Author's Note: Thanks to those of you who are reading. I'm not sure there are many of you. MNF

Chapter 4:

Lily

"I'm shocked you invited him to dinner," Lily said while sipping a glass of wine at Junie's house. Lily had always loved coming over as the place was cosy and full of comfortable chairs and couches, warm throws to cover up with, and a large fireplace, which almost always had a fire roaring, even on summer nights.

"Look, if I'm going to take this Heart-Binding seriously, I need to know if he will," Junie admitted while she was chopping up vegetables to add to her roast. It was Sunday dinner, and nothing said it quite like a roast with potatoes and vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, and a Bread and Butter pudding. She was cooking in the mostly Muggle fashion, although she did use magic to clean and put away the dirty dishes. The pudding was set to come out of the oven any minute. She wanted the roast to go right in.

"Juniper Meadows, are you telling me you are going to let Sirius Black court you?" Lily said it with a mild level of shock, but only because they'd spent the last twenty years avoiding each other.

"I'm saying that the man I had lunch with yesterday was not the seventeen-year-old who made a fool of me in front of all of Hogwarts." The charm on the pudding pinged, and Junie wiped her hands off on the dishtowel before picking up her mitts, opening up the oven, and sliding out the perfectly-browned loaf pan of bread slices laden with raisins and covered in a thick custard that was bubbling at the edges.

"Looks perfect, like always when you bake."

"If you did it more often, you'd become proficient too. I've been baking since I was eight or nine." The roast slid into the oven, where it would be for the next three and a half hours.

"No, I swear you use magic, even though I've watched you, and you only lifted your wand for the dishes," Lily said. "Back to Sirius, from talking with Ginny, I think he's quite intent on trying to make this work. He said he woke them up yesterday morning at 'the most goddess-awful hour ever' and drank coffee and paced for hours worried you wouldn't show."

Junie rounded the couch that separated her kitchen from the sitting room. It was the only real modification she'd made to the small house when she'd received it, removing the wall that separated the two rooms. An arch created out of thick timbers helped bear the upper rooms' weight, as did some charms the magical construction company placed on the home. She enjoyed entertaining and didn't want to be separated in the kitchen, as her grandmother had been. She came to sit next to Lily on the sofa.

"He confessed to it," Junie said quietly as she sipped her tea. "And that Ginny laughed at him for sending me the diamond bracelet." Lily had noticed it when she'd Flooed over. Generally, Junie only wore small earrings and perhaps a thin chain necklace. Having anything on her wrists was surprising. Even more unusual was the outfit she was wearing. The trousers she had on were perfectly pressed and warm camel colour while the sweater was a cable-knit in a turquoise blue. Junie had even done something other than pull her hair into a plait or bun. A large barrette clasped it all together at the nape of her neck. Then it curled into a cylinder down her back.

"Which you're wearing, and some beautiful clothes. I hardly recognize you."

"The clothes and barrette are my mum's. I thought we'd given everything away, but there was a trunk upstairs in the attic which held her winter woollens. Thankfully, my mum believed in dressing in classics. As for the bracelet, he took the time to shop for it himself and…" Junie stopped and looked at her best friend. "Would it be odd to say that wearing it makes me feel a bit more, I don't know, confident, comfortable in my own skin, maybe?"

"No, and it's the in the giving, not the bracelet itself," Lily explained. Junie was confused and showed it. "The Heart-Bond will help the whole dating process be a bit simpler because whenever one person gives the other a gift or does something nice for them, it not only bolsters the relationship but it has a positive effect on the individual people." The look of confusion didn't leave Junie's face, so Lily continued. "When we find our Heart-Bound mate, we become a better version of ourselves. I would suspect right now Sirius is feeling a bit happier than he did yesterday before your lunch date. He knows you accepted your gift, and you invited him to your home. I doubt it could make him more confident, however, as he has always oozed the stuff."

"I didn't know that about the Heart-Bond. Where would I have learned it?" she said in instant understanding. "My parents just fell in love when my father's bond failed, and not being bound at seventeen, I didn't need to go to that class the rest of you did." Hogwarts had a class on three successive Saturdays for students to learn about the Heart-Bond and what to expect. She and Sirius were the only students in their year who did not need to attend. They each spent the time in their respective common rooms.

"If you go ahead with courting, I think you should have a chat with Professor McGonagall about it. I believe she's still teaching the class," Lily said, draining her wine glass.

"She's passed it on since she's Headmistress now. Pomona Sprout took it over. Her wife is so cute. The two of them are the cutest couple ever."

"I know."

"Lily, am I crazy for doing this?"

"I think that if the two of you behave like adults and discuss and move on from the past, you could be perfect for each other."

"How? He's the most popular member of the Wizengamot and could very well be Minister for Magic one day. I teach at Hogwarts. He's in London, and I'm in Scotland. He suave and handles the press with ease, and I sometimes stumble over my lessons with the seventh-years because they intimidate me."

"Look, I know Sirius better than you do, and while his public persona might be a polish and charm, I don't think he's genuinely happy. Being in the Wizengamot is his responsibility for anyone who is the head of an Ancient and Noble house, like James. The rest of the politics is just his way of using the clout his last name gives him to make life better for people he cares for or those he sees as mistreated. But he goes home to an empty house at night, and his only company is the house-elf he employs now that Kreacher finally passed. You, on the other hand, are someone who likes to take care of people. You have a kindness and easy calmness that helps those in stressful situations relax. I can see why The Source thinks you'd work together."

Junie sighed, thinking about the possibilities. "What does James think?"

"Well, when he finally stopped laughing at Sirius – it took close to a week for him not to cackle whenever Sirius came over – he thought it would be good for his best friend. Everyone else has settled down, started families, moved on from being a Marauder. We never deny Sirius a place at our dinner table, but unlike when he was young, he's starting to feel like he might not belong at our house so much. Harry's marriage this summer was sobering for him."

"Me too. I realized that I might never marry, and I left feeling rather awful. It's why I wouldn't answer you for a few days afterward."

"That's what I was afraid of when I couldn't find you about mid-way through the reception," Lily said.

"It was…I just…all of you were there, and you were dancing, which of course I love to do, but both you and Marlene had your husbands, and then you were with your kids and…it was like I was family, but I was also a stranger. I started to cry, and I didn't want anyone to know, so I just Disapparated back here. I figured you'd just show up eventually. Well, you or Marlene, I was dodging her too." Lily reached over and took her friend's hand.

"You are part of our family. You always will be. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't Rosie's godmother. When she wouldn't talk with me when she was thirteen, I at least knew she was turning to you, so I wasn't as worried as I might have been. Now you can keep an eye on my kids while they're at Hogwarts—"

"I'm not going to spy on them, Lily. I already told you that. They get to have the same sort of life Harry had while he was a student. It isn't such a big deal for Rosie because she's nearly grown, but I don't think Charlie is any too thrilled his Auntie Junie is there."

"Maybe it will keep Charlie from getting into so much trouble," Lily said, amused. "Harry was a handful, which we expected as he and Neville had always been so when they were together. Charlie, though, has taken pranking back to the level my husband had it at. I think Minerva is hoping you'll exert some sort of calming effect on him."

"Don't count on it, Lils. As long as he behaves in the hallways and at the study hall I proctor every other week, we only see each other at meals." The pair laughed. There was another elongated pause, and as it endured, the room felt warmer and smaller and not in a comfortable way.

"So, I need to know, are you thinking about spending the time it would take to know if you and Sirius are compatible? It sounds to me, as someone who has talked with both of you extensively, that you both really would like to have someone in your life." Junie looked at her closest friend and confidant and knew she couldn't lie to her.

"I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life," she admitted. "That said, I am still unconvinced that Sirius is the person I should be with. Yes, the man I had lunch with yesterday was charming and kind; but I knew he could pull that act off in sixth year. I need to know that it isn't just an act. I cannot give him my heart and then find out he has someone one the side –"

"He doesn't, I swear."

"You swear he doesn't, but face it, there has always been a lot about his life that none of us knew. The one exception might be James, but when he started dating Lady Sarah whats-her-name, we were shocked. I can't take a shock like that. Plus, he is in the public eye, especially if he's voted as the new Chief Warlock. I'm not really a public-eye sort of person. I can only imagine what Witch Weekly or the style section of the Prophet would say about my clothes."

"Junie Meadows, you're a beautiful woman, but you're not used to accentuating that beauty. Clothes, hair, make-up, all of it, Marlene and I can teach you. We tried to when we were in school together, but you always had your nose stuck in a book!"

"I liked to read," Junie countered. "So did you. How many Saturdays did we spend in that little nook by the window on the fourth-floor reading and eating chocolate chip biscuits my mum had sent?"

"Nearly every one for our first few years."

"You and I were always reading or researching something."

"Still feels like I am."

"You are, but it's researching how to make a potion to help someone who is sick. That's rather noble research." Junie paused again. "So, a second-best researcher in the UK, if you were me, knowing what you do, what would you do about Sirius?" Lily looked at Junie seriously for a moment.

"First of all, I'm the best researcher, not second, since you don't do research for your work anymore. Second, I would enjoy dinner tonight and keep talking with Sirius. It's the only way you're going to know. Third, kiss him."

"What? I'm not going to kiss him! I went out on a friendly lunch with him yesterday. Before that, we passed pleasantries for the last twenty-two years. I don't know him well enough to kiss him!"

"What was your rule in school, fourth date? I seem to think you were a fourth dater."

"Yes, my rule has always been the fourth date before any sort of lip to lip contact. If I'm willing to go out with you three times and you're still somewhat interesting on a fourth date, then I'll kiss you."

"So yesterday was one, today two, and you've got twenty-two years of sitting at wedding receptions, baptisms, school plays, recitals, music concerts, Quidditch matches and the like you could call the two other dates. Kiss him. If there isn't any chemistry, you should find out early on. Then, you can go back to avoiding each other like normal."

"I suppose you are right, but…" she paused. "Won't he think I'm a bit of a hussy if I kiss him?"

"We are discussing Sirius Black, dearie. He won't think that if you kiss him, trust me." Lily said while barely containing her laughter.

"That's something else. I don't even know how many people he's kissed! I really don't know how many he's been intimate with! My list is exceedingly short in comparison."

"I can't talk to that but believe me when I say I think his romantic life has been greatly exaggerated over the years, mostly by him. Some by the papers hoping to sell more copies, too. Even if he was rather indiscriminate when he in his twenties, should you hold that against him now?"

"Ugh," Junie said dramatically, covering her head with the nearest throw.

"Stop overthinking." Lily lifted the throw off her friend's face and placed it back where it belonged. "Enjoy yourself. You're not going to know who he really is if you hold him at arm's length." The redhead stood and walked her wineglass to the kitchen, used her wand to clean it, and floated it back to the cupboard it belonged in. "If there's any of the Bread Pudding left, can you send it to me? It really does look amazing." Junie laughed, but she knew she'd be wrapping it up and sending it by owl tonight.

"I need to go make dinner for James and Eddie unless my husband has already called for a pizza. He knows how to cook, certainly how to defrost something and put a warming charm on it, but if I'm not home, he just orders pizza." Lily explained, shaking her head.

"At least you know Eddie will eat it." Eddie Potter was notorious for his dislike of nearly all food.

"Well, there's tomato sauce on it, which is about as close as he comes to eating a vegetable. Didn't have this issue with any of my others."

"He was born well after Charlie, and you had a whole lot more time to baby him," Junie said, and Lily went to correct her. "I'm not blaming you, but babies in big families sometimes do things to get attention. Maybe while he has your undivided attention, you could take him to the grocer's, let him pick out something he finds interesting, and cook it together?" Lily leaned over and kissed her friend's cheek.

"You're brilliant. Have an enjoyable time tonight, and Floo-call me tomorrow." Lily picked up her hand bag, pointed back at the Bread Pudding, mouthing "send me that," and was quickly gone. Junie looked around her house; everything was in its place, food had an hour to go, and Sirius was due to be here in about twenty minutes. She felt like she'd hyperventilate. Sitting down, she put her head between her knees and took deep breaths. What the heck are you doing? She asked herself. Sadly, she didn't have an answer.