SIXTH YEAR
Sirius' finger, crooked under my chin, had raised it up to meet his mouth for his stolen kiss. Pausing for air, he said, "This is my apology for almost blowing your cover," and then kissed me again.
Everything was different from Lucius' cold and gentle attempt. It was rough from Sirius' five o'clock shadow. It was delicious from the minty candy canes he'd been snacking on all night. And it grew more forceful and heavy as soon his hands found their way up the sides of my face and he pulled me closer.
It was a connection I never, ever, wanted to give up, and I returned it gleefully.
Eventually, we parted gasping. Grinning adorably, Sirius tried to catch his breath, his black hair elegantly falling over his eyes.
"I did warn you," he imitated my previous condescending words, "that I would get the girl."
"One kiss does not mean you got me," I retorted.
"Oh, does two?"
When we were finished the second time I tried to glare at him. "You only 'got me' in a way you didn't anticipate. Because you stumbled across my identity. And you held me against my will."
"You held me against my will."
"You went up to Ravenclaw tower willingly. Technically, you are the one who dragged me along. For my delightful company and scintillating conversation, probably."
"You manipulated me into thinking it was my own idea. That counts."
"You held me so tightly against my will that everyone in Hogwarts now thinks we're together!"
Sirius chuckled. "We are together."
"How considerate of you. I wouldn't have wanted to be the first to receive this information, rather than the last."
He moved so quickly that it startled me and I had to fight the impulse to throw him on the ground. Luckily I controlled my reflexes and ended up passively in his arms, still glaring at his mocking smile.
"I am being held against my will right now," I declared.
"Ha," he said, bringing his lips down onto mine for a few delicious seconds. "As if you couldn't easily escape."
I couldn't help but laugh. He didn't know how close he had come to an accidental broken bone.
"You realize that Lucius Malfoy is currently trying to figure out your deepest, darkest secret?" I asked, changing the focus from me.
"Should I be worried?"
"Nope. I covered your tracks a long time ago just in case you two ever accelerated your rivalry to dangerous levels. In the next day or two, he's going to discover that all of the Marauders' suspicious activity leads to a club whose ten members meet in secret once a month to write extreme poetry. You haven't missed a meeting for years, according to the signatures in the guestbook. The club president will rave on about your delivery of 'The Lost Fragrance of Grandma's Potpourri' last month and the others will swear by your brilliant internal rhymes but admit that your metaphors need work. James insists on putting his dramatic poems to music, much to everyone's dismay, and there are several voice recordings avaliable. Remus only writes about treacle and Peter has a romantic soul. Of course, Lucius will know it's nonsense and that I'm behind the whole thing, but he won't find definitive proof. All clues lead to Extreme Poetry Under the Full Moon Anonymous."
Sirius's expression had changed to awe.
I poked him in his rock solid chest. "Not just a pretty face, am I?"
"I am definitely in love with you," he decided.
"Really now. It's been all of two minutes."
"Don't belittle my love."
I pushed out of his embrace. "Freedom!" I shouted, throwing my arms in the air. "Glory!"
"SPARTA!" he joined in, striking a pose.
"Goodness, what are you doing?"
"This is my fierce warrior stance."
"You look like a drowned ninja. Fierce arms look like this." I demonstrated.
"Now you look like an deflated emu."
"Aha!" I cried. "Your metaphors remain your biggest weakness."
"I didn't choose poetry life, poetry life chose me," he said woefully.
And then we were grinning stupidly at each other again. This nonsense had to stop.
"Just so you know, I'm leaving Hogwarts tomorrow on a deadly secret mission," I said causally, examining my fingernails.
"Whatnow?"
"I have to rescue Dumbledore, my mother, and the Queen."
"Okay. From…?" he asked promptly. I decided maybe I liked him maybe a little bit.
"Russian witch assassins."
That got a pause. "I assumed there's a longer story..."
"Well," I started, not hesitating to tell him everything. There would be no keeping family secrets from this new boy of mine. "Mother is sort of… the hidden Wizarding World representative within the United Nations. And she uncovered this Cold War assassination plot the Russians are planning during the Queen's Silver Jubilee. So she's currently with the Queen as her bodyguard — well, lady-in-waiting. Only the Russians found out about her, but she can't let them know that she knows or they will search for other wizard bodyguards, like Dumbledore, whom she called in when she first became compromised."
"And where does your rescue come in?"
"While I was looking for Dumbledore in the seedier parts of London, I stumbled across the Muggle organization that is funding the assassination attempt. And they aren't Russian at all. And they certainly know enough about the Wizarding World that they managed to hire the Russian witches. Mother and Dumbledore know nothing about any of this and are in extreme danger."
He shook the hair out of his eyes. "You know this is impossible to believe."
"Yep. Welcome to my life."
"And a unique one it is. So, you're welcome," he said graciously.
"For what?"
"Saving Q."
"I had that situation completely under control," I sniffed.
"Oh yeah? Like how you keep Malfoy under control so he never goes renegade and surprises you?" His voice was sexy with sarcasm.
"I've had Malfoy under control for ten years. He's allowed to test me occasionally."
"Ten years?"
"Family friends. Our parents are both in the business of international affairs."
"Your father?"
"British Secret Service."
He considered. "I suppose now that you've told me, you'll have to kill me."
"Eventually," I confirmed cheerfully. "There are many reasons why I want to kill you."
With a laugh, he nudged me. "I never should have believed you actually wanted to harm us. Q is a crusader against violence."
"Unwarranted violence," I corrected. "There's nothing wrong with a little ass-kickery when the time calls for it."
"Yes, I am very familiar with your violent tendencies." He pointed to his jaw. "So you owe me for quite a few things. Therefore I think you should tell me what Q stands for."
"I disagree completely. Because I don't want to take the mystery out of our relationship."
After a chuckle, he said, "It's good we have each other."
"Well, I'm about to leave you," I pointed out.
"You could never leave me. As for the rescue mission, I'm joining you." One eyebrow raised up, daring me to object. "You know how effectively we fought together during the Ashwinder incident. You need me."
I raised my own eyebrow at that.
"Well, you never knew that you needed me. But now you do. Hell, I'm an Animagus. So you really should be bribing me for my services and catering to my whims." He gave me a smug smile.
"Listen, plebe. The only reason I am allowing this is because my sidekicks just abandoned me for a cute girl and a slick snake, respectively. Also I prefer to be over-prepared. Along with a can-do spirit. But you don't know anything about spying so I'll have to train you and it will be hard. You'll probably lose a limb."
"Deal. If you tell me what Q stands for."
"Sure. Cucumber."
FIN.
Author's Note: I'm completely and utterly indebted to everyone who out up with my sporadic updates these past four years. It's indescribably fulfilling to see my story resonate with so many readers, and I never would have completed it without your support. If you want more of Alex, Paul, Amanda, and the Marauders' antics, you're in luck — I'll be uploading a chapter or two of outtakes. But there will be no sequel. (However, you can always PM me questions about their unwritten future adventures.) Aside from the upcoming Q goodies, I have a few original stories in the works... who knows, maybe my zombie western or swashbuckling pirate adventure or highwayman will take The Mark of Q's place as my priority project...
If you leave any reviews, I'll write back to you. To new readers who were lucky enough to read the story in its entirety, be glad that the blow of the many cliffhangers was softened for you. And for everyone, peace and happiness and always stay on your toes!