AN- The sort of sequel thingy to Dum Vita. More Sirius and Arabella bits.
This was inspired by the one line in Kenny Chesney's song, "The Good
Stuff," that goes, "And droppin' the ring in the spaghetti plate 'cause
your hands are shakin' so much." And from hearing that line, this was born.
It just kinda. grew.
OH! This is dedicated to Cellie for reviewing Dum Vita, and being the first one! Go read her stuff! It's good! Dewdrops! It's by her! (ra-chan, shut up now.) ( my lovely muse is so kind to me, ne?
Disclaimer: Don't own the Kenny Chesney song. Don't own Harry Potter. It's fairly straightforward those two sentences. I think that I own Katy, Jaqui, Rael, Helena and Phiphle, though. I might also be dreaming that I do. It's a strong possibility.
*~*
Sirius looked across the table to where Arabella was smiling at him, bemused by his odd behavior, while sipping her drink. He looked nervously down at his spaghetti, and noticed with almost complete objectivity that his hands were shaking. He put his hand in his pocket, and pulled a beautiful ring out into his lap. Arabella went into the kitchen to get the garlic bread out of the oven.
Sirius brought the ring up to look at it once more. It was beautifully made, white gold with an elegantly cut ruby wrapped in delicate tendrils with what appeared to be diamond dust set in the tendrils, and a flat, perfectly round diamond in the background. In short, it was a family heirloom for feminine fingers, and that explains a lot. His grandmother had gotten it during her years in the Ministry, doing something that she had never explained to Sirius.
Unfortunately, his hands were trembling so badly that the ring slipped from his fingers and landed in the middle of his spaghetti.
Sirius' face, as the saying goes, was a classic. His jaw dropped, his eyebrows shot up, and the look in his eyes was that of pure panic. If he hadn't been so worried, he would have laughed at himself. Waving his hands frantically, he looked around with wide eyes to see what he could pick the ring out with. He quickly grabbed a spoon, and began carefully pick the ring out.
He lifted it in front of his face dispiritedly. It was covered in red sauce, and had some little bits of spaghetti stuck in it.
'Great,' he thought. 'Just when I reclaimed it from Katy, too.' Katy had gotten it from Jaqui, and Jaqui had been holding it, along with his other possessions, for safekeeping since he went to Azkaban.
Sirius called into the kitchen that he was going to the restroom for a moment, not to worry- he'd be right back.
He quickly stopped the sink, and started running the water. He stuck the ring in, and rubbed the tomato sauce off. He was suddenly much more nervous about what he had to tell 'Bella that night.
*~*
Sirius had put the ring back in his pocket, and was back at the table.
He cleared his throat nervously. "Um, 'Bella, I have to leave tomorrow," he finally said.
Arabella's face fell, and she looked at him with huge eyes and was shaking her head slowly in denial.
"We all have to gather very soon to make any difference, and I really have to go get the others," he explained slowly, forcing the words out.
A sole tear fell from Arabella's eyes. "But. why. now?"
"Because this danger isn't going to go away anytime soon, so I might as well cope with it now, according to Dumbledore, although not in those exact words." Sirius pulled the ring out. "But I promise you with all my heart that I will come back to you, whether it's in life or death." He quickly got over and pulled her around to face him. "This is the physical form of my promise," he told her, slipping the ring on her finger, and wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder. Arabella's eyes were closed as she clenched her fists in Sirius' robes and breathed in his scent possibly for the last time.
Finally she pulled away. "Well, if you're going to see our friends, I should at least dress you better. Come with me," she said, leading him away from the table, and into a small room off the kitchen. The room was so small, Arabella's head, even in a wheelchair, almost brushed the ceiling, and the sides were covered in boxes. She rolled along, clearly looking for something. She stopped. Pulling out a box, she uncovered some black fabric. She unfolded it, and fingered it, lovingly. It was old and slightly worn, but still fine and serviceable, a lasting testament to the quality she had gotten them in.
In the kitchen, she handed them to Sirius. "Take it," she told him. At his questioning gaze, she added, "They're old Auror clothes. Your size, or close enough."
"How do you have these, 'Bella?" he asked, rubbing the leather of the coat.
"Remember? My disguise is 'Old Mrs. Figg'. It's hard to be a Mrs. when you weren't married at some point." She looked at his face and rolled her eyes. "Honestly! It was years ago, and he's dead now. We were both Aurors. It worked, somehow. He was a little broader across the shoulders than you, and a wee bit taller, so you should be able to wear them comfortably." She watched him put the trench coat on. It fit quite nicely, especially once he cinched the belt up tighter. "If you have to go to Mund, at least now he'll know you went with my blessing."
"Uh, 'Bella, do you remember being brought to Hogwarts?" he asked carefully. Arabella shook her head. "Mundungus is who saved us, and brought you in. Once we were there, he talked to me. He thinks I'm innocent, once I pointed certain things out to him. I really just have to get Jaqs and then we have to meet with Dumbledore."
"Why do you need Jaqs? She's no witch anymore."
"True, but she's in a position of power, you gotta admit that," Sirius told her. "And she's really very nice."
"How are you going to get across the English Channel and then to Paris, and then from Paris to Chateau d'Ete?" Arabella asked sensibly, ignoring his slight reprimand about his ex-girlfriend. "Don't tell me you'll make it up as you go."
"Errr." Sirius rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion. That had been his plan, and so far how he'd gone through most of life.
Arabella chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Great. Padfoot, go see Moony again. I'll call ahead for you so he knows you're coming. Then I'll go as a human and get Jaqui. After all, I can apparate, my dearest friend. We should go soon." They both sobered at that prospect.
"I'll miss you," Sirius told her gently.
"I'll miss you too, my little Grim," she told him, touching his cheek in a brief show of affection before kissing it softly, as he leaned down to hug her.
Then, before any other words could be exchanged between the two, or opinions in their plans and minds changed, Sirius was abruptly the great, shaggy, black dog, bounding out the back door, heading towards London, human form dressed as an Auror, Nightwalker division.
Arabella stared after him for long moments before turning and going into the living room, and laying down on the couch. She picked up the phone, and dialed in a number.
"Moony?" she asked. "Hey, it's me, 'Bella. Just thought I'd let you know that Snuffles is coming to visit. Well, talk to you later," she finished weakly to the answering machine.
She dialed a new number, one known to about ten people, and they were sworn to secrecy not to tell.
"Allô?" a perky voice asked in French.
"Hey Katy. What're you doing home?"
"I felt like sleeping in my own bed for a weekend, so I'm just here for today, really. Why'd ya call?"
"Listen, I need to drop by tomorrow to talk with Jaqs. She got anything planned you know of?"
Katy thought for a bit. "How long you need to talk?" she asked finally.
"Like five minutes. We need to discuss a possible trip to England for the both of you- Dumbledore would like her to be there as well."
"My, my. 'Bella, is that a hint of resentment in your voice?" Katy asked.
"Never," said Arabella dryly. "Why would I be resentful? Oh, just the fact that Dumbledore prefers her presence over mine in this meeting."
"Oh, 'Bella, he doesn't choose favorites like that, Dumbledore or Sirius, who I think is the actual issue here," Katy said to her, quite astutely.
"My mind knows that, just somewhere deep within me chooses not to," Arabella told her.
"Okay, I'll somehow arrange for you to meet with her tomorrow at, say, breakfast?"
"Good. Thanks, Katy. Although I never thought I'd get a talking to from you about love and resentment."
*~*
Arabella was in front of the sink, using a levitation spell on herself so that she could do the dishes, radio off. There was no use having it on if she couldn't sing along. She was too busy chanting the levitation spell. With a pang, she remembered the time when Sirius had come up behind her and started dancing with her, laughing wildly the whole time. She flipped on the radio with her wand, half hoping that the same song was on, "Crash and Burn," by Savage Garden. She sat down heavily as she remembered the times when she was happy. Most of them were with Sirius.
*~*
Sirius sat in the outskirts of London, the collar Arabella had finally given him instead of the giant bow jingling in the slight breeze. He looked up at the starry sky, looking at the constellation Orion that she had shown him oh so recently, and sighed, noticing with some part of his mind that the moon was half full. He got up and continued his trip to Remus' apartment.
He scratched at the door. After a few minutes, long moments that Sirius used to imagine how 'Bella would react to seeing her lovesick puppy, the door swung open, and Sirius found a wand pointed at his nose. He tried to grin as unthreateningly as possible, and mentally asked Remus to please point that wand another direction, please?!
Remus glanced around the corridor, and let Sirius in. He held up a finger, and Sirius obediently waited to transform. Remus nodded once, Sirius' cue to change. "Sorry," Remus apologized quietly, finger to his lips in a gesture of silencing, "But the neighbors are always listening through the walls. Why are you back?"
"'Bella's gone to get Jaqui for me and I needed a safe place to stay."
"So, in search of a safe place, you came to London?"
Sirius nodded sheepishly.
*~*
Arabella rolled down the hall towards Katy's room. It never ceased to amaze her that the girl lived in a castle.
Katy leapt out of her room, and raced down the hall, and she would have beaten War Emblem in the Kentucky Derby. "'Bella!" (AN- War Emblem won the Kentucky Derby this year, and the Preakness, and if anyone knows who won the Belmont, please tell me. And if someone has no clue what I'm going on about here, just ask. I shall do my pitiful best to explain the Sport of Kings. ^^ Just found out the in the Belmont War Emblem got eighth and the 70-1 horse, Sarvana won. Drat.)
Arabella quickly moved out of the way, but Katy caught her around the neck anyhow, giving her a giant hug.
"Follow me. Jaqs is having breakfast. I managed to get you twenty minutes," she said. "Good luck, and, um, wait until I've gone to start talking please. I have to go to Quidditch practice. Elizabeth'll kill me if I miss it." Actually, the calm Quidditch captain probably wouldn't, since there wasn't any Quidditch practice that day, but she was Katy's escape alibi.
Arabella rolled into the dining room. "Hello."
"Arabella! I haven't seen you in ages!" Jaqs exclaimed.
Arabella nodded. "I know," she said shortly. "Professor Dumbledore cordially invites you to a meeting of the old crowd. Normal time, normal place. Be there." She turned to leave.
"Wait! Why are you acting like this?" Jaqs demanded.
Arabella spun around. "Frankly?" Jaqui nodded. "Because you hurt Sirius."
Jaqs looked at Arabella. "When?"
"In school. You knew that you would never be able to live your life with him, but you led him on for a year and a half. That's a year and a half where I had to watch him be on cloud nine, knowing that it would end, even if he didn't seem to. You let him believe that he had a chance with you. He was going to propose to you when, or should I say if, you guys graduated. Do you have any idea how depressed he was when you left? And now that he's out of Azkaban, I'm not going to let you hurt Sirius' heart again."
She turned and left through the doorway.
"I want you to know that in my own way I did love him," Jaqs called after her.
Arabella turned to look at her over her shoulder. "In my own way, I do love him." She apparated.
*~*
Sirius sat at Remus' table, a large mug of tea in front of him. "Moony, my love life is so screwed up. I know that both Jaqui and 'Bella have feelings for me, but I can't tell how I truly feel about each of them."
Remus looked at his friend patiently, hiding his amusement. It was clear to him how each of them thought of him, although he might know that because Arabella always had used him and Mundungus as good listening posts, them being the calm ones of the group. "What do you think about Arabella?"
Sirius sighed, and said, "She's a great friend, takes good care of me. She has a good sense of humor, and seems to accept me absolutely, nightmares and all."
Remus smiled to himself. He knew who he thought was best for his friend, but he wasn't going to influence the decision if he could help it. "What do you think of Jaqs?"
"I don't know, Moony. I just can't forget her."
"What do you remember about her?"
"You remember that Hogsmeade trip where we all went up to the Shack? And Jaqui pulled me around back? All of the good times at school. That's what I remember."
Remus groaned. "Padfoot. Listen to me. That was about twenty years ago. Jaqui has changed. She's now going by Jaqs for one thing. She's not the sweet, innocent girl you remember. Arabella has changed as well. She's more mature, and has gained experience in things. Remember, if you want both, you'll lose the one you could have."
*~*
Arabella sat talking to Mundungus about her trip to see Jaqs that morning.
Finally, he groaned, cutting her off. "'Bella," he said, "You know I love you like I'd love a sister, right? More, actually." Arabella nodded. "Okay, then do me a favor. Shut up and listen to what you were saying. You sound like a bratty idiot. An overprotective dolt, at that. He's not property, you know. What he chooses is his decision. Just give him time to sort out his feelings. I have a strong suspicion about what his choice will be."
Arabella nodded. "Thanks. You're a good shoulder to cry on. You don't let people wallow in sorrow long." She smiled.
"Want some coffee?" Mundungus offered, grinning back at her.
*~*
A week later, everyone was gathered in Dumbledore's office, waiting for two people, Dumbledore himself, and Jaqui.
Arabella had arrived first and had arranged herself on an overstuffed armchair just before Mundungus came in. They automatically pointed their wands at the other, preparing hexes, then laughed at their paranoia. He sat down across from her. Fawkes had landed on Arabella's shoulder, so she was obliging him by stroking his head. Then Sirius and Remus had arrived, courtesy of Floo powder through Dumbledore's fireplace. Sirius had immediately bounded over to sit next to Arabella, barking his hellos. Katy had plopped down on the arm of the couch when she appeared in the room.
They all turned their heads, the two ex-Aurors holding their wands, as the door opened. Jaqs walked in, followed by Dumbledore.
"Okay, first off, can we please put the wands down?" she asked Arabella and Mundungus, hands up unthreateningly. They shrugged and slipped them away as if nothing was the matter with being slightly paranoid.
"Thank you all for waiting," Dumbledore said. "I went to fetch Ms. de Draconis from London." he cleared his throat, taking his seat behind his desk. "Anyway, I summoned all of you here to request your aid in the battle against the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Is anyone willing?"
Arabella spoke. "I'm game. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it if I physically can."
"You know where my loyalties lie, sir," Mundungus said.
Sirius transformed.
"I'll help in any way an underage witch can, sir," Katy said. "I can't see what I can do, but I'll try."
"Professor, I believe you know my response," Lupin said calmly, with an almost smile.
"I'm in," Sirius said.
Jaqs looked hesitant. "I won't be of any help, I'm sure. I am on the side of good, but I will be of no help I know. I'm sorry."
Arabella looked at Jaqs. "Wait. You still hold sway over French Ministry officials, right?" she asked. She didn't want to see that expression any longer. That expression of absolute longing. She might have hurt Sirius, but, as Mundungus had told her, that was in the past now. Jaqs nodded slowly. "Well, couldn't you persuade at least some of them to help out our side?" she added pointedly. From behind Jaqs' back, Katy grinned at Arabella and gave her a thumbs up. (AN- Yes, Katy is French and English, but due to a long story, she goes to school in America, thus is rather Americanized.)
"Thanks," she mouthed.
Arabella resumed stroking Fawkes' head. Then it hit her. Jaqs missed the wizarding world and all of her lost loves and opportunities to be normal. Not that any of them in the room were. They all had suffered loss and rotten love lives. That realization made her a little more sympathetic to the Queen.
"Precisely what I had in mind, Arabella," Dumbledore told her, eyes twinkling. "Now, would you and Mr. Fletcher be interested in perhaps rejoining the Aurors?"
Mundungus nodded. "I could handle it," he said. "I'm willing to be your spy from inside the Ministry."
Arabella's breath caught in her throat. "I would absolutely love to, sir, but I can't. It would be a physical impossibility. I cannot talk and walk at the same time."
Dumbledore nodded his acceptance at that. "Well then, Mrs. Figg, would you care for a teaching position? I believe our Death Eater got kissed and could not, even if willing, return to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Arabella laughed. "Sure. I'll take the teaching position."
Dumbledore turned to Katy. "Would you feel out your fellow students to see how they feel, and possibly some of the Ministry officials?"
Katy grinned. "Sure! I could even ask a couple of different phoenix clans, and I'll talk to Rael and Helena later today." She paused. "Just. um. don't ask me to go to Italy." she said with a nervous grin.
He smiled. "Why ever not?"
"Erm. mumblemumble Ministry mumble."
"Katy," Jaqui smiled as she turned to her goddaughter, "If you get into any more trouble with the Italian Ministry, it's up to you to get out of trouble." Katy grinned in good-natured embarrassment.
"Um, can I leave now? I've a class in two minutes and I need to get my stuff ready as well. Summer Astrology," she explained.
Dumbledore nodded and she was gone with a quick popping noise.
"Remus, would you be willing to try to get more of the outcasts of society on our side?"
"What do you mean, sir?"
"You mean the people no one usually pays attention to, right?" Sirius asked. "The centaurs, the merpeople, the werewolves, etc.?"
Dumbledore nodded.
Remus chuckled. "Sure. I'm well suited to that job."
"What should I do, Professor?" Sirius asked. "I can't go around as a human."
Dumbledore fixed him with a knowing gaze. "I think that we could definitely use someone around here that knows the school boundaries and passageways. Who better than one of the infamous Marauders and creators of that map that causes so many adventures?" (AN- Dumbledore is all knowing. Accept it.)
Sirius grinned at him, flashing his canines in the process. "Cool. Accepted."
*~*
Arabella lay on the Quidditch pitch, staring up into the air and remembering all of the games that she had watched and played in there, all of the times she had fallen, all of the missed goals, all of the triumphs, large and small.
Sirius padded over to lay next to her. "What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly. "You've gone all serious looking."
Arabella managed a smile. "Remembering all the times I played Quidditch. Can't play anymore, you know."
Sirius nodded gently. "But it's what happens to us and how we react that make us who we are. And you are one of the strongest people I know," he told her, playing with her witches' lock. (AN- I read about this in another book (I forget which), and it's a lock of solid white hair, especially on someone with dark hair, and Arabella's is chocolate brown)
"I'm not strong," she told him. "I've just learned to survive."
"You're stronger and braver than you confess. You're a Gryffindor, after all. And you're mine," he added mischievously.
She looked at him piercingly, trying to uncover what he could mean besides the obvious.
"Why'd you try so hard to get Jaqs a job with Dumbledore?" he asked her, suddenly serious (please forgive the pun, it wasn't intended).
"I couldn't bear to see her expression any longer." He looked at her questioningly. "She misses the wizarding world immensely," she explained. "She just wants a way back into it, and a welcome."
"Thank you," he said. "It means a lot to me. But only because she's a dear friend. I won't deny that at one point I loved her, but I got a little bit of a talking to-"
"Not by a fifteen year old, I hope," Arabella injected.
"No, this was by Remus, about my choice. He shoved in my face that I've been living in the past, trying to ignore the twelve years I was in there. She was my past, now, I want to find my future." Sirius looked into Arabella's eyes.
She gazed back at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about exactly. Which was harder than it sounds, since she was sure that her heart was drowning every other living creature out.
Sirius leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a brief chaste kiss.
"Arabella Figg, would you do me the honor of marrying me when this is over and my name is cleared?" he asked nervously. "I know my future is with you, my 'Bella." he whispered.
Arabella's jaw dropped and she stared at him incredulously, in complete shock. She hadn't expected this.
Sirius' shoulders slumped and he got up to trudge back to Hogwarts' castle
Arabella jerked upright and grabbed his arm, pulling herself upright with the levitation spell, until she could loop her arms around his neck, then ditched the spell. "Of course, you idiot," she whispered. "Why wouldn't I?" She pulled his head around to face her with the hand that was wearing the ring he gave her as a promise. "Did you really doubt me?"
He looked sheepishly ecstatic. "There for a moment, I did."
"Idiot," she told him again affectionately. "I'm yours forever, and you're mine." She cut off any further protests with another kiss, trusting him to keep her upright. After all, her lips and her mind were focused on things other than any spell, levitation or not.
*~*
From up in the castle, the North Tower to be precise, the highest point in the castle on that side, Jaqs and Mundungus watched the two through magical binoculars.
"Well, it took them long enough," Mundungus said quietly, a smug expression on his face.
Jaqs smiled, and said, "I wish them well. Maybe one day they'll find a cure for her. She deserves it. She deserves him. And that ring was destined to pull the two together. His grandmother explained the ring and it's purpose to me. That ring pulls true loves together, and opens their eyes. I was just holding it for him for a while. Let's quit being Peeping Toms and go to dinner." She pulled Mundungus out of the tower, leaving the two alone on the night time Quidditch pitch, the constellation Orion staring down over them.
*~*
AN- So? What did you think? Please tell me! The ending was totally unexpected, even to me, but it just feels right. I'm always in a good mood when I finish a story with a happy ending, especially with these two. ^^
Brief Stats: Time to write: no clue. I started it after I finished Dum Vita, though. Edited: not yet. I'll do that some other time. ^^* Okay, uso, I did it the day (night, ra-chan, accept that it is now nighttime.) ( my muse, again. that I finished writing it. Listened to: Scars Left by Time, Kaze no Uta, Otome Ranman, Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue, Ka Chou Fuu Getsu, The Good Stuff, and a couple of others that I can't remember. Inspiration: The Good Stuff by Kenny Chesney. It's a good song. Time right now: 10:14. Bed can wait. ^^ Fanfics are more important.
OH! This is dedicated to Cellie for reviewing Dum Vita, and being the first one! Go read her stuff! It's good! Dewdrops! It's by her! (ra-chan, shut up now.) ( my lovely muse is so kind to me, ne?
Disclaimer: Don't own the Kenny Chesney song. Don't own Harry Potter. It's fairly straightforward those two sentences. I think that I own Katy, Jaqui, Rael, Helena and Phiphle, though. I might also be dreaming that I do. It's a strong possibility.
*~*
Sirius looked across the table to where Arabella was smiling at him, bemused by his odd behavior, while sipping her drink. He looked nervously down at his spaghetti, and noticed with almost complete objectivity that his hands were shaking. He put his hand in his pocket, and pulled a beautiful ring out into his lap. Arabella went into the kitchen to get the garlic bread out of the oven.
Sirius brought the ring up to look at it once more. It was beautifully made, white gold with an elegantly cut ruby wrapped in delicate tendrils with what appeared to be diamond dust set in the tendrils, and a flat, perfectly round diamond in the background. In short, it was a family heirloom for feminine fingers, and that explains a lot. His grandmother had gotten it during her years in the Ministry, doing something that she had never explained to Sirius.
Unfortunately, his hands were trembling so badly that the ring slipped from his fingers and landed in the middle of his spaghetti.
Sirius' face, as the saying goes, was a classic. His jaw dropped, his eyebrows shot up, and the look in his eyes was that of pure panic. If he hadn't been so worried, he would have laughed at himself. Waving his hands frantically, he looked around with wide eyes to see what he could pick the ring out with. He quickly grabbed a spoon, and began carefully pick the ring out.
He lifted it in front of his face dispiritedly. It was covered in red sauce, and had some little bits of spaghetti stuck in it.
'Great,' he thought. 'Just when I reclaimed it from Katy, too.' Katy had gotten it from Jaqui, and Jaqui had been holding it, along with his other possessions, for safekeeping since he went to Azkaban.
Sirius called into the kitchen that he was going to the restroom for a moment, not to worry- he'd be right back.
He quickly stopped the sink, and started running the water. He stuck the ring in, and rubbed the tomato sauce off. He was suddenly much more nervous about what he had to tell 'Bella that night.
*~*
Sirius had put the ring back in his pocket, and was back at the table.
He cleared his throat nervously. "Um, 'Bella, I have to leave tomorrow," he finally said.
Arabella's face fell, and she looked at him with huge eyes and was shaking her head slowly in denial.
"We all have to gather very soon to make any difference, and I really have to go get the others," he explained slowly, forcing the words out.
A sole tear fell from Arabella's eyes. "But. why. now?"
"Because this danger isn't going to go away anytime soon, so I might as well cope with it now, according to Dumbledore, although not in those exact words." Sirius pulled the ring out. "But I promise you with all my heart that I will come back to you, whether it's in life or death." He quickly got over and pulled her around to face him. "This is the physical form of my promise," he told her, slipping the ring on her finger, and wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder. Arabella's eyes were closed as she clenched her fists in Sirius' robes and breathed in his scent possibly for the last time.
Finally she pulled away. "Well, if you're going to see our friends, I should at least dress you better. Come with me," she said, leading him away from the table, and into a small room off the kitchen. The room was so small, Arabella's head, even in a wheelchair, almost brushed the ceiling, and the sides were covered in boxes. She rolled along, clearly looking for something. She stopped. Pulling out a box, she uncovered some black fabric. She unfolded it, and fingered it, lovingly. It was old and slightly worn, but still fine and serviceable, a lasting testament to the quality she had gotten them in.
In the kitchen, she handed them to Sirius. "Take it," she told him. At his questioning gaze, she added, "They're old Auror clothes. Your size, or close enough."
"How do you have these, 'Bella?" he asked, rubbing the leather of the coat.
"Remember? My disguise is 'Old Mrs. Figg'. It's hard to be a Mrs. when you weren't married at some point." She looked at his face and rolled her eyes. "Honestly! It was years ago, and he's dead now. We were both Aurors. It worked, somehow. He was a little broader across the shoulders than you, and a wee bit taller, so you should be able to wear them comfortably." She watched him put the trench coat on. It fit quite nicely, especially once he cinched the belt up tighter. "If you have to go to Mund, at least now he'll know you went with my blessing."
"Uh, 'Bella, do you remember being brought to Hogwarts?" he asked carefully. Arabella shook her head. "Mundungus is who saved us, and brought you in. Once we were there, he talked to me. He thinks I'm innocent, once I pointed certain things out to him. I really just have to get Jaqs and then we have to meet with Dumbledore."
"Why do you need Jaqs? She's no witch anymore."
"True, but she's in a position of power, you gotta admit that," Sirius told her. "And she's really very nice."
"How are you going to get across the English Channel and then to Paris, and then from Paris to Chateau d'Ete?" Arabella asked sensibly, ignoring his slight reprimand about his ex-girlfriend. "Don't tell me you'll make it up as you go."
"Errr." Sirius rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion. That had been his plan, and so far how he'd gone through most of life.
Arabella chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Great. Padfoot, go see Moony again. I'll call ahead for you so he knows you're coming. Then I'll go as a human and get Jaqui. After all, I can apparate, my dearest friend. We should go soon." They both sobered at that prospect.
"I'll miss you," Sirius told her gently.
"I'll miss you too, my little Grim," she told him, touching his cheek in a brief show of affection before kissing it softly, as he leaned down to hug her.
Then, before any other words could be exchanged between the two, or opinions in their plans and minds changed, Sirius was abruptly the great, shaggy, black dog, bounding out the back door, heading towards London, human form dressed as an Auror, Nightwalker division.
Arabella stared after him for long moments before turning and going into the living room, and laying down on the couch. She picked up the phone, and dialed in a number.
"Moony?" she asked. "Hey, it's me, 'Bella. Just thought I'd let you know that Snuffles is coming to visit. Well, talk to you later," she finished weakly to the answering machine.
She dialed a new number, one known to about ten people, and they were sworn to secrecy not to tell.
"Allô?" a perky voice asked in French.
"Hey Katy. What're you doing home?"
"I felt like sleeping in my own bed for a weekend, so I'm just here for today, really. Why'd ya call?"
"Listen, I need to drop by tomorrow to talk with Jaqs. She got anything planned you know of?"
Katy thought for a bit. "How long you need to talk?" she asked finally.
"Like five minutes. We need to discuss a possible trip to England for the both of you- Dumbledore would like her to be there as well."
"My, my. 'Bella, is that a hint of resentment in your voice?" Katy asked.
"Never," said Arabella dryly. "Why would I be resentful? Oh, just the fact that Dumbledore prefers her presence over mine in this meeting."
"Oh, 'Bella, he doesn't choose favorites like that, Dumbledore or Sirius, who I think is the actual issue here," Katy said to her, quite astutely.
"My mind knows that, just somewhere deep within me chooses not to," Arabella told her.
"Okay, I'll somehow arrange for you to meet with her tomorrow at, say, breakfast?"
"Good. Thanks, Katy. Although I never thought I'd get a talking to from you about love and resentment."
*~*
Arabella was in front of the sink, using a levitation spell on herself so that she could do the dishes, radio off. There was no use having it on if she couldn't sing along. She was too busy chanting the levitation spell. With a pang, she remembered the time when Sirius had come up behind her and started dancing with her, laughing wildly the whole time. She flipped on the radio with her wand, half hoping that the same song was on, "Crash and Burn," by Savage Garden. She sat down heavily as she remembered the times when she was happy. Most of them were with Sirius.
*~*
Sirius sat in the outskirts of London, the collar Arabella had finally given him instead of the giant bow jingling in the slight breeze. He looked up at the starry sky, looking at the constellation Orion that she had shown him oh so recently, and sighed, noticing with some part of his mind that the moon was half full. He got up and continued his trip to Remus' apartment.
He scratched at the door. After a few minutes, long moments that Sirius used to imagine how 'Bella would react to seeing her lovesick puppy, the door swung open, and Sirius found a wand pointed at his nose. He tried to grin as unthreateningly as possible, and mentally asked Remus to please point that wand another direction, please?!
Remus glanced around the corridor, and let Sirius in. He held up a finger, and Sirius obediently waited to transform. Remus nodded once, Sirius' cue to change. "Sorry," Remus apologized quietly, finger to his lips in a gesture of silencing, "But the neighbors are always listening through the walls. Why are you back?"
"'Bella's gone to get Jaqui for me and I needed a safe place to stay."
"So, in search of a safe place, you came to London?"
Sirius nodded sheepishly.
*~*
Arabella rolled down the hall towards Katy's room. It never ceased to amaze her that the girl lived in a castle.
Katy leapt out of her room, and raced down the hall, and she would have beaten War Emblem in the Kentucky Derby. "'Bella!" (AN- War Emblem won the Kentucky Derby this year, and the Preakness, and if anyone knows who won the Belmont, please tell me. And if someone has no clue what I'm going on about here, just ask. I shall do my pitiful best to explain the Sport of Kings. ^^ Just found out the in the Belmont War Emblem got eighth and the 70-1 horse, Sarvana won. Drat.)
Arabella quickly moved out of the way, but Katy caught her around the neck anyhow, giving her a giant hug.
"Follow me. Jaqs is having breakfast. I managed to get you twenty minutes," she said. "Good luck, and, um, wait until I've gone to start talking please. I have to go to Quidditch practice. Elizabeth'll kill me if I miss it." Actually, the calm Quidditch captain probably wouldn't, since there wasn't any Quidditch practice that day, but she was Katy's escape alibi.
Arabella rolled into the dining room. "Hello."
"Arabella! I haven't seen you in ages!" Jaqs exclaimed.
Arabella nodded. "I know," she said shortly. "Professor Dumbledore cordially invites you to a meeting of the old crowd. Normal time, normal place. Be there." She turned to leave.
"Wait! Why are you acting like this?" Jaqs demanded.
Arabella spun around. "Frankly?" Jaqui nodded. "Because you hurt Sirius."
Jaqs looked at Arabella. "When?"
"In school. You knew that you would never be able to live your life with him, but you led him on for a year and a half. That's a year and a half where I had to watch him be on cloud nine, knowing that it would end, even if he didn't seem to. You let him believe that he had a chance with you. He was going to propose to you when, or should I say if, you guys graduated. Do you have any idea how depressed he was when you left? And now that he's out of Azkaban, I'm not going to let you hurt Sirius' heart again."
She turned and left through the doorway.
"I want you to know that in my own way I did love him," Jaqs called after her.
Arabella turned to look at her over her shoulder. "In my own way, I do love him." She apparated.
*~*
Sirius sat at Remus' table, a large mug of tea in front of him. "Moony, my love life is so screwed up. I know that both Jaqui and 'Bella have feelings for me, but I can't tell how I truly feel about each of them."
Remus looked at his friend patiently, hiding his amusement. It was clear to him how each of them thought of him, although he might know that because Arabella always had used him and Mundungus as good listening posts, them being the calm ones of the group. "What do you think about Arabella?"
Sirius sighed, and said, "She's a great friend, takes good care of me. She has a good sense of humor, and seems to accept me absolutely, nightmares and all."
Remus smiled to himself. He knew who he thought was best for his friend, but he wasn't going to influence the decision if he could help it. "What do you think of Jaqs?"
"I don't know, Moony. I just can't forget her."
"What do you remember about her?"
"You remember that Hogsmeade trip where we all went up to the Shack? And Jaqui pulled me around back? All of the good times at school. That's what I remember."
Remus groaned. "Padfoot. Listen to me. That was about twenty years ago. Jaqui has changed. She's now going by Jaqs for one thing. She's not the sweet, innocent girl you remember. Arabella has changed as well. She's more mature, and has gained experience in things. Remember, if you want both, you'll lose the one you could have."
*~*
Arabella sat talking to Mundungus about her trip to see Jaqs that morning.
Finally, he groaned, cutting her off. "'Bella," he said, "You know I love you like I'd love a sister, right? More, actually." Arabella nodded. "Okay, then do me a favor. Shut up and listen to what you were saying. You sound like a bratty idiot. An overprotective dolt, at that. He's not property, you know. What he chooses is his decision. Just give him time to sort out his feelings. I have a strong suspicion about what his choice will be."
Arabella nodded. "Thanks. You're a good shoulder to cry on. You don't let people wallow in sorrow long." She smiled.
"Want some coffee?" Mundungus offered, grinning back at her.
*~*
A week later, everyone was gathered in Dumbledore's office, waiting for two people, Dumbledore himself, and Jaqui.
Arabella had arrived first and had arranged herself on an overstuffed armchair just before Mundungus came in. They automatically pointed their wands at the other, preparing hexes, then laughed at their paranoia. He sat down across from her. Fawkes had landed on Arabella's shoulder, so she was obliging him by stroking his head. Then Sirius and Remus had arrived, courtesy of Floo powder through Dumbledore's fireplace. Sirius had immediately bounded over to sit next to Arabella, barking his hellos. Katy had plopped down on the arm of the couch when she appeared in the room.
They all turned their heads, the two ex-Aurors holding their wands, as the door opened. Jaqs walked in, followed by Dumbledore.
"Okay, first off, can we please put the wands down?" she asked Arabella and Mundungus, hands up unthreateningly. They shrugged and slipped them away as if nothing was the matter with being slightly paranoid.
"Thank you all for waiting," Dumbledore said. "I went to fetch Ms. de Draconis from London." he cleared his throat, taking his seat behind his desk. "Anyway, I summoned all of you here to request your aid in the battle against the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Is anyone willing?"
Arabella spoke. "I'm game. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it if I physically can."
"You know where my loyalties lie, sir," Mundungus said.
Sirius transformed.
"I'll help in any way an underage witch can, sir," Katy said. "I can't see what I can do, but I'll try."
"Professor, I believe you know my response," Lupin said calmly, with an almost smile.
"I'm in," Sirius said.
Jaqs looked hesitant. "I won't be of any help, I'm sure. I am on the side of good, but I will be of no help I know. I'm sorry."
Arabella looked at Jaqs. "Wait. You still hold sway over French Ministry officials, right?" she asked. She didn't want to see that expression any longer. That expression of absolute longing. She might have hurt Sirius, but, as Mundungus had told her, that was in the past now. Jaqs nodded slowly. "Well, couldn't you persuade at least some of them to help out our side?" she added pointedly. From behind Jaqs' back, Katy grinned at Arabella and gave her a thumbs up. (AN- Yes, Katy is French and English, but due to a long story, she goes to school in America, thus is rather Americanized.)
"Thanks," she mouthed.
Arabella resumed stroking Fawkes' head. Then it hit her. Jaqs missed the wizarding world and all of her lost loves and opportunities to be normal. Not that any of them in the room were. They all had suffered loss and rotten love lives. That realization made her a little more sympathetic to the Queen.
"Precisely what I had in mind, Arabella," Dumbledore told her, eyes twinkling. "Now, would you and Mr. Fletcher be interested in perhaps rejoining the Aurors?"
Mundungus nodded. "I could handle it," he said. "I'm willing to be your spy from inside the Ministry."
Arabella's breath caught in her throat. "I would absolutely love to, sir, but I can't. It would be a physical impossibility. I cannot talk and walk at the same time."
Dumbledore nodded his acceptance at that. "Well then, Mrs. Figg, would you care for a teaching position? I believe our Death Eater got kissed and could not, even if willing, return to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Arabella laughed. "Sure. I'll take the teaching position."
Dumbledore turned to Katy. "Would you feel out your fellow students to see how they feel, and possibly some of the Ministry officials?"
Katy grinned. "Sure! I could even ask a couple of different phoenix clans, and I'll talk to Rael and Helena later today." She paused. "Just. um. don't ask me to go to Italy." she said with a nervous grin.
He smiled. "Why ever not?"
"Erm. mumblemumble Ministry mumble."
"Katy," Jaqui smiled as she turned to her goddaughter, "If you get into any more trouble with the Italian Ministry, it's up to you to get out of trouble." Katy grinned in good-natured embarrassment.
"Um, can I leave now? I've a class in two minutes and I need to get my stuff ready as well. Summer Astrology," she explained.
Dumbledore nodded and she was gone with a quick popping noise.
"Remus, would you be willing to try to get more of the outcasts of society on our side?"
"What do you mean, sir?"
"You mean the people no one usually pays attention to, right?" Sirius asked. "The centaurs, the merpeople, the werewolves, etc.?"
Dumbledore nodded.
Remus chuckled. "Sure. I'm well suited to that job."
"What should I do, Professor?" Sirius asked. "I can't go around as a human."
Dumbledore fixed him with a knowing gaze. "I think that we could definitely use someone around here that knows the school boundaries and passageways. Who better than one of the infamous Marauders and creators of that map that causes so many adventures?" (AN- Dumbledore is all knowing. Accept it.)
Sirius grinned at him, flashing his canines in the process. "Cool. Accepted."
*~*
Arabella lay on the Quidditch pitch, staring up into the air and remembering all of the games that she had watched and played in there, all of the times she had fallen, all of the missed goals, all of the triumphs, large and small.
Sirius padded over to lay next to her. "What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly. "You've gone all serious looking."
Arabella managed a smile. "Remembering all the times I played Quidditch. Can't play anymore, you know."
Sirius nodded gently. "But it's what happens to us and how we react that make us who we are. And you are one of the strongest people I know," he told her, playing with her witches' lock. (AN- I read about this in another book (I forget which), and it's a lock of solid white hair, especially on someone with dark hair, and Arabella's is chocolate brown)
"I'm not strong," she told him. "I've just learned to survive."
"You're stronger and braver than you confess. You're a Gryffindor, after all. And you're mine," he added mischievously.
She looked at him piercingly, trying to uncover what he could mean besides the obvious.
"Why'd you try so hard to get Jaqs a job with Dumbledore?" he asked her, suddenly serious (please forgive the pun, it wasn't intended).
"I couldn't bear to see her expression any longer." He looked at her questioningly. "She misses the wizarding world immensely," she explained. "She just wants a way back into it, and a welcome."
"Thank you," he said. "It means a lot to me. But only because she's a dear friend. I won't deny that at one point I loved her, but I got a little bit of a talking to-"
"Not by a fifteen year old, I hope," Arabella injected.
"No, this was by Remus, about my choice. He shoved in my face that I've been living in the past, trying to ignore the twelve years I was in there. She was my past, now, I want to find my future." Sirius looked into Arabella's eyes.
She gazed back at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about exactly. Which was harder than it sounds, since she was sure that her heart was drowning every other living creature out.
Sirius leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a brief chaste kiss.
"Arabella Figg, would you do me the honor of marrying me when this is over and my name is cleared?" he asked nervously. "I know my future is with you, my 'Bella." he whispered.
Arabella's jaw dropped and she stared at him incredulously, in complete shock. She hadn't expected this.
Sirius' shoulders slumped and he got up to trudge back to Hogwarts' castle
Arabella jerked upright and grabbed his arm, pulling herself upright with the levitation spell, until she could loop her arms around his neck, then ditched the spell. "Of course, you idiot," she whispered. "Why wouldn't I?" She pulled his head around to face her with the hand that was wearing the ring he gave her as a promise. "Did you really doubt me?"
He looked sheepishly ecstatic. "There for a moment, I did."
"Idiot," she told him again affectionately. "I'm yours forever, and you're mine." She cut off any further protests with another kiss, trusting him to keep her upright. After all, her lips and her mind were focused on things other than any spell, levitation or not.
*~*
From up in the castle, the North Tower to be precise, the highest point in the castle on that side, Jaqs and Mundungus watched the two through magical binoculars.
"Well, it took them long enough," Mundungus said quietly, a smug expression on his face.
Jaqs smiled, and said, "I wish them well. Maybe one day they'll find a cure for her. She deserves it. She deserves him. And that ring was destined to pull the two together. His grandmother explained the ring and it's purpose to me. That ring pulls true loves together, and opens their eyes. I was just holding it for him for a while. Let's quit being Peeping Toms and go to dinner." She pulled Mundungus out of the tower, leaving the two alone on the night time Quidditch pitch, the constellation Orion staring down over them.
*~*
AN- So? What did you think? Please tell me! The ending was totally unexpected, even to me, but it just feels right. I'm always in a good mood when I finish a story with a happy ending, especially with these two. ^^
Brief Stats: Time to write: no clue. I started it after I finished Dum Vita, though. Edited: not yet. I'll do that some other time. ^^* Okay, uso, I did it the day (night, ra-chan, accept that it is now nighttime.) ( my muse, again. that I finished writing it. Listened to: Scars Left by Time, Kaze no Uta, Otome Ranman, Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue, Ka Chou Fuu Getsu, The Good Stuff, and a couple of others that I can't remember. Inspiration: The Good Stuff by Kenny Chesney. It's a good song. Time right now: 10:14. Bed can wait. ^^ Fanfics are more important.