𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐀 | 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬

✧ chapter 54 ✧

1977

"Would you still love me if I were bald?" Sirius asked Aurora on their way back to the common room. They had spent the past hour smoking in the astronomy tower just like they used to, only now with much more snogging.

Aurora pretended to consider this for a moment, before scrunching up her nose in disgust.

"Absolutely not. I would drop you faster than Elliot Pence dropped the Quaffle in the Slytherin versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match." Aurora responded, pretending to be repulsed by the idea of a bald Sirius.

"Your words wound me! I would love you if you were bald as an egg with no eyebrows." Sirius responded dramatically, stepping forward and sweeping his arms out as if declaring his love to the world.

"I would love you if you grew a ten-foot beard that wobbled while you walked. I would love you if you lost both feet and both hands in a duelling accident and had to replace them all with hooks. I would feed you every meal of the day and I would blow your nose and scratch any itch – actually no I think hooks would be useful for scratching maybe you could scratch my itches," Sirius paused his tangent to consider this, "– and I would polish your hooks every night and I wouldn't even make any jokes if you wanted to hold hands." Sirius continued after his brief digression, inventing abstract situations to convince Aurora of his love. Ever since admitting he did love Aurora, Sirius decided that he in fact loved love, more so he loved being in love.

"I'd even wipe your bottom after you used the loo." He stated to Aurora, who was now in fits of laughter.

"You're wonderful," Aurora giggled, pressing her lips to his in the middle of the hallway.

"Does this mean you changed your mind about me being bald?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"Nope, absolutely not," Aurora laughed, pulling away from Sirius, "I only love you for your hair." She stated sarcastically, lacing his fingers with hers and swinging their hands as they began walking again.

"Even after I offered to wipe your bum! Wow, Rory, I must say I am shocked and appalled." Sirius pretended to be outraged, raising his free hand to clutch his chest.

The two continued walking in comfortable silence, Aurora still swinging their interlocking hands. In the month since being offered positions in Dumbledore's order, things had pretty much gone back to normal. They still had until they finished school before they could join, so most of them were enjoying their last year of relative normalcy before they were plunged into the outlandish helter-skelter of the real world and the war that ravaged it.

They were about to round a corner when the two of them heard voices. They quickly halted, checking to see if there were any available hiding places.

"Hang on," Sirius held up a hand, cocking his head to the side.

"I recognise those voices." Aurora whispered back, also straining to listen.

"It's just Lily and James." Sirius confirmed, the two of them relaxing significantly and continuing on their way. They were sure their friends wouldn't punish them for being out after curfew, even if they were head boy and girl.

The scene that met them when they rounded the corner, however, was not what they expected. Instead of seeing Lily and James engaging in a heated argument over something or another, the two were engaging in a heated embrace, complete with feverish snogging and frantic, wandering hands.

"I knew it!" Sirius yelled before Aurora could convince him to sneak off quietly and leave the two be.

The couple in question sprung apart so quickly it made their heads spin.