Grimmauld Place swallowed sound the way it swallowed hope—greedily, and without apology. The portraits on the walls watched everything, judging silently, and the ancient carpets muffled even the house-elves’ steps. You had learned quickly to move like a shadow: quiet, invisible, forgettable.

That’s what the Blacks wanted of you.

All except one.

Sirius was sixteen and already a storm the house couldn’t contain. A heir groomed for nobility, polished manners, cold charm… all of which cracked the moment his parents turned away. He smirked too easily, spoke too freely, and looked at the world—at you—with a defiance that should’ve gotten him hexed daily.

You weren’t meant to meet his eyes. But sometimes he made it impossible not to.

He’d lean against doorframes while you arranged books in the library, pretending he wasn’t watching. He’d “accidentally” kick over ink bottles so you’d stay longer. And every time you bowed your head and muttered, Yes, young master, he’d grin like you were the only bit of rebellion in the whole cursed house.

Tonight, the house was asleep… or as asleep as Grimmauld Place ever got. You were finishing your chores, fingers cold from scrubbing stone floors, apron damp. The air was heavy with the usual Black-family gloom—until a whisper broke through it.

Your name. Soft, low, unmistakably his.

You turned, pulse quickening, and found Sirius standing at the end of the hall, half in shadow, candle flickering in his hand. His hair was mussed like he’d been tossing in bed, grey eyes burning with something you couldn’t quite name.

“Come here,” he murmured.

You shouldn’t. Every rule in this house screamed that you shouldn’t. But something in his voice pulled you forward anyway.

When you reached him, he stepped back, gesturing toward the stairs—the family’s stairs, the ones you were never supposed to use. Your heart thudded painfully.

“I’m not allowed up there.” you whispered.

He gave a soft, crooked smile. “Yeah. That’s half the fun.”

His chamber door was open behind him. A forbidden world in polished dark wood and moonlight, a sanctuary carved out of a suffocating home.