Tenebrous ❆ Sirius Black [2]

Chapter Thirty Six

"James Fleamont Potter! Feet of the table! Godric, every time say it and every time you do it. Are you trying to infuriate me?" Nadia questioned after slapping the top of James' head as she passed by the sofa on which he sat.

"Hey!" He whined while rubbing the spot where she hit him, sending a glare her way as she handed Lily a glass of red wine before taking a seat on the arm rest of the chair in which Sirius was sitting, his hand instantly coming to rest on her thigh.

"You should hit harder if you want him to remember anything." Lily pointed out with a small giggle slipping past her lips as her husband now turned his glare to her.

"Why do you two always turn on me? Why are you corrupting my wife? Padfoot, save me here!" James pleaded with his best friend, making Sirius laugh loudly as he watched his face take on a begging look.

"Sorry mate, can't help you." Sirius acted as if he were sorry for his inability to do anything for James, but because his laughter continued to ring through the room, it was more than obvious he wasn't being sincere.

"You Nadia Volkov are an evil, evil woman." James pointed his finger at her, waving it through the air theatrically as he spoke in a dramatic tone. Nadia placed her hand over her heart, pretending to be hurt by the words as she looked down to Sirius.

"He's hurting my feelings." She spoke in a sad tone and this time Sirius' head spun around to look at James while he pretended to send him a warning glare.

"James, mate, you know I don't wish to fight with you but I will if I must." Sirius warned. James' eyes widened as he gaped at Nadia like a fish.

"Stop abusing your girlfriend power!" He yelled at her, making all of those around him laugh loudly. He continued to grumble to himself for a couple of moments, but soon enough ended up laughing along with them.

"You four are impossible." Marlene shook her head as she commented, standing from her seat so she could refill her glass while the conversation continued behind her.

"But James, I do have to correct you on one thing." Sirius spoke up, him and Nadia sharing a look between themselves as he did. She knew what he meant by that and what it was he wanted to correct James on. After all, it was the plan to do it tonight during their weekly get-together. "Nadia isn't my girlfriend anymore."

Lily choked on her drink.

"What?!" James exclaimed in shock.

"Please tell me this is a joke. You didn't break up, you wouldn't be so calm about it. Would you? Did you?" Lily started to question them with worried eyes once she recovered from her shock.

"Sirius, you're making a big mistake. Who else will be willing to endure your personality? I can't spend the rest of my life with you, I'm a married man." James spoke quickly.

Marlene could only laugh from the kitchen as she watched the scene unfold from her spot behind the counter. As someone who lived with Sirius and Nadia, of course she knew what they were talking about, but seeing the way they were teasing their friends brought her great amusement. And she truly couldn't have expected them to announce it any other way.

"This isn't a laughing matter Marlene. Come on, we can still turn this around. You two just have to give it another chance." James continued on.

"I'm sorry James, the whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing just couldn't last any longer. It's time to move on." Nadia explained with a solemn tone, looking down at the floor so James wouldn't see the grin threatening to spread across her lips.

"Oh guys I'm so sorry." Lily spoke in a sympathetic tone. She couldn't understand how they seemed so alright with it, but she still wished they could have made it work.

"Calling Nadia my girlfriend, it just wasn't right anymore." Sirius added on, now looking up at the two with an amused smile on his face, making them give him confused and questioning looks before he continued. "Fiancé just sounds much better, don't you think?"

Once Sirius finished saying what he did, Nadia finally waved her left hand in the air in front of them. For the majority of the time since James and Lily arrived she had been skillfully hiding it in her pocket so they wouldn't catch sight of the ring before she and Sirius said it themselves. She smiled from ear to ear as James and Lily stared at the ring for a few long moments. Finally they came back to the present, both jumping out of their seats as Lily squealed and rushed over to hug Nadia excitedly.

"Well finally!" James exclaimed as he clapped Sirius on the shoulder, pulling him into one of those odd hugs that only guys exchanged while Lily fawned over Nadia's ring and the two women jumped in the air while rambling on excitedly once Marlene joined them.

In all the commotion, they didn't even notice the door of the flat open once Camille, Remus and Peter walked in, their eyes quickly falling on their hyperactive friends. More hyperactive than usual that was.

"What the bloody hell did we just walk in on?" Remus questioned. He was aware they were late, but he wasn't expecting the lot of them to get drunk while they waited for them. The sound of his voice made the group take notice of their arrival.

"Oh we're just mourning the fact that I'm always the bridesmaid but never the bride." Marlene commented with a dismissive wave of her hand, her words making Peter and Remus exchange confused looks. Their silent communication was interrupted with the loud squeal coming from Camille which made them wince due to the surprise of it.

"Let me see it! Let me see it!" Camille rushed over through the area and instantly took a hold of Nadia's left hand. Unlike the boys, she easily caught on to what Marlene meant.

"What are we looking at people?" Remus asked as he followed after Camille and easily leaned over her shoulder to see what was so interesting about Nadia's hands. And then he finally realized how blatantly obvious Marlene's words were.

"Before I say congratulations, I'm going to say I told you so and I expect a thank you." Remus announced as he pulled Nadia into a tight hug. He could remember all the conversations he had with her about Sirius, all the times he tried to convince her to act on her feelings for the Black boy while they were still in Hogwarts. They had come a long way since then.

"Thank you Moony, for calling me an idiot back when I needed it." Nadia let out a laugh as she smiled up at him. She really was thankful, because if it wasn't for his constant pushing, who knows where they'd be now, or if this would even be happening.

"Now, are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life with him?" Remus raised his eyebrow jokingly making Sirius suddenly push in between them and pull Nadia to his side.

"Hey! She said yes, don't go changing her mind now!" He spoke defensively and Nadia looked up at him with a loving look in her eyes.

"For where thou art, there is the world itself, and where thou art not, desolation." She remembered the Shakespeare quote, knowing it was more than true when it came to Sirius. She was sure. He was her world, and he was what she wanted for all the years to come; forever.

Published: 18th November, 2019