As he walked through the familiar underground pathway to the shack he couldn't help but feel mildly insane. He could just imagine the look on James' face if he saw him right now. What is that phrase people always use that he'd never quite understood? Ah yes, love makes you do crazy things.

He laughed in spite of himself. He certainly understood it now. He couldn't help but keep remembering that all of his memories of her from their childhood were fragmented and vague at best. This was done deliberately of course, a long time ago, when he made the decision to bury that part of his life. It never occurred to him that it would come back to haunt him in such a way.

She was surprisingly light as he carried her through the house and up the stairs. Sweet and soft in all the right places. Leave it to him to notice something like that when she was unconscious.

He reached the top of the stairs and looked at the large bed in front of him, unused and generally unkempt. He took a moment to appreciate how deceptively peaceful she looked before laying her down gently.

The room was musty and the noises the house made settling in this warm damp weather were for some reason louder than he ever remembered them being. Her wand was still secure in his pocket, his own now between his fingers, preparing to summon her awake.

He performed the spell without speaking, preferring to cast this way as of late.

Slowly her eyes opened, and her long eyelashes fluttered in confusion for a moment before it hit her. She gasped but was rendered motionless when she saw Sirius with his wand out, pointed inches from her face.

Her jaw clenched. Though theoretically he was the one in control, his face did not show it. Strands of his hair fell over his eyes and he held a pained expression as he kept the wand steady.

"We're in the Shrieking Shack. I'm sorry I stunned you but you wouldn't have come any other way..."

Refusing to break eye contact she slowly stood up from the bed. He lowered his wand and folded his arms to show he had no intention of harming her and watched as she began to slowly pace the room, taking in her surroundings, eyes darting everywhere, questioning inwardly why he brought her here of all places.

In as sincere of an apologetic gesture as he was capable of he summoned a chair for her to sit down on, "You came looking for me tonight right? Well, you found me…I showed you mine…now you have to show me yours."

The effect of his authoritative tone was not lost on her. She was trapped.

"We couldn't stay where we were. It was too dangerous…"

He expected her to ask him a thousand questions, but instead she said not one word, only walked towards him, apprehensively. He furrowed his brow as she approached him and took hold of his left hand, examining his scabbed knuckles.

She looked up at him, "What do you want to know?"

Completely surprised, his hand still in hers, he exhaled in slight relief, "What's your father done to you?"

She looked sideways, "Why don't you read my mind and see for yourself."

"What?"

"Legilimency."

He looked taken aback.

"You do know legilimancy don't you?"

"Of course I do…in theory. I've never actually done it to anyone before."

She dropped his hand and started to move towards the chair he had summoned for her, "Well there's a first time for everything isn't there?' she sat down, 'and you're not letting me leave until I show you mine right? So go ahead."

He couldn't believe she was asking him to do this. He shook his head in continued disbelief, and tried to prepare himself for whatever he was about to see. "Alright then. I apologize in advance."