Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The mansion screamed, its walls bleeding. The mansion matched its residents; dark, dreary, dangerous, despaired. The matriarch’s lips curled, her wand poised, ready for action. Its target trembled, knowing exactly what would happen, knowing there was nothing she could do about it. She heard one of her brothers shout, pushing forward from the foyer. Their mother paused.

“Don’t hurt her! She’s done nothing wrong!” he wailed. “It’s me you hate. It’s me who is actively going against your wishes! She has no choice!”

Their mother’s face darkened again, blending further into the deep shadows cast by harsh candlelight. Not her wand nor body leaving the girl though, her eyes flickered to the boy, dripping with disdain. Her voice was low, powerful, commanding. “Be quiet Sirius.” She hissed.

The boy shook, it was impossible to tell if it was from anger or fear, possibly both. He needed to protect her. This was the one time a year when he could truly be there for her, and he was failing. He met her eyes in determination, refusing to let fear sleep through his gaze. “I will not, Walburga.”

It was the first time he had ever dared to refer to the woman who stood before him as anything other than Mother. He knew in an instant the consequences would be deadly.
“Crucio.”

In an instant he was writhing on the floor, crying out in unparalleled agony. No matter how many times the curse had been endured, it never got easier. Every form of pain there was to exist, resided in this spell. Stabbing sensations, aches, cramps, heart-burn, lungs losing air as if being sucked out by a dementor's kiss; all in simultaneous synchronization.

“STOP!” The first girl shrieked, “PLEASE STOP!” Her throat clenched, holding back sobs that would only do more harm than good. “Regulus, please, DO SOMETHING!”

The littlest of the family stood there, still, watching as a spectator while his brother tried to escape the never ending pain and his sister begged for his mercy. There was nothing he could do.

“Please.” Her voice was hoarse now, desperate, tears streamed down her face as she stared helplessly.

Finally it stopped. The monster was satisfied with the destruction of her prey. Sirius stilled, struggling to stay awake, eyes fluttering, blood dripping. The girl rushed to his side, pulling him up and trying to keep him upright. Regulus stared, petrified.

“Regulus,” the girl’s voice broke the brief span of silence, “Go to my room, grab my trunk and Sirius’ too, I have had them packed for months.”

Regulus nodded, not daring to disobey anyone at this moment.

When he returned, Sirius was already half-dead, his head lolled against her shoulder, the warm sticky liquid seeping out between his lips onto her cloaks.

She nodded in gratitude at Regulus for bringing their things before turning and dragging Sirius with her towards the front entrance. As she reached the bronze handles, she paused. “Come with us Reg.”

Regulus shook his head. There was no time for arguments. They had to go.

A Night Bus ride later, they arrived— she and Sirius— at the place Sirius told her would always be safe to escape if needed: Potter Manor. She banged on the door, hoping she wasn’t too late, hoping that the Potter’s would be able to fix him, hoping she wouldn’t end up alone, again.

The door opened, and with it came the light. Light was a rare sighting in Grimmauld Place. A disheveled-looking boy with rectangular framed glasses stared at her. It took a moment before his eyes landed on Sirius. “Merlin! I- He— Sirius, wha— What happened?”

“Look I will explain later but there is not much time. Sirius told me it would be safe here, that the Potters can help. Please help.”

The boy nodded, and instantly aided her in bringing his unconscious best mate into the warm home.

An older couple looked up from the table where they had certainly been having dinner a moment before.

“James? Is that, oh gosh, is that Sirius? Is he alright? Oh Sirius!” The woman’s words were rushed as she rose to inspect the damage. “What on earth happened?” she asked as she fiddled around with various healing spells.

“I-I dunno he just showed up like this, with— with that girl,” he pointed to her, “I don’t know. I—Is he gonna be okay?”

“I think so. It could be worse. Cruciatus curse?” the woman asked, looking at the girl who had barely paid attention to anything besides her brother.

She looked up and nodded. “Yes, and others. He will be alright will he not?”

“He should be. May need a trip to St. Mungos though. I trained in healing but it’s been quite some time and I was never all that versed in dark magic.”

After a beat the man spoke up. “Sorry, what is your name?”

“Sapphire, Sir. Sapphire Black. I am Sirius’ twin sister.”

The man’s graying eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Sister? James, you never told me about that.”

James— the boy with the glasses, was just as dumbfounded as his father. “He never told me, only mentioned Regulus and even then it’s rare.” He turned to Sapphire. “Haven’t seen you ‘round Hogwarts. You look old enough, did you go somewhere else?”

She shook her head. “Erm- no, I will explain everything later. Sorry but if you do not mind, I am completely out of it. May I stay for the night?”

James’ parents— Mia and Monty— insisted that she must stay and quickly got her a spare change of clothes, and a bed; everything else would be dealt with in the morrow.

Chapter Text

Sapphire woke up, her heart thumping; danger. The word hung around her, engulfed every part of her. She was not safe. She was never safe. Her mother had been there, right there, laughing at her. Speaking that three syllable word over and over and over again as if she were a machine. There was no way out, there never was. Sit and suffer, figure out how to not die later, that had been Sapphire Black’s life for upwards of five years.

Luckily this time it was a dream, a nightmare, a mere illusion of a not so distant memory. Sapphire coughed and sputtered as she regained her breath.
“I’m okay.” She reassured herself, “We’re safe.” Though even with that knowledge, the fear still nagged like an overbearing parent.

You’ll never be safe with your status, you little freak of nature. It whispered, sending chills to her core. The Potter’s will hate you too, everyone will hate you. You’re lucky Sirius hasn’t abandoned you yet, he was probably planning to. Hell, even Regulus, your precious baby brother, trembles at your sight. You are worth nothing.

She tried, everyday, to shove those thoughts away. She knew Sirius loved her, Regulus too even if he were more timid.

The Potters had always been a beacon of hope for Sirius. Every since third year he spoke of running away, being brave like Andy.

“Where will we go? To Andy’s? She just had a baby.” Sirius would smile, his eyes gleaming. “No, to James.’ His parents are safe. They send me birthday presents and sweets for the holidays, they’d love you.” And so it was decided from the tender age of thirteen; if it got worse, go to James. James was the answer to their prayers, or at least that’s what Sirius claimed, Sapphire had no way of knowing.

She knew a lot though. Sirius confided in her about everything, nearly every minute detail of his life at that glorious school in Scotland was rehashed out to her the second he had his bedroom door closed behind them in Grimmauld Place. Up until recently it was always James; James is a bloody great Chaser. His fancying of Lily Evans is hilarious to watch, the boy’s completely whipped. James played this prank; it was wicked! James…

James Potter had been a rock for both of them since Sirius had come home for Christmas his first year. He was, without a doubt, the reason Sirius hadn’t completely gone off the rails already. To Sapphire, James was her hero. In some, hard to explain way, he was the reason the Black siblings were still alive.

With these thoughts in mind, Sapphire slipped out from under the comforter, her feet hitting the cold hardwood floor, while early morning light peeked in through the shutters. Morning. What a wonderful time. She hated the night. Night was when you could be truly alone and yet, there’s no way to leave yourself. All the memories, the insecurities, the fears, infiltrate and leave you wondering why you even try, why you even bother hoping. Night was dark, the absence of light; light brought sun and smiles, dark brought cold. How could anyone prefer the latter?

The kitchen was already alive. Mia sat, drinking a cup of tea, Monty at her side, glasses slipping down his nose as the couple worked out the clues to the Daily Profit crossword together. They looked so peaceful, so comfortable in each other’s presence. Sapphire hadn’t realized people could actually act like that. Her parents were always stoic, never showing even the slightest hint of affection to one another or their children. Love had never been a word used in their household. She couldn’t help but watch. Mia said the correct answer and Monty smiled, kissing her softly on her temple.

“You are brilliant darling.”
Mia grinned softly as she leaned into his touch. “Well we already knew that.”
Monty chuckled. “Yes. Yes we did.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Euphemia spotted the girl. “Oh Sapphire dear, good morning. Are you hungry? Monty and I only woke up a few moments ago, but I can have something ready in a jiffy. What would you like; scones, pancakes, toast and beans, sausage, eggs, bacon, a little of each?”

Sapphire blinked.

“Slow down dear, you’re overwhelming her.” Monty’s slightly scratchy voice spoke up.”

Mia just laughed nervously. “Sorry, but really, is there anything I can get for you? I’d be happy to.”
“Erm, toast is fine. Thank you Mrs. Potter.”
“Are you sure that’s all you want?”
Sapphire nodded. “Yeah, I don’t usually have a big appetite,” she lied.
Mia hummed, not taken by her response but decided not to push the poor girl. “Alright, I’ll get that done straight away. Would you like some tea with that?”
“Yes, thank you.”

After finishing her toast and tea she made sure to check on Sirius. Mia had assured her that he had improved quite a bit throughout the night and that a trip to St. Mungo’s was no longer necessary, which to Sapphire was a huge relief. If they went to the hospital the healer may require medical records and that would mean discovering that Walburga and Orion Black were still she and Sirius’ legal guardians. She couldn’t go back. Not after all she’d done to get her. She refused.

Sirius’ skin was ghostly pale but luckily no longer bloody. He was still bruised and scarred, the unfortunate result of the curse; non-reversible. Sapphire took a seat beside his bed and lightly brushed his dark hair out of his face. He was still asleep. This was to be expected after such a traumatic experience, however Sirius’ was normally an early riser.
“Early to bed, early to rise, make a man happy, healthy, wealthy and wise.” He would sing whenever she complained about the early summer mornings. It was ironic really, Sirius was none besides wealthy, but even that was now debatable.

“Saph?” There was slight movement on the bed, a croaky voice breaking sapphire from her thoughts. Heavy-lidded grey eyes peered at her through sleepy lashes. “Is that you?”
She squeezed his hand lightly. “It’s me Siri,” she whispered.

Sirius hated being called Siri, he had made that very clear during the first week of first year when James had called him that. No dared call him that again, except Sapphire. She was the only person allowed to call him that, sometimes Regulus, but that hadn’t happened in years. It was only because when they were toddlers, Sirius was too hard to pronounce and so was Sapphire, so it eventually just became Siri and Saph. It worked for them, no one else. Sapphire though, wouldn’t mind other people calling her Saph, she just did not really have that option. It is kind of difficult to get a nickname if you have no friends.

“What time is it?”
“A little after eight.”
“A.M?”
She chuckled, the first time she was able to in nearly a year. “Yes, idiot.”
Sirius grumbled. “Don’t call me an idiot, I jus’ woke up.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like shit.”
She scoffed. “I wonder why.”
“Hey!” He attempted to sit up but failed miserably with a wince and a heavy thud, “I saved your life!”
“Oh thank you, dost thou wish to be bestowed a gift?”

Sirius weakly whacked her with a spare pillow. “Stop going all Victorian on me,” he whined. “And yes, I want a gift.”
“Your gift is that you get to see the light for another day you bloody fucking idiot! You could’ve died! You should have let mother do it to me, it would have ended better!”
This time Sirius did sit up. “Oh and watch you die instead? No way Saph! I’m supposed to protect you, not the other way ‘round okay. If something happened to you I— I don’t know what— It would’ve been all my fault...”

Sapphire's face softened as she looked at her brother.
“You don’t need to protect me Sirius. This isn’t a new thing, you know that. You know you can’t always be there.” She held up a hand before he could interrupt, “And it’s not your fault. You have to be at Hogwarts, I get that. Nothing that they’ve done to me is your or Reg’s fault alright? I love you Sirius but I’d rather it me getting tortured than you okay? If you go back to school with bruises and scars people will start to question. You know mother and father refuse to have their reputations tarnished, it would only get worse for you. For me, no one would know. I rarely leave the house and when I do, it’s only to Muggle neighborhoods. I am the tarnish of the Black family, but tarnish deserves to be hidden. I am hidden, you are not, do not forget that Sirius. Our lives rely on you not forgetting that.”

The moment was tense. Sirius absorbed everything, his eyes never leaving his sister’s. She was right. It was convoluted, completely twisted, but true. Even when away, they were still there, everywhere, waiting to strike again, to make their lives hell again.

“I won’t.”
“Good.” She nodded, satisfied. “This year alone was a close call.”

She was talking about the “prank” of course. Sirius had come home for the Christmas holidays a complete wreck. He had told her everything. It was awful, the closest call yet. He and James weren’t talking, nor were either of the others. He’d apologized countless times to no avail. Remus refused to even look at him, to look at anyone really. James had socked him in the gut as soon as they were out of the hospital wing, a justified response in Sapphire’s opinion. After all, karma's a bitch. Apparently Peter stayed quiet, hiding, claiming to have one project or another needing to be done in order to avoid the conflict. Even Lily Evans of all people had chewed him out severely. Sirius claimed her hair had actually flamed at one point. He was lucky to not have been expelled. He received detention for a month and was kicked off the quidditch team until further notice. Somehow his parents were not notified; a miracle in and of itself.

When he came back for Easter, things were better. Sirius had managed to finish the Animagus process, convincing James and Peter to join in, which they did. When they showed Remus the following month, and James claimed that the whole thing had been Sirius’ idea, that he’d been planning it for years, Remus softened. Things weren't back to normal immediately, that would foolish to assume, but the tension lessened. Sapphire really didn’t know much of the rest, but the important part was that their little group was back to normal, Sirius was back to normal. Though given the circumstances, nothing really ever was normal for them.

“Yeah I know.”

Sirius did know. He had promised himself and Moony, a million times over, that it would never happen again. He’d off himself before he let himself get so out of control again. It had truly been the turning point of his life. The moment he realized that maybe he was like his parents. The moment he realized, he never wanted to see that side of himself again. He swore vehemently to himself and all who’d listen, that he never would.

Chapter Text

“Morning.” James said, knocking lightly on the door as he entered. His eyes were focused on Sirius, “You feeling alright Padfoot?”
Sirius chuckled lightly. “Come on Prongs, it’s gonna take a lot more than some stupid curse to kill me.”
James sighed as he approached the bed. “Yeah,” he said, though his voice betrayed any confidence he was trying to portray.

Sapphire sat awkwardly watching the two friends interact. No matter how much she heard about Sirius’ friends and how good they were, words were just words. She trusted James, but she didn’t know him. They cared about each other, that much was clear. Sirius was trying to brush off the whole situation to not worry James while James ignored his attempts and fretted over him like a mother hen. It was kind of adorable.

“Sapphire right?”
She looked up, somehow the attention had turned to her. “Erm, yeah. Why?”
James shrugged. “Cause you’re my best mate's sister,” he said as though it were obvious.
Sapphire furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, this fact had never mattered to anyone before.
“Yeah and?”
“Well since Sirius is in pain and clearly forgot to mention you in our five years of knowing each other, I figured you could tell me about yourself.”

“I’m not in—”
“Shush the grownups are talking.”

Sapphire giggled. “I’m really not that interesting.”
James shook his head. “Impossible, everyone’s interesting. Plus, you are a mystery, I love a good mystery.”
“Then maybe you should try to solve me, that'll make it more interesting right?” She wasn’t sure where the confidence came from, but she felt no embarrassment towards the situation.

Sirius was looking between the two in bewilderment.

“Maybe I will,” James said, his grin not fading.

“Ahem,” Sirius faked-coughed, bringing the attention back to him, as it always should be. Sapphire looked down, blushing slightly, proud at herself for not being completely socially inept.

The rest of the day went by smoothly. James and Sapphire pitched in on chores despite Mia telling them not to while Sirius, much to his distaste, was stuck doing bed rest.

Sapphire liked James’ company. He was entertaining, always cracking a joke or babbling about quidditch. She didn’t understand the sport much, despite Sirius spending tireless hours trying to explain it, but she found it interesting nonetheless. James was also kind, and patient, he understood Sapphire didn’t want to talk about herself and he respected that despite the burning curiosity she knew he had about her. He also learned quickly that Sapphire was more the listening type which was great for him, given the majority of the time he couldn’t seem to shut up.

What Sapphire couldn’t understand was how Sirius portrayed him as the most popular guy of their year. To her, James seemed like a bit of a dork— in a good way. Sure he was athletic, but he also studied Transfiguration in order to help his best friend, he wore glasses that were always crooked, his hair stuck up in all angles as if struck by lightning, he tripped over his words when he got too excited about something and laughed at himself for doing so, he followed his mother’s directions no questions asked because he was a mama’s boy. If Sapphire was able to notice all of this in a span of twenty-four hours, surely, she thought, other people could too.

Even at this moment James was washing a cup with such delicacy it might as well have been a family heirloom. She couldn’t help but observe. She had always been good at it, observing. When shut away with nothing to do, observation becomes quite an entertaining pastime.

There was a white and orange tabby cat that would pass Grimmauld Place everyday at five o’clock without fail. Sapphire had started putting scraps of food out for it. They were friends now, Sapphire had named her Tabitha, Tabby for short. There was also a Muggle park across the way. Muggle children could be heard everyday laughing at one another with no care in the world for grass stains or scraped knees. Sapphire had snuck out to join them once, only lasting five minutes before her father caught on. The punishment was brutal. She rarely ever snuck out again.

She also noticed things inside the confining walls. One being that Regulus was gifted artistically. Along with playing piano, which was a training every respectable Pureblood child received, Regulus could paint and draw as though his hands were being guided by God himself. He told stories with paint that were unparalleled to anything Sapphire had read in their immense library. The paintings portrayed conflict, despair, and somewhere hidden in the layers of acrylic; hope.

Sapphire really did wish the best for Regulus. She knew that if he truly desired, he could escape the oppressing household he was trapped in just like she and Sirius had. Regulus was stronger than he realized, his walls not as solid as they appeared, without his older siblings there to protect him he’d crack too. Maybe then he’d finally get over his internalized need to be the perfect son and join them.

James was watching Sapphire. She was lost in thought, the plate she had once been cleaning dangled loosely between her fingers. James knew that she had had a hard life. It was obvious with the way her eyes glazed over, staring at nothing but clearly thinking a million things. She also clung to Sirius, leaving the kitchen every few minutes to check on him, to make sure the one person she had left was okay. She flinched at the slightest noises and hated being touched. She didn’t talk much either, preferring instead to listen. Even with such little information, James couldn’t help but feel drawn to her, there’s something about not having answers that makes you yearn for them.

“Would you let Reg stay here too?”

James blinked. “What?”
“Sorry. My brother, Regulus, would you let him come here too? You know, if he ever decides to leave?”
Understanding washed over him. “Yes, yes of course.”
Sapphire gave up a small, grateful smile. “Thank you.”

They went back to their own tasks briefly but James still had questions. “Do you think he will leave?”
Sapphire turned to him, biting the inside of her cheek with doubt. “I hope so.” She whispered softly.
James nodded, “I hope so too.”

Chapter Text

Sirius improved, by three days later he was sitting in the kitchen bonding with Monty over Quidditch as though nothing had happened. Smiles were bright, laughs were louder, his skin glowed as it always seemed too, those who cared knew it was all fake; it was all a facade to keep others from worrying— or at least from worrying more. How he thought the pain was invisible to James and Sapphire was the question; they were the person who knew him most, from the inside out, avoidance doesn’t make it go away.

Sirius knew this but couldn’t help it, running away from his problems after the initial adrenaline had worn off was all he’d ever known. Tears were not allowed in the Black household, weakness was disgraceful, suffer through it they said, it’s not that bad. James on the other hand wanted his friend to be able to breathe again without feeling the need to prepare for insults at every turn. That’s how trauma works though: when a person’s been told they can not do something for their entire life and get punished if they do, well, suppression becomes the answer, it was the answer for both of them. Sapphire had stopped begging for mercy after only a couple months; they liked the begging, they thrived on the power it brought them.

Being at the Potter’s was so strange, such a juxtaposition to what they had grown up with. The home was constantly at a comfortable temperature, food was always freshly prepared, the loudest sound heard was laughter, the Potter home was safe; they were safe. In only three days Sapphire had felt more love than she had felt in over five years.

Later that day, James and Sirius dragged Sapphire out to watch them play Quidditch. She wasn’t mad about it though, she loved seeing her brother happy, loved seeing the magic of flying brooms; it was a peek into the life her brothers got lucky to experience every single day. She smiled and cheered as she watched the scrimmage unfold in front of her, of course she had no clue what was going on but it was entertaining nonetheless, it was also the most excitement she had had all year.

“Hey,” James flew down to her, “wanna ride?”
Sapphire shook her head. “I can’t fly.”
“Sure you can!” James shrugged, “Here, give me your hand.”
A quick glance towards Sirius reassured her and she did as he said. James helped her onto the broom.
“Ready?” He asked once she was situated, her arms hesitantly grabbing his torso.
“Yeah, I-I think so…”
“Great, hold on!”

The ground fell behind, hands clutched the cotton fabric of James’ shirt, head buried into his back, a small shriek was lost into the wind.
“You alright?”
Sapphire nodded against his back, not yet daring to look up.

When she did it was amazing, the clouds hugged her, the wind rustled the hair against her cheek, her heart pounded — for once it was a good thing; she was happy. “This is incredible!” She shouted.
“Isn’t it!” James called back.

Sirius was cheering at their side, grinning from ear to ear; reaching his eyes. “You’re doing so great Saph!”
They sped around for a while capturing the feeling of what could only be described as freedom, pure freedom.

James and Sapphire only got closer after that. James felt a need to protect her, to bring back her true self, her and Sirius. It wouldn’t be easy but that was okay, their happiness was worth it. Happiness was always worth it.

At midnight the sofa was occupied. Another nightmare had come, another fear of sleep, another reason to sit and stare instead of getting a full eight hours‘ sleep. It was a ritual at this point, not a healthy one, one without any purpose but it happened every night regardless. Did she wish she could sleep in peace without the terror? Of course, but this was how life was, not everything can be magicked away after all.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Sapphire startled with a gasp when she turned to find James Potter standing before her; hair messier than what was thought to be humanly possible, t-shirt wrinkled, plaid pj pants falling right above the ankles clearing showing he had grown since the last time he’d bought new clothes, his feet bare. He looked half-asleep but was holding a mug and his glasses had been repositioned to the correct spot so clearly he meant to be up.

“I never can. You?”
James shrugged. “Woke up and wanted tea. Do you want some? There’s more water in the kettle.”
Sapphire offered up a soft smile. “I’m alright. You can join me if you would like.”
James took that offer and settled into the sofa at a comfortable distance away so as to not disturb her boundaries if she had any. “What keeps you up?” James asked, continuing the prior conversation.
“Everything.”
“Ah, I thought so.”
Sapphire let out an amused breath. “Obviously.”
James leaned towards her the slightest bit. “No, but really, I want to get to know you.”
“I mean it. There is a lot to think about. It would take far too long to explain it all.”
“We’ve got time.”

Sapphire couldn’t help but chuckle at his persistence. “Thank you.”
James’ brow creased. “What for?”
“Taking me in, I know I am your best friend‘s sister but you really did not have to do that.”
“Of course I did! Where else would you have gone?”

Sapphire shrugged. “I have a cousin who got disowned a few years ago, I could have gone to stay with her.”
“Right. Andromeda is it?”
Surprised as she was, she nodded. “Yes. Did Sirius tell you?”
“Yeah, a while ago, used to talk about her all the time.”
“Oh, I did not realize Sirius talked about those sorts of things.”
“He doesn’t anymore.”
“I do not blame him.”

It was quiet for a moment. James sipped from his cup, Sapphire watched.

“Why aren’t you at Hogwarts?”

This was the question Sapphire had been trying so desperately to avoid, the truth would make him and everyone else hate her. After all, everyone who did know, besides Sirius, did, why should this be any different? Wizards, she’d found, weren’t kind to those of whom differed from them.

“Do you not have a guess?”
James rubbed his nose dislodging his glasses on the way. “I mean, I do but I don’t want to make assumptions,” he said.
“Guess.” Sapphire commanded, she wasn’t going to give him free information.
“You’re a Squib.” The words left his mouth with confidence, there was no doubt, he knew what she was. Though he didn’t sound upset, only matter of fact, as if it were as simple as the sky being blue.

Sapphire released a sharp breath. “Yes.”

“Okay.”
“Okay?” she asked, “You are not disgusted?”
James shook his head, confusion lining his face. “No of course not, why would I be disgusted?”
“I do not possess magic.”
“I know.”

What did this mean, was this a trick? James was trying to lull her into a safe sense of security just to take advantage of her like everyone else had, he’d make her no better than a house-elf she was sure of it.

“I should go.”

James stopped her immediately. “I don’t care that you don’t have magic, Sapphire,” he started, “We’re all just people, magic or not we’re all human.”
“Most would disagree with that.” Sapphire said blankly.
“Yes, a lot of people would, but I don’t. I learned about the dangers of Blood-Supremacy at a young age; whether you’re a Squib, Wizard, Muggle or Werewolf doesn’t matter— or at least — it shouldn’t. At the end of the day we are all mortal, we all have consciences, we all have a choice about what we want our legacies to be. I know I want my legacy to be that I accepted everyone regardless of blood, race, gender, or sexuality; as long as you’re a good person, you’re worth being in my life.” James paused, his eyes locked on Sapphire hoping he got his point across, “I want you here Sapphire.”

She didn’t say anything for a while, too stunned to speak, overwhelmed with feelings she’d never felt before. Someone actually saw her for more than her short-comings. “I— thank you…”
“Of course. You deserve to know that.”
Sapphire smiled as she blinked by a tear. “You’re a good guy James, you deserve to know that.”

Chapter Text

The following morning Euphemia needed to make a quick errand run and decided to invite the kids along. She fully expected them to say no, having the house to themselves or go shopping with an old woman wasn’t really a hard choice to make after all, but surprisingly enough they said yes.

Usually the Wizarding village nearby was the normal spot to shop but this time around Euphemia felt like venturing into the Muggle world— their food was better sometimes. James has only been to the Muggle world a handful of times and Sirius and Sapphire were completely clueless so the outing would certainly be entertaining for everyone involved.

The bell overhead tinkled as the party entered and the aroma of produce infiltrated their nostrils. The green grocer behind the counter nodded a hello in their direction while another ding sounded from a nearby registrar. The fruits and vegetables were organized in such an aesthetically pleasing manner that James had to stop and gawk at it.

“They don’t have this in Diagon Alley.” he whispered.
“Well Diagon Alley doesn’t exactly sell produce mate.”

“You act like you have never seen fruit before James,” Sapphire spoke.
James shrugged. “Usually it just appears, never had to buy before.”

Sapphire sighed at the — albeit accidental — entitlement; how lucky James was to grow up not having to wonder when and where his next meal was coming from. It wasn’t as though Sapphire knew much more than him, she’d grown up in Grimmauld Place a place that enslaved house elves and never had their occupants do any sort of chores, the only reason she knew anything was due to the two outings she’d managed to get away with without being found out.

The group weaved up and down the aisles, picking up items that were needed or just looked interesting as they went. James and Sirius were particularly drawn to a blue package of sandwich biscuits called Oreos — so much so that they acquired three packages.

“Sprite,” Sirius read off of a large green bottle, “what’s this?”
“It is a soda,” Sapphire informed him. She only knew this from a time when she’d run into
a Muggle boy at the park across the street and he shared a bit with her, a bit unsanitary, yes, but it was the closest she’d felt to experiencing magic despite living in a magical home her entire life.

“What’s a soda?” James asked.
“It is a fizzy drink. It is quite good, you should try it.”

“Hey, how do you know what this is?”
“An outing I managed to get away with a couple years ago. You’re not the only one with a bad-boy streak you know.”
Sirius laughed. “Fair enough, we’ll get the fizzy water.”
“Soda.”
“Same thing.”

Back at the Potter home James and Sirius were giddy with excitement at being able to try ‘Muggle delicacies’ as they called them. The Oreos were an immediate win as the boys managed to devour an entire package in under five minutes only helped by Sapphire who took two for herself. Lays potato crisps and Cheeto puffs too got them giggly with joy, the cheese powder still coating their lips like a textured lipstick.

“Do not shake it!” Sapphire screamed as James picked up the sprite. He nearly dropped the bottle with fright.
“Why not? I always shake juice!”
“Well if you want it to explode all over you then so be it.”

“Muggle’s sell prank food?” asked Sirius with a grin.
“No, but the liquid is carbonated so it will explode if shaken since it is still compacted and sealed.”
“How on earth did you learn that!”
“Mother and Father’s library is not as Muggle-free as they would have hoped. Besides, it is quite easy to sneak off to the library down the road that is open twenty-four-seven, you would be surprised at what knowledge I have acquired.”

James’ brow furrowed. “I thought you’d only had two outings?”
Sapphire nodded. “Two outings, yes. Outing meaning that I went somewhere fun and talked with others. A library visit is hardly an outing though, seeing as I only went there to learn late at night.”

The boys were a bit taken aback at this information, they both had only really known Sapphire to be quiet, sweet and obedient and so seeing her with a rebellious streak — even if it was only to go to the Library — was unexpected.

James, after such a severe warning, opened the soda at a painfully slow pace. The soda hissed and bubbled as the seal was cracked allowing the bottle to expand as oxygen entered it. Sirius’ eyes were wide at the sound, he thought the bottle would only explode if shaken but those sounds were dwindling his confidence in his sister’s instructions.

“It’s safe.” James said after a moment. There was a collective breath of relief from the two.

“Great, let’s drink this thing.”

Three glasses were brought over and the clear drink was poured over the ice Sapphire had suggested they add. The Sprite frothed to the top of the glasses before settling back into its liquid form to the amazement of the pair of boys — they’d only know Butterbeer to do that.

Sirius tried it first, cautiously only letting it touch his lips before yanking it away with a splash. “Why is it tickling me!”
James heard this and immediately wanted to know the sensation. “Blimey it does!” he shouted, “Sirius try more, it sparkles in your mouth!”
Sirius took a generous swing after hearing James’ proclamation and nearly spat it out from the sensory experience. “Holy Hippogriff!” he shouted once he managed to swallow, “It really is sparkling!”
“It’s like Fizzing Whizzbees in liquid form!”
“Bloody Hell! My tongue tingles!”

Sapphire grinned over her glass as she watched them jump around like Golden Retriever puppies playing with a new treat. This was what she wanted; to see her brother and James have this pure blissful moment of stupidity and awe. This moment was a welcomed break from the worry of their parents and what Sapphire had heard was a brewing war.

“Enjoying yourselves?”
“How did you not tell me about this sooner Saph, this is fucking incredible!”

“It’s Magic that what it is! Blimey I love Muggles!”

The laughter that broke out over the kitchen was unparalleled that afternoon and made up the stomachaches of the evening.

Chapter Text

“Do you blame me?” Sirius had approached Sapphire a couple days later. They were sitting outside, James was showing off a new move on his broom while the twins watched. The guilt had been killing him over the last week and he needed to know that it was justified, that everything truly was on him.

“What?” Sapphire asked, her eyes wide at the question, “What on earth do I have to blame you for?”
“Everything,” he shrugged, shoving the grass with his toe like a kid being scolded. “It’s my fault you know,” he continued, “that we got disowned, that Reg’s still stuck there. I never meant to be such a fuck-up. I wanted to piss off Mother and Father but I never meant for this… I’m so sorry, Saph.”
“Sirius,” his sister spoke gently, her voice steady and determined, not a doubt of the reassurance she would be delivering to him, “I have never blamed you, for anything.”
“You should.”
“I should not,” she exclaimed, “Sirius, if it were not for you, we would be homeless right now.”
“If it weren’t for me we wouldn’t have had to leave in the first place!” His voice was manic, begging for her to blame him. He needed the anger, it had been too long without yelling, too long without the curses and beating, Sirius was unsure what to do without it.

“I would much rather be here than there.”

Sirius didn’t know half of what Sapphire had endured while he was away at school. Yes, her brother had messed up before, big time, but she would never blame him for any of it. Too much had happened, they needed one another too much to throw their bond away over the past.

James’ squeal broke their thoughts as they watched the boy pump his fist into the air, laughing in glee at the goal he’d just made. Sapphire desired to have his naivety. James Potter was the most fortunate person; he had loving parents, a warm, caring home, was well fed, had great friends, seemed rather smart, and overall had had the childhood that she and Sirius couldn’t even begin to dream of. “Did you guys see that!”

Sirius grinned, though his eyes were still filled with concern as he tore away his gaze. “Yeah, that was wicked mate!”
“I know right!” James giggled, landing with a thud as he joined the pair. He held out his Nimbus to Sirius. “Wanna try?”
Sirius declined this time around but Sapphire knew that he’d be squealing in glee like his brother soon enough.

“Sapphire dear,” Mia began that evening over dinner, her hair pinned back in a salt and pepper bun, “Did your parents have a plan for your schooling? I want to keep you on track once the boys go back to Hogwarts.”

Of course, Sapphire, like her brothers, had had many tutors over the years. From the age of four she had been trained in Dance, Piano, French, Latin, Greek, Astronomy and Etiquette, but most of that had stopped once Regulus had gone to school as she began to be treated like another one of their family House Elves. Truth was, Sapphire hadn’t had any sort of proper educational training since the age of twelve.

“No Ma’am,” she said, “I have not had any schooling since Regulus left for Hogwarts.”

Euphemia was aghast, this poor girl hadn’t had any training in anything for over four years, it was awful. “Well, that will have to change,” the woman said confidently.
Sapphire nodded. “Alright,” she agreed. “What will you have me do? I can not perform Magic so — I mean no disrespect Ma’am — but I am unsure of what you can teach me.”

Euphemia tutted thoughtfully, turning to communicate wordlessly with Fleamont. “How would you feel about attending Muggle school?” she asked kindly, knowing that the culture shock could be too much for the girl.

Sapphire swallowed as the thought took over: Muggle school. Yes, she’d been to the Muggle world before but being immersed in Muggle culture while learning dozens of new subjects was completely daunting. She’d always wanted to learn more than the biased world views held in Grimmauld Place’s immense library, always craving to learn the subjects of Arithmetic, History, Science and the like, so the opportunity was exciting but the reality terrified her.

“If that is where you would like me then I accept the proposition,” she said cautiously, this was her home now, Fleamont and Euphemia were her authority, what they wished for her she would obey unquestioningly.

“Is that what you want?”
“If that is what you desire of me then I will obey.”
Fleamont chuckled softly, feeling pity for the girl who had never learned to say no. “Sapphire, if you do not want to go to Muggle school we will certainly not force you. You are an equal here, your preferences are what matter most.”
“Oh.”

Sapphire had never been an equal to anyone, not even Sirius or Regulus. Even before the knowledge of her squib status, she was the least important of the family. As a female, she didn’t have right to the family line, there was no world in which she would have become heir. If by some chance Sirius had left without her, Regulus would have gotten the title next despite her being older. And if something, Merlin forbid, were to happen to Regulus then next in line would be Uncle Alphard and then Uncle Cygnus. There was no world in which a woman would hold the title of Black heiress.

The kindness of the Potter’s was frightening. It seemed like a trap, like if she were to give in and speak her mind it would all be revealed to be some sort of cruel joke, a test to see how easily she could be manipulated into trust. This was the first test Sapphire refused to fail. “Really, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, I want to attend Muggle school. Thank you so much for the offer, I had not thought it possible.”

The couple smiled at the girl, Euphemia reaching to grasp her hand that Sapphire allowed her to hold despite the comfort it brought.“Of course dear, this is your home now too.”

But it wasn’t. Home didn’t exist, not the way others described it anyhow. Home is described as a safe-haven, a place that never caused one to question the security of its walls, a place where all worries seemingly disappeared. The Potter home was not home in that sense, no, it was a home; a four walled building where people lived, but it wasn’t home.

“Thank you.”

At the very least, the Potter were far kinder than anyone else had ever been to her. She may not know if their kindness was genuine not, but it was far better than the only other life she had

Chapter Text

The Black family owl flew into Sapphire’s open window. She shot up looking into the eyes of the great animal in confusion. If their parents had wanted to write, they would have done so much earlier. The owl held out a clawed foot, waiting patiently for its old master to take the black enveloped letter from his leg. As always, the wax seal was pressed with the Nobel House of Black Crest, only to prove their importance in Wizarding society.

Sapphire sighed shakily, removing the ribbon from Ophiuchus watching with nostalgia as he flew off onto the night sky, disappearing among the stars. She remembered when he was bought; she and Sirius were seven, Regulus had just turned six. Their old owl had gotten old and so a replacement was needed. Ophiuchus was the best bred owl their parents could find and he was already trained. They named him as such due to one, being a constellation, and two the definition of the name meaning snake-bearer which was a nod to their long-time Slytherin lineage.

Anyway, Sapphire slid a nail under the seal, opening the envelope to release the parchment inside. Immediately she recognized the writing of her youngest brother.

Dear Sapphire,

I hope you and Sirius are well. You have both been blasted off the family tree and written out of Mother and Father’s wills though I am sure that comes as no surprise. If you could, please tell Sirius not to contact me or try to communicate with me when we go back to Hogwarts this fall. It’s for the best.
I am glad you both got out. Had you stayed I am afraid they would have killed you both. I miss you both terribly.

With love,

- R.A.B

A tear dropped, smearing the ink. He was not going to even attempt to escape. Regulus Arcturus Black had given up before he could even begin to fight. All Sapphire had ever wanted was a family, a proper family where she and her brothers could be happy and safe. Now, only two-thirds were, the other, lost too far gone to be found.

With shaking hands, she made her way to Sirius’ room. Upon opening the door she was met with laughter and immediately regretted coming to bear this news. Her brother looked up, a smile on his face.
“Hey Saph, come join us.”
She stepped forward, holding the letter out to him.
“What’s that?”
“Regulus.”
Sirius’ face dropped, concern swam in his eyes though his face became stony. He skimmed it, while he underlined each line with an index finger.

It was silent. After a moment, Sirius crumpled the parchment and cast Incendio on it.

Sapphire gasped, as far as she knew, people were definitely not allowed to perform Magic underage. On top of that, it hurt to see the last link to Regulus completely abolished as the flames licked the words, turning them into nothing but ember and ash.

“Sirius!” she screamed.
“What?” he asked sharply, “You read it yourself, he wants nothing to do with me so why should I keep this damn letter?”
“Did you even think for a moment about the fact that perhaps I wanted to keep it? Did you ever stop to think that the letter was sent to me? How could you?” Her voice was trembling at this point, but there was no reason to care.
“He wants nothing to do with us, Saph.”
“He still wanted to communicate with me!” she shouted, tears falling freely at this point.
“You actually believe that?” Sirius laughed, “He didn’t give a shit about either of us! He follows Mother and Father’s views on blood-purity blindly, he’s a Death-Eater in the making. Can’t you see that? He hates me for being a Gryffindor Blood-Traitor, imagine what he thinks about you!”

His words hit like a slap to the face. Anger seems to work the same as alcohol; in both situations a person is not in control of themselves or their words. Drunk words are sober thoughts the same way that angry words are calm thoughts. From that simple sentence, Sirius revealed that at least deep down he believed himself to be above Sapphire. She wasn’t surprised, but hadn’t thought he would admit such a thing aloud.

“I knew it,” Sapphire said, her voice barely above a whisper, pain lacing into every syllable.
“Knew what?” Sirius snapped, still wound up and ready to fight.
“You- you think you are better than me.”
“I never said that.”
“Not directly, no, but you did.”

He rolled her eyes looking at the poor boy who had just witnessed the entire exchange. “What do you think, Prongs?”
James, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, gulped. “I uh — well you kind of did say that mate.”
“No I didn’t!”
“You said that Regulus hates you for your house and status as a Blood-Traitor then told Sapphire to imagine how he felt about her. That kind of makes it sound as if she’s done something worse…”
Sapphire nodded, wishing desperately for an escape.

A look of realization dawned on her brother's face, a plethora of emotions shifting across his visage. “Shit, Saph I didn’t mean it like that…”
“Then what did you mean, Sirius?”
He waved his hands around looking for the right words to say. “I only meant that in the wizarding world Squibs are viewed as worse than Blood-Traitors, and if Regulus believes Mother and Father’s views then you know…”
Sapphire pinched the bridge of her nose, attempting to ebb the flow of tears. “Look, I know what you were trying to say, and I know you did not mean it to come out the way it did but I think you are also dealing with some prejudices, consciously or not, it does not matter. You hurt me Sirius, and I am going to need some space.”
“Saph—”
“Please just leave me alone Sirius.”

She wasn’t angry with him, only hurt, so extremely hurt. Out of everyone, Sirius never seemed like one to hold prejudices against Squibs. He was best friends with a Werewolf after all. And yet, he did hold those beliefs somewhere deep within him. Hopefully with time, he would unlearn them but for now Sapphire needed space; space from the one person she had never dreamed of needing space from.

“That was messed up mate,” said James as Sapphire closed the door.
He groaned from beneath his hands. “I know. I don’t even know why I said it. I just got angry and the words just kinda came out. You know I’m impulsive!”
James sighed, knowing this fact about his best mate all too well. “I know, but you almost lost Remus because of it. You’ve got to start thinking about your words and actions more.”

Sirius knew this but it was easier said than done. He also knew that Sapphire was right; years of indoctrination didn't just go away overnight and whether he was willing to admit it or not, his parents' views did stick in some regard. It would be a long process to change and grow but if it meant becoming a man that he would be proud to see in the mirror each morning then it was completely worth it.

Chapter Text

Space was still required. Sirius knew this had had stayed out his sister's way for the past two days but it was torturous. He desired to say sorry a million times over, and make things right but nothing is that simple is it? James, being the sweet and goofy guy he was, went between the two, making conversation or cracking a joke here or there when appropriate. Sapphire appreciated his efforts immensely.

It wasn't fair for the boy to be a go-between for them but he didn’t mind and so she allowed it.

“It just hurts you know,” she sighed later that afternoon as James perched himself on her bed listening intently. “All I’ve ever wanted was to be treated like an equal and now my own brother doesn’t even see me that way. I know with the way we grew up he’s bound to still have some internalized blood-supremacy but I never thought he’d verbalize it. I know he doesn’t mean it, I know he feels terrible but now I can’t even be an equal with the person I thought I could be. I wish I had Magic,” she sighed running her hand through her thick black locks, “maybe things would be easier then.”

James was quiet for a moment thinking of just what to say, knowing that he’d never been in any sort of situation such as this. He had talked to Lily back in June after the incident with Snape and she’d spoken about the prejudice she faced being a Muggle fan in a word that favors those of pure-blood but that wasn’t the same. Lily still had Magic, despite being from a family that had none whereas Sapphire had no Magic despite being from a family that depended heavily on it. Two completely different situations and yet, James thought Lily might be able to relate to her a lot more than he could.

“I wish I knew what to say,” he admitted after a pregnant pause. “The truth is I’ve never had to deal with anything like this. I’ve been a Blood-Traitor beg that’s hardly comparable you know? I know it can’t be easy and I know Sirius is beating himself over the entire thing. He hasn’t left his room since. But anyway, I wish I could give some advice, I’m usually good at that but this is way out of my jurisdiction. I’m so sorry Sapphire. Just know I’m always her for you, alright?”
She gave him a small smile. “Believe me James I didn’t expect you to have knowledge about this, I just need to vent. Sorry to burden you.”
He shook his head, glasses slipping dangerously down his nose, threatening to bounce off his face completely. “You are not a burden Sapphire, don’t think of yourself like that. You’re going through a lot, and need a way to let it out. Believe me, I’m happy to be here.”
She laughed lightly. “Still, with the life you have you shouldn’t need to worry about a couple fucked-up teenagers.”
He shrugged, raising up his hands. “What can I say? It comes with the job description.”

She laughed louder, shaking her head. James was fantastic in all senses of the word. He surprised her on the daily and she was quickly finding that she would miss him just as much as Sirius when they went back to school in a few weeks. Sometimes she wondered if this summer was too good to be true. It had to be a dream right? Maybe her parents had gotten to her after all, maybe Sirius wasn’t able to save her and this was all some crazy illusion to distract herself from the last seconds of her life ticking away.

James noticed the shift in the girl’s demeanor, her eyes clouded over with something like guilt and doubt and he wanted nothing more to pull her into his arms and tell her everything would be okay. He didn’t though, he knew she was more skittish that she let on. Sapphire had never once been happy with the physical affection she received. She allowed it with his parents because she desperately wanted to stay, for them to accept her at least somewhat. She welcomed it with Sirius but James could tell it scared her. So instead he just watched as her eyes that she must have been named for, flooded with emotions, most of which were too hard to decipher.

“Are you okay?” It was stupid question with an obvious answer but what else could he do? Staring at her wasn’t exactly going to help.
She sighed, prying her eyes away from the window where a breeze was blowing the leaves of a large oak tree outside around.
“I’m never okay James,” she admitted softly, “Some days are just better than others.”
“You’re safe now though.”
“Physically, yes. Mentally, no.”
His brow crinkled. “What does that mean?”
She shook her head, Hair flowing around her shoulders. “Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing. If you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone now.”
James nodded, only stopping as he reached the doorway. “Hey, I’m here for you alright? We’re friends now.”
The smile never reached her eyes. “Thanks James.”

Friendship was not a word she had ever been familiar with and that was far too much to commit to now. Maybe later, maybe when things really did get better. Who was she kidding? Like she told James, her parents could no longer beat her, could no longer treat her like a servant, but that didn’t mean she was free. She’d never be free. Their words still haunted her at every moment, reminding her that she really was nothing more than a silly little girl who deserved nothing but mistreatment. Many squibs, she had learned, ended up offing themselves. When their parents were fed up with them, assuming they didn’t kill the kids themselves, they’d send them out into the street to starve and figure everything out on their own. These kids were often no older than thirteen, that’s assuming their parents held on for a year or two just in case they were ‘late bloomers.’ That never happened; you either had magic by eleven or you didn’t, there were no weird exceptions.

One day, when in the Black Family Library, Sapphire discovered that the average lifespan of a squib was seventeen.
Seventeen. Four more months until she beat the average. That was assuming she even wanted to. When rejected for so long, having been told you will never amount to anything, it makes the desire to life fade away leaving a empty hole in its wake. That was what Sapphire was; an empty hole with nothing more to live for. She only stuck around for her brothers— brother, Regulus didn’t want them anymore. She only got Sirius out to save Sirius not herself, she no longer cared about what her fate was meant to be but Sirius deserved a life. Sirius was a Pureblood wizard, a gryffindor, he bled for his friends, a man like that deserved a life worth telling stories to grandkids about. As far as Sapphire was concerned, her life’s purpose was already completed, the world could stop spinning right now, she could join the angels that she believed were waiting for her without so much of a second thought.

She’d greet death as an old friend. He’d say he was proud of her, holding out his bony hand, and lead her to a place where she could finally rest. Finally she could have peace. The nightmares wouldn’t be there anymore, the intrusive thoughts wouldn’t matter because they would have already won, she could finally breathe without feeling judgmental all around even if there were none. The walls could drop. Sapphire would run into Heaven, or whatever was out there, with open arms and a large childish smile knowing that for once in her measly sixteen years freedom was hers.

Alas her dreams could never be a reality. Despite not believing it, she knew Sirius would be destroyed. He’d blame himself, he always blamed himself and Sapphire wasn’t going to do anything more to instigate that. Eventually she’d have to let these intrusive thoughts go with a soft parting word, and a promise that one day she’d find love for herself, but today was not that day. After all, there was always tomorrow.

One day at a time, she whispered to herself whenever these thoughts arose, one day at time.

Chapter Text

Sapphire knocked lightly on Sirius’ door. Music from a Muggle record player was blaring loudly from inside telling her that he was trying to drown out the world again. He had put stickers on the outside of his door, after asking the Potter’s of course. Some of David Bowie, one spelling out his name, and one that she didn’t take too seriously saying ‘stay out.’ Sirius had always been like that, angsty, trying to be punk rock, but everyone who spent time to get to know him knew he wasn’t.

A disgruntled noise came from the other side sounding like a ‘yeah?’
“Sirius, it’s me, Saph. Can I come in?”
The music that she didn’t recognize fell silent as she heard a shuffling. A second later the door creaked open to reveal her brother wearing an old band-tee that had been a birthday gift from James last year and baggy sweats. His now shoulder-length that their parents despised was pulled up into a messy low bun, and he looked exhausted. His eyes flashed with guilt and confusion as he beckoned her in. “Hey.”
“Hi,” she paused, taking in the room that was so vastly different from hers before perching on his bed, “I was hoping we could talk?”
He nodded. “Yeah, of course.” The door clicked shut behind them as Sirius pulled over the desk chair.

“Sorry for avoiding you.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, I’m the one who messed up.”
“Sorry, force of habit.”
He frowned. “They really are worse when we’re gone aren’t they.”
She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “That’s not important, we’re out of there now.”
“I’m so sorry Saph.”
“Me too.”

Sirius sighed reluctantly. “You’re right, you know.”
“About what?”
“Me. I’ve tried so hard to be nothing like them. I’ve tried to forget their prejudices but maybe I’m just as bad as them. I didn’t mean to say what I said Saph, I don’t know what happened. You are the most important person in my life, the last bit of family I have left and I can’t afford to lose you Saph. You know that right?”

Of course she knew that. It was only them now, them two against the world fighting the fate they’d been bestowed with since birth.

“I know Siri.”
“I do not think you’re less than me.”
“I know.”
Both knew she was only trying to appease him; neither were good with feelings or confrontation. Instead of prying further, they both dropped the topic entirely. It was all they had ever known how to do: Sirius avoided, Sapphire appeased.

James sighed in relief when he realized the two were finally talking again. The summer would have been rather awkward if they refused to speak to one another for the next month and a half.

Currently the kids were playing Truth or Dare. It was nearly as fun with only three people but they made do.
“Prongs,” Sirius started, “Truth or Dare?”
James grinned wickedly. “Dare.”

Typical Sapphire thought. These boys were quite literally put into the house known for recklessness. At this point, the game should just be called Dare or Dare.

Sirius thought long and hard. James was known to take almost any challenge so he wanted to make it difficult. “I dare you to do a spell and see if you get in trouble with the Ministry.”
James’ eyes widened. “I could get expelled for that mate!”
“Yeah, so?”

“Sirius!” Sapphire cut in.
Sirius just shrugged. “I used Incendio and nothing happened. I’m sure Prongs could do it.”

“Levicorpus.”
Sirius was in the air, dangling from his ankles, laughing his quickly reddening head off. Sapphire covered her mouth in shock hoping desperately they wouldn’t get in trouble for this. A second later, James had placed Sirius on the ground again accidentally dropping the boy on his head in the process.

“If you two get in trouble for this I swear I’ll hex you the Muggle way.”
Sirius snorted. “How can you hex us the Muggle way?”

James was grinning beside him. “Yes, please enlighten us, Sapphire.”

“Knives exist.”

Both boys gulped at the insinuation, subconsciously covering their crotches, their faces paling slightly.
She laughed. “I figured that’d do the trick.”
“You’re evil,” gasped Sirius.

“Honestly, you’re scary.”
She giggled. “I know.”

Luckily the Ministry never contacted them, probably assuming it was one of the older Potters who had used the jinx.

“Okay, Sapphire, Truth or Dare?”
Sapphire was considerably more cautious than her brother and his friends so she chose truth. It was still as scary but lying was an option and James didn’t know her enough to know any better.
“What’s the worst lie you’ve ever told, and who to?”
“Oh,” Sapphire breathed, not expecting that question. She bit her lip with her teeth wishing for a moment that Sirius wasn’t sitting next to her. He’d be devastated, even if none of it were true. “I- I told my parents that…” she paused, making eye contact with Sirius, her blue eyes pooling with guilt.
“What is it Saph? It’s okay.”
“It’s bad Sirius.”
“It’s not true though.”
With that, she let out a shaky sigh, looking back at James. “I told my parents that I hated Sirius and wished he would never come back. That — that I wished they’d just disown him already.”
The boys fell silent, staring at Sapphire in shock.

“W-why?”
“Sirius, I had to.”
“Why?”
She swallowed, her eyes squeezing shut as if to get rid of the memories. “I was sick of being Crucioed for defending you,” she admitted. “They asked me what I thought of you after you’d put those posters in your room. I knew it was a trap. It’s always a trap…” she trailed off, not being able to say any more.
“Saph—,”
“Don’t. Don’t do the pity thing, I should have taken the curse. I was scared and stupid and there is no way to justify my actions. Let's just move on okay?”

“Sirius. Truth or Dare?”
His voice was hoarse as he surprised her with Truth.
“How are things going with that person you fancy?”

James’ head snapped up, a cheeky grin making up on his face. “You fancy someone, Pads?”
“I—,” Sirius blushed, glaring playfully at Sapphire, “T-that’s not important,” he muttered.

“You still have to answer the question.”
“Fine. We’re friends, nothing more nothing less. That’s how it’s going to stay.”

Sapphire nodded as Sirius fired off another question to her.
“Have you ever dated anyone?”
Sapphire scoffed. “Oh yeah, Kreacher and I snog on the daily.”
Sirius choked on his spit while she and James cracked out into laughter.
“No Sirius! Unlike Mother and Father, I am not interested in marrying one of our cousins. I have, however, had my first kiss.”
Sirius’ eyes bulged. “Who?”
“That wasn’t part of your original question.”
“Shit.”

“How are things with Red?”
A few more rounds had passed in which Sapphire had announced she had kissed the Muggle boy who shared soda with her two years ago.
James shrugged, for once not having a plethora of things to say about his previous Lily-Flower. “They're okay, we’ve written a bit but I’m not concerned about her right now.”
Sirius seemed to be living on the edge of a heart attack with all the surprises the night had brought. “Y-You’re not concerned about her! Who are you and what have you done with James Potter?”
James chuckled. “Relax mate, there’s just more important things to worry about. Besides, I’m not so sure if chasing after her is even worth it anymore. She’s made it quite clear she’s not interested and I’ve decided to finally respect that.”

Sapphire didn’t understand why her heart gave a slight leap of excitement at the announcement. She had only been with the Potters for two weeks and barely knew the boy but for some reason she didn’t like the idea of him being with someone romantically. She didn’t have feelings for him, they were barely friends, so why on earth did the thought of the red-head that Sirius spoke of in relation to James suddenly leave a bitter taste in her mouth? Did she have feelings for him? No, that’s impossible. Even if she did, he was a Gryffindor Pureblood Quidditch star. There was no reality in which he’d prefer a timid Squib over the feisty Gryffindor prefect.

Chapter Text

“Ice cream?”

There was James Fleamont Potter again being the sweetest human being Sapphire had ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was holding out a slightly melting vanilla ice cream cone to her over the grass.

“Oh, thank you.”
“Of course,” he licked his own cone, shuffling his feet, “Mind if I join you?”
She smiled widely. “Sure.”

Sirius was inside taking a shower, hence why he wasn’t with them at the moment. It would be a while, Sirius Black was nothing if not vain.

James settled beside her, the green blades tickling his feet. Sapphire looked graceful even with the awkwardness that came with licking ice cream. He didn’t know how she looked so effortlessly perfect all of the time. It was frightening, that the past couple weeks having Sapphire around had somehow erased all longing for the love of his life, Lily Evans.
How could years of desire be washed away when a girl, who was so completely opposite of the red-head he’d been in love with since third year, entered his life.

“What’s your favorite flavour?”
Sapphire turned, a smear of vanilla on her top lip. “Mint Chip.”
James frowned a bit. “Really?”
“Really.”
“You choose mint over chocolate?”
“Yes.”
This girl was something else, chocolate was the obvious answer — just ask Moony. “Well, I’ll remember that for next time.” He could swear that her skin flushed the slightest bit as she focused intently on the drip sliding down the sugar cone.
“Next time?”
“You really think you’ll be here the whole summer and only have ice cream once? No way!”
She chuckled, constantly being surprised by the Potter kindness.

Everyday it was getting harder to deny that James Potter was nothing more than Sirius’ best friend. She wished it wasn’t the case, that her emotions weren’t starting to take over, but she didn’t have control over that. It was unrealistic though; dating Potter. He would be going back to Hogwarts in a number of weeks and she’d be here attending Muggle school for the next ten months. There really wasn’t a world in which the fantasies could be a reality.

“You have some ice cream on your lip.”
Sapphire licked her lips to no avail. If this continued the way she thought it would, it would certainly turn into some sort of pathetic romance book cliche. She wasn’t about that, so she took the back of her arm and wiped, only satisfied when she felt the sticky now liquid against her arm hair. No cliches for Sapphire Black, not now, not ever. She could swear James’ eyes darkened in disappointment when she was successful but she wasn’t going to let her imagination get the best of her.

“Did I get it?”
He nodded. “Yep. You were very thorough.”
“Good.”

“So,” Sapphire said, desperate to bring back reality, “tell me about this Lily girl.”
James grinned softly, memories of the Gryffindor flooding back in. “She’s great. Lily is the type of girl from dreams that you’d never believe is reality despite how many times you pinch yourself.” There was the sinking feeling of wistfulness again. “She’s wickedly smart but also can hex anyone that dares get in her way. She kind of hates me, and I don’t know why, but that only draws me in more. I don’t want her to hate me. I’m trying really hard to be better because I want to impress her with my increased maturity you know? Anyway, I’ve fancied her since I was thirteen years old. Lily’s the only girl I’ve ever looked at in that way, I’m starting to think there will never be anyone else. I really think she’s the one…”

James really cared for the girl, that much was blatantly obvious. It was always supposed to be them. There was no use trying to make fantasies of something that would only end in disappointment. But there was one thing that seemed a little off. “You’re only maturing to impress her? If you’re only changing for someone else then are you really changing? Those changes can’t be genuine if it’s only to look better. You need to genuinely want to change and put the effort in for yourself, not for someone else. No one’s going to like you if you’re fake James.”

Sapphire seemed to be a well of knowledge. James has never thought about it in that way before but immediately knew she was right. He couldn't better himself if he was relying on someone else’s validation in order to do so. James wanted to be better, he wanted to be someone others could rely on; not for Lily but for himself. Sirius needed him, Sapphire needed him, and neither were going to be able to depend on him if he was still playing childish pranks and calling Snape Snivellous at every turn. He’d be a man soon and he wasn’t acting like it.

“You’re right. I want to be a better man, but doing it just for Lily’s affections isn’t going to get me anywhere in life.”
Sapphire smiled, happy to see that someone actually valued her opinion. “I’m glad you agree.”
“You’re insanely brilliant, you know that?”
She blushed, shaking her head slightly. “Hardly.”
“You are. Your emotional intelligence is insane.”
“Trauma does that I suppose.”
The mood was dropped again but James didn’t dare pry and Sapphire didn’t offer. Eventually they would trust one another enough to confide the deep things but not right now, not today.

Chapter Text

A letter flittered onto the kitchen table a few mornings later. The seal was a beautiful silver wax with an intricate floral design on it. The address on the envelope was written in near perfect cursive. Whoever wrote this letter was certainly impressive.

James’ eyes had lit up upon the sight, snatching it quickly. “It’s from Lily,” he breathed.

Sirius oohed at him in a teasing manner, slapping him lightly on the back in encouragement. Sapphire hid the unjust disappointment behind a smile that had been crafted precisely over the years.

“Are you going to open it?”
“Well—yeah,” James stuttered, “But why on earth is she writing to me?”
Sirius shrugged, telling him again to just be a man and open the damned thing. After all, ‘it’s only a little paper mate.’

The seal cracked, wax popping off the parchment and making a thonk-type sound on the wooden table. Paper rustled under James’ calloused fingers. His eyes skimmed greedily over the ink searching for messages between the lines, fingers guiding his place. His smile seemed to stretch with every character, tracing the heart Lily dotted her i with at the end.

“She just wanted to know how my summer’s going.”
Sirius deflated slightly, “That’s it? Boring!”
“Hey, it’s more than I’ve ever gotten before. You do remember Evans used to call me an arrogant toe-rag right?”
Sapphire had to stifle a giggle at that. That sentence alone made her want to meet this girl a considerable amount more than before.
Sirius had snorted at James’ bluntness. “She obviously thinks differently now though mate.”
James sighed, eyeing the parchment warily. “Maybe…”

Sapphire was outside again. She adored the outdoors. Back at number twelve Grimmauld Place, she wasn’t allowed to leave. Grimmauld Place was situated in a Muggle neighborhood—an odd place for a Pureblood wizarding family who detested them—and therefore leaving ran the risk of running into ‘filth.’ Travel to the outside world was done either by Apparation or Floo, two things that Sapphire did not have access to. For the past five years Sapphire was akin to the fairytale character Rapunzel—or she would be if there was any real access to Muggle literature. Because of this, Sapphire welcomed the sun’s beams of warmth and allowed the grass to tickle her to the point that it caused slight rashes. She was probably allergic to grass but it didn’t matter. The way the birds would sing to one another in the trees overhead and the squirrels would skitter to and from was exciting.
It made her wonder what the neighborhood cat, Tabby, was up to nowadays. Surely the cat was fine, it was an outdoor cat and probably had an owner but Sapphire couldn’t help but be curious. Tabby had been her only friend.

“Penny for your thoughts?”
Having not heard the Muggle expression before, Sapphire’s nose scrunched at her brother’s words. “Huh?”
Sirius chuckled, taking a seat beside her. “It’s a Muggle expression. It just means I want to know what you’re thinking about.”
“Then why didn’t you just say that?”
“‘Cause I didn’t want to.”
“Brilliant.” Sirius was always annoying. There was no need to comment more on that, it was fact.

“I’m just happy to be here, to be seeing this,” Sapphire spread her arms around, referencing the yard.
“You’re pleased easily.”
“I am. That’s a good thing.”

Sirius disagreed, but he, despite being siblings, had been raised much differently. He had been raised to expect nothing but the best in life. Maybe the simple things should have been exciting but they weren’t. He wanted, and felt he deserved a more lavish lifestyle. Sirius, despite being disowned and a blood-traitor, was still a Black. You can take Sirius out of the Sacred Twenty-Eight but you can’t take the Sacred Twenty-Eight out of Sirius.

“You deserve more Saph.”
“That’s true, but if the simple things make me happy then do I really need more?”
He couldn't argue with that. Sapphire was always the wisest of the Black’s, that included their older cousins.

“I just don’t want you settling.” Sirius could understand his sister's newfound happiness, and her desire to be submissive to strangers who she believed held her well-being in their hands, but that didn’t mean he liked it. Sirius did not want his sister to become doormat, or rather, to continue being a doormat here like she had with their parents.
“I’d rather settle than be high maintenance.”

That was the problem, she thought asking for more than tye necessities was high maintenance. She never wanted to be a bother. Sapphire couldn’t understand that asking for pancakes and bacon one day instead of buttered toast for breakfast wouldn’t classify her as a spoilt brat. Sirius had been raised to be a spoilt heir while Sapphire had been raised to a submissive housewife. The roles only worsened when the Hogwarts years came.

“Asking for something more is not high maintenance Saph. Believe me, Mia and Monty want you to ask for more, they want to spoil you!”
“I don’t want to be spoiled, Sirius. Why can’t you understand that?”
“Because you’re only believing the lies that Mother and Father fed you of having to the submissive little girl. You’re a woman now Saph, you’re free from them, you are allowed to have an opinion, you’re allowed to be assertive. No one is going to hurt you now.”
“You don’t know that!”
“Yes I do!”
“Just because they won’t hurt the ex-Pureblood-heir of the Black family doesn’t mean they won’t hurt the stupid squib disappointment!”
“You’re not a disappointment Saph, and you’re far from stupid.”
“I am though, you know I am.”

Sirius raked and hand through his hair, heart breaking at his sister’s words. “I know that’s what they wanted you to think, but it is not what I think and it certainly should not be what you think.”

A silence fell over the twins for a moment. The air was tense with the words that were attempting to tear down stone walls. The kids were brainwashed, traumatized and confused about what life was supposed to be like. One thinking they deserved nothing, the other knowing they could lasso the moon if they tried.

“We’re broken Sirius.”
“I know Saph,” he sighed. “I know.”

Chapter Text

July was coming to a close. One more month until the boys went back to Hogwarts and Sapphire was left alone to brave the Muggle world. It was inevitable, yes, but that didn’t mean she had to enjoy the fact.

James had just entered the backyard, smiling like the Cheshire Cat. He was holding three ice cream cones, one with a distinct green color. He held out Cookies n’ Cream to Sirius, saved Rocky Road for himself and— “Mint Chip for you madam,” he grinned, offering the last cone of sugary goodness.
Sapphire hoped she wasn’t too badly blushing as she accepted the treat. “You remembered.”
“Of course I did,” he shrugged, “I can’t forget that you like, arguably, the worst flavor in existence.”

Sapphire and Sirius both gasped loudly. “That is horribly offensive Prongs! Mint Chip happens to be my second favorite.”
“Weirdo.”

The two boys bantered back and forth like this for a while venturing to other topics besides ice cream as insult material.

Sapphire finally cleared her throat bringing the two out of their hair insults in which Sirius claimed no one could beat his luscious locks. “Either way,” she said over their voices, “Thank you, James.”
“No problem.”
What she didn’t realize was that James’ eyes were lingering on the girl and somehow Mint Chip didn’t seem quite so awful anymore.

Sirius nudged his arm, shooting him a knowing look. They exchanged a silent conversation, Sapphire oblivious to the whole thing, her attention caught by a nearby Blue Jay.

“I saw that look Prongs,” Sirius whispered tensely.
“What look?” Truthfully, James really didn’t know what look was being talked about.
“The one you usually direct towards Red.”
He was baffled. No, there was no way he fancied Sapphire! Lily Evans was the light of James Potter’s life, Lily was the only person James had set his eyes on in that way in all of his sixteen years of life. Sapphire was his best mate’s sister and was nothing like Lily. The assumption that James fancied her was completely outrageous. “I was not!”
“You were,” Sirius argued back. He wasn’t upset. The contrary actually; James and Sapphire would be good for each other he thought.
James rolled his eyes, stubbornly refusing to believe what was right in front of him. “You’re mental.”

Sapphire had her arms resting on the bedroom’s window sill while she peered out at the stars dotting the night’s sky. That was one of the few things she genuinely liked about how she grew up; Astronomy. The stars were her solace, the reminder that everything was so miniscule and insignificant in comparison to the billions of other galaxies that were out there. The evening breeze whistled back her baby hairs chilling her neck. Laugher reverberated down the street where a family with three young children lived and were playing Cops and Robbers. A dog barked from another house having been roused from the commotion. Everything was peaceful. This was the life Sapphire had longed for.

“Don’t fall out.”
Sapphire grinned recognizing the distinct voice of her housemate. “I am not even leaning far James.”
He hummed, coming closer to her spot. “What’s so interesting out there?”
“Everything.”
He chuckled softly, everything seemed to be her answer often.

Sapphire turned to face him, the dim lamp-light illuminating James’ tanned face, casting a glare on his glasses, hiding the hazel of his eyes. “You are so lucky to live here.”
“You live here too.”
“Not like you do.”
“I wasn’t aware there were different versions of living here,” James said, amusement lacing his words.
Sapphire laughed bashfully, deciding to face the stars again. The kids’ laughter had faded, cricket chirps filling their absence. The dog had gone to bed. “There are different versions of everything. No one is the same, no one has the same experiences.”

James was always shocked at the way Sapphire’s words flowed so effortlessly. She always sounded like a well of wisdom and he desired to know more. If Sapphire Black was his professor he’d never bore of her lectures. “I suppose that’s true.”
“Of course it is.”

James swallowed, hands becoming clammy due to her quiet confidence. “So,” he said, determined to get his mind away from where it currently was headed, “the stars?”
Sapphire’s grin widened. “It is cliche, I know.”
“No, it’s not. I can’t do Astronomy to save my life,” he joked, his face gaining heat when she chuckled, “but I definitely think it’s cool.”

Her eyes stayed glued to the sky, blue reflecting the inky void, starlight lighting the shiny part of the iris. “The stars are wonderful. Astronomy is the one Wizarding subject that I know, the one Wizarding subject I could pass with flying colors.” Sapphire was focused on the Regulus star, knowing Astronomy was the favorite subject of all three of them and hoping his gaze was cast into the sky right now as well.
“I don’t doubt that.” James’ voice had quieted, and with that had deepened. The shiver along Sapphire’s neck was now no longer from the wind.
He was only a few inches to her side. Their arms were nearly rubbing against each other. This sort of proximity was completely foreign and felt almost illegal. Sapphire made no attempt to move though. She may have wiped away the ice cream on her lip a week or so ago, but this was different. Now she didn’t feel quite as bad at the thought of being physically close to James Fleamont Potter.

“They make me forget,” she admitted, refusing to meet James’ gaze for fear of what might happen.
“Make you forget what?”
“Well I am with the stars so I ca not remember right now obviously.”
James laughed, his chest feeling bubbly. “I think that is the first joke I’ve heard you make.”
Sapphire hummed, “Do not expect them, they are few and far between.”
“Well we’ll just have to change that.”
“Oh will we?” She was grinning at Regulus, knowing he would be completely astounded that she was joking with a Gryffindor.
“Yes,” James’ voice was confident and teasing, doing terrible things to the girl, “mark my words.”
“Will do.”

Sapphire rubbed away the dust on her fingertips from the window sill. How easy it would be if personal burdens could just be wiped away like that. If Walburga and Orion had even an ounce of empathy, these thoughts wouldn’t have to plague the night.

“The pain.” Her words were barely audible over the cricket song but James was close enough to understand, close enough to read her lips. “The stars help me forget the pain.”

Hearts clenched at the words admitted. No one should have had to go through something that it hurts so bad that the only option to feel better is to forget. “I’m so sorry Saph.”
“Don’t be,” she said, “I was not the right child. They had Sirius and Regulus, I was not needed.”
“That’s not true.” James ran a hand under his eyes. “You are an amazing person Sapphire. You shouldn’t believe your parents lies.”
“Are they lies if my mother meant them?”

James was tearing up at this point, not understanding how anyone could have gone through that and come out as perfect as Sapphire had. “You’re parents aren’t good people, you should never base your worth on people like them. You should never base your worth on a person in general. The only person that can determine your worth is you.”

Sapphire wanted to say that James was right, she wanted to believe the good words James told her, but she couldn’t. Her mind was clouded again, and the stars were too far away for comfort now. “I was not meant for happy endings, I was not even meant for happy beginnings.”
James considered this for a moment, knowing that she wouldn’t listen if he argued. He smiled when he found the perfect loophole. “Then let’s make sure you have a happy middle.”
Sapphire bit her lip, facing the bespectacled boy, her eyes bright once again. “A happy middle?”
“A happy middle,” he confirmed. He leaned down to her level, “And you know what?”
“What?”
“The middle is the best part.” James’ hand grazed over Sapphire’s arm slightly, stepping back to let her have the rest of the evening to herself, accidentally causing goosebumps for both parties.
“Goodnight Saph.” He slipped out of the room into the shadows of the darkened hallway.
Sapphire touched the place his finger had once been, cursing herself for the giddiness the stupid boy caused.
“Goodnight James…”

Chapter Text

Sunday, August first, 1976. One more month of summer, and apparently it was five days until Peter’s birthday. Counting down the days wasn’t helpful but was happening nonetheless.
Sapphire would be starting Muggle School a week before the boys left, on the twenty-third. She had been studying from books Euphemia gave her from the local library that were an immense help. Though in the grand scheme of things, Sapphire really didn’t need school. She and Sirius were still loaded with riches and had no need to work a day in their life. However, Euphemia and Fleamont had suggested the schooling and Sapphire knew better than to argue even if she wasn’t excited about this change. Sapphire would be a couple years behind due to not having any proper education before. Either way, the subjects were still difficult. Algebra and Chemistry were easily the most challenging of the six classes she’d be taking that term. Because of this, Sapphire had poured her heart and soul into studying whenever the opportunity presented itself. She wanted to do good—she needed to do good.

“Oi Saph, get your head out of that book!”
Sapphire groaned at her brother's voice. Sometimes it was piercing and whiny, overall completely repulsive. Sirius was standing in the doorway looking down at her with his signature smirk. This smirk had probably been practiced in the mirror from the age of seven onwards.
“Why?”
“Because studying is boring and it’s summer. Duh.”
The Algebra textbook thudded closed, hiding Quadratic equations among its pages. “And you are doing something more interesting?”
Sirius rolled his eyes. “Of course!”
“Fine, I will be right down.”
“Yes! You’re the bestest sister ever!”
“Bestest isn’t a word!” He was already gone. Sapphire would only get flipped off for that quip anyway.

James and Sirius were wrestling. Yes, full out wrestling on the lawn, grass getting all over them. The sight was entirely entertaining. Sapphire had to admit this was far better than attempting to catch up with the Muggle-school curriculum. Why they were wrestling, well that couldn’t be deciphered. Though it was clear that it was only for fun and so Sapphire grinned and cheered James on only to get a rise out of Sirius—no other reason. James was winning. Sirius may have been a Beater, but James was taller and worked out more often. There was no competition whatsoever.

“Give up yet?” asked James, out of breath and laughing.
Sirius shoved the boy off of him causing James to let out a ‘humph’ as he thudded against the grass. He was scowling but the tug at the right corner of his lip gave away that there were no hard feelings. “Yeah, whatever.”
This caused James to only laugh louder.

Sapphire walked over to the two, crouching down and patting Sirius’ head. “You poor thing,” she cooed mockingly.
“I hate you both.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“Whatever.”
“Great comeback.”
Sirius didn’t respond to this, he had long ago learned that arguing with his sister was futile.

“Was this better than studying?” asked James. His glasses were crooked, hair messier than ever with blades of grass sticking out of it, a smear of mud coated his left cheek and the previously white shirt was now stained with green and brown. James Potter was completely adorable.

“Saph?”
She tore her eyes away, towards her brother. “Huh?”
“You never answered James’ question.” Sirius was smirking as always but this time the reason for it was embarrassingly obvious.
“Oh yeah, sorry I zoned out.”

“No problem,” said James.
“Yes. This was much better than studying.”
“Good.”

“Yep this was fantastic.” Sirius stood, brushing away the grass and dirt clinging to his trousers.
“You leaving?”
Sirius motioned to his tousled hair. “I need to fix my hair Prongs.”

James waved him off with a laugh turning to Sapphire. “Is he as obsessed with his looks at home too?”
“Oh absolutely.” There was a pause, a burst of confidence bubbling in Sapphire waiting to be released. “Clearly you’re not.”

James blinked, taken aback at her boldness. He had heard her insult Sirius a multitude of times, but she had never been comfortable enough to do so with him. This jab only proved that Sapphire felt safe with him. James’ grin widened, eyes sparkling with amusement. “Not at all.”

Sapphire was unsure why she felt so confident right now, but wasn’t going to question it further. Happiness was rare in this life and so grabbing onto it was necessary when offered. There was no time for doubt. “Your hair looks the exact same. Better with grass in it though.”
“Yeah, I figured I could use it as an accessory. Adds a pop of colour.”
“But I thought you hated Slytherin?”
James’ nose scrunched. “What does that have to do with—”
“Slytherin colors are green and grass is green. Therefore by decorating your hair with grass, you are indirectly supporting Slytherin.”
James stepped forward, smirking. “Is that so?”
“Definitely.”
He hummed. “That would certainly piss off Snape.”
“Even better.”
“I thought so.”
“I didn’t know you could think.”

James snorted, Sapphire needing to bite on her tongue to keep from following him into laughter. They were only a foot or so apart now. James looked even better close up than far away Sapphire observed. The afternoon sun caused his eyes to reflect gold as though holding pools of honey. Flecks of green arose when his gaze shifted elsewhere, matching the grass resting on his head and shoulders. Subconsciously, the gap had closed more. There were only a few inches now. His skin was textured. A small bump here or there, a mole on the side of his chin, a freckle beneath his left eye. James shaved but being this close Sapphire could see the fresh stubble poking through. His hair wasn’t completely black as often described. With the sun shining, it was clearly a deep and rich brown. Sapphire had never desired to run her hands through something more.

“I’m thinking a lot right now,” James breathed, breaking the silence, his eyes boring into her blue ones.
“What of?”
James shuffled closer, his hand ghosting against her cheek as he pushed a stray hair behind her ear. “You.”
Her heart was palpitating. Now would be the opportune time to run away and avoid getting attached. He was Sirius’ best friend, he was her host, whatever she was feeling was far from a good idea. She couldn’t look away. “Oh.” It was the only comprehensive thought able to be spoken. Her throat had frozen. This felt like a panic attack in the best and worst way. There was no way which path it would choose to take. She could still run.

Her traitor hands had a different idea. They came up, picking an especially annoying blade of grass from James Potter’s hair. His breath hitched. Sapphire was screwed, so completely screwed. It was too late to run. Her hand came down, choosing to rest against this chest. The heart could be felt through the fabric. His heart was beating nearly as erratically as her own. A hand was placed gently on her cheek. Her face was tilted up ever so slightly. James' eyes were filled with questions.
“Saph…” They searched for answers in one another being unable to speak from the proximity. This was new, so extremely new.
A thumb grazed over the pink of Sapphire’s lips, sending tingles in every direction. Hands dug into a white cotton t-shirt to keep stable. “May I—”

“I knew it!”
The moment was over just like that. Sapphire stumbled backwards while James spun around jerkily to see his best mate.
“I—It's not what it looks Like!” James stuttered, thinking that Sirius would be angry.
Sirius was talking, laughing even, but Sapphire couldn’t hear. She had come to her senses just as quickly as she'd lost them. Disbelief. That was all that could be felt; disbelief. James Potter was off limits and yet…

Sapphire didn’t stick around to think more. She ran. She ran back into the Potter home, up the stairs, only stopping once the door to her room was firmly closed and locked and the bed was reached. This couldn't happen again. Correction—this couldn't happen again. Not even in her dreams.

Chapter Text

A knock sounded on the outside of her isolation. It had been an hour since the incident and Sapphire refused to face anyone. Why did this have to happen? Why did she have to fall for James Potter? Why?

The knock came again. She knew the person on the other side was Sirius. Either way she wasn’t going to answer. Tears stained the skin, hands shook, hair was knotted from hands running through it too much. Sapphire Black was a mess. James promised a happy middle but that was his promise not hers. Why let happiness in if it’ll go away? Naivety; that was what it was. Sapphire was naive—at least that's what she believed of herself.

“Saph, please let me in.”

He’d just use magic if she didn’t. Sapphire knew this and yet thought holding him off was a wise idea; it wasn’t. “Go away.”
“No.”
She let out a strangled groan, dragging herself out of the bundle of blankets and to the door. Regrettably it was unlocked and a much cleaner Sirius Black faced her. He was quick to enter, occupying the made-up portion of the bed.

Once both parties were comfortable he started talking. “So, you fancy James?”
“No.” The answer was sharp, uninviting, and yet Sirius would continue anyway.
“You do,” he insisted, “You guys were nearly about to snog.”
“We were not.”
“I’m completely okay with it, you know.”
“I don’t care.”
Sirius sighed loudly. “What’s going on Saph?”

The covers rustled as Sapphire pushed herself into a seated position, leaning against the headboard. “I don’t—” Upon seeing the look on his face her tactic changed, “I can’t fancy him.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” she nearly-screamed.
“No?”
“Ugh you’re useless Sirius!”

Sirius knew that his sister didn’t mean it, but it was admittedly great to see her upset over fancying a boy instead of worrying about if she’d be alive in the morning. “Okay, well can you tell me?”
“I do fancy James,” she admitted, a ragged sigh leaving her lips, “but it’s just not realistic. He’ll be going off to Hogwarts in a few weeks and I’ll be here and besides, he fancies that Lily Evans girl and clearly she’s started to like him to some extent and I don’t want to come in the middle of all that. Sirius,” she said in a pained voice, looking at her brother, “James told me that he thought Lily was the one, like THE one. I don’t want to mess with that! And,” she continued, trying to justify why it was so wrong for her to have feelings, “I’m a Squib. He’s a pureblood from a fantastic family and probably has dozens of career plans on his fingertips. I don’t even have an education. It’s-it’s just not a good idea for either of us. And what happened today…” she paused, fighting back the burning tears, “I-it was all just a big mistake.”

Sirius was about to say something when a small knock came from the inside of the door that was slightly opened.
“Can I come in?”
James was there, of course he was. It was just Sapphire’s luck that he had heard nearly everything. His gaze was darting between the two siblings and he was fidgeting with his fingers. Sapphire’s eyes were squeezed shut as if thinking that if she kept them closed long enough he would just go away.

“Saph,” Sirius encouraged, “I think you two should talk.”
Sapphire opened her eyes and faced the boy at the doorway.“It’s okay, it was a mistake, you’re in love with Lily, you don’t see me like that, it was just a spur of the moment thing, I understand, no hard feelings, I’m fine.” She turned back to Sirius giving him a pointed look. “There, we talked.”

“It was awfully one-sided,” James said.
Sirius walked over, patting James on the shoulder. “Talk,” he demanded.

Sapphire refused to meet the bespectacled boy’s gazes, choosing instead to play with the ends of the blankets she was bundled under. This would not be good.
James rubbed his hands on his trousers. “So,” he breathed, “You fancy me?”
Sapphire cringed deeply. “Did you really hear everything?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“Brilliant.” She couldn’t deny it, he had heard everything. It was time to face the truth. “I do fancy you, yes.”
James nodded, stepping further into the room. “And you say it’s not realistic?”
“It’s not.”
“Because of Hogwarts?”
“And Lily.”

James sighed, knowing that piece of information did complicate things. He found Sapphire fascinating, he desired to know all about her, but Lily would always be there. There was no denying the fact that feelings were there for the crystal-eyed girl, but they were there for the red-head. How was someone supposed to choose?

“You’re right,” James admitted, rubbing under his glasses, “I do like Lily. But,” he added before she could deflate, “I think I fancy you too.”

Sapphire was quiet, contemplating. She was just the new girl, the new mystery, the enigma. James thought he had feelings but it was simply curiosity. “Choose Lily.”
“Why?”
“You have always fancied her, I am just the new interesting thing. You like me because you do not know me James. It would never work with us. Choose Lily, James.”
“How am I supposed to choose Lily if I never get to figure out my feelings for you?”

Sapphire slipped out of the bed again, walking up to him. “You fancy Lily right, without question?”
“Yes.” Honesty was the best route to go even if it was hurtful to admit.
“But you only think you fancy me.”
James was stumped by that. “I guess?”
“If you have doubts about me but are one-hundred percent about Lily then it is not worth questioning. You want to be with Lily. Stop trying to complicate things.”
“I’m not trying to complicate things,” James said in a tired voice, “I like you and want to know you more. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
Sapphire stepped closer, locking eyes with the boy. “Trust me James, don’t. You will make things worse for us both if you do.” Sapphire had felt with enough pain in her life; family pain, mental, physical, emotional, she didn’t need to add to that with some boy. Boys would always break hearts, love was unattainable. Yes, James was cute and sweet and utterly amazing, but he wasn’t her amazing, he was Lily’s. Even if Lily didn’t know it yet.

“Give me a chance.”
No. Absolutely not. Bad idea, bad bad bad idea. “Why?” And yet her mouth thought differently.
“Because we fancy each other and I care about you.”
“I am your best mate’s sister and housemate. Us dating would just be a set up for ultimate failure when things do not work out. Besides, Sirius would murder you in cold blood.”

It was true, Sirius was incredibly protective of his sister. They were protective of each other. If James hurt Sapphire in any way, he’d be dead within the hour. This was only because Sirius had seen his sister hurt far too many times when he was unable to protect her. Any chance to take her pain, he would.

“I know that,” James chuckled, “I still want to try.” He gently grabbed her hand, “One date. That’s all I ask. If you still don’t think it’s a good idea I’ll drop it. What I do know,” he continued, “is that almost kissing you wasn’t a mistake. I wanted to kiss you Sapphire, and I know you wanted to kiss me.”

Her heart fluttered at his words, heart trying to attack the head with its nonsense. He’ll be gone in a month, it whispered. If it doesn’t work out you won’t have to see him again for a long while. It’s only one date. Giving him a chance wouldn’t ruin her life. She wasn’t so illogical to think that, but was still scared. She was allowing herself to be in a position to be hurt. After so many years of walking on eggshells, of being the sweetest little girl possible to avoid parental outburst, she was opening herself to vulnerability with someone she barely knew. Her walls were beginning to be torn down, brick by brick, and somehow, it was okay.

“Fine,” she whispered, “one date.” Her eyes were contracted with hesitation but deep down she knew this was a good thing to do, to step out of her comfort zone.
“But James,” she rushed, “I’ve never done this before. I-I don’t want to get hurt.”
His thumb rubbed over the back of her hand soothingly. “I will never hurt you Sapphire.” His gaze was determined, “Never.”
“Then I guess it’s a date.”
He chuckled, squeezing her hands in his. “It’s a date.”

Chapter Text

It’s just a date, it’s just a date.

The mantra danced in Sapphire’s conscience as she got ready. No matter how much she repeated these words to herself, they were plainly untrue. It was always going to be more than that, at least to her. Sapphire didn’t know how to treat things casually. There was either nothing at all or everything all at once. Her myriad of issues, mentally and emotionally, didn’t allow her to have causality. She was already committed to this man. The commitment was definite there, and if James decided that this wasn’t what he wanted Sapphire would be destroyed. Sapphire was nothing but extremes, hence why the happy middle promise never sat well with her. So, that was why, as she smoothed her skirt and blouse, brushing away her baby hairs, Sapphire prepared for the worst. No opening up, no laughing, no getting too close. All known was disappointment; there was no use in tricking herself into thinking she deserved or would get anything more than that.

“Good luck Saph.” Sirius was behind her, smiling down at his little sister who he was so extremely proud of. One would think he'd hate the idea of his best mate and sister but he didn’t. In fact, Jakes was probably the only person Sirius would approve of for her. James was the one person Sirius knew wouldn’t hurt her.
Sapphire sighed, turning around. “Thanks Siri.” Her lips were in a tense line, her forehead wrinkled from her furrowed brows, her left arm clutched in her right; she was scared.
“Everything is going to be fine,” Sirius encouraged, “James is a good person.”
There was a nod but no time to respond verbally. It was time.

James met her in the foyer, next to the Floo powder which they’d be taking into Diagon Alley. His eyes lit up as she met him, she looked, simply put, beautiful.
Sapphire blushed deeply at the new attention, she’d never been looked at the way James was now.

Sirius stood behind her, sending meaningful looks at his mate, he couldn’t afford to see his sister hurt again. Monty and Mia stood to the side, by the kitchen, grinning softly as they watched the exchange.

“Ready?” asked James carefully, knowing the situation was extremely delicate.
Saph stepped forward, nodding, her shoes clipping lightly on the hardwood floor. James grabbed her hand and got a handful of the powder in the other, leading them both into the fireplace.
“Diagon Alley,” he spoke clearly whilst the pair were swallowed in flames of green and Sapphire clutched his hand so tightly, he was nearly losing circulation.

“Here we are.”

Sapphire opened her eyes, gasping slightly at the sight of the Leaky Caldron. Laughter came from various corners, waiters bustled by with tankards, and a few bird-like creatures flew around unnoticed by the customers. “Wow,” she breathed.
James chuckled. “Oh this is nothing, wait till we get to the Alley.” He led her out into the magical corner of London.

Sapphire was assaulted with colors and noise from every direction. Children ran around screaming at their sibling about toads, shop windows advertised all sorts of objects that seemed completely surreal: solid gold cauldrons, Fizzing Wizzbees, toads specialized for singing in the Hogwarts Toad Choir, bedazzled wizards robes, love potions, wands with unicorn hair cores and more than could be kept track of.

“Wicked right?”
“Completely,” Sapphire whispered, afraid if she spoke louder it would all disappear. Did Sirius and Regulus really get to experience every year?
“Where do you want to start?”
Sapphire looked up at the smiling boy in awe. She shook her head, overwhelmed at everything around her. “You decide, I’m in shock.”
James laughed again. “How do you feel about an ice cream?”
“That sounds great.”
“Good. I know a spot.”

James led them down the street to the corner where Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream shop stood. Most of the flavors offered were unsurprising but then again, this was Wizarding London, it would be stupid to assume that there wasn’t more.

“Pixie dust,” Sapphire read.
“Don’t have that, it’s quite gross and they won’t be happy.”
“Who won’t be happy?”
“The Pixies.”
“Then why is their dust in ice cream?”
James shrugged. “I dunno.”
It didn’t seem right to take something from a species if they weren’t consenting to it but that was how the wizards operated apparently.
“Troll slime,” Sapphire cringed, “why on earth?”
“People are weird.”
“Clearly.”
The two soon ordered more appropriate flavors and sat eating in content.

The day passed quickly, Sapphire becoming enthralled with a self-filling quill with its feather from a Phoenix. Unfortunately this particular quill was quite expensive and although James offered to pay, Sapphire refused.

“You know, a gold cauldron would look quite good in my room,” she stated.
James laughed loudly. “What on earth do you need that for?”
“Decoration obviously. Come on Potter, keep up!”

By the end of the day, the pair had been holding hands for upwards of three hours and had no plans of letting go anytime soon. James was unable to wipe the silly little grin off his face. This date only confirmed the reality of his feelings for his best mate’s sister. Better yet, Sirius was okay with it! He hadn’t even thought about Lily all day.

“Hey Saph?”
Sapphire pried her eyes away from a spell boom with an intricately designed cover. “Yes?”
“How do you feel this date went, because I had a great time?”
Sapphire bit the inside of her cheek ducking her head down so that her long hair covered her flaming red face. He had a great time. James Potter liked being with her. It felt unreal and yet… it was. “I had a wonderful time too.” She refused to face the boy that stood to her side, but she knew he had heard her. James’ thumb brushed against her hand that was still entwined with his, squeezing lightly.
“Would you like to do this again—or I mean not this exactly—I mean another date. I—sorry I’m frazzled. I-I really like you Sapphire.”

This was all she needed. She was hooked. Maybe it was the lack of commitment from anyone else in her life, maybe it was fear to let go of a good thing, either way it didn’t matter, Sapphire was jumping in even if it meant her feet wouldn't land on solid ground. She faced the boy. “I like you too James. I don’t think I need a second date to know that.”
James blinked, confusion lining his face. “what do you—,” His sentence wasn’t finished. Sapphire grabbed his face, kissing him deeply. It took a moment but soon a hand was against her waist and James was kissing back with the same passion inside a book shop.

Their hearts were erratic, bodies flush together behind a bookshelf, arms pulling hips and faces closer together with a passion that neither of them realized they possessed. Sapphire’s hand was running through James’ thick locks, tugging at them, afraid that if she let go it’d turn out to only be a vivid dream. James’ fingers dug into her hips, undoubtedly causing an indentation in her skin. Their lips disconnected and reconnected three times before they needed to truly come back for air; eyes were closed, breaths heavy, foreheads resting together in bliss.
“Woah,” breathed James once he’d calmed down a bit.

Sapphire was still leaning against him, sweet breath fanning over his face. His hands had softened, leaving her hips in a loose hold as he studied her features, falling quickly.
This, this was right. Not Evans, not the girls who fawned after him for his Quidditch abilities, no, Sapphire Black, Sapphire Black was the girl that he hadn’t realized he'd been looking for this whole time. He licked his lips, which now tasted like mint and chocolate from the earlier treat. Yes, Mint Chip was definitely a fantastic choice.

“James.” Her voice was soft, gentle, doubtful, her eyes that now resembled the depths of the sea roamed James’ face looking for a crack, a tell that this had all been a huge mistake. There was nothing there besides a loving gaze.
"I want you—I want to be with you. It’s you Sapphire.”
Her hands came down, laying on his shoulders. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“What about Hogwarts?”
“I’ll write.”
“Lily?”
“Nothing there, not anymore.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“I-I’ll be with you. I trust you James.”
James' smile was face-splitting. “Brilliant,” he said, his right hand, brushing away a few loose hairs, “You’re beautiful.”
“I-I think that’s you.”

His giggle was intoxicating, he was intoxicating. Neither of them realized how quickly things could change, how quickly a person could become so totally infatuated. And yet, here there were, kissing again in the Diagon Alley bookshop, ignoring the stares of children and judgment looks of adults. It was only James and Sapphire—at least for the next four weeks.

Chapter Text

Things were good. A thought that hadn’t dared to cross Sapphire Black’s mind in years. James’ arm was hung loosely around her shoulders as he chatted with Sirius about Quidditch. A Muggle book was held in front of her face, her body cuddled into her boyfriend’s chest. James was warm, his chest steadily rising and falling, vibrating every so often at a joke that Sirius made.

“There’s no way that the Tutshill Tornados are better than the Canons,” he argued loudly, free arm waving wildly.
A ball of loose parchment went flying, hitting the top of Sapphire’s head who happened to be in the cross-fire. She startled slightly, but quickly giggled at the realization that the ball had been thrown by her idiot of a brother.

“Bullshit!” Sirius exclaimed. “Sorry Saph, that was meant for Prongs.” =
“I figured as much.”

James’ eyes narrowed. “Oi watch it mate, that’s my girlfriend!” His voice was rich with joy at those simple words. Girlfriend. The title left his mouth like a free flowing river. James was so certain, there was no wavering, no second thoughts. Sapphire was his girlfriend, anyone else simply fell short in comparison.
“Right, and that’s my sister,” Sirius rebutted.

A giggle bubbled up, a fresh spring meeting with the river, crystal eyes filled with mirth. “Are you two fighting over me?”
James’ Quidditch-toned arm tightened around her. “Absolutely.”

Another ball hit James on the nose as his head lifted after kissing the crown of Sapphire’s head.“Oi, I didn’t sign up to third wheel with you lot!”
“You were the one who encouraged it,” Sapphire pointed out, grabbing the ball that had fallen into her lap and tossing it back at him, hitting Sirius’ forehead spot on. “Besides,” she continued, holding back a laugh at his dismayed expression, “In four weeks you’ll be back at Hogwarts and will not have to worry about third wheeling with James and I until the Winter Holidays.”
The Raven-haired boy folded his arms defiantly, nose pointed up and away in distaste. “I revoke my blessing.”

James laughed loudly, sending warm vibrations throughout the earth-toned living room. “It’s too late for that now mate.”
“I’ve been betrayed!”

This was met by a flick on the forehead. “Stop being so bloody dramatic, I swear it runs in the family for Christ’s sake!”

A whoosh sounded from the entryway accompanied by a thud and a swear. The voice was thick with unreleased emotion. Clearly it was a boy, probably one of James and Sirius’ friends based on how the laughter died and backs straightened as they became extremely alert.

“Moony?” Sirius whispered, eyes glistening with worry, staring at James for conformation.
James nodded, pulling away from the embrace he’d spent the afternoon in. “Moony.”

Sirius was up, strutting quickly into the foyer where the Floo was held, James and Sapphire following on his tail.
A boy, supposedly Moony, stood, looking lost, countenance pooling with regret. His wavy brown hair was damp with sweat, a trickle coming down his face, tracing the line left by a faded pink scar. One hand was shoved deeply in the pockets of his faded, baggy, cuffed blue-jeans. The other, scratching at something beneath the collar of his woolen jumper that couldn’t have been comfortable in the summer weather. His eyes were trained on his muddy, poorly tied red Converse.

“Moony?” Remus’ head shot up, eyes locking with Sirius’ the doubt leaving them the more he focused on the boy. “Are—are you alright?”
He shrugged, saying nothing.

“What happened, Rem?”

His head shook. “What are you doing here, Pads?”
Sirius scoffed lightly. “Got disowned. About time too.”
“Why didn’t you write? When did this happen? You should’ve said something.”
“I didn’t want to worry you, it’s not that big of a deal.”
Anger flashed. “It is a big deal Sirius. You got disowned!”
Sirius just shrugged. “I had it coming.”
“Stop doing that!”
“Doing what?”
“Brushing off all your problems like they don’t matter! We all know that your parents were abusive pieces of shit. You shouldn’t keep laughing it off!”
Sirius rolled his eyes. “Like you don’t do the exact same thing, Moons.”
“Takes one to know one.” Remus’ voice was calm again. It was obvious how deeply these two cared for one another. They were only angry because they were worried. Anger is a secondary emotion; it always stems from something else.

“Are you okay?”
Remus sighed. “My dad’s a prick.”
“Welcome to the club, mate.” They laughed dryly though it was no laughing matter.

“What happened?”
“I don’t really wanna talk about it,” sighed Remus, answering James’ question. “Mind if I stay here for a day or two? I just need space from him.”
“Of course, you’re always welcome Rem.”
“Thanks.”
He had failed to notice the blue-eyed girl standing behind James though that hardly mattered. This boy was hurting just as the others had been a month prior. Helping Remus Lupin was the main priority. They could explain Sapphire later.

Sirius slipped discreetly into the guest room that Remus was now occupying.
Remus was seated on the still made bed, fiddling with an accidental rip on his jeans. His nails were bitten down and raw, blood caked under them. He felt Sirius presence; of course he did, Sirius was a hard person to miss. The weight changed, an extra body dipping the mattress.

The gaze was suffocating. Remus knew if he were to look up into Sirius’ eyes that resembled the same color of a newly sharpened dagger he would be pierced.
Sirius had this way of getting people to talk. He was intimidating even when he wasn’t trying to be. A dagger; enticing, mesmerizing, sharp, deadly; Safe to watch, dangerous to play with. It called you in, daring you to run your fingers along its blade, to lose yourself in its reflection, to imagine a life in which you have power at your fingertips. Sirius Black was a dagger. He was sharp and jagged, coated with rusted blood, intrusive, enticing, luring you to run your hands down his chiseled jawline, and yet more than ready to stab again. Remus had been on the receiving end of that weapon before, he wouldn’t risk doing that again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…

“You're gonna bite off a finger if you keep chewing at those nails you know.”
Remus let out a soft, humorless laugh as he stared at the damage he’d created without the wolf. “It would distract everyone from these,” he motioned to the scars that littered his arms, crisscrossing in red angry lines reminding him that the wolf hated him just as much as he hated the wolf. Scars were everywhere. Scars followed Remus Lupin, they dreamt of him, they were parasites and he was the perfect host. Internal scars ripped at his mind, at his heart, telling him lies that he believed. Scars were the toxic best friend that Remus couldn't seem to drop.

“Hey, I like those,” said Sirius, his tone light and airy in contrast to Remus’ dark and brooding thoughts. “They make you, you. You wouldn’t be Moony without them.”
“Who said I wanted to be Moony?” Remus’s gaze met Sirius;’ honey brown clashing with metallic silver. Remus’ eyes held secrets, insecurities, defeat and somewhere if you looked beyond the bronze lakes and sun spots, there was hope.
“I want you to be Moony.” Sirius’ voice was hardly a whisper. Had they been outside his words would have been lost to the wind. “Whatever your dad said doesn’t matter,” he continued, piercing gray eyes forcing Remus to listen. “The wolf doesn’t define you Remus.” Sirius pointed his finger into Remus’ chest, ignoring the rapidness of his friend’s heart as he did so. “You define the wolf.”

“My dad says I’m a monster.”

The words were breathed out without Remus’ initial consent but they came anyway. He decided to continue, it was too late to stop there. The verbal abuse had been eating him from the inside out for years, over a decade. Someone had to know. Sirius understood not being loved. Sirius understood feeling apart from his family. Sirius was impulsive and reckless, a tornado, earthquake and tsunami all at once, he would fight Mother Nature and defeat her with a single glare from how the earth seemed to shatter around him. He was terrifying and yet… he would understand.

“He says I’ll never get a job— he’s right about that but I don’t need the constant reminder. He says there’s no point in continuing to NEWTS level because of it and even suggested taking me out of Hogwarts. He tells me I’ll never get in a relationship, never get married, never be able to have kids because they could turn out like me. He’s right, about all of it, but that doesn’t make it better.” Remus was still staring into Sirius’ eyes, knowing if he looked away his nerve would leave him. “I’ve never cared much about that stuff—marriage, kids, but it would still be nice to know I had the option.”

Sirius’ eyes had softened at this last sentence and Remus wasn’t equipped to handle anything but the blade.

“I-I dunno, it’s nothing.”

The connection was broken, Sirius was soft, and Remus was drowning.

Sirius’ fingers ghosted over Remus’ but never did anything more. “It’s not nothing Moons,” he assured the boy. “Your dad shouldn’t be telling you that shit. I’ve been here a month and already learned so much about parents,” he explained. “Parents are supposed to be encouraging, they need to tell their kids to reach for the stars. They need to love their children, and hold them in their weakness, and cheer in their strength.” Sirius rested his hand on the boy’s hand beside him. “Remus, our parents are shit. It wasn’t supposed to be like that.” Fingers curled in on one another slowly, carefully. “You are wonderful, Moons. You’re daft if you think any of us are ever going to let you forget that.”

Chapter Text

An hour or so later the boys left Remus’ room. It was only then that the brunet realized there was a third teen sharing the space with James and Sirius that summer. From an initial glance she was easy to miss.

The girl had long black hair that fell in waved curtains, hiding her face in the shadows. Her eyes were downcast and she was drowning in what appeared to be one of James’ old quidditch jumpers. It was no question that she was beautiful but seemed to lack the confidence to make anyone notice her without an introduction.

The next thing Remus noticed was the girl and James’ hands that were intertwined. This only puzzled him. Last he had checked, James was still head-over-heels infatuated with Lily Evans. He had failed to mention a new girl in any of his letters. Though it was clear from the way that James’ gaze was focused solely on her, the way his lips were pulled into a small, worried smile, that Lily had been long forgotten.

Next was how Sirius had zeroed in on her as well, putting a step of distance between Remus and himself, subconsciously guarding the two from each other.
The last thing Remus noticed was how strikingly similar she and Sirius looked. The same wavy ebony hair, the same sharp, aristocratic features that they had apparently both inherited from the Black family. But Sirius had never mentioned having a sister or even another cousin besides Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa, so who was this girl and why did she mean so much to his two friends?

Remus cleared his throat awkwardly, bringing all three pairs of eyes to him. That made his anxiety worse, he hated having attention on him. “Er- hi.”

James seemed to come to his senses and grinned sheepishly at the taller boy. “Hiya Moony.” He looked back down at the mystery girl and then to Sirius. “I s‘pose introductions are in order, yeah?”
Sirius chuckled tensely. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

The girl looked up, wide-eyed and scared as she looked between the two. Her eyes were blue instead of the typical Black family striking gray, again confusing Remus.

Sirius stepped forward, swinging an arm around her and the three stood looking so much like a family that Remus’ heart gave a small, sad clench. “Remus, this is my sister Sapphire. Saph, this is Remus Lupin. You remember me telling you about him right?”

A small grin made its way on Sapphire’s face as she studied Sirius’ rare nervousness. This would be a great time to embarrass him. But she wouldn’t…not yet. She held out an arm to the boy that her brother so admired and mustered up one of the well-practiced Pureblood smiles, all fear melting away from her visage. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Remus Lupin, Sirius and James have told me so much about you.”

The boy didn’t respond; he just stared in shock at Sirius. “You-you have a sister?” He shook his head. “Since when?”
Sirius chuckled. “Since the day I was born, mate.”
Sapphire cringed internally. She may not know much about social situations but she knew that you definitely did not call the person you fancied ‘mate.’
“She's your twin?”

“Bingo,” James interrupted.

He finally turned his attention to Sapphire and shook her hand, finally coming to his senses and remembering to be polite. “It’s nice to meet you too. I haven’t seen you around Hogwarts before?”
She shook her head. Although in most cases, disclosing the status of her being a Squib was terrifying she doubted that she’d be judged by the werewolf boy before her. “No, I am a Squib so I could not attend.”
Remus’ brows’ shot up but he nodded quickly in understanding. “Right, that makes sense then. I can’t imagine that upbringing was easy.”
The boy had no idea and Sapphire wasn’t going to enlighten him to the horrors she’d endured. Instead a small giggle left her lips. “No. I can not say mother and father were too pleased.”

“That’s the understatement of the century,” Sirius muttered but said nothing more when Sapphire shot him a scathing look. She didn’t want to have the boy pity her when he had enough on his own plate.

The rest of the day went surprisingly well. Remus asked no more questions, not even asking why Sirius didn’t mention having a sister. He seemed to understand that mentioning having a Squib in the family was a tricky situation to work around especially with how the Black’s were. In fact, most of the sacred twenty-eight didn’t even know that the Black family housed a Squib except for the Malfoy’s, Rosier’s and Lestrange’s who were family themselves either through marriage, blood, or unfortunately, both. In fact, before Sapphire’s Squib status was discovered, she herself had been arranged to marry Evan Rosier who happened to be something like a second cousin. The thought brought bile to her throat and made her extremely thankful that she and Sirius had managed to escape when they had.

“Hey,” Sirius poked her, “You’re thinking too much again.”
Sapphire blushed and shook her head. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.” Sirius smirked obnoxiously at his joking-insult.
“You’re a right prick sometimes, you know that right?”
“I—”

“Believe me, I tell him that on a daily basis at Hogwarts.” Remus had interrupted, grinning. James snorted.
Sirius glared at the three. “Fine, betray Sirius. Let’s celebrate hate on Sirius Black day!”
Remus sighed loudly. “You are so bloody dramatic.”
“Ooh I’m the dramatic one?!”
“Yes,” chorused the other three.
“I hate you all.”

“Is that how you repay me for saving your life, brother?”
His eyes narrowed. “Fine I hate Moony and Prongs. You, I just mildly dislike.”

James cleared his throat. “I did give you a place to stay, mate.”
“And after last year I don’t think you have a right to hate me Sirius.”

“Fine!” Sirius threw up his arms. “You caught me, I’m incapable of hating you lot!”

The four dissolved into laughter and further teasing.

“I do like the idea of coining a ‘Hate On Sirius Day’ though,” Remus admitted jokingly a while later.

Sirius huffed but gave up on protesting when he saw the joy radiating off of his friends and sister. They deserved this happiness and he knew that it really wasn’t at his expense. Though, perhaps, he deserved it to be. Merlin knew he did nothing but mess up. So, he allowed the joke to continue, acting the part of drama king and basking in the laughter while silently the guilt of his past mistakes ate him from the inside out.

Chapter Text

The four teens had taken the day to explore the nearby Muggle town. Remus knew all the cool places, or at least what to expect in the Muggle world, and so he led the way, Sirius faking confidence hot on his heels.

A mild breeze rustled through the trees as they entered the town, filling Sapphire with peace. There was something about warm weather and easy winds that lulled her into a sense of tranquility. Her left hand was clasped into James’ right, both arms swinging as they listened to the other two boy’s banter. A florist smiled at them as she tended to a newer batch of purple geraniums. The scent of lavender wafted over them as they passed. Sirius wrinkled his nose. He did not like lavender whereas his sister loved it.

A bell jingled on the other side of the cobblestone street as a mother and her young boy entered a bakery. Remus shared a look with the group. “Wanna see if there’s anything good in there?”
James grinned widely, squeezing Sapphire’s hand in response. “Totally.”

Sirius sighed. He lacked a sweet tooth but followed his friends and sister in any way.

The bakery was fairly small with a display stand to the left side and a registrar stand straight ahead. The walls were painted a pastel green and were decorated with posters and signs of various letters, accomplishments as well as bakery-related jokes. A lemon tea-cake caught the girl’s attention while James and Remus fawned over anything chocolate-flavored.

The little boy who had entered before them was tugging at his mum’s skirt pointing to a large frosted pastry. “Mummy, mummy, I want that one!”

Sapphire smiled at the kid. He was lucky to be able to make his requests so blatantly without worry of punishment.

The bakery owner smiled too and excused himself from his transaction with the woman. He came around the side and pointed to the pastry. “You sure you want this one?” he asked kindly.
The small brunet boy nodded, his head nearly falling off with the vigor of it. “Yes! Yes! Please!”

“Tommy, that is far too big and we’re here to get bread, not treats,” his mother scolded.

The baker with the kind eyes and an ageing face continued to smile. He pulled out the pastry and cut it into fourths, bagged one, and handed it to Tommy. “Here you go Tommy. Now don’t eat it all at once alright?”
The boy nodded again with a large toothy smile plastered on his face, completely oblivious to the joking wink the man sent his way.

The mum shook her head in both exasperation and amusement. “Well thank you, Charles,” she said, “How much do I owe you then?”
Charles shook his hand. “Nonsense Eden, you’re a loyal customer. This one’s on the house.”
Eden shook her head again. “I can not begin to thank you enough for everything. The past few months would have been impossible without you.”
Charles just shook her off again and sent the pair on their way with a small chuckle.

The simple moments were what made life worth living. A sweet exchange between a bakery owner, a single mother, and a little boy made Sapphire’s day just a tiny bit brighter.

“I could never have kids,” Remus muttered softly from behind, wrinkling his forehead in disgust.
“Oh come on, Moony,” Sirius teased, “what's not to like?”
“They’re sticky, slimy, loud little demon spawn, and I want nothing to do with it.”

Sapphire snorted. She hid her amusement by turning to the counter to place her order to the pot-bellied, smiling man behind the counter. “I’ll take two chocolate chip biscuits please,” she spoke loudly over the bickering of the three boys behind her. Charles nodded and retrieved the sweets for her with no regard for the boys either.

A few moments later, James, Sirius and Remus joined her outside at a round, white table, overlooking a creek not much more than half a mile from the bakery. The water glittered in the early-afternoon sunlight reflecting golden beams of light from its blue depths. A few pigeons settled nearby, waiting. Remus tossed a few crumbs to them which certainly didn't help.

“What’s your opinion on kids, Saph?”
Wide-eyed and flushed, Sapphire met James’ gaze, a spluttering mess. “I- Excuse me?”
James blinked rapidly. “Merlin No, not like that! Crikey!” He adjusted his glasses that were escaping his nose as though running from the second-hand embarrassment.
Sirius bursted out in laughter attracting a few stares from rude and curious passer-byers.

“What James meant to ask,” a smirking Remus cut in, “is what do you think of children in a general sense?”
“Oh,” Sapphire breathed, clutching a hand over her chest in relief. “I don't mind them really. The boy in the bakery was amusing but sometimes they can be a bit much. I suppose I'm neutral about them overall.”

“Cool.”
Remus coughed into his cup of tea. “Real smooth, Prongs.”

“Enough about kids. I don't want to imagine my sister and best-friend doing it!”
“Sirius!” Sapphire exclaimed aghast.

James buried his face in his arms with a loud groan and a red face. They were only sixteen afterall. This was all beyond their level of maturity— or at least above James and Sirius.’
And yet, both halves of the young, new couple felt a lightness in their hearts at the thought of a family between the two of them. A family not influenced by dark rooms and harsh words. A family filled with love and laughter, games and jokes, communication and listening ears. A family holding the name Potter, completely separated from the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black’s abuse despite their mother’s blood being tied to it. A family that would never know the sting of a hand that claimed to know what was best for them. Yes, that was definitely a future worth daydreaming of, even if it could only be just that: a daydream.

Chapter Text

Sapphire tugged on James’ hand as a poster caught her eye later that afternoon. “James, look!”

James turned his attention away from the joking conversation he and the boys were having about their professors. There was an argument over whether McGonagall was courting Dumbledore, Professor Sprout or Madam Pomfrey. The Dumbledore comment was a joke, obviously. The other two suggestions seemed promising though. The elderly professor definitely had Lesbian energy.

“What is it Saph?” he asked patiently, laughter still dying on his lips.
“The poster. There’s a carnival tonight not far from here. I have never been to one. I want to go.”

Sure enough a bright purple poster with white and yellow font outlined the event that would be in town for two weeks. Tonight was the last night. They’d gotten lucky. There were so many images on the thing that James had never seen before but looked exhilarating. Sapphire was babbling on about fairy floss and a Ferris wheel.

“What do you say lads,” James captured Remus and Sirius’ attention, “Want to go to the carnival?”
Remus grinned. “Merlin, I haven't been to one in ages! I’m already craving funnel cake.”

“If Moony’s in, I'm in,” Sirius declared.
Sapphire bounced on her toes, her smile wider than thought physically possible. She was going to have fun for once. Real fun, with no repercussions.

The sun was low in the sky as the foursome reached the fairgrounds later that evening. Sapphire took in everything with bright eyes. Tents in bright colored stripes were everywhere. Childrens’ screeching laughter was heard, accompanied with dust clouds as their tiny feet pummeled the ground in their haste to get to the next exhibit. Dogs barked, overwhelmed with excitement, tugging against the leashes held tightly in their owners hands. In more shaded areas, teens chatted amongst one another while others hid further to snog, smoke or get up to some other form of rebellion. A strong scent of fried food permeated the air and Sapphire was sure she’d eventually feel ill. She wanted to try it all.

In the center of it all, was a tall wheel. It was flashing with bright, multi-colored lights and held an assortment of cradle-like things that seemed to have people inside. Sapphire watched as the wheel would spin for a while, then it would stop for people to get off and on, before resuming its spinning again. She was sure you could see everything from up there. Standing still was no longer an option.

She grabbed James’ hand, squeezing it possibly too hard. “Come on, we have to try everything!”
Sirius jumped in the air before he began running. “I second that!” he shouted disappearing into the crowd, Remus hot on his heels.

“What do you want to start with?”
Sapphire had spent the past few minutes thinking very carefully about it all. Not one thing could be out of place, out of schedule. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she had to make it count. “We should start with the rides first. The rollercoasters and train rides. Then the petting zoo. I've never pet a llama before!” She grinned up at her boyfriend who nodded along, taking in her every word. “Then we should get food since now that we’ve gotten the exciting, smelly stuff out of the way, we won't vomit as easily. I want to try a bit of everything even though I know I will regret it.” The grease and sugar filled food would certainly not be as enjoyable within a few hours of consumption, but it was going to be worth it. Where else would a person find deep fried ice cream? “We’ll sit and hopefully regroup with the boys at that time and take an hour or so to digest a bit. Next we can be teams of two and play arcade-like games. The ones with the shooters in which you can win stuffed animals and such.” She turned to James with a fierce look in her eyes. “I want a stuffed animal, James.”

He chuckled, squeezing her hand in his. “Don't worry Saph, I’ll get you one or ten.”
She nodded, satisfied. “Good. After that I want to do the Ferris Wheel. It will be the last thing we do because it is the biggest and most important attraction, plus it will be more fun when it is completely dark. We’ll be in the sky, like we are flying!”
“I can fly, Saph.”
“Well I can not, so let me live out my dreams, Potter.”
He laughed, shaking his head. Sapphire was everything, absolutely everything. “As you wish.”

Sapphire found rather quickly that she did not, in fact, like roller coasters. James found rather quickly that he did, in fact, love rollercoasters. She stumbled off of the death machine, hair knotted and face flushed. A few gasps of breath later she was able to speak once more. “I am never doing that ever again.”
“That was amazing!” James exclaimed. “I’ll have to do that with Sirius later, he’ll love it.”
Sapphire was just glad she was not being forced to endure that torture chamber again. The Cruciatus curse was preferable over whatever that had been. No thank you.

“Want to see our picture?”
“I would rather not, I am sure I look a mess–” James was already shoving a small slip of paper into her hand. She looked horrid. James, though, was laughing. The idiot was laughing whilst on that – that thing. It was certainly unfair that her boyfriend was the most unbothered person in the entire world.
She waved it off. “Let's get food.”

The food in question was quite unappetizing. She barely finished any of it. Even James agreed that it was putrid. The candy floss was good though, even if it was pure sugar. James had stolen most of hers. She had rolled her eyes at him and he had offered to get more but she told him not to bother. The two were now waiting for Sirius and Remus who had been contacted through the magic shards of glass they had. The two boys would be at the meeting spot any minute now.

“James?”

Sapphire turned first. A girl, not much shorter than herself, with shoulder-length red hair, stood holding an ice cream cone and looked quite surprised. She felt James’ body tense at the sight of the girl.

“Lil-Lily?”

Immediately chills crawled up Sapphire’s spine, and not the good kind. She knew about this girl, Lily. Lily Evans. The same girl James had fawned over for years until that summer. The same girl Sapphire had worried about when James had expressed interest in being with her. She thought she wouldn't have to worry about her for another two weeks. Apparently not.

“What are you doing here?” Lily asked, glancing around the fair grounds as though looking for someone. Sapphire felt James shrug beside her but didn't dare take her eyes away from the red-head, as though afraid if she did then James would be under Lily’s spell again.
“Me and the lads thought it’d be a good idea. We saw the flyer and figured why not?”
Lily too, had her gaze glued to the girl besides the wizard. “You’re all here then?”
“Peter’s not. He’s on holiday in Austria with his family.”
“Right.” Lily’s gaze seemed judgmental, patronizing.

Sapphire shifted in her seat, realizing that her and James’ hands had somehow become unclasped. There was no safety blanket and she felt exposed. Sapphire was not going to introduce herself. She had no reason to. Lily had been the one to come up, to interrupt. If anything, it was within her jurisdiction to make the announcement of who she was and why she was bothering them. Or perhaps James could introduce them both. He seemed too shell-shocked in the moment though to do much of anything useful.

“Who are you?”

The first time Sapphire had been addressed in the entire interaction. It was short and rude. The walls that had crumbled rebuilt themselves in an instant. Her mask of the perfect pureblood princess molded over her face or porcelain. Her voice immediately shifted back to its aristocratic roots. “Should you not introduce yourself first?” she queried. “After all, it was you who interrupted James and I.”

Lily blinked. She definitely had not expected someone in James Potter’s company to address her as such. “I’m Lily Evans. I’m sure Potter’s spoken of me.”

Sapphire took the power shift as an opportunity to look the Evans’ girl up and down, just as her parents had taught her to do. She was wearing a long flower-printed skirt paired with a pastel pink crop top and a matching hair bandanna along with some hand-maid jewelry and tan wedges. Nothing extraordinary. “Briefly.” Sapphire burned with a sick satisfaction as she saw Lily’s eyes sharpen with offense. Win.

“Well who are you then?” asked Lily, flustered. “Potter’s certainly never mentioned you before.”
Sapphire laughed dryly. “Oh Lily.” She clicked her tongue against her teeth sympathetically. “Have you not heard that the best gifts are kept secret?”
“Well I–”

Just then two voices neared, laughing. A moment later Sapphire’s hair had been ruffled. “Miss me Saph?”
She scoffed, swatting her brother's hand away and immediately straightening out her raven locks. “Hardly, Sirius.”

He didn't respond to that as he saw Lily. “Red! What a lovely surprise.”
The red-head rolled her eyes. “Piss off, Black.”
Sirius chuckled, taking a seat at the other side of the wooden picnic table with Remus.
“James, you should tell her the good news!”

James finally came back to reality. He’d been trying to process it all. His girlfriend and his ex-crush in the same place at the same time. It was a lot to take in. Especially when they immediately dislike one another, not that he particularly blamed them. Not Sapphire at least. “Good news?” he questioned, looking between all four in confusion.
“About your new girlfriend!”
Remus coughed. Sirius patted him on the back. James’ eyes widened.

“Girlfriend?” Lily’s voice was softer now, having lost its edge. Her eyes had dimmed into something like regret.
“Erm- yeah.” James rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He motioned to the girl beside him before grabbing her hand. “This is Sapphire. My girlfriend. Saph, this is Lily my… Frie–schoolmate.”

Sapphire hated the awkwardness of it all. James was rarely ever uncomfortable and her brother was only encouraging it. She certainly had not helped in her immediate cool attitude towards the other girl. Sure, she’d felt threatened but was that an excuse to undo the past month and a half of progress?

She waved half-heartedly with her free hand, offering up a wavering smile. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Lily replied, twisting her short, auburn hair around her pointer finger in discomfort. She did not want to say anything more on the matter. In fact, she would prefer to no longer be in the vicinity of the Marauders and the apparently new girlfriend. The sickening twinge in her stomach alerted her that something was not right. Unfortunately, the boys had other plans in mind.

“You should join us, Red,” Sirius said.

Sapphire thought that inviting the girl James had fancied for many years was frankly a terrible idea but Lily was already taking a seat, and going back to being rude would not be a good look.
The joy Sapphire felt from seeing the discomfort on the other girl’s face was short lived. It was wrong. Wrong to feel happiness in the place of someone else’s agony. Jealousy was not a good look, especially when it was she who James had his arm around.

The sky had darkened, the fairground now illuminated by fairy lights and flashes of neon from the various rides and displays. Many of the children who’s been terrorizing the area had now gone home. Only teenagers and adults roamed, laughter reverberating through the humid air. A few clouds had appeared, making it darker than it was in reality. Rain would be coming soon. Even with James’ arm around her, Sapphire shivered as the air cooled.

“So…” Lily spoke, disrupting the silence. “How was all of your holidays?”

Sirius laughed, explaining briefly about the disownment. He lightened up the details of course. There were no near-death experiences, he had left of his own accord, he’d won the fight. Of course. Sapphire didn't have it in her to refute these ‘facts.’ The less Lily knew, the better.

Remus and James pitched in their own stories, also leaving out the gory details. It seemed Lily Evans was not a close friend of either of the three, or if she were, none planned to elaborate at the moment.

“And, I’m sorry,” Lily focused her attention on the girl that Potter had claimed as his girlfriend, “I never really figured out who you are. I mean, you're James’ girlfriend, obviously, but there has to be more to your identity.”
Sapphire had to appreciate that Lily wanted to separate her identity from that of her boyfriend. Whether it was because of jealousy or that she actually cared about who Sapphire was, was of no importance in that moment. “I’m Sapphire Black.”

Lily blinked. Sapphire expected a large reaction but the red-head was unphased. She slowly nodded. “Right. Regulus had mentioned that.”

“What?” The Black twins spoke in unison.

Lily chuckled, embarrassed. Of course they wouldn't know. “I’m friends with Regulus,” she explained, “He, Severus–” she paused at that, swallowing thickly, looking as though she did not wish to continue, “He and I were friends before the… incident.” Somehow all three boys had failed to mention the ‘incident’ to Sapphire so she was left to listen with no further explanation. Clearly whatever had happened had fractured the friendship of the three. Given that Severus Snape – the boy who had nearly been killed by Sirius’ stupidity and had almost sent Remus to Azkaban – it had to be for the best. “I saw him once or twice a week. He was something like a younger brother. Things have changed now though.”

Whatever animosity Sapphire held for the girl melted into nothing. Someone had been there for her brother when she and Sirius couldn’t be. Regulus had had a good influence, even if only for a few short years. Suddenly Sapphire felt a kinship for Lily Evans. Hopefully the feeling would be returned with time, though there would be no hard feelings if it were not.

“Regulus mentioned me?”
Lily flashed a hesitant smile in her direction. “On occasion. He looks up to you, though he refuses to say so. I imagine it has something to do with you being a Squib and his immersion into Pure-blood-elitist culture. It's daft and I hate that he can not be outwardly admirable of his siblings, but it is what it is.”
“Well Sirius failed to mention me at all so I can hardly be offended.”

Lily turned swiftly to Sirius, hitting him up-side the head with an empty, paper corn-dog tray. “Sirius!”
“Oi!” He held up his hands in defense but had no words to pair with his actions.

James laughed, his body sending vibrations into Sapphire’s. He leaned over to her, his voice barely a whisper, asking if she’d want to escape to the ferris wheel soon. The answer was a passionate yes. Sapphire stood, brushing off the dust and crumbs from her navy blue skirt. The sooner she could be on the ferris wheel, the better. She had had far too much social interaction for one day and was ready for a private moment with her boyfriend.