Author's Note: Thank you once again to all the people who favorites, followed, and reviewed. To the Guest who has reviewed. I do apologise for not answering back to your reviews! I had actually just realised that I had not answered to any of the reviews. Thank you all , you are just gonna have to continue reading to find out more on how exactly they break up. This chapter will answer some of your questions. Ok, readers, in this chapter Ginny bashing, Remus bashing. There will be some changes that I had wanted to make to the overall story that may not match up with "Please Don't Crucio Me, James!"

Chapter Two

Friends. Without her very best friends at her side, Holly really didn't think she would have made it past the age of seventeen. She had never really thought she would ever have friends, either. From the age of four to ten her cousin Dudley had bullied away anyone who even tried to talk to her, the freak.

Imagine her surprise that her very first friend would be a half giant named Hagrid. A half giant! And then she had made a second friend. Her name had been Ginny Weasley. Ginevra was her first name, but you would soon be feeling the wrath of her bat bogey hex if you dared used it.

Hagrid had shown her the way to King 's Cross station and left her on her own. She had led herself nearly to tears searching for a platform labeled Nine and Three Quarters that did not exist to the muggle eye, when a gentle hand tapped her arm. A girl just a couple of inches shorter than herself, with the brightest of ginger hair Holly had ever seen, was smiling kindly to her.

"Hi, I'm Ginny. Do you need help getting on the train to Hogwarts?"

Holly nodded and then smiled back. "Yes, please. My name is Holly. Holly Potter, it's nice to meet you, Ginny."

"Holly?"

She raised her head from her hands and looked up as Hermione rushed in and closed the door behind herself. Her brown hair, which had previously been in a sleek bun at the breakfast table, was now looking frizzy. Now there were curls escaping and blocking her eyes.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, she sounded a bit winded. "You and Ginny left and didn't come back!"

Hermione sat down on the bed as Holly explained what had taken place in her bedroom between Ginny and herself. Her chocolate-brown eyes became larger when Holly explained how to it escalated to the dissolution of her friendship with the red-haired girl.

"I can't believe that she would act this way, though," Holly wiped away a tear with the back of her hand. "She's never acted that way before!"

"Well," Hermione shrugged her shoulder. "Yeah, she has."

Holly picked up her head and looked to Hermione in astonishment. "What? B-but I've never seen this behaviour from her before and we've been friends since I was eleven and she was ten!"

"That doesn't mean it didn't happen before!" Hermione retorted. "Don't you remember all those times when she would hint at something her brothers were not supposed to be doing to the professors or her parents? This is exactly the same thing, Holly.

"She was hinting to those around us about your relationship with Sirius, in exactly the same way," Hermione explained on. "Whenever she would do it to her brothers I always got the inkling that it was out of pure amusement.."

"So what?" Holly asked in outrage, her emerald eyes glinting with anger in the morning sunlight that poured in from a small window by her bed. "She was being deliberately malicious because she wanted to squeal about what Sirius and I are doing?!"

Hermione cringed. "Er, maybe more like she was being deliberately malicious for her own amusement..? I mean, the way she was laughing while she was saying those things-"

"That bloody tart," Holly swore angrily. "That cow...That bloody tart-y cow. I never knew she was such a..a.."

"Bitch?" Hermione asked, quietly.

Holly turned to look at Hermione. "Yeah."

The raven-haired girl crossed her arms over her chest before looking to Hermione.

"Out with it."

Hermione looked confused. "What?"

"You know much more about this Ginny situation, don't you," Holly questioned, her eyes narrowing. "You sound less surprised than what I was expecting."

The bushy-haired girl sighed and nodded. Hermione moved until she sat down on the bed and leaned back against the headboard. she had slipped off her shoes and got comfortable before taking a deep breath. "What was I supposed to do?..You know my whole story before Hogwarts, Holly. You were my first friend, ever! I didn't have friends before Hogwarts because I was so nerdy and bossy.."

"Oh Hermione," Holly sighed.

"But you were Ginny's friend before you were mine," Hermione continued on, her voice wavering. "She was always more your friend than mine..How was I supposed to bring up the fact that to me she was always such a -a.."

"Bitch?" Holly offered with a smile.

"Yes," Hermione gave her a watery smile. "Your first best friend in Hogwarts was always such a bitch to me. First it started with me being a "bookworm" and always wanting to go to the library to study. As we got older, it turned to my muggle clothes, my hair, my teeth..And she was alway so hostile. Especially when I held your attention for any reason. She would get this heated look in her eye.."

Hermione stopped talking long enough to fish a tissue out of her pocket. She blew her nose noisily. Holly moved over to Hermione's side and sat beside her, her back leaning against the head-board.

"I'm sorry I never noticed," Holly whispered.

"I'm sorry I never spoke a word about it," Hermione said, her voice breaking. "I didn't want to lose my only friend in the world."

"I promise, I will never let another person bully you again, Hermione."

Holly reached over and wrapped her arms around Hermione, content that she at least had one friend. And this friend needed Holly just as much as Holly needed her.

Sirius

The morning came much too soon for him. He would have liked to have lain in bed just a bit longer. To watch his young lover sleep on her side, facing him. Her raven hair was loose and wild on her pillow, and her mouth opened slightly as she softly breathed.

Damn Molly Weasley and her prompt morning schedule. Then again, if not for her prompt schedule he and Holly would have to live in constant fear of being found out. Not as if their relationship was anything to be ashamed of. He and Holly had spoken at length on the topic.

This relationship was their own and they wanted to keep it that way until she finished her schooling. Now a celebrity because of her defeat of Lord Voldemort, she was constantly hounded by reporters of the Rita Skeeter breed. And not just British reporters, there were American, French, Spanish, Japanese- the list went on! Everyone wanted to know what the savior was doing and when, what she was eating and where, what she was wearing and who.

Behind closed doors in Grimmauld, they were safe from the flashing bulbs and inquiring minds of the nosy public. Well, slightly, because there was still the inquiring minds of the nosy people who lived in his childhood home. Not that he could resent them for staying because he did offer it to them. They were planning to leave as soon as the rebuilding of the Burrow was over.

He wished it was before the Hogwarts school year commenced tomorrow morning, but knew it would be at least another week. Oh well, those dirty little plans he and Holly had made to make love in every room of Grimmauld would have to be put on temporary hiatus.

"Love," Sirius whispered as he scooted closer to Holly. He kissed her ear and gently moved the hair out of her face. "It's time to wake up."

Holly wrinkled her nose and breathed in deeply. "No. Tell Mrs. Weasley to take a day off and go back to sleep."

He let out a bark of laughter that echoed off the walls of his childhood room. "I don't think we would be able to convince her. Besides, the household would starve without the woman. No one else can cook."

"I can cook for you, " Holly grumbled.

"Yes," Sirius grinned, "But would you like to get up now and begin breakfast for us at around shit o'clock in the morning?"

"Fuck that," Holly retorted.

Sirius laughed again. He watched as she sluggishly pulled herself out of his bed, naked as the day she born. He cringed at that thought, as he was actually present at her birth and put it far away from his thoughts as he too pulled himself out of the bed and followed her to his bathroom.

Holly had begun the shower and was slipping behind the curtain. He joined her a moment later after savoring the sight of the hot water cascading over her naked skin. Her pink nipples pebbled at the change of temperature. He could see the muscles of her toned tummy and thighs contract, shivering at the wonderful feel of the hot water. He couldn't help running soapy hands over the perfection that was so blatantly presented before him.

Sirius grabbed her wrists and guided her hands to rest on the tiled wall. He nudged a knee between her legs and entered her swiftly.

Their love-making was hard, jarring her body so much she nearly slipped a handful of times. Sirius pushed her suddenly into the cool tiled wall until she was flush against it. He then pushed his body flush against her back, never breaking the intimate connection they shared and began to rut into her with growling grunts.

"Oh," Holly said faintly after they had come down from their mutual orgasm. "You are wonderful. I'll just go back to bed now, thanks."

"No!" Sirius laughed. "You need to get your gorgeous self back to your own room before Mrs. Weasley gets there."

"Damn it, " Holly swore.

He helped her search for a towel and watched as she left quickly, her hair still dripping wet. Sirius followed her to the door and with a quick flick of his wand, cleaned the water she left in her wake to the way to her bedroom. He closed his bedroom door as soon as he heard the soft footsteps of Mrs. Weasley climbing the stairs.

Sirius went about the motions of cleaning his room of any evidence of Holly. If he knew Molly Weasley, and he did, no doubt she would be in his room at a convenient time he was not in his room, to collect his laundry and do her own version of cleaning. He put a little extra "umph" into his refreshing charms to clear the air.

The reason? Remus was coming back. He was coming back from following up with a multitude of werewolf pack leaders that were spread out through Europe and Wales. Mostly just friendly greetings to old friends. Sirius doubted Remus would want to join a pack. He was natural-born alpha male, no matter how he liked to portray his human demeanor to friends and family as calm and subdued. His senses were so heightened that Remus would be able to tell what exactly you had eaten a week earlier, no matter if Sirius had already digested and had a bowel movement.

Around 45 minutes, after dressing and refreshing the room once more, Sirius left his room for breakfast. He hoped Ron was still sleeping. That boy could put away a whole hippogriff if his mother decided to cook one. Good thing Buckbeak had been returned to Hagrid, or he would have been in the Shepard's pie months ago.

Coming up the stairs was his beautiful raven-haired, emerald-eyed lover. She was wearing a skirt that ended just before hers the same color as her eyes. Her top was black and form-fitting, barely covering her midriff. Her hair was braided and resting over her right shoulder.

Sirius tried to press a heated, but brief kiss to her lips and missed, to his disappointment. His kiss landed on the corner of her mouth.

"Remus is here," she said with an expression on her face he could not place.

Sirius was not sure if she was angry or concerned. A couple of steps behind Holly was Ginny Weasley.

"Good morning, Ginny."

The girl glanced at him with a worried expression. "Heh, morning, Sirius."

He watched them go up the stairs, presumably to Holly's room. Just as he was about to make his way to the basement where the kitchen was located, a very angry-looking werewolf exited the kitchen and headed straight his way.

"Remus!"

What Sirius received in response was a fist to the face.

"What the fuck?!" Sirius hissed, holding his mouth.

Remus grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the nearest room. With a swish and flick of his wand the room was locked and the a privacy charm was enacted.

"That's a bloody wonderful way to greet a friend, you prick," Sirius groaned.

"You perverted bastard," Remus growled. "What the bleeding hell possessed you to do this?"

"Do what?" Sirius was so confused.

"Fuck your god-daughter?!"

The blood completely drained from Sirius face as he gaped. Remus let out a rough unamused laugh.

"That face," the amber-eyed man spat out. "It's the same face Holly wore when I questioned why your scent was all over her."

Moving his hand away from his split bottom lip, Sirius sighed. "You're making this sound more devious than what it really is.."

Remus scoffed. "And how can this not be devious, Padfoot?! This is your god-daughter! The little girl who you swore to our best friend and his wife you would look after like your own child if anything happened to them!"

"She is not a little girl," Sirius pointed out quietly.

"Your right on that," the lycanthrope rolled his eyes. "She's not a little girl, your right. But she is still a seventeen year old teenager. An impressionable teenager! And you are a thirty-seven year old middle-aged man!"

"She's of age!" Sirius stressed. "It's not like what we're doing together is illegal! We love each other!"

The amber-eyed man let out a sarcastic laugh, throwing his head back.

"Love?! You both wouldn't know love if it bit you both on the arse," Remus spat out. "Holly has never experienced true love before. Those bastards she called relatives starved her of any form of affection and familial love from the first day she was dropped off in their care! I'm not surprised she latched on you when you came sniffing around.

"And you! Because of Azkaban your stunted at the mental age of twenty! And if I remember correctly, you always had a new flavor of the week back then. You would stick your dick into anything!"

"I'm not like that anymore!" Sirius shouted. "That person isn't me anymore!"

"Of course you're not," Remus retorted. "Azkaban made certain of that. You lost thirteen years of your life to that hell hole! And now you owe it to yourself to recover! We've had you sheltered for far too long. You need to get healthy, physically and mentally. You went straight into the Order mentality the moment you sprung yourself out of the joint!

"You owe it to yourself to recover," Remus repeated. "And Holly needs to recover to, doesn't she?"

Sirius stayed quiet as Remus spoke, his eyes looking suspiciously wet. He nodded, wincing at the twinge his split lip gave at the movement.

"After all she's done," Remus said softly in the silence of the room. "We owe it to her to allow her to live and experience the wonders of life. We owe it to her to discover what love really is."

"I-I can't," Sirius stuttered. He could feel himself being reeled in by Remus' persuasive words. He could feel himself giving up..letting her go. "I really do l-love her."

His friend stepped forward and placed both of his hands on Sirius' shoulders, squeezing them in support. "If you love her, you will give her this opportunity. And if this love is real, she will come back to you. Remember, she deserves to experience new things, interact with new people, make new friends."

Sirius nodded, a tear overflowing and slipping down his cheek. He allowed Remus to pull him into a hug and hold him tightly. Remus patted him on the back before letting him go.

"Good man. I should be off now."

"Where are off to now?" Sirius said with alarm, wiping at his eyes and his split lip. "You just got here!"

"Home," Remus said with a grimace. "I eh, got to get home to Teddy and er Tonks. But I'll be back tomorrow. Got to see the girls off bright and early for the train."

As soon as the door was opened the privacy charm deactivated. Remus walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving Sirius to his thoughts. Everything that Remus had said to him had been like a punch to face. Another punch to the face. But what he was saying was also true. Was it? He didn't know!

Sirius sat on drabby looking chair and fisted his hands in his hair. It was true. His mental growth had been stunted at the age of twenty. He did feel like a twenty year old man in an older body.

At that time of his life he was living off the substantial inheritance he had received from a favored Uncle, who had been as much of a Black sheep as Sirius had been. He had been verbally disowned by her parents, but never legally disowned, so rightfully the Black family responsibilities fell to him. He was now the head of the family as the only living male.

He would need to learn to balance his own finances and the finances of the Black family. He had hoped to grow and learn at the same pace as Holly, but Remus made him realise that probably was not best.

Holly was young, she had the time to take to learn her chosen profession. He was not. Everyone had been badgering her about joining the Auror program. The tabloids were counting down the days until she would be joining the Auror program this January first. But she wouldn't be. Holly wanted to be a healer. She had seen and done so much fighting in her life. She was through with fighting. She wanted to heal.

Four years of schooling was required to become a healer, followed by four years of internship. Was it right to hold her back? Holly was an incredibly smart and bright young woman. She could go to literally any school she wanted. She could intern at any magical hospital she wanted and did not have to limit herself to staying in the country just because he was here.

Holly could go places. Sirius could not. Sirius had a responsibility to the Black family name. Normally he would have said to fuck the Black family name, but then he would be forfeiting not only his money but the clout(1).

With the defeat of Voldemort there were many a crooked ministry member ousted out of their positions and at this moment there were more than a few that had been ousted from the Wizengamot. Sirius now held a seat, two in fact. The Black Family seat and the Potter Family seat, at least until Holly decided to take it back.

He had hoped to grow and learn with Holly at his side, helping and supporting him. But how could he ask her to be at his side when she had her dreams to follow? Would he be so selfish to believe that she would help him with his endeavors?

"No," Sirius answered his own questions.

He stood from the drabby looking chair and allowed his legs to guide him. He found himself walking to the top floor where his and Holly's bedrooms were located. He knocked as softly as he could. A small part of him wished that Holly was not in her room, but the door swung open a few moments later to reveal his beautiful lover's face. Hermione appeared behind Holly and side-stepped them to go downstairs.

"I'll leave you two alone then," she muttered loud enough for them to comprehend.

Sirius stepped slowly into the room until Holly had no choice but to back up. She turned and sat on the bed with a sigh as Sirius closed the door behind him. He leaned back against the door, his hand holding the knob. He wanted to bolt. He wanted to forget all about the conversation he had with Remus, but he knew the Remus himself would never allow him to forget it.

"What happened to your lip?" Holly asked in concern.

Sirius looked sheepish. "I walked into Moony's fist."

She snorted before they settled into a comfortable silence. It was silence to her, but Sirius could hear the loud" thump thump" of his heart beat and it was picking up speed. The silence lasted seconds.

"You were right about Ginny," Holly said softly.

He scoffed. "I told you so."

She glared. "How was I supposed to know? According to Hermione, she was like the good Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde. Nice to me and a bitch to everyone else..She practically outed us both out to Remus with the horrid way she was acting."

"That wouldn't have made any difference," he said. He gestured to his mouth, "He smelled me on you the moment you got near him."

Holly gasped and Sirius gave her a pointed look.

"He bloody dragged me into an empty room," Sirius said quietly. "And then Remus did what he does best."

"Which is?" Holly queried anxiously.

He shook his head. "Talk sense to make me see his version of reason..I-Merlin..Holly, I don't want you to be held back by me."

Holly's face went blank and she stood up in a flash. "What?"

"You have a promising career ahead of you," Sirius went on, his gaze on the hardwood floor. "I, however, am a middle-aged man who needs to get his shit together, apparently. Or at least that's the summary of what Remus said."

He ran a hand through his hair and cringed as Holly's blank face began to break. Her cheeks flushed a blotchy pink and her emerald-green eyes teared up.

"Are you..?" she bit her lip to hold in a gut wrenching sob. "A-are you breaking up with me?"

Sirius kicked the back of his bear foot against the door, a painful grimace on his face. "No!..I mean..Yes. I'm letting you go."

Her stomach muscles contracted in and she covered her mouth momentarily with her fist as the sudden feeling of nausea almost overwhelmed her. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to stay together. Forever, right? She would go on to be a renowned healer and he would just..do whatever it was he did in his spare time. But he would be here, waiting for her. He was always here, waiting for her. Why not this time?

"Why?" Holly asked, her anger beginning to take over her grief. "Why are doing this?! Did Remus tell you to break up with me?! He isn't your bloody mother, Sirius! How can you just let him do this? How can you just let him control you?!"

"Remus isn't controlling me!" Sirius retorted indignantly. "I'm doing this of my own free will! I'm doing this for your own good. He only made a couple of points that opened my eyes. You and I, we do love each other..But we both owe it to ourselves to grow. We need to grow up and experience life the way were supposed to.. I've missed thirteen years of my life and I need to take responsibility of the Black family investments and family members..

"You're going be neck-deep in your schooling for the foreseeable future. Between the two of us, there won't be time for us. The logical step is to..to break up."

"Logical?!" Holly practically wailed. "How could doing this be logical?! Bollocks!"

Sirius forward, intent on wrapping arms around her as she cried. Holly pushed him away from her with an indignant grunt.

"Get off me, you prick!"

"Holly! Don't be like this please! We can still be together in the future."

Sirius suddenly looked taken aback by the thunderous look that transformed on her face. He had a feeling that he may have said something wrong.

"So you still plan to give me a little pickle-tickle?!" Holly asked through gritted teeth. "Every now and then? Is that how you think this will happen?!"

He blanched, speechless.

"Get out!" Holly Demanded. "Better yet, stay! I'll go!"

Sirius was pushed from the door he had been unconsciously blocking. He let out a loud yelp when his foot hit a wooden dresser. She slammed the door behind her with so much force the mirror over her dresser and the few floral paintings on the walls vibrated. He as left now in the silence of his now ex-lover's bedroom.

He did the right thing, right?

Author's Note: (1) The meaning of the word clout means two things in Texas (where I'm from). I'm a south Texas girl, an educated country bumpkin(lol). Clout can mean you have 'a political sense of power or political influence', or it can mean a physical hit. Example: "She clouted him with her fist!" I hear it used in so many other ways here, but in this chapter I am referring to political influence.. Ok, there you have it. Chapter Two done. It finally happened. Tell what you think.