Luck of the Draw

Conversation

"Athena," Sirius whined, dragging out the 'a' in an exaggerated sigh.

"What, Sirius? What do you want?" He smirked at the sound of irritation in Athena's voice.

"Hi, Love." Athena sighed deeply, forcing her frustration to stay deep.

"Is there something you need," she asked, glancing up from her marking.

"Well yes, I'd quite appreciate a bit of your attention." 

"If you'd like to help me mark these essays, then I'd absolutely love to give you some attention. Until then, you're stuck with this." He sighed deeply.

"Could you, perhaps, assign less work for them? That would be much easier than marking all of these."

"I'm sure it would be, but if I assign less, I run the risk of letting a group of uneducated potion makers into the world and that is a risk that I'm not willing to take." Another sigh.

"Fine. I suppose I understand."

"Don't you assign star charts?"

"Of course I do, but me waiting to grade my students work isn't going to change the world." Athena rolled her eyes before setting her quill down.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're incredibly obnoxious?" He pretended to think for a moment, a hand seated on his sharp jawline.

"I believe Remus tells me every time he sees me."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." With a loud laugh, Sirius stood from the bed and crossed the little room to Athena's desk, quickly grabbing her and tickling her wildly. She stood, trying to get away, only to fall again in a fit of giggles.

"Sirius stop!"

"Not until you say I'm not obnoxious!"

"You're proving the point right now!" His nimble fingers continued to dig into her sides.

"Am not. Now say it, or I keep going!" She spun in his arms, trying desperately to pull his lips to hers. "No! I'm not relenting, not even for kisses!" Groaning through her giggles, she finally spoke.

"Fine! You're not obnoxious in the slightest." Finally, his fingers slowed their attack.

"That's what I thought. Now, about those kisses," he questioned before bringing his lips to meet hers. She smiled softly into the kiss, feeling incredibly lucky to have been matched with the big goofball she'd been living with now for almost a month. The kisses were slowly escalating, becoming more and more passionate when Athena heard a light rapping on the window. Breaking the kiss, she rushed over and opened the window to find a large screech owl waiting. She took the letter from its grip and gave it a few treats before sending it off to its home in the owlery.

"Who's it from?" Athena ripped open the letter, scanning it quickly.

"It's Coralin. She's accepting my offer." The couple visibly relaxed. The last thing they had wanted was for either half of that sweet couple to end up in Azkaban. "She says they'll be leaving to elope tomorrow night, and she'd like to have the potion." Athena finished the letter and then tossed it in the fire to hide the evidence.

"You'd better get to work then."

"It's not necessarily a difficult brew, it just could take me all night."

"Well then, I'll stay up with you, Love, help keep you awake."

"I'll be back, I have to go collect a few supplies from the Storage closet." Sirius nodded, sitting back on the bed and making himself comfortable.

Athena walked through the dark halls of the castle, her wand lit in front of her. A few portraits waved at her frustratingly as she walked, shouting at her to put the light out so they could go back to sleep. She rolled her eyes and willed the light to dim. Finally, after some time, she reached her ingredient store room. She quietly unlocked the door and snuck inside, searching the dark and smelly room for the few ingredients she needed for the potion for Coralin. The move was risky, but a very calculated one. The law only stated that the marriage must be consummated and a child produced within the first year, not that they couldn't prevent a child for a little while. The justification seemed to ease her mind, but it didn't relax her in the slightest. She still rushed through the castle, attempting to prevent the small vials from clattering into each other in the bag she'd brought. Sirius had agreed this was the best course of action, although he had seemed slightly concerned. She couldn't help but feel as if her quick thinking had concerned him. They were almost three weeks into their marriage, it was far too early for a pregnancy to show itself but Athena knew that rational thought could escape both of them at times. Her thoughts seemed to help pass the time because she was soon standing in front of her apartment door. She entered quickly and quietly, assuming that Sirius had fallen asleep waiting on her to return. However, she was quite surprised to find him waiting patiently in bed with one of her many books in his large hands.

"Hello my love. Get everything you need?"

"You didn't have to wait up for me, we both have class in the morning." He smiled softly.

"I know, I figured I'd keep you company in your little illegal adventure. It's been awhile since I've been a part of a scheme." A grin spread across her face as she chuckled.

"Well, set up the cauldron then. Might as well be a real accomplice if you're going to be up."

An hour later, Athena had Sirius preparing ingredients as she stirred carefully, a pair of glasses perched upon her nose as she read through the instructions.

"You look adorable like that," Sirius mumbled, watching her as she read.

"And you look concerned. Is everything alright?"

"Have you made this potion before?" Athena stopped in her tracks.

"Once or twice. Never for myself, thank Merlin." Sirius nodded, his lips pursed. "Why would you ask?"

"Well, I suppose I was just curious. You seemed to have the idea for Coralin ready, so I wasn't sure its original intent was for her." Athena nodded curtly.

"I suppose the thought did cross my mind initially, but then I saw how happy Dora was with Remus and Teddy. If that wild spirit was enjoying life with a husband and a baby, then I suppose I could too." In the midst of her speech, Sirius had begun smiling, clearly feeling less anxious.

"So you have no nefarious plans to block a little us from coming into this world?"

"None whatsoever. In fact, I quite like the idea. I think the only thing prettier than us as a couple, would be us with a baby." A snort erupted from Sirius's pretty mouth.

"Did you just call us pretty?"

"I thought that the fact was absolutely undeniable. We are quite a beautiful couple." Athena and Sirius both erupted into laughter once again.

"Alright, enough giggles. Let's get this finished. I'd like to see what time we have left once we're done."

A/N:

HOLY SHIT YALL. Not only have we hit 3,000 reads (thank y'all SO much), but we've also hit over 100 votes! I know this ones kind of short, but a little filler was kind of necessary! Once again, thank you guys so much for all of the reads! This literally makes my day!!!!

Love,
Drea