𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗜𝗜 ━━ 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘
063. aboard the hogwarts express

          𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬. 𝗦𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦. Well, she was terribly happy for her friend Lily Evans for being appointed Head Girl, a position the blonde desperately wanted. 

      Narcissa would've been ashamed of me, Scarlet thought. And the smoke of anger bellowing from her ears was not exactly foggy. 

"You look like your blood is boiling," Regulus nudged her, seeing right through her as they walked in front of their parents in Kings Cross Station whilst Sirius was running around, trying to find his friends. "Tone the anger down a little."

"I'll murder Dumbledore." Scarlet grumbled with a straight face. After the attacks ruined what would've been everyone's peaceful summer, students were furious with the Slytherins.

"Dumbledore should get rid of Slytherin House at this point," a Ravenclaw muttered as she passed, viciously eyeing Regulus and Scarlet.

Scarlet knew starting what would be her second fight at the King's Cross Station was a bad idea. She was about to lunge forward, allowing her intrusive thoughts to win when Celeste tugged at the back of her robe and pulled her to her initial position.

"Listen to me," Celeste whispered quietly, slightly pulling her away from the Blacks. "Don't let them see your anger—it'll all make it worse... I'll have a chat with the Ministry—see what I can do about it."

"Please, do so," Scarlet told her mother with a roll of her eyes, "before I hex one of these vicious gits into oblivion." She sent a deadly glare at one of the sixth-year boys who passed and shot the blonde women a suspicious look. 

"You will not resort to violence, do I make myself clear?" Celeste firmly asked, eyes boring into her daughter's.

Scarlet sighed. "Yes."

"Great," Celeste put on an elegant, soft smile as she straightened her posture, standing taller than her daughter. "You have a great year, sweetheart, and remember to write anytime something is wrong."

"Of course," she draped one arm around her mother's shoulder softly and pulled away after seconds, still not very appreciative of physical affection.

      The train ride was longer than she had anticipated, and Scarlet spent quite some hours murderously glaring at James Potter who miraculously got appointed Head Boy despite being a moron the entire time. 

      Through squinted eyes, she could see Lily Evans shooting a soft smile toward the new Head Boy now and then, and the unusual sight made Scarlet's brain fuzzy. 

       When the train came to a halting stop, she realised she had fallen asleep on Evan Rosier's shoulder, another Slytherin who was mortified at the thought of getting beat by James Potter as Head Boy. The rival Quidditch captains never really were fond of each other. 

      When she entered the Great Hall, a girl in red and golden shoved past her, hitting her shoulder against the blonde's. Scarlet did not flinch.

"Watch her lead the entire House into being Death Eaters," the girl told her Gryffindor friend. 

"Practically devils in disguise, the Bridgets are."

"Don't even get me started on the Blacks."

      When Scarlet felt Regulus' dainty fingers slip around hers, she could finally breathe through the rage. Cheeks tinted crimson, terrible whispers hung in the monotonous air. Scarlet recognised Marlene's brother who got sorted into Hufflepuff, and the little boy looked terrified for some reason.

      After the sorting of the first years' and the feast, Everest was the only Slytherin to meet up with a Gryffindor with anticipation, pulling an excited Marlene into a tight hug.

Lily stood behind with a tight-lipped smile as Scarlet bid Regulus goodnight for the time being. "I have something to talk to you girls about." The redhead said.

      Away from the eyes of the public, the group of Slytherin and Gryffindor girls made their way to an abandoned staircase behind the Great Hall, sprawled upon the dirty stairs as Scarlet stood against the wall, not wanting filth on her robes. 

"All our schedules are insane," Eve absentmindedly muttered, "really, we should not have to wait two months just to plan a date all of us can attend." Over the summer, the girls exchanged multiple letters about their plans on the weekends and times they would be free to visit Hogsmeade now that they were in their seventh year and no supervision would be required. As it turns out, the weekend they would all be free altogether was two months away, and most of the obstacles came from Scarlet who was still not free on the date they had settled on.

"If you had told me a month earlier, I would've left a slot available for you in my calendar," Scarlet shrugged nonchalantly.

Marlene grimaced, "how many things do you do?"

"Oh, oh,  about Hogsmeade, actually—" Alice cheerfully started. "Should we coordinate our outfits?"

"Coordinating our outfits with Scarlet would be a nightmare," Everest giggled, pointing at the stone-cold-faced blonde. "We'd look like we're going to a funeral."

"You exaggerate," Scarlet retorted, turning to look at the girls. "Besides, not all of us are going."

"Well, speaking of Lily," Alice smirked ever-so-lightly, turning to the flustered redhead.

"I wasn't talking about Lily, I was talking about myself." Scarlet deadpanned and an awkward silence encapsulated them. She nervously twirled the loose strands of hair that fell out of her ponytail.

"What nonsense, of course, you'll be clearing out your schedule and joining along with Sirius," Alice raised a brow, finding the matter non-negotiable. It was hard to say no to Alice. "Lily?" 

The redhead's eyes widened at the attention, and she coughed slightly. "You see, James has asked me out—"

"—Again," Alice added. "After quite some time, surprisingly."

Lily exhaled in defeat, "At Kings Cross, he asked me—in a rather exquisite manner—"

"So, it's James now, and not Potter or an arrogant toerag?" Marlene sent an amused expression, and Everest nodded along in agreement.

"I said yes," Lily quickly finished, nervously fiddling with her fingers. All heads were whipped towards her, and the girls all raised their eyebrows in surprise.

"Did he blackmail you?" was Scarlet's first inquiry. "Are you sure he didn't slip you Love Potion?"

"How ironic, S," Everest smirked. "That's what I thought when you told me about Black."

"That is fantastic, Lils," Alice grinned, nudging the rosy-cheeked girl with her elbow.

Marlene suddenly grunted, "All this talk of love and dates is boring me, although... it's about time Potter gets a chance."

"He's been awfully good recently," Lily shrugged lightly, a little bit of confusion taking over her.

"We could find you a date!" Alice exclaimed to Marlene, clapping her hands together in an excited manner.

"I don't want a date," Marlene sternly said, fiddling with her fingers anxiously which was a motion only the Slytherins picked on for obvious reasons.

"Everest can be with her other friends from Slytherin," Lily shrugged, turning to Marlene who had a downhearted expression on her face. "You can join Remus and Peter if they come."

"I don't really want to—"

"—I don't understand, do you not want to join us at all, or—?" Alice started to ask, confused.

"Can we drop it?" Marlene averted her gaze from the floor and at her friends.

"We really don't mind—" Lily was cut off quickly.

"I don't want to go." Marlene interrupted slowly, the sour look on her face not dropping.

Lily smiled at her. "Or I can cancel on James—"

"Lily," Scarlet smoothly cut her off, her tone quieter but the harshness of her voice caused the entire compartment to go silent. "Drop it."

       She inhaled tightly, looking between a now relaxed Marlene, and Everest who fiddled with her necklace around her neck, looking almost like a bitter imposter. Scarlet might not have known whatever the hell their positions were, but she knew the two girls found themselves in a situation in which they could not put their fingers around.

      And questions will only make it worse. Scarlet knew it all too well.

Scarlet surely also knew how to turn a topic around. "So, should Lily and James' couple name be Jily or Lames."

A roar of laughter echoed as Lily scowled. "Lames?"

"That is hilarious!" Everest shook her head, sharing a laugh with Marlene.

      Her laugh was cut short by a commotion right around the corner of the corridor. The girls shared incredulous looks before sprinting towards the situation to observe.

"EXCUSE ME!" Lily screamed at the sixth-year Gryffindor lunging forward at a random Slytherin boy, using his hand to shove the boy in green against the wall with excessive force. 

      Everest held Scarlet back as the girl was about to interfere, and all she heard was Lily's threats to give them detentions and take points off between the loud cheers of encouragement coming from the sea of students all around. 

The Gryffindor attacker seemed to be fuming. "You, you lot should be banned from ever entering this school. With your unjust beliefs and terrible attitude, I despise all of you!"

"What happened here?" James Potter cut through responsibly, eyes lingering between the two fuming boys. "Have you lost your mind—this is unacceptable!"

"I'm not going to sit here and listen to him insulting Muggle-borns as though it doesn't mean anything!" The Gryffindor shot back.

      James' rageful gaze burned through the wounded Slytherin's face who rolled his eyes without remorse.

      Great, this is exactly the sort of prejudice Scarlet needed right after receiving dirty looks the entire time since she stepped foot into Hogwarts.

"Go back to your dorm," James told the Gryffindor boy and the younger huffed, stomping away harshly and so did the Slytherin. James' wondering eyes fell on the girls in the back of the crowd as they watched dubiously. "It's getting late, go to bed, girls."

"He's taking responsibility now," Everest wiggled her eyebrows and shared a loud giggle with Marlene. 

"Go to your room, girls." Marlene mocked with a fake, deep voice which earned her a look from Lily. "What a doufas." 

"Seriously?" The redhead put her hands on her hips, arching a brow. "It's not that funny, he's acting mature."

"Oops, I think we made our mother quite mad." Alice joked, eyes wide in a funny way. After a while with the girls, Scarlet excused herself and the others did not bat an eye at her departure.

      SNEAKING INTO THE GRYFFINDOR'S PLACE is a nightmare. Thankfully, Everest and Marlene were occupying the dorm room at the moment, giving Scarlet an easy way to be absent for an hour or so. Currently, she was lying in Sirius Black's bed with the rest of the Marauders gone, and Sirius was on top of her figure, pinning her hands down on either side of her head against the soft mattress. 

      No, they were not shagging. But they were kissing for what felt like an entire hour. Scarlet just could not get enough of him, the taste of his lips and his body against hers. Her lips were swollen and his bright pink.

      She pulled him in by the collar of his plain white shirt as close as she possibly could, his hand roaming around on her waist and her fingers at the ends of his hair. Their lips locked, like they were always meant to.

      She didn't want it to come to an end. Not an inch of her body wanted to let go, to ever pull away. But it did end. It ended with a loud and harsh knock on the door, and it sounded like someone was attempting to break it down.

"PADFOOT, I SWEAR TO MERLIN—IT'S THE FIRST DAY BACK!" 

Ignoring James' furious voice, Sirius continued to trail wet kisses down Scarlet's jaw, not yet ready to allow her to leave.

"Which unfortunate soul is it this time?" A voice sounding like a scowling Remus wondered.

"I don't know, he never told us who he's seeing!" James exaggerated. "It's like we don't even know him anymore!"

"Sirius, I got to go," Scarlet said, pushing him by his chest as he fell next to her on his back. The blonde sat up quickly and he grabbed onto her waist, tapping against her skin through the fabric of her shirt. Without warning, he pulled her towards him as she landed on his chest, leveling her face with his.

He pouted like a child. "Don't go."

"Your Headboy over there will take all points off Slytherin if he finds me here," She sat up, running a hand through her hair and attempting to make it neat. "Now go, usher your friends away, I need a clear path out."

"You know..." Sirius tapped his chin, pretending to be puzzled. "Anyone would love to be seen with me."

"An ego that big is unusual, Black, might wanna tune it down a little." She flattened out her robe, turning over her shoulder to wink at the boy who was lying on his back. "Don't look at me like that."

Sirius grinned lightly, his eyes locked with her face with a mesmerised glint lingering in them. "Like what?"

She looked back and pointed with an unbearable smile. "Like that!" She whisper-yelled.

      It was a tough notion for Sirius to distract his friends enough to allow Scarlet to sneak out of the red and gold common room. As much as she hated herself for it, she was smiling the whole way from the tower to the dungeon.

𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑨 𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑺

enjoy the cute n fluffy kissing moments
for now cuz.... well..... lol.