claret, sirius black

17

chapter 17

LENORA CLARET HAS never been a fan of Quidditch, she has never bothered to learn the rules and she attended one flying lesson in her first year - making up all sorts of excuses to not go to anymore. She doesn't need to know how to fly, she's scared of heights.

She knew her brother was playing the first match of the school year but she couldn't bring herself to sit in the freezing stands to watch. It was unlikely that Basil would even realise she was there. Dorcas insisted on going to the match because Marlene Mckinnon is one of the Gryffindor chasers, Lenora didn't tag along. Instead, she walked around the castle and it seemed she was the only student still inside, everyone else has the school spirit and are nice enough to sit and watch their classmates play Quidditch despite it being November. Lenora has always been a tad sensitive to the cold.

She wore a thick jumper, a coat and her Hufflepuff scarf wrapped around her neck and she wasn't even planning on going outside. Her yellow and black fingerless gloves covered her hands as she rubbed them together whilst wandering through the corridors.

Lenora suspected that everyone was outside watching the Quidditch, but the loud patter of heavy footsteps behind her said otherwise. She didn't get the chance to turn around before she realised who it was, she could smell the cigarette smoke.

Lenora spun on her heel, eyeing Sirius as he approached her with his hand covering his left eye, his cheeks flushed vermillion.

"You smell like cigarettes." Lenora blurted out before she had the chance to stop herself. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second in hopes he didn't hear her insult him, to his face. "Not just cigarettes," she tried to backtrack. Sirius had his right eyebrow raised, she couldn't see the left one as his hand was in the way.

"Thanks?" He said as a small chuckle escaped his mouth. Lenora cursed herself.

Lenora coughed awkwardly, "You smell like wood as well," she closed her eyes again. "I guess, I don't try to smell you or anything." She continued to blurt stuff out before thinking about what she was saying. "I'm just saying," she uttered, "So you don't think that you just smell like cigarettes."

Sirius continued to look at her.

"Not like it's a bad thing or anything." She finished, opening her eyes again to give Sirius a queasy smile.

Sirius laughed, although it sounded more like a squeak. "Are you done?"

Lenora nodded, stepping both backwards and forwards in turns, holding her hands behind her back. A strand of hair fell in front of her face from the loose ponytail it was tied back in. Her cheeks were almost as pink as Sirius'.

"What are you doing?" She asked, glancing at his hand. He moved it, revealing a dark purple bruise around his eye, a grin plastered on his face.

"I got hit with a bludger," he shrugged, "It doesn't half hurt."

"A bludger?" Lenora squeaked. "You're not even on the Quidditch team."

"Technicality."

"So were you going to the hospital wing?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at the bruise on his face. It wasn't as bad as the black eye she had given him after hitting him with a door a month ago. Sirius nodded, his dark hair was pushed back, only a few strands sat against his pale forehead.

"And instead of going straight there, you followed me?"

Sirius widened his eyes, "I wasn't following you, I just saw you turn the corner."

Lenora smiled, showing her top teeth. One of her canines stuck to her bottom lip as she did, pulling off after a second.

"I can never tell when you're joking," Sirius uttered, shuffling his feet on the floor as Lenora began walking towards the direction of the hospital wing.

The two now seventeen year olds carried on towards the fifth floor whilst Sirius complained about his eye and Lenora merely hummed in response.

"I don't suppose your brother had anything to do with this?" Sirius asked, gesturing to his face.

Lenora looked up at him. "Why would Basil send a rogue bludger after you."

"Well, I get the impression he doesn't like me much and he even stopped flying to laugh as it hit me."

"I think anyone would laugh if they saw you get hit with a bludger." Lenora smirked, "I don't think Basil dislikes you that much, it was probably an accident."

Sirius ignored her snark, knocking into her side as they approached the doors to the hospital.

"Are you coming in?" Sirius asked, stopping outside of the doors and turning to Lenora.

She shook her head.

"I don't think that's a great idea," she told him.

"There isn't anyone in there," Sirius said despite not knowing, the doors were shut and there weren't any windows. "There's no blood," Sirius moved his head towards hers so she could get a closer look, "Look."

Lenora took a step back, "I can see," she chuckled.

"It'll save you walking around the corridors for another hour until the match finishes," Sirius said. "I know that's what you were doing."

"Do you just want me to sit at your bedside so you can tell your friends you have an admirer?"

"Woah, Len." Sirius rolled his eyes, pushing the door open. "You figured it out," he chuckled softly.

Lenora followed him into the empty room.

There was a row of beds on each side of the room, large windows at the back wall. The beds were surrounded by blue curtains but they were all pulled open as there wasn't anyone in the beds. Madam Pomfrey tutted as she noticed Sirius walk in, she strutted over with a big smile and asked what he had done this time. The kind healer led Sirius towards the closest bed, leaving him and Lenora sitting on the bed whilst she rushed across the room in search of the perfect potion to fix a black eye.

"I've never been in here before," Lenora stated as she glanced around the room, the ceiling was high and the entire wing was airy and cold.

"Really?" Sirius asked, Madam Pomfrey returned and gave him an ice pack for the time being as she continued her search for the potion she needed. "You're always ill."

Lenora frowned. "It's not anything that can be fixed," she told him, "I just get tired but can't sleep and I'll have a headache." She shrugged nonchalant, "It's not as if a potion could fix it, and I couldn't dream of telling anyone the real problem."

Sirius could tell Lenora that Madam Pomfrey will certainly understand. She loves Remus Lupin as if he's her child despite his lycanthropy, but that means explaining Remus' condition and Sirius would never do that to his friend.

"I don't think she'd ask too many questions," was what Sirius replied with. Lenora turned to look at him.

"It's fine anyway." She said. "I won't be sick now that I'm not being followed every night."

Lenora definitely wasn't joking this time.