Chapter Four: Desperate for Attention

Sirius was grumbling violently when he collapsed into a chair in front of the Gryffindor Common Room fire. Remus, who was reading nearby, looked up and asked, "What's wrong, Padfoot?"

"You're cousin is completely barking mad, Moony," he muttered. "Absolutely insane." Remus gestured for him to continue. "Out on the pitch just now, she nearly killed me with a Bludger… What's got her knickers in a twist, anyway?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "She was literally skipping when I told her… When she left the Room of Requirement this morning."

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me!"

"No. But maybe you should get her some Chocolate Frogs."

"Moony, you know she's a Chocolate Whore!"

Remus grinned and replied, "I know."

Sirius understood and grinned as well. "Oh, you're good," he said. "You're sick because she's your cousin. But you're good."

The next morning, Sirius waited anxiously for Taryn to come to breakfast. He had snuck to Honeydukes' Sweet Shop the night before and instead of buying her some Chocolate Frogs, he bought her a full pound of dark chocolate fudge. He didn't know what he had done to upset her, but he did want to make her happy again. It was for her smile he woke up every morning. He wasn't sure why he loved it so, but he was sure that he had missed it terribly.

So when she walked into the Great Hall that morning, Sirius thought an entire classroom had hit her with Cheering Charms. Unused to seeing her quite that happy, Sirius became extremely anxious about talking to her that day. She skipped happily to the Gryffindor Table and sat down in the empty seat beside Sirius. "Good morning," she said merrily, kissing Sirius on the cheek and hugging him tightly. Then she prepared to eat breakfast.

"Um, Taryn," Sirius said uncertainly, casting a confused glance on James and Remus, who both shrugged. "You're not in Gryffindor. Your table's over there."

"I know that, silly," she said. "I decided to eat with decent people." She munched on a slice of apple. She looked at Sirius who discreetly stashed away the box of fudge for use at a later date. But she must have seen it because she said, "Siri, what's that?"

"What?" he asked, feigning innocence and slipping the box to Remus under the table.

"That box," she said, reaching for it as it disappeared. Sirius grabbed her wrist. She lost her balance and fell onto his lap, giggling.

Remus kicked Sirius in the leg and jerked his head toward the double doors, silently, but slightly painfully, telling him to take Taryn out of the Great Hall. Sirius nodded and stood up, taking her with him. Gently holding her around the waist, he escorted Taryn to the Room of Requirement, where he placed her in a chair and said, "Tar, what in hell is your problem?"

She twisted a lock of her hair around her fingers and giggled. "I don't have a problem," she said. "Maybe you have the problem, love."

Sirius fell into a chair, facing her. "Taryn, I'm not the one who's giggling and playing with her hair," he said lightly. "And I'm not the one who sent a Bludger after her friends when all they wanted to do was talk to her. And I'm not the one who's confusing me right now. So, tell me, love, what's the deal?"

She acquired a very serious face and said, "Sirius Black, I'm surprised that you haven't figured it out by now." He gave her a look that said 'indulge me' and gestured for her to continue explaining. She got off her chair and sat on his lap, straddling him. His eyes widened as she slipped her arms around him neck and pulled him closer to her. "I thought it would be obvious by now," she whispered into his ear, running her tongue lightly along his earlobe. "I've been bloody cursed, you frickin' idiot!" she screamed in his ear.

He yelped in pain and pushed her off him, his ears ringing. He hated it when she screamed anything and when she was so close… He could pretty much say good-bye to his perfect hearing. "Cripes, Taryn!" he said, glaring down at her. She was sitting on the floor at his feet, her skirt hiked up past her knees and revealing more of her legs than she probably would have liked. "What the devil is wrong with you?"

"Well, Sirius," she spat, glaring up at him. "Some bloody idiot went and placed a curse—with which I am unfamiliar, by the way—on me while I was sleeping! I didn't realise it until you stashed that box of whatever it is under the table to Remus. It makes me very happy, and it makes me act out of character and it makes me do things that you know I would never do if I was in my right mind." She sighed and brushed her hair from her face. "It must be weakening, though. I feel much better. And if you have some sort of thing to make me miserable in that stupid box of yours, you can return it to wherever you found it unless you want to spend the rest of eternity dealing with Complexes."

Sirius sat on the floor beside her and looked intently into her eyes. "Taryn," he said softly. "Are you all right?" He could see tears forming in her eyes. She looked down at her exposed knees, but didn't pull her skirt down. "I'm serious. Are you all right?"

She looked at him and shook her head. "Siri, I'm so confused," she whispered. "I don't know what to do anymore. I don't even know what to think." Her tears spilled over and she cried into her hands.

He pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried into his shirt. "Tell me what's wrong, Tar," he murmured. "Maybe together we can sort it out."

"Not this time, Siri," she said, her pain coming through to her voice. "I can't even tell Remus this. I have to figure it out on my own." She looked up at him. "But thanks for offering."

He nodded. "Don't mention it," he said softly, his gaze lost in hers. Slowly, he leaned towards her. But she turned her face away, so when he should have kissed her tempting lips, his met her soft cheek. Seeing he was cheated something he wasn't aware he really wanted, he decided to get a bit of revenge. So he licked her cheek sloppily.

"Ech!" she cried, pushing him away. "Sirius Black, you are intolerable!" She stood, pulled her skirt down proper and stormed out of the room, leaving an amused Sirius sitting on the floor.

g

Over the course of the next two weeks, Taryn endured the harassment of her fellow Slytherins, all believing the lies Lucius Malfoy was feeding them. Whenever any of her friends saw her, she was in the Room of Requirement, nearly fuming in her rage. She couldn't handle all of it. And she knew it. The sad part was that she had no idea what to about it.

"Why are you always in here?" Sirius asked Taryn after he found her sitting in a chair by the fire, throwing bits of parchment into it. A large red winged armchair appeared next to her green dining one. He sat and noticed every bit of parchment had someone's name on it. "What are you doing?" he asked as she tossed a piece of parchment with his name on it into the fire.

"Shh," she said. "Just wait. You'll see." A warm sensation overcame Sirius. It was pleasant at first, but then it began to hurt. A lot. It felt as though every cell in his body was on fire and screaming in utter agony.

"Oh!" he cried out in pain. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Make it stop! Make it stop!" Smoke started to issue from his shirt collar. The stench of burning hair filled the room.

She glanced at him and smirked. "Stop being such a baby," she said, dryly. Sirius' parchment dissolved into ash and the burning stopped. He sighed and wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. "Better?" she inquired, standing and walking over to her cabin bed.

"Yeah," he muttered. "What was that?"

"A particularly fun curse Professor Flitwick talked about in class last week," she explained, getting into the bed. "Don't you even try to pay attention to the lessons?" She pointed her wand at the fire and the ashes stirred.

Sirius doubled over in a fit of laughter. "Stop it," he said, tears rolling down his cheeks. "That tickles!"

Taryn raised her wand and his tickling ceased. "What does?" she asked innocently. "This?" She stirred the ashes again.

"Yes," he growled, leaping onto the bed and tackling her. Sirius wrenched her wand from her and threw it across the room. His tickling stopped again and he collapsed on Taryn, his head resting on her chest, exhausted from being burned then tickled mercilessly. He breathed slowly and deeply, trying to regain control over his body once again.

Taryn wiggled under him. "Get off," she said.

He shook his head, taking in her enticing scent of cedar. "No," he said. "I don't have the energy. Thanks to you." She sighed and began running her fingers through his hair lightly. He chuckled a little. "That tickles, too," he said softly. She stopped. "But don't stop." She resumed her absentminded activity. Sirius sighed quietly and closed his eyes. He loved this. He had her attention physically, but not mentally. But he wanted her full-undivided attention. Call him selfish, but it was the truth. "Hey, Taryn?" he asked sleepily.

"Hm?" she replied, just as sleepy.

Sirius quickly gathered his thoughts. "Do you like me?" he asked, fighting back the urge to yawn.

She stopped running her fingers through his hair and seemed to freeze a little. "Why?" she asked slowly, almost guardedly.

"Because I really want to kiss you right now," he said before thinking about it. Instantly, he wished he hadn't said it. He knew all too well how she felt about relationships and kissing. And, truthfully, he wasn't sure why he said it at all. He was sure he wanted to kiss her, but he was almost certain that he was being a typical male who was merely trying to satisfy his physical desires. He was fairly certain that he didn't exactly like Taryn in that way. At least, not in the way he had like her sister. It was Taryn, for cripe's sake!

"Well, don't," she muttered, falling asleep, her fingers still running through his hair.

Sirius settled to go to sleep, using her as a warm, rhythmic pillow, when the door opened and James and Remus and Peter walked in, talking. "Shh!" Sirius hissed at them, his eyes still closed. "She's asleep."

James sauntered over and smirked at his best friend. "And what are you doing?" he asked. "Pretending that you really don't want to shag her?"

"I'm not even going to honour that question with a response, Prongs," Sirius muttered as Taryn snuggled closer to him. "Besides, it's really comfortable on this bed. She sure knows how to pick them out, that's certain."

James looked over at Remus, who looked as though he was determined not to see Sirius in the same bed as his closest cousin. "Can you believe it, Moony?" James asked. "He's practically admitting that he likes her!"

Remus shook his head. "No, I think he's just admitting that he's desperate for some attention," he replied, making Peter snort with loud laughter. "Wormtail, if you wake her up, I will not stop her from taking irritated action."

……