It had been a few weeks since last they'd spoken of the little yellow house with lots of windows in the middle of nowhere, and James had assumed it had been long forgotten - at least until Sirius had gotten back so late one night with an expression that said he knew something and was trying not to combust from keeping it to himself.

He'd managed to get a small, quite uneventful position working with (or for, rather) some lethargic old Ministry men who seemed only to own business robes of one or two shades of brown and greatly enjoyed "forgetting" a variety of paperwork in their offices, only to send Sirius to retrieve them.

(He quickly came to the conclusion that he had finally become a Labrador Retriever and pretty soon, he was willing to bet, his Animagus form would start to resemble one.)

With this and the newly formed Order of the Phoenix, He'd saved up some money to supplement that he'd inherited from his uncle and made the quick decision to purchase the little house.

"Just you wait," he said. "It's great! Perfect, if I do say so myself."

"And you do say so," James mumbled. "You have said multiple times."

Sirius smiled and knocked his friend in the shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just hang on; You'll see what I mean."

It was quite nice. The house was small, but, then again, surely enough space for Padfoot.

It sat on the edge of a lengthy field, surrounded on all sides by a sparse population of trees, with only one other house in sight on either direction down the dirt road it was situated on. By all accounts, it was the definition of solitude.

"Welcome," Sirius began, dramatically extending both his arms as if giving the property a hug. "To my humble abode!"

"What on earth have you started?" James sighed with a chuckle, following Sirius' enthusiastic gait up the rickety porch and through the door.

A few enchantments had been cast around the house, and Sirius finished them off just before they shut the door.

"It's not much, but I think I like it."

"You think you like it? Well you've bought it so you better like it! Could use some paint though, I'll say that."

"Well that's what friends are for, isn't it?" Sirius said, schemingly.

James sighed. "Why'd I say anything? I meant that it's perfect! I'm surprised they couldn't sell it for more!"

"Oh, shut it, Prongs."

James put his hands up in surrender and began to examine the interior of the house.

"You know, it really isn't that bad," he said, replacing the top of the staircase's banister that had dislodged as he placed his hand on it. "It is you, and I mean that in the nicest way."

"Oh, good, my friend equates my personality with the qualities of a broken railing."

"Ah, don't be like that. I'm obviously referring to the peeling paint, not the banister. Just polish him up a bit and he looks good as new!"

Sirius glared at him through dangerously narrowed eyes. "Why did I ask you along again?"

"Because you could ask me to help you paint."

Sirius smirked.

"See? I knew you'd come around to the idea!"

They left shortly thereafter, finding themselves at an equally as solitary table in the Leaky Cauldron.

There had been a man on the piano upon their arrival, but he'd since abandoned his post and disappeared in the back.

The bartender, Tom, had disappeared long ago as well, evidently not expecting any new customers any time soon. Business had been down recently anyway. No reason to expect anyone other than his regulars would venture out now if they didn't have to.

James and Sirius, however, sat quite content in the relative silence of the room, some coffee and a drink before them on the dark table-top.

James glanced casually up a large faced, antiquated clock that hung rather imposingly on the back wall.

"I should probably get going," James said, obviously unenthused by the suggestion. "Lily will be waiting."

Sirius nodded and sat up in his chair, not yet ready to stand. "Agh, but James, I thought I was your date tonight?"

"Ha, sorry, mate. Another time. Planned this one a while ago - can't go breaking it now!" James laughed, a nervous lilt to his voice.

"Hey, whatever. I see how it is. Guess I should've seen this day coming - who'd ever've thought my best friend's girlfriend could be more important than me?" Sirius smiled devilishly, though softened a bit as he thought about what his friend had said. "Planned this one? Wow, that's a step up for you, isn't it? Mr. I don't need a plan, I can improvise?"

James laughed again and nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is, huh?"

"Okay, okay. You're right, you should probably go." Sirius got up stiffly and practically pushed his friend to the door. "And make sure to tell Ms. Evans I love her more than you do."

"Oh alright, definitely."

"Don't you do anything I wouldn't do, or, on second thought - "

"Do anything you wouldn't do," James concluded.

"Exactly. See? You'll be fine, mate."

James shook his head and laughed one last time, still nervously, before opening the door and stepping outside.

Sirius closed the heavy door behind him and turned to sit back down at his table - or he would've sat back down at his table had no one taken his place. She was little, maybe two or three-years-old, though he was never good with ages so it was difficult to tell. She had two lopsided, sandy braids tied with green ribbons sticking out both sides of her head - and at that moment, she was sitting in his chair.

How the little girl had gotten up by herself he didn't know, let alone where in the wizarding world she had come from. He was more than certain she hadn't simply materialized there, but had she been there before? He'd seen no one else besides James and himself in the pub - maybe she'd been at the back where it was darker? But she couldn't be alone, certainly.

He glanced around the room which still appeared to be empty, and walked causally over to her. With his luck, this little girl would have an overly defensive parent who would owl the Ministry in complaint for talking to their kid, who, Sirius thought, shouldn't have been left alone there anyway, but he wasn't sure what else he could do.

"Hello there." She looked up at him curiously, not a hint of fear in her hazel eyes, and smiled wide. She waved her tiny hand madly in greeting, then slipped off the seat and bolted faster than Sirius could say broomstick to the other side of the room.

"Hey!" He made after her and spun around the corner of the bar, hoping there was no one back there who would notice.

Instead, he found himself nearly colliding with the only person there.

She jumped as he slid faster than he wanted to across the glossy floor, just barely stopping himself within inches of where she stood. They both stopped, frozen for a moment, unsure of what had happened, until Sirius shook himself out of his stupor and took a step back.

"Sorry," he said. "Er- didn't realize anybody was back here."

He caught a glimpse of green and a familiar, curious face appeared behind the woman, half hidden as the little girl peeked shyly out at him.

"Er - this is going to sound strange as soon as I've said it - but is she with you?" he asked.

"Yes," she said cautiously. "Why?"

"Yeah, sorry. Just, like I said, didn't know anyone else was here and she just kind of appeared then ran off again. I just wanted to make sure she was - "

"Oh my gosh, Jenny how many times do I have to tell you! You stay with me, okay?" She held Jenny around the shoulders and crouched down to eye

level before picking her up. "Thank you. You'd think a three year old wouldn't be able to get very far, but ever since she learned how to walk we haven't been able to keep her still." She laughed, but Sirius couldn't tell if it was out of discomfort or friendliness.

"Ha, well, sorry - or, you're welcome." He smiled and started to move back around the corner.

"What did you say your name was?" she said, perhaps unintentionally, as she immediately looked away as if wondering who had asked the question.

"Sirius."

She looked up again, meeting his eyes with surprise. "Oh, nice - nice to meet you," she hesitated, then, after a brief silence, "Melissa. Or, my name is Melissa."

"Haha, well nice to meet you. And Jenny." He smirked at the little girl who disappeared once more behind Melissa with a giggle. "I should probably be

going."

"Oh of course, sorry. You probably have things to do, and it's getting late."

He nodded and slipped back to his table. God was he a liar. He had nowhere to be. It was a Sunday night and he had nothing to do other than wait for his friend to get back from a date.

And then there was Jenny. She was suddenly at his side again, trotting up to him and plopping herself down on the floor by his feet.

He stared at her in awe. She certainly was one mobile toddler. He heard Melissa get up from the back once again, surely searching for the girl.

"Come on, you." She let him pick her up and carry her back around the corner where he found Melissa crouched under the table looking for the lopsided braids. She turned to see his feet and nearly screamed from surprise, only to stand up and smile sheepishly as he placed Jenny on the bench to ensure she wouldn't try running again.

"Thanks," Melissa said quietly.

"Are you waiting for someone?" Sirius asked.

"Yes. Well no, not really. I am looking for whoever can give me a room upstairs, but it would appear the staff has gone home for the night," she said rather dejectedly.

"Hang on." He strolled around the bar and opened the door to the back as though he actually knew what he was doing. Stepping through the dark entry, he found Tom sitting with an old Daily Prophet at a table across the room. "You have a customer."