Here we go, ladies and gentlefolk. I've been revising this for a while so ignore any mistake (I like to write at night i.e sleepiness typos are expected!) If you're not into long stories then TURN BACK NOW I WARN YOU! If you do, then go ahead. Thanks for reading!

Summer, 1975.

It was just one of those days that didn't end.

It would last for hours and hours, simply caught in a continuous loop. It was a stuck record that kept rewinding to the start. The day was sickened and tired for the sun needed to fade and start a fresh but somebody didn't want it to end. This person wanted the hands on the clock face to freeze and stay stuck for an eternity or two. She wanted time to give up and let her stay in this moment forever and ever, until the sun grew old with age and passed everything to the moon. Maybe, just maybe, if that happened then this person would be completely happy for once and she would get what she deserved.

This person was Giselle Crouch and she didn't want the day to end. She liked the achingly long hours, the eye-rolling, steady paced sunlight and the painfully slow ticking clock hands. She didn't want the new day to start because she couldn't face the last day of term but she never had a choice – the end of her fourth year was inevitable, yet it hadn't happened yet. The last minutes were lingering in the air, like a piano that had played its last chord yet the sharp note hung in the air. She didn't want the symphony to end. The symphony was too sweet and young to die.

The clock tower's bell rang out twelve times, each toll louder than the last as it reached the basement of the school, and Giselle Crouch let out a deflated sigh, still staring at her steaming mug of tea in between her hands.

Today was to be her last day at Hogwarts. Her heart broke.

Today, Giselle would taste her final Hogwarts feast in the breathtaking Great Hall, surrounded by her friends who spoke of pointless topics concerning the summer. In a matter of hours, she would listen to their expectations of their summers and play along, forcing her smiles and laughs. Within time, she would compare her expected summer holiday with her brother to a prison serving at Azkaban. Today would be the last time she was officially on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, playing her passion as a chaser with her good friend James Potter. She heard rumours that her new school didn't have a Quidditch team. Her nose wrinkled at the rumour and remembered how James fell from his seat at the shocking news.

Giselle tried to gather her thoughts as she lounged along the bench in the kitchens of the castle where house elves rushed merrily around her, completely serene that a student was among them. She wasn't surprised by their reaction considering she practically had been living in the kitchen since her first year. Her eyes glazed the table and she licked her lips, letting her fingers trace the scratches in the table.

As a fifteen year old girl, she already had so much to deal with. Her father and mother were still insistent in raising her with pureblood prospects where family pride was the most important thing in the whole world. She knew her father despised her, trashing her 'impractical dreams' and 'childish friendships' and complaining about every little thing she did. It was lucky she had grown a thick enough skin to deal with this.

Her younger brother hated her guts and he made sure she knew. Bartemius Crouch was a sneaky, devilish boy, with a mind sharper than a dangerous blade and a scowl to match. Giselle had learnt to play along with his acts in front of their parents, although their childhood years helped her to see that they weren't just facades. By the time they were teenagers, Barty made it quite clear that his older sister should take him seriously. Unfortunately, Giselle only had memories to prove what he's capable of.

Her mother was utterly oblivious to it all. As much as Giselle loved her, Adelaide Crouch was never the brightest witch. It was a maternal instinct, Giselle guessed, to disregard all of the terrible accusations and proof that Adelaide's darling boy was not quite right mental-wise, even when the accuser was her only daughter. It didn't take long for Giselle to give up. These days, however, the trouble wasn't with Barty. Adelaide was nonchalant to her husband's attitude and selfish stiffness with his new job promotion.

Honestly, Giselle thought bitterly, that woman thinks the sun shines out of her husband and son's every orifice. She thought back to her father and rolled her eyes, remembering his words to her as he first sent her off to Hogwarts four years ago. He had always been severe with self-pride, and it annoyed the fuck out of her.

"Listen to me, Giselle. Don't waste time on childish riff raff, like your silly obsession over Quidditch for example, and don't you even dare think about rule-breaking, because if I receive an owl from your head of house, you will be in serious trouble young lady. I raised you right and proper, to be a fine lady who will set the right kind of expectations for your classmates and professors. I will not have you bringing shame to the family name. You are a Crouch, Giselle, so make me proud," barked Bartemius Crouch Senior at his daughter as they stood beside the grand Hogwarts Express. Giselle remembered how her tongue bled for ages afterwards from biting it too hard.

Even thinking about it made bile rise in her throat. 'A fine lady who will set the right kind of expectations for your classmates and professors'– so, in other words, she had to treat everyone as though they were beneath her and aim ridiculously high. She'd rather eat a flubberworm. Her delicate pink lips twitched when she remembered the first howler she received from her father after Professor McGonagall sent an owl home concerning Giselle's new extra-curricular activity in creating mischief. If she listened closely, she could still hear Bartemius' roaring voice echo in the Great Hall.

It was his fault she was leaving Hogwarts. She hadn't been expelled nor had she asked to leave (like she'd do that), but she had been forced to transfer to the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic because her father thought she would benefit being away from the War.

As head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he seemed to think that she (not her younger brother) would profit from the move. Giselle scowled at her drink and clenched her jaw, feeling the muscles stretch across her face. She remembered how much as screamed and cried at her parents for transferring her to the foreign school but they didn't understand that she needed to stay at Hogwarts.

She needed to stay because of her friends. She didn't want to leave them, none of them. She'd have to leave her dorm where she spent hours laughing with Alice Lovett and Marlene McKinnon, who were the sweetest girls Giselle knew. She wouldn't have Peter Pettigrew to study with in the library for hours, and she wouldn't have her witty class project partner (Professor Slughorn made it his unwritten rule to have Remus Lupin pair with her every Potions lesson). Giselle knew she would have to leave behind her best friend, Lily Evans. She remembered how much Lily cried and almost broke her ribs when Giselle broke the news. She needed to stay because she and James Potter made school history with their awesome chaser plays on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, even if James sometimes obnoxiously took the credit for their skilled game plans. No matter how much he annoyed her, Giselle knew she would miss him a lot.

But it was Sirius Black who made her want to stay the most. He knew her inside out, and she could read him like he was her favourite book. One without the other was absolutely unthinkable, but the unthinkable was going to happen. When she told him what was happening, he stayed up all night with her so she could vent and let out all her anger. Giselle thought of him and rubbed her eyes, her conscious screaming for her to run away from everything with Sirius. She knew that if she said the word, they'd do it together.

"Miss Crouch!" cried a voice suddenly and Giselle's heart skipped. She flinched viciously and felt her hot tea splash down her t-shirt and she swore, tensing as her skin tightened and blistered. She looked over her shoulder to see who had made her jump but only the house elves of Hogwarts were around. They flitted about, unaware that someone was shouting in the kitchens after curfew, and Giselle frowned, her nose crinkled like old speckled parchment. When she saw nothing unusual, she turned back around and tried to mop up the tea with her sleeve.

"Oi!"

Giselle ignored it this time and came to a hasty conclusion that the voice either belonged to Peeves the Poltergeist who loved to scare people, or Potter who was hiding underneath his invisibility cloak. Her sleeve was wet and her scalded skin was beginning to sting so Giselle decided to tell the visitor to go away. It was very likely that it was James, considering she knew Peeves liked to wreck havoc on the higher floors on the last day of term.

"I'm not in the mood, James," sighed Giselle, rubbing her heavy eyes. She looked over towards the oil painting that served as the entrance door and waited for the spectacled boy with 'wind-swept' hair to appear. The longer she waited, the more irritated she grew.

"…Giselle!" shouted the voice into her ear.

She screamed and swung at the air beside her ear. Her hand collided with something hard and her palm stung from both the slap and the burns. She winced and retracted her hand, holding it to her chest, but she waited patiently for her victim to appear.

The invisibility cloak slipped and the grinning face of Sirius Black appeared, although his left hand was clutching his cheek tightly. His hair was ruffled by the cloak and his eyes lit up when he took in her reaction. He always loved a good show and an annoyed audience. Giselle huffed and turned away from him, putting her mug the right way up and cleaning the rest of the mess Sirius had caused. He stood there and grinned at her, waiting for her to say something.

"That wasn't funny," She told him and he laughed.

"No, it was hilarious! C'mon 'Elle, you should have seen your face! And the fact you thought I was James, too," scoffed Sirius, sliding onto the bench beside her and he nudged her ribs with his elbows. Her nose was still wrinkled and she showed no signs of laughing, until Sirius removed his hand from his face. Giselle blinked and immediately burst into a chorus of giggles.

"Ok, it is funny. You should see your face!" She told him and Sirius frowned. He quickly snatched a silver pot from the nearest elf and inspected the damage she had done to his cheek in the reflection. A bright scarlet hand print was splattered across his cheek and Giselle admired her handiwork. She could almost see it pulse.

Sirius prodded the mark with his fingers and winced dramatically, sharply breathing. "You've scarred me! You've practically turned me into Remus! This is going to bruise, I can feel it. I'll get you for this, mark my words-,"
"As well as your face?" asked Giselle with a smile that turned her into an imp, and he narrowed his eyes.

"This is no time for joking, Giselle. Look at it! Touch it, you can feel my blood rushing to it! Go on!" exclaimed Sirius, forcing Giselle to lightly graze his cheek, and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Oh, don't be such a drama queen! It won't scar, you're fine."

"But my pretty face! You've ruined it! Elle, how will I ever attempt to make you fall in love with me using my 'devilishly good looks' when they're just 'good looks'?" He complained, sneering at his reflection and she couldn't help but shake her head.

"You scared me and made me burn myself!" She defended hotly, shoving her blistered hands into his face but he smacked them away as if she was the one over-reacting. "I kinda think you deserve the slap," added Giselle and Sirius gasped, staring at her as if she had stabbed him in the chest.

"Never in my entire life have I heard such disgusting accusations! I don't deserve this, you know. How dare you take out your frustrations towards me on my beautiful face!" Giselle pursed her lips as he continued, "and not only have you broken my gorgeousness, but you've damaged my heart, my trust… And my pretty face."

"For Merlin's sake, shut up!" She shouted but Sirius continued to smirk at her. He poked her sides again and shrugged, his fingers brushing over hers as they lay on the table

"It's a chore being handsome, I can't help that. I have a reputation to keep," sighed Sirius, but he suddenly threw his body across hers with theatrical demeanour, as if making a point but she fell backwards onto the floor from his dead weight. Sirius lost his balance and fell with her. They smacked the floor and lay there, stomachs cramping from their laugher. Sirius turned his head to hers down and offered her his hand as he climbed back onto the bench. "Milady," he said with a wink and she bowed her head, accepting his help like a medieval maid. His hand was rough and warm around hers, and the sudden realisation of what was happening hit her gut like a bullet. This was their last memory alone together.

Sirius noticed her change in manner and dropped his smile, the sparkle in his eye fading. He stared at her for a minute then broke the uncomforting silence between them. "Don't go, Giselle."

Giselle blinked and dropped his hand, never breaking the eye contact. "We have to go; it's the last day of term." She was known for her timely sarcasm. He couldn't even bring himself to laugh, and it hurt her.

"You know what I mean," He murmured, his silver stare piercing hers harder than before. It felt like ice, sharp and cold. "Don't leave me, us – Hogwarts. Leaving the castle now makes our four years seem like a complete waste, all the memories and secrets we've discovered, all gone now you've decided to transfer to that bloody French school. It's very Slytherin of you and I don't like it." Giselle blinked and struggled to find her words.

"On second thoughts, at least you're not transferring to Durmstrang," added Sirius childishly, acting as though that made all the difference. Her blue eyes darkened to a tough navy and she glowered at him, unable to fully process what he had just said to her. She knew he was bitter about her leaving but this was low, even for him. This wasn't some sort of joke.

"Are you trying to be funny? Do you honestly think that my father let me have a say in the matter? Do you really think that I want to leave Hogwarts and transfer to a school where English is the second language, to a place where I will have no friends? You know how much I've tried to persuade my parents to let me stay and you fully well know how much this fucking hurts me, Sirius." He had never heard anything more painful in his life than Giselle saying his name like that. He physically winced.

"I thought you out of everyone would understand," She whispered, looking at her hands.

Sirius dropped his eyes to the table and instantly regretted every word he said to her, he never meant it to come out so harsh. He knew it wasn't a joke, he didn't mean to hurt her like that. He looked back at Giselle, refusing to back down in cowardice, even when she snarled and refused to look up.

"Giselle…" The words were caught in his throat," I, er, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it like that, I shouldn't have even mentioned-,"

"Just drop it, Sirius," She mumbled. "I don't want to leave on bad terms." Giselle couldn't help but cringe at her own words and she knew it must have been harder for Sirius to hear as he finally stopped trying to catch her eye. She knew he was nearing his limit; he would never give up so easily. Giselle tried to think of a way to tell him that he meant the world to her but the words didn't fit together in her mind. She wasn't a coward, but she felt smaller than a flea sitting there. The pair sat in silence, listening only to the crackling wood stoves, their own heavy breaths, and the rummaging of the house elves until-

"The way you phrase it… Is this goodbye forever?" asked Sirius softly, testing the waters. He grabbed her hands and turned to her, waiting for her blue eyes to find his grey. She struggled to follow suit.

"No," Giselle finally said but she didn't expect Sirius to believe her considering she couldn't believe it herself. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together, hard enough for the pink to fade. "I hate them so much for making me do this, especially now with what's going on with your family-,"

Sirius frowned and shook his head, keeping her eyes trained on his. "Don't make this about me. Don't worry about me and those assholes, I got it under control. Just like you. We're braver than this, 'Elle," he told her fiercely and Giselle refused to let the tears form in her eyes. "Together maybe… We should just run away together, tomorrow when the train reaches the platform. We should just run away and never turn back, we could leave them all behind for good," she whispered and in that moment, she had never seen so much hope in his eyes. His irises were bright and the sight of his tears made her chest pine.

"Are you serious?" he croaked and Giselle let out a watery giggle. Sirius wiped his eye and placed a finger over her lips, "and don't you dare say it, I get it every single day from the boys…" But she nodded and tightened her grip around his hand. "Yes. We should have done it when it got bad last year. We don't need them, we've got each other. I can't leave you, Sirius," and she sobbed into her hands, ashamed he was seeing her cry like this. The clock tower bell rang out once, and Giselle knew that she couldn't stay in the kitchen with him in tears all night. She sniffed and wiped her face, avoiding his eyes like they were fatal. Sirius ran a hand through his tresses and squeezed the hand he held one more time.

"I don't want you to leave me. Giselle, I need you and I can't do this on my own. It's too late, I know, but I need you to promise me one thing. Please," he told her, completely desperate and terrified. Giselle nodded, "Anything."

He pulled her hands to his lips and kissed them with a touch lighter than a breeze. He felt a painstakingly twinge hit his heart when he smelt her aroma of cherry blossom and rain, a scent she held even on the driest day. He always told her it was one of her talents but she would always laugh it off. He choked saying it, he'd never been so weak in his entire life, but he had to say it quick; Giselle wasn't a fan of last words.

"Promise that you won't forget me, 'Elle. Please," he said and Giselle shuddered, nodding as though her life depended on it. Forgetting him would be impossible.

"Do you promise? Please…" he repeated slowly.

"I promise," murmured Giselle and she let go of his hands so hers fell into her lap. She was getting in too deep; she knew she would be crying rivers tomorrow evening when she arrived back at the manor with her family. Sirius sensed her retraction and began to panic. The pair never saw eye to eye. Giselle tried to stand up but she slowed when Sirius copied. He watched her nose crumple in confusion though she melted like goo in his hands when he grabbed her face and kissed her lips.

He heard that the best way to stop time was by kissing someone, but this was something else. When he kissed her, he felt like he could reverse time itself. He knotted his fingers in Giselle's hair and felt her lips tremble against his. He knew he was going to make her cry again, but he didn't care. It was so painful for them both, he had never felt anything this strong in his entire life, but his eyes were watering by the time she scratched at his neck and opened her mouth, savouring the last seconds. With his cheeks burning, Sirius ended the kiss but he opened his eyes to find Giselle petrified on the spot with her eyes still closed. Tears were pouring down her cheeks and he wiped them away.

She opened her eyes and cupped her face. "You fucking idiot, Black. Why did you do that?" She said, muffled by her hands and he laughed. He decided not to answer her question.

"Please, don't forget me. Promise?" he asked once more and Giselle removed her hands.

"As long as you don't forget me, I promise. Do you?" she told him in a thick voice.

"I could never forget you. I promise."