Decima awoke in the all-to-familiar hospital wing to the sound of angry, raised voices. She opened her eyes carefully, only to close them when the light hit her eyes, causing her head to swim in pain. What had caused this ridiculously strong headache? Who was yelling?

"I'm not saying you don't want her, brother, I'm saying you don't love her like I do! You don't respect her!"

"You allow our father to get close enough to rape her and then you accuse me of not loving her? I risked going back to your warped universe to help her get out again. You can't accuse me of not loving her!"

"Then why do you keep landing her in the hospital wing?"

"Because I lost control, damn it! I got caught up in how I felt and forgot about her pain for a brief moment, and that was all it took! But don't you dare blame me for her problems! Blame our dear father, if anyone!"

"Inside voices," murmured Decima, as their argument grew louder. Someone grabbed her hand.

"CiCi, love? How do you feel?" cooed Sirius as he petted her hand.

"Like someone's using the Cruciatus Curse on my head."

"Can you open your eyes, darling?"

She shook her head a little and instantly wished she hadn't.

"No, Sirius, it hurts, the light's too bright."

"Regulus," barked Sirius, though softly for her sake, "make yourself useful. Go fetch Madam Pomfrey and get something for her headache."

"Decima, darling, please, I'm so sorry. I moved too fast. I'm so sorry, I promised I wouldn't let it happen again and I failed you."

"Shh," she said, feeling for Sirius's face and stroking it gently. "Don't worry about that, Sirius; it's not your fault. I thought I was ready, but I was wrong. I shouldn't tempt you like that. I don't blame you for anything. Although I suspect Madam Pomfrey does?"

"Yeah, her and everyone else. It seems everyone but Gwen and James think I'm a danger to you."

Decima snorted.

"Right, because I was so much safer without you. That's absurd."

He chuckled softly.

"My thoughts exactly," he murmured before placing a sweet kiss on her forehead. "It's all going to be okay, love, I promise."

"You should stop making her promises, Sirius," said Regulus's snarling voice. "It's pretty obvious you don't know how to keep them."

"Not helpful, Mr. Black," said Madam Pomfrey. "I have a potion here, Miss Zimmerman, and it ought to clear that headache right up. I'm going to place it in your hand here, do you feel it? Good. Drink up."

Decima downed the potion and felt the pressure in her head ebb away instantly. She flickered her eyes open and saw Sirius's anxious face looking down at her.

"How do you feel, dear?" said Madam Pomfrey.

"Much better, thank you."

"Well, then," said the witch, "I'll give you some time with your visitors, if they can behave themselves, and then I'll give you a quick check and I suspect you'll be out of here before dinner."

She nodded and Madam Pomfrey retreated to her office. Sirius leaned down to kiss her. It was caste and sweet, but she could see Regulus scowling over Sirius's shoulder and he simply left the room.

"Did you really have to do that?" Decima sighed as Sirius pulled away with a grin when he heard the door close behind Regulus. It was intentional.

"Of course I did, my love, he wasn't going to ruin my time with you if I had anything to say about it."

She wanted to be mad at him. She wanted to say that she wanted Regulus there. But the words didn't come out and she realized she really didn't want Regulus there after all. It wasn't that she stopped caring about him, or that she never wanted to see him again, but she suddenly realized that things would never be the same between them again, and that things would probably never be okay after what had happened. Sirius, on the other hand, she didn't think she could be without. So she wasn't really mad. She was actually secretly pleased, but knew it wouldn't do anything good for his ego to let him know that, so she put on her best scowl, which he barked with laughter at and kissed her again.

"Oh, love," he said murmured softly. "We're going to need a system, because as much as I love you, I'm sure you've realized I'm not very well practiced at reigning myself in, and I don't want to hurt you again."

Decima just nodded into his chest as he held her.

"Can we just stay like this?" she muttered groggily. "Can you just hold me like this for a while? It makes me feel safe."

"Of course, love," he whispered, petting her hair, smoothing it out of her face and kissing her forehead softly. "I'm not going anywhere unless you make me."

"Do you think Madam Pomfrey will let you spend the night?" she whispered.

"No, she most certainly will not!" said a voice above them, and the lovebirds looked up to see Madam Pomfrey herself standing over them with quite the scowl on her face. "You, Miss Zimmerman have suffered a great deal of trauma over the past week, the least of which inflicted on you by the lack of thought from Mr. Black here. I have no wish of a relapse in this very room!"

"But if I'm already here, it's safer than if I was somewhere else again, right?" she said, with the best smile she could come up with and the most innocent face she could force her features into. Sirius barked incessantly with laughter.

"No, Miss Zimmerman. Mr. Black will be returning to his own bed for the night, and he can pick you up in the morning when I've had a chance to make sure nothing is seriously wrong. It isn't healthy for you to be sharing a bed with someone in your delicate, traumatized condition."

Sirius frowned but Decima muttered, "Like I've got a choice."

"What?" said Madam Pomfrey. Decima had not intended for that to be heard, and she blushed. None of the teachers knew she had moved in to Gryffindor Tower. None of the teachers knew that Gwen was living with Remus, and Decima was living with Sirius.

"N-nothing, Madam Pomfrey, it was nothing," she muttered self-consciously.

"Um," said Sirius, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "Madam Pomfrey, could you do me a favor and fetch Professor Dumbledore? There's something we really ought to discuss with him."

Madam Pomfrey looked for a moment as though she would refuse. After all, it was rather presumptuous of Sirius to expect her to run his errands. But she looked down at the pitiful pair, knowing all that Decima had gone through, seeing Decima cling to Sirius as though she would die without him, and her head nodded ever-so-slightly before she turned and hurried down the corridors, presumably to Dumbledore's office.

They didn't speak while she was gone. Decima didn't have the energy. She wasn't sure what Sirius needed to talk to Dumbledore about, but somehow she sensed that it was going to involve her getting thrown under the bus in some regard and she wasn't too terribly keen on that. She was just about to ask him what this would involve with the headmaster himself strode in, followed closely by Madam Pomfrey.

"You wished to see me, Mr. Black?"

"Yes, just the three of us, Professor," said Sirius, casting a guilty and apologetic glance at Madam Pomfrey. "If that's all right, I mean."

"Of course," said Professor Dumbledore with a soft nod. "Poppy, if you don't mind terribly?"

"Well," said Madam Pomfrey indignantly. "I'll just go to my office, then, since I'm not allowed to handle my own patient." And she stormed into her office, nearly slamming the door behind her.

"Well, then, what is on your mind, Mr. Black?" said Professor Dumbledore with an odd twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

"Professor, I'm sure you're aware of Decima's current situation with our families."

"I've been told about the disaster, yes."

"Well, in light of all that has happened the Gryffindors have sort of adopted her, since we realized it wasn't safe for her to stay with Slytherin. Gwen and Decima have been living in our dormitory for their own safety. The Head Boy and Girl approved giving them password access to Gryffindor Tower."

"I'll bet the Fat Lady wasn't particularly pleased about that," mused Dumbledore with a faint smile.

"No," said Sirius. "No, she was rather upset. She's okay with it now, though. Madam Pomfrey, however, said something about her needing to sleep on her own, considering all the predicaments I've gotten her into by accident. I'm worried that she might be right, but I can't send her back to Slytherin House."

"My dear boy," said Dumbledore, "I don't think you have anything to worry about. She's safer in your dormitory than she would be anywhere else in the castle. Just be more careful, or Poppy will give Miss Zimmerman her own personalized bed here in the infirmary. As to Miss Zimmerman's change of sleeping arrangements, I was already aware. It is fine. She is still, however, answerable to Professor Slughorn as her head of house, and she still has to take classes with her house. Other than that, you may continue the way you have."

Decima couldn't believe what had just happened. The headmaster had just given her permission to sleep with the Gryffindors? He had just given her permission to sleep in her boyfriend's bed? How often did that happen? Then again, how often did one dare ask permission for that sort of thing, even if one has been raped by one's ex-boyfriend's father? Well, the whole situation was weird, and Decima expected it wasn't safe to say it wouldn't get any weirder. Strange things just seemed to happen around Sirius.

The headmaster, however, did not go so far as to grant Sirius the right to stay the night in the hospital wing with her. Perhaps he, like the students, was not willing to incur the wrath of Madam Pomfrey over such an issue. At any rate, when it came time for Sirius to dash off to bed before curfew, Decima found herself curling up on her hospital wing cot, trying to compensate for the lack of a warm body beside her with the positioning of her blankets. It wasn't working.

The next morning when Sirius came to pick her up, she was deemed fit to be released, except that she was incredibly tired. She nuzzled into Sirius's chest, finally ready to sleep, only to have to face a full day of classes and homework.

"Love," he whispered to her later that night as she finally was ready to doze off, "you have Quidditch practice."

Decima grumbled, but she grabbed her things from their dormitory and led him down to the field, not wanting to face the Slytherins without a Marauder present unless she had to. Sirius understood, and he enjoyed watching Quidditch, although he never got to watch practices. James was a dictator. It was a cool evening, and Sirius's arm around her shoulder as he walked her and Gwen to the changing rooms made her feel cozy and warm. She didn't want to leave him, but he kissed her forehead and went to find a seat.

The girls kept to themselves in the changing room, during practice, and afterwards as they changed out of their sweaty practice clothes. Sirius was waiting for them with a grin as they exited.

"Hello, ladies, good practice," he said, giving Decima a kiss on the cheek before wrapping his arm around her waist to escort them back up to the school. Decima was so pleased with him being near her again that she almost didn't notice Regulus shooting them a sour look as he stormed past them.

"Someone's a bit cranky," said Gwen casually, and Sirius snorted.

"Hey, CiCi, are you going to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

Decima was surprised he had even bothered to ask. Remus and GiGi had just assumed they were going together and began talking immediately about where they were going to go when the notice was put up in the common room.

"Of course," she said, nuzzling into his chest as best she could as they walked. "You didn't even have to ask."

"Of course I did, love," he whispered. "One always has to ask. If I just assumed you would go with me, it would be like implying that you were my property, and I don't want to do that. I care about you. You have a mind of your own. I don't own you."

She knew exactly what he was doing. He was making sure she felt as though she had a say in her life. He was helping her move on from the life she used to have, where she was supposed to do what was ordered and not ask questions, where she was the possession of the man she was lucky enough to catch the eye of. Sirius was helping her start over.

She smiled sweetly.

"Where are you taking me?"

He grinned back.

"Everywhere you want to go, love."

That sounded good to Decima, and she was in a good mood the rest of the night, curling up into Sirius's arms on the couch in the common room while they others did their homework. She could do hers later, she decided. For the time being, she just wanted to be with Sirius.

"Are you ready for bed, love?" he whispered as the common room was almost empty, a group of second years heading up the stairs for bed. Decima nodded, allowing Sirius to scoop her up in his arms and carry her up the stairs, kicking open the door to the dormitory when she turned the knob and laying her carefully down in his bed. "Time for bed, love," he whispered, closing the curtains around them and pulling off his shirt. Normally, he slept in his boxers, or completely naked, but since her latest trip to the hospital wing he was trying to behave himself, so he would sleep with his pants on.

Decima pulled off her top and pushed him down on the bed, straddling him. His eyes grew wide and she whispered, "Don't move."

She could see the bulge in his pants growing as she pulled off her skirt and tossed it to the side, kissing his chest. He squirmed beneath her and she bit down on his nipple hard before hissing, "I told you not to move, love."

His eyes were desperate with lust and she moved down his chest with kisses before freezing over his jeans. Sirius's breathing was labored and heavy and suddenly, Decima couldn't go on with it. She realized she wasn't ready and she sighed.

"I can't do this yet, Sirius. I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Hang on," said Sirius, sitting up carefully and breathing deeply. "Just let me calm down for a second and I'll go to bed."

"I'm sorry, Sirius."

"No, don't apologize. We need to do this at your pace or it won't be any good."

Decima just nodded as Sirius curled up, holding out his arms to invite her over to him. He wrapped them around her as they spooned, falling fast asleep in each other's arms, their breathing and their heartbeats synchronized.

On the morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Sirius and Remus were told to leave the room and go change somewhere else. They weren't allowed to see their dates before it was time to "pick them up."

"But we live in the same room," whined Sirius, who had wanted to watch Decima change.

It didn't happen. Sirius and Remus were dragged off to the seventh year boys' dormitory to change by a very sheepish and reluctant James, who swore up and down he was just doing this to make sure everybody was on their best behavior that day. If he hadn't, he reminded them, the girls would be cranky, and Merlin knows, Decima heard him mutter, there's nothing more miserable to deal with than a cranky girl.

Gwen and Decima put on their Muggle clothes, did their hair, and put on just a little bit of makeup. Decima had learned when she was with Regulus that she got the best response when she did as little as possible with her general appearance. Her light bun with wisps of hair falling out was simple, but sexy. Her makeup was incredibly natural. If she hadn't just seen herself put it on, she wouldn't have known she was wearing any.

Gwen squeaked her being done, and they exited the bathroom where to where James and Peter were pulling on their t-shirts. James blinked, put on his glasses, blinked again and said, "Merlin, ladies, looking good!"

"Thanks, James," said Gwen graciously. "We're off to meet our boys. We'll see you guys around."

With that, the girls took off down the steps to meet Remus and Sirius in the common room, where they were lounging on the couch. As soon as the girls stepped in the stood and looked at their dates, jaws open and eyes wide.

"Wow," said Sirius, "you look amazing, CiCi."

"Yeah," muttered Remus. "GiGi, you look… wow."

Good enough.

"So, ladies," said Sirius with his smoothest voice, "where would you like to go when we get to the village?"

The girls looked at each other with a grin.

"Honeydukes!" they said with the same excited squeal.

There's really only one thing to do first at Hogsmeade if you're a chocoholic, and both Decima and Gwen fit that description perfectly. The boys chuckled as they took the hands of their girls and led them out of the portrait hole, no doubt having already guessed that this would be their first stop.

"Remember, ladies," said Sirius, "it's all on James, so buy whatever you want."

It was funny, true, but it would have been even funnier if it wasn't the truth. Sirius's parents were giving Decima and Sirius quite a bit of gold that would have otherwise gone to James. Decima knew it was probably less than Sirius was used to, but he didn't complain. He obviously thought it was better than being beat to a bloody pulp every holiday.

Walking across the grass towards the gates, hand in Sirius's hand, Decima felt invincible. She should have known better.