Translations: "Don't you get saucy with me, young lady!"

"Sorry, mother."

"Forgiven."

Chapter 9:

The phone rang throughout the entire apartment. Bianca nearly tripped after coming out of the shower, still tying her bathrobe close to her. "Hello?" she said into the receiver.

"Bianca, baby, how are you?"

"Hi, Ma, I'm fine."

"Your breathing doesn't sound normal. What's the matter?"

"I just ran from the shower to the phone. Give me some time to cool down." Bianca plopped down unceremoniously in a nearby chair. "So what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"Oh, just checking up on my darling daughter."

"Wow, Ma, are you sure you called the right number? I'm sure Maria…"

"Bianca, both my daughters are darling to me…even my daughter-in-law. Which reminds me, when I'm done talking with you, I have to pester your other brother about finding a wife and giving me some grandchildren."

"You have six between Tony and Maria alone!"

"And I have two more children who can give me even more!" Mrs. Jennings shot back. "But I didn't call to bother you about grandchildren."

"Really? Well that's a first," Bianca joked.

"Don't che ottenete saucy con me, signora giovane!"

"Spiacente, madre."

"Perdonato." Mrs. Jennings then switched from Italian back to English. "Anyway, I was calling about your boyfriend, Sirius."

"Yes?"

"Your father and I would love to meet him. How about dinner, tomorrow night?"

"I'll have to run it by him, but I'm pretty sure that will be fine. I'll call later with his answer. Bye, Ma," Bianca said, hanging up. A half hour later, she was dressed on her way to 12 Grimmauld Place.

"You look fine," Bianca told Sirius for the umpteenth time that night. She fixed his jacket slightly. "Stop being so nervous."

"Easy for you. I'm the one meeting your parents. What if they don't like me? What if they still think me some deranged murder who escaped out of Azkaban and is willing to kill them?" Sirius began fidgeting with his jacket again.

Bianca sighed. "They're going to love you. Besides, I met your mother. And she seems to be ten times—if not more—worse than my mother could possibly be!"

Sirius laughed and hugged Bianca close. "And just to warn you: she will bring up the subject of grandchildren. She wants them, even though I already have six nieces and nephews."

"Wait, how many people are going to be at this dinner?"

"Just my parents and my little brother Frankie. Why?"

"So I won't have to worry about six children?"

"No, my parents aren't that cruel. You'll probably meet Maria, Chris, Tony, Alison and all their assorted children later when we can let the kids loose to run around," Bianca said. "Now can I ring the bell?"

Sirius blushed as he realized they had been standing outside the Jennings' front door for about twenty minutes. What were the neighbors thinking about him? Bianca smiled and knocked on the door. Within minutes, Mrs. Jennings was bustling them inside the house.

Sirius made a deep impression on Giacinta Jennings right off when he thanked her and asked what was for dinner in Italian. She was absolutely beaming as she dragged her daughter into the kitchen to help with the final preparations. That left Sirius with Patrick and Frankie Jennings alone in the living room.

"Dinner's ready! Pat, what did you do to him?" Giacinta asked, walking out of the kitchen. Sirius stumbled past, looking a bit dazed.

Patrick merely shrugged as Bianca chided her father. They sat down and dinner proceeded in a somewhat quiet manner until Patrick spoke again. "So, Sirius, what is it that you do?"

"Um, right now, I'm just helping Albus Dumbledore with some important business," Sirius explained. "I want to try to get back into the Auror corps, but that might be a bit difficult."

"Such a shame, dear, that you were wrongly convicted all those years ago," Giacinta said. "More pasta?"

"Thank you."

Patrick leaned back in his chair. "How come you were convicted? Didn't they use verisatum on you?"

Sirius shook his head. "I was ordered straight away to Azkaban—no trial. I only escaped to help out Harry—Potter, he's my godson—since he was in trouble. Then they caught Peter Pettigrew, the rat who really did the crimes I was condemned for, and my name was cleared."

"You're the godfather of the Boy-Who-Lived?" Frankie asked, wide-eyed like a child at Christmas. "Merlin, that must be something. Bianca, do you know him?"

"Of course I know him. I'm dating his godfather—duh," Bianca retorted, rolling her eyes.

Sirius decided to end the sibling spat before it escalated into anything worse—especially after sharing a house with most of the Weasleys. "Mrs. Jennings, I must say, the food is marvelous. Even better than Molly's, I would say!" Sirius said.

"Gratzie. But who is this Molly?"

"Oh, Molly Weasley, Ma," Bianca said.

Patrick leaned forward. "Any relation to Arthur Weasley? You know, head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Division down at the Ministry?"

"Yes, that's his wife," Sirius said.

"Ahh. Yes. Don't they have, like, five children?"

"Seven."

"Six. I think they've disowned Percy."

"No, Molly and Arthur haven't. The other children have."

"Ohh."

Patrick cleared his throat to remind his daughter and her boyfriend that they weren't the only ones in the room. The two ended their conversation and turned back towards the Jennings'. "Uh, yeah, anyway, Molly and I are distant cousins anyway," Sirius said. "And her son Ron is best friends with Harry, who also dates the only Weasley daughter."

The other three nodded. "Well, who wants dessert?" Four hands shot in the air as Giacinta laughed and walked to the kitchen. Bianca excused herself to go help her mother in bringing out the two pies prepared for the night.

Patrick used the absence of his wife and daughter to grill Sirius some more. "So, where exactly do you see your relationship with my daughter going?" Patrick asked.

Oh boy, the BIG question, Sirius thought. "Well, sir, right now with the present circumstances, I'm focusing on the now more than the will be. But," Sirius said, "I do hope that when the conditions change to more peaceful times, I hope that Bianca is still by my side and I do hope for marriage."

"But not yet," Patrick said, slowly.

Sirius shook his head. "Bianca and I are still exploring our relationship. True, I do want to settle down and have a family—all my friends are—but I don't want to rush into anything and hurt Bianca in the process."

Patrick nodded and whispered something into Frankie's ear. The other man nodded as Giacinta and Bianca re-emerged with the pies. They sat down and small talk began again over dessert.

Finally, it was time for Sirius and Bianca to leave. Bianca hugged her family and promised to call the next day. Sirius shook Patrick's hand. "I hope to see you around again, Sirius," Mr. Jennings said before releasing the other man's hand. Frankie was next, warning Sirius that he would hurt the Black man if Bianca ended up hurt.

"They liked you! My mother thinks you are the best thing since Tony brought home Alison! This is great!" Bianca gushed. "And my father likes you too!"

"Really? I didn't get that vibe."

"He asked questions of you. He didn't do that when Maria brought Chris home. Nor did he tell Chris he wanted to see more of him. In fact, I still don't think Daddy likes Chris that much." Bianca threw her arms around Sirius. "Tonight was perfect."

"Yes, I guess it was," Sirius replied, folding Bianca up in a deep embrace.