Danse Russe
Chapter Seven
When I cannot believe I am living this way
"Black," a soft feminine voice floated into Sirius' thoughts and he slowly lifted his head from his Transfiguration book to find the fair-haired Dorcas Meadows smiling warily at him.
"Hmm?" he grunted in acknowledgement returning his gaze back down to his notes. Not that he was actually studying. No, the ploy was to prevent Remus Lupin from asking any more questions about Sirius' supposed "pensive expression," as they sat in the library. After all, it only made sense to appear thoughtful when one was studying. And of course, Sirius was rather deep in thought and had been for quite some time. So, deep in thought he had actually missed Remus packing up and leaving to attend prefect duties.
But, how could he not be with a phrase like, 'well, mine smelled like Lily,' from the infamous James Potter. After hearing such a thing it was quite amazing Sirius hadn't plunged off a building to end his musings. If James Potter, who had been 'in love' with Lily Evans since before girls had shed their cooties, smelled Lily then Sirius Black catching the scent of Marlene McKinnon in the devil's potion could only mean one thing, one thing that Sirius Black was not going to believe. There had to be some explanation for it and Sirius Black being Sirius Black, would stumble upon it soon enough if he simply continued to ponder the different possibilities.
"Uh, well, I, uh," Dorcas stuttered and Sirius released a huff of annoyance.
"Yes, Meadows come on. Out with it," he snarled fixing her with a harsh glare.
Dorcas jumped back her brown eyes wide with shock. "Oh, uh, sorry, I just–" At Sirius' irritated groan Dorcas cut off and started anew. "I can't figure out this spell and I really– gods Black, you know how hard this is for me, could you please stop it with the death stare."
Sirius chuckled dryly. "Do I frighten you, Meadows?"
With a defiant tilt of her chin Dorcas frowned. "As if."
"Interesting," Sirius said as he turned his attention back to the pages of his book his bored tone disagreeing entirely with the word.
Releasing a resigned sigh Dorcas sat carefully on the edge of Sirius' table, blocking his view of his text with the tanned skin of her thighs. "Listen, Black." Sirius brought his eyes slowly up to her face very obviously scanning her body as he did so. There was a faint blush on her cheeks as he finally met her gaze and she continued speaking. "Lily's off with Potter, Lupin's being a prefect and Marlene is rubbish with Transfiguration. We have an exam in the morning I really can't afford to…" she trailed off as Sirius' eyes flicked back down to her legs.
He slowly drew a figure eight on her thigh with a finger. "You've got some pretty nice legs, Meadows," he said tonelessly.
"I– well– uh– thank you," Dorcas stammered, staring down at him confusedly as he continued to draw shapeless figures with the intensity of an artist across the smooth flesh.
Sirius stood abruptly and Dorcas was sure she would have fallen had she not been perched on his desk. "So, Transfiguration," he said nodding thoughtfully. "Let's go somewhere…" He paused glancing around the library, letting his eyes settle on the scowling figure of Madam Pince. "Where we can make a bit more noise."
A bit of uneasiness flashed in Dorcas' eyes, but it quickly fled as Sirius leaned over her in pretense of grabbing his satchel, chuckling quietly into her ear. "Don't worry, Meadows, I'm not really one to shag Gryffindor girls. It only leads to trouble."
"I wasn't," Dorcas started as he tossed his bag over his shoulder, but stopped suddenly as he flashed her a wink. She blushed prettily and laughed silently at herself before sliding off the desk and following Sirius out the library doors.
O
What a delightful distraction, Sirius thought with a pleased smirk as Dorcas Meadows huffed in annoyance crossing her arms and giving him quite the view.
"I don't know why it won't freaking work," Dorcas exclaimed and Sirius chuckled.
"Relax a bit, won't you?" Sirius said coolly, raising an eyebrow as he pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning against and striding over to her.
"I'm trying," Dorcas growled in exasperation.
Smirking, Sirius rolled his eyes, tucking a bit of her blonde hair behind her ear. "No, you're not," he said teasingly, resting his forehead against hers. "If you were trying, you wouldn't be this tense. It's not that hard to relax, you know."
Dorcas frowned magnificently at him and Sirius smiled slightly before placing a tiny kiss on her lips. "Now," he said commandingly, "relax, and cast the damned spell."
Turning from him Dorcas waved her wand, muttering, "Avis." Nothing happened. Dorcas groaned loudly earning yet another chuckle from Sirius. "It's not funny."
"Mm," Sirius murmured as he moved to stand behind her. "I know." A small shiver crawled up Dorcas' spine as Sirius gently brushed her hair to one side, exposing her neck. He rested his chin on her shoulder encircling her waist with his arms. "Try it, again. Maybe you're not getting the wand movement right." Dorcas nodded unable to get out any words with Sirius pressed so closely to her.
As she moved to cast the spell again Sirius nuzzled against her neck. "You know, Meadows," he breathed, letting his lips brush across her skin. "Your perfume, it's very… intoxicating." And it was true, Dorcas Meadows did smell lovely. It was not, however, the scent that had wafted up from the Amortentia, but what did that matter? Sirius enjoyed the scent of Dorcas just as much. Or, at least that's what he told himself.
Dorcas chuckled nervously. "I thought we were…" her voice trailed off as he softly pressed kisses along the curve of her neck and she gave a little 'oh' of a sigh. Sirius ignored the pang of disappointment at the sound. He had wanted a hum.
"We are," he answered simply as he progressed from kisses to nibbling lightly on the delicate flesh. "You just need to relax a bit, Dorcas." He purposefully switched to her given name as he exhaled against her skin. "This'll help. It always helps me relax."
"Oh," was her strangled response.
Sirius bit down a chuckle. "Articulate, aren't we?" he murmured turning her in his arms. She flashed him an angry look, but it quickly faded as her brought his lips down on hers.
He began slowly, gently, just the light pressure of his mouth on hers, before moved to pepper her chin and jaw with the same delicate kisses. "Black, if you don't kiss me properly soon, I swear I—" He cut her off bringing his lips back to hers. It was only half a moment before her hands were tangling his hair and he had her back pressed against the wall as their tongues battled.
When Dorcas thought she'd die from lack of oxygen Sirius moved on trailing long, hot kisses down the column of her throat. As he dragged his mouth across her collar bone his fingers nimbly undid the buttons of her shirt. "Merlin, you taste good, Meadows," Sirius mumbled as he placed soothing kisses over the tender spots skin that reddened during his affections. Dorcas nodded dazedly and Sirius flashed a smirk before kissing her passionately once more.
Again, they moved and Dorcas found herself staring up at him from the flat of her back as his fingers slowly traced the undersides of her breasts. It was with a sudden jolt she realized her shirt had fallen off at some point in their relocation. "Wait," she choked out placing her hands on his shoulders and giving him a tiny shove. "Wait, I—"
Sirius looked at her in mild confusion waiting patiently for her to speak. Dorcas smiled faintly, suddenly relieved for no apparent reason, perhaps it was his understanding expression or that look that said, "it's alright, you call the shots," despite the fact that it was entirely untrue. Sirius had been calling the shots since before they left the library.
After a long moment of contemplation Dorcas blushed. "I haven't been on anything since David and uh–" she paused again, cursing herself for the words about to leave her mouth. "Do you know a charm or something?" Sirius smiled.
"Of course, I do," he replied huskily.
O
"Gods, it was magnificent," Dorcas moaned dropping her head onto Emmeline Vance's shoulder. "I swear to you that boy made me feel things I didn't know I was capable of feeling."
Marlene gave a faint smile from across the table. "Are you quite sure 'boy' is the right word to describe him?" she asked teasingly.
Dorcas rolled her eyes. "I should curse you, Marley. If you'd been better at Transfiguration I wouldn't be in this mess."
Emmeline snorted. "Weren't you just going on about how marvelous it was? How exactly is it a mess? Shouldn't you be thanking her?"
"Thanking her?" Dorcas said in mock outrage. "Emmy, I will never have that great of a shag again. I get to spend the rest of my life knowing what great sex is, but only having mediocre David Thatcher sex." Marlene and Emmeline giggled.
"Oh, come on, Dorcas," Marlene scolded. "I am sure Sirius Black isn't the only good shag there is. Plus," she said with a shrug, "he's not exactly a bad guy, I mean you could—"
Emmeline snorted, yet again. "Oh listen to yourself, Marley. Sirius Black? Out for more than just a shag? Honestly." She shook her head and gave Marlene a warning smile. "Just because he has been moderately decent to you lately doesn't change who he is. Black's an arrogant, heartbreaking bastard. You'd do well to remember that."
Marlene frowned gazing down at the table almost abashedly. Thank God, I didn't tell them I've shagged him. Or rather he shagged me. Flicking her eyes back to Emmeline, she smiled. "Yes. I realize that, but there is more to him than that, you know. Remus is friends with him."
This time Dorcas snorted. "Yes, and if it weren't for the fact that you're friends with me, I'd say you had a poor taste in friends."
The spark of ire that rose up in Marlene's eyes at that statement informed Dorcas that she had crossed the line. Marlene McKinnon tolerated a lot of things, but she would not stand for someone speaking ill of Remus Lupin. As far as she was concerned he was the closest thing to perfection on earth.
"You only say that because he turned you down," Emmeline said jokingly, trying to prevent an argument. Dorcas huffed and Marlene smirked.
"It was rather a noble thing too as you were wasted as hell at the time," she said almost nastily, before breaking out into a grin as Dorcas' cheeks flushed red.
Emmeline chuckled. "I wasn't talking about that time."
O
"Fuck," Sirius groaned as he slumped back into his chair, giving James a mournful look. "It didn't work."
James vainly attempted to keep his amused expression from showing as he stowed the vial of stolen love potion back in his pocket. "Still smells like her, then?"
"Who?" Peter asked, but Sirius ignored him.
Shooting James a scowl Sirius growled, "Yes."
Remus rolled his eyes from behind his book. "Moony, stop being so smug!" Sirius exclaimed throwing the closest object at Remus.
Shrugging, Remus came out from behind The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. "Well, I can't believe you honestly thought shagging Dorcas Meadows would change the scent of the Amortentia."
Sirius' scowl deepened. "Why wouldn't it!"
"Because," Remus explained as if he was speaking to a small child, "the potion simply causes you to smell scents that attract you. You aren't going to suddenly become attracted to a new scent just because you shagged someone, whether you love them or not. The Amortentia mimics the smells of things you've been attracted to all of your life." He sighed heavily. "Take James for example. He claims to have smelled Lily, but in reality he smelled jasmine, a hint of vanilla–"
"Wait!" James shouted. "How the hell do you know what Lily smells like?"
Remus rolled his eyes, yet again. "Calm down, Prongs. I've been friends with Lily for ages. Plus, scents get rather intense around the moon, you know."
"Oh," James mumbled in relief and Sirius let out a bark of laughter at his expression.
Furrowing his brow Remus returned his gaze to Sirius. "Why exactly did you want to change what the potion smelled like anyway?"
This time James burst into laughter. "Shut up, Prongs," Sirius hissed throwing his alarm clock at James. James quickly dodged it and shoved his fist in his mouth in an attempt to stop his chuckles.
Sirius glanced around the room, fixing each of the boys with a glare. "This doesn't leave this room." Peter gulped. "It smells like McKinnon," he almost whispered.
"Marley!" Remus exclaimed. Sirius' eyes narrowed angrily and Remus lowered his voice. "McKinnon, as in Marlene McKinnon?"
"Yes," Sirius huffed crossing his arms.
Remus fixed him with a warning glare. "Don't you dare do something to hurt her," he almost growled.
"As if I'd do anything to her. McKinnon is a good kid. I don't fuck around with good girls," Sirius muttered heatedly.
Remus didn't appear to be comforted. "I'm not saying you'd do it on purpose, Padfoot. I'm just saying she's the type to…" He paused looking for the right word "Fall easily. Don't toy with her."
"I'm not even attracted to her!" Sirius snarled, ignoring the twinge of pain at the thought of Remus thinking him capable of playing with Marlene.
"Like hell you aren't!" Remus shouted. "Just because she isn't your usual leggy blonde doesn't mean you aren't attracted to her. Fuck Sirius, I've seen the way you–"
"Moony!" James yelled over Remus and he fell silent, gazing intently at the carpet.
After a moment of tense silence Remus glanced up at Sirius' fuming face; it was only obvious to the other three in the room that Remus' words had pained him, anyone else would have fallen for the false look of anger. "Look, Padfoot, I didn't mean that. I know you wouldn't…. I just…" He stopped and looked pleadingly up at his friend. "You know how much she means to me. I can't stand the thought of her…"
Sirius sighed heavily. "I know, Moony." He slowly stood and started to leave the room. "If it's any consolation, I couldn't bear the thought of it either," he whispered quietly as he passed Remus and strode from the room.
O
The quiet pitter patter of rain tapped against the cobblestone path that led to Hogsmeade village as Sirius Black hurried after a tiny figure dressed head to toe in purple plaid. "McKinnon!" he shouted wrapping his drenched coat tighter around him as he ran through a puddle in the road, sloshing icy rainwater up the legs of his trousers. "Damn it! McKinnon, wait up!"
"Stupid numbskull, running in the rain, trying to catch her death, dragging me along…" he muttered under his breath as the plaid figure stopped under a tree and turned to gaze at him.
"Black?" Marlene chuckled peering up at him from under her floppy, rainproof hat. It —like her raincoat and galoshes— was a brilliant purple plaid that made Sirius' head spin when she moved too quickly. "What are you doing?"
Outraged, Sirius growled, "What do you mean what am I doing? I told you I was going with you two days ago. Surely you hadn't forgotten."
Pushing the brim of her hat back to see him properly Marlene stared at him almost confusedly. "You're not serious?" she said, stunned.
"Of course, I am. I told you I was coming," Sirius answered moving closer to her as he attempted to get out of the rain.
"Well," Marlene stammered, "it's just— I thought— Two days ago you weren't shagging Dorcas!"
Sirius stared at her blankly. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Marlene threw her hands in the air. "I don't know! Just— how is it going look to Dorcas when you come traipsing back into the castle at two in the morning with me."
"Who bloody well cares?" he asked.
Marlene stood in a stunned silence her eyes dancing in a mixture of befuddlement and distain. "I do," she replied softly, frowning at him. "Dorcas is my friend. I wouldn't—"
"I only shagged her once! It's not like it's an ongoing thing," Sirius snarled. "I don't even like her."
"Oh!" Marlene shouted indignantly. "And that is supposed to be comforting?"
A frown wedged between Sirius' dark brows. "Well, it's not like I am going to shag you."
"Like I'd let you!" she yelled.
"You already have!" he shouted in return.
"Well, it won't happen again!" she exclaimed before trudging back out into the rain.
Sirius grabbed her arm tugging her back to him. "Where are you—" he cut off as he found himself sprawled out on his back in the mud. His entire body shivered in cold as the icy water soaked through his clothes and an intense ringing flooded his mind as if he was suddenly placed inside a large chiming bell.
"Oh, Merlin, Black. I'm sorry," Marlene's shocked voice filled his ears the moment the ringing stopped.
"What the hell was that?" he groaned as Marlene's face came into focus. She was kneeling beside him staring directly into his eyes, her face contorted with worry and guilt.
"Just a hex I picked up at some point or another," she mumbled embarrassedly as she checked him for injuries.
"That was like," he stopped and placed a hand to his head wincing. Though, the ringing had ceased it left an intense pounding headache in its place. "Merlin, my head."
"Sorry," Marlene said again as she helped him to a sitting position. "Come on. Let's get you out of the rain."
She pulled him to his feet and he groaned holding his head in his hands. "McKinnon," Sirius practically begged, "you've got to make the pounding stop."
"I will. We've just got to get out of the rain first." Sirius didn't attempt to nod he simply followed her as she trudged the few meters into the village before allowing her to Apparate them away.
Gesturing to a small couch Marlene left Sirius alone in a small sitting room. He attempted to glance around at the space, but found it only intensified the pounding in his head, so he slumped down onto the couch and closed his eyes.
Marlene returned shortly with a vial of potion in her hand. "Here, it'll fix your head." Sirius nodded mutely and gulped the potion down.
"What the fuck was that, McKinnon?" he asked as the pounding subsided, gazing up at her through blurry eyes. "And will I ever see straight, again?"
Chuckling, she nodded. "Yeah, just give it a moment."
Sirius growled, "You still haven't answered me."
"It's just a hex," Marlene answered. "I can teach it to you later, if you want. Right now, I've got to run. You can Apparate back to Hogsmeade from here."
He almost fell for it. "Like hell, I can. I told you—"
"Fine!" Marlene shouted ending the argument. She was going to kill Remus Lupin for this. "Clean yourself up, then."
Endnote:
1) Thank you for reading.