𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗨𝗔𝗚𝗘

𝘗 𝘙 𝘖 𝘓 𝘖 𝘎 𝘜 𝘌

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"Sirius! Please!" Her giggles were as sweet as honey to his ears. Never in his life had Sirius heard such a lyrical voice before. He simply couldn't get enough of hearing the sounds that escaped her lips, whether they were proper words or just her contagious laughter.

His enchanting French daydream, that's how he liked to call to her. She was his secret gateway, and before meeting her, Sirius had no idea that he could feel so much at home, a feeling so obscure to him, in the arms of another. Camille was his sacred oasis.

"Not like this, my love," Sirius replied, placing countless kisses on the girl's delicately red cheeks, his fingertips frantically stroking her waist while he ignored her complaints. "These aren't the words I want to hear."

"Arrêtez, s'il te plait, Sirius!" Camille tried, sincerely hoping that this was what he wanted to hear.

His cruel tickling finally came to an end when she spoke to him in French. Instead, Sirius purred into her ear, "Mhm." He reached up to press his lips against hers, pulling her into a gentle kiss.

Their bodies, one pressed on top of the other, felt like they were slowly sinking in the warm sand underneath, and the only sound they heard was the soothing noise of waves slowly crashing as they reached the shore. And sometimes, even the distant cries of seagulls.

This was so much more than Sirius thought he deserved. For someone that was so used to rarely receiving anything else other than the cold shoulder, Camille Rainier was a bliss. And if this was nothing but a wicked dream, then the boy surely didn't want to ever wake up from it.

"I want to stay like this forever," Sirius confessed, his eyes averted to the mesmerizing way the orange hues of the sunset were reflected on the girl's face, as he was now standing by her side.

He reached for her hand and laced their fingers together, bringing her knuckles up to her lips so that he could kiss every inch of Camille's hand.

How unfair it was to hold a hand that felt just like it was made for him, molded for him to have. And the way her head fit perfectly in the crook of his neck, like it was sculpted just for her. For once, Sirius let his mind wander: perhaps they were indeed made for each other. Oh, what a treacherous thought.

But deep within him lied the brutal truth. Sirius knew the summer would come to and end, and so would this daydream. And he was so afraid that he will let her slip right through his fingertips, that he would never see her again, that it often kept him up at night.

There was no curfew for them. There was nobody who would interrupt their dates, whether it was broad daylight or long past midnight. How lucky he was to meet such a dreamy girl so close to where he lived. She was vacationing in England by herself, and by the grace of fate, her grandmother had an apartment right on the other end of his street, and since she was away with business at the Ministry, the girl was free to come and go as she pleased. He moved out of his parents' house and lived with his best friend and his family for a while; then got a place of his own. Even so, Sirius Black couldn't get himself to ask Camille to stay the night.

His hands, they held so many girls before. His lips, they kissed just as many. And yet, every time he reached to touch her, he was careful, like he was handling the world's most fragile thing. And he didn't even dare to cross the line with her. If anything, Sirius was surprised every day that a girl like her would even bother to offer a little bit of her attention to him, let alone be his to embrace.

Sirius Black could be described in so many ways, overly confident and arrogant included. But when he looked at her, he felt like she belonged to a whole different world than him and anybody he has ever known. He couldn't explain it, and maybe it was the mystery at fault for him being pulled back to her like she was some sort of magnetic force he couldn't resist. And he didn't even want to, no. Sirius wanted this to last forever. He wanted to feel like this forever.

But the sun started to set earlier, and the sand was no longer warm and welcoming, replaced by a light breeze that he loved and hated at the same time. It did give him one more reason to hold her tightly to his chest, but it was also a harsh reminder of the season that was threatening to come, the season that would take her away from him.

Because once August would be over, she had to go back to France, then to the Beauxbatons Academy, and he was awaited back at Hogwarts. And as much as he wanted to go back to his friends, who he missed terribly, he didn't want to ever let go of his sweet French girl.But he had to.

And because he knew he would change his mind if he waited for a second longer, Sirius had to act quickly. He had to rip off the bandaid. Otherwise, he'd be haunted by her voice and her angel eyes until the very end of his days.

"Sirius?" Camille's soft voice echoed through his apartment.

The door was unlocked for her, as usual, so she let herself inside. It was still early, she figured he would probably be asleep, but she didn't want to wait any longer.

"I have some exciting news!" she said, making her way to his bedroom after she noticed he was not in the living room.

As she advanced through the flat, holding an envelope close to her chest, a strange feeling made shivers run down her spine. And they weren't the beautiful kind, the ones she'd usually feel when Sirius' eyes laid upon her, they were frosty and premonitory. Like a bad omen.

Slowly, she reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open, sucking in a sharp breath when she found the bedroom empty. She backed off and hurried to the kitchen. Empty.

"No.."

But there was something else she noticed from the moment she set foot in his apartment. Most of the boy's belongings were gone, the place looked more like a display room. She found herself going back to his bedroom, desperately opening the doors of his dresser, hoping that she would find the thing she was looking for.

Tears were now rolling down her face, and her eyes were glued to where his trunk was supposed to be. But it was empty, there was no sign of any luggage chest and she couldn't shake off the sinking feeling anymore.

Last night, she was walking down the streets of London, holding hands with the boy she thought she knew like the back of her hand, but today, Sirius Black was gone.

He left without a notice.

And somewhere near the exit of the town, there was a boy who walked out in the chilly air of the weather, carrying his school trunk with him as his steps led him to his best friend's house.

Reaching his destination, he was greeted by a boy with rounded glasses, whose smile quickly turned into a wide grin when he saw who was waiting on the other side of the door.

"Padfoot!" James greeted him, reaching forward and wrapping his arms around the boy he considered to be family, "It's so good to see you, mate! I didn't expect you until the end of August. Thought you were busy."

Sirius scrunched up his nose in a devil-may-care manner, but James could see right through this facade.

"Alright, Padfoot?" he asked, stepping aside before finally inviting his friend: "Come on in, we'll talk after you get settled."

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happy christmas eve, everybody! thank you so much for the great support and love you showed to this story, here is the prologue! i was so nervous about releasing this story and this fancast but the way you all supported me and ur positive feedback made me incredibly happy and emotional! i wish you the happiest of holidays!