A Circle of Flame- Sirius Black x OC

Chapter 45

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to chew with your mouth closed?" Liza eyed James disapprovingly as he stuffed another wad of toast into his mouth. A bit of jam glistened on the corner of his mouth. The sight was revolting.

"More than once," chirping cheerfully, James reached for a glass of pumpkin juice. "I just prefer to eat faster over properly."

Looking up from his left, Remus eyed the Marauder with a disgruntled snort. "To the disgust of everyone else."

Liza grinned as James tossed a bit of potato at his friend's shirt, smearing the edge of his collar. The pair erupted into a bit of bickering as Sirius pulled her into his lap and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Merlin, don't you have the decency to keep it in the bedroom?"

Marlene McKinnon was glaring from the other side of the table. A long mane of curls cascaded down her back. The Gryffindor had shaved the right side of her head over the holidays, but it did little to tame her thick hair.

"Who was the one who got caught by Filch for doing it in his office?" Sirius's raised brow made Marlene grimace and she shot him a middle finger.

Looking at her partner, Liza quietly hoped that Sirius hadn't been the one with Marlene. "How do you know that?"

"Prongs and I make it a regular to check Filch's records," he shrugged, taking a bite of waffle before offering it to her. "Have to make sure we've left our names as many times as possible."

"Whatever for?" Liza pushed aside her plate, still unaccustomed to seeing scarlet every time she looked up at the ceiling. She still firmly preferred emerald banners.

Sirius shot her a mischievous smirk. His eyes were alight with a rare and genuine happiness. "For our offspring of course. Got to raise the little gnomes right."

"Children?" Clearing her throat, Liza tried to take a casual sip of pumpkin juice. "I didn't know you wanted them."

The slight pause made her peek over at the Gryffindor. His gaze met hers briefly. "I've been warming to the idea."

Before Liza could linger on what that meant, Sirius offered James a wink. "Besides, I promised Prongs he would be godfather. I have to have one for each of us."

"Remus would be the only proper role model of you lot," Liza glanced over at Peter, who was staring off towards the other side of the corridor. "And maybe Pete, just don't know if you like children?"

Peter glanced up as Remus elbowed him in the side. "Oh, sure." His absentminded response made Liza frown. The boy had seemed more downcast and distracted lately.

"Yes, I'm sure you'd especially want children around me at Full Moon." Stabbing his breakfast irritably, Remus didn't bother to lift the eggs to his mouth. Transformation was a few days away and he had little appetite.

Liza pursed her lips. She and Severus had nearly perfected the Wolfsbane. Perhaps next moon, Remus would not need to suffer.

"Eh, everyone needs a bit of adventure, Moons." James threw an arm over his friend's shoulder, nearly toppling the pitcher of pumpkin juice. "It would be good for them. Then they wouldn't grow up to be prejudiced prats."

He and Sirius laughed, exchanged a gleeful look as Remus simply rolled his eyes.

Standing from the table, Liza motioned for Peter to join her. "Want to walk to Charms? If I'm late for the third time, I'll be stuck in detention with Sirius."

The blonde boy offered a weak smile while Sirius pecked her on the lips.

"Don't pretend you don't get into the kinky side of things, babe." He wriggled his brows. "Didn't hear you complaining the last time we reorganized the broom closet."