Disclaimer: Most of the stuff's JKR's.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sirius sighed heavily as he plonked onto one of the large comfortable sofas in the Potters' living room. He and James had just spent the afternoon at Diagon Alley, where they had been scoping out the new Quidditch merchandise available on the market. Even though they had been going there almost every day since the holidays started, they never seemed to get bored. There was always a new store to discover, or some interesting people to meet. If they weren't at Diagon Alley, they were in the Potter's backyard playing Quidditch or doing what they loved most: eating. Sirius was glad to spend every waking hour with James—it kept his mind occupied. Lately he had found that when he would let his mind wander off for just a moment, or when he'd close his eyes to sleep at night, his chest would start to feel a little unsettled and anxious. He knew why he might be feeling that way, and he kept trying to brush it off.
"She's just a girl," he scolded himself.
"Something wrong?" James asked him, noticing the far away look on his friend's face.
"What?" Sirius asked, forgetting where he was for a moment. "Nah, I was just thinking."
"About?"
"I think..." he started to say slowly, "I'm gonna get my own place after school's done."
James could tell that that wasn't what Sirius was just thinking about. "You know there's more than enough space here and my parents would love for you to stay."
"Yeah, I know that. But I'm going to have to get out on my own sooner or later anyways, so I might as well get something now while I have the money," Sirius said, sounding wiser than he felt.
"Are you sure you have enough?" James asked him.
"Yep," he replied. "Poor Uncle Alphard left me enough for me to be comfortable for quite some time."
"So what's bothering you then?"
"Nothing, really," said Sirius.
"So there is something," James said, looking at his friend curiously.
Sirius was about to deny it, but then hesitated for a moment. It occurred to him that maybe getting what was on his mind off of his chest would do him some good. And if he was going to tell anyone, it wouldn't be anyone but James.
"I think," he started to say cautiously, "I like someone more than I'd like to."
"A girl?"
"Obviously."
"So what's the problem?"
"Well, it's a bit complicated," Sirius began. "See…okay, we've been secretly meeting up and just fooling around and stuff. It wasn't supposed to be anything serious. Just a…you know, physical type of relationship—no strings attached."
"Where do you find these girls?" James asked with wide eyes, fascinated.
"What girls?" came a voice from someone who had just walked into the room.
"Hey, Moony!" James exclaimed, getting up to greet Remus. "You made it!"
"Yeah," he said, clearly happy to be with his friends again. He sat down next to Sirius on the couch. "So what're we talking about?"
"Nothing," Sirius said quickly before James could say anything. Remus was the last person he wanted to know about his relationship with Nikki. He got up from his seat. "Come on, let's go get ready or we'll be late."
"I just got here," Remus said, looking a little confused. "How can we be late for a club anyways?"
"Oh, Nikki, you look beautiful!" Mrs. Patil beamed.
"I feel like a peacock," Nikki said grumpily.
"Yes!" Her mother agreed with her. "You look like a beautiful peacock!"
"Lovely," Nikki said sarcastically, although when she looked at herself in the mirror, she had to admit to herself that she did look pretty damn hot.
"Your make-up and hair looks very nice. I'm glad you went to the salon to get it done. All the boys and their mothers are going to be looking at you," her mother continued to gush.
"Oh, God," Nikki said, rolling her eyes. "Now I feel like changing,"
"Don't be silly!" Her mother scolded her, and then said with a sigh, "It's too bad you can't wear this lenga at the wedding ceremony tomorrow. It's so much more beautiful than the pink sari your Auntie got you."
"Well, Misha wanted all of us bridesmaids to wear the same outfit so Auntie had to get them all. You couldn't expect her to get something too nice for all of us. She already had to spend so much money on the wedding and Misha's dowry," Nikki said to her mother, just as her father entered her bedroom.
"Oho! Is this my little Nikki? She looks so grown up! You look almost as beautiful as your mother did—I mean, does," he said looking at his wife. "I can't believe these kids are already getting married. When did we get so old?"
"Speak for yourself, I'm still young," Mrs. Patil said, fixing her hair in the mirror.
"Of course you are," he said, giving Nikki a wink.
"But, pretty soon it's going to be Nikki's turn too," she said, now fussing about with Nikki's hair. Nikki could feel the pit of her stomach sink a little.
"Oh, there's plenty of time for Nikki," Mr. Patil said waving his wife off.
"Not really," she retorted. "We have to find someone good now before they are all taken. There aren't that many nice Indian boys who are doctors, you know." Nikki's dad rolled his eyes with a smile.
"Let's go," he said ushering them out of the room. "We have to be there early to greet the guests."
"Oi, VJ!" said a plump, jolly-looking man with a thick Indian accent. "Are these friends of yours?"
"Er—yeah, they're from school dad," VJ replied to his father. He had been putting the last of the carnation garlands he had just picked up from the flower shop into the trunk of the family car when he had bumped into Sirius, Remus, and James, who were on their way to a club that was just across the street.
"From school?" he asked excitedly. "Did you invite them to the Sangeet?"
"Oh," VJ said, looking a little embarrassed and Sirius could tell that he was being put on the spot. "Yeah, why don't you lot come?"
"What? Oh, no. We couldn't impose. We're not dressed for a wedding," James said politely.
"Oh, don't be silly!" Mr. Patil said with a friendly smack on James's back, which nearly sent him flying. "It's not the wedding. It's just a party. Everyone can come! Where were you going? To the club?"
"Sort of," Remus said uncomfortably, bracing himself for a smack as well.
But Mr. Patil just started to shake his head and wag his finger disapprovingly. "I know these clubs. They're so expensive and lots of weird people go there. Come to the party. There will be plenty of food, and good music. And all for free! So no more discussion! You boys must come!"
"Oh, well, I really don't—"
"I won't take no for an answer!" he said, cutting James off. He smiled at them and led them to his car. The reluctant boys followed Mr. Patil, and Sirius could hear VJ muttering something to himself. He felt a sudden jolt in his stomach as he realized that he would get to see Nikki again.
"Sorry, about this guys," VJ said to them quietly. "He can be a bit—er…imposing sometimes. You lot can just Apparate back when we get there."
"No worries, mate," Sirius said with a grin.
For the fourth time that night, Nikki had found herself talking to some boy that her aunt had wanted her to meet.
"I don't think I would ever be able to live anywhere without my mum," the boy said, looking adoringly across the hall to where his mother was sitting.
"That's...nice," Nikki said, barely registering what he was saying. She had tuned him out after the first time he had mentioned his mother and her infinite wisdom on cooking the perfect chapati. Nikki's eyes were surveying the hall, trying to find an excuse to leave when it came to her.
"What the hell...?" she said, looking across to the hall entrance. She had just seen VJ, her uncle and three very familiar faces all walk through carrying boxes of flowers. She walked past the boy she was with, forgetting he was even there, and headed towards the doors, mouth slightly open in surprise.
"Oh, hi, Nikki!" James said cheerfully.
Sirius, who was standing next to him, couldn't say anything. His jaw was completely locked. He couldn't believe how extraordinarily beautiful Nikki looked just then. The front of her hair was up and the rest of it was down in loose curls, falling gracefully onto her bare arms. She was wearing a short turquoise tunic with colorful embroidery along the seams of it. Her long flowing skirt was also turquoise at the top but blended into lime green at the bottom, with the same embroidery as the tunic going around it. She had a long matching scarf draped around her arms gracefully, with her wrists enclosed in colorful bracelets.
"What're you guys doing here?" Nikki asked them, still looking taken aback at the sight of them.
"We were invited," Remus said simply.
"By who?" she asked, looking curiously at her cousin who was taking the boxes from the others. She didn't think VJ was that friendly with the Gryffindor boys.
"Mr. Patil," James answered. "He insisted that we come after we bumped into them outside the flower shop."
"What were you guys doing at a flower shop? You guys are dressed for a club," she said looking at their outfits. She noticed that Sirius, who was oddly quiet, looked very becoming in his Muggle clothing.
"Yeah that's where we were going. It was across the street from the flower shop." James explained.
"I see," said Nikki. "Well, they're gonna have dancing here too pretty soon."
"So are there any hot available girls here?" Remus asked, checking out the hall. "Besides you of course."
"Yeah," Nikki laughed, blushing a little. "There are actually." She noticed Sirius looking at her and gave him a smile; she was glad to see him. She was about to say something when she heard her aunt calling for her.
"I'll be back," she said to him and turned around to go see her aunt.
"Nikki," Mrs. Patil said to her looking across the hall. "Who are those boys?"
"Oh," she replied. "They're just some guys from school."
"Oh, okay. Must be VJ's friends," she said without thinking twice. She glanced at them again and said, "They're very handsome."
"Very," Nikki said, a little dryly.
Her aunt was still looking at the boys when she said, "That one in the black shirt, he's very nice looking. Too bad he's not Indian."
"Right." Nikki clenched her jaw. Listening to her aunt talking about how handsome Sirius was, was making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Okay, come now," Mrs. Patil said abruptly. "You have to meet someone else."
"Oh please, not anyone else. This is getting ridiculous," Nikki whined.
"It won't take long," she said, taking Nikki's hand.
From the other side of the hall, Sirius watched Nikki being led away by her aunt towards some guy.
"My mum's on a mission," VJ said to Sirius, who gathered he had been caught looking at his cousin.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked him.
"She's trying to hook Nikki up with someone. She said she wants to have her engaged by the time school's done."
"She doesn't look too happy about it," Sirius said.
"Nah, Nikki doesn't care," VJ said off-handedly. "I've known her my whole life. If she was really against it, she wouldn't have come to the party at all." Sirius looked at VJ curiously. He couldn't tell if he was being honest or if he suspected that there was something going on between Sirius and his cousin and was trying to scare him off.
"Boys, come and eat!" Mr. Patil suddenly said to them. "We have an open buffet, so just come and help yourselves. And don't worry about the food being spicy. It's very mild!" Sirius was forced to end the conversation with VJ, but what he said kept replaying in his mind.
"I need water," James said hoarsely, beads of sweat dripping down his face.
"Wimp," Sirius scoffed. "Can't handle his chillies."
"It's seriously not spicy, Prongs," Remus said taking a bit out of his food.
"Maybe I ate a whole chili or something," James said coughing, his face starting to turn red.
"Okay, I'll get you some water," Sirius said, getting up from his seat. He walked over to the bar where they were serving cold drinks and saw Nikki at the counter, getting some sodas.
"Hey," she said with a smile. "You guys bored yet?"
"Nope," he replied. "As long as you're here to look at, I'll never get bored."
"Ha ha. Food hot?" she asked, noticing the jug of water he was taking.
"No," Sirius said. "Water's for James. Which reminds me, he's going to sweat to death if I don't give it to him right now."
"Okay, well when you guys are done, I want to introduce you all to my cousin," Nikki said.
"Sure," he said, and headed back to his table. When the boys were just about finished eating, Nikki came up to them, with a girl dressed in a yellow sari. Sirius could definitely see the family resemblance, although he secretly felt that Nikki was still the prettier one.
"Hey guys, this is my cousin Misha, the bride," Nikki said to the boys. She turned to her cousin and said, "These are some guys that go to school with me. This is Sirius, James, and--"
"Remus!" Misha exclaimed.
"You guys know each other?" Nikki asked them, looking very confused.
"Oh...er...I think we met last summer," Remus said, now remembering where he had met Misha before.
"Where?" Nikki asked again.
"Oh, just at some...party," Misha said, giving Remus a cautious look. Nikki, unsatisfied with that answer, wanted to ask more questions, but was interrupted by VJ who came running towards her.
"Your mum's calling you," he said.
"Now what?" she asked grumpily. Sirius watched her walk away, and yet again, get introduced to another guy. Shit, she's going to be married by the time this party's over, he lamented to himself. I gotta talk to her…
Sirius watched her as she talked to a tall, handsome boy who seemed to be very charming by the way that Nikki was actually engaged in a conversation with him. Sirius could see her smile from where he was sitting, and he didn't like it. Was VJ telling the truth? What if she really did get engaged? Did it matter? Sirius asked himself. He didn't get a chance to answer the question. He saw Nikki and the boy part ways and he immediately got up to go and talk to her before she got called away again.
"Hey," he said to her, not wanting to waste any time. "Listen, we're probably gonna head out now, but can I see you later tonight?"
"Where?" she asked, looking around her to make sure nobody was listening.
"Anywhere," he said resolutely.
"How?" she asked him. "I can't disappear from the party and once I get home I can't leave my house."
Sirius thought for a moment and then asked, "You don't share a bedroom with anyone do you?"
"You can't to come to my house," Nikki said with wide eyes.
"Do you?" he asked her again, ignoring what she just said.
"No but, are you crazy?" she asked him.
"A little," he said with a grin.
"No, no, no," she said, shaking her head. "That's not going to happen."
"No one will know," he said softly, moving towards her.
"I'll know," she said stubbornly.
"So?"
"I can't. You don't even know where my house is."
"I can find that out easily, don't worry," he said airily.
"Nikki!" her mother was calling her again. "Come here! We have to take pictures."
"I'll see you later, Nikki," Sirius said with a smile.
"Yeah," she said. "Next week. At school."
"Right," Sirius said, watching her walk away from him for the last time.
"Why does that boy keep talking to you?" Mrs. Patil asked her daughter.
"He's my friend, Mum," Nikki replied.
"You shouldn't have too many friends who are boys," she said.
"Oh, God," Nikki sighed, rolling her eyes. "I don't. Look he's in my class. We were talking about an assignment that's due after the break, okay?" Nikki hated lying to her mother, but she knew she'd never hear the end of it if she didn't.
"Okay, okay," she said, brushing it off. "I'm just making sure."
When Nikki finally got home that night, she exhaustedly trudged her way up to her bedroom.
The wedding's not for two days and I'm sick of it already, she mumbled to herself as she shut her door. She looked longingly at her comfortable bed and was tempted to just flop back into it, but decided to change out of her heavy clothes. She found a pair of comfortable fleece track pants and a clean white t-shirt and put them on and climbed into bed—too tired to even wash her face.
She closed her eyes and started to drift off into sleep, various seeing scenes from the night being played out in her mind…
Nikki got up with a start and looked around her room. She could've sworn she heard a noise—the sound of something tapping her window.
She moved her curtains to the side and peered out the glass. When she didn't see anything, she closed her curtains again and was about to go back into her bed when she heard a loud muffled sound coming from her closet.
"Oh, son of a—where the hell am I?" A frustrated voice said in a hoarse whisper. Recognizing it, she opened her closet door and out came Sirius with a pink shirt on his head.
"What are you doing here?" Nikki asked him in a frantic whisper, pulling the shirt off of his head.
"I came to see you," he said matter-of-factly.
"I told you not to come!" she exclaimed, still whispering. "What if my parents hear you? I'll be turned into shish kebab!"
"Mmm…that would be good. I'm hungry," he said with a smile.
"Get out," Nikki said, pointing to her window.
"Your parents are asleep, don't worry," Sirius said.
"How do you know?" she asked him.
"'Cause I tapped on every window on the second floor and you're the only one who looked out."
"Oh," she said. "How did you do that, by the way?"
"Was on my broomstick wearing James's invisibility cloak," he said. He walked up to her door, and muttered something with his wand pointed at it.
"So where's your broom then?" she asked him.
"I left it outside in that bush in your garden." He turned around and looked around her room.
Nikki looked at the mess in her closet. "Looks like you need to practice your Apparating skills."
"At least I passed my test," he said defensively.
"Whatever," said Nikki. "You really shouldn't be here."
"I know," Sirius sighed. "It's bad, isn't it."
"Mhm." Nikki said as she stuffed the last of her clothes back into her closet.
"Nice room, by the way," he said.
"Thanks."
"Ooh, is that you?" Sirius said, looking at a picture in a frame on her desk.
"Yeah."
"Cute. Not as cute as me, of course," he said with a grin.
"Of course," Nikki agreed with a wry smile.
Sirius put the frame back down on her desk. "So how many marriage proposals did you get today?"
"None, obviously," Nikki said, feeling amused. "Nobody just proposes like that."
"Well I wouldn't be surprised if someone did," he remarked as he sat down on her chair.
"I think my aunt introduced me to at least six guys. I can't even remember their names now," Nikki said as she took a seat on her bed.
"That's too bad," he said. Good, he thought to himself. VJ doesn't know what he's talking about.
"Oh wait," she said. "I remember one of them—Manny."
"Manny?" Sirius asked, suddenly feeling discontented. "Which one was he?"
"He was the good looking guy," replied Nikki.
"No, that was me," Sirius clarified. He got up from the chair and sat down next to Nikki.
"Yeah he was the other good looking guy," Nikki said with a smirk. "I think he was a dentist. He had perfect teeth. He seemed pretty cool."
"Really," Sirius said rather dryly.
"Yeah I think my mum really liked him."
"Sounds like a done deal," he said.
"Nah," said Nikki. She got the feeling that maybe Sirius was getting a little jealous. "I'm not interested in getting into a relationship just now."
"You're not?" Sirius didn't know if those were the words he really wanted to hear.
"Nope," she said with a smile, moving close to him. "So, enough talk. Did you miss me?"
Nikki woke up the next morning to the sound of her dad knocking her door.
"Nikki! Get up, it's late. Come down for breakfast."
"'Kay, I'm coming," she called out groggily, eyes still closed. She rubbed her eyes open and her arm fell to her side and hit something warm.
'Oh my God!" she exclaimed, jumping out of her bed.
"What? Oh shit!" Sirius exclaimed, looking at where he was. "What time is?"
"Nearly ten!" Nikki said anxiously.
"Crap, I fell asleep," Sirius said, getting up.
"You have to leave! Just Apparate the heck out of here!"
"Okay, I'm going…where's the cloak?" he asked looking around the room. He opened her closet doors and starting sifting through her clothes. As soon as he found it, Nikki's mother opened her door. Nikki thought she was about to die.
"Nikki, are you up?" her mother asked her. Sirius quickly threw the cloak on and all Nikki could see was her clothes in a jumble on the floor.
"Yes, I'm coming," she said, her hearting beating wildly in her chest.
"Oh, okay," Mrs. Patil said, unaware of her daughter's current state of terror. "I was just going to say that—what is that smell?"
"What smell?" Nikki asked.
"I don't know. It smells like men's cologne or something," she replied, sniffing the air.
"It's probably from my clothes that I wore last night," Nikki said, trying to think fast. "You made me meet so many guys. I probably stunk like them."
Her mother gave her cut-eye for her cheek but then said excitedly, "Okay get ready quickly. Change your clothes. Manny and his parents are going to be visiting this afternoon!"
"What?" she said.
"I think they really liked you!" her mother said cheerfully.
"Lovely," Nikki said with a tired sigh.
"I know!" she said as she shut the door happily behind her.
Sirius pulled the cloak off his head.
"Holy shit, that was close," she said, hands still shaking a little.
"Well, even if I was standing here without the cloak, I doubt your mum would've noticed my presence. She seems too preoccupied with thoughts of Manny," Sirius said, suddenly feeling more irritated than he was afraid just a minute ago.
"Well, thank God for that," Nikki said letting out a breath of relief. "Okay, seriously Sirius, you need to go."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm out. Have fun with Manny," he said grumpily.
"Yeah, right," she said. "I'll see you at school next week."
Sirius Apparated out of her room, leaving behind only the lingering scent of his cologne and a sense of shame in Nikki's heart. She looked at her unmade bed and felt sick to her stomach.
"I can't keep doing this," she said to herself, and walked out to join her family for breakfast.
A/N: Didn't change this chapter at all...enjoy anyways!
