Sorry for the long wait!!! And no not all my posts have a cliffy... hehe. Anyway, thank you all so much for your reviews. School is wringing me like a damp towel. Argh my brain!! And due to my short lack of concentration, I can only get like 1 whole page of posts a day! Geography exam on Monday... wish me luck!

Post 57

"Um... they're going to go back first..." he explained. "You'll wait for me won't you?"

Honestly, I didn't really want to stay in this room any longer.

"Why aren't we going back with them?" I asked.

"Because we're going out later," he said with a grin.

My face lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Have fun!" Called Remus as he closed the door shut behind him.

"Oh Sirius, it's been ages," I said excitedly.

"Never have anymore time do we? And I highly doubt less after this break," he said. "So... that is why, tonight, we're going to have as much fun as we can."

"Great!" I replied. "About this place... you haven't rented this place yet have you?"

"No, school's about to start," he replied with a shrug. "I start living here after I graduate."

"I hope you think this through and make the right choice," I added.

"Don't worry, I will," he said. "Well... ready to go?"

"Ready."

We walked out into the street, greeted by a gust of chilly, but fresh wind. The small bits of snow that covered the ground seemed to glow under the lights. The buildings seemed dark and menacing while the streets glowed a brilliant gold.

"Chilly night eh?" He whispered, rubbing his gloved hands against his cheeks.

"Mmhmm. Where are we going?" I asked curiously as he led me down the street.

"Don't expect me to tell you that, do you?" He replied with a grin.

"Oh, come on," I begged.

"You'll see later... it's a surprise."

I gave a small groan and kept quiet. When he said he wouldn't tell, no amount of persuasion would make him tell. We walked down the street and just before we were about a turn the corner, Sirius jumped in front of me.

"Wait here..." he instructed as he nipped around the wall for a second. He returned with a great smile on his face.

"Ok! Take my hand and close your eyes..." he said.

"What? What's this all about?" I asked but couldn't help but smile.

"Close your eyes..."

I closed them.

"Make sure they're closed!" He called as he pulled me along with him.

"Yes! I'm not peeking!" I replied with a laugh.

He pulled me for a short while and then he told me to open my eyes. I did and my jaw dropped in pleasant surprise as I saw what was in front of me. Right on the other side of the street was a handsome black carriage drawn by a dark brown horse with inky black tresses.

A man in a neat coat was seated in front with his hands on the reins. The seats were soft black leather with furry edges of royal red.

"Wow, it's awesome!" I cried throwing my arms around him. "Are we going for a ride?"

"Certainly..." he replied. "Climb on."

Excited, I got onto the carriage and flopped myself down on the comfortable cushioned seat. The carriage was pleasantly high and I could see all around. Muggle London at night... for the first time. Sirius jumped in and the carriage was on its way, slowly and steadily along the streets.

We sat really close because it was really cold and laughed at all the funny things the muggles dream of. Of course not too loud, lest the driver hears. The night was nothing short of romantic. The street was brilliantly lit with lights that weren't fire, even gentle snow was falling upon us as we trotted along the street, though it ended pretty briefly, taking in the beautiful sights at night.

Later, we went for dinner al fresco at an Italian restaurant. We both had plates of spaghetti and talked the night away. It was certainly not a night to forget, our first real date out of Hogsmeade (it was getting boring going to the same place all the time).

It was around eight by the time we've finished dinner and I finally got Sirius to follow me shopping! He seemed slightly unbothered, but I'm sure a bit of walking after dinner won't hurt.

Muggle London had way better shops than Hogsmeade ever did. There were rows upon rows of shops all down the street. I entered one after seeing a mannequin wearing a particularly fetching coat.

"Ooh, come let's look at that!" I said happily pulling Sirius in.

The shop was really spacious with clothes on either side. They didn't seem to sell much but I seemed to like everything I saw. And soon I was at the counter while the curt looking man waited with a large stiff paper bag that held my clothes.

I took out my purse and withdrew a handful of paper money. The Muggles were pretty clever, I think, coins have always been heavier. But figuring out the numbers on them were torture! Sirius tried to help.

"What is this? Is this a five?" I asked, looking closer at the note.

"No, I think that's a ten... this is a fifty, another fifty..." muttered Sirius, pulling out the notes from my hands.

I glanced at the man. He looked awfully irritated, his tiny moustache bristled in annoyance as his long fingers tapped the glass counter impatiently.

"Do you even have enough, ma'am?" He scoffed.

"Of course!" I snapped. "I'm sorry... uh..." I put on a fake accent. "Ve... are... foreign!"

"Yes! Yes! Ve... are not very very familiar... with zis money!"

"Where's your mum and dad?" He asked irritably.

"I dunno..." I replied with a look. Sheesh...

We finally managed to withdraw a bunch of tens and fifties and paid for my things. Soon we agreed to head home. Me to my house and Sirius to his new apartment, to where he was staying for a night. By that time, I was holding 6 bags and a bouquet of roses, which I bought just because I felt like having them, and Sirius was holding 2 bags and a couple of shoeboxes. Sirius insisted on sending me back.

"You don't have to..." I told him.

"But it's what everyone does!" he replied. "Besides, you're going to the Leaky Cauldron right? It's quite far from here!"

"Sirius, it's a short walking distance from your apartment..."

"And I have to carry your stuff. So agreed then," he replied enthusiastically.

"Er... if you really want to," I said. "Good thing father's not home tonight."

"Lucky me!"

We headed for The Leaky Cauldron and to the fireplace where there was Floo Powder in a flower pot nearby for people to use. As soon as I stepped through the fire and out the other side, I felt nice and warm, quite different from the chilly Leaky Cauldron.

I was in the living room, it wasn't very different since the time I last saw it. It hardly looked like it was touched. I smiled, I missed home, no matter what lonely memories it might bring. It certainly looked better than the Slytherin common room.

Sirius appeared a while later from the fireplace, coughing slightly, the bags dangling precariously from his arm.

"Since father's not around... would you like to stay for a while?" I asked.

"Gladly."

We went to sit near the fireplace on the couch and a house-elf immediately scuttled by with two cups of warm cocoa for us.

"I had a really great time," I told him.

"Me too," he replied, sipping his cocoa. "I knew you'd enjoy it."

"I did... You know I love horses."

"That's why I thought of the ride really... and besides, you've never seen Muggle London have you?"

"Not at all, I've been here all my life... then I went to Hogwarts."

"Me and James have been roaming everywhere ever since we met in first year."

He smiled and didn't say anything but we just looked at each other. I don't know how long we sat there, there was no sound except for the gentle crackle of the fire and then a grandfather's clock somewhere chimed.

"You should be getting back," I said.

"You're alone here would you be okay?"

"Yes the house-elves will take very good care of me," I laughed.

He leaned forward and we kissed. A soft, gentle kiss goodnight. But then something so perfect suddenly went wrong.

I gasped as I felt someone grab the back of my robes and pull me backwards roughly. I fell onto the floor. Looking up, I saw the one who I dreaded to see most... my father. He was standing there, his face livid and his wand out at Sirius.