Author's Note:

Why hello there! It's been a very long time since I first posted this story and I never completed it as I hit a bit of a wall. Well, I've managed to break down that wall and revamped this fic completely. So let's start again from the beginning.

I'll post the second chapter on Wednesday and they'll be weekly thereafter. I'm planning to post it in seasons, so season 1 will be the first 10 chapters, then we'll have a short break till season 2 etc etc.

If you love a good love story then this one is for you. Meet Me By The Old Armchair tells the tale of Sirius and Aurelia, best friends growing up, separated by differing loyalties. With plenty of drama along the way, find out about the life Sirius lived before Azkaban.

Meet Me By The Old Armchair

Chapter One

"Go on, Harry! Ask him!" Hermione urged Harry while Ron nodded fervently in agreement. The trio were huddled just beyond the doorway of the living room at The Burrow, where Remus Lupin was engaged in light conversation with Molly and Ginny Weasley.

Harry flapped his hands about, attempting to convey the difficulty of what he wanted Remus to tell them. Hermione gave him her very Hermione-like look and said, "Sirius left it to you, Harry. You should be the one to ask Remus."

"Hermione," Harry begged, "please, you would be so much more tactful than me-"

"What are you three whispering about?" Mrs Weasley demanded, causing the trio to jump about a foot in the air and emerge, shamefacedly, into the living room.

"I uh-" Harry started awkwardly, taking a seat next to Ginny as Hermione and Ron did the same, "-well I, uh…"

"Is something troubling you, Harry?" Remus enquired, his light smile falling into a worried frown.

"Well yes…sort of…" he looked to Hermione for support, she nodded at him determinedly and he took a deep breath, summoning his courage to carry on. "It's about Sirius. He left me this." Harry extended his open palm to Remus, exposing a very delicate platinum ring, scattered with tiny blue diamonds. He then took a note from his pocket and passed it to Remus, who took it and read it cautiously.

"What does it say?" Ginny questioned impatiently, as her ex-professor stared at the beautiful ring in Harry's hand.

"You can read it aloud if you want," Harry suggested to Remus, breaking him from his trance.

Remus nodded slowly and cleared his throat.

"Harry,

I want you to give this ring to the person that you love most dearly in this world. If you are reading this note then I no longer need it. Maybe you'll be able to use it better than I did.

It is a beautiful ring for a beautiful woman, make sure she knows it.

Sirius."

"Oh," was all Ginny managed, falling into the same trance as Remus and staring unblinkingly at the ring.

When it became clear that Harry wasn't going to say anything more, Hermione coughed tentatively and addressed Remus.

"We were wondering, um-well-what use did Sirius have for that ring? It's not as though he was ever married…was he?" She finished uncertainly.

Remus considered the people before him for a while, evidently trying to decide whether he should divulge whatever story came with that ring.

"I'm not sure whether it's really my place to say." He decided eventually. "If Sirius wanted you all to know, he would have told you."

Harry couldn't help but sigh at his old teacher, he always had to be so diplomatic. "But he left me the ring didn't he? Is that not permission enough to tell us what it's all about?"

"Go on, Remus. Just tell them about her," Molly pushed. She could see how hopeful Harry was for some more insight into his godfather's life before prison.

Remus sighed heavily, recognising defeat. "Alright, alright. I will tell you, but I warn you that this story doesn't have a happy ending, Harry. Sirius, it seems, was doomed to live a half life."

Harry swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat; he nodded his understanding to Remus who took the ring and rolled it over in his fingers a few times before continuing.

"This ring meant a great deal to Sirius. He gave it to the woman that was supposed to be his future bride many, many years ago." The room was still, the tension palpable as Remus explained further. "She was the love of his life, he would have gone to hell and back to make her happy…" he tailed off as his words had become so thick with emotion that he couldn't continue.

"What was her name?" Harry breathed.

"Aurelia Avery." Molly answered, sensing that Remus was not quite ready.

"Avery?" Harry asked harshly. "As in the Averys?"

Remus bowed his head in agreement. "Yes, Harry, the very same Averys that you have had the displeasure of meeting in the Department of Mysteries. But before you jump to any conclusions, allow me to explain – I think it's best that we start at the beginning…"

Sirius watched in amusement as a large golden haired dog with raised hackles growled at Emmett Mulciber, a seventh year Slytherin that had set his sights on the dog's owner.

"Stop that right now! Bad dog!" Mrs Avery scolded and made to whack the animal across the head, but before she managed to make contact it whined and shrank back behind the woman's daughter.

Sirius watched Mulciber snarl in the direction of the dog as though it were some foul rodent and march from the school supply store, Mrs Avery following close behind and shrieking apologies.

"Good boy." Aurelia praised, patting her dog gratefully on the head. He wagged his tail happily but was soon distracted by a rather interesting scent and went bounding in the direction of the door, where Sirius was seated on a bench with James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, waiting for Remus to finish examining different sets of quills.

Sirius couldn't help but laugh as the dog leaped up and tried desperately to lick his face.

"Sammy?" Aurelia called, rushing around a bookcase in the direction that Sammy the golden retriever had fled.

"Sammy!" She called again, only this time with a tone of irritation as the dog turned and bounded back to her. "I told you to behave, didn't I?" She scolded. "Mother will make me put you on the lead, and you know how much you hate the lead!"

The dog whimpered in agreement, and decided to settle for simply resting his head on Sirius' knee. Aurelia sighed exasperatedly and, with an apologetic wave at the person Sammy had attached himself to, pulled on his collar to encourage him to leave with her. The dog refused, his head still firmly lodged on the man's knee.

"Sammy! What on earth has gotten into you? Why have you attached yourself to-" Realising that she didn't actually know who the dog had attached himself to, her ice blue eyes moved up to the man's face. She froze as she saw him, watching as the look of amusement changed to one of guilt and then, as she continued to stare, anger.

"Sammy!" She hissed, breaking Sirius' gaze and looking down at her dog, "I think you're confused, this isn't Reggie." She could feel Sirius' glare on her face. "Come on, let's go."

The dog whined pitifully in response, nuzzling his head against Sirius' hand and staring at his owner with defiance. "Sammy, come on!" Aurelia pleaded, tugging on his collar.

"Lia?" A voice called from the doorway. "Lia! There you are! Your mother is raising hell inside looking for you, you better come now before she-" Regulus Black stopped dead in his tracks as he became aware of who his best friend was looking at.

She turned to him with a desperate expression and tilted her head to the dog. "He won't move Reg, make him move?"

"Samuel. Get over here now!" The dog hunched, knowing that he was in trouble by the use of his full name. He slouched over to Regulus and placed a tentative lick on his hand, who couldn't help but crack a smile at the dog's characteristically dramatic antics. He ruffled the fur on Sammy's head affectionately. "Stupid dog. You'd better listen to poor Aurelia or you'll get her in trouble, understand?" The dog barked once and wagged his tail.

Growing more and more furious the longer he was ignored, Sirius drawled in a would-be nonchalant tone. "Not going to say hello, Brother?"

"Why should he?" Aurelia cut in quickly as Regulus' face reddened. Sirius' eyes moved to hers sharply, causing an unwanted chill to creep down her spine. "You're the one that left."

Sirius blinked and opened his mouth to respond but, sensing his rising anger, James cut in, "And it was the best damn decision he's ever made."

Feeling like she'd been punched in the gut and knowing that Regulus would be feeling the same way, Aurelia turned to her best friend before they could see how much the comment had affected her. "Let's go, Reg." She said flatly, tugging on his arm.

He followed her out stiffly, neither of them making eye contact with the Gryffindors.

"You okay?" She asked gently after they were a safe distance from the store.

Regulus let out a long breath. "Dunno. At least we've got that over with now."

"Mmm," she agreed, "this is going to be a long year isn't it?"

"Yeah." He said tightly. He hooked his arm through hers, glad for the comfort that the contact brought him. At least he had Aurelia to help him get through it.

Back in the shop, Sirius watched them leave, a foul taste in his mouth. He glanced back at his friends and noticed how irritated James looked; he couldn't help but smile slightly, James was more of a brother to him than Regulus had ever been.

Peter, disliking the tense shift in atmosphere, smirked wickedly and decided to bestow some valuable wisdom on the pair, "Avery's a bitch but Merlin is she fit!"

James looked at him like he must be mentally disturbed to find a Slytherin attractive but Sirius found himself cracking up and patted Peter on the back appreciatively.

"What?" Peter asked in response to James' incredulous stare. "She is! Cracking pair of tits, like."

James watched as his best friend stared over to the Slytherin House table at the welcoming feast. He couldn't work out what he was thinking but assumed it must be something to do with his brother as his eyes had been fixed in the other Black's direction for the past ten minutes.

"Don't worry about it mate, you're better off without him."

Sirius tilted his head in James' direction, acknowledging that he'd heard him, but didn't move his eyes away from the Slytherins.

"Do you miss him?" James asked quietly, following his line of vision to where Regulus was laughing as he held a plate of pancakes slightly too far out of reach of an impatient Aurelia.

"It doesn't matter," Sirius grumbled eventually. Allowing himself to return to the memory he had been enjoying.

Sirius crept towards a little end table in the formal dining room at his home in Grimmauld Place. He could hear the quiet giggles of the young girl that was hiding from his brother as they played hide and seek.

"You're not very subtle," he whispered as he lifted up the tablecloth and squeezed under the table with her, his back pressed up against the wall.

Aurelia stuck her tongue out playfully. "You wouldn't have known I was here if you hadn't heard me laughing," she pointed out.

He shook his head and laughed silently, pulling her closer to him and therefore farther from the edge of the table. "I could see your socks poking out."

"Oh," she giggled, pressing her mouth into his shoulder as they heard Regulus run past the dining room and further into the house. "Will you hide me? Reggie says I'll have to help the elves in the kitchen if he finds me in the first five minutes!"

Sirius grinned and wound his arm around her protectively, titling her head further into his chest as her giggles returned with the soft padding of his brother's footsteps.

"Stick with me, Peach, I'll keep you safe." Aurelia grinned and nuzzled her nose into his neck affectionately.

It was stupid, he knew it was stupid - Sirius Black, the blood traitor, should not be clinging onto memories of the games he used to play with Aurelia Avery when they were little. Yet try as he might, he just wasn't ready to forget - some part of her still had a distinct hold on him.

"This is going to be a long year." He sighed heavily, but forced himself to look away and grabbed a muffin, taking a gigantic bite from it in an attempt to cheer up.