Luise_Mau: I have to agree:) Also, I insinuated in the previous chapter that Sirius just wrote to Emmeline to ask if they could talk about what happened.

iceandfire 105: Well I'm happy that you're happy:) Enjoy this next chapter!

glazedwater: '"Far from excellent"? I hope that was a compliment;) Lol hope you like this next chapter!

aniemoses: I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it! Here's the next chapter for you:)

Monday

January 14th

12:01 am

Gryffindor Common Room

Emmeline, taking the hint, began to speak: "Look, Sirius, I…"

She was unable to finish that thought, however, as Sirius had suddenly moved forward and kissed her, silencing any apology she had in its tracks.

Emmeline froze, shocked for a moment, before responding to him, her eyes fluttering closed. Wonder and confusion and excitement filled her heart as she kissed him back, and her mind swirled with thoughts about what this meant.

Can this really be happening?

After several blissful moments, Sirius broke the kiss, pressing his forehead to hers in order to maintain their closeness. Emmeline exhaled, a little breathless, and she blinked a couple times, trying to register dimly what just happened. Was he trying to tell her something?

"Sirius," she breathed, beseeching him.

"Emmeline, I don't want to be with Siobhan."

Marlene blearily blinked her eyes open, dimly registering it was till dark out. Her throat felt very dry, and she reached blindly for the divide in her four-poster's curtains. She yanked them open before sitting upright, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and groping in the dark for the goblet of water sitting on her bedside table.

She found it, and she took a grateful gulp, wiping her mouth as she glanced around the dark dormitory. The curtains on the four-posters that held the other sixth-year girls were all closed, and the soft breathing and snoring issuing from them indicated they were all asleep. Marlene then glanced over at Emmeline's bed, and her heart stopped:

The curtains were open. And the bed was empty.

"Not again," She whispered in a panic, jumping to her feet.

Emmeline pulled back to stare up into Sirius's face. She saw a sort of longing there that she'd never seen in him before, and she blinked again.

"What?" she asked quietly, though she was quite sure she heard correctly.

He shook his head. "I never wanted to be with Siobhan," he hesitated, looking earnest. "There's been someone else."

Emmeline looked back at him, hardly believing what she was hearing. "Really?"

He smiled nervously, and Emmeline felt the beginnings of hope burgeon in her heart. "Yes. She's amazing, and beautiful, and smart…" His eyes burned with sincerity. "And I haven't been able to stop thinking about her."

Emmeline's heart was beating painfully hard as he said these impossible words. She could only stare at him.

"I'm sorry I never said anything," Sirius's smile faded. "It's just…" he blinked, frowning uneasily. "I guess I didn't really expect you to feel the same way."

Emmeline looked at him a moment before a smile spread across her face – she suddenly felt inexplicably and irrefutably happy.

"Sirius." She whispered his name with a quiet reverence, and her heart filled with joy. "Of course I feel the same way."

The reaction on Sirius's face as she said those words made her heart soar. "Really?" he croaked after a moment, as if hardly daring to believe what she said.

"Yes," she blushed, still smiling widely. "I'd wanted to kiss you for such a long time, but when I did, I was afraid I'd made you uncomfortable. So I ran away."

Sirius blinked at her, still looking completely dumbfounded by her admission. "Seriously?" he asked, and Emmeline giggled, her eyes shining.

"You really didn't know I liked you?"

He continued to stare at her for a moment before slowly beginning to smile. "Well no, not really! I mean, I know you kissed me and everything, but I've been acting like a huge prat for so long, I didn't know if you actually meant it." He shook his head, his sincerity evident. "I can't believe I hung out with all those other girls for so long when you… I mean– " he laughed. "You're just so… you're amazing and… and when I'm with you, I just…"

He shook his head again, unable to find the right words to properly express the extent of his feelings for her. Emmeline's smile widened as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. Throat constricted, she let out a watery laugh before the words pounding around in her brain came spilling out of her mouth:

"I really like you."

Sirius laughed again, continuing to grin like an idiot. "I really like you, too."

They both smiled from ear to ear, and Sirius moved forward to press his lips against hers in another ardent kiss. Emmeline smiled against him, reaching up to grasp his face in her hands. Sirius moved his hands down so he gripped her waist, smiling against her as he did so. His arms snaked around her, pulling her closer to him, and Emmeline moved her hands up so her fingers tangled in his dark hair. After a moment, Sirius lightly pressed his forehead to hers, smiling happily against her lips. Emmeline smiled too, and felt that everything was absolutely perfect.

Marlene was halfway down the stairs when she heard sounds from the common room; she stopped in her tracks, listening intently. Was that Emmeline? There was only one way to find out – Marlene quietly tiptoed her way down the rest of the steps, peeking around the doorway, apprehensive as to what she might find:

What she found was Emmeline and Sirius standing together near the fireplace, locked in an affectionate embrace.

Marlene silently slapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes so wide they almost popped out of her skull. She immediately pulled back around so she was pressed against the wall of the stairwell, out of sight of the two. Her heart was jumping in her chest, due to both her acute fear of being caught as well as just the shock of what she had caught them doing.

Sirius and Emmeline – together! In the middle of the night!

Merlin's beard!

Marlene slowly brought her hand down from her mouth, having a sudden urge to giggle hysterically. Her face was flaming red; she didn't think they had noticed her (they did seem a bit preoccupied after all), and she tried to keep as quiet as possible, despite the stupid grin that threatened to split her face in two. Subduing her smile and pressing her lips together, she swiftly and silently hurried back up the stairs toward the dormitory, deciding to leave them to it.

She didn't know how long they had been sneaking around together, but she honestly didn't want to know. They obviously wanted to keep it a secret, and she was going to respect that. Marlene quietly slipped back into bed, grinning into her pillow, with only three words on her mind:

About bloody time.

Sirius was beside himself. Never in a million years did he think this would happen: that Emmeline Vance would say these things to him! That this girl – this girl – would kiss him and hold him and say how she felt about him! It was a strange, wonderful sensation for him to be so open about his feelings for her too. She was now his, and he was hers – their hearts were out on their sleeves, exposed and vulnerable: but it was amazing, and Sirius's brain was wrapped in a delighted fog. He prayed he would never wake up from this wonderful dream.

And to think he had wanted to say goodbye to her…

Emmeline's nose brushed his as she smiled up at him. "We should be getting back to bed soon."

Sirius smiled too, the taste of her still on his lips. "Must we?"

Emmeline played with the hair at the nape of his neck, considering his words. "Mm… no, not yet." She whispered, grinning sweetly at him, and he grinned back. They were silent for a few seconds as they held one another, savoring the moment.

Emmeline suddenly giggled. "I just remembered, I'm in my pajamas."

Sirius pulled back a little so he could smile at her. "So? So am I, and I think you look beautiful."

Emmeline blushed and grinned back at him. "That's really sweet of you, but it's just that whenever I pictured this moment, I didn't look like I was about ready to go to bed." She shrugged, embarrassed, and Sirius's smile widened.

"Oh, I dunno… I'm pretty happy with how this moment played out." Sirius pulled her closer to him, grinning. Emmeline smiled too; she leaned forward and kissed him chastely on the lips, the affection shining in her eyes as she pulled back and gazed up at him.

"Me too."

Sirius smiled again, and he wondered idly if he would ever stop. Just as he thought that, however, another idea came unbidden to his mind, breaking the spell. His smile faded slightly.

"What do you think we should do now?" he asked her quietly, and Emmeline's smile faded too.

She sighed, tightening her hold around his neck. "I don't know. All I know is I just want to stand here with you for as long as I possibly can."

Sirius's heart sped up at her words. How could he have been so lucky as to capture the heart of this amazing, beautiful girl? He moved his hands up so they were on either side of her face, his thumbs lightly brushing her cheeks, and he leaned down to kiss her again, his touch reassuring and gentle. She responded to him, and after a few seconds, he pulled away, once again pressing his forehead to hers, trying to convey all his feelings for her in a single touch.

"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered, and he felt her smile against him. "I want you to know that nothing is going to change when we wake up tomorrow morning. I'll still feel the same way – I really want this to work."

In her eyes he saw joy, amusement, and excitement, all rolled together in one beautiful look. She beamed up at him, and Sirius felt his heart skip a beat.

"Me too, Padfoot. Me too," she whispered, smiling at him, and he let out a small chuckle. "Do you think we should tell the others though?"

Sirius had thought about that – should the others know about them? People like James and Marlene seemed to have some idea, but all things considered, Sirius wanted to enjoy this new intimacy with Emmeline for as long as he possibly could before their friends got involved.

"Let's hold off on that. At least for a little while," Sirius muttered, and he saw the relieved look flash across Emmeline's face. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Emmeline nodded emphatically. "I mean, I do want to tell them eventually…"

"…In time," Sirius agreed, and Emmeline smiled.

"…but for now, I want it to be… well," Emmeline blushed slightly. "…I'd like it to be just us for awhile."

Sirius smiled at the magical words – just us. So full of promise and potential; he had never believed he could feel this happy.

"Just us," he repeated, smiling, and Emmeline glowed.

Sirius didn't know what was going to happen in the coming days, but when Emmeline leaned forward to kiss him again, any worries he had dissolved into blissful oblivion. He knew he and Emmeline would find a way to make this work. It was going to be difficult, but right now, Sirius felt he could do just about anything.

They finally said goodnight, and Sirius felt he couldn't wait for the next morning.

This chapter is probably the mushiest thing I've ever written. You're welcome!

Next chapter will be up soon! If you enjoyed this one, please leave a review:)