Bleh, there you go. The longest post in a while now. Sorry my workload is mountainous and I have writer's block! Thanks you all for reviewing, I like reading your replies!

Post 44

Tears started to flow as regret and guilt settled in.

"Oh, Sirius, I'm so sorry...I never meant what I said...I'm so sorry, I know you're not like that..." I sobbed, sniffing back the tears. He wrapped his warm, comforting arms around me and rubbed my back like he always did when I was feeling down. How I have longed for this moment... I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. He didn't let go neither did he pull back. We were just caught in the moment, and I wasn't letting it go.

"I was so stupid, forgive me Sirius," I muttered.

"You were right," replied Sirius quietly.

I pulled away slightly to look at him. "Right about what?"

He looked down. "I was like Avery at first..." he said, his voice full of nothing but shame.

I furrowed my eyebrows, not wanting to believe it.

"No..."

"Yes," he replied with a heavy sigh. "I've always wanted the easy life... the luxurious life I never had..."

"So was it all... just an act?" I asked bitterly.

"No!" He said suddenly, his eyes looking up into mine. "The more I got to know you, the more I fell in love with you... with the beautiful person you were inside... and out." He ended with a small smile and with his finger, he tucked my fringe behind my ear.

"Do you still hate me?" He asked softly, stroking my hair gently, straightening the curls, lacing his fingers through.

I took a deep breath.

"I never did..." I whispered.

I wrapped my arms tighter around him, feeling for once in what seemed like eternity, loved, safe and protected. When my mind was slightly eased, I remembered suddenly the large dog.

"Sirius!"

"Yeah?"

"You... you changed from that black dog," I said, frowning to remember. What had happened seemed to be just a haze. "You're not an animagus are you?" I asked with suspicion.

"Actually, yes..." he replied. "Between you and me, 'kay?"

"How did you do it?" I asked in awe, looking up at his face.

"Well... it took years," he replied simply. "We just managed it in our fifth year..."

"We?"

"Oh, I meant 'I'," he interjected quickly.

I felt a flicker of suspicion. He didn't seem to be telling the truth, but if he didn't want me to know I wouldn't force him to tell.

"Sorry I scared you," he continued. "I thought maybe changing into a dog might make me lighter."

"It did," I answered. "But it was very terrifying though...It's okay. All of this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been so foolish..."

"People do and say things they don't mean when they're mad..."

"So you know I didn't mean what I said..." I reminded him again.

"Yes, and neither did I..."

There was a pause where we just found comfort in each others' arms.

I smiled weakly, feeling slightly happier. I adjusted myself and he positioned his arms so that he held me in a cradle. I leant my head against his chest and pulled my robes tighter around my body as a sudden gush of wind blew past us. I stared straight out at a tower with who knows how many long rectangular windows glowering and flickering in candlelight.

And suddenly, it was as if the sun had risen in my world. Bright and glowing. The trees sprung into life. The rain stopped and the storm clouds cleared, exposing the forget-me-not blue sky that they held shielded for so long. The birds started chirping and the blue lake was beautifully tranquil.

I took out my wand and conjured another ball of fire that appeared with a small whoosh of flame and hovered around us.

"The only reason I was with Christella was because you hated her..." he said very regrettably. "And I was so angry. So I thought making you jealous by being with the person you hated most would be a good payback..."

"And I did the same thing..." I replied with a slight laugh.

"She was never like you," he added.

"You two seem to have a fun time together all the time though," I pointed out coldly.

"We can too if you'd only just let me."

I looked up and before I knew it, his soft, warm lips were against mine. A great wave of bliss surged through me as his gentle lips caressed mine. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer. What was actually seconds felt like they contained an eternity. No one else existed. Nothing else mattered. It was just me and him then, in my world.

We separated, breathing hard and staring into each others eyes. I could feel the cold rush to my bones again. I shivered but whether it was because of the cold or... something else, I didn't really know.

"Maybe we should go back to our dorms..." whispered Sirius.

"Are we...?"

I wanted to ask if we were a couple again, whether we have forgiven each other... Ready to accept each other back. He leaned his head close towards mine, I could feel his breath against my ear.

"I love you."

I let out an unsteady breath. The power those three simple words strung together held. I could barely let the words out and when it did, it was hoarse and barely audible. And I meant it with every particle of my heart.

"I love you too."

We sneaked back first to the Slytherin common room and then Sirius back to his common room. As I skipped down the stone steps, I could feel my heart soaring from the lifted weight. I smiled all the way back to bed where I threw myself on and just sighed, thinking of how my world had suddenly turned around.