(A/N: I know that sometimes people have issues with introducing original characters in stories, and if you are one of them I guess I should say thanks for stopping by but that this might not be the story for you, as 2 O.C.s will play a major part. However, to me O.C.s are no different than taking a random name that was mentioned in passing in canon and assigning them personality in order to tell your particular story. Daphne Greengrass, Susan Bones, Amelia Bones . . . canon tells us almost nothing about them, yet wonderful fanfic authors have given them depth and purpose in their creations.)

Saturday, November 3, 1979

Sirius Black was having one of the best birthdays ever. Lily Potter, wife of his best friend James, had decided to let them off the leash a bit, and so Sirius and James, along with their other best friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, had spent the entire day pub crawling through Muggle London, with Lily dutifully playing the role of chaperone for the four men who had collectively taken on the moniker of The Marauders. Sirius loved these men like brothers and Lily as a sister, and celebrating his 20th birthday with them by his side brought a continual smile to his face all day.

At the moment, however, his smile was due to the beautiful brunette who was sitting next to him at the bar. Through the haze of a day spent drinking, he had learned that her name was Cindy and that she was an American exchange student studying Law at University College London. She had initially come over to their (perhaps a bit too rowdy) group after hearing that he was named after a star (she had a keen interest in Astronomy) and had stuck around listening to Sirius tell the story of how all of the people in his family were named after stars or other astronomical phenomena. Through the course of the evening they had hit if off famously, the young woman more than a match for Sirius's charm and quick wit. All of the boys liked her instantly, as did Lily.

As the group started to break up for the evening, Lily hugged Sirius goodnight. "Don't screw this up, Padfoot," she whispered into his ear while giving him a kiss on the cheek. Sirius smiled at her and nodded, and suddenly Sirius and Cindy were alone at the bar.

"Can I offer to walk you back to your flat, Miss McClellan?" Sirius asked, turning on as much of the roguish charm as he could muster for his current level of intoxication.

Cindy just chuckled. "I think it would be safer if I got you home and to bed first; I'm not sure if you'd find your way otherwise." Sirius, however, had only heard "home" and "bed" and so leaped up out of his chair and paid the tab before offering his arm to her. She took it with a smile and she managed to keep him from stumbling too badly as they made their way to the small apartment Sirius rented in Islington.

After helping to haul Sirius up to the door of his third floor flat she laughed at him as he struggled to get his key into the lock of the door. Finally taking pity on him, she took it and opened the door, helping him into the hallway and closing the door behind them. She led him into his bedroom and, when he realized where they were, he turned to look at her, a silly smile on his face. An impulse struck him, and without warning he took her face in his hands and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She returned the kiss softly, but when he reached to wrap his arms around her she pushed him away. His knees caught on the edge of his bad and he collapsed down onto it, his legs dangling off the side. The both started laughing as she knelt down and started working his boots off of his feet. After a moment, he managed to lift himself up onto his elbows and watched as Cindy finally got his second boot off, then smiled as she stood back up straight.

"A gentleman could get all sorts of ideas from a beautiful woman starting to undress him in his bedroom," Sirius stated, looked at her with more than a little interest. The taste of her lip balm still permeated his senses. Cindy, however, didn't miss a beat.

"Then it's fortunate that you, Sirius Black, are not a gentleman but a scoundrel," she replied with a chuckle. He flopped back down on the bed and moved his hands over his chest as if having been mortally struck.

"You wound me, miss," he said with a smile. "A palpable hit, right in my heart." His smile got bigger as he felt the weight on the bed change, felt her lithe form crawling over him, and then saw her face, framed by her curly tresses, looking directly down at him.

"Is that so?" she said teasingly from above him, before the same impulse that struck Sirius earlier hit her and her lips pressed against his urgently. As she started undoing the buttons of his shirt, she lifted her lips and whispered "Well, then let me kiss it and make it better," and no more words were spoken between them.

Saturday, December 8, 1979

The next month passed in a blissful haze for both Sirius and Cindy, caught up in each other and in their burgeoning relationship. When she wasn't in class and he wasn't off doing . . . whatever it was he did, they were together. Sirius re-introduced her to James and Lily and both liked her just as much sober as they had during their escapade the day they'd met. She got on famously with Lily, and the two women spent as much of their spare time as they could on the streets of Muggle London, sharing tea and shopping and stories. Lily had to temper her stories of their schooling because Cindy was a Muggle, but it was easy enough to play Hogwarts off as a secretive Scottish boarding school for the gifted or the exceptionally rich, which was not a lie but not entirely the truth. Cindy tried to get Lily to tell her more about Sirius's family, which he refused to talk about, but Lily kept firm, saying only that he and his family did not get on due to vastly different world views.

The second Saturday in December found Cindy at home after a day spent shopping for Christmas presents with Lily. The Englishwoman had seemed preoccupied about something but had said that she would let Cindy know what was going on very soon, once she'd had a chance to check on some things. As Cindy put the finishing touches on wrapping a present she had bought for her mother there was a knock on her door. Setting her work aside, she stood and answered it, smiling widely when she saw Sirius on the other side. His face, however, wore a pained expression, and she immediately wrapped him in a hug as she led him into the living room. He seemed almost catatonic as she sat him down on the sofa and straddled his lap, taking his face in her hands. "Sirius, what's wrong? Talk to me."

He looked up at her, and she could see tears forming in the corners of his eyes as his arms wrapped around her. "It's Regulus," he said simply.

"Your brother?" she asked. "What's happened?"

"He's . . . he's dead."

Cindy's hands went up to cover her mouth as she gasped. "Sirius, I'm so, so sorry. When? What happened?"

"I'm not sure when or how. It may have been weeks ago for all I know. I only know this much because Mother deemed fit to owl me, and she only knew because I guess Father happened to look at the tapestry."

"Sirius, what are you talking about? Owls? Tapestries?" Cindy asked, confused, and suddenly Sirius realized that, in his haze, he had revealed his greatest secret. Inspiration suddenly struck, and his usual impulsiveness took over. His countenance changed from sadness to resolve as he gently set Cindy on the couch and stood up.

"Cindy I have something I need to tell you. I've wanted to tell you since that first morning but there are rules that are supposed to be abided by. But you know what? Fuck the rules." Sirius knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his. "Cynthia Marie McClellan, I know we've only known each other for a short time but I love you. I'm sure of it. And I want there to be no secrets between us."

Cindy stared at the man in front of her, shock and confusion evident on her face. "Sirius Orion Black, I love you too. I'm sure of it. Please tell me what is going on. You're scaring me."

Sirius smiled at her declaration and kissed her lightly before standing back up. "Cindy, this is going to be difficult for you to accept at first, but I am a wizard."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

Sirius pulled his wand from this pocket and, with a few flicks, wrapped one of the presents that had been sitting on the coffee table. As the ribbon came around it and tied itself into a fanciful bow, Sirius responded. "A wizard." Cindy watched what happened in fascination, staring at the present even after it had finished wrapping itself. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears, and she felt goosebumps forming on her skin. Sirius put his wand away and retook his place on his knees in front of her. "Magic is very real, Cin. We live in secret, and knowledge of our world is very closely guarded. Only Muggles –people without magic- who are involved with magicals or very high up in the government are allowed to know. It's one of our most important laws."

Cindy turned from the present to stare at him, seeing him in a whole new light. "James and Lily? And you other friends Remus and Peter?"

"They are all magical as well. We met at Hogwarts and, except for Lily who joined us towards the end of school, have been best friends for years. All of that was true."

Cindy nodded absently. "And the comment about the owls and tapestries?"

"Well . . ." Sirius began, "we're still a bit . . . backward in the wizarding world. Electricity and magic don't really go too well together, so technologically we're at about the turn of the last century. Unfortunately, we're also at about the same time period as a society; it seems that not being able to evolve intellectually has also led to social retardation as well. There are a lot of Victorian Era, or even earlier, beliefs, mores, and traditions that are still observed amongst British witches and wizards.

"But anyway . . . we still use owls to send messages as opposed to mailmen or telegraph or phones or anything like that. When my mother found out about Regulus she sent me an owl with a letter letting me know."

"So they're like carrier pigeons?" she asked.

"I don't know what that means, but if that's some kind of Muggle thing where you tie messages to those little flying pests then yes."

"And the tapestry?"

"More magic. In my parents' home is a tapestry that shows the entire Black family tree. When one of us dies, the caricature changes from an image of the person to a skull, and the year of death updates magically. Father was apparently in the sitting room and noticed the change and had a heart attack."

"Oh my God, is he okay?"

"No, he passed away as well."

"Well, why didn't you say anything about your father dying? Why just mention Regulus?"

"Because my family are terrible people, Cindy," Sirius said, standing once again. "My family is what the magical world calls pureblood, meaning that for as far back as can be recorded we've only ever married other magical people. Purebloods believe that they are superior to not only all other magic users but to Muggles as well, simply because of their blood. If they knew about me and you, it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for them to physically attack you in order to keep us apart."

"Like Hell!" the woman yelled, standing up and approaching the dark-haired wizard. "I just found you, and I don't know where this is going but it seems like somewhere really good. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let any stuffy old witch say that I'm not good enough for her son!"

Sirius smiled and kissed Cindy deeply. "That's my girl," he said when the kiss ended. "That right there is one of the many reasons I've fallen in love with you, and also one of the many reasons why I hate my family. Regulus, though," he said, and she heard his voice catch, "for as much as he followed their way of life, was still my brother. Still just a boy . . ." he trailed off, and he buried his head in her shoulder as his sobs began. She held him closely and stroked his hair, whispering soothing words in his ear as she let him release his pain and loss. As his tears subsided she showered his face and neck with kisses, trying to bring life back into his tormented soul. After a time, he responded to her ministrations and followed her to the bedroom, and she helped him re-find joy and happiness in the wake of his sorrow.

Cindy was scheduled to fly back to America on the 17th, and so on the 16th she and Sirius, along with James and Lily, went out to dinner to celebrate an early Christmas. They picked a very nice Italian restaurant near Piccadilly Circus, and as they sat down Cindy could see excitement in both James and Lily's features. "Lil, what's got you two in such a fine mood?" she asked.

Lily smiled and took James's hand. "We were going to wait until a little later to say something, but you caught us," she replied, and before either Cindy or Sirius could say anything else she blurted it out. "We're having a baby!"

Sirius almost choked on the sip of water he was taking before looking at his two closest friends. "What!? A baby!? A little mini-Potter running around?" Both of his best friends just nodded. "That's amazing!" he exclaimed, rounding the table and wrapping both of them in a hug. "A new pup, the start of a brand-new generation of Marauders! Guys, this is unbelievable!"

Cindy had also stood up and was now embracing Lily. "I agree. Congratulations you two. I guess Santa came to the Potter house a little early this year." Both Potters just smiled, their faces radiant at finally telling someone else the news.

Later that night, after a more personal early Christmas with Sirius, Cindy laid in bed next to him as he slept. As she thought, she realized that time of the month hadn't been that time of the month yet and it was overdue. As a shiver ran up her spine, her hands instinctually went to caress her belly. Could it be that James's and Lily's child might have a playmate on the way? She couldn't be sure, and it wouldn't do to worry Sirius about it until she did. She would check when she got back to the States tomorrow, and if she was pregnant she and Sirius would tackle it then. Their relationship was still new but, as she had told him a few days before, she believed that it was something good. If she was indeed pregnant, and Sirius was the man she thought him to be, then everything would be perfect. If it made things turn sour, then better to know early and have options. Either way, until there was more information there wasn't anything to be done, so she curled up next to Sirius and tried to get a few hours of sleep before she had to leave for the airport.

"I wish you weren't leaving," a very morose Sirius Black said the next morning as he and Cindy stood near the gate for her flight. They had just announced boarding, which meant that they only had a precious few minutes left before she had to leave. It would be a few weeks before they would see each other again, nearly half as long as their budding relationship had already lasted. Neither was very keen on it being put to the test so soon, Cindy especially, what with the added burden of possibly carrying his child. "I could come with you," he offered once again.

"Sirius, we've been over this," she replied. "First off, you don't have a passport that would get you on a plane, and you already mentioned to me how difficult it is to get international magical transport this time of year. I'll bet it's worse than mine."

"I could just Confund the attendant and have him let me on," he said.

"Absolutely not," she said, putting her foot down. "Sirius Black, you are not breaking any more laws on my behalf, and my guess would be using magic in a crowded airport would definitely qualify." She kissed him lovingly. "I'll be back before you know it, love, and we'll pick up right where we left off. Just a pause, Sirius. Try to curb that impulsiveness of yours and exercise some patience."

"You know patience is not my virtue," he quipped, and she laughed as he held her close. "I'm going to miss you."

"And I you, my dear. Are you going to be okay? I hate leaving so soon after you found out about Regulus."

Sirius nodded solemnly. "I'll be fine. He and I had drifted apart, and I still have my other brothers to keep me company," he said, thinking of James, Remus, and Peter.

The final boarding call for her flight came over the loudspeaker, and they shared one final long and loving kiss. "I love you, Sirius Black."

"I love you too. Be safe."

"You too. I've seen you on that motorcycle," she said and he laughed, a stray tear emerging. He kissed her hand before she hoisted her backpack over her shoulder and turned toward the gate. With one final turn to see him waving, she entered the gangway toward her plane back to America.

Wednesday, December 19, 1979

Margo McClellan knocked on the bathroom door for a third time. "Cindy? Honey open the door. Sweetheart what's the matter?" After another few moments Margo heard the click of the lock being undone and the door opened a small bit. She entered the room to find her youngest daughter sitting on the toilet staring at the sink.

A sink that held a pregnancy test.

"Cindy? Cindy are you . . .?" Cindy couldn't speak yet, so she just nodded. Suddenly a wide smile crossed her face and she held her hands to her belly.

"I'm having a baby," she whispered. She looked up at her mother with tears of joy in her eyes. "Mom, I'm having a baby!"

A shocked Margo stood as if turned to stone for a moment before she dropped to her knees and engulfed her daughter in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, my little girl. Are you alright?"

"Mom, I'm . . . I'm great," she answered, pushing her mother out to arm's length. "I love him so much, Mom, and he's so good to me."

"Honey, you haven't known him for very long. I'm happy that you're happy, but are you sure this is the best thing?" her mother asked. Margo would always worry about her children, even if they were technically all adults now. Cindy was the last one living at home, and even that would be over once she finished school in the Spring.

"Sirius is a wonderful man, Mom," her daughter answered. "He's . . . magical," she laughed, knowing her mother wouldn't fully understand the joke but not being able to help it slipping past her lips.

Margo pulled her daughter out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, where they both sat on the bed, legs crossed, facing each other. "Tell me all about him, dear."

"He's the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome," Cindy said dreamily, thinking of the man she had so quickly fallen in love with. "He comes from an old British family, but apparently they're a bunch of stuck-up prigs and he left home when he was sixteen to live with his best friend James and his parents. He's funny, and sweet, and he refuses to take life too seriously."

"That sounds like someone we know," Margo said, smirking at her daughter. "They say that girls marry men like their fathers."

"Well he is different from Dad in one big way. Sirius is incredibly impulsive; a thought or action comes to him and he acts on it without thinking. I could never imagine Dad doing that; he always sees and analyzes every angle before he does something."

Margo smiled; Cindy's description of her father described Jeremiah to a T. "What does he do?"

On the plane home, Cindy had figured out a way to answer this question without outright lying to her mother. "Well, his uncle left him a pretty substantial inheritance when he died a couple of years ago, so he's been working as part of a group that's trying to effect some social change among the more elitist people like the rest of his family." She didn't think she needed to mention that the "elitists" were actually a bunch of murdering psychopaths, or that Sirius and his friends were being forced to try and effect their social change at the ends of magic wands.

"Well, he sounds like a very noble young man. When are you going to tell him?"

"As soon as I can after I get back to Britain," Cindy replied without hesitation.

Margo hesitated for a second before she dared ask her next question. "How do you think he'll take it, dear?"

"He'll be thrilled!" the youngest McClellan daughter said. "His best friend and his wife told us just before I left that they're having a baby, too, so they can grow up like siblings. Oh, Mom, it's going to be amazing!"