Many thanks to Narukoibito for her beta and of course, to the lovely Breanie for allowing me to use her character of Zee from A Second Chance. Sirius is very happy she allowed it, too. ;)

Chapter Ten:

"Hmm, now that is what I call a lovely way to wake up."

Sirius smiled from behind Zee's back and lifted her curly hair out of the way. "It was rather inspired if I do say so myself."

She turned and smiled at him, her brown eyes crinkling in amusement. "Do you think we could actually get out of this bed today?"

Sirius sighed and tried to look put upon, but he felt his face breaking into a wide smile. "Reckon so. You're tired of me, is that what you're saying?"

"Never," Zee said, kissing him. "But there's no food to be had since we've been in London the last week. You're used to having Harry around to do all the shopping."

Sirius knew the woman had a point. He had often taken for granted how much Harry had helped in that department. Since he was staying with Zee more and more, he supposed he should do his part to help her out.

"All right, let's say we shower, and I'll take you out for breakfast first. Can't go to the shops on an empty stomach! That's what Harry always says, anyway."

Zee laughed, and she rolled over him to get out of bed, a wicked look on her face as she settled in between his legs. Sirius let his hands wander over her, appreciating the view. She leaned down, her long, golden-brown hair falling over them both. He absentmindedly reached out to pull on one of the ringlets hanging closest to him. "I hear there's a water supply issue in most of Devon. We should really shower together to conserve. You know, for the environment."

Sirius grinned as he released her hair from his finger, and it sprang back into shape. "I am always willing to do my part, Zahira."

"I know, and I really appreciate that about you, Black."

He barked out a laugh as she pulled him off the bed and started leading him towards the loo. "Oh? Conservation is now a hot topic with all the birds? Why have I never heard of this before?"

Zee started turning on the taps and looked at him over her shoulder as she gathered her hair to pile it on top of her head. "Maybe it just works on this bird. And maybe she just wants you to herself, understand?"

Sirius smirked. "Yes, Ma'am."

After spending far too long in the shower, and making sure Lady G, Zee's new black kitten was fed (he still couldn't believe he'd fallen for a woman who owned a bloody cat), Sirius had to admit his stomach was rumbling more than a bit as they headed out on his bike, looking for a greasy spoon to eat in. Finding a little place called the Hokey-Pokey, they tucked in to a glorious fry up that was so delicious that neither of them spoke for several minutes. Zee was the first to sit back and sigh happily, patting her stomach.

"We'll have to remember this place," she said, looking around. Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, these mushrooms and tomatoes are admittedly even better than mine. I think there's coriander involved, somehow."

Zee held up her cup towards the waitress in the universal sign for more coffee and stole one of his pieces of toast. He batted her hand away and moved the plate closer to him, sticking out his tongue. She grinned and continued eating, and they both giggled. The waitress topped off their cups while snapping her gum at them, which caused the two of them to laugh even harder.

"Hmm, well, perhaps the service could be a bit nicer," Zee said, raising an eyebrow at the retreating back of their waitress.

"Give her a break, she's got a rough gig probably, working here," Sirius said, eating the last of his sausages. He sighed and sat back, grabbing his coffee. "I think I'm in bliss right now."

"You do look quite satisfied."

Sirius grinned. "Always."

He looked around the little café as Zee's phone went off, and she gave him an apologetic smile. She got out of the booth they were in and stepped outside to have her conversation outside. Sirius liked that about her. She was never assuming or obnoxious. His eyes lingered on her as the sun hit her hair, the colors mesmerizing him for a moment – he'd never realized how many different shades of brown a woman's hair could have before. Some of her hair was dark and enticing. Some of it was golden and magnificent. Even underneath, there were streaks of rich mahogany, which plain just excited him. Feeling like a git for staring at her through the café window like a love-sick puppy, Sirius forced his attention back towards his fellow patrons.

Sirius frowned as a figure along the backside wall seemed to move in and out of focus for a minute. He could have almost sworn…he stood up to see over a group of people who had just come in the door. No, it couldn't be. Not…him. He hadn't seen him since James and Lily had died, but Sirius could see he hadn't changed much. If it was indeed who he thought it was. Just then, a shout went up from the kitchen as a loud noise of falling dishes sounded, scaring most everyone in the café. Sirius frowned and then looked for the man again, but he was nowhere to be found. He looked outside the window as Zee came back in, trying to find him just to convince himself he'd been wrong.

"Sirius?" Zee asked, frowning at him. She waved her hand in front of his face, and he blinked at her, suddenly coming back to himself. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I think I may have," Sirius admitted. "Come on, let's pay up and get out of here."

He didn't feel like explaining himself, because he still had that creepy-someone-is-watching-me type of feeling at the base of his neck. He looked around the car park as Zee strapped her helmet on, half-expecting to see the man again, watching them. But it was empty, and Sirius wondered if indeed he had just been seeing things.

The motorbike's sound filled his ears as he turned and started off towards the local shops, and he was glad of it. He knew Zee knew something was up, and he would explain himself later, but right now, Sirius just wanted to get the face he'd seen in the café out of his head.

It couldn't have been Peter. It just couldn't have been. But Sirius had a feeling that he had not imagined it. And he didn't know what it meant if Peter Pettigrew was back in England. Especially now, of all times. With Remus getting married, and Harry…Harry finally starting to live his life again. Sirius had a very bad feeling indeed.

o-o-o-o-o

Harry made breakfast for them as Ginny showered. He'd let her sleep in a bit as they'd been up talking about renovation ideas rather late, and he felt guilty. He hoped the breakfast he was making and the lunch he'd packed for her would make up for it. He was just pouring the hot water from the kettle into her teapot as she sleepily trudged into the kitchen. She smiled thankfully at him and sat down at the table, hiding a yawn behind her hand.

He offered her a plate of toast, and she took one, reaching for the marmalade already on the table. As he finished the eggs, the timer for the tea went off. After dishing the eggs onto two separate plates, he poured her a cup. Harry handed Ginny her portion and turned around to get another cup of coffee for himself.

Ginny yawned again, and Harry patted her arm as he sat down. "Sorry, I kept you up too late."

"It's okay, I feel like we got a lot accomplished. I can't wait to get started. When should we start meeting with contractors? Oh, god, Harry, these eggs are amazing." Ginny closed her eyes, savoring her bite, and Harry grinned.

"Wanna know the secret?"

Ginny opened her eyes and nodded. "Just some super-special herb you use, I'm sure."

"Well, no, not just. But it's dill, not that special. And it goes exceptionally well with the feta cheese."

"I'll say. Between you and Sirius, I really will go up a few stone living here. I really have to get back into running, but I wanted to get a feel for the neighborhood first."

"Use the treadmill in my exercise room."

Ginny blinked at him as she took a drink of her tea. "That's brilliant, actually. I was worried about getting lost while running. Does it have uphill capabilities?"

"Of course, although it probably isn't as advanced as it should be," Harry said, eating his eggs and thinking about it. "I could actually do with getting a newer one. This one is a bit old, to tell the truth. But if it makes it easier for you to run safely at home, it's worth it in my book."

"While I do actually prefer running outside more, I suppose you have a point. And afterward, you can always give me my post-run massage."

Ginny smiled cheekily at him, and Harry snorted. "All right then, so I will look at some new machines while you're at work. Actually, I'll drive in with you and talk to Ian. I'm sure he has some ideas about which local companies to try first."

"Please don't get a crazy expensive one, Harry. As long as it works and gives me a workout, I'm fine. Really."

Harry frowned. "Would you let me spend my money how I want?"

Ginny sighed. "Of course, you can spend your money how you want. But I want to contribute too, it's only fair. And we have so many plans for the upstairs, it's going to cost quite a bit, you know."

"But Gin, I have loads. Trust me—more than I know what to do with. I don't want you to worry about paying half or whatever kooky idea you have in your head. Not only do I have the football money, but my dad was well off, too. I came into it when I turned 25, so believe me, it's all still there. And I don't have to pay for this house monthly or anything, so we're pretty set."

Ginny put her teacup down and rubbed at the edge of the table, which Harry recognized as her nervous gesture. She glanced at him.

"We were never that well off when I was a kid, and I am used to making do with second-hand things, Harry. And I think it's great you're so generous, but…it's a matter of pride. I am sure you have noticed that Ron doesn't like not paying his way either. It's a matter of principle with us, Weasleys, I'm afraid. And also…well, I don't want people to think I'm with you because of your money."

Harry rested his head on his hand, realizing that she had just revealed the real crux of the matter. "Well, I know you're not, and really, why should it matter what anyone else thinks?"

Ginny got up and put her dishes in the sink, turning around to look at him, folding her arms. "Because I got my job because of you, and now I'm living with you in this lovely house, and you helped me get my car-"

"Hey, you paid for that yourself, I was just along as support."

"But he gave me a discount because of you."

"Not really my fault or yours." Harry stood up and went to her, slipping his arms around her waist. "And we weren't together when I told Ian to hire you. And Ian already wanted to hire you based on your CV before I'd even known it was you. You got that job fair and square. Is someone at the Center giving you a hard time about us dating? Is that it?"

Ginny looked away and shrugged. "No, not…really. Not to my face. I just…overheard some girls talking in the loo about how I may have traded certain favors for it, that's all."

Harry felt a spark of anger and outrage. "What? Who were they?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, not anyone who works there, Harry. Just…some of the girls. I think we were the topic of discussion between the older ones. It's fine, I know they're wrong, but it just made me aware of how it looks. To outsiders."

"Well, that's just bloody stupid," Harry said, touching her chin and pulling her face back to his. "If I'd known I could get special favors out of this deal, I would have hired you far earlier."

Ginny's eyes grew wide in disbelief, and then she shook her head at him as he allowed his smile to fill his face. She finally laughed and relaxed her arms, pulling him closer. "You're a git, sometimes, you know that?"

"I made you laugh, so…I'm okay with it. But honestly, Ginny, next time you hear that, just tell them off."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Is that really what you want me to do? Tell off the girls we're trying to help?"

"Uh, well, no. Good point. But I don't know, make them do extra laps or clean out the showers. Something truly evil."

Ginny laughed. "Come on, let's get going. Let me take you to dinner tonight, okay? Since you'll have to pick me up now?"

"All right. Deal. Go grab your stuff, and I'll get your lunch together."

Ginny paused and kissed him, her lips tender on his. It soon turned into something else, and they broke apart, each breathing a bit more heavily. Ginny chuckled. "I love you."

"I know," Harry said, and he playfully swatted her arse as she turned to head back upstairs. She stuck her tongue out at him as she dashed away.

He frowned, thinking of Ginny being talked about. Still, he knew there wasn't really anything he could actually do about it. She would have to find her own way to deal with it, as he also knew. Harry wondered how she would react once the press got wind of their engagement. He wasn't sure any of the papers would actually care, but Harry had a feeling that meant that at least one of them would. And probably cause trouble.

Not for the first time, he was glad they were finally living together. At least they would be a united front for whatever sort of trouble awaited them.

o-o-o-o-o

After spending the day looking at exercise machines, Harry treated himself to a late afternoon coffee as he waited for Ginny's text to pick her up. He'd also stopped off at the library and found a few new books to read (even though Ginny had just teased him about reading too many whodunnits) and was toying with which one to start first when he realized he felt as though someone was watching him.

Harry looked around the little café and didn't see anyone glaring at him for existing, so he shrugged and turned back to his books. But the feeling persisted. The next time he looked up, he tried to pretend he was fiddling with his mobile instead and realized there was a man a few tables away behind him that was watching him.

It was an older man – possibly around the same age as Sirius and Remus, except while they had aged gracefully and still looked reasonably youthful, this man did not. He was almost entirely bald, except for a few wisps of thinning hair on top and on the side. The remaining hair looked utterly unkempt. He had a rough beard as though he didn't make a shaving habit, or perhaps, he maintained it with scissors, Harry thought idly. The beard was patchy and misshapen. His eyes were rather small, and he reminded Harry for all the world of a rat, complete with a pointy nose. He half-expected the man to be sporting a tail behind him. When the man noticed Harry studying him, his mouth opened in a feral sort grin, and he stood up.

Harry felt alarmed and took a deep breath. When the man paused for a moment next to his table, Harry glanced up at him, but the man suddenly was moving again, past him and out the door, without looking back. Harry blinked after him and sat back in his chair. What the hell?

Just then, the text alert from his mobile went off, and Harry shook his head as he tapped it, reading Ginny's message.

Hey, sexy, I'm almost done for the day, ready the chariot.

Despite the odd experience he'd just had, Harry could help but smile at his phone and typed out his reply.

Ready the chariot? Really? And I suppose a plain car is too good for your arse.

But of course, love. (lol) Seriously, though, I'm starved. How far away are you?

I'm close. I'll be there before you waste away to nothing, I promise.

Ginny texted him a smile and a heart emoji, and Harry chuckled, leaving some money on the table for his waitress. He grabbed his books and paused as he left the café, but he didn't see the strange man anywhere around and shrugged. Maybe he had been reading too many mysteries lately. He felt like he was seeing plots and oddness everywhere these days.

o-o-o-o-o

"I feel like Chinese," Ginny said as they wandered through the new section of shops and eateries in Godric's Hollow. "How about you?"

"Sounds good."

They'd parked and had been wandering around, holding hands, trying to decide where to eat. Sirius had texted, saying he was still with Zee but that he would home later to catch up. Harry thought he'd get something to go for his godfather wherever they ate as Sirius was known for late-night eating parties when he wanted to talk.

"Here's one," Ginny said, nodding at the red sign across from them. "K.T.Leung's Palace of Good Fortune. That sounds optimistic."

It did look nice, Harry thought. It was all red and shiny, like a new toy. There were tables off to the side of the building in a sort of patio set up, and it was such a nice night out that he immediately wanted to eat outside. They didn't look too busy. Ginny agreed about eating outside. They were soon seated, ordering their drinks, a Mai Tai for Ginny and something called a Gunner for Harry.

"I think I will have the Happy Family," Ginny said, smiling. "Can't go wrong with a name like that. Should we order some Dim Sum? That prawn and crabmeat sound delicious."

"Sure," Harry said, eyeing the menu. "What do you reckon? I'll get the Sizzling Spicy beef, and then when my mouth is on fire, I'll just eat your Happy Family?"

Ginny snorted. "No, plan ahead better than that, please. I told you, I'm starving."

"Didn't you eat your lunch?" Harry asked. "I packed it pretty full."

Ginny's cheeks turned pink. "Uh, well, one of the girls…there's this girl named Natalie and she, well, she doesn't seem to have much at home or any money, and she was crying because she was hungry, so I sort of gave her what you'd made for me. I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry reached out and took her hand. "You don't have to apologize for being kind, Ginny. Did you let Ian know? He can set up something for her with one of the local outreach programs. Make sure her family is getting food."

"I'll do that tomorrow," Ginny said, nodding.

Harry squeezed her hand. "Well, let's order extra food and just eat until we burst. Anything we can't eat, we'll take home for Sirius. Sound like a plan?"

Ginny smirked at him. "It's my treat, remember? But yes, it sounds like a plan."

"Of course, it's your treat. That's why I said let's order extra. Gotta get my money's worth."

Ginny laughed, and they ordered soon after that. Ginny was telling him how one of her training sessions had gone today with the girls at the Center when they were interrupted by a soft, yet familiar voice.

"Harry? Is that you?"

Harry looked and saw Cho staring at him from the walkway outside the restaurant's dining area. He stood up without realizing it and then glanced at Ginny, giving her a shrug. She tilted her head, and he waved at Cho, inviting her to join them. Ginny raised an eyebrow at him and took a sip of her drink.

Cho walked through the restaurant and was soon at their table, smiling widely at Harry. She glanced at Ginny with a puzzled look. Ginny nodded at her and then pointed at an empty chair at a nearby table.

"Please, join us. Right, Harry?"

Harry nodded dumbly, not quite sure what was happening and quickly sat back down. Had he really just indicated to his ex-girlfriend that she should join him with his current girlfriend - no scratch that, fiancé - for their dinner date? He was an idiot.

"Hi, I'm Ginny," Ginny was now saying as Harry continued to stare at the two of them. He suddenly blinked at them and nodded.

"Oh, sorry. Sorry! Cho Chang, Ginny Weasley. Ginny, this is, uh, Cho. Cho, this is, uh, Ginny."

"Hi," Cho said, holding out her hand as she and Ginny shook hands briefly. They both smiled politely at each other and then both turned to look at Harry expectantly.

"Um, I thought you were in London now?" Harry blurted out, looking at Cho. She looked good, he thought. A little tired, maybe, but good. She'd cut her hair as well. It was now quite short and fell just to her ears in a sort of bob-style. He knew she'd always wanted to wear it shorter but had never wanted to displease her parents by appearing less traditional.

"I was, I mean, I still am. My dad's in hospital, so I came back for a visit."

"Oh, no, is he okay?" Harry asked, feeling sad. Mr Chang had always been very nice to Harry.

"Yeah, he will be. But it was touch and go for a while. How's Sirius? And Remus? You look fantastic, by the way. I see you're wearing the glasses more. Maybe I was too harsh on them back then. They make you look quite handsome."

"Uh, thanks, and yeah, the glasses are back for good. Remus is getting married soon."

"No? Really? That's great, Harry," Cho said, sounding really pleased.

"And Sirius is…well, he's Sirius. He's seeing someone too, believe it or not. Even though he claims it isn't…"

Cho giggled and finished Harry's sentence. "Let me guess. It isn't serious?"

Harry nodded and shrugged.

Cho laughed again as she pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, and it was a tinkling sound in the night air. Harry swallowed roughly because he knew that laugh. He looked at Ginny, who was simply smirking at him. She'd apparently understood that laugh too. He cleared his throat. Right.

"Er, Cho, you may as well know, that is, Ginny and I are, well, we're engaged."

Cho, who had been turning in her chair to face him, suddenly stopped and looked between them, two bright spots of color appearing on her cheeks. "Oh. Oh. Congratulations, then."

"Thank you, Cho," Ginny said evenly. "Would you like to see the ring? It used to belong to Harry's mum."

Ginny held out her hand, and Cho looked down, nodding politely. "Wow, that's really…that's lovely. Just lovely. How happy you must be."

"Gloriously happy, actually," Ginny said as the waiter appeared with their dim sum. "Please join us for dinner, won't you? We've ordered a ton of food."

"Er, no, I couldn't. I must be getting back. I just saw Harry and thought…" Cho looked between them again and gave them a little smile. "Well, I just thought I would say hi. I've missed you a bit, Harry. We should talk, well, if you don't mind him talking to an ex, Ginny? I mean, I was Harry's first girlfriend, you know. We go back a long way."

Ginny shook her head. "No, I don't mind. I trust Harry implicitly. Besides, he's told me all about you. And it's nice to stay in touch with old friends, right, Harry?" She reached out her hand, and Harry took it automatically. He glanced at Cho.

"I'll give you a call later in the week, see how your dad's doing, all right?"

Cho nodded and then stood up awkwardly. "Well, have a good night. And congratulations again." She gave them a little wave and then left. Harry released a long breath.

"Sorry," he said after a minute. Ginny smiled at him.

"For what? I think she got the message."

"Oh? And what was that?"

"That you're mine."

"I don't think she was interested, Gin."

Ginny merely gave him a look. "Trust me, she was. The whole touching her hair and giggling bit and leaving me out of the conversation? She wanted you back, Potter."

Harry frowned. "Cho's not…well, okay, she was a bit like that before when we were actually dating, very territorial at parties and whatnot. But I don't think randomly seeing me in a bistro having dinner means she suddenly wanted me back."

Ginny put down her fork and retook his hand. "You look fit, Harry. And you know why? You look happy. And she could tell. There is nothing a girl wants to see less than an ex-boyfriend practically blooming with happiness with another woman. Trust me."

"Are all women this surreptitious ?" Harry asked after a moment.

"Pretty much," Ginny said, smiling.

"Oh, brother," Harry muttered. He felt terrible for Cho, but he didn't feel that terrible for Cho and said as much to Ginny.

"I know, and she could tell. Don't worry though, I doubt she'll be crying into her cups later or anything."

"Oh, thanks. I'm that easy to forget, huh?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, and Harry blushed. "Okay, not the point. Um, you look really fetching tonight, have I mentioned? Let's talk about the new exercise machine I bought us."

Ginny laughed, and much like Cho's laugh, it carried in the night, and this laugh made Harry feel warm and gooey inside. He suddenly wanted to get her home, all thoughts of his ex leaving his mind for good.

o-o-o-o-o

"Oh, goodness, you're amazingly brilliant at that," Ginny breathed out as they snuggled on the settee. Harry snorted and started kissing her neck.

"You're no slouch either, you know," he murmured, pulling her tightly against him again. Harry decided making love on the sitting room settee was by far his favorite place to do it thus far. It felt slightly naughty to be naked in the middle of the room for some reason.

"Hmm, when do you think Sirius will be back?"

Harry lifted his head and smirked at her. "Why? Want another round before he gets home?"

"I was thinking of trying the second bathroom's tub before we decide to gut it, and we'll be stuck with only showers for the next unforeseeable future."

Harry smiled at her. "He said he would text beforehand. You have a water fetish, don't you?"

"Are you complaining?"

"Um, no, you're right. Bring it on, I say. Maybe we should replace the tub with one of those nice jacuzzis. Or a hot tub. Or, what's the difference, really? The pipes or taps, do you think?"

"Hmm, Harry," Ginny said, running her hands through his hair. "You know exactly how to turn a girl's head. Tell me more about pipes and plumbing and oooh, backsplashes. Really get me going here."

Harry laughed and pulled her up from the settee as they moved. He looked around and found his boxers underneath the coffee table. "Let's grab our clothes first, okay? I don't need Sirius taking the mickey out of me for one night of my life."

The had made it all the way upstairs when Harry heard his mobile ping from downstairs, indicating he'd received a text. Ginny chuckled and took her clothes from him, smacking his bum. "Oh, well. We'll save it for next time."

"Quite," Harry said, slipping his boxers on and running back downstairs to grab his mobile. He went back up, reading Sirius's text.

"He'll be here in ten minutes. Just enough to make ourselves presentable, wink wink, nudge nudge."

Ginny laughed from the loo and he watched as she pulled her jeans back on without bothering with her knickers. "He didn't really say that."

Harry held out his mobile so she could read it. She shook her head. "Well, he did say he didn't want to walk in on us. He's just being cautious."

"I don't think he wants to walk in on me. You? I'm pretty sure he'd be okay with."

"Harry, he's your godfather."

"Yeah, well, he's also a man who likes women. A lot." Harry pulled his shirt over his head and stood next to her as she combed her hair. Ginny glanced at him.

"Are you going to put your trousers back on or just sit around like that?"

Harry shrugged. "Thought it might be more relaxed this way. You didn't bother with knickers."

Ginny shook her head and pushed his trousers towards him. "Yes, but you're the only one who knows that. Besides, I thought you didn't want him taking the mickey this time?"

Harry sighed loudly, and she poked him teasingly in the ribs with her fingers. They finished getting dressed and were just heading back downstairs as Sirius came in through the front door. He smiled at them.

"Hope I didn't get you guys out of bed or anything."

"No," Ginny said nonchalantly as they all filed into the kitchen. Sirius made a face at Harry.

"You're letting me down, godson."

"We got extra Chinese," Harry said, ignoring him. "Fancy a quick warm-up?"

"Hmm, sounds good, I'll put the coffee on. Decaf, I assume?"

"None for me, I'll just have some water," Ginny said, stepping out of the way. Sirius looked at Harry.

"You're choice then, Harry."

"Um, let's try half-decaf, half-regular roast."

"Excellent," Sirius said.

Ginny sat down at the table as the two men busied themselves with the food and coffee. Once they were all settled, Sirius started eating and looked at them. "Can I ask you two something? It's sort of, excuse the pun, but it's serious."

Harry glanced at Ginny, who shrugged, and they both nodded at his godfather.

"I had a weird experience today. A face from the past…one I never thought I would see again, sort of startled me and got me thinking. Have you two experienced anything…off lately?"

Harry felt a nervous feeling in his stomach. "I have, actually."

Ginny and Sirius both looked at him. "I was waiting for Gin to get off work and felt like someone was staring at me. I looked around, and this strange…man was staring at me. I thought he was going to start something in the café, actually, but he paused by my table and then just left, without a glance back. It was unsettling."

Sirius nodded, a grim expression on his face. "What did he look like?"

Harry described as much as he could about the man, not liking the resigned look on Sirius's face.

After Harry had finished, Sirius looked at Ginny. "And how about you?"

"No, nothing like that that I know of. Why? Do you know who this person is?"

Sirius put his fork down and sighed, suddenly pushing his plate away. He gave Harry a look that made Harry's nervous stomach start to flutter once more.

"There was an old friend of your Dad's and mine, named Peter Pettigrew. Do you remember either Remus or me mentioning his name before?"

Harry thought about it, but the name didn't ring any bells. "No, not at all. If he was a friend of you lot, why have I never heard about him? Did he know my Mum too?"

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. He…well, the four of us were quite close during our uni days, but we had a falling out and…oh god, I should have called Moony in for this talk."

Sirius ran his hand down his face, looking pale to Harry. He reached out and touched his godfather's hand.

"Sirius? You're alarming me. What is it? Who is this person?"

"Harry, on the night your parents died, there was…there was some question about what exactly happened to their car to cause it to crash. Remus and I never told you before because nothing was ever proven. But earlier in the day, the day of the accident, your father mentioned to Remus that he'd ran into Peter outside the house. Actually, he found him outside the garage."

"What?" Harry shouted, apparently louder than he meant to because he saw Ginny wince, even as she took ahold of his hand.

Sirius held up his hands. "Calm down, Harry. Like I said, nothing was ever proven one way or another. Still, Remus and I…well, we always thought it was odd that Peter was seen on that particular day, especially since none of us had spoken to him in a few years. But…the thing that happened between us, your dad was sort of responsible for Peter getting sent down from school, and he always held your dad to task for his own failures."

"You think this person, this…Peter Pettigrew, killed my parents?" Harry asked after a moment, not even recognizing the sound of his own voice. He felt numb. Absolutely numb.

"I don't know, kid. But it never sat right with me. Him being around and then them…having their accident. But he left the country soon after the inquest into their death, and Remus and I had you to think about, and we decided to put it behind us, so we could be there for you. Because you needed us here, not going off and finding him based on a feeling."

Harry felt his heartbreaking inside of him, like an old pain he'd forgotten about. He felt sick suddenly and pushed back from the table. Sirius and Ginny both said something to him, but he couldn't hear anything except the sound of his heart beating loud and fast, as though it were coming from deep inside of him. He ran out the back door, suddenly needing to breathe in the fresh air. He heard the door slam roughly behind him and didn't care. He went to the edge of the property – as far as he could go – where Sirius had grown a few small trees to act as a buffer between the next property and theirs. Harry stopped moving, resting against one of them, taking deep breaths and trying not to lose his dinner.

He couldn't believe what he had just been told and felt equal parts alarm and worry, and even a sense of betrayal. Why had Sirius and Remus never told him this? Didn't he deserve to know the true circumstances of his parent's death? Why had they let him grow up believing a lie? To think someone could hate his father enough to be responsible for his death…Harry shivered, his stomach lurching again. It wasn't true. It just wasn't true. No one could hate his father that much. His father had been brilliant. Kind, funny, full of life – everyone said so. Things like murder happened in movies and books – Harry loved to figure them out – but he didn't want to live his life in one. No, this was not his life. His life had never been tainted by such darkness. It was just a hazy thought his godfather and uncle had once had, and that was it.

"Harry?"

Ginny's hand was warm and soft as it slipped into his, and he caught a whiff of her flowery scent, and he bowed his head, closing his eyes. She wrapped her arms around him and just held him. He finally allowed himself to relax. The night closed in around them, and Harry concentrated on Ginny's touch, wanting to forget everything but her.

o-o-o-o-o