B/A/N- Here’s the next chapter.  There are two songs I used in it…Rinse, the first one, is kinda the topic song I suppose. And I just happened to weave in Paradise throughout the story. 

Okay, well on with the story-

“She'd do anything to sparkle in his eye
she would suffer, she would fight, and compromise
she's been wishin' on the stars that shine so bright
for answers to the questions that will haunt her tonight
she must rinse this all away
she can't hold him this way
she must rinse this all away
she can't love him this way
how she'd be soothed, how she'd be saved if he could see
she needs to be held in his arms to be free
but everything happens for reasons that she will never understand
'til she knows the heart of a woman will never be found in the arms of a man
she must rinse this all away
she can't hold him this way
she must rinse this all away
she can't love him this way
and if she runs away she fears she won't be followed
what could be the worse than leaving something behind
and as the depth of oceans slowly become shallow
it's loneliness she finds...
if only he was mine
she'd do anything to sparkle in his eye
she would suffer, she would fight, and compromise
she's been wishin' on the stars that shine so bright
for answers to the questions that will haunt her tonight
she must rinse him
she must rinse him
she can't rinse him
she can't rinse him
she can't, she won't, she must rinse him
she can't, she won't, she must rinse him
she must rinse this all away
she can't hold him this way
she must rinse this all away
she can't love him this way…”

(“Rinse”-Vanessa Carlton)

Chappie 43: Spanish Threats

 

Once upon a year gone by
she saw herself give in
every time she closed her eyes
she saw what could have been…

“Have you heard of her?  She’s all the school’s talking about,” Lily whispered to Avia and Emia at lunch.  It was a day after Emia and Sirius’ little intrigue at the Astronomy Tower, and neither had had the nerve to mention it.  Emia wasn’t sure if she was really, truly, ready for commitment.  She desperately wanted to be, though.  And Sirius had been so superb for the last couple months, caring, patient, even getting her a flying motorcycle.  Honestly, Sirius had been nothing but excellent.

Emia should have known it was too good to last.

“Who?” Emia whispered back sharply at the table.

“Why are we whispering?” Avia chimed in in a normal speaking voice from her spot. Emia then noticed that none of the Marauders were present in their usual spots (next to Lily, Avia and Emia), so there was really no purpose for their whispering.

“Oh, uh, no reason.  But who are we talking about? Who is everybody talking about? What’s so special about her?” Emia asked.

Lily smirked, “Well, word is that this Spanish exchange student got Sirius’ eye already, and she’s only been here for two hours.” (B/A/N-Remember, Emia stubbornly would not admit her feelings for Sirius, so Lily thinks that she’s acting correctly by telling Emia the truth.)

“WHAT?!” Emia screeched, pushing back her seat from the table, grabbing her bag, and sprinting out of the hall.

“She’s got it bad,” Avia observed while crunching on an apple.

Lily nodded and added, “I really hope this Spanish threat isn’t as much of a seductress as she’s made out to be.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The curly raven hair swished behind the perfectly sculpted sixteen-year-old, seeming to dance with her graceful movements.  Excited whispers exited the mouths of all the males she passed as she continued down the Charms corridor.  She hadn’t actually gotten her schedule yet, her guide kept “forgetting” to show her to Professor Dumbledore’s office.

Ah, yes, she remembered her arrival vividly. 

She had just stepped out of the carriage, and looked frantically around for a kind person to guide her around this huge castle.  The first boy she saw she smiled at and he had smiled a rather roguish smile in return.  The girl decided this boy would have to do, and allowed her to be guided around by him.  She had a sneaking suspicion he knew exactly where the Headmaster’s office was, but he was just stalling for time with her.  It was flattering, but she had things to do, so she smiled a gorgeous smile of ruby-red lips and sparkling white teeth, and asked, “Amor, I…need… to….t-talk…with…your…h-headmaster.”

The boy decided he had stalled for long enough, and answered, “Okay, sure…I guess. This way.” 

He took her by the hand and led her to the Headmaster’s office.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Ah… Senorita Tigre, we have been expecting you…for quite some time,” Professor Dumbledore said with a gleam in his eye, inviting Miss Tigre and her guide to take seats.

“I trust you had no difficulty finding the school, my dear,” the professor continued.

“N-no, no difficulty f-finding the s-school…” she said in an unsure voice, with a rather heavy Spanish accent.

The professor gave her a sympathetic smile.  Even he had difficulty finding a way about the school, and he’d been here for ages! Miss Tigre definitely needed some sort of guide around here so she wouldn’t get lost.

“Well, my dear,” the professor continued, “I’m afraid we’ll have to do your sorting here in the office, because we don’t have enough time nowadays to stop the feasts and such.  It’ll be very quick, let me get the hat.”

Professor Dumbledore arose from his desk and grabbed a ratty old hat off of a shelf.  “There we are. Now you just put this on, my dear, yes, there you go…”

Senorita Tigre carefully put on the hat, and heard a voice say in her ear, “Hmm…a seductress, I see.  Out for whatever you want, my, that’s interesting.  Certainly ambitious of you, yet not necessarily evil…I can tell you believe in true love, and no one is evil that can believe in such an idea. You’re somewhat diligent, if you’re motivated properly…but all of your motivation comes from the wrong places.  So I wouldn’t call that the most intelligent choice on your part, I’m afraid.  Well, looks like I’ve got but one choice…GRYFFINDOR!!!”

Senorita Tigre took off the hat, looking considerably shaken up by the fact that a random hat was speaking to her.

“Well, it looks like the Gryffindor 6th Year Dorm just got a new roommate,” smiled Professor Dumbledore. “Senorita Lasombra Tigre.  Oh, and Mr. Black, you wouldn’t mind showing Lasombra around, now would you?”

Sirius’ grin was enough to affirmatively answer that question.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

But Emia will hate me… but we’re not married or anything, I’m just being hospitable to the new girl! You’re not being hospitable, you twit, and you’re hanging all over her! Am not! Are too! Am not! Are too!  Well, you get the idea.  This was what was going through Sirius Black’s mind as he escorted Miss Tigre down the halls of Hogwarts, scared to death he might run into Emia in the process.

If he even saw any girl about her height with her haircolor, he ducked behind a suit of armor.  Honestly, I can’t run from her forever, we’re in the same House! She’s going to find out I’m

 

Lasombra’s guide at one point or another! I’d just rather she found out from me so she won’t blow all this out of proportion!

 

Sirius didn’t have much more time to think on that thought because suddenly someone slapped his head from behind.  “Ow…wha-who?” Sirius asked, rather ineloquently.

 

“Oh, so now you can’t even drag yourself down from your little love-fest with the Spanish twit over there to talk to me! That’s just wonderful…you can forget everything that happened last night!”

Well nothing hurts and nothing bleeds
when covers tucked in tight
funny when the bottom drops
how she forgets to fight... to fight…

Sirius was a little out of it, but upon hearing you can forget everything that happened last night, he knew this must be Emia.  Well, it had to be her anyway, but only she would mention last night…or slap him over the head in the middle of the hall.

“Emia, no! Wait! I didn’t mean to ignore you!! Really!” Sirius protested as he watched the petite blonde stalk off down the hall angrily.

A delicate finger traced his chin, and pulled his attention back to the Spanish seductress on his left. 

“W-who w-was t-that?” she asked, as always having a bit of difficulty with the language.

Sirius angrily looked down the hall after Emia, who was already gone.  “Nobody important.  Shall we?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Emia, honey, he wasn’t worth it in the first place,” Avia said soothingly while running a hand in calming circles on her sister’s back.  Emia had come back to the Gryffindor 5th Year girl’s dorm after afternoon classes, and just collapsed on her bed, bawling.  It was now after dinner (which Emia skipped), and all three girls were in there together.  Avia and Lily knew that Emia had it bad for Sirius, but they didn’t know he would (or could) be this big of an ass to someone, especially someone he said he liked.

“He really wasn’t,” Lily added in a comforting tone.

“But yes he was!” she yelled through tears into her pillow. 

And it's one more day in paradise
one more day in paradise
as darkness quickly steals the light
that shined within her eyes
she slowly swallows all her fear
and soothes her mind with lies

“Why, Emie! What made Sirius so damn special?!” Avia asked, losing all her patience.

“You don’t know what he’s done for me! He got me a flying motorcycle for chrissakes, he’s really very sweet! He’s just so desperate to keep up a good image that he refuses to show it!” Emia retorted, angry as well.

Lily, always the peacemaker, stepped in and said, “I’m sure Sirius has been sweet, Emie, and maybe this Spanish girl is just all a misunderstanding.”

Avia snorted.

Lily looked at Avia with frustration, and admitted, “And then, maybe it’s not all a misunderstanding.  Maybe he wanted to be with her.”

Emia snorted.

“We’re really not getting any nearer to solving this mystery,” Lily said simply.  “Maybe we should just go find Sirius, lose the little Spanish girl, and ask him a few things.”

Well all she wants and all she needs
are reasons to survive
a day in which the sun will take
her artificial light... her light…
and it's one more day in paradise
one more day in paradise
it's one more day in paradise
one last chance to feel alright... alright

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Whoa! What the- what’s going on?!”

Sirius was being dragged down the hallway by- air.  Lasombra looked curiously at him as he was being pulled down the hall by nothing.  She shrugged, and looked for someone else to guide her around for awhile.  Her gaze landed on a rather pudgy blonde.  Eew…well, I suppose…this boy looks like he needs a little pity.  Lasombra walked over to Peter, asking him to be her guide for awhile.

Sirius, meanwhile, was being thrown into the empty History of Magic classroom by, once again, air.  It had finally occurred to him that James owned an invisibility cloak, and would gladly lend it to Lily, so this could be a rather uncomfortable run-in with his ex and her two best friends.

“Okay, show yourselves, honestly,” Sirius groaned as he sat down in one of the desks.

“Fine,” Emia said icily, and she took the cloak off of, sure enough, Lily, Avia, and herself.

Don’t pretend to hold it in just let it out
don't pretend to hold it in just push it out
don't you try to hold it in just let it out and
don't you try to hold it in you hold it in…

“Okay.  What do you girls think you’re doing, throwing me into a classroom like that?  You’re giving Lasombra a bad impression of our school!” Sirius said, trying to maintain his haughty attitude.

“Oh, so that’s the Spanish whore’s name?  Lasombra?  Strangely enough, it fits.  But “Spanish whore” has such a better ring to it,” Emia said menacingly.

“What? Why are you starting on her now?” Sirius asked, honestly clueless.

“So you think you can just kiss me last night, and go to some Spanish whore today?  What’s the deal with that? I really don’t want to be screwed around with by an egotistical prat such as yourself!” Emia screamed at the top of her lungs. 

Avia and Lily backed away from their hysterical friend a bit. 

“Okay, if any decent questioning is going to get done,” Lily said sensibly, “it has to be done impartially.  Not by Emia emotionally screaming in Sirius’ face.”

Lily had Avia take a very disgruntled Emia outside the door and she sat down across from Sirius.

“Siri, what are you going to do?  Look at the mess you’ve gotten yourself into!  She really likes you, you know.” Lily said quietly.

“Yeah, of course I know.  I’m crazy about her.  But then with this whole thing with Lasombra…I knew that no matter what I said to her, she wouldn’t believe me.  Or even listen to me, for that matter,” Sirius mumbled.

And it's one more day in paradise
one more day in paradise
it's one more day in paradise
one last chance to feel alright... alright…

“Well, Siri, I know sometimes it’s difficult to tell people the truth, but you have to keep trying.”

“But what’s the point? She won’t listen.”

“The point is that you need to know yourself that you’re free of blame.  If you don’t defend yourself, and let lies spring up around you, like this blown-out-of-proportion Spanish seductress, those lies become reality.”

Sirius looked to the ground while she spoke, like some little five-year-old guilty of trekking mud in a clean house.

“I think I’ve heard all I need to,” Lily said simply, and went out to get Emia.

“So what did he have to say?” Emia asked sharply, jutting her head in Sirius’ direction.  (he wasn’t outside, he was in the room with them)

“That this Spanish girl was nothing, he was merely asked to show her around by Dumbledore.” Lily answered evenly.

“I don’t know if I can believe him, though.”

“Please, Emie…you know I wanted to be with you…” Sirius whined, looking into Emia’s caramel eyes.

“I don’t know what to believe, Sirius.  I just need some time to think.”

Once upon a year gone by
she saw herself give in

every time she closed her eyes
she saw what could have been…”

(“Paradise”-Vanessa Carlton)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

B/A/N- Thanks for all your awesome support, and I hope you guys liked this chapter, it took me forever to think of the proper songs (which I hope fit in properly).  Review!!!




 
 
 

 

 

           

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