A/N: Penultimate chapter folks!
Poppy's POV
It was really nice to see how happy our friends were at Sirius and I being back, and we had a great evening in the common room chatting and laughing. They told us what they'd been up to and I feel that Lily and James had briefed them before we got back as nobody asked us any questions about what we'd been doing for which I was thankful. It seemed like they'd had a very nice, relaxing few days and I was somewhat jealous of them given that Sirius and I had been working flat out.
The next day was a beautiful, sunny day and so we went down to the lake which seemed to be the hot spot for the other seventh years, most of our year congregating on the banks. The guys hastily stripped off to go into the lake for a swim and for the first time I saw Sirius's hesitation, his eyes flashing to mine and it took a couple of seconds to understand the issue. We were both still covered in bruises and if he went in the lake, he'd be showing quite a few off. The guys were already on their way down, yelling at Sirius to hurry up and seeing as the girls were fussing, I went over to him, seeing his worry.
"I think I'll be able to glamour you, cover them up" I told him quietly and he frowned. "I can't promise it will work but I can try?" I asked him. He looked at me for a moment before pulling me to him with a smile.
"You are far too good for me you know?" he asked, making me blush before he kissed me. "You don't have to though" he said when he pulled away and I smiled at him.
"I want to" I replied, gesturing for him to take his top off.
"Oh, I see what this is really about" he teased, making me laugh. I quickly used my magic to glamour him as he took it off and I could only hope it worked. Given that nobody was currently asking any questions I assumed we would be okay as long as I concentrated, and he gave me another kiss before jogging after the others. I could still see his bruises and his back was black and blue from where Evelyn had managed to slip under his defences, making me wince somewhat.
"Pop come sit" I turned and saw the girls had been watching us and relaxed a little, realising that my spell had worked seeing as they weren't gasping in shock at the sight of Sirius. I made my way over, seeing Lily had put my towel out for me and sat down with them, seeing them in various states of undress; naturally Fi was in full bikini happily sunning herself.
"Poppy you're very covered up" Fi remarked and I raised my eyebrows at her, gesturing to her on show body.
"Compared to you of course I am" I replied as the other girls laughed. I was wearing a blue, spotty midi length dress, lose flowing with long sleeves. The material was soft and floaty which meant I wasn't too warm and most importantly, it covered up my bruises bar one on my shin which was easily explained away.
"No, but seriously," Fiona told me, frowning.
"Fi you know what temperatures I'm used to. This is just pleasant" I reminded her, and Lily laughed. She was wearing a t-shirt and shorts so not quite as revealing as Fiona and Alice was in a skirt and vest top although I could see she had a bikini on underneath.
"Leave her alone. It's not exactly boiling, is it?" Lily told her, rolling her eyes and sending me a quick smile. I returned it, feeling thankful as I turned my focus on Sirius, feeling my spell still holding.
"You know, I'm pretty sure Gryffindor have the hottest guys" Suze's voice drifted over as she settled on the grass with us; she had been spending some time with the Ravenclaws apparently, splitting her time with them and us.
"Obviously" Alice replied with a grin, as I assumed we were all currently watching the guys where they were causing quite a scene with their water fight and I felt like a lot of people (girls) were watching them.
"You know, there's been some talk in Ravenclaw about Remus's availability" Suze said casually and I did my best not to stare in surprise at her, knowing this could cause a huge lapse in concentration.
"Oh, do tell" I heard Lily reply, as my eyes scanned to him, seeing him and Sirius team up against Pete, James and Frank in their water fight.
"Maud's not being quiet in the dorm saying how hot he is and saying she's going to make a move on him at the party tonight" Suze told us and I couldn't help it; I tore my eyes from the guys and looked at Fi who was frowning, her eyes fixed on the lake. I exchanged a glance with the rest of the girls who were all grinning, looking at Fi. I looked back at the guys and wondered how Fi was feeling about it all. There was a few moments of silence and I think they were waiting for Fi to speak.
"Oh Merlin Fi. Come on! You can't seriously tell us you're just going to sit back and let that happen?!" Lily exclaimed and I thought I heard Fi sigh.
"I told you, he's already told me he doesn't want anything to happen. So, I just need to get over it. So if he wants to get with Maud he can" and I could hear her determination to remain calm.
"Fi-" Alice started but was quickly cut off.
"Alice leave it" Fi said and there was something in her voice which stopped anybody from saying anything further. My eyes once again flicked to Remus and I began to wonder whether him turning down Fi was anything to do with his lycanthropy. Come to think of it, he had only taken Annie to Hogsmede once last year and nothing had happened other than them making out a couple of times, even though we were all sure he liked her. And he hadn't been seen flirting or anything with anyone since and yet, him and Fiona always seemed close, always chatting away, hanging out.
"Hey, what's everybody wearing for the party tonight?" Lily asked, changing the subject well I thought, and I listened as the girls chatted, my attention still on Sirius to keep him covered up. "Pop, how about you?" Lily asked me and I had to look over at them, seeing her look at me curiously and I guessed my eyes were a shining silver as I concentrated on my magic.
"Um I don't know yet to be honest. I'll have to dig around in my trunk and see what I've got" I told her with a smile before turning my attention back to the lake where I could see the guys now making their way out. Sirius gave me his crooked smile as they flopped down on their towels, shaking their hair and getting us wet. I wrinkled my nose as James shook his hair in a very dog like manner which made him laugh as the others cringed away from him. Sirius thankfully, quickly towelled himself dry before shrugging his t-shirt on and I relaxed my spell on him as he gave me a wink before sitting back down.
"Don't want to put on a show today Pad?" James asked him, stretching out with his hands behind his head, Lily leaning forward and whacking his head which made us laugh.
"Pop's had her fill for now" he replied with a grin and I saw James shake his head at this.
"Why can't you say nice things like that?" Lily asked James and he scoffed at this.
"Because I'm not sickening like him" he replied, Sirius punching him in retaliation. I zoned out as they squabbled, taking a moment to think about how I would miss hanging out with everybody like this, in a safe, relaxing way with nothing to worry us at this moment in time.
We spent the whole day by the lake, Sirius and I sneaking off after lunch to go to the hospital wing so that Madam Pomfrey could sort out our bruises. She did mine sceptically and they only half healed, there still being some on my arms but my legs cleaned up nicely. Sirius, obviously, had no problems and I scowled at him which made him laugh, telling me I was still beautiful despite being bruised.
After dinner I spent the evening with the girls getting ready for the party, Fiona being much quieter than usual. I made a note to speak to Remus at some point to try and do some subtle digging, wondering if he really would get with Maud tonight. There was something in me which told me he wouldn't, but I could see Fiona wasn't as sure as I was, and I could tell her heart wasn't really in it. This was potentially worrying as an unhappy Fi could turn into a very drunken, reckless Fi and I wasn't convinced this was the best thing. She'd already drunk more than the rest of us as we got ready and I could see Lily was somewhat worried as well.
"Right come on guys. We're out of drink and I need more!" Fiona told us, chivvying us out of the dorms. I could hear the common room was still quite busy, all the lower years still having one more day worth of lessons but nobody caring enough to get an early night for them. As such, I noticed Tyler's eyes zero in on Fi quickly, seeing her give him a flirty smile in return and I felt thankful the sixth years weren't coming.
"Come on tiger" Alice pulled her through the common room and I made to follow them but felt Sirius stop me.
"Hey, you haven't said hi to me" he pouted, and I turned to see him grinning, wearing my favourite dark green shirt.
"Hi" I told him, giving him a kiss despite the full common room, keeping it short.
"Hey beautiful" he replied with his crooked smile, taking my hand and leading me out behind the others. "I like your outfit" he told me as we went, and I saw him look at me which made me blush a little. I had gone for my black denim skirt and a red blouse, nothing special but the way he smiled at me and the tone of his words still had the power to make me blush and give me butterflies.
"Thanks" I replied, feeling him pull me softly to him so that we were brushing against each other as we walked. "I like your shirt" I told him, and he chuckled lightly at this.
"As always, it's all for you" he told me with a smile, as our friends disappeared into the classroom up ahead. Thankfully the party was literally only a couple of corridors away from the Gryffindor common room which lessened our risk at being caught on the way. I was about to go in when Sirius pulled me to a stop, and I turned to him questioningly.
"I love you" he said quietly with his trademark smile, making me feel all funny.
"I love you" I replied with a smile. His own smile widened before he kissed me, pulling me close to him.
"Our room tonight?" he asked when he finally pulled away and I nodded, feeling flustered. "I can't wait" he told me before kissing me again and I could feel his hands lightly playing with my blouse which was tucked into my skirt.
"You're going to have to" I told him, pulling away before we could get too distracted. He pouted, making me laugh as I pulled him into the room to save him from arguing further. Once in, I allowed Sirius to take the lead as he was taller and therefore could see over people's heads to where our friends were. I followed him, taking a bottle of beer from him on our way past the drinks table and stopped us where James and Lily were. As they chatted, I scanned the crowd, wondering where the others had got to and saw, to my surprise, Remus talking to Maud. Credit where it was due, she didn't hang about.
"Oh, I bet you a galleon Fi will get with Masters tonight" James's comment caught my attention and I turned to him with a frown. He nodded behind me and turning, I saw Fi flirting with Will. I looked back to them, a flicker of anger going through me and saw Lily frowning too.
"I'm guna go say hi to Will" I told them and was about to go when Sirius caught my arm.
"Woah, you can't go and cock block Fi" he said, and I saw his grin falter when he looked at my eyes.
"I can" I replied, quickly escaping and making my way over to them. Fi might be hurt about Remus but I wasn't going to let her hurt Will in the process.
"Hi guys" I interrupted them happily and saw Fi look a little embarrassed at my arrival.
"Hiya Poppy" Will greeted me, and I could sense he wasn't best pleased with me right now, but I would take that if he didn't get hurt.
"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages! How are things?" I asked him with enthusiasm, and I saw him hesitate now, as though he had clocked there was a reason why I had come over.
"Well, that's because somebody disappeared for a week" he teased me with a smile now, nudging me slightly and making me laugh.
"I'm sorry but it was just one of those things" I said with a shrug.
"I'm guna go see the others. I'll see you both in a bit" Fiona murmured before disappearing without giving us a chance to reply. I saw Will wanted to go after her and put a hand on his arm, seeing him look surprised.
"I haven't told you yet how glad I am that we became friends" I told him with a smile, and he relaxed at this, focused on me as opposed to Fi.
"Me too. And I'm especially glad we're still friends after the incident at the start of the year" he said a little sheepishly, making me laugh.
"Let's not talk about that" I told him, and he laughed, drawing Aidan over who gave me a big hug.
"Hiya Pop!" he greeted me cheerfully. "Three musketeers back together! How are we?" he asked us very enthusiastically, making Will and I laugh, and I was very glad I had come over so that I could now spend some time with these two.
I stayed chatting with Will and Aidan for a while, happy to spend some time with them and we had a laugh together which was nice. I had spied that Lily, Alice and Suze managed to corner Fi after she left Will and I, and I hoped that they'd manage to make sure she was okay. After a bit, Will and Aidan got dragged away by the other Ravenclaw guys and as I wandered around the room I happened to bump into Remus.
"Hiya Pop" he greeted me with a smile, and I paused, thinking this a happy coincidence.
"Hiya! How's your evening going?" I asked him and he nodded, smiling.
"Good thanks how about you? Noticed you with Will and Aidan" he replied, making me smile.
"Yes, was nice to have a bit of a catch up" I told him, and he nodded in understanding. "I noticed you talking to Maud" I said casually, and he just nodded at this, not seeming flustered or anything.
"Yeah, we just had a bit of a chat" he said simply with a shrug. There was a momentary silence where I considered whether I should say anything to him about what I had been thinking about. "Go on, what are you thinking about?" he asked me with a grin, surprising me. He laughed, shaking his head. "Sorry, your eyes went Sirius grey and I've worked with you enough to know that's your thoughtful colour" he explained, making me smile.
"Don't let him hear you call it Sirius grey" I told him, making him laugh.
"Yeah, he's cocky enough as it is with his green" he replied with a grin, making me blush a little. "So, go on, what were you thinking about?" he asked, obviously intrigued.
"You actually" I told him, smiling at his look of surprise.
"Me?" he asked, and I nodded.
"I, well, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while" I admitted, the look of surprise remaining. I glanced around and motioned him a bit further away from other people where he looked at me expectantly. "I…sometimes I worry that you…you don't let yourself be happy" I said quietly, and he frowned at this. "I…please tell me if you don't think it's my place but I, I hope you don't stop yourself from…things because of…you know" I felt nervous talking to him about this, hoping he would get what I meant.
"I feel like you have something specific in mind" he said quietly, and I shrugged. He arched an eyebrow at me, and I caved.
"Just, you know, if…people…tell you they like you I hope you don't turn them down because of anything other than the fact you're not interested in them" I replied and I saw his eyes momentarily widen in surprise before he shook himself slightly.
"I just…you know…it's complicated" he murmured, and I realised now that I had actually been right; he was stopping himself from things because of his lycanthropy.
"You're amazing Remus and you deserve to be happy" I told him softly with a smile.
"That's kind of you Poppy but-"
"No buts. End of story" I interrupted him, and he chuckled in spite of what we were saying. "There are people out there who like you. Like, um really like you" I told him, seeing him avoid my eye and look a little flustered. "Just, think about it okay?" I asked and he nodded, taking a breath before looking up at me.
"Thanks Poppy" he said as he gave me a hug, making me smile.
"Any time. I mean it okay?" I asked him and he nodded as we broke away. "Come on, let's go mingle" I nudged him, and he smiled, following me through the crowd and I spotted James, Sirius and Pete stood huddled. "They look deep in conversation" I pointed out and he grinned as he moved past me to join them. I watched him for a moment, seeing him join the others and as I did so, I happened to see Fi watch him as he went. I really hoped he would take my advice.
I noticed that Remus sort of gravitated to Fi after that and I could see how pleased she was with this, the pair of them chatting away happily and having a laugh. It made me happy to see the pair of them and I felt like it was a nice way to end the year. I had just been scanning the crowd for my friends when I heard somebody approach me from behind and, turning, saw Lizzy stood there with a smile and two bottles of beer.
"Fancy one?" she asked, and I smiled, nodding and taking it from her.
"Thanks Lizzy. How are you?" I asked, thinking it had been ages since we'd properly spoken.
"No problem. I'm good thanks, feels kind of weird this is all coming to an end though" she told me, and I nodded, thinking if it were sad for me it must be doubly so for everybody else. "Hey what are you doing with yourself after this?" she asked. I was somewhat taken aback by her eagerness to talk to me after the whole James incident; given that I had very openly sided with him, she had often given me the cold shoulder. But then again, I figured it was an end of year thing and so chatted away to her, deflecting the conversation away from me and more on to her.
"So, what's the deal with you and Sirius then?" she asked, looking at me curiously. I felt confused by her question, not sure if she was getting at something or not.
"What do you mean?" I replied, feeling a very faint pull on my magic which made me wonder where said man currently was.
"Well, what are you two going to do when you leave? Are you staying together?" she questioned. I couldn't help my eyes widening in surprise, wondering why she was asking me this.
"Of course" I replied instantly and I saw her eyes dart just past me before she re-focused on me.
"Oh, right. I just, you know, lots of people split up after school because you know, different jobs, living in different places. I guess I just assumed you were going back to France and he would stay here" she told me with a shrug, acting casual about it all. I frowned at her, not realising people would be making these assumptions about us.
"I'll be living here now that I've finished so that won't be an issue" I replied slowly, still feeling like I was missing something.
"Hmm, shame" she said, and I saw her eyes dart past me.
"I'm sorry Lizzy am I missing something?" I asked her straight up and she shrugged, taking a sip of her beer.
"Cerys figured she'd see if she could rekindle something with him. Thought I'd give her the chance" she told me, looking directly at me with a small smirk. I looked at her for a moment, feeling that pull again and I turned around, scanning behind me and finding Cerys stood with Sirius. She was laughing at something he said, hand on his arm and stood very close to him, and in that instant I felt a flare of jealousy through me. "I thought she seemed to be doing pretty well" Lizzy continued to say behind me and I realised she had deliberately stalled me to get me away from Sirius. I took a breath, trying not to get angry with her before I turned back around.
"I really thought you were talking to me because you wanted to you know. I thought it was nice we could end the year like this" I told her, unable to keep the coolness from my tone. Lizzy shrugged, not looking fussed.
"I'm surprised. Given that you so clearly took James's side with everything that happened and didn't even bother to hear me out" she replied. I shook my head, not willing to get into this right now.
"I'm sorry that you feel that way. I think I'll just go find my friends now" I told her, feeling angry with how this had gone and spun around, doing my best not to storm off, staying clear of Sirius and Cerys.
"Woah, who's pissed you off?" I literally bumped into James, nearly spilling the drinks he was carrying over me.
"Lizzy" I told him, feeling irritated. He frowned at this, looking past me to where I assume she was.
"She looks far too happy that she's annoyed you" he told me, only making me even more annoyed. "Go on, what did she do?" he asked. I did my very best not to look at Sirius at this point, focusing on James instead.
"Assumed Sirius and I were splitting up and then only talking to me so that Cerys could go flirt with Sirius and make a move on him" I admitted. His eyes widened before he looked around and I assumed he was looking for Sirius.
"You know, those Hufflepuffs in our year are the most un-Hufflepuff Hufflepuff's going" he told me, eyes focused on a point past me. "He keeps looking over here" he said, still not looking at me. "I think he wants you to go over" he continued, now looking at me.
"That would be playing into Lizzy's hands" I replied, focusing very hard on not jinxing Lizzy or Cerys right now. Another, more insistent pull on my magic came now and I knew Sirius wanted me but didn't want to be that kind of girlfriend.
"Who gives a shit? Cerys is not backing off and you've made him too polite and nice to tell her to piss off" he told me with a grin, nudging me. "Trust me on this, go" he insisted but I shook my head. "Poppy you're just guna be annoyed for the rest of the party if you don't do something" he nudged me again. "Go" his voice was more demanding now. I took a breath, steadying myself and he grinned at me. I was just about to go when he stopped me and I looked at him expectantly, seeing him put a bottle under one arm and use his free arm to pull me to him.
"James!" I exclaimed as he un-done one of my blouse buttons but he only grinned.
"Now you can go" he told me, giving me a wink before pushing me in Sirius's direction. I shook my head but went anyway, hoping nobody was watching me. Sirius clocked me very quickly and I saw his eyes go down to my blouse as he gave me his crooked smile, stepping to the side slightly so I could go to him. Cerys could see she no longer held his attention but didn't realise why until I was there.
"Hi beautiful" Sirius greeted me, putting an arm around my waist and pulling me close to him.
"Hi" I said, looking only at him for a moment and did my best to resist kissing him before I turned to Cerys. "Hi Cerys" I replied as positively as I could, already feeling slightly more relaxed now that I was here. She looked disappointed, a small frown appearing on her face.
"Oh, hi Poppy" she didn't sound too enthused by my arrival but then she wouldn't when she was trying to hit on my boyfriend. "I um, well, I guess I'll leave you to it. I hope to hear from you Sirius" she had the audacity to say and I twitched slightly, feeling Sirius's grip on me tighten. She gave him a big flirty smile which made me want to jinx her, knowing it would be only too easy despite my wandless state.
"Bye Cerys" was Sirius's reply and I saw her deflate a little before she stalked off. Watching her go she was swaying her hips a little more than usual and as I saw her about to turn to look behind, I looked away, seeing Sirius smiling at me.
"You took your time saving me" he told me, moving me so I was stood right in front of him so he could put his arms around me and pull me close.
"I was waylaid" I replied, and he looked at me confused. "Lizzy deliberately started a conversation with me to give Cerys a chance to flirt with you" I told him, seeing him look surprised. "I know. She said she assumed we were breaking up" I admitted, seeing him frown.
"Why would she think that?" he asked me, and I shrugged, not having a clue.
"I think she made a few too many presumptions about our living arrangements" I told him, feeling surprised when he smiled.
"Oh really now?" he questioned. "Our living arrangements. Got it all figured out then?" he asked, and I blushed a little, realising I had been thinking about it but we'd not talked about it yet. He laughed when he saw my reaction before drawing me to him and kissing me. He surprised me with the intensity of it given that we were in the middle of a party but for some reason I was okay with it tonight, allowing him to distract me.
"Reckon that will put their minds at rest?" he asked me when he finally pulled away, a grin on his face.
"Sirius! Is that the only reason you did that?!" I exclaimed and he laughed, hands keeping me firmly against him as I tried to wiggle away.
"No but it doesn't hurt that it did probably make them re-think" he told me, stopping my movements. "Wanna know the real reason?" he asked me now, his voice much lower which gave me butterflies. I nodded as he brought his face close to mine and I knew he was teasing me now.
"That extra un-done button on your blouse has given me all sorts of ideas" he murmured before kissing me again. "Time to go?" he asked, keeping it surprisingly short and I nodded, not caring about the rest of the party anymore. "Good. I want you all to myself" he told me, giving me his cheeky smile before leading me through the crowds and out to spend out last evening together at Hogwarts.
