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Out of the Ashes

4

Rachel awoke much later than her roommates the morning following her endeavor with Sirius. By the time she had showered and gotten herself dressed in plain blue jeans and a black t-shirt, the other sixth year girls had already vacated the dormitory; all but Lily Evans. Rachel's redheaded best friend twisted her long hair around her finger while she sat waiting on the edge of her neatly made bed.

"What?" Rachel asked bashfully as she ran her fingers through her curly hair.

"How was it?" Lily asked plainly.

"It was fun," Rachel smiled.

"Fun? That's all I get?" Lily asked, her green eyes wide. "Come on, Rach, give me details! What did you two do?"

"I don't think you would particularly approve of what we did," Rachel smirked slyly, watching Lily's cheeks flush.

"Oh, Rachel, you didn't! Please tell me you didn't let him have his way with you," Lily begged, desperately clasping Rachel's hand between her palms.

"Not exactly," Rachel chuckled. "We went on an adventure I highly doubt you'd approve of, snogged a bit, and then he brought me back here. It was a fine evening."

"Snogged a bit?!" Lily shrieked.

"It was just a kiss," Rachel lied, distinctly recalling their roaming hands and feverish lips.

"Just a kiss?" Lily repeated incredulously. "Sirius Black doesn't 'just kiss,' Rachel."

"Relax, Lily, it wasn't a big deal," Rachel shrugged, leaving the dormitory.

"Well, what does this mean?" Lily cried, falling in step with the beautiful brunette. "Are you two exclusive, then?"

"We didn't really talk about it," Rachel replied simply.

"What do you want?" Lily asked, her green eyes watching Rachel's face intently.

"I don't know what I want, Lils," Rachel admitted. "I thought I'd see how he acts today, and go from there."

"You mean, see if he stops his usual flirting and bedding?" Lily asked slowly.

"Basically," Rachel replied.

"It's not looking too good then, is it?" Lily asked.

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows, glancing down at her friend as they stood in the open doorway of the Great Hall. She followed Lily's harsh stare towards the Gryffindor table and frowned for the briefest of moments. She tried to convince herself that his strong arm was not draped around the narrow shoulders of some blonde bird, and that she had not seen him wink one of his grey eyes down at her. Rachel tried not to notice the blush on the blonde's cheeks or the way she bit her lip and batted her eyelashes up at him. Rachel tried to ignore the heavy rock weighing down her chest and the suffocating lump in her throat.

"Now what?" Lily asked gently.

"Nothing," Rachel replied. "We carry on as normal. That's what he's doing, isn't it?"

Lily watched her for a moment before nodding slowly. Rachel took a breath before leading them towards their normal seats beneath the Gryffindor banner. With Lily across from her and the marauders to her right, Rachel filled her plate in silence. She felt Remus' eyes flickering between her and Lily, but chose to ignore it, biting into a buttered roll. Rachel could ignore Remus all morning, and she could easily forget Peter's presence. She could even tune out James' immature jokes. But she could not, no matter how terribly she tried, ignore Sirius' low growling voice or the blonde's high pitched giggles.

"Feeling okay, Rachel?" Remus asked quietly.

"Perfect," she tried to sound casual.

"You look a bit off," he noted.

"I'm fine, Remus," she insisted, but even she could hear the strain in her own voice. "Really."

"Riatt," his voice called almost in surprise. "When'd you get here?"

Rachel lifted her gaze to meet his. His grey eyes watched her as she spun a small silver spoon around her porcelain teacup. Rachel brushed her silky hair away from her eyes and rested her chin against her free palm. She struggled to resist the urge to glare at him, as he had not removed his arm from the blonde's shoulder, but was tenderly stroking her bicep with his thumb.

"I've been here all along, Black," Rachel smiled as dazzlingly as she could manage.

"You slept in awfully late," he commented. "Long night?"

From the corner of her eye, Rachel saw Lily's eyes widen slightly. It took every bit of restraint she had inside of her not to reach across the table and slap that stupid smirk off his face. How dare he bring up last night while he had that cow beneath his arm? She wanted nothing more than to dump her scalding tea over his soft black hair, but she only smiled at him.

"Not one worth remembering," she smirked, watching his arrogant smile droop on his lips.

His eyes fell to the table for a moment before he turned his attention back to the girl beside him. Rachel hadn't meant it, of course. All she had been doing for the past few hours was remembering every detail from the night they had shared. She turned her pale green eyes away from him, disgusted as he lowered his lips to nibble on the blondes' long neck. Rachel met Lily's thoughtful gaze and merely blinked at her a few times before glancing down at her plate of food suddenly not feeling very hungry.

"Good morning, Rachel."

She turned her head quickly as someone sat down on her left. Alex swung his long legs over the bench and shook his blonde hair out of his eyes. He smiled down at her, showing off his white teeth and adorable dimples, and began spooning some fruit into a bowl.

"Morning," she replied sweetly. "You just waking up?"

"No, I've been awake for ages," he replied. "I went for a run down by the lake early this morning. I thought I'd shower before coming down to eat."

"So that's how you're so in shape," Rachel commented accidently, a faint blush flooding her cheeks. "I mean…"

"I like to be active, yes," he laughed softly. "Running helps me clear my head."

Rachel elected to nod this time, rather than say something even more embarrassing. She watched him eat his breakfast as she pealed her ripe yellow banana, biting off the tip with her lips. They ate quietly for a while, and Rachel forced herself not to stare at the blonde beside her or the raven-haired bastard down the table. She heard the blonde bimbo calling his name several times, and she couldn't resist the urge to glance up at him. She found his grey eyes locked so intensely on her that he was completely oblivious to the girl calling his name and tugging on his arm for attention. She could've sworn she saw a bit of pain in his stormy eyes, but it quickly became a furious glare before he turned back to the girl on his arm. Rachel rolled her eyes to herself and sipped her tea.

"It looks beautiful outside," Lily commented to no one in particular.

"It is. I reckon it's going to be rather hot later on, as well," Alex replied kindly.

"We should take the day to tan, Lils," Rachel suggested.

"We have homework to do," she declined.

"It's Saturday," Rachel argued with a pout.

"I was planning on spending the day outside by the lake, if you'd like to join me," Alex offered, staring down at Rachel.

"I would love that," she agreed immediately.

"We would, too," Sirius added obnoxiously. "I think we could all use a break from school, right boys?"

"We've only been back a week," Lily rolled her eyes.

"It's been an exhausting week," James countered, and Rachel realized she hadn't heard him speak to Lily all morning.

"I don't know… We have that dreadful History of Magic report due next week," Lily bit her lip.

"Take a day off, Lily, you work too hard," James smiled down at her.

Rachel was almost certain she saw a red blush creeping up Lily's neck as she sighed loudly. She nodded her head and was met with cheers from Rachel and James. Rachel rose to her feet and swung her long hair over her shoulders.

"I'm going to get my bathing suit on," she announced, sending a flirty smile towards Alex who smiled back slyly.

"I'll join you," he volunteered.

"Me too," Sirius stood quickly, shoving the small blonde girl off his bicep as he did so.

Rachel glared at him and left the hall with Alex by her side and Sirius trailing behind. They walked up the countless staircases and Rachel noticed Alex glancing awkwardly over his shoulder at the brooding boy behind them. Rachel rolled her eyes, feeling very similar to a child with her father chaperoning a silly date.

"Your friend doesn't seem to like me very much," Alex whispered in her ear.

"He's jealous of you," she replied with a shrug.

"Of me? Why's that?" Alex asked quietly.

"You're very intimidating to other guys, I suppose," she guessed.

"How so?" he laughed, and Rachel smile shyly.

"You know, you're good looking and funny, you've got a body to die for. You could easily have any girl in this entire school," Rachel stopped herself as Alex grinned down at her.

"Any girl?" he asked smugly.

"Probably," she swallowed as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Even you?" he whispered, his lips brushing her earlobe.

Rachel expected to feel a jolt crash through her body, electricity shoot through her veins at his touch. She thought she'd feel the overpowering desire to turn her head and connect their lips. But she felt nothing. Not a single thing, but the urge to glance nervously at Sirius standing behind them. His grey eyes were alight with rage, and Rachel could see him opening and closing his fists rapidly. For a moment, she felt as if she had done something incredibly wrong, as if she had betrayed Sirius in some way. But hadn't he just been wrapped around another girl? Wasn't he doing the same thing, if not more?

Rachel shifted her gaze back to Alex and smiled seductively. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and draped one slender arm around his neck, twisting strands of his sandy hair between her fingertips. She pulled him closer to her and pressed her lips to the side of his neck. When she pulled away, she let her lips linger next to his ear, her warm breath causing goose-bumps to prick up all over his skin.

"Even me," she whispered sensually.

After a long stare, Rachel unwound her arm from his neck and danced through the portrait hole, leaving behind two victims of what she could do. She was joined by Lily a few moments later while she was struggling to lace the thin strings of her top behind her back. She beckoned Lily towards her, silently asking her to fasten the strings together in a tight knot. Once she was finished, Rachel tied her long brown hair into a ponytail of loose waves. She shimmied into tight denim shorts before slipping her feet into small white flip-flops. After casting a water-proof spell at her face of makeup, Rachel pushed a black pair of oversized sunglasses up her small nose. She waited for Lily to dress, watching her slip a white sundress over her bikini. The redhead began shoving towels and sunscreen into a small rucksack.

Tucking her long hair behind her ears, she asked, "Ready?"

Rachel nodded and jogged down the stairs to the common room with Lily right beside her. She had taken the backpack from Lily's hand and swung it over her shoulders. It bounced against her back as she skipped the last few steps and landed on the common room floor.

"You're not going to put a shirt on?" Lily asked. "We are going to be walking through the castle to get to the lake, you know?"

"It'll take five minutes, what's the worst that could happen?" Rachel asked with a nonchalant shrug.

As they walked through the bustling corridors, Lily bowed her head, hiding her pink cheeks behind a thick veil of red hair. Every eye watched as she and Rachel strolled through the hallways, staring at her barely-dressed best friend. Boys wolf-whistled as Rachel passed them, and Lily glared at them for their crude behavior, but rolled her eyes at Rachel once she realized she loved the attention.

"You know, this is why Sirius thinks so lowly of you," Lily said with a smirk once they made it outside and were approaching the sandy shores.

"Sirius thinks lowly of me because he can't have me," Rachel countered plainly.

"Didn't you say he nearly had you last night?" Lily smirked again.

"Nearly. But he obviously wanted more," Rachel smirked back.

"Clearly," Lily said as she jerked her head towards the marauders.

The four boys were sitting in a cluster on a huge blanket laid out across the sand. James was talking adamantly about something that Peter seemed to find extremely interesting, or perhaps it was just the fact that James was talking to him at all. Remus glanced towards Rachel and Lily and quickly looked away, a soft pink tinting his cheeks. But it was Sirius who captured Rachel's attention. His grey eyes burned with desire as he watched her saunter nearer. His eyes shamelessly surveyed her marvelous body several times before settling on her beautiful face. In that moment, Rachel was thankful for the black glasses shielding her light eyes as she stared back at him with equal hunger.

"You look good enough to eat," Alex's deep voice filled Rachel's ears as the weight of his arm fell over her bare shoulders.

His murmur was, evidently, loud enough for Lily to hear seeing as she sped up her pace to put some distance between herself and the picture-perfect couple. Rachel turned her head slightly to smile up at Alex before glancing back at the marauders. Sirius seemed to be glaring at a particularly offensive patch of golden sand while the others carried on with whatever they had been doing. Lily reached the blanket a moment before Rachel and Alex and had sat down beside Remus. Lily smiled in greeting to all of them, pleasing James immensely, and combed her fingers through her straight hair.

Rachel managed to unwind herself from Alex's arm just long enough to drop the rucksack with a thump. Lily rummaged through it before tugging out a book and lying on her back to read it. Alex sat down heavily and began digging his toes into the hot sand, squinting up at Rachel. She stepped out of her sandals, kicking them to the side before tugging her tight shorts down her hips. She stood tall, craning her neck towards the bright sunlight, basking in its warmth for a moment.

She was, somehow, oblivious to the five sets of eyes watching her closely as she stretched her long arms towards the sky. Her long legs went on for miles before rounding out at her curvy hips. Her tiny waist and flat abdomen gave way to her full breasts, covered by pale green fabric that hugged her smooth skin tightly. Her long hair, tied back, blew behind her with the soft breeze. When she finally sat down beside Alex, she reclined to her back, closed her eyes and removed her shades. She did not feel the unwavering lustful eyes watching her as she allowed the sun to slowly toast her skin.

"Don't you think you're a little overdressed for tanning, Lils?" James asked, followed by a loud 'Ow!'

Rachel chuckled to herself, assuming Lily had hit him with her thick book. But as she felt soft fabric lightly brush her arm, she opened one eye just a crack. She peered up at Lily, who had discarded her white dress to the sand. She twisted her long hair into a knot at the back of her head before lying down beside Rachel, closing her emerald eyes to the sunlight. Rachel shut her eyes again with a smile, knowing that James would not be able to remove the image of Lily Evans standing before him in a formfitting aqua bikini anytime soon.

Rachel wasn't sure how long they had stayed like that, but after a while she heard a few of the boys splashing their way through the water, laughing loudly as they went. Curious, Rachel propped herself up on her forearms and gazed out at the guys jumping around in the lake. She smiled, glad that the marauders were getting along with Alex. Well, at least James, Peter and Remus were. Rachel furrowed her brow, realizing one of the marauders was missing from their silly games. She found Sirius standing alone on the wooden dock, looking out over the endless dark waters.

"You should go to him," Lily's soft voice said, following her friend's gaze.

"And you should put on some sun-block," Rachel smirked.

She pushed herself to her feet, dusting the white sand from her back and bottom. She untied her hair, letting the long dark waves flow to the middle of her back. With a deep breath, she began walking slowly towards the dock. The wood creaked beneath her bare feet, and Rachel wasn't surprised when he lifted his head having heard her approaching. His face remained blank, not a smile or even a scowl. Rachel's eyes surveyed his body, dancing greedily over his toned abdomen and strong biceps. His black swim-trunks hung low on his hips, revealing the wonderful definition towards his pelvis. She licked her lips and regained her composure, mustering a soft smile once she reached him.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Why aren't you with your boyfriend?" he asked bitterly, turning his gaze towards the water again.

"I was about to ask you the same question," she joked, smiling brighter when he smirked slightly.

They stood side by side in silence, the minutes ticking by wordlessly. Neither of the courageous Gryffindors seemed able to muster the nerve to voice their thoughts. Rachel gazed down into the water just below the dock, watching small fish pop to the surface blowing tiny bubbles. She peeked over at Sirius, his grey eyes narrowed slightly as he stared across the lake pensively.

"A Sickle for your thoughts?" Rachel asked quietly.

Sirius, broken from his trance, turned to look down at her. His grey eyes danced across her expectant face before settling on her pale green eyes, complimented nicely by her green bikini. The sunshine brought out the specks of gold scattered sporadically in the light green pools. The golden sunlight kissed her bronzing skin, leaving it glowing brightly. The warm beams brightened up her dark hair, emphasizing the golden streaks throughout the waves. She smiled up at him, waiting for him to speak. He gazed into her eyes a moment longer, his full lips parting slowly. And when he finally spoke, it was not at all what she had expected to hear.

"You're so beautiful, Ray," he breathed, still gazing down at her.

She felt blood flooding her cheeks with heat as she stared up at him from beneath her thick lashes. Her breath staggered, catching in her throat as her eyes surveyed his handsome face. She felt the positive pole of a magnet, and he was the negative. He was pulling her into him without laying a finger on her. And Rachel couldn't have fought the attraction if she had wanted to, but she didn't anyway. Before she could do what they both wished her to, she was lifted off her feet, a loud squeal erupting from her throat.

She stared up in shock at the strong man carrying her, bouncing her body in his arms as he ran down the dock. His feet slapped heavily against the wood, and Rachel clung to Alex's neck. He stopped at the edge and adjusted her in his arms.

"No, Alex, wait! I can't…"

But he had already tossed her high into the air. Rachel screamed loudly, covering her face with her hands. There was no glee in her scream, no joy in her eyes, only terror.

"She can't swim, you bloody idiot!" she heard James shout, followed by a loud splash, before she hit the water's surface with a painful sting.

Her body sunk beneath the cold water, and her limbs flailed frantically on their own accord. The saltwater stung her eyes as she blinked rapidly, her fingers desperately clawing at the water. Her legs swung spastically, but the more she struggled the further she drifted from the surface. Her lungs constricted, and Rachel knew she was out of oxygen. Her brain continuously urged her to breathe, so she opened her mouth, inhaling a huge gulp of water directly into her lungs. She felt her organs floating painfully in her chest before her body stilled and everything went black.

She was dead. Rachel knew there was no way in Hell she had survived. She felt weightless, as if she were floating before heat engulfed her completely. It was not an uncomfortable heat, but soothing. The kind of warmth that could lull you to sleep. She felt it against her back and all over her front, wrapping her in an envelope of warmness. Through her eyelids, she could see the source of the warmth: a blinding light burning pink through her flesh. She attempted to open her eyes, but found that she could not. She did not mind the silence or the warmth or even the fact the she was blind in death. She was glad that she could no longer feel the cold water around her, or the heavy weight of the fluid in her chest.

Until she felt heavy weight pumping against her sternum over and over again. The pain rocked her body and she could almost hear waves of water crashing against her ribcage. Her lungs felt like measly inflatable rafts out at sea during a terrible hurricane. They bounced over the waves, flipping over and banging into her bones, threatening the pop completely. The pounding suddenly stopped. That was when Rachel felt the most amazing thing. Something warm and silky smooth pressed against her lips, light as feathers. A gust of wind occupied her body, her chest filled with more than just air. She felt a shock of electricity sear from her face through her chest, warming her insides back to life. The unknown silky object moved away for a second, and before Rachel could even beg for its return, it had already come back, this time with a moist glaze. It breathed life into her again and, this time, Rachel felt the water in her lungs being forced out.

Without warning, Rachel coughed loudly, water dribbling down her chin and onto her heaving breasts. With several heavy breaths, Rachel was finally able to open her heavy eyes. She almost swore she was dead. She had to be in heaven to have such a beautiful angel staring down at her, a golden halo illuminated around his head. But she came to her senses as she gazed into Sirius' grey eyes. His shaggy black hair dripped tiny drops of water into her face as he leaned inches away from her lips. With pruned fingers, he brushed a long strand of wet hair off of her face, resting his hand on her cheek.

"Merlin, I thought you were dead," he breathed a sigh of relief.

"For a moment, so did I," she replied dreamily. "You…You saved me?"

"You sound surprised, Ray," he barked quietly, and she croaked a laugh.

Around her, she heard several relieved breaths and a chuckle or two. She did not care to look at who else was standing around her. She did not care that she had mounds of sand stuck to her skin and tangled in her hair. She did not care that there were tears drying against her cheeks. She only cared that Sirius was beside her, and that he had pulled her from the water and breathed life back into her.

"Oh, Rachel!" she heard.

To her left, Alex dropped heavily to his knees in the warm sand. He stared down at her, horror and guilt swimming in his blue eyes. She could see his hands shaking nervously as he pushed his sandy hair off of his frantic face.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel! I had no idea you couldn't swim," he rushed. "How can I ever make this up to you?"

"I don't think you can make up nearly killing someone, Park," Sirius spat with a glare.

"Please, Rachel. You must know I never meant any harm," he pleaded. "It was all in good fun."

"I nearly died, Alex," she croaked, her voice hoarse from the saltwater she had swallowed. "That wasn't exactly fun."

"I didn't intend for that to happen," he countered. "Please, forgive me. It was an accident."

"You didn't accidently throw her in the lake, Park," James defended, and Rachel noticed he had Lily wrapped under his wing.

"I wouldn't have if I had known," Alex argued. "Rachel, I'm sorry."

He reached for her hand and, before she realized what she was doing, Rachel flinched away turning her weak body towards Sirius. The raven-haired boy clutched Alex's wrist, stopping him from touching Rachel and shoved him away.

"How dare you try to touch her after the shit you just pulled," Sirius growled as he cradled Rachel against his hard chest.

"I think it best if you go back to the castle, Park. Give all of us a bit of time," Remus' calm voice suggested firmly.

The blonde glared at Sirius over Rachel's trembling body before glancing down at her sadly. She heard him murmur another apology before trudging back towards the castle doors. Rachel breathed unevenly and allowed Sirius, with the help of Remus, to ease her into a seated position. She sat for a moment to collect herself, her eyes scanning the group around her. Peter watched her with fear evident in his dark eyes. Remus doted over her, fussing to make sure she didn't fall over at any moment. James stood nearby, his arm draped around a sniffling and terrified Lily who leaned her head on his broad shoulder. Sirius was kneeling beside her, one arm snaked around her waist to support her as she sat. Much like Remus, Sirius fussed over her and began brushing the sand from her back, sending trails of goose-bumps in the wake of his touch.

"I think I've had enough of the great outdoors for a while," she joked.

"Cheers," James laughed, and the other chuckled in agreement.

"Let's get you back to the common room," Sirius suggested.

"Don't you think she should go to the hospital wing?" Lily asked nervously.

"Nah. Padfoot played doctor, and I'm sure he'd love to do it again," James smirked and sent a wink down at the redhead beneath his arm.

Rachel heard a growl rumble in Sirius' chest as he threw a glare at his best mate. She thought she saw a flash of red coloring his cheeks, but when she looked at him again, it was gone. She thought about James' words and couldn't deny that she, too, would love to do it again.

"Come on, Rachel, let's get you back to the tower," Remus said, stretching out his hand for her, and Sirius did the same.

Both boys tugged her slowly to her feet and helped her gain her balance. In response to a cold stare from Sirius, Remus dropped her hand and walked beside James and Lily towards the castle, Peter jogging to catch up. As Rachel attempted to step forward, her knees buckled beneath her weight, and she toppled into Sirius' open arms. He held her to his chest as she regained her footing and he draped one of her arms around his neck. His right hand grasped her waist while the other held her free hand, allowing her to use it to brace her weight. They crept slowly towards the castle, Rachel continuously stumbling, and Sirius never failing to catch her in his arms.

It didn't take long for Sirius to pity her and swing her entire body into his arms. He carried her bridal-style, despite her constant protests, as if she were light as a feather. They had arrived in the common room much later than their friends who had already showered and changed into casual clothing. Lily eyed the pair, sending a knowing smile towards Rachel who fought the urge to blush like a maniac in Sirius' arms. James smirked at his friend before turning back to his game of wizard's chest he was destroying Peter in. Remus sat beside Lily on the couch and glanced up from his essay to offer a strained smile before returning to his work.

"Think you're up for a bath?" Sirius asked Rachel quietly.

"What?" she asked, her eyes wide as saucers.

"With Evans' help," he added with a devilish grin.

"Oh, right," Rachel stammered. "Sure. If it's not too much trouble."

"None at all," Lily said, laying her quill down on the table.

Sirius placed Rachel carefully on her feet and supported most of her weight until the three of them reached the girls' stairs. He reluctantly released his hold on Rachel's waist and watched Lily struggle to ease her up the stairs for a bath. He stared after them long after their bedroom door had shut.

"You'd better be gawking at your own girl and not mine, Padfoot," he heard James call from behind him.

My own girl, Sirius thought. If only.