Disclaimer: The HP-characters belong to JK Rowling, I only borrow them to answer our resident centaur's challenge.
A/N: fic inspired by Bruce Springsteen's I'm on Fire
BLACK FIRE
By Geena
Sirius Black was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling of the dormitory. He had resigned to the fact that he would have to endure yet another sleepless night.
Was there no end to his torture ?
He tossed and turned but couldn't find his comfort spot, like he hadn't been able to do for weeks now, ever since he first saw her.
His eyelids lowered and a goofy smile crept on his face. It had been love at first sight, at least for him it was. Ever since he saw her, he knew he had to have her.
A fist balled against his sides, trying to hold back the tears he had been spilling so frequently lately, realising she was entirely beyond his reach and there was nothing he could do about it.
Try and tell that to a sixteen year old burning heart!
During the days he was able to cope, barely. If the teachers had noticed his lack of interest, he didn't know, they certainly hadn't said anything to him yet. Only Professor McGonagall had given him a sharp look when he had failed to transfigure his quill into a chicken.
No, the teachers didn't bother him, but his friends, now that was something else.
He was sure they would find out eventually, but not if he could prevent it. Though their friendship was based on more than the silly pranks they were infamous for, he just knew they'd laugh at him or worse, pity him. James would probably joke about it and try to give him some pointers, where as Remus was most likely to pat him on the shoulder and tell him it would all pass eventually.
They would never understand his yearning, how his heart jumped every time someone said 'Hogsmeade'. How could they ?
He closed his eyes, thinking about the last time he had seen her. A vision of blackness, with all the necessary fillings in the right places. Perfection. Oh how he longed to run his hands over those smooth curves, caressing her over and over again, familiarising himself with every inch until he knew her by heart.
A deep groan escaped his throat, knowing he was just a schoolboy and these dreams would always remain exactly what they were: dreams.
He kept contemplating his hopeless situation until the sun was rising and he had to drag himself out of bed, ready for another day of classes which he had lost all interest for.
*
His friends started to worry about him. He often was seen wandering on his own, playing with his food at dinner time and plans for new pranks were met by a mere shrug. Something was wrong with Sirius and when he didn't seem ready to talk about it, James decided to keep a close eye on his friend.
Two more weeks passed and another Hogsmeade weekend was about to kick off.
Sirius didn't know if he had to be ecstatic or utterly miserable, torn by these contrasting emotions at the prospect of seeing her again. There was no doubt he was dying to see her, since he couldn't think about anything else day and night, but at the same time he desperately wanted to end his suffering and how was he going to do that if he kept seeing her all the time ? Then again, how was he supposed to tell his friends he wasn't going to come with them ? They had been most anxious to get to Zonko's for new supplies and Sirius knew the others would be more than suspicious if he backed out now.
With a sigh he resigned to his fate, cursing himself when the adrenaline coursed through his veins. Tomorrow he would see her again !
"Come on Sirius, we want to get there early, before the Slytherins see what we're up to." James dragged his friend with him. Remus and Peter were already on their way and Sirius and James had to run to catch up with them.
"Ah, finally made it out of bed, sleepy-head ?" Remus teased with a twinkle in his eye.
Sirius grunted a faint 'good morning to you too' and was lost in his own thoughts once more.
Then they reached Hogsmeade and Sirius was drawn like a magnet to the second store on their left.
"What's got in to him ?" Remus asked. James shook his head and followed in his friend's footsteps, baffled when he didn't seem to notice him.
Sirius was in an entirely different place, not even on the same planet, as he slowly approached the store.
Then he saw her and his eyes were glued to her features, his mouth slightly dropping, tongue licking his lips. There was an annoying buzz next to his right ear, as if someone was saying something to him, but he wasn't going to let anything interrupt this moment. He kept staring, eyes wide, cheeks flushed and his heart racing at a deadly speed.
"SIRIUS!" James pulled his arm, trying to shake his friend out of his trance.
"Oh my God, so that's what this is all about." James sighed in disbelief.
Sirius tore himself away from the object of his desire and forced himself to turn towards his friend. He hardly dared to look him in the eyes, afraid he would be met with mockery, but he only saw understanding and a slight hint of amusement.
"Sirius, why haven't you told us if this was so important to you ?"
"Because it wasn't! Not really …"
"Oh, and that's why you're not eating, stopped paying attention in class and obviously losing sleep as well. I see this doesn't affect you." James curled his lips, shaking his head.
"It's no use. You know that as much as I do." Sirius sounded miserable.
James' eyes lit up, he smiled and walked determinedly to the store.
"James, wait ! No, don't go there !" Sirius yelled in panic.
But James had already reached the door and continued as if he didn't hear his friend's pleas.
When he returned, Sirius looked as if he wanted the earth to swallow him, but James grinned and handed him a paper scroll, looking very pleased with himself.
"Well ? Go on, open it you silly !" He urged.
Sirius slowly unrolled the scroll and gasped. There she was in all her glory! He feasted his eyes on her magnificence and then the picture started moving. Letters were forming at the bottom of the scroll and Sirius read them reverently, as if it was Merlin who wrote them. It read:
"The new MagicWing 660, our latest model in the Flying Bike series."
Sirius' eyes filled with tears and he hugged James.
"Thank you." He whispered emotionally.
"Good Heavens, pull yourself together man, only a few more years and you can get your license and buy one." James squirmed out of the embrace, quickly glancing to see if anyone witnessed this.
"Really ? I can ?" Sirius asked with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Of course you idiot, are you so besotted by this bike that your brains have gone into slumber mode ?"
"I guess." Sirius grinned.
A weight was lifted from his shoulders and for the next couple of weeks he felt like he was walking on clouds. After all, even if he couldn't have her right now, one day he'd get his license and then there was nothing that would stop him from having her!
THE END