A few weeks had passed and there wasn't a single day that the Weasleys didn't nag about not being able to participate in the order.
"Why can't we be in the meetings!?" Ron said enviously as I sipped quietly on my tea.
"Because you're not old enough," Mrs. Weasley reasoned firmly.
"Then how come Lexi can!?" said George, pointing a guilty finger at me. "She's two years younger than us! We're of age!"
"Don't drag me into this," I said, grinning.
"Her case is different, George," said Mrs. Weasley, growing irritated.
"Tsk, tsk," Fred shook his head disapprovingly. "What's with all this favoritism, mother?"
"Oh, hush!"
***
That night after dinner, to everyone's dismal, Mrs. Weasley sent us all upstairs to do the rest of our homework before sleep.
But as we were going up the staircases, we passed the parlor in which we saw Sirius alone, as he stared down at the old piano, dragging his fingers over its keys, though not pushing them to make a sound.
I stood there frozen on my spot, glancing nervously at him. By one look at me, Fred nudged me gently and whispered, "Go talk to him."
I shook my head, stepping away from the door.
"Oh, c'mon," he sighed. "I could tell that you've been wanting to ever since we heard him and Lupin."
"I can't!" I huffed. "What do you expect me to ask him?"
"Everything that has been bothering you," Fred shrugged. "About his conversation with Lupin, about why Kreacher treats you differently than the rest of us, and how Sirius knew your mother."
"I thought you said they were all coincidences?" I folded my arms.
"I did, but you clearly don't think so," he then smiled at me encouragingly. "Go on. It'll be alright."
By that, he gave my cheek a small caress with his thumb before following everybody else upstairs and leaving me and my thoughts alone.
Hesitantly, I walked towards the parlor and knocked at its door, getting Sirius's attention.
"Oh hey, Lexi," he gave me a weird smile before looking back at the dusty piano. "How are you?"
"Fine," I said. "Do you play?" I asked, gesturing at the piano.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Or at least, used to."
"Me too," I beamed, walking slowly inside, looking around uncomfortably.
"Really? So... are you any good?" Sirius grinned sheepishly down at me.
"Not even a bit," I chuckled nervously, "we had a piano at home when I was a kid and I loved it when either of my parents played. Although, I was too young to play back then. But I started taking music classes at my school when we had moved to America; after a few years of being there, of course."
"You used to live in America?" he raised a curious brow at me.
"Yeah," I nodded. "Just for a few years, though. My father insisted that we should leave the country when I was around four. I really don't know why, though. Neither did my mum. But we moved anyway. He was acting really weird. I mean... I don't remember it much, but that's my mother's version of saying it."
Sirius nodded in understanding and then we both fell into an eerie silence, as neither of us knew what to say anymore.
"Do you want to play now?" Sirius finally asked, pointing at the piano.
"I don't remember much," I chuckled. "I haven't played ever since we came back to England. I would love to, though. If only I knew how."
"Well, come here. I can remind you the basics." he said, pulling out the piano's seat and sitting down.
He moved to its right corner, emptying a space on the seat beside him for me. Smiling goofily, I slowly walked towards Sirius and sat down next to him behind the piano.
"Alright," he started. "Now place your fingers on Do, Fa, Sol–"
"–I'm sorry, what?"
"Those are the notes."
"Um... I'm pretty sure the notes are A, B, C –"
"That's the alphabet, genius," Sirius rolled his eyes with a grin. "Merlin, and they told me you were smart!"
I chuckled. "No, they actually are notes. A different kind of naming them, probably."
"That's the stupidest thing I've heard ever since I left Azkaban," he said, "and that's saying something, considering the fact that I see Snivellus every other day." I laughed.
"Alright, you do it then," I said stubbornly, withdrawing my hands from the piano keys and giving him some space. "Do you remember any good pieces?"
"Err – I think so," he nodded, looking down at the keys. "I don't think I'll be able to do the old ones. But I had a few favorites back them. I think I'll manage to play them."
I smiled, watching him place his fingers hesitantly on the keys, and by that, Sirius started playing an ever so familiar tune. The song was simply mesmerizing.
Without even mistaking a note, Sirius kept playing the song and I kept glancing between him and his fingers, which were moving smoothly and professionally on the piano.
When he was finally done, I found my lips slightly apart in awe. He had played so perfectly, as if he had been practicing for the past fourteen years.
"I love that song," I managed to say.
"Oh, yeah?" he grinned proudly to himself.
I nodded brightly. "My dad used to play it all the time."
"Your – your dad?" Sirius gulped.
"Yeah," I smiled at the memory. "He would always place me on his lap when I was a kid and used to play, then I would ruin the song as I banged my fingers on the piano for no reason."
I giggled as I thought back at those days, but when I looked back at Sirius, I saw that his grin had faded away.
"So... what kind of a guy was your dad?" He asked, trying to act casual. But something in the way he was avoiding my gaze said otherwise.
"Well," I started, thinking. "He was a kind man. Really funny, even though he sometimes got weird."
"Like how?"
"Like he was really strict about my school stuff, unlike his usual laid-back self."
"That's not weird," Sirius tried to reason. "Most parents are like that."
"Not my dad," I shook my head. "He was always cool with these things. Wouldn't even careless if I failed all my classes. But the moment I said I was going to my room to read or suggested that we should sit around and watch a movie he would yell at me and tell me to go do my math homework instead of fantasizing about unrealistic things."
"Maybe that traces back to when he was at school," said Sirius. "Maybe he used to fool around and get into a lot of trouble for fantasizing too much, so that's why he wouldn't want you to do bad at school either."
"Well, I don't really know what he was like back at school," I said earnestly. "He was in an orphanage, you see. He studied there. Although, he never talked about there much, either. Heck, I've never even seen one single childhood photo of him."
"How about you mum?" he asked, changing the subject. But on purpose or not, I could not tell.
"My mum was pretty bossy, to be honest," I giggled. "If our socks weren't folded, she would flick! But she would laugh at things easily and knew exactly how to cheer people up. She forgot and forgave easily. Unless you took her food off her plate; that was when all hell broke loose."
"Oh, I know," Sirius laughed.
My face fell at that, remembering Sirius's conversation with Remus, and how he knew her. Even Sirius's laughter died out after he said those words.
"Sirius, can I ask you something?" I asked after long moments of awkward silence.
"What is it?" he said nervously.
"Did you – did you know my mum?" I asked and watched him frown. "You don't have to deny it. I – I heard you and Remus. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have," I said quickly.
Sirius gulped and shifted uncomfortably on his seat before turning to me and saying, "Look, Lexi. What you have to understand about that is–"
But before he could finish his sentence, we heard the door to the house bang open and then heard Mr. Weasley's voice shouting from downstairs,
"Harry's in trouble! He's been expelled!"