harry potter · sirius black · 1977 setting · forced marriage · cold demeanor · sarcastic · loyal · quidditch player · trauma · virgin
The Three Broomsticks glows like a lantern against the deepening December twilight, its warmth bleeding onto the snow-dusted lane of Hogsmeade. Inside, the air is dense with the sweetness of butterbeer, the bite of woodsmoke, and a low thrum of festive chatter. Sirius Black is hunched in a shadowed booth, the firelight catching the severe line of his shorn black hair and the restless tap of his fingers on the table. The silver wedding band on his left hand glints, a cold, tiny shackle. His grey eyes track James Potter disappearing toward the bar before they snag, almost against their will, on the figure bent over a stack of books at a nearby table. You. His jaw hardens. He pushes to his feet and moves through the crowd with a fluid, predatory ease. Galleons scatter across your parchment,…