The two handsome men were waiting silently, each going over the night's events in their own mind.

"It was just the right thing to do." Cynthia settled on this response in lieu of being submitted to a psych ward… or worse. It was an honest response as well. She would have felt terrible leaving those two strangers to deal with whatever that was.

Neither man looked quite convinced of this, but would not get the chance to do anything about it.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The sound of someone at the door caused the room to be still.

Everyone froze, their own thoughts coming to a halt. Cynthia's hands instantly grew sweaty and clammy. She took another step away from the door as if it would bite her. Sirius raised his stick up in the air ready to strike. Cynthia's brow furrowed as she wondered if he'd hit his head or something during their getaway.

James stepped forward pulling Cynthia even further from the door, stepping in front of her.

Apparently he had a habit of shielding women from things. Guess chivalry isn't quite dead yet. Cynthia gratefully regarded the man's consistent gestures, married or not.

Cynthia watched the door waiting silently. She couldn't sense much, being overwhelmed by the intense feelings of that dangerous man earlier. How inconvenient. It would probably take a while before she could 'feel' things unless they were right in front of her. The girl just hoped it wouldn't take too long.

The three young adults waited with bated breath... not moving a muscle.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Cynthia?" the worried voice of an older woman could be heard through the door. Cynthia could have cried!

'Thank heavens, it's just her.' The young woman felt the stress she carried relax just a little at the sound of her elders voice.

The two men waiting in her flat didn't know how to react. Neither knew what to expect from a muggle door guest, but this was definitely not one of the possibilities they considered. They both turned again to Cynthia waiting to see what she would do.

"Cynthia? Are you okay dear? Can you hear me?" The poor older woman outside grew more desperate for a reply.

Looking up at the clock on the wall, it read '10:38 pm' meaning Cythia had missed checking in with Martha by almost 10 minutes. She only agreed to 'check in' because Martha kept mentioning how her precious little 'Sophia' had gone missing late at night.

Between the elder woman's sad shaking voice and tears it was impossible to say no. Cynthia really did feel bad for her, losing someone like that was something she never hoped to understand. The young woman cleared her dry throat and took a deep breath.

This was going to be messy.

"It's okay Martha!" She called out. "I'm here. Did you need something?"

"Oooh Goodness girl!" The kind woman's voice quickly switched from worry to protective rage. "Where have you been! I've been worried sick! Why didn't you let me know when you got home? Open this door!" The constant shake in Martha's voice mixed with her anger in a funny way. It made her sound even more precious in Cynthia's opinion. She was still far to nosy thought.

Both boys visibly relaxed, hearing such a 'normal' interaction eased their worries. They stood there wondering what to do nonetheless.

Cynthia stepped away from her guests and closer to the door so she could better project her voice.

"I'm sorry Martha, it's been an awfully long day. I was just getting out of the shower. I heard you calling and ran out, so I'm not decent at the moment." Cynthia hated lying, especially to someone as good as Martha. But this old woman did not need to know she had not one, but two extremely handsome sweaty boys in her flat. The elder woman would either blow her top or try and get her married off...

Maybe even both...

Definitely both...

Shaking the thought, Cynthia continued speaking, trying to sound clueless.

"Did something happen?"

Sirius stifled a small laugh, earning himself a sharp glare and a silent 'shhhhh'. The little woman before him obviously did not want her elder to know they were here. The young Auror was so tempted. So very, very tempted.

James just shook his head feeling as an odd sense of nostalgia washed over him. Thinking back to his own mother and his childhood. The woman was a force to be reckoned with, something all Potter men found irresistible in their wifes. James really needed to go over for a cup of tea sometime soon. Probably bring his little Lily… After he'd burned all the naked baby photos… Yes. He'd need to do that first.

Cynthia did not appreciate these boys' attitude at the moment. They changed moods faster than a young girl on her first cycle! It was enough to give someone whiplash.

Besides, She was sparing them all a 3-hour conversation about the proper etiquette of courting, one she'd already been forced to hear upon moving in a few months ago. The girl took the time to throw the two of them a hushing glare before, focusing again on the woman outside her door.

One who was currently bristling with more energy than she should have at that age.

"Has anything happened?" Martha scoffed as she repeated Cynthia's question aloud to herself. "I tell you what! Those rowdy teenage brats are out causing mayhem again!"

Her guests stilled and looked at each other. They couldn't stop the mirrored cheshire grins from creeping out from their hiding spot. The action easily gave their true character away. It didn't take a genius to figure out that 'mayhem' was a familiar word to these guys.

Moving on, Cynthia set about doing two things before she could have a bath tonight. First, get Martha home, and second, get the boys out without anyone seeing. Heaven knew this whole building was full of people who loved to gossip, and she didn't need to be in that mess.

"Now Martha..." Cynthia tried to calm the woman but was interrupted.

"Don't you 'Now Martha' Me young lady!" Both men in the flat were more than amused at this. Sirius now stood with both his arms crossed, shaking his head in mock disapproval.

James on the other hand was shaking his uninjured hand at her with one finger sticking out as if he was the one scolding her. The young man sported a teasing grin while he did so.

What was wrong with these boys? The whole situation just reminded Cynthia of being scolded by her Aunt and Uncle in front of her friends years ago, and how said friends had teased her afterward for days. She just wanted to throw these brats out the door and let them deal with the woman outside.

She just might if they didn't mind themselves.

Dear old Martha was unbeknownst to the silent conversation happening on the other side of the door. She merely continued prattling on, getting into her stride.

"I know it's those boys! Didn't you hear the sirens? I'm telling you those darn Gallagher boys nearly took the neighborhood out!"

Cynthia pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes before responding. Fifteen minutes. It took Martha only fifteen minutes to have a small, albeit incorrect, idea of what had happened tonight.

"Martha," she called through the door, she lifted her head and continued. "You can not blame everything on them just because their grandmother looked at your husband 60 years ago."

Silence.

Just a moment of silence. That was all it took for the girl to know she'd done it now. If Cynthia didn't doubt Martha would have the door broken down, she might have just walked away.

The woman on the other side of the door huffed, obviously getting ready to set this young Gal straight.

She began, her voice somehow louder than before. "She did faaaaar more than look at him and you know it Cynthia Edyth Jenkins! She's always been THAT kind of woman!" Martha took a deep breath before continuing. "Why, I heard from Mr. Taylors that just last week she'd been seen havin' tea at the shops with..." She was miraculously cut off by another voice.

"Bloody Hell Martha! Would ya' give it a rest already!" Martha's rant was cut short by another older woman. That mystery woman continued on hollering "The li'l thing is home safe! Your job is done! And that old husband o' yours didn't leave ya, did 'e?"

Martha mumbled a response to the woman she obviously knew quite well.

"So there, now off ya go! It's far too late for this sort o' thing. Some of us have things ta do in the mornin' and the last thing we need is ya hollering in the night. "

Martha's huffed, and began walking away. Her grumbles could still be heard through the door leading Cynthia to shake her head.

"Night Martha." The girl called out, hoping to soften the blow that could be her facing Martha on a later date. No doubt she was going to be in for it.

A muffled 'good night' was heard as Martha must have hobbled down past the end of the hallway and away to her own flat. Cynthia heard footsteps coming towards her door from across the hall. It must have been her secretive neighbor who interrupted.

She still had yet to properly meet the woman even after living here for so long. As Martha claimed the woman didn't care for normal conversation and only valued her privacy. Yet, she somehow always knew all the latest gossip before anyone else. She just refused to share it, much to Martha's dismay. In fact, it angered her so much so that she refused to tell Cynthia anything more about the woman, including her name.

"And YOU!" The mysterious woman began. Her voice was only loud enough to be heard through the door, yet it held a certain unquestionable authority to it.

"Yes?" Cynthia felt guilty, like she had when her aunt had caught her playing in the graveyard years ago.

"You best be home by a decent hour from now on, 'specially the way things are now!" The last part slightly confused Cynthia but she didn't interrupt. She apparently still had some sense of self preservation.

"Ahem!" The elder woman cleared her throat forcefully, obviously expecting a quick response.

"Yes, ma'am" Cynthia spoke almost automatically. "Sorry about worrying you."

The woman outside scoffed, and must have rolled her eyes.

"Hardly! I just don't want ta be dealin' with the likes of Martha Bingams so late at night." The woman didn't wait another moment. One could hear the scuffle back across the hall followed by the slam of a door.

Her sudden absence left the flat in silence again.

Cynthia turned back looking at her guests. She let her shoulders fall. Her legs still burned, but she was feeling a bit better. Tired, but better.

Martha, for all her quirks, was a gift to the world as far as Cynthia was concerned. She also felt indebted to the harsh woman across the way, partially for inconveniencing her. The woman really did seem to take things quite seriously. Regardless Cynthia felt like she needed to meet her soon, probably with an apology gift. She nodded to herself at the idea refocusing on her current situation.

The two men stood, still very much out of place in her flat.

"So..." Cynthia began, "I feel almost completely embarrassed about this whole thing." The girl figured she might as well just say it. She truly wanted nothing more than to go take a bath and sleep for a week. No doubt she would often think back on today and find herself cringing as she often did when 'messing' something up.

Both boys laughed lightly, trying to stay quiet and not poke the hippogriff that lived across the hall. Cynthia felt relieved by their laughter. It brought her back to watching them back in the park twenty or so minutes ago. Had it really only been that long?

"Anyone would be." The curly-haired man who lost his glasses spoke first, his words almost sounding like personal experience. "She's such a fiery old woman." He gestured towards the other flat through the door.

"They both are." His friend cut in, "Not that a fiery woman is a bad thing." He threw a wink towards Cynthia as he slung an arm over his friend. The shorter man winced slightly at the action and glared up at his Italian looking friend.

Cynthia's heart had skipped a beat again. She held her breath close trying to regain her composure. Darn flirt wasn't going to get any reaction out of her!

Carefully the girl smiled back at the two boys, noting the suspicion and worry they had was now gone, or atleast subdued. Cynthia sent a silent 'thank you' to the older women for interrupting and cutting the tension she'd brought home with her tonight.

"I see your friend here has a weird taste," Cynthia spoke matter-of-factly.

"You have no idea." The young man reached up to ruffle his messy lion's mane as he spoke. His friend shrugged, finding no need to defend his taste in women. "Please call me James. And this is my friend Sirius."

'No last names?' She noted 'These boys are really up to no good.' Cynthia's expression fell into a very small smile. The thought of the unknown made her nervous. Today has been far too long. The poor woman just wanted to forget this whole thing ever happened. She then looked back to the ridiculously flirtatious black-haired man, Sirius. Okay, maybe not everything.

"Cynthia Edyth Jenkins. As you just heard." She gestured beside her to the door apologetically. "But please, call me Cynthia." The two gentlemen nodded, but she didn't stop speaking.

"Probably best if you don't go out the front door..." Cynthia took a few more steps away from James and Sirius gesturing down the small hallway in her flat. "Bedroom has a window you can climb out. It's a little high, but you should be fine."

"You're just going to show us out?" These words came out of Sirius's mouth in a slightly accusatory way, but it held no heat like earlier. Cynthia watched him carefully as her many questions swelled in her mind.

What was the weird energy she sensed during that fight? She'd never felt anything quite like it before. Also, was that a language they were yelling or a code? It was quite weird to holler such a thing back and forth. Maybe they were cuss words or something. And who was that man in the park? Was he even a man? He felt more like a monster. Why was he there? How could one person hold so much hate? He seemed like he was there with a purpose. Was he after Cynthia herself, or these two strange men?

Well... There ya go! Chapter 3, done and dusted!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I love these lil' old ladies so much!

Please feel free to comment and review! I'll see ya in the next chapter!

((All rights to Harry Potter Belong to J.K. Rowling))