Chapter 18: My Way
Gemma bounced up and down in anticipation for the first Quidditch match of the year. Gryffindor were playing Slytherin and she – along with the rest of her House – was feeling confident.
Stood next to Alice, Lily and Mary, Gemma watched as the players walked on to the pitch. James had his arm around the new Chaser, who had replaced an older player who had left last year. The girl was only in third year, but she had shown a lot of skill. James had said she was one to watch and had taken her under his wing.
Madam Hooch called the captains forward and Gemma grinned at her friends in excitement. It had been just over a week since the attack on St Mungo's and everyone was looking forward to the distraction a game would bring. Tensions were still high and while most students appeared to have moved on, it was clearly still on everyone's minds. Quidditch would be the perfect remedy.
The whistle blew and Gemma cheered with the crowd as the game began. Gryffindor took control of the Quaffle and looked set to score quickly.
A movement to Gemma's right caught her eye. She glanced over and was surprised to see Sirius sneaking out of the stadium. What was he doing?
A loud cheer echoed around her and she looked back to the field. Gryffindor had scored. Gemma looked back towards Sirius, and saw he was almost gone from sight. For a moment she debated following him, but then Alice grabbed her arm and pointed up to the sky.
"I think we're onto the Snitch already."
Gemma watched in amazement as the Gryffindor Seeker flew with purpose, but her mind kept wandering to Sirius. What the hell was he doing missing the first game of the season?
Sirius stalked his prey carefully and quietly. Snape had no idea he was being followed.
After catching the snivelling Slytherin sneaking into the castle a week ago, before he had taken Gemma up to the Tower, Sirius had been keeping an eye on Snape. And on more than one evening, Sirius had spotted him out of bed, roaming the halls. The joys of the map; he could monitor everything from his own bed.
At the start of the Quidditch match, Sirius had spotted Snape looking suspicious. He'd been clearly agitated, obviously waiting for the right moment to leave. So as soon as he had, Sirius had taken the opportunity to follow him.
As Sirius entered the castle, he paused and looked around. No sign of Snape. So, he pulled out the map, and with so many footprints down at the Quidditch pitch, it didn't take him long to locate him.
Following the footsteps, Sirius kept moving until he noticed that Snape had stopped. He was on the third floor, and he was no longer alone. Regulus had been waiting there for him.
Sirius turned a corner quickly and headed up the stairs to take him to the third floor. Finally, he arrived at the corridor, but he hid from sight.
"You're certain it's here?" Snape said.
"Mulciber said it is." Regulus replied. "He said Potter appeared from this corridor and he was carrying sweets. From Honeydukes."
Sirius frowned. Were they talking about the passageway to Honeydukes? James hadn't used that passageway in years though. It was something they had done a lot when they were thirteen and fourteen; they'd grab sweets from the store room for them to enjoy in their dorm – and leave some money behind, of course - then pig out until the early morning.
"Hmm." Sirius could practically hear Snape thinking. "But he didn't say where?"
"No. He didn't see." Sirius heard the sound of scraping against stone. Regulus continued. "He said it must be behind a statue though. The others are."
Sirius frowned. So they knew about other passageways. But did they know about them all? And they obviously didn't know this one was hidden behind the one-eyed witch statue and that it had a password; Dissendium.
Sirius peeked his head around the corner. Both of them were scratching at the various statues along the corridor. Snape stopped and folded his arms. He looked at Regulus. "Why isn't Mulciber just going to Honeydukes and finding the passageway from there?"
"Because it's not there. He's looked." Regulus sighed. "Look, all I know is that Potter appeared in this corridor with sweets from Honeydukes, which means there must be a passageway to Hogsmeade from here. Where it comes out in Hogsmeade though, I don't know."
Sirius sighed in relief; Mulciber had missed the entrance to the passageway in Honeydukes. Good. Because clearly finding this passageway wasn't so that Regulus and Snape could sneak out. No; it was very much so that Mulciber – and others – could sneak in.
Sirius needed to get them away from here. He looked down at the map; Filch was on the floor and close by. Sirius decided to create a little chaos.
He pointed his wand at a nearby suit of armour and levitated it in the air slightly then dropped it. The suit crashed to the ground, the clank of metal against stone echoing around the corridor.
Sirius could hear swearing and exclamations from Snape and Regulus, but he focused on hiding himself. He watched Filch's footsteps on the map increase in speed as he clearly ran towards the sound.
"Who's there?" Snape appeared from around the corner, his wand raised. Sirius sucked in a breath and did his best to remain hidden.
"Snape, we need to find this passageway." Regulus called from around the corner. "No one will be there; everyone is at the match."
"Suit of armours don't just fall over, Black." Snape sneered. "I'm leaving."
Sirius remained hidden as he heard Snape head down the opposite end of the corridor. At that moment, Filch arrived. Sirius tucked himself back as the caretaker ran past.
"Oi." Filch shouted and Sirius heard footsteps pounding away from the corridor. "Oi. I see you, Regulus Black. Come back here."
Sirius stepped partially out from the pillar and checked the map. Filch was in pursuit of Regulus, who looked to be heading to the dungeons. So Sirius turned and ran towards Gryffindor Tower. He needed to wait for his friends so he could tell them everything and they could create a plan.
They had to stop Regulus and Snape from finding that passageway.
Gemma leaned back and listened to Professor Hyde explain the theory behind the Imperturbable Charm. She really wanted to practice it, but apparently they needed yet another lesson of listening to theory before they could begin. She sighed. It was late October and they hadn't done anything practical yet. Hyde was definitely not as good as Seymour had been.
"I'm so bored." Gemma smiled at Sirius's quiet comment. He added an exaggerated yawn for effect too and she laughed. Luckily they were at the back of the room and hidden from view.
She kept her voice low. "Me too. I want to start doing stuff."
Especially as they had already learned some of this particular theory in their sixth year, but despite Lily informing Hyde of this, he had rudely shut her down. In fact, he seemed to be doing that a lot; being rude to them, especially Lily and Mary.
"While I'm not desperate to lose another duel, I am desperate to actually cast a spell in this classroom." Sirius suddenly grinned. "We'll get to NEWTs and none of us will remember how to hold our wands."
Gemma laughed. "Don't even joke. I have to submit a list of known Defence spells as part of my Auror application, and my level of competency. I'm honestly starting to fear I'll forget half of them by the time May arrives."
"Tomorrow you will be practicing this Charm." Hyde announced to the room. "If you can begin class by listing all eleven cases of misuse from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries."
Gemma sighed. More work for them to complete out of class, and not even a guarantee of practice. Still, it was a step in the right direction.
"I suppose that's something." Sirius said as they left the room.
Gemma nodded in agreement. They joined their friends and headed to Potions together, all of them complaining about the lack of practical application in Defence. They then finished off their day with Transfiguration. As they left McGonagall's classroom, Lily suggested they head to the library and work on their essays, and the girls all agreed. The boys had strongly disagreed, so they headed off elsewhere.
"Lily, how excited are you about your date?" Alice grinned and looped her arm through Lily's. "James literally won't shut up about it."
Mary squealed and clapped her hands, while Gemma smiled. A few days ago, James had asked Lily to Hogsmeade and she had accepted. Despite it being a few weeks away, it was clearly on James's mind.
"I am excited." Lily answered. "But also nervous. James can be…"
"Romantic?" Mary suggested.
"Immature?" Gemma added.
"A stalker?" Alice laughed and the others joined in.
Lily shook her head and smiled. "No. Intense. James can be intense and I guess I'm worried I won't live up to his expectation of our date. What if… what if he expects me to kiss him? I'm not sure I'm ready."
Gemma turned to Lily. "First of all, if you're not ready then you're not ready. No one can tell you otherwise and no one can force you to do something you don't want to do. But secondly, it's James. He won't have any expectation from you except that you have a good time. He cares about you Lily."
"Yeah." Alice turned to Lily as well. "James is literally so happy that you're agreeing to spend the day with him. He doesn't want anything else from you but that."
"And if you change your mind about that…" Mary smiled and took Lily's hand. "…then that's ok as well. Just tell him."
Gemma and Alice nodded and Lily smiled at them all. "Thanks girls. You're right. And I'm not going to change my mind. Plus, I have three weeks to prepare."
Alice laughed. "Only Lily would make a date sound like a homework assignment."
They all laughed. Mary nudged Lily. "Why are you so nervous? Is it because, maybe, you do actually quite like him and you don't want anything to go wrong…?"
Lily blushed slightly. "Maybe."
They climbed the stairs to the library quickly then turned a corner. Mary turned to Alice. "Any more news from Frank?"
Alice shook her head. "No. After he finally wrote to me last week, he hasn't replied again. But at least I know he's ok."
"And that he misses you and loves you and is absolutely broken without you." Gemma teased Alice. Frank had written a ten page letter, where at least half of it was not suitable to be read out loud. Alice had read the letter countless times and had giggled constantly every single time. It was clear that Frank was forgiven for taking over four weeks to write.
"Shut up." Alice laughed and nudged Gemma.
"Girls." They all looked up and into the stern expression of Madam Pince. She was standing outside the library; Gemma hadn't realised they were so close. Pince eyed them all slowly. "I expect you to keep your chatter to a minimum while you are in my library. I have other students in here, working hard."
"Yes, ma'am." They all looked down and focused on getting through the doors quietly, then finding a table at the back. Gemma fought a smile as she caught the eyes of her friends, who were all also trying to avoid laughing.
Eventually they calmed and settled down to work on their essays. As the afternoon rolled into the evening, one by one they completed as much work as they could, then left. Gemma was the last to leave, and as she packed up her items she realised there was no one else in the library. It was late.
She stepped out the doors and started to head back towards Gryffindor Tower. But movement caught her eye. Looking left and down the long darkened corridor beside her, Gemma saw someone disappear around a corner. She frowned. Had that been Snape?
The corridor in question led to a part of the castle that was currently off limits. So what was he doing? Gemma decided to find out.
She walked quietly and carefully down the corridor. As she got closer to the end, to where Snape had disappeared around the corner, she heard footsteps, like someone pacing. She smiled. Now she just needed to find a good hiding…
Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and a hand covered her mouth. An instant flashback to the night Avery had grabbed her appeared in her mind, and she struggled against the hold.
Then a voice she recognised whispered in her ear. "Gem. It's me, Sirius." She immediately stopped struggling. "Stay quiet." She nodded her understanding, even though she had no idea what he was doing.
Sirius removed his hand, then turned her into him. A thin cloak fell over her and she realised she was under the invisibility cloak. With Sirius.
She opened her mouth to ask him a question, but he quickly covered it again. She frowned at him. He needed to stop doing that or she was going to bite him.
He leaned into her and whispered so quietly that Gemma had to really concentrate. "I said, stay quiet." She sighed. He had said that. "Snape is just around that corner."
Sirius pulled his hand away then stepped to the side, pulling her with him. She turned in the process, so she could see as well. Snape was pacing back and forth – the footsteps she had heard a moment ago – and he seemed to be waiting for someone.
She felt Sirius lean in and once again she had to concentrate hard on hearing him. "I don't know why you're following Snape, Gem, but you need to leave."
She shook her head. No way was she leaving.
She heard him sigh, and felt the warmth of his breath against her neck. She suddenly became aware of their position; her back was pressed firmly against Sirius's front, and he had tucked an arm around her waist. She could feel every hard inch of him behind her; every hard inch. Merlin, was he getting turned on from this? They weren't even doing anything. Gemma wriggled slightly, and she heard him groan. She fought back a laugh and wriggled again.
His hand suddenly landed on her bottom and he squeezed. "Stop it." Despite the low volume of his command, there was no denying that he expected her to obey. She immediately stopped. She heard him chuckle softly. "So that's how I control you." He squeezed her bum again and she was tempted to elbow him in the stomach. Or his dick. Bastard.
Sirius smiled to himself. Gemma was a proud little thing and no doubt she hated the implication that he could control her. She was probably plotting a rather vicious attack right now.
Still, he had needed her to stop wriggling. She was a distraction he didn't need.
Since catching Snape on the third floor looking for the hidden passageway, Sirius and his friends had been keeping a close eye on him. Sirius and James in particular. They'd followed him a few times, and they were all now fairly certain Snape only knew about two hidden passageways; one that led to another part of the castle, and one that went out into the forbidden forest. Of course, Snape also knew about the one to Hogsmeade, but had so far not worked out how to access it.
So, when the Marauders had seen Snape wandering the halls again, Sirius had volunteered to follow. Thankfully James had given him the cloak, knowing that it would help him get even closer to what Snape was up to.
So here he was; hidden in a corridor watching Snape who was clearly waiting for someone.
He took a deep breath and inhaled the delicious scent of vanilla and oranges. Despite the situation, he enjoyed having Gemma pressed tightly against him. Especially as his hand was currently squeezing one perfectly shaped buttock. Merlin, she was soft. His other hand was wrapped around her waist and he had visions of bending her forward and…
"Sirius."
For a second he wondered if she had heard his thoughts. No doubt she could feel his arousal. But then he realised she was getting his attention because Snape was no longer alone. Smethyck and Garth had both arrived.
Snape turned to them and looked over their shoulders. "Were you followed?"
Garth shrugged but Smethyck shook his head. "No."
"Do you have it?"
"We think so." Smethyck pulled out a piece of parchment. "Been tailing Pettigrew all week. He disappeared here."
Sirius frowned. They'd been tailing Peter? How had he and his fellow Marauders not noticed that?
"Did you see a passageway?" Snape sounded impatient.
Smethyck shook his head. "Well, no, but we saw him head down this corridor, then suddenly he was gone."
"And there's nothing down there." Garth added.
Snape grabbed the parchment from Smethyck. "So you don't actually know where on this corridor… dammit." Snape scowled at both of them. "This isn't a secret passageway; it's the Prefects bathroom, you morons."
Sirius held back a laugh. Remus had shown them the Prefect bathroom a couple of years ago, but had told them they weren't allowed to use it unless absolutely necessary. Obviously Peter had been desperate.
Smethyck frowned. "What?"
Garth looked stunned. "They have their own bathroom? That's not fair."
"Shut up, Garth." Snape was clearly not happy. "You were supposed to find a damn passageway. We're meeting Mulciber in a few weeks." Sirius felt Gemma stiffen at Snape's words. "He wants answers."
Smethyck and Garth looked uncomfortable. Smethyck spoke first. "Sorry. We'll keep tailing him."
Snape nodded. "You better. He's the weakest link. He'll lead us to one eventually."
Sirius gritted his teeth. He was tempted to throw away the cloak, march over to Snape and punch him in the face. He wanted to do that most of the time anyway, but especially after his comment about Peter.
"Sirius?"
He looked down at Gemma who had turned slightly in his arms. Snape, Smethyck and Garth had all left, so it was just the two of them. He scanned the corridor, then pulled off the cloak and took a step back.
"Sirius, what's going on?"
He hesitated. It wasn't that he didn't want Gemma involved, but this situation was about the passageways, which meant it was Marauder business; only they knew about every single hidden part of the castle.
Gemma folded her arms. "Sirius. They just mentioned Mulciber, they're following Peter, and they're talking about hidden passageways."
"It's nothing for you to worry about. We have it under control."
"You, James, Remus and Peter?" He nodded and she frowned at him. "So you all knew that Peter was being followed?"
He shifted slightly. "Well, no, but…"
She laughed slightly. "So you don't have it completely under control then."
He chuckled in response. "Not completely."
"Come on, Sirius, tell me. What's going on?"
He sighed. She was a puppy with a bone sometimes. "Fine. There are many different hidden passageways around Hogwarts. Most lead to other parts of the castle or out to the ground, but there are some – like the one under the Whomping Willow – that lead to outside Hogwarts too. To Hogsmeade."
"Wait, there are passageways that lead directly from Hogsmeade into Hogwarts castle? Not just onto the grounds?"
"Correct. And Snape is trying to find them."
"Why? And what does Mulciber…" Gemma's eyes widened. "Oh shit. He's trying to get in, isn't he?"
"We think so." Gemma chewed at her bottom lip and Sirius reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "Hey. He won't get in. We won't let that happen."
"How will you stop him?"
"Well, we've been keeping an eye on Snape and he doesn't actually know about many of the passageways, and he has no idea how to get into one of the ones that leads to Hogsmeade. Since we now know they're following Peter, we'll come up with a way of sending them on a wild chase."
"Should we tell Dumbledore?"
The thought had crossed their minds, but they had decided against it, for now. They didn't have any evidence; they'd just overheard things. "We will. But right now we have nothing to tell him. Snape hasn't actually found any passageways or used them to get out to Hogsmeade. Telling Dumbledore will just draw attention to it."
Gemma frowned; she didn't look convinced. "I suppose so. But…" She hesitated for a moment. "Promise me that as soon as you think Snape knows, we tell Dumbledore."
Sirius smiled, took Gemma's hand. "I promise. Now…" He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. "…this is the first time we've been alone in a while and I'm sick of talking about Snape."
Gemma smiled. "What did you have in mind?"
He moved his hand to her nape. "This." He kissed her. Gently at first, then hard and demanding. She opened for him and he took advantage. Merlin, it had been so long. Too long.
Her hands reached up and he relished the feel of her fingers scraping through his hair. He turned her and walked her backwards until her back touched the wall. He pressed into her. He wanted to feel every inch of her against him.
His hand moved from her back to her waist and he inched slowly upwards. He paused for just a moment before he covered her breast with his palm. She moaned into his mouth and pressed herself forward. It was all the invitation he needed. He moulded the soft weight in his hand and felt her nipple tighten through the thin material of her shirt and bra. His cock strained against his trousers.
He ran his thumb over her nipple and she shivered. He smiled at her responsiveness as he placed kisses over her jaw and down her neck. "Gem." His voice sounded thick and hoarse against her throat. "Have you ever had an orgasm before?"
"I… urm… yes… but only… only when I've…" She trailed off.
"When you've touched yourself?" He felt her nod. Merlin, that was something to imagine. Gemma lying in bed touching herself. Maybe thinking about him while she did it. His cock wept at the thought. "Will you let me touch you? Let me give you that release?" His request was met with silence and he wondered if he had pushed her too far.
"Yes."
He almost missed her whispered reply. A surge of excitement and anticipation soared through him. He'd touched other girls before; had made them come, but there was something about Gemma that was different. He wanted to do it right. He wanted to make it good for her.
He continued to kiss her throat and strum her nipple, while his other hand slowly lifted her skirt. His fingertips grazed the soft, smooth skin of her thigh and he inched higher.
He felt her tense. He paused. "Are you ok? I can stop if you…"
"Don't stop." Her reply was firm, assured. "I'm fine. Just… nervous."
He understood. He left her neck and kissed her lips again, his tongue tangling with hers as he waited for her to relax. She did; she sunk into his kiss and moaned into his mouth. She pressed her body towards him and his hand inched higher again.
This time, he reached her core. He could feel the heat of her, knew she was aroused and ready for his touch. He boldly slipped his hand into her underwear and his fingertip found her bundle of nerves. She jolted. He wrapped his arm around her to hold her upright as he increased the pressure.
Gemma broke from the kiss, needing air. "Oh. Fuck. Sirius." Her voice sounded strange to her own ears.
She closed her eyes. Nothing had ever felt so good. Sirius wasn't doing anything she hadn't done herself, but Merlin's Beard, she was set to explode already. He increased his pace and pressed harder, and Gemma shook from the sensation scattering around her body. Her core pulsed, and she felt the pleasure building inside her. A small cry tore from her throat as she exploded and she leaned heavily on Sirius.
She sighed in contentment. That had been the best orgasm she had ever had. Sirius removed his hand from under her skirt and pulled back slightly. She looked up at him. "That was… amazing." He smiled and her heart flip-flopped. It was so genuine; like he really cared about her and her pleasure. She placed her hand on his cheek. "Thank you."
He turned his head and kissed her palm. "My pleasure."
He stepped further back and Gemma focused on checking herself; her shirt had ridden up slightly and her skirt was still bunched. She smoothed out her clothes then looked over at Sirius. She immediately saw that he wasn't unaffected by their kiss.
"What about you?" She glanced down at his trousers which were straining under the pressure. Merlin, he was large. Not that she had any idea what 'normal' size was, but somehow she suspected Sirius was bigger than average. "Would you like me to…"
Sirius chuckled and adjusted himself. "No, I'm ok."
She frowned. It looked painful, and she knew from stories and films that guys usually wanted a girl to do stuff in return. Surely Sirius was no different. "Are you sure. I don't mind. I mean, I've never actually done anything like this before but I'm sure I could learn quickly…"
Sirius laughed, interrupting her. "I have no doubt you'd be a quick study, Gem. And that you'd be an expert at it in no time. But honestly, I'm fine. I wanted that kiss to be about you."
"Oh." Gemma felt her cheeks heat, remembering exactly how that kiss had been about her. "Well, thank you."
"Next time though." Sirius said and he winked at her.
Gemma felt goosebumps all over her skin at the thought of 'next time'. She nodded. "Next time."
He sighed and turned, then scooped up the invisibility cloak. "Believe me, I want to stay and do all of that again, but I need to get this back to James. He has plans for sneaking out later. Something about Lily and a pecan tart."
Gemma smiled. Lily loved pecan tarts, but the kitchen didn't make them often. No doubt James had something romantic planned. "I understand. I need to get back too. But I had fun."
"Me too." He leaned in and kissed her firmly on the lips and Gemma's legs wobbled again. Merlin, she was always a mess just from his kisses.
They broke apart then turned and headed back to the common room together and Gemma played their interaction over and over in her head. She hadn't wanted it to end. Even after her orgasm, she had wanted more. And she had wanted more for Sirius too; she had wanted to touch him – all of him – and watch him let go; she had wanted to give him the same intense pleasure that he had given her.
With sudden clarity, Gemma realised that she wanted to go all the way with Sirius; she trusted him with her body and she wanted to have sex with him. She wanted him to be her first.