Chapter 53
"Oh, it's so good to have you home!" Molly exclaimed, hugging Ginny and Lucy before welcoming Sirius to the Burrow. "Have you eaten? I'll show you to your rooms if you'd like to rest up. Oh, just one moment," Molly said, pausing in all her fussing to put her hands on either side of Lucy's face, looking at her and sighing, "You look happy dear."
Lucy grinned, taking Molly's hands from her face, "I am. If you show us where we're sleeping tonight, I can come help you with everything," Lucy offered.
"Of course, of course," Molly said, starting up the stairs again, "You'll, of course, be staying in Ginny's room along with Hermione. Bill and Fleur are staying in Bill's old room so Sirius will be in with Charlie and Percy."
And that, Lucy thought, was that. Not that they had expected any different but Molly had ensured that Lucy and Sirius wouldn't be alone the entire time they were at the Burrow.
In the room Ginny nudged Lucy, "Don't worry I'm sure we can manage to all get some time alone with the boys."
Downstairs, Lucy began helping Molly with lunch while Sirius spent time with Harry and the Weasley males. "Lucy," Fleur began, "Do you think I might see your ring? Molly said it was a family ring, no?"
Lucy nodded, holding out her hand to her cousin's wife. She didn't know Fleur well, but so far she'd found the girl to be pleasant. "Yes, it's a family ring. His family."
"It's lovely, though not to my tastes. ' ave you decided when you'll be 'aving the wedding?"
"We haven't decided for sure, no. We're considering the winter though. I enjoy the snow but it'll be on the cold side for being outside which is something else I'd like." Actually they had decided on December but there hadn't been time to talk about dates or location with Dumbledore which would be necessary before they went around telling people the date.
"How are you doing?" Lucy asked, tired of talking about herself and interested in Fleur's pregnancy. This would be Molly and Arthur's first grandchild.
"Ready to 'ave this baby. Ah, it keeps me up all night with the kicking and flipping, and constantly having to use the restroom."
"You just sit and rest dear," Molly insisted, bustling Fleur towards a kitchen chair. "You shouldn't be on your feet so much."
"Yes, yes," Fleur said, brushing Molly off, "You wait and zee, soon zis will be you and she will fuss over you like zis."
Lucy smiled, blushing and thinking about how that, hopefully wouldn't be the case. "Maybe. We've only talked about it in the vague way of acknowledging we both want kids. But that's a long way off yet." She watched out of the corner of her eye, as Molly's eyes watched her. She knew her aunt's motives were good and they came from loving her and thinking of her as another daughter but sometimes it could be exasperating. Still, though, it was nice, having family.
"Harry, do you think I could steal you for awhile and come for a walk?" Lucy asked the next day between meals.
"Sure," he agreed, standing and walking with her out the front door, everyone watching them. It had escaped no one's notice that Lucy was closer in age to her fiancé's godson than she was to the man himself. A fact which a couple of the Weasleys found enjoyment in teasing those involved about. "Um, they weren't bugging you were they, what they were saying that is?"
"Fred and George? Oh, no they don't bug me. They're like mischievous little brothers. How do you like being an Auror?" The conversation was awkward at best, but Lucy wasn't sure how to work her way to what she really wanted to ask.
"Well enough. It's hard work but it's for the best. If it was easy everyone would do it and I don't think everyone should be able to. If you were interested in coming back I'm sure Robards would take you. Tonks says you were good and Robards has mentioned your skills are missed."
Lucy rolled her eyes. She doubted Harry was aware of her past connection with Gawain Robards but she was sure Gawain was aware of how she knew Harry. "No, thanks for the compliments, but no. Gawain and I…have a past. I wish him well, but I like the job I have now and don't want to leave it."
"Ah. I wondered when he kept asking Ron and Tonks about you."
They walked in silence for some time before finding a nice little spot to sit. "Is it weird for you? Me and Sirius that is. Are you okay with this because I don't want to come between the two of you or make it weird or make you think I'm trying to take him away from you…?" she asked, picking at the grass.
Harry shook his head quietly laughing, "No, it's not weird at all. I'm all grown up I don't need Sirius like I did when I was younger. We're more friends now than anything like a father son relationship. I know he's there if I need someone to talk to and it's not like you're trying to keep us apart or anything."
Lucy leaned over bumping shoulders with Harry, "I'm here to talk to if you need a woman's perspective or anything else really." They fell silent again until Lucy worked up the courage to say, "I suppose Dumbledore told you about Bellatrix."
"Yes, he thought it was important for the Aurors to know. Sirius…he told me what happened last month. He just wanted me to know so I could keep an eye on you when I was around," Harry hastened to add, "Ron and Neville know too for the same reasons but it's not going beyond us with out your permission," he promised.
"Molly shouldn't know," Lucy whispered, "the rest of them either," she added referring to the rest of the Weasley clan, "They'll just worry and watch me all the time. I can't stand the watching. It's like they're waiting for me to have a mental breakdown or something. Like I'm going to…" She trailed off, knowing Harry was at least partially aware of what had gone on before.
"I haven't said anything to him. I figured that was your place to tell him when you were ready. I don't exactly know everything that happened anyway so even if I did tell Sirius I'd only be able to give him incomplete information. I know Ginny and Ron know but I haven't asked them and I'm not going to. If you want people to know then you'll tell them. I think you should talk to Sirius about whatever it is that happened but I can't make you."
"No, you can't. I went to the chamber where he was killed. It was…oddly soothing. I keep saying this when I talk about it but the voices were peaceful. They sounded like they were content where they were. He'd do anything for us you know. As long as we were safe…he'd die for us."
"I know," Harry said simply before standing, "I promised Ginny some quidditch practice, so I'd better go."
He hesitated for awhile until Lucy waved him off with a, "Go." She laid back in the grass and sighed. Sometimes she wished things could be that simple for her, that she could just know things. Lucy knew she wasn't stupid, not by any means, but why was it that the finer points of relationships and emotions seemed to elude her at times? Why couldn't she just know and understand that Sirius wouldn't be a tortured soul among the dead as long as he knew he died keeping her and Harry safe? Why did she have to be afraid?
Suddenly, Lucy found herself dreading the next dark storm that was sure to come.
After spending a solid week with Sirius, Lucy was sad to see him go. But it was Monday and she had students, reenergized after their break, to occupy her. During her office hours that afternoon she was greeted by the happy face of Jania and the more solemn face of Tad. "Hi!" she greeted her students, "Did you both enjoy the break?"
Jania nodded, "Oh, yes! Mum invited Tad and his parents over for Easter supper and we had such a wonderful time!" Tad remained shyly behind his more enthusiastic girlfriend.
"Is there something I can do for you? Did you have problems with the assignments?"
"Well, um, this is kind of awkward but Tad was telling me something and…and I think you're the only one that can tell us if it's true or not."
"It's true! I'm not making it up!" Tad insisted, speaking for the first time.
"Care to tell me what it is? I promise not to judge Tad. Surely we've known each other long enough now for you to trust me."
"Well," Tad said, settling into a chair, "A couple weeks ago I swear I saw you walking around with this huge, black dog. I thought it was weird since I know you don't have a dog. Professor Snape and Professor Samson were with you. It looked like you guys were looking for something. I've seen the dog before, running around the grounds. I thought maybe it was a wolf until I saw it with you and the other professors."
Lucy nodded. She knew some of the students had seen Snuffles, what worried her was that Tad had correctly identified them looking for something. "Yes, that was a dog. He's…sort of a friend. I call him Snuffles."
"I told you!" Tad crowed triumphantly, "Everyone saw them come into breakfast with him that one time."
"Well, how was I supposed to know?" Jania asked, looking a little disgruntled, "I never saw them or the dog. I knew none of the professors had a dog. Professor Ketteridge has a cat and Professor Samson has…well a lot of animals, but she doesn't have a dog."
Tad rolled his eyes, "I also heard Peaks say the dog attacked him one night when he snuck out after curfew. Wouldn't say what he was doing but he had to fess up to being out after the older kids noticed we lost points overnight. The way he talked about that dog makes me think it scared him good."
Lucy cleared her throat, "Yes, well, Mr. Peaks may have been scared but I can assure you Snuffles didn't attack him. He may have growled and bared his teeth but he listens to me very well and I would never allow him to attack a student."
"Not even Septimus?" Jania asked, grinning, "He does like to give you a hard time Miss and I'm sure he'd deserve to be attacked or at least scared real good."
"According to Tad the last option was accomplished and no matter how rude and disrespectful a student is I cannot have them attacked by a large dog for my own amusement. Though I do enjoy watching you argue with him, Jania and when Tad shows his smarts, showing up Septimus. Now, if there's nothing else I'd suggest you two go and study. Make sure you're not late for your next class," Lucy called after the departing students.
She might have to mention the conversation to Dinah and Severus at least. She didn't think the students seeing Sirius as Snuffles was a big deal but she'd warn him to be a bit more careful to be on the safe side.
At breakfast the next day Lucy jumped in her seat as thunder rolled through the Great Hall. It was another dark storm, the first since she'd had her little meltdown and it was making her jumpy. At the other end of the table she saw Dinah and Severus having the same issue she was. They were nervous.
Beside her Slughorn laughed, "Afraid of storms, eh? Not to worry, not to worry. The ceiling's only enchanted. The Hall won't flood. Only a bit of noise and gloom in here."
Lucy rolled her eyes. Wonderful. Now the man decided he should start talking to her again when what she'd really like to do was crawl into bed and hide under her pillow. "I'm not afraid of the storm, per se. It's just making me a bit uneasy. Like the students," she said, gesturing to the Hall where some students were scurrying out of the room and probably to their common rooms.
"Ah, quite right, quite right."
"If you'll excuse me I think I'll follow the students' example and head back to my rooms," Lucy stood and walked away not giving Slughorn a chance to express a desire for her to stay around. As a reward for tactfully extricating herself from the other professor's presence, Lucy allowed herself to use her break to crawl in bed and hide under her pillow where it was dark and she could barely hear the storm, much less anything else.
By the time lunch came around Lucy was more on edge than before. She kept expecting to hear Bella with the next roll of thunder or flash of lightening. She knew it was bound to come sooner or later it was just a matter of when. Septimus's constant yelling and arguing hadn't helped matters. Not to mention his accusations before and after class that she had a secret attack dog that had nearly ripped his limbs off. Thankfully both Dumbledore and Minerva were well aware of Snuffles and knew better than to believe he would attack a student.
She glanced over to where Derwent and Amedeus sat with the group of Slytherins they did the homework of. The boys looked less harried and far more relaxed then they had in months. Agrona was doing her part and talking to a group of girls that were most likely the girlfriends of the boys causing Derwent problems. Lucy smiled, Agrona it seemed, was not at all affected by the storm or by the glares and jeers other Slytherins threw at her. If Agrona could wage war against her fellow housemates than surely Lucy could make it through this storm.
