Disclaimer: I don't own any of the ideas presented in the Harry Potter series or the characters and settings. Everything is accredited to the wonderful J.K. Rowling except the plot!

A/N: ok, so this is my first Sirius fic. I've only written a fluffy one about Harry and Ginny and those characters were already created by JK, so I've had fun creating my own character and I hope you get a feel for what she's really like. Remember, I'm a beginner, so any constructive criticism you have, I'd be happy to hear about. Anyways…ENJOY!

Unremitting Sentiment

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Chapter One: Chance Reunion

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Sirius Black walked through the doors of Hogwarts as a free man. It was Harry's first summer out of Hogwarts and Sirius could not think of a better way for the summer to begin than with his trial declaring him free and having the war over for almost a month. Harry seemed to be doing a lot better, which Sirius had worried about.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had kicked Harry out of the house the second they heard of the war ending, shipping his belongings (which did not consist of many things) to a Muggle hotel in London, where Remus received them and brought them to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore had not tried to disallow Aunt Petunia to do so since Harry was no longer in immediate danger more than anyone else.

Sirius had worried that the actions of his relatives would upset Harry, even in the slightest. On the contrary, this seemed to help Harry recover more quickly from the war. For the past few years of Harry's life, his childhood had been lost and Harry understood this. Everyone expected Harry to try to seclude himself, but it seemed as though Harry was pushing himself to move on. His thoughts of guilt over those who had died over the years under Voldemort's power dissolved into an understanding that several lives had been saved because of his final battle. He still did not believe it to be fair that all those people had died, but no one really believes it right that they should live while other die and Harry began to realize that in suffering from depression, he was allowing those who had died to have died in vain. Sirius had reiterated several times to him that it was not wrong to enjoy his life. After all, those who had given their lives had done so for the purpose that others could enjoy life. This finally sunk into Harry and he was learning to live with himself and with others.

Sirius made his way to Albus Dumbledore's office, ignoring any of his surroundings and enjoying the fact that he did not have to worry about getting caught in public. His pace quickened and he finally made it to Dumbledore's staircase. He uttered "Blueberry Bunch" and walked his way up the winding staircase. He had just raised his hand to knock on the door when he heard Dumbledore say, "Come in."

Sirius opened the door and found Dumbledore tending to Fawkes, who looked rather sickly. "Hello Sir," Sirius said.

"Mr. Black, congratulations," Dumbledore said, turning around to look at Sirius through his half-moon spectacles. "What can I do for you?"

"I," Sirius couldn't think of how to thank someone for freedom after eighteen years of imprisonment and hiding. Surely he could do more than a simple "thank you," but he could not think of anything else, so he continued, "I want to thank you, Sir. For all that you did. It really wasn't necessary and I can't express to you how grateful I am." Sirius stopped as he couldn't think of anything else.

"You're a good man, Sirius Black. The world never got to see your greatness, but I know those who have and they'll agree when I say that you deserve the freedom more than anyone," came the reply.

Sirius nodded as he fought back tears. He laughed inwardly at how ridiculous he must be for crying in front of Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore smiled and added, "I know Harry is incredibly excited about this summer. I trust you'll be spending it with him?"

Sirius blinked and the tears rolled down his cheeks. He nodded and smiled since he couldn't say a word.

"Well, I believe that the lost time will no doubt catch up with you both. Please give him my regards," said Dumbledore.

Sirius nodded and shook hands with Dumbledore before turning around and walking out of his office. As he closed the door, he caught a glimpse of Fawkes going up in flames and smiled to himself. He took a deep breath as he descended the stairs finding his way back to the corridors of Hogwarts. He had a sudden desire to shout or scream or laugh even. He had so much energy that he wanted to burn, for he didn't think it could stay inside anymore. He smiled and ran through the corridors, jumping up every now and then and clicking his heels together.

As he rounded a corner, he jumped up and clicked his heel and fell right on top of someone, whose papers scattered through the corridor. He fell hard on his right arm and heard a grunt from the other. He sat up in time to see a woman of about his age sit up and shake her head as she began to dust off her robes. She turned to face him and before he could say anything, she gasped, "Sirius Black!"

Sirius noticed that the gasp had not been one of fear, but of recognition. He recognized her as well, but could not put a name to the face. He rubbed his arm, stood up and offered his hand to help her up as well. She took his hand and pulled herself up with Sirius' help. "How are you?" she asked, clearly excited to see him.

"I'm alright, I guess," Sirius answered stupidly. "Are you okay?"

"Oh yes, I'm fine. I heard about your trial. Congratulations!" the woman smiled.

"Thanks," Sirius replied awkwardly as he began to gather her papers.

The woman began to collect her papers with Sirius. When they had collected them all, they both stood back up. She looked around to make sure they had gotten them all and found that her wand was still on the floor. She picked it up and laughed. "This probably would have made clean-up easier."

Sirius smiled and the woman suddenly realized that he didn't remember who she was and felt incredibly stupid. "I'm sorry! You probably don't remember me. We were good friends when we went to Hogwarts. I'm-"

"Adhara Belvedere," Sirius remembered instantly after looking her directly in the eye.

"Oh," she laughed. "Nevermind then."

Sirius' energy was still flowing and he laughed at the fact that she was caught off-guard. She wasn't a particularly pretty, thin, or good-looking woman, but she always made friends easily. She was average height and on Sirius was up to the bottom of his chin. "What are you up to this afternoon?" she found herself inquiring.

"I'm not sure yet," Sirius answered. "What's there to do?"

"Well, I have to work," Adhara replied, trying to hide any bitter that might have been showing through. "But you can do anything. Hogsmeade is probably full of people, since school just let out. Go shopping or something," she suggested.

Sirius laughed, "Shopping?"

"Or not…you could go get your nails done," she said keeping a completely straight face.

Sirius smiled and looked down at his nails, replying, "What are you talking about? My nails are wonderful." He added a fake hurt look to the end of his sentence as though he'd been offended that she'd thought his nails might've needed to be done.

Adhara laughed. "Funny. You haven't changed."

"Neither have you," Sirius smiled. "What are you doing for lunch?"

"Working," Adhara sighed bitterly.

"Wait," Sirius said, as a realization overtook him. "Do you work here?"

"Yes, I teach."

"What do you teach?"

"Muggle Studies."

"Are you kidding?"

"No," she said somewhat defensively. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering. We always hated that class. It was so boring…"

"That's why I'm teaching it!"

"Did you just call yourself boring?" Sirius asked, looking genuinely amused.

"No, no. I know it was boring. I'm trying to make it interesting for students. I actually thought about teaching Divination because that was just torture, but then I realized that it'd be torture to try to learn it deeper and I didn't think I could handle it. Besides, I think Sibyl Trelawney has a pretty good handle on it…" Adhara looked away as she said the last sentence and she tried to stifle a laugh. She looked up and Sirius looked pensive.

"Good point. She does seem to have a good grasp on things," he replied. "Where is your classroom? I'll bring your papers and things there for you."

"Oh, thank you! It's this way," Adhara said as she continued around the corner where she had run into Sirius. She led him to an empty classroom on the fourth floor. It was a circular room and was part of one of the many towers the school had within it's grounds.

"Where do you want these?" Sirius asked, unsure why he wouldn't automatically put it on her desk.

"Just on my desk. Thanks," she said as she proceeded to open all the windows in the classroom.

"Do you need help with anything else?" Sirius inquired.

"No, I'm alright for now. Thanks for your help," Adhara said to him.

"Sure," Sirius said, looking around.

Adhara watched him closely, wondering why he hadn't left yet. It wasn't that she didn't like the company, but he never seemed to be one to linger. She figured that the years in Azkaban had changed him inwardly, though in general he seemed to be the same sarcastic, humorous, chick-magnet with just a few years added.

She hadn't realized that she was staring at him until he said, "Do I have something on my clothes?"

She snapped out of it and replied, "What? Oh, no. Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Nothing in particular," she replied, trying to busy herself at her desk.

"Well, I'll let you work then. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll stop by again," Sirius grinned.

"Lucky me," Adhara said sarcastically. She stood up and went around to stand in front of him. "It was good to see you, Sirius. Really," she smiled.

"I'll be in touch," he said.

They shook hands and she watched him walk out of her classroom. Once Sirius had left, Adhara went behind her desk and flopped down in her chair. She covered her face in her hands and sighed heavily. She sat there in silence for a moment and when she looked up, she saw Minerva McGonagall making her way through the doorway.

Adhara stood up immediately and asked, "What can I do for you Mrs. McGonagall?"

"Please call me Minerva. We're both teachers now. And I didn't need anything in particular. I was just coming in to get to know you a little more closely since I haven't seen you since you left for America. Are you doing alright setting up?" Minerva asked, observing Adhara closely.

"Oh, I'm fine. I don't think I remembered how huge this place really is. It's definitely bigger than the American academy. I had thought I would remember how to get from one side of the building to the other, but it seems I have my work cut out for me."

"I've been teaching here for several years now and I still get lost sometimes," Minerva said as she surveyed the room affectionately as though it were her own child. "I was wondering if you'd seen Sirius Black walking around the corridors. Have you?"

"Oh yes, we had a run-in, actually. No pun intended," Adhara laughed, thinking of how they'd literally run into each other.

"Have you two kept in touch over the years? I know it's been a long time since you left school," Minerva asked nonchalantly.

"Unfortunately no. I have talked to him since, er…" Adhara paused. "…since I left for America," she finished, looking out a nearby window. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I just saw him and I wasn't sure if you knew he'd been through the castle. That's all," Minerva smiled at Adhara with a look that Adhara knew too well. Minerva always had the effect that made others feel as though she were looking through their eyes and reading their mind. Whether she could read minds or not, was untold, but the feeling was quite unnerving, especially since Adhara hadn't seen her in quite a few years.

"Well, I have work I have to do, so I'll be letting you alone. I'm hoping to get more aquainted with you before the students arrive in the fall," Minerva smiled.

"Absolutely," Adhara replied. "Thanks for stopping by!"

Minerva nodded and walked out of her classroom.

Adhara smiled until Minerva left. When she was sure she had gone, Adharablinked and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she thought of what an odd conversation that had been. Why had she asked me about Sirius? she thought to herself. So odd…

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A/N: Please review and let me know what you liked and didn't like! I love hearing from you all and if you're a Harry/Ginny fan, feel free to check out my other fic, This Time Around