Chapter 28;
Sirius's POV
Sirius heard the faint knock on the door from his position on Rosie's bed, his face buried into her pillow, inhaling the sweet smell of Rosie's shampoo. He'd always loved the smell of Rosie's shampoo, like vanilla and roses. Rosie had gone to shower a few minutes before, leaving Sirius to lounge on her bed until it was his turn. Before she'd left, he'd wrapped his arms around her waist, held her close and murmured into her ear, "I'll wash your back if you wash mine," Rosie had just laughed softly, pressed her lips to his in a brief kiss and then had slipped out of his arms and into the shower, a huge smirk plastered over her face. That was exactly what Sirius loved about Rosie, she kept him on his toes. He'd think he had her figured out but then she'd do something completely different and turn his world upside down.
Another slightly louder knock pulled Sirius out of his daydream, making his head shoot up to analyse the situation. He'd slightly hoped that the knocker would go away, but when yet another knock vibrated into the room, Sirius groaned and sat up, stretching slowly and allowing his bones to give satisfying pops. He was about to get up to answer the door when he heard Rosie's sweet voice call to him over the sound of the shower. "Sirius, love? Can you answer that?"
Yelling back, "Yes,", Sirius got out of the bed, pulled on his jeans and opened the door, ruffling his hair sleepily. At the door was Anna Lee. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was fidgeting with the ruffles at the end of her scarf absently. "Sirius...can you get Rosie, please?" Her voice was slightly soft and shook the tiniest bit, as if she was nervous. Sirius gestured into the room and to the closed bathroom door. When the silence overwhelmed them, he saw her make out the soft sound of the shower running. "Oh..well..." Anna Lee bit her lip and her hands started fidgeting with her scarf more insistently. "Rosie, dear? Can you come out for a moment?" She called, loud enough to be heard over the shower. Sirius tilted his head to the side, wondering what Anna Lee needed to talk to Rosie about, as the shower stopped. After a moment, Rosie popped her head out of the bathroom door. She had on Sirius's old Qudditch jersey and it made head shoot all over him, seeing the woman he loved in his clothes. Her hair was still damp and was blonde, which meant she'd been turning it back and forth in the shower. Personally, Sirius had never liked Rosie with blonde hair. He preferred her natural dark auburn. "Yes, Anna Lee?" Rosie asked, leaning against the door frame. Sirius could see a fair bit of her legs and his eyes widened sightly and he couldn't keep them from going up and down her body repeatedly.
Anna Lee smiled at the girl, oblivious to the ogling Sirius. "Blonde is a good colour for you, Rosie." Rosie raised an eyebrow and nodded, running a hand through her still damp hair. Sirius could just tell from her expression that she wanted Anna Lee to get to the point. She'd always hated when people danced around questions.
"Not meaning to be rude, Anna Lee, but can you hurry it up? Anna Lee's eyes widened and she nodded. "Right. James and Lily were meant to take Ali to see her mum, but they never came back. So, Will and I are taking her. But then we won't have time to cook Christmas dinner. Do you think you could do it?" Sirius felt suddenly bad for poor Ali and he saw Rosie had nodded and touched Anna Lee's arm.
"Of course Anna Lee. Dinner will be ready when you guys get back." Anna Lee hugged Rosie quickly before hurrying away.
Sirius met Rosie's eyes and his arms snaked around her waist, pulling her closer. For moment, she relaxed into her arm and made heat shoot all through him. "Hi there, gorgeous," He murmured into her ear, his voice slightly husky. Rosie, to his amusement, sighed and pulled away, her hands instantly going to rest on her hips. "You need to go shower. And I need to get dressed. We have a dinner to cook." With an expression that caused Rosie to laugh, a playful scolded puppy dog expression, he disappeared into the bathroom to shower, his laughter echoing around the room in his absence.
Rosie's POV
"Sirius! Put that down!" Rosie snapped as she rushed over to her boyfriend, snapping the dish cloth in her hand at him to make Sirius back away from the roast she'd just removed from the oven to check. Rosie had hated spending Christmas with her parents, because of their divorce. If she spent it with her mother, she was treated like and imbecile and her mother continuously insulted her father. Sure, her dad did annoy her quite a bit, but she loved him. And if she spent Christmas with her father, she was stuck cooking four roasts, as her dad enjoyed inviting all the farm employees over for dinner. Cooking just one roast was like a vacation to her, and she did not plan to cook another one because her boyfriend had pigged out on the one she'd already made.
Sirius laughed and danced away from her, before snaking his hands around her waist and pulling her close to him. Rosie smiled and relaxed in his arms, comforted by the warmth he caused to spread through her body. "Sirius..." Rosie said reluctantly as her thoughts flickered back to the dinner she was meant to be preparing for the Potters, Lily, and Sirius and herself. A few days ago, Remus had returned home, wanting to spend the actual Christmas holiday with his parents.
As she pulled away, there was a tap on the window that Rosie deciphered as an owl. She made a gesture at Sirius so that he'd get the letter. She could hear him fumbling with the window as she checked the food, then she heard a long moment of silence. Turning around Rosie saw a ghostly pale Sirius staring at the parchment in his hand. Rosie rushed over to him, putting her hand on his arm. "Sirius...? What's wrong?" She asked softly, her voice hinted with worry. Thousands of things were rushing through her head, terrible, terrible things that scared her. He was silent for a long while before his voice finally sliced through the silence, like a knife cuts through flesh.
"Mrs Potter is dead."
