Summary: Their relationship was fine at first, fun even. However, as time went on, and the war escalated, things changed. This changed drastically, and not for the better. Sirius wasn't there as much as she'd like him to be and she turned into… a downright wreck. Once Sirius finally notices this, how can he change it?
Disclaimer: I don't own Beauty and the Beast, Harry Potter or any Walt Disney movie!
Beauty and the Beast
The day was beautiful. Everybody was outside in the sun. Lily Evans and a close friend had decided to go to brunch. They chose a quaint café and were sitting at the veranda, enjoying the heat of Diagon Alley.
"Laura, are you okay?" the redhead asked her blonde friend.
Laura shrugged, "I'm exhausted."
"What's been keeping you up?" Lily asked. Laura didn't answer immediately, and when she did, it was a mumbled response. "What was that?" Lily questioned.
"It's just Sirius."
"What's wrong?" Lily asked. She was severely concerned for her friend.
Her appearance was going, for one. Her hair was ash blonde, and permed, and it used to be very glossy and bouncy and voluminous. Now it was bland and drab, the curls with no bounce and the color dull. Her cobalt eyes, so filled with life before, were sad and lonely now. Her tanned skin had a strange grayish hue and it was unhealthy and dry. Her lips were always chapped, her eyes glossy and red, her nose stuffy.
She used to be so pretty, which was why Sirius began to date her in the first place. Now she was losing her beauty. She looked like a train wreck. She seemed so ill and depressed. It was heartbreaking for Lily to see her like that.
"Well," she shrugged, "I've grown so accustomed to having him in my bed as I fall asleep. Now that he's always out very late, it's… unnerving. I'm just nervous, and I can't get to sleep until he's with me."
"I get the nervousness."
Laura nodded, "Yeah… You're lucky that James is always back at the house at a decent time each night. Sirius is out past midnight and when he comes back in the small hours of the morning, I'm always drowsy in the armchair in the living room."
"He's always starting fights, isn't he?"
"Well I can't help but wonder why he's been out so late! But when I ask, he's so drunk that it just turns into a fight."
"I'm so sorry, Laura," Lily said sincerely, reaching out to pat her hand.
"It's not your fault, Lils. I… I dunno…"
"He's not… He isn't hurting you, is he?"
Laura raised her eyebrows, shocked that Lily would even ask such a question, "No, Lily! Of course he's not!"
"I was just making sure."
"You don't actually think that Sirius would abuse a girl, do you?"
"I actually don't," Lily shook her head, "No, I don't, but I just had to make sure, even though the inkling of suspicion was quite minuscule."
Laura didn't answer, only sighed and rested her head on her hand. "I think I need to get some sleep."
"Here, I'll take you home," Lily offered. Laura took her arm and Lily Apparated them to the flat that Sirius and Laura lived in.
The inside was sort of dingy. It hadn't been cleaned in a while. Dirty clothes littered the floor, and clean dishes were stacked in the drying rack in the kitchen. The white ceiling fan in the living room rotated lazily. It was incredibly quiet, and somewhat unnerving.
The only exceptional thing about the house was how bookcases covered most of the walls completely. All of Laura's books were there. She had so many of them and some were still in boxes in her study. She was a very educational woman, and in fact was going through training to qualify as a professor for a wizarding school. She wanted to teach at Beauxbatons, since she went to school there, but Sirius was pushing her towards Hogwarts.
Lily walked with Laura to the bedroom she and Sirius slept in, and they had a shock coming to them when they saw Sirius sleeping in the bed. He didn't look very peaceful, all tangled up in the duvet. Laura sighed, distraught, and ignored him, walking right into the bathroom.
She nearly growled, "This is the third time this week that I've come home to him laying in bed."
"Laura, what are you doing?" Lily asked as her friend began to pack things like a comb, toothbrush and toothpaste into a small bag. She moved into the closet and pulled out a suitcase, piling clothes into it.
"I think I'm going to go stay with my father in Provence. Just for a while, just to—"
Her hands were caught by Sirius as she was about to close the suitcase. He growled in her ear, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Sirius, I—"
"You're not leaving."
"I have to."
Sirius said, "I won't let you."
"I'm leaving, Sirius, and that's final!" she cried, but he took the suitcase away and flung it across the room.
"You're not gonna leave, Laura!" he bellowed. He took her hands again and dragged her to the bed, sitting her down.
Lily, who had been watching in shock for the whole time, screeched, "Sirius, you've got to let her go!"
"Lily, you need to leave," Laura choked out. She wasn't crying yet, but looked close to tears.
"I'm not gonna leave you here with him, Laura."
"Leave, Lily!" Sirius yelled at her.
Lily stood her ground and said, "Don't tell me what to do, Sirius. Let her go, I'm not gonna leave her here with you, where you might seriously hurt her!"
Sirius stood there, shocked. He let go of Laura's hands at once, but his mouth was hanging open. He blinked a few times and then looked at his girlfriend, wanting to say something. However, he stormed off to the bathroom, slamming to door before anyone could say something.
Laura looked at Lily and shrugged, "I think you should go, Lils… I'll be okay."
Lily went over and gave her a brief hug before leaving their house. Laura walked timidly over to the bathroom door and knocked twice on the door.
"What?" Sirius bellowed, making Laura flinch.
"I… I'm sorry…"
She didn't know why she should be sorry, or what for. But he opened the door at that. His eyes were shining. Laura thought he might have been crying.
"Laura," he took her hands, "I'd never hurt you…"
"I know… Lily doesn't think so though. But I know you're… you're harmless."
He paused, "Do you?"
"I…"
"Laura… Are you frightened of me?"
She looked away from him, so he took her jaw firmly in his hand and made her look at him. "Ouch…" she muttered, turning her head away from his hand. She rubbed her chin. She stepped away from him, and he, looking horrified, walked back several steps as well.
"I just hurt you…" he whispered.
"No, you only—" her feeble protests weren't heard by him as he swept past her.
"Stay here; I don't want you leaving the house," he demanded, "Promise."
"I promise…"
"Okay, good," and with that, he Disapparated.
Laura sat on the bed, trying to think of what had just happened. Slowly, she went over and picked up her suitcase and all of her clothes. She put them back in the suitcase and latched it shut, but only put it by the door, untouched. After that, she wrote a short letter to her father in Provence.
Father, I will be coming back home for a little bit. I'll leave and arrive by Apparition tomorrow. I don't know how long I'll be staying, but it won't be that long. I can't wait to be back home. -Laura
She sent their owl with the letter immediately. She knew Sirius might not be back by the time she left. He'd probably be out all night. Where, she didn't know. She always asked, but he never answered with anything more than a grunt.
She wasn't sure if he was cheating on her with various bimbos or just getting smashed with his friends, or maybe even alone. She didn't know where he was, what he was doing (obviously drinking, since he reeked so much of booze whenever he came back).
She deserved to leave for a while. He didn't need her. Why should she stay? And who was he to tell her what to do? She could leave if she wanted, no matter what he said. And she didn't have to tell him where, since he never told her. If he wanted to have a bad attitude about everything, she'd play right back.
She went to the fireplace to Floo to the Potter's, but she figured she should check with them first. After saying the destination, she stuck her head into the green flames and saw at once the living room of the Potter home.
"Lily!" she called out, "James?"
Lily walked over, looking strange. She smiled at Laura and said, "Hey there…"
"What's wrong, Lils?" Laura asked, seeing the distraught look on her face. She seemed jumpy and sort of nervous.
"I… Nothing, I just have company. I really have to get going."
"Umm, okay… Will you come over after your company leaves? I'm lonely…"
"Yeah, I'll be right over. I think I'm gonna run into Sirius though, and—" Lily stopped abruptly.
"What was that?"
"I'd come over later," Lily answered, not looking at Laura.
"No, what'd you say about Sirius?"
"Nothing."
"You said you'd run into him? How, what do you know?"
"I've gotta go, bye!" and with that, Lily left the room.
Laura frowned, and as quietly as she could, extracted herself from the flames and the Flooed to the Potter home, emerging fully in the flames. She hoped it didn't make too much of a noise. She tiptoed to where she saw Lily run off to, which was the kitchen. She hid behind the door, because what she saw in there was shocking.
Lily was sitting with James and Sirius, and they were all drinking tea. Sirius looked beside himself and was talking about something in a hushed tone. She listened closely.
"I don't know…" Sirius said, "I think Laura's the one. She's so different from all the other girls."
Laura froze. She thought her heart stopped. She was surprised at that confession. Who would have thought?
"Well even if she's not, she's in the Order, one of my best friends…" Lily pointed out.
James spoke next, "Pads, I think you need to explore your feelings for Laura better. It doesn't seem like you've been treating her right."
"I know. I've been a terrible boyfriend to her. I can't count how many times I've hurt her."
"So you know you've hurt her?" Lily asked.
"She says I don't, but I know that I have… I feel horrible. How will she want to stay with me now?"
"Well what did you do?" James asked, "Where is she?"
"She's at home… I told her not to leave, and she said she wouldn't."
Lily sighed, "Well she probably has."
"I know. I told her that she couldn't leave to see her dad this weekend. I threw her suitcase across the room."
"I told James that whole story, Sirius," Lily said.
"Oh…"
"You just need to control your temper, mate." James said, "And you need to stop drinking so much."
"I know. That's probably the worst part, how I come in so late… I know she probably thinks I'm cheating on her or something. That I'm shagging someone else… Honestly, I'm not, I swear."
"You just drink alone?" Lily asked. Her voice was a bit surprised.
"Well, yeah…" Laura heard Sirius say. She felt somewhat relieved at that. At least there wasn't another woman (or women) in the picture.
"Then when do you get home?" James asked.
"In the early hours… I never spend time with her anymore."
"Well you should," Lily said, "You should eat meals with her and take her on dates and things like that. Be a good boyfriend. James and I have been together for quite a while and we still do that."
Sirius sighed, "I feel like a wretched person, especially compared to James. I mean, and know you two really have something special, but I think that Laura and I might have something too. She's so different. I think I love her."
"She loves you too," Lily began, "But such a beautiful woman doesn't deserve to be yelled at and screamed at, hurt all the time. Just look at her some time, Sirius. She's a wreck."
"I know she is. I think I'm gonna make it up to her… I just… I'm afraid she won't love me back after all of this."
Laura wanted to yell at him, "Of course I do, you prat!" Of course, she couldn't, but she wanted to. She'd loved him for a while, even through the yelling and fights and late nights. She still did. She didn't want to lose him, but honestly… She didn't think she would be such a mess if she didn't actually love him. She wouldn't have stuck with him. She wouldn't be where she was if she wasn't committed.
"Just take a chance," James said.
"You've hurt her, Sirius," Lily said, "It's time to undo the harm."
"What if she left? What if I get back and she's packed up everything she has and left? She's probably sick of me now anyways… Most likely halfway to Provence, if not already there."
Laura almost sighed. She could feel tears welling up. Did he really have such little faith in her? But then again, other people would have expected her to, as well. She expected herself to. It made sense, but she couldn't ever bring herself to move out completely, even when she had most wanted to.
"Oh, Sirius," Lily sighed, "You just need to go back and see if she's there. If she's not… Well, she'll have to come back and see me eventually. I hope… We'll get her, I swear."
"And remember to control your temper," James said, "Don't get angry. Try not to fight. Tell her how you feel."
"I have an idea," Lily said, "Take her on a romantic evening. Just do something special for her and tell her how much you love her."
"I will…" Sirius said, "I've got to get going now."
"Of course you do. Good luck, mate," James bid him. Laura heard the sound of him Disapparating and froze. She knew that he'd come home and she would be there. He'd be worried and angry… She had to get home, and she had to get home now.
She walked quietly over to their front door, and once she was out safely in the street of Godric's Hollow, she Disapparated. She wound up in the living room and saw Sirius on the couch, his head in his hands. He was weeping. His head shot up at the sound of her Apparating in, and he looked at her, his eyes very red.
"Laura…"
She sighed and sat down next to him. "Sirius, I… I love you."
He seemed shocked. He took her hands and kissed them, "I love you too."
"You do?" she asked weakly.
He nodded and leaned in. He kissed her very softly on the lips and she kissed back. He pulled away before the kiss could get too deep. "Love, why don't I take you to an early dinner? Any restaurant you'd like to go to."
She kissed his cheek and hugged him. He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist, trying not to hurt her. "That sounds great… Let me get ready."
He smiled and let go of her. While she showered, he cleaned up the flat, cleaning the dirty laundry, tidying up papers, making their bed and putting away all the dishes. When she got out of the shower, she smiled at him lovingly and thanked him.
He showered next and she got herself ready while she did, putting on her makeup and doing her hair. She began to tell him about how she sent a letter to her father and how she was going to go to Provence to see him.
"Do you want to come with?" she asked nonchalantly, "You could meet my family…"
It was a big step, but she was hoping he'd say yes. He got out of the shower then and started to dry off. He frowned, "Me? Meet your family? In Provence?"
"Yes, tomorrow… I understand if you don't want to, really…"
He went up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He was all dry and only wearing a towel around his waist. He kissed her cheek and said, "I would love to. I just wasn't sure if you wanted me to."
"Of course I do."
"Well I'm glad."
She smiled to herself when he turned away. "Great… So, I guess we'll leave tomorrow. We don't have to stay for that long, just the weekend maybe."
"That's just fine." Sirius said, "That's great… I can't wait." Laura couldn't hide her grin now. He saw it and smirked, "What are you smiling about?"
"I'm just… Happy."
Sirius smiled himself. He felt joyous inside to hear those words come from her mouth. It dawned on his that she had never actually told him she was happy. He gave her a hug, now that he was dressed. He kissed her lips, "That's…" he kissed her again, "fantastic."
Laura wrapped her arms tighter around him, "I love you so much, Sirius."
"I love you, too."