Okay, I'm doing things a little differently today because I have more important matters to attend to. I'm not going to replying to my reviews but THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO TOOK THE TIME TO REVIEW. And I will personally think Eleos, your compliment of saying reading the books will feel weird when they don't mention Summer was one of the best compliments I have ever received in the ten years I've been writing (actually, I think it ties for first with the time my friend Elyse called me the Goddess of Writing :D, but either way it was amazing!). Also, I have some good news. I have chapter 3 of RWIB almost done (I'm trying to get four chapters of it done before I post it.) Now for some really good news. On Wednesday (at least that's what I'm aiming for) I will post three new things for you. (Two of them on here and one on FictionPress, this sites sister for original works) The story is called Losing Hope and Finding Love I hope you all check it out. My username on there is TaraLin89. So on Wednesday, you shall receive: The Epilogue for this story. Chapter One of Right Where I Belong, and the Prologue for Losing Hope and Finding Love. I hope that makes up for not taking the time to reply to my reviewers today and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 24

A small pop outside of James' door woke Lily up. The moonlight spilled over the boys' face as Lily glanced back at him. She heard people talking outside of the door and turned around, facing her boyfriend.

"James," she hissed urgently, shaking his shoulder. "James there's someone in the hallway. "

"Huh?" James asked sleepily, slowly opening his eyes.

"I heard a pop like someone Apparated and then there were voices in the hallway, listen." Lily and James stopped all movement to strain their ears. There was indeed someone outside in the hallway, talking in low voices but loud enough that the sound had traveled to the couple.

"Wait here," James demanded, grabbing his wand and glasses off the bedside table. Lily sat up, her back against the headboard as she watched James walk to the door, his wand at the ready. He slowly opened the door. "Who's...Sirius?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"Sorry, mate, didn't mean to wake you, we were trying to be quiet," Lily heard Sirius say from the hallway, she slid out of the bed walking to where James stood.

"You nearly gave Lily, here, a heart attack," James said, wrapping his arm around the sleepy redhead. "Why are you two sneaking in at three in the morning? I thought you were staying at Summer's until after Christmas."

Sirius beamed, Summer however was standing next to him looking rather uncomfortable and on the verge of tears. "Oh, bloody hell, it was awesome! I wish you two could've seen it. I'm so proud of Summer."

"Well why don't you two come into my room and tell us. I don't want to wake Mum and Dad," James suggested. The four made their way back into the room, settling on James' bed.

Summer bit her bottom lip as she and Sirius stood outside her front door. He noticed her hesitation to open the door and placed his hand on her back. "You going to be okay?" he asked. Summer nodded before letting out a sigh. She placed her hand on the knob, twisting and pushing slightly. The two stepped into an empty den.

"Mum, Dad, I'm home," she called. She allowed Sirius to help her out of her cloak before hanging it up along with his. She turned around to see a woman who looked a lot like her and a man with blond hair and hazel eyes walking into the room. She saw them take in a sharp breath as they noticed her stomach.

"Honestly, Summer? You couldn't have at least warned us in a letter or something?" asked Mrs. Johnson.

What the hell? Sirius wondered beside her, They didn't even say hello first. He bit his tongue, which was not something Sirius Black did easily.

"I—I felt this was something you needed to be told in person, not in some letter," Summer explained, dropping her head slightly.

Her mother let out a sigh, turning her attention to Sirius. "This must be the father, no doubt. At least he's good looking."

Sirius felt his jaw drop slightly and quickly closed his mouth before anybody noticed. "I'm Sirius Black," he said, outstretching his hand towards Mrs. Johnson.

"A Black?" Summer's father screeched, turning towards his daughter. "You brought a Black into this house?" he asked angrily.

"He's not like the rest of them," Summer muttered, willing herself not to cry.

"It's true," Sirius said, feeling himself grow more pissed by the second. "They actually disowned me. I'm a Black by name only."

"Uh huh," Mrs. Johnson said in disbelief, eyeing him up and down. "Well I supposed we can always give the baby our last name," she added thoughtfully. "That way there is no confusion. Wouldn't want our grandchild getting mixed up in the wrong crowd."

Do these people have no filter? Sirius thought to himself angrily. Worse than their comments was Summer's reaction. She just stood there and took it. Not even bothering to defend herself.

"He's not the father," Summer muttered quietly though she knew her parents had heard her. She was extremely grateful as she felt Sirius' hand around her shoulder. He was tense though, as if he was having a hard time not hexing her parents.

They glared at her slightly. "Do you even know who the father is?" her mother asked, exasperated.

Summer shook her head slightly, willing the tears not to fall. She was biting her bottom lip so hard she could taste the blood. She watched as her mother pinched the bridge of her nose. "Go upstairs and unpack. We will talk about this later."

Summer immediately picked up her bag and hastily made her way to her room. Sirius followed suit. They reached her room and she closed the door, leaning against it as she broke into heavy sobs. Sirius engulfed her in a hug. "Why didn't you just tell them I'm the father, love?" Sirius asked, running his fingers through her hair as she cried against his chest. "I told you I don't mind."

Summer shook her head. "I can't lie to my parents."

"Why not?" Sirius asked. "They have no qualms about being complete arses to you, so why should you care about whether or not you lie to them?"

Summer shrugged. "I just feel like if they catch me in a lie I'm going to be in more trouble, so it's just easier to tell the truth and deal with the consequences." Summer sighed, pushing back the tears. "We better unpack and go downstairs. I'll show you to your room."

The rest of the evening was filled with snide remarks from Summer's parents, Summer sitting there taking them, and Sirius fighting back his urge to hex them. It was a stressful evening all around and Sirius was happy when Summer told them that she and Sirius were heading for bed. At least now she would get away from them. He had offered to stay with her, but she insisted against it.

"I'll be in so much trouble if they find out. I'll be okay, I promise."

Sirius wished he hadn't taken no for an answer when he was awoken late at night to the sound of yelling coming from the kitchen downstairs. He rolled over in his bed and glanced at the clock. It was quarter after two in the morning. Were Summer's parents really yelling at her at two in the morning? He and his mother had had their rows, but she never sacrificed her beauty sleep to tell him what a horrible person he was.

Sirius stood from the bed quickly, reaching for his wand before deciding against it, just to be safe. He was already on the breaking point. He made his way down the steps as quietly as possible as the voices grew closer.

"—can't believe you would do something like this to us, Summer! After everything we sacrificed for you! I worked two jobs to support you," Summer's mother bellowed. Sirius stopped in the door way. Summer and her father were sitting at the table while Mrs. Johnson paced around the kitchen. "I just don't understand why you would do something so stupid."

Sirius felt his heart breaking. Summer was a sweet girl and already had a lot on her plate with this baby, and now her parents were adding to her stress. Sure, nobody had expected them to be thrilled at the idea, but there was no need for them to react this way. Summer glanced up suddenly, feeling Sirius' eyes on her. There was something in his eyes. She couldn't quite pinpoint it but it lit a fire in her belly. She was suddenly pissed; Pissed at her mother for screaming at her like this, and pissed at herself for just sitting back and taking it.

"Like you're so much better," she mumbled, though it was loud enough to catch her parent's attention.

"I'm sorry," her mother said snidely, "What was that?"

Summer sat up a little bit straighter, meeting her mother's eyes. She knew most of this bravery was just pregnancy hormones but bloody hell, she'd had enough. A person could only take so much before they broke. Her parents had worn her down, made her compliant, but she was done being that scared little girl that just sat back and allowed it to happen. "I said 'Like you're so much better,'" she said forcefully. "Or have you forgotten that you were my age when you had me?" she asked, standing from her chair.

"How dare you talk to me that way," her mother retorted. "Your father and I—"

"You what? Worked three jobs between the two of you? Yeah, I know, you told me every day of my bloody life. That wasn't my fault. That was because you fucked up. I didn't ask to be born and ruin your precious youth." A part of Summer was terrified. Just apologize it said Just take it back and tell them you're sorry and hope they forgive you. But a much bigger part of Summer pushed that idea away. Her parents never had any problem telling her what was on their mind; it was time they got a taste of their own medicine.

"Sit back down, Summer," her mother instructed. "I will not tolerate you talking to me like this. Sit down!" she repeated.

"No," Summer told her boldly. "I won't sit down and let you scream at me. In fact, I'm leaving. I'm not spending another minute in this house."

"You can't leave, I forbid it," her mother said. "Christopher, do something!"

"Sit down, Summer," her father instructed.

"No, Daddy, I'm not sitting down. I'm leaving. And I'll tell you both something else, I love this baby. I may not know who the father is, I know I made a mistake, but I'm going to do everything I have to in order to fix it and make sure this child has a good life." She turned her back on her parents, walking towards Sirius who was beaming at her.

She kept walking as her parents followed after her, shouting. "Get back here! You can't leave, I won't allow it!" her mother demanded. "How do you expect to raise this child on your own?"

That halted Summer's movements. She turned to her mother, her face surprisingly calm. "It shouldn't be too hard. You have already taught me everything not to do," she replied coolly before turning back around and making her way up the steps with Sirius.

"That was bloody amazing, Summer," Sirius beamed as they threw her belongings in her suitcase. "I'm so proud of you!"

Summer dropped her head slightly, feeling her face warm. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me. That was all you, love," he insisted.

"You did help though," she explained. "I took one look at you and just knew I had the guts to do it. I knew I had you there and that made it so much easier to say what I've always wanted to say to them. For once, I wasn't alone when it came to dealing with my parents. Thanks for that, Sirius," she said, pulling him into a hug.

"Seriously, I didn't do anything. That was all you," he told her. "Now let's hurry up and finish packing. We can go to James'."

"That's good," Summer said, exhaling. "I honestly didn't know where I planned on going. I just knew I couldn't stay here any longer."

Lily had to resist the urge to tackle the pregnant girl in a hug as Sirius finished up the story. James held a proud look in his hazel eyes. James wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "We're proud of you, Summer."

Summer nodded, a tear making its way down her cheek. Sirius reached up and wiped it away. "I'm sorry," Summer sniffled. "I'm just relieved. And I'm scared shitless. I have no idea how I'm going to do this all now. My parent's would've bitched but they would've helped me out."

"You don't need them," Lily told her. "You have all of us. We will help out."

"My Uncle Alphard died and left me his place and some money, you can move in there with me," Sirius offered.

Summer, of course, declined saying she couldn't let him do that. It took some convincing but she finally agreed. The others all stayed up talking for another half hour or so before Summer and Sirius made their way to Sirius' room. "You're staying with me," Sirius said, making it clear there would be no argument in the matter. "I'm not taking no for an answer this time." Summer nodded, too exhausted and stressed out to tell him no.

The next morning, Lily awoke with her head on James' chest. She snuggled in closer, bathing in the winter sun that was shining in through the window, warming her and James. Her bliss was interrupted as the door flew open. She glanced over to see Sirius clad in only boxers standing in the doorway. His hair was sticking up and he had a concerned look in his grey eyes.

"Have you two seen Summer?" he asked, urgently. "She's not in bed or the bathroom."

"Did you check downstairs?" James suggested. His voice was groggy from sleep and slightly annoyed at being woken up in such a manner. "You do remember how huge this house is, right? She could be anywhere."

"Err…right," Sirius stumbled over his words, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, she just wasn't in the bed and I panicked. I'll go check downstairs." He made his way down to the lower floor. He let out a sigh of relief as he found Summer sitting at the bar, talking and laughing as Katherine Potter set a plate of pancakes in front of her.

"Mmm, those look delicious," Summer said, picking up her fork.

"I'm sure they are, James and I didn't help make them, so you're safe," Sirius said with a light chuckle. "Good morning, Mum," he said, walking over to the elderly lady and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Sirius!" she exclaimed, engulfing him in a hug. "I thought the days of you sneaking in and out in the middle of the night were over. I guess some things never change," the elderly woman said in a mock exasperated tone.

Sirius laughed. "It wasn't my fault this time, Mum. Summer over there went off on her parents. It was brilliant."

Katherine nodded her head. "I know, Summer already explained the situation to me. We've been up for at least an hour now, talking." She looked Sirius up and down. "Now why don't you go put on some decent clothes?"

"Sorry, Mum," Sirius muttered. "I just kind of freaked when Summer wasn't in the bed and I came looking for her."

"Well as you can see, she's perfectly fine, so go get dressed."

Sirius nodded before walking over to Summer, pressing a kiss to her forehead and stealing a bite of her pancakes, causing her to giggle, before dashing back upstairs. Katherine watched after him, shaking her head slightly, a stowaway smile on her face. "He's a good kid," she said. "He had a rough life and he's bit of a pain in the arse sometimes, but he's a good lad."

Summer nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, he really is. He's helped me even more than he realizes." She noticed the look Katherine was giving her. "Oh no, it's nothing like that. I love Sirius, just not that way. He's been like a big brother to me."

"He's good at that," Katherine said, turning back to her cooking. "He and James have been attached at the hip ever since their first year at Hogwarts. He's like a second son to me and Michael."

"'Morning, Mum," James' voice filled the room as he crossed the huge kitchen to kiss his mother on the forehead. "Hello, Summer, you gave Sirius quite the scare."

Summer bit her bottom lip. "I didn't mean to worry him. I just couldn't sleep."

"He's a big boy. I'm sure he's already over it," James assured her. He took his seat at the bar next to Lily as Katherine greeted her before setting a plate of pancakes before each of them.

OooOooO

It was Christmas day and the house was packed. Lily and Summer stood in the corner, trying to remember everyone's names. "I think that one's his Aunt Sarah," Lily said, pointing to a lady with long blonde hair. "And that's obviously his Uncle Joshua, he looks like Katherine."

Summer nodded in agreement when she felt small hands on her belly. She glanced down to see a little boy about three or four touching her stomach. She knew it was Morgan and William's child, but couldn't remember his name. She was pretty sure it was Daniel or Dylan, something like that. "Do you have a baby in your belly like my Aunt Jasmine?" he asked.

Summer smiled down at him, nodding. "Yes, I do, sweetie."

"Mum!" he bellowed, "Summer has a baby in her belly just like Auntie Jazz!"

Summer felt her face redden as a woman with shiny black hair and hazel eyes walked over to them. "Yes she does, Daniel," his mother said. "But there's no need to shout. Why don't you go play with your cousins?" She smiled down at him as he took off in a run before glancing back up at Summer. "I'm sorry about that."

"Oh, it's no problem," Summer insisted. "He's cute."

Morgan smiled at her. "That he is. When is your little one due?"

"End of June," Summer said.

Morgan nodded, unsure of what to say next. "Well, I'm going to go see if Katherine needs help. I'm sure she'll just shoo me out of kitchen, but it's worth a shot."

Summer nodded as she and Lily watched the woman walk away. The rest of the day was filled with laughter, good food, and wonderful company. All of James' family was simply amazing. For the first day in a while, Summer didn't think about what she was going to do after Hogwarts or worry about how she was going to raise this baby. She laughed and enjoyed herself.

OooOooO

The day after Christmas, Remus arrived at the house. Sirius, Summer, James, and Lily were gathered around the island, chattering about the day before, still abuzz from the food and Christmas high. When Remus Apparated into the kitchen, Lily was the first to hop down from her stool and greet him. The others followed suit and they spent a while talking about their Christmas and Sirius told him of Summer going off on her parents. Remus told Summer he was proud of her.

Later that day, Lily, James and Remus were gathered around in the den, playing a game of Exploding Snap and just relaxing. Sirius and Summer had gone to town. Sirius had something he wanted to get but wouldn't tell any of them what it was.

Suddenly the front door opened. Summer walked into the sitting room, her cheeks and nose pink from the cold. "You lot will never believe what he bought!"

"What is it?" James asked.

Summer beamed. "You'll have to come see."

The others all stood up, grabbing their cloaks as they followed the light haired girl out the door. Sirius stood in the front yard, beaming, as he stood next to a black motorcycle.

"Oh dear," Lily said.

"What? What is that thing?" James asked.

"It's a motorcycle."

"Well what's it do?"

"You ride it," Remus answered.

The four made their way closer to Sirius. He was the happiest they had all seen him in a while. Christmas may have come a day late for him, but it definitely made up for it. He straddled the motorcycle, revving it up. "Who wants a ride?"

"It's so much fun!" Summer said giddily. "He even enchanted it to fly."

"That's wicked!" James exclaimed. "Me first!" he said, hopping on the back of the bike. The others watched, amused as the two flew above their heads, whooping and hollering.

Lily shook her head, a smile playing at her lips. "Boys," she muttered.

"We'll be back," called down to them. "I wanna take a quick ride around town."

"Is that safe?" Lily asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be safe. I'll make sure James gets back to you in one piece." Lily laughed as they took off. She shivered slightly. "C'mon, let's head back in. It's too cold to stand out here."

The others easily obliged and they made their way back into the warm house.

"A motorcycle," Lily said, shaking her head. "Although I have to say, I can't think of a Muggle item that fits Sirius better."

James and Sirius returned an hour or so later, nearly frozen and buzzing with excitement. They told everyone of the ride, how fast they got the bike to go, et cetera. "I'm thinking about getting one," James told Lily.

"Oh Merlin, thanks a lot Sirius!"

"Me?" he asked. "What'd I do? It's not my fault if James agrees with me that the motorcycle is bad arse. It's like a broom, but ten times better."

Lily and Summer glance at each other, shaking their heads at the boys.

The rest of the holiday was filled with lazing around the house and Sirius taking everyone for rides on the motorcycle. He had even managed to coax Lily on it for a ride around town though he grumbled the whole time because she made him go slow. Michael had been absolutely intrigued with the thing, spending an hour outside with Sirius, talking to him about it. Sirius had offered to let Michael take it out for a spin. He shook his head, laughing.

"I would probably break a hip or something. Plus, Kat would murder me."

When the day arrived for everyone to go back to school, there was a quiet calm as everyone gathered their things. They stood at the door, telling Mr. and Mrs. Potter goodbye. A sadness hung thick in the air.

"It was lovely meeting you, Lily and Summer," Katherine said, engulfing them both in a hug. "Take good care of my son, make sure he stays out of trouble," she whispered in Lily's ear.

Lily giggled and nodded.

"You know it's not very nice to talk about me when I'm right here, Mum."

Fifteen minutes later the kids were all walking out the door, waving one last goodbye to James' parents. "We'll see you all this summer," Michael called. "Enjoy your last semester at Hogwarts."

OooOooO

"Lily! Summer!" a voice called. The two girls looked up to see Faith leaving Dean's side as she ran towards the group.

"Faith!" they said, pulling the girl into a tight hug. "How was your holiday?" Lily asked once the three girls pulled away from each other.

"It was amazing," Faith gushed. "Dean's parents are amazing. And I even managed not to break anything while I was there!"

"I'm so glad to hear that," Lily said as Carmen and Kevin walked towards them, hand in hand.

Everyone greeted the two newcomers and the whistle for the train blew one last time before they all climbed onto the train. The found a cabin and settled in for the train ride back. Sirius told Kevin about his new bike while Summer told Carmen about standing up to her parents.

"I wish I could've been there to see it!" Carmen admitted. "I'm so proud of you, Summer."

The ride ended much too soon for all of them and they split the group in two, making their way to the carriages pulled by Thestrals. Gathering in front of the castle, they all stopped, looking at each other. Everyone around them were chatting and making their way to the building, but the friends just stood there in silence. The couples were holding hands and Sirius had his arm around Summer's shoulders. This was it. In five months they would be thrust in the real world. They all knew they had their whole lives ahead of them and getting through this last semester was just the beginning. Everyone took one last look around at each other before heading in to the castle together.