I am so SO sorry! I've been really busy lately, I just didn't have time to write, plus I was having some major writers block. I already have most of the next chapter figured out, so it shouldn't take as long.

I don't own anything, it all belongs to JKR. Enjoy!

Chapter six: Quidditch and Heart Attacks

We thought that things couldn't get any more exciting after our little potions incident, but apparently we were wrong. The day of my second ever Quidditch match (as a spectator of course, I haven't even learned to fly yet!) started out with me, Sirius, and James out on the pitch alone early in the morning. James was finally teaching me how to fly. He figured that he and Sirius, who played beater, could always use the extra practice and I was really anxious to fly.

"I still don't really understand," Sirius told me for what must have been the billionth time, "Why are you so anxious to do this again? I mean, flying is brilliant and all, but I don't think I've ever seen you this excited."

"Well, I've never done it before, and it's only the biggest symbol of real magic ever, and I've always wanted to fly, and it's just exciting so shut up!" I told him, adding on the last bit because he was laughing at me. Granted I was talking pretty fast and jumping up and down like an idiot, but he still didn't have to laugh!

"All right, enough." James said with a smile, "Let's get started…"

He showed me how to get on and how to hold my hands and how to move, Sirius showing off on his broom all the while. After about twenty minutes he finally backed up and told me to kick off. Big mistake.

"YEAAAAHHHHHH!" I screamed, rocketing through the air. I had decided I might as well go all out, since I was flying however many feet in the air without a net anyway, and was flying as fast as the broom would take me. It was, without a doubt, the most amazing, terrifying, adrenaline-filled moment of my life. I felt like I had left everything negative on the ground, and was flying with only the positive aspects of my life. It was incredible.

"EMILY!" I heard faintly. James was frantically trying to get me to come down. Dang it! I flew down to where he and Sirius were waiting anxiously.

"Merlin, Emily! Don't do that!" James sounded faint, which amused me to no end. I'd seen him hang upside down in the last match and here he was, worried because I had gone a little fast.

"I'm fine," I promised him, "that was fun. Can I do it again?" James made such an amazingly horrified face to that that I couldn't help laughing. He really was too much. I could see where his son got that pessimism about other people getting hurt.

"Are you serious Emily? You nearly killed yourself!" James told me.

"Did not! I did it on purpose!" I told him, miffed.

"Oh, so you were trying to give me a heart attack then?" he snapped. I started laughing again.

"Yeah, James, I deliberately flew that fast knowing that the guy who nearly fell off of his broom at the last match would freak out at a little burst of speedy flying. That's exactly what happened." I told him sarcastically, though it was slightly ruined by my giggles. He just rolled his eyes at me, so I turned to Sirius instead.

"Come on, Sirius! Tell him it's alright!" I whined. To my surprise, he shook his head.

"It's dangerous to go that fast when you haven't flown before. You could've fallen off." He told me. Hypocrites. They flew like that all the time, and I doubt their first flights were very calm. Plus, these were the two who were just saying that I should try this impossible and highly volatile potion for some prank not five minutes ago. So apparently, it's ok to get blown up, but not to fall off of a broom. Hypocrites.

"Fine. I'll be more careful." I told them, only slightly peeved-off. Oh well. Maybe I could get my own broom soon, and fly as fast as I wanted. For now I took off around the field at a snail's pace with exaggerated care. James rolled his eyes.

"Not that slow! I only meant slow enough that you aren't about to fall off of the edge." He clarified.

"That's a pretty fine line, James." I told him. He just smirked.

After that it went pretty well. We flew for a couple more hours before I finally got tired and we decided to go back in. I was yawning the entire way inside which, considering how early we had gotten up (early enough that we were heading in to breakfast), was not surprising. It seemed like no time at all before I was out in the stands, getting ready to watch the second game of the season.

We were playing Slytherin today, and I was pretty nervous. I wanted Gryffindor to win, of course, but I was worried it would get violent. Weren't these always the worst games in that respect? And I had friends on both teams. Regulus was playing seeker for the Slytherin team, and Remus was joining Sirius and James on the Gryffindor team as keeper. I was really surprised at my first game to see him out on the field, but he was a really good keeper.

Now, I'm a major fan of Quidditch, but I can never watch a game without fidgeting. The same goes for every other sport, whether I play it or not. I always feel like I should be out there playing instead of watching. My point is that I really couldn't tell you what happened for most of the game. We were winning, I knew that much, but that was about all I knew at that point. Then I heard a horrifying sound, the kind of sound you hear when someone breaks a bone, and the whole crowd gasped.

My head snapped up just in time to see Sirius hit the ground.

And, just like that, time stopped. The entire world grew silent. My stomach felt nauseous, my head was reeling, and my heart must have been going ninety miles a minute. It only took a second. Just one, itsy-bitsy second, to come to the most horrifying conclusion I had ever faced.

He wasn't moving.

Sirius Orion Black, most hyper active person on the planet, wasn't moving. Something was most definitely wrong.

Now, I know what you're thinking, there is no way that anyone could tell that in a second, and you'd normally be right, but that is when you are talking about normal people. A normal person would have sat there for a second to catch their breath, but Sirius is not a normal person. Sirius would have jumped up and taken a bow right away, just to get on the Slytherin's nerves. He's just that kind of guy. So seeing him still like that, even for a second, had me running down to the field, Lily in tow.

By the time we got there, the ref had called a time out (it had been a foul), so James and Remus were already with him.

"What's wrong? Where did he get hit? Is it bad? Is he alright? Why aren't you-" I demanded right away, only stopping when I saw him. It was horrible. He'd gotten hit in the chest, and was having trouble breathing. His chest was lopsided, making it look like he had broken a few ribs, and there was a little blood at the corner of his mouth. His eyes were closed, but he was definitely awake, because his fists were clenching and unclenching at his sides.

I vaguely heard Lily gasp from behind me, and the crowd murmuring even farther away, but it didn't really register. I was shocked. It actually physically hurt to see him so helpless and mangled. I felt like crying, but I couldn't even breathe. I probably would have either been stuck there forever, or passed out at that point, but then I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Breathe. Everything is going to be fine. We'll take him to the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey will heal him no problem. It'll be fine. You need to breathe, Emily." Remus told me. I focused on his words and was able to take a shaky breath. He nodded at me, looking relieved. Someone, I wasn't really paying attention to who, conjured a stretcher, and we levitated him to the hospital wing.

It seemed like hours that we were stuck outside without news. I couldn't sit still, so I spent the time pacing around the hallway. Remus kept giving me this look, but I just ignored it. Who knew what went through his head half the time? Not me, that's for sure.

Finally, Madam Pomfrey came out to the hallway.

"He's fine," she assured us, "just tired. You can all see him now." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Thank Merlin he was alright! We all filed in and circled his bed. We just stared at him in relief for a few minutes before I surprised everyone, including myself, by jumping onto the bed and hugging the life out of him.

", Iwassoworriedaboutyou! ??" In my own defense, I felt it was a valid question, seeing as I can never tell when I start talking to fast.

"Calm down, Emily, I'm fine." Sirius assured me, still chuckling. Still, he had his arm firmly around my waist, so he must not have minded being worried about all that much. In retrospect, we probably looked pretty silly, since he was still only half sitting and I was half sitting next to him in the last dregs of my panicked hug. He felt warm.

"What happened out there mate? You seemed distracted. That hit wouldn't have been as bad if you had noticed it." James seemed suspicious, but of what, I couldn't tell. Sirius just shrugged.

It wasn't that, it was just a lucky hit on his part. I couldn't see it until it was too late." James seemed appeased, but Remus was still looking at him strangely. I decided the hug was getting awkward, so I pulled away and went to stand by Lily.

"Well, just get better soon, Pa-Sirius." Hmmmmm. Was James about to say Padfoot, perhaps? Me wonders why!

We all said our goodbyes, Lily giving him a hug before I did, and we left (The game had been long, and James and Remus had gotten in from the match a long time ago, so it was already almost curfew). Just as I was about to go up to the dorms with Lily, Remus grabbed my arm.

"A word, if you would." He sounded either mad or excited, I couldn't tell. He waited for the room to be empty before he spoke.

"I saw that, you know." What? Had I done something gross? Or bad?

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! What happened today! You know, with Sirius!"

"We all saw the crash, Remus; now please make sense so my head can stop hurting!" I begged. I really needed some sleep at that point.

"You really don't see it, do you? I'm not talking about the crash, Emily, I'm talking about you. You have to have some idea of what I'm talking about!" He sounded exasperated. I raised an eyebrow, completely beyond the ability to understand what he was rambling about. He groaned, then turned around and took a deep breath. He turned back to me and asked something I never expected to hear.

"How long have you been in love with Sirius?"

…

…um…

…

"What?" yeah, I'm smart.

"You heard me, Emily, how long?"

"I have no idea what…" but he gave me this look like, 'think about your answer because you don't want to mess this up' or something, so I actually considered the question. Sirius Black. What could be said about Sirius Black? He was pretty handsome, if I was honest with myself, and funny. He was always there when you needed him. He was kind, smart, and easy going. And he had these eyes, a girl could get lost in his eyes. They were soulful and deep, grey-blue with flecks of green and brown and….

Oh…

I was in love with Sirius Black.

…Dang it!