"You came!" Stell cried suddenly, hurtling across the room at Sirius.

Catching her in his arms, Sirius cocked an eyebrow, "You didn't think I'd miss it, did you?" he asked. The drinks were passed down the table and the party grew louder and louder. They would probably, on a normal night, have been kicked out of The Three Broomsticks. Wands had come out now and the table, which had several people standing on it, was levitating a few feet off the ground. However, everyone was willing to make exceptions once in a wile. Sirius could remember a party quite like this one. A party where he'd been the guy standing on the table; his graduation, with his own friends.

Usually Sirius was the life of the party. He was the one getting drunk and setting off fireworks (indoors of course). He was the one who got thrown out first, too. But tonight he felt excluded, alone… He tried excusing himself by suggesting that he was giving the actual graduates a chance to celebrate, but really this wasn't true. Normally it wouldn't have bothered him in the least bit that this wasn't his party, but tonight Sirius had much more serious matters on his mind, things that he just couldn't seem to forget.

Stell seemed to be thinking about something as well and after only an hour of partying, she dragged him out, suggesting they go somewhere else. Sirius pretended to protest, but it was mostly for show. He'd actually rather not be in the loud, crowded party. They headed for a small coffee shop down the street. Neither of them spoke, although Stell turned and opened her mouth several times.

Finally when they were seated across from each other in the nearly deserted café, she broke the silence, "What's wrong?"

Sirius hadn't realized that anything had shown on his face. This was supposed to be Stell's night and he was ruining it for her. "Nothing," he said quickly.

"No, it's alright, I don't feel much like partying right now. Really, what's the matter?"

"You tell me what's on your mind and I'll tell you what's on mine," Sirius suggested.

"Fair enough," Stell said, "Well… It's just… Now that I've graduated, will you…?"

Sirius heaved a sigh, he'd been afraid this was coming. "You promised me, remember?"

"I know I did, but things have changed now."

"How?"

"I can't explain… It's too dangerous, I should never have mentioned the Order at all."

"Look, I'm not a little kid, ok? I can protect myself. I can make decisions for myself. I want to join the Order. That's what I want to do with my life, understand?" Sirius looked at her, surprised. She had never sounded so… so serious and determined. She wasn't being cold and she wasn't angry, she was just explaining herself to him.

"I know," Sirius said, "And I know I can't stop you doing what you want, but… you're… young. And… I don't want…" Sirius shook his head, he didn't want to talk about Benjy, the memories were all too recent, but he'd have to. She couldn't join the Order now.

"Things happen. People… get hurt."

"I know that!"

Sirius looked down at the tabletop; he struggled with himself for a minute before beginning. "A friend of mine… there was an accident. And… And the death eaters caught him. They still haven't found his body."

Stell gasped, "Oh, Sirius… I'm so sorry."

When Sirius looked up again, his eyes were full of everything that had ever gone wrong. Sadness, frustration, fear, and weakness... "I just don't want anything to… You can't… I don't want you to get hurt," he said at last. "If you… If anything ever happened… I could never live with myself."

"I'm not going to die, Sirius," Stell said, "I'm not leaving you."

"Yeah?" Sirius said, suddenly angry, "Well I doubt Benjy thought he was going to cop it, either! But he did! And now they can only find bits of him!"

There were tears in Stell's eyes, she reached out and took his hand, squeezing it. Sirius felt suddenly empty, as if all the life had been sucked out of him. He was tired, too tired to fight any more. "I know," Stell whispered, "But things like that… they'll just keep happening! Don't you see? We can't give up! That's what we're fighting for! To stop him! To end all the killing and the pain and the fear! We have to do something about it!"

Finally Sirius regained his voice. Stell was watching him intently, her eyes wild and full of fire. "We have to do something," she repeated softly.

"Stella," Sirius whispered, "I love you."

A/N: Wow, I updated pretty quickly! Aren't you proud? lol Well, thanks for reviews! Keep them coming!