Hi! Sorry for the wait! It's incredibly frustrating writing this at the moment, because my head is so full of Hermione/Sirius, I had half a mind to get Sirius and Hermione together, but I won't because you will all get pissed at me if I do. Gotta say though, Hermione/Sirius rules!

Anyway, thanks as always goes out to my wonderful reviewers! You're comments are always greatly appreciated!

Tavy: Hey Tavy, I hope you're having a great holiday too, I am! I totally appreciate you're comments. Faith could have been a bit more surprised, you're totally right there, but she's grown up at bit more, and I think she's a bit more calm and collected (not too much though!). As for Darla, you'll have to wait and see. :P I'm glad you're liking this!

As for all of those who want Buffy back, I gotta say that it will be soon I promise. But a few things have a happen first until then. And hopefully, this story shall be finished soon after Buffy gets back, so I hopefully won't be exceeding sixty chapters.

Chapter 43. Old Acquaintances

Harry quietly entered the suite, looking around for his godfather. He didn't have to look far, because Sirius sat in the armchair, his head bent, his black hair falling about his face.

It pained Harry to see him like that, and he knew why he was like that. Because he felt it too. Guilt. "Sirius?" He whispered, and Sirius looked up slowly. He turned his head and smiled weakly as he saw his godson.

"Hello Harry. Sit down." Sirius said, and Harry did, opposite his godfather. "What's up?" He asked, trying to sound chirpy, but it did not work. Nothing could mask the sadness in his voice.

"I just came to see how you were." Harry said quietly, and Sirius smiled.

"I'm the one that's supposed to be looking after you, Harry."

"I don't need anyone to look after me, Sirius. I'm doing fine on my own." Harry replied quietly. "I'm just worried about you, that's all."

"Don't." Was Sirius' soft answer.

"The guilt's eating away at you, isn't it? Because the last conversation you had with her was full of hate. You wish that you could turn back time, and tell her that you loved her, that you were thankful for what she gave you. But she'll never know how much she meant to you, because the last words that came from your mouth were filled with hate, and anger. You feel that way, and I feel that way. The last thing I told her was that I hated her." Sirius' eyes locked with Harry's, and Harry shifted under his gaze. He continued, he could not stop himself. "I hated her for taking you away from me, I hated the fact that she never came to England before all of this. And I told her so. But she still died for me. And I feel so guilty that I never told her how much she really meant to me. Deep down, she really meant something to me, and I never told her."

Sirius was quiet, taking everything that Harry had said in. It was at this moment that Harry realized how alone Sirius was. He had known it before, but it had never sunken in like this had. Sirius had lost almost all of his friends, and the girl he loved. Only one person-Lupin-was alive to remind him of happier times, all the rest were dead, or as good as. Harry felt even worse, for he could see the grief Sirius suffered, it was written on his face. His eyes were black and dead, his lips think and his expression was blank.

Sirius stood up and walked over to the bookshelf. His eyes ran over the titles, and he selected one after a few moments deliberation. He walked swiftly back to Harry, and handed him the book. "Here. Read it. Buffy liked it." He said, and Harry's eyebrow's furrowed. He opened the book and read the first page. "She pestered me about that book for weeks." He said, sitting back down.

"I didn't think she was the reading type." Harry admitted.

Sirius smiled and shrugged. "Well, she surprised us all." He paused, reflecting on what he just said, and then a moment later he continued normally. "She said it was really good, and I should read it. Why don't you read it first, so I can get a second opinion?" He volunteered and picked the newspaper from the table. Harry nodded, and started to read.

Hours later, Harry left the suite, having read a large portion already, and liking it. Sirius had read the paper, and they had sat in silence for many hours. There was a huge weight off Harry's chest that had been lugging him down for a month now. He felt much better.

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Angel took a step closer to the blond girl, who looked so much like his Darla. She was Darla. Everything about her screamed it, except for one major difference.

"You're human." Angel said in disbelief.

Darla smiled and nodded. She took a step closer to Angel. "You don't miss a thing do you?"

"What happened to you? I thought you were dead. I killed you." Angel said quickly, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"I was dead, but I was brought back. Human." Darla replied.

Angel knew what it was like to have delivered unexplainable torment for many years and then suddenly, to have a conscience and to know what he had done. To know how many people he killed, how many families he ripped apart, how much suffering he inflicted on humans. Those crimes lived with him every second, of every hour, of every day, and they haunted him. Angelus had been evil, for a century, but Darla was older, and had inflicted violence and suffering for many centuries. Angel could not imagine how Darla was feeling at this moment, with a soul, a conscience eating away at her memories.

"How?" He whispered.

"I don't know…I just woke up one day and realized I was alive." She replied, leaving out the truth. Leaving out the information that could have been useful to Angel. Darla had been brought back with powerful magic…Voldemort.

"How long?" Angel asked, and Darla shrugged.

"A couple of months." She said, stepping closer to him. She lifted her hand and touched his cheek, then his forehead. "You're still a vampire." She said, as a statement, stroking his forehead.

"That never changes."

"Help me." She whispered.

Angel frowned, "help you? With what?"

Darla touched his heart, his un-beating heart. "I want this." She said, pleaded. "I want to be like you. I want to be a vampire again."

Angel stared at her in shock. He grasped her wrists, and forced Darla to look at him. "What?" He hissed. "Why?"

"Don't you remember Angel? All our times together? We could do that again, if you just make me a vampire." She said, licking her lips seductively. She stepped closer to Angel again, but he held her at arms length, his grip on her wrists tightening. "You're hurting me. I like it." Angel gazed at her curiously, and Darla smirked. "What's wrong Angel boy?"

"You're human. Yet, you're not who I thought you would be."

Darla laughed evilly. "What? You expect me to be like you? Mope around for a hundred plus years, turn to the good side? Fight evil?" She threw her head back and laughed. When she recovered, she looked Angel in the eye. "Angel, sweetie, it's me. And I remember everything Angel. Everything we did and everything we can do."

Angel smiled, and let go of Darla. "Yeah. But the bitch is, you have a soul now. Pretty soon those memories are gonna start eating away at you. The memories of us, of what we did. No matter how hard you try - you won't be able to escape the truth of what you were. Believe me, I know. All that moping around I did, you're gonna be like that too."

"You could change it all Angel." Darla said, clutching at Angel again. "We could be like we were, just let me give you a moment of happiness and-"

Angel laughed, cutting her off. "Darla, you could never give me that." Darla's eyes widened. "I never loved you Darla, so you could never give me happiness."

"What, so it was just that school girl that could?! That cheerleader!" She shrieked.

"'Fraid so."

"We were together for a hundred and fifty years, and you never even loved me?"

"I never had a soul Darla, I couldn't love you." Angel replied, watching Darla as she drove herself into a fit of rage.

"We knew each other though. We did everything together. I did so much for you, now just do one thing for me, please Angel." Darla pleaded, an evil glint in her eye.

"I'm not making you a vampire." Angel said sternly, and he turned on his heel and walked away from Darla.

She hurried on behind him, running to keep up. "Angel please, you don't understand." She hooked her arm with Angel, trying to make him stop.

"I think I understand pretty well, Darla. And no, I'm not gonna make you a vampire." He spat back, and shook her away. He walked on.

"Angel, don't walk away from me!" Darla screamed, standing still on the street. "Angel! Angel stop!" She sighed dejectedly, and said softly, "I'm dying."

Angel stopped in his tracks, and he turned to face Darla, a disbelievingly look on his face. "Say that again." He demanded quietly.

"Syphilitic heart condition. I had it when I was human, before the Master turned me. But now I'm human again, I still have it." The disbelievingly look hadn't faded from Angel's face, and Darla knew that Angel didn't believe her. "It's true, ok! I'm dying. I only have a couple of months left, so I need to become a vampire. I need you to sire me Angel. I need you to sire me so I can live." She said, crossing the distance to Angel, and taking his hand.

He looked down at his hand in hers, and then back up to Darla, still not convinced. With his free hand, he delved into his pocket and took out a something that was covered in white cloth. "You're dying." He repeated.

"Yes."

"I don't believe you. I don't think you're telling the truth, but I know someone who can tell." Angel unraveled the cloth with his free hand and threw up the glass cup in the air, dropping the cloth. "Hold on." He said, and he caught the glass. As soon as his fingers touched it, Darla and Angel disappeared from the street.

"You're sure?" Angel asked loudly, and Madam Pomfrey sighed.

"Yes, Mister Angel. I'm positive. She is dying." She said quietly, glancing at Darla who glared at them from her bed in the hospital wing.

"You're absolutely sure?"

"Yes, Mister Angel." Madam Pomfrey repeated. "I'm very sorry about your girlfriend, but-"

"She's not my girlfriend." Angel corrected gruffly. "Is there anything you can do? Can you help her?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed again. "I'm afraid not. If you had gotten her to us sooner, maybe I could help her, but her condition…it's bad."

"Can anyone else help her?" Angel asked concerned. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to help her, why he wanted Darla alive.

"I doubt it…no, I strongly think no one will help her. We have the resources, complicated procedures, to help her Angel, but…Darla is a vampire."

"She used to be a vampire." Angel growled. "She's human now."

"Still, she was a famous vampire, and I don't think hospitals will treat her. Besides, I don't think they have the time to deal with cases like hers, what with the rise of violence, wizards and witches dying every day, the attacks…the wizarding world has too much on their hands at the moment. We all do." Angel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Madam Pomfrey bustled over to the tray of potions and selected a purple bottle from the array of different colours. "Here. This will help her, prolong her death. Only for a few months though," She added, after seeing Angel's hopeful look on his face. "It is inevitable, Angel. She will die."

She left then, going into her office and leaving Angel and Darla alone. She sat on the edge of the pristine white bed, looking so angelic. Angel inwardly smiled; he knew that was not the case.

"It could be solved so easily Angel." She said softly. "If you just kill me-"

"No." Angel said firmly. "I'm not doing that."

"It would be easier, on all of us. And that's what I want. You can't deny me what I want."

"When I'll be the one killing you I can." Angel shot back, and Darla huffed.

"I won't stay here." Darla said defiantly. "You can't make me."

"You leave here and you'll get killed. And this time, you won't come back." Angel said, making to leave.

"What could kill me?" Darla said lightly.

"There's a war going on Darla, the safest place is here." Angel said, stopping by the door.

"With you to keep an eye on me to make sure I don't make some vampire sire me?"

"You're reading my mind, Darla." He said, leaving the room, slamming the door on the way out.

There you go, Harry and Sirius had their little heart to heart in a rugged manly way. Woo hoo! At least, I hope it was rugged and manly. Well darn it if it ain't.

Before I forget, happy birthday LilPsychoGrl51! For one of my first chapters of this story, in your review you said that you're birthday is on the 2nd of August, which is today! So happy birthday, and if you are still reading, thanks very much for sticking by! And if you're not, well, you're never gonna see this are you. So it would be pointless me writing this. I'll leave it in here just in case :P

I'm not gonna ask for reviews, but if you don't review, scary aliens from outer space will take over the world! scary, evil laugh And if you like scary aliens, than you are strange. And if you are one of those scary aliens…run away everyone else! Run away!