In a moment of boldness I walked towards Sirius and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around me and I wrapped my arms around his neck. It didn't take long for me to get lost in the kiss.

"Samantha," He mumbled against my lips. "You have no idea how long I've wanted this."

"Trust me I do." I said.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

I woke up sweaty and I realized that I had drooled a little on my pillow. I thought about the dream I had and I felt a pang of regret. I kept wondering what would have happened if I had kissed Sirius in that closet a week ago. Instead I'd been too afraid of getting hurt and I left. The look on Sirius's face when I left was horrible. I knew I'd somehow managed to break the heart of the biggest man-whore in Hogwarts history. I thought it'd feel good to get "revenge" on Sirius but it just ended up making both of us miserable. Well actually Sirius got a girlfriend three days later but I know and he knows he just did it because he is trying to make me jealous. Unfortunately it's working but I'm "friends" with Regulus and we decided that he should ask me out today. I hoped me dating Regulus would have the same affect on him as him dating Courtney has on me. Deep down I knew I did the right thing in not kissing Sirius in the broom closet on that fateful Monday morning but at the same time I wish I would have. I know I'd probably have my heart broken, again, but at least I wouldn't feel the nagging pang of regret that I feel now.

With a heavy heart, I got up and got ready for the Hogsmeade trip today. I decided that I should look nice so I chose to wear a bright green dress and wedges. When I was ready, I walked down to the Entrance Hall where Regulus said he'd be waiting for me.

"You look nice," Regulus said.

I touched my chest like he'd just given me the greatest compliment in the world. "Thanks Reg, just what every girl wants to hear. 'You look nice.'"

"You look absolutely stunning darling," Regulus said mockingly.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand. I pulled him along a path to Hogsmeade and when we got there I noticed Sirius go into Madam Puddifoot's with Courtney. Ew. Regulus suggested we follow them in there but I thought that might look a little too staged. Instead, I decided to pull Regulus into Zonkos.

About half an hour later we came out with nose biting teacups. I'd always wanted to use one and I was planning on using it on Rachael. I'd never gotten her back for throwing a dung bomb at me in our third year. I had smelled bad for days.

"What are you thinking about?"

I looked at him for a second questioningly before responding, "I was thinking about who I was going to use this teacup on." I looked at him deviously and he laughed.

"I can't figure you out Chester." Regulus was looking at me searchingly and his eyes looked like they were piercing right through me.

"Isn't that the point?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well the whole point of all relationships is figuring a person out and it's something no one can ever truly succeed at. You could have been best friends for years and still be figuring things out about a person. People married for decades can still find out something new about their partner, like their favorite ice-cream or their worst fear."

"Well I meant that I can't read your mind and it scares me. I've never had a friend that I couldn't read their mind."

"You've been trying to read my mind?"

"Don't be upset, it's just something I do. It makes me feel better if I know what someone is thinking. But I kind of like not knowing at the same time. Being your friend has been fun. I like guessing what your thinking and it feels more real."

I thought for a moment. "Why can't you read my mind?"

"I don't know, your mind just seems so guarded. I can't see anything when I try and it's never happened before."

I wondered if my 'guarded' mind had anything to do with my childhood. I guess I'd never know for sure. All of a sudden Regulus grabbed my hand and started to pull me towards Madam Puddifoot's. Right before we got there though he stopped. "I have an idea. Let's walk in front of this store holding hands, then you fall." I started to interrupt him but he shushed me. "Then when I go to help you up, pull me down next to you. Then I'll kiss you."

"But Sirius might not even see it."

"Oh I think he will. He always notices you, you can't see it but I can." The thought made my heart lift a little. I couldn't help but wonder if Sirius truly had moved on since last Monday, but if what Regulus said is true then he clearly hadn't.

We began the plan and everything was going perfectly. Then came the kiss. We locked eyes for a moment before he kissed me and he smiled. I smiled back and he kissed me. It didn't feel like when Sirius kissed me but Regulus was a great kisser. I could tell in just the few seconds that we'd kissed, and I wondered if it was a trait in the Black family.

Just when Regulus and I had started to stand, Sirius came out of Madam Puddifoot's with Courtney close behind. He was angrily clutching his wand and he was glaring at Regulus.

"Don't you two make a lovely couple," Sirius sneered.

"Thanks," Regulus called. He stood up and offered me his hand, to help me stand. I took it and stood up quickly, refusing to look at Sirius.

"Sam I know you're angry with me," Sirius began, "but please don't date him in spite of me. He's dangerous."

I felt heat rushing to my cheeks and I clenched my fists angrily. I looked up at him and gave him the nastiest glare I could muster. "How dare you," I started, "I can't believe that you, of all people, are going to pretend like you care. If the past proves one thing, it's that you don't. You don't care about me or anyone else besides yourself. So please, keep your concern to yourself."

"Sam-"

"And furthermore," I continued, "You've already hurt me far more than you know. No matter how dangerous Regulus may or may not be, he's better for me than you. You're the dangerous one. You're the only one who's hurt me." With that I turned and began to walk away, Regulus close behind.

"You better not hurt her Regulus," Sirius yelled from behind us.

"Like you did?" Regulus asked. He turned around to look at Sirius and I did too. The look on Sirius's face made a wave of pity flash over me. He looked hurt.

"I didn't mean to!" Sirius called angrily.

"So?" said Regulus, "In case you've forgotten, you only dated Sam to try and get James to be your friend again. You only used her to prove yourself to James. It's your fault Sam is with me right now instead of you. She's too good for you anyways."

Before I could do anything, Sirius muttered a curse and shot it at Regulus. Regulus deflected it and shot one back at Sirius. In only a few minutes it soon turned into an all out battle and I was frozen in shock. Students stopped whatever they were doing and began to watch the fight.

"Guys stop!" I shouted and I touched Regulus's shoulder. "Someone might get hurt."

"I don't care!" Regulus shouted and all of a sudden I was flying through the air and I landed roughly ten yards away. I tried to sit up but my head was spinning. I had never seen Regulus so angry and it scared me.

"You'll pay for that!" Sirius shouted at Regulus and he seemed to get even more vicious.

I was finally able to stand and I began to run to Sirius and Regulus. Before I got there, I saw a dark red beam shoot out of Regulus's wand. Sirius failed to block the spell and it hit him directly in his stomach. He fell over clutching where the spell had hit him. I ran quickly over to him and to my horror, I saw blood gushing from his stomach. I started screaming for someone to get a teacher.

I stroked Sirius's cheek gently and tried to comfort him. I turned to Regulus and glared at him. "What the hell did you do to him?!"

"Don't be so dramatic Sam, he'll be fine," said Regulus.

I ignored Regulus and began to use a healing charm I knew on Sirius. It slowed the bleeding but wasn't strong enough to totally stop it. I grabbed Sirius's hand and held it, which is the only thing I could do. After what seemed like an eternity, I saw a group of teachers running down the path leading to Hogsmeade.

I looked at Sirius and he was smiling at me.

I looked at him. "What?"

"You're holding my hand."

"So? You're dying, of course I'm holding your hand."

"Well I'm glad I'm dying. For awhile I was worried you'd never hold my hand again. I would have tried to die sooner if I would have known you'd hold my hand."

I couldn't help but laugh at his ridiculousness. "You've lost a lot of blood."

He smiled and I squeezed his hand. Then I noticed that the teachers had arrived. I moved out of the way and the teachers hurried to his side. McGonagall and Slughorn performed a few spells and then they levitated him and began to take him back to the school. I followed closely behind. Remus and James came running up from behind me and they looked at Sirius, horrified. I explained what had happened to him as we headed up to the castle.

This is all my fault, I thought to myself. I tried to deny the thought as soon as it came but I couldn't. I should never have gone to Regulus for revenge. I took advantage of Regulus's and Sirius's hatred for each other and I should have known something like this could happen. Now I could only hope that he'd be ok. The logical part of my brain knew he would be but that didn't stop me from worrying.

When we reached the the hospital wing, the Matron insisted that everyone stay outside until she said otherwise. The teachers left, insisting they must deal with Regulus. That left James, Lupin, and I waiting outside the hospital wing. After what felt like hours, the Matron came out and told us we could go in. We all scrambled into the room and Sirius looked up, smiling. For a few seconds he locked eyes with me and his smile widened even more.

"Sam," He said, "I didn't think you'd want to see me."

"Of course I would," I said sheepishly. He patted the side of his bed and motioned for me to come over. I hesitantly walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. He reached out his hand and I took it. His hand was warm and soft and even after all the times I'd held it, it still sent tingles down my spine.

"Sirius?" James said, "Were you going to say hi to your other friends or keep flirting with Sam? We waited for hours, worried sick about you."

"Get over here!" Sirius shouted at them. They walked over shaking their heads and began to ask Sirius questions about the fight. Sam spoke up a few times but she ignored most of their conversation. She could only think about how lucky they all were that the spell Regulus had cast hit his stomach. If it had gone only a few inches further up to his chest...Sam shuddered at the thought. Eventually Remus and James left, with promises to come back later. Sirius turned to look at her and he swallowed nervously. There was an uneasy silence between them, so many things needed to be said. But neither of us said anything so I decided to speak.

I cleared my throat before I began a long explanation of how Regulus and I had intended to make Sirius jealous and how our whole relationship was fake.

"I had no idea how badly things would turn out," I said apologetically, "I'm just really sorry."

"I'm sorry," Sirius said, "Sam you have no reason to be sorry. I lost my temper and I ended up getting hurt. You had no way of knowing how everything would unfold. There's no point in worrying over the past, we should put it behind us. You like me, I like you. That's all that matters. So...do you want to go on a date with me next Friday?"

I froze and my face heated up. A date? I may have still liked Sirius but was I really going to give him another chance to break my heart? Then his words came back to me 'I like you, you like me. That's all that matters." That is all that matters, I suddenly realized. Why should I deny myself the one person that'd make me happiest. It didn't matter if he broke my heart, at least I could enjoy the time we spent together. I didn't want to live with the regret of not giving him a chance and wondering what could have been.

"Yes, I'd love to go on a date with you," I said. I smiled and Sirius smiled back. Before I realized what he was doing, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me next to him. I rested my head against his chest and he kept his arm wrapped around my waist.

We stayed like that for hours, in a comfortable silence.

Thanks for waiting so long for this update! I've been dealing with an injury and all you athletes know how serious they can be. Next chapter will be the last! Thanks for everyone who stuck with this story. 3