the secret of Erised {s.b.}

chapter 17: abandoned

The Mirror of Erised and the Room of Requirement work in exceptional ways. When the Mirror is placed inside the Room of Requirement a bond is created. This allows one or the other to select who they appear to and who they remain hidden from. Tonight, when a certain Gryffindor student came running down the seventh floor corridor, they knew that it would be a bad idea to grant him access. Both the Room of Requirement and the Mirror of Erised had heard Esmeralda cry about Sirius Black countless times ever since she realised he had abandoned her. So, before he could come close to the wall where the Room of Requirement would appear, they made a pact to not let him in until they knew Esmeralda was ready to face him.

Sirius kept walking frantically in front of the wall for what seemed like hours, but nothing happened. He kicked the wall with frustration and ran his hands through his hair. The only thing in his mind was Esmeralda, those honey-coloured eyes, that beautiful smile of hers that hypnotized him, and how devastated and alone she must've felt in the past couple of months.

He punched the wall in frustration and flinched back in pain. Blood began to rush out of his broken hand. He knew it was useless to keep trying, there wasn't a password or a trick into getting inside the Room of Requirement. He let out a defeated sigh and made his way to the hospital wing.

Devastated and alone did not come close to how Esmeralda felt. She no longer had the strength to cry over Sirius, those tears had been shed in the earlier days of her abandonment. A feeling of guilt filled Esmeralda and would not leave her. She had been so naive and careless with Sirius. He could never care for Esmeralda like she cared for him. Sirius would never understand how important he was to her. He had been the first person that Esmeralda talked to in years, and he left her just like he left all those girls he told her about.

She blamed herself for this. If she hadn't been trapped inside the Mirror, then she would've never met Sirius Black. Her biggest regret was trusting him and thinking that they were friends. Her heart felt heavy in her chest at the thought of him. She had lost the person she cared about the most and probably the last person that would ever see her.

Days passed and life at Hogwarts went back to normal, except for Sirius Black's behaviour. He stopped flirting with every girl that crossed his path or threw themselves at him, he skipped meals, and missed classes constantly. The only reason he went back to class and began to study for the upcoming O.W.Ls was because James convinced him to. Who would be an Auror with him if it wasn't his best friend ? But even during their study sessions Sirius' mind couldn't help but think about Esmeralda.

O.W.Ls came and went with the blink of an eye. Sirius had enough knowledge in the necessary subjects to become an Auror to not think twice about what he was doing. It was only during the Transfiguration examination where he failed a task during the practical portion of the exam. Professor McGonagall asked him to transfigure Obsidiana into a pair of opera glasses, but when the tiny owl looked up at Sirius he remembered who it belonged to before, he got even more distracted. The opera glasses ended up having black feathers, which Remus assured him was no big deal and would still get him a passing mark.

At night, while his friends slept, Sirius would lie awake on his bed. The only time he would close his eyes was to picture the pools of honey in Esmeralda's eyes that drove him crazy. The image of those beautiful eyes filled with tears haunted him and didn't let him sleep for days. It wasn't until their last night before summer break when Sirius decided to try for one last time to see her, even if he got caught and got detention for next year.

He snatched the Marauder's Map from James' open trunk and quickly snuck out of their dormitory. He opened the map before stepping out of the portrait to see what path he would take to avoid prefects and teachers. With the help of secret passageways and shortcuts, it took him five minutes to reach the seventh floor corridor where the Room of Requirement was located. To his surprise, the door had already appeared by the time he reached the corridor, almost like it was waiting for him.