A shiver woke Natalie from her sleep, one deep enough to keep out thoughts from the previous night. She was groggy, confused, and took a moment to fully wake up and realize that Sirius was still beside her. He was propped up on one elbow, head in his hand, tracing a single finger slowly along the waistband of her underwear. The shirt she was wearing had shifted while she slept, now resting just a few inches above her hips.
"You're disturbing my slumber," Natalie whined into the pillow her face was buried in, trying to keep out the rays of early morning sunlight peeking through the curtains.
Sirius smiled lightly but said nothing. He moved his hand to Natalie's hip and let it slide up her side, under her shirt. She was still tucked under a mound of blankets but he could feel her back arch slightly at his touch. He let his fingers explore her skin, moving slowly yet deliberately, further and further north. When his hand reached her chest Natalie's breath caught ever so slightly.
She was wide awake now, no longer groggy or confused. She savored every movement Sirius made behind her. They were laying close, his chest pressed against her back, his arm lightly pinning hers to her side as his fingers travelled across her breasts. After a moment he moved his hand down again, hearing Natalie make a noise in protest. Sirius chuckled but kept his hand going lower, lower, lower.
He felt the heat between her thighs before he even touched her. He slipped his fingers underneath the waistband of her underwear and let his excitement and desire guide his movements. It wasn't long before Natalie couldn't take it anymore, flipping herself around, her lips finding his.
The kitchen was quiet when Natalie first entered that morning. She had quietly snuck out of Sirius' bedroom before the rest of the house had begun to stir. It wasn't uncommon for other members to stay overnight or find a place to sleep for a few hours if they didn't have time to go home, but for the most part, it was just the Marauders and herself that lived at the headquarters for the Order. It was easy for Natalie to be the first one to rise when the rest of the inhabitants of the house were young men that liked to stay up late and wake up even later. She didn't mind that hour or two of alone time in the mornings, when she would kiss Sirius on the cheek and tip toe out of his room, careful not to wake up the rest of their roommates, and shuffle down to the kitchen half asleep to put on the kettle. It was calming, really, to sit with her cup of tea and read the Prophet before the day started and the hustle and bustle of the people in the house got to be too overwhelming. It didn't hurt that no one ever caught her sneaking out of Sirius' bedroom that way, either.
It had been several months since the first night they spent together after Natalie joined the Order, and she found herself curling up with him in his room almost every night since. She didn't think either of them really knew why they were keeping it a secret from their friends, perhaps they just enjoyed the thrill of sneaking around, knowing they could be caught red handed at any moment. They had always found fun in slinking around the hallways and classrooms at night when they were in school, after all.
They were drawn to each other like magnets, they couldn't help it. They spent hours upon hours together in his room, sometimes talking and other times just enjoying being near each other while Natalie read a book or Sirius listened to the radio. It seemed as though they picked up right where they had left off before she disappeared, something that made Natalie extremely happy. As happy as she was, it was constantly in the back of her mind that they still hadn't talked about the year she was gone. Sirius only brought it up the one time, in the secret closet at his parent's house when he told her that he was glad she came back. Natalie hadn't said anything about it, afraid of how that kind of conversation might change how things were. Sirius never mentioned what he and the rest of their friends had done during their first year in the Order, no talk of different missions they went on or people they met. Natalie noticed, and in turn never mentioned her year alone, her time at the flower shop or the devastating circumstances that brought her back. It was strange, but it was almost as if there were an unspoken rule to leave the subject alone and not to ask any questions, as the others never said anything about it either. Though, maybe it wasn't unspoken. It wouldn't have been too ridiculous to think that Sirius told them not to talk about her absence.
She knew it pained him, how could it not? Natalie left without saying one word to any of them, seemingly dropping off the face of the earth for almost an entire year without letting anyone know where she was or that she was alive and doing well. There were so many unsaid things that floated between Sirius and herself that she knew they would eventually have to hash things out, to have a real conversation about it. Natalie was keeping quiet until Sirius initiated, until he decided it was time to push the topic. She had no right, she thought, to bring it up. It was his pain that she caused and she would just have to wait until he dropped the bomb.
Natalie was halfway through her tea and engrossed in a Prophet article - the current alignment of planets was causing garden gnomes all around the country to burrow underneath unsuspecting homes to throw obnoxious parties - when people started waking up and making their way into the kitchen.
Lily walked in and greeted Natalie cheerfully, going straight to the still piping hot kettle and making tea for herself and James, who came in a few seconds after her.
James grabbed an apple from a small wicker basket that was kept on one of the counters and took a few steps back to the table where Natalie was seated. Taking a bite out of the fruit, he reached out and swiped the newspaper out of her hands, sitting in the chair next to her with his left foot moving up to rest on his other knee.
"Right, I was done reading," Natalie muttered, nodding her head then looking pointedly at James. "Will you at least tell me what's at the end of the gnome article?"
"I'm not reading that shit, I'm looking at the Quidditch scores," he replied, acting as if Natalie were crazy to think he would be doing anything else.
"Give it back when you're done, then," she said, feigning annoyance.
"I'll give it back when I'm good and ready, thank you." James opened the paper with a snap, giving Natalie a teasing look and taking a sip of the tea Lily had placed in front of him. With a disapproving look, Lily took the paper from his hands and sat across from him, starting to read it instead.
Remus was the next one to come in. "Morning, all," he mumbled through a yawn, taking a seat at the table next to Lily. Peter scurried in behind him, heading straight to the refrigerator. "Anything interesting on the front page?"
Lily glanced up from the paper, shaking her head at the question. "No, nothing that I can tell. Not Order related, anyway. There is a new book on how to converse with your Muggle neighbors, though, if you're interested in that."
"Can't say that I am," Remus said, chuckling lightly. "Morning, Padfoot."
Sirius made his way into the kitchen, walking behind Natalie and taking a seat on her other side and glancing up at her. "You're up early, as always," he commented, making himself sound mildly interested. Natalie saw the mischievous glint in his eye and it made the corners of her mouth twitch in an attempt to hide a smile, recalling how he had woken her up earlier.
"I got a good night's sleep, my bed is very comfortable," she said, vaguely, before taking a sip of her tea. Sirius liked to play games like this with her, trying to see how far he could push her before she lost her composure.
James looked up at her, tossing his finished apple into a trash bin nestled in a corner behind the table. "You know, I knocked on your door last night, maybe around 10? I had a question."
She paused, two hands around the cup in front of her. "What was your question?"
"Oh, it doesn't matter now, I figured it out. Where were you, though? I didn't think you went to sleep that early," he asked, turning his body to face her more with his arms crossed in front of him, looking at her curiously.
Natalie knew quite well where she was at around 10 the night before, and Sirius did, too, for that matter. He was pretending as though he wasn't interested in the conversation whatsoever, getting up to make his own cup of tea by the stove. She knew he was listening, though, even as his back turned away from the table. "I...must have been in the bathroom."
James furrowed his eyebrows, looking confused. His hand came up next to his face, one finger itching a spot on his temple just underneath the frame of his glasses. "Huh. I didn't know there was a toilet inside your room, Sirius."
Natalie felt her eyes widen as she stared at a spot in the middle of the table. She saw Sirius drop his head back in defeat out of the corner of her eye as she glanced around the room. James had a triumphant smirk on his face, head turned to look at Sirius, waiting for him to say something. Lily was hiding behind the newspaper, just her eyes and top of her head showing, looking from Natalie to James to Sirius. Remus was attempting to stifle a grin by taking a sip of tea.
Sirius turned around and looked at all of them, leaning back into the counter and onto his elbows, a cup of his own in his left hand. He threw up his right hand lazily, rolling his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips, "How long have you all known?"
"Please," James had a look on his face that suggested Sirius knew better than to ask him that. "We knew the day after you slept together."
"James!" Lily attempted to scold him but couldn't hide a smile or keep a laugh out of her voice. He didn't take her seriously.
"We got tired of waiting for you two to say something," Remus said, looking as though he thoroughly enjoyed watching how embarrassed Natalie had gotten.
"Well, secret's out now, I suppose," Sirius said, making himself sound disappointed. He set down his cup on the counter and walked across the kitchen. He stopped behind Natalie's chair, reached down and placed his hand under her chin, pulled her face up towards his and planted a kiss square on her lips, in front of everyone. His thumb brushed her jaw and she felt him smile into the kiss just slightly.
The room erupted in voices saying 'Get a room!' and 'Gross!' and laughter before the conversation turned into something different.
The barn that the Order used for training was full of movement and noise. James and Sirius trained together in a large open area, spells flying and wands waving quickly. They were good training partners, each knew the other's weaknesses and focused on trying to work through and diminish them without getting terribly injured. Remus and Natalie were on the other side of the barn, practicing a new disarming spell on each other repeatedly to get the hang of it. Lily was working with Peter in a secluded corner, being the only one that had enough patience to teach the stubby little wizard new spells. It took him a long time to get a grasp on anything new, but Lily was calm and gentle with him, never losing her temper like the others had in the past.
"Anyone else up for a duel?" James said, slightly out of breath and looking for an excuse to rest.
"What, getting tired already?" Sirius asked, smirking condescendingly and spinning his wand in his hand.
Natalie stepped away from where she was with Remus. "I will." She knew Sirius wouldn't want to train with her, he hadn't done so ever since they started seeing each other again. Natalie walked closer to him, hoping he wouldn't say no automatically. He was a good fighter and she could learn a thing or two from him.
"Nat…" he said slowly, giving her a look that she knew meant 'not gonna happen'.
She raised her eyebrows and moved her hands to her hips, shooting him a challenging look, knowing just how to get under his skin. "Scared to fight a girl?"
Just as she expected, Sirius narrowed his eyes, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Let's see what you've got," he said, positioning himself on one end of the barn and waiting for her to make her way to the other side.
Their friends had stopped what they were doing, surprised that Sirius agreed to duel and highly interested to see how it would play out. Sirius nodded in her direction, staring her down. "Ladies fir-"
Natalie flug her hand out from her side, wand pointed at Sirius, yelling a spell before he could finish talking. He was surprised but moved to the side quickly, not letting the effects of the spell hit him. There was a look of mischief on his face, laughing to himself as his breath quickened, and he took a step forward and hurled his own spell across the room, hitting Natalie in the leg before she could dodge it and sending her flying back a few feet. She landed on her hip, facing away from him and he immediately started moving towards her, thinking he hurt her and cursing himself on the inside for agreeing to duel with her. Before he realised what she was doing, Natalie had flipped herself around, feet sending dust flying everywhere and hit him with a disarming spell. Sirius' wand flew from his hand and clattered off to the ground beside him.
Nodding in good-hearted defeat, he said, "Very nice, very nice." Just as he was about to reach for the wand, Natalie used one of her legs to sweep his feet from underneath him and he landed on his back hard. All the breath he had was blown from his lungs and he laid there for a moment, trying to get it back and slowly get his bearings.
She appeared in his vision, standing over him with an innocent smile on her face. "You were holding back," she accused him, extending her hand towards him.
Sirius shook his head, rolling his eyes. "And you used muggle tricks," he said, reaching up to grab her outstretched hand and heaving himself up onto two feet.
"Worked, didn't it?" she asked, dusting her jeans off with both hands, her wand once again in her back pocket.
"It's cheating," he joked, his ego too large to let her have a complete victory. "You're supposed to use your magic."
Natalie held out a finger, her chin raising up as she looked down her nose at him. "Ah, but that's what they'll expect me to do. This will catch them off guard."
Sirius chuckled, shaking his shirt out so dust and debris fell off his shoulders lightly. He started making his way towards the rest of the group. "I'm done for the day, anyone else starving?"
Agreeing, they each disapparated back to headquarters, leaving a few seconds in between each person. They had to disapparate directly onto the front stoop in order for the cloaking spell to keep them hidden, then quickly jump inside so the next person would have room. Natalie was the last to go, waiting a bit so that Peter could shuffle inside the house. Wand in hand, she twisted hard, keeping the image of the house and the front stoop clear in her mind. The squeezing feeling always left her breathless and a bit disoriented, especially when going from a darkened barn to the bright midday sun.
Her feet were supposed to land on the solid step of the house's front stoop, however she landed on something softer instead. Peter hadn't moved inside quick enough, and as Natalie apparated almost on top of him, she stumbled, trying to catch herself on the railing connected to the steps. Her wand fell out of her hand and a surprised noise escaped her lips, finally finding her footing and steadying herself a few feet away at the end of the walkway in front of the house.
The front door opened, a Remus' head peeking out after hearing Natalie cry out. "Peter, what the hell!" Natalie all but shouted, turning around and bending over to pick up her wand.
Popping sounds in front of her made Natalie snap up instantly, wand in hand and positioned in front of herself. Her stomach dropped when she saw the dark cloaks and masks covering the faces of the people in the street. Six Death Eaters stood in front of her, unwavering, wands at the ready. Frozen in fear, she willed herself to move back, to disapparate away from there, send a spell flying, to do something, anything. There was noise and shuffling behind her, but she didn't take her eyes off of the enemies only a few feet away. She knew immediately that these had to have been the same men that were looking for her from the street the night before. They were here for her, she was sure of it.
"Stay right there," the Death Eater closest to her said, wand raising up to chest level and pointing directly at her. His voice was quiet and slick, speaking to someone behind her. She could see white blonde hair peeking out from the side of his hood.
"Nat, move back," Sirius said urgently. He was only a few feet behind her. If she could move quick enough, she might be able to make it to him and inside the house before the Death Eaters could make their move.
"That would be unwise," the blonde Death Eater spoke slowly, taking a step towards Natalie. She was starting to shake now, adrenaline and nerves reaching her bloodstream, her heart pounding in her chest and causing her to breathe unevenly. "You will come with me."
"She's not going anywhere with you, don't you touch her!" Sirius yelled. Natalie heard footsteps behind her, James and Remus must have been on the steps as well.
She had to chance it, she couldn't stay cemented on the walkway forever. The Death Eater in front of her took another step towards her, wand still pointed at her ominously. The other masked wizards behind him began to close in, keeping little space between them, wands clutched in their hands just waiting for someone to make a sudden move. She counted down in her head, not taking her eyes off of the man getting ever close. Three, two, one…
It was almost as if everything moved in slow motion. Natalie whipped herself around, feet already starting to move quickly in her attempt to get away from the Death Eaters. Sirius, James and Remus were on the steps, wands pointed at the cloaked figures, other hands reaching out towards her to pull her in once she got close enough. She made eye contact with Sirius, flinging her hand out towards him, hoping he would be able to get ahold of her hand and whisk her into the house and out of harm's way. He took a step closer, watching her move frantically, seeing the fear in her eyes. Just as she got close enough to grab, Natalie felt a hand close tightly around her other wrist and she was pulled back, away from Sirius and her friends, away from the safety they promised.
Her wand was ripped from her hand and an arm snaked around the front of her shoulders, keeping her in place against the chest of the blonde Death Eater. His grip was hard and she knew right away she wouldn't be able to shake him off. He was several inches taller, and had no problem holding her still.
The Marauders looked at Natalie in horror, not able to make a move, to grab her away, to save her from the Death Eater's hold. Her captor moved back a few feet, not relenting his grip, forcing her to keep in step with him. His wand was still pointed at the people in front of the house, and even though he wore a mask, Natalie could tell he was smiling underneath as he quietly spoke. "Say goodbye, boys."
He twisted behind her, sending them flying through black space. Just as she lost sight of everything, she heard Sirius screaming, "No!"