James and Mila had been tying round for round in Exploding Snap all afternoon. With the summer's scorching temperature's getting the best of them, it was the only thing they could think of doing which wouldn't require too much exertion. However, their equal competitiveness did nothing to dispel the heat as both worked up a sweat in arguments.

"Ugh, won't you just give up already?" James insisted, once Mila proclaimed there would be another round after his latest win.

"Says you! You could have stopped three rounds ago when I asked!"

"You mean when you were ahead? Yeah, you would have liked that, wouldn't you?"

Each glared at each other in animosity, clenching their cards tightly and refusing to be the first to break.

Euphemia entered the kitchen, watching the pair fondly as they argued over the rules. Having Mila live with them had turned into one of the great blessings of her family's life. Euphemia doted on her like a mother would a daughter, and considered her as such. Though Euphemia sometimes suspected that James' affection for her was not that of a brother, it was hard to imagine them as anything other than siblings when the pair bickered so passionately over inconsequential matters.

"James," Euphemia chided, "If this is the way you talk to women I'm not surprised you haven't gotten a girlfriend yet."

Mila's laughter was quick and bountiful.

James at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Mila doesn't count as a woman."

Mila struck him roughly on the arm. "Hey! Just because Evans won't give you the time of day doesn't mean you have to take it out on me. Besides, I'm all woman. Right, Mrs Potter?"

Euphemia chuckled at the girl's shamelessness, and couldn't resist a chance to tease her son. "You certainly have blossomed over the summer. Hasn't she, James?"

James' cheeks tinged pink, though he tried to put up a nonchalant front. "Yeah, yeah. At least she'd modest about it."

"That's rich coming from someone who spent the summer flexing his arms in front of the bathroom mirror to see which position made his muscles look bigger," Mila said.

James' eyes widened. "You saw that?"

"Are you kidding? You didn't even have the decency to close the bathroom door. You were at it for a good 20 minutes."

Euphemia laughed politely into her hand. There was never a dull moment around these two.

Never one to cease defeat, James took Mila's comments in his stride. "You mean you watched? Liked what you saw, did you?"

Now it was Mila's turn to feel embarrassed. Every year James' head got a little bigger just like, and Mila was loathed to admit it, his biceps. But there was no way on earth she was telling him that. Instead, she shook her head.

"I couldn't look away, it was like watching a train wreck."

James had a sudden thought and held his finger up in warning. "Do not tell Lily you saw me doing that."

"You should have thought of that before you drove us into each other's arms last year," Mila said, referring to fifth year's debacle. "It's quite hard to keep secrets from her now."

James grimaced. "You always love to remind me about that."

"I just think it's funny how weirded out you are that we're friends."

James seemed to think that Mila's friendship with Lily only served for Mila to sabotage his chances with the potion lover.

"You would be too," James argued, "Before last year you hated her! You two are as opposite as two people can get."

"I never hated her. I just hated that you acted like a lovesick git whenever she was around. In fact, you still act like a lovesick git."

Euphemia figured she should intervene in the conversation before one of the pair threw the card game of the table in indignation. It had happened before. Actually, it had already happened at least once today.

"For the last time, Mila. When are you going to invite this girl over? I'd love to meet the young woman who has captured my poor son's heart."

James was quick to jump on the opportunity, ecstatic with his mother for her suggestion. "Yes, Mila, why don't you invite her over? It's the polite thing to do."

"And throw her to the wolves? I don't think so. Besides, she's spending the holidays with Alice."

"Pity," Euphemia said. She voiced another thought that had been playing on her mind, curious for her children's reactions. "I must admit, over the years I always thought the two of you might start dating."

"HA!" Mila howled, while James shrieked his mother's name.

It was a moment before she regained her composure, but Mila wiped the remaining tears from her eyes as she answered. "No chance, Mrs Potter. I got over the crush years ago."

James' eyes rounded. "You had a crush on me?!"

Sometimes Mila forgot that he had had no idea. It wasn't exactly comfortable for her to talk about, but she tried to diminish the weight of the revelation.

"Oh sure. Ages ago. I'm surprised you didn't notice."

"Why didn't you say something?" he asked.

"Because I woke up to what a ghastly sod you are," she joked, attempting to finish the new line of conversation.

James was still perturbed by the news. "Maybe if you'd said something we-"

She didn't let him finish. "Would what? Date? Bad idea, James. Friends shouldn't date."

She considered it her golden rule. It was awful to contemplate what could have happened if she had ever done something as foolish as telling him she liked him during their younger years. Breakups were inevitable, and her opportunity to live with the Potter's might have crumpled if she'd had. Besides, she liked to think she was over it now. She'd idolised James so much during her early years at school, but a combination of living with him, and last year's incident with Snape where she realised James was just as flawed as anyone else, had knocked it out of her. Now he was just… James.

"Still, it would have been nice to know I had options."

"An option? How romantic," Mila said, "Anyway, it's not like anyone could stop you from piling over Evans."

Euphemia listened intently, and like any good mother, she knew when to chime in. "I can see my hoped are dashed then," she said, lightening the mood.

"Thank goodness," Mila agreed, ceasing all tension and making them chuckle.

The laughter was cut short when they all heard a door bang. There were voices coming from the front hall, and Mila thought one of them sounded distressed. She exchanged a look with James, silently agreeing to investigate the strange interruption.

They rose out of their chairs and jogged lightly, each quick to action in times of crisis. Mila suspected who the distressed voice might belong to and discovered she was correct upon arrival. They found Sirius pacing frantically inside the home, as Fleamont Potter attempted to calm him down.

"Sirius, my boy, take a deep breath. Tell me what happened," Fleamont requested.

"They- they finally did it. They kicked me out. Those bastards finally had the guts to tell me to leave."

Mila's stomach dropped. Her protection for Sirius flared and she tried to dampen it to avoid interrupting. She'd only seen Sirius this upset a couple of times in her whole life, and it always involved his parents. Sirius had yet to notice James and Mila were there, but Euphemia had already joined Fleamont in consoling him.

"Oh, honey. I'm sure they would never-" she started.

"They did! And they did a lot more than that. They actually said they wished I had never been born, how I was a big disappointment, those stupid arse-"

He came to a sudden halt when he realised just how big his audience was. His face went white as he spotted Mila and James, and his bravado immediately crumpled.

Fleamont could see Sirius would not be able to speak coherently in front of his friends. Sometimes those closest to you only served to make you more vulnerable, and he would have a harder time saying what he needed to say with them there.

"James, Mila, perhaps you could leave us for a minute," Fleamont suggested kindly.

Mila's immediate reaction was to ignore his advice and envelope Sirius into a hug, but she thought the better of it. Clearly, right now, Sirius needed to speak to the only adults who had ever loved him unconditionally. James wasn't as quick to catch on, and Mila began tugging him away before he would protest. She glanced at Sirius as she left, but his gaze was avoidant.

She dragged James up to his bedroom and they sat together quietly, neither knowing what to say to the other. They could still hear Sirius ranting loudly downstairs, but his voice was not clear enough that they could decipher what he was saying.

"I never thought they would actually kick him out," James murmured beside her, more to himself.

Mila knew he would be feeling just as sick for their friend as she was, but she wasn't surprised he made such a remark. James was a boy who had been loved his entire life, he didn't know what it felt like to be unwanted. Mila had never known her father, but growing up her mother had often been gone for days at a time, and she remembered what it felt like to be alone. It had hurt like hell, but even she couldn't begin to imagine it comparing to being told to your face that your parents didn't love you.

"Poor Sirius," she said aloud.

"At least my parents will let him live here," James said.

Mila had been considering that too. "You think?" she asked.

"Of course. They'll ask us first, just like they asked me if you could move in. They'll want to make sure we're ok with it, which obviously we are. It will all be settled by tomorrow morning, I guarantee it."

"Good."

Sirius had already spent enough of his time here that Mila wondered why they hadn't fought for this decision sooner. He deserved a happy home. The Potters had already provided Mila with one, there was no doubt they would do the same for him.

Mila felt pretty restless but resigned herself to sitting on James bed and waiting for any sign that she was needed downstairs. They ended up waiting for over an hour, neither speaking very much as time went on. Eventually, when silently fretting over Sirius became too much to bear, they laid down side by side and discussed the future of their distraught friend.

"I just hope," James began after a while, "That he doesn't act like he did last time."

"Last time?"

"Yeah. Remember in fourth year when he had that massive fight with them?"

Mila nodded.

James continued. "And then he made it his personal mission to act like a cold-hearted git for weeks afterwards."

"I remember," Mila mumbled. That was when he'd snogged Mary on the train, right in front of Marlene, who he'd known had a huge crush on him. Still does, Mila silently remarked. Probably Mary too, but Mila doubted the two girls would even know where to begin consoling Sirius over his family troubles. Perhaps they didn't even know he had them.

James was clearly remembering the aftermath too. "He always does that when he's upset. He stops caring."

Mila inclined her head towards him, gently leaning hers against his. "Well, we'll do what we did last time. We'll just have to make him care."

James chuckled. "That or we could just sit back and watch the mess he causes. I swear to Godric though, if he tries it on with Lily, I'll kick his ass."

Now that was an entertaining thought. But Mila couldn't recall Sirius showing any interest in the girl.

"He couldn't dare. Lily would get to him before you did," Mila said.

"I suppose that's true, she has quite the temper. Same if he tried it on with you. But you know, I have always wondered…"

"What?" Mila asked.

James looked like he didn't want to finish his sentence, but saw the sudden adamant on her face and decided he better avoid a thumping.

"Sometimes," he said, "And this might sound crazy, but sometimes I get the faintest idea that he might have a crush on you."

It took a moment for her to process, but when she did work out what James was suggesting, she eyed him incredulously. "Me? You're out of your mind."

The pair of them together would be a disaster of epic proportions. Mila couldn't think of two people more wrong for each other.

He looked doubtful, despite her resolve. "If you say so. But think about it, whenever he's feeling down, your the only one who makes him feel better."

"That's not true. James, honestly, you are truly talking out of your baboon arse. Did you forget Sirius and I spent a whole two years hating each other before we even became friends?"

His sudden grin was stark against their gloomy backdrop. "I didn't forget."

"Besides, as I said earlier, dating friends is a bad idea."

James shuddered at the thought. "Who said anything about dating? It's just a harmless crush."

She scoffed at him. She couldn't entertain his ridiculous thought any longer.

"But you're right," he continued, "It would be weird if you two started dating. It doesn't really sit right with me."

She didn't want to prolong the conversation, but he trailed off in such a way that Mila thought he wanted her to ask him why and so she did.

They were both surprised to find he didn't have an answer for her. "I don't know."

She suspected there was more to it than that, but she was still getting over the pure idiocy that he had ever thought Sirius might have a crush on her. Even after they'd gotten over being mortal enemies and became friends, they still bickered all the time. Not exactly a match made in heaven.

She snorted humorously and close her eyes, wondering if either of them were actually going to get any sleep tonight. Mila was sure she just about dozed off for a minute before James' bedroom door opened. Fleamont and Euphemia both walked in tiredly, and James and Mila were immediately up to receive any sort of news.

"Sirius has gone to bed," Euphemia said, and Mila tried to hide her disappointment. "But we wanted to ask you two something before we make it official."

"You already know that answer is yes," Mila said.

"And you, James?" Fleamont asked. Though he made sure both teenagers had a chance to speak, it was obvious that it this point it was only a formality.

James nodded eagerly. "I reckon it should have happened years ago."

The older couple smiled warmly at the pair of them, content that their family would now finally be complete. Over the years they too had felt the small gap Sirius left whenever he stayed with his own family. He belonged with the Potters, he always had.

"That settles it," Euphemia said.

"Can we go see him? James asked.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," his father said, "I think it would be better if he got some rest."

James gave Mila a look, which she interpreted to mean 'yeah not happening, we go as soon as they leave.' She gave him a subtle nod.

"The pair of you should probably get some sleep too," Euphemia said. "In your own room, Mila."

Mila got the implication immediately. "And so the segregation begins," she joked.

"You are sixteen now. Certain rules apply," Mrs Potter countered.

Mila jumped off the bed. "Night then."

She left the Potter's in James' room. To get to her own bedroom, she had to walk past the one Sirius slept in whenever he stayed over. Without blinking, she leaned forward to eavesdrop on him through the door. She couldn't hear much, and she knew she should wait for James, but she could still hear James talking to his parents. Plus, she always hated waiting, it was her least favourite activity. Her motto was if you could do it tomorrow, you might as well do it today. Except for where schoolwork was concerned.

Giving in to instinct, she lightly knocked on Sirius' door, only hearing an answering grunt in response. She opened it cautiously, lest she see something she might not want to. You never knew what you might witness in a boy's room.

As she entered, she saw Sirius was sitting on his bed with his head in his hands. She wiped her clammy palms on her jeans from her sudden nervousness and slowly walked over to sit bed him, feeling the dip in his bed as she did so.

When he lifted his head to look at her, her heart broke a little. His face was red from crying, and his eyes were wet from fresh tears. His hair had been so wildly fussed with that it was almost beginning to matte. This was a whole new level of upset Sirius. Nobody ever got to see this side of him, and it was a privilege to be so trusted by him in the moment as he looked at her so unflinchingly. She had thought for a long time in James bedroom about how she would approach him to get him to open up, but she had obviously caught him in a weak moment.

Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him and he responded immediately by pulling her in close. His body wracked with sobs and Mila closed her eyes as she held him tight. She was grateful, and a little surprised, that he was allowing his sadness to be so apparent. At least he wasn't shutting it away like he usually did.

"They don't love me." She heard his voice crack.

If she ever saw his parents again, she was going to kill them.

She wracked her brain for an answer. "James, Remus and Peter love you," she said. And then, because he needed to hear it. "I love you."

His face burrowed deeper into her neck, and she felt it growing wet. She stroked his hair because that's what people did when someone was upset. Or at least, that's what Mrs Potter did for her. She didn't know what else to do to help him.

"Maybe you should get some sleep?" she offered quietly. Perhaps she should have waited for James after all. He might have been a little better at this.

She felt Sirius nod, but he made no effort to move. Her shoulder was still wet, but his crying had come to an end. She gently extracted her self from him, pulling back just enough to look at his face. He looked exhausted.

His eyes locked with hers and amongst the thousands of other things he must have been feeling, she caught wind of a little desperation. She wondered what he saw in hers. Reading him easily, she knew exactly what he wanted, what his eyes were trying to communicate.

Although she was physically affectionate with all of her friends, Sirius had always seemed a little out of reach. It wasn't exactly comfortable for her, but she gently took his face in her hands.

"I won't leave you. I'll stay right here."

His face visibly relaxed, because she had read his mind. Because he didn't even need to say anything. Because she just understood.

He laid down on the bed, turning to face the wall away from her. She hugged him from behind and laid down too.

She would have done the for Remus and James, she told herself. Even Peter, though guiltily shuddered at the thought. This is what you did for your friends. You laughed with them when they were happy, and you hugged them then why were sad. Simple. Easy.

Eventually, as the hour drew on, she felt him still in her arms. It was only when she knew that he had finally gone to sleep, that she let herself sleep too.