I just blinked back at him. I had tried to prepare myself for this moment, but I hadn't been warned. He had just stepped out of the shadows, just as he had stepped out of my life twelve years ago. I was trying hard not to hyperventilate at the sound of his deep, still incredibly sexy voice. Azkaban had roughened him up more, but I could still see part of the man I'd thought I knew.

"Hello, Sirius," I replied blankly. I could feel the stares of the others in the group fastened on me, but I couldn't bring myself to care. It was obvious they knew all about Sirius's and my history together. There was a long silence where we just stared each other down. I saw something flicker in his eyes, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Remorse? It had better be. It sure as hell hadn't been my fault we were torn apart, and I'm not just talking about Azkaban. It was more than that; this went deeper. I wanted to reach out and touch his face and at the same time, I wanted to hex him into oblivion. I couldn't figure out what to do with myself. Should I say something more? Should I act cold and cruel? These thoughts bounced around in my head as I tried to control my expression. Half of me wanted to smile and hug him, tell him I missed him and to just put everything behind us. But the other half, the more rational part of me, warned myself not to get too close. I just had to calm down and breathe.

"Well!" Tonks clapped her hands together, breaking yet another awkward silence. "Shall we go down to the kitchens and meet the rest of the gang?"

I turned towards her, trying to hold in my insane laughter. It was just so awkward, so tense and disturbing, it was absolutely ridiculous, and Tonks' cheery voice probably wasn't helping much. I wanted to laugh but I wanted to cry. I wanted to sing but I wanted to hit something. This entire situation had me wrapping my arms around my middle and biting my lip to keep the laughter inside.

"Saylie?" Tonks questioned, arching an eyebrow at my shaking form. "Are you alright?"
Hearing those words, I gave in to the absurdity and started hysterically laughing in the middle of the group of people. I laughed and laughed, clutching at my sides and taking gasping breaths. After a minute, Tonks joined in with me.

"You'll get used to her madness," Tonks told the room at large. Wiping my eyes, I stood up straight and beamed, not even caring if I had embarrassed myself. From the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw Sirius smirking. "She's such a loon." Tonks then grabbed my arm and pulled me down a narrow hallway, filled with alarming dark artifacts. It was so dim and dreary in that house. I saw the others move to follow us, and caught a glimpse of Harry going to stand next to Sirius, clapping his shoulder reassuringly. I watched Sirius shrug from the corner of my eye, and saw the look of...dare I say it, caring come over his features as he looked at Harry. I knew Sirius was his godfather, so the look should not have surprised me. But something about it seemed so...affectionate. It was obvious Sirius was very fond of the boy.

"I'm glad I wore my yellow dress," I told Tonks conversationally, hearing the sounds of the rest of the group following behind us down a small flight of stairs. "Merlin knows this house needs some light." I heard Remus chuckle behind my right shoulder.

Once we got down the steps, Tonks took a sharp left and we were suddenly in a large dungeon-like room with a long table in the middle and chairs situated around it haphazardly. There were cooking items and appliances against the walls and a window was embedded into the wall beside them, the sun shining meekly through the clouded glass.

"Ah, Saylie." A red-haried, though slightly balding man stepped forward donned in tattered wizards robes, his glasses askew upon his cheerful face.

"Arthur," I said immediately, smiling at him. I shook his hand and stepped back, seeing others sitting at the table.

"These are my two eldest sons," Arthur gestured toward the two men. One was leaning back in the chair, his long pony tail swinging, and the other was drumming his fingers on the table, looking bored.

"I'm Bill," Said the one with the pony tail, coming over to grasp my hand breifly.

"Charlie," The other man said with a wave. I murmured hello and then turned to Tonks who gave me a significant look. She was referring to that scene back in the entry way, my seeing Sirius and laughing hysterically. I rolled my eyes at her and shook my head, feeling others eyes on me.

"The Order is having a meeting tonight," Tonks informed me. "We're going to discuss...er - " She broke off, glancing around at Harry, Hermione and the Weasley's. "Stuff," She finished lamely.

"All right." I nodded at her.

"But first." Molly Weasley bustled over to the stove. "We're going to see what we can do with all of the cleaning."

"Cleaning?" I questioned.

"This place hasn't been lived in for years," Sirius spoke up from behind me. I whirled to look at him in the face. "And my parents didn't exactly take the best care of it. We've been refurbishing the rooms that have been...infested."

"Oh. I see." Then a word of that scentence registered in my brain. "What do you mean 'infested'?"

"I mean," Sirius said, smirking slightly. "Things that should not be in a home have decided to nest here."

"Exactly," Molly said, sounding somewhat irritated. "And if we don't get a move on, we won't have time to eat before the meeting. So we'll try to tackle multiple rooms at once, this time." She put on her no-nonsense business tone. "We'll break it off into teams. I will rid the drawing room of Nixies with Tonks. Harry and Ron, you two can kill off the Muzzlers and Nymphs in Saylie's room. Make sure you get them all, we don't want her attacked. Ginny and Hermione, you go through the drawers and bureau's in the parlor and sort out the necessary items. That leaves you two," Molly pointed towards Sirius and I.

"What?" I asked tonelessly. She wasn't really going to pair me with him, was she? Not when I just got here...

"You and Sirius can scrub out the guest room," She thrust a bucketful of soapy water into my hands, along with two sponges and two pairs of gloves.

"Er, Molly," Sirius said, sounding amused. "We have wands, you know."

"Yes, but you of all people should know about the charms your dear mother put on all of the rooms," Molly said, frowning. "There are anti-magic charms everywhere. Apparently, your parents didn't want you taking anything important out of their house. You two will have to resort to muggle cleaning."

Sirius just looked at her. "Its alright," I said to Molly. "My parents taught me well. I'll be able to handle it, at least." I glanced at Sirius, smiling innocently when he narrowed his eyes. My stomach flipped and I turned away, annoyed with myself. This was Black, for Merlin's sake. He was a liar, a dirty liar. Scrubbing out the guest room was going to be torture.

"Come on," He said, leading me out of the kitchen and back up the stairs as Molly handed out the rest of the cleaning supplies. Once we got back to the entrance, Sirius headed up another flight of stairs that was to the left of the door. We reached the top and turned right into a long hallway, with disturbing plaques of decapitated house elf heads along the wall.

"What charming decorations," I said awkwardly.

"Courtesy of dear old mum," Sirius muttered darkly. He turned his head to look at me, something unidentified flashing through his eyes. Looking into them, I found myself trapped. His eyes were not cold and harsh, like so many pairs of grey eyes were. His were a bright silver, with just the right amount of warmth flickering through them to make them glow. "So, how have you been?" He asked lightly.

I broke away from his stare, looking down and scowling at the dark red carpet that adorned the floor of the hallway. "Just fine, thanks," I replied coolly. "And yourself?"

"I've been better," Sirius said, mimicking my tone. We reached the guest room, a tiny space with walls painted a dirty off-white and two windows that were so filthy, you couldn't see out of them at all. There was a bed pushed up against one wall with brass frame and the floor was grimy, rubbish littering the wooden planks here and there.

"We've got a lot of work to do here," I said quietly. Sirius didn't say anything, just set the bucket down on the floor and picked up a sponge.

"I'll start with this wall here," He said, gesturing. "You can start with the windows." I nodded in agreement and set to work. We didn't speak, and the only time we came within proximity of each other was when we dipped our sponges back into the soapy water.

"You're better at this muggle cleaning than you give yourself credit for," I noted, watching him scrub the grubby wall. Sirius let out his laugh like a bark and I reveled in the sound of it, trying not to let my smile show. Unfortunately, I wasn't as good at hiding it as I thought.

"What are you smirking at?" He asked mockingly.

"Oh, nothing." I squeezed out the sponge, bits of foam falling into the bucket at my feet. As I turned abruptly to splash the cold water against the window, a spray of water accidentally hit Sirius full in the face, just as he bent to put his sponge back into the bucket.

"Oi!" He yelled, wiping his face on his sleeve. He looked up into my surprised face and I lost it for the second time that afternoon.

"I'm - sorry!" I gasped between giggles. I couldn't stop laughing - that is, until Sirius wet his sponge and threw it at my head. The water squelched against the side of my face, sticking my dark hair to my cheek. "Sirius!" I screeched, still fighting the laughter. Before he could reply, I picked up the bucket.

"Don't you dare," He said seriously.

"What's that?" I asked innocently. "I can't hear you, I think I have some water in my ear."

"Very funny, Saylie," Sirius said smirking that insufferable smirk of his. I shivered when he said my name - but that was just from the cold water against my skin, I told myself firmly. "You won't do it. I know you won't."

My eyebrows went way up, disappearing into my side bangs. "Oh really?" I said conversationally, as if commenting on the weather. It felt like old times with Sirius, in Hogwarts and out. When we had teased each other and had fun. Being together had been so comfortable in the past, it felt strangely reassuring to be falling into this old pattern. "Well, I hate to burst you bubble, but - " Without finishing my sentence, I tipped the bucket horizontally and chucked the water out, watching with amusement as it soaked the entire upper half of his body.

"Bloody hell," He said, spitting the bubbly water out of his mouth. He looked up, grinning like an idiot. Even with his long hair scraggly and disheveled, he was still strikingly attractive. "I stand corrected."

"Told you," I said smugly.

"Sure you did, love," Sirius laughed. But then, realizing what he said, his eyes widened.

I turned away swiftly, hiding my expression. 'Love'. It had been a type of nickname he had called me...twelve years ago. I used to like it when he called me that. I wasn't sure how I felt about it now. I knew I should have been annoyed, maybe even angry at what he'd called me. But I couldn't bring myself to feel the right kind of revulsion. I wasn't mad that he had called me 'love'. I was mad that I liked it.

"We should clean this up," Sirius said hesitantly to my back.

"Yes," I agreed. "I'll go downstairs for some towels." Spinning around quickly, I scurried towards the door. The sooner I got out of there, the better. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw this tortured expression on Sirius's face, an expression I was sure had not been meant for me to see.

--------------------------------------------------------------

After cleaning up properly in the guest room, Sirius and I headed downstairs to eat quickly before the meeting. I felt the beginnings of a headache pulsing through my temples, but ignored it completely. Everything was moving so fast; it seemed like just yesterday I had been comfortably at my flat, moving on with my life in the normal routine. And here I was the next day, inducted into the Order and having water fights with Sirius Black.

"Oh, there you are," Molly said once we came into the kitchen. "We've been waiting for you two. Unfortunately, Fred and George have made it impossible to have supper before the meeting." She shot a murderous glance at the twins, who shrugged simultaneously. "Honestly, just because you're of age now does not mean you need to use magic for every little thing!" I couldn't help but laugh, and at the sound Molly's face softened slightly.

"Its alright, Molly," Sirius said, moving to sit down at the table where there were several people from the Order. I recognized Tonks, Remus, Arthur, Charlie, Bill, Severus Snape, Mundungus Fletcher, Alastor Moody, and a tall man with dark skin and a gold hoop earring.

Noticing my stare, the man stood and leaned over the table, offering his hand to me. "I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt," He said in a very deep voice. "And I assume you are Ms. Saylie?"

"Yes," I said, shaking his hand. He chuckled, glancing slyly over at Sirius, who had pulled up a chair next to Remus.

"I've heard...quite a bit about you," He said, still snickering.

"I just bet you have." I yanked my hand out of his grasp and sat down next to Tonks, who grinned maniacally.

"Alright." Molly came over to the table. "You lot, go upstairs." It was then that I realized Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins were shuffling around the kitchen, probably hoping to catch a piece of news about the Order from the looks on their faces.

"But mum - " Ginny started.

"No, I won't hear complaints," Molly said firmly. "Out!" They all took one last look around and left the kitchen grumbling.

"Now," Remus said as soon as the group had left. "Where are the maps, Arthur?"

"Right." Arthur pulled out several set of complicated blueprints. "We better get Saylie caught up here."

"Alright." Remus cleared his throat. "Saylie, these are blueprints of the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. Voldemort - " Several people winced at the name, but I ignored it. " - is looking for a weapon, a weapon he didn't have the last time he was in power. That weapon is a prophecy made before Harry Potter was born. We have reason to believe it holds valuable information to Voldemort's return. We don't know yet what the prophecy says, but we do know that it's located somewhere in the Department of Mysteries. Now, we have the blueprints of the Ministry here." He splayed out the maps across the table, and I bent forward for a closer look. I could feel Sirius's stare, but I tried not to let it get to me.

The blueprints were complex and very detailed, with labels everywhere, and it undoubtedly had the exact pin-points of where everything was.

"We've been doing guard duty on the entrance to the Department of Mysteries," Arthur informed me. "Different people have different nights. The Ministry obviously doesn't like what we're up to, so we don't make it noticeable that we're keeping watch. There's just a table set up and we go in late at night to keep lookout for anything suspicious, which includes possible Death Eaters."

"Okay," I said slowly, absorbing every detail of what they were telling me.

"It has a possibility of getting dangerous," Remus said. "But we'd like to distribute the guard duty to most of the people in the Order."

I saw what he was getting at and shrugged easily. "I'll do it."

"Excellent." Remus smiled. "But you don't have to do guard duty for a while, we've got it all set up for now. Now, on to the other information." He looked toward Kingsley expectantly.

"There have been some disturbances at the Department of Mysteries," Kingsley reported immediately. "As you know, I'm in charge of the hunt for Sirius, but I caught wind of the Minister saying there was a breach in security when I went to give him a false lead."

"A breach in security..." Tonks repeated slowly. "What, someone broke in?"

"Possibly," Remus said. "That, or someone tried to charm the security. We'll have to be even more careful when we keep lookout, there may be dark spells around the vacinity."

I listened raptly, letting this all soak into my fried brain. They didn't know what the prophecy meant. What could be so important about that prophecy that Voldemort needed to get his hands on?

"That's what we've been trying to figure out," Tonks said to me, and I realized I'd been speaking out loud. "But Dumbledore knows whats in it, so we've got to put our trust in the genius."

"I see." I looked down at my folded hands on the table. My knuckles were white with the force of my fingers gripping onto each other.

"So," Snape's cool, greasy voice came out of a corner of the kitchen. "Everyone here must do some form of guard duty...except Black, of course."

I could tell that he was starting trouble, and I remembered that I had hated Snape whilst at school.

"Severus," Remus said sharply. "You know full well that Sirius can't leave Grimmauld Place. It could be dangerous for him, we don't want him chucked back in Azkaban."

I kept my eyes on my hands, tensing at the mention of the prison. Tonks shifted slightly in her seat, and I knew she was thinking the same thing I was; Sirius would not let that go without a comeback of his own.

"Listen here, Snivellus," Sirius snarled. "I've been dying to get out of this rotten place for ages, but I gave my word to Dumbledore. Be grateful I even allow your greasy self in here and that I don't hex you where you stand."

"Is that a threat?" Snape asked lightly, sneering in his sickening way. He digusted me, the slime ball. As if Sirius really wanted to be cooped up in here. There you go again, I thought to myself, irritated. Defending him. This is not your place to interfere. And besides, after what he did, he doesn't deserve to be defended.

"Yes," Sirius said, sounding pleased that Snape had caught on so quickly. "It is."

"Well, while you sit here making empty threats, Black, the rest of us will be doing important things for the Order. Helpful things that will actually make a difference," Snape said coldly. "I am risking my life for this cause. And you? You'll be staying here, catching up with one of your many old girlfriends."

I'd heard enough. I stood up quickly before Sirius had a chance to reply and made my way toward the door. Unfortunately, I had to pass Snape on my way out of the room. As I moved past him, I laughed right in his face, leaning in close so no one else would hear what I whispered.

"What would Lily think?" Snape's face paled of what little color there was. Whipping out his wand in a flash, he turned towards me in fury. So much for not interfering, I thought to myself.

"What did say to me?" He hissed, grabbing hold of my wrist and squeezing hard. Instead of pulling away, my first reaction at the pain in my arm, I jerked my chin up and put my golden eyes on his cold black ones. In truth, I had not expected him to become as angry as he did, but I faced him daringly anyway.

I was vaguely aware of Sirius saying loudly, "Oi, what's going on here?" But no one decided to answer him, everything and everyone becoming still.

"Severus," Remus warned in a severe tone, but Snape just snarled angrily, sparks flying out of his wand that was pointed towards my face.

"You heard me," I said quietly. The room was silent; it seemed that no one even dared to breathe. "You act like such a big wizard with a scary wand, when really you're just an immature, broken man who won't let go of a schoolboy grudge." I wrenched my arm out of his grasp as he stood there, surprised and spluttering in rage. Without even a glance at anyone else in the room, I turned on my heel and disappeared out of the kitchen door.