Coming Back to You

SeverusxLily

Rated T

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters from the franchise. That honor belongs to JK Rowling

Author's Note: I am going to diverge a little bit and focus solely on Sirius and Petunia. This chapter will be about just them, no appearance of Severus and Lily whatsoever; just Sirius and Petunia, though Remus will make an appearance. I've missed them honestly, lol. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. XOXO, SehunsBae37.

Coming Back to You

Chapter 21: Sirius Confesses to Petunia

Sirius had been living with Petunia for about two months and he had to admit that it had been the best two months of his life. He couldn't believe how much he was enjoying himself, especially when he was with the older blonde woman. He couldn't believe how much of an attractive little spitfire Petunia was and he loved that about her, but she was also very sweet and caring and understanding. James had told him he would find a woman that wouldn't take his bull and he was right. In a way, Petunia reminded him of his mother, which he wasn't sure was a good or bad thing when he first realized it. But upon pondering the thought, he realized that it wasn't a bad thing due to the fact that he had often forgotten how loving, caring, and kind his own mother could be when he was first accusing her and his family for being Dark Wizards because they came out of Slytherin House. Also in doing so he realized his mistake and sent a letter of apology to both of his parents. He had yet to hear a reply, but Petunia assured him he would soon.

Currently Sirius was pacing the living room floor wondering how he wanted to go about what he wanted to do. Last night he had finally realized that the feelings he had for Petunia had grown from a crush to something so much more. He himself thought it was a bit early, considering he had only known her for two months, but he couldn't deny what he felt for the blonde woman. He didn't care that she was three years older than him either; if anything it added to her charm. Sirius wanted to confess his feelings to Petunia, regardless of whether she felt the same or not. He didn't think her harsh to just reject, brush off, or just outright not accept his feelings. If anything she would accept what he had to say and his feelings and ponder them a bit before giving him her response, and he was okay with that.

Petunia was at work currently, leaving Sirius a few hours to get his thoughts and ideas together. He wondered if he should do something romantic, even though there wasn't anything romantic between them. Maybe he could show her a bit of his world, introduce her to it more than she already was through Lily. It wouldn't hurt, but he wasn't sure she would like it. But then again, she might find it fantastic and wouldn't mind; she would probably even be relaxed and it could help him calm his own nerves as he got ready to confess. Deciding to take a chance he left Petunia's house and Disapparated away after locking it behind him.

Seconds later he Apparated in front of a rather old looking cabin and knocked on the door. A minute later the wooden door opened and Sirius was greeted with the sight of his best friend, Remus Lupin. Remus smiled brightly, his green eyes shining in happiness at seeing his friend.

"Sirius! Come in, come in," Remus said, standing aside and allowing Sirius to walk past him inside his home. "It's good to see you, Padfoot. I haven't heard from you in months."

"I know, same here, Moony," Sirius repeated as she and Remus shared a hug. "How are you doing? The full moon was last week."

Remus led Sirius into his sitting room before saying, "I'm fine. And it was alright last week as well, though I haven't the slightest clue where I was when I woke up the morning after."

Sirius nodded and sat down on the small sofa he had before saying, "Moony, I need your help."

"That depends on what it is."

"I need advice on where to take someone on a date to confess my feelings to."

"What?" Remus asked surprised, his green eyes widening in surprise.

Grey eyes looked up at their friend and Sirius sighed before saying, "Yeah, I know. It sounds crazy, doesn't it, that I would actually have genuine practice for another person? But I really do, Remus; I actually really care about her. And, you won't believe this, she's a Muggle."

Remus stared at his best friend for several seconds before grabbing a chair and moving it to sit in front of him. Once he was settled he said, "Tell me everything."

Sirius went into his tale about how he had spent months looking for Pettigrew after he betrayed James and Lily and got James killed. He told him how he had been searching as Padfoot before he figured to look in a Muggle neighborhood. Sirius ran his fingers through his hair as he said, "Imagine my surprise when I saw Lily and Harry in one house."

"Lily and Harry?" Remus asked in surprise.

"Yeah, they had escaped in time before You-Know-Who got to them. Apparently the house I saw them in was Lily's sister's place. And not only them, but Frank and Alice were there with their son."

"Yes, I heard that Snape cured them."

"So did I, and guess what? He was there as well. And not only that, but he and Lily are a couple now. And on top of that, Harry calls him 'daddy' and he got Lily pregnant."

Remus didn't say anything for a while before saying, "Well, I'm not surprised. Snape and Lily had always been closer than any of us would ever understand, but you and James were always determined to separate them, and finally succeeded."

"That was Snape's doing."

"But you were the main cause of it. Don't deny it, Sirius."

Sirius said nothing as he had a feeling he would lose, and also because he also knew his friend was right. Shaking his head he said, "Anyway, I said a bunch of insulting things and I was punched in the face by Snape, right after being slapped by both Lily and her sister. I returned later that night and apologized to Petunia, Lily's sister, and asked for refuge at her home."

"And she said 'yes'?" Remus asked.

"Not at first, but I promised to pull my weight, so she agreed. Everything started off horribly, but things got better and we got to know each other and enjoy each other's company. Before I knew it I liked her, Remus. She has so much passion and spunk; she's great and such a hard worker. But whenever I mess up she scolds me like my mother."

"Maybe you need a woman like that in your life, Padfoot."

"Maybe. But anyway, I've come to realize that I really like her and I want her to know that. I don't expect her to return my feelings, especially considering she is still healing from her last relationship."

"What happened in that one?"

"Her husband cheated with her friend, saying something about not being able to be with someone with a magical family, and then he divorced her and took their son and his mistress and left for Paris."

Remus growled and said, "That mongrel. What oaf does that to a woman and takes her child?"

Sirius nodded and said, "So you see why I don't really expect anything. All I want to do is tell Petunia how I feel and take her out on a romantic evening. She deserves it after all."

The two men sat in silence for a while before Remus said, "So you want to take her somewhere special. I'm going to assume somewhere magical as well." When he received a nod, he nodded himself. After a few minutes in thought he said, "I would say Paris, but those wounds may not have healed yet. How about Wizarding Venice, Italy?"

The dark haired man sat in thought for a moment before grinning brightly and standing, saying, "Remus, you're a genius! I'll have to pay you back for this at some point. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and get some things done. I'll see you later, Moony!"

Remus watched as his friend ran out of his house and heard the sound of him Disapparating away before shaking his head. He could only hope that Sirius didn't blow it with Lily's sister. He could only imagine what the redhead would do if she found out he hurt her older sister.

Petunia sighed as she entered her home after work, wanting to just get some dinner started. She hung up her coat and said loudly, "Sirius, I'm home!"

She put down her purse and walked into the living room to see Sirius dressed in black suit pants, a pressed white button up shirt, and a black suit jacket undone overtop with black dress shoes adorning his feet. He had shaved and had pulled his black hair back into a ponytail. He grinned at her as he held out a single rose to her as he stepped up to her.

"Sirius?" Petunia said in confusion. Taking the rose she asked, "What's going on?"

"How would you like to go to Italy for dinner tonight?" Sirius asked, watching in amusement how Petunia's look of confusion turned into one of excitement.

"Are you serious, Sirius?" Petunia asked, letting out an excited squeal when Sirius nodded chuckling at her use of his name after the word. He told he would wait for her to get ready as she ran upstairs.

Petunia quickly jumped in the shower, washing herself as quickly and thoroughly as possible and making sure not to get her hair wet; she couldn't do like Sirius and just magically dry it. Once she was done and towel dried herself off, she ran to her room and put on a clean pair of knickers and bra, then chose a blue queen anne strapped dress that flowed from the waist down and stopped just below her knees. She put on black ankle strap wedge heels, then fixed her blond hair in a chignon style. She put on some earrings, a necklace, then put a bit of light makeup on her face before heading back downstairs. She saw Sirius' grey eyes widen upon seeing her and how they continued to watch her until she was standing in front of him.

"You look beautiful," Sirius said, making Petunia blush. He looked into her blue eyes for a moment before asking if she was ready to go. When she nodded he led her outside and waited for her to lock her home. Once she did he took her hand and said, "Hold on tight."

When he felt Petunia get a tight grip on his hand, he Disapparated away from her home.

As soon as she felt her feet touch the ground, Petunia bent over a placed her hands on her knees, trying to stop her head from spinning and from wanting to throw up. She felt Sirius rubbing her back as he said, "Sorry, I should have mentioned that Disapparation and Apparation will usually make you sick the first few times."

Petunia didn't answer at first, still trying to force away the feeling of being sick. When she finally did she stood up at looked at the younger man before saying, "I'll be fine. I've just never felt as if I was being forcibly pulled through a tube before."

Sirius chuckled and said, "Yeah, it does feel like that. But look, we're here."

The blonde looked up and gasped as she saw the Grand Canal of Venice, Italy. It was just as grand as she had imagined and she had always wanted to ride on a boat on the canal. Finding her voice she said, "Sirius, this is amazing! I've always wanted to sail on the Grand Canal."

"Good, because we are going to do so to get to where we are going," Sirius said, watching how Petunia's blue eyes lit up at his words. He took her hand and led her down to the canal where an awaiting gondola was floating on the water. They both got inside and were floated down the canal, the gondolier singing along the way as Petunia and Sirius took in the sights. Before long the gondolier led them over towards a large palace, which he said was the Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti. Sirius thanked and paid him before he got off the gondola and helped Petunia out.

Petunia's blue eyes widened as she took in the palace, taking in its beauty and making a mental note to look up its history when she returned home. Sirius smiled and said, "Let's go inside."

The blonde blushed as the dark haired wizard took her hand and led her inside. They entered through a door and walked down a corridor before Sirius led them inside a broom closet. He took out his wand and cast Lumos before tapping his wand on the door in a specific sequence until the doorknob glowed blue. He turned the knob and opened the door, stepping out and gently pulling Petunia with him. Petunia looked around and let out a gasp, noticing how there were floating torches and that the palace had taken on a medieval look. Feeling something land on her shoulder she looked and let out a surprised yelp at seeing a miniature dragon on her shoulder. The dragon had beautiful, shimmering scales and multi-colored eyes that were pupil-less. It looked at her before lightly nipping her ear, making her giggle as she reached up and gently took it from her shoulder and held it in her hand.

"Oh, it's so pretty!" Petunia said in awe, taking her finger and lightly petting it on its head. She giggled again when the dragon let out a purring sound before letting out a small scarlet flame that disappeared just as soon as it was produced.

"That is an Antipodean Opaleye," a voice said from behind them. Petunia and Sirius turned around to face a wizard and witch that were dressed in medieval robes and were smiling at them. It was the wizard that had spoken and he opened his mouth to speak once again. "The dragons here are miniature size and won't grow any bigger. And if one is lucky, a dragon will choose them to take them home. And from the looks of it, this Antipodean Opaleye has chosen you, miss."

Petunia's blue eyes widened as she looked down at the dragon that was curled up in her hands. Sirius smiled before saying, "It's her first time here as she is a Muggle. Her sister is a witch and she wants to know more about the Wizarding World."

The witch nodded and said, "That is just fine, Mr. Black. A lot of witches and wizards bring their Muggle family or significant other here. However, we have never seen a dragon take a liking to a Muggle before; your date must be special."

The two of them blushed a bit, making the witch and wizard chuckle softly. The wizard cleared his throat and said, "Where are my manners. I am Francesco and this is my wife Olga. We own the Wizarding part of this establishment. Let us take you to a table so you can dine and enjoy yourselves."

The two of them followed the magical couple, the colorful dragon flying itself to rest on Sirius' head, much to Petunia's amusement. They were led to a table and sat down where a House Elf poured them red wine that tasted like strawberries to Petunia. It then served them a garlic shrimp alfredo dinner, starting with an appetizer of tomato basil bruschetta; then they were served the garlic shrimp alfredo for their entrée, both of them surprised to find bacon mixed in; and finally for dessert they were served chocolate mousse. The House Elf even made sure to serve some medium-rare lamb to Petunia's dragon, which she named Twinkle even after finding out it was a male, much to Sirius' amusement.

It was during dessert when Sirius asked, "So how are you enjoying dinner so far?"

"It's amazing," Petunia answered genuinely. "I'm really enjoying myself. Dinner has been lovely and the scenery is beautiful and medieval. Even the magic in here is amazing, seeing things float around by themselves and appear and disappear. I even got a little dragon to take home as a pet! I can't believe I resented this for so long."

Sirius smiled and said, "Well, the night isn't over yet. We still have one more place to go."

Petunia grinned at the wizard saying, "You're spoiling me, Mr. Black."

"Well, you deserve it, Ms. Evans," Sirius replied, both of them chuckling at their playful banter.

Sirius paid for their dinner and he and Petunia left the building, thanking Francesco and Olga on their way out while Twinkle flew after them, flying into the closet and landing on Sirius' shoulder before he closed the door, then did the sequence of taps in reverse, the doorknob glowing blue again before they stepped out into the regular corridor of the palace again. They exited the Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti and Sirius grabbed Petunia's arm and quickly Disapparated away before any Muggles could see them.

Once again, as soon as their feet touched the ground, Petunia had to bend over and get her bearings together, all the while trying to prevent her dinner from coming back up. When she finally did get her bearings Petunia saw that they had arrived at some sort of Italian vacation house, with an outdoor pool and a vineyard about a quarter of a mile off, taking up about five acres.

"This place is beautiful," Petunia said.

"It's one of the Black family's vacation houses. This is one of three here in Italy," Sirius said, watching as Twinkle flew off to snap at the fireflies that were floating around in the air.

Petunia continued to take in the scenery, not believing that she was in such a beautiful place or that someone would do something like this for her. She turned around to face the younger man and said, "Thank you for tonight, Sirius. It was lovely. But I do have to ask, why did you do this for me?"

Sirius was quiet for a moment, the only sounds to be heard was the chirping of crickets and the occasional snaps and blowing of fire from Twinkle. Finally he sighed and said, "I wanted to do something special for you because…because I like you, Petunia."

"Wh-What?"

"I like you, a lot. I have romantic feelings for you that started developing ever since I've been living with you. I've always thought you were pretty, but now that I've gotten to know you, you are more beautiful than ever before. I just love your personality and you as a person. You've been through a lot emotionally and have lost your son to your wretched ex-husband as well everything else you had in that marriage, but you continue to stay strong and that alone is inspiring. I wanted to do something special for you because you deserve it, and I also wanted to let you know how I feel about you. I think that I may even love you, Petunia."

Petunia didn't know what to say, she just stood there in shock. Her blue eyes stared into grey as her mouth opened and shut repeatedly. What could she say? She was so shocked and she had no idea that Sirius felt any sort of romantic feelings towards her. Yes, they had become pretty good friends and were very comfortable with each other considering how they started, but this was a shock to the blonde. She opened her mouth to finally say something, but Sirius interrupted her.

"I don't want you to say anything, and I don't expect you to. But I just wanted to let you know how I feel. Whether you return my feelings in time or not, I just wanted to let you know," Sirius said, lightly caressing her cheek before dropping his hand. "There is a room set up for you inside to stay in for the night. I know you are off from work tomorrow, so I set this up so you can rest properly."

"Sirius…" Petunia said softly, ignoring Twinkle as he climbed her chignon to the top of her head.

Sirius smiled and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek before turning and walking to the vacation house. Petunia watched him walk inside the house, letting his words, his confession, reverberate in her mind. Sirius Black, a Pureblood wizard, was in love or somewhat in love with her, a Muggle. He liked her a lot. She was flattered honestly, but she wasn't sure what to do or how to respond to that in the future. Maybe she needed to sleep on it and think in depth about how she really felt about the wizard.

Feeling very tired all of a sudden, Petunia began walking towards the vacation house, reaching up to her head and lightly grabbing Twinkle, carrying him in her hand. As she neared the house she asked, "What am I going to do, Twinkle?"

Twinkle's reply was to blow out a scarlet flame before lightly nipping her fingers, as if to comfort his new owner.