Chapter 51: The Black Lake Again
Sirius POV
Nicholas would join our home in three weeks. Meanwhile, I was trying to come up with a way to ask Sky to marry me.
Today, we had an Order meeting, at Hogwarts, for some reason. But this had given me a vague idea of what I could do.
The meeting was about recent Death Eater attacks all over Britain. Dumbledore was telling us about the families that had been discovered dead. The Prewetts and the Bones had been killed recently. There had been thirteen werewolf attacks. Apart from this, a sixteen year old girl had been tortured along with her seven year old brother-who had died- and was now in St. Mungo's for shock.
Hearing all these reports made me feel that I may not get enough time with Skylar. Our future was already shaky. Voldemort had wanted her. It was only because of Regulus that she was still alive. After telling us, he'd told Voldemort that when he'd tried, Dumbledore had noticed and that now she was under his personal protection, which meant that she couldn't be touched. He'd been extremely angry, but there wasn't anything he could do, since he didn't dare oppose Dumbledore, not yet. Voldemort had withdrawn the plan, for now, but I was sure that he would strike at the first opportunity.
It told me one thing: I couldn't wait any longer to get get married to her.
After that extremely grim meeting, I asked Sky to wait for a minute while I sought out James.
He was talking with Lily about the deaths.
"Hey, mate," I said warmly.
James grinned. "How've you been? Sorry we haven't been around lately, we've been on holiday, actually."
Lily smiled. "Hello, Sirius."
I grinned at both of them. "It's okay. Actually, I wanted to talk to you guys about something important."
They raised their eyebrows simultaneously.
Creepy.
"I love Sky and I want to marry her soon," I said simply.
Lily squealed. "When are you proposing to her?"
"In a few minutes, actually," I said nervously.
James grinned. "You two make each other happier people... I wish you all the best, mate."
Lily nodded. "Sky's going to be so happy."
"I hope she will be," I said anxiously. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know..."
We said goodbye to each other.
When I went back to Sky, she shot me a questioning look. I just smiled mysteriously.
We walked until we reached the Black Lake.
"Do you remember this place?" I asked her.
She nodded. "Yes. It's where I first saw Moony as a werewolf."
I raised an eyebrow. She grinned. "I was messing with you. This is where I first read your thoughts and saw you as a dog, isn't it?"
I smiled at her. "Exactly."
She sighed. "That night changed my whole life. It was only after that night that I got friends... I got you."
I put an arm around her. "Which is why this place is perfect for what I'm about to do."
"What?" she said, smiling. "You're about to go for a swim? Give the squid my regards."
"No, silly," I said, kissing her cheek, my heart beating erratically. "Just close your eyes, okay?"
She rolled her eyes before closing them, a smile playing on her lips. I took the opportunity to kiss her.
"Is that what you wanted to do?" she whispered.
I didn't say anything, but moved closer, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her closer to me.
"Keep your eyes closed." I whispered, pulling away.
I thought for a moment. Suddenly, I remembered a conversation I'd had with Sky when we first moved into our flats.
"I've always thought it would be cool for something unbelievable to happen, you know?"
"Like what?" I said, amused. "We're wizards, barely anything is unbelievable."
"Snow in July," she said softly.
I smiled at her. "That's definitely possible for wizards."
"But it's really hard to control the weather, it takes a lot of focus," she said sadly.
And at that moment I knew I'd have to make her wish come true.
I waved my wand and white snowflakes appeared, falling around us, not too cold in the July heat.
"Okay, open your eyes now."
She opened her eyes and gasped.
I waved my wand again, and in mid- air, the snow reformed, twisting together to form the image of a diamond ring- the diamond surrounded by tiny blue sapphires which matched the colour of her eyes.
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at me, her face glowing.
Taking her left hand, I got down on one one knee and pulled the same ring out of my pocket.
"Skylar Moody, you're my best friend other than James. But more than just a friend, you're my true soul mate and even if you weren't, I'd still love you. People are dying every day and I know I want to be with you for how much ever time we're given together. I never want us to be apart.
Will you marry me?"
Tears were flowing down her face now as she beamed at me.
"Yes."
I slid the ring onto her ring finger, kissed it then stood up.
I pulled her to me and kissed her again. One of her hands was on the back of my neck and the other was playing with my hair.
It felt different, more special in a way. Maybe it was because we knew we'd be together for the rest of our lives.
The feeling of happiness and contentment I felt right then was indescribable. It welled up inside me, threatening to burst out and overwhelm me.
When we finally broke apart, I looked into her eyes. All the love she felt for me was written all over her face.
"I love you," I whispered.
"I love you too," she whispered back.
Then I wrapped my arms around her and held her until all the snow ran out.
