Chapter 25: Set Fire To The Rain

Gemma stood by the side of the Quidditch pitch, looking up at the darkening sky. She was waiting for James, who was going to help her practice her flying again, and she really hoped the weather stayed dry. She didn't fancy flying around in the rain, even though that would be useful practice too.

Hearing footsteps, Gemma turned and was surprised to see Sirius walking towards her. She studied him as he gave her a sexy smile and flicked some of his hair back from his face. He had a jumper on over his t-shirt, but it still molded perfectly to his muscular chest. Her core flooded with heat as she remembered all the sex; specifically the sex they had finally had a few days earlier.

January had rolled into February and they had both become increasingly agitated and frustrated. They had both been struggling to concentrate writing an essay, when Sirius had suddenly grabbed her arm, dragged her upstairs to his dorm and told his friends to 'stay out!'. It had been both incredibly sexy and incredibly embarrassing, especially as other students had seen and heard. Now rumours were spreading that Sirius and Gemma were 'together'; they both chose to ignore that. It was easier than trying to explain that they were simply friends, with added benefits.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as he got closer.

"James forgot he had to write that Transfiguration essay before tomorrow morning. Lily just reminded him. He didn't want to leave you hanging though, so he asked if I could help you instead." He widened his arms. "So here I am."

"Oh, cool. Well, thank you."

"Shall we?" Sirius nodded towards the broom shed and together they walked over and picked up a Cleansweep each. Sirius leapt straight on and kicked off, but Gemma – as always – took a little longer to get ready and push off. She really needed to work on that.

Following Sirius to the edge of the pitch, they sat atop their brooms and agreed how they would train. Keeping it simple, Sirius played the role of a death eater; first being chased by Gemma and coming under attack, then later chasing Gemma and attacking. They practiced for almost an hour, before the first drop of rain landed on Gemma's cheek.

Curving her broom around a bend and avoiding another of Sirius's attacks, Gemma glanced over her shoulder. "How long shall we stay out here?" She peered up at the thick grey clouds overhead. "It's going to pour down soon."

"It's all good practice!" Sirius shouted back at her, before blasting red sparks at her broom. Gemma dodged the attack, then cast sparks back at Sirius, laughing as he had to duck his head down to avoid them.

Ignoring the rain – which was no easy feat given it was coming down hard and fast – Gemma continued to battle with Sirius. After ten minutes though, it was too much.

"I need to stop!" Gemma shouted over the heavy rainfall, slowing and turning her broom to face Sirius. He flew up beside her, grinning from ear to ear. He clearly enjoyed the awful weather more than she did.

"Already?"

Gemma shivered. Her clothes were soaked through and even her bones felt cold. "Yes. I'm freezing."

Sirius chuckled. "I forget how pathetic you are in the cold." Gemma rolled her eyes and shoved at his arm as he continued laughing. "Come on then. Let's get you back inside and warmed up."

They quickly flew to the ground and placed their borrowed brooms back in the shed, then jogged up to the castle. Gemma wrapped her arms around herself, squinting her eyes as the rain hammered down on her. Her hair was soaked through, sticking to the side of her face and her teeth were starting to chatter. Merlin, she was freezing.

As they stepped through the castle doors, Sirius pulled out his wand and turned to her, casting the hot air charm on her clothes to dry her out. She shivered again as her clothes warmed and the coolness seeped from her skin. She still felt chilled, but it was an improvement.

"Thank you." She said, smiling at Sirius as he cast the same spell on himself. "I think I'm going to take a long hot shower when we get back upstairs."

Sirius threw her a small smile. "I'm tempted to join you."

Gemma shivered for an entirely different reason; the thought of Sirius, naked in the shower beside her, water sluicing off his warm skin, droplets running down his chest, over his abs to his thick, heavy cock. Merlin, he would look magnificent.

Sirius cleared his throat and her gaze flew upwards, meeting his smouldering stare and playful smirk. He knew exactly where her thoughts had gone.

Gemma fought back a blush. "Well, you'd be very welcome. But… I'm not sure we'd both fit. Our shower is pretty tiny." Annoyingly tiny. Given the size of some of the public bathrooms around the school, it was frustrating that the private dorm ones were so small. Then again, they only needed to cater for a few students, and they probably didn't expect two people to try and shower together.

"Ours too." Sirius said, tilting his head slightly. "Shame. I'll just have to imagine you're there with me." He winked at her. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Gemma chuckled. "And I'll have to do the same."

Sirius groaned a little and Gemma smiled to herself; his jeans were starting to stretch, pulling taut against his growing erection. He clearly liked the idea of her thinking about him.

"Come on, minx." He said, turning towards the corridor they needed to head down. "I've got a very vivid image of you touching yourself in the shower. Let's make that a reality."

Gemma blushed this time, but laughed and nudged Sirius's side. "You've got a dirty mind, Black."

"With you… always."

Gemma lathered the soap between her palms then gently rubbed it over her skin. The warm shower was exactly what she needed, her body temperature finally rising and starting to feel normal again. She clinically ran her hands over her arms and shoulders, over her breasts and down her body, as she did every time she showered each morning.

As her fingers brushed over her mons though, the familiar ache from being around Sirius sparked back to life. Biting her lip, Gemma remembered the image she had created earlier; Sirius standing next to her in the shower.

Slowly her fingers slipped through her folds and she almost gasped at how wet she was. Allowing the warmth of the water to seep into her skin, she ran her finger along her slit, circling but not touching her pearl. She bit her lip harder as she tormented her body, imagining it was Sirius playing with her, teasing her until she begged for release.

Gradually she applied more pressure, holding back a moan as her legs weakened from the sensation. She wondered what Sirius would do next. She moved her fingers back to her core and pressed in, her fingertip slipping into her tight sheath. Merlin's Beard. She'd never done that before; she'd only ever played with her clit.

Imagining it was Sirius, she pushed further inside, her body aching for more, and used her thumb to keep up the pressure on her clit. Her other hand moved to her breast, kneading the flesh before pinching the hardened peak.

Gemma was close, but it wasn't enough. She needed more. She needed… Sirius. Closing her eyes and bringing him firmly into her mind, she continued to play her body as she imagined him standing beside her, wet and naked, his cock jutting forward. She imagined him sinking to his knees, throwing her leg over his shoulder and licking and sucking and nibbling at her tender flesh. She imagined him standing, gripping her hips and slamming himself inside her. Filling her with his cock, over and over and over…

Gemma cried out as her orgasm rippled through her. She slapped her palm against the wall to hold her steady as her legs wobbled and she rode out the tiny tremors. It was a deliciously satisfying orgasm, although not quite as mind-blowing as when Sirius himself was in the room. Still, Gemma smiled contentedly as she lathered a fresh dollop of soap in her palms and returned to her regular shower routine.

She wondered if Sirius was thinking of her.

Sirius came hard and fast, his seed spurting out in thick, white ropes, splashing against the shower wall. He breathed deeply, his mind continuing to imagine Gemma on her knees in front of him. It hadn't taken much for him to find his release; his tight fist coupled with the warm water of the shower had easily reminded him of Gemma's hot little mouth.

Steadying himself, Sirius grabbed his shower gel and washed his body quickly. He wondered if Gemma had thought about him too, like she said she would. Merlin, he hoped so. The thought of her naked, wet, touching herself…

Sirius forced his brain away from that image before he ended up spending the whole fucking afternoon in the shower frigging himself off. Imagining his friends instead – which did wonders for killing his erection – Sirius quickly washed his hair, then stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He grabbed his wand and dried himself off as he had earlier, wanting to get dressed and back downstairs quickly. He had some essays to work on – boring – but he also wanted to check in with Remus. They were approaching another full moon, and he hadn't been feeling good earlier in the day.

As he jogged down the stairs that led back to the common room, he could hear his friends talking and laughing, and he was pleased to hear Remus's voice. His friend sounded normal.

"Do not write that!" Lily cried, looking genuinely concerned for Peter.

Peter just laughed. "I won't. But I really don't think she'll notice."

"I think you should write it." James said, and Sirius immediately recognised the grin on James's face. He was definitely trying to get Peter into trouble.

"James!" Lily cried, slapping him lightly on the arm. "Don't encourage him!"

They all laughed again and Sirius made his way over to join them. He noticed Gemma wasn't with them, but he pushed the image of her still being in the shower from his mind. "What's going on?"

Remus smiled. "Peter joked that he was going to write Raczidian into his Defence essay about notable figures using the Patronus charm. We all know Maull won't actually read it, so…" He turned to Peter. "I agree you should do it."

"Remus!" Lily cried, and Sirius joined in the laughter.

Maull was their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and to say she wouldn't read their essays was putting it mildly. After Hyde had been discovered as the person responsible for poisoning students, he had been carted off to Azkaban and The Ministry had hurried to find a replacement. The elderly Professor Maull was from the Wizengamot Administration department and had been found dozing at her desk when they'd first stepped into class.

The girls had all immediately panicked, of course, worrying about the effect this would have on their learning and their grades, but then Professor Maull had woken up, told them to pair up and duel, before leaning back in her chair and dozing off again. It had been the best hour of their day, and had given Sirius the opportunity to duel James again, as Maull clearly didn't care about their assigned pairs.

"Maybe I'll just write something small about him." Peter said, looking down at the parchment in front of him.

Sirius smiled as James and Remus both nodded their heads, with Alice joining them. Lily frowned and Mary just looked concerned. Sirius pulled up a chair and spotted a potions book to one side. He sighed. "Has anyone started the essay on Ageing Potion yet?"

"Yep. Done." Lily said proudly, and Sirius wasn't surprised in the slightest.

"I'm working on it right now." Remus added, handing Sirius a sheet covered in scribbled writing. "Mary and I have just been comparing notes."

"Thanks." He said, grabbing the paper and reading through. Useful stuff. He was terrible at taking notes in class because he much preferred to just sit and listen and let it absorb into his brain. But when they had class after class and essay after essay, he sometimes realised the error of his ways. Luckily Remus was a good enough friend to bail him out.

"Lazy git." James chuckled, nodding towards the notes in Sirius's hand. "You should write your own damn notes." James, however, was not.

"Shut up. Besides…" He shrugged and grinned. "I didn't ask. Remus offered." No one could argue with that.

After a few more minutes of name calling, jokes and laughter, they all settled down and returned to their respective essays. The sweet scent of vanilla teased at his senses and he looked up just as Gemma stepped into the common room. Her hair was still damp, and her face looked flush from a warm shower. She smiled broadly at him, then her cheeks turned a brighter pink. He instantly grew hard; she had definitely just had a dirty shower with him on her mind.

"Gemma!" Alice jumped up from the table and headed over to Gemma's side. Sirius returned his gaze to his essay, trying to focus on the sentence he had been part way through writing. He heard Gemma and Alice moving around, then another chair was added to their already cramped table and both girls sat down.

The afternoon rolled on in silence, only the scratching of parchment and the occasional huff or sigh as they concentrated on their work. Sirius completed his potions essay, took a deep breath, then grabbed another piece of parchment. Next up; Transfiguration.

Sirius rushed down the corridor. He was running late for class. Not good.

He'd overslept after working all night on a stupid Divination essay and while his friends had tried to rouse him before breakfast, he'd told them to go on without him and he'd meet them there. Instead, he had fallen back asleep and woken forty minutes later. So now he was running to class.

As he turned a corner, his Charms class up ahead, he stopped short just as Regulus stepped out of one of the boys bathrooms. Sirius wondered if his brother was also running late or whether he had a free period.

"Sirius."

"Regulus." Sirius decided to avoid a conversation and sidestepped him. He needed to get to class and he didn't have the energy for his brothers nonsense.

"In a rush?"

Sirius sighed. "Yes, Regulus. Believe it or not, I have a class to get to. Sort of the purpose of being here."

"Of course." Regulus just smiled at him. "I wondered if maybe you were just desperate to get to your new girlfriend. Today is a special day, of course."

Sirius frowned, confused. "What?"

"Valentine's Day. Aren't you going to treat your precious blonde to something special?"

Sirius frowned harder. Valentine's Day? Why would he give a shit about that? And precious blonde… He sighed. Gemma. No doubt Regulus had heard the gossip of him and Gemma 'being together'. Sirius fought back a growl. He didn't need this right now.

"There's nothing going on between me and Gemma." Except hot sex, but that wasn't anyone else's business. Maybe he shouldn't have so obviously dragged her upstairs the previous week…

"Not what I've heard. And I always knew there was something going on between you two." Regulus tone hardened as he took a step forward. "Bellatrix and I always suspected she meant more to you. Good to know we were right, brother."

Sirius didn't like the smirk sitting on Regulus's face and he hated the implication in his tone. Gemma was a friend, but if Regulus and Bellatrix thought she was more than that - his girlfriend, for example - they would use her to get to him. She'd be in danger, more danger than she was already in for simply being a Gryffindor. And unfortunately, he knew his cousin well; Bellatrix would stop at nothing to try and hurt him. She'd do it for the laugh alone.

"Gemma means nothing to me."

"Sirius, we both know that's a lie. At least make it believable."

He gritted his teeth. "She's a friend. But that's all. A friend who, after Hogwarts, I probably won't see again." The realisation of how true that statement was hit him like a tonne of bricks. He pushed that aside. "She's going to be an Auror, I'm going to travel the world. Our paths won't cross." He shrugged, feigning nonchalance. Merlin's beard, he really wouldn't see Gemma again after Hogwarts.

"Hmm." Regulus eyed him suspiciously.

"Sirius!"

Sirius turned to James's shout, and saw his best friend running towards him. He turned back to his brother. "I have class. Surely you have better things to do than stand around gossiping about false news?"

Regulus scowled at him, just as James appeared by his side. Without a retort, Regulus turned and walked away. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief, glad the conversation was over.

"What did he want?" James asked as they turned and headed to wait outside class with the others. Sirius was late but not so late that he had to walk into class alone.

"Just being an idiot. Making comments about things he doesn't understand."

James nodded and didn't ask any more questions. He knew when to leave things alone.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Gemma said as he reached her side, her grin showing him that she was in a playful mood and knew exactly how he felt about this pointless holiday. He almost responded in the same manner, but then he caught a glimpse of Smethyck and Garth just behind her, smirking while they watched him. Waiting for him to respond.

He thought back to his conversation with Regulus. He couldn't allow any more gossip about him and Gemma. He couldn't allow anything to get back to Regulus. Anything that would allow his brother – and his psychotic cousin – to use against him.

He hated himself, but he forced a disgusted look on his face. "I'm not your boyfriend, Gemma. You shouldn't be spouting that crap at me." Then, by the graces of Merlin, Flitwick opened the door and Sirius was able to walk off without having to see the shock on Gemma's face.

Unfortunately, they were still partnered together, so less than ten seconds later, a very pissed off Gemma slammed her books on the desk and threw herself into her chair. He paused, waiting to see if she would give him a piece of her mind or simply ignore him all class.

She chose the former. "I was making a joke, Sirius. You don't have to be a dick about it." She turned her head to face the front of the room, her chin held high.

He sighed. He had been a dick, and that wasn't fair. "I'm sorry, Gem. I really am. I said that because…" He trailed off, just as she turned to look at him, her features softening ever so slightly. She was forgiving him, but she deserved an explanation. Should he tell her? Tell her that Regulus thinks they're more and would use it against them both? He internally shook his head. No. She'd only get annoyed at the rumour, and he was certain it would pass eventually. Regulus would forget all about it. "I said that because I woke up in a bad mood and I'm a dick sometimes. I'm sorry."

It was a lame excuse, but it was all he could think of. Gemma stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "You are a dick. But you're forgiven."

He chuckled slightly at her acceptance. "Thank you."

As the end of February approached, most students were getting excited for the upcoming Quidditch matches. Gryffindor beat Hufflepuff in a landslide victory, but the cup was still all to play for. As students filtered out of the common room to watch Ravenclaw take on Slytherin, Sirius turned to the only other person choosing to stay behind.

She was sat on the sofa, her legs crossed underneath her, her back arched forward with her nose in that damn Auror book, her curtain of long blonde hair draping over her shoulders and arms. She hadn't noticed the room was clear and they were now alone.

Rather than disturb her, Sirius joined her on the sofa and waited for her to finish reading. After a few long minutes where Sirius fought every urge to just rip the book from her hand – and then rip her clothes off – she finally looked up.

"Oh." Gemma glanced around at the empty room. "Merlin, I hadn't realised everyone had gone."

Sirius laughed. "You were lost in your book. Again."

She smiled sheepishly and looked down at the pages she'd been reading. He glanced down too; 'Sir Henry Tavistock'. She was reading about one of the very first Aurors, one who had fought against dark magic back in the eighteenth century. She shrugged slightly. "I like this guy. He brought so many new ideas to the table, way before his time."

"Did you want to keep reading? Or head to the game instead? I know we said we'd stay behind but…"

"I'm good here." Gemma said, interrupting him and shutting her book. "I was only reading to pass the time until we were alone." She glanced around the common room again. "Which, now, we are." A small smile crept onto her lips and Sirius knew her mind had now caught up with his.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her up with him as he stood, then led her upstairs. It didn't take them long once they were in his dorm to strip down and get on the bed. Despite his urgency to get Gemma naked, he didn't ever want to rush their time together. He kissed her body slowly, enjoying the whimpers and moans as he teased at every little crevice of her body with his tongue. She came twice, then pushed him onto his back so she could tease him in much the same way. He wasn't complaining.

Eventually, he crawled on top of her, spread her thighs and thrust into her tight, wet sheath. He took her hard and fast, knowing she liked it rough. Gemma clawed at his back, the scratch of her nails increasing his own pleasure. He then pinned her wrists above her head, loving the contraction of her pussy as he took control and dominated her body.

He scraped her nipple with his teeth as she flooded his cock with her essence, right before he bit down on the sensitive skin between her neck and shoulder. He wondered if he'd leave a mark – the idea of her having his possession on her strangely erotic – but he pushed that aside as a heat-of-the-moment thought. Gemma wasn't his to possess or mark.

With a roar, he climaxed, and fell on top of her in a sated heap. Their heavy breathing mingled and he couldn't help himself from taking her lips in a hard, demanding kiss. He loved kissing her; stroking deep inside the cavern of her mouth, teasing her tongue with his, tasting her deliciously unique flavour. He couldn't get enough.

Pulling out of her and pulling away to remove his condom, Sirius felt the chill of the cool February air. Tempted to dive back into bed and hold on to Gemma's warm, sexy body, he was disappointed to see she was already up and half dressed. Then again, their friends would be returning from the game soon and he didn't want to risk them walking in on them naked. Well, he didn't care if they saw much of him – they shared a dorm, they'd seen it all already – but he did care about them seeing Gemma. The thought of anyone seeing her naked sent a spark of unnecessary rage through his body.

"Sirius?"

He suddenly realised Gemma had been talking to him, but he had missed every single word. He shook his head, then grabbed his boxers and jeans. "Sorry, Gem. I was lost in my own thoughts."

She laughed and brushed out her tangled sexed-up hair with her fingers. "I noticed. I just asked if you fancied walking with me up to owlery? I still need to send that letter to my mum."

Sirius agreed – the fresh air would do him good – and together they walked to the owlery, talking about everything and nothing, before heading back to the common room where their friends were waiting for them. Ravenclaw had put up a good fight, but Slytherin had won, meaning the victor of the cup would come down to the last game. Tension and excitement mixed as students spoke of nothing but the final Quidditch games which were due to be played in April, and Sirius lost himself in the easy chatter.

February moved swiftly into March and Sirius found himself in a somewhat regular routine. With NEWT examinations coming in May, classes were becoming practice exams, with free periods and evenings spent working in pairs or groups testing each other. The number of essays they needed to write had eased up as well, as teachers gave them all the space to study.

The weekends were spent unwinding from the long weeks, and for Sirius, this was the time when he and Gemma managed to get the most time alone. As often as they could, they would sneak into old classrooms, hidden corridors or up to the astronomy tower. At least once a week they would head up to his dorm, agreeing with his friends that they would remain undisturbed. After they had incredible sex – which Sirius found he couldn't get enough of – they would sit and chat, sometimes for hours, before finally returning to their friends. Easy and enjoyable; exactly what Sirius wanted from life.