Two Years Later

Victoria was distracted as she worked that night. She went through the paces of her job as usual, but her head was anywhere else. She didn't know what it was about the night, but she couldn't stop herself from reminiscing about the last two years.

To say that her life didn't turn out like she'd expected would be the understatement of the century. When she had graduated from the Academy she had already been accepted by The Salem Witches' Institute, the only all witch University in the States. It was assumed that she would go to the University, get some kind of degree, and then start her career. However, she had never expected to be thrown the curve ball her parents had sent her when they told her that they weren't her real parents. Her life for the last two years had consisted of working in the Leaky Cauldron, hanging out with Sirius and Remus, and spending any remaining time in Flourish and Blotts. Her flat was a place she went to simply sleep.

Thinking about it she realized that she hadn't even looked for her parents since she'd gotten there. Everything in her life seemed to fall into place as soon as she got to London. It wasn't that she didn't want to find them, but she was so busy that she simply didn't have the time. Shaking her head she made the decision that she would resume her search tomorrow.

A few hours later, just as she was about to close up the pub since the last table one of particularly raucous goblins had finally left. As she walked over to the door to lock it someone pushed their way in. The figure in front of her was one she knew very well, a man with shaggy black hair and leather robes to match, but she'd never seen the look of fear and exhaustion on his face. "Sirius, what's wrong?" she asked pulling him all the way into the pub and locking the door behind him.

"Voldemort," He said slightly breathlessly, "he's got all of the Death Eaters on the search for me."

She was confused, "Why would they be after you? I mean you're an Order member, but that wouldn't put all of them on you." She said over her shoulder as she went to the bar handing him a glass and a bottle of Firewhisky.

He downed one glass and answered, "It's James and Lily. He apparently heard some crazy story about the only person that could kill him would be born soon, and there are only two women in the Order who are pregnant. One is Alice Longbottom and the other is Lily. Dumbledore has put a Fidelus Charm on both families. I was originally going to be the secret keeper for James and Lily, but just before we did it I realized that the first person Voldemort would think of to get the secret from would be me. So instead we made Peter the secret keeper. He would be the last person that anyone would think of to keep a secret of that caliber."

As he explained the story she listened with interest. "So now Voldemort is after you thinking that you have the secret right."

"That's right." He nodded then drained another glass.

"So what are you going to do now? You can't go home."

"That's my problem." He finally looked her in the eye, "I don't have anywhere to go. Remus and I had been staying with James and Lily, but now we both need to find different places to be. Remus is staying with his parents for now, not that he's very keen on that, but we need to stay separated. We know that both of us are prime suspects so they'll be on the lookout. If we were to stay in the same place and they find us… well let's just say I wouldn't want to see the outcome." He heaved a sigh and took another drink.

She thought about it for a moment as she wiped down the bar. She knew it would seem a little strange, but where else did he have to go. "Sirius just come stay with me. I have an extra room."

His head shot up from his glass, "You would really do that?"

"That's what friends are for." She smiled.

He thought about it for a second and then asked, "Don't you live above Flourish and Blotts?"

"Yeah," she answered plainly.

"How can I get up there without anyone seeing me?"

"I have a separate entrance in the back. No one will see you back there."

He took another moment to think it over then smiled up at her, "Well, lead the way."

…

The first night that Sirius stayed with her, Victoria didn't get much sleep. She kept telling herself that it was nothing, but she couldn't deny that it was strange to have a guy stay in her flat. It was strange for her to have anyone else stay with her period, but this was the first time she'd ever had a guy stay with her. Although she knew she was being silly, he was staying in a separate bedroom on the other side of the flat; she still couldn't shake the feeling. Finally sometime early in the morning she dozed off into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning when she woke bright light was shining through her windows. She looked over at the clock on her bedside stand and was shocked to see that it was almost noon. She went into the kitchen and saw that Sirius was already up. He was in front of the stove with a pot bubbling away, his back to her and he was humming to himself. She tried not to laugh as she watched him dance around the kitchen adding various things to the pot. What surprised her the most was that he wasn't using any magic. She laughed, "Who knew Sirius Black knows how to cook? And the muggle way at that. What would your ancient and noble ancestors have to say about that?"

He whipped around his eyes showing his anger clearly and a low growl came from him, "My ancient and noble family can go to…"

"Sirius," she interrupted, knowing exactly where he was going, "you know I was only joking."

He shook his head, "I know." He turned back to the stove, turning his back on her.

She came up next to him and looked at the stove. Still not able to tell what was in the pot even from this close distance. She looked up at him cautiously, "Please don't tell me this is the organs of some poor animal."

He chuckled lightly, "No. Sadly I never learned to make tripe myself, so today you're stuck with plain ordinary stew."

She looked into the pot again and then back up at him, "That's stew?"

"Yes." He replied indignantly, "Beef stew."

"And where may I ask did you get the beef? I know there was none in the fridge." She asked, fixing him with a suspicious glare.

"I may have gone out." He said sheepishly.

She shook her head at him, "I thought you said you were in hiding. What good is it to be in hiding when you're going out?"

"It's not my fault you didn't have anything edible in the place." He retorted taking the pot off of the burner and grabbing two bowls from a nearby cupboard.

"Everything here is edible. It's not my fault that you won't eat it." She took a bowl from him and sat at the counter separating the kitchen from the living room.

He joined her, "I don't eat rabbit food."

She shook her head again knowing that the argument was futile. Taking a spoonful of the so called stew she still couldn't recognize it. Throwing caution to the wind she took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. Sirius watched her eat with a smirk on his face, "I'll take that apology now."

She laughed, "I'm sorry Sirius. You really did well with this. You family should be sorry that they never get to experience it."

He didn't say anything, but kept the smirk firmly in place. After a few minutes of eating in silence he couldn't take it any longer, "So what do you get to do today? I hope it's something fun I'll want a full report later since I'm now a prisoner."

"Well I wouldn't call it exactly fun, but I'm heading over to the Ministry before work." She said between mouthfuls.

He froze for a moment, his spoon halfway to his lips, "The Ministry? What are you doing there?"

She looked into her bowl feeling slightly ashamed, "Something I should have done a long time ago. I'm going to inquire about my parents."

"Oh," he said softly, "I thought you'd given up the search."

"No, just stalled. Like I said a long time ago, I've never really had much to go on so I can't get very far."

He nodded resuming his eating, "Well I wish you luck then." He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, "Hopefully they can help you."

She smiled up at him, "Yeah, maybe."

…

A few hours later she found herself in a lift at the Ministry. She knew where she was going, but she didn't know what she was going to find once she got there. She stepped out as she heard a disembodied voice announced "Level five, Department of International Magical Cooperation." Stepping out and passing several doors she got to the one she was looking for and stepped inside. Inside the room she saw several women, but strangely no men. All the women were in various stages of pregnancy and there was a strange feeling of foreboding that clung in the air. She stepped up to the desk and saw a squat little witch with cat's eye glasses, her silver hair was up in a bun but some of it had managed to escape giving her a harried look. The witch didn't look up at her as she approached she simply said, "Name."

Victoria cleared her throat nervously, "I'm sorry I don't have an appointment."

The witch looked up at her giving her a look of annoyance, "You're going to have to wait. Can I get your name?"

"Um… it's Victoria Knight."

"Have a seat. Someone will call you." The witch said writing her name down on a piece of paper and pointing at it with her wand. It suddenly folded itself into a paper airplane and floated off elsewhere in the office.

Victoria turned away from the desk and took a seat on one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs. She picked up a copy of Transfiguration Today to thumb through and waited. She wasn't sure how long it was, but it felt like years by the time she heard someone call her name. She looked up to see a tall wizard in orange robes, his white hair neatly combed. A small smile crossed his face making her relax a bit as she followed him to an office. He sat behind the desk and motioned for her to take a seat, "I'm Augustus Peabody. So what can I do for you today Miss Knight?" He asked sitting back in his chair.

"Please call me Victoria." She said relaxing a little more. "To start with I would like to state for the record I am not pregnant."

He smiled at her, "That's not something I hear every day. What is it that I can do for you then?"

"Well…" She hesitated for a moment, "I actually came here to see if I could ask you a few questions."

He looked at her curiously, "I'll answer anything I can."

"You see, I was given up for adoption when I was born. I was told that my parents were from England and that they went through the Ministry."

He nodded, "I see."

"Sadly that's really all I know about them." She said sheepishly.

He thought for a moment, "Can I get your birthdate?"

"It's March 17, 1960."

He pulled out a large book from inside his desk. It was leather bound and looked to be very old. She watched as he pointed his wand at it and it opened to a page somewhere in the middle. He traced the page with his finger for a moment, stopping suddenly. He sighed as he looked up at her, "I'm sorry Miss Knight, but our records on that particular case have been sealed."

"Sealed?" she asked confused.

"Yes, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything about your adoption." He answered giving her an apologetic look.

"But if they're about me how can you not tell me?" She felt anger bubble up inside her.

"I'm very sorry Victoria, but this does happen. When one party in the adoption process does not want the information divulged we must seal the records."

She sat there for a moment frozen. The information she was looking for was so close, but she couldn't get it. Her anger had reached a boiling point, "This is absolutely ridiculous."

"Again I am very sorry." He reiterated placing the book back in his desk.

She shook her head, "Thanks for your time Mr. Peabody." Keeping her polite façade although all she wanted to do at that moment was to slug him and take his book. She left the Ministry in a haze, no closer to finding her parents than she'd been when she started.

…

A few days later as she was working she saw a familiar figure walk into the pub. He sat down at the bar in front of her and she saw his brilliant blue eyes twinkle upon seeing her. "Good evening Miss Knight."

She smiled wiping down the counter, "Good evening Professor Dumbledore. What can I get for you tonight? Can I offer a Flaming Phoenix?"

"That would be lovely." He smiled, but she could see more behind his look. Ignoring it for a moment she handed him a glass of water. A moment later it started on fire, causing the scruffy looking wizard a few stools away from him to start in surprise, but quickly turned back to his own glass seeming wary, as if waiting for his own glass to start as well. Albus watched as the contents of the glass were drained quickly, turning to sand. He picked up the piece of parchment from the small mound of sand as it vanished. He read it over then tucked it into a pocket in his robes looking grim. His eyes met hers for a moment before he spoke, "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"Umm…" She looked around the rather busy pub. Most of the tables were packed with families coming in for a late supper after a long day of shopping for school supplies since school was starting in a week. "Give me just a minute." She said disappearing through the kitchen. A few minutes later she came back, "Come on," she said simply walking around the counter and ascending the stairs.

He followed her wordlessly until they reached a door with a large brass number 8. They both stepped inside and she shut the door behind them. "Well Professor, what did you have on your mind?" she asked taking a seat on the bed.

He took the chair across from her and started to run his fingers over his long beard. He took a deep breath before starting, "Victoria, how long have you been with the Order?"

She looked confused, "About two years," she answered warily, "I joined a few months after I came here."

"In that time you have helped our efforts more than you know. However, I now must ask more of you."

"What can I do?"

"As you know eight of our members must remain in hiding for a time."

"Yes," she answered, still wary of where he was going with this. "Sirius is actually staying with me for now."

"I know that you have yet to have any experience in battle, alas I cannot help it. I must ask you to help in a few missions over the next few weeks."

She looked up at him in shock. Battle was a word she had never thought of in association with herself, but she knew he wouldn't be asking her if it wasn't serious. "What kind of missions are we talking about?"

"They will vary greatly. I cannot reveal much at this time, but rest assured there will always be another Order member with you."

She let out a breath that she'd been unconsciously holding, "Okay," she said quietly.

He smiled up at her, "I do appreciate it. I will be in contact with you in the next few days."

She nodded, "I'll be waiting. But for now I need to get back. I think my break's over by now."

"Certainly," he stood and held the door for her as she walked back into the pub.

…

That night when she got back to her flat she was surprised to see Sirius laid out on the couch reading a book. Reading was one of Sirius's least favorite activities; however, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

She laughed lightly, "How's the book?" she asked walking to the fridge in search of something to eat.

"Good." He answered simply.

She returned to the living room with a sandwich. Taking a closer look at the book in his hands it wasn't one that she recognized. It was tiny and green with small gold braids around the edges. "Where did you get that?" she asked just before taking a bite.

"I found it this afternoon. It was under a floor board in my room." He answered finally looking up from the book.

"Strange place for a book."

"Actually, it's a diary." He sat up closing the book.

"So you're reading someone else's diary?"

"Yes." He shrugged, "It's not like whoever left it is going to miss it. The last entry was from 1962." He said flipping the book onto the cushion next to him.

"Interesting." She said finishing her supper.

"Yeah," he said casting a look over at the small object, "the girl that wrote in it was actually pregnant when she was writing it."

"Really?"

He nodded, "She gave birth on March 17th, 1960."

"What?" she sat up shocked.

"That's why I thought you might like to see it." He said handing it to her. "Whoever it was didn't put any names in it, but it's an interesting read."

She took the book from him, holding it in her hands as if it were a precious jewel. He spoke again after a few moments, "There's not even the name of who's it was, but I thought you'd like to see it."

She looked up at him smiling, "Thank you."

He smiled, "Well I'm headed to bed," he said getting to his feet. "A long day of doing nothing will wear you out."

She watched him walk into his room, knowing that he had no intention of going to sleep. Grateful that he had the sense to know that she wanted to read by herself, opening the book almost instantly after hearing his door shut. She looked over the neat slightly looping scrawl, feeling a strange connection to the writer. She read the first page with interest:

September 1, 1958

Today is the start of term, my seventh year has finally begun. I've been waiting all summer just to be back in the walls of this castle. I know I should be happy to be with my family, but this is the place where I've always felt happiest. The summer hadn't been too bad. My best friend had stayed with us for the last month as her parents went on holiday to see her brother. The real reason that I'm happy to be back this year has nothing to do with it being my last year or spending time with my best friend. It's all about being close to my favorite professor again. It was such a long two months without seeing him. I know that I shouldn't feel anything for the man, he's at least thirty years my senior and the most brilliant man I've ever met, but I simply can't help it. I don't know when it happened, when he became more than just my professor, but I can't imagine my life without him. I know it sounds crazy, and it probably is, but what more can I say? I've fallen for my professor. That's right, the top witch in her year has fallen in love with her professor. Well now that I've made myself sound ridiculous even to myself I'll stop here for the night.

Victoria laughed as she finished reading the first page. She could see this girl writing the page as if she were in front of her. Could feel her giddy energy. Deciding to save the rest of it for later she decided to call it a night herself. Setting the book down on the stand next to her bed she gave it one last look before turning out the light, wondering what secrets this tiny book would hold for her.