Title: Light

Author: Amelia Bedelia

Chapter Ten: Ballroom Dancing

AUTHORS NOTE: He he… Funny story, actually… I was writing chapter 10, ok? And I sort-of ended up adding more than planned and the final chapter turned out being 37 pages long! (I didn't even know I could write that much until now!) So, here's what I'm doing. I have the first half here, and the last half I will post after I get back from my vacation! (That'll be about two weeks from now, maybe a little less.) But it's not going to be halves – I've changed them into separate chapters. So you can pretend it'll all be one chapter when I get the other part posted!

So, uh… Yeah, I think that's it! WAIT! WARNING! CAUTION! ¡ADVERTIR! ¡EL CUIDADO! PRUDENCE! AVERTISSEMENT! ACHTUNG! WARNEN! L'ATTENZIONE! L'AVVERTIMENTO! WAARSCHUWING! WAARSCHUWEN! A CAUTELA! O AVISO! (Heh heh heh… I went to a translation site… I got English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, and Portuguese! HA HA!!! Whoa… Sugar rush…) Anyway, BE FOREWARNED!!! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MAJOR FLUFF TOWARDS THE END!!! And, uh… Yes, now that's it.

Chapter Ten: Ballroom Dancing

Can I come in?

Oh. It's you.

A small doorknob protruded out of the bottom of the wall and the boy walked inside. He sprawled over the couch and sighed, deep in thought. Indeed, almost so deep, that he didn't realize the room he was inside had writing on the wall.

- And you don't even say hello!

He raised an eyebrow and walked over to the wall.

I beg your pardon. What were you saying?

There was a loud noise, almost as if someone were grumbling out of frustration.

You don't pay any attention! You just barge in here and think I have no feelings!

Are you having a bad day?

And here you go, making jokes!

Is this a bad time?

You just keep going!

I haven't exactly had the best day either, thanks for asking.

So you think that I'm the one who's supposed to be responsible for asking how you are?

Um…

When do I get a chance to tell someone how I feel?

Honestly, I have no idea what's going on. I just wanted to come in here and think.

Well, then, today's not your day!

Alright, fine! How are you today?

Well, now, don't go changing the topic on me!

The boy rolled his eyes. Then what do you want?

Nobody cares about me! I want you to ask me how I am!

I just did.

Oh. Did you really? The walls seemed to turn a pale shade of pink, hardly noticeable, unless you looked hard enough. Well. I'm sorry.

No problem. So… How was your day?

So-so. You?

Rotten.

Ok. Well, we're off to a good start. So, what's your name?

The name's James Potter.

My name's Helen. Helga Hufflepuff created – James, did you say? James Potter?

Yeah, last time I checked, that was my name. There was a long pause in which neither the wall nor James wrote anything. Why?

Oh, just clarifying. So… What have you been up to recently?

James raised an eyebrow at the wall's awkward mood swings. Well… There's this girl –

Yes, yes, continue. Who's this girl? What happened? the wall asked, clearly interested.

Could I tell you first before you interrupt me?

Oh, yes, dear, keep going.

Ok. Well, there's this girl.

You already said that.

I know I did! But will you let me finish???

Sorry. Continue.

Thank you. James sighed deeply and wrote. Ok, this girl has been, since first year, my enemy.

Uh-huh.

Be patient! Now, recently, something - happened.

Yes…

And I feel so confused.

Ah, I see. What else?

That's it.

That's it? Come on, there has to be more.

Other than I feel like it's my fault her parents died, I've never felt this way towards any other girl before, and I still think she hates my guts, no, nothin' else happened. No, wait –I think my best friend is mad at me and we've never fought before.

Oh. The wall seemed to be taken aback by this long string of comments. Well, that's… Nice.

Yeah. It's been a great week.

Yes, I can see…

I should probably go. You know, class starts today.

Well, ok. But do come back and visit! I get lonely, you know.

James smiled. He had never talked to this wall before, always used it for a space to just sit and think without anyone else around. Can you let me out?

Sure can. A large red button appeared below James' hand. Good-bye, James Potter.

See ya later.

!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~Lily~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

It was perfect! Flawless! What could go wrong?

"Amos!" Lily called, watching her target enter the empty halls accompanied by a girl on his arm.

Amos Diggory turned to look at who was speaking to him. "Lily?" he asked, astonished. Well, Lily thought, he probably would be, considering I haven't talked to him since we broke up!

"Hey, Amos! How've you been? Life treating you well?"

"Er – Lily, do you need something?" he asked, sneaking a glance at the girl on his arm to see her reaction to Lily speaking to him.

"No, not really. I was just wondering if I could talk to you outside for a bit. You know," she said, flirtatiously, "alone."

He got a sly grin on his face and turned to his partner. "Go to breakfast – I'll meet you there."

Lily grinned and turned toward the front doors, not even waiting for Amos to catch up, though she already knew he was following her.

Once she stepped outside, she took a sharp turn toward the bench to her right and sat down, waiting for Amos.

"I knew it," he said, once he sat next to her. "I knew you'd come around to your senses soon enough. You couldn't resist me."

"Yes," Lily drawled, playing along. "James has annoyed me so much – I can't stand him any more. I need you Amos. I don't think I'll ever be able to live without you."

He grinned. "I forgive you for breaking up with me." Lily raised an eyebrow, but quickly corrected herself in front of him. From what I remember, Lily thought, you were the one that broke up with me. But she continued anyway.

"Oh, thank you, Amos! I was so worried you would never want to see my ugly face ever again!" And with this said, Lily flung herself around his neck, hugging him tight, though inside her head, she cringed.

She could feel Amos grin into her hair and kiss her on the top of the head. And then Lily remembered something he never had a chance to do while they dated.

Lily leaned back and braced herself, going in for the kill. She pressed her lips against his and clenched her eyes shut in disgust. Once she leaned back, Amos smiled at her. "Well, that was new. Last time I tried to kiss you, I believe you said you were saving it for a special time."

Lily smiled at him, happy with her brilliance. Apparently her lies earlier seemed to be coming in handy now as well! "Yes, Amos. And this is a special time." Lily leaned in again and allowed him to deepen the kiss, though she felt nothing special towards him at all. Lily pulled away and Amos, reluctantly, let her do so and speak to him. "Promise me that you won't let James come near me again."

"Absolutely, Lily. If he comes within a meter of you, I'll be sure he ends up in the Hospital Wing the next day."

Lily smiled. This was exactly what she had been hoping for: an excuse for James not to talk to her again. Ever.

"Uh, Amos," Lily said, "we've got about twenty minutes until classes start. Do you think that maybe you could walk me to my class?" She batted her eyelashes at him, smiling.

"Absolutely, Lily!" he replied energetically, hopping to his feet.

"Ok, great! I just need to stop by my dormitory real quick. I need to pick up my materials and – uh – stuff." Lily grinned and pulled Amos up, wrapping her arm around him.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=Sirius=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

As for Sirius' normal school day standards, waking up nearly half an hour before class started was almost early. He leisurely stood and dressed in his everyday wear, and packed up his books for his classes.

Sirius wasn't looking forward to anything exciting today. He had to finish his Charms essay in Potions, finish his Transfiguration homework in Charms, and still manage to catch a quick nap in their first class of the day: History of Magic.

So to start the day, Sirius trudged down a few staircases and entered Professor Binns' classroom. Not only did he skip breakfast, which he'd never done before in his life, but he was also the first person there. This was a once in a lifetime occurrence.

Sirius dropped his bag on the floor, underneath his desk, and proceeded to lie his head down on his arm, closing his eyes.

Ok, he thought, as if he were talking to another person. First order of business; James is lying to me. Should I tell him I know, or wait until he tells me?

Let him tell you. You don't want him angry at you for thinking you were eavesdropping on him!

But I was eavesdropping.

That's not the point here! Next question!

 Sirius smiled at the thought of what another person would think if they knew he, Sirius Black, was having a conversation with himself. Alright then… Now, Bella – I don't know if she's mad at me or not.

Easy question! Talk to her, clear all of your problems up. If she's the reason why you're so damn depressed, you definitely need to fix this little mishap!

Yeah, well…

Yeah, well, what? You like her, correct?

I guess.

No, I guess – yes, or no?

Yes.

Well, get your butt in gear and go talk to her! And maybe you should consider asking her out to Hogsmeade next weekend. You can use the invisibility cloak, no one will notice! You two will have some privacy!

Great plan, but one problem, Sirius thought, miserably.

Oh? And what would that be?

It's not my invisibility cloak – it's James'!

Oh, all those tiny little details! You'll sort this whole think out by the end of the week, won't you?

Maybe.

C'mon, I want to hear an affirmative answer!

Yeah, sure.

Ok, fine, that'll work. So, what are you waiting for? Go talk to Bella!

You know, you're right.

Of course I'm right!

I'll go talk to her right this minute!

That's my boy!

Sirius jerked his eyes open and stood up abruptly, causing his chair to knock over behind him in the process.

Six pairs of eyes looked up at him and the monotone voice coming from Professor Binns halted. Apparently Sirius hadn't realized that class had already started.

"Er – sorry, Professor," he muttered lamely, picking up his chair and sitting back down.

"Quite alright, Mr. – uh – Blake."

Sirius laid down his head again and propped it up in between his hands.

I'll wait until tonight.

---------------------------James - Before Class Started---------------------------

Miserably, James made his way up to his dormitory and shoved some books in his bag, hardly even noticing what subjects he put in. but this was the least of his worries.

For the minute he had stepped into the common room, there was a flash of red hair and James watched Lily exit hurriedly through the portrait.

He followed. He just had to talk to her, whether she hated him or not. She deserved an explanation!

But that probably wasn't the best time to meet up with her.

Lily had chosen that exact mooment to lock lips with Amos, her ex-boyfriend. James' jaw dropped as he ran past the couple, shoving Amos along the way. But he didn't care. He felt two pairs of eyes follow him as he ran. But he didn't care. He heard running footsteps chasing him down. But he didn't care. Nothing seemed to matter much anymore that realization had finally struck James.

So James ran back to Helen. True, he'd been there not more than ten minutes earlier, but he couldn't face Lily now. He couldn't let her know she'd somehow gotten to him.

Let me in, James wrote quickly, glancing over his shoulder to check if anyone was coming.

What's the rush? A small handle popped out of the wall and James wasted no time in turning it and running inside the room, dropping his bag on the floor somewhere along the way.

He curled into a ball in the corner, small and fragile, and let a lone, solemn tear fall down his cheek. He didn't brush it away. Because he didn't care. Not anymore.

He buried his head in his hands as if he were ashamed. Why did these things have to happen to him? He just wanted to be a normal kid! Of course, everyone wants exciting adventures like their favorite superhero or life-changing drama episodes in their life. But once you think of what it may really be like having a life so confusing, so devastating, so torturous, you might reconsider.

But what would you do if you couldn't reconsider and were stuck with the life you were landed with?

What would you do if your parents died because of you?

What would you do if other families were hurt or torn apart somehow because of you?

What would you do if you knew there was someone out there in the world watching your every move?

What would you do if you fell in love with your greatest enemy?

James glanced up, looking around the room almost as if he were expecting someone waiting for him. But there was no one.

He stood up and made his way, slowly to the vicinity of the couch. But without paying any attention to where his feet were really taking him, James fell over the glass table and onto couch, still dazed by the days' events.

He had fallen hard. And it hurt. Bad. But there was absolutely nothing he could do to change the laws of nature.

Moaning, James pressed his face hard into a pillow, trying – praying – to just fall into a deep sleep and never wake again.

!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~Lily~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

Dragging Amos up the staircase, leaving him to wait a few feet from the portrait of the fat lady, Lily said the password and ran up to her dormitory, grabbing her bag and walked back down, not as quickly as before. But once she heard a soft pounding on the steps of the boys' staircase, Lily hurried to exit the room.

It's James! she thought. I know it is! It has to be!

Taking her chance, Lily pushed the portrait of the fat lady aside and ran to Amos, flinging her arms around his neck. He grinned at her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Lily knew exactly what he was going to do. And it was exactly what she wanted him to do. He leaned in to kiss her once again, the minute the portrait opened and closed again.

For a few seconds, there was a ringing silence. Lily managed to turn, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the person standing beside the portrait. Sure enough, James stood there, jaw dropped and awestruck. And then his face crumbled. This was the exact opposite of what Lily thought would happen. She knew that both Amos and James hated each other. Besides Snape, Amos was probably the top person on his hit list.

But nothing happened. That is, until, Amos was forcefully shoved away from her and they broke apart.

"Don't worry, Lily!" Amos said, setting off down the corridor at a jog. "I'll get him, for you!" He blew a kiss and Lily made a big show of trying to catch it.

"Oh, thank you, Amos!" Lily called back. But the minute he was out of sight, Lily rolled her eyes and walked down the hallway in the opposite direction the two boys had left.

Come on, Lily! Wake up! You just beat James! You made him run away and hide from you! Your plan worked!

But she couldn't help feeling shocked. James wasn't angry at her. He wasn't angry at Amos either.

The memory of his face continued plaguing her mind. She couldn't get him out of her mind. It was as if he was glued there permanently. All through History of Magic, even when she tried to sleep, closing her eyes, his astonished face would pop up before her.

During Potions, Lily continued seeing his face randomly show up in her ingredient vials. But during lunch, when she had managed to rid his face from her brain, the thought of him still lingered.

Lily walked inside the Great Hall and straight to the Hufflepuff table instead of her normal spot by the Gryffindors. But instead of doing as she had planned earlier, hanging all over Amos as well as sitting in his lap while they ate, Lily delicately sat next to him without talking or even giving him a kiss on the cheek. She felt guilty for some reason, and she wouldn't even let herself think of why that might've been.

But to top it all off, Breanna caught her, obviously, and quickly dragged her out to the hall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Breanna shrieked. "Hanging out with Amos again, are we? Lily – I thought you had more sense! He's a player! He'll drop you along with every other girl he's dated! And you've even dated him already! You said then that you were thankful he dumped you! Now, why are you going out with him again?!?"

Lily sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, looking as if she were bored. "Why are you so worried about me social life, Breanna? He's just a guy! And so what if I decided I wanted to go out with him again? I'm a big girl," she said, patting Breanna's arm, "I think I can handle myself, thank you." And with that said, Lily gracefully mad her way back to Amos, now deciding to make a big deal out of being his new girlfriend.

And the show didn't go unnoticed by certain others.

(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%) Breanna (%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)

Breanna huffed in disgust and returned back to the Gryffindor table.

"Remus, I just want to keel over and die," Breanna muttered, dropping down to sit next to him. "Life at Hogwarts is just so – messed up."

Remus smiled. "No, I don't think that's it. Life with the Marauders, Lily, Bella, and you is messed up."

Breanna shrugged. "Same thing. But seriously, think about it! Look around!" Breanna gestured to the four empty seats along the table. "Sirius has been acting like a zombie in all of his classes, and he doesn't eat breakfast or lunch here anymore! Bella has done the exact same thing as Sirius, James is missing and hasn't been seen since last night, and Lily is flirting with him," she hissed, nodding her head in the general direction of the Hufflepuff table. "The world is coming to an end!"

"Well, Peter and I are still here," Remus supplied, hopeful.

But Breanna dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "I'm not talking about who's here. I'm talking about who's not here." She took a small drink of her pumpkin juice and set it back down on the table, talking once again. "And you want to know what bugs me most?"

"What?" he asked, knowing the best way for her to cool off is to talk about what was annoying her.

"That I don't even know what they're all mad about!"

Remus nodded, agreeing. That would bug you, wouldn't it?

"Lily and James have been enemies since they first laid eyes on each other, and now they're acting secretive like they're hiding something, but they still fight worse than ever. Bella – I don't know what's wrong with her. It must've been something that Lily said to her." Breanna took a bite of her sandwich, pausing for a moment. And then she put on a quizzical face. "Did you manage to find out what was bugging James or Sirius last night after the fight in the Common Room? Did either of them tell you what happened?"

James has spent a good portion of his winter with Lily, her parents were murdered, James is scared that Sirius wouldn't be able to keep a secret, and they're fighting which they've never done before, Remus thought, ticking the number of things off on his fingers. But what happened in the common room? Remus shrugged, turning back to Breanna.

"Well?"

"Nope, don't know."

Her face fell. "You don't know anything?"

"Actually…"

"Oh, Remus, you do know something, don't you?" she asked, eagerly, pulling on his arm.

"Yes – but no."

"Huh? No what?" she asked.

"Yes, I know something, no, I can't tell you."

Remus turned so he was facing Breanna directly in the eyes and held her hands. "Look, Breanna, James told me something that happened, and told me to promise that I wouldn't tell anyone. And, as you already know, friends are more important to me than anything else. And if I lose their trust, then we wouldn't be that good of friends anymore."

"But – Remus! Why can't you tell me? I'm your friend! You don't want to get me mad, do you?" Breanna said.

"Ah, see, now there you're wrong," he smiled, turning back to his plate. "I don't want to lose my friends' trust – I could care less about getting my friends mad at me!"

Breanna's jaw dropped and she crossed her arms over her chest just as Lily had done before.

"Breanna," he said after a few seconds, "I was joking."

She turned her back on him, flinging her hair in his face. She was glad to hear him sputter as he leaned back, away from her hair. "Look, Breanna, I do care if my friends get angry at me! I was joking! It was pretend!"

"Sure it was."

Remus was running out of ideas. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."

Breanna smiled and turned back to face him. "Remus, you realize I was joking, didn't you?"

Remus just shook his head and chuckled. "What am I going to do with you?" He stood up and leaned down a little. "Look, I'm going to find Sirius or James or somebody who can tell me what this whole mess from last night is all about."

"Alright," Breanna said, standing up as well. She pecked him on the cheek and walked away calling over her shoulder. "I'll see you in Charms! Good luck!"

Remus nodded and waved, and slipping his hands back in his pockets. And the minute she left, he began blushing profusely.

^^^^^^^ Remus ^^^^^^^

Sirius looked antsy in his spot. He had already packed his books fifteen minutes before the bell rang and looked as if he were counting down the minutes until class ended.

"Hey, Sirius," Remus muttered, leaning over. "What happened last night?"

"Remus, you can ask all you want, but you won't get it from me," Sirius whispered back with a smug look on his face. All afternoon, he had been trying to spring the question on Sirius, hoping that once Sirius let down his guard a bit during class, he might slip to Remus what had happened the night before. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment…" Sirius trailed off as the class exited, keeping his eyes on his target.

Remus rolled his eyes and packed his bags. He spotted Breanna walking between the desks to the back of the room, meeting up with Remus. "So?" she asked, eagerly. "What'd you find out? Anything?"

Remus shook his head and leaned back in his chair, yawning. "Diddly-squat. He wouldn't budge! You know, Sirius, he can be a stubborn little donkey when he wants to!"

Breanna sighed and fell into the chair next to him, putting her elbow on the desk and laying her head down on her hand. "So what exactly are we supposed to do now?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired. Either I'm going to sleep, or I'm going to kick your butt in chess."

Breanna grinned. "Well, in that case, if you're tired, then I think I can beat you in chess. You won't be thinking very clearly then and - "

"Miss Roysen, Mr. Lupin, you both do realize that class has ended, do you not?"

Remus and Breanna snapped their heads up. "Oh. 'Course, Professor McGonnagol, sorry. We're leaving now," Breanna said, pulling Remus along behind her.

As the door closed, Professor McGonnagol smiled, shuffling through exam papers. Teenagers in love… Who'd think it would be those two?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=Sirius=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ok, there she is.

You're going to talk to Bella, right?

Yes, sir, Sirius thought, smiling to himself.

Good answer!

Sirius continued dodging crowds of students, yet still managing to keep an eye out for Bella at the same time. Once or twice, he thought he'd lost her, but just as soon as she was out of his sight, she'd be back in view.

The group in which Sirius was hidden in began to turn to the left, heading towards the Great Hall for an early dinner. But Bella didn't go there. As a matter of fact, she headed towards an empty hallway Sirius knew too well. And she was going exactly where Sirius went nearly every night.

Bella reached her hand and tickled the pear she stood before. There came soft giggling and the portrait swung open, inviting her inside and that's what she did.

Sirius crept up to the picture once she entered. He didn't want to just pop up in front of her and scare her; he wanted to make this seem special somehow. But how…

An idea clicked in Sirius' head and he tickled the pear softly, trying to make as little noise as he could, stepping inside, and blending in with the shadows while Bella went to sit at a separate four-sided table in front of the fire with her back facing towards Sirius. Perfect, he thought.

Several house elves swarmed around Bella the second she sat down in her chair.

"What is you liking, Miss Bella? Is you liking Narsy to get you dinner?" an anxious elf squeaked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Is you wanting desert after, Miss Bella?" another one piped up.

Bella smiled at their antics. "Yes, I would love both, thank you."

The house elves scurried away, but not before Sirius caught up with one of them and whispered something in his ear.

The elf smiled and bowed quickly. "Yes, sir, right away!"

|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+| Bella |+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|

Bella enjoyed coming down to the kitchens every now and then. Especially when she didn't want to be with anyone else. Sure, the elves bugged her a bit, but it was rather cute sometimes, the way that they acted.

Depressed, Bella put her face in her hands and breathed deeply. And then she heard the clanging of dishes scrape against each other. Looking up, she noticed the elves were setting out the plates and glasses in front of her. But they were also setting up another spot on the opposite side of the table.

"Oh, no, I'm not – er – Harsy? No, Narsy! I'm not eating with anyone else! It's just me," she said to the elf across the table from her, trying to get his attention.

After he finished setting the table, he leaped to the floor gracefully and bowed to Bella.

"Wait – Narsy! Get back here!" Bella turned in her chair, expecting to see Narsy bustling around, but instead she saw another person. It was Sirius.

He held out his right hand to Bella, giving her a red rose. After taking a deep breath, he spoke. "A beautiful rose, for a beautiful lady."

Bella reached out her hand to touch the rose in his hand. And as her fingertips brushed the soft petals, she shivered and pulled her hand back, looking into the face of its holder.

"Here, Bella," he said, extending his hand farther. "It's for you." Sirius started to sweat as he stood, unmoving.

She looked down at her hands, clasped together in her lap. Slowly, her eyes traveled upward once again. Then she stood, beginning to walk past him "Sirius, I don't think - "

He took a step forward. "No, Bella, sit down. I need to say something to you. Please?" he added hopefully. She looked into his eyes. And sat back down, silently.

Sirius smiled nervously and laid the rose down in a small, glass vase in the center of the table. "Bella," he started, causing her to look up at him. "I – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to jump down your throat, I didn't really mean all that I said. I didn't - "

"Sirius, you're not the one who should be apologizing."

He raised an eyebrow. "What? But I - "

"Sirius! Let me talk." Neither said a word for a minute. "Look, I should've been able to hide the picture better! It's my fault! You had every right to be mad at me last night!"

"But, Bella, I wasn't really - "

"Let me talk." Bella defiantly now locked gazes with Sirius. "I tried keeping a picture from Lily, and she found it. I should've been safer and put somewhere where I could've locked it up or something!" she said, now waving her arms around in the air as she spoke. "You were right when you said, 'If I can't trust you with such a small secret as not telling Lily that we're friends, what can I trust you with now?' And I have been thinking. You probably can't trust me with anything anymore and I don't think you want to hang out with someone who you can't trust - "

"Bella, you're talking like a madwoman!"

" – And I completely understand if you'd never want to talk to me ever again."

"Bella! It's my fault! I shouldn't have said all of that! I trust you, honest! It was a small mistake! Everyone makes mistakes! Now, you said Lily found it? Then that means she was snooping around in your things without having permission! You didn't know she would – oh, Bella!" Sirius stopped in mid sentence as small bead-like tear drops slid down Bella's cheek. He immediately pulled his napkin off of the table and ran around to the other side of the table. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry!" He handed her the napkin and she lightly dabbed her eyes. But as soon as the old tears disappeared, fresh ones covered the tracks of old tears. Sirius, feeling slightly helpless, wrapped his arms around her small figure, holding her tight and helping her stand up. Slowly, he started to rock her back and forth in his embrace as she sobbed onto his shirt. He knew that he was supposed to be feeling miserable at the moment, but he still couldn't help but think of how lucky he was to have the most beautiful girl in his arms at that very minute. His emotions started to run haywire and his face heated up a few notches.

"Bella, you don't have any reason to cry. It's my fault. Maybe I shouldn't have even made that picture," he said, resignedly.

"No!" Bella's head snapped up, looking in his dark eyes now. "I – I mean, I really like your drawings. And that was a very pretty picture of us. You didn't even have any other reference to draw from. It was all from your mind."

Sirius smiled at her. "Glad you liked it. And – uh - " Sirius looked away as his face fell a bit, "I didn't really mean to throw the picture in the fire. I was confused."

It was now Bella's turn to smile at him. "I managed to save part of it. The picture doesn't move anymore and, uh, you sorta got burnt off."

Sirius chuckled at the way she said that. Relaxing, Bella laid her head back down on his chest, causing his heart to run twice as fast as normal. He panicked. What if she could hear? What would she think?

"Er, Bella?" he asked tentatively, causing her to look up again. Sirius relaxed and his heart rate slowed. Thank you. "I was wondering – if, uh, you would like to – but you don't have to, of course – unless you wanted to go, you know, but - "

"Sirius," Bella chuckled, laying her head back down and they swayed back and forth, beginning to turn in a circle. "Is there a point to this?"

"Bella," Sirius started once again, standing back, taking another very deep breath again. "Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Hogsmeade? This weekend?" she asked, eyes sparkling as she spoke.

"Yeah, sure, why not? This weekend. I can buy you a few butterbeers while we're there. You know, to make up for what a loser I was last night."

"Sirius," Bella said, her voice turning stern. "It's not your fault."

"And it's not yours either."

Both didn't speak for quite sometime. "Let's blame it on Lily," Bella said suddenly.

"Er – I don't think we should. That wouldn't be very decent for us to do." But in the back of his mind, what he thought of was how much pressure she must already have on her shoulders what with everything that had happened over winter break.

"Since when have you cared about decency?" Bella asked, chuckling. "Plus, she's hiding something from me just like James, remember?"

"Bella, let's just blame this on no one. I'll buy you a butterbeer, and you can buy me one, ok? We'll be even." Both smiled and began to sway in a circle. Sirius backed up a minute. "Hold on, I'll be back in – in two seconds, alright?"

He darted out of the room where several house elves worked washing dishes and giggling. "Er – Narsy? Where are you?"

A small house elf ran up to Sirius. "Is you finished talking to Miss Bella? You is waiting for your food now? Narsy is very sorry, Sirius Black! But you is saying Narsy is to wait for you to finish talking with Miss Bella! Oh, dear!" The house elf hustled to the other side of the room and picked up a silver platter and walking to the room where the four-sided table was.

"Wait, whoa, hold your pillows, buddy! I actually have another favor to ask of you." Sirius leaned down whispering something in his overly large bat-like ears. After finishing, he stood up straight again. "Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, Mr. Black! I is happy to help!" And he scurried away.

Sirius returned back to the other room where Bella stood, waiting. "What were you doing?" she asked, curious.

"Wait a minute, hold on." Sirius, trying to relax his breathing at the sight of the goddess only feet before him. Sure, her hair was falling out of place, there were tear stains running down her face, she wore the normal dress of Hogwarts students, robe and all, but to Sirius, she never looked more beautiful.

And then, soft, slow music began to play in the background. Bella looked around, trying to find the source of this sound, but they were the only two in the room. Sirius walked forward, holding out his hand. "Bella, would you care to dance with me?"

Bella grinned. She took his hand. He pulled her out to the center of the room and she draped her arms around his neck as he placed his on her waist. Slowly, just like before, they made their way around in a circle. Bella felt as if she were in a large, but empty ballroom. She felt like a princess now, even when she had her school uniform on.

"So, Sirius," she said, smiling more than she had in the past week, "where are you coming up with all of these ideas? The flower, the music, everything. That's so nice of you!"

"Well," he said, lowering his voice to a whisper, "Narsy's been giving me some help. I told him to set up the table for two so I could eat with you. And I asked him to get me a rose so I could give it to you. And just now I asked him to play some music we could dance to since we were already dancing anyway!"

Both chuckled and then it fell silent. But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. They were perfectly happy, but didn't necessarily have to talk about anything to be enjoying the other's company. Just being with each other was enjoying enough.

And together, they danced the night away, forgetting about dinner completely.

AUTHORS NOTE: Thank you for reading!!! And please, if you review (which I would REALLY like you to do, but I won't FORCE you to…) try and review this chapter before July… Let's see… July 20. That should be about when I post the eleventh chapter! And PLEASE give me some feedback!!! Thanks!

OH! And one thing – the part where James fell on the couch and said he'd fallen – not sure if you got it or not since it's a different perspective from writing versus reading so just tell me whether you understood that also meant he'd fallen for Lily, ok? Thank you!!! And, uh, a little tidbit if you all were wondering – I got about FORTY-THREE reviews for this story in two weeks, SIXTY-TWO people on my e-mailing list, and I'm on the favorites list of TWENTY-ONE people!!! WOW!!! THANK YOU ALL!!! :) (Um… Why do I have this strange feeling that I'm saying some sort-of acceptance speech???)

REVIEW SECTION:

Jessica: HA!!! My chapter is God, isn't it? No, I'm just kidding! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Hermione101888: I'm really glad you like how I'm writing! And look – it was about TWO WEEKS and I wrote the whole tenth chapter – PLUS the eleventh!!! :) Am I good or what? Thank for reviewing!!!

Akalea: Thank you!!! I'm glad you like the pace and characters!!! Thanks for reviewing!!!

FEAngel258: Thank you for all of those compliments!!! And I REALLY hope you don't mind, but I'm sorta stealing one of your ideas at the end of your latest chapter. (The grading scale thing – except I'm using the Hogwarts grading scale.) And if you don't want me to use it, I can take it off if you tell me. But thanks if I can! And thanks for reviewing!!!

MegHarts: Thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Fallen Faith Angel: Thank you! And I'm ready for your second revised chapter – I can't wait!!! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Starblaze: Aw – that hurts! You hate me? Nah, j/k! But I hope you liked the Sirius ending here! And I believe that most of your review has been right so far, hasn't it? Hmm… Scary… Thanks for reviewing!!!

Mistress del Mare: Did you get lost looking for my story??? :) Thank you for the comments and thanks for reviewing!!!

Lucky-719: Oh, I'm sorry about the e-mail! (I've got this thing where I can send an e-mail to everyone who's reviewed the story, and I think I meant to add your e-mail to my other story instead of this one – but I'm glad you like this story!) And I wouldn't be worried about using ! or ? a lot because I use ! and ? more than . :) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Buggy-such: Wow!!! Good catch on the window thing!!! If I ever end up revising this story, then I'll have to catch that – thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Rysta cat: You lost it! :) I know somebody who got lost looking for my story earlier too! Ha! Ha! Ha! And the best friend not trusting him thing, I'm just putting it the way I would react. If my best friend couldn't tell me something that they didn't think I could keep secret, but it was something VERY big, then I would've been pretty left out and not very happy! But in the next chapter, Sirius does talk to James towards the end – so you'll have to see what happens there! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Tapaidh Sidh: Yes, very hectic chapter earlier! And you REALLY have to update Suspended!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Dieselbaby: Yes, I updated – finally! :) And I COMPLETELY agree with you on the whole Sirius thing – a little sweetie with her artistic talents. :) And Remus and Breanna… Hmm… You'll see later on! And I'm glad you added me to your fave list. :) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Fiery red-haired girl: Thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Smudged: Thanks for supporting me! :) And thanks for reviewing!!!

Kellyn: Thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Princes Emily: I'm touched! Thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Genki: Uh-oh… Well, technically, I didn't take a break longer than a week – but I posted it in two weeks! Will that work??? Thanks for reviewing!!!

Lily Marie: Thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Sezzie: Wow!!! Long review!!! :) And I'm glad I didn't sound mad or anything! But that was funny when you added that little note at the end of the story! :) You see, here's how I deal with Sirius' death: I pretend he didn't die, and I come up with some way that would make everything in the fifth book true, but still have him live – and I did manage to do that! I'll probably write a story on that with another author. Hazelmist (if you've heard of her) and I are going to write a story together and we just now figured out what it will be over! :) I'll e-mail you when it's out! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Water_Witch: Thanks for reviewing!!!

Kristinerz77: Alright, I'm not changing any of it! Thanks for reviewing!

Totallystellar: Thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: Yes, fanfictions are here for a reason! Good point! :) And the Lily/Amos thing – that's a good guess and you got it! Thank you for reviewing!!!

Kt: Thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

SummrMagic: Thank you! And yes, we'll find out what's up with James and his – well, can't say – but you'll find out in the next chapter. I just have one thing to say – I LOVE your name! Sorry, felt like saying that!!! Thanks for reviewing!!!

Jenny: Wow!!! That's really cool!!! I kind-of have the same thing as Breanna too! I sort-of based her character and Bella's character on me, in a way. Bella acts sort-of like Sirius when they're hyper (which is VERY strange and all – like me!) and when I'm relaxed I read and write and just like being in silence – unless I decide I want to listen to music, of course! :) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Kittydopter: Thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Friendsfan723: IT'S ABOUT TIME!!! :) Nah, just kidding! And yes, Sirius is VERY much like you. :) I think, without knowing, I partially base characters off of my friends – and you're A LOT like Sirius!!! Even if you are a girl. :) And look – it wasn't three months! YAY!!! ::jumps for joy:: Thanks for reviewing!!!

Anarane Anwamane: Thank you! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Cheeky Girl: Thanks! And thank you for reviewing!!!

ChickoftheDarkMoon: Question – what's fannon and cannon??? I'm obviously missing something. :) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Hazelmist: Yes, that whole scene with Bella and Sirius fighting – I was almost too worried that it would be too dramatic and too cheesy. But so far, no bad comments on it! (Other than people were sad that they were fighting, of course!) And thanks for reviewing!!!

Caitlin: Hmm… That public bit – may not happen for awhile, unfortunately! Sorry! But thanks for reviewing!!!

TriGemini: My chapters are all depressing. I was talking to my brother and we were talking about what books we liked to read, actually. (Coming from him – it was very weird!) He said that in order for books to be good, somebody has to die. And I basically said they didn't have to die and I liked it better when everyone was alive. So then he has to go and point out in my other story that I killed off Lily's parents and Lily's best friend. Did I just set myself up for that comment or what? :) But thanks for reviewing!!!

Ktsprstr78: I'M SORRY!!! :) And did I cover a lot of Sirius in this chapter??? And I believe that mucho means much. Hold on – let me find my handy dandy English/Spanish translator on the internet… No, wait, it means a great deal. So mucho bueno is a great deal good! :) Thanks for reviewing!!!

Charly and Utah: Thanks! And thanks for reviewing!!!

Lizpurdypups: I like your Gryffindor/Slytherin thing! :) And I have an answer for your question about James being a Chaser and not a Seeker. I don't know why other people would use it, but here's my reasoning – in the book J.K. Rowling never said that James was a Chaser or a Seeker straight out. She just said he played Quidditch and that Harry was just as good as his dad. She never said James was a Seeker. But I didn't know whether or not J.K. Rowling was working with the screenwriter or not on the movie so it could've just been a mistake or something so I didn't take much notice to it! However, I did found out on the extras of the second movie that the author and the screenwriter wrote the movie script together and also in the fifth (in the pensieve memory) James kept catching the golden snitch so now I do think that James is a seeker. I just didn't have any proof that he was a seeker before I posted my story! And on a personal note – I thought it would be different to have James and Harry as different players on the team, but still very good nonetheless. :) WHOA!!! Long explanation… Thanks for reviewing!!!

NEXT CHAPTER: Let me see… ::checks notes:: Ah, yes. Chapter eleven… Well, believe it or not – it's ALL Lily and James!!! They manage to talk and you can tell what the outcome of that event is when you read it later!!! :) No, wait, it's not all Lily and James. Towards the end there's a bit with James and Sirius. And I can forewarn you again – MUSHY, CHEESY, and FLUFF are coming!!! But DON'T WORRY!!! I'll get back to my depressing little chapters after chapter eleven!

AS A MATTER OF FACT – here's a little bit of what I'm planning on doing for the story. I am going to try and write this story all the way to their graduations. And then once I finish that, I will probably write a sequel and that would be the Marauders and the girls all finding jobs, getting married or whatever I end up doing and finally Lily's and James' deaths – though I'm not sure I'm very happy about having to write their deaths. I may, I may not – but I know I'll have a sequel! E-mail or tell me in your reviews any ideas or thoughts on the story PLEASE!!! I would REALLY like all of your input!!! THANK YOU!!!

And, well, one more thing. I'm going to have a grading system for every one of my chapters from here on out – and this idea was all made possible be FEAngel258! She came up with this idea originally, but I changed it around a little bit:

RATE ME!!! I want you to rate each one of my chapters I put up!!! (By the way, this is Hogwarts scale incase any of you were wondering… I didn't come up with it myself.)

E = Exceeds Expectations

O = Outstanding

A = Acceptable

P = Poor

D = Dreadful

T = Troll

That's the scale – highest to lowest! So here are your jobs: Rate my chapters, give me helpful tips, and/or pass on any ideas you have or want me to include in the future chapters. Ex: any pranks, any class ideas, or just plain old regular messing around time for the Marauders and the girls.

Thanks for anyone's and everyone's help!!!

Yours truly,
Amelia Bedelia