— 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟑
It had been days since your first study session in the Potions classroom with Sirius. As the holidays approached, to your surprise, he didn't mind studying after school hours before he had to return home for Christmas. And conveniently, Slughorn was more than willing to lend you his classroom during the weekdays. Slowly but surely, you could see Sirius improving on his brewing skills — and almost actually enjoying it with each session. As opposed to the other pair studying for the class.
"So how goes studying with your arch nemesis, James?" Remus teases, looking up from his book.
You and the Marauders — minus Sirius — sat around the Gryffindor common room. Remus was on one of the armchairs by the fireplace while Peter, frightened out of his wits, sat on the other across from him. You and James sat comfortably on the couch. He had his wand out, waving it aimlessly, as he pointed it just above Peter's head.
"Absolute nonsense." James groans, obviously hating the fact that he has to spend his free time with Severus, "It's horrible enough I have to breathe the same air as him."
"J-James, p-please." Peter begs, his voice quivering in fear as he tightly grips onto the sides of the chair, "Take the spider away."
"Stop being so mean." You scold, playfully slapping James on the shoulder.
"Yeah, James. You know how scared he is about spiders." Remus adds with slight amusement, making no movement to stop his antics.
Ignoring the both of you, James waves the eight-legged creature to softly land on Peter's head, "It's not hurting you, Peter."
Peter jumped, holding onto the chair for dear life, "It's on my head." And looks up through his hair, feeling the rustling of its legs.
A mischievous smile tugged on the edge of James' lips as he whispered, "Engorgio."
And then all you could hear was Peter's loud, horrified shrieking that bounced off the walls as he jumped out of his chair and ran out onto the next room with James cackling and running closely behind him.
"Poor Peter." Remus chuckles, shaking his head as the sound of their voices dissolved.
"What was that about?" You hear Sirius behind you.
You turn around to see him letting go of his hands from his ears, you grab the textbooks on the space beside you and stand up, "Took you long enough."
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, "Sorry. Marlene needed help with... things."
And here you thought he was smoother than that. You hummed skeptically, raising an eyebrow as you walked around the couch, "I'm sure it was quite important." And then you noticed the dark spot that peeked through the collar of his dress shirt, you rolled your eyes and nodded at it, "Hide that bruise of yours, will you?"
Caught in the act, Sirius quickly pulls up his collar closer to his neck which didn't do much to hide the obvious hickey.
"Come on." You urged, taking a step toward the portrait hole.
"Oh, where are you going?" Remus speaks up, a slight hint of jealousy in his voice that Sirius picked up, but not you.
You whip your head, gesturing with the book in hand, "Another study session."
For a moment, Remus glanced at Sirius behind you who looked straight back into his eyes. Sirius was undeniably aware of Remus' feelings for you. It was an unspoken rule among the guys to never lay a hand on anyone they were interested in, and even without the need to speak, Sirius and Remus were reminded of that.
Remus blinks, trusting his best mate as he relaxes his tense shoulders, "I'll see you later by the lake?"
You grinned at him for remembering your plans to read together, "Yup, see you!"
As the both of you exited the common room, it had suddenly become unbearably quiet. Remus ultimately decided he'd get a head start, grabbed his book, and walked out towards the Black Lake with a heavy weight in his heart.
—
"The potion's brewing well." You examined the cauldron as the liquid bubbled inside, "Now, we just have to let it sit for a while."
"I'm just glad I don't have to suck up to Slughorn. I don't think I can handle being in the same club as Snivellus." Sirius shudders at the thought, placing a vial back on one of the shelves, "Being in the same classroom as him for an entire two hours is sufferable enough."
You roll your eyes, shaking your head dismissively as Sirius never fails to complain about your Slytherin friend, "Well, at the rate we're going, Slughorn just might invite you."
He snorts, "I'd gladly bury myself alive first." Then he walks back next to you, raising an eyebrow, "And besides, isn't this our last session together?"
You blinked, instantly realising he was right and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, trying to hide the disappointment you felt, "Right." You simply say, letting your eyes wander over to the cauldron, "Will you look at that? See, I knew you could do it!"
You giddily jump out of your seat to give Sirius another hug, then you look up at him with a teasing smile, "As Slughorn would say, 'We'll make an excellent potioneer out of you yet.'"
He laughs, taking one glance at the cauldron then at you, "I just have a really good teacher." His eyes scanned your face, never looking away, "I'll never be half as good as you though."
You furrowed your eyebrows, slapping your hands together on either side of his face, "Never doubt yourself, Sirius."
Sirius flinched, his tense body relaxing under your soft fixated eyes, your positive outlook towards everything never failed to make his heart swell. And in that moment, you were suddenly aware of the position you were in, yet you made no attempt to back away from his heated gaze.
And then Sirius gently placed his hands on yours, holding them there to take a moment to feel your gentle skin on his. Then he slowly took hold of them, placing them flat on his shoulders. He brushes a strand of hair out of your face, drawing close enough for you to feel his breath on your lips.
With your hands on him and half-closed eyes, he slowly leaned in, testing the waters to give you time to walk away, but you didn't — you stood rooted to the spot.
Your faces grew dangerously close, and both your mouths hung slightly open in anticipation of what's next. Warmth flooded through Sirius' chest as he saw the tenderness in your face. Your chest thump so hard that you swore it was audible, his eyes stayed strained on yours.
A shudder came through you. And not from the chilly December air. You couldn't decipher what was going on in his head but his face looked as if he was mentally fighting with himself.
Sirius knew he could turn any girl with just a look, but he had his own rule — you were off limits to him. Especially when he knew his best friend had obvious feelings for you. He didn't want to ruin the relationship that you already had with the Marauders.
And then he pulls away, your hands leaving him, "I—We can't."
Gaining your focus back, you blink a few times realising what just happened, "No no, I-I'm sorry."
"No, it's not your fault." He quickly says, raking a hand through his hair in frustration.
The feeling he felt was nothing more than pure infatuation. It shouldn't change anything — you were his best mate's childhood friend. And yet, no matter how many times Sirius met up with Marlene, he always thought of you. And everyday when you're together, that'd be it — like a moth to a flame, you wouldn't leave his mind all day.
He honestly hated the feeling, it felt so foreign to him; he desperately begged himself for it to stop. But when his eyes lock with yours, it burns him as if staring into the sun for too long.
To him, it was a mere crush, and reminds himself you'll never be his, and in turn — he can't ever be yours.
That much he knew.
He loudly clears his throat, stepping backwards to the door, "Now that I made it weird, I'm going to make my exit." Before you could say anything, he starts to leave but turns around as his hand reaches for the handle, a gentle smile on his face, "Thanks again, teach."
And then he leaves the dungeons. After more than a week of your study sessions together, Sirius didn't want to admit it to himself, but he knew he was going to miss spending time alone together.
Mischief Managed