Disclaimer; I don't own anything but the plot, OCs, some spells and some potions.

A/N: Managed to squeeze this out before I go on holiday.

This is the last chapter. Please do enjoy it, thank you so much, all of you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!


xoxo

43. Rose's Pendant

James hesitated. Just for a moment. Then his hand shot out and he grasped the Time Turner. It was real, oh Lord, it was real.

He pulled it out of the blackness of the small safe and stared at it. It was surprisingly heavy in his hand, and it was startlingly cold. He didn't know what to make of it. Instead, he stood up and collapsed on Sirius's bed. Dust flew into the air, and a stale smell assaulted James's nostrils. He stared at the Time Turner.

It was almost like a flame; illuminating and bright. The small necklace turned James's hand gold with light. He looked at it. Ten days. It was pulled back ten days. Ten days for what? He wanted to scream. What did this mean? Was this Sirius's eraser of some sorts. Anytime something wrong happened he would turn time back and fix everything. How long had he had the Time Turner?

James gasped. What if Sirius had had it since Hogwarts, what if he had it when he was a kid? But then James realised ... if Sirius had had the gold instrument back in Hogwarts, then why hadn't he fixed the whole Whomping Willow incident? Why didn't he stop Regulus from dying? What about Rose and the baby? But these revelations didn't make James feel any better. If anything, he grew more worried.

So it was something Sirius definitely got recently. Which worried James even more. This meant ... this meant that Sirius wasn't who he was making out to be, right? But James knew Sirius, or at least, he thought he knew Sirius.

What did this mean? Now he found the Time Turner, what would this mean? And now Sirius was dead. James had the instrument in his hands, the instrument that could bring his friend back. He could turn back time, just a few hours, and stop Sirius from dying.

A raggedy sob slipped out of James's mouth before he could restrain it. It was very cold in the house. He clutched the Time Turner and buried his face into the pillow closest to him. Behind the stale smell of dust, he could pick out the scent of Sirius; the soft cologne and a little bit of wet dog. Sometimes Sirius liked to sleep as Padfoot.

The smell, instead of sending James into another heartbroken frenzy, calmed him down considerably. He rocked himself to sleep. It was gentle, but the dream was almost like Trelawney was trying to speak to him. He knew what he would do. He would turn back time, try to fix things and stop his dear brother, his best friend from dying.

Sirius would hate him if he ever found out. He might even kill himself. But, just as James was slipping from a light slumber into a deep sleep, he was awoken by a bright light. It wasn't yellow or gold like most lights were, it was completely and blindingly white.

James opened his eyes tiredly. Standing before him was an enormous animal. She was beautiful, ducking her head and smiling softly. Lily's patronus was a doe. 'Darling,' her voice said, the doe opening it's mouth in a perfect imitation of the way Lily spoke, 'you need to come back. He's awake.'

xo

Sirius embraced Regulus. He was still only a tiny bit taller than his brother, but it was almost like they fit perfectly together. He knew it wasn't his brother but it felt and looked like Regulus. He held him, and though the embrace wasn't reciprocated, he didn't care.

Sirius started speaking before he could even comprehend what was going on. He spoke the words he had dreamed of speaking to Regulus, the last words he would have said to his brother if he saw him before his death. 'I should have made more of an effort ... I'm sorry about that ...'

The Angel of Death was silent, knowing that now more than ever, Sirius needed the serenity and tranquillity speaking to his brother brought. 'You remember what we always used to say to each other, don't you?'

Regulus, the Angel of Death, knew what Sirius was talking about. Everyone who he took immediately gave him their memories. Racing through the Angel's mind were billions and billions of dear memories, belonging to the ones of the fallen. 'Yes, I remember ... Sirius, would you burn all the stars for me, every single star?'

Sirius made a noise in the back of his throat, a choked sob. 'Yes Reg, even my own ...' he breathed, nuzzling his brother's neck and kissing his cheek.

'Would you fight a dragon for me?' Regulus asked.

'Even a horntail,' Sirius managed to say through his tight throat.

'How much do you love me?'

'More than anyone and anything in this world Reg, more than anyone.' Sirius whispered, 'I love you so much. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.' He truly was. If Sirius had any regrets, this would be his biggest. Neglecting Regulus, forgetting about Regulus, leaving Regulus all alone in this big bad world.

'You can do it,' the Angel breathed. 'Avenge me, avenge everyone who you've ever lost. I'm so sorry I left you. I'm so sorry that we fell apart.'

Sirius gulped and shook his head, moving back to stare into his brother's eyes. 'No, no it's not your fault. It could never be your fault. I want you to know you mean more to me than I ever made out. I want you to know that if I ever do have another kid and he's a boy—' Sirius paused for a moment to compose himself. 'I'll call him Regulus, after the best brother in the world, after the bravest man I've ever known.'

'You can do it.' Regulus told him, smoothing his brother's hair for him. 'You go back out there, you make it, you make a horcrux and you kill him. It's the only way you'll beat him. You know it's the only way.'

Sirius nodded after a moment's hesitation. Regulus was right, it was the only way he could beat Lord Voldemort. He wasn't strong enough to do it alone.

'It's everything I'm against Regulus. If I make a horcrux ... aren't I becoming everything I'm against?'

'It's for the Greater Good, Sirius. You're not going to make a horcrux to become invincible. You're making it because after you destroy all the other horcruxes and you go up against Lord Voldemort, it really is down to who's best at duelling. And I know you ... I know everything about you ... I know that you can do this.' Regulus grabbed Sirius's head and pressed their foreheads together. They stared deep into each other's eyes.

It gave Sirius the strength he needed. 'I'm going to tell Dumbledore then, I have to tell Dumbledore.'

The Angel of Death nodded. 'Yes, yes you're right. Tell him. We can do this if you tell him.'

'I'm sorry.' Sirius breathed after a moment's silence. The other man shrugged and released Sirius, stepping back. He stepped back and a staff appeared in his hand, a long thin black staff. His clothes changed from green robes to midnight black silk, reminding Sirius of Lord Voldemort's robes. But the Angel of Death seemed to carry his robe with a confidence that Voldemort lacked.

'You can do it ...' the voice was less like Regulus's now, and more of a hiss. He continued walking back. Now, all the animals; the puppies and kittens and rabbits emerged from their hiding place. The table disappeared, as did the chessboard. Now it was just orange surrounding Sirius. Like when he had decided before that the arena he was in was a reddish orange, now it was a deep ember colour. Like fire.

Everything around Sirius grew warmer; so warm he felt like he was on fire. He could still see his brother's face. But it was become less of his brother's face and more of a face Sirius didn't quite recognise. The eyes were still the same though; the burning blue eyes.

'You can do it Sirius Black, you just need to believe ... now, I'm going to send you back, do you understand? I'm sending you back Sirius! Prepare to go back. They think you're dead ... are you ready?'

'No,' Sirius managed to pant. The air was burning now, it wasn't just the illusion. He was quite literally being burned.

'Good luck.' The Angel of Death whispered. Then everything was gone. The last thing Sirius remembered was the ember orange advancing; now it was so brightly orange he was sure the air was on fire. He shouted as loud as he could, his chest constricting and his throat tightening. But he still managed to scream as loud as he could.

It was worst than apparating. It was like each cell, each particle, each atom of his body was ripping apart to fit through an incredibly small space. He screamed and screamed, but found that it offered no relief. When he landed after what seemed like hours and hours, he felt himself slam into his own body. Did that make sense? It was almost as though the Sirius that had just been with the Angel and with the Cuddlies was nothing but his soul, as though he had just been in a spirit form.

His whole body jolted and he screamed again for only a brief moment. He was alone in one of the biggest bedrooms of the whole underground base. Lying on the enormous bed with him was an unconscious Rose Taten. She was stunned, Sirius concluded.

He could hear footsteps, rampaging down the corridor and to the room he was in. There had to be at least a dozen people bursting through the door. Sirius looked up. It was almost as though the room exploded; people were shrieking, they were grasping him and shaking him, shouting questions. Lily kissed him again and again on his cheek, Peter embraced him so tight Sirius thought his chest would burst.

He looked around every single person's face until his eyes met ones of a piercing blue. Albus Dumbledore.

'Where's James?' Sirius croaked. There was a silence, filled with whispered 'How?'s and 'What?'s.

Albus watched Sirius for a moment. Then he walked toward him, parting through the stunned witches and wizards. He stopped right in front of Sirius. 'Welcome back.' He said softly. Then Albus took out his wand and stunned Sirius.

xo

'I don't believe you—' James exploded, trying to make his way past Fabian and Gideon. He sneered at Lily when she told him she was telling the truth. 'I saw him die, I saw him! Stop lying to me, STOP!' Just as James screamed again, the door opened to the lounge, forcing Fabian forward. In came Remus, filthy and covered in blood.

He was trembling. His eyes were red with tears and he took one look at James's face before he made an anguished sound. 'No,' Remus breathed, 'he's not dead, is he?' he whispered.

'He's alive Remus, Dumbledore's with him. He was dead but he's alive now.' Lily's face was shining with happiness, it was only James who trembled with anger.

'They're lying Remus, I saw him die! He's not alive ... something happened or ... or something ...' he started mumbling again, shaking his head. Every few seconds his hand would go down to his pocket, where there was a small bulge. But then he would shake his head and bite his lip before he took his hand off his pocket.

'Why can't we see him?' Remus whispered, his naturally tanned skin growing whiter and whiter by the second. He ran his bloodstained hand through his hair. 'I need to see him, me and James ... we ... I ...' he murmured, shaking his head and biting his bloody mouth.

'Dumbledore.' Someone answered, and when Remus turned he saw it was Moody, sitting with a few others at the other end of the lounge. He was very pale too, anxious and cross and still in shock. 'Dumbledore needs to find out why he's alive. He was dead. And now he's not. That's dark magic.'

Lily hissed at Moody. 'He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't make himself invincible. It's down to Voldemort, of course it's down to Voldemort.'

'I need to see him.' James breathed, sitting down on the floor and putting his head between his knees. 'I was ... I've never been so scared in my life ...' he was holding the leather jacket he had gotten from Sirius's apartment. James held it like a Mother held her newborn child. He smelt it again and again. He needed Sirius, of course he needed Sirius in his life.

But he needed to find out what the hell Sirius was doing with a Time Turner. And now he could find out ... after everything was sorted, if Sirius was even alive James was going to ask him what he was doing with a Time Turner.

'Dumbledore needs to talk to him first Jamie.' Lily whispered. 'I saw him, Jamie I saw him baby. I'm not lying, I swear he's alive.' She grabbed her husband by the shoulders and shook him gently.

He bit his lip. 'Is he ... Lily is ...'

'He's okay darling, I promise you, he's okay.' She vowed before leaning forward to kiss him. And the kiss was like one James had never indulged in. Hesitantly, he kissed her back.

xo

To say Sirius was anxious was an understatement. Rose was still asleep beside him. Even in unconsciousness she gravitated towards him, satisfied as long as she was touching part of him. Albus closed the door behind all the witches and wizards exiting the room. He stayed with his back to Sirius for a while, who was now shedding his clothing.

He threw his robe to the floor, and then his jumper and shirt before pulling his shoes and socks off. He was so hot, it was almost like the glowing orange from when he was with the Angel of Death. He had Voldemort's wand in his trouser pocket (had it been there this whole time?) and he took it out, waving his wand and cooling down the room considerably.

'It's so hot,' he breathed to himself. Rose cuddled up closer to Sirius and he briefly pressed a kiss to her forehead. When he looked up, he almost jumped back. Albus was now sitting in a chair right beside the bed, his face inches from Sirius's.

'What happened?' he asked in an aged and tired voice.

Sirius bit his lip, looking down at his chest. His tattoos had faded now thanks to the burns Sirius had received from Voldemort and some of the Death Eaters. But the Archetypus Potion mostly returned Sirius back to his old state; he didn't have the scars that had littered his body before, nor did he have the enormous blisters and burns.

'What happened Sirius? Why are you back?' Albus asked again, this time in a slightly more forceful voice.

Sirius bit his lip and after a moment's hesitation, started to explain. He told Albus how he appeared alive in Death's abyss, about the Cuddlies and their manipulative ways, about the Angel of Death which changed from lots of forms to finally rest on Regulus. Then he told Albus about the chess match, the advice he was given, the things that were explained.

'He told you to make a horcrux?' Albus whispered.

'No,' Sirius said, shaking his head. 'He made me realise the only way I would be able to beat Voldemort is to make one. You know that, I know that, the Angel knows that ... I can't do this alone Albus, I need all the help I can get.' The handsome young man explained.

'Sirius ... you do know how a horcrux is made, don't you?' Albus said simply in a bland voice. 'It will hurt you more than anything you have ever experienced. It will burn you from the inside. You need to kill someone and use their death ...'

Sirius shook his head. 'I've been through so much pain Professor, I don't think anything can hurt me now. You don't know how it felt simply returning to life. And the Avada Kedavra? It hurt more than I could imagine, more than anything I've ever been through. I think I can deal with the pain.'

'And can you deal with having to kill someone?' asked Albus, raising a faded white eyebrow. He shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

'Can't we use the death of someone I've killed in the past? Like a Death Eater?' Sirius questioned quietly, looking up at the cracked ceiling of the underground base and inhaling heavily.

Albus looked up slowly, staring at Sirius deep in the eye. 'Yes. Yes, that may just work.' He murmured. 'Yes, I think ... I think we could do that. But it will take a lot of investigating Sirius ... Sirius?'

Sirius had turned away from Albus. He was facing Rose and tracing the necklace rapped around her throat. It was one he had gotten her years ago for her nineteenth birthday. It had a diamond in the centre, and sterling silver wrapping around it to form a heart. Slowly, Sirius unwrapped it from around her throat before he put it in his pocket.

'I'm going to make this my horcrux.' He said quietly. 'I need to make one don't I? I have to make one. The link between me and Lord Voldemort's mortality has severed now. If he kills me I'm gone for good Professor. I need to make sure I don't die.'

'Are you afraid of dying Sirius?' Albus asked softly, leaning forward to touch the pendant, Rose's pendant.

'I'm not afraid of dying, not at all. But I'm afraid of him surviving. And I've heard Trelawney's prediction. I've heard all I need to hear Professor. No one can do it. No one but me.' He said it like it was fact, as though he was explaining the sky was blue and grass was green. He said it in a resolute, almost tired way.

'We've destroyed the locket. Now there's only one left. I'm not sure what yet. And I'm not sure if he's finished making the Ravenclaw diadem a horcrux yet, I don't think he has though. But that means that potentially, I have two more to destroy. Then I have the part of his soul still inside his body to destroy. I can't do it without help Professor. I can't do it without dark magic. You know I can't.'

Albus nodded. 'I know you can't. Which is why ... I think I'm going to regret this in the future, especially if anything goes wrong but ... I'm going to help you Sirius. Yes, I'm going to help you make the horcrux. I'm going to regret this terribly but right now ... right now it makes more sense to me than anything.'

xo

When Rose woke up, it was next to the man she loved most. But he wasn't still like she thought he would be. Sirius Black was moving. He was singing to himself. His hands were running through her even but short golden hair.

'Sirius?' she said in a very soft voice. She must be dead dreaming, Rose thought. He was here, he was sitting next to her. He was moving.

'Yes Rosie?' he asked just as quietly.

'Is this real.'

'Of course.' He answered sincerely. She didn't know when her pants became screams of happiness or tears of joy, but she jumped onto him and wrapped her whole body around his; Rose could be flexible when she wanted. She sobbed into his neck and started laughing, happiness soaring through her body.

'You're alive!' she chanted, 'oh God, you're alive Sirius, you're okay ... h-how ... w-what happened ...' even to herself, her sentences were incoherent. He quietened her by placing a finger on her lips.

'Don't worry Rose.' He said to her. 'All will be revealed in ... due course.' He said before laughing shortly. 'But I'm here Rose. I'm here and you're wasting time asking me what's wrong.'

'Wasting time?' she asked. Rose had never been the smartest duck in the pond. But she was the fiercest, the bravest. She was a warrior.

'Dear God ...' Sirius said, silencing her with a kiss. It was out of sync, very slow and almost confused. But he still kissed her, holding her face to his. When they broke apart Sirius looked her deep in the eye. 'I'm sorry about your hair.' He said. 'It looks awful.'

She laughed, before sobbing into her hands. 'Oh God, you're horrible ...'

'I'm sure we can make you some Hair Lengthening Potion.' He said simply, running a hand through the golden locks. Her hair was barely longer than his own. He ran a hand through it, brushing her hair back again, this time giving her an almost masculine look. It looked alright actually.

'When we have time. Only when we have time.' Then she leaned up to kiss him again. It was almost like nothing had happened between them, only there still seemed to be a great weight resting on both their shoulders. The kiss was out of rhythm and Sirius was almost shocked at how ancient her lips felt against his; her too-full, scarlet lips.

Then he released Rose suddenly. 'The Marauders.' He managed to choke, getting up off the bed and barely managing to right himself. It was disorientating; walking around. He still expected his body to shoot back into the cold abyss of death, where its Angel lived.

'I don't know where they are ... I was stunned, remember?'

Sirius could guess where they were though. He ran down the corridor, through the enormous kitchen and into the lounge. It was like everyone was there; waiting patiently for Sirius. Rose came in behind him. She didn't go over to hug him again or even touch him. She seemed to understand that this was the Marauders' moment.

His eyes immediately sought after hazel ones. He knew that James was the priority. Of course Remus and Peter were too, but James was the priority, he was the least emotionally stable. They found hazel. Sirius climbed over legs, people lounging on the floor, he slipped through a tight space between two occupied chairs until he was standing before James.

They stared at each other. It was Sirius who made the first move. He held out his hand to his friend, almost like a stranger.

'Sirius Black.'

It was such a familiar and yet ancient and old thing. Whenever they'd go home for holidays and wouldn't see each other for a while, this script usually followed as something like this:

'Lovely to meet you Sirius Black, I'm James Potter.'

Laughing, the very handsome man smiled. 'The weather's nice.'

Mocking him, James looked around and nodded. He could hear hesitant laughter echoing around the room. 'It's alright. Could be better. But you know London, weather's always ...' he was cut off when Sirius dragged him up by his collar and gave him a rough one-armed hug.

'I'm sorry.' He said very sincerely; very sadly.

The room wasn't silent but it was quiet. Everyone was too busy paying as much attention as they could to the two friends, the two best friends, the two brothers. James held Sirius just as tightly with an arm around his friend's shoulder.

'I thought you were dead,' James kept whispering, but his voice still carried around the room. There was no teasing in his voice. He was stoic and angry. 'I thought you left me ... why did you leave me?' he hissed bitterly. 'Don't leave me. We're brothers, you can't die on me ...'

'Of course,' Sirius managed to choke. 'Of course I won't die, I'll try ...'

'Don't leave me ...'

'Never.'

'Don't.' James replied angrily, only now did he understand how close to death Sirius had been. And only now was he understanding that he should save the whole Time Turner conundrum for later. He shouldn't ruin their reunion.

'Get over here you guys,' Sirius managed to say through his tight throat. Everyone in the room knew who Sirius was referring to when he said 'you guys'. Immediately, Remus jumped up and shook hands with Sirius, giving him a tight one-armed manly hug; the hugs that were brief and masculine and ever so sincere.

Peter did too. And it was like the Marauders were happy for the first time in a while; but they weren't. They were hurting more than they had ever hurt before. There was a hole now inside their friendship, not the hole Peter had left after his betrayal. A hole much deeper and much harsher.

'I won't leave you guys ever again.' Sirius whispered, 'I swear it.'

But even he knew that where he was going, what he intended to do, he might have to leave them forever again. Only now was he realising what he had gotten himself into. And only now did he understand what fear really meant.

xo

The newspapers, the magazines, they all used Sirius as a symbol. No one but those inside the tunnels knew that he was alive. To everyone of the world, Sirius Orion Betelgeuse Black was dead. He wasn't a martyr though, at least, not politically or publicly. To everyone, they were told he died a coward's death.

And inside the tunnels, reading the newspapers some of the others managed to scavenge from the outside world, they made Sirius tremble with fury. More than once one of the Marauders had to stun him to stop him from going through another rage. The first rage almost resulted in a fire spreading through the underground base.

He and Dumbledore disappeared inside a secret room for hours at a time, talking and making. After almost three weeks worth of research, Albus discovered that you could in fact use the death from someone in the past. Sirius opted to use the first time he killed Voldemort. It still counted, surprisingly. Besides, he wanted to build his only flaw on the death of the person he despised most in this world. If that made sense.

No one knew about the horcrux, and sometimes Sirius caught Albus watching him worriedly. Albus would smile when he was caught and look away, but Sirius recognised the haunted look in his eye. He was already regretting helping Sirius make the horcrux. But he knew they were too far in, there was no other way.

They wanted Voldemort dead, right? The prophecy said Sirius would be the only one to kill Voldemort. He was Time and the Dark Lord was power. The only thing that could defeat Power was Time. Only Sirius could win.

Albus was right. It hurt. It hurt almost as much as the Killing Curse hurt, almost as much as returning to the living world hurt. But he could handle it. His threshold for pain had trebled now. Almost like he was immune to pain now.

After two months of inactivity from the Order and the good Aurors, after two months of Albus helping Sirius to make his horcrux, it seemed that it was finished. The old Headmaster of Hogwarts pretended he couldn't see the slight red glint in the younger boy's startling grey irises. But he did see it. It made him sick to the core.

'It's done.' The Headmaster told him. Sirius got up off the floor and winced, his hand clamming down on the mark on his forearm. He traced the livid mark and touched the deep scar running through it almost hesitantly. He felt different. Yes, he felt very different. The pain in his chest wasn't leaving. His mouth was dry and the very blood running through his veins stung.

He decided that he was very different from how he had been two months ago. And he was an entirely different man from who he was a year ago. That night, sleeping on the bed opposite Remus's and trying to go to sleep, Sirius's hand kept touching the necklace in his pocket; Rose's pendant.

It seemed to move every time he touched it, like it was happy. He had a horcrux now. He couldn't die, right? Voldemort didn't know he was alive, that gave him a huge advantage. Now, all he needed to do was find the second horcrux and discover whether Voldemort had made the diadem into one.

In the morning, he was sitting in the kitchen with Lily and Remus. He was laughing loudly whilst Alice made some food for them; delicious pancakes, scrambled egg and sausages. She was a talented cook and could make more than three meals.

None of them knew this, but standing outside the doorway to the kitchen was James. His hand was in his pocket, reassuring himself that the golden Time Turner was still there. He was considering whether he should go and call Sirius over. He needed to find out why the delicate instrument had been in the other man's home. He just needed to know.

It had been two months now, the other man had adjusted to being alive again (though none of them knew why) so maybe it was time. Maybe it was time he confronted Sirius. But James was scared. He didn't want to hurt his friend, after all the pain he'd been through. Sirius meant the world to him. And James would be damned if he ruined their friendship over something so insignificant.

But it wasn't insignificant, was it? This was something that could change the world. Something that was heavily guarded and protected more than anything else. It was one of the mysteries of magic, which was why it lived in the Department of Mysteries. How had Sirius even gotten it?

Just as James was about to go inside the kitchen and call Sirius to "take a walk" with him, Rose barged past him, but this time, it was an actual accident. 'Sorry James,' she said warmly. Rose was a different person. Maybe it was the haircut. Or maybe it was just the fact that Sirius was alive and they were trying to sort things out, taking things slow.

They hadn't even kissed in front of anyone, but things seemed to be looking up for them. Maybe it was SJ, who was healthy and more handsome then ever. James smiled and nodded at her. 'It's fine.' He told her, reaching out to stroke SJ's silky smooth skin.

She winked at James and continued on into the kitchen, where she sat beside Sirius and whispered in his ear. He smiled half heartedly, shaking his head. 'You can't keep doing that, they'll soon notice ... did you save me some?' but then he laughed despite himself when she whispered in his ear again.

Was James really in any position to destroy Sirius like that? Because the Time Turner was obviously something the other man wanted to keep a secret. And people were entitled to secrets; heck, James had quite a few himself. He shook his head and took his hand out of his pocket. He'd leave the Time Turner for another time.

This wasn't any of his business. But suddenly, he made a vow to himself, standing here, near the kitchen door with his forehead pressed against the wall. James decided he wouldn't inform Sirius about his awareness of the Time Turner at all. Instead, he would use it himself. If his brother, if any of his brothers, if his wife or his son ... if they were hurt, James would use it himself. He would use it to save them. He'd already lost Sirius once, he wasn't going to lose him again.

He stepped into the kitchen, dodging the kick Remus sent him and hurrying towards his wife to embrace her and kiss her and tell her he loved her. Then James turned to face Sirius, who himself was speaking to Rose softly. James strained his ears.

'We'll try again ... won't we?' Rose asked, touching her hair self consciously; it was in a very miniscule ponytail right now and stood up straight, with small tufts of hair exploding out. Her hair was barely longer than her boyfriend's.

He hesitated, but then sighed and nodded. 'I want to ... after all of this ... maybe we could pick up where we left off ...' Sirius said to her in a quiet voice, smoothing her very short hair and leaning forward to kiss her forehead.

'But you don't know if you can trust me.' She said for him, looking down at their child in her arms. Each day SJ looked, if possible, more and more like Sirius.

'Exactly. But Rose,' Sirius pulled out her pendant from his pocket. It seemed to shine brighter and it looked almost magnetic, if something can look magnetic that is. 'Rose I want to try. Isn't that the most important thing?' he asked.

'Wanting to try? I think so.' Her eyes were trained to the pendant. Rose's pendant.

He didn't need to brush any hair back, her hair barely brushed her jaw. He put it around her neck and leaned over so he could see where he needed to clasp the two parts of the chain together. When he released it, the diamond pendant seemed to shine bright; like a star, like the dog star.

'It's beautiful on you.' He said.

And Rose, forgetting about everything they promised each other, the promise that they would take things slow, leant over and captured his lips with hers. He kissed her reluctantly back and ended it a bit too quickly, but then he embraced her, minding their son.

Sirius ducked his head and pressed it into her neck. But not because he wanted to breathe in the scent of her neck, as lovely as it was. Oh no, it was because of his eyes. His usually beautiful stormy grey eyes flashed deep scarlet; like blood. But Rose of course didn't notice. Instead, she pulled his face up again, her eyes shut tight. She leaned in to kiss him. His fingers came up to brush the pendant necklace wrapped around her long tanned throat as they made love to one another's lips, ignoring everyone they knew was watching. It was bliss.

He shut his eyes, which only burned brighter. Veiling his scarlet irises from the world, he sighed. And when she released him, he sighed again.

Time was ticking, Time was ticking fast.

xoxo


A/N: I hope this lived up to your standards. Don't forget to follow me as an author so you know when the sequel comes out. I really hope you liked this chapter, you don't know how anxious I am to hear your feedback and see what you think of this chapter, this final chapter.

Feel free to ask any questions, maybe if you're wondering why Dumbledore allowed Sirius to make a horcrux or whatever. I know some of you might think that's out of character for Dumbledore but it's what I've chosen to happen.

First, I'd like to thank you all so much for reading my story and for those who bothered to leave a comment. I've never completed a story before this ín my life, so it's nice to realise I have finished a story. I'd also like to thank the readers and reviewers who have given me advice and criticism, it's much appreciated. The next chapter will be the prologue from the sequel which I have yet to name.

Check it out on my profile: A Dark Path.

Have a wonderful day, I know I'll be having a great week, I'm going on holiday!

Once again, thank you all so much for the support and the dedication you've shown me and my story. Over and out. -xo