A/N: Alas, another chapter... As always, please reply and thanks, Leah, for replying again! Also, we're approaching the end, my peeps! So, REPLY!
Disclaimer: Duh... The song "I'd Rather Be In Love" is by Michelle Branch. Bear with me about the generation gap, ok? I also LOVE that song as well as Michelle Branch. Well, her music, not her herself...

Strangest Friends
Chapter 19: A Whole Bunch of Stuff

"Hey, Harry," Jamie said, hoisting the baby off of the Potter's couch and into her arms. "Come now, stop crying," she said and boinced him around.
"He's crying because you're bouncing him around," Sirius said looking at her over a book. They were babysitting for Lily and James as they talked to the Ministry about the Fidelius Charm. They were hoping that they would get permission granted to perform the charm and grant their safety. It was three months after Harry had been born.
Jamie continued to bounce the baby boy and his crying ceased. In fact, he began to laugh. "Look at that, Sirius," Jamie said, rubbing it into Sirius's face. "Look at that, yes, you like that, don't you Harry?"
"Go away," Sirius said grumpily.
"Aw, Sirius, am I bugging you?" Jamie asked.
"Yes, you are," Sirius said, turning away.
"What are you reading?" Jamie asked, pushing the book up to see the cover.
"Stuff about this charm they want to put me through," Sirius said. "It's not going to be fun, that's all I can tell."
"Why?" Jamie asked. "Oh, man, Harry, you smell," she said and set him down.
"Ha," Sirius said. "And you want kids."
"Yes, in fact, I do," Jamie said, changing the struggling baby's diaper. "Man, he's got a mind of his own, this one."
"Like his father," Sirius said, absentmindly.
"Ha!" Jamie said, jumping up and making baby powder go all over the floor, making Harry giggle. "Ha!"
"What?" Sirius asked, looking up.
"You just talked about James in a non-sarcastic way!" Jamie said, waving her arms around. "This is a moment to go in the history books! Sirius Black gave James Potter a non-sarcastic remark!"
"Right," Sirius said, looking back into the book.
"Oh come on," Jamie said, setting back down next to Harry. "You actually expected me not to say something?"
"True," Sirius said.
"Here," Jamie said, handing Harry to Sirius. "Hold him for a second, I must use the bathroom."
Sirius dropped his book as Jamie set Harry into his arms. It was the first time he had even dared to hold Harry. He was so fragile, and Sirius was afraid of hurting him in any way. He looked down at his godson, who was cooing up at Sirius.
"Hey down there," Sirius said, looking at the baby.
Harry made small sounds from mouth, making Sirius laugh. Sirius set the baby onto his lap, so that he was sitting up slightly. The baby was looking around at the new view.
"I think we need a change of reading, don't you Harry?" Sirius asked the boy, taking out a book from the stack that the Potters had next to the couch. "Hm... National Geographic? What's that? Must be some Muggle thing, right, Harry? Now, this is good," Sirius said, pulling out a magazine. "Which Broomstick", of course.
Jamie watched with amusement at the grown man on the couch with a baby in his lap, explaining to the baby the difference from a Wronski Feint and a normal dive. Harry was pointing to pictures in the book and talking baby talk about them.
"What was that Harry, did you say the Chudley Cannons are the best?" Sirius was asking him as Jamie sat down. "Oh, you better believe that. It's a wonder your dad isn't on the team."
"Having a nice conversation?" Jamie asked.
"Man to man," Sirius said. "You know, male bonding."
"Oh really," Jamie said, waving her finger in front of Harry's face.
There were two pops and Sirius and Jamie looked up to see Lily and James.
"Well?" Jamie asked.
"I swear, that Crouch is of no help," Lily said. "He practically said that there was no way that we needed to go to these precautions. Sorry, but I would like to live to see my child."
"But, Fudge said that Dumbledore said that this was pretty much our only way out of this crap," James said. "So Ashbeck (A/N: He's my made up Minister right now.) said that we have a chance of being able to do this."
"But, we have up to at least a year to know for sure," Lily said gloomily.
"What!?" Jamie demanded. "You-Know-Who could have, well, you know, you by then!"
"I know, that's what Fudge said, but Ashbeck has to run it through all of these people to see if we're elligable," James said.
"This is really dumb, you know that, right?" Jamie said. "They have absolutly nothing to do with when we do the charm or after. And we have to get their permission? It's stupid."
"Yeah," Lily said, picking up her baby boy who had begun to cry.
"It's because we stopped talking about Quidditch," said Sirius. "That boy's going to be a natural."
"Just like his father, eh, Sirius?" Jamie asked.
"Hey, we're not talking about that," Sirius said.
"What?" James said.
Sirius began to talk but Jamie interupted. "Sirius was talking about you James. In a non-sarcastic manner."
"Oooh," James said, turning towards his best friend. "Padfoot, you are never going to live this down. This is going to your grave. You are going to be tormented for the rest of your life. You-"
"James," Sirius said, "Shut up."
"Come on, Sirius," Jamie said, grabbing his hand. "We should go. You have work tomorrow."
"Sure that's the reason," James said.
"You know, the day that you don't make a perverted comment towards us will be the day that will live in infamy," Sirius said. "You will here a, 'Prongs, you are never going to live this down. This is going to your grave. You are going to be tormented for the rest of your life.'"
"Sure," James said as Jamie and Sirius left the house. "Bye, guys."
"See yah, Potter," Jamie said as she got into the passenger side of the car. She had been banned from driving by Sirius since July 31st. She was already planning her escape to drive.
They, or Sirius, drove, but they sat in silence. Jamie flipped through the radio and said, "Screw it," and but a tape (A/N: remember those? I don't think they sell them anymore...) into the player. It was Michelle Branch. (A/N: read the disclaimer, ok?) The song "I'd Rather Be In Love" blasted in the speakers. Jamie turned it down a bit.
She looked out the windows and saw a small scenic view thing. It blew past, but Sirius stopped, looked behind them and went into reverse and pulled into it.
"Si..." Jamie said, "what are you doing?"
Sirius smiled at her and fumbled for something in his pocket. Jamie's heart melted, because she knew what he was about to do. She had seen it how many time in Muggle movies? She closed her eyes and smiled.
Sirius turned back to her and opened the box. Inside was a gold band with a single diamond embedded in it. "I think you know what I'm asking you," he said, looking at her sheepishly.
"Oh, my God, Sirius," Jamie said and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"I take this as a yes," Sirius whispered.
The radio was playing "Oh, I'd rather be in love with you," as if it had been perfectly cued to that spot. Sirius smiled and thought, 'Thank you, Michelle...'

"Holy crap," Sirius heard as he walked into the house, which was followed with a "NO WAY!"
It was March of 1981. Nothing had looked up since then about the Fidelius Charm. The Potters had gotten letters every so often form the Ministry updating them about what was going on for them, but all of them told them the same thing. There would be more delays, and they were contemplating their decision.
"No way, what?" Sirius asked, walking into the kitchen, setting his briefcase on the counter, where Jamie was talking on the phone.
She put up a finger to say wait a second, and she said, "Ok, thank you so much," and hung up the phone.
"Well?" Sirius asked as she jumped up.
"Sirius, the most wonderful thing has just happened," Jamie said.
"You're pregnant?" Sirius asked.
"What?" Jamie said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh," Sirius said, trying not to feel to let down.
"Why, you want one?" Jamie asked skeptically.
"Well, yeah," Sirius said. "But, what's your news?"
"Sirius, are you being serious for once?" Jamie asked.
"I'm always Sirius!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Fine, are you being meaningful for once?" Jamie asked, rolling her eyes.
"You know, technically, meaningful and serious aren't the same thing," Sirius said.
"You know, technically, I could shove this pan up your ass," Jamie said, grabbing a pan out of the sink.
"Think so?" Sirius said, looking at the pan with his head tilted. "You know, that's a pretty big pan, and I don't think it would-"
"Sirius," Jamie said, exasperated. "Shut the hell up."
Sirius for once did what Jamie said as she walked past him and into the basement. He had finally reached the point where his smart ass comments had made Jamie mad. Usually, she would bear with them and life would go on normally.
"Crap..." Sirius said, turning on the spot.
He walked into their bedroom which was littered with bridal magazines. He picked one up and flipped to the page that was marked. There was a picture of a wedding gown and Sirius sighed. He figured that he'd have to go and apoligize. He actually felt bad for what he had done. He had a tendancy to go to far with his comments.
Sirius threw the magazine onto the bed and walked to the basement door. He cautiously walked down the steps. Jamie was sitting in a chair fingering her ballet slippers. They were faded and streched out, she had owned them so long.
"Jamie?" Sirius asked, putting his hand onto her shoulder. "Um... I'm sorry."
"Yes," Jamie said, her eyes filled with tears and a smile on her face.
"Yes... what?" Sirius asked her, confused.
"Yes to your question," Jamie said.
"What question?" Sirius asked.
Jamie rolled her eyes. "Yes to your question from when you walked into the house."
Sirius let this sit in his mind for a moment. She always had a way of using more words than needed when explaining things to him. He let his mouth fall open. "No... way..."
Jamie just smiled and looked at the floor.
"Oh my," Sirius said, collapsing into the chair next to Jamie's.
Jamie smiled and played with the ring on her finger. "Yup."
"This is," Sirius said, looking for a word.
"Amazing?" Jamie supplied.
"Yeah," Sirius breathed.
"I thought so too," Jamie said.

A/N: Aw... Please reply!