Welcome back everyone!

So getting right into things, here's a situation several of you have been hoping to see and a character you wanted to hear from.

If Someone Cared Enough

Chapter 116: Bad News

"Come on, Sirius," James whined, "Just one game of Quidditch."

Sirius didn't answer, not even touching the serving of rashers and eggs James's doting mother had kindly brought up to his room.

"James, leave him be," Remus chided gently from his place at the foot of Sirius bed. He nudged the plate of food closer to the young man.

"I'm not hungry," Sirius muttered finally. His eyes barely flitted in James direction, "And I don't wanna practice Quidditch right now."

James groaned, thumping back against the wall, "But you've been cooped up in here for days, Padfoot. You're like a stranger in my own home now."

He gestured to the paper spread out in front of Sirius, "See? This isn't even the latest issue; you've been staring at this one for three days!"

"Don't touch it," Sirius grumbled, shoving James's hand away. He stared despondently down at the headline, the one that had been staring grimly up at him since the day the paper arrived.

Black Heir Missing; Believed Dead!

By Rita Skeeter

An alarming change to a family tapestry brought Ministry investigators to the manor of Orion and Walburga Black, head of the main branch of the Noble House of Black. Reports coming in say that late Sunday morning, Walburga Black entered the study to find an alternation to the family tapestry passed down through sixteen generations of the Black family line.

Having been visiting extended family in the Scottish Isles, neither Walburga nor Orion had seen their son, Regulus—last remaining heir of the Black family since their eldest disownment—upon their return. It was assumed that young Master Black had gone to visit friends.

Imagine Walburga's surprise and horror, then, when she came upon her son's name on their tapestry and found it now marked as deceased!

Yes, bearing a death date of just mere days before their return, Regulus Arcturus Black is believed to be dead of unknown causes. With no body to be found, the ministry suspects foul play.

Damning of all evidence if the absence of the Black family's most loyal house elf. "Kreacher would never go this long without returning at my summons," Walburga was quoted as saying, "I'd cut off his ears if he did. Death is the only logical explanation for why he and my son have not returned to me."

And investigation is underway into possible contacts Regulus might have had in hopes of determining a motive for his disappearance and subsequent demise. The ministry is asking for anyone with information to come forward—

"Sirius, enough!" James said, slapping a hand down in the middle of the paper, "You're driving yourself mad obsessing on this."

"It's just weird, you know," Sirius mumbled, staring at the picture of his brother looking sullenly up at him from the parchment; Regulus never smiled for pictures, "Being holed up in that house…under my mother's thumb and all…you'd think he'd be safe there."

Remus patted his back sadly, not sure what sort of condolences he could offer.

Sirius pushed the paper away, rumpling it up among the blankets on his bed, "I always figured Reg would land himself in Azkaban at the very least. It was to be expected given his allegiances…I didn't expect him to disappear off the face of the earth."

"Well I mean, is it really that surprising? What with him being…" James trailed off, unsure what to say. He wanted to tell Sirius that Regulus got what he had coming, joining up with You-Know-Who, wanting to be a Death Eater since he was ten.

He wanted to point out how it was completely unsurprising that he got knocked off; his friends were skeezy, disloyal snakes and his enemies would see him an easier target to make an example of. He had plenty of people who would bump him off for little reason at all, friend and foe alike.

But, seeing Sirius so desolated and dejected, slumped in his bed with patchy stubble and bloodshot eyes…it didn't seem kind to bring up facts.

James sighed, plopping down beside Sirius on the bed.

"I didn't realize you still cared about him," James admitted, "I thought when you severed all ties with your family, that's be the end of it."

"Care isn't exactly a switch I can turn on and off, Prongs," Sirius said morosely, "I grew up with Reg, knew him since we were babies. Even with how much he pissed me off it's just…weird to know I'll never see him again."

Sirius looked at James and Remus solemnly, "Things were never good in my family. My mum's a nightmare; she's never happy no matter what you do. I…often felt like she regretted having me, long before I every started straying from their ways. And my dad? Ha! I can't remember a single time he ever had any part in raising us. He was little more than some stranger in our home, it was clear he would rather be anywhere than with mum or us."

"But Regulus was different," Remus surmised.

Sirius nodded, "In a way he was the only family I actually had. Uncle Alphard was an outcast and Andromeda had all but fled the family, so I couldn't see either of them. With the rest of my family either crazy, distant, or both, Reg was the only person I felt close to as a kid. Before Hogwarts…things were good between us. I was his whole world and he was the only bright spot in mine."

James scratched the back of his neck, "I guess I didn't realize how close siblings could be. Never had any of my own."

"It's different being an only child," Remus observed, "From what Lily told me, her and Petunia grew distant when Lily found out she was a witch. Petunia wasn't, so she resented Lily for being everything she wasn't."

He placed a hand on Sirius shoulder, "From the sounds of it, you and Regulus were thick as thieves before you got sorted to different houses."

Sirius tipped his head committally, "Yeah, my first year Reg still wrote to me. Seemed unsure how to feel about me being in Gryffindor—what with mum having a conniption—but he still cared about me, looked up to me. Then he got sorted into Slytherin the following year and looked at me like a stranger."

"Because suddenly you were too different," Remus stated, "It sounds like siblings are so used to doing everything together, to liking all the same things, that once one of you strikes out on your own…it's hard to adapt to. I bet Petunia didn't hate Lily for being different, so much as she just wished it was something they could do together. She probably just expected that as sisters they would undertake every big adventure together, not one of them go off and leave the other behind."

Sirius hummed in agreement, "I think Regulus was holding out hope the summer before his first year that maybe he would end up in a different house, one that wouldn't make our separation seemed so…severe. He knew from mum that our family long hated Gryffindors; if he ended up in Slytherin, we'd have to be enemies. And that's what we became when he was sorted."

He chuckled hollowly, "You know, I sort of enjoyed our fights at school. Really made my day whenever I could get his goat. And when he'd get riled up to retaliate, it made my whole week; it meant I'd won if I could piss him off that bad."

"And now," he sighed, "There'll be no more fights in the halls, no more howlers or letters with hexes in them. No more sticking charms on chairs or hair loss tonics hidden in the showers. No flobberworm slime on the soap or coating of it on his or my chair in the Great Hall. No…no more meat pies exploding in my face or his pudding giving him bad gas! Tit for tat; that's how we dished it out. Now this just tit and no more tat."

"Well if you weren't so set on hating him, I'd say you could have a playful rivalry with Severus," Remus said, eyeing James over the top of Sirius's head, "He's damn near creative enough to keep the sabotage entertaining."

Sirius scoffed, "Yeah, until he puts poison in my soup—that's not a dig at him being evil, Moony," he added when Remus frowned, "But let's face it; you can't deny the guy hates me."

"With good reason," Remus said gently, "But I'm just saying…Severus knew Reg too, maybe enough to know what went on in his head after you and Reg stopped speaking to each other. Maybe asking Severus about Reg, if he still cared about you, would give you some closure."

"No offense, Remus," Sirius said glumly, "But I can't think of a bigger way to makes myself look like an ass. 'Hey, Snape, I know I've tormented you for years and we hate each other's guts, but now that my brother's dead, you're useful to me. Let's have a cup and talk about Reg!' Yes that would go over so well."

"Besides, I still don't want to play nice with Snape," Sirius added before Remus could protest, "You can like him all you want, and James can kiss his ass to get closer to Evans, but I'll never like the bloke. We're too different."

'You were both driven out of your homes by abusive parents,' Remus thought to himself, 'And grew up around dark magic. Do you hate him because you're too different, or because you're too much alike?'

"If you say so," Remus said instead.

James slapped Sirius's knee, standing up, "How's up we grab our school supplies at Diagon Alley and then stop for a big dinner?"

He turned to Sirius, "We can pour out a drink in honor of your brother, celebrate his life. How about it, Pads? My treat."

Sirius managed a small smile, eyes shining.

"Yeah," he croaked out, "That would be nice."

{page break}

"Hurry up in there!" Petunia hollered, knocking on Lily's door, "Mum expects us all ready to leave in ten minutes."

A sigh came from the other side of the door, "Give me a minute, Tuney. I'm picking out a blouse."

Petunia huffed, crossing her arms, "It's school shopping; not a meeting with the Queen. Just pick something and throw it on."

"In a minute!" Lily sniped, "Just go wait downstairs. I'll be there shortly."

Rolling her eyes, Petunia pushed off from the wall, "Fine. Try not to dawdle, would you?"

"Oh and Sev," she added, a conspiratorial smile stretching across her face as someone gasped from inside the room, "…make sure you put your trousers on frontwards this time."

With that she walked off down the hall, a skip in her steps.

Inside Lily's room, Severus cursed as he struggled to get his leg into his pants.

"I told you she was on to us," he hissed, finally managing to stick his foot out through the correct leg hole.

Lily managed a chagrined smile, "Well, I mean it isn't like she's going to rat us out."

Severus jumped once, shimmying his trousers up his legs. He fumbled with the buttons, "Only because it would make her a huge hypocrite if she did. God knows it's not just tea reading her and Kingsley get up to on their dates."

Lily chuckled, adjusting her skirt with an appraising glance in the mirror. She smoothed her blouse down with an approving smile, hands tracing the flattering gradual swell from her waist to her hips. Flipping her braided hair over one shoulder, she posed demurely for her reflection.

Satisfied, she picked up a light shade of lipstick and her more subtle pink blush.

"I don't know why you're getting snippy with me," she noted, eyeing Severus's reflection in the mirror, "We'd be ready by now if you could keep your hands to yourself."

"M-me?!" Severus sputtered, "You're the one who dragged me into your bedroom. I was ready and dressed to go."

Lily hummed, pursing her lips to apply the lipstick. She smacked her lips once, evaluating the shade, "Yes but who suggested a second round?"

Severus looked away, face red.

Lily stood back, examining herself confidently. She looked rather lovely if she did say so herself, smoothing her hands down the front of her blouse and marveling at the pertness of her breasts.

Something about sex just made her feel so womanly, so enticing. It was a marvelous feeling.

"How do I look?" she asked, spinning round for Severus to see. The hem of her skirt flew up as she spun, revealing a tantalizing glimpse of her thighs.

Severus's eyes tracked the skirts movement silently, tongue-tied.

Lily giggled, smirking proudly, "I'll take your reaction as answer enough."

Severus flushed deeper, turning away with his arms folded over his chest.

"Remind me again why you picked my outfit out for me?" he asked, sending a curious glance towards his reflection in the mirror, "Seems a tad more dressy than is needed for a shopping trip. This is more suited for a date."

"Because that's what we're going on," Lily explained simply, pulling on her shoes, a light pink, strappy set of heels.

Severus frowned, raising a brow, "Beg pardon?"

"We've hardly had any time for the two of us, Sev," Lily stated, "between me being sick and the two of us being grounded, no one has given us much time alone. They've all been coddling me or supervising you."

"But today we're allowed out to get our school things," Lily went on, turning to Severus beseechingly, "For one day my parents are easing up on our punishment and I for one intend to make the most of this opportunity."

Severus tilted his head, "But we'll be with your parents, as well as Ponderosa and my mum."

"And Tuney," Lily pointed out, who has already convinced Ponderosa to take Eileen on a lovely tour of Diagon Alley to reconnect with everything she left behind. And Petunia is going to talk my parents into checking out her favorite shops. With her help, mum will give us the okay to do our shopping alone and grab a bite to eat. Perhaps at the Golden Bridle?"

Both of Severus's eyebrows shot up, "The Golden Bridle? That place is pretty fancy."

"And intimate," Lily purred, stepping close to Severus to adjust his collar, "And best of all, not a tacky, pink nightmare like Madame Puddifoot's."

Severus chuckled, "So that's your angle, hm? Wanting a date of better standards than what Hogsmeade can provide?"

Lily rolled her eyes, sighing, "Hogsmeade is nice and all, but the only places we can get into without reservation is a toss up between a smoke filled, musty tavern and a place that looks like Cupid just exploded in there. Neither is exactly what I call a mature place for two adults to have a quiet meal together."

"So we're adults now?" Severus quipped, "Moments ago we were acting more like randy teens. Or perhaps rabbits."

Lily socked him in the shoulder, laughing, "We're randy adults, thank you very much."

"Doesn't the Golden Bridle require a reservation as well?" Severus questioned, "How'd you manage to swing a table in that place?"

Lily grinned, "Simone may have pulled some strings. She paid quite handsomely for a friend of hers in the Goblin community to reserve us a table. Consider it her apology for dragging us into the whole cave fiasco."

"Didn't we go without knowing she'd be there?" Severus asked in amusement, "Can't really blame her for that."

"Yes, well she's in the hot seat with Thea for almost dying, so she's dishing out gifts to make amends," Lily explained.

Severus gestured emphatically, "See I'm not the only one who is bothered by their lover putting themselves in danger."

Lily tapped Severus on the nose, "You and Thea are in two different positions in that scenario. See, you and Simone are both in the 'rushes in and endangers ourselves with our martyr complex' category. Thea is with me, in the 'has to go save their ass' category. Totally different levels of endangerment."

She linked arms with Severus, gazing at them both appreciatively in the mirror.

"Perfect," she declared. She slapped Severus on the bum, laughing at the scandalized look on his face, "Let's catch up to the others."

{page break}

Diagon Alley was only moderately packed that day, the majority of the wizarding world wary to venture outside their doors with the recent increases in Death Eater sightings. Many chose to order whatever they may need from catalogs if they could help it. Of course, this was an option more available to those with the money to pay for exorbitant shipping fees. Added to that was the lack of option to haggle for lower prices.

Therefore, those of meager means had to settle for the trek into town for supplies, if only to get their purchases half a cent cheaper.

While Severus could proudly say he was no longer a man of such meager means, having been given access to Prince Vaults, he still couldn't resist the pull of Diagon Alley. There was something exciting and magical about purchasing a new book in person, carefully leafing through pages of heavy tomes in a shop and hand selecting one that spoke to him.

A well worn book spoke of dedication, a book given love and attention by the most studious of minds. Those volumes called out to him; they were the books once cradled by those meant for something great.

The same could be said for purchasing the best potion ingredients. What good could a catalog advertisement for frog spawn if you couldn't ensure for yourself that it was the ideal level of foaminess, or that the newt parts you were getting were freshly pickled instead of freeze died? Fresh was best and there was no way of guaranteeing such quality from a magazine order.

It was this reason that Severus never passed up the opportunity to shop at Diagon Alley. A catalog was too impersonal.

He wasn't too worried about being there anyway. Aurors roamed up and down the streets, keeping a watchful eye over everyone and everything. Moody himself hobbled back and forth, barging unceremoniously into unsuspecting shops for random sweeps of the premises, his magical eye missing nothing.

It was still too recent since the last attack the Death Eaters did, a home invasion and attempted slaughter of a ministry member's summer cottage. Fortunately, the man and his family were not home, having received a bizarre, anonymous letter urging them to visit a relative that day. Instead, the Death Eaters encountered a troupe of Aurors lying in wait. While no one was capture, papers cited several low level followers of You-Know-Who injured or possible splinched in the escape, though the aurors did not leave unscathed either.

That had been mere days ago. If You-Know-Who held any skill for strategy, then it would be too soon to attack anywhere right now, not enough time to regroup and assemble.

Lily shoving a wrapped up bundle into Severus's arms pulled him from his musings.

"Okay, so here are our new robes," Lily said, pulling a quill and paper from her purse, "That's another thing off the list. We still have to buy owl pellets for Euripides, along with a proper perch and cage for him."

Euripides was the petulant offspring of one of the Prince family owls, a dark Long-Eared owl named Hippolyta whom the house had thought long past her nesting years until someone found three eggs under her one morning.

From those eggs hatched two adorable owl chicks—Medea and Bacchea—and one curmudgeonly little chick aptly named Euripides for his penchant for capitalizing on ones suffering as the famous tragedian himself. The fat little juvenile was notorious for showing up right when you stubbed your toe or spilled your coffee and hooting tauntingly at you or crapping on your shoulder as he flew by. With large eyes always narrowed in an orange disk of feathers and two ear tufts standing alarming straight, he gave off an air of 'I could hardly give a fuck.'

And misfortune of all misfortune, he liked to follow Severus around the most.

"Remind me again why we're bringing him?" Severus groaned, "I'm sure he'd be happier staying at the manor."

Lily shook her head, "No, Sev. He's bonded to you, we have to bring him."

Severus scoffed, "He's not 'bonded' to me. He's targeting me. He feeds on misery."

Lily clicked her tongue, "Don't be so dramatic. He's a sweet little thing."

"To you," Severus pointed out, "He hates me."

Lily rolled her eyes, opting to ignore Severus's complaining in favor of looking over their list.

"We also need to stop by the garden shop to get new dragonhide gloves," she observed, "Professor Sprout highly advises it for the plants she intends to introduce this year."

"Joy," Severus drawled, "More leafy fiends to try and eat us."

Lily gave Severus a deadpan look, hands on her hips, "The Venomous Tentacula barely bit you, stop harping about it like a baby."

"Says the girl it didn't bite," Severus muttered when Lily's back was turned.

Lily looked over her shoulder at him suspiciously, "What was that?"

Severus shrugged nonchalantly, "Nothing."

"Lily dear," Willow bustled out of the bookstore, arms teeming with several cookbooks. Behind her, Hank came out clutching a book about the wizarding take on Arthurian literature.

"Did you know Merlin was a real person?" he was asking Petunia excitedly,

"Lily, darling," Willow said again, "Petunia wants us to check out the art store next. Will you two be fine on your own?"

Petunia winked at her sister from over her mother's shoulder.

Lily flashed her mom a reassuring smile, "Sure mum, we'll be fine. Sev and I still have a few more shops to hit. We may grab a bite to eat first, perhaps some fish and chips."

"Are you sure?" Willow asked, "I would hate to leave you two alone with trouble lurking about these days."

"I assure you that we will be fine," Severus insisted, "Aurors are crawling all over this place."

Willow still looked a tad bit worried.

"Mum, we'll be okay," Lily promised, "Tell you what; if we run into Ponderosa and Severus's mum, we'll group up with them."

Willow nodded, "That would make me feel better…oh, alright. But be careful." She allowed herself to be dragged away by Petunia.

"We're not actually going to look for my mum, are we?" Severus questioned knowingly.

"Nope," Lily declared, grabbing Severus by the hand, "Now let's hurry before she bumps into us and we're forced to keep our promise of staying with them."

She dragged Severus through the crowds eagerly, weaving through side streets and ducking into shops at random if she heard Ponderosa's voice. She was determined not to have their afternoon spoiled by over protective parents today.

On the ritzy side of Diagon Alley, close to Gringotts and the more expensive shops there sat the restaurant, a charming and finely decorated bistro seating area just outside it's doors. Lavishly dressed wizards and witches took up most of the tables, sipping imported coffee from gold-rimmed china cups and dining on fabulously made and painstakingly arranged dishes of the finest cuisine. One woman with an oversized hat featuring several plumage of a peacock held a crup pup on her lap, feeding it filet mignon while speaking to it in a saccharine fashion.

"Looks rather…high class," Severus noted, eyeing the large Golden sign out front featuring image of a bridle. He looked down at himself, "I feel a tad under dressed."

"Relax," Lily replied, pulling Severus towards the front entrance, "Simone assured me that the dress code isn't too strict; a nice button up is fine."

Severus glanced at the peacock hatted patron and her yappy little purebred pet, "…but…"

"The people sitting out here dress this way to be seen," Lily stated, waving a hand over the eccentrically dressed crowd in the bistro seating, "They want others to know they have money, so they sit in the more exclusive, visible section in order to show off that they managed to get reservations."

"Name?" asked a disinterested Goblin in a finely tailored suit as he sat at the podium just inside the entrance.

"Severus Prince," Lily told him.

The Goblin's dour expression immediately replaced itself with something resembling friendliness.

"Prince, hm? I have your reservation right here," he leaned in close, "Your friends send their regards."

He waved them through the door, signaling over a server to bring them to a table.

"Right this way, please," a ruby cheeked, red lipped server with blonde hair said sweetly, ushering them to follow her.

Lily turned to Severus, giving him a smile and squeezing his hand encouragingly.

"See?" she said, "We're going to have a wonderful time."

Neither noticed the pair watching them as they went in.

"Isn't that Severus and Lily?" Peter asked nervously.

Remus frowned, glancing over his shoulder at their two other companions coming out of Gringotts.

"How are we going to manage this…"

Don't worry everyone, you'll get to see more of how Sirius is handling things soon. This is just a glimpse of it.

And how will Remus keep James from spotting Lily and Severus on a very obvious date?

Review please :)