Disclaimer: None of the characters in this fan fiction belongs to me. They're owned by J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. The only ones that belong to me are those that you don't recognize.

A/N: Thank you for reviewing. I really appreciate it.

To soul donkey: Thanks for beta-ing.

Whoa. I can't believe it. So many people hated Sirius in the previous chapter. Did I make him out to be that bad? Well, actually, that was the whole point. So I guess it's good that so many people hated him, because that means that I was descriptive enough, right? Nah. I'm going to be better in this chapter, I hope.

Chapter 28

One night a few weeks later, Sirius actually came home quite early. In fact, it was so early that Remus wasn't even home from work and Bella hadn't even started waiting yet. But again, Sirius appeared to be drunk.

"Remus?" Bella asked, coming out of the kitchen. Her face lit up when she saw Sirius instead. "Sirius!" she said. "Are you okay?"

Sirius did not reply. He just stayed where he was and swayed slightly.

"Here," Bella said, taking his arm and trying to steer him to his room. She laid him on the bed and took off his shoes. Then Bella tucked the blanket around him

"Sirius?" she asked softly. "Sirius? I'm going to get you a wet towel, okay?" She left. Minutes later, Bella returned with a towel draped on her shoulder and a glass bowl, filled with water, in her hands. She placed the bowl on a stool and dipped the towel in it. Bella squeezed the towel so that the extra water leaked out and went over to Sirius's bed. She sat down and placed it on Sirius's forehead. She tried to move it around a bit, but Sirius kept pushing her hand away.

"Go away," he mumbled.

"No." Bella continued trying to take care of him, and he continued to push her away. Finally, he pushed a bit too hard. Bella fell over, knocking over the glass bowl. The glass shattered and water spilled everywhere--including on Bella. Tears formed in her eyes again.

"Oh gosh," Bella muttered. "Sirius? Wait, okay? I'm going to change. Don't move. You might step on the glass." Bella stood up and left the room, dripping wet from head to toe.

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Sirius regained full conscious about five minutes later. Though he had a slight headache, he was not drunk at all. And Sirius remembered the recent events too. *I guess Bella's wet towel really helped* he thought. Sirius looked around his room and noticed the shattered glasses. Weird. Shouldn't Bella be back now? He got up, carefully avoiding the broken glasses, and walked down the hall. As he walked pass Bella's room, Sirius heard quiet sobbing. He looked through the ajar door and saw Bella sobbing into her pillow. For the first time in a few weeks, Sirius had some emotion other than anger. He couldn't really explain how he feels, but it pained Sirius seeing Bella like this. He wanted to push the door open and give Bella a comforting hug. But he didn't. He remained where he was and watched her. Just then, Bella lifted her face from the pillow and walked over to her window. Sirius noticed that she had changed into some new clothes already. He also noticed her face. Bella…her beautiful face was now…Sirius couldn't describe it. Her eyes were red and slightly puffy. Tears were still brimming in the corner. Her beautiful brown hair was damped and messy. Sirius watched as Bella drew back the curtains of the window and looked out at the night sky. To Sirius's surprise, Bella knelt down and put her hands together.

"Dear God," she whispered, barely audible, but Sirius could hear her. "I…I need your help. I want to know how to help my boyfriend, Sirius. H-his parents died not long ago, and…and since then, he has became really…really distant. I-I don't know if you have ever experienced this, but…but it really hurts to see the one you love like this." Tears were falling from her eyes like waterfalls. "It…it pains me to not be able to do anything to make him feel better. I-I love him so much, God. I've never felt this way about anyone else. My friend, Lily, and I talked about this the other day; you might've heard us. She--she said I would never let any guy treat me like this. But I…I feel that Sirius is worth it. Some of the happiest moments in my life are those that I share with him. I feel…I feel happy around him. I feel safe in his arms. I really, really love him, God. And these past few weeks…seeing Sirius like this…it's like a part of me has died. I-I don't know. That's just how I feel. And…and I'm willing to give up my happiness for his, God. I really am. So please…"

Sirius couldn't take it anymore. He walked back to his room and laid down on his bed. Thoughts were racing through his head. Had he been that terrible these past few weeks? He remembered the time at the bar…and the time when she tried to talk him into eating some dinner. Did he…did hit her then? Sirius felt so guilty. There's this wonderful girl who truly loves him. Who's willing to trade her own happiness for his. And what did he do? He acted like a complete jerk to her. Damn. Sirius wanted to shoot himself for being so stupid. He didn't deserve Bella. But just then, Bella walked in. Her eyes were redder and puffier than before. She stooped down and started to clean the glass.

"Why are you cleaning that?" Sirius asked quietly.

Bella, surprised that Sirius had actually spoken to her (undrunk), looked up at him and said,

"Because I don't want you to get hurt."

"Why do you care? Shouldn't you hate me for what I did?"

Bella looked up at him again. Though this time, her expression was slightly hurt, instead of surprised. "How could you say that? I can never hate you Sirius. I may be annoyed at you sometimes, but I can never hate you."

"Why not?"

"Because I love you."

"Even after all I did?"

"Well, what did you do?"

"How can you not notice?? The way I've been treating you!"

"It's fine, Sirius. I know you've been upset."

Sirius stayed quiet this time. He needed to think. He couldn't believe that after all that, Bella still…still loved him.

"Ow!" Bella cried suddenly, breaking Sirius from his thoughts. She had accidentally cut herself on a piece of the glass. Tears spilled again.

"Come here," Sirius said. He took out his wand from the bedside and sat up. Bella sat down on the bed next to him. Sirius took her hand and performed a quick spell. The wound healed right away, but Sirius still didn't let go of her hand. He bent and kissed it lightly. He looked up again to find Bella looking at him curiously.

"Are you okay, Sirius?" she asked.

"No. I'm sorry, Bella. I'm sorry for these past weeks. I'm sorry for acting like a git to you. I'm sorry for what you had to go through. I'm sorry for everything."

Bella smiled. "You were much worse than just a git, Sirius."

"You're right. I was much worse. I was a bastard."

Bella smiled again. "So…are you sure you're okay?"

"Fine, if you say you'll forgive me."

"I'll say it if I get a little something."

Sirius kissed her. All of Bella worries and pains disappeared.

"I forgive you, Sirius."

"Good." Sirius hugged her tightly.

"Okay," Bella said, standing up, but Sirius was holding on to her wrist.

"Where're you going?" he asked. "You're not still mad, are you?"

"I was never mad. But I need to clean up the rest of the glass. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"Have you lost it, Bella? You're a witch for a reason."

"Oh yeah." Bella blushed. "Forgot. That's the effects of living in a muggle neighborhood."

Sirius smiled and, with a flick of his wand, cleaned up the glasses. Then he pulled Bella back on to the bed and started to kiss her again. Bella smiled when they broke apart.

"I'm so glad the old you is back," she said.

"Me too. And this old me would like to make it up to you." He looked deeply into her eyes and asked her a silent question. Bella's eyes widened as she realized what it was, but nodded and gave him a wordless reply.

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A/N: This is a bit different from what I planned. While forming this idea and planning what to write, I cried a bit. I thought that it was so…I don't know. Emotional, I guess. But now…it seems really hard to put what I had in mind into words. I even forgot some stuff that I planned. I should've written it down. Anyways, I did this chapter the best I could, so for my effort, please review.