That night, after the Dursleys left to return home from their impromptu vacation, Paige and Sirius sat in the sitting room, cuddling on the couch. They were both smiling in contentment after the battle for Sirius' freedom had been won, and was finally over.
She looked up at her father after Harry had retired to the bedroom he had claimed from the first night, and said, "Dad? How did you and Mom meet?"
Sirius sighed and looked down at her before looking above the mantle where a picture of him and his wife on their wedding day stood prominently on display. His heart twisted, longing to see Adrienna's face and hear her voice one more time. "It's kind of a long story, pumpkin," he said at length. She sat up and looked at him, curiosity scorching through her eyes. He looked down at her a gave a small laugh before squeezing her once more and recounting his tale.
-Twenty Years Before-
"Here we are," James said. "Platform 9 3/4!" The bright red locomotive had steam already billowing out in a large white cloud. Sirius looked around, taking everything in. He knew it would be an experience he'd never forget.
"Let's get on the train. It looks like it's about to leave," he said. They piled onto the train and found a compartment, sassing a couple fellow students out. The train began to slowly move and the door to their compartment opened, admitting a pretty girl with grey eyes and skin like ivory. There was a quiet, guarded demeanor about her.
"Hi, is it alright if I sit with you guys?" she asked in a timid voice. Sirius and James exchanged glances.
"Sure," James said. She sat down on the seat across from them and pulled out a book that had been read multiple times, based on appearance alone. The once vibrant sea green of the cover was worn thread bare in places while the spine had been rebound twice. The Chrysalids John Wyndham was written on the front, though the ink was somewhat faded. Her fall sweater was about four sizes too big for her, and its tawny yellow washed her skin tone out to the point of giving her skin an unhealthy pale green tinge to it. The jeans she had were little more than Capri's while the scuffs and holes in her thin-soled dusty brown loafers clearly told of days spent running around in the summer sunshine, laughing her head off as her family played "Chase." For some reason, Sirius felt that it had been years since she had played herself to sleep
James leaned over to him. "What do you think her story is?" he whispered in the quietest of breaths.
Sirius shrugged, switching his gaze from the girl in their compartment to watch the trees and countryside whiz past them. "No idea," he whispered back. He and James got out a textbook and set it up as a barrier so they could whisper back and forth without being disturbed. "Probably doesn't want to talk about it, I'd imagine."
"Not likely," agreed James. "Dying to know, though. Let's ask her what house she thinks she's going to be in."
"Fine," Sirius said. James dropped the book and cleared his throat, tapping the girl's book, earning an annoyed eyebrow raise for his troubles. She reluctantly tore her eyes from the words on the page and looked at the boys opposite her.
"We were wondering what house you think you're going to be in," said James. "I'm certain I'm going to be in Gryffindor, and so's he."
"I-I don't know. My mom was in Ravenclaw, but I didn't hear much about Hogwarts, and my dad never went, nor did my stepmother," she said, looking down at the cover of her book before looking out the window, a sad, lonely look in her eyes.
