School soon started again, marking the last several months at Hogwarts for the seventh-years. Most are feeling emotional, knowing that soon enough years of being together for nearly everyday will be gone. It saddened Junia too, though she was too anxious to feel as much about that than the arrangement that awaits her after graduation.
She looked over to Sirius, who had been quiet since he got there. The sessions were back on, with Sirius ending up fulfilling the requirement much sooner than Junia expected. He had revealed their arrangement to Marlene through a letter, which explains why Marlene hadn't spoken to Junia at all since her return. Junia knew Marlene needed space so she didn't bother to reach out to her yet. Perhaps after a month or two Marlene will be less emotional. She wondered if she had told Lily about it. Or perhaps even the boys.
Though it seems unlikely that she did. With the boys and Lily still including Junia in almost everything when it's possible.
"Who else knows?" Junia decided to ask.
Sirius looked to her, "James. He knew from the very beginning."
"Oh," was all Junia could say.
"And Marlene hadn't spoken to any of you?" Junia asked again, concern audible in her voice. Marlene usually tells her about her problems, but Junia knew she couldn't when the problem has Junia in it.
Sirius bit the inside of his cheeks, and shook his head. "She's been very distant from us, except for Lily of course."
Junnia didn't ask any further questions and went back to her studies until the one hour was up. Ever since the confrontation, and the accident that happened back in Christmas, Junia and Sirius began to grow apart again. It was back to square one when the arrangements all started.
After the session, Junia quickly went to find Lily, who was so conveniently sitting in the entrance area of the library.
"Lily," Junia called as she approached her. "Hi."
"Hey, how long have you been here?" Lily asked moving her bag away to give a seat for Junia.
"About an hour," Junia said and just then Sirius passed them. Lily turned to him then back to Junia back and forth.
"So you know," Junia said, looking at the uneasy expression on Lily's face. "You must think I'm a horrible person."
"No, no!" Lily denied it quickly. "Maybe a little because you didn't tell Marlene, but I know you had no choice other than to agree to the arrangements. And I totally get why you couldn't tell her. If it's anyone to blame it should be Sirius. He always leads people on and gets them hurt."
Junia looked down. Somehow she sensed that he was not just leading her on. He was also leading himself on to believe that he could be with someone other than Junia. She remembered the guilty, sad look in his eyes when they discussed the matter. He must've really liked Marlene. Who wouldn't? "But he does care about Marlene."
"If he does he wouldn't have made her go through all that rollercoaster of emotions just to tell her that he has to marry someone else," Lily sighed. "But..."
"You can't help but know that he cares," Junia completed her sentence, trying to ignore the fact that the 'someone else' is herself.
Lilu nodded in defeat, "They're both my friends. And as much as I hate to admit it, I think Marlene brings out the other side of Sirius. One that is not as bad as he seems to be."
Junia looked at Lily and smiled softly, "You've got a really kind soul, you know that?"
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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...
