[ have to be up at 3:45 for this flight in a few hours. it's gross getting up this early ]

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I'VE SPENT TWELVE YEARS ALONE. HAVING PEOPLE OVER ALL THE TIME DOESN'T SOUND SO BAD.

THE NEXT TIME THAT SIRIUS BLACK SAW IVY ARORA was a week after picking Harry up from King's Cross station. It had taken a few days for Harry to get comfortably moved into the new house — not 12 Grimmauld Place, but a real home in which the two could build happy memories. After Harry was all settled in and slowly getting used to his new and much-improved living situation, he was asking to invite over Ron, Hermione, and Ivy to show off his room.

Sirius didn't let it show, but he was quite pleased that Harry included Ivy in the group of visitors.

When there was a gentle knock at the door, Sirius was the first to rush and answer it. Ivy was on the other side, taking his breath away in a yellow sundress that made her eyes shine. And when she smiled that smile just meant for him, his heart sped up.

Like Remus had said — pathetic.

"Hi, Sirius," she greeted brightly. "It's wonderful to see you again."

"You too," he breathed out. Then he cleared his throat and stepped to the side, allowing her to come in. "Welcome to the Potter-Black home."

"I know I'm a bit early, but Father was having some friends of his over, and I didn't fancy greeting them," she admitted.

"That's perfectly alright. You're welcome anytime," he told her, and he meant it.

Ivy was going to comment on how healthy and well-rested she thought he looked compared to that night in the Shrieking Shack, but the sound of quickly approaching feet reached her ears. Harry came around the corner, his sock-clad feet sliding across the hardwood floors as he did so. And his eyes lit up when he saw Ivy.

"V! It's been ages," he said, throwing his arms around her. "I've missed you."

"I saw you seven days ago," she said, laughing as she hugged him back.

"Well, you're easy to miss," Sirius told her.

Before Ivy could thank him for the compliment, Harry was taking Ivy's hand and dragging her through the house, determined to give her a full tour.

"There's the living room, and the kitchen's that way, and you've got to see my room, V! It's like twice as big as the one the Dursleys gave me. Oh, and the best part — we've got a pool!"

Harry's room was in fact much larger. He had wasted no time in hanging Gryffindor banners and taping pictures of all his friends to his wall. His shoes and books cluttered the floor with him not having to live in fear of his uncle shouting at him for it.

Once they saw Harry's room, which he was very proud to have, they walked her around the house. There were a number of guest rooms on the second floor. The kitchen was quite large, and the living room looked inviting with overstuffed couches and a lit fireplace.

The house that they moved into certainly was nice. Sirius had mentioned it belonging to a distant relative who was no longer around. It reminded Ivy of her own family manor, but somehow it felt warmer, homier, and more lived-in despite it only being occupied for a week. And her house didn't have a barn with an outlaw Hippogriff living in it.

"With that pool, you're gonna have people over all the time this summer," Ivy said, glancing out the window at the backyard.

"I've spent twelve years alone. Having people over all the time doesn't sound so bad," Sirius said, grinning.

He, Ivy, and Harry were sitting in the living room and waiting for Hermione and Ron to arrive. With so much room, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that Molly would be offering to cook delicious meals, and Hary would constantly hold sleepovers, something he had never been able to do. And one thing that Muggles and Wizards shared in common was their love for a nice swimming pool.

"You say that, but then the twins will blow up one of your toilets," Ivy said, shaking her head.

"Well, good thing there's three other bathrooms," Harry chimed in, earning a laugh from the both of them. "Really, Ivy, you can come over every single day if you want."

"I think you might get a bit sick of me," she told him.

"You're one of the few people I could stand seeing twenty-four-seven," he said, leaning into her side. "If Sirius gets tired of you, he can just go to his room."

Sirius rolled his eyes and messed up Harry's hair. "I do, in fact, rather enjoy her company. Harry's right. Our door is always open to you."

"That's very sweet of you both," she said, making both of them smile.

"Maybe you could come over tomorrow again," Harry suggested. "Sirius is going to take me to get some new clothes, and you can come along."

"Ah, don't trust his sense of fashion?" she asked teasingly.

"Well, there was a lot of neon trending the last time I had to buy clothes," Sirius said, leaning back. "We could probably both use your assistance."

"Sounds like fun—"

Ivy was cut off by a loud banging on the front door. Harry quickly jumped up and grinned brightly. "That's Ron and Hermione."

They watched him rush to the door and let his two friends in before bringing them to the living room. Ron was looking around with wide eyes while Hermione was a bit more composed as she took in the environment.

"Thank you for having us, Sirius," Hermione told him politely.

"It's no trouble."

"C'mon," Harry said excitedly. "Ivy, do you wanna come?"

"I think I'll stay in the living room for a bit. Give them the tour and catch up," she said, smiling. Ivy watched them run off with a content smile on her face. Then she turned back around on the couch to face Sirius, curling her legs underneath her. "You know, you really are amazing."

"Obviously," he said, smirking. "But why?"

Ivy giggled and rolled her eyes. "For this — all of it. Taking in Harry, getting him away from that awful house, finally getting him some clothes that aren't his cousin's leftovers. He's always been so miserable over the summers. You two have been living with each other for just a few days and he's already so much happier. Thank you."

Sirius, despite feeling his chest swell at her praise, waved her thanks off. "It's quite literally the least I could do. He won't tell me much about living there, but my one afternoon with his Aunt and Uncle while moving him out gave me enough of an idea. Give me a few weeks and I'm sure I'll find a way to screw this whole parenting thing up."

"So long as you don't make him live under the stairs or force him to skip meals, you'll be leagues ahead of your competition."

"Under the stairs?" he asked, anger flashing across his face. The cupboard under the stairs was one of the horrifying details that Harry had left out — likely to keep his Godfather from attacking the Dursleys on sight. Ivy, noticing his frustration with the Muggles, reached over and grabbed his hand that was lying across the back of the couch. At her touch, he immediately relaxed, his eyes moving to her delicate fingers that were caressing his knuckles.

"Don't give them another thought," she told him. It was what she had always told Harry during the school year. The Dursleys didn't deserve the time that would be wasted thinking about them. "Think about going to Harry's Quidditch matches and opening Christmas presents with him and telling him stories about his parents that he's been dying to hear for twelve years. None of us have to see them ever again, which is a good thing because they certainly hated me."

Sirius gazed fondly at the girl who had no idea the effect she had on his heart. "It should go against the laws of nature to ever hate you, Ivy Arora."

Ivy didn't know why she was blushing all of a sudden. Perhaps it was the way that his shining eyes seemed to look straight into her soul or the warmth of his hand holding hers — though she did know she didn't want him to let go for some reason.

"That might be a bit of an over-exaggeration," she said shyly.

"I can assure you, it's not," he told her gently. Then his eyes lit up as he remembered something. After giving her hand a small squeeze, he hopped off the couch. "Wait right here."

Ivy watched as Sirius rushed around the room and down the hall. She heard a door open and then shut quickly, and a moment later, he was coming back in with his hands behind his back, clearly hiding something. When Ivy saw the wide, excited, and almost childlike grin on his face, she couldn't help but mirror it.

"I realized that I've not actually had the chance to thank you for taking care of me — well, Snuffles."

"Just seeing you healthy, happy, and free is enough," she assured him. Ivy really didn't expect anything from him, but clearly, he had gone and done something.

Sirius was quick to shake his head. "No. There aren't enough words, actions, flowers—" He pulled out a beautiful bouquet of yellow tulips. Ivy's face lit up at the sight of them. "—to show how absolutly grateful I am to you and your caring heart. You made this last year bearable, and there's no telling the state I'd be in without you."

As Sirius handed her the bouquet, he lightly brushed the petals against her nose, causing her to giggle. "They're beautiful, Sirius. I love them and I shall put them in a vase right on my nightstand so that they're the first thing I see in the morning."

A part of him was pleased, hoping that seeing the flowers would lead to him being the first thing on her mind when she woke — she certainly was on his most mornings.

"This really is the perfect gift," she continued, smiling down at the flowers. "For a moment, I was worried you had bought me some extravagant gift."

Sirius then smiled sheepishly before bringing out his other hand from behind his back, revealing the pink gift box in it. Ivy's shoulders dropped and she pouted.

"No, Sirius. You shouldn't have spent any money on me. I'm not worth it," she said, shaking her head.

He gently sat next to her on the couch as he replied. "First of all, I inherited this from my great uncle's estate once he passed. It's been in the family for years, so the only money I spent was to have it engraved." Ivy eyed the box skeptically, wondering what could've needed engraving. But then Sirius caught her eye once more, smiling fondly at her as he took her hand. "And yes, you are worth it and more. Now, open it."

Sirius placed the box in her hand, and she carefully untied the ribbon keeping it shut. He found it a bit amusing, seeing as how he and his friends had always torn into gifts recklessly, not caring about the wrapping.

When Ivy took off the lid, her eyes widened and she was once more shaking her head. "No—"

"Too late. You already opened it, and that means no returns," Sirius said quickly, smirking childishly. But then the smirk softened into a smile. "Turn it over."

Ivy was careful as she picked up the golden tennis bracelet with diamonds intricately covering the surface. Once it was flipped, she spotted the engraving on the back and her heart practically melted.

Never lose your kind heart. — Snuffles

She moved so quickly, throwing her arms around his neck to hug him tightly, that Sirius almost didn't get to appreciate the feeling of her holding him not in dog form. But he managed to, hiding his delighted smile in her neck as he hugged her back.

"You're too sweet, Sirius," Ivy said, pulling back. Though she now sat much closer to him on the couch.

"Let me," he said, taking the bracelet.

Ivy couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spine as his fingertips brushed against the skin of her wrist. Internally, she smacked herself, telling her stupid, teenage brain that there was no reason to have such a reaction to an innocent, friendly touch from a grown man who was only trying to thank her for her friendship — an incredibly attractive man, but still.

As he secured the bracelet on her, Sirius allowed himself to let his touch linger, brushing his thumb on the inside of her wrist.

"It's beautiful," she said softly, looking up at Sirius. No, Ivy didn't feel a need to accept gifts in exchange for kindness, but she had always had a weakness for pretty things — in that moment, she wasn't sure if she was talking about the bracelet or Sirius.

"Thank you." Ivy's cheeks heated up as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, and though his short beard covered most of it, Sirius's did as well.

"Hey, Ivy!" Harry called. Ivy quickly pulled away, not letting her lips linger on his skin. They could hear three sets of feet bounding down the stairs. "'M gonna show them the barn where we're keeping Buckbeak now. You coming?"

"Of course," she said, smiling at them over her shoulder just as the three Gryffindors came into view.

As Ivy followed Harry, Hermione, and Ron outside, Sirius watched her go, sinking down into the couch as he did so. He had thought the best thing about giving Ivy the family heirloom would simply be the fact that almost everyone in his family would've been disgusted with it going to a Hufflepuff girl who was considered a blood traitor. But the way that Ivy's smile lit up the room and the feeling of her lips on his cheek and getting to hold her hand for even just a few moments far outshined it any thoughts of his family.

Sirius had only been around the girl in his home for an hour, but already he thought his heart might burst from his chest.

It was going to be a long summer.

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Dear Moony,
Ivy kissed me on the cheek today.
Sincerely, Padfoot

Dear Pads,
You made your poor owl fly all the way here just to tell me that?
And I'll have you know that in one year of teaching, I watched that girl give out countless cheek, nose, and forehead kisses. It literally means nothing. Get a life.
Fondly, Moony
P.S. Pathetic