James and Sirius' party went on well into the night. Around two in the morning, their guests had coupled up and Sirius and Liesel realized that they were the only ones still in the common area of the house.
She busied herself with picking up plastic cups and glass bottles as well as other bits of half eaten food on paper plates and placed everything in a plastic trash bag. He busied himself with rearranging his furniture the way it had been prior to the party. In the end, he was watching her hand-wash some cutlery and a few dishes in the kitchen sink and he stole up behind her and wrapped his arms around her then kissed the back of her neck, just behind her left ear; he had learned a year prior that this was one of her "spots." She breathed in deeply and smiled, but doubled her concentration so that she wouldn't break anything fragile...she didn't want to awaken to a messy house...it wasn't easy.
When she was finished, she turned to face him and encircled his neck with her arms and kissed him.
"I was beginning to think that I'd lost my touch," he said, almost in a whisper.
She shook her head. "Mm mm."
He cupped his hands beneath her bottom and lifted her to the edge of the sink and moved in closer to her as she circled his waist with her legs and crossed them at the ankles. "Oh dear," he whispered as his eyes looked at anything except her. "I'm trapped...what ever shall I do?"
"Maybe you could take me to bed? It certainly wouldn't be unheard of."
"Don't have to ask me twice," he said in a low voice. He grinned a lop-sided grin and lifted her from the sink then carried her to the door of his bedroom. He lowered her to the floor when he reached the door and took hold of the doorknob and turned it, only to walk into the door itself, smashing his nose in the process; it stung and brought the water to his eyes...the door wouldn't budge. "Oww," he whispered and hissed. He removed his wand from the back pocket of his jeans and waved it at the door. Still, it refused to open. Finally, he put his ear to the door.
"I'll be damned," he whispered.
"What is it?"
"Someone's in my bedroom having a grand old time," he grumbled. "Fuck!"
She put her ear to the door and giggled. "Sounds like they are!"
They both looked to Remus' bedroom door. "He and Brenda," he said and she nodded.
"Yeah."
"He really fancies her!"
"I would think so, he's getting laid," she grumbled.
Sirius chuckled quietly and nodded. "Yeah..."
"There's the pool," she suggested. "And the hammock?"
He grinned at her. "You little minx!"
She giggled and shrugged her shoulders. He took her hand in hers and they wandered through the house and walked out the back door to find that the pool and the hammock were both occupied; the pool by James and Lily and the hammock by Peter and his date. Sirius couldn't help but stare. "Wow, they're going at it! All of them! Damn it all! It's my bloody fucking house," he whispered crossly.
"Well, there's always the sofa," she said.
He looked thoughtful and nodded. "I suppose. But..."
"What?"
"Your parents may have to sit on that sofa one day. I don't think I would be able to keep a straight face. Besides, James and Evans will need a place to crash." He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the house again and once inside, he grabbed his jacket and opened up a closet and pulled hers off of a wire clothes hanger and handed it to her.
"Where are we going?"
"Your house."
She grabbed at his arms and looked him in the eye. "Sirius, we are not going to do it at my house!"
He shook his head. "No, we're not. But at least one of us is going to sleep comfortably. I can crash on your sofa. Think your parents would mind? It's late and I'm tired."
"I don't think they'll mind. I think they'd rather that than the alternative, you know?"
He nodded. "Right then. Grab your handbag. I'll take you home."
Her face fell. "I'm sorry."
"Why? It's not your fault our friends are wankers. I'm going to have more than a few choice words for whoever comes out of my bedroom!"
Sirius started up the bike and helped Liesel on the back when James came running out of the house clad in only a towel.
"Where are you goin'!"
"Liesel's house. Someone's in my room and there's no place to crash. So, I'm taking her home and I'm going to crash there."
"But..."
Sirius shook his head as he secured the strap to his helmet. "No buts, James. You better get back to Evans before she thinks you took off and left her."
"Oh yeah, like that's ever going to happen!"
Sirius laughed quietly and nodded. "Yeah. Later, mate!"
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting on the bike in front of her house and they both saw Regulus sitting on the stoop of the Black's residence. Sirius dismounted the bike and removed his helmet and shook his head and freed up his hair. He saw his brother watching them and then look away as he helped Liesel off the bike.
"Hang on," he whispered and she nodded her head. "Locked out, Reg?"
Regulus shook his head and forced a smile, but refused to look him in the eye. "No, just couldn't sleep is all." His smiled became genuine when Liesel approached him. "Hey, Leese," he said.
"Hi Reggie," she said. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep. How was your party?"
She nodded. "It was nice."
"I was going to invite you, but you've been nowhere to be found little brother."
He nodded. "Yeah, I've been...busy."
Sirius nodded. "Hmm." He looked toward Liesel. "Well, lets get you inside, shall we?"
She nodded. She moved to bid Regulus good night, when he asked her how her scores were. "I did really well," she told him. "You?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I did as well. How was your charms score?" She smiled and his face lit up as he nodded again. "Excellent! You worked hard for that! Congratulations, Leese!"
"Thanks," she replied. "Hey do you wanna come in for a cup of tea or coffee or something?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm good." He smiled again. "Sirius is right, you should get inside. I should as well. Goodnight." He stood and walked up to the door.
Liesel's smile faded quickly after Regulus entered the house. "He's not right," she said in a low voice.
"No, he's not," Sirius replied, taking her house keys from her, opening the door and ushering her inside.
The moment, the young couple stepped inside the door, they heard movement upstairs and then a door opened. She walked over to the staircase and peered around the elaborate wooden banister. "It's me," she said quietly.
"Thought I heard a motorbike. What's wrong," John asked with concern. "We didn't expect to see you tonight. Did you and Sirius have another row..." John stopped short having seen the young man also peering around, waving his fingers. "Oh. Well, color me confuddled." John continued down the stairs.
"Sirius is going to crash on the couch."
"What? Why?"
"His room is, umm...occupied and we're tired. Playing host and hostess is hard work!"
John lowered his head to attempt to hide his amusement. "I see." He stopped on the stairs when he was at the landing.
"We didn't interrupt anything did we Sir?"
"Not like I'm going to tell you," John replied, his brow arched high. "Anyway, I'll sleep better knowing that my daughter is safe under my roof."
Sirius stood up straight and puffed out his chest a bit. "You don't think I can take care of her, John?"
"Didn't say that. But I do know that a bunch of pissy randy teenagers are apt to find trouble. You'd have your work cut out for you."
"No worries there. I'm quite sober, I assure you."
"I should hope so, since you drove here."
Liesel sighed and shook her head. "Too much testosterone for me. I'll be right back."
"Where are you headed, Bobbie?"
"Gonna go get some linens. For the sofa?"
"Oh. You were serious about that?"
"No, I'm Bobbie. He's Sirius, but yes, he's staying here. I don't want him driving this late. There's drunk people out there!"
"Yes ma'am," John said. "Sirius, a word please?"
Sirius rolled his eyes and nodded.
"Work related."
"Oh. Yeah, okay."
Liesel busied herself with collecting the duvet from her bed and one of her pillows and brought everything down to find Sirius and John's heads very close together. Sirius's face appeared ashen; his head was hung, his brow was knotted and his eyes were closed. John left him in the kitchen momentarily and walked into his study. She could hear him at his bar and then she watched him exit with a bottle and a glass and he returned to the kitchen and hand the glass to Sirius who was now seated at the table. Sirius took the bottle and poured a glass of vodka for himself and downed the contents in one gulp, surprising John. Liesel approached the kitchen with trepidation and she heard Sirius ask her father not to share the information with her until it was confirmed because they were best friends. She continued on. What ever had upset her boyfriend, it was something major and it involved his brother.
Both men looked over at her. John looked over toward the young man. "Can I count on your word that there will be no funny business once I go upstairs?"
Sirius poured another glass and drank it quickly. "Nope," he said.
John chuckled. "Well, at least you're honest. I'll give you that. Well, it's the sofa for you then."
Sirius rolled his eyes and shook his head, then sighed. "John, my father's study is two doors down. Is that where yours is?"
"Yes why?"
Sirius stood and walked toward the doorway and he took Liesel's hand in his for a moment and squeezed it quickly and brought it to his lips and kissed it, then released her. "A word please?"
John nodded and followed the younger man down the corridor. She watched Sirius enter the study after her father and close the door behind him. About ten minutes later, while she busied herself making up a bed for Sirius on the sofa, they exited the room and John walked over toward the staircase. "I gotta hand it to you; you sure know how to pick 'em. Your boyfriend's got balls of steel, I'll tell you that much, Liesel. Good night, Pet."
Liesel's eyes widened as she stared at her father who was ascending the staircase. "Night Daddy." She looked over toward Sirius who was standing in the doorway, with his legs crossed at his ankles. She approached him. "What did you say to him?"
"Told him that whether he liked it or not, I'm your sentinel tonight."
"What? Why?"
"Because there's a rumor about Reg...that he was marked yesterday."
"Marked? What do you mean, marked?"
Sirius raised his brow. "You know, marked."
"What," she asked as she felt her blood run cold. "No. No way. He wouldn't do that!"
"Liesel, listen to me because this is very important. You're not to have anything to do with him ever again. Do you understand me," Sirius said. "Your parents will remove you from school if they have to."
She sat down on the sofa and pulled her legs up tightly to her chest and circled her arms around them snugly. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her protectively pulling her to him. He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, she was laying down with her head in his lap, sleeping peacefully. He closed his eyes again and allowed himself to dream.
Sirius smelled something wonderful and that combined with her perfume caused a smile to play across his face. He opened his eyes to find her kneeling next to him as he clutched the pillow tightly...she was holding a sausage to his nose, grinning at him. Her hair was wet and still dripping. "Wakey, wakey," she said.
"Are you on the menu too," he asked quietly, his voice husky from sleep. She scrunched her face and shook her head and held the sausage to his lips and he took a bite. "Consolation prize, I suppose?" She kissed his lips tenderly.
"I suppose? You hungry?"
"Yeah. Not for food though," he said as he pulled her on top of him and kissed her hungrily, very nearly opening her housecoat, forgetting where he was. He heard someone clearing their throat and he looked up to find John heading for him with a cup of coffee and he groaned and broke the kiss and stared at him.
"Balls of steel, like I said," John chuckled. "Just like I used to be."
"Oh yeah," Sirius said. "So what happened? Marriage soften you up, old man?"
He shook his head and looked toward his daughter. "No. She did." He held the hot cup out to him. Liesel giggled and took the coffee from her father's hands and took a sip.
Sirius nodded as he took the hot cup from her hands. "Yeah, I can see that." He looked to his girl. "Hey, can I have another one?"
"Another sausage? Sure," she replied.
"Yeah, that too."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Come on, breakfast is very nearly ready."
"What's the rush," he asked, craning his neck toward her for another kiss.
"You wanted to cuss out whoever was in your room remember? I'm curious myself, truth be told. Two galleons says is Alice and Frank."
He shook his head. "Ain't gonna take that bet," he said. "And I ain't gettin' up till I get another kiss!"
Her brow raised as she reached beneath the duvet for his legs. "Oh yeah? Sure about that?"
"You play dirty. I think I kinda like it," he said in a low voice as he licked his lips and brushed across her with his thumb.
Laurie approached them to let them know that breakfast was being served. "Get a room you two!"
Sirius' face lit up. "Yeah? You mean it!"
"NO, SHE DOESN'T," John called out from the kitchen.
"Damn." He shrugged his shoulders and at last he sat up and roughly scratched behind his ear. Only then, did he yawn finally. "What's for breakfast?"
"French toast with salted butter and maple syrup and the maple sausages! My favorite," she replied. He nodded and smiled as she crawled of of him and opened her house coat to reveal her body to him with a grin and he hiss inwardly and reached out for her, only for her to step back. "Later," she cooed.
"Promise," he asked, staring lustfully at her.
She chewed on her lower lip and smiled, closed her housecoat, secured the fabric belt, turned and padded down the corridor toward the kitchen where her parents were waiting for them. He grabbed his coffee from the side table and trotted behind her like a happy puppy.