A/N: Here's the 22nd chapter, sorry about the wait. This one is about part of the funeral, and James' house. As I am nearing the end of my story, please put in your review what you would like to see happen in the upcoming chapters!

Thanks to all those who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Sirius wetted his lips and straightened his tie nervously. He had never done anything like this before; it was becoming suffocating for him. He had just returned from Meredith's wake the day before, and now he was getting ready to attend her funeral.

He took a deep breath, as if trying to tell his heart to calm down. It was becoming increasingly more difficult, however, every time he thought of Meredith just lying there.

He had never met her before, but as he gazed upon her sleeping face, he saw a striking resemblance between her and Sara. Meredith's hair was slightly darker, and some of her facial features differed from Sara's, but over all, a stranger could see the two of them and know straight away they were related.

At first he wondered why it bothered him so much; maybe it was the pain all of this was causing Sara, maybe it was the fact that he felt as though he knew Meredith, or ought to at least. As he continued racking his brain, he came up with the conclusion that he was scared that something like this could happen to someone he loved.

He was scared that this could happen to Sara.

As soon as that very thought danced across his mind, he shook his head vigorously. Reminding himself to stay strong for Sara, he took one last deep breath and headed closer to the group gathered around a casket outside.

He felt a trembling hand grab his, and he looked down to see Sara. She wasn't looking at him, however, her eyes were straight ahead, eyeing her sister that was about to be lowered into the ground.

The funeral was beginning, and Sara left Sirius to go sit by her parents and brother, all of them with silent tears slipping down their cheeks.

Sirius seated himself towards the back as he scanned the people already seated.

"Hey, mate," Remus said quietly, slipping into a seat next to him.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"Sara's my friend, too. I needed to be here for her." Remus said, "Peter, Marlee and Katherine are here, too."

As if on cue, the three friends silently sat down next to Sirius and Remus. They all exchanged weak little smiles with each other, before upturning their heads to see James and Lily. The pair slipped into seats beside their friends.

"I didn't think you were coming," Sirius muttered quietly.

"We had to be here." Lily said firmly.

It was the day after Christmas, and Sirius and James were lounging about in James' room, sifting through their gifts.

"What time is Lily coming?" Sirius asked between mouthfuls of a chocolate frog.

"Pretty soon actually," James said, looking at the clock.

"How was it at her house?" Sirius inquired, "We never got the chance to talk about it."

"It was okay, her sister's a right pain, but her parents are really great." James said.

"Did you and Lily snog?" Sirius asked, wiggling an eyebrow.

James shot Sirius a, 'wouldn't you like to know' look, before he grabbed his own chocolate frog.

"Come on, James…" Sirius pleaded, "Just tell me? Did you kiss?"

"Sirius, you're like a bloody girl asking about a date her friend had with an uber cute boy," James laughed.

"Uber cute boy?" Sirius repeated blankly, "Never mind that, James did you kiss?"

James looked reluctant for a while before he nodded slowly.

"Aha!" Sirius cried triumphantly, "I knew it, I knew it! Next thing you know, a baby Potter will be on the way."

James gagged on his chocolate frog. He pounded his chest with his fist to rid the coughing that was splattering bits of frog all over.

"Maybe not," Sirius said as he put his hands in the air in defeat, "I was just saying…"

There was a loud 'POP!' and suddenly James looked nervous.

"What if she doesn't like it here, Sirius?" James asked worriedly as he inched towards the door. "And she tries to go back home?"

"Then we'll tie her up and put her in a closet for the remainder of the trip," Sirius said nonchalantly, "Let's go."

James nodded and followed Sirius down the stairs. As soon as their foot hit the last step, they could begin to hear voices chatting in the kitchen. James and Sirius exchanged one last glance before they scurried towards the noise.

"There you are, James!" His father said with a smile, "We were just talking to Lily, here!"

Lily nodded from her place at the kitchen table, "Hey James, Sirius." She grinned.

Sirius strode over to her and pulled her into a warm hug, "Hey Lils-ka-boo, how are you?"

"I'm great, thanks!" Lily said before she was pulled closer to James.

When they both finally released her, Lily crossed back over to the kitchen table to sit down next to James' mom.

"How was your Christmas?" Lily asked them all conversationally.

"It was good, and yours?" James asked, pulling up a chair.

Lily face tensed up slightly, "It was okay, I love my parents and all, but Vernon and his family celebrated it with us."

James gave her a sympathetic look, "Oh man, that must have been awful."

"Awful, no." Lily said with a small smile, "But it wasn't great."

"I'm sorry dear, but I did talk to your parents, they're lovely." Linda Potter said, touching Lily's hand lightly.

Lily nodded, remembering how both of their parents had spoken through mail a few days before Christmas break.

"They are," Lily agreed.

"Well," Mrs. Potter said, "Who would like some tea?"

Everyone raised their hands and Mrs. Potter grinned, "Alright, five teas it is."

"I'll help," Lily volunteered.

Mrs. Potter smiled, "It's actually really nice to have another woman in the house. Goodness knows with all these men, I'd have gone insane by now."

"I think you already have," Sirius chuckled.

Mrs. Potter threw him a dirty look as she and Lily continued making tea.

Lily was a bit appalled that Sirius would say something like that to his friend's mother, but after a while she realized he'd been living with them for a few years, now. She smiled to herself; they were all like family here.

"Harold and James, your tea is ready," Mrs. Potter called.

"Hey!" Sirius pouted as Lily handed the two of them warm mugs.

"Oh," Mrs. Potter said as she put a finger to her chin in mock thought, "Did I forget about an ungrateful little twerp?"

Sirius laughed and shook his head, "You love me."

"That I do, even if you call me insane." Mrs. Potter laughed, handing him his own mug of tea.

They sat at the kitchen table and talked for a while, laughing and sipping their warm tea. Lily was amazed at how close Sirius was to this family, and truth be told, it made her feel happy for them. They were all wonderful people.

"Well, Lily, I never spoke to your parents about this, but Harold and I are going out to a dinner party, and we will be back later tonight." Mrs. Potter said as she stood up.

"I'm sure my parents would be fine with that," Lily smiled.

About an hour later, Mr. and Mrs. Potter had departed, leaving Sirius, James and Lily at home.

"Is Sara home?" Lily asked, remembering that her friend lived by James.

"Actually, she hasn't been home in a while, I suspect she's visiting other family." James said.

Sirius nodded, "I haven't heard from her in a while, either." He looked out the window, "Oh look! It's snowing!"

Lily and James gathered around the window, "It is." James grinned.

"Well, come on then," Lily said.

"Where are you going?" James inquired as Lily already began heading upstairs.

"To get my snow stuff on," She said, "We're going to go play in the snow!"

Sirius and James exchanged glances, "Are you serious?" Sirius asked.

"No!" Lily called as the door to her room shut. "You are!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Fine," He huffed, "We better go and get our snow gear on. Lily's rather frightening when she's angry."

James grinned and went to retrieve his stuff.

About ten minutes later, Lily emerged from her room clad in black snow pants, a white jacket, and a striped scarf.

"Ready?" She asked as she pulled on an olive green hat.

James and Sirius nodded, both in black snow pants, Sirius in a red jacket, and James in a blue.

They exited out the back door, and emerged in the spacious lawn that was covered in deep snow.

"It's beautiful out!" Lily smiled as she trudged in deeper, "Well, come on!"

The two boys grinned and traipsed out into the snow. Lily laughed as the snowflakes swirled around and landed on the tip of her nose. She tipped her head up and stuck out her tongue, attempting to catch the snow flakes. She giggled and swirled around, her arms held out like wings.

James trudged up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist lightly.

"Don't let me go, James." She whispered.

"What?" James asked, startled.

"Don't leave me." She whispered again.

He didn't understand what she was trying to say, so he tightened his hold around her waist and propped a chin on her shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere." He whispered as he kissed her neck lightly. After a while, James slid his arms off her waist and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Without any warning, Lily let herself go limp and fall backwards, obviously making no signs of catching herself on the way down.

James' eyes widened as he reached out and caught her, heaving her back to her feet.

She swung around to face him, "You caught me."

He nodded, "I wouldn't let you fall."

Sirius cackled from behind them, "That was beautiful."

"Shut up," James growled, but his face broke out into a smile as Lily continued twirling.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Lily asked as she finally stopped spinning, "So much is going on, so much death, so much anger…and yet all we can see is beauty."

James shook his head slightly, "You're amazing, you know that?"

She blushed as she scooped up some snow in her mitten. "Want some?"

"Don't tell me you're going to eat that?" James said as he rolled his eyes.

"Of course!" Lily giggled as she licked it off her mitten, "You don't like this kind? I'll see if I can find some lemon. I'm sure Sirius will prepare it for you."

"Ugh," James said in disgust, "The sad part is; he probably would."

"I resent that!" Sirius said defensively.

"Don't deny it Sirius, you'd prepare lemon and chocolate!" James sang mockingly.

Lily shuddered at the image that appeared in her mind.

James stumbled backwards as a large clump of snow came in contact with the side of his face, knocking his glasses askew.

"Bloody Hell!" He shrieked as he clutched his cheek.

Sirius laughed as he began gathering another snow ball, "That's what you get for calling me a chocolate snow maker. Besides, I'm sure yours would be a lot more tasty."

"Enough!" Lily screamed with disgust, "Boys are so disturbing!"

"That's what you get for dating a Marauder, love." Sirius reminded her with a wink.

James chucked his newly made snowball at Sirius, but instead it veered off track and struck Lily in the back of the head, maybe it was because his glasses were askew. He fixed them quickly enough to see Lily flicking bits of snow out of her hair, and gathering a new snowball.

Lily wound up and threw her wad of snow, but instead, it hit Sirius in his lower regions, 'accidentally' of course.

"Oh my," Lily said in mock sweetness, "Did I do that?"

"You'll pay for that one, Lils-Ka-Boo!" Sirius warned as he bent down to gather snow.

A clump of snow came in contact with Sirius' rear, and James howled with laughter. He reached up to high five Lily in victory, but instead she shoved the icy snow in his face.

"You are cruel," James whined as Lily shoved yet another one in his face.

"Surrender?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No-" James began, but began sputtering as Lily shoved more white powder in his face. "Yes! I surrender."

Lily laughed and strode over to Sirius who was attempting to make a snow angel. "Do you surrender?"

"No." Sirius said defiantly, "I most definitely do-" He stopped as Lily shoved more snow into his face, "James," He whined, "Why are you dating someone so cruel?"

"Surrender?" Lily asked again.

Sirius nodded reluctantly, eyeing the clump of snow in her hand carefully.

"Well," Lily chirped, dusting off her hands, "That was fun."

Sirius and James exchanged a glance, and advanced on Lily slowly.

"What are you doing?" Lily said uncertainly. They laughed and picked her up, "Put me down!" She squealed as they lifted her into the air.

They rocked her back and forth, before they released her in the soft snow.

"Ugh…" She groaned as she spit out snow, "Thanks, guys."

"Well," They chimed in unison, "That was fun."

Lily giggled, before she began to notice how cold out it really was. The wind was chilling her to the bone, and she could feel the clumps of melted snow slosh around inside her boots.

"Do you want to go inside and get some hot chocolate?" She asked, taking off a glove and placing it on her red cheek.

"As long as it's not prepared by Sirius, I'm in." James grinned.

She cringed, "Sirius, are you in?"

He nodded, glaring daggers at the two, "I'll have you know that my hot chocolate is the best."

They trudged back into the house and swung open the door, relief flooding through them as warm air greeted their cheeks. They departed to go get changed, and Lily threw on a pair of old sweat pants, and an over sized sweatshirt. She tied her hair up into a loose pony and descended the stairs where Sirius and James were already dressed and beginning to make the hot chocolate.

"You look beautiful," James said as Lily entered the kitchen in her wool socks.

She laughed as she surveyed his outfit; sweatpants and a nice fitting white tee shirt, "You don't look too bad yourself."

"What about me?" Sirius whined, clad in maroon sweatpants and a gray sweatshirt.

"I'd say we all look pretty attractive," Lily giggled, wandering closer to the steaming hot chocolate.

"Here you go," James said, handing her a mug.

Lily breathed in the sweet scent and let out a content sigh. "Let's go in the living room."

All three entered the living room, careful not to spill the warm drink in their palms. James leaned up against the couch and Lily plopped down next to him, curling herself up into a little ball as he draped his spare arm around her shoulders.

"So," Sirius said as he sat down in the couch across from them. "Does your hot chocolate taste okay?"

Lily cringed, "Did you make it?"

"Yes," Sirius said pompously, "And I know you think it's delicious."

Lily nodded and giggled, "It is really good." She admitted.

There was a knock on the door and the three exchanged glances. "Who would be coming this late?" James asked, checking his watch, "It's already eight thirty."

Lily shrugged, "Maybe your parents."

James shook his head, "No, they always apparate home."

Sirius suddenly began looking cautious, "I'll check, you two stay here." And with that he whipped out his wand that was conveniently located in his pocket.

He slowly advanced on the door. He placed his hand on the cold handle and turned it slowly. Once there was a tiny crack, he jammed his eye in the small space between the door and wall, and squinted for the source of the noise.

There, clad in sweat pants and a jacket, biting her lip and looking around uncertainly, was Sara.

"Sara!" Sirius cried in surprise, flinging open the door fully, "How are you?"

She didn't say anything, but continue standing on the front step.

"Aren't you going to come in?" He asked her curiously.

She shook her head and finally looked into his eyes, "Can I talk to you?" She asked in a hushed whisper.

"Yeah…sure…" Sirius began uncertainly, stepping out into the cold air fully. "What is it?"

She shook her head and began pacing, her footsteps leaving small marks in the snow.

"Are you going to talk?" He asked, trying to sound light. But in reality, he was nervous. What could have his strong, bubbly girlfriend acting so quiet?

"There's no easy way to say this," She admitted, looking down at her feet.

Sirius took a step foreword and lifted up her chin gently, only to see her eyes laced with tears. "Just say it."

She turned her head to the side, "I'm leaving." She murmured, her voice cracking.

"What?" Sirius asked, startled, "Where? When will you be back?"

He saw a single tear slip down her cheek, "I won't be coming back, Sirius."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, somewhat desperately.

Sara crouched down, as if standing were too painful, "We're leaving for France."

Sirius closed his eyes as if he were stung, "I don't understand…" Although he knew perfectly well what she was saying.

"My parents think that it's…best to…just leave everything behind. It's too much memory for us, being here. And I need to be with my family…" More and more tears were slipping down her cheeks as she straightened up.

"So go…be with them for a while, they need you. But then come back," Sirius pleaded.

"No, Sirius," Sara whispered quietly, shoving her hair out of her eyes, "I won't be coming back."

Sirius felt his lungs contracting, his breathing was becoming rapid, "Come on, Sara…you can't mean that…"

She shook her hand, her face contorting with pain, "I'm so sorry."

Sirius felt claustrophobic, as if he just needed to break free of everything she was saying and breathe. "So you're just going to leave everything we had?"

"I have no other choice," She said quietly, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, as if she was having trouble breathing, too.

"Yes you do, Sara," Sirius cried, "Don't do this, don't leave everything behind!"

"I have to be with my family." Sara said again, although her voice was becoming raspy.

"Why do you need to leave?" Sirius asked, trying to remind himself to breathe, "I'm sure Meredith wouldn't want you to leave everything behind."

"You didn't know Meredith," Sara said, somewhat sharply, "Don't say things about her that you don't know."

"But I know you, Sara!" Sirius cried; he felt as if everything was crumbling around him, "I know you don't want to do this. Don't leave me!"

And that's when crying wasn't enough, and she began sobbing, "Sirius…I don't want to leave you…I don't…"

Sirius extended his arms, attempting to pull her close, but she just shook her head and attempted to regain herself.

"But I need to go." She finished.

"No, you don't!" Sirius said desperately.

She nodded, "I do."

"We can still make this work," Sirius said, gesturing to each other, "I've heard of long distance relationships all the time!"

Her face crumpled, "It won't work, Sirius. I know you, and it's not fair of me to keep you tied down."

"If you knew me than you'd know I loved you!" Sirius cried.

Sara's eyes widened, it was the first time they had ever said that to each other, and she could feel her heart searing, "Don't do this, Sirius…" She said, stumbling backwards, "Don't make this any harder than it already is."

"Dammit, Sara!" Sirius said angrily, "Why are you doing this?"

"I told you," She cried, beginning to shake, "I told you that I needed to be with my family!"

"So that's that, then?" Sirius asked, "You're just going to leave, just like that. Don't you even wonder what we could have had?"

"I can't concentrate on us right now." Sara said, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she continued sobbing, "I need to help my family…"

"I don't even think this is about your family anymore," Sirius yelled, "I think that they want to leave, and you aren't strong enough to try to keep up us together!"

"Don't talk about strength, Sirius!" Sara shrieked, "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do!"

"Then why are you doing it?" Sirius pleaded, "Just stay…"

"I can't!" She cried, pulling at her hair, "I told you already, we have to end this!"

"Can't we keep in touch?" Sirius asked, "Owl each other from time to time…"

"No," Sara said, "We can't dwell on the past…"

"You aren't even going to try to keep us together?" Sirius asked, his whole heart slowly crushing.

"Sirius…" Sara said, crying so hard now that her voice was raspy and her she began coughing, "Please don't do this!"

"Do what?" Sirius asked, "Don't try to keep us together?"

"Please…" She sobbed, her whole body shaking, "We can't continue this…"

"Sara, my God, I love you so much," Sirius said, "I can't let you leave like this…I've never felt for anyone the way I feel for you…you've changed me in ways I've never thought possible…I can't just let you walk away…"

"I need to go." She said, just barely above a whisper, "We're leaving tomorrow, we sold our house…"

"And you're just now telling me?" Sirius asked angrily, "Didn't you think that maybe I'd like to know?"

"SIRIUS!" Sara bawled, "Why are you doing this?"

"Why am I doing this?" Sirius repeated, "You're leaving me! Like we never had anything at all!"

She shook her head as she continued to weep. She gave him one last painful look before she slowly turned around and began to race away.

"Sara!" Sirius called after her, leaping off of the step and chasing after her.

She ran as quickly as she could, but it seemed as if her whole body was so weak it wouldn't carry her any further.

Sirius caught up to her and grabbed her fore arm.

"Don't!" She shrieked, spinning around and pushing him away.

"Don't walk away!" He pleaded, "I can't live without you!"

She bit her lip and looked away, her breathing swift, "We're just going to have to learn how."

"Don't do this!" He pleaded again, watching as she turned around and scurried away. "SARA! I LOVE YOU!"

He shook his head as he fell to his knees in the middle of the road, tears brimming his eyes. He kneeled there, watching as her tiny figure slowly faded away.

Sirius had never cared for someone more in his life, he didn't realize he could get so attached to someone. He always considered himself as a bachelor, free and open to any girl who walked his way. But here he was, never before as certain as he was now that she was the love of his life.

The love of my life, Sirius thought bitterly, the words ringing inside his very skull. How could I let her just walk away?