Sirius stared back at Remus with astonishment. But before he could open his mouth to respond, all their heads turned when they started hearing noises outside the corridor, and then someone hurried away and went up the stairs.
"Who was that?" Jenna questioned, but Sirius only shrugged the matter off carelessly.
"It was probably Kreacher, talking out loud to himself. Don't worry about it," he said gloomily before turning to face Remus again. "Look, Lexi's eyes weren't what I was talking about. Not to mention they look nothing like mine."
"Actually, now come to think of it, I did notice it too," Jenna tried to reason. "I always thought she looked somewhat familiar. But I hadn't noticed that her eyes resembled yours until Remus just mentioned it."
"It could just be a coincidence," Sirius protested, shaking his head lightly as his gaze wandered off thoughtfully.
"Then who were you talking about when you said Lexi looked familiar?" Remus mused.
"Lisa Goldman," Sirius finally answered after a long pause.
"What? Lexi's mother?" Jenna raised a brow. "How would you even know her?"
"Yeah, how come we've never heard of her?" Remus went on. "Was she one of the girls at Hogwarts that you —?"
But he stopped himself in mid-sentence when he caught both Jenna and Sirius give him a warning look.
So Remus cleared his throat, fixing his words and saying, "I mean... did she go to Hogwarts at the same time as us?"
"No, she was a Muggle," Sirius explained. "We were childhood friends; me, Lisa, and Regulus... The Goldman family were our neighbor, living next door to us. But on the summer after my second year their family decided to move away. Regulus was devastated."
"Regulus? How come?" said Jenna. "Wasn't he prejudice toward Muggles and Muggle-borns?"
"Not toward Lisa, he wasn't. Because my brother had the biggest crush on her, that's why," said Sirius, now grinning. "He would never admit it out loud. But it was obvious."
"But what are the chances?" Remus interjected, pursing his lips together as he pondered the matter. "I mean... a Muggle girl comes into our lives, who just so happens to be the daughter of Sirius's childhood friend?"
"Maybe — maybe it's just a coincidence?" Jenna suggested unsurely. "Maybe this isn't the same Lisa Goldman?"
"It's too unlikely." Sirius shook his head. "Jenna, you've never seen Lisa when she was young. Her and Lexi look so much alike! Well... except for their eyes, of course. Hers were brown."
"But it all seems too fishy! A girl has been sent to the past to change a certain moment... her mother shares the same name as Sirius's childhood friend... her eyes resemble the Black family... and Regulus was in love with this Lisa when you guys were younger... not to mention Lexi's the only person in this house that Kreacher doesn't insult," Jenna acknowledged. "Isn't it possible that maybe — maybe Regulus had a kid before he died?"
"No, it can't be." Sirius shook his head, almost with certainty. "Regulus died when he was eighteen."
"So?" Jenna raised a brow at him.
"So, the Regulus I knew would've never had the guts to hold a girl's hand! Let only have a kid. Besides, Lexi's father is a Muggle as well, from what we know."
"But isn't there any way that we can make sure of Lexi's background?" Jenna wondered, thinking hard. "Is there any way to find out who her parents really are?"
None of them said anything for long seconds, but then Sirius suddenly got to his feet and without any explanation walked out of the living room and went back upstairs.
"Where the hell did he go?" Jenna blinked a few times in confusion, her eyes fixed on the doorway from where Sirius had left just a second ago.
"You never know with Sirius," said Remus knowingly, chuckling.
"And what makes you say that?" Jenna grinned at him in amusement.
"He was like that at Hogwarts, too," Remus explained, now smiling. "He would just suddenly walk out of the dorm and disappear for the next hour. And he would never tell us where he had gone. But he surely looked more cheerful after returning."
"Oh, yes. He probably used to go and snog his dear Eggnog Jones," Jenna said bitterly, rolling her eyes.
Remus laughed, shaking his head. "No, actually. It was at the time when you and him were going out. James would look up the Marauder's Map to see where he was going, but he would find Sirius alone in an empty corridor or a deserted classroom. It was very confusing. But at the time we didn't know that you had taken your name off the Map."
"Ah, yes... the good old times..." Jenna giggled at the memories.
Not five minutes had passed that Sirius darted back downstairs and sat back down on the couch next to Jenna, now carrying a familiar-looking necklace in his hand.
"Hey, I've seen this necklace before!" Jenna suddenly exclaimed in realization. "It was the day that you were moving into your new flat. I remember I took out that necklace out of a box and asked you what it was, but then you grabbed it away from me and got all protective about it, so I never asked again. But when did you get that?"
"Remember last year when I had visited our flat to send my old penknife for Harry?" Sirius asked and Jenna nodded, so he went on. "When I was there, I took this necklace as well."
"But what does it have to do with Lexi?" Remus asked, pointing at the necklace in Sirius's hand.
"Lisa Goldman had given it to me," he explained. "Before her family was supposed to leave, Lisa gave two identical necklaces to me and Regulus, one for each of us. I'll give my necklace to Lexi. If her father really was Regulus before he had died, then she would recognize this necklace. If not... then maybe all of this really is a coincidence after all."
"Well, whoever Lexi is and wherever she comes from, we know for a fact that her being here was no accident," Jenna muttered, her eyes still fixed on the necklace.
"Yes, Dumbledore said it himself as well." Remus nodded in agreement, lowering his voice. "Lexi wasn't sent here by accident. But we still have no idea who has sent her or what moment they were hoping to change."