"Mrs. Black ... I'd like a word." I stiffened when I recognized the cold drawl of Professor Snape as I was walking down the hallway bound for a lesson with Professor Dumbledore. I stopped momentarily, turning only to say, "Sorry, but I'm late for something. Later?"

Snape ignored me and casually added, "I happened to be in London the other day. I discovered something interesting about you." He paused to gauge my reaction. I got the impression he didn't just happen to be in London at all.

I shrugged. "In a big city like London you managed to find out something about me?" I asked him innocently enough, but I was a bit wary.

"Oh yes. Amazing how easy the information was to find, if one only knows where to look. Does the twenty-second of March, 1980, sound familiar?"

"Yes. And?" My heart was thudding so loud I thought he could probably hear it.

"Is the ministry aware that you are married to the notorious mass murderer Sirius Black?" He raised his voice at the words Sirius Black, and a few students passing by looked over at me in alarm when they heard the name.

I decided to bluff. "I suppose they do. We were married years ago, as you obviously know, and it is the Ministry of Magic, after all. I guess they wouldn't miss a thing like that, right? Now, if you'll ex-"

He interrupted me. "How interesting that you live close by in Hogsmeade and have unlimited access to Hogwarts. Is that how he's been getting in?" His voice did lower a bit now, accompanied by a vicious sneer. "Let's see ... you moved there when? In August, just after he escaped." He answered his own question with unbridled glee. "What do you say, if the Ministry were to pay you a little visit, that they would find him living in your house?"

"I'd say you drank too much firewhiskey," I retorted. "That's ridiculous. How on earth could I hide Sirius all this time? Even if I wanted to," I added, knowing he would never believe this. "He hasn't exactly been in touch."

"Oh, to be sure," Snape replied, amused and entirely unconvinced. "Why feel the need to keep your marriage a secret, though, if you've done nothing wrong?"

I paused, thinking fast. I hated to tell him it was because of James, fearing that he would want to retaliate against him, an innocent child. But maybe I could appeal to whatever tiny scraps of goodness might exist somewhere in him. Surely he wouldn't want to hurt a mere boy who had done nothing wrong.

"To protect my son, who has no control over who his parents are," I said evenly.

"Ah. Well, that's unfortunate. I'm afraid poor James may yet wind up in the crossfire, once it's commonly known who you are. Have a nice day." With a contemptuous smile, he turned abruptly, robes swirling as he began to walk away. I was wrong, apparently. Now, more than ever, I needed to speak to Dumbledore, hoping he could run interference.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dumbledore listened to me patiently as I worried aloud over Snape's threats. He was silent until I finished, then spoke delicately. "Laura, maybe it is time for the Ministry to know about this." He signaled for me to keep quiet as he continued. This wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for. "Perhaps if I spoke to Cornelius Fudge and told him, that might make a difference. I'm afraid I cannot exercise much control over what Professor Snape does outside Hogwarts, but if I manage to beat him to the punch, so to speak, it should help your case. After all, you aren't harboring Sirius Black in your home, are you?" He raised his eyebrows delicately.

"Well, no, I'm not," I answered. Technically speaking, at least, I thought, and for a moment the headmaster seemed to appear amused. But he quickly reverted to an impassive expression. "So you think this is a good idea?" I continued. "What about James? Snape didn't seem to care if it affected James at all."

Dumbledore smiled. "Well, now, that is an area under my control. Professor Snape knows he is not allowed to divulge information about a student if I forbid it. It wouldn't hurt to give him a gentle reminder, though, would it?"

"What if he does, anyway?" I pressed on, thinking Snape would do whatever he wanted.

"He won't," he answered confidently.

"So, you are going to tell the ministry I'm married to Sirius? What if they decide to use me as bait or something, to catch him?" It was yet another reason I wanted them to remain ignorant.

He shook his head. "I still think that will be the best course of action. I'm amazed they don't already know. Well," he amended after pondering it, "maybe not. There are so many divisions within the Ministry and they don't exactly interact well with muggles. Politics and a general distrust for the 'other side', if you get my meaning. But I believe I won't have any trouble convincing Fudge not to try and use you to get to Sirius." He seemed supremely unconcerned about this, but I wasn't so sure. "Though I will warn you, they would watch you very closely from now on." We were both silent for a moment.

"You and Sirius were married in the muggle fashion, correct?" he asked curiously.

"Yes. I asked if he wanted to have the ceremony done by a wizard, but he wanted me to be as comfortable with it as possible. I didn't get the impression that the ceremonies were that much different, though."

"Where was it? In a registry office?" he asked, now more interested.

"No, in a church, actually. St. Olaf's in Wasdale Head. James and Lily were the only other people there, besides the vicar."

"Ah, well ... I'm sure it was beautiful. But getting back to the ministry, I believe I can convince Cornelius to be, er, calm about things. He will be told you had absolutely no contact with Sirius for the twelve years that he remained in Azkaban. They will want to talk to you, though," he added, and I shot him a look of alarm. I didn't want to have to try to hide from anyone my current relationship with Sirius. I would have to tell him to stay away all the time, now. "But don't worry," he continued. "I will be sure to attend if that is the case."

The thought of his presence eased my mind considerably. I was still worried, though. What if they brought a legilimens who could read my thoughts? What if they found out I was pregnant? This part scared me more than anything. Then I thought of Harry and how angry he had been at Christmastime. Apparently he had decided not to reveal my secret, at least. As long as James was protected, though, I could handle the rest of the fallout.

"You haven't mentioned Sirius," I commented as I was about to leave his office. "I figured you would be questioning me again about the latest break-in."

"No, I haven't. I don't really believe you would encourage him to be doing those kinds of things," he said. "To be honest, I'm confident you would do everything in your power to keep him from behaving so foolishly if you knew ahead of time." He looked speculatively at me. "Does he understand the consequences of his actions?"

"Yes," I said, not bothering to pretend I hadn't seen him. "But I stand by what I told you before. Harry is not who he's after, and I don't believe for a minute he would try to harm any other student."

"Yes, well, on that subject I'm afraid we will have to agree to disagree. How was your trip to London?"

I gave him a vague overview of my three weeks there, and as usual, he watched me as if he knew much more than I had told him. I knew he was a legilimens, himself, and wondered if he had been practicing on me.

And on that note, I said goodbye and left his office, walking slowly down the winding stairs, pausing as a slight wave of nausea overtook me. Then it passed and I went on. I hoped fervently this part of pregnancy would be over with soon, though I still had no plan for dealing with the next phase, when I would begin to show. There was still time to worry about that, though, later.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I walked out of the headmaster's wing of the castle, wanting to go somewhere quiet to think. I had nothing else to do for a while, so I thought I would take the trail that led to the lake, and clear my head before meeting Professor Flitwick for a charms lesson.

It was fairly breezy and cool, being mid-March, but I pulled my coat on and walked outside anyway. I followed the dirt path, still covered in dead leaves. It wound its way down until I was standing next to the water, which lapped against the shoreline gently despite the wind.

I found a good, relatively dry place to sit, and looked out over the water, still worrying over the thought of a visit from the Ministry. I should have expected and prepared for it long before now, but had convinced myself that I wasn't going to be bothered by them after all this time. Certain precautions would now have to be taken. Sirius' clothes that weren't packed in boxes already would have to be put away. I would be forced to come up with another way of getting food to him. Unfortunately no bright ideas presented themselves in that department just now; I would have to think further about that one.

I thought back to my conversation with Dumbledore, and consequently our wedding which had taken place in March of 1980. With a jolt, I realized that it was almost my anniversary. Only a few days away, and I had almost forgotten it; the twenty-second. I wondered offhand if Sirius remembered, and I idly fingered my engagement ring and wedding band. The thought of that day fourteen years ago brought a fierce wave of nostalgia. We had returned to the Wasdale Head Inn and a nearby church for the ceremony, almost as a joke, for when we had been there a few months before in December, the weather had been so vicious that he had proposed to me in bed. A fond memory, that.

We left the pub on the ground floor and returned to our bedroom. After our long conversation where he had admitted he wanted to make me his wife, I was walking on air, in spite of the sober warnings of Lord Voldemort and Death Eaters. They seemed unreal, almost mythical, and so far away, but Sirius was very real and right in front of me. And he was mine. It was rather late now, so we made ready for bed. The room was quiet. No radio nor television; just us, which suited me fine. Removing our clothes, we quickly submerged ourselves under the thick blanket. The room was chilly, but his body warmed me as he wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me close to him. "I meant it," he said softly, "about marrying you. What do you want, though, Laura?" He kissed my mouth gently and languorously before letting me answer. Then the kiss went on, increasing in intensity, until we were both breathless and he was on top of me. His long hair fell over my face as he relentlessly took my mouth with his own, and his beard was rough against my skin. "You're mine," he whispered savagely, going deep inside me. Later, when we were finished, I laid with my head on his chest, still sweating from the exertion. "God, I love you," I said, splaying my fingers over his chest. "And I love you. This isn't the way I'd planned to ask you," he said, "but I did a lousy job of taking the weather into account." I felt the deep vibration of his words and his thudding heartbeat in my ear. "Will you marry me?" he asked. I looked up at him and tried to think of the perfect thing to say, but any words I had seemed inadequate. "Yes. I want to be your wife, Sirius. More than anything."

xxxxx

"Well, we have to get married here, of course," Sirius said solemnly the next morning, tracing my fingers with his own. I observed him for some sign he was joking. Then he broke down and laughed. "You should see your expression," he said, grinning at me.

"So you think I'm opposed to the idea?" I asked indignantly. "What if I want to get married here?"

"I'd marry you anywhere," he answered. "But this place has turned out to be, er, rather unpredictable." He gestured out the window, where he had opened the curtains to see more snow, and lots of it, falling.

"Good thing I'm marrying a wizard, then," I said, sitting up next to him, "and things like that don't matter as much. Not like we have to drive here or anything."

"No, though it would be a hell of a ride on my motorcycle over Hardknott Pass. That would be amazing. Maybe in the summer, though," he added, looking ruefully out at the snow again.

"You want to get married in the summer?" I asked. I had rather hoped it would be sooner. As soon as possible, as far as I was concerned.

"Oh no, I could do that tomorrow," he said, sitting up himself and kissing my shoulder. "But we have to arrange a few things. Do you really want to do that here? Get married, I mean."

"Well, I'd definitely want a place with significant sentimental value, and now, it certainly qualifies," I said, smiling at him. "Here or Regent's Park, but that might be harder to manage." I was only half kidding.

"There's a church close by here, an old one. I thought you might like to be married there."

"You've been there?" I was surprised. He'd never been the churchgoing type, as far as I knew.

"No. I asked the innkeeper," he replied. I was pleased; he'd clearly not been quite as spontaneous about this as I had thought initially. He pulled me closer and I could feel his warmth next to me. "I have something to give you, then, as you'll be my wife soon." He took his wand and murmured, "Accio coat," and immediately it landed softly on the bed. He felt around a few pockets, then, finding the right one, pulled out a small ornate wooden box. "Give me your hand," he said, kissing my cheek softly. I did as he asked, and he opened the lid on the box. I caught a brief glimpse of a glittering object, then he took it out and placed it on my finger. Before I could even get a look at it, though, he clasped his hand over mine and said gently, "I hope you don't think I'm being impulsive about this. I've known for a long time."

I smiled at him. "So have I. First time I ever saw you, I couldn't take my eyes off you. Nor ever since." He looked slightly abashed at this for some reason, but then he removed his hand, so I could see my ring. It was lovely and unusual; an asymmetrical, slightly opaque stone, in a pale yellow hue encased in a platinum bezel. The band was thick with tiny diamonds circling around it. "I hope you like it ... it's an uncut diamond, which is why it looks a bit rough." He seemed worried that I would be displeased, but I would have cherished anything he had given me. "No, it is absolutely beautiful, and I love it." I examined it on my hand, then kissed him again. "I love you. Thank you."

The wind had picked up by now, and I was forced out of my daydream, realizing that I had unconsciously been twirling the ring in question around my finger. It had now been joined for fourteen years by a thick platinum band, relatively plain in comparison and a bit worn, but no less valuable to me. I checked my watch and decided I still had plenty of time to make it back up to the castle for my lesson. I was enjoying the memories the ring had evoked. Right now, though, I needed to write Sirius a quick note of warning, especially after my conversation with Dumbledore.