Sorry for the delay, I know it seems like I don't care, but I really do! I've gotten a second wind, so hopefully the next chap will be out within the week.

"You wish, Luca DiRenzo. I wouldn't marry you if you held a gun at me!" Bellissia shouted as she jumped up.

"That, my dear, can be arranged!" Luca snarled. He had an odd sounding accent. It was a cross between an American one, specifically Brooklyn, and an Italian one. It was slurred, yet distinguished. He seemed he would bust out with 'say 'allo to my lil' friend' at any time. This man seemed to radiate power, as though he had control of armies just like him. Sirius hoped, for Bellissia's sake, he was one of a kind. "What sewer (sewa) did ya find dis knuckle-head in?"

Bellissia leapt at Luca and began clawing him, Sirius tried vainly to pull her back. Finally, Luca roughly pushed her back into Sirius's arms. He had two gashes in one cheek, but other than that, looked no worse for wear. He sighed, as though Bellissia was merely a disobedient, yet annoying, pet.

"I'm Sirius Black, Bellissia's boyfriend, and if you think you're touching her again…" Sirius broke off.

"Yes, I know who ya are, Magenta has been kind enough to inform me of Bellissia's new friend," Luca said. "However, there is mores pressing matters at hand than what you will do ta me," he scoffed. "For starters, Bellissia, you need ta come with me ta start doin' wedding plans. Don't worry, invitations have alreadys been sent. I took the liberty of sending a courtesy 'nouncement to ya father."

"I said I'm not marrying you! And don't speak about my father in my presence!" Bellissia spat.

"What do you mean, wedding plans?" Sirius asked. "That's a little odd since she's my girlfriend."

"Sorry Sam, but I don't believe I owe yous no explanations."

"His name is SIRIUS, and you certainly owe ME one!" Bellissia shouted.

"Oh, so sorry, Serious. That name sounds more like a mood ta me. Now, ta answer your question, well it really wasn't really no question. It was more of a… demand really," Luca began.

"Get on with it!" Bellissia demanded.

"Yeah, well, I believe we's need to finish dis privately."

"Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of Sirius," Bellissia said confidently.

"Besides, I'd be nuts to let her go off alone with you," Sirius snarled.

"That's right," Luca said as he walked closer to Bellissia. "How is dat leg doin'?" he reached for her inner thigh. Bellissia was frozen. Sirius lunged at him and pinned Luca to the ground.

"I thought I told you never to touch her!" he shouted.

"Get off me, you oaf!" Luca choked. "Bellissia!" Sirius finally let go of his neck. Luca massaged it as he stood up. "You are damn lucky I'm in such a good mood." Sirius just snorted in reply.

"To continue," Luca began. He shot Sirius a glare. "If ya want to see what's up with our marriage situation, I suggest ya come to New York and see for yaself. But I must warn ya, I can assure ya our marriage contract will be…binding."

"You're disgusting, I still don't believe you!" Bellissia said.

"Each to his own," he smirked. "Well, sadly I must get back to the City. I'm needed to, er, quiet a certain witness. Ya know how it is, doll. Now, I want you to take the ticket that you so kindly threw on the ground." She summoned the plane ticket with her wand, never taking her eyes off him. "Yeah, now I want yas to look at the date." She glanced at it. "It's for two weeks from tonight. One week before Christmas. You'll have plenty a time to make arrangements with your school. I will be expecting you," and with that, Luca turned and walked away.

As he swaggered away to Hogsmead, presumably to disapparate to New York, he turned around and shouted one last promise, "Doll-face, I highly suggest you come willingly. I would hate to have to send anyone to force you. Your face is just too pretty to mess with," and he was gone.

Bellissia stared numbly after him. Her eyes were shining, as though tears were just waiting to spill out. She shook her head and pulled out a cigarette.

"Sirius, what am I going to do?" she asked. It killed him to see her so broken by that thug. He sighed and sat down, pulling her down with him. She stared at him expectantly, the unlit cigarette still dangling from her fingers.

"I don't know, love. I just don't know," he said as he pulled the cigarette from her hand. With an expert flick of her lighter, he lit the cigarette and placed it in his own lips before repeating the gesture for her. She thanked him, but raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't smoke," she said.

"Honey, what you don't know about be could fill a book," he told her with a bemused expression. "And I mean that in the best of ways."

"Well, same to you. You haven't even met my grandparents yet. But I still don't know what I'm going to do. You heard him, he threatened me! Maybe he was just lying about the marriage. But maybe he wasn't…" she rattled.

"Shh," Sirius said, placing a finger to her lips. "There is no need to worry about it tonight, okay? Let's just go back to the castle and get some sleep." She nodded and stood up. After helping Sirius up, they walked back to the castle hand in hand. Bellissia thought about throwing the ticket into the woods, but something in the back of her mind told her to hold on to it, that it would come in very handy in the future.

When they reached the Boys' Dormitories, everyone was already asleep. Bellissia thought they looked so peaceful, just laying there. She quickly pulled on some pajamas and got into her bed. Sirius flopped onto his. They laid there for quite a while before Sirius heard a little voice.

"Sirius!" Bellissia whispered. "Are you still awake?" Sirius rolled over to face her.

"I am now," he whispered back. He was about to be annoyed with her, but then he, once again, saw the scared look in her eyes. "What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"Can I sleep in your bed?" she asked meekly. He just smiled and threw back the comforter. She grinned and climbed in next to him, situating herself under his arm. They slept like that the whole night.

88888888

"Alright, Bellissia. All you have to do now is chop these lacewings and add them, then let the potion simmer for fifteen minutes, then…" Lily was rattling.

"Lily, stop," Bellissia said. "This is our last extra potions class of this term. Why don't we just forget about it and go have fun?" Lily looked hesitant.

"I really don't know," she said.

"Oh, come on! Let's go get Annie and some food and just hang out, us girls?" Bellissia begged. "Please?"

"Oh, alright," Lily finally gave in. Thirty minutes later, the three girls were sitting in an abandoned classroom surrounded by food and butterbeer. They were all having a pretty good time, especially Bellissia. It had been far too long since she had done stuff like this. They were all laughing as Lily impersonated Emalie the bitch—Lily really was a wonderful actress—when Bellissia began fumbling with her bag.

"What are you doing, Bel?" Annette asked. Bellissia just grinned.

"Want to make this party even better?" she said wickedly. She then pulled out two bottles of Odgen's Best Firewhisky. Lily gasped.

"Bellissia, students aren't supposed to have hard liquor! As head girl I need to set an example!" Lily lectured. To her surprise, Annette spoke up.

"Aw, come on Lily, live a little. I bet you never even tried it," she challenged.

"Whadd'ya say, Lily?" Bellissia questioned. She had ulterior motives for the firewhisky; to get as drunk as humanly possible. She had a certain scene in the forest she would love to forget for just one night. Luca's sudden appearance had been plaguing her for the past week. She still didn't know what she was going to do. As of right now, she had a fiancé and a boyfriend, and they were not the same person.

"Fine! But I don't want very much," Lily said with certainty.

One hour and two bottles later, Lily was nearly collapsed on the floor, Annette couldn't seem to stop giggling, and Bellissia was wishing she had brought more. She had never thought of herself as a heavyweight, but she guessed she was in too dark of a mood to have the fiery alcohol take immediate effect.

"Alright, les' play a game," Bellissia suggested. She sincerely hoped it would lift her spirits more than the spirits.

"Truth or dare!" Annette said immediately. She grinned. "I'll go first. Lily, truth or dare?"

Lily sat up and leaned against the wall. "Truth."

"Hmm…are you a virgin?" Annette asked innocently. Lily's eyes grew wide.

"Annette! You can't ask me that!" she shrieked.

"Well I just did, and you have to answer, you picked truth!" Annette replied.

"It's true, Lily. So, we're all dying to know…" Bellissia said.

"That's not fair! I'll only answer if you two answer," she said defiantly. Bellissia shrugged.

"Okay," she said without hesitation. Annette was a little more reserved.

"Oh, come on Annette, you opened up this can of worms!" Lily said.

"Fine," she grumbled. "But nothing we say can leave this room!" They all agreed.

"Lily's first!" Bellissia said.

"I…er…this is so embarrassing! I'm, sort of, saving myself for marriage," Lily said shyly.

"That's not embarrassing!" Bellissia immediately said. "I so respect that. But do you mean totally saving yourself, or just saving the full deed?"

"Well, I guess just the 'all the way' part. I mean, I have gotten close," Lily said, her cheeks tinged with pink.

"Wow. Who did you get close with?" Annette asked. "And how come you never told me?"

"Because it's an embarrassing topic! And James," she said sheepishly. The other two girls screeched.

"I knew it!" Bellissia said.

"Whatever, I knew it first. They were meant to be!" Annette said.

"Okay, okay. You guys' turn!" Lily said.

"I am definitely not a virgin," Bellissia said with a smile.

"How old were you?" Annette asked. Bellissia thought for a minute. She was seventeen now, so…

"I think I was, like, fourteen?" she said with uncertainty.

"You don't remember!" Lily asked in wonder. "It kind of seems like a pretty big event, you know."

"Oh, ha ha. I remember the event, I just don't remember my age at the time! Is that so hard to believe?" Bellissia questioned. "Matt. He was in the grade ahead of me. We had known each other forever. I was his first as well. It was so innocent and goofy."

"Goofy?" Annette asked with raised eyebrows. "It's supposed to be romantic and special."

"Well if you're so romantic, then, answer the question," Bellissia huffed.

"No," she said. Bellissia and Lily stared at her. "No I'm not a virgin." This was shocking, to say the least.

"Care to elaborate?" Lily said dryly.

"Not really, that's all I was required to answer, and you heard me. No, I am not a virgin," she said again with confidence.

"Oh, come on! We told you our stories! It's not right to leave us here!" Bellissia said angrily.

"Annette, really. You should at least tell us who!" Lily said.

"Yeah, we want juicy details!" gushed Bellissia.

"You two are the nosiest girls I have ever met," Annette said teasingly. "Fine, I'll tell you. Remus."

"Ahhhhh! Stop! Never mind! I don't want details!" Bellissia said, clapping her hands over her ears. She was desperately trying to get the image of her cousin and Annette 'doing the dirty' out of her mind.

Lily only laughed. "I think it's sweet! Did you guys talk about it, or did you just go for it?"

Annette smiled. "It was almost a year ago, at Christmastime. I stayed with him for the holidays because my parents were vacationing in Vienna. We were watching movies long after his parents had gone to bed. The topic just came up. I don't remember how, but we decided to just go for it. He carried me up to his room, even though he had to stop and take a rest halfway up the stairs!" The other girls giggled. "The next morning, I woke up to breakfast in bed and a huge bouquet of flowers. It was so sweet!" she finished dreamily.

"Annette?" Bellissia asked. Annette looked at her. "Remus is the nicest guy I know. And I couldn't think of a more perfect girl for him than you." Annette smiled at her.

"Have you done it since?" Lily asked eagerly. They all laughed.

"Nope. Don't get me wrong, it was fun, but our relationship is based on more than sex. We have much more fun just talking about random stuff and being around each other," Annette replied.

"How many times have you done it with Sirius?" Annette asked Bellissia.

"Zero," Bellissia smiled. Annette's and Lily's mouths hung open. "When it's meant to happen, it will. There just hasn't been the right moment yet."

Bellissia listened to herself. Why hadn't she and Sirius had sex yet? It seemed only logical based on her and him. They certainly both wanted to, that she was sure of. But every time they got close, something happened. Most likely, he would push her away saying that now wasn't the time. Other times, someone would interrupt them. She sighed and tried to stand up, but it seemed that right then, the alcohol chose to take effect. She found herself on her knees on the floor, laughing. This was all so funny!

At this point, Annette and Lily noticed that Bellissia is suddenly acting, well, drunk. They soon collaborated stories and discovered that since they each only had about a glass and a half, that Bellissia has most likely consumed near one and a half bottles of firewhiskey. They quickly sobered themselves up with the thought of the detention they will receive if they are caught drinking on school grounds and tried to figure out how to get back to the dormitories.

Annette and Lily positioned themselves one either side of Bellissia and attempt to pull her up, but she has quickly become lethargic, and is now moaning. After a few unsuccessful attempts, they give up. It is quite obvious that, although Bellissia is not a large person by any measure, they will not be able to carry her to Gryffindor tower alone. This could be due to their severe lack of upper body strength, or the fact that they were not entirely sober yet.

Lily took charge and ran to find one of the boys to help them. Only the Marauders wouldn't ask questions or nark on them. Annette thought it would be best of someone stayed with Bellissia. At this point, she was more of a danger to herself than others.

The Marauders were lounging in the common room when Lily burst in. She stumbled to James, and he noticed her eyes were having trouble focusing on his face. She smelled faintly stale, as well.

"Jammesss," she slurred, "You have to help us!" She now had the attention of all four boys.

"Lily, calm down, why do you need our help?" James asked, amused. Remus glared at him. Apparently he thought Lily's drunkenness was not something to be laughing about.

"It's Belllla, I think she's drunk!" Lily giggled. James snickered.

"She doesn't seem to be the only one, Lils," he told her. Sirius was also laughing.

"Lily, where is she?" Remus asked, the ever-concerned cousin. Sirius nodded through his chuckles. Peter stared at Lily, wide-eyed, not unlike a deer in the headlights.

"The empty classroom on the third floor, she's really bad. Anne-Anne-Annie's there too," she said. "I need to lay down."

"Lily, I think that is a very wise idea. Now how about we let Remus and Sirius go find Bella and Annie and we get you to bed," James suggested.

"Ok, but I am not having sex with you James Potter!" she said a little too loud. Some third years gasped and ran upstairs.

"Alright Lily, you win," James played along.

"James, you seem to have the situation under control," Sirius snickered, "so we'll go find the other drunks." James just rolled his eyes as he helped Lily to her feet.

Sirius and Remus jogged upstairs in silence. Remus had a stern expression on his face.

"Will you lighten up?" Sirius finally asked him. Remus just shook his head.

"You don't understand. This is just so typical. I bet you ten galleons she brought the whiskey and persuaded Lily and Annie to get drunk with her," Remus replied.

"Is that really so bad?" Sirius asked. "I mean, me and James do the same to you and Peter."

"That's different. The girls don't have any experience in that stuff. They were good girls before this year."

"They were boring before this year. Remus, I think you need to loosen up. It is not a big deal."

"I guess so, I just had hoped she had left all that stuff back in the States," Remus sighed.

They soon reached the scene of the crime. Annette was sitting on the floor talking nonsense to Bellissia, who seemed to have gained a second wind. She was alternating between sitting down in exhaustion and dancing around the room. She seemed to have decided wearing shirts was optional, as hers was thrown off in the corner.

"Hey Bellissia. How're you feeling?" Sirius asked.

"I'm great! Oh Sirius I love you!" she said as she ran to him and forced her mouth over his. He pushed her away.

"Bellissia I think we need to get you in bed," Sirius said firmly.

"Annie are you OK?" Remus was asking the little blonde.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she replied. He leaned down and helped her up. Her legs seemed unable to support her weight. "I'm never drinking again!" she declared. Remus shook his head and led her back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Let's go, honey," Sirius said kindly as he began to lead Bellissia to the door after Remus and Annette.

"Nooo! Let go of me!" she shouted.

"Bellissia, you need calm down unless you want to get detention," Sirius told her. He pulled her arm roughly.

"You're huuurting mee!" she jerked her arm out of his grasp with too much force. Consequently, she fell backward and smacked her head on the floor. It made a nasty thunk! sound. "Owww," moaned.

Sirius just sighed. He pulled her skinny ass into his arms as he carried her to her bed. She didn't protest this time.

"How much did you have to drink?" Sirius asked her once she was in bed. She squinted and held up two fingers.

He rolled his eyes. "You know I don't believe that."

She repeated the gesture, but this time added a word. "Bottles."

"Jesus, Bella, what were you trying to do?" Sirius swore. But she didn't answer him. She was already passed out.

0000000

Bellissia woke up the next day to a head that felt as though sledgehammers were pounding on it. She moaned and rolled over.

"Bellissia, wake up, I've brought breakfast," Sirius said, pushing toast and coffee under her nose.

"Sirius, get that food away from me before I throw up," Bellissia said forcefully.

"No way, you need to get up and eat. We have class today. It's Monday," he said.

"Fuck."

"Yeah, so get up, I'll go turn on the shower," he said. She sighed. Why, oh why was she so stupid? At least she had someone to look out for her. She smiled as she heard the sound of water hit the floor of the shower. She had the best boyfriend ever.

She stumbled through the day only half aware. If the teachers noticed, they didn't say anything. Many of the other kids were just as tired, everyone just blamed exhaustion. Annie and Lily, understandably, a little slower-moving as well.

As soon as classes were over for the day, Bellissia began making her way for her bed, but she was stopped just outside of the transfiguration classroom. Some fourth year.

"Excuse me, but are you Bellissia Angenelo?" she asked authoritatively. Bellissia just nodded, eager to get whatever this was over with. "Well, this is for you," she girl said, shoving a piece of paper in Bella's hand.

"Ms. Angenelo,

It had come to my attention that you wish to speak with me. If you be so kind as to come to my office as soon as you receive this note, I would be happy to chat.

-Albus Dumbledore

PS-It might be helpful if Mr. Black was to accompany you.

PPS-You will find that I enjoy sugar quills."

Bellissia sighed again. She seemed to be doing that a lot today.

"What's that?" Sirius asked, reading over her shoulder. She didn't speak; she just let him read for himself. "Well, let's go," he said when he was finished.

They walked hand in hand to Dumbledore's office, wondering what was going on, and why he needed both of them. When they reached the statue of the gargoyle, Sirius said sugar quills, and they ascended the long, winding stairs.