Just The Three Of Us - SiriusxOCxRemus

twelve

     Celeste, Sienna, Natalia, and Dorcas were covered from head to toe in their warmest clothes. They needed to be considering Scotland's winter months were anything but forgiving. The four girls along with all of the other students (third year and up) were on their way to hogsmeade. It was two weeks until Christmas break so they were all eager to shop for presents. This meant that they would have to split up for the majority of the trip. Celeste absolutely loathed surprises but she made an exception when it came to Christmas gifts.

     The snow was soft under Celeste's boots as she walked on the path to the village. Her left arm was intertwined with Dorcas' and her right was being held onto by Sienna; who's other arm was occupied by Natalia. They were all clutching each other as if death was upon them, but in all reality they just wanted to steal warmth. This was a regular occurrence during the month of December.

     The plan that would be taking place has been the same since third year. They would separate from one another when they arrived at the village and head out to shop. Then at four they would regroup at The Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer.  Afterwords they would walk back to the castle, drop off their presents in the dorm, and head to dinner. 

     "So Dorcas, what are you gonna get Marlene?" Asked Natalia.

     "Wha- Why would I get her something?" Dorcas' flushed, but if anyone asked she would say it was from the cold.

     Her friends shared a look. A look that said Is she serious?  "I don't know, maybe because you like her?"

     "I do not! Besides if  I did, I would have no clue what to get her." The dark skinned girl looked down at the snow in shame. She wanted to tell her friends the truth. She wanted to tell them that not only did she like Marlene, but they had been secretly dating since Halloween. She knew her friends well enough to know they could keep a secret but Marlene didn't know them like that. She didn't know they would protect her secret with their lives. So Dorcas continued to lie for the sake of her girlfriend.

     "Get her something special. Something that shows how you feel about her." Sienna chimed in.

     "You could get her something quidditch related. She's one of the gryffindor beaters. Sirius told me she's a bloody good one too." Celeste added.

     "Oh so Sirius told you? You guys seem pretty close now. Have you snogged yet?" Sienna twisted a strand of her pink hair around her finger as she asked. 

     "No! We're just friends. I don't like him like that." She was lying and she knew it. But there was no way that she was gonna tell her friends that she fancies Sirius Black. Or the fact that she also fancies Remus Lupin. They would have a field day with that information. "But yeah, he told me Marlene's almost if not just as bad as Potter when it comes to non-stop quidditch talk. So if you're gonna get her something, I'd consider something to do with quidditch."

     "Alright, thanks Celeste." Dorcas smiled gratefully. 

     "Anytime." She winked.

     Celeste knew exactly what she wanted to get for her dorm-mates for Christmas. She decided to start with the smaller items and then go find the bigger gifts. So the witch made her way to the green shop known as Honeydukes. Upon entering she noticed the store was packed full of customers. To be fair they did sell the best sweets so she wasn't surprised. She just hoped she wouldn't run into any of her friends. 

     She had already grabbed sugar quills for Dorcas and fizzing whizbees for Natalia but she could not find the peppermint toads for Sienna. Celeste knew Sienna had just run out of her favorite treat and wanted to pick some up to gift to the girl. But no matter where she looked; whether that be high or low, she could not find them. She decided to ask a worker for some help locating them but still searched as she walked. Perhaps if she would have been paying attention then she would not have physically run into the Marauders.

     "Shit! Watch where you're going you wan-" James received an elbow to his gut and shut right up.

     Remus leaned down to pick up the fallen sweets whereas Sirius reached for Celeste's hands. "Well look at that, you've got us on our knees again." The three on the floor laughed as James and Peter's jaws dropped. Remus stood up with the treats in hand and Sirius pulled Celeste up. She brushed off her robe and took the candies from Remus' outstretched hands. "Thanks for picking those up Rem." He nodded in reply.

     "What's got you in such a rush Miller? A hot date?" James smirked at the furrowed eyebrows of Sirius and Remus. Despite what they may think, he had noticed their mutual attraction to the witch in front of them.

     "No! I'm just trying to find the peppermint toads. I wanted to get some for Sienna. She ran out a few days ago."

     This time it was Peter who spoke up. "Oh um, they're on the top left shelf in the back. I just picked up a few." He smiled shyly at the pretty ravenclaw. He didn't fancy her but he did find her attractive.

     "Really? Thank you, Pettigrew." He nodded and she began to walk towards the back. James and Sirius shared a look which went unnoticed by the other two boys.

     "Wait up! You might need some help since you're so short." He followed her towards the sweets she had been looking for. He chuckled as he saw her try and reach for them but she remained unsuccessful. "Here" He placed his hand on the small of her back and she felt as if fire ran through her veins. "Let me grab those for you."

     He handed her the blue package and reluctantly moved his hand from her back as she thanked him. "Uh Celeste?" Her gaze met his. "I asked James and he said it would be okay for me to ask you. But I don't know if you already have plans. Or if you would even be interested in going. But would you like to go to the new years eve party at the Potter's?" He cleared his throat before she could answer. "With me. Would you like to go as my date?"

     Celeste had no clue what to do. On one hand she would love nothing more than to go with Sirius. On the other hand, Remus would most likely be there and she liked him just as much as she liked Sirius. She didn't want to make things awkward. But she had no clue if Remus felt anything other than friendship towards her. So once again she took a risk. "Yes. I would love to go as your date Sirius." He pulled her into his arms and spun her around. "Thank Merlin. I was hoping you'd say that." They shared a smile.

     "Well I've got a lot of shopping to do before I meet up with my friends. So I should get going."

     "Of course, so do I. I'll talk to you more about the details soon. But I'm really happy that you said yes." His face held a dreamy look as he began to walk back towards his friends.

     "Sirius" He turned towards her. "I'm really happy you asked." Now Celeste was the one with a dreamy look as she set off to finish her shopping.