AN: This almost (I repeat that almost) ventures into PW(O)P? but not quite.
It does. It does have one. It's just not a blow things up and save the
world plot. I'm still not sure if I'm going to post this… I recently felt
like exploring a possible Sirius x Arabella relationship, especially if you
throw in my other OCs (okay, mine and rose-chan's, but that's nearly beside
the point- they only have cameos for the most part). I hope this turns out
well… I really don't know . Oh, and the Sirius in a bow bit was simply
because I couldn't resist. ^^ This is dedicated to Phoenix SilverWind (I
hope I got your name right, I can't get on-line at the moment…). Go read
The Diary. It's good. And visit her website. It's better. ^^
AN2: These are chronological events in my little world, but not with any particular spacing. The fic takes place over two months. If you don't read ANs, too bad for you- you just won't know why things happen so fast. ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own these people or songs or lyrics or artists or animals (except maybe Pepper. he might be mine…), although I so wish I did, especially 'Bella and Sirius… *sigh*
*~*
Arabella lay upside down on her overstuffed arm chair, using the ground to help braid her hair with tens of mini-braids. Nearby, on the end table, the radio was on, and it was a song by Joe Nickels, a muggle, titled, "The Impossible." She was humming along, voice either doing the harmony or the descant, whichever she felt like at the moment. She was gazing (albeit upside down) into the fire, seeing if she could see anything about her future. She groaned quietly as she saw the Grim for the fifth time that week in the fire, head cocked to the side, seeming to ask what she was doing.
"I'm doing my hair, you stupid figment!" she hissed impatiently.
She longingly thought back to her days in Hogwarts, and in particular, the Marauders. James, Remus, Peter, and- her mental voice stuck a moment in painful remembrance- Sirius…
She quickly finished and tied off the braid she was working on, and brushed her witches' lock out of her face with her long fingers as she rose from the chair.
She stopped next to the mantle and traced her fingers along the edge of one wizarding photo, one of the entire group of them just after their graduation from Hogwarts. There were James and Lily, each wearing Head Boy/Girl badges and waving their letters of acceptance into their jobs (James was going to be a Chaser, while Lily (Samantha was going to go with her) was going to be apprenticing herself to Madam Mallaway, and then starting a wizarding pre-school), Peter was looking shady, yet somehow innocent (Arabella had never liked him), Remus was going to travel to mainland Europe to see the sights and visit other wizarding schools, Mundungus looked nervous, but mostly proud, as he showed everyone his letter of acceptance into the Aurors. She paused as she looked at Sirius. He was leaning almost lazily against that giant motorcycle of his, not bothering to try to show off his letter from a muggle auto shop saying that he had been accepted as an apprentice on a two month trial basis. Arabella looked sadly at the girl next to Sirius who had stolen his heart. Jaqui had received special permission to come back and visit for their graduation, and was at that moment, perched cutely on Sirius' motorcycle. She remembered having drawn a picture of Julie and put it in this picture, and asked Remus to hold it up for her since Julie was incapable of being there in reality.
A scratching at the window caught Arabella's attention. 'No one ever comes here on Tuesdays…' she thought to herself.
She peered out the window, wand clutched tightly in her hand. She could almost make out a large dog form in the darkness.
She pointed to the door, knowing that if it was who she hoped it was, they would understand.
She pulled open the door wide enough to squeeze through.
It suddenly occurred to her what her fire vision had been telling her. It had been telling her to prepare her heart because Sirius was coming to pay a visit.
"You can transform," she told him. "I have wards on this house so that no one I invite can come in or see through the windows."
She blinked and Sirius was sitting in front of her, trying not to laugh.
"What?" she demanded crossly.
He mutely pointed at her head, and doubled over laughing.
She touched a hand to her head, and realized how amusing her hair had to look. Half of it was in braids, and the other half was thick and either frizzy or wet.
Shaking her head, she stopped a moment to collect her thoughts and get a hold of her heart. "If you keep laughing, I'll stick you outside in the rain," she threatened. Sirius tried, he honestly did, to sober his expression. "Come on, want some dinner?"
"Is it free?" he asked.
She was tempted, ever so much, to tell him that the cost was a dragon's eye, but settled on, "It will cost you your soul."
Sirius stopped, looked at her back inquiringly. "You're joking, right?"
"That's a secret, Black," she told him.
"C'mon, I'm serious, are you joking?"
"Yeah, I know you're Sirius. You have been since you were named." She kicked the kitchen door as she jiggled the handle, trying to open it.
Drawn to the sound like cats generally are to sounds of possible food, Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty were suddenly at her feet, sitting quietly, fixing her with silent smirking stares. The newest was a few feet away from Sirius, back arched and hissing and spitting like crazy. "Oh, Pepper, shush," Arabella commanded him. When the cat foolishly ignored her command, she pulled out her wand and sent him packing into the next room and then proceeded to lock the door on him.
"I thought you liked cats," Sirius said blandly, taking the door knob from Arabella and putting it on the table next to her. "Let me try."
Arabella obediently moved aside. "I do. I was just teaching the little brat a lesson. The others already know that when I'm around, they don't hiss at my friends. Besides, they're all going in that room soon."
Sirius stepped aside as the door swung open, bowing to Arabella, who walked in applauding.
*~*
Sirius stretched out on the couch, listening to the quiet noises of Arabella getting ready for bed as he dozed off. It was good to be off the ground, even if it was only for a night. It was even better to be in the house of a good friend, and helpful assistant in pranks. He wondered in the back of his mind what Jaqui was doing at that very moment. His heart ached as he thought of his only love. Albeit, a love gone wrong, since Jaqui had had to be Queen, and since gotten married, and he had been sent to Azkaban.
He sighed as he fell asleep thinking of his years in Hogwarts at first. His years with Jaqui.
*~*
Arabella ran a brush through her thick chocolate brown hair, undoing the braids. She'd do them another time. She brushed her teeth and climbed into her pajamas, completely on auto pilot.
Her mind was downstairs, with the dark-haired prankster whom had stolen her heart so many years ago.
"Why, oh cruel fates? Why now? I have enough problems with Death Eaters and Ministries from several countries, what did I do to deserve getting my heart tangled in this mess as well?" she asked her mirror quietly so that the only other person in the house couldn't hear, a completely muggle artifact, meaning it wouldn't respond.
*~*
"So how long are you here?" Arabella asked the next evening over dinner.
Sirius shrugged. "I'm supposed to gather the old crowd. I suppose I'm just here for one more night. I need to get over to Mundungus' to see if he'll come over onto our side."
"What's left of the old crowd, you mean," Arabella said softly, her gaze flicking back to the picture on the mantle.
"Anything you want me to do?" Sirius offered. "Open the kitchen door?" he suggested jokingly.
"Nah, I've got it," she told him smiling, appreciating his attempt at humor.
She quietly rose, and carried their dishes into the kitchen, efficiently loading the dishwasher. After she flicked on the radio, she started washing the remaining dishes, singing along quietly.
"I'm crazy for trying and crazy for crying, and I'm crazy for loving you…" she sang, rinsing the soap off a platter, in her own little world, not noticing anything around her, instincts telling her she was safe. She always listened to her instincts. They had saved her and countless others from death several times already.
In the living room, Sirius stretched out on his makeshift bed (a.k.a. the couch) and thought.
''Bella…' he thought. 'She's a good friend, good hostess, excellent cook, but she's acting so weird, even for her… And what's worse is she won't tell me what's bothering her. I hope she opens up soon… She sounds like a phoenix when she sings.' And that was the highest praise anyone could give a singer. It meant that they had a pure, sweet voice, that inspired people, and that was hard to do in the Voldemort years of past or present.
Sirius was startled out of his reverie a tapping on his nose.
"Huh?!"
"There's a letter for you. I got one as well. They're from Dumbledore." She tore of the wax emblem on hers and unrolled it, quickly scanning it.
Sirius quickly followed suit, and looked up at Arabella when he was done. "So?"
Arabella nodded. "You can stay. After all, if Dumbledore says it's too dangerous to travel, most people would have been cloistered in their homes for months now. Oh, I have to do some grocery shopping Friday, as 'That nice old Mrs. Figg's daughter.' We'll have to go by Privet Drive to get to the baker's and to the normal supermarket."
Sirius' eyes lit up. "We'll see Harry?"
"If he's outside, yes. And he generally is during summer. I know I would be with that dreadful cousin of his. That boy managed to knock me over and break my leg with that bike of his. Do you know how hard it is to go three blocks on crutches when you look about ninety? Everyone keeps asking you if you need any help, and other such polite bits."
Sirius decided that it would be safer for all involved if he changed the subject. "Hey, 'Bella, why'd you quit the Aurors? It had been your life long dream."
Arabella's heart jumped foolishly. She gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "Life got in the way. And anyway, after Harry, the need for Aurors went down significantly. Mund and I were both let go."
"Why?" Sirius demanded outraged. "You were the best there was!"
"Because to be an Auror now, you've got to battle paperwork with a smile. Oh, and thanks for the compliment. There was practically zilch fighting, and that was more against evil cockroaches than dark wizards. And since, I've gotten a better job. One that has no paperwork."
"Hm?" Sirius prompted.
"Until you can, I protect Harry to the best of my abilities." She reached over to pat his arm. "Now go to sleep- it's already ten thirty, and I'm usually asleep about an hour ago."
Arabella got up and let the cats out into the darkness to collect information for her. (Think about it, who would suspect a spy with four legs and a name like Tibbles? It's a valid theory.) She then proceeded upstairs, disappearing into the darkness before flipping a light on.
Sirius stared after her, fingering his arm where she had touched him. It was warmer than the rest of his skin.
He leaned back, sighing. Women were creatures that he liked, he was just no nearer understanding them than he was twenty years ago…
*~*
Arabella jolted upright, breathing hard in fright. She forced herself to calm down. She grabbed her wand and a crowbar that she kept next to her bed when she heard an odd noise.
Clutching the two items almost fearlessly, she prowled over to her door and slipped out of her room, tracking the noise. It was coming from downstairs. She must have looked a sight, in a floor length night robe and clutching a short piece of wood and a longer piece of iron. She carefully descended, and realized that the noise was coming from the couch. She went over and looked at Sirius, in the thrall of a nightmare. Deciding to be safe rather than hit, she prodded him with the crowbar, effectively waking him up.
He jolted upright, and looked around with a haunted, hollow expression, as he pressed himself further into the couch.
Arabella approached him, and sat down beside him, and patted his knee. The contact calmed him enough that he looked almost normal again.
"Nasty nightmare, ne?" she asked. He nodded. "I have them too."
"What of?" he asked, relieved that attention wasn't on him anymore.
"The night Sammy was killed by Voldemort, I was tracking him, I was one of the only ones on duty that night. I was supposed to find and kill him, but by the time I found them, he was gone, an untraceable trail and Sammy was-" Arabella broke off, unable to continue.
Sirius helplessly patted her back as he found them in a role reversal.
"She was dead. And that precious little girl of hers was crying her eyes out. I had to take little Elizabeth to her aunt and uncle. I just felt so helpless…" she finished quietly.
"C'mon, let's have some tea," Sirius suggested, for want of a better cure.
*~*
In the kitchen, Sirius sat on the counter across from her, and said, "My nightmares are usually about Lily and James… If only I had been their Secret Keeper… None of this could have happened."
"Yes, Lily and James would be alive, but Jaqui, Sammy, and all of the others would be dead, along with countless others. It's only because they died that Harry could banish Voldemort, even if it was only for fourteen years. That was still fourteen years of peace we've been able to rebuild in."
Sirius shrugged. "Yeah. But I've learned to look forward to those nightmares. They beat the hell out of remembering that place." He shuddered involuntarily just as the tea kettle announced that the water was hot.
*~*
Arabella stretched her arms over her head, yawning. She raised her head off the couch, and looked around, trying to remember what had happened. She shifted, and banged her knee on the coffee table leg, wincing as she moved body parts that had long ago decided to go to sleep.
Sirius rolled over on the couch, mumbling something about Quidditch and breakfast. Arabella smiled, and poked him in the side.
"Wake up, sleepyhead!" she told him, grinning. "Or I'll go see Harry and do the shopping on my own."
"Wha-?" he asked. Arabella grabbed his arm and pulled him upright.
"Breakfast time," she told him. "By the way," she added, "I think it would be a good idea for me to approach Mund alone. He might decide to kill you."
"Oh, okay. I'm coming. For breakfast, that is- not my possible death."
*~*
Sirius glanced over at Arabella, who was in the kitchen, making dinner Saturday, a process that didn't involve Sirius at all, because, as Arabella said, "I would like to have some dinner left by the time it's finished."
He went back to the newspapers, both muggle and wizard, he had been reading out loud to her. He looked back over, admiring her grace as she poured something into a pan. He laughed at her expression of extreme concentration, eyes screwed up as she bit the tip of her tongue. "Quit laughing!" she told him. "I can't concentrate with a hyena on at the table!"
*~*
Arabella was in the kitchen doing the dishes, as always, to the radio, swaying back and forth in time.
Sirius sneaked up behind her and grabbed her waist, swinging her around laughing.
She shrieked and walloped him on the shoulder. Breathing harder than normal, she asked, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Sirius just grinned at her and bowed, ignoring his shoulder that was yelling in silent pain. "May I have this dance?"
Arabella smiled and took his hands, and submitted to the dance. "Sorry about whacking you- Auror instincts."
They spun around the kitchen floor, laughing, and making their own dance steps up to the song, Turn Back Time.
*~*
Arabella leaned over to reach a particularly defiant weed out of her vegetable garden. She snagged it and tossed over her shoulder into the wheelbarrow. 'Snuffles' was lying on the grass nearby watching her.
Sirius saw a motion out of the corner of his eye. His head whipped around to see it.
A snake was making it's way towards Arabella.
In a flash, Sirius was up and on top of the poor snake. The snake never really had a chance against an over-protective Sirius.
Arabella turned around at Sirius' growl. She laughed gently at him. "Padfoot, that's a garter snake. They're quite harmless and very common."
The look in Sirius' eyes said that anything moving towards his 'Bella was clearly a threat. He looked distrustfully at the snake.
"Maybe you're right," she said, ruffling his ears. "Snakes are Slytherin's mascot, after all, and Voldemort is a Parselmouth. Thank you. It was very sweet."
*~*
Arabella set the food on the table, somehow dredging up enough will power to stop her hands from shaking.
Sirius took one look at her and immediately asked, "'Bella, what's wrong? You're pale as a sheet."
She shook her head nervously. "I'm fine."
Sirius looked at her curiously. He crunched down on the pasta, and that cinched his belief that something was wrong- Arabella never burnt food. She was now occupied in twisting her left wrist as if she had too much energy, something that was completely out of character for her. "Arabella Figg, you are one of the worst liars I've ever met!" Sirius exclaimed.
"I'm fine," she reiterated. "There's just bad ki in the neighborhood right now. Stronger than normal as well."
"Ki?" Sirius asked.
"Energy. Usually spirit energy like ghosts and such nasties. If I'm around too much of it, I become slightly clairvoyant, and that just makes me jittery. It's no fun seeing that you're going to drop a plate a second before it slips from your hand, and you can do nothing, or worse, see that someone's going to die, but you don't know when or how, or even what caused it." Her hand had stopped, but Sirius could hear her foot tapping the wooden table leg. "I hate feeling helpless."
"Okay, tonight, I'm clearing the table and doing the dishes," Sirius informed her gently. "Only fair, anyway, you've done all of the cooking."
*~*
"Hold STILL!" Arabella shouted.
'Snuffles' barked a negative response as he backed up into the couch.
"Yes! If you want to go outside, you have to have a collar. Otherwise someone will call the pound on you. I don't want to have to pay bail on a dog."
Snuffles shook his head vehemently.
"It's either a collar or a bow," Arabella told him firmly, pulling her wand out. "Take your pick, or I choose." Despite appearances, she was having fun with this. She personally was having a little trouble picturing Sirius (or Snuffles) with a bow around his neck, never mind the fact she had seen it several Fridays in a row now.
*~*
Arabella walked down the street silently laughing at the dog beside her. Snuffles was wearing a large blue-white bow around his neck, and scowling up at her ferociously.
"Good morning," she called to Petunia Dursley, putting a hand on Sirius' neck to disguise his raised hackles. "Is Harry around?"
"Good morning. He's around somewhere."
"Thank you," Arabella replied brightly. She looked around for her charge. "Have a nice day." She had long ago decided to kill the Dursleys with kindness. She tugged on Snuffles' bow. "Come on," she hissed at him. "I know where he is."
*~*
Arabella stopped outside the supermarket, looking at the no animals allowed sign. She sighed. "Well, Snuffles, ol' boy, sit and stay. I won't be long."
She was true to her word. She was in, paid, and out in five minutes flat with a large basket of food.
*~*
They walked through the main street of the little town. Arabella squinted as she saw a short, slim figure with jet black hair ahead of them. Sirius perked up. "Go get him. He's heading back towards Privet." Sirius darted ahead of her. Arabella made a show of huffing and ran after him, shouting for him to come back.
"Snuffles!" she pretended to scold him when she caught up to him. "Don't do that!" She looked up at Harry, who had raised an eyebrow and was looking back and forth between them. "Oh, hello, Harry Potter. Do you want to come look at more pictures of Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, Tufty and Pepper?" She grinned at his expression. "Joking. But it isn't safe for you to be outside this much with Voldemort in power again. If you're in number 4, or my house, you're fairly safe. Professor Dumbledore will kill me if something happens to you." She had started walking back to her house, still carrying her basket.
"So, are you-?"
"Old Mrs. Figg?" Arabella finished for him. She smiled secretively and nodded once. "I'll fill you in at home." She looked around, eyes wide and scanning their surroundings. Her instincts were telling her that something was about to happen. "Hurry up. Snuffles," she said, pulling his head around to look him in the eyes, "Take him and get on my property as near to the house as you can get. Harry, take this key, and for god's sake HURRY!" she shouted the last word, sending them on their way.
Sirius spared one glance over his shoulder, and prayed to whatever or whomever was listening that she would be safe after this little adventure, and he continued his run to her house.
She flung herself to the ground, instincts screaming at her, narrowly missing being hit by a bolt of green lightening. In an instant, she was on her feet, wand at the ready. "If you wish to duel me, face me like you have something resembling honor."
With a hollow chuckle, the six foot tall figure appeared about thirty feet in front of her, clothed in a long flowing black robe, the hood covering their face.
The two bowed, although the Death Eater bowed mockingly, as Arabella asked, "What is my opponent's name?"
She got the impression that she was being smirked at as the figure said nothing. She quickly focused all of her powers of magic and concentration as she quickly cast her first spell.
The blue fire from the Death Eater's hex mostly went around her unfinished shield as she ran forward shouting, "Avada Kedavra!"
The Death Eater fell to the ground with a look of intense hatred on their face.
Arabella shot the Aurors' sparks of iridescent blue, red and yellow into the sky, knowing that someone in London would see them and investigate.
She gingerly felt her legs where some of the fire had gotten her on her shins. "Drat," she muttered. "Poison."
She apparated to her house, and collapsed on the doorstep, blacking out as she hit her head on the pointy door handle. 'Damn…' she thought. 'They're going to kill Sirius now…' were her last thoughts.
*~*
Sirius and Harry ran as fast as they could, Harry riding on the much larger Sirius' back. A figure appeared in front of them, cloaked in black. Sirius skidded to a halt, Harry falling off to the side. Sirius stood over his godson, growling protectively.
Harry stood up, and felt for his wand. He found the key, and mistaking it for his wand, whipped it out.
The Death Eater laughed, and cocked their head at him. "Yes, that's a pretty little key. Now, you DIE!"
The Death Eater lunged toward Harry, but was knocked off course.
"No. I think you die," the new person said. He grabbed the Death Eater's neck and squeezed, effectively breaking the other's neck.
"Go to Hogwarts," the man told them. "Take this. It's a portkey. Tell Dumbledore I'm coming, Padfoot, after I go get Arabella. Now go!" He turned and started running to Arabella's property.
Sirius (he's still Padfoot in form) and Harry grabbed the small brass trophy, and Harry groaned as he felt the now rather familiar feeling of the hook behind his navel yanked them off to Hogwarts.
*~*
The man crouched down beside Arabella, gently feeling the wound on her temple, ignoring, for the moment, the shin wounds.
"Well, we're off to Hogwarts," he told her unconscious form, picking her up and apparating.
*~*
Sirius and Harry found themselves under Fawkes' cage, in Dumbledore's office. He looked up at the two newcomers.
"Ah, hello, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black," he said.
"Erm, hello, Professor. Why are we here of all places in Hogwarts?"
"I was going to ask that very same question."
"And, sir, who was that?"
Sirius turned human. "We're here because Mundungus Fletcher rescued us, and if he works for you like I suspect, it would make sense that he would have a discreet place to appear. He gave us a portkey."
Dumbledore nodded once. "That would be a correct assumption. Where would he and Ms. Figg be?"
"Fighting Death Eaters, sir. 'Bella got one and I got another three. They travel in packs," a new voice that sounded like gravel piped up. "Good day, professor, Sirius. Hello, Harry." Mundungus glanced down at his robes. "Dammit. They always change when I apparate here." He looked at Harry's confused expression. "People of the Order, First Level can do extremely limited apparation in Hogwarts. And I always get stuck in these robes again after I do so. They're bloody uncomfortable."
Mundungus was in the doorway, carrying Arabella. Now that Harry could see the two clearly, he could see that they were wearing nearly identical sets of robes, a deep red under robe and a black outer robe with a silver sash tying them closed.
"They were attacked on their way back to Arabella's and they went ahead while Arabella fought one of them. It was a short duel, but it ended in the death of the Death Eater, and she's injured. Then, they were attacked, and they summoned me."
"How?" Harry asked.
"Arabella gave you a key, I'm willing to bet. It summons your nearest conscious protector. In this case, me. Now, sir, if you'll excuse me, I should get 'Bella to the Hospital Wing." He looked Sirius in the eye. Sirius squirmed slightly. Mundungus chuckled softly, figuring out his feelings. "Want to come, Sirius?"
*~*
Mundungus lay Arabella out on the table, so that Madam Pomfrey could start patching her up.
"Tsk, tsk, you should have brought her straight her, Fletcher. This is a fast acting poison, this griffin blood mixed with arsenic. It's already most of the way through her system. If she survives today, she'll more than likely be in a coma for a long while, and if she pulls through that, she'll probably never walk again, although she will be able to feel." She poured a thick potion over the blue skin. The potion formed itself into a protective covering, as it absorbed a good deal of the potion. Madam Pomfrey raised her wand to the cut near Arabella's temple, and mended it quickly. "Go do something useful, and owl all of your friends about what happened."
Mundungus bowed, and walked out, leaving Sirius laying there and watching with saddened eyes.
There was a knock on the door, before it opened. "Excuse, Madam Pomfrey, may I come in?" the girl asked quietly.
Madam Pomfrey said huffily, "Come in, and bolt the door behind you."
The girl was only about five foot, but she carried herself like she was taller and important. She knelt down next to Sirius. "What's wrong?"
Sirius looked from her to the bed and put his head back on his paws.
"There, she's stable," Madam Pomfrey said. "I'll leave you all now. I should go inform Professor Dumbledore what has occurred." She walked out of the room, and Katy walked over to the bed with Arabella.
Sirius was human again, head in his hands. "It's my fault," he moaned. "She got these injuries protecting Harry and me… She should have been the one running with Harry, with me holding them off…"
"Sirius, parain, get real. If you had had your places switched, not only would you be dead, but your corpse would be in Azkaban. Arabella was the only one in your little group that had a chance against a Death Eater, since she was actually carrying a wand and she's an ex-Auror," Katy told him.
"It still should have been me. I don't have anything in this world, she has everything she needs… A home, a family, a job."
Katy drew a deep breath, biting down her frustration, though her fingers were clenching as if she wanted to either shake some sense into her godfather or choke him. If she didn't, she would have already slapped him, or caused other bodily harm. "Look, parain, I came because I had an idea to help her." She almost rolled her eyes when she saw her godfather's eyes light up. They were already red and puffy. "Remember potions? What do most healing potions have as a main ingredient?" Sirius shrugged. "Phoenix tears," she informed him. "Honestly, am I the only one using my head and not my heart here? Phoenix tears have great healing properties. And what sort of pet do I have?" Sirius glared at her, willing her to spit it out. "A phoenix by the name of Phiphle."
Sirius' expression dared not to show too much hope.
Indeed, when Sirius looked past Katy, there was a phoenix perched on Arabella's stomach.
~ I can't do anything for her. ~ Phiphle telepathically told Katy. ~ Physically, she's fine. There's a reason she doesn't want to wake up, and I can't delve deep enough on my own to find out what. ~
"Then go find Fawkes and get him to help you!" Katy exclaimed impatiently. "There's a reason she doesn't want to wake up, apparently, and we need to find out why," she explained to Sirius. "Although I expect you're involved. I don't know how, but I'm sure you're involved in this." She looked curiously down at Arabella's left hand that was clutching something. "Don't take that out of her hand," she added, running on instinct. "I'm going back to school, 'cause it's the middle of the night there, and I'm tired." She looked at her godfather again. "Remember, dum vita es spes est. Where there's life, there's hope. Oh, and here's that thing you asked for a few days ago." She dropped a small package in his hand. She disappeared with a small popping noise.
Sirius picked up Arabella's hand, and perched on the side of the bed. "Don't die, 'Bella…" he whispered. "Please, don't. My heart couldn't bear to lose you…"
*~*
~ Fawkes, why do you stay in that cage? ~ Phiphle asked him as they flew back to the Hospital Wing.
~ Free food, entertainment, plus the old man is amusing to listen to, and it's dry. ~ Fawkes explained.
~ You never did like the rain, did you? ~
Fawkes shuddered. ~ It's so, so, so wet! ~
*~*
Arabella huddled in the back of her mind, crying softly. She knew that Death Eaters traveled in groups, so she had only gotten one of them. The others were free to go after Sirius and Harry. And Harry was underage, and Sirius didn't have a wand, so they were defenseless, even with the summoning key she had given Harry, but hadn't had time to explain. They were dead. They had to be. There was no other option to accept, and she was helpless to change the facts.
*~*
Phiphle and Fawkes linked minds and delved into Arabella's conscious. She was going on about how they were dead. ~ They're not dead. ~ Phiphle told her.
~ How else do explain what could have happened? ~ Arabella shot back at her.
~ Mundungus was out and about what with the other Death Eaters, and he arrived very quickly. ~ Fawkes told her.
~ The summoning key saved them. ~ Phiphle added.
Arabella looked up at them, distrusting them. Finally, she nodded. ~ So what happens now? ~
~ What do you want to happen? They're only good for one wish, you know. ~
Arabella shut her eyes and clenched her left fist, making her wish.
*~*
Arabella blinked slowly, and looked down at her right hand. The phoenixes were gone, Phiphle back to Katy, and Fawkes back to Dumbledore's (dry) office. Sirius was holding her hand to his heart, head leaning against her leg as he slept. She smiled, and opened her fist, revealing the small glede, or dragon's eye, that Mundungus had pressed into her hand. 'I wonder…' she thought to herself.
*~*
Arabella rolled onto the Quidditch pitch, her gloved hands keeping her chair steady. She had only been out of the Hospital Wing an hour now. She could still feel her legs, they were just totally useless when it came to moving.
She smiled as she looked up, remembering all of the times she was on a broom in the air as a Gryffindor Chaser. She grinned at the large dog, who's face was barely lower than her own, and belonged to a Gryffindor alumni Chaser. She and Sirius had come out to the Quidditch pitch to be able to talk human to human.
"So, why did you never say anything about liking me more than a friend?" Sirius asked her. It had been bugging him for almost the entire week since she had been injured.
"It was a love that would never be granted, so I wished only for your happiness. Everyone knew that you had eyes only for Jaqui. She made you happy. So I settled on being your good friend," she shrugged, avoiding looking at him.
"What did you have in your hand?" Sirius asked. "My goddaughter warned me pain of death to take it out of your hand."
"Mundungus gave me a glede," she said, looking at him.
"Someone gave you a dragon's eye?" Sirius asked incredulous.
She nodded. "They grant one wish an eye."
"What did you wish for?" he asked.
"If I told you, it would cancel the wish," she smiled, squeezing his hand. "But be happy, Padfoot. It's all I want for you."
"'Bella, I-" he started.
"Shh… I know." She looked up at the stars. "Look! There's Orion, which means that Sirius is just there!" she exclaimed, pointing. She enjoyed astrology as a hobby.
Sirius looked over at her, and felt somehow complete, and happy. 'love you…' he finished mentally, since his 'Bella's arms were wrapped around his neck and talking in his ear.
AN- So? What do you think? Feedback is a necessity! I think that this actually turned out pretty decently, actually… There maybe a second of such fics in the near future. I already have another planned out pretty fully in my mind. I just need to find the song lyrics. Yep, folks, it'll be a song fic. ^^ Although not in the traditional song lyrics inserted between paragraphs song fic. I edited even more! ^^ I gotta love these two! Well, maybe I can post this now… Nope, ff.net's still being a brat. So, even more ANs.
Brief Stats-
Length- three days to write
Edited- a couple days after ^^
Listened to- Setsunakutemo… Zutto, Perfect World, and Legacy, oh, a little Scars Left by Time (okay, in editing time, change that to lots of Scars…), and Turn Back Time
Inspiration- my muse asked a question that I felt compelled to answer, and for some odd reason, Beauty and the Beast (the Disney version)
Time finished- 8:06 (I can still get in bed at a decent time ^^)
AN2: These are chronological events in my little world, but not with any particular spacing. The fic takes place over two months. If you don't read ANs, too bad for you- you just won't know why things happen so fast. ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own these people or songs or lyrics or artists or animals (except maybe Pepper. he might be mine…), although I so wish I did, especially 'Bella and Sirius… *sigh*
*~*
Arabella lay upside down on her overstuffed arm chair, using the ground to help braid her hair with tens of mini-braids. Nearby, on the end table, the radio was on, and it was a song by Joe Nickels, a muggle, titled, "The Impossible." She was humming along, voice either doing the harmony or the descant, whichever she felt like at the moment. She was gazing (albeit upside down) into the fire, seeing if she could see anything about her future. She groaned quietly as she saw the Grim for the fifth time that week in the fire, head cocked to the side, seeming to ask what she was doing.
"I'm doing my hair, you stupid figment!" she hissed impatiently.
She longingly thought back to her days in Hogwarts, and in particular, the Marauders. James, Remus, Peter, and- her mental voice stuck a moment in painful remembrance- Sirius…
She quickly finished and tied off the braid she was working on, and brushed her witches' lock out of her face with her long fingers as she rose from the chair.
She stopped next to the mantle and traced her fingers along the edge of one wizarding photo, one of the entire group of them just after their graduation from Hogwarts. There were James and Lily, each wearing Head Boy/Girl badges and waving their letters of acceptance into their jobs (James was going to be a Chaser, while Lily (Samantha was going to go with her) was going to be apprenticing herself to Madam Mallaway, and then starting a wizarding pre-school), Peter was looking shady, yet somehow innocent (Arabella had never liked him), Remus was going to travel to mainland Europe to see the sights and visit other wizarding schools, Mundungus looked nervous, but mostly proud, as he showed everyone his letter of acceptance into the Aurors. She paused as she looked at Sirius. He was leaning almost lazily against that giant motorcycle of his, not bothering to try to show off his letter from a muggle auto shop saying that he had been accepted as an apprentice on a two month trial basis. Arabella looked sadly at the girl next to Sirius who had stolen his heart. Jaqui had received special permission to come back and visit for their graduation, and was at that moment, perched cutely on Sirius' motorcycle. She remembered having drawn a picture of Julie and put it in this picture, and asked Remus to hold it up for her since Julie was incapable of being there in reality.
A scratching at the window caught Arabella's attention. 'No one ever comes here on Tuesdays…' she thought to herself.
She peered out the window, wand clutched tightly in her hand. She could almost make out a large dog form in the darkness.
She pointed to the door, knowing that if it was who she hoped it was, they would understand.
She pulled open the door wide enough to squeeze through.
It suddenly occurred to her what her fire vision had been telling her. It had been telling her to prepare her heart because Sirius was coming to pay a visit.
"You can transform," she told him. "I have wards on this house so that no one I invite can come in or see through the windows."
She blinked and Sirius was sitting in front of her, trying not to laugh.
"What?" she demanded crossly.
He mutely pointed at her head, and doubled over laughing.
She touched a hand to her head, and realized how amusing her hair had to look. Half of it was in braids, and the other half was thick and either frizzy or wet.
Shaking her head, she stopped a moment to collect her thoughts and get a hold of her heart. "If you keep laughing, I'll stick you outside in the rain," she threatened. Sirius tried, he honestly did, to sober his expression. "Come on, want some dinner?"
"Is it free?" he asked.
She was tempted, ever so much, to tell him that the cost was a dragon's eye, but settled on, "It will cost you your soul."
Sirius stopped, looked at her back inquiringly. "You're joking, right?"
"That's a secret, Black," she told him.
"C'mon, I'm serious, are you joking?"
"Yeah, I know you're Sirius. You have been since you were named." She kicked the kitchen door as she jiggled the handle, trying to open it.
Drawn to the sound like cats generally are to sounds of possible food, Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty were suddenly at her feet, sitting quietly, fixing her with silent smirking stares. The newest was a few feet away from Sirius, back arched and hissing and spitting like crazy. "Oh, Pepper, shush," Arabella commanded him. When the cat foolishly ignored her command, she pulled out her wand and sent him packing into the next room and then proceeded to lock the door on him.
"I thought you liked cats," Sirius said blandly, taking the door knob from Arabella and putting it on the table next to her. "Let me try."
Arabella obediently moved aside. "I do. I was just teaching the little brat a lesson. The others already know that when I'm around, they don't hiss at my friends. Besides, they're all going in that room soon."
Sirius stepped aside as the door swung open, bowing to Arabella, who walked in applauding.
*~*
Sirius stretched out on the couch, listening to the quiet noises of Arabella getting ready for bed as he dozed off. It was good to be off the ground, even if it was only for a night. It was even better to be in the house of a good friend, and helpful assistant in pranks. He wondered in the back of his mind what Jaqui was doing at that very moment. His heart ached as he thought of his only love. Albeit, a love gone wrong, since Jaqui had had to be Queen, and since gotten married, and he had been sent to Azkaban.
He sighed as he fell asleep thinking of his years in Hogwarts at first. His years with Jaqui.
*~*
Arabella ran a brush through her thick chocolate brown hair, undoing the braids. She'd do them another time. She brushed her teeth and climbed into her pajamas, completely on auto pilot.
Her mind was downstairs, with the dark-haired prankster whom had stolen her heart so many years ago.
"Why, oh cruel fates? Why now? I have enough problems with Death Eaters and Ministries from several countries, what did I do to deserve getting my heart tangled in this mess as well?" she asked her mirror quietly so that the only other person in the house couldn't hear, a completely muggle artifact, meaning it wouldn't respond.
*~*
"So how long are you here?" Arabella asked the next evening over dinner.
Sirius shrugged. "I'm supposed to gather the old crowd. I suppose I'm just here for one more night. I need to get over to Mundungus' to see if he'll come over onto our side."
"What's left of the old crowd, you mean," Arabella said softly, her gaze flicking back to the picture on the mantle.
"Anything you want me to do?" Sirius offered. "Open the kitchen door?" he suggested jokingly.
"Nah, I've got it," she told him smiling, appreciating his attempt at humor.
She quietly rose, and carried their dishes into the kitchen, efficiently loading the dishwasher. After she flicked on the radio, she started washing the remaining dishes, singing along quietly.
"I'm crazy for trying and crazy for crying, and I'm crazy for loving you…" she sang, rinsing the soap off a platter, in her own little world, not noticing anything around her, instincts telling her she was safe. She always listened to her instincts. They had saved her and countless others from death several times already.
In the living room, Sirius stretched out on his makeshift bed (a.k.a. the couch) and thought.
''Bella…' he thought. 'She's a good friend, good hostess, excellent cook, but she's acting so weird, even for her… And what's worse is she won't tell me what's bothering her. I hope she opens up soon… She sounds like a phoenix when she sings.' And that was the highest praise anyone could give a singer. It meant that they had a pure, sweet voice, that inspired people, and that was hard to do in the Voldemort years of past or present.
Sirius was startled out of his reverie a tapping on his nose.
"Huh?!"
"There's a letter for you. I got one as well. They're from Dumbledore." She tore of the wax emblem on hers and unrolled it, quickly scanning it.
Sirius quickly followed suit, and looked up at Arabella when he was done. "So?"
Arabella nodded. "You can stay. After all, if Dumbledore says it's too dangerous to travel, most people would have been cloistered in their homes for months now. Oh, I have to do some grocery shopping Friday, as 'That nice old Mrs. Figg's daughter.' We'll have to go by Privet Drive to get to the baker's and to the normal supermarket."
Sirius' eyes lit up. "We'll see Harry?"
"If he's outside, yes. And he generally is during summer. I know I would be with that dreadful cousin of his. That boy managed to knock me over and break my leg with that bike of his. Do you know how hard it is to go three blocks on crutches when you look about ninety? Everyone keeps asking you if you need any help, and other such polite bits."
Sirius decided that it would be safer for all involved if he changed the subject. "Hey, 'Bella, why'd you quit the Aurors? It had been your life long dream."
Arabella's heart jumped foolishly. She gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "Life got in the way. And anyway, after Harry, the need for Aurors went down significantly. Mund and I were both let go."
"Why?" Sirius demanded outraged. "You were the best there was!"
"Because to be an Auror now, you've got to battle paperwork with a smile. Oh, and thanks for the compliment. There was practically zilch fighting, and that was more against evil cockroaches than dark wizards. And since, I've gotten a better job. One that has no paperwork."
"Hm?" Sirius prompted.
"Until you can, I protect Harry to the best of my abilities." She reached over to pat his arm. "Now go to sleep- it's already ten thirty, and I'm usually asleep about an hour ago."
Arabella got up and let the cats out into the darkness to collect information for her. (Think about it, who would suspect a spy with four legs and a name like Tibbles? It's a valid theory.) She then proceeded upstairs, disappearing into the darkness before flipping a light on.
Sirius stared after her, fingering his arm where she had touched him. It was warmer than the rest of his skin.
He leaned back, sighing. Women were creatures that he liked, he was just no nearer understanding them than he was twenty years ago…
*~*
Arabella jolted upright, breathing hard in fright. She forced herself to calm down. She grabbed her wand and a crowbar that she kept next to her bed when she heard an odd noise.
Clutching the two items almost fearlessly, she prowled over to her door and slipped out of her room, tracking the noise. It was coming from downstairs. She must have looked a sight, in a floor length night robe and clutching a short piece of wood and a longer piece of iron. She carefully descended, and realized that the noise was coming from the couch. She went over and looked at Sirius, in the thrall of a nightmare. Deciding to be safe rather than hit, she prodded him with the crowbar, effectively waking him up.
He jolted upright, and looked around with a haunted, hollow expression, as he pressed himself further into the couch.
Arabella approached him, and sat down beside him, and patted his knee. The contact calmed him enough that he looked almost normal again.
"Nasty nightmare, ne?" she asked. He nodded. "I have them too."
"What of?" he asked, relieved that attention wasn't on him anymore.
"The night Sammy was killed by Voldemort, I was tracking him, I was one of the only ones on duty that night. I was supposed to find and kill him, but by the time I found them, he was gone, an untraceable trail and Sammy was-" Arabella broke off, unable to continue.
Sirius helplessly patted her back as he found them in a role reversal.
"She was dead. And that precious little girl of hers was crying her eyes out. I had to take little Elizabeth to her aunt and uncle. I just felt so helpless…" she finished quietly.
"C'mon, let's have some tea," Sirius suggested, for want of a better cure.
*~*
In the kitchen, Sirius sat on the counter across from her, and said, "My nightmares are usually about Lily and James… If only I had been their Secret Keeper… None of this could have happened."
"Yes, Lily and James would be alive, but Jaqui, Sammy, and all of the others would be dead, along with countless others. It's only because they died that Harry could banish Voldemort, even if it was only for fourteen years. That was still fourteen years of peace we've been able to rebuild in."
Sirius shrugged. "Yeah. But I've learned to look forward to those nightmares. They beat the hell out of remembering that place." He shuddered involuntarily just as the tea kettle announced that the water was hot.
*~*
Arabella stretched her arms over her head, yawning. She raised her head off the couch, and looked around, trying to remember what had happened. She shifted, and banged her knee on the coffee table leg, wincing as she moved body parts that had long ago decided to go to sleep.
Sirius rolled over on the couch, mumbling something about Quidditch and breakfast. Arabella smiled, and poked him in the side.
"Wake up, sleepyhead!" she told him, grinning. "Or I'll go see Harry and do the shopping on my own."
"Wha-?" he asked. Arabella grabbed his arm and pulled him upright.
"Breakfast time," she told him. "By the way," she added, "I think it would be a good idea for me to approach Mund alone. He might decide to kill you."
"Oh, okay. I'm coming. For breakfast, that is- not my possible death."
*~*
Sirius glanced over at Arabella, who was in the kitchen, making dinner Saturday, a process that didn't involve Sirius at all, because, as Arabella said, "I would like to have some dinner left by the time it's finished."
He went back to the newspapers, both muggle and wizard, he had been reading out loud to her. He looked back over, admiring her grace as she poured something into a pan. He laughed at her expression of extreme concentration, eyes screwed up as she bit the tip of her tongue. "Quit laughing!" she told him. "I can't concentrate with a hyena on at the table!"
*~*
Arabella was in the kitchen doing the dishes, as always, to the radio, swaying back and forth in time.
Sirius sneaked up behind her and grabbed her waist, swinging her around laughing.
She shrieked and walloped him on the shoulder. Breathing harder than normal, she asked, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Sirius just grinned at her and bowed, ignoring his shoulder that was yelling in silent pain. "May I have this dance?"
Arabella smiled and took his hands, and submitted to the dance. "Sorry about whacking you- Auror instincts."
They spun around the kitchen floor, laughing, and making their own dance steps up to the song, Turn Back Time.
*~*
Arabella leaned over to reach a particularly defiant weed out of her vegetable garden. She snagged it and tossed over her shoulder into the wheelbarrow. 'Snuffles' was lying on the grass nearby watching her.
Sirius saw a motion out of the corner of his eye. His head whipped around to see it.
A snake was making it's way towards Arabella.
In a flash, Sirius was up and on top of the poor snake. The snake never really had a chance against an over-protective Sirius.
Arabella turned around at Sirius' growl. She laughed gently at him. "Padfoot, that's a garter snake. They're quite harmless and very common."
The look in Sirius' eyes said that anything moving towards his 'Bella was clearly a threat. He looked distrustfully at the snake.
"Maybe you're right," she said, ruffling his ears. "Snakes are Slytherin's mascot, after all, and Voldemort is a Parselmouth. Thank you. It was very sweet."
*~*
Arabella set the food on the table, somehow dredging up enough will power to stop her hands from shaking.
Sirius took one look at her and immediately asked, "'Bella, what's wrong? You're pale as a sheet."
She shook her head nervously. "I'm fine."
Sirius looked at her curiously. He crunched down on the pasta, and that cinched his belief that something was wrong- Arabella never burnt food. She was now occupied in twisting her left wrist as if she had too much energy, something that was completely out of character for her. "Arabella Figg, you are one of the worst liars I've ever met!" Sirius exclaimed.
"I'm fine," she reiterated. "There's just bad ki in the neighborhood right now. Stronger than normal as well."
"Ki?" Sirius asked.
"Energy. Usually spirit energy like ghosts and such nasties. If I'm around too much of it, I become slightly clairvoyant, and that just makes me jittery. It's no fun seeing that you're going to drop a plate a second before it slips from your hand, and you can do nothing, or worse, see that someone's going to die, but you don't know when or how, or even what caused it." Her hand had stopped, but Sirius could hear her foot tapping the wooden table leg. "I hate feeling helpless."
"Okay, tonight, I'm clearing the table and doing the dishes," Sirius informed her gently. "Only fair, anyway, you've done all of the cooking."
*~*
"Hold STILL!" Arabella shouted.
'Snuffles' barked a negative response as he backed up into the couch.
"Yes! If you want to go outside, you have to have a collar. Otherwise someone will call the pound on you. I don't want to have to pay bail on a dog."
Snuffles shook his head vehemently.
"It's either a collar or a bow," Arabella told him firmly, pulling her wand out. "Take your pick, or I choose." Despite appearances, she was having fun with this. She personally was having a little trouble picturing Sirius (or Snuffles) with a bow around his neck, never mind the fact she had seen it several Fridays in a row now.
*~*
Arabella walked down the street silently laughing at the dog beside her. Snuffles was wearing a large blue-white bow around his neck, and scowling up at her ferociously.
"Good morning," she called to Petunia Dursley, putting a hand on Sirius' neck to disguise his raised hackles. "Is Harry around?"
"Good morning. He's around somewhere."
"Thank you," Arabella replied brightly. She looked around for her charge. "Have a nice day." She had long ago decided to kill the Dursleys with kindness. She tugged on Snuffles' bow. "Come on," she hissed at him. "I know where he is."
*~*
Arabella stopped outside the supermarket, looking at the no animals allowed sign. She sighed. "Well, Snuffles, ol' boy, sit and stay. I won't be long."
She was true to her word. She was in, paid, and out in five minutes flat with a large basket of food.
*~*
They walked through the main street of the little town. Arabella squinted as she saw a short, slim figure with jet black hair ahead of them. Sirius perked up. "Go get him. He's heading back towards Privet." Sirius darted ahead of her. Arabella made a show of huffing and ran after him, shouting for him to come back.
"Snuffles!" she pretended to scold him when she caught up to him. "Don't do that!" She looked up at Harry, who had raised an eyebrow and was looking back and forth between them. "Oh, hello, Harry Potter. Do you want to come look at more pictures of Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, Tufty and Pepper?" She grinned at his expression. "Joking. But it isn't safe for you to be outside this much with Voldemort in power again. If you're in number 4, or my house, you're fairly safe. Professor Dumbledore will kill me if something happens to you." She had started walking back to her house, still carrying her basket.
"So, are you-?"
"Old Mrs. Figg?" Arabella finished for him. She smiled secretively and nodded once. "I'll fill you in at home." She looked around, eyes wide and scanning their surroundings. Her instincts were telling her that something was about to happen. "Hurry up. Snuffles," she said, pulling his head around to look him in the eyes, "Take him and get on my property as near to the house as you can get. Harry, take this key, and for god's sake HURRY!" she shouted the last word, sending them on their way.
Sirius spared one glance over his shoulder, and prayed to whatever or whomever was listening that she would be safe after this little adventure, and he continued his run to her house.
She flung herself to the ground, instincts screaming at her, narrowly missing being hit by a bolt of green lightening. In an instant, she was on her feet, wand at the ready. "If you wish to duel me, face me like you have something resembling honor."
With a hollow chuckle, the six foot tall figure appeared about thirty feet in front of her, clothed in a long flowing black robe, the hood covering their face.
The two bowed, although the Death Eater bowed mockingly, as Arabella asked, "What is my opponent's name?"
She got the impression that she was being smirked at as the figure said nothing. She quickly focused all of her powers of magic and concentration as she quickly cast her first spell.
The blue fire from the Death Eater's hex mostly went around her unfinished shield as she ran forward shouting, "Avada Kedavra!"
The Death Eater fell to the ground with a look of intense hatred on their face.
Arabella shot the Aurors' sparks of iridescent blue, red and yellow into the sky, knowing that someone in London would see them and investigate.
She gingerly felt her legs where some of the fire had gotten her on her shins. "Drat," she muttered. "Poison."
She apparated to her house, and collapsed on the doorstep, blacking out as she hit her head on the pointy door handle. 'Damn…' she thought. 'They're going to kill Sirius now…' were her last thoughts.
*~*
Sirius and Harry ran as fast as they could, Harry riding on the much larger Sirius' back. A figure appeared in front of them, cloaked in black. Sirius skidded to a halt, Harry falling off to the side. Sirius stood over his godson, growling protectively.
Harry stood up, and felt for his wand. He found the key, and mistaking it for his wand, whipped it out.
The Death Eater laughed, and cocked their head at him. "Yes, that's a pretty little key. Now, you DIE!"
The Death Eater lunged toward Harry, but was knocked off course.
"No. I think you die," the new person said. He grabbed the Death Eater's neck and squeezed, effectively breaking the other's neck.
"Go to Hogwarts," the man told them. "Take this. It's a portkey. Tell Dumbledore I'm coming, Padfoot, after I go get Arabella. Now go!" He turned and started running to Arabella's property.
Sirius (he's still Padfoot in form) and Harry grabbed the small brass trophy, and Harry groaned as he felt the now rather familiar feeling of the hook behind his navel yanked them off to Hogwarts.
*~*
The man crouched down beside Arabella, gently feeling the wound on her temple, ignoring, for the moment, the shin wounds.
"Well, we're off to Hogwarts," he told her unconscious form, picking her up and apparating.
*~*
Sirius and Harry found themselves under Fawkes' cage, in Dumbledore's office. He looked up at the two newcomers.
"Ah, hello, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black," he said.
"Erm, hello, Professor. Why are we here of all places in Hogwarts?"
"I was going to ask that very same question."
"And, sir, who was that?"
Sirius turned human. "We're here because Mundungus Fletcher rescued us, and if he works for you like I suspect, it would make sense that he would have a discreet place to appear. He gave us a portkey."
Dumbledore nodded once. "That would be a correct assumption. Where would he and Ms. Figg be?"
"Fighting Death Eaters, sir. 'Bella got one and I got another three. They travel in packs," a new voice that sounded like gravel piped up. "Good day, professor, Sirius. Hello, Harry." Mundungus glanced down at his robes. "Dammit. They always change when I apparate here." He looked at Harry's confused expression. "People of the Order, First Level can do extremely limited apparation in Hogwarts. And I always get stuck in these robes again after I do so. They're bloody uncomfortable."
Mundungus was in the doorway, carrying Arabella. Now that Harry could see the two clearly, he could see that they were wearing nearly identical sets of robes, a deep red under robe and a black outer robe with a silver sash tying them closed.
"They were attacked on their way back to Arabella's and they went ahead while Arabella fought one of them. It was a short duel, but it ended in the death of the Death Eater, and she's injured. Then, they were attacked, and they summoned me."
"How?" Harry asked.
"Arabella gave you a key, I'm willing to bet. It summons your nearest conscious protector. In this case, me. Now, sir, if you'll excuse me, I should get 'Bella to the Hospital Wing." He looked Sirius in the eye. Sirius squirmed slightly. Mundungus chuckled softly, figuring out his feelings. "Want to come, Sirius?"
*~*
Mundungus lay Arabella out on the table, so that Madam Pomfrey could start patching her up.
"Tsk, tsk, you should have brought her straight her, Fletcher. This is a fast acting poison, this griffin blood mixed with arsenic. It's already most of the way through her system. If she survives today, she'll more than likely be in a coma for a long while, and if she pulls through that, she'll probably never walk again, although she will be able to feel." She poured a thick potion over the blue skin. The potion formed itself into a protective covering, as it absorbed a good deal of the potion. Madam Pomfrey raised her wand to the cut near Arabella's temple, and mended it quickly. "Go do something useful, and owl all of your friends about what happened."
Mundungus bowed, and walked out, leaving Sirius laying there and watching with saddened eyes.
There was a knock on the door, before it opened. "Excuse, Madam Pomfrey, may I come in?" the girl asked quietly.
Madam Pomfrey said huffily, "Come in, and bolt the door behind you."
The girl was only about five foot, but she carried herself like she was taller and important. She knelt down next to Sirius. "What's wrong?"
Sirius looked from her to the bed and put his head back on his paws.
"There, she's stable," Madam Pomfrey said. "I'll leave you all now. I should go inform Professor Dumbledore what has occurred." She walked out of the room, and Katy walked over to the bed with Arabella.
Sirius was human again, head in his hands. "It's my fault," he moaned. "She got these injuries protecting Harry and me… She should have been the one running with Harry, with me holding them off…"
"Sirius, parain, get real. If you had had your places switched, not only would you be dead, but your corpse would be in Azkaban. Arabella was the only one in your little group that had a chance against a Death Eater, since she was actually carrying a wand and she's an ex-Auror," Katy told him.
"It still should have been me. I don't have anything in this world, she has everything she needs… A home, a family, a job."
Katy drew a deep breath, biting down her frustration, though her fingers were clenching as if she wanted to either shake some sense into her godfather or choke him. If she didn't, she would have already slapped him, or caused other bodily harm. "Look, parain, I came because I had an idea to help her." She almost rolled her eyes when she saw her godfather's eyes light up. They were already red and puffy. "Remember potions? What do most healing potions have as a main ingredient?" Sirius shrugged. "Phoenix tears," she informed him. "Honestly, am I the only one using my head and not my heart here? Phoenix tears have great healing properties. And what sort of pet do I have?" Sirius glared at her, willing her to spit it out. "A phoenix by the name of Phiphle."
Sirius' expression dared not to show too much hope.
Indeed, when Sirius looked past Katy, there was a phoenix perched on Arabella's stomach.
~ I can't do anything for her. ~ Phiphle telepathically told Katy. ~ Physically, she's fine. There's a reason she doesn't want to wake up, and I can't delve deep enough on my own to find out what. ~
"Then go find Fawkes and get him to help you!" Katy exclaimed impatiently. "There's a reason she doesn't want to wake up, apparently, and we need to find out why," she explained to Sirius. "Although I expect you're involved. I don't know how, but I'm sure you're involved in this." She looked curiously down at Arabella's left hand that was clutching something. "Don't take that out of her hand," she added, running on instinct. "I'm going back to school, 'cause it's the middle of the night there, and I'm tired." She looked at her godfather again. "Remember, dum vita es spes est. Where there's life, there's hope. Oh, and here's that thing you asked for a few days ago." She dropped a small package in his hand. She disappeared with a small popping noise.
Sirius picked up Arabella's hand, and perched on the side of the bed. "Don't die, 'Bella…" he whispered. "Please, don't. My heart couldn't bear to lose you…"
*~*
~ Fawkes, why do you stay in that cage? ~ Phiphle asked him as they flew back to the Hospital Wing.
~ Free food, entertainment, plus the old man is amusing to listen to, and it's dry. ~ Fawkes explained.
~ You never did like the rain, did you? ~
Fawkes shuddered. ~ It's so, so, so wet! ~
*~*
Arabella huddled in the back of her mind, crying softly. She knew that Death Eaters traveled in groups, so she had only gotten one of them. The others were free to go after Sirius and Harry. And Harry was underage, and Sirius didn't have a wand, so they were defenseless, even with the summoning key she had given Harry, but hadn't had time to explain. They were dead. They had to be. There was no other option to accept, and she was helpless to change the facts.
*~*
Phiphle and Fawkes linked minds and delved into Arabella's conscious. She was going on about how they were dead. ~ They're not dead. ~ Phiphle told her.
~ How else do explain what could have happened? ~ Arabella shot back at her.
~ Mundungus was out and about what with the other Death Eaters, and he arrived very quickly. ~ Fawkes told her.
~ The summoning key saved them. ~ Phiphle added.
Arabella looked up at them, distrusting them. Finally, she nodded. ~ So what happens now? ~
~ What do you want to happen? They're only good for one wish, you know. ~
Arabella shut her eyes and clenched her left fist, making her wish.
*~*
Arabella blinked slowly, and looked down at her right hand. The phoenixes were gone, Phiphle back to Katy, and Fawkes back to Dumbledore's (dry) office. Sirius was holding her hand to his heart, head leaning against her leg as he slept. She smiled, and opened her fist, revealing the small glede, or dragon's eye, that Mundungus had pressed into her hand. 'I wonder…' she thought to herself.
*~*
Arabella rolled onto the Quidditch pitch, her gloved hands keeping her chair steady. She had only been out of the Hospital Wing an hour now. She could still feel her legs, they were just totally useless when it came to moving.
She smiled as she looked up, remembering all of the times she was on a broom in the air as a Gryffindor Chaser. She grinned at the large dog, who's face was barely lower than her own, and belonged to a Gryffindor alumni Chaser. She and Sirius had come out to the Quidditch pitch to be able to talk human to human.
"So, why did you never say anything about liking me more than a friend?" Sirius asked her. It had been bugging him for almost the entire week since she had been injured.
"It was a love that would never be granted, so I wished only for your happiness. Everyone knew that you had eyes only for Jaqui. She made you happy. So I settled on being your good friend," she shrugged, avoiding looking at him.
"What did you have in your hand?" Sirius asked. "My goddaughter warned me pain of death to take it out of your hand."
"Mundungus gave me a glede," she said, looking at him.
"Someone gave you a dragon's eye?" Sirius asked incredulous.
She nodded. "They grant one wish an eye."
"What did you wish for?" he asked.
"If I told you, it would cancel the wish," she smiled, squeezing his hand. "But be happy, Padfoot. It's all I want for you."
"'Bella, I-" he started.
"Shh… I know." She looked up at the stars. "Look! There's Orion, which means that Sirius is just there!" she exclaimed, pointing. She enjoyed astrology as a hobby.
Sirius looked over at her, and felt somehow complete, and happy. 'love you…' he finished mentally, since his 'Bella's arms were wrapped around his neck and talking in his ear.
AN- So? What do you think? Feedback is a necessity! I think that this actually turned out pretty decently, actually… There maybe a second of such fics in the near future. I already have another planned out pretty fully in my mind. I just need to find the song lyrics. Yep, folks, it'll be a song fic. ^^ Although not in the traditional song lyrics inserted between paragraphs song fic. I edited even more! ^^ I gotta love these two! Well, maybe I can post this now… Nope, ff.net's still being a brat. So, even more ANs.
Brief Stats-
Length- three days to write
Edited- a couple days after ^^
Listened to- Setsunakutemo… Zutto, Perfect World, and Legacy, oh, a little Scars Left by Time (okay, in editing time, change that to lots of Scars…), and Turn Back Time
Inspiration- my muse asked a question that I felt compelled to answer, and for some odd reason, Beauty and the Beast (the Disney version)
Time finished- 8:06 (I can still get in bed at a decent time ^^)