𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙦𝙪𝙖 ➪ 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗎𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌

𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝐹𝑂𝑈𝑅𝑇𝑌 𝑆𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑁

➪ CHATELLE ➪

"JAMES, WHERE'S SIRIUS?"

The Gryffindor boy turned around, pausing his conversation with Lily, and frowned at Loki. His expression changed after a few seconds, and a look of realisation crossed his face. He cocked his brow, dozens of questions silently being fired at the Hufflepuff. She gave him a small, almost missable nod. He grinned widely and pushed his glasses back up his face.

"Last I saw he was outside with Peter and Remus," James replied. "A tree near the Black Lake."

"Thanks, James," Loki smiled. She waved a greeting to Lily before continuing her march down the corridors.

She navigated through the familiar hallways of Hogwarts, her only thought being Sirius. She twisted the fingers on her right hand as she kept her eyes peeled for him through the crowds of other students. Eventually, she found a way outside, quickly jogging out despite the dropping temperature. The clothing she wore wasn't good enough, but her pull toward the boy made ger forget about it for the moment. Her feet carried her out, closer and closer to the Black Lake until she could see the tree and the trio standing under it, laughing with one another. It was only two hours since she'd seen them, but it felt like days.

"Princess! What are you doing out here?" Sirius called, his eyes trained on her. He flicked something into the snow, stepping on it before he turned back to her. A smoke, she assumed.

Of course, he saw me first. Loki thought, smiling to herself.

"Loki?" Remus frowned at the girl.

"I—I've got to talk with Sirius," Loki told them when she was close enough for the boys to hear. Face-to-face, her task seemed several times more daunting than before.

"What's it about?" Sirius swung around the tree, so he stood in front of Loki. She glanced back before grabbing his arm and pulling him away from Remus and Peter. "Woah, Princess. What's the matter?"

"Nothing, I just..." Loki frowned and shook her head in frustration as her mind went blank at the familiar smell of a cigarette floating around him, "I just needed to speak with you privately."

"Should we go inside? You look cold." Sirius pointed out. "Do you want my scarf?"

"Sirius!" Loki stopped. She spun around to face the Gryffindor boy. He halted, staring down at her, his shock evident on his face. She sighed and dropped her head against his torso. "I'm sorry, I'm a bit frustrated with myself at the moment."

"Hey, hey," his hands gently held her arms, slowly pulling her in for a hug. "It's alright, Princess. You don't need to worry. Just tell me whatever it is when you're ready"

"Sirius, I like you. A lot."

"O...kay?" Sirius gulped. He wasn't sure where this was coming from, and her words made his heart skip a beat.

"Well, I was talking with Remus the other day-" Sirius was frightened by her casual tone "-and you came up."

"Oh?"

"I mean, we were just talking about it, but..." Loki huffed, getting impatient with herself. She pulled away from Sirius, grabbing his face between her cold hands. "Sirius Black, I have been waiting to say this to you for Merlin knows how long, but would consider going out with me?"

Sirius blinked. He tried to speak, but broken sounds emerged from his throat instead. Sirius swallowed once more, his tongue swiping over his lips before he shut his eyes and let out a deep sigh. He attempted to compose himself and buy himself some time by grabbing her hands, pulling them down. Despite Sirius being able to hear his heart rapidly beating in his ears, he still managed to concentrate on the girl in front of him.

"What about Remus?" Sirius found himself asking. He trusted the girl, and he knew his best friend did as well.

"He's fine with it," Loki replied. "Honest."

"Really?"

Sirius watched as Loki nodded hastily. Her fear of his answer became more evident on her face. Her freezing hands stayed firmly in his grasp, the tips of her fingers brushing the fabric of his robe as they stared. Her nose, now slightly pink on the end, twitched. Sirius bit his lip, his mind running at insane speeds.

"You really don't know how long I've waited to do this."

Sirius dropped her hands, his palms reaching up swiftly to her face as he dived down. His lips pressed firmly to hers. Loki's eyes widened, shocked by his sudden movements, and her hands tightly gripped his robes. The taste of cigarette and mint spread through her mouth. Sirius broke away from her after what seemed like merely a moment. The dazed Loki blinked, breathing heavily. Their foreheads rested against one another, and they're eyes never broke away.

"Sir-" 

"I'm sorry," Sirius panted, cutting her off. "I mean, I'm not, but I am. If that makes any sense." Sirius scrunched his face in frustration, letting out a sigh. "Merlin, why am I getting all tongue-tied? Look-" he grabbed the girl by her shoulders as they pulled away "-I really, and I mean really, like you, Princess, I just don't know how everyone else is going to react."

"Since when has the great Sirius Black cared about how people are going to think?" Remus's humoured voice blessed the pair's ears. He let out a laugh, stepping beside the couple.

"Remus," Loki's voice was soft when she spoke his name, but he turned to her and smiled.

"It's alright," he spoke. He turned back to Sirius, "so, should I take that as a yes? Or do you two wanna snog a bit more?"

Loki sucked in a sharp breath, turning away as her cheeks burned red. "Re-Re-Remus!" She cried, covering her face before they could see any more of her embarrassment. "Don't say things like that!"

"I'm just worried about Loki," Sirius told his best friend. "I don't want rumours to start spreading about her."

Despite her furious blushing and heavy embarrassment, a smile crept onto Loki's face. She liked knowing Sirius was concerned about her. She felt better after hearing his words and peered up at him and Remus as they spoke. As if sensing her gaze, Sirius turned to Loki, shooting her a grin, then placing his hand affectionately on her head.

"It'll be fine," Remus answered. "Trust me, if anyone says anything bad, it won't just be us going for them." He looked over at the dark-haired girl, smiling at her as if she were the most precious thing in the world. "Lily and Marlene are quite fond of you, y'know? And James and Peter enjoy having you around, too."

"We do!" Peter smiled widely at the girl, giving her a thumbs up.

"And I don't doubt the strength of your friend group, either," Remus added. "So... what do you say? You still ready to have us both?"

Loki let out a soft laugh, her heart swelling with joy. "Of course, silly."

She felt Sirius pull her in for a hug, his hand moving from her head to her shoulder. She moved her hands from Sirius's face, now grabbing Remus by the robes and pulling him in. He let out a chuckle when he stumbled, only to be cut off by Loki pressing her lips to his.

➪ AUTHOR'S NOTE ➪

hey, how y'all doing? I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to get this out on time bc I've had a lot going on lately, but I'm so happy I managed to finish it. I've finished at my current school and am now going to our senior campus for yr 11, and it still hasn't properly sunk in yet.

Are you happy though? You finally got your power trio. Fourty Seven chapters in the making, but they've still got more to write.

I'm also thinking about turning this into its own alternative hp universe storyline, which means there's going to be more books and Loki's going to be making appearances, as well as Nic and Max and the others. What do you think?

And, on that note, it's time to say farewell. Until next time, of course. :)