In the end, it's easier to simply give in. Sirius' eyes make her feel seen in a way that she hasn't felt seen for many years. Nobody knows her, nobody can know her. It's safer that way for anyone involved.

But Sirius sees her, he makes her feel seen. Sirius may be the one person in Severina's life who looks at her and really sees her as she is. Severina has the unnerving feeling that Sirius can examine her thoughts and he sees her for who she truely is. That is what brings her back week after week, into those strong arms and rumpled bed that is never made.

When she wakes up and smells the barest hint of a spring breeze, feels the warmth in the air, she knows that everything is changing.

And surprisingly, she's OK with that.

She wakes up earlier than usual. Last night they had simply laid in bed together, never doing more than holding each other and talking. She feels remarkably refreshed and unusually limber as she dresses and goes downstairs.

What she sees has her gripping his wand in alarm.

"Black, what is the meaning of this?"

Sirius turns to look at him, sitting at the kitchen table, as if they belong there, is a little old lady with bright pink hair. She looks at her with intrige as her eyes run up and down her body. Severina wraps her arms around her body subconciously.

"Just a friend of mine," Sirius says. "She was just leaving."

Indeed, the old lady nods her head at me before moving out of the room, Sirius follows her, and let her out the front door. Sirius closes the door and ensures that all of the locks have engaged before he turns with a sheepish little smile. "I guess the cat's out of the bag."

"What in Merlin's balls was that just now?" Severina glowers at him, and Sirius goes back to the kitchen with Severina trailing him like an angry shadow.

"This", Sirius says, grabbing the white box from a side table and holding it out to her. "Looks like swiss rolls this time. Hope that's alright."

"Don't tell me that the little old woman brings you your baked goods?" Severina questions, peering at the box warily.

"She does," Sirius says, opening it and withdrawing a chocolate flavoured swiss roll. "And before you ask, no, she's not a witch. I've known her family for some time."

"Her… family?" Severina splutters in disbelief.

"They live next to the park nearby," Sirius explains. "I helped her find her grandson when he got lost in the woods behind the park once."

"And now she brings you baked good." She says deadpaned.

"Right. We ususally went for little walk around the place, before I was instructed to stay inside."

"And… she came looking for you?" Severina finds this story implausible, yet he believes it. Running with a werewolf at Hogwarts and old ladies in London… His survival skills are truely remakable to watch.

"Guess grandson missed me," Sirius says with a grin. "I've been asking her to nick me some things here and there when I get sick of my own cooking. Well, sicker than usual."

"Do you expect me to believe that, did you give her a pouch of money to do this?"

"No, it's on the up and up. These are the old pastries that don't sell."

"What?"

"Yes, the bakery closes at ten," Sirius says, munching his roll happily. "Whatever doesn't sell gets put out in the trash. My friend just grabs a bag of them and brings it here. She keeps the ones I don't like."

Severina looks at him in shock with her mouth hunging open.

"Do you mean to say," Her nostrils flare, "that you have been feeding me garbage every time I stay over?"

Sirius shrugs. "Doesn't taste like garbage to me. It's perfectly good stuff. Here!"

Severina backs away from the offered treats. "Dear God, I need to take a tetanus vaccine…"

"Oh come on, they are fine," Sirius says. "Perfectly healthy!"

But Severina does brew some preventative potions as soon as she's back at Hogwarts. Sirius may have survived for months by eating rats and drinking his own urine, but Severina isn't so desperate as to expose herself to God only knows what.

The next time she appears at Grimmauld Place, it's with a box of freshly baked cup cakes purchased right before she came to his house for their weekly meet ups.

The end!