Ever since that day, Gloria rarely saw them anymore. She always found it rather strange; they seemed to be up to some kind of activity. Gloria had to admit that she felt a growing sense of interest and curiosity.
After class that day, she saw a fiery red figure appear before her. Looking up, she met Lily’s beaming smile. Before she knew it, Gloria was quietly being pulled along toward the Black Lake, where she saw Elodie sitting and reading, and Mary Macdonald locked in a struggle with a Chocolate Frog.
Lily announced that this was a girls-only gathering, and brought expressions of gratitude from both Mary and herself. When that blue hair ribbon appeared in Gloria’s hand, a momentary flash of helplessness washed over her heart. For the very first time, she experienced Gryffindor-style enthusiasm.
She had to admit, it was indeed enthusiastic—so enthusiastic it felt almost warm. Elodie watched with smiling eyes as Lily and Mary enthusiastically helped braid Gloria’s hair. A girl’s happiness was actually quite simple: those beautiful white locks were gently combed through by Lily’s skilled hands, and paired with the lovely blue ribbon, a fishtail braid was formed.
Taking advantage of the moment, Lily reached out to pinch Gloria’s fair little cheek. Seeing this, Elodie gasped and called Lily a sly one, declaring she wanted to pinch Liya’s face too. Such a dazed and utterly contrasting expression—how adorable it was.
Who wouldn't adore a girl as pretty as a porcelain doll?
Just as Elodie was holding Liya in her arms, she suddenly noticed someone striding quickly toward them. Lily was startled, and when she snapped out of her daze, she saw Sirius staring intently at Gloria, turbulent emotions swirling in his eyes. Silence fell over both sides until the figures of James and the others approached.
"Sirius, why are you suddenly walking so fast? Were you going to—Hey! Evans!"
Mid-question, James caught sight of Evans and immediately forgot all about Sirius, striding straight toward Lily. Upon seeing James, Lily grabbed Mary, gave a gesture of farewell to Elodie and Gloria, and turned on her heel to leave, clearly unwilling to exchange any more words with him. Seeing this, James hurried after her in a rush.
Sirius glanced at the hands with which Elodie was holding Gloria, a flash of emotion crossing his features. He wanted to hold her too...
Gloria had been watching Sirius from the moment he arrived, so she naturally noticed his emotions. She smiled nonchalantly, making no move to pull away. As the group stood locked in this stalemate, Elodie suddenly snapped back to her senses. She shot Sirius a meaningful look, released her embrace around Gloria, and said to Remus:
"Hey, Lupin, shall we discuss potions? Or perhaps some transfiguration questions? Let's go find Lily."
Remus clearly understood the deadlock before them. He nodded and followed her away, while Peter Pettigrew scurried anxiously after them. By the Black Lake, only the two of them were left, staring at each other.
Merlin, Sirius could swear that in all his life he had never felt so helpless.
Just as Sirius was standing there at a loss, a sudden gust of wind swept up, fluttering Gloria’s hair and even carrying petals over from the flower bouquets held by other upperclassman couples in the distance. The scene now was one of flower petals swirling all around the heads of the two teenagers.
They gazed at each other amidst the fluttering, blinding blossoms.
Sirius raised a hand and gently plucked a petal from Gloria’s hair, his eyes darting toward the shadows where Elodie was standing, waving her wand at him.
"Want to come out tonight?"
Sirius leaned down, looking into Gloria’s face with a smile.
"What do you want to do?" Gloria looked back at him with keen interest.
"Take an obedient child out for a night stroll."
Gloria raised an eyebrow. Obedient?
"You? Inviting a Slytherin for a night stroll?" Sirius certainly knew she was anything but obedient. Yet it was precisely for that reason that he chose to invite her, knowing full well he would succeed—Gloria had looked thoroughly intrigued when he mentioned a night stroll. Sure enough:
"Alright."
When night fell, the door to the Gryffindor common room opened silently, though no figure was in sight. After a long while, the sound of footsteps echoed down the dim corridor, leading straight to the door of the Slytherin common room.
Suddenly, four faces materialized out of thin air. Anyone else witnessing this would surely have been frightened half to death—they were none of the Marauders. The boys looked around left and right. Sirius, in particular, searched the area for a long time, but failed to catch sight of the person he had been longing for. Feeling a rising wave of irritation, he slipped out from beneath the Invisibility Cloak.
"Sirius, hasn't Sisyphus arrived yet?" James poked his head out to look around, finally fixing his gaze on Sirius.
"Or maybe we shouldn't wait. She is a Slytherin, after all. What if she runs off to tell a professor and is just waiting here to catch us?"
Peter Pettigrew asked timidly, his narrow, shifty eyes filled with worry and cowardice.
Hearing this, Sirius glared fiercely at him.
"Shut up, Peter! She wouldn't do that. Don't you dare think of her that way!"
The atmosphere abruptly turned awkward. James opened his mouth to mediate, but before he could speak, a cool, amused voice rang out from behind them:
"An Invisibility Cloak? Is that how you lot manage to slip past Filch?"
James froze and looked back, but saw no one there. His eyes widened. What was that? A ghost? A phantom?
Merlin!
"Gloria?" Hearing the familiar voice, Sirius hesitatingly asked toward the source of the sound. With a soft chuckle, Gloria’s figure suddenly materialized before them all. She cast an indifferent glance at Peter Pettigrew, then looked at the group with a teasing gaze.
"Merlin! Sisyphus!" James and Remus were startled, though they quickly recovered. Remus’s eyes were filled with awe—amazement at Gloria’s mastery of spellcasting—while Peter Pettigrew’s eyes held nothing but sheer terror.
"Hi, Potter." Gloria ignored their startled states; or rather, she had meant to frighten them on purpose. She noticed that Potter’s brow furrowed slightly after he called her name.
"I think I'd rather just call you by your name. Your surname sounds way too much like Snivellus's." At the mention of Snivellus, James wrinkled his nose as if the mere thought of him was deeply distasteful.
"James, don't compare him to Gloria."
Sirius patted James disapprovingly. Hearing the nickname, Gloria guessed who it referred to, but she had no right to meddle in their old grievances, so she remained silent, tacitly agreeing to James's suggestion to use her first name.
"Is that a Disillusionment Charm? You mastered this even though you're only a second-year?"
James wasn't surprised that she could cast it, given that he had heard various rumors of her genius, but he hadn't expected her to have mastered it with such proficiency.
Gloria shrugged, noncommittal.
With everyone finally gathered, their night stroll officially began.
Sirius did not get back under the Invisibility Cloak; Gloria cast a Disillusionment Charm on him as well. Unwilling to leave her side, Sirius reached out and grabbed Gloria’s hand.
Mr. Black suddenly found himself growing very fond of this spell.
"You really aren't afraid of getting caught, just walking right out from under the cloak like that?"
Gloria looked at Sirius, though she couldn't actually see him. A soft cough came from the empty air, followed immediately by Sirius's cheerful voice, "What's this? Are you worried about me?"
"Not at all. If you get caught, I'll definitely leave you behind and run."
Whether because her inner thoughts had been seen through or for some other reason, Gloria irritably tried to shake off Sirius's hand, only to have him grip it even tighter.
"What's there to be afraid of? You cast the spell, didn't you? Surely you aren't lacking confidence in your own skills."
Indeed, Gloria lacked no confidence in her magic; she had every reason to be confident in her abilities.
"Where are we going?" Gloria asked.
Sirius was immensely gratified by the word "we" falling from her lips. Perhaps she hadn't even realized it herself, but imperceptibly, she had begun to draw a line separating the two of them from everyone else.
Enveloped by the darkness and the magic, he did not suppress his joy, and the smile on his face never faded. The sound of footsteps ahead remained at a close, steady distance. After a moment of thought, Sirius pulled Gloria away from the corridor, leading her toward the upper levels. Held by his hand, Gloria felt a hint of confusion, but she kept pace without stopping.
"What is it? Aren't we staying with them?"
"They already know the school inside out. Don't worry, I'm taking you to see the stars."
When Gloria finally came to a halt, they had reached the Astronomy Tower.
Gloria lifted the Disillusionment Charm from them both.
"A night stroll just to bring me to look at the stars?"
"That's right. Look, I found the ultimate viewing spot."
Sirius naturally led her toward a corner. Through the windows, a sky full of stars reflected in Gloria’s eyes, scattering starlight across her bright blue gaze. A hint of regret stirred in Gloria—the season wasn't right.
"What a pity. At this time of year, you can't see Sirius." That blue-white, brightest of stars.
Sirius smiled. "Why can't you see it? Just look at me, and it's the same."
Ignoring Sirius's playful nonsense, Gloria gazed silently at the stars. The silvery moonlight spilled over her, illuminating her beautiful hair and bathing her in a gentle glow as if she herself were radiating light. Sirius watched her in a trance, his heart beating a frantic *thump-thump* against his ribs.
The confession of love was deafening.
In Gloria’s eyes lay the shining galaxy; in Sirius’s eyes lay Gloria.
In the secrecy of that hidden night, Sirius’s racing heart performed a confession known only to him.
For the very first time, Sirius kissed her with his deep grey eyes.
Meanwhile, the Marauders, who had finally realized two people were missing from behind them, stared at the quiet corridor and Mrs. Norris lurking up ahead, plunged into deep thought. What was it that had made their good brother abandon them, leaving them stranded here in such a dilemma?
Ah, romance.
Although the obstacle before them wasn't particularly difficult—after all, they knew most of Hogwarts's secret passages by heart—they still decided they would have to properly punish Sirius later. A promised night stroll, and he had sneaked off on a date instead!
*Tsk.*
A collective sigh from three third-wheel tools.