Hey everyone! I've set up the plot pretty solidly so far. I'm going to start jumping into the future so I can get into more of the Harry Potter aspect of the story. I cannot wait til I get to Hogwarts! This Chapter will take place in 1984, over a year after the last chapter.

Sirius Black was sitting behind a desk, surrounded by other people sitting behind their own desks. He looked around, running a hand through his hair and pulled out his wand. He looked up again before tapping the paper in front of him, filling it out instantly. He did this again and again, finishing his job quickly. He stared at the computer in front of him and sighed. He looked around again and tapped the keyboard with his wand and watched as the keys clicked and filled the spreadsheet on the screen. He quickly put his fingers on the keys as he heard the knock on his cubicle. He looked up to see the receptionist standing in the doorway, her hip cocked. He looked her up and down. She was wearing black pumps and a tight gray skirt and white blouse. She had a pouty flirtatious look or her face as she stared at him, licking her lips. Marcy, he internally rolled his eyes.

"Hello, Sirius," she chirped at him, leaning forward a little. Sirius turned towards her fully and leaned back in his chair. "I've just gone on my lunch break, join me?" She stepped into the cubicle, swinging her hips a little, making Sirius push his chair back slightly and straightening.

"I'm actually in the middle of something, Marcy. Was going to skip lunch and get out early today." Which was all true, it was Harry's fourth birthday today and he wanted to leave as soon as possible. But Marcy took another step forward, looking down at him, her blond curls swinging into her face and placing a hand on his shoulder, straightening his collar as she leaned over him. His eyes inadvertently going to the v of her blouse and swell of her breasts. He smirked a little and stood up, forcing her to step back, but she didn't back off that much, so they were only inches apart. He stared down at her for a moment before he reached around and grabbed his reports on the desk behind him and then he skirted around her and stepped out of the cubicle.

"I need to get these to Shephard, excuse me." He turned away and shook his head. She had been doing this for a while now. Stopping by his desk to flirt as he turned her down each time. Resilient and annoying, really. She just kept coming back.

"I'll see you later, Sirius," she called after him, he looked back and she winked. He didn't get her, he had flirted at first, but she tried way too hard and he was just not interested. He continued on to his boss's office and dropped off his report. He walked back to his desk, looking at his watch, just after noon.

His cubicle neighbor, Alan, popped his head up as Sirius walked back in. And waggled his eyebrows at him before retreating behind the partition. Sirius just shook his head and grabbed his suit jacket, flicking off his computer and left, walking out of the office and across the street before walking into the alley and turning, apparating into his own backyard and walking into the house, tossing the coat onto the table and walking into the living room. Lily was reading on the couch and he rolled onto the floor and laid there, staring at the ceiling. Lily looked up from her book.

"You're home early, how did it go today?" She smiled and set her book aside as Sirius grunted.

"Finished early." He felt her lay on the floor next to him and looked to see her looking at the ceiling, too.

"Work that stressful?" She teased.

"No. Just boring. And easy. And yet, still exhausting. Muggles do not have it as easy as I thought. Or maybe it's just the office jobs." He looked over at her. "Some of them are actually pretty great people. Some are infuriating. Others are intolerable. And others are just annoying. Like Marcy. She won't give it up. Keeps asking me out…"

"Is she pretty?" at his silence, she inferred the answer. "Why not go out with her? She might be just fine once she isn't trying to get your attention."

"She's vapid and her affections are misplaced. I swear there is nothing going on behind that perfectly done up face. She wears too much makeup." Lily smirked at him and gave him a shove.

"Harry is over at the Granger's. We should go get him… and give him his cake and stuff. He wanted to wait for you to get home before he celebrated."

"I'll go get changed." He looked around, only just realizing how quiet it was. "Where is the–" he heard a noise in the kitchen and turned to see what caused it. There was a puppy in the kitchen, dragging his jacket off the table and taking off with it, growling playfully as he tripped over his own feet. "Nevermind, I found him." He took off after the dog, stepping on the jacket that was trailing behind it and causing the puppy to tumble and Sirius caught him around the scruff and lifted him up. The puppy gave him a pitiful little look and yipped at him, as if apologizing. He chuckled and held the puppy to his chest as he picked up the jacket. He handed Lily the puppy. "I'm going to change. I'll be right back down."

Lily snuggled the little golden fluff to her and cooed at him.

"He'll come around, Charlie, I promise. He really does like dogs. He is one sometimes." She turned and walked him to the door and attached a leash to his collar and stepped out the front door and sat on the top step as she waited for Sirius to come back down. When he stepped out into the heat of July, he was wearing jeans and boots with a black t-shirt that had buttons, half unbuttoned. He tucked the longer strands of his hair behind his ear, revealing the silver loop he had there. Lily was wearing a pale blue sundress and white flats, her fiery hair in a braid. He thought about mentioning that she looked nice, but instead, he just smiled and took the leash from Lily as they walked down the drive. They rang the bell and Nancy answered and invited them in.

Hermione, who was turning five in a few months, gave Harry a copy of one of her favorite books and Nancy and Robert had given him a book as well, on how to properly brush your teeth. He thanked them graciously and then walked home with his mother and Sirius, gushing about his day at the Granger's. Sirius smiled and swooped him up into the air and placed him on his shoulders, making him giggle.

"You ready for your birthday, mate? We got a really good gift for you this year."

Sirius was back at work, sitting at his desk, twiddling his thumbs as it were, thinking about leaving early again. Maybe the three of them would go out to dinner tonight instead of cooking. It was Friday and school would be starting soon for Harry. Maybe a nice restaurant. He looked down at his watch. He had only been at work a little over an hour. Already he had finished his work. He poked his head over the partition, looking for something to do.

"Alan, how's your morning?" Alan looked up and pushed his glasses up his nose, focusing on Sirius's face.

"Oh well, the Kellogue account has been a little tricky, lots of new clients and some bigger purchases. Sorting through it now–" he stopped upon looking at Sirius's bored face. "What do you need, Sirius? I am busy, you know, like you should be."

"I already finished for the week. I'm just here killing time. Wanna go grab a pint or something?"

"Sirius, It's barely–" he looked at his own watch. "10 o'clock… you know, in the morning? Or does that mean nothing to you?" He pushed his glasses up again. Sirius had become quite fond of him when he started working here. Showed him how to use the computer. He was more of a nerd, really. But he was a good bloke and knew all the transgressions of the other employees. Which is why Sirius really liked him. He had all the interesting news around the office and shared them with Sirius, which made Sirius decidedly less bored.

"Of course it means nothing to me. Pat up to anything lately? What's the latest with John? He still making Leslie do all his paperwork? The prat." Alan sighed, but he had a smile on his face. He stood up as well as Sirius leaned closer over the barrier.

"Well, Pat has flubbed his paperwork for the last time. Heard he was gonna get the ax any day now, it seems it went a lot further than just turning stuff in late, if you know what I mean. And well, John is still John, although Leslie has something in the works. You know why he actually does John's work for him?" Sirius leaned in closer as Alan looked around.

"What did Leslie do that caused John to have dirt on him?"

"Heard he was skipping out on his old lady, but I haven't gotten any definitive proof on the matter. I still have my feelers out though. I'll get down to the bottom of it and let you know. On the other hand," he smirked at Sirius. "I heard that Marcy is planning to make her move on ya. Heard from Diane just a little while ago that she has something devilish up her sleeve, I would keep an eye out. Can't for the life of me figure out why you wouldn't go for her in the first place. Have you actually seen her? She is drop dead gorgeous. Her tits alone would be enough for me to say yes to anything she wanted." Sirius snorted. "But we both know she would never…with me… you know."

"Don't know what she sees in me either…" It was Alan's turn to scoff.

"Haven't you got a bloody mirror? You got the whole bad boy, rebel look to you. Girls are all over that. And you smolder."

"What the fuck is a smolder? I don't smolder."

"The look. You do a look, like you look up through your eyelashes or something. And then there is that devilish smile that you got. I've seen you do it. Drives 'em nuts. Would drive me nuts if I swung that way." Sirius shrugged at him. "Point is, you do it and it has girls willin' to drop their panties. Most of the single guys in the office can't stand you, you know. Because of it. Some of the married guys too. And you finish your work faster than anyone else, always leaving early."

"This job isn't that hard, Alan. The rest of them dick around for hours before they even start working. I do it after I finish. The secret to my success." He winked at Alan then tilted his head to the side as he saw Mr. Shephard walk into the office and sat down again at his computer, pretending to do work as Shephard walked towards his cubicle. Sticking his head in. Sirius turned to him.

"Well, Black, impeccable work, as always. I reviewed the documents from yesterday. I have some copies here from the Morrison account that I need you to look at, something isn't right about it. Flannery, the fuckin' idiot, wouldn't know the difference between a trial balance and a general ledger if his life depended on it. Fix it." He dropped a file on his desk and walked away as Sirius rolled his eyes. He saw Alan peak his head over and give him a grimace before he went back to his own work. Groaning, Sirius looked through the file. It was all wrong. He saw where Pat made his mistake, cursing the man and praying for him to get fired already. He needed more spreadsheets. He dropped the file back on his desk and made his way to the copy room.

He stepped into the room and went to the back where the boxes of forms were. He was just opening a new box when he heard the door open behind him and heard the lock click. He turned and saw Marcy standing there, back against the door, her blouse buttons undone more that was really appropriate for work, and a mischievous smile on her lips. She started walking toward him when Sirius held up his hand.

"Marcy, this really isn't–" she grabbed his shirt front and pulled his face down to hers, kissing him roughly and pushing him back against the boxes. Sirius grunted as his back hit a corner of one of those boxes. For some reason, this encouraged Marcy to start unbuttoning his shirt and running her tongue along his lips. When he didn't respond, she started to unbutton her own shirt, lips on his neck, when he stopped her hands.

"Come on, Sirius, I know you want to, you don't have to be so… serious," She giggled at her own joke and then fastened her lips to his again and ran her hand down to the front of his pants, cupping him and pressing her palm into him, making Sirius grunt and push her away.

"Stop, Marcy, just…stop." She gave him a heated look, biting her lip as he rebuttoned his shirt. "I suggest you fix yourself and go back to work." He straightened his tie and grabbed the box he had come for. "Find someone who is interested, cause I'm not." He unlocked the door and left the room. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the feel of her against him. He got back to his cubicle and sat down just as Alan popped his head over the top of the partition.

"Eh, mate, you got a little somethin' just there." He pointed to his chin. "Looks like Marcy caught up to you." Sirius rubbed at his chin, seeing red on his hand before he started to viciously scrub at his lips with a napkin in his drawer.

"Thanks, Alan." Alan popped his head back down and returned to work. Great, just what I needed today. Sirius thought. And turned his back to the opening of his cubicle and pulled out his wand and some of the paperwork. He transferred the information, correct this time, to the new forms. Taking only about 30 minutes to look it over and make sure everything was correct before he flicked off his computer and grabbed his jacket. He looked at his watch. Almost noon. He went over to Alan's cubicle and leaned against the doorway.

"Let's go to lunch. I'm done for the day and need a beer. You're coming with me." He flicked the screen off on his computer and grabbed Alan's jacket then grabbed Alan and tugged him along. Alan was shoving his glasses up again and trying to put his jacket on as they exited the building.

"Sirius, I really do have work to do–"

"It'll be there for you on Monday, I promise. Let's go." Sirius led him down the street to a pub and walked in hearing the guitar strains of "Jump" from the jukebox in the corner. He asked the barman for two pints as he sat down at the bar. He exhaled.

"I don't want to get fired, mate–"

"We are the best they have, they aren't going to fire either of us. Now hush and drink your beer." He raised his glass to Alan, who clinked his own to it, then took a long drink.

"So, we've been friends, I guess, for a few months now." he took another sip from his beer. "You dragged me from work to get a beer. We have beer. So tell me, what happened with Marcy. I want the details, too." He waggled his eyebrows. "And why are you upset about it, being the most important question."

"It doesn't upset me, and nothing happened, so don't give me that look." he glared at his friend. "She jumped me in the copy room. I pushed her away. That's really all there is to tell."

"And…why were you not into it?" He drank from his beer again, waiting expectantly.

"She's not my type." He smiled at his own joke. Really, it didn't matter that she was a muggle, but it was part of it. He simply just didn't feel anything about the woman except annoyance at her continued pursuit. He decided that he would just say that. "She tries too hard, honestly. And it's annoying. I'm not looking to hook up with someone."

"Have a girl you are after then." Alan stated. And Sirius just shook his head. He hadn't really thought about it, honestly. He had Harry and Lily. His life really just revolved around them. But he didn't tell this to Alan.

"Not in the slightest." He replied. "You got someone on your mind then, Alan?" Alan's face went a little pink. "Well, what's her name? She from the office?"

"No, you don't know her. She lives in my building. Claire. She's the quiet sort. Blonde. Doesn't know I exist. The usual." He took the last drink of his beer and looked over at Sirius. "Are you really not going back to work?" When Sirius shook his head, he asked, " What do you do all day after work? You leave after lunch almost every day." Sirius shrugged. He didn't know why he didn't want to tell anyone about Lily and Harry. Lily was going to apply at the school as a teacher for when Harry started, so it wasn't exactly going to be much of a secret. It wasn't a secret to begin with. Not in the muggle world. They had decided to send Harry to primary until he went to Hogwarts and that it would be best if Lily worked there to keep an eye on things. He looked back at Alan, who was a good person. And it really didn't make sense that he didn't tell anyone about his godson and Lily.

"I have a godson. I help raise him."

"Blimey, I didn't know you had a kid. You never mentioned anything."

"I didn't feel the need to. My best mate…died. He made me godfather, so I help his mother out." He drained his glass and laid a note on the bar and stood up. "Well, I'm off. I suppose you are going back to work? I'll see you Monday." He clapped Alan on the back and walked out of the bar. He walked down the street, taking a longer path than usual as he made his way deeper into the London suburbs before finding a quiet alley and then apparated home. He walked in through the front door and Harry ran to him and he scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder. He said hello to Hermione who was reading in the living room. She smiled up at him and then went back to her book. They were helping Nancy out so she could spend more time at the practice. Lily was in the kitchen, making lunch, wearing jean shorts and a Van Halen t-shirt, listening to the radio and humming along with it. He leaned in and kissed her cheek and set Harry, who was giggling in a chair.

"How was your day today, chap?" He took off his jacket and laid it on the back of the chair before sitting down.

"We went to the park today with Hermione while her mummy and daddy were at work. We took Charlie with us. I climbed up the jungle gym and slid down a really big slide and then we went on the swings. Charlie can't play fetch, but we tried to teach him. Hermione says she can get a book at the library on how to teach dogs tricks!"

"Hermione, come get lunch!" Lily called and Hermione got off the couch and came to sit at the table next to Sirius. She set her book down and thanked Lily for the macaroni and cheese.

"You get home really early, Sirius. I wish my mum and dad came home early, too." Sirius smiled down at the little girl as she took a bite of pasta.

"Well, your parents have a much more important job then I do. So they have to work longer. Thank you Lily." He addressed her as she set a bowl in front of him and then sat down herself. Her wavy hair was down today, and hung down her back and over one shoulder. Lily smiled at him and he looked away, realizing he was staring, and ate his food. When the kids were done, they took the dishes to the sink and Lily told them to go play outside. Hermione begrudgingly went, taking her book with her. Lily grabbed a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses and followed them outside, a book of her own tucked under her arm. She turned to Sirius before she went out.

"You have lipstick on your shirt collar, by the way. Did you know?" She gave him a dazzling smile, her eyes glittering, and closed the sliding door behind her.

"Ah shit." He looked at his collar, and very clearly, there was a lip mark on it. He walked upstairs unbuttoning the shirt as he went and threw it in the hamper at the top of the stairs. He walked into his room and changed into more comfortable clothing. A plain white t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. He walked back downstairs and joined the others outside, barefoot.

"So, I guess you said yes to Marcy," Lily teased. Sirius chuckled and shook his head.

"Actually, no, I didn't. I was ambushed. Assaulted, really." He accepted the glass Lily handed him. "I don't know how many times I have to tell her to bugger off before she gets it. Maybe this time it worked?" He stretched out in the chair as Harry and Hermione chased Charlie around the yard, trying to get the ball back from his mouth. Lily watched him as he stretched. "You wanna go out to eat tonight?" A look of surprise flitting across her face before she covered it up with a small smile.

"Um, sure." she replied.

"I know it was Harry's birthday yesterday, but I figured we could take him somewhere nice tonight and celebrate." he looked over at Lily and she nodded, looking away before he caught her eye.

"That would be nice, Sirius. Any ideas where?" She sipped her lemonade and watched the children, who now had the ball and were running away from Charlie, who was trying to get the ball back from them. Hermione was running with the ball and was cornered by Charlie, when he went to jump up, she seemed to shimmer and then appeared behind him again, running in the opposite direction.

Lily sat up straight as Sirius sprang to his feet. He looked down at Lily and she met his eyes. Shock filling her emerald green gaze as they both looked back at the little girl who was running around laughing with Harry and Charlie. Harry was unphased by the miraculous phasing his friend had done.

"Harry, Hermione, come here please!" Lily called them. Hermione dropped the ball and Charlie pounced on it. Her face fell as she looked at the adults, like she was in trouble. Both her and Harry made their way slowly over to the adults.

"I'm sorry, please don't tell mum and dad! They said I wasn't supposed to do that unless I was home. I'm really sorry. Please don't tell them! They said it would scare people if they saw. I didn't mean to do it. It just happened!" She was starting to cry and Harry took her hand.

"No no no, sweetie, it's alright, it's okay. Don't worry about it." Lily consoled the little girl. Sirius just kind of stared blankly. What were the odds? Were the Grangers secretly wizards as well? They seemed so muggle. Then it hit him. Hermione was a witch, but her parents were muggles. Of course it would freak them out! The little girl started hiccupping and Sirius gave her a glass of lemonade.

"It's alright, we can do stuff like that, too!" He took his wand out of his pocket and made the pitcher float through the air for a moment before letting it settle back on the table. It worked. Hermione immediately stopped crying, her brown eyes going round as she saw it. "See? Nothing to worry about! We won't tell your mum and dad, promise." Lily looked aghast at Sirius, who just shrugged it off. The girl was going to learn one way or another. Harry would be going to Hogwarts with her, after all. There was no way she wasn't. She just apparated as a child, without even using a wand.

"H-harry can do stuff too. He can float things. Sometimes I can do it too, when I really think about it." Hermione informed them. They already knew this. Harry was able to do that since he was a baby in the crib. Making things zoom over to him. Even make things break when he was upset. This was not news.

"I told you they wouldn't be mad, 'Mione. They are like us!" He grabbed her hand again and pulled her over to play with Charlie again. Everything was then forgotten. Just like that. Children. Resilient. Sirius looked back at Lily.

"Should we tell them we know? I mean, they are clearly muggles. They must be freaked out by it. It wouldn't hurt, would it?" Lily slowly nodded.

"What are the odds, Sirius?" She flopped back down in her chair. "What are the odds… of Harry meeting another witch? In a muggle suburb?"

"I was just thinking the same thing. Slim, but at least we can help them out. Give them some explanation so they don't feel like they are losing their minds." Lily nodded as Sirius sat back down again. The conversation tonight was going to be very interesting indeed when Nancy came to get Hermione.