Disclaimer: Everything you love and recgonize is borrowed from JKR. Everything you love(just kidding) and don't recgonize is mine. Lyrics are Hilary Duff.
Chapter Twenty
Party Up
(before she died)
I didn't see this coming
Why don't you start me up?
There's no more messin' around
(Come on and light me up)
This could be the start of something
Why don't you party-up
Time for you to come on down
--Hilary Duff "Party Up"
I couldn’t sleep that night and when I didn’t finally doze off, I would have nightmares of Voldemort killing Sirius and leaving me alone for the rest of my life. After hours of twisting and turning and not getting comfortable, I climbed out of bed. Lily was sound asleep, her bed hangings pulled shut tightly. The twins, who have been considerably nicer since Kirsten was found dead, were snoring loudly behind their own hangings. As quietly as I could, I tiptoed across the room.
Shutting the door, I went down the stairs to the girls’ dormitories and started up the boys. I didn’t bother knocking. It was two in the morning. Why the boys be awake for any reason other then the full moon? I opened the door and slipped inside. Peter was snoring louder then the Orrin twins from behind his hanging. James’s had his hangings open, revealing him stretched out on the mattress with his mouth hanging open. Remus had his hangings shut, but all was silent on the other end. Frank also had his hangings shut. Sirius had his open.
I jumped to find that he wasn’t in his bed. He was standing by the window looking out into the crescent moon. I walked up to him and he glanced at me smiling slightly. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and rested his chin on my head as we stared into the night outside the Gryffindor tower.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Sirius finally asked.
“We have a lot to think about no matter what Dumbledore said,” I replied.
“That’s true,” Sirius yawned, “I keep thinking I’m going to lose you.”
“Same here.” I whispered.
We stood by the window for a while longer. We both yawned a few more times before Sirius led me back towards his bed. We crawled in between the sheets and Sirius shut his hangings so we couldn’t see the moon or anyone else. This made me relax. Sirius was next to me and I was safe with him. I knew I was no matter what. So, I shut my eyes and leaned into him. His breath tickled my hair as he pulled me closer to him, out legs tangling together.
“I’m not letting you go,” he said quietly.
“And I’m not going to leave,” I replied and snuggled closer to him. Finally, I fell asleep.
I don’t know when I feel asleep, but when I did, my nightmares went away and I slept peacefully without anymore worries. I didn’t wake up again and dreamed of Sirius and me always being together and happy. With a war brewing ahead, I hoped that my dreams would become reality. Not my nightmares.
When I woke up, it wasn’t to James shaking me awake to get back to my dormitory so we could get to classes on time and eat a good breakfast. Nor was it to Sirius telling me that people would wonder why I was coming out of the boys dormitory so early in the morning. Instead, I awoke to the loud bang of the door slamming open and hitting the wall. I was still dozing, but I heard voices.
“James! James, I can’t find Libby. She’s not in her bed!” the voice belonged to Libby, but I couldn’t bring myself to get up as I rolled over to see Sirius trying to fall back to sleep next to me.
“She’s not?” I heard James mumble.
“Lily, we could sleep another thirty minutes,” I heard Remus’s muffled voice snap. It sounded far away.
“Sirius?” James called sleepily.
“I’m sleeping,” Sirius mumbled loudly.
“Is Libby with you?” James asked. Sirius didn’t answer. I wished he did, or that I had said something, because Lily pulled open the hangings allowing bight sunlight to blind my tired eyes.
“Lily, it’s early,” I muttered pulling the blankets over my head, and Sirius’s.
“Libby! What are you doing in here? Girls aren’t allowed in boys dormitories let alone sleep in them!” Lily gasped, “What if a Professor found you?”
“Oh please, Lily,” James said, “It’s not like she’s not in here almost every night. She’s never gotten caught and even if she did, it’s not like they’re doing anything.”
“Libby! Every night?” Lily gasped pulling the covers down, blinding me and Sirius once more. He groaned and pulled his pillow over his head.
“Almost,” I corrected pulling the blankets back up and moving closer to Sirius. Lily looked at me like she’s never seen me before and I muttered, “I can’t sleep sometimes.”
“So you sneak into bed with Sirius?!” Lily shouted.
“Keep your voice down, Lils,” Remus said opening his hangings, “Someone might hear and you’re making it sound like they were doing something.”
“You three have no problem with this?” Lily asked looking from Peter, who had pulled his hangings open, to James to Remus and back again.
“Not really. Sirius seems to be sleeping better with it, as does Libby,” Remus shrugged, stretching and standing to go to the bathroom.
“As long as they don’t keep me awake, I’m fine with it,” Peter squeaked as he dug in his trunk for some clothes.
“Lily, we can’t force them to sleep in separate rooms,” James said walking over to Lily, “I mean, they’re more in love with one another then I had ever thought possible. Telling them to sleep in their own beds is like telling them to cut off their legs. And as Remus said, they both are sleeping better.”
“Thank you, James!” Sirius said raising an arm in the air before letting it drop back down again.
“I still don’t like it,” Lily said more to James then me and Sirius.
“I didn’t at first, either, but trust me, after almost a full week of it, you get used to it,” James assured her. Lily stayed silent and I heard her leave a few moments later.
Sirius and me stayed in bed while the other three dressed and showered for the day. I had closed the hangings back over so I wouldn’t accidentally open my eyes and see a part of the Marauders that I didn’t want to see. Yet, we couldn’t sleep forever and James pulled the hangings back over after about an half hour.
“Wake up, guys, it’s Monday.” James said before leaving me and Sirius alone in the dormitory. I opened my eyes and turned towards Sirius who had taken his head out from his pillow.
“Guess we better get up,” Sirius muttered sitting up. He looked at me and smile, “You’re gorgeous, you know that?”
“Only when I’m around you,” I replied and swung my legs over the bed. I crossed the room to leave so Sirius could get ready, but stopped and turned around, “What do you think will happen in the future. To us, I mean,” I asked. Sirius looked up at me surprised.
“Libby,” he said walking over to me and wrapping me into a hug, “I will never stop loving you, okay? We’re going to get through this suffering the prophecy told us about. Okay? We’re going to be together for as long as forever and I will not stop loving you once along the way.”
“I didn’t mean that,” I said, a bit awkwardly. Sirius raised and eye brow as he looked down at me.
“What did you mean?” he asked.
“Our lives together,” I said.
“You mean. . .like marriage?” Sirius looked a bit weak. I smiled.
“We’re still only sixteen,” I laughed, “I was just curious.”
I began to descend the stairs. My heart was beating in my chest, but I was still smiling. Sirius had proven that he was ready to commit himself to me. I felt guilty for even thinking about mentioning marriage so suddenly.
“Hey, Libby,” Sirius said making me stop and turn around. Sirius was smiling, “Why wouldn’t we get married?”
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
I watched Libby walk off down the stairs in a daze. She was really the love of my life and it pained me to see her so distracted by the prophecies. I knew that I couldn’t let her see how troubled I was from them. I had to act strong, for the both of us, like I was actually taking Dumbledore’s advice and forgetting about the prophecy until the time is right.
I went back into my dormitory and opened my trunk. Pulling out my uniform and robes I changed, not bothering with a shower. I took on the night before trying to relax. It completely failed. Standing under the boiling hot water did nothing but make me bored. Even reading the back of all my shampoo bottles did nothing. And I have a lot. Trust me.
Once I was dressed with clean teeth, I went downstairs. Libby wasn’t down yet. I expected as much. James and Lily were sitting on the couch in front of the fire. They were talking quietly, but cut themselves short when they saw me heading towards them. They were talking about me. And most likely Libby, too.
“Hey.” I said, sitting down on the ground, leaning up against the couch. I stretched my legs out in front of me and crossed them at the ankles.
“Hey, Padfoot.” James said. Then, with a look at Lily, asked, “Is everything okay? Between you and Libby, I mean.”
“We’re great,” I said honestly.
“Well, is there something else? You both seem sort of distant since that meeting with Dumbledore yesterday.” Lily spoke up. I turned to look at them. They both honestly looked concerned. Not at all nosy.
“I can’t tell you,” I said, though I desperately wanted to, “Not without you two worrying. Libby and I are dealing with it. It just needs to sink in.”
“Padfoot, come on. We are worrying even more without knowing!” James said looking at me seriously.
“Dumbledore said not to,” I shrugged. Libby came bounding down the stairs then. Her curls bouncing around her face. My breath caught just looking at her. She spotted us and made her way over. Just watching her move made my heart start beating faster. I couldn’t help but flash her a smile, which she returned.
“Hi guys,” she said and sat on the floor with me. She planted a quick kiss on my lips before frowning at Lily and James’s concern faces, “What’s wrong?”
“They want to know what happened in Dumbledore’s office yesterday,” I said pulling her closer to me. My body began to tingle with the warmth of her against me.
“Can’t tell you that,” Libby said looking sorry, “It was a confidential meeting between me, Sirius, and Dumbledore. You’ll find out someday though,” Libby stood up, pulling me with her and began to lead me out of the common room, “I’m starving, let’s go eat.”
With a grin at Lily and James, Libby and I left the common room. As we walked down the hall, we giggled and fooled around. Twice Libby managed to shoved me into the wall by ramming into my shoulder. After the second time, I threw Libby over my shoulder and walked down the forth floor corridor. Once I put her down, she acted all mad, walking ahead of me. I chased after he at a run. Pulling her around the waist and holding her close as she doubled over to get away. We were laughing so hard that I almost dropped her as I lifted her off her feet and swung her around.
“What a precious sight,” a voice sneered. I put Libby down and we stood up straighter, but I didn’t release my hold on her.
“What do you want?” I asked coldly.
“Revenge, of course,” Ben Carlson said. He was leaning against the rail on the staircase Libby and I have gotten dangerously close to.
“Revenge?” Libby scoffed, “What are we in a soap opera?”
“Funny Libby. Very funny,” Carlson muttered darkly. But he flushed scarlet all the same and I had to let out a laughed.
“Humor me, Carlson,” I said, “What do you want to avenge?”
“Myself, of course, Black. You have taken away Libby and then you punch me. I’m not going to let that go unnoticed. My friends thought it was the funniest thing. And I don’t like to be laughed at.” Carlson growled. I pointed a finger at Carlson and threw my head back laughing.
“Sirius, stop it,” Libby hissed, pulling my arm down.
“Might want to listen to her, Black.” Carlson warned, pulling out his wand. I raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not scared of you. We both know I can crush you in an instant, so why waste your time?” I asked, eyeing his wand while slipping my hand into my pocket for my own. I gripped the handle tightly.
“Because this time, I’m going to win. Expelliarmus!
” Carlson shouted the spell and my wand went flying out of my hand. I was surprised by this, but quickly lunged toward Carlson, bringing him down. Both my wand and his wand clattered the floor below us as we tumbled down the stairs.
“Sirius!” I heard Libby cry, but I wasn’t paying attention. No one disarms Sirius Black. No one.
I felt Carlson’s blows in my stomach and, every so often, my face. He was putting up a much better fight then he did a week ago and this pleased me. Yet, I was still winning. I was still hitting my target more then Ben hit me. We struggled at the bottom of the stairs and I heard Libby crying for me to stop. I heard other voices, too, and just as I was about to meet my fist with Carlson’s head, someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me off and back. I struggled for a moment before I realized it was James that had such a firm hold on me. Remus had grabbed Carlson.
“What is going on here?” Professor Mcgonagall asked. She was holding a stack of book in her arms and looking between me and Carlson with her stern, angry eyes.
Neither of us said anything. Carlson’s eye was already bruising, again, and his lip was split. He had blood steadily dripping from his nose. I knew I was in better shape. I could feel blood dripping from my own nose, but that was it. I had a few lumps, but nothing horrible, like Carlson. I, once again, kicked his arse. Looking around, I saw many students had circled around to watch the fight. I smirked.
“Black started it!” Carlson finally accused. My anger flared as I looked back at him.
“You pulled out your wand first!” I snapped.
“But you hit me first!” Carlson argued.
“What are we, two?” I asked.
“I don’t know what Libby sees in you.” Carlson ignored my question and looked sideways at Libby, “She thinks I hurt her. You’re going to hurt her even worse.”
“The day I hurt Libby is the day I’m sent to Azkaban for services to Voldemort!” I shouted, straining against James’s hold on me. People gasped as I said the name, but I could careless.
“Both of you, be quiet!” Mcgonagall snapped, “This type of behavior is not to be tolerated. Twenty points from both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and detention. If I ever see either one of you fighting like that again, punishment will be much worse!”
Carlson pulled himself out of Remus’s hold and pushed his way through the small crowd. He picked up his wand and disappeared from view. Libby was suddenly by my side. She hugged me and summoned my wand over to her. She handed it to me before stopping my bleeding nose and cleaning my face up. I thanked her and we continued our way to the Great Hall.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
I ducked from a Bludger’s wrath and tossed the Quaffle to Frank Longbottom. He caught it and sped forward. I stayed back incase Slytherin got the Quaffle. James flew along Frank’s right, ready to be of assistance if need be.
It was mid-March already. As of now, I was in the middle of the infamous Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match. We were going for the Cup. So far, Gryffindor was in the lead 120-100. The game had been a tough one. I was bruised from the many times the Slytherins had run into me and we’ve made most of our points from fouls. Darcy and Sirius were hitting bludgers every which way towards Slytherins and our Keeper, Nelson Jones, was doing an excellent job, even if he had let ten shots in. We have been playing for about three hours, so that seemed normal. Our Seeker, Drew Murphy, was high in the sky searching for the Snitch. He saw it twice, but it had gotten away thanks to the Slytherins.
Frankly, I was getting tired. As always when it came to the Slytherins, I played hard. My energy was high, but it was draining more and more each minute. Drew better find that Snitch soon. My stomach growled. Sirius and I had slept in, even though James woke us both up, and didn’t have time for breakfast. James would have killed us if we weren’t there for his pep talk.
I had stopped listening to the announcer long ago. I was in the middle of what was happening. I didn’t have to listen to it be repeated. Frank scored another ten points and I pumped my fist in the air with joy before looking at back at Drew. He was flying high and searching hard for the Snitch.
Just in time, I turned my attention back to the game. I dived underneath the Slytherin chaser in possession of the Quaffle, ready to catch it if he dropped it. We were nearing the Gryffindor end of the Pitch. I pulled back slightly and James went forward. The play was an easy one, but often worked if the opposing team didn’t score a point. They didn’t.
James tossed the Quaffle ahead towards me. I caught it and flew at high speed to the other end, almost getting hit in the head with Sirius’s Beater’s bat as I flew past. James and Frank were behind me. This goal was my own. James and Frank weren’t around to help me. I flew faster and swerved to avoid a Slytherin. I threw the Quaffle into the left hoop. It went right in. 130-100 to Gryffindor. I cheered and high fived Sirius as I flew past.
We were lovers off the pitch and team mates on the pitch.
There was a sudden scream from the Gryffindor side of the stands and everyone turned to see that Drew Murphy was in a deep drive, his right hand stretched out in front of him. Thirty seconds later, he pulled out of the dive, his hand in the air gripping the tiny Golden Snitch.
“And Gryffindor wins the Cup!” the announcer screamed. I collided with the rest of the Gryffindor team as we joined in a group hug. I felt Sirius come up behind me, almost knocking the wind out of me. We were all patting Murphy on the back because once again, he didn’t let us down.
We descended to the ground where the rest of the house had gathered and joined in an even bigger group hug. Once everyone began hugging individually, I turned to Sirius who was smiling widely at me. He leaned forward swiftly and kissed me deeply and lovingly. We usually didn’t kiss like this in public. But now, we were to happy about winning to care and I knew as Sirius deepened the kiss, my hand’s wrapping around his neck, one hand still clinging to my broom, that people were watching us with envious looks.
“PARTY IN THE GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM!” I heard James yell as Sirius and I pulled away, smiling once more. The crowd began to move towards the Common Room. The team being carried away to the locker rooms.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*
I had changed into my camouflage skirt and my Avenge Sevenfold(love them!) band t-shirt. I had on black flats and my hair was bouncing around my face. Sirius was dressed in those jeans that fit him so well and a plain white t-shirt that showed of his strong arms and chest. Together, we danced in the middle of the Gryffindor common room, partying the night away and trying to forget that the threat of Voldemort has gotten a lot stronger since Christmas. We tried to ignore the fact that we’ll never see Kirsten or Mr. Potter again. And we tried to dismiss from the mind that we have destinies that will cause us suffering.
And the partying worked.
Of course, I didn’t drink so much I’d get drunk and even though Sirius drank a lot more then me, he didn’t get so drunk that he couldn’t walk in a semi-straight line. I knew he was scared that something like the Christmas party would happen and he didn’t want to have a hangover for that.
James and Lily were snogging on the couch. They weren’t drinking as much either, which I was glad about. They were doing the same thing Sirius and I were doing. After dancing, they had collapsed on the couch and then one thing led to another. I had watched them for a moment before Sirius dragged me out to the dance floor.
Like at my birthday party, Sirius was leading me making me feel more confident on the floor. I didn’t feel like a fool whenever I was around Sirius. We were laughing and didn’t care who was watching us. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup. We beat Slytherin. It was time to celebrate.
“Oi! Sirius!” Remus said, pushing threw the throng of Gryffindors towards us.
“Yeah?” Sirius asked, still dancing.
“Have you see Peter?” Remus yelled, “He’s not on the map and I haven’t seen him since the match. It’s making me uneasy.”
“Haven’t seen him at all,” Sirius shouted in reply. Remus looked at me and I just shrugged and shook my head. I was paying more attention to James and Lily sneaking up the stairs to the boys dormitory. I had to smirk and Sirius followed my gaze and laughed, “They don’t waste time, do they?”
“At least he’s getting some,” I laughed, playfully poking him in the ribs. Sirius pulled me closer to him, kissing me softly and then leading me off the dance floor. We grabbed a butterbeer to share and sat on the couch. A slow song had come on and people were blushing while asking the other for a dance.
“I love you,” Sirius said quite randomly. I knew he did, but it’s been a while since he’s said it and at such an odd moment. I looked up at him, surprised.
“I love you, too, Sirius,” I replied. Sirius shook his head.
“No, I say it, but I’m not sure if you know how much I mean it,” he said, leaning close to me so we could hear each other better without yelling, “With everything going on, I really want you to know; I love you.”
“James told me you have since 4th year,” I smiled. Sirius frowned, then chuckled.
“Did he?”
“When he was trying to talk me into going out with you,” I grinned, then grew serious, “I do know how much you mean it when you say it, Sirius,” I explained, “I know because I feel just as strongly as you. Sometimes I feel like love is an understatement.”
“That it is, love,” Sirius muttered kissing me quickly.
Professor Mcgonagall came into the common room after two in the morning telling us all to get to bed. James and Lily had returned, all smiles, and we all sat in the common room till it completely emptied. Remus and Peter went to bed shortly afterwards. Then Lily, kissing James intensely. The three of us, James, Sirius, and me talked quietly for a few moments then sat in silence.
“So Prongs, what did you and Lily all the time up in the dormitory?” Sirius asked after a few moments. James blushed scarlet and we snickered.
“Hey, we didn’t do anything. Though we did get close.” James snapped. Sirius and I snickered and I cuddled closer to Sirius. He tightened his arms around me and kissed his forehead. James watched us, smiling slightly.
“You two really love each other, don’t you?” James asked.
“You just noticed this?” Sirius laughed.
“No, I mean, I knew it, but thinking about it now I really see how much you two care for each other.” James smiled. Sirius and I looked at one another and James explained, “You both can sleep in the same bed every night and not do anything. If that were me and Lily, I don’t think I could contain myself. You guys barely fight and you never leave each other’s sights. It’s amazing really. I didn’t think love like that existed. I’m sort of jealous things aren’t like that with me and Lily.”
“Don’t you love Lily?” I asked, suddenly worried for Lily’s heart.
“Of course I do. I have loved her since forever. We might have a future together with the way things are going. But you two. . .it’s like for sure you two are going to even die together,” James said. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Maybe, James,” Sirius laughed.
A few minutes afterwards, I changed into my pajamas and snuck into the boys dormitory without even trying to sleep in my own bed. I needed to be near Sirius tonight. I opened the door and slipped inside. All four boys were still up. Sirius smiled when he saw me as the three others boys rolled their eyes. Frank could be heard snoring from behind his hangings already.
“See, you guys can’t be away from one another for more then fifteen minutes,” James laughed.
“Want me to get Lily, James?” I teased as I sat on Sirius’s bed. James laughed and Sirius climbed onto his bed bedside me and hugged me from behind.
“Good night, then” Peter said, and shut his hangings. I hadn’t seen much of him these past few weeks. Remus bade us all a good night as well before shutting his own hangings. James never seemed to close his hangings because he just laid down after saying goodnight.
I crawled into bed beside Sirius and huddled against him. He didn’t bother closing his hangings tonight either, so that gave me full view of everything in the room. I smiled and shut my eyes, falling into a deep sleep almost instantly.
I was running through the Forbidden Forest. Something was chasing me and I was being led away from it by a black dog I kept calling Snuffles. I called out to it, but the dog was running to fast for me. I was falling behind and whatever was chasing me was getting closer.
Suddenly, I was falling. I was falling threw a clock. This confused me greatly, but the ticking was so loud in my ears that I winced and my confusion was forgotten. I landed on my feet like a cat. Sirius was there, he held me close and then broke away before speaking.
“Go, Libby. I’ll go in your place!” he said, his voice far away and echoing.
“But I love you!” I screamed.
“It’s part of our pain,” Sirius replied and then went flying up the clock to take the blame. I tried to run after him, pushing the walls and trying to climb up. And then-–
“Libby, wake up!” someone was shaking me. I opened my eyes to see Sirius looking over me, our legs still tangled together. I was shocked to see James, Remus, and Professor Mcgonagall all looking at me with concern. I stared at them all for a moment before sitting up.
“I’m going to ignore the fact that you’re in bed with Mr. Black,” Mcgonagall said sternly, “And ask if you are okay, instead”
“Bad dream,” I said simply, “It’s fine.”
“Good, now I’m going to pay attention to the fact that we’re in a boys dormitory and take twenty points from Gryffindor for being in bed with Mr. Black,” Mcgonagall said. I looked at her in disbelief, but didn’t argue. I was caught.
“I would say sorry, but I’m not,” I said honestly.
“I know you aren’t,” Mcgonagall said.
“What is it you came in here for, Professor,” James asked finally.
“Oh, Professor Dumbledore has to speak with Mr. Black. It’s important.” Mcgonagall said.
“What about?” Sirius asked, climbing out of bed and looking worried. My stomach twisted. I felt small in the big bed without him. It took Mcgonagall a moment to answer, but finally, she did.
“You’re family.”
A/N: This cliffie isn't THAT big a deal, but it is important.
So, before I give you the little something from chp. 21, I have to answer a question. A few people asked me about what era and POVs the sequel will be about. The sequel will take place from a little before Sirius escapes from Azkaban to the a little after the night he dies(so sad. poor Libby). The story will switch among Sirius', Libby's and a third character's POV. But I'm not telling you who. you're welcome to guess though. Hehe.
Now, for your little something from Chp. 21 Slipped Away(don't worry, no one important (coughunclescottcough) will die. SOmeone else does)
“Morning to you, too,” I yawned, then remembering Christmas, I laughed and added, “How is Snuffles this morning?”
Sirius’s tail stopped wagging and he cocked his head to one side before turning back into his regular self. I was smirking.
“You didn’t just call me ‘Snuffles’” he said.
“Oh, yes I did,” I taunted.
“That’s not manly!” Sirius laughed and then lunged forward onto the bed and started tickling me. I laughed and curled up, trying to escape his tickling fingers.
“Stop!” I protested, then laughing harder, “Please, Snuffles, stop!”
“Snuffles wants to play!” Sirius said and suddenly the black dog was back lick me on the face all over. I laughed and pushed him off me.
Oh, and it's Sirius' birthday in a few chpters! lol. I like his present a lot.
Some of you have been asking about my other Sirius/OC. Guess what? It's already up! It's called
Pretty Girl and can be found on my Author's Page (where else?) Please, read and review.
Thanks so much for all the reads and revewis(over 900!!) I didn't think this story would do this good. I was thinking like 300-500 like my other stories. You guys are amazing! Thanks so much. Keep it up!!
Love you all!! Mwah! Mwah!
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