deceit - sirius black

fifteen

Somehow Sirius had convinced Sabrina to bring their cake back to Gryffindor Tower with him, and share it with his friends, as they'd never eat it all themselves. She'd protested at first, but soon gave in: truthfully, she felt bad for agreeing to become official with him, considering what she was meant to be doing, but she couldn't help herself - she was obsessed with how he made her feel.

They talked and laughed on their way to the tower, equally infatuated with one another, and were smiling giddily as they entered the common room, greeted by Sirius' five friends, who had looked up at the sound they'd made.

"The cake looks.. almost edible." James commented, as Sirius set it down on the coffee table.

"I'll have you know it's quite tasty, actually, Prongs." Sirius said, holding his nose up skittishly.

"Let's have some, then." Marlene pulled herself forwards eagerly, reaching for the knife they'd brought back for the very purpose of cutting the cake.

After a few minutes of silence (other than Sirius' loud boasting) while they ate, the group sat around, making casual conversation, the Gryffindors trying their best to make Sabrina feel welcome. Only James was still suspicious of the Slytherin, the blatant reason still unknown to even him: he claimed he just had a 'bad feeling' about her.

However, it was easy to see that Sirius was happy with her, so James kept his thoughts to himself, deciding it best to stay silent rather than make everyone uncomfortable with the truth, or pretend to like her.

"Oh, I forgot to ask," Sirius turned to Sabrina in a gap in the conversation, purposely angling himself away from James, "You should come over at Easter."

"What?" James said sternly, standing dramatically and stomping into Sirius' view.

"I spoke to your mum and she said she'd love it," Sirius informed quickly, and turned back to his girlfriend, "Please?"

Sabrina took a deep breath, "I'll have to talk to my brother." In all honesty, Sabrina didn't think it right to meet the people Sirius considered his parents, when she was meant to be working for his biological ones. As if her betrayal wasn't bad already, she would be let into his family, and when Sirius found out in the end (which she saw as inevitable), it would make it all the more hurtful.

Later on, the others had retreated to their dormitories, and Sirius said he'd join them once he'd walked Sabrina back, which she'd agreed to. However, now that the two were alone, she thought it a good opportunity to come clean about a few things, even if she couldn't bring herself to tell him everything.

"Sirius?" She asked, while he moved logs around on the fire to reignite the faltering flames. He hummed in response, and she hesitated, "There's... a few things I haven't been completely honest about." A few, my arse, she thought.

His eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, as he came to sit back down next to her, taking her hands in his in an attempt to make her feel more comfortable, "Go on?"

"Just- like, when I've been away for a few days, and stuff," She shrugged, "I've been.." She hesitated, "Visiting my sister. I told you we fell out of touch, and I want to live with her instead of my brother." Sabrina hadn't told Sadie this yet, but it wasn't untrue.

He was silent, listening intently, so she continued cautiously, "After my parents died, Samuel and I fell out with Sadie and Seth because we weren't as empathetic as them. So, I moved in with Sam because it was my only option," She breathed deeply, "And I told you my parents were good people. That they had good morals. And they did, but only near the end of their lives: it was the reason they died."

"So, they were Death Eaters?" He inquired.

She nodded, "And Sam still is. My parents realised it was wrong, and the- Voldemort, he killed them for it," After a spell of the truth, Sabrina decided it was about time to fix up the partial lie she'd told only a minute earlier, "Sam's still trying to get me to become a Death Eater: that's why I wanna move out."

"Well," Sirius spoke gently, "If you need somewhere to stay, the Potters are great people. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

She gave a small smile, "I think I'll be alright with Sadie, but thank you."

Sirius sighed, squeezing her hands, "Thank you for being honest with me." He smiled.

"Thank you for listening." She smiled back.

"Speaking of the Potters," He said, face lighting up, "What do you think about coming over at Easter?"

She winced, "I'm not sure James would want me there."

"He's just being stupid, don't worry about him," Sirius shook his head, a little amused, "And it won't just be me, Remus and Peter and the girls will all be there. And if James says or does anything, we can tell his mum."

She laughed, "Alright, then." Her words brought a smile to Sirius' face, excited for her to meet his parents. His reaction was enough for her to forget the heartbreak she could potentially bring him with as little as a few words.

They spent longer than they realised talking, and when Sirius finally checked his watch, he was shocked to see that they were well into the early hours of the morning.

"Oh, I should go." Sabrina said abruptly, also shocked by the time.

"Or you could stay." Sirius offered, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"I shouldn't-"

"But you'll only wake people up if you go back," He argued, "Please?" He pouted.

She couldn't contain her smile, "Fine." She sighed, happy to give in.

His bed was comfier than her own, warmer, safer. Maybe it was the lack of her judgemental Slytherin peers, or the warm reds and oranges instead of her dormitory's green and silver theme. Or maybe it was him. Maybe he was the comfort, the warmth, the safety.

How could she be so cruel as to lay there and enjoy it while she knew at some point, one way or another, she'd have to break his heart?