A Perfect Princess (Kathleen)

Becca giggled as she twirled in front of the mirror. The brand new blue dress Mummy had just bought her fanned out in a circle. Her long blondish hair whipped around her head. She stopped and smiled at her reflection. She looked just like a princess! She wished she was a princess, and that her Mummy was a queen. But not a bad one like in the stories. A nice one. And they could live in a castle, and she could have a prince.

Becca frowned in the mirror. Something was missing. Jewels, she decided. A princess needed jewels. Mummy had jewels. She ran to Mummy's room to try on her pearls. Mummy loved those pearls very much, because they were a gift from Daddy before he died. Sometimes if Becca closed her eyes really tightly and imagined as hard as she could, she thought maybe she remembered Daddy. But other times she wasn't so sure.

The pearls were perfect against Becca's new blue dress. Sometimes Mummy let her wear them if she promised to be very careful, and she always was. A princess had to be careful with her jewels, after all. Then something else caught Becca's eye. On the edge of the dresser was a pair of scissors, and suddenly Becca had another idea. She could play haircut!

Becca loved getting her hair cut. After she got her hair cut, it was always curly until Mummy made her wash it. Becca liked curly hair. She wished her hair could be curly all the time. But she could cut it now, and then it would be curly today. Just like a real princess!

Becca ran to the loo with the scissors and carefully pulled her step stool up to the mirror. She grabbed a handful of hair and cut. Then she stopped and looked in the mirror, waiting for her hair to get curly. But it never did. Becca frowned. Maybe she needed to cut some more. She chopped on one side and then the other, but the curls never appeared. Her hair was still just as straight as ever. Becca couldn't understand it. At the haircut place, it always ended up curly! She was running out of hair to cut.

She grabbed the longest chunk she could find and worked the scissors once more, pulling away a fistful of hair. Just then she heard a noise behind her and turned to see Mummy standing in the doorway. "Mummy!" Becca cried with a frustrated stamp of her foot. "I can't make it curly!"

Another long day at work and Kathleen could not say that she was happy to be home enough. She had sent the sitter away and was finally going to be able to just relax with her baby girl. Her little Becca was the light of her life and reason for her existence, mostly because she was all she would ever have left of her late husband. Feeling her eyes moisten a bit she shook her head and began walking around the kitchen. Supper was going to be something Italian for tonight, she had no idea why but she felt like Spaghetti, meatballs, and garlic bread. Her little one was a picky eater, but most children were perfectly content where spaghetti was concerned.

However just as she was about to go into the kitchen and prepare their Italian feast she realized that her little one was just a tad too quiet for her liking. Putting her suit jacket down on the couch she went into her bedroom and literally stopped dead. Her lovely little girls blond strands of hair were on the floor in a heap. She placed a hand to her heart briefly to make sure it was still beating and had to blink to take a quick double take, just to be sure that she was correct in what she was seeing. Her little one, in an effort to no doubt look beautiful, had chopped almost all of her hair off.

"Becca?" she whispered, keeping her voice as gentle as possible. "Honey...why did you cut all of your hair off?"

She knew that this remedy could easily be fixed at a magical barber shop, but she still did not know HOW her little one had gotten to the scissors in the first place...her babysitter clearly was as careful as she had hoped for. Gently she took them from her and placed them up on the mantel of their fireplace, and then scooped her up into her arms.

"Becca, you know better than to play with those," she scolded sternly. "And now mummy has to take you to get a proper haircut to..."

She broke off, not wanting to hurt her little girls feelings.

"You do not play with scissors Rebecca Rose...and I know you already knew that."

Gently she walked her baby out into the living room and get her ready for travel, first putting a hat on her head so she would not have to be teased if someone found her less than adorable. Which Rebecca thought was highly doubtful.

"Now," she cooed. "Let's go and get your hair done, again."

Becca didn't really listen as Mummy talked. Instead, she looked at Mummy's pretty face. Mummy was the prettiest person in the whole words. She could definitely be a queen. Becca could see it now. Her and Mummy standing on a balcony together waving at a crowd of cheering people. Becca smiled thinking about it. Queen Mummy and Princess Becca. And everyone would love them. And princes would come and kiss her, and she would fall in love. Falling in love meant you only wanted to kiss one person for the rest of your life. Except Becca was sure she'd still want to kiss Mummy. She kissed Mummy's cheek just to be sure. Yes, she would definitely always want to kiss Mummy.

Mummy slipped a hat on her head, but Becca quickly pulled it off. Princesses didn't wear hats. They wore crowns. She was surprised Mummy didn't know that. She always thought Mummy knew everything. Maybe after they got her hair cut, they could buy a crown, and then she would be even more like a real princess!

Becca held Mummy's hand and let herself be pulled along, but she wasn't paying much attention to where they were going. She was too busy thinking about princesses. Maybe when she was a real princess, she could have a pet unicorn to ride on. Becca skipped a little bit, thinking about it. Ooh! And maybe she and the unicorn could take walks in the forest, and she could twirl in her new blue dress, with her long, curly hair, and maybe that's how she and the prince would meet. She would sing so pretty the birds would come down from the trees, and he would hear her singing, like in the stories, and come spy on her from behind a tree and fall in love at first sight because she was so beautiful. Becca started to sing a little song to practice. Then she reached up to flip her hair, but there wasn't much left to flip. They'd have to fix that at the haircut place. Princesses needed to have long hair.

"Mummy, when we get to the haircut place, I want my hair cut long," she said. "And curly!" she added hastily. The curly was the most important part.

Kathleen was glad her child was used to the wizarding world. Everything her baby had just told her was completely possible. They could get her length back to where it had been originally and if her baby wanted it she could also suggest a slight wave being added in. However Kathleen wanted something that would be manageable and this time she was going to instruct the stylist to charm it to REMAIN attached to her head. Her little one liked to experiment with make up, hair gel, and anything else that could be considered a cosmetic.

Smirking she pulled Becca up into her arms and continued on their walk. She did not like her little one just walking around beside her, she was always afraid of her getting separated or lost. So she held her while they walked and they made it to the salon in no time. Going in she waved her usual over and gestured to the damage done.

"She wants it long this time, love," she grinned. "And can you give it a slight curl? Nothing too drastic, but a slight wave?"

The stylist nodded and Kathleen handed her over to the woman so they could get this job done quick. Normally Kathleen loved shopping and walking around with her little one, but she was just so tired. At this point all she wanted to do was go home, make supper, and snuggle with her baby on the sofa. Taking out a magazine she began reading an article of Witch Weekly. Hmm...maybe it was time for her to get a haircut as well?

Becca danced over to the haircut chair and sat down. Now that she really looked in he mirror, her hair did look pretty silly. She sort of looked like a boy with her hair so short and sticking out all over her head. She giggled. That was an awfully silly thought, a girl looking like a boy. Becca made a face in the mirror. She was so silly!

She chattered to the haircut lady as she worked, telling her about how yesterday she caught a frog and showed him to Mummy during dinner. At first, she thought maybe he was a magic frog, and that if she kissed him he would turn into a prince, but she tried it and he didn't. Then, when she was taking him outside to let him go, he jumped out of her hands in the kitchen, and she couldn't find him again. She hadn't told Mummy that part just yet. She thought she caught a glimpse of him today when Mummy was at work, but she didn't say anything about that either. She liked the idea of a frog living in the house. She had named him Gonker. He was her new pet.

When the haircut lady finished, she spun the chair to show Becca what she'd done. Her hair was back to normal, but not nearly curly enough. "I want it curlier," she said with a pout. Mummy could never resist her pout. "And make it stay curly this time. It always goes back to being straight as soon as Mummy makes me wash it."

Becca's frown grew as she listened to the haircut lady's explanation that she made it curly with a potion and that it was naturally straight and would always be straight. She didn't understand what "naturally" mean, but she understood what, "it'll always be straight," meant.

"But I don't want it to be straight!" Becca said. "I want it to be curly! Princesses have curly hair!" Becca turned to Mummy. Mummy would fix it! Mummy could do anything! Mummy would tell the haircut lady to make her hair be curly all the time. "Mummy! I want my hair to be curly!"

Kathleen put down her magazine and sighed, she knew that this would happen. But there was really nothing that can be done. She had no way of making her baby's hair permanently curly. She wished that she could, not because she thought she would look any prettier, but because she knew her baby wanted it and as a mother she was obligated to give her daughter whatever her heart yearned for. Looking to the hairdresser she smiled warmly, to let her know that it was a fine haircut and that she was sure her little one would become satisfied with it eventually.

"Honey, I think it looks beautiful just the way it is." she said tenderly. "You will be the unique princess out of the rest! When all those other ones have curly, boring, hair, you have hair that is shiny and smooth!"

She wanted her baby to be happy, and if she could she would avoid a tantrum and a light swat. Kathleen hated punishing her children, she hated it with every fiber of her being. Gently as she could she went over to her little one and lightly pulled her fingers through the locks.

"Yes, it is gorgeous honey girl." she smiled. "Now we have to go, mummy has to make supper and I believe you need to help me make desert."

Becca wouldn't cry. She wouldn't! Princesses didn't cry. Still, she couldn't help a few tears leaking out. She brushed them away, sniffling. She swallowed twice and looked in the mirror. Her face was all red, and her hair wasn't curly. She didn't look like a princess at all. She just looked like a normal girl. More tears escaped. Maybe it was okay for a princess to cry, Becca decided. If she was very sad. And Becca was very sad.

She sniffled as she listened to Mummy tell her she looked beautiful. She looked up at Mummy's smiling face. She loved Mummy's smile. Mummy's smile always made everything seem better. Becca wiped at her tears one more time. Then she put her thumb in her mouth before remembering that princesses don't suck their thumbs. She pulled it out hastily and wiped it on her dress. Dresses were the best place to wipe things, after all. She wrapped her arms around Mummy's neck and waited for Mummy to pick her up. She buried her face in Mummy's shoulder for a little while. Mummy always smelled good. Like flowers. Sometimes she let Becca wear a little of her perfume. Mummy wouldn't lie to her. If Mummy said she looked beautiful, it must be true. Even if she didn't have curly hair.

Becca took one last shuddering breath and forced away the last of the tears. Then she remembered that Princesses must always be polite to everyone. "Thank you," she whispered to the haircut lady. Then she turned to Mummy, still not quite able to keep the pout off her face. "Mummy, I don't want to make dessert. Can we go get ice cream? And then can we go buy a crown?"

Kathleen snuggled her little on and gently kissed her temple. She loved her little Becca. She had a heart so large and tender, it was just absolutely wonderful. It was a breath of fresh air, compared to the scum she dealt with at the Ministry of Magic. And her little one just made her day brighter. Kissing her nose once and then her cheek she gently tickled her, so that she could get a small smile on her little face.

"Of course love of my life, reason for my existence," she turned to the hairdresser. "Let me just pay this nice lady and then we can go."

Reaching into her purse she slipped several galleons into her hand as well as a few silver sickles. Now they could leave and head off to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Kathleen remembered loving this shop when she was a child as well, so she knew that the love just had to be past down to her baby. Still holding her beautiful daughter she walked out of the shop and into the slightly dimming sunshine. It was starting to get late, and she knew that Ice cream before supper was never a good idea. But she supposed she could make one tiny exception.

"This won't be a regular occurrence honey," she cooed gently. "Just because I think you were such a good girl and deserve a treat."

Carrying her precious one into the shop she sat her down so that she would be able to order whatever her heart desired. Money wasn't an option when it came to her baby, Kathleen shelled out whatever she could.

"Go on lovely," she urged. "You may have whatever your heart desires."

Becca looked at all the ice cream. So many flavors and colors, it was hard to decide. In the end, she opted for a simple peppermint cone. Peppermint ice cream was her favorite. She talked to Mummy as she ate, telling her all about her day and how she and her babysitter went for a walk before lunch, and Becca climbed a tree. She went really high, and the babysitter called her a little monkey and then laughed when she hung from a branch and scratched her armpits and went, "Ooh-ohh-ahh-ahh-ahh!" She also picked flowers for Mummy, but she forgot to give them to her. She'd have to give them when they got home. They were pretty flowers. Purple and pink and yellow. Becca was sure Mummy would love them.

Becca finished and hopped out of her chair. She felt much happier now, and she was tired of sitting still. "Mummy, watch what I can do!" Becca said, and she did a somersault on the floor of the ice cream parlor. Well, it was mostly a somersault. She fell over a little at the end, but then she held her hands up in the air like a gymnast anyway, and a lady at another table applauded. Becca smiled at her. She liked pretending to be a gymnast, but she only knew how to do somersaults, so she grew bored with it quickly and decided to pretend to be a ballerina instead. That she was much better at.

Before long everyone in the ice cream parlor was watching Becca as she twirled and arabesqued and pliéed. She even did a few sautées, and everyone clapped for her. Then she decided to try to jump and twirl all at once. She could only imagine how pretty she looked in the air, with her long, straight hair twirling out behind her. Becca had decided she liked straight hair much better than curly. But then when she landed, she couldn't get her balance. Her ankle twisted a little, and she stumbled right into a stranger.

For a moment, Becca considered crying, but then she decided not to. Her ankle only hurt a little bit, and ballerinas probably weren't supposed to cry any more than princesses. She looked up at the man she had bumped into, and all thoughts of crying went away. He looked just like a prince! Well, he was a little too old to be a prince. Maybe he was a king!

Becca smiled wide as she stood up. She took a moment to straighten her new blue dress, and then she curtsied. A ballerina was supposed to curtsy to a king. "I'm Becca," she said. "Are you a real king?"

Sirius was surprised by how much he had come to treasure his time off. He didn't expect teaching to be so overwhelming, but after so many years of solitude, he found the rambunctiousness of the students to be tiring. He loved it, of course. Loved their wide-eyed optimism and their boundless energy. He found he didn't even mind the ones who paid little attention. He almost saw it as a challenge to see how entertaining he could make his classes. Very rarely did a class go by when he didn't make the students laugh at least twice. Sirius smiled a little to himself. He never expected to love teaching quite as much as he did, but by the end of the day he was always tired.

Tonight, Sirius decided he would eschew the Great Hall and have supper on his own somewhere. He could stand to do a little shopping anyway. He hadn't bought anything new for Harry in far too long. Sirius grabbed his favorite book and headed to the floo. Sirius had always felt at home in the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley. When he was younger, he used to be jealous of the people who lived above the shops. He told his mother that once, and she told him not to be ridiculous, that those people only lived above the shops because they had to work, as though working were the worst thing a person could do. As far as Sirius was concerned, it was much better to do honest work than to spend all one's time bribing ministry officials and otherwise abusing one's inheritance.

Sirius passed the ice cream parlor, and couldn't resist going inside. He ordered a scoop of peppermint - his favorite - and claimed the table in the corner. He shouldn't be eating ice cream before supper, but he couldn't resist. Each bite of the creamy minty treat was the lap of luxury to him. It had been so long since he'd been able to have ice cream any time he wanted. Sometimes the simplest things were the ones he missed the most.

Sirius opened his book and began to read, losing himself quickly in the story. He hardly noticed the little girl dancing in the middle of the parlor. He watched her for a moment, smiling. He and James were prone to impromptu performances in public places when they were young. Usually it would start innocently, with them telling someone about their latest exploit, but it would always grow louder and louder and more and more energetic, until they had a laughing crown assembled around them. Meals in the Great Hall were rarely boring when the Marauders were around.

Sirius went back to his book, tuning out the sounds of the crowd. When James Potter was a person's best mate, a person learned quickly to tune out background noises. He didn't come out of the book again until someone jostled him, and he looked down to see the selfsame girl.

Sirius laughed at her question. "No, I'm no king," he replied. "Though I am a Black, and my mother probably would have told you that was the same thing. Speaking of mothers, where's yours?"

Sirius looked up and very quickly forgot all about the little girl. He forgot all about everything as he saw a face from his past. How long had she been here? And how in the world had he not noticed her before? They locked eyes, and Sirius smiled. "Well, look at this. It's Leena Wayne."

Kathleen blushed, hard...Sirius Black. She had not heard from him since the Potter's, unfortunate, death. Her eyes widened a bit and her lips could not even manage to curl into a smile. More or less she just stared at the man in front of her. This had been her school crush, and here he was standing in front of her...free. Of course she had known him to be free for quite some time now, however she had been more or less grieving over her beloved's death at the time and taking care of her little Becca. Shaking her head slightly, as if to leave her stupor as it were...she walked over to him.

"Erm..." she said gently. "It's actually Rose now."

Of course she was not married, however she still kept her husband's last name. The love she had for that man still burned within her, and she wanted to show her respect by doing so. It would have also been very confusing to her baby Becca if her mummy had a different last name than her own. Returning his smile she gently scooped Rebecca into her arms and moved her so that she was straddling her hip.

"Precious," she cooed. "This is an old friend of mummy's....Sirius Black."

She didn't know the reaction she would get from Sirius, knowing that she had actually settled down. In school Kathleen had reserved herself for the one boy that never called...and in the end she found that life just could not be spent on hold like that. However...now that she was a widow...she could not help but wonder if there was a Mrs. Sirius Black.

"It has been far too long Padfoot," she continued. "I hear that Severus has hired you at Hogwarts...poor old man."

Winking gently she continued to stare into his dark eyes. They were as alluring now as they had been when they had been in school together.

Sirius couldn't take his eyes off Kathleen's face. Friendly faces were hard to come by lately. So many of his friends had died, and so many of the rest had simply moved on while he was in prison. Everything was so different now. It was almost easier to find new friends than to try to reconnect with old ones, because all the old friends did was remind Sirius of everything he had lost. Remus was the sole exception.

Sirius smiled, remembering his manners. "You heard right. I'm teaching Astronomy now, and giving old Sevvy a run for his money. Would you care to join me?"

Sirius stood and pulled out a chair for Kathleen and another for her daughter. It was strange for Sirius to think of her even being married, much less having a kid. It seemed she ought to still be running around in her Hogwarts robes. Sirius sat. He was surprised that she looked just like he remembered her. Some of the faces from his past seemed to have aged unforgivably since Sirius saw them last, but Kathleen looked just as he expected her to, that familiar sparkle still in her eyes.

"Would you two like something? I'll treat. It's so good to see you, Kathleen. How are you doing these days? Did you ever manage to become an unspeakable? You have to tell me all about yourself."

Kathleen smiled gently at Sirius and pulled Becca up onto her lap. Her little one had a habit of wandering off, and this way she would be able to keep a much closer eye on her. That was until her ice cream came, then she knew Becca would be bouncing off the walls in such a manner God wouldn't even recognize her.

"As it happens I am an unspeakable," she grinned, proudly. "I set out for it the moment I left Hogwarts, and here I am."

Her hands found their way onto the table and she began lightly tapping her fingers against the wood of the top. She often did this when she offered up the next bit of information about herself. Whenever she spoke of her lost love, it caused her heart such ache...Kathleen's hands and mind always needed something to distract her from the sobs that threatened to escape.

"And...I was married to a wonderful man who gave me the little angel I have in my lap," she smiled sadly. "Unfortunately...he died when Becca was three."

Feeling her chest tightening a bit in that uncomfortable way, which let her know the water works were about to start she quickly looked back up at Sirius and changed the subject.

"But what about you? Still bachelor of the year, or has Sirius Black settled down?"

"Oh, Leena, I'm so sorry," Sirius said, his heart hurting in sympathy for his old friend. Sirius had lost so many people he loved. Uncle Alphard. Regulus. Countless friends in the Order: The McKinnons, Gideon and Fabian, Benjy Fenwick. Lily. James. Even Frank and Alice, dead in all but body, he had learned since his escape. So many people Sirius could hardly name them all, could hardly stand to think of it. They had been good people, every last one of them. Strong people. People with bright futures ahead of them. People who deserved better. An ancient hatred burned in Sirius' soul. Hatred for Voldemort. Hatred for Peter Pettigrew. Hatred for all the Death Eaters and all the people who were too cowardly to become Death Eaters but who cheered them from the shadows, letting centuries-old prejudices carve evil across their hearts.

Sirius reached across the table to put a hand on her hand and gave a sad and sympathetic smile. He removed it as she changed the subject, settling both hands in his lap. He stared at them, knitting his fingers together as he spoke. He hated talking of Azkaban. Mentioning that awful place brought it all back so quickly. He felt his face fall into a deep frown.

"No, I haven't settled down. One doesn't meet many women in prison. No one to snog except dementors, and you really don't want to do that." Sirius gave a small, too-hearty laugh, hoping to show that he was joking, though he wasn't. He felt a sudden chill, though the day was warm and the sun shone brightly on his back through the shop windows. A familiar cold emptiness crept into him as the old fears marched across his consciousness. He took a bite of his ice cream to give his hands something to do. The taste reminded him that he was free, that the dementors had no more power over him, though he suddenly wished he'd ordered chocolate instead of peppermint.

"Actually, I haven't much time these days. I enjoy teaching much more than I thought I would, but it's surprisingly demanding, and I've been trying fatherhood on for size. It took a little doing, but I managed to get custody of my godson after I was exonerated. Harry Potter. James and Lily's boy. That takes up quite a lot of time as well." Sirius smiled at the little girl in Kathleen's lap. "Well, I'm sure you can relate to that."

Kathleen felt her heart begin to race as Sirius took her hand gently in his own. He reminded her so much of...quickly shaking her head of the thought she smiled and squeezed her little Becca. She loved her baby, and knowing that Sirius was raising his own child just made her attraction and admiration for him grow. Granted, Harry Potter had to be around fourteen by now, but that still didn't change the fact that Sirius probably still had to deal with his fair share of tantrums.

"It's fine Padfoot," she smiled gently. "I have long since grieved over him."

And yet she could not bring herself to say his name....not without breaking down into pathetic tears. Kathleen knew that her heart still yearned for him, that she still yearned for that touch a man could bring her. But it was just so hard to move on to someone, especially when she had been so madly in love with her first husband to begin with.

Sighing she tried to think of a way to change the subject, gently she set her little Becca down in the chair next to her and adjusted her purse so that it was on her lap. She really could not let Sirius pay for their treat, she would never be able to justly take his money.

"You don't have to treat us Siri," Kathleen said softly. "I am more than capable of paying for my baby's ice cream."

Sirius shrugged.

"Suit yourself, but it seems only fair to me. After all, I was the one who invited you to join me. I wouldn't be a very good host if I then turned around and made you pay, would I?"

Sirius winked. In truth, he didn't much care either way, though he did enjoy spending his money... on other people, that is. Sirius had always enjoyed that; he had a certain generosity of spirit that the rest of his family never understood. His parents used to scold him for spending his money on gifts for his friends. He should save that for the future, they said. He was going to squander all his gold, they said. People were going to take advantage of him, they said. Sirius never cared. What good was having money if you couldn't use it to make people happy?

And anyway, money was no object to him. Never had been. He inherited more money from Uncle Alphard than his great-great-great grandchildren would ever be able to spend, and that was before he became the sole inheritor of his parents' estate. Three separate lines of the Black family's considerable fortune sat languishing in his vault. Then, on top of that, he had his teaching salary, which was more than enough to pay for all his and Harry's needs. Why in the world shouldn't he buy an old friend some ice cream? Dinner, too, while he was at it.

The realization hit him suddenly. If he asked her to join him for dinner, she might think it a date. He was glad he thought of that before he made the offer. He used to get himself into trouble that way from time to time. Inviting girls along without a second thought. Smiling at the girls he caught staring at him. Complimenting them to make them smile. Cracking jokes to make them laugh. He enjoyed making the people around him happy, but then the girls would think he was flirting. It used to frustrate him horribly, actually. He thought he was just being friendly to a girl, only to discover that the girl had fallen hopelessly in love with him and was sure he loved her back and had already planned out their entire life together. It was ridiculous. Why couldn't a boy ever just be nice to a girl without the girl deciding it meant they were destined to get married and have seventeen kids?

Luckily, Leena was never that sort of silly-minded girl. She always understood him. Understood that the easy smiles were just Sirius' way. Understood that the compliments were both genuine and innocent. Understood that the jokes were only intended to illicit smiles and nothing more. Maybe he should ask her to come to dinner, after all. As friends. He'd have to be careful to make that distinction, lest she misunderstand his intentions.

Dating Leena. Now there was a thought! He held in a laugh. Imagine it! Sirius and Kathleen, after all these years. He looked at her. She was certainly beautiful, and he knew they got on well together, but the thought was too strange to fathom. And anyway, Sirius wasn't terribly interested in dating at the moment. He had his hands full with teaching and taking care of Harry and fighting his own demons.

Sirius summoned the waiter to take their orders. He ordered chocolate, hoping it would warm him and send the last vestiges of the dementors' continued hold on him away. For now, anyway. It seemed that was never truly gone for long. He'd been assured that it would fade with time, but Sirius was beginning to get impatient.

The waiter took their order and left; they could resolve the issue of who would pay for what later.

"So, Leena, tell me about being an unspeakable. I've always wondered about it. What do you people actually do down there in the Department of Mysteries?"

Kathleen smiled gently and sighed. Everyone wanted to know what she did as an unspeakable. In truth she could not tell Sirius, it was too dangerous for him to know. Also, friends could become enemies and she did not need the worry of Sirius telling someone less trustworthy of her work.

"If I told you," she smiled. "I'd have to kill you."

Grinning she gently pressed a kiss to her daughter's head. So she would not get worried of her mother using such...harsh terms. Leaning back gently in her chair she looked briefly at the clock. She really needed to get Becca her ice cream and get going. It wasn't that she was not enjoying Sirius's company, it was just that she had to make sure Becca ate something substantial...something other than frozen milk and sugar.

"Maybe...we can have lunch sometime?" she asked gently. "Get some coffee? I think we need to catch up Sirius, it has been so long. And with you being a father, we can exchange stories of our impending doom."

She, of course, was referring to that feeling that every parent had. That feeling that no matter how hard you tried you were always doing the wrong thing. Kathleen never felt like she was doing right by her baby...but when she saw her little face light up with a smile she was always assured that she was doing better than what she had originally thought.

Becca was bored.

Bored. Bored. Bored.

Mummy was busy talking to her friend, and Becca knew she wasn't supposed to interrupt Mummy when she was talking. Not unless it was an emergency, and being bored or wanting Mummy to watch her turn a cartwheel didn't count as an emergency, even if she really, really wanted Mummy to watch her.

Becca slipped under the table when no one was watching. It was fun to play under the table. She could pretend to be a lion. No! Becca had a better idea! Becca pretended she was a white tiger and that everything beneath the table was her den. Becca went to the zoo once and saw a white tiger. It was the prettiest thing Becca ever saw, except for a unicorn, and she had a stuffed white tiger named Bianca that was her favorite toy ever. The only problem with being a tiger in her den was that Mummy's legs were in the way, and her friend's, too. Becca couldn't remember his name, but she remembered that he was a king.

Becca peeked out from beneath the table and watched the waiter pass by. He didn't see her. Nobody saw her. Becca giggled a little, but quickly clamped a hand over her own mouth. She had to be quiet if she was a tiger. She had to be quiet and go hunting. Becca wanted to be a good tiger, hiding to catch her prey. Prey meant something a tiger ate. She learned that at the zoo. If she was a tiger, she'd eat ice cream all the time and never vegetables. Becca wished she could be a real tiger and never, ever, ever have to eat vegetables. She would be a man-eating tiger! And all would fear her!

Mummy's friend moved a little in his seat and caught her eye. Becca roared and grabbed his leg, hanging on. "I caught you!" she announced, looking up at him. She couldn't help giggling a little. She was such a good hunter! It hadn't even been hard to catch Mummy's friend. "I'm the tiger, and you're my prey, and now you have to beg me not to eat you!"

Sirius had never been jumpy, and it was a good thing, as he wasn't used to having his leg attacked while out for ice cream. He lifted his leg, with Kathleen's giggling daughter still attached. He looked at Kathleen and raised an eyebrow. "Lost something, have you?"

Sirius began to laugh. When Harry was younger, he used to sit on Sirius' foot just like this and giggle while Sirius dragged him all over the house or bounced him up and down. Becca was bigger than he had been, but it was amusing - and strangely comforting - how quickly it all came rushing back to him. He bounced her a few times, pretending to try to shake her off. "My, but you're a strong tiger," he said. He peeled her off and set her on the ground before falling to his knees before her, folding his arms in front of him.

"Oh please, Madame Tiger!" Sirius begged in the most dramatic voice he could. "Please don't eat me! I've got seven children at home! They'll starve if I don't bring home food and money for them! And besides, I'm sure I'll taste awful! I'm old and mealy, and all I ever eat is brussel sprouts! Do you really want to eat someone who's going to taste like brussel sprouts? Please don't eat me! I'll do anything!"

Just then the waiter appeared with their ice cream. "Here!" Sirius said, thrusting her ice cream into her hand. "Please accept this gift of ice cream. It'll taste much better than I will!"

Sirius returned to his seat, sure he had successfully sidestepped being eaten, at least for the moment. He winked at Kathleen. "I like her. She's fun. So anyway, I was thinking. I'd love to have some time to catch up, too. If you're not already busy tonight, how would you like to join me for dinner? As friends, of course, though I'm happy to treat. What with it being my idea and all. I understand if you're busy, naturally, but I only thought, well, if you're not busy, and I'm not busy, we may as well be not busy together. What do you think?"

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, surprised by how nervous he felt. What did he care whether or not Kathleen wanted to join him for dinner? But suddenly his stomach felt tight, and his heart was beating quickly in his chest, and his palms were sweating. You'd think he was asking her out on a date!

Sirius smiled, remembering how these sorts of things were done. "And who knows, maybe we can find a place that will give us some antelope for the tiger."

Sirius fell silent and waited for her response, hoping more than anything that it would be yes.

The spectacle before Kathleen had her smiling. Sirius was wonderful with her baby, just as her past love had been. Kathleen remembered her husband just fawning over their baby, planning out her life of love and fun out step by step... and somehow she knew that Sirius would be just as loving as attentive.

Kathleen pursed her lips in thought. She knew that she would regret it in the morning, but as Sirius had said they were both busy people. Neither of them had many free nights...and she was sure that she could afford to be tired one day of work...as could Sirius. There was just the matter of Becca, Kathleen's usual sitter was a muggle and a student...there was no way she would ever be able to babysit for her. So that just left one other alternative.

"I would love to Siri," she grinned. "But my little Tiger will need a sitter...would Harry be available?"

Kathleen knew that was a lot to ask, and she supposed with Mr. Potter being in danger most of his life and even more so now, she wasn't sure if that was the best idea she could come up with. There was always the alternative and she could borrow a house elf from the Ministry...but she didn't like how unfeeling they were and she thought her Becca deserved to be cared for like a princess.

"I cannot leave her with just anyone Sirius," she continued. "I do want to go out with you...but my little one needs someone to look after her before I can agree to such a thing."

Sirius shrugged. He had no idea how Harry would feel about babysitting, but he certainly wasn't going to volunteer him. He didn't even know for sure if Harry liked children. They'd never really had reason to discuss such a thing. Though he was so much like both his parents in all other regards, Sirius could hardly imagine him not liking them. James and Lily were always wonderful with the younger students when they were head boy and girl. They both loved children. They said they planned to have at least three, though Sirius would have been surprised if they stopped there. He always envisioned them with a humongous brood. Perhaps even larger than the Weasleys, and that was saying something.

"I don't know if he could babysit or not. Probably not, as it's a school night, and he'll be busy with homework. I happen to know for a fact that his tyrannical Astronomy professor assigned him a three-foot essay on nebulae that's due tomorrow. And I also happen to know that Harry has a very unfortunate tendency to wait until the last minute to do his homework. I can't think where he gets that from."

Sirius grinned nonchalantly. He and James had been notorious as students for waiting until the last second and ending up sitting up all night to finish essays that they'd had months to do. They were also notorious for getting the highest marks in the class on said essays, infuriating the students who had put hours of actual effort into them.

"Why can't she just come along?" Sirius asked. He didn't want to lose an opportunity like this for lack of a babysitter. He was sure having a kid along wouldn't cause too much of a distraction. After all, she wasn't distracting them too much now. "I wouldn't mind. We could order a little gnu, hunt the waiter, eat strawberry pie and pretend it's elephant, and lap milk off our plates with our tongues. It'll be fun."

Sirius took a bite of his ice cream. Chocolate was the perfect choice; it warmed him all the way down to his toes. He waggled his eyebrow up and down in a suggestive fashion and flashed his most charming grin.

"Come on, Mummy Dearest, what do you say?"

Kathleen blushed and smiled, well she supposed that her mind was being made up for her. Not that she minded, and she could always call in sick the next day if the evening ran far too late. Granted having her little one around would assure it would not last nearly as long as it normally would. Unless Siri agreed to come inside for a glass or two of wine.

"Well...I suppose." she smiled. "If you insist Padfoot."

Gently she rested her elbow on the table and rested her head on her open palm. She could not help but gaze into his eyes. The deep brown was so hypnotic, just as it had always been. That was something Kathleen had fallen in love with when she had first seen him. Sirius had eyes that could melt ice. She always found herself getting lost in them.

Kathleen, however, also remembered that Sirius had never been one to tie down. Nor did he seem like the boyfriend type, not that she was considering. But time changed those, and she was hoping to get to know Sirius once again. Smiling gently at him she glanced down at her little one briefly.

"What do you think baby?" she grinned. "Want to go out for supper with Sirius Black?"

Turning back to Sirius she gazed into his eyes once more.

Becca nodded. "Yes, please." Becca was proud of herself that she remembered to say please. She was so polite. She was such a good princess.

She very much wanted to go out to eat. Going out to eat was her favorite thing! Especially if they had cheeseburgers. And Becca liked Mummy's friend, the king. Sirius. King Sirius. She climbed into his lap and grinned at him. He was very nice, and he didn't get angry when she tried to eat him. Sometimes people did, and Becca couldn't understand it.

Just last week, she played lion and tried to eat her babysitter, but the babysitter told Becca to leave her alone because she was trying to do homework and Becca said, "No, no! You're my prey! You have to beg me not to eat you!" And the babysitter said, "I'll be your prey later. I really have to work on this paper right now." And then when Becca bit her because she wouldn't beg, Becca got in trouble and had to sit in the corner. It wasn't fair. Lions weren't supposed to have to sit in the corner! But when she roared at the babysitter, the babysitter made her stay in the corner for another minute, and then Becca cried. A minute was an awfully long time. And the corner was very boring. And it made her sad when her babysitter was cross with her, though not as sad as when Mummy was cross with her. That was the worst thing!

Becca wished she was a real lion. Then no one would ever make her sit in the corner or be cross with her. King Sirius hadn't been cross with her, and he hadn't made her sit in the corner. That was because he was a king, and kings never made people sit in the corner.

"Look at my pearls, King Sirius. They're Mummy's, but she lets me wear them if I'm careful. Daddy gave them to her, before he was a angel. Do you think they make me look like a princess? You can wear them, if you want to, but you have to be very careful. These are Mummy's favorite necklace." Becca pulled the pearls over her head and offered them to King Sirius.

Sirius was surprised by the suddenness of Becca's arrival in his lap. He wasn't used to small people sitting on him. He wasn't used to anyone sitting on him, for that matter. He gave Kathleen a slightly confused look, but she didn't seem to notice. Sirius had never spent much time around children. All his cousins were older, and Regulus wasn't that much younger than Sirius. Only a little more than a year separated them.

He'd spent some quality time playing with Harry, but that was when Harry was a baby, and besides he was a boy. Playing with a boy was easy. Roll a ball to him, and he was happy for hours. Sirius had no idea what to do with a kid Becca's age, or what to do with a girl. Well, she seemed pretty dedicated to this princess thing when she wasn't a tiger. Sirius supposed he could go along with that. Perhaps it wouldn't be too difficult at that. If he remembered correctly, all a body had to do to win a girl over was to tell her she was pretty. After that, she'd pretty much follow you anywhere.

"Erm, no. You keep the pearls, love. They look so pretty on you." Sirius put them back over Becca's head. "There. Now you're a perfect princess. You've got a beautiful dress and a string of the nicest pearls I've ever seen. Now all you need is a crown." Sirius conjured a little circlet of flowers for her and put it on her head. "My word, you're the most beautiful princess I've ever seen." He turned with her in his chair, to see her reflection in the window. "Look there. Don't you look lovely? I think we'll call you Princess Becca the Beautiful. What do you think?"

Becca clapped her hands and bounced in King Sirius' lap. She really did look like a princess! With flowers in her hair! She threw her arms around King Sirius' neck and kissed his cheek. "I love you!"

Becca slipped off his lap and went to Mummy. "Mummy, look! Look at my crown! Isn't it perfect! I'm a really real princess! King Sirius said so!"

Becca was so happy. She'd never been so happy before. She wanted to show everybody! She was so excited, she just had to jump up and down. She would show her babysitter, and she would show all her friends. And she would show everybody. She ran to the waiter and tugged on his sleeve. "Look at my crown!"

The waiter said it was very nice, and went back to taking orders. Becca went back to King Sirius and climbed back in his lap. She hugged him and kissed his cheek again. "Thank you, King Sirius! I love it!"

Becca climbed down and ate a bite of her ice cream. It was starting to melt, but she didn't care. And anyway, she needed to go to the loo.

"Mummy, I have to go," Becca said. She held up a warning finger. "But I don't need help." After all, Becca was five now. She was a big girl. She could go to the loo by herself.

She ran to the loo and did her business. Then she washed her hands like good girls are supposed to do. She caught her reflection in the mirror and saw the crown of flowers. She smiled. It was the best crown ever! But then Becca frowned. King Sirius didn't have a crown. Becca couldn't do magic yet. Not on purpose, anyway, so she couldn't conjure him one like he'd done for her. She'd have to go buy one. She had two whole sickles that Gran gave her for her birthday. She would use them to buy King Sirius a crown!

Becca stepped out of the loo and hid behind a chair. She couldn't let anyone see her go if she wanted it to be a surprise. She crawled under the tables to the door, and smiled to herself. No one had seen her. She was awfully good at surprises. Maybe she could be a spy when she grew up! When she got outside, she skipped toward Madam Malkin's shop. There were crowns there, she knew. King Sirius would be so happy when she came back with a crown for him! And Mummy would be so proud of her for thinking of it. Becca broke into a run, holding onto her new crown with one hand. She was such a thoughtful princess.