Like Riding A Broom

A/N: I'd just like to thank Kas for, without whom, this piece would still be in suspended animation. Thanks for all of the hand holding! Another thanks to Suya for additional help (out with Americanisms - Keep HP fanfic clean!)

*****

Silky black strands fell over twinkling grey eyes. I watched him surreptitiously as I cleared the table of dinner's remnants. Twelve years in Azkaban and two more in hiding hadn't diminished his startling handsome good looks. Well, at least not after months of Molly's mollycoddling and feeding up. It was embarrassing how he could still make me stumble over myself with just a glance or word. 'How's it going, O'Neill?' left me with a bruised shin for days as I distractedly walked into the kitchen table after an Order meeting. To my misfortune, in the last week he had annoyingly taken to flirting with me for fun. I had become almost as clumsy as Tonks - almost. I don't think anyone else noticed, except for him, of course. Probably. Well, at least the others had the manners not to comment, anyway.

Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew had been four of the most popular boys in Hogwarts while I was there. They were 'The Marauders': pranksters extraordinaire. Every female in the school wanted a piece of Black, and I supposed that included most of the staff and the nearby village of Hogsmeade. There was even a gaggle of boys who would hiss at any girl dating Sirius, as she passed in the halls. Worship for the Son of Black held no discrimination. Probably very disturbing for the girl, but extremely entertaining for the rest of us.

I had cleared the last of the dishes as he was saying good night to some straggling Order members. He cut his eyes to me over Lupin's shoulder and lifted the bottle in his hand. I glanced away quickly, but not before I saw him grin. Cheeky git. I turned my back and began washing the china. The basement door closed and Lupin was by my side. He nudged my shoulder, knocking me sideways and making me smile.

"Prat."

He huffed in amusement. For a while in our sixth year, we were a couple. There were many dark corners, roaming hands and raging teen hormones in the beginning. Then, there were many miscommunications, misconceptions and hurt feelings. For all his quiet reserve, who knew he was also very jealous? I was friendly to everyone, but not that friendly. That kind of insecurity in a Marauder was curious. It all made sense in later years when I learned of the secret he'd been keeping from the world back then. Of course, this also explained the disappearances and days that he blatantly avoided me altogether. I had assumed that he was the one cheating and that was why he was so suspicious of me. That was all long ago now and we had both matured - sort of.

We chatted while he helped me with the dishes and after a short while, the basement door banged open. We both started and turned to see Tonks tumbling in from the bottom stair. She landed spectacularly on her hands and knees.

"Must have missed that last one."

She stood gingerly, brushing her palms on her trousers. Her face was pink as she slid a glance in our direction. The corners of Remus' mouth curved as he crossed the room to her and her blush deepened as he helped her to a chair. An odd sensation rippled through me and my nose twitched. The room suddenly felt very crowded and I admitted that maybe I hadn't matured all that much as I felt my eyes narrow at them.

I said good night and excused myself. There was always the possibility that it wasn't jealousy and just envy. Envious that someone had something going on when my own love life was non-existent. Not that either one was particularly attractive on a person, but I am only human. Yes, I consoled myself, if it's only envy, I can fix it by finding something of my own. Then, a thought occurred to me that put a bounce in my step. There happened to be a keenly annoying git on the premises who had been pushing my buttons all week. I reached the library and peeked inside the heavy wooden pocket doors. Sirius was lounged on the sofa in front of the fire. One foot was resting on the back of the sofa, the other on the floor. Amber liquid was swirling inside the crystal glass he held. He was humming and completely off in his own world. He looked ten years younger laying there, the picture of relaxation. He was wearing a blue Oxford button down that was only half-done up and pulled out of his trousers; the sleeves pushed up his arms. Waist down he was clad in faded denims, the frayed bottoms gathered casually over his bare feet. Everything was slightly loose and long on his lean frame and I assumed that one of the Weasley boys had donated the clothes.

I stepped aside and looked down at myself. I'm Muggle-born and prefer Muggle clothes since I still have many friends and family not of the wizarding world. Usually, I sported a casual mix of both fashions that lent me an eclectic style. Tonight I had on an old fitted tee that carried the visage of the Muggle band The Beatles and faded denims, as well. Not exactly screaming sexy, but I thought I looked pretty good. I don't do the girly thing often. Between night shifts at St. Mungo's, where I work as a Mediwitch, and working with the Order, I prefer the wash-and-go lifestyle. My hair falls in big, soft brown waves just past my shoulder and my face is usually cosmetic free, with the exception of some tint to my lashes and lips. Whatever. He had been toying with me all week and it was my turn to try to push some buttons.

I let out a big breath and strode over to the sofa. Startled, he looked up at me. Before he could say or do anything, I climbed over the sofa arm and perched between his legs. My nerves jangled. Say something witty, I coached myself.

"What are we drinking to?" I asked as I took the glass from his hand. I projected a confidence I wasn't truly feeling. His grey eyes glinted in the firelight, having quickly recovered.

"Why, to you, of course," he grinned. I swallowed hard: a smirk played on his lips. Who was I to think I could play this game with him? Sirius Black wrote the rules to the game! I suppose desperation makes you do drastic things. I gave him a coy smile back, raised the glass in a toast and kicked back the rest of the drink. As I handed back the crystal to him, his hand closed around my wrist. With a little pull, I fell forward onto him. I knew why I was stunned, but I couldn't figure out why, for the briefest moment, he looked so, too. I was practically nose-to-nose with him; his breath was warm and sweet on my face. I could feel the burn of the liquor spreading through me. At least I told myself it was the liquor.

We laid there like that for a few more heartbeats and the confusing look was in his eyes again. He lifted a lock of my hair, studying it. I was getting lost in the moment, contemplating just grabbing him and snogging him silly, when I felt his chest vibrating beneath mine. His lips pressed in a tight line holding in a chuckle. Annoyance began to rear its ugly head within me.

"What?" I demanded. He let out a breath and shook his head. His eyes still locked on my hair, which was now running through his fingertips. Just when I thought that this was going to be all that was communicated, a small crease formed between his brows and he frowned slightly.

"You know... or perhaps you don't. I had a terrible crush on you in our seventh year." He slid a quick glance to me then back to his fingers, which were now lightly tracing my ear. "I couldn't act on it, of course. You had gone out with Moony and it just isn't done, you know. Still...."

I searched his face and couldn't believe it, but he wasn't making fun of me. The look ran over his features again and I realised what it was. He was uncertain. It was as if he didn't know what to do next and I imagined I had pretty much the same expression. His hand stilled and he closed his eyes tightly. His head dropped back and Sirius let out a sigh.

"I - I haven't done this in a long time. Here I am with a beautiful woman laying on me and I'm not sure what to do about it! If that's not karma...." He sighed again.

"You think I'm beautiful?" He opened an eye at me and huffed with amusement. I know that wasn't the point, but having the Sirius Black admit that I made him nervous was uncertain ground. I didn't know what to say to that. Of course, my mouth took over for my brain.

"Well, er, they say it's like riding a broom; once you learn, you never forget. I'm pretty sure there won't be any problems."

And now his laughter was in full swing. I knew the heat I was feeling now had nothing to do with alcohol. My stars, did I just say that to him? I hadn't meant to imply, well, by the expression Sirius was wearing, what he thought I had implied.

"I believe that that saying refers to sex, and even though that is not quite what I meant, it's nice to know the possibility is open."

"Right! I'm not that easy, Black." Right. If he kept looking at me that way we'd both be naked in the next ten minutes. It's exactly what I had wanted I realised, and he knew it too. He raised an eyebrow at me. Cheeky git! I pushed myself up to roll off him, but he caught me around the waist and held me tight. I opened my mouth to protest, but he pushed my face down into his chest and held it there. I began to struggle, and then I heard the voices, too. The hushed tones of Lupin and Tonks were out in the hallway just beyond the library doors. I lay still, my face pressed to his chest and inhaled deeply. I became lightheaded and might have begun to drool. In that moment I thought that Sirius couldn't have helped himself when he was younger, even if he had wanted to. It wasn't his fault: he just dripped with pheromones.

The voices stilled. After a few moments, we heard the door and Lupin retreating into the house. We both exhaled, knowing that Lupin usually spent a lot of his time in the library. I felt Sirius' breath in my hair. I looked up and his face was a fraction from mine. I hoped desperately that he couldn't feel my heart beating wildly against him. Then, he pressed his mouth to mine, his lips soft and yielding. My breath caught in my chest and my blood sizzled. Sirius' fingers dug into me as his kiss became more urgent. My tongue brushed his bottom lip and he choked back a moan.

"Oh!"

We both turned towards the door and were horror stricken. Professor McGonagall stood in the doorway open mouthed, hand to her chest. She quickly recovered and for a moment I thought she might issue us detention.

"Sirius." She nodded to him before turning her eyes to me. "Ms. O'Neill - I didn't recognise you immediately." She stood still for a moment. I could see the inner dilemma brewing in her. How often and for how many years had she caught young boys and girls entangled in such away, only to deliver swift punishments? And how often had she had to do just that for Sirius Black alone? Old habits were hard to break and I could see her itching to say something. Sirius broke the moment.

"Ah, Professor. So sorry, didn't hear you come in," he said, an air of mischief about him, his eyes twinkling. He had sat up properly and made at adjusting his clothes as he smiled at her. For my part, I sat there with my head hung, blushing to my roots. He reached over and tucked a curl behind my ear. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

To her credit, the Professor held her composure very well. There were no lines given and by the end of the visit she almost smiled. She conveyed that Dumbledore had a favor to ask of him. Would Sirius be willing to have the Weasley family, as well as Hermione Granger and his godson, Harry, stay for the duration of summer holiday at Grimmauld Place? Dumbledore felt it safest for them now that He Who Must Not Be Named was back in corporeal form. Sirius assured her that there was no need to ask, only to let him know when they would arrive so he and Remus could do some more cleaning before hand. McGonagall was pleased that everything was agreeable and said she would relay as much to Dumbledore straight away.

While Sirius saw McGonagall to the door, I came to my senses and made to leave myself. An anxious fluttering had settled in my stomach: I was in over my head with him. He'd been known to ruin many a girl for any other man. Now, here I was fooling around with him and his fourteen years of pent up libido. What was I thinking? I made up my mind and went to the library door as he was coming in. We stopped short of a collision and his hands were at my waist backing me into the room.

"When I said that it was getting late, I meant it for her, not you," he said nuzzling my neck. The fluttering in my stomach kicked up a notch. Despite my resolve to be strong, I could feel my eyes glaze over and may have even been purring as his mouth moved over my skin and his hands over the rest of me. I sighed in defeat.

Apparently, the saying is true... and there wasn't anything Sirius Black had forgotten.

*****

A/N: I wouldn't say my life depends on it but... This is my first story, so a review would be greatly appreciated.