Meihua's alarm clock disrupted her slumber that morning with its incessant caterwauling. She rolled over in a mess of her own hair to see the time. 6:07 A.M. She smacked the machine until it ceased buzzing then tried in vain to go back to sleep for a few minutes, holding a downy pillow over her head to protect from the light spilling in from the window. The sun had already begun to rise in the east. Her tiny room at home was converted from the old den, only just big enough for a single bed with a nightstand beside it. There wasn't a lot of room to move around, but the great thing about it was that the front wall had a tall window that opened up to a Juliette balcony with a view of the street below. She drew back the linen curtains and cranked the window open before rummaging through the drawer in the nightstand, pulling out her emergency box of cigarettes. She knew her grandfather hated her smoking (which she previously took up after her little rebellious stage when her mother died) but what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. Lucky Strike cigarettes were her mom's favourite, and it became a favourite for her as well. She fumbled clumsily with the lighter before she took a long drag, careful to exhale out of the window to minimize the smell.

The city was still mostly quiet at this hour. There were only a few people walking down the street for early morning coffee before work or doing their walks of shame. The pigeons there were nothing short of fearless when it came to people, though she wondered as she watched silently if it was because they were brave or simply absent-minded. All of sudden, she could hear her grandfather hitting the roof with his wooden broomstick below.

THUMP.

"Qi chuang le!"

THUMP.

"QI CHUANG LE!"

She groaned. Well, now I am awake. She stomped on the floor boards with all her might in retaliation. It wasn't worth it, though, when she heard him begin cursing in Chinese. She didn't know how the little old man had so much energy first thing in the morning. She was reminded of a phrase her mother always used to say, the river's waves behind drive the waves ahead.

She scrunched her nose and threw the mess of hair into a lazy top bun before dragging her feet to the washroom. She had turned the water as cold as she could stand it in hopes that she might then be able to brave another long, hot day in the shop without any air conditioning. Afterwards, she slipped on a white, billowing linen dress and stepped into her red embroidered slippers. She ran a comb through her wet hair before she hurried down the stairs which led to the shop.

"Good morning, ye-ye…"

There was a steaming black coffee and a sweet red bean bun waiting for her on the counter. Her stomach growled in anticipation for her favourite breakfast, one which she never got to enjoy at Hogwarts. It had been a long month since she got off school, mostly filled with long shifts at the shop and waiting for letters which only came every so often. She had been surprised to receive an owl from Sirius one evening, making her wonder if he felt as lonely as she did. She didn't know much about his home life, other than that his parents were elitist purebloods who didn't really approve of him since he was sorted into Gryffindor and didn't follow their values. Her grandfather on the other hand put a lot of pressure on her to get good notes, but she managed to get him off her back by writing a fake letter from Hogwarts with near perfect marks complete with fake Hogwarts letterhead. She only hadn't anticipated getting yelled at for not getting actual perfect fake marks.

Her grandfather, Tian, a short balding man who walked with a cane, was quite a cheerful man for the most part save being quite stern when it came to her education. It was fortunate for her he knew little about the wizarding world. Her mother dropped out of high school when she was young and pregnant, and he never let Meihua forget how hard she had to work because of it. He looked quite old even for his age and had his share of health concerns, and she wondered if it was due, at least in part, to the stress he must have endured because of her.

"Okay Meihua, I have to go to the doctor today…" he said as he completed setting up the register for the day. "I leave now, but you behave while I'm gone. Remember what I tell you about the upsell."

"Yes, yes, I know, ye-ye," she shooed him out the door, thankful to have a moment to breathe without him staring down her neck. "Thank you for the bun! I love you!"

She sighed after she heard the doorbell ring as he left. She took a big bite out of the pastry, savouring the sweet paste filling. During off peak hours, there wasn't really a lot to do. She was advised to clean or do inventory during these times, but with no one around to remind her, she thought she might cut herself some slack for once. After she finished her bun in haste and downed a large sip of coffee almost too hot to handle, she withdrew another cigarette and left the shop door open while she smoked, trying to wake herself up.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Meihua whipped her head around and saw Lucinda and her little brother Arthur standing nearby. She quickly stomped out the cigarette and smiled meekly at them. Lucinda looked quite darling that day in a light rose A-line dress and blue suede wedges, with her ringlets pinned behind her heart shaped face and a hint of rouge played upon her cheeks.

"Nothing!" she sang. "Hullo Lucinda, Arthur. I wasn't expecting you lot to show up out of the blue."

Lucinda scrunched her nose. "Ugh, you reek. How did you even get those?"

Meihua gave her an incredulous stare gesturing to the open door. "Seriously?"

"Nevermind, I just hope that's not going to be your thing now."

She followed them into the shop. Arthur, who just turned 11, was going to be joining them at Hogwarts in the fall. He was a darling little boy with his sister's bouncy golden curls and wide brown eyes framed by impossibly long eyelashes. Meihua always secretly thought he would make a beautiful girl, and she wondered then if they used to look that small when they started Hogwarts.

"So your family owns this shop?" Arthur squeaked.

"Well, yes, it's owned by my grandfather. We live in the flat upstairs."

"Oh…"

Lucinda looked like a small child in a candy store (albeit there did happen to be quite a lot of candy in the store…) scanning the items on the walls and examining those that caught her eye. She seemed particularly interested in the large variety of chocolate bars on one shelf.

"What kind of shop is this, anyway?" Arthur inquired.

"I told you, it's a convenience shop," Lucinda told her brother. "Muggles come here to buy convenient things."

"Or rather, regular things they can't find anywhere else past midnight…" Meihua leaned against the front counter, suddenly unsure of what to do with her hands.

"Right, that's what I said," Lucinda said. "Where's old granddady then?"

"He's at his doctor's," Meihua answered, adding, "Or rather, a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He's old and stuck in his ways and won't see a real doctor for his health. I'm telling you it will kill him."

"I suppose it's not a good time to bring up a certain Barty Crouch Jr., then?" She raised an eyebrow. "Not trying to be horrible. He owled me that you two had a chat about us and where things were going."

Arthur suddenly pretended to be particularly engrossed in a can of beans, picking it up and reading the label.

"Huh? Oh… Oh. No, he was wondering why you were speaking to him anymore. I told him he'd be better of speaking to you directly, and by that I didn't mean harassing you by owl all over again… Sorry 'bout that." Meihua chuckled awkwardly. "But to be fair, you never came to rescue me from the prefects' compartment."

Lucinda glared at her friend across the shop.

"Maybe it's not all bad. I mean, your kids will look creepy but they'll be incredibly smart."

"Which brings us to the reason we both came today…" Lucinda paused and took a deep breath before saying the next part all in one breath, "I agreed to see him today if only he agreed to never talk to me or look in my direction again for the last time, once and for all."

"..Huh?"

"My parents wouldn't let me go into the city alone, so you'll be watching Arthur until I get back," she explained quickly. "But don't worry, this means I'm forgiving you."

"Right…"

Lucinda jumped up and kissed her cheek before fleeing out the door. Meihua's stomach sank as the clicking of her friend's heels quickly disappeared, registering the fact that her friend finally came to visit her only to ditch her with her little brother. And all to see that slimy Smarty-pants Barty. She chanced a gander at Arthur, who was awkwardly leaning back and forth on the balls of his feet. Though they had been acquainted plenty of times before, she didn't really know him and she wasn't sure how to break the ice since she didn't know a lot about the interests of 11 year old boys.

"Do you drink coffee or tea or anything?"

He simply shook his head no. Great. "Okay, er… Just sit there and don't break anything while I take care of important business things pertaining to the shop."

Meihua reached behind the counter and shoved all of the various stacks of paperwork on top and pretended as if they were the most interesting papers in the world until a customer arrived.

"So you reckon they'll be back together again?" Arthur spoke up at one point in the afternoon. Meihua had lent him some of her old comic books, to which he was disappointed at the fact that all the illustrations were stationary. Her grandfather had returned home before Lucinda as predicted, but soon retired to his bed rest as he couldn't stand too much longer. The nice weather had already turned by that point, leaving behind dark clouds and showers in place of the dry sun that had greeted the morning.

"Well, I'm not going to lie to you, Arthur." Meihua looked over the day's paper to him. "I think I've had nightmares about this. You might not know Barty, but he's no prize and your sister could stand to do a lot better than him."

Arthur simply shrugged. "I dunno, she must find something appealing about him."

"Well, I'm racking my brains..." she grunted.

She loved Lucinda dearly, but she didn't want to be unduly protective of her if she truly wanted to give the git a second chance for whatever reasons which were beyond her comprehension. She only wondered why Lucinda hadn't said a word to her if she did feel that way; and if she didn't, why would she even agree to see him at all. It all seemed a bit out of character for her, at least to Meihua - which caused her to ponder the fact that she may, indeed, have had her head up her own arse this entire time. After all, her supposed best friend hadn't visited her once all summer except on her way to see this bloke.

Though she didn't have a chance to lament too deeply before hearing the door chime. Lucinda came in, drenched in rain and panting from her sprint. It wasn't the sight of her that came as a surprise, but who accompanied her. There was Sirius Black, his black hair in a wet tangled mess and soaked clothes sticking to his body. He looked ill, with eyes sunken in and skin as white as a sheet. Despite this, he greeted Meihua with a thin smile.

"Do you think there's a possibility I could stay here tonight?"

"So… what are you saying? Why do you come here? Why can't you stay with your own family?"

The old man sat at the end of the table, rubbing his temples. He wasn't overjoyed to see that he had so much company at no notice at all, but insisted everyone at least stay for dinner. They all sat huddled around the small table which was normally just meant for the family of two, a couple chairs borrowed the shop and the sitting room. Meihua took the initiative of setting up the hot plate on the table, which consisted of a simmering broth surrounded by various dishes of raw vegetables and meat to be cooked in it.

Sirius was having an especially difficult time with the chopsticks, even after Meihua tried demonstrating it to him several times. He kept dropping his food into his bowl before finally piercing it with the chopsticks. She decided to let him figure out the etiquette on his own if her grandfather wanted to yell at him. Arthur, on the other hand, had gotten the hang of it after a few tries and she hadn't had to worry about Lucinda after teaching her last summer. Lucinda poked and prodded at her food idly, not eating very eagerly. Though Meihua wanted to ask her how her rendezvous with Barty went so badly, she knew then was not the time. Not with so many people around, and not with Sirius' matters being more dire. Even the tension in the room was reason enough for her to keep her mouth shut.

"Well, you see…" Sirius spoke slowly. "My family kicked me out. So now I am homeless. If you'll have me for one night, it would be much appreciated. Then I'll be out of your hair."

Tian grunted in response. "I take out a bed for you in the living room. You don't go into Meihua's room."

Sirius beamed, showcasing a wide grin of immaculate white teeth. "Thank you very much, sir. I am very grateful for your generosity."

Meihua felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders at her grandfather's words. She knew he was a fair man, but of course she was worried about the possibility of him shooting down the idea entirely without even hearing Sirius out. Tian was still not the type of man to jump at the opportunity at a 15 year old boy sleeping under the same roof as his granddaughter.

"So…" Meihua began awkwardly. "Your parents just… kicked you out? I mean, I'm so sorry - I just… I had no idea things were that bad."

"Yes," Sirius said darkly. "You don't have any idea."

His tone stunned her. They continued to eat in an uncomfortable silence for a moment. The only sounds came from the stainless steel chopsticks against the ceramic and the simmering broth on the hot plate. Sirius certainly looked worse for the wear, and it appeared that he had gotten into some kind of physical altercation whilst at home with dark welts materializing on the surface of his skin. Meihua wanted to ask him what really happened, but thought that might be best done in private. After all, everyone could see the evidence of abuse on his face and no one said a word then.

Tian sighed, bowing his head. "It is not right. Family should not abandon each other, no matter how much you disgrace them. When Meihua mother fall pregnant, I was so angry but I always gave her all the support I could."

"Well, they aren't really my family anymore. My friends are my family. After tomorrow morning, I will be living with James and his family," Sirius explained calmly.

It was remarkable how he could carry such a calm disposition after whatever took place, and for how long his problems at home had gone on. He never showed any real signs at school other than a dislike for his family, but Meihua knew then that that proved nothing. There was a lot about him that she didn't know, and she was beginning to wonder if she ever really knew him at all. She thought they had actually grown close to one another, but it seemed nowhere near close enough for him to confide in her.

"Where is your father, Meihua?" Arthur tried to change the subject casually.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. She knew Arthur was sincere, he couldn't have possibly known he was about to open a whole other can of worms by bringing that up. "I've never seen him in my life, and I don't care to."

"Haven't you ever been curious?" Arthur asked after a long pause. She could see Lucinda kick him under the table, less than discreetly so since she was sure everyone at table could hear. Still she waved a hand dismissively.

"No, honestly. I don't care to ever meet him." She took another bite of cabbage, chewing thoughtfully. She tried not to sound short with him, or seem like she was lying. "Afterall, I can't really be disappointed by someone I've never met, can I?"

"Meihua doesn't need a father. She has all the family she needs right here." Lucinda smiled warmly. She fumbled around with a slice of lotus root, examining its peculiar shape before taking a bite only to find that it wasn't cooked all the way through. She swallowed it anyway, not wanting to seem rude or draw attention to herself by spitting it out.

Meihua poured more water into the stock which had at that point boiled down to the bottom of the pot. The only one still eating was her grandfather, who chewed heartily on watercress. Despite not having eaten much that day, Meihua's appetite couldn't be stimulated even by the large assortment of fresh foods.

"Erm, how are James and the others? Are they well?" Lucinda asked Sirius, who at that point was fidgeting with the tablecloth.

"James is doing just fine. We've been in touch of course, but I haven't spoken much to Remus or Peter yet. I didn't get to go out much this summer."

"Have you guys get your notes back yet? I'm mostly content with mine except for Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration…" said Lucinda.

"Meihua has perfect marks this year," Tian said, causing everyone else at the table to look at each other curiously. "She is a hard worker in school. I always taught her that school is most important."

Meihua decided to shift the topic in another direction before anyone felt like being gobby. "I bet Remus had better notes than me, he's always got his nose in a textbook, hasn't he? Does he know what he wants to do after Hogwarts?"

Tian brought his bowl to his lips, tilting his head back to finish the broth. He stood up abruptly and left the room. Now that the most senior person at the table had finally finished eating, it was Meihua's queue to clean up. She sat up suddenly, banging her knee on the table by accident. She hastily gathered up the dishes to take into the kitchen. Sirius got up to follow.

"Let me help you."

"No! That's-..." she paused, suddenly getting the hint that he may have wanted to speak to her alone. "Actually, yes, that would be a great help."

He picked up the rest of the dishes and followed her into the kitchen, which was really just a narrow room off of the sitting room. She opened up the dishwasher and began to sort through the utensils and bowls.

"What the-" Sirius curiously examined the muggle mechanical device and she realised he had probably never seen one before.

"Er, just give them here." She took the dishes from him and demonstrated how to place them in the appropriate racks. "It's called a dishwasher. It's so you don't have to wash them by hand, even without magic."

Sirius looked astonished. "So how does it work exactly?"

"Well, don't ask me…" She laughed. "I'm not a ruddy engineer. I just put in the soap and press the big button that makes it start."

"Amazing…" Sirius trailed off. "I would have never guessed that you lived in a place like this, even though I knew you were muggleborn."

"Yeah… I know, we don't have a lot," she snorted. Her face felt hot from embarrassment. She knew the Black family came from money, and that he couldn't have possibly be impressed by their setup. "It's not exactly home, is it?"

"That's not what I meant…Well, not really what I meant." Sirius paused, trying to find his words. "I like it here. It's cozy and comfortable. It's a lot better than my home. I could certainly get used to living in a place like this."

"Er, not that we wouldn't love to have you… but I don't think my grandfather would actually love to have you. I'm surprised he's even let you stay for one night."

"I meant in a place where I can actually breathe," Sirius looked straight into my eyes. "Without having to worry about my bigot family or stepping a toe out of line."

"I see…" Unable to stand his intense stare, she averted her eyes to the ground. His feet were standing close to hers in the cramped space. She didn't want to say something wrong, but she couldn't afford to not say anything at all. "Can you tell me… What happened exactly?"

Sirius scoffed. "My parents disowned me, what else? I don't think highly of dark magic or their precious pureblood ideology. They couldn't possibly have a son like me sullying their good name. They aren't good people. They aren't the sort who might hesitate to practice Unforgivable Curses on their own flesh and blood."

Suddenly, she felt her eyes sting and her eyelashes felt wet. It had been too difficult for her to see Sirius like this. His showing up out of nowhere looking as if he had just been pulverized was too much for her to bear. If she were as brave as he was, she might have pried, but she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it. She loved him in her own way, even if that way was selfish and deranged at times. "Why didn't you tell me things were this bad, ever?"

She brought a hand up to his chest, against the scratchy wool of his sweater which had long since dried since he first came into the shop several hours ago. She felt so pathetic crying in front of him. After all, the person who actually was in dire circumstances, the one who had reason to cry had to comfort her. He simply brought her closer to his chest in a tight embrace, so tight that she thought she might break.

"What happened to your mother, Mei?"

"..Huh?" Meihua blinked.

"How did she die?"

"Oh, um… She died in a car crash when I was 12."

"I'm sorry. You love her very much, don't you?"

"Yes." She dried her eyes with the back of my hand. "But I'm not sad about it. Those who we love are always with us so long as we keep them alive in our memories. I think that... If you had had the chance to meet her, you two would have got on well, actually."

He kissed the top of her head and ran his fingers through her hair mindlessly. They stood there for a moment in silence filled by the humming and whirring of the dishwasher. She wanted to ask Sirius what led him here, to the tiny flat in the East End of London instead of immediately going to the Potters'. There were a thousand questions she wanted to ask Sirius in that moment that she couldn't articulate, but it didn't matter. With her head against his chest, she could hear his heartbeat speak to her steadily, soothingly. As if to tell her not to worry, that everything would be fine in the end.

"I wasn't thinking when I came here, obviously… I dunno. I just needed to see you."

She wasn't sure how long they stood there like that exactly, but the moment was interrupted suddenly by the sound of her grandfather pounding his cane on the ground and shouting for them to get a move on. She felt her face flush even a few shades darker, and though she wanted to just bury her face deeper in Sirius's chest she knew that meant they had to return to the sitting room before her grandfather walked in on them and kicked Sirius out on the vermin filled streets of London. Of course he had no idea they were together in any sense and she imagined he'd be furious if he knew. He didn't approve of her dating yet, and in his eyes she was still just his baby grandchild. She thought that on some level he saw her late mother in her and didn't want her to make the same mistakes she did.

Lucinda and Arthur went home shortly after dinner, citing something about a curfew, without giving Meihua much of a chance to speak with her friend candidly. She supposed she would have to patiently await her owl for a chance to learn the details of Lucinda's rendezvous with that clown. It was hard for her to believe that, though technically they lived in the same city, they never really saw each other that summer at all.

Long after everyone left and her grandfather retired to his bedroom for the night, Meihua snuck out of her room to see Sirius. She tiptoed past her grandfather's door, still open a crack but was reassured by the usual heavy snoring filtering through the room. Sirius was still awake, sitting on the thick quilt that Tian had earlier laid out on the ground. He was no longer wearing a shirt and Meihua tried not to let her eyes wander too much. The light scars that littered his chest bore the testimony of abuse. Despite trying her best to tiptoe across the room, the ancient hardwood planks creaked loudly underneath her. He whipped his head around at the sound, but relaxed and smiled upon the sight of her. The moonlight pouring in from window seemed to dance across his features at the slightest movement, illuminating his deep grey eyes. His dark curly hair had become slightly wild in the humidity. She kneeled down on the quilt beside him.

"I thought you might still be awake," she whispered. "Do you want to see my room?"

"But of course." He kissed the top of her head first, then her forehead before he found his way to her dry lips. A quick peck was all it took to wake her up, a shock of electricity that spread from her lips to the tips of her fingers and toes and left her wanting more. He stood up, taking her small hand in his and walked her to her bedroom. She watched him carefully as he scanned the room, examining his reaction. Being in the city, it never was quiet with the sounds of passing cars, sirens and the occasional shouting debauchee in the middle of the night.

She sat at the foot of the bed and he joined her there, sitting side by side on the narrow bed.

"How come you don't have any posters or anything?" Sirius chuckled. "I imagined your room being a lot less boring."

She shrugged. "Too busy. I can't sleep at night if I feel like people are looking at me."

"Okay…" Sirius rolled his eyes and pointed to the photo of her mother on my nightstand. It was a tiny photo which could fit in someone's wallet, fit into a small brass frame. "What about her?"

"That's my mum."

"Wow. She looks fit."

She punched Sirius in the arm playfully. Her mother looked quite a bit like her, except for the fact that she was much taller and had stunning curves. She hoped at one point she would inherit them from her, but it seemed to instead only be the subject of her envy. The mother wore her hair in a short bob in the photo, as she always did, her fringe pinned back with the same silver clip that Meihua always wore. She smiled with her whole face, especially her oblique black eyes.

"I see where you get it from now." Sirius leaned in to whisper in her ear. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up from his hot breath.

"You didn't think I got my looks from Ye-ye, did you?"

Sirius stifled his own laughter before gently pushing her back down on the bed by her shoulders. He swiftly climbed on top of her and planted little kisses up and down her neck. Having their bodies so close was probably the worst they could do for the humid heat in the confined space, sweat sticking to clothes between them. They tried our best to be quiet over the old, noisy springs which creaked at any movement but that proved less than successful. Before long, Sirius's hands were roaming over each bend and curve of her body, coming into contact with erogenous zones she hadn't known even existed. It was all she could do to be silent under the tips of his fingers as they grazed her breasts over the thin fabric of her camisole. She reacted to him immediately, involuntarily bucking at her hips. He winced slightly and she wondered if they should stop, if it was too soon for him to be physical after whatever came to pass at his house. He didn't stop even for a moment, however, and held her hips down with a firm grip as he moved his mouth down to her chest. He teasingly nipped at her breasts through my shirt and she had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep silent.

Although they had established one clear boundary before the end of school, they still hadn't quite established how far we could go before we crossed the line into dangerous territory. He moved his mouth back up to her neck, biting and kissing whilst caressing the sensitive underside of her breasts with his fingertips. If she was capable of one coherent thought, she may have just pushed him away right then before she allowed herself to get carried away.

It was probably the first time since they got together that her mind hadn't wandered immediately elsewhere, already full of anxieties, fears, questions. She willed her mind to be empty and that the intimacy between them would save her peace of mind. In his own mind, Sirius was there with her, in the tiny room between her breasts and her thighs and ready to throw away all abandon.

A/N:

Hey there, I apologize for the time since I've last updated. My husband surprised me with a family vacation, which was lovely.

I hope this long chapter makes up for it, and as usual I'd love for you to drop a line or two.