Alright, I know, this story is completely not compatible with the Harry Potter universe, but my little AU story just begged to be written. I really don't think the whole Sirius/Bellatrix thing is that far-fetched. I realize they are cousins, but in order to preserve the Black line, the parents may have hooked them up. They were very similar, and I feel that something could have happened between them. In this story, the two are only a year apart, Bellatrix being the elder. This takes place in Sirius' sixth year, and Bellatrix is on the brink of joining forces with Voldemort and the like, harboring prejudice against muggles and muggleborns. Title and lyrics from Long and Lonely Road by Hawk Nelson.

If you think that I'm going somewhere,

Take my hand, I'll lead you there

It's a long and lonely road

It's a long and lonely road

If you don't like it

Then please don't take it

It's a long and lonely road

Sirius came back from another of their encounters and harshly punched the wall. His face pulled into a grimace. "I don't know what I am doing, Prongs."

"Bellatrix again?" James inquired to the other boy in the room.

"Of course. Who else could possibly do this to me?" Sirius was silent for several minutes before he glanced back at James. "Can I tell you something?" Sirius took his best friend's nod as all the encouragement he needed to continue.

"We were betrothed when we were four and five. We were inseparable when we were younger, always finding adventure and getting into trouble. Our mothers reprimanded us constantly for not acting our status and setting a horrible example for Narcissa and Regulus. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with her. Then she went off to Hogwarts, and I was to follow her the coming year. No one planned on me being sorted into Gryffindor.

"We fight all of the time, but we don't actually hate each other. I think she is upset with me because she thinks I abandoned her, and I cannot stand the ones she aligned herself with. I need to do something about this right now before it is too late and cannot be fixed."

James took in his confession, and asked gently, "Are you still in love with her?"

"I don't know anymore."

James looked at his best friend with an unreadable expression on his handsome face. "Is she the first thing you think about when you wake up each morning?"

Sirius seemed as though he was trying to justify something to himself, but gave up and simply replied, "Yes."

James sighed and nodded. "Then you need to make up your mind about going after her. I can't honestly say that I am perfectly comfortable with the whole idea, but I do understand. We were raised in the high society, with old traditions and beliefs. You belong to one of the oldest surviving bloodlines of our world. It was instilled in you since birth that your family was different from the others, and truthfully, it is. You can't help who you love, Sirius, and you know that I will always back you up with your decisions, no matter how insane they might be."

Sirius smiled fleetingly before jumping up and rummaging around in his trunk. "James, I have to see if I have a chance. I need to know if she feels the same, otherwise I have nothing left for me in my family."

"Good luck, mate. All of the good luck in the world," James said, handing over his cloak and the map.

Sirius grabbed them, and stuffed something into his pocket before dashing out of the dorm and passing through the common room to the portrait.

Sirius did not need a map to find his cousin, knowing exactly where she would be after a fight. He found her perched on a window ledge, gazing at the moon, looking every bit the beautiful aristocratic girl she was. Approaching cautiously, he placed a gently hand on her shoulder, causing her to whirl around in surprise. Sirius was shocked to see tear tracks marring her pale cheeks, and she was just as shocked at seeing him next to her.

"I am sorry," he whispered, not daring to break the calming silence too much.

"Sirius," she began, but he cut her off before she was able to go any further.

He laid a finger on her lips. "No, Bella, listen. I am in love with you. I am so in love with you I don't know what to do. I need you to make a choice, right now. If you love me, then stay with me, and we will get married, just as our parents had planned for us those many years ago. We would be the perfect match, an amazing couple. Everyone would benefit; we would be happy, our parents could ensure the wealth stays in the family and that the line continues. However, if you choose to follow Voldemort, I cannot support your choice, and I will leave. There is nothing tying me to my family, nothing except you, and if you will not be with me, I will run away for good.

"So Bella, the choice is up to you. You told me you loved me once. If you do not want me, I will walk away and never look back." He stroked her cheeks with his fingers, brushing away the newly formed tears that fell from her eyelashes.

"Siri, don't make me choose. Please don't do this." Bellatrix's dark eyes met his grey ones.

Sirius bent his head and quickly captured her lips in a sweet kiss, hands tangling themselves in her black hair, identical to his own.

She pulled away shakily, turning her gaze to the bright moon.

"You are going against your family's beliefs, Siri."

He shook his head, "No, Bella, I just disagree with hurting innocent people."

Bellatrix closed her eyes for the briefest of moments, berating herself for showing weakness and playing his game. "Fine, I will do it. I will give it up for you," she breathed, looking back at him, expecting to see him gloating with a smirk on his face. He wasn't, but his eyes were little up as though Christmas had come early this year.

Sirius knelt on one knee, holding her hand in his. "Bella, will you marry me?"

Her jaw dropped, and she was unable to reply. She nodded slowly and he pulled a box out of the pocket of his robes. He opened it, revealing an elegant diamond ring, the perfect size and shape, and placed the ring on her finger.

"Siri, are we crazy?" Bellatrix whispered.

"Yes, but I think we just might be crazy enough to make this work." He said softly, before kissing her deeply, happy for the first time in many years to be a Black.