Brightest ✯ Sirius Black

✯twenty-two✯

"and the stars blinked as they watched her carefully, jealous of the way she shone"

"Well, since it loves you so much, what should you name it?" Skander asked, laying down on the grass with his hands behind his head.

Cleo hummed, watching the dog who sat in front of her. Whenever she would stop petting it for even a second, the dog would scratch her with his paw until she started to pet him again.

"What about... Fluffy?" she said. The dog growled. "Alright... how about Snuggles?" the dog growled again. "What about Moody," she rolled her eyes. Skander laughed, keeping his eyes closed as he rested on the grass. "Alright, then since you're so picky, I'm going to call you Snuffles, how do you like that?" The dog whined and put its head down in defeat. "Ha-ha," she said, rubbing his head again.

"You just celebrated an argument you won against a dog," Skander pointed out.

"Yeah, what's your point?" she replied. Skander just shrugged.

"Where have you been!" a girl shouted. Lily and Luna were walking towards them, just as large groups of students started flooding out of the castle.

"I took a study break," she said with a laugh. "I'm surprised you even noticed I was gone, you both were so busy reading books about things you already know," she remarked.

"Well for your information, while you were out here playing with a dog and your boyfriend," (Snuffles growled), "we actually learned something new."

"Oh yeah?" Cleo responded, ignoring the last thing she had said with a blush.

"Did you know that normally, your Patronus and your Animagus form are the same animal?" Lily asked cockily, putting her hands on her hips before she and Luna sat down.

"I actually didn't know that," Cleo answered with raised eyebrows, setting back and staring at the lake. She thought for a few moments, and the thing Lily had just told her kept resonating in her mind. She looked down at the dog resting on her legs. It looked back at her, it's dark eyes glimmering in an almost human fashion. She squinted at it, watching it whine and tilt its head to the side. And then, it clicked.

"Bloody hell!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. The dog startled and jumped up itself.

"What's wrong?" Skander asked, concerned.

"Nothing, I uh... I forgot I had to meet with Slughorn to talk about my O.W.Ls," she said quickly, beginning to walk away. She looked back and motioned for "Snuffles" to follow her. When it did, it only confirmed her worries.

Cleo walked all the way across the courtyard and towards the school, stopping around an empty corner and waiting for the dog to follow. It did, and the shaggy black dog she had named Snuffles stopped in front of her, wagging its tail.

"Sirius," she scolded, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes. She heard some shuffling, and then someone sighed.

"Hiya Cleopatra," he said, smiling lightly.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?"

"Surprising you," he said. "Surprise!" he shook his hands in her face and grinned, hoping she would smile too, but she wasn't. She stood with an unimpressed look on her face, her arms crossed over her chest. He sighed and let his hands fall to his sides.

"Alright, so I saw you run past with Salamander," he began.

"Skander."

"Right, that's what I said. Anyway, I saw you run past and I wanted to see what you were up to," he shrugged. She stayed silent, watching him. She raised her eyebrows expectantly. 

"Alright woman, bloody hell, I wanted to stop you from kissing that git! Happy?" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. She let out a scoff, rolling her eyes.

"What business of yours is that? Honestly?" she berated slightly.

"Well, technically all of it," he started.

"Oh really?" Cleo's face flushed. What could he possibly mean by that? 

"Let me finish why don't you," he glared before turning into mocking sincerity again. "All of it is my business because as your best friend, I feel I have a duty to approve of whoever you have your first kiss with, and I do not approve of Salamander out there-" he got louder and more passionate as he went on.

Of course. "Woah wait, how do you know that would've been my first kiss?" she suddenly got defensive.

"I-wait, what?" he said, looking at her oddly. "That would have been your first kiss," he said, almost demandingly.

"How do you know?" she shrugged, her arms still crossed as she watched him turn pale.

"Are you telling me you've kissed someone already??" he looked absolutely appalled. Cleo rolled her eyes dramatically, but she couldn't help the almost triumphant feeling she got from his expression.

"I don't have to tell you anything, Sirius. News flash, you're not my mother."

"Well I might as well be!" he threw his hands in the air dramatically. "You've already kissed someone! Does your actual mother know any of this?" Cleo began to walk away. "Who was it? I need to approve of him too!" he yelled at her, following her down the hall as she walked away, getting gradually faster until she was sprinting away from him as he chased after her down the halls.

"WHO HAVE YOU KISSED?"

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