First of all, I would like to apologise for the lateness of this chapter - I have been holding it back as it is my last pre-written chapter.

Secondly, I would like to apologise in advance for lack of updates: being in my final year of secondary school, I have important I.B. exams starting in 2 months (*gulps*). At the moment, I am writing at least three essays, as well as doing multiple practice papers and revision every week. So writing has really taken a back seat.

Therefore, if I can I will try to muster the time and energy to write, but if not, then I would like to warn you that I may not be able to update until June.

However, in no way have I given up on this story - I fully intend to finish it, and I have a plan for a sequel all worked out in my head.

This period of drought is the calm before I flood fanfiction with new chapters during my gap year, when I will have infinitely more time to write than I do now!

Thanks for your patience!

"The art of love... is largely the art of persistence." - Albert Ellis

Okay, I thought to myself. I can do this. I can sit here. Just sit. No problem.

Unfortunately, I was not going to be left to panic in peace.

"So how are your knees?" he asked me, unpacking his books.

"My knees?" (Yes – a coherent sentence!)

"Remus said he saw you... crawling." There was a hint of a smirk playing around the corners of his mouth.

As if I hadn't been flushed already, my face managed to go a few shades darker on the Dulux colour chart. Burnt puce, a wonderful colour, went especially well with my auburn hair.

"Um, my knees are... fine." I gasped. (It was slightly breathy, but I had done it. I had said words.)

"Good. Couldn't have you damaging yourself in your hunt for – potatoes, was it?"

Even in my flustered and illucid state, I made a mental note to slip something nasty in Remus' bed. Even though it had been my fault. Fortunately for my health, I was saved from answering by the arrival of Professor Flitwick.

The most uncomfortable lesson of my life began. It was even more uncomfortable than the English lesson in year six where the boy I may have liked was told by the teacher to read a love poem to me. The flush had still stained my cheeks for an hour after that. I had my doubts whether this one would ever fade.

Mostly, this discomfort was a result of my close proximity to Sirius. His arm would accidently keep brushing mine, or his leg beneath the table, so much so that I was sitting as far on the other side of the desk as politeness would allow.

However, this put me in line for Katie's hints, and after several not so convert whispers, I managed to get across to her that I hadn't told Sirius whether I would go out with him or not. She then starting prodding me across the gap between our desks, making me move closer to Sirius. She had a pointy wand.

I would then brush against Sirius, and then jump back as if he had electrocuted me. Katie would then prod me with her wand, and I would jump back towards Sirius. So throughout the lesson I was shifting across my desk as much as possible, as if the floor was instead a stormy ocean, and I was being tossed from one side of my boat (desk) to the other.

That was just the physical discomfort. I could catch no glimpse of the predatory look I had seen last night in Sirius' face. His expression was as open and friendly as it had been when we studied in the Heads' Common Room. Except I knew, could not doubt or delude myself that last night had not happened, that even if he did not allude to it, he had asked me out and was expecting an answer. I could still feel the hot imprint of his lips on my own.

I have probably waxed lyrical on the subject until you are heartily bored of hearing it, but boys make me nervous. Especially boys who have a romantic interest in me. And so sitting next to the boy whom I had a romantic interest in, and who had a romantic interest in me, felt like sitting on a cooker. It really did.

Even as I rocked back and forth between brushes and pokes, inside I was squirming as if someone was forcing me to sit on a hot stove. Safe to say, I was extremely uncomfortable. I'd go so far as to say I was on the edge of jumping up from my seat and running screaming from the room.

Only the knowledge that I would most likely be screaming "POTATO" prevented me from this course of action. I did want to maintain some dignity, after all.

So, there I was, being poked and brushed and rocking and squirming, and still blushing from knowing that Sirius knew that I had crawled down the length of the Gryffindor table, citing "Potato" as my reason, in order to avoid him.

It then got worse. Having paid no attention whatsoever, Charms being the furthest thing from my mind at that moment, I was nonplussed when everyone turned around and started talking to the person they were sitting next to.

"Um...?"

My circumnavigating gaze came round to land on Sirius.

"Shall we start then?" he asked me. (Still smirking slightly. As if he was aware of my discomfort and found it amusing. If I wasn't feeling so mortified, pal, you would have to look out. Fortunately for you, I'm so besotted but also disconcerted by you that I'm congratulating myself for talking, something I had been doing perfectly well for the last fifteen years.)

"Start what?" What on earth did he mean? Start a relationship? Now? Was he asking me out again in the middle of a lesson?

"Start practising."

"Practising?" Practising what? Kissing? A relationship? How can you practise a relationship?

He gave a little laugh.

"Were you listening at all?"

"Yes." I said indignantly. Just because I had been angry last night, it didn't mean I hadn't listened.

"So what did Professor Flitwick say then?"

Professor Flitwick had been there last night? Oh. He meant listening in the lesson. My thoughts were so focused on Sirius and the overly-mentioned events of last night that I had jumped straight to the conclusion that he was talking about that.

"Professor Flitwick? Sorry – I wasn't... I mean I didn't... "I took a deep breath and started again. "I wasn't talking about that. I thought you meant..." my gaze meet his and quickly averted, "Something else."

"And here was me thinking you were perfectly attentive in lessons. So what was this something else you meant?"

A few shades darker on the Dulux colour chart. A nice Mauve Taupe.

"Um..."

At this point, I was thrust violently towards him as Katie delivered another needle-sharp poke to my spine. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends, I really do. It's just that sometimes, they like to poke their noses in when I'd rather they didn't. So I had Katie jabbing me from behind, Alice mouthing "Go for it" or something like that across the classroom, and Lily looking at me enquiringly, as if to say "What's going on." Iz and Naomi were also in the classroom, each giving me thumbs up, even though they had no idea what had happened last night.

Even James and Remus were raising their eyebrows at me suggestively. No wonder I felt so stressed that I was about to implode. And I had yet to give Sirius an answer about what I had meant. And to his question.

"Well..." Fabricate! My mind was screaming at me, "Fabricate a story! Any story! Anything. Just don't mention potatoes."

"Well... you see, I thought that you meant had I been listening... to the radio this morning." I almost sighed with relief. A viable excuse.

"The radio."

"Yes." I grinned triumphantly.

"So why would I ask you if you had been listening to the radio this morning in the middle of Charms?"

"Because..." Oh dear. My excuse was falling apart. "I think it was because I was... thinking about this... song - yes, song I heard on the radio this morning. So when you asked me... if I had been listening, my mind... jumped to that."

"Right. Okay." The smug look on his face told me that he didn't buy it. Was it possible he was a Legilimens? Because that smug look also told me that he knew that I was thinking about last night. Or something. Arrogant idiot. Whom I fancied. But that was besides the point.

"So... Flitwick has asked us to practise the Aguamenti charm. Filling a goblet we summon from the table over there."

"Oh. Okay." There were only two goblets left on the table, as everyone else had not been occupied with offers of dates and skittish nerves. I managed to successfully summon a goblet over without any mishap, a feat that amazed me in my current state.

"Flitwick will come round and inspect the purity of our water." Added Sirius, filling his goblet with ease. I performed the spell as well, and was gratified to see a clearish liquid pour from the tip of my wand. Even if it wasn't as clear as Sirius'.

I then looked up, having accomplished the task.

"What now?"

"I expect he thought it would take a little longer for everyone to accomplish this. So now we have time to talk."

My stomach dropped even further. Katie decided that I had shuffled too far away from Sirius again, and reached out and poked me again. Unfortunately, this caused me to jolt into my desk, which knocked the goblet over, spilling water all over my robes.

At least it had a cooling effect on me. Even if it was staining the front of my shirt. And I wasn't wearing any robes. And white shirt + water = see through. My face was now a Vivid Cherise. More red than purple.

After staring at the patch of water on me for a few seconds, Sirius then started looking around himself, as if he had lost something. He patted the back of his chair, where his robes would be if he had them with him. He then stretched up and pulled his jumper off over his head, handing it to me.

I heard Katie sigh behind me.

"Um... thanks." I muttered. "But... are you sure – I could just... use a drying spell..."

"It's best to let Aguamenti water dry naturally. If you blast it with hot air, there's a chance that it will stain your shirt. Some property of the magical water reacts with the heats and turns brown."

"Oh right. Well – thanks."

I then pulled his jumper over my head. It was still warm, and it smelt nice. In fact, it very much reminded me of the time I had woken up in his bed – safely snuggled in his duvet, and enveloped with his masculine scent.

I then realised that I was sniffing his jumper. That was when I realised the day could not get any more embarrassing. To recap: crawling, potatoes, poking, brushing, radio, not listening, smirking, thumbs up, water, and now sniffing. A mortifying day in deed.

"It's an odd word, mortifying." I didn't realise I had spoken aloud until Sirius remarked:

"Why?"

I coughed, but decided to plough on anyway. A conversation about semantics was better than a conversation about corridors, and kissing and yet-to-be-answered questions.

"Well. Obviously, the "mort" bit comes from death, and if you "ify" something, you... sort of make it... the prefix of the "ify." So literally, to "mortify" means to put to death. So to be mortified is to be put to death. And we use the word mortify in connection with embarrassment, so to be mortified is really to die of embarrassment. Except apparently no one ever has. Which I find hard to believe, actually."

"But then how would one die from embarrassment? People want to die from embarrassment, but what would happen? Would your heart stop beating?"

I considered this. Then, since I knew my face now to have settled on the beautiful shade that is Fried Aubergine, I answered thus. "So much blood would rush to your head, as you blush when you're embarrassed, that your head would explode."

"Explode?"

"Explode."

"Sounds painful." He commented.

"But at that point, I think you'd be so embarrassed that it would be a relief."

"Maybe."

At that point, the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson. I was free.

Sirius groaned slightly.

"Alright?" I asked.

"Quidditch practise." He replied.

Looking out of the window, I saw the reason for his dread. Driving rain.

"Oh. I don't envy you that."

We were starting to pack up now.

"Well," I said, as he stood up to leave, "I hope it ends quickly."

"As do I."

"See you round."

"Yeah."

He turned to leave.

"Oh, and Rose?"

I looked up.

"Yes?"

"I'm still waiting for an answer." He smirked, and then walked off.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed internally. I had just managed to get comfortable in his presence again, and then I was reminded about... that.

Hope you enjoyed it! Love EllieBaby xxx