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chapter eighteen.
In Emilia's defence, she actually did try to keep her promise to Sirius on her coming back to visit him in the infirmary.
In fact, she made more than one attempt to go and visit him but each time was thwarted by the presence of other people; she had forgotten just how popular Sirius was as each time she managed to scrape together a few minutes to slip down to see how he was faring, she found groups of people crowded around at his bedside and offering him gifts and their words in hopes of making him feel better.
It had made her feel awkward, to be lingering around in the shadows, watching Sirius from the outside and he seemed so different with each person that came to pay him a visit; when she had visited after lunch that same day, Emilia had arrived only to see a gaggle of girls flocking around Sirius' bed, all from different years and different Houses and all looking at him with fluttering eyelashes and pink in the face, hazy from love. Emilia might have been inclined to save him as his face was strained, a smile forcibly stretched over his mouth but not quite meeting his eyes, but she doubted she would have succeeded in shooing off the crowd.
At the end of the day following Transfiguration, she made one more attempt for the evening before dinner but was thwarted once more at the sight of the Gryffindor Quidditch team scattered around Sirius, said boy looking a lot more comfortable in his bed this time as he talked in a low voice with his friends.
Not wanting to eavesdrop, Emilia left with the firm decision that would try at least one more time after dinner, hoping that everyone would be too full and tired to visit and she might get a few minutes in before curfew would come into place and Madam Pomfrey would shoo her away.
But it seemed that she was to not succeed this time either as she peeked her head in only to catch a glimpse of Marlene McKinnon sitting in the very same seat she had earlier that morning, her soft voice barely discernible and Emilia wondered if the girl had skipped dinner to spend time with Sirius. Whatever the case, Emilia managed to turn before being caught, trying to ignore the disappointment that she had failed in even taking up a few minutes of Sirius' time before the day ended.
She hoped he wouldn't be upset at her for not visiting, it wasn't as if she didn't try – or maybe he didn't mean to visit him that very same day? Afterall, she had spent all morning at his side, so perhaps he had not expected for her to take his words of her coming back to mean returning only a few short hours after leaving.
Whatever the case, Emilia had no choice in the matter and was made to wait until the following morning after Arithmancy and Astronomy back to back, leaving her an hour free before lunch to try and sneak a chance at even saying hello to Sirius and asking how he was.
Once Astronomy ended, Emilia prayed no one would pay any heed to how quickly she shoved her things back into her bag, jumping out of her seat and leaving through the classroom door as if a fire had been lit under her, all the while trying to keep her pace from breaking out into a complete run.
By the time she arrived, Emilia was out of breath, gulping it in to ease the burn that was spreading rapidly through her chest like Fiendfyre, aching and scratching at her throat as she tried to straighten her uniform, letting herself cool down and smoothing down her hair before peering through the door, eyes falling immediately to Sirius' bed and hearing no voices or sounds of laughter which made Emilia all too glad for it.
But as Emilia reached his bed, drawing back the curtains, that giddiness slipped away on her as easily as water.
Sirius was asleep, laid on his side and curled up, mouth parted slightly and Emilia had never seen him look so… neutral, at peace almost. Not being aware of the world at hand did that to people, and Emilia shuffled in quietly, keeping her distance and debating on whether to stay for a while longer or to leave lest he wake up and be creeped out by her presence.
It was as if the late morning light was casting him in a different perspective, highlighting Sirius in a way Emilia had never seen before; he was always laughing or smiling or talking brashly and he seemed so opposite to that at that moment, moth like breaths leaving him in gentle gusts as his hair fell around him, cradling his crown and wild from tossing and turning around in his sleep. He looked younger, or maybe he just finally looked his own age since he always seemed to want to grow up and rush head first into the future without thinking.
It was nice, seeing him like this but Emilia wanted to encroach no longer on his moment of peace, ignoring the way disappointment flooded through her at the fact she would have to wait longer yet to talk to him.
She turned to go when her eyes caught the tulips in a cup beside Sirius' bed, the table littered with all kinds of flowers, cards, and sweets that were overflowing her immediate surroundings; she watched as some plastic flowers were currently waltzing with one another in the water, sloshing it back and forth, the cover of a card pulling faces at her and puffing at the thermometer in its mouth like it was a cigar and Emilia realised that she had not brought Sirius a single thing: no card, no box of chocolates, not even flowers to make him feel better.
This realisation was then promptly followed by another regarding the fact Emilia didn't even know what to get Sirius even if she were able.
Emilia had no idea of what his favourite flavour of chocolates or sweets were, didn't even know he had liked flowers considering how many were surrounding him, plastic and real alike emitting sweet smells with some humming equally sweet tunes, and she could see some of the messages written on the cards, wondering what she would even say if she had one to give him.
It made her stomach hurt, bothering her more than she thought it would have as Emilia pursed her lips, turning away and making her quiet getaway while trying not to be troubled by the fact how much of Sirius that she actually knew; what kind of music did he like? Did he have any favourite books? How did he take his tea or how did he like his eggs?
Strange, unimportant things that Emilia didn't know that made her feel as if she needed to know because how desperately she wished she did.
Emilia waited until the following day after double Defence Against the Dark Arts to see Sirius, though doubting she would succeed considering his friends weren't there and she felt confident in guessing they were probably mitching to visit Sirius; not that Henrik seemed to care as he had dismissed class much earlier than anyone had expected and Emilia took that precious extra time to make her way to the infirmary, not bothering to even get her hopes up as she entered, the lack of voices doing little to stir any hope in her.
She drew nearer to Sirius' bed, just about able to make out his moving shadow from the other side, relief flooding through Emilia as she adjusted the strap of her back and cleared her throat as a way to announce her arrival without startling him.
Last thing Emilia wanted to do was walk in on Sirius with his pants down around his ankles.
She could see Sirius' shadow pause and then a loud groan left him, his voice akin to being grouchy and annoyed and he did not bother to pop his head out through the curtains. "No more visitors, you're going to get a Stinging Hex right between your legs and I'll spread it around that you've got the clap."
Emilia blinked at Sirius' words, startled at the tone in his voice; she hadn't taken into account that he probably was sick of so many people visiting and she had not stopped to think that she would be any exception to the matter.
Still, Emilia felt embarrassed, feeling as if she crossed over a boundary. "Oh, sorry, shall I come back at a later time?"
It's not a heartbeat later when Sirius ripped open the curtains, wide eyed as if in shock and Emilia stared up at him in the same manner, taking in how his hair was still wild as it had been the morning previous when she had rocked up to see him and caught him in the middle of a sleep; the memory of Sirius sleeping soundly in his cot made Emilia's cheek stain a pink hue and she tore her eyes away, noting how his uniform was dishevelled, as if he had haphazardly struggled into it without any real care, his white button up barely done and his tie askew around his neck.
She only looked up to see a grin beaming on his face. "Emilia! I didn't realise that it was you."
Emilia tried not to make her confusion known on her face. "Does it make a difference?" she asked, masquerading the question as a joking statement.
"Of course it does," Sirius insisted and stepped aside, throwing an arm open to usher her into the small space that he had been calling home the past two days. "Come, step into my very humble abode for the time being."
Emilia obeyed, side stepping around him, her eyes immediately picking out how his confectionary of gifts had grown in size and she became even more guilty about having shown up empty handed but Sirius seemed to not notice, or maybe he just didn't care at all, as he finished doing up the buttons of his shirt, leaving his tie loose around his neck before he climbed back into his messy bed.
Emilia spied his arm, at how it seemed good as new save for the pinkish hue that was peeking out from a row of bandages where the injury had been that could only been seen with the light hit it just right; though, Emilia supposed she would always see it on his arm, knowing that it was because of her that that sliver of skin was not Sirius' own that he was born with. Emilia dropped her gaze and took to sitting on the only seat that was pulled up to his bedside as Sirius pushed whatever gifts that had been dropped off to the bottom of his bed, a few boxes clattering to the floor.
So much love and adoration, she wondered how he dealt with it all and how it didn't suffocate him.
"How are you feeling?" Emilia asked, as Sirius leant back in his bed.
"Shite. Knackered," he admitted and Emilia noted how he did seem more tired, despite how peacefully he had been asleep yesterday. The image of Sirius in such a state reared its head again and Emilia pushed it to the back of her head. Last thing she wanted was for Sirius to think she was a creep who watched him sleep. Sirius let out a huff, the gust catching on a curl to push it out of his eyes and Emilia could see the strain of sleepless nights staining him blue and purple with exhaustion. "Managed to get an extension on my Alchemy essay, which is great considering it's due today and I've done nothing for it."
Silver linings and all that. "Are you being kept in for over the weekend?"
"Nah, Poppy's looking ready to chuck me out at any moment now," Sirius snorted, his disposition slightly better as he thought about the nurse most likely going red in the face while trying to get some peace and quiet in the infirmary. Sirius sighed, stretching his arms over his head before they flopped down beside him; considering how careless he was being with his arm, Emilia hoped it meant a good sign for its healing. "Hopefully I'll be out for dinner, can't spend another moment stuck here otherwise I'll go 'round the bend."
Emilia gave an amused sound, not doubting the effects of boredom on Sirius. For someone who liked to be going at a million miles an hour, being strapped to a bed was probably Hell on earth. "At least you've had the company."
Sirius gave a groan, as if the mere thought of people was the last thing he wanted, despite the fact Emilia was here with him too.
"That's the main problem, no one will leave me alone," Sirius griped, looking around and vaguely gesturing to all his new acquired things, grabbing the neck of the mug that held the tulips. "What am I supposed to do with all of this? I don't even like tulips."
"Really?" She wondered, looking at the other bundle of flowers and Sirius looked ready to catapult the ones in his hand to the far side of the room. Emilia reached forward, not thinking before she took the handle, fingers brushing over Sirius as he relinquished his hold of them to her. Their sweet scent filled her nose and they were turning a variety of colours, never settling on one for too long as they sat bent over in the water. "I like them. The pink ones are my favourite."
"I didn't even know there were different colours. I'm more of a camellia person, myself," Sirius sighed as Emilia took a petal between her thumb and index, unable to not feel sad that the flowers were already wilting. "You can have them if you want."
Emilia peered up at him and shook her head, setting them back down. "They're half dead."
"You do Herbology, I'm sure you'll find a way," Sirius said with a wave of his hand.
"I'm good," she pushed, taking to watching the flowers change colour from a turquoise to a mauve colour. "I don't feel like stealing flowers someone gifted to you."
It was true and she doubted whoever it was that went through the trouble of Charming the flowers for him would be happy to see him handing them off to her but Sirius gave a shrug. "Makes no difference to me, they're going in the bin by day's end."
Emilia despaired the thought of the tulips rotting in the bottom of a bin, "You're not going to keep them?"
"What for? They'll probably die faster if I touch them," Sirius stated, mimicking Emilia as they watched the petals shift to a lavender colour and Emilia flickered her gaze to Sirius, watching the humour in his face chip away, leaving behind a thoughtful expression in its stead. "A lot of things are ruined when I touch them."
Emilia remained unable to respond at Sirius' sudden change of mood, how his face seemed so different, like a mask that was worn on top of his normal face – or maybe it was the other way around. He blinked slowly, as if catching up with himself before it hit him all at once and Emilia watched as he chewed the inside of his cheek, at how it gained some colour and she realised he was sheepish at having let such a thing slip out his mouth.
Emilia took the flowers out of their water, not caring that they were dripping all over her hands. "That's not true at all, just because they're not as pretty as they were, doesn't mean they don't have beauty," she murmured, not daring to risk a glance back at up at him as she examined the flowers in her hands. "I'll see if I can press it."
"Press it?" he asked.
"Preserve it," Emilia clarified. "That way it'll last longer and so will its beauty."
"That's one way to look at it," Sirius said after a moment of silence that shrouded the both of them and Emilia felt quite content with it all, drying the stems of the tulips with her robes before placing them in the deep pockets, hoping that whoever gave him the gift wouldn't catch sight of them in her possession. "How come you didn't visit?"
Emilia froze, knowing it was her turn to feel awkward as she took a sudden interest in the strap of her bag that rested on the floor against her feet, toeing it as her hands slipped under her legs to stop them giving her away by wringing them as she was wont to do when she was nervous or unsure of what to say. It wasn't as if she was lying but gazing up at Sirius, she felt as if he was scrutinising her every action and it made her felt as if she had done something wrong.
She was ever so relieved that he had not the faintest clue about her coming by the previous morning only to stumble upon him while he was asleep.
Emilia twisted the strap of her bag with her shoe, Sirius' relentless stare not letting up. She gave a shrug, trying to not let it get to her; was he hurt by the fact she had not visited him sooner? Emilia doubted that, he was always with people, it wasn't as if he was without company. "There were always people. I didn't want to intrude."
Sirius gave a huff and Emilia looked to see him crossing his arms over his chest, as if the memory of his past visitors left a sour taste in his mouth. "I would have told them all to shove off."
"That wouldn't be very polite," she smiled, voice tender and hoping he wasn't too insulted by Emilia not keeping to her word as she had promised.
"I'm on my death bed, I don't think they would mind if I told them to leave me alone," Sirius grumbled and for once, Emilia felt they were on the same level – she wasn't too fond of always being surrounded by so many people, the thought of it made her feel as if she was being smothered so her empathy to Sirius plight was a lot more lenient.
Oh, how Emilia had missed his silly dramatics and she was glad he was back to them. "But you're not on your death bed."
Sirius seemed irritated at the fact what she said was true, as if he didn't want to be reminded he still was flesh and bone and had a long way to go before he would be six feet under ground. "I wish I was so they would all leave me alone."
"How is your arm doing? Is it any better?" she prompted, trying to get to the crux of her worry as she felt helpless to do anything but stare at the bandages that were wrapped around his forearm and Sirius followed her line of sight, as if he had forgotten the cotton was there to begin with.
"Not a thing wrong with it and not even a scratch left behind," he told her, looking back to Emilia and there must have been doubt or incredulity shadowing her face as Sirius then tugged at the knot that held it all together, ignoring Emilia's exclaim as he began unwrapping it, exposing his arm entirely to the world and to Emilia, not the least bit bothered by it. Emilia watched as each row diminished until his arm was completely bare and there was it was – nothing, not a single speck in sight and she wondered if her eyes were purposely trying to pick out something different to the rest of his arm but even the pinkness of the skin began to melt away and it looked as if there had never been anything there to begin with. "It's as good as new, look."
He reached his arm across to thrust it in her face and Emilia darted back, afraid even her breath might break the surface. "I can see it just fine."
"Here," Sirius said, wasting no time with his other hand to reach out and snap a hold of Emilia, pulling her up to her feet and closing the small distance between them until her knees knocked against his bed. Sirius' hold on her was gentle as he took control of her hand entirely, bringing it to his arm but not touching it, not yet – he wanted her to make that decision. "It's as if nothing happened, as smooth as a baby's bottom – which I wouldn't know about, but if I did, I bet it would feel like this."
Her hand hesitated for the briefest of moments and she could feel Sirius studying her, waiting to see if she would pull away or admire Pomfrey's handiwork; her fingers twitched, wanting to move away in a moment's weakness before she tentatively placed the pads of her fingers to the canvas of his arm.
He was right; it was soft and smooth and as if nothing had ever happened, no fraction of a difference with regards to skin colour, no ugly scar or bumps or exposed bones and veins suddenly bursting under her touch; it felt as if there had been no damage done at all, that it didn't even exist in the first place and relief was like sludge in Emilia, thick in her lungs and making it hard to breathe.
Sirius was warm, he always seemed to burn like a furnace and she might have worried he was down with a fever were it not for the fact she had held his hand before, had his bare skin against hers; there were a lot of things Emilia didn't know about Sirius, but there were some things she did – she knew his fingertips were worn and dented with scars, most likely from so many years of playing Quidditch, she knew he always had that one curl of his that seemed to love falling in his eyes, catching on his lashes, he smelt of that same, musky cologne and of pines and open air and now she knew that he liked camellias.
She didn't feel so empty handed as she had in the beginning when she arrived, holding onto his renewed arm.
Emilia's gratitude to Pomfrey was endless, thankful that there was no scar left in place of her own stupidity, that Sirius would not have live the rest of his life marred because of her.
Her finger prodded the skin, reassured by Sirius that it would not split apart at such an action but then a yell left him, arm jolting away from her and Emilia snatched her arm back, eyes wide with fright as her heart sped up in her chest; had she been too careless, too rough? Oh, God, what if she had made him bleed or had hurt him or –
Sirius saw the look on her face and burst into laughter at her reaction.
The prick.
"Sirius!" Emilia whined, heart suddenly forced to contend with the fact it was a false alarm and her face heated up as Sirius' laughter lilted, carrying off and she might not have minded it so much were it not for the fact she had been so bloody worried.
"I'm kidding! It doesn't hurt, look!" he asserted and then took to slapping his arm, the crack of his palm against the skin of his arm making her wince, each time causing her to cringe away. "See? Nothing wrong."
"Don't do that," she snapped, wincing as he landed another hit on his arm, turning the skin pink from the abuse it was getting but it did not snap or split apart under his hand. She appreciated the gesture of Sirius proving he truly was alright, but he didn't have to go that far. "I was worried I hurt you."
Sirius looked at her with that daring, handsome smile. "You? Never."
Emilia ignored the way her cheeks began to feel a tad warmer than usual. "Won't Madam Pomfrey be annoyed at you for unwrapping your bandages?"
"Nah, told me to do it anyways," he said with a shrug, pulling the sleeve of his shirt down over his pinkening arm and tossing the bandages on the other table beside him, draping it across his many gifts. "I think she's purposely avoiding me now. I doubt she'd come running if I cried out for help, she's got sick of me already."
Emilia could imagine the nurse becoming scarlet in the face over the amount of noise and visitors that were in the infirmary as of late due to Sirius' presence, though if anyone was to blame, it should be her since she was the reason he was landed in here to begin with.
The memory of which stirred Emilia as she perked up, barely managing to conceal her worry. "What are you going to do for the match on Sunday?"
"Oh, I'm still playing," Sirius insisted, nodding to himself as he did so. Ever so stubborn he was. "I would play even if I had a broken leg and they had to strap me to my broom. I think James might've keeled over if I wasn't better by then."
Relief washed over Emilia disguised as an exhale that bled out through her nose. She was glad that not only was he well enough to play, but she didn't exactly fancy what might have happened if he were still bedbound and everyone else discovered that she was the cause behind it all; she would hate to be the reason that would cost Gryffindor's Quidditch team their start player.
"That's good," she commented, trying to not sag from the tension of worry leaving her.
He looked at her with something sharp in his eyes, a look she didn't quite trust. "And don't think I haven't forgotten about you promising to come watch me play."
"When did I promise that?" she asked, flabbergasted.
"Just now, on my deathbed," he said nonchalantly, a moments pause ensuing before he threw in a weak fitting cough as if trying to convince Emilia he was already one foot in on death's door.
Were he not in a hospital bed, Emilia might have entertained the thought of reaching across to give him a firm smack on the back of the head; instead, she was only able to roll her eyes at him. "Sirius, you aren't dying."
"I could be dying of a broken heart," he wheezed, throwing in another round of coughing for good measure before he reached out to take hold of her hand, cradling it and looking up at her with such wide, upset eyes that Emilia would have been inclined to believe if she didn't know him any better. "My one last wish, you'll grant it, won't you?"
She failed at quashing the smile that was trying to tug at her lips, feeling it spread as she shook her head at his silliness; she had never been so glad to see him back to his usual self. "You're so dramatic."
He dropped all pretences of being ill, a sharpness lingering on the corner of his mouth yet he did not let go of her hand just yet. His own were warm, blazing and burning Emilia's, making her feel as if her flesh was going to melt to nothing and her bones would wilt to ash. "And you love it."
She quirked an eyebrow at his very bold statement. "Says who?"
"Says me," he clarified, chest puffed out and so sure of himself. Sirius was anything if not always confident.
"An unreliable source."
"I'm never wrong," Sirius maintained, looking slightly wounded she didn't agree with him.
"Well, I'm glad you're better," Emilia reiterated once more and carefully sat herself on Sirius' bed, hanging off the edge and staring at their entwined hands. It was strange – holding hands, that is. Emilia always thought it was something only couples would do; she didn't realise how nice it was to just find comfort in the touch of another person without there being to be a reason for it. She already was getting used to it, much to her dismay; if she were to get used to it, then the possibility of craving it might rear its ugly head and Emilia wouldn't know what to do then. "I don't want to think about what might have happened if everyone found out I was the reason Gryffindor's star beater was bedbound."
Sirius' let out a bark of laughter as he pushed himself up into a seating position, moving his legs and allowed Emilia to sit back further onto the bed without half her ass hanging off the ledge. "Imagine, we could have been roomies."
She blanched at the mere thought of her and Sirius being around each other 24/7; not even the best of relationships would be able to handle even that. "Even more incentive to get you up and out and on that broom."
"Aw, you're just really excited to see me play, don't try and hide it," he cooed in a teasing tone and unlinked one of his hands to reach across and pinch Emilia's cheek. She sat stunned for a moment at the touch, his hand against her skin and sending a jolt down Emilia that instantly went to her free hand, jumping up from where it lay stagnant beside her to smack Sirius' hand away. He laughed again at her reaction and she knew he could see that she resembled the bright red baubles that Hagrid would hang up on the Christmas tree. "And don't worry, I wouldn't have let anyone do anything to you."
"You'd go against the whole school?" Emilia asked, half joking but something in her chest felt all too constrictive at his words, as if the air around her wasn't enough to fill her lungs.
"If need be," he said, that Sirius confidence once more shining through.
"Sure," she hummed, not sure of what to make of his declaration, her reaction causing Sirius' eyes to narrow in suspicion as he studied her face, trying to gauge whether or not she believed him.
"Is that doubt of my abilities, Emilia Greene? You don't believe me?" he questioned, ego as bruised and hurt as his head was during the last Quidditch practise she had attended.
"I'm sure you would put in an effort."
"And I would win! I've never lost a fight in my life, ever, and no one would dare to go against me," he declared, trying to win his case against Emilia's doubt. She didn't think it would go so far as someone would try to fight her, even if she knew that Sirius was telling the truth on never having lost a fight. He had gotten into plenty of scraps with other students in the past and managed to hold his own and had never been beaten by anyone; if he came out looking bloodied and trampled on, then the other person would look the same only thrice as bad.
And he had defended her before, with those two Slytherins, so it wasn't as if she had any room for doubt on whether he would have her back or not, and for some reason, he did. For better or for worse, it seemed.
To be honest, Emilia couldn't help but inwardly admit that it was sweet of him, not that she would ever tell Sirius that. It reminded her of all those godawful, cheap romance books (without the romance) and she could imagine Sirius as being the dashing, main hero coming to the rescue of his lady love. She would probably be the comedic sidekick or the background character who only had one line and would die in the first chapter.
The all too serious expression on his face made her supress a laugh, an amused sound leaving her. "What, are you in the mafia or something?"
He screwed his face up in confusion, features knotting together. "The what?"
"I've seen Sirius but his shoes on the wrong feet and his jumpers on backwards, as if he would be in the mafia," a sudden voice spoke out, making Emilia nearly jump a foot in the air as she spun around to see Remus Lupin taking a step inside the curtains. He looked better than he had been last time and the circles beneath his eyes had lessened, his hair more tamed and combed. He gave her a polite smile as he walked to them, taking Emilia's previous seat as he set down a range of boxes he had been holding down on the ground beside him. "Hi, Emilia."
As if knowing she would, Sirius loosened his grip so that Emilia could slyly take her hand back lest Remus catch sight but he already had a strange look on his face, but had the decency to not say anything. She forgot that this was a thing now – that people said hello to her and talked to her without ignoring her entirely, and that she did the same.
She was someone who indulged in small talk now.
Her aunt would faint with the shock of it all.
"Hi, Remus," she greeted back.
"Hi, Sirius, since no one else is going to say it even though this is my bed we're all gathering around," Sirius piped up, easily aggravated that the attention from him had been diverted and halved before he gave his friend a charming grin. "To what do I owe the pleasure then, Moony?"
Remus gave a grunt as he bent to take a hold of the packages again to hand them off to Sirius – more gifts, Emilia assumed, with most of them ornately wrapped and some even covered in kisses stained with lipstick. "Apparently I'm your owl now since everyone is handing me things to give to you."
"Go on and give us a hoot then," Sirius sniggered, before taking to unwrapping the gifts without much care, throwing the paper on the ground before him so as to not swim in it.
"Be careful, I think there might be a love potion mixed in in those chocolates," Remus warned him as Sirius held in his hand a rather large box of chocolates, pulling open the lid and the smell instantly wafted through the place, a smell that was decidedly not chocolate. Emilia doubted that any company, Muggle or otherwise, would start making earthy, musk flavoured chocolates any time.
Though they did make Turkish delight, so what did she know?
Sirius gave a sniff, stiffening for a moment as he took in the stench of the potion before he chucked it into the very small wastebin beside him, "Eh, they're caramel anyways."
"That's from Bethany Hart, and that's – " Remus pointed out as Sirius lifted up an orange covered box of truffles and then a luminous green box of various Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. "From her twin brother, Bartley."
Sirius pulled a face, turning each one over and Emilia couldn't help but to mimic him as the boxes were adorned with wrapping paper that had lipstick stains in the form of kisses fluttering all about the paper like butterflies. "Lovely, whoever shall I choose? How about their younger sibling: the bin."
With that, Sirius chucked the two right in the waste bin – or tried to. They were far too big and cluttered to the ground, not that he cared all that much.
As he took to more unwrapping of his gifts, Remus turned to her. "How're you keeping, Emilia?"
She didn't know why she was so startled by Remus asking such a question, or why he was even talking to her. He was nice, polite, the kind of boy that she knew her neighbour Mrs. Halabi would praise, and it would be out of character for him to ignore her entirely. "Oh, I'm fine. And you?"
"Currently trying to do Henrik's essay," Remus sighed, leaning back on the seat with his hands stuffing themselves into the pockets of his trousers. "I wonder if he likes making his questions convoluted on purpose."
Emilia nodded in agreement, remembering her own half unfinished essay that was sitting in the bottom of her bag, waiting to be presented on the professor's desk for the following week. "They're rather difficult but he kind of has a pattern – he just really wants to see how you use the information in class and apply it to your own argument."
"S'pose it's a nice change to just copying what's written straight from the book as an answer," Remus stated.
"Professor McGonagall has such a bad habit for that," Emilia said without much thought, eyes widening as if in fear the witch might pop out from the shadows and hand Emilia yet another detention. A quick scope of her immediate surroundings dashed that worry as she continued on. "According to her, there's only right way to do it and there's to be no straying from the course."
A wispy laugh left Remus, as if he hadn't laughed in some time, or like his body was too tired to do it, as he reached up to brush his fringe out his eyes, allowing Emilia a chancing peek at the scar that stretched from his jar, across his nose and brow before it ended at just his hairline. It was his most prominent scar, but it did little to stop his features from being any less handsome. "Don't let her hear you say that, she might Transfigure your ears into leeks."
Sirius dropped another gift, the sound of it falling to the ground loud and making the two look to the bedbound boy who was sitting with a scowl on his face at the two of them. "No, absolutely no school work talk allowed. Do you want me to take ill again, Moony?"
Remus gave a yawn, not taking the bait. "You were barely ill to begin with, Sirius."
"I'll make myself sick and then die and I'll leave a note behind blaming you for my death," he said, carelessly pushing the rest of the boxes off the side of the bed and onto the ground as he crossed his arms over his chest, turning away and sticking his nose up in the air. Emilia shook her head at his silliness, Remus looking to her and appearing as if they were having the same thoughts. "Have fun packing for Azkaban. I hear it's lovely this time of year."
Remus' put his eyes up to the Heavens before reluctantly standing, a half smile on his face. "Looks like the patient needs rest again."
"The patient is in for a sore arm, not blocked ears," Sirius sniffed right back at him.
Remus turned to Emilia. "Are you going for lunch?"
She was learning to get over the surprise of him talking to her that she almost jumped to eagerly to answer him. "Oh! Now?"
"Considering it is time for it, then yes," he said, eyes curving as if he wanted to laugh at her but didn't want to offend Emilia in any way and she was glad for it. She didn't want him to think that she was stupid or anything.
She had to learn to get better at this, at being with other people and not thinking about herself all the time as she was wont to do since she only had her own company, though this seemed to become spare as she spent more time around Sirius.
A lot of things changed with meeting Sirius, he might not have been the sole reason, no, she thought of him as more of a catalyst; it was why she stood from the side of Sirius' bed bed, ignoring the way he was much taller than Sirius and had to crane her neck up to meet his eyes and nodded. "Oh, then yes. I am."
An indignant sound left Sirius, drawing all eyes to him and he appeared at a loss, darting back forth between Emilia and Remus. "Wait, you're leaving right now? The both of you?"
"Well, people need food to survive, Padfoot," was all Remus said as he spun around to go, tossing a wave back over his shoulder.
Emilia turned to Sirius, a gentle smile on her face. She didn't feel as nervous as she worried she might have been at the prospect of being alone with any of his friends, so that had to mean she was on the step in the right direction, right? "Feel better. You'll be out soon."
Remus stood holding open the parting of the curtains drawn around Sirius bed, waiting for Emilia and she was ready to go when something snatched her back, Sirius' hand at her wrist with his lips pursed; Emilia stared back at him, confused but his eyes wandered to over her shoulder and she tried to do the same but whatever look had been on Remus' face was washed away by the time her eyes landed on him.
"Go on ahead, Moony, I just want to chat with Emilia for a moment," Sirius called from behind Emilia and she looked to Remus, puzzlement straining her features.
Remus didn't say anything for a moment and she could see him trying to keep his face neutral, as if he and Sirius were on a telepathic link with one another. Sometimes she thought they were considering how close they were.
Instead of pushing for her company, Remus gave a small wave to Emilia. "Unlucky. Another time then. See you at dinner."
Emilia watched as Remus left, the flap of the curtain falling behind him and she turned to Sirius with perpetual confusion a mark on her features as he gave her a tug to move closer; she obliged, pulling herself up as he let go of her hand to hang himself over the side of the bed, leaving the silence between them to stretch on, fattening.
"What is it?" Emilia finally asked, unable to stand his lack of speaking; oh no, was he annoyed at her? Had she done something wrong? Had she said something to make him angry? He had looked so serious that it made her feel sick. "What do you need to talk to me about?"
Sirius popped his head up, torso off the edge of the bed and his hair wild around him, falling in splits of shadows that barely hid the snarky turn of his mouth, a flash of white teeth. "Actually, that was an elaborate ruse, do you think he fell for it?"
Emilia frowned, barely managed to stop herself from smacking him on the leg. "Sirius, I was worried! I thought something was wrong."
"I'm in an infirmary under the watchful eye of Poppy and I have my emotional support witch, what could be wrong?" Sirius said through a strained voice before he gave a heave, sitting himself back up on the bed and slipping his legs beneath him as he pulled up a stack of his gifts, each in all different sizes than the last and placed them on the mattress, tossing Emilia a wiggle of his brows. "I wanted to break out these but I'd be half afraid that Remus would start frothing at the mouth if I did."
From one look at the first box, she could tell it was a confectionary of his stashed sweets and chocolates that he not decided were worthy of being tossed in the bin and Emilia perked up at the sight, pulling her legs up under her and mimicking Sirius' position as he began to tear into them.
Sweets, let alone Muggle sweets, were such a luxury to Emilia and something in her heart leapt at the sight of them; her aunt and uncle's never had any sweets beyond packets of digestives in their house considering how their home wasn't exactly made and stocked for children in mind, even more so since she spent nine months of the year away at school. Growing up, her mum never had the spare change that she wanted to part with that would allow Emilia to feast on Freddo bars like her classmates, let alone having any money to buy herself a Cadbury bar or a packet of Haribo's.
She grew up on cheap food, often the staple of fish and chips was all she could rely on, but sweets – sweets, these were something else, like gold to Emilia. Wizard chocolate was good and all, but it didn't taste the same, not to Emilia. Even when she went to Hogsmeade, none of it enticed her but this, this was something else; she watched as Sirius tore open box after box, the plastic packaging being pulled open and the smell of it overwhelmed Emilia.
She supposed the good side of never really having any sweets growing up was that she never had to deal with a cavity.
"Are these all gifts?" she asked, unable to hide the wonder in her voice.
"Yeah, I don't know if they want me to become severely overweight or to lose all my teeth," he said, examining a particular selection box of dairy milk chocolate, popping one in his mouth. "But there's not a hope that I would be able to eat them all."
"I can't believe you got this much stuff from people," Emilia remarked, staring at the pile in front of her, hands fisted on her knees to stop herself from being greedy.
"I swear, I make one off hand comment that I like that Muggle chocolate, card birdy or whatever, and suddenly it's all everyone wants to give me," Sirius sighed, gesturing to the other boxes that were the exact same as the one he was holding and she gave a nod to his words, unable but to feel slightly jealous of him. If she were ever sick in the infirmary, Emilia knew there was not a hope in Heaven that she would ever receive so many kind things from so many people. He looked to her, paused in his chewing before shoving the box out to her. "Want some?"
Her eyes moved to his, wide and wondering if he was joking but it didn't seem so, she could tell when Sirius was joking – he often laughed at what he said. Emilia held her hands back, hesitating. It was always a polite thing to decline the first time so as to not seem so greedy. "I shouldn't."
He gave the box another shove in front of her, waving it beneath her face. "You absolutely should."
Another moment of faux restraint, raising a hand to hover the selection, casting Sirius another look to make sure he wouldn't pull away from her and laugh. "Can I?"
Sirius gave a roll of his grey eyes. "I'm offering, aren't I?"
Emilia held out for one heartbeat longer before she couldn't help it, a stupid grin breaking out across her face, shuffling closer with their knees nearly knocking together and eyes darting around what was before her. "I don't know where to start."
"Here, these are the ones James wanted," Sirius offered, pointing to one that was in the shape of a heart. "Well, technically he wanted me to put them aside for Evans since they're her favourite, but he was being an arse yesterday so you can have them."
Her eyebrows drew together, picking up but not yet taking a bite out of it, as if waiting for his permission to do so. "Won't he get mad?"
"Over chocolate?" He asked as he threw in another piece of chocolate, talking through it in the most unpolite manner. "We've fought over worse."
Dropping all pretences, Emilia wasted not a moment longer and popped it into her mouth, the flavour of strawberry filling her mouth and she couldn't help the delighted sound that left her as she grabbed the twin to it, unable to do much but indulge in the divine taste of it all.
"They taste amazing!" Emilia exclaimed, covering her hand with her mouth so as to not be too rude, but Sirius didn't care, he wasn't really a stickler for things like rules and manners which made it so easy to relax around him.
"Remus can eat an entire box of these and more without getting sick, don't know how he does it," he told her, handing her the box before grabbing another to rip it open. Emilia didn't think Madam Pomfrey would be too happy to see such a sight – the two of them feasting on chocolate, surrounded by torn plastic and papers and shoes on the bed; the image of the Healer going into a tizzy nearly sent Emilia into a fit of laughter.
"I don't blame him," she stated, swallowing a mouthful lest she choke. Last thing Emilia wanted on her headstone was: Here lies Emilia Greene, choked on chocolate. Though, there were probably worse ways to go than that, so Emilia didn't mind it that much.
"Don't tell me you're one of those chocolate addicted people too," he groaned, opening a packet of Maltesers, offering her one which she gladly accepted. "Well, could be worse. Could be drugs."
"I just never really had sweets growing up, so I'm afraid I might eat the entire box on you," she laughed nervously, not lying in the least bit; she really was not looking forward to the crash of the sugar rush that she was riding but it was going to be worth every bit of it.
"Let me guess: your parents didn't want you rotting your perfect teeth so they made sure you never had any sweets?" he wondered, leaning back and using his elbow to hold himself up, legs stretched out beside Emilia.
"No, we just could never afford it," she admitted without much thought, giving a shake of her head as she did so, looking down at the box and nearly wincing at the fact there was only one left, shyly holding one out to Sirius. He must think her a pig for eating so much in so little time, but he didn't say anything; in fact, he looked a little stunned. "Do you want the last one?"
He didn't say anything, his brows being brought together and looking as if he didn't hear her, staring right into Emilia's eyes until she gave the box a jostle under his nose to grab his attention and he blinked, looking down as if he hadn't even noticed what she was doing.
"Uh. No, no you can have it," he declined with a soft voice and Emilia took that as initiative to do just that, popping it into her mouth and just as she placed the empty box down on the bed, Sirius was once more holding out the packet in his hand out to her, leaving her no time to take a break. As she went to grab one, he took hold of her hand, turning it over palm upwards and spilling a few into her palm, much to Emilia's delight.
The first thing to do for during Christmas holidays: visit a dentist.
Sirius didn't speak as Emilia chewed happily on the sweets, the silence prolonging until he found his voice again, giving a small cough. "So, you just never had any sweets growing up, because of that?"
"No, Mum didn't want to stretch money that far," Emilia confessed readily, too focused in on what she was eating to realise what was leaving her mouth, too engrossed to realise that he wasn't plying the words from her mouth, she was letting them go freely. "We used to eat fish and chips a lot since that was all we could afford and she wasn't really bothered to cook. I still can't stand the smell of fish and chips to this day, it just reminds me of that time."
It was only when she bit down on the last chocolate ball that Emilia came to and realised what she had just told him, freezing and shocked at herself; she hadn't realised just how easily she had spoke of this to Sirius, how quick she was to spill it out to him and cursed herself for doing so.
Her cheeks felt warm as embarrassment creeped up on her, not able to meet his eyes for fear of what she would find there; it wasn't that she was keeping her childhood situation a secret, she just didn't like telling every Tom, Dick and Harry about it – yes, there were some things she wanted to keep to herself but it wasn't as if Sirius had asked for her whole life autobiography and Emilia felt like giving herself a good thrashing.
Emilia forced herself to stare down at her hands, rubbing them to get rid of any lingering pieces that clung to her skin before she heard Sirius shuffling, moving about and next thing she knew, he was shoving more into her lap, startling her completely.
"Here, try these," he insisted and when Emilia finally felt brave enough to look at him, his expression was unreadable, nonchalant. "No use throwing away perfectly good food."
She gave a nervous smile. "I have a feeling I'm just your guinea pig to test if any of these have love potions."
It was an attempt to lighten the mood and it seemed to work as he gave a bark of laughter, the sound as sweet as the taste of chocolate that was staining her mouth and he gave a wink that made her melt just the same. "Sweetheart, believe me, I don't have any need of love potions."
But in all his moving about, a bright colour packet caught Emilia's eye; it was yellow, clear that she could see the gummies inside and ginger and lemon – lemon, she loved lemon sweets and lemon cakes, anything really to do with lemon. Her neighbour, Mrs. Halabi, made amazing lemon cake and it would haunt Emilia's dreams with how good it was.
Her mouth watered at the sight of the sweets but she turned her eyes away, remembering that she already got more than she had ever thought possible and was more than happy with what Sirius was sharing with her. She didn't know if it was the fact that he was willingly sharing them with her or that fact it was him that made everything taste so much better.
But she must not have been as conspicuous as she thought as Sirius reached across without a second thought to grab them and toss them over to Emilia who barely managed to catch them in time before it would have met her face. "Here, have these."
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Don't you want them?"
"Nah, I don't like them," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Really?" Emilia questioned, unable to understand why he was so readily parting with such gifts and giving them to her nonetheless. Maybe it was less insulting to offer them to her instead of dumping them right into the bin as he had done with many others already, but Sirius wasn't one to care about politeness or manners or any of that stuff. But she wasn't going to question it, if he persisted on her taking them, who was she to deny him? In fact, it was the polite thing to do, to take them off his hand when he had no use or want of them; yep, that was the only reason. "You don't like lemon?"
Sirius gave a shake of his head as he gave a root about to find more sweets he could depart with and give unto Emilia. "No, too sour."
"I think it's my favourite flavour for everything," she admitted shyly as she watch him continue his search.
"Finally, my other half that I can dump everything lemon flavoured on to," he sighed dreamily as he did just that, unloading a few more plastic bags into her lap.
"So I'm your bin now?" she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest in an attempt to appear in any way intimidating, but Emilia knew she failed as his eyes seemed to light up at her action and she realised a new born puppy might be more threatening than she ever could be.
"My little lemon bin," he cooed, leaning closer to Emilia, surrounding her entirely until she remembered she had hands that she could use to push him back, succeeding in doing so as his body met the mattress again but Sirius didn't seem the least bit bothered by it – in fact, he seemed to thrive off of Emilia's reaction.
Emilia pulled a face, gingerly putting the packet down as her features screwed up at the sight of a grinning Sirius. "I don't think I like lemon anymore."
"Oh don't be that way, Lemon," he tutted, propping himself up again.
Emilia became worried that all the sweets she ate might make a reappearance; she could handle sugar, but Sirius was going to singlehandedly be responsible for all the cavities with how he was acting. "Don't call me that."
"You don't like being called Lemon, Lemon?" he sang and Emilia cringed at how happy he appeared at her less than delighted reaction to her new name; out of everything to be referred to, and he had to go with that.
Emilia gave a groan, shaking her head and wondering if she was already falling from her sugar high. "Stop it, now you're making it sound like it isn't even a real word."
"Are any words real?" Sirius pondered aloud through a sigh and a mouthful of gummies, the very picture of a modern day philosopher.
Emilia took to cradling her head, hunched over the bed and digging her palms into her eyes, stars bursting and catching fire as she rubbed against her vision fiercely. "You're hurting my brain."
"That would be the sugar actually," he corrected and the moment was torn apart when the curtains were ripped open to reveal a very unpleased Madam Pomfrey, who stared down at her so called patient through the hook of her nose as he lounged about on his sick bed with Emilia, looking far too healthy and self satisfied to be in the infirmary.
Pomfrey gave a weary, ragged sigh as Emilia gave a bashful sight to the nurse, doing her best to try and hide most of the sweets and chocolates lest they be confiscated under the guise of being detrimental to a recovering person's health. Instead, the nurse gave a huff, hands on her hips and eyes sharp. "Mr. Black, are you still here?"
Rather than being intimidated, Sirius lazed back in his bed, not caring for the fact his entire section was littered with papers and plastics and every thing that might attract mice. "Checking to calm your worries since you'll miss me when I'm gone?"
She quirked a thin eye brow, voice devoid of any humour. "A surprise Ms. Greene puts up with you."
"Of course she does!" Sirius defended, spine straightening and sitting upright as he turned to Emilia to back him up, which she might have done had he not opened his mouth after. "Right, Lemon?"
Emilia met his eyes with a blank stare before she swung her legs off the bed, grabbing the ginger-lemon sweets he had gifted her and the half wilted tulips, reaching down to grab her bag and slipping the strap around her shoulder. "Thanks for the flower and the sweets. See you at dinner."
Sirius stared at Emilia and her lack of reassurance, flopping back on the bed and narrowly missing chipping his skull off his head board as he clutched at his chest. "Oof, ouch, ow, Madam Pomfrey, do you have anything to heal a broken heart?"
"If I had," Pomfrey muttered none too quietly. "I would have had many girls being sent my way because of you."
It's much later when Emilia began to feel the descend of the sugar rush, all but ill at the amount she had eaten as Sirius had nearly practically shoved them down her throat. Dinner was barely appetising as she pushed her bit of beef with gravy around on her plate, feeling all too much like a lump between a grouping of Fourth Years, not that she minded all that much – her head was still recovering and she didn't mind the fact she had to sit in silence for a little while.
She had tried keeping an eye out for Sirius or any of his friends but caught no sight of them even though he was supposed to be out of the infirmary by now; she wondered if they went elsewhere to celebrate Sirius' hasty recovery and didn't blame him for not wanting to spend his time surrounded by a crowd of adoring admirers asking how he was, leaving him with no room to take a bite of his dinner.
Emilia hoped she would at least be able to catch a glimpse of him before bed, just to make sure he truly was alright, unable to help herself as she kept finding her eyes darting around the loud, full hall but to no success. A huff left her and Emilia's shoulders dropped, elbow on the table as she cradled her cheek and having no real interest in finishing what was on her plate; the thought of leaving before desert was enticing and wondered if she could slip away before realising there wasn't anyone around who would notice her disappearance.
Decision made, Emilia placed her utensils on the table, feeling sluggish as she stood, ready to leave when something touched down on her shoulder, nearly sending her jumping before she turned to see Sirius pushing himself into the non-existent space beside her, the Fourth Year boy nearly toppling over in his attempt to make room for Sirius.
"Sirius!" she said, a bit too loudly through a grin as the hand on her shoulder pushed her down into her spot again, movement beside her making her briefly turn to see Remus beside her doing the same as Sirius, a small smile on his lips as he took her left. In the spaces opposite them, James and Peter slipped in in the midst of a hushed argument about whether Quidditch or Muggle football was better.
"'Tis I!" Sirius proclaimed, hand moving to the small part of Emilia's back, the spot between her shoulder blades and lingering there. "I know, my presence has been terribly missed. I'll have to make up for more lost time."
Emilia didn't think it was possible for them to spend any more time together than they already did, but she was sure that with his will, he would find a way. Not that she minded – she did miss him the past few days. "Madam Pomfrey finally let you out."
"I think any longer and she would have ended up strangling me if only it didn't result in me having to staying even longer. Too many visitors for one person, she said," he sighed, pausing in piling his plate up with food to bring his hand and place it over where his heart was. "What can I say, I'm just that loved."
From her peripheral vision, Emilia could see James and Peter sharing glances and rolling eyes at Sirius and not saying anything to reassure him that it was the truth and Remus sat with his lips pushed together in a tight line to prevent a smile from giving him away. She was currently sitting squished between Sirius and Remus, the latter of which was at least trying to not have his entire body weight toppling in against her, though Sirius didn't seem to notice all that much, his arm pressed against her shoulder and thigh against hers.
Sirius scooped his dinner into his mouth, the sight of which fascinating because Emilia was half worried he was going to choke on his food and be sent right back to Madam Pomfrey but he had no trouble, not caring his mouth was full and could easily be strangled. "Oh, it is good to have real food again."
"You act as if Madam Pomfrey didn't feed you," Remus remarked.
Sirius swallowed and Emilia pulled a face, remarking that James had been right – Sirius really did eat like a dog. "With what I was given, I think she personally went to the elves and asked them to cook me cardboard with how bad it was."
"Couldn't go upsetting your poor, little tummy, now could she?" James chimed in, voice cooing as he mocked Sirius, who didn't seem as quick to fall for the bait.
"Think about all the energy and nutrients I would need in order to keep up for the match, Prongs. What if I fall off my broom because I wasn't fed right?" he shot back and James gave him a very sly and sharp smile.
"If you do, stay on the ground because the second you get up I'm kicking you off the broom again," he threatened through a smile, and Emilia wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not.
"I'd like to see you try. Tell me again, who won the arm wrestling match - " Sirius began, pointing a thumb to his chest before pointing to his bespectacled friend across from him. " - And who had his face slammed into the table in front of Lily Evans from how weak he was and ended up breaking his glasses?"
"That was a fluke," James claimed, bringing his fist down on the table and his dark cheeks were looking a little red, inflamed from embarrassment at the memory.
"That's not a fluke - he won three more times after," Remus said and the heat in James' cheeks seem to worsen and Emilia felt bad for the boy at his friends' teasing.
"What did you do with all the gifts?" she asked, taking away from the conversation at hand by turning to Sirius and directing his attention to her once more.
"Threw most of them away," Sirius told her, scooping peas onto his plate. "Pretty sure they nearly all had love potions brewed in."
"What?!" Emilia choked out, hand going to her throat as if the potion was personally being guzzled down her throat via funnel.
Sirius saw the alarm on her face and shook his head, clearly trying to suppress his laughter and if it weren't for that fact she was practically squished between Remus and Sirius, she might have given him a kick in the shin. "Don't worry, I could tell which ones didn't have any in them before I gave you some. So long as you don't start serenading Francesca Yorring, you'll be fine."
"The only way to do anything with her would have to be under the influence of a love potion," Peter sniggered in a low voice before he did a quick search of his immediate surroundings as if he was afraid that said girl would pop up to thump him across the head. Emilia frowned, she didn't think Francesca was too mean of a person, she was quite pretty with the freckles in her face bunched together like constellations in the sky. Maybe it was because she was a girl that she was unable to see why boys wouldn't like the Hufflepuff.
"Pretty sure she gave half of Hufflepuff the clap," James revealed through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
Ah, maybe they didn't like her because of that.
"She bought me those awful, caramel sweets that looked as old as Dumbledore's arse," Sirius described, a bit too colourful and imaginative with his words because Emilia certainly did not want the image of Dumbledore's behind to be burnt into the inside of her mind. "But, kind and gracious as I am, I accepted them from her with a smile. Before I chucked them in the bin obviously."
"At least I don't have to be acting as your bloody messenger for everyone else," Remus grumbled beside Emilia, as if the memory of having to do so was unpleasant for him.
"Your service was greatly appreciated, Moony. Might I offer some chocolate frogs as payment?"
Remus' face took on a shade that was not unlike the same colour grass. "Thanks, but no thanks. Last time I ate too many and thought I might turn into one myself."
Sirius gave a lift of one shoulder and turned to Emilia, the angle awkward from how close they were pressed together. "Well, looks like more for you, Emilia."
Emilia's face mimicked Remus' as her stomach did a tumble, the thought of even smelling chocolate was enough to make her insides to spill out on the ground and her face was pale as she gave a shake of her head in decline. "Um, I think I'm okay. I'm still coming down from the sugar rush from earlier. Not doing too well."
"You did have a lot to eat," Sirius remarked and three sudden intakes of breath from the other boys could be heard and Emilia quirked her eyebrows at Sirius.
"You were the one who kept forcing them down my throat," she told him, wondering how he could have possible forgotten who was the one that was trying to find any way to get rid of his confectionary of sweets. Even if she had been enthusiastic, it was only at his persistence.
He rolled his eyes to the ceiling before dropping them back down to Emilia. "Well, someone had to eat them."
"And why not you?" she questioned, as if it were the most obvious thing – which is was. "They were your gifts."
"Yeah, but I have a figure to watch," he said and the intake of breath was more pronounced this time as Emilia narrowed her gaze at him.
Her arms found themselves over her chest as her gaze sharpened at Sirius. "And you're saying that I don't?"
James gave a low whistle, leaning over the table to murmur to Sirius, failing in keeping the words quiet. "At least Poppy will still have your bed for you tonight."
Sirius' eyes darted to his friend and to Emilia and she could see the whites of his eyes; maybe she was finally getting better at becoming more intimidating. She watched as Sirius' mouth parted, trying to form words that wouldn't act as a shovel to bury him even further into the ground but he had already begun digging. He brought his hands up, palms outwards as if in surrender.
"Of course you do! An amazing figure at that, might I add," he spluttered out and the sight of a nervous Sirius nearly made Emilia drop her hostile pretences as a laugh began to bubble in the back of her throat. He recollected himself, leaning closer to her and it seemed the tables had turned as she felt the nervous energy that had buzzed through him leak out and seep into her. "Absolutely gorgeous, effortlessly so that you don't need to watch it."
Her face felt a bit too warm – had they finally installed much needed radiators in the school? Her voice was a soft murmur, trying to wave off his words. "Nice try."
"I'm serious!" he insisted and it was as if he knew that he knew how the situation flipped, that he somehow had an upper hand and he moved closer to Emilia, so much so she worried he would feel just how hot her cheeks were. "In fact you wouldn't need to watch it, because I can do all that for you."
She almost forgot his friends were around them and braved a look into his eyes, at how they were curved in delight, shining bright and catching on the candles above just right -
"Marlene asked if you liked her gift."
Peter's voice caught their attention as she turned away from Sirius, taking a sudden interest in her dinner once more even though she held no appetite for it.
Sirius looked across the table with a confused look at Peter. "What?"
"Marlene," Peter clarified, a hard look at Sirius and Emilia felt beyond the realm of mortification at realising that Sirius had said that to her in front of his friends. All she wanted was to find the biggest hole in Britain and die in it. "She wanted to know if you liked it and if you were any better."
Sirius' features screwed up, not really bothered to engage with the question and already turning back to talk to a very disinterested Emilia. "Oh, don't see why she couldn't ask me herself."
"She had asked what to get you and I let her know the ginger lemon sweets were your favourite," Peter continued on and Emilia froze, eyes moving to Sirius with her mouth dropping open and she just managed to catch the cold, sharp look he had given to Peter as if in an effort to shut his friend up but it was too late.
"You said you didn't like lemon!" she accused and he let out a sharp huff, trying to look anywhere but at Emilia.
"What, me?" He said, voice a bit higher than normally. "Of course I don't."
"Those were the ones you gave me!" Emilia cried out, a look that was a mixture of disbelief and accusatory on her features.
"I gave them to you because I hate them," he explained but Emilia didn't buy it, glowering at him; she couldn't believe he had given them to her! Lucky enough she had not eaten them so she would be able to give them back and she didn't care how much he fought against it.
"Since when?" Remus snorted and Sirius didn't appear to appreciate his friend's interjection.
"Since the summer with that very traumatic accident where I nearly died choking on one, Moony, remember?" Sirius said through gritted teeth, practically hissing at Remus over Emilia's head before he looked to her, trying to be more convincing as if the very word of the fruit left a bad taste in his mouth. "I hate lemon, honest, can't stand it."
"Mate, what?" James spoke up, swallowing his food and looking as if he had tuned out long ago and wasn't inclined at all to try and help his friend out of this dead end he had found himself in. "You're always raving on about Mum's lemon drizzle cake because it's your fa – "
Whatever James was going to say was abruptly cut off as he gave a sharp yelp, crumpling in an instant with his head dropping suddenly and banging against the wooden table, plates clattering as he reached down, bringing his leg up to cradle it, not caring that a bruise might start to form on his forehead. Emilia stared at James, startled at his sudden action with wide eyes as the boy began to curse in a wheezed voice under his breath and she looked to Sirius who didn't seem the least bit surprised by James' outburst.
In fact, he looked as if he was expecting it as he took a drink of his pumpkin juice. "Oi, James, you alright?"
James unwound a hand to offer up a shaky thumbs up to Sirius in response, his voice high pitched. "Yeah, never better. Fan-fucking-tastic."
Sirius gave a clap of his hands, signifying an end to all discussions of lemons and sweets.
"Great, I hate lemon flavoured stuff, can't stand it, case close. Promise, Lemon," he said, the last words done directly towards Emilia and she felt the rush of heat to her cheeks again at the absolutely horrible nickname that Sirius was forcibly tacking onto Emilia. Maybe it, like he had, would grow on her eventually. Peter gave James a comforting pat on the shoulder and Remus sighed, shaking his head but Sirius paid no heed, a grin on his face and Emilia was quite glad to have him back again. "Now, enough of this, dinner time anyone?"
hello, hello! Before I get into me A/N, I would like to answer a few of your reviews!
megancl99: thank u so much! i just love writing platonic bonding and i really want these two to be friends before theyre anything else because theyre going to see the best and worst of each other and then it'll all develop from there. im so glad ur enjoying the friendship part before the romance begins! adnjioeajdoa thank u for saying this is one of ur favs stories! it still amazes me that ANYONE likes my stories!
Momochan77: ejfioaf i LOVE handholding - romantic, platonic and otherwise! i just know sirius' love language is touch and i am just such a sucker for affection and im not going to hold back now that we've crossed this threshold. hope u enjoy this update!
OryxGreen: thank u so much for ur review! im so glad people are enjoying the slow burn because to me friendship is v important for the foundation of any relationship and i want these two to be besties before i even think abt making them kith. so i dont want to give too much away with regards to romance and relationships since this will be mentioned in future chapters, but i might just let a little slip, as a treat: basically, sirius is growing up and since he's focused on his friendship w emilia, he's not really interested in casual sex atm. so like, i mentioned that he used it as a coping mechanism a lot but he's older and is learning to deal with his trauma and loneliness in non-toxic ways as he opens up to emilia and her to him. he's nearly 18 at this point in the story and he's a teenager, so it's not as if he doesn't think about sex, but he's learning to stop being so detached from sex and using it for self validation (that hes wanted) and distraction (to not feel the affects of his childhood trauma). The difference between emilia and sirius and that it's going to like a frog in boiling water for emilia: she wont even realise until her feelings are too much for her to bear until she realises they exist, whereas i feel like sirius isn't so out of tune with his emotions that he will recognise them earlier (but not as early as readers will think). thank you so much for your constant support and love, it honestly means so much to me! and believe me, peter is going to play a bigger part in this story than the readers think.
LoveFiction.2021: thank you so much! i legit cant wait to write more marauders banter!
Kaiya's Watergarden: Thank u! im so glad you enjoyed and i hope you continue to support the story! :)
humbabi: thank u so much, im so happy you enjoyed!
StayStrong26: rhofahforaw thank u! i spent so long going back and forth on whether i should publish this story since i know the marauders fandom is drowning in oc fics but the love and support i have received makes me regret not publishing this sooner!
jjkrainy: thank you so much! i love writing awkward emilia, i def relate to being like her when i was a teen only i think i was a lot more awkward and silent, at least shes trying to put in the effort lol. i hope u enjoy this chapter!
as someone who literally hates sweets and cant eat any without feeling sick, i could never relate to emilia or remus ever.
also sorry for the late update, uni and work is kicking my butt and it's only going to get worse from here on out. I have uni from monday to thursday and work friday to saturday and now the work is starting so i dont know when i will ever get time to write and its so upsetting but i will try! since the uni library is open (aka my home away from home) i might be able to get some writing done there.
song of choice while writing: i melt w u! by sofia mills
Thanks for reading!