/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟔.𝟟.𝟣

When at last the rest of the class had finished their potions and Marlene and Artemis had settled back into their boredom, Slughorn started making his way around the room, asking each pair what their potion smelled like. "I'm going to wait until he gets over here," said Marlene. "More suspense that way."

Artemis laughed, but she had decided to wait too. There was something about the whole ordeal that felt almost reverent. Instead, she paid attention to what everyone else was saying. Mary's smelled like "fresh picked flowers, old records, and that smell just after it rains."

Remus's was chocolate, his boyfriend's cologne, and the candle Alice always burned in the Gryffindor common room. The candle was a common one amongst the Gryffindors, all of whom felt most at home in their tower.

When Slughorn got to Sirius, Artemis perked up. He bent over his potion, smelled it, and immediately smiled. "Smells like cigarettes, the laundry detergent at James's house..." his expression faltered and his eyes flicked to the ground. "Ummmm... perfume, and... strawberry lipgloss."

For a split second, his eyes flicked to Artemis. She was staring down at her hands, the slightest of smiles toying with the edges of her lips. Slughorn make a tsking noise. "Special someone, eh?" Sirius didn't answer. He watched Slughorn approach Marlene and Artemis's table. "Miss McKinnon?"

Marlene smelled her potion and Artemis couldn't help laughing a little at the look of relief spreading across her face, a much-needed distraction from Sirius's answer. "Smells like Christmas trees, Dorcas Meadowes, and the quidditch pitch just before a match."

"Does that have a specific smell?" Slughorn asked curiously.

"Oh yeah, like sweat and electricity."

He gave her a confused look, then turned to Artemis. "And you, Miss Blake?"

She focused her gaze on the potion in front of her, not looking at anyone else. She bent down, smelled it, and immediately felt relaxed by the comfort of the scent. "I smell my dad's old jackets, fire, old books, and..." She made the exact same face Sirius had- equal parts elation, confusion, and mild panic. "And... dog fur." She whispered the last two words and sat down in her seat.

Slughorn nodded, made a few marks on his paper, and then moved on to the next table. Artemis finally found the courage to look up at Sirius, and he was staring right back at her. The second their eyes met, she knew. Everything she'd been feeling for him.... he felt it too. For the most intense five seconds of her life, they stared at each other, their eyes boring into one another. And then, Sirius cleared his throat ever so slightly and turned to talk to James. She got the message. They couldn't let anyone find out just yet, not until they'd figured it out for themselves. She turned back to Marlene, who was chattering on about Dorcas, and tried to slow the steady pounding in her chest.

When class was dismissed, Artemis walked out as she usually did, in a pack with James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Marlene, Lily, and Mary all had N.E.W.T. Divination afterwards, leaving Artemis to spend her free period with the boys. She strode alongside Sirius, at the far end of their group. THe two of them, who usually were the loudest in the group aside from James, were silent. Neither of them looked at each other. Both were internally losing it.

They were halfway down the dungeon hallway when Artemis felt it. Sirius's hand, slipping into hers. Their grasp on each other was decided, assured, and for once, Artemis was confident this was the right thing. She looked up at him and he caught her eye, raising his eyebrows. She looked away to try and hide the giddy smile sliding across her face.

Then, he was leaning down, whispering in her ear, "Let's go somewhere." She nodded curtly and he turned to the rest of the group, careful to hide his hand holding Artemis's. "Hey, I actually think I forgot my notebook back there, I'm gonna go back."