"no one else is gonna love me when i get mad, so i think that it's best that we both stay"

*

Eva bundled herself in a fluffy Gryffindor blanket and bit back yet another sob. She could hardly believe how quickly everything had come crashing down, like an avalanche of emotions. After twelve years apart, she supposed it was bound to happen sooner or later. She only wished it had happened later.

Or never.

Sirius was a passionate person. She knew that. Even when they were kids, he had been prone to outbursts and flare-ups. He, just like the rest of them, was a product of his upbringing. There were some parts of him that he simply could not leave behind at 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Eva?"

She mopped up her tears with the blanket as best as she could, faking a smile she knew would never convince anyone, let alone her own godson. He was more perceptive than others realized. "Hi."

Harry took a seat next to her on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared straight ahead. For a few minutes, the pair sat in silence, but it was a comfortable silence.

"I, uh..." Harry cleared his throat, searching for a conversation topic to fill the room. "Who do you reckon's gonna win the Cup? Bulgaria or Ireland? Ron and I have a bet."

Eva thought through his question. "Ireland," she said after a moment or two of careful consideration. "They're much more of a team than Bulgaria. Krum's a genius on the pitch, and that can't be overlooked, but one person alone can't carry an entire team. You know that. How many times did Wood make you wait to catch the snitch until you were ahead enough in points to win?"

"I didn't think about it that way. That's smart."

"I wish I could go," Eva said wistfully, brushing a thumb underneath her eyes, which were still watery. "I haven't been to a pro-Quidditch game since the late 80s. Newt and Queenie surprised me one year for my birthday. It's just that I wanted to spend time with Sirius before the holiday ends, and I couldn't get tickets, anyway. They were all sold out within a day. You'll have to tell me all about it once we're back at Hogwarts, though. Gives you an excuse to stop by my office."

Harry glanced over at her, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I don't need an excuse to stop by your office, Eva."

He didn't know it, but that single sentence meant so much to his godmother.

Smiling, Eva wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and stood up. A rush of dizziness overcame her and she stumbled, only remaining upright because Harry had sprung up from the couch to steady her. 

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, green eyes wide with concern. "Eva?"

"Mhm." Harry gripped her shoulders, and she shut her eyes until the wave had passed. "Just stood up too quickly, I suppose. I'm all right now. Thanks."

His frown only deepened. "Are you sure? Because I can... uh... I can get Sirius or... a glass of water?"

"No, it's fine. He'll just worry about me, and I don't want to worry him. I'm fine. Just tired is all." She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. "I haven't been sleeping well."

"If you're sure."

Harry clearly wasn't buying it, and after a week or so of feeling off-color, Eva wasn't sure she was, either.

Instead of fretting, she ruffled Harry's messy black locks, knowing better than attempting to smooth them down. "Your hair's too long. You should look into getting it cut. Not by me, I promised your dad I'd never touch Potter hair again after a mishap during the summer I stayed at his house."

"What happened?"

"Let's just say that James loved The Bee Gees hairdo, but not on him. We got up to quite a bit of mischief that summer. He was willing to do anything to lift my spirits, even if it made him look like an idiot." She smiled fondly. "Harry, with all due respect, you're starting to resemble the child of a crazed punk rocker and a mop."

"Funny."

"I try."

The two sat down at the kitchen table. Eva glanced around, looking for her wand so that she could summon a steaming cup of herbal tea, but it was sitting on the coffee table in the living room. Getting up seemed like such a hassle, so she simply picked up Remus' forgotten wand and used it to make the mug float over to the table. After twelve years of familiarity, the wands had more or less gotten used to each others' masters. Most wands didn't listen to other users, but Remus' served her nearly as well as her own.

"I haven't been sleeping well, either," Harry blurted out, turning slightly red at this mini-outburst. For a moment, it looked like he wanted to stuff the words back into his mouth. Instead of pressing, Eva stirred sugar into her tea and waited patiently for him to decide whether or not to go on. After a few seconds, he did. "I've been having nightmares again. I didn't say anything earlier, but I had one last night."

"You did?" Eva took a sip of her tea, but the sweetness of the added sugar turned her stomach and she set it back on the table with a tiny clink. Just the thought of drinking it made her queasy now. "Are you all right?"

Harry nodded, swallowing back his obvious mix of confusion and fear. "Maybe it's stupid... I mean, they're just dreams. But I don't reckon they are. There was this old Muggle man, and Voldemort killed him." He waited for the inevitable cringe at his use of the name, but Eva barely blinked, so he pushed on.  "And Pettigrew was with him. If these dreams are real, Trewlaney's prophecy thing from that night last year came true. Servant and master reunited, you know."

Eva's gaze darkened, her lips pursed in a thin line. She was no stranger to scars, but the majority of them came from enemies. The newest one stood out, streaking across her torso in a pale white line, and it was inflicted by someone she once considered a brother. 

"I'm not surprised," she admitted. A few stray curls fell out of her ponytail and into her eyes, but she blew them out of her face with a heavy sigh. "Even when we were kids, first years, he tended to flock to those stronger than him. He had his moments, but..." She shrugged, attempting to block out all of the times Peter had brought a smile to her face when she needed it most. "Was there anyone else?" 

"Yeah, actually. A snake was there, this massive serpent, and there was this other man, too. I never saw his face, but Voldemort said that... he said that he would use the man to try and get... me." The boy looked up at Eva, the same fear in his eyes that she recognized from years of war. "And then I woke up and my scar was hurting."

Despite knowing his aversion to people gawking at his forehead all too well, her eyes flicked up to his scar, which was nearly covered by his messy black hair. The memory of the night he'd received it was so garish in her mind. Her godson was braver than anyone she knew. All she wanted to do was spare him pain, but she knew that he was growing up. In three years, he'd come of age, and there would be even less she could do to protect him. 

Time was slipping through her fingers, and she just wanted to hold onto these moments while she still had them.

Eva reached across the table and covered one of his hands with hers, smiling faintly. "Thank you for trusting me about this, Harry."

"Do you reckon I should do anything?"

"Honestly? I don't think there's anything you can do. Just know that you're safe here. Sirius and Remus and me - well, it wouldn't be the first time any one of us have gone head-to-head with Voldemort," Eva said bitterly. "Besides, he doesn't know that you're here, and he's not exactly in a position to jump attack a beach house."

"True," Harry replied, cracking a grin. Already there was a renewed color in his face. "Don't tell anyone?"

"Well, I feel inclined to inform you that I don't keep secrets from my husband, despite his occasional misbehaviors." She rolled her eyes. 

"That's fine. I reckon I would have talked to him anyway. Just no one else."

"Only if you promise to let me know if this happens again. Don't keep me in the dark. I'm here for you."

He stuck out a hand, and she shook it. "Deal."

"Deal." 

 Eva's smile slowly faded, and her gaze fell to her abandoned cup of tea. She stirred the liquid around absentmindedly with no intention of drinking it. Out the kitchen window, she could see the silhouette of her husband and her best friend on the beach. 

"It's gonna be okay."

Startling at Harry's words, her head snapped back. He was looking at her quite intently, an echo of James Potter's caring expression. 

"I know," she murmured, shrugging. "But how do you know?"

"Because he loves you," he said simply, "and you're too cool to lose over something stupid like this."

Her face broke into a genuine smile, and she laughed as a few tears streamed down her cheeks. "I appreciate that you've lived with me all summer and you still think I'm relatively cool."

The sliding glass door slid open with a screech from saltwater damage. Remus stepped in first, tossing his worn jacket on an empty chair, followed by Sirius, whose gaze immediately fell on Eva. A warm breeze swept through the little kitchen. For a solid minute, only the sounds of the ocean and Ringo's soft cooing from the windowsill filled the room. 

"Eva," Sirius whispered, "can I have a word?"

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Okay."

The two ventured out of the kitchen and up the stairs to their bedroom. It was a pretty place, with pale green walls and two windows that let in as much natural light as possible. A painting of the ocean hung over the bed, and various photos and books littered every surface possible. The only exception was one of the nightstands, where Francis happily sat soaking up sunlight.

Once the door was closed, Eva stared down at the carpet. Absentmindedly, she reached for the chain around her neck, only to remember that her rings now occupied her hand. She took a moment to admire them both in the morning light: the glittering opal shaped like a lotus flower, and the simple golden band from the Las Vegas pawn shop. How far they'd come.

Sirius sat down on the corner of the bed and ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Look," he said, his voice soft, "I want to apologize. Moony helped me see sense. I completely overreacted this morning. None of it was your fault: I was just angry about my own situation and I took it out on you. It was completely and utterly selfish. I never want to do that. You're my wife, Blondie, and I never want to hurt you again. I'm sorry."

"Oh, Sirius." He stood and wrapped his arms around her, the embrace as familiar and comforting as ever. Tears sprung in her eyes, to her surprise, and she couldn't control them in the slightest. "I- I don't want to hurt you, either. I know you h-hate being l-l-locked up-"

"Hey, I'm not locked up. Believe me, I know what being locked up is. Spending my days with you is a dream I never want to wake up from." Sirius wiped the tears from under her swollen eyes with his thumbs, his expression bewildered. "Why are you crying, honey? We love each other. It's all going to be all right."

"I don't... I don't know," she mumbled, burying her head in his chest. The steady beating of his heart helped her steady her own breathing. "Just tired."

"You look tired. Do you want to go back to bed for a while?" She shook her head. While stroking her hair gently, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I love you more than you'll ever know."

"Not to ruin the romantic moment, but ditto." Eva smiled as Sirius lifted her chin, but she dodged his second kiss. At his questioning gaze, she hastily added, "I've been feeling weird. I don't want you to get whatever I have."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll chance it."

Sirius drew Eva close, and their lips met in a deep, lingering kiss. Her eyes fluttered shut as she sank into that feeling of true love she'd been robbed of for too long. Now, the only man she'd ever loved was miraculously back in her life, and she couldn't imagine it without him again.

Their life together was finally falling into place. 

Hello!

I really loved writing this chapter. I love exploring Harry and Eva's relationship as it grows and as Harry matures. Plus, we got to see Eva and Sirius make up.

Thoughts? Predictions? What do you want to see happen?

The next few chapters are going to be incredibly exciting!! I'm hoping to get the next one up ASAP ;)