Things Worth Dying For (A Sirius Black x Reader Love Story)

Mirrors

           Sirius Black stared absent-mindedly into the mirror on the cabinet in front of him, resting his head on one hand, blowing at the feather in front of him. Next to him, James chatted eagerly with the chubby kid in the seat in front of the pair, Peter Pettigrew. He had joined them in their cart on the Hogwarts Express after Y/N left, followed by a scrawny, sandy haired boy named Remus Lupin. They were nice enough, thought Sirius, though Remus seemed to have a constant stutter and acted like he was trying to hide behind the tufts of hair covering his eyes. Even now, as Peter stared at James in awe - who was telling, once again, the story of how he scared off Snivellus on the train- Remus trained his amber eyes on the blank parchment in front of him, fidgeting with his quill. Sirius sighed, staring at the clock, the seconds until class officially started ticking by painfully slowly. Trailing his eyes back to the mirror, he saw the reflection of a tiny brunette tumbling into the room, her hair bouncing wildly behind her. She stopped momentarily, taking a breath and letting her gaze travel uncertainly across the room until it landed on Lily. She made her way towards the front of the room, her eyes resting briefly on James as she passed, before placing her books next to Lily, muttering a sheepish "May I?". Lily grinned at her enthusiastically, her vibrant green eyes sparkling, and Sirius couldn't help but notice the way Y/N's eyes lit up at Lily's response, her shy smile widening. She was quite pretty, he thought. Her small lips were nearly always playing on a friendly smile on her round face, her golden eyes gleaming. She was a short girl, tiny and thin, almost consumed by the thick head of auburn curls she sported. 

Sirius watched her curiously. He had been certain she'd be Slytherin, it seemed all of Hogwarts was convinced of it. The Slytherin table practically had their hands hovering in the air during her sorting, ready to welcome yet another L/N to Slytherin house with a cordial round of applause. He had heard taunt after taunt about the L/N family from his mother. 

The L/N's were one of the oldest wizarding families in all of Europe , famous for leading England to the Quidditch World Cup in 1877. Even more so, however, Albert L/N, Y/N's father, had gained fame among the Sacred Twenty-Nine for his research as an Unspeakable. While the nature of an Unspeakable's work was meant to remain a mystery, slips here and there had shown that above anything else, Unspeakables were researchers. They studied love in the Love Chamber at the Ministry of Magic, or deliberated over time in the Time Chamber, even going so far as to manipulate it through the invention of carefully regulated time-turners. Albert L/N, according to rumors he failed to deny, studied the circumstances behind the appearance of magic in Muggle families. While the Ministry would never admit it, Sirius knew many hoped this research could eventually put a stop to Muggle-born wizards.

To say people were surprised at her entry into Gryffindor was an understatement. She was half-way to the table before the stunned Gryffindors had burst into cheers, though many still eyed her suspiciously, and Sirius did not fail to take note of the fact that James stayed silent, his hands decidedly clasped together in his lap. 

It did not, however, take her long to win people over. Her exuberant voice had carried across the table, her tiny figure nearly bouncing with excitement as she mingled with her house mates, ignoring the delicious platters of food refilling themselves in front of her,  laughing heartily during ice-breaker games in the Common Room, and offering encouraging smiles and a reassuring hand on the shoulders of those still struggling to fit in.  The same people who had huddled in a corner and gossiped during the feast, throwing her stolen glances, moved closer to her during breakfast the next morning, offering her a cheery "Good Morning!" and a smile. 

"Alright class, quiet down!"

Professor Flitwick's voice brought Sirius out of his reverie. 

"Today, we will be learning the levitation charm. Wands out, everyone! We will begin with practicing the motions of our wands. Remember, it's a simple swish and flick"