𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗜 ━━ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧
010. illicit activities after nightfall

( song for the chapter:
night changes ━ one direction ) 

          𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗔𝗕𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗𝗟𝗬 𝗜𝗡 𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗡, watching as Everest struggled to find the page where the instructions were laid. Initially, she felt quite giddy about being paired up with Everest for the term, however, she was starting to regret it.

"Eve, hurry up." Scarlet groaned.

"It's not like you're a good help, S."

"All you have to do is find the page—"

"I can't!" Everest shoved the book in her direction and the blonde rolled her eyes. "I didn't get any sleep last night."

Scarlet found the instructions in less than five seconds, turning to her friend with a deadpan expression. "You snored the entire night."

"How would you know?"

"Because I didn't sleep at all last night." She shrugged.

"Miss Bridget, Miss Evans," Professor Slughorn approached, looking at Scarlet and trailing his eyes behind her where Lily stood with Marlene. "I'm sure you've heard of my club, how would you like to join?"

"It'd be an honour, sir." Said Lily with a beam of excitement.

Scarlet heard good things about it, especially from Regulus who was invited last year. "Of course, professor."

"And you, Mr Black and Mr Potter?" He turned away to James and Sirius who pretended to read their textbook upside down. The two of them looked at Remus and Peter who nodded approvingly, sending a thumb-up.

James nodded hesitantly. "Uhm, sure."

"Yes, we'll be there professor."

"Wonderful!" He clapped his hands together. "Wait for my owl tonight, you four."

The class finished quickly and Slughorn dismissed them. "I'll see you in the common room." Scarlet tells Everest who nods and makes her way out. Scarlet followed but slower, watching James and Sirius giggling about something dumb.

"Blondie." Sirius said in a seductive tone as soon as his eyes laid on her. James' gaze lingered between the two, he narrowed her eyes and moved a bit away, not exactly wanting to witness his best friend flirting with a Slytherin.

"Meet me at the Astronomy Tower, tonight." Scarlet leaned to whisper in Sirius' ears. He was about to protest—out of instinct—but her lips grazed over his ears and an odd feeling of obligee took over.

He found himself nodding like a porcelain doll.

"Don't be late," she walked off, clutching them to her chest with a soft smirk lingering on her red lips.

      NONETHELESS, SIRIUS WAS QUITE GIDDY ABOUT getting to see Scarlet that late at night. He didn't know what he was thinking, but knowing his personality and notorious reputation, he convinced himself he knew exactly what Scarlet wanted.

He strutted up to the Astronomy tower, watching as Scarlet stood, leaning against the railing with her hands clasped.

"Blondie." She said in a sing-song tone. As soon as he took a step forward, she whirled around, his wand pointed straight at him.

He stumbled back at the spell that hit him.

He gasped overdramatically. "For Merlin's sake, you're crazy, woman!"

      Reaching for his wand, he sent a spell right back. "Expelliarmus!"

She deflected it with a dark smirk. The two of them went on and on, dodging and defending. Sirius let out a laugh when he had the upper hand, but that soon fell when she cast a non-verbal spell.

"What the hell was that—!"

Scarlet grinned, taking this opportunity to gain dominance and throwing him against the wall with a lazy flicker of her wand.

He groaned as soon as his back hit the wall, taking in the loss and busting out laughing. "I admit, that was fun."

Scarlet shook her head and turned around to chuckle, not wanting to face him whilst she was laughing.

"If fights with true enemies were this fun," Sirius said, leaning into her frame with a small smirk. "I'd do it every day."

Scarlet found composure, raising her chin and using her wand to press it against his chest and pushing him away from her body. "You're insufferable."

"Now, was that just a cover story for what you actually wanted from me, Blondie?"

"If the thought helps you sleep at night, sure." She used her hands to knock off the dust from the front of her robe, sending a hand over to straighten the fabric.

Sirius stepped forward and brought his hand up to her shoulder. Suddenly, her throat dried. He simply flickered his hand softly over the fabric on her shoulder, removing more dust, however, when he saw the astonished face on the girl, he grinned lightly.

Scarlet lost his touch as he took a frantic step back, excitedly turning over the railing and sitting on it with his legs dangling off the edge, facing the night sky. "C'mon," he signalled, patting the place next to him.

The girl was uncertain for a mere second before gathering her robes in her hand and going over the edge, sitting right beside him. He shuffled a little towards her, their shoulders touching as the two stared right ahead.

"I quite like the cold breeze, don't you?"

"Only when I'm not freezing to death." Said Scarlet, shoving her hands in the pockets of her coat.

Sirius glanced at her eyes dipping in the moonlight for a second. The awkwardness intensified the longer the seconds stretched onward in absolute silence, with only the wind swaying between the large trees surrounding making a 'whoosh' sound.

Conversation between the pair has only consisted of prickling with meaningless insults, sparingly civil, so this was going to be a little strange for sure.

"Why'd you call me up here?" Sirius asked suddenly.

Scarlet was used to Sirius not second-guessing anything in his life as long as he was having a fulfilling and fun time, so the question caught her off guard. "I've seen you in DADA, you're not very good."

"Gee, thank you, Blondie, means a lot." He rolled her eyes.

There was a heavy stillness in the air due to another sudden silence. Her lips were stuck between her teeth as she bit down on it, her hands were woven together tightly, not being in her pockets anymore.

"I didn't want to go to sleep," She suddenly said, he turned to examine her stressed side-profile, astonished at her words. "Nightmares... I'm scared to fall asleep."

Under normal circumstances, he would have blurted out a sarcastic comment such as, 'Scarlet Bridget, scared? That's one I haven't heard before'. However, this was anything but a normal event. "What about?"

"Darkness... yesterday I felt like I was... paralysed, I couldn't snap out of it," She murmured truthfully, refusing to meet his eyes. "And Eve would probably murder me in cold blood if I got in between her and her sleeping schedule," She chuckled lightly, her lips curling up in a note to bring light to the dark atmosphere.

     "I didn't know who else to ask." She whispered, voice thick and careful.

Sirius saw through her notation though as he delved deep into the Bridget's features; she looked deflated, defeated. A pang of sympathy throbbed in his heart when he cast his fluttering eyes upon her expression.

He didn't know what to do.

Scarlet's cheeks burned inconsolably when she realised the silence between them had stretched on for longer than she anticipated, giving her a reason to grow slightly concerned over his sudden lack of interest in the conversation.

Suddenly, this seemed like a bad idea to the girl. She started to shuffle away, ready to turn around over the railing when she was stopped by a frantic hand on her. The gears in Sirius' head turned carefully, and instead of stopping her by grabbing her hand, he stopped her movement with a grip on her thigh, eliminating her exit.

He quickly removed his hand. "Stay."

Scarlet's brows knitted together, her heart practically in her throat. Perhaps, she should have just stayed in her bed, staring at the ceiling and praying she doesn't fall asleep into a void.

"I try thinking about the good things before falling asleep," Sirius said, lacking awkwardness in his tone. "My friends, Hogwarts, pranking people... otherwise when I close my eyes, I'm back at home and my mother is yelling at me for breathing."

The girl silently listened.

He took a deep inhale. "Growing up in daunting homes like yours and mine... it's bound to come with nightmares, Blondie... but there are good things in your life too."

"You have friends... people respect you, and you have a loving mother," Sirius continued with a small smile on his lips as the girl listened carefully, not taking her eyes off of his defined features. "You know exactly when to say what things, you're stunning and really smart..." He trailed off. "Yo-you just have to think about those things before shutting your eyes."

Scarlet dug her nails into her thigh over the fabric of her outfit. "Oh—uhm," Her eyes shot up to find him still staring down at her with a softened expression after his sweet disposition. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For making me feel better." Her legs nervously dangled over the railing more frequently.

With a click of a finger, his unserious-self snapped back to reality with a loud yawn he gave out. "You also have me, and I'm awesome so if you think about—"

"Shut up, Black, don't ruin the mood," She cut him off, allowing the silence to be instilled once again. Only their short breaths accompanied by whistling of the wind could be heard. "You think I'm stunning?" She turned to face him with the most infuriating smirk on her face.

Sirius shot her an unimpressed look. "Forget what I said, I still find you the most ignorant—"

"Shocking coming from you—"

"We both know you'll forget about this after a good night's sleep, Blondie, forget about all the shitty nightmares... and me."

"No," She dismissed quickly. "I don't think I'll forget you." She said meaningfully, watching the cheeky smile making its way back to his face. "Goodnight, Black."

"'Night, Blondie." He said as she started to widen their distance, walking away from the scene. He playfully blew her a kiss, his palm under his chin as a motion. She rolled her eyes in return and Sirius allowed the thought of her—as she faded away—linger in his brain for a mere moment.