What Sirius never said

Chapter 73

By Friday night the weather had dried up, but I was still a little chilly. We made use of it though and ventured down to the firepit for hot chocolate and marshmallows. We had a very civilised evening but the late nights were catching up with everyone and it wasn't long before Paige left for bed, carried off by her mum. Adam and Sophie excused themselves to go for a romantic stroll along the beach leaving me, my best friend and my boyfriend by the fire. I was just starting to shiver when I felt a jacket being draped over my shoulders. I looked up to find Sirius standing beside me, his jacket around me. I snuggled into it and when he sat down I snuggled into him.
"Hey" he grinned at me.
"Hey" I replied, and kissed him softly on the lips.
"Wow, the minute everyone disappears and you're at it like rabbits" Andy spoke up. "Was it like this all year and I didn't notice?"
I laughed at his question. He had stood up and was just chucking another log onto the fire as he spoke, laughter in his eyes. He was only teasing.
"No" I said. "It's only been like this for the last few months and you didn't notice".
"Can I ask you about this now then?" He asked, settling himself back down on a log and gesturing to the two of us. I looked over at Sirius, who seemed to be searching my face. I raised an eyebrow in question and he gave a subtle nod.
"I guess so" I said, still watching Sirius' eyes.
Andy cheered.
"Finally! So many questions. What first... When did you guys get together?"
"Right after my birthday" I told him matter of factly.
"What happened?"
"Can I answer this one?" Sirius chimed in. I looked over at him. I was intrigued as to what he would say. We hadn't really discussed our relationship with anyone yet, so I didn't know what he would say to all these questions. I nodded my ascent and settled into his side to listen.
"It was when Trudy admitted to liking me. When I was in the hospital wing on her birthday. You guys had a party right? And she got drunk and snuck away to check on me" he smiled at me and I returned it.
"Huh. So that's why you wouldn't let anyone go with you" Andy commented.
"That's why I never let anyone come with me these days. I'm normally meeting up with Sirius" I admitted ruefully. Andy met my eyes and I noticed the smirk on his face.
"When did you know you liked her?" Andy carried on the questions, aiming this one at Sirius.
"18th November" he replied without missing a beat. I looked at him in disbelief.
"That early?" I asked.
He nodded. In the faint light I noticed a blush creep up his cheeks.
"When you taught me how to do silent magic. We duelled and I looked at you and you had this fire in your eyes and I just thought 'wow. This woman is incredible'.
You got on well with my friends, you didn't tell when we caused chaos and you're hot as a pepper up potion to boot" I blushed profusely.
"What about you Trudy?" Andy asked. "When did you realise you liked him?"
"When he cracked a joke and I laughed. I realised he always made me laugh".
"That's it?" Sirius complained jokingly. "I gave you a whole story about how you helped me and I just made you laugh?"
"Well I can talk about how I was lonely because my friends were off for a tournament and I was in a foul mood and I went to you because I knew you would cheer me up and I was right and you gave me a hug and we talked about theories of cartographic magic, but I thought that would be abit long winded" I snapped back. He just grinned and pulled me in for a hug, placing a soft kiss on the top of my head.
"Naw you guyyys" Andy chimed in from across the circle. "Have you slept together yet?"
"Don't answer that" a new voice called out as Adam and Sophie rejoined the circle. "I do not want to know if my sister has been sleeping around" I glared at him, before turning back to Andy.
"No" I replied. "Not yet".
Andy nodded thoughtfully. "Okay... I don't know what else to ask. Do you guys go on dates?"
"Yeah, we've become pretty imaginative with them" Sirius chimed in cockily. He leaned back on the log. "What was your favourite?" He asked me.
My mind ran through the dates we had been on, to Hogsmead, the lake, the hike, the forest. "The greenhouse" I told him and he grinned.
"Care to elaborate?" Andy asked, so I told him about it to oohs and ahhhs from Sophie and a snort of derision from Adam.
"You don't have to listen to this" I snapped at my brother, getting really annoyed at him now. I never opened up about my private life. Ever. So I didn't appreciate him shitting all over it.
"I kind of do" he snapped back. "Sophie wants to know and you get really cagey about your relationship".
"Well I'm sorry Sophie but that's going to be all I'll say now then. I don't fancy sharing any more". I don't know why but Adam always managed to wind me up more than anyone else. To my surprise, however, Andy didn't take kindly to this.
"Damn it Adam! She was sharing!" He exploded. There was stunned silence around the fire but he carried on regardless. "You should know better than anyone. You're her brother! Merlin's pants Adam. I was getting information and she had opened up. You know better than to laugh at her. You know she'll stop talking the minute she feels judged. Just... Gah" he let out a groan.
I sat there in stunned silence. I knew I did that, I knew he knew I did that. We had had many chats about it. But this was the first time Andy had properly blown up about it. I felt tears prick my eyes. My friends tiptoed around me so often, not asking what they wanted to, and I suddenly felt incredibly guilty about that. There was a moment of silence then "you aren't like that with me" Sirius commented quietly.
"What do you mean?" I asked, looking over at him. He clearly clocked the tears in my eyes but didn't say anything about them.
"You don't hide from me."
"I guess... I guess you never gave me reason to" I told him. Thinking about it, he never had. He had always been on the same wavelength as me - he met me intellectually and didn't make me feel weird for knowing things. Instead of teasing me for being a goody two shoes he had coaxed me out of my shell, inviting me to break the rules with his friends. I kissed him gently, hiding his surprised smile from the world. I felt better already.

"Tru" Adam started hesitantly. I looked at him across the fire and notice the guilt written all over his face. It made my own guilt flare up. "I'm sorry" he said. "I didn't mean to laugh at you. It is actually really great that you've found someone who accepts your eccentricities and meets you where you are. I mean, that is such a romantic date for you. And I'm sorry for making you feel less than. We like Sirius. We really do. And we... I want to hear more about your relationship".
I nodded my ascent. "Apology accepted. But I don't really want to share more right now. Maybe next time" I smiled weakly at him. It was the best I could give.