little miss black

-86-

"Morning everyone!" James' cheery voice echoed throughout the flat. Cass groaned and rubbed her head.

"Sod off Potter!" Marlene shouted. She winced at the loudness of her own voice, burying her head under her pillow.

"Lily, control your boyfriend." Alice said sleepily.

"He is not my boyfriend." Lily said hotly, whacking Alice with a pillow.

"Shhh, not so loud." Cass said, massaging her temples.

"Wakey wakey eggs and bacey!" Sirius skipped in merrily. "Remus has made us all some lovely pancakes."

"Tell him to shove them up his arse." Cass mumbled.

"I'll be sure to do that." Sirius said. He went to leave. "Oh, and James and Peter brought coffee from that little café down the road - enough for everyone." He skipped back through to the living room, humming to himself. Alice groaned and rolled over.

"It'll take a lot more than that to get me up." She said. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Oh get up lazybones." Dorcas said. "You drank, now you have to pay the price."

"Fuck off Dor." Alice said. "Just because you're too smart to drink a lot."

"She's right Al, lets get some breakfast. I'm starving." Lily said. Dorcas, Alice and Lily left the room.

"How are you feeling?" Marlene asked. Cass shrugged.

"Like shit." She said. "I'm going for a shower."

"I'll save you some breakfast." Marlene said before following everyone else through to the kitchen. Remus had made a mountain of fluffy pancakes, along with bacon and scrambled eggs. Marlene eagerly accepted the coffee that James handed her, sitting down next to Lily. Sirius had extended their table and added enough chairs for everyone.

"Where's Cass?" Sirius said.

"Shower." Marlene grunted, shovelling pancakes into her mouth. Sirius nodded, his leg bouncing anxiously under the table. Remus put a hand on his knee to steady him. Sirius gave him a grateful smile, picking at his eggs.

Cass came through, slipping into the seat beside Lily. She avoided everyone's eye as she sipped her coffee. Marlene surveyed her worriedly, her lips seemed to be red raw and she looked as if she'd been crying. Sirius must have noticed it too because he fumbled around in the pockets for his cigarettes.

"Anyone care to join?" He said.

"You're a lifesaver." Marlene said.

"Cass?" Sirius said. "You coming?"

"Sure." Cass said. She slipped on her shoes, following Sirius down the stairs to the smoking area. She accepted a cigarette graciously, taking a long drag.

"Are you alright? After last night I mean." Sirius said. Cass pursed her lips.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She said. "I fixed my shoe, is thats what you were wondering."

"No, not that." Sirius shook his head.

"I told him Cass, about that guy." Marlene said wearily, learning against the wall.

"I see." Cass said. "And why is that your business?"

"Because I was worried." Marlene said simply. "You weren't going to tell him, or anyone else for that matter, and you can't just keep it bottled up."

"I can." Cass said stubbornly. "It's worked for this long." Sirius snorted.

"Oh sure it has, everything's gone perfectly for you." Sirius said sarcastically. "Especially the part where you were held captive." Cass stiffened.