Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Harry Potter series and any of the characters. All credit goes to my hero, the wonderful J.K. Rowling! :D

Spov

Hallie fell asleep not long after we'd stopped talking and the party died down. I didn't want to wake her, so I carried her up the stairs and ran into Mason.

"She's out." He said in surprise when he realized that Hallie was genuinely asleep.

"Yeah a little too much fun at the party I guess." I said with a grin. "I'm just going to put her in her room and then call it a night. I'll see you in the morning."

I started to head towards Hallie's room when he said.

"Hold on Sirius."

"Yeah?"

"I want to talk to you, after you put her down of course."

"Alright." I said confused. I carried Hallie to her bed then went back out into the hall to meet Mason but saw he was now at the top of the stairs.

"Come with me." He said gesturing for me to follow him and he started to walk down the steps.

He led me to the basement of the house, which I'd only been to once before to help get the Christmas lights. He turned on the light and walked to the very far side of the basement, which was all one room, towards a large green cabinet that looked as if it had seen far better days. Its paint was chipped and the wood had splintered in some places, and I guessed that it had been her for a very long time. He pulled on one of the rusty knobs and one of the doors opened with a creak. Inside was all kids stuff like finger painted pictures and macaroni art. He reached into the very back of the lowest shelf and pulled out a small white lace box. He opened the lid and inside were several photos.

"Do you know who this is?" he asked handing me one of the pictures.

"It's your mother isn't it?" I asked looking at the woman who was smiling and holding a small baby as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

"Yeah, it's our mother and Katie. Or Hallie to you. This was taken a week after she was born. Do you have a sister Sirius?"

I shook my head.

"Then you don't know what it's like to look at someone, and know that no matter what you do with your life, your most important job is to protect her. No matter how irritating she gets or how maddening it can be to run around after her, it's your job to make sure she doesn't get hurt no matter how impossible that seems."

"No I don't." I said frowning.

"Then you can't possibly know what it feels like to know you've failed. What happened to our Mum, it affected Katie, it changed her. She was hurt so deeply that I don't think she ever really recovered, and none of us could do anything about it."

"I'm sorry." Was all I could think to say.

I wondered why he was telling me this, Hallie said that out of all of her brothers, Mason was the least likely to bother me and I'd gotten the impression that her brothers liked me. But Mason had always seemed to be a bit different from the rest. Mason hadn't done or said anything at any point to signal that he liked or disliked me. I'd just assumed he'd been ignoring me. But I saw now that that was not the case. He was a thinker, he'd been observing me up until this point and had apparently been reserving judgment. And that judgment was being passed now.

"But there was nothing you could have done." I pointed out.

He ignored this.

"Did she tell you how our mother died?" he asked looking at me his eyes unreadable and I was amazed to see that it was the exact same blank expression Hallie had given me many times.

"She doesn't talk about it really, but I do know what happened." I said frowning. "Your mother was attacked wasn't she? By a mugger who lost control because he was drunk, she said that's why she doesn't drink. And that's why you're so protective of her, although I don't see-"

"She didn't tell you, did she?" he asked cutting me off.

"Tell me what?"

"That she was there when it happened."

"What?" I asked sharply and he nodded. Horror crept through me as I suddenly realized why all of her brothers seemed to be so afraid of losing their little sister. They almost had once before.

"Katie and our mom used to go to London together every so often, get their hair nails done, I guess it was sort of their girl time to get away for a little while, after living house full of boys. I'm not sure she was ever wild about the hair or nails part but she loved the time she got to spend with Mom so she put up with it. One day as they were walking though the city and she'd wandered out of Mum's sight. That's why she went looking down that alley, she was trying to find her when she ran into the mugger. Katie heard our Mum shouting and found her. The man was surprised and drunk, he didn't want any witnesses so he went after her and but our mother got in his way trying to defend Katie. And he just lost control." His voice was tight, and he paused seemingly unable to speak for a moment, but he took a steadying breath and continued. "It's lucky she was a witch otherwise I'd be willing to bet she would have died as well. He went after her but she lost control of her magic and turned him into a cat. No one believed her of course, at least not until we found out what she was. They thought being a little kid she'd made up some story in order to deal with the trauma or something you know? The bad man got away but he couldn't come after her now because was a cat. We thought she couldn't really process what happened, and of course no one had believed the man when he went to court, he'd admitted to being drunk."

I felt sick but apparently he wasn't finished.

"She was only seven years old and she watched her mother die, right in front of her." He said quietly. "I know she feels guilty, even though there was nothing she could do. She thinks what happened to Mum was her fault for wondering off that day which is why she tries so hard to be a different person these days. I think that's why she wants to be a doctor so bad, or whatever it is wizards have. I don't think she ever wants to feel that powerless again. It's crazy, but I think she's got it worked out in her head that if she can save people, it might make up for her not being able to save our mother. At least that would explain why she sometimes seems so obsessed. But that's why we're always so worried about her." He said looking at me. "The girl that came out of that moment wasn't kid Katie used to be. She used to be such a wild child, always getting into trouble and having fun, but after our mother died it was like the light in her had burned out. She was quiet, she barely laughed, and she seemed so much older. All she cared about was becoming a doctor, so much that she was loosing touch with the rest of the world. I mean, what seven year old doesn't want to play outside? Plus that incident with the mugger had awoken her magic and she was starting to learn how to control it. I think that scared her too. Obviously she couldn't tell us what was going on so she stopped talking to us. She lost most of her friends and spent all her time shut up in her room. We were starting to think that what she'd seen had caused something to break inside of her, and if I'm honest with myself most of us thought she was going a little mad."

He shook his head and looked back at the photograph.

"In the end, when we found out about Hogwarts and what she was, it was almost a relief. As crazy as all of it sounded to us at first, it was like she was getting a second chance. She made new friends, and seemed to be happier. Not to mention some of the things that we'd been so concerned about were finally explained, but she never seemed to be truly back to herself, at least not until we saw her around you."

"What do you mean?" I asked frowning.

"You remember the day we went super sledding?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah that was fun, she seemed to have a good time."

"We haven't been able to get her to do that since she was seven."

I wasn't sure why that the impact on me that it did. I guess, I'd just assumed that the way Hallie had been acting over break, was the way she always acted at home.

"I'm not here to threaten you, or tell you to stay away from her. Some of my older brothers might have before, but I actually think you're kind of good for her. At least around you she seems to be able to have fun again. Besides, I can tell you care about her, and don't deny it." He said when I started to protest. "I can see it in your face, besides I heard you two earlier. But I am going to tell you, you need to be careful, or else she could get hurt."

"I don't think anyone could hurt her." I said frowning. "She wouldn't allow it."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you." He said his eyes flashing. "I think you can. There's something about you Sirius." He continued. "I'm not sure what it is, or why, but it seems to work. She's not afraid to be who she really is around you. And she lets down her guard. But just as I thought she's convinced you like almost everyone else she can just shut off her feelings." He paused and fixed me with an intense gaze. "Sirius, if you're going to date my sister, there's something you need to know."

"What is it?"

"Katie isn't bulletproof, no matter how much she's convinced you she is."

I didn't say anything, mainly because I didn't know what 'bulletproof' meant, but also because I felt as if he wasn't done talking.

"No matter how good she is at pretending Sirius, Katie isn't as tough as she seems. Underneath the sarcasm is a the little girl who lost her mother." He looked back at me. "And honestly, sometimes I think she's still scared."

I didn't know what to say to this, but he didn't seem to require an answer. Instead he turned and walked towards the stairs and I followed him to the second floor.

Hallie's door caught my eye and Mason seemed to notice. He must have realized after what he told me I wanted to see her because he shrugged then said.

"I'm not stopping you." Then opened his door, and went in his room for the night.

I knew I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself. After a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure I was alone, I opened Hallie's door and stepped into her room.

It was pretty much what I expected it too look like, posters of muggle bands and sports teams lined the pale blue walls. Her desk was covered in photo graphs of her with Lily and Alice and there was an enormous bookshelf next to the window. I felt a stab of guilt to through me when I spotted a picture of her brothers, but I ignored it. Her bed was too my left tucked in the corner farthest from the window and she was asleep right where I had left her. She rolled to her side and almost as if she'd felt my presence her eyes opened.

"Sirius?" she asked confused and sitting up.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

"I dunno, I'm sorry I just wanted to see you."

"Why?"

I sat on the edge of her bed, facing the window, careful not to give her the wrong impression. I wasn't exactly sure how to answer that, but I found I could relate to her brothers more than ever. Just the thought of her being in that situation, in such danger… I didn't know what I would have done if I lost her.

"Hallie, I'm really sorry about your Mum."

She let out a sigh.

"Who told you?"

"Mason. He told me everything."

"Well then you'll know I'm fine." She said annoyed. "It happened ten years ago, it's over, it's time everyone move on. We all miss her but I'm not a little girl anymore. I don't need them treating me like one."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked looking down at her and it was her turn to pause in hesitation.

"I didn't want you to look at me the way my everyone used to." She said quietly while looking away. "Like something was broken inside me, that something was wrong. You always said you thought there was more to me, and for the first time it seemed as if it was something other than just being damaged. I guess I felt like I didn't have to hide the person I was before anymore, because someone saw some good in them, and they weren't just the reason she died." She took a deep breath. "I'll never forget my mother, but around you it's easier to move on. I didn't want to lose that."

"Hallie, it wasn't your fault."

"I know." She said quietly. "And yet at the same time I don't."

"You can't keep beating yourself up over this."

"I know but it's been so long I don't know how to stop."

I reached over and put my hand over hers and she looked up at me. She wasn't crying for which I was grateful, I didn't think I'd be able to handle it if she was.

"I'm sure where ever your Mum is right now, she's proud of you." I said quietly. "And I bet she sees the same thing I do when I look at you, and it's not someone who's damaged. You're smart, beautiful, and a much stronger person than anyone gives you credit for. After your mother died you could have gone to pieces and lived your life in fear, but instead you found a purpose and you're going to become a healer and save lives. I don't think there's anything wrong with you, I think you're amazing and I-"

But I stopped and she looked up.

"You what?" she asked curiously.

I didn't answer at first, I was shocked at how quickly it seemed to hit me, how those three words had almost slipped out, because saying them had felt as natural to me as breathing.

"I- I'm proud of you." I finished and she smiled.

"Thank you Sirius."

I nodded still feeling shell shocked, hardly daring to believe what I'd almost said. A new feeling was spreading through me, one that was drastically intense and all consuming. I looked at Hallie and it intensified.

"Are you alright?" she asked frowning.

"Why do you ask?"

"You look as if you've just been hit in the head by a bludger."

"I'm fine." I said quickly. "I should probably go."

"Yeah you should." She said grinning. "I don't want to think what Adam would do to you if he saw you in here."

"I thought he liked me."

"He does, but let's see how much he likes any boy who's in his little sister's room at three AM."

"Good point." I said nodding.

"I'll see you later." She said her smile growing after I gave her a swift kiss.

"Night Hal." I said walked out of her room and shutting the door.

I made my way back to the guest room feeling dazed with the three words I'd almost said repeating through my mind.

'I love you.'