Raingirl4513: Thanks! Sirius might be going a little hard on Siobhan – I don't really mind though lol. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this last chapter!

luise: I do try to make them seem like a normal couple – I'm glad you think so! I hope you enjoy this last chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it:)

iceandfire 105: You bet! And also thank you so much for being my most faithful reviewer – it really meant a lot to me, and I hope you find this final chapter a decent end to this story:)

glazedwater: Aw, that's okay! I'm sorry you're sad, but I hope this last chapter will be a decent end to what I hope is a decent story:) Lol thank you for all your support, and enjoy!

Be that as may be, she was in their song.
Moreover her voice upon their voices crossed
Had now persisted in the woods so long
That probably it never would be lost.
Never again would birds' song be the same.
And to do that to birds was why she came.

- Robert Frost

Months had gone by, and a great many things seemed to have happened within that time frame. One of the most notable was the final Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor: Ravenclaw were favorites for winning the Cup, but the Gryffindor team, captained by the indomitable James Potter, was able to pull ahead and slaughter the competition, two hundred twenty points to ten. Gryffindor had won the Cup in a landslide, and Ravenclaw had to suffer the agony of defeat. Reggie Cartwell, who had been considered Ravenclaw's Quidditch superstar for the majority of the school year, had now been ostracized by the other students for instigating one of the worst defeats in the Ravenclaw team's history.

The Gryffindor players were heralded as heroes throughout the school for a while afterward, and, emboldened by her very first Quidditch Cup victory, Clarisse Renley had asked James Potter out on a date. Everyone in Gryffindor Tower had heard about it, and those students quickly spread that bit of gossip around the school like wildfire. Much to their surprise and consternation, however, James had politely turned Clarisse down. No one really knew the reason as to why he did, and only when the other Marauders mercilessly teased him about it was when he mildly shrugged and said that while he thought Clarisse was exceptionally pretty, he didn't think it was wise to date teammates.

Strangely, the news of James's brush-off seemed to make Lily rather happy. While she and James had never exactly been on the friendliest of terms, lately he had been acting like less of a cocky bastard toward her and more like an actual nice guy. Perhaps he finally realized that that sort of stuck-up behavior didn't impress girls like Lily. The two of them had actually begun to develop a sort of friendship, which consisted of occasionally sitting together in class or sometimes studying in the common room. While James obviously wanted more with her, he seemed content enough at the moment to simply be in her good graces. Having observed the changes that had occurred in his best friend when pursuing Emmeline probably convinced him that it was okay to try to start out going for the friendship route when it came to real relationships.

Sirius and Emmeline, as expected, continued on with their own relationship in the following months. After Emmeline had recovered from her illness, her and Sirius's relationship seemed to have changed slightly. While neither of them felt any less affectionate toward the other, both of them were able to fall into the habits of a stable, happy couple, and forego the frequent snogging sessions they had had when they first started dating. This sort of "normal" relationship was still a bit of an adjustment on Sirius's part, seeing as he didn't exactly have as much experience in monogamy as Emmeline did. However, he seemed eager and ready as ever to pursue it – being a real boyfriend to Emmeline was better than he could have ever imagined. It wasn't until they had started going out officially that Sirius realized he had been doing it wrong for years: the days when he pursued girls like Siobhan or Isabel – girls who liked to tease and challenge him, thinking that that was all they could do to keep him interested – were gone forever. Emmeline, quite simply, was the sweetest person in the world, and that was more than enough for him.

Sirius found himself to be deliriously happy, because for the first time in his life, he knew what it felt like to be in love.

~/~

The rest of the school year passed by for the sixth-year Gryffindors in the ways that could only have been expected – with tons of difficult homework, hours of fruitless studying, and finally, with exams at the end of May. Somehow, they all managed to make it through, and pretty soon, the time had come for them to head back home on the Hogwarts Express. What with the happy expectation of having two whole months away from school, they all eagerly packed up their trunks and said their farewells to one another, excitedly anticipating the brief respite they were going to have before they came back for their final year at Hogwarts together.

June 24th

5:32 pm

King's Cross Station

"But what are all these numbers?"

"Digits," Amal explained. "It's my phone number."

"But who do I say them to?" Marlene frowned at the tiny slip of parchment he had handed to her. They and the rest of their friends were in a compartment together on the Hogwarts Express, which had just pulled into Platform Nine and Three Quarters. The students throughout the train were beginning to gather their things together in order to leave.

"You don't say them – you type them on a telephone," Sirius told her, a note of condescension in his voice. Marlene scowled at him as the others snickered.

"Well, I'm sorry I don't have as much experience in Muggle things as you all apparently do," Marlene grumbled, stuffing the piece of parchment into her pocket before dragging her heavy trunk down from the top shelf of the compartment.

"It's okay, Marlene. Sirius is pretty mean to me too," Emmeline said with a grin. Sirius elbowed her, smirking.

"If you guys are done, we should really get moving," Remus said, pulling his rather shabby-looking trunk out the door of their compartment. The others acquiesced, and soon they were all making their slow progress down the train corridor with the other Hogwarts students, chatting happily about their plans for summer holiday. They crowded around together toward the exit, eagerly awaiting their long-anticipated reunions with friends and family.

"Mum – Dad!" Marlene shouted happily once off the train, seeing her parents and four little siblings nearby. She left her trunk and dashed toward them, eager to hug them all hello.

"I think I see my parents over there," Remus craned his neck to try to look over the crowd. "I'll go over and see. You coming, Prongs?"

"Er… no, I think I'll stay here a moment." James looked over at the train door, where Lily was struggling to carry her trunk down the steps. James quickly hurried to assist her, while Remus and Peter left the group to go seek out their own loved ones.

"You're sure it's okay if I visit you this summer?" Sirius asked Emmeline nervously once they were on the platform. Crowds of students, parents, children and noisy animals in cages surrounded them. "I mean, what if your father doesn't like me…?"

"Of course he'll like you," Emmeline giggled at Sirius's apprehension. "I told him all about you – he's really excited to meet you today!"

Sirius still looked anxious as he glanced around the platform. "But aren't fathers supposed to be really protective of their daughters? What if I say something awful by accident and he forbids me from ever seeing you again?"

"Relax," Emmeline moved toward him and kissed him on the cheek, reassuring. "Just be yourself, sweetheart. He'll love you… like I do," She stepped back and smiled at him, seeing him gazing at her with that look that never failed to make her heart flutter. Sirius moved in to press his lips against hers in a gentle kiss before pulling her into a tight embrace. He obviously sought her love and support, and Emmeline held him, offering both.

"Thank you," Sirius pulled back slightly to smile widely at her. "I feel better now."

"Good. Now can you go find us a cart for the trunks?" Emmeline asked sweetly. Sirius gave her a sarcastic glare, but grinned all the same. He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before walking off, saying he'll be back in a moment. Emmeline simply watched him walk away, a silly grin still plastered on her face.

"You guys are really together, then?"

Emmeline turned around at the sound of a voice, and her heart stopped – Reggie stood about ten feet away, alone and gazing at her with a blank expression on his face. Though the large crowd of students and parents surrounded them, the space between them was mostly empty, so Emmeline was sure he had just witnessed her little interaction with Sirius. She flushed.

"Reggie," she said, her eyes wide as she stared at him. He looked rightly miserable, and Emmeline knew he had probably been struggling with his fall from grace since the Quidditch Cup. While any sort of romantic affection she had for him had disappeared a long time ago, Emmeline's heart couldn't help but clench in sympathy as she looked upon his sad face.

Reggie took a tentative step toward her, his eyes apprehensive, unsure if he was allowed to approach her. Emmeline walked over to him, however, and saved him the trouble.

"Hi," she said quietly once she was in front of him. She had the decency to look embarrassed about her PDA with Sirius. "How are you?"

Reggie didn't say anything right away: his eyes looked over her face and her clothes, taking in her appearance. He smiled, a little sad.

"You've curled your hair," he observed, and Emmeline blushed. She had worn her hair like that regularly for almost two months now because she knew Sirius liked it.

"Yeah," she muttered, not knowing what else to say. He continued to look at her, as if assessing all of her new traits after being apart so long.

"You seem different," he observed after a moment. Emmeline blinked.

"Because I've curled my hair?"

Reggie smiled lightly. "...No, just little things. Your expression, and the way you carry yourself…" He paused a moment, hesitating. "You look happy."

"I am," Emmeline muttered, gazing up at him. She had forgotten how tall he was.

Reggie, after a moment, shook his head and let out a bemused chuckle. "I always knew you were something special, Em, but never in a million years would I have thought you could properly tame a guy like Sirius Black."

"Yeah, well…" Emmeline couldn't help but grin sarcastically. "I s'pose a love potion can be a pretty powerful motivator."

She was only joking, but that was one of the more vicious rumors that had been circulating about her and Sirius, which Reggie had undoubtedly already heard. He gave a surprised laugh at the tone of her voice: "Oh, is Black teaching you sarcasm now?"

Emmeline giggled, blushing again. "I suppose he is," she said with a small shrug. "You have to learn how to keep up when around him."

Reggie chuckled, but after a moment his smile faded into a thoughtful expression. "You've changed so much," he muttered quietly. He then sighed, looking suddenly regretful. "I'm sorry, Em… about everything that happened between us this year."

Emmeline blinked up at him, surprised by his apology. She wasn't expecting him to say that, and for a moment didn't know how to respond. "Me too," she muttered finally, a little sad. She did feel bad about it, after all.

Reggie continued to frown, apparently struggling to say what was on his mind. Emmeline simply stood there, waiting for him to speak.

He finally opened his mouth: "I know I acted stupidly, what with the Quidditch fame and everything. You didn't deserve to be treated the way I treated you." He looked legitimately sorry, and Emmeline felt twinges of sympathy for him in her heart. "My last year at Hogwarts didn't exactly turn out the way I wanted it to, and I wish we could have at least celebrated my graduation together." He gazed at her imploringly. "If I hadn't done what I did to you, we might've been okay… right?"

Emmeline stared back at him, her eyes sad. Though she loved Sirius now, she still carried a great deal of affection for Reggie in her heart. He wanted reassurance from her, but she cared about him too much to lie to him. She slowly shook her head.

"No," she said quietly, and Reggie looked slightly taken aback. "We wouldn't have been okay, Reggie. What happened, happened – you can't change it. The moment you started getting noticed by everyone, you started pulling away from me. You rose to the top and left me behind..." She stared sadly into his eyes. "I could never be with someone who's capable of doing that to me."

Reggie blinked several times before glancing down at his feet, his face flushing. Emmeline's heart thudded uncomfortably; she felt awful for being so direct with him, but it was the truth. She was with Sirius now, and any vague hope Reggie had for a second chance with her needed to be nipped in the bud.

"I'm sorry," she whispered sincerely, and she managed to give him a small, bright smile. "But I think it's wonderful you finally graduated! You're finally going to be out in the real wizarding world, then. I just know you'll do great."

Reggie nodded. "Thanks," he said quietly, unable to meet her gaze. After a moment, he began to turn around, his eyes still downcast. "Well… I guess it's goodbye, then."

Emmeline hated leaving him looking so sad, but knew saying goodbye right now was for the best. "G'bye, Reg," she said, using her old nickname for him. She thought she saw him smile sadly to himself before turning around completely and walking away.

~/~

"Everything okay?" Sirius asked once Emmeline had returned to their trunks, now loaded on a cart. She didn't answer him – she merely walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, tucking her head against his shoulder with a small sigh. Sirius simply smiled and held her.

"That bad, huh?" He rubbed her back in a comforting way. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Emmeline sighed again before lifting her face up, propping her chin up on his shoulder. "No, it's alright – Reggie and I had to have a real talk eventually. I'm just glad it's over."

Sirius quirked his lips. "So a big black dog doesn't have to bite his leg off then?"

Emmeline giggled. "No, he doesn't. Although I doubt that dog would actually bite someone's leg off." She squeezed him tighter. "He's too much of a sweetheart."

Sirius grinned at her, the affection in his expression evident. "You think so?"

Emmeline's eyes were shining as she gazed up at him. "It's why I love him."

Sirius leaned down to peck her on the lips. "And why he loves you."

"Emmeline!"

Sirius and Emmeline turned – a short, balding man was standing near the gate and waving at Emmeline. She waved back, a huge smile on her face. "Dad!" She finally let go of Sirius to grab the handle of the cart, ready to head over to her father. She turned back to Sirius, still smiling. "Are you coming?"

Sirius still looked slightly apprehensive, but nevertheless moved up beside her to grab the cart handle too.

"Let's go," he said confidently, and Emmeline smiled widely at him.

As one, they pushed their loaded cart into the massive crowd of people, heading over to what was sure to be a happy, glorious future with unlimited, unstoppable potential.

Special thanks to all my readers who stuck with this story to the very end! And an extra-special thanks to those of you who reviewed! I felt encouraged to continue writing this story because of you:)

The scene in Chapter 18 where Sirius gave the book to Emmeline and she kissed him was the very first thing I had written for this story, even before Chapter one. I knew even then that I wanted to write a Sirius/Emmeline love story, but I didn't know where to start – although I did know that that was where I wanted it to go eventually. I feel so very happy and fortunate I had the opportunity to write up to that chapter and beyond!

I have absolutely loved writing this fic – thank you guys so much for reading it!

StrawPahj