Poppy's POV
"I'm going to miss you over Christmas" Sirius murmured against my skin before dropping a kiss on my shoulder, making me smile.
"I'll miss you too, but you can come over and see me" I reminded him. Phil and Sara had already invited him over and he'd already accepted the invite, so we had one definite date at least. "Come on, I want to find out what happened after we left" I told him as I got up, Sirius wolf whistling me, making me laugh as I shrugged into the clothes that had appeared (as they always did). "Come on" I told him, only turning round when I had some underwear on. He grinned before lunging towards me, grabbing me and pulling me back onto the bed, making me laugh. "Stop it!" I said half-heartedly as he kissed my stomach, moving up my body gradually. "Hey, I know you're hungry" I tried insisting and he laughed just as his stomach rumbled. He shook his head, looking disappointed which only made me laugh. At his distraction I managed to wriggle out from under him, quickly putting on the rest of my clothes as he started getting dressed himself. When we were both decent, we made our way down to breakfast hand in hand, the both of us in a very good mood. However, when we got there, there was only Lily at the table as we joined her.
"James not with you?" I asked her and she rolled her eyes at me.
"Yeah, morning to you too Pop" she said sarcastically making me laugh.
"Sorry, morning Lily" I corrected myself as I made up some porridge, Sirius doing our teas. I waited expectantly for her answer, but she shook her head.
"He was out of ours early this morning" she told us with a shrug, her face not giving anything away. Just as I was about to tuck into my porridge, I noticed Sirius look towards the entrance of the Great Hall, as though he'd heard someone calling his name despite being a fair distance away. He nodded and I turned to see James, Remus and Peter stood there, Alice and Fiona making their way towards us looking confused.
"I'll see you in a bit" he said quickly, grabbing a huge stack of toast.
"You can't be that hungry?!" Lily exclaimed and he grinned at her.
"Poppy wore me out" he told her, making me blush and Lily shake her head as he gave me a quick kiss before hurrying up and out of the Hall.
"I know you love him and all but seriously, that was too much information" Lily told me although I could see a grin beginning to form.
"You know I don't encourage it" I replied, turning to see him disappear with the guys just as Alice and Fiona dropped into seats next to us.
"Morning all" Alice greeted us with a big smile.
"Morning chums" Fiona added with a grin, making us all laugh. "How was last night?" she asked us as her and Alice began loading up with breakfast. Seeing as I had just taken a mouthful of porridge, Lily replied for us.
"Good. Loads of introductions and stuff so it blurred past really quickly" she told them, sounding calm and factual. I scrutinised her for a moment, but she refused to look at me, instead turning her attention to making another cup of tea. "Anyway, what did you two get up to?" she asked them, diverting attention.
"Just hung out with Remus and Peter" Fiona said simply with a shrug before she frowned and turned to Alice. "Now that I think about it, where were you?!" she asked her and at this Alice blushed for some reason. I looked at her curiously, wondering what had her blushing.
"I was with Frank" she told us, her cheeks still flush with colour. My eyes widened; was she insinuating what I thought she was?!
"Oh my god did something happen?!" Lily asked her, leaning towards her just as Suze joined us.
"Morning folks. Ooo Alice, who's got you all hot under the collar?" she asked with a grin, helping herself to some food.
"She was just about to tell us" Lily told her and we all stared at her.
"He kissed me" she blurted out suddenly, the red colour deepening and her eyes wide. There was a moment stunned silence before we all made excited noises, making her laugh.
"Merlin woman tell us more!" Fiona demanded, banging her spoon down on her plate.
"We need details!" Suze added.
"All of them! How did it happen?" Lily asked as we all leaned forward as one.
"Alright shush I don't want everyone overhearing!" Alice exclaimed, glancing around her. "We were just chatting you know, like we usually do, and he sort of leaned towards me and then well he kissed me" she said, making it sound simple but you could see how happy she was.
"Was it just the one?" Fiona asked and the momentary silence said it all. "Yesss Alice!" Fiona exclaimed happily, making us laugh. "Go on, tell us everything" she insisted, and we settled in for a long morning of discussing Alice and Frank's budding relationship.
By lunch time the news was all over school: James and Priya were over. Rumours were flying everywhere, most of them involving Lily in some capacity and speculations were being made about what had happened between James and Lily whilst at the party last night to cause the break-up. We hadn't seen the guys all morning, only finding them when we headed down to lunch. We hurried over, Sirius moving so that I could slip in between him and James. I noticed Lily purposely sitting as far away from James as she could, her eyes down and refusing to look at the other tables. I reached under the table for James's hand, feeling him squeeze it as he gave me a smile.
"What happened?" Fiona asked, having taken a seat next to Remus and opposite James.
"It just wasn't working. She was always mad at me and we were always arguing, and I was tired of it" he said simply. I dropped James's hand so I could help myself to some food, glancing down at Lily who was chatting to Frank and seemed oblivious to our current conversation.
"How'd she take it?" Fiona continued and James winced at this. Badly then.
"Not great. She yelled at me a lot, but I let her" he told us with a shrug, helping himself to what appeared to be another plate of food.
"And how do you feel about it?" Fiona asked him, her voice softer now. I saw James glance around before he answered.
"Truthfully, and I do feel bad for saying this, relieved" he said quietly, and I saw a smile twitch on Fiona's face.
"As long as you're okay" I said quietly to him and he gave me a smile and nodded.
"I am, thanks though Pop" he replied, giving me a one-armed hug. "Hey, at least I can do this again without anybody freaking out" he said cheerfully with a smile, making me smile in turn. "Hey Lily" he called, and I turned, seeing Lily jump at being addressed. She didn't blush for a change but there was a small smile on her face when she nodded. "We need to sort out the rotas for next term. Do you want to just get it done today?" he asked her, and she nodded again.
"Sure" she told him, the smile slightly bigger.
"After lunch? Figured we could go to the Gryffindor common room?" he asked, and I saw her hesitate slightly before she nodded, now turning back to Frank. "Don't want to add any fuel to any fire" James murmured to me and I figured he had heard the rumours too.
"Ignore it. They'll get bored and fix on something else soon" I told him. At this he nodded, turning back to his food and I did the same, feeling Sirius put a hand on my thigh which made me smile.
"Want to go for a walk after lunch?" he asked, and I looked up at him and knew he wanted to tell me something.
"Sure" I said, making him smile. I wondered what it was he wanted to say.
"How is he really?" I asked Sirius as we branched away from the others, apparently just going for a random walk around the castle.
"Honestly Pop he's actually okay. He genuinely seems relieved it's over" he told me as we turned onto the Charms corridor and I felt relaxed at this. If Sirius said he was okay, then he really was okay. I was about to ask what he wanted to talk to me about when we heard rapid footsteps behind us, the both of us turning and I saw a familiar looking boy approach which for some reason made Sirius stiffen next to me.
"Afternoon brother" he drawled, and I started, finally piecing together who it was. Sirius never spoke about his brother, I only knew he had one because James had told me and I knew he was in Slytherin but apart from that, that was all I knew.
"Regulus" Sirius greeted him politely but there was an edge to his voice which made his brother smirk. Sirius's grip on my hand tightened. "Were you following us?" he asked, and Regulus gave a small laugh.
"Obviously otherwise how would I have known you were here?" he questioned, eyes flicking to me.
"Was there something you wanted?" Sirius asked him, taking a tiny step forward so that he was in front of me. A move which I knew Regulus had noted.
"Relax. I'm not going to do anything drastic. You always were the dramatic one" he told him, rolling his eyes. "I simply wanted to pass on a message" he continued, eyes back to me. "Mother and father have invited you and your…girlfriend, for dinner over Christmas" he said, and I felt my eyes widen in surprise. Sirius had had no contact with his parents for the past two years, so why they wanted to see him now was beyond me. "They've heard about…your girlfriend and want to meet her" he added, and I felt myself recoil slightly at his words, feeling Sirius bristle next to me at the same time.
"I don't think that's something we're interested in" Sirius told him forcefully, holding my hand with incredible force right now.
"It's only dinner" Regulus said simply, looking between us somewhat intrigued. "23rd December. 7 p.m." he told him. "You know how they hate a declined invitation. And you know how much they hear about what goes on in Hogwarts" he told him; eyes now specifically focused on me. Sirius actually growled next to me, the sound coming from low in his chest and I stepped forward, putting my other hand on his arm to calm him. "I'll see you both then" Regulus finished and, with a nod to Sirius, he turned and went back the way he came. Only when he was out of view and his footsteps had died away did Sirius relax a little.
"Sirius do you mind relaxing your hold on my hand a bit" I said quietly, and he jumped, immediately letting go of my hand. Instead, he pulled me to him in a hug, taking me by surprise but I think it was more for him than me. I wasn't sure what to say, knowing how much he hated his family and didn't want to say the wrong thing and annoy him. Instead, we stood in silence, his hold on me tight and I could feel his heart hammering in his chest. I gently and slowly rubbed his back in a soothing motion and I gradually felt his heart rate begin to slow and I could feel his body relax.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do" I told him quietly when I knew he was calmer.
"Will you speak to Dumbledore about going?" he asked after a moment, taking me by surprise. "He wants you to keep your magic quiet and going to my parents' house indicates that somehow something's leaked out. Seeing as they agree with what's going on right now, I'd be worried for your safety" he explained slowly, and I moved back so I could see him properly; it seemed he was considering his parents invite. "I don't want to put you in danger" he said quietly, moving his hand to my face and tracing my cheekbone with his thumb in a surprisingly delicate move which made my heart flutter.
"Okay" was all I managed to say at that moment, and he gave me a small smile before kissing me.
"Let me know what he says?" he asked when he pulled away and I nodded, feeling surprisingly flustered which I think he knew as he was grinning now. "I like making you speechless" he teased me, breaking me from my trance like state and I pushed him lightly, making him laugh as he wrapped his arms around me again. "I love you Poppy" he told me, my heart rate rising as it always did when he told me this.
"I love you Sirius" I replied, his own smile widening as he kissed me again, this time deepening it and all previous conversations were temporarily pushed to the side.
Lily's POV
I watched Sirius and Poppy's retreating backs, unable to keep from smiling as they both shone when they walked away.
"Lily?" a voice made me jump as I realised, I was being a creep and tore my eyes away, seeing James waiting for me as they others had all gone ahead. He was smiling at me and I blushed, inwardly cursing myself. Merlin, honestly, I used to be way better around guys than this. Like, why was James freaking Potter having this effect on me?!
"Sorry, world of my own" I said quickly, and he chuckled lightly as we followed the sound of our friend's footsteps as we made our way up to Gryffindor.
"I just wanted to say that I hope you're not worried about the rumours going round or anything" he told me as we went and I shook my head, although secretly I was worried; they didn't paint me in a very good light. "You sure? I told Priya that there was nothing going on between us, but you know how people talk" he carried on.
"It's fine, honestly" I said, seeing him watching me closely.
"Okay you just…seemed to sit really far away at lunch" he told me, taking me by surprise that he had noticed this. I hesitated and he raised his eyebrows as if motioning me to go on.
"I just didn't want to encourage anything. Not when you've just broken up with her" I admitted, hearing him sigh as we made our way up the last flight of stairs.
"I appreciate it, but you really shouldn't worry about it" he persisted, the portrait now in sight. "We're friends, right?" he asked gently as we paused outside of it and I felt like I'd been winded. Friends. That's what we were. Nothing more. But I nodded nonetheless, plastering a smile on my face.
"Sure. Friends" I replied. It didn't help that he gave me that heart-warming smile, giving the password before motioning for me to go first. Eurgh, I really needed to talk to Poppy.
The common room was noisy, but I figured James had wanted a more…public space for us to work together which I couldn't fault him for. Poppy and Sirius had reappeared after about an hour, both of them seeming quiet and thoughtful. Although Sirius was always touchy with Poppy, he seemed more so right now, sitting as close to her as possible whilst she read, one arm around her and his head resting gently on hers as he stared into the fire. Poppy for her part also seemed a little touchier: she propped her book on her legs, one hand turning pages and the other on Sirius's leg, looking as though she were absent-mindedly tracing shapes on it. I felt like something had happened on their walk but didn't know what, Sirius looking more sullen than usual.
"Is Sirius okay?" I asked James quietly after watching them for a moment, turning to see he had obviously also been watching them, a frown on his face.
"Something's obviously up. But it must have happened after lunch" he said quietly, and I turned my gaze back to the pair of them. At this, Poppy looked up as though she had heard our conversation. Her eyes darted between us before they rested on James and I saw Poppy give a very slight shake of her head, not enough to make Sirius notice it would seem. She then mouthed something at him, I think it was 'Regulus' and I put the pieces together quickly. Evidently, they'd had a run-in with Sirius's brother. I didn't know much about Sirius's family, only that they were pure blood fanatics and that Sirius had moved out in our fifth year, now living with James.
"Do you mind if I go see him?" James asked me now and I shook my head quickly. He put his quill down and I watched as he sat next to Sirius who seemed surprised to see him, sitting up but not letting go of Poppy who had shut her book, turning so that she could be a part of their conversation which was being held in very quiet voices.
"What's going on there?" Fiona asked me, sitting in James's seat. I turned to see her nod towards the three of them and I shrugged.
"Think Sirius had a run in with his brother" I told her, and she frowned at this, much as James had. She seemed to contemplate it for a moment before she shrugged and turned back to me.
"Anyway, how are you pal? I feel like we haven't talked properly in aaaaages" she said dramatically, making me laugh. I put my quill down and stretched, thinking she actually had a point.
"I know I'm sorry. Everything feels so hectic all the time" I told her, and she nodded understandingly with a smile. "What have you been doing with yourself anyway? You seem to spend a lot of time with Remus now" I asked, thinking it was nice they had been hanging out. For some strange reason though, Fi blushed at this, eyes averted as she played with her hair.
"Yeah, just hanging out. I think because Sirius has Poppy, Pete hangs out with Suze and James has head duties to do he gets a bit lonely sometimes" she told me, face a normal colour again as I felt a surge of guilt flood through me, glancing towards Remus who looked deep in concentration as he considered his next chess move against Peter.
"I'm sorry Fi. I feel like I've done the same with you" I told her guiltily, but she laughed, shaking her head.
"Oh don't be daft. I know you're busy and to be honest with being quidditch captain I've been working hard on our training schedules and tactics, so it's kept me busy" she said, making me smile at how seriously she was taking it. "Remus helps me out with it every now and again as well which helps the both of us" she continued, eyes darting to him now.
"Maybe we should have a girl's night on Friday" I suggested, considering it now. "At mine? We can chuck James out and hang out just us girls. What do you think?" I asked, her eyes had already lit up though and she was nodding excitedly.
"Oh my gosh yes that would be so good! We can have a sleepover!" she replied, making me laugh. "We can get food, hang out in our PJ's, gossip. Oh my gosh it's going to be great!" she babbled on now and I smiled, glad that this could make her so happy.