One Step Ahead Part II | Sirius Black

Chapter 221

Sirius stares down at the box he's filling with books and knickknacks.

James and Lily hadn't found a house yet. Sirius secretly didn't want them too. He didn't want a lot of things. He didn't want to be locked out, torn apart from one of his brothers. But from now on, conversations about the future of James and Lily were limited strictly between the couple and Dumbledore. Anything else wouldn't be safe. It pained him, hurt his heart.

It had pissed off Gwen.

"Why that old bag of air thinks that he's the right one to figure—"

"Mon ange, please. We've gone through this a million times." Sirius groans, dropping a book into the box before rubbing his temples with his fingers. Marlene peers over at him with a sympathetic smile, mumbling lowly, "Dorcas has been ranting like this for years, mate. You'll get used to it."

He shakes his head, lips twitching up into a faint smile. He gently nudges the witch with his elbow, pausing when he hears,

"Comme tu veux." {As you want.}

His jaw drops slightly at the blatant attitude in her tone, turning to quirk a brow at her over his shoulder. Her arms are crossed tight over her chest, the only sign of her irritation. Her face is as passive as ever, though her eyes are narrowed into chips of ice as she petulantly looks out of the window. Ignoring him.

Tensions were high, and while the exhausted part of him is tempted to give into her obvious wish for a fight, the larger part, the more hopeful part, is too amused. He bites down hard on the inside of his cheek, staring at the slight pout of her lower lip. Gwenyth Whitlock, pouting for being left in the dark. How ironic.

"Laisse tomber," Sirius warns, hoping she doesn't turn to see that he's struggling to smile. The Veela's nose wrinkles, her voice sarcastic as she mocks, "Laisse tomber. Tu m'agaces." {{Let it go. You're annoying me.}}

Sirius huffs an exasperated laugh, climbing to his feet and walking over to the window she's staring out of. Marlene whistles lowly, earning a disapproving look from where Dorcas is fixing the last box that Sirius packed. She'd tried to tell him a way to sort the books. He couldn't manage to care.

He reaches out and gently grasps Gwen's elbow, grimacing when she hurriedly swats at his hand with her own. He catches it quickly, easily stopping her struggle and pulling her in close enough that he can press his forehead against hers.

Gwen still stares out of the window, and Sirius tries not to smile as he says lowly, "Look at me, Inferi." She doesn't budge. He tries again, "Regardez-moi."

He gently grasps her chin, slowly turning her head. Just when he thinks he's getting somewhere, the Veela hurriedly clamps her eyes shut, and he can't help the gruff laugh that sounds from him. Gwen frowns, her eyes shut as she mutters, "Don't laugh at me."

"Merlin, Inferi," He murmurs. "Look at me, Please."

She sighs, slowly prying one eye open and giving him a glimpse of blue that eases the pain in his heart. Sirius grins, stroking back some of her hair, "Good girl. Tell me what's going on."

"I don't know what's going on," She says haughtily, "That's the problem."

Sirius nods slowly, quirking a brow and staring at her until her other eye opens. Gwen stares back, unblinking and stoic. His eyes start to burn, but he refuses to give in. At least not yet. When the Veela would get bored, or frustrated, or upset, Sirius found that challenging her seemed to be the course of action to reveal her odd line of thinking. Gwen's lips twitch slightly, and Sirius can't help his grin when Marlene grunts, "Dorcas, they're being weird again."