/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟔.𝟟.𝟣

"We'll come," James offered.

Sirius's hold on Artemis's hand tightened ever so slightly. "No, that's alright. Just don't let any first years steal our seats in the common room."

"I'll race you there," said Artemis, and before anybody else could join into the challenge, she and Sirius were already running back down the hallway, hurtling into a secret passage they'd found their fourth year.

She threw her head back laughing at the sheer excitement of it all. He turned back to her, eyes sparkling. "Where to now?"

"There's a great broom cupboard just around the corner," she said with only half mocking formality. The moment felt reverent, like maybe it should be treated with some level of reverence.

He screwed up his face at her. "I hate how well you know those things."

"Oh, come on."

They crept carefully around the corner and slipped into the broom cupboard, still hand in hand, like nothing in the world could break them apart. The second after Sirius locked the door with his wand, Artemis was on him, kissing him like she'd never kissed anyone before. She'd never felt like this before, her heart beating out of her chest as she pulled Sirius back almost desperately, reveling in the feeling of the wall against her back, his hands traveling to her waist, his lips against hers. She wanted to feel every part of him. She wanted to engulf him in herself. It had never been like this before.

His hands were gentle, but didn't hold the same tentativeness of her last partners, like they constantly didn't know what to do. No, Sirius knew exactly what he was doing, but she felt safe knowing he wasn't going to force it. She didn't think about what any of it might mean, she didn't think about the future, she didn't think about anything. Her mind had been wiped blank, her thoughts quieting for the first time in her life by the boy she'd convinced herself she'd hated since she was eleven years old.

Sirius couldn't believe it was happening. It was actually happening. He and Artemis, with their constant back and forth, never ending hot and cold, were actually happening. It wasn't like he'd imagined it. He'd pictured it going much more smoothly, sitting her down at the Hog's Head or somewhere and genuinely revealing his feelings for her, laying his heart out. But this... this was much more fitting. She had her hands in his hair, relentless with unceasing energy that seemed to flow out of her like warm golden light every time he felt her skin touch his.

He never wanted the moment to end, but when at last they broke apart briefly, catching their breath, her shirt untucked and his halfway unbuttoned, their ties loosened, he knew it wouldn't be the last time he kissed Artemis Blake.

"Well..." said Artemis, unable to find anything clever to say.

"I think..." Sirius said, his thoughts coming back slowly, "I think we should definitely do that again."

"Oh, don't ruin it," she said, her voice echoing with laughter.

Her fingers played at the collar of his shirt, just barely touching the skin underneath. He looked down at her lips, the gloss worn off, but still more perfect than anything he could think to describe. She was more perfect than anything he could think to describe. He leaned down and kissed her again, softer this time, an unvoiced question. What is this? What are we doing? Are either of us taking it seriously? Should we be taking it seriously?

A long time later- neither of them knew exactly how long it had been- they broke apart for the last time and Artemis started fixing her hair and re-buttoning the top of her shirt. Sirius watched her, vaguely admiring every movement she made. "Are we going to tell people about this?" he asked at last, the most burning of his questions.

"No," she said, looking up at him. "No, I mean, unless... like... we aren't- dating... or anything, right?"

"Right," said Sirius, and he meant it. He didn't want to date her, not yet. He wanted to be sure that if he was going to be with someone like Artemis- truly be with her- he had it in him to commit fully. "Right, we're just..."

"Messing around." The words didn't sound right to Artemis, but she didn't know what else to call it.

"Exactly," he said, running his hands over his hair to put it back in place. "But it's not a one-time-thing?"

She met his eyes, hers dancing in the low illumination from the crack under the door. "No. It's definitely not a one-time-thing."

"We should probably go separate directions when we leave," he said thoughtfully. "So nobody gets suspicious."

"Sure."

They left the broom cupboard cautiously, making sure nobody was there to see them, and then, after one last look of pure ecstasy and longing, they parted ways. Artemis walked down the hall, her hair still messy, her tie still undone, and for the first time since everything had happened with Bones and maybe even before then, she felt absolutely fine.

~

"So, Artemis, what did you do all afternoon?" asked Lily.

Artemis's head jerked up. "What?"

It was a week later and there was another party in the common room to celebrate Frank taking a hundred points from Slytherin after catching two fifth years torturing one of the owls in the owlery. Lily, Marlene, Dorcas, Artemis, and Mary had all retired to a corner of the party to sit in a circle and talk. They were all feeling burnt out by the year already. "I asked what you did all afternoon," said Lily. "We didn't see you until the match."

"Oh-" said Artemis, her heart still pounding. For a second, she'd thought Lily knew something about her and Sirius. The two had been avoiding each other carefully ever since the broom closet, stealing glances and knowing looks every chance they got. "I just... wandered around a bit."

"Huh," Mary said thoughtfully.

Artemis looked over at her. "What?"

"You've done a lot of 'wandering around' lately, is all."

Artemis stumbled to find a good enough excuse. The truth was, she'd been finding every possible moment to drag Sirius away to some hidden corner or closet to make out. Luckily, Dorcas saved her. "Next year's your last year," she said loftily. "I know I felt that pretty hard halfway through sixth year, you're probably just going through that."

"Exactly," said Artemis, although that wasn't true at all. She rarely thought about leaving Hogwarts, except for when she was imagining herself as an Auror or when she read stories about You-Know-Who in the paper and considered taking action against him when she was older. But that wasn't for a year and a half. She didn't need to worry about it now. "That's exactly it."

Marlene giggled and leaned over to wrap her arms around Artemis. "Oh, honey, you're going to miss us so much when we all leave."

"Don't act like you won't still come around to bother me every chance you get," said Artemis, hugging her back.

"Every day," said Marlene. "You're all going to see a lot more of me once we leave."

"I look forward to it," Lily said sarcastically.

Artemis let her eyes wander to the rest of the party. Remus was sitting on the stairs to the boys' dormitory with Peter, both deep in conversation with drinks in their hands. Frank was dancing with Alice, Gideon, and Fabian a few feet away, moving his head in an odd way that seemed to make Alice laugh. Then, Artemis saw James and Sirius jumping up and down like crazy people, dancing emphatically to the Zeppelin song Sirius had wired through the speakers. She blinked and kept staring at him, his shaggy hair covering his face, but not enough to hide the wild and giddy smile stretching out over his lips. He was wearing his new leather jacket, the one he'd gotten before Christmas, but every so often when he jumped and threw his hands above his head, his t-shirt and jacket slid up to show the skin underneath.

He noticed her staring and his smile grew. He shook his hair from his eyes and motioned excitedly for her to join them. Artemis grinned and hoisted herself to her feet, handing her drink to Mary. "I love this song," she said to the girls. "I'm gonna go dance."