Disclaimer: Anything that rings a bell belongs to J.K Rowling

Chapter 33: The Greatest Stimulant

Sirius took a deep breath, lounging against the balustrade of the small balcony of the hotel room. He knew they had a long day tomorrow, and he ought to sleep, but he was having no luck with it, guilt churning in his tummy a greater stimulant than the strongest coffee, and the heat of the night not helping things.

"Gabrielle is on her way. I've let her know that I'll take care of the affairs, I'm heading into the Ministry." Mr Potter informed Mrs Potter, who had been petting an asleep Devon on the sofa.

Sirius had heard almost the exact same words come out of Mr Potter's mouth a little more than a year ago when his mentor, and oldest friend, Frank Longbottom, had been killed in action.

In a matter of two years, Mr Potter had lost two out of his three closest friends. Sirius looked at Remus, who had been gazing out the window, and James, who had been sat silently in the armchair next to his mother, staring into the fire. An overwhelming urge to hug his best friends overcame Sirius, but he supressed the feeling, it wasn't the time to be dramatic. They needed to be supportive to Mr Potter and Baron.

"Mr Potter, we're so sorry." Sirius looked at the older man, not meeting his eyes. Charlus Potter had done so much for him, and Sirius thanked him by behaving so recklessly that his dear friend had lost his life. Sirius ducked his head ashamed, wiping his eyes quickly.

How could Alexandre Sabre be dead, he was just here, hours ago, teasing Sirius about how long his hair was getting.

Sirius felt a hand on his neck, and he lifted his head, "You boys did what boys your age have been doing for centuries. It isn't your fault for sneaking out, this was Voldemort's work."

"There were Slytherins at the party." James stood, "Lucius Malfoy, Garrick Mulciber, the Lestranges." Sirius noticed James hadn't mentioned his brother, always loyal to a fault.

"My brother." Sirius added, knowing it was his job to do this, Regulus was his family, and therefore the onus was on him to choose to involve him.

"Not every Slytherin is a death eater my boy." Mr Potter added, glancing at his wife, who was quite possibly the most incorrect Hat sort in the history of Hogwarts.

"They must have been up to something. Why would they be at a party that celebrated the fact that wizards protected muggles during the Great War?" James pushed the theory with his father.

"We'll look into it, of course, but they were kids, it's just as likely they heard there was a party, and just joined for the fun of it." Prongs opened his mouth to protest, "James, I will look into it, I promise."

James nodded, his face hard but accepting his father's say on the matter.

Mr Potter walked towards the fireplace, but before he could step into it, his son ran at him.

"I'm really sorry dad." James choked out as he hugged his father. Sirius exchanged a look with Remus, knowing that their friend was apologising for a lot more than what his father knew about.

Sirius knew his best friend, and any anger he had at his father for cheating on his mother, for having a secret love child, had disappeared as he was reminded how fleeting life was, and all that anger had been replaced by guilt for feeling such negativity to his dad.

Sirius glanced away, as Mr Potter kissed James affectionately on the cheek, knowing his friend wouldn't appreciate an audience. His eyes fell on a sleeping Judalia Devon.

James' half-sister.

He couldn't really see it, they didn't look anything alike. Though the girl looked nothing like herself either, no longer pale, no longer sickly thin.

Her nose fluttered in her sleep and Sirius' heart hiccupped.

Hiccupped?

"Sirius?"

"Huh?" He looked at Moony, who had left the window.

"Mrs Potter said we should pack. We're heading for a hotel…give the Sabres' some privacy."

Sirius leaned his head back, enjoying the cool night breeze. The day had passed by in a blur, spent mostly preparing for Alex's funeral which was to be held later today. Mr Potter told them the French Ministry had magically fixed the Arc de Triomphe, which was apparently a very important monument to the muggles, and obliviated any muggle who might have noticed it crumbling.

The explosion was caused by muggle bombs, and the French ministry deemed the incident a muggle terrorist attack. Mr Potter didn't believe this for a second, and neither did Sirius. What are the chances that a random muggle terror attack happens on the one day in the year the French Wizarding and Non-magical communities celebrated together? Why would any knowledgeable muggles attack wizards who helped in their war?

Mr Potter believed this was a warning from Voldemort for the French Ministry to stay out of what is happening in the UK. Alexandre Sabre had been making great strides trying to win his ministry over to help in the fight against Voldemort, and Mr Potter said they were so close to having an official alliance, and that Mr Potter and Alex actually spent a lot of this week discussing strategy to get this pushed through, and that James' birthday celebration was a great cover story for their meetings.

But now, with Alex gone, two muggles dead, and about a dozen injured, the French Ministry have backpedaled on any progress Charlus and Alex had made, to the point that there have superimposed ministry regulations that prohibits breaking International Confederation of Wizards legislature, which prevent interfering in another country's politics without ICW permission.

Voldemort got exactly what he wanted, and these damn ministry men were too short sighted to see that.

Sirius' ears pricked as he heard soft footsteps, and he turned around just as the balcony door opened.

"Oh." Judalia Devon walked through, closing the French doors behind her. "Sorry, I didn't expect anybody to be up." Sirius' tummy flipped at the sight of her in a thin silver satin nightdress, a tiny thing considering how warm the night was. He swallowed, noticing just then the distinct outline of her chest…somehow, the girl was far from warm. "Sirius?"

He quickly looked up, forgetting himself for a moment and more importantly, forgetting just who was stood in front of him.

James' sister.

Sirius' eyes found Devon's face, as she tucked a long brown strand behind her ear self consciously. They had barely spoken since yesterday, she had been asleep most of the day, apparently not feeling very well.

"Couldn't get to sleep. You?" He leaned against the balustrade at his back, but the balcony was not large, and it did little to create space between the two of them.

"Nightmare." She hugged herself and Sirius fought the mad urge to hold her.

What was going on with him? This was just Devon. Nothing changed since finding out that she was James' sister, she was still just Devon.

"I'm sorry. What about?"

She was quiet for a moment, and Sirius wondered whether that had been a too personal question, "I don't know. I wake up, and it's gone. It's been happening all week. I feel like…" Her lips dipped down and Sirius took a step closer to her, he didn't like the sadness that descended upon her dainty features, "It's on the tip of my tongue, but then, nothing. But I feel… scared."

"Don't." Sirius closed the distance between them, but didn't touch the girl, just loomed tall in front of her. "You're safe." She was a foot shorter than him, and whilst nowhere near as skinny as the start of the year, she was still tiny, easily the shortest girl in their year. But she was strong, he remembered how she hurtled into him yesterday, trying to save him from - "Oh Godric, I didn't say thank you. Devon, thank you."

Her dark eyes, which had been fixed on his white tee, misted over in confusion.

"For, you know, saving me."

"Oh!" She gasped, "Oh that was nothing. I should be thanking you, if it wasn't for you being in danger, I may not have ever snapped out of my silence."

Sirius swallowed, a surprising feeling of pride at the truth of that statement flooded his body. She feared him being hurt to the point that she overcame her inability to speak, something she was unable to do so for four years.

Oh…that's what changed.

It wasn't the fact that she was James' sister, it was that the simple act of calling his name, Devon made him feel cared for and important, on a day he very much needed it.

Sirius noticed her eyes growing confused again, and he realised he was silent for too long.

"Well I suppose we have Rabastan to thank for that then." Sirius muttered darkly, "And I suppose, my brother."

"Your brother?" Her voice was so delicate, Sirius felt if he didn't have such good hearing he wouldn't have registered her words.

"Yeah, that git that was with Rabastan." Her frown deepened, but it just dawned on him that at the time she was too busy pushing him out of the way of a killing curse to notice much of anything.

Again, the thought sunk in, that Judalia Devon had saved his life.

"Thank you." Her face broke into an encouraging smile that did funny things to the hair on Sirius' arms.

"For?" His voice came out croaky, his mouth becoming dry from her closeness, but she didn't seem to take any notice of his physical dilemmas.

"Saving me last term. I guess, now we're even." Sirius had a feeling he would never feel even with this girl.

He'd always feel indebted.

Beneath her.

She was James' sister.

Charlus Potter's daughter.

He took a deep breath, catching her scent on it, fruity, not floral.

He liked it.

"Well, I suppose I should also apologise. I'm sorry about, well, everything." He muttered, running a hand through his hair self consciously, "You know, making that terrible joke about you being a hermaphrodite, which wasn't even funny to begin with. And well at the start of the year when I made everyone think you, well, were part of an orgy that I orchestrated."

"An orgy?" He couldn't help laughing at the way she said the word, testing it in her mouth as if she wasn't sure she was saying it right, "What's an orgy?"

He closed his eyes, he should not be having this conversation with his best friend's sister. She looked up at him, wide eyed and trusting.

Well, fuck.

"It's not important." He waved his hand in dismissal, and she bit her lip, holding her arms about her midriff. He didn't understand why this made her sad.

"I suppose this is just another thing everyone our age seems to know, and I don't."

Sirius sighed, feeling like an arse. The girl seemed to spend her whole life out of the loop, even about her own history. It must be incredibly frustrating. And the last thing he wanted was for her to ask James what an orgy was because he had mentioned it to her, Prongs would not like that one bit.

"It's when more than two people, well no, actually more than three people, because more than two is just a threesome, have sex."

Her eyes widened, "What's sex?"

Fuck no.

Sirius swallowed, "Err." He looked at the French doors and his only avenue of escape. "Errr. Well." Fuck. "It's when a man and a woman, or a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, two people. Or more people, if that's your fancy. When people, they errrr," He could feel his face heating up in mortification, and so was hers. Godric he was completely embarrassing the girl, "Well, erm, a man has a, well a-"

Godric Sirius couldn't say penis in front of this girl. She looked up at him, with trusting big eyes.

"Penis."

"Penis?"

He let out a breath at her question…she didn't know what a penis was?!

Oh man, he can't explain that, how would he begin to start. Thinking about the word itself made him feel very aware of his own, which, well, she smelled nice, and looked so pretty, and they were standing so close.

Godric, what was happening to him!

Suddenly she let out a sharp sound, and Sirius' eyes snapped to hers, terrified that she would somehow notice his arousal, but she had her hand over her mouth, stifling the tinkling peals of laughter that had been escaping her plump pink lips, her face bright red, but not from embarrassment like he previously thought…but from humour!

She was pranking him!

"Ohhh…oh you are mean!" Sirius said with mock offence, the truth was, he was far from offended, he was utterly impressed.

And frustratingly, somehow, more aroused.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it! You thought I didn't know what sex was!"

"Well, you said you didn't have all your memories."

"Yeah but I'm also a seventeen year old, I may have been mute but I wasn't deaf!"

Sirius narrowed his eyes at the girl, annoyed at being the victim of a prank for a change. "Oh is that so, so what have you heard, oh wise one."

She bit her lip and Sirius had to look away from the gesture, his mind running away with him when his eyes landed on the action. "Well, you're apparently quite proficient at it."

His brows rose, "Pardon?"

She shrugged, "Girls talk. Especially if they think you're unable to do so! What does going up on someone mean?" She leaned forward, curious and conspiratorial and he felt her brunette locks tickle his chest through his thin shirt.

"Going what?" He swallowed, but she seemed unfazed at their closeness.

She frowned, "You're good at going up on girls? That's what Mary told Aiza. That her cousin said that you're good at going up on her. Hmm, up, or was it down? Going down? What does that mean?"

Sirius cleared his throat, stepping away from the innocent girl, flattered against his will at her intel, but this was way passed his comfort zone, "Well, the rumour mill has to get it right every so often." He smirked to himself, meeting her quizzical gaze. "That's not important." He waved the thought away, and then added preemptively, "And I wouldn't listen to everything girls say. Most of the rumours about me are completely fabricated."

He didn't particularly like the idea that Devon knew all his antics, he wouldn't want her to think him…well what everyone else thought of him. That he was just some heartless playboy that you could stand up and it wouldn't affect him.

"Oh." She said with a frown, "You mean you don't have a birthmark in the shape of Italy on your upper left thigh?"

"Right." He mumbled, slightly disconcerted at how much the girl had heard about him and his body parts. "Well, I feel at a disadvantage. You seem to know everything about me, and I know little to nothing about you."

"You and me both." She stated monotonously and Sirius frowned, Godric that was a dumb thing to say, but she let out a small chuckle, "Oh you're too easy, perk up, I'm just joking." She sighed, "Though, I suppose, I shouldn't." She glanced at the door and held herself tighter, remembering that they were both to attend a funeral later in the day. She looked up at him, and Sirius felt as if she were looking right into him, "Did you cut your hair for your big date?"

Sirius' brows rose, automatically running a hand through his shorter dark locks, "What? No I cut my hair for Alex. He kept teasing me that it was too long, so, in his honour, I thought I'd give it a trim. What are you talking about…date?"

"James told me about your French girl. Don't be angry at him, I hope it's not a secret, he didn't tell me much." She quickly added, a small smile on her face, "He likes talking about you."

"Yeah?" Sirius felt a warmth in his chest that for once this night, didn't belong to the girl.

She nodded emphatically, "He has told me almost every detention-earning, points-losing, adventure you lot have embarked on. It's why I feel like," She tilted her head up at him, "Like I already know you. Like you're a character from my favourite book come to life."

"Your favourite book?"

She shrugged, turning towards the night sky and looking up at it, "I like learning about James' life. It makes me feel less unknown. That probably doesn't make any sense."

"No, I think it does. It must be difficult not knowing your own past, but, I suppose James sharing his with you, well, I guess, literally shares it with you. Lets you have a bit of his history."

"Your history too. You, and Remus and Peter."

Sirius laughed, "All the characters from your favourite book. So, tell me, who is your favourite?"

Devon shook her head in exasperation, "Well, it will have to be James."

"Naturally." Sirius murmured, "Second favourite then?"

She smiled and Sirius' heart seemed to want to evacuate his chest cavity at the look she gave him, "I will have to say….Peter."

He barked out a laugh, and covered his mouth, glancing nervously at the French doors that led to their suite, "Liar."

"It's the truth. He is my favourite marauder. I relate to him the most."

"What?" Sirius must have heard wrong, what was a marauder?

"Well, James is always saying how hard he tries to make you all happy and to fit in. And that's how I was when I first met James. And I don't know, you with that face, and James with his talent for quidditch, and Remus with how smart he is, Peter is a bit of wallflower, and I guess." She shrugged, pointing at her face.

"You think you're a wallflower?"

"Oh I think I'm a weed." She laughed, self-deprecatingly, but Sirius didn't join in. She stopped, "I was only joking, I don't actually think I'm a weed. You don't like any of my jests, do you, maybe it's my voice. I'm still getting used to this whole speaking thing."

"You're…far…far from a wallflower." Sirius whispered to her. He hated how much she was bullied this year, how much he had contributed to that. All the pain she experienced at the same hands of the cousin that he gave comfort to just the other night. He realised he had moved close, and that there was a layer of tension that seemed to coat his body. He cleared his throat as he remembered himself, stepping back, "Also, what's a marauder?"

"Oh it's just what I call you boys. You lot are like pirates searching for hidden treasure the way you're plundering the castle for secret rooms and hideouts."

Sirius laughed, "Marauders. I like it. So, important question. Do you at least like me more than Remus?"

Sirius couldn't help the flirty tone that his voice took at the question, it was like asking a phoenix to not regenerate, he didn't have control over his charm.

She rolled her eyes, oh well, he may not have control of his charm but she seemed immune to it. "Jury's still out."

"Hmmm." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Can the jury be bribed?"

She shook her head, "Unfortunately I'm incorruptible."

Sirius smirked, "Oh, I don't doubt that."

She raised her brows curiously but he didn't want to dissect that sentence anymore than she did.

Why did he like how innocent she was?

"So? How did that date go?"

Sirius took a deep breath, "Didn't happen. She stood me up. Turns out, what was it you said - you with that face of yours - not that pretty."

"Oh, I doubt her not showing up has to do with your face."

"Oh, so, you think it was because of my personality!" He barked out a playful laugh and she slapped him on the arm for his words, and he stilled as her fingers sent a zing down his spine.

"I mean, maybe it didn't have to do with you at all. Maybe she was late, James said you were going to meet her at a train station, maybe she got on the wrong platform. Maybe she got the dates mixed up."

Sirius shrugged, picking up the habit from the girl, "She could have written to say so. It's been two days." Devon opened her mouth, but Sirius cut in before she could speak, "Maybe her owl got swallowed by a dragon? Blown away by a tornado? Her hand broke in a quidditch game so she can't pen letters?"

She swatted his arm again for the teasing, looking up at him with kind, dark grey eyes, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Sirius responded quickly.

Because it was…for some reason he didn't much care for why Cece didn't show up now. He didn't feel quite so…rejected.

And unlovable.

You with that face of yours.

It would usually annoy him that she distilled him down to just his looks, but, for some reason, it didn't.

For some reason it mattered that this girl who seemed completely immune to his charm, found him attractive.

Just like he found her to be.

He couldn't help drinking in all her features, so bright in the lunar light. There was something about her eyes, it twinkled, but there was something more in there, like a secret he longed to unravel.

He yelped, suddenly caught in the head by flapping wings. "Ouch." He groaned as a large eagle owl descended on him, wings catching him roughly on the face.

"Halo!" The girl chided, summoning the eagle owl onto her arm. Sirius wondered how she managed the weight, the thing looked half her size. It's orange eyes glared at Sirius. "Sorry, he is a bit…particular."

She took the letter that was attached to its leg, and Sirius grew curious as he caught her name on the letter in a somewhat familiar script, he always saw the girl alone at school, did she have friends?

She caught his curious gaze, "Oh, it's probably from Lily."

"Evans?"

She nodded, "She wrote to me at the start of break. She heard what happened with those Slytherins at the end of term, and just wanted to check in. And we've been exchanging letters."

Sirius noticed a small smile on the girl's face. She clearly liked that she was nurturing a new friendship with Evans.

"Oh well, can I be there when you tell James about this fledgling friendship."

"Why?" She asked, suddenly concerned, "Does James not like Lily?"

Sirius laughed, "That is definitely not the problem. I think he might be very jealous, though."

"Why?" Confusion riddled her face.

"Oh, I think we have to save that for our next lesson. It's much easier teaching you about orgies than it would be teaching you about love. Or infatuation in James' case."

Sirius smirked, walking to the door and holding it open for the girl and her glaring owl.

"Well, I look forward to the lesson, Professor Black." She laughed innocently, but Sirius had to swallow a deep growl at her playful words.

All the good of the cold night air to cool him off to help him sleep was completely undone by the girl.

He knew he was now much too hot to get a wink of sleep that night.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading some Sirius/Jude cuteness - I know it was a long time coming! But it will progress a lot faster now! Thank you for reading - do let me know if you have any feedback, it will be much appreciated !

Kalina