Warning: This chapter conatins "doing it".In other words, they have sex. It is not described except VERY vaguely (and not the actual act, just Salene's emotions - I promise it doesn't pass PG, if that) because I think its something that doesn't need to be shared, even when its between two fictional characters.

Author's Notes: I haven't updated in forever, but I've been uninspired forever, and am now getting upset because this was my baby for so long, and now I'm just sick of it. Besides, updating stuff I wrote months ago is rather tiring because the story has already progressed far past this and Sirius and Salene aren't...well. That's a secret.

Anyway, I FINALLY UPDATED because it's my 13th birthday today. Whoot! Well, birthdays are actually not a very big deal in my family and I haven't had a party since I was seven or so, but I'm still a bit excited. Then, it was my brother's 18th birthday yesterday, so...anyway. I'm done rambling. "Enjoy" (if that's possible anymore...)


Salene felt as if the world had ended. She couldn't see? She couldn't see! Her breathing came erratically as reality set in. She couldn't see. Yes, sure, they could redo the ritual. But when? And what if Severus had been lying? Was she going to be blind for the rest of her life? "Severus-"

"Sorry," he said, puzzling her, until she felt fingers brushing her face, and the darkness slid off. She began to laugh maniacally out of relief and couldn't stop.

"Thank Merlin," she choked out through her spasms of joy. Severus had simply left the blindfold on, as he'd looked away as soon as he'd thought it been removed, unable to look at her in case she couldn't see, not wanting to read the disappointment he'd undoubtedly find there.

Salene sprung out of bed, danced out the room in joy, grabbed Severus by the wrist, and forced him to whirl around the room with her. Her eyes darted around the room, from the smallest speck of dirt in the left corner to the gleam of life in his normally pale face. She wasn't blind. And she didn't have this incessant, controlling worry about their safety. Of course, she'd still hex any person who threatened them, physically or verbally...but just because she wanted to, and not to the point she couldn't pull away. She hoped.

"Thank you," she whispered, hugging him close. He nodded his head and pulled away. Now that the crisis had passed, he'd sealed his emotions away, the only trace of how he felt the curl of his lips that could be taken for a sneer. She knew it was a smile. "Do you think Madam Pomfrey will want me to stay?"

"I'll ask," he replied and went into the Head nurse's office, which had only been Pomfrey for a year or two. She was pleased to new heights that she could watch him opening the door - see his hand turning the finger-print smeared knob, his elbow drawn back as he pulled the door open - rather than just hear it.

She jumped out of bed, too excited to lie down, or even sit. She paced for the two minutes Severus was gone, and then as soon as he came back with the good news, she planted a kiss on his cheek before dashing out of the room. Even as she was running, she cast a Disillusionment charm on herself, with her newly regained wand. The wet coldness had just faded when she reached the Fat Lady and leaned against the wall, prepared to wait. She had to see Sirius. She loved him and was no longer blind, the only requirements for them to…

Her heart raced just thinking about it. She'd never done anything heavy; the farthest she'd ever gone was to be felt up once or twice, both of them with Sirius. But she had plenty of images – and sound - from her ex-roommates' choice of late night activities…which was actually disgusting. But she could still see it very clearly – looking up into Sirius' eyes as their bodies met, creating and keeping a rhythm…

She shivered at her thoughts and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She'd never been the kind to think about herself involved with any males (or females, if you were going to think like that), and she'd never dreamt about her wedding. All she knew was she wanted to keep her name, assuming she did get married. Why did the female always have to lose her name? It was bad enough they had to bear children, but they also lost their name, had to wear an overly frilly dress, learn how to cook and clean…it wasn't just. Weddings, she had realized when she was ten or so, are very sexist. On that same thought, so were marriage. But, being fair, the men were expected to work all their life just to provide for their family, when the women could easily work as well. However, in the Wizarding World at least, women were pretty much forbidden to work once they were wed. It was extremely unfair.

Salene shook her head, wondering how her thoughts had gotten so off track. She was supposed to be waiting for someone to say the password, not be sitting on the floor and thinking about weddings and marriage. Merlin, she was obsessed. In love, but obsessed.

As if hearing her more recent thoughts, three boys made their way down the hall, two joking and laughing and the third moping, shoulders hunched and eyes downcast. She felt a pang as she looked at Sirius, who was obviously upset. Was it because he didn't know if she was still blind or not, or was it because she'd been chilly to him in the infirmary? Well, she'd had to be, Severus was there.

She stood and made her way to Sirius, standing a few feet before him as he paused and stared somewhere around her stomach, brow furrowed. "Is someone there?" She answered by shoving him against the wall and kissing him deeply. His lips matched hers with equal fervor, arms tightening around her waist.

"You recognize me by my lips now?" she teased, removing the charm. He grinned and pinched her cheek.

"No, I just never pass up a chance to kiss someone," he retorted, though his lips twitched in a smile. "I'm guessing this means you can see again?" It was a question, and so she nodded as an answer and let him kiss her again. "I love you," he told her in a low voice, his face so close the breath expelled at his words blew stray strands of hair out of her face, tickling her neck pleasantly.

"I love you too," she said, ignoring the surprised noises his friends made. "And I have to ask...what did you mean when you said I could go to Hogsmeade any time?" At his furrowed brow, she added, "Back with the whole Zabini mess. Remember?" He nodded, his tongue sliding out of his mouth to wet his lips. Her eyes were automatically drawn, and he smirked, though it was rather friendly for a smirk.

"I remember. You want to go now?" he asked, looking as if a sudden idea has just dawned on him. "But it's night."

"Exactly. They also have hotels at Hogsmeade." She guessed, by the way his eyes darted constantly to her lips and the ways his hands had found their way to her hips, he was experiencing lust of some form. Expectation, perhaps.

"Well...um...let me get James' Invisibility cloak and we'll...go," he told her, squeezing both her hands before drawing away and turning to his friends, prepared to ask to borrow the cloak. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Potter was already holding out the cloak, as well as a blank sheet of parchment and an unlabelled box, plain and white. Salene didn't know what the last two were for, but Sirius seemed to know and his flush colored his face with full force. He growled something Salene couldn't make out and snatched the three things out of Potter's hands and then turned and stomped away several feet. Then he paused and twisted around, smiling sheepishly at Salene. "Sorry." She smiled in return and caught up with him.


Salene knew the eyes resting on her were judging her and Sirius. The man at the front desk had probably heard about her short stay in Azkaban, and her family's arrest. And he, most likely, knew the name Black was tainted with Voldemort. And here she was, renting a room for a night with him, when it was well-known, even out of Hogwarts, her cousin and him (as well as the Snape and Black family) were enemies.

"A single room, or a suite?" the man asked, lowering his eyes as his gnarled fingers picked up a quill.

"Suite," Sirius answered firmly, before she had the chance to answer. She glared and he rolled his eyes in return. "You're being-"

"-kind and loving," she interrupted, glare intensifying. He grinned in response before taking the quill from the man's hand and bending over the counter to sign his name. His hair escaped the hold of his ear and hung in his face, his fingers gripping the quill tightly so he could write his name with a special flourish. She restrained a smile as he straightened and handed her the quill so she could also sign, though her handwriting was smaller and neater.

"Our signatures are the exact opposite of our personalities," Sirius said in a would-be innocent tone, taking the keys from the desk worker.

"I'm not sure I want to know why," she said as he dropped fifty galleons on the table, the proper payment for a single night, although he didn't have to pay until they checked out.

"Of course you do," he replied breezily, flicking his head so the hair moved from his eyes. "My handwriting is attention seeking and bold, which I am not. Your handwriting, on the other hand, is tiny but common and you aren't."

"Are you calling me fat?" she asked incredulously, stopping in her pace to stare at him. "I am not fat. I am not even at the average weight. I am underweight, thank you very much." She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. He took a step closer and took gentle hold of each wrist, brining her arms down by her waist and kissing her tenderly.

"Your waist is tiny, true, but other parts of you are not," he said quietly, and so she couldn't misinterpret his remark his eyes lingered on her breasts - though in her mind, it was lack thereof - before bouncing up to her eyes (A/N: Sorry for the not ein the middle, but I felt the need to mention that Salene does not have big breasts, or even average-sized, it is just that Sirius is "complimenting" her). She blushed and looked down, not sure why this appeased her. Normally, she hated when guys remarked on her appearance, good or bad. He turned to unlock the door but didn't step through. Instead, he turned back and scooped her up in his arms. She let out a noise of surprise and fastened her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing? We're not married, and I'm not injured," she protested, even as he entered the suite, laughing. She let go of his neck with one hand to smack his chest. "Let go!"

"You could just squirm your way out," he suggested, eyes bright.

"You-" She broke off, waited until he'd opened the door to the bedroom, and threw all her weight against him. His eyes widened as they tumbled in a tangled heap onto the bed. There was dead silence for several seconds until both cracked up, their laughter mingling and replacing the silence. Eventually, they calmed, and Salene found herself relaxing into the bed, scanning her mind for something to say. "Where are the rose petals?" she blurted out, and then mentally smacked herself.

"What? You wanted rose petals?" Sirius propped himself up on his elbows, managing to look both amused and stunned at the same time.

"Actually, no. But the Slytherins talk an awful lot in the common room about...things...and they always laugh how when Gryffindors lose their virginity, there is music playing and rose petals scattered everywhere and presents and breakfast in bed," she explained. "It sounded rather pathetic, but I wasn't going to say anything unless you hadn't done it."

"Well," he said slowly, as if measuring each word, "I don't see any Gryffindors losing their virginity." Salene knew what this meant. She was being asked if the fact he'd been so intimate with other people bothered her. Despite their conversations about his past, she'd never stated her opinions. She paused, and asked herself. Did it?

"Sirius...it does bother me a little bit you've been with other people, but only because I want you all for myself. I don't ever want to have to share you with someone," she said seriously. "I can deal with your past, if it means it helps shape your present."

"That sounds like your proposing," he teased and she kicked him, although gently.

"I don't plan on getting married," she told him lightly. "But I don't feel like getting into that now. Tonight...I just want it all to be about me and you."

"You and me," he corrected softly, though his face had grown serious. "I'm ready if you are."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, it'll be really painful for you...and you'll have your Majority soon and everyone will know what you've done, though not with who...and you didn't love me until yesterday so-"

"Don't," Salene said sharply, cutting him off. "I have loved you for longer, I just couldn't bring myself to tell you. Nothing else matters, as long as we love each other." Sirius nodded and smiled faintly, rolling closer to kiss her tenderly, hands cupping her face.

"I hoped you say that," he admitted. Then he was kissing her, fingers patiently undoing the many buttons on her robes before turning to his own. Her mind was spinning at the quick pace as he straddled her waist and peeled his own shirt off, muscles tensing as he did so before "returning the favor". Her breath came short and heavy as his mouth exploring previously covered skin. Yet, it was more than physical. All her love for Sirius, friendly and romantic alike, was swirling up, creating an almost physical connection between them. It was this connection that helped her through the near unbearable pain, short though it was. It was her love for him that that made it all worth it.

Salene inhaled sharply as she realized their magic was bonding. She could hear an echo of Sirius' thoughts in her head, feel his heartbeat as if she had two, feel his complication of emotions melding with hers. Looking into Sirius' sky-reminiscent eyes, she knew he was feeling the same, and silent tears escaped her eyes. A magic compile meant you had found your soul mate, and if you so wished you could continue on to a Bonding, which was a very complicated procedure. Finding your soul mate didn't mean you couldn't fall in love with someone else, and there were no complications if a soul mate was not found, it simply meant the two involved were compatible on magic and personality levels. They could even be friends and still be soul mates...though you had to be 'friends with benefits' to realize your magic had compiled, as it only happened during the most intimate of acts.

"Salene," Sirius whispered, wrapping her even tighter in his arms. "Salene, I-"

"Love you," she agreed, smiling. "Now go to sleep!"

"Is that any way to treat your soul mate?" he teased, even while threading his fingers through her hair and snuggling deeper into the pillows.

"It is if he insists on keeping his exhausted soul mate up," she retorted, although his use of 'soul mate' had ignited a warmth in her - a strange warmth that made her want to...dare she think it...cuddle. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, relaxing herself against his chest and pushing away all worries and disturbing thoughts. And just for that moment, suspended between consciousness and sleep, life was perfect.