Celeste || Sirius Black

Chapter 12: A Walk To Forget

"If I have to say 'Earth to Padfoot' one more time, I'm going to have to start getting paid."

Sirius turned his head to James, who was eating his cereal in anger and lack of sleep. Peter was coping up well after the long night. He was making sure that everyone was eating properly, even if Sirius was the slowest of them all. It wasn't a big surprise that James was the crankiest.

After Celeste left, Sirius went back to the tree and found that his friends had become animagi. Once they had realised that what they had been doing for the past month had been right, Sirius too turned into a dog. He and Peter, as a dog and a rat, went in search of Moony in the tunnels while James followed their path into the forest. He reached a clearing that showed the Shrieking Shack, which only meant that the shack and the tree were connected to each other. That's how Moony was able to access the tunnels.

Once morning came, the four of them had no choice but to attend classes. Because what if the most silent girl of the school decided to chatter away right when the Marauders had their guard down? Remus only wanted to talk to her but he was in the worst shape of all.

Sirius kept glancing at Celeste sitting alone at her table, her dress a midnight blue today with gray sleeves inside. He wondered why she wouldn't wear it without the arm sleeves, which was when James got his attention.

"I think you should go talk to her," said Remus as he swallowed the glass of milk with some difficulty. He only needed a liquid diet right now while his internal organs healed from the transformation. "You know how I would talk to her. I can take care of it when we have Herbology. But do not trouble her. Leave her alone."

"How do I talk to her and leave her alone at the same time?" He winked at Lupin.

"You know what I mean. Do you not flirt with her. She may not like your ambush."

Sirius touched his heart in a dramatic manner and did not wait for anyone's approval. He stood up and swung his legs to the other side of the bench. He walked towards the middle of the Hufflepuff table where Celeste sat alone but with a book in her hand as she played with her food. The most common misconception of students is that they think the far ends of the tables get the least amount of attention. But to be invisible in plain sight, there were some tricks to be noted.

"Hey," said Sirius as he stood behind her.

Celeste looked up and the shock on her face was evident. She looked around her and saw people staring at her now. The rumours had reached her one way or another and this was not going to help dial it down. "What are you doing?" She whispered only for him to hear.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" He beckoned towards the exit.

She wished she could search for the Headmaster or even Professor McGonagall for help to get out of the situation but only Professors Slughorn and Flitwick were present, and neither of them knew about the Order. "What are you trying to do?" She hissed.

"Oh come on, Celeste. It's only a wa-"

She slammed her book shut. "Who told you my name?"

Now everyone's attention was on them, even the Marauders' themselves. Lily and Marlene wanted to go in to save Celeste but supposed that she could handle it on her own. After all, she was the strongest of them all.

Celeste grabbed her bag and book and stood up from the bench. "Fine," she hissed. "A walk."

Sirius smiled proudly and gave way for her to go, showing the way towards the entrance with one hand while the other was inside the pocket of his pants. "After you."

She rolled her eyes as she hurried towards the door to go far away from the staring eyes. The two of them walked side by side, Sirius keeping his distance. He did not have a bag with him and that wasn't surprising. His friends would get it for him. But she did not have anyone like that in her life, did she?

"So what's with you and Lily?" Sirius asked, starting a topic that was not his intended one. "Are you two going to make it official or-" Celeste stared at him, making him stop mid-sentence with an open mouth. "It's just that neither of you are seeing other people-"

"Just because we're not seeing anyone else doesn't mean we are seeing each other," said Celeste. "Although I wouldn't turn her down if she asked me out."

He whistled. "So you're not straight then."

She shook her head, a small smile creeping up on her face. "No more than you are."

Sirius smiled for the both of them. "And has anyone caught your attention in the past five years or is it your intention to stay single throughout-"

Celeste stopped walking. "You don't have to make small talk with me to get to the point," she said. "I won't tell anyone," she whispered. "Remus is my....acquaintance. I don't want him to get into trouble anymore than you do."

Sirius lifted his right eyebrow at her. "Miss Celeste Rajput, were you just going to admit that Remus is your friend?"

"Don't make me want to punch you."

"You cannot hurt this gorgeous face."

"Try me." She took a step forward and looked him straight in the eye, which made him chuckle. "What are you trying?"

"I am trying to have a walk with you." He crossed his arms across his chest. "Other than that, well, maybe get to know you-"

"There is nothing I can tell you about myself. You have your reputation to keep up and I-"

"Hey, I can be a normal person!" He lifted his hands in the air.

She scoffed. "You can never be normal." She shook her head, pursing her lips slightly, which only got his attention to look at it. "Not while you have an army of girls wanting to date you."

"Anyone that will come out with me tonight?" Sirius winked.

Celeste inhaled slowly, trying to get a clear voice. "Just....stay away from me. Forget you ever asked me for a walk. It's for the best."

Two students from Slytherin and Ravenclaw that stood at the end of the corridor whistled when they saw Sirius and Celeste so close to each other, as if encouraging them to kiss each other, which made both of them take a step back at the same time.

Sirius cleared his throat and was going to say something before he was shut down by Celeste once again. "You should get back to your friends. Remus will need your help to feel better." She walked away from him, clutching her book more. But she stopped and turned around to say one more thing. "Tell him to have hot milk with moondrops before he goes to sleep. It will help his body heal."

Sirius smiled cockily as he saw her leave. If he had gotten her to admit something, it was only the start of something new. And he was looking forward to where their story led to.

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Btw I've updated the cast
Do check it out before reading the next chapter!

I think that's my favourite one for sure