𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍.
chapter nine; Maddie's Bad Company
" But, it's like. . . going straight into the lion's den. "
MADELINE COULD ONLY assume Nico missed her greatly, and he was trying to make up for lost time. Walking to classes, during break, meals, at the end of the day, Madeline Potter was found beneath Nico Keeler's arm, or the two attached at the lips.
All was well until Sirius began interrupting them.
Then Remus was placing himself between them.
And Peter was kindly asking Madeline to walk to classes with him.
Nico Keeler didn't like it at all.
"Oh, Maddie!" Madeline closed her eyes, resting her forehead on Nico's chest as Sirius sauntered over to the two, "So glad I caught you at a good time."
"Obviously not a good time, mate." Madeline peeked her eyes open, only to see Nico and Sirius glaring at each other.
Based purely on appearance, Nico was easily more intimidating than Sirius. Towering over the Gryffindor, paired with his muscular physique from years of quidditch, compared to Sirius who, while still tall was not impressive, his athletic build was still muscular, but quidditch had slimmed him down instead of buffing him up.
But Madeline knew both of them well enough to be well aware that Nico wouldn't stand a chance against Sirius.
"Is everything alright?" Madeline questioned, squeezing Nico's arm gently.
"Fine." Sirius smirked, shifting his attention to the girl, "Just wanted to know if you were coming to the Gryffindor party tonight?"
"Oh, I didn't know I—"
"We'll be there." Madeline looked up at Nico with her brows raised, the boy's attention was solely on Sirius. "Thanks for the invite, mate."
"No problem," Sirius smiled, harshly clapping a hand on the boy's shoulder before turning to Madeline. "See you later, Maddie."
With a wink, he was gone, and Nico finally shifted his gaze to Madeline.
"I hate him," Nico stated bluntly, "I don't like him, Pettigrew, or Lupin around you."
"They've made a hobby out of bothering me," Madeline grumbled, "Can't exactly stop them."
"I might be able to," Nico grinned, but before Madeline could speak his lips were back on hers.
ϟ
"You'll be fine," Bluebelle sighed, "It'll be great! The first party for you and Nico as a couple, you should be excited."
"Well, of course." Madeline poked her head out of the bathroom, "But, it's like. . . going straight into the lion's den."
"Literally."
"Now is not the time for puns, Blue!"
Bluebelle grinned as Madeline walked out, the girl looked put together despite her growing nerves. With a few words of reassurance, Madeline was wandering down the steps to meet Nico with a small smile.
Though, it faded when she saw her boyfriend accompanied by his best friend, Colin Hughes.
"Hey," Madeline greeted, causing the boys to face her with identical smirks, "Is Hughes coming too?"
"Is that alright with you, Potter?" Colin questioned smoothly, raising a brow.
It wasn't.
"Sure."
"Great," Colin smiled at the girl as Nico tugged her into his sight.
Madeline Potter knew this would be a long night.
ϟ
"I can't believe you invited them."
"Well, I didn't," Sirius sighed, "I invited Maddie."
"So the bloke just invited himself?" James scoffed loudly, "Git."
"How long have they been dating now?" Remus questioned, tugging on his well-loved favorite jumper.
"No clue—"
"Nearly three months, innit?" James looked to Sirius, who was too busy styling his hair to notice the worried look he was receiving.
"Worried about Maddie's relationship, Pads?" Remus teased, earning a pillow to the face from James.
"He's not. You're not." Sirius' hands paused, eyes moving in the mirror to lock with James', "You aren't, right?"
"Course not."
"Great, neither am I," James announced, crossing his arms. "None of us are. Now, let's go see if they're here yet."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"Shut up, Wormtail."
ϟ
"Maddie!" The brunette sighed in relief as Lily Evans pulled her into a side hug. The Evans girl was in heels, giving her a few inches on Madeline, so her red hair tickled Madeline's already warm cheeks.
Nico had gone off to grab drinks with Colin, and since Madeline had decided perhaps she shouldn't drink at the young age of 15, the boys were quick to leave her.
"Are you here with anyone?" Lily furrowed her brows as she pulled away, pulling her hair out of her face.
"Uh, yes," Madeline answered with a half-hearted laugh, scanning the room for Nico only to come up short. "Nico and his friend are here somewhere."
"Mm," Lily nodded, "Our parties get questionable after a bit. You should find them before your brother and Black come down."
"Don't tell me they're the bloody center of attention at these things," Madeline whined.
"Maddie. . ." Lily said, trying to hide her smile, "Have you met Sirius Black?"
"Unfortunately."
"Don't say that," Sirius grinned cheekily, sidling up to Lily, "Evans, James is looking for you."
"Wonderful," The redhead grumbled, crossing her arms, "Tell him to stop."
"Tell him yourself, you're a nice girl, Lily, but there's only one bloke who will do whatever you say."
Lily rolled her eyes heavily at the ever-smirking boy, before disappearing into the life of the party.
"Hey, Mads," Sirius shifted his attention to the shorter brunette with a smile, "So, what do you think?"
Sirius held his arms out proudly, in one hand holding a cup of sloshing amber liquid. Madeline peered over his right shoulder, the common room was packed full of students, music was playing, and behind the lounge-like area, students were moving to the beat.
"I think it's a bit loud, honestly." Madeline missed Sirius' grin falter, "Guess that's why I'm not a Gryffindor, huh?"
"Black." Madeline's eyes widened as a heavy arm rested on her shoulder, jarring her only slightly. And, much to her shock, it wasn't Nico, but Colin.
"Oh, this is awkward," Sirius feigned embarrassment, "You know me, as you should, but I have no bloody clue who you are."
"S'alright," Colin grinned, unbothered, "Colin Hughes."
"Mm," Sirius nodded, looking back to the Madeline who looked even smaller now, "So, Maddie, you ditched Keeler?"
"Oh, uh, no," Madeline waved, "I came here with him and Colin, but I have no clue where he went. . ."
"He's just saying hi to some people," Colin brushed off, tightening his arm around Madeline slightly, "Good thing you have me to keep you company."
"Yeah, right, good thing."
Sirius Black had never seen Madeline anything but loud and unforgiving, she lived how she wanted to. Secretly, he'd admired her for it, the fact that she put herself first and let the world fall in place after.
And now she was shrinking to fit the schedule of someone else.
"Mads—"
"Mhm," Colin laughed, "We gotta go, nice party though."
Sirius stood still in not only shock, but anger as Madeline allowed Colin to usher her right into the center of the party. He could still see the top of her head, it eventually began bobbing very awkwardly after Colin had started jumping to the beat.
"Who was that?"
"Bigger prat than Keeler."
"Maddie picks bad company, then."
"We have a problem."
James and Sirius turned to a frantic Remus Lupin, it was difficult to hear anything at all over the music, but it seemed even if it were cranked further they'd be able to hear Remus' panic.
"What's the matter, Moony?"
Remus glared at the nickname briefly.
"Uh, well, someone's taken up residence in our dorm."
"I'll take care of it," James grumbled, only to be caught by Remus, "What—?"
"It's Nico."
Sirius raised his brows.
"With a girl."
( AUTHOR'S NOTE. )
I feel bad for anyone who
initially liked nico, oof