"Sirius? How did you get in here?" I ask and to be honest I'm shocked I can speak. He shrugs with a wide grin and slides my hand off Garrett's shoulder and into his hand.

"I have my ways. You don't mind, Fenway?" He asks sharply and I look apologetically to Garrett.

"I'll find you soon," I assure him and he nods, giving Sirius a look before retreating. Sirius and I dance in the same way but he tugs me a bit tighter to him.

"I can't believe you snuck into this party," I tell him incredulously. "Why?" Sirius shrugs.

"Prongs was getting nervous about Evans and her date. Thought we'd swing by."

"James is here too?" I ask and he tilts his head. Of course, James has already found Lily and she's hissing at him while Severus smirks in the background. I sigh and shake my head. "She's not even on a date. Creary is just a friend."

"And Fenway?" He asks and my eyes return to his moonlight ones. My face gets hot and his hands tighten a bit on my waist. Guess that was answer enough. "More than friendly." His voice is low and a prickling wiggles up my spine at the tone.

"We are just friends right now, Sirius, what's going on with you?" I ask worriedly and there's a tug in my gut when he holds me even closer.

"What if I said I didn't want you to be more than friends with him?" He asks and my brows furrow.

"W-why? Is something wrong with him?" Sirius sighs and shakes his head.

"He is a Slytherin." He points out and I scoff, the fuzzy feeling in my stomach fading.

"Didn't think you'd be one to house shame, Sirius." I start getting a little offended. What is with him?

"I'm not, it's just I think I know Slytherin a bit better than you do. I mean, does he even know you're a muggle-born?" We stop swaying and my arms fall to his biceps.

"Why, is there something wrong with that?" His head instantly shakes.

"Not to me." He insists and I can't help my heart beating faster when his head bows closer to mine. "But to him?"

My head shakes to clear it a bit. "Yeah, he knows. And I think I can decide for myself who I want to be friends with and who I don't. Now, let me go." I demand and his grip loosens, but he doesn't release me.

"What about your parents? Your scars? Would he accept you?" He asks and now I shove him off.

"I choose what I share and when I share it. Back the fuck off, Sirius." I demand and we standoff for a moment with our eyes burning into one another's.

"Hey, is everything alright over here?" Garrett asks and rests a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"It's fine, Garrett, I'm sorry-"

"We can settle things for ourselves, thanks Fenway." Sirius steps forward and swipes his hand off me only for me to step between the two.

"Back off." I hiss at him as his bright eyes land on me in surprise and the party around us quiets.

"Mr. Black? I don't think you had permission to enter this party." Slughorn ambles over.

"He was just leaving, professor," I tell him, but don't look away from Sirius. The young man huffs and stomps out, James slipping out just after him. I turn to Garrett with a million apologies on my lips. "I am so, so sorry." I breathe as his head shakes.

"It's not your fault, don't worry about it." He says instantly and takes my hand off his to just hold it instead. "Come on, I have something that'll make you smile." Garrett tugs me over to the spot by the window near the hors d'oeuvres. "I slipped a candy into one of the truffles that will make them sound like an elephant when they talk." Garrett entertains me and brings a smile back to my face, but my heart isn't in it anymore. He's very gracious when Lily and I have to bow out and walks us to the stairs. We take our time heading back to the common room.

"So...this sucked." I get a laugh out of Lily as we lean on opposite sides of the staircase in our pretty dresses as it moves up the floors.

"You can say that again. Ugh." She rubs her temples. "But, it's not over. We still have your birthday and even though it seems impossible that it could go right, there's a chance." I smile at her attempt and shrug.

"Right. We're still friends with Remus and Peter." Our laughter echoes in the cavernous room before we finally reach the common room. It's relatively empty, but that's not what catches my eye. Remus and Peter are sitting sweetly on the couch with a little pile of gifts on the floor next to the fire. When they spot me, they cast a spell and streamers burst from their wands. Now that I'm in the room I can see a little sign spelling 'Arell' over the fireplace along with a tiny fireworks display. Red and yellow banners line the ceiling that has its own quiet fireworks going as well. It's beautiful.

"Happy Birthday," Lily says bashfully before I turn and wrap my arms around her.

"Thank you so much." I breathe and when I pull away, she's beaming.

"Of course. Now, come on! You've got presents." She pushes me towards the two on the couch and I sit on the floor so they can all see.

"Happy Birthday, Mane," Peter says sweetly and watches avidly as I take the basket he gives me. It's absolutely chock full of sweets, biscuits, scones, and cookies.

"Aw, thank you, Peter." I set it aside, but not before swiping a biscuit and taking a nibble. Remus hands me a long square wrapped in newspaper.

"Happy Birthday, Arell." His lips press together a bit as I open it to find a chocolate bar and a book about Latin. "I thought...maybe it could help with your spells." My fingers brush up and down the spine affectionately.

"I've been meaning to go to the library to find some Latin books and you know the chocolate is always welcome. Thank you, Remus." He nods and brushes a hand over his face to hide his big smile.

"This one's from me." Lily joins me on the floor and hands me a small green box with a twine bow. I take it and shake my head at her.

"You do too much for me already, Lily."

"Don't spoil the fun by not letting me give you something. Open it!" She insists and I can't resist smiling. My fingers tug at the twine until it falls away, then flick the box open.

"Oh, Lily." I breathe and look up at her green eyes, the same green as the six stones in the small, silver ring. She lights up.

"You like it? I had to make it with magic, so I wasn't sure." Lily goes on as I slip it out and put it on my right ring finger. It's a wrap-around ring and the parts that nearly touch are three gems made to look like vines. On the top silver band lies a pure white lily. "I made myself one too, but the gems are gold so it matches your eyes. Tell me your favorite flower?" I glance over and see the ring on her right ring finger as well, but where my lily sits is just an unformed white ball.

"A lotus," I reply and warmth blooms in my heart when she casts the spell. The little white ball whirls together, then bursts into a breathtaking white lotus.

"Perfect. So, I charmed it that whenever you press down on the flower the other's will spin. No matter where we are." She says and presses down on the lotus, grinning when my flower spins. It's beautiful magic.

"Lily, it's brilliant. Thank you." We lean forward and give each other a quick hug. "This was lovely. Even without our affectionate noisemakers." We all chuckle softly, but everyone feels their absence. Remus reaches behind him and pulls out two more boxes.

"They left these since they didn't want to be here and ruin your party, but..." Remus shrugs and offers them to me. I stare at the long box and the little one, then shake my head.

"Thank you, Remus, but I'd rather they give them to me." He nods and tucks the boxes away again. We all spend a little more time drinking cocoa or tea, then we all turn in. We all stand and after hugs goodnight, Lily and I head up. The girls are asleep, but there are little stars magically affixed to the top of my bed with a little me speeding around them on a broom. I grin and squeeze Lily's hand. She nods with a finger over her mouth. We slip into bed and I try to smother my laugh when my ring spins. I press back and hear Lily's soft giggle too before we both shut our eyes.

Of course, the day just won't end there.

Tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap, tap tap.

"Bloody hell." I groan and hop out of bed in just my underwear and sports bra, Lily says it's healthier, then yank the window open. Sirius smiles sheepishly and I huff. "You're lucky I didn't curse you right off your broom."

"Come out with me." He invites and my brows furrow.

"What?" I ask and try to ignore how pretty he looks in the soft moonlight.

"Look, I just...I want to apologize." He tells me with shimmering eyes. "Come out with me." I stare at him for a second before sighing.

"Give me a minute." I grab James' sweater and my sweatpants, then my broom before hopping out. We both speed to the lake and stop by the beech tree. We set our brooms against the trunk and I face the lake with my arms crossed.

"Look, I'm sorry. I...I don't know what happened. I just saw you come down the stairs right to me and you were so beautiful, then to hear you had a date. Something in my gut dropped."

"Because you thought I belonged to you?" I ask and whip around to face him. His eyes get big as he shakes his head.

"No! Because I care, okay? I care more than I thought and I didn't like seeing you care about someone more than me." He admits and I can't help but soften. What an idiot. I let my arms drop and let my firm expression fade.

"I don't care about him more than you, Sirius," I tell him and his eyebrows pop up.

"You don't?"

"No, you idiot. He's a friend that I'm getting to know better. But, you and the boys and Lily, I care about all of you way more. You're family." I remind him and he nods along slowly.

"Family." He repeats and my brows furrow at what might be...disappointment? "Can I hug you?" He asks and I instantly step into his open arms. Mine tight around his waist and his tight around all of me. I rest my forehead against his neck while he buries his head in my hair. This is possibly the safest I've ever felt. "You forgive me, love?" He asks and my heart beats a bit faster at the endearment.

"Course I do, you dolt," I tell him and he chuckles.

"Then I can give you your gift." He says and reluctantly pulls away from me, but not too far. He tugs a long black box from his sweatpants pocket and holds it between us.

"Trying to buy me, Sirius?" I tease and he scoffs.

"Not enough money in the world for that, love. Open it." He tells me and I flick it open. It's a bracelet, long and silver with little charms up and down it. One of a wolf, one a stag, one a rat, one a shaggy dog, one lioness, and one of the moon looking like it does tonight.

"Sirius," I whisper, too touched for words. He takes it out of the box and I hold out my right hand for him to clip it.

"Now we'll always be with you. The moon changes too, so you always know how Remus is doing." His hand holding mine reaches out and brushes the moon.

"Sirius, thank you. It's beautiful."

"Like you." My eyes flash up to his and now we're close. So close that the tips of our noses brush. I swallow as his eyes shut and he leans closer, but then duck and press my face to his neck while tossing my arm over his shoulder.

"Thank you so much," I whisper and after a moment, my embrace is returned.

"No problem, love. Come on, we should get back." He smiles at me as he pulls away and hands me my broom when he grabs his. We fly back in silence then bid each other goodnight. I lay back in bed with my eyes on the window, half-hoping he'd come back.

A/N

My heart. Ah.