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Chapter Forty-Seven: Victim Of Love

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• warning: this chapter contains some sexually explicit material. Nothing too graphic.•

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A U G U S T 1980

"Please, Harry." Romina cried, jokingly, "I would ask you again, as nicely as possible, to please release my hair. I'm all but begging you, little one."

The baby gurgled up laughter as his hand gripped even tighter around the lock of raven hair he had managed to grab and hold onto for the past five minutes. It felt like much longer for Romina, the stabbing sharp pain on her scalp screaming everytime his chubby hand moved and simultaneously yanked the hair. Romina was almost positive she'd leave here with a bald spot (nothing magic couldn't fix, though - thank Merlin!).

"He doesn't understand a word you're saying, love." Sirius chimed in from his comfortable spot on the lounge across from her.

Romina offered up a glare at her boyfriend but soon turned her attention to Harry who released her hair with a soft coo, his head turning to the side as he looked over at Sirius. Romina giggled herself as she shifted the baby in her arms, "See? He told you." She stated, quite sure that the baby was listening and understanding and looked at Sirius as if to say 'oh really?'

"Naughty little babe, he is." James walked in through the doorway and quickly scooped up his son - Lily hot on his heels as she tried to reach for their son first.

Little Harry was but one month old but James was sure he would be the brightest wizard there ever was. The maturity that blossomed in James was astounding, Romina had never seen him this way and she knew that Lily was slightly relieved. The redhead fell in love with him, regardless of the fact that he was still immature, but seeing him in this new light, as a father - well it was quite amazing. He cared, fiercely, about how family and it showed in just how much he did for his son.

Romina smiled fondly as she watched James and Harry, her eyes slowly fluttering over to Sirius. She could feel the heat of his gaze on her and at first her heart fluttered with anticipation of getting him alone. But then, meeting his gaze, she could feel the butterflies in her belly dry up and die. He looked sad. Guilty, almost. And that pained Romina massively.

As if she noticed the sudden tension between the couple, Lily sat beside Romina and grabbed her hand. The redhead cleared her throat and spared her husband a glance before turning back to their friends. "James and I have a question."

"For me?" Romina cut in, one brow arched slightly higher into her forehead as she watched James bounce the baby to sleep in his arms.

"Yes." Lily nodded, "Well, both of you actually!"

Sirius' interest also piqued as he straightened his back against the back of the cushioned seat he had been lounging in.

"We'd like for you," Lily nodded to Romina, "to be Harry's godmother. And you, Sirius, his godfather."

As if Romina had no control over her emotions, the waterworks began. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she hugged her best friend, whispering her response - a joyful 'yes' of course. The two women hugged while James and Sirius shook hands and started chatting about training Harry in quidditch and mischief.

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The happiness had faded, drastically, later into the evening. Once Romina and Sirius were back in their own home, the two shifted away from one another and the silence was thick throughout their home. It was unspoken, but there was certainly a rift through the group that only grew larger with each passing day.

Romina struggled to accept this change - after all, this group of people had become her chosen family. They had saved her when she needed it most, and maybe there was a part of her that didn't believe she deserved to be saved. But still... Sirius saved her. He cared for her. He loved her. And she cared and loved him back. But recently the infamous Black family trait of jealousy and anger began to rear its ugly head and break off, piece by piece, the dynamics of their group.

"Do you want something to eat?"

Romina turned her head to the right, shifting her body from its perch on the windowsill cushion as the silence around them was broken up by Sirius' question. Her eyes found his as he lingered behind the kitchen counter island. His calluses hands were pressing against the granite, fingers splayed out as he leaned his weight forward.

She didn't answer her at first. She only held his gaze before glancing back to the window, the stars twinkling above washing a calm sensation over her busy mind. "I'm not that hungry, honestly. But what are you making?" She turned back to face him now.

Sirius shrugged. It seemed he had not done much thinking before asking her if she was hungry. He turned to start looking through the cabinets and the refrigerator before turning back to respond. He found that Romina had left her perch by the window and was now seated on the opposite side of the counter. "Nothing?" She chuckled, seeing the look on his face when he turned to face her again.

"No. Nothing. I can whip something up, with this.." he gestured to his wand with a weak smile.

Romina shook her head, "No, I'm alright." Her hands laid limp in her lap as she picked at the skin around her thumb nail. She could feel the tension between them and slowly gathered the courage to bring it to light. "Are we okay, Sirius?"

"What?" He scoffed, "What do you mean by that?"

"You're angry, all the time... and you haven't spoken a single word to Remus. I don't understand-"

"What has he been saying to you?" Sirius cut her off, his shoulders squaring up as he stood tall and looked down his nose at Romina.

"What?" Romina reeled back in shock, "He's said nothing to me. But I'm not stupid, I see the way you two glare at each other. The silence is quite deafening, Siri, so you need to talk to me. Please. I love you, I'm here for you. I just want to be there for you, sometimes it doesn't seem like you want me to be."

Sirius' eyes rolled to the side and back of his head as the anger became apparent - it was written all over his face. "I don't trust him. Not anymore. He is missing half the time and -"

"He's missing because Dumbledore has him putting his neck out for the Order!" Romina hissed, quickly jumping to Remus' defense. "He's putting his life on the line and infiltrating werewolf communes. I can't even begin to imagine how scared he is and he's doing it for you, for all of us!"

"Why are you defending him so much?" Sirius glared, "Are you sleeping with him?"

At the sudden turn of conversation, Romina stood up quickly. Her fast efforts to get further away from Sirius before she did some kind of irreversible damage were short lived because his hands were quicker. He grabbed onto her biceps, squeezing - not too hard - just enough to keep her in place. "Answer the question, Mina. Are you shagging him?"

"No!" She fought against his grip and hissed out of annoyance as she stumbled back once his fingers loosened against her arm, "I would never do that to you. What kind of person do you think I am? Do you truly think so little of me, Sirius? I love you! I come home to you every night. I think of only you!" The sadness erupted within her as she slumped back against the wall behind them.

This war was destroying them. One by one, the trust was disintegrating between them and the chosen family she once held dear was broken. Sirius trust in Remus was gone, and well Romina would be lying if she said it was one-sided. She knew that Remus felt the same mistrust in Sirius but she knew stating that would only put herself right in the middle of the rift between the two men.

"It's late." Sirius grumbled, brushing past Romina to get to their bedroom, "We should get some sleep."

Just like that - Sirius pushed his issues deep down just as he always did. The skin on her arms strung from where he has gripped her so tight but she ignored it and obediently followed him to the bedroom.

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Sleep did not find Romina so easily that night. She laid silent and still beneath the comforter, the cool air drifting around the room sent chills down her spine and caused her to sink deeper and further beneath the sheets. With one quick glance over to the other side of the bed Romina spotted Sirius fast asleep. It had only taken him a few minutes to fall asleep and she found herself aggravated that the fight started by him was also ended by him. He didn't seem to be bothered with it, with the fact that he accused her of sleeping with another man and that pissed her off.

Eventually she fell asleep, but it had not lasted long. She rolled over to her side, stretching her legs out before curling them back into her as she allowed her eyes to adjust. Four hours had passed and she found herself happy with that small amount of rest. If that was as best as she could get, she would take it. But once the mattress dipped behind her and she felt hot breath against the back of her neck, Romina realized she should have gotten up the moment her body shifted out of sleep.

As angry as she was with Sirius, the moment his lips touched the sensitive sliver of skin behind her ear, she turned into a puddle beneath him. Slowly her body turned just enough so she was laying flat on her back and allowed for his body to cage her in. Their eyes met and the silence continued before his lips dipped down and captured hers in a rough kiss.

She should have denied him. She was still angry but the moment she looked into the troubled swirls of dark brown, his eyes begging for her to oblige him and allow them both to get a release from the real world around them.

And she did.

Her knees parted, falling to the sides almost pressing into the mattress as Sirius settled his weight between her legs. The kiss became urgent, the heat increasing between them as Sirius allowed one hand to roam her side as the other kept him propped up so he wouldn't crush her completely. The pressure of need pooled between her thighs as Sirius' fingers found the soft flesh just below where she needed him most.

"Siri..." she pleaded against his lips, allowing his tongue to enter and swipe slowly against the roof of her mouth. Before she knew it, the clothes between them vanished. The sheer weight of him, hard and ready, pressing against her lower belly caused the heat to spread through her entire body. The anger she felt at him disappeared, atleast for the time being, as he notched his tip at her entrance. Her nails clawed at his shoulders, pulling him closer, begging him silently with the wiggle of her hips to take her.

He obliged her silent begging. Sheathing himself inside of her warmth, taking his time until he was settled completely inside of her to the hilt. His lips pulled from hers, his face burrowing into the crook of her neck as his hips began to move against her. Sirius' soft groans of pleasure echoed around the room before Romina cupped his face in her hands and brought him back down for a kiss.

Her feet locked around his waist, digging her heels into his lower back in an attempt to urge him deeper, harder. Tears had welled up in her eyes as she bit down on his lower lip. He hissed in pain, pulling away from her to stare down as he licked the small wound free of the blood Romina's teeth had brought to the surface. He stared down at her, allowing his hips to stop as she began bucking her own up into him.

They were desperate for a release. Blinding pleasure to rid their minds of what they would face come morning light. Mistrust. Anger. Heartache. Death.

Betrayal.