lovely lady may • sirius black

Chapter 11

I rest my chin on Sirius' shoulder as he reads the final page of The Sun Also Rises, "'Oh Jake,' Brett said, 'We could have had such a damned good time together.' Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly, pressing Brett against me. 'Yes,' I said. 'Isn't it pretty to think so?'" He looks over his shoulder at me with his usual smirk and places a quick kiss on my lips, "The End."

"What did you think of it?"

"I liked it, and it was even better with you reading it with me."

"Mmmhmm," I pull my homework out of my book bag to start on, "and what do you think of this ending as opposed to the last book we read?"

"It's much better," he rests his chin on his hand and watches me study with a small smile.

I blush under his gaze, "I always knew you were a hopeless romantic."

"Only when I'm with you—"

"How's it going, lovebirds?" I raise an eyebrow as James sits across from us with the other two following closely behind.

"Just fine," I reply. "What's up?"

"I need to ask you a favor, Miss May."

I roll my eyes, "If it's to talk to Lily for you, the answer is still no. I'm pretty sure she's still pissed at me for telling that greasy little prick off."

"Oh come on," he groans, "just you know, have a girl to girl chat with her."

"I think what you really need is to have a boy to girl chat with her."

He stares me down like I just said the most idiotic thing on the planet, "Do you think I haven't tried that?"

"Millionth time's a charm," Sirius grins.

James scoffs, "Look at you, acting like some expert—as if you weren't hopelessly pining after Taves for months before you got things figured out."

"Well, I got things figured out, didn't I?" he puts his arm over my shoulders, "That's more than you can say."

"Whatever..."

"If you think it would help..." Remus begins, and immediately all eyes are on him, "I could have Octavia come study with Lily and I, and then maybe she could start working on her."

James looks between Remus and I desperately, "Would you do that?"

I roll my eyes, "I'll give it a try, but I can't make any guarantees—"

He takes my hands quickly, "Thank you Octavia, you have no idea how much this means to me."

"I just said I can't make any guarantees," I take my hands back and rest them in my lap, "I really think you should just try taking things down a notch and see what happens. You have a tendency to be slightly overbearing."

"Slightly?" Sirius raises his eyebrows, "I think it's a bit more than slightly."

Sirius and James continue with their bickering. I've gotten so used to their banter by now that it's become a sort of soothing white noise, mostly because Sirius always sounds so happy when he's with his friends, and I love the sound of his happy voice. His joy is contagious, and despite everything he's been through, there's a sort of innocent purity to it, which I believe is what makes is so contagious.

•••

"You know, he isn't going to disappear is you stop looking at him," Narcissa chides while we sit in the Great Hall eating dinner.

"Shut up," I mumble through a mouthful of food, knowing she's right.

"Seriously, he isn't going anywhere—Oi!" she snaps her fingers in my face forcing me to divert my eyes away from Sirius, "You're so in love with him, I'm not sure when I should think it's cute or sickening."

I roll my eyes, "I'm sorry for not giving you enough attention, Cissy. It just feels like I'm dreaming right now, like any moment I could wake up and we'd still just be friends. It doesn't feel real that we're actually a thing now."

"Well, it's very real, and very apparent to everyone else that you two are a thing now, so you shouldn't worry."

"It can't be that bad..."

She looks me dead in the eyes, "It's that bad, Octavia. You and him are all over each other constantly, it's like you can't go five seconds without touching or looking at each other," her voice lowers to a whisper, "And Reg told me about you two sleeping on the couch in the common room, are you insane?"

I roll my eyes, "Don't act as if when Lucius was here you weren't just as if not more disgusting."

"I think we've always been quite dignified."

"Yeah, right," I scoff, "you two scarred my retinas on more than a few occasions, and if my memory serves me correctly, you two did a bit more than just cuddling in the common room."

"You and Sirius are going to do worse," she insists, "I just know it. I can see where it's going."

"Worse how?" I cock an eyebrow at her.

She refuses to elaborate, "Just worse, Octavia. You know how he is."

I roll my eyes, "He's a sixteen year old boy, not a sex fiend."

"What's the difference?"

"I'm done arguing about this," I chuckle, "Just know that unlike with you and your blond weirdo, you won't have to witness any of our unholy acts." I enjoy egging her on a little. No one ever gives Narcissa shit about anything, so she needs to be humbled every now and then.

She clenched her jaw, "You want to bet money on that?"

"I can't take your money, Cissy."

"You're just like him," she remarks, "it's no wonder you're so perfect together because you're both infuriating sometimes."

I shrug, "A match made in heaven, I guess."

Finally we get through dinner, and Sirius and I meet up just like we have been every evening after dinner for the past couple weeks. The pale light of the full moon illuminates his face as we walk, and the chill of November can be felt in the open corridor. Finally, he stops and leans against one of the archways, pulling me to him by my waist.

"I can't stay for long," he murmurs, "I have some reading that I need to get done tonight."

"That's fine," I smile, "By the way, I didn't see Remus at dinner tonight or in class today, is everything okay?"

"Yeah," he nods quickly, "I think dinner last night didn't agree with him or something, he has a nasty stomachache."

He seems to get sick quite often. "Well, tell him I hope he feels better soon. Is he in the hospital wing?"

"Uh... he's in our room," he shifts uncomfortably, "it isn't a huge deal like last time. He was just throwing up all over earlier so obviously he couldn't go to class and he's gotten better, he just doesn't have much of an appetite so that's why he didn't come to dinner."

"I see..."

"I should get to my studying now," he kisses me quickly, "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright," I watch as he leaves, not quite sure what to think. Why would Sirius have to study when he never studies? Why does Remus get sick all the time? Why did Sirius get all weird when I asked about Remus. I gaze up at the sky, and suddenly it all makes sense. My birthday was also on the full moon.

•••

okay this chapter is shorttttt but i wanted to leave it on a cliff hanger hehe