This chapter is long overdue. Okay, this chapter's got a lot of…emotions, I guess. At least for my taste. But I had fun writing it—so much so, I'm nearly finished with the next chapter. So it'll be up much quicker. ;-) Love ya lots. –Feeney.

Last update (there was a typo last chapter—it was NOT the 12th): February 17th, 2005

This chapter update: March 18th, 2005

Sirius Black was standing on her porch. She noted that his broad shape took up most of the doorframe. "Hi, Sirius," Amelia greeted monotonously.

"Hey," his right hand was hanging from his right jean pocket. "Can I come in?" he asked, even though he stepped in anyways. "So…How are you?"

"Um. Fine. I'm fine," Amelia answered. Of all people, what was Sirius Black doing here?

"Oh, good. That's good. So…you busy?"

"Just eating dinner."

"Oh. That's…good."

Amelia—convinced Sirius had something to say but wasn't saying it, and completely aware of her mother obviously eavesdropping in the other room (she could hear her shift her weight near the end of the hallway)—gestured her head sideways, toward the stairs and led him up.

When they got to her room, Sirius stepped right in, awkward and aware of everything around him. Funny, she thought. Sirius was never awkward.

He must've noticed her What-are-you-doing-here? look, because he said in an explanatory sort of way, "Just stopped by to see how you were doing. You didn't seem all there this morning."

"You wanted to see how I was doing?" Amelia repeated.

"Linda did," Sirius corrected too quickly. "But on the way back she seemed tired, so I dropped her off and told her I'd check in myself for her."

"Duty done, I guess." Amelia crossed her arms. She wished Linda, or anyone else, had come. She could really use a friend at this moment. "You can tell her I'm fine."

"Are you?" As Sirius walked around her room, she thought how out-of-place he was in it. Too big for it. Too wrong in it. An aspect of her magical school world in the intimate sanctuary of her bedroom. He stopped by her dresser and looked down at a picture of Amelia and Reg stuck up on her mirror, between the glass and the wooden frame. He had her arm around her, and they were sitting on the large slabs of stone steps in front of the school.

Sirius took the picture from the mirror and held it in his hands, looking down at it the whole time. His holding her picture in his hand—especially the way he held things—was too intimate, she thought. She wanted the picture back. "I have something to tell you."

"Oh really?" Amelia asked, her eyebrows raised with feigned interest. Nothing today seemed important. Unless he was here to tell her that the boy she loved was coming back; but judging by Sirius's discomfort and tense disposition, she didn't dare hope. "What have you got to say to me, Sirius?"

"I got a call from my parents this morning." She could tell he spoke with his teeth slightly clenched. Like he hated admitting they were his parents or something. Or upset at the circumstances of their call, maybe. Or both. "Mel, what I've got to tell you…it's about Reg."

Amelia sighed. Old News, fella. "I already know."

"Know what?"

"About Reg. That he's missing. Well, rather, that he took off." Without saying a word, without Goodbye. He should've stayed, she thought. She didn't see any reason to leave.

Sirius, on the other hand, didn't seem surprised that she already knew. "How did you find out?"

"Doesn't matter," Amelia shrugged. "The jerk's gone, nothing we can do about it now," she said as she fiddled with her cuticles. But even Amelia knew that when she called Reg a 'jerk,' she didn't sound believable. Probably because she didn't mean it. She knew she didn't really think he was a jerk. He wasn't a jerk. He was Reg. And she just… She just missed him.

"I guess. I just thought I'd see how you were about it, then. I mean, normally I'd just think he's on one of his mysterious trips or something, and that he'll be back in a few days. But when my parents called me—me—worried about him, I knew it was serious. They would never have insulted themselves by calling me if it wasn't."

Amelia felt for the ruby necklace at her throat. Her belated Christmas present from Reg. She'd put it on because…well, she didn't even know why. "Sirius?" She swallowed the knot in her throat. She just wanted to ask. "I know you and him never got along—"

"You and the rest of England."

"But…even so…do you think he'll ever come back? I mean, probably not now, but…someday?"

She could tell he wanted to be supportive and assuring. But even Sirius Black couldn't tell a lie as big as the one she wanted to hear.

Instead he said, "He and I are so different…I couldn't even guess at what he plans to do."

Next Day.

Knock, knock.

Amelia looked at the clock in her room. 2:30pm. Grudgingly, she shuffled her way towards her door and opened it. Linda.

She looked sympathetic and worried, her honey brown eyes all big, and not a smile on her face where there usually was one. "I called Sirius. He told me what happened. Don't blame him," she added when she saw Amelia's unsure face. "I pushed and pushed until he told me."

"It's alright," Amelia shook her head slightly, moving to the side to let her friend in. "Everyone's bound to find out eventually."

"Like when Reg is absent from school for five months?" Linda pulled her hair back, sat on top of Amelia's unmade, mint-green bed, and dumped the contents of a brown paper bag she had with her on the bed. Looking up, she patted the space in front of her, gesturing Amelia to come sit. She did.

Then she saw what was in the bag Linda had brought. Red licorice and little blocks of chocolate. Amelia's favorite snacks and comfort foods all in one. "Now," Linda insisted, "Tell me all about it."

So Amelia did. Not that there was much to tell; she wasn't even sure what was really going on. All she knew was how much she'd fallen for Reg, how much she found herself missing him every time his name popped into her head or left her lips, and how suddenly she couldn't find him, he didn't answer her phone calls, and left that goodbye note along with his Christmas present for her. How she kept expecting him when the phone rang, or there was a knock at the door. She tried desperately not to cry.

While it was painful for her to even think about, let alone talk about, she was grateful for a friendly face and an attentive ear. The universe seemed out of balance lately, and the toll they took for it was too high. Dead mothers, absent lovers, robbed goodbyes, and missing explanations for it all. And all that was left in the aftermath were devastated little girls crying in their bedrooms with no end as far as they could see.

She could tell it was light out before she even opened her eyes. And not 8am morning, but like…3pm afternoon.

Lily hadn't slept that well in ages. She knew it was because of him. Without thought, she curled her body into James's, who'd stayed the entire night beside her, bringing along with him so much needed comfort and safety.

Finally, she opened her eyes and looked up at James. He was already looking back at her, propped up on his elbow. "Thanks for staying," Lily said, her sleepy voice cracking.

James smiled tiredly and pushed her red hair back. "I'll stay again if you like."

Not answering him, Lily pulled the warm cover over her shoulder. She didn't want to get out of bed. She didn't want to leave him, in this moment. When she did, the whole world and its bittersweet realities would come rushing to find her. And Lily was in no hurry to go meet it.

But the moment she thought of everything else—the world—is the same moment it came to her. Her mother, the alleged murder, the mystery to be solved. Her broken father, a bitter sister who shows up at the worst times to get her daily dose of Randomly Snapping at Lily.

She closed her eyes, resting her head on James shoulder. "Did the police come yet?"

"I don't think so," he answered. "We would've heard them if they had."

Lily knew that meant they hadn't found anything new yet. Not a surprise if the mark in her parents' room really was a Death Eater mark. The image of the hollow-eyed skull with its slithery snake for a tongue flashed in her mind. "James," she began, lowering her voice, and forcing herself to ask. "What would death eaters want with my mom?"

"I don't know, Lil."

"Will you help me find out?" she asked, her voice even lower than before. She didn't know if it was fair to ask. But she couldn't think of anyone else who would be there like he could.

She felt James's chest rise as he breathed in deeply. He ran his hand up and down her arm slowly, gently. "If you need me to." Which was all she needed to hear. To know that there was still somethingsomeonein this universe that she could still count on.

Later that evening… (around seven o'clock)

"Knock, knock." Linda tapped on Sirius's door and poked her head in. With her eyes shut dramatically, she called, "Better be decent."

"We both know you'd come in even if I wasn't," Sirius—in a thrown-on black sweater and jeans—teased as he opened the door wider and let her in, glad over this unexpected visit. He liked seeing Linda the most these days. She kept her spirits light, and was fun to be around (and wasn't hard on the eyes as far as Sirius was concerned), while no one else seemed to be that way lately. Needless to say, he liked spending time with her.

"So what brings you by here?" Sirius asked as he gathered some random trinkets from around the room and threw them in his trunk. It was only a matter of days before they were on their way back to school again.

Linda sighed deeply as she plopped herself on his bed, her honey-colored hair fanned out on his pillow. "Lack of anything better to do."

Sirius chuckled. He hadn't seen her since yesterday when they'd gone to town…and shared an awkward if not unexpectedly cozy moment together. But Linda was acting completely normal now, so Sirius decided to follow suit. "Of course. So how's Amelia?"

"Just came back from seeing her, actually." Linda rubbed her face, like the memory alone was a tiring experience. "She was really, um…"

"Heartbroken?" she heard him say as he packed things in the brown, wooden and metal trunk.

"Well, wouldn't you be?"

"If Reg broke up with me?" Sirius looked over his shoulder at her and really couldn't help but laugh outright. "Hell no."

"You know what I mean." Linda sat up. "It's just so wrong what he did to her."

"I agree."

"I almost can't believe it. But I guess there's a lesson to be learned from it."

"There is?" he asked as he came and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Well, maybe it's a dumb way to think," Linda couldn't help but say, "but when it comes to love and relationships, I think people should stop letting things happen to them and just make things happen instead," At this, she looked up at Sirius, who seemed stunned by her words, almost like he was really considering it. "Take the initiative," she added, "otherwise you may end up like poor Amelia whose relationship fell apart with her picking up the pieces and not knowing how it broke in the first place."

Now she noticed that Sirius was looking at her. And quite thoroughly, she noted. Like he was considering her for…something. She was instantly uncomfortable.

Linda stood up slowly, leaving his side. But Sirius's eyes, she noticed, never strayed from her body, but rather kept a firm concentration on it. She never liked people watching…studying her like that. It was prying, she thought, and she didn't like it. It was like that person could see her, really see her—all flaws included, and for her it was one of the most uncomfortable thoughts in the world.

She wasn't even facing him as she walked towards the opposite side of the room, as if the distance from him would stop this mysterious knot in her stomach.

"So you think," Sirius's voice was smooth, "that a person should act on their feelings? Like, if someone might like a certain person, that the someone should do something about it?"

Yes, that's what she'd meant. But the way he was saying it now made Linda feel like he was using her words against her somehow. Sirius stood up and, as Linda had feared, walked steadily towards her. They locked eyes; each held the other's gaze, keeping an intense contact. She felt bare, exposed. Like he could see every thought in her head right at this moment. "Say something," she whispered.

He smiled, his puzzling smile. "Say what?"

"Anything." Linda felt her chest tighten, like a small girdle having to cinch in a rather large, fat woman. She steeled herself against the wall. "Let's not do anything we're going to regret," she breathed, her chest rising in near-panic.

Sirius stepped closer. Closer. His dark sultry brown eyes were staring directly into her honey ones, gazing at her. But her attention kept being brought down to the small curve of a smile his lips formed. "What would we regret?"

"This," she whispered, her eyes now completely focused on his pillow soft lips. Which were fighting the urge to smile and failing miserably. He brought a hand to her shoulder so gently she barely knew it was there.

"But we haven't done anything yet," he whispered back to her. Closer.

Linda swallowed a lump in her throat. "We will."

"I don't think we will," Sirius said in a deep, seductive voice. He leaned down towards her, his other hand brushing against her cheek and moving so his fingers were in her hair. Linda could almost feel his kiss before it'd happened; they were standing closer than she had ever stood with him before. She couldn't help but notice his thick black eyelashes, or the feel of his strong hand running slowly through her hair.

And with him so sinfully close, looking at her like he was and running his hand in her hair and his gorgeous eyes and his kissable lips that curved perfectly and his black sweater clinging to what she was sure must be the firmest sculpted chest and the entire moment being so bizarre yet as tempting as it was…she wondered how she could be thinking any of these things at all.

His mouth was practically on hers, waiting for hers to close the gap. Finally, with a surge of daring, she moved forward ever so slightly, and kissed—kissed Sirius Black.

And Sirius's lips were the softest she'd ever felt.

Authoress's note:

I just want to thank all of you guys for reading because I just checked my "Stats" and saw that I'm on the Author Alert watch of all my readers. THANKS. :Kisses and hugs and loads of ice cream-dipped cookies:

Shoutouts:

Laurel—fudge cookies! Oh, you know how to spoil me.

Paddy—And pie! Ooh, I love you readers. And I know Voldemorte doesn't have an 'e' at the end of it, but I can't help it. I just automatically type it that way. But I'll try to get it right. (Sometimes I add an 'e' to the end of "with." You know what I mean?).

Lacey—I think my favorite thing that you said was "Frigger." Oh my Gawd, I am SO using that! LoL. Frigger…:walks away giggling:

Kait—So you're a Amelia/Sirius shipper? Good for you. Have a pin:offers S/A buttons: I myself can't decide what I am. Sirius/Linda, Sirius/Amelia, Sirius/ME, I mean….so much to choose from. ;)

Vick—hope you had fun at that party. And kudos on that "weee!" LoL.

Kj—No, not Barry. That's Rod Stewart. Have I told you lately that I love you… Crazy that I know.

Steph—Good guess. ;)

Nour—Heey! where are you from? Thanks soooo much for reading and I'm so completely glad you like the story. Pull up a chair, have a soda.

Kirsten—Ew, you have calculus? My condolences. I'm SO glad that I don't take that anymore. Now I take like…Finite Mathematics or something. I don't know how to explain it, but as long as it doesn't have sine or cosine, I am more than happy. Hope your senior year is still going great!

Sam—I know, it—aka the last chapter—was a bit short, but…Well. But this one's longer than before and I'm hoping the next is even longer. And you know what helps me when I write? Those virtual sweets you guys keep sending. Nudge, nudge. LoL. :crosses fingers:

Me'shell—I hope you found the story okay.

Missers—Heeeeeeeeeey. Ah! Cookies and milk, you rock. The shirtless fight b/w the brothers will have to be postponed. Don't worry ;). There are lots more hotties around with full-on shirtless potential. Oh, and I read your review and nearly dropped my sandwich. I got you to giggle? GIGGLE? Over a Linda/Sirius scene? Well. My job's done here. Goodbye, world. ;-)

Katie—That list of "words you can make with Meha's name" thing you had going there? Are half of them even real words? But I like your word "Mehaish." LoL, I just thought it was hilarious. And wearing those traveling pants, I see. :Nods: Keep up the good work, fellow club member. Anywho, I just loved your review; it was too amusing. Oh, and did you put the red in your hair yet? How is it—nice? (I've always wanted to have red hair and then wear black; that is sooo cute).

Keeks—yeah, that was a typo; nothing's wrong with your comp. I had meant to get that chap up earlier, but you know how things get. Oh and about the Reg/Mel thing? I'm gonna let you in on a lil secret—it's SO far from ending (whether it ends well or not is still to be determined…).

Amanda—Aha, so you're warming up to Reg's character, eh? The whole bad-boy-seeking-redemption thing. Yeah, I see how that's hot. ((I mean who wasn'tin love with Angel from Buffy? HAWT)).

Hayley—You said in your review, because of the sadness of chapter 14, that I would have to "make something REALLY happy happen to make up for it." :Winks: I hope this chappy did. Or, the end at least.

Kelly (sweety5721—I know you haven't seen me online so much. Every time I sign on AIM or sign off, my entire comp freezes. Oh, and you sent in your college applications? Decided which one you're going to yet?

Meg—Of COURSE I'm writing more Sirius! What kind of question is that? I should make you go in the corner, think about what you just said. :slides her a extra chunky chocolate chip cookie anyway:

Kellers—Oh, trust me, I know better than to end this fic. Aside from the fact that I love writing it, I'm actually afraid you'll come and kick my ass. LoL.

Kaitlyn—Yes, I realize that only the first letter in your name is bold. I don't know why; my keyboard just did it by itself, I swear, but I'm too lazy to go back to fix it. Also, I think it looks cool. Anywho, Hen, I loovee yoou. ((And I ended up ditching the Taco Bell idea and went to Mcdonald's because Taco Bell is 2 blocks farther)).

Thanks to everyone else for reviewing; sorry I didn't get an individual shout-out to you—I'm kind of being kicked off the comp as we speak. Love ya lots. xoxo.