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 Angelisa Snape: Lol. I cracked up reading your review for some reason. It was funny to me. Lol. Yeah, well, this chapter will tell you, I hope. Lol. I'll fill you in if you still don't get it.

To RetroHotty44765: Erm, hopefully this chapter can answer your question. I was a bit uncomfortable with the subject, so I didn't really explain the question. But I sort of thought that it was kind of obvious. Oh well.

To soul donkey: Thanks for beta-ing.

I had a hard time writing this chapter. Writer's block. Plus, I had to decide whether to continue chapter 28 with more details (if you know what I mean *winks*). I decide against it in the end. I mean, this is PG-13. Didn't want to get too explicit. Bah…

Chapter 29

"I love you, Bella," whispered Sirius.

It was the morning after. Sirius and Bella were still in bed. Neither of them wanted to move. They felt very comfortable in their position. Bella had her back toward Sirius, who had one of his arms around her waist. He was holding her hands with that one, while his other hand was gently running through her hair. Sirius tightened his arm around Bella as he said those words, and started kissing the back of Bella's neck and shoulders. Anyway, Sirius had sort of expected Bella to say she loved him back right away. But she didn't.

"Bella?" he asked quietly, lifting his lips from her skin. He turned her around to look at her.

"Hmm?" Bella said.

"Is something the matter? Are you sure you're not still mad at me? Because if what happened last night is against your will, then I--"

"Sirius, last night was amazing," said Bella softly. "And I can't think of anybody else I would rather share the experience with but you."

"Then what's the matter?"

"Nothing. Nothing's the matter."

"Come on, Bella. You can tell me."

"Well, I just…I just can't believe that…that we've done it when I look so horrible!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…my eyes are puffy and red and my--"

"You're beautiful," said Sirius, kissing Bella lightly on the lips.

"You're lying. Please don't ever lie to me, Sirius."

"I'm not. You're very beautiful. And the most perfect woman can't even compare to you."

"I'm not perfect."

"To me you are."

Bella looked deeply into his eyes. He looked really sincere. "Do you mean it?" she whispered.

"Every word."

She kissed him. "You're so sweet. I'm so lucky to have you as my boyfriend."

"Not as much as I am to have you as my girlfriend. I mean, you're the only person I know who's willing to give up her happiness for me."

Bella blushed. "Y-you heard me talking to God?"

"Yes. And it had me thinking. I don't deserve you. You're too wonderful."

"So are you. You know, nothing makes me happier than spending time with you."

"But I still feel guilty about how I've been. I want to make it up to you."

"You already did."

"That wasn't enough. Besides, I had as much pleasure out of it as you did, so it didn't really count. I want to do something special for you."

"Just be here for me."

"That's not enough."

"It is for me."

Sirius looked at Bella, amazed. Is that really all she wants? No. Truth is, Bella sort of wanted a life like Lily's. She wanted to get married and settle down. And she wanted to do it with Sirius. But Bella knew that that's not what Sirius would want. She knew that he wasn't the type. He needed his freedom. If Bella had told him that she wanted to get married, she knew Sirius would say yes. But only because he wanted to make it up to her. He wouldn't be happy. Maybe for the first few months. But soon he would yearn for his freedom. She knew Sirius loved her. That was enough. She loved Sirius too. And even though she'd probably never marry him, having him there was satisfying enough.

"Are you sure, Bella?"

"It's all that I want."

"I know you're not being completely honest, Bella. But if you won't tell me, then I'll just have to do my best."

Bella smiled. "You do that." She kissed him and then got up, pulling on her robes. "It's late. Let's get moving. You need to go back to work."

"Today's my day off of work."

"Mine's too. Well, let's go grocery shopping then. I want to invite James and Lily to dinner tonight."

"All right."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Lorie!" Debbie yelled. "Are you still writing to your boyfriend?"

"Yes," Lorie said. "Now leave me alone."

"Oh sure," Debbie said sarcastically. "Getting all attitude-y now, aren't you? Well, fine. Be that way, Miss I'm-All-Stuck-Up-'Cause-I've-Got-A-Sweet-Boyfriend-Who-Writes-Everyday-So-I-Can-Ignore-My-Friend-Whose-Boyfriend-Never-Writes-Because-He's-A-Stupid-Inconsiderate-Jerk." She said all of this very fast.

Lorie laughed. "Why don't you write to him?"

"Because! Why should I? If he doesn't care, then neither will I!"

"Then why do you keep talking about him?"

Debbie didn't answer her. Instead she walked out of the room, singing, "Why should I care? If you don't care, then I don't care, we're not going anywhere…" (a/n: yes, I know that Avril Lavigne's songs didn't exist back then, but oh well).

Lorie laughed again. Then she turned back to her letter. In the previous few letters, Remus had told her all about Sirius and Bella's problem. And Lorie was really worried about them.

Dear Remus,

How are Bella and Sirius? Have they sorted out their problems yet? I hope they are okay. From the sound of it, Sirius is really acting like a jerk. I wish I could be there for Bella. Well, at least Lily's there. Please give Sirius a whack in the head for me. And also, please yell at him. Or you could leave it to Lily. Oh well. Please write back as soon as possible.

Miss You Much,

Lorie

"Lorie!!" Debbie called. "Come here!!"

"What now?" Lorie asked, handing the letter to her owl and setting it out the window.

Debbie ran in. "We have neighbors! Or maybe I should say neighbor. Somebody just moved in next door."

"Cool. Let's go say hi."

Lorie and Debbie left their apartment and knocked on the door of the one next to theirs. A guy, probably a few years older than Lorie, opened the door. "Yeah?" he asked. This guy was tall and had a nicely built body, with dark brown hair and turquoise-ish eyes.

"Er…hi," Lorie said. "We're your new neighbors."

"We've just come to say hi," Debbie added.

"Oh hi," the guy said. "I'm Kyle Hunter."

"Debbie Lawrence," Debbie shook his hand. Then Kyle turned to Lorie. "And who might you be?"

"Valorie Kunners," Lorie said, smiling and shaking his hand too. "But everybody calls me Lorie. So…what do you do for Witch Weekly?"

"Photographer, you guys?"

"Same," Lorie said.

"I work on the polls and quizzes," said Debbie. "Ah. Speaking of that, I need to finish my "How Well Do You Know Your Boyfriend?" quiz. Ciao." She left.

"Well, see you 'round," Lorie said brightly to Kyle.

"Yeah, see ya," he replied, going back into his apartment.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: This chapter isn't the best, but it is needed. *Sighs* I love new characters. Adds sort of a mystery in the plot. Makes you wonder,"Hmm…what's his/her point in this story?" Well, to find out, please review!