Author Notes: Basically this is to say that the only characters in this
story that I own is Karen, Kateliona, and Hank. The rest belong to J.K.
Rowling. Oh! And please review, this is the first time I've actually
posted a fan fiction and would like to know what other people think.
Karen Black of number nine Nacks Street had spent most of her day at home with her seven month old daughter, Kateliona. Her husband, Sirius was out of town at the moment visiting his friends, Lily and James Potter. Although Karen had never meet Lily or James she knew that Sirius and them had meet in school several years before she and Sirius had. She also knew that the Potters had a small boy around Kateliona's age.
What Karen didn't know, and it was to great annoyance to her, was what school it was that the three of them had meet at. One of the reasons why this was so annoying to her was because Sirius wanted to send their daughter there. Well, how was she to send her daughter to some school that she didn't even know the name of? In fact, Karen was even beginning to wonder if there really was a school. Sirius could just be making it up. Plus if Sirius was keeping the name of this supposed school who knew what else he was keeping from her. How could she trust her child's future to someone who kept so many secrets from her.
Karen had already decided what school she wanted Kateliona to go to when she was old enough. There was a school not far from Nacks Street. It was closed enough for Kateliona to walk to so that she didn't need to go away.
Sirius Black was just pulling into the drive on his mysterious motorbike, as his wife was putting Kateliona into her highchair for dinner. Although he longed to see his daughter and to hold her in his arms, his mind was still on the visit he had had with his best friend, James, and his wife, Lily. The two of them and there son had to go into hiding. There was so much at risk at the present, especially with what James had asked him to do. He needed someone to talk to, but Karen would never understand. She didn't know him at all. But he knew that if he could get just a few minutes alone with his daughter, his Kat, that she would understand. Although Kat wasn't even a year old she was just like him in many ways. In more ways than Karen ever need to know for now.
Behind himself, Sirius shut to door to number nine Nacks Street, unaware of what that night would bring. He found Kateliona in her highchair, and Karen forcing a spoonful of mashed carrots into her mouth.
Sirius when over to relive Karen from feeding duty, as she so often called it.
'Your late,' snapped Karen as she filled the sink up with water.
After taking a deep breath Sirius turned to face her, 'It lasted a little longer than I had expected.'
There was a long silence after this. Karen slammed a dish into the dish rack, every so often looking over her shoulder to Sirius having no problem feeding Kateliona, another thing that annoyed her because Kateliona hardly ever took food from her. Finally she broke the silence, 'So are you going to tell me what this James Potter thought was so important that you just had to drop what you where doing and leave you family here all alone. Honestly, Sirius, what did you boss say when you told him that you had to leave town to go see an old school chum?'
Sirius sighed heavily, 'He understood perfectly well.'
Karen studied Sirius intently, 'You better no have quit your job just to go off to go see that James guy. You know perfectly well that I can't really go back to work until Kateliona here is all grown up and can take care of herself.'
Sirius couldn't help but smile at the thought of Karen actually doing any work. Karen must have seen that smile as she glared darkly at him clearly thinking that he had indeed quit his job.
'No I did no quit. My boss was actually very understanding about it all.'
'Well, that al least is some good news,' she looked at Sirius, who had just taken Kateliona out of the highchair and was lifter her high above is head, as though expecting him to explain something to her. After waiting about a minute she finally asked far too loudly, 'Are you or are you not going to tell me why you suddenly had to leave in such a hurry this morning?'
'He just needed to talk to me about something. It's nothing to worry your pretty little head about,' he said softly as he went over to kiss her on the cheek.
Karen turned and faced Sirius Black, her hands still dripping from doing the dishes. Her faded brown eyes had a fire in them of the likes that he had never seen before, 'You just had to pick up and leave me and my daughter here all alone because this supposed Mr. Potter had to talk to you,' her voice was barely more than a whisper and heated with so much passion that if she had been like Sirius the whole house would be on fire.
After taking a step back, Sirius softly said, 'There is a lot more going on than you understand.'
'Then explain it to me,' she snarled
'It was just something really important that needed to be sorted out, that's all. Please Karen don't ask me any more about it tonight. I can't tell you.'
Karen looked at her husband. She knew when she saw the look in his eyes that she would not get anything out of him right now, again. It was yet another thing that he was keeping from her.
Kateliona, who had been put back into the high chair, now let out a piercing cry. Her mother looked at her. Karen went over her and picked her up. Without saying another word to him, she handed the baby to Sirius.
Sirius took Kat upstairs to put her to bed. Kat's bedroom was at the end of the hall. On the white walls where pictures of little flying pink elephants. The had been Karen's idea and she wouldn't leave him alone until they where up on the walls. In fact, she had decorated most of the small bedroom. The only thing that Sirius was allowed to put in there was a small model of a giant of a black dog that sat on the dresser near her crib. Even though it was a clay model it was plain that it would be massive.
'Well, my little Kat,' he whispered softly after putting into her white crib, 'things with Mr. Potter are not going very well. But fortunately I think I have found a way to protect you and your mother. Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to see him again. Well, not until You-Know-Who is gone. I am so glad that you are too young to know what is going on in our world. Hopefully by the time you start school all this fear we've had to live with will be gone and all this will be over. Even if it's not at least at school Dumbedore will be able to protect you.'
After this he kissed his daughter on the check. Then left the room as she was starting to fall asleep. He hoped that Karen would not ask him any more questions about his visit with James. They where questions that he just could not answer. No yet at least, though he did know that he would have to tell Karen everything one day. One day really soon. Although he didn't want to, he knew that he had to put Karen on her guars. He just didn't want to do it that night, even though he knew he was running out of time. Just a little more time was needed for him to figure out what he was going to say to her and how to say it.
Well Sirius was upstairs with Kateliona, Karen remained in the kitchen to finish up the dishes. After they where done, she moved into the living room and turned the TV on. Although there was nothing on, she knew that it would help her take her mind off of the fight that was brewing between her and Sirius. The fact that Sirius was keeping whatever happened between him and the person that he called James Potter was, in her mind at least, another reason why he was not going to decide what school Kateliona was going to go to. As she flipped from channel to channel, she decided not to say anything else about the visit tonight. But Karen was going to set the record strait about where Kateliona was going to attend school.
She could hear Sirius coming down the stairs when she changed the TV channel to the evening news. He had gone into the kitchen to get himself a bottle of beer. Only it didn't look like it was steaming like a cold bottle does on a hot summer day like that one. Instead it looked a like it was smoking. These bottles of what could only be thought as containing beer seemed to magically disappear when Sirius was gone. Karen would spend hours on end raiding the kitchen trying to find where he kept them, but they where no where to be found. It was a if he had made them become invisible.
It seemed like that night lasted forever for the two of them. After the news was over the couple moved upstairs and into the bedroom next to the one at the end of the hall. The room wasn't overly big, nor was it as small as Kateliona's was. In the middle of the room was a queen size bed hidden under mounds of blankets. One of the blankets, the one on top, a quilt, was a wedding gift from Sirius' friends from school. On it there was a large black dog, a stag, a little white rat, and what looked like a wolf all in a hut with a full moon over head.
Well Sirius was pulling on his pajamas, Karen spoke to him about her day at home with Kateliona how her friend, Hank Huganoe stopped by to see her. It all was very friendly, or so if seemed, until she got to the part about how Hank agreed with her that Kateliona should go to the school of Karen's choose. Sirius got annoyed with this.
'I though we already agreed that she is going to my old school.'
'We haven't agreed on anything yet,' she said, 'but we better make up our minds soon. You know how hard it is to get a child into a good school these days.'
'If you would just agree to send her to my old school you could stop worrying about it.'
Karen looked at Sirius, 'What makes you think that my daughter is going to go there? What makes you think that it is such a great place for her?' she questioned him.
'Our daughter has to go there. Kat is a special little girl who won't fit in where you want to send her. This school if the best there is for people like her and myself. She'll be happy there and will fit in with the other kids.'
Karen grimaced when Sirius called Kateliona Kat, 'Will you stop calling her that? She is not some sort of animal. What do you mean by people like you and her? Are you trying to imply that our daughter is retarded or something?' she snapped suddenly realizing what he had said.
Sirius looked at Karen. He supposed this was as good as a time as any to tell her the truth. Plus there was no way to avoid the question this time without insulting their baby, 'No, I am not implying that she is retarded. It's just that.' and he began to explain to her all about himself.
He didn't get very far into telling her, though. Just as her was about to explain to her about the danger that she and Kat where in, Karen exploded, 'YOUR CRAZY!' she yelled not caring if the bay work up, 'Get out of the house!'
Dumfounded, Sirius stood rooted in his spot. Sure he had thought that she might be a little shocked when he told her that truth. That may- be he might have to sleep on the couch. But never did he dream that she would kick him right out of the house.
Karen Black repeated her get out command louder and more forcefully than the first time, 'I am not going to have my child be around a freak like you. Get out of my house and get out NOW!'
He regained control of his thoughts and emotions as she was pushing him toward the bedroom door. Before being pushed right out into the hall, he managed to grab something long and pointy. She glanced at the think in his hand, sure that she had never seen is before in the house. They where now about to fall down the stairs will he tried to argue over her various curses and ranting that he had a right in deciding what happened to their daughter. A few moments later Sirius Black was standing on the doorstep outside the house, well Karen ran upstairs, he was yelling through the door, 'She's more like me than you! No matter what you do she'll always be my daughter!'
Inside the house and back upstairs Karen found that his stuff was already gone. From his clothes that where in the closet to the quilt that had been on the been. Outside she could hear the roar of his motorbike so clearly that it could have been over room, then id faded off into the distance as he left number nine Nacks Street forever. On the baby monitor she heard Kateliona who must have woken up during all the commotion out in the hall, playing with her voice and saying one thing, 'Da.'
Karen picked up the baby monitor and through it against the wall, where is shattered into a thousand little pieces. She sat on the edge of her bed crying for a few moments. Then she called her friend Hank Huganoe and asked him to come over.
At the end of the hall Kat laid in her crib making noises and every so often saying the word, 'Da.' She was totally unaware that she may never see her father again. Or that in the morning her mother would come into her room and crush the clay model black dog into dust. Nor did Kat know that two weeks later in the dead of the night Karen Black would get a phone call from Sirius saying that something had happened to James and Lily Potter and that he had to see Kat, but never did, partly because Karen wouldn't let him near her and partly because something had happened to him too.
Karen Black of number nine Nacks Street had spent most of her day at home with her seven month old daughter, Kateliona. Her husband, Sirius was out of town at the moment visiting his friends, Lily and James Potter. Although Karen had never meet Lily or James she knew that Sirius and them had meet in school several years before she and Sirius had. She also knew that the Potters had a small boy around Kateliona's age.
What Karen didn't know, and it was to great annoyance to her, was what school it was that the three of them had meet at. One of the reasons why this was so annoying to her was because Sirius wanted to send their daughter there. Well, how was she to send her daughter to some school that she didn't even know the name of? In fact, Karen was even beginning to wonder if there really was a school. Sirius could just be making it up. Plus if Sirius was keeping the name of this supposed school who knew what else he was keeping from her. How could she trust her child's future to someone who kept so many secrets from her.
Karen had already decided what school she wanted Kateliona to go to when she was old enough. There was a school not far from Nacks Street. It was closed enough for Kateliona to walk to so that she didn't need to go away.
Sirius Black was just pulling into the drive on his mysterious motorbike, as his wife was putting Kateliona into her highchair for dinner. Although he longed to see his daughter and to hold her in his arms, his mind was still on the visit he had had with his best friend, James, and his wife, Lily. The two of them and there son had to go into hiding. There was so much at risk at the present, especially with what James had asked him to do. He needed someone to talk to, but Karen would never understand. She didn't know him at all. But he knew that if he could get just a few minutes alone with his daughter, his Kat, that she would understand. Although Kat wasn't even a year old she was just like him in many ways. In more ways than Karen ever need to know for now.
Behind himself, Sirius shut to door to number nine Nacks Street, unaware of what that night would bring. He found Kateliona in her highchair, and Karen forcing a spoonful of mashed carrots into her mouth.
Sirius when over to relive Karen from feeding duty, as she so often called it.
'Your late,' snapped Karen as she filled the sink up with water.
After taking a deep breath Sirius turned to face her, 'It lasted a little longer than I had expected.'
There was a long silence after this. Karen slammed a dish into the dish rack, every so often looking over her shoulder to Sirius having no problem feeding Kateliona, another thing that annoyed her because Kateliona hardly ever took food from her. Finally she broke the silence, 'So are you going to tell me what this James Potter thought was so important that you just had to drop what you where doing and leave you family here all alone. Honestly, Sirius, what did you boss say when you told him that you had to leave town to go see an old school chum?'
Sirius sighed heavily, 'He understood perfectly well.'
Karen studied Sirius intently, 'You better no have quit your job just to go off to go see that James guy. You know perfectly well that I can't really go back to work until Kateliona here is all grown up and can take care of herself.'
Sirius couldn't help but smile at the thought of Karen actually doing any work. Karen must have seen that smile as she glared darkly at him clearly thinking that he had indeed quit his job.
'No I did no quit. My boss was actually very understanding about it all.'
'Well, that al least is some good news,' she looked at Sirius, who had just taken Kateliona out of the highchair and was lifter her high above is head, as though expecting him to explain something to her. After waiting about a minute she finally asked far too loudly, 'Are you or are you not going to tell me why you suddenly had to leave in such a hurry this morning?'
'He just needed to talk to me about something. It's nothing to worry your pretty little head about,' he said softly as he went over to kiss her on the cheek.
Karen turned and faced Sirius Black, her hands still dripping from doing the dishes. Her faded brown eyes had a fire in them of the likes that he had never seen before, 'You just had to pick up and leave me and my daughter here all alone because this supposed Mr. Potter had to talk to you,' her voice was barely more than a whisper and heated with so much passion that if she had been like Sirius the whole house would be on fire.
After taking a step back, Sirius softly said, 'There is a lot more going on than you understand.'
'Then explain it to me,' she snarled
'It was just something really important that needed to be sorted out, that's all. Please Karen don't ask me any more about it tonight. I can't tell you.'
Karen looked at her husband. She knew when she saw the look in his eyes that she would not get anything out of him right now, again. It was yet another thing that he was keeping from her.
Kateliona, who had been put back into the high chair, now let out a piercing cry. Her mother looked at her. Karen went over her and picked her up. Without saying another word to him, she handed the baby to Sirius.
Sirius took Kat upstairs to put her to bed. Kat's bedroom was at the end of the hall. On the white walls where pictures of little flying pink elephants. The had been Karen's idea and she wouldn't leave him alone until they where up on the walls. In fact, she had decorated most of the small bedroom. The only thing that Sirius was allowed to put in there was a small model of a giant of a black dog that sat on the dresser near her crib. Even though it was a clay model it was plain that it would be massive.
'Well, my little Kat,' he whispered softly after putting into her white crib, 'things with Mr. Potter are not going very well. But fortunately I think I have found a way to protect you and your mother. Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to see him again. Well, not until You-Know-Who is gone. I am so glad that you are too young to know what is going on in our world. Hopefully by the time you start school all this fear we've had to live with will be gone and all this will be over. Even if it's not at least at school Dumbedore will be able to protect you.'
After this he kissed his daughter on the check. Then left the room as she was starting to fall asleep. He hoped that Karen would not ask him any more questions about his visit with James. They where questions that he just could not answer. No yet at least, though he did know that he would have to tell Karen everything one day. One day really soon. Although he didn't want to, he knew that he had to put Karen on her guars. He just didn't want to do it that night, even though he knew he was running out of time. Just a little more time was needed for him to figure out what he was going to say to her and how to say it.
Well Sirius was upstairs with Kateliona, Karen remained in the kitchen to finish up the dishes. After they where done, she moved into the living room and turned the TV on. Although there was nothing on, she knew that it would help her take her mind off of the fight that was brewing between her and Sirius. The fact that Sirius was keeping whatever happened between him and the person that he called James Potter was, in her mind at least, another reason why he was not going to decide what school Kateliona was going to go to. As she flipped from channel to channel, she decided not to say anything else about the visit tonight. But Karen was going to set the record strait about where Kateliona was going to attend school.
She could hear Sirius coming down the stairs when she changed the TV channel to the evening news. He had gone into the kitchen to get himself a bottle of beer. Only it didn't look like it was steaming like a cold bottle does on a hot summer day like that one. Instead it looked a like it was smoking. These bottles of what could only be thought as containing beer seemed to magically disappear when Sirius was gone. Karen would spend hours on end raiding the kitchen trying to find where he kept them, but they where no where to be found. It was a if he had made them become invisible.
It seemed like that night lasted forever for the two of them. After the news was over the couple moved upstairs and into the bedroom next to the one at the end of the hall. The room wasn't overly big, nor was it as small as Kateliona's was. In the middle of the room was a queen size bed hidden under mounds of blankets. One of the blankets, the one on top, a quilt, was a wedding gift from Sirius' friends from school. On it there was a large black dog, a stag, a little white rat, and what looked like a wolf all in a hut with a full moon over head.
Well Sirius was pulling on his pajamas, Karen spoke to him about her day at home with Kateliona how her friend, Hank Huganoe stopped by to see her. It all was very friendly, or so if seemed, until she got to the part about how Hank agreed with her that Kateliona should go to the school of Karen's choose. Sirius got annoyed with this.
'I though we already agreed that she is going to my old school.'
'We haven't agreed on anything yet,' she said, 'but we better make up our minds soon. You know how hard it is to get a child into a good school these days.'
'If you would just agree to send her to my old school you could stop worrying about it.'
Karen looked at Sirius, 'What makes you think that my daughter is going to go there? What makes you think that it is such a great place for her?' she questioned him.
'Our daughter has to go there. Kat is a special little girl who won't fit in where you want to send her. This school if the best there is for people like her and myself. She'll be happy there and will fit in with the other kids.'
Karen grimaced when Sirius called Kateliona Kat, 'Will you stop calling her that? She is not some sort of animal. What do you mean by people like you and her? Are you trying to imply that our daughter is retarded or something?' she snapped suddenly realizing what he had said.
Sirius looked at Karen. He supposed this was as good as a time as any to tell her the truth. Plus there was no way to avoid the question this time without insulting their baby, 'No, I am not implying that she is retarded. It's just that.' and he began to explain to her all about himself.
He didn't get very far into telling her, though. Just as her was about to explain to her about the danger that she and Kat where in, Karen exploded, 'YOUR CRAZY!' she yelled not caring if the bay work up, 'Get out of the house!'
Dumfounded, Sirius stood rooted in his spot. Sure he had thought that she might be a little shocked when he told her that truth. That may- be he might have to sleep on the couch. But never did he dream that she would kick him right out of the house.
Karen Black repeated her get out command louder and more forcefully than the first time, 'I am not going to have my child be around a freak like you. Get out of my house and get out NOW!'
He regained control of his thoughts and emotions as she was pushing him toward the bedroom door. Before being pushed right out into the hall, he managed to grab something long and pointy. She glanced at the think in his hand, sure that she had never seen is before in the house. They where now about to fall down the stairs will he tried to argue over her various curses and ranting that he had a right in deciding what happened to their daughter. A few moments later Sirius Black was standing on the doorstep outside the house, well Karen ran upstairs, he was yelling through the door, 'She's more like me than you! No matter what you do she'll always be my daughter!'
Inside the house and back upstairs Karen found that his stuff was already gone. From his clothes that where in the closet to the quilt that had been on the been. Outside she could hear the roar of his motorbike so clearly that it could have been over room, then id faded off into the distance as he left number nine Nacks Street forever. On the baby monitor she heard Kateliona who must have woken up during all the commotion out in the hall, playing with her voice and saying one thing, 'Da.'
Karen picked up the baby monitor and through it against the wall, where is shattered into a thousand little pieces. She sat on the edge of her bed crying for a few moments. Then she called her friend Hank Huganoe and asked him to come over.
At the end of the hall Kat laid in her crib making noises and every so often saying the word, 'Da.' She was totally unaware that she may never see her father again. Or that in the morning her mother would come into her room and crush the clay model black dog into dust. Nor did Kat know that two weeks later in the dead of the night Karen Black would get a phone call from Sirius saying that something had happened to James and Lily Potter and that he had to see Kat, but never did, partly because Karen wouldn't let him near her and partly because something had happened to him too.