𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗜 ━━ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧
020. history repeats itself

( song for the chapter:
delicate — taylor swift )

          𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚, 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧 were making their way out of the Great Hall when "Your boyfriend's waiting for you," the brunette raised a brow, a teasing smile on her lips.

      Scarlet followed her eye line to see Sirius by the railing, leaning against it with his arms crossed whilst the three other friends stood a bit far, giggling about something.

"I'll catch up with you later," Scarlet slowly told Everest who winked before walking away.

"Black," she greeted shortly.

He sent her a flirtatious wink, grinning simultaneously. Scarlet was quite used to this behaviour by now, "The boys want to meet your officially, they haven't stopped asking."

Scarlet knitted her brows together, "Are you sure it's them who wants to see me?"

Sirius did not find the smirk on her face amusing. "Really, they're getting all weird about it," he shrugged, then his voice raised about eight octaves as he began to mock Peter, "'Oh! But you brought all your other girls to the common room!'"

"Did you?" She asked curiously.

"T-that's not the point," he scoffed, "I'll find you after class." He pointedly said, not allowing her to protest before he walked away over to his friends.

      "I TOLD YOU I'D FIND YOU," SIRIUS BLACK APPEARED when Scarlet was making her way down the Slytherin dungeon.

"Hm, you deserve a medal," she rolled her eyes, sarcastically. "Can I bring Eve?"

"Everest Chasseur?" Sirius knitted his brows, a bit hesitant about allowing a hunter-legacy and a literal werewolf to be in a room together.

"She doesn't bite," she shrugged and Sirius burst out laughing at the irony of her words. Scarlet couldn't think he could get any weirder.

"Sure, bring her along."

Her face brightened up as she turned around with a flick of her hair harshly hitting his face, an 'ouch' sound leaving his lips.

      Sirius was left alone. That was when a silver-figure appeared near him, and he rolled his eyes at the flying ghost. 

"A Gryffindor in the Slytherin dungeon..." he spoke in a grumpy voice, almost monotone. 

"Do you want something?" Sirius snapped at the Bloody Baron.

"No..." he bluntly replied, turning around to see Scarlet making her way through. "Huh, how interesting..."

"What's interesting?" Sirius asked, a little bored of the ghost.

"How history repeats itself."

"What the hell does that mean," Sirius' question was left unanswered because the Bloody Baron exited the scene as soon as Scarlet neared them.

The three of them made their way to the Gryffindor Tower once Scarlet brought out Everest.

"Hm, got your pet, Blondie?" Sirius joked, referring to the brunette girl.

The Slytherin shot him the deadliest glare, "I'll rip out your tongue from your head—"

"Black, behave," Scarlet raised a brow, giving him a pointed look.

He raised his hands in surrender. "Apologies, milady."

"I don't think calling him by his last name is a good cover, S," Everest shared, leaning towards the blonde girl.

"That's what I said!" The boy exclaimed, turning to his 'fake girlfriend' and noticing the muscle in her jaw clench. "Hey, you're okay?"

"A very vague question to ask," she whispered back, a hint of humour in her tone.

Everest looked at the two of them and rolled her eyes, speeding up her walking pace and leaving the two of them behind.

Sirius let out a small laugh, "Scarlet Bridget, are you nervous to meet my family?"

The way her real name rolled off his tongue, with the addition of the mocking posh tone he added—Scarlet felt an odd sense of fluttery in her chest. A feeling that she had been receiving for quite some time now.

On top of that, she found it incredibly sweet to hear Sirius use the word family when referring to the Gryffindors.

"It's just going to be your friends right?" She asked, clutching onto her jacket tightly underneath the November flush.

"And the girls, yeah," he nodded in confirmation. he then let out a breathy chuckle. "Why are you so concerned?"

"I don't know, hundreds of years of rivalry between Slytherins and Gryffindors, imagine I walk in... and I get attacked." She exaggerated.

"Then, I'd rescue you, as I promised before," he winked again smoothly.

"Oh, my Prince Charming, I remain forever grateful to you," she smirked, glinting mischief in her eyes as she sarcastically spoke.

"HEY, BLACK!" Everest yelled at the two loudly, being far up the stairs. "What's the password?"

Sirius rolled his eyes at the interruption but was glad nonetheless because he never really had an answer to Scarlet's sarcastic remark.

Whilst the boy went up the stairs quicker, muttering the password to the Fat Lady who pretended to gag, "Black has brought two girls this time!"

"Shut up, will you?" The boy grumbled, making the girls laugh.

As they entered the Gryffindor Common room, Lily and Alice yelped happily at the sight, "You came!" The Evans girl gasped cheerfully, sitting up in her seat.

"Everything is so... red," Scarlet muttered, and Remus approached her. She thankfully smiled at him when he volunteered to take her coat and hang it behind the door. The common room was filled with warmth and life, and everything was red, red, and red.

"Just like your name," Remus said with a small smile, "Almost like you're meant to be here." He wiggled his brows between her and Sirius, their faces turning red at the gesture.

"Oh Merlin, you actually brought her!" James flapped his arms around, "Welcome, Bridget... and you are...?"

Everest raised a brow.

"Chasseur," Marlene answered for him before the brunette Slytherin almost murdered James with her glare. Scarlet's head snapped towards the McKinnon girl who had a slight pink blush rising to her cheeks. She glanced between the two with squinted eyes. 

"Call me Everest," she shrugged in answer, smiling gratefully at the girl for chiming in and taking a seat on the crimson sofa.

"Everest, like the mountain?" Lily asked, receiving confused gazes from everybody. She sunk back in her seat, clutching her pillow. "It's a muggle mountain."

"Interesting to know," Scarlet smirked at Everest who rolled her eyes at the newfound information, not enjoying it. She took a seat beside her best friend, and Sirius sat next to her.

His thigh brushed against hers over the fabric of their trouser and skirt, and she waited for him to widen the gap but he rested his leg there, not making a movement.

      Salazar fucking Slytherin, help me. She thought. A burning sensation rose to her pale cheeks.

The door busted open once again to reveal a frantic Peter, looking out of breath. "Godric, forgive me!"

Marlene shot up from her seat and let out an excited sound, slapping her hands together at the sight of the boy holding four bottles of drinks—wine.

"How did you get those?" Everest squinted her eyes.

"So, we—" Peter started, only to be cut off by James' large voice.

"Oh-uh, that will remain a secret," he smirked mischievously, and Peter pursed his lips to suppress a peal of laughter. Remus brought out some plastic cups, pouring everybody their drinks.

      "WAIT, WAIT, YOU ACTUALLY POURED ICE WATER ON HIS HEAD?" Everest laughed aloud, throwing her head back at Marlene's words.

"It's not my fault they left their dorm room open!" The blonde justified.

"I got nightmares for a month," Sirius grumpily said. "I thought I was drowning in the Atlantic Ocean."

"Don't scowl, Black, you'll get wrinkles," Scarlet joked, turning her head to the side to look at him teasingly.

Sirius bit his bottom lips, leaning towards her so his chin touched her ear. "Right, you don't want me to ruin my pretty face, Blondie?"

She shot him a glare.

"Do you two need a room?" James drunkenly slurped out, coughing a little at the burn in his throat.

"How many cups did you have?" Alice asked, eyes widening as James almost fell face-first to the carpeted floor from his sofa.

"He doesn't take drinks very well either, I presume," Scarlet chuckled, pointing lazily at Peter who fell out of consciousness, head on Remus' shoulder.

"No one here does, except me, I'm special," Sirius smirked, eyes still dull into the temple of Scarlet's head.

Lily and Marlene shared a look before the redhead spoke. "What did you do to him?"

"What?"

"He used to be a disrespectful git, what did you do to him?"

"Are you telling me I've changed him?" She gasped exasperatedly with a smirk, the girls started to tease the boy.

"Well, yeah, he's looking at you like the rest of the world has disappeared," Marlene chuckled humourlessly, sipping her drink.

Sirius and Scarlet's hearts dropped simultaneously as they shared a look. Lily glanced between the two of them, furrowing her brows. However, Sirius went to maintain his composure quicker than the girl—surprisingly—and shot her a love-smitten grin.

      She looked away from him, a lazy smile on her face out of nervousness. All of the sudden, a hand crept on her thigh.

      She snapped her neck in his direction once again, but he was completely unfazed. His hand wasn't moving, it was just there.

      Her eyes nearly bulged out of their damn pockets, and he wasn't even putting on a show because Remus, Alice, Lily and Marlene were in the middle of a very animated argument about their next Quidditch tournament, something about the best strategy.

Everest was snoring beside her other side, falling asleep in her seat. It didn't even look comfortable!

      Scarlet did anything to distract herself from her flushed cheeks. What was he doing? Trying to murder her?

"What are you doing?" She whispered to him, voice low and almost inaudible.

"What am I doing?" He pretended to be clueless, glancing at his hand on her leg and back to her eyes as though nothing abnormal had taken place.

"You-you're—" she turned to face him fully, but the close proximity of their faces proved to be a distraction.

"You," Sirius started, pointing to her peony-pink cheek with the tip of his finger, "You got something over there."

Her face warmed, redding more if that was possible. She looked away, eyebrows furrowing when she noticed the Gryffindor girls gone from their seats.

"Where did they disappear to?"

Sirius finally looked away from her, face dropping at the sight of the empty couch.

"Yeah, none of them can handle alcohol," she chuckled, watching James, Remus and Peter slumped over each other, the Potter drooling over Remus' shoulder. She grimaced at the sight.

"Reckon Potter is dreaming about Lily?" She snickered watching as Sirius laughed out loud at his best friend. A magical twinkle always flashed across his eyes when he laughed.

The alone-time started to feel awkward, Sirius did her a favour and removed his flirtatious hand from her thigh, allowing her to let out a sigh.

"Can I ask you something?" She started the conversation again, looking at him with her flesh still radiating heat.

"Anything, darling," said Sirius with humour in his tone.

"Why did you stop speaking to me?" She had a pretty good idea about the reason, but she just needed to hear it from him.

He cleared his throat, opening his mouth to answer her question. The words that had been fully formed in his mind—because he always thought about that specific situation—bubbled and melted like sea-froth ebbing away from land.

He was confused by the intensity of her gaze. "You..." his jaw clenches, as though something was burning in his chest as it rose and fell. "You stole my first kiss." His cheeks burned in embarrassment (maybe, or it could be bottled-up anger).

Scarlet blinked, lips departing lightly.

"And I was really pissed off," he scoffed, a bit of slur in his tone. He looked as though he was prepared to delve into his thoughts—perhaps alcohol makes him honest. "I had a small crush on you, which now that I think about was quite stupid,"

She found herself nodding, a downhearted expression on her face. Stupid. Quite stupid. His words rang in her head.

He gulped again, starting to fiddle with the rings on his fingers, "And you kissed me..." he nodded to himself, remembering the events, the feelings, "I get it, you wanted your stupid green tea," both of them chuckled humourlessly.

"That wasn't it," she whispered.

"Come on, Blondie," he scoffed, shaking his head. "One second, I was over the moon, I was like, 'Scarlet Bridget is kissing me!" His mocking tone said. He went through the story as though it was a joke. As though he was trying to make the matter unserious. "And the next, it clicked... you don't care,"

"I did,"

"Blondie—"

"I sent you a letter," she cut him off, finally letting it out. "I wanted to let you know it did mean something to me... but that day, you told me you charmed your window so Kaz can't enter and I realised you never even got my letter,"

A few glimpses of expression flashed through his face. One of realisation—as though the date and context just clicked, then the crinkle between his brows creased deeper. Then a frown was plastered to his initial grinning lips, his sharp cheekbones softening—if that was possible.

      As though it truly hurt him that he never received the letter, he looked regretful—all those years he spent hating on her based on a reason that was merely a lie.

"You didn't think I'd come back running to you the moment I found a letter that said that," he exaggerated, hands flapping in the air like a bird's. "I spent the entire year acting like James!"

"I was twelve!" That was not a justification, but it was worth a try. "I wasn't very smart, I'm not in Ravenclaw!"

"Well, you broke my twelve-year-old little heart," he grumpily said, folding his hands like a child. However, there was a mature and honest undertone to his words.

She broke his heart, Scarlet did not know that. She did not know how serious it was to him no matter how young and stupid they were. However, it should have been her responsibility to make sure he received the letter, to know the boy Sirius was. He spent months trying to flirt with her, and despite the letters and her feelings on the inside, what she did was wrong.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again, voice shaky.

Sirius didn't expect her to apologise, he expected her to remain unbothered. "For not feeling anything back?"

"For being such a heartless bitch," her face had no humour in it, neither did her tone. "For not being honest."

Sirius' lips parted, it took a moment of hesitance. "Honest?"

"I wasn't lying when I said it was a big deal to me too in that letter..." she shrugged, and honestly, she had no idea it would be a big deal. This sort of thing never mattered to her. "It was my first kiss as well, so..."

"Oh, yeah," Sirius realised the other part of the bet. "Oh yeah!" He shook his head in amusement, making the blonde giggle a little, "The next year... I did everything to get your attention, but none of it worked and it made me so, so mad." 

      He did try—by kissing other girls.

She smiled lightly at his face, but that dimmed down slowly, eyes flickering to her lap. "When you started to ignore me, I pretended that was why I disliked you so much... and used it as an excuse to never mend the fences between us."

Sirius' curiosity sky-rocketed, brows furrowing at what she was about to admit, "Wait, then why did you dislike me," he asked quietly.

Scarlet shallowed, shut her eyes and took in a large breath. She turned her head away, and then she said it. "Cause I was scared of what could happen if I didn't."

It was quiet after those words. Sirius stared at the side of her face, letting her words hit him right in the gut. He didn't know what that meant at first, but within a second, he suddenly knew with painful certainty.

      Suddenly, the atmosphere felt overwhelmed. Everything seemed like a bad idea. This seemed like a bad idea.

      Her fingers started to fiddle with her rings again awkwardly. Noticing this, Sirius put his hand on hers to stop the movement, taking both of them by surprise. His skin was soft against hers.

"Whatever it was, the dislike, the plays and resentment..." his voice was soft and delicate, like the icing on a cake. "It's all over now."

She looked him in the eye, the mask she wore vigorously slipping as her brows relaxed. The softened look made Sirius recoil, almost. Sirius stared into her eyes as though tied to a magnet and he always managed to be pulled into those irises. Stunning big, blue eyes — dark cobalt. They were deep. Not blue like water at the shoreline—like the middle of the ocean at midnight sort of blue.

A small smirk stretched beyond the point of tolerable on Scarlet's features; She raised a brow and mocked one of his previous words, "You got something over there," she teasingly pointed at his cheekbones that were a deep shade of crimson.

"Whatever, Blondie," he rolled his eyes at the stir in the winds, the change in her tone. For a second, just for a mere second, she wondered what it would be like if he was really hers. 

A powerful electricity surged relentlessly through her veins. A lightning bolt of indescribable ardour. It wasn't something she made up, it was there.

It was always there.

𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑨 𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑺

this chapter got me giggling
and twirling my hair fr.