For a moment Sirius could have sworn his heart stopped, and he wondered if Amanda leaping off the cliff like that was just another horrible dream. But then he realised she wasn’t falling.

Instead she was floating, with her closed palms facing downward and big stupid grin on her face.

He frowned, momentarily angry that she had scared him so much. The anger was followed again by more fear but this time it was in response to the previous emotion. He identified them as what they were and then he forced himself to be still and silent until he was calm again, until both the anger and the fear were gone. It was his rule and he was well practised at it. When he finally spoke only curiosity remained.

“Levitation magic?”

She shook her head. “Telekinesis.”

He frowned. On first glance she looked well balanced there, as if it were easy to just float. Sure she wobbled a little and on closer inspection he could see the shake in her arms. It was obvious she had her hands angled specifically for this. Both were clenched in fists but he was willing to bet that if she hadn’t needed to hold onto the sand with one hand then both would be open. Having only one open would set her off balance. But despite all of that…

“I don’t think even Shiv can just float in the air like that.”

Her grin widened.

But she hadn’t taken much sand.

“How much magic is in that? Can you tell?” He asked quickly in case he should get her to hurry back above solid land before the magic ran out.

A focused look crossed her face and then she smiled again and replied, “At least a few more minutes I think.”

“You think?”

She smiled slyly and then with a delicate twist of her wrists she managed to maneuver herself back onto the rock. From the look of concentration that fell over her face he could tell that it was not an easy task. Once she set down she smiled again.

Sirius let out a breath of air he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. He also registered that she’d just done the same. “Perhaps that’s something that better practised over water.” He nodded down toward the bay.

“How about a swim then?” she suggested. She pointed toward a series of sheltered little lagoons. “Down there?”

She licked her lips and he was momentarily distracted. When she glanced toward him with those big brown eyes he was briefly reminded of the last time he’d seen her swimming and despite the fact that he’d seen her naked several times now since then he could feel the heat rising and his heart start to beat a little faster. On the outside he tried to remain as cool as a cucumber. He had no idea if he’d managed it or not. He tried to think of other things. “It’s a good fishing spot too. Perhaps we can catch some lunch.”

“Sounds good.” Amanda nodded. Then without warning she threw herself from the cliff and proclaimed “Race yah!” as she drifted steadily down to the ground with borrowed telekinesis before taking off down the path.

Sirius remained seated where he was for a moment, frowning thoughtfully. Then, in no rush at all he carefully made his way back down the rock. Finally with his feet on the ground he smiled to himself. Amanda didn’t know the island. She’d taken the path they’d just come up but Sirius knew another way.

It required a little bush bashing and a short down-climb or two but none of it was a problem for him. There were plenty of handholds and vines to help with the down-climbing and he pushed branches out of the way with ease. His long coat protected his arms and legs from any scratches. He was even careful not to damage any plants too much. He reached the sea lagoon before Amanda did and then made his way slowly to where he knew her path emerged. There he took a comfortable seat on a warm rock and waited.

The look on her face when she skidded out of the bush and onto softer sand was priceless. He did his very best not to smile and give the game away.

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She was speechless for almost an entire minute, just opening and closing her mouth like a fish, something that did not seem to happen often with her. Then she frowned and asked, “Did you teleport?”

“Nope,” he replied.

She frowned again and looked around, obviously scanning for another path. “How did you get down here before I did? I ran the whole way.”

“Secret.” He grinned.

The look of frustration on her face was adorable.

“Did you dreamwalk here?” She asked it hesitantly like she didn’t think it was the right answer.

“Nope.”

She put her hands on her hips then walked over a took a seat beside him. For a little while she was silent and focused like she was trying to figure it out, then she glanced to the side, toward the lapping waves of the lagoon only a few meters below them.

Her face changed. Her eyebrows rose. “There’s something down there,” she remarked.

He turned to peer over the side of the rock, thinking she’s just seen a fish, but after a moment of staring at what seemed to just be clear blue water and white sand, he noticed a sparkle.

He twisted his entire body around and tilted his head at a different angle to try and make out what it was.

“See? There!” She pointed.

He nodded. Then he stood up and started to remove his clothing. There was only one way he was getting proper look at whatever it was.

Amanda gave him a surprised look at first then she cocked her head slightly to the side and watched him without a word. Her eyes traced every inch of him.

Once he was stark naked he stepped up to the edge of the rocks and peered down to see if he could find the shimmer again.

This movement snapped Amanda out of whatever thoughts she was distracted by, and she remarked, “It’s probably deeper than it looks.”

He nodded.

A moment later she added, “Although maybe don’t jump in headfirst either.”

She sounded worried and for some reason that made him want to try something dangerous, to show off. Unused to the feeling he paused a moment to consider it. Where was that coming from? And would it really be so bad to jump head first? Usually he would say yes if the depth was unknown, but the water was clear and he thought he had a pretty good estimate at the approximate depth of this pool. Making up his mind, he leaped out in a swan dive, ducking his head just before he hit the water.

Amanda leaned over the edge of the rock and didn’t let her breath out until she could see his muscular form swimming down near the sand, searching for whatever it was that was down there. When he’d jumped in head first she’d been worried he might hit the bottom. Actually his dive had been surprisingly graceful and watching him spring into action like that made her want to pull him back out and drag him up the beach for an entirely different sort of action.

She watched as his hand seemed to close around something in the sand. She expected him to come up then but he didn’t. Instead he swam forward and directly under the rock she was on.

What the hell?! Was there a cave under there? Amanda leaned forward as far over as she dared but she couldn’t see any sign of him. She’d done enough cave diving before to know you didn’t just go into any old cave willy-nilly like that, especially not without any scuba gear.

She panicked and considered if she should jump in after him. She kicked her boots off just in case, watching the pool the entire time. Given his size though, it wasn’t like she’d be able to do much. Maybe he knew this area? Maybe there was an air pocket? A couple minutes passed and still there was no sign of Sirius.

She was just about to strip the rest of her clothes off and jump in when suddenly he reappeared, grinning like a mad fool. He pulled himself up to the rock edge with ease, and then he tossed a live lobster at her feet.

“I got lunch,” he said in a completely relaxed tone. He didn’t even sound out of breath.

“Are you insane?” she cried. “I thought you had drowned. What? Is there an air pocket under there or something?” She tried to peer over the edge again but the cave was fully submerged from this angle.

“No, but I can hold my breath for a pretty long time.” He said it without a hint of bravado, just as if he were stating a fact. “And I found this.” He held out what looked like a gold ring.

The sight of the ring made her pause. She took in from him and turned it over in her hands. Delicately she poked it with her magic. She sensed something there but it was faint and unfamiliar.

“I’m not sure what this is,” she said with a frown.

“Gold.”

“Real gold?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

As she watched a few drops of water fall from his dark hair and make their way down his bare shoulders and chest she remembered how scared she’d been while he was under the water. She pocketed the ring and as she reached out to take him gently by the beard she said, “You really worried me there you know? For a second I thought I was going to have to fish you out.”

Then she kissed him passionately and deeply, fueled by her thoughts of losing him. When she broke free again, she said, “Never scare me like that again.”

Her gaze found his bare skin again and she reached out to touch him, to pull him closer. She tugged him toward her, luring him to climb up and over her. A moment later she was lying beneath him on the sand, his large form dripping water all over her, but she didn’t care how wet she got or that the sand was getting in her hair. All she cared about was him.

As they paused between another kiss, Sirius mumbled, “Um, you’re not helping with the me not wanting to do that again.”

She laughed and then, in a sly voice she asked, “So, exactly how long can you hold your breath for?”