A/N:

This is my first HP fanfiction, so feel free to leave criticism/praise/flame in the comments so I can improve.

This is a Harry/Astoria story, and any other pairings will be background, if at all present. If you notice slight premise differences from canon, it is likely intentional.

A HUGE thanks to BingBong for both the idea for this story and help with editing this chapter. Without him, this story would not have been written.


Sirius Black ran for his life.

His canine legs burned from the exertion, his ears filled with the sounds of his nails clicking against the cobbled Hogsmeade streets and his own heavy panting.

Sirius had plenty of experience running away, and in his time had outpaced many a Death Eater, Dementor, and spurned lover, but twelve years in Azkaban did no favors for his muscles, and he wasn't getting any younger.

Maybe this is penance, he thought, thinking of one such woman he had spurned. For what it's worth Vanessa, I really did love you.

He picked up the pace and narrowly avoided a collision with a street vendor, too focused on escaping to register the verbal (and thankfully not magical) curses hurled at his back. He ducked into another alleyway before making a sharp turn down a sidestreet, sure that this maneuver would shake his pursuer. Hearing nothing behind him, he allowed himself to slow to a trot and turned one more corner, chest heaving and heart pounding.

He froze. Up ahead, as if they knew where he would be before even he did, was the very figure he was running away from to begin with.

"You didn't think you could get away that easily, did you?"


Several minutes earlier…

Astoria Greengrass was many things. She was friendly, cheerful, and had a good sense of humor. At two weeks shy of fourteen, she was starting to show signs of the beautiful woman she would no doubt one day become, and her ever-present smile and easygoing nature had made her many friends across all four houses at Hogwarts.

While Astoria was all of those things and more, one thing she wasn't, was immune to distraction. In fact, this aspect of her personality was such a fundamental part of her that her friends weren't even surprised to realize that from one moment to the next she had disappeared from their little group walking around Hogsmeade on the first trip of the year. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and it certainly wouldn't be the last, and for many of the third years this was their first time in Hogsmeade. So instead of getting lost searching for their friend, they assumed from experience she would turn up soon, gushing rapid-fire about some rare animal or secret passage she had found, completely ignoring their concerns for her safety.

Ultimately, her friends were quite right. Astoria had been taking in the sights of the village around her when she saw a dog skulking behind a building, looking around as if to find someone or something. At that moment, their eyes made contact, and they both froze.

Astoria's reason was simple. She loved dogs.

Sirius' reason was also simple. Years of experience pranking prefects and teachers, and later fighting and fleeing from Voldemort's followers had honed his survival instinct, and he knew when he was in danger. And when he looked into the young girl's bright blue eyes, his tail shot down and his hair stood on end, his animalistic instincts telling him to run, and run fast.

And that was how Sirius found himself in his present situation, slowly backing into a dead end street.

"There's no need to be afraid." She said in a light, feminine voice that belied the malice he could see in her eyes.

She's not even out of breath, Sirius thought. What kind of monster is she?

"I just want to pet you for a bit! My mom won't let me get a dog because my dad is allergic and Daphne says they're too messy." The girl started, speaking as if she knew the dog in front of her understood the words she was saying. For the record, he did, but she didn't know that. "Personally, I think they just don't want me to get a dog because they think I'm not ready for the responsibility." Her words drifted off and she looked wistfully into the distance. "Or maybe it's because they still blame me for what happened to Flopsy…"

What happened to Flopsy!? Sirius screamed in his head, a small whimper of fear coming out of him.

A couple seconds later, her head snapped back to face him, causing him to jump a bit in fright. "Anyway," she began, a big smile back on her face. "I'm not saying you have to do it for free."

She advanced slowly, reaching into the pocket of her robes to find the folded up napkin that still held the remainder of the breakfast she ran out of time to finish that morning. She picked out a piece of bacon and held it in front of her while making an odd pspsps sound that Sirius was convinced was the incantation for some rare piece of dark magic.

As the girl backed him into the wall, he resigned himself to his fate. It was a relatively short life, all things considered, and he had many regrets. There were still so many things he wanted to do, not least of all which to be there for Ha-

He stopped. His nose twitched. Sirius' heightened senses easily picked up the delicious smell wafting from the bacon. That's Hogwarts bacon, he thought, not the cheap stuff Kreacher gets, and certainly not that vegan junk Remus has been trying to put me on to. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for me to take just a bite?

Sirius stopped backpedaling and took a tentative step forward. The aroma of the bacon was even stronger than before, and his body started moving of its own volition towards the delicacy. Unfortunately, I seem to be under the Imperius Curse. It's not like I want to, but I really have no other option now but to eat the bacon. What a pity.

He inched further, so close now he could almost taste it. One more step and the prize would be his. He took the step and reached up with his mouth to grab it.

The second he made contact with the bacon strip, Astoria pounced.

She wrapped her arms around him and started to pet his head, fluff the side of his ribs, and tickle under his chin. "Who's a good puppy!" she cooed as she made a thorough mess of his already shaggy fur.

I've been captured! Sirius thought helplessly, as he struggled to free himself from her deceptively firm grasp. And who's she calling a puppy? I've probably spent more time in prison than this kid has spent on the planet! I'm a grim, not some spineless housepet to be treated like a…

His internal diatribe was cut off as he was fed another piece of bacon, momentarily overwhelming his thoughts with the memories of better times. Breakfast in the Great Hall, sitting with James and Remus talking about nothing in particular, complaining about classes and discussing their plans for the holidays…

"I'm sorry for chasing after you Mister Puppy." Astoria said as she began to relax her grip and ease up on the petting. "I kind of lose control around animals sometimes…"

At this, Sirius glanced at the girl, still savoring the taste of the bacon. She seemed genuinely penitent, and was that a trace of sadness he saw? He chuffed and nudged her hand with his snout to tell her it was no big deal. Maybe I overreacted a little, Sirius admitted to himself. She seems like a nice kid, and that bacon was terrific.

As Astoria fed him the rest of the contents of the napkin including half a muffin, he lost himself in the nostalgia.

To think so much has changed in these past 20 years, but the house elves still make the exact same blueberry muffins, Sirius smiled.

When his impromptu meal finished, Astoria let go of him and dusted herself off. "Well that was fun, but I really should be off now, I need to get back to my friends before they notice I'm gone!"

She didn't seem like she was going to chase him again, so Sirius bowed his head to her once as a way of expressing his thanks for the food, and turned to walk away.

A Slytherin huh? Sirius thought, thinking back to the emblem on the bacon girl's robes. It's a shame she didn't end up in Gryffindor, she'd have probably made a great friend for Harry. With that thought reminding him of why he had come to Hogsmeade today in the first place, he went off to find his godson.


Harry walked around Hogsmeade reflecting on the events of the past year. Pettigrew escaped, Remus lost his job, and Sirius was still a wanted man, framed for a crime he didn't commit. On the other hand, he and Hermione had saved both Buckbeak and Sirius that night last spring, and he had cast an incredibly powerful patronus charm to do it. The confidence boost he had gotten when the adrenaline died down and he realized what he had done was a welcome one, especially given the trouble he had a tendency to get into.

What are the chances I get to have a quiet year this year? Harry thought to himself as he strolled through the village. He had planned to meet up with Ron and Hermione at The Three Broomsticks around noon, which left him a little over an hour to appreciate the early autumn weather alone with his thoughts. Probably not great, but with any luck at least this one won't end with me fighting for my life like the last three did.

He was kicking a stone along a path on the outskirts of the village when he heard a dog bark. The sound made his thoughts drift back to his godfather, and the unfortunate turn of events at the end of last year that prevented him from going to live with the man. He hadn't lost hope entirely, but Harry had a feeling he'd be spending at least a few more summers with the Dursley's yet.

The dog barked again, and this time Harry turned his head to look at the source of the noise.

Sirius!? What is he doing here?

The dog started to trot away, heading down a path that clearly led to the shrieking shack. After looking around quickly to make sure no one was watching, Harry followed after him.

When he entered the decrepit house, Sirius was already waiting for him in human form. Sirius pulled Harry into a strong hug, and it hit Harry just how much he had missed the man who he had met for only a few hours. Unbeknownst to him, Sirius was feeling the exact same way.

"Sirius!" Harry beamed at the man, regretfully pulling away from the embrace. His smile was quickly replaced with a puzzled frown however as he thought about the situation he found himself in. "Why are you here? Isn't it dangerous for you to be around so many witches and wizards?"

Sirius sighed and sat down on a rickety chair he pulled from the corner of the room, gesturing for Harry to do the same. "I won't lie and tell you it's risk-free, and to be honest, Remus thinks it's a bad idea. But I've failed you once Harry, and I won't do it again." Sirius paused for a moment before continuing. "I know we can't live together like a family yet, and I'm working on that, but I'd like us to be able to at least act like one."

While Harry wasn't thrilled at the prospect of Sirius putting himself into danger for him, he couldn't deny he liked the idea of having him around more often. Besides, after twelve years alone in Azkaban Harry figured the man might need some semblance of family just as much as he did.

"I'd like that as well," Harry replied. "Does that mean you'll be living in Hogsmeade?"

Sirius' heart broke a little at the hope evident in Harry's voice. "Unfortunately not," Sirius sighed, trying not to notice the slight slump of Harry's shoulders at his reply. "Even for me, that would be too dangerous. But every second weekend when Hogwarts brings you all down here to Hogsmeade I'll make sure I'm here so we can spend a couple of hours, just, well, doing what families do?" Sirius laughed a bit as he finished that sentence, realizing how awkward it sounded.

"That sounds great!" Harry replied enthusiastically. "But what exactly do families do? I've never really had one before…"

Sirius' heart broke a little once more. "Honestly, I'm not so sure either." He said, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. "But I'd like to get to know you better, so maybe we can start there?"

For the next couple of hours, Harry and Sirius talked about anything and everything, from their favorite foods to their dream vacation. While it started off a little stilted, they both quickly relaxed and found themselves genuinely having fun learning more about the other, and sharing in turn. Eventually, Sirius even felt comfortable teasing his godson a bit.

"So Harry, has any special witch caught your eye yet?"

Harry blushed, waving his hands around awkwardly. "I-I-I wouldn't say so…" He stammered out. "I mean maybe a couple?" Sirius' eyes lit up in excitement. Boy talk with his godson! This is what he'd dreamed of all those years ago when James made him Harry's godfather…

"Oh yeah? Like who? If it's that Hermione girl, you've got my approval. A real smart kid, and brave too!" Sirius shot Harry a thumbs up.

"N-n-no!" Harry spluttered. "She's more like a sister to me than anything. At best, like, occasionally I'll notice a girl in the hallway and I'm like 'oh, she's cute', but there's nothing really going on besides that…" Harry's face was now a bright red, clearly uncomfortable with this topic.

Sirius was about to let the subject drop when a sneaking suspicion wormed its way into his mind.

"Harry, have you ever told any of those girls you thought they were cute before?"

"Er, no."

"Have you ever spoken to them at all?"

"Er, not that I can remember…"

"Have you ever spoken more than a full sentence to a girl other than Hermione?"

"Does McGonagall count?"

"Absolutely not!" Sirius roared.

Harry flinched back in surprise at his godfather's reaction. It wasn't that big of a deal that he had problems talking to girls, was it?

Before Sirius could interrogate him any further on his (lack of) experience communicating with the opposite sex, the brave Gryffindor boy did the only thing he could think of, and planned a hasty retreat. "Oh well, gosh, look at the time Sirius! I have to head back now before the last carriage leaves. Same time in two weeks?"

Sirius looked at his godson, eyes narrowing as he caught on to his thinly veiled strategy. "Same time in two weeks," he confirmed. As Harry was leaving the shack, Sirius called out to him again.

"Harry?"

The boy turned around. "Yeah?"

Sirius' eyes softened. "I really enjoyed today, thanks for coming."

Harry smiled back at him. "I did too Sirius."


Later that night, Sirius paced up and down his bedroom floor in Grimmauld Place. He had truly had a great time with Harry that day, and he felt like he had finally made ground on a relationship that should've started over a decade ago had he not chased after Peter like a moron.

There was, however, one thing he could not get over.

My godson can't remember the last time he spoke to a girl other than Hermione. He even asked if McGonagall counts! This is simply unacceptable, the boy is too shy. If I don't intervene, he'll spend his life alone in a hut, caring for blast-ended skrewts or something!

Sirius winced as he realized he had just described a man who he had a great deal of respect for.

If that's what Harry wants, that's fine. Sirius rationalized in his head. However! If he misses out on opportunities in love because he was too shy to speak to a witch that caught his eye, that is a failure that reflects on me as his godfather!

Sirius took another sip of amber liquid from a bottle that was much fuller a few hours ago.

And as such, it is my responsibility to see to it that he gets the practice he needs speaking to girls.

For the first time since before James died, a glint appeared in Sirius' eyes that would be instantly recognizable to any teacher that had the misfortune of dealing with him during his days as a Marauder.

If only I knew a witch his age, that was kind and compassionate, and would be patient with him, I could set them up on a few dates and ensure my godson gets the confidence boost he so dearly needs…

Sirius froze. Because he did know a girl that fit that description.

Bacon Girl!