Here's chapter 2!! Remember to review!!!

Chapter Two

As soon as I saw her I ran back home to tell James. Only I couldn't seem to find my voice, so I dragged him out of the house, leading him toward the one next door.

"Padfoot mate, what's going on?" James asked frantically, struggling to gain control. I didn't answer him. No voice, remember? "Padfoot – Sirius!?!? Talk to me!"

"I love her, James." Man that felt amazing to say aloud. James dug his heels into the dirt, forcing me to stop and turn to face him.

"What was that Sirius?" But, like my runaway voice, my eyes didn't want to listen to my brain, and I couldn't bring myself to look James in the face. Instead, I looked at anything other than my best friend. My shoes, his shoes, the trees, and the pathway in-between the two brick houses… they were all suddenly very interesting. "Sirius?"

"You love Lily, right?" I ask, still not meeting his gaze. "Well Allie is my – was my Lily. I love her." Confused swept across James's features, but I knew my friend well enough to know it wasn't because of my sudden declaration. No, James had caught on to my verb-tense switch.

"Oh! Boys, please do come in. It's so very hot out and you shouldn't be outside much longer." Mrs. Howard had come outside, dressed in a long-sleeve black cardigan and long skirt; no wonder she thought it was so hot out! "There is a rather important discussion that I feel is necessary to have with you and right now would be the perfect time." Nodding our heads, James and I followed her sad, slow gait into the house. James, still confused, shot me curious glances every two seconds.

I hung my head as we entered the main room; I couldn't bear to look up and see the box that held my Allie. Instead, I counted down the seconds until James's Quidditch-and-Lily filled mind would process what my verb-tense switch had meant. And one…. Two…. Three…. There it was. The gasp that meant James had put two and two together. As I listened to the echo of that gasp, the entirety of the situation dawned on me. I'm not ashamed to admit that a few tears made their way down my cheeks then. Mrs. Howard didn't stop in the main room though, and led us into the kitchen instead. James and I sat down while Mrs. Howard tried to fix some tea.

"Mrs. Howard – allow me." James offers, after his neighbor had broken a third teacup. He used his wand to clean up and repair the broken cups and then went about making tea. In a few seconds the tea was ready and James sat back down, the three cups of tea each floating their way to one of the three of us. "It's much easier and quicker with magic." James explained. I nursed mine slowly as Mrs. Howard gathered up enough self control to speak. At last, she managed to find the words… of course that was also when I had begun to speak.

"Mrs. Howard, you should know that I loved your daughter very much. Still do, as a matter of fact." I say, my voice cracking a bit. Mrs. Howard began to cry even harder and James kicked me hard under the table.

"Allie loved you too…. Very much." She hiccoughed. "Allie loved you too." She then rose from the table and left the room. Before James and I had a chance to follow her though, she was back. In her arms this time was the baby I had seen sitting on an Aunt's lap earlier that hour. Mrs. Howard sat down again and placed a photo album on the table in front of me.

"She always said that she would tell you when you graduated. She said that she wanted your choice to be based on love, not a sense of obligation. I want you to know that you still have that choice Sirius." What? What was Mrs. Howard talking about? Surely she wasn't old enough yet to speak in riddles that nobody but herself could understand (*cough*Dumbledore*cough*). Mrs. Howard gestured with her free arm to the photo album. I opened it slowly, unsure of what I would find.

Allie. Her smiling face filled up the entire first page. I couldn't help but smile with her. The next page held two pictures, both of the two of us, Allie and me, at the park about a month before I left for Hogwarts, for my sixth year. As I turned the pages, it was like the clock was ticking once again toward my departure. Feeling like I was about to burst, I turned a page once more. There, smack dab in the middle, was Allie with a stick in her hand. Under the picture, in Allie's writing were the words "Who knew one little pee stick could change my life so drastically?" My eyes darted up to the somber face of Mrs. Howard.

"Go on dear." She pushed, and turned the page for me. The entire next section was pictures of Allie, her stomach growing bigger and bigger and rounder and rounder. Pregnant? Allie? But how?

Don't be stupid, Sirius. You know exactly 'how'. A voice, that sounded a lot like Remus, chided.

"B-but… there was only that one time. And… And we were safe… I think…." I stammered, not looking away from the pictures. The thoughts were racing across my mind. Could this really be my child? Well obviously; why else would Mrs. Howard be showing me this? Plus, her introduction to the album made sense now. Allie had broken it off because she wanted me to have my freedom, so that when I made my decision it wouldn't be because I felt obligated to help. Of course, from the moment I had fallen in love with her (which was really the moment I saw her, probably) my decision had been made for me. If that child was mine, and there was no doubt that it was, I would love it forever, and with all of my ability.

"Sirius? Are you okay?" James asked. I nod. My hands flip through the pages at top-speed now, desperate to find some hard evidence that the baby that had been growing inside Allie was mine.

And there it was. The picture was of Allie, home from the Hospital, with the newborn baby in her arms. But it was the letters that caught my attention.

"Sophia Arabella Black. Born 12 May, 1977."

And that's when I, Sirius Black, completely broke down and started crying.