Chapter Six

"Sirius."

The whisper rang out across the walls of the lavatory as I sat in a stall with a layer of parchment on my lap. Moonlight filtered in through the small window high up on the tile walls, and somewhere in the bathroom a tap was leaking, causing a continuous tap, tap, tap to echo through the bathroom. Finally, on the piece of parchment with the large pawprint in the top-left corner, black writing in a messy scrawl began to appear, and my heartbeat sped in my chest.

Yes, Hazel Dearest? You called?

This was the greeting I received each night as I began my secret conversations with Sirius. I learned from the first time I tried to get in touch with him that Bev asked far too many questions, and my secret means of communication would be doomed. The supervisors here had made it very plain that we were not to find ways to get in touch with others except through the traditional means of owls.

So naturally, I found a loophole; I blame Sirius for my rule-breaking, but really it's just my hormonal teenage heart and the feelings that fill it.

Sirius! I've been waiting all day to speak to you.

As have I. How was your day, love?

My heart fluttered; I missed him so much.

It was good. I was the first to finish the two-mile run this morning, though I still can't do as many push-ups as Ly. She's terribly good at every physical activity. And that horrible cousin of Xeno's, Edythe? She can run like a gazelle. But I hate her, so I had to run faster.

You haven't mentioned all of the boys you've started to fancy. What about them?

You should see the boys here. They make Hogwarts look like a home for beautiful boys, and you've seen some of the messes that come into Hogwarts.

You're just saying that to make me feel better. Imagine if I were there; you'd sit around each day thinking, "Who is he going to leave me for?"

I like to think that Edythe is too mean for you, Ly is too competitive, and Lorraine is just too nice. And Bev is just… She asks far too many questions. There are plenty of other girls here, but they don't stand out much, meaning they definitely wouldn't catch your hard-earned attention.

And there's not a single male who has caught your attention?

Not a one. It's either diverted with thoughts of how much I miss you or how completely exhausted I am, or trying to remember the proper spell or information to impress these people. The teachers, not the students. Every now and then, I'm somewhat focused on making friends, but I'm content with Bev, Ly, and Lorraine.

Good. No boys in your group?

Bev's trying to recruit one because she fancies him, but he's rather antisocial. And even still that means he's in the same region as Amos or Adonis, or whoever Yumi's with now. Speaking of which, has she sent anything?

I would've told you if she had. I'm sorry, my dear. I wish she would get in touch. James and I have started considering flying to her house to investigate, but he says we should at least wait out the summer.

But do we have to wait out the summer? I miss you terribly.

Then I'll come see you.

What? Sirius, no, that's a horrible idea. The security on this place is almost as intense as Hogwarts.

And yet we snuck out of there enough times. There are ways; you just have to find them. Find a way out tomorrow night. I'll meet you on the street and apparate you somewhere nice. I'm going to be there in my finest suit, so you had better be there.

The page suddenly cleared, meaning Sirius had finished the conversation. I tried catching his attention once more- several times- but he never replied.

Beetle-brained twit.

The next night, I did manage to find myself outside of the auror training camp, back out on Doble Street, where there was absolutely no sign of Sirius. After I managed to sneak around and figure out the passcode to get out into the teachers' quarters, sneak into there, sneak into Mr. Jangles', a heavyset man, room while he was dead asleep and steal his key, and then sneak out onto the street, there was absolutely no sign of my idiot boyfriend.

Daft beetle.

I crept around a corner into an alley, my mind flashing with all the memories of recent news articles about the war against Voldemort. My mind was reeling as my anxieties shot back up into the forefront of my brain. Maybe Sirius got snatched. Maybe I'm going to. I am the pretty girl standing in an alley; that's dangerous even for muggles, though I could defend myself more easily against a muggle man, I think. Where is he? Why isn't he here? He said finest suit. I swear if that daft tit got snatched-

Footsteps echoed down the street. My fears and uncertainties raged in my brain, but my training from the past few weeks also kicked in. Spells flitted by as passing thoughts, offensive and defensive alike, and I thrust myself out of the alley with my wand pointed outward-

Just to jab Sirius in the stomach.

He coughed heavily. "Well, hello, Hazel!" He huffed around his coughs.

"Oh, Sirius!" I gasped, sheathing my wand and yanking him into a hug. "I'm so sorry!"

He just chuckled, catching his breath, and pulled me into a hug. Almost instantly the world turned black and tight, darkness squeezing me as I buried my face in his chest to block out the peripheral images of places swirling by. Suddenly, our feet landed on ground, and I took a moment to catch my breath and steady myself before stepping back from Sirius. I glanced around, and then noticed where we were.

Moonlight dappled a clearing at the end of a hard dirt trail, looking to have been patted through a grassy forest by being trod on by many different feet. Leaves rustled in the breeze, and through the branches overhead I caught glimpses of the open starry sky. The half-moon hung as a faint glowing white semicircle, barely visible through the leaves. Most amazing, however, were the two shire horses standing tethered to a tree. One was black and white, with big white socks around its hooves and a white tail, her brown eyes locked on the tree before her. The other was dappled gray and white male, with white mane, tail, and socks. He continuously eyed us. Both were saddled and prepared to go, needing only to be untied from the tree.

"Sirius, did you do this?" I asked, staring at him. He smiled, his face dimly lit by the moonlight pouring through the interweaving branches of the trees overhead.

"Of course. And there's more to come. Do you need help getting up there?"

I eyed the shire mare, and shook my head. "No, I've got this one."

We made our way over to the horses and I took a minute to stroke the mare's forelock, establishing trust, and then untethered her and climbed into the saddle. It was considerably harder to mount her than the other horses I had ridden, but not impossible. We started down the trail after a short discussion of how the horses had been trained, and then we were free to ride along as the horses plodded through the tall grass and hard-packed dirt.

"How were you able to mount her so easily?" Sirius asked, once we had started moving.

I hesitated for a moment, and then finally replied, "Cassi had horses for a few years. My mum and I always wanted a horse, but never had the money to live anywhere with enough space for one. So during holidays, Cassi and I would go ride her horses. They were walking horses mostly, so they were easier to manage, but then her father bought a Clydesdale colt one day. He'd been told the colt was a different breed and much older than he actually was, and Cassi's father bought the horse. As we watched him grow, we quickly discovered such was not the case. However, we still managed to train him to be ridden. Shires are smaller than Clydesdales, so it wasn't that difficult."

Sirius nodded. "Just when I think you're already the most interesting person in the world, you go and prove you're that much more interesting. Soon, you'll be the most interesting person in the universe."

I cocked an eyebrow as the shire's hefty body shifted underneath me. "If I'm not already, then who is?"

"The alien queen from Mars, of course."

"Of course."

"She said she'd come back for me one day. I'm still waiting."

"So you're leaving me for an alien?"

He grinned at me in the dark. "She said I could bring a friend."

"Oh, well that makes me feel loads better. Little did you know, I'm already engaged to the alien prince of Venus. He's lovely."

"Again with the puns. Will it ever end?"

"Never."

He chuckled, and then reached across the gap between our two horses to take my hand. He pressed his lips gently to my knuckles. "I could never leave you, Hazel Drummond. Not even for an alien queen."

"Really?"

"Really."

I looked over at him, planning to make some other joke, but all thoughts disappeared from my mind. The trees had cleared out some, and moonlight fell from overhead, shining on his dark hair and glinting in his silver eyes. It outlined the soft curves of his cheeks, the hard angle of his jaw, and cast shadows that seemed to deepen the beauty of his features. He rode his horse straight-backed, one hand on the reins, the other casually slung back behind him, with an air of confidence and bliss. I had never seen someone so perfect.

I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life.

Dawn was approaching by the time I apparated back to the auror training camp. It cast a pale gray blanket over a pearly Doble Street, raising mist from the humid stones of the sidewalks. Sirius and I stood in an alley for a minute longer, our fingers interlocked and our foreheads pressed together. I couldn't resist breathing in, catching his usual scent of rain and pine, heavy in the thick morning air and now coupled with leather from the black jacket hanging on his shoulders. He leaned up and touched his lips to my forehead, and then cupped my chin with one finger, tilting my head up toward him. Our lips connected, moving together and stirring a feeling I only identified with him, a warmth in my chest that seemed to fill my whole body and erase my troubles like morning dew.

I lingered kissing him for a few more minutes, and then pulled him into my arms, feeling a heaviness mount in my chest at the thought of parting once more.

"We'll be back under the same roof again before you know it, love," he whispered.

"I'm going to miss you," I whispered back, hugging him tightly.

"I love you, Hazel. I'll see you soon."

He stepped back. "I love you, too," I said, and with a pop, he had apparated.

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A/N: Thanks for being patient! Sorry it's been a month. I still love you guys, I'm just hella busy. Work, school, unpacking, etc. Haven't had time to write in a while. Sorry!

If you have any suggestions for things Hazel can do at her auror training camp, please let me know! I'm open to suggestions right now, as I didn't really plan enough to happen within there.

Thanks for reading! Please don't forget to review/follow/fave!