Hello, all!

For those of you following my other story, 'Living Eternities', the next chapter is still being written. I've been having trouble with the Muses, who thought it would be amusing to stick this in my head instead. Not one to fight the Muses, I had to obey. So, yes, this is another story about a girl, an OC, and a daughter. But hopefully, you will find it different from LE. I've written the first two chapters so far and have a pretty clear idea about the rest (unlike LE, which is why the next chappie isn't up).

The story is not linear, but will be jumping from past to present in the life of the characters and will be told from several points of view. The chapter titles' are taken from songs that have inspired each in some way, like a soundtrack to the story. I'll list the title and artist at the beginning of each chapter.

Give it a chance. You might like it!

Disclaimer: Don't own any rights. Not making any profit. Only the OC is mine.

Track 1: Daughter, Pearl Jam.
Chapter 1: Daughter

Sirius Black was free. For the first time in twelve years, he was walking under the open sky, stars shining overhead like tiny twinkling fairies in treetops, that silver shell, better known as the moon, reminding him of happier times -- times he hadn't thought about for years. And yet, there was heaviness in his heart as he strolled through the woods, on the edge of civilization, or as close to civilization the countryside offered.

Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he was presently the canine Padfoot, forced to hide away in his animagus form for fear of Dementors, the Ministry and anyone who wanted to see the convicted and recently escaped mass murderer safely back behind the bars of Azkaban prison. Or perhaps it was the fact that he was on a mission to keep his godson, Harry Potter, safe from the treacherous Peter Pettigrew, the man who had betrayed the boy's parents years earlier, leading to their murders at the hands of the most evil wizard of the time and setting Sirius up to take the fall. Although all this weighed heavily upon his shoulders, at the moment, Sirius Black's only concern was a visit to an old mate. The only mate he had who was left alive.

Padfoot approached a cottage nestled in a clump of trees cautiously, his paws padding softly on the overgrown lawn, crunching yellow patches muffled underfoot. The house was shrouded in darkness, save for light emitting from the tiny windows at the front of the even tinier home. Padfoot felt his nerves grabbing hold of him as he stole around the side of the house and slunk into the back garden. The light inside spilled onto the lavender bushes from the back door, which he found, was ajar. He must be out here, he thought, panicking. He immediately stopped in his tracks and searched the garden with his keen grey eyes.

He sensed her before he spotted her. A teenaged girl under the largest tree at the end of the garden, leaning against the parched bark, cigarette in hand. She seemed to be trying to shrink from the light that cut through the garden, almost, but not quite, illuminating the taboo act. Though he was in canine form, his vision was not quite so good that he could make out her features, but he could tell she was too young to be smoking. Suddenly, she looked up and their eyes met. She seemed to look at him curiously, then smiled and beckoned him over. Sirius, as Padfoot, almost turned his head to see if she was calling over someone else but quickly thought better of it, as it wasn't usual canine behaviour. He trotted over to her, his tongue lolling out to one side for effect.

"Hi, there," she whispered, putting her fist out slowly. She obviously knew about dogs.

He sniffed her hand tentatively for a few seconds, then nudged it. Cautiously, she opened her fist, slowly placed it atop his head and scratched him gently between the ears.

"Where did you come from, hmm?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

He dared not make a sound. He wasn't sure if Remus was in the house. He wasn't even sure this was his house anymore. It certainly didn't seem so, not from the teenage girl in the garden. He's gone, he thought suddenly.As soon as the realization hit him, disappointment set in at once.

"I don't suppose you want a ciggie?" she asked, chuckling softly.

He did. It had been a dozen years since his last one, and he suddenly craved it. Damn, he thought bitterly, eyeing the burning end of the fag in her other hand. Her free hand still stroking his head, she put the bit of cigarette left to her lips and took one long, last drag, then stubbed it out on the bottom of her trainers.

"Not from around here, are you?" she whispered, letting out a stream of smoke as she spoke.

He whimpered softly.

"You hungry, boy?"

He was. More than a cigarette, he craved a hot meat pie, or a bowl of steaming stew, but he knew – if he was lucky – the most he would get was scraps. Still, he whimpered once more hopefully. At least I might get a meal out of this trip, he thought. Won't be a waste of time, after all.

The young girl got up slowly, so as not to make any noise. "Wait here," she breathed as she tiptoed back across the lawn, careful to stay out of the light. He sat under the tree, rooting around hopefully in the grass for the end of a fag. He came up empty. Shite.

He waited hopefully for five minutes, his stomach growling fiercely as he did. The last he'd eaten was days ago, and that had been a meager meal of potato peels and the fat end of a carrot, lopped off and discarded in a bin that sat outside a house along Privet Drive. He'd trotted up and down that street for days, waiting to see Harry, though he knew it was ridiculous to think he would recognize his godson after so many years.

But he had. The moment he'd seen him, he had.

It was as if an underfed version of James was walking purposefully down the street, though, even in the dark, his green eyes shone just like Lily's. The odd thing was, he was pulling a large trunk along behind him and carrying an empty birdcage just the right size for an owl. It worried him, and he followed his godson closely, careful to stick to the shadows so as not to be seen, but determined to see where the boy was going at the unlikely hour. But cautious as he was, he'd frightened the boy when he stepped out of the shadows and stared at him. Harry, taken by surprise, had stumbled to the ground, his wand hand flying into the air and summoning the Knight Bus. You idiot, he berated himself, you're a great shaggy beast! Who wouldn't be frightened of you? The last he saw of his godson, he was being helped onto the purple Double - Decker by a pimply – faced conductor, who loudly (and thankfully) announced Harry's destination – Diagon Alley.

Knowing he would be safer there than on the streets alone, and not being able to venture too near to a spot where he was most likely to be recognized, Sirius decided to visit his old mate. He lived near enough Surrey, after all, and Sirius, having long ago forgiven his friend for believing him guilty of killing Peter and all those muggles (he hated to admit it, but Peter had gotten the better of him), was curious to see how Remus was faring. He also longed to see a familiar face, even though the man to whom the face belonged still believed him guilty of betraying Lily and James.

As his canine stomach gurgled hopefully, Sirius heard the unmistakable sound of Remus' voice.

"What are you doing?"

He froze. He was suddenly very aware of how foolish he'd been to venture so closely to Remus' house. They weren't friends anymore. In Remus' eyes, he was the enemy.

"I was just getting a snack," came the young girl's reply.

Who is she? he thought, suddenly curious.

"Really," he heard Remus respond doubtfully.

Sirius stuck his head out from behind the tree hoping for a look at the man who had once been like family. He was not disappointed. Blocking the light was the tall, gangly form of Remus Lupin, standing over the young girl, who just reached his shoulders. He couldn't make out his face clearly but he could tell the sandy brown hair, once flecked with grey, was now liberally so, unkempt and seeming to glow faint under the light, contrasting with the young girl's honey coloured mane. Her face, however, was more visible from that angle, her features unobscured by the sheet of darkness outside. His grey eyes roamed over her as the realization hit him.

She looks just like – but, no, it's not possible…

But he was unable to finish his thought. Remus suddenly walked out into the garden, his head turning this way and that.

"Is there someone out here with you?" he asked the girl.

"No," came the quick reply.

Remus turned his back to where Padfoot was hiding. There was a moment of silence. He must be giving her 'the look', he thought with some amusement. He was surprised that he remembered that look all too well.

"All right," she said with a tone of defeat, "if you must know, I was going to feed Wilbur a snack."

Wilbur?

"Sophie," came Remus' soft reply, "you know we can't afford to feed the pig our dinner." The guilt in his voice was unmistakable.

Padfoot heard soft grunting noises and the gentle cluck of chickens just behind him. How did I miss that?

"I know," she said, just as softly, "I just wanted to give him a treat." She hung her head low and Sirius was sure he saw her bottom lip jutting out. "I mean, we'll be leaving him soon, and I … I know it's stupid, but I want him to remember me when I'm gone."

Sirius was impressed. Whoever she was, she knew just what strings to tug on old Moony.

"Alright," he said, giving in, just as Sirius expected he would. "Just this once." He pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear affectionately. "Make it quick, though, it's late."

Remus disappeared from the doorway into the cottage. The young girl, who Remus had called Sophie, waited a moment then walked back out into the garden, closing the door behind her. The absence of light made it hard for Padfoot to see her approaching. Fortunately, his other senses kicked in. As she set down a bowl of leftovers by the tree's roots, he became aware of her scent.

No, he thought, shaking his head, it can't be.

"What's wrong, mutt?" she asked in an amused whisper, "don't like dad's cooking?" He lifted his head and, forgetting he was a big black dog, stared into her eyes only to find them looking back at him more curious than ever.

Dad?

The smile on her face slipped a little and she stiffened.

That means…

Her eyes widening, she backed away slowly.

Oh, Merlin, this girl is Moony's daughter!

"What are you?" she asked, breathless with fear.

He realized he was staring and, panicking, quickly turned, intent on running, and slammed his snout right into the tree. Smarting from the shock and pain, he whimpered loudly.

Oh, shite, he thought, he's bound to hear that. He was right. A few seconds later, the back door flew open and Remus bounded into the darkness.

"Sophie, what was that noise?" he said, an obvious note of panic in his voice.

But she didn't have to answer. Remus locked eyes with Padfoot and a look of loathing, fear and anger fell over his worn face.

"You!" he said with a force unlike any Sirius had ever heard come from his mate. It made his fur stand on end.

"Sophie, get in the house!"

He grabbed her roughly by the arm and shoved her towards the back door, placing himself between his daughter and Sirius as if determined to protect her with his life. Sirius watched in fascinated horror as his old mate whipped out his wand and just barely got hold of himself in time to dodge a Stunner aimed at him. It hit the tree with a sickening crack and the bark split, a gaping hole smoking ominously where his head had been only seconds before.

What the fuck, Moony! he thought angrily, growling loudly out of instinct.

He leapt out from the tangle of bushes where he had landed and tore towards the side of the house, as spell after spell whizzed by his head and landed around him. All he could think to do was run as he galloped full force off of the property and towards the thick clump of trees across the lane. He didn't look back, and, running full tilt, didn't stop until he his tongue was almost touching the ground and his heart felt like it was about to explode.

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Sophie watched, frightened, as her father paced on the worn hearthrug by the fireplace, agitated and angry.

"Dad," she said timidly, "Who was that?"

He stopped and looked at her. Draining his face of all emotion, he knelt by her feet. "No one darling." He stroked her face reassuringly and tried to smile. Sophie noticed his hand shaking against her cheek.

"Don't lie to me," she said, barely audible. She had never seen her father like this and was determined to understand what had just happened.

"Oh, darling, I'm not lying," he said, a forced calm to his voice, "I just… I panicked, you know, I… I thought it was a Grim."

The words sounded false. "You don't believe in that rubbish," she challenged, "You've said so yourself – loads of times," she added.

He dropped his hand from her face and leaned back on the heels of his feet. "Sophie," he said, "I was being foolish, I know, but I heard a noise and I panicked."

She wasn't convinced.

"Look, I've just been jumpy lately over all this Azkaban business," he said, waving a hand and getting to his feet. "I heard a noise, I saw that great big beast of a stray and I overreacted." He saw the look of skepticism on her face. "I'm your father, I'm entitled to be protective," he added a little forcefully.

He turned his back to her and set about picking up the books in neat little piles on the floor by his favourite chair.

Sophie sat on the worn sofa silently watching her father for a minute or so, not entirely convinced of his explanation. He was obviously lying but she just couldn't figure out why.

"It's late," he said, without stopping or looking at her, "you should get some rest."

She was sure it had to do with the dog that Sophie was convinced wasn't a dog at all. Its eyes were too haunted and full of understanding to be simply canine. No, it had to be a person, an animagus.

Sophie had heard of them when she was very young. Her mother, unable to bring herself to tell Sophie the truth that she was a werewolf, had come up with an elaborate lie. She told the young girl she had a "special gift", giving her the ability to turn into an animal. She made it sound like a coveted ability that other witches and wizards would kill for. What she hadn't told her was that unlike an animagus, she couldn't control when she turned or what she could do when she had.

For the first four years of her life, as far as she remembered, Sophie never understood why she shook violently and went sick all over herself every month but never turned anything but weak and pale. It wasn't until after her fourth birthday that something changed to make her believe her mother's words. She remembered the moon coming out from behind the clouds, full and shining bright in the black sky as she lay moaning and aching in her little bed one cold winter night. She didn't know exactly what dying was, only that it hurt and made people disappear, but she was sure that night she was dying and she was more frightened than ever. It didn't help that her mother, who usually held her hand whenever the pain and nausea came, refused to touch her that night. Instead, she stood in the corner of Sophie's bedroom, her wand pointed at the little girl, a look of terror on her face.

Sophie didn't remember much about that night, except blinding pain, the feeling of being ripped apart and feeling like she needed to hurt someone as much as the excruciating pain that seared into every joint and muscle was hurting her. The next morning, when she awoke in her bed, covered in scratches and dried blood, her mother barely spoke to her, instead flicking her wand silently to clean her up, and sitting on the edge of the bed with bandages and potions. The day after that, Sophie's mother packed all the little girl's worldly possessions into a small trunk and told her she was going to live with her father.

The father, until that day, Sophie never knew she had.

So, what did you think? Please review and let me know!

The next chapter is already written and will be posted in a couple of days.

Coming Soon - Chapter 2: A Certain Romance – set in the time of the Mauraders, starring James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. When their only worries were whether their pranks would go off without a hitch, when Lily Evans would finally notice James was a catch, and whether or not they would pass Astronomy, the four roommates and best friends have their friendships tested by a girl…