Decima woke the next morning with Sirius's warm arms wrapped around her and his naked body pressed closely to hers. She couldn't clearly remember the last time she had woken up this way, but she knew it had been far too long. Peacefully, she nuzzled her nose into his warm next, feeling his breath move his chest up and down against her.

She looked down at his face with a frown. Had she forgiven him too quickly? He looked peaceful, almost angelic lying there, but she couldn't enjoy the view. She was thinking of his hot, sweaty body holding another girl. He had been scared of pushing her… While she told herself it was sweet to consider her, a part of her was also screaming that if he couldn't even keep it in his pants for something like this, how could she consider him a faithful boyfriend? Had it truly been a one-time slip-up? After all, he had spent most of his teenage years moving from girl to girl. What happened when he got bored of Decima? Would he have the decency to break up with her, or, not to let down the Potters, how had decided she was practically their daughter now, would he just screw around behind her back?

As much as Decima wanted to tell herself that he was just using her, as much as she felt she ought to believe that, she couldn't believe it, and she couldn't bring herself to extract her body from his arms. After all, where would she go? She had to believe him. She had to trust him, because he was all she had left.

Sirius stirred under her breath and smiled up at her, his eyes flickering open. That was the kicker. She couldn't doubt him with that adorable, roguish smile.

"Good morning, love," he said, lifting his head off the pillow to kiss her nose.

"Good morning," she sighed, resting her head contentedly on his warm chest as he cuddled her.

"What time is it?" he grunted.

"Too early," muttered Decima into his chest, which vibrated with his shaking bark of laughter.

"Sirius?" said a tentative voice above them. It was James.

"What's up, Prongs?"

"Don't tell Evans about any of this, please?" James said anxiously. "I've been trying to be good all year, and I know I really screwed up and I don't even deserve your forgiveness, forget about your cooperation, but please, Sirius, I beg you not to mention it to her."

"You think I'm going to promise something like that?" barked Sirius, amused. "Merlin, Prongs, I thought you were smart. You don't get a free pass just because CiCi begs on your behalf, even though she's pretty. I'll make you regret it properly in my own way." Sirius paused and looked up at James. "By the way, she's pretty good, huh?"

Decima was mortified. Why was Sirius discussing her sex with James like this?

"Um, yeah," admitted James.

"Wrong answer, Potter," growled Sirius, a vicious look flashing in his eyes. "She's mine, and don't you forget it."

James winced.

"I didn't mean – I mean I – was there even a right answer to that question?"

"No, not really," said Sirius, "but I suggest you leave us alone now before I hex you."

James did as asked and Sirius yanked the curtains closed again, hugging Decima to him tightly.

"Do you have to be so mean to him?" she muttered. "It was my fault."

"He broke the Marauder's Code, CiCi," said Sirius. "And he's practically my brother. There are no excuses. I'll forgive him eventually, but I have to exact revenge first. It's only fair."

Decima could understand that. After all, that's what she had done to Sirius. And considering the fact that he was now playfully nibbling on her ear, she was pretty happy with her decision. She let a contented sigh escape her lips and he turned her onto her back, getting on top of her, one leg between her thighs.

"God, I've missed you," he whispered before pressing his lips passionately to hers. His tongue flicked across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth in anticipation, but it didn't enter right away. His mouth was open against hers for just a moment, breathing hotly into hers, before his tongue flitted inside and began to play with hers. As his hands began to caress her breasts, she moaned into his mouth.

Almost as soon as she did, he took his mouth off hers and pressed hot, wet kisses down her chin and neck, before snapping a few love bites on her collarbone. She gasped and wriggled underneath him, her groin now pressed into his thigh.

"Sirius!" called Remus. "Decima! Breakfast!"

"Go away, Moony!" growled Sirius.

There was a pause.

"I guess they made up," Decima heard Gwen say, and Sirius just chuckled and began suck and licking Decima's neck.

Much to Decima's surprise, they did end up going to breakfast that day. When she found out why, though, she wished they hadn't.

Sirius passed right by James and sat down right next to Mary MacDonald, who happened to be sitting across from Lily Evans. Decima frowned and shot Remus and Gwen a confused look, but they looked just as surprised as she was. She sat down next to him, worry growing within her, and knew instantly why they had sat there.

"So, honest assessment, love, who's better me or James?"

Decima spat out the pumpkin juice she had just been attempting to ingest and gave him what she hoped was a horrified look.

"How would she know?" said Mary with more than mild interest.

"Oh, you mean the gossip hasn't made it all around Gryffindor yet?" said Sirius dryly. "He and Decima slept together last night."

Lily dropped her fork, Mary dropped her jaw and Decima dropped her head into her hands as Sirius dropped what was left of her dignity out the window in front of the biggest gossip in all of Hogwarts.

"Potter did what?" said Lily, recovering herself and picking her fork back up, pretending quite badly that she really didn't care what James had done.

"Slept with Decima," said Sirius casually, though Decima could see the vengeful glint in his eye, and she honestly wasn't impressed.

"Sirius," she said in a warning tone, but he pretended not to hear.

"Last night. I walked in and they were on his bed."

"Sirius!" Decima growled. "None of this is James's fault. This is between you and me, or do you want me to tell the world what you did last night?"

She knew he was wondering if she was referring to his infidelity or his accidental abuse. He had tensed beside her and the tables were turned. Everyone else at the table was insatiable curious, now, and she could see James attempting to hide his mortified face behind an upside-down copy of the Daily Prophet. Most people just thought Sirius had cheated on her, too. Apparently, Sirius didn't want to take his chances with her intentions and he shook his head and gave an exasperated sigh. Decima would have been satisfied, but the damage was already done. Lily knew James had slept with someone else, and not only someone else, but his best mate's girl. The poor boy would need more than a miracle, now, if he ever wanted to have his sweet little redhead.

As soon as politeness allowed her to, Decima grabbed Sirius's hand and pulled him away from the table, dragging him out across the entrance hall, to an empty classroom. Misreading her intentions completely, he closed the door behind them, a smirk gracing his face and his eyes screaming with lust.

"It's a little early in the morning," he muttered into her hair as he hugged her tightly, "to be stealing away in deserted classrooms, but it has been so long…"

Decima pushed him back.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what, love?" said Sirius with the most innocent face he could assemble on short notice.

"Throw your best friend under the bus."

Sirius's eyes went from burning lust to ice-cold anger in about a quarter of a second.

"Because he threw you into his bed."

"Not true, and you know it, Sirius!" Decima cried. "I coaxed him there. He was hesitant, dazed, confused, and I took advantage of him. Now you're running around telling all of Gryffindor that he's a first-class manwhore! Do you want for us to have nowhere to go? Have you forgotten his parents are the ones putting us up?"

There was actually a flash of realization on his face as Sirius sank into an empty chair. He propped his elbows on the desk and buried his face in his hands, heaving a great sigh.

"Sirius," Decima whispered, attempting vainly to pry his hands off his face as she crawled her way onto his lap. "Sirius, please, look at me." He did, but she was surprised to see a pitiful, dejected face looking up at her. "Love," she whispered, caressing his face with her fingertips, "you two have been best friends since long before I ever came around. This isn't about what he did, and you know it. You're still upset about my betrayal, and you have a right to be. To be honest, I'm still upset that you slept with someone else. Whatever our reasons, it was stupid, but that's who we are. We're stupid, impulsive, screwed up kids who need each other's constant attention or we fall apart from our own pride and foolishness. I need you," she whispered, pressing her lips briefly to his, "and I want you to know that I would never want him more than you. It was truly the worst sex of my life." He chuckled softly. "Please forgive him?"

"Oh, Decima," said Sirius with a sigh, hugging her tightly to him. "You know, I'd probably forgive my own mother if you asked it of me."

"Not your father?" she whispered, tentatively.

"No," he said firmly. "What he did is completely unforgivable. Even if you begged on bended knee, I could never forgive him."

"Then it's a damn good thing I would never ask that of you," she mumbled into his neck, brushing her lips softly against his skin. He leaned his head back to give her better access to his neck and she began to nip and suck at it as he moaned. She trailed her tongue back up to his lips and dragged it across the bottom one, inviting his tongue out to play, an invitation he eagerly accepted.

His hands had just begun to move along her thighs, tracing their way up her skirt when she pulled back, depriving him of her tongue, and stood up, depriving him of her entirely. He moaned dejectedly and she said, "We're going to be late for classes, dear, and I for one would rather not explain to Professor McGonagall why I'm late."

"Sluggy won't mind," he said with a wink. "I'll just tell her we were doing so last minute brushing up and lost track of time. Don't go to class today, baby, please."

For a moment, Decima wanted to be cruel and refuse. She wanted to run off to Transfiguration and leave him sitting there with his hard-on, knowing he'd be thinking about her for the rest of the day in agonizing anticipation. But then she realized leaving meant going to Transfiguration, and without a seconds more hesitation, she slid back onto his lap and took his lips in hers, thinking she had surely never made a better choice.

She couldn't believe how fast he had gotten both of their clothes off. Suddenly, they were skin on skin, sitting on a desk, their lips flying across each other, their hands roaming each other's familiar bodies.

"You're so perfect," muttered Sirius. "God, I don't know what I did to deserve you."

Decima just chuckled darkly as she ran her tongue along his neck, causing him to gasp and shudder. This was just too easy.

Grinding her hips into him roughly, it was all Decima could do not to smirk at his growing need, at the guttural noises escaping his lips, and his eyes rolling back in his head. His hands were almost immediately on her ass, pushing her closer as he squirmed underneath her.

"You want me, Sirius?" she whispered, licking his ear playfully.

"Uhn," he moaned back, gripping her tighter, grinding against her harder.

"I mean really, really want me," she muttered before running her tongue forcefully down his neck and he whined in response.

"Oh, Merlin, Decima, yes, I need you."

"Then promise me something," she whispered.

He swallowed as her breath played across his skin.

"Anything."

That was exactly what Decima had wanted to hear. That morning at breakfast, Sirius had decided to play dirty against his own best friend. Well, Sirius had told her he wanted her to be more assertive… Sirius Black, meet Decima Zimmerman. Want to play dirty? Well, well, two could play this game.

"Promise me you'll forgive James," she said, grinding her hips into him.

"Yes," he hissed. "I promise."

"Promise me you'll lie to Lily and Mary to stop the rumor mill," she breathed into his ear as she ground against him again."

"Oh, god, yes, Decima, I promise."

She smirked. This really was too easy.

"You do know I'm holding you to these promises after we're done here, right?"

"I know, I know, just hurry and fuck me, damn it!"

Yep, Decima was now completely convinced. Figure out what the boy needs, or thinks he needs, and you'll have him eating out of the palm of your hand. Or… well, yeah. It was a damn good thing Decima had her wits enough about her to make sure they couldn't be heard from the hall because the screaming probably would have scared even the ghosts. When they were lying on the floor, panting, two and a half hours later, Sirius's back had red nail marks all over it, Decima had a bruise darkening on her neck, and a matching one on her left nipple, and Sirius was coming slowly back to his senses in the sweaty, sticky, afterglowing mess that was their entangled bodies on the cold stone floor.

"Shit," he muttered. "I have to undo my genius plan, don't I?"

Trying hard to mask her smirk, but failing awfully, Decima nodded, distracting his lips from saying annoyed things at her with a kiss. He didn't seem to mind, and they were soon nuzzling as comfortably as one can possibly do on such an uncomfortable surface.

"We still have an hour before lunch," muttered Sirius. "We could go clean off… in the Prefect's bath."

Decima smacked him and giggled, but she let him throw her clothes hastily back on her so that he could drag her eagerly to the place where they had had one of their first encounters for the first time since they had become a couple. Her heart was racing as he led inside and turned on the water and a couple of carefully selected bubbles and perfumes.

Her clothes had a very short-lived inhabitancy on her body that morning, and they were back on the floor in less than a minute and Sirius peeled off his own, carrying her tenderly to the large tub and lowering her body onto his as he sank into the bubbly, sweet-smelling water. His eyes never left hers as he began to glide his fingertips gently along her body, not leaving any part of her untouched.

"You're so incredibly beautiful," he whispered, his hot breath on her ear. "Do you know that?"

Decima ignored the crimson creeping onto her cheeks and lifted one wet hand to stroke his hair for a moment, then tangle her fingers up in it.

"Are you asking for another round?" he said, amused as he used his free arm to pull her even closer to him, hand gripping her ass.

"Are you up for another round?" she replied seductively brushing her face against his.

"If you keep on like this I will be," he breathed before placing hot, open-mouthed kisses down her neck, stopping where he reached the waterline. "Oh, Decima, why can't we just do this all the time?"

"Because," she murmured, "I have O.W.L.s to pass this year."

His laughter was interrupted by someone else entering the prefects' bath. They both tensed, not looking at who it was, but Sirius shielded her body from view with his own.

"Who's there?" he called.

Decima looked over his shoulder to see Regulus standing there, staring at them, completely shocked, his mouth open wide and his eyes even wider.

"Regulus?" she said nervously. "What are you doing out of class?"

"It's lunch now," he muttered, turning red as Sirius craned his neck around to look at his little brother.

"Wonderful," said Sirius sharply. "So go eat and leave us alone."

"No," said Regulus firmly, though he looked surprised with the confidence of his own voice.

"You heard me," said Sirius threateningly. "Get out."

"No," said Regulus. "Decima, please, don't do this. I realize it was foolish of me to expect you to be able to come back to society, and I'm ashamed of the situation I put you in, but you have to believe that I still love you and I still want you. This thing with Sirius, it's just a phase, I'm sure of it. We've loved each other for so long; don't throw it away because of my father, please."

Decima could hardly believe that he had just said all that. She and Sirius were embracing, naked, in a bubble bath before his eyes and he just asked her to come back to him. Of all of the insane things that had been done within the past forty-eight hours, she was sure this took the cake.

"Regulus, it's not a phase," she said simply. "I love him."

"No," he said again, clinging to that word as though it would change the world back to the way it was. Part of her wished the world could go back to how it was, as well, not because she wanted Regulus back, or because she didn't love Sirius, but because maybe then she wouldn't have so much pain and confusion. Before, things had been simple. Within just a few months, everything got so incredibly complicated.

"Look, you're obviously not leaving on your own accord," said Sirius, "so it looks like I'm going to have to settle this the old-fashioned way."

"And that is?" said Decima, nervously regarding the fury flashing in his eyes. Regulus had just stepped into his territory and tried to take what was his. She was guessing it was a duel to the death.

"Muggle fighting," said Sirius, "no wands. And since I want to get back to where we were once I kick his ass, no clothes. Only fair."

Before either Slytherin had a chance to say a word, Sirius dislodged himself from Decima, who he set down carefully where he had been sitting and surrounded with bubbles, so as not to be looked at by her ex-boyfriend, and climbed out of the tub. She had to hand it to him; the boy was completely comfortable with his body. Regulus looked only mildly surprised. After all, he had grown up with Sirius. Perhaps that had taught him not to be surprised by anything his brother did.

Decima suddenly realized that the fantasy of probably half the girls in Hogwarts was about to be played out in front of her very eyes. Two of the hottest boys in Hogwarts were about to fight for her, in all their virility, completely naked, displaying all their masculine glory. All they needed was James Potter thrown into the mix and she would be fulfilling the most secret wish of every female in the building, perhaps even Professor McGonagall. Still, she was a bit nervous about the outcome. What if Sirius lost?

What a silly worry, she thought as Sirius stood there, watching his little brother nervously take off his socks and shoes, beginning the stripping. She looked over Sirius and knew without a glimmer of doubt in her mind that he would win. Regulus might be the athlete, but sex was pretty good exercise, and all those years of practice had done the boy good. His muscles dwarfed his brothers by direct comparison, she realized, as she looked at their legs, side by side.

Finally, Regulus threw his tie on the ground and all he had was his shirt. He looked up at Sirius nervously. What the heck? The boy's cock was in plain view but he wouldn't take his shirt off? Were boys really that weird about their chests? Sirius seemed to have a better idea of things than Decima, however, because he got a dark look in his eyes at his brother's hesitation.

"Go ahead, little brother, we're waiting," he whispered darkly. "Or are you ashamed of something? Afraid of what Decima will think of the latest addition to your body?"

Regulus's eyebrows flew up further than she would have imagined they could, and he reluctantly stripped off the shirt. As the fabric fell of his arm, Decima gasped.

There, on his forearm, was a black, tattooed image of the Dark Mark, the sign of a Death Eater.