Chapter 24 Introduction to Fire Whiskey

Rating change to this chapter only. Expect R. This chapter can be skipped entirely. You won't have difficulty understanding the remainder of the story. Please, if you are underage, don't read it.

Muriel half-carried Sirius up the steps of the Hog's Head. She'd given her last galleons to the bartender in exchange for a room for the night. There was simply no way she was taking Sirius back to the castle in this state!

"Mur? What time is it?" he mumbled, his head bobbing slightly as she lifted him up another step. She had to pause just to catch her breath enough to answer.

"Two in the afternoon." She did her best not to sound annoyed, but honestly! She'd specifically asked him if he'd had fire whiskey before and he'd said yes. She'd assumed that meant he could hold it. Obviously she had been mistaken.

She led him into the room and sat him down none too gently on the bed. He groaned. He watched morosely as she lit a fire and locked the door, tossing her robes over the chair at the writing desk. When she came back over to the bed, he was still sitting where she'd left him. He was coherent enough to notice the amused expression on her face as she helped him undress and tucked him under the covers.

"This is not funny," he mumbled.

"It's riotous! You can't hold your booze, Black," Mur smirked at him as she pushed his hair back out of his face, her hand much more gentle than her words. As she reached around him to pull a second pillow closer, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her on top of him.

"But I CAN hold you," he said quickly. Muriel flailed about for a minute, then looked into his glinting eyes. They weren't nearly as muddled as they'd seemed a moment ago, and his voice wasn't at all slurred.

"You sneaky bastard!" She exclaimed, tearing her wrist out of his grip. He let go easily, not wanting her to hurt herself. But she didn't move. Instead she folded her hands across his chest, rested her chin on them and smiled up at him. "Not drunk in the least, I suppose?" she asked, amused.

"Sure I am. But I'm not useless." It was his turn to smirk at her. Apparently the firewhiskey had done the trick. He certainly didn't seem depressed anymore as he flung back the covers and pulled her to the side so she could climb under them. The fire had only begun to heat the room, and it was still chilly enough to warrant covers.

"I don't think your being drunk has anything to do with your being useless," she teased, using the maddeningly superior tone that he remembered so well from their encounters as first years. He only smiled and shook his head before rolling over to kiss her.

It was only an instant before the kiss he'd meant to give her turned into the kiss she wanted from him, and he felt his face grow hot. He scrambled a bit to make them more comfortable, and when she pulled back he was able to look into her eyes. He immediately looked away. His mother had told him, long before he was interested in girls, that there were those you could have and those you should wait for. You don't USE a girl like Muriel Deesia, not if you want to stay safely in one piece.

But she put a hand to his chin and forced him to meet her eyes. She seemed to be breathing heavily for having only been kissed. That's when he realized just how close their bodies were, and he only in pants. He took a deep breath, feeling his pants tighten in spite of every effort not to let it get to him. It had been a long time.

Muriel had a hand on his chest. Years of swinging a beater's club had filled Sirius out nicely from the scrawny boy he'd once been. How he'd managed to catch her on the stairs back then she didn't know. But of course, she'd been pretty little then, too.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked, noticing the far away expression in her eyes.

"Just remembering what a git you were when we were young," she said quietly. She laughed a little. "When I figured out it was you who caught me on the stairs, I didn't understand. Then second year you came to find me after that prank, and I still didn't get it. And third year there was the block of ice, and fourth year you – "she stopped. Her lower lip was trembling. She closed her eyes to gather strength and he leaned over to brush his lips against hers. He'd known about her legilimens abilities for two years now, although they'd never really talked about it since the end of fifth year. But he was glad she knew. He wanted her to know how long he'd cared for her, even if he hadn't admitted it to himself at the time.

"I should have known, then," she whispered as he pulled away. "I should have known fifth year when Wood made me dance with you and you nearly kissed me. I don't know how I didn't see it."

Sirius saw that her eyes were wet with unshed tears, but it wasn't sadness that permeated the room. Without thinking, he reached toward her and unbuttoned her blouse slowly, hardly daring to look away from her eyes to see what he was revealing.

He slid her shirt off her shoulders and was surprised when her bra went with it. He realized immediately that she had unclasped it. His confusion must have shown in his eyes because when he looked back up at her, she smiled a little and bit her lip. It was the same look that had been on her face when he'd first given her the engagement ring, and he felt a wash of excitement. She wanted this.

His lips met hers then, more roughly than she expected. He put an arm around her waist and pulled her close up against him. She could feel him through her skirt, and her face flushed all at once. She felt his hand at the small of her back, pulling down the zipper on the back of her skirt. A moment later it found its way to the floor next to her shirt, and she was looking up at Sirius, who had a very intense look in his eyes.

She had somehow missed the part when their pants had disappeared, and her eyes fluttered closed as he pushed her legs apart with his. His lips found her neck, which had always made her forget where she was, and she sighed contentedly. This made his eyes search for hers. She inhaled as he began to push himself into her. Then he stopped, his eyes filled with confusion again.

"Mur you're – I mean, you haven't ever – "He couldn't finish. She shook her head shyly, lowering her eyes to his chest. There was a long minute of silence. "I'll stop if you want me to," he whispered finally. Then she looked up at him. He couldn't place the look in her eyes, but he prayed that it wasn't regret.

Muriel ran her hands up his chest and behind his head, burying her fingers in his fine hair. Then she pulled his lips back to hers. A moment later he thrust into her and she gasped against his lips, not expecting the pain. Sirius paused and spread his palm over her abdomen. A bluish glow shown around his fingers for an instant. "Better?"

She meant to thank him. But when he shifted his weight to put his hand back on the bed he moved inside her. What came out was a breathy and surprised, "Ooh!"

This earned her a dazzling smile, but she was much too distracted to return it. Looking back, she realized that this was the only time in her life that she'd ever thought about nothing at all. The rhythm of their movement and the feel of his lips made up her entire existence.

She felt herself building toward something, though she wasn't sure what, and when it came, it tore moans from her throat that would have made her blush to hear. Not long afterward, Sirius felt his climax as well. He held himself over her, then, watching the rise and fall of her chest.

"That was more than a pain blocking spell," she breathed. He smiled and shook his head.

"Nope. The rest was all talent." For once, Muriel had no witty remark to combat his arrogance. They laughed together as he fell beside her and wrapped her in his arms. The last thing she felt before she fell asleep was his hand on her cheek.

She awoke a few hours later in time to see Sirius roll out of bed. She listened to him run water for a shower. When he reappeared, towel around his waist and hair dripping onto his shoulders, she smiled at him.

"You'll probably want a shower, too. Then we can go back downstairs for some dinner." It was still light outside, but the room seemed cold to Mur as she threw back the covers.

"Gryffindors! Always thinking with their stomachs," she grumbled good- naturedly as she stepped into the shower.

"Not always," he called as he tried to sort out their clothing. Muriel chuckled, but not loudly enough for him to hear.

When she stepped out of the shower she had to stifle a shriek as several towels in the shape of puppies jumped and yapped at her heels. One of them hopped into her arms and nuzzled her. She shook her head and dropped it again. The towels chased her out of the bathroom, still sopping wet!

"Sirius! I can't very well dry off if all the towels are barking at me!" she scolded as he laughed. He ended the charm and summoned a towel, wrapping it around her shoulders. She shivered and retreated toward the fireplace to dry off. He'd gathered her clothes and she dressed quickly, conscious of his eyes on her.

The rest of the evening was spent wandering the streets of Hogsmeade. They kept their hoods up, lest they attract a professor's attention. Mur watched Sirius spend his last few sickles on dinner, and made sure to thank him as they walked back to the Hog's head. They'd paid for a night and decided that they might as well take advantage of it.

As they walked, Mur felt the expected soreness creep through her, and she was grateful when they returned to the room and Sirius made no attempt toward intimacy. She laid her head on his chest and enjoyed the feel of his arms around her as she drifted back to sleep.

The dream began so quickly that Muriel felt disoriented. She found herself sitting in the library, watching Jolina Avery approach her table. There was only silence as the younger girl's lips moved, but Mur remembered clearly what Jolina had come to tell her.

The scene shifted abruptly and she found herself sitting on the windowsill of her dorm room, looking out over the grounds of Hogwarts. That was odd. She'd never sat there before, but the view was beautiful. She was only two floors from the ground, and she could clearly see Severus studying near the bushes where they'd always sat after classes on fine days. He was talking with someone whose back was to Muriel. She couldn't tell who it was, but Severus looked upset. She was too far away to hear what they were saying, but she could see the hurt in her friend's eyes as the other boy turned toward the castle. Then she recognized him. Potter. She felt herself getting very angry at the self-satisfied smirk on Potter's face, but forced her eyes back to Severus, who was now sitting with his head in his hands. His book lay forgotten on the grass beside him. Then suddenly he looked up, right into her eyes, and she felt a shock of anger and pain.

Her eyes snapped open and she took a deep breath to calm herself. The window was dark now, and a late night chill had settled in the room. The fire had nearly died, and Muriel swallowed hard and made a decision. She reached for her wand, which she'd already used once that day to cast a contraceptive charm on herself.

She steeled herself, then shifted until she could see Sirius. He didn't stir. She stunned him. In a few short moments they were both dressed. She levitated him out of the room, down the stairs and out into the street. It was a short walk to the Shrieking Shack, and then they took the passageway back to the castle.

For once, Muriel didn't have to use her invisibility charm as she navigated the deserted castle corridors. She had to wake him briefly to get the password to Gryffindor tower, but she stunned him again quickly. The fat lady was so sleepy she never even opened her eyes. Moments later Muriel was tucking Sirius into his own bed.

Tears began coursing down her cheeks as she pushed his hair gently off his face. But she had to do this. Taking a deep breath, she stood and pointed her wand at his head. "Obliviate," she whispered.