Important Author's Note!: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ECHOES IN ETERNITY DO NOT READ THIS! IT WILL NOT MAKE SENSE! IF YOU WANT TO READ THIS THEN READ ITS PREDECESSOR!

Okay, this is a bit long, but you should read all of the suthor's note, so bear with me...

Also, I finally did it! I wrote the chapter, even with college preparations, AP tests, shows, and speech team! I'm so sorry for the wait and I promise it will never be that long again if I can help it. I will not update every week, but I will work very hard to update quickly. It will be easier when school is out. I would respond to each and everyone of your lovely reviews from the last chapter of Echoes, but that would take very long for me to type out, and I assume that you want this chapter ASAP. So I'm sorry for that, and if you still have a specific question to ask me or comments you want an answer to, please let me know and I will respond. I will respond to all reviews given to me for this story as well.

Someone suggested that I put review responses at the end of the chapter, so it would be easier to get right to the story. Would you guys prefer that? 'Cause I'll do it if you like. Again thank you so much for your reviews, I wish I could respond to them all, but I felt that you'd waited long enough for this chapter! And you all know how much I value your thoughts and comments anyway... at least I hope you do, because I really do! You're the people I'm writing this story for, and without all your support this wouldn't mean a thing. So thanks... okay, I'll stop getting fluffy with you guys, after all that's what the story is for, right?

Oh, and this story is dedicated to Kate and Sarah, the girls who beta read this story and its predecessor. They are great editors (one for content and the other, my grammar Nazi) and the best friends anyone could ask for. I wouldn't have written this story if they hadn't drawn it out of me, and made me realize that I wanted to write it. I spent hours discussing these plots with them and they have helped me every step of the way. None of this would be any good without you two. So thanks.

Okay, I'll get on with it! So now without further ado, here is the first chapter...

Cloaked Foresight

Chapter One – Employment, Rudeness, and Housewarming

Remus Lupin wandered through the hallways of Hogwarts for no particular reason. Well, if truth were told, he was looking for his wife.

Summer had started to wind down and the students would be back in a few weeks. The teaching staff was starting to come back and get their curriculums in order. His honeymoon was over. Well, that's what the staff wanted to believe, and Remus was perfectly content to let them think so. Of course, it didn't fool Sirius for one minute.

He walked down the halls with a letter in his hand. It contained a matter that he had to discuss with Ivy, for although it was addressed to him, she was the new headmistress and all matters concerning the school had to be brought to her attention. Remus was very happy with how Ivy was handling her new duties. She had moved her things into Albus' old office and finally started to pay a great deal of attention to her executive tasks. The only thing that had started to worry him was how often Ivy was talking to the portrait of Albus that hung behind her desk when she needed advice.

Their marriage was settling in both their minds as well. They had moved into the large apartment that was directly off of Ivy's new office. It only unnerved him every now and then that they were sharing a bed in the same room that Albus and many other great headmasters had slept in. Thinking about it too much was enough to make anyone feel sick to their stomach. And of course, all the portraits in the room had to be removed.

Remus found himself passing by Professor McGonagall's office, and he stopped to see if she was in. He found her sitting at her desk scribbling thoughtfully on a piece of parchment, and knocked politely on the open door to announce his presence. She looked up and smiled.

"Hello, Remus. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Remus was always glad to talk to her before the school year began. She was always less severe when she didn't feel that there were students everywhere to keep a stern façade on for. "I was wondering if you had any idea were Ivy might be. I've been looking for her, but I can't seem to track her down."

"Shouldn't you be using that keen nose of yours?" she quipped. Then she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I haven't seen her since breakfast. If I see her later I'll tell her to find you, though."

Remus nodded. "Thanks, Minerva." With that, he ducked out the door and continued his search.

Ivy Dumbledore was totally unaware that her husband was searching the castle for her because at that same moment she was down in the dungeons searching for someone else. She entered the classroom to find it empty, and then tried the office to find it equally abandoned. Starting to worry, she finally made her way to Severus Snape's personal chambers. She knocked on the door hesitantly, subconsciously afraid of being snapped at by a familiar voice, but instead was greeted by a weak call.

"Come in, if you must. The door is open."

Ivy entered the room to find an alarmingly pale Severus Snape lying on a green couch with a wool blanket pulled up to his stomach. He held a glass containing a dark red liquid against his chest, and a handkerchief lay beside him. His hooked nose was bright red and the hand that was not clutching the glass hung limply at his side.

Ivy took a few steps forward. "Severus? Are you all right? Are you sick?"

Snape rolled his eyes and sniffed lightly. "I have always been amazed by the female capacity to ask questions about the most obvious things. Yes, headmistress, I am indeed sick." At that moment, his limp hand flew to the handkerchief next to him, which he brought up to his raw nose as he sneezed loudly.

Ivy jumped at the sound and said, but continued the conversation anyway. "Bless you. Really, Severus, there's no need for you to call me headmistress. We've known each other since we were kids. I'd feel much more comfortable if you'd call me Ivy."

Snape scoffed, or scoffed as much as he was able to while coughing. "I called the Dumbledore before you headmaster. And might I add that as the head of this school you need to demand the respect of your colleagues as well as your students. Such respect requires that formality be used in certain instances. I don't know how you're planning on running this school, but I will always follow the rules of discipline and protocol that were laid down by the founders. This demands formality between us since you are my superior and, therefore, I will call you headmistress."

Ivy gave up immediately. Though she was now his superior, Ivy knew that she would never feel equal to the meticulous eloquence and constant control that was Severus Snape. Instead, she simply heaved an uncomfortable sigh. "Right…"

"I assume that you are here for some reason," came the slightly agitated voice.

"Oh, yes." Ivy nodded and changed gears, now remembering why she had come. "I don't now how you'll feel about this, but I recently got an owl from St. Mungo's Hospital. It was about Draco Malfoy."

Snape's eyes narrowed. Ivy could tell that she finally had his attention.

"I'm sure you've heard a lot about how he's been doing lately. You know, with Lucius getting killed by Voldemort right before the last battle and how Draco kind of lost-"

"I'm quite aware of the details," Snape said quietly.

Ivy took a deep breath. "Well, St. Mungo's thinks that it's time for him to start his life again. Time for him to find a job and start taking care of himself, you know. So they sent me a letter wondering if I could find something for him to do here since people right now are reluctant to hire the children of former Death Eaters. And I remembered how good you always said he was at potions, and I was wondering if maybe you needed an assistant or an apprentice or something…"

Snape thought for a moment, staring at the floor. Finally, he looked up. "He'll have to work. I'm not giving him any special treatment. If he comes here, he better expect to have a lot to do because I'm not going to baby-sit him into recovery."

Ivy nodded. "Of course. I'll tell them."

Snape furrowed his brow in thought and took a sip from his glass. Ivy turned to leave, but stopped as she watched him drinking. She smirked. "That's not wine, is it? I mean, I know you drink a lot of it, but it can't be good for you when you're so ill."

Snape glared at her. "It's pomegranate juice with Echinacea and Goldenseal," he said disdainfully, as if she had just forced him to divulge some great secret. "My own remedy."

Ivy smiled and backed up toward the door. "Feel better," she said cheerfully.

"Thank you for your pains in coming to find me, headmistress," he replied, though Ivy noted a sarcastic lilt in his tone.

She nodded once more and back out through the door. Once she had turned around and shut it behind her, she heard another great sneeze. Ivy chuckled to herself and hurried away.

Remus was rounding what had to be his sixty-fifth corner in his search when he careened right into his quarry. He had been lost in his own thoughts at that point, and when he felt himself run into something he was prepared to start apologizing bashfully, when he looked down and found the face that he now knew better than his own. He quickly threw his arms around her waist feigning that he was afraid she might fall, and instead of apologizing, he scolded, "I've been looking for you everywhere."

She donned a 'who, moi?' look, and leaned back in his arms. "I was just on my way back up to ours rooms to find you."

Remus tilted his head to one side and donned his twisted Marauder grin that he only used when he was feeling particularly mischievous. "And what were you planning on doing once you found me?"

Ivy knew that look and tone far too well. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Are you suggesting that my intentions were less than honorable?" She laughed when he shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. "You really have to stop talking like that. All the staff members are coming back and someone's bound to hear you sooner or later. What do you want everyone to think? That their new headmistress is involved in a scandalous relationship with one of her employees?"

Remus pulled her closer to him and brought his face down to hers, brushing his lips across her cheek. "No, I want them to think that the headmistress' husband, who happens to be an exemplary Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, is involved in a scandalous relationship with his wife."

Ivy tried half-heartedly to push him away as he began to nuzzle her neck. "Please, you can't fool me for a second! You would absolutely die if someone were to pass by right now and see you behaving like this."

He pulled back and smiled warmly at her while running a hand through her hair, caressing the side of her face. "No, that's not true. I have no reason to be ashamed of this." He tilted her face up to his and kissed her with all the passion he could muster.

Ivy had apparently not expected such a display of affection. When they broke the kiss Remus leaned his forehead against hers and stared at her, but Ivy couldn't open her eyes.

"I demand a warning next time," she ordered.

"No you don't. It wouldn't be anywhere near as enjoyable if I warned you, and you know it."

"Fine, you win. Now what?"

Remus pulled up the letter that he'd had in his hand, now slightly crumpled from their recent activity. "I received this letter from one of the wizarding schools in America. They knew that you had taught in their country and implored me to ask a favor of you."

Ivy raised an eyebrow. "What kind of favor?"

Remus handed her the letter so she could look it over as he explained. "They're having some problems with finding good headmasters, so they wanted to know if they could send a trainee out here for a year to observe how you run the school."

She laughed. "Observe how I run the school? As if I know what I'm doing?"

He pointed to a passage in the letter. "They said that they are aware that this is your first semester as headmistress, but that they feel confident that with your former experience and family background you will be a fine example to the person they send over."

Ivy groaned. "What school is it?"

"Starlight Canyon School of Sorcery."

She blinked. "Where are they from?"

Remus took the letter from her and looked it over as he tried to recall on his own. "Somewhere in the south. I think it might have said Texas."

Ivy burst out cackling. "Texas? This has got to be some sort of joke! Who in their right mind would send a Texan to study schooling techniques at a primarily British school?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea, but I can assure you that they are quite serious about the endeavor. They said that if you agreed he would be here four days before the start of term."

She took the letter from him and skimmed it one more time. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt. They seem to have their hearts set on it, and I'm in no mood to argue with them. As long as he doesn't get in my way, I'm fine with it."

Remus nodded. "I'll let them know."

He turned around to leave, but Ivy stopped him by grabbing hold of his arm and dragging him down a different hallway. "No, stay. I haven't seen you at all today. Tell me what you've done so far. Oh, has Sirius found a job yet?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "No, not yet. It's really rather ridiculous. Harry and Ron both found jobs before he did."

"Harry has two jobs," Ivy reminded him. "But then again, he and Ron are worldwide heroes. I think people are still a bit wary of Sirius, despite the fact that he's been cleared for a while. He's trying to undo sixteen years of imprisonment and hiding with a few months of freedom. People aren't going to buy it that easily. Besides, I'm less worried about him than I was about Harry. How's he doing at Ollivanders?"

Remus smiled. "Wonderfully, according to Sirius. Ollivander really loves having him there. He's getting older now, you know, and he doesn't like handling everything himself. Harry's been taking care of all the labor aspects; getting the wands unpacked and sorting them correctly. Harry says that he's enjoying it so far. As for his other job… I just hope that Sirius doesn't bother him too much."

Ivy giggled. "I hear you there. So where's Sirius trying his luck today?"

"Actually, I was the one who suggested that he try this place. I figured that since he'd always been rather good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, especially when it came to the dark creatures unit, and since he'd had so much experience with me that he should try getting a job at the Dark Creatures Care and Crisis Center. It's only partly affiliated with the Ministry so he'd really be able to help some of the people-"

But Remus stopped when he saw the shocked look on Ivy's face. Then a devious smile crept to the corners of her mouth.

"What?"

"Oh, Remus, you have no idea how happy you've just made me. See, I don't think you realized that we know someone who works there.… Yes, that would be brilliant…"

"Who works there? What are you talking about?"

"You'll see.… I'll tell you as soon as I sort the whole thing out in my own head. Just give me a minute or two. Come down to the kitchens with me, I'm going to make some hot chocolate. Then I'll sit you down and tell you all about it…"

So Remus Lupin followed his snickering wife down to the kitchens wondering what his friend Padfoot had in store for him today…

Sirius Black stopped outside of a large building that was located at the end of one of the less populated areas of Hogsmeade. He was actually rather surprised that the residents of the area had allowed this place to hold its operations in their town, but then he also assumed that many people didn't even know it was there. The building was rather rundown with animated graffiti running up and down the outer walls and crumbling bricks making up the foundation.

Still, Sirius was optimistic about this opportunity. He knew that he would probably enjoy having a job in this place, seeing as he could help the sort of people that he had been helping since he was twelve years old. Remus was right. He was sure this would be the perfect place for him. Now all he had to do was convince them of that.

He stepped inside the building into a sort of waiting area with a desk at the front. A plump woman with blonde hair and unsightly long, red fingernails was sitting at it, arranging papers and sending owls with various memos throughout the office. When she spotted him she took a moment to look him up and down before smiling as she used the feather tip of her quill to tickle her chin.

"Are you here for the job interview?" she asked in an annoyingly high, would-be sultry voice.

Sirius squirmed slightly at the obvious advance in her tone, but immediately decided that he was going to have to do everything he could to get this job. Turning the old charm on, he gave her his most winning grin. "Why, yes. How extraordinary of you to figure that out so quickly, Ms.?…"

"Doris, please," she squealed excitedly.

Sirius walked forward and leaned on her desk. "Doris… what a lovely name. Quite fit for such a lovely woman…"

Doris giggled, twirling a chunk of hair around her index finger. She glanced back regretfully. "He should be ready to see you now. Go straight back to the first office on the left."

Sirius winked. "Thank you, love."

He heard Doris giggle once more as he walked behind her desk and down a hall, shaking off the unsettling feeling it had given him to be flirting with such a creature. How low I have come…

Coming to the first office on the left, he gave a knock on the door and waited. On the other side he heard shouting and the distinctive echo of someone else speaking on the other end of a floo fireplace conversation. The yelling ended, and he heard the same gruff voice call, "Come in!" Upon entering the room, he found a rather severe looking old man with snowy white hair, a droopy mouth, and beady dark eyes sitting at a small desk piled high with stacks of papers. The old man stared at Sirius for several seconds before asking sharply, "What are you here for?"

Sirius straightened up as best he could. "The job opening," he said politely.

The old man's eyes widened a bit as if had just been reminded of something. "Oh, yes," he grumbled, standing up from his desk and holding out a wrinkled hand for Sirius to shake. "Sit down and we'll have a chat. Do you have a resume?"

"Yes," Sirius replied, opening his satchel and pulling out a piece of parchment, which he handed to the man.

The old man squinted at the paper for about a minute before finally looking up at Sirius and staring at him carefully. "So… why do you think you'd like to work here?"

Sirius cleared his throat coming out with his fully prepared answer that he'd gone over in his head at least a dozen times that morning. "I know that I can help these people. I can understand what they're going to through. I've witnessed it first hand and I know what it's like to be considered a monster when you haven't done anything wrong. I want to be able to change the lives of these people who are so unfortunately misunderstood. I want to make a difference."

The old man stared blankly for a moment. Then he slowly smiled. "You're good."

Sirius blinked twice. There was no fooling this guy. He relaxed a bit and smiled back.

The old man leaned back in his chair and picked up another piece of parchment on his desk. "I got this letter from Remus Lupin the other day. He says that you're a friend of his, that you helped him through hard times in his life, and that you're very understanding to people in situations like his. I trust Remus, he's a good man, and he's made this organization look good with how well he's done for himself." He put down Remus' letter and looked back up at Sirius. "I'm Mr. Codger. And let's get one thing straight right now – I don't put up with any horseshit. So don't try your righteous and mighty act on me. If you want to work here I just want to make sure that you're honest and that you work well with scared and lonely people."

Sirius nodded resolutely. "I am and I do."

Mr. Codger folded his hands across his stomach. "All of my employees who work in the field work with partners. I find that it's easier for our clients when they are in contact with more then one person, that way they're more liable to trust lots of people. It makes them less paranoid. That's means that you have to be good at working with others. We don't need any hotshots here trying to be humanitarian of the year."

Again Sirius nodded. "I understand."

Mr. Codger looked him in the eye for a good long while, seeming to be trying to make up his mind about him. "All right, you're hired. I've been needing to fill a position anyway, since one of our top men retired."

Sirius' eyes widened. "Really? I've got the job?"

Mr. Codger nodded and stood up. "Yeah, you've got it. I'll show you to your workspace and let you meet your partner. You better not let me down, Black."

Sirius got up and followed Mr. Codger out of the office and further down the hall. "Certainly not, Mr. Codger. You can count on me."

Mr. Codger grunted, but didn't say another word until they reached a sort of cubicle space with one empty desk that had a partition in front of it, so that the space was divided into two separate work areas. Sirius could hear someone working on the other side, a quill scratching on parchment. Mr. Codger motioned Sirius inside. "Meet your new partner."

From the other side of the partition Sirius heard an oddly familiar voice. "Oh, good you finally found one, Codger. I was beginning to think-"

But the voice stopped short as soon as a body emerged from behind the partition. A pair of long legs accompanied by a slender frame with a thin, elegant face, dark brown hair, and lavender eyes. Sirius felt a shot run up his spine. The purple eyes focused on him and hardened.

"Guinevere Carnahan meet Sirius Black."

"We've met," came the suddenly steely female voice.

"Really? Well, then-"

"Codger, you can't hire him."

Sirius flashed her a vicious grin. "Ah, my dear Guinevere." He watched in glee as she winced at the old pet name mockery that he had developed for her so many years ago. "I see you haven't lost any of the poison and ice coldness that came between us in our childhood. It's so comforting to know that some things never change."

The dark-haired woman sneered at him. "I wish I could say the same for you. But then, comforting is never a word that I would associate with you. I would probably use licentious… to a fault."

Sirius folded his arms across his chest. "How like a Ravenclaw to use big words when you can't think of decent comeback."

Guinevere placed her hands on her hips. "And how like a Gryffindor to never have a wide enough vocabulary to know when you've just been insulted."

Mr. Codger cleared his throat and stepped between them. "Look, I don't know whatever bad blood you've got between the two of you, but you're going to have to get over it. We haven't had any other respectable applicants, Gwen, and you need a partner. You're just going to have to work things out between yourselves so you can work together. Understood?"

Guinevere looked at the floor. "Yes."

Mr. Codger turned to Sirius. "And you?"

Sirius nodded.

Mr. Codger sighed. "Good. Now, Gwen, you start showing Black here the ropes. I expect you two to be ready to work on your first case in a few days."

"All right," said Guinevere reluctantly.

Mr. Codger shook his head and left the room.

Guinevere eyed Sirius loathingly. "I suppose Remus Lupin is responsible for you getting this job."

Sirius scowled at her. "Because, of course, it would be impossible for me to accomplish anything by myself, right?"

"You never did when we were younger." When he didn't react to her comment, she pressed further. "Come on, this is never anyone's first choice for an occupation. Especially someone as erratic and self-absorbed as you are. What's the matter? People think you're damaged goods from all that time in Azkaban?"

She immediately saw the change come over his face. His face darkened and his body became stiff and rigid. Then he gave her a look that quite effectively communicated how heartless he believed her to be at that moment. It was strange that with how much disliked the man, she always found herself able to read his eyes so easily. She felt bad, but what was she supposed to do? He knew that he brought out a horrible side of her. Whenever he was near she always found herself behaving in a cruel way that wasn't her at all. He was just infuriating to her, even his presence. He had been gone for so long, and she had attained some peace at knowing that she wouldn't have to put up with him anymore. But naturally, life never seemed to enjoy dealing her the easy hand.

She sighed. "I'm sorry," she said grudgingly. "That was uncalled for. I suppose I should let you get settled. If you have any questions let me know. I'll start showing you around tomorrow, okay?"

Sirius nodded to her, still not fully recovered from her unexpected blow. He suddenly had a horrible sense of déjà vu from so many years ago. What's wrong with me? We're both adults now, and we haven't seen each other in years, yet whenever I see people that I used to know when I was younger I automatically fall back into the routines that I was used to with them. Am I really that unchangeable?

Sirius sat down at the desk in front of him and started to examine the contents of it, which were empty, so it made little difference. Since Guinevere did not make any effort to talk to him again, he spent the rest of the day staring at the partition in deep thought.

Sirius decided that he didn't feel up to going back to Hogwarts after finishing his first day of work. He could just imagine the looks on Remus and Ivy's faces when he told them about his new job and partner. So instead he went to the Three Broomsticks hoping to drown his anger in alcohol and complain to a familiar face.

As he stepped into the crowded pub he was greeted by the smell of drink, floo powder, and late summer cooking. Looking across the room, he spotted the bar and a friendly looking bartender with black hair serving two old men. Sirius sauntered over importantly and sat down heavily on the nearest barstool. The noise he made grabbed the attention of the bartender, who glanced at Sirius briefly before rolling his eyes and strolling slowly over to take his order.

"Well, don't look so happy about my being here, or anything," Sirius said. "Will you hurry up and get over here, or are you the slowest teenager known to man?"

The brilliant green eyes sparkled at him from behind a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. "What do you want, Sirius?" Harry asked.

Sirius pretended to be insulted. "Is that any way to treat a loving godfather who is coming to check up on his favorite godson? – pour me a double firewhiskey while your at it, that's good lad – Well, is it? I just came down to make sure that everything was working out for you all right, that you were being treated well, and I get this nice, enthusiastic greeting? Well, there's gratitude for you…"

Harry set a glass of firewhiskey down in front of Sirius. "Want to tell me what happened?"

Sirius blinked at Harry for a moment. Then he smiled. "You're going to be a damn good bartender with instincts like that."

Harry shrugged.

Sirius took a gulp of firewhiskey, feeling the familiar burn spread through his throat and down into his stomach. He was going to need something to dampen his nerves before recapping the day's events. Heaving a great sigh, he set the glass down, still keeping his fingers at the lip of it. "I got a job."

Harry's eyes brightened. "That's great, Sirius! Where?"

"The Dark Creatures Care and Crisis Center. It's a place that takes care of werewolves, and vampires, and the like, to make sure that they have a place to go when they're threatened or help them in finding jobs. Other things like that."

"Well, that sounds like a perfect job for you. After being friends with Remus for so long, you're a perfect candidate for that sort of thing. And you'll be helping lots of people."

Sirius stopped him before he could go any further. "There's a problem."

Harry frowned. "What, they're not treating you well because of your record?"

Sirius shook his head.

"Then what?"

Sirius lifted his glass to his lips and took a long swallow. "Guinevere Carnahan."

"Who?"

"Guinevere Carnahan. She's my partner at the place. We… well… we have a history, you might say…"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What, is she some random woman you shagged after a party one night, who now resents you for making her think that you cared?"

Sirius narrowed his eyes at the young man. "Watch it, cowlick boy. I'm alarmed that you would be so horribly presumptuous about the kind of person I was at your age. Besides…" He smirked briefly and sipped at his whiskey again before speaking his thoughts. "I wouldn't shag that woman if I were the last man on earth."

"Why, is she old and unbearably hideous?"

"God no, she's gorgeous. Got these striking violet eyes. Hell, if she were to put a little makeup on now and then, try a push up bra, and change the trousers for a short skirt to show off those fantastic long legs of hers, she would be every man's fantasy. They would fall at her feet."

"So what's wrong with her?"

Sirius' nostrils flared as they commonly did when people offended him. "Oh, she's a bossy, arrogant, conceited, rude, patronizing, stubborn, self-important, know-it-all Ravenclaw. She went to school with Remus and Ivy, and your mum and dad, and me."

Harry flicked his wand and a hand towel on the bar started cleaning the dirty glasses in front of him. "So what could have happened between you and this woman in your school days to make you hate her so much?"

Sirius really didn't want to answer that question. No matter what response he gave, he always came out sounding like an idiot. "Well… we got into arguments a lot. Over really stupid things. You know, we're both really stubborn, so-"

"You?" Harry exclaimed sarcastically, clapping a hand to his chest. "Stubborn? I never would have guessed!"

Sirius laughed. "Yes, me, stubborn. She was always telling me off, trying to stop me from getting a word in edgewise. I got her good a few times, but mostly, she had the last word. In many ways she was worse than Snape for me. I just sort of hated Snape unconditionally, and he was also more your father's enemy. Guinevere was my real nemesis."

Harry took another man's order a few seats down and then returned to his godfather. "Well, it sounds to me like you kept getting angry with her for being able to get one up on you all the time. That's understandable, I suppose."

"That's what really kept us enemies. After a while it seemed to me that she would insult and argue with me just for the sake of being right and making me look stupid. That's what made me hate her. I mean, I was no angel during that time, and I'm sure I did some selfish, rotten things, but I really wasn't as horrible as she was always making me out to be."

Harry nodded sympathetically. "And she's still hostile toward you after all this time?"

Sirius shook his head in dismay. "Yeah. We took one look at each other and went at it again. Totally at each other's throats, as usual. We didn't even try to be civil. It's actually quite ridiculous, I don't even know why we're fighting anymore."

"Why don't you just apologize?" Harry asked.

Sirius snorted. "She would never take that seriously. In her eyes I'm still seventeen years old and incapable of any genuine emotion."

. "I'm sure if you're nice to her for the next few weeks she'll come around. Just don't argue with her. Avoid any type of confrontation – if you don't feed a fire it'll die out eventually."

Sirius shrugged and stretched in his seat. "I'm sure you're right, but it won't be easy if she keeps baiting me." He thought for a moment before speaking again. "I've got to find a place to live next. I really can't afford to be at Hogwarts when the new school year starts up. I've been in their hair enough over there."

Harry's eyes widened as if Sirius had just reminded him of something. "I think I might have found a place for you to look at. I came across it when I was looking for a place for Ron and I to rent, but we thought the space was too small for two people. Want me to give you the address?"

In his mind, Sirius rolled his eyes. He's only been out of school for a few months, and already he's taking care of me. It's supposed to be the other way around. Then again, James was always more competent than I was too. If he hadn't been, Harry wouldn't be here.

"That would be fantastic."

Rosmerta happened to be passing by the bar at that moment and Harry caught her attention. "Rosmerta, could I borrow your quill for a second?"

As she handed over the quill, Rosmerta happened to notice the man sitting at the bar. She smiled, an expression of mock disbelief on her face. "Sirius Black? No, it can't be you. You're far too grim to be Sirius Black, and he was never grim. Or dull for that matter."

Sirius glared good-naturedly at the woman, registering in his mind that it had been over sixteen years since he last saw her. "Yes, Rosmerta, it's me. Just a bit worse for wear."

The same cheerful woman he'd known as a teenager, give or take a few gray hairs that he didn't remember, winked jovially at him. "Well, you better start turning that good old bravado on, love, or I'll never serve you again."

Sirius finally cracked a grin and winked back. "Will do, dear."

Harry had finished scribbling the address on a scrap of parchment and handed Rosmerta back her quill, letting her move on to her other patrons. "Here's the address," Harry said, giving the parchment to his godfather. "Just go to the building right next door to it. The sellers live there."

A half a dozen new customers came in and started heading for the bar. Harry began preparing glasses, giving Sirius one last glance. "Keep me posted, all right?"

"Right, thanks," Sirius said as Harry walked over to the new customers. Taking one last sip of firewhiskey, he left a few sickles on the bar, and left.

Remus was sitting in his office going over the new list of first years that would be coming to the school in a few weeks, when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he called.

A brown head of hair poked inside, followed by a body. The young man looked meekly but determinedly at Professor Lupin. He had a very important question to ask.

Remus' eyes brightened when he looked up and saw his visitor. "Neville! It's good to see you. How are you doing?"

Neville quietly closed the door behind him as he spoke. "Oh, I'm doing fine. I've been working all summer same as everyone else, I suppose."

Remus nodded as he sorted paper piles on his desk. "And where have you been working, now that you've brought it up? No one's told me."

A small smile appeared at the corners of Neville's mouth. "Fred and George Weasley's joke shop."

Remus gaped at him momentarily. "Dear God!" he exclaimed. "Are you all right? They must be trying every new product they come up with on you!"

Neville laughed. "Only some of them. When they showed me the Intestines Twisters I drew the line."

Remus chuckled. "That would seem to be a smart move. So what can I do for you?"

Neville's smile disappeared. He stared nervously at Remus' desk. "I was wondering if you could write me a letter of recommendation for the Ministry."

Remus blinked briefly. That was the last thing he had expected. "Of course, I'd be glad to. May I ask for what department?"

Neville took a deep breath and Remus could see that he was gathering all of his courage. He looked his former professor straight in the eye.

"I'm going to train to be an Auror."

Remus' eyes widened.

Neville looked down at the sight of Professor Lupin's face. "You don't think I can do it…"

Remus stood up immediately from his desk and walked over to him. He placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. It was so hard for him to keep reminding himself that that's what Neville was. A young man. Only a few years before he had met a boy, mousy and frightened of everything, who would have flinched just now if Remus had placed a hand on his shoulder. But this boy had grown up, had shown bravery and valor in situations of certain death. In many ways, Remus admired him more than anyone he'd ever known.

The young man looked up at his former professor.

"Neville," Remus said quietly, "I know you can do it. Just promise me that when you do," Neville smiled at his use of 'when' instead of 'if' as Remus continued, "you'll tell me when the graduation ceremony takes place. I want to be there."

Neville smiled. Not one of his usual cautious smiles, but a real smile. His eyes were bright as stars. "Thank you, Professor Lupin," he said, extending a hand to shake.

Remus shook his hand and nodded. Neville took that as his cue to leave, and strode out of the office with new authority in his step.

Remus sighed and sat back down at his desk, continuing to pour over his papers until Ivy came in about an hour later.

"You'll never guess who came to see me today," said Remus, standing up and walking over to where Ivy stood looking through his bookshelves.

"Who?" Ivy asked, turning her head away from the book spines and giving him her full attention.

"Neville."

"What did he come to see you for?"

Remus glanced out the window briefly. "He wanted a letter of recommendation for the Ministry."

Ivy gave him a puzzled stare. "For what?"

"He's going to become an Auror."

Ivy's jaw dropped. "Really? That's what he wants to do?"

Remus nodded. "He's quite determined about it."

Ivy closed her mouth and walked to the window. Remus could see her shoulders tensing and knew she was getting upset. He walked over to her. "What's wrong? You should be happy for him."

Ivy turned back to face him. Her lips were pursed in a thin line and her brow was furrowed. She was near to tears. "Every time I think about that boy, I think about his parents and what happened to them." Tears started rolling down her cheeks without warning. "Now he's going to be doing the same things that they were. I just.… I get so scared for them after all the things that have happened. They've all seen too much already, and-"

Ivy was unable to continue speaking. She buried her face in one hand and wrapped her other arm around herself as if that could shield her from the world. Remus stepped closer and pulled her into his arms. "It's okay," he said in a soothing voice. He let his hands rub her back gently as he whispered in her ear. "You know, I think that one of the reasons that Neville wants to do this is because of his parents. And if he feels right about it, then it's probably the best thing for him. It's not as if he's doing it to get revenge. You should be proud of him."

Ivy leaned back slightly and started wiping the tears from her face. "I am proud of him. I just feel like they've all had such little time to be young. I mean, even though Voldemort was coming into power while we were in school we still had childhoods. They had their childhoods stolen from them."

"You can't look at it that way, Ivy. They all have wonderful lives ahead of them. They're all going to be okay."

"I know, I know," Ivy said in between sniffles. "It just really hits me every once and a while. I'm really glad for him, though. I can't think of anyone better from that group to become an Auror."

"I should let Kingsley and Tonks know," Remus thought out loud.

Ivy nodded. "Yeah, you should. They'll show him the ropes and everything, look out for him."

Remus paused. "Now, what was it you came in for?"

Ivy looked back to the bookcase. "I think I needed one of your books, but I can't remember which one. Mostly, I just came in to bother you. Are you going to come upstairs soon?"

Remus nodded. "Yes, I'll be up in a minute. I just have few more things to look over. Oh, and by the way," he said, suddenly remembering the letter he had received a few hours ago. "The Starlight Canyon School sent us another letter. They said they're looking forward to sending their man over here, and they're sure that he'll be learning from the best."

Ivy rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Right… the best…"

It was early in the morning when Codger poked his head into Sirius and Guinevere's partitioned cubicle.

"Carnahan, in my office! I've got an assignment for you and your partner, but you'll get the debriefing without him this time around, so you'll have to relay the information to him."

As Sirius watched Guinevere stalk angrily by him and down the hall, he had to admire his employer. He's trying to find ways to force us to communicate. Good way to build a working partnership. If she'll talk to me, that is.

A few minutes later Guinevere appeared at entrance to their workspace. "Let's go, Black, on your feet. We're Apparating to the location of our assignment."

Sirius stood up. "Okay, but I don't know where-"

He was stopped short when Guinevere grabbed him roughly by his upper arm and he felt the sudden lurch associated with apparation. In a few moments Sirius found himself in front of a simple, but pretty looking cottage which stood in the middle of a lovely street lined with similar dwellings. Sirius turned to Guinevere who seemed distracted by the surroundings, her sharp violet eyes taking in every feature of the cottage, every lawn that lined the street.

"Is this where our assignment is?" Sirius asked.

She ignored him, now studying the windows of the cottage, seeming to hesitate in their approach.

Sirius spoke louder this time. "Guinevere? Earth to Guinevere…"

She snapped her head back to him angrily. "What?"

Sirius cleared his throat and looked down pointedly. Guinevere followed his gaze to Sirius' upper arm. She was still holding it tightly. "Oh," she mumbled as she abruptly let go of him. She watched as he nodded once and gave her a tense smile to show his thanks.

"So what are we doing here?" he asked, his eyes squinting as he surveyed the quaint little house.

Guinevere rolled her eyes, knowing that he would not like what she had to say next. "Listen… why don't you just stay here? I'll take care of this, I can handle it on my own. Without your help."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Codger said that you were supposed to tell me the situation after he had briefed you…"

"I know, but he doesn't have to know." Guinevere watched him keenly for a response, hoping he would jump at her offer. "Think of it this way, Black: you stay out of my way, let me do my job, and you'll get paid for nothing. Doesn't that sound like a good idea?"

She was certain he'd take her up on it. He's Sirius Black, for God's sake – the boy who'd aced all his classes without ever doing a lick of homework. Surely he'll jump at the chance to take the easy way out. To her surprise, however, his eyes narrowed at her in a look of confusion and disbelief.

"Why?"

Guinevere gave a sigh that sounded like a groan. "Look, I don't have time for this. Just let me go in there and do my job, and things will work out fine between us, okay? You just stay out here and wait for me to come back."

She paused for a moment, waiting for his reaction. After a few long seconds, a strained smile appeared on Sirius' lips. A smile that did not match the disdain in his eyes. "Sure, whatever you say. I'll just sit out here like some deranged, pathetic house-elf." Guinevere tried to interrupt him, but he smiled wider and stopped her before she had the chance to redeem herself. "Just let me know when you're finished. I'll be right here."

Guinevere opened and closed her mouth a few times ever so slightly. She didn't know what to say. Finally, she turned away from him and walked to the front door of the cottage. A man let her inside, and Sirius watched her from where he was leaning against the fence, trying to figure out how he was going to survive this new aspect of his life.

A few hours later, Guinevere emerged from the cottage and was surprised to find Sirius standing right where she had left him. He was staring down the street at some young children playing with a large bouncing ball, a genuine smile now on his face. When she approached he didn't look at her, though she was sure he knew she was there.

"I thought you'd have gone home by now," she said quietly.

Now Sirius turned his head back to look at her, his eyes dark, his smile suddenly absent. "And why would you have thought that?"

Guinevere shrugged weakly. After a few moments she sighed and shook her head. "Look, Black, I think we both went about this all wrong-"

"Oh, really?" Sirius said mockingly. "Because I was under the impression that you were the only one who told me not to do my job."

Guinevere looked up to the sky briefly as if searching it for what she wanted to say. Sirius was surprised to find the features of her face soften, making her suddenly seem far more human then she ever had to him. "Okay, I handled that wrong. I'm just not real thrilled to have a new partner. I got along well with my last one, and to suddenly have you coming in here, I… I'm just not used to the idea yet. We've never exactly gotten along, and I don't like being cornered into dealing with people."

Sirius turned to her solemnly, and she suddenly knew that anything he said to her would be the truth, not one of those famous Sirius Black/James Potter elaborations that she had been used to from their childhood. "Well, I'm willing to make the effort if you are. I consider this work to be very important, in case you were wondering."

He sighed, a lingering kind of wear suddenly showing on his face that Guinevere couldn't identify. "And I'm tired of dealing with people like this. Relationships based off of assumptions. I probably don't know you as well as I think I do, and I'm sure you don't know me at all if you thought I'd just be content sitting around and getting a free paycheck, while you did all the work." He held out his hand. "Can we start over? At least from the time I walked into your office a few days ago?"

Guinevere stared him in the face for a few moments. A few moments too long, really. Shaking herself from their locked gaze, so that he wouldn't think she was staring, Guinevere took the hand he offered and shook it. He nodded to her, a nod of mutual respect, which she returned. She still didn't like the man, but she wouldn't hate him anymore.

And they would just have to build off of that.

Remus dropped a wooden box filled with books onto a table in Sirius' new sitting room. Sirius had apparently found the place by way of his godson and had managed to close the deal in just a few days. He was very lucky because the old couple selling the flat happened to be fairly senile, and didn't seem to know anything about Sirius Black the ex-convict.

So Sirius had found a job on Monday and was now moving into a new home on Saturday. Remus was very happy for him, and had offered to help him move in, which was an offer that Sirius could not refuse.

"Do you want your books in here?"

"Yeah, just leave them there. I don't appear to have any bookshelves at the moment, but I saw some wooden planks out back that someone threw away, and I'm sure I'll be able to use them."

Remus paused for a moment, then leaned to the left trying to catch a glimpse of Sirius, who was bustling about kitchen. "You're going to make your bookshelves? Sirius, do you really think that wise?"

Sirius strode back into the sitting room and planted his feet on the ground before folding his arms across his chest. "Why? Are you insinuating that you don't think I can do it? I'll have you know that I am remarkably handy with a wand. Where do you think most of the furniture for James and my first flat came from? It's not like we had any money to buy it."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "You made the furniture for that flat?"

Sirius grinned and nodded proudly.

Remus smirked and started looking through the books in the box. "No wonder it was so uncomfortable," he mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that."

Remus spread his hands submissively. "All I'm saying is it's a good thing that this place came with most of the furniture. We'd never come visit you, otherwise."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh no, you're doing it."

"Doing what?"

"The same thing James did. The 'we' thing. After you get married everything becomes 'we' and never 'I'."

"You're just jealous because I'm married to the woman of my dreams. And you'll never find that person because the woman of your dreams is a different woman every night."

"I resent that!"

Remus shrugged. "By the way, she's coming over later on. She had some 'important headmistress duties' to take care of, but she wants to make sure that she helps you out. And I think she's bringing by a house-warming gift."

"Honestly, Moony, you're really going to get tired of your wife always being more busy than you are."

"Yes, I'm sure I will, but what am I supposed to do about it? You said it yourself, she couldn't turn down the job. She's meant to do it. And I'm certainly not going to divorce her over it. It's just one of those things that people have to get through."

"Well, don't forget, you can always drop by and bother me of you ever feel lonely."

Remus pretended to open up one of Sirius books and skim over the content. "And you mustn't forget not to be insulted when I don't take you up on that offer."

"Ha ha. Now seriously Remus, you might want to come over and keep me company for my sake. You are one of the reasons that I have the job from hell."

Remus glanced up at the ceiling, the telltale Marauder glint in his eye. "Don't know what you're talking about…"

Sirius cocked his head to one side. "Oh please! You both knew that she worked there, and don't bother pretending that you didn't. I still can't believe you didn't warn me."

Remus sat down in the nearest chair. "To be fair, I didn't know until it was too late. Neither did Ivy, because I didn't tell her you had an interview there before it was too late."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. From the other side a female voice called, "Housewarming Committee!"

Sirius pointed to the door curiously and looked at Remus. "Ivy?"

Remus immediately shook his head, knowing his wife's tone and pitch too well. "No, not her voice."

Sirius shrugged, walked to the door, and opened it. As the door swung the person on the other side began to ramble immediately. "Hi, I'm your upstairs neighbor and I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm sorry I didn't bring you a gift or anything, but I just found out about you moving in today, and I-"

The voice stopped short as the figure in the doorway finally turned her head and saw who was standing in front of her. The violet eyes flared.

"You! What are you doing here?"

Sirius blanched momentarily, clearly trying hard to register what he was seeing. "I live here, thank you," he said slowly.

Guinevere clapped a hand to her mouth, and her eyes became, if it were possible, even larger. Her voice gained a frantic tone and she stepped back from the door. "No! This has got to be some sort of nightmare! I mean, you can't do this to me, you just can't! You've left me alone for sixteen years and now you're just… everywhere!"

Sirius' eyes narrowed and he leaned against the door. "Well, nice to meet you too, neighbor. I'd invite you in for a drink, but you don't seem-" He paused, seeing Remus out of the corner of his eye trying to make his way quietly to the kitchen without being noticed. "Don't you dare move!" Sirius said in a dangerous tone before turning back to Guinevere. "…Forgive me - you don't seem quite in the hospitable mood you were in a few seconds ago. So, if that's all, I'll bid you good day."

But before Sirius could close the door, Guinevere held out a hand to stop it. "Wait!" She let Sirius open the door again, and sighed before speaking. "I'm sorry, that was unbelievably rude of me."

Sirius scowled. "Really? I hadn't noticed. That seems to be the way you usually treat me, so I just figured that you were-"

"Oh, really now!" she interrupted. "The way I've been treating you doesn't even begin to compare to the way that you treated me when we were in school!"

"We were bloody kids!"

"Oh, of course, that makes up for everything! We were children, so it shouldn't matter! I'll have you know that the things you said and did made it very difficult -"

"For God's sake, are you going to blame me for everything that ever went wrong in your life now? You were no picnic yourself, in case you didn't remember, and-"

"That's right, I was no picnic, as you were constantly reminding me, and I never forgot it! You were so arrogant, so superior, the Great Sirius Black-"

"Arrogant? Superior? You're one to talk you swatty, anal, narrow-minded Ravenclaw wench-"

"-Stupid, pig-headed, self-centered Gryffindor cad-"

Both of them stopped and stared at each other, eyes ablaze with fury. This time they shouted in unison.

"What did you call me?"

At that moment Remus decided to clear his throat and interject. "Er, if I may-"

"Shut up, Remus!" they shouted.

For a moment they both stood catching their breath, realizing how out of hand they had let things get. Guinevere stared at her feet and spoke again, her voice now quiet and slightly hoarse.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have started yelling, I overreacted."

"We both did," Sirius said apologetically.

Guinevere nodded. "Listen, let me make it up to you. Come have dinner up at my place on Friday after work. Hopefully we'll have both settled into this a bit by then."

"Sounds good. Can you cook?" Sirius quipped.

Guinevere gave a weak smile. "Yeah, a lot better than I clean, which is a good thing."

"All right, well, see you on Monday then."

Guinevere nodded and turned to go upstairs as Sirius shut the door. After it was closed he looked back at his friend.

Remus stared at the door in confusion. "Well, that went well, I suppose…"

The two men finished most of the unpacking and Sirius poured them both drinks, allowing them to settle down.

"So," Sirius started, his fingers tapping on the side of his glass, "who's this mystery man that I heard you've got coming over from the States?"

Remus shrugged. "Damned if I know. They just asked if he could come over and observe for the year. I figure it'll be good for Ivy. She can probably pass on some of her work to him as part of his training, and then she'll be less burdened. It's only her first year and I'm nervous about her taking on too much."

Sirius nodded, taking a sip from his glass. "Yeah, you're probably right. And she'll still be teaching someone, in a way. I'm sure she'll enjoy that too."

Remus was about to respond when he heard a knock at the door. "It's open!" Sirius shouted.

A few moments later Ivy was in the room surveying the surroundings. "Hm, what a quaint little bachelor pad you've got here, Sirius."

"So kind of you to join us, Little Sister."

As Sirius spoke, Ivy walked over to his chair and bent down to give him a peck on the cheek.

Sirius waved his glass at her. "Drink?"

"No thanks," was the response he received as Ivy crossed over to where Remus was sitting and gave him a swift kiss on the lips. She then straightened up and glanced around once more. "Well, you boys seem to have done just fine without my help. Any trouble?"

Sirius' eyes went wide and dark as he looked to the bottom of his glass. "Oh, there was all sorts of trouble…"

Ivy looked to Remus for an explanation and got one rather quickly. "Guinevere lives in the flat upstairs. She stopped by to welcome Sirius, not knowing that he was the one who had moved in."

"Ah," Ivy said delicately. "So there were some…?"

"Fireworks," Remus finished.

"To say the least," Sirius scoffed.

Ivy looked over at Sirius. "Couldn't you even try being a little nice to her?"

"Try?" Sirius bellowed. "Try? I don't think you quite understand the situation, my dear Little Sister. All I have to do is look at that woman and she bites my head off! I have tried my hardest to be understanding and patient, but it's quite obvious that she'd rather have my vital organs laid out on a platter for ritualistic display then have a civilized conversation with me!"

Ivy raised her eyebrows in hidden amusement, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "That bad, huh?"

In response, Sirius took a large gulp from his glass and set it down rather roughly on the table next to him.

Remus nodded to her. "That bad. I can personally vouch for him. What happened between them this evening was not at all pleasant to witness."

Ivy turned her gaze slyly back to Sirius. "Well, I think I might have just the thing to cheer him up."

"Oh, what?" Sirius groaned disbelievingly.

"Come outside."

Sirius picked up his head from where it rested against the back of the chair. "For what?"

Ivy flashed her quirky smile. "For your housewarming gift…"

Remus and Ivy glanced secretively at each other for a moment before Remus stood and walked with Ivy to the door.

"What are you two up to?" Sirius asked in a scolding tone.

"You'll see," Ivy said as she walked out the door.

Sirius had no choice but to follow, still as much a slave to his curiosity as he had been when they were young. Out in front of the flat there was an extremely large object covered with a heavy tarp. Ivy grabbed the edge of it and turned to face Sirius.

"You must promise not to do anything too dangerous. We went through great lengths to get this back and a lot of restoration was required by us and Hagrid and Harry. We were going to wait till your birthday, but I told them that you probably needed it now and they agreed."

Ivy suddenly yanked off the tarp with surprising ease to reveal…

Sirius' baby.

The black motorbike glinted in the evening light, and Sirius knew without a doubt that she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He walked up to it hesitantly and placing one hand carefully on the handlebar. He thought he might faint. The bike was gorgeous, in perfect condition, and now she was sixteen years more a classic.

"She flies too, Sirius," Remus said from behind him, seeming to know what his friend was thinking.

"This must have taken you ages," he whispered.

Ivy smiled. "Well, with all of us working on it, it took about five months. We've been restoring it since you were pardoned."

"Hagrid had it all this time?"

"No, not quite. After he brought Harry to the Dursley's he didn't need it anymore, so he gave it to Albus to put away. When we asked him for it, it took Albus a long time to figure out where he had put it in the castle, but he eventually remembered and gave it to us. We kept it in the same place where Hagrid had kept Buckbeak."

Sirius' eyes lit up at the name. "Did you hear about Buckbeak? He's allowed to come back to Hogwarts! After all everything that happened with the Malfoy family and Draco's supervision at St. Mungo's, Hagrid petitioned his case, telling them that I had taken Buckbeak to Romania when I escaped, and now they're letting him come back."

"Oh, that's wonderful news!" Ivy exclaimed.

"Yes," Remus said lightly. "Maybe he'll start focusing on positive things now. He's much more pleasant when he's not feeling sorry for himself."

"Oh, bugger off, Moony," Sirius mumbled.

Ivy nudged him. "Come on, are you actually to ride this thing, or are you just going to stand there touching it?"

Sirius looked down at the blue t-shirt and khakis he had on. "I'm not dressed for it."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Do you really care?"

Sirius thought for a moment, a long-absent twinkle appearing in his eyes.

"No."

He swung his left leg over the seat, turned the key, and revved the engine. Ivy laughed in excitement as she watched Sirius. His eyes closed while he felt his senses retune to the machine.

Guinevere, hearing the noise from inside her flat, opened her window at the front and stuck her head out to see what the commotion was. Seeing her new partner, her arch nemesis, on his legendary motorbike, she felt compelled to shout down to him.

"Will you give me no peace?"

Sirius glanced up at the woman looking down on him from above. Nothing she could say could possibly bother him now. His state of mind completely altered whenever he heard that engine hum. Instead of dignifying her with an answer, he gave her a roguish grin and a playful wink.

Guinevere quickly pulled her head back inside and slammed the window shut. Sirius felt that his mindless flirting had served him well, seeing that she had disappeared. Had he looked just a split second longer, however, in the moment before she had pulled back into the security of her four walls, he might have been interested to note the sudden flush that had appeared in her cheeks.

"I suppose we'll be needing to get him a leather jacket for his birthday, then," said Remus, as he turned to Ivy.

"Don't count on it," said Sirius. "I'm going to need the jacket much sooner than my birthday. I'll probably have it by the middle of next week. Hard to ride without one. But I will make an exception tonight…"

"Tata," Remus chimed.

Ivy gave a small wave.

Sirius grinned at both of them and took off, racing down the street before letting the bike travel high into the sky, and disappearing into the night.

Well? Do you like? I hope so! There will be a flashback in the next chapter! And you will get to see Ron and Hermione! Will Sirius get his leather jacket? And you will get to meet the mystery man... Muahahaha... ;) Let me know if you liked it :)