Chapter Ten – The shower incident!

The first Christmas in his new flat and Sirius Black was frantically looking for a pair of black trousers and a black shirt.

"Where in Merlin's beard are they!" shouted Sirius to the empty living room.

He was proud of his flat. At seventeen, with the help of the inheritance of a dead uncle, Sirius decided it was time to move out of the Potters' and become less of a burden. James and his folk made it very clear that they thought him as family and that he could come 'home' any time. This family affection ranged to the point of Prongs' mother sending him fresh, clean clothes to wear at the Potters' Ball tonight. Now Sirius had gone and lost them. He really did not want the wrath of Mrs. Potter on him.

He smirked at the thought. No, this year I will be safe. Thank goodness for Lily Evans! James had been worried since the holidays started; Lily was coming to the Ball and would be introduced as Prongs' girlfriend. Therefore, Black was going to be lucky in the sense Mrs. Potter would not note his lack of appearance until the Ball began. That gave him three hours to work out where the hell his clothes went for a walk to.

He smacked his head quite hard as he remembered. Hogwarts. Folded neatly on his bed, ready to be packed away was his trousers and shirt. He gathered things he needed for a shower and picked up his dress robes and vacated his flat. He had decided that the best plan would be to Apparate to Hogsmeade, get ready at the school then use Floo Powder to the Potters' house.

I can't believe I forgot! What is wrong with me at the moment? He pondered this for a while but the images in his head gave him away. Smiling triumphantly, Sirius carefully placed the large box labelled 'Raine' behind the Christmas tree before he left for the holidays. His heart skipped a beat and a warm fuzzy feeling grew in his stomach as he silently crept back to his bed.

Black brought his mind back to reality and Apparated to his favourite town.

As he reached the school entrance, Sirius' presence made the odd girl who was roaming around the halls stop and sigh. His black hair was swept away from his face and his eyes glowed from the exercise of walking all the way from Hogsmeade in cold weather. It was obvious at this moment why all the girls loved him. He chuckled as he glanced at the faces of the girl who in return gazed unrepentantly at him. If only Raine would show some interest. Am I not good-looking enough for her?

More likely not steady enough in the girlfriend department, said his heart. Sirius groaned in frustration. All through his walk his heart had the opportunity of making him squirm when Raine popped through his line of thoughts. Even in his dreams a haunting image of the green dress repeated itself constantly.

Damn it! Reaching his dormitory, Black was quite surprised not to have bumped into any Gryffindor especially a certain someone who likes to hide her face behind brown hair. Must be out having a snow fight. Wish I could join them. But when he said 'them' it was only directed at Raine, for Sirius could see himself having immense pleasure tackling Raine into the snow and pinning her so he could have his wicked ways.

"That girl will be the death of me!" For all his confidence in the womaniser area; a very shy Raine who wasn't pretty like the others but had a charm that attracted him none-the-less could be a problem he never considered. "Stop thinking and go for a shower," he argued to his reflection in the mirror of the bathroom.

"Right, girls," Raine whispered. "This is it. We have two remaining boys left to capture. I suggest we spilt up and take a level each. If you find them, remember to hit them with your wand to cause red paint to shoot out and mark them."

"Ok," said Sophie eagerly, "I'll take the seventh year room."

"But I want that one," complained a third-year who Raine had come to realise as having a good career in stalking people.

"Both of you are wrong," said Raine. "For argument's sake I will be taking the seventh-years just because I am older and I can use something to blackmail Black with for a night off from tutoring."

"I would blackmail him to double my private lessons with him," moaned Sophie.

"Enough!" whispered Raine. "Let's go; we have only ten minutes and the boys have the advantage. You don't want to have them throw snowballs at you, do you!"

"No!" voiced the other six girls playing.

"Good."

Raine sighed as she was left to venture the last flight of stairs on her own. The game of hide and seek was going well when the Marauders weren't in the conversation. It made Raine realise how popular they all were.

The door opened with a creak and Raine slipped in unnoticed. Her face scrunched up in disgust at the mess. Really, I thought boys improved when they matured. Seemingly not, when you consider the mess of this room! It looked if Peter, Remus, James and Sirius had all forgot to tidy up for the last seven years. Bed covers, sheets and pillows were thrown haphazardly on the ground instead of the bed; smelly clothes littered the floor. Raine really gave up on any of the Marauders when she noticed a path of clothes from one bed to the bathroom. What a bunch of lazy gits!

Tiptoeing around the sight, which should be, labelled 'danger site', Raine began her search for the two last boys who had not been caught. She decided to head for the curtains, as an able body could hide behind there and maybe to open a window for fresh air. She made through the waste site without falling over and was quite pleased with herself, but there were no bodies hiding. Next she decided that they could be hiding under the beds and therefore proceeded to go to the nearest.

As she stopped at the first one and began to bend down it was quite obvious that she would need to touch the floor and that was one thing she refused. I could always sit on the bed, she mused, then just look over the side by shifting the sheets. No one is around. With that Raine jumped on the bed which sighed under her weight. She gently leaned over the edge. No one there.

Well, time for another bed. She giggled at the thought of her ever being here on a bed with a Marauder. She was beginning to think that the boys weren't here. The bed on her right was a complete tip and happened to be one trailing all the clothes to the bathroom. Could this be James' or Sirius'? Both are messy pups. Again on top of it she peered over the bedside to have a look under.

"What are you looking for?" said an inquisitive voice.

Raine screamed, lost her balance and fell into a pile of pillows. She blinked a couple of times to make sure she hadn't suffered from concussion. There was Sirius dripping water on her from his hair or body, Raine couldn't tell, with the biggest grin plastered across his face. To Raine that smile (which was affecting her mind more than she would have thought) brought images of a boy getting his wish from Santa.

"It's not every day I get a girl sitting on my bed freely," he smirked. "Well, maybe every other day."

Raine had lost her ability to talk. Here was Sirius Black with nothing on but a towel wrapped around his …well… private parts and another towel drying his hair. This is when it hit Raine that Black was the most handsome man ever to walk the halls of Hogwarts and her heart fluttered. Where did that thought come from! Her mind was in a muddle to busy trying to find the words to speak and the other side of her brain trying to process the lean figure in front. How is it he has perfectly toned body when I never seen him exercising? He's always lazing around. Can you get fit from sitting on your backside all day? It definitely works for Sirius. Raine stared again for another couple of minutes at his chest before she could take her eyes off and look at his face. When she eventually glanced up she wished she hadn't.

He couldn't help but laugh at her inside. Hearing a giggling sound outside the bathroom, Sirius had wanted to investigate which boy would dare enter this room. The Marauders had threatened many deadly pranks on the younger boys if they should enter. And as he peeked out, to his surprise and amazement, he saw Raine pounce on his bed like it belonged to her. Well, it could belong to her if I was her teacher for outer school curriculum, he mused. Stop it! You would only break her heart. But yet again, that sneaky voice mumbled, Or maybe it is you whose heart will be broken. He thought it would be a laugh to scare her and it had worked fantastically. Now her eyes had been glued to his chest while her face turned a deep crimson colour. Not that he minded many girls couldn't help himself but Raine's gazing made him feel uneasy as if he was completely naked in front of her.

However, the opportunity to survey Raine without any comment from his pesky friends was welcomed with all his soul. Raine was wearing very fetching tartan pyjamas that hung loosely around her figure. She is beautiful. She was still panting heavily from the fall and the scare which made Sirius focus in on her chest. I wonder if she would pant harder if I was to… He suddenly brought his mind back from the gutter to have Raine's blue eyes pierce his dark eyes. Black displayed a lopsided smile on the outside; the inner was trying to keep his desires away from Raine's perceptive eyes.

"You still haven't answered my question," coughed Sirius.

"What question?" A confused Raine just stared anywhere except for his over-exposed body. Every time she got a glimpse of his body she thought how horrible the situation was. Thank Merlin that Sirius would find this amusing. "I was looking for two boys," she replied remembering what Sirius had startled her with.

"Well, I never had you down for that kind of fun Raine," said Black seriously. "Maybe I have over looked your skills somewhat." His eyebrows wiggled at another sexual suggestion.

"Get your head from the gutter, Black," stated Raine, who picked herself up and straightened her clothing. "What are you doing here?"

Luckily, Sirius stifled his groan at what he thought was the beginning of a strip for his delight and said, "Taking a shower," he gestured to his half-nakedness as Raine blushed again. "Would you like to join me?"

"No," Raine replied softly as she felt her face grow hotter.

"Sure?" whispered Sirius into her ear, moving his body an inch away from hers. He had no control over himself as he began to twist some of Raine's silky hair around his finger.

"Yes." Raine made her face to look at him and stare into those deep, dark eyes in which you could easily lose yourself. Her determined face stopped Black from pushing her further. He wanted to wait until she was comfortable with him. He only wished it were soon.

"Suit yourself." With all his willpower, he stepped back and moved towards the bathroom again. "I came back to collect specific clothing that I forgot to pack. You see, I'm going to the Potter's Ball and Mrs. Potter would kill me if I turned up in unclean clothes."

"She knows you too well," muttered Raine. Sirius stopped in his tracks and turned to flash her a knees-go –weak smile. Raine glanced at the floor.

"And I thought I would save time coming here to get ready." He closed the door and proceeded to get himself ready while still talking to Raine. "So how's your Christmas been?"

"Fine, I guess. I wish I was at home with my mum but being woken up by four young girls jumping on your lungs does have its surprises."

He chuckled at Raine's response. He only wished it had been him jumping on her. "So what did you get? Anything special?"

"Couple of books, chocolates, a letter from my brother and a beautiful bouquet of flowers that I have no idea where they came from." Raine couldn't resist the urge to try and tease him but he was one step ahead of her.

"Really? Why don't you have a guess!" he shouted from behind the bathroom door.

"Well, the only one who been noticing me is a tall, dark-haired man…"

"Go on."

"Who is able to converse amiably with me and is really intelligent…so it must be…Snape!"

"What!" Sirius yelled in her ear. He spun her round securing her in his arms and against his body. "You think he would have thought of something sweet!"

Raine sputtered "No." He mind was in cloud nine. His touch was playing havoc with her senses and a tingling feeling seemed to start from where he was holding her.

"Good." He dropped his grasp and moved away. "What do you think? Do you think I will break a fair maiden's heart?" In his dark blue robes which complimented his dark, handsome features, he looked gorgeous. Not trusting her voice, Raine nodded.

"I suppose I better go before Mrs. Potter decides to use me as the fairy on top of the Christmas tree," quipped Sirius, allowing another dazzling smile to light up his good looks.

As he headed for the door, Raine stopped him with a soft, "Thank you for the gift. It was wonderful." He turned and walked towards her.

"My pleasure," he whispered as he tilted her chin with his fingers and kissed her with the sweetest of kisses before pointing up. "Mistletoe."

He disappeared, as Raine stood dumbfounded again at his actions.

'Cold shower, I need a cold shower,' became Sirius' mantra for the whole of the night.