Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! I wasn't exactly happy with the way chapter 25 turned out, but I feel like this one is much better. We finally get to meet Celia's dad and hang out with the 'rents. Happy reading!

Celia spent the train ride home smashed into a compartment with Lily, Marlene and all four Marauders. She had to sit on Sirius's lap for the majority of the trip, only getting a seat to herself when Lily or Remus got up to patrol the corridors. Not that she minded all that much; she wouldn't be seeing Sirius for a while so it was good they got some time together. She would miss her friends but she was kind of excited to be going home for a while.

She usually slept on the train but her seating arrangement was making that impossible. Sirius kept shifting under her weight and grabbing her arse and tits when he thought no one was looking.

"Quit it!" she hissed at him and pinched his hand as he tried to slide it up her shirt.

"What?" he yelped and then leaned into her ear so only she could hear, "I'm not going to see you for weeks, don't you want to give me something to remember you by?"

"Oi you two!" James yelled at them and threw a pumpkin pasty as Sirius's head, "go to the loo if you need a shag. There isn't room here."

It wasn't as if James really minded there not being enough room, he was practically laying on top of Lily. In fact, Lily didn't seem to mind much either.

"Not a bad idea, Prongs" Sirius pushed her off of him so he could stand.

"That sounds like a really unhygienic idea actually." Celia argued and pushed him back down. She definitely didn't need to contract some kind of jungle disease from the Hogwarts Express toilets.

"Yes" Lily agreed with Celia and shooting Potter a disgusted look. "Especially since Marlene and Remus were headed there 20 minutes ago."

As if on cue the couple returned to the compartment with their clothes all mussed and their faces flushed red.

"Long line?" Peter asked mischievously causing everyone, even the two guilty parties to snicker.

When the train arrived at Kings Cross everyone gathered their bags and were saying their goodbyes on the platform.

"Make sure to write" Celia ordered Lily and Marlene "I'll see you in a few weeks."

They both hugged her goodbye and ran off to their rides. Lily's parents were easy to spot, as they were in muggle clothes and looked confused. Marlene's brother Ewan (who Celia once had a mad crush on) had come to pick her up. He gave Celia a wink before turning to scowl at Remus who was kissing Marlene goodbye.

"I saw that" Sirius said coming out of nowhere dragging a trunk behind him.

"You should be jealous, he was my first love" Celia smiled. Sirius merely smirked unaffected and rolled his grey eyes at her.

"Celly!" She turned to see her dad's tall figure coming towards her with arms outstretched. She broke away from Sirius and ran to hug her dad. She hadn't seen him since last August and hadn't realized how much she missed him.

"I missed you girl. So that's him?" Her dad asked as he pulled away and looked at Sirius standing there with a arrogant look on his face. It was as if he was expecting her dad not to like him, not to approve of him, and he was showing that he didn't give a damn. This was probably a bad sign.

"Yes" Celia replied quietly "Be nice, dad"

She led her dad over to Sirius and introduced them. She was very nervous, and hoped he approved of her rebellious boyfriend. Celia wasn't exactly a daddy's girl but she respected his opinion and did try to to please both her parents.

"Dad, Sirius. Sirius this is my dad Conan."

"It's Mr. Kennedy" her dad said sternly as he shook Sirius's hand. Celia cringed at his tone. Why did he have to like Fabian so much?

"Nice to meet you" Sirius said looking him directly in the eye.

She was both impressed by and pissed off at Sirius. Celia had explained what her dad expected from her boyfriend and why he had liked Fabian. She had encouraged Sirius to act polite and humble, but he didn't seem to be able to do it.

So instead Sirius looked like he was about to have a pissing contest with her father.

Conan Kennedy was an intimidating man. He was maybe an inch or two shorter than Sirius, with broad shoulders and a shock of red hair on his face and head. He was an Auror, so of course he was dangerous and Sirius knew this but didn't seem to care at all. They both just kind of stared at each other, neither one flinching or breaking eye contact.

"Okayyyy" Celia said awkwardly pulling the two of them apart. "Well, we better get going dad. I'm hungry."

She went over to Sirius, threw her arms around him and kissed him quickly goodbye. She would have liked to properly snog him, but she doubted her dad would appreciate the PDA.

"Shit starter" Celia accused Sirius quietly before giving him one last peck on the cheek.

He shrugged "Love you Celia, I'll write soon."

Once Sirius was gone her dad gave her a look.

"I don't like him" Conan stated bluntly. Celia rolled her eyes and laughed.

"You just don't like that you were trying to intimidate him and it didn't work" She pointed out.

"A man should be intimidated by his girlfriend's father. Hell, I didn't even look at your Grandpa Peter in the eye till after he was dead."

That was gross and totally not true.

"He's good to me. I wouldn't be with him if he wasn't" She assured him.

"I'll let it go for now. Can you apparate yet?" He asked as they made their way to an empty corner of the station.

"Not without losing a limb in the process." She admitted.

Who would have thought apparating would be so difficult? It was actually pretty embarrassing; everyone else had got the hang of it within weeks, she'd been trying for months and while she was getting better she still regularly splinched herself.

"Well, I'll get you home then. I want you to practice apparating this summer though. You never know when you'll need it."

He grabbed her arm and she felt that familiar nauseating pull. They apparated into the sitting room of their townhome and she was immediately bombarded by two giant wolfhounds.

Celia squealed in delight "Where did we get these? Are they ours?" she knelt down to pet them. Celia had always been a dog person, but she was away at school and her parents were always travelling for work so she had never been able to have a dog to call her own.

"They're an extra birthday present. Ma and I know how much you've always wanted a dog and we found these two in Galway last week. The owners were killed by death eaters." He explained.

Celia felt so sorry for the massive creatures; they were incredibly sweet and she couldn't imagine the horrors they'd seen. Watching their owners murdered by filthy death eaters.

"What are their names?"

"Roxi and Bear." dad answered.

Celia spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and playing with her new dogs. They both proved very well trained and exceptionally smart.

At 5:30 she heard the pop of her Ma apparating into the kitchen. Celia raced down the steps and flung herself at the older woman.

"Celia! I missed you" her Ma hugged her tightly. "How do you like the mutts?"

"They're perfect thank you"

"I thought you'd like them." Catharine replied.

They sat down to dinner of Chinese takeout. Ma usually cooked, but was much too exhausted that evening. She had spent all day catching up on paperwork and making sure everything would run smoothly during her vacation.

"So dad told me he met your boyfriend."

She gave her mother a pleading look.

"Dad only liked Fabian because he acted like a doormat."

"Not true" Dad interrupted "He was a nice respectable boy. I don't see why you had to go and break up with him for a Black"

She couldn't argue about Fabian's character, but she could hardly tell her parents that she dumped Fabian because he didn't know how to sexually satisfy a woman. Then of course they would probably think less of him if they found out he had deflowered their only child.

"I didn't love Fabian." Celia shrugged. "And Sirius is nothing like his family."

"He sure looks like them, not to mention he has that haughty pure blood thing about him." Dad grumbled as he stuffed some fried rice into his mouth. Celia gave him an exasperated look from across the table.

"Conan" Ma hushed him with a hand on his arm. "We're just worried about you"

"I know, but don't be. Sirius is really great." And he was, but she doubted she would get her parents to see that.

Her mother continued to look concerned "I'm not dumb Ma. I'm not going to fall for a death eater. Look you can meet him if you want to, but you have to be nice."

She thought that if perhaps they got to know him; If he was able to defend himself they might like him more, or at least feel comfortable having their daughter date him. She realized that they would probably never love him like they had Fabian, after all Sirius Black was a parent's worst nightmare.

"I think that's a good idea. And what do you mean, be nice? I'm always nice." Her mother argued.

Celia took a shower and then got ready for bed. She had missed her bedroom. It was much more glamorous than her Hogwarts dorm. She had a double bed, which was vastly more comfortable than the single in Gryffindor Tower, and the entire room was decorated in shades of purples and silvers. She hadn't even put up any of her posters, only pictures of her, Marlene and Lily. She'd had one of Fabian and her by her bedside but had removed it earlier in the day. She would have to get a good one of Sirius to replace it.

The next morning she awoke because she was being smothered and pinned to the bed. Celia panicked for a moment, but once she woke fully she realized that Roxi and Bear had decided to share her bed. Having two one hundred pound beasts lounging on you was not the best way to wake up. She shoved them both off of her and threw on a robe before taking them into the garden to go potty.

Once Celia was back inside and eating her breakfast the owls arrived with the mail. A bunch arrived but she only paid attention to the one's from Sirius and Lily.

My Celia,

How was the first night home? Hope the 'rents didn't give you too much trouble about me. I can't help but to ruffle feathers; you know this. I'm sure it's part of the reason you love me.

But anyway, I spent the afternoon setting up my new house. Yes, you read that right, my house.

I may have failed to mention that my Uncle left it to me in his will. I can't wait for you to see it; you're going to love it. I also can't wait to take you in every one of the rooms. I miss you, come as soon as you can.

Wear something slutty.

Love,

Sirius

How in the hell did he forget to mention he inherited a home? Celia hadn't even known he was in contact with anyone from his family. She assumed he had not told her on purpose so as to surprise her and she was definitely surprised. She was also flushed at the idea of him taking her in every room. Thank Merlin her parents didn't get this letter and read it first. She would be on lockdown for the rest of her life.

Lily's letter was not much better.

Dear Celia,

Only the first night back and I'm already wishing it was September. Tuney is talking nothing but wedding plans, thank Merlin she now lives in London and is just here for a visit. It sounds like it will be an absolutely vile affair, so I'm hoping you'll be my date. I also think we should pretend to be lesbians. Vernon's family seems like the type to have strong feelings about homosexuality. I plan on making this wedding as uncomfortable for my horrid sister as possible. Maybe next time she'll think to include me . Wedding's on July 17.

Wear something slutty.

Help me,

Lily

What was going on? Why did everyone want her to dress like a tart? She was going to of course but she found it amusing that both of them had asked her to. However her risqué outfits would have to wait, she had 2 whole weeks with her mother, starting today.

"Celly, Celly! Come on." Her Ma called to her from the exit of the store.

They had spent the first week of vacation traveling to Paris and Madrid, and the past week shopping for everything imaginable. She was sure her parents would have to work overtime to make the kind of money they were spending. She had bought a whole new wardrobe, makeup, accessories, school supplies, fun magical items she had found in random shops, such as crystal balls and sneakscopes, and a variety of anything else that took her fancy. She was not sure why her mother was acting like this, the woman had always been careful about her money and now she was throwing it everywhere. Still, Celia had to admit she was having fun.

"Is there anything you still want to do before I have to go back to work tomorrow?" They were sitting at a café in the Temple Bar District, eating fish and chips and drinking a pint of Guinness.

"No, I think we've done everything. But why are we doing all this? We never have before." Celia had spent most of her summers alone in the house or visiting with Lily and Marlene. Her parents never had time to take a vacation; evil never sleeps after all.

A sad nostalgic look overcame her mother's pale face. "It's the last one we'll have isn't it? You'll be off making your mark on the world this time next year."

Celia hadn't thought about that. This was her last summer in school, next year she would have to find a job, and get a real life. A seed of panic began to sprout in her belly. What the hell was she going to do with her life?

"I should have spent more time with you when you were home. I regret it now, when time is running out." Ma smiled sadly.

"Maybe I'll be a slacker and live with you and dad for the rest of my life." Celia shrugged. You never knew what the future held after all.

Ma shook her head "No you won't. You're going to change the world; I can feel it. You're also going to marry that boy aren't you?"

She felt like all this was happening so fast and she was being forced to grow up. She realized she had never taken a hard look at where she pictured her life going. Celia had always kind of just tried to get through the day, she hadn't ever planned for the future. She took a huge gulp of her beer.

"I don't know how I'm going to change the world Ma. And I also don't know if I'll marry Sirius, certainly not any time soon."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes" Celia smiled as she thought of Sirius.

"Then why wouldn't you?" Ma asked seriously.

"We never talked about it." She answered. Of course Sirius loved her, but did he want to marry her? Did she want to marry him? It seemed like that was the natural progression of most romantic relationships, but she felt like she was too young for that. She was barely 17 for Merlin's sake.

"Well" Ma shrugged "7th year is the best one to figure everything out anyway. You'll do fine Celia."

She hoped so.

Thank you for reading and please review if you can:)