Chapter 14 To Be Loved By You
A/N: Special thanks to my marvellous beta, Shygui. Thanks for reading, reviewing and especially for being patient. Happy Holidays!
Love isn't love until you give it away. ― John H. MacDonald Jr.
Sami had welcomed the distraction of helping in the trauma ward after a magical accident that morning. Some fool that thought he knew how to do expansion runes had made a mistake and the entire building had come crashing down and injured several people. Fortunately, they'd not lost anyone and had been able to patch everyone up good as new. However, their patients weren't going to forgive that man who'd made the mistake anytime soon.
Unfortunately, after that it was a slow day and there was nothing for her to do for the rest of the afternoon so she had brooded about Sirius in her office before deciding to leave promptly at end of shift, change and then go to Sirius' house. She was tired of waiting and decided she deserved to know where they stood even if Sirius would rather ignore the entire issue.
Her resolve faltered as soon as she appeared in the park across the street but steeling her resolve she quickly applied a notice-me-not charm to herself as she saw there were some Muggles about although they weren't near and didn't seem to be looking at her, yet. When she looked across the street, she was surprised at how clearly she saw the Black house and that renewed her determination to know where she stood so she crossed the street and approached the wards.
She wasn't going to just try to walk right in, she remembered Sirius' warning about the wards but as she as slowed her approach, she felt a sort of acceptance that she couldn't define but found reassuring. Cautiously she entered the wards and nothing happened. She found herself smiling at the results and was pleased to see how much better the house looked, Sirius was not just hiding out, he was still working hard towards his goals.
Finally, she was standing at the door but she wasn't sure if she should walk in or even if she could. However, knocking might not get her anything as the inside of the house was much larger than the outside. She took a deep breath and then tried the knob and was a little surprised to find the door opening for her. She stepped in, closed the door and was about to call out a hello when she was startled by Sirius' elf popping into existence in front of her.
Her hand went to her chest and she barely stifled an exclamation of surprise as the elf peered at her, looking surprised. She found that odd as he'd seen her before although now that she thought of it, she didn't think that they had been introduced. She was about to try to rectify that oversight when the croaking voice of the house elf interrupted her attempt.
"Mistress? There is a new mistress? Kreacher is so happy!"
Mistress? What did he mean? In the Muggle world, that had a rather unsavoury connotation but this was an elf accustomed to pureblood etiquette and she wasn't sure what that would mean to the elf, or Sirius for that matter. Before she could respond the elf was talking and bowing to her.
"Mistress is of course welcome to go wherever Mistress wishes. Does Mistress wish to see the Lord Black? Does Mistress want any refreshments?"
She wasn't quite sure what to make of how solicitous the elf was to her now especially how he'd basically ignored her existence when they'd first met. Obviously, to him mistress had a very positive connotation so she'd certainly take advantage of this opportunity to get a chance to talk to Sirius sooner rather than later.
"Some tea would be nice and I would like to speak to Sirius if he's here."
"Follow Kreacher, Mistress. Kreacher will make tea and tell Lord Black that Mistress is here."
She followed the eager elf and wondered at the transformation of his attitude. Even after his manner had improved after the bonding, he had not been this eager or upbeat. Obviously, to an elf service was a good thing and he was happy to be bound. That made her assumption that it was a form of slavery seem rather ill-advised now.
He put a pot of water on the stove, levitated some biscuits to the table and bade her to sit before popping away. She slowly made her way to the chair that would allow her to face the door and sat down, still feeling a little dazed by the unexpected welcome. She could only hope that Sirius was half as glad to see her. Her nerves started to get to her as she waited in silence so the pop of the elf's return was welcome although once again slightly startling.
He kept up some cheerful chatter with her as he started preparing the tea and she was happy to go along with it. Then time seemed to come to an abrupt halt as Sirius stepped into the room and her eyes found his. He looked good although she could see surprise written all over his face. She began to regret stopping in unannounced but it wasn't irritation that came to his face it looked more like regret or worry. Before she could ask what was wrong, he spoke up.
"Are you alright?"
He was concerned about her? That was nice and reassuring but why would he be concerned? He had not contacted her but… could Roxanne have said something to him? Still, if he was concerned why hadn't he contacted her?
"I'm fine. How are you?" That hadn't come out right but she suppressed the grimace at her inability to come up with the right words. He looked a little reassured but still somewhat flustered, what was she missing?
"Good. That's good." His eyes swept the room then fixated on the elf as he began to serve her some tea before he finally looked back at her. "I should have contacted you I just…." He grimaced, shook his head and muttered something she didn't catch before looking at her again and continuing as he looked at her earnestly. "I apologize for how I have treated you. I didn't comprehend our true situation, we need to talk."
Now she was a little concerned. She wasn't sure what he meant by 'true situation' but she totally agreed that they needed to talk so she nodded, smiled and gestured across the table where Kreacher was now setting up some tea for Sirius on the table nearest where he was standing. He looked a little distracted but nodded his assent anyway and sat down when the elf was done.
Sirius still looked a bit lost so she decided to break the ice and satisfy her curiosity at the same time. "So, what is our 'true situation'?"
He gave her a look like he'd been hit with a Confundus then he seemed to shake it off and answered her. "We have at least the start of a marriage bond between us. I was so in denial that I never seriously considered it even though a couple of other people have brought it up with me. I'm still adjusting to the fact that I was wrong, that I have messed things up so badly."
What? A bond…? "How do you know that we have one?" She sounded querulous and uncertain to her own ears but embarrassingly, it was the truth of the situation she found herself in.
Sirius looked momentarily puzzled but then hurried to answer her. "I heard Kreacher calling you 'mistress'. That means something to house elves. You see, once they bond to you they are very sensitive to your magic, they will know things even before you do some of the time. Like, well, now for instance. He knew we had a bond before the idea was even a realistic possibility to me. I still feel rather caught off guard by it, truthfully."
Then his eyes got big and he hurried on, "I don't mean to sound reluctant, that's not it at all. If I had a bond with anyone, I'd like it to ... um, err… to be you."
He looked adorably sheepish to her and her hand was over his before she even thought about it. Since he was being so open with her, she could do no less that reciprocate. "I feel the same way, Sirius. I was so focussed on maintaining a professional relationship with you as my patient that I completely missed what was happening. It took Roxanne asking me to lunch and us having a long talk before I could consider it myself. I understand how you feel completely."
Sirius began to chuckle and shake his head ruefully. "Aren't we the pair? Since we're being so honest here, I was afraid of your reaction to me. You see I have to become Lord Black, I have to assume a leading role in the same society that sent you to the basement and ignored you for your ideas and ethics. I didn't really think that someone as brilliant as you would be interested in someone who has blundered his way through life and was born into whatever prominence that he might ever have."
His admission took her breath away, she had to do something about that and right this very moment. She started out by giving him a stern look but softening it my squeezing his hand that was still under hers. "First of all, Sirius, I would never in a million years consider you in any way to blame for whatever has happened to me. You had nothing to do with what that fool of a chief of staff did and you have even offered to set me up in a business of my own. So I do not hold you, Lord Black, in any way responsible for anything that has happened to me." She narrowed her eyes at him further, "Are we clear?"
He nodded quickly and looked just a touch intimidated so she smiled and saw his anxiety drain away. "Now, as for you blundering your way through life, I know you see it that way but what I first saw is you doing your best to cope with a big loss and your dedication to your friend James. Now I see you fighting to overcome years of abuse, becoming a godfather, a lord of a Noble and Most Ancient House and most importantly, a fine, caring man. I see nothing to dislike. I also think we should be seeing more of each other."
She had meant the last sentence as encouragement but it wasn't until the words had left her mouth that she realized how salaciously they could be interpreted. She internally cringed, thinking about how Sirius would respond to what she had said but his smile was affectionate rather than teasing as he began to speak again.
"What I have seen is a beautiful, caring witch who always makes the best of her situation, and is a damn fine healer to boot. I see someone who has worked hard for everything she has and I'm proud that such a witch thinks I'm worth being involved with. So yes, we should be seeing more of each other. How about every day?"
His big, toothy grin and laughing, grey eyes just sort of drew her in. She hoped he wasn't suggesting that she move in, she wasn't quite in that much of a hurry. However, seeing him every day was pretty much what she had come there for so she gave him what she hoped was a beatific smile before she said, "That sounds good to me."
Remus Lupin had nothing further to do that day after dinner so as soon as he was done eating, he took his cloak with him and left the castle altogether and headed to the gates outside. As he approached the gate, he could feel the dementors and his mood plunged. Once he passed through, he ignored the dementors and the bored guard as he focused on his destination and quickly Apparated away to where he needed to be.
He found himself in a Muggle park that matched the image that Sirius had shown him and was glad to find that he was the only person about and after a quick notice-me-not charm, he headed across the street to where he saw a distorted, wavering image of an old house. It was hard to keep his eyes on it so he didn't bother to try although he was careful to stop when he reached the sidewalk, it wouldn't do to wander into some Black family wards, he had a good idea of how that would go for him.
He caught a whiff of his friend before he appeared before him, smiling widely with obvious welcome. "Moony! Good to see you again."
Sirius quickly reached out and took his hands to drag him through the wards. Remus felt the brush of the wards and he even felt a tingle of the power involved in the wards that he had just passed through.
"There you go, Moony. Next time you can just walk in. Welcome to my new home, at least for now. How are you?"
Remus smiled back and said, "I'm fine Pads. The last full moon was one of the best in years so I'm better than usual."
Sirius chuckled and responded, "It was like old times, wasn't it? Did we manage to renew the reputation of the Shrieking Shack?"
"No, nobody noticed as the Wolfsbane Potion worked great and things were a lot quieter."
Sirius grimaced and muttered, "How could you have just drunk that? Snivellus could have poisoned you!"
Remus suppressed a huff. "As I told you before, he is a dedicated potions master and would never poison anyone or ruin a potion. He may be a pain in the arse with his attitude but the man is a true professional when it comes to potions."
He ignored Sirius' sceptical grunt as they reached the front door and passed through. He paused as he caught a new scent and sniffed again, a strange woman either had been recently here or was still here. He realized he'd been obvious when he heard Sirius chuckle.
"That would be who you're here to meet."
He was very glad he was still wearing his new Hogwarts robes, he hadn't expected to meet anyone. He gave him a reproachful look as he said, "You forgot to mention that part."
Sirius gave him a smirk as he lightly said, "Did I?"
Remus moved his look up to a glare.
"Oh, don't be such a ponce. She'll like you and you'll like her, it isn't a big deal."
It was Remus' turn to give a sceptical grunt but he faltered in his turn to continue walking when he heard what Sirius had to say next.
"So how is it going with you and my cousin?"
Remus immediately turned back to his friend with the beginnings of a new frown. "That was just Dumbledore's teasing. There is nothing between me and your cousin! Don't make me regret telling you."
"The lady doth protest too much, I think," Sirius wise cracked before he continued. "Oh relax, Moony. You were never this touchy before."
Remus began to feel bad about his mood, he'd let the dementors get to him too much. "And you should have more care about associating members of your family with someone who could damage their reputation."
Sirius huffed and responded, "Still on that? Remus, there's nothing wrong with you. You shouldn't care about what the bigots think."
"It's hard to ignore when the harpy who has been making my life miserable with her laws is in charge of the dementors that are threatening my students!"
Sirius sighed and raised his hands in placating gesture. "I'm sorry, you have a point about that. When I take my place in the Wizengamot I'll do what I can to reverse what she's done. In fact, I'd like to see to it that she is out of the Ministry altogether!"
Remus took a deep breath to calm himself, he really needed to calm down and stop being so sensitive, especially since he was probably about to meet Sirius' new paramour. "Sorry, Pads. I shouldn't take things out on you."
Sirius looked contrite as he responded, "And I shouldn't provoke you. I'm sorry too."
Remus heard a rustle and was already turning when he also heard a woman's voice.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but I was anxious to meet Sirius' best friend. It's good to meet you, Mr. Lupin, I'm Sami Stevens but please just call me Sami."
She was an attractive woman of about their age with dark blond hair and a big, friendly smile. He quickly reached out to shake her offered hand and stifled his bow as she seemed to follow Muggle social conventions. He also had to stifle some embarrassment as he realized that she'd been where she could have overheard him and he may have made a bad first impression.
He tried to give her an equally friendly smile as he responded, "Please call me Remus or Moony if you prefer. I'll answer to either one."
She gave him an approving look as she said, "Thank you, Remus. I would also like to point out that I would never discriminate against someone suffering from a condition beyond their control. As a healer, I find such behaviour reprehensible."
Remus had to fight a blush but tried to show his gratitude in his manner towards her. "I'm sure you'll be a good influence on Padfoot here. As everyone knows, he needs all of the good influences that he can get."
Sirius gave him an indignant look. "Hey!" Sirius then eyed the two of them grinning at him and he huffed and continued, "Great, now you two are ganging up on me!" That just made the other two laugh.
Harry pondered the fact that the next day was Halloween as he hurried back to the castle after Quidditch practice. It still held the usual bad memories for him, the day being an anniversary of the day he'd become an orphan. However, this particular Halloween would be his first chance to visit Hogsmeade and although he was anxious to have a look at the town, it could have been even more fun to be with his girlfriend too. Lately this whole house rivalry thing seemed like even more bollocks than usual; it was just another way for fate to stick it to him.
On the other hand, he was hurrying because he was about to get the chance to spend some time with her. Unfortunately, his performance in Astronomy had slipped and since Daphne was very proficient at it, their meeting held a dual purpose this time. He gathered up his Astronomy work, waved to his friends and donned his cloak as soon as the coast was clear as he hurried towards their room.
When he opened the door, he realized that he'd arrived before her so he removed his cloak and set up his homework at his usual desk. Then he decided to work on his star chart as he didn't want to seem lazy. Thus, he was somewhat taken by surprise to hear the door shut and Daphne say, "I guess I can't accuse you of slacking off, Harry. There you are, hard at work."
He grinned at her as he replied, "Someone told me I should work hard to become the best I can be. I'm just following orders."
She chuckled as she cast the usual spells at the door. She then gave her boyfriend a noisy kiss to the cheek before she sat down and Harry grinned in appreciation. He felt himself blush as she teased, "If you do well, I'll aim the next kiss at your lips."
He decided to try to match her quip for quip as well as he could so with what he hoped was a flirty grin said, "Now that's motivation."
Her tinkling laugh made him blush harder but it was so worth it. She seemed to decide it was time to focus on their task as she peered at his chart and asked, "So what are you working on right now?"
It took him a second to switch gears and he had to look down to get himself oriented. "Oh, I was adding Orion."
She sounded a little disappointed as she was looking at where his quill was poised, "There?"
He frowned down at the paper and ran through what he could remember about Orion and then suddenly his blush was back. "That was my first inclination." He then sighed and added, "I was putting it in the wrong place, wasn't I?"
He was glaring at the parchment as if it was at fault for his error and wondering if he could salvage his work when he heard a very soft "Evanesco" as Daphne pointed her wand at his mistake. He had expected the parchment to disappear but to his surprise, it was suddenly clear of his mistake. He stared at it until he heard her say, "I just vanished the ink."
He turned his surprised look to her and it was her turn to look surprised. "I vanished the ink for the mistake, haven't you ever done that before?"
Now he was blushing as he admitted sheepishly, 'I… well, that is… I never thought of it."
She gave him an affectionate grin and declared, "See, I've already taught you something. Let's get this done."
She didn't do his work for him but she asked the right questions and when it was complete, he thought it was probably his best chart ever. He was very glad that he earned his incentive but he was sure that his girlfriend had enjoyed it as much as he did. That didn't bother him in the least though and he decided he could get by on the memory of this when he had to be without her the next day.
Hermione could see how anxious Ron was to go to Hogsmeade for the first time but was impressed by his restraint, he didn't even gulp down his breakfast, well, at least not any more than usual. Harry's attitude was a little puzzling though; he was a little excited but he almost seemed distracted or perhaps even sad. She wasn't sure what he was feeling but she'd learned her lesson about prodding him too much, she'd wait to see if she needed to cheer him up. Besides it may just be him missing the opportunity to explore the town with his girlfriend, she could certainly understand that if that is what was affecting him.
The trip didn't start well with Filch glaring at her as if she'd hexed him, sacrificed his firstborn or done something equally heinous but he finally let her proceed to the carriages. She still had to wait as he took the time to glare at Ron and Harry as well. What was that man's problem anyway? Once they got to the carriages, the mood improved markedly.
Although she would have preferred to head to Scrivenshaft's first to stock up on parchment and ink, she easily gave in as both boys wanted to go to Honeydukes first. As the boys stocked up on some sweets, she just looked around and decided to indulge herself by taking a free sample of their new fudge. In fact she saw Harry considering the fudge but he didn't add it to his purchases.
Harry checked out first and came to her offering a sugar quill. She rolled her eyes at him but accepted it anyway, he knew very well that it was her secret weakness, sugar be damned. At least it was only one, she suspected she'd get more than that from Ron as a Christmas gift. Speaking of Ron, she'd seen him with a fair amount of pocket money but he didn't go crazy buying sweets, she was rather proud of him for that.
While she was waiting she leaned over and whispered, "Were you thinking of the fudge for Daphne?"
He silently shook his head and then leaned over to whisper in her ear, "No. I was thinking of it for Ron, did you see how he gobbled down the sample? I'll buy some closer to Yule."
She felt his breath on her skin and somehow it gave her a chill down her spine and she felt goosebumps form. What was going on? She'd never reacted like this before! Was she getting hormonal? And with Harry of all things? He was like a brother to her, oh this was so wrong!
Once she recovered some aplomb from that initial reaction, she contemplated the fact that he'd said Yule, not Christmas. She felt a frisson of disappointment as he was clearly starting to view things more like a pureblood than someone Muggle raised. However, she wouldn't be concerned about that as his attitude towards her hadn't changed and no sign of blood prejudice was evident. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen any from Daphne either and her friend was a half-blood too. She decided that a switch in holidays didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.
Their next stop was Scrivenshaft's so she made her purchases and noticed that Harry got a few things, including another self-inking quill, which she had started using too, they finally had something nearly as good a Muggle biro in her view. Although Ron had looked around, he only got one roll of parchment, nothing else. Neville bought a couple of things, somewhere in between Harry and Ron.
Next came Dervish and Banges and she had to admit that she found some of their items interesting, although not as much as Harry who lingered over the defence section, especially the foe glass and sneak-o-scopes. They then stopped at Zonko's Joke Shop and she'd thought she'd never get the boys out of there. However, it seemed like Ron was more interested in trying the items while Harry seemed more intent on joking about how they could be used. Neville seemed more amused by their reactions, like her.
When she finally got them out of there, it was time for lunch and a special treat: heated butterbeer, which was pretty much the highlight of the day for them. They had a bit of shock when they left the Three Broomsticks and saw what looked like an ogre going into the Hog's Head Pub. It was after they'd recovered from that that she noticed Harry trying to subtly look around again.
They'd seen Daphne and Tracey earlier and Harry had pretended to ignore them but now he seemed different. At this point he appeared to be worried but she didn't know why he'd be worried but before she could bring it up, he seemed to brighten as if deciding or realizing something so she let it go.
The only other thing was their stop at the Hogsmeade Post Office, she'd never seen so many owls in her life! Ron tended to make fun of some of them while Harry seemed sure that none of them could compare to his Hedwig. She just shook her head and let them have their fun. She was surprised when Harry led them to Gladrags. Although she enjoyed looking around, Ron and Neville looked bored and Harry seemed frustrated. She began to wonder if he needed advice on what to get Daphne again but decided to wait until he asked, at least for now.
Harry was ambivalent about his first visit to Hogsmeade. He'd enjoyed the quiet day with his friends and the stores had been interesting for the most part. However, seeing Daphne and having to ignore her had taken some of the fun out of the day for him. Also, he'd started to wonder when Malfoy would show up with his goons and try to spoil things when he remembered that he and his bookends were in detention. That thought brought back some of his good humour from earlier.
That didn't last however as his frustration grew at finding nothing special enough for his gifts for Daphne. Yule and her birthday came in quick succession and ever since the moment she'd become his girlfriend he had been spending spare moments trying to come up with gift ideas. Sure, he'd seen some nice things but nothing special. He wanted it to be something unique and personalized. Not just some nice jumper or bracelet. It had to be SPECIAL, it had to show how he felt about her and he had exactly NOTHING!
They were so late getting back that they decided to head straight to dinner in the great hall and put away their purchases later. He was heartened to see Daphne in her usual place and although she was stoic as usual, she seemed completely normal. He was amused to see that Malfoy and his goons were sullen and looked tired, he hoped whoever had managed their detention that day had worked them hard.
He was feeling very full but still disgruntled as they approached Gryffindor tower but he was puzzled to see a gathering of some of their fellow Gryffindors around the door, grumbling about something. When they got to the entrance, they saw the fat lady laying there snoring in her frame. He then heard Seamus' angry voice, "She won't wake up! We can't get in!"
Harry sighed in frustration, he'd totally failed in his quest for gifts and now this. He felt his growing anger might be slightly out of proportion to the provocation but his current mood would not let him wait patiently. He rapped his knuckles on the canvas and loudly said, "Hey! Wake up!"
All the fat lady did is snort in her sleep and then return to snoring.
Seamus grumbled, "I already tried that. I even hit it harder than that."
Harry decided it was time to try something drastic so he loudly proclaimed, "I say we just blast right through the frame and tell McGonagall that we need a new portrait for the entrance!"
This time she snorted, shook herself and blearily asked "Wha?"
Harry said, "Fortuna Major."
She blinked at him in confusion and seemed drunk. "What?"
"That's the password. Open up."
She blearily scowled at him and sat up. "Not until you apologize."
Harry was in no mood for this. "For what? Asking you to do your job? Open up!"
She tried to look defiant and said, "No."
It was time for Harry to glare at her as he pulled out his wand. He then speculatively said, "I wonder how many spells it would take to blow a hole through to the common room."
Hermione's eyes grew big but she didn't say anything while the fat lady's eyes got huge and she started to stutter. 'Y-you w-wouldn't…." She drifted to a stop as Harry glared at her and then she scowled and exclaimed, "Fine!"
The door opened much more quickly than usual and only Harry's reflexes kept him from being hit in the face. He scowled momentarily then braced himself and held the door open and motioned for the others to enter before him. Most of the others hurried through but Neville gave him a curious look, Hermione paused to scowl at him and Ron held back. When Ron got close to him he asked, "Why are you still holding the door?"
Harry huffed and said, "Because I don't trust her." That statement drew an indignant noise from the painting but she didn't speak.
Ron smirked before being the last one to enter before him and Harry carefully followed, keeping his grip on the door until he was clear of the doorway. He was glad he'd taken that precaution as the door suddenly slammed with a loud crack. He scowled at the door as he thought how much that would have hurt if he'd been less careful.
He didn't get much time to calm down as he saw Hermione waiting impatiently with a scowl. As she opened her mouth he held up a hand, pointed to their corner and when all four of them were there, he cast a privacy spell and then looked at Hermione with his arms folded defensively.
"Harry! That was uncalled for! You could get in trouble for that!"
Harry saw that was just the beginning of one of her rants so he interrupted. "Nothing was damaged, I did not nothing wrong. Something was malfunctioning and I fixed it!"
Her scowl deepened as she retaliated, "You were rude and threatened damage to a sentient being!"
Harry huffed and exclaimed, "A painting!? Am I supposed to worry about the feelings of a painting that isn't a real being?"
Harry's heart twisted as Hermione drew back as if she'd been slapped. She looked deeply offended as she said, "I see that I can't reason with you now. Good night."
She gave friendlier nods to the two other boys and stalked away to the stairs for the girls' dorms. Neville looked stupefied and Ron looked torn and contemplative. Harry felt embarrassed as he'd allowed his anger to be taken out on someone completely not responsible for creating his problem. He not only still had his original problem but now he had created another. Bloody fantastic.
When he felt the tension was becoming unbearable he said, "I guess I owe her an apology in the morning. I think I've done enough for one day, I reckon I'll go to bed early."
He got subdued good nights from both boys as he left to slowly go up the stairs to the boys' dorms. Harry felt very disappointed with himself, he'd really bollocksed this up but at least he hadn't gotten shirty with his girlfriend, which would have been the worst case possible. Still, he had disappointed one of his most loyal and oldest friends and that stung.
He put his purchases in his trunk, got ready for bed and paused by his trunk again, thinking. He felt like he needed advice but the only adult he could contact quickly and directly was Sirius so he didn't really have much of a choice. He unlocked the trunk and took the mirror with him before sealing his bed curtains and putting up a privacy spell.
He was trying to think of how he would explain his problem and recent behaviour as he stared at the mirror when he suddenly was hit with an epiphany. He knew what to get Daphne and it was perfect! It was very personal and he was quite certain that she'd love it! He still needed some help to get the gift but he finally had his answer! He felt so relieved and happy that he promised himself he'd even apologize to the fat lady in the morning.
Ron Weasley was content as he lingered over Saturday's lunch. It may have taken Hermione an extra day after Harry's apology to start treating him normally but all had been right between them for days now. Looking back, Ron knew he'd been responsible for some of the drama between the friends in the past but that didn't mean that he liked the drama, in fact he wasn't a fan of it at all.
Some thunder drew his eyes to the windows again and he was very glad just as a potential spectator that today's Slytherin/Gryffindor match had been postponed a day due to the detentions of their seeker. He was even gladder for the sake of his friend and brothers that they didn't have to try to fly in this horrible weather. The teams wouldn't be able to see the whole field and the seekers would be lucky to find the snitch at all in weather like this.
Ron looked up at the head table again and saw Professor Lupin still looking a little under the weather and Ron was still angry about Snape taking advantage of the full moon to try to get the DADA classes to realize what Lupin's affliction was. Git. Harry had looked like he wanted to hex Snape and although Snape had glared back, there had been no points taken. At least that particular issue with Snape had not occurred this year.
Thunder drew his gaze outside again and he shuddered as the wind seemed to be getting even worse. He looked at his friends and saw that both Neville and Harry looked distracted but in a good way. He suspected that two Slytherin girls were responsible for that. He was still shocked that shy Neville sort of had an unofficial girlfriend already. He hadn't really thought about girls that much yet but his two male friends were already taking the plunge and he wondered whether he should try it.
He looked at Hermione, who was reading a book (such a shock!). He grinned at her, she looked cute when she concentrated. He shook that thought off and wondered if he actually was more ready than he thought. However, when he thought about Hermione as a potential girlfriend, he really didn't see it as workable. Sure, he was pulling his weight more academically but he was no Hermione, he still sometimes wondered how she had avoided being sorted into Ravenclaw. They also tended to get into loud arguments, he was sort of glad that Scabbers had run off, things could have been difficult with Hermione's ugly cat skulking around and him with a rodent that would look like a juicy meal.
He regarded Lavender and Parvati further down the table and although they both were pretty, he'd heard enough of their gossip to make him shudder. His eyes wandered to the other tables but none of the Ravenclaws struck his fancy. There were a couple of Puffs who were good looking, especially Susan Bones. He didn't consider the girls in Slytherin, the only good ones in his year were taken, none of the others appealed to him in any way nor would they have the faintest interest in him. He blushed as his attention returned to his own table and he noticed Hermione regarding him curiously, he decided he'd best wait a year before he ventured into the mysterious world of girls.
Harry wasn't sure what to expect from this match. First, the weather had started out nice in the morning but clouds and some wind came back in the afternoon although it wasn't as bad as yesterday - yet. As for the opposing seeker, he wasn't sure about him either as he was much quieter than usual, it was almost unsettling. It was still the Slytherin team though so he expected a rough match.
One thing that was new was having a girlfriend in the stands. She'd said that although she'd be in the Slytherin section, she'd secretly cheer for him and every time he thought about that he felt a goofy grin form on his face. He couldn't let that distract him though as winning the cup was too important to Wood, nor could he look for her in the stands. She'd said they could meet that evening and he was quite looking forward to that so a short match with a Gryffindor win was definitely in order.
Wood was giving them another of his impassioned speeches and Harry did his best to appear to be giving him his full attention although he was really considering various situations he might find himself in mixed with thoughts about his girlfriend. Finally it was time to go out on the pitch and he noticed the wind would probably be a factor and it was quite cloudy. There'd be less light to see the snitch by but the sun would never bother his eyes, he'd just have to make the best of the situation he found himself in.
Harry did his best to focus on the snitch when it was released but as usual, even with his new glasses the snitch managed to disappear so he went up and started circling the pitch. He broke his search for the snitch momentarily when he realized he had no idea where Malfoy was and found him trailing him. He certainly didn't look like his head was in the game, he looked sullen and was simply trailing him, not making much of an effort to find the snitch on his own.
Harry internally shook his head as he concluded that Malfoy's spectacular failure at whatever he was supposed to be doing regarding the Greengrasses had completely demoralized him. He wasn't going to complain though, this should make a quick victory even easier. Now, all he had to do is to find that elusive snitch.
He'd had two false sightings before he finally spotted it. His world was reduced to that glittering little ball with wings and he studied its flight as he kept going as fast as he could and anticipating its moves as well as he could. He was dimly aware that it was feeling colder and that there were wisps of fog here and there but it was so far in the back of his mind he thought nothing of it.
He'd been nearing it when it suddenly slipped to his left and he switched hands on his broom to free his left hand for the grab. He made a reaching grab and was elated when he felt the snitch struggling in his gloved hand. He'd done it! As he raised his hand in triumph, he thought that they were done and he could….
That's when he became aware of his surroundings again, including a warmth on his chest around the amulet and all was very much not well. Everywhere he looked, he saw dementors! He'd been so focussed on his task that he was surrounded! He locked his legs around his broom and freed his right hand and was about to eject his wand when a dementor in front of him made a grab for his robes and hung on, bringing its loathsome, skeletal face closer to his!
Time seemed to slow as his mind skittered around trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. He didn't have time to focus on a spell like Expecto Patronum, he was about to be kissed! Part of his mind screamed for help as he desperately searched for an alternative. A quick glance around showed he was indeed surrounded, there was nowhere for him to go!
Abruptly, he felt a weight in his right hand and desperately swiped it at the dementor trying to kiss him. He didn't even get a chance to see what it was that he was holding when there was a sudden, point-blank screech from the dementor that might have deafened him had it gone on for any length of time but it was fortunately short as the dementor's grip loosened and it began to fall way.
That's when he noticed the others scattering and doing some screeching of their own and he saw a Patronus arriving and closely circling him to protect him. In fact, it was so close that he couldn't identify what it was but then the dementors were scattering quickly and he noticed three other Patronuses circling farther from him and two of them appeared to be foxes (were Cyrus and Roxanne here?) while another appeared to be a phoenix.
As he realized that he was now safe, a trembling started to happen throughout his body and he looked dumbly at his right hand that held – the sword of Gryffindor. Bloody hell, it had come back when he needed it and he remembered Dumbledore's words to that effect. Somehow, it seemed to be linked to him once again. He was beginning to shake his head in wonder when fatigue began to settle in as his adrenaline faded away and despite its moderate weight, the sword began to feel heavy. He started wishing it would return to where it waited before he'd drop it and suddenly, it was gone.
He looked around again to find that he couldn't see any dementors at all and only the close Patronus remained but it was now still and looking at him and he was amazed to see a doe, his mother's Patronus. He was still staring in wonder when it moved towards him and touched his cheek with its nose. It felt strangely like a kiss and he had this feeling of being enclosed in Daphne's hug, feeling safe and happy.
That's when the galleon dropped, his mind had been stuck on the fact that his mother's Patronus was a doe but this was sent by someone still in the realm of the living. Daphne had cast her first Patronus!
He desperately wanted to look for her and go to her but he didn't dare, he couldn't endanger her like that. The Patronus faded away and he almost felt bereft but somehow, the feeling of safety and affection didn't leave with the Patronus. That's when he looked down and saw that all of the rest of the players were already on the ground and that his team was desperately beckoning for him to join them. He blushed as he realized that he'd been lost in thought up here while everyone was watching! He began to descend but didn't attempt a fast dive, he was still feeling a bit shaky and didn't want to take any unnecessary chances.
Daphne and Tracey only went to Quidditch matches when the weather was good since they weren't really big fans of the sport. However, Daphne was definitely a fan of her boyfriend so any game with Gryffindor involved was a must-see now as far as she was concerned. However, their aloofness from the rest of their house was still evident as they sat apart and mostly behind the bulk of their house. Since she might get excited and say something her house mates might find treasonous, she cast a privacy charm around them, just in case.
She was proud of her boyfriend as he made flying on his broom look so easy, it made her wish she'd thought of going for a ride with him on his broom last summer; unfortunately now it was something they couldn't risk. She was so engrossed in watching him she didn't realize anything was amiss until Tracey gasped and poked her and pointed behind Harry as he seemed to be after the snitch.
The first thing she saw was Malfoy abandoning the chase immediately and making for the ground as fast as he could. Then she saw the dementors and realized that he was actually being prudent for once. The other thing she noticed was that Harry seemed oblivious to his danger.
She nearly shouted at him but quickly realized it would be fruitless as he was not only too far away for a single shout to be audible, she had cast a spell to prevent her from giving herself away that way. Her mind was panicking, her heart was trying to jump out of her chest and her body was starting to shake; she couldn't bear the possibility of that damned boggart being correct, Harry cannot die!
A Patronus, she needed a Patronus, oh Circe be damned why did have to something which she had yet to succeed at? However, she remembered everything he'd told her of his successful cast. She thought of how much she loved her family, her feelings for Harry and kept his image in front of her mind as she thought furiously before focusing on a single thought, Protect him!
They were surrounding him and he was starting to raise his arm after his catch when she felt the surge and flow of her magic and then she incanted at the top of her lungs, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" She was surprised when she felt a heat and flow that was unprecedented in any spell she'd cast before. However, she stayed focussed on her spell and was certain that she had never cast a spell with so much power in it in her entire life. She watched her Patronus form and suddenly soar away quickly towards Harry.
With a corner of her mind she noticed that it was in the form of a doe but didn't let herself ponder that fact as she saw it reach Harry but just before it arrived, there was a glint in the air off to his right and it looked like Harry might have somehow chopped the closest one in half. Bloody hell, her boyfriend was powerful! She'd never heard of anyone being able to kill a dementor and now he had two to his credit!
Her Patronus had gone into a close orbit around Harry and the dementors were already scattering when she saw two foxes join the fight from a different angle and then a moment later some sort of bird joined as well. The foxes startled her as those were the forms of her parents' Patronuses, could they possibly be here? Had they come without telling her?
She heard Tracey mutter, "Merlin! Now you've done it too and all I can do is a little mist!"
She smiled at her friend's observation but kept her eyes on Harry, making sure he was safe. She felt a little tired after her spell but she was so elated that she wasn't going to give it a moment's consideration. Her boyfriend may be out of immediate danger but she was going to keep an eye on him until he was safe on the ground.
Roxanne Greengrass was waiting impatiently in a line with her husband to enter the Hogwarts grounds. They had never attended a Quidditch game as parents before and they were surprised at all of the other parents waiting in line before them. She gathered from some comments that the line was unusual and there were some scattered complaints of increased security. Actually, increased security sounded good to her since some children important to her were here but they'd have to come earlier if they did this again, she was very concerned that they'd be late for the game.
She had gritted her teeth and clutched her wand in her hand when they approached the gates where a pair of dementors were posted. They seemed restless to her and although there were two people there focussing on the dementors, they seemed unable to control the restlessness. It was a great relief to pass the gate, be checked with dark detectors and then finally be admitted by Filch and Hagrid, the latter as usual gave her a friendly nod.
Unfortunately, she'd been correct as the game started before they could find seats in the stands. They'd been directed to a section for parents and faculty and although she was able to distinguish the sections for the houses in Hogwarts, she'd had no luck finding her daughters or Neville. She had seen Harry briefly as he soared up at the start of the game.
Her husband had found someone to talk to so she was looking towards the Slytherin section hoping to find one of her daughters. She had come more to see the children than the game and although her husband's motive was similar, he wasn't going to waste an opportunity to network with someone for either business or for politics. He was heavily into both so it was hard for her to tell which it was at any particular moment in time.
She wasn't expecting any trouble so she was surprised when she heard gasps and quiet exclamations from the surrounding parents. She looked back and saw her husband and others looking up so she did as well. Circe! There were dementors after Harry! She had her wand in her hand immediately but couldn't snap off the spell like so many others in her repertoire, a Patronus required some mental preparation. She was gratified when she saw her husband cast his Patronus simultaneously with her. She was disappointed to see some parents panicking and a pitiful few attempting to do something, which was usually just mist if they accomplished anything other than making noise.
She had a very different reaction when she saw a doe Patronus soaring up before hers from the student section. Any Hogwarts staff member would have cast near her and she did see a phoenix Patronus rising from nearby. Knowing that Harry's Patronus was a stag, she didn't need more than one guess to know who had cast it, at that moment she was very proud of her oldest.
The entire Quidditch pitch and stands quickly turned into a disorganized, panicky mess and the parent section was no exception. Most seemed intent on leaving as quickly as possible, she even noticed a few fools attempting to Apparate and, of course, failing. Idiots. A few were going across the stands searching for their children and after a quick exchanged look with her husband, they headed over with them.
She was fruitlessly scanning for familiar faces in the stands interspersed with glances down to the pitch to keep an eye on Harry, who was now on the shoulders of what appeared to be red-headed twins. Then she remembered the pranksters that Daphne had mentioned and realized they must be the infamous Weasley twins. Given the friendly nature of their interactions with Harry, she knew that he was in good hands; well, as long as they weren't pranking him.
"Mother!"
Astoria's voice tore through her musings and then she was looking for her daughter, finally seeing her approaching as quickly as she could, trailed closely by her friend Jessica. She helped close the distance and enveloped her daughter in a hug and as soon as she could, she reached out to a shy Jessica to give her a warm greeting that made her smile. That's when she noticed that they had piqued the interest of several of the older Slytherin students who were watching them. Some studied them unabashedly and some seemed to be trying to avoid their attention.
That was the downside of being a student in her old Hogwarts house, there were a lot of dark families in the house and there was a lot of politics going on as well. Some of them would be analysing everything they could, looking for information that might be useful. Unfortunately, it behoved her and especially her husband to give them as little as possible so she looked for Daphne and saw her approaching with her friend Tracey.
When they were all together, her husband beat her to putting up a privacy spell and she noted that he'd also put up a spell to obscure outsider's view of them, you never knew who might be able to read lips. Thus, she was free to speak openly or at least as openly as she could with two present that were not of their family.
"That was an impressive Patronus, Daphne. Was that your first one?"
As Daphne started to blush slightly, Astoria exclaimed, "That was you!? Awesome!"
She was pleased by it too but there was a serious issue to discuss first. "I'm a little concerned it may have given our connection away."
That wiped the smile off Astoria's face and Daphne looked down dejectedly and quietly said, "I had put up a privacy ward and nobody would have heard me."
Tracey then came to her defence, "I looked around and nobody was staring at us. They were looking up or scattering. I don't think anyone noticed."
"Daphne, I wasn't criticizing, your father and I tried to help him too. If it comes up, we can say we were protecting a student but your motive could bring some speculation in your direction. Keep us aware of any issues and try to deflect them. I will never criticize you for protecting someone close to you."
Daphne finally looked up at her and appeared grateful so she smiled and pulled her into a quick hug, which Daphne immediately returned.
He'd seen Daphne Greengrass in the stands and arranged it so he was the closest to her of his group of followers and to the side and behind her so he could watch her unobserved. He'd gone after her on the train because she was very attractive and still pure, and a pureblood too from a major family so there were many things indicating she'd be a good catch. She had surprised him with her quick wand, she'd replaced her spells as fast as he could take them down and that made her even more desirable. However, that also made him rethink the risk/reward aspects of going after her and he had decided to only watch for now.
Since then he'd learned that she was the top student in her year, another point in her favour. He kept her in his peripheral vision and pretended to focus on the game that he really cared little about. He'd been distracted for a moment when the dementors appeared and then hid a grin, he was about to see the Gryffindor Golden Boy get kissed and he was going to enjoy it.
He saw a movement from Daphne's direction and was spellbound as he saw her cast a corporeal Patronus. Merlin's balls! She was only a third year and she could do that?! Then he saw her friend starting to look around so he focussed upwards again to see what her Patronus did.
He frowned as it appeared that somehow, Potter had managed to cut a dementor in two. Was it possible that he really had killed the dementor on the train? Then he saw her Patronus protecting him from the other dementors as they began to disperse and three other Patronuses showed up to finish things off.
He pretended to be fascinated by what was going on up in the sky as he thought furiously. She was smart, quick with a wand, beautiful, a pureblood, still untouched and now very powerful. He wanted her so badly now that he could almost taste it. Everything that made her difficult to possess made her more desirable for him to have.
There was still the risk vs. reward issue to consider though. He'd already thought that a pawn would make it easier to go after her again and he already had a good candidate for being that pawn. He regarded her in his peripheral vision again and she was staring raptly up towards the boy. He stifled a frown as he considered the fact that he might already have competition for her; could she really be sweet on the Gryffindor show-off? He didn't want used goods, he would have to make his move before anyone had a chance to get to her before him.
If she had feelings for some boy already, that wasn't really a concern, he could make her forget him; he could make her obey his every wish. His anticipation started to build but then he saw her looking around, then react in recognition and start moving in front of them. He then saw her approaching her parents as he recognised Lord Greengrass. That very attractive woman with him must be her mother, the resemblance was certainly there. However, he had no interest in the mother but the daughter had to be his.
His followers were getting restless and he didn't want to be noticed by a man like Lord Greengrass as he certainly wasn't interested in taking on a grown wizard with a reputation like his. Yes, it was time to leave but he'd have to come up with a plan and execute it before the end of this school year. She was too attractive to the rabble, she had to be HIS and HIS only for the rest of her life. Someday, he'd want powerful children, he'd let her be his wife and bear his children, he could reward her like that.
Minerva McGonagall followed Albus down to the pitch once the chaos began to abate. She wasn't surprised that there'd be some panic amongst the students but she'd been very disappointed with the behaviour of a lot of the parents. Like the headmaster, though, she was very curious to see what had landed on the field.
By keeping to a dignified pace she lost ground to the headmaster who, being significantly taller than her, made it to the remains first. She came up near him and saw two piles of rags and bones but they made her skin crawl, there was something very menacing about them even though they were inert as far as she could tell. She'd heard what Harry had done on the train indirectly and had not seen the remains herself. This, however, seemed much more immediate and real to her, she'd seen him do something to a dementor and now she saw the remains. Harry was already a very formidable wizard, much to her joy but she also felt some concern. She was also not comfortable with what Albus might be up to when he cast a speculative look at the boy.
She then turned to look towards Harry herself and saw the team celebrating their win with no concern about what may have just happened with the dementors. Even as Quidditch obsessed as she was, she was a little baffled by their attitude but then teens were not always the most aware of people and her lions might take things in stride even more than the usual.
She was disappointed that she hadn't been ready to cast her Patronus until it was no longer needed, yet another example of her letting down one of her lions. However, she'd try to make up for it now by taking care of a potential issue proactively. She hurried forward and got between the team and the castle so she'd have a chance to speak with Harry quickly.
She suppressed a smile when she saw the Weasley twins hoist Harry up on their shoulders, which caused a momentary look of concern on his face although his visage quickly settled into a big grin. They began to make their way towards the Castle, Harry still atop the twins and she set her face to be intimidating and didn't speak as they faltered to a stop when they saw her. One of the twins gulped and they carefully put Harry back down on the ground. The whole team began to look apprehensive, even Harry so she spoke up to ease their concern.
"I'm not here to stop your celebration but I do need a word with Mr. Potter."
She saw looks of relief from all but Harry. In fact, the twins looked so relieved she began to wonder if there was something going on that she should know about. However, she wasn't here to interrogate the twins so she focussed on Harry, somewhat to his consternation. The team and nearby Gryffindors slowly went around her while Harry shyly approached her.
When there was enough free space around them, she quickly put up a privacy spell and tried to give him a more encouraging look. "The headmaster is taking a clear interest in the recent event and I just wanted you to be aware that Dumbledore has agreed to my demand that I be included in any meeting he has with anyone in my house, which obviously includes you. If he asks to see you, make certain that I am aware so that I can be there."
Harry quickly nodded his agreement so she went to her second point. "Would you care to satisfy your head of house's curiosity on what happened up there?"
Harry fidgeted and blushed and she let a small smile form on her face as she considered how modest he was but then her smile disappeared as she considered how much he seemed to dislike his fame. She'd have to talk to him about being proud of one's accomplishments, which did not require becoming an aggrandizing prat like Malfoy.
He was looking down and scuffing at the dirt as he quietly said, "I was in great need of help, like in the chamber and then well, the sword came to me again and I just sort of…" He shrugged and made a swiping motion with his right hand.
"Mr. Potter." She waited until he looked up at her again, looking both hesitant and curious. "Needing help is not a weakness and you kept your head and were able to save yourself, which is a very good thing. Gryffindor and I daresay all of Hogwarts would be a poorer place if you were no longer with us. When you achieve something, you should be proud. Not arrogant like some people I could name but proud nonetheless. You accomplished something today so it's OK to be gratified by that."
With a faint blush but with a smile he nodded his agreement. She gave him a smile back before dismissing him. "Alright then, Harry. Off with you and have fun; just don't let the twins destroy the common room, OK?"
Harry chuckled before he gave her a farewell and disappeared around her. She suppressed a chuckle of her own before looking around to make sure that everyone was leaving in an orderly fashion.
Sirius was trying to wait patiently to hear how the Quidditch game went and wished again that he could be there. He had the mirror out and ready to answer and tried not to fidget but it was so bloody hard to stop himself. He startled slightly when he heard a voice.
"Are you really that mad for Quidditch or do you just want to hear from Harry?"
He gave Sami a sheepish smile as he said, "Err… both?" He'd been so absorbed in his thoughts that he'd almost forgotten that she was there, which was a trifle embarrassing.
She chuckled while giving him an affectionate look. "I'm sure he'll do fine, based on what you've told me he is quite the seeker. Nothing will happen to him with so many people watching him."
Sirius nodded agreement but couldn't help but feel anxious. It really should be just a Quidditch game but so many mad things had happened to him already that he couldn't help but feel a little anxiety. The more time went by, the harder it was to control himself.
He was startled by the sudden appearance of a fox Patronus that spoke with Cyrus' voice. "There was an incident with the dementors during the game. Everyone is fine but we need to meet as soon as possible to discuss this as I feel we may have to accelerate our plans. I'll meet you at the Apparition point and key you into our wards, it's about time we did that anyway."
Dammit! He'd been right to feel apprehensive! His attention snapped to Sami as she hesitantly said, "I guess I'll head home then, let you meet with Cyrus."
He immediately shook his head to disagree with her and then responded, "If we're serious about us, then you should be there too." He saw she looked a little uncomfortable so he decided to add his second thought. "I'd also feel better if you came with me plus Roxy will be there I'm sure." That seemed to go over much better and she gave him one of her breath-taking smiles. Gods, that woman looked so gorgeous when she smiled.
He stuck the mirror in his pocket just in case and they went out to the front yard as his wards prevented Apparition into or out of the house, although Apparition within the house was allowed. They appeared nearly simultaneously and he saw Cyrus already approaching. He raised an eyebrow at Sami when he arrived but spoke to him instead.
"It's about time, Sirius. You do know you shouldn't keep a lady waiting, don't you?"
He barely got out a huff before Cyrus was greeting Sami cordially and they decided to start calling each other by their first names. Sirius was busy stewing over the fact that even Cyrus was giving him a hard time about Sami and he wasn't usually the teasing type! He'd admit to being slow on the uptake regarding Sami but he hadn't thought he was that bad. He regained his aplomb as Cyrus keyed them both into his wards as friends of the family while they both had their hands on his gate.
Cyrus obviously thought it was time to get to the point as they walked together towards his home. "The dementors somehow got through the Hogwarts wards despite Dumbledore's attempts to strengthen them to keep them out, it's hard to prevent their entry when they swarm together and that is what they did today. They went after Harry, perhaps because he was high up and near them or maybe they are attracted to him somehow. Anyway, he killed another one."
They both gasped at hearing that as Sirius added, "What? Another Patronus?"
"No, my guess is he used the sword of Gryffindor but I need to confirm that." He then looked Sirius in the eye as he added with a hint of pride, "It was Daphne who cast the first Patronus to protect him."
He couldn't help but think that they were a well-matched pair, a very powerful wizard and witch. He was pulled from his thoughts as Cyrus added, "I think it's time to stop waiting and remove their excuse for having those cursed creatures around a school full of students."
Sirius couldn't help but agree as Sami nodded her concurrence.