HOLY CHICKEN FRICASSEE! 40 CHAPTERS! Somebody catch me, I'm about to faint! :)

In light of this I want to scream and hug (virtually that it) every reviewer from my first reviewer Hpfangirl-1991 from 2011-01-10 to my last meandthedoctor from 2011-09-11. I have been writing this story for NINE MONTHS. Queew... if you've been reading from the beginning I salute you!

Now this chapter (the 40th!) be prepared for major cheesiness, there was just no other way to write this :L

To Blink

Lara

Watching my brother run away and feeling memories passing over my eyes I quickly came to a decision. He had been trying to block it from me, he felt guilty, for not being able to consider it and help me. Stupid boy, I'd never let him do anything he wasn't sure about - for my benefit or not. Turning on my heel I sprinted up the stairs after giving Remus a quick kiss. He looked at me in concern but just sighed and said he was off to the library.

I found Sirius standing in the middle of the room with a shocked look in his eyes, bordering on pain, as he stared straight ahead.

He looked at me and his lip trembled slightly.

"I don't understand" he said in a quiet broken voice.

I pressed my hands into his chest so he sat.

"He didn't let me finish…" he muttered with hurt in his voice.

"He knew Sirius, even if you said it" I said emotionlessly before taking a seat on another bed.

He looked up at me with dark confused eyes.

We remembered the first kiss, the feel of soft black hair, the press of a warm body.

I blinked back the shared memories.

"Then why?" he asked and if possible he sounded worse.

"Because he loves you and he's scared" I said bluntly.

"Why?"

I sighed and crossed my legs under me.

"At Amalia's we used to have a German Charms teacher who would always speak in proverbs. One of them was 'Ein gebrochenes Herz kann nur heilen, wenn Sie Angst es zu vergessen' which means 'A broken heart can only heal after you forget to fear it'. I've always remembered that but knowing is easier that doing. He's scared of his heart Sirius" I looked him straight in his eye "but mostly he is scared of it breaking because it hasn't really healed yet"

The room became silent as Sirius turned to stare at his hands, deep in thought.

"He's scared I'll break his heart..?" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"He was just as close to Darien, if not more, than you two are. There was basically no warning, nothing, to tell us he was going to betray us. We trusted him and because of that he's lost trust in trust. Considering what happened with Darien there is no certainty you won't do the same. It doesn't matter how much we do not believe it, it has happened before, it can happen again"

"Does… he love Irvine more than me?" He asked suddenly, not looking up.

"You cannot measure love" I said slowly "it is not a case of whom he loves more"

Sirius' face became taught and his mind was a whirl of many emotions.

"So he does?" he said and I could tell he was trying to stay calm, keep up that cool boy image.

"Yes" I replied honestly "but it is love that has been built up over ten years. It is love like that of real family, brotherly, though they were lovers. It wasn't sudden and full of risks like with you. He would die for you Sirius, like he never would for Darien"

"Because Irvine betrayed him" If he hadn't, they'd be together, I heard and felt and each time was bitter.

"Perhaps they would…" I whispered "but he's happier with you now than he ever was with him"

If Irvine had never done what he'd done they would surely be together, in secret now, unless we were to find out his elegance in some other way. What would we think of his ice prince face then? Would we ignore it as his mask, not him, or would it turn us from him. I doubted that. We have to hide it, from everyone, that we were even friends and as for Alex...

He glanced at me with an uncomfortable look "Look at me, whining to my boyfriend's sister"

My look was sad as I fiddled with the corner of the bedspread.

"We're practically the same person Sirius" I said in a hushed voice "two people cut in two. There is nothing I know that Alex doesn't and vice versa. I may not love you like he does but it is a fine, self created, line and it shall always be so unless we break the link"

Again he didn't answer and I sent my thoughts out to find my brother. He was quite far away but I could feel the general direction and estimate it was the third floor.

"I had never thought of it before" Sirius said and I drew myself back to my own body "Marriage, that is. I had always oddly hated the idea of being linked to one person mostly because my parent always made it clear they would be deciding, which now I come to think about it must have been you." he added with slight amusement "Then today… with that letter and I realised that you were going to be forced into one you didn't want. It wasn't even that that really hit me; it was that it would be taking away your chance to marry who you wanted, that maybe you actually had plans... And then I knew how to get you out of it… I realised the idea didn't feel as opposable as it had before. I spent all of today thinking about it, I remembered the time when I saw you and him unconscious and covered in scars, I remembered what it was like when I knew he – you - had been tortured. I remembered when he was hit by that curse and we didn't know if he'd live or not, spending hours in that room knowing I'd rather die than have him die. It occurred to me that it wouldn't matter to me if we were bonded because I didn't really want to live without him either way…"

He trailed off and I felt warmth glow in my heart that wasn't entirely me, or at least, it wasn't the part of me that was Larissa Grey…

"Then what are you waiting for: east part of the third floor - go"

Darien

We broke into laughter as the sound of the house keeper's shoes faded into nothing. That had been close!

"Merlin! That was so funny, did you see her face?" Ally said, holding onto the shelves to keep him up.

"Like a plum, the daft banshee!"

"I thought she would realise for a moment there, she did get a little suspicious" he said with a chuckle.

"What? When I tripped on the bucket?"

"No: when you started laughing during the imitation of him singing!"

I laughed; she was so gullible it was pathetic.

I looked at the boy in front of me, his face only just visible in the darkness of the broom cupboard. His silver hair shone out and a single stripe of light crossed over his face. I saw a cobweb on his shoulder and reached out a hand to brush it away.

"Cobweb" I muttered and as I pushed it away my finger brushed his neck.

He gasped quietly and grabbed my hand where it had paused. For a moment we stood in tense silence as we looked at each other unsurely. Alex's eyes touched the very back of my mind, not breaching it, just staring to the depths and I let him. His own eyes looked silver (that silver that I loved, the one I caught in his hair, in his eyes)and they too were open for me to see. I had felt this building up, this weirdness, this feeling. It had been slow in coming but I could feel it now trying to escape.

"Ally..." I breathed and he moved closer to me, I backed away, my spine hitting the wall.

"Dari..." he replied, equally choked and the coarseness of his voice did odd things to my stomach.

"What...?"

"...I don't know"

He was closer now, his nose almost hitting mine and I unconsciously flicked my tongue over my dry lips. I felt his eyed zero on that movement and I wanted to faint just seeing the dark look in his morning fog eyes.

I gulped and ever so slowly I bumped my nose to his.

Something flashed between us and my eyes zapped to his but it was too late. Our lips collided like somebody had released the elastic tension joining them and I was sure they would be bruised once I could be bothered to look in a mirror. It was desperate, clumsy and out of control. Hands came up everywhere to pull painfully at hair, to tug on ears, jaws, clothes and everything they touched beyond the centre that was our furiously moving mouths. We pushed from wall to wall, tripped over buckets and upset brooms just in the battle for dominance with our fighting lips.

I lost.

Not that I cared all that much.

It didn't feel weird, this, it didn't feel wrong even though I was kissing one out of two of my oldest, and only true, friends. It didn't feel wrong even though he was, well, a he. This was Alex, Ally, this was...

"Dari..." my name was panted out, almost a sob.

"...Al" I moaned in reply, my heart catching in my throat.

"...Al?"

I snapped up out of my thoughts and my veins froze. I span around in panic but the voice had come from just outside the room I was not hiding in – just... spending some time.

"Sirius" I heard someone say but there was no doubt who it was. I knew that voice anywhere.

Alex...

And he knew I was here. He must do. There was no way, even with my thoughts blocked, that he couldn't know I was here when he was so close.

"Not here Sirius" Alex said tensely and I heard in his voice a confirmation to his awareness of me.

"We have to talk" Black said and I heard desperation in his voice.

"Okay – just can we go some-"

"-No! I mean... please, just talk to me..." He said pleadingly and I arched an eyebrow.

What the hell had I stumbled on?

Ally could easily reveal I was hear so why wasn't he? I didn't understand, had he and Black had an argument? It sounded like Black had done something wrong, and knew it, from the nervousness in his voice.

"I really don't- oh no, don't give me that look" he pleaded and I heard him sigh and groan slightly "... fine... stubborn bastard" Alex said and I heard steps outside the door.

I growled silently, knowing that I would have to listen to their damn conversation now. Thanks Alex.

"Lara talked to me..." Sirius started uneasily.

"Thought she might"

"She said... that you already knew what I was going to say before... that you knew-"

"Don't" was the desperate voice of my ex "I can't do this again Siri... I just can't..."

"Because of Irvine"

I tensed and pressed an ear closer to the gap between the door and wall that couldn't remember pressing against. I hadn't realised I'd moved from the window to here...

I heard Alex gasp.

"Yes" he choked out and I could tell now that he was pressed against the other side of the door. It was so bizarre, knowing how close we were.

"I'm not him you know?"

Well duh, he's nowhere near as cool as me.

"You might as well be" he said with a sigh and then he added, with a trace of pointed emphasis I couldn't ignore "Though you're a hell of a lot more polite than him"

"Better looking too" he added in a mutter under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear.

My eyes blinked and I mouthed silently to myself with a grimace.

"Ouch"

I heard Black chuckle.

"He is a snake"

Then the air became serious again and I wondered for the first time if I should really be here, listening it. Alex was going to kill me even more because Salazar knew he needed more reasons to kill me...

"Al... I want to spend my life with you" I cringed and found myself sliding to the floor.

That was the one thing I had never been able to say.

Do you have to do this now?

"I don't care what people think, I don't care. I didn't ask... well, you didn't even let me ask... but I didn't nearly ask just because of Lara... Though it wouldn't matter either way to me because I still don't want to ever let you go but... I want to... give you that"

My eyes widened as I began to understand what was going on.

"Siri..."

"Do you trust me?" I heard the quiet whisper and there was a kind of sincerity I had never had.

"No... Not with the future" Ally whispered back.

Black paused and it didn't take a master to figure out why.

"Can you take a risk for me then?" was the new reply.

"… I don't know Siri, I…" There was silence apart for Ally's fast breath and my own pounding heart.

I heard Black shifting and the sound of rustling robes.

"... Alex...?"

"Oh my Merlin, this can't be happening..."

Why? What's he doing?

"Alex Cassius Grey...? Will you marry me?" WAIT, WHAT? There was the sound of a box opening but before I even had tome to control me shock, pain and jealousy Ally broke into manic laughter.

"You bastard!" he gasped in between loud echoing laughs.

"Sorry, only thing I could find" Black said I heard a combination of amusement, sheepishness and smugness in his voice.

Now I'm not confused, I thought acerbically to myself (and Ally too if he was listening).

"I've final been proposed to" here I cringed "and it's with a plastic lollipop ring!"

He broke into laughter again.

"See, I managed to make you smile" He replied and this time it was definitely smugness.

"My husband the prankster" I heard Alex say and by this point I was pretty damn sure I didn't want to be here.

"... Is that a yes?" Black asked and I wanted to smack my head against the door.

Yeah, this is just the most perfect position. Here I was listening to my Ex being proposed to. Proposed to! And he knew I was here.

Bastard, you couldn't have stunned him and dragged him away could you? I found myself projecting and then hundreds of painful vibrations were running up my spine as he kicked the door. I resisted a snort.

"Dammit Sirius" Ally whispered "I'm only just seventeen – literally – this is hardly even legal..."

"It's not like we have to do it now" Black replied quietly "we have five years right?"

Suddenly the contract came back to my mind and I gasped inaudible. That's what this was about – not totally but it initiated it alright. This was how they were getting out of it!

Shit.

I'm betting the last person who should know that is Darien bloody Irvine too.

"Ugh... Merlin... Siri... I don't know if I..."

"Do you love me?"

"Of course" He answered and a knife fell in my stupid betraying heart.

"...Will you marry me?"

There was silence and I did the only thing I could. The one thing I didn't want to do.

Don't be a coward Ally.

The sound of him taking a deep in breath came to me through the wood of the door.

"I'm no coward" he said, a faint whisper of a voice.

"... Yes"

Sirius

I blinked. Then I blinked again.

"Wait. What?"

It suddenly occurred to me that I had just proposed. At the age of seventeen. Proposed. With a cheap lollipop ring – cherry flavoured no less – which I had found in James' top draw. Cherry. To Alex. Marriage. To Alex. Plastic... muggle... ring...

Oh. My. Freaking. Merlin. Almighty.

"Yes. You idiot" Alex said and he kicked the door again. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes?" I heard my voice say distantly.

"Yes"

"Oh, right" I blinked then removed the tacky plastic from its 'box' and randomly grabbed my boyfriend's – fiancés – hand. The ring slid on, too big and slightly sticky.

I stared at it for a moment then just had time to giggle hysterically before everything went dark and I fainted.

Lara

"Hey, have you seen Sirius?" James asked as he came into the boy's dorm.

"He's proposing" I said absently.

"Oh right..." he said nodding and turned back to the door before pausing then spinning back around to face me "Wait what?"

I looked at him amused.

"Sometimes I really am amazed at your intellect James, it's truly incredible"

He gapped at me.

"Did you just say...?"

"Proposing? Yes, I did" I said turning back to my book then looking up again "Oh and he took that ring you had in your top draw, you know the..."

"Plastic, cherry flavoured, lolly ring?" he said slowly.

I grinned.

"Yeah! That one!"

James slumped onto his bed.

"Oh. My. Godric"

Alex

"Oh great. My fiancé is an idiot" I drawled sardonically as I looked at my one and only unconscious boyfriend – fiancé – on the floor in a heap. I prodded him with my foot.

"I could have told you that" an equally sarcastic voice said through the wooden door.

"Shut up Irvine"

"Shutting up"

I sighed. Bloody hell. I guess that was one way to accept a marriage proposal.

As if the Ex who was sitting just behind a piece of wood, listening in, and dropping in snarky lines wasn't weird enough I was now wearing a plastic ring bejewelled with a chucky red hard sweet diamond (not your traditional engagement ring for sure). It also happened to be the day I came of age and I was currently standing before the temporarily comatose version of the boy who had just given said ring to to me to help save my sister from a forced marriage to said boy – now my fiancé - 's brother.

Was it just me or was something about this just a little surreal?

"So what's it going to be? Alex Black or Sirius Grey? Or would it be Alex Black-Grey? Or maybe Alex and Sirius Dark-Grey, perhaps you could be-"

"Shut up Irvine"

"Shutting up" he replied through the wood and his voice was amused.

Merlin he drives me insane.

I knelt by my bo- fiancé (bloody hell…)and looked at him fondly. My stupid idiot. Merlin... I was stuck with him now, I thought in entertainment. Or he's stuck with me... I snorted; the boy doesn't know what he's got himself in for. I reached out a hand and brushed the hair from his face with a smile.

Sappy Alex, real sappy... I thought to myself.

Then I blinked.

"HOLY CRAP, I'M ENGAGED!"

"You don't say. Ooo! Can I be best man?" he asked mockingly "Oh that would be just so classic: my fraudulent Ex: my best man and me! I'd have the best speech-"

"SHUT UP IRVINE"

Remus

"So let me get this straight. Padfoot is proposing to Alex so that they can get you out of the marriage contract?" James said as he paced.

"But he's not just proposing for that reason right?" Lily asked in concern and Lara rolled her eyes.

"Of course not, he really doe-"

"Are you sure it was actually Sirius? Sirius Black?" James demanded, spinning on his heel to face Lara.

I rubbed my head.

"Wait... did you say a candy ring, a strawberry flavou-?" I asked almost painfully.

"Cherry actually" Prongs cut it.

We all looked him and he shrugged uncomfortable.

"My baby cousin gave it to me..."

There was silence as we processed this irrelevant fact.

"Well... you have to admit, Pads has a unique way of doing things" Pete drawled with an eye roll and smile.

"You could say that" I said weakly.

"I think it's cute"

We turned to stare at Lily who was grinning, then as one we looked at James who was resisting a smile. We looked at Lily again.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"I guess it's certainly something to tell the kids. 'And then your daddy went on one knee with a piece of muggle sweet attached to some plastic' he'll never live it out" Peter said and we laughed.

James looked horrified.

"Oh Merlin, Padfoot with kids, kids of Padfoot! Holy crap... I don't know which one sounds scarier!"

I snorted.

"You're forgetting Alex would have say in the matter" I said.

We paused.

"No, that would be worse" Lily said slowly.

"Thank Godric it's biologically impossible" Peter added.

I opened my mouth to talk about how there were actually researchers on the matter then closed my mouth as an image of Alex and Sirius with children came to my mind. Oh dear…

"Are you certain...?" James started suddenly.

"Yes, it was definitely Sirius Black" Lara said with a grin.

"Oh..."

Sirius

I blinked and the darkness began to clear slightly, the blobs of colour swirling around me. I saw a face above mine.

"Wh... what? Al?" I said hazily.

"Hey there" he replied in a hushed voice.

I looked around; coming to the conclusion I was lying on my back in the middle of a corridor.

"You're such an idiot you know" Alex said with a snort.

"Yep" I agreed easily.

Then it came back. Then it came back.

My jaw fell and Alex chuckled.

"Remembered now?" he asked and I mutely nodded, pushing myself up onto my arms.

I reached for his hand and studied the stupid ring.

"You can take that off if you want..." I mumbled, flushing bright red.

Al just chuckled and removed his hand from mine and decisively popped the sweet into his mouth. I blinked rapidly at him before he pulled it out and smirked at me.

"Maybe I don't want to, husband"

Alex

I laughed out loud as Siri started to skip down the corridors, dragging me alone. He was such a little kid. We began passing a few people and they predictable stared at the excitable teen, the notorious recently gay Sirius Black, who dragged his almost equally notorious Grey Twin boyfriend.

"Come on Alex! We have to go tell the others!" Sirius whined as I pulled on his hand to try and slow him down.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" I said between laughter.

We reached the fat Lady and Sirius practically shouted the password before yanking me up into the hole. There were plenty of people in the room but Sirius just charged straight through them all and pulled us up to the dorm room. He threw the door back violently and skipped further into the room. We paused seeing the others there.

James was obviously in mid stride from where he was pacing stared at us with a gaping mouth. Lara was sitting on Remus' bed exchanging a smug smile with Lily, who was practically bouncing where she sat in the window seat. Remus was staring at us dazed, next to Lara. Peter was lounging on his bed looking bored with a Charms book in front of him.

"Hey" I said weakly while Sirius grinned at them all with at smile to match the sun, I smiled indulgently at him.

I pulled the boy, who looked like he'd shoot out of the tower if someone didn't restrain him, into my arms and wrapped them around his waist easily. A bright flash went off from Lily's direction and I snorted in amusement as I saw the camera in her hands.

"So…?" James said and Siri jumped in my arms.

"HE SAID YES!" He cried, hands flying into the air.

I shook my head and the others started raining on congratulations. My eyes met Lara's and she smiled sweetly and pointedly eyed the fake ring on my finger (which I had been determinedly hiding the entire walk/skip here). I instantly glowed bright red.

Alex Grey, a married man! She said to my thoughts and she started to giggle ridiculously.

I groaned and blushed even brighter.

MARRIED! HA!

Shut'up...

HAHA!

Lara

It was two weeks later. The boy dormitory was darkening but nobody moved to light the lamps or create a lumos. Alex sat next to me, his hand clenching mine while Sirius paced around the room, moving things and muttering. Lily was reading over and over the book we'd found in the back of the library, where the dust had gathered. James' eyes followed his best friend and he had a look of overcome shock on his face. Remus was looking between me and Alex in contemplation.

Peter was 'in detention'.

"Merlin... Shit and crap... Holy Godric... Hell" Sirius muttered he glanced at Alex "I mean- it's not like- I'm just- I just-"

"I know Sirius" Alex said calmly.

"You're practically shouting it" I added.

"I'm feeling exactly the same"

"So for Merlin sake, calm down you ninny" we said together, unable to prevent the duality caused by nerves.

We swallowed at the same time.

We glanced at each other guiltily.

"Sorry" we chimed awkwardly.

"Okay, it's fairly simple. All you have to do is say the words exactly right –which will be instinctive once the spell is made – you have to mean it or the spell will break. The charmer – Lara that's you – has to wave the wand above the hands, not too close, in a clockwise semicircle with an anti-clockwis-"

"Lily, stop" Alex said quietly.

"We know" I whined.

Sirius turned to us and took a deep in breath.

"No point delaying... Al?" He said, stretching out a hand.

We both stood up and looked at each other. I looked at my brother hard.

Thank you, I said.

You know it's not like that, he replied.

I nodded, I know but still.

Nothing's changing Lara...

I know that too... it just feels like... like I'm letting go...

We're still one...

I shook my head.

No, you will be his, like he is yours.

He looked at me with sadness in his eyes before smiling.

And you are for Remus like he is for you.

I smiled back.

Listen to us, acting like this is the last time we'll see each other, better take that hand quick before his arm falls off.

I love you sis, you know that, don't you?

Yeah yeah, get on with it

He snorted.

"Bitch"

"Not my fault" Love you too, idiot.

Alex turned back to Sirius and smiled before taking the still ready hand. He released mine and I smiled sadly.

"Right, no point to delay" He said quietly looking into Sirius' eyes.

They looked at each other for a while before lifting their clenched hands and looking at me expectantly. I pulled my thin grey wand from my robes and stepped towards them.

"Ready?" I whispered and they both nodded.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before starting to speak the carefully pronounced words in time with my wand movement. The spell seemed to direct my hand and I let it free with minimal effort.

"Ad manum imponit manum, anima animae, vita vitae, votum fiery"

Bright light seared my eye lids, a powerful fiery yellow that lit up the veins in my lids. Warmth touched my skin and my eyes begged to be open but I forcefully kept them shut. Magic, wild and free, sparkled over my skin, over the air, till I could nearly taste it. My wand vibrated and I gasped.

Then I heard them speaking over the thrums I didn't know surrounded my ears. I heard them but could not feel them. My own thoughts had become singular, like when I'd been under the crutiatus but without the pain. I couldn't feel Alex and I couldn't feel Sirius. I just felt the magic coursing through my veins. Their voices came to my ears.

"I, Alexander Cassius Grey, Child of Grey, swear now on my magic and life to bond with Sirius Orion Black within five years from this day, this vow I make to fulfil the contract made between The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and The Gracious Family of Grey entitling that the children of the Black family and the Grey family were to be bonded"

There was a brief pause as the light became blue like the freshness of the sky but brighter and clearer.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, Child of Black, swear now on my magic and life to bond with Alexander Cassius Grey within five years from this day, this vow I make to fulfil the contract made between The Gracious Family of Grey and The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black entitling that the children of the Grey family and the Black family were to be bonded"

The light became a vivacious, almost alive, white that would have blinded me had it not been magic and my eyes hadn't been shut tight.

"Fiat, fiat vota facienda, fiat." My voice rang out clear and almost singing, though I had hardly told my lips to move.

The light exploded.

Then was gone.

I opened my eyes and saw on each hand in front of me a white line that bound the two hands together in a ring.

"... well that was dramatic" Sirius remarked and like that the spell of silence on us was broken.

I snorted.

"Smooth" I said, rolling my eyes "that's it Alex, you're stuck with him now"

Sirius pouted but Alex just grinned.

"He's the one stuck with me" he replied and an evil glint came into his eyes "hope you can keep up Black... I have lots and lots of plans..."

There was the sound of a gulp.