Silence is golden ((Sirius))

[Emily Prescott]

Silence is golden...

Emily had been looking forward to this quiet time alone. She loved her classes, the Common Room, even the Great Hall, but moments alone like these were few and far between and she liked to savour them where she could. Not that many people ventured their way into the library for anything other than study, Emily was one of the few people that liked being around the old musty books, purely for recreational purposes. There was something comforting, almost calming about the atmosphere. It was as though simply being around these books, losing herself in one, she could block out the growing horror outside Hogwarts. She could pretend if only for a moment, that there was nothing for them to be afraid of.

With a small smile Emily found herself a spot beside a large window in the library. In front of the window sat one sofa, and two armchairs, giving one the perfect view of the lake outside, it had to be her favourite place to be. Shrugging off her denim jacket she sat down on the sofa, her eyes resting on the scenery for a moment before she kicked off her modest heels, sat back into the cushions and tucked her legs beneath her, fixing her dress so it covered her knees.

Pulling out her book, she opened it to the first page and smiled softly. The Little Mermaid had to be her favourite book, it was a Muggle book, and you probably wouldn't find it here in this library, some wizards really didn't understand what they were missing. Biting down on her lip, she let her arm rest against the back of the sofa, allowing her head to lean against her hand as she slowly became absorbed in the words pouring out in front of her. The moments passed and soon the sound of footsteps entering the library could be heard, Emily didn't look up, she simply hoped it wasn't someone looking to annoy her...

[Sirius Black]

Sirius would like everyone to know that, contrary to popular believe, he did indeed know where the library was. How else would he hunt Remus down when he needed him? Okay, and with OWLS coming up, maybe Sirius was going to step up his game slightly. He wasn’t going to work hard or anything, that was for prats, but flunking out was very unappealing. It meant having to live at home, and everyone knew how much Sirius got on with his family. Not at all.

But, if you asked what Sirius was doing in the library, his answer was always going to be, ‘Looking for Remus’.

Today’s library visit was strictly pleasure. Sirius was angling to check out ‘Hogwarts: A History’ and win an argument. It was a useful resource for their work in progress, a map of the castle and grounds. All the marauders took out the book in a bit of a rotation, and when the librarian was getting suspicious they rotated going to the library to look up the crucial information. Sirius practically had the book memorized by now, but he just had a row anyway with Peter regarding a tunnel that caved in hundreds of years ago. Sirius was sure they could fix it, but Peter insisted it had all sorts of charms around it and the task would be impossible.

Sometimes Sirius wondered how Peter got into Gryffindor with that sort of attitude.

And that’s what Sirius was thinking about as he wandered the library, ‘Hogwarts: A History’ in hand, flipping to the appropriate chapter. Seats were, you guessed it, for prats. They implied that Sirius would be there for a while, and he was an in and out sort of bloke. Happening upon little Emily Prescott was a complete accident. Sirius had no agenda, he had a legitimate reason for being in the library. But, Sirius wasn’t one to waste an opportunity.

Snapping the giant history book shut, Sirius tucked it under his arm and approached his prey with a sly grin on his face. Emmy, what are you doing here?” the handsome marauder asked, waggling his eyebrows in an obnoxious way. He settled in next to Emily on the sofa, fully intending to annoy her with a full conversation. Emily was a hard nut to crack, and she frequently expressed annoyance at Sirius’ very existence. Which only made him approach her more.

[Emily Prescott]

Emily sighed to herself softly, a small smile gracing her pretty face as she absorbed the words pouring out from the pages in front of her. It didn't seem to matter how many times she read this story, it always felt like the first time. As she turned the page to move onto a new chapter however, the dreaded sound of a person she knew would only want to annoy her floated in to her consciousness. Emmy, what are you doing here?” sighing she allowed her head to turn and caught sight of that damn smirk as he waggled his eyebrows in her direction.

Before she could form a reply Sirius had fell into the seat beside Emily on the sofa, making her shift slightly. There was no denying Sirius was handsome, unbeknown to anyone, except maybe Lachlan, Emily had somewhat of a crush on the handsome Marauder, and had since 3rd year. It was confusing because more often than not he annoyed the hell out of her. Emily was sure on one thing though, there was no way in hell Sirius would ever find out, he'd never allow her to live that down.

Tearing her gaze away from him and down to her closed book, which she'd bookmarked with her thumb. Opening it up she sighed, "I'm reading Black, question is what are you doing here? Carrying a book nonetheless, I assumed you were allergic." she joked, shooting him a sweet smile before chuckling and looking down at her own book. Mentally counting backwards from 100 in her head...helped calm her.

[Sirius Black]

“Allergic, me?” Sirius faked a wounded look that quickly gave way to a smirk. Clearly Miss. Prescott wasn’t interested in company, judging from her snarky reply. This, naturally, only made Sirius want to stick around all the more. “I’m a strapping young man. See?” Before she could protest, Sirius grabbed Emily’s arm and made her feel his bicep. “Strong as a dog!” he laughed at his own little joke. “You’d think I spend all my time running around the forest!” Sometimes Sirius alluded too closely to his actual nocturnal habits, but luckily for him everyone mostly thought he was bonkers.

“Now Remus, that bloke’s got an illness. I keep telling him that he should nip his furry little problem in the bud, but you know how attached people get to their, er, rabbits. Half the school was convinced Remus had a badly diseased and misbehaved rabbit. That was the work of one, Sirius O. Black.

“Whatcha readin’ Emmy, darling? I don’t believe that’s a textbook!” Sirius was really turning up the dial on his obnoxious levels today. That’s what happened when his friends abandoned him to quidditch practice and charms essays, leaving poor Sirius to entertain himself. He’d already been down to the kitchens bothering the house elves – twice! Now it was, apparently, Emily’s turn to suffer the handsome but oh so annoying marauder.

[Emily Prescott]

Emily pulled a face and pulled her arm back out of Sirius's grasp, shooting him a glare she instantly knew would only encourage him. "It's amazing...your ego..." she said shaking her head chuckling lightly. Looking away from Sirius she tried to continue to read her book hoping he'd potter off and find someone else to annoy, but alas her prayers were ignored and when he continued talking Emily once again gave up on her book and closed it over, making sure to save her page once again.

"Sirius don't you have someone else to go annoy the hell out of? Marlene perhaps...she's in the common room...go bug her, I came here for a little peace." she sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked at him once more. Letting her question hang there until he answered. If rumours around the school were right Sirius had his eyes on Marlene, which was good news for the other girl who'd been crushing on Sirius for a while now. Emily just hoped he didn't screw her around like he seemed to do with many of the other girls.

At his question about her book she narrowed her eyes at him before shaking her head, and releasing a small sigh, deciding not to allow him to get to her. So she smiled, "You'd be right...I'm caught up on all my studies so I thought I'd take a little time out with a good book..." she said with a smile, holding it up, "It's not a textbook no, it's a Muggle novel...The Little Mermaid..." she finished, lowering it back onto her lap, "So is that it are you done with the questions?" she asked, glancing at his own book. A Hogwarts History...why in the world would Sirius Black of all people be reading that book?