A/N: Ahh, I'm sorry this took so long! I've been really busy with school, finals and such, and I've had this sitting around un-beta'd for a long time. But I have a wonderfully fabulous new Beta, Miss Ellarose C who beta'd two chapters for me in under two hours.

Last Chapter:

Sirius looked down at Lily. "Sorry for socking your boyfriend. I—"

"He's not my boyfriend anymore. You can whip his arse for all I care."

Sirius would have grinned if his jaw wasn't so painful. Emily took his hand again and started to pull him down the corridor.

"We'll see you lot later," she said. "Come on Sirius!"

Chapter Ten: Can't

"Back again so soon, Miss Br—oh!"

Madame Pompfrey put her hands on her faces and rushed over to the pair when she saw Sirius's blood-spattered face.

"Mr. Black, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" she asked, cupping his face in her hands for a moment before leading him to the nearest bed and making him sit on it.

She examined his face and set about charming; obviously, this wasn't the first time she'd had to do this. The cuts and his jawbone soon healed. She siphoned off the leftover blood with her wand.

"I don't expect I need to tell you that your face will feel bruised for a few hours," she said casually, "but you two may be on your way." She waved them out of the hospital wing doors.

As soon as the doors were shut, Emily groaned and turned to her companion.

"Well now that that's over with. What class do we have now?"

Sirius grinned mischievously. "How about 'none'?" he said, laughing. Her face broke into a smile.

"Fancy a stroll by the lake, Mr. Black?" Emily said in a very 'proper' voice, bowing in an old-fashioned manner.

"I would love to, Miss Brown," Sirius replied in the same formal tone and offered her his arm.

They continued to banter in this fashion until they reached the shore of the lake. Emily pulled her arm from Sirius's and sat down at the very edge of the water. She pulled off her socks and stuck her feet in. Sirius sat down beside her.

Her playful mood slowly evaporated as she stared across the ripples of the lake. They sat quietly, simply enjoying each other's company, until Emily broke the silence.

"Sirius?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Yes, love?"

She blushed slightly and said, "Do you… do you think I'm pretty?"

Sirius was startled by this question. Why wouldn't he think she was pretty? She was gorgeous! He gaped at her for a moment, and she looked at him curiously with those beautiful brown eyes that made his heart pound every time he looked into them.

"Of course I do, Ems! We all do. Remus, James, Lily, Peter…" He took her hand in his, "Why? Did someone say something to you?" he added fiercely, clenching his teeth slightly without realizing. "Who was it?"

"Oh, no!" She looked a little startled and she squeezed his hand ever so slightly. "No, no one said anything. I was just wondering." She looked down at their entwined fingers.

"You are so confusing, Emmy," he sighed.

She looked up at him again, clearly puzzled. "What are you on about?" The corners of her mouth curved up in a slight smile.

"Well…" He sighed again. "All girls are confusing. They can be so wonderful, and stunning and talented, and still be so insecure about themselves. I don't understand why,"
The left side of Emily's mouth was pulled up in a bitter kind of smile.

"And what exactly makes me so wonderful and talented and stunning?" she said. "I'm sure I can't see it myself."

"Well you're bloody good at Quidditch. We're best damn Beaters in the history of Hogwarts, if I do say so myself."

She laughed softly.

"What else?" she asked warmly. He noticed that her eyes were sparkling and felt a knot in his throat. He gulped.

"Well," he started, "You're very attractive, as if that wasn't already obvious…" She giggled softly. "You're intelligent, you're a good friend-"

"And I bet I could whoop your arse in a fight to boot," she cut in with a laugh, breaking the tension.

"Oh yeah? You think?" he teased. "Want to try it? Right here, right now?"

"You're on!" they both stood up and shook hands.

Emily grinned widely and put one foot back, holding her hands up, in the classic fighting pose. Sirius stuck his hands in his pockets and grinned back at her.

"What, you're not gonna fight back?" she teased him. She whipped out her wand and conjured a wooden sword from thin air. She jabbed it at his stomach and cried, "Have at thee!"

He dodged it and laughed, conjuring his own. They fenced with the wooden weapons, laughing heartily. But that didn't last for very long.

Soon, Emily had thrown aside her useless weapon and tried to tackle him, throwing punches that he caught deftly with his hands. After he caught one that she though had been particularly tricky, she squealed in frustration. She moved in close to his face, so their noses were almost touching and glared at him, her left fist still enclosed in his hand.

Sirius took a breath, not knowing the consequences. The moment he opened his mouth, he caught the scent of Emily's body and the world began to spin. Her proximity made him dizzy, and he suddenly lost his balance.

Her hand slipped from his and the warmth of her body left him as he fell backwards. He landed on the grass with a thud. He groaned and put a hand to his temple.

"Oh my gosh!" Emily gasped, "Siri, are you ok?" She bent over him and looked into his face.

Sirius squinted up into her beautiful face, framed by sunlight. She looked worried. Sirius, being the funny guy that he was, decided to lighten the mood a little. He got into a crouching position, acting like he was still hurt, and swung his leg around so it knocked her off her feet.

She shrieked loudly and flew forwards, landing on top of him. They both grunted at the impact.

"Sirius!" Emily cried, putting her hands on his face. "I'm sorry! Are you ok?"

He groaned.

"Argh, I'm sorry," she lay her head down on his chest and acted as though she was making herself comfortable.

"Erm…. Emily?" Sirius said, looking down at the curly blonde head of hair on his chest.

"Yes?" she replied slowly, her voice muffled slightly by his robes.

"Are you planning on…moving….anytime soon?"

"No. I'm quite comfortable."

"Are you not noticing how, erm," he gulped, "suggestive the position we're in is?"

"What? Suggestive?" She looked up at him, confused.

"Oh for the love of Merlin…." he muttered, and grabbed Emily's shoulders and, swiftly and carefully, rolled over to switch their positions. Her arms were up beside her head, pinned by his hands, and his knees were straddling her hips.

"Do you honestly not see anything at all strange about this?" he asked her dubiously.

She stared at him with wide eyes, her beautiful mouth slightly open in shock.

"You see, I could pretty much do anything I want to you right now," he said, raising an eyebrow, "even if you don't want me too."

She finally spoke, "L-like what?"

"Well," he said, pretending to be thoughtful, "I could tickle you until you cry." he smirked.

She gasped. "You wouldn't. Besides, you'd need a free hand for that."

"Hmm," he thought for another moment. "I expect your right. How about… this?" and he leaned down and licked her cheek.

"EWW!" she cringed away and squeezed her eyes shut. "that was gross, Sirius."

"Now let's see…" He pretended to be thoughtful again, but underneath he was suppressing a sudden terror of what he would say next:

"I suppose I could kiss you if I wanted."

She stared at him with wide eyes.

"What?" she whispered, her mouth moving soundlessly before forming the word.

"I could kiss you," he gulped, "if I wanted too."

"Oh." She looked a little crestfallen. "Do you want to?"

Without giving her an answer, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

The moment their lips touched, Sirius felt a bolt of electricity run through him. Every second was thrilling him beyond belief; he had been waiting for this for years.

He hadn't really known before, that he wanted this. He had only realized a few weeks ago that he liked her, but now, he knew that this is what he had been longing for. She was what he had been longing for.

His abrupt kiss startled her, but after a moment she began kissing him back hungrily. It was all she could do to lean her head up into his, because his hands still pinned hers.

Slowly, Sirius rolled to the side, pulling Emily with him so that she was lying on him again. He released her hands, and slid his around her waist and pulled her tighter to him.

Her hands were in his hair, messing with it, combing it through her fingers; on his face, pulling him closer; on his shoulder, clutching his cloak…

Then, suddenly, she was gone.

Sirius wrenched his eyes open and looked around. She was there, a few feet from him, scrambling away as fast as she could.

"Emily?" He reached out and grabbed her ankle. "Emily what's wrong?"

She looked back at him with wild, terrified eyes.

"Emily?" he asked her gently; she closed her eyes and shook her head fiercely.

"No, no, I can't…." she whispered.

"What?"

"I can't Sirius!" she cried suddenly. "I can't!"

"Emily!" he cried as she wrenched her ankle from his grasp and fled to the castle.

A/N: Please Review! I really appreciate you feedback. And if you see any typos or mistakes, please let me know and I'll try to fix them as soon as possible.
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