Chapter 10

Over the next few days, I didn't know how to face Sirius. It was childish I know. I kept trying to push myself to say something to him. Anything. Anything to make it less awkward. Lily and James were the only ones who had noticed this change in behaviour in both of us. Remus probably noticed as well but he was too polite to say anything. I kept waiting for Lils to talk to me about it, she's quite close with Sirius as well as being my best friend. Of course, I had filled her in on everything that had occurred that awkward night, and she had graciously refrained from any comments about how stupid I had been, or how I should have gone with it and kissed him.

It had been three days and Lily and I still hadn't had a proper discussion about. But I knew it was in the air. The whole dynamics of the group had changed because of us. That's the thing that I felt the worst about. Of course I wasn't childish enough to suggest that we sit somewhere else at lunch, I didn't particularly feel like explaining to Mary and Marlene how it was too awkward to be near Sirius. So I generally sat as far from him as possible, but not far enough to create suspicion.

Lily and I had free periods together, and so far she had respectfully not brought the topic up, but I knew that wouldn't last long. So as I waited beneath the beech tree by the Great Lake, I mentally prepared myself for the conversation ahead.

So I was more than surprised when I looked up to see James Potter squinting down at me.

"Hi James, shouldn't you be in Transfiguration?" I asked.

"Well hello to you too Bells. Nice to see you this fine sunny morning."

I raised my eyebrows slightly and continued to give him a blank stare. He chuckled. "Well actually Lily had some emergency pish posh prefect matters to attend to and I've decided it's a beautifully auspicious day to skip class so I thought I'd come and chat." He grinned.

"You don't have to skip class to talk to me James. You're grades will slip."

With a cocky scoff he said "yeah right, we both know that's not true. And anyway, it looks like I do need to skip class to spend time with you as you're always off in the library doing who knows what with saucy Rodger Lee" he leaned over and gave me an extravagant nudge on the shoulder and raised his seedy eyebrows.

"Ugh James, get away you filthy rag" I laughed despite my attempt to push him away.

"Look I wanted to actually chat with you about something." He said, suddenly turning serious. I sat up and gave him a questioning look, indicating he should continue.

"About Sirius. I know what happened, he filled me in. Look you've got to stop ignoring him, he's killing himself over it-"

"WHAT?!"

"No, no not literally, just, you know, sulking all the time and we're all sick of it."

I relaxed visibly. "Well, I'm so sorry that he is, but I can't help it! It's too awkward, I don't know how to face him!"

"Why don't you just go out with the bloke? You've fancied each other for years!"

"I have not! Wait, Sirius fancies me?"

He suddenly stopped and looked as if he'd said too much. "Well, he hasn't told me so but he's always had affection for you in a different way than I do."

I leant my head back against the tree, the immediately pulled it back gingerly as it was still tender from the incident days ago.

"And if you don't hurry up and sort this mess out then I'll have to marry you and put an end to it!" He grinned devilishly and puckered his lips.

"Euurrgh. Gross." I palmed his chin upwards and flicked his ear.

"OW. Unnecessary Bells!" He cried, indignantly clutching his face. I gave an evil laugh that grew and grew until I was clutching my stomach, sprawled across the ground. I looked up and James and paled. I got up and ran towards the castle as fast as I could, James hot on my heels.

"I'm faster than you, you egg!" He called.

"Yeah right, snail!"

James had forced me to visit the Hospital Wing and have Madame Pomfrey examine my head. She was very cross that I hadn't come to her immediately and reprimanded me as she worked.

"How are you holding up Bells?" I looked up to see Lily enter the room.

"I'm fine" I smiled at her.

"She is most definitely not fine!" Pomfrey huffed, bustling back into her office after she had finished bandaging my head.

"How was prefect business?" I inquired.

She groaned as she slumped into a chair by the bed. "A third year has performed the jelly-legs jinx on over forty other third year hufflepuffs since this morning and somehow no other prefect managed to find him! Honestly the lot of them are so incompetent."

"That's kind of funny though, what a talented child." She gave me a look, and then seconds later we both burst out laughing.

"So I heard James talked to you" she said quietly.

I relayed the whole conversation to her, leaving out the bit about me and Sirius supposedly fancying each other. She listened intently and was silent for a while. "Well I never thought I'd say this but I have to agree with him. Sirius doesn't deserve this." I went to speak up and protest but she cut me off again, "I know you don't mean it Bells but anyone can see he's cut up about it. Well anyone who knows him well. He covers up well."

I sighed. I knew she was right. They were both right. I needed to stop being such a child.

"Alright Lils, you're right, I'm going to talk to him as soon as I am allowed to leave the wing."

"BELLA! BELLA, I was so worried when I heard you were in here. What happened to you? Are you alright? Of course you're not, look at you! With a bandage around your head no less, what a silly thing to ask." Rodger looked positively stricken as he ran up to the bed and took a seat in the chair on my other side. "Hello, Lily, hope you're well" he said kindly to Lils as he sat.

Lily smiled and greeted him cordially. She gave me a look in which I knew she was about to fall apart laughing at any moment. I gave her a stern look which ensured that she would not.

"I'm fine Rodg, honestly. I hit my head a few days ago and it was just feeling a bit tender."

"How?"

"Er-"

"She walked into a door...backwards." Lily covered for me. I looked at her half grateful, half incredulous at the pathetic lie.

"Well I hope you recover soon." He suddenly went very red and looked like he was holding his breath.

I looked at Lily alarmed, after a few more seconds, she too shared my concern.

"Ugh Rodger?" I said panicking, "what's wrong? Lily, get Madame Pomfrey!"

"No, no wait!" He cried, as Lily got up to do so, "I just, sorry I just was walking around today to try and find you to ask you something and then I found out that you were injured and I just.."

The colour slowly returned to his face as he took deep breaths. I was still staring at him in shock and confusion. "What did you possibly want to ask that made you this panicked?"

He started turning red again. His eyes flicked to Lily and then back to me. Lily's mouth dropped a little. I just continued to stare, bewildered.

"Willyougooutwithme?"

"Sorry?"

"Will...you go out with me?"

Silence.

If there were any crickets in the room, even they had ceased chirping.

"Um." And that's when I saw it. Such defeat and despair in his eyes. And I began to think. What have I put this boy through? It was so clear to everyone in the room that he was beating himself up over it as soon as the words left his mouth.

"I'd love to." The words surprised even me as they left my mouth.

I saw the shock register on his face, then slowly his face lifted, and I can honestly say I have never seen a boy look so happy. He looked so happy that I looked down at my hands, blushing. I don't even know why. I didn't even want to glance at Lily's face.

Rodger reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Bella?" For the third time today, I looked towards the entrance of the hospital wing, and there stood Sirius, with a bunch of assorted wild flowers drooping in his hands.