Chapter 49: The Tipping Point

Despite the blustering winter wind, I made my way to the quidditch stands with the crowd of students. Today's turnout was exceptionally good because everyone knew that it would be a close match. Weaving around students as I climbed the stairs and made my way through the Gryffindor stands, I spotted a distinct head of fiery red hair and plunked myself down beside her.

Lily kept her eyes trained on her book. "Give me one second, just reading this last paragraph."

I smiled and glanced around me, uneasy in the frenzy of students dressed in red and gold.

The snap of Lily closing the textbook made me refocus on her. She smiled and tucked some hair behind her ears, though the wind immediately unleashed it and sent it blowing across her face. "Hey."

I reached up to massage the tense muscles at the base of my neck. "I made it here in one piece."

"You did. I won't even bother asking who invited you because I already know the answer."

I chuckled. "Wouldn't take a top student like you to figure that out."

She smiled and looked out at the pitch. "I'm assuming he didn't ask you to be his girlfriend or confess his feelings that evening after dinner on Valentine's Day?"

I sighed in confirmation. "Nothing yet. D'you reckon I should come right out and say something this evening at the party when they inevitably win?"

She smiled but it was quickly replaced with a frown of concentration. "Dunno. You're the better judge of what to do with him."

I heaved a sigh and stretched my neck. "Maybe I'll get it over and done with tonight. This waiting and anticipation has my nerves in tatters."

She turned to lay a hand on my arm. "I'm sorry. I know how frustrating a toerag he can be. Maybe not as well as you," she added, making us both giggle. Lily's eyes focused on someone standing on my other side. "Hey, Stebbins. Are you sitting here?"

I turned around to see Roger Stebbins standing awkwardly to my left, shifting from foot to foot like he was holding in a pee. "Er, no. I was, er… going to sit behind you two."

"Let us know if we're blocking your view, will you?" Lily said with a smile.

He nodded, gave me a lingering glance, and swallowed with some difficulty before plunking himself down a few rows behind us with some other boys.

"He ought to be careful, getting so close when Black has his eye set on you," Lily whispered to me.

I snorted with laughter. "Yeah, poor bloke. I reckon I'll have to hold Sirius back if Stebbins does that at the party."

The Ravenclaw team emerged first, making me feel a momentary flash of guilt for betraying my own House. The guilt vanished from my conscience when the Gryffindor team flew into the air and I spotted Sirius. He was flying with his usual ease and skill, having a last-minute discussion with James as they did a casual lap of the pitch. As the teams lined up in formation across from one another with Madam Hooch in the middle, an eerie silence fell over the stands. With one blow of the whistle, the quaffle, bludgers and snitch were released into the air and the game began.

The match was close from the beginning and it seemed like both teams had significantly improved with their rigorous practice regimens. Even though the rest of the students in the stands were losing their minds with excitement, and the Gryffindors in particular, my heart wasn't in it. I was too wrapped up in my emotional woes surrounding Sirius to get worked up over a quidditch match, with the exception of when Sirius nearly got decapitated by a bludger. He was flying like a madman, trying to help James and the rest of his team by hitting the bludgers towards the Ravenclaws and away from his teammates. But when one of the Ravenclaw Beaters hit the other bludger that he wasn't paying attention to towards him, he would've gotten nailed in the back of the head if it hadn't been for James's quick shout of, "Padfoot!" from the other end of the pitch. Sirius ducked in time and came up again just as quickly to fly headlong after the bludger and whack it back to where it came from. There were a fair number of gasps and frightened noises made by the girls in the Gryffindor stands, as well as from some of the professors present. McGonagall looked like she was about to faint and had reached out to clutch Dumbledore's arm, while the Headmaster simply patted her hand and went back to watching the match, unperturbed.

I could breathe easily again once Sirius was back to dodging all the bludgers and seeming to be keeping a more careful eye out for where the other Beaters were. I watched the rest of the match tensely, driven into anxiety by my existing worries and now by Sirius's mad flying.

The teams were neck and neck until the Gryffindor Seeker caught the snitch, leading to an automatic victory. The students around me leapt to their feet, hollering like a bunch of wild animals. Laughing and cheering for her beau, Lily grabbed my hand and hauled me to my feet in the midst of the fray so that we wouldn't get separated in the chaos. I grinned, watching the Gryffindor team make a beeline back to the ground, probably so that they could share a group hug and properly congratulate each other. Sirius was grinning from ear to ear, his dark hair whipping out behind him as he flew back to the grassy pitch and out of sight.

Lily shot me a Potter-esque grin and tugged on my hand. "Come on!" she said, raising her voice above the hooting and hollering.

"Where are we going?" I shouted back.

"To congratulate them! Come on," she said, grinning like a madwoman.

"Wait, what are you—" I protested, but she merely dragged me along with her.

With a wave of other Gryffindor students at our backs as we descended the stairs from the stands, Lily pulled me along, her hair whipping in the wind. We reached the foot of the stairs, but before I had a chance to regain my bearings, she was tugging me along behind her as she nipped into a dark passage beside the stairs.

"Lily Evans, what the hell—"

She shushed me. "Stop it, you'll love this."

"'Love?' What—"

Lily slid to a stop in front of wooden double doors with a lion emblazoned on each. "Knickers," she said, and the doors opened before us. She shot me a cheeky smile. "Black chose that password. Aren't you just so smitten with his dirty humour?" she quipped.

I snorted with laughter but quickly fell silent as I followed her into the room. "Is this the Gryffindor changing room?"

"Yep," she said, sounding proud.

I barely had time to take in the rows of lockers that stood ajar, various personal belongings and uniform pieces spilling out of them or hanging on hooks, as well as the blackboard at the front with illustrated maneuvers, before I was jogging to keep Lily in my sight.

"Lily!" I called after her as she skipped across the room and threw open the doors, letting the wind and sunshine in, as well as raucous shouting.

I fell silent as I stopped in the doorway, watching Lily walking confidently across the emerald grass of the quidditch pitch. The Ravenclaw team was nowhere in sight, but the whole Gryffindor team was still there, congratulating each other and talking. The Seeker Lougheed was being clobbered by several of his teammates, including James, whose cheeks were red from the wind and whose hair was sticking up at all angles. I couldn't help but smile as he caught sight of Lily walking over to him. He broke away from the others and met her halfway, swooping her into a hug and then planting a quick kiss on her lips, much to the hilarity of his teammates. They accepted Lily right into their ranks, and I smiled, feeling an ache of longing in my chest at how naturally she fit in.

My stomach and heart lurched as I saw Sirius leave a conversation with his fellow Beater in favour of coming up behind James and getting him in a headlock. I could hear Sirius's barks of laughter from my vantage point, and I laughed too as James swatted his friend back. As the boys broke apart from their tussle, Lily said something to Sirius, who had to lean his head closer to her in order to hear her over his celebrating teammates.

Sirius's head snapped up at Lily's words and his gaze landed on me. His face broke into his brilliant, devilish grin that I loved so much as he sidestepped away from his teammates and began walking to me.

I grinned and met him halfway and said in a breathless rush, "Hey."

He smiled, eyes never leaving mine. "Hey, kitten. I wasn't sure if you were watching in the stands with Evans."

Pleasant heat blossomed over my cheeks. "Of course I would. You invited me."

"I did," he said, grinning even as the wind blew dark strands of hair across his face.

I reached up to tuck them behind his ear.

He watched me with bright eyes, his gaze dropping to my lips.

I smiled. "So, what d'you reckon—"

Grabbing one of my hands in his while the other landed on my waist, Sirius kissed me hard. I lost myself in the frantic movement of his mouth on mine, by the grip he had on my waist, as if he were afraid that I was going to be blown away by the wind that howled by us. I fisted my hand in the front of his sweat-soaked quidditch uniform, intertwining my fingers with his. His mouth was so warm, his tongue even warmer as it met mine. He groaned from deep in his throat and kissed me harder, pressing himself closer and overwhelming me with his unique smell. I had no doubt that my scent was driving Sirius wild with his dog nose.

We broke apart when the wolf whistles started behind him.

I laughed breathlessly as I met his bright eyes. "Nice playing, by the way."

He tucked a wayward strand of red hair behind my ear. "Thanks, kitten. Was it fun to watch?"

"Mostly, except when you nearly got beheaded by that bludger."

He offered me a lopsided grin. "Never a good match without a little risk," he said and laughed at my cocked eyebrow. "You coming to the celebration party afterwards in the Common Room? Or are you going to ditch me like with the game before the holidays?"

"I only ditched that one because I found out you'd asked another girl to Hogsmeade, you silly dog. I didn't want to intrude."

"That's why?"

"Of course that's why."

"Were you jealous?" he said, lips twisting into his mischievous smile.

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

He laughed and leaned in to kiss me again, though it was less frantic and more tender. I smiled against his mouth before sinking into the feeling of his soft lips and his chest rising and falling rapidly under my hand.

"Oi! Padfoot!" James yelled. "Haven't you snogged her enough now?"

Sirius and I broke apart to a chorus of wolf whistles. Unabashed, he shot me an easy smile before turning to walk back to James, pulling me along with him. "Had a good celebratory snog with Evans, Prongs?" he said as we joined James and Lily.

I smiled at Remus and Peter as they joined the four of us, clearly also having snuck down to the pitch.

James grinned wickedly at his best mate. "Not nearly as celebratory as yours with Stripes."

"Oh, really?" Sirius countered, comically narrowing his eyes, much to everyone's amusement.

"Yeah, if I hadn't—"

Madam Hooch came bustling over with the carrying box for the balls under her arm. "That's enough indecent behaviour on the pitch! Get back to your changing room before I ban you from practicing for a month!"

Fleeing in the wake of Madam Hooch's threats, Sirius and James bid Lily, Remus, Peter and me farewell as the team went to the changing room, while the four of us began a slow trek back up to the castle. I could see Lily and Remus grinning at me and exchanging glances with each other. I rolled my eyes and smiled; I was too happy from Sirius's spontaneous snog to be irritated with anyone at the moment.

Only a few hours later, after much party preparation from the Gryffindors, I made my way alone to the Gryffindor Tower from my dormitory. Em was off on some private nighttime adventure with Riley, while Lia was boycotting the celebration in solidarity with Tess, not that either faulted me for going. I got the sense that the three of them wished that I would finally reach the tipping point with Sirius and either begin dating him or get rejected. They wanted the version of me back that wasn't a nervous, jealous, pacing mess.

No one paid me much attention as I slipped through the portrait hole; the Gryffindors were too busy bleating some quidditch victory song at the top of their lungs, which was followed up by raucous clapping and cheering for their Seeker. I smiled and began to sneak around the edge of the room past several couples snogging on the couches.

"Oi! Kitten!"

I turned to face Sirius as he made his way towards me from the middle of the crowd, where he'd been with his teammates and James. The other students parted for him, and all at once he was standing before me, filling my senses and stealing my focus.

"You found me," I said with a cheeky smile.

He grinned, eyes bright. "Of course. Not that you can ever hide from me."

I scoffed and poked at him. "What happened to me hiding in the library?"

"Wasn't for long. And I could still see you with the Map."

I laughed. "Is this how you justified following me and Lily around with the cloak and scaring the shit out of me?"

He laughed and pretended to look around innocently. "Maybe."

"Tease."

He smiled, his eyes full of mirth as he drank me in. "Come on, kitten. Let's get you a drink," he said, placing a warm arm around my shoulders and hugging me to his side as he led me through the crowd.

Colour crept up my cheeks at Sirius's public display of affection. Other students parted around us, some casting us looks because Sirius had never before staked a claim to a girl in public. I caught his eye and we smiled at each other, making my stomach flutter.

When we'd reached a drinks table, Sirius poured each of us hefty mugs of firewhiskey. Laughing, I clinked my mug with his before settling in beside him to sip away at our drinks together. But to me, it seemed like Sirius was much more on edge than usual. He wasn't totally at ease and exuding his confident charm, and his knuckles were white as he gripped his mug of firewhiskey.

I watched his face, trying to tamp down my sudden nervousness. He noticed me staring and met my eyes, trying to shutter away the brooding crease in his brows. "D'you want more firewhiskey? Or butterbeer instead?"

I shook my head and looked back out at the party, taking a small sip from my burning drink.

Sirius's eyes roved over me before he downed the rest of his firewhiskey in one go. When I looked at him curiously, he merely shrugged and gave me an easy grin, running a hand through his hair and refilling his mug.

"Are you trying to get trollied tonight?" I teased.

He laughed and the sound made my insides fill with liquid warmth. "No, not really. Just need something to take the edge off. Don't worry about me, kitten," he added at my concerned glance. "We're just celebrating the team's victory, yeah?"

I smiled and raised my drink to my lips.

Sirius was the first to notice Stebbins lingering near us a few feet away as he cast glances at me. In one smooth motion, Sirius wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders, and I felt his muffled growl rumble through me. Stebbins froze at Sirius's glare and quickly disappeared out of sight into the frenzy of students.

I frowned and studied Sirius, whose body was noticeably less tense now that Stebbins was gone. He rubbed his thumb over my arm and gave me a crooked grin. "What? He's a manky arsehole. I'd highly recommend against going anywhere near him."

I half-sighed, half-giggled and leaned into his side, hiding my happy smile by taking another sip.

It wasn't long before we were joined by James and Remus, who exchanged a look at Sirius's arm around me and then tried to hide their smiles.

Remus coughed and shot me a cheeky look before turning his focus to Sirius. "So, Padfoot. You should've heard Prongs just now. We were debating about how much Waters really did contribute to The Dark Side of the Moon."

Sirius scoffed. "You sods are just saying that to rile me up."

"No, why would we do that?" James tried to deadpan, but ended up pressing his lips together to hide his smile.

"Come off it, Prongs. You're not Wormtail. You don't hate the album and find it creepy like he does. And," he added, "I know for a fact that you've listened to 'Money' loads of times."

Remus snickered. "Prongs was going on about his love for everything Gilmour."

I smiled at how incensed Sirius was becoming and hid my snicker in a deep swig of firewhiskey. I was content to lean against his side with the comforting weight of his arm on me as he went headlong into an animated debate with James and Remus about some Muggle band I'd never listened to. The firewhiskey burnt a warm path down my throat as my focus on the boys' conversation waxed and waned.

"Moony, how could you of all people support Prongs's argument? You're the one who reads and memorizes all the song-writing credits from the album cover."

"I don't intentionally memorize them. They just stick in my brain," Remus said with a shrug and a smile.

Sirius scoffed. "You have all the lyrics of that album memorized, even the weird speaking bits."

"How's that my fault? I think the lyrics are important to read."

"Considering Waters was the sole lyricist for the album, why in Merlin's name are you siding with Prongs as another member of Team Gilmour?" Sirius said, making James and Remus snicker.

"I dunno what you three are on about," I cut in, "but I can tell that they're taking the piss with you, old man."

Sirius started laughing with his mates and only protested mildly when James reached over to ruffle his hair.

It wasn't long before James went back into the crowd to find Lily, and Remus left us with a knowing look and a teasing smile at the arm that Sirius refused to remove from my shoulders. Feeling the firewhiskey hitting me, I turned to nuzzle into Sirius's side.

He chuckled and nosed at my hair. "Fancy coming up to the dormitory with me?"

I hummed into the stiff fabric of his shirt. "To shag?"

"Er… not really, no. But we could later."

"Lead the way," I said, leaning back to look up at him.

He smiled but poured himself a deep glass of firewhiskey with a shaky hand and downed it all before wiping his mouth and leading me across the room. Watching him in concern, I let him lead me by the hand up to the Marauders' dormitory.

Shutting the door, Sirius strode by me towards his bedside table. "Fancy one?" he said, holding up his cigarette pack.

I shook my head, noticing how he fiddled with the pack as he wolfed down the smoke from his cigarette. Once he'd finished, he sat down on the edge of his unmade bed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah?" he said, letting out a shaky breath, his gaze fixed on the wood floor.

"Are you okay?"

He let out a strangled laugh and clutched at his dark curls. "Sort of. Not really. Fuck, I dunno."

"Sirius, what is it? You're scaring me. What's wrong?" I said, hurriedly sitting down beside his hunched form and placing a hand on his trouser-clad thigh.

He groaned at my touch. "Merlin help me."

"Sirius, please. Just tell me what's wrong," I said, my voice cracking in fear.

He straightened up to face me and covered my hand with his. His eyes were pale as two moons in the low light of the dormitory. "Fuck, kitten. I dunno how to say this." He blew out a deep breath and met my eyes bravely. "I've been going mad with jealousy. You've no idea how hard it was for me to watch other blokes ogling you on Valentine's Day, in the halls, in classes. It's been driving me mad since before the Christmas holidays." He gripped my hand harder. "Being away from you during the holidays was torture, but it was when you weren't around, when I was worrying about you, that I realized just how much I…" His words failed him but he held my gaze, his chest rising and falling quickly.

I sat frozen, my brain sluggish.

Sirius lunged forward and kissed me hard. One hand landed on my thigh, while the other burnt a brand into the tender skin of my neck. He sighed against my mouth and whispered in between crazed kisses, "Fuck, Kersti. I fancy you so much." He moved closer to press his thigh flush with mine. "I've never felt this way about anyone before."

"Sirius," I groaned. "I fancy you so much too."

An inebriated giggle bubbled up out of him at my words, and he pressed a flurry of kisses against my mouth. "Really?"

"Of course I do, you silly dog," I said, sinking both hands deep into his hair to hold him close. "How could I not? Merlin, I'd never felt this way about any other bloke until I met you."

He laughed against my lips and leaned back a hair's breadth to make eye contact. "You're so incredibly special, kitten. I can't get enough of you."

I grinned so widely that it felt as if my cheeks would crack. "You're so special to me, Sirius."

He rubbed the tip of his nose against mine, his features alive, before he closed the gap between our mouths again. Our breath came in harsh gasps as we burnt each other's mouths with open-mouthed kisses. He groaned when I pressed myself closer to him. "Fuck, Kersti. I just want you all to myself."

I cupped his face in my hands and pressed kisses to his nose, his cheekbones, his beautiful lips. "Does this mean you're asking me to be your girlfriend?"

He smiled and opened his eyes, stroking his hand along my thigh. "Of course, kitten. Do you want to?"

Laughing, I hugged him hard, burying my face in his neck. "Yes, Sirius. I'd love nothing more than to have you all to myself."

He let out a bark of laughter and hugged me just as tightly, nuzzling my hair. "Merlin, you've no idea how nervous I was."

"Hence all the firewhiskey you had?" I said, planting kisses against the column of his neck.

"Yeah. I needed to take the edge off. I was too worked up."

"Were you that uncertain I didn't feel the same way about you? Even after how close we've become?" I said, my voice descending into sombre softness.

He exhaled slowly, caressing his hands over my back and burying his nose in my hair. "It's the first time I've felt like this. And I've been afraid of being rejected."

"Because of your parents rejecting you?"
He hummed in agreement and I pressed myself closer, planting more kisses on his neck. "I put off telling you how I felt until I reached a tipping point."

"What was the tipping point for you?" I whispered, resting my head on his shoulder.

"When I saw that arsehole Stebbins trying to get close to you," he joked.

I laughed and hugged him harder.

"It was actually because of the other things leading up to this evening, like you agreeing to come live with me."

"I'm glad I agreed then," I said, making him laugh. "I reckon I would've confessed this evening after getting trollied if you hadn't beat me to it."

"Yeah?" he whispered, kissing the top of my head.

"The anticipation and waiting was driving me mad."

He leaned back to meet my eyes. "I had no idea, kitten. You can be so hard to read sometimes."

I smiled and stroked my thumb over his cheekbone. "You can be rather hard to read too. And I was afraid that if I confessed first, you'd feel smothered and shut me out."

He offered me a half-smile. "I don't blame you for thinking that."

I pressed a tender kiss to his mouth. "I'm glad that the anticipation is over now."

He grinned and pulled me closer to keep kissing me. "Mmm, me too."

I giggled and squirmed when he planted a ticklish Padfoot kiss on the sensitive skin of my neck, making us lose our balance and fall back onto the bed in a tangle of arms and legs.

Underneath me, Sirius sighed in pure contentment. "Hey, kitten?"

I propped myself up on an elbow to meet his eyes. "Yeah?"

His curls were spread in a halo around his head as he shot me a devilish grin. "Can I have sex with my girlfriend?"

I laughed and traced his jaw with a fingertip. "I dunno. Can I have sex with my boyfriend?"

His eyes twinkled as he pulled me back down on top of him. "Always."

I kissed him briefly before I drew back a hair's breadth. "Going to be rather difficult with all our clothes on, old man."

He smiled and ran his hands up and down my waist and said, "What are you waiting for then?" But he quickly devolved into laughter when I started tickling him.

He yanked my jumper over my head and I laughed. "Someone's impatient."

He rolled his eyes in mock irritation. "Haven't we been over this before?"

"I dunno, have we?" I quipped, making quick work of his belt buckle and trousers.

Sitting up, he slipped my shirt and bra over my head, taking a moment to admire my breasts. He ran a hand down my naked back and kissed along my collarbones. "Have I ever told you how bloody beautiful you are?"

My giggle turned into a sigh as he placed kisses on the tender skin of my breasts. "Yeah."

It wasn't long before I'd yanked the rest of Sirius's and my own clothes off and drawn the curtain on his four-poster bed, sealing ourselves away into our own private place with a few muttered spells.

Sirius sat back against his headboard with a pillow behind him, watching me. "Merlin, I've never been able to get enough of you."

I grinned and straddled his hips, cupping his face as his hands came to rest on my waist. "It was always different with you, Sirius."

He smiled and held me close as I kissed him slowly, my hair falling down in a curtain around us. As my tongue met his, he groaned and his fingers dug into my flesh.

"I reckon it was different from the very beginning," he said hoarsely as I kissed a slow trail on the underside of his jaw.

"Did you try to ignore how different it was with me? Or did you not realize until we'd grown closer?" I asked into his soft skin.

He hummed. "Dunno. A bit of both, really." He gave my arse a gentle slap. "Maybe it was after I realized how amazing your arse is."

We both laughed. It wasn't long before our hands were wandering over each other's bodies, taking in every curve and angle. Sirius sighed happily and splayed his hand against my back, leaving a wet trail of kisses across my chest to my nipples, while I buried a hand in his hair and tried to stay upright in my haze of pleasure, even as the touch of his hands and mouth drove me wild.

"Wait, won't it hurt if I don't finger you first, kitten?" Sirius protested huskily as I reached for his erection.

I nuzzled his cheek. "I think I'm ready enough. Don't you?" I said, guiding his fingers to my dripping core.

He groaned, his pupils blown wide as he stared up at me. "Bloody hell. You're going to make me come before I'm even inside you."

I dipped my head down to kiss him and I swallowed his moan as I slid down onto him all the way. "God, Sirius. How do you feel so fucking good inside me every time," I whimpered at the blissful sensation of fullness.

He ran his hands down my back and kissed me with the fervour of a starving man. "All mine," he growled as he took a nipple into his mouth and thrust up into me.

I cried out and clung to him for dear life, nearly sobbing from his thrusts.

His breaths were harsh against my skin as we held each other close, driving both of us nearer to the brink of orgasm. He dropped a hand down to rub my clit with his thumb and I shuddered, sealing my mouth over his and rocking my hips faster.

As I drew back from his lips the tiniest bit to gasp for air, Sirius merely stared up at me, mouth wet and red, lips parted as his breaths came in heaves. He dropped a hand to my arse, using his grip to increase the intensity and speed of my movements on top of him. "Mine," he sighed. "Fuck, kitten. You're all mine."

His words made me whimper and moan, bracing a hand on the headboard for fear my upper half was about to collapse from the pleasure. He rubbed my clit harder and kissed me again.

My mouth was slick and sloppy as I gasped and moaned against his lips. "Mine," I nearly sobbed, sinking a hand into his long hair.

He thrust harder and rubbed my clit faster. "You feel so good, kitten."

I shuddered and writhed in the embrace of his arms and body. "Please, Sirius."

"S'okay, I'm here. I'm all yours," he murmured.

I cried out and circled my hips, desperate to orgasm; it didn't take long. I met his pale eyes just as I began to climax, and I saw my desire and feelings reflected in his expression as he watched me. He moaned from deep in his throat as he came shortly after, my name falling from his lips in between panting breaths.

His head tilted back and his eyes fell closed as he sighed, chest heaving and slick with sweat. "Merlin, I reckon you just shagged my brains out."

I laughed and nuzzled his cheek. "Really? It was that good?"

He ran a hand up and down my waist. "Yeah."

Rolling off him, I grabbed my wand from his bedside table and cast a quick scourgify and contraceptive charm before sliding under the covers.

"Fuck, it's cold in here. I need a handsome bloke to come warm me up," I said, shooting Sirius a cheeky smirk.

He gave me a slow, easy smile and ran a hand through his hair. "Do you really? Just any old bloke will do?"

"No."

He cocked a dark eyebrow, brushing hair from my forehead. "You sure?"

"I need my ridiculously handsome boyfriend to warm me up with his dog breath."

Sirius barked with laughter. "Really? Dog breath? You're insulting me right after I shagged you and asked you to be my girlfriend?"

I tried to hide under the covers as he pulled them back and slid in beside me, tickling me mercilessly.

"Stop, Sirius! You're going to make me piss myself!"

He wrapped an arm around my waist and placed several sloppy kisses on my neck. "In my bed, kitten? That's not very nice of you."

We laughed and grew still, settling into a happy embrace facing each other. I ran my palm along his arm from shoulder to fingertip. "This is a very different outcome than I anticipated when I first shagged you in October, old man."

His breath was warm on my cheek as he blinked slowly and said, "It took us, what? Five months to get here?"

I smiled and curled closer to his warmth. "Something like that. But I'm glad we got here in the end."

He murmured words of agreement and nuzzled the top of my head, breathing in my scent.

We fell silent, and we'd both been dozing off when the dormitory door opened, followed by someone sighing and the sound of shoes on the wood floor.

"Goodnight, Padfoot," came Remus's voice as he crossed the circular room to his bed.

"'Night, Moony," Sirius mumbled.

Remus paused somewhere halfway between the door and his bed, if my tiger hearing was correct. He snickered, sounding an awful lot like James, before saying, "Goodnight, Stripes."

I snorted with laughter. "Goodnight, Remus the Genius."

Laughing quietly, he crossed the room and drew back his bed curtains. "Come off it. It hardly takes a genius to figure out you were in here."

"Busted," Sirius said, making us all laugh.

"You know, it's kind of weird talking to your bed curtains, mate. But I know I really wouldn't want to intrude on your privacy and get an eyeful."

I laughed and shifted in Sirius's bed to stick my head out of the curtains so that only my face was visible.

Sitting on the edge of his bed in his uniform and in the process of slipping off his shoes, Remus jolted in surprise and then started hysterically laughing as I'd never heard him do before.

"Merlin's arsehole, you've really made him laugh, kitten," Sirius said with a rumbling chuckle.

Remus wheezed and pushed hair that had flopped forward out of his face. "Honestly, I'm not going to be able to sleep now! I'll be too worried about your face appearing from between the curtains. You look like a disembodied head."

"Like Prongs walking around with the cloak only up to his neck?" Sirius said in between barks of laughter.

"Even worse somehow."

I laughed and drew the curtains closed once again, lying back down next to Sirius.

There was the rustle of clothes and the sound of Remus drawing the curtains around his four-posted bed closed, followed by a lengthy moment of silence.

"Where's Wormtail?" Sirius mumbled, already half asleep.

"Passed out on a couch in the Common Room," came Remus's muffled answer.

"And Prongs?"

"In Lily's dormitory," he said and we all chuckled. After a long moment in which I thought Remus had fallen asleep, he quipped, "Waters didn't contribute anything of value to The Dark Side of the Moon."

"Lay off the teasing, you crazy sod!" Sirius laughed, throwing a pair of socks on the floor beside his bed at Remus. "And stop trying to rile me up while I'm trying to sleep."

Remus gave a hearty laugh before falling silent. I couldn't help but smile at his laughter; I always liked seeing the cheerful, carefree Remus whom the boys brought out with their banter and friendship, and a version of him that I hoped would show itself to me more often in the future.

Feeling completely happy and blissfully at ease for the first time in many weeks, I pressed myself closer to Sirius and let my eyes fall closed.