Several weeks went by and Sirius liked to think that the Jenny incident had been pushed to the back of his mind. He liked to think that. A simple fact that made him think about it all the more.
He hadn't been to the Leaky Cauldron since, whether by chance or because he was avoiding it he couldn't decide. James never mentioned it and life progressed as usual.
Up until one Friday.
The day had been unusually windy, way off the muggle forecast of 72 degrees and sunny. The gusts had dropped the temperature dramatically and Sirius had been sent out of the office with little more than his jacket.
The wizened old men he put up with at his job may have pushed him over the edge today. Today, instead of the usual Black, I need those notices in my office upstairs. Go and get them, he'd been told Black, I need some schedules from the Prophet. Go down to Diagon Alley and get some for me. Today of all days.
He huffed and straightened his collar up over his ears, shoved his hands into his pockets and trudged down the street. There was no one out. Did he dare? Yes. It was too cold not to.
He didn't bother slipping down the side alley and instead disapparated right there in the middle of the sidewalk. The only people he was worried about having seen him were those inside the warm office, such sticklers for the rules he'd lose the job for sure. But no one noticed and he continued a little more happily once he'd reached the door to the Cauldron.
He opened the door just an inch and crept inside, forcing it shut again against the wind with a bang.
One or two people already inside glanced up at him questioningly before returning their attention to their own affairs. Tom waved from the bar.
"Where've you been?" he said with mock sadness. "We've been missing you!"
"Oh yeah, I bet," Sirius laughed. "Who's this 'we'? You're the only one I talk to."
Tom shrugged and glanced back down at his Prophet. "Figure of speech."
"Mind if I hide out here for a while? I'll just tell the old guys I got lost. They'll believe that easily enough," Sirius said, pulling up a stool.
"I choose not to answer," the barman said secretively. "Wouldn't want to get in trouble for influencing your decisions, now would I?"
"So that's a yes then," Sirius finished with a grin.
An older couple called for Tom across the room and he slipped off, leaving Sirius alone.
He tried not to pay attention to the conversations that floated freely around the pub, none so softly spoken that they couldn't be heard by everyone else. One little voice peeked his attention however, and he turned in his seat only to find a sandy haired little girl just down the bar from him.
He looked away. Maybe it wasn't her. They couldn't possibly still be here. No. There were hundreds of little sandy haired girls in London. He looked back just to make sure.
This time, she looked over too. Her eyes got wide as they made eye contact and her face broke out into a huge grin. It was Jenny alright. And that meant the woman sitting beside her was Melissa.
Melissa who probably wouldn't recognize him. He was safe. It was fine. But now little Jenny was practically bouncing in her seat as she tried to make the older girl look up from her book.
"What is it, Jenny?" she said after a moment just to appease the child.
"Look, look!" she whispered loudly in that way that little kids do when they think they're being sneaky. "Misteh Siwoos!"
It took a lot for him not to laugh, but a smirk still crept onto his lips.
She still wouldn't recognize him though, surely.
"Sirius?"
Or not. He couldn't just ignore her. He clearly already knew they were there.
"Hey!" he said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic but failing miserably.
She'd stood up and was moving closer.
"Where have you been?" she said, instantly going pink and adding, "Jenny has been looking for you."
Sirius laughed. "Oh she has? Yeah, I've just - gotten caught up in work I guess. Haven't had much time to get out."
"Right, of course. I bet you have a lot of important stuff to do. You probably don't have a lot of time for other things."
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
They reverted to silence.
"What about you?" he said after a moment.
"Sorry?"
"What have you been doing?" he clarified.
"Oh, right. Nothing much. I've gotten a job at a bookshop down the road. It's pretty quiet, nothing too fancy. It's relaxed enough that I can bring Jen with me. It'll be fine at least until - " She stopped short.
"Until?" Sirius prompted.
"Huh? Oh sorry, misspoke is all. Didn't mean to say that. It'll be fine is all I meant. It'll be fine." She gave a nervous chuckle and looked at him, asking him with her eyes not to ask her anything else.
"Of course it will be," he smiled reassuringly. "Well I should get going. I've got to get back to work at some point."
"Yes, you're hiding out did you say?" she said knowingly.
"Yeah, don't tell the boss though - " He looked up at her suddenly. When had he told her that?
"Ha, I heard you tell the barman," she said with a small smile.
"Right," he said quietly. "Bye, then." Something tugged on his coat. "And goodbye, miss Jenny." He tapped her lightly on the head making her giggle and made his way back out into the cold, something warm now sitting in the center of his chest.