Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! Though there weren't many...I'd like to know what people think of my story; and I know a lot of people are reading it because of story alerts! Please read and review! Thanks!

~Elle

Alice smiled as she put the finishing touches on the giant Quidditch cake. Of course, since spending time with the Marauders as they had been, her little boy had fallen in love with Quidditch. The minute she had asked Harry and Neville what they wanted for their cake, they both yelled out "Quidditch!" So she made the beautiful Quidditch cake, three goal posts on either end of the oval shaped cake, a quidditch field in the middle with a tiny snitch charmed to flit around the boundaries of the cake and eight broomstick shaped candles, four for each boy. On the field in large red letters, were the words "Happy 4th Birthday Neville and Harry!" The party was gathered in her backyard, waiting patiently (or impatiently in the case of two four year old boys) for the cake.

Oh, how things had changed! It had been 10 months now since she lost her husband, and months ago she never thought she could be as happy as she was! She still missed him, of course she did, and she told Neville about him often, but she found out that she could still be happy, and she knew that's what Frank would have wanted. She and Neville had moved out of the house she'd had with Frank, and into a much smaller house in Hogsmead, where she could be closer to her friends and support system, and Neville could grow up right across the street from Harry! It was just too hard to live in the house she had lived in with him, and she felt that in order to move on with her life, she needed to start over.

With the beautiful cake floating in front of her, she made her way to the backyard, where a loud rendition of "Happy Birthday" began at the sight of the cake. She had to laugh at the way Harry and Neville's eyes lit up at the sight of their cake. As the song came to a close, she levitated the cake down on the table in front of them and instructing them to make a wish.

Both sets of eyes closed; both faces screwed up in thought, before they opened their eyes and blew out the candles, to the applause of the audience. As James came with a knife to cut the cake, Harry stopped him.

"You can't cut that cake, daddy! You'll ruin it!" he said, seriously.

The adults laughed, and Remus came out with a camera. "Smile, boys!" he said, and the boys did so, smiling from behind their beautiful cake.

"There," said Alice, "now you can see it whenever you want, and we can eat it!" Harry agreed, and allowed James to cut into it, and scoop him and Neville the first large pieces of cake.

Then the boys began opening presents. So many good things! A box of sweets; toy wands that shot green ooze; a lot of new clothes; and a children's potion kit and a book of simple recipes including one that turned the consumer's hair blue for an hour, one that made the consumer burp the Hogwarts song, and other silly things. Harry and Neville opened identical boxes of cat toys, at which Harry squealed in delight at the thought of playing with them with Moo, and Neville got a confused look on his face until Sirius approached him with a tiny new black and grey kitten of his own!

Neville screamed and jumped up and down, taking the tiny kitten in his hands and gently stroking it's head, before jumping into Sirius' arms and wrapping his little arms around his neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he exclaimed.

Sirius hugged the little boy back, but whispered into his ear "It's from your mum, tiger. I got you the toys." He put Neville on the ground, who immediately ran to his mother and offered her the same treatment.

Harry watched, smiling at Neville's excitement. Now their kitties would be able to play together! He absentmindedly began opening another gift when BANG!

Harry jumped in surprise as the box banged loudly, covering him in black soot, and silence ensued around the party, other than the two young red-headed twins who were laughing uncontrollably. Molly Weasley turned to her two trouble makers. "Did you do that?" she asked, fiercely. The twins nodded, grins vanishing. "It wasn't going to hurt him," promised one twin. "It just makes a loud noise and throws dust!" the other added. Harry started laughing once he got over his shock, and pretty soon the entire party was laughing!

The Weasley's were newer friends, but they had a boy Harry and Neville's age that the boys enjoyed playing with. They had met the Weasley's at the memorial service the Auror office held in memory of Frank Longbottom, and Mrs. Weasley's brothers, Gideon and Fabian Prewett. The children had played nicely with each other, and the families decided to keep in contact.

After present opening, the children decided to play Quidditch with the children's quidditch set Harry had gotten a few years ago, but had not really been old enough to play with until recently. The game did not include broomsticks, but the kids ran around on the ground playing not entirely by the rules.

The adults sat to the side, watching and conversing, until Neville fell and skinned his knee, and began to cry. Alice stood to go to him, but Sirius had gotten there first. He gently picked him up and placed him in the chair Sirius had vacated, checked over the small wound, cleaned it out with the tip of his wand, and healed it.

"All better?" he asked the little boy. Neville nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes, and hugged Sirius. "Thank you," he said, before rushing to rejoin the other kids. Sirius turned back to the group of adults as if nothing happened and rejoined in the conversation.

The party was over, all the guests had gone home. Harry was exhausted and cranky, and James had taken him home. At Neville's request, Sirius was going to stay and read him a goodnight story. Currently, Alice was watching Sirius and Neville play with the new kitten on the floor.

"What's his name?" Sirius asked the little boy as he held the fake mouse in front of the kitten, who jumped to try to catch it.

Neville laughed at the kitten's antics, before picking him up gently and petting his head. The tiny cat purred and lay his head contentedly on Neville's arm. Neville screwed his face up in thought, considering names for his new little friend. "Shadow," he finally responded, thinking of his favorite book, which had a black and grey cat named Shadow.

Finally, Alice insisted it was time for bath and bed, and she got Neville to put Shadow down and go upstairs.

Later, Alice stood in the doorway, watching Sirius read to her little boy. As the story finished, she went in and kissed him on the forehead, and the two adults went back downstairs.

"Thank you, Sirius," Alice said, before Sirius could go home. "I'm glad he has you; he needs a father figure and it seems as though he's chosen you."

Sirius smiled, "I love the little guy, and I'm thankful that you let me be a part of his life," he responded. He paused, as though he wanted to say something else, before he turned and flooed back home.

Alice went to bed shortly afterward, but didn't fall asleep right away. She thought about the wonderful birthday party they had thrown for the boys that day, and how much fun they had had. Neville was so excited as Sirius came out with Shadow, and Sirius was wonderful with the boy as he hugged him tightly before telling him that it was really Alice who had gotten the cat. Alice smiled at the thought; it was really Sirius' idea, they had picked him out together and while Alice had paid for the tiny kitten, Sirius had kept it at his place for the three days preceding the party. Alice felt it was really more Sirius' gift then hers.

The kids had been so cute with their ground-quidditch game. She felt bad for Neville as he was pushed to the ground, and got up to immediately tend to him, but Sirius had been faster and Alice enjoyed watching him as he tenderly tended to the small child.

And then, as guests were leaving, Neville practically begged Sirius to stay until bedtime so he could read him his bedtime story. Sirius had glanced at Alice, who gave her nod of approval.

Alice felt her heart beat faster as she recalled the scene in the living room, as Sirius played on the floor with Neville and the kitten. She was sitting on the couch watching the scene; she truly was glad Neville had taken to Sirius as much as he had. When Neville had first started attaching himself to Sirius, Alice was concerned. Neville had a father, and she didn't want him to be replaced in Neville's heart. She realized Neville needed a man in his life; a fatherly figure, and that didn't mean that man would replace Frank. However, it seemed as though Neville was starting to choose Sirius to be that man. Sirius, the immature boy she remembered from Hogwarts, who got in trouble for some prank every other day. Even after Lily and James had gotten married, Sirius hadn't changed. However, the more time Alice spent with the man the more she realized that he HAD changed. He had matured, and he was a responsible adult now, and Neville adored him.

She recalled other moments that Sirius had spent with Neville; telling him stories about Frank, and the fun things they'd done together. She realized that Sirius would never let Neville forget his father, and made sure he knew how much his father had loved him.

Then she thought back to just a few hours ago, as she was watching Sirius read to her baby boy. She realized how much she really did care for him; as more than a father figure for Neville. That moment in front of the fire, she wanted to hug him so badly, but she held back; and then he hurried away.

Here, it hadn't even been a year since the love of her life died, and she never thought she would feel the same about another human being. And while her feelings toward Sirius weren't that intense…yet, she couldn't help but add…she was surprised to find herself having any feelings at all toward another man.

She thought about Frank…What would he think about her newfound feelings toward Sirius? She knew Frank would have wanted her to be happy; he would have wanted his son to grow up with a father figure in his life, and Sirius was Frank's friend. But would he think she was moving too fast? Would he think she was replacing him? Something told her he wouldn't.

But what was to say Sirius even thought of her as more then a friend?

XX

As Sirius stood in front of the fireplace talking to Alice, he felt his heart beating faster and faster. He spoke the truth when he said he was thankful to be a part of Neville's life, but it was more than that. He wanted to be a part of Alice's life. He wanted to kiss her, there, in front of the fireplace. He wanted to spill his guts to her, but who was he kidding? She had lost her husband all of 10 months ago! He turned and ran through the floo before he could do or say anything inappropriate. He paced his own living room, thinking about Alice. She was so beautiful, inside and out. She was caring and thoughtful, and she was an excellent mother to that little boy. He truly was thankful she allowed him to be a part of Neville's life, and he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that, but he realized now that while he would never want to replace Frank, he wanted to be more than a male role model in the boy's life.

Merlin, he needed to talk this over! He quickly flooed to James' place, where he found his best mate reading a Quidditch magazine on the couch.

"Hey," James said, putting the magazine down, and looking at his friend. "You OK?" he asked, motioning to the spot on the couch next to him. Sirius plopped down on the couch and sighed, running his hand through his hair. James, sensing his need to talk, summoned a pot of tea from the kitchen, and offered his mate a cup. Sirius took a sip and thought for a moment before speaking up.

"What am I going to do?" he asked his friend. James sat, clueless, waiting for Sirius to relay more information so he had some bloody idea on what he was talking about.

"About what?" James asked, when Sirius remained silent.

Sirius didn't speak for another minute, not sure how to get the words out. He recalled a similar situation back at Hogwarts, when he was convinced he was in love with Mia Jackson; but now that he met Alice he felt he knew the meaning of the word; more than just some teenage infatuation.

"I think I'm falling in love, Prongs," he finally admitted.

To his surprise, James chuckled. Sirius looked at him, almost angrily. "I'm serious, James! I don't know what to do!"

"Why don't you try telling her?" James asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The way you two look at each other, it surprises me you haven't done anything before now!"

Sirius was shocked. "Was it really that obvious?" he asked his mate.

"To everyone but you too," James responded, shaking his head humerously.

"But what if she doesn't feel the same way about me?" Sirius asked, suddenly feeling like a girl-shy teenager at that statement. "I mean, she lost Frank less than a year ago," he added, redeeming himself.

"The way she looks at you, I doubt you'll have a problem," James replied. "Frank would have wanted her to be happy, and it's obvious the way you two feel about each other. You should talk to her. If you don't, your both just going to keep silently lusting after each other, when you could be much happier together," James advised his friend.

Sirius sighed, but agreed. He needed to talk to her. Changing the subject, he challenged James to a game of Wizards chess. After James won two out of three games, Sirius finally went home. He lay in bed contemplating how he would talk to Alice, and determined to do it tomorrow. It was a Saturday; neither of them had to work, they would have all the time they needed.

XX

The next morning, Sirius woke up after a thoroughly happy dream about Alice. He stood under the hot water longer then necessary in the shower, thinking about what he would say to her. He stood in front of the mirror, practicing the words over and over again and thinking about how they sounded. Corny, he thought, sappy..mushy. But women seemed to like that stuff, so he supposed it would be alright.

He walked to Alice's house instead of flooing later that morning; it was a short walk and he needed the fresh air. He knocked on her door, and Neville answered.

"Sirius!" he shouted, jumping into the mans arms.

"Hiya, kiddo," Sirius said, ruffling the boys hair and stepping into the house. "How are all those fun new toys of yours coming along?"

He put the boy down after crossing the threshold, and the child ran behind the couch and came back with the tiny little furball named Shadow. "He's such a good kitty, Sirius," he said, happily.

Alice walked in, and smiled when she saw Sirius standing there with her son. Upon seeing her, Sirius felt the involuntary butterflies in his tummy. But he was a chicken. More than a chicken, he was a coward, and he couldn't bring himself to say any more then inviting Alice and Neville to a picnic in the park. I'll do it later, when Neville isn't around, he told himself.

At the park, the three sat on a blanket eating their lunch, as Neville stuffed the last bit of sandwich into his mouth and asked, with his mouth full and crumbs flying out if he could go play. Sirius raised an eyebrow and instructed him to chew and swallow before he spoke. Neville did so, and then asked, in a much clearer voice, if he could go play. At Sirius and Alice's nod, he ran off to the playground, leaving the adults laughing at his antics. They watched as Neville found joined a little boy in the sandbox; which surprised Sirius somewhat.

"I'm glad he seems to be coming out of his shell a bit," he commented. "He's normally so shy around kids he doesn't know."

Alice nodded in agreement, "that's why he and Harry complement each other so well; Harry keeps Neville busy and Neville keeps Harry out of trouble. For the most part anyway," she said as an afterthought. Harry and Neville managed plenty of trouble despite Neville's cautiousness. The two adults laughed as they talked about some of the things the boys had gotten themselves into, finally catching each others eyes. Sirius let himself lean forward and kiss her gently on the lips, mentally scolding himself; he hadn't meant for it to come to this, without talking first, but he was surprised when she kissed him fully back without hesitation. He finally pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he said, his face red…though he was anything but sorry.

"Why?" asked Alice. She had, after all, wanted this as much as he did!

Sirius didn't reply, just looked at her, and saw what he needed to in her eyes. She wanted this, too. At that moment, Neville came running up to them, demanding that Sirius come and play with him. Sirius obliged, with one last smile back at Alice, he chased after Neville.

From that moment on, Sirius spent every moment he wasn't at work with Alice, and it was October when he proposed, and she accepted without hesitation. Fast? Maybe, but the two loved each other and knew this was right. The wedding would be in February; nothing huge, friends and family only. James and Remus stood next to Sirius; while two of Alice's friends stood next to her. Neville stood proudly at James' side, watching as his mother and Sirius exchanged vows, and kissed. Harry closed his eyes at that part, but Neville didn't. He was too happy. As they were pronounced husband and wife, Neville ran up to them and jumped into their arms, one around each neck, and pulling them both close.

"You're my Papa now," he told Sirius with a big smile. Neville decided that Sirius would be his Papa, because Frank had been his dad.