Poppy's POV
The number of storms we were having lately was far too many for my liking. As such, I had finally relented and allowed Sirius to drag me to sleep in his bed, thankfully nobody commenting on anything and as a result we had both managed to get some sleep. It was weird how being with Sirius calmed me enough to be able to sleep but I figured it was probably something to do with our bond.
The week following our run in with Regulus I had spoken to Professor Dumbledore during one of our evening lessons, airing Sirius's concerns. He had genuinely thought about it before saying he thought it would be okay if it was something we wanted to do. When I had relayed the news to Sirius, he seemed disappointed but nodded, still having not decided on whether he/we would be going for dinner with his parents or not. The thought made my stomach twist nervously and so I did my best to not think about it.
Thursday night, there was a storm raging and so I had snuck into Sirius's bed. By now, he was so used to it I wasn't convinced he fully woke up, just put an arm around me, pulling me to him and I heard his breathing deepen almost instantly indicating he was back asleep. Feeling safe, I drifted off to sleep but woke abruptly a few hours later, feeling startled. It was still pitch black out, but the storm had abated, and I frowned, feeling sleepy and confused as to why I was awake. I felt a surge of magic go through me and knew, without knowing how I knew, that it was my egg. I sat up carefully, trying to slowly pry myself from Sirius's grip but he stirred.
"Pop what's up?" he asked groggily.
"I think my egg's hatching" I whispered to him. "I'm just guna check on it. Go back to sleep" I told him. I felt him move behind me, feeling him press a kiss to the side of my neck which made me smile.
"Come back here when you're done" he said before flopping back down, letting me get out. I moved quietly, the rest of the boys still asleep as I used my speed to head back to my dormitory. The girls were all fast asleep as I crept to my cupboard, dimming the light around the egg first before quickly grabbing it and gingerly putting it up my top, not wanting the light to wake the girls before dashing out of the dormitory to the empty common room. When I got the egg out, I could feel it moving and felt excited as it rocked in my hands. Without knowing why, I headed to the window seat and saw that the sky was now cloudless, and I scanned it, quickly finding mum and dad. I opened the window and despite the cold air flooding through me I smiled.
"It's hatching!" I told them excitedly, feeling that familiar tingle through me which told me they were listening. The egg gave a sudden lurch, and I upped the light around it, seeing it crack. I could barely contain my excitement, eyes wide as I watched a few flakes fall away but still unable to see anything. "Come on, you can do it" I encouraged it with a smile, having waited so long for this moment. After a little while in which I could hear some chirruping sounds which made me smile, I could see a small, golden beak as more of the shell fell away. Soon enough, a small bird appeared, and I looked at it in surprise; seeing as it was Fakes who gave me the egg, I was expecting a phoenix, but this bird did not look like a phoenix. It had a golden beak, but it was silver in colour, distinctly different to Fawkes. It peered up at me with tiny eyes, making a chirruping sound which made me smile.
"Hey" I greeted it as it stepped cautiously over my hands, its feathers flinging the shell away from my hands, making me laugh. It experimentally stretched its feathers and I saw they were different shades of silver with golden tips. "What are we going to call you then?" I asked it, not even knowing if it was male or female. It made a little chirruping sound, nudging my thumb as I felt a magical energy surge. "Helios?" I questioned and it made another chirruping sound. "Well, I think you're going to be quite something little guy" I told him, bringing him up to eye level with a smile. I looked out of the window, up to the sky and held my hands up. "What do you think?" I asked mum and dad, smiling. "I'm no expert but I don't think he's a phoenix" I continued. I didn't hear anything but Evelyn told me I wouldn't always get a reply and I'd been chatting to them a bit so I shouldn't be surprised. Instead, I shut the window, shunting Helios onto one hand where he just about fit before gathering up the broken shell and putting it in the bin. I then made my way up to the boys' dormitory, telling Helios to be quiet as I slipped into Sirius's bed.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.
"Look" I told him, seeing that Helios was shining slightly which made me smile. He blinked his eyes open before sitting up, pulling me with him as he stared down at him. "He's called Helios" I said as he put an arm around me, and I held my hands up to him. "This is Sirius" I told my new bird and he chirruped which I knew meant he was saying hello.
"Hi pal" Sirius said quietly, stretching a cautious hand out and gently stroking his head. I saw Sirius smile before he withdrew his hand, turning to me. "No offence Pop but what is he?" he asked quietly, and Helios made an indignant sound, making me laugh.
"Sorry buddy but not even I know" I told the pair of them, yawning as I felt the tiredness wash through me. Helios too made a sleepy sound, hopping off my hand and curling up by my neck, a warm glow about him. Sirius slid us both down so we were lying again, and I moved carefully, shifting Helios so I could lie on my side and saw Sirius smiling at me.
"So, just another totally normal night" he whispered, making me laugh quietly. "How you going to explain this one?" he asked me as I yawned again.
"Not a clue. I'll think about it in the morning" I told him, feeling my eyes shut as he put his arms around me, drawing me close and I felt myself drift off into a very contented sleep.
Next morning, I woke up, hearing a movement and jumped, realising I was in the boy's dormitory. Oh shit, I think I'd overslept.
"What's up?" Sirius asked me groggily, having evidently felt me jump. Helios too was awake, nudging me but I wasn't sure why.
"Morning" I heard Remus greet us and sat up slowly, seeing him grinning. Oh, bloody great. However, his grin slipped when he saw Helios who was stood happily on my shoulder, eyes wide. "Err, what's that?" he asked, voice still quiet given the others were still asleep.
"Pop's new pet" Sirius told him, sitting up and stretching as though everything was normal.
"He was a birthday present" I told Remus slowly who was still staring at Helios. To be fair, it wasn't often you came across a silver bird. "I'd better get ready for school. I'll see you both in a bit" I said quietly, slipping out of Sirius's bed and heading back to my own dorm, now beginning to wonder what Helios would eat and drink. I didn't have the first clue about this bird, and I was meant to be looking after it! Helios chirruped and I turned to frown at him. "What do you mean you've got it?" I asked and he chirruped again. "You don't need me to do anything for you?" I asked conversationally, realising I probably seemed crazy. "If you're sure" I told him, thinking it was weird that he was apparently totally fine to fend for himself, a mere few hours old. When I got to my dormitory, it was still quiet; Lily was in the head's dorm and Fi and Alice obviously were still asleep. Helios chirruped and I lowered him onto my pillow where he puffed himself up, looking content. I smiled at him before I grabbed a quick shower, getting my uniform on as quickly as possible before coming back out, finding Helios exploring the bed as I packed my bag. I was about to close it when he hopped in and I frowned at him. "I can't take you to class" I said but he chirruped, looking as though he was settling in. I shook my head but left him; he was only a baby after all. He probably needed me today. I made my way down to the common room where I could hear Remus and Sirius talking, smiling at them both as they stopped and looked up at me.
"Shall we?" Sirius suggested and I nodded, seeing Remus still looking at me curiously as Sirius took my hand and we made our way down to breakfast.
"So, your new bird" Remus commented as we went, and I felt Sirius squeeze my hand. I looked over at him to see him considering his next thought. "Who gave it to you?" he asked. What a question. I thought about it, not sure how to answer that.
"Technically I got him from a phoenix" I said slowly, seeing Remus's eyes widen at this. I heard Sirius laugh and also faintly heard Helios chirrup as though in amusement, seeing Sirius gaze curiously down at my bag.
"Dumbledore has a phoenix" Remus murmured quietly and I turned to see him still watching me.
"Yes, he does" I confirmed. He continued to look at me curiously but said nothing more, looking still deep in thought as we continued down to breakfast.
"Pop did you bring him with you?" Sirius asked as we made our way down the marble staircase and I nodded, seeing both the guys stare at me.
"He hopped in when I was packing my bag. And he's just a baby; I couldn't just chuck him out" I told him, making Sirius laugh as we entered the Great Hall all three of us stopping in surprise upon seeing James sat with Lily.
"Am I hallucinating? Or is that Prongs?" Sirius asked.
"If you're hallucinating, we're seeing the same vision" Remus chipped in.
"We're all on the same high then" I added, seeing them chatting away happily. Helios chirruping in my bag pulled me from my thoughts, as I realised we were literally stood staring at them. "Come on, I'm hungry" I told the two of them and they jumped slightly before we made our way in, heading towards James and Lily.
"Morning" I greeted them, seeing them both look up at us as I slid into the seat next to Lily.
"Morning all" James greeted us jovially, seemingly in a very good mood. I gave him a cautious smile, seeing him grin before turning to Lily who was blushing. "How are we all?" he asked as I very carefully set my bag on the floor, hearing Helios's chirrup and searching for some oranges. Peculiarly, there were some to my right and I tried to casually grab a couple, seeing Sirius watching me curiously. I noticed it was quiet, realising that James was looking at me.
"Huh?" I guessed I'd missed something.
"Remus said you've got a new pet" he said, and I glanced at Remus who just shrugged.
"I didn't know you had a pet Poppy" Lily chipped in and I sighed, reaching down into my bag and feeling Helios hop onto my hand, slowly drawing him out. Lily gasped and I saw James's eyes widen.
"What is it?" Lily asked me, Helios hopping off my hand and diving for the oranges, pecking at them contentedly.
"I actually don't know" I admitted, wondering if this was just what young phoenixes looked like.
"Hey, don't you think it looks kind of like a Thunderbird?" James asked, studying Helios carefully.
"It can't be. They're massive" Remus told him. "Although if you got it from a phoenix the two are related" he added, sounding thoughtful. Helios chirruped, looking up at me and making me laugh.
"He's called Helios" I told them all as he resumed his eating of the orange, seeming happier now that people knew. James, Lily and Remus stared at me as Sirius nudged my tea towards me, still acting as though this were all normal.
"So, what are our plans for the weekend?" Sirius asked as he started piling food onto his plate. There was a moment stunned silence and I saw everyone stare at him. "What?" he asked with a frown.
"You're not baffled by this?" James asked him, gesturing to Helios who had gotten through to the actual orange itself and was making happy noises as he ate.
"Its Poppy isn't it?" he replied with a shrug, winking at me as he started eating. For some reason this reply seemed to work on everybody as they cast Helios one last glance before talking, Lily telling them about our planned sleepover as I carefully scooped up Helios and popped him back in my bag, not wanting everybody staring at him. I mouthed a quick thank you to Sirius who smiled widely at me as the others chatted, the subject of my new bird put to the side…well for the time being at least.
To his credit, Helios was very well behaved whilst I was in class. He stayed quiet and when I peeked in at him, he was often asleep, curled up tightly and I sent him a little of my light which he seemed to like. I had showed him to the others, thinking it only fair and Fi, Alice and Suze had thought he was really cute, giving him lots of attention which he loved. Honestly, he was going to be spoilt. The subject of what he was, was still up for debate and I figured I would just take him along to my next lesson with Dumbledore next week, the final week of school, and see whether he or Fawkes knew.
Anyway, at the end of the day the girls and I went back to our dormitory to get our stuff ready for the sleepover before heading to Lily's. She had already kicked James out who had been amused by the whole thing but had nevertheless happily vacated for the night and I think the guys were going to do something as well. When we got to Lily's she happily let us in and we saw Suze already there as we got ourselves ready, making it comfy as Fi and Alice did a food run. We changed into our pyjamas as we waited for them, the fire roaring and quilts and blankets everywhere so that it looked and felt very cosy.
When Fi and Alice got back we saw a veritable feast and we excitedly tucked in, chatting about our week and Christmas, what we were all doing over the holidays and such. It was nice to hang out with just the girls and there was a nice, relaxed atmosphere. I had brought Helios with me who was sat happily in my lap, emitting a faint shine but nothing too obvious and I couldn't help but wonder what Fawkes had given me. I think he was loving the attention the girls game him, chirruping happily on a regular basis.
After we had eaten proper food we lounged about, grazing on chocolate and other sweet treats as we chatted.
"So, Alice. Has Frank asked you out properly yet?" Lily asked her, and I assumed this meant we were moving onto the gossip section of the night. I looked over at Alice who was curled in an armchair, seeing a light hint of colour on her face.
"Actually yes, he has. He asked me at lunch time" she told us all with a broad smile and it was clear to see how happy she was. I smiled widely at her, feeling happy for her.
"Alice that's great!"
"Oh my gosh as if you have a boyfriend now!"
"You two are so cute together"
We all spoke at the same time, making us all laugh. Alice really did look happy and I couldn't help but think how cute her and Frank were together; he'd taken his sweet time about it!
"Come on, we went to know all about it!" Lily told her and Alice smiled, blushing slightly but I could tell she wanted to tell us.
"Well obviously we were late down to lunch because he wanted us to go for a short walk outside and I feel really bad because at first I was refusing to go out into the snow" she started, making us laugh. "So, it took him ages to convince me, but he managed to and yeah we just strolled around, and he asked me whether I'd be his girlfriend and when I said yes, he was really happy and then admitted he thought asking me in the snow would be romantic" she blushed at the last part as we all made 'awww' sounds. Honestly, Frank was super cute, who'd have thought?!
"Alice that's so cute!" Suze told her with a big smile, Alice's blush deepening.
"It is and the two of you are really cute together" Lily added as Fi and I nodded in agreement.
"Ooo are you going to introduce him to your parents?" Fi asked and Alice quickly shook her head, making us laugh.
"No, no. We've already talked about it and said we'll wait a bit for that" she told us.
"Fair enough. I guess it is pretty early still" Fi replied with a smile and Alice nodded.
"Anyway Suze. What about you and Peter?! What's going on there?" Alice asked and I could tell she wanted to move the attention off of her. Suze now blushed, shrugging.
"I mean, we make out every now and again, but I don't know" she told us with a shrug.
"Do you want it to be more?" Lily asked her softly and Suze shrugged again.
"I don't know" she said simply, evidently not willing to say any more on the matter. "Anyway, what about you and Fi?" Suze asked her with a grin. I could see Lily was doing her best not to blush and Fi just shrugged.
"Nothing to report back on" Fi told us. "Although I could really do with a snog" she said with a grin, making us laugh.
"Well do something about it then" Alice told her.
"Maybe I will. Like, girls, seriously. I'm considering flirting back with Tyler. That's where I'm at" she told us, making us all laugh. Tyler had been incessantly flirting with Fi and I knew the Marauders had been impressed with his persistence.
"I mean, there's plenty of choice in our year" Suze said. "I mean come on, Will Masters is still single somehow" she continued and I saw Fi look interested.
"She's right. Why don't you try flirting with him?" I put in, thinking he could do with a girlfriend. And I really wasn't sure how he didn't have one.
"Hmmm interesting. Maybe I will" she said thoughtfully. "Hey and Aidan's flirting with Lily. We could be best friends going out with best friends" she put in, turning to Lily with a grin who blushed.
"Yeah, what's going on there?" Alice asked her curiously. Lily's eyes flashed to mine briefly before looking to Alice.
"We're just talking is all" she said simply, totally playing it down. Alice watched her carefully before turning to me.
"He's flirting with her though, right?" she asked as though I knew everything.
"I mean, when I've seen them yes, he has. And he hasn't been quiet about telling people he thinks you're hot" I said slowly. Alice, Fi and Suze all grinned at this whereas Lily just looked at me confused as though wondering what I was doing. Well, if she didn't want to tell everyone she liked James I had to provide her with some sort of cover.
"What do you think about him Lily?" Fi asked her very directly now. Lily took a moment, clearly considering it.
"I mean, he's nice and he makes me laugh but I don't know if I fancy him" she said slowly.
"Come on Lil. Someone who can make you laugh is important! And he's not exactly bad looking, is he?" Suze egged her on a bit.
"I don't know" Lily said with a shrug. I saw Fiona looking at her closely before a grin appeared which was dangerous.
"Well tell us what you want from a guy then" she said, her voice sounding curious.
"Ooo that's a great idea!" Alice chipped in, looking intrigued. I had to admit, I was kind of curious to see what she would say, wondering if anybody would put her with James after whatever it was, she was going to say.
"Well Suze is right; I do want somebody who can make me laugh. But, well I want someone who I can talk to about serious stuff as well. And obviously they can't be dense, I need somebody who can talk to me about other stuff at the same level as me" she sounded like she was getting into a flow now and I chanced a quick glance at the others, seeing them all focused on Lily, smiling. "I want somebody who's not just somebody to make out with, I want somebody to be like my best friend" her tone dreamy before glancing at Alice and me. "You know, like Alice and Frank and Poppy and Sirius" she said, making me smile. "And it wouldn't hurt if they were hot" she added, making us all laugh.
"Hmmm intriguing" Fiona said after a moment, head tilted slightly to the side as she considered it. "And you don't think you've found that here yet?" she asked. A faint hint of colour appeared on Lily's face as she just shrugged, not committing herself to an answer.
"Maybe you should spend some time getting to know Aidan a bit better then" Suze told her and once again Lily shrugged.
"Maybe" was all she said. Fi and Suze then started going through the other guys in our year as I looked at Lily, seeing her give me a small smile. We really needed a proper catch up.
As Fiona had quidditch in the morning she passed out relatively early and, despite my broken sleep last night I did my best to stay awake so I could chat to Lily. I think she knew what I was doing as she too stayed awake and finally, when Alice had passed out and everything was silent, she motioned me over to her bedroom. I followed her quietly, seeing her jump when she saw me right behind her when we got in and I shut the door quietly behind me.
"I'm impressed you didn't give anything away" I whispered to her as she flung herself onto her bed, making me laugh at her dramatics as I got into her bed, seeing her grin at me before she moved and got in as well.
"Reckon I did okay?" she asked, and I nodded, Helios moving to nestle into my neck as we talked; I was starting to think he was more cat than bird.
"Definitely. Anyway, tell me, how are you and James getting on now that he's single?" I questioned and she blushed.
"I don't know. The same as it was before I think" she told me, and I looked at her sceptically. "What?" she asked.
"Oh, come on. He was at breakfast with you this morning! I mean, that's practically unheard of!" I exclaimed and she blushed at this, avoiding my eye. "And you were happily chatting away together. I mean you obviously looked happy with it, but James was in a great mood as well" I continued, her blush deepening.
"I mean, I don't know why he was up. I just came out this morning and he was waiting for me" she told me simply.
"You really like him, don't you?" I asked her. She avoided looking at me which told me everything I needed to know. However, I waited for her to reply, wanting to hear what she would say.
"I…I think I like him more than I did say, a month ago" she admitted quietly. "But I don't know why I'm doing this as he's obviously not into me. And he's just broken up with Priya so it's not like he's going to want another relationship soon" she said, although I felt like she was trying to convince herself more than me.
"Why would he not be into you?" I challenged. Her gaze was firmly on her duvet which she was fidgeting with, apparently refusing to look me in the eye.
"Because he…he got over liking me, didn't he? He spent too long liking me and now he doesn't, and I don't really blame him. It's not like I was very nice to him when he was asking me out" her voice was still quiet. I considered all this for a moment, not knowing if James liked Lily or not. I really wanted to just outrightly ask him, but I hadn't had a chance to speak to him on his own. I mean, he hadn't had any long-term relationship, all of them being about 3 or 4 months long. Which made me think whether he knew it or not he still maybe liked her. Then there was the amortentia last year when he had overwhelmingly smelt her. Oh, it was all very confusing. Hence why I just wanted to outrightly ask him.
"I don't know Lily. Maybe you just need to try and be more openly flirty with him? See how he responds?" I suggested and she looked horrified, shaking her head quickly. "What?! Why not?!" I asked her astounded.
"That would be too embarrassing!" she countered. I rolled my eyes,
"Please. You can make out with Remus, but you can't flirt with James?" I asked her and she blushed at the reminder.
"I was drunk then!" she exclaimed, making me laugh.
"Okay so we just have to get you drunk and then you'll flirt with him?" I questioned and she shrugged. "Hmm, food for thought" I said, my mind drifting. Interesting idea.