Chapter 2

One year later...

Holding a heavy yellow envelope in his hands, Sirius walked into the empty Gryffindor common room, and sat in an armchair by the fire, brooding. He looked down at the envelope's return address: "Fleur de Paris, New York City, America". Anyone in the wizarding world would recognize the name immediately, because it was the most famous robe company in the world. What did they want with Regina? He tried to calm himself down. Perhaps this was an invoice for her graduation robes, or some party her parents were throwing. It couldn't be what he was thinking. Five minutes later, she walked in.

"This came for you," he said, tossing the envelope at her. She opened it immediately, and started screaming and jumping up and down.

"Oh, my gosh! I can't believe it! I'm so happy I could kiss you." She planted a huge kiss on a completely stunned Sirius.

"Wh-what is it?" he stammered.

"I'm finally leaving this place. New York," she said, hugging herself. "Oh, just the sound of it is heaven."

His heart sank through the floor. "Why would you go to New York?"

"Fleur de Paris accepted my application for an apprenticeship. I knew it was a longshot, but I applied anyway. Me, a clothing designer."

"Congratulations."

"Aren't you happy for me?" She looked at him through wounded eyes.

He managed a smile. "Of course I am. It's just going to be different without your sorry tail around here, that's all."

"Come with me, then."

"What?"

"We can escape together. No more boring parties, or people being nice to us just because we're rich. Hey, you'll be an ocean away from your father and his incessant nagging for you to work for Gringotts."

She knew the right buttons to push, not that he needed convincing anyway. "Ok, I'll need to transfer to the Office of Magical Affairs in America, though."

"Yes, you fancy yourself a hero, chasing after the bad guys, don't you?" she teased.

"Nah, just took the first job offer I got, that's all," he said, winking at her. "Even being an Auror's better than working at the bank. Since I can't be a professional Quiddich player like some people, I had to find something respectable to do with my time."

"Speaking of our Quiddich superstar, here he comes."

"What are you laughing at?" James asked them.

"Nothing. Guess what? I'm going to New York!" Regina screeched.

Her twin frowned. "Congratulations."

"You're a stick in the mud, James Potter," she said, eyes narrowing.

"I just don't think that it's right to run away from your problems, that's all."

"Who's running away?"

"You. Instead of coming to terms with our duty-bound existence, you'd rather run halfway around the world."

"Forget duty," she spat. "I'm tired of eating duty for breakfast and responsibility for tea. And I'm not running. I'm reinventing myself." With that, she turned, and stomped up the stairs.

~~~~~


James quickly looked in both directions before boarding the Hogwarts Express. Although graduation was in less than a month, and he could already disapperate, he didn't want to risk losing his spot on England's Quiddich National Team, especially since this was a World Cup year. With any luck, he would get some playing time. If he was caught practicing magic before he was authorized to, he would be booted off the team faster than he could say "chaser".

And going to see Petunia certainly wasn't worth it. The only reason he was going to Dover was for Lily. For some reason, she had a soft spot for her retarded sister Isabelle, and wanted custody of the child. But, Petunia wouldn't even consider handing her youngest sister over to one of "those people".

Until Regina dropped the bombshell that she was permanently moving to America, he didn't realize how much his own sister meant to him. From the minute he was born, she was always there; he couldn't imagine a life without her being around. He had taken it for granted that things would stay the same after graduation, that they would move around a bit, but still always be together. The reality that life just didn't work that way stung him.

It was a double blow when Sirius decided to go to New York with her. Although he wished that his best friend wasn't going to another continent, he could understand Sirius' actions. He practically raised himself; if it wasn't for Regina and himself, he would've spent his childhood completely alone. His tyrant of a father was never around, and when he was, he never had anything positive to say about his son. If their places were switched, James would move as far as possible away from him, too.

He looked at the changing scenery through the train window and planned his strategy with Petunia. It would never do to appeal to her emotions, because as far as he could see, she didn't care one bit for Isabelle. The girl was a liability to her, an embarrassment, a blight on her new marriage. In fact, she planned to have Isabelle committed to an asylum for autistic children.

The train stopped in London, and James quickly made the connecting train to Dover, checking his watch. No one, especially Lily, knew of his plans, and he intended to keep it that way. So, the quicker he could cross the country and back, the better. Fortunately, the train pulled into the station fifteen minutes early. He jumped out, and rented a car, thankful that he learned to drive a car last summer while on holiday at Nice. Soon, the now familiar house pulled into view. He parked the rental car, and knocked on the door.

A pair of green eyes peered around the window beside the door. They were Lily's eyes, but yet so distant, emotionless. The eyes disappeared, and the door cracked.

"Come in," a little voice said slowly, laboring over the words.

"Thank you very much," he replied. It was the first time that he had ever heard Isabelle speak. "Can I speak to your sister Petunia, please?"

She tilted her head to one side, blinking furiously. Biting her lip, she turned around, and disappeared into the kitchen. After a minute, she reappeared, dragging Petunia into the living room.

"What do you want?" Petunia said suspiciously.

"First, to congratulate you on your marriage. I'm sure it was a lovely ceremony," he said smoothly, emphasizing the fact that Lily was not invited, supposedly because she needed to study for exams.

"It was, thank you." Her eyes narrowed. What was his agenda?

He didn't keep her waiting long. "Yes, I heard about your plans concerning this little one. Of course, sending her away to an asylum right after you get married is a mere coincidence, isn't it?"

"Of course. Her condition is quite severe."

"I'm sure. Look, I'm not here to play games with you. Lily wants custody of Isabelle, and I'm here to negotiate a reasonable agreement to make that happen."

"I will never let Lily expose her to your kind."

"I see. Have you heard of Stephen Potter?" If she wanted to play hardball, so be it, James thought.

"The financier?"

"Yes. He is my father. Oh, surprised that 'our kind' can be wealthy and successful? And able to mingle with 'your kind'?" He crossed his arms. "I plan to marry Lily, and would do anything for her. She wants Isabelle, and if that's what she wants, I would move heaven and earth to make sure that she got her. So, you have two options. One, you can get in a custody fight with Lily. Then, I will hire the best Muggle attorney possible, a hundred of them, if necessary. And my pockets are deep, I can assure you."

"Or?"

"Or, you could willingly give custody to Lily, and we can come to an understanding concerning the terms. This is a no-lose situation for you, Petunia. We both know that you don't want the child. You get rid of her and gain some compensation for your past year and a half of trouble."

She appeared to be considering his offer. "What are your terms?"

"A million pounds for the custody issue, and your silence."

"How do I know that you're being honest?"

He took a huge stack of bills out of his pocket. "Five hundred thousand pounds down, the rest when Lily gets the custody order. And, I want it delivered by the end of school via owl post."

"Your terms are acceptable," she said formally, grabbing the money out of James' hand.

"Good doing business with you. Have a good night," he said, walking out of the house. He felt absolutely nauseated thinking about how easily Petunia sold her sister away.

Three days later, an official-looking envelope dropped into Lily's lap at breakfast. She opened it, and gave an exclaimed yelp of surprise.

"What is it, Lil?" Gina asked.

"It's Petunia. She actually gave me custody of Isabelle. I can't believe it!" she exclaimed.

The next day, half a million pounds sterling was transferred from James Potter's trust fund into the Dursley's bank account. The look on Lily's face made it all worth it to him.

~~~~~


"We're finally free!" Gina screamed, riding through Hogsmeade on Remus' shoulders. He laughed, and put her down on the train platform. She struck a pose, imitating Scarlett O'Hara. "And, as God as my witness, I will never study again."

"No more Muggle movies for you," he said.

She swung her suitcase around her in a circle. "Oh, Remus. We'll never have to go to that drafty old castle in the middle of nowhere again."

"I'll kind of miss it," he said nostalgically.

"Not me. Where is my brother?" She looked up and down the platform for James.

"Maybe he's running late. Head boy stuff."

She rolled her eyes. "Absolutely disgraceful, my own brother and best friend making head boy and girl. They'll probably have some wizarding prodigy that will continue the tradition of shame."

"Maybe you will," he said, trying to get her riled up. It worked.

"For starters, Remus, I don't plan on getting attached to a man long enough to even consider having a child with him. You know that. It's all about my art. And, if by some miracle I bring some spawn into this world, the child would not dishonor its poor mother that way." She was interrupted by a spitball hitting her in the cheek.

"Are you coming, or what?" came a voice from an open window of the train.

"Sirius Black, I am going to kill you."

She ran up the stairs, dropping her suitcase, tossing hexes at him as she went. Remus picked up her suitcase, and followed her onto the train. Guessing that the compartment with the funny red colors coming out of it was theirs, he walked down the car until he reached his friends. Sirius' hair had a stripe in the middle of it like a skunk, his eyebrows were pink, and his clothing was replaced with a clown suit. James was rolling on the floor laughing, and Lily was sitting in the corner reading a book, oblivious to the pandemonium going on around her.

"Love the look," Remus said to a very sour-looking Sirius, who was threatening Gina with his wand.

"Fix me now, or I swear--"

"You swear what?" she said in mock fear. He made her front teeth grow about an inch, knowing that would really irritate her. She hated her teeth.

"You prat!" she screamed, tackling him on the floor. The train began to move right when they hit the ground, so they rolled out into the hallway right in the pathway of Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape.

"Excuse me, please," he said snidely. "Some people obviously haven't got enough class to behave properly. But, it's not like you had a mother to teach you any better, huh, Black?"

Sirius lunged at Malfoy, but Gina held him back as they passed. "He's not worth it. Anyway, we won't have to worry about him anymore in about a month."

That seemed to calm him somewhat, but he punched the doorway as he walked back into the compartment, rattling the entire car. He stormed into a corner, and stared out of the window. Everyone had the good sense to leave him alone when he was angry. Even Gina, who had always comforted him, ever since they were children, let him sit and brood. She flopped down next to Lily.

"Girl, we just graduated and your nose is already in a book?" she teased.

Lily held up the title. How to Raise an Autistic Child. "Just trying to figure my sister out, that's all."

"That's an awful lot of responsibility, Lil. You know you can always pop over to my side of the ocean if you need a break."

"Planning on it. Can't let you have all the fun."

"What are you doing with the Ministry, exactly?"

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," Lily joked. "There are rumors that a Dark wizard is gaining power in England. I'm supposed to monitor communications between people suspected to be in league with him in a closet in the basement of the Institute to Preserve Muggle Artifacts."

Gina wrinkled her nose. "Fascinating."

She pulled out a copy of Wuthering Heights, and didn't realize that they had reached London until Remus pinched her book shut. They made their way to Dover, and to the Evans' home. Lily looked around when she reached the front door and realized that Petunia wasn't there. She had left Isabelle alone all day, probably. The little girl was probably scared and confused. Practically hysterical, she threw open the front door.

"Isabelle! Isabelle, where are you? Isabelle!" she screamed.

"Petunia left her, didn't she?" James said angrily. Perhaps he should have included staying with the child until Lily arrived part of their settlement agreement. He assumed that was common sense, but apparently Petunia was sorely lacking in that department.

"I'll kill her! I'll kill her!" Lily shouted in a rage.

"Calm down. We'll split up, and look for her," Remus said helpfully.

Everyone scattered in a different direction, looking for the little girl. Sirius headed towards the white cliffs, mostly because he was still fuming and wanted to walk off his anger. He stormed the rugged terrain for nearly two hours before finally deciding to head back to the house. Walking along the sea, he spotted something that looked out of place. He squinted his eyes, and saw an entrance to what looked to be a cave of some sort. When he got to the cave, a pair of wild green eyes stared at him. He had no idea how to approach an autistic child, so he sat down slowly in the doorway.

"Beautiful view, isn't it?" He figured that she wouldn't understand him, but maybe she would recognize that his voice was friendly, at least.

Her eyes focused on his own, and seemed to stare straight through him. It was eerie. "It's prettier at sunset. The waves are positively nonexistent this time of day. So go away, and leave me alone," she snapped.

Wait a minute here, Sirius thought. Retarded children don't string sentences together like that, especially in Gaelic. But, retarded or no, she was scared of him, so he needed to think of something to calm her down.

"Would you like to see a trick?" he asked in Gaelic, taking a deck of cards out of his pocket. Not waiting for a reply, he shuffled the deck. As he was about to finish, the entire deck of cards exploded in his face into little pieces. Isabelle giggled as the pieces reassembled themselves, and shuffled back together perfectly.

"Do it again?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied, as the pack exploded again. "Want to see something else?"

"Like what?" Isabelle inquired curiously.

"Like this." All of a sudden, bubbles of all different sizes and colors filled the fort. The bubbles suddenly sprouted, tiny, perfect gold wings and flew out the entrance over the water.

"Wow." Her eyes were as large as saucers.

He didn't know what else was going on with her, but it was clear to him that she could speak at least minimal Gaelic. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Sirius. Sirius Black," and he put out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Sirius Black," she said as she shook his hand. "I'm Isabelle Rose Evans, and no one wants me," she whispered softly.

"Now, why would you say that?" Sirius asked, his head cocked to one side.

"Because, my sister Petunia left yesterday, and when my sister Lily came, she walked in and shouted that she was going to kill me," Isabelle began to cry.

"Hey, come here," Sirius said. Isabelle flew into his arms, and cried on his shoulder. "Lily didn't want to kill you. She wanted to find you because she was worried about you. She wanted to kill Petunia for leaving you alone all night and all day."

He was so angry that he could barely see straight. This girl was anything but autistic or retarded. And, she was absolutely starving for affection. She looked up at him through teary eyes, and at that moment, stole his heart. What hell had she been through in the past two years? Misunderstood, unable to communicate with anyone. He had a theory about what had happened, and a couple of quick questions confirmed his suspicions. After a half hour, he convinced her to come to the house for dinner.

Lily met them at the door, and Sirius walked in first, carrying Isabelle, mostly to make sure that she didn't run off again. She was a quick little girl, and very people shy, as evidenced by her burying her head in his shoulder upon seeing other people in the kitchen.

"It's ok. They're not going to hurt you," he reassured her. She gave him a very skeptical look, but hopped down and sat at the table.

"What's going on, here?" Lily asked, confused.

"What's going on is that your sister is not retarded. In fact, she's very bright, from what I can see. Watch this." He turned to Isabelle. "When did Petunia leave you?"

"Yesterday evening, around six o'clock after tea."

Everyone started at her in awe. "Yes, she speaks. Apparently she learned to speak Gaelic from your mother and her nanny, who didn't bother to teach her English," Sirius told them. "She can understand some English, though."

"Pardon me, but can you tell my sister hello for me?" Isabelle asked politely.

"What did she say?" Lily asked, eyes round as saucers.

"To tell you hello."

She looked at her little sister, who grinned and waved. Lily burst into tears, and wrapped her arms around a confused, but happy Isabelle. For the first time since her mother died, she felt like someone really cared about her. It was the happiest day of her life.

"Speaking of tea, have you eaten anything today?" Sirius asked her.

"No, Petunia left some porridge and sausages, but I hate porridge. And I'm allergic to pork, and that's all she cooks. If she ever bothered to look at my medical chart at the doctor's office, she'd figure that out." She rolled her eyes in disgust.

"No wonder you're a string bean. How about some of these?" He pulled some chocolate frogs out of his pocket. Isabelle grabbed them eagerly, watching them hop around the table before catching and eating them. After that, she grabbed Sirius' hand and led him on a very animated tour of the house.

"It sounds like she's speaking gibberish. Very fast gibberish," Remus said, shaking his head as they walked back into the kitchen.

"I can imagine that's what we sound like to her," James replied, wondering how much of his conversation with Petunia she understood. As if reading his mind, Isabelle turned to him and gave him a knowing smile before heading upstairs for bed.

~~~~~


Isabelle sat quietly on the wide staircase, watching the other people with the funny names talking downstairs in the kitchen. The tall, skinny one with the dark hair was shoveling food in his mouth with one hand, and doing something with a long stick with his other hand. Her sister's hair suddenly turned purple. And started glowing.

"What's going on, string bean?" Sirius asked her, yawning, pausing on his way to breakfast. Wide-eyed, she pointed downstairs. "Oh, that."

"How did he do that?" she whispered.

"Magic. See, we're witches and wizards, which means that we have the gift of casting spells on stuff, or people."

"Oh. Is that why Petunia hates you?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess so. People who can't do magic, like her, we call Muggles."

"Am I a Muggle?"

"I have no idea. Want to find out?"

"Sure," she said, excited.

He took out his wand, and gave it to her. "This is a wand. We use wands to cast spells."

She carefully held it in her left hand, thinking. Once, Lily accidentally left a book of interesting words at home when she went back to school from a holiday. Maybe those were spells. It was worth a shot, anyway. She pointed the wand at the skinny guy. "Petrificus totalus," she said. James immediately froze. Isabelle was amazed; she had no idea what those words meant.

"That's what he gets for turning my sister's hair purple," she said triumphantly.

Sirius was laughing so hard that he could hardly see straight. "Where did you learn that?"

"I read it in a book," she replied.

By this time, Remus had counteracted the spell, and everyone at the table was involved in a heated argument trying to figure out who cast the spell.

"Whoever did that had better own up to it quick, or suffer the consequences. No one comes between me and my breakfast," James said, forming various methods of revenge in his mind.

"You should be ashamed, threatening an eight-year-old girl," Sirius countered, highly amused at the looks on everyone's face.

"You mean--" Lily stammered.

"I mean that your sister just avenged your purple hair. It seems that Petunia was wrong yet again." He turned to Isabelle. "You're not only a witch, but a very strong one. Remind me not to get on the wrong side of your temper."

"Well, purple clashes with her outfit. He should have picked blue," she said matter-of-factly.

"You are the strangest little girl I have ever met."

"Thank you. Petunia is normal, and I don't want to be like her."

"I don't blame you. Are you ready for breakfast?"

"I guess," she said, tromping down the stairs and sitting at the end of the table. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her fork with her right hand and started eating. After about thirty seconds, she accidentally bumped her glass, and sent orange juice everywhere. Two minutes later, egg flew across the room. By this time, she was on the verge of tears.

"Uh, Lily? Does Isabelle not know how to eat, or is she the most uncoordinated person on planet earth?" Gina asked quietly.

"Sirius? Can you find out what's going on?" Lily whispered, frustrated that she couldn't communicate with her.

He looked at her for a minute, and something clicked in his mind. "Isabelle, why are you eating with your right hand?"

"Because I'm supposed to eat with my right hand. I'm trying to be good, I promise. I'm getting better, really."

"Did Petunia tell you that?" he said, trying not to let his rising anger show.

"Yes."

"I see. Will you try eating with your left hand for me? You won't get in any trouble," he added, at the skeptical look on her face. She switched her fork to her left hand, and began eating peacefully. "Is it easier for you to eat now?"

"Yes," she admitted quietly, waiting to be yelled at.

"That's because you're left-handed," he told her. "Lots of people are. See, Gina over there is left-handed, and there's nothing wrong with her."

"Really?"

"Really."

"What's going on?" Lily asked, somewhat impatiently.

"What's going on is that your sister is bloody left-handed!" Sirius let out a string of curses that left everyone wide-eyed in utter shock. "Isabelle is not autistic. She is not retarded. Or a Muggle. Or uncoordinated. Or unaffectionate. Petunia, that--" he began swearing again, "should not be put in charge of a flubberworm, let alone a child!" He looked Isabelle squarely in the eyes. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at Petunia, because she was mean to you. She's the meanest person that I have ever met, and everything she told us about you was wrong. I'm sorry that we didn't know what was going on here, but I promise that no one will ever treat you that way again. I need to go outside for a minute because I'm very, very angry. Will you be okay for a little while?" She nodded.

Sirius stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door so hard that every window pane in the back of the house shook. Gina quickly stood up, and followed him outside. Everyone else looked around nervously, not knowing what to say. And Isabelle continued eating her breakfast with her left hand, because her new hero said that she could. In less than twenty-four hours, he completely changed her world, and she already adored him.

~~~~~


Gina found Sirius leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, staring at the sea. His eyes matched the sea, she noticed, grey and angry.

"You see yourself in her, don't you?"

"Yes."

"I've lost you, haven't I?" It was a statement, not a question.

He looked at her through pained eyes. More than anything in his entire life, he wanted to go to New York with her, partially to get away from his own problems, and partially in the hope that she would fall in love with him. But, in that kitchen was a little girl who had been abandoned by anyone she had ever cared about. Regina was right –– he understood how Isabelle felt. How could he abandon her, too?

"I'm sorry. She needs me."

"I know, and I understand. Really, I do. She's one lucky child to have you in her life. You'll visit me, right?" she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Count on it," he said. "Can you give me a minute? I just need to think."

"Sure." She walked back into the house.

Sirius felt like his heart was slowly being crushed. The only woman he had ever loved was leaving him to follow her dreams an ocean away. Sure, he had plenty of random flings, but no one even remotely compared to Regina Potter. How could he just let her get away like that? I can't, he decided. I'll just tell Lily to hire a tutor to teach Isabelle English. After all, she wasn't his responsibility, or his problem. That would leave him free to go to New York as planned. He felt much better.

"Excuse me?" came a tiny voice to his right.

"Yes?"

"You forgot your wand," Isabelle said, holding it out in front of her.

"Oh. Thank you," he replied, taking it out of her hand. Sirius looked into her innocent, trusting eyes and lost all of his resolve. New York would simply have to wait.

~~~~~

Thanks for the review, Lux Aeterna! *grins*

As usual, all feedback welcome...