Time jump:

Sirius and I had decided not to get each other presents this year. He had told me earlier he'd gotten me something, but it wouldn't have been appropriate to give it to me. When asked, he simply said it was not right for the moment. I wasn't sure if I should have been intrigued or frightened by that. It did have me thinking all day, wondering what he could have gotten me. But all I got from him was silence. 'Are all husbands annoying? Or did I just get the short straw?'

I was able to buy gifts for the Weasley's, Hermione, and Harry. For Ron, I got him a new pet rat. I made sure this one was truly a rat and not some creepy old dude. For Hermione, I had gotten her the new spell books due to come out next week. Harry, well he was a tough one. I ended up getting him a new broomstick. Mum got me and Harry a knitted scarf. Mine had the letter A stitched in the ends, which she made me wear the entire day. Not that I minded, I always enjoyed the gifts I was given. Molly was always so out there with her gifts. We were gathered around the dinner table, opening gifts and welcoming Mr. Weasley back from the hospital.

Seeing Sirius leaning against the door frame, I pulled out a small package from my pocket. Grabbing his hand in mine, I pulled him into the hallway. "I know we agreed to no gifts, but I had already made this for you."

Sirius frowned, grabbing the box. "What is it?" Opening it slowly, he found a golden pocket watch. The front of the watch is engraved with the words 'Padfoot'. On the inside, behind the lid was the image of him, James, and Remus. "When did you get this done?"

"I made it yesterday." I replied. "Harry told me you gave him the only picture you have of them. So I figure I'd copy it onto the watch."

Shutting the watch, he removed the old one he had and placed the new one. "Thank you." Pulling me into a tight hug, he exhaled softly.

Without really thinking it through, I pulled him in for a kiss. I was getting lost in the moment, nothing on my mind, but the feeling he was causing in me. When Molly's overly sweet voice hit my ears. 'Crap.' Pulling myself away from Sirius, I turned to face the woman. "Yes, mum?"

"Hermione is looking for you."

Seeing the look on Granger, I knew she was fibbing. "Thank you." Before I could leave, Sirius made a point of pulling me back and kissing me once more. Trying to hide the blush on my cheeks, I grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her into the l living room. "I swear I am going to be a widow by the end of the week." Making sure no one had followed us, I pulled her onto the couch. "Can you get everyone out of the house tomorrow?"

Hermione frowned, giving me a slow nod. "Yes, of course, but why?"

"I was hoping in spending the day with Sirius." Seeing the look on her face, I was quick to cover her mouth with my hand. "It's planned for the night. We are still hanging out in the day."

She shoved my hand away, leaning in closer. "Do you plan on sleeping with him?"

The question stumped me. Not because of what it was asking, but because I had already thought about it. If I was being honest with myself, I had started to feel something for Sirius. I wasn't sure if it was love, it was too soon to know. Or was it? "I don't know. I don't think so. I really just want to get to know him better. Probably just talk all night." Seeing him walk up the stairs, I couldn't help but think about it. "But, if I am ready that night, I wouldn't be opposed to it happening."

Hermione reached over, taking my hand. "This isn't about what Ginny and that girl said is it?"

"No. What I said that night was the truth." I replied. "Sirius also knows. He agreed to wait until I was ready."

"To think we had thought to make the man's world a living hell." Hermione laughed.

When I initially found out about my marriage I was livid. The first thing I did, after begging my father not to, was to write to Hermione and tell her about the marriage. We wrote back and forth of all the things we would do if he turned out to be not the best of guys.

"Yeah, not sure how I would feel in sending him to the center of the earth."

Hermione shook her head, having her fit of giggles. "Or him waking up with a bald head."

"Who's waking up bald?" Ron appeared at the door, looking from Hermione to me and back.

I shook my head, waving him off. "No one." No reason to be giving him any ideas. "You need something?"

"Mum was asking for you, Hermione." Ron mumbled.

"Be right there."

As we walked out of the living room, I jumped at hearing Sirius yell.

'Kreacher! That's enough of your bile. Away with you!'

Glancing around the corner, I spotted Sirius walking down the stairs. Kreacher walked out of a room, mumbling who knows what. I frowned at seeing him hesitantly walk towards the room. It was then that I realized, that door was always closed. I have never actually paid much attention to it, nor have I wanted to intrude.

"Sorry, about that." Sirius stood at the entrance of the room, looking lost. "He never was very pleasant. Even when I was a boy." Sneaking past behind him, I stood by the stairs listening to him speak. It was then I noticed Harry in the room as well. "Not to me anyway."

"What. What, you grew up here?" Harry asked.

"This is my parent's house. I offered it to Dumbledore as headquarters for the order." He placed his hand on the door frame as if steadying himself. "About the only useful thing I've been able to do." I watched him force himself to step into the room. "This is the Black family tree. My deranged cousin. I hated the lot of them. My parents with their pure-blood mania. My mother did that after I ran away. Charming woman. I was 16."

The softness and hurt in his tone were heartbreaking. He held so much pain in those few words. I guess I wasn't the only one broken.

"Where did you go?"

"Your dads. I was always welcome at the Potter's. I see him so much in you, Harry. You are so very much alike."

"I'm not so sure." Harry replied. "Sirius, when I was...When I saw Mr. Weasley attacked; I wasn't just watching. I was the snake."

'What?' I was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. I knew I was intruding in a very private moment, but what the hell was Harry talking about. Could there be a connection between Harry and the snake? Hearing Sirius talking, I groaned. 'Great I didn't hear what else he said.'

"I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harry. You're not a bad person. You're a very good person to who bad things have happened to. You understand? Besides, the world isn't split into good people and death eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are."

Hermione startled me popping out of nowhere, asking for Harry. "He's in there speaking with Sirius." I gestured to the room. She gave a small knock, letting Harry know it was time to leave.

"When all of this is over. We'll be a proper family. You'll see."

I looked over to see Sirius pull Harry into a hug. 'They both need each other, just not in the way they both want it.' Sirius caught my sight, giving me a shy look. "Can I?" Without asking what, he stepped to the side. Walking down the stairs, I paused at the entrance of the room. It was cold, sending chills up my spine. The room was a dark green base with a tree painted on the walls. Each branch you had the name of a black and their faces. Stepping into the room, I slowly read each one. Some were blacked out, erased from the tree line. I stopped at Sirius's name and burned the picture.

"Mother had very little tolerance." Sirius whispered. "She did that a day after I had run away from here."

"I'm sorry Sirius."

Coming up from behind me, he wrapped his arms around my waist. "I rather not get sucked back into the past. It still hurts, I won't deny it, but I have learned to live with it."

"You shouldn't have to in the first place." Leaning my head back into his chest, I sighed. "But I can offer you something."

"What's that?"

"A fresh start. A new family. You, me, and harry." I whispered. "For starters."

Sirius chuckled, leaning down and kissing me on the cheek. "Feeling better already."

"Sirius?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

Sirius shrugged. "Nothing, why?"

"I was hoping we could spend the day together." I bit my lower lip, not sure why I was still nervous around him. "It's my b-"

"Your birthday, yes I know." Sirius laughed at the sure look of surprise I had. "You didn't actually think I would have forgotten." Grabbing my waist, he steered us out of the room. "What did you want to do?"

"Well, it is my last day, before going back to Hogwarts." We made our way back into the family room, taking a seat on the couch. "I was just hoping for a night in and maybe just talk."

"If that's what you want to do, then we will do that." Sirius leaned forward, pulling me into a slow kiss. Of course, just as his tongue ran over my bottom lip, begging for entrance we had to stop. It was getting harder to stop every time.

"Athena!" We both looked up just as Ron bolted into the room. "Oh, blimey."

"Yes, Ron?" I couldn't keep my irritation out of my voice.

The boy was looking redder by the second. "I-I-uh, Harry and Hermione are waiting for you."

"Okay, I'll be right there." Waiting for him to run out, I turned my attention back to Sirius.

At that moment, my mind wandered back to what Hermione had asked me once. 'Do I feel anything for him?' Raising my hand to his face, I cupped his jaw. I trace his lip lightly with the tip of my finger. It pouts slightly, and I have such an urge to bite it, to kiss it, to wrap us up in a quilt and listen to our gentle breathing, watching the cotton ripple like skipping stones and sharing crooked smiles. His lip feels slightly chapped under my feather-light touches, but I simply cannot bring myself to give a damn. I gaze so intently at each divot of that lip as if it could map out ancient seas and college plans and tell me everything I don't know. And I don't want to look up. Because if I look up, I may find myself at the mercy of questioning eyes, pleading, begging to know what I was doing, and I'm not at liberty to say because I simply do not know. 'Do I love you?' I cannot form an answer with my lips because I am so focused on his.

Then the memory passes, my eyes seeing once more, my ears hearing the here and now. I wish I had known just how painful my fixation on his lip would be because loving the rest of him was torture, and sometimes I look back and wonder if I could have even stopped myself. 'Would I have even listened?'

'Holy shit. I think I might be falling for Sirius Black.'

"Athena?"

And just like that, something in me snapped. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled us both down on the couch. Both his hands flung out, grabbing onto the couch as he hovered over me. His hair casting a veil around us. His eyes gazed into mine, searching for who knows what. In a blink of an eye, he claimed my lips in his. Using one hand, he held onto my waist, preventing us from falling to the ground. My arms wrapped around him, going up and down his back. Feeling his tongue run across my bottom lip, I granted him access. Sirius pressed his body closer to mine, as he deepened the kiss. A small moan emerged from the back of my throat. Sirius's hand moved down my waist, over my thigh, and stopped just below my knee. Breaking the kiss, he used his other hand to grab a handful of my hair and giving me a tug. That earned him a loud moan. His eyes stayed locked to mine, as he pushed my leg to the side and settled in between my legs. Pressing down into me, he turned his focus on my neck.

"Sirius." His name came out in a hot breath. "Si-oh god."

"Shh." He hushed me, before moving his finger and pressing his hand against my cheek, giving him the support, he needed to lean himself down to me and connect our lips again. His lips were firm against mine, but the kiss remained soft, gentle, slow. We held it for a few seconds before our lips began to move in perfect sync, slowly, cautiously. Sirius exhaled through his nose, not wanting to let go. His entire body had been taken over by the overwhelming feeling of relief, combined with eccentric panic, and lust. Sirius moved his hand from my cheek to the back of my head. His fingers tangling into my long dark chocolate hair, lightly pulling me up into him, adding more pressure to our lips, deepening the kiss. One of my hands laid on his back, while the other gripped onto his jacket in a fist. Sirius broke the kiss, leaving a trail of kisses along my jaw and back down to my neck. His hips pressed down harder onto mine, griding ever so slowly. Sirius exhaled through his nose, not wanting to let go.

My mind was being clouded with a fog of emotions. I was fighting between going on and putting a stop to it. I didn't want him to stop. The feeling of his mouth on me and the grinding was becoming too much to handle. At the same time, I knew we had to stop. We weren't in the most private of places. Anyone could walk in at any mo-

"Sirius Black!"