Within a few days, Sirius was already itching to get out of his hospital room, but Barbara, Harry, Regulus and Remus constantly visited him, so he wasn't lonely. Ron and Hermione visited a couple of times, too. Still, his date of release couldn't come soon enough. Everyone was waiting until the doctors finally thought it was okay for Sirius to come home.

On that particular day, Barbara had gotten a fender bender on her Ford Fiesta, so it was in the shop. That hadn't stopped her and Harry from visiting Sirius, of course. Taking the bus wasn't quite the same (they had been seated right across from a passenger Harry was quite sure was high as a kite), but they got to the hospital on the day Sirius finally got released, and that was what was important!

Harry waited out in Sirius's room while Barbara helped Sirius change. Harry was sure they'd purposely drag a situation like that out, but not this time. They were out of the bathroom within ten minutes, and the nurse escorted Sirius down to the main lobby, Barbara and Harry right on his wheels…and there, in the lobby with a bouquet of flowers and a box of deep-dish pizza to go, was Regulus.

"Just in time for the grand opening of the second London location of my restaurant," he said happily. "It's in only three days!"

"Thanks for the flowers, Reg," said Sirius. "And thank you for looking after Harry while I was in the hospital, Barbara."

"You're welcome." Barbara smiled, then sighed. "Now let me just check the bus schedules…"

"Bus schedules?" said Regulus. "Well, I don't think that will be necessary."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Take a look outside," Regulus said in reply. He gestured dramatically to the hospital parking lot, where there was a slinky black stretch limousine, shining in the summer sun. The driver got out and opened the door for them.

"Oh my God!" Barbara cried. "You rented a limo?!"

"Rented? No, that's my personal chauffeur," Regulus said, giving her a wink. Barbara helped Sirius up out of the wheelchair and led him into the limo, where he sat right between her and Sirius. Regulus sat across from them, smiling from ear to ear, as the driver finally took Sirius home again.

…

The whole time Sirius had been in the hospital, Barbara had been living in Sirius's flat with Harry and looking after him. She used Sirius's bathroom, since he wasn't there, and he used his own, like always. That was nice, because he had the one with the tub in it. On the day Sirius came home, it was almost seven at night. Barbara helped Sirius into pajamas, lovingly tucked him in, then cooked dinner, which she brought him in bed. Harry came in, too, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Now, don't spoil me, sweetheart," Sirius began, snuggling into the pillows. "You're the pregnant one, I should be taking care of y—"

Sirius was cut off when Barbara stuck a spoonful of pudding into his mouth.

"I am going to spoil you rotten, darling," she cooed, brushing his bangs out of his eyes, and he closed them, enjoying the sensation of her touch. "Mind you finish your dinner, now."

"That's what I missed the most in the hospital, besides my family," Sirius said tiredly, smiling up at the two of them. "These homecooked meals."

"Well, you'll never have to eat hospital food again!" said Barbara, kissing Sirius on the forehead. She picked up the spoon from his giant bowl of chocolate pudding and said, "Open up, here comes the train!"

Sirius opened his mouth and she fed him the pudding. Harry rolled his eyes at them, but there was another bowl of pudding for him on the tray, so he ate that one.

"All right, now, Siri, I've brought some water, but you need to take your heart medicine, and the antidepressants too," said Barbara. She took a pill container out of her pocket and shook the capsules out into her hand.

"Ah…yes, thanks," said Sirius.

"More medicine?" Harry asked them in surprise.

"Yeah." Sirius nodded. "The doctors at the hospital gave me some heart medicine. It's like Reg said, heart disease runs in our family…and I guess Lily was right about me not smoking."

…

Three days later, Sirius was much better. (Barbara had spoiled him, just like she promised; she confided in Harry that possibly her pregnancy made her more nurturing.) Sirius was still a little weak, but he definitely had no intention of missing the big opening of Reggie's Pizza Empire. It was a semi-formal occasion, so Sirius and Harry wore expensive suits with sports jackets. Barbara said she thought Harry looked cute. That wasn't really the look he thought he was going for, but at least she hadn't said he looked stupid. It was an important thing, because Hermione was coming along, too. They were giving Hermione a ride, but they were going to meet Remus and of course Regulus there.

The grand opening was at seven, and Hermione showed up at the flat around five-thirty. She looked a little nervous. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but in her arms she held a violet gown, which looked like it had never been worn before.

"I-I know it's a semi-formal occasion, so I brought a dress," she said to nobody in particular. "I hope it's all right…"

"It'll be fine!" said Barbara, who was wearing a fluffy pink polyester bathrobe. She still had cold cream on her face, and her hair was wrapped up in a towel from her shower. "I think now is a good time for that makeover, isn't it, Hermione?"

Hermione looked shocked, but then she grinned.

"Sure!"

"Come into the bathroom, I'll help you get ready," said Barbara. The only way Hermione could have run faster is if there had been a library in the bathroom.

"How long is this going to take?" said Harry.

"Shh," said Sirius serenely, pressing his index finger to his lips. "Just let them work their woman-magic, Harry."

It was taking a long time. Harry started to fidget.

"What are they doing in there?" he asked Sirius, feeling a little irritated.

"Harry, let me ask you something," said Sirius. "You like treacle tart, don't you?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"Well, in order to enjoy one, do you need to watch how it's made?"

"No…"

"Well, there's your answer." Sirius smiled and closed his eyes, his arms behind his head. Harry noticed he was wearing cufflinks of solid gold, instead of the green ones he had inherited from his father.

"Where are your Black family cufflinks?" Harry asked.

"I've got them in my pocket," Sirius replied. "I'm going to give them to Reg tonight. Remember? They were supposed to go to him."

"You know, I just remembered," said Harry. "I forgot my Old Spice cologne."

Sirius had told Harry that he didn't need to wear his cologne every day, only on special occasions. (Sirius wore his cologne every day, but that was different.) This was definitely a special occasion, though, so Harry knew he definitely had to wear his cologne. He ran into the bathroom and located it in the cabinet.

Unfortunately, he found that the spray nozzle was broken. When he tried to spray it, like he had the last time he wore it (when they last went to Reggie's Pizza Empire), a tiny bit of liquid just dribbled out pathetically. So Harry unscrewed the lid, poured the liquid into his hands, and rubbed it all over his neck and wrists, hoping it would be just as good. But when he walked back into the drawing room, Sirius coughed.

"Harry, what is that?!" he demanded. "What did you do, dump the whole bottle on yourself?"

"Well…not all of it," Harry admitted. "But the spray nozzle was broken, so I kind of had to pour it."

Sirius shook his head and took Harry into the bathroom again, where he rinsed his neck and wrists off with water, then repaired the spray nozzle with magic.

"When are you going to remember your godfather is a wizard?" Sirius asked, grinning.

"That was pretty dumb of me," Harry agreed sheepishly.

"Now, close your eyes and mouth," Sirius warned. Harry did and Sirius sprayed his neck and wrists with the cologne, so that this time the smell was much less conspicuous.

Harry and Sirius were getting terribly hungry as they waited for the females to get ready, so they went into the kitchen for a light snack (one that wouldn't ruin their appetite for the pizza later on). They finally decided on some corn chips. As they were eating, they heard the sound of the bathroom door slamming, and feminine giggling.

"Are you two ready yet?" Sirius called.

"No," Barbara said back. "But our hair and makeup are done, so now all we need to do is put our dresses and jewelry on."

Sirius and Harry both sighed as Barbara and Hermione hurried into Sirius and Barbara's bedroom. It seemed like twenty minutes later when Harry finally heard them emerging, and he and Sirius left the kitchen to find the drawing room. Both of the females looked incredible.

Barbara's hair was flat-ironed; it was now long, sleek and shining. She was wearing her gold Hufflepuff House necklace, a pair of diamond-encrusted, solid-gold hoop earrings (a gift from Sirius), and a gold bracelet. She was holding a white purse, which matched her outfit: It was a white maternity dress with quarter-length sleeves. There were patterns of black and gold on the white, including a black rose. Her shoes were also solid gold high heels. Her nails were painted classic red. Sure, she looked great…

But to Harry, Hermione was the truly amazing one.

Hermione's dress was a beautiful shade of violet. The sleeves were short and loose. She was wearing Sirius's pearl necklace and clip-on pearl earrings. She had dangly silver bracelets on both arms, and brilliantly white shoes. The most shocking thing of all, though, was her hair. It wasn't bushy and unmanageable like usual; it was still curly, but this time it was deliberate. Beautiful, perfectly-sculpted, chocolate-brown ringlets surrounded Hermione's face, cascading slightly past her shoulders, gleaming under the lights of the flat. The big curls were accessorized with a pearl headband, only the pearls were dyed purple (these ones were probably imitation). And suddenly Harry finally realized what Sirius meant about the "woman-magic". All that waiting was definitely worth it!

"Hermione, you look amazing!" Harry cried, running up to her. "Your hair, it's all…all curly!"

"I know!" Hermione laughed. "It's unbelievable! With hair like mine, I never thought it was possible!"

"Did you need a huge amount of hair potion?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Hell no," said Barbara. "It's called a curling iron."

"Will those boys ever understand Muggle things?" Hermione jokingly asked Barbara, grinning.

"I don't think they will!" Barbara laughed and took Sirius's arm in hers, heels clicking on the floor. Harry wondered how she did so when she was 27 weeks pregnant, but maybe it was because she was so used to wearing heels anyway, or because they were just her favorite type of shoes, which they were. Harry linked arms with Hermione the way Sirius did with Barbara.

"Let's go," said Sirius gallantly, leading everyone out the door. Hermione and Harry brought up the rear, arm in arm.

…

Reggie's Pizza Empire was PACKED. There was simply no other word to describe it. There was a big sign over the entrance which read, Reggie's Pizza Empire—Grand Opening Night. This was the second Reggie's Pizza Empire in the entirety of Europe, and the eighth Reggie's Pizza Empire in the world, as six of them were back in Chicagoland.

"Padfoot!"

Harry, Hermione, Sirius and Barbara turned to look. Remus was running up to them. (He was looking good; the full moon night had been a couple of days ago, and now he would be feeling fine the next three weeks.)

"Good evening, Moony," said Sirius. "Are you ready to experience the pizza delight?"

"Always ready," Remus replied. "I might have to get one of those chocolate-chip cookie pizzas, too."

"You know, I don't know who likes sweet stuff more, Remus, you or Barbara," Sirius commented.

"I'm not the one who always wants the sweets," said Barbara mock-indignantly. "It's Phoebe. She's a little piglet."

"Uh-huh," said Sirius, putting his arm around Barbara.

They looked around for Regulus, but couldn't find him anywhere. Since he was their ticket in, they had to wait at the back of the line like all the "commoners". Everyone was dressed up, just like they were. Waiting wasn't really a problem, because it was warm out, not too hot and not too cold, and they had some time to talk. Besides, Harry just loved looking at his beautiful girlfriend, and he was wondering how lucky he was, to find a girl who was good-looking, nice, and didn't have a skull full of dead insects.

Finally, finally they got to the front of the line. There were two people working at the front desk, a man and a woman. The host raised his eyebrows.

"Name?" he asked.

"Uhh…we didn't make a reservation," Barbara told him.

"You won't get in without a reservation," the host replied. "Everyone eating here tonight had to make a reservation, like, a week in advance. At least."

"You don't understand," Sirius insisted. "Reggie is my long-lost brother, we're here as his guests."

"Sure you're Reggie's long-lost brother," said the host disbelievingly, as if this was the most ludicrous thing he had ever heard. "Listen, mate, don't make me call security on you."

"It's true!" Sirius insisted. "You've got to hear me out!"

"Sorry," said the host, although he didn't look it. "Not until I hear it from the Emperor himself."

Just then, Regulus walked out of a side room, looking excited. His face brightened even further when he saw his guests, but his host spoke before he had a chance to say anything to them.

"Reggie," said the host. "I must inform you, this group of people is trying to leapfrog ahead of everybody else! Nobody gets in without a reservation."

"It's okay, Sergio," said Regulus, beaming at him. "They don't need a reservation, they're with me."

Everyone laughed as Sergio's jaw practically dropped to the floor. It was clear not many people were on a first-name basis with the Emperor, and even fewer people were his long-lost brother. Sirius laughed the loudest.

…

They were seated at their table in no time. Regulus was wearing an expensive suit, just like Remus, Sirius and Harry were (Sirius had generously paid for Remus's). Over the table, Sirius fished the emerald cufflinks out of his pocket and handed them to Regulus.

"I've been meaning to give these to you," Sirius said. "They were supposed to go to you, remember?"

"Dad's cufflinks!" Regulus exclaimed. "Wow…"

"That reminds me," Sirius continued. "Where are you living now?"

"Well, where do you think?" said Regulus. "Our inherited house, right here in London."

"You're living there?" Sirius asked in disbelief. "All alone in that big house? Don't you get lonely?"

"Just because I'm alone doesn't mean I'm lonely," said Regulus. "In fact, after coming home from another hectic day at work, I find the solitude quite relaxing."

"What's that like?" Sirius asked. "You know…to live off money you earned, not inherited?"

"Well, it's a lot of things," Regulus replied. "It can be a little stressful at times, or exhausting. I work really hard for it, like I said. But it can also be rewarding. Just knowing that all this money I have came from something I worked for, something I achieved on my own, instead of something that was just handed to me…well, that's a great feeling. In some ways, having to be a penniless No-Maj in America was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I saw my opportunity, I took it, and that's how I got to where I am today."

"Spoken like a true Slytherin," said Barbara.

"What?!" said Sirius, as if this was some sort of unforgiveable insult.

"Calm down," she said. "Not in a bad way. Take it from me, I'm a Muggle, my opinion is objective, and I don't think all Slytherins are bad. I've heard they're supposed to be really good at seeing opportunities and taking them, and they're really ambitious and resourceful, more than any other House group. They also make the best team leaders in the workplace. If Regulus hadn't been a Slytherin, he might not have been able to succeed as well in America."

"Well, damn," said Sirius, looking shocked. "I mean...I always thought Slytherin was bad...but do you really think it helped Reg succeed?"

Harry remembered what the Sorting Hat had said at the beginning of last school year, about how Sirius had "his own reasons" for hating Slytherin.

"Maybe it's time you stopped hating Slytherin," Regulus told him, a smile on his face. "I don't hate Gryffindor, you know. I might have been able to succeed in America because I'm a Slytherin, but being brave like a Gryffindor, you were brave enough to rebel against what you didn't believe in. You were brave enough to fight the Dark Lord. You had such a strong sense of self, that's how you survived all those years in Azkaban. And look at everything you did for Harry. Houseism is just so stupid."

"So, you'd be friends with a Gryffindor," said Sirius. "Bet you wouldn't marry one."

"Hmm." Regulus turned up his nose. "If there's one thing I learned from being a No-Maj in America, it's that everyone is equal. So if there really is a right woman for me, and she was a Gryffindor…it won't be a deal-breaker. And I know you'd tease me to no end anyway, Sirius."

"Me? Tease you about your girlfriend?" Sirius grinned rather evilly. "No…I would never do that!"

"Has Sirius matured at all?" Regulus asked jokingly. "I don't think he has."

"Ah, I'll get you for that one, little brother," said Sirius, ruffling Regulus's hair affectionately.

"I think Siri can be very mature," said Barbara. "For example, I think he's going to be a great father. And growing a baby inside me would've been so hard, but he's always there for me when I need him."

"Well, hey," Sirius said cheerfully, putting his arm around her. "What kind of man would I be, if I couldn't take care of my pregnant wife?"

Suddenly, things fell dead silent. Sirius clapped his hands over his mouth in shock.

"Wh-What did you say?" Barbara whispered.

"I said…I said…" Sirius started fiddling with a lock of his hair. "I just said the words, 'What kind of man would I be?' Then I just…stopped talking."

"No, you said I was your pregnant wife," said Barbara. "I'm your girlfriend."

"I-I know, it just…it just slipped out," Sirius said. "I'm sorry, darling, I…Barbara, dear?"

"Look, relax, you lot, don't startle him," said Remus, putting his hand on his old friend's shoulder. "We don't want him having another heart attack. Just calm down, Padfoot, okay? Let's ask Barbara what she thinks."

Harry was glad Remus spoke up, because Sirius was looking more than a little pale again. Hermione and Harry exchanged glances of excitement and surprise.

"I-I think…" Barbara smiled, and tears were sparkling in her hazel eyes. "I think that was the best proposal ever!"

"Better than anything on TV, right, Hermione?" said Harry, winking.

"But…but I don't have a ring on me!" Sirius insisted.

Barbara laughed through her tears and, to Harry's surprise, carefully took one of her gold hoop earrings out of her earlobe. She handed it to Sirius.

"Here," she said. "Now you do."

"Everyone," said Regulus, standing up. "My brother here has an important announcement to make."

All heads swiveled in the direction of the Emperor, and then to Sirius, who was now kneeling on one knee, looking nervous, probably because (unlike most men) he hadn't actually been planning this.

"Barbara Catherine Raffelovich," he said, holding out the gold hoop earring, "will you marry me?"

"Yes, of course!"

All the other pizza-goers cheered. Barbara was crying now as Sirius slipped the earring onto her finger, and she tilted it upwards so it wouldn't fall off. She couldn't really stand up on her own very well, as she had just begun her third trimester of pregnancy, but when Sirius stood up, he helped her up, too, and kissed her right on the lips.

"We'll get married this summer," he declared, "and Reggie here shall be my best man."

Harry wondered if Remus would be angry he had been skipped over, but he didn't seem to be, not if the enormous smile on his tired face was any indication.

"HOORAY!" everyone in the house shouted, and then, to Harry's surprise, they started singing the Bridal March.

"BUM-BA-BA-DUM! BUM-BA-BA-DUM! BUM-BA-BA-DUM-BA-BA-DUM-BA-BA-DUM…"

Barbara was blushing and crying at the same time. Sirius had his arms around her. Harry was watching happily, just like Remus and Regulus, until he heard Hermione sniffing next to him.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed, noticing she was crying a little, too. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she told him, wiping her eyes. "I just love happy endings."

"This isn't the ending, Hermione," Sirius said warmly, as Barbara lovingly leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's only the beginning."

-the end-

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to everyone who enjoyed and reviewed this story! It's been a wonderful creative journey! Without you, this story would still be a one-shot, metaphorically gathering dust in the archives. So, once again, THANK YOU ALL! If you want to read the sequel, Harry Potter and the Dogfather II: Chamber of Secrets, it's here at this link:

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