"You're the one I want to hold.
I won't let another minute go to waste.
I want you and your beautiful soul."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It abruptly came to Bell's attention that Professor Dumbledore was now standing in the midst of it all, his hands raised in a call for silence, and the clamor died down quickly as Professor McGonagall patted Peter on the shoulder, though subtly, as if she didn't approve of his friends' actions today but still understood the reason behind this exploit. Dumbledore lowered his weathered hands and Bell's frown lightened into a look of concern. The Headmaster's opinion on this matter was the be-all, end-all, and she was genuinely worried he would reproach her and her friends terribly for the stunt they'd pulled this afternoon.

"The antagonism between your friends, Mister Potter, including yourself, and Mister Snape are undeniably consequential ones." The wizened professor's eyes did not twinkle as they usually did behind his half-moon spectacles, and Bell could tell he was dead serious. He looked to McGonagall, who now was offering a hand up to Snape, a kindness Bell did not think the sniveling boy deserved. "Minerva, would you bring Severus to his dormitory room and, following such, send Professor Slughorn to my office? I have little doubt his counsel in this matter will prove invaluable."

Professor McGonagall nodded and ushered an utterly-beaten-looking Snape out of her classroom, her usually-poised self held as if she'd been shaken by what she'd seen today. Bell almost felt bad for having had to involve her in this- she and her friends had taken drastic measures, for certain, and though McGonagall logically understand they were not children anymore, this had to be a rather rude awakening for her into the measures these young adults would go to in order to protect their friends in an ever-darkening world.

Dumbledore now turned to the remaining students. Persephone was standing hand-in-hand with Remus, and Bell noticed from the corner of her eye when the Hufflepuff wiped gently at the blood stemming from her boyfriend's lip with her sleeve. She might have smiled, had she not been so worried that all of the group's tenure at Hogwarts was about to be quite shortened. Peter shuffled his feet against the ground nervously and Marlene patted his shoulder, a gesture of reassurance, as James tucked his hands in his pockets in a motion that was somehow aggressive despite its ordinary nature.

"You have broken at least two dozen school rules today." Dumbledore looked at each of them, grievously solemn. "You have not only kidnapped a fellow classmate, but used upon him a potion forbidden to be utilized against a student by the Ministry of Magic itself." A long pause fell. Not one among the younger folk said a word, each bearing expressions of varying degrees of mixed remorse and stoic understanding of the severity of what they had carried out this afternoon. Dumbledore gave a long sigh- at least eight seconds, likely longer, Bell guessed in the back of her mind -and finally unclasped his hands from where he'd been holding them stiffly in front of him as he thought.

"Detention for all of you," he declared, "for four weeks, after classes, including weekends." He blinked at them, waiting for reactions, and seemed mildly surprised when none of them protested (Bell could only tell by the little huff of air he gave at their silence). "Thirty points will be taken from Gryffindor for each of you, as well as thirty from Hufflepuff for Miss Vidal. Your Quidditch practices will have to go on without you," he went on, and paused again; still, there were no objections or groans. Bell might have been able to gauge his reaction to their silence if Sirius had not ever-so-absentmindedly slipped his hand under her robes and just slightly under her shirt, his thumb and pointer finger brushing against her bare skin just above her hip.

"Professor?"

Dumbledore turned his gaze toward Remus, who hesitated a beat before going on.

"Have you heard anything from St. Mungo's? How's Lily?"

Murmurs of agreeing questions circled his friends and Dumbledore seemed to stop and ponder for a short time (though it felt longer to those waiting for news with hope) before drawing up a reply.

"Miss Evans is recovering. She is a strong young woman." The ghost of a sad smile crossed the old Headmaster's face. "She is lucky to have such fierce friends as you, though she may not entirely appreciate the trouble you have gotten into on her behalf while she is absent."

"Will she be back soon?"

Dumbledore's wrinkles seemed to present the imagery of a smile through their lines; his lips, however, never made an upwards twitch. "Within the week, Mister Potter. Should you care to send her get-well packages, I would advise you to let your owls out before nightfall this evening, or they will not reach St. Mungo's before mail hours have ended." He turned to go, then, and Bell nearly dared to turn her head to Sirius, feeling as if the unresolved tension between them was still hanging heavily, but then the Headmaster looked back from the doorway and added, "I will excuse you from your classes this afternoon, yet I insist you remain in your dormitories through supper. I think it would be terribly unwise for you to venture into the Great Hall when there are certain to be, ah, hard feelings among a few Slytherin students concerning your actions with Mister Snape this afternoon."

Nods from all the group, then Dumbledore continued on out, and within a few moments, they were without scrutiny, alone yet together in the Transfiguration classroom. James sank down onto one of the desks and leaned his head back, closing his eyes and just thinking, silent. Bell figured it was Lily who was on his mind- how could it not be, with the last few days being as they had? Remus and Persephone wrapped each other in a quick hug before she made him sit down to tenderly wipe at his bleeding lip and then heal it with a simple medicinal charm. They were careful with each other, but loving, and Bell was earnestly glad for them having each other right now and, hopefully, for a long time yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius, guessing Bell's train of thought, gently tugged on the hem of her white collared shirt, turning her to face him. The feeling of her skin under his fingertips sent goosebumps up his arm, and it was quite clear to him now, as it had been for nearly a full year, that this was just not quite how it should be. They were so close, so tantalizingly intimate, yet there was always something that kept him from saying all that he felt for her. The reasons tended to vary from minute to minute, but lately, he'd been toying with the idea of throwing all caution to the wind. After all, wasn't this what he was supposedly good at- flirting with girls? But that was just it: nothing had ever come of the flirting, the playboy nature, nothing real, nothing like the kind of love he felt for her so unmistakably strongly. He knew it was about time, and Merlin be damned if he was mistaken in his hopes of her feeling the same for him.

She let out a soft breath- it tickled the slight hairs on his chin and cheeks. He hadn't shaved in a few days, and it showed. A scruffy beard was starting to appear on his face, and though Marlene had mentioned how she believed he would look more mature with a beard, like he was in his twenties rather than his late teens, he wasn't too eager to grow one just yet. Maybe it was symbolic of the last year of his adolescence, spent at the place he had grown to call home in the last six years, that he didn't want to present such a symbol of his adulthood until he had actually graduated and the last few months of his schooltime youth were behind him.

And she was looking at him now, so assured and winsome, with those doe-brown eyes, fringed with hazel. They were so beautiful, almost nymph-like, with so much light and life behind them. Sirius remembered, for an instant, how Lily had looked, laying on the floor, covered in blood, just yesterday, the spark in her green eyes fading as she suffered. He knew that once they left Hogwarts, he would not be able to protect Bell from hurt like that, from seeing those around her in pain. Even now, as had been awfully proven by Snape, they were even in danger while still attending Hogwarts with graduation over a half-year in the future. These next few months were the safest he'd get with her, and already, nearly two had passed with him doubtful of what their relationship was and could be.

Merlin, what a mistake. One he would not be foolish enough to keep making.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bellamy could tell something was on Sirius' mind, something other than Lily and Snape and all the mixed emotions they were both undoubtedly feeling after the plan was completed. Now, all they could do was wait for the verdict: would the Hogwarts faculty see the danger Snape, unhinged, posed to them, James and Lily especially, and keep him distanced for the safety of all? Bell could only hope so. Now, while Sirius did not remove his hand from just under the hem of her shirt as he looked at her in such a way that made her want to believe he was admiring her in some way, she blushed. Her left hand came to rest upon his right, the one around her waist, and she stepped a bit closer, tilting her head at him as he brow creased up a little, silently questioning where his thoughts had taken him.

"Angel- Angel, life isn't going to hold on forever."

Bell's gaze softened, though she wasn't at all sure of what he meant.

"Sirius? What-"

"I mean that people get hurt, and it's a dark world out there."

Bell's right hand trembled as she rested it against Sirius' chest, not intending to push him back, though it seemed this was how he took the gesture and he covered her hand on his chest, over his heart, with his own. Now he was starting to worry her. She looked down at their clasped hands, how his other arm still held her close by her waist, his own right hand now resting on her waist just above her shirt though his touch still lingered warm on her skin below the garment.

"I know."

"What if they get us? What if they get us too soon?"

Bell's eyebrows furrowed and she leaned into his chest, her gaze searching his with concern and thinly-veiled affection.

"We won't let them. We're survivors, Sirius. We'll be alright in the end."

"There's always that chance, Bell. There could be a 'too late'."

A small bevy of tears began to well up behind her eyes, darkened in color from her concern about these unexpected and cryptic things he was saying to her now.

"Don't talk like that-"

Yet her words disappeared off her lips the very next instant, before she was even done with her plea of reassurance. Her eyes were wide open, and the first thing she thought was to close them, but for some reason, they would not do so. His eyes were closed, why weren't hers? He was so close to her, every nerve in every inch of her body was aflame, the initial yelp of surprise from one of her friends, followed by group cheering, did not reach her ears. Perhaps it was because she did not believe it, perhaps she was trying to convince herself she was daydreaming, that he wouldn't do something like that to her- and he leaned back, his eyes fluttering open. His hand on her waist seemed less steady now, and her lips burned at the loss of his own lips against them.

He'd just kissed her. 

And she hadn't kissed back.

Merlin, what a mistake. One she would not be foolish enough to make again.

He started to step back, gaze becoming crestfallen but she grabbed him by the collar and, almost roughly, pulled him into another kiss. Her lips met his with the fervor she knew he'd hoped for the first time, but she did not let herself wince at how she'd failed in showing her feelings in return lest she spoil now, when she was doing the opposite of failing at that. His left hand, leaned against his own chest for a moment prior, now came around her back and held her to him. She could feel his collarbone brushing against her shoulder, a single strand of his dark hair brushing against her eyebrow, and she held him ever-closer, in a way that was somehow chaste while passionate. It was not the sort of passion one might expect to burst forth from the dam of so many feelings between them, but the feeling of needing someone that stems from a deep place of genuine care and love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally! The celebration that went on around the kissing couple was one of such a scale, a passerby might think a successful proposal had just taken place or James Potter and Lily Evans had just kissed (nearly everyone in the whole school had a tab or two on the Jily if/if-not relationship status). Marlene couldn't stop beaming from ear-to-ear, although her cheeks were hurting a little from doing so. She just wished Lily could have been here to see. A wave of sadness brushed over her for a moment, and her smile wavered. Glancing at Remus, who was clapping and smiling just as she was, let her know she was not the only person thinking this. 

James, for one, was wolf-whistling so much, it sounded as if he was trying to call over a horse in an old Muggle Western. Peter was sitting on the table part of one of the desks, smiling as well, though Marlene couldn't help but wonder if he was thinking it would never be his turn to feel as happy as Bell and Sirius clearly did when they broke apart. Both were grinning like jack-o'-lanterns (quite a fitting description, Marlene mused, as Halloween was just around the corner) and they didn't seem to want to let each other go. Sirius, in fact, picked up Bell from where he already had his hands on her waist and spun her around like he'd seen guys do in Muggle movies after they finally kissed the girl of their dreams. It seemed a keen thing, in a way, as Bell was the one to have introduced him to the world of Muggle films to begin with.

"Oh, come off it, you three," insisted Remus, trying to shoo James, Peter, and Marlene away from the embracing pair when they started singing Celestina Warbeck's love song "You Charmed The Heart Right Out of Me":

"'Cause, you charmed the heart right out of me! But I need a heart for loving thee, so give it baaaaack, together we can love till foreeeveeeeeeer!"

Bell and Sirius were laughing at their antics, probably both from the exhilaration of finally letting all their feelings out with a grand ol' kiss and from the silliness of their friends' performance, and Marlene gave a dramatic, swooping bow which James and Peter quickly copied.

"We should head to the dorms," spoke up Persephone, though she seemed reluctant to break up the festivities.

"Right, right." Sirius didn't even look away from Bell, only brushed a curl of brown hair from her cheek tenderly, his right arm still around her waist, keeping her close. Marlene recognized the same sort of behavior when Remus and Persephone had gotten together- it was as if he was afraid if he let her go, she'd step away like it was all a daydream he'd become caught up in. The spunky blonde tossed her hair out of her eyes as she headed for the door out of the classroom, giving Bell a congratulatory wink as she passed, glad to know that neither of the happy couple need be disappointed to wake up, because this had actually happened, they had actually, finally kissed. As Marlene started down the hallway, her heart felt much lighter than it had this morning, even after Snape's interrogation. Something had not sat right with her then, with Snape's behavior in the classroom and the risks they were taking to avenge Lily, but now, she had a feeling all would be alright. Maybe it was just the elation that came with seeing two people she cared about happy together, but still, it was a nice feeling.

"We'll- we'll catch up with you all in a minute."

Marlene smirked and nudged James' arm as they both overheard Bell telling Remus and the others to head along without her and Sirius.

"Four galleons they mean to snog a bit more."

James grinned.

"Nah, not in McGonagall's classroom. Not romantic enough. I bet they'll find a nice broom cupboard-"

"Alright, alright, enough, you two." Remus clapped one hand on Marlene's shoulder and the other on James'. "Back to the common room before either of you comes up with some brilliant idea to go back and spy on them." 

"The invisibility cloak," Peter muttered, then started whistling as Remus narrowed his eyes at their usually-well-behaved friend.

Marlene's grin widened as James immediately tried to slip said cloak out of his bookbag, only to have Remus snatch it from his hands, obviously holding back laughter.

"Oh, absolutely not."