Siriusly Deluded
Oh, I am soo, sooo terribly sorry for taking this long to update. It's just, I've been feeling rather angsty lately with all the stuff going on in my life and it's so hard to write Christmas scenes when it's so ridiculously hot outside! But hopefully this chapter (which is 20! pages) will make up for the wait.
Kerichi: Lol, yeah, he's pretty controlled (but according to the whole "base" thing, I think they were only halfway there). And it's definitely a view I'd want to admire...
Highlanderfanatic: Thanks so much! Sorry I made you wait so long!
Xiaolu: Good, I was hoping it would clear up the confusion! Again, sorry for the wait!
Attara: Well, thanks so much for reading and I'm so flattered that it's your fave! All of you guys are making me feel guilty for waiting this long to update!
Padmez: Thanks! Yeah, I'm getting jealous of her, too.
Lelegurl9: Thank you! Yeah, wouldn't we all like to hear what guys are thinking? I updated...not soon...but I updated!
Anne-Evans89: Aw, thanks, people usually don't call me funny! More fluff is definitely on the way!
ZebraStripedFlamingo: Thanks for the heads-up! Interesting name, by the way...
Paige-rossi-black: Yeah, I know. Sorry about that. I originally had McGonagall there, but my beta suggested that I use Dumbledore (who would've found it more amusing), and I just forgot to change "Transfiguration Professor" to "Headmaster." It's fixed on
Ch. 18: Presentations
After a rather uneventful brunch (except for the exchange of nervous glances between Sirius and Lauren when a house-elf mentioned the shortage of certain cooking ingredients—namely flour and eggs—in the kitchen), they all moved into the living room, where a fire was crackling in the fireplace. There was a fir tree in the corner of the room with many festively wrapped presents underneath.
Lauren's parents sat down on the couch near the tree. Sirius and Lauren flopped down on the floor with their backs to the fireplace.
After all of the other gifts were opened, Lauren watched as Sirius got up from the floor and picked up something that had been previously concealed behind the tree.
He caught her eye as he walked back over to her, gently placing a basket with a red blanket draped over it into her lap.
Lauren grinned up at him as he sat beside her and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she lifted up the blanket.
Inside the basket was a dark grey kitten with the (second) most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen.
"Oh," she breathed, gently picking up the kitten from the basket and kissing it on the nose.
Sirius grinned at her reaction. She was smiling uncontrollably as she talked to the kitten in this cute little voice.
"I couldn't decide between this one and an orange one. But Lily said that I should get this one. She...she said...she would remind you of me." Why was he so nervous about saying that?
"I love her. She does remind me of you," Lauren replied, catching Sirius' subtle affirmation that the kitten was indeed female, as she had suspected immediately.
"I guess it's the dark fur and blue eyes," Sirius commented, scooting closer to her and reaching out a hand to pet the kitten, which was draped on it's back over Lauren's arm, already fast asleep.
"Yeah, that...and she's cute...and sweet..." she murmured, looking up at him. He leaned towards her to listen to what she was saying.
"...and adorable..." she said, now gazing up into his eyes. Their faces were mere inches apart.
"..and—" Lauren never finished, having been cut off by the distinct sound of a throat being cleared. Mr. Walker's, no doubt. Sirius had pulled back from her instantly. Lauren, however, bravely sent a glance of annoyance towards her father as she reluctantly leaned away from Sirius.
He watched their exchange with strange curiosity, wondering if he would be the one to pay for her defiance later.
Mrs. Walker sliced through the suffocating tension in the air when she asked cheerfully, "Lauren, what are you going to name her?"
Lauren smiled immediately and gazed down at the kitten lovingly. Sirius found himself wishing that he transformed into a kitten rather than a dog...and reminded himself that thoughts such as that were not very manly...and therefore that desire would not be voiced to anyone. James just wouldn't understand how much he wanted Lauren to cradle him in her arms at that moment. Well, maybe he would...except it would be Lily doing the cradling.
"I don't know," she murmured finally. She raised her eyes to Sirius' and gave him a look that said otherwise—that she already had a name picked out—he just didn't understand why she wasn't going to announce it yet.
Lauren gently handed the kitten to him, then stood up and walked over to the pile of presents. She picked up a red-and-gold wrapped box from the ground and set it in front of Sirius.
He put the kitten back inside the basket and pulled Lauren down beside him. She gave him a nervous smile, her eyes darting back and forth between his eyes and the box.
Sirius grinned and tore open the gift eagerly; tossing the wrapping paper aside and wrenching open the box.
He frowned slightly when he saw that a note was resting on top of the tissue paper. Now, Sirius usually didn't bother reading the cards before opening the present, but he figured that Lauren wouldn't appreciate that. So, he read the note quickly:
Sirius,
I will give you your real present later.
Love, Lauren
After stopping a rather dirty train of thought about what that might mean, he glanced over at her confusedly. She indicated for him to go ahead and open the present, but he gazed at her for a few more seconds before lowering his eyes back to the box.
He pulled something black and shiny out of the covering of tissue paper slowly, his eyebrow furrowing slightly.
"It's...um...a leather jacket," Lauren explained hesitantly. She knew it didn't make much sense without the rest of his present. But for some reason, she didn't think that her father would approve of—
"It's cool," Sirius said truthfully, pulling off his jumper and putting on the jacket over his white t-shirt. He looked down at himself appraisingly. He decided that he rather liked it.
Lauren on the other hand, decided that she rather loved it. As he looked down, his hair fell into his eyes and it surprised her just how much she felt like tackling him at the sight.
And of course he chose that moment to suddenly look over at her and ask, "How does it look?"
She gave an incoherent, strangled response, a furious blush rising quickly up her cheeks. He raised an eyebrow and flashed his trademark smirk.
"I think it looks very nice," Mrs. Walker said encouragingly from across the room.
Sirius removed his attention from Lauren and thanked her for the compliment. Meanwhile, Lauren's face returned to a semi-normal temperature.
That is, until he leaned back over to her and whispered, "Thank you," in her ear.
Lauren's parents left the room to settle the final details of the ball, leaving Lauren and Sirius alone in the living room. She immediately crawled over to him and grabbed onto his collar, pulling his mouth to hers.
"What was that for?" he asked breathlessly after she broke away from him.
She shrugged and smiled back at him. "Do I have to have a reason to kiss you?"
He grinned and gently pulled her into his lap. "Of course not."
As they kissed, his hands slowly crept downwards from her waist, slipping into the back pockets of her jeans.
"Sirius," she mumbled warningly against his lips.
He sighed into her mouth, sliding his hands upwards before bringing them to rest around her waist again.
When they pulled apart ten minutes later, Lauren sighed as she stood up, then held out her hands to help Sirius off of the floor.
He grinned up at her and took her hands, but easily jumped up off the floor.
Lauren picked up the basket and they headed out of the living room and up the stairs, hand-in-hand.
"So, what's her name?" he asked softly once they reached the landing.
"Oh...Ashes, I think."
Sirius smiled. "That's a good name." The kitten was the same color as soot.
"Yeah, it reminds me of fireplaces...of last night..."
He leaned close to her. "You want another reminder of last night?" he asked seductively.
"Maybe." She licked her lips without even realizing it.
"Okay," he said resignedly, turning away from her and walking back towards his room.
She sighed exasperatedly and set the basket gently on the floor. "Where are you going?"
He turned back around and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if you aren't sure—"
She ran towards him and flung herself into his arms, cutting him off with her lips.
"I don't know if I'm convinced yet," he said breathlessly when she pulled away.
"You sure sound like it," she retorted with a smirk, disentangling herself from him and dropping to the floor. "I'm going to get ready for the ball."
Sirius sighed loudly and turned to go into his room. Why did girls take forever to get ready? If he had to, he could shower and dress in ten minutes. Glancing at his watch, which flashed, "You have time to kill," before showing the time, he rolled his eyes and opened his door. What was he going to do for the next three hours? Deciding that sleep, one of his favorite activities anyway, was the best way to go, he pulled off his jeans and fell onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
Meanwhile, Lauren took a hot bubble bath, reliving in her mind the events of the night before. She still couldn't believe that Sirius wasn't mad at her. She wasn't an expert on guys, but she was pretty sure that most would have been angry in that situation. But...he loved her. He'd finally told her that he loved her! That was by far the best moment of her life. She sank further into the bubbles and squealed like a little girl for the first time in a long time. She couldn't help but continually picture Sirius in his boxers. Even in the dim light, she could see how amazing his physique was...
Lauren suddenly realized that she'd been in the bath for a while and glanced down quickly at her fingers, sighing in relief when she saw that they hadn't begun to look like prunes.
She stepped out of the bath and toweled herself off before pulling on a dressing robe and sitting in front of her mirror.
"Someone looks happy," it commented cheerfully.
Lauren couldn't hold in the grin that spread across her face in response. "He loves me," she said happily.
"And who wouldn't, dearie?" the mirror replied.
Lauren laughed. Her mirror was just a little too flattering. Kind of ruined the whole purpose of a mirror, really. So much for brutal honesty. Or just honesty in general.
"The ball's today," Lauren finally said, reaching for her comb and running it through her hair absentmindedly.
"Lauren!" the mirror called loudly, snapping her out of her reverie.
She shook her head. "What? What's wrong?" she asked quickly, concern etching her forehead.
"You've been combing your hair for the past fifteen minutes. If you don't stop, it might fall out."
Lauren's hand immediately stilled and she guiltily set the comb on the counter.
"Don't tell me, you were thinking about him," the mirror commented knowingly.
She nodded, flashing a guilty smile.
"Oh, honey," the mirror said in a disapproving voice.
"What?"
"You have some food in your teeth."
"What?!" Lauren placed her head in her hands, feeling like she would die of embarrassment. She had just kissed Sirius. Of course he'd noticed.
"I was just kidding."
Lauren snapped her head up to her reflection and narrowed her gaze. Her mirror picked this moment to suddenly obtain a sense of humor? She picked up her comb and shook it threateningly at the glass. "Don't do that to me," she said, her voice betraying the emptiness of the threat.
"Oh, dear, I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist."
Lauren smiled at the apology and said, "Just help me get ready for the ball. I want to look really good."
"When I'm finished with you, darling, he won't know what hit him."
Lauren laughed, but her expression grew serious as they got down to business.
An hour later, Lauren's hair and make-up were complete. Her dark hair was swept into an elegant up-do, with tendrils framing her face delicately. Tear-shaped diamonds dangled from her ears and a matching necklace hung around her neck. Her eyes were lined more thickly than usual, her eye shadow was smoky, and her lashes were coated with a thickening and lengthening mascara. Lauren had been rather pleased with the result. They were by far her favorite feature. A dusting of blush accentuated her cheekbones and her lips were coated with a sheer gloss.
She was just pulling her dress out of the closet when she heard a light knock on her door. She carried the garment bag over to her bed and set it down.
"Lauren," her mother's voice called, "I was just wondering if you needed any help."
"One second, mum," Lauren replied, walking quickly over to the door and opening it.
"Oh, Lauren, you look beautiful," Mrs. Walker gushed as she stepped inside.
Lauren blushed and closed the door behind her. She didn't think she'd ever not be embarrassed whenever anyone said that to her. "Thanks, mum. I was just getting out my dress." When she turned back around, she glanced at her mother's dress. "Mum, so do you," she said.
"Oh, this old thing?" Mrs. Walker questioned jokingly, smoothing her hands over the navy blue skirt. Lauren suddenly realized where she got that habit from.
"Okay," her mom said, making her way to the bed and gently pulling the gown out of the bag. Lauren stopped behind her, realizing that it was the first time she'd seen the dress since it was finished. It looked even better than the design. It was a rich shade of red, not very different from the Gryffindor color or Sirius' couch...The fabric was silk, and Lauren could tell just by looking at it that it was incredibly soft.
Mrs. Walker held up the gown and helped Lauren put it on. It was strapless, with a slightly curving neckline rather than just cut straight across. The diamond on her necklace fell to about two inches above the top of the dress. The bodice had boning; giving it the appearance of a corset, but fortunately it wasn't as constricting. It did make her waist look very small, though. The skirt was full, spilling out from the v-shaped waistline and gently grazed the floor when she had her shoes on.
When she was fully dressed, her mother motioned for her to turn around. Lauren obeyed, twirling slowly.
"Hmm," Mrs. Walker said thoughtfully before conjuring up a rose blossom, the exact same shade as the dress. She smiled approvingly and Lauren bent down slightly as she fastened it to her hair.
"Thanks, mum," Lauren said. "How was your special night?" she asked.
"Oh, it was wonderful," her mother replied. "Your father is so romantic."
Lauren smiled. She hoped that one day her marriage would be like her parents'.
"What did you two do?" Mrs. Walker asked.
"We studied for a while," Lauren began. "Then we made dinner, and...kissed a bit." She stopped abruptly, suddenly overcome with guilt for having to lie.
"That's all?" her mother questioned.
A slow smile spread across Lauren's face. "Well, he told me he loved me," she said softly.
"Oh, he did?" Mrs. Walker replied. "Was that the first time?"
"Yeah..." Lauren answered, trailing off. She still hadn't asked him—
Her mother's arms were around her, hugging her tightly.
"You know, I could tell that he loved you from the second you two stepped off the train. The way he looks at you..."
Lauren smiled and pulled away from her mother, wiping a tear off her cheek quickly and noticing that her mother was doing the same thing.
"Look at us, mum. We're going to look horrible before the ball even starts!" Lauren also inherited her tendency to cry at every little thing from her mother. The tear-shaped diamonds were no coincidence.
"Okay, love. I'm going downstairs before the guests start to arrive. See you soon."
"Bye, mum."
Lauren walked into her bathroom and inspected her reflection one last time.
"Sirius doesn't have a weak heart, does he?"
"No...why?" Lauren asked confusedly.
"Because he'll be in danger of having a heart attack when he sees you, that's all," the mirror explained.
Lauren laughed and waved goodbye before she headed out of the room.
Sirius was currently waiting patiently at the bottom of the staircase for Lauren. He had met up with Mrs. Walker in the hallway and she told him that Lauren would be down soon.
He glanced down at his black (with red and gold accents...he was very loyal to his house) dress robes, checking to make sure that they weren't still horribly wrinkled. Of course he hadn't thought to take them out of his trunk, so they had laid in there at the bottom of a crumpled pile of clothing for the past few days. He'd had to perform several ironing spells in his attempt to smooth them out.
When he glanced up again he saw Lauren standing at the top of the stairs.
Lauren walked down the grand staircase slowly. Not to be dramatic, just to make sure she didn't take a spill down the stairs and rip her gown.
When she was close enough to see Sirius' expression, she held in a smirk. His jaw was practically on the floor.
"Hi," she said softly when she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Wow. You look...wow," was all he said, was all he could say.
Lauren blushed and looked down, smoothing her dress with her palms.
"I mean, that dress is just...wow." Sirius felt like slapping himself. He wanted to say so many other things—words like gorgeous, stunning, incredible, lovely were flying around in his mind—but it seemed like the only word his mouth could successfully form was that three letter palindrome.
Lauren, who had looked up when Sirius started speaking again, smiled at him and bit her lip to keep from laughing.
He smiled back and nervously ran his hand through his hair.
She pulled his arm down and smoothed his hair back into place, whispering, "Don't turn into Potter on me now."
He nodded and grinned at her, remembering that James, Lily, and Remus were coming to the ball.
"By the way," she whispered, leaning close to him again, "you look incredibly hot."
For what he was pretty certain was the second time in his life, Sirius blushed. Recovering quickly, he offered her his arm and they headed off to the ballroom.
When they entered the huge room, a huge mass of people, mainly comprised of ministry officials, was milling about in front of them.
Sirius carefully steered Lauren through the crowd, hoping to catch sight of a familiar face.
The first people they saw were Lauren's parents. Lauren gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug to her mother. Sirius shook hands with Edward in greeting before he was pulled into a hug by Mrs. Walker.
They moved on and quickly spotted Remus and Karen, who were sitting at a table and talking quietly. Understanding dawned in Lauren's mind. She should've known that Karen liked him. She could have done something about it, too.
"James!" she suddenly heard Sirius call loudly from beside her.
Soon James, dragging Lily behind him, reached them. He and Sirius immediately clapped each other on the back, grinning madly, before starting to talk eagerly.
Lily and Lauren both looked at their boyfriends with eyebrows raised, then turned to each other and rolled their eyes.
"It looks like he's happier to see him than he is when he sees me," Lily commented jokingly.
James apparently heard her and turned to the girls immediately, flashing Lauren a winning smile before wrapping his arm around Lily.
Lauren suddenly felt herself being enveloped from behind by a pair of strong arms. She turned her head to the side to look behind her, and found Sirius' face beaming back.
"Thought I forgot about you?" he whispered into her ear.
She closed her eyes and shook her head.
He pressed a kiss to her temple and murmured, "Good, because I never will."
She couldn't keep a huge grin from spreading across her face at his words.
"This is just sickening, don't you agree, Remus?"
Lauren felt herself being turned in the direction of the sarcastic voice, not at all surprised to see a smirking Karen, standing next to Remus. Lauren's brows knitted as she noted the strange expression on his face.
She pulled herself out of Sirius' arms and hugged Karen. Then Lauren turned to Remus and smiled.
"Thank you for the cloak," Remus said softly, that same emotion playing across his features. She still couldn't place it.
She smiled, hoping he liked the all-weather cloak she'd picked up for him at Madam Malkin's. His just seemed so...worn.
"You're welcome," she replied. "Thanks for the dog biscuits," she said with a laugh.
He laughed, too, before replying, "I thought with Padfoot staying at your house, they might come in handy. It won't be long before he consumes your entire stock of human food."
"Someone talking about me?" Sirius asked, jumping into their conversation.
Remus and Lauren laughed again before Sirius repeated the greeting he'd had with James once more with Remus.
Meanwhile, Lauren took a step closer to Karen and leaned over towards her friend.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a crush on Remus?" she whispered, her tone half-amused and half-accusing.
Karen giggled nervously, shocking Lauren completely. Karen simply did not giggle.
"Did you just giggle?" she asked incredulously.
"Oh, sod off," Karen replied with a grin, her eyes darting around Lauren, indicating for her to look behind her.
Sirius was standing there patiently.
Lauren turned around and he clasped her hand in his as he led her over to the table that Karen and Remus had been sitting at earlier.
He pulled out the chair next to Karen for her, and she smiled up at him as she sat down. She didn't even realize that he had to move the chair over slightly so to prevent her from ending up sitting on the floor. She did wonder about the bemused smile he'd had on his face while he sat down beside her.
"They got good food here, Padfoot?" James asked from across the table, winking at Lauren.
Sirius glanced over at Lauren, his foot nudging hers gently under the table before he replied, "Excellent food."
"Awesome," James replied happily, looking at the one of menus that suddenly appeared before them.
"How does this work?" Lily asked, slightly confused.
"Oh, well, just say, 'I'll have the' and then whatever you want to eat," Lauren explained, smiling at Lily, who nodded in understanding.
Sirius, of course, had already figured this out and by the time she glanced over at him, he had everything on the menu sitting in front of him.
"Sirius!" she said incredulously.
"What?" he replied. "I couldn't decide."
"Biscuits," Remus reminded Lauren.
"Huh?" Sirius asked confusedly. "There's biscuits on the menu? I didn't get any of those..." he trailed off as he surveyed the dishes again.
Lauren's face hurt from trying to prevent herself from bursting out laughing. It seemed that Remus was struggling with the same task.
She glanced over at Sirius, who was happily tucking in to his exceedingly large meal, before picking up her fork and starting to eat herself.
After a while, Lauren got a strange feeling. She suddenly looked up from her plate, catching Sirius staring at her. She smiled at him and leaned over, looking into his eyes.
"The food is going to disappear in fifteen minutes. You better eat it now." she told him. She was actually serious. Whenever the dancing started, the tables would be cleared.
Sirius continued to gaze at her. He just couldn't tear his eyes away. Besides, he could eat all of his food in five minutes flat...and maybe some of hers.
"What, Sirius?"
"You...your eyes," he said slowly, leaning towards her. "You look so...sexy."
Lauren blushed and glanced down at her lap.
Sirius reached out his hand and tilted her chin up to him, "That was even sexier," he whispered.
"If you two are done proving the existence of some sickening force of attraction, maybe the rest of us can go back to eating dinner instead of trying to overcome our gag reflexes," a dry voice suggested from beside her.
"Karen!" Lauren exclaimed, looking at her friend in disbelief.
Karen let out a snort of laughter at her expression and soon the rest of the table was laughing as well.
Lauren was glad that she was able to conceal the fact that she and Sirius were engaged in a rather...eager game of footsie for the rest of the meal.
Not surprisingly, Sirius did manage to eat all of his food before the music started. When it did, he jumped up immediately and asked her to dance.
She laughed at his enthusiasm, but leaned against him happily as he led her out onto the dance floor.
"Do you know how many evil glares I'm getting?" Sirius whispered into her ear after a while.
"What? Why?" Lauren asked, glancing up at him quickly. She was upset. There were a lot of Slytherins at this party, due to the Walker's pure-blood and the fact that several parents of their classmates worked for the ministry.
"Because I'm dancing with absolutely the most gorgeous girl in the room," he explained with a grin.
"Oh," Lauren murmured, closing her eyes and returning her head to his chest. She inhaled deeply, then tilted her face up to his.
"You smell really good," she told him softly before returning to her position.
"So do you," he replied, resting his chin on the top of her head as they swayed to the music.
After a while, Lauren pulled away from him slightly and asked, "You want to go outside?" before looking down shyly.
Sirius immediately stopped dancing and clutched on to her hand more tightly before leading them through the sea of dancing couples.
"Which way?" he asked when they were near the door to the foyer.
She smiled at his eagerness and took the lead, taking him through a set of French doors and onto a balcony. She stopped and turned to him when they were near the railing.
Sirius, however, didn't even glance at the scenery. He reached his hand up and gently twirled one of the tendrils of hair framing her face around his finger, smiling at her. "I like this," he said. "Makes up for the fact that I can't run my fingers through your hair."
Lauren frowned, realizing the truthfulness of his statement. She hadn't really thought about that. But it probably wasn't the most appropriate thing for him to be doing at a ministry event anyway.
She used her hand to pull his face down to hers, and she murmured against his lips, "You can later," before kissing him softly. A voice in her head told her that kissing him wasn't entirely appropriate either, but she dismissed it.
He was grinning like a madman when she pulled away from him. She shivered slightly and snuggled into him.
"Are you cold?" he asked softly.
She nodded against his chest.
"Maybe we should go back inside?" he suggested.
Lauren shook her head emphatically, causing him to laugh before sliding his palm further around her waist and wrapping her in his arms. They danced in a slow circle, completely oblivious to the party inside and the snow that was starting to fall lightly around them.
Sirius opened his eyes, blinking when he saw the snowflakes glittering at him.
"Hey, it's snowing," he said softly.
A smile spread slowly across Lauren's face. "Really?"
"Yeah." He watched as a snowflake landed on her bare shoulder and melted slowly. And he realized that an excess of that would probably cause her to get a cold.
He removed his hands from her back and she shook her head slightly, whimpering softly as she burrowed into him further.
He sighed and put his arms around her once again, then scolded himself. He couldn't let her get sick because he was selfish.
"You're going to catch a cold," he told her softly.
She gazed up at him and smiled as he took her hand in his and led her back inside.
"You want something to drink?" he asked once they entered the ballroom again. "Butterbeer?"
She grinned and nodded. A butterbeer sounded perfect.
Sirius walked towards the table where the refreshments were. He met James halfway and they got into a discussion about Sirius' stay at the Walkers'. Eventually, the conversation steered itself towards the events of the night before.
"So...you're telling me...that you and Lauren were kissing in your apartment last night, wearing just your underwear...and you didn't shag her?" James asked incredulously. "How can you have that sort of willpower? If I saw Lily in just her knickers..."
"I don't know," Sirius said truthfully. "I mean, we'd never talked about it. It just kind of happened that we ended up there...that way. I didn't plan on taking her to my apartment to seduce her or anything like that. She was the one who started the...clothing removal. I just didn't push her to do anything more. I love her too much to—"
James suddenly looked at Sirius expectantly. "You did tell her that, right?"
"That I love her?" Sirius asked, glancing at James, who nodded. "Yes, last night."
"Good," James said. He had been starting to get a little worried about his previously relationship-challenged friend.
They both reached for a couple butterbeers and grinned at each other before making their way through the room back to their girlfriends.
Meanwhile, Lauren, Lily, and Karen were having a discussion of their own.
"Last night Sirius and I went to his apartment and we started kissing and one thing led to another..."
"What?! You and Sirius...had sex?" Lily questioned.
"No!" Lauren exclaimed. "We ended up falling asleep in his bed...wearing just our undergarments."
Lily laughed. "And just how did that happen?" Karen asked with a smirk.
"Oh, you know," Lauren said dismissively.
"Actually, I don't. Care to explain it to me?" Karen asked.
Lauren squirmed uncomfortably.
"We're just kidding," Lily said. "You don't have to tell us. But you should know that most guys wouldn't be able to stop themselves the way that he did."
Lauren smiled. "I'm lucky, I know. I just hope that he doesn't think I'm a tease," she said honestly.
"I'm sure that he was happy with what happened," Lily reassured her. She laughed, then said, "I bet he liked it more than his Christmas present."
Lauren laughed. "Maybe," she said thoughtfully.
"Speaking of presents, what did you think of your kitten?" Lily asked.
A huge grin spread over Lauren's face. "Lily, she is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. She definitely reminds me of him. Thank you so much for helping him choose her."
"Sirius got you a kitten?" Karen asked.
Lauren smiled even bigger. "Yeah, she's adorable. You have to see her when we get back to school."
"By the way, what did you get Sirius? James wouldn't tell me," Lily said.
"Oh I got him a—" She stopped when she suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her.
"Talking about us, I hope," James said when he, Sirius, and Remus (who had joined up with them on the way) reached the group of girls.
"You know it," Lily replied before James swept her away into the crowd of dancing couples.
Sirius and Lauren glanced at each other for a second before approaching Remus and Karen.
"Would you care to dance?" Sirius asked Karen, executing an exaggerated bow. Karen laughed and glanced over at Lauren, who nodded and smiled.
Lauren asked Remus if he wanted to dance and he smiled back at her before they made their way onto the dance floor as well.
"So you've got it bad for Remus, huh?" Sirius asked Karen once they started dancing.
Karen's eyes grew huge. "What are you talking about?" she sputtered unconvincingly.
"Come off it. I can tell," Sirius said firmly.
"Okay, so what if I do?" Karen replied, slightly miffed by her apparent...transparency.
"I just want you to know..." Sirius trailed off. This was not going to be the easiest conversation in the world.
Karen looked up at him expectantly, her brow furrowing.
"...he's not ready yet."
"Oh, I see. You don't think he likes me?" Karen asked him bitterly.
That reaction was exactly what Sirius had been trying to avoid. "No, I'm sure he likes you. But he thinks that he shouldn't. You have to be patient. He won't want a relationship now. He probably thinks that he never will. But if you want to be with him...you'll have to wait."
Karen swallowed the dose of reality hard and nodded her head. "Thanks for telling me that." She hadn't realized that Sirius was so thoughtful.
"Well, I want him to be happy, you know? And I don't want you to get hurt. I think you'd be good together." Sirius replied honestly.
Karen nodded again. They danced the rest of the song in silence.
Meanwhile, Lauren had no idea how to approach the same subject with Remus. She didn't have the same advantage as Sirius did by actually being friends with him.
"Remus?" she asked softly, looking up at him.
He glanced down at her for a second, then looked away quickly. She noticed the tears shining in his eyes, however.
"Remus, are you okay?"
He swallowed hard and nodded.
"You want to talk about it?" she asked gently.
He shook his head and Lauren gave him a reassuring smile before she looked away and glanced around the room.
She saw Sirius and Karen dancing together, and noted that Karen looked just about as happy as Remus did. So much for her attempt at matchmaking...
When the song ended she gave Remus' hand a squeeze before letting go. Sirius soon stepped in and they both watched as their friends awkwardly started dancing.
Whenever he was dancing with Lauren, Sirius noticed that a lot of people were watching them. They all had these knowing smiles on their faces. Sirius caught a man's eye as he whirled by with his wife. He looked strangely familiar. The man nodded towards Lauren and winked. That's when Sirius placed him. He was one of the men that went to the balls when they were younger. Sirius rolled his eyes slightly. They all knew, even then...He and Lauren had wasted much too much time apart from each other.
Eventually the ball ended and they all said their goodbyes and expressed their gratitude for the presents they'd all opened earlier in the day.
By midnight, the ballroom was empty, save for Sirius, Lauren, and the Walkers' "staff."
Sirius and Lauren volunteered to help clean up, but the house-elves insisted that they go to sleep, practically pushing them out into the foyer, where Lauren's parents were seeing off the last of the guests.
Lauren hugged her parents goodnight and they all wished each other happy Christmas before Lauren and Sirius headed upstairs.
Sirius walked Lauren to her room, and she turned around suddenly.
"What is it?" Sirius asked, concerned.
"I think I...figured it out," she replied hesitantly.
"The doors?" Sirius asked hopefully.
"Yeah. What were you thinking about when you came in my room this morning?"
Sirius paused to think about it. "I wasn't thinking much, I was too excited."
A grin slowly spread across Lauren's face. "When I went in your room, I wasn't thinking much either, I was too scared."
"Oh..." Sirius replied, catching her train of thought. "So it's like, an emotion charm?"
"I think so," Lauren said.
"Okay, let's try it." Sirius caught her off guard as he kissed her hungrily, completely dismissing any thoughts that surfaced. He pushed the door handle. Not surprisingly, it didn't move.
Lauren laughed. "I don't think that's the kind of emotion that's gonna get you in my room," she said teasingly. "Well, as long as the lock is deciding," she added softly. Suddenly, an idea struck her. "Do you want your present?"
"Yeah!" Sirius replied excitedly. He grabbed the knob eagerly and it turned, allowing them entrance into her room.
Then he realized what she'd done. "How did I end up with such a smart, smart girl?" he asked her once they were inside the room and the door was closed.
"Hmm, I don't know," Lauren said, walking over to her dresser and opening up the top drawer.
Sirius watched in anticipation as she made her way back over to him, holding something in the palm of her hand.
"So, Happy Christmas," she said, placing a gobstone in his hand. He looked at the object incredulously, the expression still on his face when he looked up at Lauren.
She laughed and took it back out of his hand, walking over to the middle of her floor and placing it on the floor.
She pulled her wand out and backed up as she said, "Finite Incantatum."
Sirius grinned as his eyes traveled over the motorcycle that suddenly appeared in her room.
He jumped up and ran over to Lauren, picking her up off the ground as he kissed her gratefully. "That's my present?" he said excitedly.
"Yeah, you like it?" she asked, laughing.
"It's perfect!" he replied before kissing her again.
"Do you mind if I...?" he asked when he pulled away.
"Of course not!"
He put her back on the carpet softly and practically skipped over to the motorcycle, running his hands over the chrome as he inspected it.
"Do you know how cool this is gonna be when I put some spells on it?"
She laughed again. "That's what James said."
"This is so awesome," he said softly, but she heard him and smiled.
"Promise me one thing, though," she said.
"What?" he asked.
"That you'll still study for your NEWTs."
He laughed. Of course she'd think of that.
"Okay, I promise...as long as you'll study with me."
She liked that condition. Very much.
She grabbed her pajamas from her dresser and went into her bathroom to change. She was still taking off her necklace when she came back into the room.
"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" he asked after his eyes flicked over her body.
"I didn't think you'd notice," she said, smiling.
"Of course I noticed," he said, walking over to her. He gently pushed her hands away from her neck and clumsily unclasped her necklace for her. "How do you get these things off?" he asked frustratedly. She laughed, but knew that he'd want to do it himself, so she stood there patiently as he fumbled with it.
He finally got it off and walked away, placing it on top of her dresser before walking back over to her and reaching his hands up into her hair, gently pulling her hair out of its style.
"That's better," he said softly as he ran his fingers through it, causing her to sigh and lean into him.
She was none too happy when he suddenly pulled away and gazed up at him in confusion.
"I'm going to go change," he explained before giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll be back in a minute."
"Okay," Lauren replied, sighing as she sank down onto her bed.
Meanwhile, Sirius opened his room and was painfully reminded of earlier that day, when he'd discovered that his robes were wrinkled and he'd thrown his clothes around in frustration. He dug through the piles of clothes, trying to find his pajamas. He finally found them and pulled on the flannel pants and white t-shirt, then started putting the remaining clothes back in his trunk.
Lauren had started to worry about him and opened the door just as he was getting up off of the floor.
"Sorry," he said, walking over to her.
"It's okay. I was just getting a little worried," she replied, looking past him.
"What's that?" she said laughingly.
"What's what?" he asked, praying that she hadn't seen—
"Those things on the floor," she replied, walking past him quickly.
He took a deep breath and turned around, watching as she leaned down over the matching objects.
"They're slippers," he said embarrassedly. Well, actually, they were puppy-dog slippers, which the other Marauders had bought for him as a gag gift when he'd finished the Animagus transformation. He'd actually grown quite fond of them over the past four years, and guiltily so.
"Oh, Sirius," Lauren said, standing up and walking back over to him.
"I know, I know, stupid, huh?"
"No, adorable," she replied as she closed the distance between them.
Lauren put her hands on his waist and grabbed the hem the t-shirt that he probably shouldn't have bothered to put on, not even stopping to ask him before pulling it over his head. He didn't mind, of course.
"Lauren?" he questioned in a low voice.
"Mmm hmm?" she replied, running her hands over his chest slowly.
He closed his eyes. "I love you," he whispered.
"Love you, too," she murmured back.
He picked her up off the floor and carried her over to the bed. She lay down and he pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her. She snuggled into him and listened to his heartbeat until she fell asleep. He drifted off soon afterwards.