Emery felt no pain when she fell.

Opening her eyes, she was met by a pair of stormy grey orbs staring deep into hers. She could feel one of Sirius' arms under her knees, and another at her waist.

Somehow, she was clinging onto his neck, her hands wrapped around him as she buried her head in his chest.

Emery smiled shyly at Sirius.

"Hi," she murmured.

Why did I say hi? That's a stupid thing to say. Especially to someone you've spent the past half an hour with.

Sirius looked at Emery, his muscular arms wrapping her slim frame. Her jasmine scent wafted to his nose, and her breath smelled like chocolate and cookies.

Her hair was splayed across his chest, tickling his hands and neck slightly.

"Looks like you fell for me," Sirius whispered, his hot breath fanning her lips.

Emery's breath hitched. "I-"

She couldn't speak.

"I-" She sighed. "Actually.."

"Shh," Sirius hushed her softly. "Just glad you're alright," he whispered, then bowed his head and leant forwards.

Still in his arms, Emery looked at Sirius as he came closer to her, not knowing what he was doing. She was unable to move, since he had a very firm grip on her, but her mind had failed her, and she couldn't think of what to do next.

Emery closed her eyes as Sirius bent his head closer to her. She felt his breath on her skin, and could feel the warmth radiating off him. 

The smell of firewhiskey and cigarettes intoxicated her senses, and Emery began blushing.

Sirius moved his lips to her ear. "I told you you'll fall," he whispered hotly, the smirk evident in his words. 

A chill spread through Emery, making her feel flustered and hot. 

Before Sirius could register what he was doing, he placed his lips on her cheek, pressing a slow kiss on her skin.

Emery felt as if her face was on fire. The imprint of Sirius' lips left a burning sensation on her cheek, and her heart gave a wild flutter.

"Sirius," she breathed. 

Their eyes met, and Emery was lost in his stormy grey orbs.

"Be careful," Sirius murmured in her ear. "I won't always be there to catch you."

Shivers crawled down her spine, and she felt her cheeks on fire. 

She was almost one hundred percent sure he could hear her heartbeat.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly, unhooking her arms from around his neck, her cheek still tingling with the ghost of Sirius' lips.

"Anything for a friend," he said softly, then placed her back on the ground.

Emery moved a step back from Sirius, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

 "The book," she said, suddenly coming back to the present situation. "It's still up there."

Sirius glared at her. "You mean to tell me, that you climbed all the way up there, nearly hurt yourself, and fell down, just to come back down with no book?"

"Well.." she began. 

Sirius ignored her and pushed her to the side, suddenly noticing a glint of gold on the shelf.

Emery gasped slightly as she was shoved to the side, then finally meeting Sirius' eyesight. He was staring at the shelf.

He came closer to the shelf, looking at the imprint that he was sure he imagined. 

It was an eagle, painted in gold on the side of the shelf, no bigger than her finger.

"It's an eagle," she muttered. "Barely noticeable, but it's still there," she said, running her fingers across the gold bird.

At once, she yanked her hand away from it. 

"Ouch!" she yelped. Sirius took her hand. Emery ignored the shivers that passed down her spine.

"It's bleeding," he said softly. "It cut you."

He raised his fingers to touch the eagle. No sooner than he did so, he suddenly felt a sharp sting on his finger.

His finger had a small cut on it.

"It cut me as well," he muttered. "Something's up with the bloody bird."

Emery was deep in thought. 

"It was meant to cut us," she said at last. "Maybe it's a secret passage, or something. It wants payment."

Sirius raised his bleeding finger to the eagle, hoping it would work.

Nothing happened.

"Blood magic," Emery whispered.

"Sorry?" Sirius asked.

"Blood magic," she repeated, louder. "An Eagle is the Fowl family symbol. Only a true Fowl can open it."

Then, she placed her blood on the gold-painted eagle.

The shelf suddenly began rotating round.

Emery, feeling afraid, shifted closer to Sirius on instinct, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

The shelf then split into two, revealing a deep hole in the center.

A passage.

Sirius pushed Emery behind, protecting her from falling into the hole. He took out his wand. 

"Lumos," he muttered. His wand tip lit up.

Grabbing Emery's arm, he led her closer to the hole. 

"They're steps," he confirmed. "Stay behind me. If anything goes wrong, you scream, alright?" Emery nodded.

Then, taking a deep breath, she followed him into the hole.

There was darkness everywhere.

The steps didn't go on for long. Using Sirius' wand-light as guide, Emery followed him, until he came to a stop.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice echoing in the eerie atmosphere.

Sirius pointed to the wall, where a torch rested.

"Incendio," he said, lighting the torch. The passage filled with light.

Only, it wasn't a passage, but rather a room.

Her father's secret room.

It was fully furnished, with an old sofa and a large desk. The desk was littered with papers and old photographs, and Emery found herself drawn to them.

Old pictures of her father. His wedding, his years at Hogwarts, his family, and even... Emery took a deep breath. She'd seen this picture before, in Wood Manor.

Her father on the Greek Quidditch team of 1944.

But he was French, not Greek. And why did he play Quidditch internationally?

Emery stopped staring at the photograph and turned it over. 

Artemis Fowl, Seeker.
Quidditch World cup: 1944

It was in her father's messy scrawl. This proved that he had indeed played for Greece. She let out a sigh, and placed the photograph back on the table, when she noticed Sirius was staring at a cabinet made of glass.

Emery walked forwards, looking at the cabinet.

 It was filled with all his accomplishments.

 A golden trophy stood out from the rest. Emery reached out and held it, the cool metal hitting her fingers. It felt unnecessarily heavy.

Artemis Fowl. Best Seeker of the Century.

"Holy Merlin," Sirius breathed, running his hands across the nameplate. "Wow."

Emery blinked and placed the trophy back in the cabinet.

"There's something fishy going on here," she muttered, walking to the cabinet in the far back of the room.

She opened the cabinet.

A bright silvery blue light blinded her sight.

A stone basin-like structure emerged from the darkness of the cabinet.

Emery knew as once what it was. The question is, how it ended up here, of all places.

It was a pensieve.

Emery took a deep breath.

Her father had left memories for her to watch. Emery looked at the glass flasks near the pensieve, each filled with a silvery bluish substance, neither liquid, nor gas.

She felt a presence behind her.

Sirius took a flask, pouring the memory into the pensieve. 

"Go on," he urged. "This is what you've been looking for. The answers."

Emery nodded, then hugged him. "Thank you," she said. "For helping me."

Sirius stroked her hair. Emery pulled away and grabbed his hand. "Come with me," she said. 

And she entered the pensieve, Sirius along with her, knowing that this was it.

She'd finally get all the answers she'd been waiting for.

Everything would become clear.

a/n: I LOVED WRITING THIS!! Next chapter won't be out for a few days. I have my semifinal exams in 2 days, and I need to study.

Next chapter will come out after tuesday or wednesday. That's why for the past 3 days I've been triple updating...

stay tuned.

elsie.