Poppy's POV
The girls had been thoroughly excited at the fact that I spent the night with Sirius, despite me telling them that literally nothing happened as we had fallen asleep on the sofa. They, however, found the very idea we spent the night together thrilling though and had wanted details on everything. To be honest, this insistence on me recounting the night pushed the memory of my parents to one side and so I entertained them with it. In all honesty, having spent the day with Sirius and talking to him about my parents had made me feel a lot better about the situation which surprised me somewhat. The days that followed their anniversary he made sure he stayed close to me like he did that day, not saying anything about the fact we'd slept in the same bed together but making sure I was okay and eating.
His teasing and hints about our night together started at the weekend which he apparently deemed long enough to be respectable. The guys found this most amusing, as did the girls to be fair and it was only when I reminded him my almost-brother attended the school and would hear any rumours going around that he stopped, having paled a little at the idea which made the guys roar with laughter. I felt smug in my victory but after that he took to dropping suggestive hints in low whispers around me which just had me blushing a lot of the time, my heart thudding and the butterflies flitting around my stomach. Because in truth, the idea of spending more nights in bed with him started occupying my thoughts more and more of the time. The memory of him lying so close to me, his body moulded against mine made my mind run away with itself and I tried not to let my mind stray too often.
As we neared April and the weather brightened, I noticed that there seemed to be a change in Luke and Lily's relationship. The latter was much quieter and spent much less time with Luke who in turn, had stopped talking to me about Lily. I didn't say anything to either of them but kept a close eye on them, not quite sure what was going on.
The week before the end of term I was sat curled in a corner with Sirius when I happened to glance across the common room. As I looked, I saw the portrait go and saw Lily almost run in, seeing her deliberately covering her face before running straight for the stairs. I sat up abruptly, hearing Sirius moan before I turned to him.
"Something's wrong with Lily. I need to go see her" I told him and before he could complain I vanished up the stairs. I paused at the door, not wanting to completely startle her before I cautiously pushed it open.
"Lily?" I called before stepping in, seeing her laid on her bed curled in a ball with her back to me. I shut the door behind me and moved over to her, heading round the bed and seeing her crying. I sat gingerly on her bed, her eyes flicking up to me.
"He broke up with me" she admitted, tears streaming.
"Oh Lily I'm so sorry" I told her, bending down and giving her a hug.
"Lily? What's wrong? What's going on? Poppy how in Merlin's name did you get here before us?" the questions tumbled out of Fiona's mouth and I looked over Lily's shoulder to see her and Fiona coming in. I let go of Lily who sobbed and Fiona and Alice both bundled her into a hug. Poor Lily.
Turns out Luke had broken up with Lily because he had exams coming up and then he'd be leaving Hogwarts and thought it would be better to end things now rather than later. I had no idea it was coming and so was able to console Lily only as much as Fiona and Alice. She'd asked me if I'd known it was coming but I could look at her honestly and reply for which I was thankful, and I knew she knew I was being truthful with her. I guessed that that was the reason Luke hadn't told me and I made a mental note to thank him for this when I saw him. Lily spent the next few days very down in the dumps, sat with her back to the Ravenclaw table at all times. I felt torn as I had wanted to initially go see Luke, but I also wanted to be there for Lily and didn't know what to do. I had caught his eye a few times at dinner and he had given me a small smile, shaking his head as though telling me not to go over. As such I followed his lead, remembering he did have his friends here as well to help him. The one person who didn't seem too upset about Luke and Lily being over was, you guessed it, James. He didn't say anything, but he was in a significantly happier mood these days, laughing and joking around. He made sure to act the same around Lily as he had before and as such, she continued to talk to him in a pleasant, polite manner which I knew made him happy.
At last we were on the train home for the Easter holidays, all of us in high spirits as we chatted on the train ride back to London. It was only a two-week break, but I was excited to see Sara and Phil again, especially as my magic now was significantly stronger now than it had been the last time I saw them. As we neared London, Sirius pulled me from the compartment as our friends whistled or groaned at us, making him laugh as we found a quiet part of the train.
"I'm going to miss you" he told me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close to him.
"I'll miss you too. But we can meet up?" I suggested and he gave me that crooked smile.
"I'd like that" he replied before he kissed me. As always with Sirius, I completely forgot where we were, and it was only when we heard a few cheers that we broke apart and Sirius shook his head at the people who went past us although he was grinning.
"Are you, erm, going to tell Sara and Phil about, well about us?" he asked, sounding nervous. I hesitated somewhat; we had only been going out for like not even two months. To be honest I wasn't planning on saying anything just yet. I considered my words, noticing he was watching my eyes carefully.
"I…I'll be honest I wasn't going to as it's still so early" I told him quietly, worried about his reaction. He gave me a smile and nodded,
"I agree. I wasn't going to say anything to the Potters either" he replied, making me feel a little relieved. He evidently saw this as he laughed at my reaction before drawing me in for a hug. "I know you'll hate this, but I really like how easy it is to read you" he said quietly, making me frown.
"You're right, I do hate that" I told him, and he just laughed even more at my reply, his hands gently stroking my back. I felt the train begin to slow as we started approaching London, Sirius pulling away.
"Are you here for the whole time?" he asked me, and I smiled, nodding.
"Sienna and Max don't get an Easter break, so I'll be here for the full two weeks" I told him, making him smile widely.
"Good, I'll write to you and sort out some dates" he said, making my heart feel funny as he leant to kiss me once more.
"Lovebugs I know you're around here somewhere! Come on we want to say goodbye!" we heard Fiona yell down the corridor, pulling us apart and making us both laugh.
I'd been at home in the UK for nearly a week and was loving it. Sara and Phil said I looked incredibly happy, and asked if I was aware I was giving off a shine. I had been incredibly embarrassed, having genuinely not realised and they had casually tried asking if there was anything in particular that had triggered it. I had waffled on about how good school was and how I was feeling pleased with the progression of my magic but I'm not sure they were convinced. Phil, however, had latched on to the magic and had taken it upon himself to put me through my paces with it, wanting to see it for himself. He was actually an incredibly powerful and skilled wizard and the two training sessions I'd had with him had left me feeling drained. He was pleased however, telling me he was proud of me and saying I needed to continue to train to build up my stamina.
I had also gone on two dates with Sirius, telling Sara and Phil I was just heading out to meet up with some friends which wasn't a complete lie to change the colour of my eyes enough to rouse suspicious. We'd had a brilliant time, the first date we'd had was just to Diagon Alley but it was just great to spend time with him and now that we could both apparate it made life much easier. We'd wandered down the street, hand-in-hand catching up and making out before having some ice cream at Florean's and bumping into a few familiar faces. The second date I had organised which Sirius had been most intrigued by and I treated him by taking him to the cinema. As a pureblood he was completely astounded by it, sitting enthralled the whole way through Star Wars. Afterwards we'd gone out for food and he asked me questions non-stop about the muggle world, so much so that I had reminded him we were in public and he'd thrown up a silencing charm around us so he could continue. It made me laugh but if I'm honest I really enjoyed the interest he'd shown in the muggle world as it was an inherent part of my life. We'd also talked about his parents and he'd told me about why he no longer lived at home, not wanting to be around pure-blooded obsession and how the Potters had taken him in without blinking an eye. He seemed to strongly detest his own family, but I could tell he was happy with the Potters and I was just glad that he had them. I know Sirius still had his parents, but we were much alike in our current living arrangements and I feel like after the conversation it brought us a bit closer together.
Naturally, when I wasn't out with Sirius or training with Phil, I was busy studying hard for end of year exams. I wanted to show everyone what I was truly capable of and didn't want to disappoint Professor Dumbledore when he'd so graciously accepted my transfer request and then given me private lessons. In my mind it was the best way to repay him, showing him that I could handle all the things I had to deal with.
Towards the end of the first week, I was having breakfast with Sara and Phil when two owls arrived, apparently for me. Sara let them in, and I instantly recognised both Pegasus and Hermes who belonged to James and Fiona respectively. I grabbed them some toast each, the both of them nudging me for a stroke before Pegasus left, Hermes staying which meant he was expecting an instant reply. Feeling curious, I grabbed Fiona's first, the top line reading:
See James's first!
Laughing at how well she knew me I popped hers to the side to see that James had invited me to his for a 'Gryffindor + Suze gathering' at his on the Monday. Low key, chilled catch up kind of event. He then told me to just reply to Fiona's letter and she would let him know but he hoped I could make it as he wanted to see me. Smiling I put his to the side and picked up Fiona's, seeing that she had invited me to stay at hers after James's and then the night after that as well for some girlie time. I was excited and looked up to see Phil and Sarah had been watching me.
"My friend James is having a, and here I quote" I picked up his letter, "'low key gathering' at his Monday evening and then my friend Fiona has invited me to stay at hers for a couple of nights. Can I please, please go?" I asked, putting on my best puppy dog eyes. They both smiled at me and I heard Phil laugh
"Of course you can sweetheart" Sara told me instantly, making me beam at her as I summoned a quill wandlessly (Phil had insisted I could do it using my light magic and turns out he had been right) seeing Phil smile widely at me as I scribbled her a reply and reattached it to Hermes who took off instantly. "The two of us have been talking actually" she now continued, turning to her breakfast and I looked at her curiously. "We thought it might be nice for you to invite your friends over. I mean, we would certainly like to meet them" she said, now looking up at me with a smile and a small laugh; the surprise must have shown. "We hear you talk about them and we just thought it might be nice if you introduce them" she added. I glanced at Phil who was also smiling at me and I felt like they were up to something, but I couldn't tell what.
"There's a lot of them" I told her and if anything, her smile grew wider.
"You know that just makes us happy" she replied, the both of them still watching me. "How many?" she asked, and I did a quick mental count, feeling like it would only be right to invite Frank as well.
"There's ten of us in total" I said, and I saw her look somewhat surprised. "I mean, if you want to meet everybody" I added quickly, and she nodded.
"We do, that's fine Poppy. We have the space" she reminded me, gesturing around needlessly.
"Okay then, I'll invite them over. When works for you?" I asked her and she laughed before turning to Phil.
"Friday?" he questioned, and I guessed he had the day off as I nodded.
"How about you invite them over for the day? I'll do you all lunch and dinner" she told me, looking excited.
"Are you sure? I mean, that's a lot of food. The guys eat tonnes" I told her and both her and Phil laughed.
"We'll manage" was all she said.
"Okay well I'll ask them on Monday then" I replied, actually feeling a bit excited. They both nodded.
"Sounds great" Sara told me, a twinkle in her eye.
Monday I woke up early to get in some revision in the morning and then after lunch I had a nice relaxed afternoon, treating myself to some self-care so I was ready for the 'low key gathering' which if I knew James was probably not going to be low key. I therefore spent the early evening unsure of what to wear, in the end settling for a casual blue spotted day dress which I thought was nice enough for the evening and paired it with my denim jacket and sandals as it was a surprisingly warm day. I gathered my stuff together and at six said goodbye to Sara and Phil, telling them I'd see them in a couple of days before floo'ing to James's. Fiona had told me we were all just meeting there and then going to hers later, so I had all my stuff with me. Upon arrival I saw James skid into the room excitedly, eyes lighting up when he saw me before he drew me in for a big hug, pulling me out of the fireplace.
"Pop I've missed you!" he told me as we hugged, his hold on me tight and making me laugh.
"James it's been like a week" I said, hearing him scoff before he finally let me go, dragging me out and towards another of the many rooms he seemed to have.
"I know but you've seen Sirius twice" he replied, and I could actually hear the pout in his voice which only made me laugh.
"Well that's because I am going out with him" I reminded him, and I saw him shake his head.
"Well I'm glad you're here anyway" he told me happily and I saw that there were a few people already here, gathered in the kitchen. Sirius, Remus, Peter, Frank and Alice all looked up at me with a smile as I came in, Alice being the first to get to me and she gave me a big hug, making me laugh.
"I know it's only been a week, but I've genuinely missed you" she told me, and I gave her a squeeze.
"I've missed you too! How are you?" I asked her as we stepped away, seeing her bright smile.
"Really good, I've enjoyed being at home I have to say though" she told me, and I nodded as I felt James take my bag and I moved round to hug the others. I saved Sirius to last, knowing his would be the longest hug and he grinned as he held me tightly before kissing me.
"Hey now, we're not going to have a tonne of PDA are we?" James asked, keeping our kiss very short as we both turned to see him shaking his head.
"Nope, and that's because we've been on a few dates" I told him cheekily, hearing Sirius laugh at me before he let me go, Alice handing me a beer as I joined them at the table, excited for the night ahead.
Fi was the last to arrive and she brought with her a shed load of pizzas, gaining a big cheer from everybody as she set them down and we all dug in as we caught up with each other.
"So Poppy, we do actually have something to admit" Fiona told me as everybody chatted. I looked at her curiously and saw she was grinning. "We're all actually staying over here tonight" she said, and I looked at her in surprise, making her laugh. "We didn't tell you as we knew you couldn't lie, hence why I said you could stay at mine. Everybody is staying here, is that okay with you?" she asked, and I nodded, heart thundering at the possibility of ending up in a bed with Sirius again. "I thought it might be" she replied cheekily, her eyes darting to Sirius who was next to me and had been listening to our conversation. I heard him laugh and turned to see him shaking his head at her.
"I am glad you're staying though" he murmured quietly to me, sending my thoughts spiralling as he shifted his hand to my thigh before turning back to his conversation with Frank.
"Are you going to stay with Sirius tonight?" Fiona asked quietly, bringing my attention back to her. She seemed genuinely curious and so I shrugged, wondering whether it was a good idea despite wanting to. I mean, I definitely was not ready to have sex with him and I wasn't sure if I would give him that idea if I stayed with him. "What are you worrying about?" she questioned, and I blinked, realising she had been looking at me closely. I shifted slightly, turning to face her properly in the hope that nobody would overhear us.
"I just…I don't want to give him the wrong impression if I did stay with him" I told her slowly, wondering if she got what I meant.
"I'm not sure you would" she replied, looking thoughtful.
"I don't know. He's been making some fairly suggestive comments" I admitted, and she laughed a little at this, shaking her head.
"It's Sirius, what did you expect?" she asked, making me roll my eyes. "Look if you're worried about it you should talk to him about it. I'm sure he'd appreciate you telling him your concerns" she told me quietly and, actually kind of wisely. "Trust me on this" she added, and I nodded, thinking she might have a point.
"What are you two whispering about?" James interrupted our conversation and we both looked up to see him looking at us from across the table with a grin.
"None of your business" Fiona told him primly as we both turned back to the table.
"Oh, actually I have something I need to ask you all!" I remembered suddenly and the table went quiet, all eyes on me. "My family want to meet you all and they've invited you all over for the day on Friday if you want to come?" I asked them all.
"All of us?" James asked, his voice sounding excited.
"All of you" I confirmed, and I saw a few surprised looks. "It's up to you of course but Sara said she'll sort lunch and dinner" I told them.
"Well I'm definitely in, obviously" Lily told me with a big smile, making me smile back and feel relieved. After that everybody else also said they'd like that and I beamed at them, feeling happy that they were all coming.
"Great! If you want to come over about, I don't know, like 11?" I said and they all nodded, all seemingly excited.
"Great now that's sorted I think it's definitely time we started some drinking games" James said with a grin, waving his wand and causing the pizza boxes to disappear as Remus summoned more alcohol for us. "Come on let's go sit in the front room, way more comfortable" he told us, leading the way and grabbing a few bottles as he went. We followed him through to a big room, filled with the last of the evening sun and enough room for us all to sit happily.
"Proposals?" he asked, sitting on the floor and looking round at us excitedly.
"Never have I ever always gets good results" Alice told him with a grin, eyes flicking round at the girls and I blushed, remembering last time we played this my revelation about liking Sirius had come out.
"But you have to be honest" Fiona told us all firmly and I saw everybody nod.
"Easy enough for Poppy" James called out and I scowled at him, making everybody else laugh.
"Okay Alice well seeing as you suggested it you can kick us off" Fiona told her and she nodded, considering it. As she thought I glanced around the group, seeing everybody look quietly excited at the thought of what this game might reveal. It would certainly be interesting to see what we could find out about the guys that was for sure.
Two rounds in and everybody was well on the way to drunk, the guys being expert players and knowing exactly how to catch each other out. It's how we learned that James had gone skinny dipping in the lake as a dare, Remus had been caught making out in Professor McGonagall's classroom with Annie and Peter and Suze had actually kissed and kept it on the down low. It was all very amusing, and everybody was laughing happily away at each revelation, the spirits high as levels of drunkenness also got higher.
"Okay come on Fi!" James prodded her as she considered it.
"Oh, I don't know. I'll just go for never have I ever fancied a Gryffindor" she settled on. The usual suspects drank but it was Lily who seemed to catch the guys attention.
"Oh, come on Evans. You can't drink on that and not tell us!" Peter told her with a grin. She blushed profusely and I saw James looking hopeful. It put me on edge somewhat, remembering it was Remus she had liked.
"Yeah come on Evans, we've all shared the details" James pushed her. She shook her head, looking embarrassed.
"Come on Evans, no big deal I mean it's clearly me" Sirius told her cockily and I hit him, making him laugh as he put an arm around my shoulders. "No need to get jealous Pop" he said, making the others laugh. I just shook my head at him, wondering if Lily would admit it.
"I…" she started but then stopped, shaking her head.
"You're killing us. Who do you, or did you, like?" Frank asked her, his own curiosity clear to hear. I glanced at Fi who was watching James before I turned back to Lily who looked like she was bracing herself.
"Last year, in fifth year, I…it was only brief! I…I maybe fancied Remus" she admitted, her face almost the same colour as her hair. There was a momentary stunned silence from the group, and I was unable to keep from looking at James who was trying not to look disappointed but failing somewhat.
"Oh, thanks guys" Remus broke the silence and made us all laugh.
"Don't blame you Evans. That was the year you trained for quidditch try outs isn't it?" Sirius asked him and he nodded, a slight tinge of colour on his face. "See, I told you it would get you noticed" he told him with a grin and Remus just rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
"What did you like about him Evans?" Peter asked, evidently oblivious to James's discomfort.
"We are not doing this!" she told him, still blushing and making him laugh.
"Go on, Remus needs the confidence boost" Peter encouraged her, and I glanced at Remus to see he did genuinely look slightly curious.
"Oh, for the love of Merlin" I heard her mutter before she straightened up, a new lease of confidence about her as she looked directly at Remus now. "You're intelligent, kind and yes, admittedly, you definitely got hotter over that summer" she told him, making us all laugh with her bravery and I saw Remus blush a little.
"Ooo, Lily you should kiss him" Suze suggested, currently being the most drunk. There was another moments silence and it was Fi who broke it this time.
"Suze we're playing never have I ever, not truth or dare" she reminded her with a shake of the head.
"Well let's mix it up. Go on Lily, dare you" Suze suggested. I felt Sirius tense beside me and knew without looking that James was evidently not happy about this.
"Hey, I am NOT playing truth and dare with this lot" Alice told her, making the guys laugh.
"Can't hack it Alice?" Sirius teased her and she shook her head.
"I'm not afraid to say I can definitely not hack it" she shot back at him, making him grin.
"Err, my dare still stands" Suze brought the attention back to what we had previously been discussing.
"Fine" Lily told her, standing up and looking at Remus. He looked shocked, eyes darting between the guys. "Ouch Remus" Lily told him with a grin and at this he stood. I saw him glance at Sirius, feeling him shrug at him as I looked at James who was currently looking down at his beer bottle. I literally didn't know what to do but was saved the hassle of acting when Lily walked purposefully towards Remus, stopping in front of him. She looked at him expectantly and I watched as he leant forward and very gently, pressed his lips against hers. I felt everybody hold their breath, but it was mere seconds before he stepped back and she smiled at him before turning back to her seat.
"Happy Suze?" she asked her, taking a drink of her beer and acting very casually about it.
"I mean, that was the most chaste thing I've seen" she commented, making Lily laugh.
"Well you didn't specify so your own fault" Lily told her with a grin and Suze shook her head.
"Prongs shall we get some more drinks?" Sirius asked and I saw James shoot up straight away and head quickly out, Sirius heading after him. Fiona caught my eye, looking worried as the others chatted about Lily and Remus's kiss. I did not have a good feeling about this.
