Chapter 15

Sirius paced the length of the room nervously.

"Mate, you're wearing a path in the carpet." Remus pointed out, watching his friend carefully.

Sirius waved his hand absently and continued on.

"He's thinking about her again." Peter whispered to Remus. They nodded together.

Sirius stopped and glared at them both.

"Why don't you just call off the bet?" James asked, lounging on his bed.

Sirius frowned. "It's not that simple."

"Of course it's that simple!" Remus said irritably. "You're just being thick about it."

Peter waved a finger at him. "You're just worried about him winning."

Remus and James both rolled their eyes.

Sirius shook his head. "I just don't know what to do."

"Call it off." James said simply.

"Since when have you let someone's feelings get in the way of winning a bet?" Peter asked.

Sirius looked up in surprise.

"Since he-" James began.

Sirius cut him off with a glare. "Don't say it mate." He warned.

Peter shook his head. "She's obviously messing with your head. You'd never let feelings get in the way of a simple shag. What's so hard about this one?"

Sirius couldn't decide if he was right or if he wanted to sock him in the jaw. He settled for sitting down on his bed and running a hand through his hair. "What is it?" He asked quietly. "She's- well she's… just Olivia."

"She's not that scary." Peter said with a laugh.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? I haven't seen you so much as speak to her, let alone stay in her general presence."

Peter wiggled nervously on the spot. "I could talk to her if I wanted. I'm not afraid."

James looked equally as amused. "You're afraid of everything Peter."

Peter frowned. "Am not." He muttered.

Sirius sat there, staring into space.

James patted him hard on the back, knocking him out of his reverie. "Let's get on with it mate. You'll see her at the party, woo her all over again and then end the night with a good fight. It seems to be a pattern between the two of you." He said cheerily.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "What could possibly go wrong?"

James and Remus laughed as they all walked out of the dorm.

It was going to be an interesting evening.

They walked into the common room, and James spotted Lily instantly. His heart began beating quickly, and out of nervous habit, he adjusted his glasses.

The other three made gagging noises as they walked by. Lily blushed.

"What are you supposed to be?" She asked. He was wearing purple robes and an oddly shaped hat.

"Merlin." He said brightly. She laughed and shook her head, she jingled. He looked at her closely. "Are you wearing bells with your costume?"

"Yes." She said too quickly.

He shrugged and pulled off his hat. "I have something for you." He whipped out his wand, and dramatically waved it over the hat. Lily watched excitedly as he pulled out a bouquet of daisies.

She smiled and held the flowers close to her. "That was-"

"Cheesy." Sirius said loudly as he walked through the portrait door.

"Wonderful." Lily said softly.

James smiled, turning a slight shade of red, as they walked out of the common room together, a faint tinkling noise following them.

An hour into the party Sirius finally saw Olivia. She was on the far side of the room, talking with a tall bloke he'd never seen before. She was laughing at something he was saying and Sirius had to suppress a sudden rage within him. He had to talk to her, he wasn't sure why, but he felt it was his duty to at least save her from the stupid fellow trying hard to seduce her. As he got closer, the boy sized him up.

"Olivia!" Sirius said cheerily, as if he hadn't seen her in years.

She glared at him. "What do you want?"

"Is he bothering you?" Sirius asked with a nod to her friend. He was a lot taller than he looked from further away, Sirius noted.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "No. He's not. In fact we're having a conversation and I don't believe you were invited into it."

Sirius smiled. "You look beautiful." He said to her softly as she took a sip of her pumpkin juice.

She nearly choked as she laughed. "You've got to be kidding me."

The boy she was now ignoring shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat.

"Olivia, would you like to dance?" He asked.

Olivia made a point to smile at Sirius for a moment before turning her gaze to the boy next to her. "Yes, Bruno. I would like to dance."

"Assuming you know how." Sirius interjected before they left.

Bruno scoffed. "Please, I could dance circles around you."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "I bet you couldn't two-step if your life depended on it!"

Bruno visibly ruffled, "And you can do better?"

Olivia stood there in between the two, glaring.

"Of course I can." Sirius said arrogantly. "I'll prove it."

Without warning, Sirius grabbed Olivia's hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor, leaving Bruno standing cross armed and fuming.

Olivia would have laughed if she weren't so angry at him. He pulled her into an elegant waltz, smiling happily at her as if nothing had happened.

"You did that on purpose." She snapped.

"Of course I did." He said cheerfully.

Olivia rolled her eyes.

Sirius grinned. "Well I can assure you, I'm far more interesting than that thick, arrogant-"

Olivia sighed. "You're impossible."

Sirius shrugged and twirled her around gracefully. "I can also dance without crushing your feet."

Olivia frowned thoughtfully. "I ought to hate you, but I just can't." She didn't dare admit to him that she was having fun.

Sirius ended the dance with a bow. "I suppose that's a compliment."

"Take it or leave it." She smiled.

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "I think your friend over there is a little angry with me." He turned and waved at Bruno, who was still watching them angrily.

Olivia grabbed his hand and laughed, dragging him off the dance floor. "You're horrible." She gasped.

He led her into a secluded corner by an open window, just outside of the Great Hall. Moonlight was pouring over them as they sat down, still laughing.

"Why can't I stay mad at you?" She asked.

Sirius straightened up. "Because I'm irresistible?"

She shoved him playfully. "Really Sirius. One minute I'm so angry with you I could scream and the next I'm-" She cut herself off and swallowed hard.

"Falling for me?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes. "You really are impossible."

"I never meant to hurt you Olivia." He said soberly. "I really do mean that."

Olivia nodded. "I know."

Sirius studied her carefully. She looked magnificent in the moonlight. There was a glow emitting off of her, she looked peaceful and angelic.

He grabbed her hand softly and her violet eyes snapped to his, almost in shock.

"Sirius I can't-" She whispered.

"Why?" He demanded gently.

She frowned. "You know why."

He leaned backward and sighed.

"You don't have to explain anything to me, I don't even want to know why you made the bet, I just want to know why me?" She asked him, looking out the window into the distance.

Sirius stared at her, unsure of how to answer.

"It was an accident, actually." He said truthfully.

Olivia stood up, trying not to get angry again. "Well, I'm going to go to bed."

"Olivia it's not even midnight." Sirius said, confused.

She frowned down at him. "Sirius, I can't keep doing this to myself. I can't pretend like this doesn't hurt me. You sit there and lie to me, pretending to be the friend that I once knew and you aren't. You're just trying to get into my bed." She said bitterly.

Sirius stood up and grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk away.

"Olivia, I love you." He said, looking directly into her eyes.

She faltered, the breath in her felt like it had been beaten out of her.

"Don't you dare think that just because you said that I'll-"

He pulled her into him and silenced her with a kiss. Her knees weakened, and she melted against him.

He brushed the hair from her face as he cupped her head gently, exploring her mouth with his, conquering her lips with every sigh and moan.

She pulled away. "I hate you." She said angrily.

He laughed and pulled her into him again, feeling her body turn to gelatin as he moved his hand down her back, caressing her.

Somehow they had managed to make it to the common room, the party below still raging on. It was deserted as he led her up to his dorm.

Olivia couldn't gather control over her feelings, she was so lost within Sirius' touch; she felt she would float away if he ever let her go. She was enchanted by him.

He ran his hand slowly up the side of her leg, gathering her dress along the way. She moaned against his throat. He teased her relentlessly, making her sweat beneath the thin fabric of her clothes.

She smiled as she caught his wrist at her hip.

"No." She said evenly.

He looked at her, completely confused.

Olivia kissed the tip of his nose and removed his hand from her dress. She backed away, ran her fingers through her hair to fluff it out, and looked at him as if nothing had happened.

Sirius stood there, dumbstruck.

Olivia's eyes glistened as she smiled. "Good night Sirius." And with that, she walked out of his room, shutting the door behind her.

Sirius grabbed his small desk lamp off of his night table and chucked it across the room, sitting down angrily with his head in his hands, using every swear word that came to his lips.