Hello all, don't you like the bold italic letters better than the plain italic? Well I do, but that has nothing to do with the story, I'm just rambling! (What's new?)

Now everybody come on, say it with me now… "I don't own Harry Potter." There you go, I think with some therapy we can all come to realize that truth!

Anywho, enough nonsense! Here's chapter five, enjoy!

Harry was just going to ask her, after all he had a right to know about Sirius's past, whatever his connection was to Attica. It upset him that he actually knew very little of his Godfather's past, of course he knew that Sirius had gone to Hogwarts with his father, that he ran away from his home and eventually was sent to Azkaban (the wizard prison) for murders he never committed. But Harry didn't really know the details and it made him sick to think that his time with Sirius had been cut too short.

Attica retired from dinner early and Harry was afraid he might miss his chance to speak with her if he didn't get up soon. Five minutes after Attica had left, he excused himself from the table on the pretense of going to bed early.

The others wished him a goodnight as he walked through the kitchen door and into the foyer. He began climbing the stairs, trying to figure out which room belonged to Attica when he heard the door he had just passed open behind him. He turned around and saw Attica with her head poking around the side of the door.

"I thought I heard someone on the stairs." She said matter-of-factly. "You're heading to bed awfully early Mr. Potter. Is something wrong?" She added when he hesitatingly approached her door. He didn't know where to start. It was hard enough as it was to talk about Sirius, but he wasn't quite sure how well she had known him and he didn't want to upset anyone.

Feeling quite stupid and wishing he had stayed at the table or just gone up to his room like he'd said he was going to, he resolved to ask her.

"Professor… can I call you 'professor' I mean I know term hasn't started yet."

"It doesn't matter to me." She said with a small smile.

"Well, I was wanting to ask you something and if you don't care to answer that's fine, I was wondering if you knew my Godfather, Sirius Black." He said it kind of fast in his haste to ask. A shadow fell across Attica's face and she began to fiddle with a charm on the end of the necklace she was wearing.

"Yes, you could say I knew him." She answered flatly. "He was a – friend. We knew each other quite well actually." She moved her hand from her necklace and Harry could see that it wasn't a charm she had been holding but a ring, a thin gold band, hanging from a golden chain. She looked curiously at him and Harry was quite unnerved by her gaze, but his thirst for knowledge of Sirius kept him rooted to the spot.

"You know, Dumbledore told me you might ask me something like this. I must say, his death came as quite a shock to me, I had always thought that in his own way Sirius Black was invincible." She laughed and Harry was able to detect the sorrow in its melodious tones. "You miss him don't you." She stated more than asked and Harry was compelled to nod his head in answer. "He was a good man, too stubborn for his own good though, but then again, he was always hanging around with your father, James. Now there was a stubborn man if I ever knew one!"

Her eyes had never left his and Harry was startled to see the emotion behind them. She had known Sirius, really known him. He could see it in her eyes and his death had been devastating for her.

"Sirius Black and James Potter; what a pair of trouble makers. They both came to Hogwarts during my sixth year, I spent half that year chasing them around the common room. I was a prefect." She added at the confused look on Harry's face.

Harry was surprised at her readiness to talk about Sirius. Little did Harry know that Attica Arias, like Harry, still did not believe Sirius Black to be dead. Harry worked up his courage, he needed to know something else.

"Professor, in that article about you in the paper, it had said you had had relations with Sirius. Wh-what exactly did that mean." She sighed and finally looked away from him, her hand moving back up to fiddle with the ring around her neck again.

"We were- engaged to be married, our wedding was the day he was arrested and sent to Azkaban." Her voice faltered and Harry could feel his jaw drop. Sirius had been engaged to Attica? He was surprised when he looked at her again, there was a single tear running down her cheek.

I'm sorry Professor, I didn't mean to upset you." Harry said hastily. "I'm going to go upstairs now. Good night Professor."

"Night." She said quietly, still clutching at her necklace.