Sugar & Spice

*Rosie's Point of View

By the time we reached our destination I was panting and clutching a stitch in my side. To my consternation however, Black didn't seem to be fazed by the five-minute sprint at all.

He tugged me behind the statue of the one-eyed witch and took out the map again.

"Right. Now pay attention, Tamms. This is the main tunnel that we use to get out of the castle. Ever heard of Honeydukes?" I nodded. Tom had told me all about it. "Good. Well it leads to the cellar of Honeydukes. Watch."

He tapped the rump of the witch, and to my amusement it grated slowly open.

"Nice," I commented, smirking. Black grinned evilly, ceasing almost all intelligent thought processes.

"You have to climb in." I glanced down the small opening and snorted, unamused.

"Fat chance, Black. I've no idea what's down there. You go first." Black huffed impatiently.

"Sorry love, but I don't trust you to follow me."

"Well then. It seems we have a problem," I stated, unmoved.

Black's evil grin widened. I felt my stomach do back-flips as his pale grey eyes glittered wickedly in the torchlight.

"Funny... I don't think we do." With that he grabbed me about the waist and, with seeming effortlessness hoisted me up so that my legs dangled down the shute. I tried to console my sense of pride by telling myself that he'd only managed it by surprising me.

"No!" I shrieked in a very unladylike manner, trying to pull my arms free, which Black had pinned behind me. I could feel him rubbing against me with my every struggle, and I was very conscious of how his stomach was pressed against my back.

I licked my lips, feeling a queer sense of weakness steal through my limbs.

"God Tammie - relax. I'll be right behind you."

He pushed me down the shute and I screamed, the closeness of the walls completely freaking me out. I wasn't what you could call claustrophobic, but I definitely wasn't a fan of close spaces.

Soon enough though, I was jettisoned out of the shoot, landing on a strange-feeling floor.

I took a moment to adjust to my barely-visible surroundings, but this was apparently a mistake because the next moment I was squished by something very large and heavy. All the air was pressed from my lungs and I found I couldn't breathe properly (possibly due to the fact that my face was mashed into the soil-smelling ground).

"Sorry! God Tammie, are you still alive?" The weight lifted from my back and I was jerked into an upright position. A light flared.

"Yep. Peachy," I wheezed, still very much winded. Black was standing very close because of the compactness of the passageway. He had lit his wand-tip which allowed me to observe the high spots of colour on his cheeks.

I took a hasty step back.

"So - onwards?" He suggested, briskly rubbing his hands together. I nodded and we started off down the tunnel.

I now realised why the ground had smelled like soil - it was because the floor was solely made of compressed earth, giving the whole passageway a loamy smell.

It was very warm and humid and by the time we'd reached our destination we were both sweating and had taken off our jumpers and robes.

"Wait," Black held a hand in front of me to stop me and pointed his lit wand upwards. I sighed wearily. Stairs.

"Fuck. Me," I said, thoroughly exasperated.

"Mmm... don't tempt me, love," Black said smoothly, looking down at me and smiling provocatively. He moved closer so that our bodies were almost touching and I had to crane my neck to look at him.

I laughed, and the sound came out all wrong because I was suddenly a bit frightened by the strange signals I was getting from my body. I pushed at his stomach, wanting him to move away a bit.

"What? We're all alone down here Tammie," He said, not seeming serious, but his words made my body even warmer than it had been, and I felt my face flush. I laughed nervously, slapping his arm half-heartedly.

"Ha ha, so funny, Black," I said sarcastically. "Let's get out of here, yeah? I don't want to stay down here for the rest of my life."

Something passed over his face and he gave me an inscrutable look before he motioned me to climb the stairs. I exhaled a quiet breath and started up the steps, counting as I went so that I wouldn't think so much.

*Sirius's Point of View

"Fuck. Me." Ooh, I thought. Too tempting. I knew exactly what her reaction would be to my comment, but I couldn't resist.

"Mmm... don't tempt me, love," I smiled as a tiny, almost inaudible squeak passed her lips.

I couldn't help it. I moved closer so that I was nearly pressed up against her. My breathing hitched up and I felt a hot shock run up my body, settling in my lower stomach.

I swallowed, suddenly not quite sure what I was doing.

I was literally on the verge of running my hands through her hair and kissing her with everything I had when she laughed sarcastically. I snapped out of it as she slapped my arm so feebly I almost didn't feel it.

"Ha ha, so funny Black. Let's get out of here, yeah? I don't want to stay down here for the rest of my life." She looked so uncomfortable that my brow creased momentarily.

Then I realised. I felt so stupid for not seeing it before.

She was scared. She was actually frightened of letting anybody get close to her, and I totally understood. I understood better than most people ever could.

I felt a chill run through me and I wanted to hug her suddenly - hold her close and not let go. Instead I just shut my stupid mouth and motioned for her to climb the stairs.

As we ascended, a million thoughts and questions swirled around in my mind, consuming all my attention.

I was surprised to find that with that realisation had come a certain respect for Tammie - I understood her better now. She wasn't just the girl I couldn't have... she became something more in my mind.

She had this kind of depth that was rare for somebody our age, but I totally got it; it was a kind of depth which could only be reached through being miserable, horribly enough. This was a girl who'd had a rough life, no matter how well she hid it. And who had the scars to prove it.

Just because I couldn't see them didn't make them less real.

"Ow," She muttered somewhere above me and I looked up, stopping just before I bumped into her. We'd reached the trapdoor.

"Here," I said quietly. I extracted the shimmering cloak I'd borrowed from James the night before and threw it over us, making sure it covered both of us well.

I lifted up the trapdoor above our heads so that I could just about see out. From what I could tell, the cellar was completely empty.

"Come on," I whispered softly down at her.

We climbed awkwardly out of the cellar and into Honeydukes, moving strangely because we had to stay hidden under the cloak.

I whipped it off as soon as we had stepped inside the store, seeing that the man who ran the shop had his back turned and was concentrating on something.

Tammie gasped in awe and was immediately drawn to the new school-related section. She picked up a sugar-tipped quill and examined it, as a contagious, almost child-like smile lit up her face. I grinned broadly, unable to catch myself. It was becoming easier for me to tell when her wall was up and when it was down.

It was definitely down right now.

We spent a whole hour in the shop. I had no interest in it because I'd already visited two nights ago with Remus and Peter, but I wasn't bothered in the slightest. I just watched her, captivated, until she came up to me.

"Shall we go?" She asked, clasping her hands in front of her. I frowned.

"What? You're not going to even buy anything?" I asked. She mumbled something inaudible in response.

"Sorry?" I asked, leaning forward and forcing her to look at me.

"I didn't bring my money, Black," She repeated, no expression on her face. I stood up.

"It's a crime for you to visit Honeydukes for the first time and not even buy anything, Tammie," I said with certainty, taking her elbow and tugging her over to the chocolate section. "Pick what you want," I said. She opened her mouth to protest and I held up my hand for silence.

I ducked my head so we were at eye level; I was pleased when she didn't shy away like I thought she would. Suddenly it felt like she was looking into my soul again, that she was reading me like a book. I couldn't take it - I glanced away, breaking the moment.

"You're picking. I'm buying. End of story," I grinned and swept my arm in a wide motion emcompassing the whole shop. I felt good buying something for her.

I knew she deserved it. It was about time she had fun and didn't work her ass off for other people.

She stared at me for a moment longer and I saw something flicker in her eyes before she smiled her bright white smile, the one that always made me want to kiss her passionately.

I bit my lip and quickly sat down in the chair nearby, not wanting to do anything stupid.

It seemed Tammie had already decided what she wanted for next time because just a few minutes later we left the shop, loaded down with a dozen different types of chocolate, fudge and nougat.

As soon as we stepped out of Honeydukes though, a fierce gale assailed us as it whistled through the streets, and I started shivering uncontrollably. I was still only wearing my dress-shirt and Tammie looked like her lips would turn blue soon.

"Three Broomsticks!" I shouted, turning to lead the way at a run.

The bell chimed loudly over the door and as we stepped into The Three Broomsticks we were enveloped in a warm cloud of alcohol-ridden air. It smelled just like Rosmerta's home-made mead and I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling a sense of contentment wash over me. I opened my eyes to find Tammie watching me, an unreadable expression on her face.

"What?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious, but she just shook her head and smiled.

"Where do you want to sit?"

"Let's go to the bar," I said, enthusiastically, taking her hand. She extracted it immediately though, and stuck it in her pocket, not looking at me. I sighed and motioned for her to follow me.

"Sirius Black!" A voice called from behind the bar and I grinned widely.

"Hello Rosmerta," I said. A woman in her early twenties poked her head back over the counter from where she'd been bending down.

I'd always liked Rosmerta - she was really down-to-earth, and always gave James, Remus and I discounts when we came in. Every time I came in with a girl she always gave me this look though, and I always tried to figure it out afterwards.

I lifted Tammie up onto a barstool and she threw me a silent glance before smiling shyly at Rosmerta. I sat down on the stool next to her and watched her, momentarily forgetting where I was or even that Rosmerta was there.

Rosmerta began laughing delightedly, and I glanced over at her as she placed two steaming mugs of butterbeer on the counter. I looked at her questioningly but she was watching Tammie with a wide smile on her face.

"Thanks!" Tammie said gratefully, wrapping her cold hands around the mug and sighing as they warmed up.

"You're a pretty one," Rosmerta commented, watching her shrewdly. I stifled a laugh. This sounded familiar. Rosmerta often did this to girls I was with.

*Rosie's Point of View

I brought my head up to look at her. I smiled. I knew what she was doing - she was sizing me up, seeing what I was made of. Rosmerta obviously cared about Black and saw him as somebody to protect. I understood, so I didn't take offense.

"Well thank you", I said pleasantly, cocking my head to the side and watching her as closely as she was scrutinising me. An unspoken communication passed between us. I couldn't say exactly what it was, but I immediately liked her. She stuck out her hand and I took it, smiling genuinely.

"Rosmerta," She introduced, laughter evident in her voice.

"Rosie," I quirked an eyebrow, glancing at Black. He looked utterly baffled by our exchange, but smiled and took a large gulp of his butterbeer.

"So what brings you to these parts, Rosie? I've never seen you in Hogmeade before."

"I'm new. It's kind of complicated, but I like Hogwarts," She nodded, also flashing Black a glance, who was now watching her.

"So are you two...?" She waved her hands in the air in a gesture that could've meant anything. I laughed loudly, completely disregarding the flush that crept up my cheeks, before I raised an eyebrow and leaned in conspiratorily.

"He wishes," I said lowly, and she burst out laughing before grabbing my shoulder bracingly.

"Oh, I like you. You're not like all the other bimbos he brings in here." Black mumbled something inaudible and I had to work to stifle my giggle.

"Well it was lovely to meet you, Rosie. You'll have to send me an owl sometime. But right now I've got to go attend to the customers or my mum will flog me raw," She grimaced, smiled, and moved away.

For the first time I noticed how full the pub was. Obviously the villagers of Hogsmeade had felt the chill and decided to come warm their bodies by having a drink.

I turned to Black with a huge smile on my face.

"Want to get drunk?" I asked, suddenly wanting to; that was another experience I'd never had before. His eyebrows shot up.

"You trust me enough to get drunk with me?" He asked incredulously. I ignored the rush of warmth to my lower stomach when he said that.

"Oh, why not?" I grinned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ten shots of firewhisky and 5 butterbeers later I was definitely ready to go home... or that's what Black said anyways. He bade goodbye to a chuckling Rosmerta and we made our way out of the pub and down the road.

"We'll have to walk back to school the normal way," Black murmured, his hand on the small of my back, helping me to walk in a straight line. For reasons only the booze knew, I giggled and couldn't stop for quite a while.

"How come?" I slurred, having a bit of trouble speaking. He smirked down at me.

"Because Honeydukes is closed." It was fine with me; I'd put my jumper and robes back on and the firewhisky was keeping me warm. I started singing under my breath, the first song that came to mind. Black hushed me, but I could tell he didn't really mean it, so I kept singing, my voice raising steadily higher.

"Shush," Black laughed and cupped a hand over my mouth. I giggled and he released me, grinning widely and taking my hand to keep me from weaving.

I stopped right in the middle of the path that led up to school and he stopped too, feeling the pull on his hand.

It had just struck me fully how utterly handsome he was. Everything about him.

I stared up into his eyes, and he didn't look away. I slowly stood on my tiptoes so that we were closer to eye level. I couldn't seem to take my gaze off his lips.

My own lips parted of their own accord and I leaned forward. Black laughed uncomfortably and pulled back.

"What?" I asked, falling back so that my feet were flat again, feeling so completely rejected, but trying to keep my face free of the emotion I felt. I clapped both my hands over my mouth in horror. How could I have misunderstood? In some dim corner of mind I knew I was acting strangely because of the alcohol, but it did nothing to help me get a grip.

He bent his knees so he could look at my face; I turned away, feeling genuinely hurt. He placed his fingers underneath my chin and forced my jaw around so I had to look at him.

"Oh, I want to - don't you worry about that," He breathed and my stomach clenched. Then he laughed softly, "But not when you're drunk. I'm not going to take advantage of you... because you'd kill me tomorrow," He added, laughing fully now. He took my hand again and smiled. "Don't feel embarrassed love, it's not your fault I'm a babe magnet."

My eyebrows shot up and I nudged him on the arm.

"You're so full of yourself, Black!" I laughed, smoothly pulling my hand from his and laughing. He sighed almost inaudibly and smiled tightly, keeping his eyes on the path ahead.

We passed the gates of Hogwarts and in next to no time we came to the huge oak front doors. By this time I was dragging my feet, and felt like I was going to fall asleep on the spot.

Black supported me with one arm as he heaved one of the doors open, pulling me in alongside him. He whipped out the invisibility cloak and covered us with it.

He felt very warm against my side and I felt myself moving closer to him.

I would never have done this and definitely never would have tried to kiss him had I been sober, but the influence of the alcohol seemed to have emboldened me. He glanced at me and, seeming to realise I was spent, bent down and lifted me into his arms.

I fell asleep to the rhythm of his steps.