Poppy's POV
My three weeks with Evelyn had flown. She was the most amazing teacher I'd had yet. She was a lean, graceful woman of not quite 40, and her skin seemed to gleam (to be fair it did properly gleam a lot of the time due to her magic). She crammed our days with lessons, teaching me the history of our people first as she insisted this was the most important. To be fair, I learned a lot; about the stars and constellations, how to read them properly so they could properly guide me. She taught me to call my magic quickly, how to harness it and use it defensively and as a method of attack. She showed me how to use my speed wisely, how to disguise the sound of my footsteps and, rather importantly, how to contain my shine. She had been impressed at the level of control I had already but insisted it could be far greater than it was, and she pushed me to achieve my best. It felt like I'd spent the first 17 years of my life using my magic to only a quarter of its true potential but now, with Evelyn as my teacher and guide, I realised just how much I could actually use. It was almost scary to consider the power I had and as whisperings and mutterings of dark deeds spread across from the UK it only motivated me further, Evelyn insisting I could, would, be a fundamental part of stopping it. As I had light magic and the dark magic spread, she told me I would be able to detect it, and if I so wished I could use my light magic to repel the dark. This had staggered me somewhat and she had given me a sad smile when she said it, apologising for putting such a weight on me. I, however, had shaken her off, wanting to do everything I could to protect my friends from whatever was coming. I trained harder and Evelyn pushed me harder until our three weeks were up. She had other matters to take care of, Etoileige business, she told me with a grin. She promised she would stay in touch, telling me we were family and so she would naturally look after me and to let her know if I ever needed anything. When I asked her how I would find her she just grinned at me, tapping my necklace and telling me to use my magic to do it. She didn't explain, saying there were some things I had to find for myself.
The first two days after my training with Evelyn I did little else other than sleep, my magic and bodily energy levels having been zapped. Phil and Sara had been warned this could happen and so filled the house with a great multitude of orange and yellow foods, pushing it on me at every mealtime to properly replenish me. Once I was fully recovered, I felt stronger than I'd ever been, more aware of my magic than ever as well. All my family commented on how happy I seemed, how I seemed to be perpetually emitting a small shine and I could see how happy they were to see me like this.
Now though, it was time to prepare for the arrival of my guests and, almost most importantly, Sirius. We had written to each other over the past month continuously although I was limited in what I could tell him. Evelyn had told me that she agreed completely with what Dumbledore had said about keeping my light magic secret; telling me dark forces would actively seek me out to manipulate my magic. It scared me as she held nothing back from me the way a guardian or teacher would do, telling me to be scared was to be prepared. As such, I didn't even say anything to Sirius, instead telling him I was spending time with Max and Sienna and catching up with them. He seemed a little bored his end, telling me him and James spent a lot of time training for quidditch or else hanging out with Remus and Peter at their houses. He seemed excited to see me, however, and I him although I was slightly nervous as it had felt like a long time since we'd last seen each other.
Finally, the day of his arrival came, and I went with nervous, but at the same time eager, anticipation to the French ministry. I had chosen a new burgundy sun dress with simple brown sandals, making the most effort I'd put in in a month on my hair and make-up. I went in with Sienna who had an induction day for her new job and waited in the atrium for him, the furthest in I was permitted to go. I noticed people glancing at me as I waited but shook it off, remembering what Evelyn had told me about projecting a bit of a shine whilst in France to give people an active reminder that there were Etoileige still out there. She told me it was something to be proud of and that historically, Etoileige had always been held in high regard in French wizarding society and I needed to act more confidently. I tried not to pace and stood still, eyes darting through the crowds of people who seemed to constantly stream in and out. Finally, after a ten-minute wait I saw him, my eyes widening as I took him in. He was smiling widely at me, hurrying forwards before dropping his bag at my feet and embracing me tightly.
"Merlin Pop I've missed you" he whispered in my ear as he squeezed me. I shut my eyes, breathing in deeply that smell I'd missed so much.
"I've missed you" I told him, realising that our height difference seemed to have shrunk a little. He pulled away at this, eyes darting over me.
"Pop you look bloody amazing. Like, I didn't think you could get more beautiful, but you definitely have" he said, making me blush and avert my eyes. He laughed, making me smile and shake off the embarrassment as I saw the way his eyes shone.
"You look amazing too you know. Although your hair!" I exclaimed and he laughed again, running a hand through his now incredibly short hair.
"Do you like it?" he asked me, and I could hear the nervousness.
"Very much" I told him, reaching up to run a hand through it and seeing his eyes close at my touch. He moved his head to the side, managing to place a kiss on my wrist before he pulled me to him and kissed me properly. "I don't want to cause a scene" I told him, pulling away much earlier than I would have liked. He pouted at this, making me laugh but I just shook my head. "Nobody's at home though" I said, and he hurriedly picked up his bag, as I laughed again, his hand slipping into mine.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!" he exclaimed, eyes lit up mischievously as we made our way towards the apparition point. I took a tight hold of him, leading the way home and watching him carefully when we landed to ensure he was okay. He seemed excited, eyes scanning over everything as we made our way to the house.
"So where is everybody?" he asked me as we went, making me smile.
"Sienna's got her induction day for her new job. Phil's at work, Sara's seeing her parents and Max is…I don't actually know" I told him with a frown now I considered it. He laughed at this, shaking his head as I led him up the driveway, seeing him take in the house.
"I forgot they were purebloods" was all he said; I assume he meant the size of the house by this. I gave him a quick tour, showing him where he would be sleeping which made him grin, but he didn't say anything on it. Afterwards I gave him some time to change as I made us some drinks and waited for him outside in the garden, the sun already giving out a load of heat. A couple of minutes later I heard him come down and turned to wave him over. He came bounding over, making me laugh as he extended a hand to me, pulling me up and kissing me without any further delay. I had apparently forgotten just how much I enjoyed kissing him as he pulled me flush against him, one hand tangling in my hair as the other was firmly on my back. Had his hands always been that big? The one on my back felt like it was touching nearly all of me as I arched into him, finding him intoxicating.
"I've really, really missed you" he told me when we finally pulled away, his breathing rapid and shallow. I smiled at him, trying to pull myself together and calm my heart and breathing. "Can we just spend the day making out please?" he asked me with a cheeky smile, making me laugh.
"Best plan I've heard" I said before pulling him to me and kissing him again, thinking we had a lot of time to make up for.
We did actually spend the rest of the day making out and I felt that overwhelming sense of happiness flood through me at just being around him again. At five we had to chill out as I put some stuff together for dinner so everybody would have something to eat when they got in, Sirius attempting to help but only distracting me.
"Are you ready to spend some actual time with my family?" I asked him when I'd finally managed to finish the spaghetti bolognese and he nodded, grinning.
"I may have a few tricks up my sleeve" he told me cockily. I looked at him in surprise, but he just tapped his nose mysteriously as we heard the front door go and he moved to stand next to me as Sara, Phil and Sienna arrived, all three smiling.
"Good evening Mr and Mrs Marais, Sienna. It's lovely to see you all again" Sirius told them at once in French. There was a surprised silence, my eyes widening to look at Sirius who genuinely looked well chuffed with himself. It was Sara who shook herself first, beaming at him as she moved forward and gave him a proper French greeting of a kiss on each cheek.
"And you too Sirius! We didn't know you spoke French?" she asked, slowing herself down considerably. I could see his concentration now, a few seconds passing before he nodded.
"I thought it would be good to make the effort" he told her, and she smiled widely, looking ever so impressed.
"We are most impressed and thankful for your efforts Sirius" Phil said to him, moving forward and offering him a hand which he shook happily.
Thank you, Sir. I am learning but I still have more to learn" Sirius replied and Phil smiled widely.
"And me with my English. Maybe we can help each other?" Phil asked him, switching to English and Sirius nodded, looking pleased.
"Hi Sirius" Sienna greeted him effortlessly, floating forward and I think surprising him by giving him a hug.
"It's nice to see you Sienna. Poppy said you start work today?" he asked her, her own smile widening.
"Just an induction day to get to know my new department" she replied in English, evidently deciding his French might not extend to some of those words in her sentence.
"It smells wonderful sweetheart, where's Max?" Sara asked as she moved further into the kitchen, switching to English I think for Sirius's benefit.
"Not a clue. Not seen him all day" I told her with a shrug, and she frowned, turning to Sienna who also shrugged. Sara shook her head as she got some plates out and everybody made their way to the table. "Where did all that French come from?!" I asked Sirius quietly as we sat and he grinned at me, taking my hand.
"I told you, I thought it would be good to make the effort" he whispered quietly back, squeezing my hand. "Pop, I thought you'd know by now I'd do anything for you" he told me with a crooked smile, making me blush at the sincerity of his words.
"So, Sirius. Tell us how you've been" Phil encouraged him in French and although slow, Sirius replied in French, leaving me to watch in sheer amazement at the lengths he was apparently willing to go to for me.
We spent the evening with the family, and it made me happy to see how easily Sirius got on with everybody, making me incredibly happy. I knew he had Sara and Phil's approval (even more so now he dropped the 'I speak French' bomb) and Sienna had already told me I was lucky to have such a hot boyfriend. As such, it was just Max I was waiting for and it was to him my eyes flickered to throughout the evening. Sirius was his usual charming self and kept them all entertained with his stories of life at the Potter's. He also happily talked to Max about quidditch, the pair of them comparing the French and English leagues and then the up and coming world cup which was being next year in Liechtenstein. Towards the end of the night I saw Max look over at me, giving me a smile and a nod which I took to mean his approval and beamed back at him, now being able to fully relax. At ten everybody else drifted to bed giving Sirius and I some space to do some more non-verbal catching up before we headed to bed, the both of us being on our best behaviour and remaining in our own rooms all night.
The next day I took Sirius to Place Cachée which he seemed to love. He was able to use his French which I knew he enjoyed showing off, making me laugh as we happily wandered the street hand-in-hand. It was all going so well until I spotted some people I unfortunately recognised; those I had been at Beauxbatons with. Sirius must have sensed my hesitation as he stopped, turning to face me.
"What's up?" he asked, his eyes on mine.
"Just…some people I used to go to school with" I told him, nodding in their direction as they moved towards us.
"Well, now you've got a great chance to show off your seriously hot, British boyfriend" he said cockily, making me laugh and unfortunately drawing their attention.
"Oh look, the freak has returned" Violet's snide voice drifted over and I made myself stand firm and not wince at her words.
"And look at the glow. It's like she has no shame" Penelope added her thoughts and I saw Sirius frown, dropping my hand to put an arm around me and draw me to him.
"I'm going to have to ask you to treat my girlfriend with respect" he told them, his voice icy. I saw their eyes dart in almost surprise to him and I tried to also not act surprised.
"Come Turner. You can't seriously expect us to believe that this is your boyfriend" Timothy sneered at me.
"He is but I don't give a shit if you don't believe it. Excuse us" I snapped back, as I moved, Sirius coming with me.
"She's so up herself. I'm glad we don't have to deal with her weirdness anymore" I heard Violet say as we went and felt Sirius stiffen next to me.
"Leave it" I told him quietly, but he had stopped moving. "Sirius, I mean it. They're not worth the time or effort" I insisted. He looked angry, turning me so I was properly facing him.
"We'll give them something to talk about" he growled before kissing me fiercely, pressing himself as close against me as he could get. I was slightly taken aback but couldn't find it in me to care right now, as always relishing the feel of him against me. When we finally pulled away, he grinned at me, giving me one last soft kiss before we continued our way down the street, Sirius definitely with a swagger about him now and I couldn't help but laugh, feeling glad I had him by my side.
We enjoyed the rest of our day together, the incident already forgotten before we wound our way home, being the first ones back.
"So, what are we doing tomorrow?" Sirius asked, pulling me down onto the sofa with him. I hesitated and saw him look at me curiously, already knowing I was nervous.
"Well, I was thinking we could go to my parents beach house" I said slowly, keeping my eyes on him. He tilted his head to the side slightly looking somewhat dog like in nature as he considered my words.
"Is that where we're going when everyone comes up?" he asked after a moment and I nodded. There was a small silence as I thought about how to word my next sentence.
"I thought we could spend some time together there, you know…on our own" I said slowly. He looked at me for a moment before he gave me a smile.
"And you definitely want to do that?" he asked, and I was pleased that he had evidently picked up on my meaning.
"I would really like that" I said quickly, feeling my heart rate increase. "But if it's not something you feel-" but he cut me off with a kiss.
"I really want to do that" he confirmed with a crooked smile, pulling me to sit as close to him as possible. "You'll say if you change your mind though?" he asked as I cuddled into him and I smiled, nodding.
"Of course, but…well I have given it a fair bit of thought" I admitted, feeling his hand gently stroke my arm.
"If I'm honest I have too" he said, and I could almost hear his grin.
"Oh?" I asked, hearing his chuckle.
"Mmmhmm, you've been in my dreams a lot" he teased, and I got the hint, making me blush and I was thankful he couldn't see it.
"Well don't you two look cute" Sienna made us both jump and I quickly sat up properly, seeing her strolling in. I just prayed she hadn't heard what we'd been talking about.
The next morning, I woke up early, feeling nervous but excited for my day with Sirius. I had told Sara and Phil of our plans, the former looking at me closely but agreeing we could go. As such I treated myself to a long shower to fully prep myself, choosing the nicest underwear I had, hoping Sirius would like it. I then picked out a nice dress and spent some time on my hair before throwing my bikini and towel into a bag and grabbing my wand to head downstairs. When I got there, it was to Sirius already up and happily talking to Phil in French before he went to work. I stood by the door, just watching the pair of them for a moment with a smile and not hearing Sienna until she was right behind me.
"That, I know for a fact, is your fanciest bra" she murmured to me, gently pulling my strap. I did my best not to blush as she stood next to me with a grin. "You're definitely guna have sex with him today, right?" she asked and now my blush deepened as I dragged her away from the door so Phil wouldn't hear.
"Sienna!" I exclaimed, staring at her. She just shrugged and smiled.
"It's no big deal, I don't know why you're embarrassed" she told me calmly. "Look Pop. He's your boyfriend, worships the ground you walk on and quite clearly is madly in love with you" she continued, making me blush again. "Just don't stress out and make sure you relax. Trust me" she said, and I nodded. "Enjoy" she said with a grin before she slipped into the kitchen where I heard her greet Sirius and Phil. I took a deep breath before I headed out myself, unable to keep the butterflies at bay.
Sirius and I hung about until everybody had gone and then I led our apparition to the beach house. I'd been over just before Sirius had arrived, making sure everything was neat and tidy in the hopes that he would feel the same way as I did. When we got there, I showed him round, giving him the tour. I felt a little bit more relaxed now that we were here, the mere sound of the sea manging to do that alone. We left our bags with our swimming stuff downstairs, the butterflies coming back as I showed him upstairs. I merely opened the doors of the other rooms but when we got to mine, I went properly inside, hearing Sirius follow me before shutting the door. I watched him as he looked around my room, taking it all in before he went to the window, opening it and leaning out, the sound of the sea streaming in. He turned to me and beckoned me to him, putting an arm around my waist as we looked out.
"You're nervous" he said quietly as we stood there, the sun beating down us in all its glorious heat.
"A little" I admitted, thinking it silly to deny when he could so obviously see it.
"Poppy you know we don't have to do anything" he told me, turning now to face me. I turned slowly myself, seeing him smiling at me.
"I know. I would like to though I…I trust you" I said simply. His smile widened at that before he gave me a soft kiss, pulling me to him.
"Poppy?" he asked after a moment and I nodded, seeing him look nervous. "I…I know we've not been going out for long but, I want you to know, before anything else happens, if it happens, well that…I love you" he told me, his voice low and quiet. I felt the surprise wash over me before I smiled, and I saw him smile back.
"I love you" I replied, the sentiment coming easily to me. He beamed at me before he kissed me again and I felt his hands drift slowly down my body, sending a shiver through me. As one of his hands slowly made their way up my thigh, under my dress I allowed my own hand to drift to the hem of his t-shirt, gently starting to pull it up. Getting the idea, he pulled away from me and tugged it off, tossing it across the room.
"Poppy I didn't tell you I love you to get you into bed you know?" he asked suddenly, making me pause and look at him. "I just…I wanted you to know and I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you into doing anything you don't want to do" he continued, his words tumbling out.
"You're not pressuring me at all" I told him with a smile. "I promise this is what I want" I assured him. "But is it definitely what you want?" I asked quickly. "You don't have to say yes because I want to" I added on and he chuckled lightly, wrapping his arms around me.
"I know and I also want to" he told me before kissing me again, this time his hands slowly lifting my dress up. I pulled away and helped him pull it off over my head, hearing his intake of breath as he dropped my dress. "Poppy you…you're so incredibly beautiful" he said, his voice low and husky. I blushed as his eyes roved over me before he very slowly traced his hand over my body, and I shut my eyes at the feel of him on my skin. He kissed me again, this time slowly and very gently pushing me backwards towards the bed. I stumbled when I hit it, the both of us falling onto it and making us laugh. I wriggled further up the bed, Sirius quickly stepping out of his shorts before joining me, hovering on top of me. "You'll tell me if you want me to stop?" he asked, pressing a kiss to my neck before looking up at me. I nodded, not sure I could properly formulate words in our current state of dress and the feel of him against me. "We'll take it slow" he said before kissing me again and I stopped thinking, putting my complete trust into him.