HEY READERS! I'm sorry I took so long to post this! What with school starting up again and work, it's been a hectic week! Anyway, I'm sorry about this and will try to post Chapter 69 sooner. For now, here is Chapter 68.

Exams were coming. And in only one week! Harry, Ron and Hermione were majorly stressed out, just like all the other students at Hogwarts. Hermione informed Harry and Ron that they needed to pass their exams to get into second year, which didn't help matters.

So on the twenty-ninth, the last Friday before their exams, Harry was relieved to find that he might be able to relax a bit.

"Harry," said Sirius, grabbing Harry's shoulder and turning him around as he made to leave class. "Listen...how would you like to have dinner out with Barbara and me tomorrow night? There's this nice place in London, and Barbara tells me the food is great. I thought you might like a little break from your studying."

"Oh, boy, would I!" said Harry. "But...what's the occasion?"

"Okay...remember that really awful dinner we had with Barbara's parents last summer?" Sirius asked.

"How could I forget?"

"Well, you see, everybody involved agreed that it was kind of a disaster," Sirius said. "So we were thinking we'd kind of have a do-over. Start things fresh. I get along better with her parents now."

"I guess that's all right," said Harry hesitantly. Barbara's parents hadn't been rude to him personally, after all, and things were better now that he and Barbara had warmed up to each other. Plus, Phoebe would be joining them...sort of. "Which restaurant?"

"It's this American pizza place that opened up last January, and it's the most popular eatery in the city," Sirius replied. "You have to get a reservation at least a day in advance, that's how popular it is, but luckily, Barbara made the reservation."

"What's it called?" asked Harry.

"Reggie's Pizza Empire," said Sirius, grinning.

...

The next day was exciting for Harry. Of course, he spent Saturday morning studying, but around four in the afternoon, he and Sirius got onto the motorcycle and flew off to London. It was the longest flight Harry had ever taken on the motorcyle (one hour) but since he liked flying, it wasn't a problem at all.

When Sirius and Harry finally reached Barbara's flat, Sirius touched down, turned off the Invisibility Booster, made flowers come out of his wand, and they rode up to her floor. Harry noticed that her building was better than Sirius's old flat, but not as good as the one he shared with Harry now, although Harry knew that their new house in Hogsmeade would be the best of all. They walked and walked until they finally reached Barbara's door. Sirius knocked.

Barbara was wearing her dark hair down. She was wearing Sirius's pearl necklace and a pink-and-black maternity dress. The shirt part at the top was black, with short sleeves, and starting just before the baby bump was a pretty baby-pink skirt. Her nails were painted white.

"Good evening, darling," said Sirius, handing the flowers to her. "You look very nice."

"Thank you, Sirius," Barbara replied, smiling. "You and Harry do, too."

Sirius and Harry hadn't dressed up quite as much this time, since (according to Barbara) it wasn't advisable to wear fancy clothes to a pizza place. This time they both wore long-sleeve button-downs and dark jeans. Harry had followed Sirius's lead and not tucked in his shirt. Boys at school were supposed to tuck in their shirts, but Sirius and James had stopped doing that by second year (just to be rebellious) and then of course every boy was doing it.

"So...where are Gwen and Robert?" Sirius asked.

"I'll take you two to their flat in my car," Barbara told them, beaming at the fact that Sirius was on a first-name basis with her parents now. "Come on, Harry, do you want to ride shotgun this time?"

"Yeah, I do!" Harry said happily. He could count the number of times he'd ridden shotgun on only one hand.

Less than ten minutes later, the bright-red Ford Fiesta was heading through the traffic of downtown London. Like Sirius, Barbara had to pay for a parking space near her building, since parking was scarce in the city. When they got to Barbara's parents' building, Gwen and Robert Raffelovich were waiting outside already. Barbara beeped the horn, and they climbed inside, on either side of Sirius.

"Good evening, Officer and Mrs. Raffelovich," said Harry politely.

"So polite," said Gwen. "You're raising a fine boy, Sirius."

Harry was glad she didn't see his face turning red. To change the subject, he asked Sirius if Remus was coming, too.

"You know it," said Sirius. "He's meeting us there."

"Oh, good," said Harry happily. To him, Remus was family too, just like Sirius.

"I'm glad I'm going with you lot," said Sirius, grinning. "Otherwise I wouldn't have any family at that restaurant…or anyone I knew at all."

…

Since they were already in downtown London, it didn't take long to arrive at Reggie's Pizza Empire. As usual, the line of people waiting to get in was extremely long; typical on a Saturday night, it stretched all the way down the block. Waitstaff were walking up and down the line, handing out free samples of what looked like bread—but it was a weird kind of bread, unlike any Harry had seen before. It looked extremely buttery and there was garnish on it.

"What kind of bread is that?" Harry asked, pointing at the free sample.

"Garlic bread," Barbara told him. "They're free samples. Why don't you go try one? Get one for me, too, please."

"I don't know," Harry said nervously. He didn't want to approach a stranger, even if it was just a waiter.

"They won't hurt you," Sirius reassured him. "They work for the restaurant."

"Well…okay."

Harry went over to a waitress holding a silver tray. There was a bowl of red marinara sauce in the middle, and layers of garlic bread were surrounding it.

"Hello, young man," said the waitress kindly, smiling down at him. "Would you like to try some garlic bread?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Harry. "Can I have one for my pregnant aunt, too?"

"Why, how sweet! Of course you can," the waitress told him, handing him two slices of garlic bread. Harry thanked her and walked away, stuffing his garlic bread into his mouth on the way, expecting it to taste like any other bread…

But it didn't. It had so much…so much flavor! It was so buttery and delicious. The outside was a little crusty, but not too much, and the inside was soft, so soft, probably because of the butter, which seemed to be baked in, because it sure wasn't slathered on like he did with toast. What a strange concept!

"You've got to try this garlic bread stuff, Barbara!" Harry said enthusiastically, running over to her. "It's got great flavor!"

"I have tried it," Barbara said, smiling. "This is, like, my go-to place to eat when I'm on break at work. I've even met the owner."

"Oh? What's he like?" Sirius asked casually.

"Well, you should hear his accent, for one thing," Barbara said. "All the waitstaff are locals here, so he's the only one who sounds like an American. He's proud of his culture, you can tell, but he seems to know his way around London, too—I guess because he's been living here since January. He's nice, though, and polite."

"You don't see him around a lot in the dining area," Robert added. "He's more of a facts-and-numbers sort of bloke—and he's got to keep his eye on the cooks and the waitstaff and everything. Like many entrepreneurs, he has a successful life, but a brutal one as well."

"Oy! Padfoot! Wait up!"

Harry's head swiveled around, and so did Sirius's. It was Remus, hurrying towards them.

"Good evening, Moony," said Sirius mock-formally.

"You weren't going to go in there without me, were you?" Remus asked, but from the way he was smiling, Harry could tell he knew that they would never do such a thing. That was why they were still outside in the balmy May air.

Robert looked a bit sheepish.

"I'm sorry for giving you crap about getting an appletini," he told Remus. "Won't happen again. This dinner is kind of going to be a do-over."

"You don't have to worry about me getting drunk this time," Barbara said serenely, giving her baby bump a pat.

"So…hello, I'm Mrs. Gwendolyn Raffelovich," said Gwen.

"And I'm Officer Robert Raffelovich," Robert added. "Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you, too," said Remus, shaking both their hands. "I'm Remus Lupin."

"Let's go inside, though," Barbara told everyone. "These mosquitoes are going to eat me alive."

The party of six (or seven, if you counted Phoebe) walked towards the street towards the pizza place. They were able to get in, because they had a reservation.

"Could I have a name, please?" said the host.

"Robert," said Officer Raffelovich.

"Besides, it looks like you've already got a name of your own," Barbara said jokingly, pointing to the host's nametag, which read "David".

"I'll seat you immediately," said David, without cracking a smile.

Harry liked the way Reggie's Pizza Empire looked. The seats in the waiting area were a bright green color, and they looked like the kind you'd find at a baseball stadium. There was a big glass case full of merchandise from Chicagoan sports teams—the Bears, the Bulls, the Blackhawks, the Cubs and White Sox—and there was even a framed basketball jersey on the wall. Sirius was looking around in interest; Harry knew his godfather was the only one who didn't know about Muggle sports. Remus, he figured, knew more, since Remus's mother had been a Muggle, like Barbara.

They passed by the bar on their way to their seats. There was a bartender, maybe in his fifties, who was mixing drinks. Several people were idly chatting in the high barstools; it looked like they were having a good time. There were three TV screens, one right above the bar, the other two on either side of it. The middle one played a movie, the one on the left played a Bears game, and the one on the right played a Blackhawks game. There was a sign nearby that read "Reggie's Pizza Empire—Now That's Pizza!"

The group of six/seven could see the screens clearly from the booth in which they sat. They were near the party room. It wasn't long before a tall waiter approached their table.

"Hello, my name is Rosario, and I will be your waiter this evening," he said politely. "Could I get you all something to drink?"

"Do you have chocolate milk?" Barbara asked. "Or actually, chocolate milkshakes? Ever since I've fallen pregnant, I'm always dying for something sweet."

"We absolutely have that," said Rosario. "And what about you, sir?"

"I'll have a chocolate milkshake as well, please," Sirius said.

None of the adults decided to drink that night. Robert got coffee, Gwen got lemonade, and Remus and Harry both got apple juice.

"I guess this means I'm feeding my daughter lots of sweets, too," Barbara said jokingly.

"Well, then, she'll end up as a sweet little girl, won't she?" crooned Sirius, giving Barbara a kiss on the cheek.

"Not with you for a father, she won't," said Remus teasingly. "I predict she'll have quite a temper."

"Only if it's completely and utterly justified," said Sirius in a dignified way.

"Anyway, do you want to order the pizza?" Gwen suggested. "I really like the 'Reggie' pizza—so good, they named it after the man."

"No, don't," said Barbara. "That one has vegetables on it, ew. Let's get the chocolate-chip cookie pizza."

"That's on the dessert menu, darling," said Sirius, pointing it out.

"Your point being…?" Barbara raised her eyebrows.

"We can order it for dessert, sweetheart," said Robert. "Or you can get one all your own, how does that sound? I'm paying."

"Oh, nonsense," said Sirius. "You should let me pay, Robert."

"I get a discount here," Robert explained. "It's the Public Servants discount, or, as they call it here, the Everyday Heroes discount. Cops, firefighters, paramedics, and members of the military all get a 20% discount."

"As it should be," said Gwen, patting her husband's hand.

"Well, all right, then," Sirius said. "What about that Polish sausage one you mentioned?"

"Sounds good to me," Robert agreed. "One large pizza serves four, so we'd have to get different pizzas for the other two in the group…"

"Well, how about Barbara and Phoebe get the chocolate-chip cookie pizza, Mrs. Raffelovich gets the 'Reggie', and the rest of us order the Polish sausage one?" Harry suggested, hoping to make everyone happy.

"Sure!" Barbara looked happy at the thought of not having to wait until dessert to sink her teeth into something sweet, and she also had smiled when Harry included Phoebe as a guest.

Not long after, Rosario came back.

"Are we all ready to order?" he asked politely.

"Yes, we'll have one large Polish sausage pizza, one single-serving 'Reggie', and one chocolate chip cookie pizza, please," said Robert.

"You're not going to be very full, dear, if all you eat is sugar," Gwen told her daughter. "Besides, my granddaughter needs nourishment…"

"Oh my God, Mum! Fine," Barbara grouched. "Can I have a single-serving Polish sausage?"

"You can," said Rosario, writing it down, but he looked a bit put off as he left for the kitchen again.

"This place really does smell great, doesn't it?" said Sirius.

"Yeah," Barbara said happily. "I do love eating here."

They didn't have as much trouble talking as they did last time. They mostly talked about Phoebe, and how Barbara had gotten another sonogram and in it, Phoebe could be seen sucking her thumb. Gwen got a little choked up at that, and so did Sirius, even though he had been there with her. They also talked about Harry's school (although, thanks to the Statute of Secrecy, they couldn't give away many details), and Robert shared police stories. Sirius seemed delighted when he heard about the K-9 officers.

"They even have little badges on their collars?" said Sirius. "That's so cute."

"Oh, that reminds me," said Barbara. "Daddy, do the badge thing again, okay?"

"Very well," said Robert, chuckling. Then he said in a mock-serious police voice, "This is the police! You are under arrest! Come out with your hands up!"

"Huh! You can't arrest me," said Barbara defiantly.

"This can," said Robert, holding out his badge, and they both laughed.

Time seemed to pass much faster than it had last summer. Before long, the four pizzas were arriving at the table.

"Want the first bite, Harry?" Sirius asked kindly, gesturing to their huge Polish-sausage pizza.

"Sure," said Harry, reaching for a slice, but Barbara stopped him.

"You eat deep-dish with a knife and fork," she explained.

This seemed strange to Harry, but then, the pizza didn't look anything like he'd ever seen before, either. It came in a big silver pan, and the crust was higher than the pizza itself. Sirius took a slice out of the pan for Harry, who took note of how you could see the melted cheese sticking to the slice as he did so. When the pizza was on Harry's plate, he cut a sliver off of it, like he did when cutting meat, and put it in his mouth.

FLAVOR! Harry loved it. It tasted meaty, but cheesy at the same time.

"Looks like Harry's a fan," said Sirius, who was grinning, but Harry could hardly see anyone or hear anything through the swirling torrent of cheesy deliciousness that was now surrounding him. He had eaten pizza before, but nothing like this. Nothing like this! The pizza he had here was always so bland and flavorless in comparison! No wonder Reggie's Pizza Empire was an empire, and the most popular restaurant in London!

They ordered another chocolate-chip cookie pizza for dessert, this time one for them all to share. Harry loved that, too. He loved everything about this place. When it came time to go, he was full and happy. He hugged everyone goodbye, then he and Sirius flew back to Hogwarts.

It was only when he was in bed that night, in Gryffindor Tower, that he realized how different things were now. He had enjoyed himself tonight, and not just because the food was so good. And then he remembered that before he had gone to sleep that night, he had been wondering about what it would be like if Sirius and Barbara had a baby together. One difference was that now he knew how that worked, but also, another was that this time she actually was having a baby, and he was just as excited as ever to meet her.