This chapter seems strangely lighthearted? It was a bit hard to write...

xxx-xxx

Sirius was on a blissful cloud nine, nothing could get him down. As he smiled down at his steaming tea, his mind wandered back to the what may one day be looked back upon as the best day of his life, the highlight of last week.

Severus turned to face Sirius, whose eye's refused to meet his. "What do you want us to be?"

"Together. Seeing each other."

Severus let out a breath he'd unwittingly held in anticipation. Remembering what Sirius had said earlier, he said, "I'm seeing you."

He sighed.

"I got a letter from the Ministry!" Lily announced as she entered the kitchen.

Right, there was still that whole ordeal to deal with. Sirius shifted in his chair, "What does it say?" he asked.

"I don't know, I haven't opened it yet."

"Well then," James said, following closely at Lily's heels. He made a wild gesture of taking the envelope from his girlfriend's hands. "Let's open it."

Dear Miss Lily Evans,

Thank you for informing the Ministry of Magic of this scheme. We at the Ministry will be enlisting the Aurors to help protect you and your friends as well as the general Muggle population in the area.

Enclosed is a letter from one our best Aurors who will be handling your case, Alastor Moody, further specifying their plans.

Best of Luck,

Lorcan McLaird, Minister for Magic

"Boring," James announced after reading the first piece of parchment.

Giving him a strange look, Lily grabbed the second letter and started reading.

Lily Evans,

I'll get right down to it, your friend is in danger. I'm sure you know how dangerous He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is, and I don't need to tell you to be vigilant, but I'll do it anyway.

There is no telling what kind of danger is afoot. Constant vigilance is the only way to be prepared. Be prepared to fight for your life.

The Aurors will be doing parameter sweeps every hour for the next month, starting August 1st.

Be cautious, I've had a homing signal device made for your friend. Make sure he/she keeps it on their person at all times. When the button is pressed, a signal will be sent to all personnel in the area and they will come to his aid.

Constant Vigilance,

Alastor Moody

Lily put down the letter, "What homing device?"

Sirius, who had somehow come into possession of the envelope, turned the envelope onto the kitchen table. A small circular object bounced a few times before settling on the wood.

"Huh." The three teens stared at the small sphere for a moment, unsure of what to do with it. Sirius for one had never seen anything like it before.

"It looks like a bouncy ball..." Lily said finally, picking it up to get a better look at it.

"Be careful not to set it off," Sirius uttered seriously.

"I won't." Tracing the seam down the middle of the ball, Lily opened it like a clam, revealing the small red button within. "Huh. This doesn't seem very magical. Weird."

"Whatever," James said. "As long as we get it to Sourgrapes." This earned him a slight elbow to the ribs.

xxx-xxx

Severus was only slightly surprised to see Sirius back on his doorstep. In fact, he almost smiled.

"One minute," Severus said, telling Sirius to stay outside. He went upstairs to get Watership Down, which he still hadn't finished, from his bedside table. He stopped in his parents' bedroom to tell his mum he was going out.

"Be careful," she said.

"I'm going with Sirius."

A smile that looked only slightly pained crossed her face, "okay."

Severus gave the same story to Tobias, stationed as always in front of the television. "I'm going out."

His father only grunted in reply.

Severus closed the door behind him and once again he was facing Sirius.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Sirius slipped his hand into the Slytherin's. Together in a comfortable silence, they strolled towards the creek.

The streets were nearly empty, only a couple of children playing make believe at the edge of the forest saw them. Severus tried to shake his hand loose, but Sirius only gripped tighter.

The little girl stood in front of them, blocking their way. "Are you in love?" she asked.

"Shut up, Laura!" The boy said, he was older and his face was flushed.

Sirius crouched down so he was level with Laura and smiled in that dazzling way, his hand still in Severus'. "We are very much in love," he said with a wink.

The little girl giggled as her friend herded her away from the young men. He stuck his tongue out and said, "go away, strange people."

Sirius stood up, a frown tugging at his lips. Severus had the sudden impulse to kiss him, but held back for modesty's sake. Instead he pulled Sirius towards their destination, his face growing warmer with every step.

"Hey, wait a second," Sirius called out, stopping mid-step and causing Severus to very nearly trip over a tree root.

"What?"

"Nothing," Sirius said, making up the space between them and giving Severus a quick kiss on the cheek."I saw you staring at me."

It was a little while before they finally reached the creek and Severus settled into his usual nook. Sirius settled on another root an leaned against the tree. The forest looked enchanted than usual, with its knobby trees

"Lily heard back from the Ministry this morning."

"Is that so?" Severus said, opening the thick book to the dog eared page. "What did they say?" He sounded calmer than he felt.

"They're sending a watch, and they got you this thing," Sirius took a small ball out of his pocket and handed it to the Slytherin. "It pops open, there's a button inside that sends a signal to the Aurors so they know you're being attacked."

Severus looked at the ball quizzically, "interesting." He dropped the ball into his pocket before turning back to the book.

"You're just going to read?" Sirius asked. "Waste of a date."

"What do you suggest?"

"There's the 'k' word." Sirius leaned in and brushed his lips against Severus' for a brief moment. "There are other words too." His voice was lower than usual, Severus gulped.

"I won't lie, my hormones are running rampant as well," Severus said, trying not to be drawn in. "But where can that go? I'm a monogamous person, and I think there needs to be more to a relationship than the physical stuff." He paused, "plus my lips are chapped."

Sirius huffed, "You're no fun." He really was quite childish. He sat back against the tree and crossed his arms over his chest.

Severus smiled and awkwardly attempted to wrap an arm around his... boyfriend's shoulder, pulling him near. He turned to the page he was on in Watership Down and began to read aloud, "late in the afternoon it came on dark and very close. it was plain that there would be no true sunset. on the green path by the riverbank, hazel sat fidgeting as he tried to imagine what might be going on in efrafa..."

xxx-xxx

Well then... How are you guys? I've been busy with school and procrastinating and stuff. Hope to move forward with this story sooner rather than later :)

edit: did some research and turns out Rufus Scrimgeour was Head Auror, not Moody. Mistakes have been fixed, etc. Enjoy your reading.