Hiding a relationship would be hard usually, but we also had the fact that we both had the same friends, both had the same lessons, usually did a lot of things with other people whom, most of knew my crush on him and assumingly the boys knew Sirius liked me, as he had revealed to me he told the boys of his attraction. Then there was the added bonus that Aafiya was now being very suspicious and cautious around the two of us.
When there was a rare moment that it was just us two, we liked meeting each other secretly in the astronomy tower and stealing James' invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map, which had their nicknames on and a fancy cover as well, courtesy of Remus Lupin. The astronomy tower was our top hideout and hangout location for just the two of us, as it had been the first place that we had been alone together properly as well.
One night when I was stood near the railings, waiting for him and trying to remember the constellations that he had taught me, I felt arms hugging my waist and a smell of Sirius' cologne and then his voice saying, "That one's me love, if you're wondering." He was pointing towards a star that he had once told me was the brightest in the world, or so he thought. That was also the first time we had ourselves a miniature first date.
"I want to sit by Remus this lesson, is it okay if you sit with Sirius?" Dorcas asked me. We usually made a thing of sitting together in Charms, but I was more than happy sharing her with Remus and instead sitting by Sirius, my secret boyfriend. We had both so far become successful at hiding, and it was a major surprise that James or Aafiya had not questioned either of us yet, as they were both quite smart with these things.
"Hey Siri, Dorcas wanted to sit with Remus today, not sure why, so I guess you're stuck with me," I told him, sitting down next to him, pulling out my quill and ink pot. I wasn't facing the boy so I couldn't see his face, however I could hear him and Sirius leant to whisper in my ear, "What a nice surprise, love." Whenever he whispered to me or spoke in a low voice, shivers ran down my spine, and it was a nice kind of shiver.
Flitwick started to lesson with a register, and then instructions on safely casting severing charms and the like, all lessons nowadays tending to be recaps of previous years lessons. This was with the intent of revising for NEWTs which would be coming upon us in less than a year now. The funny thing about it, was that nobody was nervous for the exams, or at least nobody that I talked to seemed to have doubts and instead seemed confident.
"Hey love, I'm ill," Sirius whispered, looking into my eyes and immediately I understood his intent. Of course in seventh year Sirius Black would be looking for excuses to skip classes, especially when any one of these spells could pop up in our practical or theory exams. Without saying anything else, the grey eyed boy put his hand into the air, telling the Professor that he would need assistance to the hospital wing.
Twenty minutes later, Sirius and I were wandering the third floor corridor, again, telling jokes and playing truth or dare. Any other day I would have been terrified to play it with him, but this was also my first time skipping class, to his surprise. "Dare," I said, I decided to be brave, and my bravery only lead to my weakness, Sirius. "Well love, I think our last kiss was a bit rushed, don't you? Why don't we try it again?"
With those words, and a few steps to the corner of a corridor, I leant in and our lips entwined, moving together, the fireworks I felt so often nowadays reigniting and setting off multiple explosions in my chest. The kiss got just a tiny bit passionate, after all, Sirius Black was a good kisser. My hands were wrapped around his neck, his hands resting on my waist, and it was just getting intense when the bloody bell rang.
"Bummer, we'll have to continue another time," Sirius said, resting his forehead on mine. As the students filed out of the classrooms, heading for their break, we both jumped apart, standing next to each other, but not looking too close or too suspicious. It was also a good time that we moved when we did as we were met by a jumpy James and his girlfriend, also grinning at me, Lily.
"Hey Lily, how was sitting next to James for the first time in Charms?" I asked her, when the red head's face fell to one that showed a tired and exhausted look, I giggled, I knew the feeling. The first time I sat next to James in Charms was also the last, he nearly tried to use the summoning charm on me one lesson. Needless to say I was glad that Mary kept me seated, holding on to my shoulders whilst James concentrated hard.
"Hey guys, can we eat something? I'm hungry," Peter had just joined us and yet the boys were all eager to go to the kitchens, and so, myself and Lily joined the girls who were on their way out to the courtyard. "Did you know that your lips are swollen and your lipstick is kind of smudged at the edge and below?" Marlene commented. The girls burst into giggles, like they knew something, but all I did was sigh, of anyone, Marlene was definitely the most honest.
We sat in a small circle under the shade of a tree, even though it was the end of November and the weather definitely had a slight chill and even with no wind it was harsh, Scotland Highlands always was. Once seated, Alice started the conversation and directed her words at me, "So, can we expect another girlfriend in our group? You and Black?" she wiggled her eyebrows and smirked, our act was strongly caught out.
"I don't know what you saw but, Sirius would be the best person to ask, he'll either tell you the complete truth and make it sound like a lie, or he will lie," I said to them, I wasn't sure whether he wanted me to tell the girls but they obviously had a clue and I couldn't fully deny it. "Right then, we will," Mary said, standing up, making her way towards the kitchen, the rest of us following close behind her.
The portrait opened and Mary walked in dramatically, announcing her presence as she entered and shocking the boys who were sat on the counters eating chocolate cookies. "Come to see me Mary?" Sirius winked and Mary nodded, "Actually yes." It was clear that the boy didn't expect this answer and so, he sat up straighter, as did the other Marauders, interested in what she had to say.
"What was you and Athena doing last period?" Mary asked curiously, any signs of accusation gone, she genuinely sounded just curious and that made Sirius relax, a lot, he had an idea he was going to be yelled at for something he may or may not have done. "Well MacDonald, we walked around the corridor and then we just stood for a bit, and I snogged her for a bit, and then it would have gotten a bit spicy if the bell didn't ring."
The room was silent, the only thing I could hear were house-elves rummaging around or cooking for lunch. I could definitely feel my cheeks heating up, they were probably tomato red, but shockingly, no one had turned to me to check if that was true. All except Peter who had a funny glint in his eye, his mouth hanging open. "You're lying aren't you?" Lily asked hesitantly, now she turned to look at me but I couldn't tell what went through her mind.
Sirius hopped off from the counter, ate the last few bites of his cookie, very aware everyone was watching him, and with only a few strides, he made his way towards me, stopping in his tracks. "I don't know Evans, am I?" He then held the two sides of my face, pulling me in and connecting our lips while James made some inhumane noise and Alice squealed. Pulling apart, he shrugged, saying casually, "She's my girlfriend, I have permission."
I wanted to check everyone's reactions but so much was happening that I just couldn't, Mary and Marlene was exchanging sickles, Alice was jumping up and down, Lily and James were having a heated discussion, Aafiya was smirking like she already knew. The only people that didn't seem overly pleased with the whole situation was Peter and Remus, and I had no idea why, I was sure they were two of the most accepting people.
"At least we don't have to hide now," Sirius whispered in my ear, again sending shivers down my spine. I knew as he interlocked his fingers in mine that this year was going to be the most interesting one, with Sirius Black by your side, things were bound to get weird. "Congrats guys," Peter said monotonously, I wasn't sure why but his smile seemed forced and his actions seemed false.
If only I knew.