Chapter 21

I

During the following week, we had our meeting with Dumbledore. Lily and James postponed their Heads meeting with McG to attend this one. I knew I wanted to contribute and fight my family's inhumane fixation on muggles. Sirius, James, Lily, Remus, Frank, Alice and I stepped into Dumbledore's office.

"Good evening, Gryffindors. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Our Headmaster asked. He cut to the chase. I love this old man.

I opened the conversation by telling Dumbledore about Devon's visit.

'We heard you are forming a group again Voldemort. If we decide to join, what is required?" Remus asked.

"Yes, I am. First, you will receive training from my best experts in combat. Then we present other possible situations, such as Occlumency and Legilimency, and practice them in order to master them. It may include psychical and mental tribulations, but we will overcome them together." He finished with a sigh.

"Professor, where would the meetings take place? Obviously secrecy is much needed." Lily rightfully asked. I wondered the same.

"Not to worry, I will notify you before each meeting. I assure you, the meetings will take place in the evenings so they won't affect your exams. Ms. Osborne, for obvious reasons, you are not to attend any of our meetings." Dumbledore answered.

I really wanted to make a difference, so I told him I would join after the birth of our child. The rest agreed to join, without any doubts. They felt the same as I did. The next meeting was during the following week.

II

April came by quickly, and we spent the Easter holiday at the Potters. It was a blessed week. Sirius and I were scouting for flats to rent. We contacted five owners before the holiday and set dates to see the apartments. On the second day of the holiday, we saw two flats which we liked at first but then changed our minds. On the next day, we saw three other flats all in Hogsmeade. We instantly fell in love with the last one and decided to rent it. We came to an agreement with the owner that we would move in on July 5th. We spent the rest of the holiday with our friends, having the time of our lives.

Unfortunately, the holiday was over and we returned to school. So far the Order of the Phoenix had six meetings and everyone shared experiences from those meetings. They trained more advanced spells, combat techniques and more things. I was frustrated that I couldn't join yet, but secretly admiring my swollen belly and growing baby.

I suddenly took notice of Peter who looked more ghastly and thinner, not that he was handsome. I had a weird feeling about him which at times made me sick to my stomach. I shared my feelings with Sirius, but he dismissed it by saying "He's always like that." Remus, on the other hand, agreed with me and one day decided to confront Peter. It happened when we sat in the common room.

"I'm fine Remus. Why wouldn't I be?" Peter asked worriedly. I noticed he quivered every time someone approached him.

"You don't sit with us anymore. You don't join us once a month." James added quietly. He knew Peter had understood what he meant. Peter mumbled that this separation was because of his sick grandmother.

"Oh, please." I head Sirius mutter disbelievingly. This whole story with his grandmother was farfetched and the other Marauders had enough.

"That's crap and you know it." Remus eyed Peter warily. Peter's frightful expression on his face turned ugly. He was angry suddenly.

"I don't have to listen to this. My best friends don't believe me!" Peter cried out and left the dormitories angrily.

"What the hell…?" James was shocked.

"He's never acted this way before." Remus said. Sirius looked as if he couldn't care less about what just happened.

"I think you should have a quiet talk with him. Perhaps he felt attacked and threatened by our sudden concern. Go to him." The last part was addressed to James by Lily. James looked at her and then at Remus and Sirius. The three got up simultaneously from the sofas.

"You're right, Lily. We should talk to him alone and calmly." Remus said. They left to speak with Peter.

It seemed like forever waiting for them to return. It was about 5 o'clock that they returned, without Peter. Lily made me hot chocolate, after numerous pleads. I love the way she made it.

"Well? What happened?" I asked them, gently placing the hot mug on a table. They had a grave look on their faces.

"We didn't actually speak to him." James had his arms crossed on his chest.

"What did you do, then?" Lily asked.

"We followed him and he was walking to the dungeons. He spoke with my brother and Snape." Sirius scowled.

"About what?" I asked. I had my suspicions and wanted to know if they were true.

"We couldn't hear much, but Voldemort was mentioned. We have to stop Peter from socializing with that sort of crowd." Remus answered as he typically put his hand in his front pockets of his jeans.

"What are we going to do, Prongs?" Sirius asked James.

"We always knew Peter was the docile one in the group, but I never expected him to befriend Snivellus. I honestly don't know what we should do about him." He replied gravely.

I knew this troubled them deeply, more than they would admit. Sirius looked up at me and said that he wanted to talk to me privately. We went up to his room and I was relieved that we were alone.

We sat on his bed as Sirius said "We haven't spent much time together since we've joined the Order. I have to make it up to you. I'm taking you out to dinner tomorrow, so wear something fancy." He grinned at the last part. That smile will always give me butterflies in my stomach.

"It's alright. I know you've been really busy lately. I can't wait for tomorrow." I kissed him softly on the lips.

His cupped my face with his hands and said gently "I'm so lucky to have you in my life. I'll do anything to keep you and our baby safe."

"I know. I love you so much." I said.

"I love you too, sweetheart." Sirius smiled at me.

III

It was late when I came back from his room, but the girls knew I was there. On the next morning, I told them about Sirius' surprise dinner invitation, and they offered to help me get ready after our classes. At breakfast, Lily noticed that Sirius was 'glowing', sort of speak. She sensed that he was giddy with delight.

"About what, do you reckon?" I asked her. She shrugged and kept munching on her bagel. So much for your help. I asked Alice, but she shrugged as well. What was up with them?

After we finished, we headed to our classes according to our schedules. I was with Alice and Remus in Potions.

"What do you have a check- up?" Alice asked me before our double Potions class.

"I think the day after tomorrow, I have to make sure." I replied as Slughorn entered the classroom.

I couldn't wait any longer for lunch; I literally counted the minutes. This happened during our DADA double period. Luckily, Sirius was in the same class and snuck a chocolate bar under the table. I was so grateful for him, but he reprimanded me in a note that I should eat more often.

I wolfed down my lunch and received many looks from my friends. "What? I have a good reason to eat like a pig." I stuck my tongue at them as some of them laughed.

"I have an idea. Let's have a bet. Fifteen galleons it's a girl." Alice said confidently.

"That's a lot of money!" I hissed at her. I didn't want her to spend a lot of money on that. Honestly, the baby's sex didn't matter to me.

"No way, it's a boy!" James scoffed.

"If you're so sure, join in." Alice smirked. I don't know how but she managed to get a hold of a small jar to place the money.

James place five galleons in the jar. Alice wrote on parchment who placed a bet, the sex of the baby, and how much. Sirius and I didn't really care about it, but more amused by it. Everyone of our friend placed a bet. There were slightly over a thousand galleons in the jar. James, Frank, Lily thought it was a boy. Remus, Rebecca and Alice thought it was a girl. Yes, surprise surprise, Rebecca is still with Remus, stronger than ever. I couldn't be happier for them; they are a cute couple.

"We'll know on the day with give birth. Some of us might try to tick you and Sirius into telling us, but don't give in!" Alice was really into this silly bet. Remus was appointed to guard the jar.

What an interesting lunch.

IV

After another day of classes and tension, Sirius and I skipped dinner for our own romantic getaway. I wore a red strapless dress which reached my knees (thanks to Lily's amazing sense of fashion) and Alice did my makeup. Sirius wore a gray buttoned up shirt and black trousers. We looked amazing and excited. We went through a secret passageway and found ourselves in Hogsmeade. I love this place so much, it has a special appeal. Sirius made reservations at a new restaurant that played muggle music. We were seated in a small corner which was near a large window. We were given menus and inspected them. Sirius and I ordered a steak with chips.

Lily was right about Sirius – he was radiant. We had a nice dinner and chatted. It was during dessert when things got more serious.

"Listen, we've been through a lot this past year. We started from barely knowing each other and then having a baby together. It went by so fast, but it feels real and natural to me, you know?" Sirius shared.

I nodded. "I feel complete with you." I said softly.

"So do I, but I feel that there's one more thing we should do."

"What's that?" I asked.

Sirius got up from his chair, pulled out a small box from his jacket. He kneeled in front of me.

Oh shit.

"Vivian Osborne, will you marry me?"

He opened the box that revealed a large ring composed from a band of small diamonds and a larger diamond in the middle.

"Oh my…" He caught me off guard, all right.

"What do you say?"

I was stunned. That's why Sirius has been acting odd lately. I already knew my answer.

"Yes, I'll marry you!" I cried out happily. He got up, slid the ring on my finger and shared a wonderful kiss.