One Step Ahead part I | Sirius Black

Chapter 80

It wasn't out of the ordinary for Gwen to be late.

But today she was terribly behind schedule. On track to miss a class and it hadn't even been a month back at school.

She sprints through the halls of Hogwarts, muttering, "Shit shit shit!!!"

Her shoes squeak on the tile floor as she spins around a corner, thumping right into someone and going flying backwards. She groans, the wind knocked from her lungs by the force of her fall. Rolling to her side she quickly gathers up her notes, stuffing them back into her bag. She doesn't have to look to see who she's just run into. The nasally voice is a dead give away,

"You bloody idiot!"

Gwen ignores Severus Snape, glancing at her wrist for a watch she knows isn't there. She doesn't need a sodding watch to know she is terribly late.

"You foul, loathsome—"

"Beast?" Gwen interrupts nonchalantly, climbing to her feet and extending a hand for the Slytherin to take. He scoffs and swats her hand away like it's cursed, scowling when the Veela continues, "Halfbreed? Whore? Filthy creature?"

Snape stares at her with his beady eyes, unmoving as she stares down at him. His frown deepens when Gwen says plainly, "Please, Severus. I'll accept any new insult you have to give. But for the love of Merlin, get rid of the cold you seem to consistently have. Your voice gives me a bloody headache."

He scrambles to his feet, lips curled in an awful sneer as he replies, "Fucking Black is enough to make your blood dirty, let alone your disgusting ancestry."

Gwen raises her eyebrows, and he again is taken by surprise by the oddly impressed look on her face. She smiles faintly and wonders, "Anything else? A message for Lily perhaps?"

Snape freezes, his eyes widening a nearly imperceptible amount. She can see him hesitating, so she waits patiently, smiling further when he growls, "You manipulative—"

"I'm not lying. I'll pass along a message if you'd like, Severus."

He stares at the Veela uncertainly. She could easily tell Sirius if he gave her a message, another thing for the Marauders to harass him over. But she doesn't seem untrustworthy. His intrigue in the dark arts had lead him to learn a lot about beasts. Sirens were supposedly the ancestor of Veela, and they were known for luring the secrets out of sailors and then holding onto them forever. Perhaps that's how Veela acquired their charm. Perhaps that's why he felt compelled to trust her the slightest bit.

Her eyes are unnervingly pale, and it took a lot to unnerve Severus. He audibly gulps and mutters,

"I—Could you...just tell her that I miss her."

Gwen blinks, nodding once and replying, "Sure. Is that all?"

"Yes, you clumsy fool. For a Ravenclaw you're a blithering moron," Severus grunts, growing even more uncomfortable when she doesn't get offended. She just nods and says simply,

"True. Have a good afternoon."

Gwen shrugs past him, not thinking much more of it. She didn't reckon he was a terrible bloke, at least not completely. A bit of a slimy git, but she could've said the same about the Marauders if she made assumptions based purely on the actions the boys made towards one another.

She picks up her pace, scurrying ahead and down the stairs. Her attempts are futile. The bell rings and then the hallway floods with students, Gwen grimacing as she realized she just completely missed her Alchemy class. She groans out loud and slumps against the edge of the stairs, frowning as she resigns herself to the fact that she'll have to ask Remus for his notes. She swears to herself when she realizes he wasn't likely in class either. The full moon was approaching, leaving Remus a rather sickly ghost of himself. The first one back at Hogwarts had apparently always been hard according to James.

"Ninnie?"

Gwen glances up when the head boy coincidentally comes into sight. He quirks a brow at her, crinkling his nose to push his glasses up as he peers at her. She sighs and says regretfully, "I missed my class."

James grins and shrugs, saying simply, "Might as well skip the rest of them."

A smile twitches at her lips before she can stop it as she wonders, "I thought the head boy was supposed to punish students for skipping class."

James smirks and whispers theatrically loud, "What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

Gwen laughs and nods, linking her arm with his offered one as he continues, "Besides, Minnie had to have known I wasn't going to do every head duty the traditional way. What's the perk of having a friend in high places if they can't keep you out of trouble?"

They walk up the stairs, Gwen musing playfully, "I think Lily would beg to differ."

James snorts and rolls his eyes, "Merlin, Evans is acting like she's the bloody headmaster. She nearly hexed students for snogging in a broom cupboard after curfew."

"Remind me to stay out of broom cupboards after curfew then," Gwen says plainly, earning a wry grin from James. She smiles to herself when she realizes he's leading them out of the Entrance Hall and down to the Black Lake.

It's warm out, so as soon as they make it to Gwen's favorite tree by the shore they remove their black robes. Gwen ties up her hair while James kicks off his shoes and rolls up his pants, eager to get into the water.

"So it's going well with Lily then?" Gwen wonders, smiling as James stirs up water grasses and Lily pads with his feet.

He shrugs again, smile boyish and happy as he answers, "I suppose. She's tolerating me, even complimented me just the other day."

"Oooo, how titillating," Gwen replies sarcastically, laughing when James splashes some water up to where she's sitting. She merely waves her hand and the water falls short, leaving James to pause and consider the Veela silently.

It takes a few moments, but again Gwen waits in silence. She found that she wasn't often the first one to speak. James' brows furrow as he finally asks, "Have you always been able to do that? Wandless magic?"

Gwen shakes her head. She feels a slight twinge, like Dumbledore would rather her not tell James that she's been practicing. But she shrugs it off, saying calmly, "No. I learned over the summer."

James blinks at her, smiling slightly before he turns back to the expanse of the lake, calling over his shoulder,

"Keep your secrets, Ravenclaw. I'm sure I'll find them out soon enough."

Gwen grins, admitting to herself that James Potter may very well be one of her favorite people.

An odd confession, but not an unpleasant one.