Maybe Memories

The inside of the house smelled like an odd mixture of smoke, clean laundry, and vanilla. Unlike his old house and James' house, the entrance was not the foyer, but the kitchen. Sirius assumed it was Estelle's mother who was washing dishes. She looked up and smiled a smile nothing like Estelle's. It was almost a weary, uneasy smile.

"Sirius, this is my step-mother, Penelope," Estelle said, "Penelope, this is Sirius Black."

"Vinally, eet iz so nice to meet you," Penelope said, in a thick French accent.

"It's nice to meet you too, madame," Sirius smiled.

"Estelle, your father is likely out in zee garden," Penelope said.

Sirius followed Estelle through the dinning room, which was small compared to what he was use to. They continued on through the living room which held a long couch with an awful pattern. Before she opened the French doors, she took his hand. She lead him out the doorway and onto a porch with a swing on it, down a few steps and into the backyard.

Stepping into the backyard was nearly like stepping into a new world. The colors were vibrant and the sunflowers reached the sky.

"Dad?" Estelle exclaimed, "are you out here?"

Through the tall cornstalks came a rustle and a man appeared. He dusted his hands off on his blue jeans. He approached, with a warm smile.

Estelle smiled, "This is Sirius."

"Hello, there," the man said, "I'm Arnold Grant."

Sirius smiled, "It's nice to meet you, sir."

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you, too," Arnold said, "I'll probably be out until dinner. I'll see you guys later."

"Okay," Estelle said. She turned to Sirius, "I'll show you around."

Her father smiled once more before turning around to go back to into the forest of corn stalks.

Again, Sirius followed Estelle into the house. Up the set of stairs was a flat, separated by a wall.

"Your room, my room," Estelle smiled.

Estelle's room had nearly a whole wall of books. She had her own record player and a tall stack of records next to it. Beside those, her tiny owl was caged sleeping. Her bed was a nice size and her Hogwarts trunk was at the foot of it. One of her two windows was opened and a cat was perched on the window sill.

"So, this is a muggle house?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, nothing special," Estelle replied.

"I like it," Sirius said smiling.

"I'm glad," Estelle returned his smile and kissed him. The kiss turned deeper, until Sirius peeled away.

He grinned, then hugged her tightly. After a few moments, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me you had a step-mum?"

Estelle shrugged, "I always have. I don't remember my real mum. I just know she was French too."

"I didn't even realize you were French..." Sirius said, "She was French? Your mum?"

"She's dead...I think," Estelle muttered, "but it's okay. Like I said, I don't remember her."

"I'm sorry," Sirius said, feeling like he was meeting a new side of Estelle.

"I don't know anything about her," Estelle sighed, "I'm curious, but my father won't tell me anything. So, I haven't asked in years."

"For all you know, she could've been a witch!"

"I've thought about that," Estelle smiled, "Unfortunately, I don't even know her name..."

Sirius kissed her forehead.

"I have this though," she said and reached to the side-table to grab a diary. She opened the front cover and a picture of a man and a woman was tapped to it, "That's when they got married..."

A black and white photo (that didn't move) of a very pretty woman, with light hair and a warm smile and a younger Arnold Grant were standing together.

"She looks just like you..." Sirius said.

To Sirius, Estelle was once again that shy, vulnerable little girl sitting on the train to Hogwarts for the first time. While she lied next to him, fast asleep, she watched over her in a protective way. She had insisted that her parents never came up the stairs and they could, "do whatever we want..." Sirius just wanted to hold onto her until she fell asleep, which he did.

A hint of sunlight peeked in through her window shades. Sirius yawned and ran his hand through his hair that now reached his chin. He'd made a private vow not to cut his hair for awhile after he'd left his parent's.

Estelle stirred shortly after he placed a kiss on her shoulder.

He smiled and hugged her tight.

"You're already awake?" she yawned.

"And why wouldn't I be bright and early? It makes more time for me to see you," Sirius grinned.

She rolled her eyes, "Sure."

By midday, Estelle had used this wonderful muggle invention called a telephone, to make a call to her friend. According to her, she and this girl had been friends before she'd left for Hogwarts. Estelle found, eventually, she couldn't lie to her friend and told her the truth about where she was. She knew all the secrets. Estelle often wondered if she believed her even with the owls, the books, the wand, and the robes.

They were to meet her half-way up the street.

"So, she knows?" Sirius repeated back.

"Yes," Estelle replied, "She's been wanting to meet you for years."

"Oh, really?" Sirius asked, "You've been talking about me for years, have you?"

Estelle giggled, "Don't flatter yourself. It wasn't always good."

Sirius grinned and put his arm around her.

In the distance, a girl with dark, flowing hair was bouncing up the street. Estelle gasped and rushed forward, "Jane!" she exclaimed. The two girls embraced each other in a hug.

When the girls approached Sirius after their reunion, he smiled.

"I'm Sirius Black," he said.

"Jane Davis," she replied, "It's so nice to meet you. Estelle definitely didn't exaggerate how handsome you are."

Estelle giggled.

Sirius flushed a little, "Right, well, thanks."

The three of them walked up the street in anything but silence.

"Now that you're 'of age' I want proof you're doing magic," Jane said, "Proof you haven't made it all up."

"But Sirius was your first bit of evidence," Estelle grinned.

"Of course," Jane said.

Sirius winked at Estelle.

The two of them spent a good two hours showing Jane everything they could think of. Jane kept asking for more.

"Estelle, breeng your company down," Penelope called, "Your bother eez here."

Jane giggled, "Mercy..."

Estelle rolled her eyes, "Coming!"

"You have a brother..?" Sirius asked, once again feeling as if he knew nothing about Estelle.

"Step-bother," Estelle corrected, "he often stays with his father." She groaned, "Jane adores him."

Jane grinned and skipped happily down the stairs.

As they headed down the stairs, Sirius muttered, "I didn't know I was meeting so many people. Thanks for the warning..."

She grabbed his hand and kissed it.

Estelle's step-bother, Phillip, looked a lot like his mother. He had a heavier accent than she did and a most Malfoy-like smirk. He didn't seem to find Sirius impressive, especially after his mother said, "From Estelle's school."

Dinner wasn't as miserable as Estelle had thought. After dinner, Jane went home and promised she would come back the next day. It was obvious that Philip would have rather spent time with his mother than anyone else, so Estelle and Sirius excused themselves.

Estelle opened her window wide and wanted to show Sirius what 'real rock n roll' was. She played a Led Zeppelin record. After awhile, Sirius began to get bored of just music.

These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall

Quietly, he crept across the room and playfully pinned her to the floor. Laughing, Estelle tried to fight his grip. Instead, she went for his other weakness, and kissed his neck.

This is the wonder of devotion

Sirius felt a shiver go down his spine when her lips touched his neck. Instead of focusing on pinning her down, he focused on running his hands up and down her body, as he kissed her. It never helped that she was wearing a mini-skirt that showed off her legs.

I see the torch we all must hold

Her hands began to creep up under his shirt.

"Here and now?" she asked breathing on his neck.

"I don't see why not," he whispered. The last of the sunlight was disappearing behind the horizon line.

This is the mystery of the quotient

"Should we--"

He cut her off with a kiss, very deep and romantic, as he pressed himself against her. Automatically, her legs wrapped up tight around his hips as he thrusted towards her.

Upon us all a little rain must fall...