7. Convoluted
"…and so, taking Spivey's law into consideration, we multiply the entire thing by three and then turn to the chart on page 252 –"
Sirius groaned and let his forehead drop onto the table.
"Kit, I love you, but do you have to do that?" he asked, his breath rolling off of the table and back onto his face; his incredibly weary face.
"You're the one who decided to study with me," she reminded him with a hard glare. "You knew what you were getting into."
"If I had known that you would be studying Arithmancy, I would have passed," he said, lifting his head and running a hand through his hair.
Sarah scowled. "Feel free to leave at any time."
Sirius sighed. "Did you finish the Potions essay?"
"Here –" she said, handing him the rolled up pieces of parchment. Slughorn had asked for one-and-a-half rolls, but Sarah had figured that she might as well finish out the second roll anyway.
Not even fifteen minutes later, though, she was doing it again.
"…carry the five, use table fifty-six point 'A', column 'J', row two…"
"You're doing it again," he said in a low voice.
Sarah slammed her palm on the table. "Do you have any idea how convoluted this stuff is?" she demanded, a fire in her eyes. "If I don't say the steps out loud, I risk not catching mistakes and losing points on my assignments and not get the recommendation I need when I apply to join the DMLE!"
"Can't you study anything else right now?"
"No!"
"What about Defence?"
"I. Want. To. Study. Arithmancy."
"You're. Driving. Me. Crazy."
"Then LEAVE!" she shouted as she jumped to her feet, pointing to the door of the Room of Requirement where they had received a mini-library of their very own. Her chair, which she had pushed back rather roughly, clattered to the ground behind her.
Sirius suddenly gave her a crooked smile – one that she knew never spelled anything good for what would happen next. Before she knew it, he'd taken her Arithmancy book and slammed it shut.
"Hey!" she called, reaching over the table for her book.
Sirius pulled it further away. "Looks like you'll have to study something else."
"Give it back!" she snapped, practically lying on the table as she reached for her text.
"No can do."
With a disgruntled cry, she jumped onto the table, reaching for her friend and book. Sirius immediately got to his feet, his chair falling over with a clatter as well, as he stepped away from the table. Sarah immediately climbed back down and walked towards him, grabbing for the book, which he would pull away at last second every time.
"You are such a prat!"
"Because you're more fun when you're angry!"
Finally, she threw herself at him, tackling him to the ground and quickly moving so that she was sitting on him in a straddling position, her arms holding his shoulders to the floor.
"I always knew you liked control, but this is more than I expected," Sirius said with a smirk.
"Shut up, I just want my book."
But Sirius had other ideas. He pushed the book away from the two of them and as she lunged for it, his hand clamped around the back of her head, pulling her face to his as he crushed his lips to his hungrily. She squeaked in surprise and pushed away from him.
"What are you doing?" she demanded hotly as she smacked him upside the head.
"Ow! Stop it!" he cried, trying to shield himself from her attacks.
"When you give me my book!"
"When you've earned it!"
"What?"
At that moment, he threw his weight to the side, rolling the two of them so that he was now lying on top of her, his hands pinning her wrists to the floor. He leaned down to kiss her again, his heart leaping when she returned the gesture. Their lips moved together, as if this was a common occurrence and they knew just how to work the other into a frenzy (not altogether untrue, actually). Sirius felt her lips open and he responded, delighting when her tongue entered him, tasting him and exploring. Sirius moaned deeply and his hips moved against her of their own accord.
"So about becoming official…" he murmured as he began to kiss her along her jaw and neck.
"No."
"C'mon, Kit…" he said quietly, kissing the spot between her collarbones.
"We can't," she breathed as he released her wrists and slipped his hands under her shirt, gripping her hips.
"We can," he replied, kissing down her torso.
"Stop it," she said.
"Is that really what you want?" he asked, kissing the skin just above the waistband of her school skirt.
Her heart was racing in her chest and she longed for him to keep going. But… but she knew it was a terrible idea. She would be nothing but another bird to him and as soon as he got what he wanted from her, he would move on. But she wouldn't. Not for several months, at least. Because he honestly fancied him… loved him. But he felt nothing towards her but lust and desire. No true feelings existed in him. At the end of the day, she was a friend. She was a girl he hadn't yet had. Nothing more.
"Y-yes…" she replied, though her body betrayed her when her legs shifted around his shoulders.
"Alright," he whispered, abandoning her lower torso and kissing her once more on the lips, but very briefly. "But one condition."
"What?" she asked, held in place, frozen by the intense hunger and fire in his eyes.
"No more Arithmancy."