Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! Sirius-ly!

A.N- So this is it. The LAST CHAPTER! Are you nervous, coz I am! I really, really hope you've enjoyed my story and thank you to all who have followed Leila all the way through! You are my favouritest fans! ;) So, here we go: enjoy

Chapter Fifty- The Real World

The train ride home passed surprisingly slowly and in relative silence… No one really knew what to talk about. Each of them were absorbed in their own thoughts.

Leila was very tired, having stayed up late with Sirius. She was leaning against him now, thinking dreamily of living with him!

Sirius himself was biting his lip and replaying in his head over and over his plan for later that day and trying to predict exactly how Leila would react…

James sat by the window and stared out of it blankly. His mind wandered through memories of his time at Hogwarts… and memories of his parents. Lily sat beside him, trying and failing to read her book without her mind drifting off to thoughts of Jess.

Remus sat by the window aswell, his head against the glass and his eyes closed. He was asleep and for good reason. It was a full moon that night and he had to transform with just James there in animagi form in the spare bedroom in their apartment. Rose was beside him, her head in her hands. She was being eyed worriedly by her friends as her shoulders shook delicately but no one could figure out if she was actually crying and no one dared disturb her.

Peter was squashed in the spare corner, as far away from everyone else as possible. His mind kept going back to the thoughts he'd had during Jess's funeral and this time he couldn't stop. He kept glancing at Sirius and seeing him as Regulas… as the enemy. He knew what he was thinking should be making him guilty but it just fit so perfectly… He shivered, trying to shake the thoughts off but failing miserably.

Only a few words were spoken. The silence was comfortable however, despite it being sad. Leila suspected that it would be sad even if the battle had never happened. After all, it wasn't just a school they were leaving, it was a home.

X-x-X-x-X

When they arrived at platform nine and three quarters, everyone climbed off the train with their luggage and paused awkwardly in a small huddle on the platform.

"Um, so I'm getting a lift home with Mum." Peter mumbled. "I… I'll see you all soon?"

"Yeah." James said firmly. "We'll catch up on Saturday! Me and Moony's place? Right?"

"Right." Peter looked down as he said it. "So I'll see you guys later."

Rose smiled and Lily gave him a small, awkward hug. Sirius, Remus and James all said brief goodbyes and, feeling for some reason a lot more sad about leaving Peter than she should, hugged him and smiled.

"Hang in there Pete. We'll seeya soon." Peter avoided her gaze and walked away into the crowd. Leila frowned concernedly after him, as did Remus and James.

"I better go too. Bye everyone." Lily said, considerably more cheerful that Peter. She hugged everyone and kissed James before taking a deep, nervous breath and leaving aswell.

Rose sighed. "I'll see you all on Saturday." She said quietly before almost hurriedly saying her own goodbyes, promising to visit Remus and leaving abruptly.

"Right." Leila said with an air of finality. "I suppose it's just us then. We'll see you Saturday?"

James nodded. Leila took a deep breath and hugged Remus goodbye before turning to her cousin. To her surprise, her eyes filled with tears.

James smiled and hugged her tightly. Leila pecked his cheek and stepped back with a trace of her Potter grin.

"I don't know why I'm crying." She laughed tearfully. "I'll see you Saturday." James grinned at her.

"I love ya, cuz." He said, sounding very brotherly. Leila playfully punched his shoulder and stood back with Sirius who smiled and exchanged a meaningful glance with his best mate before he and Leila clutched their bags tightly and apparated away to Diagon Alley.

X-x-X

Now that goodbyes were over and Sirius and Leila were standing together outside of the door to their apartment, Leila was quite excited.

"Ready?" Sirius asked with a mischievous grin. Leila grinned back and nodded. Then, with a dramatic flourish, Sirius pushed the door open to reveal their new, fully furnished apartment.

Leila beamed and followed Sirius inside, throwing her trunk to one side as soon as she entered. She squealed excitedly and looked around the apartment, trying to see everything at once.

"Like it?" Sirius asked, closing the door behind them.

"Love it!" Leila turned, grinned at him and went to the window to look out at their view of Diagon Alley.

It was simple, with a small living area joint to a kitchen and dining area. The living area was furnished with two small couches and a coffee table and on one wall was a large fireplace, complete with a pot for floo powder.

On the opposite wall, Leila saw a door slightly ajar. She assumed this was her and Sirius's bedroom. With a small, excited giggle she turned around and beamed at Sirius once more.

He smiled back and then nervously ran a hand through his hair. "So… it's all furnished… including the bedroom, we have the most amazing bed!" He winked at Leila who walked over to him and kissed his cheek before grinning cheekily, her eyes travelling to the bedroom door. He smiled. "Go ahead; it's all ours." He told her. Leila grabbed his hand and towed him along behind her.

Sirius took a deep breath as she opened the door and Leila froze in her tracks at the sight within.

"Sirius? What's this?" She asked, staring around the room. Sirius chuckled.

"It's our bedroom." He replied. Leila spun around and eyed him suspiciously. Sirius's expression wavered nervously for a second before he smiled at her.

The bedroom was empty. Completely and utterly blank. No furniture; no amazing beds. All that decorated the room was a number of floating candles and a single, tiny black box, hovering mid-air in the middle of the room.

"Sirius Black, what are you playing at?" Leila asked incredulously. Sirius put one arm round Leila and guided her a few steps forward, so that she stood about a foot away from the hovering box. Leila glanced curiously at Sirius who gestured for her to take it.

She did so, and gasped. As soon as she had picked up the little box a huge, soft, beautiful plush bed appeared in front of her and the whole room began to furnish itself. Leila looked down at the box and felt something stir, deep within her heart.

Oh Merlin… He's not… She flipped open the box to see the most beautiful engagement ring she'd ever set eyes on; it was as if someone had entwined two thin rings, one gold and one silver together. Then, atop the band, was a large, shimmering sapphire gem. …He is!

"Oh gosh! Sirius!" Leila turned around to find Sirius on one knee. Tears blurred her vision and her lips curved into a disbelieving smile.

"Leila. I love you… So much! And I want to make you the happiest woman in the world! The same way you've made me the happiest man in the world! So, Leila Potter, will you marry me?"

Leila's eyes shone brightly and she knelt down herself to be at the same level as Sirius. Unable to stop herself from smiling, she nodded tearfully.

"Yes. Oh Merlin yes!" She answered. Sirius's smile seemed to light up the room, better than the candles and he took her face in his hands and kissed her. "I love you." She murmured as they broke apart. Sirius grinned and slid her ring onto her finger before staring into her eyes adoringly. Leila beamed back at him.

"I love you too." He said softly. There was a small pause, in which they stared into each other's eyes, almost in a trance, then Sirius's smile turned gentle. "You know how whenever I was sad about my family, you'd always tell me that I'd find them?" He asked. Leila nodded. Sirius leant forward to whisper in her ear.

"I think I just did."

X-x-X-x-X

That Saturday the Marauders and the three girls arrived at James and Remus's apartment, each of them with their own stories of how job interviews and such were going. Leila and Sirius announced their engagement and there was much excited squealing from Lily and Rose.

The evening passed, relatively happily. Rose was very quiet and Peter completely silent. A mixture of fear and excitement hung in the apartment as they talked of living life in the real world.

But one thing seemed to keep them smiling. It was strange. No one could quite put their finger on what it was that made it so cheerful that night. But James had a word to describe it with. A word he hadn't used in a while. A word that described the atmosphere of that night very well:

Leila-like.

.

.

.

A.N- There it is.. The end. Thank you so much for joining me for this ride - even though, writing this updated author note in 2016, it has been a while since this story was first published, it is far from out of my mind. I am (slowly) working on a much higher quality edit of the story - keeping plot the same of course. Once this is done I will consider writing a sequel - I have the idea for one in my head! But for now, I will just say good bye and thank you again. If you would like to read a bit of my more recent (non-fiction) writing, head on over to my blog on Wordpress : .com . I would absolutely love support and feedback if you can muster it - AND if you have any blog or Fic suggestions let me know, don't be afraid to plug yourself I am always on the look out ;)
And to finish, as a final tease I leave you this (a sort-of-epilogue in poem form)…

No One Messes With A Potter

By Toffrox33

The Marauders and their Girls:

One will watch as another falls
Then in revenge, betrays them all.

One will pledge to never stray
But slowly they will fade away.

One who lost all faith in friends
Will find that some love has to end.

And the one who caused their love to hate
Will die young through tragic fate.

Two will be killed by the Dark Lord's hand
And together will make their final stand.
The two will fight, their lives they'll give
To ensure another lives.

But one must draw their final breath
And sentence another to worse than death.
And in that other, guilt resides
As they are left to live a lie.

Thank you all so much for everything! You're the best!

REVIEW!

Toff..x