A/N: Don't own, don't sue. First chapter of the sequel to "Of Sisters and Midnight Kisses"! Read and review please! Enjoy.

Chapter 1

"Wonderful, just wonderful."

Sirius Black pulled his cloak off with a flourish and threw it unceremoniously onto the ground. He angrily kicked off his shoes, not caring when they hit the wall with two loud thumps. "Lucius Malfoy is such an arse," he muttered under his breath. There was a knock at the door. He groaned loudly- as if his day couldn't get any worse. "What?" he asked gruffly, throwing the door open with more force than was necessary.

Starr Potter stood at the door, a bemused expression on her face. "Well, fine," she huffed, trying hard not to burst out laughing. "If you don't want to see me, I'll just… leave."

It was all Sirius could not to tackle her in a hug right then and there. "Sorry, Nova," he said, stepping aside to let her into his flat. "Bad day at work. Nothing you can't fix."

She grinned widely as the stepped inside, tucking a lock of her black hair behind her ear. "That's okay, Padfoot." She sat down on his couch, bouncing slightly, as if to test its squishiness. "So what's this about a bad day at work?"

"Lucius Malfoy is being a wanker," Sirius told her, sitting next to her on the couch. He draped his arm over her shoulders and she snuggled into him.

"Is that supposed to be surprising?" she asked.

"No," he admitted with a shrug. "But that doesn't change the fact that he's being a huge pain in my arse."

"What could make you… forget about him?" she whispered and he was suddenly aware of her proximity to him. Her lips were mere centimeters from his and one of her hands reached up to cup his face gently.

"Erm…" he said. Brilliant, Sirius, he thought dryly. Your fiancée is obviously trying to set up a romantic moment and the best you can manage is 'erm'. That'll go down in the record books, that will.

She rolled her hazel eyes at him, chuckling softly. "It's okay, Pads," she said. "I know exactly what you mean." And then her mouth was on his. His hands flew to her hair, running his fingers through it, loving the feel of the silky strands between his fingers. His tongue traced her bottom lip, coaxing her deeper into the snogging session. She obliged and parted her mouth. He moaned, placing his hands on her hips and gently hauling her onto his lap.

Suddenly, the front door opened and there was a startled cry of, "Bloody hell!"

Sirius and Starr sprang apart, both turning their heads to see an embarrassed James standing at the door. He looked as mischievous as ever, his black hair ruffled, as he said, "I just wanted to innocently visit my best mate, but no- instead I'm scarred for life with the image of my best mate and my little sister shoving their tongues down each other's throats."

"You already had that image," Starr retorted, standing to greet her brother. "Where's Lily?"

"Oh, sure," James scoffed. "No 'how are you, James?' or 'where have you been, James?'. All you care about is Lily. I see how it is."

"I bloody know how you are, James, I work with you!" Starr yelped, slapping her elder brother's arm playfully.

"I know, I know," he laughed, rubbing his arm tenderly. "She's coming, she just wanted to have a quick bite to eat before she left."

"I've got plenty of food here," Sirius pointed out, looking a bit rejected. "I can feed her."

James flushed. "W-well, she l-likes to eat her own food."

Starr cocked her head at James, scrutinizing him with her intelligent hazel eyes. "Oh, I see," she chuckled. She turned to Sirius, saying, "They started a snogging session the minute Lily got home and didn't want us to know, so Lily's straightening up."

Starr sighed loudly as she entered the Auror office, throwing her bag down unceremoniously onto her chair. Only she and a few others were assigned to this shift, including James. Lily and Sirius, meanwhile, had the day shift. "Coffee?" James offered her, extending his hand, in which he held an extra cup of the steaming brown drink.

"Thanks, bro," she said, taking it from him. She took a small sip, relishing the hot caffeinated liquid rushing down her throat.

"Is it fixing up to be another boring night of blackjack?" he asked, leaning against her desk.

"Please," she scoffed. "That was hardly boring. You're only saying that because you still owe me fifteen Galleons." She then sighed. "Probably."

"Everyone to the situation room!" someone cried. "We've got a Death Eater report in Diagon Alley."

"And I know nothing," Starr muttered under her breath as she and James headed for the situation room. They took seats next to each other towards the middle of the long table. "Who do you think they're going to send out?"

James shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Hopefully, us. I mean, we haven't had a single damn assignment yet, but Dawson's gone on three straight assignments."

"Shh," she hissed as Freeman, the Auror in charge of the night shift, started to speak.

"One of our reliable informants has reported a Death Eater attack at Flourish and Blott's in Diagon Alley. We've agreed to send out two Aurors to take care of the situation. Potter and Potter- time to shine," he said, looking at them gravely.

"Seriously?" James said, grinning crookedly. "Sweet!"

Freeman shook his head, deciding to deal with James's attitude later. "Go. NOW!" he barked.

James and Starr spun on the spot and with a crack, Disapparated. "I hope those two know what they're doing."

James and Starr burst through the open front door of Flourish and Blott's into a hellish deluge of curses and hexes flying everywhere. "Bloody hell," Starr grunted, expertly dodging a curse. "Incarcerous!"

There were about four or five Death Eaters that were attacking the shop owners, who had been known to give help to Muggleborns whenever they could. "Impedimenta!" James cried over the din in the shop.

"POTTER!" roared a voice. "JAMES POTTER IS MINE!"

James whipped his head around to see who had so vindictively called him out. He caught sight of his challenger and his mouth twisted into a smirk. "Snivellus," he sneered, "how unpleasant to meet you."

A killing curse mixed her by a mere centimeter and Starr involuntarily let loose a shrill squeak. James looked at her in alarm and Snape seized his opportunity. "Sectumsempra!"

James felt as though a sword had ripped through his flesh and he could feel blood leaving him at an alarming rate. His consciousness was fading. The last thing he heard was Starr.

"No!" she screamed shrilly, cursing any Death Eater that stood between her and Severus Snape. She pointed her wand at him and cast some silent curse. A streak of purple light hit Snape square in the chest and he fell backwards, knocked out. The Death Eaters law strewn on the floor around her as she rushed towards her brother, tripping over the body of a Death Eater in the process. "James!" That was the last thing he heard. Then… nothing.