Sinia woke to the pulsing throb of her own heart, her entire body screaming in aching pain from exhaustion. Intense heat made her breath catch, and her vision clouded, not that she could open her eyes very far. Pressure built her entire body, pushing it into the surface behind her. She moaned quietly, feeling the mattress underneath of her shift with added weight. A hand ran her hair out of her face, gentle and loving, but calloused and decidedly masculine. A cold cloth ran over her eyes and forehead, and she whimpered gratefully for the touch. She felt a pair of lips brush hers, delicately. Startled, she barely managed to kiss him back.

"Rest, love," Sirius whispered to her. "You don't have much strength left."

"Where are we?" her voice cracked, disappeared in the emptiness.

"It's your own mattress, babe. They're not going to find me here- no one saw us, and these rooms aren't on the map. Sleep," he kissed her forehead gently. "I'll take care of you."

With that, he shifted to stand up. She reached out and found his hand. "Stay. Please."

She heard him chuckle, then the mattress creaked again, as she felt his arm around her waist, his body pressed against her side. He nuzzled her neck lightly, tickling her with his breath. "As you wish," he whispered, and she twined her fingers with his.

Then reality faded.

***

Life passed that way for several days, as the fever broke and Sinia gradually recovered from her own magic. Mental anguish and fear had made the spell more difficult than had actually been necessary, and she was paying for it the hard way.

"Sit up, I have to feed you something," Sirius smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed with a bowl of steaming soup. It smelled delectable.

"Where did you get that?" Sinia asked warily. It would do neither of them any good if Sirius Black were seen roaming the halls of Hogwarts.

"A dog can tickle a pear," he smiled quietly, that smile fading as he looked in her eyes. "It's one in the morning, love. A dog waddled into the kitchen with a note that asked for plenty of soup, muffins, and milk. The house elves put it in a basket for me to carry back. Now eat it."

She rested the bowl on her lap, carefully bringing the first spoonful to her mouth. She swallowed. "It's good."

"I'm glad," the sarcasm dripped off of him. "Now finish it, or do I have to feed you myself?"

"That would be nice," she laughed, bringing another spoonful to her mouth.

***

They stayed together for a week, exchanging conversation back on the same level they had before, where if they weren't having sex, they were conversing on something. One night, Sirius finally had the nerve to broach the subject.

"You never told me... any of us, what Korand did to you after those lessons you missed."

She looked up from where her head was rested on his chest. "Would it have done you any good to know?"

"Sinia, you told me you were in the hospital wing for a week because of Snape!" his voice had risen with his anger.

"You hated him anyway, Sirius. The decision was my own, would it do you any better to know that James knew the truth of it? That he knew after the first time it happened?"

"What?"

"He saw my lesson. He snuck in with his cloak."

"He knew you were getting the shit beat out of you to help us?"

"How do you know?"

"That spell you cast... I saw, Sinia," he fumbled for words. "I saw what you saw, what-"

"What the dementors saw," she finished for him, her eyes seemed to have an icy tinge. "What else?"

"Azkaban. I saw our wedding," he smiled slightly at that, "such as it was." She chuckled dryly.

"I saw your initiation," he tested.

"How would you see that?" she wondered. That was not a particularly horrid memory.

"I just heard the introduction. I couldn't see anything. But all of the sudden the sound just surrounded the forest, and I know that song. I knew it was you." He smiled quietly. "I'd love to actually see it."

"Would you?" she grinned mischievously. She sat up and rolled off the bed, grabbing his hand and dragging him with her.

"Sinia, where are you going...? Sinia!" he ran out into the corridor, following the sound of her laughing. The scent of sandalwood and citrus, sweet and sharp and warm, dangerously erotic, flowed through the air.

"Don't worry, just go," her voice whispered into his ear. "No one can see. No one can hear. Follow me."

[A/N- sorry for the impossible shortness, but the next scene, in my mind, does not fit into this chapter. So you'll have to wait a week while I'm gone. Go review my other stories, since no one has! Make me inclined to write more, I swear! Thank you everybody for the praise (to hear I'm writing something original out of a sight with 83,000+ HP fics on it is an accomplishment!) and THANKS to bluesolipsist for the offer- I'm taking you up on it! Before I for get to ask (and this note gets INSANELY long) does anyone understand the meaning of the title? Also feel free to throw me story ideas. See you in a week!]