Disclaimer: I own nothing. All recognizable characters, places, ideas, events, etc. belong to JK Rowling.

…..

The next morning, Lily woke up feeling right at home because she was at home. Hogwarts. Oh how she loved it there. She hummed quietly to herself as she got up, took a shower and made her way down to breakfast. She was one of the first people in the Great Hall. Glancing around, she saw several faces that looked vaguely familiar; some she knew from old photographs, others resembled people she knew from her own time.

Just then, a tall skinny boy with greasy black hair came into the Great Hall, his shoulders hunched and his arms laden with books. James Potter followed behind him, calling out loudly, "What's wrong, Snivellus? Can't take a joke?"

Sirius entered the room just behind James, a small smile playing on his lips. Despite his amazingly good looks, Sirius looked more like a devil than an angel when he smiled that way. Lily shivered just thinking about it.

Remus followed Sirius, sighed heavily and said, "Come on, James, let's just leave him alone and eat breakfast."

"You're no fun in the mornings, Moony," James chided.

"Breakfast," Remus repeated firmly. James nodded in agreement and the three friends made their way to where Lily sat. Lily, however, let her eyes follow the boy they had been tormenting. He strode across the room and sat at the Slytherin table. This confirmed Lily's suspicions of who the boy was. The moment James Potter sat down beside her, she stood up.

"Did I do something wrong?" James asked with a frown.

"No, no…" mumbled Lily, not really paying attention. She waved James away and walked over to Severus Snape. She stood quietly next to him, just observing. He was giving the book in his hands rapt attention, barely even noticing the food he was eating. So this was the man whose name was passed on to her brother, Albus Severus Potter.

"Can I help you?" Lily jumped when he spoke. She hadn't realized he'd noticed her.

"I..um…I'm new here. My name is Lil-Luna," she held out her hand for him to shake.

He glanced up from his book, stared at her outstretched hand, then glanced up to her face where her warm brown eyes were sparkling at him. He snapped the book shut and asked with a sneer, "Lil-Luna? What sort of name is that?"

"Well," she rambled stupidly, "My name is Lily, but since there is already a Lily in my year in Gryffindor I've decided to be called by my middle name, which is Luna."

"If you're here because Potter sent you over here to trick me, you should have fair warning that I know more curses than that filthy little blood traitor and his three sidekicks combined."

Swallowing the lump in her throat at the threat in his voice, she said, "Potter didn't send me over here. I'm here because he was being a git to you, and you seem like a nice bloke."

He raised his eyebrows at this in surprise, but didn't say anything. Lily cleared her throat, sat down beside him and asked, "Do you like it here at Hogwarts?"

Without even consciously realizing it, his eyes slid over to the entrance of the Great Hall just as Lily Evans was coming in. Her head was thrown back in laughter at something Alice had just said. "It's not bad," as he said this, a slow genuine smile crept across his face. Realizing he had revealed too much, his eyes turned cold and he sneered, "Don't you need to be getting back to your own table?"

"I suppose I should…I guess I will see you around, Severus," she smiled warmly at him and went back to the Gryffindor table. There was a perfect spot right between Sirius Black and Mary MacDonald, so Lily took it.

"I think," James was hissing in a conspiratorial whisper to his friends, "that we should sneak into the Slytherin dormitory tonight and slip some Balding Potion into Snivellus' shampoo."

"That won't work," Sirius objected haughtily, "he doesn't use shampoo," they all laughed at this.

"Stop being such stupid bloody prats!" Lily Luna snarled in anger, "and leave Severus alone. What's he ever done to you? Absolutely nothing and yet you treat him like shite. You are all a bunch of slimy arseholes!" she leapt from the bench and stormed out of the Great Hall.

"Luna!" she heard somebody call behind her as she continued stomping her way toward the dormitory, "Luna!" the deep male voice called again.

"What?" she asked, spinning around to face Sirius Black.

"I think James would've come after you, but he's still frozen in shock," Sirius smirked at this and continued, "Nobody ever speaks to James Potter that way. Except me occasionally, of course, and Lily Evans. She gets away with it because he's in love with her, and I get away with it because he knows I could beat his arse in a duel, but why, might I ask, is he letting you get away with it?" he let this question hang in mid-air and then thought it a good idea to add, "I think something strange is going on here."

"What do you mean?"

"James isn't very suspicious of you, but he should be. You and I both know perfectly well that none of us mentioned the Map yesterday. There's no way you overheard us talking about it. Then, you called me 'Snuffles.' And now you insult James in front of everyone during breakfast, and he just sat there and took it. Something isn't quite right."

"Is that what you think?" feigning innocence was the best she could come up with. He nodded and stared her down, his grey eyes focused on her like steel. Finally, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "What are you going to do about it then?"

"Watch out for my friends, of course," his tone was light, almost playful.

"How?" she eyed him warily.

"By keeping an exceptionally close eye on you. You won't be able to get away with anything suspicious anymore because I'll be so close to you it will feel like I've been attached to your hip with a Permanent Sticking Charm."

"A girl has to shower sometime," she argued hotly.

"That's just one of the perks," he told her with a wink.

"You're a pig," she said with a laugh as she shoved his chest gently.

Sirius held his hands over his heart, "You wound me, witch!" then, more seriously, he added, "I'm doing the chivalrous thing here and protecting my friends. They obviously don't see you as a danger, but they should."

"A danger?" she batted her eyelashes, "You think I'm dangerous?"

"I haven't decided that quite yet. I don't think you're not dangerous, let's leave it at that."

"Tsk tsk, and here I thought that Sirius Black liked to live life a bit on the dangerous side."

She flicked his Gryffindor tie, then turned and sashayed toward the front doors. Sirius stared after her, his mouth gaping open as he tried to make sense of what exactly had just happened and why he couldn't think straight, when he realized where she was heading. "Oi!" he called after her, "Where do you think you're going? Didn't I just tell you that I'm not letting your dangerous arse out of my site?" he jogged to catch up to her and she didn't answer until he was by her side.

"Are you trying to tell me that you will be spending as much time as possible staring at my arse?"

"That's not what I meant, but since you mentioned it," he very purposefully turned his head and let his eyes slide down to her rear end. "Nice," he told her appreciatively with a smirk.

"Boys," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Man," he corrected.

Smiling a bit herself, she told him casually, "I'm going out to get a few essential items that I forgot at home."

"I shall accompany you. Where is our destination, love? Hogsmeade? Diagon Alley?"

"Both, I think. I'll need clothes, toiletries, school books, potions ingredients, a cauldron, scales, a telescope," she ticked off her fingers as she continued down her list, "shoes would be nice, too. Blimey, I hope Dumbledore gave me enough money for all of that," she pulled the bag of coins out of her pocket and peeked inside. "Oh," she said in wonder, "it's bigger on the inside than the outside."

"Dumbledore gave you money?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm not telling. You've already decided for yourself that there is something strange, and possibly dangerous, about me, so just keep that in mind. I'm a strange dangerous girl who will do and say crazy things. Be sure to ignore me whenever that happens."

"Woman," he corrected with a wink, "Trust me, love, you're no girl, you are all woman."

"Merlin! Fine! Whatever! I'm a strange dangerous woman and I will-"

"-Do and say crazy things, yadda yadda yadda," he finished for her with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I have been blessed, my dear, Luna, with above average intelligence, and as a result, I can concentrate on several things at once. For example, while you were talking I was simultaneously listening, correcting you in my head, and checking out your arse again."

"You are so bothersome. You have crossed so many lines, Black, you're lucky I haven't slapped you yet."

"You won't," he told her confidently, "Because I amuse you as much as I bother you."

Whistling a merry tune, he strode ahead of her and opened the front door of the castle for her. "After you," he motioned for her to step outside first, and she did.

"You're coming with me, then?" she sounded both hopeful and upset at the prospect of having him along.

"Wouldn't dare let a pretty little thing like you travel around by her lonesome. Especially in times like these," his eyes darkened momentarily to look like dark storm clouds, then slowly brightened, "Besides, I've been needing to pick up a few things myself."

"You were just in Hogsmeade yesterday!" she argued, knowing that was where he had found her.

"Yes, but in the middle of my shopping a raven-haired witch popped up out of nowhere, nearly tripping me, and was unconscious. Naturally I abandoned my errands at once to rush the bird up to the hospital wing."

She snorted, but didn't comment. Together the two of them wandered their way slowly into the town of Hogsmeade. The first few minutes were spent in silence. Lily had never been more unsure of herself. If she were in her own time, she knew exactly how she would proceed. She would flirt with this gorgeous boy shamelessly and maybe even do a bit of snogging.

But the fact remained that she was entirely out of her element. She had known him for less than a day and she was already starting to like him in a way she shouldn't. How could she help herself, really? He was so adventurous and funny and very much like herself.

Of course, she thought angrily, The one bloody time I really like a bloke and I can't do a bloody thing about it because I'm in the BLOODY PAST!

"What's wrong, Lu-Lu?" asked Sirius teasingly as he reached out and tugged on a lock of her hair.

"Don't pull my hair, Black," she snapped angrily, slapping his hand away.

"What has your wand in a knot?"

"You!" she bellowed. Then she ran. Which was an exceptionally logical thing to do. Because a small petite girl like Lily Luna Potter could certainly out run a tall athletic Sirius Black. He caught her in three quick strides, lifting her up and throwing her over his shoulder to carry her in a fireman's lift.

"Now, you feisty little bird," he growled, "you can't run away from me. What is it about me that has you acting so crazy, hmm?"

Squirming, Lily ranted, "You won't leave me alone, Black! I just wanted a nice trip to Hogsmeade, by myself, but you insisted on coming. Didn't it occur to you, at all, that I didn't want you along?"

"Why wouldn't you want me with you, Lu-Lu? Wanting to do something illegal?"

"Maybe because you are an annoying git!"

"Now I know you're lying your sexy little arse off, because I am not annoying. Girls have described me as many things, but annoying has never been one of them. Unless you ask Evans, but she doesn't count."

"Put me down, I'm starting to lose feeling in my feet, all the blood is rushing to my head."

"No. Not until you retract your previous statement and replace it with the sentence, 'Sirius Black is the sexiest bloke I have ever seen and I would love to shag him.'"

"You have got to be kidding me. Those words aren't coming out of my mouth!"

"We'll see about that, love."

Lily opened her mouth to make a comment about how her face was hanging uncomfortably in front of his well-shaped bum, but she stopped herself. The last thing she wanted to draw attention to was how aware she was of him physically.

"You can't carry me forever," she said a few minutes later, "I bet I'm rather heavy."

He snorted, "You are light and I am rather strong. I could carry you for a very long time indeed."

"You're such a prick, Black," she was talking in an attempt to distract him from the fact that was sliding her hand into her cloak to reach her wand. "Think everyone loves you, don't you?"

"Darling, I know everyone loves me. Have you seen the way- oi! What do you think you're doing, you sneaky little bird?" he wriggled her around just as she managed to grasp her wand.

"Ah-ha!" she cried, jabbing her wand in his ribs. With a very strange sound, he dropped her. Lily gasped at how quickly the ground rushed up to meet her and then huffed when she made contact with it. Sirius was thrashing about, laughing very uncharacteristically, and Lily was very tempted to leave him like that.

Just this once, she thought, I will have a good time with him. But after this trip to Hogsmeade I will avoid him like Dragonpox! Nothing good can come of these feelings I am starting to have. With a sigh, she gave her wand a lazy flick and Sirius stilled.

He took a few deep breaths, then said, "You bint! I can't believe you hit me with a Tickling Charm!" he got to his feet and eyed her cautiously before saying seriously, "That took some courage. Hexing me like that."

"Yes, well," she twirled her wand between her fingers before placing it back into the pocket inside her robes, "I am in Gryffindor after all, aren't I?"

She smiled at him, then skipped into the nearest store; Honeydukes. They had arrived at Hogsmeade without either of them really realizing it.

"No way!" She exclaimed, ignoring Sirius completely as he continued to both compliment and insult her, "Droobles Best Blowing Gum! My dad told me about this stuff! But it was discontinued like twenty years ago."

Sirius was looking at her like she had lost her marbles. She blushed, "Sorry, I meant to say that…um…twenty years ago, you know, when my dad was, um, younger, he loved this stuff. And only two Knuts!" she added excitedly.

Laughing heartily, Sirius snatched the package of Droobles from her, grabbed several more, and took them up to the counter. He handed over one silver Sickle, receiving one bronze Knut in change. Lily scooped up all fourteen packages of gum and stowed them safely away in her book bag, determined to make sure that most of them managed to make it into the future with her to share with her family.

"Thank you," she smiled sincerely up at him, barely resisting the urge to bat her eyelashes.

"It was nothing," he said casually and she knew he meant it; a Sickle was nothing to him, he had an entire Black family fortune. "Even though my parents disowned me just over a year ago," he offered suddenly, "My Uncle Alphard left me quite a bit of gold."

Not knowing what else to say at such a random outburst, Lily mumbled a soft, "I'm sorry about your parents, that's terrible."

"I didn't mind, not really. I was the one who made the decision to run away. My family all believe in Voldemort's cause. They think he's Merlin's gift to wizard-kind. Come to save us from hiding and force muggles and muggleborns to do our bidding," he bit out in disgust.

"That's must be very hard for you."

"What?"

"I come from a very close family, there's no word strong enough to express how much you love your family. It must be hard for you to love people so much and to know they're going down such a wrong and destructive path. And your poor brother," Lily sighed and shook her head in anguish, "it must be agonizing for you to watch him be corrupted into their way of thinking."

She hadn't noticed that Sirius had stopped walking until she turned to look at him and he wasn't beside her. Lily spun around to find him a few feet back, just watching her with a curious expression on his face. "Sirius? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry if I offended you."

"Nobody else has ever understood. Not even James. But I didn't even have to explain it to you; you just knew how I felt."

"Of course I did," she replied automatically, "it's exactly how I would feel."

"How about a butterbeer on me?"

"That would be wonderful!"

In a comfortable silence, the pair made their way to the Hogs Head. Neither of them had even attempted to head off toward Three Broomsticks. Sirius couldn't help but notice this. Most girls wanted to go to Madam Pudifoots or Three Broomsticks, but this vivacious raven-haired girl was heading straight for his favorite pub. Merlin, she must be heaven sent.

The place was empty, so they sat themselves at a table close to the door and when Aberforth came to ask them what they wanted to order, Lily squealed in delight, leapt from her seat, and hugged Aberforth tightly. She had only been a tiny girl the last time she'd seen him, but she would've recognized Aberforth Dumbledore anywhere. He had died years before, and her parents had been really torn up about it. Apparently, if it hadn't been for his help, they wouldn't have been able to overthrow Voldemort.

"Oh, Ab!" Lily gushed joyously, "it's spanking good to see you!"

"Do I know you, young lady?"

"Oh, I, uh, oh dear…" she trailed off uncertainly, "Could we just get two butterbeers please?" she sat back down in her seat quickly. Aberforth wandered off, mumbling something about 'nutters.'

"Did you know him?"

"My parents did. I suppose he didn't recognize me, I was really little the last time I saw him," she answered truthfully. They were quiet for a moment as Ab returned with their drinks

"You mention your parents a lot. What were they like?"

Lily choked on her butterbeer, spluttering, "Why would you want to know about them?"

"I'm sorry, I know it must be a really sore topic with you, since they just passed away recently. I shouldn't have been so intrusive."

"No, it's okay. I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell you just a little bit. My mother was a pureblood witch who was a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies for a few years before she married my dad, and then she just wrote articles in the Daily Prophet as a sports journalist. My father was a half-blood wizard who was an amazing auror. And I swear my brother Al is going down the same path-" she cut herself off, her eyes bulging as she realized her mistake.

"You have a…brother?" Sirius asked, obviously surprised. "Why hasn't he come to Hogwarts?"

"He…um…he's too young for Hogwarts!" she invented wildly, "he's only nine."

"Oh," said Sirius with dawning comprehension and also relief. She had mentioned some elusive 'Al' bloke a few times now, and he was strangely relieved that he was just her younger brother.

"So anyway," she plowed on, "that was my parents."

"They sound like great people."

"They were," she smiled fondly then shook her head to clear her thoughts and said, "tell me about you. What sort of things do you enjoy?"

He scrunched up his face, not wanting to talk about himself, "What's to say? My favorite subject is DADA, James and Remus are my best mates, I am in love with treacle tart, my favorite animal is a dog, and I really enjoy living life with a bit of danger in it."

His eyes sparked as he said the last line, looking at her importantly. Lily barely managed to swallow the butterbeer in her mouth. "I thought you hadn't decided if I was dangerous or not."

He stretched his hands out across the table, and took hold of hers, "I don't know much about you. As a matter of fact, most of what I do know about you I find hard to believe and I definitely think you're hiding something, but I don't think you're secretly a death eater or anything," he offered her an adorable half-smile. "But the world isn't split into just good people and death eaters. Things aren't always just black and white. I think that you are good…and dangerous."

"Would you like to know a secret, Sirius Orion Black? You are very, very correct."

He grinned broadly for a moment and then said, "See? Things like that! How did you know my middle name? I'm curious…what else do you know about my friends and I that we think are secrets?"

Truthfully, everything, but she couldn't tell him this. Instead, she opted for a shy giggle and a quick, "I'm nothing more than perceptive, Sirius, honestly. What do you do in your free time?"

"When I'm not getting into trouble with James, I like to read."

"Read?" she hadn't expected that answer.

"Yes," he grinned, knowing how his answer had sounded to her, "I really enjoy reading. I'm quite a good student, actually. I think that's our problem; James and mine. We get bored so easily with our school work that we try to find ways to cure our boredom. Which usually ends with detention."

"Anything else?"

He thought about it for a minute before saying, "I enjoy visiting with Hagrid. A lot of students think he's just a big oaf, but don't let them fool you. Hagrid has a heart of gold and he's a good man. Also, I, erm…" he paused, looked around to make sure nobody was listening and then whispered in a rush, "tutorkidsintransfigurationan dcharms."

"You…you're a tutor?"

Sirius scowled, "McGonagall asked me to, and I agreed as long as she didn't tell anyone about it. Well, I say that she asked me, but she more like blackmailed me! Sneaky old hag gave me an option; tutor or be expelled. But I kind of enjoy it. Please don't tell anyone though, not even James knows."

"I wouldn't dare," she assured him. Bloody hell, what was it about this man? How did he create such strong and sudden feelings in her? Everything he said and did was just so perfect. He was the man she'd been looking for her entire life, and she had finally found him! Yet he could never be hers. The thought made her heart literally constrict painfully and she felt she couldn't breathe for a minute.

"I believe you," and he did. As he stared into her chocolate brown eyes, something in him clicked into place. He knew then that he was feeling for Lily Granger what James felt for Lily Evans. A newfound respect for his best friend found its way into him then. He knew she was hiding something; that much was obvious. She knew much more than she should and it was extremely suspicious, but he just had a gut feeling that she was trustworthy.

"Merlin," he ran a hand through his perfect hair, "Have I really only known you one day? Blimey, it feels like I've known you a lot longer than that. Do people always feel so comfortable around you?"

"It's been known to happen," she joked as she swirled butterbeer around in her dingy glass. She would not let herself fall for this wizard. "Let's go," she downed the rest of her drink in two big swallows, "I have lots of shopping to do. Prepare yourself, Black, you're about to have a lot of packages to carry."

Sirius smirked at her, and followed her as she led him out of the pub. They went shopping in Hogsmeade, getting Lily new clothes and other random essentials. He said that 'Gryffindor red' was definitely her color. Whenever she tried on an outfit that was any other color, he would wave his wand and turn it red. Lily let him have his fun, secretly plotting to return her clothes to their original colors once she returned to her common room.

"To Diagon Alley, then?" she asked as she peered over at Sirius, who had charmed all of her packages to follow them around as they walked.

"How, exactly, do you expect to get there?"

"Apparate, of course."

"Alright then, take my hand," when he held it out to her, she eyed it carefully. It's just a hand, she told herself, but she still hesitated. Because it wasn't just a hand. It was a sexy manly hand with long supple fingers and she knew from experience just how strong they were. Not to mention, if she took it, she was letting herself become vulnerable to him. A wizard was always more dangerous company to keep than a muggle. If Sirius Black wanted, he could kill her with one flick of his wand. As a matter of fact, he could do just about anything he wanted. Put her under Imperio, bind her in ropes, make her forget things, and so much more. If she took the hand that was stretched out toward her, he could spin on the spot and take her anywhere.

Her suspicious eyes slid up from his proffered hand to his grey eyes. They were light, honest, and there was an open challenge in them. A challenge for her to trust him. With a sigh, she slid her small soft hand into his large rough one, and he turned on the spot.

When Lily opened her eyes, they were in Diagon Alley. Wizards and witches bustled around the busy street, wandering in and out of shops, making purchases. Still holding tightly to her escort's hand, Lily asked, "Do you have my list?"

Sirius nodded and pulled the piece of parchment out of a pocket in his robes, "Looks like the only things we will be needing from Diagon Alley are your school supplies."

"I would like a cat. And a broom."

"A cat?" asked Black with a wrinkled nose. Cats often times didn't like him at all.

"Yes, Black, a cat. I don't have any need for an owl; who would I send letters to? But an animal companion would be nice. Something soft that could cuddle up with me at night."

Sirius wanted to offer his service, as an Animagus who could turn into a dog, he would be more than willing to be a soft companion who would cuddle up with her at night, but alas that was one secret he was keeping to himself. But perhaps she already knew it? No, he wouldn't take the chance of spilling the beans about that one.

"Books first," he said wisely and guided her into Flourish and Blotts.

"Thank you," she told him quietly, looking intently at the rows of books, "for bringing me here safely. I've never let anyone outside of my immediate family apparate me anywhere."

Sirius smirked down at her. This was something he was used to; girls being shy in his presence, embarrassed to admit things to him. "I am in Gryffindor, love, chivalry comes with the territory." He winked at her.

"Yes, well, I appreciate that you didn't apparate me to some remote part of the countryside and murder me."

Sirius threw his head back and let out a bark like laugh, "You have got to be one of the strangest birds I've ever met!"

"Just the same, what books will I need?" She briskly changed the subject and snatched her list from him. He read her booklist over her shoulder.

"What classes are you taking, Lu-Lu?"

"Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Potions, Astronomy, and Herbology."

"Merlin's pants, you are taking a lot of classes!"

"I wanted to take Earth Magic as well, but Professor Dumbledore said that would be inadvisable since I was already taking so many subjects."

"I happen to agree with our Headmaster on this point," he said smugly. "You're almost taking as many courses as I am."

"You're taking more classes than me?" she looked at him angrily, as if he had personally offended her by taking on more subjects.

"Yes. You and I have the exact same schedule, except in addition, mine includes Muggle Studies."

"Muggle Studies?" she was astonished by this. Sirius enjoyed the shocked expression on her face for a few moments before replying.

"Yes, well, it started out being another way to piss my parents off, but I ended up really enjoying it. Plus, it's something entirely new to me so it's my most challenging subject. Transfiguration, Defense, Herbology, all of them are old hat to me. Muggle Studies," he sighed dreamily, "Now there's a subject that I'm not already entirely proficient in."

"Enjoy a challenge, do you?"

"About as much as you seem to," he grinned at her.

"Hmph," without comment she rummaged through the shelves, pulling out books seemingly at random, piling them into Sirius's arms. "That's all of them," she said at last, throwing Practical Potions for the Practiced Potioneer onto the top of the pile.

"Sure you're not getting in over your head here, Granger?" he asked skeptically.

"If you can do it, plus more, then I'm sure that I'm more than capable of handling it."

"Stubborn witch," he mumbled out of the side of his mouth.

"Come on, we don't have all bloody day!"

"Yes we do, it's Sunday."

"Exactly. It's Sunday. We have classes tomorrow and it's the third week of school. You must already be several chapters in to most of these books. I have a lot of reading to do tonight," as she spoke she sauntered up to the counter and pulled out her gold while Sirius banged the pile of books onto the counter.

"Tomorrow is only Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, and Astronomy," he said, "So you'll only need to read those books tonight. Save the others for another night. If you're buying a broomstick, we should go for a flight. We have an excellent Quidditch Pitch here. I'd be more than happy to show you around, if you'd like."

"I don't think that's a good idea," she refused to look at him as the cashier added up the total for her books.

"Why not? Don't tell me you're one of those witches like Evans who puts academics before anything else," he sounded disapproving.

"No, I'm not, it's just that…you might not find me very dangerous, but I find you dangerous. Not the good kind of dangerous, either," she added quickly, seeing as he was about to defend himself. Sirius Black and her association with him was the could-create-a-time-paradox-and-destroy-the-entire-universe kind of dangerous. Not the I-like-to-live-on-the-dangerous-side kind of dangerous.

"Not accusing me of being a Death Eater, are you, love?" His words were playful, but his eyes were dark storm clouds again. Sirius Black was a rather lonely and unique individual. He never felt like he really fit in with other Gryffindors, or people on the "good" side of the war because they always looked at him skeptically. Nobody ever believed him to be entirely innocent seeing his family and their beliefs.

Oppositely, Slytherins and those who were Death Eaters or supporters of Voldemort knew he would never side with them, and thus he was estranged by both sides to some extent. Of course, to the few people who knew of Remus Lupin's condition, they looked at him as if he were in the same boat as Sirius; untrustworthy. However, those who knew that Remus Lupin was a werewolf were few.

The only people in the entire world who didn't look at Sirius as if he were straddling the fence between good and bad were James and Remus. Even Peter seemed frightened of Sirius at times. Sirius rolled his eyes and snorted. Of course this girl would think of him the same way as everyone else. Of course she didn't trust him and thought of him being too dangerous for her. Even now she seemed uncomfortable in his presence.

He had told her at first opportunity that his parents had disowned him, in hopes of showing her how much he disproved of Voldemort. He had also made a point to express his interest in muggle things. Interest in muggle things, not repulsion. Maybe if he showed her his motorbike she would realize that he wasn't a Death Eater? But alas, that was at home, parked in the Potter's garage. Home. To Sirius, home was a relative term. His home was Hogwarts, and where ever James was.

Yet he felt like even that was shifting. He had seen Lily Evan's resolve cracking recently toward James. What if she gave in? What if at the end of this year, he didn't just lose Hogwarts but also James? Where would his home be then?

"Sirius," Lily looked at him with a frown. Perhaps she saw the pain in his eyes as he came to the realization that she was suspicious of him. "I don't think you're evil. Not at all," she brought her hand up to his face, stroking the stubble on his jaw, "I just meant that I think you're dangerous to me. I could very easily become very addicted to you, Black, and I don't want that to happen."

Feeling as though she had revealed too much, Lily turned back to the cashier, who handed her a few knuts in change, and waved her wand at her pile of books. They joined the parade of packages trailing behind the duo as they made their way to the pet shop.

Lily Luna walked into the shop, sweeping her eyes only once over all the cages, tapped her chin thoughtfully and declared, "I'll take that one," and pointed toward a runt of a kitten that was a polydactyl. The kitten was entirely black, with single white dot right directly in the middle of his forehead and a white tip on the end of his long black tail.

"You haven't even held any of them," Sirius argued out of the side of his mouth as the worker opened the cage and pulled the kitten out.

"Sometimes, you just know what you want the moment you see it," she told Sirius evasively as she enveloped the kitten into a loving embrace and brought him against her chest. "What shall I name you, little one?" she murmured to the kitten who was now purring and rubbing his head against the bottom of her chin.

"Nothing common," said Sirius, making sure to stay away from the cat. He knew the moment he approached a cat too closely, it would hiss and scratch to get away from him.

"He reminds me of you, you know," she told Sirius with a sneaky grin.

"Because he's black?" asked Sirius with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, that, too," she mused mysteriously. Without telling him her reasons, she suggested, "Perhaps Padfoot is a suitable name."

"Absolutely not! Do you realize how confusing things would become if you ran around yelling 'Padfoot' all the time? I wouldn't know if you were calling me or that damned cat. Hold on there, where did you come up with that name, anyway? I don't believe I told you that's what my mates call me."

"I just know," she told him with a smile so charming that it was a match for Sirius's own.

Sighing, Sirius said, "If you insist on naming him after me, then at least use a name that I'm not called very often."

"Orion?"

"Orion…" he thought about it for a moment, then without consciously deciding to, he reached out to pet the kitten. To his astonishment, when his hand met the top of the kitten's head, the kitten purred even louder and stretched to get closer to Sirius. "I think he likes it."

"Orion," Lily repeated quietly, then asked the saleswoman, "How much?"

"Twenty Galleons."

"May I?" asked Sirius who was already reaching into his pocket.

"Oh, no, Sirius, you already bought me enough chewing gum to last me through my twentieth birthday and drinks at the Hogshead," Lily objected, already feeling as if she owed something to Sirius Black.

"I insist," he told her, gently pushing her hand away from her own pocket. "Here you are," said Sirius with a flourish, tossing twenty galleons onto the counter, "we'll also need some food for him, but the witch here can pay for that."

….

A/N: I hope you are all enjoying reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. I have a lot planned for it and I'm excited to see it progressing. I'm portraying Sirius as a complex character who acts differently in different situations, so at times he may seem a bit OOC but I did it that way on purpose. I want him to be a different guy around Lily than he is around his friends. I think it will make for really fun and interesting character development later on :D Let me know what you think!

Yours,

MofDA