the hat | 𝐬.𝐛

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟵 || To Meet Again

The next morning, Emery awoke with a smile on her face, thinking of how she miraculously found her hat.

She got dressed, and immediately headed to the owlery to inform her mother that she found her hat.

She was about to leave the dormitory when she saw Cecilia still sleeping. Out of all the years Emery knew Cecilia, not once did she ever wake up late. Perhaps she had just overslept.

Emery tried to wake her up, but Cecy mumbled an incoherent string of words, and Emery decided that it was best to leave her to rest.

She skipped out of the common room, the letter to her mother in her hand. She pulled her beige cloak tighter around her waist, and set off to the owlery.

Once she reached, she located her owl, and attached the letter to it, before waving it goodbye and watching it fade into the atmosphere, becoming smaller and smaller with every beat of its wings.

"Hello, Fowl," said a voice behind her. "Didn't know we'd meet again so soon."

Emery quickly turned around. 

"Black." she said. "Erm, hi."

Emery was flustered, thinking of her uncomfortable moment the day before. She was usually quite confident in all her actions, but embarrassing herself in front of a stranger who helped her, was sort of too overwhelming for her.

She stole a glance at Sirius, and once she caught his gaze, she quickly looked away, and opted to stare at the floor, a pink blush forming at her cheeks as she thought of how she hugged him, begging her brain to erase the memory.

She looked at him again, only to see him smiling at her. He nodded reassuringly, and Emery knew that this was his way of saying that he wouldn't speak of yesterday. Thus, with the unspoken arrangement between the two, Emery knew that it was alright to calm down.

Nervously, she smiled at him, not knowing what else to do, or how to behave.

He smiled back, and ruffled his hair with his hand, then tied a letter to a black owl and watched it fly away. 

"I was ordering more dungbombs from Gambol and Japes," he said, his eyes twinkling at her. 

He was dressed in his usual black leather jacket and jeans, the only difference was that he wore a polo neck instead of a t-shirt.

"Oh," said Emery, feeling foolish. "Good luck."

Then she closed her eyes tight, wishing she never spoke.
Why did she wish him 'Good Luck?'

 She sighed nervously, and tried to explain to his confused expression exactly what she meant.

"I mean," she started. "Good luck, but not good luck, because why would you need good luck when ordering dungbombs? You'll need the luck in case you get caught, so good luck, but if you're not caught, then no good luck, and I said good luck in case you're caught, or not caught, so if you're not caught then good luck in the future, and..." 

She never got to finish, because at that moment, she stepped on a loose floorboard and lost her balance.

Luckily, before she toppled to the ground, Sirius caught her, his long arms tight at her waist. 

She let out a gasp of surprise. When she saw that she was frozen in midair, held only by Sirius' arms, she relaxed slightly, and looked at her savior's face.

His high cheekbones were toned pink from the cold, and the wind had swept his black, long hair to the side. His stormy gray eyes were fixed intently on hers with concern.

She could feel his cold hands on her waist through her cloak.

He cleared his throat. 

"Are you alright?" he murmured.

"I-" she rasped, her voice slightly high pitched, her throat dry. "I'm good." She didn't let her eyes move from his chiseled face. 

He chuckled at her flustered state, and helped her stand. "You sure?"

"Mhmm," she said, nodding. "Thanks."

He tilted his head.

"For you know, umm, finding my hat, and helping me when I fell.. I mean, I didn't actually fall, and I would have fallen, but I didn't, because you caught me, and thanks," she twittered.

Sirius laughed softly at her rambling. "You're most welcome, Fowl."

She scrunched her nose and wrinkled her face. 

"Don't call me that," she ordered. "Call me Emery. Or Em, if you like. Frankly speaking, I'd prefer Em, because Emery is too long and formal. Don't get me wrong, I like my name, but Em is just an nickname, and most people call me Em, so if you want, you can as well... Unless you'd prefer to call me Emery, then I don't mind.. Of course, if it's alright with you.. Oh, dear, I'm rambling again, aren't I?" she asked dejectedly, looking at him. 

He shrugged, finding her actions amusing and rather entertaining.

"I'm sorry, it's just that when I get nervous, or excited, my emotions tend to overflow, and I end up rambling, so I'm sorry for that, OH MERLIN HELP ME!" she moaned, her hands covering her face, realizing that she rambled once more.

Sirius stared at her outburst in surprise. Slowly, he took a step closer to her, so as not to scare her or anything.

To him, she was exactly like a dove, scared and innocent, and he didn't want to frighten her by making the wrong move or saying something rude.

Slowly, his hands reached towards her, and he gently tugged her arms away from her face, slightly smiling at her, as if to say 'it's okay.'

Emery, understanding, him, stepped back hesitantly, and blushed, her cheeks turning redder by the minute.

"I don't mind your rambling," spoke Sirius quietly. "It's comforting. Sometimes it's nice to hear someone else's voice instead of your own, and I feel like I'm not alone in this world. It makes a change to hear someone you've never spoken to before," he continued. "It's a nice feeling."

Emery nodded slightly. 

That was the longest speech she'd ever heard Sirius say. She too, found it comforting when someone valued her useless talk, and she was getting to like Sirius more and more.

"Well," she said. "Umm, thanks. That's nice of you to say so. The only person who listens to me is Cecy, and even sometimes she gets tired of it. She never says so, but I know she just keeps silent so she doesn't hurt my feelings."

"Oh?" said Sirius. "She must be a nice person then." 

"Mhmm," nodded Emery. "She is. She's the sweetest, most kindest, gentlest, and innocent person I know." Then she shook her head. "But I'm not going to continue, because I know if I do, I'll end up rambling again, and you'll be here until midnight."

"Oh, well I don't mind then," Sirius joked. "I can listen all day."

Emery smiled, becoming more and more comfortable speaking to him by the minute. In turn, Sirius too, felt like he could relate to someone with traits completely opposite to his.

They didn't realize that they conversed with each other all the way to the Great Hall. 

To them, it felt natural.