"There is no evil in sorcery. Only in the hearts of men."
- Merlin
Almost everyone in the wizard community know who the Weasley Family is; an old line of purebloods with red hair, freckles and enough children to start their own Quidditch team. But S...
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RULE 10 STUDENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO LEAVE SCHOOL GROUNDS
Hogsmeade Village somehow looked entirely different during the night. During the school's scheduled visits to the only remaining all-wizarding village in Britain, Hogsmeade always bustled with students and villagers talking to each other and moving between the shops. Seraphina definitely preferred it this way.
During the night, there was a serenity to Hogsmeade with the streets empty and the lights from the lampposts illuminated the thin layer of snow that still covered the grounds. But it did not look deserted by any means. Inside some of the cottages, the lights were turned on showing signs of life in the quiet village.
"Shouldn't the five of you be in bed by now?" Rosmerta asked, cocking a questioning eyebrow as she placed a tray with five butterbeers on the counter in front of them.
"It's Sunday and the night is young," Sirius sent a wink towards the barmaid who definitely knew that they not only were out of bed after curfew, but also that they somehow managed to leave the castle. "And we have to celebrate that this one," he wrapped his arm around Sera's waist, "won her game against Ravenclaw yesterday."
"Despite the fact that it decreases our chances of winning the Quidditch Cup," James added, taking a sip of his butterbeer.
"Oh, it's so sweet you thought that you ever stood a chance of winning," Seraphina teased, holding up her own butterbeer, clinking her glass with Remus's. If they played well in their last game against Hufflepuff, they pretty much had the cup in the bag.
For the upcoming half an hour, James and Sirius joked around, the others occasionally adding something to the conversation that made Rosmerta laugh. Seraphina, who'd been up early that morning to practise her elemental magic when everyone else was asleep, yawned behind her mouth as she chuckled at James' poor imitation of Professor Binns.
Sirius noticed her growing sleepiness and emptied drank up the last of his butterbeer, "Come on, let's go back to the castle," he whispered to her, putting Seraphina's green and grey beanie atop of her head; despite the cold weather he didn't own one himself since no rain or snow could ruin his hair more than a hat did.
"You don't have to-"
"No, but I'm going anyway," Sirius assured her. After a few quick goodbyes and a bit of reassuring the other three boys to stay as long as they wanted, the pair made their way out of the Three Broomsticks.
Sirius slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling Seraphina closer to him as the two walked back through the village, heading towards the secret passageway underneath Honeydukes cellar. "You've been awfully quiet lately," Sirius said, looking at her with a frown. "What's weighing you down?"
"I don't know," Seraphina shrugged. "I guess I'm just stressing over the fact that it's becoming very real lately that we will leave school in a few months. Do you remember the first time we arrived at Hogsmeade with the train? The ride across the Black Lake with Hagrid, the Sorting Ceremony? Back then graduation felt like an eternity away and now it's getting close."
"Everything was new and awe-inspiring back then," Sirius chuckled. "And now – it's still pretty awesome but old news."
"And soon we'll be kicked out of this old castle to face the real world," Seraphina said, kicking against a pile of snow on the ground. In her case, facing the real world included allowing Voldemort to think he was succeeding in turning her into a Death Eater, which was enough to make her truly dread graduation. She then added, "We've never really talked about your plans after school."
Sirius' carefreeness – that she'd come to associate with her boyfriend – momentarily disappeared until he managed to cover it up again. It made her wonder if Dumbledore had asked him and the others to join the Order yet. She absolutely hated keeping secrets from him, and the thought of him keeping things from her, but knew it was for the best. Especially her secrets would only put him in danger.
"I was thinking about getting a place in London," Sirius shrugged. "Uncle Alphard left me enough to be comfortable for a while. I'm not really in any rush to find a stable job that I'll be stuck with for the rest of my life – so I think that I am going to wing it for the time being."
"I bet McGonagall was possibly thrilled when you told her about your plans," Seraphina snorted, imagining the professor's scowl when hearing that one of her most brilliant students had absolutely no plans in life.
"Minnie completely supports my plans," Sirius winked. "And I'm bloody eighteen! How can they expect us to already know exactly what we want to do with our lives the moment we graduate? We can't all be Lily who has known she wants to be a Healer since Second Year, or James that knew he wanted to become Lily's husband our First Year."
Seraphina laughed at that, "James will make a splendid house-man one day."
"One day?" Sirius scoffed. "They won't wait long to tie the knot once we leave school. I bet you an entire day wearing my Gryffindor Quidditch jersey that they will get married within a year of leaving Hogwarts."
"One year?" Seraphina exclaimed in disbelief. "What's the rush?"
"A: They are in love. B: Everyone is getting married these days," Sirius reminded her. Because of the looming threat of Voldemort's growing power, fewer people waited before settling down. "Soooo, do we have a bet?" Rolling her eyes, Seraphina held out her hand for Sirius in a sign that they had a deal. Ignoring it, Sirius leaned down and sealed the deal with a kiss instead.
Seraphina laughed and pulled back when the two almost stumbled over another pile of snow, "Smooth, Black," she told him. After a moment of hesitation, Seraphina then asked, "Do you ever want to get married."
Sirius's eyes widened in alarm and Seraphina rolled her eyes again, "I'm not proposing, you buffoon. It's just a question."
"It feels like a trap," Sirius told her. "Like I'll lose no matter what I answer."
"I assure you, it's not a trap," Seraphina assured him. "I'm just asking because I know James and Lily will get married eventually. As will Alice and Frank. But I don't even know if I ever want to get married."
"Really?" Sirius asked, not expecting that. "Should I feel insulted? Or at least a little bit offended by this blatant rejection?"
"I didn't say I never want to marry you," Seraphina told him. "I just meant that at this stage in my life, marriage is not really something I think about. For some people - imagining the future means thinking about marriage and children – but that's never been something I've really considered."
"I feel the same," Sirius told her earnestly. "Marrying a girl suitable to be the next Lady Black was always my parents dream for me, never mine. And children — I guess they're okay-"
"But it's not something you really want?" Seraphina finished for him.
"No," Sirius confessed. "What about you? You love children."
"I love Bill, Charlie and Percy," Seraphina corrected. "I will love any other children my brother or friends have. But I can't really imagine having kids of my own. It might be because I'm seventeen and still feel like a child myself — but I definitely do not want to plan my life around building a family."
"You just become more and more amazing," Sirius told her, kissing the top of her head. For both of them, it was a relief that the other one didn't expect marriage and kids after Hogwarts. Maybe that was a reason they fitted so well together. "Who needs to rush anyway? Soon we'll graduate and then we will have all the time in the world together."
