Chocolate? Or was this banana? Thought Charlotte as a delicious smell wafted around her nose. She felt her eyes flutter open, a small fire still crackling in the corner. She noticed how she was on the couch, in her undergarments with a light fleece blanket over her frame and looked around the room curiously. This was not her room…then she remembered. She was in Sirius' house finally free from her parents and the pureblood community. She got up tentatively and rubbed her head, blushing at the events that occurred last night. Throwing the blanket off her feet she looked to her right to see unfamiliar clothes at her disposal. She clambered over to the nightstand inspecting the clothes. A very large white oxford shirt and the shorts she wore last night. She instinctively smiled inhaling Sirius' smell before putting it on. It reached to the middle of her thighs, hiding her shorts. She raised an eyebrow at it, but disregarded it, folding the blanket and slowly making her way to the kitchen. She almost laughed at the sight, but bit back her lip and smiled when she saw Sirius struggling to flip pancakes.

"Why not use magic?" She giggled. Sirius jumped and flung his pancake onto the ceiling. He sighed angrily and stared up at the blasted dough as he turned around to face Charlotte. She laughed loudly when she saw he had flour smeared all over his handsome face.

"I don't always want to use magic, love!" She shook her head and waved her hand as the room tidied up itself. Sirius looked away gloomily and scratched his cheek.

"Er, thanks." She walked over and kissed his nose, his mood lifting.

"Thanks, hon. You look…comfortable," he said with a cheeky smile. She shook her head once more and helped him with breakfast. She set the table for two and prepared the drinks before sitting on the stool, watching Sirius finish cooking breakfast. He walked over triumphantly with two plates stacked high with pancakes as he placed it gently in front of her.

"Pretty good, eh?" He asked with a cocky grin. She poured the syrup and took a bite nodding her head;

"Very."

"Tch. And you thought I couldn't do this without magic." She laughed before pointing at the stove and turning off the fire. He flushed a bit and ate in silence.

"They're very good, you know." She said suddenly. Sirius grinned and leaned into her face tasting the syrup on her lips.

"Thanks, love."

"Of course! Is there anything the great Sirius Black cannot do?"

"I guess not," he grinned and stabbed his pancake again before looking up at her.

"I'm surprised you slept yesterday,"

"Well, yeah. I was really tired."

"But I thought you couldn't sleep on the first day of where ever you are?" She paused and noted how he was correct. She shrugged shortly and smiled at him.

"I guess…I was just at ease yesterday…Thanks to you," They stared at each other and continued to eat, laughing softly whenever the other brushed their leg upon the other's. Sirius stood up after his meal and took his plate and Charlotte's before tossing them into the sink. Sirius walked over and wrapped an arm around her waist as he led her out to the living room again. Sirius set her on the couch and he snapped his fingers, wrapped presents appearing underneath the Christmas tree. He sat next to her, arm slung over her shoulders, as he levitated two gifts over to the pair. She got a hold of her gift and inspected it. It was from James and she smiled opening the gift to see the latest defense against the dark arts book. Sirius peered over and quirked an eyebrow at her gift.

"Pretty advanced. Not even first time auror trainers use this." She nodded and turned it over, surprised to see a little note attached to it. It read:
"Dear Charlotte. Although this book is kind of advanced I believe you can figure these out. After all you are brilliant. James." She laughed aloud and Sirius read it over, shaking his head.

"What did you get?" She asked him as she noticed his sneakoscope. He looked it over questionably and raised an eyebrow.

"Er…Sweet girl that Evans is." She giggled and called forth two other gifts. She had so far gotten a book from James, sweets from Peter, top of the line ink from Remus along with a very thoughtful card, a journal bounded by very fine leather from William, very pretty robes from Clarisse and Rachelle, a card from Severus, and several muggle literature books from Lily. She also got many gifts from her admirers but they weren't anything special. Sirius called over the two final gifts underneath the Christmas tree and handed hers with a gentle touch. She looked over the label and grinned when she saw it was from Sirius. She noticed how he was also holding her gift in his hands and started to peel the wrapper off of it. She did the same and gasped at the silver pendant that lay gently in the velvet box. Sirius stared at his gift as well, marveling at the sight of the ring. She held the pendant to her face, her breath hitching up in her throat.

"Beautiful," they both said at once. She gulped and looked up at him as he held up the ring too.

"Er…Um, thanks." He said. She urged him to try it on, convinced that he was a true Gryffindor and he did. She watched his finger carefully but he didn't seem to be in any pain and sighed in relief. He stared at her but shook his head instead, grabbing the pendant from her. She turned around and lifted her hair up as he placed the pendant delicately around her neck.

"Nice." He breathed, twitching at the sight of her skin. She let her dark locks fall again and felt his hand graze her hip slightly.

"This ring looks expensive…"

"It is said to have once been Godric Gryffindor's."

"How did you get it?"

"It was in my vault. Can only be worn by a true Gryffindor and it seems like you fit the description perfectly." Sirius took in a sharp breath and nodded his head.

"It's very nice. Thank you," he said turning her head in his direction before fully placing his lips onto hers. Their lips were moving in an instant and she wrapped her arms behind her to wrap around Sirius' head. He bit her lip and pressed her closer to his body. They were so full of raw passion they didn't even notice the people who clambered through Sirius' fireplace. Lily blushed as Sirius' hands slipped under her shirt and Remus cleared his throat uncomfortably. The couple looked up and Charlotte blushed at her current predicament.

"Er….Hi everyone." She grinned. Sirius groaned loudly and waved his hand.

"Go away. Come back later if you have to, but not now!" Sirius whined. Charlotte rolled her eyes and noticed everyone was in very nice clothing.

"Where are we eating? The Queen's?" Sirius drawled lazily, admiring his new ring.

"Something like that," Lily clicked her tongue.

"More like Fenry's," Remus said. Sirius rolled his eyes too and shrugged.

"What's so special about-"

"Did you say Fenry's? Oh my gosh, it's impossible to get a reservation! Sirius! Get your lazy ass up right now!"

"Why don't we just stay here baby?" Sirius called after her. Lily shook her head and hitched up her long black dress as she walked up the stairs. Sirius looked at the stairs with a very happy expression and sighed longingly running a hand through his midnight hair.

"So what now. You guys together?" James asked gruffly. Sirius shrugged.

"I have no idea. I think we are back together. I would like to be back together." Remus raised an eyebrow.

"If you do end up together, it's not for sex is it?" James and Peter looked at Sirius, shocked. Sirius smirked and closed his eyes.

"Nothing gets past you, huh Moony?"

"Werewolf sense of smell. A blessing and a curse." Remus grinned.

"You had sex with her?" Sirius shook his head.

"We almost did. Or…we didn't actually have sex." They all gave him very startled looks and tried to press further questions but Lily walked down the stairs elegantly. James wrapped his arms around her and pecked her on the cheek. Sirius lazily snapped his fingers and he was soon dressed in fancy dress pants a black oxford and a grey cardigan. He looked towards the staircase and saw Charlotte emerge in a short black dress that had one should strap with plastic black flowers around it. She had tried her best to cover her bruises and numerous cuts and seemed to have succeeded. Remus walked over to help her down the stairs but Sirius leapt over the couch and shoved Remus out of the way, taking her hand first. Charlotte giggled and helped her ex-boyfriend up from the floor.

"Thank you Charlotte." Remus gave a little glare to Sirius.

"Let's go everyone!" Peter squeaked checking his watch worriedly. Everyone agreed and made their way towards the fireplace as Sirius gave Charlotte one final kiss, making sure Remus saw. Remus rolled his eyes and transported to Fenry's with the others. Charlotte threw her head back and felt his tongue on her skin once more drawing out a loud moan.

"Unnn, Sirius…we have to go to dinner…"

"I want you for dinner," Sirius mumbled against her skin. She shook her head when she felt his mischievous hands make their way into her dress.

"Sirius," she sighed pulling away from him. He gave her a low growl but stopped when she kissed his Adam's apple.

"Later," That cheered him up instantly and he soon ushered her into the fireplace. The next thing she knew, she was surrounded by people in fancy dresses and robes seated around many tables with an air of superiority. Heads turned at the beautiful couple and many women and men stared thoughtfully at the handsome male and beautiful female. They reached the table furthest in the back and sat down graciously. Everyone else seemed to be very bothered by this fancy atmosphere but Sirius and Charlotte knew how to thrive off of it. A very young waiter seemed to have the most courage and approached the table with a brilliant grin on his face. Lily and Charlotte flushed to which he earned very heated glares from James and Sirius.

"'Ello. How may I be of service to you?" he had a thick French accent and Charlotte smiled at his attempts to talk to them in English.

"6 ice waters please,"

"Of course mademoiselle." He said before handing everyone a menu. It seemed as if Sirius and James had scared the poor bloke away as an elderly man came to serve them instead. Sirius and James shared almost identical smug glances at each other as they wrapped an arm protectively over the girls' shoulders. Not wanting Remus and Peter to feel left out, Charlotte made sure to include them in every conversation to which they were thankful. Peter yelped a bit during dinner and his friends turned to him curiously. Sirius noticed a slight burn mark on his wrist and made everyone else aware of it. He stood up suddenly, bumping into the table causing the drinks to topple over and excused himself in a hurry.

"Merry Christmas!" Charlotte called to him but he was gone. Odd.

"Peter's been sort of weird these days."

"Yeah. You know, I actually saw him talking to Donahue a couple weeks back. Saw Donahue throw Pete a sack of galleons, actually."

"Donahue? Why." Charlotte's eyes narrowed and voice darkened.

"Maybe he got into a bit of a scrap?" Lily suggested, not wanting an argument to erupt. Charlotte shook her head knowingly and sipped her water staring at the table cloth hatefully.

"Edward Donahue is not a civil man. Something's fishy,"

"And he can apparate. Strange isn't it? Maybe he's not that incompetent as everyone makes him out to be," Sirius' silky voice flew out.

"Stop it all of you. Peter's a good guy. He's a very hard worker as well," Remus defended his friend, getting pretty tired of all the false accusations. Lily nodded and James, Sirius, and Charlotte looked down in shame.

"Yeah…There's a reason why he's in Gryffindor." Charlotte forced a smile. She really didn't trust Peter Pettigrew now. Sirius rubbed his leg against hers and she released all of her tension at once as she smiled and held up a glass.

"To my dear friends. What would I be if I didn't have you all watching over me." she said. Everyone raised their glasses and acknowledged her statement. At that moment, the steaks had come out and everyone started to eat, thankful for each other's presence.

"So are you two going out?" Lily asked suddenly scooping up some green beans. Charlotte and Sirius stopped eating and placed their silverware on the plate. Sirius eyed Charlotte and she seemed to be very troubled at the question.

"We're not." Sirius answered for her. She looked up, hurt for a second, but realized their current situation. They wanted to be together. So bad it made their hearts ache, but…it was their reputations that were put up to the stake.

"Yeah…we're just friends." It hurt her to say that and it stung him to the core to hear those words from the girl he loved. Remus sighed, annoyed at the both of them. Remus had no trouble reading each one of them like an open book and he could clearly see what was going on. They loved each other, there was no doubt in his mind about that, but it was their damn prides they couldn't get rid of. Charlotte had to be loyal to William Hallsworth. She would've broken up with William, but the fact of getting back together with Sirius threw her off. Who would want to go back like a kicked puppy to their ex boyfriend? Now Sirius, on the other hand, just didn't know his feelings. After going through his entire life without caring for any woman, to suddenly realize his love for his oldest friend must've disturbed him greatly. Sirius was overwhelmed with his new feelings for her he didn't know how to express them. Sirius was also notorious around the school for never sticking with one girl, and Remus and Charlotte both knew how much he enjoyed girls falling to his feet. Both were stubborn and too proud which had Remus questioning how they were even friends in the first place. Remus turned to Lily and James and by the looks on their faces told the young Lupin they understood as well. Charlotte and Sirius turned to one another and sighed.

"I have no idea what to do," Sirius nodded.

"I think you guys should just date again. He's so much better than Hallsworth, Charlotte!" Lily exclaimed. Charlotte stood up and narrowed her eyes at Lily.

"Butt out Evans! William's a great boyfriend! I-" she was cut off to see Lily's face distraught. James tried his best to cheer her up and Charlotte looked around the restaurant, not surprised to see people staring. She sat back down on her seat and grabbed Lily's hand.

"I'm sorry Lils. It's just…I can't treat William like this…it's not fair," it was Sirius' turn to flinch at her words.

"No. I should've never asked….but I'm curious. How do you view your relationship with Sirius?"

"I love him. I truly do," Sirius beamed, but his face fell when she opened her mouth. "But…you and I know it's wrong to treat William like this." Sirius turned to look at her now.

"Now you care about him? What about last night! Did that mean nothing to you!" She glared at his loud voice and closed her eyes.

"Sirius. It was raw passion. You know that, don't you?" Sirius recalled last night. He remembered the feeling of her skin against his and he shook his head stubbornly.

"Horse shit. We have something. Don't deny it." She refused to look at him and drank her water again, wanting something, anything to change the course of this discussion. Luckily James piped in courageously and laughed silently.

"Who's ready for N.E.W.T.S., huh?" Remus and Lily's ears perked up at the mention of something academic and started talking amongst themselves. James turned to his other friends and gave them a challenging stare.

"You guys aren't going out?" Sirius and Charlotte shook their heads quickly. A bit too quickly in James' opinion.