One Step Ahead part I | Sirius Black

Chapter 77

Gwen grins sheepishly at his nervous face.

Her tone remains unbothered, bored even as she says, "I charmed him. Your mother threw a fit."

Sirius blinks at her, a very funny image of his father drooling over his girlfriend—the girl that Orion called filthy and spit on. He barks out an exasperated laugh, "Fucking hell, Ninnie! Are you insane?!"

Gwen ponders his question for a moment before shrugging and replying simply, "Possibly. My brain cells are dying from spending so much time with you and the lads."

Sirius pinches her side at her words, shaking his head incredulously as he wonders, "What am I going to do with you?"

Her lips hint at a smile, her face nonplussed and a stark contrast to her initial embarrassment. Sirius nearly drags her down to him again, growing slightly uncomfortable south of his belt at the thought of her using her power to manipulate his father. Perhaps not healthy, but it was a major turn on.

Before he can kiss her and before Gwen can make a sarcastic comment about the sudden hardness pressing into her arse, banging on the compartment door disturbs them. James peers through the tiny skit of clear glass, his voice muffled as he yells,

"There's my favorite Ravenclaw!"

He suddenly winces, turning to Dorcas and mumbling an apology that Gwen and Sirius can't hear. The Veela begins to climb off of him to open up the compartment, he yanks her back down and hides his face in the crook of her neck.

"We could tell them to go away," Sirius mumbles, pressing a featherlight kiss to her pulse. Gwen gulps and shakes her head, replying, "He'll just keep yelling."

Sirius scowls, leaning back in his seat and grabbing his wand. Gwen goes to get up as the door slides open and their friends file in, but Sirius leans up and kisses the shell of her ear, whispering, "You can't move, Ninnie. You're hiding my bloody hard on."

Gwen's eyes widen just enough for him to notice. She scowls at his smirk, at least turning around on his lap to face her friends. Her peripheral vision hints at a hovering form that begins to leave, but then she gestures towards their feet and casts a wordless spell.

Regulus freezes, so close to his escape. Not close enough apparently. Sirius stiffens behind Gwen when she says calmly, "Regulus, join us."

His voice is far more calm, a tad arrogant as he says, "I've got to—"

"You've misheard me. It wasn't a request."

Regulus blinks at the Veela, growing uncomfortable under the curious stares of her friends and the Marauders. Reluctantly he nods, and then his feet are free for him to walk into the compartment. He hesitates before stiffly taking a seat between Sirius and Remus.

James interrupts before it can get any more awkward, though his words make Sirius shift below his girlfriend and grumble quietly.

"Reggie told us you made a right fool out of his parents, Ninnie!"

Gwen grins despite Sirius and Regulus' obvious discomfort, asking nonchalantly, "Is that a problem, head boy? Fancy giving me detention for picking on parents?"

Lily suddenly earns all of the attention in the room from a horrified gasp that escapes her. She stands abruptly, stuttering wildly while Dorcas and Marlene hide their smiles. She finally shouts,

"You arrogant toe rag! Why on earth are you head boy?!"

James' smile is smug, proud even as he shrugs and says cheekily, "My charm and good looks, Evans."

Gwen bites down on her lip when she hears a small snort of laughter from Regulus. She can tell Sirius is surprised by his brother's amusement. Maybe even a bit put off by it. But she liked Regulus. And she knew he was going off to be alone, not to see Slytherins. She didn't want another Black brother to be alone. Not anymore.

James winks at her subtly as Lily tears out of the compartment. He quickly stands and follows, teasing her about how they had to talk about their duties.

"Did you have a good summer, Dorcas?" Remus asks to break the new silence, smiling at his bookish friend. The Ravenclaw instantly launches into her summer travels, mentioning a place from a book that Remus didn't recognize. He'd missed talking to her and Lily, Gwen rarely wanting to discuss reading outside of her Witch Weekly magazine. Which had been properly returned to her hands by Sirius.

Regulus can't help but watch his brother and the Veela out of the corner of his eye, noting the way Sirius relaxes when she opens up the magazine wide enough for him to read. He'd never seen Sirius look so...not angry. He wrinkles his nose slightly when the acid pop Gwen had been sucking on was removed by his brother and promptly placed into his own mouth.

"Disgusting, aren't they?"

Regulus quickly looks up, blinking at Marlene McKinnon. He can't recall ever speaking to her. But she has a dry smile on her face that tells him that she is harmless. At least right now. Regulus swallows roughly before saying curtly,

"Terribly, yes."

The Scottish witch snorts out a laugh, and when Regulus cracks a smile he glances over just in time to see Gwen nonchalantly flipping a page and smiling briefly in his direction. Sirius doesn't look up, his chin balanced on his girlfriends shoulder as he reads. Marlene stretches out her legs next to Dorcas and mumbles something to her, Regulus watching on curiously as the Ravenclaw'a cheeks pink slightly. Dorcas whispers something furiously, but Marlene ignores her, looking back at Regulus and asking,

"Know how to play cats cradle, little Black?"

Regulus grunts, "I'm not 'little'—"

"Prove it," Marlene says suggestively, yelping when Dorcas elbows her hard. The Ravenclaw smiles sweetly, saying apologetically, "Sorry, Regulus. Ignore her."

Regulus gives a stiff nod, and the compartment grows quiet for a moment. Marlene is pouting and rubbing her side, Dorcas looks sympathetic, and Regulus can't even look at Remus. Not when he'd nearly cried in front of him earlier over his parents. Not when he'd shared letters with him over the summer and then couldn't find anything to say when they'd seen each other in person. He briefly makes eye contact with Sirius. He's not sure what to expect—he hadn't been a great brother recently. He'd ignored Sirius last year and refused to escape with him when he could. He's not sure if he would change his decision, still feeling some responsibility to his family. Some pride in his ancestry.

But then he watches as Sirius turns back to listen to the Veela in his lap give an update on the Celestina Warbeck and a Felix Felicis facial that's meant to remove fine lines.

Regulus' hands twitch. His heart warms slightly.

He turns back to Marlene and asks cautiously,

"What is a cats cradle?"