Siriusly Deluded

Ch. 12: Reintroductions

Sirius led Lauren out of the train, extending his arm for her to hold onto as she stepped off of the train. He had known for many years about her tendency to be just a little bit clumsy. Then he stopped, looking around at all the people occupying Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Lauren was doing the same. Her eyes lit up when she saw a familiar face, grinning back at her from several meters away.

"I see them," she said excitedly to Sirius. Then she led him over to her parents, who were standing right in front of a wall. Sirius stayed back a little while Lauren greeted her parents.

"Hi, mom," Lauren said as she gave her mother a hug.

Sirius watched as Lauren hugged her mother. His thoughts turned to his own mother. He could not remember her ever hugging him like that. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. Surprisingly, it worked. He looked back at the two women. Sirius knew where Lauren got her looks from. Maria Walker was petite like her daughter, but shorter, standing only five feet, two inches. She was Greek, and had long dark hair and dark eyes. Her skin had an olive tone. She had a pretty face and a warm smile.

Then she turned to her dad, saying, "Hi, daddy," as she gave him a hug as well.

Sirius looked on as Lauren hugged her father, Edward Walker. He worked for the Ministry of Magic. In fact, he was the Ambassador of Magic, the primary correspondent between the muggle and wizarding worlds. He was a very tall man, about six foot three, and quite daunting. He had dark blonde hair, flashing grey eyes, and a charming smile.

Lauren turned to Sirius, giving him a big smile before she began, "You remem--"

"Sirius Black!" Lauren's mother said incredulously.

Sirius nodded, a smile forming on his lips. Lauren's mother walked determinedly towards him. "It's so wonderful to see you dear," she said. Then she threw her arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug.

"I was wondering when you two would come to your senses," she said into his ear.

Sirius felt himself blush. He actually blushed...And Sirius Black simply did not blush. But the fact that her mother had just said that to him...was it that obvious?

His eyebrows were still knitted in thought when Lauren's mother pulled away from him.

Lauren's father stepped up to him, extending his hand. Sirius took it. They shook hands firmly. Sirius noticed that he had a very strong grip. Crushing, in fact.

"Well, Sirius, it's been a long time," Edward said, a smile playing at his lips.

"Yes, Mr. Walker, it has," Sirius replied. "Too long, in fact," he murmured as his gaze returned to Lauren, who was talking animatedly with her mother.

He turned back to Lauren's father, who had followed Sirius' gaze to his daughter.

He gave Sirius a stern look as he warned, "Don't you break her heart."

"No chance," he said honestly, looking Lauren's father straight in the eye.

"Good answer," Mr. Walker said as he clapped Sirius on the back.

They walked over to Lauren and Mrs. Walker. Edward offered his arm to Lauren's mother, who graciously accepted it. The pair began walking towards the wall that would lead them into the muggle world.

Sirius and Lauren looked at each other mischievously, imitating her parents as they linked arms and followed them out into London.

King's Cross Station was bustling with people. It was always like that around the holidays, with people traveling to visit relatives and hurrying to make last minute gift purchases.

They weaved their way through the crowds until they reached the parking lot, where a large black car was awaiting them. The car was one of the many perks that came along with Mr. Walker's job.

The chauffer opened the door and the four of them climbed in. Sirius looked around. From the outside, the car had appeared to be a large sedan. But inside, it was the size of a huge limousine. Sirius thought it was pretty cool.

Sirius and Lauren settled into the seats facing forward, across from Lauren's parents. The four of them sat there in silence for a while. Sirius could tell that the Walkers were trying to think of something to ask him without mentioning his family. He knew it was a hard task.

Lauren broke the silence. "Hey, dad," she said. "Did you know that Sirius is a Beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team?"

"No kidding?" Mr. Walker replied, grinning at Sirius. "I was a Ravenclaw Beater when I was at Hogwarts. It was great fun," he said.

"So tell me, how is the Ravenclaw team doing?" he asked after pausing to reminisce.

"Er, well... not so good," Sirius said haltingly. How could he put this lightly? "I'm afraid that they haven't been doing so well since you left," he said.

"Oh, that bad, eh?" Edward replied.

Sirius nodded.

"Gryffindor has won the Quidditch Cup for the past three years, dad," Lauren said brightly.

"Well, good job, son," Mr. Walker said. "As long as Slytherin doesn't win, I'm happy."

Sirius was shocked at what Lauren's father had said. He'd just called him "son." It had been a long time since anyone had called him that. He knew that Mr. Walker hadn't meant it in that way, but it still felt...he couldn't explain it.

Lauren watched as Sirius and her father talked. She was really glad that they were getting along. Her mom had always loved Sirius, but her dad didn't really like that she had spent so much time with him as a kid. It was probably the fact that he was a Black. The Walkers and the Blacks were two of the most respected wizarding families in Britain. But recently it had become increasingly obvious that they didn't see eye to eye very often. The Blacks thought that pure bloodlines were absolutely necessary to make a good witch or wizard. The Walkers, and especially Lauren's father, held the opposite view. Hopefully her father would quickly see how different Sirius was from the rest of his family.

"So, what have you guys been up to?" she asked her parents, who looked at each other before her mother answered, "Oh, everything imaginable. We've had so much to do with the ball coming up. It's a big task. Sending out all the owls, decorating, planning the menu, picking up the necessary items...Speaking of which, I picked up your dress last week. It's on your bed."

Lauren smiled back at her mom and said, "Thank you."

Her mom smiled back knowingly.

Sirius and Mr. Walker both noticed their little exchange.

"What's your dress like?" Sirius asked. Her father leaned forward a little, as though he was also interested in her answer.

Lauren turned to him, smirking as she said, "You'll just have to wait and see."

Sirius sighed, settling back into the seat and looking out the window at the quickly-passing London streets.

"We're here," Mrs. Walker said happily.

Sirius looked out the window at the huge white house looming in front of him. He smiled at the familiar sight. It had been nearly seven years since he had been there, and even more since he had arrived there through the front door. But he had always loved the Walker Estate.

Once the car pulled into the large circular driveway, it slowed to a halt. The chauffer opened the door once again, and Mr. Walker stepped out first, offering a hand to his wife. Sirius did the same for Lauren, who squeezed his hand and mouthed, "Brilliant," at him before they started walking up the drive, hand-in-hand.

When they were all safely inside and the butler had taken their outerwear, Sirius looked around the house. It looked exactly the same as it had the last time he was there. It was large and open, with a lot of windows that let light stream in. It was mainly white, decorated with forest green and gold accents. It was so different from his house...Sirius was snapped out of his reverie when Mrs. Walker spoke up. "We'll be having dinner at six. Lauren will show you to your room. Your trunks have already been taken upstairs. Meanwhile, we will be working on our plans for the ball. Right, Edward?" she said, looking at her husband.

"Right," Mr. Walker said with a grin. Lauren's parents walked away, going through a doorway on the right. Sirius could swear that her mom was giggling.

"Come on Sirius," Lauren said, tugging on his hand and turning to walk up the grand staircase immediately in front of them.

Sirius looked down at her, grinning as he said, "Can't wait to get me alone in your room, can you?"

Lauren rolled her eyes and said, "No, I can't wait to lock you in yours so you won't cause any trouble."

"Me? Trouble?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Come on," Lauren said. This time, she didn't have to drag him.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Lauren turned to the left. She wasn't sure which guest room Sirius was supposed to stay in. Then she remembered the stern look her father had given Sirius at the train station. She turned around, heading right.

Sirius was confused, but followed her anyway. He trailed behind her until she stopped at the door at the end of the hallway.

Lauren opened the door slowly, relieved when she saw Sirius' trunk sitting on the floor in front of the bed.

"Well, here it is," Lauren said. This was the largest of the guest rooms. It was also the one furthest away from her room. Sirius knew this, too.

"Couldn't separate us any more, could they?" Sirius asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"I guess not," Lauren murmured. Didn't her parents trust her? She wouldn't ever do anything really bad...Well, it probably was a good idea to decrease the temptation.

"I need to go unpack my stuff," Lauren said. She didn't know what to do with Sirius now that they had a lot of time to spend together. Usually their dates were spontaneous and limited as far as time was concerned.

"Wait," Sirius said, grabbing her arm. He pulled her to him, kissing her softly on the lips before he whispered, "Aren't you going to show me your room?"

Lauren practically melted in his arms. It had been a long time since they had kissed. He almost did on the train, but Remus made fun of them. And no way had he tried to kiss her in front of her parents.

"Okay," Lauren said slowly. Sirius laced his fingers into hers and they walked down to the opposite end of the hallway. She opened the door, leading him inside. Lauren nearly sighed in relief when she noticed that her dress was still in its garment bag. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't want Sirius to see it yet.

Sirius looked around at her room. It, unlike the rest of the house, had definitely changed over the past seven years. Before, it had been decorated in mainly pink and white. The carpet had been pink, the walls white, her bedspread was white with pink flowers. The walls were still white, but now the carpet was white and her bedspread was a deep purple color. It was a lot more mature looking now. But then again, so was she.

"I like it," he said, looking at Lauren.

"Thanks," she replied as she walked over to her bed. She picked up the garment bag and opened her closet, hanging it up inside.

Then she turned around and saw Sirius sitting on her bed, running his hand absentmindedly over her satin comforter. He seemed to be thinking very hard about something.

Sirius was doing just that. He was thinking about the last time he had been in her room, the last time he had been in her bed. He could remember it so well...

Lauren came and sat beside him, her thoughts centering on the same thing. She still wondered about something she swore he had said that night.

"Sirius?" she asked gently.

"Yes?" Sirius said, turning to look at her.

"That night...did you--"

"I didn't want to tell them. We were just being stupid. I never knew that people would talk about it," Sirius said all in one breath.

"Oh, it's okay," Lauren said slowly, deciding to put off asking the question that she was burning to ask until later.

Sirius looked out the window. "Look, it's snowing!" he said excitedly.

"Really?" Lauren asked with a smile.

"Do we have time to go outside?" Sirius asked.

Lauren looked at her watch. They still had about an hour before dinner.

"Sure," she responded.

"Let's go," Sirius said, practically dragging her out of her room and down the stairs. The Walker's butler handed Sirius their coats, cloaks, and hats. Sirius helped Lauren into her coat before he put his on. Then he grinned evilly as he placed her hat on her head, pulling it over her eyes.

"Hey!" Lauren cried as the world suddenly went black. She whirled around blindly, and Sirius laughed. Then he lifted up her hat, returning it to its normal position.

"Thought I'd lost you for a minute there," Sirius said laughingly as he pulled on his gloves.

"Oh, shut it," Lauren said, trying to bite back a laugh.

Then Sirius whipped her cloak around her, his hands resting on her shoulders before he tied it at her neck. He leaned down to kiss her again.

"Sirius, if we don't hurry, we won't be able to stay outside for long," Lauren reminded him while she yanked on her gloves. What if her parents came into the foyer?

He pulled away, disappointed. Then he smiled as he pulled on his cloak.

Lauren slipped her hand into Sirius' before she led him out the front door.

Outside, the snow was falling softly to the ground. Lauren and Sirius raced to the side of the house, where there was an open area between the house and the trees.

Lauren stopped, slightly out of breath. She looked up at Sirius, who was gazing back at her. She smiled.

Sirius smiled back at her. She looked so beautiful. Her cheeks were pink from the cold. There were tiny little snowflakes on her eyelashes. He wanted to kiss them away...but he did something else instead.

He bent down and scooped up some snow into his hand. Then he stood back up, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Sirius, no," Lauren pleaded. Realizing he wasn't going to listen to her, she bent down as well, using both hands to form a ball of snow. She held it up, warning him.

Sirius only grinned in response. He backed up a little, then he threw his snowball at Lauren, hitting her square in the chest.

"Sirius!" she choked out. Then she threw her snowball, which missed him by a mile. She shook her head. She was so not athletic. She bent down to gather some more snow.

Meanwhile, Sirius had already formed his own. He threw it at her, and it bounced off of her head.

"Ahh!" Lauren yelped when it made contact. She stood up quickly, looking for Sirius. She didn't see him anywhere. Then she felt a snowball pelt her in the back. She whirled around to see a very pleased Sirius. She drew back her arm and released her snowball, hurling it towards him. He ducked, and again she missed him.

She sighed as she bent down yet again. Before she could stand up, another snowball hit her, this time right on her bum. She straightened up quickly, nearly dropping the snow she had gathered.

Sirius had been less careful this time, as he was standing much closer than before. Lauren launched her snowball at him. It hit him directly in the face. Lauren was stunned. She hadn't been aiming for his face. She had terrible aim; she'd been hoping to hit him in the stomach. She rushed over to him. Having a mouthful of snow was probably not a very pleasant experience.

Sirius stood there, shocked when the snow collided with his face. He sputtered, bringing his hands up to wipe it off before it started burning.

"Sirius, are you alright?" Lauren asked him concernedly, reaching up to wipe away some of the snow.

"Perfect," Sirius said, now recovered from the surprise of Lauren's rogue snowball. Then he grabbed onto her, pushing her down onto the ground.

Lauren was taken off guard as she landed on the snow-cushioned ground, Sirius on top of her in much the same way he had been the day he told her that he was an Animagus.

Sirius looked down at Lauren. He could see her breath coming out of her mouth like tiny puffs of smoke. He was so happy...

Lauren reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled his head down to hers, kissing him hungrily.

Sirius rested his forearms on the ground for support before placing his hands on her hips. He kissed her back eagerly. This was going to be a very good holiday...

After a while, Lauren opened her eyes as she caught her breath. Sirius was looking down at her, smiling as he lowered his head to kiss her again. "Sirius, it's getting dark. We should go inside now," she said softly.

Sirius kissed her anyway, slowly and sensuously. She closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling. But then she placed her hands on his chest, pushing him away. "We really need to go," she repeated.

Sirius sighed as he rolled off of Lauren, standing up and holding out his hands to pull her off the ground. As they started walking towards the house, Sirius glanced at the back of Lauren. Snow was sticking to her from head to toe. He laughed.

"What?" Lauren asked, turning around.

"You have snow all over you," he said.

"Oh," Lauren responded. Then she stopped and asked saucily, "Well, are you going to get it off?"

Sirius smirked as he replied, "Gladly." He stepped behind her, leisurely running his hands over her to remove the snow. When he was done, he grabbed her hand. Then he led her back inside himself.

The butler was there to take their cloaks, coats, and other items.

"I need to change before dinner," Lauren said.

"I will, too," Sirius responded.

They walked up the stairs side by side, parting when they reached the landing.

Sirius looked over his shoulder at her receding form, wishing she had snow all over her back more often.