𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗜 ━━ 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧
007. the ice was thawing

          𝗔𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗖𝗛 𝗔𝗦 𝗛𝗢𝗚𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗦 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧, the unfairness against the Slytherin students are severely ignored. Yes, their comments are often irritating and their behaviour unacceptable, but it is not like they are treated with respect either. Scarlet did not believe she owes someone respect. Due to this, most of the groups often found themselves spending time together outside of the building, away from the other students.

Scarlet was sitting with Regulus and Severus under a large tree, enjoying the fresh air. Scarlet held an acoustic guitar in her hands, strumming a made-up tune for a better mood.

"Why are you vandalising school property?" Scarlet asked Severus who was scribbling down on his Potions book.

"I'm fixing it." He replied shortly.

"You're fixing a textbook?"

Severus nodded in confirmation. "Making it better... I've carried out several experiments from this textbook, and found ways to make it more useful."

Regulus and Scarlet shared a look and snickered. "Nerd."

"Reg, you're a nerd too." Narcissa made an appearance, making a huffing sound before sitting down next to Scarlet.

"What has got you so grumpy?" The girl wondered.

Narcissa pursed her lips before blurting out. "It's Lucius... he's so, so distracting, it's awful!"

Scarlet and Regulus continued to snicker in the background.

"This is not funny..." Narcissa sighed. "And now I'm hearing my mother was planning on betrothing him to Bella a year ago, can you imagine?"

Scarlet faked a loud gasp, mockingly placing her palm on her chest. "Well, you've got to fight for him, Cissa!"

"I bet you can win, go to Auntie and scream, 'he's mine'!" Regulus chimes in, sharing a snicker with the blonde girl.

"Not you two, too!" Narcissa remained unimpressed. "Lucius refuses to stop teasing me about it... it's daunting."

"He always acts like an idiot," Scarlet reminded. "I fear it's his own way of flirting."

"Terrible flirting skill runs in the blood, then?" Regulus teased the blonde.

"Shut up, Reg."

"Have you noticed how Remus Lupin acts all strange once a month?" Severus wondered aloud all of a sudden, changing the topic. "Becomes more irritated about everything, gets more... aggressive."

Regulus looked up from his book. "So does Scarlet, it's nothing to worry about." Scarlet used his book to smack it over his arm, earning a grunt from the younger boy.

Suddenly, a rustling could be heard from above and the Slytherin students darted their heads up to the tree, Regulus let out a high-pitched shriek when a figure fell to the ground from the tree.

"What the f—?"

"What in Merlin's beard?" Regulus gasped, a hand on his heart.

The figure revealed itself to be Everest who was still laughing with a basket of flowers in her hands. "Did anyone ever tell you, you scream like a girl?"

Scarlet snorted and Narcissa shot her an odd look at the unlikely noise from the girl.

"I do not." Regulus crossed his arms over his chest. "What were you doing up there?"

"Collecting flowers," Everest leaned against the tree, continuing to make what seemed like a flower crown. "You want one, Reggie?"

Regulus was still grumpy as Scarlet moved closer to the girl. "Those are beautiful." Everest went on and put one of the crowns over Regulus, and once he saw the large smile on the girl's face, he couldn't find the heart to take it off.

      AFTER THE TIME THEY HAD SPENT TOGETHER AND evening approached, the five of them made their way back in. Severus and Everest excused themselves to go to the library whilst Narcissa went to attend a prefect meeting. That left Scarlet with a book in her hand in the Slytherin common room.

Within the silence, the door to the room busts open.

"What's going on?" Scarlet asked, confused as Regulus walked towards her with two first-year children holding onto either of his hands. The vision made her smirk lightly.

"My brother has been bothering first-year Slytherins, calling them bad names."

"Such a lunatic, he is," Scarlet scoffed. "They're just kids— stop crying, what is the matter with you?" She snapped at the two kids, making them frown even more.

Regulus' eyes widened greatly. "How comforting, Scarlet."

"Look, I don't associate with bad people, therefore there's nothing wrong with you, understand?" The girl spoke to the younger boy and girl.

The girl was rubbing her eyes, her curly hair falling into her face. "But they said Slytherins are bad."

"Well, they are all idiots." She leaned her back against the couch again, going back to reading her book. Regulus sighed tiredly, sitting next to the girl and looking at the younger children.

"You see her?" He points at the blonde. "She's a Bridget, one of the greatest families of wizards of all time and they were all Slytherins... every single one of them."

The boy's eyes perked up as he looked at the blonde. "Are you a good witch too?"

"She's remarkable." Regulus smiled. "And being sorted into a specific house doesn't determine your future, that's completely up to you."

The two little kids nodded understandingly, ushered away to their dorm rooms soon after his words.

Regulus tiredly slumped over his seat, looking at Scarlet who mindlessly stared at her book before feeling his gaze on her.

"You're good with kids." Scarlet concluded.

"Why is that surprising?" He frowned, taking off the flower crown from his own head and placing it on the girl's hair.

Scarlet grinned to herself. "Are you really asking that?"

Instead of being offended, Regulus laughed loudly, throwing his head back. "Don't you have detention to attend?"

The girl's jaw dropped. "Oh Merlin, I almost forgot!" She quickly grabbed her coat, moving to ruffle Regulus' hair. "See you later, kid."

"I'm only a year younger!"

      SCARLET DID NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE SLYTHERIN FIRST YEARS. Yet, after Professor Slughorn had put Sirius and Scarlet on duty in the library—to re-stock the shelves correctly, the first thing she did was slam Sirius against one of the bookshelves, jabbing her index against his chest.

"Woah, Blondie," he chuckled, looking down at her furious expression. "A little too eager now, are we?"

Her face formed a snarl. "If I see you mess with the kids from my house again, I'll make sure it's the last thing you do."

"You're speaking as though they're your kids." He scoffed.

Scarlet let go of him with a shove, fury burning in her chest. "Unbelievable."

"We were just having fun!" The boy said, pushing himself off the shelf. "It was completely harmless."

"Really?" The girl squinted her eyes, picking up some of the books and starting to organise them. "You really think words don't hurt people, especially kids?"

Sirius took a seat on one of the tables, not planning on working so soon. "Since when do you care?" He laughed under his breath. "Little Miss Slytherin's Golden Girl who doesn't really give a crap about other's feelings?"

"Stop with your nonsense," the girl turned around and crossed her arms over her chest at his tone. "And since when did you bother to know so much about me?" asked Scarlet, sarcastically.

"There's nothing to figure out," he deadpanned. "I grew up with people like you... with the whole 'I'm better than everybody else' facade."

"It's not a facade," said Scarlet, bluntly.

"You do realise being pureblood and a Bridget and a Malfoy even, doesn't make you superior."

"And you realise targeting kids based on the house they were put in—something they had no control over doesn't make you cool and funny."

Sirius laughed. Scarlet glared at him and he instantly shut up. "Wait, you're being serious?"

The girl scoffed, throwing down the book she had in her hand. "I'm getting out of here."

"You can't, Professor Sluggy locked the doors." Sirius jumped off the table, picking up a pile of books in his hand.

Scarlet let out an exasperated breath of annoyance. "What was my mother thinking putting me in this hellhole?" She wondered rhetorically.

For the next half an hour, whilst Sirius spent his time actually doing his work, Scarlet spent her time trying to find a way out. She grunted against the lock of the door, trying to pick it up with her hairclip, break it down with her wand, and try to escape through the window only to be thrown back due to the magical ward at it. She was exhausted.

"Tired, sweetheart?" He grinned, placing the last book on the shelf and clapping his hands off to get rid of the dust. "You can't get out unless you complete your tasks."

"You'd know all about it, being in detention every other day, right, Black?" She scoffed, turning around. "I should've just organised the damn books." She mumbled under her breath, not exactly wanting her tone to be audible.

"Your first detention?" He teased mockingly. "Serves you right for attacking me."

"It's not my fault you were being such an arse." She threw her hands up in frustration.

"We weren't targeting you!" Sirius snapped. "Why else would I push you away?"

"I don't know, a last-minute realisation that it's a horrible idea, perhaps?"

Sirius scoffed. "James and I were targeting Snivellus, for your information."

"As if that makes it any better," she crossed her arms. "He hasn't done anything to you and your little rats."

"Why are you defending that loser?" He questioned.

"He's my friend and I'm sick of having the same conversation with you." She snapped back, taking a step forward.

"Why would you be friends with—wait, are you two shagging, is that why you're so mad?"

Scarlet's jaw fell open at the accusation. "Not everybody needs to shag someone to gain approval, but what would you know about that?"

Sirius' cheeks warmed in intense anger. "You're awful, thank Merlin I stopped speaking to you."

"You're the one who started the entire thing!" She yelled back suddenly, "What is your problem? Why are you always against me?"

"Because you—" Sirius cut himself off, almost slipping. He almost deluged into how crestfallen he had been after that night and that kiss. How it was an activation of him being a player as she suggested, how it was the mere reason he couldn't stand her. But he didn't, he stopped himself with a loud inhale. "You're intolerable, you know that,"

"I'm perfectly aware, thank you."

"You're welcome," he scoffed. "I re-stocked your pile as well so you're not here all night long, you're welcome for that too."

With a roll of his eyes, he pointed at the empty table where Scarlet's books were piled initially. After saying that, he pushed past her, knocking his shoulder with hers and walking towards the doors.

"Wait, Black—" She stopped him with her arm hesitantly, feeling as though she had something to say, at least a short thank you. Her mother didn't raise her to be mannerless.

"What? Oh, you want to pay me back, perhaps with five galleons worth of green tea." He turned around to see a series of pink blushes rising to Scarlet's cheeks in guilt. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the shelf.

It seemed to be a wrong move.

"Woah, woah, no!" Scarlet reached for him quickly as the shelf started to wobble, losing its balance and starting to fall backward. Sirius let out a cry for help, holding onto the hand Scarlet had just leaned.

Much to their lack of luck, Scarlet felt his tug to be a bit too strong and not being able to keep him standing as he fell with the bookshelf, she leaped forward, falling roughly onto his chest as two of the end-row shelves fell to the ground with a loud thud, like dominos. 

      Sirius groaned in pain, throwing his head back. Scarlet found her face practically buried in the crook of his neck, her hair scattered over his structured face. When she pulled his face away and locked eyes with Sirius whose jaw clenched at the event, she let out a pile of laughs.

     She couldn't help it. It was possibly the worst night since she came to Hogwarts and it had just gotten worse. Her professors were going to freak, and despite the momentum of the situation, she burst out into a peal of laughter.

      Sirius lay dumbfounded at her behaviour until he chuckled too. The breath of chuckle turned to laughter similar to hers as he threw his head back again.

"Why are you laughing?" Scarlet asked, still laughing and out of breath. She didn't move an inch.

Sirius locked eyes with her. "Because you're laughing, it—it's contagious!" He laughed again as soon as Scarlet wheezed at his response. Sirius felt the wind being knocked out of his lungs as he stared straight ahead.

All of a sudden, memories from that summer came flooding back to him. The last time her face was this close to hers, the last he felt her minty breath on his face, falling as light as a feather. His eyes glistened, lips parting as the two of them quieted down.

"What is going on—?" A feminine gasp sounded. "Oh, Merlin! Help me!" Professor McGonagall defeatedly exhaled just as Scarlet practically threw herself off Sirius' body. standing up and shoving off the dust from her coat. She didn't spare Sirius another glance, not even offering to help.

"Professor—"

"That is the most inappropriate behaviour, Miss Bridget!" She was absolutely shocked, her jaw-dropping. "Mr Black, what are you doing?"

The two watched as he tried to get up from the top of the fallen shelves, struggling. "Professor, this isn't—we did our work!"

"I expect this behaviour from him, not you, Miss Bridget." The woman scolded.

"It was an accident!"

"Off to bed, the two of you," she scoffed, absolutely done with the two students. "Outrageous!" Her voice echoed through the empty corridor.

Scarlet was utterly humiliated. And her heart was beating at a thousand beats per minute at the aforementioned events. She managed to outrun Sirius, not wanting to face him again.

Panting, she burst through the Slytherin common room, and Regulus was sat in the same place she left him. "It's been hours, where were you?" He asked with sleepy eyes.

"With your brother, in the library," she said, pushing away a small lock of sweaty hair stuck to her forehead.

Regulus turned around and took in her appearance, his face grimacing quickly. "Gross."

"Not like that, Reg, don't be an idiot!" She scoffed angrily, he threw his hands up in the air in defense, not wanting to anger the girl even more. However, one thing certainly was clear, you could say the ice was thawing between a friendship that went for the eye of the storm a year ago. 

𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑨 𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑺

was that an improvement?
u could say it was =)