Zeus || S. Black

Chapter 16

The next day felt fairly similar to the day Mara got stood up and she wasn't liking that feeling. This time, while Angelo and Elise were there to help her get dressed and look pretty, there was less joy and excitement than the first time. 

"Are you sure you want to go? We won't judge you if you back out," Elise stated as she was doing Mara's hair. 

"More like support it," Angelo mumbled but when Mara and Elise looked back towards the boy, he acted as though nothing was said. 

"I'm giving him another chance. I know I said I couldn't tell you but his excuse was valid," Mara tried to explain. That was when her friends sighed in unison. 

"Okay, but this time, if he stands you up, I say we sick an actual lion on him. See how brave the Gryffindor truly is," Angelo suggested, causing the girls to laugh. 

"Deal." 

"I liked the blue version of this dress better," Elise mentioned before remembering that Mara was standing right there. "I mean the red looks great too, but blue's just your color," Elise tried to explain. 

"I know it is but I already wore the blue." Mara did take another look at the blue dress hanging up in her closet, knowing that Elise was right. 

"It's not like Black saw you in it," Angelo muttered. 

"I also don't want to end up crying in the same dress twice. I'd truly feel awful if that were the case," the brunette explained. 

Once Mara was dressed and ready to go, both of her friends gave the girl a hug and words of encouragement. "Remember, I can get a lion here within a day," Angelo threw out as he gave the girl a hug. 

"Hopefully I won't need to find out if that's true," Mara joked before walking towards the kitchens. By the time she got there, it was five 'til eight. Before entering, Mara took a deep breath, hoping that Sirius was inside. 

As she entered into the kitchens, a smile formed on her face as she saw the Gryffindor placing the silverware down almost meticulously. "Good to see that I'm not the only one here," Mara joked as she closed the door. Once he heard the Ravenclaw's voice, he straightened quickly before turning to face Mara with a relaxed smile. 

"Glad to see you came," the boy beamed. Mara had to admit that Sirius looked great. His lazily buttoned, blue dress shirt was tucked into black slacks and his hair had not one strand out of place. 

"You clean up nice," Mara complimented as she walked towards the table. 

"Only for those deemed worthy to see me at my best," the Gryffindor joked before pulling out a seat for Mara to sit down. She gave the boy a raised eyebrow but said nothing as she sat down. "You look fantastic," the boy with gray eyes smiled as he took his own seat. 

Once the meal was revealed, the two fell into comfortable conversation. As they talked about anything and everything, Mara began to notice things about the curly haired boy. How he sat up straight and used the proper utensils as he ate. Or how his eyes always held a hint of mischief. Or even how his laugh would fill up a room. One thing she saw that made her stop for a moment was when he rolled up his sleeve. While there was a tattoo, she could see the scar that was being hidden by the black ink. Although she noticed it, Mara decided not to bring it up, and knew that Sirius would tell her when he was ready. 

"So how's quidditch going?" Mara asked as she took a sip of water. 

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that again," Sirius teased as he pointed his fork in her direction. "Fool me once, shame on you."

"Fool me twice, blah, blah, blah," Mara continued with a smile. 

"Fine. When did you become an animagus?" 

"I started near the beginning of my third year and actually transformed near the end of my fourth," Sirius explained. 

"And you really are a dog?" While it was a question, Mara couldn't help but use a teasing tone. 

"Yes, so the flea prank really wasn't nice," the boy stated. "It took me a week to clean them out of my coat." 

"You could have conceded," the Ravenclaw reminded him as she finished off her plate. 

"Where's the fun in that?"

Once both were done with their plates, Sirius pulled out a blanket. While Mara raised an eyebrow at first, she realized that this was the invisibility cloak that the marauders used so frequently. "Where to?" The brunette asked. 

"That's a secret."

So as the two got under the cloak and exited the kitchen, Mara began to analyze the route. By the second set of stairs, she realized that Sirius was bringing her to the astronomy tower. "That self-obsessed?" Mara joked as they turned a corner. 

"Hey I'm only doing with the information I was given. Who would have thought you'd be obsessed with the star named after me and then become obsessed with me?" The Gryffindor joked as they climbed the ladder. 

"Firstly, you were named after the star. No self-respecting astronomer would ever name a star after you. Second, I was not and am not obsessed." Her words caused the younger boy to chuckle as they looked up to see the stars. 

"Fine, if it was just for education purposes then tell me all the constellations." 

"I'm not about to give an astronomy lesson," Mara laughed. 

"Alright then, I guess since you only know about my star then I'll just have to educate you," Sirius sighed as the pair laid on their backs to look up at the stars. "That one there is scorpius, the sign for scorpio. So if you need to do a synastry chart in that astrology class of yours, I'll be more than willing to give you my birth time," the boy joked as he wrapped one arm around Mara, letting her use his arm as a headrest. 

Mara rolled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Why does that make complete sense?" The brunette asked. 

The Gryffindor acted offended by her statement before saying, "fine then, what's your sign?" 

"It's that one right there," Mara pointed out. 

"A virgo," Sirius questioned. "No wonder you're a Ravenclaw." 

And for the rest of the night, Sirius and Mara pointed out different constellations and cracking jokes.