the_debt_of_time

She did not wait as long as Sirius had, knowing that none of them would let up until
this was all done and over with. A part of her wondered if Veritaserum would counteract
Dumbledore's spell, and that part of her was just too eager to find out, so she drank quickly.
"Now, Mia, why haven't you told Sirius that you want to be with him?"
"Because he'll just leave me again when it becomes too much for him!" She flushed
at the unexpected volume of her own voice and quickly buried her face in her hands.
"What?" Sirius asked. "Is that what you think?"
"It's what I know," she said, refusing to look at him. "It's what you did!"
"I just wanted something better for you."
"No." Mia looked up and scowled at him. "You wanted me to tell you all my secrets,
secrets that I can't tell you; not yet."
"Remus, drink," Lily instructed, interrupting their argument. "Why did you and Mia
start dating again?"
"Because Sirius told us to. He said we gave up on our relationship, and we owed it
to ourselves and him to find out if we really wanted to be together or if we thought it was
just fate keeping us apart."
"Mia, drink." Lily pointed, not giving a moment for anyone involved to get
distracted enough for the truth serum to wear off. "What did you find out when you and
Remus were dating?"
"That I love Remus, but I'm not in love with him," Mia answered immediately.
"That we did have a choice in the end, and we chose not to be with one another."
Sirius shook his head firmly. "That doesn't make sense. If you love him then why
not choose to be with him?"
"Because he's not you, stupid!"
The room fell into complete silence.
"Sirius, drink," Lily ordered quietly after refilling the glass in his hands. "Why don't
you want to be with Mia?"
Sirius frowned, shaking his head sadly. "I do... m-more than—Fuck—more than
anything, but I'm not g-good for her. I'm not good enough."
"I believe it's my job to decide that," James interjected.
Mia stared at her brother. "Excuse me?"