Taste of Youth

Sirius lead me out to the edge of the lake, a section littered with large rocks that most of the students came to sit on. He settled down on one patting the one next to it and otherwise ignoring me. The wind was picking up kicking my turquoise hair up into my face I struggled with it, the gemstone strands tangling in my fingers. My hand was completely covered in it before Sirius started to chuckle. I shot him a filthy look and tugged desperately trying to free my hand.

“Okay, stop. You’re going to tear your hair out.” Sirius laughed and grabbed my arm to stop my tugging, “Here, just let me help alright?”

It took him a few minutes but he managed to get my hair free with only minor losses. Sirius was still laughing shaking a few stands of my hair from his hand and I punched in the arm. He yelped and rubbed the place I’d hit him giving me a pouting look making me laugh at him. We sat there laughing at each other as the sun glinted off of the lake. A mermaid leapt up from the rocking water a load of it spraying up and dousing Sirius and I. I laughed at the way Sirius looked, his ear-length dark hair dripping into his face making him look like a wet dog. I was leaned forward snorting into my hand and my eyes tearing from how hard I was laughing.

“Alright, that’s enough you.” Sirius told me shoving his dripping hair away from his face, “You don’t look much better, I’m sure.”

“Yes, but I always look horrible,” I managed to stop laughing and mopped my eyes, “You on the other hand are known for your good-looks.”

Sirius looked at me his head tilted and grin slowly making its way on his face, “You think I’m good-looking?”

I raised a finger my face heating, “I never said that. I said that you were known for your good-looks.”

“But do you share that opinion?”

“I have a boyfriend, who may I add is probably not very happy about me being out here alone with you.” I dropped my hand and looked out to the lake pulling my knees up and resting my chin on them, “What is it that you wanted anyway?”

“Well I wanted several things. The first of which was to know why you weren’t eating tonight.”

“So you did notice that.” I laughed dully and sighed, “I’m just not hungry.”

“Your stomach is growling.”

“Stop being so observant, you.” I narrowed my eyes at him for a moment and turned back to the lake, “I don’t know. I didn’t feel like eating.”

“What happened to you last night?”

I groaned and burrowed my head in my arms and knees, “People keep on asking me that. I can’t tell you anything, Sirius.”

“Why?”

“It’s the rules. I can’t talk about training, I can’t talk about what I did last night unless it’s cleared with my superiors. All I can tell you is that I’m fine now.” I undid my little ball and moved to show him my arm undoing the charm that had made my bandages look like they were my skin. The man I had battled that night had hit me with a spell that Lena couldn’t heal completely. The bandaging was sticky and reeked from the ointment Lena had been forced to use on it, I undid it and gave Sirius an apologetic look when he made a face at the smell.

There was a slash in my wand arm curving across my shoulder and moving down the back of my arm to my hand, the edges looked like something had burned me. Sirius made a chocking sound and got up walking quickly to the edge of the water and stood there for a long moment. I re-wrapped my arm to the best of my ability and got up to walk after him and stopped standing next to him.

“Are you okay, Sirius?”

“You fought someone, right? I heard about the Selwynn house raid, ease dropped on some Slytherin’s that hang out with my brother. That was you last night wasn’t it.” Sirius held up a hand when I opened my mouth, “Can’t tell me, I know. I’ve seen that before, it’s a spell the Selwynn’s are known for. I-I’m sorry, I don’t know how to fix it.”

“I didn’t expect you to know, Sirius. It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal.” He snarled and looked at me obviously mad, “You could have died, Luciana! What were you even thinking taking that-!”

“I didn’t ask to take the case.” I snapped at him, “Don’t act like I had a choice in this. My partner almost died. This order came from above us, above my superiors heads.”

“Partner?”

“Healer department works in pairs, but that’s beside the point.” I crossed my arms and stood in front of him, “You need to calm down now. I am fine and you have no reason to be so angry.”

He looked at me then to the bandage and didn’t say a word. There wasn’t a sound for a long moment only the howl of the wind and the snow falling.

“Does it hurt?” His voice was quiet and his eyes didn’t leave my bandaging.

“Not anymore.”

Sirius nodded a few times and took a deep breath, “Sorry for freaking out.”

“It’s fine. Is that everything you wanted to ask me?”

He stared at me and then away at the ground. I saw his lips move like he was saying something, I thought it was a yes. I frowned at him tilting my head down to get him to look at me.

“Sirius?”