Thank you for the reviews people! Very much appreciate it like! Anyway here comes chapter 22! I will try and make this as much fun for Harry and Sirius in particular as possible and of course you the reader. But if I fail, please don't eat me! Talk 2 ya!
"We all set to go Prongslet?" Sirius asked as Harry came running back from the Weasleys with Ron, Fred, and George in tow. Once Harry caught his breath he said….
"Ya I sure am Sirius. Bill and Charlie said that they would be along in a few minutes with the broomsticks." Sirius smiled at his godson as he answered;
"Well that's great mate. Now all we gota do is wait for your father and Remus……."
"Is Remus gona play too Sirius?" Harry asked exasperated.
"He claims that he won't unless we need him in a case of emergency." Sirius said smiling.
"Which is when exactly?" Ron asked.
"Apparently if one team is uneven in its numbers."
"So maybe we should sort that out while were waiting for the others." Ron suggested.
Sirius smiled down at Harry who reciprocated knowing what was coming.
"Ron let me tell you something kid. You are now officially on the Marauders Pride lands okay?" Ron nodded so Sirius continued.
"At home I am sure that your mother is quite strict with you lot but when you are here…."said Sirius pointing all around him….."there is only one rule that matters. That rule is…..causing as much mayhem and mischief as you possibly can. Coz life is too short not to have fun. And believe me mate, once you set foot on Hogwarts soil, old Minnie McGonagall will have you blinded with rules. So just learn to relax here okay coz if your mother says anything to you…..I will sort her out Ron okay?" Sirius said placing a hand on his shoulder.
Ron just grinned and nodded appreciatively at Sirius who smiled mischievously at him. Harry half laughed at Rons face and smiled at Sirius who winked at him. Just then Bill and Charlie came up the lane with the broomsticks and Sirius spotted them. He waved and darted over to them saying….
"My boys you are total and complete legends! Don't let anybody tell ya otherwise……"
Harry and Ron burst out laughing at Sirius antics and attitude. Ron then said a few minutes later….
"I never knew just how crazy Sirius really was! He is like so loopy Harry!" Harry smirked at him.
"Ya Sirius is so much fun though. He lets me get away with anything. He and my mom are always arguing about stuff but….they are really good friends at the same time. Sirius said that he and my dad were such messers at Hogwarts and that Remus always try to get them out of trouble."
"I wish my parents would let me get away with as much as you do……."
"Alright boys lets get this show on the road!" shouted Sirius as he paraded back towards Harry and Ron clapping his hands as he walked. He went towards the house, opened the back door and shouted…
"Yo Prongsie my son you want get your menacing ass out here sometime soon! You too Mooners!
I swear that they are like a couple of old women sometimes!" Sirius said as he looked at his audience. All four started laughing at him which just made Sirius laugh also before he went into the house.
Charlie and Bill who were standing behind Harry and Ron came out in front and Bill said to Harry….
"Wotcher Harry! How ya going mate?"
"I'm great Bill you?"
"Not too bad now thanks. Listen Sirius had an idea for the team situation."
"Well what is it?"
"Make way for Grandma James and Grandpa Remus!" shouted Sirius as he marched out of the house in front of his two friends. James hit him across the back of his head while Remus struck him across the arm. "Well what did ya expect ye took so long?" Sirius said defensively.
"Alright boys?" Said James and Remus in unison.
"Hey ya James, Remus." Charlie and Bill replied together.
"Where are the others?" Asked James.
"Coming! Coming!" Molly said tearing up towards them with Arthur dragging the twins and her dragging Ginny and Arielle while Percy was sauntering behind.
"We are so sorry that we are late James, Sirius, Remus but these two here…" she said gesturing towards Fred and George…"were trying to light stink bombs in Ginny's room. Bill asked them to go back for his stick but they couldn't do that without causing mayhem!"
"A pair after my own heart!" declared Sirius with a smile and a small applaude.
"Sirius Black don't you dare condone their actions!"
"Ah twas only a bit of fun Molly darling!"
"Don't darling me….."
"Wow Wow! People can we calm down here and get this match started already! Now Sirius what is your proposition?"
"Well….oh you mean for the match!" Said Sirius smiling. Everyone laughed except Molly. Sirius winked at Harry while James said….."Yes of course the match!"
"Alright mate. Chilax with the cats like! Right what I suggest is this. What if we mix and match players? As in let's say for instance that Harry here was on my team with Ron, Bill and Fred. Then you and Remus join up with Charlie, Percy and George. Or we can mix and match like I said. Well?"
"Sounds good mate! Any objections from anyone?" James asked.
Percy put up his hand so James gestured for him to continue.
"I don't really play quiddtich."
"Oh come on Percy dear play just this one time!" Molly said.
"Well……"
"Ah come on Percy. Without you we would be down one player." Bill said.
"Oh okay. Ill play then." Percy said reluctantly.
"Excellent. Now all we gota do is work out who plays in what position." Sirius said.
"Sirius dear, Fred and George are very good beaters, and Bill is an excellent chaser and Charlie is a great keeper….."
"And Ron?"
"Well we haven't actually decided on that yet…..although he is a good keeper also."
"Well that is great! Okay now all we have to do is arrange for each team to have its prospective players. So….when I was at Hogwarts I was a beater so that is that taken care of. We need two keepers so….Charlie you go with James and Remus while Ron you come with me. Okay…..we need two chasers so…Bill you come with me. Remus are you okay for being the chaser?"
"Ya sure mate." Remus replied with a smile.
"cool okay….two more beaters equals Fred and George so you guys go with James and Remus, Percy you can be my other beater and last but never least……Harry my main man you are gona be my seeker! James you know what you gota do mate! So let's get this show on the road."
"Wait Sirius aren't you forgetting something?" said Arthur as he approached him.
"Like what?"
"Like the team captains? You can't go ahead without selecting them so who is going to be?"
"Well……."
"SIRIUS!" Harry and the Weasleys shouted which made the others laugh.
"Okay well that is one team taken care of but how about yours James? Is going to be you or Remus?"
"Well Arthur I honestly don't mind……"
"But I do. James mate you were the captain from fifth to seventh year. I was only on the team at the last minute but you and Sirius were there from second year onwards. There is no way that I am going to play unless you agree to this. You brought glory to Gryffindor always and your strong leadership prevailed for the last two years of school. So what do ya say mate?"
James looked at Remus for a few seconds who was just staring at him in anticipation. He then looked at Sirius who smiled heartedly and nudged his head to the side in encouragement for him to agree to being captain. He turned back to Remus, smiled broadly and said…."Lets get it on!"
Remus smiled and they gave each other a quick hug before Sirius began conjuring a quiddtich pitch.
Everyone looked on in awe except James and Remus who just smiled at each other and began assisting Sirius. James conjured the six goal hoops while Remus conjured the flood lights since it was getting dark. Five minutes later there stood before them a quiddtich pitch instead of a garden. Sirius team followed him onto the pitch as did James. Once they set foot on it, Sirius and company stood on the left in a straight line and James team stood the same way on the left. The children couldn't get over how amazing the pitch was. It was just like the pitch they heard Bill and Charlie talking about at Hogwarts. Arthur took his place in front of both teams as he said;
"Captains, shake hands."
James and Sirius stepped forward. "May the best team win." Said James smiling at Sirius.
They broke their handshake and Sirius said…"Likewise mate." He smiled at James before he walked back to his team. Everyone mounted their broomsticks.
"This will be so cool." Ron muttered to Harry who smiled at him.
"Let the games begin!" Shouted Arthur and with that, they all took off into the air.
A few minutes into the game Sharina appeared in front of the houses and saw Lily, Molly and Arthur stood at the fence overlooking the pitch with Arielle and Ginny. She approached them and stood next to Lily. Lily turned round and saw her friend.
"Hey Lils." Sharina said as they hugged each other quickly. Molly and Arthur greeted her warmly but the two girls were focusing on the match in awe. At the moment James team was ahead by thirty points to ten.
"So how long has the garden being like this then?" Sharina asked humorously. Lily smiled at her and said; "Oh not too long shar. Roughly about 20 minutes." Sharina nodded her head and smiled as she returned to watching the game. Lily then whispered to her that….
"It was all Sirius idea actually. He promised Harry that he would spend the day with him which included a game of quiddtich. A proper game of quiddtich of course."
"Sirius has a big heart Lils. Besides it wouldn't be Sirius to do something this extravagant unless it was done in style!"
"Look at who is all loved up with our Sirius!" Lily exclaimed joyfully, nudging Sharina and smiling.
Sharina smiled back at her and blushed a little.
"Do you ever regret it?" Lily asked.
"Regret what?"
"Not saying yes to Sirius proposal when he asked you before."
"Sometimes I do ya. But we were…..I mean it was too early wasn't it? I mean we were only going out for barely eighteen months……do you think I made the wrong choice?"
"You asked me that at the time Shari. As I said before, it is your life but if you loved him why not? Then again if you weren't ready…..Sirius would understand. And he did."
"Ya Sirius was and is very understanding. I love him so much Lils that it scares me!"
"What scares you? Sirius?"
"No of course not Sirius. I'm scared that he may never again ask me to marry him."
"Of come off it girl! Sirius loves you to pieces! There is no way he won't ask you again!"
"I hope so Lils coz I really am crazy about him. He means everything to me." Lily smiled at her.
"Oh my god did you see that?" asked Molly turning to face Lily and Sharina.
"No what?" Lily asked as Sharina turned to face Molly.
"Sirius just shot three goals into the hoops in a row! His team is now ahead by ten points!"
Lily and Sharina laughed a little before Lily said;
"Way to go Sirius!" Sharina smiled at her.
She really did love Sirius more than anything in life. The sound of his voice, the call of his name…everything associated with him gave her butterflies. The concept of Sirius not renewing his proposal scared her to death. There is not a snowballs chance in hell that she could imagine spending her life without him. He was always there for her when she needed him. When she was depressed he would hug her troubles away. When she was sad he would always brighten her day. When she was happy he would bring her even more delight to her day. Nobody else could make her feel the way Sirius did. There was not another person she could love more……
"HARRY CAUGHT THE SNITCH!" Molly shouted.
"What!" Lily exclaimed happily as she grabbed the omnioculars from Molly. As she looked through them she saw Harry waving the snitch his hand and Sirius was jumping triumphantly up and down on his broom. James and Remus zoomed over to Harry. Remus ruffled his hair as James slapped him a high five. Ron and his brothers were slowly gathering around Harry and the others congratulating him verbally or physically. Soon everyone came down in twos. James and Remus first, Fred and George second, Bill and Charlie next, Ron and Percy and finally Harry and Sirius came tearing down behind everyone, zig zagging in between people and laughing their heads off at it until they reached the ground. After they got off their broomsticks, Sirius hugged Harry tightly as he spun him around in his arms. A few seconds later the rest of the two teams landed safely on the ground and hugged Harry in turn.
"Padfoot what are you trying to prove mate?"
"Prongs what are you on about mate?"
"You and Harry zig zagging in and out….now what is all that about?"
"It's called victory mate! Read and weep! Get may drift?"
"Oh I get your drift alright….." James said as he and Sirius started scuffling.
Remus just rolled his eyes as he walked away from his friends and went out to Lily and the others.
"Nicely played Remus." Arthur said as he patted him on the back.
"Thank you Arthur." Remus said with a smile.
"That was the best match I ever saw Id say!" Lily said gleefully as she hugged Remus who returned it willingly. Molly and Sharina just smiled.
"Hard luck Remus." Molly said smiling.
"Ah Molly there is no such thing as hard luck. It was only for a laugh you know? Sirius way of cheering Harry up which worked. However your boyfriend has difficulty understanding that now that his team won." Remus said as he turned to hug Sharina.
"Well it wouldn't be Sirius if he didn't gloat about something once and a while." Sharina said as she let go of Remus. Remus just half laughed at this and said "True."
Everyone then came off the pitch and Molly and Arthur went over to their children.
"You were really cool Moony!" shouted Arielle.
Remus looked down at her as did Lily and Sharina. They all smiled down at her but Remus bent down to her level as he said;
"Why thank you Arielle." He picked her up. "But your big brother is even cooler than me because he caught the snitch. Or Sirius because he shot the quaffle into a hoop three times in a row."
"Ya but you are even cooler Remus!" she said as she sucked her thumb and lay her head against his shoulder. All three adults smiled at her affectionately.
"Hello beautiful!" shouted Sirius as he walked up towards the others with James in tow. James kissed Lily quickly on the lips as she smiled at him and he then put his arm around her shoulder. Sirius approached Sharina and kissed her on the cheek. They both smiled at each other.
"Hi Padfoot." Arielle said meekly with her thumb in her mouth still as she looked at him over Remus shoulder. "Why hello there Princess." Sirius said as he came over to her. Remus handed her to Sirius who held her upright. "Now why aren't you in bed?" He asked humorously.
"Coz……."
"Coz is not an answer darling. Now unless you give me an answer you leave me with no alternative…."
"Noooo! I had to watch you Padfoot. You were really cool too!"
"I like the way you talk darling. So just for that I will leave you off……This time! Sirius said as he brought his forehead to meet hers. Arielle just giggled before Lily said….
"Alright you miss. It is time for bed. Come on." She said as she released her from Sirius arms.
Goodnight sweetheart." Sirius said while Remus waved to her. James hugged his daughter tenderly before giving her back to Lily. Everyone went into the house except for Harry, Ron, Sirius and Sharina.
"So where were we?" Sirius asked flirtatiously turning to face Sharina who smiled at him.
"Hey Sirius are you coming in?" Harry shouted as he stood near the back door.
"Ya Ill be there in a bit Prongslet!" Sirius said smiling at his godson.
Harry then walked down to them and looked sorrowfully up at Sharina as he said…..
"Hey Shari…um…I am really sorry about last night. You know shouting at you and saying stupid stuff. I know you aren't trying to take Sirius away from me. You would never do that. So I'm sorry and I hope that we can still be friends?"
Sharina and Sirius looked at Harry and smiled warmly at him. Sharina removed Sirius arm from across her shoulder as she bent down to Harry saying…..
"Harry that was really sweet of you. To be honest I had forgotten about it. I know that you were just saying that stuff out of frustration though whether you admit it or not." Harry smiled at her.
"I would never ever take Sirius away from you Harry. Even if I wanted to I couldn't because he loves you too much to neglect you. Of course we can still be friends. I wouldn't have it any other way. Come here." Sharina brought Harry into a tight embrace as Sirius smiled proudly at him.
After Sharina go up, Sirius stepped forward and bent down to his godson.
"You really are something kid. Just when I thought I couldn't be more proud of you, you go off and do something like that. Have you no consideration for me?" Both half laughed at this as Sirius continued…."There is not a snowballs chance in hell that I would let anybody come between us and the fact that you now know that is…..oh god come here kid!" Sirius brought a smiling Harry into an inviting embrace. "I love ya mate." As they broke their hug, Harry looked up at his doting godfather saying….
"I love you too Sirius." Sirius smiled as he got up and stood erect in front of his godson. Harry said...
"So you guys will be in a few minutes?"
"Ya definitely Prongslet. Save me a butterbeer."
"Ya no problem Padfoot. See you in a while guys." Harry said as he walked away.
Sirius returned to Sharina once Harry and Ron had gone in. Sharina broke the tranquillity saying…..
"Harry really idolises you Sirius. I have never seen anything like it. He looks up to you like a second father. It's incredible the bond ye share."
Sirius smiled at her before he kissed her on the cheek. He then said…
"I love that kid like he was my own son Shari. Sometimes I wonder why James doesn't belt me for spending so much time with him." They sniggered at this.
"Well you are his godfather. And James does spend a lot of time with Harry. He knows it's important for you and Harry to have a relationship too though. Besides it's not as if Harry prefers you to James. He loves you both equally. You both spend time with him in different ways."
Sirius had one hand in his pocket and Sharina looped her hands around his arm as she placed her head against his shoulder. Sirius looked down and kissed the top of her head as she smiled at him.
"You're really something you know?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well the way you could make Harry feel like he was the victim after last nights dispute and then make me feel as though I'm not dominating Harry."
"Well you aren't dominating him Sirius. Plus its you who will make the great father someday."
"Is that so?" Sirius said smiling at her. Sharina reciprocated as she unwound herself from his arm.
"Yes Sirius you will be. The way you are with Harry and Arielle…….."
"So what are we waiting for?" Sirius asked grinning at her.
"What? Sirius……"
"Hold that thought!" He said running to his house.
"What are you doing?"
"Two minutes love!" He shouted from the doorway.
Lily, James, Remus, Molly, Arthur, Charlie and Bill emerged from the house with drinks and laughing.
"Sharina? Where is Sirius? Oh gods don't tell me ye had a fight!" exclaimed James as he came over to her.
"No we didn't have a fight. He just went into the house to get something." She said smiling.
"Oh okay then." James said smiling at her. "Fancy a drink while you're waiting coz knowing Sirius….."
"Okay I'm back…….oh I didn't expect an audience." Sirius said looking at everyone in disarray.
"What are you on about?" Cried Lily and James.
"Did…..did you too rehearse that?" Sirius asked pointing between them.
"What? No. How could we mate……"
"Sirius what are you talking about?" Remus asked.
"I need to ask Sharina something……you guys can stay coz there is no shame in the question."
Lily smiled over at Sharina but she choose to look at the floor instead. Everyone knew what was going to happen but kept quiet.
Sirius approached Sharina as he took her by the hand and guided her over to the picnic table. He sat her down gently as he knelt before her. Lily and Molly left out a small scream but their husbands silenced them with a "hush". Lily stuck her tongue out at James head while Molly stayed quiet.
Sirius looked at his audience and smiled. James nodded his head in encouragement as Remus made a hand gesture for him to commence. Sirius took a small red velvet box from his pocket and opened it in front of Sharina. She gasped at the sight as she covered her mouth with both hands and tapped her feet in excitement. Sirius grinned at her before he spoke.
"Sharina you are the love of my life. There is nobody else that could make me feel the way you do. You are kindest person I know. You care about everyone in your life and always put yourself second. You see the good in everybody which is something that I am trying to do. I was a fool to let you go all those years ago. But now that we are together I want it to be forever. So please Sharina Stilton, consent to be my wife and I promise that I will always be there for you and care for you and fill your life with happiness if you give me that chance. So what do you say? Will you marry me?"
Everyone was biting on their tongue for a few seconds while Sharina studied Sirius and the ring. The ring was silver with a large blue diamond in the centre.
"Oh come on Shari how can you pass up an offer like that girl!" Lily shouted. Everyone turned to face her including Sirius and Sharina.
"Please Sharina Please……." Sirius said as he bowed his head.
"Yes."
"What?"
"Yes Sirius I will marry you. Easy question really!" She smiled at him through tears as he grinned and kissed her passionately. He then got up and hugged her. A few minutes later he turned to everyone and shouted "WE ARE ENGAGED!" Sirius exclaimed turning around to his audience as Sharina got up and stood beside him. They both grinned at each other before they were suffocated with celebratory hugs from their friends. After a while when everyone had calmed down, James shouted;
"Let the celebrations begin!"