Everything to Me

16.

"Juli is off limits."

Sirius' heart sank at those words and he almost showed James how he was feeling.

"I don't know what you are talking about." He laughed.

"You don't?" James' eye brows shot up questioningly.

"No." He tried his best to not express his grief. He could not be with the one girl he actually wanted to be with, not if it would mean losing his best friend, not if it meant causing troubles between a pair of brother and sister. Not if it meant losing the family he chose, the one that cared about him. He knew since the second year that James would not like this and he still fell for his sister.

"Good, because you shouldn't. Now, all we have to do is wait for Peter so that we can start the process of becoming Animagi." His expressions softening. Sirius nodded and zoned out, looking out the window and thinking about Juli.

* * * * *

Juli spent each moment of everyday thinking about what had happened between Sirius and her. Even now, she was lying on her bed at night thinking about her previous dates. She had been on a few dates to Hogsmeade and had a good time. Almost all of them ending with a kiss on the cheek or a peck on the lips. This was different. Sirius did not seem hasty and wanted to take his time but she knew neither of them could break James' heart this way. In the end, he was Sirius Black. The infamous playboy of Hogwarts. This was nothing new for him. Sadly, this didn't change the fact that she really wanted to be with him.

She slowly got up from her bed and grabbed a thin blanket. She left her room and walked towards James' bedroom. She peered inside to find him sleeping but couldn't say for sure about Sirius.

"Sirius? Are you up?" She said softly.

Sirius slowly got up from the bed and came outside, closing the door behind him. "It is 3:30, Juliette." Her heart warmed at the mention of her full name from him. "What happened? Are you okay?" He asked with concern.

"Yes. But I want to show you something." She said and started walking towards the stairs. Sirius followed her in silence. They climbed flights of stairs before finally reaching a door. It creaked when Juli pulled it open. Pleasant summer air hit them as they stepped onto what Sirius supposed was the roof. It had a beautiful view of the night sky with the stars shining bright and clear. Juli was the first one to sit down and pulled the blanket over her shoulders, leaving some for Sirius, too. He took in the view and sat down beside her, sharing the thin blanket.

"I know it is not the Astronomy Tower but it feels the same." She sighed, putting her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on hers.

"So you couldn't sleep either, huh?" He asked, not looking away from the stars.

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a long time before Sirius said, "I don't want to offend you, Juli, but if I ever have to, it will be James."

She took a deep breath and said, "I would do the same." He seemed to relax and they sat there until sunrise before going back to bed and sleeping in. Juli claimed that this was the best Summer sunrise she had ever seen. Unknown to her, Sirius thought the same, too.

The next morning, James woke her up by throwing a pillow to her face, waking her up with a start. "Ow..." She said sleepily and rubbed her head. "Wake up. Mum and Dad are waiting for lunch." He sat down on her bed, waiting for her. "Sirius, too. You both slept through breakfast." He said the last part with suspicion in his voice.

Juli instantly recognized it and her eyes snapped open. She got up and went to brush her teeth.

What do I do? Should I tell him? Why does it have to be so complicated.

When she came back, she saw James sitting there with an expression between upset and angry. She sat down on his side and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She said in a soft and loving voice, "James, it will always be you over him. No matter what." She emphasized. James finally smiled and returned her hug. She felt James kiss her temple. They stayed like that for a few moments and then headed down for lunch.

* * * * *

"Okay, here are the Mandrake leaves. You cannot speak for a month." Juli repeated to James, Sirius and Peter, handing them the Mandrake leaves. "Remus will be here in 3 days. He CANNOT know. It is a surprise. We have 1 more month before school starts. Please do not ruin this." She looked firm, but her eyes reflected how worried she was for everyone.

"Don't worry. We got this." James said. He sounded scared but he knew that he wanted to do this for his friend.

They all looked at each other and nodded, the 3 boys staring at the leaves in their hands.

Juli prayed for the boys to go through this without any problem.

"For Remus." Sirius said and put they put the leaf in their mouths.

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