A/N: Well, this took me longer than it was supposed to be. I just wanted it to be perfect, you know? I kept writing it and erasing it and rewriting it, always feeling like it could be better than it was. Anyway, I'm quite happy with the end result and I'm really excited for what's coming. I have a whole word document with a timeline of things I want to happen during their summer vacations. Some of them will be just all of them having fun together, others will definitely set the path for what's to come soon.

Also, the entire three weeks I was on holiday (We missed our flight out and ended up having to spend another week in Venezuela how fun is that (: ) I spent my free time researching the Wizarding World like I never did before and like... Once more I am heavily dissapointed in thehole of some of the plots like... why do they use trains and buses but not cars whats up. Pottermore is useless nowadays too. So, if anything sounds weird, just go with it please?

I would like to thank everyone who favourited and followed this story since last update: JARN, team natsu and wendy 4 life, J13K6N99, SalineCar98356, nerdfighterftw, monpetitange13, aleczki, SilverFeather222, Mila2014, EllieWellybear, doubi64, MagicBrownie.

I highly appreciate your support and I love you lots even though I'm a terrible person who never updates. Please forgive me and thanks for everything!

Now, enjoy the next chapter and let me know what you think! 3

Chapter 28: Meredith.

It was raining when I stepped into the grounds; my shoes making squishy noises against the mud. But it wasn't too bad that it'd be annoying, so I ignored it, walking angrily towards the Black Lake. By the time I reached it, the drizzle was now proper rain. As I suspected Sirius was already waiting, hands inside his trousers' pockets, pacing. My anger grew. He was the dog. Somehow, he'd managed to become and animagus and I had no doubt that James and Peter were animagi as well. And while I knew they'd done it to be with Remus during the full moon, knowing Sirius had used this to spy on me infuriated me to an extreme degree.

"Meredith, let me explain," Sirius said the moment he realized I'd arrived.

"I can't believe you!" I exclaimed, having to blink the raindrops out of my eyes.

Even though it was supposed to be summer, the beech tree wasn't big enough to protect us from the rain, which had, coincidentally, begun to fall even harder. Sirius shook his head, running a hand through his hair to get the wet locks away from his face. His school uniform was clinging to his frame with the rain already, and I ignored the way my stomach stirred at the sight. I was mad at him. Unbelievably mad at him.

"It's not that bad!" Sirius persisted.

"Not that bad." I repeated, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "You stalked me! I—I told you things nobody knows, Sirius!"

And it was true. Nobody in the world knew I wasn't taking sleeping potions anymore. Nobody in the world knew I no longer wanted to be a journalist, especially since The Prophet was laughable, and the weekly, free newspaper issued by the Ministry Press, which had the same name, was a hundred percent biased. Nobody in the world knew I was thankful of my younger self, always avid to learn, for choosing to study such a broad spectrum of subjects. Nobody in the world knew I didn't think I'd be joining The Order of the Phoenix after all. Nobody in the world knew I doubted my magical abilities.

Nobody in the world knew. Except for the big, shaggy, black grey-eyed dog I'd originally mistaken for the Grim. I had told him I was annoyed at my friends, that I got a Troll in Ancient Runes, that Tobias Grace gave me an Outstanding when I hadn't even deserved an Exceeding Expectations, having only answered half of the test, not because I didn't know the answer but because I couldn't be bothered. I told him I missed Fabian. I told Sirius Black, the man I was romantically interested in, that I missed my ex-boyfriend, Fabian Prewet.

"Stalk you?" Sirius glared down at me, taking a step forward. "I was just keeping you company."

"As a dog!" I shouted. "Why would you do that? Why wouldn't you just talk to me?"

"I couldn't! You've been shutting us out since day one." He exclaimed back, throwing his hands in the air.

"Don't you think that's for a reason?" I snapped. His half-arsed explanation was not helping with my anger. "I don't know if you've noticed but when bad things happen to me I like to be alone."

Sirius shook his head, walking over to my other side so the rain wouldn't get on his face directly. It didn't really work. By now, we were shouting. I was mad at him for this obvious violation to my privacy; he was mad at me for not cooperating.

"I know that! But I just needed to know you were okay, that you weren't too devastated to—well, to—" he trailed off, having trouble spitting out the words.

I rolled my eyes, bitter. Oh, so now he cared if I took my own life. If I recalled correctly, he had had no problem walking away from it before. But now he wanted to make sure I wasn't suicidal again?

"Why the fuck do you care?" I sneered.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sirius growled, passing an angry hand through his wet hair. "I fancy you, dammit."

My eyebrows rose. What the fuck? It wasn't obvious! I may have been a seer but I did not read minds. Couldn't he just have told me that instead of giving me mixed signals all the damn time and then stalking me as a bloody dog? Merlin gracious.

"How in hell was I supposed to know that?" I exclaimed. My voice was raised to a shout, but I wasn't sure if it was because I was so perplexed or so that I could be heard over the rain. "You shagged me in the common room and then pulled me into a broom closet for a snog! Those things don't exactly say, 'be my girlfriend'. I thought we were just screwing around." I explained, shaking my head.

"Oh, so that's all you want." Sirius noted bitterly. "For us to be fuck buddies, got it."

With that he walked past me and started to walk away. I blinked. No, that was not what I meant.

"What?" I asked, confused. That was not what I said. He misunderstood me.

"Just leave it." He called over his shoulder, his voice angry. Or maybe hurt. Probably both.

"What? No, that's not what I meant." I called out. He didn't stop walking, if anything, he started to walk faster. "Sirius! Sirius! That's not what I meant!" I shouted. The only response I got was the sound of rain against wet grass.

"Merde." I cursed under my breath.

The Common Room was empty as I entered, out of breath and soaked to the bone. It had taken me around ten minutes of nothing but thinking myself crazy before I'd decided to go after Sirius. I wanted to be with him. And if he fancied me enough to actually sit with me as a dog and do nothing but listen to me talk, and then actually keep those things as a secret, then there was no way I would screw this up. Any more than I had already, of course.

I had hoped Sirius would be down here and not in his dorm, that way we could talk—well, I could talk in a less private environment, but the small water puddle by the stairs let me know that he'd gone up. I hesitated, suddenly nervous. We didn't really need to talk right now, he was probably still mad at me. Coward, a little voice sang in the back of my mind and I shook my head, knowing my conscience was right. We were finishing school in two days and I was not about to go into another summer of Sirius and I not talking, the last two had been bad enough. So, I went up the stairs and to the boys' dorm, not really bothering to knock.

I had only been up here once before, earlier this year, but I was still amazed at the organised mess that the boys' dorms were. Even Remus's bed, just to the other side of James' was a feigned type of tidy. The windows were opened, letting the fresh smell of rain and mountain breeze inside. The door to the bathroom was opened, nobody was inside, giving me a clear sight of the wet tile floor and a pile of abandoned towels by the floor of the sink.

Sirius was standing by his four-poster bed, school cardigan thrown on the bed and tie undone. He was in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt collar. The wet, white fabric of his shirt was stuck to his body, practically see-through. I gulped. Sirius stopped when he heard the heels of my shoes as I stepped forward. His eyes snapped up to meet mine.

"Listen, I get it, okay?" Sirius begun, clearing his throat. "I wanted to be something more and you just wanted to fuck, let's not make a big deal out of it." He shrugged, trying to pretend he wasn't really bothered.

"I think I'm in love with you." I confessed. Now it was his turn to be surprised. "And the reason why I've been such an arse to you since my birthday is 'cause I didn't know if you cared about me that way. I don't read minds, Sirius. And you haven't exactly stopped dating other people." I explained.

He remained quiet. I just stood there, not knowing what to do with myself now. Great, now I made it awkward. You had to say, 'I love you', didn't you? Dork. I couldn't help it, though. 'I fancy you too' sounded like such a small thing.

"I don't mind that you turn into a giant dog that looks a lot like the Grim whenever you fancy, by the way." I added, just blurting out things to fill the silence with really.

He chuckled, looking down as he shook his head. I giggled. And then Sirius just walked up to me and kissed me. I was happily surprised about that. He turned me around and led me to his bed, where he pushed me against the frame, our bodies pressed together. My hand went up to his neck, feeling his rapid pulse against my skin. And while I really wanted to speed things along, Sirius' hands never moved from around my waist and his lips never went past my jaw. It was a nice change from what I'd ever experienced in the past; it didn't just make me feel wanted, it made me feel cherished.

Sirius kissed me slowly, carefully, like he had never kissed me before, like this was our first. It almost felt like it was. My hand went down to his chest, ready to do something but then his tongue brushed against my lower lip slightly and my mind sort of disconnected. I was completely at his will. My heart thudded painfully against my chest; every touch from him sent jolts of electricity through me. Sirius kissed me until I couldn't breathe and then he kissed me some more, pulling away at the last possible moment. Our foreheads remained together. Our breaths mixed.

"Sirius," I exhaled, eyes still closed, suddenly forgetting what I was going to say.

When our lips met again, I felt the remains of a smile on his. That made me really happy. I didn't know smiles could make someone this happy. My left hand buried itself on his long hair, feeling the softness of it, as I pressed my face to the side of his, meeting his eyes briefly. I couldn't really kiss him if I kept smiling, now, could I? Sirius's right hand entwined with mine but his left one remained on my waist, keeping me close, as we just stood there, bodies pressed together, eyes locked. I was all warm and fuzzy inside, something I hadn't felt in several months. It was a nice change from the absolute gloom I had been under the last seven months. So, I kissed Sirius again.

"Wait," he mumbled against my lips.

"What?" I asked, complying when he tugged on my arm so we were both sitting on his bed.

"This means we're together now," Sirius said.

"Wow, last time at least you asked me." I joked, smiling up at him.

"Yes, well, this is nothing like last time." He shook his head and while he gave me a smile, I knew he was serious.

"Let's hope not." I nodded, grabbing his hand. Last time it had ended up in flames, this time I didn't want it to end. "We're together." I confirmed. "But we can't tell anyone."

"Why not?" he frowned.

"It hasn't been that long since Chris and Ari—" I stopped, not being able to say it. "My parents are devastated and my mum already thinks I'm a whore. I don't want them to think this is just a distraction and not take it seriously."

"Then it's a secret." Sirius agreed.

He smiled at me, eyes twinkling. I just grabbed his shirt's collar and brought him to me, kissing him. Sirius followed my lead as I started to lay down. His bed was soft and warm and it smelt like him and so much of Sirius was driving me insane. My heart was beating hard against my rib-cage but I didn't pay mind to it, I just kept kissing him. Fervently. At least we were on the same page.

Sirius' mouth went down to my neck when the need to breath became too obvious to ignore. His fingers tugged at my Gryffindor tie, pulling it off, opening the first three buttons of my shirt in the process. He laid a trail of kisses all the way to my collarbone and back again, some small and chaste, some open and hollow, making me moan. He captured my lips with his as one of my hands slid under his shirt and travelled around his body. I felt his groan as it vibrated within his chest. God. I started to unbutton his shirt all the way down at the same time he tugged at mine. Suddenly, I tensed and broke away from his kiss, hand firmly keeping his in place.

"Mer?" he straightened up a little, trying to meet my eyes. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to."

I shook my head, closing my eyes for a moment. It wasn't that I didn't want to. Merlin knew how much I wanted to have him so close to me there was no space between us, how badly I wanted to give him all of me. And still, I hesitated.

"It's not that." I assured him, siting up slightly. Sirius followed my lead and sat up next to me. "it's just that—I don't…" I stopped myself when I realised my eyes stung with tears.

I was being silly and I knew it. But the healer had been right; while my leg had healed without a single mark, the left side of my torso still looked like I'd been attacked by a mountain lion. Some of the scabs hadn't fallen yet and the healed skin underneath them was a bright pink, completely noticeable. I would end up with a permanent scar, it was obvious. And I was awfully self-conscious. Sirius's hand found my cheek.

"Meredith, what is it?" he asked me, gently.

"I don't look like last time we were together." I admitted, voice barely above a whisper.

His eyes immediately went to my waist. And I knew that he'd been thinking about it, that every time I subtly pressed my hand to it to get it to stop hurting he'd noticed. I saw the way his confused frown melted into understanding. His eyes found mine; they were a soft grey.

"I don't care about that, love."

I wanted to believe him. It was hard, though. I wasn't pretty anymore. I would never be able to wear a bikini without hiding the scars with magic. And the worse of it was, I would never be able to forget that godforsaken day.

"You haven't seen them," I said.

"And I won't, until you're ready." He promised, sending me a somewhat shy smile.

My lips curled into a smile. Sirius just kept playing with our entwined hands, deep in thought, not paying attention to the fact that he was almost half naked. The more I looked at him the more it felt like my chest was going to burst. So, I leaned forward and kissed him again, freeing my hand from his so I could unbutton my own shirt.

"Mer," he mumbled, hands fumbling to stop mine.

"it's okay," I hushed him, meeting his eyes without difficulty. "I trust you."

For a wild second, I thought maybe he didn't want me. That he'd realised I was right, that now I was just damaged goods. But then he pushed the hair away from my face and kissed me, gently at first, until suddenly the want from before caught up with us. I pushed his shirt off, running my hands over his back, at the same time he grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it upwards, taking it off over my head.

When my back hit the soft duvet of his bed, I didn't complain. Instead, I parted my legs so he could lie between them, circling his waist with my legs. He pulled roughly at my stockings, trying to get them off, mouth still hot against mine. The clasp of the suspenders gave way with an audible clack! I gasped as his hands met the smooth skin of my thighs. Sirius's touch was like fire against my newly uncovered skin; my thighs, my stomach, my neck. I moaned into his mouth, fingers pulling at his hair, as his hand brushed my breast through the thin fabric of my bra.

"I need you." Sirius moaned against my collar bone.

"I'm here," I gasped out, breathing laboured as my hands went from his back down his torso. "All yours."

My fingers fumbled with the buckle of his belt. This had been enough foreplay, at least for right now. His right hand made his way under my skirt again, index and middle finger hooking around the lacy side of my pants. The breath hitched in my throat in anticipation.

"Padfoot, you alright?" The door opened. Sirius' left hand froze almost completely under my bra. "You weren't at dinner..."

James trailed off as he stood somewhere to our right. I rolled my eyes. Really? Did my family have some sort of radar or something? I couldn't believe we were getting interrupted a second time by another Potter. Sirius cleared his throat, reached out to somewhere above me and covered me with the closest item of clothing he found. It was his school jumper.

"Oh, c'mon!" James exclaimed. "I thought we'd talked about this." James continued.

I noticed he had lowered his eyes to the floor. I sat up, not really knowing what to say, feeling my blush all the way to my forehead. Sirius made sure I had the jumper on before sending me a cheeky grin and turning to James, who was still staring at his shoes. Well, if he was so embarrassed he could have just left.

"James," Sirius called.

James looked up. His eyes widened to a dangerous degree. He looked at Sirius and then at me and then at Sirius again. He blinked. I inwardly flinched. I knew my girlfriends wanted me to be with Sirius, so they wouldn't be too mad about this. I had no idea what James thought about it. He could get incredibly crossed for all I knew.

"Finally!" James threw his hand in the air, making a showing motion. I raised my eyebrows. Okay, this was good. "When did it happen? Was it yesterday? Was it last month? Why didn't you tell me!"

I laughed when I realised he was actually getting excited. "About twenty minutes ago, actually," I pointed out.

James nodded in understanding. "Oh, did she cry when you told her you love her?" he asked Sirius, completely invested on what had happened.

I gasped, covering my mouth with one hand. My eyes watered. I didn't know why I was crying. But Sirius loved me, he loved me. And he loved me enough to tell James, who was my brother just as much as Christian had been. That made me very emotional for some reason. Next to me, Sirius tensed.

"Thanks, mate." He shot James a look.

James' eyes widened, this time probably out of regret. "She didn't know."

"Not yet," Sirius said.

"You love me," I told him when he turned to me.

"I love you." He confirmed.

His grey eyes were completely honest and somehow that made me want to cry more. Instead, my arms went around his waist, pulling him into a hug as I met James' eyes. He sent me a grin. Sirius just pulled me closer, arms wrapping around me like it was second nature. I was painfully aware of his naked chest pressed against my cheek.

"You can't tell anyone about what you just saw." I let James know, sending him a pointed look.

"What? Why?" he whined.

I watched as he took a step closer to us, probably thinking of joining in the bed, before he remembered what had been about to happen. James halted on his feet and changed directions, flopping down on his bed instead. Well, there goes any chance of me getting laid tonight, I thought, rolling my eyes.

"We just want to keep it a secret for a while." Sirius explained, I felt his voice vibrating against my ear.

There was a moment of silence. I couldn't see James from our spot by the foot of the bed, but I had the slight feeling that the two of them were having a conversation I wasn't part of. Curiously enough, I didn't care. I was with Sirius. Finally. After nine months, maybe even longer, of nothing but pining and heartbreak and wishful thinking. In a huge, twisted way that made me feel incredibly guilty, I was happy. After a beat, James said:

"Is it because of what Aunt said?"

Something in the way he said it made me realise the words were meant for me to hear. He wanted me to ask, to find out, even if Sirius didn't want me to. I frowned and moved away from Sirius's embrace, looking at him questioningly. He was just looking at James. He was the maddest I had ever seen him at my cousin. My stomach dropped.

"What?"

"It's nothing." Sirius shook his head, his face an unreadable mask.

"Don't do that," I protested, loathing the way he so easily could hide his feelings. "What did he mean by that?"

"Mer, it doesn't matter." Sirius insisted.

So, I got up from the bed and walked around it, facing James.

"What did Mum say?" I demanded.

James hesitated, eyes jumping from his best mate to me. I got annoyed. He said it because he wanted me to know, so he should stop pretending this was uncomfortable. After a second, he turned to me, hazel eyes strangely clear through his glasses.

"Aunt wouldn't let him see you." He began, absentmindedly running his hand through his hair, messing it up. "She said you didn't deserve people like him in your life."

Honestly, I saw red. My heart started to beat harder inside my chest. Suddenly, the past made a lot of sense. From my mum calling me a 'cheap prostitute' when she found me with Sirius in that broom closet to the way Sirius had hesitated to say goodbye to me in hospital. I remembered the way my mum would frown my way during breakfast and dinner. I'd thought it was because I wasn't eating that much lately, but now I realised it was because those where the times when Sirius sat down next to me. Always.

"Who the fuck does she think she bloody is?" I raged. "The Minister of Magic? Merlin himself?"

None of the boys answered me. James just nodded once, eyes widened at me. This was the most emotion I had displayed in front of him since I woke up, I realised, and I supposed he probably hadn't expected me to curse my own mother. Sirius remained quiet, eyes seemingly unseeing. So, I went back to ranting.

"She's always been like this, y'know? So worried of what the world will think of a Potter dating a Black. As if she gets to decide who I get to fall in love with!" I rolled my eyes, following the motion with my head. "You know her marriage with my dad was arranged? It's not my fault she was lucky enough to fall for the bloke her parents chose!"

"What's that got to do with anything?" James wondered.

"Everything!" I exclaimed. "I'm not her. There's no fucking way she's choosing who I date. I don't deserve people like him in my life? What does that even mean?"

I flopped down on Sirius's bed, putting my elbow on my knee and letting my chin fall on my hand.

"She didn't say it because I'm a Black," Sirius said, turning on his spot so he ended up sitting next to me.

"What?" I asked. "Then why?"

Sirius met my eyes, I saw the shadow of hurt in them, but didn't say anything. So, I just looked at him, thinking. What other reason would my mum have to think this low of him? Sirius was a great person. He was caring, good-looking, a great student. He came from a long line of elite wizards.

"Oh." I mumbled.

My mum had been the first person Sirius had found that day. She was the one who healed my arms, the one who comforted me as I cried. She was also the one who I went to when Sirius broke up with me.

"She's right you know." He added, clearing his throat.

My hand found his. He still wouldn't meet my eyes. I sighed, pulling his hand into my lap and glancing at James out of the corner of my eye. James didn't know. I had made everyone promise not to tell him.

"Sirius," I called, waiting until he looked at me. "You saved my life."

He scoffed, clearly not believing me.

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." I insisted.

It was true, after all. Sure, it was a dick move dumping me the day after, but he saved my life. Sirius still looked unconvinced but his grey eyes were now nearly silver and were glazed over. I could tell he wanted us to drop the subject.

"What are you two talking about?" James asked, frowns drawn together in concern.

"Nothing," Sirius and I said at the same time.

We shared a small smile. Leaning over, I pressed my lips to his in a short kiss. It seemed to lift his mood slightly.

"I'm starving," I got up, offering my hand to Sirius and wiggling my fingers. "Want to go see if there's any left-over dinner in the kitchens?"

It was an excuse to leave. If I left and Sirius didn't, James would ask about our conversation. I didn't want him to keep going over it, over and over. Besides, we could maybe find an empty classroom to fool around in. When Sirius smiled at me, it reached his eyes this time. He leaned over and grabbed a random shirt from the floor, pulling it over his head before taking my hand without hesitance.

"Don't wait up, Prongs." He let James know, circling my waist with his arm.

My laugh rang through the room.

I looked at myself in the mirror as I did my makeup the muggle way, enjoying the way the one spot I had on my left cheek disappeared under the foundation. I blended and applied product after product until it looked so natural anyone would think my skin was this miraculously perfect. Leaning forward and closing my right eye, I began brushing gold shimmering eye-shadow into my inner lid, blending it into light brown eye-shadow and finishing it up with mascara, passing the eyeliner. As I started doing my left eye, my mind went back to the events of the last couple of days.

Sirius and I had found ourselves an empty classroom that night. We'd explored each other's bodies like we had never done before, without the rushing fear one of us would change our minds about that fling, without the shyness that came from inexperience. It felt liberating, giving myself to him body and soul. It almost felt like losing my virginity all over again. We'd spent the rest of the night running around the castle, hiding from Filch, kissing in our favourite spots through the castle and talking about nothing. That was more than enough for me, heavy talks could be reserved for later.

And then, the next day had been filled with nothing but furtive glances and secret smiles, intentional accidental touches. Sitting together by the fire, with no-one knowing of the relationship between us, feeling electricity curse through me each time his fingers brushed my shoulder. We had met after hours, when everyone had been asleep already, and kissed ourselves senseless. It all took my breath away.

And now I couldn't stop smiling, I noted as I tried to apply the light pink, nearly nude, lipstick into my stretched lips. Marlene and Dorcas entered the toilet then, yawning and with their change of clothes bundled up in their arms. We were returning home today. I couldn't wait. I'd been wishing for today for a long time, ever since the Hogsmeade accident, and while it had been so I could escape, I was now filled with the dream of possibilities. Sirius and I could do so much during the summer holidays; run away for a couple of days without the world batting an eye, dance together at a dark, smoke-filled party without anyone reading anything into it, spend quiet time at Potter Manor's extensive library without anyone questioning it. My lips stretched into a wide smile again as I began brushing my hair.

"What's got you so chirpy?" Marlene asked with a conspiring smile.

"Hmh?" I asked, distracted.

"Yeah, ever since you missed dinner on Wednesday, you've been all…" Dorcas trailed off, stopping her unbuttoning of her pyjama top midway as she inspected me. "Radiant." She finished with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Have not!" I exclaimed but there was laughter in my voice.

Marlene and Dorcas shared a surprised look. It took me a second to know why; I hadn't laughed openly and happily in public in a while. This right here was my first sincere smile to them.

"Mer!" Marlene laughed.

"What's gotten into you?" Dorcas asked.

I opened my mouth, scrambling for an answer. My mind kept going back to Sirius. Damn, this would be harder than I thought. Shrugging, I turned around and left the bathroom, ready to go downstairs already. Marlene, however, followed me back into the dorms. I sighed, jumping into Lily's bed, and snatching her copy of Witches Weekly from her.

"Hey!" she protested.

"Does he love you? How to tell the difference between true love and ordinary lust," I read aloud, ignoring Lily's protest.

I raised my eyebrows at her. Lily just shrugged but there was a faint blush colouring her cheeks. Deciding that I wouldn't press it, I had my secrets, she could have her own, I flipped through the magazine until I reached the quiz section. Create Your Outfit and We'll Tell You Which Magical Village You Should Vacation at! that sounded interesting.

"So, you're not going to tell us what's got you so happy?" Marlene asked me, having trouble with her tights.

I looked over the rim of the magazine. Marlene had ridden herself of her satin shorts and was trying to put on her beige pantyhose without sitting down, a fashion odyssey all on its own. I watched her as she hopped around, one foot in the air, the other doing little skips, while forcing the tight polyester to go all the way up to her thigh, before falling on Dorcas's bed with a loud hoof! I snorted at her clumsiness.

"She does get to be happy for no reason, you know?" Lily defended me, shooting Marlene a glance like maybe she feared for our friend's sanity.

"I'm just glad we're all together," I said, circling the red velvet coat in the magazine with the quill on Lily's bedside.

Lily hummed, shooting an unconvinced look my way, her eyebrows nearing her hairline, her bottle green eyes flashing suspiciously. This time, it was Marlene's turn to snort. She slid on her denim mini skirt, tucking her baby pink, long-sleeved shirt in. I scrunched up my nose at the shirt, not really a big fan of pastels myself, before going back to the magazine. This time they asked me if I would rather wear a velvet coat or a full length black cape. The coat was purple, a colour I didn't particularly like, but it was a dark purple, more aubergine than lilac, so, next to a dark long, creepy-looking cape, I supposed the coat wouldn't be that bad.

I was just finishing the circle around the glittering image of the coat when Lily and Marlene gasped out at the same time. I jumped, the magazine in my hands crackling in protest.

"What?" I almost shrieked, voice shrill.

"Unbelievable!" Marlene shook her head, eyes widened as she pointed an accusatory finger my way. "You are getting shagged! Hard and good!"

My heart stopped. I blinked at her, forcing a laugh past my lips.

"Mar, sweetie, I love you but you're not my type." I joked as if I was passing down her words as an invitation, which I clearly knew weren't.

None of them batted an eye at my lame excuse to divert the subject away from myself. I wasn't surprised; while flattery, charm and eloquence worked just fine in just about everyone else, Marlene and Lily had been my best friends for six years. We saw each other every day. They knew my tricks.

"Oh, you are!" Lily agreed, eyeing me up and down. "You're all happy and relaxed."

"No other reason but a burst of serotonin." Marlene nodded. I frowned, realising I would probably have to tell them. A pity, really, considering I would have liked to keep this secret for a while. "So, who is it?"

"I'm telling you guys, I'm not sleeping with anyone," I shook my head, returning to the magazine.

Lily and Marlene ignored me before delving into a full-out conversation on who my mystery guy was. I kept my eyes on the magazine but my ears on the conversation. So far, they'd gone through half the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw male population, before quickly jumping into the Hufflepuff students. I relaxed slightly, noticing the Marauders hadn't been brought up.

After ten minutes, Dorcas appeared from the en-suite lavatory, looking ready to stalk down a catwalk. I made a note to borrow her heels sometime in the near future. Swiftly, she joined the conversation at hand.

"Oh, I've got it!" she exclaimed, turning to me like the cat who ate the canary. "It's Sirius."

There was a beat of silence. I tensed all over, holding the quill in my hand so hard I feared it would break. I slowly looked up from the magazine, making sure my features remained blank, quite a feat considering my lips had threatened upwards at the mere mention of his name. I was met with three pairs of eager and excited eyes. Marlene even had her hands together in a praying manner.

"No," I said.

"Oh."

"But—but you were sat together last night." Dorcas frowned.

I cleared my throat, looking down to the magazine as well. Apparently, I simply had to visit Lacrime di Ninfa, a tiny village in the south of Italy with a crystal-clear coast and mostly magical folk living in it.

"We've decided to stay just friends." I let them know, feeling bad for lying to them.

But they couldn't know. If they did, then we'd be able to behave like a couple in public. And then it'd become a habit and next thing we knew, we'd be kissing in the middle of Diagon Alley. And then the whole wide world would know, including my parents. My mother would never take the relationship seriously, so close to my siblings' death, she'd call it a coping mechanism. Not to mention, after hearing what she'd told Sirius, I would have to ease her into the idea of Sirius and I together.

"Why?" Marlene whined, stretching the y, and snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I'm not ready to have a relationship." I explained, saying a half-truth.

They 'ooh'd and 'ahh'd, with Marlene and Dorcas sending me sympathetic looks. Lily, however, kept a steady gaze on me. I knew I hadn't convinced her. After all, if I was really telling them all about how Sirius and I had decided to be nothing but friends, I wouldn't be parading around the dorms all happy.

"Also," I added, finding the way they leaned in curiously highly amusing. "Professor Babbling, Merlin bless her soul, let me retake my Runes exam. She gave me my grade yesterday; I got an Outstanding."

"Oh," Marlene sighed, disappointed.

While that hadn't been a lie and it was reason for relief, Marlene and Dorcas were hoping I'd give them more details about the whole Sirius business. My words, though, got Lily excited, which was exactly what I'd intended because she forgot all about my lies.

"That's great!" she exclaimed, sending me a bright smile.

"I know!" I agreed. "And it's summer. So, yeah, I'm happy."

With that I abandoned this week's Witches Weekly and jumped to my feet, straightening down my black-and-white, high-waisted checkered skirt in the process.

"Dorcas, why are our friends such dorks?" Marlene lamented loudly, collapsing on the bed with her arm covering her eyes.

"We just can't have it all, it seems." Dorcas sighed, agreeing.

I laughed, rolling my eyes and urging them to get out of bed so we could leave. The last thing we needed was the train leaving without us in it, after all. We met the rest of our friends down in the Common Room. I fell in step next to Sirius, which earned us a cheeky grin and a wink from James. The trek down to the station was quick and we were all huddled up on a train compartment before we knew it, the Scottish scenery was flying past us.

Two hours and a half into the trip, Sirius's pinky finger hooked around mine, giving it a small tug. I looked away from the window and to him. Sirius wasn't looking at me, though. He was half sprawled on the dark red compartment bench, twirling his wand around his right hand and pushing James's feet with his own. They seemed to be in some sort of wrestling match. James let out a hoot of laughter as he promptly stomped on Sirius's left foot, his own left one already staining the leather of Sirius's right shoe. Next to James, Peter sniggered. Lily just smiled at James fondly, something nobody seemed to notice. I looked around me, maybe Sirius had tried to get my attention because one of our friends was talking to me and I hadn't noticed. Nobody was paying attention to me, though, or the two silly Marauders. Dorcas and Marlene were currently doing their nails. Remus was going through a copy of The Prophet.

"You got me, Prongsy." Sirius sighed dramatically.

I stifled a laugh. It'd been a while since I'd have time to enjoy the silly side to him and his friends. Suddenly, Sirius rose to his feet, his pinky slipping from mine at the last second.

"Where you going?" Peter asked curiously.

"Sulk in my defeat, of course." Sirius declared, swirling toward the sliding door. "How shall I outlive this?" he whined, sending a wink my way before letting the door slide shut behind him with a small thud.

James turned to Peter immediately, insisting on starting a game of exploding snaps. I waited twenty seconds, which I counted in my head, before reaching into my bag and pulling out two sickles, and standing up. Lily snapped her eyes to me.

"And where are you going?" she asked me, raising one eyebrow.

"I'm hungry." I lifted the two coins for her to see.

Lily hummed but didn't say anything, turning her attention to the game playing out next to her. Noting nobody else had noticed me making a move to leave, and thanking Godric Gryffindor himself for it, I slipped out. I had just stepped into the next aisle, a particularly rough dip in the tracks nearly knocking me into a window, when an arm looped around my waist.

"Hey," Sirius grinned down at me. "Took you long enough."

"Twenty seconds, Sirius, it took me twenty seconds." I pointed out as we began to stroll our way through the train.

"Twenty-six," he pouted, moving his arm from my waist to my shoulders, a more platonic gesture. "I thought you'd never come. I was beginning to freeze out in the cold."

"'Course you were, poor man." I mocked seriousness.

His arm slid from around my shoulders as he pushed the door into the next aisle open. We stepped into the considerably busier aisle, with him walking a few steps in front of me and me falling behind, making a motion to look like I was searching for someone. We walked until we reached the very front of the train, where nobody really went. The conductor tended to get a bit mad if people were too loud. I didn't blame him. He was, after all, driving a big metal vehicle with much of the magical youth in Britain.

Sirius slid open the door to one of the private compartments; I walked in without a word, automatically setting a silence charm around it. The door hadn't closed all the way before Sirius's arms were around my waist, twirling me in place and pushing me against the door. I managed a shriek of laughter before his lips were pressed to mine in a searing kiss. My heart started to race.

"Morning." Sirius mumbled against my mouth.

We stumbled into the bench to our left, with me sat comfortably in his lap, thighs straddling his. My arms found their way into his neck, one hand lazily running through his hair. I breathed in, taking a big whiff of his deliriously good-smelling cologne.

"Hey," I said in response to his prior greeting.

"You look beautiful, by the way." Sirius commented with an easy grin plastered across his face.

His grey eyes were shining with amusement and a sort of mature seriousness that nearly took my breath away. My heart fluttered in my chest. Part of me wondered if the reason he was so gleeful and back to his carefree ways was because we were together now. I couldn't have that big of an effect on him, though, even if he did on me. I tilted my head to the side, tucking it into my shoulder as I gazed up at him, battling my eyelashes.

"Really?" I teased. "You really think so?"

"Yeah." He nodded honestly.

"Thanks." I answered, flushing slightly. It had been a while since someone had called me beautiful and not just fit.

"And I look handsome, too, right?" Sirius was back to joking. I didn't mind.

"Very much, yes." I nodded, smiling.

And he did. His long, black hair fell in just the right places, making me wonder how long did he really spend fixing his hair, and his sharp cologne made him smell completely irresistible. Sirius was wearing a pair of old denim jeans that hung of his hips just the right way, with a fitted white t-shirt and a black leather jacket, which he was currently in the process of shrugging off. Once the offending piece of clothing had been removed, his arms returned to my waist, the skin of his arms grazing against my skin in between my skirt and the cropped, black, little, short-sleeved shirt I was wearing. The breath hitched on my throat.

"Lily suspects something," I commented, trying to ignore how much his presence affected my body.

Sirius shrugged, unbothered, eyes dancing. The sight stirred something inside me.

"We'll just have to be even more careful when sneaking around."

"Something I'm sure you have plenty of experience at." I raised an eyebrow.

Sirius's hand went to my neck, his thumb tracing the hollow of my throat. I was painfully aware of the fact that he could probably feel my racing heart underneath his fingers. He threw me a wide grin, tilting his head to the side in a halfway nod.

"I don't know what you mean." He denied.

"Sure thing, Padfoot." I whispered in his ear, reminding him of all the mischief they all got into.

Sirius's arm around my waist tightened, pulling me flush against him. I moved my lips against his cheek, barely brushing his skin, until I reached his mouth. He moved his chin forward, capturing my lips with his fleetingly, eyes locked on mine. Merlin, he was hot and beautiful and minemineminemine.

We kissed again, pulling each other closely as want turned to need. I had never wished for Scotland to be farther away from London harder in my life.

A/N: Well, there you go! hope you liked it and let me know what you thought in the reviews!

Also, I'm highly open to suggestions about things you would like to see happen during their summer holidays and even seventh year. I've come to realise that this fic is going to be extremely long. Like, I'm pretty sure it'll be longer than 80 chapters. Hope that's alright with you all!

Anyways, love you and thanks for reading!