Chapter Eleven: Sirius, Arabella, and Harry (The Facts Of Life - Godparents Style)

Summary: Eleventh chapter. Thirty-eight to go. That about sums it up.

The following night Harry happily made room for Snuffles once again as his godfather curled up on the bed next to him. Sirius had made the offer off-handedly, giving his godson plenty of leeway to politely refuse without feeling like he was hurting Sirius' feelings. But Harry had jumped at the offer. Somehow having the large black dog laying next to him did seem to help.

The routine continued for three nights after that. But on the fourth night, having noted Sirius' pained look every time he moved his neck no matter how hard he tried to hide it, Harry declined the offer, stating he was fine now and doubted the dream would give him any more trouble for a while. But that night Harry did press his time with his godparents in front of the television to his limit, making no move to hurry off to sleep. Sirius and Arabella agreeably looked the other way as Harry's usual bedtime came and went. But Arabella finally spoke up as Harry failed to stifle a wide yawn.

"Oh, I think it's way past someone's bedtime."

Harry quickly began to protest. "What? It's only..." But he stopped suddenly when Arabella held her watch up for him to read. "Oh..."

Sirius leaned over from around Arabella. "You're sure you're all right, Harry?" He asked concernedly.

Harry nodded as he got up. "Yeah. I'll be fine. After all, you're just across the hall. Not down the street."

"True enough." Sirius agreed. "All right then. Go on and give the grown-ups some time alone."

Harry gave a slight laugh. "If this is going to turn into a bunch of hugging and kissing, I don't want to see."

Sirius pointed a finger at his godson. "That, young man," he stated in a half serious voice, "is a very disgusting but interesting thought. Go to your room!"

Harry quickly disappeared up the stairs, followed by Arabella's snickers.

As soon as she heard the door to Harry's room close upstairs, Arabella stretched her legs out over the sofa where her godson had been sitting and leaned back against Sirius, shifting about until she found a comfortable position.

"So," Sirius asked after the weather broadcast finished a few minutes later, "what did you think of our godson's suggestion?"

"Suggestion?" Arabella asked, still watching the television.

"That this is going to turn into a bunch of hugging and kissing?"

Arabella suddenly became so still that Sirius doubted she was even breathing.

'Very good, Black." He admonished himself quickly. 'Frighten the poor woman.'

"Orrrr...we could just go to bed...separate beds." He amended quickly.

Suddenly he felt Arabella move. Her whole body, in fact, was shaking suddenly. It took a few nervous seconds for Sirius to realize she was laughing.

She quickly fought to stifle a burst of laughter as she tried to speak. "Oh, you are the subtle one, aren't you?"

Sirius sighed quietly, leaning over to look at her. "I guess I'm just getting to old to be subtle anymore."

"Try." Arabella suggested, ignoring his attempts to catch her eye. "A girl likes to be romanced."

Sirius thought hard for a moment as he sat back on the sofa. After a few minutes he finally leaned back over her side, staring down at her. "Right then!" He stated, adopting a good impression of a heavy cockney accent. "What 'bout you and me skippin' down ta' the lake for a good roll in the grass, hey?"

"Oh sure." Arabella replied, giving more notice to the television than to Sirius. "That'll get you as far as it did sixteen years ago."

Sirius leered at her. "As I recall, it got me quite far."

"Senility in one so young." Arabella sighed. "Sad really."

Sirius huffed and settled back on the sofa.

Arabella waited for a few minutes to see what he would try next, but eventually readjusted herself again and settled back to watching the newscast as Sirius fell silent behind her.

After several more minutes past Arabella disappointedly decided he had indeed given up when she suddenly felt a light touch trailing itself down her arm. Smiling slightly despite herself, Arabella told herself there was no harm in seeing what he would do. That and the fact that her senses positively shivered under the feather light caress. The fingers continued their path, taking small detours to trace patterns over her skin that sent small waves of pleasure up her arm and through her body. But finally they reached their destination as they snaked their way under her hand. She felt him very carefully lift her arm as though it were fragile enough to break at the slightest movement. But then, with a slight bend of her wrist, she felt the lightest of kisses placed on the back of her hand.

Arabella felt a warm, relaxing sensation wash over her body like a light breeze. A tingling sense of delight that continued as the lips that caressed the back of her hand slowly began to lay a trail of feather-light kisses over her wrist, and back up her arm. She could feel her resolve beginning to get a bit muddled in response to his kisses.

"You are so going to need a cold shower." She mumbled in a relaxed sort of contentment as the lips brushed their way over her neck.

"I'll take it in the morning." Sirius replied, his voice a low, lusty rush of breath against her ear.

"Sirius." Arabella said in a tone that was a little too breathless as she rolled over to face him, intent on putting a stop to his foreplay. "We had ground rules."

He took full advantage of her change of position, wrapping his arms about her body and capturing her lips in a sensual kiss as he mumbled his acknowledgement into her mouth.

Arabella felt an unexpected tremor of pure desire course through her body that drove all thoughts out of her mind except the one currently being fondled and stroked to awareness by his lips. But in a brief moment of logic, she suddenly shoved him back.

"Sirius! There is a fifteen year old boy in this house!"

Without so much as breaking stride, Sirius reached down and picked up the remote control and turned off the television, extinguishing the warm blue glow of light that flooded the room a moment before.

"Now he'll see a lot less."

Arabella shook her head with a smile as she stared up at him in the darkness. 'Fourteen years was a very long time,' she told herself.

"Now what do you think of our godson's suggestion?" Sirius whispered to her in the dark.

"Suggestion?" Arabella asked in a lazy sort of tone as she slowly snaked an arm around Sirius' neck.

"A lot of hugging and kissing." He reminded her.

"Ohhh...sounds very romantic," Arabella cooed. A few seconds later she began to giggle.

Fifteen minutes later the only sounds in the small living room were muffled undertones and the occasional contented sigh. But they were quickly replaced by a soft shriek when the stairway light sudden snapped on.

Sirius and Arabella's heads snapped up in unison from behind the back of the couch.

"Ohhh.....sorry." Harry stammered as he quickly backed up the stairs to his room.

Arabella was fitfully pulling the strap of her dress back over a bare shoulder while Sirius rushed to straighten his own clothing.

Sirius was still attempting to fasten a disagreeable button on his shirt when Arabella fell back on the sofa in a fit of laughter.

"Poor Harry," she gasped past snickers. "Caught his godparents making out. The boy is scarred for life."

"'Bella!" Sirius stated sternly, "it's not funny."

"Oh, Sirius," She giggled. "The boy is fifteen. As you so adamantly keep pointing out, surely he knows what's what by now. And I would think someone's explained it to him."

"How do you know for sure?"

"He's fifteen."

Sirius stared back at her.

"Oh, honestly!" she huffed. Pulling out her wand Arabella sent a silver thread streaking up the stairs. Several seconds later Harry came slowly down the stairs in response to his godmother's call, carefully peering over the banner rail before continuing.

Finally he settled himself down on the sofa next to his godparents. A slight tinge of pink still on his face.

"I'm really sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to....walk in on you two."

Sirius gave his godson a broad smile. "That's all right, Harry." He said. "Can't expect you to learn anything if you don't see anything."

Arabella pulled back. "Sirius!"

"What? It's the truth. How is he suppose to learn about this stuff?"

"Try talking to him?"

Sirius gave a disgruntled huff and settled back on the couch while Arabella turned to Harry.

"Now, Harry," She began solicitously, "you know if you have any questions you can certainly ask us about...."

"Ummm, Arabella," Harry cut in quickly. "They teach all that stuff in school."

Sirius huffed again. "I remember what they taught in school. Worthless!" He leaned around Arabella to look at Harry. "What did any of that teach you about women?"

"Plenty." Harry put in dismally, looking a bit embarrassed at the memory.

"Nothing!" Sirius corrected. "They taught you a bunch of biology. Big deal. What do you know about women, Harry. That's what you need to learn."

Throughout the conversation Arabella sat facing Harry with a kindly, patronizing smile. "You should listen to your godfather, Harry," she remarked pleasantly. "At Hogwarts he was thought by the other boys to be quite the ladys-man. And when you're done listening to all his stories," she added, putting a very heavy emphasis on the last word, "you can come to me and I'll tell you the truth about women. Deal?"

Harry snickered at Sirius' indignant look behind Arabella. "Deal." he replied.

"Stories!" Sirius stated, grabbing Arabella about the waist in a playful hug. "Maybe I'll tell him a few about you and me."

Arabella never turned her gaze from her godson as Sirius began kissing her neck. "And when he wants the truth about those as well," she stated in the same pleasant tone, "Harry, you know where to come."

Harry snickered again. "Yes, ma'am."

"All right," she replied, prying Sirius' arms from about her. "Off to bed with you."

Harry quickly got up and hurried up the stairs.

Arabella sat quietly on the sofa, listening for the closing door. As soon as it shut a pair of arms quickly wound their way back around her waist.

"Now where were we?" A lusty voice murmured in her ear.

Arabella extracted herself from him as she got to her feet. "We were off to bed, Sirius. It's late."

Sirius was on his feet at once, his arms quickly about her waist again. "Excellent idea. The bedroom has a door on it," he grinned playfully. "With a lock."

"Which I fully intend to use tonight on my door," she stated, slapping at his hands.

"Very wise, 'Bella. Harry's seen enough for tonight."

"I meant for you." Arabella added, still slapping at his hands. "Will you let go?"

Sirius sighed quietly, then released his hold. "You know, it's very devastating to a man of my character to think he is losing his charm."

Arabella turned to him with a warm smile. "You haven't lost anything," she cooed, then lightly slapped him on the cheek. "You're still the worst scoundrel I know."

Sirius stood silently in the livingroom as he watched her climb the stairs. Every movement was still as graceful and captivating to him as it was when he had fallen in love with her in their fifth year. Sitting back down on the sofa, he remembered back to happier, less complicated days, sitting around the Griffender common room with James, Lily, Remus, and Peter. How much he had envied James all those years that he had Lily at his side. Playfully sitting in his lap in one of the overstuffed chairs in the common room as they would sit up late at night talking and laughing over some prank they were all planning. Oh, he had always had someone. The problem was, every week it seemed to be someone different. A blond in his lap one night. A brunette the next.

But how suddenly it soon started to be the same brown haired girl perched happily in his lap or sitting beside him as they held hands night after night. The same pair of sparkling blue eyes staring back into his. The same warm smile.

"Sirius?" A voice abruptly dispelled the memory.

Sirius turned to face Arabella's worried stare.

"Where were you just now?" She gave a small smile.

"Gryffindor common room," he replied softly. "Just thinking of less complicated times."

Arabella took his hand and pulled him off the sofa. "They'll come back, Sirius." She said quietly as they headed up the stairs. "We'll make sure of that."