Hey guys! Chapter 10 is up… I know it's been a while, but here it is… I cannot believe it's been almost a year before I could upload another chapter… I'm really sorry… My conscience has been bothering me lately and I'm quite excited to type the new chapter! Hehehe… Hope you'll love it… Please read and review!

To my lovely and loyal reviewers, thank you so much for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own J. K. Rowling's stuff…

I'll Love You Until The End
Chapter 10: A Christmas of Broken Promises

He raised his wand as he spoke and half a dozen bottles came flying towards them out of the pantry. Skidded along the table, scattering the debris of Sirius' meal, and stopped neatly in front of the six of them. They all drank, and for a while the only sounds were those of the crackling of the kitchen fire and the soft thud of their bottles on the table.

Harry was only drinking to have something to do with his hands. His stomach was full o horrible hot, bubbling guilt. They would not be here if it were not for him; they would all still be asleep in bed. And it was no good telling himself that by raising the alarm he had ensured that Mr. Weasley was found, because there was also the inescapable business of it being he who had attacked Mr. Weasley in the first place.

Don't be stupid, you haven't got fangs, he told himself, trying to keep calm, though the hand on his Butterbeer bottle was shaking, you were lying in bed, you weren't attacking anyone…

But then, what just happened in Dumbledore's office? He asked himself. I felt like I wanted to attack Dumbledore too…

He put the bottle down a little harder than he meant to, and it slopped over on the table. No one took any notice. Then a burst of fire in midair illuminated the dirty plates in front of them and, as they gave cries of shock, a scroll of parchment fell with a thud on to the table, accompanied by a single golden phoenix tail feather.

"Fawkes!" said Sirius at once, snatching up the parchment. "That's not Dumbledore's writing --- it must be a message from your mother --- here---"

He thrust the letter into George's hand, who ripped it open and read aloud: "Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum."

George looked around the table.

"Still alive…" He said slowly. "But that makes it sound…"

He did not need to finish the sentence. It sounded to Harry, too, as though Mr. Weasley was hovering somewhere between life and death. Still exceptionally pale, Ron stared at the back of his mother's letter as though it might speak words of comfort to him. Fred pulled the parchment out of George's hands and read it for himself, then looked up at Harry, who felt his hand shaking on his Butterbeer bottle again and clenched it more tightly to stop the trembling.

If Harry had ever sat through a longer night than this one, he could not remember it. Sirius suggested once, without any real conviction, that they all go to bed, but the Weasleys' look of disgust were answer enough. They mostly sat in silence around the table, watching the candle wick sinking lower and lower into liquid wax, occasionally raising a bottle to their lips, speaking only to check the time, to wonder aloud what was happening, and to reassure each other that if there was bad news, they would know straightaway, for Mrs. Weasley must long since have arrived at St. Mungo's.

Fred fell into a doze, his head lolling sideways on to his shoulder. Ginny was curled like a cat on her chair, but her eyes were open; Harry could see them reflecting firelight. Ron was sitting with his head in his hands, whether awake or asleep, it was impossible to tell. Harry and Sirius looked at each other every so often, intruders upon the family grief, waiting… waiting…

At ten past five in the morning by Ron's watch, the kitchen door swung open and Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen. She was extremely pale, but when they all turned to look at her, Fred, Ron and Harry half rising from their chairs, she gave them a wan smile.

"He's going to be all right," she said, her voice weak with tiredness. "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now; he's going to take the morning off work."

Fred fell back into his chair with his hands over his face. George and Ginny got up, walked swiftly over their mother and hugged her. Ron gave a very shaky laugh and downed the rest of his Butterbeer in one.

"Breakfast!" said Sirius loudly and joyfully, jumping to his feet. "Where's that accursed house-elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!"

But Kreacher did not answer the summons.

"Oh, forget it, then," muttered Sirius, counting the people in front of him, "So, it's breakfast for --- let's see --- seven… bacon and eggs, I think, and some tea, and toast –-- "

Harry hurried over to the stove to help. He did not want to intrude on the Weasleys' happiness and he dreaded the moment when Mrs. Weasley would ask him to recount his vision. However, he had barely taken plates from the dresser when Mrs. Weasley lifted them out of his hands and pulled him into a hug.

"I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for you, Harry" she said in a muffled voice. "They might not have found Arthur for hours, and then it would have been too late, but thanks to you he's alive and Dumbledore's been able to think up a good cover story for Arthur being where he was, you've no idea what trouble he would have been in otherwise, look at poor Sturgis…"

Harry could hardly bear her gratitude, but fortunately she soon released him to turn to Sirius and thank him for looking after her children throughout night. Sirius said he was very pleased to have been able to help, and hoped they would all stay with him as long as Mr. Weasley was in the hospital.

"Oh, Sirius, I'm so grateful… they think he'll be there a little while and it would be wonderful to be nearer… of course, that might mean we're here for Christmas."

"The more the merrier!" said Sirius with such obvious sincerity that Mrs. Weasley beamed at him, threw an apron and began to help with breakfast.

"Sirius," Harry muttered, unable to stand it a moment longer. "Can I have a quick word? Er --- Now?"

He walked into the dark pantry and Sirius followed. Without preamble, Harry told his godfather every detail of the vision he had had, including the fact that he himself had been the snake who had attacked Mr. Weasley.

When he paused for breath, Sirius said, "Did you tell Dumbledore this?"

"Yes," said Harry impatiently, "but he didn't tell me what it meant. Well, he doesn't tell me anything any more."

"I'm sure he would have told you if it was anything to worry about," said Sirius steadily.

"But that's not all," said Harry, in a voice only a little above a whisper. "Sirius, I… I think I'm going mad. Back in Dumbledore's office, just before we took the Portkey… for a couple of seconds there I thought I was a snake, I felt like one --- my scar really hurt when I was looking at Dumbledore --- Sirius, I wanted to attack him!"

He could only see a sliver of Sirius's face; the rest was in darkness.

"It must have been the aftermath of the vision, that's all," said Sirius. "You were still thinking of the dream or whatever it was and ---"

"It wasn't that," said Harry, shaking his head, "it was like something rose up inside me, like there's a snake inside me."

"You need to sleep," said Sirius firmly. "You're going to have breakfast, then go upstairs to bed, and after lunch you can go and see Arthur with the others. You're in shock, Harry; you're blaming yourself for something you only witnessed, and it's lucky you did witness it or Arthur might have died. Just stop worrying."

He clapped Harry on the shoulder and left the pantry leaving Harry standing alone in the dark.

Sirius returned to the kitchen a few minutes after the group had left to visit Arthur in St. Mungo's. The table had already been cleaned, leaving him with nothing left to do. He sighed, realizing that his boredom had settled in yet again. He actually didn't mind that the others had gone to the hospital. After all, he told himself, they'd be back after a few hours. Initially, he was quite miserable when Molly didn't permit him to go. But he cheered himself up remembering what Reina had promised him more or less two weeks ago. She had promised to visit him at this dreadful house and keep him company for the Christmas. As it turns out, he had more visitors than he had expected. But it was her company he sought for. He smiled to himself and went up to his bedroom, plopping down on the cushions as he reached his bed and fallen into a deep sleep.

Sirius woke up in good spirits hours later. He had dreamed of Reina (again) and the memory of their kiss. It was their first in years having spent so much time apart. He remembered the way her lips had touched his, the way they never seemed to withdraw from the other person's body, only until a few minutes later. He memorized everything that happened that night in Willowwilt Manor. He remembered how soft her skin felt, how glassy her eyes were when she opened it. He grinned, hoping that in the following days to come, it will happen for a second time. He stretched his body, removing the tiredness of his sleep away.

Sirius found the house already bustling with the anticipated Christmas activities. He proceeded to the kitchen, entering the room with such cheerfulness. Everyone in the room had looked at him. Some were smiling; others were simply just stared. He surveyed the room quickly, noticing that only Harry was missing.

"Where's Harry?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Upstairs in his and Ron's room." Fred supplied.

"Said he wanted to rest or something like that." George added.

Sirius nodded and sat beside Molly who was sorting out the menu for dinner. He gave a few comments and suggestions, which Molly returned with a beam of satisfaction. He leaned to the back of his chair and grinned inwardly. He was quite excited to see Reina again and it wasn't until early the next morning. His smile was shown on his face and delight lined his face.

Days have passed since Christmas was celebrated in Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Sirius had waited anxiously for Reina's arrival. But Christmas flew and they already the New Year's coming. And yet Reina still hadn't graced Sirius with her presence. Sirius had become sullen and agitated, especially with the departure of Harry, Ginny, Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione for Hogwarts in a few days' time. He'd hate to think that Reina had forgotten her promise. And his mood dropped to its all time low.

Yeah, end of chapter. This isn't exactly a nice chapter, but I promise that I'll make it up to you guys with the next one. I have good ideas and I'll hope you'll like it… hehehe… For now, please read and review… Luv lots… ruriko-chan…