"Are you telling me that Sirius has planned a dinner for you for Valentines' Day?" Lily's eyes met Beth's in the mirror, agog with wonder. "He already bought you a present."
"That's what he said," Beth grinned at Lily's reflection as she fastened a clip to pull back one side of her hair. "Why is that so shocking?"
Lily shook her head. "I just never thought of him as the romantic type. Although to be fair, he's never had a steady girlfriend before."
"Didn't he go on dates?" Beth asked curiously. She didn't want to come across as prying, but she was anxious to know more about Sirius' past history. She knew he'd had relationships with other girls. She just didn't know what that entailed. From what Sirius had casually dropped, she suspected his relationships in the past had been more physical than emotional.
"Yeah, but just casual ones," Lily waved her hand disparagingly. "Like taking a girl to Hogsmeade and having a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks."
"What are you and James doing for Valentines' Day?" Beth asked. She didn't want to pump Lily for information about Sirius, but relief that he hadn't been in a serious relationship in the past swept through her. She opened her drawer to pull out a pair of nylons and sat on the edge of her bed to pull them on.
"James wants to wait until this weekend so we can go to London. He really wants to see what going on a muggle date is like. We're going to go on the tube, eat at a nice restaurant and see a movie as if we cannot do magic." Lily smiled, her eyes alight with excitement. "We got permission to visit my parents so we can leave Hogwarts openly without sneaking out under James' invisibility cloak."
Beth smiled at the thought of James' invisibility cloak. Naturally, Sirius had chosen to stage a demonstration to show it to Beth for the first time. After literally disappearing in front of her eyes when he'd thrown the cloak over his body, he'd been surprised when Beth screamed and then ran full steam into him knocking him to the ground. There had been a fair amount of confusion and shuffling to get the cloak off before they both burst out laughing; Beth in relief that Sirius was really still there and Sirius that her first instinct had been to race to the spot he'd disappeared from. "I didn't expect to get tackled," he had told her, still snickering as they lay on the floor in a tangle of arms, legs and the cloak. "You deserved it, trying to scare me like that," Beth retorted. Sirius had chosen to end that discussion by throwing the cloak over both of them and using the cloak's privacy (although they were in Sirius' empty dorm, Sirius told Beth one of his prat roommates was bound to come in soon) to enthusiastically snog.
"What movie are you going to see?" Beth asked Lily. She'd suggested to Sirius they go on a muggle date in the future, but Sirius had seemed uneasy about the idea so Beth had dropped it.
"'Rocky'. Do you think James will like it?"
"He'll love it." Beth stepped into her heels and stood up. She walked back to the dresser and put on a pair of small gold pierced earrings.
Lily smiled smugly. "James is very proud of himself, you know. He helped Sirius pick those out for you."
"Tell him how much I love them," Beth turned her head to inspect the earrings in the mirror. "How do I look?" She stepped away from the dresser and spun around for Lily.
Lily clapped her hands together. "Beautiful. Sirius' mouth is going to fall open when he sees you in that dress."
Beth smoothed the blue silky material over her hips. "It's not too revealing, is it?"
Lily laughed. "If you were going to church or have dinner with your parents, yes. For a hot Valentine's date, it's perfect."
Beth smiled. "I've never worn it before. Diane helped me pick it out. I would never have had the guts to buy a dress this low-cut by myself. She convinced me it was perfect to cheer me up when my boyfriend cheated on me."
Lily put her arm around Beth and hugged her. Beth had told Lily about Diane after her long talk with Sirius and their discussion had gone on for hours late into the night. Now Beth enjoyed bringing up Diane and she was more open with Lily. When Lily had heard Beth crying one night, she had slipped into bed with her and held Beth until she fell asleep.
Beth glanced at the clock on her bedside table. "I guess I should go." She turned to Lily, looking more than a little nervous. "Wish me luck?" As close as Beth felt to Sirius, they hadn't gone on an official date yet. First dates always gave her jitters and this one felt more important than any had before.
Lily gave her a reassuring smile. "You don't need it. Sirius will take good care of you."
Beth walked down the stairs from the girls' dorm slowly, careful in her high heels. She rarely wore heels but loved how dressy they made her feel on the rare occasions when she did. When she reached the Common Room, she saw Sirius standing near a window, his hands fisted in his pockets, looking out. He heard her heels clinking on the floor and turned around.
"Wow," Lily would have been impressed to see Sirius' mouth literally did drop open. Beth's blue dress draped her figure flatteringly, managing to be both elegant and sexy. "You look amazing, Beth." He came across the room and stared down at her, his eyes eager. "You're so beautiful."
"You don't look too shabby yourself," Beth told him, her heart speeding up. He was wearing dress pants and a light blue button-down shirt and looked even handsomer than normal.
Sirius put his hand on the small of her back. Beth turned to look at him, a wide smile lighting up her face. "Where are we going?" Beth asked as they stepped out of the Portrait Hole.
"Somewhere discreetly private," Sirius promised. He led her down a few flights to another corridor she did not remember. Despite living here over a month there were many parts of the castle Beth was not familiar with. "Wait here," he placed her near a solid wall and then he paced in front of it. A beautiful carved oak door materialized in the wall and Beth gasped.
"What just happened?" She asked as Sirius beckoned her over and pulled open the door for her.
"It's called the Room of Requirement," Sirius said. They entered a room lit only with candles. A small white-covered table stood in the middle of the room, set for two. A rose and candles adorned the center of the table. A large comfortable couch sat a short distance away, candles in beautiful crystal holders arranged on the small table next to it. "It creates a room to fit your needs."
"This is incredible," Beth said, awed. Sirius pulled out a chair for her at the table and she sat down. They heard a noise and when Beth turned her head, a serving cart had materialized behind her with covered platters on it. Sirius wheeled the cart close to the table before sitting down. "How did that get here?" Beth asked.
"House elves can be bribed." Sirius lifted the cover from the first platter which contained a steaming pasta and chicken dish. Sirius filled her plate and his own while Beth sliced a fresh loaf of bread for both of them. Sirius gulped when she leaned across the table to reach the butter. He was determined to be a gentleman for this date, but Beth in that dress was making it difficult.
Beth cast about in her mind for something to break the ice. "So, what do you want to do once you leave Hogwarts?" she spoke rather abruptly as she dug into her salad.
Sirius grinned at her, seemingly understanding her nerves. "Most likely I'll be fighting in the wizard war," he said. He sounded as casual as if he had said he was going to become an accountant.
"Really?" Beth's heart started beating in overtime, her fork stopped halfway to her mouth. "Is it that bad already?"
"Yes," Sirius said. "James, Remus, Peter and I have been talking about this. We're going to do whatever it takes to fight Voldemort and his Death-Eater minions of arseholes."
"That's awful," Beth gulped. When he raised an eyebrow at her, she elaborated. "To finish school and have to jump right into a war."
"I look forward to actually being in action," Sirius replied. "I hate sitting around behind the scenes feeling helpless." He didn't tell her that currently the only action he could think of involved his hands and lips all over Beth. He swallowed and tried to push those images from his mind.
"But it's dangerous, right?" Beth asked her voice hesitant. "You could be hurt or even killed."
Sirius gave her a cocky grin. "I'll be alright. I can look out for myself."
"You'll be careful, won't you?" Beth reached across to put a hand on his arm.
Sirius nodded when he saw the anxious look in her eyes. "Of course I will," he said to reassure her, although being careful wasn't really his style. Surprisingly, he was finding that when it came to Beth he had more of an inclination to be protective than he ever would have imagined. He picked up a piece of bread and buttered it. "What about you? What are you doing after leaving Hogwarts?"
"Next fall, I'll start college," Beth took a bite of the pasta. She made a moan of appreciation in her throat when she tasted it. Sirius' hands froze with his piece of bread halfway to his mouth as he gaped at her. She swallowed and continued not noticing how that had affected him. "This summer, I'm planning to travel around Europe since I'm overseas."
"What are you interested in studying?" Sirius had heard of muggles going to university after their regular school. He tried not to stare at Beth's slim fingers as she picked up her glass and took a drink.
"Computer science," Beth answered.
Beth had explained how computers worked in one of their muggle studies class to the bemusement of the witches and wizards. "What do you want to do with computers?" Sirius asked. He understood the concept of how computers worked but had no idea what people did with them.
Beth pursed her lips. "Probably become a programmer at first." He gave her a questioning look. "The people who write the code that tells the computer what to do," she elaborated. She spent a few minutes explaining in more detail how programmers worked with computers. "After getting some practical experience, I want to go to grad school and eventually teach."
"You're brilliant and you work your arse off," Sirius told her sincerely with no flattery intended. "You'll rise to the top no matter what you do." The thin strap of Beth's dress on her right shoulder had fallen down her arm a couple centimeters and his knuckles turned white on his fork as he forced himself not to reach over to fix it.
Beth blushed. "Uh, thanks." Her lips angled up as she met his warm gaze. "What about you? What would you like to do once the war is over?"
"Be an Auror in the Ministry of Magic," Sirius said. "It's tough to get in. I have to do well on my N.E.W.T.s to even qualify and then I'll have to go through three years of training." Sirius told Beth what taking their N.E.W.T.s entailed and that he would be studying much more than he liked this spring to prepare for them. When he listed the many qualifications witches and wizards needed to become an Auror, Beth understood how elite the position was.
"What do Aurors do once they've gone through all that training?" Beth asked.
"They investigate the most dangerous crimes and cover the toughest missions," Sirius said. Not touching Beth felt like the toughest mission he could envision as he watched her absently run her fingers under the strap of her dress to tug it into place. He forced his attention back to her face and told her about several recent Auror cases that were known outside of the Ministry. "Most of what they do is top secret," he said. "But of course there are leaks."
"You like being in the thick of the action, don't you?" She smiled at him and Sirius nodded although his mind was centered on a different type of action than Aurors were trained for. Her eyes were sparkling in the candlelight and he stared intently at her without realizing it until he noticed she looked a little self-conscious. He reached across the table to gently touch her hair where it curled against her collarbone. Beth's breath caught and she set down her fork blindly. It clattered as it hit the edge of her plate and she jumped.
"Are you done eating?" Sirius asked and Beth nodded mutely. He stood up and came around the table to pull her up next to him. Sirius' hands slowly went around her waist to her back and tugged her closer to him. "It's been difficult not to touch you in that dress," he told her huskily. His warm hands continued to roam her back ever so slowly and then worked their way up to cup her smooth shoulders, bare but for those miniscule straps. His eyes blazed at hers and Beth felt heat pooling in her stomach.
Sirius abruptly removed his hands from her shoulders with an inner pang of regret. He could do this. He took her hand and motioned towards the couch. "Would you like to sit down?" Beth looked a little confused as he cautiously walked her over and sat several inches away from her.
"Sirius?" Beth said when he didn't put his arm around her or sit any closer. "Is something wrong?" She indicated the six inches of couch between them. "We don't usually have this kind of distance between us."
Sirius groaned. "I've been attempting to make this the perfect Valentines' date for you," he put his face in his hands. "I'm trying to be a gentleman and not just let this night devolve into a songfest. You're making it really hard."
Beth bit her lip, struggling not to laugh. "Devolve? It's not a negative thing to snog, is it?"
"Of course not," Sirius turned to look at her, unable to stop his lips from quirking at her amused face. "On a proper date, snogging comes at the end part."
"Where did you come up with this formula of a proper date?" Beth was finding it increasingly difficult to hide the amusement bubbling up inside her. She could see from Sirius' expression she was not fooling him one bit.
"Remus, Peter and I talked about it." Sirius admitted. "They helped me plan this date." He could not help noticing how the neckline of Beth's dress gaped at this angle showing more smooth skin. He clenched his hands into fists.
Beth scooted over closer to him. The candlelight lit one side of her smooth cheek while the other side of her face was shadowed. "And what did you three decide was the proper point for the end part?"
Sirius' eyes gleamed as he watched her. "We didn't actually define it. I just figured it wouldn't be this soon."
Beth leaned against his side. Her hand reached over and gently unfurled one of his fists. "So you have to torture yourself before the end part?"
Sirius nodded, his eyes glued to hers. Her warm body pressed up against his arm was making his heart speed up.
"What if we expand how long the end part lasts?" Her hand slipped under his to rest on this thigh.
Sirius could not stop the smile that was spreading over his face. "Well, if the lady wants the end part to be longer, the gentleman would have to comply."
Beth nodded. "If the end part is longer, it would have to start sooner on this proper date." Her lips moved close to his ear. "Maybe even as soon as now?"
Sirius forced himself to hold on to his control for a few moments longer. He cupped his hand under Beth's jaw and lowered his face closer to hers. "Is that what the lady wants?"
"Ye—," Beth's mouth was covered with his before the word was out. Sirius' arms wrapped around her pulling Beth tightly against him. Sirius lips were hot and hard against hers and she moaned when he pushed her on her back and pressed his body on top of her.
Sirius' hands came up to cup her face as his mouth devoured hers. Beth slid her arms around his shoulders and slowly lifted one hand to sift through his soft hair. Her other hand slid down the strong muscles of his shoulders and down his back. Sirius let his hands drop to her shoulders and inched deliberately along her sides to her ribcage.
Beth had never fully appreciated before how dexterous his hands were. They seemed to be everywhere even as his lips continued their heated pressure on hers. Even with lines blurring pleasantly in her mind, her attention focused on Sirius' wandering hands and hot mouth, she grasped after some time he was sticking to some predetermined boundaries. Sirius was watching out for her and it made her melt inside in a different way when she realized the restraint he was showing.
Much later, she appreciated it even more when she discovered how difficult it was for him. His mouth was moving hungrily against hers when he tore his lips away with an oath and dropped his face onto the curved slope of her shoulder, his breath hot and ragged against her skin. Beth touched the back of his head, confused. "Sirius?" she whispered and he raised his head to look at her.
His eyes were shadowed deep pools in the candlelight and she could not read their expression. "Beth," his voice was raspy and harsh. "If we don't stop now, I may not be able to."
"Oh," Beth stared at him. Sirius kissed her forehead and rolled over onto his back bringing her with him to nestle against him. Their breathing slowly became more even. Beth's head was comfortably cushioned on Sirius' shoulder and she kept her hand still on his bare chest, not quite sure how his shirt had become unbuttoned.
"It's tough keeping control with you," Sirius' voice sounded normal again. He moved his hand down to cup her hip, following the curved contours as he moved up to her waist and back down.
Beth wasn't sure what to say. She appreciated the chivalrous respect, but one part of her was ready to throw caution away. The heat of the moment was not the best time to make that decision and she was grateful Sirius was not pushing her.
"This has been a wonderful proper date," she finally said, her voice husky. "Thank you, Sirius."
Sirius chuckled as he kissed the top of her head. "We haven't even had dessert yet."
Beth's head popped up. "There's dessert?"
Sirius laughed at the eagerness of her voice. "Worked up an appetite, did you? Rumor has it that there's chocolate involved."
Beth put a hand over her heart. "Sirius Black, you do know how to make a girl feel special," she propped herself up on his chest so she could grin at him and Sirius laughed.