A New Day ((Zara))

[sirius black]

Sirius walked down the Hogsmead village path to HoneyDukes, his hands in his pockets, whistling to himself cheerfully. He was alone this trip, not accompanied by his pals as usual; It was the first day of the full moon, and Peter and James were keeping Remus company. He would rather be with them in Animagus form, he actually had been until Remus had asked him to go gather him some sweets since he couldn't go himself, and Sirius had reluctantly agreed, knowing his friend could do without him for the time being.

The leaves crunched under his feet as he walked, and he smiled as he the colorful candy shop came into view. Even after all his trips to the magical little village Sirius still found it fascinating. He entered the store and the wind that had been whistling in his ears gave way to light, happy chatter. He loosened his red and gold scarf now that the wind was no longer biting at him, and searched the shelves, picking out bags of candy, enough for four. Every flavor jelly beans, chocolate frogs, gummy wands, sugar quills...

Sirius was at the counter paying for his large inventory of sweets, smiling his boyish grin when the cute cashier teased him about the amount of candy he was buying and assuring her that it wasn't all for him, when he heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned, grinning at Zara as she skipped toward him, her long hair bouncing "Hey Zara!"

[Zara Girard]

On the day of the Hogsmeade trip, Zara woke up in an unusually good mood. She despised waking up any earlier than ten in the morning on weekends, but on the days that the school allowed the students to go to the quaint village nearby, Zara made an exception. She absolutely loved going there. The shops, the colourful streets, and warmth of friendly shop-keepers, it was extremely lovely.

And so she walked to the village all alone, because her dorm mates were still asleep. There were days when even Hogsmeade trips couldn't wake them up, and Zara couldn't blame them. With the increasing amount of assignments given to them, it is a wonder anyone was leaving their dorms at all. She a sigh and a small shake of her head to push away thoughts about assignments, Zara continued on to the village.

Upon reaching it, the first place she stepped into, was of course, Honeydukes. She had to buy more candies to stash away under her bed as usual. She could never survive without her chocolates. It was the only source of energy when she had to burn midnight oil. But just as she was about to pay for her candies, she suddenly remembered the promise she had given to Sirius. She had told him that she'd get him sweets or Zonko's....

And speak of the devil. She turned around to head to the cashier, and she caught the unmistakable black hair and sharp eyes of the handsome Sirius Black. She grinned and skipped over to him. "Sirius!" she greeted him, her eyes going towards the whole bunch of candies he had purchased. "I doubt you are going to eat all of that, but if you are...how am I supposed to treat you to the candies I had promised you a few days ago?" she asked him, laughing. "A promise is a promise, and I'm a woman of my words," she winked. "So it's your choice now - Honeydukes, or Zonko?" she asked him with a smile as she paid for her own candies.

[sirius black]

Sirius grinned as she joked about his candy, "Oh, no, It's for James, Peter, and Remus as well" he replied, laughing, hoping she didn't find their absence suspicious "But seeing as we both are up to out necks in HoneyDukes treats, I'll chose Zonko's" he added, grateful and amused to see that she had been serious about her offer.

As they walked out of HoneyDukes side by side the wind hit them again and Sirius grinned as it whipped Zara's long brown hair into her face, "I think I'll treat you to Zonko's as well," he said, genuinely, smiling, " After all, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow after that essay!" He added, laughing. He was already feeling his lack of sleep since then wearing on him, but at least he had gotten a few more hours than he would have.

Zonkos Joke Shop was even more impressive than HoneyDukes, and the energy level was buzzing; Small Children raced around wielding dung bombs and nose biting teacups, laughing and squealing with delight, and the students who were up at this hour, mostly third years, were buzzing with excitement. He grinned at Zara, imagining all the pranks he and James would pull after this trip! He snickered when he remembered giving professor Slughorn Hiccough Sweets earlier in the year and watching him trying to give instructions on a Wide Eye Awakening Potion through a fit of hiccoughing.

[Zara Girard]

Zara nodded her head when he told her about buying the candies for the rest of his friends too, and that was when she realised that his friends who were usually with him, weren't there. "Speaking of them, where are they? It's hard to see Sirius Black alone without his companions," she teased him, before nodding her head excitedly when he mentioned Zonko's. It has been long since she had stepped into that shop.

Walking beside him, Zara smiled as the breeze messed her dark curls, causing them to whip at her face. "My hair is just to awesome to stay still," she joked as she tried to keep her hair still and tamed. Upon entering the shop, Zara's grin widened. "Merlin, it's been long since I came here. And I have to say, it seems like as if the store has expanded!" she said as she looked around in interest.

"You want to treat me too, huh? Great, so now we can just by double of everything. One half goes to me, the other to you," she smirked. "And then I can have my fair share of playing pranks on people...I'm loving this already," she laughed. She was not usually someone who played pranks on people, but she occasionally does make exceptions. Life gets pretty boring without a good laugh.

[sirius black]

Sirius nodded, when she said the store had expanded, business at Zonko's was booming indeed, and he was glad to see lots of clever new merchandise being advertised around the store. "Oh yes! I'm going to cause a record amount of mayhem this year!" he agreed, grinning, "Remember when we slipped Slughorn those Hiccough Sweets last semester? Priceless." He added, laughing.

Sirius began gathering things off of the shelves, grinning as he came across a new edition of frog spawn soap, "Gross" he said, adding some to his collection of goods. He approached Zara with a nose biting tea cup, holding it out to her, "Fancy a spot of tea my good lady?" he asked, laughing, "Perfect for the 'Slug Club'" Sirius continued searching the shelves, hoping to find a prank worth the wrath of Professor Mconagall, and perhaps something special for Snivellus.

After he was satisfied with his lot he headed to the front counter with Zara to go over their picks. "Okay, I have Frog Spawn Soap, Sugar quills, Dung bombs, Nose Biting Tea Cups- Basically two of everything in the store!" he told her, laughing and running his fingers through his black hair. Sirius' pockets were still heavy with money, he had gathered a good amount from his inheritance just for this trip, and he looked over at Zara, smiling, as he set his purchases on the counter next to hers, "I'll pay for the lot" he told the cashier genuinely, hoping Zara would allow him to.

[Zara Girard]

Zara nodded her head enthusiastically when he mentioned Professor Slughorn's hiccup session, and giggled at the memory of it. "Oh yes, vividly! It had been one of the days I hadn't wanted to kill myself in boredom," she told him truthfully. Her Potions was never as bad as Transfiguration, but she never failed to get bored on a daily basis with any lesson.

She watched in amusement as Sirius excitedly grabbed a few tricks, and laughed when he thrust a teapot in front of her. "Why, no thank you, Mister," she playfully pushed his arm away. She looked around the shop in awe, watching Sitius choose his items. He was the master prankster here, he'd know what to get.

Once they were at the cashier, Zara was just taking her money out of her pocket, when she heard Sirius wanting to pay himself, and shook her head. "Oh no, I'll pay for half of it, Sirius! A promise is a promise," she said, holding his firearm as she took out the money.

[sirius black]

Sirius grinned at Zara as she refused his offer. He thought about insisting, but he knew it was useless; She obviously wanted to keep her promise, and he would let her. "Well, If you insist!" he said , handing his half to the cashier and nudging Zara playfully. All thoughts of his friends were far from his mind as she smiled back at him.

Sirius held the door for Zara on the way out, bowing playfully, and followed her back out onto the cobblestone street. The sun had began to shine bright and warm, and paired with the cool breeze, the day was looking to be promising, and it would be a travesty to spend it in the common room. "So, where to next?" he asked, grinning, excited to spend the day with her, laughing and joking pleasantly and effortlessly as it always was with her .

[Zara Girard]

Zara smirked when he let her pay. So Sirius did know she was pretty famous for her stubborness. She'd have probabky screamed the shop down if he hadn't let her pay half of the price. She hated going back on a promise made to a friend. When he nudged her, she merely giggled before nudging him back.

As they stepped out of the shop and Sirius bowed at the door playfully, Zara grinned and did a curtsy in reply. "Why, thank you, Mister," she said in the most cordial voice possible, before laughing as she dragged him out. The weather couldn't have been better, and she was smiling already. "Well..." she began when he asked her where to next , "I was thinking of heading to the river behind the village. You know, the one right beyond Shrieking Shack, overlooking the mountains? But if you don't want to go there, I'm fine with it," she added.

She always went there without fail everytime she came to Hogsmeade. Rivers, especially the ones as beautiful as the one at Hogsmeade, reminded her so much of her mother. Her mother often took her out to the river some distance away from her house, and they often had picnics there. Somehow, the Hogsmeade river made her feel closer to her mother than she could be anywhere. It soothed her senses.

[sirius black]

Sirius' face fell when she mentioned the shrieking shack and he suddenly remembered where he was expected to be. Remus, James, and Peter would be waiting for him to come back with treats to help Remus recover before another rough night of the cycle. What would they say when he didn't show up until hours later? He looked at Zara and tried to mask the conflict and worry that had suddenly fallen over him, replacing it with another light grin. She looked so happy, so beautiful, and he didn't want to even see an ounce of disappointment in those bright eyes. "Sure, I've never really been there before, but i know where it is. Sounds fun!" he said enthusiastically.

They walked side by side, joking and laughing, towards the Shrieking Shack and River. He tried to push his guilt away; After all, they would be just fine without him for a little while more, right? The contagious smile on Zara's face seemed to melt those worries away. Sirius looked over at the old, rickety, 'haunted' shack, wondering how Zara, not knowing any of its secrets, saw it. Sirius knew the ravaged furniture, the hideous, peeling pastel and flower wall paper, the secret dirt passage that connected to the Womping Willow; Sirius had spent to many days hiding out, eating candy and joking with his pals to help but grin at the fright on other peoples faces at the sight of it. He hadn't realized that he had stopped walking, and grinned sheepishly, beginning to keep walking towards the river.

[Zara Girard]

Zara wasn't too sure about it, but she thought she saw a flicker of...something, cross Sirius' face. She didn't know what he was feeling, but she did see that for a moment his happy demenour changed. But soon enough, he masked whatever he was feeling, and he was excited again. Zara tried telling him that it was okay if he had to go, but he was already walking, and she just followed him. She liked being with him too much to make him go back right then.

She was blabbering something about asking him to teach her how to use some of the tricks when she realised she was talking to thin air, and turned behind, only to see him staring at the Shrieking Shack, grinning to himself like a fool. She burst out laughing, and he finally snapped out of his trance and joined her. "Finally lost it, huh? Staring at an apparently haunted place and grinning to yourself. I knew you were mad all along!" she pointed an accusing finger at him in mock horror.

Zara had never really bothered to go near the Shrieking Shack. Sure, she had heard rumours about how it was haunted, and the creepy noises that came out of the run-down place once in a while, but she didn't exactly go about exploring. She didn't want to risk it - she was pretty scared of ghosts. Mean ones, to be specific, not the friendly ones at Hogwarts.

Finally reaching the river bank, Zara breathed in deeply, smiling. Ah, it literally felt like home.

[sirius black]

Sirius laughed, amused but embarrassed, as she joked about him being crazy "Oh yes! You've caught me, about time too, i lost my mind months ago!" he replied, grinning, "But no, i was just lost in thought- or perhaps i was possessed by a ghost! Oooohhhhh!" he shouted the last part jokingly and began to tickle her.

The river was a definitely a place worth visiting, and Sirius was surprised he had never been there before. It was peaceful, the only sounds to be heard were Zara's laughter and the sound of the running water, and Sirius felt more at ease than he had in a long time. He sat next to Zara on the grass, admiring the mountains and the look of contentment on his friends face.

"Do you come here a lot?" he asked, feeling as if she greeted this place like an old friend. If this place was important to her, then he wanted to be a part of it. He had never imagined he would feel this close to someone other than his 'family' of friends, but they were like brothers, with her it was different, he wasn't sure how to describe it, he just felt as though he never wanted to leave her side.

[Zara Girard]

Zara literally shrieked with laughter as she ran away from his tickles. She was extremely ticklish. "Stop that! STOP THAT!" she screamed through her laughter, and finally plopped down, panting. "Oh you. You evil dude," she gasped, shaking her head.

She hugged her knees to her chest, very comfortable in the silence, which was rare for someone like her who never shut up. The breeze blew, ruffling her already messed up hair, and her mind travelled back to the time where she had had her last picnic with her parents. It had been a beautiful day, and her mother was laughing, impressed at the way Zara was sucessfully imitating the way her father scolded her. Her mother's laughter was still ringing in her ears when she heard Sirius' voice.

"Oh, me? Yeah, whenever I visit Hogsmeade," she told him, smiling."It's..beautiful. And calm. And comforting. Reminds me a lot of my home," she shared with him, turning to look at him. "You've never been here before, have you?" she asked him curiously.

[sirius black]

Sirius smiled when she told him it reminded her of home. He envied her for having a home to miss, for he would do anything to never have to think of his again, but at least he didn't have to feel the sad longing that he heard in her voice. "No, I haven't" he replied, smiling "It's a shame really, I like it here, it is the exact opposite of my 'home', which is a really good thing". He thought back to his years in the House of Black, of the creepy artifacts, the house elf heads watching him from their mounts, and the living house elf that made him miserable. The thought of the place made him cringe, not to mention the people who lived there; He was honestly surprised he had stayed as long as he had.

He looked over at Zara, who had a thoughtful look in her dark eyes. They had talked often, but things were always blissfully light between them, and he realized how little he really knew about her. "Tell me more about you," he asked, though the question was in his tone not his words, letting her know it was an option, "I never realized how little I know about you" he added, smiling. He realized then that he genuinely wanted to know , he wanted to sit there and talk for hours and fall further for the girl beside him. The feeling was both exciting and frightening; Could it be that the unattainable Sirius Black could be falling in love?

[Zara Girard]

Zara could only nod her head when he told her that the peaceful surroundings barely reminded him of his own home. She knew Sirius never really got along well with his family, only because it was an obvious fact that the Blacks only belonged in Slytherins and associated themselves with elite pure-bloods. It was pretty obvious that Sirius was outstandingly different from them all. And she felt bad for him, sometimes. She couldn't imagine what her life would be like if her own family was so different from her, and she couldn't get along with them.

She chuckled when he asked about her, her heart doing a tiny little skip, however silly it sounded. He was a handsome bloke who Zara had always admired, but never really bothered to flirt with. She was far too busy being too friendly with everyone (and creeping them out), as usual. But the fact that he was extremely handsome had never missed her. She just didn't want to be like the rest of the girls who fell at his feet. "Me? Well...I'm unbelievably annoying when I start talking, because I rarely shut up. You should know that by now," she laughed lightly. "My Dad's an Auror, a pretty cool one at that, too. Just that he can be really busy. That's not cool," she made a face. "And then there's my..." she swallowed heavily, not being able to continue. It had been 9 years since the death of her mother, and she still couldn't bring herself to talk about her without her throat constricting. She doubted she'd ever get over her death. "Umm...that's about it. I'm an only child. It gets boring at home like that, that's why I have tons of friends over here," she grinned, putting the thought of her mother at the back of her mind for now. She can always wallow in misery back in her dorm.

"Now it's your turn, come on. I know you're the entertainer, the charmer, and a Transfiguration guru according to me, but tell me more," she laughed. It felt good talking to him like this. Really good. So good, that she was getting afraid. What if she ends up liking Sirius a little too much, only to get brutally rejected?

[sirius black]

Sirius grinned when she began to talk, saying that she was annoying, "Oh yes, I know!" he said, but it was clear in his tone that he couldn't disagree more; He loved the way Zara talked, he loved talking to her. He smiled when she talked about her dad, and wondered what it would be like to admire your father, but his grin turned to a look of comfort and concern when she began to mention someone else, cutting herself off, her eyes suddenly mournful. Her Mother? He figured it must be, considering she was an only child. What had happened to have made her look so sad? He took her warm hand in his casually, just wanting to convey that he cared, even though her tone was light again.

Sirius grinned at her her compliments, which meant more to him than they probably should, and was pleased to find that she was interested in hearing about his life. But as he gathered his thoughts, his stomach contracted with worry; What if after hearing about his dark, hateful family she wouldn't want anything to do with him? He looked up at her hesitantly, took a breath, forced a smile, and began.

"Well, as you may have noticed, I am nothing like my dear family. Prejudice pure-bloods, the lot of them." he started, grimacing, "I grew up in The "Most ancient and noble" House Of Black, surrounded by Dark Ideas, Dark magic, and my parents did their best to fill our heads with their beliefs; Luckily, unlike my cousins Narcissa and Bellatrix, and my brother Regulus, I saw right through their ways." he looked at her for a reaction, then continued.

"Well, my family quickly developed a dislike for me, and I towards them. I didn't care for them telling me how much of a disgrace I was, I would rather have that than their approval. My only comfort was my cousin Dromeda and my uncle, who left me a large inheritance in the end, and got blasted off of the family tree for it, just like any other decent member my family produced." he smiled wryly, "I ran away last year, to the Potter's, and my lovely mother blew my name away as well. No, no, it's okay, I'm surprised she didn't do it sooner!" he chuckled, "I was glad to be free of the miserable place, still am, and I'd rather not have to be within miles of it again. But you know, I'm not who my family is, I am who I chose to be..." He smiled, but worry was in his eyes as he scrutinized her expression for any sign of disapproval or disgust.