A/N- ok peeps, here it is- an actual, proper, full- length chapter! * Several people faint in disbelief * Enjoy, and please review, otherwise I'll have no reason to continue.
One kiss.
Katarina leant across the circle to spin the empty butterbeer bottle, and the group watched, each of them silently wishing completely different things. As the bottle stopped, there was an intake of breath from everyone. It had landed on James. Katarina and Tonks both exchanged thrilled looks. This was perfect. There chance to kiss James Potter. Kat leant over to spin it again, but Anya stopped her.
"Can I spin it this time?"
Katarina nodded, not noticing anything unusual, but Sirius, James and Remus had all seen the sparkle in her eye. Sirius looked at her questioningly, but she merely gave him a secretive smile before leaning across. Every time she smiled like that, he envisioned himself smashing his lips against hers. He mentally shook himself, and watched Anya. Only he saw her mutter something under her breath, and only he noticed her other hand was in her pocket. The bottle began to slow down, and only then did both him and Remus realize what she'd done. She had charmed it to land on someone. They could tell by the way the bottle was slowing down. As though it already knew its destination. Purposeful. Not how a bottle should behave. It stopped abruptly. Anya looked up, smiling in a satisfied way. James eyes widened. He couldn't believe what she'd done.
The bottle was pointing at Lily.
She looked at Anya furiously, and shook her head.
"No." she said shortly. "Anya, you did something to the bottle!"
Anya looked shocked. "What? Lily, just play the game, stop being such a spoilsport!"
Lily shot Anya a furious look, but turned to James, shrugging, trying to look unconcerned. James slid across the carpet, shooting a grin at Anya, stopped, facing Lily. He leant in, and she did the same, feeling she might as well get the worst over with. The second his lips hit hers; she had to hold back a gasp. He slipped an arm round her waist, and Sirius let out a wolf- whistle. His tongue plunged in with hers, and far from feeling revolted, Lily loved it. She tried to stop herself from kissing him back, but she couldn't help herself. She fought a mental battle before relenting, and kissing him. She had no idea what was going on around her; all she knew was that she didn't ever want to stop kissing him. All thoughts of Sirius went out of her head. She had been kissed before, but never like this, he was kissing her like he loved her, it was perfect…
James pulled back, looking extremely pleased with himself. "Wow Evans, for a prefect, you're pretty good!"
Lily felt furious and hurt. She fought back tears before saying cuttingly,
"I wish I could say the same about you."
The atmosphere in the room could have been cut with a knife. No one spoke. Anya cleared her throat.
"Ahem… we, erm…we should… probably not play this any…-"
"No!" said Lily in an unusually high voice. "No, I want to carry on! I might get someone who can actually kiss!"
Anya exchanged a look with Sirius, and Katarina and Tonks looked scandalized. Anya spoke finally, "Peter, spin it then!"
Peter, who had been munching his way through a pack of cauldron cakes, looked up, shrugged, and obliged.
It stopped on Anya.
She looked surprised for a second, but recovered quickly. Peter spun it again, and it landed on James. Anya burst out laughing, and James grinned. The atmosphere immediately became more relaxed, although Sirius had tensed. James made his way to Anya, and kissed her. Sirius could have killed him. How could he do that when he knew? Didn't he realize how much it hurt? When Anya pulled away, her expression was one of mirth. She had found the whole thing incredibly funny. It wasn't that James was a bad kisser, by all means, he was quite good, but it was just so weird. As the evening progressed, the group worked their way through the butterbeer. Lily kissed Sirius, but he felt nothing, and after her kiss with James, neither did she. Tonks and Remus shared a short, sweet one, which drew many "aahs!" from the group. Katarina had to endure one from Peter, (Eeuw!) and Anya and James had to do it again. Katarina thought all her Christmases had come at once when it was her and Sirius, and Anya got the same odd feeling she had had when Sirius had kissed Lily. Surely she wasn't jealous? Sirius was becoming more and more desolate, as the truth sunk in. Anya was kissing James, and was finding it funny. She didn't take it seriously, and James was one of her best friends. She would probably die laughing if he told her he loved her. Anya tried not to watch every time Sirius had to kiss someone. It just reminded her he could have his pick of practically any girl in the school. Why on earth would he choose her?
She was so lost in thought; she didn't even realize when the bottle landed on her. She looked up in shock. "What?"
James stared at her, "Midnight, it's you and Padfoot!"
Before Anya could take in these words, Lily spoke.
"What is with those weird nicknames?"
James just smiled knowingly. "That's for us to know and you to wonder."
Lily rolled her eyes, and said, "Well are you to gonna get on with it or what?"
Anya dared a glance at Sirius, but his expression was unreadable.
Sirius saw Anya look at him, through the corner of his eye. He couldn't work how she felt. She seemed to be struck dumb.
He slid across the floor, using every atom of pretence and swagger he had, to look as unconcerned as possible. He couldn't let his real feelings seep through.
The few seconds before their lips touched were the longest in Anya's life. She slowly sunk into the blue of his eyes, as he leant in, and she mirrored him.
The second he felt his lips touched hers, he felt them part, allowing him access to her mouth. His surprise was replaced with delight as his arms automatically wrapped round her waist, pulling her closer, and deepening the kiss.
She had promised herself she would pull away quickly, not get too carried away, but her resilience went out of the window the second his lips crushed against hers. She parted her lips without a second thought, eager to taste him. Their tongues tangled, fighting for dominance, and explored each other's mouths. Her arm slid round his neck, and her other hand slid across his cheek, resting in his raven hair. Both of them became completely deaf to the cat- calls and wolf whistles, they just continued to drown, reveling in each other's touch.
They were brought back to earth with a bump, as James' voice hit them like a bucket of icy water.
"Guys! Get a room, or stop now!"
They pulled away as though they had been burned, and Sirius shifted back into his place in the circle. Anya became extremely grateful of her long dark hair, using it to veil her face as she looked at the floor. She became acutely aware of everyone's eyes, burning into her, and raised her head ever so slightly, chancing a glance at Padfoot. He looked equally awkward, but there was something else etched across his face. She couldn't quite tell, but it almost looked like he was watching her longingly, as though he hadn't wanted to stop. But then, that was probably her overactive imagination. The atmosphere in the room was, once again, tense. No one spoke. Remus was watching Anya shrewdly. James was staring at Sirius, dumbfounded. Lily was watching Anya in amazement. She had known Anya and Sirius were close, but … It was evident the kiss they had just shared had been more than just a game. Something was definitely going on. Tonks and Katarina were wide eyed. This was some gossip.
Sirius was in shock. He had no idea what had just happened. He had kissed Anya, determined to not let it last for longer than a couple of seconds, however, when he pulled away, she had definitely been kissing him back. And she had allowed him to wrap her in his arms and pull her closer. Not only had she allowed it, she had mirrored him, wrapping her arms round his neck. Why? He watched her warily, not daring to believe it. Could she…was it possible that she too… shared his feelings?
Anya's mind was swimming with endless questions. Sirius had kissed her back. He had deepened it, he had allowed it to go on for a lot longer than any of the others. He had pulled her closer. Maybe…just maybe, Moony had been right. Sirius did have feelings for her. But how on earth could she find out? There didn't seem to be a way, short of asking him outright.
"Oh! We're outta Butterbeer! Who wants to come with me an get some more?" said James, trying to mask the silence.
Several people shook their heads, saying they were going to bed, but Anya and Sirius were too lost in thought to say give any indication they had even heard James. Eventually, only James, Remus, Sirius and Anya were left. James and Remus were still at a loss as to what to say. They knew the two people in front of them were in love with each other. But it seemed the pair themselves had yet to realize. James nodded at Remus, and Remus spoke, in a would-be- casual voice.
"We're gonna go to bed now guys, ok? We'll see you in the morning!"
Nothing. Silence. Remus and James went upstairs, feeling helpless. The minute they reached the dorm, James said in a low voice,
"Moony…d'you think…?" he left the question in the air, unfinished, waiting for Remus' answer. Remus changed for bed, and said slowly. "I…I hope so."
"This…this wont mean… they wont be friends? Will it?"
Remus stared at James, and saw the desperation in his friend's eyes. He sighed. "I honestly don't know Prongs. They'll either finally get together, or they'll… never be able to look each other in the eye again."
James stared at Remus, desperate for some source of comfort. "But… but they'll be fine. They have to be- its Anya and Sirius."
Remus said nothing. He knew James needed reassurance that his two best friends would still be friends in the morning. But right now one thing was stopping Remus from giving James that reassurance. One thing made Remus worry. He knew… he knew that one kiss could change everything…and it wasn't always for the better.
James and Remus lay awake, both straining to hear something from the common room downstairs. But it was hopeless. If only they knew…
A/N- Da da! Next chapter is a work in progress! Hope you all enjoyed this one! If so, let me know please. if you didn't like it tell me why! I don't mind flames, as long as they are constructive.
