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: lyk omfg M

Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

A/N: It hasn't been that long, has it? See, I told you I'd update! See? SEE?

Chapter Eleven

The Twelfth Promenade

Sirius was having a rather pleasant end of September. There was a Hogsmeade trip the coming weekend, and Quidditch was soon to resume. He saw Savannah daily and often marveled, not at how much he liked her, but at the fact that, for once in his life, he was consciously sick of drama.

Indeed, the first week of school had been so sickeningly dramatic that Sirius had all but banished it from his memory. Tara Nevan still refused to look him in the face, though Savannah had told him in a voice mixed with both aggravation and bemused triumph that Tara often gazed longingly at him when Sirius was not looking.

Remus reported, much to Sirius's indifference, that Tara had begun speaking to Evetta Niall again. Savannah, however, smiled when he told her. "So it's all blowing over," she remarked.

Sirius laughed. "But you liked it while it lasted, Annie."

She looked indignant, but he knew she was only pretending. "I do not!"

He laughed again. "Yes you do; don't lie! You've been the victor!"

She laughed and laughed then, and nodded. "You know me too well, Sirius Black."

He didn't bother to correct her; instead he grinned, pinned her against the nearest dormitory wall and kissed her. But had he bothered to explain the truth, he would have said that, really, it wasn't that he knew her all that well; rather, he knew she was competitive, and he recognized the flash of excitement in Savannah's eyes whenever she reported on Tara's latest doings. Savannah liked to win; it was what made her such an effective Quidditch player. And in this case, she was winning almost without trying.

Sirius was amused and pleased by how happy it made her. If there was one thing to make him regret the end to all this drama, it was that Savannah would soon lose that competitive edge, that drive to forever perpetuate her relationship with him simply because it made other girls blatantly jealous. He knew Savannah liked him for more important reasons as well, but he had always loved the fact that, though kind, polite and refined in exterior behavior, she was not above experiencing a sweet dose of schadenfreude.

He confided all this to Audrey Granada one day, who laughed.

"That's amazing," she said shortly.

"Is it?" he remarked. "Personally, I think most people take happiness in others' misfortune, just so long as the misfortune isn't… you know, that bad."

She shook her head, her dark hair whipping across her mouth in the light breeze. "No, I mean it's amazing that it makes you so cheerful when she does it. You love having girls fight over you, don't you, Sirius?"

They were walking down to the Quidditch pitch together, Audrey because she was now captain of the Slytherin team and wanted to watch the Gryffindor tryouts, and he because he was supposed to be participating in said tryouts. James had left soon after breakfast and Savannah had run upstairs to pick up something she had forgotten. Sirius had loitered in the foyer for a while, idly waiting for Savannah to come back downstairs, but then Audrey had come striding out of the Great Hall with a notebook and quill in hand, and he had figured he might as well head down to the pitch with her.

He grinned at her broadly. "I do love having girls fight over me. It's a rush."

She shook her head at him and laughed again. "I know it. It's inconsiderate to incite it just for the sake of giving you the rush, though, you know?"

He frowned, pondering for a moment. "I suppose, if I had a soul…"

She laughed again. "Don't play that card! You've got just as much a soul as I do."

He made a great show of bursting into laughter, and she rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm. "Shove it. Anyway, you do know that, don't you? Make sure you don't… I don't know… go off leading some other girl on just so Savannah can win again."

Sirius raised one eyebrow at her. "Are you suggesting I could be that conniving?"

Audrey nodded frankly. "Definitely. I mean, I don't think you'd do it consciously, but I wouldn't be surprised if, in some sort of oblivious way, you end up doing just that."

He was both mildly offended and shocked that she was so right. However, he chose to play off of "offended."

"I resent that."

She rolled her eyes. "Because it's true?"

He frowned. "No, it's insulting. I wouldn't put Annie through that."

She looked at him almost condescendingly. "Because you like her sooo much?"

He stopped walking. "Why are you being such a bitch?"

She stopped walking, too. "I don't know. Stress? Anger? There are a million possibilities, now that I think about it."

He crossed his arms, staring at her. She crossed her own arms over her notebook and quill and stared right back.

"What happens now, Sirius?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but then stopped, both because he was unsure of what to say and because Savannah was calling from higher up the lawn, "Oi! Sirius!"

He turned to look at her, as did Audrey. Sirius forced a smile and raised a hand in greeting, while Audrey glanced at him darkly and murmured, "Have fun with that."

She walked on down the lawn, the wind blowing her hair and robes wildly.

"Hey!" Savannah said when she had caught up, leaning up to kiss Sirius. "Sorry, I just wanted an extra sweater."

Sirius smiled at her more genuinely. "Well, way to keep me waiting. Gosh."

She smiled, too, and took his hand as they began to walk down toward the pitch and Audrey's retreating back.

"Why were you talking to Audrey Granada? New Arithmancy project?"

He nodded idly. "Mmm."

Savannah frowned. "She's planning on watching the tryouts, yeah?"

Sirius shrugged distractedly. "I guess so."

He felt oddly put out. He rather liked Audrey and enjoyed talking to her; she was usually delightfully flippant, quick and easygoing. He did not understand why she had just been so bitchy, and why, when he had called her on it, she had not indifferently brushed aside his comments in favor of continuing the thread of conversation.

Come to think of it, he really didn't know Audrey too well at all. They had been talking an awful lot since becoming partners on that Arithmancy project several weeks ago, but it still felt, to a certain degree, surreal. He wondered if the implausibility of it all had finally gotten to her. He was almost afraid that it had.

Whatever, he thought, brushing aside his mild concerns and letting go of Savannah's hand to wrap his arm around her. Whatever. It doesn't matter one way or the other. I have other friends.

Then he remembered the second-to-last thing Audrey had said to him before walking off down the lawn: "What happens now, Sirius?"

Damned if he had any idea.

-

Tryouts proved productive. Sirius hadn't played Quidditch since summer, and the exertion pumped him with endorphins and made him happy again, even though Audrey Granada was sitting in the top row of seats, her autumn coat wrapped around her, her hair whipping every which way in the breeze, and her quill quivering slightly as she jotted down notes on prospective Gryffindor players.

At any rate, there was a Hogsmeade trip scheduled for after lunch. Savannah had even convinced Lily to accompany him and James on a double date, and Sirius banished all thoughts of Audrey from his mind, looking forward to what would no doubt be an eventful and amusing afternoon.

Remus had even asked Evetta to accompany him. Gee, shocking.

"You are the most predictable, boring person I have ever met," Sirius had told him with a grin when he had heard the news.

Remus had shrugged. "Well, I like talking to her! It's not a date, it's just… I like talking to her." Then he blushed.

"You are sooo boring, Moony!" James laughed. "God, at least admit that you're halfway into her!"

But Remus shook his head. "No, she's just a friend."

Sirius and James had teased him delightedly for hours.

Now at the Three Broomsticks with Savannah, who looked pretty as always in a white sweater, dark wool stockings and a denim skirt, and Lily, who wore her red hair pulled back in a half ponytail and was sporting a very flattering low-necked black blouse, Sirius felt happy and carefree. These were people he liked, people he was comfortable with. He entertained the idea of many more dates like this, with a Lily who had officially declared her love for James. It was an appealing prospect.

Lily was doing an excellent job of not giving Sirius disapproving looks. She seemed to be getting over the fact that he had pulled some pretty shady shit on her best friend a few weeks earlier, and was all the friendlier for it. James was also doing a grand job of not sounding like an absolute prat, and he had even made Lily laugh a few times.

"This is going so well!" Savannah whispered to Sirius at one point, and he grinned at her and nodded.

After lunch, they made their way through the village. When they reached Gladrags, Savannah said slyly, "Well, Sirius… I think you and I ought to go look at robes, yeah? James, Lily – how about the four of us meet up in another hour at Honeydukes?"

Lily opened her mouth to say something, but Savannah merely grinned. "Great! See you then!"

She grabbed Sirius by the arm and pulled him into the store, leaving a delighted James and an emotionally conflicted Lily behind.

Once they were inside, Sirius and Savannah looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"I hope she's polite to him," Sirius remarked with a grin.

Savannah smiled serenely. "Oh, Lily'll be polite. Don't worry, yeah?"

Sirius nodded, and grinned more broadly. "She was definitely feeling him during lunch. I was surprised they didn't start snogging right there, what with all that sexual tension."

Savannah giggled. "I know! Shocking, isn't it?"

"Over-under on two weeks for them to get together?" Sirius prodded.

Savannah scoffed. "Under, of course! More like over-under on tonight!" Then she laughed. "This is fun. I hope she comes around."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah… well, Jamie's been less of a prat. I'm at least proud of him for trying."

Savannah grinned. "Definitely. And Lily's agreed to give him a legitimate chance. We had a long talk about it last night."

Sirius looked around the store idly. "Did you actually want to shop?"

She grinned again. "Of course not; I just wanted to ditch those two."

He nodded wisely. "I have another brilliant idea: let's head up to the castle right now and not bother meeting up with them ever."

Savannah giggled. "That is indeed a brilliant idea." They linked arms and proceeded out of the shop.

On the way back up the main street, Savannah tugged on Sirius's arm and jerked her head at Remus and Evetta, who were entering a boutique farther up the road. Sirius grinned. "Surprised much?"

Savannah shook her head, delighted. "Not at all. Is Evetta all that sweet?"

Sirius nodded fairly. "I suppose."

Savannah then frowned. "I can't believe you hooked up with her."

Sirius nodded again. "Yeah. Bad call."

Not that he actually cared or anything.

Savannah sighed, and then tightened her grip on his arm and smiled up at him innocently. "You're so immoral, Sirius. All you ever do is corrupt me."

He grinned at her flirtatiously. "Well, you need it. You're far too innocent. 'No sex until marriage?' You're mad."

She grinned, too. "Well, it seemed like a good policy at the time."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I can only hope that some day you come around."

She laughed. "We'll see."

They passed through the gates onto the grounds and began the march up to the entrance hall.

"Who was the last person you had sex with, Sirius?"

He knew perfectly well: Claire Delacour. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Savannah that, because nobody except the Marauders knew (and also Audrey, he reminded himself), and because bringing up Claire would make him think again about all he sought in a girl, and would make him realize that what he had with Savannah, though great fun, was not what he ultimately wanted.

Well, whatever; he was young and had plenty of time.

"The last person I had sex with was… well, I guess it was Vanity Linus. That was during my 'skank' phase last spring. I dated Leda Mitchell for a while and then got with Vanity. Not the smartest of moves."

Savannah raised her eyebrows at him. "What on earth did you see in either of those two?"

Sirius shrugged, not feeling like this was a necessary conversation. "Well, Leda was all into, like, buying me shit. Like presents. It got kind of annoying after a couple of weeks; I think that's why I decided to cheat on her. And Vanity… she just wanted a good romp in bed."

Savannah was still raising her eyebrows disapprovingly. Sirius gave her a rueful smile. "Annie, this is back when I was an absolute whore. Sixth year was not my best. But now I've grown and matured and… jeez, stop looking at me like that!"

She stopped raising her eyebrows and laughed reassuringly. "Don't worry, Sirius. But truly, why did you do all that?"

He shrugged again. He did not want to talk about this. "I told you, because I was a little slut. I was stupid. I could get away with it. Don't hold it against me; it's all in the past." He paused for good measure, knowing what direction he had to take this in. "And besides, I hadn't met anyone quite as amazing as you."

Savannah smiled at him happily. "You got that right." She leaned up and kissed him, and then smiled at him again, her dark eyes sparkling and her blond hair blowing in the breeze. She looked as beautiful at close range as ever. "You know you can tell me anything, Sirius. I won't hold it against you."

He was suddenly blissfully happy. He wasn't sure why; he knew he wouldn't actually tell Savannah everything. But there was something about being loved… he loved it.

"I know."

And then he spoke the words, not because he truly meant them, but because it seemed an appropriate thing to say.

"I love you."

Savannah grinned and said, "I love you, too." And then they kissed one another passionately, halfway up the path to the castle, and then stumbled the rest of the way up to his dormitory.

Sirius had had sex an awful lot of times, but each time he had sex for the first time with a new girl, he remembered it. (Or at least tried to.) Sometimes it was amazing, sometimes it was less so. At any rate, sex with Savannah was definitely one of the better first times.

They hadn't intended to go that far. Or at least, she hadn't. But at some point the heat of the moment overtook them, and Savannah murmured, "Oh, why the bloody hell not?"

Sirius paused for a moment. She was lying on top of him in his bed, and they were both naked. Savannah's tousled hair hung down over each shoulder, and her cheeks were flushed. She looked pretty damn fine. He slid his hands up her bare thighs to her hips and murmured back, "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah. And I mean, I've been thinking about it. Almost since the end of last term, actually. And… yeah. I'm ready."

He grinned naughtily at her. "But what about waiting for marriage?"

She giggled. "Shut up and have sex with me."

So he did.

He flipped her over so that he was on top and ran a finger down between her legs. He kissed her passionately. He tried to be slow and sensuous; he knew it usually hurt girls the first time. But Savannah responded to him and when it was finally all over and he had collapsed on top of her, both of them panting with exhaustion, his brushed his lips gently over hers and gasped, "Thank you."

She kissed him back and whispered, "You're very welcome."

-

James was ecstatic about his date with Lily. Though she hadn't kissed him, or, indeed, touched him at all, he had made her laugh again and again, and – best of all – she had agreed to go on a second date with him.

"She's loving it," Savannah informed Sirius later that evening. "She says she would have kissed him but it would have been giving up too much, too soon. Though – don't tell him, or anything – but if he plays his cards right he might get a hand holding on date number two."

Sirius barked out a laugh. "He'll be over the moon about it."

Savannah flopped down next to him on the common room sofa and nuzzled into the crook of his neck. "So, Sirius, what do you reckon we should do tonight?"

He turned to grin at her. "You really have to ask?"

"One thing that's great about being a witch – contraceptive charms," Savannah observed, turning to stare at the fire. "I swear, my sister is going to be so jealous when I tell her how easy it all is."

Sirius frowned. "Well, what on earth do Muggles use? Do they just cross their fingers and hope for the best?"

Savannah giggled. "Don't worry about it." She kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to go work on an essay for a bit, but be in your dormitory at, say, ten-ish? I just might drop by."

Sirius quirked one corner of his mouth into a grin. "Can do."

While Savannah was working, he decided to pay a visit to the kitchens. It was not yet past curfew so there was no real reason to bring the Marauder's Map, but all the same, he figured he'd take it along.

As he made his way down the seventh floor corridor and then down to the floors below, he glanced at the map on occasion. Remus was in the library… Savannah was in her dormitory… then he caught sight of a dot labeled Audrey Granada, walking down a corridor parallel to his. She was alone. Acting on a whim, Sirius dashed through a side passage and stepped out in front of her, tucking the map into his robes. "Oi! Audrey!"

She looked up and smiled. "Oh, hey, you."

He strode up to her. "Where are you off to?"

She shrugged. "Dormitory, I guess."

He grinned. "Change it to the kitchens?"

She nodded her consent. "I suppose so."

They set off down the corridor together. He decided to be blunt. "Why were you being so bitchy earlier?"

She was silent for a moment, and then said, "I'm not… I mean… I don't know. I guess partly because I was feeling competitive and sort of… stressed out… what with Quidditch tryouts." She paused for a moment and then continued, "But also partly because I was actually deigning to care about what you were becoming."

He frowned at that. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged, and swept a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. "I mean… you've just become this… indifferent… Gryffindor… stereotype."

This was not what he had been expecting. "What happened to not judging?"

She laughed a bit. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't mean like that, just… you're living this perfect little dream right now, you know? You've got a cute girlfriend who's obviously completely enamored of you, you respect her enough to actually be considerate of her feelings, you're doing an excellent job of not letting petting drama get to you…"

Sirius frowned. "I don't see what's wrong with any of that."

Audrey nodded. "That's the thing! Absolutely nothing!" She suddenly looked at him piercingly. "It's really not that at all. What was bothering me, I mean. I know you haven't changed one lick, really. You haven't now and you won't ever."

He was confused. "Jeez, could you be any more cryptic?"

Her expression changed from piercing to thoughtful, and she sighed. "I remembered something last night, Sirius. I didn't realize it was you until last night, I mean. But… well, remember the Twelfth Promenade?"

He stared at her. This was not what he had been expecting at all.

"Come now, I don't know why I even asked; of course you remember the Twelfth Promenade."

He raised one eyebrow. "That was you?"

She nodded. "It was."

He was whirling back to his past in a rush of painful memories. All he had been trying to block out for years and years would not leave him alone. He groaned.

"God damnit!"

She raised both of her eyebrows. "And I thought you were the one who didn't like to talk about anything relevant."

He was suddenly furious at her, furious at her for bringing this up. And he understood exactly why she had been so obnoxious earlier.

"God, Audrey. What the bloody hell are you trying to get out of all this?"

She looked apprehensive. "I don't know, Sirius. I don't know. Why does anyone do anything? I'm just curious, I suppose, as to why you–"

"Why I did it?" he interrupted her. "Why I did it? Audrey–" he wanted to never have come down to the kitchens, to still be upstairs with Savannah "–you know exactly why I did it."

She continued to look at him. "That's not good enough," she said in an undertone. "I want you to tell me, Sirius. And believe me – until you understand that there's a difference between knowing everything and being told everything you already know, you'll never get what you want."

"And what do I want, Audrey?" he demanded mockingly. He glared at her then. He couldn't believe he was being suckered into this. "God, Audrey. God. You sure know how to ruin a good mood." He said it without a trace of humor, and she winced.

"Sirius, I just need to know. I need to hear it from you."

He closed his eyes for a moment. Took a deep breath. Said, "Right."

He opened his eyes and she was still standing there, her dark hair hanging to her shoulders, her dark eyes bright. The Twelfth Promenade had been the culmination of everything he now hated about his family, everything he now hated about the world in which he had grown up. And Audrey Granada, right there in the thick of it. Up until this moment, he hadn't even known it was her.

But how could he have been so oblivious? She had had those same dark eyes, that same dark hair – though it had been longer, down to her waist in the style of a young girl.

"Audrey," he said quietly, "I never realized it before, but you represent everything I hate about… about everything."

She winced again. "That's a harsh way of putting it."

He realized it was, and he was sorry. "I really don't know you at all."

She shook her head. "It's not what you think, Sirius. Don't make that mistake."

He stared at her. "Why did we become friends in the first place?"

She shrugged. "Shared sympathies, shared experiences. Right now you're complicating things, but ultimately it simply comes down to the fact that we are, for all purposes, alike."

He didn't say anything for a moment, contemplating what she had said. He was surprised by how strongly he thought about her words, not just now, but in previous conversations as well. She was always so sure of herself – had always been so sure of herself. And yet she was able to be confident purely because she understood him so thoroughly.

"Why are you in Slytherin, then?" It was the first thought that came into his mind.

She smiled slightly. "Because I'm ambitious, Sirius. You know that."

He nodded. "I do." He sighed, and ran his hands through his hair. "God, I do."

The Twelfth Promenade, a celebration of all things dark, pure, magical. Held at the winter solstice, it was by turns a sick and fabulous excuse for a party. Sirius remembered, all too well, the first Promenade his parents had allowed him to attend. Ten years of age, he was both excited and terrified. The Twelfth Promenade was so highly anticipated that guests arrived up to an entire week early to prepare themselves for the event. And there Sirius was, suffocated and corrupted by a world of pureblood fanaticism, when all of the sudden –

"I never realized it was you."

"I never realized it was you," she replied offhandedly. "Not until last night, anyway."

There was a little girl with dark hair and large dark eyes, a little girl who never said a word.

"Why wouldn't you talk to me?"

"I was afraid to."

"Why?"

"You know why."

He remembered a night of dancing lessons and a wild run through the dark passages of the manor house, all the little children chasing one another and playing hide and seek.

"You were one messed up little kid, Audrey."

She barked out a laugh. "I was not! It was you, Sirius, all you! Before you came to Hogwarts you were just like all the rest of them, you were silly and naïve and carried away with the fear your parents instilled. They were better than all the rest, and my parents knew it, too. And when you suggested that we all–"

He did not want her to go on. "I didn't know any better!" He was angry again, furious at her for bringing this up. "You know that, Audrey! Why the hell are you bringing it up if you already understand?"

She shook her head slowly, imperceptibly. "Because I just realized," she said quickly, quietly, "that being sorted into Gryffindor was the best thing that ever happened to you."

He stared at her in silence. It was true, of course. He knew it was true. Being sorted into Gryffindor had opened up a whole new world for him, had taught him new values and given him a fresh take on life. But, as Audrey saw so fit to remind him, he was still the same.

Still the same.

"Audrey!" He needed to do something, and so he grasped her hands in his and spoke directly to her. "Audrey."

She looked up at him, her expression inscrutable. "I don't hold it against you, Sirius. Any of it. I never will. I don't judge; you know that."

He was gasping for breath. "Then why do you bring it up?" he demanded. "Why do you bring it up, if it doesn't matter?"

She shook her head again. "But it does matter, Sirius," she corrected him. "You will always be that person, and until you accept it…" She trailed off.

He could not believe they were having this conversation. He could not believe that Audrey Granada, an overly-competitive, promiscuous and rather glib Slytherin whom he had, for an entirely inconsequential reason, become on speaking terms with, had reminded him of one of the crowning shames of his life.

"Tell me what happened, Sirius."

"We played Mug – Mud Hunt."

"And I?"

"You were the Mudblood."

He hadn't said the word in ages, and it made him feel impure and tremendously uncomfortable.

She stared at him. "Right."

He gazed back, not sure how to proceed. But then, it was Audrey; he was not afraid to say the wrong thing, because he knew that she would understand.

She always understood.

"God, Audrey. I'm so sorry."

She eyed him thoughtfully. "But you always have been, haven't you?"

He nodded. "Since Hogwarts, at least."

"But you see how you haven't changed? You still don't care about anyone, except the few you do care about."

He felt awful, awkward, unworthy and in general like a terrible person. "I care about you now…" he started.

She continued to look at him. "It's an admirable quality, Sirius. Empathy, I mean. I know that you really do care about those people you truly care about. And I know that you won't change. So really, this morning when I was being a bitch… it was because… well, you know why."

He thought back to that morning, when she had condescendingly commented on how much he "liked" Savannah, and he remembered being ten years old and luring her out of her family's suite to play with them, the little girl who would not talk because she was too shy and too overwhelmed, luring her out and forcing her to play the Mudblood in their dreadful, humiliating game.

He didn't love Savannah. He respected her, he liked her well enough, but ultimately, all he felt was lust. Though then again, he had always known this; and, other than with Claire, he had always felt this.

"You're usually so okay with it, though," he murmured to Audrey. "You usually just laugh and let me do it."

She shrugged slightly. "Because I didn't remember, Sirius. I didn't realize. And now I do, and I wanted you to realize, too."

He sighed. "What should I do, Audrey?" he asked cautiously. "Here you've gone dragging up everything I hate about myself. Hell, what even gives you the right to do that?"

She shook her head, her eyes wide in surprise. "Because your past has shaped you. It's made you unique. And, for whatever reason, I've taken it upon myself to make that painfully obvious to you." Suddenly she laughed. "I'm quite awful as well, truly. I always knew it about you, I just didn't care until I realized you did the same thing to me. At heart, I'm just as apathetic as you are, Sirius."

He laughed as well, looking over her dark hair at the stone wall across the corridor. "So we can be apathetic together."

"And appreciate our apathy," she added helpfully.

"And ultimately be happy?" he suggested.

"Of course."

They were silent for a moment. Then Audrey smiled.

"So have you shagged Savannah yet?" she asked pleasantly.

He grinned and laughed and resisted the urge to step in and hug her tightly in a bout of relief that this was all over.

"Might've."

She giggled. "Kinky. She any good?"

He laughed again. "None of your business, right?"

She grinned. "Right." Then she winked at him and as she turned to go added, "Anyway, we'll have to go to the kitchens some other time."

He nodded in agreement. "Of course. Still, good talk."

She smiled at him warmly, her dark eyes shining. "Very."

-

Talking to Audrey Granada did strange things to him. He never mentioned her observations and comments to anyone else, not to the Marauders and not to Savannah, but he thought about them profusely. Audrey was a non-judgmental link to his overtly judgmental past, and being able to spill his innermost thoughts to her was like an addicting drug: he couldn't stop, even though it was at times painful.

Later that night, when Savannah crawled into his four-poster clad in a white T-shirt and blue plaid pajama bottoms and magically sealed the curtains shut, he found himself still lost in thought.

"What's up?" she asked curiously, snuggling up against him.

Sirius slid an arm around her and stared up at the canopy overhead. He knew there was no way he could make her understand; Savannah had grown up in a loving, middleclass Muggle household, and the idea of the Twelfth Promenade, of rigorous etiquette and social restrictions, of centuries of dark tradition, of the integral concept of "toujours pur" – all this was completely alien to her. She would never understand what it was to have a family that hated one of its children, she would never experience the radical shift in perspective a new, academic world provided, and she would never look back on her past beliefs and actions with utter disdain.

Sirius envied this about Savannah, and he cherished her innocence. He loved the fact that the worst thing she could ever fathom doing was relishing another girl's envy. Savannah had no memories of a warped, oppressive childhood. She had never tricked a little girl into playing Mud Hunt in the dank, gloomy passages of an ancient hall.

And she did not have Audrey Granada informing her that, though her beliefs might change, her outlook and personality would not.

Jeez, why had he even started talking to Audrey in the first place? She was forcing him to reevaluate his entire carefree outlook on life, but because he failed to see what she might gain from it, and because she did not judge him one way or the other, he was unable to resent her. Instead, he simply listened and thought.

He inclined his head to kiss Savannah's blond hair. It hung down around her shoulders, still slightly damp from the shower. Her head smelled of roses and lavender, and she smiled up at him. "What's wrong, Sirius?"

He shook his head slowly, not sure how to briefly and adequately sum up his thoughts and feelings. "Just thinking about… about the past."

She eyed him thoughtfully, compassionately. "You want to talk about it?"

He really did adore Savannah, he realized. He did not love her, for they did not have intimacy, and until he somehow overcame his inability to talk about his family, they would never have intimacy – but the mere fact that Savannah cared was what mattered. Knowing that Savannah wanted to hear what he had to say in spite of being unable to ever understand or relate to it made Sirius content.

He smiled at her. "Nope. Like I said, it's the past."

She smiled back at him, her sharp features more beautiful than ever, her dark eyes bright even in the dim light filtering through the heavy curtains. He leaned down and kissed her, softly at first and then more and more urgently. All he wanted now was hot, steamy, passionate sex – something to take his mind off of everything, something to get lost in.

He rolled over on top of her, pinning her to the bed. He yanked Savannah's T-shirt off, and her head sank down into the pillows with a sigh as he trailed kissed down her neck and over her breasts. He pulled off her plaid cotton pajama bottoms and busied himself running his fingers over and into certain places until she groaned, "God, Sirius!"

He did not bother undressing; he merely unbuttoned his trousers and spread her legs, sliding back up to kiss her passionately as she gasped out with every thrust.

Afterward, he held her tenderly in his arms. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She sighed rapturously. "No…"

He smiled into her hair and touched her tongue with his ear. "Not even at the beginning?"

She sighed again, still short on breath. "Well maybe a little at the beginning, but…" She trailed off, then leaned her head around to kiss him fully. Looking deep into his eyes she observed, "Waiting until marriage would have been just about the worst decision of my life."

He grinned at her, and laughed gently, and after kissing her again they fell asleep together beneath the high canopy of the bed.

Things were sure looking up.

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Reviews!

La Mariposa -Carp-, Pazas 1917, beckers123, Paddie'sGirl, Nicoley117-MissBlueMartini, MaraudingChick, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, dixio, Padfootz-luvr, Potpoury, Miss Marauderess and lavizsla – Thank you all sooo much for reviewing!

Also thanks to anybody who put me on their list of favorite stories/favorite authors/author alert/story alert/etc. I decided to update when I realized I had 100 reviews. It just makes me feel loved and inspired.

I also realize this chapter only covered, like, one day. Next chapter shall span more time and include (did you guess?) more drama! After all, it is Sirius; he can't avoid drama for that long.

On that note, I've outlined the rest of the plot, and this story won't be ending any time soon.

Please review :)

Love,

Simone