Love Can Be Found In the Darkest of Places (A Marauders FanFiction)

Chapter 20: Halloween

October 31st, 1981

Sirius was staring up at the ceiling, captivated by an enchantment that Rose had put on it to make it glow with what looked like stars every evening until dusk the following day. He watched as each shining star faded away as the sun pulled up through the window, casting light upon both him and Rose, and their bedroom in Coggeshall.

He was laying shirtless with his head propped up by a few pillows, and Rose was strewn across his chest, still sleeping. Her breaths were even and calm, and in that morning light with his arms wrapped around her, she’d never looked more content to him.

It was barely past 6 a.m., but she was beautiful and he couldn’t stop himself. “Rose,” he said softly, nudging the top of her head with his nose. She stirred momentarily, before burying her face in his shoulder and muffling a yawn. He nudged her again while running a hand over her bare back, and she looked up at him from her spot on his chest with a groggy smile that made her eyes crinkle.

“You’re so beautiful,” he smiled at her pushing a few strands of loose bedhead hair behind her ear. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything,” she said, her voice faintly scratchy with early morning tiredness. “Anything at all.”

“Marry me.”

In that moment, Rose was the happiest that she’d ever been in her life – Sirius as well. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared into the familiar gray pools that were his eyes. “Is that a question or a command?”

“Well, a bit o’ both I suppose…” He reached for his wand and gave it a soft flick, causing a small box to come slowly floating towards them. The box landed in his open hand and he flipped it open with his thumb, revealing a stunningly simple diamond ring. Rose wasn’t much for flashy jewelry, and he knew that.

He slipped it onto her ring finger and before he could do anything else, she hurriedly pressed her lips against his and he kissed her back immediately with equal intensity, joy surging through him. “I was starting to think you were never going to ask,” she teased as she pulled away. “It’s perfect,” she commented on the ring, staring down at it with uncontained happiness.

He laughed, and then grew a little more serious (haha.) “I’ve been thinking about this forever, how I was going to do it. Nothing ever seemed worthy of you, you know? But I was just laying here this morning watching the stars…” his eyes flitted briefly up at the ceiling, have expecting them to still be there. “…and it hit me like a train. The chaos that we’re living in and how utterly and impossibly in love with you I am… I couldn’t wait another minute.”

“Sirius…”

“Can we just lay here all day and forget about all this bloody nonsense surrounding us? Would you mind? At least up until I check in with Peter later?”

She answered him by reaching out across from him for her wand, and giving it a soft flick towards the window shades to close them and then to the ceiling, which lit up once more with hundreds of bright stars. He smiled softly as she lay her head back down onto his chest.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” she said.

--

“You’ve served your part well, Wormtail,” his master’s voice spoke with traces of very rarely earned praise. They were standing in the doorway of Peter’s supposed “safe house” as designated to him for being James and Lily’s Secret Keeper. "No witch or wizard will stand in my way now… they’ll be regretting their faith in you tonight.” Peter looked guiltily at the floor for a moment, before he caught himself.