I am astounded. Shocked. Gobb-smacked. Completely flabbergasted. My story has 647 reviews! That's the number I see on stories and think - "Hey - that must be a really popular story." So my heartfelt thanks to all the people who may have reviewed just once, or may review faithfully every chapter, to contribute to this momentous and incredible number. You are the reason I write. This chapter is for you: for the 1st, for the 87th, for the 325th and the 646th review - please enjoy.

"Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future." - Fulton Oursler

Eventually, I managed to drag my shocked body back to the Gryffindor Tower. It was late when I entered the Common Room, very late, and there one no one else in sight. I realised hazily that it was past curfew and I had been lucky to not have been caught by Filch. Somehow, I climbed the stairs and opened the door into my dormitory, where the first thing I saw was the worried faces of my friends, sitting in a circle.

"Rose!" They all exclaimed as I walked in.

"Are you alright?"

"Where have you been?"

"We're so sorry for upsetting you."

Summoning some moisture to my dry mouth, I managed to say:

"I'm fine... I think."

"What happened? Rose – did someone hex you? You're acting very strangely." Enquired Lily, her face a tense frown.

"No. Nobody hexed me. I just had a bit of a... shock."

My mind was still trying to make sense of the events which had taken place, and I felt strangely detached from my body.

"What happened with Sirius? Did he catch up with you?"

"...Yes. He did."

"And..."

"He... kissed me."

"oh. WHAT?"

Suddenly, they began to cluster round me, begging for information.

"How far on the scale?"

"What was it like?"

"Was it as good as gossip reports?"

"Um... I don't know. I'm so confused."

Lily recognised this, and hastily led me to sit down at the trunk on the end of my bed, accio-ing me a glass of water in the process, which I gratefully sipped.

"It was only a 3." (On Louise Rennison's snogging scale, this is a goodnight kiss.)

"Oh." It was amusing to watch the reactions of my friends to this news: Katie was disappointed, whilst Alice thought it was cute.

"So what was it like?" question Lily. "Any... chemistry?"

"Um... yeah."

"Well come on – she's fancied him for years!" in put Katie. "That's five years worth of chemistry."

"For all you know I may have stopped fancying him." I retorted, slightly offended at this.

As one, my friends snorted, amused at this idea.

"Yeah right. You, Rose, are very tenacious. Once you have a hold on something, you give your whole heart to it, and don't let go."

"But it's more like six years anyway." Said Lily.

"Six years of what?" asked Katie.

"Six years of Rose having a thing for Sirius."

"No – it was five: she started liking him in second year."

Uh-oh, I thought to myself, this is going to be embarrassing.

"No, she started liking him in first year: she told me so in first year herself."

"Really," stated Katie. "Now that is interesting."

I studiously averted my gaze from hers and studied the ceiling in depth.

"So did he say anything? How did this all happen?" asked Alice. "Where did it happen?"

"On the ninth floor in a corridor – he managed to catch up with me. And then he was blocking my exit, so I had to stay and listen to him, and he apologised if he offended me, and then he was walking closer to me, and I was walking backwards, and then told me that he didn't want to go out with someone like Titia, but with someone like me." I took a breath. "And then he asked me - as in – 'Will you go out with me Rose Loganberry?" And then he was really close, and there was a wall behind me, and his face was at my level and his arms were against the wall so I couldn't escape, and then... he kissed me."

"Wow." said Megs.

There was silence for a while.

"What did you say? You said yes, right? As I may have to kill you if you said no." That was Katie.

"I didn't say anything: he kissed me, then left straight away. I suppose I'm meant to give him my answer tomorrow."

"So why did this take you so long?"

"Well, after he left, I had to sit down to process this all for a while."

"So you're going to say yes tomorrow when you see him then?"

"Well... it's all a bit... I don't really know. I'm so confused." I admitted.

Lily gently put her arm around me.

"Ignore Katie. You can give him whatever answer you want. We're right behind you."

"It's just – I want to go out with him, but what happens if this is all a prank on his part? Or just a fling for him? I've wanted this for so long and it means so much to me, but maybe he just wants another person to go out with for a few days, since he's made it through most of the female population in the school, and then he'll dump me? Or he wants to get back at me for when I said that no girl would want to go out with him. Or – "

"Look Rose, just take a deep breath. I want you to think about the Sirius you knew before the argument. Think about him last term. When he helped you with your homework, and you guys sat together in the Common Room and played snap, or snuck to the kitchens, or studied in the Library. You were good friends."

I thought about last term: finding him not-crying and talking about his parents, how he had looked after me when Lily and the others weren't speaking to me, all the times he had laughed and joked and spent time with me.

"He's not going to go out with you just to dump you in order to hurt you: you know him, Rose, if you think carefully about it, you know that he wouldn't do something like that. As for his record with the length of his relationships, I would have to say that we (she gestured to everyone in the room) have been of the opinion for a while now that Sirius fancies you.

"He hasn't dated anyone since before the summer, has barely even looked at another girl, even when Titia was throwing herself at him, spends all his time flirting with you –" she held up her hand, "you may not call it flirting but it was – and was completely and utterly gutted over the thing with Titia. James told me he sent you several letters, and that he practically talked of nothing else over the Christmas break. No pun intended, he is serious about wanting to go out with you. No one can have any way of knowing how long your relationship will last, but I can tell you for certain it will be longer than if you turn him down. But Rose, I want you to think very carefully about what you want. Don't let any one pressure you into it. Okay?"

I nodded, taking a shaky breath.

"Right. I think we should all be getting to bed now – it's almost midnight."

However, I wasn't fated to get much sleep that night. Long after everyone else had settled into peaceful dreams, I lay staring at the ceiling, my stomach churning with the thought of having to see Sirius tomorrow. Part of the problem lay in the fact that he made me so nervous. I had managed to get comfortable with him as a friend, but suddenly, at the thought of having him as a boyfriend, my stomach felt like it was on a five loop rollercoaster, and I felt panicked.

Any boy with a romantic interest towards me made me horribly anxious, but to have the guy I fancied requite my feelings was the most nerve-racking thing in the world. I had no idea whether I wanted to go out with him. I had always had this dream of how it would be – what happens if the reality fell short of the dream? Or Sirius stopped being deluded and broke up with me? Or I was an awful kisser? Or we had nothing to talk about?

Even with these jumbled thoughts tumbling through my brain, I managed to get to sleep at 4 in the morning. Only to be woken up at half past seven. However, for once, luck was on my side. I had a free period for my first lesson, and my second lesson was Arithmancy – something Sirius did not take.

"I'm gonna stay in bed a bit longer," I told Lily. "I didn't get much sleep last night, and I have a free first."

She bit her lip as she studied me.

"Are you alright? You haven't worked yourself into a state about you-know-what?"

"No – just had a lot to think about last night."

"Okay. Do you want me to grab you some breakfast?"

"It's fine – I've got chocolate frogs to keep me going. Plus it would take you ages to go down to the Great Hall and then come up again."

"Right – I'll see you in Arithmancy then. Keep well."

I snuggled back into my duvet, more grateful than I could ever say for being able to avoid Sirius at breakfast. I was soon fast asleep again. My alarm woke me three quarters of an hour before Arithmancy began, and I awoke feeling more rested and peaceful than the day before. I had a long, hot shower, before changing into my uniform, doing my hair and, after careful consideration, putting on a lick of make-up.

Shouldering my bag, I made my way towards Arithmancy, keeping a careful look out for Sirius on the way. Arithmancy went well, and we weren't set any homework, much to Lily and mine's delight. But then I had to enter the Great Hall for lunch. A danger zone.

The Arithmancy Professor had let us out five minutes early, so the Great Hall was relatively empty. Having had frees, Megs, Katie and Alice were already there. We sat down with them at the far end of the Great Hall, near the teachers' table. Thankfully, there was no Sirius in sight.

I had eaten half my lunch when Sirius walked in with James. My heart felt like it had exploded, as it went from 60 to 200 beats per minute in a split second. Sweat broke out on my forehead and palms, and I looked wildly around for somewhere to hide. There was nowhere. Sirius' gaze was fast approaching and I was in full view. Soon he would be over here and sitting down. Talking to me and asking for my answer.

I did the only thing I could. In hindsight, this might not have been the best thing to do. The Great Hall was full, and chatting students filled the Gryffindor table. And I gave my friends ammunition to tease me with for years. I ducked under the table a second before Sirius saw me, banging my head as I went down. Once under table, I then came to the realisation that I couldn't stay there: Sirius would be sitting down in a moment, and would surely look under the table if his foot collided with a body. There was no other option: I would have to crawl down under the Gryffindor table.

I started off down the twenty metres of table, which may have been twenty miles. Squishing feet as I went, it must have seemed strange to many observers of the Gryffindor Table, as down the table there was a Mexican wave of pupils wincing and standing up. Finally reaching the end, I carried on crawling across the open floor, to the strange looks from pupils entering. But I couldn't risk standing up and having Sirius see me.

I crawled through the doors, and around the corner, before collapsing against the wall.

"Rose?" a voice enquired.

It was Remus. A friend of Sirius'. Panic.

"What are you doing?"

At that moment, I could think of no other explanation. My mind was blank. Absolutely and totally blank. Remus was still staring at me like a mad-woman. And then inspiration struck.

"POTATO!" I shouted, pointing towards the staircase, and ran, not looking back.

I was officially mad. I had crawled down the length of the Gryffindor table, citing "potato" as my excuse. I was also officially a coward, hiding out in my dorm for the rest of lunch break.

Unfortunately, I had to leave my safe haven to go to Charms, a lesson I shared with my friends, and (gulp) Sirius. I toyed with the idea of missing it, but in the end knew that being me, I would end up in a detention.

I arrived early, to grab a seat in an unobtrusive corner, hoping to grab someone to sit next to me and be in conversation before Sirius arrived. Unfortunately, a group of Ravenclaws I didn't know arrived first, and to avoid sitting there uncomfortably whilst they chatted, I pretended to rifle through my bag.

"Hey Rose. Mind if I sit here?" My heart stopped. My eyes travelled up the length of a tall body to meet the smiling face of Sirius Black.

"Ukk..." I chocked.

He took this as an invitation and sat down next to me.

Many say authors write about real events. In that case the crawling under the table incident would be true...

See you in ten days,

EllieBaby xxx