Melissa had been outside for only a few minutes before she heard a loud squealing of brakes, and suddenly there was a large bus parked next to the kerb right in front of her. She put up one hand to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness of the bus' lights. The other hand was holding tightly to her trunk, which contained the only things she now owned in the world.

"Hello?" she called out softly, feeling completely silly. She had to be imagining this - after all, she knew full well that this spot was not a bus stop.

And then a man peered out from the bus door and, on sight of her, he grinned.

"Hello! Are you looking for a lift, young miss?"

She swallowed the large lump in her throat and nodded.

"I guess so," she said doubtfully. She wondered if he was a wizard.

"Dangerous times, these, miss," the man continued. "Especially for one as young as yourself. Well, don't just stand there gawking!" He said impatiently, gesturing for her to board the bus. "Get a move on! We don't have all day, you know!"

She walked slowly across the grass towards the bus and the friendly young man, dragging her trunk behind her. She felt strangely liberated; she had found a way out of this mess! She had received Lily's owl, and knew that if she turned up at the Evans' household, her friend wouldn't be there. She also knew from this letter that Kendra was in St Mungo's, and was very concerned for her. So she only had one other option - the place where her dear redheaded friend was staying at tonight, along with Lily's boyfriend and…

She shook her head angrily, tears stinging at her eyes. Now was not the time to be thinking about the despicable young man who had broken her heart previously. She needed to act, and fast!

She had finally reached the bus, and could see the man who had welcomed her so heartily much more clearly now. He was short and of medium build, but this suited him. His fair hair was tousled and streaked with brown and he was wearing a muggle outfit of jeans and a loose T-shirt. Again, it suited him considerably. He was fairly good-looking, but not nearly as handsome as Sirius.

He smiled at her warmly and she looked straight into his penetrating green eyes.

"Thank you." And she meant it. This man did not even know her, yet he was going well out of his way to help her!

"It's no bother, miss," he replied, taking her trunk from her and slinging it onto one of the beds on the bus. She marvelled at this; it was not often that one saw beds on buses. In fact, she had never seen a bus quite like this before.

"What is this bus?" she asked him, confused. "No, I don't mean to offend you, but…" she trailed off, unsure how to end the sentence.

"No, I understand." he replied. "This is the Knight Bus. We travel all around England helping witches and wizards like yourself to get to their desired location. This," he gestured to the driver, whom she had not noticed until he had been pointed out, "is Hank, and I'm Will. Well, William Percy, really, but I'll be forced to use the Avada Kedavra on you if you call me that!"

"I'm Melissa," she said, not really finding his weak attempt at a joke funny.

His smile faded and was replaced with a sad frown, "I'm sorry. That wasn't really funny, was it?"

She shook her head, agreeing. "It's not really a good time for jokes like that, I guess." She sighed, "And I've just been kicked out of my family's house, so I'm not in the mood for jokes. Sorry."

His face was suddenly lined with sorrow. "You poor darling! We need to get going, but I'll understand if you don't know where to go. You can stay on the bus for as long as you need, Melissa. Or do you prefer Mel?"

"Mel, please. And I'd love that! Thank you once more - you've helped me more than I think you realize."

He helped her set up her things on the bus and the two of them sat side by side on her bed, talking. Hank was an incredibly fast driver, but no muggles could see the Knight Bus, so she didn't have to worry, Will told her.

She found him to be a very funny companion, which was exactly what she needed. She found herself telling him all about her home situation, all about Hannah and her mother and about all the things she was worried about. After a few hours, he knew all about Kendra's depression, the cause of it - Chloe's death - Lily and James and how unlikely they were as a couple, and she even found herself talking freely about Sirius for the first time.

In return, he told her about his problems. He was straight out of Durmstrang and in training to become an Auror, but he couldn't shake off his sorrow over his ex wife. They had been together for three years - she was a muggle and had run away and divorced him when he had broken the news to her that he was a wizard - and he had never fully recovered from the heartbreak her rejection had caused him.

"Hey, would you like to come and stay with me at my flat until you figure out what to do?" he asked her abruptly, looking vulnerable. She couldn't believe it - here was the answer to the problem she couldn't stop thinking about! She could stay with someone she trusted - although she had just met him - and she wouldn't have to see Sirius until September 1st. It was perfect!

She grinned at him, "I would love to. If it's not too much trouble?"

He shook his head. "It's no bother! In fact, I would love to have you."

And then, regardless of their surroundings and circumstances, they were kissing. Slowly at first, their lips captured each other and then she locked her arms around his head and his own arms made a circle around her waist. They were kissing almost hungrily now, eating each other up.

"Annabelle," he whispered softly into her ear and she immediately stiffened.

"What did you say?" she asked him, pulling away now.

She could see him trying to catch his breath and to comprehend what had just occurred between the two of them.

"I'm sorry."

"She's the ex, right?" Mel said sadly. "You still love her."

"Yes. I'm sorry too. Do you still want to come back to my place?"

"Well, actually, there's a friend of mine I can go with, but thanks for the offer.," she said.

"Maybe it's for the best," Will mused. "After all, you've still got your Sirius to make up with."

She sat up quickly, "He's not my Sirius and there's no way in hell I'm making up with him!"

He only smirked as if he knew something she didn't. "That's what you think, sweetie."

"Yes it is, and nothing you say will change my mind!" She persisted stubbornly. He wasn't going to win this one; she would make sure of that!

"For now," he said, snickering. She could only glare in response.

"So where's your mate's house?" he asked her.

"I don't know, but it's pretty well known." she replied. "It's called the Potter Mansion."

About an hour later, Mel stood on James Potter's doorstep. She had just rung the bell and was now waiting for someone to answer it. It was fairly late and she hoped that they were still awake.

The door opened a crack.

"Hello?" a voice whispered to her.

"Hi!" she said. "I don't know who this is, but is James Potter in this house?"

There was a pause, but then the same voice answered her. "Well… yes there is."

"Can I talk to him?"

There was a longer pause before the voice replied. "May I ask who I am talking to?"

"Please tell him it's Melissa Anderson from school," she said. "Are you his, um, uncle?"

There was a loud crash from within the house, but when the door did not open any further, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She gently reached out her hand and pushed the door open.

She stepped inside, and gasped when she saw what lay within. Sirius Black was hopping about next to a hat stand that lay on the floor, clutching his foot and crying out in agony. He gave a start when he noticed her.

"Mel! Um, I didn't…"

She glared at him icily. "You were going to leave me out there," she guessed, knowing she was right when she saw him wince. "Well guess what? I'm in the same situation that you were in a year ago, and if you hadn't let me in, I would've had nowhere to go!" She thought it was best, given her circumstances, not to mention Will. "So are you happy now?"

He stood up straight and she noticed that his face was ashen. He, for possibly the first time in his life, looked apologetic. "You've been disowned?" he asked in a hoarse, strangled voice, staring at her as if he had never seen her before.

"Exactly." Her voice was withering; she didn't want to talk to him, she wanted Lily, or even James.

"But I thought your folks…" he trailed off, looking unsure.

"Were nice?" she finished for him, "Well you thought wrong then, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Hey Mel, I'm sorry. I know what it feels like to be cast out by your family and if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here."

She snorted derisively. Talk to him about her personal matters? Hardly likely!

"No, really!" He protested, hearing her. "It'll help. Trust me on this one."

"You've proven to me enough times in the past that you are impossible to trust," she countered coolly, folding her arms across her chest and staring him down.

Sirius threw up his hands in defeat. "All right then. You've made your point. Couldn't we at least be friends?"

"And watch while you screw your next billion girlfriends? Not a chance."

His face was pained as he answered. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

She screwed up her own face as if in thought. "Oh, I wonder… maybe it's the fact that you can't keep your dick in your pants!"

"For your information," he said smoothly, his face innocent. She wondered what he was hiding - there had to be something. "I haven't had sex since you and I got together."

She gaped at him, speechless.

"So don't judge me, okay?"

This infuriated her. "When have I ever-"

"Remember that night in the common room?" he interrupted her sourly. "You were so surprised because I was studying."

"The first day of Hogwarts last year," she murmured. Indeed, she did remember.

"I was going to tell you I loved you," he replied.

"You never loved anyone but yourself."

"You wouldn't know; you don't have any idea what love is."

"Some people say it isn't real. That love isn't possible," she countered swiftly.

He scowled at her, and she felt the familiar tug at her heart she had felt when she was in first year, stepping off the train and catching sight of a dark haired boy. It hadn't been love at first sight exactly, but she had certainly liked what she had seen of Sirius Black.

"And there are more that will tell you differently."

She was surprised - whether pleasantly so, she couldn't say - that she'd forgotten how well he could hold his own in an argument.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," she found herself saying. "Where are Lily and James?"

He rolled his eyes. "God! You are so immature. They're in the kitchen talking. Figured they needed some alone time after James went off for a late night stroll in the garden and Lily and Jake went absolutely bananas at him when he got back. They woke me up."

"Who's Jake?"

"My uncle," James said conversationally, sharing a glance with Lily who walked at his side down the hallway towards Sirius and Mel. "Hello Mel. Hope we're not interrupting anything?"

She smiled weakly back at him, "No you aren't, and hi to you too!"

"Mel!" Lily cried happily. She broke rank at James' side and rushed forward to hug her friend tightly. "How've your holidays been? How are your family doing? I got your letter! Is Mike's fiancé really that bad? And while I love you for it, what are you doing here? I mean," she explained, when she saw Mel's look, "Your parents never let you out of their sight in the holidays! What happened?"

Lily's concerned face was the last thing she saw as she fainted from exhaustion and fatigue in the entrance to James Potter's house. She vaguely felt someone - Sirius - catch her as she fell, but she was too deeply asleep to recall being carried up to the room next to Lily's and placed very gently onto a bed.

She was so deeply asleep that she didn't even hear Sirius say, "She's been disowned."

Oh poor Mel! I'm not sure that she was quite ready for a confrontation with Sirius, and in her state of mind she said things she probably shouldn't have... Next chapter there'll be more of an explanation as to why Mel won't 'do it' with Sirius, but I think from last chapter that most people should have figured it out already. Also, major anti-cliffhanger last chapter with the whole "James is missing" thing. I think that was explained in this chapter though. I'm sorry, but I think that Potter Mansion is fairly safe from Death Eaters and I imagine that Jake and Allison have lots of anti apparition wards and security spells on the house.

Please, please, please, PLEASE review!! does puppy eyes damn! how come it works for Sirius and not for me?!

xx

Baby seal