Meeting Kris

[Sirius Black]

Sirius headed down to the lake, preparing to meet Kris. it had been a long, miserable summer and he had a lot to talk to her about. Now that he was back at school, he was feeling more confident and at ease than he had in months. He walked casually, his hands in the pockets of his robe, and whistled slightly.

When he got to the big tree by the lake, he sat down and leaned against the heavy trunk to wait for Kris.

[Kris Lupin]

Kris walked out of the castle she hadn't had much fun during the summer, she had been trying to get to know her father again while trying to be with her brother. She had been looking forward to seeing Sirius at the camp but he hadn't been able to go. She looked up and smiled when she saw Sirius, she was glad she had him that had stayed the same. "Hey." She said once she got to him.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius grinned at the sight of her. "Hey, Kris," he said, reaching out and touching her cheek lightly. "You're just as pretty as I remembered you were during my whole horrible summer. So, what'cha been doing with yourself? Did you miss me?"

[Kris Lupin]

Kris smiled at his words. "Yeah, I got worried when you never showed at camp." She hugged him after speaking. "I had thought the worst had happened."

[Sirius Black]

Sirius shook his head, his long hair swinging elegantly with the movement. "No, not the worst. But pretty darn close. I mean, you've never met my mother." He gave her a slow, lazy grin. "I'm sorry I worried you, though. I wish I could have gotten a note out sooner."

He reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a small box. "Anyway, to make it up to you, I brought you this. I stole it from my mom, but she'll never miss it. It belonged to a great-aunt of mine who went off and married a Muggle. She's been obliterated from the family tree, so I figure my mum has no right to keep her old jewelry."

He opened the box for her, displaying a lovely heart-shaped amber pendant with the shape of a rose carved in the center. It hung from a thin gold chain. "It made me think of you," he said, blushing slightly.

[Kris Lupin]

Kris looked at it, "It's beautiful..." she looked at him, "it made you think of me?" She had never seen anything so beautiful.

[Sirius Black]

"Yeah, it did," Sirius said. "I thought that something so pretty should belong to someone pretty, not my rotten old mum. She may have inherited it, but she didn't deserve it, because she shut out the person who owned it." He smiled and lifted the necklace out of the box. "Here. Let me put it on you."

[Kris Lupin]

"Ok." Kris said smiling, she was glad he was ok but with this gift she will feel worse when she has to lie.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius moved around so that he was standing behind her, then put the necklace around her neck and fastened the clasp. "There," he said. "Now, turn around, let me see it on you."

[Kris Lupin]

Kris turned around to let him see how it looked. "How does it look?" She bit her lower lip nervously hoping her scars couldn't be seen.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius put his hands on her shoulders as he admired the necklace on her. "It looks beautiful," he said. "The sun's kind of shining on it and making the whole thing glow. Like you. See, I knew it would be perfect for you." He touched her hair and smiled at her. "Can I kiss you now?"

[Kris Lupin]

Kris nodded, "Yeah, you can." She had really missed him over the summer, but she would had to of explained by lying why she and Remus left.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius leaned in and kissed her softly. It felt good just to be with her again. When he pulled away, he smiled at her. "So, what'd you do all summer? Remus was kinda vague about it."

[Kris Lupin]

"Well, nothing much, before camp I tried to spend time with Remus and my father but Remus wouldn't stay in the same room as him. Then we went to camp but after a little bit we went to a friends house and stayed there til school." Kris said, it was the truth but she hoped he wouldn't ask why they left camp. She wasn't sure if she would handle lying to him after him giving her a gift.

[Sirius Black]

"Ah, OK. Sounds cool," Sirius said. "So how come you guys left camp early? Did it suck or something? I had a feeling it was going to be dumb, but I still wish I could have gone. Anything would have been better than my summer at home." He sat down on the grass and patted the spot next to him. "I sure hope you guys can get your family situation worked out. I can tell Remus is still really mad at your dad, and I don't think it's good for him, or for you. Plus I'm kinda hoping I can spend part of next summer with you guys. James has already agreed to break me out of my parents' house, but I wanna see you guys, too."

[Kris Lupin]

Kris sat beside him. "Yeah he is still mad at Dad.. it's my fault for telling him who I was.." She sighed and looked at her lap, she was avoiding telling him why they left.

[Sirius Black]

"Hey, you can't blame yourself for that," Sirius said. "It seems to me that Remus has a good reason for being mad at your dad. I mean, the guy essentially kicked you out of the family. he write you off and pretended you never existed. How is it your fault? The guy seems like a jerk, if you ask me. He seems like... my mother. Well, maybe not that bad, but you know what I mean. I can't understand what reason he would have had for sending you away and not telling Remus about you. Don't you think Remus had a right to know the truth?"

[Kris Lupin]

"He did but I ruined his relationship with dad... I hope he forgives him soon so we can be a real family." Kris said looking at her lap, it was hard for her to not tell him the truth. She wanted to tell him what really happened over the summer but if he did know he would probably leave her.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius leaned in and kissed her gently. "Kris, I love that you care so much that you're willing to take the blame for everything, but you've got to listen to me, OK? You did not ruin Remus's relationship with your father. He did. Your father ruined it himself, the minute he sent you away and lied to Remus about it. You did nothing wrong, do you hear me? You're the victim... you and Remus. You need to stop blaming yourself... it's like you think it's all your fault just for existing. It's not your fault, OK, baby?"

[Kris Lupin]

"But I can't help but think that maybe he would have been better off without me... I mean he said he was happy I told him but I don't know..." Kris looked at her lap as she hugged herself.