You know the disclaimer by now… This chapter is for Desi-Siriuslovesyou and all you other incredibly patient reviewers… Sorry!

Chapter 29: Finally.

"Ahoy!" Sir Cadogan called. "Who is it that passes this way at this ungodly hour?" Lena and Sirius stopped running and leaned against the wall opposite the portrait. The painting squinted through the semi-darkness, gave a small squeal and prostrated himself hurriedly. "Sir Galahad the Chaste!" he exclaimed, "of King Arthur's court!"

"No, I am not Galahad the chaste," Sirius said. "Who, by the way, if my experiences tonight are anything to go by, should have been called Galahad the Incredibly Frustrated. But now, I am Galahad the Horny. Galahad the Perverted. Galahad the Extremely Naughty."

"B-but why not—" Sir Cadogan started.

"I'm irresistible," Lena said, grinning.

"Ok, can you do me a favour and hold the gloating?" Sirius asked. "It's going to be bad enough with James…"

"But Siri, you couldn't resist me," Lena reminded him.

"Well, ok … but I could have the same effect on you."

"Really?"

"Of course," he went on. "You wouldn't be able to resist me if you tried."

"Ah, but Siri, why would I want to resist you?" she asked.

"I can still turn you into putty in my hands," he maintained.

"Are you going to prove it?" she challenged.

"I might be forced to," he said, tipping his hat to Sir Cadogan and leading her into another cupboard. Lena's eyes barely had time to adjust to the dark before he was kissing her. She smiled as his hands went to work, covering all their usual paths. She found herself wishing that they would veer ever so slightly off course… as it was they were getting hungrier, more frantic. At least, until he stopped.

"Why isn't this working?" he asked her.

"It is," she said.

"Then why aren't you joining in?"

"I was having a good time," she said. "Now are you going to continue?" Sirius grinned and moved his hands to her back. "What are you doing?" she wondered.

He leaned forward, at the same time bringing her closer to him, and kissed her. She was taken aback – it was completely unlike any other kiss she had ever experienced. Even by Sirius' standards, it was amazing, and that boy could kiss… she joined in this time, and it seemed like an eternity before they finally pulled apart, breathless.

"What's happening?" Sirius asked, his voice shaky.

"I don't know," Lena said. "We weren't far from—"

"I know," Sirius said. "I didn't want it to be – it's not just because you were tempting me all night."

"It's not just because you were resisting me," Lena added.

"So … why?" Lena stepped forward slightly.

"Because I love you," she said softly. She kissed him, softer, yet the intensity was still there. He pulled apart and swallowed.

"Does that mean—" he started. Lena nodded. "You really want to? I mean, you're ready? I don't want to rush you—"

"You're not rushing me," she said, and kissed him firmly on the lips. "I am ready. Ii love you. I trust you. Just … maybe not here?" Sirius smiled.

"Yeah, the Magical Mess Remover detracts slightly from the atmosphere. Where? My bed?"

"But—"

"Um, Silencing charms?"

"Oh. Yeah, ok." They shared one last kiss before leaving the cupboard. Sir Cadogan's eyes bugged slightly at the rumpled state of Lena's dress and the angle at which Sirius' helmet had been jammed on, and he wasn't the only portrait that noticed.

"Gallivanting again?" the Fat Lady asked. "Everyone was back from the ball ages ago." Lena and Sirius grinned sheepishly. "Well, off to bed straight away, eh?" Utterly perplexed at the fit of giggles that followed this statement, she shrugged and swung open. They sobered up upon entering the common room, knowing that this was their chance to back out. But they crept up the boy's staircase quietly, and even more silently, into the boy's dorm. None of the boys were particularly light sleepers, but they certainly didn't want them to wake up now. Lena crept to the bathroom and Sirius tried not to clink as he made his way to his bed.

In the bathroom, Lena looked into the mirror, steeling herself up for what she was about to do. She was ready, but it didn't mean that she wasn't nervous. This was such a big deal…She took a deep breath, turned around, and opened the door.

Lena opened her eyes a tiny bit to check the colour of the hangings. Blue. Still half asleep, she moved her leg until she found Sirius's leg. Rolling over, she began to snuggle into him.

Her eyes opened wide as the memory of the night before flooded back. She grinned to herself.

"Morning," he whispered. She looked up at him.

"Morning. I didn't mean to wake you," she said.

"I've been watching you sleep."

"Why?" Sirius brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.

"You're beautiful," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper. He gave her a lingering kiss.

"I can't believe that we have—" Sirius smiled.

"I know…," he said, and then a thought struck him. "You don't regret it, do you?" he asked quickly.

"No!" Lena said emphatically. She kissed him to reassure him, and then sat up, clutching the covers to her.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked through a large yawn, as lean moved around the assortment of clothes and armor that had been kicked to the end of the bed. She grabbed the long tunic that he had been wearing the previous night and pulled it on.

"I'm just going to the bathroom," she said, hopped out of bed and padded across the room. As the door shut behind her, Sirius exhaled deeply. Had he dreamed that? Part of him knew it had been real, but he daren't believe it. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift back to the previous evening…

"What are you thinking?" Lena's voice came from just above him. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, tunic slipping down slightly on one shoulder, and hair tousled. That had been what he was thinking of. Lena smiled at his silence and ruffled his hair. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he replied. He took her hand. "Are you sure you're ok? I mean, after Ritchie and all?"

"That was nothing like Ritchie," she whispered. "It was better, for starters." Sirius grinned. "And I was ready. Now where did my dress go?" she mused, rummaging around again.

"Are you leaving?" he asked quickly.

"Yeah, but I'm only going to my dorm, not the North Pole," she said. "I have to shower before Quidditch."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"Nah, it's ok. Kind of cute. Zip me up?" she asked, turning around.

"Funny, I didn't think they had zips in the Middle Ages."

"Oh, he's hilarious!" Lena said sarcastically. "I'm not sure they had Tutshill Tornadoes boxer shorts either. Which, by the way, we need to talk about – Oh, good morning, James." Sirius looked around her head.

"Morning, Prongs," he said. "Done, Lee."

"Don't call me Lee," she said, gave him a quick kiss and picked up her shoes and veil. "See you at breakfast." James sat half asleep trying to figure out what was going on. Sirius glanced at him amusedly before drawing the curtain. James heard armor moving around and soon Sirius stepped out of bed, took his moneybag from his drawer and counted out twenty galleons. James' eyes bugged.

"Well done," Sirius said, walking over to his bed and depositing the twenty galleons in his lap. "You proved me wrong." And he headed into the bathroom, leaving James gaping at the door.

"I can't believe Lena's in the shower already," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but she does have Quidditch this morning," Ally said.

"Enough about Lena, dish the dirt on Frank," Kim said, dragging herself out of bed and across the floor, only to collapse again on the foot of Ally's bed. Ally smiled.

"Oh, it's nothing really, he just asked me to the dance as a friend. That's all," Ally said.

"Sure, and Binns was the life and soul of the ball last night," Lena said, emerging from the bathroom brushing her hair. "Morning all!" she added. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" Lily looked out of the window at the grey February sky. "So what are you lot still lying around for?"

"Because it's a Saturday and it's 8 in the morning," Kim said. "And we were at the ball till late last night – though you left early." Lena smiled. She cast a drying spell on her hair and plaited it hastily.

"Off to brekkie," she announced. "I take it no one wants to join me?" the girls looked at her. "Ok, ok, see you later." She apparently floated down the stairs to the Great Hall, unable to stop grinning. She made her way to the Gryffindor table and sat across from Remus, who was reading the Daily Prophet. She poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Morning," she said brightly.

"Morning," he replied. "In a good mood."

"Yes," she said, buttering her toast.

"Had a good time last night, then?"

Lena could feel him staring at her over the paper.

"All in all, yeah," she said. His face twitched into a sort of smile. "Oh, for Merlin's sake, Remus, just ask me." Remus smiled.

"What?" he asked innocently, lowering the paper.

"If what James has probably told you is true."

"Is it?"

"Yes. Anything else?"

"No." He watched her for another few seconds. "Are you capable of holding a straight face?" he wondered. She stuck her tongue out at him while attempting to hide her grin.

"So…," she said, trying valiantly to appear nonchalant, "where is Sirius?" Remus shrugged and raised the paper again. Lena looked at him expectantly, but he didn't say anything. "Well?" she asked.

"What?" Remus asked, eyes roving over an article about the Minister of Magic flying his broom into a tree.

"Where is he?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Remus asked. Lena fixed him with a stern look. "He called into the library to return a book that was due in a week ago. He told me that if he wasn't back in half an hour that I have to check that Pince hasn't killed him." Lena looked at her watch. "It's only been 15 minutes," he added. "And besides, he's walking into the hall as I speak." Lena smiled and turned around.

"You survived the wrath of Pince then?" Lena asked as he sat beside her.

"Of course, I had am a brave and valiant knight, after all," he said, grabbing sausages and bacon.

"And pure to boot," Remus remarked casually, unable to resist.

"Nah, I've given up on that," Sirius said, smiling as broadly as Lena. Remus rolled his eyes and went back to his paper.

"A whole day of Quidditch," Lena said blissfully. James had booked the pitch for the day after the ball specifically because he knew other teams would be reluctant to train early that morning. Indeed, the hall was practically deserted. The only other people there were two Slytherins, sitting at opposite ends of the table, a handful of particularly studious Ravenclaws eager to get seats in the library, and some Hufflepuff first years. However, at Lena's statement they stood up hastily and left the hall. "Was it something I said?" Lena wondered.

"They're just gone to let Bagman know we're practicing all day," Remus said, but Lena and Sirius were busy sharing a slice of toast. He shook his head, experiencing a strong sense of deja-vu.

"He just asked me as a friend," Ally insisted for the umpteenth time.

"So he didn't kiss you?" Lily asked.

"No."

"Hold your hand?"

"No."

"Put his hand around you?"

"No."

"Nothing?"

"Well, he did dance all the slow songs with me," Ally said. "But nothings happened."

"Well, that's useless, here was me thinking this would be an interesting conversation—oops," Lily said suddenly. She stood up silently, tiptoed to The Fluffy Zone, and peered through a crack in Adele's curtain. "Phew, not there. Anyway, that's all you have for us?" Ally grinned.

"I think he's gorgeous, if that helps," she remarked casually. They were about to respond when a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in if you're handsome," Lily called. The door opened to reveal James standing in the doorway.

"We said you had to be handsome!" Kim joked.

"Oh, but he is all in his Quidditch gear with his captains badge and his leather gloves and all," Lily said. "I know, I'll be ready in 2 minutes." She rummaged in her trunk for a brief second, and then dashed into the bathroom. They headed downstairs to the Great Hall a few minutes later, and James looked at Lily mischievously.

"Well, how is Lena?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked. "Same as always . . . Or has something happened? Is she ok?"

"Not acting differently then?"

"No, why would she?" Lily was incredibly puzzled.

"Hasn't she told you?"

"James, you're going to have to start making sense soon. Told me about what?"

"About – you know."

"I quite obviously don't."

"She's failed her constitutional requirement big time, in that case," he said. Lily took a deep breath.

"Don't kill him, he's you're boyfriend, don't kill him, he's your boyfriend," she muttered.

"I'm touched," James said. "She'd better tell you herself, you'll have to ask her." Lily rolled her eyes as he dragged her into the Great Hall.

It was about an hour later after James and Remus arrived in the Room of Requirement that Lena and Sirius turned up, both with wet hair and smelling of strawberries.

"Hello," Lena called to the room at large. She headed to the table and pulled her Herbology book out of her bag. She sighed. "I hate Herbology," she announced.

"Lena," Lily said, sitting beside her and pushing the Herbology book away, "where have you been?"

"Quidditch," Lena replied.

"You're back later than everyone else," Lily noted. Lena suppressed a smile.

"Yes," she said, pulling back her book. "Have you started the essay?"

"I can't believe you find Herbology difficult," Frank remarked.

"Lena, look at me," Lily said. "You've – when? – last night?"

"Do you need me for this conversation?" Lena joked.

"You slept with him? Really?"

"Can we not discuss it here?" Lena asked.

"I'd appreciate that," Sirius offered. Lily smiled, and headed back to the couch.

"Frank, if you've stopped being condescending, can you help me with this?" Lena asked.

"Yes," he said, moving into the seat that Lily had just vacated. "I was just saying—"

"That I'm stupid," Lena finished. "I get it."

"No! I just meant that you're good at potions and stuff," Frank said.

"I could tell you anything you wanted about their properties and things, I just can't keep them alive," Lena muttered.

"I'll help you," Frank said. "But you must explain that Invisibility Draught to me."

"It's a deal," Lena agreed.

"Right, lets do this," James said calmly, yet confidently. The rest of the team were apparently just as cool, they strode onto the field grinning.

"Is James swaggering?" Ally asked in the stands.

"Yep," Lily sighed.

James grabbed Bagman's hand and shook it firmly, exchanging a smile with the opposing Captain.

"Good luck," James said.

"And you," Bagman replied. The stand-in commentator, a fourth-year Ravenclaw, began.

"The Quaffle is in the air – immediately seized by Potter, captain of the Gryffindor team and one of their formidable chasers … Lupin has the Quaffle, now White, who dodges a Bludger..." Lena spun upside down on her broom with extreme dexterity, throwing it to James before spinning back around. Sirius flew past her on his way to the Bludger.

"Flexible," he muttered as he sped past. She winked and flew towards the goal.

"I'd get dizzy," Frank said. Ally grinned. "Spinning and then moving so fast. Not to mention doing it fifty feet off the ground…" In the time it took Frank to say the sentence, James had scored. Ally raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Oh, be quiet."

"What? I didn't say anything!" Ally said, innocently.

After two hours, the score was 220-20. Even a superb catch by Dunster, the Hufflepuff Seeker, couldn't swing the game in their favour.

"We're playing Slytherin in the final!" James shouted in the common room later that night. "They're strong, but not as strong as us. The only thing is that Malfoy's a good Seeker," he said, though it looked as if that admittance caused him actual pain.

"Rachel's good too, though," Lily said.

"Not as good as Malfoy," Rachel said. "I haven't caught any this year."

"That doesn't mean you're not good," Remus said. "You can delay the capture, and in a team that relies on its Chasers that is really helpful. Rachel looked doubtful.

"Thanks for being supportive," Rachel said.

"We're telling the truth," Lily said. "Now can we please talk about something other than Quidditch?" Lena, just entering with Sirius, again with wet hair and smelling of strawberries, gave her a strange look.

"Why wouldn't you want to talk about Quidditch?" she asked.

"Because we have been talking about it since we all got back," Lena said. "It gets tiring. If you'd been here you'd have had a chance to join the discussing, but since you were off with Sirius discussing tactics by yourselves—"

"We get your point, Lily," Sirius interrupted.

"It's your birthday soon," Ally reminded Lily.

"We shall have to have a hooley," Lena said.

"A what?" Lily asked.

"A shindig. A hoo-ha. A hootenanny," Lena elaborated, but was still greeted by strange glances.

"I think she means a party," Sirius translated.

"Oh," James said. "Indeed."

"It'll have to be a double party," Lily said.

"Why?" the boys asked.

"It's not just my birthday," she said, horrified. "George Harrison was born on the 26th of February, 1943, making him a sprightly 34."

"Well, we could invite him, but I don't think he'd come," Remus reasoned.

"We always have a double party," Lena explained.

"Was that planned?" Sirius wondered. "You're dad's a fan too, isn't he?"

"I wasn't planned to be born then," Lily said, scandalized. "It was just a coincidence. And besides, I was born in 1960, before they were big, so we didn't find out until later."

"That's you're story and you're sticking to it, eh?" Remus asked. Lily nodded. Remus smiled, and yawned. He had never felt this tired in his entire life.

"How are you feeling?" Kim asked, looking concerned

"I'm just a little tired," he said, lying through his teeth.

"I knew you should have moved the game," Kim said.

"I'm ok, I've played and won, but now I think I've used up every ounce of energy I need for the next few days," he said.

"When is the full moon? Three days?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, I can deal with it, though," he said. "Don't you go worrying about me."

"I'm here if you need me," she said.

"Thanks," he said softly, getting that sudden rush he felt almost daily. He felt so lucky to have this wonderful person in his life… He kissed her softly.

"I wish I could be here all the time," she whispered. Remus held her tighter.

"It's not safe," he said, kissing her forehead. "I know you'll be here every other night of the month."

"The boys manage," Kim pointed out. Remus looked uncomfortable. "I'm just saying maybe there's a way I could do it too?"

"It's complicated – not here, ok?" he whispered. "Later."

"Yes Kim, not in front of everyone!" Sirius exclaimed. "My virgin eyes!" he was quickly silenced by a pillow to the face.

"Good shot," Remus congratulated his girlfriend. He yawned again. "I think I'm going to head to bed," he said.

"Yar," I think I shall follow," James said.

"And me," Sirius added. He looked at Lena.

"Yeah, I'm about to collapse," she said.

"Then I shall carry you!" he announced, standing over her with his hand out.

"I won't say no," she said, as he pulled her up.

"Aha, now I have you!" Sirius said. "And I can run away with you! Goodnight," he called to the common room as he hurried up the boys stairs with Lena in his arms.

"Goodnight," Lily said, kissing James.

"'Night," Kim said. Remus kissed her softly, almost as if it were a silent apology for not being completely honest with her. Up in the dorm, he sighed.

"Kim's asking questions," he said, once he was sure Lena was in the bathroom.

"Get out quick!" James joked. You'll be whipped!"

"Yeah, you'll be stuck, she'll be in control," Sirius added.

"What, she'll start leaving her things on my locker?" Remus asked, staring pointedly at the spare hairbrush Lena kept beside Sirius' bed.

"I never said it was a bad thing," Sirius said. "Some of the underwear she leaves is quite interesting, actually…"

"Over share, Sirius," Remus said. "And the questions she's asking are—" he glanced at the bathroom door, "— about how you stay with me at full moon." The boys exchanged looks.

"Shit," James sighed, slumping sown onto the bed.

"I know," Sirius said, leaning against his bedpost.

"I didn't want to tell her—" Remus started.

"We'd have to tell them all," Sirius said, glancing instinctively at the bathroom.

"They handled my being a werewolf fairly well," Remus pointed out.

"This is different," James said. "Highly illegal."

"They've never minded you lot breaking rules before," Peter supplied.

"Lily minds a bit," James said. "Besides, this isn't just a school rule, Peter; we could go to Azkaban for this…"

Sirius shuddered at the thought. "How do you think they'll take it?" he asked.

"So you're telling them?" Peter asked.

"To be honest, I want Lily to know," James said. They looked at Remus.

"It's your call," he said "This is your secret."

"We'll do it," Sirius said.

"What are you lot up to now?" Lena asked, exiting the bathroom in froggy pajamas.

"Nothing major," James said, knowing that Sirius wouldn't be able to lie, or at least wouldn't want to. "James no function pranks well without." Lena grinned and didn't probe any further.

I'm soooooo sorry. Took ages, I know. I have no excuse, you are entitled t torture me in any way you see fit. I've had one of those inconvenient things called a job and also writers block. And you can blame Podge too (see his apologetic review). (No, he hasn't stolen them because if he had he'd be out on the street. Covered in blood). But I'm back and if I don't have one chapter every month, minimum, you can officially track me down and do nasty things to me. The job's over but second year isn't being nice to me… Hideously large reading lists! I'll try my best though!

Oooh, the Half Blood Prince!!! Who do you think it is??