Summary: A sleek Scandinavian, detention romance, a summer fling, the one girl he never expected, and more. Read all about Sirius Black's twisted love-life and the girls who made it click.

Rated: Yeah, it's M now. I figured I might as well just do it already, before this story gets banned or something, and then I got a tad carried away with it… so, this chapter has more "M" stuff (i.e., sex) than I'd initially intended, but whatever.

Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

A/N: Yeah, I know, loooooong delay in getting this chapter written. My lame excuse: I was sort of busy, plus I have a life and thus only write fanfiction when I'm bored or else extremely inspired. Now, take into account the fact that I currently have school all the time, and you can probably expect chapter five in, at the soonest, a month. Sorry… :-

But enough with the melancholies; hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Four

In Which Things Heat Up

(...hence the new rating)

Sirius wouldn't stop, and Claire, try as her conscience feebly might, did not want him to. Before she knew what to do he had one hand up her skirt and the other under her shirt; she grabbed his hips and pulled him closer to her, her mind a blur. "Meh," she mused dully, "why the bloody hell not?"

Claire was sitting on the desk now, her skirt pushed up around her waist, gripping him with her bare legs as she pulled off his shirt. She was completely caught up in the moment now, and so was he; it was almost theatrical, almost as if they were actors before a camera following perfect stage directions, the way Sirius stopped kissing her to unbutton her shirt, their foreheads brushing as he leaned toward her, and then stopped with the buttons midway down to bring his hands up to hold her face, tilting his head to the side and kissing her without stopping, while she fumbled with the zipper on his jeans and moaned slightly.

Everything was perfect.

-

Some time later, Sirius and Claire sat on the floor, their clothes back on, though Claire's shirt was still mostly unbuttoned. Claire's head lay in Sirius's lap; he was leaning against the desk and smiling down at her with one hand inside her shirt, gently tracing a finger up and down her stomach.

"That was probably the best sex I've ever had," Claire remarked, smiling.

Sirius grinned. "Likewise." He stopped for a moment to ponder if this was actually true. Claire figured out what he was thinking about and laughed.

"Was it really?" she demanded, grinning, "Or are you just being polite?"

He smiled slowly. "I'm never polite, Claire; you must know that by now."

She reached up a hand to touch his jaw, letting it slide down his cheek before dropping, whereupon she laid it on top of the hand he had on her stomach. She pressed down firmly, holding his hand there against her skin.

"Why do I like you so much?" Claire demanded.

Sirius shrugged. "And why do I like you so much?" He paused for a moment, and then said, nodding knowingly, "It's probably because we're both so hot."

Claire grinned. "And modest. Don't forget that."

Sirius smiled. "You know, Claire, we could… we could be happy."

Claire frowned complacently. "Why, I should think we're both quite happy right now," she observed. Then, noticing that his hand was no longer making its soothing path up and down her front, she said, "Keep doing that thing with your hand; it feels good."

Sirius once again began to trace his fingers over the smooth skin of her stomach, frowning complacently as well.

"I know that," he said at last. "It's just… Claire, we should be together. We really should... I mean, think about it: I make you laugh, you make me laugh; you look good, I look good; we both kiss well; we have awesome sex…"

Claire laughed easily. "Well, yes… but we don't love each other, Sirius. There's a difference between being perfectly compatible and being in love."

Sirius shrugged, and looked down at her, combing her bangs out of her eyes with his right hand and tracing his fingers down the side of her face until they reached her lips, where she kissed them. "I could love you, Claire," he admitted. "I really could… if you would let me, that is."

Claire smiled. "That's very flattering, if a bit cliché… but Sirius… it doesn't exactly work like that."

Sirius smiled, too. "I know… but I'm just thinking..." He glanced at his left hand, which was still running up and down her stomach, and thought for a few moments. Then he asked, "Claire, why do you like Zabini so much?"

Claire did not move, and he did not stop moving his hand, but she did give a slight groan. "Sirius, please don't bring Hector into this."

Sirius smiled wryly, still watching his hand. "I'm not… it's just… why do you love him? Why do you love him and not me, for example? What's he do differently?"

Claire sighed, and looked up at him until he stopped studying his hand and met her gaze. "I love Hector because… because I just do."

Sirius raised his eyebrows and was about to say something when Claire noticed and continued hastily, "Because I know he'll always be there for me. Because I know I can trust him, because I know that he understands me better than I understand myself, because he's funny and smart and makes me laugh. Because he's kind, because he's handsome… because he loves me…"

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Okay, okay, I get it already…" But he looked somewhat disappointed, and Claire wanted to know why.

"Sirius… what's up?" she demanded calmly, finally lifting herself from his lap to lean against him, his left arm still wrapped around her and his left hand pressed flat against her lower stomach.

He turned to look at her, his mouth opened slightly. "It's just… I could give you all that, Claire… more or less, that is."

She smiled at him sadly. "Sirius, I like you, don't get me wrong, but you don't really understand love."

Sirius rolled his eyes, their faces inches apart. "Why does everybody always say that?" he demanded. "I mean… well, maybe it's true, but I'm never going to learn if I don't try, am I?"

Claire suddenly grinned. "Sirius, when on earth did you become so serious?"

Remembering something James had said earlier, Sirius replied quickly, "Well, I've always been–"

Claire didn't even let him finish; she pressed her lips against his and didn't stop kissing him until they both were out of breath. "Save it," she whispered, grinning again despite herself.

He grinned, too. "Claire, I want you to go out with me," he said abruptly. "I really do. Why can't you take a break from Zabini for a change? Play the field a bit… I mean, term ends in two months and then the two of you have the rest of your lives to spend together."

Claire smiled tiredly. "Sirius, you know I'm not going to do that."

He looked surprisingly dejected, and Claire kissed him gently. Then she said, "Look, I'd love to go out with you under any other circumstances – really, I would! – but it's just… well, impossible. Good grief, Sirius; I have a boyfriend!"

Sirius smiled slightly. "I know it… lucky bloke he is, too."

Claire shook her head slightly and kissed him again.

-

That evening at supper, after receiving eight more kisses from girls who had missed him earlier, and one from a girl who had gotten him that morning but wanted another go at it, Sirius sat at the Gryffindor table, poking at his mashed potatoes distractedly. Why the bloody hell does Claire need to have a boyfriend? he lamented. It would make everything so much simpler if the she and Zabini would just get sick of one another already.

"Whatcha pondering, Padfoot?" asked Peter, reaching across Sirius's plate for a basket of rolls.

Sirius shrugged. "Nothing… just… nothing."

"Care to share with us?" Remus asked pleasantly, leaning in on Sirius's other side.

Sirius shrugged again. "Just… Claire." He frowned and sat back, glancing at his friends on either side of him. "It's just… why the bloody hell is she still going out with Zabini after all these years? Why can't they just break up already?"

Remus smiled slightly. "Speaking of which, how was detention today?"

Sirius grinned. "Oh, fabulous… but I'll tell you about that later."

James leaned over from Peter's left. "Maybe you shouldn't… well, bother with Claire, mate," he suggested. "I mean… if you don't get too involved with her, it won't matter what her relationship with Zabini's like, will it?"

Sirius smiled again, ruefully this time. "What if it's already too late?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "What did you do?" he demanded.

Sirius grinned again. "I already said I'd tell you about it later."

Peter chuckled. "I can hardly wait."

-

"Did you shag her?" James asked bluntly up in their dormitory later that evening.

Sirius smiled. "I don't kiss and tell."

"Oh, bullshit," said James, rolling his eyes. "Did you or didn't you?"

Sirius shrugged, still smiling. "Maybe."

"You what?" Remus demanded incredulously, as James and Peter laughed.

"Hey, I said maybe," Sirius replied.

Remus rolled his eyes. "That's as good as any affirmation. Sirius… I can't believe… I mean…" He trailed off for a moment before recovering and asking, "Well, what's your plan now, at any rate?"

Sirius smiled. "To make her go out with me," he replied briskly. "We had a long chat about how perfectly compatible we are, but she kept saying that she has to stick with Zabini… I figure all I need to do is convince her otherwise."

Remus groaned as James and Peter laughed again. "Sirius… you can't do that!"

Sirius frowned. "And why not?"

Remus seemed to be trying to articulate his thoughts. He gestured his hands around a few times before finally saying, "Because it's wrong. Look, school ends in two months and then you're not going to see Claire for ages!"

Sirius smiled smugly. "All the more reason to get with her now."

Remus sighed. "But it's just… she loves Zabini, Sirius! It's so obvious! You can't break them up; it's morally unjust to both of them!"

Sirius shrugged. "Well, what about me and my feelings?" Then he grinned. "Really… it's like I've finally figured out that Claire's bloody incredible… I mean, we could have so much fun–"

"Go out with Tara," James suggested quickly. "It'll make her happy, and take your mind off Claire–"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "But I don't bloody like Tara! Good lord… I like Claire, don't you guys get it?"

Remus frowned determinedly. "Yes, but you can't have Claire… well, no more than you already have, anyway." He grinned lopsidedly despite himself. "Look, Padfoot… Zabini's going to find out eventually. You do realize that, don't you?"

Sirius shrugged. "He might not."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Well, he probably will. And how is that fair to Claire, to have her boyfriend furious at her over something that was probably your fault to begin with?"

Sirius smiled. "Well, she claims it was her fault too, but…" He suddenly groaned. "It's just… God, I like Claire! And I have nothing against hooking up with her in deserted classrooms; it's just that I wish I could be around her more without bloody Zabini figuring everything out and ruining the game!"

James smiled gently. "Padfoot, just keep things the way they are. If you force the situation it'll only get fucked up."

Remus grinned. "Wow, that was almost as insightful as what I said. Not as eloquent as it could have been, mind you, but still… I'm impressed, Prongs!"

James grinned devilishly. "I try."

Sirius rolled his eyes and vowed to ignore both of them.

-

It was Quidditch on Sunday, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. The weather was perfect – not too hot, but not cold, either – and the sky overhead was blue laced with thin white clouds. Sirius careened around the pitch on his Cleansweep, hitting Bludgers sharply toward the Slytherin Chasers.

The Gryffindor Chasers - James, Savannah Baron, and Gina Davies – were trying a new offensive technique that Gina had taught them during their last couple of practices. It involved one Chaser flying far ahead – at the moment, Savannah – and two dropping back, one above the game and one maneuvering through it until the lower one couldn't keep going and had to pass the Quaffle up, at which point the two switched positions. So far, it had worked remarkably well; Gryffindor was up thirty-to-zero, and the game had barely been on for five minutes.

Sirius gave himself a mental note to thank Gina for her clever game plan later as he swooped toward her and smacked away a Bludger. Gina flashed him a smile, her short dark hair flicking back and forth in the little ponytail she always pinned it into during games.

James, who had already caught the lob Gina had sent him, launched the Quaffle ahead of one of the Slytherin Chasers, Audrey Granada. Savannah went into a brief dive and retrieved it (all the awkwardness she and James experienced around one another instantly evaporated during matches); she spun on a dime, before the opposing team could regroup and catch up to her, and hurled the Quaffle toward the goal posts in one fluid motion.

Sirius grinned somewhat vindictively as Hector Zabini, the Slytherin Keeper, missed the ball by the tips of his fingers. It rocketed through the left goal hoop and the stadium filled with the cheers and roars of the Gryffindor supporters. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius caught sight of his brother, Regulus, who had been the Slytherin Seeker for two years straight now, saying something that looked like a curse under his breath as he zoomed upward past Granada; Sirius grinned again.

"And Baron scores!" the announcer, a very enthusiastic Gwendolyn Merwyn, was shouting. "Nice assist there by Potter… and it seems as if Davies has really fine-tuned the Gryffindor offensive this match! Zabini's going to need to pay more attention if he wants to keep the score down now!"

"Damn straight!" Gina roared joyfully to Sirius as they passed one another in midair.

He laughed, turning toward a Bludger once again as the other Beater, a very sturdy third-year named Richard Sloan, shouted, "Sirius! Get Granada!"

Sirius sent the Bludger toward Audrey Granada as she raced down the pitch, the Quaffle clutched beneath one arm. She saw the Bludger coming and rolled over in midair, dropping the Quaffle into Gina's waiting grasp. Sirius took off after Gina and grinned at Granada as he passed; she narrowed her eyes at him and tossed her head in annoyance, her short black hair whipping across her face where it had come loose from the short French braid she had plaited it in prior to the match.

The game went on rather smoothly; Gryffindor was up seventy-to-twenty when its Seeker, a fifth year named Ambrose Adams who had made the team for the first time the past autumn, went into a shallow dive and emerged with the Snitch firmly in his grasp. Regulus was far above him, still surveying the pitch, and looked furious when he realized what had happened; Sirius grinned even more broadly as the cheers began.

"And Adams has the Snitch!" Gwendolyn Merwyn was shouting over the screams of the crowd. "And that'll make it Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw for the Championship week after next!" Sirius grinned happily as James, who was laughing and shouting something congratulatory to Ambrose, flew by. Savannah flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder and gave him a thumbs up, which he returned, and the Gryffindor Keeper, Amos Diggory, a seventh year, skimmed past him and held out his hand for a high five.

The Gryffindor team landed on the pitch amidst the screaming of fans; Gina shook hands with the Slytherin captain, not bothering to contain her broad smile. Sirius couldn't help but smirk as he noticed Zabini glowering in the background.

As Gina led the team back across the pitch to change, Remus and Peter caught up with them. "Fabulous game, mates," said Remus pleasantly.

Peter smiled earnestly. "I especially enjoyed when you guys won."

Sirius and James laughed. "Yeah, that part's always nice," Sirius observed.

James suddenly caught sight of Lily Evans talking to Savannah, and strode off with a brief, "Um… excuse me..."

Remus and Sirius rolled their eyes while Peter laughed again. "Well… we'll see you up in the common room, then, Padfoot?" Remus confirmed, as Savannah, who was rolling her eyes in extreme aggravation as she stalked away from James and Lily (Lily could be seen giving Savannah a vindictive look for abandoning her with James) came up behind Sirius and slung her arm around his waist.

"Hey there," she said pleasantly, smiling up at him. "Lovely match, eh?"

Sirius put his arm around her shoulders instinctively and gave her a lopsided grin. "Oh, definitely… actually, we were just discussing how much fun games are when you win."

Savannah laughed. Then she glanced back toward Lily and James (Lily looked in the middle of trying to escape, and was still shooting Savannah death glares over James's shoulder) and Sirius peered behind him, too. He and Savannah looked at each other and rolled their eyes; she laughed again.

"Let's go get changed, yeah? I hear there's a party being planned up in the common room." She smiled at him more appealingly and tossed her head so that her bangs flipped to the side and her long blond hair rearranged itself over her narrow shoulders.

Sirius gave her a half smile and allowed her to lead him back through the throng toward the changing room. "Good game you played there, Annie," he observed.

She grinned, looking down at the trodden grass. "You too… I've got to say, it'll be a pity when Gina leaves. I reckon James'll probably be Captain next, though, what do you think?"

Sirius did not answer; he had suddenly noticed Claire, her back to him, standing and talking to some of her Ravenclaw friends. She was probably waiting for the crowd to thin and Zabini to finish up in the changing room, Sirius figured, but he couldn't have cared less.

"Hey, Claire!" he called over the heads of the group of people between them.

She spun around, saw him, and grinned. "Why, hello!" she called back pleasantly, making her way through the crowd toward him. "Great game you played back there." She smiled at Savannah, who was watching Sirius, her arm still around his waist. "You, too, Savannah," Claire added. "A lot of great shots back there…"

Savannah turned to look at her now, and gave her a warm smile. "Thank you."

Claire giggled. "Don't mention I'm congratulating you two to Hector, though; he might be a tad miffed…"

Savannah smiled, but Sirius rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, making sure that Claire could see. She wrinkled her nose at him.

"Oh, shut it, Black," she said wearily.

He grinned at her and dropped his arm from Savannah's shoulders; she looked a bit put out but allowed him to step away from her without comment. "Whatever happened to 'Sirius?'" he asked Claire, grinning more broadly.

She rolled her eyes and didn't answer.

"Hey, congratulatory kiss, Claire: what'd you say?"

Savannah was frowning, but luckily Gina swooped by at that very moment. "My Favorite Beater!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arm around Sirius's middle and giving him a smack on the cheek. "…And Savannah! My Favorite Chaser, as of this moment, anyway!" She came over and gave Savannah a kiss on the cheek, too.

Savannah laughed easily and pulled a stray bobby pin out of Gina's sleek hair; Gina promptly shook her head vigorously so that more pins came loose. "Let's go change, shall we?" she proposed brightly, grabbing Savannah's arm and blowing Sirius another kiss as the two girls headed off toward the changing rooms.

Claire was grinning. "Energetic girl, that Gina," she observed.

Sirius barked out a laugh and grinned, too. "You have no idea."

Claire rolled her eyes and grinned again, getting his implication. "I must say, Sirius, you sure know how to romance a girl," she murmured sarcastically.

Sirius grinned lopsidedly at her. "Why, thank you."

Claire laughed, and smiled at him against despite herself.

"Detention later this afternoon," Sirius said brightly.

Claire nodded. "We can have a nice long chat," she said, smiling more broadly.

Sirius nodded, too. "About all kinds of things." He took a step closer to her. "Now, what about that congratulatory kiss?"

But Claire leaned to the side for a moment, scanning the crowd, and said, "No… Hector's out of the changing room; I need to go and talk to him." She glanced back at Sirius. "See you at five," she said casually, trying to conceal her smile.

Sirius didn't bother hiding anything; he grinned at her. "I can hardly wait."

-

As it turned out, Sirius was late coming to detention – even later than Claire, for once. He had gotten distracted by the festivities going on in the Gryffindor common room, mainly those involving Savannah Baron coming onto him repeatedly and Gina Davies making out with Amos Diggory on a dare, and it wasn't until Remus laughed and said, "Hey, Padfoot, Prongs – it's ten past already; you're supposed to be in detention!" that he and James realized that they had to go.

"Ah damn; I've got to go and serve time," Sirius said gently to Savannah, who had been sitting in his lap and laughing at every joke he said. (Post-match euphoria always got to her; during the regular week she was normally too self-contained to start flirting openly, though she had fancied Sirius ever since breaking up with James back in the fall.)

Sirius strolled into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to find Claire sitting and Lamont standing in awkward silence, waiting for him to show up. "Where have you been, Mr. Black?" Lamont demanded.

Sirius shrugged casually. "Oh… well, I was up in my common room, actually; see, we won the Quidditch match today, so everybody's celebrating."

Lamont said nothing, but her nostrils flared slightly. "Ah… well, get to work, Mr. Black! And you, Miss Delacour–" she turned to look at Claire "–just because Black walks in late does not give you an excuse to stop working!"

Sirius saw that Claire was categorizing slowly by hand, stopping every few moments to stifle a yawn. She winked at Sirius when Lamont glanced at the clock, and he allowed one corned of his mouth to twitch into a smile.

"Well… I'll return," Lamont said dully, striding from the room and locking the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Sirius and Claire burst out laughing. Then, as they each extracted their wands to charm the quills into categorizing for them, Claire said, "So… enjoying the post-Quidditch euphoria, Sirius?"

He nodded cheerfully. "Very much so… and how about you? How's Zabini taking it?"

Claire smiled tolerantly. "Oh, he's fine… Audrey Granada was bloody miffed, though; you should have seen her!"

Sirius raised one eyebrow, vaguely curious. "Is she that poor of a sport?"

Claire shrugged. "Maybe. But it's not so much over losing; it's over not doing as well as they could have." She laughed, and then added, "She thinks the Slytherin Chasers are crap."

"Well… they are," Sirius observed.

Claire smiled. "Perhaps. But two good ones apparently graduated last year, so now Granada's annoyed that the new two aren't measuring up."

"Mmm," said Sirius, bored. "Well, I can't say I particularly care about what Audrey Granada thinks; let's move on, shall we?"

Claire grinned. "Yes, let's," she agreed, standing up and brushing off her jeans. (As this was Sunday, and just after a Quidditch game to boot, most of the school was currently not in uniform.)

Sirius grinned, too, and then came over and kissed her, holding her against the teacher's desk. "Claire… I still want you to go out with me," he groaned into her neck.

Claire laughed gently. "You know I won't, Sirius." Then she frowned and leaned back so that they were looking directly at one another. "Speaking of which… what's the deal here? Because I'm not about to break up with Hector, but I don't… I mean… are you going to be going out with other people?"

Sirius shrugged idly, and kissed her again. Claire let him do that for a few moments before pulling away. "Seriously," she said. "I want to know how committed we are to this… thing."

Sirius smiled crookedly, and raised one eyebrow. "Well, if you must know, Claire, I'm not really attracted to any other girls at the moment. You've sort of left them all in the dust."

Claire grinned despite herself. "How nice. So, Sirius, what are you going to do when I graduate?"

He shrugged. "Pine away until I die, probably. Why?"

Claire laughed, and kissed his neck, trailing her tongue gently up to his jaw line. "Well, because I don't want you to be sad."

He grinned then. Gosh, Claire was fun! Sirius loved it when a girl with whom he was infatuated made cute, flirtatious comments. "I know one way you can make me feel better," he said, trying not to laugh at how cliché he sounded.

Claire, however, could not contain herself; she burst out laughing. "Do enlighten me, oh King of Cliché."

Sirius didn't answer; he kissed her full on and slid his hands down to her hips, holding her tightly. Claire put one hand at the back of his neck and the other on his shoulder; they stood there against the teacher's desk, kissing one another passionately, until eventually they sunk to the floor and had steamy sex while the quills categorized tirelessly.

-

Sirius was in a really, really good mood as he and Claire, now released from detention, made their way down the corridor, which, this being Sunday, was currently deserted. With a cheerful, "So!" Sirius slung his arm around her waist, sliding his hand into the back pocket of her jeans.

Claire laughed and pulled his hand off of her ass; he changed tactics and put it around her shoulders. Sighing exaggeratedly and grinning despite herself, Claire wrapped her arm around his waist. They strolled down the hall like so, laughing about this and that, until Sirius finally said, "Claire, isn't this fun?"

She giggled. "Well, of course it is. Way to state the bloody obvious."

Sirius grinned. "No, I mean this. Like, walking down the corridor like this. Talking like this. Claire, we were meant to be with one another."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Sirius, just drop it already!"

He smiled defiantly. "No. I want you to be my girlfriend."

Claire groaned. "Well, you can't have me as your girlfriend. Good God, Sirius; get it through your head already."

Sirius laughed and turned to kiss her on the cheek. "Hey, want to skip dinner and go shag some more?" he asked.

Claire gave an audible sigh. "Yeah, I'd love to… but… look, can we just keep this confined to detentions? Because, Sirius–" and she turned to look at him "–I don't want Hector, or anybody, finding out. And I need you to appreciate that. Seriously."

Sirius grinned. "Claire, I would never cause you grief," he said lightly.

She laughed derisively. "Ha. Making me go mad with desire and compromise the few morals I have?" She grinned crookedly. "Sirius, if there's one thing you have caused me it's–" But she stopped abruptly as Sirius kissed her passionately, forcing her (not that she minded) against the stone wall of the corridor.

Then they heard footsteps echoing from around the corner. Sirius pulled away at once, and Claire felt her heartbeat quicken. The next instant, James was striding smoothly into view, grumbling under his breath about bedpans and confiscated wands.

"Ah, good evening!" he remarked, smiling at Sirius and Claire. "I was just coming to meet you!"

Sirius grinned, relieved that it was James who had arrived and not, say, Hector Zabini. "Evening, Prongs," he replied. "How was detention?"

James shrugged. "Tragic… but, hey – how was yours?" He grinned slightly.

Claire frowned at him, blushing a bit despite herself, and Sirius recalled belatedly that nobody was supposed to know about his little fling with Claire. With James on the verge of winking cheekily, Sirius gave a furtive shake of his head.

James faltered. "Ah… are you still categorizing, or… um…"

Claire turned to glare at Sirius, looking very annoyed. "Sirius, don't tell me you bloody told him–"

James smiled innocently, looking as if he were trying to conceal a broad grin. "Um… told me what, Delacour? I mean, I don't remember him ever… I don't think he's told me any–"

Claire was not fooled; she narrowed her eyes at James. "Give it a rest, Potter," she interrupted briskly. Then she rounded on Sirius again. "What the hell do you think you're playing at, imbécile?"

Sirius bit his lip, trying not to smile; Claire had started ranting at him in French again.

"Claire, don't get so worked up over everything," Sirius interrupted. "It's not like James is going to tell–"

"J'en ai rien à foutre!" Claire snapped. "Espèce d'idiot, je–"

Sirius grinned. "Wait, wait… in English, please?"

Claire smiled despite herself, finally realizing that she had lapsed into French again. Then she narrowed her eyes and said, very slowly and clearly, "I don't give a fuck about whether or not James is going to tell. It's the principle of the thing, Sirius."

"Um… what if I have no idea what either of you is talking about?" James suggested halfheartedly.

Sirius and Claire both rolled their eyes. "We've already been there, pal," Claire replied.

"Yeah, don't bother, mate," Sirius added.

James shrugged, and stood back to watch them continue arguing.

"Sirius, I just can't believe that you would go and tell your… well, your best friend… after everything I–"

Sirius smiled. "Claire, good grief," he interrupted. "Like you said, he's my best friend. I tell him everything, even stuff people tell me not to repeat. Seriously… it's almost like a curse."

Claire grinned slightly despite herself. "Yes, but did you have to tell him something this… this low-profile?"

Sirius shrugged, and slid his arm around her shoulders again. "Well, if you must know, I told him I was mad over you one night, and the next night I just had to tell him about our… our actions in detention; he needed fulfillment, see? I mean, what if I'd just left him hanging? Like said, 'Oh, I'm mad over Claire…' and then never given any closure over where it went?"

Claire frowned at him, but her stern expression looked very forced; a smile was itching at the corners of her lips. "So did you tell the rest of your little quartet, too?" she demanded. "What… is our relationship the regular topic of discussion in your dormitory these days?"

"Well, Lily Evans factors in a lot, too," James offered helpfully.

Claire smiled now; she couldn't help it. "I see… well…" She turned to glare at James. "You had bloody well keep this a secret, Potter."

James drew an "x" over his chest with his index finger. "Cross my heart," he replied smoothly.

"And tell your little gang they had damn well keep it a secret, too," Claire ordered, rounding on Sirius again; he grinned at her.

"Of course, dear." He leaned in and kissed her.

James was grinning, too. "Great, well… can we go to supper, then? Only I don't think it's wise to carry on with this business in the corridor, considering you wanted to keep it on the down-low…"

"Certainly," said Claire primly, making a point of walking a few feet away from Sirius as they rounded the corner and entered a more populated hallway.

Sirius grinned, pleased with how this inevitable fiasco had turned out. Claire, however, looked a bit distracted, as if something were bothering her immensely.

-

It was in detention on Monday that Claire told Sirius what was bothering her. "Sirius, we need to talk," she said, as soon Lamont had left the room.

"Déjà vu," Sirius observed. "I swear, you said the exact same thing, like, three days ago."

Claire shrugged. "Probably… but, Sirius, we really need to talk."

Sirius smiled pleasantly. "I'm listening."

"It's just…" Claire came over to stand in front of him; she picked up one of his hands and examined it. Then she looked him in the face again. "I really wish your friends didn't know about us," she said briskly.

Sirius sighed slightly. "Yeah, well… it's too late now, isn't it?"

Claire narrowed her eyes in thought. "Yes, of course… but… I just wish they didn't know. I really do. Because… because I don't like the idea of people thinking I'd cheat on Hector, even if they're right…" She suddenly sighed. "Look, I was feeling so guilty last night, Sirius, you can't imagine… it's just… I don't know…" Much to Sirius's surprise, she looked on the verge of tears.

"Hey, Claire," he said gently, putting his arms around her and pulling her toward him, "you need to lighten up. I mean… do you even know how many people at Hogwarts cheat on their significant others?"

Claire shrugged, her face pressed against his chest. "Oh, I know alright… but it's not so much the physical cheating that gets to me, Sirius. I mean, Lord knows I've done plenty of things that Hector would call cheating if he knew about them, but–"

"Wait, wait; like what?" Sirius interrupted, grinning a bit.

Claire smiled. "Well… nothing past kissing old friends a bit too exuberantly… oh, and I've played truth-or-dare in the nude a few times," she added as an afterthought, "but that was only because I was partially drunk."

Sirius burst out laughing. "You've played nude truth-or-dare?" he demanded. "Goodness… I've never done that! I mean, strip-poker, sure, but–"

Claire grinned. "Oh, I've done strip-poker, too; don't get me wrong. And I've never played nude truth-or-dare with anybody here; it's just family friends in France! We go skinny-dipping and play truth-or-dare… like, when the adults are off drinking after dinner. It's sort of become a tradition by this point…"

Sirius laughed again. "And what sort of dares does nude truth-or-dare entail?" he demanded casually.

Claire laughed, too. "Oh… nothing too perverted… if you ever come down to France, you can come play it with us some time." She laughed again. "Ugh, wait, no, you can't."

Sirius grinned. "Claire, you are so ridiculously awesome. I don't think you quite get it." He grabbed her hands and kissed her gently on the lips.

Claire smiled and let him kiss her for a while; then she said, "But back to my earlier feelings of discontent…"

"Mm, yes, those…" Sirius recalled, sighing with resignation and leaning back against the desk to look at her.

"It's just… look, I really like you, Sirius," Claire said desperately.

Sirius grinned. "And I really, really like you! It's so convenient, isn't it?" He took a breath. "Claire, we should go out. I mean, how much more obvious could it get?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "Look, Sirius, stop trying to convince me to go out with you. I just can't; get it straight already!" She sighed suddenly. "See, that's why I feel so guilty! Because this is the first time that I've ever emotionally cheated on Hector, if you will. And I wish you'd stop suggesting that we get together officially, because you know very well that I'm not going to be able to…" She trailed off.

Sirius grinned. "…Not going to be able to keep saying 'no'?" he suggested.

Claire bit her lip. "Yes." She suddenly threw her arms around him and pressed her lips against his; Sirius took in his breath in surprise as he felt her tongue slide into his mouth. Then he snapped to his senses and kissed her back, more passionately, and pulled her closer to him.

Claire wrenched herself away at last. "Sirius, that's why we can't be together!" She kissed him again. "Because everything you want, I'm going to end up doing, and everything you need, I'm going to want to give it to you!" She kissed him a third time. "And I can't live like that! Sirius, I'm so used to being in control! I manipulate people, too, Sirius… I'm always manipulating people. I don't even think about it most of the time; it's just who I am." He kissed her, then; he couldn't stop himself. Claire held him away after a few moments and continued, gazing into his eyes, their faces inches apart, "I like you so much, Sirius… I could love you, even, if I'd let myself, but–"

"So what's the problem, Claire," Sirius interrupted in a whisper, not taking his eyes from hers. "Hell, I could love you, too, if you'd let me. We could live happily ever after and none would be the wiser!"

Claire smiled sadly. "Listen, Sirius," she said slowly. "Here's the thing: I won't ever be with you. I will not." She paused for a moment, and then continued, "It's because you're stronger than I am, don't you see? And most girls wouldn't care – or wouldn't even notice – but I notice because my entire life up 'til now, I've been the manipulative one."

Sirius barked out a laugh. "You won't be with me because I'm too strong for you? Oh, man, Claire… you aren't going to just settle down and marry some wimpy guy, are you?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "Maybe. Or maybe I'll just marry Hector, or maybe I'll become a bigamist and marry you and Hector, or maybe I'll just die old, alone, and unwed."

Sirius grinned. "Become a bigamist. Hell… you, me and Hector Zabini? That'd be loads of fun…"

Claire laughed. "Mm… yeah, no." She sighed. "Sirius, are we going to end this when these detentions are over?"

Sirius frowned. "I wasn't planning on it."

Claire frowned, too. "It's just… it'll be really hard, getting together without detention as an excuse."

Sirius took a breath. He was on the verge of suggesting, for the umpteenth time, that she break up with Zabini already, but decided to respect her wishes for the time being and not bring up the subject just yet. "So you want to end it, then?" he demanded smoothly. "You want to just call it quits after Sunday?"

Claire sighed, and looked at him searchingly. "Honestly? No, I don't. Au contraire, I really, really like this, and I really like you. But I also don't think we're going to be able to make it work out past Sunday."

Sirius grinned crookedly, deciding that he had plenty of time later in which to convince her otherwise. "Well, then we'd best make up for the time we'll lose, huh?"

Claire laughed; Sirius pushed her bangs to the side and kissed her tenderly on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her and sank with her to the classroom floor, where he rolled over on top of her and lay, propped up on his elbows, gazing down into her face. Claire took his face in hers and kissed him again; Sirius opened up her robes and ran his hands up under her shirt to her breasts. They made love on the floor, she below, him on top, metaphorically appropriating the fact that he was stronger and more manipulative than she was.

Ah, the symbolism of it all…

Heh heh heh… yeah, it's M now. So sue me.

French translations:

imbécile – imbecile; idiot; fool; etc. (pick one!)

J'en ai rien à foutre! – I don't give a fuck!

Espèce d'idiot, je - literally, "You species of idiot, I–" but I'd probably translate it as "You dumb-fuck"

Reviews!

lavizsla – aw, you flatter me! Thank you!

je suis une pizza – hmm, sorry you're confused… did you read to the end of chapter 3? I think I explained it pretty well there… But just to recap: no, this story is not just about Sirius and Claire. She's leaving and/or graduating (probably by the end of the next chapter) and then he's getting a new girl.

df – Yeah, I think so. With Claire, maybe; with one of the future intrigues I have planned, yes.

frytal – Thank you! I will!

dixio – Again, very flattered! I will!

Potpoury – Glad you think I write well, glad you like the story… and I will surprise you, damn it! ;)

Padfootz-luvr – Yeah, it always bothers me when people make Peter out to be a jackass… I mean, they didn't suspect him of being the one who betrayed the Potters for over a decade; you'd think he'd seem pretty nice. And about Claire becoming Blaise Zabini's mother… cough "That girl could get away with murder if she wanted to." cough

Sweet 16 Movie Buff – I'm glad you think I'm (ahem) "damn good!" And yes, I suppose we will just find out over the next couple of chapters…

Soooo… just so y'all know, I have the rest of this story completely planned out in my head, and I promise I won't give up on it! There might be long breaks between my updates, but don't worry; all will be revealed in due course.

One thing to ponder:

Should Hector find out? Because originally I was going to make him never find out, but now I think that having him walk in on them or something might be kind of fun… (He and Claire would work through it, of course, because they're destined for each other, but still…)

Tell me your opinion (if you care one way or the other) in a review! And please review even if you don't care; I LOOOOOVE reviews! I am a review whore! Plus they make me update faster, so everyone wins! ;D

Kisses,

Simone