Loving the support and good reviews. You guys are really awesome! Was unsure that I'd have time to write this week, but I knew I had to get it done. So here it is, chapter four:

"Who in the world are you, and what are you doing in my bathroom?"

Sirius blinked. And then he blinked again.

Standing-or should he say floating above him-was a girl who looked like a teenaged Hogwarts' student. She was a ghost, one who seemed very angry that someone was trespassing in her bathroom.

But she wasn't the right ghost.

Though she was transparent. Sirius could tell that her hair was a pale yellow when she was alive, not the dark brown that Moaning Myrtle had. There were no pimples present on her delicate features, another trait that differed greatly from Myrtle's known acne issues. She was thin, beautiful, and, most importantly, did not have glasses.

She was not Moaning Myrtle.

Sirius was dumbstruck at the revelation, trying to come up with an answer. Meanwhile, the unknown ghost girl rolled her eyes, and attempted blowing up a stray hair that had fallen on her face, and sighed when it did not move from its annoying position right over her right eye.

She glared at Sirius, and asked rather tautly, "Well? Are you going to answer or not, because I do not appreciate having a strange man lurking in my bathroom."

Sirius finally regained the ability to speak. "Um…. where's Myrtle?"

The ghost looked very surprised to hear that particular name, and looked contemplative as she examined Sirius. "Why do you want to know?"

Sirius felt a little more confident as he answered, "Merely curious."

The girl did not seem pleased at this answer, but decided to give him a response. "Myrtle. Merlin, I haven't heard that name in years. She's the reason I'm here, you know. Stupid, ugly Myrtle gets to live, and she wastes her life doing who-knows-what-"

"Wait! Did you just say Myrtle is alive?!" Sirius couldn't believe it. He found the difference.

The girl snorted. "Oh, I don't know." Sirius felt his heart fall. "After she left Hogwarts, she holed up somewhere, scarred and depressed. It was probably her guilt over over being the reason that I died."

Sirius fought the urge to smile. Myrtle graduated from Hogwarts. That meant she didn't die here, and didn't become a Hogwarts ghost. But he was still curious over who this mysterious girl was. "You say she caused your death. How exactly did you die?"

She looked at him, outrage in her silvery eyes. He immediately regretted his question; he knew that ghosts did not like to talk about how they died. He had tried for years to get Nearly-Headless Nick to open up, even attending a deathday party or two, but to no avail.

The outrage soon dissipated, and was replaced by something that Sirius could understand: guilt and regret. "I was walking into this bathroom to find Myrtle because I was supposed to get her to stop crying and to come out and return to class. I was told to go find her right after she ran off. I found her and I reprimanded her, and told her to grow up and stop crying. But then, someone else walked into this bathroom. It was a boy; I knew, because I heard his voice. He was whispering something, which I was very much confused by. And that's when I heard this…. hissing noise." She stopped, and tried to get her bearings together. "I opened the stall door, and was going to order whoever it was that he shouldn't be in the girl's bathroom. I looked at the source of the hissing; that sink over there." She gestured, and then finished her tale. "There was a pair of big, yellow eyes. And that's all I remember. I died then and there."

"Wow." Sirius finally said. "That's unbelievable."

The girl looked hurt. "Oh, so you don't believe me either? Not surprising. No one ever believes me. I tell my story to those who ask, just hoping someone will actually believe, but no. Myrtle recounted her tale numerous times, and said that there was no boy, no big eyes. Of course they would disappear. The boy probably fled before Myrtle could get out of that bloody stall."

"How do they think you died, these 'non-believers'?" Sirius asked. He had sat down at this point, intrigued by the girl's tale.

The ghost blew at the unmoving hair once again, "Oh, there are a lot of theories. One of my favorites is that I looked too long at Myrtle's face and dropped dead from the ugliness. But it's officially written that I was somehow killed by this giant spider that Rubeus Hagrid used to take care of." She scoffed. "And yet when I told the ministry that a spider couldn't kill with its eyes, they said nothing in this castle could, so Hagrid was their only suspect."

"Idiots." Sirius mumbled, having dealt with ministry workers before.

The girl had a genuine smile. "I know, right?" She hesitated, before asking gently "You actually believe me?"

Sirius was insulted. "Of course! The ministry has screwed me over more times than I can count; of course I would believe the person who saw it over someone who thought Hagrid could be responsible for murder."

The ghost laughed and floated over to sit next to Sirius. He much preferred this ghost over Myrtle, who would probably have reported him to Filch already.

"You never answered my question." The girl stated, curiosity brimming in her dead eyes.

"Huh?"

"Who are you? We don't get many new adults here at Hogwarts, unless they're the new defense teacher. Would that be you?"

"Oh, right." Sirius was going to tell her his fake name, but decided against it. This poor girl had just told him one of her most private memories. He would tell her the truth.

"Do you believe in time travel?"

After explaining his circumstances to the girl, she seemed like she believed him. But she did have one question after all was said and done.

"In this world that you come from, am I still alive?"

He had explained that it had been Myrtle who died in the bathroom, and no one else. She seemed sad at this thought, though he doubted it was because she felt bad for Myrtle.

"Merlin's beard, how is it that I still don't know your name?" Sirius asked, wondering how he had not even asked for it that entire time.

The ghost girl looked almost angry as she answered. "Olive. Olive Hornby." She laughed without humor. "Though most students tend to call me 'Horrible Hornby,' because of my bad attitude. I bet if any one of them died, they would have a bad attitude too."

"Olive Hornby." Sirius said, thinking about where he had heard the name before. Olive looked surprised at the use of her whole name. "Oh yeah! You worked for the ministry for a little while, but I think you died sometime in the nineties."

"Did I come back as a ghost?"

"I don't think so."

Olive looked relieved. "That's good to know. Coming back is my greatest regret."

Sirius didn't know what to say. He looked at Olive and told her truthfully. "By coming back, you made me realize that this isn't the same world. I can change things. You've saved a lot of lives, Olive Hornby. My life, and the lives of my two best friends. Thank you."

She smiled a sad smile, and said. "Well, at least I know that I've done some good. Thank you, Sirius Black. I hope to see you around. This you, not the younger one. He's only come in here on occasion. Always the flirt. Who would ever ask a ghost to Hogsmeade, even if they are 'the hottest cold girl I've ever seen'?"

Sirius laughed. That sounded like something he would do. "I'll come back, don't worry. I owe you."

Olive looked happy. "I haven't had someone to talk to in years. This is exciting! I'll be here."

Sirius was grinning ear to ear as he ran back to the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office. He did not care that he was in human form and could easily get caught by someone. He did not care that every step he took made a loud thump that could easily wake up anyone in the castle. And he especially did not care that he had his wand out for light, and that the portraits were already whispering about the "strange man in the castle". He never liked those portraits anyway.

No more hiding he thought to himself. No more being alone.

His conversation with Olive really opened his eyes to how one little thing can change everything. He was happy that he could change things, but he was also painfully aware that nothing he did would save the people he had known in his own time. He knew he couldn't just stand by and watch Lily and James die again, but he was also sure that he would never be able to fully connect with these two versions. But Lily and James! Alive! Oh, what would Harry say if he were-

Sirius stopped running, and had to grab a wall for support. Harry. From all of the excitement, his godson had almost slipped his mind. He wondered what Harry was doing now. He wondered how he and Remus were taking his disappearance. They probably thought he was dead, and in some ways, he guessed he was. He had talked to Dumbledore about the possibility of returning back through the veil, but Dumbledore merely shook his head and said that there was no way back.

A "one way trip" he called it.

If this was the best he could do, then so be it, but he would make sure, above all else, that Harry would be born. As much as he loved James, he knew his duty was to protect Harry, no matter what world he was in. That much was true.

He stood in front of the gargoyle, said the password "Chocolate Frogs," and ran up to Dumbledore's office.

What many did not know is that Dumbledore's sleeping quarters were also connected to his office. By the time he reached the circular room, Sirius had some time to think through his revelation. He stopped in front of the door leading to Dumbledore's room, halting before he knocked. He had time. And besides, he'd been keeping Dumbledore up almost every night. The man deserved some sleep.

Sirius found the bed that Dumbledore had conjured up for him a few nights ago and lay his head down, wondering where Harry and Remus were and what they were doing. He fell asleep with thoughts of marauding and motorbike riding, and a world where Lily and James had never died.

A/N Yes, ghost girl is the one and only Olive Hornby, the girl best known for making fun of Myrtle's glasses, and being the first one to find her dead body. I wanted to write Olive off as a "one-chapter-wonder" but writing her story here made me realize how interesting I can make her. I think that Sirius needs someone that he can connect to, and though Dumbledore faced some of the same hardships, he isn't going to open up to Sirius because he never opened up to anyone. Olive has a lot of regrets, and I think that Sirius needs this person who he can talk things through with. I'm pretty sure she's here to stay.

Thanks for reading!

~M