"I'm so glad that we left the house for a little bit."

"Why? Were Jacob and William sitting there looking at us as we ate breakfast not awkward enough for you?" Sirius joked and Moria grimaced.

"Sorry about that. They aren't used to the fact that I'm old enough to date. They'll have to though." Moria stated and Sirius laughed. She smiled gently and then glanced up.

"There you are! We were wondering where you had gone last night." James called out to Sirius as the pair walked over. He nudged Lily slightly when he spotted Moria, Lily looked up and then saw Moria as well. She smiled and then walked over to Moria.

"Hey Mori…how's break been?" Lily asked.

"It's been….boring...went to go to my last visit with Malcolm…so that's a plus." Moria said earning a slight laugh from Lily as Alice walked over to the group. She smiled as Lily began to chat and the guys separated to talk. Later on Moria was just browsing a shelf that had been seated on the outside of a store as she waited for the others to come back from the loo. There were trinkets, books, and jewelry on the shelving. She didn't have any money on her, so browsing was all she really could just do. Her eyes stopped on a necklace that in comparison to the others was barely ornate. The jewel looked as though it had been forgotten in being carved into an ornate design and the jewelry maker, in a most likely haste, had just wrapped a piece of brown piece of rope on it. The jewel itself was a bright red, which in the dim light of the cloudy afternoon made it look dull. However she couldn't draw her eyes away. The necklace didn't fit in with the other ornate jewels but still had its own unique fit.

"Kind of like me." She thought absently with a slight smile.

"What are you looking at?" A voice asked and she jumped slightly turning to see Sirius. She blushed.

"N…Nothing."

"Liar." He teased. She sighed and then motioned to the stand.

"I was just glancing around at this."

"I didn't know you liked jewelry." He said as he glanced at the stand.

"Really ornate jewelry I don't like. Stuff like this…" she said lifting up the necklace she had been observing. "I like stuff like this."

"Well why don't you get it?" he asked and she grimaced.

"I don't have any money." She said and he smirked. "What?"

"Nothing." He replied and she eyed him suspiciously. She only looked away when she heard Lily calling for her, and gave one more look at him, before going over to Lily. Seeing his chance, Sirius snuck into the store holding the necklace Moria had been staring at for nearly a minute. He managed to buy the thing and was pleasantly relieved that it wasn't expensive. He then returned to the group.

"-Dumbledore's serious?" he heard Moria ask.

"Yup…so do you think your aunt could make them?" Alice asked

"Please, she's been asking to make some since she made your wedding dress. Been driving me bonkers." Moria stated and Lily laughed.

"What are those three talking about?"

"Apparently Dumbledore decided to have an end of the year dance. Sent a letter and we got it last night." James murmured and Sirius blinked.

"Really?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. I was going to ask Dumbledore if I could accompany Alice." Frank said

"What are they asking Moria?" Sirius asked.

"What else? They're asking if Madge could make their dresses." James said with a smirk. Sirius suppressed a chuckle but then saw Remus stiffen.

"What? That scared of dancing?" Sirius asked turning. However Remus was no longer staring at the group and Sirius glanced where he was staring and spotted Dane. He looked like he was just browsing through a stand but Sirius could see he was staring at them, particularly Moria. Sirius stiffened and then, glancing at Moria to make sure she wasn't paying attention, began to move towards where the Slytherin was. But by then, Dane had merged into the crowd, disappearing. Sirius swore under his breath. Glancing back at his friends, he continued staring

If that bastard ever got anywhere close to Moria again, he wasn't going to get lucky.

"The idiot doesn't learn does he?" James growled out.

"He can rot in hell." Sirius grumbled and the other boys nodded focusing back on the girls. Moria glanced at him, and for a second he saw confusion flash across her face, followed by slight apprehension. He swallowed. She knew.

She knew.

Moria sighed as she walked towards the apartment Sirius following close behind. "Once I tell Madge about that dance and that I had gotten Lily and Alice's measurements, I'm never going to get any sleep." She complained and Sirius snorted.

"Why's that?"

"Because she's the type of person that will start work right away…and that means she'll be calling a lot for questions."

"So? Sleep through the phone."

"Sirius." She retorted. "You of all people know I'm a light sleeper. Granted you sleep like you take Draught of Living Death every night." She commented, stretching. He stared at her.

"So…Dane was there, wasn't he?"

"You saw him?" Sirius asked.

"Not really. Sensed someone staring at me and when I noticed that you boys were trying to keep our attention diverted from looking behind us, I put two and two together." She said looking at him with a soft smile.

"Actually before we go in…can we talk?" Sirius asked. Moria blinked then nodded, her eyebrows raising. "Now before your mind starts thinking of worst scenarios, it's not like that." He said.

"I hope." He thought as they walked to a bench nearby and sat down. She looked at him curiously, her head cocked slightly to the side in a cute manner.

"As you know my Uncle Alphard died."

"You mentioned it." She stated.

"Well, he essentially gave my family the ultimate sod off by giving me and Andromeda a large sum of money." He stated.

"Really? Well that's good…I assume." She said.

"Incredibly good. But he also gave me something else."

"Which is?"

"He left me a small flat in London and I was planning to move there after we graduate…and I was wondering if you would come with me?" he said quickly and she just stared at him at first in shock.

"Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"Yeah…look I know it's pretty soon, and we're both going to have a whole lot of crappy and long hours for training, and we probably won't see each other that often. But I don't want to have to sneak into your room to spend the night with you." Sirius stated. Moria stared at him and he swallowed.

"Look, for all I know it could be a complete dump or-"

"Of course I'll move in with you." She interrupted and he looked at her shocked. She smiled at him. "Is it that surprising?"

"You…you'll actually move in with me after we graduate?"

"Of course I will. My place is with you Sirius and I've known that for years. Seems kind of pointless to try and stall that isn't it?" She asked and he stared at her before drawing her into a searing kiss that left her dizzy and her legs weak.

"Bloody hell you are a something else, Moria Prescott."

"Why thank you, Sirius Black." She murmured sarcastically. He laughed and with that hoisted her up causing her to laugh loudly as he tromped towards the apartment, still carrying her, listening to her beautiful laugh. Now all he had to do was convince her family and her extended family.

Boy that was going to be fun.

But at the moment he didn't care. She had said yes.

That had been too close, Dane mused dryly as he entered the small villa that was near the edge of London. He had been expecting Moria to be out…he hadn't been expecting the others to be there, or for that Lupin bastard to notice him. He had barely managed to get away from Black. It seemed he was going to have to go under the radar for a bit. He frowned at that idea, but there wasn't much he could do. He glided his hand over the abrasive bandage that had been placed over his eye, a new habit that he was doing. He could no longer see through that eye. And that angered him.

He walked into the kitchen, ignoring the smell of death as he went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of milk, drinking from it without a glass. Three bodies lay in different areas. His mother lay in a crumpled heap near the stove, her eyes having long since been vacant of life. His father was at the table, his upper half of his body lying across it, ever so still. The third person he didn't really know. A handyman that his parents had hired, a drifter, someone no one would miss.

He hadn't been dead as long as the other two had been, his body just going into full rigor mortis. He withdrew the knife from the kitchen block, walking over to the body, bent over it.

And proceeded to tear the man's eye out, disposing of the body part. He then pulled out his wand, looking at his parents before leaving the room to get the cans of petro that his father always carried in the barnyard behind the house, returning to run the muggle mixture throughout the building. He would have managed to burn the place down without the use of muggle means, but if he wanted it to look like a murder-suicide, he would need to have seemed desperate to do this. He completed dousing the place, but he needed to get one other thing to get the Wizarding community of his trail. So he went upstairs for a second to enter the room that had been forgotten for so long.

His sister's room. He entered it, retrieving the wand that had been on the desk, and left quickly. He didn't like being in that room.

She was dead. Had been for years. She had been his parent's dream child, getting so many good marks, going to Hogwarts and doing so well. But then an illness hit, sending her into a death like state. It had been too quick. One day she was there, the next she was gone. Now she would be reunited with her beloved parents, and he would be free of his ties.

He stood in front of the building, staring at it. It was so quiet. He supposed he should have mourned for them. But he didn't feel the need to. They had chosen their pyre the moment they had threatened to call the Ministry about him. They had chosen their beloved Ministry, over their own son.

"I'll see you in hell." He murmured, before sending the fire-making spell out, igniting the petro. The place lit up quickly, and with that he left, disappearing into the shadows.

Easter Break soon ended and once again they were back at Hogwarts. It had been a surprise when the newspapers had declared that the Chamberlain family had been found dead. A surprise, yes, but for Moria, it was more of a relief. Though she felt bad towards the parents of Dane, she couldn't help but feel satisfied that he was gone. GONE. And soon the news of the deaths quickly left. As soon as they got back they had to take their NEWTs. They had all managed to pass with flying colors. Currently she was walking up to the owlry to check on Fane. As she got there she was surprised to see Fane perched on top of a large parcel who seemed overjoyed at the sight of her mistress.

"Hi Fane." Moria stated with a chuckle as the owl hooted. "Here you go. For all your trouble." Moria said and fed Hanna several treats, before picking up the package. She petted her owl one last time before exiting the owlry. She saw that it was from Madge and smiled knowing full well what was now in the package. She grunted as ran into someone.

"Oh I'm so-!" she began to say but stopped when she saw it was Lucius and Narcissa.

"Watch it Prescott." Lucius growled as he shoved past her. Moria glared at the pair, before continuing to the Gryffindor hall. She entered the Common Room to see both Lily and Alice sitting there, reading. The boys were nowhere in sight.

"Lily, Alice. Look what I got." She said. The two other girls looked up and then smiled, before getting up to see what she was talking about. The moment they saw who it was from they literally dragged Moria up the stairs and to the dorm. Their other dorm-mates were nowhere to be found.

"I still can't believe you cut your hair." Moria said as she began to open the box, glancing at Alice. Alice grinned as she ran her hand through her shortened tresses.

"I like it. So does Frank."

"…I'm going to ignore the sexual innuendo on that." Moria stated and Alice laughed.

"Like you don't know what it's like." Alice teased and Moria's face turned crimson.

"Lily! You said you wouldn't tell her!"

"She didn't. I was just kidding." Alice said blinking as Moria's face turned somehow a deeper red. "Wait…you had sex with Sirius?" Alice asked, her eyes widening. By then it didn't seem possible that Moria's face could turn any redder.

"Do you want your bloody dress or not?" Moria growled out, silently wondering if it was humanly possible to 'Avada Kedavra' herself. Alice burst out laughing as they finished opened the parcel and then pulled out three dresses. Moria opened a letter that had been stuffed inside it.

"Okay….yellow dress is for Alice, black dress is for Lily, and the red dress is for me." Moria said and then pulled out a very small bag filled with trinkets. "She says that we can pick or choose what jewelry we want, but she suggests that the floral designed necklace and barrette should go with Alice's dress, the necklace that's silver with red beads for Lily, and the looped necklace with the red in the middle should go with mine."

"Wow…she sure thought this through." Lily commented as she looked at the necklace that Madge had suggested.

"She's a fashion designer…its part of her job." Moria joked as she watched the two girls open the individually wrapped dresses and their jaws dropped. "I take it that these are good?" she asked.

"Bloody hell…alright that does it. When I get married she's doing my wedding dress." Lily stated and Moria burst out laughing.

"I think she was already planning on that. During the entire summer she wouldn't stop talking about how beautiful my friends were." Moria teased causing both girls to blush. She then pulled out her own dress and sighed. As she suspected, her aunt had not placed a piece of cloth covering her back. "Looks like Hogwarts will know about my scars." Moria stated blandly.

"So what?" Lily said looking at Moria. "I've told you before your scars are beautiful, and Sirius thinks that as well." She said.

"I know that…it's just…people tend to judge my scars. Trust me, when I was in primary school my life was a living hell…both at school and at home." Moria said.

"Well those kids and adults were complete morons and gits to not try and stop what was happening to you." Alice said before waving her hand dismissively. "And like Sirius would let anyone talk about you or to you about your scars. Remember Eusebia Cholderton before Christmas Break?"

"Uh…I think she was in the Hospital Wing for a good portion before break with a ra-!" Moria began to say than realized what Alice was implying, and her face returned to blushing.

"And that was without her knowing about your scars." Alice said with a triumphant smile on her face. Moria blushed and then rolled her eyes.

"Fine. You two win." Moria said and despite herself smiled as the other two girls laughed.

Several weeks later Frank, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were currently waiting for them to come down.

"Bloody hell how long does it take to get dressed?" James complained and Frank snorted.

"You clearly have never waited for a girl before."

"Lily didn't take this long getting ready for a date." James grumbled. Remus shrugged and Peter looked bored.

"Don't the Head Boy and Girl's from each House have to dance first?" Peter asked and James paled a little.

"Don't remind me. Please don't-!"

"Sorry…did we take too long?" a voice interjected. James and Frank looked up and subsequently their jaws dropped. Lily and Alice stood there bright smiles on their face.

Lily was wearing a completely black halter dress. It fit perfectly revealing her curves, the V-neck of the dress revealing a small amount of cleavage. The necklace that Madge had suggested was draped around her neck and was wearing black stiletto heels which added some slight contrast to the white trim on the bottom of the dress and her hair was slightly wavier.

Alice was standing next to her, a different color scheme all together. Her shortened hair had been pinned up by a flower shaped barrette on the side of her hair, several of the longer strands curving around her face. She was wearing a canary yellow spaghetti strapped gown that flowed down, hiding her feet. Around her neck was the floral necklace that matched the barrette, while the lace on top hid her chest.

"So…what do you think?" Lily asked as she walked up to James, Alice walking over to Frank.

"I…I think that Madge is bloody brilliant at making dresses. You look amazing." He finally managed to say and Lily beamed. Sirius vaguely heard Frank say something similar and added 'well I definitely married the right woman' but he glanced up when he heard footsteps.

And with one look of Moria he felt his brain stop and the breath left his lungs rather quickly.

Moria stood there, her face nearly matching the color of her dress and she looked nervous. She had pulled all her hair to left side and he could see a small braid intermixed, probably for the several stubborn strands of hair that weren't staying in the ponytail. Around her neck was a dark silver necklace with a red gem in the middle. The dress itself was a simple red, but red always seemed to fit Moria. The top of the dress was a heart shaped spaghetti and revealed her curves as the fabric slid down her waist. In the front of the dress, the fabric split diagonally, revealing her legs to her upper thigh, ruffling along the edges of the dress. She was wearing light brown flats that complimented the dress.

There few and far times that Sirius had ever been at a loss of a words…even rarer when he actually got tongue-tied.

This was not one of those times.

"Sirius? Are you in there still?" James joked as he nudged his best friend.

"Uh…I…I…" Sirius stammered.

"Way to go Moria…you broke his brain." James joked. Moria blushed deeper, playing with the ends of her hair.

"WELL, James and I have to go now. See you guys." Lily stated rather quickly and then dragged James away. Alice taking the incentive did the same with Frank. Remus and Peter left quickly after, leaving Moria and the still stunned Sirius alone.

"Sirius?" Moria asked quietly.

"Bloody hell…"

"Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing?"

"You're gorgeous." He finally managed to get his befuddled brain to say and her face turned redder.

"…Thanks…" she murmured, once again playing with her hair, something he knew was a nervous habit of hers.

"You don't have to be nervous."

"I haven't worn a dress since I was five, Sirius…this is all pretty new to me." She said and he laughed.

"You'll be fine. And I'll be there for you." He said and she finally gave him a soft smile. "Because like hell am I letting any of the other blokes near you." He added and finally she laughed.

Later on the dance had gone underway. Moria was currently just observing as Sirius had gone to the loo. She smiled as she saw Lily and Alice dancing with James and Frank. She had seen Peter wandering around the food section and Remus was talking to some other past Prefects.

"I see your date has abandoned you." A voice said and Moria held back a groan before turning to see Lucius standing there a smirk on his face.

"What do want?" Moria grumbled now wishing Sirius would hurry up and get back. He chuckled and she involuntarily shuddered.

"Just to talk. So, do you mind me asking how you got those lovely scars on your back?" he asked. She glared at him, her eyes narrowing.

"Yes I do mind. Sod off Malfoy." Moria said and he tsked at her as though she had been the one that walked up on him.

"Listen Prescott-!"

"I hate to break this intriguing conversation, but I would like my date back, Malfoy." A voice interjected and the pair looked up. To Moria's relief she saw it was Sirius, who although he had an easy going smile on his face his eyes clearly showed that he was warning Malfoy to back off.

"Certainly Sirius." Lucius responded through his teeth and cast Moria a sneer before briskly walking off. Sirius continued watching Lucius before he looped his arm around Moria's waist, pulling her to him.

"Lousy prick…I oughta…did he say anything inappropriate to you? Do anything?" Sirius asked and Moria smiled.

"If he was, you interrupted him. He just asked me about my scars. That's all." Moria replied and she felt his grip relax a little.

"So do you wanna dance?" he asked and she looked up at him, a worried look on her face.

"Sirius you fell in love with a singer, not a dancer." She warned but he grinned back at her.

"It's easy. I promise."

"But I don't-!"

"Just follow my lead."

"You can dance?" she asked and he shuddered.

"My mum forced me and Regulus into some dance lessons when we were younger." He said grimacing and Moria laughed as he dragged her into the crowd of dancing couples, groups, and single persons.

"Oh poor you. While I was learning how to fight in the streets, you were learning how to waltz." She teased and he gave her a grin.

"It was awful."

"I'm sure it w-" She began to say, but the thought broke off as he abruptly turned around and pulled her close placing one hand firmly on her waist, the other grabbing her hand and lifting it slightly. It had the desired effect as Sirius watched her face turn a hue of red.

"Relax. Just follow my lead." He told her again and after a bit of hesitance she nodded, before he moved backwards. Involuntarily, her free hand lifted, coming to rest on his arm, travelling upward as it explored the contours of his muscles, before moving up his shoulder and around his neck. He smiled at her.

Her thighs pressed against his, muscle against muscle, as he held her against him, firmly in place. His feet began to move and hers followed with surprising ease. She had been so used to following him in other situations, but rarely like this, and her eyes locked on his.

As they moved, she got the sense, the way he held her, that he was never going to let her go, and she closed her eyes, bent her head to his shoulder, and felt safe him.

Inhaling deeply, she took in the smell of Sirius, and smiled to herself at the familiarity of his scent, even in the midst of this unfamiliar, yet undeniably right atmosphere.

"See? You're doing perfectly fine." He said.

"We'll see after I accidentally step on some toes." She murmured and he laughed pulling her close and resting his chin on her head. They continued dancing for longer, Sirius enjoying just the feel of her being this close, enjoying her scent. A little while later, Sirius led Moria off of the dancing area.

"See? And you only stepped on my feet twice." He commented as they strode into an empty hallway, the music fading. She smiled.

"So…where are you taking me Mr. Black?" she said. Seconds later he turned around a corner, pressed her to the wall and promptly kissed her. She gasped slightly against his mouth before moving closer to him gripping his jacket to his dress robes. When they finally moved away she was breathless and she saw a familiar look in his eyes.

"Sirius…" she murmured before he kissed her again.

"I missed doing this with you…so bloody much." He whispered out pulling her close to him. She pressed her face to the side of his neck.

"Did I mention that you are beautiful?" he asked as he slid his hands down to her waist. She smiled.

"You may have mentioned it." She murmured and stifled a groan as she felt his hand on her bare thigh, disappearing under the fabric of her dress. "Randy dog." She murmured as he kissed her neck.

"What can I say Ms. Prescott…only you can make me like that." He murmured and pulled her close to him. She closed her eyes.

"You do realize we're in a public area…and I really don't want Filch walking up on us." Moria stated and Sirius realized she wasn't saying no…just not there. He smirked and then picked her up causing her to squeak. He then began to walk briskly away.

"As you wish."

"Hey Moria where were you last night?" Alice asked the next morning as she, Lily, and Moria walked to class. Moria smirked, a light blush forming on her face.

"No comment."

"Were you with Sirius?"

"Once again no comment." Moria said and the two girls looked at each other and a blush grew on their faces.

"Yeah right, like we're going to let you off the hook that easily." Lily said and then ran after Moria who was hurriedly going to class, laughing as her two best friends rushed after her. Meanwhile, miles away deep underground an entire maze of halls and prison cells a man walked around, ignoring the sounds of groaning, screaming, and sobbing. He walked to a certain cell and opened it, dim light streaming in. His gaze flitted around the cell till it landed on the form curled up in the farthest corner. Her light blonde hair fell around her, reaching the floor. Her blue eyes stared listlessly at the entrance, though she made no attempt to show any recognition. The man sneered.

"Hehe…wakey wakey Bryn."