February passed by quickly, bringing with it the excitement of Valentine's day.

Emery wasn't at all interested in Valentine's day, because she believed that one did not need a specific day to show their love. Instead, love should be shown everyday to the loved one, to tell them that you'd always be there for them.

Cecilia, on the other hand, was going to Hogsmeade with Rabastan Lestrange, and she was most excited.

Emery spent the entire Valentine playing Valentine's day tricks on Filch. She kept on sending him prank flowers and chocolates, watching him fall for the same prank over and over again.

He got pranked a total of fifty two times.

March arrived, bringing with it the tense arrival of the Quidditch Cup finals. The whole school was excited for this match, since it would be Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor, and both teams were at the highest point of rivalry.

The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs had split between supporting Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, both at the point of dueling each other. 

The atmosphere was so tense that all it took was a single word for two students on opposite sides to start arguing.

Emery and Sirius didn't spend much time together, especially seeing as Sirius was on the Quidditch team, and James, as the captain, scheduled two hourly practices every single day.

The match was to take place on the last weekend of March, and there was still one week to go. The Ravenclaw team was practicing harder than ever, and often asked the help of Emery to distract the Gryffindors who had taken to spying on their team in an attempt to note down their strategies.

Emery found this too easy, seeing as it was mainly the Marauders who were spying on them. Emery simply just set invisible traps around, and because James and Sirius were hidden underneath the invisibility cloak together, it was very difficult for them to avoid the so named traps.

Two days before the match, Chester Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain had gotten into a fight with a Slytherin.

Chester, who played as a keeper, was a half blood Seventh year, and he had accidentally bumped into Theodore Nott, a notorious Slytherin student.

Emery was in the Great Hall, feeding Marco peas when it happened.

She stood up, watching the two boys who were yelling at each other.

The Slytherin was the one who threw the first punch. 

And then chaos unfolded. Punching, kicking, yelling, screaming, attacking...

Emery yelled for them to stop, but they kept on fighting, while students gathered around them chanting 'FIGHT' repeatedly.

Until a teacher came.

Both students were heavily injured, and in a completely messed up condition. Theodore Nott was sporting a broken jaw, and femur, as well as a damaged kidney and four broken blood vessels.

Chester Davies had definitely gotten off worse. He had several broken ribs, a broken nose, a cracked skull, and was profusely bleeding from his eye.

The boys had both gotten detention for a month, but Ravenclaw overall suffered the worse deal.

They had no keeper.

One day before the match, the Ravenclaws had come up with a way to replace their players. They wanted Emery to try out.

At first, she downright refused, but after much coaxing, and pestering from Sirius and her teammates, she finally agreed to try out.

She tried for keeper, but she was quite lightweight, and the position didn't suit her very well. She made a decent seeker, so they filled her in as their last hope to make up for losing a player, if not, then to prevent their team from blatantly losing.

Wesley Boot, another seventh year, decided that he would trade himself to play keeper instead of seeker, and he wasn't all bad at being a keeper. 

With a couple of practices, the Ravenclaw team was as ready as it could get.

All except one player.

Emery Fowl.

Emery hadn't played quidditch since the day her father disappeared. It reminded her of him, and every time she did something so small as to go near a broom, she'd begin to cry.

Now that he was back, she decided to give it a try.

She wasn't all awful at flying, only thing was that she needed to get used to it.

She spent the rest of the evening practicing, and was too nervous to even eat dinner. After all, the entire fate of the game depended on her, not on anyone else, and since she was so rusty at flying, that only made her more nervous.

Amidst all of this drama, Emery had also read up on practicing the patronus charm, and whenever she was free, she'd say the incantation and try thinking of a memory happy enough.

Unfortunately, she proved to be unsuccessful so far.

While she couldn't sleep the night before the match, she decided she'd practice the patronus charm in the astronomy tower.

Not bothering to wear a dressing gown, she simply grabbed her wand and left for the astronomy tower, being extra careful not to be seen.

On reaching, she gazed at the view of the Black Lake, taking in the beauty of the scenery, before getting her wand ready to start practicing.

She enjoyed the environment of the astronomy tower, and found it the perfect place to practice. The most she had gotten was the silver wisp from her wand, but she hadn't gone further than that.

She thought of the time she got Marco, closed her eyes, chanted. "Expecto Patronum."

Nothing happened, save for a thin wisp of silvery light from the tip of her wand. Closing her eyes once more, she decided to choose a happier memory.

Halfway through her thoughts, she opened her eyes, feeling cold fingers slip around her waist, followed by a very familiar scent of firewhiskey and cigarettes.

She quickly opened her eyes, and when her eyes met Sirius' breathtaking grey eyes, she cursed inwardly why she didn't bring a dressing gown.

Sirius' eyes raked her slim figure, taking in every detail he could possibly encompass. She was wearing a slightly loose top made of a light rose silk, the bottom just grazing her thighs. Underneath, she had on a pair of shorts, similar to the ones he'd seen her in before. Her shoulders were bare due to the fact that her pajama top hung down her shoulders, outwardly displaying her defined collarbones. 

She was glowing, and Sirius couldn't help but think that she looked so beautiful standing in the moonlight, with her short blonde hair being blown from all sides by the light breeze.

His hands brushed her waist, and he was able to feel her warmth through the thin silk layer. His heartbeat had quickened as the girl opened her eyes.

She didn't speak, she was too busy taking in his beauty. His hair, his jawbone, his smell, his eyes... 

"Sirius," she murmured, temporarily enraptured by his intense gaze. At that moment, she wasn't in the astronomy tower, not in Hogwarts.

She was far away in the depths of Sirius' eyes, lost in the mass of emotions in his stormy orbs.

"Emery," Sirius whispered, using her fingers to tug her closer by her waist.

Her breath hitched, and she could feel the warmth radiating off him. Only few centimeters closer and their lips would meet.

Emery didn't know what to expect. Yet she didn't want to ruin the moment, so she just stood still waiting for him to make a move.

Her breath was held in anticipation as he moved closer, and closer...

Sirius turned her around, so he was facing her back. He snaked his arms to go around her, to the front of her waist, then, with his free hand, held her wand arm.

"Think something happy, love," he murmured into her ear, her breath suddenly taken away as his voice prickled her ear.

Emery said nothing, and Sirius' position was too intimate for her to be comfortable. Her shoulders were bare, and the cool night hit her skin.

Emery closed her eyes, thinking of the time Sirius and her fed the ants. "Expecto Patronum," she breathed.

A larger strand of light was emitted from her wand, and Emery watched it fade into nothingness with disappointment.

Sirius rested a hand on her bare shoulder, his warm fingers attacking the skin and giving her the feels. 

"What did you think of?" he asked softly, his arm still wrapped around her waist.

"I was thinking of Marco, and feeding ants," she told him, her voice raspy.

Sirius took a lock of her hair and twirled it between his fingers. 

"Think of the time you reunited with your dad," he advised softly, still murmuring into her ear.

 His hand tightened at her waist, and his fingers were enjoying the electric touch her skin gave him.

She nodded softly. 

She closed her eyes, thinking of the euphoria she felt when she was embraced by her fathers arms after six years of waiting, how his skin felt, how his voice sounded.

How they laughed, and cried, and screamed at the same time.

She thought of how there was nothing but emotions.

"Expecto Partonum."

She opened her eyes. A tendril of light escaped her wand, forming into a huge figure. It collected more light, forming into a creature that symbolized her, a creature that made Emery who she was, a creature that defined her.

An eagle.

It's wingspan was huge, and it was tough and determined, soaring through the darkness, emitting light to its surrounding.

Emery felt a rush of pride at that moment.

"I did it," she muttered unbelievably, turning her head to face Sirius. "I did it."

Sirius smiled at her, then waved his own wand, causing a large black shaggy dog to erupt from the tip.

He twinkled at her, then turned her back around so she was facing him.

"Emery," he whispered into her hair, his arms wound around her tightly.

She was hugging him, her arms around her waist. Looking up, she smiled, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

She began shivering, but she didn't notice since Sirius' gaze gave her warmth. Sirius did, however, and he took off his leather jacket and placed it around her shoulders.

And Sirius, who had seen Emery hundreds of times, found her looking most beautiful in that moment; shy, in her pajamas, her hair messy, and his large leather jacket draped around her frame.

Sirius twirled Emery around, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her in. Grabbing a hold of her hand, he took it in his palm.

"Dance with me," he murmured, swinging her from side to side.

There was no music, nor was there any sort of tune, but they found it loud, for even whispers are sometimes thunderous. They could hear the language of the sky, the orchestra of the stars, and the humming of the moon.

The night was their melody.

a/n: I loved this chapter:)

this story is so close to ending. I have exactly 5 chapters left to finish, and an epilogue.

Please stay tuned, and comment if you're reading.

elsie.