To Kill a.........Songbird??? (A Sirius Black Love Story) Part XVI {Offer and Answer}

(STILL STILL Sirius's POV) I looked up at everyone after reading the letter a few more times through to make sense of it all. "She's okay. Cloud says that the healers were able to fix her." I said happily. Lily visibly relaxed. James breathed out heavily, as if he was holding his breath. Remus smiled broadly and I was too. Peter let out a shaky laugh. "She's okay, Wormtail. There's no reason to be so gloomy." James said happily. He said it so loudly that people up and down the table asked who was okay. The news spread as soon as James told them the Sky was going to be fine after her torture. I looked back at the letter. I could go and see her tomorrow. I couldn't wait. I was floating on air until I went to bed. People all around me were happy as well. Sky was such a nice person that everyone was happy to hear that she was going be okay. There was a large roll of purple parchment that was being passed around the common room that night. I got it last. Everyone in Gryffindor house had signed it with their well-wishes. There was a moving title at the top saying "GET WELL SOON!" I smiled and signed my name at the bottom. I knew that she was going to love this. I took it and carefully rolled it up. It was really late before I actually got up to bed. People kept asking me when Sky was coming back. I told everyone the same thing: I would find out tomorrow. When I did get to bed, I just stared at the top of my canopy with a large smile on my face. "She's going to be okay." I breathed to myself after a very long time. The hangings were drawn around my bed and I hoped no one would hear my vocalization of my own relief. Then I felt something strange on my face. I reached up and wiped away the wetness. I was crying out of joy and pure relief that my Songbird was going to live.

~NOW it's Sky's POV~ I woke up to feel something warm under my back. I opened my eyes slowly and looked at a white ceiling. The entire room was filled with light. I had to close my eyes quickly because of the change in brightness so suddenly. I opened my eyes again slowly and looked around me. Cloud was sleeping soundly in a chair next to my bed. I looked around and saw that Dumbledore was awake and standing near the door. I smiled at him and tried to sit up. He motioned silently for me to stay still. "You gave us quite the scare, Miss. Strife." Dumbledore said softly with a smile on his face. "I keep telling you people, I'm strong. I'll always pull through." I said with a smile of my own. Dumbledore chuckled and then someone walked into the ward. It was a healer. He was looking at a clipboard. "GOOD LORD!" he exclaimed. He jumped and his glasses that were balanced so carefully on his long nose went all crooked. I laughed and looked at Cloud. He was stirring in his chair. "Well, glad to see that you are awake." The healer said. Cloud was awake now and was looking at me in disbelief. He jumped onto me in a big hug. I laughed and hugged him back. "I knew you'd pull through." Cloud said in the founder's language. "Why is it a surprise, then, that I'm okay?" I asked back, barely audible. "Okay, Mr. Strife, let me take a look at those wounds." The healer said. Cloud pulled away from me slowly with a big smile on his face. It was such a nice change. He held me hand tightly as I slowly and painfully sat up. The healer took off the bandages on my stomach. There was still a little bit of a blood oozing from the wound but it was very slow. "Much better than yesterday." The healer said. He pulled out his wand and started to mutter under his breath. The wound was magically sealing itself back together. It was like the healing process was going in fast forward before my eyes. Soon, there was only a scratch that looked a couple days old on my stomach. I felt my cheek and there was only a thin scar on it. "We weren't able to prevent the scar, as much as we tried." The healer said sadly. I shrugged. "Another war wound." I said causally. I heard a chuckle out of Cloud and Dumbledore laughed. The healer smiled and undid the back of my nightgown. I held it on and let the healer work. I felt him peel off the bandages on my back. "Well, these ones will definitely scar." The healer said. I felt more warmth spread over my back as the healer did his work. He put more bandages on my back but it was a few less than what he pulled off. "The three deepest ones will take another day or two to heal. After that, you are free to go." The healer said. I nodded and sat back into my pillows. It felt good to lie down again. I sighed in contentment. Then my stomach growled. I giggled nervously as I looked at the healer. "I'll send some food up for you then." The healer said. He walked over to the door after I thanked him. He looked at his clipboard and pulled out a quill. Then a little blond witch came bustling into the room. She whispered something to the healer. He nodded and the little witch left. "You have some visitors in the waiting room. Do you wish to see them?" he asked. I nodded eagerly, unable to wait much longer to see Sirius. It confused me why he wasn't here at my side but I hoped that it was him that was here to see me. The healer smiled and walked out of the room. There was silence. "But how long have I been out?" I asked. "About a day." Cloud said. "Not too bad then. Better than a week." I shrugged. Cloud smiled at me. Dumbledore sighed. "After your visitors leave, I need to ask you a couple of questions." He said. I nodded slowly, my smile sliding off my face like water. I knew what he wanted to know. He wanted to know what happened with me and those guys. Then the door opened again and I saw a brilliant flash of red hair in front of my face. I felt the wind get knocked out of me as Lily hugged me tightly. As soon as I could breathe again, I laughed and hugged her back. She pulled away from me and looked me over with a huge smile on her face. "I'm so glad you're okay." She said a little breathlessly. "Why is this shocking to you? You know me, I'm always okay." I said with a laugh. I looked behind her and saw a very pale Remus, a beaming James, a happy but nervous Peter, and an extremely relieved Sirius. He was smiling brightly at me. "We've been really nervous. James dropped things like mad. Lily got us kicked out of library for breaking an ink bottle full of ink on a book after James dropped something. Peter has been so high strung it isn't even funny." Remus said faintly. "And the entire Gryffindor house made this for you." James said. He pulled a purple roll of parchment from Sirius's hands and gave it to me. I unrolled it and there was signature after signature on the paper. It was over four feet long. The Marauders had signed their aliases on the bottom after everyone else. Remus had signed his name as "Moony" within a circle that was silver like the moon. Peter had his name signed as "Wormtail" with the "l" dragging off with a moving rat's tail. "Prongs" was written among an intricately drawn set of antlers. Lily had drawn a tiger lily with five petals. She had written one letter of her nickname "Tiger" on each petal with the little dots. But Sirius had done the best job. His alias had been written in block letters and, on of each letter, there was a paw print. The hole in the "a" and in both of the "O"'s were paw prints. They were great. I smiled up at the gang. "I'll have to thank everyone when I get back." I said with a very happy smile. Cloud stood up. "I'm going to go see what's taking so long with your lunch." He said formally. He walked swiftly from the room. Dumbledore winked at me discreetly and then walked out of the room as well. "Hey, Moony, do you want a cup of tea? You're looking awfully pale." Lily said, taking him by the arm. "I could do with one. Let me come with you guys." Peter said. They both took Remus from the room. James smiled and left the room after them, leaving Sirius and I alone together. I smiled at him. He smiled back and was hugging me tightly, quick as a flash. "I thought I lost you, Songbird." He whispered into my hair. "I thought I would never see you again." I said quietly, hugging him back. I inhaled and smelt the clean scent of pine woods after the rain. "You were bleeding so badly. I had your blood all over me." Sirius said. I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "I couldn't even think about anything else for the last 24 hours. I was so worried." Sirius rambled. I smiled at his words and the tears slipped from my eyes. He pulled back from me and sat on the edge of the bed. He cupped my face in his hands. I smiled as tears of joy fell down my cheeks. He wiped them away tenderly with his thumbs. "I thought I was never going to see you again. I kept remembering everything we've done together and it gave me strength." I whispered and he smiled at me. I sat up slowly. He sat back and I looked at him dead in the eyes. "I realized something, Sirius, when I was in there by myself. I realized that I loved you with everything that is in me. I love you with everything that I have to give. Sirius, I love you more than I love myself." I said. He looked in awe of this confession. "Sirius, I know that it sounds crazy to say such things at sixteen and seventeen, but it's true. I love you with my whole heart." I said. Sirius smiled and leaned in. I met him halfway in a warm kiss. There was a sense of fire the spread through my every fiber and then there was an immediate rush. It felt like gushing water. I reached up carefully and put my arms around his neck. It didn't last very long, but it was very passionate. "I don't think you're crazy, Sky. I think that you just voiced what I've been feeling for the last seven years. I've always felt this sense in me. There was just something about you that I couldn't get out of my head, no matter what I did or who I was with. You were always right there. Now I know that that sense of longing for closeness is and what it means now to understand someone I understand myself. Every time I'm around I get this.I get this-" "Upside down, turn around, loopdi loop, gaga, over the moon, winning the world cup kind of feeling?" I finished. Sirius laughed his amazing laugh and nodded. "That's exactly what I mean. You are the only person that knows who I am and how I function. You are the only person who knows me for me. I love you, Sky, and I always have. And I always will." Sirius said. He put his forehead to mine and looked deep into my eyes. "I know you do, Padfoot. I love you too." I whispered. Sirius smiled and kissed me again. I felt the fire again in my stomach and the rushing through my body as his arms wrapped around my waist. I smiled into the kiss. It felt so right to have Sirius here. It felt like it was the right thing to do, being here in his arms, kissing him. And I knew why now. I knew why this felt right and why it had been like that for the last two years we dated. It was because Sirius was my soul mate and the only person that could ever make me feel whole and completely loved all the time. We broke away and I was still smiling. He was smiling too. I moved down the bed carefully and I patted the spot right behind me. He rolled his eyes and fixed the pillows. Then he sat against the wall for me to sit in his lap and lean against him. I put my head against his chest and he put his chin on the top of my head. "I love you, Sirius." I whispered. "I love you too, Sky." Sirius whispered back. I yawned widely and Sirius chuckled. It was soothing to hear in his chest. It was deep and started to lull me to sleep again. I put my ear to his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. Faster than I ever thought possible, I was asleep again. But this time, I was smiling and Sirius had his arms wrapped tightly around my body. I knew he was going to keep me safe from anything and everything.
THERE IS A LOT IN THE RESULTS!

~Again, Sirius's POV~ I watched Sky as her breathing slowed and became even. She relaxed in my arms and I knew she was asleep. She was still smiling. I smiled to myself. Then the door opened. Cloud came in carrying a tray of food. He looked at where Sky was and where I was. "She's asleep." I whispered, playing with the end of her long hair. Cloud nodded and set down the food on the side table. He sat down in his chair and looked at me seriously. "She was calling for you." He said. I looked at him confused. "Well, it wasn't exactly "calling for you" I guess. She just kept repeating the same sentence over and over again: "I love Sirius Draco Black with everything I am"." Cloud said. I looked at Cloud then at the top of Sky's head. They were so different in personality and appearance, it was scary. The only thing that linked them was their brilliant blue eyes. They shared the same shockingly blue eyes. "She really does love you, Sirius. I could tell. Don't let her fall." Cloud said. "I won't. I never will." I said. I was still playing with Sky's hair ever so gently. "If you hurt my little sister by leading her on, then so help me God-" "I want to ask her to be my wife." I said, cutting through Cloud. He was shocked speechless. "I want to ask her to marry me. Not now but after we finish school. I don't ever want to lose her. This experience right here proves how short life can be. I want to know that she will be mine forever. I love her like she loves me." I said with a smile. "Have you told her this?" Cloud asked after another moment of silence. I nodded. "We told each other how we really felt when you were gone. She said that she loved me with everything that she had. I told her that I had been feeling like that for the last seven years." I said. I smiled and kissed the top of her head lightly. She stirred ever so slightly but then went back to sleep. "Are you sure about this?" Cloud asked seriously. I nodded. We looked into each other's eyes for a long moment. "You better be, Black. If she gets hurt because of you, you will seriously regret it." Cloud said in a low voice. "I would never hurt her in a million years." I said right after him. Then Remus, Lily, Peter, and James walked through the door again laughing. They saw that Sky was sleep and quieted at once. "We've got to head back to school, Padfoot." Remus said to me, pointing at his watch. I sighed and looked down at the top of Sky's head. I didn't want to disturb her. "Mr. Black can stay tonight with her. But Cloud really should escort these students back to school. You can come back after but they need to be taken back." Dumbledore said from the doorway. Cloud nodded and stood up. "Tell her that we said goodbye." James said with a wink. I nodded and smiled at them. My five best friends walked out of the room with Cloud taking up the rear and herding them down the hall. "Thank you sir." I said to Dumbledore. "I see what you and Miss. Strife share. Don't ever lose that bond. It is the strongest thing you can have." Dumbledore said, sitting on the vacant bed next to Sky's. "Why do you say that, sir?" I asked. Dumbledore sighed. "I wouldn't ask this of someone so young but you are so talented. I have already spoken to Mr. Potter and he has given me his answer." Dumbledore said, almost ignoring me. "What is it Professor?" I asked, getting concerned now. "What happened to Sky was just the start. There is a man that goes by the name of Lord Voldemort is on the rise and he is gathering followers. He wants all of the muggles, muggle borns, and blood traitors killed. To put it simply, he wants a world full of people like your family.""And what does that have to do with me?" I asked slowly, not really putting two and two together. "I am gathering my own forces. I am contacting people that are willing to fight off this force that threatens our world." Dumbledore said. I looked at him sharply. "What would that entail?" I asked skeptically. "It would just mean taking care of those who want to do harm to others. And not like anti-muggle pranksters but people are killing muggles. It would be our job to find, capture, and imprison those who support Voldemort. My sources say that they call themselves the Death Eaters and they bear the Dark Mark. They are dangerous. I had a feeling that Malfoy and Lestrange would be part of Voldemort's league, but I see that there are more within the walls of our own school than I thought." Dumbledore explained. "You mean that I get to hunt down people like Malfoy and his band of cretins for a living?" I asked excitedly. "This isn't like being an Auror. You will not get paid for this. This is entirely voluntary." Dumbledore said, holding up a hand. I looked down at the top of Sky's head in thought. I remembered what had been happening all this year. Then a thought struck me. Pete had mentioned a force on the rise earlier this year. And if I knew any band of blood traitors than mine, then I would be surprised. Lily was a muggle born. James, Sky, Remus, and myself were all purebloods but we didn't have that attitude like my brother and that band of scum had. I remembered what they did to Sky. Could it have been because she was just a blood traitor? But I knew one thing. I didn't want other people to suffer like I did. At least I was just in time to save her life. I knew that I couldn't have been able to bear it to lose her. I don't want other people to lose their loved ones like I almost did. "You don't have to answer now-" "I'll do it. I want to make sure that an incident like the one Sky was put through never happen again." I said with a firm tone. My eyes were looking right into his bright blue ones and my jaw was firmly set. Dumbledore sighed and smiled. "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Mr. Black." He said with a sad smile. "Did James join?" I asked. Dumbledore nodded. "As did Miss. Evans, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew." He continued. I nodded. "Sky will join in a heart beat. I know she will." I said with a sigh. I pulled her a little closer to me. "Well, this is a secret society. No one is to know that there is a resistance, least of all that group of boys that just narrowly avoided being arrested." Dumbledore said in a soft voice. I nodded shortly and sat back into the pillows. "I will contact you when there is something you can do.""Get some sleep, Mr. Black. Enjoy this moment of triumph." Dumbledore said, walking to the door. I nodded and pulled Sky a little closer to me. I rested me cheek against the top of her hair and smiled to myself. I knew that this choice was one of the best I had made in a long time. I fell asleep with thoughts of this choice and of the girl woman in my arms. Dumbledore said. Dumbledore said standing up. I nodded and yawned.