Make You Feel My Love

Chapter 2: Reunion

Rosmerta looked around the Three Broomsticks as she levitated dirty mugs into the running sink. It wasn't a particularly busy day unlike many others. Days such as this one were rare and a nice break from the constant busyness. There weren't even many Hogwarts students out.

As she brought drinks to one of the tables, she caught a little of the conversation going on at said table.

"Apparently he really was innocent," she heard a short, stout man with a deep voice and glasses say. "The Minister himself proved it. He was telling the truth from the very beginning."

Rosmerta gently started setting the mugs down on the table with her wand as the men continued talking, not even acknowledging she was there.

"How do they know it was the truth, though?" another man asked. "He could be lying. He was smart enough to be the first to break out of Azkaban, after all."

The stout man shook his head at his companion. "Veritaserum," he said simply. "Plus the Minister himself told the Daily Prophet that he and Dumbledore saw Peter Pettigrew . . . alive. He was the one who betrayed the Potters and killed those twelve Muggles. Supposedly tried to frame Black."

As Rosmerta set down the last mug, she let out a soft, barely audible gasp at the mention of Pettigrew's name and 'alive' in the same sentence. Quickly, she made her way back to the counter and into the kitchen. Pettigrew alive? Sirius innocent? She had always believed he was but . . . it couldn't be, she wouldn't get her hopes up; they were just rumours. Started by Rita Skeeter, no doubt, she thought.

For the remainder of the day, a day that started off quiet, she tried to block out all conversations regarding Sirius Black. It was much easier said than done; it seemed everyone was talking about Sirius Black and his innocence.

Later that night, as the last few customers filed out of the pub and closed the door behind them, Rosmerta exhaustedly fell against the counter, laying her head on it. As she lay there, she heard the door open and the shrunken heads in the doorway once again chanting their rude sayings.

"We're closed," Rosmerta said without lifting her head.

She heard soft footsteps continue toward the counter. "Did you not hear what I just said?" she started, feeling herself getting uncharacteristically frustrated. "I said we're cl—"

Her sentence trailed off as she raised her head and looked at the man standing in front of her. Tears started to form in her eyes as the person she was looking at registered in her mind. He was still very rugged looking, but that was to be expected from being in Azkaban for twelve years. His eyes, though, his eyes were the same as she last remembered them: sparkling gray with mischief glinting in them and a hint of happiness that probably hadn't been there in the last twelve years.

"Hello, Rosy," Sirius whispered.

Instantly, she broke eye contact with him at the use of her nickname, the nickname he had used when they were dating in school . . . before he broke her heart.

"I'm sorry," she started. "I stopped replying to that nickname long ago."

Sirius smiled and suppressed a laugh, shaking his head. Still as stubborn as always, he thought happily. "Sorry," he said, only to make her happy. "Rosmerta."

Once again she looked at him but this time she smiled. "I knew you were innocent," she whispered. "I knew you would die before betraying your friends. I even told the Minister that you were the last I would have believed to go over to the Dark side. That if he had told me when we were back in school what you were supposedly to become, I would have said he'd had too much mead."

Sirius looked at her with a smile of delight on his face. I knew she would believe me. "You thought I was innocent?" he asked.

She let out a slight laugh. "Well you are now," she stated. "But I always believed you were no matter what the Ministry said."

A moment of comfortable silence passed between them before they both opened their mouths to speak again. They laughed slightly uncomfortably as they both tried to speak at the same time. "You first," Sirius said.

Rosmerta's smiled faltered as she remembered what she initially was about to say to him. "Is it true?" She asked quietly. "Pettigrew was the one to betray them to You-Know-Who?"

Sirius frowned slightly as he sat down on one of the stools in front of the counter. "Yes," he said, barely audible. "I went to his hiding place that night to find him missing—"

"Are you sure he wasn't taken forcefully by You-Know-Who?" Rosmerta interrupted.

"There were no signs of struggle," he answered. "I knew then that something must have been wrong. So I got on my motorcycle and sped to Godric's Hollow. When I got there, Lily and James' house was in ruins . . . and they were dead. Only Harry was alive, obviously. Hagrid arrived to take Harry to his Muggle aunt and uncle's but I offered to take him, considering I was his godfather. He was adamant, though, said it was Dumbledore's orders as he had already made arrangements for him to stay with Petunia, Lily's sister, and her husband Vernon. They are the worst Muggles you could ever meet, imaginable even!

"I allowed him to take Harry and gave him my motorcycle. As soon as he left, I set out to look for Peter. I wanted to kill him. He outwitted me, though, confronted me on a Muggle street and shouted to everyone that I had betrayed James and Lily. Then he created a huge explosion, and explosion which enabled him to fake his own death, leaving only his severed finger behind and killing twelve Muggles therefore leading people to believe that I had done it," Sirius finished his story with tears of anger stinging his eyes.

Rosmerta shook her head disappointedly. "You would never have expected in our Hogwarts days that he would be able to do something such as that," she said. "I never did like him."

Sirius chuckled. "I know you didn't," he said.

He slowly walked around the counter and put his arm around Rosmerta's slim waist. Slightly hesitantly, she removed his arm and looked up into his gray eyes.

"Why did you come here Sirius?" she asked.

He was slightly taken aback at her words but spoke anyway. "I thought you would want to see me," he whispered, not showing the slight hurt he felt in his voice.

"Well," Rosmerta started, still looking into his eyes. Oh, how I wish I could love him like I once did, she thought. "Thank you for the thought. I enjoyed your visit but . . . it's late now . . . you should leave."

Sirius looked down into her green eyes, the eyes he loved so much, and saw something he had only seen once: hurt and fright. He wanted to disagree with her, but her eyes silently pleaded with him, asking to be alone. "Alright," he said, slightly disappointed. "I'll come back another time. Is that okay with you?"

Rosmerta nodded as she slowly walked to the door with him. "Yes," she answered. "I would like that. And I'm sorry you can't stay longer tonight, I just . . . need to be alone. I have a lot to think about."

Sirius nodded in understanding as he grasped the door handle. Slowly, he opened the door and started to walk out into the night. Before he closed the door behind him, he turned back and walked to her. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes before kissing her lightly under her left ear.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear before walking out the door and closing it behind him, leaving Rosmerta stunned.