Lady Stardust

05. Planning and Firewhiskey

The next few days were a disorganized mess of trying to get around lost first years, The Aftermath on repeat, and correcting summer homework. Ariene was properly exhausted by the time the weekend rolled by. She quietly read a muggle book by a well-loved muggle author. Sandrine gave her this book and left annotations where Ariene may not understand a muggle reference or phrase which helped Ariene a tremendous amount. It must've been 11:00 when Sirius came to her bed and pulled back the curtain.

"Hello, Sirius," Ariene said.

"What's that you're reading?" Sirius asked. Ariene dog-eared the page and handed it to him.

"Are You There God? It's Me, Margret." He read aloud, curiously. "Muggle book?" He asked. Ariene nodded. "Where do you get so many muggle things?" He asked.

"My muggle-born friend. I used to go to her house every summer." Ariene said.

"Cool!" Sirius said. It was clearly a newer word for him. Ariene sat up and Sirius sat on her bed.

"Sirius?" Ariene asked.

"Yes?" He asked, looking up from his thoughts.

"Was there something you wanted?" Ariene asked.

"Yes, actually. Tomorrow we're all going to Hogsmeade together." He said, getting more comfortable.

"Oh?" Ariene asked.

"Yes, so would you like to come?" He asked. She thought about it for a second. She didn't want these boys to get attached to her. It was a bad sign that they were asking in the first place, and she was incredibly busy finding ways to get out of Hogwarts.

"I'm not sure. I'm really busy tomorrow," Ariene said. Sirius furrowed his brow and smiled.

"You already finished your schoolwork, I saw," He said.

"Are you watching me or something?" She asked. Sirius just tilted his head.

"What are you busy with?" He asked. She looked at him for a second. Should I tell him? She asked herself.

"Planning." She said.

"Planning what?" He asked. She sighed. No point in holding back, she'd be out of here soon.

"Ways to get out of here," She said. Sirius grinned.

"I knew it. You could use some help," He said smugly.

"Fat chance." She said. There was no way she was going to let him get involved.

"Oh no, you don't understand! We are the masters of pranks. We broke the record for most detentions in a week!" He said.

"How." She asked.

"I-" Sirius started.

"How?" She repeated.

"I have to ask the others before I give my secret." He said. "So will you come to Hogsmeade with us? We can help you plan along the way." He said. She took a deep breath, considering. The last thing she wanted was to bring anyone down with her. She would be the only one expelled, period. She really could use their help though.

"Fine." She said. Sirius's eyes lit up and he smiled, forcing her to smile back. He left her bed, and she got back to reading.

***

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" James asked her. Ariene was looking in her mirror, putting her makeup on.

"Eyeliner," She said to James, not looking up.