Ch. 8- Just Popping In

A/N: wow, it's been a long time since I've updated...sorry, I was grounded for a while. anyways, don't worry, I haven't given up on it yet...so here it is!

Said one, two princes kneel before you
That what I said now
Princes, princes who adore you
Just go ahead now
One has diamonds in his pockets
That's some bread, now
This one said he wants to buy you rockets
Ain't in his head, now

Marry him, marry me
I'm the one that loved you baby can't you see?
Ain't got no future or family tree
But I know what a prince and lover ought to be
I know what a prince and lover ought be

Two Princes- Spin Doctors

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For the rest of the day, we surfed and made sand castles and just laid around on the sand. It was fun and it was the first time in a long time that I'd seen Dad a genuine smile. He was laughing too, and having a good time. And that made me happy.

Sirius stuck close by my side the whole day after the little bum incident. I don't think he trusted me to be able to handle myself. Which made me kind of angry, but at the same time I was grateful for his presence.

"Alright, let's grab a bite to eat and then head back home." Dad said, as we returned our surfboards. We stopped into the tea shop, where Dad got some soup and sandwiches to go and then we apparated back home.

"So, what are you guys up to tomorrow?" He asked, as we sat down to eat.

"Don't know yet." I replied, taking a bite of my ham and cheese sandwich.

"We'll probably figure it out five minutes before we go do whatever it is." Sirius added.

"Well, I'll be here working on my art." Dad said. "By the way, Joie, you're paint set is awesome. I don't think I ever thanked you for it." He added, smiling apologetically.

"It was no problem." I said, waving a hand.

That night I climbed into bed next to Sirius and I pulled all of the blankets over to my side. My dad kept the house like an ice box and so we were both freezing.

"Hey!" He said, indignantly. "I save your arse today and this is the thanks I get?"

"Yep." I replied, giving him some blanket.

"So, what happened today?" He asked, after a minute. "I mean, I've seen you duel and you're not exactly a person to be reckoned with."

"I don't know. I think he just kind of threw me off and it happened so fast. I wasn't thinking clearly and I didn't know how to react." I said, quietly. " I don't even want to think what would've happened if you hadn't been there." I added, a slight shiver going up my spine.

"Well, you were a damsel in distress, I couldn't just not save you." He said, grinning at me cockily.

"I was not a damsel in distress!" I exclaimed.

"Oh you can deny it all you want, but I know what I saw." He said, laughing. I pretended to pout.

"I don't think I've ever seen you that angry before." I said, after a minute.

"Yeah, well, that guy was violating you and I wasn't about to stand for that." He said, a hint of anger in his voice. "I might be a royal prick sometimes, but I have always respected a girl's wishes. If she tells me to stop, then I don't push it any further."

"Oh and that's why all the girlies love you!" I said, in the most girlish voice I could muster.

"Damn right." He said. "But in all honesty, when I saw that guy feeling you up, I snapped. I mean, who did he think he was, putting his hands on you like that?"

"Alright, big brother, he's not here anymore." I said, laughing at how worked up he was getting. "Besides, why are you getting all worked up over it?"

"You're one of my best friends, Joie. I'd die for you and you're really important to me." He said, seriously. I looked at him- he only called me Joie when it was something totally and completely serious. "And I just can't help it if I let that get the better of me sometimes." He added, and I laid there looking into his eyes, I could've sworn that I saw another emotion in there- like love. But then it passed as quickly as I'd seen and I wasn't sure if I'd just imagined it.

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The next morning I didn't open my eyes right away when I woke up. I was savoring the last remnants of sleep when I realized that something was slightly off. I felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist and a head buried into my neck. My back was pressed into Sirius' chest and he went on sleeping, oblivious to this somewhat awkward position. I shifted my weight so I could look at his face. He looked so innocent as he slept peacefully- so unlike his true personality. But, I just lay there for a few minutes, soaking in the warmth of his body before getting up and getting ready for the day.

"Hey, sweetie, did you sleep good?" Dad asked, as I walked into the kitchen and popped a bagel in the toaster.

"Yeah, like a baby." I replied.

"Good, good. And I take it Sirius kept you warm?" He continued, a hint of amusement in his voice. I looked at him.

"Yes, well, you know how he moves around in his sleep and all." I said, blushing slightly and smiling.

"Do I need to have that talk with you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. I gaped at him.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, finding my voice. "Oh my god!" I added, amazed that he would read into it like that.

"Well, given that boy's reputation I hope you know to at least use a condom." He continued on, looking over the paper at me.

"Um, well, you see, Sirius and I are just friends." I said, still in shock that I was having this conversation with my father. "Just friends."

"I'm just giving you a hard time." He said, laughing. I glared at him as my bagel dinged. "Hey, Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, shoot." He said, turning back to the paper.

"How come we don't talk about mom?" I asked, after a minute. He slowly put the paper down and looked at me.

"Honey, we can talk about her if you want to." He said, a sadness filling his voice. "I just thought it was easier for you not to."

"Well, at first it was. I thought that if I just didn't mention it, it would go away." I said, shrugging. "But then, you started to distance yourself from me and I didn't know how to react. At the funeral, I thought that I had to be the strong one and that if I showed any sign of emotion that I would be showing weakness. I just didn't know how to handle it."

"Joie, crying wouldn't have been showing weakness, it would have been perfectly normal." Dad said, shaking his head. "In fact, I don't think you've cried ever since mom died."

"I haven't. I figured that if I could fool everyone into thinking that I had it together than it would be easier for me to believe." I replied. "But I had nightmares and I hardly ever slept. All of the time over Christmas vacation that I was here I only slept one night. All the others I just went from room to room cleaning and organizing everything."

"So that was you." He said, a slight smile on lips. "I wondered who did that."

"Yeah, but Remus talked to me and I've slept much better since then." I said, shrugging.

"Alright, well what do you want to talk about?" He asked, putting the paper aside.

"What was she like when she was my age? I know you guys met at school, but I don't much else." I said, sitting Indian style on my chair.

"Well, she was one of the smartest witches in the year and she tried to be nice to everyone." He started, a smile spreading over his face. "But, for some odd reason, she hated me. She would always yell at me if I even said hello to her. I think it was because I was somewhat of a troublemaker. Not like you, Sirius, James, and Remus, but I had my fair share of pranks. Anyways, she would never do anything that had the slightest connection to me."

"That sounds a lot like James and this girl he's head over heels for, Lily Evans." I said, laughing. "She says he's an arrogant, cocky prick with no feelings."

"That was much the same way your mother felt about me." Dad said, laughing as well. "I thought I was king of the world and she hated it. But, eventually, my ego deflated and I did everything I could to prove that I was worth her time. And eventually she agreed to go out with me."

"So, I get my rebelliousness from you, eh?" I said.

"That you do. Your mother always said that nobody would ever mistake you as not being my daughter. We are more alike than you think. But you inherited her good looks, intelligence, and sense of humor." He said, getting up to pour himself another cup of coffee.

"I miss her so much that sometimes I wonder what I'm suppose to do without her." I said, after a minute. "But then I remember all the good times we had and it makes a little better."

"Yeah, I thought about what you're mother would do if she saw the way I'd become. I knew she wouldn't like it and probably would've hexed me into oblivion for it." He said, sitting back down. "But you know, she'll always be with us and her love will never die. As long as we still have each other and we remember her we'll be just fine."

"M-m-morning" Sirius yawned as he walked into the kitchen. He sat down, his eyes still half closed and looked at the table clearly not awake. And that was that, Dad and I had no problems talking about mom after that.

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The rest of the time flew by and part of me wanted to stay, but I knew that I should back. Dad said that he would come out to visit and so I would see him again soon. Besides, James, Sirius, and I only had half of the summer left to come up with pranks and new ways to cause trouble. We needed to get a move on.

"Hey, how was Greece and France?" I asked, as James and his parents walked into the family room.

"It was good. We had a lot of fun." James said, enthusiastically. "What about Chicago?"

"Actually, it was better than I thought it was going to be." I replied, smiling. "My dad and I made up and we caught up."

"Well, good, things are back to normal then." He said, smiling back. "Where's Padfoot?"

"Upstairs somewhere." I said, and he left the room. I was reading a book on Charms and their origination's, when Mrs. Potter walked in.

"Joie, there's a young man here who says that he knows you." She said, before walking into the kitchen. I walked out into the entrance hall and saw Jon standing there.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked, smiling.

"Well, I figured that we needed to something since I haven't seen at all this summer." He replied, giving me a hug.

"What were you thinking?" I asked, looking at him.

"How about the Quidditch cup between England and Ireland?" He asked, fanning two tickets out.

"Oh my god! How did you get tickets? It's been sold out forever!" I squealed. Okay, I don't squeal very often, but I mean, c'mon, it's the Qudditch cup.

"Well, my dad knows the ticket guy at the Ministry and he got them early. But, he had to back out because he had to work. The game starts in about two hours, so we should get a move one." He said, moving towards the door.

"Alright, let me just go tell James and Sirius where I'm going." I replied, backing over to the stairs.

"Sirius is here?" He said, his eyebrows raising.

"Yeah, but hey, don't worry, I'll be back in two shakes of a broomstick." I said, brushing off his more than meaningful look. Sirius was my best friend, not competition.

"Hey, guys, I'm leaving for a while." I said, poking my head in James' room.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Jon showed up and, get this, he has two tickets to the Qudditch cup!" I said, excitedly. James mouth dropped open, while Sirius stiffened.

"You're joking! But that's been sold out! I mean, it's impossible to get tickets." James said, in disbelief.

"Yeah, well, his dad knows the ticket guy, I guess." I replied, smiling broadly. "Anyways, I'll be back later, don't wait up for me."

"Have fun!" James called, a hint of jealousy in his voice. Sirius didn't say anything.

"Alright, let's go." I said, opening the front door.

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We got to the stadium just in time. There were thousands of fans there and it was a madhouse. We had great seats- right up top level with the action. Jon had bought rosettes and banners proclaiming his loyalty to the English and I had an Irish hat on. I loved my country, I did, but nothing beat the Irish at Qudditch.

The game started and the Irish pulled ahead. Jon and I had a bet going- whichever team won, the loser had to whatever the winner wanted. I didn't think it would be a problem for me as my team was already ahead by fifty points. I smiled smugly at Jon and he just smiled back. Then, about ten minutes later the English pulled back and gained ahead. If the Irish caught the snitch, it was it was all over and they would win. But if the English caught it, they won. Everyone was the edge of their seats as the two seekers went into a sharp dive. They were neck and neck, getting closer and closer, until-

"AND WILLIAMS HAS THE SNITCH! ENGLAND WINS THE CUP!" The commentator shouted into the microphone.

"Well, how bout that, eh?" Jon said, and I could hear the smugness in his voice. "Looks like my team won."

"So it would seem." I replied, indifferently. "What will it be, oh master of the universe?" I added, bowing down low to him.

"Oh, I think I like this." He said, rubbing his hands together. "I think I want you and me to go and have nice dinner together and then I want you to meet my parents. After that, we can take a walk in the park before I drop you off at the Potters' and maybe, quite possibly, get a kiss in there too."

"I think that can be arranged." I said, giving him a sideways glance.

"Well, good." He replied, smiling at me.

Dinner was at this expensive restaurant and Jon insisted on paying. I protested to no end, but he told me I had to whatever he wanted. So, I gave in. When we went back to his house, I was beginning to get nervous. I was meeting his parents and I didn't know how I was supposed to act. I kept fidgeting the whole way there and more than once, Jon reached over to grab my hand to silence it.

"Stop worrying, you'll be fine. Just be yourself, they're going to love you." He said, reassuringly.

"Okay." I replied, trusting him.

He was right- his parents loved me and kept making such a big fuss over how their little boy was growing up. I think it embarrassed Jon, actually. His mom and dad were very nice and they had a certain charm about them that just made me feel warm and welcome. They said that Jon talked of almost nothing but me and that they were glad to finally meet the girl that stolen his heart. I blushed at this, but it made me feel happy all the same.

"Sorry about them. It's just, they get excited over everything." He said, as we left to go take a walk. There was a park nearby and it was a gorgeous night out. "I mean, they're so involved in everything in my life."

"Well, at least they care." I said, thinking of Sirius and his family. "Some people aren't so lucky."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed. "So, when do I get to meet your parents?" He asked, looking at me.

"Actually, it's just my dad and me." I said, looking at the ground. "And he's in America, so I'm not sure."

"Where's your mum?" He asked, curiously. "Wait, that's nosy and insensitive of me, don't answer that." He added quickly. I laughed.

"It's fine, really." I said, smiling. "She died a little over a year ago. I miss her a lot, but it's getting better- and easier- to handle."

"I'm sorry. I don't what I'd do if my mum were to die." He said, quietly. I looked at my watch.

"I can't believe it's 12:30 already." I said, surprised at how fast the time had gone by. "I should really be getting back."

"Alright, well, then let's go." He said, and we headed back to his house and then Flooed back to James'.

"Well, here we are." I said, looking at the ground and then back up at him.

"Yeah, here we are." He said. Then he leaned in and placed a soft, but breath taking all the same, kiss on my lips. "See you later." He whispered before stepping back into the grate and flooing back home.

"So, I take your date went well?" A voice from behind me said, scaring the bejesus out of me. I spun around and saw Sirius standing there.

"Have you been waiting up for me." I asked, walking towards him.

"I told Mrs. Potter that I'd make sure you were home before I went to bed." He replied, with a shrug. "I'd almost given up on you."

"Like you have any room to talk, Mr. I-snog-any-decent-looking-girl." I scoffed, and he smiled. Something didn't seem right; he was acting very strange. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He replied, easily. I decided not to push it. He's been acting like this for a while now.

"Alright, if you say so." I said, shrugging, walking past him to go upstairs. "Good night, Padfoot."

"Night, Sunshine."

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and now review if you will...please?