LAST CHAPTER!

I'm so sorry to see this end because I loved writing it. Thanks to all who've reviewed and put this on their favourites and alert lists. To all those who've read and not chosen to review, I'd love it if you'd leave a quick note just to let me know how you liked it.

Special thanks to Triskelesque (check out her fics - she's awesome!) who was my inspiration for writing this fic. Thanks, darlin' for making me fall in love with Sirius as well as Remus (my poor husband - I don't know if there's any room left in my heart for him...) Cheers all!

Chapter Nineteen

The Technicality

'Pads!' Remus said urgently. 'Padfoot!'

He shook the sleeping boy hard and he jerked awake.

'What?' he said quickly, sitting up. He realised Sarah was gone and frowned. 'Where's Sarah?'

'She's gone,' Remus said then James interrupted.

'Did you tell her about the bet?' he asked and Sirius looked surprised.

'No,' he said, then saw their worried faces. 'Why?'

'She knew, Pads,' Remus said softly. 'She said she'd known all along and…'

He pointed to the knickers still on the floor. 'She took them off as proof you'd slept together and gave me this. She told us you'd won the bet.'

He handed Sirius the necklace and saw the dark haired boy's face go pale as went on to tell him exactly what Sarah had said when she gave it to him.

'She knew?' he whispered and Remus nodded. 'But…'

He looked up at the others then jumped out of bed, oblivious to the others wincing at his nakedness. 'Where'd she go?' he demanded, grabbing clothes off the floor. 'How long ago..?'

'She just left,' Peter said, throwing Sirius the shirt he'd missed.

'It wasn't like that,' he muttered, pulling his pants on. 'I threw the bet. I told her I loved her…'

'You did?' Peter said, eyes wide but James spoke over him.

'Pads, she said you won; that you'd slept together last night,' he said and Sirius looked up in exasperation.

'We did but I didn't win. I checked the time before we got here,' he said, pulling his shirt over his head. 'It was already after midnight. The deadline had passed - that was the only reason I went through with it. I lost, Prongs.'

He went to his trunk and pulled out a small sack. 'Here,' he said, throwing the money at the surprised boy. 'Now, give me your Invisibility Cloak and if any of you touched her knickers, I swear I will hex you into next week.'

Sirius crept up to Ravenclaw Tower, waiting impatiently outside for someone to come out so he could sneak into the common room.

Bloody hell. Could this have gone more wrong?

He'd never wanted Sarah to find out about the bet but now… she'd known about it all along.

So why did she go out with me?

But even as he wondered, he realised why.

She was scamming me. She was pretending to be interested so she could make sure I lost.

For a moment, he was angry. Had she been pretending all this time? Even last night when she told him she loved him? His anger faded though, when he recalled that smile on her face before she told him she loved him too. She wasn't a liar. She loved him. He knew it.

Now I've just got to convince her that I love her just as much.

He turned the necklace over in his hand, thumb rubbing over the inscription on the back. Did she really think he could give this to anyone else? He frowned then pulled his wand from his pocket, pointing it at the words he'd engraved on the back himself. Carefully, he cast a spell then shoved both the necklace and his wand back in his pocket when he saw the door to the common room swing open. Three younger kids stepped out, chattering too intently to notice that the door didn't shut after them.

Sirius slipped inside then stood out of the way, looking around the room but not seeing Sarah anywhere. He waited for half an hour, a steady stream of Ravenclaw students flowing out the door. He was just starting to think she might have left for home already and was going to go and beg someone for her address, when he saw her friend, Kate coming down the stairs.

Taking a chance, he pulled off the cloak, making the girl jump as he revealed himself. 'God!' she yelped, putting her hand to her chest and glaring at him. 'You scared the hell out of me!'

She seemed to realise who she was talking to and put her hands on her hips. 'You'd better get out of here. She doesn't want to see you and I don't blame her.'

'She told you about the bet?' he asked and she nodded.

'You're such a pig, Sirius. You know, she thought you really cared about her but it was all just a game,' she spat contemputously and put her hand out to open the door.

'No,' he said quickly. 'Kate, it's not what she thinks. I threw the bet. What happened last night didn't count - the deadline had passed. Please. I have to tell her. I…I love her, Kate.'

Her face softened in the face of his agitation and she sighed. 'If she asks, I didn't tell you that the password for the stairs is 'Abstinence',' she said then turned back to the door. 'She's alone up there. Crying. Good luck, Black - you'll need it.'

He quickly moved to the stairs and mumbled the password then stepped carefully onto the first step. When it didn't collapse under him, he quickly followed the spiral staircase until he found the door marked 'Seventh Years'. He took a deep breath.

I am a Gryffindor. I am strong and brave. I will not be scared of a woman.

It was no use. He was terrified.

He pushed the door open silently, seeing Sarah sitting on her bed, staring out the window, her eyes unfocused and, damn it, red rimmed. She didn't seem to notice him and he crept closer.

'Sarah,' he said softly and she jumped, her head snapping around to look at him.

'How…?' she asked but he shook his head.

'Sarah, I know I did the wrong thing but…please, just give me a chance to explain about the bet.'

'I know about the bet,' she said in a dull voice as she turned away from him.

'No,' he insisted, talking quickly. 'No, you don't. Alright, this did start as a bet. I originally asked you to Hogsmeade and chased you because James and I made a bet I couldn't get you to sleep with me. This all started because I'm an arrogant prick who treats girls like crap and they wanted to teach me a lesson. But the last thing I ever wanted to do, Sar, was hurt you. You were never supposed to know…'

'And what I don't know, won't hurt, right?' she spat, suddenly firing up and standing to face him. 'What you and James did was demeaning and hurtful and humiliating but do you know what? What I did was worse because I allowed you to do this to me. I wanted your attention so badly that I didn't care that you were using me. I didn't want to see past the pretty words and sweet gestures…I wanted to believe you really loved me. God, I was such an idiot to believe that I could be different, that you might really care…'

'I DO really care!' he said loudly, grabbing her shoulders. 'Christ, Sarah! I have never worked so hard with a girl as I have with you. With anyone else, I would have just given up and moved onto a more willing bird, but I kept trying because I loved spending time with you. I loved that you didn't put up with my shit. I loved that you gave back as good as I gave out. This might have started out as a bet but I stopped thinking of this like that a long time ago.'

'But you couldn't resist, could you?' she snapped, pulling out of his grasp. 'You couldn't stand the thought you'd lose and that it might dent your precious bloody reputation so you made sure you got me into bed before it was too late.'

'I THREW THE FUCKING BET!' he yelled, losing his temper as he tried to make her understand.

'MY ASS, YOU DID!' she yelled back, surprising him. 'Was what happened last night so forgettable for you? We screwed, Sirius! You win. CONGRATU-FUCK-ULATIONS!'

'It was after midnight!' he ground out loudly. 'The bet was over at twelve o'clock. I didn't want us to do anything until then…that's why I didn't want to go to my room; why I wanted to come to your common room and stayed here so long. I didn't want the temptation of being alone with you and messing it all up.'

Her mouth opened then closed again. She looked uncertain now and he pressed his advantage. 'God, Sar. Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep my hands off of you for the last couple of months? Every time we got close, I felt so fucking guilty. I didn't want to win, Sarah. I wanted you.'

Sarah was frowning and bit her lip as she sank back down onto the bed, desperately wanting to believe him.

'Sarah,' he said, pulling out the necklace. 'Please take it back. I…I bought it for you. I've never given a girl anything before. I…I've never been in love before.'

She shook her head, tears rising in her eyes, and he felt more scared than he could ever remember being.

I might not be able to talk myself out of it this time. God, I might really lose her.

This realisation made him decide that she was worth throwing aside every thing he'd been taught a Black stood for -- pride, superiority, class -- and he fell to his knees in front of her, holding out the necklace.

'I'll beg,' he whispered, staring directly into her eyes. 'I'll plead. I'll do anything you want, Sarah. Please forgive me. Please believe me.'

Her lip trembled and he gave it one final push. 'Look at it, Sar. Please, look at it.'

He pressed the necklace into her hand and she looked down at it. The constellation was the same but when she turned it over, she saw that he'd added to it. It now read, 'I love you, Sarah.'

'I don't want you to ever think that this could be someone else's,' he said softly. 'This is yours, sweetheart. I'm yours. If you want me.'

She had the most adorable pout when she cried, but no matter how adorable it was, he never wanted to see it again. He couldn't stand knowing he'd upset her and he vowed to himself that if she took him back, he would never be the one to make her cry again.

'I want you,' she whispered, a little sob escaping. 'I love you.'

He scrambled to his feet and, cupping her face, he kissed her hard and fast. 'I'm sorry,' he mumbled against her lips. 'I'm sorry.'

He kept repeating his apology as he kissed her over and over until she crushed her lips to his and kissed him long and deep, falling back onto the bed. Desire quickly flared and Sirius was startled that her hands were the first to tear at their clothing. Grabbing his wand as his jeans came off, he waved it, closing the curtains and casting a Silencing spell. Then he threw it, Merlin knows where, and lost himself in the taste of her.

As the rest of their clothing was stripped away, he groaned, hands running up her legs then rising to cup her breasts.

'Fuck, you are hot,' he muttered and she grinned cheekily, pushing him off her.

'If I didn't think you had a big enough ego already, I'd tell you that you are a God,' she said, throwing a leg over him and rubbing her slick sex over his cock as her hands slid over his toned chest.

'Even a God has limited self control, honey,' he growled then let out a cry as she took him inside her with one long, deep stroke.

She grinned at his reaction and started to move, hard and fast. Sirius pushed himself up and grabbed her around the hips as he kissed her frantically, wanting all of her; wanting her to have all of him. As they drove each other to the edge, he grasped her face, staring into her eyes.

'I love you,' he whispered desperately. 'I love you, Sar.'

'I…' she gasped, her release hitting her. 'God, love…you…love…you.'

He fell as well, kissing her so deeply; inside her so deeply that he couldn't tell where he ended and she began.

As the spasms and pulsing of their bodies tapered off, they dropped back, breathless, and draped over each other.

'So, I should take that as a yes? You forgive me?' he panted a minute later.

'You are such an ass,' she mumbled and kissed his chest, hearing him chuckle.

'Sorry you lost your money,' she said softly and he looked at her, taking her face in his hands.

'I'm not,' he said with a smile. 'I got something much better.'

She kissed him then giggled. 'You are so corny,' she teased. 'I'm surprised you ever got laid with those lines.'

Sirius pinched her on the ass lightly before joining in her laughter, feeling, for the first time, completely happy.

Maybe this love business isn't so bad after all.

A/N: Fin.

Please review!! Come on, it's the last time I ask in this story, I swear! :-)