Chapter 14.

"There is no way that's true," Beth said, shaking her head and obviously trying to contain her laughter.

Sirius shrugged, pulling up his sleeve to reveal a series of lines across his shoulder. "They're right there."

Sirius felt tingles run through his body as Beth touched the marks softly. Chancing a look at her, he smiled as he saw her mouth gape open. She followed it quickly by throwing her head back and laughing harder, making Sirius smile wider. She. Is. Beautiful.

"Did the tattoo artist ever question it?"

Bringing the sleeve back down, he nodded. "Once. After I told him I wanted a sixth one, he asked what it was representing."

"Did you tell him it was your body count?"

"No," Sirius replied, shaking his head. "I told him the truth. I was counting the number of tattoos I had gotten from him."

"That's so funny," Beth giggled, stepping back to the side of him. She quickly accepted the arm he'd casually stuck out for her, pressing herself tightly to his side. "And that was the first tattoo you got?"

Sirius nodded. "One straight line on the shoulder."

He felt her lean her head into his arm, pressing her grin to his skin. He took the opportunity to place a small kiss on the top of her head, feeling victorious when she looked up at him with an overwhelming happy smile. They'd been talking about their firsts in life for what felt like hours, walking slowly and laughing too much as they toured the London Zoo. He'd brought her here to "marvel at the animals," as she had put it, but she'd appeared to be more interested in learning about him.

They'd been together for almost a month now, and though they had certainly gotten to know each other better, their time was often spent in the company of others. It was not uncommon for her to walk into James' small flat and find the entire group there, waiting for her return so they could argue over where to eat. It happened so often that a routine had quickly been established: she'd toss her shoes off, quickly change into more comfortable clothes, join him on James' run down chair, and challenge every option James offered for dinner as she ran her fingers through his hair. Sirius would lean into her, wrapping an arm around her tightly as she, Remus, and Peter argued passionately against James' choice for dinner. They'd all end up deciding, they'd go out, they'd eat, and before they knew it it was time to return back home.

Sirius enjoyed those moments with her, watching her interact with the people that he considered to be the most important in his life, but it was the moments he had her alone that he truly loved. When he was able to sneak her away from the others and elicit her precious time all for himself, he did everything in his power to make the moments last longer. With all of the time she'd spent working at her internship, her time to see him was becoming limited. Today was needed for both of them, and the opportunity to simply laugh and enjoy life with her was more amazing than he had anticipated.

"Okay, your turn."

Sirius looked ahead lazily, pondering a good question he could ask her. "Mmm," he murmured, an idea coming to him. "First album you bought."

"Abbey Road," she said, hardly missing a beat.

Sirius looked down at her. "Really?"

"Does that surprise you?"

Sirius shrugged. "I took you more as a Fleetwood Mac kind of girl."

Beth laughed. "Are you judging my taste in music?"

"No, no, no," Sirius defended. "Not at all."

Beth eyed him curiously. "Why? What was your first album?"

"Abbey Road."

Beth laughed loudly at that, squeezing his arm a little tighter. "There's no way that was your first album."

Sirius chuckled with her. "It was! I got it as a gift, though. I didn't actually buy that one."

"Then what was the first one that you personally bought?"

"Led Zeppelin IV."

Beth laughed again, nodding her head. "Stairway to Heaven, makes sense."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, thinking back to all those years ago when him and James had scoured the streets of a small muggle town, stopping in the record store simply for the air conditioning. "Peter listened to it more than I did, though. He actually taught himself how to play it on the guitar."

"Did he really?"

Sirius nodded, looking down at her. "Ask him to play it for you sometime. He's actually quite good."

"I will," she promised, nodding her head once to confirm it. They walked like that for a couple moments longer, and Sirius took the opportunity to reach his hand down and interlace his fingers with hers. After a quick stop to look at the rhinoceros, they started back up. Noticing a bench seated further along the path, Sirius began to lead them to it.

"Okay," Beth interrupted his thoughts, bringing his attention back to her. "I've got one."

"Lay it on me," Sirius replied.

"First kiss."

Sirius laughed aloud at her declaration. "I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to get there."

"You were not!"

"I was," he laughed again, squeezing her hand a little tighter. "You can admit it, it's fine. I won't laugh at you too much."

Beth rolled her eyes, pushing him off to the side without a moment's thought. "Just answer the question."

Sirius sighed dramatically, pulling them both to the bench next to them. "Alright, alright," he conceded as he sat down. When she was settled down next to him, he said, "Natalie Acton. I was fourteen, she was fifteen. We did it on a dare."

"On a dare? How romantic," Beth teased, poking his arm. "Did you fancy her, then?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, I think James just wanted something to tease me over. It didn't work, though. It was a bloody wonderful kiss."

"Oh, really?"

"She knew what she was doing," Sirius nodded, moving to encircle his arm around Beth. "But don't take it too hard. Your effort is extraordinary."

"Shut up," she laughed, elbowing him in the side for good measure.

Sirius laughed along with her, kissing the top of her head to dissuade any rising anger. She leaned into it happily, and Sirius watched a wave of contentment cover her face. Taking ahold of her expression, he turned the question back to her. "And what about you?"

Beth cocked her head to the side in thought. "Hm, Spencer Hall, I was twelve, he was thirteen."

"You were twelve?" Sirius exclaimed.

"Hey, you're not the only person who 'has game'," Beth argued, overemphasizing the quotes in what he was sure was an attempt to aggravate him. "We were getting ready to leave for summer break and he hadn't kissed me yet, so I stopped to see him at his locker and planted one on him."

Sirius raised his eyebrows in response. "That's awfully modern of you. Was it a good kiss?"

"No, it was awful, but I did it before you did."

Sirius squinted his eyes as she stared directly at him, a smug grin covering her face. She wanted a challenge, huh? Sirius thought to himself. Then fine.

"Alright, Miss I-Did-It-Before-You-Did," he taunted, moving to face her more directly. "First time you shagged someone."

Beth rolled her eyes. "And you were making fun of me asking about your first kiss," she scoffed.

"Oh no," Sirius shook his head. "This is more just to prove that I have more game than you do."

She laughed loudly at that, throwing her head back before turning to look at him. "Since when does the age you lose your virginity constitute as 'having game'?" Sirius went to throw back a retort at her, but she continued, "I'll bet your whole first experience was done in five minutes or less."

Sirius thought back to that night all those years ago with Amanda Martin, a fourth year Ravenclaw with more spunk and personality than he'd ever imagined. They had met up frequently to, ahem, work out some frustration, and that night had been no exception. Despite there being no abnormal amount of potions essays or transfiguration tests coming up, the stress had been high, the tempers had been quick, and the tension was rising with every passing moment. Before Sirius knew it, Amanda was sliding his shirt off of him with an intensity that he'd never seen and had given him a look that made it all too clear what she wanted to do.

Beth was right. It had been the fastest three minutes of his life.

"I was fifteen," he stated, raising his eyebrows. "Think you have me beat?"

Beth squinted at him in response, taking several moments before replying, "I was in love with mine."

Sirius twisted his face into one of shock and mockingly placed a hand over his heart. "You wound me! You honestly think that I, Sirius Black, would be interested in nothing more than a wild tryst on a starlit night?"

"Am I wrong?" she asked, biting back a grin.

Sirius waved his hand, dismissing the very idea. "It doesn't matter, I lost mine before you did, didn't I?"

"Yes," Beth confirmed, standing up and holding out her hand to him. "But I got my first kiss before you did. I entered the game before you did. "

"And yet, I'm the one in the lead."

Beth laughed again at that, intertwining her fingers once again with his. He wasn't sure if he'd ever tire of her delicate touch, and as they continued their trek down the path, he found himself wishing he'd never have to know a moment without her. She began to passionately argue with him over the matter, insisting that a first kiss is just as, if not more, important and significant than a first night together, and as he watched the beautiful person next to him make her case, a thought pricked his mind.

It was a flash of something, nothing more, nothing less, but it was something. More specifically, it was them, spent and sated and tangled in sheets, but having a pointless argument just like this one. Maybe they were just as they were now, maybe they were more serious, maybe they were married, but it was certainly them years down the road.

It was at that moment that he realized a future with her was something he could easily see. Despite all of the secrets, despite her living far away, despite his not knowing what at all he was going to do when this war was over, it was there, teasing him. Whether or not he wanted it was still yet to be seen. Neither of them were in love, neither of them knew whether this would last any further than the summer, but he could see it. It was there, currently unattainable and far out his reach, but there was a glimmer, a promise, out in the distance.

He wondered if she could see it too.

"You've got to admit it," Beth said loudly, drawing him out of his thoughts. "A kiss is a rather extraordinary milestone."

"I never said it wasn't."

"You're definitely implying it."

"No," he said, turning them to walk past a secluded building with no exhibits around. It was perfectly isolated for such an intimate conversation. "I'm saying that shagging someone is a more important event."

"It's important, yes," Beth stated. "But it's not more important."

He shook his head, leading her to turn at the corner of the path to walk alongside the building. "Give it up, sweetheart. You know I'm right."

Beth stopped, pulling him around to face her directly. "No," she said, her face stoic and her eyes full of determination. "You're not."

And then she kissed him. Hard.

She pushed him against the wall of the building, her hands snatching at his leather jacket like it was a lifeline, pulling and tugging him as close to her as possible. She was nothing but energy, dominating the kiss with more experience and versatility than he'd imagined. For several moments he simply stood there, relenting to her will and allowing her to steal his breath away. She licked, nibbled, and utterly ravaged his mouth, pouring herself into the kiss with everything she had before abruptly pulling away, leaving them both breathing heavily.

Oh Merlin yes, he could easily see this being a part of his future.

"Tell me a kiss isn't more important," she breathed out, her eyes full of fire and her chest heavily lightly. "I dare you."

Those three words were all it took for him to gain control, and he roughly turned them around and pressed her against the wall. She stared up at him, somehow unperturbed at the sudden change, her eyes still burning, and she defiantly waited for his response. Leaning down slowly, he brought his lips close to her ear, letting his breath tickle her skin. She clutched at his shoulders in anticipation, but he hardly felt it over the pounding of exhilaration in his heart. What he did feel encouraged him, though, and he placed a few soft kisses around her cheek before moving to the spot right under her ear.

"Tell me," she repeated, but her voice was weak. She had leaned her head back, allowing him further access and urging him on with a hand clutching at his hair. Instead, Sirius leaned back, meeting her gaze directly.

"Prove me wrong," she whispered.

"Oh, I'd rather you didn't."

The voice came from out of nowhere, and the two of them sprang apart immediately. Sirius heard footsteps coming at a steady pace and, still facing Beth, let out a soft chuckle at having been caught. "Wouldn't want to turn you in to the authorities for public indecency," he heard the man add.

"We're sorry, sir," Beth replied, straightening her hair and her shirt. "We'll leave right now."

"No," the man said, coming closer to the two of them. "No, I don't think you will, not just yet."

"Listen," Sirius turned around. "It was just a—"

No.

A death eater was standing with a wand pointed directly at him, the disturbing mask covering his face. Without a moment's hesitation, Sirius began to let his own wand slide from under his sleeve into his hand, trying to make it as inconspicuous as possible. With his other hand, he motioned to Beth.

"Get behind me."

"Siri—"

"Just stay behind me, I'll take care of it."

"Oh," the man said, tilting his head to the side. "How incredibly thoughtful of you, standing up for your little muggle slut."

Sirius kept his eyes forward, willing his resilience from lashing out at him. He heard Beth murmur something behind him and waved his hand down, trying to get her to stay quiet. Taking a daring step forward, he let his wand fall a little farther down the sleeve into his hand. "What do you want?"

"Oh, let's move away from all the pretense," the man said, taking another step forward as well. "It makes for a much more boring report. You know what it is I want."

"I hate to break it to you, mate," Sirius replied, "but I'm not interested in giving you a proper wank to relieve all that tension. Might have to do that one yourself."

The man was suddenly only an arm's length away from them, his wand pointing directly at Sirius' neck. Beth gasped loudly and grabbed onto his arm, pulling him back a step.

"Look, you have us confused for someone else," Beth said shakily.

"Stop," Sirius interrupted.

"Whatever it is you want—"

"Beth, stop," he commanded.

The man cocked his head again. "Beth?" Even with the mask, Sirius could feel his gaze shift from him to her. "So the muggle slut has a name."

Immediately regretting addressing her, Sirius stepped closer to the wand extended out to him. "Listen, I'm the one you want. Leave her be."

"Oh, I don't know," the death eater responded, walking closer to him and reaching out a hand for her. "I think the Dark Lord would be particularly interested in finding out about this one."

He felt Beth shift farther behind him, and he took this moment to step farther in front of her. "Leave her be," he repeated.

The death eater turned to face him again before slowly bringing his hand down. "For now, perhaps," he commented. "Can't promise for later, though. Very interesting information, indeed."

Sirius kept his eyes focused on the person in front of him, sliding his wand now fully into his hand. He smirked as the death eater backed up into his original position. "You know, if you took that disgusting mask off, you'd have been able to attack me from behind. You'd certainly be able to see better."

The death eater touched the top of his wand to his jugular, pressing it into a crevice in his skin. "I would watch your tongue if I were you."

"Or what?" Sirius taunted. "You'll jab me to death with your pointy stick?"

The death eater twisted it, digging it further into his neck, but Sirius refused to acknowledge it. He locked his eyes on the small slits of the mask and leaned his head up, giving the death eater more access. "Go on then," he dared. "Do your worst."

"Don't. Test. Me."

Sirius smirked. "I don't think you'll do anything."

"Sirius." Beth clung to his shoulder, her voice shaky and wavering.

He pressed his arm back again, nudging her farther behind him. "I think you weren't given a chance to prove how tough you were, and you're going to try to do it now."

"I am warning you—"

"And I am telling you," Sirius interrupted, "that you are the least threatening death eater I have ever had the displeasure of meeting."

The man drew back his wand at that, and Sirius immediately threw up his own. A barrier shot out, preventing it from hitting either one of them. The man drew it back immediately afterwards, striking at him again. Again it bounced off. Sirius kept his eyes focused on him, matching each movement with one of his own before he felt himself run into Beth behind him.

"Beth!" he yelled. "Get behind the building!"

When he could no longer hear her scrambling for cover, he took a proper position and began firing back at him. He was right. The death eater was inexperienced, only barely blocking each spell Sirius shot at him. He was clumsy, and Sirius knew that he would give out shortly. He continued firing at him, sending the spells in as many different places as he could to distract him.

It took only seconds for the death eater to change his focus on sending spells at him to protecting himself. He frantically waved his wand around, blocking each burst of color he saw coming towards him. In another time, Sirius was sure he would have found the moment comical, the attacker frantically trying to protect himself from his supposed victim. Sirius took ahold of the opportunity that was his distraction and began walking closer to him, shooting each spell off quicker with each step.

Finally, one hit. As the death eater fell to the ground and turned to his wound, Sirius shouted, "Expelliarmus!" The wand went flying through the air and Sirius stepped forward, his wand pointed in the very position that had held him captive moments ago.

"And here we see a 'great man' fallen," Sirius spoke, wiping his forehead with his arm. "Does your precious Lord Voldemort know of the talent you possess? The ability to be beaten and disarmed with a muggle watching must be a fairly impressive résumé booster."

"You do not know who you are dealing with," the man muttered.

"No, I know exactly who I am dealing with," Sirius said, bending down to point his wand into the man's neck. "Cowards. Fiends. People who know this man is wrong and choose to follow him out of timidity." He chuckled, twisting his wand just as the man had done earlier. "Who are you going to follow when we win?"

The man raised his head to look directly at him. "The Dark Lord will win. He will dispose the world of muggle filth and will bring order back to a disorganized society. Why fight a losing battle when you could march with us?"

Sirius dug his wand in harder, relishing in the small whimper of pain he heard emerge from him. "Because people like you disgust me."

"People like me," the man repeated. Moving his head higher up to allow better access to his neck, he mockingly defied Sirius. "I was told to give you a message from one of these people like me."

"What?" Sirius seethed, the word sliding through his teeth.

"A Mr. Regulus Black sends his regards."

Sirius punched him without a moment's hesitation.

So his little brother, the same brother he had played with as a child, had adopted the pureblood ideals. His little brother, who had once laughed so hard that he produced his first case of accidental magic, had chosen to serve the enemy. His little brother, the family pride and joy, was a death eater.

His little brother had joined forces with people just like his parents.

His little brother was one of them.

Standing back, he watched as the death eater rolled in pain, clutching at his jaw. The sight gave him no satisfaction, and he briefly considered doing it again when he heard his voice being called out.

"Sirius," Beth said, her breath quivering and her hands cold as she reached out to him.

Tossing her hand aside, he knelt down once more and glared at the man. "Do not mention my brother again, or I will personally find and kill you." Standing up, he kicked him, rolling him over to his side.

Beth immediately pulled on his arm, urging him to turn around. "Let's go," she pleaded.

Sirius stood firm and pointed his wand back at the death eater, however, making eye contact with him one last time as he murmured, "Obliviate."

Grabbing onto her hand, Sirius apparated them back to an alley close to James' flat, too worried about getting her out of there to bother explaining anything to her. The second they appeared, Beth fell against him, her breath heaving and uneven.

Oh Merlin, Beth.

"What was that?"

Sirius' face softened as he pulled her tightly to him. "Are you alright?"

"No!" she shouted. "What just happened? Who was that? What were you doing?"

"You're alright," he sighed, pressing his lips to her hair. "They don't know about you anymore, you're safe. You're okay."

"I am not okay!" she cried, pushing back from him. Her face showed one of terror, and Sirius felt his heart crumble at the overwhelming look of distrust evident. Backing away even more, she asked, "What are you?"

Sirius breathed in shakily as well. This is not how this was supposed to go. Doing everything to stay calm, he replied, "I'm a wizard. It was all magic."

"What do you mean?"

"Magic is real," he said, holding up his wand. Beth immediately stood back, holding her hands up in defense. It nearly tore him apart. "That man is part of a league, a very dangerous league that James and I are fighting."

Beth's eyes went wide. "James can do this, too?"

Merlin, now he'd drug James into all of this. "Everyone can."

"Everyone?" Beth repeated, though her voice faltered.

He nodded. "There's a war going on, Beth. We're all working very hard to protect you."

She was swiping furiously at tears streaming down her face, doing her best to maintain eye contact amidst the pain that was so evident in her eyes. She was livid. He had caused it. He had put her in danger. It was his fault. Squeezing his wand tightly, he took out as much tension as he could, feeling his knuckles slowly beginning to ache from the force. Good, they could feel the same way his heart did.

Obliviate her.

Yes, he could do that. He could make that look go away. He could make her happy again. He could fix this.

She looked at his hand suspiciously, the distrust still present in her gaze. "What are you doing?"

"I need you to stand very still for me."

She jerked away, shaking her head wildly. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm protecting you," he said gently.

"By doing what?"

"I'm going to take away your memories."

Her jaw slacked at that, and she pushed him away when he tried to get closer. She was terrified. Disgusted, even. "You're not touching me," she commanded frightfully, still backing away from him.

His heart ached. "It won't hurt."

"You're not touching me!"

"It's for your own good," he argued, hoping his face showed more concern than the overwhelming pain. He took a step forward. "Please, Beth. The only way to protect you is to do this."

She shook her head. "You can't expect me to forget all of this."

"I promise," he assured her, chancing another step forward. "It won't hurt you at all. You won't remember anything about this. You'll be safe."

Beth took a step back, running into the wall behind her. He watched her tap it, looking for something to hold onto for security. He shifted forward, not quite taking a whole step, just aching to be closer to her. "Beth, please. It's not safe for you to know any of this."

Beth stared directly into his eyes at that, her mouth slightly ajar at his declaration. He reached out a hand slowly for her, grazing it down her arm as he stood right next to her, his heart skipping painfully when she flinched. He had put that terrified look into her eyes. It was his fault that she was standing there scared to death, and there was no other possible way to end her terror. James would kill him for this, he knew, but this was not how she was supposed to find out.

Looking up at him, she asked, "Are you in danger?"

Sirius hesitated a moment before nodding. "Yes."

"Then why are you involving me?" She pushed him away again, walking farther down the alley. "Why would you put me in danger too?"

"Beth—"

"No," she screamed, accusingly pointing at him. Tears continued to fall from her eyes as she glared at him. "You just stay away from me."

Sirius felt his heart drop at her disdain filled words. He reached out to her again. "Please—"

"Stay away!"

He took in a breath, raising his hand slowly and praying she wouldn't see it. "Beth, I'm sorry."

She scoffed. "Oh, so since you're sorry everything will be—"

"Obliviate."

A hazy cloud passed over her eyes as he saw the memories begin to fade away. Slowly lowering his wand, he watched all of those nasty feelings disappear. The hatred, the disdain, the terror crept away quicker than they came, and soon a serene look crossed her face. Sighing, he tucked his wand back up his sleeve and ran his hands through his hair.

They had been attacked.

Regulus was a death eater.

Beth had hated him.

He had obliviated her.

How was he going to explain this to James?

Not even an hour earlier, he had been considering what a future with her would look like. Sure, it had been wishful thinking, and sure, if he was being honest with himself, nothing would probably happen. But now? After seeing the way she had reacted to all of this?

It's different, a voice told him. She was thrust into this situation. She'll understand when you tell her again.

No. She won't.

"Hey."

He snapped his attention back to Beth, taking in her warm smile. He took it in greedily, grasping to that false sense of happiness exuding from her. She didn't remember. She didn't know. Offering as genuine a smile as he could muster, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Hey what?"

"You never told me how you lost your virginity."

He let out a small laugh, hoping she didn't notice the pain-filled sound that emitted. "I don't think it's a story I want to tell."

Beth rolled her eyes dramatically as they turned the corner back onto the street. "You'll tell me one day."

Sirius thought of the events they had narrowly escaped, of the fight he had fought, of the lie he was putting up now.

"I'll tell you one day," he responded.

But he knew he couldn't. He couldn't tell her anything.

He wouldn't tell her anything.

A/N: We have entered the plot, my friends.

As always, thank you for all of your reviews, favorites, follows, and reads! I wouldn't be motivated to finish this without them. Keep them coming!

Nimblesrivener, guys. Nimblescrivener.

Up next, Sirius discusses all that happened with someone we all love. Who do you think it is? What do you think they'll say?