Remus heard the front door open and his heart leapt. Sirius would be absolutely thrilled to see their old friend and Kira was another link to Lily and James for Harry. He rose and met them in the hallway where Sirius was in the process of changing from Snuffles, the big black dog, to his own shaggy self. "Damn fleas," he muttered, brushing himself off.

"Sirius." Remus was eager to tell him who was under the same roof as them and he urged Sirius along until they were alone in the sitting room. "Guess who's upstairs."

"Santa?" Sirius' eyes lit up with a child's delight. "Oh boy! Can I sit on his lap?" His face changed and he gave Remus a withering look. "We're older now, Remus; the 'guess what' game isn't fun anymore."

"Fine," Remus said, raising his hands. "I guess you don't want to know that Kira Garrett is upstairs..."

Sirius paused in the doorway and turned slowly. "Kira?" he asked. "What's she doing here?"

Remus breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. You don't know any more than I do."

Sirius gave him a sharp look. "What are you talking about?"

Remus launched into the story about Kira joining the Order and watched as Sirius' face grew darker. It was obvious he was remembering when Kira and Remus first began dating in fifth year and how Remus became so involved with Kira he began drifting from his friends. Always having been close, Sirius grew angrier by the day, convinced that Kira was stealing his best friend away. It wasn't until the end of sixth year that Sirius finally grew to accept Kira as part of the gang and not just Lily's intruding friend.

"She's got to meet Harry," Sirius said, moving towards the door. "Harry, come here!"

"No," Remus spoke up. "Well, not yet. She's going to need time to adapt to the fact that Harry looks so much like his father."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yes, but it's also a shock; remember how we first felt?"

Sirius' eyes grew dark. "Of course I remember; how could I forget? It was as if James had risen from the grave."

"What?" Harry had appeared in the doorway and was looking rather ragged from their trip to Diagon Alley. "You called me?"

Sirius put a hand on his godson's shoulder and stared at him for the briefest of seconds. "Get ready for dinner," he finally said. Harry gave him a funny look but hurried off anyway. "They'll meet at the right time," he said, brushing the subject away like a pesky fly.

Molly had cooked quite the feast for supper and pretty soon everyone was sitting down, inhaling the great scents; everyone except for Kira and Hermione. Kira would be sharing a room with Hermione for the time being while Ginny shared with Tonks and Remus was certain Hermione was bombarding Kira with a million and one questions. When he heard their footsteps on the staircase, he noticed that every pair of eyes swiveled towards the doorway along with his. "This is such an incredible house," Kira said, entering the kitchen. She paused when she saw Sirius seated at the head of the table. "And it figures it would be yours," she finished before breaking into a huge smile.

All ill feelings were forgotten as Sirius rose and rushed to swing Kira around in his arms. "You look good," he told her when he had set her down.

"Thanks," she said. "You look...interesting."

He laughed. "You're not the first to say so."

Kira's eyes traveled the table until they came to rest on Harry's puzzled face. She looked as though she were going to cry for a moment before snapping her fingers and grinning. "No mistake," she said, going over to him. "None, whatsoever." Harry rose to eye-level with her and she held him close to her for several moments. "You definitely look like your father," she said when they broke apart.

"Except for my eyes," Harry quoted. "I have my mother's eyes."

Kira laughed aloud. "Yes, you have your mother's eyes," she repeated softly, gazing at him in soft wonder.

Dinner was exquisite, as usual, and it ended all too soon. Kira was entertaining the table with stories of their years at Hogwarts, only to be interrupted by Sirius' loud barks of laughter. "That was the greatest!" he cheered all through the meal. By the end, hardly Remus, Sirius or Kira had touched their food. It seemed like old times again, sitting around laughing, with the exception of the absence of Lily, James and Peter. It wasn't lost on any of them.

Remus debated throughout most of the night if he should talk to Kira about the feelings he was still experiencing for her. It wouldn't be easy living under the same roof as her, day in and day out, knowing that his heart truly belonged with her and not being able to express it in the necessary ways. He watched as Sirius and Kira took a seat together in the sitting room after helping Molly clear the table and listened to their jumping conversation.

"Remember when McGonagall caught us..."

"And when Hagrid found that..."

"And when Lily decided to..."

"And James was so mad..."

It went on well into the night, even after the rest of the household gang had gathered in the sitting room with them. Harry sat, entranced, listening to tidbits of the half-spoken sentences that were arising about his parents while Molly and Arthur reminisced about the last time they had seen Kira. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, and Tonks were laughing hysterically at Sirius' one story about James sneaking out of the Gryffindor tower through the highest window and getting snagged on a ledge. The only one that remained silent was Remus, his mind full of heavy thoughts and slight doubts.

"Well, I'm off," Kira said shortly before midnight. She rose from the sofa and stretched, her arms pointing towards the ceiling. "I'll keep an eye out for Kreacher," she said rather loudly, winking at Sirius. The small, shadowy figure lurking in the doorway vanished quickly. "Goodnight, all."

This was his chance. He watched her walk to the staircase and tried to make his legs move to follow her. He couldn't do it. They wouldn't budge. At first he thought someone had put a binding curse on him but the realization soon set in that it was old-fashioned nerves. Suddenly he felt like an awkward thirteen-year old boy getting up his nerve to ask out the girl he's liked for so long. He waited and waited and waited until all the others had left for the night and he was sitting in the dark, kicking himself for being so procrastinating.