•This story takes scenes from the Harry Potter series. I want to make it clear that I don't own those scenes. That's owned by
J.K. Rowling. Thank you•

~Claire~

"Sirius Black! Do not walk out that door!"

"I will be back in an hour. I promise."

"Sirius! I don't feel good about this!"

Sirius Black. Imprisoned for the murder of twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew.

"You are required to divorce Sirius."

My eyes flew open as I sat up in bed. My heart pounded as I sweated profusely.

Nightmares weren't uncommon to me. I use to have them about Sirius being killed. But ever since that night, it's only been memories of what happened twelve years ago.

Glancing over at my clock, I noticed it was half past seven. Pulling the duvet off of me, I reluctantly climbed out of bed.

I caught a glimpse of my tearstained cheeks as I walked past the mirror and out into the hallway. I walked down the stairs, and into the kitchen.

The house was small. There was no dining room like the house Sirius and I owned. This one had a small table and two chairs against the wall of the kitchen.
The living room consisted of a small tv and a couch. A half wall separating it from the kitchen.
The downstairs bathroom was small. The upstairs one not much better.
Then there were two bedrooms. Each fairly small.

It was all I could afford though.

I knew I had access to Sirius's vault in Gringotts. But I'd feel to guilty taking from his vault.
Sirius would have disagreed. He'd tell me what's his is mine. But I didn't have him here to tell me that.

Turning the coffee machine on, I grabbed a mug out of the cabinet.

"Morning, Mum," Scarlett greeted as she walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, Scar. Could you turn the news on?" I asked, smiling over at her.
"Yeah sure. Oh! Are you making coffee? Could I have some?" Scarlett asked excitedly.
"Of course," I laughed.

Scarlett reminded me of myself in so many ways.

The fact that she was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, but with knee high socks, was one way.
Her hair being in a messy bun, was another.
Her love for coffee, was a strong one.

I grabbed another mug out of the cabinet, going to place it next to mine.

"...The public is warned that Black is armed and extremely dangerous. A special hot line has been set up, and any sighting of Black should be reported immediately."

The mug shattered as it collided with the floor.

"The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will announce today-"
"Mum are you okay?! What happened?!" Scarlett questioned as she ran over to me.
"I'm fine," I reassured as I took my wand out. The mug fixed with a simple spell.

Calm down Claire.

It's the Muggle news. They could be talking about some other guy named Black.

But could it have been Sirius?

"Are you sure, Mum? You look pale?" Scarlett stated.
"I'm quite alright," I sighed, glancing over at the tv that now showed two men talking about the weather.
"Okay. Well I wanted to ask if I could go out today to Diagon Alley? It's the last day of July, and neither Angelina, Alicia, Katie, or myself have gotten our supplies for our fifth year," Scarlett explained.
"Erm. Yeah. Sure," I nodded, my mind else where.
"Mum are you sure you're alright?" Scarlett asked again.
"Quite sure," I smiled lightly.
"Mhmm. Well. How much do you reckon supplies'll cost?" Scarlett questioned.
"Too much," I sighed, handing her a small pouch of galleons.
"Thank you Mum!" Scarlett grinned.

The two of us ate pancakes and drank our coffee. My mind filled with thoughts of the possibility of Sirius escaping.

Could he have? Is he sane? Does he still love me? Does he really think I divorced him?

I had barely noticed when Scarlett placed her dishes in the sink. Only being brought back to reality when she came down the stairs completely dressed.

"Bye, Mum!" Scarlett called as she stepped into the fireplace.
"Bye, Scar!" I waved.

Placing my dishes in the sink next to Scarlett's, I made a decision.

The only way I was going to find out what was happening, would be through magic.

I need to be involved with magic.

No more living in Muggle neighborhoods.
No more Muggle jobs.
No more ignoring magic.

I don't know how long I was planning this. But soon enough, Scarlett was stepping out of the fireplace.

"Mum? Have you even left the kitchen?" Scarlett questioned.
"Pack anything you want to keep," I stated.
"What?" Scarlett asked.
"We're moving. Today," I said simply.
"Moving?! To where?!" Scarlett exclaimed.
"You'll see. Now. Is there anything important here?" I questioned.
"Only my life!" Scarlett scoffed.
"Merlin you are like your father. We're not going far. Nothing will change except for the house and the scenery," I explained.

Scarlett stood with her lips pursed.

"Well go on! Pack whatever you want! You don't have any clothes at this house so you may want to pack all of those!" I stated, nudging her towards the stairs.

Not even an hour later, boxes of clothes were placed in front of me.

"Clothes is about all we can do. There is a guest bedroom there you can stay in. But your room was a nursery so that won't do you much good," I said, the boxes disappearing with a flick of my wand.
"May I ask why we're moving all of a sudden? I mean. Do we even have the money for this?" Scarlett questioned.
"The house is paid for. Bills aren't anything we need to worry about," I shrugged.
"Why don't we need to worry about bills?" Scarlett inquired.
"The money for the house comes straight out of your father's vault at Gringotts. I can assure you he's got us covered," I laughed shakily.

The mere mention of Sirius killed me. But I found it easier to talk about him then to not.

"Then let's go," Scarlett smiled.

With a loud crack, Scarlett and I appeared in the middle of a wide forest.

"Where, exactly, is this house?" Scarlett asked after glancing around.
"There's a barrier. Surprised it's lasted these past eleven years," I said.
"Eleven years? This place isn't going to be covered in dust?" Scarlett asked as we began walking along the almost unnoticeable path.
"Magic."

Just then – after passing between the two trees – a huge house appeared in the middle of a clearing that was once trees.

"Woah," Scarlett mumbled.
"Right? Your father did it when we first moved here," I explained, taking the first step towards the house.
"Mum, this is a mansion! How did we go from this to that small house?!" Scarlett questioned.
"Without your father, I felt guilty living here," I sighed.

Pushing the door open, I was filled with emotions as we entered the familiar house,

"It's gorgeous," Scarlett breathed out.
"That's what I said when we first saw the house," I laughed.

Scarlett spent a whole hour walking around the house.

But whilst she did that, I wondered off to a room by myself.

The room's walls were still purple.

The snitch still fluttered around in the jar next to the bunny.

Books still filled the small bookshelf.

The crib was still perfectly made with the purple quilt.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I spotted the small black dog.

I shakily sat in the rocking chair. The dog clutched in my hands.

Tears fell from my eyes. Memories flashing before me.

Sirius presenting the dog. Scarlett's joy when she first saw it. Sirius's amusement when she asked him to 'Be dog.'

I never thought I would ever be back in this house. I left it after that first year of Sirius being gone, because it hurt so much.

My husband was gone. I'd never see him again. And that house only reminded me of him.

Sirius was gone. I'd never see his smile. Hear his laugh. Taste his lips. Smell his cologne. Hold his hand. Nothing. He was gone.

But for the first time in twelve years, I had hope.

I had hope that maybe I would see him.

Maybe I would hear him laugh.

Maybe I would taste his lips.

Maybe I would smell his cologne.

Maybe I would hold his hand.

Maybe I would see my husband again. My Sirius.

All because I had hope.

All because I heard the name Black on the Muggle news.

And maybe it was someone else.

But I had so much hope.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First chapter!
New year, new story!

This is the sequel to Dancing In The Rain. If that wasn't obvious. It does take place during Prisoner of Azkaban, and will lead into Deathly Hallows. Or at least that's what it is planned to do.

I hope you all like this chapter. It was a little short. But the prologue took awhile to write, and there wasn't a lot I could write about in this chapter. The next chapter will be a lot more interesting though.

I hope you're all having a fantastic day! Happy new year! It's now 2018, which is crazy! I love you all! Bye!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~