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"We have organized an intervention for you." Louis explained, arms behind his back and steps marked like he belonged to the military.
The 5 of you were in your and Sam's room, lights turned off and curtains closed so no sunlight would peak in. Louis was walking in circles, voice stern and expression stoic.
"What?" You laughed, looking at your friends for some type of explanation. "Guys, turn on the lights."
"No, (Y/N). We will not be turning on the lights." He deadpanned, "Now, do you mind explaining why you disappeared from Slughorn's party yesterday?"
"You weren't even there, Louis." You rolled your eyes.
"Yes, I might've not been there." He continued, "But! He told me." He pointed at Regulus, who raised his hands.
"I didn't do anything. Louis forced me! I just succumbed to the pressure."
"He forced us to do this." Sam leaned in to whisper to you.
"Yeah, I noticed." You whispered back.
"So, would you explain yourself?" Louis slammed his hands down on your desk dramatically.
"Careful with that!" You hissed, noticing how his sudden movement had moved all of your school supplies. "And I just had to go the restroom."
"False." Louis said, "You couldn't have been in the restroom for an hour!"
"Who told on me?" You looked at the rest of your friends with narrowed eyes.
"Do not try to intimidate them."
"Fine, geez!" You finally broke, "I was with Sirius. Can I go now? I have things to do."
"And why exactly?" Louis insisted.
"Because... We're friends?"
Sam chuckled, "Are you asking us?"
"No. I meant like-" You sighed. "If I tell you guys, can I go?"
"What's the rush? Who are you trying to see, huh?"
"Louis..." Regulus warned.
The brown-haired boy coughed, "Right, yes. Sorry. I got carried off. Yes, if you confess, you can leave."
You scoffed, "We were talking, and then one thing led to another, and well, we both like each other."
Louis' voice got higher as he sat down between you and Sam. "And? What happened? Did you two kiss?"
"Was that what the other day's talk was about?" The girl asked.
You hummed, "Yeah, but we didn't kiss." You laid back in the bed and groaned, "I got scared."
"Seriously?" Louis pressed, "Years of feeling the sexual tension and you didn't kiss him?"
"I know." You agreed, "I was so close."
"I would've jumped at the first chance." Leo said, "I mean, have you seen those lips?"
"Don't you have a partner?" Sam reminded him, but her comment was ignored by an eager you.
"I know, right?" You awed. "I will never forgive myself for chickening out."
"Guys, that's my brother we're talking about." Regulus complained, disgusted.
"Anyways." Louis coughed, "So are you two like... Dating now?"
"Why are you so interested in my love life?" You laughed, "And no, we're not. We're taking it slow."
"I know I've already told you this," Louis lowered his voice volume. "But if he ever hurts you, you know who to call."
"You know we can hear you, right?" Sam questioned sarcastically.
Louis stood up abruptly, almost throwing you off the bed. "And with that, we finish today's interrogatory. Tomorrow, it's Leo's turn."
"What? Why me?" Said boy whined, "I'm pretty open about my relationship."
"Relationship, huh?" Sam smirked. "So, it's official?"
"Pretty much." Leo said, "We're actually going out later."
"Talking about heading out, I have to go pick up a book from the library." You stood up and began collecting all of the things you'd be needing for the project. "It won't take long. I think. I hope."
"Have fun." Sam waved, "And don't make noise, I'm pretty sure Madam Pince hates you."
"Thanks for the encouragement, Sam." You said sarcastically before opening the door and heading out.
The way to the library wasn't a long one, so you took your time wandering around. The sun was just beginning to hide behind the mountains, which meant most students were hanging out in their respective common rooms.
Or so you assumed until you heard several sniffles coming from the hall to your right. just where you needed to go in order to reach the library. Madam Pince would be closing in 30 minutes, and the project was due tomorrow.
You sighed as you started to go through the hall. However, curiosity won you over, and unconsciously, your (Y/E/C) eyes settled themselves on the crouched figure.
He had sandy blonde hair and pale skin, with really prominent cheekbones and eyebags. His blue eyes were filled with tears, and his bottom lip was trembling.
"Peter?" You asked after a moment of inspection.
Almost instantly, he turned to look at you and cleaned his tears with the sleeve of his robe. "What are you doing here?" His tone was shaky, yet you could tell he had tried to make it as intimidating as possible.
"I was on my way to the library." You answered simply, "Are you okay?"
"Peachy." He replied, venom dripping off his words. Or word, to be more precise.
Truthfully, you didn't want to deal with his bad attitude when you were just trying to help. "Alright, then."
You had begun to walk away when his voice stopped you, "Wait." He sighed, "I'm sorry."
You shrugged and walked back to where Peter was, "It's fine. Can I sit?" You waited until he nodded to actually sit down.
"Have you ever fought with your friends?" He asked, voice cracking.
You chuckled, remembering your third year at Hogwarts. "Yeah, have you?"
"Well, duh. Why do you think I asked?" He responded, glaring at you.
"Look, I have other things to do, so tell me if you are going to keep that attitude or not so I can stop wasting my time."
Peter sighed, "Sorry. Again. I'm just having a tough time."
"That's really not an excuse."
"It won't happen again."
"Fine." You laid your head on the wall behind you, "You wanna talk about it?"
He gulped, "Can I?"
"Yes, so just spit it out." You glanced at him.
"It is just-" He coughed, trying to cover up how even mentioning his fight with his friends made him tear up. "We fought the other day."
"About?" You inquired.
Peter looked at you, lips in a straight line as he talked. "You."
"Oh."
"Yeah... But I think I might've overreacted and said some hurtful stuff."
"You think?" You raised your eyebrows.
"...Yeah? I just don't get it. Why- How do you get to be with him so easily but I always had to try my best to belong? It just doesn't make sense."
"Maybe that's your problem." After the confused look he gave you, you opened your mouth to add. "That you never were yourself because you were too busy trying to belong."
You weren't looking at him, but judging by the sniffles and sobs you heard, you were pretty sure he was crying. "But it's been 6 years already. What can I do now to change?"
"First, apologize." You might as well start your career as a therapist, considering all of the times you had to give people advice. "And second, change your way of seeing things."
"I hate that you're right." He sighed, "I'm- I'm sorry for being so rude to you before. I guess I was just jealous."
"It's okay. But if you keep being rude to me, I won't hesitate to defend myself."
"Yeah, okay." All he managed to do was give you a bitter smile.
"Now, go!" However, you didn't notice and encouraged him to go apologize to his friends. "I'm sure they'll forgive you. You four are like family."
He nodded and stood up, "Thanks, (Y/N). I'll go do that right now!" You couldn't do anything but see his figure get farther and farther away, smiling to yourself when you couldn't see him anymore.
Years later, as you laid in bed with no one by your side, you wished you had just left the crying boy alone.
• • • • • • •
The leaves on the trees became red and yellow and soon began to fall off the trees. The cold Winter air had begun to appear and snow falling became a common occurrence.
November had just started, and with it, the excitement for the Christmas holidays. Sirius had already ordered your friend's gifts from Diagon Alley, but there was just one problem: he didn't know what to give you.
He had many ideas, yet he wanted to be sure that whatever he decided to give you, would be something personal and enjoyable. The two of you had been going on unofficial dates for a while now, but nothing really worth telling had happened. Not yet, at least.
Things had been pretty good for the marauders, Peter had apologized and after lots of favors he had to do to prove he was actually sorry, Sirius had forgiven him.
"Sirius!" James rushed to his friend, holding a rolled-up parchment in his hand. "I just had the best idea for a prank!"
Sirius, however, was too busy flattening his black hair down and choosing what he deemed as the most appropriate clothes for his date tonight.
The Potter boy stopped right in his tracks, "What are you doing?" He laughed.
"Don't laugh." He replied, "I'm getting ready to go out with (Y/N)."
"Again?" James whined, "We barely even spend time together anymore, not like we used to."
"That's not true and you know it," Sirius stated matter of factly. "We pranked Filch last week, remember?"
"And it was hilarious, which is why I'm asking you to repeat it."
"You're saying that like you don't spend all of your time with Lily as well," Sirius remarked.
"You got me there." James said, "But! At least she and I are official, unlike you and (Y/N)."
He shrugged, "She wanted to take things slow, I'm just respecting her decision."
"A true gentleman."
"Thank you, I try."
James sat down on Sirius' bed, curiously watching his movements. "And what are you two doing?"
"To be honest, I have no idea. But what I do know is that we're not going to Hogsmeade."
"Mysterious."
"Mhm. She also didn't tell me what to wear, so I'm at loss right now." Sirius sighed, turning around and showing off his outfit. "What do you think?"
"It's a little too formal, don't you think?" Sirius had decided on a pair of beige dress pants and a tucked-in white shirt. He had several necklaces around his neck, each shorter than the last one. And as the final touch, a maroon jacket.
"You're right. Plus, it'll be freezing cold." He agreed as he started to look through his clothes once again. "What time is it, by the way?"
"I think it's about to be 8 pm."
Sirius speed up his movements, "Dammit, I have to meet up with her at 8.30." The room was quiet for a few more minutes, where all the noise that could be heard was produced by Sirius and the hooks of his closet clanking together.
"I think I got it." He said, taking off his clothes and quickly changing, not disturbed by James' presence at all. "So, what do you think?" He asked, extending his arm and maybe even doing a twirl.
He had finally settled on some dark brown dress pants (he loved dress pants, but he would never admit it out loud) with a tucked-in light brown sweater and a black coat. He didn't want to take a scarf with him because it would ruin the entire outfit, but after thinking about it, he decided it would be best for him to take it.
"Have fun." James said glumly, "Ill just stay here, alone, sad, and with no one to help me prank Filch..." He ended with a dramatic sigh.
Sirius rolled his eyes, "See you later, okay? Don't wait up for me."
"Woah, what happened with taking things slow?" James smirked suggestively, but only got softly shoved to the side.
"You know I didn't mean it like that." Sirius said, "It's just... Time just goes by so fast when I'm with her."
"You disgust me," James exclaimed, feigning a grossed-out expression. "You and your heart eyes."
"Anyways, I probably shouldn't make her wait." Sirius disregarded his best friend's remark and headed out the door.
"Have fun!" He heard James' voice say. You had told him to wait for you in the courtyard, just feet away from the whomping willow. The tree looked way scarier at night, he noticed.
"You're early." He heard you say from behind him.
"I just couldn't wait to see you." He turned around, giving you that charming smile.
You were wearing an oversized dark brown sweater with beige overalls, (Y/H/C) hair sitting in neat, yet wild waves upon your head.
"A charmer." You chuckled.
"People just can't resist me."
"I've noticed." You agreed and extended your hand for him to grab it. "Ready to go?"
He nodded, "Where are you taking me?"
"It's a surprise." You kept walking, loving the way the snow beneath your feet crunched with each step.
"Remember when I used to be the one leading you to mysterious places?" Sirius said, inspecting his surroundings to guess where his destiny was.
"Hm. That's why I decided it was my turn to do so tonight." You looked at your feet, "I hope you like it."
"I'm sure I will." He said, "But are you sure this is the right path? The Black lake's on the other side and Hogsmeade is too-"
"Isn't that the entire point of a surprise? For it to be unexpected?"
"Well, yeah, but I really can't think of anything else for a date than-" Suddenly, you stopped, turned around, and took out something from the pockets of your overalls. "Wha-What are you doing?" He laughed nervously.
"Shh." Your voice was low, "I'm just going to put this on you, maybe that way you'll stop complaining."
"So mean," He pouted and closed his eyes, waiting for you to place the black piece of fabric around his eyes.
And when you did, he was surprised at its softness. "Ready?" You asked him, squeezing his hands to let him know you were still there. "It's not too tight, is it?"
Sirius could feel your breath on his face, meaning you were really, really, close. The thought of it made him nervous. "It's, uhm- perfect."
"Great. Then don't let go of my hand, kay? I don't want you to fall." You chuckled and started walking with Sirius next to you.
"But I already fell."
"What?"
"For you." Although he couldn't see you, he could almost picture the way you rolled your eyes and smiled widely.
"You are so bad at pickup lines." You laughed, "Careful, there's a branch in front of you."
You saw Sirius avoid it, and then kept your pace. It was silent for most of the way, except for the small warnings you would give him here and there.
"It smells like pumpkin here." He said as you two approached your final destiny, "Don't tell me... We're in Hagrid's Hut, arent we? Is he going to be joining us?"
You laughed, teeth showing. "Of course not, he's away doing some favors for Dumbledore, I guess."
"Then why are we here?" At your lack of response, realization struck him."Wait, (Y/N)-" He whispered, squeezing your hand to stop you from going further. "Isn't this trespassing?"
"I mean, yeah, it could be considered that." You shrugged, guiding Sirius up the stairs. "But no one's going to find out, so don't worry."
He stayed quiet, just following your directions nervously. Then, you just came to a halt and let go of his hand; he almost didn't want to let you go. He felt you move around and stop behind him.
"And... We're here." He felt your breath on his neck, causing shivers to spread all across his body. Your agile hands undid the knot of the fabric, letting it fall to his feet.
The room in front of him took Sirius' breath away. It was so different from the usual messy place Hagrid lived in. There were several fairy lights hung in the ceiling, covering the entire room and giving it a magical touch.
In the center of the room was a table covered with a white mantelpiece, and on the center of it was a candle. The fireplace roared with fire as well, giving everything a more sensual tone. The only window was open, allowing the moonlight to peak in.
"Did you do all of this?" He asked, rosy lips parted due to the surprise.
You shrugged, "I received a little help from Remus and Leo, too. And the house-elves also helped prepare the food."
"Remus knew about this?"
You hummed, taking out a chair for Sirius and gesturing him to sit down. "He helped out a lot."
"Wow." He said breathlessly. "This is amazing. You're amazing, (Y/N)."
You couldn't stop the grin that took over your features, "Aw, stop. You're making me blush. Hey, let's eat before it gets cold."
You hurried into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of wine and two dishes with the appetizers. "Wine?" Sirius asked as he inspected the bottle you had placed in front of him.
"Yup." You placed each plate in its respective place before finally sitting down, "I think the teachers will notice that, but they won't ever suspect us."
"Wow, and here I thought you were a goody-two-shoes." He said as he opened the wine bottle, pouring a bit of the dark red liquid into both of your glasses.
"You should know by now that I'm everything but that." You smirked, taking a sip of the wine. The taste was quite bitter, in your opinion, but you didn't let it show.
The rest of the dinner went by smoothly, with lots of chatter and laughter. By the time you two had finished most- if not all of the food the house-elves had prepared, the moon was on its highest spot and the stars illuminated the sky.
"Let's go to the roof." You suggested suddenly. "You won't believe how beautiful the view is up there."
"You've gone up to the roof?" He laughed, "I didn't know you and Hagrid were so close."
You grinned, "I guess getting turned into him last year did drive us closer."
"That was one of my best pranks, not gonna lie."
"Pfft, whatever." You stood up and began to walk to the door, "Are you coming or not?"
He mirrored your actions, and before you knew it, the two of you were going up a ladder that led to the roof. "Here, sit." You patted the spot next to you.
Sirius followed your instructions carefully, "If I fall and die, I'm going to haunt you for eternity." He said right when he sat down, feet dangling off the edge.
"If you fell, I would save you." You laid your head on his shoulder, "Isn't it beautiful?"
He hummed, yet his gaze was not on the night sky, but on you. "It really is."
He looked down at his lap, accidentally catching sight of how your hands were really close to his. Quietly as to not to disturb your stargazing session, his hand made contact with yours. "Is this okay?"
"More than okay." You turned to him, heart racing. A wave of confidence surged over you, and you decided to just 'fuck it'; your words, not mine.
You got closer, head tilting as your lips approached his. "Can I?" You asked in a small whisper, hand squeezing his.
"W-What happened with taking things slow?" He stuttered but didn't move away.
"Yeah, well, I changed my mind."
Sirius couldn't find the right words to answer your question, so he only nodded.
Warmth blossomed in Sirius' chest, sparks igniting as you leaned in close, lips brushing together, tentatively, for the first time. The smell of your perfume, of the soft, peachy scent of your conditioner, was hypnotizing, butterflies dancing in his stomach.
However, his thoughts were silenced by his own brain as warmth consumed him as you leaned into the kiss, your lips impossibly soft against his own. You tasted like grapes, most likely from the wine you two had shared before.
As you had done many times before, your hand reached to his jaw, except this time it didn't stay there. You allowed your hands to roam his chest and neck, feeling the fabric of his coat under your fingertips.
Your hands finally settled themselves behind his neck, tugging his black hair. Sirius, on the other side, had placed one of his hands on your waist, bringing you impossible closer.
Finally, the two of you separated, both of you struggling to find your breath. "Wow." You muttered, laughing slightly.
"Wow indeed." He agreed as he ran a hand through his hair. You looked at him, and only then noticed the way his cheeks had flushed.
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𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 3434 words