Circe continued to come into his room every few nights, her pretty face stained with tears and her eyes wide and puffy from the horrors she saw in her dreams. And just as Sirius never told his friends that he was sleeping with Circe, he didn't tell them about her late night visits either.

Everything was so wrong when in came to him and Circe. He knew now that he loved her, and she was the only girl he had ever loved. But she wasn't his, even if they did sleep together. He could hope and dream all he wanted, but the truth was that Circe and Seamus were in a pretty serious relationship that didn't look to be letting up any time soon. And even though this was Seamus's last year at Hogwarts, the two already had plans to keep their relationship going all through the summer, even into next year.

Sirius and Fiona kept dating, but it didn't look as if that was going to last much longer. Sirius refused to sleep with her while he was still with Circe, and this was frustrating Fiona immensely. After all, Sirius had the reputation – based on fact – which he slept with every girl he dated.

He just couldn't bring himself to 'cheat' on Circe with Fiona, even while he wondered if Circe and Seamus were sleeping together. He tried not to think about it often, tried to forget that Circe was dating someone else, but sometimes the damn girl made it impossible for him to forget. Sometimes she hurt him so bad he couldn't stand it ...

They were in the Room of Requirement, it was a Wednesday. He rolled off of her as his breathing slowed, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Her eyes were closed as she began to drift into a peaceful slumber, and he whispered into her ear, too tired to think, "I love you." She stiffened slightly in his arms but he didn't notice as he fell asleep.

It must have been an hour later when he woke up, Circe was no longer in his arms, but lying on the bed a foot away from him, watching him with a perplexed expression on her face, her eyes unreadable.

Sirius shut his eyes tight when it all came back to him and he remembered what he had said. He contemplated pretending he was still asleep but he knew that wouldn't work, she had already seen him wake up. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, bringing it out of his eyes; he sat up in the bed, starring at the wall ahead of him so she wouldn't see his face.

Sirius felt her move around on the bed and he started a bit when he felt her arms slide around his waist and her cheek rest against his back. She had sat up behind him. He frowned slightly as she spoke, not wanting to fall any deeper for her.

"You said that you loved me." She spoke her words with a shyness that he rarely heard from her and he shut his eyes tight. He hadn't meant to say it; it had just felt so right ...

"Yeah," he said wearily, not wanting to have her angry with him again.

She was silent for a while, and the only noise Sirius could hear was his heart beating heavily against his chest. And then her arms tightened around his waist a bit and she whispered to him. "How do you know if you're in love?"

He hadn't been expecting this question and he was speechless. How did you know if you were in love? Love was when your heart beat faster than you ever thought possible and your pulse quickened every time they touched you. It was when you were having the most miserable day of your life and their smile was enough to make you forget your troubles. It was when that person invaded your thoughts at every waking moment, and even crept stealthily into your dreams at night. Love was when your happiness no longer mattered as long as they were happy.

How did you know if you were in love? You just knew ...

When he didn't answer her, Circe began to speak again. "Seamus once told me that he loved me, but I didn't believe him."

Her words brought on pain so excruciating that he though for a second he might cry. He blinked his eyes several times, glad that she couldn't see his face, and tried to keep the pain out of his voice. "Do you believe me?"

She sighed against his back, her breath tickling his skin causing him to shiver. His heart beat quickened, if that was even possible. "I shouldn't."

"But do you?" He asked, desperate to know the answer.

"Yes." She tightened her arms again, turning her face into his back and lightly kissing his shoulder.

There was a trace of bitterness in his voice, "Why believe me when you don't believe him. Don't you have more of a reason to believe your boyfriend?" He nearly spat the last word out.

"I don't know." Circe was speaking so quietly that he had to strain his ears to hear her. "I guess because I want to believe you."

Sirius didn't know what to say to that so he didn't say anything. He slid his hand across her arm until he reached hers and twined his fingers through her fingers, squeezing her hand.

The perfect silent lasted only a moment. "How do you know that you love me?" She sounded so self-conscious that all he wanted to do was turn around and kiss her and tell her that she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

He didn't do that. Instead, he shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to have this discussion with her, knowing that if he did he would just leave another piece of his heart behind. He knew that if he bared his soul to her it would become far too scared to survive. He shrugged.

Circe kissed his back again and then rested her forehead against him. Even though he knew that she wished he would answer the question, she didn't push and he was grateful.

They sat there together like that for a long time. To Sirius, no moment in his life had ever been that right and he was content just to be there with her, having her hold him. But every good thing has to end, and it was this knowledge that scared him half to death. He didn't know what he would do if he ever lost her ...

A/N: Here's your update :P ... even if it is kind of short, it sets the stage for the next chatper which I am half done writing. I am REALLY trying to get as much done but I definately wont be able to do too many updates before I leave (I might get in one more). I will try and write as much of the story as I can while I am away, but I doubt that I will be able to post any of it. Hope that you can wait ... and thanks SO MUCH for your reviews!