A couple of months pass and spring slowly creeps over the landscape. Snow melts and sweaters vanish in exchange for light layers and those with skirts lose their tights. Flowers bloom and trees leaf as everything turns into shades of green. With the arrival of spring, we get to see how our trees did in Care of Magical Creatures class and consequently our bowtruckles. Sirius, Garrett, and I get top marks and win the prize which is not having to write an essay on everything we did right and wrong. Since we thought the prize was more likely to be dragon dung, we were pretty happy.

Sirius has been acting a little aloof since that moment in the hall and I've no clue what's wrong. James won't give me an answer either despite my sneaking suspicion that he knows far more than he lets on. Not even Remus or Peter tell me. Meanwhile, Dumbledore assures me that the wizard Grubblyplank wrote will be coming after the spring holidays. I think that perhaps the mystery wizard was feigning interest so Grubblyplank would leave him alone. I wouldn't blame them.

I'm back playing quidditch and we've beat back Ravenclaw and are in the finals with Slytherin, of course. The game is this weekend before spring break which is also the weekend of Slughorn's party. A party where I'm supposed to bring a date and still don't have one. Lily is taking a muggle-born Ravenclaw boy we came across in the library. They had a heated debate about wand woods versus possible wand cores that lasted about an hour and that was that. They'd settled on going to the party together making my fail-safe, asking Lily, fall through.

"How do guys do it?" I ask Lily as she and the other girls from the dorm as we soak in the sun and heat on a particularly warm spring day. It's Friday and the party is tomorrow, then the quidditch final on Sunday. Stress is mounting.

"Frank says you just have to have like, reckless courage for ten seconds when you ask the person. Like ripping off a band-aid." Alice says while flicking sand from under her fingernails. My eyes wander over to the boys a little further up the shore under a tree where James is idly playing with a snitch. He would seem aloof if I didn't know he was just showing off for Lily who is doing a much better job at pretending she doesn't see him. Sirius, Remus, and Peter are there too. Peter is staring after James incredulously, Remus has his nose in a book, while Sirius is nursing a cigarette in the leather jacket I gave him. He looks heartbreakingly good.

"Just ask." Lily hisses softly as she catches my eye. I glance at her and find a playfully knowing look on her face. Her hair is free from its ponytail today and falls like a waterfall made of fire over her shoulders. "He wants to go with you too, but both of you are too stubborn to say so!" She continues as we look back to Sirius only to find him looking at us as well. If I'm not mistaken, he winks at me before looking away. I sigh and slump back on the ground. Lily's right. I know she's right, but that doesn't make it any easier.

"He said he was still deciding. What if he says no?"

"Then he says no and you know so you can move on. Just rip it off, as Alice said." Marlene says and I squint over to the left where she was clearly eavesdropping. She shrugs. "You want me to call him over? Hey-" I jump on her as she turns to the boys and she giggles.

"I'll do it in my own time, thank you very much." I huff and shake my head at the mischievous girl, but I'm smiling too. After dinner when we're all in the common room, however, the nerves surge back full force. My body is almost vibrating with nerves as I clutch the note in my hand that I plan on handing to Sirius telling him to meet me at the lake.

"Alright, you lot. I'm out." Sirius pats his mates on the shoulders and Lily kicks me to get me to hurry over to intercept him at the stairs.

"Sirius." I murmur with my voice barely above a whisper. Still, he hears me and turns those piercing eyes on me. My mouth goes dry. My hand shoves the paper into his hand and as he looks down with furrowed brows, I all but sprint up the stairs. Laid out on the bed is a black tank-top that I slip on with my red leather jacket and jeans before grabbing my broom.

"Good luck!" Lily tells me and I nod to her thankfully before I drop out of the window. The set up is pretty simple. Blanket, a few candles, and me standing there as awkwardly as I can possibly manage. Sirius swoops down and the breeze tickles the candles a little as he slowly walks over to me.

"Either I'm dying or you're about to propose to me." He says and I laugh nervously as he steps onto the blanket.

"Is it too much? I just wanted it to be nice and didn't really know what else-"

"It's beautiful, Arell, I just don't know what it's for." He assures me with a soft, fond smile as our eyes meet. Right, ten seconds of courage, Arell. You can do this. As if he senses my indecision, completely possible because of his canine side, Sirius steps forward and takes my hands in his. Now or never.

"I want you to go to Slughorn's party with me." The words pour out of my mouth in a rush before my courage has a chance to leave me. I take another deep breath as Sirius' eyebrows furrow. "I mean, would you like to go to Slughorn's party with me? As my date?" These words are slower and much easier to make out. Sirius' expression clears of anything other than shock.

"Me? You want me to go to the party-but what about Fenway?" Now it's my turn to look shocked.

"Garrett? No, he's just a friend," I shrug. "And I know you said you were still figuring things out and I don't want to pressure you, but you're the only one I want to go with. If you want to go, anyway." Sirius shakes his head as he sighs.

"Ugh, I thought you and Fenway-I backed off because-oh, fuck it." He starts and doesn't finish multiple sentences before just leaning in and pressing his lips to mine. I blink in surprise, but then I'm melting into him as his arms encircle my waist. My hands smooth over his cheeks as I pull him closer and the kiss deepens as they delve into his hair. He gasps against my lips when I tug lightly on the ends of his black waves, then our eyes snap to the others. "Yes. Yes, I want to go with you, yes, I want you, yes." He says and my entire body suddenly feels like it's hovering a few feet from the ground.

"Yes then?" I tease with a wide smile.

"I'll say it a hundred more times if you want me to, love." He says with a smile to rival my own. "I mean it. Not just for the party. I want you to be my girl after the party, after spring break, until you're so sick of me it's driving you crazy." I hum and happily fiddle with the ends of his hair.

"I'm willing to take the bet that there's no chance of that."

"Bet accepted," Sirius says before pressing his lips against mine again.

Later, Sirius flies beside me to my room then heads to bed himself. Lily nearly scares me half to death along with the other girls when I find them waiting for me. "How'd it go? How'd it go?" Lily repeats as she tugs me in and shuts the window.

"We're going! He said yes!" I tell them and we all grin and squeal in excitement. For a few minutes, we talk about what I'll wear and future dates before Emmaline banishes us all to bed. Slowly, I fall asleep with a smile on my face.

The next day passes slowly since all I'm looking forward to is tonight. The ladies and I talk about what I'll wear, but I already know I'm wearing the dress that the Potter's gave me. Deep gold, fitted to my knees with a ruffle around the asymmetrical edge and capped sleeves that wrap around my shoulders. It's breathtaking and makes my dark skin shimmer as I pass any torch as if I'm a flame myself. Lily lets me borrow some rust-colored flats, Emmaline gives me some rosewater, Marlene lets me use her large collection of make-up, and Alice applies it lightly.

I've no concealer on my scars, no bandages, and no spells. My skin is just my skin and knowing that Sirius believes that too makes me comfortable. More comfortable with myself than I think I've ever been.

I'm fidgeting like crazy when its time to leave and I'm supremely glad Lily is with me so I don't have to walk down the stairs alone. We'd agreed to meet on Slughorn's floor so it can be a bit more private. If we met here, the boys would have been all over us. "It's fine. He's still Sirius and you're still Arell. Don't overthink things." Lily whispers to me as we grow closer and closer to the tower.

"Don't know what I'd do without you, Lily," I say and squeeze her hand.

"You'll never have to know." She says back with a smile before we head into the hall. Sirius is at the end of it pacing slowly back and forth. He's in wizard's robes, dark green no doubt from his family but as he walks, I can see his pants are a light grey with faint green stripes making up a plaid pattern. As he turns, I see a lightweight black sweater stretching over his chest. A slow smile makes its way across my lips as my nerves fade. If he's this nervous, then he cares just as much as I do.

"Good luck." Lily squeezes my hand before hurrying past where she and her date are meeting. Sirius' eyes lift when she passes and he nods to her, then his eyes drift to me. His lips pop open and his eyebrows raise as he looks me up and down a few times as I grin.

"You look really good." I compliment as I walk closer and stop in front of him with my hands clasped in front of me. Sirius licks his lips before swallowing.

"And you, I mean you look...amazing." He struggles a little then breaks through beaming.

"Thanks." I blush and laugh softly when he wraps his arms around me with a hum.

"Still, amazing still isn't good enough." He says and I can see the gears turning behind his clear eyes. "You look heavenly. I'd happily fall on my knees and beg for you. Oh, even better, you make a body forget it has knees."

"Sirius, you're being ridiculous," I say as my cheeks get hotter.

"No, I'm being completely serious." He says and I laugh again.

"Mm, very punny." Sirius shows off that crooked smile before we turn and start slowly wandering towards the party.

"Honestly though, love, if the dementors were to kiss me right now you in that dress would be the last thing I thought of." That earns him an elbow in his side which hits square in the ribs since his arm is around my waist.

"Don't joke about that. We've seen enough dementors for a lifetime." I scold lightly and his expression sobers as we come to the doors. My brows furrow as he turns to me while bouncing on the balls of his feet. His eyes flit around my face before I take his hand. He takes a breath.

"So, how are we going in? Dating? Friends? It's complicated?" Sirius asks and it's a question I hadn't thought about yet.

"Uh, let's just go in as us." I shrug and glance over at him. "We act however we want to act. Whatever we're comfortable with." Sirius nods along with my words before shaking his shoulders a bit and standing straighter.

"Alright, love, let's have some fun." The doors open and we head in.

The whole room smells like the sweetest of flowers. Varying shades of pink silk and meadow green chiffon trail from the ceiling as if we're in an off-brand circus tent. Flowers adorn the ends of each torch although the flowery smell seems to be emanating from a large punch bowl on a magenta covered table. Food also litters this table from blueberry pasties to cauldron cakes.

"I've got to say, it's different this time coming in with you rather than to crash your date," Sirius whispers as he looks around and I smirk before we come face to face with Slughorn.

"Ah, Miss Ackley! A pleasure as always to see you." He greets me jovially and I must say the teacher is growing on me.

"Good to see you too, Professor." I take his hand with a smile and don't even flinch when he stares openly at the mark on my arm. He blinks a few times before dropping my hand and turning to Sirius who has put on a surprisingly professional look.

"Professor Slughorn, I appreciate the invite to such a lovely party." He says and the professor dressed in rust wizard's robes grasps his offered hand with both of his.

"It's a joy to have you, my boy! Miss Ackley, why haven't you brought this young man around before!" Slughorn absolutely glows and I somehow resist rolling my eyes.

"I'm afraid I had to win him over, Professor. This is Sirius Black." I introduce and Slughorn instantly perks up at the name.

"Ah, yes, the noble and ancient house of Black. I've taught quite a few of you in my time! Once there was a young woman-" Slughorn goes on, but my eyes are on Sirius. Only someone who knows him well would be able to see the sudden stiffness permeating his entire person. His polite smile no longer reaches his eyes, and his hand in mine has tightened. "my hair was blue for a week!" Slughorn chortles none the wiser.

"Anyway, I think we're going to visit the food table for some sweets," I tell the older man and he immediately shoos us off.

"Yes, go! Have fun!" He encourages and I tug Sirius away with careful eyes on his face.

"Are you alright? Sirius?" His eyes are glassy, but the film fades as he looks back to me. He shakes his head like it's an etch-a-sketch to erase whatever had possessed his mind.

"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry." His fingers rub over his eyes as I guide us to the corner of the party next to the window and behind gauzy curtains. "That whole 'great and noble' thing is something my mom tells me all the time. How I should be grateful. How its an honor." Sirius' expression grows darker and his hand leaves mine to rub the scar his mom gave him on his shoulder. My hands raise and frame his face so he focuses on me.

"Hey. Bad families are something we have in common. But that doesn't matter. We were born into those families, but we choose who we are. And we choose to call those crazy boys no doubt waiting in the common room for us our family. Lily too." My thumbs skim his cheeks caringly as those cloudy eyes clear.

"You're right. Course, you are." He says and the weight shakes off his shoulders. Smiling softly, he steals a quick kiss before taking my hand. "Alright, now I said we'd have fun, didn't I?" I become a little nervous at the mischief in his eyes as he drags me into the middle of the dance floor. Heat rushes to my cheeks as people look to us. Most were already staring at my scars, especially the one on my arm, but now everyone is staring.

"Yes, but Sirius-"

"Trust me." He says with that damned crooked smile and bright eyes. Sighing, I nod. The troublemaker then proceeds to show off in a way that would have made even James Potter proud. Sirius spins me out, pulls me back in, dips me, and lifts me in the air with all the skill of a professional dancer. I'm the furthest thing from it, but I let him guide me where he wants and I feel like I'm gliding. Laughter also springs from my mouth more often than not and that dark cloud over Sirius has long vanished. Finally, I convince him to dance slowly and we retreat to a darker corner to Slughorn's adorable applause.

"How...how did you learn all that?" I pant, a little more than out of breath. He smiles and shrugs.

"Classic training. Everyone from the noble house of Black has to take classes so we don't embarrass the family at public events. It was one thing I always aced. Good for impressing the ladies." He winks at me and I laugh again, but softer this time. My hands wrap around his neck and his around my waist as we just sway slowly in a circle.

"You never danced for me before." I accuse and a lightning-quick grin alights his face.

"Didn't need to. You were already swept away by my good looks and boyish charm." I shove his shoulder for that as he chuckles. "No, it never really occurred to me to try and impress you because I was too busy being impressed by you. Your strength, your courage, your beauty. How could I ever try to focus on anything else?" His hand runs over my curls and the corner of his lips lift when they just bounce right back into place. Suddenly my throat is dry and I swallow to be able to speak again.

"You're too smooth for your own good," I remark before he presses his lips to my temple and my eyes shut. This. This must be what all those people talk about.

This must be love.

*A/N*

*audience awws* I love that moment when someone falls in love and just knows it. When you actually fall in love, you don't often tell the person in that moment, but it's still so so sweet. <3 Adorable.

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