SNAP.
Alarmed, he looked around. Did that come from behind me? From the woods? Sunshine usually Apparates right out in the open here. In the sunshine…
The sound had certainly come from behind him. He was sure of it now. However, Sunshine was nowhere to be seen. There was no one to be seen actually.
Perhaps it was just a branch breaking. Stupid animals… except me. Besides that was a little quiet to be someone Apparating.
He settled his chin back onto his envelope, the notebook tucked snuggly beneath his chest, and waited. After being late for their first two meetings, he had been determined to show up for this one with plenty of time to spare. He was also very excited and a little nervous to be bringing along the leather-bound notebook and charmed fountain pen. It was pretty simple to keep your identity a secret when all you could really say is "yes" or "no" but now that he had the opportunity to write out whatever he wanted, who knows what might come up? He'd certainly have to be on his toes… paws.
A short time later, slightly prior to the time they'd agreed upon meeting there was a loud, CRACK. His head shot up again to behold the woman. She quickly deposited her knapsack on the ground next to him and flopped down with her head on top of the bag.
He turned his head to look at her with his tail wagging.
She sighed loudly. "Hey, Sparky," she said, eyes closed, void of emotion.
His tail stopped wagging. You don't seem too happy. I didn't do anything, did I? I couldn't have; I haven't seen you in days.
He whined, urging her to speak.
She said nothing.
He nudged her with his paw.
She pulled her arm away, still not responding.
Alright, love, what's got your wand in a knot? He let out a short, annoyed bark.
After a moment she answered him, "I'm sorry, Sparky. It's just been a pretty troublesome couple of days since I last saw you.
"I'm not upset with you," she continued. "I've just had a million things happen regarding the restaurant, I think I mentioned it the other day? It's just been a non-stop train wreck, and it's put me in a pretty foul mood. So I thought I'd come here early and try to relax alone a bit before you showed up so I'd be fine when you got here, but you're already here."
He began pushing himself up to stand and leave, in order to give her some space. She opened her eyes and quickly laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't leave," she pleaded. "I know I said I wanted to be alone, but I want to see you. I just need a second to get the restaurant problems out of my head."
He lay down once again. Her hand lingered on his shoulder and she dragged her nails softly and aimlessly through his fur, back and forth, back and forth.
Then she paused and quickly tore her hand away, leaving it in hanging in mid-air.
"I'm sorry, does that bother you? I'm just used to petting dogs, but… you're not a dog. I mean, I don't want to treat you as a dog so—"
He cut her off with two barks, "no," to indicate it didn't bother him.
"You're sure?"
"Bark." I'm quite sure, Sunshine. He wiggled over a bit closer.
She smiled. "Alright, then," she said and laid her hand back onto his shoulder, inching her fingernails through his fur and against his skin lightly.
They stayed like that for a few moments together, but separate. The silence was comfortable. In their situation, in which communication was difficult, confusing, and often intermittent, silence was no stranger. They had quickly gotten used to a certain lack speech during their encounters.
This silence, aside from the bustling sounds of nature that the pond, woods, and all their inhabitants provided, was no different. It wasn't uncomfortable; they, or rather she, considering his inability to speak in his canine form, wasn't scrambling for meaningless words to fill the void between them.
They each had friends. There were people who cared deeply for each of them. Still, they were both people who had been, and still were, inclined to a certain amount of solitude, both by necessity and by choice.
There times at the pond held both elements of togetherness and solitude, conversation and silence, activity (usually mental activity of learning about the other) and relaxation. Currently, they were experiencing each of the latter: solitude, silence, and relaxation. Even though they had come to see each other and chat, they enjoyed just lying there together, experiencing all their clearing in the woods had to offer.
After a while, when running her fingers through his soft, midnight-black fur had melted her worries and troubles away, she spoke. "It's been a few days… how've you been, Sparky?"
He considered her question. I've had better days… they were rather uneventful. Then again I've certainly had much worse days.
"Good?" she prompted.
After a moment he barked twice.
"No? Bad, then?"
Well, no. He barked twice again.
"Just average?"
"Bark," he finally gave an affirmative answer.
"I suppose mine were about the same…"
Really, Sunshine. You showed up rather angry…
"…I mean I had meetings and issues regarding the restaurant that aren't so fun to deal with, and they won't go away any time soon, but I suppose in the grand scheme it's not too awful," she chuckled. "I mean the week was just poisoned by drama and fuss. Not actual poison this time, thank Merlin."
Whoa, poison? His eyes widened in her direction.
"I know what you're thinking," she informed him factually. "Yes, you heard that right. I said I'm happy I wasn't poisoned this week."
He stared.
She stared back, trying to read his reaction. It's not easy on a dog. After a short, tense moment between the two new mates, the smile that had been trying to break to the surface of her face finally did, and a laugh along with it.
Yep, I was right the first time we met. She's crazy.
"I really wanted to see your reaction to that but it's sort of difficult to read canine features," she laughed. "And just to clarify, being poisoned is not an everyday occurrence for me. I just had an unfortunate incident with a bunch of sea urchins as a teenager."
His ears perked up at this. That interest wasn't too hard for her to read. "Nope," she answered.
He tilted his head. Confusion. No?
"You do not get any more 'Sunshine Childhood Stories' until I get to hear some of yours somehow," she informed her friend while she settled her fingers back into his fur on his shoulder.
He was lying on top of her letter for the day, and the notebook as well. He raised himself up on his front paws just enough to put his nose down and fish the letter out from under him. He gripped it gently between his teeth and looked up at her. That Devil's-Snare-wilting, Gringotts-deepest-vaults-illuminating smile made an appearance once again.
Keep smiling like that, Sunshine. Every time you do, all those years I spent in Azkaban get a little fuzzy. He held the letter out to her.
She faked surprise. "Really? For me? Oh, Sparky, you shouldn't have," she joked, but she was already eagerly tearing the envelope open.
It was much thicker this time. She pulled out quite a few pieces of parchment folded up together, and one single piece folded much more tightly. She set the envelope on the ground and held the parchments, one in each hand.
She started to open the small one, as there were quite a few folds, but stopped when he gave her a warning growl.
Her fingers paused and she looked over at him, half a smile on her lips and eyebrows raised. "So I take it I'm meant to begin with this thick set, eh?"
Yes. He barked.
"You do realize you've pretty much dared me to open the little one though. I mean you've given me both right off the bat, and you know very well how I am with dares…"
Ah, you're cute. But I don't exactly have pockets so, not really an option to give you them one at a time. He shuffled over and lifted his head over her hand holding the smaller of the two notes. He lowered it until his chin made contact with her hand and nudged it towards the ground, eventually trapping her hand and the note.
She laughed. "Alright, alright, I see how serious you are about the order of these. Unfortunately, I'll be needing my hand back to read through this, but I'll let you keep the note hostage until I'm done with this one," she reasoned while slipping her hand out from under him.
He nestled his chin back into the grass and she turned and leaned her head onto his side.
"Do you mind?" she questioned, referring to her change of position. "I figured you'd be comfier than my backpack."
Not at all, love. Two soft barks again.
"Which reminds me, before I start reading the novel you've written for me…"
He blushed a little at that, and thanked Merlin he had plenty of fur covering his cheeks so she couldn't see. Can dogs blush? He wasn't sure about most dogs, but dogs who were actually human and slightly embarrassed about how much of their childhood they had divulged in a letter to a girl? That's a bit of a different circumstance. I hope this isn't boring to you, Sunshine, I just wanted to tell you a little about my childhood. I feel bad I can't talk back much…
"…are you hungry? I mean, we are meeting during lunchtime," she offered.
He was. "Bark," he offered, after a pause.
"Perfect, 'cause I've brought you something as well," she said as she pulled her bag onto her lap and started rifling through it. Her hand exited the bag, holding something wrapped in foil.
"I hope you're alright with trying new foods… Don't worry it's nothing crazy just a little off the path of normalcy," she said setting it on the ground.
"Are you starving or can you wait a while? Cause if we leave it in the sun while I read this, it'll warm up and the cheese will melt… it'll be delicious," she explained.
He burrowed his nose back into the grass to show he was on board with waiting.
"Waiting it is then," she confirmed. She unfolded the parchments and smoothed them out. "Alright, time to read," she said with an excited smile.
And read, she did. Her eyes flew past page after page of his writings about a multitude of topics. She took in his comments on what she had shared with him earlier in the week, further details about his life (turns out Sparky had grown up with a little brother, who knew?), and a horde of "Sparky Childhood Stories."
Her eyes glided across the page again and again while an amused, content smile affixed itself to her face. She read silently but as she came across parts that made her laugh, she would read a line or a section out loud to him to let him in on what she thought.
The laughs, the gasps, and the reactions such as "no way!," "really?," "are you serious?," and "whoa, I wish I could've been there for that!," all the transparency of her thoughts she showed him while reading was greatly appreciated. She was definitely interested in reading his letter and learning more about him. Which is why he couldn't wait for her to get to the second parchment, still safely trapped between the ground and his chin.
As she got to the final lines of his letter, smile still widely apparent on her face, she ran her thumb over the signature and customary paw print he always left for her. Then she moved the final sheet to the end and carefully folded them back up together and sat up.
"That was fantastic," she said honestly. "Hearing all about you when you were young and your antics. I think you might've given me a run for my Galleons making trouble. If we had known each other as kids we probably would've spent all our time making trouble, trying to out do one another… it either would've been a blast of a childhood, or one of us would've died trying to do something outrageous," she laughed. "All or nothing."
She sat up, and as the physical weight of her head lifted from his shoulder, so did the weight of his worries. She had done the vast majority of the sharing until this point, and the more he learned, the more he wanted to learn about her. But being unable to contribute much, he had begun to worry that when he did, she wouldn't be interested. She was mysterious, fascinating… what if he didn't measure up?
If she was ever going to be able to see past his "Most Wanted" exterior, she needed to be pretty attached to him as a dog, and very much interested in him overall. He was very relieved to see that she naturally wanted to know more about him.
"So what's next, Sparky?" she asked, drawing him out of his head. "Lunch, or do I get to read that super secret mysterious message you're lying on?"
He motioned to the foil-covered container nearby.
"Lunch it is then." She pulled the foil away from the container to reveal a rather large sandwich.
See, Remus? She's phenomenal. She brings me sandwiches. He made a note to share that detail with Remus on Monday.
She pulled a large pocket knife from her knapsack and quickly cut the sandwich into much more manageable pieces which a dog lacking opposable thumbs could easily consume.
"It may not be what you're used to; I'm not sure, so if you don't like it, don't eat it. I won't be offended," she laughed, assuring him, but he was already chowing down.
She giggled. "So it's alright then?" she inquired. He didn't answer. He just continued to eat. She took it as a yes and began to eat as well.
As they ate, the flavors of ciabatta bread, roast beef, pesto, red pepper, and mozzarella cheese swirled in their mouths, and the silence overtook them once again. After swallowing her last bite, it dawned on her again: the last page of the letter. "Alright, Sparky. Quit holding out on me. I want to see the last page of that letter you've been keeping from me."
He hesitated. He could feel the notebook under his stomach still. As much as he wanted her to read the note so he could write and they could communicate more cohesively, he was nervous.
"Don't you want me to read it? You did willingly write it…" she wondered out loud. Then she made him a concession. "I'll tell you what, how do you feel about strawberries?" she probed, pulling a canister from her knapsack.
He enthusiastically wagged his tail. I haven't had strawberries since before Azkaban…
"Then I get to read the letter first."
Damn.
"Oh, come on! It didn't look like a very long letter. It shouldn't take me more than a moment or two, you can wait that long, I'm sure."
I suppose… He had placed his paw over it when he began eating. Now he lifted it and nudged it towards her with his nose.
She picked it up, opened it, and read it aloud.
Sunshine,
I mentioned last time I was working on a better way to communicate with you. I've made that happen. Well, a friend of mine did some of the work for us. Anyways, I say we try it out if you're up for it. Mind you, I'm still a bit shaky with the pen.
-Sparky
She had begun the letter with an excited expression, but it had turned confused by the end. "The pen? What do you mean?"
He slowly stood to finally reveal the leather bound notebook, all the time watching her face for a change in expression. She looked at the notebook. She looked at him. She raised her eyebrows.
He looked at her. He looked at it. He jerked head towards it. Pick it up, love. I can't much do it.
She slowly reached out and laid her hand on it. Receiving no protest from him, she grasped it and lifted it onto her lap. She slid the pen out of its holder and twirled it between her fingers. "So this is the pen, eh? Correct me if I'm wrong…" she trailed off for a moment, trying not to get her hopes up, "…but a pen and notebook. That usually means you're writing. You can't write as a dog, can you?"
As he lay down next to her once again, he responded with a bark. Yes.
"You can."
Yes, he confirmed.
"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief.
Yes, he insisted.
"Alright," she challenged, "let's see then." She opened the notebook to the first perfectly pristine page and held the cover down so it wouldn't close. She then uncapped the pen and laid it down.
"Go ahead," she prompted, not completely believing he could do it. After a moment she added with a smirk, "I dare you."
Oh, you and your dares, Sunshine. It's no wonder you're always in trouble.
The pressure was on but he concentrated intently on the fountain pen. He had improved quite a lot since his first tries with Remus, and he quickly got the pen's nib angled onto the page. Carefully, he began writing, concentrating on each individual letter.
As he wrote, her eyes and smile widened in tandem. He really could write. A whole new world of communication was open.
She silently read his writing: Told you I could do this, Sunshine.
"You did, didn't you, Sparky."
He wasted no time as began writing again. And I believe you promised me strawberries.
She laughed. "I'm not sure that was quite a promise, as much as it was a bribe, but yes, I think we should finish lunch," she responded. She opened the canister, withdrew her pocketknife once more, and began cutting off the stem of one. "Now, I don't mean to treat you like a dog, but seeing as you don't have thumbs, I may have to give these to you one at a time."
The pen glided across the page again. That's fine. I believe kings used to be fed bite by bite…
"Ha," she said humorlessly. "Maybe I'll just eat them. I'm not your house elf."
No, you're much more beautiful than my house elf. And I'm only having a laugh, love.
She let it go and gave him a strawberry. "Ah, you have a house elf. So you're rich, huh?"
This is what he had been nervous about. Now he would have to answer questions immediately. He didn't want to lie to her, but he wasn't in a position in which he could tell the entire truth either.
He was a gift of sorts. He decided to avoid the question. Yes, he was rich, but he was by no means living the high life. And he had inherited Kreacher… that makes him sort of a gift, right?
"Oh, alright."
Before she could continue he changed the subject. I've not been able to talk much since we've met, and since you have been able to, you've directed our conversations.
"Sure," she agreed.
He continued, Since I can now, I think I should be able to choose our topic. I have a whole slew of questions for you.
"'A whole slew' of them, huh? I've shared plenty with you. I've only gotten some information in return."
I've just given you the world's longest letter answering all your questions and sharing just as many stories.
She opened her mouth to protest, but all viable reasons failed her. She instead popped another strawberry into her agape mouth. They stared each other down while she chewed. After she swallowed she sighed. "Fine. What's question number one?"
He thought where to begin for a moment.
Let's start with… your family.
"Alright. What about my family?"
You have a sister.
"I have a sister," she confirmed with a nod.
Other siblings?
"None to speak of."
Tell me about her.
She smirked and raised an eyebrow. "You interested in her?" she joked.
No, just interested in you, Sunshine.
She rolled her eyes after reading that, but he noticed she was grinning all the while. "Alright. Well, she's about three years older than me. She was super boring, and whiney, and a little too girly for me growing up. She never had any sense of adventure."
As you two grew up though, did you two grow closer or further?
She hesitated, taking her time de-stemming another strawberry to give to him. The question asked more than he realized. "Soon after she turned sixteen, I was twelve, my parents split. My sister stayed with my mother. They moved back to Ireland, permanently. I stayed with my father and we continued moving frequently for his business dealings. So my sister and I rarely saw one another. I guess we sort of plateau-ed?"
He did his best to nod. I see. I'm sorry about your parents splitting. I'm sure it was difficult to be without your mother?
She shrugged. "I suppose at times… In all honesty I think it was good for all of us. My mother and my sister both missed Ireland, but I was too young when we left to really miss it, and my father traveled a lot of his life. He's not even from Ireland, so he didn't have any desire really to go back. So they left, and we kept on traveling across the world for a few more years."
She paused thinking back on her travels. Then she flipped the question back onto him. "What about you? You mentioned a brother in your letter…"
Two years my junior. We never got on.
"Oh. I'm sorry. Why's that?"
Just too many differences. No common ground really.
She just blinked at him, waiting for a longer explanation. He blinked at her too, refusing to give in and delve into his lonesome childhood, but after it was clear she wasn't about to speak until she knew more, he gave in.
I told you before, I'm from a pureblood family.
"Sure," she urged.
My parents held to that very tightly. My brother was the same way. They all saw pure blood as a person's best quality.
"And you don't," she guessed.
Exactly. I was never shy about voicing my opinion that pureblood lineage is about as important as hippogriff dung.
"So you don't get on with your parents either then…"
No, I didn't.
"Sounds lonely."
Yours doesn't sound much less lonely than mine. I had the world's best mates at school. You said "friends kind of came and went" for you, I believe.
She laughed, "I believe that's exactly what I said. And, sure, but my family was divided two and two, not everyone against me. And at least my father and I were tight while I was growing up."
Well I only dealt with it for so long. I left home at sixteen.
She nodded understandingly. "Ah, see I was sent home to Ireland when I was seventeen. Where did you go?"
My best mate's parents took me in. I stayed there when I wasn't away at school.
"Right. Those stories in your letter about school… it sounds like a pretty wild time."
His heart warmed thinking back to school. His glory days with James and Remus… and Peter… the laughs, the pranks, the meals, the classes, the train rides, the Hogsmeade trips… back when things were happy, nearly entirely.
It really was. I think you'd have liked it had you been there.
"So had I been at school with you, you think we would have been friends?"
Definitely.
She smiled, "I'd love to meet this 'James' in your stories."
His stomach dropped slightly. I'd love for you to meet him too, Sunshine. Unfortunately, he passed away.
Much like his stomach just had, her shoulders dropped while reading his last message. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" She trailed off as he began writing again.
Don't be. It was quite some time ago.
They were both quiet for a moment before he wrote again.
Alright, new topic. If you don't mind.
"Of course, you said you had a lot of questions. 'A whole slew of them.'"
Right. Well, number two of the slew: you mentioned something earlier about poisoning… and sea urchins? …and I'm just going to be wondering later if you don't clear this one up for me.
She smiled and nodded. "Alright." She de-stemmed the last two strawberries so they could each have one and began her story.
"I was sixteen years old and living in Bombay," she started, but quickly stopped as he was writing again. "Interrupting already, I see."
Sixteen-year-old Sunshine… I bet sixteen-year-old me would've been rather interested in you.
She let out a quick bark of laughter. "Is that so? How about current you and current me?" she flirted.
The circumstance of time doesn't much matter to me, he flirted back.
She smirked at that and her smirk stayed in place as she answered, "Well good, because I hate to ruin this for you, but when I was sixteen, you were…"
Twenty-four. Right. Never mind then.
"Back then a friendship between us would've certainly been odd. Now though…" she trailed off. They gazed at each other for a moment. What were they? Sure they were friends, but he refused to show his face. Furthermore, there always seemed to be an underlying flirtation between them. They each wondered where the other saw them…
"I assume you're familiar with Quidditch?" she broke the slight tension.
Extremely familiar. How does this relate to Sunshine's Sea Urchin Scene?
She chuckled, "'Sea Urchin Scene?' I quite like that. The SUS. I'm using that from now on."
You're very welcome, but it's the SSUS.
"Well my actual name doesn't start with an 'S.'"
Aha!
"'Aha!' what?" she laughed, puzzled.
I'm getting closer to figuring out your name. Now I know it doesn't start with an 'S.' Just twenty-five possibilities left.
"Well," she began sarcastically, "believe it or not Sparky, my name has more than one letter in it."
As does mine, but a first letter gives me place to start. So, does it start with an 'A?'
She rolled her eyes smiling. "Not telling."
'B?'
"Not telling," she repeated.
Oh, come on. 'C?'
She replied with a shrug, "not telling."
'D?'
"Sparky!" she exclaimed out of mild frustration.
So it is a 'D.'
"It's not a 'D.'"
Only twenty-four letters left then.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you want to hear about my sea urchin poisoning?"
In a moment. If I tell you what letter my name starts with, will you tell me yours?
"No."
Really?
"Yes, really."
Oh, come on. Please?
"No."
Why not?
"I will tell you the first letter of my name, if you show me your face," she challenged.
He sighed. I can't do that.
"'Can't?' Or 'won't?' Because they aren't the same thing…"
Alright. Here's the reason.
She settled in, looking him in the eye intently, hanging on the silence, waiting for him to write again.
He looked at the concentration in her eyes for a moment before he wrote with a gleam in his eye: Interested, are you?
"Extremely," she admitted, "now go on."
He took a deep breath and wrote again. The truth is, I won't be showing you my face because you might recognize me.
"Hang on," she interrupted his writing, "do we know each other?"
He laid the pen to the paper again, but she continued. "Because if we know each other," she said warningly, "and I'm telling you more about myself than I would to… whomever you really are, this is not cool."
Sunshine, we've never met anywhere but here.
She let go of the breath she'd been unknowingly holding. "Alright, then clear this up for me Sparky; I'm lost."
He ignored that request for a moment. What wouldn't you tell someone you already knew? You haven't been revealing any deep dark secrets…
She just looked at him, trying to simplify the intensive answer in her head. "I'm… just a private person. And you don't even know my name, so I figure I can leave and disappear forever if I ever want to…" She paused. "So I 'might recognize you' but we don't know each other."
He took a breath and admitted who he was, in a roundabout way. I'm just someone who's well known in some circles… and you may have some preconceived notions about me. I'm really enjoying the anonymity for the time being.
She read his last message but gave no reaction at first. After a moment she nodded, thinking it over. "So you're famous."
I said well known.
"That's exactly what a famous person would say."
Maybe so, but I am not famous.
"You're not famous, but you're convinced that if I just saw your face, or heard your name, I'd know who you are. And have 'preconceived notions' that you don't like."
Yes.
She resumed her slow, calculated nodding for a moment. "…famous author?"
No.
"Quidditch player?"
I wish.
"…I got it."
Is that so? he asked, daring her to let him in on her next guess.
She narrowed her eyes at him with a smile. She knew her next guess was ridiculous, but she said it anyways. "Minister of Magic. Pleasure to meet you, sir. Really, it's been lovely speaking with you," she said with a fake sweet smile.
He let out a bark of laughter, I'm certainly not him, Sunshine. He was quite the opposite.
She shrugged. "Yeah, I know… he's way over the age of thirty-four," she joked honestly. "Well I'm glad you're 'enjoying the anonymity,' but I'm not."
Oh, please, you're enjoying your own anonymity. You said yourself you're a private person; you can say whatever you want, and I'll never know who it's about if you don't tell me who you are.
"I suppose that's true. But I'm holding to my policy: I'll tell you my name when I know yours."
Fair. But… start me off with a letter anyways?
She rolled her eyes with a laugh; he was determined. "You're too curious for your own good. What am I going to do about you, Sparky?"
By the time they left, the worries and anger she had shown up with were far, far from her mind.
