She awoke with nerves knotting her stomach and Sirius Black's hair tickling her face.

"Ugh," she groaned sleepily as she shoved his back "How am I in your bed again?"

He was scowling as he rolled over, his eyes heavy and a yawn threatening to break across his face at any moment "You were in here talking strategy with Captain Shit-Head over there," he grumbled, a tired Sirius was never a pleasant Sirius "Before I could stop you you'd commandeered my bed."

"So why are you here?"

He looked exasperated as she glared at him folding her arms over her chest "Because it's my bed!"

"Will you two shut up?!"

Daxia jumped, noticing the curtains had been pulled around the four poster bed for the first time since she had woken. Deciding not to question the motives behind it she poked her head out to see James Potter waiting with a stern look on the other side "Hey skip!" she exclaimed her greeting as she attempted to ignore the fact that behind her a – shirtless – Sirius was shuffling around in an attempt to get comfortable "Heading down to breakfast?"

"Yes," James replied plainly, clearly in full Quidditch captain mode "Joining me?"

She knew the right answer was yes. James liked his players to eat before the match, to meet at the Gryffindor table to go over what they had discussed in their training. He liked to see with his own eyes that they were all prepared, that they weren't nervy or over thinking and that they were topping up their strength with a good breakfast.

She knew the right answer was yes but all she wanted to do was say no.

"Fine," she huffed practically falling from Sirius's bed with a loud thump "Just let me shower."

"No time!" James practically shouted, groans from the three other beds complaining at his loudness following shortly after "I left you sleeping long enough! Go and change and meet me in the common room in ten minutes!"

Ignoring Sirius laughing at her misfortune she stomped from the room, cursing James Potter and his captaincy with every swear word she could think of as she slammed into the girls' dorm.

"And where were youuu last night?" Adiya, fully dressed in her Quidditch top and black trousers and looking perfect, grinned as soon as the dishevelled looking Daxia came into her line of vision.

"No time," Daxia grumbled, imitating James's tone and amusing Adiya no end. She dressed as quickly as she could, knowing her padding and robes were in the changing room along with Adiya and the rest of the team's she dug out her crumpled looking Gryffindor shirt. Also knowing James would be unimpressed with her untidy look as she pulled her hair into a high ponytail she threw on the Quidditch jumper she had stolen from Sirius.

The two girls left the dorm – and their sleeping dorm-mates – together. Both nervous as they walked, the first Quidditch game of the season was always the tensest, especially with a brand new team around them.

A brand new team who were being herded into a group by James when they reached the common room.

They travelled down to The Great Hall together. The silence following them was heavy and nervy as they sat at the Gryffindor table; James ordering the newbies to eat while Daxia and Adiya went with it immediately. Piling their plates no matter how much they just wanted to ignore the food set out before them.

"That's my jumper!"

James had glared up to the approaching Sirius leading Peter, Remus and Benji (Lily and Mary clearly still either sleeping or getting ready) over to where the team was seated almost in a huddle.

"My lucky jumper!"

James turned the glare to Daxia "Give him the jumper back."

She tensed her jaw at the ridiculous display going on around them "You take Quidditch far too seriously," she moaned as she pulled the jumper up over her head and James scowled toward her unkempt team shirt "You won't be able to see it under my robes and padding!"

They were moved down to the changing room barely a few moments later, bidding goodbye to their friends as the seventh years called their good luck messages (Sirius reminding them just how much money he had on the game for the millionth time). Needing to keep them all focussed James had steered Daxia away from a forthcoming Ludo Bagman without even offering up a fight. They'd do their talking on the Quidditch pitch he said. Daxia wanted to punch him.

It all seemed a blur to her from there, even changing into her normal Quidditch attire while James filled their heads with tactics. Up in the stands commentator Jack Wood introduced them one by one; the Hufflepuffs zooming off first while the Gryffindors were announced second.

She had gripped onto her broom handle with shaking hands, ignoring the supportive looks being thrown her way by Adiya as she waited until her name was called last ("Aaaaaand Daxia Lestrange!") and was accompanied by the crowd roaring a welcome. Gryffindors cheered while Hufflepuffs booed and Slytherins mocked (Ravenclaws remaining split down the middle) and she settled in a high position over the pitch, eyes scanning nervously over the opposition as Madam Hooch released the balls.

Red and yellow Quidditch robes blurred together as she searched for that elusive gold. Jack's commentary felt like a distant echo as she sat above the game, one eye on the Hufflepuff seeker as she chewed on her bottom lip and tapped her fingers nervously on her Cleansweep's handle.

She knew there were goals going in as cheers joined the echo but was unsure which way, who was winning. Ludo circled her a few times with mocking words and 'accidental' jabs with his beaters bat but she couldn't bring herself to retaliate.

"LESTRANGE!"

Her eyebrows arched as James Potter's face appeared before her own, his hand gripping onto her own as he searched for her attention "I called a timeout," he explained loudly over the wind whistling around her, gesturing to where the rest of the team were awaiting her arrival down on the ground.

They were all sweating while she shivered. They'd all been zooming around and remaining busy while she had simply watched from above. They all looked irritated while she stared at them blankly.

"We're losing."

Daxia gaped wide eyes toward James "Losing?" she asked quietly, glancing around to her soaked and mud splattered team mates. It had always been safe to assume the goals flying in were due to the Gryffindor chasers; she always had so much confidence in the team around her.

"By forty so we need you to wake up," Geller, one of the beaters she had trialled and chosen, spoke up with a frown on his face "I've seen you fly Lestrange; in practise and in matches and this isn't you."

James appeared from behind the taller, broader fifth year; shoving him away with a hand on his massive shoulder "What's up Vix?" he asked, ignoring Geller and Green exchanging eye rolls and mumbled complaints of them not having time for this. Stepping forward he placed his hands on her shoulders, hazel eyes searching her equally coloured ones "I know you're scared," he whispered as the rest of the team, led by Adiya, entered their own tactical conversation "But we need you Dax. We may not know what's going on out there, you may think your family are gone forever but they aren't. We're your family Daxia, the main constant in your life; Gryffindor and right now we need you okay? There's a reason you're a Gryffindor Daxia and I know you're scared right now, with everything that's happened recently and I totally understand, but you're also one of the bravest people I know. You can do this, you can get through this."

She took a breath before she nodded, trying to snap herself out of this ridiculous state. She knew James was talking about more than Quidditch; he knew she was keeping her fears from the rest of them, hiding out in Sirius's bed instead of sleeping alone. Pushing her stray strands of hair from her face she squared her shoulders and mounted her broom "I'm ready."

James grinned as he patted her on the shoulder and grabbed back onto his own broom "Guys! She's ready!"

Roars of celebration echoed throughout the common room when the team piled in through the portrait hole. They were patted on the back, hugged and congratulated on a brilliant performance as they wandered through the crowds of Gryffindors eagerly awaiting their return.

Amidst it all were Lily, Mary and Benji presenting a fine banquet of all their favourite foods from down in the kitchens beside Sirius, Remus and Peter proudly showing off the bottles of Butterbeer and Firewhiskey they'd stowed away from Hogsmeade for the celebrations.

"What a catch Dax! What a catch!" Sirius was practically bouncing as he threw an arm over her shoulder "Right from under Ludo's nose! Wink and everything! I'm so proud!"

She rolled her eyes as a laugh burst across her face and she pushed him away. Grasping onto the golden snitch right beneath a helpless Ludo Bagman's nose while the Hufflepuff seeker lagged behind was definitely something she wouldn't forget in a hurry.

Drinks were pushed into her hands while she was passed around the room. People re-enacted her catch while others did impressions of the Hufflepuff star's following tantrum. Geller and Green introduced her to their fifth year mates as they attempted to take the credit for pulling her out of her funk ("Best flyer we've ever seen!" "Knew she could do better!"). She laughed, discussed and (mostly) drank.

There was a slur to her tone by the time the group was back together, her already wrinkled Quidditch shirt in a worse state as she threw an arm around a welcoming Lily "I love Quidditch!" she announced as a sixth year placed yet another Firewhiskey in her free hand.

"I'm pretty sure Quidditch is a fan of you too," Lily chuckled as Daxia's stolen snitch fluttered around the drunken girl's head.

Gasping loudly Daxia grabbed the ball (the few Gryffindors who noticed cheering loudly for her second catch of the day) "Don't know where that came from!" she exclaimed innocently.

Lily's eyebrow rose as a laugh threatened to emerge from her chest "Oh really?" she questioned as her friend attempted to shove the still flying snitch into her pocket "So I played look out for an entire two hour stint outside the Quidditch supplies so you could steal the first snitch you ever caught for nothing then did I?"

"It was you?" James was grinning as he approached the two girls. He and the rest of the Marauders had always wondered who had helped Daxia in the great snitch kidnapping of their fourth year, the small girl keeping her cards to her chest and never being willing to out her sources.

Lily shrugged "You boys think you're the only criminal masterminds in this school," she tutted crossing her arms over her chest as James looked on with an expectant smile "Rookie error I'd expect from amateurs."

Daxia rolled her eyes as James's eyebrows arched and he mumbled "Amateurs eh?" and moved toward Lily. The next day she would blame the drink but at that moment Daxia just couldn't be bothered with any James and Lily drama and moved on to annoy Sirius.

Not like she had been trying to get her two friends to give one another a chance for the past few years or anything.

"Ah it's the Quidditch staaar!" Sirius had exclaimed in greeting as she stumbled over to where he was sat, drinking, with Peter and Remus. His arm rested over her shoulders as she collapsed onto the sofa beside him, her balance off leading her to almost land in his lap "Top up on your drink?" he asked holding a bottle of Firewhiskey up in his free hand.

"Of course my darling Snuffles," she replied with a snort of laughter, looking up to him with hooded eyes "Never turn down a drink me!" she continued with an exclaim, her hand unsteady as she held her glass out for him to fill "Don't you spill it on me!"

He rolled his eyes as he filled her glass half full, chuckling when she gave him an over exaggerated wink as thanks "Maybe you should slow down."

"Maybe youuu should shut up!"

"That's it," he sighed as he got to his feet, hand grasping onto hers he pulled her up to join him "Bed."

No one bothered them as he picked her up, no one dared say a word as he threw her over his shoulder and headed for his dormitory. Across the room the only two who would have gotten away with teasing, who would have exchanged knowing glances, were far too wrapped up in one another to notice.

"No puking in my bed," he warned her as he gently placed her on his mattress, tugging her shoes off and dumping them at the end of the bed.

"Vomit free since seventy three!" she exclaimed with a giggle as he perched on the edge of the bed beside her, both fondly remembering the pureblood party they had been dragged along to when they were twelve. Relieved to know someone else there they'd caused all kinds of mischief; including sneaking some of the rum left out for the adults. Rum which hadn't exactly settled well in their young stomachs.

"I'll believe that in the morning."

She looked up to him with the appropriate amount of thought a person as drunk as she was could attempt. He jumped in concern and fear as she shuffled into a more upright position (as if she was going to throw up on him. Seriously. Boys.) "You know what I've always wondered," she began slowly, thinking of all the times she had glanced over to him to see him grinning down to some girl. All the times he had flirted around the castle and Hogsmeade (even trying it on with Lily once or twice to annoy James). Without waiting for him to reply she continued, one eye shut and a finger digging into his shoulder "You've never tried it on with me, never looked at me like you would Marlene or that seventh year from last year."

Obviously not as drunk, or as ready for some truths, as she was, Sirius frowned "Never bothered you before," he mumbled becoming increasingly aware of just how close she was to him. Her fingers lay almost touching his while her feet tucked beneath his knee, her eyes locked with his as she raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Could give a girl a complex," she huffed, crossing her arms loosely over her stomach, flicking her hair back off her face with a puff of a breath.

He rolled his eyes, officially irritated by her ramblings as he attempted to get to his feet.

Reaching forward her fingers curled around his wrist, pulling him off balance and back down beside her "Please don't go," she whispered, eyes pleading and lips parting "I didn't mean it."

He sighed, seeing her looking so innocent rendering him useless as he shuffled the quilt from beneath her and joined her underneath it "Such a spoilt brat," he grumbled as she grinned, both of them sliding down into more comfortable positions.

The silence lay between them comfortably; her eyes flickered around the room while his studied her face "Because you're too important."

She froze her fidgeting, her eyelashes brushing her cheek for a second before she glanced up to him "I…what?" she breathed, his gaze burning into hers. This time it was her becoming hyperaware of his close proximity; the feel of his breath on her skin, the heat from his arm, bent at the elbow, lying next to her own and his twitching fingers edging closer and closer to hers.

"I've never looked at you like that because I can't bear to lose you," he said quietly as his eyes flickered down to her little finger hooking over his own. Half hoping to god she would forget everything when she awoke the next morning he continued "You and your friendship are too important for me to ruin."

She didn't know where the bravery had come from as she stared back at him. Sure she was a Gryffindor and bravery lay deep in her nature but this? This was completely different to anything she had prepared herself for; give her giant squids, death eaters or the dark lord himself and she would rise to the challenge.

Leaning across and pressing her lips to Sirius Black's as he spoke the nicest words she had ever heard leave his throat was something that had never been on her agenda. It was something she had never given herself the time to prepare for.

He was surprised at first, his eyes tightly shut as his body remained frozen; the two of them only touching at their mouths and by their little fingers.

She was about ready to give up (she could pass seventh year without leaving her dorm right?) when he finally moved. Slipping his hand from beneath hers he reached across to curl his fingers around her slim waist as his lips began to move against hers.

She found herself practically crying with relief as they melted together fiercely, her hand reaching up to bury into the long hair which she had woken up that morning hating. Their lips felt as though they were made to kiss one another, their bodies fitting together perfectly. He seemed to know exactly how to please her, his lips reluctantly moving from her own to trail down toward her neck while his right hand slid from her waist to cupping her backside and his left pushed out from beneath him to entangle in her curls.

A gasp left her throat as he smothered it with kisses. She felt him smile against her skin for a few seconds before he looked up "Are we seriously doing this?"

She nodded silently as her bravery took over once again; her hands creeping beneath his shirt as his lips nibbled on her earlobe. He groaned as her fingers danced delicately across the skin stretched over his abdominal muscles, his nose pressing into her cheek as his trail of kisses lead back across her jawline.

"Padfoot where did you put the Firewhiskey?!"

He sighed as they paused, Peter's tone carrying up the staircase as he slowly began climbing the staircase "One minute," Sirius breathed as Daxia retracted her hands and he rolled away from her, landing gently into a standing position beside the bed.

He jogged over to the door, poking his head out to see Peter approaching with a ruddy complexion and a sway to his step "It's all gone," he replied, the shorter, rounder boy looking back in disappointment "Prongs might have some left?"

"Right you are Sir," Peter slurred (salute and everything) as he turned on his heel and, leaning against the wall, staggered back down toward the common room.

Sirius chewed on his bottom lip as he turned back to his room, with short steps he crossed over to his bed as his heart hammered in his chest. He had just been kissing Daxia…Daxia. The girl he was protective of like no other, who had protected him against his own mind and family, who kept him smiling when all he wanted to do was break, who he l-

He paused when he reached the edge of his bed, a smile on his lips as a cloud of slight disappointment flooded his mind. She had rolled over onto her back, her dark curls fanned out across his pillow as her eyelids had closed tightly. Her mouth was parted slightly as a soft snore vibrated through her nose.

In the small time since he had left her side she had fallen asleep.

She was hot. Her head pounded as her throat burned with the dryness only a hangover could cause. She had to practically peel her eyes open as her stomach churned uncomfortably.

The scene she found herself in the middle of caused her eyebrows to dip into a frown and her heart to race heavily against her ribcage. She was curled around Sirius, their legs entangled while the fingers of their hands were laced together. His left arm curled beneath her as their chests pressed together, her nose nuzzled into the soft skin of his neck.

As the night's events blurred around her brain (there had been a moment with her earlobe?) she slowly separated from Sirius's sleeping form one body part at a time. Her legs unhooked from his, her fingers slid from his grasp and her face pulled away from its comfortable hiding place. Rolling away from him, gently over his outstretched arm, she grabbed onto his Quidditch jumper before she crept out of the room.

Unfortunately, once she had hurried down the stairs, across the common room and up the girls' stairs, each one of her dorm-mates were awake and smirking when she arrived back "Shut up," she groaned as she collapsed onto her own bed, unused for the past few days.

"Look after you then did he?"

She jumped at Mary's question, her eyes wide as she looked across the room to where her friend was brushing through her short hair with an innocent look on her face "I, urm, I mean, er, I don't know what you mean."

"You were wasted last night Dax!" Mary exclaimed with a chuckle as she reached across to check through her school bag.

Daxia narrowed her eyes at the gesture, noticing the piles of books beside Lily "What are you guys getting ready for?" she asked suspiciously.

Lily grinned, her mood oddly uplifted after a night full of drinking, as she bounded over to her best friend "Shower and change m'dear, we're off to the library!" she exclaimed, throwing an arm around Daxia as her grin evolved to a full on beam; as though heading to the library the Sunday after a celebratory Quidditch party was the normal thing to do.

Yet, knowing arguing with a determined Lily Evans (who had 'given them time off to play Quidditch') was a bad idea, she allowed herself to be pushed into the bathroom (a pile of clothes following close behind). She had stood beneath the warm water, massaged shampoo soothingly into the scalp of her aching head and dried herself before changing into the clothes Lily had thrown her way (adding Sirius's warm and comfortable Quidditch jumper over the top). She stumbled out of the bathroom and allowed Adiya to place a minimal amount of makeup to her tired looking face (not even bothering to argue about the lack of point) while Lily gathered her hair into a messy French plait.

"I hope you know how much I hate you right now," she huffed as the four of them descended the stairs, Adiya finding the entire situation hilarious as she linked her arm through Daxia's "Oh look she made it worse," Daxia grumbled when they reached the common room to find the group of Gryffindor boys standing waiting for them.

"At least you don't look the most hungover anymore," Adiya mumbled back gesturing to an ill looking Peter leaning against a yawning Sirius.

Recalling their position upon her wake up (along with the way she had escaped his clutches without even a goodbye) Daxia shifted her stare away from Sirius before he noticed her gazing his way "Well, let's be off!" she exclaimed starting after a spritely James being led by an equally energetic Lily, keeping her grip on Adiya.

The blonde was regarding her with suspicion as they climbed out of the portrait hole "Are you okay?"

"Perfectly well," she replied a little loudly, hoping her voice carried to behind her where Sirius was following the group between Remus and Peter "Never been better actually!"

Adiya frowned across to the, newly, hyper ball of energy grasping onto her arm "Apart from going completely mental?"

The rest of the wander down the corridor to the library remained silent.

Securing one of the largest tables at the back of the room, ignoring the looks being thrown their way by an apprehensive Madam Prince, Lily announced they were beginning with Transfiguration.

Daxia had groaned loudly and Peter had rested his head on the table top. James had tried to up their spirits, attempted to make his favourite subject more fun for the rest of them to no avail. Sirius stared as Daxia fidgeted around her uncomfortable seat, ignoring Lily's protests and moving from the others before hooking her legs over the back and sighing in relief as she lay, half on the floor, in a position which benefited her Quidditch related aches. Her eyes slowly flickered shut as James transfigured Remus's quill into a dragonfly only reopening when she heard them move on to potions.

"Kill me," she moaned as Madam Prince complained loudly about the menacing flying creature disturbing her peace. Her mood sank lower and lower as Marlene and Hestia arrived to join in on their session, the blonde she normally got along with so well irritating her no end as she sat in the empty seat beside Sirius. Fluttering her lashes and placing a hand on his arm with every word she spoke, the churning in Daxia's stomach moved on from hangover related.

It didn't help when the whispers began.

One of the main reasons she tended not to go to the library with the Marauders was their tendency to attract attention. Shuffling into a more upright position, clutching onto a still aching back (was she getting old?), she heard them before she spotted them.

Giggles here and there. The whisper of a name (normally James or Sirius though it seemed to be a trend to like Remus within the fifth year girls and there was normally someone with a soft spot for Peter) followed by an exclaim of either agreement or distaste.

The visual followed soon after. Eyes peeked from behind bookshelves or hoards of younger girls passed by 'coincidentally' with expectant grins on their faces. Normally James and Sirius would encourage such behaviour with a nod or a grin here and there; neither helping the situation for the people sat with them.

"Hello Marauder Fan Club," Daxia greeted spinning around so she was sat to the side of her chair with her right leg crossed over her left, elbow resting on the back while her chin lay in her palm. Most of the small groups had taken a liking to honorary Marauder member Daxia, clearly seeing her as an ally rather than a threat (like they did Lily and Adiya).

"Hey Dax!"

"Nice catch yesterday!"

"We were supporting Gryffindor!"

This time it was the fourth year Ravenclaws, beaming her way with exclaims full of innocence. Daxia wondered if they'd still be as nice to her if they knew she had been in Sirius's bed the previous night where something happened to make her earlobe tingle.

Not that she was thinking about it or anything.

"Here for a study sesh girls?" she asked with a smirk as they blushed slightly and exchanged glances "You can sit with me if you like," she added needing a distraction from the memories making a reappearance in her mind as she transfigured a few old looking books into chairs for her new friends (hiding from Madam Prince while sending an impressed looking James a wink) "My friends are boring me."

"Oh I doubt that!" the blonde Ravenclaw exclaimed as they took their seats.

She listened as they spoke, smiling and laughing at all the right moments as they informed her of the gossip circulating around their common room. She found her mind numbing (in an obvious good way) as they spoke, her body relaxing into the hard chair as she wished she were back to their age. Her back never ached after Quidditch when she was in fourth year.

It was only when they went silent that her brain accelerated once again; their blushes, whispers and slightly open mouths telling her one thing and one thing only. There was a Marauder standing behind her.

"Can I speak with you a moment Daxia," Sirius asked with a cough to grab her attention, the looks on the faces of the girls sat before her told her he was wearing his most charming smile.

With her stomach knotting she sighed loudly and over dramatically "I'm with my friends Black," she answered in a bored tone, the girls exchanging excited whispers at being called her friends.

"I'm sure they won't mind me borrowing you for a few moments, right girls?"

She made a mental note to never be nice to a Marauder fan club again as they all sold her out together, nodding their heads and exclaiming "Of course not Sirius!"

"Thanks ladies," she grumbled as they waved their goodbyes and she stood, turning to face an amused looking Sirius "I had a new group there," she protested as he reached forward to grasp onto her wrist (her skin practically burning at his touch), stomping as he led her away from both their fellow seventh years and her newly acquired friends (or was it enemies now?).

"What's up chicken butt?" she asked airily as she pulled away from his touch and practically danced down the line of bookshelves, stopping with (what she deemed as) an appropriate amount of distance between them she picked the first book to come into her eyeline.

He arched an eyebrow as he folded his arms over his chest "What are you doing?"

"Studying," she answered obviously, not bothering to spare him a glance.

"You don't take Divination."

"Bollocks."

She tensed as he made his way closer, her heart racing faster with every step he took. She trained her eyes on the words laying on the page before her, trying her utmost not to glance up to him until he was practically breathing down her neck "Wh-what…"

He took the book from her grip before she could finish whatever she had been about to say, gently placing his hands on her shoulders he turned her around to face him "I know you remember."

Folding her arms to create a barrier between the two of them she shrugged "No clue what you mean."

He smirked as he took a step closer to her, watching as she stumbled backwards slightly to lean against the bookshelf behind her "No ridiculous pet name? Avoiding me at all costs? You seem to forget I know you better than anyone Lestrange."

"My pet names aren't ridiculous."

Her breath caught in her throat as he took another step forward, her arms dropping helplessly to by her sides as his hands rested on her hips. Leaning down to allow his forehead to rest on hers he nudged her nose slightly with his own "You're so important to me Daxia," he whispered the words he had spoken the previous night, his lips dropping a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

She leaned into him, her hands gripping onto his biceps as she allowed a shaky breath to escape her mouth "Are we really doing this?" she asked, also repeating previously spoken words.

He smiled as he pulled her closer, her eyes flickered shut as his nose nudged hers once more, her lips parting slightly as he gently leaned closer-

"Padfoot! Vix! We're going for food!"

He groaned as he allowed his head to drop onto her shoulder, a nervous giggle erupting from her throat as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug whispering "I am pretty hungry."

"Quick kiss before we go?" he asked hopefully as she slipped away from him.

She laughed loudly as she patted him on the shoulder, noticing Lily poke her head around the bookcase to see if they were coming or not "In your dreams Snuffles."