Seventeen Forever

"Sirius! Oy, anyone seen Sirius?" Maguire yelled by means of greeting as she and Lily clambered through the portrait hole into the crowded Gryffindor common room another hour later. After continuing their castle-wide search for the one and only Sirius Black, their previously fruitless endeavors had led them back to what should have been the most obvious hiding spot right from the beginning: the seventh year boys' self proclaimed 'man cave'.

Several girls turned their heads sharply at the sound of her voice, glaring furiously. Some, a few of the younger, more emotionally unstable girls, even grew a little misty eyed as they watched the girl who had stolen their idol walk into the room. One or two were seen running off in tears, sobbing at the injustice of the world.

It was safe to say Maguire was still on the fan club's bad list.

Well, this is going to be fucking fantastic when they find out I'm pregnant, she thought darkly, watching a group of sixth year girls glower at her murderously. "Let's check the dorm, Lily. I value my life too much to stay down here," Maguire muttered, taking the stairs two at a time up towards the dorm room.

She and Lily reached the seventh year boys' dorms and opened the door, their eyes squeezed shut upon entering as a precaution. When they heard no manly shrieks, they cautiously opened their eyes.

Maguire would have laughed at the scene before her if she didn't feel like an iron fist was constricting her stomach, making it nearly impossible to breathe. In typical Marauder fashion, Remus, James and Sirius sat in various places in the room in an assortment of positions of relaxation. Sirius was sprawled across the big armchair with his back to one of the arms and his legs thrown over the other side, throwing a rubber band ball of Remus' up into the air. James sat on the ground, supported by the big dresser and was playing a game of Exploding Snap by himself. Remus, being Remus, was on his bed, reading a large and musty-looking book. Strangely enough, the recently absentee Peter was also in the room, sitting silently at the end of Remus' bed, looking as confused as to why he was in the company of his old friends just as much as the girls were.

Upon the girls' entrance, the boys all looked up as one and, in unison, returned their attentions to their own activities just as quickly. Lily looked at Maguire expectantly, waiting for her to say something. Looking as stricken as a deer in the headlights, her friend could only gaze at her in wordless terror and shake her head vehemently. Clearly, Lily realized with a groan, she was going to have to take the lead.

"Uh," Lily began, looking at the boys once again and, with a grimace, shouted abruptly, "Everybody out!"

With a whimper, Peter scrambled to his feet and hurried out of the door, followed by Remus. The werewolf jumped lightly off of his bed immediately, still reading, and exited the room with a small incline of his head towards the girls as he left, his nose buried in the book. Lily looked at James, expecting him to comply immediately. However, his only response was to smile up at Lily cockily and settle himself further into a comfortable position against the dresser, looking as if he was going to stay right where he was. A red eyebrow arched slowly, ominously questioning her challenger. James merely beamed in innocence, thoroughly enjoying himself and receiving a high five from a highly entertained Sirius, who evidently had no idea what was going on.

Groaning in frustrated impatience, Lily roughly grabbed a very surprised James by the scruff of his neck and dragged him outside, as he protested mightily all the way.

"Oy, love, I was only kidding--I'm pretty fond of my head staying intact on my neck, thank you!" his muffled voice cried as he tumbled head over heels down the stairs into the common room. With one last look before she descended the stairs, Lily smiled encouragingly at Maguire, who returned it with a weak smile of her own, and was alone as the door clicked shut.

~*~*~

Sirius was looking at Maguire with slight suspicion, surprise and amusement. She said nothing as she silently stared at him, studying the minute details of his face. He had his eyebrow raised and smiled that wolf-smile of his that made her want to slap him and kiss him at the same time. The silence continued for a few heartbeats as Maguire tried to still the tremors vibrating through her icy fingers, tremors that were threatening to course through her whole body at any second.

"Hey there" he drawled finally, his voice sounding much louder than usual in the quiet of the silent room.

"Hi," Maguire squeaked, racking her brain for any way, any way at all, to prolong the time before she would have to tell him the inevitable.

"So, you need something? Or you just want me?" Sirius asked cockily, grinning widely at his innuendo. Maguire rolled her eyes despite her nerves, biting her lip in uneasiness. Sirius shot her a look of confusion, zeroing in on something with a fierce concentration that caused her to shiver again in spite of her best efforts. She wasn't sure if the shiver was from Sirius' expression or her anxiety, though.

"What?" she asked, feeling even more self-conscious than she had been before.

"Your lip," he murmured, looking up from her mouth to stare into her eyes. "You're biting your lip."

He knew her too well, she realized with horror; he knew that was her nervous habit. Sirius suddenly sat up straighter and got out of the chair, walking towards her unhurriedly and sinuously, as if she were a nervous animal who might bolt at any sudden movement. She stepped back slightly, looking down at the floor as a burst of even more heart wrenching apprehension bloomed in the pit of her stomach. Unable to look at him, she didn't see the quick flash of confusion and worry flash across Sirius' face. At her unexpected response, Sirius' own heart rate suddenly picked up and he backed away, hiding the hurt in his face.

He took a seat on the edge of the bed, looking at her with blatant worry in his eyes now, and questioned, "Are you...okay? You seem kinda anxious."

"No! No, that's not it. Uh, I--I just, um..." Maguire trailed off and then suddenly, an idea came to her, one she realized she should have thought of earlier. In four quick strides, Maguire was at the end of the bed and in front of an even more surprised Sirius, who looked up at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes. She took a deep breath to calm down and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, reaching up to seize his face in her shaking hands. She kissed him hard, trying to wipe out the memory of the afternoon filled with purple sparks and a now unknown future with the force of her kiss. Stunned by this even odder turn of events for a second, Sirius quickly rebounded and his mouth began working again, sucking on her bottom lip with equal ferocity. He leaned into her, she leaned more forcefully into him and they both tumbled back onto the bed as a mess of hair, limbs and heat. In a move so quick Maguire wasn't sure what had happened, she was the one who fell back onto the bed with Sirius on top of her, who grinned wolfishly before kissing her again. His hands traveled up and down her back, causing shivers to roll down Maguire's spine. Kissing her neck, Sirius went lower, unbuttoning her shirt as he went. She arched her back to meet his lips and sighed with pleasure. Sirius tugged her shirt off, a move that was at once gentle and yet still barely contained in his intensity, as he worked his way back up her neck. He chuckled deeply in his throat as he looked down at her again, winking audaciously.

He captured her mouth again and their lips fought for dominance, short gasps escaping their mouths in synchronization. Maguire swiftly found her way to his neck and he moaned quietly at the insistent pressure of her lips on his weak spot. Sirius' hand, once lazily trailing along her leg, now gripped her inner thigh tightly. Her breath caught in her throat at his grasp and she murmured softly, unable to respond in real words.

"Damn it," he muttered as he fumbled with the zipper of his pants, still kissing her neck. With their legs wrapped around each other, Maguire fought to catch her breath and suddenly, with icy clarity, she remembered why she was there.

"Sirius," she whispered hoarsely, weakly fighting off the urge to surrender to him. If he heard her, he gave no notice. He only continued to kiss her fiercely and let one hand trace delicate patterns on her still trapped inner thigh. In typical Sirius fashion, he slipped one finger inside of her, skillfully enough to make her moan shamelessly, but cruelly enough to only do it once. Immediately, Maguire was at once enraged and aroused, knowing he knew exactly what he was doing, but not caring enough to stop him anymore. He ran his now unoccupied hands up her back, squeezing her waist persistently as his touch burned hotly against her skin. Her back arched at this touch and, given the opportunity, Sirius deftly slipped his hands higher and began to undo her bra. She could feel his fingers searching out for the clasp and at the same time, felt her stomach drop in a sobering manner, knowing where this would take them if she didn't stop him.

"No, Sirius. I need to tell you something," she whispered in a slightly louder voice. She knew it was pathetic, the way she was almost unable to get the words out, but she could feel a sense of desperation in the movement of his kiss as he moved against her.

This time he heard her. "Can't it wait?" he begged pleadingly, looking down at her. She panted raggedly for a moment as she tried to keep her head, wanting so badly to give into him. Before she could let those thoughts take over, though, she shook her head no. For a second, Sirius only stared at her and Maguire thought he was going to ignore her protests and just continue from where he had momentarily left off. She knew, and he knew, that neither of them really would have minded the continuation, but Maguire knew Sirius could tell this was something of importance if she was really willing to interrupt their fervor. And so, hating his maturity, Sirius groaned in slight frustration and kissed her mouth one last time, longer and more fervently than he had before.

"What is it?" Sirius asked disappointedly, rolling off of Maguire to sit on her right with another heavy sigh. Maguire looked at him, raking her eyes over his body--his strong, youthful, muscular, so obviously teenaged body that was clearly not ready to deal with a pregnant girlfriend and an inevitable baby--and was struck instantaneously at how absolutely terrified she was at what she was about to say. How could she do this, she thought; she was about to ruin his life in one sentence. Nothing would ever be the same now, she realized as tears sparked in her eyes painfully, thinking about everything they were about to give up. Her emotions ran wild again and she shivered in anticipation, balling her hands into fists. This wasn't fair, it wasn't right; this wasn't supposed to happen! Not to them, not to him, not to her. It wasn't part of the story, part of the ludicrously naïve fairytale life she had imagined for them. This was clearly an editor's mistake, a mishap gone unnoticed by the author of her life's story; she wasn't supposed to be sitting here in this bed, pregnant at seventeen, about to shatter Sirius' whole world. They were supposed to end up living happily ever after, not ending up in some dump of a cramped flat with a baby during the prime of their lives. The feeling of excitement, the small ball at the prospect of a new life with Sirius and their child, that she had entertained before now seemed absurd and childishly silly as the all too real realization that this was actually happening came crashing down with more force than she thought she could bear.

Maguire remained silent, thinking a thousand things at once. Sirius seemed to be forgotten as she stared blankly over his head, trying to think of how she could possibly bring herself to tell him that she was pregnant. There was no clear-cut, orderly way to start that kind of conversation, she realized; there were no guidelines to follow, no instructions to follow on how to tell someone that they were about to be a father in a few months' time. The sudden feeling of Sirius' concerned hand on her cheek brought her back into reality, interrupting the beginnings of her internal panic attack. She looked into those dark eyes again, wishing for the hundredth time that this wasn't happening.

"Mags?" he whispered, his forehead wrinkled in uneasiness. Her heart ached seeing the concern in his eyes and she wondered if that same concern would remain in his expression, or if it would turn to revulsion in a moment instead. "Come on, what's wrong? You're scaring me. It can't be that bad, right?" He laughed softly, the sound a little tense and awkward. "What, did you do badly on the Potions paper or something?" Sirius' eyes looked at her, the dark color filled with worry and concern, knowing it was more than that. "What is it?"

For a moment, Maguire could only look at him in silence, her mind filled with so many thoughts. Her hands shook with more nervous terror than they had before, making her feel very small, afraid and child-like, though the situation before them was not a childish one. She bit her lip, took a deep breath and whispered three little words in a rush.

"Sirius, I'm pregnant."

The soft clicking of the magically enhanced clock on Remus' bedside table was the only sound in the room. Sirius said nothing, looking at her as if she hadn't said anything at all. As the silence grew longer, his face quickly changed and bewilderment etched itself onto his features as he gaped at her. Maguire could only stare at him in an identical state of silence, taking in his open mouthed and wide eyed face. She watched the many emotions rush through his eyes as he continued to stare blankly at her. She sympathized with the emotional surge he was experiencing right now; she had gone through the same whirlwind of emotions just hours before this moment.

After what felt like an eternity had passed, he finally asked in an incredulous, hoarse whisper, "What?"

It couldn't have been worse. Nothing could have sounded worse than that one, venomous word. He was angry; so, so angry, she realized as she physically recoiled from him, feeling as if the word itself had slapped her across the face. What had she expected, though? For him to be happy about it? To be excited at the idea of being so burdened at such a young age? Who ever dreamed of being a teenage parent? She didn't blame him for being less than joyful, but the tone of his voice felt like an icy, vicious stab to the very pit of her stomach. It was so cold, so angry, so hard. She couldn't bear it, having him angry with her, having hate him hate her. She was certain of that fact alone; Sirius hated her now. Maguire hugged herself and pulled her knees up to her face and hid from what she was convinced would be a break up, the final chapter in the fairytale she had imagined. This was where the story ended and real life began again: the prince would leave the pregnant princess, riding off into the sunset of a less burdensome life, one that was without something as difficult as a pregnancy to be bothered with. She quickly bit her lip to control the tears that were threatening to spill over but lost the battle as tears began to flow freely anyway, her chin and lips starting to tremble. Maguire turned her head away from him so she could cry, hating herself for the situation they were both doomed to be in.

Sirius stared at Maguire in complete confusion, still dazed by the revelation. Dizzying amounts of questions raced through his mind as he looked at her small, huddled figure next to him while he tried to make sense of this new world he had been unceremoniously catapulted into. Pregnant? Pregnant? His thoughts whirled; he should have known. No one tempted fate with unprotected, impromptu sex and got away with it. No one, least of all him, would be lucky enough to catch a break from fate in such compromising circumstances. But the idea that Maguire was now--they were now--pregnant didn't quite sink in. Pregnant? At seventeen? He looked at Maguire, wide eyed. She was pregnant. With his child. His child was in her. They were going to be parents. An unexpected feeling of excitement coursed through him as he started to rework the wiring of his brain. A baby, his baby, was already living in Maguire, as minute and microscopic as it might be. It...maybe it was a boy! Sirius actually smiled at the thought, picturing a smaller version of himself, a small, black haired boy being cradled in Maguire's arms. Black haired boy switched to a small, delicate black haired girl and he knew, in that moment, that he wasn't nervous anymore. The rush of excitement intensified and he grinned even more widely. They were pregnant. They were going to have a baby. The thought was daunting, he rationalized, but they were pregnant. So what if it went against the odds? He did better fighting the odds than going with the status quo anyway. Sirius smiled again, as a happy sense of disbelief and shock settled over him. They were pregnant; he couldn't get over it. That single phrase encompassed so much pure awe, amazement, and anticipation in Sirius' mind that he couldn't quite figure out what to think or do other than to sit and revel in the wonder of it. A moment or two of silent, blissful pleasure passed before he became aware of the almost imperceptible shivers that ran through the girl next to him and the faint hiccoughs of breath rasping through an emotionally choked pair of lungs. In that moment, the universal masculine panic of crying women took over Sirius and his previously mile-high attitude came crashing down.

"No! Wait, no, don't cry! Why are you crying!?" he exclaimed, seeing the crystalline tears on her face. He quickly grabbed her to his chest and held her as she began crying in earnest, breaking out into back-heaving, choked sobs. For the first time, however, she softly pushed him away and he lightly jumped off of the bed at the physically weak but emotionally charged shove, pain racing across his face once more.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius," she whispered, a sob strangling her voice as she spoke. "This is just--it's going to ruin everything. You're mad, you're not going to marry me, I'm going to get kicked out of school, my parents--Christ, I don't even want to think about what my parents are going do to me. Everyone's going to hate me for ruining our lives. For ruining your life. This is going to ruin everything we've hoped for and it's all my fault. And it's just--I'm sorrier than you'll ever know, Sirius. I don't know what else to say other than, I'm so, so sorry," she choked out, her breaths coming in long, gulping gasps as tears trickled down her face. She buried her face in her kneecaps again, as her sobs overtook her in body-wracking spasms.

For another moment, Sirius was silent again as he watched her cry, painfully almost, on the bed. Standing at the foot of his bed, softly kicking his feet nervously against the bedposts, he could only look at the floor, an unreadable expression on his face, slowly losing the excited grin he had just worn. As Maguire continued to tightly hug her body closer to herself, crying more softly now, Sirius remained quiet until he finally looked up at her. If Maguire had been able to meet his gaze, she would have seen that his expression was pained.

"So you regret it, then?" he asked, his tone expressing a much more aching heaviness than he would allow his eyes to display.

Maguire looked up in surprise, her eyes red and black from tears and mascara. This was not the response she had been expecting. "What?" she asked in a husky voice.

Again Sirius' gaze met the floor and he was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "Do you regret my--our--like...first time? I'm sorry if it didn't live up to your expectations or if I did something wrong--well, clearly I did in your opinion--but this isn't your fault at all, Mags. If anything, it's really mine. But I'll be damned if you think this is going to affect our lives in any influence other than positively. Why the hell do you think I'm mad? I'm not mad! How could I ever be mad at you for this? We've both taken part in this. There isn't any blame to be put on someone. You think this is just gonna make me stop loving you and not marry you? How many times will it take for me to convince you that I love you, no matter what? You know for a fact that I don't give a damn what anyone thinks about me or us; this is our relationship that I care about. I don't care what anyone else has to say about it. This baby does not and will not change a damn thing about our relationship other than make me love you more. 'Cause I sure as fuck know that I love this baby already because I can't hate anything that's a part of you. And this baby isn't just you; it's both of us. But I only wish you weren't sad about this. That's what I'm sorry about, because I would never regret the first time being with you," he said, his voice and expression growing louder and fiercer with each declaration.

Silence hung in the air for a minute as Maguire gaped at Sirius, her eyes wide and glassy with tears as she tried to form words.

"You think...you think I regret that?" she hissed disbelievingly. "Sirius, that's not what I meant at all. I could never regret having sex with you. I just hate the idea that this is going to ruin our lives, when you don't deserve this."

"You don't deserve this either! But it's not going to ruin our lives, Maguire," he cried exasperatedly. "Yes, things are going to change and yes, they might be pretty major changes, but everything is going to be fine in the end. I swear it will. We're going to get through this and everything will be okay."

Maguire merely looked at Sirius, and all of what even he knew were cliché statements, skeptically, sniffing heavily as tears hung like frozen drops of rain on her face. Sirius groaned, dragging a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Merlin, you are impossible sometimes," he grumbled, clambering onto the bed. He held her at arm's length, looking her right in the eye as he spoke. "Let's cover the bases. It's really quite simple, I assure you. I love you. I'm going to love you and marry you, regardless of this pregnancy, unexpected as it is. I love this baby. I want this baby. And I love you. The end."

Maguire looked away after a few moments, breaking the hypnotic effect of Sirius' eyes. He grinned in triumph, certain she was excited about the baby now. His cockiness lasted all of forty-five seconds until he saw new tears welling up in Maguire's eyes. Panic struck instantaneously again.

"No! No, no, no, what's wrong? What did I say!?" he cried, pulling her to his chest quickly. The last thing he wanted was for her to cry anymore. He felt hot pricks stinging his own eyes now, as his excitement levels died down and his frustration and hurt grew. Why wasn't she excited?

"Don't you get it?" he whispered huskily, tucking her head against his shoulder so he could trace patterns against her back in an effort to soothe her. "This isn't any baby; this is our baby. Not a mistake, not a burden, not something hated. Yeah, it's unexpected but that's the beauty of it. While we may not have seen this coming, this only shows how much love we have for each other and that we can withstand shit like this. It's our love, physically manifested. I get to see you carry my child, our child, something we both made, and give it life. And I could never, ever hate that or want that to be taken away from me now that I know it's possible."

She kept silent for a heartbeat until in a muffled voice that was buried in Sirius' shoulder, she whispered, "It's not fair. I hate myself for doing this to you. We're too young, Sirius. Don't you get it? People don't make it out of this situation in one piece. A baby...it's a burden, Sirius. We're too young to have this sort of burden on our shoulders. People will judge, people will talk, and too many opportunities that we once had open to us, they're going to be gone now. You say all of these sweet things that are nice to hear, but when that time comes...I wouldn't blame you for running. You're--this isn't what's supposed to happen. Right now you're being so wonderful, but I don't deserve y--mmph."

He jerked back angrily at this remark and put his hand over her mouth, his eyes hard. "Stop it. Seriously, Maguire, don't you dare say it. I hate hearing you say stuff like that. It's stupid to say that. We deserve each other; we're made for each other. Now shush." With his final command, he kissed her softly, once again holding her against him.

"Tell me something," she mumbled against his lips after a moment. With a sigh, Sirius leaned back onto the bed, tugging Maguire with him so she lay curled against his long frame.

"Anything."

"Do you honestly want this baby? It's all damn good and well to say pretty things like what you just said about our love being 'physically manifested' but I mean, if you don't..." Maguire said, her voice hushed as it trailed off. Sirius looked at her uncomprehendingly for a moment before he realized what she was saying.

"No! Never. Don't even think about that. Of course, I want this baby.

Maguire, honestly, don't ever say that," he said, unexpected terror flashing through him at the very idea. "You don't seem to understand. Who gives a fuck if we're seventeen, unmarried and pregnant? We have incredible odds against us, I know. But everything in me wants this. I want you. I want this baby. I want to marry you and have more kids with you. Nothing you can do, or anyone can do, from this point on could make me not want to have this baby with you. Nothing. That baby is an extension of yourself and I'll be damned if I don't love it just as much as I love you. I don't know how to explain it to you any plainer. That baby is you. And me. It's both of us. Knowing you're pregnant with my--our--child, I just..." he trailed off, unable to voice the intensity of the emotion he was feeling. It was profound, he realized; the passion he now felt, even more intense than his love for Maguire before, was renewed tenfold, a thousand fold, in just the matter of a few minutes. It was all-consuming, fiery and hot, unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Maguire scrutinized his expression for any sign of deceit for a moment before heaving a great sigh of relief, the lines of worry fading from her forehead in one exhale.

"Only if you're sure, Sirius. I really mean it," she said severely, though the look of unadulterated terror had clearly fled from her expression. He didn't answer right away; instead, he looked at Maguire, looked at her stomach, and then placed his hands there, slowly dragging his fingers across the bare skin. With a gentle movement, he brought his head down closer to her stomach and kissed it softly. She shivered again at his touch, reveling in the significance of the moment. Sirius once again looked at her and nodded, already knowing he was in love with two people now.

"As scared as I am, as unexpected this all is, as uncertain as everything is now, I want this baby too," she confessed in a whisper, hugging him tightly. They hugged each other fiercely until Maguire broke the silence with another question.

"There's just one other thing," she said quietly as Sirius straightened up, pulling her into his lap as they leaned against the headboard of the bed.

"What?"

"Well," Maguire began, looking down and playing with a strand of hair, "it's just...what'd you mean by 'our first time'? It almost sounded like you were gonna say, well, 'my first time' at first."

It was Sirius' turn to fall silent this time.

"That's because I was going to say that," he answered quietly. "It was my first time."

At Maguire's unexpected response, Sirius looked up sharply, a little confused and just a tad bit insulted. She snorted again, laughing sarcastically.

"What?" he asked, hurt, and just a twinge of embarrassment, evident in his tone.

Maguire rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Sirius, you don't have to lie to me. I know you've slept with other girls before; I mean, I'm not stupid. I've heard the stories, obviously, and it's no big deal. I really don't care that you weren't a virgin and I was."

Sirius laughed sharply, hitting his head against the wall when he threw it back. Maguire turned her gaze upward, eyebrows drawn together.

"What's so funny?" she asked, pouting.

"The fact that you're such a bad liar," Sirius answered, rubbing his head roughly.

"But I'm not lying," she said, confusion permeating her answer. "I am a virgin--well, I mean, I was up until Christmas Eve. You, however, weren't a virgin to begin with, so stop lying."

"Whoa, wait. I think we both have some explaining to do," Sirius replied, once he realized that Maguire was serious. "You were a virgin?"

"Well, yeah," she answered, flushing slightly. "I thought you knew? Are you trying to tell me you were a virgin too?"

"Yeah, as contrary to popular opinion as that seems, I was a virgin," he answered coldly, sudden bitterness tingeing his voice. "Talk is talk is talk among girls, as far as I'm concerned. Who was I to disprove any of the rumors going around if, I'm embarrassed enough to say, they inflated my fifteen-year-old ego and supposed sexual prowess? I mean, I knew what was up, but I can assure you, I've never slept with any of the girls that claimed I have," he explained calmly, though a nerve was jumping in his jaw. Maguire soon realized why because Sirius then claimed, "However, you're the real surprise here, to be honest. I'm sorry for assuming the worst, but fucking hell, I'm going to fuck up Teague Jameson again so badly the next time I see him."

Maguire first looked at him in confusion and then laughed nervously at the unanticipated mention of her ex-boyfriend.

"Um, why?" she asked, slight fear in her eyes.

With a sigh, Sirius explained. "After you two broke up, Teague took it upon himself to spread the word that you weren't exactly...the hardest girl to get into bed. And that you had been in said metaphorical bed several times with him. He thought he was doing a damn good job on your reputation until, well...don't you remember that one time on the pitch?"

It took Maguire a second of scrutinizingly Sirius before a memory bubbled to the surface of her mind. "Oh my God, I do remember that," Maguire said with a gasp, thinking back to that day.

FLASHBACK

Tension hung heavy over the Quidditch pitch as the Gryffindor team practiced. Spring had sprung and instead of bringing the usual bouts of heady spring flings, it had only brought harsh weather and even harsher rejections and breakups. Thick black rain clouds dampened the atmosphere even more as they threatened to unleash their fury.

Emotionally, the team itself seemed to resemble the dark, angry clouds as well. James hung petulantly in the air, pouting miserably as he surveyed the scene of his scattered team. Apparently his desired--and still deluded--relationship with Lily had yet to blossom to the point where he was allowed to throw his arm around her waist and offer to accompany her to practice. His cheek still throbbed at the memory of her slap.

The object of his affections, however, was down on the pitch, apologizing profusely to their Keeper, Georgia Staffers. After one too many anger fueled Quaffles had been thrown violently through the pitch, Lily had lost control and chucked the maroon ball too hard and too fast, missing her target completely and finding a new one in Georgia's face. A bloodied Georgia was now cleaning herself up, refusing Lily's apologies and brushing it off as "just a mistake." Instead of rejoining the boys in the sky, Lily and Georgia abandoned all pretenses that they were practicing and chose to sit beside Maguire and seventh year Winnie O'Harahan, the other Chaser, who was comforting the younger girl.

Sirius too hung in the sky, but badly contained rage controlled him, not lovesickness. He knew that if he didn't occupy himself by staying on his broom, he'd do something rash. His dark eyes alternately darted between Maguire's slumped figure on the bench and Teague Jameson, who was flying carelessly around the pitch. Teague, leaning languidly across his broom, was eyeing Maguire as well, but for different reasons.

Teague Jameson.

Teague Jameson.

Teague Motherfucking Jameson.

The name alone sickened Sirius and made his blood boil. He growled unintentionally just looking at the seventh year Chaser, mulling over the past few months. To the majority of the Hogwarts population, it had seemed like a fairytale when Teague and Maguire had first started dating. The handsome, popular seventh year had been the Prince Charming to Maguire's equally well liked, pretty Princess. It was a generally positively received pairing; James was thrilled at the idea of an inter-team relationship, thinking it would bring the Quidditch team even closer together. Anna and Lily loved Teague; his charm was infectious and...well, charming, and it was their belief that an older and more mature boyfriend would help to settle Maguire down. Remus enjoyed him, as well; it was nice to converse with an older, more intellectually advanced student now and then. Even other students had enjoyed the high profile couple, who could often be seen walking hand in hand through the halls, cuddling at the Gryffindor table at breakfast and stealing kisses between classes. There was, however, one person who made his displeasure very well known when it came to Maguire and Teague's relationship. Gagging at the sight of them, moaning loudly when they entered the common room and refusing to speak to his team mate, Sirius had no qualms about expressing his view. He even went so far as to getting into a row with Maguire over it.

It had gone on for over an hour, the two of them screaming and arguing, stomping around the common room. The floor had been theirs, as no one dared to cross the room and risk running into the middle of the battle. Gryffindors lined the outer rim of the room, hanging onto the overlooking banisters of the dorms and sitting in corners of the room as the two fought. Maguire screamed at him as she had never done before. She accused him of being "too protective" and resentful now that she had found someone else who made her "happier than she had been in a long time." Sirius claimed Teague wasn't "as perfect as he seemed" and that Maguire would only "end up getting screwed over and hurt." At that remark, Teague, who had been lurking on the sidelines and glaring at Sirius silently, jumped up to put in his own two cents.

"Oy, Black, that's enough out of you," he growled. "Sounds to me--well, I reckon you're jealous of me, mate."

"Jealous?" Sirius choked out, as a vein began to pump erratically in his neck.

"Jealous," Teague confirmed, a hint of smugness creeping into his tone. "I don't know why I didn't see it sooner. You've always been so weirdly protective towards Maguire; you suddenly hate me as soon as I ask her out; and frankly, I think you're the one who wishes you were dating Mags."

Silence quickly fell across the room following Teague's accusation. The fire crackled ominously in the background, matching the anger in Sirius' eyes as he finally spoke.

"Don't," Sirius hissed dangerously, "call her Mags."

Maguire had fallen silent at this point and was eyeing the two boys as nervously as everyone else in the room. Her heart beat anxiously against her chest as she saw the small, taunting grin on Teague's face. She groaned, knowing instinctively that he would take the bait; Teague was not one to run from a challenge.

"Sorry, Black," Teague apologized, though no true sincerity could be heard in his tone. "But despite everything you want and wish for, Mags is mine."

At that point, Sirius lost all control and lunged towards Teague, growling unintelligibly. Maguire quickly stepped forward and caught the brunt of his force, grunting at the sudden pressure. She stumbled backwards as Sirius lunged again, throwing his muscular weight violently across Maguire's shoulder.

"Sirius!" Maguire shrieked, attempting to hold him back. Teague stepped back in surprise at the suddenness of the attack but in the next moment, his eyes had narrowed and he was stalking forward.

"Get off her," he ordered. "I swear to God, Black, back the fuck off!"

James and Remus scrambled down the stairs from the dorm and each grabbed Sirius by an arm, yanking him backwards roughly. Peter hurried after them, eyeing Teague in fear as he skittered by.

"Sirius!" James cried, his voice cracking loudly. "Oy, come on, man! Let it go, come on."

Sirius glared at Teague once more, who had pulled Maguire aside and thrown a protective arm around her shoulders. He returned the dirty look, squeezing Maguire's shoulder a little more tightly than necessary.

"Maguire," Sirius growled, coughing once to dislodge the roughness in his throat. "Maguire," he repeated in a more normal tone of voice. "Seriously, you're not stupid enough to believe this guy, are you?"

Maguire looked up at Teague's face, then back towards Sirius', and also narrowed her eyes.

"You know," she answered, bitterness poisoning her tone, "maybe I am stupid enough to believe him. Honestly, Sirius, why are you doing this? Can't you just be happy for me? We've been friends for so long, why are you doing this now? Maybe Teague's right; maybe you're just jealous that I'm finally happy with someone. Someone that's not you, since you're just my best friend."

Sirius' angry front dropped instantaneously at her words. Pain and undeniable hurt spread across his face like ripples in a pond as he gazed at the two of them, staring as if they were the only ones in the room.

"I--you're not--I'm leaving. Talk to me when you realize what a mistake you're making," he croaked, trying to regain some of the powerful anger that had just engulfed him. And with those words, he shook off James and Remus' grasp, brushed past Peter and quickly stormed out of the common room, leaving a stunned audience in his wake.

From that harsh day in January to this similarly brutal, un-spring-like April day, Sirius and Maguire had barely spoken. Civility and tension hung in every terse word they were forced to occasionally share with each other, but beyond those brief bouts of contact, it was as if they had never been friends, let alone the close, diehard best friends they had once been. James' dream of an stronger team bond disintegrated overnight, sowing only bad seeds and bad blood into the team's relationships. Sirius had turned into a volatile, bitter grouch, snapping scathingly and with more frequency as the four months of silence wore on. But now, as he watched Maguire with more tenderness and frenetic concern than he had in sixteen or so weeks, it could have been as if nothing had ever happened.

At the sound of a sob unwillingly breaking the silence of the pitch, Sirius twitched noticeably, torn. James glanced at him, knowing how badly he wanted to console Maguire. Another sound, a quiet, harsh laugh this time, mingled in the air at the same time and Sirius' head whipped around angrily. Teague merely shrugged at Sirius' angry gaze and continued lazily hanging in the air, paying little attention to anything other than Maguire's sobs.

Without a second thought, Sirius began to descend to Teague's level, unsure of just what he was going to do but knowing it would end violently and bloodily. James followed him just as quickly, jerking him back so roughly that he almost fell off of his broom. As Sirius swore loudly and righted himself, he turned his furious gaze onto his friend's face instead.

"Prongs," he warned ominously, glancing at Maguire again as a new sob escaped her.

"I know, Padfoot, I know," James agreed in a whisper. "I understand that you're pissed right now, but cool off, man. There's nothing you can do. If you guys fight or if you hit him, I have to report everything I see, even though he totally deserves it." Sirius snorted angrily in response, not trusting his voice at the given moment.

When Maguire began crying in earnest in answer to a question Winnie had asked her, he shuddered visibly and made another attempt to fly down to Teague's location. With a groan, James tugged him back again and decided to take action.

"Alright," he called out loudly, beginning to descend to the pitch with Sirius following him closely. "I know we have a minor, uh, situation on our hands today. But I was hoping we could just all be mature for a few hours and put it aside to get a decent practice in. It's important to keep doing our best, right up until the end. C'mon guys, we're all adults--"

"Oh, that's rich," Lily muttered, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff. "If that's not the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is. Where do you get off acting like you know how to act maturely?"

"Evans, shut it, alright?" James snapped unexpectedly, giving her a look. Immediately, he felt a small twinge of regret but knew he had to stand his ground as captain, romantic interests aside. Even he was a little shocked when that thought ran through his head. Lily sat in stunned silence, looking at James as if he had grown six heads. She held her tongue, however, angrily admitting to herself that she had overstepped her boundaries this one time.

Maguire sniffed loudly, quickly dragging a finger under each red rimmed eye. "God, I'm sorry, James," she muttered thickly, sniffing a second time. "I'm being stupid; this is all my fault."

With a thud, Teague landed a little to Sirius' left. "Damn straight it's your fault," he muttered quietly with a glare of his own.

It happened so quickly, James was almost too slow to stop it. Sirius whipped around and stomped over towards Teague, blind fury raging across his face as he began pushing up his damp sleeves.

"Shut the fuck up, Jameson. Don't make me break that pretty boy face of yours," he threatened darkly. James shoved himself between the two players, eyeing each cautiously as he stood in the middle of the fray.

Teague laughed harshly, brushing a dark clump of hair out of his eyes. Maguire watched his movements carefully, a mixture of painful longing evident in her own eyes. "Fuck off, Black, before your own pretty boy face gets punched in," he retorted easily, cracking his knuckles for emphasis. James could feel Sirius' shoulders begin to shake in anger.

"Dammit, fuck this, guys," James swore in frustration. "We clearly aren't gonna get anything done today. Everyone just go and hit the showers. Practice is over." He pushed Sirius over towards the boys' locker room first, knowing he would need a little privacy at first and a much longer time to cool down. When the girls remained seated in shocked silence, he shot them a look.

"I said everyone, didn't I?" he asked, with a raised eyebrow. "That means you lot too. Get going."

They quickly scrambled up as a pack, sheltering Maguire from her ex-boyfriend's presence. However, she pushed past them and stalked over to Teague instead, angry tears glinting in her eyes. James groaned, hurrying back over to stand in front of Teague, thinking this confrontation would come to blows as well. She waved him off with a shake of her head, though, and he stepped to the side, ready to break up the situation at the first sign of a punch.

"Fuck you," she spat harshly, emotion choking her. "I thought I loved you. Well, fuck love since you ruined everything I fucking knew. I hate you, you fucking low-life bastard. Don't you ever--"Maguire hissed, but her threats became choked by an angry sob at the last moment and she shook her head angrily, unable to continue. She turned quickly, rushing back over to the three girls waiting for her as a rough choking sound emitted from her. They hustled into the dimly lit locker room and silence descended upon the pitch again.

With a sigh, James began gathering the Quidditch equipment as a chill settled over him. He hated conflict and hated to see his friends all divided and torn up. He tossed a Beater's bat into the trunk, nearly smacking Teague, who had begun cleaning up as well, unnoticed by James.

"You know, you're really not a bad guy," James admitted, rejoining the older boy by the trunk. "At least I didn't think so. But when shit like this happens, it just makes a person wonder, you know?"

Teague didn't answer and merely grabbed the equipment trunk by the handle and began dragging it into the locker room. James watched and followed him after a second before he spoke again as they crossed the threshold into the locker room.

"Sirius?" he called out, worried about another confrontation in such close quarters. When no answer other than the dripping of water answered him, he turned to Teague, who had begun to strip off his wet robes. "Seriously, though, man. What the hell did you do to her? I've never seen her like that."

Teague threw down his outer robe angrily with a wet slap. "I did shit! She's the one who started it! She broke up with me!"

James did a double take at the words. "What?"

"Yeah, she broke up with me," Teague admitted grudgingly, throwing his wet clothes into his locker. "Everyone just assumed I did it because she was upset and crying."

"Whoa, man, sorry. I had no idea," James apologized, running the afternoon through his head. Truly, he had had no idea; Maguire never cried over breakups. "What--what happened? I mean, if you wanna talk about it."

Teague groaned and sat down heavily, scrubbing his eyes for a moment. "Well, I mean, it was weird. We were up in my dorm, just like, I don't know, messing around. She's really not that hard to convince, if you know what I mean," he implied with an ugly smirk. James shot the boy a disgusted look; perhaps Teague was as bad as Sirius thought, after all.

"Yeah, I gotcha," he answered unwillingly.

"So, we were just, you know, doing stuff and then when I thought we were gonna do some...other stuff, she got all bitchy. So not like her; she's usually chill with anything. And so we kinda fought and were yelling when she pushed me," Teague explained, looking expectantly at James. Whatever cue he was hoping his Captain to pick up on, it went over James' head and he looked questioningly at Teague. A flush rose to Teague's tanned cheeks and James could feel a nervous shift in his teammate's behavior. He continued, an anxious tone in his usually suave voice. "I mean, it was just a reflex. I didn't even think," he remarked, suddenly sounding apologetic and guilty, shifting his eyes around the room. He got up swiftly and gathered his things, getting ready to head into the shower. James looked at him oddly, a nervous feeling growing in his stomach.

"What happened after she shoved you?" he asked softly, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"It doesn't matter. I mean, it was just a stupid mistake," Teague muttered, digging through his locker once more.

"Teague. What did you do to her?"

At James' new tone, he turned and looked at his Captain for a moment. The blank, emotionless look he responded with would unnerve James for weeks to come. "It was just a stupid reflex, I didn't even mean it. But like, what the hell? If you get shoved and you're not expecting it, it's just one of those things, you know? I slapped her, alright?" he answered defensively, slamming his locker shut as he walked over to the shower.

James gasped audibly, looking at him in a new, unflattering light. "The fuck--you did what?"

Teague never got to answer as a dripping wet Sirius rounded the corner at that moment, looking deadlier and angrier than he ever had in the past sixteen years.

"You sure as fuck better be lying when you say you slapped her. You sure as fuck better be lying," he whispered threateningly, taking a small step forward, undoing his sleeves again as he rolled the white linen up towards his elbow. Teague took a step of his own backwards, not answering Sirius. "Dammit, Jameson, tell me you're lying! Tell me you're lying if you don't want your neck broken!"

He opened his mouth, muttering incoherently before he dropped his things and sprinted out of the locker room. Sirius growled loudly and took off after him, punching a locker on his way out of the room.

"Sirius!" James hollered as he raced after his team mates and ran out the door. He whipped his head right and left as he looked for them once entering onto the pitch, finally settling on dead center as he spotted them. Teague was hurriedly backing away from Sirius, his hands held out in front of him, palm up, in a gesture of surrender as he tried to yell down the fast approaching sixth year. Sirius seemed to fully embody his secret Animagus form; his stance was aggressive and tense, clearly portraying the animalistic, feral side of his anger.

"Oy, Black, back off," Teague said, his words resembling those he had spoken so many months ago. This time, however, Sirius truly paid little mind to what his enemy had to say.

"You touched her, you bastard," he roared. "You fucking slapped her! Don't you ever lay your fucking filthy hands on her again. Don't you ever disrespect her, or any other woman if you're ever lucky enough to get another one, again. Do you understand me?"

James stood transfixed on the pitch, watching the two players as they now circled each other defensively, sleeves pushed up and anger glinting in their eyes. A small gasp at his side drew his attention away from the action and he looked down, noticing that the girls had rushed out of their locker room and were also watching the fray before them in horror.

"How does he know?" Maguire whispered in horror, never tearing her eyes away from the boys who continued to spew venom coated words at each other.

"He told me. Sirius overheard," James explained tersely, biting his lip roughly, tensely watching the boys. "Why the hell didn't you say something?"

"Because it was stupid," Maguire hissed, narrowing her eyes at James' tone. "It was a onetime thing and because of it, I ended it, alright? Don't give me that 'holier-than-thou' shit, James. I took care of it and it's over."

"Oy, I'm on your side," James retorted. "I love you, you idiot. Why else do you think I'm this worried?"

Maguire looked up at James, her expression softening. She was about to say something when a loud roar and crack diverted their attention and instead, she screamed.

"Sirius! No!" she shrieked, sprinting over to the tussle that was now taking place on the ground. James, instead of diving onto the boys to pull them apart, immediately turned his back on the fight and began whistling a tune.

"Potter, what the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Lily screamed as she too followed Maguire and ran over to the boys. She yanked Sirius' shoulder up roughly as Maguire grabbed his other arm, raging at him incessantly. James ignored her, however, and merely stuffed his fingers into his ears in response. Lily groaned loudly in frustration and continued pulling the boys apart.

"Goddammit, Sirius! Stop it! Sirius, stop!"Maguire yelled, using a rush of adrenalin to throw him off of the bloodied, now barely recognizable Chaser. Teague groaned loudly, gingerly touching his clearly broken, bloody nose with tentative fingers and swore fiercely for a second before he fainted. A semblance of humanity seemed to return to Sirius' eyes when his chocolate brown orbs finally met her own. As her breathing came in heaving, panting gasps, Maguire stood glowering down at him, unable to say anything for a few moments as she caught her breath. She snatched him up by the scruff of the neck and shook him with as much force as she could muster.

"The fuck do you think you're doing!? What's done is done, alright? Don't waste your time on him, dammit. Jesus Christ, you are such a--mmph!"

Sirius cut off her tirade, knowing it was better if he did so before she caught full steam, and pulled her into a tight, bone breaking hug. He rocked her back and forth, burrowing his head in her shoulder, still violently shaking in anger. Maguire's eyes peeped out from over his shoulder and she caught the gaze of Lily and her other confounded teammates. She rolled her eyes with a shrug; boys. Sensing it was their time to leave, the girls tramped off of the field, leaving Teague to resuscitate himself in his own sweet time.

James stood off at a distance, now humming loudly to himself as he rocked on the balls of his feet. Righteous anger filled Lily at the sight of him; what the fuck was the lunatic playing at now? She shoved him roughly on the shoulder from behind, startling him badly.

"What the hell was all of this?" she said, gesticulating wildly at him. She could barely form words she was so angry.

"What? Me not paying attention?" James asked innocently.

"Yes, that, you prick! You're the only other guy here; you should've helped!" she accused angrily, prodding him with her finger. "If you think for one--"

"Listen. I know what I was doing. If I had seen anyone throw a punch, I would've had to report it. Seeing as I never saw, quote unquote, anything go down, I report nothing and no one--meaning Sirius--gets in trouble. I clearly just arrived on the scene too late," he said smoothly, grinning in triumph.

Lily gazed at him in stunned silence for a second. "That has to be the cleverest thing you have ever done, Potter. I will give you that much," she allowed, quickly walking past him, shaking her head.

James smiled to himself before a thought dawned on him and he began charging up the hill towards her rapidly disappearing figure in the darkness.

"Wait, Evans! Was that a compliment!? Do you like me now?"

END OF FLASHBACK

The couple sat in silence again, reminiscing about that day.

"You know," Sirius remarked dryly after a moment, "I will give Jameson one thing; the kid was right."

"What about?" asked Maguire, looking at him with a smirk on her face.

"I was jealous. Even back then, I think I liked you," he answered, brushing a strand of hair off of his fiancée's face.

"'Think?'"

"Oh, shut up, fine. I knew I liked you then," Sirius amended with a laugh, bending down to kiss her cheek. She smiled as his lips met her smooth skin, bubbling over into giggles.

"And Lord knows I fell for you right after you hugged me that day. Just about swooned, I nearly did," she replied with a laugh, wriggling closer to his chest.

"And now look at us!" he cried, throwing up his hands in delight. "Us two crazy kids in love, and we've even got a baby on the way!"

Maguire laughed in agreement, though a small twinge of nervousness flooded through her; they were so young, so young still...she brushed the thought away as Sirius lightly pushed her off of his chest and scrambled off of the bed.

"What are you doing?" she questioned as he began rummaging through his bedside drawers. He didn't answer her and merely kept searching, tugging out and roughly shoving the drawers in as he continued his quest. She watched him skeptically, curious as to what he was searching for, when he laughed in triumph and pulled a small box out of the back of the very last drawer. She expected him to rejoin her on the bed but was surprised when he remained crouched on the floor, shirtless and wide eyed with excitement.

"All this talk of love," he began, fumbling the box around in his fingers a bit nervously, "reminded me of something. Something for you."

Maguire nodded slowly, half realizing what was about to happen, but not daring to get her hopes up. "Alright," she drawled, eyeing him. "What is it?"

With a slightly nervous sigh, Sirius pushed one knee behind and under him and knelt before her. "Maguire Bridget Angelica Burgess," he said as a smile spread across his features, "love me forever and be my wife?"

With the flip of a lid, he produced the most beautiful engagement ring she'd ever seen. Her breath caught in her throat again as she looked at it, tears quickly welling up in her eyes. She brought a shaking hand to her mouth, just as she had done on Christmas morning as she caught sight of the ring before her. A thin band of shining silver was topped by a beautiful, square cut diamond, glittering magnificently in the early afternoon sunlight. Innumerable tiny diamond facets winked up at her as Sirius gently pulled her hand down towards him. His large, square hand took her smaller, slender one and slipped the ring down onto the ring finger of her left hand. He held her hand softly for a moment before he kissed it quickly and released her to let her marvel.

"Oh my God, Sirius. It's beautiful. It's absolutely gorgeous," Maguire gasped, staring in wonder at the ring that seemed so alien yet just so right nestled between her fingers.

"You like it?" Sirius asked excitedly, happiness radiating from his eyes.

"Of course I do! And I say 'yes' to your question, obviously," she replied, hopping down from the bed into his waiting arms, stealing his lips into a tight, sweet kiss.

"Whoa, watch it there!" Sirius exclaimed as Maguire bent in to kiss him for a second time, pushing him backwards onto the floor. She looked at him quizzically, her hair falling onto his face.

"Hey, we've got a baby on the way," he joked with a smile. Maguire gasped, grinned and kissed him all in one fluid motion.

"God, as if morning sickness doesn't make me nauseous enough," she complained good-naturedly, when Sirius pulled her up from the floor a moment later. "That was one of your more disgusting, tacky lines."

"Oh, shut up, it's part of my--"

"Yeah, yeah, part of your charm. I know," she teased, leaning backwards to crack her aching back. Sirius maturely stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed heartily, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"You know how much I love you, right?" she mumbled into his chest, breathing on his bare skin.

"Of course. The same question applies to you as well, though," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Forever, you dumbass."

"You always did have such a way with words, my pet."

"Hey, hey, hey, it's just part of my own charm, thank you."

Sirius laughed and kissed her hair again, breaking off the embrace. "Here, I guess you have to get your shirt back on before James pops back in," he said, reluctance evident in his tone as he handed her the white shirt that lay on the floor.

"Right, like that was the first thing on your mind," Maguire replied impishly. She took the shirt, though, and began slipping her arms through the sleeves.

"Well, if we're being honest, that wasn't the first thing on my mind," he answered mischievously.

"Oh? Pray tell, what were you thinking, Sirius?" Maguire asked, turning her body and attention to Sirius and leaving her shirt still unbuttoned.

"How gorgeous you look just now," he whispered, bending to skim his lips across her clavicle and then up to her lips. He continued kissing her, all the way from her stomach and up as he finished buttoning her buttons. She laughed as he grabbed her close and held her.

"Keep it in your pants, Black. I'd like to have this baby first," she said with a grin as he buttoned her second to top button. A thought struck her as soon as the words left her mouth, however. "Wait a minute. Who should we tell?" Maguire asked as Sirius too grabbed his now incredibly wrinkled shirt off of the bed post it hung precariously on.

"Well, I dunno. Dumbledore will clearly need to know. So will Madam Pomfrey; there's no way in hell you're not getting regular checkups. I don't care how much you hate Pomfrey and hospitals, it's getting done," he said, eyeing her knowingly. She grumbled to herself and let Sirius continue. "The teachers will probably hear it from Dumbledore and I mean, no offense, but the rest of the student body will figure it out in enough time."

Maguire watched in bemusement as Sirius puttered around the room, pacing back and forth as he gesticulated wildly. "That seems about right to me. Dumbledore, Pomfrey, teachers...I'm guessing the gang's going to find out in about, oh, twenty or so minutes. Give or take a few minutes, depending on if Lily knocked James out. Yup. Sounds like a plan to me. Perfect. Small, concise, private--"

"Sirius. You have to tell her."

Sirius looked up at Maguire's tone, guilty fear pleading with her in his eyes. "Um, tell who?"

Maguire raised her eyebrow at him and smiled knowingly. "Sirius, come on. You know who. You can't--we can't do this to her. She's going to find out anyway."

"Well, we do have nine months or so--"

"Five," Maguire chirped squeakily, beaming. Sirius tripped over a stray shoe and choked on air.

"F--five?" he stammered, looking at her in shock. When she nodded brightly, he blinked profusely for a few seconds, covering his face with a hand. "Well. My mind was just blown. I thought it took babies nine months to, like, you know, get ready. To be born and all that jazz."

Maguire laughed loudly at Sirius' boyish, naïve notions. "Oh you," she chuckled, grinning merrily. This was clearly one of her mood swings since she was now filled with a balloon of perfect elation at the moment, grinning like an idiot. All of her previous fears seemed to have vanished. "I'm not just one month into this, Sirius; I'm four months along. Thus, by simple deduction skills, that would mean that we've got five more months. You knocked me up Christmas Eve, you git. What a fantastic present!"

"Fantastic present indeed..." Sirius drawled, as his mind whirled around the concept that he now had five months, not nine, until he met his new baby. His heart drummed rapidly in his chest.

"Back to the matter at hand," Maguire said, eyeing Sirius meaningfully. "Sirius. She has to know. You have to tell her or she'll be heartbroken. Imagine how she'd feel if someone else told her? Pissed as fuck, but heartbroken at the same time, too. You're her son."

With her last comment, Maguire leapt gingerly off of the bed, grabbed him by the hand and led him over to the door. She looked up at him, excitement and happiness burning brightly in her eyes.

"We should probably go tell Dumbledore now," she murmured, brushing her thumb lightly across his cheek. Sirius closed his eyes and sighed.

"That's gonna be the easy part," he muttered, opening the door and gently pushing Maguire through with a palm resting on the small of her back. She laughed as they looked out over the crowded common room, so seemingly serene after the life-altering few moments that had just occurred in his bedroom.

"Dammit, Keira is going to kill me."

~*~*~

"Isn't anyone going to check if I'm alright?" asked the muffled voice of James. Face down, James' frame was splayed out spread eagle across the rug of the common room at the bottom of the staircase, clearly traumatized from his horrific fall. When no one came rushing to his side, he glanced up, red imprints on his face and glasses dangling precariously from one ear. He spotted Lily and Anna frantically hissing in the corner of the somewhat crowded room, as Remus and Peter looked on in mild interest. James scrambled up, brushing himself off and fixing his appearance as he sauntered over to his mates.

"Oy, boys. What's up with them?" he asked with a head jerk in their female friends' direction.

"Not a clue," Remus murmured quietly, eyeing Anna as she gasped aloud in shock. Lily quickly hushed her and threw a glance in the boys' direction. "Bet it has something to do with what's going on upstairs, though."

James eagerly shot a look up at the still closed dorm room door. "Yeah, Padfoot!" he yelled encouragingly.

"Oh, shut up, James," Lily hissed, shooting him a dirty look. Her expression softened when she saw the surprised, hurt look on his face at her remark. "Sorry, I'm just kinda...stressed right now."

Climbing over the back of the couch, James quickly scrambled over next to Lily and Anna. "Alright, now I'm interested," he said, unknowingly quoting the same words Lily had spoken not even an hour ago. "What's going on?"

Lily looked at Anna; a shell-shocked Anna looked right back at her friend. The girls held each other's gaze for a few heartbeats before Lily sighed heavily, dragging a hand over her face. "Nothing. Everything's fine."

"We may be boys, which by natural law predisposes us to be stupid, but we're not that stupid, Lily," Remus murmured gently, worming his way into the circle and placing a strong hand around Anna's waist. She hummed in the back of her throat at the touch, her blue eyed gaze seemingly a thousand years away.

"Remus. Drop it," Anna whispered, shaking her head as she came out of her shocked daze. "It's not our place--"

Anna never finished her sentence for at that moment, the dorm room door opened and Maguire and Sirius stepped out, noticeably more flushed and seeming oddly hyper aware of their surroundings. Sirius glanced around the room and his gaze quickly settled on those of the four other gazes staring up at him. He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and slid his hand into Maguire's as they began to descend the stairs. A strange buzzing sound seemed to fill the room and Lily was certain she was about to have a small panic attack as both terror and small sense of loss seemed to fill her. Following Sirius' lead, Lily too drew a deep breath at the sight of her two dear friends who were walking over towards them; this surely was not reality. This was not happening. Couldn't be happening, it wasn't rational. This type of thing just didn't happen in real life. Pregnant? At seventeen? It was all too surreal, too sudden, too scary.

The full gravity of the situation seemed to hit Lily at the moment Sirius opened his mouth. Her knees buckled and she quickly grabbed James' arm in determination to stay standing. She had to remain logical and strong; surely Maguire was thirty seconds from having a breakdown so she, Lily, the tough, rational, logical one, had to be strong for her best friend. James looked at her in confused worry as he felt her nails dig into his sweater. He gripped Lily's arm with his own, supporting her for a second before color returned to her face and she shook him off, muttering something to herself. She refused to meet his gaze when he looked at her questioningly for an explanation and he sighed, knowing she had her reasons. Instead, he looked back at Sirius and Maguire, feeling oddly anxious. What in Merlin's name was going on?

"What in Merlin's name is going on?" he asked loudly, voicing the same question that had just run through his mind. The looks the surrounding Gryffindors gave him reminded him to lower his voice and it was with a lower tone that he said, "Well. If there is something going on, I mean. These two here are being all hush-hush and it's not every day Lily nearly hits the floor in a dead faint."

"I did not almost faint, you prick," Lily hissed, all signs of weakness vanished at the remark. "That was...a rush of vertigo."

James opened his mouth to respond but Remus beat him and said quickly, as if trying to defuse a potentially dangerous bomb, "Lily, you're right, as always. James, shut up. I, for one, would like to know what's going on."

The small group huddled by the window overlooking the lake fell silent then, looking at Sirius and the surprisingly quiet Maguire for an answer. The fire crackled loudly, too loudly in Lily's opinion, as chatty students dilly-dallied about the room, unaware of what was taking place just feet away from them. Just when Lily thought her heart would explode from the nerve wracking tension, Sirius once again opened his mouth and spoke.

"I'm gonna be blunt, since that's the only way you can be about these kinds of things," he said quietly, his words coming at a slow pace as if he had not spoken aloud in a very long time. "We're pregnant. Maguire's pregnant."

Anna murmured softly, biting her lip at the confirmation. Lily cringed, feeling a flutter of fear beat against her stomach that mirrored the shocked little squeak Peter emitted at the news. She almost didn't dare to, but she found herself cautiously looking at James, expecting the worst. However, whatever reaction she was expecting never came as her gaze met only an oddly slack and blank expression on her boyfriend's face. It was Remus who reacted first, his voice curt and quiet.

"Are you positive?" he murmured, boring his amber gaze into his two friends. Lily saw his gaze flit fleetingly to Maguire's stomach but just as quickly it returned to Sirius' face. Maguire nodded and Lily spoke for her.

"Positive. I did the test three more times in my dorm before we came here to tell Sirius," she whispered, as garish purple sparks flashed through her mind at the memory. "This isn't a joke, or a scare. This is real."

Remus nodded, taking full control of the situation as he began firing questions at them.

"How far along?"

"Four months," Sirius said, glancing anxiously at Maguire who still had yet to speak.

"W--what?" Remus stuttered, thrown off guard by that answer. Sirius nodded, tight lipped as a nerve jumped erratically in his neck. "Four months? I thought you didn't know about this."

"I didn't," Sirius replied, shaking his head. "She just told me. She told me everything just now. She didn't know 'til like, two hours ago or so, either. None of us knew."

Remus looked as if he was going to say something else but thought better of the idea. After a moment's pause, he looked at the two of them seriously for a heartbeat before he spoke next.

"Are you keeping the baby?"

"Yes," Sirius answered immediately, his answer coming in unplanned synchronization with Maguire who had finally looked up from the floor, her gaze fierce.

"Alright, alright. Oh, come on, don't look at me like that, Maguire. I was just asking. I wasn't trying to insult you or anything," Remus apologized, quickly backing off the subject. "Good on you, though, mate. I'm proud of you. Proud of both of you, actually." Sirius nodded tersely, gripping Maguire's hand more tightly.

"Wait. Pregnant?"

Five pairs of eyes turned to look at James, who seemed to have suddenly rejoined the world of the living. Eyes wide, incredulity stamped across his face, he

croaked out again, "Pregnant?"

Sirius smiled, a small sardonic grin that wormed its way onto his face slowly. "Say it a little louder, why don't you? Yes, Prongs. Pregnant. That thing that happens nine months before a baby's born. She's pregnant. My baby. Our baby," he stated quietly, his smile widening a bit at his last statement.

James looked at him blankly for a second before he--of all reactions to have,

Lily would never understand why he selected this one--laughed loudly. Lily jumped at the harsh sound which was so much louder than the whispers and murmurs they had been speaking in for the past moments.

"What in fuck's sake is so funny?" she growled, looking at her clearly demented boyfriend. James was obviously having a mental breakdown of some sorts and continued to laugh raucously, shaking his head at his inability to speak. "What is wrong with you, you idiot?"

As James caught his breath, he snorted once more and looked at Sirius, raising an eyebrow and grinning like a fool.

"Keira is going to kill you," he stated calmly, eerily repeating the words Sirius had spoken just a few moments before. With another laugh, he shook his head as he turned his gaze heavenward, clearly playing out the image in his head. Sirius eyed his friend for a moment before he too began laughing, forcing out a huge sigh of many complicated emotions as he did so. Remus, Peter, Anna, Lily and Maguire all looked on as the two boys broke into huge gales of laughter, clutching the stone walls and each other in their fit, ignoring the questioning gaze of their peers and friends.

"They're having a breakdown," Lily whispered in horror, watching the two boys roll around on the ground, laughing at some unknown hilarity only they seemed to find amusing. "Oh my God, they've lost it."

"Hasn't their sanity always been in question, though?" Remus murmured sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his friends. "Relax, this is clearly them just blowing off steam. They don't take too well to stress."

"That," James choked out, sounding affronted though he still continued to laugh, "is not at all true, Moony. I handle stress wonderfully. Look at me, I'm the picture of bliss."

"James..." Lily warned ominously, nudging him in the back with her foot. This was not the time or place; too many people were beginning to look at the Marauders' antics. It was probably the first time in Marauder history that they truly could not afford to have people paying attention to them at the moment.

"Can you shut the fuck up and control yourselves for a few minutes then, please?" Maguire suddenly hissed, her voice sounding deadly. Immediately, the boys fell silent, knowing they had overstepped their boundaries. Sirius scrambled up first, tugging James into a standing position along with him and flicked his hair back, attempting to control himself.

"I'm sorry. Lily's right, again; just a minor breakdown, don't mind us," he apologized, once again standing next to his fiancée. She rolled her eyes at him and then turned to face her friends, her best friends, her family, as a sudden sweep of fear coursed through her.

"Do you...do you guys, I mean, are you okay with this? Because I totally understand if any of you guys don't want to get mixed up with this or anything, if your parents will object or something," Maguire whispered, looking at the huddle of teenagers standing before her. "This looks bad in a lot of different ways, I know. I don't want you guys to have to take the fall with me."

"With us," Sirius corrected, snaking an arm around her waist and eyeing his friends as well.

"You're mental, the both of you," James scoffed with a shake of his head. "'Course I'm game; who doesn't want a bitty Sirius running around here? Think of the pranks!"

"...I worry about you, sometimes," Lily said cautiously, eyeing James warily. "However, as I already said, Maguire, I'm completely behind you one hundred percent with whatever you want to do."

"Agreed," Remus said with a nod and, seeing how the tide was turning, Peter too nodded quickly and squeaked his agreement. "Although I have to say the idea of a mini Sirius running around is far from desirable; Hogwarts can barely handle the original, Lord knows how it would react to a duplicate. The castle would collapse in on itself."

Remus' joke broke the slightly frazzled, strained tension surrounding the teenagers and they all laughed at Sirius' mock pained expression.

"Same goes for me," Anna piped up, grinning warmly at the couple. "Everything's going to be fine, seriously. We all love you."

"Anna, you're too maternal for your own good," Maguire murmured, smiling at her friend's sweet sentiments. "Hell, you'll probably be a better mom than I am and you're not even pregnant yet!"

The looks of slight panic that crossed both Remus and Anna's faces were enough to cause another round of tension-breaking laughter to ensue and it was a few minutes before they had calmed down enough again to hold a decent conversation.

"Listen," Remus said, ever the voice of reason, "not to be the bearer of bad news, but have you told your parents yet?"

Sirius and Maguire looked at each other, a tad guiltily.

"Well, I mean, it's not really necessary, I don't think," Sirius began, cracking his knuckles nervously. "Of course we'll tell Keira...eventually...but I mean, I doubt our parents really have to be brought into this. We all know the high esteem in which our parents hold each of us."

"Sirius," Lily drawled, gritting her teeth. "I really don't think that's the best idea. I mean, they are your parents--"

"I'm not having this conversation here," he growled softly, lowering his voice. "I think it's time we all go to Dumbledore. We were on our way there anyway, just now. To--to tell him the news."

"You want us to come with?" James asked, surprised. He had figured Sirius would have wanted this to be a private discussion, one that was so serious that it would take place without James by his best friend's side. He felt oddly inferior next to Sirius now, knowing how quickly his friend must have had to mature in the past few minutes; a baby at seventeen. James still could barely wrap his mind around the idea that Sirius was going to be a father in a few short months. No matter how awesome the little boy would be, it was still an incredibly daunting idea.

"Well, you lot already know. Why not just turn it into a party?" Sirius quipped, grinning sarcastically. "Come on, I want to get this over with." With those words, he grabbed Maguire's hand and loped gracefully over to the portrait hole, gently allowing Maguire to go first. With a mutual look of surprise and slight confusion, his five friends followed.

As the portrait door shut on the retreating figures of the seven seventh years, the thunderstruck whisper of a fifth year girl, sitting unnoticed in the corner of the room, not five feet from where the group had been standing, could be heard saying to her equally shocked friend, "...Did she say pregnant?"