DISCLAIMER: As much as I would like to say that I own Harry Potter, I won't because Snape is holding a vial of Veritaserum too close for comfort.

A/N: I'll just say sorry for not updating sooner but a lot of things have been happening in my small town that has prevented me from having time to update…

Chapter 20:

Hermione cuddled closer to Sirius as they walked across the still frozen ground. Hermione shivered as a burst of cold wind swept around her. Sirius hugged her closer as he felt her shiver and smiled down at her lovingly. She couldn't help but to smile back.

Lily had eventually forgiven the boys for waking them up and went off with James, after much begging of course. This left Hermione, who had forgiven the boys much sooner than the feisty redhead had, to go off with Sirius, who had some 'secret' plans for them. The boys each had made separate plans for their girlfriends, something which surprised the girls.

Right now, all Hermione could think about was how cold she was and how warm her bed had been that morning. The winter air blew fiercely and snow clung to the ground and trees, making a pretty little scene.

Little bits of snow settled into Hermione's curls, causing them to frizz considerably and her to groan. Sirius sleek, black hair remained as perfect as ever, of course.

"Sirius," Hermione asked, though her teeth were chattering lightly, as they reached the lake, "where exactly are we going? Is it much further?"

Sirius turned to her and gave her that breath taking smile that usually had her (and every other girl at Hogwarts) melting and giving in to his every whim. "Just come along and you'll see."

"But it's cold," Hermione pouted softly, her lower lip jutting out to imitate that of Sirius' when he pouted, which was quite often now that she came to think of it.

"Just a little nippy," he returned, squeezing her shoulder slightly with the arm that draped across them, "nothing to worry about really."

"Yeah," Hermione said sarcastically, "you'll be saying that when I come down with pneumonia or hypothermia and have to spend weeks in the Hospital Wing."

"You won't get either," he assured her, kissing her temple briefly before standing up straight again.

"And how would you know, Dr. Black?"

Sirius stopped and wrapped her in both of his arms, bringing her body right up close to his own. "Because," he murmured close to her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin, "you're with me."

"That's so reassuring," Hermione said, once again sarcastic, and pulling back just a little to see his eyes. "You hold the record for the most trips to the Hospital Wing."

"That's not that bad."

Hermione gave him a pointed stare as she jabbed his chest with one of her fingers. "You broke the previous record of seventy-eight in your second year and, since then, you have raised it so high that no one has hope of ever beating it."

"Well," he drawled slowly, a smile still lingering on his face, "when you put it that way…"

"That's what I thought."

"But anyways, I don't like it when you're the one lying in a Hospital bed."

"And why's that?"

"Because Madame Pomfrey automatically assumes that I'm the reason that you're in there and refuses to let me in to see you," he rattled off, staring up at the tree tops.

"And, if you would recall," Hermione said, making him look at her, "you were the reason I ended up in there on more than one occasion, one not that long ago."

"How was James and I to know that Professor Roxem would pair you up with Snivellus that day?" he returned defensively.

"If you wouldn't have been doing it to him in the first place, it never would have happened!" Hermione pointed out in a motherly tone, giving him a look that made him automatically shrink a little like a child being scolded.

"Yeah…well, we apologized!"

"Didn't change the fact that my skin was bright yellow!"

Sirius bit his lip briefly to keep from laughing at the picture that conjured up in his head. "We just thought that Snivellus could deal with some cheerfulness."

"And in the end, it was I, not him, that ended with yellow skin," Hermione drawled. "Tell me, Sirius, do you think that brought him happiness in any way?"

"Well…."

"Don't say it."

"You asked." A slow smile spread across Sirius' face as he leaned down and kissed her on the tip of the nose. "You know, it was kind of funny…"

"Loads," Hermione replied dryly, pushing him away a little but he only tightened his hold on her.

"You know you're not mad," he said in that sing-songy voice of his.

"That's the problem," Hermione huffed, looking straight into his black eyes, "I can't stay mad at you."

"I think that it may be a good thing that you can't, what with the way we like to fight," Sirius commented, pressing his lips to the skin just below her lips.

"May be it is."

"Might prove to be useful in the future," Sirius smiled as he pressed kisses across her jaw.

Hermione almost choked as she pushed him away a little. "Fu…future?"

Sirius' smile slipped, but only just so that she noticed before it was quickly back in place, though bemused this time. "Yeah…I just assumed…." He looked at the ground.

Hermione smiled as she realized that Sirius didn't know the truth about her but was implying their future…together. She lightly touched his face and he looked up at her, his eyes hesitant.

She smiled. "Go on…our future?"

He smiled shyly. "Yeah, I just assumed that maybe, after graduation and all, maybe we could….you what?" She questioned, still smiling at him.

"Maybe get a place and get some time alone," he finished quickly, staring at a spot just over her shoulder. He always seemed to do that when he got nervous.

Hermione's smile grew even wider as she closed the distance between them. "I would like that," she said softly, placing her hands on his chest.

"You would?"

"Yeah," she nodded, kissing him lightly, "I would."

He pulled her closer to him until there was no space between them and kissed her deeply. "Good," he said after he pulled back a little, "because I would like that too. Now come on, your surprise is waiting."

qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp!AMAYA!qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp

Hermione stopped when they came to a wall of snow and ice covered rocks along the hillside overlooking the black lake. They had just spent the last hour hiking up the long trek (which was not very easy in the snow, mind you) to this place. A place Hermione had never knew existed.

Hermione glared at Sirius, wondering why he had got her up at five bloody thirty in the morning to see a bunch of rocks. With angry strides, she stalked over to the nearest rock, dusted off the snow, and sat down, ignoring the coldness that seeped through her jeans.

"Why are we here?"

Sirius smiled at her. "For your surprise, silly."

"Lovely," Hermione said sarcastically as she pulled out her wand and placed a warming charm on the rock, "I've always wanted to see a bunch of rocks on the most romantic day of the year. Thank you ever so much Sirius."

Sirius grimaced. "Now you're just being a prude."

"Excuse me!"

"Er…," Sirius said apprehensively as he back towards the rocks a little, "nothing. Just trust me okay?"

Hermione slowly rose from her seat on the rock and turned to face the cliff side way from him. He thought this meant that she was mad at him so he stood still, watching her closely.

After a while, she spun around to face him. "Well! Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to take me to my surprise?"

Sirius' smile reappeared as he walked over to her and kissed her deeply.

Hermione pulled back, her face set. "As much as I like that, we could have done that back in the common room. You know, where there's a fire and it's warm."

"That wasn't your surprise," he told her, smirking.

He reached down and took her hand in his, leading her to the rocks. Once he was there, he let go of her hand and started searching the cracks of the rocks for something that Hermione couldn't see. A smile broke out on his face as he found what he was searching for.

Hermione gasped as the rocks sprang apart, revealing a passageway just big enough for them to walk through comfortably. Sirius took her hand again, kissed the back of it, and walked through the cave, leading her along behind him.

He stopped suddenly, making her crash into his back. She looked up to find him no longer in front of her, blocking her view, but instead beside of her. She gasped, again, as she saw what he had led her to.

Inside was a little paradise, hidden by the rocks that rose high all around it. A little creek ran through the lovely scene with shrubs and trees scattered on the little piece of land. Everything was green and in bloom. The quiet paradise offered peace and privacy.

"Do you like it?" Sirius asked timidly, gesturing around them.

Hermione turned and smiled at him, noticing the insecurity in his eyes and found the site quite endearing. "I love it Sirius. This place is absolutely breathtaking. It's beautiful. It's perfect. It's…"

"..for you," he finished.

Hermione looked at him. "What?"

"I created this place…just for you. We are the only ones that have access to this place… even James doesn't know about it. It's solely for us."

Hermione threw her arms around his neck, then, and kissed him hard, putting every ounce of love she had in her body into the kiss. After she pulled back, she told him, "Thank you so much, Sirius. This is the best gift anyone could have ever give me. I think I might finally like Valentine's Day."

Sirius furrowed his brows. "Did you not before?"

"No, I hated it."

"Why?"

"Because it just reminded me that everyone else had someone special and I didn't."

"Well, you have me now," Sirius whispered before claiming her lips.

"Yes, I do," she whispered against his lips. She allowed her tongue to dance with his, kissing slowly. As his lips trailed down her throat, she whispered, "I have you…"

Later, much later actually, the couple made their way back to the school and back to the hustle and bustle of school life, leaving their quiet paradise behind.

A/N: Again, sorry for taking so long. I thank each and everyone of you who has been patient…Yes, I even thank the reviewer who threatened me with rabid hamsters. I'll try to be quicker after this…

Much love, Amaya