Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing from the wonderful world of Harry Potter because that all belongs to the brilliant JK Rowling! Sadly, because I totally love Sirius Black!

Once more, thank you everyone! Honestly, thank you so, so much. The insane amount of support I'm getting and all of the great feedback this story is getting is just incredible. So, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, they make me so, so happy! Thank you to everyone who had added this story to your alerts or favorites, because I know that you're all keeping watch on this story! And thank you to everyone who has added me to as one of their favorite authors, I never expected that so thank you again!

This story has a come a long way since I decided to write it. I never thought in a million years that this story would make it this far. I really believed that I would post a couple of chapters and it wouldn't get reviewed so I would just have to stop-yet, here I am, on chapter twenty-six with plans for many, many more! So long as everyone still wants more, I'll definitely continue to write.

This is a chapter I've been really wanting to write, it's just another little milestone in Elaine and Sirius's relationship! I really hope that I was able to convey the feelings that I wanted to get across, and if it sounds scrambled, I think it kind of should be if that makes sense. I tried my best to make sure that this chapter really gets across just how important this relationship is to both of them.

I've also been asked multiple times why this story is rated M and there is a reason. I do curse every so often in a couple of chapters, but there will be some explicit scenes lol. There is a reason for the M rating, I swear! It will happen!

So, with that being said, here's chapter twenty-six and I really hope you all enjoy it! Please excuse any errors!

Thank you again!

-Yani :)

Chapter Twenty-Six

February fourteenth, otherwise known as Valentine's Day to all of the lovestruck fools-meaning me-came in an instant. It had been over a month since my return to Hogwarts and I had to admit, it had been the best month and a half of my entire life. Sirius was perfect, there was honestly no other word to describe him, despite the fact that girls were practically flinging themselves at him every second of every day, he paid zero attention to them. The relief I felt was immense, and the insane amount of adoration I was feeling towards him was the most intense satisfaction ever.

The scariest thing, though, was that my feelings for Sirius were growing stronger and stronger each and every day. He was my life. I woke up thinking about him, fell asleep with him on his mind, and thought about him every moment in between. It just amazed me that only after just such a short time of being together, that I had fallen in love with him. I was in love with him. There was no doubt in my mind about that. I was in love and I had no idea how to tell him. I suppose Valentine's Day would have been as good as any day, but I wasn't sure I would be able to tell him without freaking out.

The morning of Valentine's Day I woke up first in the dormitory, which seemed to be happening more often than it had since I was eleven years old. I showered quickly, way too excited for my special Hogsmeade date that lied ahead with Sirius, which he was being really cryptic about. Since it was cold I put on a red v-necked sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans that I tucked in to my favorite pair of boots. I pulled some of my hair back with one of my mother's clips that I had kept out from my father's box, and took a look in the mirror.

My cheeks were flushed with excitement.

"Elaine! I hate when you wake up first!" Lily screamed and then ran in to the bathroom throwing herself in to the shower.

I laughed. "Sorry?"

She grumbled something from under the shower head but I couldn't hear her.

I rolled my eyes and walked out in to the dorm room and sat my shower bag on the side of my bed. Kendra was stirring around in her bed while Charlie was sitting up and winking at me.

"Excited for you day with Black?" Charlie asked.

I smiled. "You've got no idea. I'm going to head down now, maybe we can get an early start or something, lets see."

"Have fun!"

"Be good! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Kendra said while rolling around in her bed.

I laughed. "Thanks guys!"

I walked in to the bathroom for a moment to say goodbye to Lily. "Goodbye, Lilypop! I love you and good luck! Be good!"

"Me? I will be good! You better be good, Elaine! If not I'll tell Papa Evans!" She called from the shower.

I laughed. "Goodbye!"

I walked back in to the dorm and grabbed my bag and then walked out of the dorm and down to the common room. I saw that Remus was just leaving as I walked down, no doubt excited about his date with Zoe which he had told me was sure to be a good one, and James who was walking around the common room anxiously. Sirius on the other hand, was the picture of ease while he leaned against the wall near the portrait hole, with his arms folded, and his lovely grin plastered on his face.

I walked over to him and kissed him and then handed him a tiny box. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

He grinned. Merlin, I loved that grin. "You too, Prescott. I don't have your gift on me but that's part of the surprise."

I stared at him expectantly and then shrugged. "Doesn't matter, open yours!"

He chuckled and then opened the tiny little box. I had bought him, by special order, a goblin made ring that had the Heron family crest on it. I had found the crest in my father's things that night the Potter's had brought my the box, and I figured that since Sirius obviously didn't belong with his family, he most certainly belonged with me and mine, well, what I knew of mine at least.

I bit my lip. "I know it's kind of silly since it's my family crest, but since you don't want to be a part of your family, I figured that since you're with me, that makes you a part of mine. If you think it's feminine or stupid or something I can send it back, it's not a big deal."

He pulled me in to his arms and kissed me forcefully after slipping the ring on to his right-hand ring finger. "The ring is perfect. I love it. Thank you so much."

I smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Bloody hell, thank Merlin."

He laughed.

In that moment while he was gushing over why he liked the ring, James stalked over to us, a strangled expression on his face.

"What's wrong, James?" I asked curiously.

He groaned. "You can tell something's wrong? Bloody, bloody, bloody hell! I'm so nervous, Elaine!"

Sirius laughed.

I stepped on his foot. "Be nice! Anyways, James why are you nervous?"

He ran his fingers through his hair roughly, no doubtingly pulling out some hair in the process. "I just want today to be absolutely perfect! I'm taking her on a picnic, do you think she'll like it?"

I touched his arm. "I'm sure she'll love it, James."

Sirius pinched my side. "Let's go. Good luck, mate!"

James smiled at us before going to sit on the couch, my words obviously calming him down some.

I took Sirius's hand while he led me out through the portrait hole.

On our way to Hogsmeade, I couldn't help but ask what we were going to do.

He chuckled. "It's a surprise, okay? I've been planning this for a month already and if you don't love it, I'm going to feed myself to the Giant Squid."

I laughed. "I'll be sure to lie just in case."

He rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

I smiled as he led me outside the Hogwarts grounds and then towards Honeyduke's. "You're taking me to Honeyduke's on Valentine's Day?"

He rolled his eyes at me again. "Just wait!"

We walked in to Honeyduke's and I saw that it was completely empty, which was odd considering on a day like this it was sure to have more customers than normal. Than I saw that it was slightly decorated for Valentine's Day, but all the curtains were closed to the shop and their were small twinkling lights hanging about. All the sweets were where they normally would be, but, in the middle of the shop, there were pillows lying around with some blankets and on the counter there looked there was some warm hot chocolate.

I wanted to tell him right then and there, I wanted to say I love you, but I just couldn't find the words.

I looked at him, my eyes wide. "You managed to rent the store for the day?"

He grinned and nodded. "What do you think?"

I shrieked and jumped in his arms, kissing him. "This is amazing!"

He laughed. "You can have whatever sweet you like and that hot chocolate is Mrs. Potter's. She sent me the recipe and I've been trying to perfect it for a while. This is only the first part of the day, the second is in a little bit, so enjoy!"

I just shook my head. "I can't believe this, do you have any idea how completely happy you've made me?"

He shrugged. "If I get to have you as my girlfriend, this is the least I can do."

I smiled and kissed him again. "You are wonderful, absolutely wonderful."

He smiled but rolled his eyes and pushed me towards the sweets.

The next hour or two, were spent by Sirius and I, lounging about eating every sweet in site and drinking mass quantities of Mrs. Potter's special hot chocolate. This was honestly the best date I had ever been on and it hadn't even ended yet. We just lied about, drinking hot chocolate, eating sweets left and right just talking to one another. It was perfect. He had managed to pull this off and I was swimming.

When I had completely pushed myself to the limit of chocolate, which honestly, I hadn't known that it existed, he led me out of Honeyduke's for the second part of our date.

"Where to now, oh perfect one?" I asked happily.

He chuckled and kissed my cheek as he tossed an arm over my shoulder. "I'm not telling you, it's a surprise."

I sighed. "I figured you would say that."

He shook his head, a smile on his face nevertheless.

He and I walked out of Hogsmeade which made my stomach flip just a little when I remembered the night that we had seen the Death Eater, but I felt much, much better when I saw a picnic blanket and a basket waiting for us on top of a hill overlooking the entire wizarding village.

I stopped in my tracks, and I began to feaux-hyperventilate.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, gripping my arms tightly.

My eyes were wide again and I began to shake my head in disbelief. "I'm not worthy."

He groaned. "Don't freak me out like that again! And what nonsense are you talking about?"

My eyes began to water and I couldn't help it. I was being so dumb! "It's just-just you're so nice! I used to think you were vile and you're actually sweet!"

He hugged me to his chest, laughing lightly. "You're upset because I'm actually sweet? Should I be offended?"

I shook my head. "N-no! I'm just so happy because everything you're doing today is s-so sweet!"

He kissed the top of my head. "I already told you-you're worth it, Elaine. Now, come on, I brought some actual nourishment considering you and I are probably going to go in to a sugar coma if we don't have some real food."

I wiped my eyes and pulled away from him. "Okay." Damn, that was probably the best chance I was going to have that day.

He kissed me and then led me over to the blanket and sat me down. "It's not a five-course meal or a feast like in the Great Hall, but I must admit, I whip up some mean sandwiches."

I laughed. "It's perfect believe me."

He handed me my share of the food and in my first bite, I bit in to something as hard as a rock.

I pulled something out of the sandwich that was round, glittering in the sun, and goblin made. My jaw fell open and Sirius laughed, taking my right hand and the gorgeous ring. "W-what is that?"

He smiled, holding on to my hand and the glittering ring. It was a platinum band, simple, but beautiful. "So, I've been wondering what to get you for Valentine's Day for a while now. The picnic was totally my idea before James, by the way, I'm not copying him. Anyways, I didn't know what to get you, but then, I remembered our little misunderstanding about how you were worried about things between me and you, and we haven't been dating too long but I already know a lot of things about us."

"Sirius-" Was he going to say what I thought he was going to say?

He cut me off. "Let me finish, just let me explain everything." He took a breath and went on. "This is a promise ring. I promise to you that I am going to be the best boyfriend that I can be, and the best boyfriend that you deserve. I promise to be committed to you completely, to make you laugh when you're down, and have your back when you're dueling a Slytherin.

"You mean the world to me, Elaine, you always have. I've said things to you that are unforgivable, but somehow you have looked past them to give me a chance. You don't care that I'm related to a bunch of maniacs, or that I like to pull pranks. I guess, what I'm trying to get at, Elaine, is that, I love you. I'm completely and utterly in love with you. I don't want anyone else but you. I love you and that's it. I love you."

I couldn't speak. I was frozen in my place across from him, twirling the ring around my right hand ring finger where I had placed his new one this morning. Sirius Black loved me? I had to be dreaming, there was just no way that he loved me. After all of my worry of telling him, he had told me first! So there I was, staring at him, my eyes wide and my mouth agape, and I couldn't speak? I was such a dunce. This was my chance. He loved me and I loved him.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Are you going to say something?"

I tackled him to the ground, hugging him, and kissing him wherever I could reach. "I love you too. I'm totally in love with you too. I think I have been for a while too. I love you so, so much."

He chuckled and pulled me closer to him so that he could kiss me properly. "I don't think I've ever said that to anyone. I never said it to anyone in my family, not even Uncle Alphard and Andromeda, and I've never said it to James and he knows I love him, I guess, but I love you. I could say it all day. I could say it in French, je t'aime."

I kissed him and kissed him and kissed him. He and I laid there, kissing until it started getting darker, whispering I love you to one another any second that our lips were free. I was in love and I was not ashamed to say it. I was in love with Sirius Black.

"We should get going," he mumbled against my neck.

I sighed. "Okay, okay."

He stood up and pulled me up as well, holding me against his chest for a moment. "I love you."

I smiled. "I could listen to you say that all day."

He grinned. "I love you. I love you. I love you."

I laughed a little and reached on my toes to kiss his jaw.

We walked back to Hogwarts, his arm around my shoulders while I leaned myself against him. We didn't talk on our walk back to the castle, but it was a very comfortable silence. The cold hair hit us forcefully but it didn't phase us. I would look up at him every few steps but he was looking straight ahead, a massive grin on his face.

In that ten to fifteen minute walk, I had never been so completely blissful. Just knowing that someone in the world was in love with me, that wanted me, made me so euphoric that I just couldn't help but have a goofy grin on my face just like him. I knew in that moment though, that there was nothing in the world that was ever going to be more important to me than Sirius. Of course I loved my friends, and Lily especially, but that was nothing like the love I had for Sirius, because it was such a different love. I would do anything for him and now, looking down at his promise ring that now adorned my right hand, I knew that he would do absolutely anything for me as well.

We finally arrived in the castle, some of the last people to get there, and just went straight to the Great Hall, knowing that dinner was going to start within the hour.

The Great Hall was relatively empty, just a few groups of kids here or there, so Sirius and I took our seats at the table and I rest my head against his shoulder.

"Sirius, I have had the most amazing day, thank you so, so much," I said to him, taking my head off of his shoulder so I could look at him.

He smiled. "You're welcome. You know, you didn't tell me if you liked the ring."
I made a face. "Are you serious?"

"I'm always-"

I cut him off from his silly pun. "Yes, you're Sirius, I know. Of course, I like the ring! It's beautiful, simple, but it's gorgeous."

He grinned. "I'm glad you like it then."

I rolled my eyes. "I love it."

"Say it."

I knew what he meant without any hints. "I love you, Sirius Black."

He smirked. "I have to admit, it is really nice to hear."

I kissed him slowly, gently. "It's very nice to say. I'm really glad you said it first."

He chuckled. "And why is that?"

"Because I had no idea how I was going to tell you. I probably would have fumbled all of my words and ran off crying or something."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it would have been perfect."

I laughed. "You have much to much faith in me."

"Because I love you."

I smiled against his lips. "That is never going to get old."

He shook his head. "Nope, never."

The rest of our friends joined us, Lily looking absolutely radiant, and Charlie attached to her new seventh year boyfriend. Remus was saying goodbye to Zoe, who saw me and waved happily, and Kendra was kissing Owen before he went off to his table. Lily and James sat across from us, Remus next to Sirius, and Peter next to James who was wearing quite the sour expression.

Lily looked at Sirius and I and raised an eyebrow. "You two look really strange. Did something happen?"

I looked at Sirius and kissed him on the cheek. "What looks strange?"

James looked at his best friend skeptically, his eyebrow raised just like Lily. Suddenly, as if he had just had a silent conversation with Sirius, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "You told her you loved her, didn't you?"

Sirius grinned and nodded. "I did."

Lily's jaw dropped as well. "Oh my gosh! Elaine! That's great! That's so cute! Holy cow! Say it to each other now!"

I laughed and looked at Sirius, trying to regain my composure. "Sirius Black, I love you."

He smiled and kissed me quickly. "Elaine Prescott, I love you too."

Lily began to clap enthusiastically and then filled Charlie and Kendra in who were smiling brightly at Sirius and I.

James looked like he was going to burst with happiness. "It's weird, but I'm really, really happy for you two."

I laughed again. "Thanks, James."

"Yeah, thanks mate," Sirius told him, his grin still in tact.

"Bloody hell! Are you two wearing rings?" Charlie asked from across the table, her mouth hanging open.

Sirius chuckled. "I gave her a promise ring and she gave me a crest ring."

Lily was in shock. "You gave her a promise ring! This is so cute."

Sirius shuddered at the word.

I smiled and kissed his cheek once more.

We continued on talking before the food appeared in front of us, and even though I had been stuffing my face all day, I devoured whatever was on my plate. I was really impressed with my appetite as of late, I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would be proud as well. I noticed Dumbledore at his usual place in the hall and he gave me a soft smile.

While we sat there laughing and talking, I realized how lucky I was. I knew that my life was far from perfect, I had suffered incredible losses, learned my true identity, and had developed some strange new magical abilities. But in the midst of all the bad and all the crazy, I had fallen in love. I was in love with the most incredible boy and that, along with my best friends, was all I needed in my life. Yes, I had suffered greatly, but with the people I was surrounding myself with, I had been greatly rewarded indeed.

In my eyes, my life was perfect, because there was no way, just no way, that anyone had it as good as I did.

A/N: I would just like to thank everyone one more time for their amazing support! So, to Nizuna Fujieda, WordVortex74, CatAnne78, boblovespotter, belleslvtr1867, untamed00notbroken, Stargazer2000, TWHATT18, slavexrose, likepurpleteal, lflem123, LOL, pourquoibella, PrincessDripDrop, Fauxnadian, thebritishone, Padfootforever1996, Little Flipendo, MorganEmma29, Helmi, Vegas Skies, , rainbowpop., Natalia Danielle, LostCurrency, mykk47, Stephanie, corbsxx, and c0urtshipdating. The reviews honestly just make me want to write constantly and make this story as good as I possibly can!

Also, CatAnne78 (Catherine), has a wonderful James S. Potter/OC story called Since Forever, that everyone is bound to love! The writing is great and the story is wonderful! I'm sure you'll all love it! She just updated another great chapter as well!

Thank you again everyone for everything!

-Yani :)