Having had mixed reviews for the new style I was attempting in the last few chapters, I have decided to revert back to my old style in order to please everybody. Thank you so much for your reviews, whether critical or laudatory: although I do not tend to reply individually, I cherish every one of them, and try to take your suggestions on board. Many thanks as ever.

"She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;" - Lord Byron

Whether from excitement or chance, I awoke early on my eighteenth birthday, a cold Saturday morning mid-January. I lay coddled in the darkness of my four-poster bed, watching the red digits of my alarm clock count their persistent path from 5:49am, towards the day. One hour. Thirty minutes. Twenty. Ten. Five. Before I knew it, they had reached 7:17am – the time I was born, eighteen years ago to the day.

Despite being an orphan, I knew my birth day and date to the minute, as tucked into the blankets with my tiny body, when I was left on that lonely doorstep, had been a birth certificate, intact, except from the name of the mother and father, which had been blasted off. I allowed myself one single minute, a yearly indulgence, to wonder about my birth parents, before hauling myself up off the bed, and making my quiet way over to the window.

That previous year, there hadn't been a white Christmas. A white Birthday more than made up for it. Snowflakes were gently twirling their unhurried way towards the smooth expanse of icing below. Suddenly, I felt a longing to join them – to be part of that peaceful and ethereal scene. Quietly, so as not to disturb my slumbering friends, I pulled on my winter boots over my pyjama bottoms, adding a fleece, and a thick coat to my top half, and pulling on gloves, hat and scarf. Then I slipped from the dormitory, into the soundless halls of Hogwarts Castle.

Even upon reaching the grounds, I felt as if I had awoken as a part of Sleeping Beauty's fairytale. Not another creature was to be seen in the grounds, not another person had I seen as I traversed the castle halls, not another living creature was awake, except me. This world, muffled under a soft blanket of snow as light as apple-blossoms belonged to me.

Stretching out my arms, I span myself around in the deep snow, twirling with the snowflakes. Snowflakes landed on my hair, eyelashes, nose, and coat, but didn't melt, gilding me with diamonds. This, not Transfiguration lessons, not Quidditch matches, not floating candles, this was magic. Real magic.

My dreamy reverie was interrupted as in my peripheral vision, I caught sight of another figure. My twirling came to an end, and the dream was shattered as embarrassment kicked in. Instead of being a party to a fairytale, I was instead a half-crazed lunatic who awoke at strange times of night to stand in the snow in her pyjamas and twirl. Twirl. And now you wonder why I had been afraid to leave my dormitory.

Sod's Law: Rose Logan doing something weird/stupid = Timely arrival of Sirius Black.

There was a large grin across his all too handsome face. Great. Just what I needed. My new boyfriend, in the presence of whom I suffered agonies of self-consciousness already, had caught me twirling in the snow. Sorry to be overly repetitive, but hopefully you can see that the situation merits ranting about.

He continued to stare at me, his lips quirked into a closed-mouth grin, his eyes twinkling, and his hair rapidly filling up with diamonds as well. If I hadn't wanted to Disapparate so much, I might have felt my knees weaken a little. Alright – a lot. As it was, chagrin superceded hormones, and I didn't have to add falling over to my long list of humiliations. Alright – extremely long list.

He still hadn't said anything. Though I suppose when breaking up with the insane, you need some time to think about your words. So did I. I was utterly determined that my first word was not going to be "Hi." This left very little alternative. I racked my brains.

"It's snowing." I stated. Oh dear. Hi would at least have been an improvement upon declaring the obvious.

His eyes crinkled as his grin widened. "That it is."

"Uhm." I coughed, nervously shifting my weight from one foot to the other.

He must have seen my awkwardness (it has always been very evident) and taken pity on me, for he decided to move our conversation in a more normal direction.

"You're up early."

"Yes! Yes – I... I woke up early, and seeing the snow, thought I'd come out here and - "

"Twirl?"

I flushed a deep dark red, as the snowdrops on my face began to melt from the intense heat.

I could no longer meet his gaze, until suddenly I heard his bark-like laughter as he crossed the few feet between us, picked me up around the waist and hugged me close.

"You are, without a doubt, the most adorable girl I have ever met." He chuckled into my right ear.

Adorable. Despite taking exception to this description the other day, it was a far cry better than insane. I'll take it.

Loosening his grip upon me slightly, he looked into my face, and softly quoted:

"She twirls in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies,

And all that's best of dark and bright

Meets in her aspect and her eyes."

Officially. Best. Birthday. Ever.

To sum up my reaction as quickly and painlessly as possible: gaping mouth, cow eyes and knocking knees. I think you'll understand what I mean when I say that I melted.

Well. No wonder he's managed to date most of the girls in the castles. I don't think I even care about that, not if he can keep on quoting poetry at me.

He was smirking at my reaction now, his lip curling slightly. It was time to recover some of my dignity. Okay, not possible. I'd just have to make him lose his.

Looking down slightly, as if shy, I wordlessly twitched my wand. A pile of snow dumped itself on his head. He howled at the sudden contact of icy particles, as I danced out of his grip, stumbling through the deep snow in a bid to escape his revenge. What followed then was a very flirty snowball fight, which ended with him burying me in a snowdrift for approximately ten seconds, before hauling me out, and dragging me back towards the castle.

"You're soaked through."

I looked down, to see that my pyjama bottoms were indeed clinging to me, and my coat was dripping melted snow as well. I hadn't even felt the cold.

We made our way up to the kitchens, seeing very few early risers on the way – it was a Saturday, after all. He placed me at a table in front of the fire, settling my damp coat and fleece and his wet cloak on the back of various chairs to dry out, before ordering a very unhealthy breakfast of pancakes and waffles from the eager house elves. One particular house elf blushed when he leant down to speak to her. I sympathised.

Then he turned his full attention upon me (gulp!) as he sat next to me.

"Have I wished you a Happy Birthday yet?" he asked, raising one eyebrow rakishly.

"Well – it depends." (Yes! Despite my stomach turning over, my voice box still functioned!)

His lips quirked at my statement. "Upon what?"

"Upon whether throwing someone into a snowdrift qualifies as wishing them a Happy Birthday."

"In my defence," he wheedled, hand on heart, "you did dump a load of snow on me first."

"I'll conceed you that."

Then our pancakes arrived, and unconciously - alright, alright, maybe just a bit conciously, I huddled closer to him. Too shy to make any overt movements, I contented myself with small shuffles every so often, such as when I leaned over him to grab another waffle, or to squeeze chocolate sauce onto my pancake. With that cunning, I should have been in Slytherin.

Before I knew it, I was pressed up against his wet side. I think he must have been shuffling in my direction too. As they say, "Great minds think alike." We passed a close breakfast, with the exception of when he tried to make me eat a sample of his bacon and maple-syrup waffle. I leaned away at that point, even once he had managed to push the weird concoction past my lips, and so had to start the weird shuffle routine again.

After breakfast, we made our way back to the Tower, when I roused my friends, who all wished me a Happy Birthday, but let me have a shower before I told them about my morning. They all had a good laugh about my twirling business, but as Lily said, she probably would have done the same thing too. Great minds really do think alike. They also cooed in the suitable places as I blushingly repeating his quotation of Byron, before we all got dressed and made-up – it was my birthday afterall, before arming ourselves with the stack of presents at the end of my bed and wandering down the staircase.

The Marauders and my boyfriend (cue warm, cosy feeling inside) were all lounging upon the sofas in front of the fire – the best seats were reserved for the oldest students in the Common Room, who shared the load of my presents, as half of us wandered over to the Heads' Common Room, and the other half scampered down to breakfast to retrieve some food for everyone.

Despite my earlier large breakfast, I was able to manage a pain au chocolat, as everyone wished me a Happy Birthday and I opened my presents. I won't bore you with a list of what I received, except to tell you of three: from my parents, a lovely diamond pendant, from Lily, a vellum bound copy of Dante's Commedia, and from Sirius, two matching golden hair-slides, with red stones which looked suspiciously like rubies. They were utterly peerless: the red stones forming roses on the skilfully wrought golden vines. I slid them into my hair immediately, beaming at such a thoughtful present.

"I wasn't sure if the Rose theme was too cliché – I'm sure you have plently of things picturing your namesake. It's just that you're always tucking strands of your hair behind your ear, so I thought they might be useful as well as pratical."

I silenced his doubts by laying my hand firmly on top of his and looking him square in the eye. "They're exquisite. Really. I only feel guilty that I didn't get you something better than chocolate for your birthday."

He waved off my comment with his hand. "I love chocolate."

"Speaking of chocolate," interjected Lily, "I think your Mum had sent you a chocolate cake."

Indeed she had. Even with the shrinking bands I had left for her, designed to shrink the parcels that they were placed around so that she could more easily attach parcels to owls to send to me, the owl carrying the shrunken cake was over-loaded.

We set the three-tiered chocolate extravaganza on the side, all too full from our breakfasts to stomach another bite.

"Right." Stated Sirius, standing up and brushing off the crumbs of his second breakfast. "You." he pointed at me, "Are coming with me."

To be honest, that idea didn't sound too bad...

Sorry if this chapter was overly soppy – I felt in the mood for a bit of cheese ;) Love EllieBaby xxx