Because We Are Made Of Dreams

The Price To Pay

Lily"s hands were lost in his hair. Her lips were so soft upon his... She bit tenderly his lower lip, and he moaned loudly against her wonderful mouth. He swept her off the ground and carried her to his bed, his hands roaming up and down her thighs. She gasped when he moved his lips to her neck, leaving a line of burning kisses on her skin. Lying above her, he started to unbutton her shirt, revealing her green bra. It had the colour of her eyes when bathed in the morning sun, the same colour than the grass when the spring breeze was blowing through it and making it sway gently under the deep blue sky. He looked at her eyes, taking his time. He had waited so long for this... She took his head in her hands and pulled him down to her, crushing their lips together again.

"James..." she sighed faintly, "James kiss me..."

He obliged, kissing her feverishly. His hands slipped under her, pressing her even closer against him, and moved upwards across her back, until his fingers could find her bra. He unhooked it slowly, and she moaned loudly in his mouth. James broke their kiss and rested his brow against hers, their eyes still closed, feeling her quick breath brushing his face. She tightened her grip on his hair...

"James," she called again.

But her voice had slightly changed, it sounded lower... James pushed the thought away. This moment was too perfect, he had almost unhooked her bra, and he could feel her body trembling with expectation under him.

"James!"

He opened his eyes... and found himself hugging his pillow. Sirius shook him violently again.

"Mate! Wake up for Merlin"s sake, or we"ll be late in Potions! And I don"t know for you, but I would rather not earn a detention for something that stupid..."

James moaned loudly, burying his head in his pillow. Two weeks that he was doing the same dream, two weeks he was always stopped at this moment, right before he could take her bra off. Why did life have to be always so cruel? He put on his glasses and looked at the sky by the window near his bed. He felt a strange sensation in his heart as he was losing his gaze in the deep grey sky, the rain crashing and exploding open the glass. Somehow, he knew it was going to be a bad day...

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A pestilent green fume was escaping from their cauldron now. Clara and Alice exchanged a nervous look.

"Oops!" said Clara.

Alice simply giggled.

"Where do you reckon we went wrong?" asked Clara

"Probably with the Moonstone. I think we used too much of it."

"s**t! I don"t think we can correct that..."

"Nope, I guess we"re doomed at potions Clara."

"Yeah..."

They heard giggles behind them, and they turned to face the Marauders.

"It"s not funny!" protested Alice.

"It is actually", answered Sirius, choking with refrained laughter.

"Do you know how to save the potion?" Clara asked him, perfectly aware of the boy"s capacities in potion making.

"You f****d up with the Moonstone, it"s dead, no chance."

"s**t!"

Professor Slughorn stopped next to the two girls.

"Ah, I"m afraid your potion is no good, no good at all Ladies."

"We think it"s the Moonstone", answered Alice.

Slughorn nodded.

"Well, at least you"ve identified the problem. But I"m sorry girls, really, I can"t let you continue."

And with a flick of his wand, the cauldron was emptied. The girls sat down, waiting for the class to end. Clara decided that it was her personal duty to try to distract the two boys directly behind them as much as possible, and so she started to be extremely annoying. She changed the place of the ingredients several times, looked down in their boiling cauldron with a frown... James was quickly annoyed, glowering at her, but Sirius was enjoying himself actually. This girl really was a laugh...

"Doesn"t look that bad, does it?" he asked her as Clara was glancing inside of their cauldron again.

"Hmm... I don"t know," she answered softly, unable to maintain a steady face.

"At least it doesn"t stink."

She scowled, faking anger, and punched him on the arm in a theatrical way, but when her fist finally touched his upper arm, it wasn"t more violent than a caress. Sirius seized his arm anyway.

"How violent Clara!" he protested with a ridiculously outraged face.

She couldn"t restrain herself anymore and started to chuckle, choking as she tried to laugh in silence.

Suddenly, the door opened and Professor McGonagall entered. She strode straight to Clara.

"Miss Clearwater, please follow me."

The girl got up, packing her stuffs and sharing a nervous look with Lily. She had no idea why McGonagall wanted to see her, nor what could be so important that she had to come looking for her right in the middle of a lesson. The bell rang and all the students started to pack too as the professor and Clara exited the room. They didn"t go to McGonagall"s office, but went straight to Dumbledore"s.

"Professor, am I in trouble?" Clara finally asked in front of the enchanted staircase.

The old witch gave the password and gave Clara a sad look.

"Go inside Dear."

It was never good when a teacher, especially McGonagall, called a student "dear". Clara was frozen on the spot. There was only one reason for her to go in Dumbledore"s office if she wasn"t accused herself of anything, and it was probably her greatest fear... She followed her Transfiguration teacher up to the Headmaster"s office. The old wizard gave her a sympathetic smile and made her sit down in a comfortable chair opposite him.

"Clara, what I have to tell you is not easy to say, and I don"t think there is any good way for me to say it, so I am just going to tell you what happened, as simply as possible."

Clara already knew what he was going to say, and she started to cry. It was a nightmare, it had to be.

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She didn"t come to the Great Hall to eat, and the Gryffindors were really starting to be worried.

"What do you think this is all about?" asked Sirius to Lily for the fifth time.

"I don"t know Sirius, really I don"t."

In fact, she had an idea, but she just couldn"t let herself consider seriously this possibility. She was hoping she was wrong, that for a reason Clara was going to have a detention or something. But the more time was flying by, the more Lily was convinced that her fears were indeed reality. On the other side of the Great Hall, the Slytherins were unusually loud and annoying, and Sirius scowled at them. Really, these gits were unbearable...

They came out of the Great Hall, heading to their Transfiguration class. But when they arrived, all they could find was a note from Professor McGonagall, indicating that all Transfiguration lessons were cancelled for the day. A lump crept up Lily"s throat.

"Do you think it"s because of Clara?" asked Peter.

"It seems the only logical explanation" answered Remus.

"We should go wait for her at McGonagall"s office" proposed Sirius.

But Lily shook slowly her head.

"I don"t think she"s there."

"Where else could she be?" asked James.

Lily turned her gaze towards him, her green eyes shining with tears.

"In Dumbledore"s office. It must be her dad..."

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She couldn"t feel anything really. She was numb, she couldn"t think straight. He wasn"t dead, just in the coma. Just in the coma, what a joke! There was still hope for him at least... She followed McGonagall towards the Gryffindor Tower, so that she could pick up some of her stuffs before leaving with Dumbledore for St Mungo"s Hospital. But as they were passing in front of the Great Hall, several unexpected events happened simultaneously...

Climbing down the staircase, the group of Gryffindors took sight of their friend and hurried towards her. As she saw them, she seemed to want to cry, but fought the tears that were forming again in the corner of her eyes.

Coming out of the Great Hall, the gang of Slytherins was laughing louder than ever. The moment they saw Clara, an evil glint appeared in their eyes and they called for her through the crowd.

"Hey, Clearwater! How"s daddy?" called Lestrange.

Clara froze. How the hell could they know? She had just found out from Dumbledore"s own mouth herself.

"Guess he is not very well, after what happened last night," added Avery.

"Poor girl will be so lost without her daddy to protect her!" joined Bellatrix, taking a mocking baby voice.

The gang burst into laughter. Clara turned slowly towards them. McGonagall threw them a disdainful look and asked gently Clara to follow her, letting her know that she would take care of them herself later. But Clara couldn"t wait, not after what had just happened today. She took several steps towards them, fury reddening her face, her jaws set and her fists clenched. She had taken out her wand.

"My sister"s fiancé said that he looked pathetic! He was an easy target really! They didn"t even have much fun, the man was too much of a coward to..."

But Bellatrix Black never finished her sentence. A stream of red sparks hit her in the chest and she was sent flying into the wooden doors of the Great Hall. McGonagall was shouting at them now, her wand in her hand, whilst all Clara"s friends were watching at the scene, too shocked and lost to react. But Clara didn"t care, she couldn"t care less really. She walked slowly towards the Slytherin girl, who glowered at her with evil eyes.

"Just one advise," said Clara, her voice as cold as stone. " The next time you want to insult the daughter of an Auror, prepare your wand."

Her calm was frightening and her tone full of threats. She wasn"t afraid of the Slytherins, and she was ready to prove it. She turned her back to Bellatrix and this time she followed McGonagall up the stairs. In any other circumstances, her teacher would have given her a proper lecture about the use of violence, but now she wasn"t in the mood. Clara was crying silently again, and to be completely honest, even if she would never admit it, McGonagall thought that this awful Slytherin girl deserved the lesson Clara had just taught her.

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"We have to do something!"

Sirius was pacing in front of the hearth, frustrated. They had questioned McGonagall, but all they could have extracted from her was what they had already guessed: her father had been injured in an attack the night before, and she would be heading for St Mungo"s with the Headmaster, where her mother was already waiting for her to arrive.

"There is nothing we can do Sirius," answered Lily in a resolute tone.

"There must be!"

The boy passed a hand in his dark hair in frustration. They couldn"t leave her alone like this.

"Besides, she"s not alone Sirius, her mum is with her," added Marlene.

But Sirius shook his head.

"Her mother will be too desperate to take care of her, Clara needs us out there."

"Dumbledore will never let us go there Sirius," Alice replied.

James looked intensely at his friend. He knew Sirius better than anyone, and he knew exactly what he was going on in his head at this instant.

"I know what you"re planning to do Padfoot," finally spoke James. "And it"s not a good idea."

"I can"t stay here and do nothing Prongs!" snapped Sirius.

James shook his head and headed to the boy"s dormitory. He knew Sirius"s feelings for Clara were strong, and that they meant much more than simple friendship. But it was still a bad idea.

Sirius felt abandoned as he watched his best friend leaving the room. He kicked the table hard in anger.

"Padfoot, it"s useless, you"ll just be caught and expelled. It"s a stupid idea," Remus tried to reason his friend.

"I don"t care about being expelled right now Moony..."

"You"re out of your mind!"

"No I"m not! You"re the ones out of their minds right now. If it was one of us four, we would do anything we judge necessary to go and help him, don"t deny it Remus!"

Remus didn"t really know what he could answer to that, after all, he knew it was probably true.

James reappeared and stood in front of Sirius. He handed him his coat, scarf and bag.

"You have my cloak and the map. I"ve put some money too for the Knight Bus. If you ask me, I"ll go with you."

Sirius took slowly the items his friend was handing him, speechless. He really was the luckiest man in the world to have a friend like him... He finally shook his head.

"It"s better if you stay and cover my tracks. I don"t know when I"ll be back, and McGonagall will probably ask questions."

James nodded and hugged his brother.

"Take care of her for us. And don"t get caught."

"Don"t worry."

Sirius put on his coat and his scarf, taking the Marauder"s Map off the bag.

"Be careful," admonished Remus.

Sirius winked at him as he strode towards the portrait hole.

"I"m always careful Moony!"

And he stepped out of the common room and into the corridor.

"Careful my arse..." muttered Remus, shaking his head.

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One by one, all the Gryffindors went to sleep. When Remus left, James made a movement to stand up too, but Lily didn"t move. She was staring at the dying flames, her knees in her arms, her expression blank. He waited till Remus was gone to get a bit closer to the girl.

"Lils," James said gently, his voice warm and soft, "we should go to sleep. It"s useless to wait here by now, we won"t get any news till morning anyway."

But the redhead girl shook her head.

"I can"t sleep," she merely answered.

"Lils, you"re knackered, I can see it, you have to go to sleep."

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she brushed it angrily. She hated being so weak sometimes...

"Lils, don"t cry."

A second tear rolled down her cheek, but James swept it gently away before she could react.

"I hate to see you sad, please don"t cry."

She sniffed, looking at him again.

"It"s just... I know her dad quite well. Clara and I have been friends since first year, and our parents became friends as well. Her dad has been of so much help along the years, helping my parents understanding our world, helping me protecting my parents... He"s family to me really."

She sobbed, closing her eyes while trying to control herself.

"I"m sure he"ll be alright," James told her reassuringly.

He chased away one of her ginger lock of hair that was hiding her face from him. He took her face in his hands, and dried her cheeks with his thumbs.

"He"ll be fine Lils, I"m sure he will."

He smiled reassuringly at her, and somehow it eased her mind. She didn"t want to sleep, she didn"t want to be alone. She got closer to him, and he wrapped one of his strong arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, feeling more peaceful already. They remained there, on the sofa, and after a while, without her even noticing, her hand found his, and she held it for dear life. He squeezed her gentle hand too. After a while, both of them fell asleep, still holding hands.

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He was covered with bandages. They had used the Cruciatus Curse on him, before beating him almost to death. The doctors had said that at least four different people had aggressed him, they had left him no chance...

"We are doing everything we can, but the night will be decisive," had declared the healer.

Clara just wanted to fall down on the ground, and then crawl to the nearest corner and cry there forever. But in her arms, her mother was already sobbing, and Clara couldn"t be weak right now. Right now, she needed to be the strong one, so she didn"t shed a single tear at the sight of her unconscious father, nor at the alarming statements of the healers. She would be strong tonight.

Her mother and her spent the night sitting on some uncomfortable chairs by her father"s bedside. Finally, Clara"s mother fell asleep, and the girl relaxed a bit. She didn"t allow herself to cry though, too afraid to wake up her mum, and too scared that she couldn"t stop crying if she started. After several hours of waiting, she heard the sound of footsteps in the corridor, that stopped on the threshold of the room. When she turned to look at the newcomer, she couldn"t believe her eyes.

"Sirius?!" she whispered, astonished.

She got up and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked bluntly.

She didn"t seem exactly happy to see him, and for a moment, he wondered if the girls were not right after all, and that it was a family matter in which he didn"t belong.

"I came to see you. I thought you could use company."

"But how did you come? Dumbledore let you?"

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, uncomfortable.

"Not exactly, I came by myself."

"What do you mean?"

"I used a secret passage the guys and I discovered a few years ago to reach Hogsmeade, then I used the Floo Network from the Hog"s Head to go to the Leaky Cauldron and finally the Knight Bus to get here."

She stayed silent for a while, her eyes round, too shocked to answer. She finally found back her voice, though it was a bit hoarse.

"Sirius, you could be expelled!"

He merely shrugged.

"You needed help."

She lost her voice again, and Sirius was afraid that she would have preferred him not to come, so he felt the need to explain himself.

"Look, I know you will try to be strong for your mum, because she needs a shoulder to cry on, and you"re too brave and generous to collapse in front of her. But what you"re going through is terrible. It"s unfair, and you don"t deserve it, but it"s happening anyway. And I can"t imagine how hard it must be for you right now. But I know you need a shoulder to cry on too. I know you need someone who doesn"t ask from you to be strong right now. You have to let it out too Clara, or it will destroy you from the inside. Trust me, I know what it is to hide your feelings, to keep everything inside, and it will just consume you Clara, until one day you can"t take it anymore, and you will blow up. And the only way to avoid that, is to tell someone everything your heart wants to hide. You need to cry all the tears you"re holding back. You need a friend, so here I am."

She kept staring at him for a while, and he stared back at her, not knowing what to do. But all of a sudden, she collapsed into his arms and cried against his torso. He wrapped his arms around her, half-carrying her, and helped her to sit against the wall, on the floor of the deserted corridor. He stroke gently her hair, squeezing her against him. She was sobbing hard, but she didn"t care. She didn"t feel ashamed to cry in front of Sirius, she didn"t feel weak. He was right, she was feeling better already. And his arms were surrounding her so completely and protectively, that she felt like the rest of the world had disappeared. It was just her and Sirius, and it felt right. After a while, she finally calmed down, but she remained in Sirius"s arms, her head against his chest, and as she wasn"t moving away from him, he kept his arms around her.

"They don"t know what"s going to happen", she finally spoke, her voice wet with tears. "They say it will depend on whether or not he wakes up before tomorrow noon. It was a trap. They received a false alert on an attack near our house. My dad was the closest, so he arrived first, they cursed him from behind. They..."

She let out a sob, and she couldn"t control herself enough to speak again for several minutes.

"They tortured him... and then they beat him, and they just left him there, alone. They abandoned him in the middle of nowhere, half-dead. How can some people do something like this?"

She was still crying, and Sirius"s shirt was soaked by now, but he didn"t care. He was too busy cradling her and fighting his own tears. He didn"t know how some people could do something so cruel, but what he knew for sure, is that he would be glad to find the people who had done this to her and her family, the people who had made her suffer so much. And he knew he would be merciless.

"I don"t know Clara, some people are mad, and they think it"s fun to hurt other people."

"They"re insane!"

"Yes, they are."

She calmed down again, still not moving from Sirius"s arms.

"Bellatrix... she said her sister"s fiancé was involved in the attack."

Sirius stopped breathing.

"Do you know him?" she asked.

"She was probably talking about Malfoy, he finished school a couple of years ago. It wouldn"t really surprise me."

"Do you know him well?"

He shifted, uncomfortable.

"I met him once or twice. He"s supposed to marry my cousin, Narcissa."

He looked down at her, her gaze was lost in the emptiness of the corridor.

"Clara, I"m not like them. You know I"m not. It"s not because my name is Black that I agree with all this. And I had no idea for your father, none of them talk to me anymore."

She smiled weakly, still staring into the void.

"I know you"re not. I know who you are. I"ve never judged you by your last name, and I never will. I just wondered if you had met him when you were still living with your parents, that"s all."

They stayed silent for a while. She suddenly looked up at him in the eyes. Her green eyes were wide and swollen, red from all her crying, but in the dim light of the corridor, their magnetism was stronger than ever, and Sirius drowned into them.

"Sirius... Sirius please, don"t leave me."

A single tear rolled down her cheek, and Sirius wiped it gently with his thumb.

"I"m scared Sirius. Please, don"t leave me alone..."

"I"m not going anywhere Clara, don"t worry. I"ll stay with you. I"m not going to leave you alone. Do you really think I would inflect myself hours of dangerous trip just to see you, and then an hour later, it"s over, kiss-you-goodbye?"

He smiled gently at her, and she smiled too. She knew he wouldn"t leave her, but she couldn"t believe he had done that for her.

"This, I mean... you coming here, and listening to me, and being here for me, and taking all the risks you took to come here... It"s probably the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me Sirius..."

She kissed his cheek and rested her head upon his chest once more. He kissed gently her head.

"I"ll always be there Clara, I promise."

And he meant it.

She was calm now, but not sleepy, and so he opened his bag and pulled out his Daily Prophet, a quill and some chocolate frogs.

"So," he said more lightly, reading the crosswords," "a spell used only when an object is needed", in five letters?"

She looked at him and smiled.

"Accio," she answered.

"It does fit indeed!"

He gave her a chocolate frog and smiled encouragingly at her. Things would get better, eventually.

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Clara finally opened her eyes. Her left leg was numb, and her neck painful. She didn"t understand at first why she was rising and falling regularly, until she realised that she had fallen asleep in Sirius"s arms. He was still asleep himself, peaceful, and she couldn"t hold back a smile. He had been amazing the night before in cheering her up, and she didn"t think she could ever thank him enough for what he had done, it meant so much to her. She slowly put away Sirius"s coat, that he had used to cover her the previous night as she was beginning to doze, and tried to stand. But despite all her efforts, she woke up Sirius.

"What time is it?" he asked her, his voice hoarse with sleep.

"Almost eight o"clock."

He groaned.

"Okay, I"m officially done with sleeping in a hospital corridor, " he declared, holding his back has he was trying to stand.

She giggled as he struggled to rise from the ground.

"Come on old man, it"s not that bad!" she teased him.

"That"s not funny, really, " he answered, giggling himself.

Suddenly, a loud cry emanated from Clara"s father"s bedroom. She looked at Sirius, panicked, and they stood still for a while, before the girl stormed into the room.

"Dad!"

Her father was smiling weakly, his eyes opened.

"Hey Sweetheart!"

His voice was weak and hoarse but she didn"t care. She hurried to his bedside, kissing gently his cheek. She was fighting her tears again, but this time, they were tears of joy and relief.

"How do you feel?"

"I"ll be alright, don"t worry about me."

"Stop falling into traps then!"

Clara"s mother was crying hard, laughing at the same time. At the door, Sirius felt he was not needed anymore, so he wrapped his scarf around his neck, put on his coat, threw his bag on his shoulder, and walked slowly towards the exit.

"Sirius!"

He turned back as Clara was hurrying behind him.

"Where are you going?"

"Your father will be alright, and you"ll be alright too. It"s better if I go now."

"No it"s not..."

"It"s a family moment Clara, and I don"t belong in family moments."

He smiled sadly at her, and started to turn again, but Clara put a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Please, stay..."

He looked at her.

"I"d really like you to stay," she continued. "Besides, my Mum apparently saw us asleep in the corridor last night, and she"s already making up crazy stories, and I know she won"t believe me if I"m the one who tells her that you"re just a friend. After all, she"s a romantic Muggle!"

They both laughed softly, and Sirius took off his scarf.

"Well, I guess five minutes won"t kill me, " he said.

"Thank you."

She kissed him again on the cheek, and he felt shivers going up his spine. Just for that kiss, it was worth it.

They got back to the bedroom, and Clara introduced Sirius, who looked quite nervous.

"This is Sirius. Sirius, my Mum, Katherine, and my Dad, John."

"It"s really nice to meet both of you."

"It"s nice to meet you too dear," answered Clara"s mother. " I wish it was under other circumstances though. How nice it was from you to come here for Clara!"

"It"s nothing really."

"So, you"re in Gryffindor too, aren"t you?" asked John, thinking hard. "Yes... I remember Clara mentioning you in her letters..."

Clara blushed slightly, and Sirius struggled not to laugh.

"I"m in Gryffindor indeed. We"re in the same year."

"But how come that she had never mentioned you before?" asked Katherine.

Sirius shrugged.

"Long story. We became friends only recently."

"Well, it"s only kinder from you to have come here. We have to thank Dumbledore for letting you coming here too."

"Don"t worry Mum, I"ll thank him."

Clara blushed even more, and Sirius almost choked, trying not to laugh.

"Talking about Dumbledore, we should call him, so he can come and pick you two up," John said, pointing at the two teenagers.

"Dad, you just woke up. I can stay a bit longer..." Clara protested.

But her Dad shushed her.

"You"re not missing class on my account, none of you do. You need top marks at your N.E.W.T.s to become a healer."

"You mean an Auror," Clara corrected him.

"A healer darling."

"He means an Auror, "she indicated Sirius.

The boy giggled softly.

"In both cases, you need top marks, " Sirius said.

"True, so, off you go!" her father commanded.

"John, she stayed here all night, worrying about you," answered Katherine. "She can stay a bit longer, I"m sure her friends will explain to her all the lessons she has missed."

"True. See Dad, I stay."

Clara picked up a candy on his bedside table and ate it, a defiant glint in her eyes.

"You really are as stubborn as your mother, " he sighed, defeated.

"Didn"t you know already? She has picked up all my qualities!" Katherine replied.

They laughed. After all the tension that had occurred the previous night, it felt extremely good to relax.

"Who brought these anyway?" John asked as Clara was picking up another candy and passing one to Sirius.

"Your colleagues darling, " his wife answered. "Many of them came to see how you were doing. Even Moody came by this morning."

John nodded, suddenly silent. Memories from that night were suddenly rushing upon him.

"Do you know who did that to you Dad?" Clara asked him slowly.

He shook his head.

"They were wearing masks, like skulls. I didn"t see anything useful."

"Why did it have to be you?" Clara asked weakly, talking more to herself than to anyone else in the room.

Her father took her hand in his.

"Sometimes, Aurors have to make sacrifices, sometimes even sacrifice their lives, so that others can be safe."

She looked at him in the eyes.

"It"s the price we have to pay."

He smiled weakly at his daughter, before shaking himself.

"Right. Why don"t you all sit down? You"re making me feel so small!"

Clara and her mother obliged, but Sirius remained standing.

"I"d better go back to school now."

"You could stay a bit more if you want," proposed Katherine.

"It"s really kind of you, but I"m sure you have many things to tell each other, and I"d better not miss too many classes myself."

"Alright then, thank you again for coming, " thanked Clara"s mother.

"Goodbye Sirius," added her father, nodding his head to the boy.

"Goodbye, be well," Sirius answered, smiling encouragingly at the wounded man.

"I"ll walk with you," said Clara.

They both got out of the room, and walked slowly towards the entry of the hospital. They stayed silent until they were back in the street.

"I don"t think I can thank you enough for what you did Sirius," Clara told him.

"Really Clara, it was nothing," he answered, shrugging.

She smiled at him.

"You really are mad, you know that?"

He let out a laugh.

"I know, but I would be so boring if I wasn"t!"

"True."

"And if I was boring, you wouldn"t mention me in your letters, so..."

Clara blushed hard, and Sirius let out another of his typical bark-like laugh.

"Well, don"t be too excited about it," she replied. "I"m only mentioning you to notice my parents how annoying you are."

Sirius shrugged, mischief painted all over his face.

"Hey, you"re still writing about me!"

She rolled her eyes.

"Right, okay, I am actually."

He winked at her.

"I knew you liked me."

"Don"t go too far!"

Sirius burst into laughter again, and so did Clara.

"Alright, I"d better go," said Sirius dramatically. "A long and difficult journey awaits me. If you have a last confession to tell, you"d better speak it now, for I do not know if I can survive to this perilous adventures."

Clara laughed even harder, holding her ribs. Her laugh was so beautiful, Sirius was suddenly conscious that he would probably be ready to do anything to hear it again.

"Just one actually," she finally answered, drying her eyes on her sleeves.

"I"m all ears."

She smiled, and kissed him again on the cheek. The same shivers than before ran up his spine.

"Thank you, dear prince, for having overcome so much perils to save the poor damsel in distress that I was."

"The pleasure was all mine, my Lady."

He bent dramatically, and strode away, standing too straight, and he left with the sound of her laughs accompanying his footsteps.

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He came back to Hogwarts a bit before noon, and he waited for his friends in the Great Hall. They literally ran across the Hall to join him, eager for news.

"Her Dad will be fine. And so will she."

"I can"t believe you did that, you"re mad!" exclaimed Lily.

The boys laughed.

"Well, it"s Sirius you"re talking about Lils, he"s mental!" answered James.

They got up, heading to their next class, but Dumbledore called for Sirius through the Great Hall. The boy walked to the staff table.

"Is there something wrong professor?"

"I heard you didn"t go to class this morning, Sirius."

The boy swallowed. Dumbledore was calling him by his first name, and it was never a good sign.

"I didn"t feel very well, sir. But I"m okay now, and I"ll go to class this afternoon."

Dumbledore pierced right through him with his intense blue gaze, a glint in his eyes.

"It is strange really," the old man said. "You see, I am very friendly with Alastor Moody, the Auror, and he made me know this very morning that he saw not one, but two Gryffindors asleep in a corridor in St Mungo"s this morning. A girl, whom he recognised as Clara, of course, but also a boy, with long dark hair... You wouldn"t know who this boy can be, by any chance?"

Sirius stood still, unable to answer. That was it, this time, he would be expelled. He had gone out of the castle and into London without permission, on his own, he had no chance to get through it this time.

"You"d better speak now, Sirius, while I still give you a chance to do so," the teacher advised.

Sirius tried to look away from the Headmaster"s eyes, but it seemed that his gaze was glued to Dumbledore"s.

"I wasn"t sick this morning, " admitted Sirius, aware that his only chance now, was to be completely honest, and to hope that Dumbledore would hear his case." I was feeling so bad for Clara last night, I knew her mother would be too upset to take care of her. And I knew you wouldn"t have allowed me to go..."

"On this, at least, we agree."

"...So I went by myself."

"Was anyone else involved?"

"No, sir. I went on my own, I swear."

Dumbledore"s stayed silent for a while, so Sirius continued.

"Sir, I know I broke the rules, and I know it"s serious. I know I should be punished, and I won"t deny that I deserve it. But it did help her to have me by her side last night, really it did. She needed someone she trusted to be there for her, so that she could talk, and let it all out. If I had done so myself, I would probably not have done all the mistakes I"ve made."

He was clearly referring to the incident of the previous year, involving Snape and Remus, during which the transformed werewolf had almost killed the Slytherin. Dumbledore propped up an eyebrow, but didn"t interrupt.

"Sir, it"s not her fault, really. She didn"t ask me to go, and she didn"t know I was coming. The decision was mine, and mine alone, and I should be the only one to be punished."

Dumbledore stayed silent for a little while, before he spoke again in a low and severe voice.

"You know what punishment is usually required for this kind of behaviour, don"t you Sirius?"

Sirius looked down at his feet, before nodding slowly.

"I should pack up my things I guess..." answered Sirius, a lump in his throat.

"That being said, " continued Dumbledore, ignoring Sirius"s remark, "you didn"t act on an evil purpose, but on an extremely generous one, though you were conscious of the risks you were taking."

Sirius looked back in Dumbledore"s eyes, holding his breath.

"And you admitted your guilt, and were ready to accept your punishment, as long as your friends were recognised innocent. I can"t really say that such loyalty and courage should be rewarded with expulsion..."

Sirius grinned.

"But you still broke the rules, and took way too many risks. So I guess, a month of detention should suit the situation quite well, don"t you think?"

He winked mischievously at the boy, and Sirius"s grin doubled in size.

"I think so sir."

"Well, off you go then, or you"ll be late for class."

"Thank you sir."

Sirius hurried to class, joining his friends.

"Does he know?" asked James as they were entering in McGonagall"s classroom.

"Yes, he knows, " answered Sirius.

"And... what did he say?"

Sirius grinned proudly.

"That such an act of loyalty and bravery deserved only a month of detentions."

His friends all burst into laughter.

"So much luck should not exist," laughed Remus, shaking his head.

Sirius turned to his friend and winked.

"I know Moony! I"m so annoyingly lucky!"

He focused on the lesson as McGonagall sent him a warning look. After all, he had had enough trouble for one day already.