"Do you want to hear something funny?"

James and Remus were sitting at their usual table at Three Broomsticks, two and a half tumblers of Firewhiskey already warming up their tummy, while they were gobbling down their second plate of chips, waiting for Sirius to return from the loo.

"Remember how we talked about how Haz takes his tastes from Pads?" James continued, "What if I told you I found out that he's developed a crush on—"

"Don't you think that Maverick moving is a bit too coincidental?" Sirius sat in his wooden chair with a thud, cutting James off halfway through his story.

He looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Think about it... like, of all the places in England, she ended up getting the one spot closest to Moony! Isn't that weird?" Sirius spoke like someone who thought everything he said was totally plausible.

"England is really not that big, mate, and why would it be weird?"

Sirius gestured wildly with his hands, "Cos she used to have the fattest crush on you back in school... and now she suddenly rented a shop close to your workplace...?"

The other two Marauders exchanged an amused look, and Remus had to hide a smile inside his tumbler before saying, "First, she didn't have a fat crush on me —"

Sirius interrupted him, "Cut this low self-esteem bullshit, Moons, she was keen on you from day one. Wasn't she, Prongs?"

"Who? Maverick? Yeah, she totally had the hots for Moony—like, in love territory almost," James nodded vehemently and Sirius was so keen on making his point, that he hadn't even noticed how sarcastic his friend was actually being.

Honestly, Prongs didn't need to be so expressive with his words either, a simple ' yeah ' would have been enough, Sirius thought.

Remus shook his head, "She didn't fancy me, and secondly, why would it be weird that she rented that spot... when I was the one who told her about it in the first place?"

The table's silence lasted for exactly three seconds, before Sirius screeched a, "What!? How come no one's told me that? Why?"

"Because she is my friend, and we've been waiting for the price to drop for a while...?"

All of Sirius' thought out words died with that answer, he really wasn't expecting that to leave his friend's mouth, "Hum, I didn't realise you two were that chummy, again."

"Here we go... " James muttered before letting a short snort out, "Merlin, it's Hogwarts all over again."

"What's that supposed to mean? "

"Uh, that mating ritual you did with Talia back in school?" Remus took that one.

The man's eyes widened, "You don't think, I don't—I didn't do any mating rituals with Maverick! Are you two mental?" Sirius' laugh sounded too loud even to his own ears.

"Aw, c'mon, Pads," James pleaded, "Don't you think we're past that? We haven't set our foot in Hogwarts in almost a decade, we went through a bloody war, I have a literal child... I reckon you can admit having a crush on a bird from eight years ago—even if she was a Slytherin."

"I didn't have a crush on her!" Sirius protested, crossing his arms petulantly, just like Harry did—the real contest now was to see whose pout could be bigger.

"Padfoot, when you weren't watching her with heart eyes from afar, you were looking for ways to rile her up," James pointed out, "and when you couldn't do that, you'd spend that time complaining about her."

"It wasn't like that," Sirius rolled his eyes for extra emphasis, even though all he actually wanted to do was grab the edge of the wooden table and slam his forehead into it repeatedly. A warmth travelled from his neck to his cheeks, in the same way it did whenever he got angry — only he wasn't angry now. "It wasn't heart eyes, it was daggers... And it wasn't like I wanted to actually talk to her, you know, she forced herself into our conversations, all like, 'Hi, Rem. How was your class?' " He twirled his hair, and then huffed, "How was I supposed to not tease her over it?"

"You know she did that because you blew a fuse every single time, right?" Remus said, weirdly interested on the conversation now. Before, he'd thought he was going to walk out of Three Broomsticks with one hell of a headache, because he remembered how extensive Sirius' rants could be when he was worked up—especially when it came to Talia. But now he could see how fun it could actually be… mostly because they were having fun at Sirius' expense—but fun nonetheless.

Sirius scoffed, "I don't doubt that, that girl's mind was always set on annoy me! I've never met anyone as infuriating, I swear, and she's still just as she infuriating as she was back then."

"How'd you know that?" James' face split into a wide grin, "You only mentioned seeing her once."

Before Sirius could reply, Remus raised an eyebrow, cheerily, "Oh, didn't he tell you? Our Padfoot here has become almost a regular at the Dark Side, now."

It wasn't like that, the man wanted to argue... Even thought it was kind of like that.

You see, Sirius had developed this new habit as of lately, something very amiable and that had no ulterior motives, no matter how many times Remus gave him that specific look... Just that every time it was his day to pick up Harry from preschool, Sirius started to stop by that same café he'd visited last time, and simply bought a coffee or a tea and delivered it by hand to his good old friend Moony's work place. Sometimes bringing even a donut, or muffins, if he was feeling particularly kind-hearted.

All because he was worried about his mate and his terrible eating habits. Besides, it was an opportunity for them to catch up, since they didn't see each other as often as he saw James, who lived in a cottage across from his; and Harry, of course, loved seeing his Uncle Moony, and playing with Mrs Lee's kitty cat, who never showed its face whenever Sirius was too close... Most of all, none of it had anything to do with the owner of the record store across the street.

Believe him.

Sirius also didn't go there at a strategic time either, and he wouldn't lean against the counter while Moony worked, waiting for the time when most shops usually closed for the day, and then he also wouldn't wait for that former Slytherin alumni to open the door of the bookshop to say her farewell to her good friend Remus... Obviously not... It's just that going exactly fifteen minutes before the shops closed was just the most convenient time for Sirius, and if Maverick had a habit of stopping by and striking up a conversation with him, what was he supposed to do? Be rude and leave her talking to herself? No, his parents did loads of bad, but he at least was well-mannered... when he wanted to be.

"Nothing you say will make me believe you, Black," Maverick shook her head, with a smile on her lips.

"Ask Moony!"

She raised her eyebrows, "Do you seriously think that I didn't know that he was just as bad as the lot of you?"

Talia must've seen the disbelief on his face, because she added, "He didn't actually say anything, but it's not very hard to guess... you have to be a little insufferable to be friends with a Black."

"You were friends with a Black," he pointed out, trying to keep his expression neutral.

"That's why I said it, I speak from experience," Talia replied, without the sad tone Sirius was used to hearing in the voices of people who had lost a loved one. "You ought to be barmy to befriend a Black... and Blacks are way too mad to befriend normal folks."

"I feel like I should be defending the honour of my name right now. I've never felt that before... wow ... Were you trying to offend me?"

She grinned.

"Yes, a bit!"

See? Every bit infuriating as before.

Talking to Maverick like that reminded him strangely of their time at Hogwarts, even if now was a bit different. Now they were more civil, Sirius' hormones weren't going nuts, and he had no prejudices put in the front of his brain, that filtered any word or actions of hers as something automatically evil. Not like Maverick and him were actually enemies before, no, they didn't trade insults Monday through Friday, and didn't scowl at each other over the weekend... although Sirius seriously enjoyed trying to rile her up, when he could.

But they were never friends either...

Sirius used to say to everyone that would listen, that he despised her completely — which, annoyingly, always made Talia laugh whenever she heard it — all of this because his teenager brain thought that doing so would throw him off the rails and no one would ever be suspicious of the raw, embarrassing truth: that Sirius Black sported the biggest crush on the younger Slytherin, probably since he was a fifth-year, when he finally noticed her…

.

The teachers' stands were known by a small group of people as the most comfortable, and with the best view of the field, among all other stands on the Quidditch field; and it was for that very reason that three out of four Marauders were sitting in it now.

Watching the Gryffindor's Quidditch team practice wasn't something the boys were keen on doing... partially because it wasn't as exciting as the real game, and the other is that they also had other, more important things to do in their free period. However, ever since James had received the news that when Sanders graduated in July of this year, he would take up the spot of Captain, James had asked his friends to show up to support him.

And here the boys were, an hour and a half into it already; Remus helping Peter do his Transfiguration's essay, one that Sirius had loudly scoffed at and said the topic was so ridiculously easy, he'd already finished his during class; while practically lying on one of the stands, resting his chin on the arm plopped on the stands behind.

A noise coming from the stairs caught the attention of the three Marauders, and seconds later a girl's body came up little by little, until she stopped at the top of it; looking as surprised as they were to find someone else brave enough to wander there.

"Didn't know the faculty gained three new members today," she joked.

The girl was covered in a simple black robe, her straight brown hair blowing in the wind, undoing what seemed to once be a braid. She was pretty, and even though they looked about the same age, Sirius couldn't remember seeing her before — which wasn't too unusual for him, if he was being honest, as the boy didn't care for most of the people he went to school with... but this one bothered him, because she was pretty and Sirius always took noticed of other pretty people.

"I think you meant four..."

She shook her head, taking a few steps forward, "Oh, no one in their right mind would ever put me in that position, no. I'm only a mere pupil."

"I'm obliged to disagree with you, Miss..." he fished for her name.

"Maverick."

She wasn't a pure-blood, Sirius thought with delight. This kept getting better. "Miss Maverick, of course. I have to disagree, you see, 'cos I think any position would suit you." Across the stands, Peter's snort made Sirius' cocky grin widen.

"While you're completely right, I still don't think anyone would be that mad — even if they're apparently hiring anyone, these days."

Sirius didn't take what she said to heart, he loved it when they barked back, it made it all so much more interesting. It made them much more interesting. Remus on his right side apparently agreed, as he let out a breathy laughter out.

"Mad they'd be if they didn't," Sirius watched her from under his lashes. "Reckon I'd pay attention to class for once with a little eye candy like you to stare all day."

Maverick didn't blush and lowered her head, nor frowned and told the Gryffindor to go eat shit, as the two out of three categories of girls usually did to him; not even the most common third one, where they'd blush and say, "You're such a pig, Black," but their words lacked any venom it needed for it to be sound truthful.

The girl just headed towards him, and to Sirius' surprise, crouched down with a distance of maybe a little more than half a metre between them. She had this expression on her face, which he would later just identify it just as 'That Maverick face', because he never knew exactly how to decipher it; it was one where she looked amused, but you could never tell if she was laughing with you or laughing at you; as if everything were simply a play for her to be entertained, and you were one of little the actors.

"I wouldn't be able to pay attention, too," she said at last, a little smirk making a way to the corner of her mouth, "If I had that eye candy of a friend sitting next to me in my all my classes, as well."

And then, she grabbed a magazine that was hidden under the stand and made a show of winking at Remus. Before getting up and heading down once more, leaving a cackling Peter who clapped a flushed Remus on the back, and a gaping Sirius behind.

.

Sirius had become completely obsessed with Maverick after that, he thinks with a grimace, in the same way Harry had become obsessed with any desert that contained peanuts after he found out he couldn't eat it.

The man didn't consider himself the Casanova he set himself out to be back in school, in fact, Sirius' always barked more than he's bitten—at the most, he must've actually dated four or five girls in all his years at Hogwarts... Not that none of it really mattered to him at the end, he could've dated a hundred or three, it didn't make a difference. Yes, sure, he wanted to get his prick wet as much as any other teenager around him, but for Sirius it was never just about that... He liked what came with it more, he liked that type of attention... He liked the prestige, liked how everyone else perceived him because of it.

Plus, the ego boost he gained from having several girls blushing and stuttering at his mere presence managed to silence that little voice that managed to get into his head and remind him that he'd never truly be wanted by anybody, even if just for a few minutes... That thought he tried to push aside, and just focus on the girls, and the giggles and the clapping his classmates gave him in the back. It made him feel important; Hogwarts was his realm, and he loved to rule. (Harry's little voice echoed inside his head, something almost like, 'blah blah blah something about parental neglection, blah blah blah another about low self-esteem).

Who cared, anyway?

"I thought you were fit, obviously," Sirius said, without a hint of embarrassment, when they touched on the topic of their first impressions the other day.

The two had stopped bothering Remus in his work environment for a few days now, Maverick once saying she needed to work and Sirius following her to the Dark Side because he couldn't let her have the last word in a very important discussion about the best Black Sabbath song. She said Sirius' opinion didn't count in this matter, because anyone who didn't like 'Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy ' couldn't be trusted to have a good opinion on anything else.

Maverick was sitting at the shop counter with her legs crossed, as she usually did, while Sirius was leaning his back against it, at her side. Two empty coffee cups could be seen at the end, where they had been pushed aside some time ago.

She mouthed 'obviously' with a slight roll of her eyes, before looking away thoughtfully, "Hmm, mine's probably that you were... reserved?"

Sirius looked at her sideways, confused. Perhaps an 'arrogant', or 'a prat' would be his first choices, but, "Reserved? That's what you took from that day on the Pitch?"

Maverick was the one who looked confused now, before shaking her head, "Oh, no, no. That day wasn't the first time I saw you. Unlike you, Black, I look beyond my own nose sometimes... No, it was supper I think, I remember looking around, and you were sitting right across from me, at the Gryffindor table. Everyone around you was talking over each other, and laughing, but you were just lost in your thoughts, not even blinking."

Sirius certainly didn't remember that, but he was pleased to know that he wasn't the only one who was affected by the other's presence when they met, even if she thought he was reserved and nothing like his usual self.

"All I hear is that you were already longing after me even before we— wait, was that day at the pitch even real? Or was it all a ruse to get me all alone?" Sirius smirked.

"You weren't even alone that day, tosser." She mimicked his smirk, "but funny how first impressions are, heh. Who would've thought that that same pensive boy, would turn out to be the same one who'd stop my practice to yell about how great my ass looked in my Quidditch robes."

Sirius held up his finger, "Now, wait a minute. You're spreading falsehoods!"

"Falsehoods?" Talia put her hands on the counter, then lowered her voice, in a terrible impression of him, "Hey, Maverick, is your new plan to distract the entire Gryffindor team with those new trousers? Meh, anything is better than your Chaser skills, at this point."

"I was offending you, you were aware of that, right?" Sirius put his hand on her shoulder for a second, feigning concern.

"You say that," she said, "But I've had years of experience in Black's words of ambiguity . You expect me to believe you weren't the one who ended up distracted by my trousers?"

His eyes automatically went to her bottoms, which were also covered in tight trousers, only this was one of those bell-bottoms that were sadly barely seen on Muggle streets over nowadays. Yeah ... uh, what were they talking about?

That was one of the things Sirius has always got weirdly irked about their weird relationship: the fact that he always ended up way more affected by things than Maverick. In his normal day to day, it was complete the opposite—he was the one who afflicted someone. But since he could remember, all it took for him to get into a fit of misfiled anger was for Talia to simply give him a cheeky grin... but her? Sirius could literally imply that she was pants at one of her passions, and she'd only give him that same amused face—or if she was feeling playful, she'd dramatically pretend to be angry at him for a bit.

"Uh, it's not my fault they were so tight. Prongs' wasn't like that!"

"Oh, yes, it was," Maverick wiggled her brows.

"Ew, ew, ew. Stop that right now!" Sirius shook his head with a shudder, even if he had seen James' naked… everything more times he could count. "Merlin, witch. My brother, Moony and now Prongs. Who among my friends didn't you fancy at school?"

Besides him.

"How high are you right now? Reg, your friends?"

"Don't play coy now, everyone knew you fancied Moony back in school, and you said it yourself, the experience in Black's words of ambiguity."

Talia threw her head back with a laugh, exposing the soft expanse of her neck. "Oh, you're keeping me young, Black. Sure, Remus and Potter are fit, but your brother being anything but extremely blunt with me? Not the Reg that I knew."

Sirius frowned, wait... if it wasn't about Regulus, then it was about...

"Don't tire your pretty little head out... Your brain is not used to such mechanics yet, you don't want to blow a fuse," Talia said with a laugh, then ruffled his hair, before jumping off the counter and heading towards the costumer who had just entered the store.

.

Sirius had completely given up on the excuses he was making before to go see Talia, and now at least once or twice a week, Remus could find his friend across the street, with little Harry on his toll, as he bugged his new apparent friend in her workplace.

They moved from standing in the middle of the bookshop, bothering Remus off and giving Mrs Lee plenty to gossip about; to sitting at the counter of the Dark Side, when the store was empty and Talia had no work to do so; or leaning at the front door, watching as the sky darkened, as they stood talking until Remus closed the bookshop and reminded them they've been talking for far too long.

"Black, be a doll and carry that box for me," Maverick gave him a sweet smile, adding a, "please? "

Rolling his eyes dramatically, Sirius still grabbed the card box off the counter, and jokingly said, "I thought you were all in for the equal rights movement. Weren't you supposed to show me you can carry that box all by yourself?"

They walked side by side, Talia leading him as she went to one of the shelves further back—the pop music isle.

"Where's the fun in that? I get men to do what I don't want to as a way of reparation," she said, "besides, don't you think it's a good deal? I get to be lazy, and you get to look at a pretty bird for a couple of minutes."

It was a good deal, Sirius agreed, as he was in fact carrying that box and also enjoying the view. "That's such a snake thing to say."

"Is it?" she looked up at him, "I've always thought it to be such bullshit. I mean, I knew for a fact that loads of people pretended to be something they were not, to fit into their House's archetype."

Oh, that hit Sirius straight in that sore spot… If there was something he still carried a large amount of pride in, it was in that fact that he was chosen to be a Gryffindor, instead of a Slytherin; and how that showed everyone, and him, how truly different from his family he truly was. And having someone talking about students faking an archetype struck a chord with him. His shoulders straightened up, his voice a tad too much condescending when he said, "You're aware that who decides that is a magical hat, right?"

Talia turned to him, stunned by his sudden change of mood. "Yeah...? He poked inside my brain too, I'm sure you remember."

"Then you should know it doesn't take pretence into account, If you're a Gryffindor, you are a Gryffindor. If you're a Snake, you are a Snake."

"OK... I touched a nerve there."

Sirius replied with false nonchalant, "You didn't touch anything, I'm simply saying it. You shouldn't shit on an old, brilliant piece of magic, just because you weren't happy with the House you were sorted into."

Talia wasn't one to knowingly rise to someone's bait, the whole show of arguing and throwing offences weren't her thing and she simply didn't have the short temper it needed to work. No, Talia was the one who liked to stay sideways watching the entire circus catch on fire, while she enjoyed a popcorn and said some, 'oohs' and 'ouchs' , to spur the thing into a blaze. That unless someone touched a very pointed sore spot of hers—Sirius hadn't, but he clearly had tampered her mood.

"You've clearly misunderstood of what I said, but know that I'm still very proud of the House I was sorted into," Talia said, watching him with a slight narrow of her eyes, "Although you've always made your dislike very clear."

"You cannot tell me I'm being a whiny bitch about it," Sirius let out a humourless snort, setting the box on top of a shelf, "Slytherin housed most, if not all, of You-Know-Who's most prized followers… truly evil people. You cannot look like me like I'm being biased."

She couldn't disagree with that, but the three other houses also nurtured known Death Eaters as well, one whom Sirius himself called a close mate for years—not that Talia would've actually pointed that out to him, but it was a fact they both well knew.

"OK, yeah , but it also housed my brother, and me—and Regulus," Talia retorted, and when the man raised his brows mockingly and opened his mouth to say something, Talia raised her finger, "Don't —I don't want to fight you, Sirius, so if you're still thinking of saying what I know you meant, I'll have to ask you to leave."

That was her sore spot.

Sirius shook his head, jaws set in place, "No, I think it's best for me to leave already. Harry is probably looking for me."

He came back after a few days later, with no Harry and an embarrassed look on his face. Sirius stood close to the door after greeting her, with his hands tucked inside his pockets.

If Talia was still angry at him, she hid it well, "Hey, where's shortcake?"

"James'," he said, before cleaning his throat. Merlin, this was hard... Why did god give someone like him so much temper and not enough to 'apologisement' skills to fix it later on? "Hey, look—"

"I have inventory to do, d'you mind carrying that other box for me?" Talia pointed towards the box on the floor.

Sirius looked at her face for a few seconds, recognizing the olive branch she was throwing his way, and smiled slightly. Rolling his eyes for drama, he sighed, "If I truly must... I don't know how this place ran without my strong arms to aid you this entire time."

Similar to that last day, they walked side by side.

"He cares," she said, "But don't worry, Remus has done a beautiful job."

He huffed a, "Moony ? No, he's a weakling," even if he knew, in fact, that Moony was not a weakling any more. Who knew that working out daily would've helped him with his monthly transformations?

Had Sirius mentioned that he needed to step up his working out routine?

They continued in a comfortable silence, Sirius practically hugging the box, while Maverick was in front of him looking through the vinyls, searching for the titles that belonged in that section. Her tongue sticking out slightly, while she concentrated. Sirius could smell the fruity scent of her shampoo from where he was standing.

Merlin, she was a cute one.

"So, a record store..." Sirius broke the silence, "I never thought you'd do anything so... muggle . Heard Slughorn praising you in one of our classes a couple of times, thought you'd become a fancy Potioneer or something."

"Me? Oh, he must've meant my brother. I blew too many cauldrons for it to be me... Slug's day became brighter the day Reg and I started pairing up," she said, before blowing off a few strands of hair out of the face. "I dunno, records stores have always caught my attention... I wanted to build one in the wizarding world, to finally bring some good music to their depressing lives, but there's literally no available slot, so this one will do for now... I quite like it, to be honest. I've even applied to install a Floo Network in the back, so at least wizarding folks can come by quicker."

"Oh, purebloods wouldn't know what a good song is even if it hit them in the face," Sirius nodded in agreement. "You should talk with Prongs, he can speed that Floo thing up for you... but yeah, it's kind of hard to find rental places. I mean, mine was pure luck."

"At Diagon, right? I've walked by it a few times... It looks really good. Magical vehicles, right... what's the story?"

Sirius scratched his chin, "Um, there wasn't any big 'oh' moment... The Potters gave me a motorbike as a graduation gift, and I spent the entire summer of that year tinking with it... I've had a couple of blokes come up to me and ask me about it, but never gave it too much thought... until years later, when I had to go somewhere with baby Harry, and realized that every magical transportation is either too dangerous or not recommended for children until a certain age. That's when I started to do some work here and there for other people, until I decided to actually do something bigger with it."

"Stop it, now. Where is the boasting?" she asked, "You created a way to make Muggle cars fly, while invisible and safely... I literally saw a pureblood hiking on a Harley last week, and you're not boasting!? The only time I gave you a chance."

Sirius shrugged, he never knew what to say whenever people brought his business up, so he just watched Talia in amusement.

She put the vinyl she was holding on top of the box, and turned to him, "In all seriousness, I think it's bloody brilliant, Black! Honestly... I've never seen anything like it before. I knew you were smart, but I can't even begin to think of the amount of 'tinking' you had to do to perfect a magic like that."

Sirius didn't say anything for a while.

That was perhaps the first time Talia had ever said something to him that seemed to be one hundred percent sincere, one that didn't have any laugh, or that glint of mischievousness in her eyes. Sirius was taken aback by the openness of her face right now... Their conversations didn't go like that, usually they stayed on the topics of shared interest of theirs—music, books and muggle culture, the most personal ever being Harry... But even in his surprise, Sirius couldn't help but crack a big, genuine smile.

His shop was a very important matter to Sirius, one that always brought him tremendous proudness, since it has always been completely his. His parent's money or rotten fingers have never touched that puzzle piece of his life... and it felt good to be seen, to be recognised by something he's done other than something he was born with.

Especially by someone, he realised, that he apparently started to appreciate their opinion as of lately.

Sirius tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear, "What about here? What's the story?"

She smiled, letting out a breathy laughter, "Oh, mine is very cheesy, I had that 'oh' moment you mentioned... I dunno, I've always loved music, I even tried once to meddle with my Walkman, so I could bring it to school, but loads of my House mates weren't very fond of Muggle devices… Anyway, I never really knew what I wanted to do, you know, but then one day in my fifth-year, my dad's friend got ill and gave him the two tickets he had bought to watch Pink Floyd's concert at Wembley... 'In the Flesh' Tour of '77," her eyes lit up, "I was completely mesmerized , never seen anything like that before..."

Sirius couldn't help but copy her smile, finding the way she glowed when she talked about the things she loved, absolutely adorable. "Was that your 'oh' moment?"

"Nope, that's when I thought I'd grow up to be a rock star," she made a funny face, picking up the vinyl out of the box again. "Can you even picture it? Little ol' me with big boots, shredding a guitar on a stage?"

He most definitely could picture it, Sirius gulped, images of her dressed in the tight black scraps of what the musicians he listened to called outfits; the leather, and the messy hair; the makeup melting along with the sweat that'd glisten on her bare skin...

"You could totally rock it, tho... the hair, the jacket," Talia said, watching him out of the corner of her eye, "I mean, you do have a haughty little face, and walk like those posh wankers, but nothing that a little fixing can't do."

"Hey, now missy! You take that back," Sirius gasped, putting a hand on his chest, "Or I'll show you how posh this wanker can walk."

Sirius had no idea what he meant by that, but Talia sang without a beat, a little smirk on her pretty lips that made him feel warm,

"Oh, is that a promise, Black?"

.

Talia Maverick was a person he enjoyed spending time with... No arguments, that was something Sirius had accepted about this new chapter of his life.

Yeah, he'd had a teenage crush on her before, but he'd never really got around to actually know her… Not that they knew each other quite well now, but it certainly was much more than before—then, he didn't even recall having a normal conversation with her. And now, he's seen her enough that he recognised the repeated clothes she wore.

Sirius had always known that Talia was pretty, that she had a sharp tongue, and if she'd been sorted in any house other than Slytherin, he'd have trailed after her like a puppy, until she at least stopped telling him to shut up for being annoying, and instead shutting him up with her mouth on his... That's all he thought when someone mentioned her name before; how her hot breath would mingle with his under the shadows of the alcoves that he wanted to drag her to, in his wildest fantasies, after curfew; or whether she'd be wearing the usual uniform, or if she'd be sporting those green Quidditch robes, all sweaty and clamped into those extremely tight trousers.

Not that it differed much now, Sirius grinned, as he apparently had an entire section of his brain filled with fantasies just as explicit as the ones he'd used to create in his teen years without even realising… But it was different, now, in its own way—their dynamic; they weren't kids any more, and despite that awful moment of his, Sirius didn't think about non-senses like House rivalry any more... which meant that there were nothing that could really hold him back from actually chasing after her like a dog, no pun intended, even if the wording made his nose wrinkle.

Sirius couldn't pinpoint exactly why, but it just felt wrong to say it like that.

But what he did know was that she was pretty, and seemed at least a little bit interested and that he had just acquired a new bed that has never been debuted before... but still.

She was a person he enjoyed spending time with...

"And then, and then, he grabbed it off the floor and broke it and Mrs Peterson did nothing!"

"She did nothing!?" Talia asked, almost as outraged as Harry. If Sirius wasn't in the position of being the serious godfather who was teaching him a lesson, he's let a goofy grin with the image of those two together.

It was way past the closing hour, as it was visible by the dim light that spread across the store, but the three of them didn't even see to notice it. Sirius watched his godson explaining to Talia the reason he was grounded for the week, while they both say on the counter, legs gangling on the air.

Harry shook his head vigorously, happy to have someone on his side, "Nothing! And I got so, so..."

"Angry," Sirius helped him.

"Yes, angry, I was so angry—'cos Anne is my friend, and she didn't do anything wrong, so I punched him!" Harry punched the air with his chubby little fists.

"And that's how you got that boo-boo?" Talia delicately touched the bruise on his cheek, brows furrowed with worry. Harry hummed, shyly enjoying the woman's pampering over him. "Aw, poor baby."

Harry has always been a very clingy toddler. From spending his first year of life locked inside Potter's Cottage with only his parents for company, to then being mostly cocooned by two war survivors who were still scared for his life on the daily, it was almost impossible for him to be anything but extremely clingy to his family–but that was it, his family . Harry was just as wary of strangers as James and Sirius were, especially as everyone still fawned on him like he was a celebrity, a statue to be looked at.

So watching him accept the care and closeness of someone who wasn't his father, or him and Moony, with his little eyes closed and a faint blush on his cheeks, was mind-boggling to Sirius. Although he couldn't blame him, since the man would have done the same if he were in his godson's shoes at the moment—but that wasn't a thought he wanted to indulge in, much more.

"Now, can you explain to Talia why you were grounded, poor baby?" Harry scowled at him, which would've made Sirius, in his normal day, want to squeeze his little cheeks, but that matter still left him on the edge. "Harry ... what did your dad say?"

The boy sighed, plopping his chin on his palm.

"Violence is not the answer..." he grumbled, "I should've told another teacher about it..."

Sirius could feel Talia's gaze on him as he smiled at his godson, and held his open hand to him to high-five it.

"That's my boy!"

A few minutes later, when Remus had knocked on the door to say they would be closing soon, and Sirius told Harry to go with him to get his belongings, Talia looked at him and fake-whispered, "So, we all agree that the other kid totally deserved it, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Sirius agreed instantly, watching her shutting the blue panel blinds, "I would've done worse, if it were me."

Talia laughed through her nose, "Don't I know that. I'm surprised neither of you threw a party to celebrate his first fist fight."

"Don't act so surprised, we actually entertained it for a second... at least later on..." Sirius ran a hand through his hair. And then all of a sudden, everything he'd been cooking about these past few days started to come out of his mouth like a water fountain, without his permission. "It's just... we were so angry, you know, I've rarely seen Prongs that livid before... Someone hurt Harry , someone laid a hand on our little speck of human... I didn't care that it was another kid, just that Prongs was banging on my door and all I saw was Harry, with a face full of snot and a bruise forming on his cheek," Sirius shook his head, fists clenching. "I wanted to hunt that children's father and beat him to pulp... I guess it clocks with that Black madness you mentioned before."

"That's not madness," she instantly replied, "besides, wanting to hurt someone and actually hurting someone are two very distinct things."

Sirius had the clear feeling that Talia understood what he meant without him needing to explain himself further.

"He can't grow up thinking it's OK to hurt someone like that... can't have that type of madness in him, Lily would've hated that... It's Harry, you know, he's supposed—he's the best of us."

The two fell into a thoughtful silence, just as Sirius realised what he had just done and was waiting for the absolute horror that it'd strike him at any second. What had just happened? Sirius wasn't the type to talk about his inner thoughts, in fact, he liked to keep his feelings in a little corner inside his brain that he could never reach, until one day he'd have to deal with them exploding in the middle of a convenience store.

As if sensing the turmoil that the man next to her was going through, Talia hummed, "So you want him to be Remus?"

Sirius caught himself snorting, silently thanking her for the exit she'd given him. "I said the best of us—not the most boring of us, please."

"You know, Black," Maverick said, a few long seconds of silence later, when she was closing the front door, "You've changed a lot since Hogwarts."

"Handsomer, I know. No one ever thought possible, but here I stand," Sirius untucked the hair from behind his ears. If there was one thing he was a master at doing, it was running away from matters he didn't want to talk about and pretending it was all one big joke.

"Handsomer?" Maverick turned and gave him her full attention, running her eyes over Sirius as if she was analysing him.

When it came to appearance, Sirius had never really felt insecure before—of course, everyone had their moments, but his moments were never something that lasted long or were even frequent. Sirius' insecurities have always been more internal than anything else... But he couldn't lie and say that there wasn't something quite unnerving about how Talia was studying him like that; more so, because Sirius wanted her eyes to always be on him—to find him attractive. In fact, he knew that she looked at him, he felt the weight of her eyes before and usually basked on the feeling of it. But no one had ever stopped, and looked at every part of him so bluntly, without any pretence—especially after he was still feeling a bit vulnerable after what he's said.

But her gaze didn't feel too heavy, nor too judgemental and as Talia brought her hand closer to his face and touched the tips of his hair, then releasing it as if she's never even moved, Sirius realised how close they really were.

"I dunno..." she gave him a small smile. "But you're giving me long-haired Harrison vibes right now."

Sirius grabbed the strands she'd touched and actually looked at it. His hair had grown quite a bit since his years at Hogwarts; from the shaggy cut he'd sported, Sirius' raven hair touched his shoulders now.

"Everyone knows Harrison looked hotter with long-ish hair anyway, so I'll take the compliment."

Letting out a breathy laugh, Maverick looked around before putting the usual wards in place.

"I think the change did you good. I like it."

Sirius had understood exactly what her ambiguous words meant, but his discomfort didn't let him do anything more than fiddle with his hair again, like a nervous tic.

"And the hair too, of course, it suits you— both," she added.

A warmth travelled from his neck to his cheeks, exactly like that night at Three Broomsticks, and Sirius now couldn't pretend that the loud thumping of his heart hadn't meant anything other than a reaction from what the woman had said...

Merlin, he was completely fucked, wasn't him?

.

.

.

a/n: i miss writing about dadfoot and baby harry already (long-haired harrison is george harrison from the beatles, if someone got confused)