Chapter 8

A while passed since September first. Remus and Harry had been corresponding—mostly about Allyson—and Harry was a bit surprised when Remus had wrote saying that Allyson still came over to the house, even with Sirius gone. He had said that she came over to mainly just sit around and very rarely talked.

When Harry replied, asking why she still came over, Remus wrote back saying that he didn't know, but she didn't do it very often. Just once in a while.

Now, Harry was sitting in Sirius's chambers waiting for the older man to speak. A while earlier Sirius had asked if Harry would mind not going to Hogsmeade today so they could have a talk.

"What do you think of Allyson?"

The question came out of Sirius's mouth quick and to the point.

Harry looked at Sirius oddly, then said, "We already discussed this."

"I know," Sirius said, standing up from the armchair that he was sitting in, facing Harry. He started pacing, his arms folded. "But that was a while ago, and your answer could change. Besides, you could've just been saying you liked her because I like her. I want us to be honest now."

Harry's reply was silence, since he didn't feel like lying to Sirius about how his answer was honest, when it obviously wasn't.

"Why are you so curious about if I like her or not, anyway?" Harry asked, just changing the topic a bit.

Sirius shrugged, sitting back down in the armchair. "Because things have been going well. We've been writing to each other a lot, and she hasn't even questioned about the owl. Well, yes she did, and I told her she was yours, and that we trained her to do that. Which is true. Well, except for the training part."

For some reason, Harry felt angry. "You've been using Hedwig? And you didn't even tell me that you were using her? Why?"

Sirius looked taken aback, but quickly recovered. "I thought you wouldn't mind. After all, when we got Hedwig, well all decided that she wouldn't just be one persons' owl but everyone's. Yours, mine and Remus's."

Harry sighed, leaning forward and cupping his chin in his hands. "I'm sorry for acting so … weird, Sirius. I don't know why, either … It's stupid … I'm sorry."

Sirius still had a confused expression on his face, but shook his head and leaned forward, reaching over and putting a hand on Harry's knee. "It's all right, kiddo. Things are changing, you're confused. Maybe even a little … jealous?"

Harry's eyes widened and he stared at Sirius. "You're suggesting that I'm jealous because of Allyson? Why would you think that? I am not jealous, Sirius. I think you're acting a bit too self-centered."

Sirius frowned. "Self-centered? How am I acting self-centered, Harry? I was just asking, and if you were, it's all right! It's all right if you feel that Allyson's intruding or something, but you must know that she's not. If you just spend some time with her, maybe you'll see that she's not that bad. You might even grow to enjoy her company."

"Sirius, I already told you that I liked Allyson. Why are you doing this, do you want me to tell you that I hate her? That I can't stand having her around the house, and then you can launch into some speech about how I might grow to like her? Is that what you want?"

"No!" Sirius scowled at Harry. "You will not take that tone with me! Do you hear me, Harry?"

Harry's chest moved up and down rather quickly. Realizing that he had his hands clenched into fists, he let them go and sunk back into the couch.

Sirius seemed to calm down, too. "I want to hear an apology."

Harry looked up at Sirius. "What?"

Sirius face was impassive, as was his voice, and his eyes seemed dull. No liveliness like they used to have. "You heard me, Harry. I want an apology. I will not be spoken to in such a voice, and I'm asking—no, demanding—an apology."

Harry briefly glanced down at his hands, then looked up at met Sirius's gaze before he said, "I'm sorry for raising my voice to you. I won't do it again."

Sirius relaxed and nodded. "OK. I accept your apology."

Harry stood up. "I better be going."

"Why? Nobody's back from Hogsmeade yet. Anyway, we still need to talk. I'll try not to make this too long, but we do."

Harry sat back down and looked at Sirius. "Fine, let's talk."

When nobody spoke for a long period of time, Sirius finally started the conversation back up. "Tell me, honestly, what you think of Allyson. I want a truthful answer, and if I can sense that you're lying, I will be forced to use Veritaserum."

"All right," Harry agreed easily. "I don't like her at all."

There, Sirius. You got your honest, truthful answer, Harry thought to himself as he watched his godfather try to scrounge up something to say.

"Thank-you," Sirius said quietly. "Thank-you, Harry. For being honest."

Harry nodded curtly. "You're welcome. Can I go now?"

Sirius shook his head, leaning back into the armchair. "Why don't you like her? I want to know."

"She doesn't like me or Remus. Maybe she likes Remus, but definitely not me. Every time I'm near her I get a bad feeling," Harry explained.

"She's not a Death Eater, if that's what you're implying," Sirius said. "She's a Muggle."

"I'm not implying anything of the sort," Harry replied, keeping his answers short. "She just doesn't like me, so why should I like her?"

Sirius nodded slowly, letting Harry's words sink in before he replied. "And you get a bad feeling from her. I can tell you this, Harry, she's not a bad person. A little childish at times, I'll admit, but that's what makes her fun."

"I'm glad your happy," Harry said truthfully. "I'm glad you like Allyson, and I'm glad she likes you. I've told you what I think, so can I go now? I have homework to catch up on."

Without waiting for Sirius's consent, Harry got up and walked towards the portrait hole. Just as he was about to go through, Sirius came up behind him. In a soft voice, he asked, "Does Remus think the same thing?"

Harry glanced sideways at Sirius. "You better ask him that, not me."

Then he left.

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A/N: Wow, this was really short. Sorry. I'll update soon … hopefully with a longer chapter …