Poppy's POV

"I can't begin to tell you how much I love waking up to you" Sirius told me as we laid in bed together after a very nice morning wake up. I smiled at his words, the butterflies surging through me. "So" he said, and I heard him turn, moving so I could see him looking at me with a smile. "I don't think we talked about these living arrangements" he finished, making me blush and avert my eyes. I heard him move and felt his hand gently brush my face, making me look at him. "Tell me what you were thinking" he insisted softly as my heart raced.

"Well," I said, bracing myself. "I just figured seeing as Sara and Phil would be going back to France and you live with the Potter's I just thought that well, you know, my parents have a house here and so well…I just thought that you might want to, um, move in with me?" I could feel my blush deepening as I spoke, trying not to look directly at Sirius. "But obviously I know you have your uncle Alphard's so if you want to live there or live with James or the others obviously I totally under-" he cut me off by kissing me, taking me by surprise as his hold on me tightened so that I was pulled flush against him. When we broke away he was beaming at me; a really wide, really happy smile.

"Pop I'd love to live with you" he told me, making my heart soar and I felt like my face wouldn't be able to cope with the size of my smile.

"You really want to?" I asked and he nodded.

"I really, really want to" he told me, making me laugh and I felt almost dizzy with happiness. "When can we do it?" he asked eagerly, my heart racing.

"Woah, I need to talk to Phil and Sara first" I said, and he pouted, making me laugh again. "You sure it's not too soon?" I asked and he quickly shook his head.

"We've been together over a year and think about it, we've got a bond. I know I'll feel better being with you all the time" he told me with a smile, giving me another kiss.

"I think I will too" I admitted, making him smile. He kissed me again and I could almost feel his happiness from it, passing into me.

"Pop I'm so excited about this" he said when we pulled apart, still beaming at me which made me smile too.

"Me too" I told him, nuzzling into him and I listened happily as he started talking about us living together; what we would do, the parties we could have and all of it made me incredibly content.


We agreed not to say anything to our friends until we had our plans finalised and he had spoken to the Potter's and I'd spoken to Phil and Sara. I was nervous to do this, having a feeling that they would want me to go straight back to France with them to keep me safe. I hoped it wouldn't end in an argument but pushed it from my mind for the time being as we made our way down to breakfast with our friends. Everybody seemed pretty hungover but happy, Fiona and Remus both sitting next to each other and moaning about who was more hungover.

"I know you had a hand in that" Lily murmured to me, nodding in their direction and I turned to grin at her, tapping my nose which made her laugh. We decided to spend the morning together as a group in the common room as it was an overcast day and then the guys wanted to do something in the afternoon. As such, we girls arranged to pack and have a girlie afternoon together which we were looking forward to (apart from Fi who moaned about the packing part). We were just about to leave the Great Hall when I glanced across to the Slytherin table, Regulus catching my eye. He made a small motion with his head and I nodded in understanding. Sirius was up ahead with James and I figured I'd leave him as I fell behind the others, allowing them to slowly pull in front of me. I walked slowly, hearing footsteps behind me and turned to see Regulus there. I scouted ahead and found an empty classroom, stepping in and waiting for him in there. He smiled when he saw me, closing the door behind him and moving over to me to give me a hug.

"Hi" I greeted him, realising this was the first time he had initiated a hug. He was still smiling when he pulled away as we both leaned against a desk in our usual fashion.

"Hi. Thanks for seeing me" he replied, and I nodded, happy to do so. "I just…wanted to see you before you left" he told me slowly, looking a little nervous for some reason.

"I'm glad I got to see you before we leave" I told him, and I saw him relax a little at this. "How are you feeling about going home for the summer?" I asked him, truthfully a little worried for him. He tilted his head slightly, looking at me curiously before replying.

"Okay. I've been getting myself ready for it" he told me with a shrug, attempting nonchalance.

"Well, if you need anything you'll ask, won't you?" I asked him and I saw him look hesitant.

"I don't know if it's a good idea if I contact you" he replied quietly, making me frown.

"But if you need help, or a way out we're here for you" I insisted. "You just need to ask. Sirius and I we'll-" but here now I hesitated, and he looked at me with a small frown. "Um we'll be living together so you can always come and stay with us" I told him, feeling myself blush a little. His eyes widened at this, looking at me in surprise.

"You're going to live together?" he asked me, and I nodded.

"Sure, I mean, my family will be in France and I'll be here on my own so kinda makes sense" I told him with a shrug.

"What do you mean you'll be here? Aren't you getting out of the country?" he demanded now, standing up and looking angry.

"Not for a while, no" I replied, somewhat taken aback by his reaction.

"Poppy you can't stay here!" I could hear him straining to not shout as I recoiled slightly from him. "He's coming for you! You have to get out!" he was breathing heavily through his agitation and I gave him a moment to compose himself. He still looked angry but after a moment he shook himself and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry I just…I don't want you to get yourself killed" his voice was much quieter now, his shoulders slumping but he held my eye.

"You're going to have to trust me on this. I know what I need to do" I tried to be as reassuring as possible, but he looked worried still. "I've got it figured out" I told him, but he shook his head. "Look my point was that we're going to be here for a bit before we head to France as I wasn't lying to your family when I said I had some things to wrap up" I told him, and this seemed to shake his as he grinned slightly.

"Oh, your estate of course" he replied, making me wrinkle my nose and he laughed at this.

"But then we'll be back and…if things get bad Regulus you can come live with us okay?" I told him, my voice soft. He looked surprised at this, as though he wasn't expecting it.

"Live with you?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Of course. We can protect you; we just want you to be safe and happy" I told him with a smile.

"You'd…you'd do that for me?" his own voice was quiet as I nodded.

"Of course we would. You're Sirius's brother, it's what families do" I insisted. He said nothing but moved towards me and hugged me again, taking me by surprise but making me smile. I heard a movement by the door and could feel Sirius, surprised he had left it this long. He cleared his throat and Regulus jumped, quickly letting me go and taking a step back as Sirius moved into the room, a small frown on his face as he eyed Regulus.

"I wondered where you'd gotten to" he said, focusing now on me with a smile, taking me by surprise by kissing me. He kept it short, putting an arm around me and turning to look at Regulus who had averted his eyes and was staring at the floor.

"I was just telling Regulus that if things get bad, he can come live with us" I told Sirius who looked at me in complete shock and I elbowed him with a frown. "Isn't that right?" I asked him firmly. I could see he wanted to roll his eyes before he turned to Regulus.

"Of course" he said and I saw Regulus's look of surprise.

"You'd let me live with you?" he asked, and I could hear the scepticism in his voice.

"Of course" I told him instantly but he was still looking at Sirius who nodded.

"Poppy's right. Of course we would" he told him but I could hear how tight his voice was as though unhappy that I'd put him in this position. However, before anything else could happen I heard footsteps moving in this direction and had a bad feeling about it.

"Someone's coming" I told the pair of them before grabbing Sirius and yanking him to the back of the room into the cupboard there. "Act natural" I hissed at Regulus before shutting the door as he had been standing there looking surprised and heard him take a seat at a desk. Sirius moved behind me, putting his arms around me and pressing his ear against the door like I currently was.

"Oh, Reg it's you" I heard an unfamiliar voice but given the greeting assumed it to be a Slytherin. I attempted to back away from the door a bit, but Sirius was in my way and he was refusing to move. "I thought I saw your blood traitor brother" he told him, and I could feel Sirius tense at the comment. "I was coming in to remind him of what he was leaving to" the voice was threatening and I could tell Sirius wanted to currently burst out of the cupboard.

"I wouldn't waste your time on him" Regulus drawled lazily, as though bored with the conversation but I heard footsteps move around the room as though they doubted him. I budged Sirius and now he moved but the cupboard didn't go far back, and I felt slightly panicked. I put up a protective spell, thinking this probably a good experiment but at that moment Helios appeared with a small burst of light, scaring the both of us.

"What are you doing here?!" I exclaimed as quietly as I could. He peered at me and Sirius chuckled.

"Well, that gets us out of this" he murmured as I took a gentle hold of Helios's tail and he guided us into Dumbledore's office; I only hoped Regulus would understand our sudden disappearance.

"Merlin! What are you two doing here?!" James and Lily both looked as surprised to see us as we were to see them.

"Good morning Miss Turner, Mr Black" Dumbledore inclined his head at us, surveying us with a smile as he gestured for us to sit next to James and Lily. Helios flew off to sit with Fawkes as Sirius and I made our way forward, James and Lily still looking at us.

"Good morning Professor" I greeted Dumbledore as I sat next to Lily, Sirius sitting on the outside.

"Well, now that we're all here" he started, and I had a feeling I knew what this was about. "You are all at the end of your formal education now and tomorrow the next chapter begins" he said with a smile. I felt Sirius reach for my hand, and I turned to him, seeing him smiling at me. "And so, I've brought you here to ask whether you've considered my proposal?" he asked. I stayed quiet, seeing him give me a small smile before he looked at the others. There was a part of me that hoped James and Lily would decline, knowing the danger they would be in should they join Dumbledore's organisation.

"We would like to join you sir" Lily told him, gesturing between her and James.

"And you're both sure? You're both fully aware of the risk you're undertaking?" Dumbledore asked them sternly and they nodded.

"It's something we want to do sir. After all, it's people like me who are under threat and I want to do something about it" Lily replied instantly and I felt a surge of worry through me at her words. Dumbledore looked at her closely before nodding and smiling, his attention turning to Sirius.

"Of course I'm in as well Professor. Besides, Poppy and I make something of a dream team" he told him with a grin, and I rolled my eyes at him. "Because I'm assuming you've already said yes" Sirius turned to me with a knowing look in his eye and I nodded in confirmation.

"Pop you could have told us!" James told me and I turned to see him frowning at me.

"I didn't want anybody to make a decision based on me" I replied, giving him a small smile before turning back to Dumbledore.

"Well, I have to admit that I am pleased to have you all with us. For the time being, I need you all to do what you would usually do. Mr Potter, Miss Evans whatever you had planned to do I need you to do. So, if you were thinking of jobs, I need you to apply for them as you usually would" Dumbledore told them and they both nodded before he looked at me and Sirius. "Miss Turner you're staying here until August?" he confirmed, and I nodded. "And Mr Black, you'll go with her?" he asked, and Sirius quickly nodded. "For the time being, I need you two to also act as you would. I suggest that the pair of you spend the time sorting out what you need to here before you prepare to spend some months away" he told us and we too nodded, although I did feel surprised that he had insinuated we would be away for an extended period of time. "I'll be in touch in a week or so and introduce you to everybody else" he told us all. "Now, Miss Evans, Mr Potter could you give me a moment to have a word with Miss Turner and Mr Black?" he asked and they both stood immediately.

"Of course. Thank you for everything Professor" Lily told him as the pair of them stood.

"Yes, thank you very much sir" James added with a smile.

"My thanks goes to both of you. You've been excellent Heads" Professor Dumbledore told them with a smile and I saw Lily blush a little at the praise.

"Thank you" James replied for them before gesturing for Lily to lead the way out.

"We'll wait for you downstairs" Lily whispered to me and I nodded before the pair of them left. When the door had shut Helios flew over, landing in my lap before settling down so that I had an unimpeded view of Dumbledore.

"How are you feeling about leaving?" I knew Dumbledore's question was directed at me and nodded with a smile.

"Prepared" I replied with confidence, feeling Sirius's grip on my hand tighten.

"I am glad" he replied. "My…sources, tell me you'll probably be watched for a bit before anything happens. You need to act as calm and casual as if nothing were wrong or as though you're not expecting anything to happen" his eyes moved to Sirius as he spoke, as I realised he would probably be the one who put us most at risk. "It's important to protect our sources" he told us more insistently and it was now that Sirius nodded.

"Of course sir" he said, relaxing me a little now.

"Good. Like I said, I'll be in touch so you can meet everyone else. Should you need anything, just send Helios" he told us with a smile, evidently dismissing us. I could feel Sirius move but I stayed put and Dumbledore looked at me questioningly. "Regulus" I said, and Dumbledore nodded.

"Don't worry. We have a plan in place for him" he reassured me, and I smiled at him, feeling a little better knowing that Dumbledore had evidently thought about him.

"Thank you, sir," I told him, and he nodded at me as I stood. "And thank you for everything this year" I added. He gave me a smile as Sirius and I left and as we made our way down the stairs, I couldn't help but think that this is where everything now really kicked off.


The rest of the day was peaceful and relaxing, and I forced myself to stop thinking about anything other than the here and now, determined to enjoy it. We hung about as a group in the common room, chatting about old times and then after lunch the guys had disappeared as planned. This left the girls and I to pack and chat happily away as we reminisced. It was honestly lush, and I had such a good time, feeling glad we'd done this, so I had a lovely memory of our last day together.

Dinner was the usual rowdy affair, even more so when Gryffindor won the house cup which made our table even noisier than usual. Lily, James and Fi were absolutely buzzing with the victory and we could hardly blame them. Afterwards, in the common room there was a mini party of sorts everybody happy and sharing in our success as a house which was just so much fun. As such, it ended up being a late night, not heading up until gone midnight where we sat up and chatted for the last time before we drifted off to sleep one by one.

The next morning, naturally Lily and I were up first where we delighted in waking Fi and Alice up who grumbled but came round quickly, all of us getting ready together before getting our stuff and heading down one last time. Helios disappeared when I left the dormitory and I assumed I would find him at home waiting for me instead of travelling with me. Down in the common room, we were surprised to find all the guys waiting for us and we went down to breakfast for the last time as a group, chatting and laughing happily. It felt strange that this was the last time we would be in the castle and I was aware that I was really taking every little detail in on my journey and once down in the Great Hall. I had found such happiness in this castle and with this group of people and once again I found myself truly grateful for the move which had led me to all of this.

Finally, at 9.30 we made our way down to the carriages and before we knew it, we were pulling out of Hogsmede and on our final train journey of our Hogwarts life. Naturally, it flew by, Will and Aidan appearing to sit with us for a bit which had been nice, and I promised to find them on the platform at Kings Cross before leaving. It felt strange that everything was about to change, and I felt a little sad at this, especially knowing that the future held a lot of uncertainties and danger.

It was early evening by the time we got back to London and we slowly made our way onto the platform. Here, it was time to say goodbye to our friends and we all hugged, promising to write and organise several meet ups before everybody started thinking about NEWT results and applying for jobs. After this I scanned and found Sara, Phil and, surprisingly, Max waiting somewhat close to the Potter's and so made my way over with Sirius and James. I temporarily parted from the pair of them to greet my family, thrilled to see them all here.

"Bloody hell Pop you look so different!" Max greeted me with a hug, and I realised that he didn't have to bend so much to do this anymore.

"in a good way I hope!" I replied, making him laugh as he pulled away and looked at me properly.

"The best way. You look great" he told me with a smile which I reciprocated before turning to Phil and Sara who had been watching us with a smile.

"Pop?" I turned, surprised to find Remus stood there. "Hi Mr and Mrs Marais" he greeted them politely and they smiled at him.

"Hello Remus. It's lovely to see you again" Sara told him and I saw him smile at this as though surprised she should remember him.

"And you. Poppy I was just wondering if I could borrow you for a moment?" he asked and I turned to Phil and Sara who nodded, motioning for me to go. I therefore followed Remus as he gestured me with him. "Sorry I just…I told mum and dad about, you know" he started giving me a look and I nodded, assuming he meant the whole me finding out about his lycanthropy, "and they said they wanted to meet you. I hope that's okay?" he asked, and I felt my eyes widen in surprised but nodded and smiled.

"Of course" I told him, seeing him relax a little. I saw him make a beeline for a man and a very beautiful woman who looked a little nervous in the crowds.

"Mum, dad this is Poppy" he introduced us, and I moved to shake their hands, seeing them smile.

"It's lovely to meet you Mr and Mrs Lupin" I told them politely with a smile.

"Oh, it's so lovely to meet you too Poppy. Remus has told us so many lovely things about you we just had to meet you" Mrs Lupin told me, making me smile and I saw Remus roll his eyes as though she were exaggerating.

"He's a charmer" I told her, and she laughed, nodding her head.

"We just wanted to thank you really for being such a good friend to our Remus" Mr Lupin told me and now I saw Remus look a little embarrassed.

"Such a good friend. He told us that you're aware and that you refused to allow him to not be your friend and, well, it's just so lovely" Mrs Lupin told me, surprising me by looking a little tearful.

"Mum" Remus groaned, shaking his head.

"Like I said to him, he's one of the nicest, kindest people I know so it doesn't make a difference to me at all" I told her, nudging him slightly and I saw him shake his head again. Mrs Lupin surprised me now by embracing me in a hug and I saw Remus look scandalised, sending me an apologetic look over her shoulder.

"Thank you Poppy" she told me quietly before stepping away. "You must come over for dinner soon, we'd love to have you" she said, and I nodded, smiling.

"That sounds great" I replied, and she beamed at me. All of a sudden, I felt a weird ripple through me, as though Sirius were on edge and I tensed as a result. "I'm sorry I should probably go and see my family. But I look forward to seeing you both again" I told them and they both nodded.

"Of course. Remus will owl you to sort out a date" Mr Lupin told me as Remus moved to hug me.

"Thanks Pop" he whispered, giving me a squeeze.

"No problem" I whispered back, seeing him smile as we broke away. I gave them a wave before making my way back through the crowds and felt myself freeze when I saw Sirius stood facing his parents, Mr Potter with a hand on his shoulder next to him. I made my way over to him, seeing their eyes snap to me as soon as I was there, and Sirius took a small step in front of me.

"Hello again Poppy" Mr Black greeted me with a small nod, Mrs Black just staring at me as per usual.

"Hello Mr and Mrs Black" I replied politely as Sirius took my hand. Mr Black looked like he was about to say something when I was surprised to be joined by Sara, Phil and Max. Sara stood directly behind me and I could tell she had drawn herself up tall.

"Hello Orion" she greeted Mr Black who looked very surprised to see her. Mrs Black shifted as though uncomfortable and she looked most displeased by this interruption.

"Sara, what a surprise" he replied, inclining his head politely to her. My eyes darted to Regulus who was stood slightly behind his parents and was doing his best to look standardly bored, but I could see how tense he was.

"And you. I didn't expect to see you talking to my god daughter" she told him curtly, a slight edge to her voice. Mr Black considered this for a moment before smiling.

"Well, I was expecting to bring your god daughter home with me today" he replied. I could feel her tense behind me and saw Phil straighten up as well.

"Whatever would give you that impression?" she asked him, an edge to her voice now.

"We told Sirius we would like the two of them to move in with us after school and get married. As tradition dictates, I'm sure you understand" he replied, his voice smooth and polite.

"I was under the impression that Sirius was living with the Potter's" she told him, eyes darting to Matt quickly.

"He's been under our care and guardianship" Matt told her and it was clear that lines were being drawn here.

"That's irrelevant. Sirius has decided to court your god daughter and seeing as he seems set on this, we would expect him to follow family traditions" Mr Black's voice was slightly snappier now.

"But she is our god daughter. And part of the French nobility. She wouldn't adhere to your patriarchal traditions even if she wanted to" Sara informed him. I did my best not to smile, not having heard her pure blood voice in a while and I had to say that I was very much enjoying her putting Mr Black in his place. Mr and Mrs Black looked furious at this point and I could tell they were trying to calm themselves.

"I'm surprised you're happy to allow Poppy-"

"That would be Lady Carré to you Orion. I do hope you've been duly polite" Sara interrupted him briskly and I blushed slightly at this. Mr Black faltered at this, looking at me before back at Sara.

"My apologies. I was just saying that I'm surprised you're happy for your god daughter to be courted by our…son. Surely it would make better sense for you to marry her to your son" he inclined his head to where Max was stood, and I saw him bristle at this. Sirius's anger was growing by the minute and I squeezed his hand, reminding him to stay calm.

"I feel I need to remind you once more that I am not forcing anybody to marry anyone else" Sara told him and I saw him looked flushed at this, openly scowling now. "Poppy will go out with whoever she wants and that's it" she finished, closing down the conversation.

"Sirius do you wish to go home with your parents?" Phil asked him, entering the conversation for the first time.

"Not at all. I'm going with the Potter's" Sirius replied in French with a small grin and I saw how surprised Mr and Mrs Black were.

"I think this is settled. If you'll excuse us" Phil told them and Sara started steering me away and I saw Matt do the same to Sirius. We moved in the same direction, over to where Mrs Potter had been anxiously watching and James was stood with her, frowning.

"You have some explaining to do" Sara's voice was only loud enough for me to hear and I nodded, feeling bad now that I'd not told her anything. "Matt, Carol it's lovely to see you again" she said a little louder, leaving me and moving to embrace the pair of them, Phil following her lead.

"Are you okay?" Sirius murmured to me, coming to stand next to me and holding my hand. I nodded, turning to him.

"Are you?" I asked him quietly and he nodded, grinning.

"Seeing Sara take my dad down was possibly the best thing I've seen in a while" he replied, making me shake my head at him just as I heard them talking about us and so looked up.

"We would love to have you all over for dinner. Would you happen to be around tomorrow evening?" Sara asked Matt and Carol who looked delighted.

"Of course, yes we'd love to come. Thank you ever so much" Carol replied happily with a smile.

"Well, seeing as these two seem serious we figured we should get to know you a bit better" Sara said with a semblance of a grin, making me blush. Matt and Carol also grinned at this and I saw Sirius shake his head. "And of course, please do feel free to invite Lily as well James" Sara told him and he nodded, looking pleased.

"Thanks Sara. I'll go ask her now" he told her before darting off.

"Right, we'd best make a move" Sara said, turning to me and I could tell there was going to be a very long conversation tonight. "We'll give you some space. Matt, Carol any time after 7 would be great. Sirius and James know where to find us" Sara told them and as they said goodbye Sirius pulled me slightly out of the way.

"I'll miss you tonight" he told me quietly, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to him.

"It's only one night. You'll see me tomorrow" I replied, secretly thinking that I would miss him too.

"You'll be careful, won't you?" he asked, and I nodded, trying not to roll my eyes.

"I'm going straight home and won't be leaving so please don't worry alright?" I told him and he sighed but nodded before kissing me. I felt that it was somewhat of an intense kiss but allowed him to distract me and it was only when we heard a throat clearing that we pulled away.

"Jeez. I've gone and spoken to Lil, said goodbye to her and you guys are still making out" James told us, rolling his eyes. "Besides Pop, Sara seems to be making a point of waiting for you" he murmured, and I winced slightly but nodded.

"I'll see you both tomorrow" I said, moving from Sirius to give James a hug. He squeezed me tightly before letting me go and I was about to move but Sirius caught me again, giving me his crooked smile.

"I love you" he said quietly, and I heard James drift away.

"I love you" I replied, seeing his own smile widen.

"Pop?" he asked, keeping me there a moment later and I looked at him expectantly. "I can't wait to start everything with you" he told me, his sincerity making me blush slightly, but I couldn't help but smile.

"I can't wait to start everything with you too" I told him, feeling that surge of happiness rush through me. He kissed me again, keeping it short this time before giving me a hug and a squeeze and I felt myself relax into him as always. As we stood there for that brief moment it felt as though everywhere were slowly becoming real and that this really was the start of the rest of our life.


A/N: That's it folks! Thank you to everybody who has read/followed/favourited/reviewed this story - your support has been wonderful. Poppy and Sirius have one last story to go together and I am currently in the middle of writing it. I don't want to post it until I'm happy with it and it's completely finished. I don't know yet when that will be. So all I can say is another big thank you and to keep your eyes peeled for story 4. Stay safe and happy everybody :)