Poppy's POV
Only when we had arrived outside the Potter's home did Sirius turn to me as I stood there shivering. He said nothing, taking me into his arms and holding me tightly. A flash of light told me Helios had appeared, seeing him perch on the wall over Sirius's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry Poppy. I put you in danger tonight and I'm so, so sorry" he murmured to me.
"Sirius don't apologise. You weren't to know and even Dumbledore didn't say anything" I assured him. I felt him sigh as I shivered again before he moved back.
"Come on, we'll talk about it inside. I don't want you to freeze" he told me with a reluctant smile as he led the way up the drive and into the Potter's, holding the door open for Helios to fly in. He led the way in, and we found all three Potter's in the living room, all of them looking up at us as we came in. James jumped up with a smile and came over to give me a huge hug, making me laugh.
"Hi Pop. I've missed you!" he told me happily when we broke away and I couldn't help but smile back at him, feeling fully relaxed for the first time today. Matt and Carol had also stood, the both of them coming to give me a hug.
"It really is good to see you Poppy. You look beautiful tonight" Matt told me, making me blush as he gestured for me to sit. I sat on the sofa as he went to hug Sirius, James sitting next to me looking happy.
"You look very posh Pop" he told me with a grin, making me laugh.
"Well, I had a part to play" I reminded him, my mind flashing back to Regulus in that instant. James laughed at my comment as Sirius came and sat next to me, holding my hand tightly in his.
"Tell us how it went" Carol told us, although her eyes were on Sirius. Matt sat next to her, putting an arm around her as he surveyed us both with a slight frown. Sirius made an irritable sound before letting go of my hand to un-do his tie and I only now noticed how he had already gotten rid of his dress robes and suit jacket.
"It's my family. It was a bloody nightmare" he growled before re-taking my hand. "Poppy was amazing though" he said, voice softening slightly as he looked at me with a smile, making me blush. "Luckily, she had them eating of the palm of her hand" he told them with a grin, and I heard James chuckle, saw Matt grin. "You should have heard her. 'Oh, I'll need to check on my estates when I finish school'" he mimicked once again, and I heard James laugh properly now. Sirius shook his head before I saw a cloud of darkness over him once again. "But obviously my parents ruined everything. They approve of Poppy apparently. They want us both to move in with them and get married when we finish school" he told them, eyes fixed on Matt and Carol, but I was hearing this for the first time. My eyes widened in shock and I felt James tense next to me. Both Carol and Matt were frowning at this. "They said Poppy would be an asset to 'House Black'" he used air quotes in irritation. "That she would increase our family's wealth and status, that our influence could extend into Europe. And" but here he hesitated, glancing at me before looking back at Matt and Carol, "That the Dark Lord wants to meet her" he said quietly, making my heart rate increase substantially. There was complete silence as everybody digested this. Helios broke the silence, chirruping at me and making me jump. I nodded at him as he came over, settling on my knee.
"Could you let them know?" I asked him quietly and he bobbed his head before disappearing in a flash of light. All the Potter's were staring at me. "He's just letting my family know I'm here" I told them. Matt and Carol nodded but looked confused as they turned their attention back to Sirius.
"What did you say?" Matt asked him, voice rough.
"I told them they could have Poppy when hell freezes over and abruptly left" Sirius told him and I saw Carol shake her head, but I knew Matt was struggling to not grin right now.
"Sirius" she chastised softly.
"That was the politest thing I could think of in that moment and my main concern was getting Poppy out of the house" he told her, and she sighed but nodded before Sirius turned to me. "What did you and Regulus talk about?" he demanded, eyes hard. I fidgeted nervously, eyes glancing over at Matt and Carol and I felt James tense on the other side of me. "Poppy" Sirius urged me in a low voice.
"Sirius, he warned me" I told him quietly, seeing surprise register on his face.
"What?" he asked me sharply.
'He…he told to never come back when we left. He said they knew more about me then they were letting on and that tonight was them attempting to recruit me" I said, eyes solely on him. "He said…he said you were right to get out when you did. I think…I think he's one of them" I found my voice was a whisper. I felt a movement and a moment later James had taken my other hand, holding it tightly. Sirius was looking at me stunned, the silence on-going before he turned to Matt and Carol.
"Could he really be one of them already?" he asked them.
"I don't know" Carol told him, shaking her head. "Dumbledore needs to know" I heard her say, just as Helios came back in a flash of light.
"Merlin the pair of you know how to scare me" I heard James murmur dramatically.
"I can send Helios. He'll know where to find him" I told her. She seemed surprised but nodded, quickly getting up and moving to a bureau in the corner, scribbling something on some parchment as Helios flew over to me. "Can you take something to Dumbledore for me?" I asked him and he chirruped, stretching his wings proudly and making me laugh in spite of everything. I let go of James's hand to give him a stroke as Carol came over and handed me the parchment. I took it, offering it to Helios who took it in his beak, nudging my hand one last time before he disappeared in a flash of light.
"Jeez can he give us some warning when he does that? I think my corneas have burnt off" James told me, rubbing his eyes furiously and I saw Matt and Carol do the same. Only Sirius and I seemed to not be affected by this and I gave his hand a squeeze, seeing him look worried.
"I'll be fine" I told him, but he didn't seem to believe me.
"Sirius it will be fine. They made their play very obvious for some reason. But they won't touch Poppy. Not whilst she's here, or at school or with her guardians. They won't want to do anything to go against a French pure-blooded family. They can't risk causing division in pure blood society" Carol told him, coming to sit on his other side. She put an arm around him, giving him a hug which he looked like he needed. Just that moment, Helios returned in another flash of light and I heard James groan as he nudged a letter to me before flying and giving one to Carol. I saw Dumbledore's writing and opened it straight away:
Don't worry. You'll be safe where you are. Just in case though, put one of your protective spells over the Potter's house tonight. We'll discuss this when you return to school
If Dumbledore said it was going to be fine then I believed him, showing Sirius my note.
"But they don't know" I heard him say quietly to me. I glanced over at Carol who was showing Matt the note, the both of them looking at me curiously; I figured he told them I would be putting a spell up.
"Poppy do you want to give me a hand and we'll get some drinks?" Carol asked me, standing and I nodded, handing the letter to Sirius who scrunched it in his hand as I left with her. She didn't say anything until the door was shut, pausing in the entrance hall. "Dumbledore told us to trust you so you do what you need to" she said quietly, giving me a smile and gently squeezing my arm as she made her way to the kitchen, leaving me there. I closed my eyes and tried relaxing a little as I called my magic up, feeling it coming quickly and willingly. It made me smile as I put a shield up around the Potter's, hoping my magic was strong enough to hold for at least tonight. I saw a flash of light and opened my eyes to see Helios in front of me. He chirruped at me before disappearing again and I could feel him, adding to my own magic around the house. I smiled as he reappeared, landing on my shoulder as I went into the kitchen to help Carol. What a night.
We spent the next hour with Matt and Carol, discussing what had happened and reassuring Sirius that everything would be okay. After that, they gave us some space, James offering to leave but I asked him to stay, knowing Sirius would need the both of us. When they had gone, Sirius put an arm around me and pulled me to him so that I was flush against him. I reached out a hand to James, feeling him take it as I pulled him to us, making both him and Sirius laugh.
"You know sometimes I feel like a proper third wheel with you two" he told us when he was sat right next to me, not quite as close as Sirius but closer than usual.
"I mean, I thought you two came as a package deal" I teased them both and James laughed as well now.
"She's got a point" James told Sirius with a grin. Sirius lightly shoved James on the shoulder, making him laugh.
"Hey, hands off my girlfriend" he told him, although his tone was light and jokey.
"Oi she's the one holding my hand" James countered, giving me a wink.
"You two are ridiculous" I told the pair of them, making them laugh.
"You love us for it" Sirius told me with a grin and I was pleased to see him seem a little more relaxed.
"Sure" I replied sarcastically, moving myself so that my back was propped against Sirius, feeling his arm tighten around my middle as I picked my legs up and stretched them over James who raised his eyebrows.
"Quite comfortable my lady?" James asked as I yawned and I nodded, feeling warm, sleepy and safe, my eyes beginning to close. "How you feeling Pad?" I heard James ask Sirius, hoping he was going to answer positively.
"Alright. Better than before" he told him, and I could feel him shrug.
"Good. If Dumbledore's not worried, then you shouldn't be either" James told him and I nodded my agreement.
"James is right. Dumbledore knows everything so you can relax" I said gently, opening my eyes to see James grinning. "Merlin your ego gets far too big when you hear 'James is right'" I told him, making both the guys laugh.
"Right, well if you guys are good, I'm going to go to bed" James told us, carefully picking my legs up and putting them back down on the sofa once he was up.
"Thanks Prongs" Sirius said quietly, and I could hear the gratitude in his voice. James gave him a smile before he stretched.
"Got your back Pad. Night you two" he said, giving us a wink before he left the room and a silence fell over us.
"You better not be falling asleep" I heard Sirius say and jerked slightly as my eyes had gotten heavy.
"But I'm warm and comfortable" I pouted, feeling his laughter.
"Hmm but I seem to remember you telling me how nice your underwear is, and I think I definitely need something to take my mind off what happened tonight" he told me quietly, hand running over my body and making my heart rate go. I felt him move me, sitting me up before he turned me and kissed me deeply. I felt one of his hands stray round to the back of my dress and slowly begin to undo my zip, which made me quickly pull away. Sirius grinned at me, hand staying where it was.
"We are not doing this down here" I told him, making him laugh before he pulled me to him, kissing my neck which made my eyes flutter shut. "Sirius" my voice was weaker than I intended, and I knew he heard this, my zip getting lower. I pushed him lightly, making him stop and I opened my eyes to see him grinning.
"You've got five seconds to get yourself upstairs then" he told me, making me laugh.
"I only need 1" I said cheekily as he started kissing my neck again.
"5" he moved up slightly "4" he was getting closer to the spot he knew I liked "3" he was almost there, and it was now that I moved, hearing his laughter as I easily made it to his room, deciding to surprise him by taking my dress off as I waited for him.
It was Sirius who woke me up the next day surprisingly, but I had used a lot of energy putting up and maintaining a shield around the Potter's all night. Sirius drained me of any energy I had built up over night in the best way possible before I was really awake, making me smile.
"Now it's a good morning" he said cheekily, still breathless as he remained on top of me, giving me a kiss before carefully rolling off me, pulling me to his side.
"I think that's the best way to wake up" I told him, nuzzling into his neck and pressing a kiss there. "How are you today?" I asked him quietly, his hand lightly stroking my ribs as we laid there.
"Okay. I'm glad you stayed last night. I think it helped" he replied, and I could feel that he was more relaxed than yesterday. "I love you Pop" he said, making me smile and I moved so I could kiss him.
"I love you" I told him with a smile, seeing him smile in return.
"There's one thing I wanted to talk to you about from last night" he said, and I looked at him curiously, but he was looking at the ceiling.
"Oh?" I questioned, and I could sense that he was nervous. It took him a while to answer as I could see him clearly considering what he wanted to say.
"When my…parents, told me they wanted us to get married, that…it, well, that didn't freak me out" he admitted, and I felt my eyes widen in surprise as my heart rate increased. Sirius, however, was still looking at the ceiling and I could feel his nerves still; I assumed he still had something he wanted to say. "I'm not so stubborn as to defy my parents just for the sake of it. I…there's something in me that tells me we will get married one day. I'm not proposing to you now or anything" he added hastily as I remembered I needed to breathe, "but I'm just saying that…well I don't know what I'm saying. I guess I don't want you thinking that I won't do something because my parents think it's a good idea" he surmised, only now turning to look at me. He surveyed me for a moment as I did my best to regulate my breathing before he smiled. "Well, the good news is that your eyes are still green and you're still here with me, so I haven't totally freaked you out" he told me, a grin appearing.
"Will you freak out if I told you I'm not freaked out?" I asked, making him laugh as he shook his head, moving so he could kiss me. I pressed myself against him and his hands kept me close as I lost myself in him. His stomach rumbling pulled us apart with a laugh as his grip on me loosened.
"Come on, I'll have breakfast with you before I go home" I told him, and he nodded as he sat up.
"Do you want some clothes?" he asked as he looked around for his own, finding his boxers and putting them on before getting up.
"I mean, I've got mine with me" I said but he rolled his eyes, heading to his drawers and pulling out his old quidditch top and shorts with a grin. "Fine" I relented, knowing he liked me in them as he threw them at me, and I quickly put them on as Sirius pulled on his pyjama trousers and put a t-shirt on. I shivered slightly when I got out of bed, Sirius chucking me some of his socks and finding a jumper for me. He helped me put it on, giving me a kiss before he led the way downstairs and I was surprised at how quiet it was.
"Where are Matt and Carol?" I asked him as we walked into the deserted kitchen.
"They're both working this morning" he told me as he filled the kettle and Helios appeared, settling on my shoulder and nuzzling me which made me smile.
"Hey pal. How you doing?" I asked him, heading to the always filled fruit bowl and grabbing an orange for him and for me. He made a happy noise, taking it in his talon before hopping onto a chair to eat it.
"Hmm I kind of fancy one of those today" Sirius told me, surprising me as he helped himself to an orange. I watched him carefully as he ate it, noticing he shone a little brighter the more he ate.
"I think you need to eat more of them moving forward" I informed him, and he looked up at me questioningly. "Remember you have some of my magic. And I used a lot putting protection around the house last night, so you'll need to refuel when I do I think" I told him. He seemed intrigued, nodding as he helped himself to another before making us both a tea. I followed him over, putting my arms around him and standing on my tiptoes to rest my chin on his shoulder which made him laugh. He stopped pouring and turned around so he could kiss me.
"Eurgh, thankfully it's you and not my parents" James interrupted us and I saw Sirius grin as I turned round and saw James shaking his head.
"Morning" I greeted him cheerfully as Sirius resumed making us a tea, making one for James as well. James slid into a seat next to Helios, giving him a stroke as Sirius and I brought our teas over.
"I don't want to know why you two are so happy today" James said although he was grinning, and Sirius laughed. Sirius put his tea down before moving to the door and James turned to him. "Where are you going?" he asked, and Sirius rolled his eyes.
"To the toilet if that's okay?" he asked him, shaking his head before disappearing and I saw the opportunity I had been waiting for.
"James, can I ask you something?" I asked quickly, not sure how much time I had. He looked at me curiously, nodding. "Will you promise to be honest?" I asked and he hesitated.
"Sure I will. Is everything okay Pop?" he questioned, sounding worried.
"Yes, everything's fine. I just want to ask you" I started but hesitated and saw him frown. "I want to ask you whether you like Lily" I finished. He blinked, looking confused.
"Pop you know I like Lily" he told me, but I shook my head.
"No as in, do you like Lily?" I questioned and now he hesitated. "Do you fancy Lily?" I clarified. His eyes darted to his cup of tea and he fiddled with it, evidently thinking. This in itself was interesting as I watched him carefully.
"Why do you ask?" he asked in return, not answering my question. I shrugged, eyes darting from him. "Poppy" he said but I shrugged again,
"Just wondering" I told him, looking at my own cup of tea.
"Oh, you're such a liar!" he exclaimed, and I now looked up at him.
"James can you please just…answer my question?" I asked him. He looked at me carefully, head tilted slightly to the side.
"I" he started before sighing. "Of course, I bloody fancy her" he admitted, and I smiled widely at this. "Eurgh. I don't think I properly ever stopped. Merlin, I'm such a loser. You won't tell anyone, will you?" he asked, and I quickly shook my head. "But seriously, why did you ask me?" he asked now. I blinked, thinking carefully and seeing him grin.
"I wanted to know" I said slowly, his eyes locked on mine. It was the truth; I did want to know.
"Hmmm you're hiding something Poppy Turner" he told me with a grin as the door went and Sirius returned, saving me from having to answer that question. Thank Merlin. Now I just had to come up with a plan to get the two of them together.