Tickling, Towers, and the Truth

"So what is with the pudding?" a tickling whisper asked in Meg's ear. She cringed at the strange sensation, but couldn't help the grin that lit her face because of the light tickle. She turned in her seat to look at Sirius standing in the aisle behind her. Meg had just finished off a mixed bowl of vanilla and chocolate pudding. Lily had chosen to savor hers tonight and was only half way done with her helping. Meg shrugged in response to Sirius's question.

"I don't really know. It's delicious is all." She smiled, which Sirius took as an invitation to sit down. Meg's smile became a frown as she realized that Sirius meant to stay, but she was unable to keep it up for long because of the dreaded puppy eyes. Black had been doing really well until tonight. He had been only occasionally friendly to Meg in public and had aimed a few extra bludgers at his teammate during practice, all of which erased the hit that she and Lily were sure had been put on Meg's life by his fans.

In private, however, Black had become increasingly charming and friendly towards his reluctant peer. He had gone out of his way several times to accidentally bump into Meg as she meandered through the less traveled corridors of the castle. Meg had her doubts about the validity of Sirius's claims to coincidence, but in her heart, she wanted to believe that he was trying to do as she had asked. The secretive smirk that was always lurking beneath the surface of his surprised expression when he stumbled upon her had proved her hopes to be unfounded. It was difficult to stay mad at the devilishly handsome rogue when he feigned shock and greeted her with a "Fancy meeting you here, Meg."

"Delicious?" he asked Meg, staying within range of her ticklish neck and ears. Suppressing her body's desire to shiver, Meg drew herself back to reality and smacked Sirius for his sarcastic and demeaning tone. "Ow! What was that for?" whined the masculine Black, stepping away from his attacker and rubbing the red mark on his arm.

"You insulted pudding!" Lily chimed in, quickly swallowing a mouthful of pudding. Meg nodded emphatically, her braided pigtails bouncing on her shoulders with the force, and frowned once more as Black started to laugh. Lily finished her pudding much quicker than she wanted to, glanced at her best friend with a defiant nod and left her seat. Knowing that Lily was in a foul mood from all of Sirius's interruptions, Meg followed suit, making her way toward the door. She joined Lily at the end of Gryffindor table and continued toward the door, ignoring the pleas to wait and half-hearted apologies Black attempted between outbursts of laughter.

As the indignant pair began to climb the stairs, the number of persons following them multiplied. Lily stiffened, clutching Meg's wrist in a silent plea for help against the only other person who would chase them from the Great Hall: Potter. Hoping for Lily's sake that her fears were unfounded, Meg glanced over her shoulder at their pursuers. She could not help but grumble as her gaze took in Potter and Black maintaining a steady pace behind them. Lily groaned and attempted to quicken the pace, but it was a wasted effort. The more mischievous half of the Marauders caught up to their quarry quickly, but not before the girls had taken the route to the Astronomy Tower in an attempt to lose them.

"Hello, ladies," Potter greeted in what he imagined was a smooth attempt at chivalry. Black chuckled at his friend's pathetic eagerness, drawing Meg's attention away from Lily and James. He was walking next to her, but not just nearby. He was right beside her. Sirius Black, the playboy of Hogwarts had once again chosen to abandon his groupies to be beside her. Despite the shrill warning voice in her head, Meg flushed and smiled at this realization.

"What do you want?" Lily asked, barely able to hold back the furious yell she was dying to let loose. Black shrugged and nodded at Potter, eliciting a furious eye-roll from Lily.

"This wasn't my idea, I swear," he coolly passed the blame to his best friend, who gasped in hurt at the betrayal. James played up the drama of the situation by clutching his chest as if Sirius had just thrust a dagger into his heart.

"Padfoot, mate, I can't believe you sold me out. It's true, of course. I saw Sirius following the two of you out of the Great Hall and decided to join him. He was about to give up the chase, but I persuaded him otherwise," Potter finished by flashing a grin in Lily's direction. She released an exasperated sigh as she stepped onto the narrower final staircase leading to the Astronomy Tower. Potter squeezed past Meg to walk behind Lily. Infuriated by his successful usurping of her rightful position, she shoved her captain. Skilled and agile on a broom, James lacked balance on the ground and tripped, falling forward, and grabbing Lily's arm, pulling them both to the floor. Black began to chuckle at the tangled mess of red hair and lanky limbs. Oblivious to the infectious nature of Sirius's laughter, Meg stood next to him and barely noticed as her frustration transformed into amusement. Unnoticed by Meg, Sirius's smile grew as her laughter joined his.

Black eased his arm around the slender waist of his long haired teammate, taking advantage of her distracted state as they continued to laugh at their friends' mishap, and expertly guided Meg around the lump of Lily and James on the stairs. The newly formed pair was still laughing when the door to the large balcony of the tower appeared before them. Black held open the door for Meg in a rare showing of good manners. For some strange reason, Meg felt her cheeks warming, and could only imagine how red they were, as she stepped through the door, giving Black a quick glance as she did. She glanced back to see if Lily and Potter were close behind, but the stairs below were blanketed in darkness and silence. The door shut with a loud bang, making Meg jump and clasp her hand to her chest as her heart dropped to her toes.

Having been witness to several occasions where Black had led anxious and eager girls up these stairs, whispering in their ears, twirling their hair around his finger, his arm reassuringly firm around their waists, just as he had guided her not a moment before, Meg's guard went up as she turned to face her captor.

She felt a burning anger rise in her chest, a volatile mix of fury, disbelief, embarrassment, and insult. She glared at Sirius who stood there so cool, so suave, so self-assured. He leaned against the wall, unaware or unconcerned with the precarious height at which he stood, staring at Meg with a strange intensity behind his stormy grey eyes. He waved to her, beckoning her to join him. Hyperaware of his possible course of action, Meg approached but stood a safe distance away facing out, staring into the black sky littered with tiny dancing flames. Her sense of physical security shattered as Black slid toward her. He leaned back on his elbows against the wall and smirked at Meg. He was slowly removing each of her defenses, and she had no way to stop him.

"That was a pretty smooth move. I always knew you wanted them to get together." Sirius's compliment bounced around in Meg's head for a second before her confused expression was replaced by shocked understanding. She feebly attempted to protest but was distracted by the once-thought platonic hand gently covering her mouth.

"Maybe you don't know it, but you do want them together. He would make her happy, and that's what you want, right?" Sirius asked as if he needed no answer, which Meg realized was true. She sighed in compliance and shook away from his silencing hand.

"Until she figures it out, I can't say anything in his favor. It would be the worst kind of betrayal," Meg said, sharing her secret thoughts for the first time. "I've been waiting for Lily to come to her senses for about six months, if only to stop Potter's annoying Love Campaign." Sirius chuckled at her title for James's attempted courtship, and as she stared back at him, she could see the ideas for banners and buttons racing through his prankster-mind.

"Well, you might not have to wait much longer," Sirius replied in a whisper. He laughed at Meg's suddenly bewildered expression. "I think tonight is the night Lily Evans will start down the path to becoming Lily Potter," Black explained with a haughty nod and wink. Meg shook her head in disbelief and allowed her hysterical laughter to erupt into the silent night. For a moment, Sirius was distracted from this insult by the captivating way Meg's usually caramel-colored hair shined silver and black in the moonlight. He was drawn back to reality by her gasping explanation for her behavior.

"I'm sorry to crush your hopes and dreams Black, but that's just not going to happen," she managed to respond between giggles. When she gained control of her breathing, she realized that Black was and had been looking at her with the most serious expression she'd ever seen on his face.

"You haven't crushed all of my hopes, Meg," he whispered. Meg breathed in deeply in an effort to calm her suddenly racing heart. She realized it was too late to escape the situation, and that, despite her best efforts, she could not think of a single reason not to willingly fall for Black's tricks. She quickly attempted to rationalize her predicament by telling herself that this was how he disarmed girls, how he stripped them of their morals and priorities; by distracting them with outrageous propositions and then moving in for the kill. Sirius moved along the wall, closer to Meg but by the tiniest measurement, looking only at his hands as he approached. When he raised his gaze to meet Meg's once again, the same unfamiliar intensity shining in his gray eyes nearly knocked her off her feet.

"Whoa," she breathed, so quiet she doubted whether she had even said it out loud. Meg leaned toward him, drawn in by Sirius's beauty like a moth to a flame. Nature seemed to freeze around them. There was no wind rustling the leaves of the forest, no nocturnal animals' noise breaking the silence. Moments ago Meg was sure her relationship with Black was purely a friendship, but now her body was inches away from his, and she was doing nothing to stop it; soon mere centimeters separated them, and then there was no space between the two friends at all. Sirius's lips touched Meg's for the briefest moment, barely enough time for her to register that he smelled like cinnamon and Muggle laundry detergent.

With the force of a gale wind the door swung open, torch light flooded the balcony, and Meg jumped away from Sirius like he was the Whomping Willow. She raised her hands to her cheeks, and the heat burned her freezing fingers. Lily stood in the doorway, blocking the light that would have revealed the truth of the situation.

"Meg, let's go," Lily called to her. Her tone revealed just how low Potter had burned her fuse. The urgency and frustration in Lily's voice distracted Meg from the laughter that had replaced the intensity in Black's gaze.

"Al-all right," she answered, drawing herself out of the fog that had invaded her brain when Sirius's lips had touched hers. She chanced a final glance at Black and regretted it immediately. His charming smile had reappeared, and it was obvious he was holding in his bark-like laughter.

"Good night, Meg," he yelled just before the thick wooden door shut, effectively blocking him from sight and hearing, but not from memory.

--

Lily and Meg reached the common room without speaking one word. They continued to the Head's dorm, still in comatose silence. Only after both girls had completed their homework and Meg was making herself comfortable, huddled under her favorite red afghan trying to read Pride and Prejudice, did Lily approach her friend. She climbed onto the couch next to Meg and stared at her until she looked up from her book.

"I have something to tell you," she revealed in a hushed voice. Meg nodded, marked her place in her book and set it aside to wait for Lily to continue, but she didn't. Meg frowned at her obstinate friend, but she still didn't speak.

"What is it Lily?" Meg practically yelled, inadvertently alerting Lily to her disturbed emotional and mental state. Lily tilted her head in confusion at Meg's surprising outburst. Meg sighed and patted Lily's knee as a consolation.

"Sorry," she mumbled, hoping to distract Lily from asking what was wrong with her. "What do you want to tell me?" Meg asked, calming her voice to avoid questioning. Lily glanced around as if to make sure the currently absent Head Boy Potter was not going to pop out from behind a curtain with a large box of chocolates and start scattering them around Lily's feet where they danced and sang, as he had once before in fifth year. Meg resisted the impulse to roll her eyes at her friend's paranoia.

"I know you won't, but you have to promise not to tell anyone," Lily paused, giving Meg a supposedly threatening glare. Meg nodded quickly. Lily's odd behavior had finally caught her curiosity. Meg waited for any sort of response, but none was coming. Just as she was about to explode, Lily locked her gaze and opened her mouth to speak. It seemed like she was fighting the urge to throw up rather than to tell her best friend a secret.

"Alright, here goes. IletPotterkissme," spilled out before Lily clasped her hands over her mouth. Her bright green eyes widened in shock, either at her confession or at the strange expression of mixed horror and amusement on Meg's face. The usually calm and collected blue eyes blinked several times, and Meg closed her gaping mouth.

"You what? You let him kiss you? As in…you gave permission and kissed back?" Meg interrogated, attempting to get more than the bare details out of her embarrassed and easily harassed friend. She bit back the urge to continue firing questions, hoping that Lily might actually answer her question honestly.

"Yes! Keep your voice down please. I don't want the whole school to know, geez," Lily finished in desperate exasperation. Meg fought it, but could not help the bubbly giggles from erupting as a bright, mischievous smile grew on her face. Lily poked her inappropriately giddy friend, trying to halt the annoying giggles and snorts issuing from Meg's wide open trap, but it only made it worse.

"Meg! Meg, come on this is serious! I don't know what to do!" Lily resorted to begging. Meg breathed in deeply and exhaled a long sigh, gaining control of her laughter. She grabbed Lily's shoulders and shook a bit, keeping the wild smile plastered on her face.

"Lily-flower, you know what you have to do. You must admit to yourself and to Potter, soon to be know as James, that you like him," Meg managed to say before bursting into ecstatic giggles again. Lily sighed, grabbed the throw pillow next to her, beat Meg with it and climbed off of the couch. She gathered her books, parchments, quills and ink bottles, turning away from her unhelpful, ridiculing friend.

"You're no help," she muttered before walking to her room and slamming the door shut. Meg buried her face in the sofa cushions, trying to muffle her stubbornly loud giggles. She closed her eyes once she was in control and, after gathering her school things, returned to the girls' dorm for some much-needed sleep.

--

Instead of peaceful rest, Meg found only confusion in her sleep that night and for several nights after. Meg woke four days in a row twisted in her bed sheets and with sweat on her forehead and in the small of her back. Each of these days, she showered, got dressed, went to class, and avoided close contact with Black as best she could, hoping that by going cold turkey, she would rid herself of the dreams. In her sleep, the familiar figure of Sirius Black leapt about in her mind, carefree and amusing, until he was tackled out of sight by a shirtless counterpart whose intense stare never blinked and never turned away.

The Friday after Sirius and Meg's kiss, he and Remus were in the Hospital Wing during her shift. Doing Merlin knows what, Remus had gotten a long, deep cut on his right arm. Poppy allowed Meg to take care of the cut and retired to her office, leaving the three teenagers alone in the vast infirmary.

"This might sting a bit, Remus," Meg warned as she prepared to apply a salve to his cut. Remus shrugged off her warning and smiled up at her, but bit his lip when the salve touched the cut. Meg chuckled and shook her head. Sirius snorted and leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs.

"Tsk, tsk, Mr. Lupin. No one likes a show-off," Meg said as she set down the salve and glanced in Black's direction. She rolled Remus's sleeve to just below his shoulder where the cut finally ended. She frowned and gave him her best "serious medical situation" look. "Remus, how'd this happen?"

Sirius coughed and squirmed in his seat at the end of the bed putting his chair down on all four legs, but Remus just grinned and whispered, "A Marauder never reveals his secrets."

Meg sighed, knowing she wouldn't get any more information out of him. She finished applying the salve and washed her hands. Then she wrapped Remus's arm and sealed the bandage magically.

"Don't try to remove this before you come back tomorrow. If you do, it won't heal properly," she warned again. Meg loved her internship in the Hospital Wing, but sometimes she felt like an old nanny giving out warnings, cautions, and scoldings. Of course, it didn't help when her patients just grinned and winked at her before hopping off the bed and jogging from the room. Sirius lagged behind his injured friend, hands in his pockets and hair in his eyes.

"Can I help you, Mr. Black?" Meg asked when she finished putting away the materials she'd just used with Remus. She kept her back to him and straightened the sheets of the bed, mussed from Remus sitting on them.

"Oh, I was just wondering how you were doing Meg. I haven't really talked to you in awhile, or rather you haven't talked to me," he said, walking around the end of the bed so that when she looked up, Meg was looking right into the same intense stare from her dreams. She coughed and straightened up, pulling her shoulders back and standing at her full height, only four inches under Sirius's 6'3".

"I'm doing well, thank you. I've just been busy, you know, with work and school," Meg stumbled over her terrible lie. She reached up and checked that her hair was still in its mandatory bun, giving herself time to gain some composure. "If that's all, I think Remus is waiting for you outside." Meg smiled and nodded toward the door.

"Right, well, thanks for helping him out. You did a nice job," Sirius said before turning away and walking out of the infirmary.

When she was sure he was gone, Meg collapsed onto the bed she had just straightened and sighed, "Thanks."