Okay, so I have just started this story, I don't know where it came from, it just popped in my head one day I was sitting on my porch, totaly at peace with my chocolate inone hand and my cigarette in the other.

Anyway... I hope you like it, and if you do, please tell me so.

- Neko

CHAPTER ONE

SURPRISE

Sirius Black was a proud man. He was handsome, kind and witty. And believe me, he knew it. There wasn't much you could do to take him of guard, no, only his best mate James Potter had been able to do that, and ocationally his other best mate Remus Lupin. The two off them could always make him smile, even in the darkest hours. James, who had taken him in when he had nowhere else to go, Remus who hit him across the head when he was being abnormaly stupid, James who had suported him and made him feel like he had a place in the world after all, James who... but James was gone now, and Remus was out working for the order.

But since James had... gone away, nothing could take him off guard anymore. Not even make him smile. Sure, people had tried, it was allways the same, though. 'Look on the bright side, Sirius.' 'You must get out of this house, Padfoot, it's driving you mad!' 'James wouldn't have wanted you to do this.'

But Sirius never listened to them. His best friend, brother, partner in crime had died just three years ago! Since then Sirius had just sat in a kitchen chair, staring into the wall trying to realize that James and Lily Potter weren't coming back. They weren't going to come barging in the front door and scream 'surprise!' and take him off guard again. As he sat there, staring at the uneven wall in Grimaulds Place 12, he wondered if anyone, or anything, ever could take him of guard again. He doubted it.

But oh so wrong he had been.

...

Sirius was sitting in his chair, a bottle of firewhisky in one hand and a heartbreaking expression on his face. He was thinking about his time at Hogwarts. He, James, Remus and Peter. They had had such fun times together, pranking everyone, even the teachers from time to time. The had called themselves the Marauders, and they had been proud of it too.

He had so many memories from that time, it made him feel warm inside just by thinking of it, and it made him think, maybe, just maybe, he would manage to face this after all.

But then the warm feeling went away and was replaced with a stone cold thought. If he faced this, if he eventually got over this, would that be the same as forgetting about James and Lily? Would that wipe away the memories?

Sirius gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

No, that would sertanly not be the same as forgetting about them, and that would not wipe away their memories.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Sirius looked up, raising an eyebrown. Who the hell could be knocking at my door in the middle of the freakin' night?

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Okay, it better not be Molly saying I have to get out. Why would Molly be knocking on my door now, anyway? Don't she have five kids? I swear, that woman pops out chidren faster than I can-

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Allright, I'm coming, I'm coming!" Sirius groaned as he rose from his chair. His back hurt like hell, a result from not moving for several days it would seem. He grabbed his wand and made his way over to the front door.

"Identify yourself!"

Nothing. Not a sound from the other side of the door. Sirius sighed, wishing he could return to his chair an thoughts.

He opened the door and saw nothing at first. Just darkness with a little light from the streetlamps. That is, 'till he looked down.

On his porch, stood a little girl. Probably not older than three, maybe four. Sirius raised an eyebrow. She was small and pale and she appeared to be cold, becase she was shivering slightly, not unlikly, he thought, the poor kid was just dressed in pajamas, with a note hanging around her tiny neck. The girl didn't say anything, she just looked at him with big, ocean blue eyes. Something klicked in Sirius mind, those were his eyes.

Nothing could take him off guard my ass.