Sirius sat in a chair in his old bedroom, watching the sleeping woman in the bed. Several thoughts presented themselves to him, not the least of which was the irony of winding up back in this house once more. He rose at one point and wandered over to the wall where the pasted muggle magazine pictures were still attached, and snorted. That little stunt had gotten him in some hot water with his mother way back when, and she had promptly marched Kreacher in there to get it off. As Sirius was forced to watch, the smarmy house elf muttered the whole time how Regulus was so much better, minded his parents, and didn't lust after silly muggle girls in bikinis. But no matter how hard Kreacher had tried, nor the amount of elf magic he applied to them, he hadn't been able to remove the pictures from the wall, to the boy's amusement. The same went for the photograph of Sirius and his mates, taken at Hogwarts. He now looked fondly at it for some time. He had forgotten that it was there. Looking around the room, in fact, Sirius realized that this was the first good look he had gotten in several years. He had all but ignored it when he came back to Grimmauld Place to get it ready for the Order. But now he recalled what a refuge the room had been whilst growing up, keeping him safe from his mother's wrath on several occasions.

Reclining once more in the chair, Sirius continued to ponder Madeleine and her reasons for saving him. The thought that someone in the world had cared enough to risk her life for him was rather overwhelming. She shifted in the bed, and he looked sharply over at her, making sure she was alright. Then, as she settled back into a deep sleep once more, he turned his gaze away and thought more about her. He realized that she must have many secrets, perhaps still hidden in her mind, from all those visions. Had she ever seen his death, or her own? What would make her see only him? Was it really the dreadful ceremony their mothers had made them take part in as children? Was he actually destined to be her husband someday? Well, he thought drily, he could certainly do worse. As far as looks went, she was far better than Victoria had been. Not only that, but she had a clever sense of humor and was always friendly to him, even when he had been rude to her at first. He felt a stab of guilt at that. Dumbledore had known what he was doing, after all, making him Maddy's protector, of sorts. Not for the first time, Sirius was thankful that Grimmauld Place was serving a few useful purposes in thwarting Voldemort's allies. He did wonder, however, why on earth she would be so important to the dark wizard. Perhaps it was only her stupid brother who cared. Since he had obviously mentioned her to Voldemort already, he probably felt he had to follow through and bring her to him or risk being punished. This made him think of Regulus, who had been just as foolish. He would never admit it to anyone, but the image of his brother brought a pang of sadness with it.

Now Sirius' thoughts turned to Victoria for the first time since the previous night. He now had no doubt that she wasn't remotely interested in him, but had used him to try and get information about Madeleine. She had been bold as brass walking up to him in the Cauldron one evening, just before Maddy had come to stay, and had pursued him doggedly ever since, asking many questions that had seemed strange at the time. He had exchanged some passionate kisses with her, but was now extremely thankful he hadn't taken her to bed, even though he had thought about it initially. But then his dreams began to be filled with images of his new house guest, and, despite his irritation at being kept here, he hadn't been able to get her out of his head. Even the bombshell Madeleine had dropped suggesting that they might be married someday hadn't succeeded in ridding her from his dreams. Now, as he looked at her sleeping figure, he reconciled it with the sweetly provocative woman whom he saw when he was asleep. And the tattoo thing was interesting, certainly. He couldn't remember having actually seen one on her body, but it was very clear in his dream when she had been naked. Exactly the same one he had on his chest. He peered under his shirt and glanced down at it. The ink had faded over the years. Where once it had been black as night, it was now a bluish color and the miniscule words that were meant to invoke protection could no longer be distinguished. He supposed it had worked, in a way. Someone had given quite a bit to protect him, he thought, looking once more at Madeleine's sleeping form.

He recalled the events of that evening; chasing after Pettigrew, the hour in the Shrieking Shack, being injured by Remus, and finally collapsing down by the lake. Though he had been mostly unconscious, he remembered a face looking over him. Harry will be here soon, she had whispered, and then she kissed him softly, drawing him to her chest protectively as she was attacked instead of him. Now what? he thought to himself. Suddenly another memory from the previous night came to him, where he was locked in an embrace in the alleyway with Madeleine and had his arms tangled around her body, kissing her wildly. Nice as the dreams were in which they kissed, they couldn't compare to the rough beautiful reality of that. The thought occurred to him that he would love to repeat that episode, and his groin tightened reflexively as he remembered just how excited he had been. If Victoria hadn't come along, there was a good chance he would have been spending the night in his old bedroom with her.

As he continued to process these thoughts, the thing that he found a bit frightening was how accurate her predictions had been. She had known without being told that he was an animagus, purely from seeing him that way. So did that mean he had no choice but to marry her at some point and have children? He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Rebel that he had always been, the thought of something like that being out of his control chafed a bit, especially after his years in Azkaban. He'd be damned if he would be forced into a marriage with anyone. But so far, Madeleine didn't seem to have much to say about it. Maybe she didn't want to be married either, for all he knew. He stood and stretched, deciding to put aside that particular subject for now. He walked over to the bed, looking down at her, and brushed her hair gently with his hand. Then he left the room.

Striding down the stairs, Sirius suddenly remembered his mother's snoring portrait, and crept past it in silence before continuing down to the basement. He looked around for Remus, but the other man was nowhere nearby. He poured some ale and sat at the table, sipping it as he began to daydream. He pictured Madeleine's naked body pressed against his own, and a sudden image of him being on top of her on the kitchen table thrusting repeatedly into her aroused him to no end. He hadn't made love with anyone in a very long time, and since her arrival it seemed to be all he could think about. In fact, the more he thought about it, he grew increasingly excited. He would begin by placing soft kisses on her neck, then moving down languidly until he had her legs apart. She would squirm with pleasure as he flicked his tongue over her mound, and he imagined her moaning his name repeatedly.

"Whatcha thinking about, Sirius?" a voice called from the other end of the room. Sirius looked up to see Remus standing in the doorway, holding a large coffee mug. "You appear to be in deep thought."

Flushing with embarrassment, Sirius spoke. "Not really. Just having something to drink."

Remus walked into the kitchen and pulled out a chair, sitting down. "So, is everything cleared up?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Sirius replied noncommitally. "So, Mooney, how much did you know?"

"A fair amount, I'd say," answered Remus. "Wasn't my story to tell, though. And," he added, looking pointedly at the other man, "you hadn't exactly been in much contact with me from that time until the Order re-formed for me to say much about it."

Sirius looked abashed, but continued. "But it's been over a year. Why didn't anyone say something?" He was suddenly indignant.

Remus studied him thoughtfully. "Well ... you never asked too many questions, I believe. Were you not the least bit curious? I thought Albus had spoken to you about some of it."

Sirius thought back to that time, and recalled Albus' vague words the morning after. We have many things to talk about, Sirius, once you've recovered. But Sirius had wasted no time in leaving Hogwarts and Britain altogether. He assumed Albus had been instrumental in capturing Pettigrew, and that Harry was his savior that night. Despite his affection for his godson, though, he had explained to him that he desperately needed to get away, just for a little while. Once Fudge had been convinced of his innocence and his name cleared, he had procured another wand and left England altogether to travel around Europe, though he had kept in contact with Harry and returned when it was obvious the boy was in serious trouble, settling in London. Now he remembered something else. Snape, he thought with disgust. He still couldn't believe he had a debt to that man. As he contemplated this disturbing notion, a delicate cough interrupted his thoughts.

"Sirius? Are you paying attention?" Remus asked, more amused than anything.

"What? Oh, yeah, Mooney. Just thinking about all that stuff. So," he continued, "did you ever ... date Madeleine?"

Remus looked surprised. "Oh. No, we were only friends. Didn't I tell you that already?"

"Oh. Yeah, I suppose. What about Snivellus?" He couldn't help sneering when he said the name.

"What about him?" Remus looked confused.

"Did Madeleine ever ... go out with him?"

"Oh! No, I don't believe so, though he was actually nice to her at times. Rather uncharacteristically, I'll add." Remus and Sirius were both silent for a moment as they considered Snape. "Well, did you have a nice time with her last night? And you shouldn't have paid, by the way," Remus said reprovingly.

Sirius shrugged unapologetically. "I didn't mind. And yes, I did have a good time. Until Victoria showed up, at least. She bloody near ruined everything. She can't be a death eater, though. Not exactly Miss Stealth, is she?"

"I guess you'd have noticed if she had the mark," Remus commented. "Sirius, what changed your mind about Maddy?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know perfectly well what I mean. You couldn't seem to stand the sight of her at first, but now you've changed your tune significantly."

"What's wrong with that?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing, as long as you don't change it back again on a whim."

"I don't plan to. Mooney, do you really think I'm like that?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't suppose. I certainly hope not, anyway."

"But to answer your question, I suppose the place started mattering less to me, and the person more. Make sense?"

Remus looked bemused. "Not really. Say it in English now?"

"I'm very attracted to her. She's a good person, and I ... like her. She's a good kisser, as well," he couldn't resist throwing out. Then Sirius changed the subject. "That time of the month again?" he asked, nodding toward Remus' drink.

"Yes. God, this stuff is horrible."

"Snape still making it for you?" Sirius asked with distaste, unable to help himself. Remus nodded, just as the sound of screaming and shrieking upstairs made them both jump out of their chairs. Remus put down his drink, and they ran up the stairs, where Mrs. Black's portrait was in full force. Maddy was frantically trying to shut the curtains, which had flown open when the portrait woke up.

"Sorry!" she moaned in frustration. Her hair was mussed up and she blinked several times sleepily as she yanked on the drapes. Sirius pulled them closed at once and muttered a nasty comment directed at his mother, then turned to Maddy.

"Let's go into the drawing room," he said in a low voice. Once in there, they all sat down.

"Well, Sleeping Beauty. Finally awoken, have you?" He smiled at her wickedly.

"I don't know about the 'beauty' part, but 'sleeping' is dead-on. I can't believe I slept for so long." She ran a hand through her hair.

"Are you hungry?" Sirius asked. "It's almost time for supper."

"Oh. Yeah, I could eat something," Maddy answered. "I'll go downstairs in a few minutes."

Remus watched Sirius as he and Maddy continued to speak animatedly, noting the change in his manner since her arrival a month earlier. Now Sirius was all kindly solicitude and flirtation, he thought, and he wondered exactly what he had missed the previous night between the two of them. Suddenly he stood at a break in the conversation.

"Well, I really need to finish off the wolfsbane, then I believe I'll go and rest, until my usual mess is over this month. Maddy, I'm glad you're feeling better. Sirius, talk to you later." He smiled at them and left the room at their goodbyes, going back down to the kitchen to drink his disgusting brew.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Madeleine, I, uh, wanted to apologize for last night," Sirius said tentatively a few minutes later.

"Why?" Maddy asked, surprised.

"Well, I felt as though I ... came on a bit too strong. I don't want to offend you," he said. "I had a wonderful time, though. Sorry it was ruined at the last."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I very much enjoyed myself," Maddy answered, not bothering to admit that a well-placed hex on Victoria had been on her mind after that untimely interruption.

Sirius stared at her contemplatively, and Maddy felt disconcerted by his piercing gaze. "Madeleine," he began, "I also want to thank you ... for everything. I don't know how, though. Anything I think of to say seems so inadequate. If something had happened to you - " He broke off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

She flushed and looked away. "Really, Sirius, it's perfectly alright now. I just feel horrible that you are being pushed to stay here. I don't want you to be stuck in this house on my account."

"I don't mind at all," he replied earnestly, recalling the irony of that statement. He thought back to his initial disagreement with Dumbledore concerning that very issue over a month ago. Now, however, he realized that the musty old house wasn't bothering him very much whatsoever, especially as long as Kreacher stayed away. He would have to find a way to get his mother's portrait off the wall, too. "I enjoy your company," he added.

"Well, same here," replied Maddy.

"However," Sirius said, now looking sternly at her, "it would be nice if you took me to wherever it is you're apparating out of this place. Rather unwise of you to go on your own, you see." He shot a triumphant look at her, and she flushed guiltily.

"How did you know? Did Albus tell you?"

"Yes, he did," Sirius answered crisply, though his eyes gleamed with amusement. "Quite the little rebel, aren't you?"

"I suppose you would know," she answered, smiling in spite of herself. "I've heard plenty about your glory days from Remus."

"Oh really? Well, you know you can't believe a word he says," Sirius retorted, grinning. "But let's not stray from the subject. You need to get out of this mausoleum occasionally, and you need company for your own safety. That's where I come in."

"You want to go with me?" Maddy asked in surprise. "That would be great, though you might be bored out of your mind. The one time I went somewhere couldn't be terribly interesting to anyone else."

"I'll be the judge of that," he said. "Where did you go?"

"Clacton-on-Sea," she answered, embarrassed. "Just to run."

He laughed heartily. "Oh, well, you could do better than that. But there are no shortage of places to escape to. Maybe we could make it a ... friendly competition, Madeleine," he said offhand, though there was a hint of challenge in his voice.

"What does that mean?" Maddy asked, laughing at his tone.

"Well, we'll take turns picking a location to apparate. The other person has to figure out where we are, or suffer the consequences." He grinned wickedly. "We can work out the other details later."

"You clearly believe that you'll be the winner, sounds like," she countered. "I'll accept the challenge. Tomorrow morning is my turn, though, alright? Five-thirty. Can you handle that?"

"I most certainly can," Sirius said with an air of superiority. "Now, let's get something to eat."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

That evening, Sirius, in a further uncharacteristic display, didn't retire to his room early as usual, but remained in the drawing room, reading. Maddy had curled herself up in a chair close to the fire and was looking through a boring journal on arithmancy that Bill Weasley had left her at the last order meeting. Eventually she sighed and put it down in the floor beside her, then stood and walked over to the bookshelf, perusing the titles, which were rather interesting, to say the least.

"I'd be careful with some of those," Sirius said, looking up. "My family is well known for taking innocuous objects and rendering them ... dangerous, as you'll remember." His eyes gleamed with humor with this ominous warning. She looked alarmed and removed her hand from one volume that she had been about to pull out. "Want me to check it for you?" he asked. Maddy looked warily at him, suspecting that he was taking the piss more than anything, but she nodded.

"By all means," she said, shrugging. He stood and walked over to her, holding out his hand. Maddy pointed to the book in question, and he pulled it out, rifling through the pages with feigned concern before handing it to her.

"Looks alright, I believe," he said softly, and she looked up at him, taking in his scent and intense gaze which reminded her disturbingly of the vision she'd had which took place on the drawing room floor. She couldn't help but glance down at it, and he raised his eyebrows. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," she replied hastily as he turned his head to look.

"Something interesting about the floor?"

"No, just, ah, thought I saw something move out of the corner of my eye."

"Well, hardly surprising around here. Probably a stray doxy scurrying by that we missed back when we were cleaning." He went back to his chair and sat once more. Maddy sank back down in her own chair and pretended to read, though she couldn't erase the image of making love with Sirius on the floor out of her mind. Once they had both retired to bed, she found that she wasn't really that sleepy. She lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling as usual, and contemplated the events of the past few days, then finally she drifted off.