"I've got nothing to say but it's okay.
Good morning, good morning."

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

Blithe light pricked at Sirius Black's eyelids and drew him out of a dream in which he was chasing a swarm of flying, sentient umbrellas across a tightrope made out of linguini. Glad to get himself out of that strange situation, he let himself drift back to consciousness and became aware of his throbbing headache, then someone laying right beside him, then that person's arm over his torso and leg against his through a blanket over his body. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times, the rays of sunshine streaming in through the window across from him not helping his headache in the slightest. As his vision focused, the first thing he saw was Remus, asleep in a bed across from him. This wasn't their dorm room. What in Merlin's name-

Then last night came back to Sirius and he gasped aloud. The strange feeling in his mind as he was getting James' invisibility cloak out of his mate's chest, then an overwhelming drowsiness taking over his mind, and nothing more. He remembered his last thought being one of panic and fear, not that he was dying or something of similar ilk but that his friends would worry over him too long and not make it out to the Shrieking Shack in time. Relief swept over him as he took in the sight of Remus and Peter sound asleep. From what he could tell, they were both physically alright, and he let out a slow, reassured sigh. Turning his head to the left, his priority shifting from blinking away the sunspots in his vision to making sure his friends were alright, and he gave a silent swear of surprise when he saw James sitting next to Lily Evans, who had her head on his shoulder and was even holding his hand.

James noticed Sirius was awake first and winked at his friend, but the turn of his head made Lily sit up and she blushed when she noticed Sirius watching them. She muttered something about classes as she quickly stood, but she glanced back at James for a good few seconds before actually going on her way. Prongs himself leaned back against the headboard of the bed he was sitting on, a dreamy smile on his face, and closed his eyes. Sirius smiled and let his friend have his little moment of joy, determining to ask him about what had caused that later. Not seeing any other persons on that side of the room, he turned his head to look to his right and his eyes widened, his heart practically stopping in his chest.

So that was whose arm was around him, and whose leg was touching his through the blanket.

Bellamy Roac's breathing was soft and peaceful. Her hair was gathered a bit messily on the pillow her head was laid upon and Sirius felt a lock of it brush against his cheek as he turned his head to fully look at her. Her eyes were closed, and she was clearly asleep. She still wore her uniform white button-up shirt. A button was missing on the cuff of her right sleeve, Sirius noticed as he caught his breath again, and the other was hanging on by a thread. She still wore the school pants she always did, and this brought a slight smile to Sirius' face, whereas he'd been too stunned before to expressively react. She'd claimed since first year that the skirts the girls were expected to wear were impractical. He remembered when, the third week of that very first September at Hogwarts, she'd gone to Professor McGonagall and given a twenty-minute speech on why any student should be allowed to wear pants or a skirt and the next day, she'd sauntered into the Great Hall sporting the same black trousers all her male friends wore.

The thing that captured the most of Sirius' attention was, however, how close their heads were and how she was practically curled up with him. His mind raced as he wondered why she'd fallen asleep here with him, and did she know how much he loved her, and if she'd stayed here all night beside him- and what on earth had happened. All these questions flooded his mind and he felt his throat go dry. What had happened to him? He felt alright, only a bit sleepy, and so he assumed he was going to be alright with a soft sigh of relief. His breath blew a few strands of Bell's brown hair off her face and she shifted in her sleep, murmuring something about koalas. It seemed Sirius was not the only one having strange dreams last night.

"You're welcome."

Sirius turned his head to face James a moment after his friend had whispered this to him. He raised an eyebrow, but he couldn't help a wide smile growing on his face at how the girl of his dreams was just casually cuddled up next to him.

"Thanks, but explain."

James grinned. "When we got back from the Shack, we came straight here and Bell was asleep in that chair next to you. Holding your hand, too. She woke up when we came in and after a bit, I convinced her that she'd be more comfortable sleeping in a bed." He gave a soft chuckle. "She didn't even look at one of the empty beds all around here, just curled up next to you and fell asleep again." His smile started to fade, and Sirius' did too as the weight of all he didn't know hit him.

"What happened?"

James raised his hand to his face and rubbed at his temple. Sirius finally noticed the bags under his best friend's eyes. Had he gotten any sleep at all last night?

"You collapsed in the dorm but we had to get going. Remus sent Peter to get Bell, and she ran up. I think she fell on the stairs-" Here, he pointed out the dried blood on the knees of her pants, and Sirius' heart clenched at the thought of her getting hurt, even just scrapes like this. "-and she ran in." James gave a small smile then. "She didn't ask any questions, just told us to go and the last thing I saw her do was check your pulse through your wrist. Next time I saw her was here, at-" He glanced at the clock across the room. "-five am."

Sirius' gaze fell, troubled. There were still so many things he needed to know, but he was reluctant to wake Bell, despite how she likely held most of the answers. Speaking of, he turned his head back to face the girl of his longtime fancy. She was still sleeping peacefully, and his gaze softened as he looked at her. Did he dare? Might as well. He slipped his arm around her and rolled onto his right side, moving his head just a little bit forward so their foreheads touched, and his heart gave a leap when she readjusted her own arm around him and curled up closer. Sirius let his eyes close, a smile growing on his face as he breathed her presence in and out. He heard James get off of the bed, its springs squeaking, and go to wake Peter, but he didn't pay his friend any mind and just focused on this moment, with Bell in his arms, and for a moment, they breathed in and out at the same time.

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

The first thing Bell noticed as she slowly fell back into consciousness was how someone was holding her, and she was holding them back. In this half-asleep mind, she assumed it was Sirius, then paused and wondered why her first guess had been him. Was there something she hadn't- before she could even finish the thought, the memory of last night took its place, and her eyes fluttered open. It seemed she'd been correct, and color flooded her cheeks as she realized how they were curled up with each other. She remembered falling asleep beside Sirius as the first hint of dawn appeared over the Black Lake, but not so entangled in his arms. His dark hair was mussed up by the pillow and his forehead was touching hers. Merlin, they were so close. The realization crossed her mind that if she wanted to, she could just kiss him. Bell took in an inhale sharper than she'd meant to at the thought and Sirius' eyes opened.

"Good morning, Angel."

Bell's cheeks went from pink to crimson as she tried to think of how she should react to this situation. He was smiling at her, not moving, as if he liked how they were cuddled up, and the idea sent her heart aflutter. She noticed the flicker of an emotion she couldn't quite name crossing his gaze as they stared into each other's eyes for only one second that felt like an hour and a shiver went up her spine. Had his smile always been so sweet? She couldn't help the corners of her lips curving up in return to his warm expression.

A loud thud from a few feet away startled Bell so much that she tensed up enough to almost roll off the bed, but Sirius' arm around her back saved her and she whispered a thank you as she hastily sat up, rubbing at her eyes to rid herself of the sleepiness that so plagued her. James met her gaze from her left and what remained of her smile faded at the smirk on his face. She didn't know what to think about right now, and she looked to see where the commotion had come from for a clue of what to say, what to do, what to believe. Peter was getting up off the floor and from what Bell could gather, James had tugged at his blankets to wake him up, not knowing his sleeping friend was bundled up like a burrito and had rolled right onto the floor as a result.

Bell felt the bed she was sitting on waver as Sirius sat up behind her and she closed her eyes for a long moment, trying to no avail to collect her scattered thoughts. He didn't try to touch her, and for that, she was grateful, for she wasn't sure she would have been able to keep her composure had he done so. Peter got up from the floor, loudly grumbling to James, and Remus stirred in the bed across from Bell and Sirius'. The boy who Bell doubted had slept at all last night went over and gently shook awake his scar-faced friend and Remus yawned as he opened his eyes, batting away James' hand as the latter tried to tug away his blankets to get him up faster.

Bell gave a soft sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose as she mentally shoved away all the emotions crashing through her mind and heart, then proceeded to stand and brush down her shirt, muttering at the crinkles all over it. She could feel Sirius' gaze on her, and soon, Peter, Remus, and James' joined them. She stood, but when her legs wavered beneath her, she took a seat again, but now in the chair beside Sirius' bed.

"Bell, what happened after we left?"

"Do you know what was wrong with Sirius?"

"Are you alright, Angel?"

She took a deep breath in and out. Out of the three questions just thrown at her, she was most loathe to answer Sirius', as she wasn't sure at all if she was alright.

"Bellatrix tried to put you in a coma."

And so she told them.