One Step Ahead part I | Sirius Black

Chapter 134

{{oh my god. Someone force me to edit these please!}}

When Gwen stirs awake she's surprised to find that the room is still filled with light.

She blinks her eyes open a little wider, wondering briefly when the curtains had opened. Her arm is tingling, asleep from sleeping so hard. She'd needed rest desperately, the night before filled with horror filled thoughts that had her feeling ill.

Gwen flexes her fingers to get some blood moving, her limbs stretching out before her. The red sheets smell like leather and something deliciously masculine and so very Sirius it makes her heart warm. She groans and rolls over onto her back, suddenly aware that she is not in fact alone.

James, Peter, and Remus stand at the foot of the bed, staring at her with differing looks. Peter looks about as tired as she feels, Remus like he's on edge, and James as happy and goofy as ever. He grins widely and says in a singsong voice,

"Good morning, Ninnie."

She blinks at him, saying flatly, "Well it was."

He lets out an offended gasp, ignoring Remus' warning noise as he leaps onto the bed. She grunts when he knocks the air out of her lungs, groaning, "James, you're suffocating me."

"Hardly," James snorts. "You're talking aren't you."

Gwen stares at him silently. James brows furrowed in confusion when his skin grows warm. Not warm, hot. Very hot. He lets out a shriek of surprise when he looks down and sees a flame dancing across his arm.

Gwen laughs as he tumbles from the bed, sitting up and shaking her head at him. Remus covers his mouth to hide his smile while Peter snickers at James' pained moaning.

She says calmly, "Could someone get me some pants?"

Peter turns pink and quickly hands her a pile of clothes. Her lips twitch when she sees that it's her school uniform, a fresh one. Someone must have brought her new clothes. She stands without a second thought, ignoring the boys' cries of surprise when they see her bare legs.

They all three cover their eyes as she nonchalantly gets dressed, asking curiously, "Where's Sirius?"

"Um," Peter starts, "He's already down at breakfast waiting for you."

"You mean to tell me I slept the whole day?" Gwen asks, smirking slightly when she sees James peek behind his fingers. She's already dressed, so he removes his hand from his eyes and replies, "Yep. You were knackered, Ninnie."

She lets out a hum of agreement, staring at the wordlessly when they all face her. Another beat of silence passes before she asks, "Well are we going or not?"

Remus chuckles, "Yes, Ninnie. Lets go."

The three Marauders escort her from their dorm and the common room, chatting aimlessly about quidditch and classes. She doesn't think anything is amiss. Not until she sees a magazine and an acid pop waiting in her seat next to a very guilty looking boy with grey eyes and dark hair.

She quirks a brow, smiling up at James when he winks and squeezes her shoulder before she takes her seat. Sirius smiles when she scoots in next to him, having been to distracted and worried to see her enter the great hall. He feels a great deal of relief at the sight of her rested face. It's unfortunately accompanied by the anticipation of a lecture on beating the piss out of Slytherins. Sirius smiles nervously, his voice rushed and far too cheerful as he says, "Good morning, love!"

Gwen winces from his volume, her eyebrows raising in surprise at his chipper attitude. He quickly simmers down, turning broody and awkwardly reaching for his juice and taking a drink. Her eyes zero in on his hands, blinking passively at the bruises on his knuckles. She doesn't say anything, he doesn't notice her looking. She hums quietly to herself and picks up the waiting magazine, saying calmly, "I missed you this morning."

When she glances at him again he's already looking at her, his steel eyes having softened to foggy grey, like the mist that hangs over the beach in the early morning. Her lips twitch slightly and Sirius smiles, leaning in to peck her cheek. He mumbles against her soft skin, "Sorry, Ninnie. I was planting dung bombs in the greenhouse."

She nods, her eyes sliding back to her magazine only after she sends Dorcas, Marlene, and Lily a warm smile. Dorcas looks relieved, Marlene and Lily's expressions content and happy now that their friend looked better rested. Gwen's cheeks warm slightly when Sirius reaches for her cup and fills it with juice before setting a few pieces of toast on her plate. He wordlessly gets her breakfast, his guilt morphing into adoration when she sends him an appreciative glance.

She flips the page of her Witch Weekly, letting out an an occasional hum of appreciation. She dog ears the pages to revisit and Sirius begins to relax. Maybe she wouldn't notice. If only. Gwenyth Whitlock wasn't one to not notice things. Sirius' blood freezes when her eyes lift from the words and zero in on the Slytherin table. He stiffens and waits apprehensively, sharing a nervous look with the other Marauders.

Gwen stares at Severus Snape, surveying the mottled blues and purples across his face. His eyes are darkened by bruises, his beaky nose slightly red and crooked. Her lips twitch, pale eyes narrowing. Sirius opens his mouth to hurriedly explain what happened when Gwen says nonchalantly,

"It seems that Severus has stumbled into a wall."

He tries to not looked surprised, but he's taken aback by her nonchalance. James' eyes widen and Peter's jaw drops. Remus merely smiles behind his glass. The Veela yet again succeeded in catching Sirius off guard, just when he though he was catching up. Just as he was preparing to get in trouble. She knew him too well. She knew everything. He's surprised even further when her eyes drift back down to her gossip column and voice remains flat as she murmurs, "Pity."

Sirius feels such a strong wave of love for this girl, such a warm feeling of unbridled affection. He instantly stands, grabbing her magazine and shoving it into his bag before snatching her hands in his and pulling her to her feet.

He needed to get away from prying eyes so he could hold her. So he could kiss her and love her and thank her profusely for understanding that he needed to do something about Snape. That he had to do something. To thank her for not punishing him for this, for understanding him. For accepting him. Even his flaws.

Gwen follows silently, her lips twitching when Sirius drags her out of the Great Hall and down the corridors until they get to a drafty hall of cracked stone and crumbling windows, moss growing where the outdoors and indoors meet.

He pulls her into a small alcove at the base of some old stairs that looked mostly untraveled. Sirius stares at her silently, broodingly. Her lips twitch and she insists quietly, "Smile."

He can't help it, his lips slowly quirk up into a crooked grin that makes her heart stop for a moment. Sirius swallows roughly when she smiles too and says simply,

"There you are."

His heart feels like it may very well explode. This girl. He leans in and presses his lips to hers, nipping and tugging at her lower one until she gasps. He groans when his tongue touches hers, when her hands move up to pull and tug at his hair.

Sirius pulls her closer, his hands fisting the back of her shirt and pressing her to his chest as he slants his mouth on hers. He pulls away just enough to slide his mouth along her neck, his lips and teeth and tongue ravishing the spot above her pulse. A quiet whining sound leaves the Veela and it makes his head spin. He has half a mind to pull down their trousers and have his way with her. But they'd already missed classes yesterday, and he knew he was on thin ice with McGonagall.

Reluctantly, he leans back. Gwen's eyes open and she licks her puffy lips, a smile appearing as she teases, "What was that for?"

Sirius smiles faintly, tangling his fingers in the ends of her hair. He had so much he could say. So much he wanted to say.

"Thank you," he finally murmurs. "For being you."

Gwen's eyes twinkle with mirth and she shrugs. She leans up on her toes to peck his cheek, mumbling, "Cmon, Black. Let's go get this day over with now that you have me all hot and bothered."

He grins proudly at her cheeky words, swatting at her backside as they leave the alcove. She merely slides her hand into his, laughing and pulling him away from the abandoned corridor and towards their first class, completely oblivious to the loving look Sirius was sending her way.