It was three in the morning. Sirius's arm was numb.

It had now been weeks since Luanne came to stay at Hogwarts, and in that time Sirius had still seen no signs from Alexa that there relationship was anything more that in had been before.

So why were they in the common room, her asleep in his arms?

That is a very good question, and no one would love to know the answer more than our very own Sirius Black. But while Sirius would have very much liked to know the answer to that particular question, he hadn't the faintest idea.

Sirius looked at his arm. It had been asleep for the past hour and a half, but he didn't have the heart to move it and risk waking her. She looked so peaceful. Like an angel.

"Sirius?" Alexa asked softly.

She was talking her sleep! She was saying HIS NAME in her sleep!

"Sirius, I can feel you staring at me."

Oh. Never mind.

Alexa yawned, lifting her head to look at him. She blinked several times. She was a mess, her black hair sticking out in all directions, her eyes had circles under them, she hadn't been getting enough sleep, and she was pale. Sirius wondered suddenly if she was getting sick.

Alexa must have felt his eyes on her, because she tilted her face towards him.

I'm going to kiss her, Sirius thought. The thought made him nervous. He was going to do it. He was really, truly going to kiss her!

Of course, he chickened out, feeling her forehead instead.

"You have a fever!" he blurted out, his hand on her forehead with a slight push, forcing their lips as far away as possible. Was it just him or did Alexa look a little disappointed?

"I do not," she said stubbornly. Sirius raised his eyebrows. "I feel fine," she added with less energy. "I'm just tired."

*****

"Aaaaah-Aaaaah-Aaaaah-"

"Bless you," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"Aaaaah-Chooooo!"

James blinked. "I thought you couldn't sneeze after someone said bless you. It's supposed to be a law or something.

"Whad are you doig here?" Alexa asked rudely, not bothering to open her eyes. "Madame Pomfrey said I needed peace and quiet. You are neither."

"We came to make sure you're alright," Lily answered for him. Confused, Alexa opened one eye to see James and Lily holding hands.

"Oh by god!" she shrieked. "Hell'd frozen ober!"

"QUIET OUT THERE!" Madame Pomfrey cried shrilly.

"You're a little late, dear," Remus said, throwing a friendly arm over her shoulder. Alexa responded by sneezing on him, and he promptly removed his arm. "Hell froze over some weeks ago and has taken up business as a ski resort quite happily."

"Quite happily," James concurred, turning to kiss Lily, who narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Are you getting sick, too?" she asked.

"Of course not!" James told her proudly. "I never get sick!" And he kissed her again, as if to prove his point.

*****

"Jabes Podder, I hade you," Lily said, her nose stuffed up.

"No, dear, you lub be, wemember?"

James and Lily had taken up residence in the two hospital beds about five down from Alexa, so as to give her privacy but also be able to talk to her easily.

"I thing id workd," Alexa said, her eyes closed and her blanket pulled up to her nose.

"What worked?" Sirius inquired, surprised. He had thought she was asleep.

"No, no, work-zz," she corrected him, annoyed.

"Sorry," he said, laughing at her crabbiness. "What works?"

"Jabes abd Lily. They'b alwayd pout like a old mawwied couple."

Sirius laughed. "Alexa, I can't understand a word you're saying. Okay, James and Lily?"

Alexa nodded.

"Always?" Nod.

"Pot?" Alexa shook her head no.

"Got?" No.

"Thought?"

"Pought, pought!" Alexa cried indignantly.

"Fought?" Nod, nod.

"Like and old…married couple?" Nod, nod. "Well, why didn't you just say so?" Alexa laughed.

"Still," Sirius continued. "I suppose I can see the appeal."

"Abbeal to whad?" Alexa asked, and Sirius could tell she was getting tired.

"Dating," he said. "You can do this any time you like."

And then he kissed her.

Sirius wasn't sure if she fell asleep before or after he kissed her, nor was he sure which one he was hoping for.

*****

"BLACK!"

Sirius shot forward in his bed.

"Yed?" he said to Alexa, in the hospital bed next to him. Looking at the clock, he was aware that it had been fourteen hours since Alexa had gone to sleep, and six hours since he himself had been forced to come to Madame Pomfrey.

"Ib you thing you can jud kizz me and then pall adleep, you hab god anoder thing cobing! Ib you thing thad I…"

Sirius was confused. "Adexa, I waded here por hours apder you pell adleep, hoping you would wake up."

"Do!" Sirius assumed that translated as No! "You kizzed be, den you wedt to sleep! Then Michael Jackdon…ooohh. Maybe I wad dreabing dat."

"Dude!" James called from across the room. "You kizzed 'er!"

"Whoo!" Lily cheered half-heartedly, then sneezed. "We dew id waz cobing!"

Peter and Remus applauded tremendously until Madame Pomfrey threatened to kick them out unless they were all quiet.

*****

"Hey! Da gangd all here!" James cheered as Peter and Remus, feverish and sneezing, were finally forced into the hospital wing. Remus chose a corner on the other side of the room, where it was apparently most quiet, and Peter chose the bed only two down from Remus's, so as not to be too alone.

"Do you guy'd dow whad day id iz?" Alexa asked. She had probably had her eyes open for a total of five minutes in the time she'd been in the hospital wing.

U unanimous "No," echoed, and Alexa cleared her throat, which ended up taking four minutes once she'd started.

"Toborrow, we gwaduade."

Factoring in the time it took to translate that to "Tomorrow we graduate," it took all of four seconds for the other five to be up on their feet, telling Madame Pomfrey they felt fine and promising to keep an eye on each other.

"Alegsa?" Sirius asked, realizing she was still in bed. "Alegsa, you hab to ged ub now."

"I thing I'll sday ad Hogwards negsd year," she told him dreamily. "The beds are compy."

"Alexa, you hab to ged ub so we can graduade and moob indo our apardmend pull time, and den I can take you oud, and den we'll ged married."

He said this all matter-of-factly, surprising himself more than Alexa. Alee she said was, "Alwight, helb me ub."

*****

AN: I'm sorry to say that with each time I update, the end draws nearer and nearer, and now that there have been so very many cha[ters, the end is very near indeed.