Breaking Black (A Sirius Black Love Story)

Chapter 76

It was the third night in a row that I reached over and realized Sirius wasn't asleep at my side. My eyes adjusted to the dark room. He was nowhere to be found. James, Remus, and Peter were dead asleep, Remus snoring loudly.

The bed wasn't even warm on his side and he strategically placed a pillow in his place. For a few minutes, I sat up in the bed, waiting, hoping he only left to go to the bathroom or something. I wondered how often he left at night. I was a heavy sleeper, and I only started waking up since the first night I noticed he was gone.

Finally, when Sirius didn't return, I got up from the bed and crept to James' trunk. I started rifling through his things, searching for the Marauder's Map and the invisibility cloak. Under my breath, I cursed, realizing they were gone and Sirius most likely had them. James rolled over at the sound and I held my breath until he settled, then made a beeline for the door and left the tower.

As I combed through the halls, I knew it was unlikely I would find Sirius, wherever he went. The castle was huge, and if he had the cloak and map, he could easily avoid me. I felt exposed as I walked without the map or James' cloak. People in paintings watched me and whispered to each other, sending chills down my spine.

Once I reached the musty dungeon, my feet squelching on the moist ground, I heard someone approaching in the darkness, and I hoped to see Sirius. I frowned and raised my wand, ready to attack if necessary, when I realized it was Spies.

"What are you doing out at night?" Spies snarled as she approached me. She also raised her wand towards my face. The sleeve of her robe shifted, and I could see a black line of the Dark Mark on her forearm and I clenched my hand tighter around my wand.

"I could ask you the same thing!" I retorted.

"I'm a prefect! You have no excuse!"

I searched my head for any sort of alibi, but couldn't come up with anything. Spies smugly rolled her eyes at my silence and stepped forward, but I wouldn't step back in retreat.

"I know why you're here," she scoffed with a sly smile. "You're looking for Black."

"How could you know that? Did you see him?" I growled, a tinge of hope to my question.

"Maybe. But I do know for a fact that there's a sixth year in Slytherin with a whole shrine to Sirius Black. Did you ever think that maybe he's not interested in you anymore? You were good for a while but... He wants something newer and better."

"What are you trying to say?" I questioned, lowing my glare. My hands started to unwillingly tremor as I held my wand. I never liked to show weakness around her, but I already knew what she was insinuating, even before she said it.

"Stryker, Sirius Black is obviously cheating on you!"

"You're lying."

"Really? You're out looking for him, and you have no clue where he went!" Spies cackled. "He's probably been gone without a trace in the dead of the night for a while now, hasn't he? Every night, and he acts like nothing's happening. It's probably been a few weeks, maybe even months that he's been cheating!"

"He's gone doing something else," I swallowed. "He's setting up a prank or-"

"Doing something else? More like someone else!" Spies pressed on with a wicked laugh. Her thin cheeks and pale face made her look like a smiling skeleton. "Sweetheart, the whole school knows about it! Well, clearly everyone except for you."

I started to back away from her, shaking my head. She was a Death Eater and my enemy, both reasons to conjure such a heinous lie.

"Don't act so surprised," she sneered. "Once a player, always a player. How does it feel to know two of your boyfriends cheated on you?"