Misery Loves Company
Rating: MA – Eventually
Authors Notes: This story will encompass the entire seventh book from the time spent at Grimmauld Place to the Battle for Hogwarts with one exception. Siri is back from behind the veil and will eventually be with Harry. Ginny can sit and spin for all I care and will not be included in this story except in passing. Hope you will allow a few artistic liberties I will have to take to make the plot fit with my revisions. Thanks for reading! REVIEW PLEASE!
Warnings: Harry/Sirius. This is Slash people!! Don't like, don't read. Simple.

"Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one's life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one's side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart it's pages betrayed the rhythm and the music; perhaps . . . perhaps . . . love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath." – Lucy Maud Montgomery

Misery Loves Company
Chapter Eleven
By: Kitty

Morning came with gray skies and pouring rain and hardly any light bled through the canvas tent. Sitting up in bed, I notice Sirius standing at the stove cooking breakfast and whistling softly.

"I didn't know you could cook" I supply, syllables still clumsy and voice scratchy with sleep.

"There are quite a few things you don't know about me, kitten" he purrs, arching an elegant eyebrow suggestively. Oh sweet Merlin, people like Sirius should not say things like that. It is completely distracting and could, quite possibly, cause an aneurysm. I manage to grunt out something that I hope sounded as though I was just sleepy and not a complete bumbling idiot.

Removing myself from the nest of blankets, I glance towards the empty beds that should have held Hermione and Ron. Childishly, I had hoped that last night had all just been a terrible nightmare and they would still be here. Alas, that is not the case, they left and they aren't coming back. I knew that was the simple truth of it, because our protective enchantments meant that it would be impossible, once we vacated this spot, for them to find us again. The only thing I could think of to console myself was that at least Sirius loves me enough to stay and tough it out. Not like I had any doubt that he would stay, but it's nice to have a bit of proof.

"If you get washed up, you can get some breakfast and then maybe we can find a nice, cozy cave somewhere" Sirius says, interrupting my depressing thoughts.

"Right, sorry. I'll be back in a tick" I rush out, scrambling to get to the wash room and make myself look like less of a wreck. I change, scrub and style in less then five minutes and emerge from the closed off area to find a lovely egg and sausage breakfast set out for me. I cant help but smile at Sirius's proud face and dig in with a vengeance.

"How did you get all this?" I ask with a hint of incredulousness in my tone. His lips twitch in a suppressed smirk and it only serves to increase my interest.

"I might have borrowed the Invisibility Cloak and went to a supermarket" he says with a wince and a nervous smile.

"You were certainly busy this morning" I comment dryly, taking a sip of my tea and trying to keep the smile from blooming on my face. I should be angry, furious even, but right now I am so touched by his thoughtfulness that I just cant find the anger inside the flood of gratefulness. It is just so amazingly sweet that he is trying to make me feel better by feeding me and suggesting caves instead of another field. I adore him.

"You aren't going to yell?" he asks, shocked. I cant help but laugh at the look on his face.

"Not right now" I say once I have sobered enough.

"This is going to come back in two years and bite me in the butt" he mutters into his eggs, devouring his food as quickly as his mouth and hands will let him.

"Probably, yes" I reply with a smirk.

"All right, enough fun at my expense. Let's pack up and hit the road… figuratively of course" he quips, raising and spelling the dishes clean.

"Yes, sir" I gripe, pulling a mock pout until he leans forward to kiss it away, tenderly brushing our lips together briefly and flashing me a smile that lightens his eyes beautifully.

"Get a move on" he smirks, giving my arse a good swat as I pass him. Squawking about abuse, I pack up all the loose things and I eventually get the tent down and packed away while Sirius cleanses the area of our presence. Finally ready to leave, Sirius grabs me around the waist and Disapparates with a crack.

After the fantastic feeling of being squeezed within an inch of my life, we arrive outside a little cove by the ocean. The waves are crashing behind us, rain pounding down from above us but the concave structure itself looks dry and perfect. I grin up at Sirius and nod my approval.

"Come on, you know the drill" Sirius says, moving to cast his enchantments around us while I get the tent up again. The tedium is a bit comforting in the face of all these changes, and I welcome this mundane task in favor of stewing in the stinging comments made last night that I am sure will haunt my nightmares for a while.

I am unable to hide it from myself: Ron was right. Dumbledore had left me with virtually nothing. We have discovered one Horcrux, but we have no means of destroying it: The others were as unattainable as they had ever been. Hopelessness is swimming around, waiting to consume me. I am staggered now to think of my own presumption in accepting my friend's offers to accompany me on this meandering, pointless journey. I know nothing, have no new ideas, and am constantly, painfully on the alert for any indication that Sirius too was about to tell me that he had had enough, that he was leaving.

We spent the afternoon in near silence, Sirius hunched over Hermione's copy of The Tales of Beetle the Bard with Spellman's Syllabary lying open on the arm of the chair. I try to busy myself with a few of the books we had from the Black library and crossing my fingers in a weak attempt to coax luck in our favor. I don't know why on earth Sirius is reading that silly book, its just a children's story book – like The Brothers Grimm for muggles. I grew tired of the books before evening drew in and I busied myself with transfiguring the purple clutch into something a tick more manly. Maybe a nice masculine briefcase…

"What in Godric's name are you doing?" Sirius asks with a chuckle, lifting his head to look at me in amusement.

"Just fiddling around" I mumble, feeling my face flush sheepishly.

"Have you given up on those?" he inquires, pointing to the discarded books next to me on the settee.

"Er… for now, at least" I reply, shrugging. Ok, a small twinge of guilt… Sirius slaving over books while I sit and fiddle with making a clutch not so girly.

"Well, come over here and sit with me while I finish reading one last story before dinner" he suggests, squirming in his chair to make a more discernable lap. I let the smile steal across my face and wiggle myself into his lap with a small sigh of satisfaction. "See now, isn't this much better than sitting all by yourself and looking at me every thirty seconds?" he stage-whispers, wrapping an arm around me.

"I wasn't looking at – "

"Yes you were. You were feeling left out" he teases, pressing a kiss to my temple to hide his smirk.

"I was not!" I squawk, swatting at his arm playfully.

"Mhm, course not. Now, settle in for a story" he chuckles, maneuvering me into a more comfortable position so that I can rest my cheek on his shoulder. I huff dramatically but otherwise allow him to do what he wants with me. Sirius deemed it worth his efforts to read me the entire 'Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump'. Apparently every wizarding child had been read these stories growing up and it was nice to experience the tradition – even if it was 17 years too late.

As he finished his story, he went to shut the book when he stopped short and frowned, looking down on the next page. His face was twisted with a new idea as he stared at what looked to be the first page of a story called 'The Tale of Three Brothers'.

"Look at that symbol," he said, pointing to the top of a page. Above what I assume is the title of the story (being unable to read runes, I can't be sure), there was a picture of what looked like a triangular eye, its pupil crossed with a vertical line. "I've been trying to figure it out all afternoon".

"I never took Ancient Runes, Siri."

"I know that, but it isn't a rune and it's not in the syllabary, either. At first I thought it was a picture of an eye, but I don't think it is. It's been inked in, look, somebody's drawn it there, it isn't really part of the book. Think, have you ever seen it before?"

"No … No, wait a moment." I say as I looked closer. "Isn't it the same symbol Luna's dad was wearing round his neck?"

"Well, I couldn't tell you, Harry. When did you see Luna's dad?"

"Oh, at Bill and Flur's wedding this summer. Sorry, I… well. He was wearing it around his neck. Krum got really upset about it and told me about how it was disrespectful to be wearing it" I say, the gears turning in my head to summon the conversation again.

"Disrespectful? Hmm. Did he tell you what the symbol meant?" he asks, eyebrows drawing together.

"He said that it's Grindelwald's mark."

Sirius stared at me, openmouthed.

"What?"

"Krum told me …"

I recounted the story that Viktor Krum had told me at the wedding. Sirius looked astonished.

"Grindelwald's mark?"

He looked from me to the weird symbol and back again. "I've never heard that Grindelwald had a mark. There's no mention of it in anything I've ever read or was taught about him."

"Since when do you read?" I ask with a smirk

"I too went to school where I had to occasionally do my own work… when Moony wouldn't do it for me" he exclaims with an afflicted expression, trailing off at my raised eyebrow. I smile in victory.

"Well, like I say, Krum reckoned that symbol was carved on a wall at Durmstrang, and Grindelwald put it there."

He leaned into the back of the old armchair, frowning.

"That's very odd. If it's a symbol of Dark Magic, what's it doing in a book of children's stories?" he muses, rubbing little circles on my back absentmindedly.

"Well, that was Dumbledore's book. He left it to Hermione when he…died" I force out, pushing down the lump that wanted to crawl in my throat at the mention of Dumbledore's death. "Maybe he drew it in."

"But you just said that Krum – and probably all of Durmstrang – thinks that's Grindelwald's mark. Why would Albus draw in the mark of someone he…defeated?" Sirius just stops, looking for all the world as though he were deeply unsettled. That would make two of us.

"I don't know" I whisper needlessly. I feel another surge of anger at the reminder of our situation. Dumbledore left me with no clues, barely any knowledge and even less hope. I have nothing to go on, and even armed with the knowledge that he might have left the sword somewhere for us to find, I've no idea where he would have left it. Sometimes when I think about it too hard, I can barely keep myself from hating him.

"Hey, don't worry. Everything's going to work out, I just know it" Sirius coos, automatically recognizing my stiff posture for distress.

"I didn't know you were such an optimist" I say sarcastically, but as soon as the words are out, I wish I could take them back. Way to go Potter, push away the only person who is actually still here. But Sirius has never reacted to things like normal people; he throws his head back and barks a laugh, tugging me tighter against his chest and kissing my cheek.

"It's my deep dark secret. It wasn't just turning into a dog that kept me from losing my mind in Azkaban – it was my stunning optimism" he says, still chortling in to my hair.

"I wonder how I could have missed that all these years" I snark, tracing his jaw line with little kisses. I can feel the deep vibrations of his laugh cut through my skin and sizzle along my nerve endings.

There is poetry written in the pink slash of his smile, the faint lines around his eyes when he laughs, the fleeting glance of tattoos above the collar of his shirt and I have to firmly suppress the urge to lick, kiss and otherwise molest every inch of him.

"You were much too busy to spend any time with your poor godfather" bemoaned Sirius, clutching at his heart with a pained expression.

"Sirius, you were never poor and it was more like you were too busy for me" I tease, pinching his arm affectionately. He laughs then and I cant help but think how young he looks when a smile brightens his normally somber features. I can see the man who stood up as best man at my parents wedding, the man who knows more about me than I do, the strongest man I know. Holy Merlin, I love him.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Sirius asks, frowning as he brings a hand up to check if he has anything on his face. I cant help the giggle that breaks free and his frown deepens as a small smile plays on his lips. "What?" He finishes with a whine.

"I love you so much" I whisper, winding my arms about his shoulders and pressing my face into the silken curls playing around his shoulders.

"Love you too, Harry" he croaks. He hugs me tightly to him and I think I might have heard a sniffle but I could have been wrong.

"I think it might be time for dinner" I say at last, breaking the hug after a few minutes. He grins crookedly and nods eagerly. I feel myself smile at his antics and I push him firmly into the chair and promise him that I will make dinner tonight.

Frying a bit of ground beef, vegetables and a minuscule amount of potato, I try to imagine each and every place that Dumbledore might have hidden the sword. I get all through making dinner without any new ideas at all. I don't know how on earth I am supposed to defeat Voldemort when I cant even muster enough knowledge to be with someone I love properly. My knowledge of relationships is notably vague but add in the fact that this is a relationship with a man who has probably been with countless men and women and you get a very daunting reality.

"I can't imagine that needing anymore time on the fire, love" Sirius interjects softly, twining his arms around my waist and placing a kiss on the side of my throat. For a brief moment I lean back into him, simply to breathe his presence in, before turning the burner off and dishing up the humble meal.

We chatter through our mouthfuls of scarce pickings and let the conversation drift to our next possible locations. While I cant think of anywhere else I would rather go than Godric's Hollow, I attempt to kick my higher thinking into gear and suggest some places as I muster the guts to ask him to go to the place where my parents died. I don't find the courage to bring it up, though, for I know just how much he must not want those memories to resurface. It must be horrible enough to live with those memories, let alone have someone come prancing along and make you go back to the place that your nightmares feed on. He notices the apprehension written plainly on my face, but bless him, he doesn't say anything about it.

"What do you think?" he asks suddenly, and for a few moments I don't realize that he is asking me a question. Oops.

"Pardon?" I squeak, blinking at him in confusion. What was the question… Think, damn it!

"I asked you what you thought would be the best place to camp tomorrow" he explains with a small frown. I must be worrying him with my lack of focus.

"It doesn't matter to me, Siri. You can pick" I mutter, fighting at the blush that is creeping up my neck.

"Ok, let's have it" Sirius demands, throwing down his napkin on the table and leaning back in his chair in preparation to hear my newest problem. Merlin, I am so fucked up. Why cant I just let myself be moderately happy for once? I mean, I have Sirius back, we are alone on a sort of camping trip which in some circles could be considered a romantic get-away… you know if we weren't being hunted down my a mass murderer… and all I can think about is going to see my parent's graves.

"I think we should go to Godric's Hollow" I blurt, squeezing my eyes shut for the oncoming shouting and emotional display.

"Yes, yes I really think we'll have to" he sighs, drawing a weary hand over his face in exhaustion.

"Did you hear me right?" I say incredulously, my eyebrows climbing into my hairline in surprise.

"Of course I did. You want to go to Godric's Hollow, I agree. It'll be dangerous but the more I think about it the more I really think that its there" he elaborates, voice low and estranged as though he were actively keeping his tone clinical.

"Er – what's there?" I inquire, completely put off by his apathy and the apparent location of a random object that I didn't even know we were talking about.

"The sword, Harry" he says with a slight quirk of his lips.

"Gryffindor's sword?" I exclaim, eyes widening comically.

"Well, that is where Godric Gryffindor was born, and Dumbledore must have known that you'd want to go there" he prods gently with a sad smile.

"We don't have to… I don't want you to have to… Sirius,…" I babble helplessly, my eyes pleading with him to understand what I am unable to say.

"Come over here, kitten" he croons thickly, and there is a deep sadness in his swirling gray depths that seems to radiate out of him in slacking waves. My feet carry me to the other side of the table without my express permission to do so and he opens his arms and enfolds me within them as I straddle the chair and his legs.

"Siri – " I start, only to be cut off as he sweeps a gentle kiss over my lips. Oh Merlin, that's cheating! A person is just wiped clean of thought whenever Sirius Black kisses them… and he knows it. He pulls back much too quickly for my liking, giving me only teasing brushes of his mouth until I am about to fly into a million pieces with a pulsing need for him to kiss me properly.

"I always knew I would have to go back eventually and there is no one I would rather go with than someone who it means just as much to" he whispers hoarsely, his lips brushing against mine with every word. I gaze into his eyes unwaveringly, trying with all my might to see any sign of apprehension flittering across his dazzling orbs.

"It wont be easy" I breathe once I see the clear determined set to his shoulders and jaw. When Sirius gets that look, there is no talking him out of it.

"That's alright, what's life without a little risk?" he quotes, wry smile playing about his lips tantalizingly. Would it be an appropriate time to kiss him within an inch of his life? Probably not. Bugger.

"We'll have to use the Polyjuice and the cloak and quite possibly fight through some heavy defensive enchantments…" I ramble off, counting each obstacle off on my fingers and growing more anxious every second.

"Shush. We'll do alright, I know it" he sooths, rubbing my hipbone with his thumbs in little circles.

"We have to plan – "

"Harry, I don't think you've drawn proper breath since I said we could go, so just breathe deep and tomorrow we'll plan the whole thing out to a tee. I promise. Now, go sit down and relax while I clean up" He directs, pushing me gently out of his lap so that he can get at the dirty plates on the table.

"Ok" I mumble, shuffling to the couch with a forlorn expression. I really want to be concerned about visiting Godric's Hollow, about Voldemort, about my friends that are suffering at Hogwarts with Snape as Headmaster but all I can think to worry about is why Sirius won't kiss me for more than three seconds at a time.

He did say that he wanted to practice restraint, that he didn't want to rush, but that doesn't exactly make me feel any better about the whole thing. Well, if he won't kiss me the way I want him to, then I will have to take the initiative and do it myself.

"What are you thinking so hard on?" Sirius asks, plopping down on the cushion next to me with an air of casual elegance that he has always seemed to possess.

"You" I say simply, the corners of my lips turning up at the confusion and the well hidden spark of worry that flashes in his eyes.

"What about me?" he prods with a forced relaxed expression. Poor man, I cant torture him like this. Yes, I am a big softie. I scoot over on the couch to lay my head on his shoulder and sigh dramatically.

"The best way to seduce you, of course" I reply with a falsely confident smirk. At once, the strange concern drains from him to be replaced with his normal, agonizingly sexy self-assurance.

"Ah, that is a tricky subject. There are so many options, so many things that you could try. It could take you ages to riddle it out" he comments, smoldering at me from under his lashes.

"Your right, I should just give up" I pout, flopping back into the head rest.

"You little minx" he rasps, grabbing me around the waist and lifting me into his lap as though I were as light as a feather. His eyes are burning blue sapphires, glowing from behind his long hair like stars, as he presses his hands on my back to cause me to lean on his chest.

He leans in and ghosts his lips across my temple. I press into the kiss and tilt my face up, feeling those soft lips vibrate against my cheek, my nose, my chin. I hadn't consciously meant to kiss Sirius back, but our lips met regardless, a soft whisper of flesh on flesh. We both froze at the contact and remained motionless; mouths open slightly, barely touching, as we panted into one another. I felt a renewed surge of arousal spike through my body, threatening to overtake me, and I keened.

With a thick growl, Sirius surges forward and seizes my lips in a sizzling, toe curling, mind-reeling kiss that forces a whimper from my throat and my eyes to clench in pleasure. His lips are like flowing silk as he dominates my mouth with his. He licks and nibbles at my lower lip and I cant help but open my mouth to accept him. I submit willingly, eagerly, and am rewarded as he plunders my mouth with his tongue. Sirius is groaning and growling, his hands clenching around my hips, and fucking my mouth with his tongue as though he has wanted me all his life.

The world tilts, slanting on its axis, as the heady sensations roll over me and threaten to overwhelm everything I have ever known except Sirius Black. This is so much different than any kiss I have ever had, and its not just the fact that I love him desperately or that it's a man I'm kissing, it's the pure experience that bleeds through every movement he makes. The raw sexual energy that quakes and trembles into me and straight to my groin.

He rips his mouth from mine abruptly, pants fluttering against the skin on my face, and leaning the side of his head against my temple.

"You've done it now" he rumbles darkly, pulling back to look into my eyes. I whine pathetically at the unadulterated lust that pulses from his eyes, his lips, the tightness of the muscles under my hands and he makes a choked noise in the back of his throat as he crushes our mouths together again.

A/N: Hi everyone! I struggled with this chapter for three days and I have to say that I am still not completely satisfied with it, but I have posted it for you none the less. I hope you don't hate it too much. PLEASE REVIEW!!! I am desperate, guys, and I will result to bribes and coercion to get you all to drop me a little line. I NEED REVIEWS TO POWER THE UPDATES!!!

Oceans of Love,

~Kitty