Chapter 3
Ginny Wesley awoke in the middle of the night when Hermione gave a particularly loud grunt in her sleep. She tossed and turned but something caught her attention. She heard something coming from Connie's room next door.
Ginny got quietly out of bed and crept to the door. Connie's door was left ajar, Ginny made sure no one was around before going to her door.
Connie was sitting on the edge of her bed with a guitar in her hands. She began to play a sad melody and Ginny was amazed with the sound of her voice.
"I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real."
Ginny didn't even notice Sirius sitting on the floor with his head in his hands.
"What have I become? My sweetest friend, everyone I know goes away in the end."
Ginny spotted Sirius and saw as he lifted his head, there were tears in his eyes. Connie watched Sirius with a pained expression.
"You are someone else, I am still right here."
Connie stopped playing and placed her guitar on the bed before sliding on the floor next to Sirius. "What do we do now? You know...about us?" Connie said
"I don't know..." Sirius said, "Everything seemed so easy when we were younger."
"Remember how we met?" Connie asked
"I put a dungbomb in your bag." Sirius laughed
Connie smiled, "And I got you back by hiding a fire crab in your bed!"
"And I've loved you ever since."
Ginny couldn't help but smile.
Ginny shivered up and down standing in that cold hallway. She tip-toed back to her room and pulled the blanket off her bed, wrapping it tightly around her.
Connie had been at Grimmauld place for two weeks.
Ginny and Hermione loved discussing it when nothing much was going on. They nudged each other at the dinner table as Sirius stole glances at Connie, and giggled as Connie blushed when she caught him staring.
Sirius wasn't so grumpy with Connie around. Everyone was grateful for that.
Only this afternoon as they were cleaning one of the spare bedrooms and Sirius crept up behind Connie. Connie reached up to put down some old photos from a shelf when Sirius grabbed her ribs.
"Ahhh!" Connie jumped, and slapped his hands away.
"What?" He said innocently.
"What was that for?" Connie smiled.
"I was just seeing if you were still ticklish."
"You could have asked."
"Where's the fun in that?"
Ginny and Hermione giggled.
"Yes, well, two can play at that game." Connie said, stepping forward.
Sirius cocked his head. "Are you challenging me?"
Connie smiled mischievously, and pulled out her wand.
"I do recall how this ended last time." Sirius said, pulling out his wand.
"As do I." The couple began circling each other. Connie lifted her wand like a conductor. This made Sirius smile. "I still say you cheated.
"Ohhh." Fred and George said together.
"Me? Cheat?"
"I'll bet a galleon Connie smokes him." George said.
"You're on." Fred said.
"Rictusempra!" Sirius said and a yellow jet came out of his wand.
Connie jumped over the sofa, "Rictusempra!"
"Protego" Sirius said. Connie's spell bounced off his shield and almost hit Ron. "Rictusempra."
Connie twirled behind a bookshelf and the spell hit it sending books everywhere.
"Good move Connie!" George yelled, backing up as Connie counter-attacked.
"Rictusempra! Rictusempra!" Sirius said.
Connie gracefully dodged both spells and yelled "Rictusempra!" Sirius jumped out of the way but the spell hit his shoulder.
"No!" Sirius yelled and started laughing.
Ginny giggled thinking of Sirius' face when the spell hit him. But then he turned and hit her in the stomach with the tickling charm.
Ginny went back to Connie's door to listen.
"Sirius..." Connie asked, quietly, "What happened...the night Lily and James..." She didn't need to finish. "Why didn't you tell me you changed secret keepers? For awhile I thought you betrayed me..."
Sirius took a long deep breath. "I was planning on telling you...When it was safe again. You and Remus left to head off the death eaters and...everything happened so fast! The idea to make Peter secret keeper was a spur of moment thing...No one would suspect Peter the little rat!" Sirius added bitterly. "He was supposed to go into hiding but when I went to check on him...he was gone." Connie knew this was a memory that had haunted him for years.
"But you didn't come and find me!" Connie said angrily. "After I left I didn't see you untill the day you were sentenced to Azkaban. My world had completely turned upside down when I found out Lily and James died. And I had no idea where you were."
Sirius stood up and walked to her dresser. "I thought I was a danger to you! If the Death Eaters or the Ministry was going to be looking for me...I didn't want you to be there."
Connie rolled her eyes. "Sirius, I would have wanted to be with you! Fighting next to you!"
"You were still injured from that giant attack." Sirius got down on his knees in front of her, "I couldn't risk losing you."
Connie nodded, "I know...I'm sorry I ever thought you would have betrayed me."
Sirius stroked her cheek. "Maybe we should get some sleep...It's almost four in the morning."
Ginny backed away from the door. She closed her bed room door only moments before Sirius left Connie's room. Sirius shut the door quietly and sat outside, unable to leave.
An hour later Sirius got up to see if Connie was asleep yet. He looked in on her sleeping form and noticed something glittering around her neck. He slid into the room and kneeled by her bed. It was a thin silver chain that hid itself in her night gown that was half unbuttoned at the top. Sirius pulled the collar back and gently lifted the chain from her gowned. Sirius bit his lower lip, dropping the chain. Connie stirred and Sirius quickly retreated from the room. Sirius couldn't believe what that chain held. After all these years...Connie still wore the engagement ring he had given her so long ago.