Taste of Youth

It was amazingly difficult to avoid Sirius Black when he wanted to talk to you. It was almost like he had a locater on me at all times, always popping up in the least likely of places trying to buy himself a few seconds. I was pissed, which I knew after I ignored him outside of the Quiditch pitch that I shouldn’t be but he had insulted a guy who had never batted his ridiculously pretty eyelashes at Sirius the wrong way.

According to Lily’s common room reports, Sirius had been brooding and throwing tantrums all week. Also from her knee-jerk gossip habit and the fact that one of the people in question was hopelessly in love with her, she had passed on that even the Gryffindor boy clan were at the end of their ropes. Peter and Remus had taken to sleeping in the common room and after fixing up a twisted arm from Remus I found that Sirius had started to lose control of his magic while he was asleep. It was only when Peter came to beg me to listen to Sirius that I gave in. The boys deserved their dorm and their friend back and apparently I was the cause of their effect, which made no sense to me.

“I had to relocate Remus’ arm yesterday.” I said to Sirius sitting next to him at the beech tree after one of my trainings.

Sirius froze like he was afraid to say anything in case he’d scare me away again.

“I had to relocate it because he fell off one of the common room couches and onto a pile of books a first year had left down there.” I pushed my hair back from my face as the wind picked up, “Care to share why Remus and Peter aren’t sleeping in their own beds?”

“No idea?” He murmured glancing at me, “Are you still upset over what I said about your boyfriend?”

“We are not talking about Chase. We are talking about Remus. We are going to keep talking about Remus and other things that don’t have to do with my boyfriend because you do not like him. Even though that doesn’t matter, it bugs me and I’d rather not discuss it.” I got up and brushed the snow from my pants before hitting him on the shoulder, “Now get up and back inside before you get hypothermia.”

I walked away from him only to looking back to check to make sure he was getting out of the cold. I didn’t like Sirius very much right now, but he was still a friend and I wasn’t going to deal with a sick Sirius around the tower. The rest of the week was easier after that, there wasn’t anymore books randomly bursting into flame or windows being broken and patched up again. Lily, Alice, Frank and I had taken to hanging out with the boys after curfew, playing high stakes Exploding Snap with James and Sirius trying to see how fast they could get Alice drunk.

Chase and I met up at lunch and break time during the week every day without fail. It was harder to see him because our years, classes and houses were different. The Hufflepuff’s seemed to like me well enough, the pranks and hostility having stopped after Chase and my Hogsmead date. I was headed to see him after one of my training lessons when I first met his brother.

“Look Markus, I’m not getting into this with you,” Chase’s voice traveled down the hallway, “Forget it.”

“This isn’t a game, Chase, you don’t get a choice here.” Another guy’s voice traveled down and I frowned pausing at the corner.

“Life’s a game to you, Markus. I’m not being part of this.”

There was a cracking sound and a thud. I turned the corner quickly to see Chase against the wall doubled over clutching his face. The boy opposite him looked remarkably like Chase if he wore Ravenclaw colors. Markus hit him again, the crack and squelched of the hit making me go green. I rushed over between Chase and Markus sending a glare at the other boy.

“Knock it off!” I snapped at him before turning to Chase whose face was slowly purpling around his left eye.

“I’m okay, Luce. It’s fine.” Chase said patting the hand I had on his face before he looked over my shoulder and glared, “My answer is no, Markus. Now don’t you have to go find another unsuspecting victim to shag?”

Markus made an annoyed sound, “This your girlfriend, Chase? She pretty, I hear that she’s a Mudblood too.”

I turned around and snarled at him, “Beat it, you prejudiced monkey.”

He laughed at me, “She’s real cute, brother. Real cute.”

Chase made an angry sound and Markus laughed again as he walked away. I turned back to Chase touching the purple gingerly with my fingers apologizing when he winced. Blood was still dripping from his nose and I pulled out my wand fixing him. When I was finished I didn’t remove my hand from his face, he looked sad.

“I didn’t know you had a brother.” I said under my breath letting him pull me far enough forward so our foreheads touched.

“I don’t like talking about him as you can see.” Chase smiled a little and sighed, “Markus is my twin. He’s a Ravenclaw and a seventh year like me. He’s the Beater for the Ravenclaw team and will never stop boasting about how good he is at it. We haven’t had a civil conversation in two years, Luce. That’s why I didn’t tell you I had a brother, that and because you’re- you’re a-”

“A Mudblood.” I offered pulling back from him, “Was that the word you were looking for?”

“Luce, don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?” I snapped moving farther away, “Get upset that you didn’t tell me you had a brother when I’ve answered every uncomfortable question you asked me?”

Chase sighed, “I know, I know. Okay, follow me.”

Chase reached over and undid my crossed arms tugging me gently. When I didn’t budge he sighed.

“I’m going to grab an album from my dorm, will you meet me by the lake?”He titled his head down to look at my face when I didn’t say anything, “Please?”

“Fine.” I said begrudgingly letting him kiss my cheek.

It wasn’t that I was mad at him really, hurt was a better description. Over the friendship we’d formed in two months, Chase had managed to get me to tell him everything about my life. It wasn’t something I did for anyone, I hadn’t eve told Lily and Alice much of what I’d told him. Was it so bad that I thought he could return the courtesy. I passed Alice and Frank on my way up and waved hello not wanting to interrupt their time.

It was past curfew by now but I left anyway slipping out the front doors Disillusioned. The night was cool and crisp, the full moon hanging heavy and bright in the air. A howl broke the night air and I shivered realizing I should have gone and grabbed a sweater. Goosebumps raised on my arms as I walked to the lake. Wind ripped through the grounds kicking my wild hair into my face, I sighed as I pushed it out my face over and over.

An hour passed and Chase still hadn’t shown up. I contemplated the possibility that he’d lied as well as the fact that he very well could have been caught by Filch. I glanced back at the castle the chill of the night not a bother anymore and got up wiping the snow from my clothes. I headed over to the stables near Hagrid’s hut. Before school had started and before my friends had come, I spent as much time in the stables as I did the library and hadn’t been back since school started.

The stables smelled like hay and animal sweat with the small open door moving the scent about. It wasn’t a pleasant smell and the stables weren’t very big but I liked it here. It was something that had been ingrained in me back in America, my aunt having owned a ranch with the handsomest horses I’d ever encountered. There was a single Hippogriff in the stable tonight, if I remembered correctly his name was Ironside.

Ironside was a crisp shade of gray, his wings turning white at the tips. He greeted me as I came in with a huff and bumped against his stable door so it swung open. He stared at me his orange eyes looking amused as we bowed to each other. Taking the feathers against his neck in hand I lead Ironside out into the night. He snuffed bumping the side of my head with his beak and I grumbled bumping my shoulder into him.