"Sex is an emotion in motion."

― Mae West

Chapter seven: The seed of hormonal doubt

Professor Dumbledore scheduled their first telepathy lesson to happen on the following Friday night and one Marauder, in particular, was not too happy with this arrangement.

"But it's Friday night," Peter whined to Sirius and Remus in the Gryffindor common room that morning.

"Yeah… so?" Sirius really didn't get why his unavailability was such a big deal to his old friend. Their friendship was still kind of on the rocks. Peter still hadn't apologized for calling Devery that hateful word but since they shared a dormitory, Sirius opted to be the mature one. He kept his distance as much as possible from Peter and barely tolerated him.

"Prongs has a prefect meeting tonight and that includes me on that list," Remus said and Sirius eyed him in concern.

The next full moon was next week and his old buddy was already feeling it due to the daily wolfsbane he had to take, leading up to his transformation. Remus sometimes displaying flu-like symptoms and he looked bone tired with paler skin.

"How are you feeling, Moony?" Sirius asked and Remus forced a tired smile.

"Not too bad, Padfoot… I just got a bad case of the sniffles this time around." Remus quickly pulled out a tissue to catch a sneeze.

"Do you want to go to the hospital wing?" Peter asked and Remus shook his head.

"I'll be alright," he replied, wiping a red nose.

"Okay," Peter returned his gaze to Sirius. "What about after your meeting with Dumbledore? James and Remus should be done by then too."

"Then I would want to finally spend some quality time with my girlfriend. That's not cleaning or school related. My girl deserves a reward for putting up with my dusty and dirty robes," Sirius told him otherwise and Peter sighed.

"But we haven't done a prank together in ages!" Peter started to grow red in the cheeks and Remus let out another sneeze.

"Merlin, I hate this," Remus grumbled and Sirius passed him a random tissue box, sitting around in the common room.

"Thanks, mate," Remus took some tissues to blow his nose.

"I know that Wormtail but things are a little different now," Sirius said.

"Oh, I bloody know that," Peter sneered and Sirius tensed up at Peter's sudden pissed off vibes.

"You lot promised in the summer that our last year would be the most crazy and fun year, we will ever have!"

Sirius then got a dreamy look in his eye when he spotted Devery and Lucy make their way into the common room from their dormitory.

"Oh… it already is," Sirius started to smile at the girls and he strangely noticed Remus do the same thing too. The boy quickly put his tissues away and bid 'good morning' to the girls with his light green eyes trained on Lucy. Sirius perked up with interest when he spotted that and he filed it away for later because Devery was now in his peripheral.

"No it isn't!" Peter whined again but Sirius hardly took any notice of him.

"Good morning, beautiful," he signed successfully and he kissed one of Devery's soft cheeks. He continued to amaze everyone with how quickly he was grasping BSL and Devery appreciated his efforts. At first, his signing was a bit rocky until he requested some 'tough love' from Devery and got her to just sign whatever she wanted at him.

"I can't wait to get you all to myself later, love, you look good enough to eat," Sirius whispered into Devery's ear and his deep voice sounded huskier. She just looked more beautiful as the days went by. Devery got pleasurable shivers from his voice and when Sirius quickly nipped on her earlobe, she felt her cheeks grow red.

Peter was still whining about how they never did anything anymore when Sirius came back to the real world and he wrapped his arms around Devery after she dropped her schoolbag beside his. He loved to hold her whenever they stood up together.

"All I do now is watch you guys make goo-goo-gaa-gaa eyes at girls," Peter pouted and Lucy laughed. Meanwhile, Remus tried to make himself seem inconspicuous. He wasn't checking out Lucy before. Devery watched this all unfold in amusement and Sirius made a 'duh' expression.

"No offense, Wormtail, but my girl is much more pretty to look at than you and I think James would say the same thing about Evans," Sirius hid his grin behind Devery's hair. She wore her hair up today in two buns.

"Marauders are meant to maraud!" Peter continued and Lucy rolled her eyes. She grew quickly over this debate. It was breakfast time and she was starving.

"Come on, Lupin, I'm starving!" Lucy started to pull Remus out of the common room and he gladly followed after picking up his bag.

"See you lot, later," She cried back before she left the common room with Remus. Devery waved but she quickly grew self-conscious when Peter narrowed his eyes her way. She quickly put her hand down and she smiled when Sirius moved to hold her hands as well, around her waist. Sirius took a deep breath and released it.

"Say what you really mean, Peter," He said, sounding tired and Devery looked up at him in concern.

"I rather not," Peter shot Devery a scathing glance. "She's here."

Sirius quickly went into defensive mode and he gently moved to stand in front of Devery.

"If you're going to start on that shit again, you and I are no longer friends," Sirius warned with his voice and just in case things got out of hand again between the two, Devery leaned against his back. Sirius eased up a little when he felt her forehead, resting in-between his shoulder blades.

Meanwhile, Peter took Sirius's warning to heart and he threw his hands up in defeat.

"Okay… I'm sorry for insulting your girlfriend and accusing her of all those things," he spat out and Sirius looked a little too pleased at the admission.

"You have to do better than that," he countered and Peter didn't look happy one bit.

"I just didn't want to lose my friend and that's why I said all of those stupid things but surprise, surprise, I did kind of loose you as a friend, Padfoot and it was all my doing. I just miss doing crazy shit with you and the guys. I'm sorry for being an asshole," Peter confessed and to his surprise, Sirius kept quiet until he moved to stand beside Devery.

"Like I said, you have to do better than that," he repeated himself and Devery felt uneasy under Peter's frustrated gaze. He really wasn't good with having heart-to-heart talks, she figured. It felt entirely too uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry for calling you those mean things, Devery," Peter clenched his jaw and Sirius looked down at her.

"It's up to you, love, do you accept Peter's apology?"

Devery swallowed hard and nodded with her eyes on the floor. She just did it for Sirius's sake and to end the tiff. But deep down, she did not believe Peter one bit and from now on, she was going to keep her wits about her when it came to him. Something about Peter always rubbed her the wrong way. Peter let out a weird laugh then.

"So… we're cool?" He asked and Sirius giving him a fist bump was his answer.

"But that doesn't change my plans for tonight." Peter's face fell. "We'll plan a Marauder night, soon. We are due for one," Sirius promised and Peter breathed. It was better than nothing, he supposed.

"I'll see you two at breakfast then," Peter glanced at Devery, still staring quite interestedly at her shoes and he wondered what Sirius saw in her again. To him, she was the epitome of pathetic but he didn't dare say that.

"Yeah, sure mate, we'll be down soon," Sirius answered for them with a nod and Peter took his leave with a whispered, 'pathetic,' under his breath. Sirius didn't catch it but Devery did and she watched Peter leave the common room. Unlike regular witches and wizards, Sirens had keen hearing. One of these days, she was going to get Peter back for his rude treatment but not right now.

"That was awfully mature of you to forgive Peter like that," Sirius muttered and Devery just shrugged.

"I know you still hate his guts."

Devery looked sheepish and signed 'maybe.' Sirius chuckled at her response.

"I suppose that makes us even considering my distaste of your male friends," he said with a dark look in his grey eyes. She didn't have any other male friends that weren't the marauders or Frank. Sirius really didn't like Raven and he nearly bit the guy's head off for sitting next to her in Charms the other day.

"Raven is a good guy," she signed and Sirius snorted.

"Sure, he is," he rolled his eyes and Devery pursed her lips at him in disappointment until Sirius leaned down to give her a deep kiss that made her toes curl.

"In my book, a pucker up is an invitation for snogging," Sirius suckled on her lower lip until Devery pulled her head away with a silent laugh. She pursed her lips again and quickly dodged Sirius's arms. He gave her a playful look.

"Does somebody want to play: chase, hug and kiss?"

Devery's sudden playful smile was all the go ahead he needed. On quick feet, Sirius started to chase Devery around the empty common room. Everyone else already left for breakfast. Devery quickly ran behind a couch and Sirius wriggled his eyebrows. Only the couch was in-between them now. Devery wriggled her eyebrows back and blew him a kiss.

"You're such a tease, Leafwood," Sirius glanced at her mouth with lust building in his grey eyes and he moved to his right. Devery laughed in silence while he chased her around the couch and she quickly changed directions when Sirius did.

"Come here, love!" Sirius quickly changed directions again and so did Devery. It was like his girlfriend just read his mind.

"You better not cheating with leglimens," he warned and Devery confirmed his suspicions by blowing another kiss.

"I don't know whether to be impressed or ashamed for being a bad influence on you," Sirius shook his head and he quickly changed tactics by trying to grab Devery over the couch. It took him a couple of tries with his long arms but eventually he was able to grab one of Devery's wrists.

"Gotcha!" Sirius yelled in triumph and Devery playfully smacked him back when he gently pulled her closer. She moaned quietly when Sirius claimed her mouth. He kneeled on the edge of the couch and snaked his hands inside her robes to stroke her shirt. Devery happily ran her hands through his hair. He gave out a little groan when she pulled at his nape. Sirius loved to have his hair pulled, a little bit at the back of his neck, Devery quickly noticed.

"Merlin, I love it when you do that," Sirius growled a little and that's when things quickly escalated and Devery did not mind one bit. One minute, she was on her feet and the next thing she realised, she was lying underneath Sirius on the couch. His fingers snuck up her shirt to caress her stomach and he kissed his way across her jawline before Devery hungrily sorted out his mouth again. She lost track of time in that moment. Hours could've passed for all she knew. There was only Sirius and all the different ways he liked to be kissed. Devery was quite happy to snog on that couch with her delectable boyfriend for the rest of the day but nature called. In quick succession, her stomach let out a big rumble and so did Sirius's stomach. He laughed mid-kiss.

"As much as I would love to stay here forever but I would be the world's worst boyfriend if I didn't get you breakfast," Sirius pecked her lips once last time before he moved to sit up on the couch. Devery couldn't help but lie back and admire the sight he made. His black hair was in all directions and his mouth was nice and red from their make out session. And, his grey eyes were bright and still lust-filled. All thanks to her… she did that, Devery thought proudly and she couldn't help but wonder what Sirius would look like with a love-bite.

"Did you hear what I said, babe?" Sirius asked amusedly and then he nearly got the wind knocked out of him when Devery moved to straddle his lap.

"Devery?" Sirius raised his eyebrows and Devery gave him a wink.

"What are you up to now?" Sirius stroked her back and he felt taken back when Devery loosened his tie and popped a few buttons on his shirt.

"Devery-

Sirius bit down on his lower lip to suppress a moan when Devery started to bite and suck on his neck, hard. It was a beautiful mixture of pain and pleasure, and Sirius wondered where the hell she learned how to kiss like that. Things started to heat up further for him downstairs and he groaned.

"Devery," he called out in a breathy voice but Devery ignored him. She was on a mission and heavily followed her gut instincts.

"Baby," Sirius said in a breathy voice again and he backed it up by rocking his hips forward. Devery raised her eyebrows at his reaction and the expression Sirius gave her was a new one. His dark grey eyes yearned for something he could only get from her.

Sirius Black, one of Hogwarts' notorious Marauders and sexiest players was completely at her mercy in that moment. If she said jump, he would ask 'how high?' And it felt damn, empowering. Devery flashed Sirius a rare devious smirk and she started to rock her virgin hips back against his sudden hardness. Sirius gripped her waist, hard.

"Baby, this is not the time or the place for this," Sirius gulped with sweat, starting to pool on his forehead. His breathing grew heavier when Devery increased the pressure between their hips.

"Someone could walk in… oh, god," Sirius clenched his eyes shut and groaned. Devery could careless if someone walked in on them in that moment. It felt too good. She started to feel her lower abdomen throb with a pleasurable warm and it strangely felt good, the harder she rubbed herself against him. Sirius's bare neck captured her attention again and she latched onto his skin with her mouth. Sirius cursed loudly when she bit him and he automatically rocked his hips back. Devery flipped his restraint when she bit him again.

"Oh, fuck," Sirius felt his muscles start to clench up and he was dumbfolded by his body's reaction. He was on the edge of coming and usually he needed a lot more action to get that close.

"Dev, baby, please," he surprised himself further by pleading and Devery gave his skin, one last hard suck before she leaned back and checked out her handiwork.

Meanwhile, Sirius tried to get his self-control back in check before he did something, they probably would both regret. Like dragging, his beautiful girlfriend up to his dormitory and making love to her like he always wanted to do since he first kissed her. But that was way too soon and he promised to take things slowly but that promise was proving harder to keep than expected. His painful erection was living proof of that. Devery was making things difficult and he never in a million years saw that. He figured it would be the other way around.

Devery was pleased with her handiwork. Her first love-bite was not too big and not too small. She then started to make plans to leave more on Sirius's chest. The love-bite looked sexy as hell beside the black shoelace, Sirius had tied around his neck. Devery quickly grew perplexed by the shoelace and she clicked her fingers. The shoelace untied itself and flew to her fingertips.

"Explain," she signed and Sirius furrowed his eyebrows in discomfort. He then gently moved out from under her legs to stand up and Devery grew deeply worried. It was only then she noticed how flushed he looked. His lightly tanned skin was a tad red and sweaty. Was he coming down with a fever?

"I need a minute," Sirius swallowed hard and he awkwardly covered his erection with his robes. He bit back another groan at the movement. His friend downstairs was not going to go away on his own.

"I'll meet you down at breakfast," he forced out and he hobbled over to the boy's dormitories, holding his crotch area. That was when realisation smacked into Devery hard and her mouth fell open. She turned him on that much with one love-bite?

"Do you need help?" She flew to Sirius's side and signed, worriedly. Sirius's grey eyes nearly budged out of his head.

"No," he nearly shrieked out and he felt like a complete ass for Devery's sudden forlorn features.

"I mean," Sirius cleared his throat and clenched his teeth. His whole body begged him for a release in that moment. He was all tense and ready to spill and prolonging it was really starting to piss him off. The sudden frown on Sirius's face made Devery take a step back.

"Let me deal with this… just go," he bit out and disappeared up the stairs.

Devery had no idea what just happened. Only that Sirius seemed pissed off and it was her fault. She started to follow him up the steps, wanting to apologise, but then she thought better of it when her mind flickered with an image of Sirius's pissed face. Anxiety started to gnarl at her insides and Devery felt like crying. She didn't know why but it felt like all of the process she made with Sirius just dipped south.

She was Deveral Leafwood, Devery for short, best friend of Lily Evans and the muted freak of Hogwarts. And a person like her just didn't date the most handsome boy in school. It was too good to be true.

With that, Devery held Sirius's shoelace close, like it was a lost treasure of what was and left the common room with her bag.


After Sirius finally rewarded his body with a release it so desperately wanted, his head cleared. He pulled out his age-old fantasy of seducing Devery to his dormitory bed and he came in seconds. All that rough tension just fled and he felt tired, blissful but tired.

Clarity returned when he cleaned up and he cursed in a thousand different ways when he remembered what he just happened. In desperation to leave, he pushed the one girl he cared so desperately about away.

Devery was not like the other girls he had been with. She was a lot more reserved, lady-like, delicate and inexperienced. He was her first kiss and first everything if he played his cards right. If he fucked this up, he was personally going to hand himself over to Evans to be cursed seven ways to Sunday.

Sirius grabbed his school bag and left the common room like he had a bludger on his tail for the great hall. He knew, he looked like a madman with the way he ran into the great hall, nearly panting his lungs out but he couldn't care. He had to find Devery.

His grey eyes frantically searched for her beautiful silent face and he walked, aimlessly between the four long tables. People he knew tried to get his attention but he just waved them down and asked if they had seen Devery. He kept going like this with a panicked look on his face until James was able to pull him aside.

"Whoa, mate! Let's take a breather, shall we?" James tried to calm him down with a pat on the shoulder. His best friend hardly ever panicked about anything; usually he was as cool as a cucumber.

"I need to find her," Sirius rubbed his face in distress and James didn't need to know who he was trying to find. He quickly spotted the hickey on Sirius's neck with his keen eye for detail. Something happened and he hoped for Sirius's sake it wasn't bad and was just a misunderstanding between two hormonal bombs harboring deep affection for the other.

"I know but first you need to check yourself and calm down, Sirius. Devery doesn't know how to leave the castle," he advised and he felt like he got punched in the gut when Sirius suddenly looked lost for words. It was like all that bravado and good humor that was uniquely Sirius, deflated out of him. James hadn't seen him like this since he ran away from his parents.

"I am a complete idiot," Sirius moped.

"No, you're not. You're Padfoot, the baddest and coolest Marauder, I am honoured to know," James tried to cheer him up and Sirius perked up a little at his words.

"Cooler than you?" he grinned a little and James guided him to take a seat with a laugh.

"For now… yes because it seems to be cheering up your ego," James then turned to Sirius and fixed his tie. He straightened Sirius's collar and the hickey was covered up in no time. Professor McGonagall would have a hernia if she saw it. James then fixed up a plate of food for Sirius and without saying a word, he dug in. He couldn't resist his hunger anymore.

"Well… your tie looks better and your stomach sounds happier but your face is still a disaster. I'm sorry but I can't fix that for you, padfoot. Though, Devery strangely still thinks it is better than sliced bread so I don't think that will be an issue," Sirius glared at James while he ate.

"I'm just pointing out the positives," James said jokingly.

"Thanks, mate," Sirius grumbled. James quit joking around then and looked serious.

"Look, Padfoot, whatever happened with Devery this morning… I don't need to know because, hello? Hickey?" James pointed to his neck. "What I'm trying to say is, I see that girl like a little sister and I will kick your ass if it's bad," James paused to think, "Or, I will give her a detention if I find out it was her that caused this mishap."

Sirius gave him a hard look. "Devery is off limits, no matter what happens," he outlined and James humphed at that.

"You really are pussy whipped when it comes to Devery, huh?"

"And damn proud of it," Sirius said without hesitation. "Well… if she'll still let me near her after the shit I pulled this morning," he said in afterthought. James looked at Sirius for several heartbeats.

"I am only going to ask you this once," he breathed, "you didn't force anything physical-

"Merlin, no!" Sirius raised his voice in horror and James sighed in relief.

"If you must know, it was the other way around, Prongs. Leafwood started to mark her territory and I couldn't hack it without going the whole way, okay? Which is way too bloody soon for us so I put a stop to it," Sirius confessed in a low voice so no one else could overhear them and James raised his eyebrows.

"So… you, Sirius Black, ladies' man and man about town, cockblocked yourself?" He blurted like he couldn't believe it himself. No offence to his best friend but he was a bit of a manwhore around the girls in sixth year.

"Yes and it was sodding uncomfortable. I bloody pushed her away so I could go deal with it," Sirius breathed with heated cheeks.

"But it's Devery and this whole thing with her… it's just different," he explained and he didn't have to say anymore than that. James just got it. Sirius had really fallen into it, this time around.

"Merlin," James breathed. His best friend was falling in love and he didn't even realize it. They really were growing up and fast.

"Well… for my sake, I hope you bloody fix it because I refuse to deal with your lovesick ass again. Moony and Wormtail can share their candy and chocolate starch with you this time. You demolished mine, last year," James didn't look pleased and Sirius lost his appetite. He pushed his plate away and buried his face in his arms, letting out a loud grumble.

"Okay… okay… if worse comes to worse, I'll share my firewhiskey with you," James patted his back.

"That's not helping, Prongs," Sirius grumbled again.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! You are magical rockstars!

The plot is going to thicken now and I can't wait to share it :) A lot of characterisation too! Devery's self-confidence and Sirius's prelearned approach to having relationships is a beast