Magnificent
Sirius Black was many things; he was a good looking lad with lots of confidence that attracted so many girls in all Hogwarts he couldn't even count; he was also quite smart and skilled in swinging his wand around, producing wonderful magic – speaking literally, of course, he sadly hasn't gone that far yet, even though he was an adult as of from a few weeks ago; he was also brave and careless, more often than not, helping out his best friend in his werewolf form every month. He was strong, and he was athletic. He was proud and loyal, and he was… Uh… Also a dog. Yes. A huge black dog. A magnificent huge black dog in his animagus form. So why, in the name of Merlin, being used to ghosts and magical creatures and monsters, did he shriek and jump like a little girl, almost pissing his pants when a petite figure crossed his way in the middle of the night? Now that was the question.
His chest rose and fell, fear freezing him to the ground as the figure in front of him stopped moving and turned to him. The moon outside the window illuminated them both.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
''Didn't think you'd be so jumpy, Black.'' the amused voice came from non-other than Lily Evans, aca the terroriser of Hogwarts pranksters, aca Black's one who got away without ever actually being his. He could only dream, really.
''Didn't think you'd be a sleep walker, Evans.'' He replied trying really really hard to sound not as shocked as he felt. He needed a few moments to gather his wit. His heavily beating heart almost stopped when he heard he chuckle softly. What in the world…? And when he caught her mischievous smile thrown his way that did it. He must be dreaming. He didn't think it would have ever happened to him, but he must have fallen asleep in the library on top of his transfiguration book. He'd die of shame if the others ever found out he had been in the library.
He needed good grades, too, thank you very much. They wouldn't just miraculously appear on his assignments. Ok? So he had fallen asleep. Now that he knew at least that, he could make himself wake up, couldn't he? Or was Evans actually the one who was trying to wake him up and he saw her in his dream because of that?
A snap of finger in front of his eyes brought him back from his musings. ''You still here?'' came her voice again. Sirius looked up again and blinked. Well… If this was a dream, it was damn real – because Lily Evans was standing very close to him, gazing at him curiously from beneath of her eye lashes. ''Uh…'' And then he heard her chuckle. It caused the rise of goose pimples all over his body. It was shocking.
''What in the world is the matter with you, Sirius?'' she asked softly, her hand gently touching his shoulder.
Yup… Someone must have hit him on the head. He was hallucinating.
''You're not hallucinating.'' She giggled.
He wasn't aware that he said that out loud.
''What is the matter with you, Sirius?'' she asked and came into full view. Lily Evans was standing in front of him, clad in her cosy flowery PJs with slippers on her bare feet. Sirius' eyes went up and down her tiny body, stopping on her face again, after a minute of silence. ''So, I'm really awake?'' he asked in surprise.
''I'm not that sure anymore. You might be sleep walking.'' She smiled gently, careful with her words in case he really was sleep walking. He caught her eyes. ''I'm not sleep walking. What are you doing here, Lily?''
She stepped away when she was sure he was all right and turned back to the window. Sirius felt a tiny pinch of loss after she moved away. ''Just enjoying the night.'' She replied, leaning on the window shelf and gazing at the moon above Hogwarts. Sirius stepped to her. ''By looking through the window? My, my, Evans. There's more interesting things in the castle than you can imagine, you know.'' He grinned at her, finally having a grip on himself. They stood next to each other, very close, and with a mood so very different from their daily banter that was now way friendlier after the boys have cleared up things between them and the Slytherin.
Lily looked at him from the side with a mysterious smile on her face and a soft chuckle escaping her mouth. It gave his heart a frightening start. ''Ah, Black… You know, you're not the only one who knows Hogwarts' secrets.'' Her eyes were bright and he could swear he saw stars twinkling in them.
Slowly, a curious smirk made way on his face. ''You're trying to tell me Miss Prim and Proper sneaks around the school occasionally when everyone is asleep?''
She winked at him and pushed away from the window. With a fluttering heart and a shaky breath, his eyes and his body followed her right away as she floated down the corridor, her cheeky smile inviting him to catch up with her, her long red hair flying behind her as she rushed up the stairs and through the labyrinth of corridors. Sirius didn't pay attention to anything but her. If you asked him where he was, he couldn't answer. If you asked him how many freckles she had on her nose, he would immediately reply seven. She stopped at one of the portraits and whispered something at the witch's ear. Sirius breath caught in his throat at the soft sound and arched his brows in surprise when the witch in the portrait giggled and glanced his way. ''Lucky boy.'' She told him, before the portrait slowly opened like a door. His eyes rose to his brows, having never discovered what looked like a secret corridor. And he and his boys knew a lot about secret corridors.
Lily glanced at him and took his hand in hers, pulling him after her. His chest hurt as he felt the gentle touch of her skin on his and he had a hard time not shaking like an overly excited child. The portrait closed behind them and what wrapped them both into its arms made Sirius' head spin. It was a magical corridor, clad in night darkness, with the moon and the stars shining above, just there, ready to reach. The walls of the corridor were see-through, but there was a line of a colour he couldn't name that made it obvious where the corridor started, which classrooms were left and right, under them and above. They were standing in a room that made the whole school see through, made them see the night outside like it were just there, on the roof, watching the sky. It felt like they were in the wide space, surrounded by stars and endlessness.
''Come.'' Lily gently pulled at his hand and they walked down the corridor, eyes cast up and around the magnificent beauty of nature and magic combined. Sirius' mouth felt open as he admired the sight of the whole school exposed to his eye. He could see the silhouettes of students sleeping in their dormitories, of ghosts flying around somewhere in the below corridors, of the castle elves going to bed after long hours of cleaning the kitchen, and of secret magical creature invisible to the human eye flying through the walls of classrooms, dancing in the silent sound of the night. The outside of the castle was even more alive. Sirius could see the silhouette of Hagrid's cottage, his sleeping form a small dot hidden behind the shadows of silky creatures flying through the night outside his home, lake and its water creatures beneath, and the forest in the further distance. It was all see through, but it was all alive and in gentle silky colour, only the moon and the stars bright with gold, shining and wrapping them into a bubble of warmth and magic.
When Sirius finally looked at Lily, his eyes big and bright and enchanted by the beauty, he caught her smiling at him, still holding his hand like he were a child in danger of getting lost if she let go. And he would have gotten lost, he thought. They needed to stay in the line of the corridor or they would become a part of this never-ending shade of silver and gold and see-through. As beautiful as it was, and as wonderful it would have been to become one with it, Sirius became aware that it would also mean they would be stay trapped into eternity.
For a second a thought shook him – that it wouldn't have been so bad if only he could be trapped with her. But quickly he brushed that thought away and once again followed Lily down the magical corridor. After what seemed endlessness, they stopped in front of a wall that was as see through as everything else, but it was a wall in front of them and it meant the end of the corridor. Sirius was sure it was a dangerous as everything else surrounding them, but then he saw the girl reach towards it with her free hand and his heart almost stopped, a second of panic striking through him, making him believe that this was it – they would stay trapped. But then her slender fingers glided through the magical surface and she giggled softly, glancing cheekily at him.
This was the wall they were allowed to touch… Well… Glided through, it seemed.
His quickly beating heart didn't calm down a bit when he reached out to do the same as she did. He reluctantly stopped right before, then allowed his finger to touch the mysterious material. It was cold to the touch and felt like touching fresh water from a spring, with no poison or mud in it. It felt like thick fabric at the same time and Sirius got curious if that was how magic looked like. How it felt like. He was still wrapped into the feeling of awe and amazement when he felt a tug on his hand again, and before he even looked up, he felt himself move forward as Lily pulled him. He didn't feel the panic anymore, but allowed her to lead him forward. They stepped through the magic and Sirius couldn't even start explaining how it felt like. What he could understand, however, was that this wall must be the window between the two worlds and Lily just made him walk through it with her.
It felt better than flying.
And he loved flying even more than anything else in the world.
They were floating somewhere between the middle of the castle and the outside world. There was no ground beneath their feet, but they were still standing. Sirius' eyes travelled around, gazing at the incredible surroundings, before he finally looked at Lily again. She wore a small content smile, her bright green eyes taking in the view that was already familiar to her, but still as breath-taking as the first time she had seen it. She had stumbled on this magic one sleepless night and accidentally walked in. She knew of it, of course, it was mentioned in books, so she knew what it was, what it presented, but she had never thought she would have found it. So, whenever she walked in, her heart roared in the endless freedom, her magic longed to be united with its nature again, but her brain told her to stay home, where she'd have mortality – because being immortal… That was way scarier than anything else.
Yet, it was beautiful. And she admired it. ''Saw anything better before?'' she whispered, and only a moment later did Sirius realize she was talking to him, teasing him, even in their dazed state.
''Never.'' He whispered back. It was true. Never had he seen anything more beautiful in all his life. It was soothing.
Especially with her hand in his.
Lily pulled him behind her again, then suddenly stopped and let go of his hand, only to twirl around and laugh from her heart. Her hair flew in a circle like a halo, and she seemed like a magical creature herself. Sirius' heart soared and he felt so many emotions in him he thought he might suffocate for a second, but then she took his hand and again and made him circle with her, through the silky lines of the castle, through the fresh air of the night, right underneath the moon and the stars. He couldn't help but laugh with her, his heart almost exploding with everything he felt.
One particular moment, when the scent of her shampoo reached his nose and his eyes caught a lovely angle of her face, he suddenly stopped her, holding both of her hands. They stood oposite each other, gazing. ''I'm going to kiss you, Lily.'' He told her, his eyes dreamy but determined. Her eyes widened in surprise, but then she smiled and rose on her toes and kissed him instead. It was a light brush of lips, a gentle nip of plump skin touching and staying there for a few moments, before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him, opening his mouth and inviting her tongue to play with his. He could feel her hands around his torso, and he could feel the magic around them, and he felt so much more than he could explain, he thought he might burst out with tears. One of his hands slipped up to her cheek and he caressed her skin with his thumb, his other hand flat on her back.
After a few moments, they pulled away, faces still close, eyes open and wide and staring at each other in surprise and wonder. She smiled then and Sirius' heart roared in triumph, making him want to scream in joy. He smiled back at her and pressed another kiss on her lips, a slow, tender caress, before he pulled away and hugged her. They were wrapped into the wonderful world of pure magic and wrapped in each other's arms, feeling the warmth and the power and so much more it was hard to handle.
They stayed like this it seemed for eternity, then sat down, floating still above the grounds and beneath the sky, holding hands, watching the night turn into early morning, the stars fading away, the moon disappearing in the light, the east rising in waves of gold until the top of the sun arose from beneath the horizon. It wrapped them in beams of light, caressing the forest, the lake, the meadows and the castle with the warmth of the fire of nature, making their already high spirit rise even further up into endless awe and joy.
It was morning.
Lily was crying with a smile on her face at the magnificent view. And Sirius was crying, too, allowing the tears drip down his cheeks on his rising and falling chest.
He felt alive.
He felt more alive than he had ever.
It was madness.
''I'm so very happy.'' Lily whispered, squeezing his hand, then pulling it up to her face, pressing it close to her mouth. Sirius turned to her and hugged her face with his hands. ''You can't imagine what I feel right now.'' He told her, then took her hands in his and placed them on his chest that was moving hard above his running heart. ''That's how I feel.'' He told her, feeling his cheeks warm up, and Lily knew he was telling her more than just that. She smiled at him. ''Me too.'' She admitted and it send Sirius into an even higher high. They kissed one more time, again slowly, with so much more than what they were saying, before they pulled apart and made their way back to their world. Right before they reached the portrait, Lily tugged at his hand to stop him. He looked at her and they gazed at each other.
They had so much more to tell each other. So much more to explain, to express. Yet it wasn't needed. ''This place is just for us…'' she whispered and he nodded without thinking. ''It's just us now.'' He promised and never meant it more than in that moment. The two of them had been dancing around each other for a long time now.
He didn't want to dance around her anymore. He wanted to dance with her.
He took her hand more firmly in his. ''You and me, Lily.'' He smiled and walked forward, the portait opening for them. She smiled. ''Yes.''
They walked out together and back to their dormitories, the haze of the night still making them feel dizzy and high. But they were now in their world.
And Lily was still in her lovely PJs. Sirius grinned. ''I want to see you wear that as often as possible.'' He teased, making her blush, his joking self finally back. ''At least I don't smell bad.'' She threw back at him and Sirius realized that he had not taken a shower last night, having rushed to the library straight from his room as his friends were getting ready for bed. At the sight of his horrified face, Lily laughed openly, shaking her head. ''Don't worry, Sirius. You don't stink.'' She gave him a cheeky smile. ''That much.'' And then she rushed forward, leaving him behind, escaping through the portrait hole to their common room. He laughed and ran after her and caught her when they were inside, wrapping her in his arms and playfully twirling her in circles. Everyone was still asleep, so the two of them kept it quiet, nipping at each other's lips, unable to untangle themselves from each other. Only when they heard the earliest students moving around in the showers, even thought it was a Saturday, did they move apart, their hands still clasped together.
''I'll see you after later?'' Sirius asked, hope so loud in his voice it was almost pathetic. Lily nodded. ''I can take a nap here on the couch after I shower again. And if you want…''
''Yeah. Yeah…'' Not like anyone would really be surprised. If even James Potter had told him to get a grip and ask Lily out, then Sirius knew that it would be rather welcome seeing them sleeping on the couch together, cuddling like little children. Lily's smile was so bright it almost melted him away. He really didn't want to part from her for a second. They hugged once more, pressing into each other as if wanting to become one. The magic must have had an incredible effect on them.
Minutes later they finally parted and took care of their hygiene. And when the first students found their way into the common room hours later, they couldn't help but smile at the sight of Lily and Sirius fast asleep on the couch. Lily in between Sirius' legs, his arms wrapped around her in a loving hug. Both leaning to the side on the head rest.
It was quite a sight.
Worth taking pictures with that muggle device that seemed to be so popular nowadays. Oh… James will laugh them out once they're awake.