The next day when Harry woke up, his Prongs toy was clutched tightly in his arms and there was an extra blanket thrown over him, decorated with the Gryffindor lion. The sleeping bag on the floor was Banished and the shower was running in the bathroom, so he knew Sirius must already be up.

Harry climbed out of bed and got dressed. By the time Sirius walked out of the bathroom, wearing a midnight-blue wool dressing gown, Harry was wandering around the kitchen, looking for breakfast.

"Ah! Look who's up," said Sirius, pressing his wand to his right temple; his hair dried instantly. "Don't eat breakfast. I was thinking we could go out for brunch—there's this great place a couple blocks away that has the best mozzarella sticks and milkshakes."

"Sounds good," said Harry, shutting the cabinet door (he had been about to grab a box of cereal).

"Listen…" Sirius sat down on his bed and sighed. "I'm sorry I forgot to warn you about my night terrors."

"That's okay. I get them too sometimes," Harry replied, although he doubted his nightmares were ever as loud or as violent as Sirius's were. "Besides, Azkaban is enough to give anyone night terrors, I'll bet."

"Yeah," said Sirius as Harry joined him on the bed. "That's what it sounds like in there. Lots of the prisoners scream in their sleep…sometimes it's about the crimes they've committed, or about Voldemort, or all manner of other things."

"Wow," said Harry quietly. "That's really bad compared to Muggle prisons."

…

Once Sirius was all dressed and ready, the two of them set out for the fast-food place Sirius had mentioned. They got the biggest order of mozzarella sticks, and they each got a chocolate shake. Harry's was heavenly; it had whipped cream and a cherry on top. In addition to these things he also had a great hamburger.

"Okay, we are definitely going there again," said Harry, taking another slurp of his milkshake.

"I take it you liked the food, then," said Sirius, grinning.

They took the motorcycle back to the Dursleys' house, where Sirius agreed to stay and watch TV with Harry for a little bit. Harry didn't want him to leave, even though it may be less than a week before they moved in together for good…finally…after all this time! But it wasn't long before the doorbell rang.

"Oh my God!" said Sirius, when he opened the door.

Barbara was standing there on the porch, with her parents, Gwendolyn and Robert. The parents were looking embarrassed, and Barbara was looking stern.

"My parents have something to say to you, don't you, Mum and Dad?" she said harshly.

"Yes," Gwendolyn began. "I support you dating my daughter…"

"And?" Barbara demanded.

"And I would support it even if you owned nothing but a cardboard box," Gwendolyn finished, hanging her head.

"What about you, Dad?" Barbara crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry for bothering you about your job, mate," said Robert, and then he pulled out some money. "This is for the bloke who likes the appletinis. Tell him the next one's on me."

The two of them left.

"I confronted them the next day, as soon as my hangover wore off," Barbara told Sirius. "They embarrassed me so much. I hope you don't hold it against me or anything."

"No…" said Sirius. "No, of course not…"

Barbara hugged him gently and whispered, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," said Sirius.

"And you, Harry," Barbara added, after she broke her hug with Sirius. To Harry's surprise, she got down on her knees to be eye-level with him (although since was rather short, Harry was now looking down at her), and set her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry for calling you by the wrong name. I guess I was just distracted by your godfather's good looks." She paused and frowned a little. "That didn't sound too good either, did it? I guess there's no excuse, really. I'm sorry, and I do hope you can forgive me."

She held out one of her neon-pink manicured hands to Harry. It felt to him like she wasn't just trying to apologize for calling him Harvey, but for all the times she'd gotten on his nerves. So he took her hand, albeit hesitantly. It was warm and soft, not rough like Sirius's.

"Erm…that's okay," he told her.

"I'll be seeing you, then," said Barbara, hoisting herself up. She kissed Sirius on the cheek and walked out the door to the car, where her parents were waiting for her. Sirius sat down on the couch and beckoned for Harry to sit down next to him.

"I want you to be honest with me, Harry," said Sirius. "What do you think of Barbara?"

"Oh, um…" Harry bit his lip. Sirius asked him to be honest, but Sirius wouldn't like his answer.

"It's okay," said Sirius. "You can tell me. I swear I won't get angry."

"All right, then." Harry sighed and looked away from Sirius. "I…I don't really like her. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I don't really like when she hugs me. Or because she wears too much lavender perfume. Or maybe it's because I don't…because I don't…"

Harry bit his lip. All those things were superficial. Barbara hadn't hugged him this time, after all, and he could get Sirius to tactfully tell her about the perfume. Harry felt like he knew the real reason for not liking Barbara so much.

"Because you don't what?"

"Because I don't want to share you," Harry said sadly. "I know it's really selfish…"

"No, it's not." Sirius smiled weakly. "Haven't you heard of 'mates before dates' before?"

"I don't think so."

"It just means that you should always put your best friends first, before a girl," Sirius explained. "Of course, it's best if the girl is your friend. But that isn't always the case, you'll find."

"Oh, I see," said Harry. "But what about you and Barbara?"

"Remus was probably right," Sirius told him glumly. "Maybe I'm not in a position to date at all. I think I need some time to figure out what I want…not see any women until I really know what I want in a relationship...I'll break up with Barbara after the court date, I guess."

Sirius said all this with the facial expression of a man trying to pass a kidney stone the size of a watermelon.

"You know what?" Harry sighed, after a long pause. "Just…just go with her, Sirius. Give your relationship another chance."

"No, Harry," Sirius said firmly. "I want to do what makes you happy."

"Well, I want you to stay with the woman who makes you happy," Harry told him, smiling. "Because you being happy is what would make me happy."

"Oh, Harry, mate," said Sirius rather tearfully, catching Harry in a rib-crushing hug. "You really are your father's son, you know that?"

"Thanks," said Harry, hugging him back. "Just promise me one thing, though."

"Anything for you mate, anything," Sirius mumbled.

"Do what Remus said, and talk to her about where your relationship is headed, okay?" said Harry pleadingly, after the two of them separated. "Do that after the court date."

"Blimey, I hate that Talk," said Sirius, his head in his hands.

"Don't turn into a chicken, Sirius," said Harry firmly. "Do it for me. And if she decides she doesn't want to be in…in a meaningful relationship with you…just don't stay with her. Because you deserve better than that."

"Well…okay." Sirius sighed. "I'll talk to her after her work on Thursday."