Junia stopped by the mirror, thinking about the invitation to the Christmas Eve party the Gryffindors are hosting tonight. Perhaps she should go instead of staying in her 'sad little room'. She walked up to her wardrobe, going through her dresses. There were only a few, and most of them were black. She took out the only green one. Green should match, since it's Christmas. It was also the least formal-looking one. It was a V-neck dress which fit her like a glove. Not too short, not too long.
Junia did her hair up into a high ponytail, only letting her bangs fall, framing her face. She puts on her usual perfume before slipping into her ballet pumps. She knew she could do better but the options are limited and she is already late. After taking one more look of herself in the mirror, she grabbed her coat before leaving her room.
A third-year student greeted her in front of the Portrait of the Fat Lady. "Here for the party?" he asked unenthusiastically.
"Yes," Junia smiled awkwardly.
"House and year please," the young boy asked.
"Ravenclaw. 7th year," Junia said.
He didn't respond and only turned to the Fat Lady to mutter a word, "In you go."
Junia walked in through the portrait hole to find herself in a room of people dancing and laughing already, enjoying their time.
"Junia!" James spotted her. "I heard you were coming. Please let me take your coat." He took her coat off her shoulders and hung it on the coat hanger nearby. "It's a bit squeezy in here, but you know— the more the merrier."
"Right," Junia nodded. "You've got any drinks?"
"Yep. Dragon Vodka," he said, smiling.
"Something lighter?" Junia asked.
"We've got Firewhiskey," James told her.
"And where can I find it?" she asked without thinking any further as she looked around.
"Sirius is keeping the bottles. Don't want people to finish it too quickly. We've only got two of them. He's right..." James searched for Sirius. "There." He pointed at the corner near the staircase that most likely leads to the dorm.
"Thanks, James."
Junia made her way to Sirius, avoiding contact with all the people dancing in the room. It had been a while since her last party, so she felt rather anxious. She came to an abrupt stop when she saw Sirius. He was unlike him at that moment.
Junia didn't know a change of expression could make someone so unrecognisable, not that she knew Sirius very well anyway. But he really looked different. He didn't have that unbothered expression and sly smile on his face. And his lively gaze was lost somewhere in his mind. At least that's what Junia could assume.
His facade of being a care-free, problemless, always alright student was gone for a fleeting moment when no one else was looking. No one except for her. Junia almost felt like she was invading his privacy. She had known better all along than to believe that Sirius was anything like that, but seeing him like this caught her off-guard. It sent an almost sad feeling into her bones.
Perhaps it was the first time Junia actually saw him. The Sirius Black that he himself had been hiding.
It was as if he had sensed her, Sirius caught Junia's gaze. She watched as his mask came back on in just a second. "Junia! You came," he said as he made room beside where he was sitting. He watched her for a moment, noticing how the green colour of her dress brings out her eyes. After years of hating the colour of the walls in his own house, he never thought green could look so good.
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My Breath || S. B.
FanfictionWhen Junia Crawford heard about the arrangements her parents had made with the Blacks, she was anything but pleased. And so was the oldest brother of the Black family, Sirius Black. With the war coming up, the pureblood families are more than certai...
