𝕆𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕤 | 𝐒𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤

Smug Child

I found myself in front of the portrait to my house's common room. I had the blanket wrapped tight around me and my eyes felt sore.

"Are you coming in dear or are you just going to stand there?" The fat lady huffed at me. With a glare, I muttered the password and flopped in. I leaned around the coak rack and spotted everyone there, including Sirius who I had been avoiding all day. It wasn't because I disliked him, it was because I needed to clear my head. I sniffed, trying to make myself look slightly more human-like but who was I kidding? I looked like I had been crying for hours.

"Max babe? Is that you?" Lily called. I leaned around the corner again and saw her leaning up against James' chest. I chuckled and walked into the space, standing close to the fireplace to keep warm. I waved a little and wrapped the blanket tighter around me, taking a quick glimpse at Sirius who was grinning like he had won the lottery.

"Nice blanket!" Alice grinned, feeling the cloth from where she sat on the floor.

"Thanks! I got it over Christmas! I practically live in it!" I chuckled, feeling like my young shy self that I used to be like. I saw from the corner of my eye James highfiving him, his aura lighting up the room.

"Where were you? We've been looking for you since dinner" Marlene gently tugged at the tip of my finger to pull me to ground beside her.
I looked at Lily wrapped up against James, her eyes watching me closely and surprisingly worried

"I was with Jack" I bit my lip, pulling the blanket to my lips. The room let out a 'oh' kind of sound, a disappointed noise. Remus himself raised an eyebrow at me, confused from our chat this morning on the train .

"I broke up with him" I blurted out into the disappointed silence. Every head snapped up and their eyes showed joy, which is kinda of rude.. I think? Lily escaped James' loving grip and crawled to me, the 3 girls forming a circle around me, blocking me from the boys sight.

The questions kept flowing but like a timid creature being faced by the big bad wolf, I turned shy and couldn't answer their questions. The boys however kept quiet but their intense stares sent shivers down my spin. James stood over the girls and me like the Giant in the Jack and the Beanstalk, picking me up with ease and put me on the sofa so they could all see me... what unexpected man handling. Sirius stood behind the sofa, his eyes soft and a cigarette twirling between his fingers.

"Well I haven't seen you all day!" Were his first words. Not 'I told you so'. Not 'so mr perfect not that great then?' And not 'about time!'
He just spoke to me like every other day. I scrambled to my knees, leaning over the sofa and embraced him into a hug.

"Sorry, I'm here now" I didn't expect those words to be my first either. How... platonic. "Thank you for the lovely gift... I probably should wash it but I can smell that you put your aftershave on it!" I pulled away and kept my eyes on him, forgetting everyone else

"Yeah, well cant have you forget about me.." he playfully smirked, his cheeks flushing slightly from what I could see.

A throat was cleared, signalling they were still in the room.

"Max we're gonna head up stairs, come talk to us about what happened when you're done here" Marlene waved her hands above Sirius and I's heads before trotting off with Alice and Lily. The boys too, minus Sirius, skipped away, smirking and pulling faces at us.

Now alone, I felt nervous and silly around my best friend. I smiled up and him but felt my sleepy and exhausted eyes trying to hid away.

"I should probably get some sleep.." I went to walked toward the stairs but his hand caught my fore arm, turning me around to face him.

"I won't say I told you so but there was obviously a reason you stopped loving him" Sirius tried hard to hold back a smile and looked at me with as much serenity as he could but by his feet shuffling, he looked pleased and excited.

"There is but..." he pulled me closer and placed his hand on my cheeky, gently rubbing it with his thumb.

"I just saw you as this odd and interesting girl who I wanted to be friends with and now I can't stop myself from wanting more." He sighed, a content little noise

"More? as in what you search out for from most girls in our year?" I frowned a little, my mind tumbling through the possible meanings of his words

He shook his head, resting his lips on my forehead. "No gorgeous" he chuckled. He pulled back and titled his head a little to catch my eyes again. "I don't think your mum would like me any more if I wanted you just for that perk..." I pulled away blushing, taking off the blanket and holding to my chest, trying to suppress the blush that wanted to show off for him. With a beautiful tainted grin, he walked up the stairs

"You broke up with him for a reason. You'll tell me eventually, love" he waved away, disappearing. I watched after him. He really was something else. A gentleman? No... there was still too much mischief in him. A romantic?.... Perhaps, in sly kind of way. A smug child. Defiantly.

One things for sure; he seemed a little too happy about me feeling miserable.