Chapter 17:

Her answers had been spread across the castle within the first 24 hours and a big percentage of the population contented itself with just staring and whispering about her. Which she was glad for.
The small percentage that didn't was what caused her distress in the following weeks although she tried to not let it bother her.

She was suddenly in high demand to become friends with. Students were approaching her at all times to either suck up to her, intimidate or entice her with their own standing in society.
Frankly the thing that most scared her was the way boys were fighting each other for a chance to woo her. Some were more subtle than others and some took it too far.
Hell somebody had sent her chocolates laced with a love potion, if she didn't have worn Sirius' bracelet she would surely eaten the chocolate!

Sirius himself was unbearable, since the first boy had asked her out his mood had become steadily worse until it had reached rock bottom when he had heard about the love potion incident.
He had confiscated the chocolates and the next day Julian Smith had mysteriously landed in the hospital wing when Sirius had taken a training duel too far in class. Smith, who had been one of her most determined suitors, had taken to completely avoiding her.

The stress kept Marianne from sleeping and she fell back to chocolate to calm down her nerves which lead inevitable to weight gain again, at least it wasn't that much this time.

The situation at Hogwarts had gotten steadily worse after it had seemed to get better in the first few days. Two follow up articles had ignited the curiosity and sensationalism even further when the student body realized just how successful her company was.

The audmo had catapulted her to being the richest underage witch in Great Britain that had accumulated her fortune by own means, hell she was the richest underage witch in the WORLD that had accumulated her fortune on her own.

She was receiving letters from complete strangers nearly every day and her father had already had to refuse 24 wedding proposals in her name.
Honestly her father and brother weren't faring any better. Being related to her had thrust them right into the spotlight alongside Marianne. Michael had informed her about how he and his long-term girlfriend and now fiancée Cornelia Higgins had a few fights because witches were throwing themselves at him left and right and from what he had implied her father wasn't faring any better.

To appease Cornelia, who normally was a kind and collected witch, they had decided to finally fixate their wedding date on the 8th of July the following year. Both were happy with the time frame and the Higgins family had finally lost the rest of their trepidations against the marriage of Michael and Cornelia, which Marianne was thankful for.

On the other hand the increased publicity for their company had increased their popularity even more. Charles was now seriously considering branching out into Europe and then into the rest of the magical communities around the globe. Band managers around the world were asking for them to record the songs of their clients and Charles was working overtime to accommodate and book all those additional magical musicians into a workable timetable.
Marianne would have to get Charles something really nice for Christmas; his enthusiastic initiative had made this happen and kept the company going.

Back at Hogwarts the harassment had finally reached it's all time high, the Hufflepuffs couldn't shield Marianne efficiently anymore and the Gryffindors that had started to help them couldn't either and so on a Thursday during lunch Marianne finally snapped.

She was suddenly hyperventilating and bursting into tears while she slowly sank to the floor. The students around her increased the sound level once more and effectively made her even more upset. But before it could get worse Sirius was suddenly above her and shielding her from the curious stares around her.

With a quick maneuver he had her in his arms and started to push through the crowd. Marianne was vaguely aware that James and Remus came from behind them, overtook the pair and started to push people out of the way.

In the meantime the blonde's witch sole focus was on the warm body carrying her and the calming smell of Sirius' aftershave.
Tears were still running down her cheeks but at least she wasn't shaking as strongly as she had before, her arms were locked behind Sirius' neck and her face was buried in the hole between his neck and shoulder.

On their way to the hospital wing, Marianne became aware that her head of house, Prof. Sprout had found her way to them and was on the left side of Sirius while she asked Lily and Kate about what had happened. Remus and James were still keeping students at bay that met them in the hallways.

When they finally reached the hospital wing Madame Pomfrey was instantly at their side and directed Sirius to set Marianne down on of the beds that would give her more privacy than the rest of the room.

"Thank you for bringing her here, now out Mr. Black." Madame Pomfrey said firmly.

Sirius face set into a stubborn mask but he then slowly moved his hands away from the younger girl. This had the instant reaction of her increasing her hold onto him and letting out a tiny whimper before shaking her head.

The patron of the Hogwarts wing just sighed and gave in, but then turned to the rest of the students and stated firmly "Out you lot, Mr. Black may be allowed to stay, but you certainly aren't."

The four students left reluctantly the room while Mme. Pomfrey took out a small vial of one of her cupboards and made Marianne swallow it.

While the healer had searched for the potion Sirius had changed their positions ignoring the protests of Prof. Sprout. He now too sat on the bed and had moved as far back as he could before placing the blonde girl sideways between his legs and surrounding her with his arms.
Said witch had nearly melted against him with both arms between herself and his chest and her head against the hollow of his neck.

After drinking the potion, which she recognizing as calming draught, Marianne's racing heart started to slow down and her breathing evened out, she relaxed even more and became slightly sleepy.

Sirius kept his focus the whole time of the younger girl in his arms, when she finally relaxed completely against him he looked up again.
Said Black heir nearly startled, in the time he had been occupied with Marianne the headmaster had entered the room and was now watching the two of them with unreadable eyes. Professor Sprout looked slightly angry why Mme. Pomfrey only sighed.

The 5th year Hufflepuff in Sirius arms finally was aware enough again to recognize that they weren't alone and looked inquiring, if not a bit embarrassed at the faculty members.

"Miss Abbott, may I ask what caused this reaction in the Great Hall?" the gentle but firm tone from Professor Dumbledore cut through the slightly awkward silence.

"I… ever since the article two weeks ago the other students have kept crowding me and trying to gain my friendship. Some of the boys have also tried to pressure me into becoming their girlfriend, by all means necessary… I also received marriage proposal from wizards I have never heard of and they are all at least two to three times my age." Marianne stated in a small voice.

This had the instant reaction of the two older females becoming enraged; Professor Sprout was just in the process of starting a triad when Marianne continued.

"…, I … I'm not used to all this attention, it makes me uncomfortable and I have barely slept since those articles came out. I think today was just the stress of the last two weeks accumulating until I couldn't take it anymore."

The last part was said with silent tears running down her face, Sirius had let his chin dropped onto her head while she talked and was slowly moving his hands up and down her arms.

"Thank you for being so honest Miss Abbott. I will certainly talk to the student body about their deplorable behavior. They really shouldn't try to take advantage of you just because you have the fortune of an ingenious mind."

Marianne was slightly confused, the headmaster was rarely so serious while he talked to a student and the last sentence seemed to be directed at Sirius more than her.

Said young man frowned at the so revered headmaster and looked slightly hurt to the teachers.

Marianne then suddenly understood that Prof. Dumbledore seemed to be of the opinion that Sirius was one of the students that tired to take advantage of her. To clear the misunderstanding she spoke up again.

"Professor Dumbledore I think you misunderstand Sirius and my relationship. He has been a good friend of mine since the year before. We have been friends since he caught me playing the guitar and to be honest he is also partly responsible for my idea of the audmo. We have kept our friendship a secret so that nobody would try to get to Sirius through me. In truth I spent a lot of time in the Gryffindor common room with the Marauders and Lily Evans. The other Gryffindors have been keeping it silent because I'm 2 years younger and absolutely hate confrontations and duels."

The eyes of all three faculty members became slightly bigger at Marianne's explanation but then relaxed and the slightly tense atmosphere vanished.

Dumbledore's eyes began to twinkle and he meant to Sirius. "It seems as if I owe you an apology Mr. Black, I hope you forgive me."

"It's fine Professor, really. I'm just glad Marianne is better now after she told you what has been happening although she left some of the incidents out. She has been receiving chocolates and other objects laced with love potions and the attempts are getting sneakier every time. James, Remus and me have started screening her mail for her, but that really shouldn't be necessary."

Now Dumbledore's eyes went suddenly cold "Love potions you say? Miss Abbott this is a grave offensive. I will have to inform the DMLE about this, after all you are not only underage but also a ward of this school."

Marianne just nodded slightly, she felt uncomfortable about the whole thing, it was embarrassing enough to tell the Marauders and Lily but now she would have to tell the Aurors too.

Sirius seemed to sense her discomfort and brought her even closer to him, his smell and warmth lulled her back into a relaxed state and she was close to fall asleep when both Dumbledore and Sprout left the hospital wing to write letters to the Abbotts and the DMLE respectively.

Marianne was let go only 10 minutes later after Mme. Pomfrey had checked her vitals. The blonde Hufflepuff spent the rest of the day in the Gryffindor common room, joined by the Marauders, Lily and Kate who had been accompanying the Marauders since they had left the hospital wing.

And really that evening during dinner Dumbledore addressed the student body about their behavior and guilt tripped them enough that Marianne received a couple of dozen apologies on her way to bed and even more by post.

The next day she gave her statement to the female Auror that the DMLE sent in presence of her father who had been absolutely furious about hearing of the Love Potions.

Marianne's break down had the side effect of changing her relationship with Sirius Black once again. The witch couldn't really put a finger on it but somehow there was a tension between the two of them. It was not an uncomfortable one but more like they were always aware of the other one if he or she was in vicinity. It was like an electrical current that ran through them and gave them jolts whenever they touched or sat close.

Their friends were exasperated about their behavior and James finally broke down one evening and told Sirius plainly that their cat and mouse game was going on everyone's nerve and he should finally ask Marianne out.

This was the reason why when they met up on the following Saturday at the Den Sirius couldn't stop but stare at Marianne while she worked through her homework.

Aware of his undivided attention the 15 year old girl finally sat her homework aside and asked the 18 year old curiously "Sirius, is everything alright?"

Said man nodded before he scooted closer and put his warm hands on Marianne's face and shoulder and said in a barely audible voice "I'm going to kiss you,.."

Marianne swallowed, oh boy, ever since the hospital wing incident she had hoped this was going to happen and so she just whispered. "I know,..."

The normal so confident wizard was completely out of his depth and so his voice turned slightly hoarse while he continued.

"It will change everything, you know that don't you?"

"Yes,…" she trailed off while she looked at his full lips and saw his Adams apple bounce up and down.

Sirius saw her eyes wandering down his face and further and he couldn't hold back anymore. With a strangled "Ah hell" he moved forward.

Suddenly Sirius' lips were on hers, warm slightly wet and a little bit chapped and than his mouth opened a bit and hers followed. He dipped his head and than he was sucking on Marianne's bottom lip, slowly and very sensuous.

It felt unbelievable, Marianne was kissing Sirius Black! The wet dream of many fanfiction readers and writers was kissing her and pressing her body against his muscled one.
His hands found her hips and with them her love handles. The blonde girl expected him to back away and be disgusted by the extra weight that she had put on over the stressful last weeks, but Sirius just groaned and trailed alongside them to the front of her stomach, there he stroked her soft belly once and then grabbed her hips once again to pull her sideways onto his lap.

He left her lips and his mouth trailed from her chin down her neck until he stopped where her neck met her shoulders. He buried his face into her collarbone and groaned while he inhaled. Marianne moaned as an answer, her neck had always been very sensitive and Sirius just found the right spots that made her shiver in delight.

The two stayed like this for a while during which Sirius softly traced her back up and down. She hhmed contently and then cautiously put her hands into his hair. The wild locks were soft and shined hazelnut brown in this light, while normally they were more blackish.
Sirius smelled like coffee, smoke and something musky, it made the Hufflepuff's head spin. She would have been contend to stay like this forever until he lifted his head again and pressed those sinful warm lips onto hers and slipped her some tongue.

Oh Merlin and Morgana that boy, no man could kiss! In her other life she had the misfortune of going out with men that either couldn't kiss or were total assholes that you would never consider to waste a second date on.
But this, this felt so right, it was warm and gentle and he smelled so good. A shiver after the other was trailing down the back of this virgin body. Somehow, she could honestly not say how, she was suddenly stretched out on the sofa they had been sitting on with Sirius above her and trailing slow kisses down her accessible upper body until he encountered her white shirt.

The material somehow ripped him from his trance. He looked up into her eyes, burning that ravished look of the pretty Hufflepuff into his mind. His eyes nearly went black, his pupils were blown out and he planted another firm kiss on her mouth before he grabbed her and moved the Hufflepuff until he was stretched out on the couch and Marianne was lying on top of him.
He began to play with her hair while he asked in that slightly rough voice that sent delightful shivers down the bodies of most of the female population of Hogwarts.

"Will you go out with me? No scratch that, will you be my girlfriend, mine?" he ended his question with a soft kiss to her head.

"Yes" she answered breathlessly.

Marianne couldn't believe her luck, Sirius Black, Hogwarts playboy extraordinaire, her best friend wanted her as girlfriend. For nearly a year she had pinned after him, always in the knowledge that he just saw his private musician and in the last half year maybe a friend in her.
In this moment she felt happy like she had never felt in her old life. Now she only had to ensure that this new found happiness wasn't destroyed by Voldemort.

A little while later Sirius pulled her up to his face to kiss her again while simultaneously he stroked her back and hips and then weaseled his hands under her blouse. Marianne stiffened a little bit before she relaxed into his touch.

Sirius, having noticed that, softly tried to reassure her. "It's okay, you decide how fast we are going, you are a virgin aren't you?"

Turning pink Marianne nodded shyly into his neck, at least in this body she was one.

Sirius inhaled deeply again and then said in a slightly trembling voice. "That's… that's fine, as I said you control the tempo, just tell me if I'm going too far."

She was a virgin, of course he had suspected this, but to get it confirmed from her was an entirely different matter. Nobody had touched her before him. He would be her first,… and her last if he had anything to say about it.

She was warm, soft, shy and absolutely spell bounding to him, she was everything he didn't even know he was looking for. The thought that she was his was absolutely intoxicating.
Merlin and the way she reacted to his touch, the slow caressing of her back and sides sent Goosebumps down her body. Hell he could also feel her nipples harden and he had to control himself not to throw her on her back and take her then there. Morgana be damned this was torture for him. He distracted himself with taking one hand from under her blouse and stroking her hair.

She had lovely hair, honey gold and soft, and today it smelt like almond, hhm. He moved her head a bit to reach her forehead and planted soft childish kisses on it, which made her giggle.
The urgent need from before had thankfully simmered down to nearly nothing and now he only had the desire to hold her and keep her close. Sighing he removed the second hand from under her blouse and engulfed his little siren in his arms.

The change between the two was barely discernible for causal eyes; their friends in contrast knew immediately that something had happened as soon as they saw them again. Marianne's smile was bigger than ever and she had a happy shine in her eyes. It was only underlined by her cheerful babblings about this or that topic.

Sirius in contrast was a lot quieter than normal and unusually distracted. His gaze was almost always fixed on the blonde witch as she flitted in and out between their friends. He was only half heartily contributing to the conversation about future pranks until James waved his hand in front of his best friend grinningly. James sent Sirius a knowing look before exchanging pointed smirks with Remus, who just shook his head amused.

Who would have thought, Sirius Black, playboy extraordinaire, would fall in love with a shy little Hufflepuff.

Oh how the mighty had fallen.