Dalton struggled to keep a smile on his face when Sirius returned to the common room, a grin threatening to tear his face in half.

He pulled his shirt up to reveal the runes, which Dalton was immediately able to translate. This time, however, he frowned.

James got up and high-fived him. "Wicked!"

Remus and Peter nodded their approval. "Looks great, Pads," Remus told him.
——
It was an hour or so before Savannah returned to the common room. When she entered, she was quite surprised to see Lily, Marlene, and Alice hanging out with the boys and talking.

Obviously Lily was beside James, who had his arm proudly draped around her shoulders. Marlene was beside Remus, with Alice beside Peter.

Savannah looked at the group, her expression clearly saying, "Really?" She didn't know the girls had liked hanging out with the boys that much. Though, in retrospect, she didn't really understand why she was all that surprised. Lily and James were dating and Marlene was dating Sirius's brother, so why wouldn't they all hang out?

"Sava! Come over here!" Lily called cheerfully, a smile on her face as she patted the empty couch beside her.

Savannah thought for a moment before she obliged. These were her friends after all, and if she wanted to claw her way out of the hole her parents had put her in, she had to be social and keep these friends.

So she sat down beside Lily, with Sirius in the oversized chair on the other side of her.

Speaking of Sirius, he flopped dramatically over the arm of said chair as he exclaimed, "I'm booooored," while dragging out the 'o' in the word bored.

Remus chuckled and replied, "How about the game Two Truths and a Lie?"

Now James was the one to sigh dramatically, "That game is for little kids! Like- first years!"

Remus laughed again. Dalton retorted with, "Yeah, but you and Sirius have the mentality of first years."

The girls all laughed, with Marlene saying, "Remus is right, boys!"

James and Sirius fake pouted, crossing their arms and pursing their lips for a moment before they smiled. "Alright, alright."

Dalton looked between Sirius and Savannah with a smirk. He had to admit that he was slowly becoming accustomed to the idea. The more he thought about it, the more he accepted it. Maybe Sirius could be good for her. He was one of the most extroverted people at Hogwarts, so maybe he could bring her out of her shell a bit. Besides, now that he knew, he could see the way Sirius looked at her. Why not at least give Sirius a chance? If he did anything to her, Dalton would beat him to a pulp anyway.

So Dalton spoke up, "I'll go first!"

Everyone turned their attention to Dalton, who was standing with a smirk. "Okay. Number one: I've always wanted to travel to Italy. Number two: I'm the older twin," he paused and shot Savannah a smirk. She immediately didn't like his expression.

"And three: my sister cannot stop droning on and on to me about how in lov-" Dalton couldn't even finish before Savannah had tackled Dalton to the ground and was shouting curse words to him as they wrestled as if they were eight years old. Meanwhile, Sirius was watching the scene with a smirk, while James was elbowing him suggestively.

"Dalton, don't you dare!" Savannah said loudly as she managed to pin him to the ground.

Dalton laughed before he turned on her and had her pinned to the ground. "Oh, I'll dare!"

Savannah sneered and punched him in the gut before she had him pinned again. She looked down at him as she said, "I can't believe I have such an asshat as my twin!"

Sirius spoke up at this point. "So are you going to finish, Paws?"

Savannah stopped mid-punch, turning to Sirius with wide eyes. "Oh, no he isn't!" She insisted, her face red and teeth clenched.

Dalton took this chance to slam her to the ground, causing the wind to be knocked out of Savannah. "In case you've forgotten, little sis, I am undefeated in our wrestling matches!"

Savannah just glared at him. "I hate you," she told him simply.

He guffawed. "Do you concede yet?"

She crossed her arms and shook her head. "Absolutely not."

Dalton smirked, knowing just how to get under her skin. "Maybe you need a bit of... persuading. Sirius, come here."

Sirius smirked before obliging, coming up behind Dalton's shoulder.

Savannah's eyes widened as she realized what her idiot brother was planning. "Oh no! No, no, no! That is not happening!" She started struggling, kicking her legs and punching Dalton's chest.

"So what is it you want me to do, Paws?" Sirius asked nonchalantly, leaning against Dalton's shoulder.

Before Dalton could respond, Savannah had managed to wriggle away from him and now had her wand pointed at him. "Not another word, my dear twin."

Dalton knew he was getting into dangerous territory. She didn't get that look in her eyes very often. So he nodded.

Savannah sat by Lily, which was as far away from Dalton as she could get.
Everyone sat in awkward silence for a bit before Lily yawned, "I think I'm going to turn in for the night."

Everyone else hastily agreed. Before long only Sirius and Savannah were left. The fire was crackling in the hearth, it's orange light casting a warm glow on the room.

Wordlessly, Savannah looked up at him. Sirius's heart broke a little when he seen the pain in her eyes as she stared at him. He moved and sat beside her, not breaking the eye contact.

"Look, it's no secret that I have a crush on you," Sirius started, twisting his hands nervously. It was as if his brain and mouth weren't communicating. He had no idea why he was telling her this. He couldn't believe that telling Savannah how he felt would make him this nervous. He was Sirius fucking Black! He was the player! Girls didn't make him nervous, he made them nervous!

Savannah laughed humorlessly. "Don't you see, Sirius? I'm not good for you! I'm... I'm broken!" She told him, vulnerability in her voice and despair in her eyes.

"And don't you see, 'Vannah, I'm just as broken!" Sirius insisted, looking into her eyes pleadingly.

She smiled sadly as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I swore I would never fall for anyone. I'm broken beyond repair. No one deserves to go through that pain. I-I do like you, Sirius. A lot."

Sirius took her hands. "Then why are you fighting it? Merlin, I've liked you since I first seen you sitting on those bleachers back in first year. Please, 'Vannah. Give me a chance."

"I can't. I'm not good for you," she whispered, looking out the window, taking her hands out of his.

"No, it's me who's not good for you," he replied, putting his hand under her chin to make her look at him.

"It's always been you," she murmured, looking into his stormy grey eyes.

He smirked slightly before saying, "Always."

And in a moment, they were leaning in. Savannah wanted to kiss him. Really, she did. But she reminded herself of how she would only hurt him. It was best to end this before it even started, before she got any more attached.

She looked away from his eyes, leaning back. "I can't, Sirius," she muttered before she buried her head in her hands, doing her best to stifle her sobs.

Sirius had never felt his heart break as it did then. In fact, it wouldn't break like that again until that fateful night in 1981, when their best friend would betray them all.

"Where is this coming from, 'Vannah? We were just going to have fun tonight..." Sirius trailed off.

"My brother was going to be a smart ass and say something embarrassing, most likely about how in love with you I am. And I had just come from- from tattooing those runes onto you. My mind was already whirling, and then my brother just made it worse. Then, the awkward silence made it worse. I- I couldn't hold it in anymore."

Wordlessly, Sirius wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. "I'll wait, 'Vannah. I'm not giving up on you," he whispered softly into her ear.