Fragments of Us
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Warnings: Sexually explicit scenes.
Chapter 37 – Mysteries at Midnight
For the second time in less than 24 hours, Kate stepped from the second floor elevator and made her way to her department.
"Kate, we're here," boomed Kingsley's voice and Kate turned to find several of her colleagues already gathered in the large meeting room to the left of the department's front door. Kate nodded and walked into the room, taking a seat to Kingsley's left.
Kate removed parchment and a Muggle ballpoint pen from her briefcase to kill time until the meeting began. Over the next ten minutes, the remainder of the available Aurors entered the room and, when he saw that everyone who could attend was there, Kingsley began the meeting.
"As you all know, ten Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban prison earlier tonight," he began his voice solemn. "Six have been identified as Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange and Mulciber. There are four others whose identities the Ministry is working to confirm as we speak."
"Any idea how they did it?" Spear, one of the newer Aurors spoke out.
Kingsley took a breath. "The Minister feels certain that Sirius Black masterminded the operation. After all, he was the first to successfully escape from Azkaban and his cousin, her husband and her husband's brother were three of those who got away."
Kate groaned inwardly. One more thing for Fudge to lay at Sirius' feet – in favor of ignoring his own shortcomings.
Tonks spoke up. "But Black was seen in Greenland as recently as this week. Isn't there a more realistic explanation for the break-out?"
Kate smiled at her, but caught Kingsley's raised eyebrow and sobered instantly. Pay attention here, Tonks, she thought before replying, "I believe Black held a valid Apparition license before his arrest, Tonks. I'm sure that he could have Apparated without detection to assist his fellow Death Eaters."
Tonks caught Kate's cue and picked up the challenge. "Well, Kate, I'd agree with you except for the fact that Black's been on the run for the better part of a year and can't be at full power. Between trying to avoid capture and stay alive, who knows what kind of physical condition he's in at the moment? We snapped his wand and, as far as we know, he doesn't have a new one. At best, he may be using a wand he stole from some poor wizard who was stupid enough to cross his path. I think at least some of us need to focus on known Voldemort sympathizers who are a little more local, don't you, Kings?"
Good girl, Kate thought to herself. "Tonks may have a point, Kingsley," she added. "Black is many things, but self-preserving appears to be one of his most compelling gifts. Why would he risk discovery and potential apprehension to free additional Death Eaters? Surely, he's more valuable to Voldemort as a distraction to the MLE. While we're focused on him, Voldemort may, indeed, feel that he can move about more freely. He may well be deploying those of his followers who resumed their old lives after the Dark Lord was believed to have been destroyed the first time. They would not necessarily be the first to be suspected."
Kingsley nodded thoughtfully and some of the other Aurors around the table murmured in agreement. Spear, however, was not thoroughly convinced and persisted. "Of course, Kate, you would be reluctant to support the theory that Black was involved in this escape, based on your history with the man. My uncle was in school with you all and he told me that you and Black were a couple back in the days of the first War. Could it be that the relationship has withstood the test of time?"
Kate felt her blood turn cold, but managed to maintain her professional demeanor – in fact, she brought it to the next level. So, the little boy wants to play, does he? "Your uncle would have been … let me see if I can remember … oh, yes, I recall now; your uncle is Romillard Spear, isn't that right?" Not waiting for his confirmation, but taking in the smug look on Spear's face, Kate continued. "Unfortunate, really. Poor Romillard developed the most unfortunate crush in our first year of Auror training. Pity Sirius didn't return his affections." Kate watched the young Auror's face lose its smugness as he realized he'd taken quite the wrong road with his superior; clearly, his uncle had been right when he'd suggested that his nephew keep their conversation to himself. Kate was speaking again. "Let me say this to you, Mr. Spear, and you would be well advised to remember it. We face dark times, darker than we did in the first War. Back then, suspicion pulled apart friendships, pitted brother against brother, destroyed marriages and turned children against parents. Learn from the past; do not repeat its mistakes. My only loyalty is to the cause that finds and defeats Voldemort – once and for all. That's why I'm part of the MLE. That's why I risk my life every single day as an Auror. My past is exactly that – my past. Did your uncle think to tell you that James and Lily Potter were my friends, as well? No? Well, then, he certainly didn't think to tell you that I am Harry Potter's Godmother, did he? And there is nothing in this world that would make me risk the life of my Godson – and that includes helping the escaped convict that orphaned him! Have I made myself perfectly clear, Mr. Spear?"
The young Auror cast a quick look at Kingsley, hopeful that he might find an ally in the Senior Auror. He didn't. Kingsley was looking at him with quite an amused expression on his face. "Well, Mr. Spear? Certainly you haven't lost your ability to speak, have you?"
Spear shook his head then turned to face Kate once again. "I understand," he mumbled.
"Excellent!" Kingsley boomed. "Now, if we could all turn our attention to the tasks at hand: locating the escaped Death Eaters before they can help the Dark Lord gain more ground in our world and trying to figure out how they were able to escape in the first place."
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Twenty four hours would pass before Kate returned to her room at Grimmauld Place. She dragged herself up the stairs and walked into her room only to be hit with a very relieved Sirius, who wrapped his arms around her and refused to let go.
"Katie," he murmured into her hair. "Thank Merlin you're back!"
Kate returned his embrace, pressing her face against the side of his neck and inhaling his unique scent. "Sirius," she whispered. "Sirius." She lifted her face from his neck and looked into his eyes. "I love you."
Sirius leaned forward and kissed her lips gently. "I love you back," he said softly. "Come here." With that, he walked her into the bathroom, lifted her in his arms and gently sat her down on the counter. "Stay there for a moment."
Kate watched as he crossed to the deep tub, poured in some bath salts and magically filled it with hot water. When he had tested the temperature and found it to his satisfaction, Sirius turned back to Kate. With a wave of his hand and a muttered, "Evanesco", Kate found herself nude. A second "Evanesco" left Sirius in the same condition and he crossed the remainder of the space between them, picked Kate up in his arms and carried her over to the now steaming, fragrant tub. Kissing her softly, he lowered her into the water, climbing in and settling himself behind her. With a wave of his hand, he lit the floating candles that hovered about six feet above their heads and extinguished the gas lights lining the walls. The environment was peaceful and undeniably romantic.
"Relax," he whispered into her ear. He summoned her hair combs from the shelf and soon had her hair piled high on her head, secured with the tortoiseshell fasteners. His hands slid down the back of Kate's neck to her shoulders where he began to knead the knots he found there.
"Mmm," Kate moaned lightly. "That feels so good."
Sirius simply continued to massage her shoulders, neck and then her arms, relieving tension in her muscles. Gradually, Kate felt her body relaxing under his attentions, the hot water and the soothing scent of lavender.
"To what do I owe this fabulous massage?" Kate asked after awhile and heard his deep chuckle at her ear.
"Well, you left here over 24 hours ago to respond to an emergency at work. We hadn't heard from you and, as a former Auror, I know what all of that means: lots of meetings, stress and interrogations," Sirius spoke softly, reluctant to break the mood. "In view of that, I felt a little pampering would be in order." He dropped his lips to her shoulder and kissed his way to her neck, where he nibbled and kissed the sensitive flesh just below her ear. "Besides, I missed you," he added, smiling against her soft skin.
Kate laughed quietly. "I sort of got that impression from your greeting when I walked into my bedroom." Kate half-turned so she could see his face. "Did you know I'd be coming home tonight?"
Sirius lowered his head, allowing his hair to partially obscure his face. It didn't work, as Kate brought her hand up and tucked the errant locks behind his ear. "Sirius?"
He sighed, turning to face her. "I sort of slept in your room last night," he confessed. "And I'd planned to do so tonight, as well. It just felt like I was closer to you in here." Sirius kissed her shoulder again. "Do you mind?"
Kate smiled, leaning over and kissing his cheek softly. "Not in the least. I'm glad."
Sirius raised his hand to cup her cheek and Kate captured it in her own and giggled. "We're all pruney," she said and Sirius gave a great bark-like laugh as he, too, looked at their fingers.
"C'mon," he said, rising then helping Kate to stand. He stepped over the edge of the tub, and then turned to lift Kate from the water to stand on the deep pile bath mat. He murmured a drying charm on them both, then vanished the bathwater and summoned the candles to follow them into the bedroom.
"It's like a little parade," Kate giggled as she sat on the edge of the bed and watched the candles pop into place, hovering above their heads throughout the room.
"Slide under the covers, like a good girl," Sirius said, holding the covers up. Once they were both settled beneath the warmth of the goose down comforter, Sirius reached for her and drew her close to his body.
"I love you," he whispered. "I'm glad you're home."
Kate snuggled against his warmth. "I love you so much," she said quietly, kissing his shoulder and lacing her fingers with his. They were silent for some time before Kate spoke. "Sirius, darling, I know how difficult it is for you to remain here, in this house. But I need you to promise me that you will stay here, that you won't try to slip out – even as Padfoot."
She felt Sirius shift beneath her and she looked up at him; he was looking down at her thoughtfully. "Katie, what happened at the Ministry?"
She sighed. "Fudge is laying the blame for the breakout squarely at your feet," she told him. "He believes that since you were the first to successfully escape, you helped the rest of your Death Eater friends do so, as well."
Kate wasn't sure what she expected for a response from the dark-haired wizard, but great peals of laughter were definitely not on her list. "Sirius?"
"Oh, Katie," Sirius said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes when he'd finally brought himself under control. "I'd have been disappointed in the big git if he hadn't thought me responsible for it!"
"I don't see how you can laugh at it," Kate said to him. "Everything that goes wrong for that man is blamed on you."
"Of course it is, Kate," Sirius said, raising his eyebrows. "Of course it is. I break out of Azkaban on his watch; no one – not the best Aurors can find me – on his watch. The Ministry loses complete control of the Dementors – on his watch. Ten of the most notorious Death Eaters also break out of Azkaban – also on his watch. Really, he's got to blame someone for his own inadequacies. He wouldn't be a politician if he didn't. And, unfortunately, I'm the most likely candidate. Really, Katie-girl, you used to have a sense of humor about things like this. You're slipping, methinks!"
Kate sat up and turned to face him, furious tears standing out in her eyes. "You expect me to have a sense of humor about this? How can you? Do you have no idea what it's like to sit in those meetings and hear them question whether or not I'm loyal to the Ministry or to you? Do you have any concept of how difficult it is for me to have to sit there and deny you? Denounce you? Vow to hunt you down, arrest you and turn you over for the Kiss?" Tears were flowing down her cheeks by this point and her breath hitched as she tried to swallow the sobs.
Sirius immediately sobered and quietly listened to Kate's broken voice as she spoke. When she was finished and only her periodic sobs could be heard, Sirius reached for her and drew her down to lie on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist as Kate put her head on his chest and cried softly.
"Shih," Sirius murmured. "Hush, love. I'm so sorry I teased you. I didn't know. Baby, I didn't know." He felt Kate nod against his chest. "Tell me what happened?"
Kate shook her head. "I already told you what happened. The names don't change anything. I just…" her voice trailed off and she lifted her head to look into his eyes. "… it just hurt to be the one saying those things. It hurt to be the person vowing to drag you into the Ministry and turn you over to them…" Kate's voice dropped to a whisper and the tears began again. "I can't see that happen, Sirius. I can't see MLE wizards holding onto you and dragging you away. Not again. At that meeting, I heard myself promising to make it happen – just to shut up some snot-nosed junior Auror."
Sirius wrapped his arms more tightly around her and flipped them so he was lying over her. He braced himself on his arms and brought his face close to hers. "Listen to me, Katie-girl. These are the things you have to say, but it's not to hurt me, it's to protect me. It's just like having Kingsley claim I've been seen in Dubai or Greenland. Katie, look at me." When she turned her head to face him, Sirius continued. "You know, we've never really talked about the night I was arrested. I saw you standing there; I saw your face. I know how much you suffered watching them take me away in shackles. I know how much I suffered watching you walk away. But all of that is over now. I'm here. We're together. We love each other. We trust each other." He leaned down and kissed her deeply, passionately, putting everything that he held in his heart into that one moment. "I love you," he whispered against her lips.
"I love you," Kate whispered back. "Sirius, make love to me; please."
Sirius kissed her again then dropped his head to kiss each breast in turn. He moved his hips against hers and was rewarded with a soft moan as his erection brushed against her center. He kissed her lips again, deeply. "I love you," he whispered as he reached down and positioned himself at her entrance. Sliding forward, he slowly entered her in one thrust, the feeling wrenching moans from them both.
"I love you," Kate murmured. "Please, Sirius, please."
Sirius began moving, slowly at first, then with more speed as he felt himself heading toward his release. "Katie," he groaned, kissing her mouth, her cheek, her neck then bringing his mouth to her ear where he nibbled at the sensitive lobe.
"So close," Kate whimpered, rising to meet each thrust and bringing her hands to his bottom, trying to speed his movements, to make him thrust more deeply.
Sirius lifted his head and held her gaze. "Come for me," he whispered, his hips suddenly moving at greater speed, repeatedly hitting a spot inside her that made her cry out with the feeling. Suddenly, Kate felt her release wash over her and she called out his name in abandon as she was filled with both physical sensation and the emotional depth of her feelings for this man.
Sirius felt her orgasm begin and two thrusts later he joined her. Crying out his love for her, he kept moving until the last aftershocks had moved through them both. He slipped from her body and rolled onto the mattress next to Kate, taking her into his arms and placing gentle kisses on her hair, her forehead – wherever he could reach. "I love you with all my heart," he murmured.
Kate sighed, kissing his neck and snuggling down deeper into his body. "Sirius, I love you. I will never let anything happen to you." Kate raised her head and kissed his lips softly. "I would die for you," she whispered, kissing him again and settling herself back down onto the mattress.
Sirius tightened his hold on her. "Don't talk like that, Katie," he said. "We're both coming out of this alive. We're going to have the rest of our lives together when this whole thing is over with. We're going to have Harry with us, too. We're going to be fine. I promise you"
Kate lay silently and soon felt the gentle rise and fall of his chest that indicated Sirius had fallen asleep. She placed one more soft kiss on his neck and whispered, "I hope so, my love. I hope so," and closed her eyes, falling asleep with the gentle whisper of Sirius' promise flowing in her heart.