Disclaimer: Aurora and Taylor belong to me but Sirius doesn't unfortunately.

A/N: I greatly appreciate the reviews and I'm glad everyone else is enjoying this as much as I am.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 5

'Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.'-Buddha

"Sirius! Is she all right?" Aurora demanded, the moment Sirius emerged from their daughter's bedroom.

"I think she will be," he answered earnestly. "At least she's accepted the truth and she doesn't hate either of us."

"Thanks for talking to her. I don't think I could have done it."

"I was happy to do it. It actually gave us a good chance to connect. This father thing is easier than it seems," Sirius ran his hands through his hair.

"You're only saying that because you didn't have to give her the 'birds and bees' talk," Aurora shuddered at the memory.

"Oh, I bet that was a fun conversation," he smirked.

"Not for me anyway. I was prepared with my books and stuff and it turned out she already knew everything. I reckon she knows even more than I do."

"I seriously doubt that, you're the queen of seduction," Sirius winked.

"Me? The queen of seduction?" she snorted.

"It always worked on me."

She giggled. "No offence, darling, but it's not exactly hard to seduce you."

"You have a point there," he admitted. He turned to Aurora and smiled beguilingly. He had that look in his eye.

Aurora involuntarily shivered as he advanced on her. His strong arms encircled her waist and he moved in to kiss her. At the last second she turned her head and Sirius ended up kissing her cheek instead.

"Rory, what's wrong?" he asked, dazed by her actions.

"Nothing," she slipped out of his grasp. "How about we get some pizza for dinner?"

"Sure. Whatever you want."

Aurora nodded and picked up her car keys and purse. "I'll be back in a while."

"Take your time," he waved her away impatiently. She winced as he turned his back on her. Now she'd pissed him off again. They'd been getting along so well!

"Sirius…"

"Just go, Aurora!"

"Fine! Be an incorrigible prat! See if I care!" she glared at his back then spun on her heel and stormed out, slamming the front door behind herself.

Sirius sighed and took a seat at the table. He had over-reacted. She didn't want to kiss him. So what? He shouldn't have expected her to jump into his arms without hesitation. Too much had happened between them.

"What's going on?" a small voice enquired from the doorway.

Sirius felt his stomach tighten with guilt. The last thing Taylor needed was to hear them arguing. He swiveled in his seat to look at her. She was standing with her hands on her hips and her head was cocked slightly to the right. She looked curious but concerned.

For a moment he just stared at her and marveled at how much she reminded him of Aurora. Slowly he smiled. "Everything's fine. Come and sit."

She hesitated for a second then sat across the table from him. "I heard you fighting."

"We weren't fighting."

"Well, what would you call it?"

"Your mother and I were merely having a loud discussion."

"You don't have to protect me. If you two don't love each other anymore then you can tell me," Taylor said seriously.

"I love your mother more than anything in the world. No silly disagreement can change that. I just think she's having trouble adjusting to the situation."

"Does she still love you?" Taylor wondered.

"I'm not really sure, honey. I hope so. I just have to give her sometime to work it out for herself. You have to remember we haven't seen each other for twelve years. I bet she thought she'd never see me again. She's in shock I suspect."

"If she loves you back will you get married?" she asked excitedly.

"It's a nice thought, Taylor, but I won't be able to do anything until my name is cleared," he informed her gently.

"When will that happen?"

"As soon as I catch up with that dirty, stinking rat- Oh, forget I said that," Sirius added hurriedly. "To be honest with you I don't know when I'll be cleared."

Possible never, he thought sadly.

Taylor must have thought the same thing because her eyes dropped to the table. He reached across and put his large hands over her small ones. She flinched at his touch and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry," she said as he withdrew his hands.

"You're not ready either. That's fine," Sirius assured her.

She still looked terribly embarrassed so he attempted a change of conversation. "Do you have a boyfriend?

Taylor giggled and blushed. "No! But there is this one boy-"

"Yes?" he prompted as she paused.

"I can't tell you! It's girls stuff!" her eyes widened in shock.

"That's ok."

She appeared thoughtful for a moment then began to talk in a whisper. "His name's Billy and he's a muggle born wizard. His parents don't want to send him away to Hogwarts so he comes to tutoring with me. He always teases me though. Mum says that means he likes me."

"I'd listen to your mother on that. She's always right. So how old is this boy anyway?" he asked casually, glad that she'd decided to talk.

"He's fourteen."

"Fourteen!"

Taylor raised an amused eyebrow. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Don't you think he's a little old for you?" he asked delicately.

"You sound like mum," she rolled her eyes. "Are you older than her?"

"Yes I am."

"There you go then."

"There's a four month age difference between us. Not two years!"

"It's only two years. I don't see the big deal," she rested her chin in her hand and sighed.

"The problem is that he's a teenage boy. Teenage boys are stupid. Trust me, I used to be one myself," Sirius almost told her how to deal with the situation but he realised he really had no authority over her life. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I can take care of myself," she insisted defensively.

He didn't doubt that at all. She had a tough exterior like Aurora but Sirius suspected that she also had a deep vulnerability under it all.

"I know you can but just promise me anyway. For my peace of mind?"

"Fine, I promise."

~~~~~~~~~~

Aurora returned ten minutes later to find them having a deep conversation about Quidditch. They both turned out to be avid supporters of the Ballycastle Bats. The fact that they were getting along so well made Aurora happier than she'd ever been. But it was also a little saddening because she realised she was no longer the only person Taylor could depend on.

"Oh, you're back," Sirius looked up in surprise, he'd been so engrossed in the discussion he hadn't even noticed her come in.

"Yep. Got a large supreme. Hope you don't mind," she placed the box on the table between them.

"That's fine."

Taylor looked from one to the other, trying to gauge their emotions. They didn't appear to be angry with each other anymore at least. Aurora noticed her staring.

"T, go wash your hands please."

She groaned and reluctantly left with a curious backward glance at her parents.

"I'm really sorry about before," Aurora apologised softly and threw her keys and purse back on the bench.

"I'm sorry too," Sirius replied just as softly. "You know she heard us yelling. She thought we didn't love each other anymore."

"What did you tell her?"

"That I love you and nothing can change that."

"Nice answer. You are good at this parenting stuff," she affectionately rubbed his cheek with the back of her hand.

He closed his eyes and savoured her gentle touch. Taylor broke his reverie as she returned and upon seeing Aurora's hand caressing his cheek giggled happily and clapped her hands.

"I knew you'd make up! You really do love each other!"

Aurora's hand dropped to her side immediately. Nothing like having your daughter catch you having a private and intimate moment to undermine your authority. "Yeah, yeah. Just eat your pizza, missy."

The three of them sat around the table and stared for a moment. It was a typical family scene and they all knew they weren't exactly a typical family.

Sirius shook his head. "This will take a little getting used to. I haven't eaten at a dinner table since I went to Azkaban."

"How did you get out?" Taylor asked as she reached for a slice of pizza.

"Don't ask so many questions. There are some things you're not meant to know." Aurora grabbed herself a piece and began to pick the olives off.

"You still do that?" Sirius watched her, mildly surprised.

"Still can't stand olives," she confirmed.

"She always picks stuff out of her food," Taylor sighed wearily.

"I used to think it was the cutest thing. Watching her eat dinner at school was quite a treat for me," Sirius smiled fondly.

"What was it like at Hogwarts?"

"I had the best time of my life in that place," Aurora's eyes stared to glaze over at the memories.

"I wish I could go."

"Maybe you will someday," Sirius said through a mouth full of pizza.

They ate in thoughtful silence. Aurora and Sirius were remembering their years at the school and Taylor was imagining what it would be like if she went there.

The pizza went fairly quickly and Aurora cleared the box away while Taylor and Sirius went into the lounge. They sat on the lumpy blue sofa and Sirius looked around.

"Interesting carpet colour," he peered at the greenish-brown floor.

"It was originally white," Aurora said as she joined them.

"Oh," he mumbled awkwardly.

"Don't walk on it barefoot," Taylor advised him.

"The rug kinda helps brighten it up though."

Sirius glanced at the red and gold rug in the middle of the room a little closer and recognised it with a jolt. "I remember that! James and Lily gave it to us as a house warming gift!"

"Yeah, I couldn't bare to part with it."

"That's reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you what happened to Betsy? Did she go to a good home?" Sirius looked over the top of Taylor's head to address Aurora.

"Betsy? Who's she?" the girl demanded.

"His flying motorcycle. Betsy didn't go anywhere, Siri, Hagrid brought her back to me and I put her in storage. She's still there."

"Hang on! You had a flying motorcycle named Betsy?!"

He ignored her. "Aurora! You obviously needed the money! Why didn't you sell her?"

"She wasn't mine to sell. Plus, I didn't want to let go…it was the last thing I had to remind me of you. Apart from your clothes of course."

"You kept my clothes as well?"

"They're in a box in my wardrobe. I haven't touched them for a year or so. For a couple of months after you left I wore your shirts everywhere. Partly because most of mine didn't get over my belly anymore but mostly because they still smelt like you. They were a comfort through the pregnancy," Aurora managed to finish before her throat constricted.

Taylor looked at her hands. She'd never contemplated what her mother had gone through. Aurora had told her that her father had left when he found out she was pregnant. Now she knew the truth about her parents she shared their pain.

"I'm sorry, mum," she rested her head on her mother's shoulder.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, darling. If you hadn't come along I would have given up long ago."

My beautiful girls, Sirius smiled at them. "How about we change the subject to something a little more upbeat?"

"Good idea," Aurora sighed gratefully.

"When did you fall in love with mum?" Taylor asked after a moments thought.

Sirius frowned. He'd never pin pointed the moment. "I don't know about love but from the moment I saw her I knew I had to have her."

"The moment you saw me? So that would have been in the middle of Platform 9 3/4 when you unceremoniously landed on top of me," Aurora raised an amused eyebrow as she vividly recalled their first meeting.

"Landed on top of her?" their intrigued daughter questioned.

"Rory was tying her shoe lace, if I remember rightly, when James pushed me for no particular reason. I ran right into your mother and ended up sitting on her."

"What did you do, mum?"

"I got very angry and made some threats as he ran off giggling with James. He became my enemy from that day."

"It was quite the opposite with me," Sirius added. "I was obsessed with her. To my utmost frustration she ignored me most of the time. On the advice of my friends I attempted to get her attention one night at dinner."

"Oh yes, I remember that," Aurora's eyes narrowed at Sirius tried to appear innocent.

"What happened?" Taylor asked urgently.

"He threw chocolate pudding at me. Got me square in the face too."

She gasped. "That's awful!"

"It got her attention," he shrugged. "And it started one of the biggest food fights ever to grace Hogwarts."

"I have to admit I did have fun, Sirius. You still could have impressed me in a much cleaner and civilised way."

"Like that time in the Astronomy Tower?"

"That wasn't clean or civilised either," she pointed out.

Taylor cleared her throat loudly. "I'm still in the room!"

They both chuckled. "Sorry, honey."

"Just don't do it ever again. Tell me more about Hogwarts, please."

Sirius and Aurora were happy to oblige.

_______________________________________________________________________________

A/N: I'd hoped that chapter would be more exciting than the last but things don't always go to plan. As I feel this story isn't really going anywhere there will only be one more chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Your comments are greatly appreciated.