Dandelions

~54~

"I can't believe we're actually leaving soon." Remus sighed as he collapsed down on the Gryffindor couch next to Lily who replied with "I know! Seems like we were first years not too long ago." The day of the last year of seventh year was coming near and it scared almost everyone. The war was already going on but when they left school, they'd all become official full-time workers of the Order of the Phoenix. What was even nearer, two days time, was the last task. "You okay?" Sirius asked Harper as she was in her thoughts about the future. "Of course love. The wedding is coming up too!" Harper smiled at her two friends who were soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Potter. James wrapped his arms around his fiancée who flashed the girls her beautiful ring. "Yeah, I'll marry this toe rag." Everyone laughed besides James who feigned hurt at the comment. "Lily-Flower, I thought were past this!"

Everyone began chatting more about the upcoming wedding in July but Harper once again got lost in her thoughts. She hadn't heard from Euphemia or Amos in a while which worried her a bit but she shrugged it off as they were just busy. "Thinking of the task, Rossi?" Remus asked while popping a piece of chocolate into his mouth. "Oh, yeah. That." The attention turned on to the girl but it wasn't the warm energy they had before, it was now tense and almost like worry-filled. "Harp, the third task is always the most dangerous.." Lily said before grabbing the girls hand and smiling at her. Harper looked around at her friends who were looking back, "Yeah? And?" Marlene let out a snort and rolled her eyes before standing up and walking over to the girl. "She means you can die even more then the last ones, H. Do you have ANY clue as to what it could be?" At the bluntness of the girl, Lily was so shocked that she ended up sitting in silence for a second before registering what she'd said.

"I never said she was gonna die! I'm just.. I don't know - worried?" Harper shifted uncomfortably in her chair which didn't go unnoticed by Sirius. "How about we stop talking about this as she's stressed enough?" He snapped making Lily recoil and James glare at his best mate. Sirius ignored the glare and grabbed onto Harper's hand which he noticed she was shaking a bit. Harper felt Sirius stand up and she did the same as he was still holding her hand. The two walked out of the common room, leaving the rest of the group in silence. "Did we say something wrong?" Peter spoke up finally. "No. We didn't." James grumbled as he now felt anger towards Sirius for snapping at Lily. "Don't be mad at him. You saw how Harper was getting!" Marlene defended the two before getting up and going over to where Dorcas was sitting with Alice Fortescue and Frank Longbottom, who were also to be wed this summer coming up.

Meanwhile, Sirius and Harper were making there way downstairs for dinner at the earliest time possible. "Love. Sirius. Sirius. Sirius Orion Black!" Harper finally yelled as the boy kept ignoring the initial calls. He turned around and looked at her, "Yeah?" She couldn't help but burst into laughter at the boy who just stood in confusion, "Sorry, I was just trying to talk to you. Why'd we leave?" He opened the great hall doors and dinner was served but a very limited amount of people were in there. Leading The Hufflepuff over to her table, he sat down next to her and served himself. "Dinner early. We can have a peaceful date night or something." He shrugged only earning a nod back from his girlfriend. The two conversed for a little before their friends walked in and sat down at the Gryffindor table with looks over to the Hufflepuff table. "Why'd we leave the common room. Really?" Harper finally asked which broke the tense gaze between Sirius and James much to his distaste.

"I noticed how you were shaking and everyone kept talking about it and worrying you more. Maybe I shouldn't have snapped at Evans, but she certainly should know when to keep her mouth shut." Harper took a quick glance at her boyfriend before placing her hand on his thigh and smiling towards him. "Thank you, Siri." She quickly kissed his lips before digging back into her delicious meal that was kindly created by the house-elf's for the students. "How about we go and sit by the lake while watching the stars? It's still hot even at night." Sirius suggested earning a giggle and an excited nod from Harper. The two walked out of the great hall, ignoring their friends looks, and began their walk down to the lake. Harper felt Sirius stop so she did too but instantly regretted it once he picked her up and swung her over his shoulder. "SIRIUS PUT ME DOWN!" Harper squealed as she thrashed around on top of the boy who let out a laugh at her. "You're cute when you try to threaten me."

Quickly giving up, she stopped moving around let the boy carry her over to the lake. Luckily, he was nice enough to not throw her in but set her down on the grass before sitting down next to her. Harper cuddled into his side and she looked up towards the sky which was twinkling with stars. "I do this all the time.. But it's always so beautiful." Sirius nodded and played with her hair as he pointed towards a constellation. "You see that constellation, Orion? That one star right there is named Bellatrix. My awful cousin was named after it." Harper let out a small laugh before looking up at the boy and saying, "I know. It's the third brightest star in its constellation though its the twenty-fifth brightest star in the sky-"Before she could go on about more uninteresting facts, Sirius placed his lips on hers which she quickly melted into. They both smiled into the kiss before returning their lips onto eachother once again. Sirius pulled away from the girl and looked at her for a second. "Sirius, I really truly love you."

Taking a deep breath, Sirius began to speak, "I love you too Harper March Rossi. I've come to realize in my sleepless nights, there's only one thing I think of. It's you. You're my happiness, the thing I think of to make me feel okay. When I'm hurting from something - your smile brightens up my mood instantly. The way your nose scrunches up when you get mad or the way you care for others more then you care for yourself.. It's just what makes me love you more and more. I haven't been home to get you a ring or anything but.. I was hoping that one day you would marry me. Become Mrs.Black and let me love you for eternity and longer." Harper's eyes filled with tears as she nodded. He smiled at her before pulling her into a hug that lasted for what seemed like forever. He noticed a lonely dandelion sitting a few feet away so he quickly scrambled over to it and picked it out of the ground. "Until I can officially get you a ring - take this as my engagement present." Harper out a teary laugh before taking the dandelion out of her boyfriends hand.

The two sat under the stars for a bit longer until they decided to go back to the castle. They had to sneak around as they were worried Filch or his cat would get them, not to mention Peeves. They quickly hurried to the Gryffindor common room - forgetting about the stupid fight that was going on between the boys. As they walked in, James's head shot up from the couch where Remus and Lily sat. "Where have you two been?!" He yelled as he walked over to them, reminding Harper of a stern mother. "Outside. Not that it's any of your concern." Sirius shot back in anger making Harper lay her hand on his arm. "What he means to say is, outside - thanks for caring." Lily let out a laugh at the girl as she walked over and took the dandelion from her. "Hey! That's my engagement ring!" Harper yelled before realizing what she'd just said. "WHAT?!" Remus, James, and Lily all yelled out in shock.