Warnings: Fem!Harry. Crude language. Will have sexual situations in the future. Rating will most probably go up from a T to an M.

Pairings: Sirius/Fem!Harry. Severus/(?) (Surprise!)

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter & co. I make no money out of this. This disclaimer is applicable to all future chapters as well.

Cover image: The cover image is based on a picture called 'Girl Harry Potter' by milky0candy. Used with permission. Check out their profile on DeviantArt . com.


THREADS OF TIME


Chapter 3


"We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future"

~ George Bernard Shaw ~


OoOoO


Bella opens her eyes as the alarm in Black's room begins to ring. She groans and turns sideways in an attempt to get off the couch without falling to the floor.

Yes, Black being the gentleman that he is, had not even offered to take the couch for her. But he doesn't know that Bella frankly doesn't care. This couch is far more comfortable than her bed at the Dursleys'.

She waves her wand to dispel the wards she had erected last night, before walking over barefoot to the room which both she and Sirius have decided to be Harry's. Right now, it has a lot of toys scattered all over. Harry is standing in his crib, almost as if waiting for her to get up and come. He grins at her toothily.

"Hello, baby Harry, did you sleep well?" she asks gently, bending to coo at the baby. She has known him for less than a week, and yet she's attached to him. She knows that she loves him already. And it doesn't help that he looks completely adorable in his baby blue onesie.

"La," he says, before holding out his arms in a demanding manner. She likes his nickname for her a lot.

"I believe it's your turn to make breakfast today. I'm hungry already," comes a grumbling voice from behind her, and she turns around to glare at Sirius Black. She tries to ignore the fact that he's wearing only his dark black boxers. His usual Beatles t-shirt is missing.

"In which case it's your turn to feed Harry."

"What? Of course not! He bit my finger yesterday."

"I don't even know why you put your finger in his mouth," she retorts, tired of Black's antics at five in the morning.

"I'm taking the shower first, then," comes his indignant response, and Bella sighs.

"We'll have to leave at half seven to reach Gringotts on time."

"Aren't you glad I live just live ten minutes away from Charing Cross Road, love?" he asks sarcastically, trying to win the previous night's argument.

More than the statement, it's the way in which he calls her 'love' that annoys her. He's never called her Bella till now, despite her telling him explicitly to call her so.

"How is it you're hungry this early?" she asks, trying to change the topic.

"If Harry can be hungry, so can I."

She rolls her eyes and decides it futile to argue with the man. She hears him walk up to her and is about to bite out a sarcastic remark, when he bends and takes Harry out of the crib and leaves him on the carpeted floor.

Her breath hitches in her throat, and she feels her face flushing. Suddenly, it's very hard to breathe, and she feels like giggling. His bare chest looks good, but his arms look even better.

"Like what you see, love?" he asks, a smirk on his face.

His using 'love' clears her head.

"Just shut up," she replies, not in the mood to deal with him and his ribbing. She decides she needs a healthy dose of caffeine.


OoOoO


"Remus and McGonagall will be here at seven," she says, as she eats her cheese omelette.

"I still think it's a bad idea to leave Harry with just Minerva."

"It's better than taking him out before all the Death Eaters are caught. Especially people like your insane cousin who are still out there."

He laughs humourlessly, "Did you know that my mother once wanted me to marry Bella? Like I'd ever voluntarily tie myself down to that female."

"Wait, you call her Bella?"

Sirius nods, a confused look on his face.

"Is that why you don't call me Bella?"

All of a sudden, his eyes no longer meet hers, and he grimaces. It all makes sense now.

"And it never struck you to call me Isobel?" she asks dryly.

He mutters something and so she asks him to speak up.

"In Pureblood culture, a wizard can call a witch by her first name only if she gives him explicit permission."

That piece of information throws Bella, for it sounds archaic and actually pretty stupid.

"What? Why?"

"According to the laws of the Dark, a Dark wizard can use a Dark witch's blood in a blood ritual if she has given him permission to use her name with either the winds or her blood as witness."

Bella stares at him dumbly. She is pretty sure that these rules and laws never existed in her thread.

Sirius must have seen her confused look, for he continues, "If you say the words out loud, the winds act as witness, for the winds act as servant to Morgan le Fay. If you give permission in writing, you must sign it in blood, because that too is binding. How is it I never told you all this in the other thread? As your Godfather there, it would have been my duty to inform you. Pretty irresponsible of him."

Bella feels oddly defensive about her Godfather from the other thread. "I'll have you know that my Godfather in the other thread was a damn good one. He broke out of Azkaban for me."

She pauses when she sees him smirking. She can understand why, she's after all defending him to him.

"I don't think these laws existed in my thread, Sirius." It's the first time she's called him by his first name, and he stares at her, slightly surprised.

"So you don't have a magical name?" he asks, curiosity evident in his voice.

"A what?"

"A name given to a child at a ceremony which occurs thirteen hours after his or her birth. It's kept a secret, and only the mother and father know it. When the child turns thirteen, he gains the right to know his own magical name. If the parents die before the child reaches the age of thirteen, the name is revealed to the Godmother and Godfather, so that they can safe-guard it for him. And usually, when a wizarding couple consummate their marriage for the first time, they tell each other their magical names, as a way of protecting it and making their bond more powerful," he recites, almost as if reading it aloud from a textbook.

"Why is it so important to protect it?"

"Because if the name falls into the wrong hands, they will be able to completely control you. Not just your actions, but also your thoughts. They can siphon away your magic. It's considered to be such a despicable act that both Morgana and Merlin together termed the act as one which breaks the soul."

"What do you mean?"

"If you ever steal a magical name of a person who means you no harm, you become Condemned. Your soul becomes tainted, and you will no longer be protected by the Light or the Dark."

It's an information overload, and it's definitely a lot to process. She has a bunch of questions in her head, and she asks the most basic one.

"What do you mean by 'no longer protected by the Light or the Dark'?"

"Every witch or wizard who is born is born with an innate affinity for a certain type of magic. Some theorists say it is genetic, others say it depends on the time and place of birth, while some others say it depends on the time of conception. No one knows for sure, though.

"All types of magic get classified into two types, either Light, or Dark. Merlin protects the Light and Morgana protects the Dark. They're the patron God and Goddess. The Laws they established still hold power over all magical creatures.

"They protect you and your actions. When you die, they represent you in front of Death's Circle, and help you find the after-life you deserve. No one knows what happens after The Judgement, but Merlin and Morgana are said to protect you through all that. When you steal a magical name for less than righteous reasons, you revoke your patron's given protection, and you become Condemned. You will face Death and His Circle all by yourself, and face a consequence worse than dying."

Bella listens, curious and interested. The laws sound so fascinating, and the story seems real. After all, she really has met Death, so it isn't hard to believe that he has a Circle. He seems like the type to have a pretentious Circle with him.

"So are you Dark or Light?"

He quirks an eyebrow at her, and she feels like he is copying her signature expression.

"Why is it that I cannot call you by your first name?"

Bella feels like smacking her face when she realises what she should have realised it when he first said it.

"So you're Dark?"

"I have an affinity to warding magic, which is Dark."

"Oh." She pauses, and then continues, "Am I Light or Dark?"

He grins at her slightly maniacally, before answering.

"You, love, are as Dark as a moonless night."


OoOoO


Bella pulls at the collar of the formal three piece robes that she's wearing. She feels suffocated. She can't help the prickling sensation at the base of her neck. It feels like they are being followed.

She once again turns around suspiciously as they near the stairs of Gringotts. Remus looks at her warily.

"Feeling nervous?" he asks, his voice full of concern. Bella feels a strong stab of affection for the man walking to her left. He looks much less shabbier than when she saw him for the first time in her Third Year.

She hopes that she'll get to meet Teddy Lupin in this thread as well. Her insides twist as she thinks of how her Godson's family was slaughtered by the Bitch. Bella had only gotten to hold him twice - once when he was alive and a day old, and once when his body was cold from the Killing Curse that the Bitch had used upon him.

At least the Bitch had been human enough to not torture the baby, though she had she had obviously been fine with torturing and disfiguring her niece's and her sister's bodies beyond recognition.

Bella takes in a deep breath and pinches the bridge of her nose. If she can fix certain things this time around, she will be able to save so many lives. She'll be able to give them the 'happy-ever-after' that they deserve.

"Nah, I'm fine," she says, smiling at him. The smile feels phony even to her. Does she feel sad? Yes. But that doesn't explain why she feels uneasy. Something feels off.

They're on the steps of Gringotts now, when Remus pauses and turns around. Sirius takes that moment to pull at her arm and draw her attention.

"What's going on?" he asks, looking at her suspiciously.

"Nothing."

Remus sniffs at the air rather conspicuously, and both Bella and Sirius stare at him. But he ignores them and continues scanning the road.

"Really?" he persists, as Remus goes down a couple of steps, still scanning the road.

"None of your business, really, Sirius," she snaps at him, feeling slightly annoyed. She isn't interested in sharing her thoughts with anyone, unless they are Ron or Hermione.

"It helps to talk, you know?"

"I was just thinking about my Godson," she admits, her voice low.

"Is he alive?"

Bella looks at him with a blank expression, and says, "If he were, I wouldn't have chosen Death's offer."

He nods silently before looking deeply into her eyes. She feels a prod at her mental barriers, but it doesn't feel intrusive. It feels more like a mental nudge. It makes her feel safe. And so she smiles at him gratefully, thankful for whatever it is that he is doing. He tilts his head to his left as a sign of acknowledgement.

"I think we should go in," comes Remus' strained voice, and the two of them look at him questioningly.

"What's wrong, Moony?"

"It feels like we've been followed. I can sense someone tracking us."

Sirius immediately jumps into what Bella guesses is his Auror mode.

"A scrying spell?"

"No, a physical tracker."

"What if someone's got to Harry?" asks Bella, her sense of unease once again flaring.

Sirius closes his eyes for a few seconds, and breathes deeply. Internally, Bella starts panicking, surprised by Sirius' lack of response. He opens his eyes, and she sees that his eyes have gone fully black.

"The wards haven't fallen. Harry is safe."

He blinks, and his eyes become the usual blue-grey. Bella stares at him.

"Your eyes -"

She is interrupted by Remus, who takes her by the elbow. "I think we'll be much safer inside."

The three of them walk in, and Bella throws one last glance over her shoulder before entering through the bronze doors.


OoOoO


Sirius and Remus stare at her in obvious shock, and though Bella's mouth feels dry, she continues to look at Dumbledore in what she hopes is a bold manner.

She doesn't like the fact that he is the executor of the will. If anything, she is slightly annoyed at how he has insinuated into the lives of her parents. She still hasn't forgiven him for 'borrowing' her father's cloak in the other thread.

Though the goblin, Ragnorak, doesn't seem surprised, his beady little eyes have a calculating look in them, which doesn't escape Bella's notice.

"Professor, could I please have a look at the will?" she asks, holding out her right hand for the piece of parchment. The older man looks at her thoughtfully, an odd look on his face, before handing it to her.

The silence in the chamber is palpable, and Bella takes in a calming breath, before beginning to read the document. The light shines off the letters, and the will seems to be written in blood. Bella suppresses a shiver.


~ o ~

THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF LADY AND LORD POTTER

We, Lady Lily Rose Evans Potter and Lord James Charlus Potter of Godric's Hollow, both being of sound mind, declare this to be our Last Will and Testament. We revoke all wills and codicils previously made by either or both of us.

Article I

We hereby appoint Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore as our Personal Representative to administer this Will, and ask that he be permitted to serve without Court supervision and without posting bond. If the earlier mentioned Albus Dumbledore is unwilling or unable to serve, then we appoint Helen Pernelle Flamel to act as our Personal Representative, and ask that she be permitted to serve without Court supervision and without posting bond.

The term PR shall hereafter refer to the mentioned Personal Representative.

Article II

We direct our PR to pay out of Vault 709 any and all administrative expenses, legally enforceable creditor claims, Magical estate taxes and all other governmental charges imposed by reason of our death without seeking reimbursement from or charging any person for any part of the taxes and charges paid.

All other funeral expenses are to be paid out of Vault 709 as well. Instructions for the funeral, choice of marker and choice of location of the grave have been mentioned in a separate document, stored in Vault 709.

Article III

We devise, bequeath, and give Vault 243, also known as the Heiress Potter Vault, and its contents to our daughter, Isobel Lily Potter, who shall hereafter be referred to as Heiress Potter.

We devise, bequeath, and give Vault 244, also known as the Heir Potter Vault, and its contents to our son, Harry James Potter, who shall hereafter be referred to as Heir Potter.

We devise, bequeath, and give the contents of our personal vault, Vault 832, and all articles kept inside it to both Heir and Heiress Potter, in the hope that they share what is kept there.

We devise, bequeath, and give the contents of Twin Vaults 245 and 246 to the Heir and Heiress respectively which hold their respective trust funds, which they are permitted to access upon reaching the age of twenty-one.

We hereby declare Heiress Potter as the rightful owner of the missing Peverell Invisibility Cloak, whose ownership will be passed to her firstborn, as is dictated by tradition.

Heiress Potter is to take up the mantle of Lady Potter, till Heir Potter reaches the age of twenty-one, upon which the title will revert to Heir Potter.

We devise, bequeath and give all the remainder of our residuary estate as follows:

a. 50% of the remainder of Vault 709 to Remus John Lupin

b. 30% of the remainder of Vault 709 to Sirius Orion Black

c. 20% of the remainder of Vault 709 to the Lycanthorpy ward at St. Mungo's.

d. The Edinburgh cottage, bought by our own earnings, to Remus Lupin.

Article IV

We hereby pass guardianship of Heiress Potter's magical name to her Godmother Helen Flamel.

We hereby pass guardianship of Heir Potter's magical name to his Godfather Sirius Black.

Until Heir Potter reaches the age of majority, it is our explicit instruction that he live under the joint guardianship of Isobel Potter and Sirius Black.

If, by any chance, Heiress Potter is not legally an adult at the time of our death, she will live under the guardianship of either Sirius Black or Helen Flamel.

Heiress Potter will find answers to any and all questions she might have regarding her birth and life before our death in Vault 832 and in the chest entrusted to her Godmother.

Article V

As Heiress Potter is the first necromancer to be born in the Potter line since Ignatius Peverell, and as the Potters have been guardians of the Art in absence of a practitioner, we hereby declare Necromancy a legal Dark Art.

This is our last act as Lord and Lady Potter.

Signed,

Lord James Charlus Potter

Lady Lily Rose Evans Potter

October 31, 1980

Witnesses to the Will:

Witch: Helen Pernelle Flamel

Goblin: Ragnorak of Sun Dynasty

House-Elf: Jenky of Potter Manor

~ o ~


Bella stares at the contents once again, before asking the lamest question she can think of.

"Professor, are joint wills legal?"

"A joint will comes into effect only if both creators die within thirteen hours of each other's death."

"Okay," she says, not knowing what else to say. She looks at Remus and Sirius, to find them studiously avoiding her eye. She holds back her sigh and looks at Ragnorak.

"When can we inspect the vaults, sir?"

The ancient goblin almost looks pleased by her respectful address towards him. He answers in a grating voice.

"The vaults can be accessed only after the will gets processed, Lady Potter. Which means the earliest would be November 9th."

She nods her head and then looks at Dumbledore. "What about the funeral arrangements?"

He looks at her kindly, and says, "We bury our dead thirteen days after death, Lady Potter."

She nods her head once again, feeling a panic attack coming on. The last thing she needs is to fall down hyperventilating in public. She has never felt this out of touch with reality before. She has no idea what to say, or what to do.

She is now Lady Potter.

She is the legal guardian of her brother.

She has a brother.

She is a necromancer.

And she can't breathe.

She stares at the shiny bronze torch holder set in the wall behind the goblin, and takes in deep breaths, the way Hermione had instructed her to do if she ever felt this way.

She doesn't have Hermione and Ron to help her out.

The future seems scary.

The walls start closing in, and all she can do is stare at the shiny metal spot.


OoOoO


"Want to go to Leaky Cauldron for some Butterbeer?" asks Sirius, looking at her blankly.

"I need something stronger," mutters Bella under her breath. She can at least breathe now. Whatever spell Dumbledore had cast on her has worked. But right now, she wants to go home, cuddle Harry and eat chocolate.

"Potter, are you sure you don't want to go home?" asks Remus politely, and Bella sighs.

"Call me Bella, for Merlin's sake," she bites out, feeling a headache coming on. The sun is so awfully bright, and she feels like snapping the neck of everyone who is shopping at Diagon Alley.

"Alright," he says warily, exchanging an amused glance with Sirius. It doesn't escape her notice.

Once they enter The Leaky Cauldron, Bella hurries over to the table which is at the farthest end of the room, one from which she can keep an eye on both entrances.

While she waits for the two Marauders to be back with their drinks, she contemplates over the events of the morning. Now that she is the legal (joint) guardian of Harry, she can force Sirius to move out of the stupid apartment, though its proximity to Diagon Alley is certainly a plus point.

Personally, she thinks a place in the countryside might be for the best. But then, for heaven's sake, she is an eighteen year old. She deserves to have fun, like any other normal teenager. Staying in London would be best for that. At least she can try to live like a carefree teenager.

The other issue that is of utmost importance is her employment. While Sirius has been nice enough to lend her money to buy clothes and other necessities, she knows that it's high time she found a solid job. Thinking of Sirius' generosity, she realises that it's also high time she bought her own shampoo, even if Sirius' shampoo makes her hair silky and tameable.

But coming back to the issue at hand, she has no idea what she wants to do. In her original thread, she had wanted to be an Auror. But right now, she doesn't know what she can do, let alone what she wants to do. She hasn't had any formal education here, which royally sucks, of course. She wishes Death had sent her OWL certificate over, even if her grades weren't all that great.

She's pulled out of her thoughts when Remus sits down, with two mugs of Butterbeer in his hands. Sirius sits right next to her, with an entire bottle of Firewhisky. She goggles at him.

"Getting drunk at ten in the morning, Black?" she asks incredulously.

"Well, what can I say? I have to live with a bloody necromancer. I need this," he says, without any malice. He smirks at her, and pours out a glass for himself.

She shakes her head, amused. She catches Remus' eyes, noting that he too is amused.

She excuses herself from the table and goes to the loo. Something feels off once again, but she ignores it. When she's flushing inside the cubicle, she hears someone opening the door and entering a nearby stall. The footsteps seem predatory. Or do they really? May be she is just being paranoid.

Though Bella tries to convince herself that there's nothing particularly wrong with this scenario, she can't help but clutch her wand through her robes. She doesn't want to touch it without washing her hands.

She notices dryly that her obsession with being germfree has continued into this thread as well. She blames Petunia for it. That woman was an OCD case who simply loved scrubbing and cleaning. Who on Earth scrubbed to relax?

She washes her hand diligently, keeping an eye on the reflection of the stall which is occupied. The eerie silence sets Bella on edge, and she's about to close the tap and hurry out when the stall door bangs open.

And out steps the biggest bitch Bella has ever known; someone worse that Umbridge herself.

The Bitch. Bellatrix Lestrange.

The crazy woman's eyes are half lidded, and she smiles waspishly at Bella. Bella takes out her wand and turns around to face Bellatrix, as the woman cackles.

"Such a pretty little birdie you are, no wonder my cousin wants to keep you all to himself," she says grinning maniacally.

Bella's head is filled with survival tactics and possible escape plans, but she takes a moment to scoff at Bellatrix's words.

"Hello, Trixie," she says, trying to distract the psychopath standing in front of her. She wonders if she can edge along the rim of the sinks and get to the door. But nah, that plan would be too risky, as she'd have to expose her back to Bellatrix for a couple of seconds.

"Oooh, what's that name lovely? Bella likes it a lot. Trixie sounds so much nicer, doesn't it?" The insane woman starts cackling again, and Bella wonders if there is anything such as ethics while trying to survive. Is it alright if she just hexes the woman in front of her?

"Why are you here," she asks, feeling the adrenaline pumping through her veins. After so many years of experience, she knows that she will soon be doing something reckless. It's almost as though the Gryffindor blood in her cuts off her sense of self preservation.

"To remove you and then kill the Potter brat. You are his guardian, aren't you?"

"What are you waiting for? Back-up? Are you scared to fight me alone, Trixie? Now that your stupid master got himself blown up by a baby, what are you going to do?"

Bella knows she's baiting the psychopath standing in front of her, but doing this makes her feel alive. Tonks' face invades her memory, and a voice saying 'Wotcher, Bells?' makes Bella grip her wand even more tightly. Her knuckles are turning white.

"Why, you infuriating bitch! How dare you call my master stupid?"

She throws a Crucio at Bella, and Bella responds with her strongest double layered shield charm. The curse rebounds and hits one of the stalls nearby, blowing the door off its hinges.

Bellatrix's eyes narrow at Bella's casting of the shield charm, knowing that it is much more complex than a Protego. It's a spell that only advanced Aurors use, and had it not been for Moody, she never would have bothered to learn it.

"Is that all you've got, Trixie?" she asks, waiting for another spell.

Bellatrix rises to the bait and casts the Killing Curse. Bella almost feels sorry for the maniac in front of her. Didn't she know that Unforgivables needed vocalisation, which always led to the opponent optimising on it?

Bella ducks and casts a non verbal Diffindo at the floor where Bellatrix is standing, crippling the older female. Bella takes pleasure in noticing that she must have shattered the bones in Bellatrix's right leg as well. She screams, and it sounds so good. This female was the one who had tortured Mione.

She then expels Bellatrix's wand with her ever favourite Expelliarmus. She catches the flying piece of wood in her left hand, thanks to her Seeker reflexes. She catches Bellatrix's gaze, and she smiles cruelly at the insane woman, before snapping the wand.

The burning in her arm when she snaps the wand is what makes Bella realise that there's a shard of glass poking through her arm. Her new robes are effectively ruined. Bellatrix's earlier Killing Curse has obviously hit the wall beside the mirror behind, shattering the mirror in the process, thereby accidentally managing to pierce her with a shard.

The other woman's scream of fury brings Bella back to the present, and Bella watches as Bellatrix takes out a silver knife and throws it at Bella. The moment freezes, almost as if in slow motion. The blade glints as it slowly comes closer, but Bella finds herself unable to move.

She can only think of a similar scene from her other life, she can only think of Dobby and his tennis ball eyes glazing over. She can remember his small form crumbling in her arms.

She's stuck.

The bathroom door is thrown open, and someone casts a spell, deflecting the blade. It impales itself onto the wall exposed by the broken mirror, digging itself into the mortar.

People in blue robes flurry in, and she finally notices that she has been dragged away by Remus. It's then that she notices Sirius' absence.

"Where's Sirius?" she asks, and Remus looks at her with his eyes narrowed.

"And here I was thinking you were in shock."

"I'm not in shock, I promise."

"Really? Because for a second there, it looked like you were going to let the knife stab you." He says it gently, like he's talking to a child.

"I... I just froze up. That's all. Didn't you see? I had pretty much singlehandedly beaten Bellatrix to the point of submission."

He pushes her onto the seat of their table, and takes out a bar of chocolate and hands it to her. She smiles at that, because it is an action that is so similar to that of her thread's Moony.

He sits down beside her and takes out the piece of glass from her arm. Bella hisses with pain, as he smiles at her apologetically. He mutters an Episkey, and Bella can feel the warmth of the magic as her skin knits itself back.

She nibbles on a piece of chocolate and asks again. "Where's Sirius?"

Remus rolls his eyes, but answers her question. "The minute I smelt Bellatrix in the building, Sirius decided to call the other Aurors. And we didn't have a problem locating her, when we heard deafening sounds from the ladies' room."

"Huh."

"What did you do that got her so mad?"

"I have no clue. At least if it had been my own thread, I would have known."

"She looked like she wanted to murder you."

"I might have snapped her wand."

Remus grimaces, as he shudders. "That's harsh." Bella can understand the reaction. After all, the bond that a person creates with their wand is more sacred than a matrimonial bond.

"That's the same wand that has tortured many people."

Remus nods, but their conversation gets sidetracked when Tom, the barkeeper, starts yelling at one of the Aurors dressed in iridescent blue robes about his destroyed restroom. Bella rolls her eyes.

"Excuse me, ma'am. We need to talk to you." It's a young, nervous looking Auror, who has short hair dyed pink. It reminds her of Tonks, and she feels like smiling fondly at the memory of her favourite Auror.

"You don't mind if we do it here, do you?" Bella asks, gesturing to the seat in front of her.

"Not at all," she squeaks, and sits down. She starts asking questions, and Remus quietly slips away.

In the midst of answering the standard questions, Bella catches sight of Sirius, who is talking to Tom in what she guesses to be a low voice. His eyes catch hers and they look at each other for the tiniest of moments, before Bella shifts her focus back to the girl in front of her.

She'll never admit this to anyone, but she likes how Sirius' eyes are full of concern. It makes her feel special.


OoOoO


"So you're back."

The lights are dim, and Sirius can see her sitting on the couch, looking at him intently. He's glad that she's fine. Had it not been for his quick reflexes, he's pretty sure Bella's knife would have stabbed Potter in the heart.

He knows he just can't keep referring to her as 'her' or Potter. He shuts the door quietly, lest he wake up Harry. He turns around and leans against the wall, feeling like a stranger in his own home.

It's then that he notices that she's wearing his Beatles t-shirt, and it makes him want to smile. He likes how she's claimed ownership over his shirt.

She shifts, and his large shirt slips off one shoulder, exposing a black bra strap that contrasts against her pale skin. She asks in a raspy voice, "Do you want to join me?"

For a second, Sirius' breath catches in his throat, and he feels a familiar stirring at the base of his abdomen. It's then that he realises that she's referring to the two empty glasses and the bottle she's kept on the centre table.

"Is that from this morning?" he asks, amused. The bottle looks a lot like what he ordered this morning, but never had a chance to finish.

"You don't think a little thing like Trixiebitch is going to let me waste Odgen's Finest, do you?" she asks, smirking.

He feels his lips curl into a smile, as he stalks over and takes the seat next to her. They should probably talk about what happened today, about Bellatrix's arrest, and more importantly, James' and Lily's will, but Firewhisky sounds like a nice option.

"Why don't you pour me a drink, love?" he asks.

She smiles at him, her green eyes shining.

Sirius doesn't know it yet, but it is at that precise moment that he starts falling headfirst for a certain raven haired female.


OoOoO


End note:

There's a lot that's happened in this chapter, a lot which has been left unexplained. It's intentional, and will be explained eventually. This chapter pretty much sets up the scene for most of the plot devices that'll be used over the course of the story. Patience is a virtue. ;)


A.N:

If I were to title this chapter, it would be 'Bella Versus Bella'. ;)

Thanks for the follows, favourites and reviews. You continue to blow me away. Four communities? I'm shocked. Thanks. :')

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Reviews are love. Next update on December 14th, 2015