recovering from her shock as she seemed to be buying time until one of them thought of a way out of this situation. 

"What happened here?" Came a voice that both girls recognized, but still glanced up as a tall blonde male Hufflepuff was striding towards them from the Great Hall. His voice was one of both concern and a hint of mirth at the sight of Sirius being held at bay by two women. An unfamiliar sight, surely.

"Harassment. It's been handled." Selia returned, still standing threateningly over Sirius as he was surely trying to figure out what exactly was going on. "It's been fun, Sirius, but we should probably go." She finally remarked as they heard the sound of footsteps coming up from the dungeons somewhere.

Rayna refused to move at first, however, as some part of her wondered if she had done enough. Something in her had changed this day, Sirius was in part thanks to that. "Come on, we need to go," the Hufflepuff urged in her ear before he was taking her arm and pulling her away from the prone Sirius. Selia held her wand at him as they were retreating up the stairs before whomever discovered them.

"He should've left me alone, Trent. I wouldn't have had to do that." Rayna finally commented to the Hufflepuff as they fully turned from Sirius and the Great Hall, making for the library. Trent Parker made eye contact with Selia briefly as they escorted their friend away from the scene, both conveying her attitude had shifted greatly.

[Serendipity]

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. Did he deserve it? Probably. But Sirius had never expected to be on the floor right now, cradling his face as blood poured from his nose. He definitely hadn’t seen it coming which of course was why he hadn’t had the time to dodge the fist thrown in his face. Jesus! She had some strength behind her slender form alright. He groaned, glancing up at the two females, one of them already had her wand out to fend off any retaliation that might come. He didn’t retaliate, mostly because he was still in shock and secondly he didn’t hit nor hex girls. Tease and harass them, apparently yes. Very gentlemanly of him wasn’t it.

His shock glance turned to a dark glare as he continued to hold his possibly broken nose, pinching it to try and stem some of the bleeding. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He muttered between his hands, the taste of blood now in his mouth because he’d spoken. For his own safety he didn’t move, allowing them a clear get away once they eventually decided enough damage had been done. When another voice echoed from behind he groaned again. Shit. The last thing he wanted was someone else to see him on his knees bleeding everywhere.

“Just go already.” He growled but to no avail as the two girls appeared to know the approaching figure, thankfully the newcomer was advising them to go before they were caught by a teacher and had to explain themselves. When there was no longer a wand pointed at him, Sirius rose to his feet and searched his pockets for his own wand, still holding his nose with one hand. He cleaned himself up and mended his nose thanks to the mending spell he had perfected in his third year after all the ‘accidents’ he and his friends had gotten into. If one was going to be as reckless as they were then one needed to know a good mending spell for broken bones. It wouldn’t make the bruising go away though, he’d need a good potion for that but at least his nose would be straight.

Sirius was still asking himself what had just happened as he made his way up the staircase heading for the Gryffindor common room. He was slightly confused although he shouldn’t be. He was now highly aware that he had been a jackass, what he was confused about was why he had felt the need to be a jackass. What had she ever done to him? He didn’t even know her, not properly at least. He’d realised they had a few classes together, but he’d never had a conversation with her or quite frankly spared her a second glance. So she must have been a quiet one, he always forgot about those kind of girls, too busy with the ones buying for his attention.

He was brewing the potion he needed for the the bruising that was already showing on his nose when he heard the portrait ask for the password inside. The feast was over and everyone was heading up - or down- to their common rooms to get ready for bed. The common room was filled with excited chatter and complaints of eating too much as Sirius Black sulked in a corner stirring his cauldron hoping not to be discovered.

“What are you doing?” It was James’s prestigious voice he heard, the other male always had a way of finding him, even when he didn’t want to be found. Sirius looked up to acknowledge his friend only briefly before he went back to stirring his potion waiting for it to turn just the right color. Sensing Sirius wasn’t in the mood for jokes, James sighed and moved closer peering over the top of the cauldron inside. “Bruised ego?” He questioned curiously recognising the potion immediately as it turned the right shade of violet.

“Something like that.” Sirius muttered and scooped a ladle full of the potion, not even waiting for it to cool some before he swallowed the entire spoonful. It burned down his throat causing him to wince but he was used to the taste by now that it didn’t bother him.

“So...I must have missed something but when do you target innocent girls with your vexation?” James asked his best friend, all jokes aside. “Big word for you, James. Vexation.” Sirius chided darkly before running his hands through his long hair and sighing. “The Slytherin came out in me I guess.” Was the only excuse that he could come up with in that moment, turning an apologetic look towards James.

“Yes, I believe it did. You’re lucky you're my best friend and know too many of my secrets because you know how I loath Slytherins.” James pointed out, half joking, half serious. He was lucky that James was his best friend, Sirius didn't know what he'd do without him or where he would be. James, Remus and even Peter had been a big part of shaping who he was and taking some of the ‘Black’ out of him. “Do you think you should apologise?”

“So she can punch me in the face again?” Sirius let slip before he could curb his wayward tongue.

“Is that what happened?” James’s eyes widened in shock and Sirius could tell he was trying not to laugh. Sirius didn’t answer him, not that he needed too, James could easily put two and two together. “Here’s your chance, isn’t that her??” James gestured towards the entrance causing Sirius to look up in that direction. “That’s her.” He nodded but he had no intention of going anywhere near her right now, his ego was wounded and didn’t care for another punch in the face.

“Go and apologise!” James urged but when Sirius shook his head he didn’t persist.

[Yunalesca]

"You punched Sirius Black? You, as in Rayna McKinnon, punched Sirius Black?!" Trent questioned with an air of excitement as she made a face and looked away from him. This had to be the worst first day of school in her memory and that included making friends with Lucius in first year, all of the 2 hours of that friendship that quickly ended when they were sorted into enemy Houses...and when he revealed how much of a rich brat he was. Her parents weren't poor by any means, but she didn't go around touting their money or feats like it was something to be proud of. She hated people like that which was why she was friends with Selia and Trent, the girl who didn't care about money and privilege and the half-blood wizard who had initially been picked on by Lucius.

"Yes, I made plenty of mistakes today." She commented, still not looking at either of them as she waited for Selia to spill the beans and completely turn Trent's mood around. He didn't like Sirius Black because his family was known to be bullies (and apparently he had been right about Sirius, too), but he hated Lucius Malfoy. He had been an early target of the blonde prince as it was known that Mr. Parker had fallen in love with a Muggle when on assignment in their world, thus producing Trent. That was a ghastly thing to a family like the Malfoy's and if they could torment Muggle-borns and 'half-breeds' they damn sure took the opportunity. 

"I wouldn't call punching Sirius Black a mistake, you know how long I've wanted..."

"She's dating Lucius." Selia burst out and Rayna quickly swallowed with the awkward silence that Trent had fallen into. All the mirth he had been expelling was quickly vanquished at the mere sound of the horrendous name, the name of his tormentor. She couldn't bring herself to look at him as all the 'strength' she had been touting about was gone. All she could do now was prepare for the barrage of insults or even his departure. He had been the first person she had stood up for, stood up against Lucius for, and it was a bond she didn't want to lose.

"What...Why would you..." He seemed to be having trouble getting out what he was trying to say and Rayna couldn't blame him. She could feel Selia's piercing gaze on her as she too was waiting for an explanation. Rayna didn't want to give it because it sounded stupid. All of this sounded stupid in the grand scheme of things, but Lucius Malfoy was not someone to mess around with and this went far beyond dating him. He would feel he owned her now and if she weren't careful she was sure she would be dragged into the underbelly of Slytherin politics, dragged into the horrendous acts the Malfoys and other families of their stature participated in.

"I didn't know what else to do," she started and finally looked at her friends, fighting the tears that wanted to come. "If I finally submitted I felt I would finally be free, I felt I could protect you from him." She tried to explain, but it seemed to only make Trent angrier. She almost flinched at the look on his face. She couldn't recall having ever seen him so furious and he was holding it in so well. Still, the eyes never lied.

"I don't need protection. At this point in the game I can handle myself pretty well against that idiot. You need to back out of this, it's only going to get worse, not better."

"I can't!" She yelled and heard a loud 'shh' coming from one of the library ghosts, the only other beings in the library right now as everyone else was feasting. "I can't," she said in a softer tone before her friends were shaking their heads.

"We'll figure this out, now let me see your hand." Selia asked and Rayna offered it to her, fist still clenched.

"I can't open it. I think I broke something," to which they all smiled, then laughed.

"Rayna McKinnon finally had enough and punched a slimy little git in the face. I never thought I'd see the day." Trent laughed as Selia shook her head and produced her wand to mend her friends hand.

*

Though everything seemed to have started out on the wrong foot this day she was in better spirits by the time her and Selia were speaking the password to the portrait and entering the common room. She didn't believe for a second that she or her friends could get her out of the mess, but listening to them had brought her back to normal. That was until she and Selia were in the common room and they noticed two boys in the corner looking at them. Rayna paused briefly and her eyes narrowed, that anger returning from the depths where she had buried it for the time being. "Think he wants round two?" Selia asked quietly, jokingly but with a far more serious tone. She wasn't a fan of the boy either and she had a habit of egging people on when she got interested.

"I think he's had enough." She returned, loud enough for him to hear, though she paused again when they were at the bottom of the stairs to the girls dormitory. Selia raised her brows as Rayna turned back toward the boys though she refrained from getting closer. "Stay away from me. If you even look in my direction you will get hurt. That is called a promise." She threatened before turning away again and ascending the stairs. Selia said nothing as the attitude of her friend seemed to have reverted back. Rayna had no intentions of hurting him herself, she didn't really like to hurt people, but she knew who would if they suspected anything. She did not like Lucius Malfoy, but he might prove useful in keeping people like Sirius away from her.

[Serendipity]

Wonderful. Sirius thought as the two girls stepped through the portrait, he’d just assumed that they had already arrived and were up in their dorms bitching about him. He’d hoped he wouldn’t see them again, even though that was fairly impossible if they had classes together. He’d managed to not know she existed before, maybe he could just go back to that? If only it was that easy; he already found himself growing curious to find out her name. Not to apologise like James kept insisting, but simply so he could put a name to her face. His pride wouldn’t allow him to apologise because as far as it was concerned they were even, she’d punched him in the face after all! Besides, he was enemy number one to her now, any apology would have fallen on deaf ears.

Sirius ignored them. At least he tried too as he busied himself by packing up his cauldron but it seemed they weren’t about to let him to ignore their presence. Yes, he’d had enough for one night at least and really didn’t feel like causing a scene in the middle of the common room, although most of the student body had made their way to their beds by now. Sirius, who now couldn’t ignore the two girls, quirked a brow in their direction to let them know he’d heard their warning. His brow turned down in a frown as the blonde turned to him and began to speak, promising him he’d get ‘hurt’ if he even looked in her direction. Sirius felt James suddenly shift beside him about to come to his defence, and quickly he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and shook his head.

He didn’t say anything and let the two females disappear up into their rooms, he figured they could take his silence in one of two ways; he would stay out of her way or her threats didn’t bother him. He planned on keeping out of her way of course, one punch in the face was enough and if that had taught him anything it was that he had harassed a girl, falling to Malfoy’s level, and he didn’t plan on it again. Once they were out of sight he let out another sigh and picked up his cauldron, ignoring James’s slightly concerned look. “You should have apologised.” He pointed out as though that would have fixed everything.

“Let it go James.” Sirius told his friend, he really didn’t want to discuss it any further. He wanted to go to bed because he was feeling just a little ashamed of himself and he didn’t like the feeling.

---- ---- ---- ----

“Ready to start anew?” Remus asked him as they made their way down to breakfast. Sirius didn’t respond his mind had drifted off elsewhere. Last night whilst trying to get some sleep something had occurred to him, something that if it was true would mean he’d made one hell of a mistake. Rayna, he’d found out her name thanks to Lily, had been defensive as he’d declared that he knew she was dating Lucius, but she hadn’t defended him. He would have thought she’d want to defend her relationship with Lucius but she hadn’t. And he remembered that little flash of panic in her eyes when she’d first looked at him, and had remembered wondering if he’d been wrong from the beginning.

“Sirius?” Remus nudged him in the arm after he still hadn’t responded to his question. Sirius blinked, bringing his thoughts back to the present. “Sure, why not.” He shrugged though he doubted that would be possible, it’s not like they could use a time turner and he could change the outcome of last night. He heard Remus sigh but nothing more was said as they walked into the Great Hall and found James and Peter already at one of the tables scoffing down toast and eggs. The smell of food made Sirius’s stomach growl, he hadn’t eaten dinner and his stomach was letting him know about it now. Quickly he sat beside Peter and grabbed a plate, piling it with toast, bacon, sausages and eggs; he was starving.

“You’ll give yourself indigestion.” He heard Remus warn and give a small chuckle as he shoveled food into his mouth, hardly chewing before he swallowed. His mouth was too full to respond and he simply shrugged, pausing briefly to fill his cup with water and take a drink.

[Yunalesca]

She spent much of the night lying on her side to look out in the window, the moon shining brightly and illuminating the peaks of castle about her dorm. It was beautiful and reminded her of freedom which in turn reminded her of what she no longer had. She didn't know for sure that her movements would be further restricted but she could imagine they would be. He had spent a lot of time chasing her and wouldn't risk losing track of her now. She had told Trent earlier that it had been to protect him but she had been selfish, it was for herself though she would hope to save him from further torment. In her position surely she could sway his hand somewhat, right? She might've laughed at herself if she had the energy. She would never hold sway over Lucius and it was a fool's belief to fall that far to insanity.

*

She would have slept through her morning classes if Selia hadn't gently prodded her awake at dawn with enough time for breakfast and quick prep for the coming day. She had scheduled herself light this semester in hopes of joining the Quidditch team, but those desires were dashed with the decisions she had made yesterday. Between dating Lucius Malfoy and having punched the Gryffindor Captain's best friend in the face she was sure she wouldn't even be considered. She had spent a lot of time over the summer trying to be ready for those tryouts, but it had all been wasted as of yesterday afternoon.

When they reached the Great Hall, fortunately Trent was already waiting for them at the end of the Hufflepuff table as Rayna had not missed James and Peter already seated at the Gryffindor table which meant Sirius was likely not far behind. Best way to avoid the situation altogether was to sit somewhere else and she was pretty sure that was the exact thought that had crossed Trent's mind this morning. She didn't want to start her first official school day with a food fight or something equally as ridiculous.

“You look excited for your first day,” Trent commented with sarcasm as he looked up from his Potions book, being careful to not let the toast crumbs scatter into the seam. He was smart but Potions had never been his strong suit, hence the pre studying he did before every class. She thought it was overkill but then the class came easy to her so who was she to talk.

“Ancient Runes are so incredibly exciting,” Selia responded as though the remark were intended for her as Rayna still found no desire to talk just yet. She was tired and grouchy, a bad combination before classes had even begun. She let her friends fall into conversation without her before she realized she hadn't eaten the night before and was relatively starved now. If she didn't think about Lucius she might just be able to eat.

“Eating with half-breeds? I won't have my girlfriend doing that.” Came from behind her as a hand clasped over her shoulder. That desire to eat quickly vanished and was replaced with the urge to vomit.

“Stop it, Lucius.” She said quietly, her fear of him held in check as she rose to Trent's defense once more. This seemed to surprise him momentarily as her friends seemed to be deciding what to do in this situation.

“Sorry, nasty habits slipping from my mouth. You'll accept my apology, won't you...Parker?” The distaste was not hidden as he uttered Trent's last name and Rayna felt that anger beginning to bubble again. “I'd like for you to join me for breakfast, my dear. Better company…” he told rather than asked, the 'my dear’ making her close her eyes and her hands clench beneath the table. She didn't want to do this but what choice did she have?

“I don't recall you owning her,” Selia remarked and Rayna quickly shushed her. She wouldn't have a fight on her behalf. She had done this and would not let them get dragged into it.

“It's okay. I should be spending time with my boyfriend. I'll just see you later.” She offered, every word that came out caused her pain. If she fought him his behavior would only get worse.

She could feel Lucius smiling behind her as she rose, his hand shifting to wrap around her waist which in turn made her shiver, though not in delight as he might wish. He escorted her to the Slytherin table, almost parading her before those who watched in curiosity at the situation. She was humiliated, it showing in her eyes if anyone could see them though she kept them down to focus on the floor. If she could get her mind elsewhere it wasn't so bad.

He let her take a seat herself though was directed to sit between him and Goyle, the henchman who had grabbed her by the hair yesterday. He was remembering it now she was sure, based on the grin on his face. They had assisted in making this happen and both henchman took pride in it. Lucius would have his trophy and they would get to humiliate the Gryffindor house in the process. She felt incredibly weak for having let this happen, but she had been alone and powerless. What other torments might she had have to endure if she hadn't agreed?

“Eggs?” Lucius asked and she replied with a quiet 'sure’ as he fixed her a plate, like that would make everything better. Like that would make her like him, like that would erase all he had done to her and her friends over the years. She felt sick and the only thing keeping her seated was the reminder of what might happen if she turned on him.

[Serendipity]

He almost choked on his breakfast when he finally noticed the scene unfolding at the Slytherin table. He’d been far too distracted and hungry to notice anything when he had first entered the Great Hall. His friends had also neglected to point it out, possibly because they didn't want him to have another altercation with blonde Gryffindor. But he noticed now, quickly taking another sip of water to dislodge the food stuck in his throat before he slammed the cup down and kicked James under the table to get his attention. “What is that?” He asked half through gritted teeth and nodded towards the Slytherin table where Rayna was sitting.

“Oh….that.” James replied as if the show Malfoy was putting on didn’t bother him. Sirius knew it did because if it bothered him it bothered James. James was trying to sound uninterested and he suspected it was because he didn’t want Sirius to get riled up about it. “I don’t know what that is.” The messy haired boy said not entirely sure if what he was seeing was real because Gryffindor’s didn’t date Slytherin’s. “She did say she was dating him.” Remus reminded both boys as he buttered some more toast.

“Yes, but…” Sirius answered trailing off before he stated what the ‘but’ could be. But he’d thought what he’d overheard last night between Rayna and her friend (whose name he’d forgotten already) had been a mistake considering he’d only heard bits and pieces. From what he was seeing she must have been telling the truth when she’d told her friend she was dating Lucius. “Are you jealous, mate?” James chortled softly, half joking, half actually curious if the reason this was bothering Sirius so much was because he was, in fact, jealous.

Sirius turned a dark look upon his best friend but only shook his head, he was not jealous! What he was was slightly disturbed by the way Malfoy was parading her around like a trophy. He couldn’t stand to watch them anymore and suddenly was no longer hungry; he’d probably shoveled enough in to keep him going until lunch time anyway. Sirius said a quick goodbye to the others but didn’t hang around long enough for them to ask questions about where he was rushing off to.

This morning before he’d seen Lucius and Rayna together he’d been thinking that maybe he’d gotten it all wrong and that she wasn’t dating Lucius. Although she didn’t appear to be all that comfortable around him, but then he was only guessing from afar. But it was none of his business now. He’d made it his business last night and look where that had gotten him. You were being cruel, he quickly reminded himself. Cruel and nasty, and pigheaded - traits about himself he didn’t like but sometimes found a way of coming out.

Potions class was up first and Sirius headed back to the Gryffindor common room to gather his books and supplies for the next three classes of the day before lunch. It must have been a first for him to arrive to a class early and wait outside the door for his other classmates to arrive, and it felt weird to be standing in the corridor alone; usually either James or Remus would be with him. But he oddly enough wasn’t in the mood for their prying because obviously they’d seen how bothered he was by the whole idea of the Gryffindor girl dating Lucius Malfoy and he didn’t want to explain why. Because he didn’t know why! It bothered him way more then it should.

[Yunalesca]

She couldn't bring herself to eat as Lucius and his cronies talked around her. If Lucius noticed he didn't seem to care as thankfully nothing was said when they went their separate ways, finally, to attend classes. He was a year older so luckily she wouldn't have many with him, if any at all. He was unshockingly in the advanced studies for the Dark Arts and Dueling which she had mostly stayed away from in her time at Hogwarts. She knew how to defend herself and knew enough of the 'enemy' to be prepared against someone like Lucius, but her interests were elsewhere and so didn't fall into the advanced category. Those classes were generally filled with Slytherin's which was not surprising in the least. She was better off keeping her distance from that crowd though fat lot of good that had done her in the end.

"You alright?" Selia questioned when they were able to meet up in the Common Room, Trent having headed for class already and her friend waiting up for her it would seem. She might've been more annoyed by this if she had the energy to be. Keeping her cool while sitting at the Slytherin table had taken quite a lot from her and coupled with the lack of sleep and not eating for nearly a day she was drained.

"I'll be alright," she said simply and took the books Selia offered her, the girl apparently knowing her schedule better than herself. In her current state she probably would've gone to Magical Creatures first and Potions last if Selia hadn't told her. She was going to have to do something about her life or she was going to struggle immensely this year. Dealing with Lucius was going to be in the back of her mind if she weren't careful. Being kicked out of school for failing grades would not do. She would take Lucius' advances over her mother's temper any day. She didn't even want to imagine the look on her father's face if she managed to fall that hard. She couldn't disappoint them like that and couldn't set such a bad example for her sister either. "Go to class, I can't find potions without an escort." She urged and the brunette reluctantly left her alone.

She took a seat before the fire and contemplated not going to class though she had just been evaluating how to not disappoint her parents. If she went back to bed for a few hours she might feel remarkably better, but attending Slughorn's class after having missed the first one would be a disaster. He wasn't like other professors as he jumped right in to the making of difficult potions. He had confidence his class would know what they were doing at this point in the game and would not need to be held by the hand. She had best go or risk losing all the credibility she had gained in the discipline. She by no means would be part of the Slug Club but she was skilled in the art and could fall back on it if all else failed in her life, which it seemed to be.

She arrived to class in time, before Slughorn made his entrance in fact, though when she did show it was apparent everyone had made their choice on who their partners would be for the year as almost every table was taken with a pair. All except one, which could be good or bad for her. She might be stuck with a lazy partner given how nobody else had sat with this person, but she was hopeful other people were just playing favorites. With a quiet sigh she made for the final seat, still not recognizing who was seated there. She in fact didn't notice as she practically slumped into the available chair and set her book down on the tabletop tiredly. She had no energy for this and it showed, until that was, when she finally turned her gaze to her partner and nearly stopped breathing. This is not happening she tried to reason, tried to imagine she was in a nightmare and just had to wake up, but that was clearly not the case. 

Before she could say anything, Slughorn entered from the back of the room with his usual spirited air. She quickly closed her gaping mouth and turned her attention to the professor instead, her pulse throbbing in her jaw as her hands slipped under the desk to clench her legs. If she dug in hard enough she might wake up from this nightmare. "Today we will explore one of the most sought after and difficult potions to master. I entrust you all know what you are doing for if you blow this up in your faces you will need to be committed to the infirmary for...well for an amount of time." Slughorn started with one of his laughs which made her feel more uneasy. Maybe she would purposefully blow it up just to get out of here.

[Serendipity]

Sirius wasn’t the only one waiting outside the classroom now as more students came to linger outside. He was grateful to not be the only one waiting now, although he kept his head down a little so none of them could recognise him straight away. Sirius Black was never early for anything. He almost pounced on the door as he heard it unlock with a ‘clunking’ sound and slipped inside between two other eager students. Potions was his best class he shouldn’t feel ashamed of appearing overly eager for it, Remus would tell him there was nothing wrong by being the first student in the classroom if it was a subject he enjoyed. But Remus was...well he was more academic one of them and of course he wouldn’t see a problem with it.

The black haired Gryffindor quickly found a seat by the far corner of the room, his usual spot in any classroom, and sat down placing his books in front of him. Whilst he waited for the remaining students (and the Professor) to arrive, Sirius buried his head in his arms resting them against the desk as though he could disappear in them altogether. He wanted to disappear. He felt stupid for the way he’d acted last night and making a fool of himself, and was just grateful that the entire school hadn’t witnessed his ridiculous behaviour. He was also glad James and Remus hadn’t seen him get punched in the face by a girl either, though he had admitted it had happened if they had seen it for themselves they mightn't let him live it down.

Several minutes passed as the classroom filled with students and Sirius didn’t move not even when he sensed someone sit down beside him, whoever his partner would be this term he didn’t care as long as they weren’t a Slytherin; they were sharing with Hufflepuffs this class so he knew he was safe. He didn’t realise how wrong he was as he eventually lifted his head from his arms hearing the hush come over the room which could only mean Professor Slughorn had arrived. The long blonde hair caught his attention first and was the reason why he turned his head to see who was sitting beside him. Sirius paled a little as he recognised the girl sitting next to him and who would be his potions partner for the rest of the term.

He couldn’t say a word however as the Professor jumped straight into their lesson not wanting to waste any time. Sirius managed to turn his gaze to the front of the class, trying to get his brain to pay attention to Professor Slughorn and not the girl sitting next to him. He couldn’t believe that Rayna McKinnon was going to be his potions partner, Karma was coming back around to bite him in the ass, he was sure of it! And this was the payment he got for being early to a class for once in his life; Sirius vowed never to be early to a single class ever again.

Just do your own thing, pretend she’s not there. He told himself, failing to pay attention to what Slughorn was saying until he heard the words ‘love potion’ whispered around the classroom. “Yes, yes…love potion, or Amortentia.” Slughorn nodded around the room to each student. At the Professor’s confirmation that this was the potion they would be brewing any hope that he could just pretend Rayna wasn’t there quickly fell away. Sirius had dabbled in many potion’s over the years that wouldn’t come up in lessons until sixth or seventh year, but Amortentia was one potion he’d stayed clear of; mainly because he had no use for it, he’d done pretty well in the ‘love’ department over the years he didn’t need a potion.

“No Miss Pattemore, it does not produce real love, merely a mimicked copy of it. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love.” Slughorn went on to explain as questions were asked around the room and as Sirius scanned the many arms raised in the air waiting to have their questions answered he was not shocked that they all belonged to the female population of the room. All except one. Rayna was not amongst the eager bunch of girls asking silly questions about, what Sirius considered, a silly potion. “This has got to be a nightmare, I’ll wake up soon.” Sirius groaned, running a hand over his face in hopes of waking up from said nightmare.

“Don’t you dare punch me in the face again, you’re the one who sat next to me!” Sirius suddenly whispered to the girl sitting next to him remembering the warning she had given him only the night before to stay away from her. He wanted to be clear that he had stayed away, but she had chosen him to be her partner whether by accident or on purpose he had no idea. “Maybe we can swap….There’s no way I’m brewing a love potion with you. There has to be another pair in this class who don’t want to be partnered together.” He continued to speak in hushed tones so only Rayna could hear him whilst his eyes scanned the room searching for another pair of students who looked like they didn’t want to be partnered together.

[Yunalesca]

Love potion, she remembered seeing how one behaved after ingesting it once and ever since she had been incredibly leery of anything that came to her unannounced. It made you into a fool and one obsessed with the person who gifted it to you.

She might have dodged drugging attempts from Lucius over the years thanks to dilligence and now she was going to have the brew it with her enemy. This day was starting out on the wrong foot, the wrong base in the wrong field really. If she could just go through the motions maybe she would survive this first class with grace.

This has got to be a nightmare was barely audible from the person sitting next to her and for once she found herself agreeing with her newfound nemesis. If this were a nightmare she would be awake by now she was sure. 'Nightmare' was going to be the word to sum up this year at Hogwarts she was beginning to feel as it was all it had been thus far. Once upon a time she would have been more than elated to be paired up with Sirius Black, but events of hours ago had turned those tables. That was one of the many reasons this year was an ongoing nightmare she was unable to escape. Her dreams were coming to fruition and she felt no satisfaction in it, only disdain.

"If I hit you, clearly you deserve it." She snapped just under her breath at him so no one else could hear while her classmates excitedly asked questions of Slughorn before they would be permitted to dabble into potion making. She didn't want to think about love and certainly not think about bottling it with Sirius. One could argue there would be no better pair to do so considering how they hated each other currently, but there was doubt even a love potion would bring them together now. She barely took a moment to ponder what he meant by not daring to brew a love potion with her, taking it as a slight jab rather than a deeper meaning coming from it. Cooperation was on neither of their minds and it was clearly voiced every time Sirius spoke. She rolled her eyes at his following statement and couldn't help the heavy sigh that came from her. "The class is full and everyone has friends here, I know you can't help but be a dunce, but just try for once. Nobody is going to switch. We're stuck." She hissed with just as much distaste as him. It's not like she really chose to be his partner despite his claim. This was why she was always on time to class. She took this as a warning to not be late ever again.

"If you'll turn your books to page 36 you will see the ingredients and instructions laid out for you. Now remember that all the ingredients we will be using this year are stored in the classroom so be sure to use the specified ingredients. One of you may now get them while the other prepares the cauldron." Slughorn finally announced and Rayna glanced at the heavens. This was their first test, 'specified ingredients' meant there were similar looking ones laid out in the pantry.

"You stay here, you'd mistake basil for peppermint." She sniped as she got up before he could move. She was confident enough in her abilities to know the different herbs whereas she had little trust for Sirius. She had heard he was an excellent study for potions (surprise, a Black knowing potions), but she had suspicions he might grab the wrong things just to hurt her grades. She didn't want to do this either, but she wouldn't let her standing suffer because he had a vendetta against her for whatever reason. Luckily this wasn't a potion that required the clearing of the mind first or it may have taken on their current feelings for one another leaving them with an accidently brewed hate potion over that of love. She took a breath and made herself squash the nasty things she wished she could say to him; That she had verbally barraged him with insults already gave further indication that she wasn't the person she had once been. He brought out the worst in her, not Lucius, which was incredibly surprising.

She carefully took the ingredients needed, ignoring what other students were grabbing, and bundled them in the parchment pieces set on the table nearby. The less of her natural skins oils touched the ingredients the more successful it would be and she fully intended to receive the highest marks despite who her partner was, even if it meant she might have to drag him along kicking and screaming along the way.
She had no dreams of being part of the Slug Club but if her social life was going to crash and burn she would at least be good at school.

She was silent from then on out, refusing to respond to anything Sirius muttered under his breath as she focused on brewing the potion properly and not letting this rivalry get out of hand in the middle of class. She had to work with him but it didn't mean she had to be friends with him, if they could reach that understanding they might not kill each other this year. Using the tongs provided, she carefully dropped the opal into the cauldron and leaned away as it puffed, bubbled, then the liquid inside shifted from pink to an almost rainbow like reflection, mimicking an opal. Despite who she was sitting next to she couldn't hide her grin as the color alone told her they had made the draught properly.

"Excellent work you two! And the first to do so! Now the true test," Slughorn bellowed which took the gusto from her accomplishment as the class paused to look at their table. Her cheeks reddened at the feel of a classroom full of eyes on her back as she was the quiet one, the unnoticed one, and didn't know how to react to this newfound attention. She wanted to sink down in her chair and become invisible, but pride wouldn't let her as she refused to let Sirius see her behave like a dormouse. "The secret to love potions are the scent they give off, each unique to the one doing the smelling. Those smells are what attracts a person most and that is why Amortentia is so potent, it latches onto the senses. Now, why don't you go first Miss McKinnon." Slughorn suggested and the embarassing color fled her cheeks as she blanched. She opened her mouth to protest, but Slughorn wasn't having it. "Come now, there's nothing to be embarassed about. We're all going to share what tickles our senses."

Her brows knit tightly as she clearly didn't want to share and was incredibly uncomfortable with Sirius Black suredly watching her out of the corner of his eye, waiting to hear what he could use against her most likely. With incredibly reluctance she leaned forward and let herself smell the draught. Once she did so, neurons fired within her mind, the potency of the potion taking over momentarily as she worked to comprehend the smells into words. "I smell....Spring pine after a rain....tanned leather...and....dog fur after a bath..." Once she realized what she had said she leaned back and clenched her jaw, eyes downcast as she refused to see his reaction. Dog fur?! her mind screamed at itself and she found herself wishing once more she could dissapear. Surely nobody else would have something so ridiculous they found to be an attractive smell. Dog fur?! Her mind yelled again and she slumped a little in her chair as though it helped with her invisibility.

[Serendipity]

He had to admit he was a little taken aback by the ferocity in her words, luckily they weren’t spoken loud enough for anyone else to hear. The surprise reflected on his face as he opened his mouth to speak but nothing but air came out before he quickly clenched his jaw shut and averted his gaze momentarily to his books. Dunce? He hadn’t realised until right at this moment just how much he had hurt her by his interference last night and his mean words. He really had been a jerk. He’d heard the underlying hurt in the venomous words she spoke, calling him a dunce and all. It was like a smack in the face all over again.

She was right about one thing though, no one was going to switch they were stuck together as partners and there was nothing they could do about it. He sighed and lifted his gaze back up as Slughorn continued his spiel on how potent this particular potion was, silently accepting his fate. And fate was cruel. Sirius opened his books as instructed by the professor and began scanning the words on the page, the list of ingredients popping out at him. This was a particularly difficult potion to brew and it required a lot of concentration and a diligent hand. Whilst he wasn’t eager to attempt this potion he wasn’t about to let it fail either; they had been assigned a task and he would see it out…

Until Rayna announced that she would gather the ingredients because he might mistake basil for peppermint. Before he could argue with her she was up out of her seat and making her way over to the pantry. He probably deserved that snippy remark too but he wasn’t sure how many more remarks like that he was able to take before he snapped. He couldn’t be a jerk again but at the same time he didn’t like being made out to be the incompetent partner, especially in potions, a class he excelled in. Sirius quickly prepared the cauldron so that when she returned they could get started. It became clear however when she sat back down with a cloth full of ingredients that she wasn’t going to allow him to help, keeping the ingredients to herself.

When he tried to read out a line of instructions he might as well of being speaking to himself for all the attention she paid, and when he offered to help prepare some of the ingredients she huffed at him. Huffed at him! In the end he sat back in his seat, snapping his book shut before crossing his arms over his chest glaring up at the ceiling. “We’re supposed to be partners.” He muttered under his breath not caring if she heard him or not. Occasionally he would avert his gaze from the ceiling to take a peek at the potion bubbling away in the cauldron, just checking that she hadn’t screwed it up. But as much as he wanted to fault her, because her pretense of his non-existence was bugging him, he couldn’t. She was doing everything right and the potion was looking how it should.

So when Slughorn announced that they were the first to finish the potion and it was correct Sirius wasn’t surprised, he didn’t even bother glancing down at it to check for himself and continued counting the rafters that made up the roof above them because, well, what else did he have to do! He couldn’t wait to get far, far away from Rayna McKinnon and now he was one step closer to achieving that since they were the first to finish. His gaze did avert from his rafter counting as Slughorn requested that the blonde perform the ultimate test to see if the potion had been brewed correctly. He couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his lips as she paled slightly at the request because it meant letting the entire class know what she was attracted to. In a small way he felt that it was payback for ignoring him the entire time.

From the corner of his eye he watched as she reluctantly leant forward and inhaled the vapors the potion was giving off, curious to hear for himself what attracted her to a person. He wasn’t sure why he was curious, it didn’t matter to him and he had no use for the knowledge but he listened anyway as she described the scents she smelt. The smirk completely wiped itself from his lips as she described the last thing she could smell…dog fur after a bath and he found himself choking on nothing but air. He was completely stunned and didn’t realise he was staring at her, not even when Professor Slughorn congratulated them again on the successful brewing of a love potion or when the rest of the class clapped to their success.

Dog fur… He swallowed after a moment of astonishment and finally blinked ending the staring competition he was having with the side of her face. For a minute he had wondered how she’d known his secret before the rational voice in his head reminded him that she couldn’t know because he had been very careful to hide it. Then he grew slightly uncomfortable knowing that she liked the smell of wet dog fur because well...he could turn into a dog! “You like dogs.” Sirius whispered, not realising he had spoken the words out loud until Slughorn clapped him on the back. “No need to tease my boy, dogs are very loyal creatures.”

“No - I-” Sirius shook his head quickly, he hadn’t been teasing her but now it would seem like he was. He groaned inwardly, now she would think he found it funny that she liked dogs and how they smelled after having a bath. Before he could state otherwise Slughorn was moving on from their table to see to another pair at the front of the class who had also finished their potion.

[Yunalesca]

She couldn’t possibly know what Sirius was thinking in those moments, all she did know was that he was staring at her and it made her feel even more uncomfortable. She could feel that penetrating gaze on her though she had to admit it was a different feeling than when Lucius did it. His icy eyes only made her feel cold and vulnerable, like a mouse in the eyes of a cat. The stare of Sirius Black felt far warmer though it wasn’t something she would say aloud. He was probably laughing on the inside at how ridiculous her attractive scents had been. She felt foolish which surely would not go away while her partner sat there staring at her like she was some sort of dolt. Really, who was attracted to leather and dog fur?

Her attention was brought back as Slughorn appeared to be defending her to Sirius, she couldn’t control what her mind felt attracted to anyway. “Loyalty, that’s a hell of a word,” she said almost under her breath as Slughorn walked away. She felt humiliated, though it was a million times worse as her newfound enemy was aware of some of her secrets and would probably exploit them. She had never thought of Sirius as a cruel person in the past, a little rough around the edges, but not unnecessarily cruel; that of course changed when he had turned his attacks on her and she now began to understand what some people had been trying to tell her. He was mean spirited as all the Black’s were, he was just more capable of hiding it should he need to. Maybe he hadn’t fully embraced that history yet, but she felt now that he was well on his way. “Dogs are loyal, and protective, and kind to those they love. They don’t attack people without reason, something you wouldn’t know anything about. So yes, I like dogs.” She hissed though it was quite clear in her voice that her feelings were hurt no matter how tough she tried to sound in relaying a carefully worded sentence to him. She was dealing with many emotions, too many for the start of the semester. “Professor, I’m not feeling well,” she began after turning her attention from Sirius before she hit him again. He infuriated her and it was not something she was entirely familiar with even after Lucius’ year’s long pursuit of her.

“Yes Miss McKinnon, you’re free to go. That was the lesson for today.” Slughorn said with a wave of his hand as he was more focused on the students in front of him, testing their brew. She quickly packed up her books before Sirius could say anything else to try and hurt her. It was only the first class and she wasn’t sure if she could continue with this day. She was beginning to feel physically ill due to the mental abuse she had been under thanks to two men who seemed to have been put at Hogwarts to torment her this year. She didn’t hear the softness in Sirius’ question, her mind twisting it so it sounded like a mockery over a general question. “Oh, Miss McKinnon, read over the section on poison antidotes before next class,” Slughorn piped which Rayna merely nodded to before she was hustling out the door. She didn’t believe that Sirius would come hot on her heels to apologize or something equally as ridiculous, but she wasn’t chancing any opportunity for him to catch up with her regardless. It had been quite apparent during their ‘partnership’ that there was strain between them, but she had always thought she knew him and had been proved drastically wrong in the last 24 hours. He might follow her if not just to humiliate her further.

Follow you like a dog? a voice mocked and she cringed once more, still wondering how Sirius might use that against her in the future. It was interesting really, maybe if she had spent her time anticipating what Lucius might do she could have avoided this whole predicament and instead she was wondering how someone she was once attracted to might hurt her. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn’t see the figure detaching from the wall and blocking her path from the dungeons until she practically ran into him. “Lurking around the dungeons without an escort, never know what kind of trouble lurks in the shadows,” an all too familiar voice filtered through her ears, making her skin crawl and her mouth form into a sneer. She didn’t hesitate in drawing her wand.

“You’d do well to leave me alone, Goyle.” She threatened, already immensely tired from defending herself and letting her exhaustion get the best of her. She could get in serious trouble using magic on another student in a corridor like this, but she was to the point of not caring. If she had shown a little more backbone in the first place she wouldn’t be where she was now. Her stance only made the much bigger Slytherin laugh, that was until she switched her stance and practically pushed him back down the stairs with her wand, something new showing in her eyes. Something that was enough to convince him she meant business.

“I see your love for Lucius has made you a stronger person, he’ll enjoy hearing that.”

“You and I both know I don’t love him. If you were half as smart as you pretend you are you won’t even think of saying a word to him, you hear?!” She hissed with a voice laced with intent. She had never threatened him before and thus he should be laughing at her, but the way she held herself and the look in her eyes made him err on the side of caution. With a frown he raised his hands to her in a show of surrender as she backed up the stairs and toward the light of freedom.

Once she was out of the dungeons she turned and pressed herself against the door of a broom closet for a short time, sheathing her wand and hugging her books to herself as a sort of exhilaration filled her. She had stood up for herself, against one of –his- henchmen, and had done so successfully. Was this what it felt like to be strong? Her head turned as she heard steps coming from where she had emerged from, then she quickly detached herself from the door and hurried away before whomever could find her. She wished only that she could find her friends and tell them what she had done, but it would have to wait until dinnertime.