Not knowing where else to take him, Harry brought Sirius to the hill overlooking the Quidditch field. Spike had swept the area several times and the meeting took place after lights out. When they were certain that they were alone, Sirius took his human form and sat next to Harry. They discussed the new and fantastic events at length, then drifted into uncomfortable silence.
"So how are you doing, Harry?" Both of them felt a bit awkward. They had never had time to establish their relationship properly, and neither one knew quite how to approach the other.
"I'm doing alright."
"Schoolwork is good?" James, what would you ask? Help me out here.
"Yes. I've actually had one of my better semesters," he said proudly. It felt good to talk about mundane things with someone. He had never been able to do that with anyone remotely resembling family, and he decided to push forward with it. "Ron made the Quidditch team, you know."
"What spot?"
"Keeper. We needed one badly. Our next game is in a week or so, with Slytherin. I'm really glad he did. I see him less now than I did before…"
"Before what?"
"He and Hermione are sort of … together."
"I know how you feel. When your father finally began to date Lily, I had the same problem." He gave Harry a knowing look. "She was friendly with us for a long while before it actually happened, though Remus, Peter, and I saw it a ways off. You feel lonely?"
"Sort of, yeah. I mean, I see them. It's not terrible, just …" He trailed off.
"Like I said, I know how you feel," Sirius said, nodding. "I had Remus and Peter, but Remus dated quite often himself."
"How'd you deal with it?"
"Found a girl of my own." He paused in thought. "Then another, and another one after her." He glanced at his best friend's son. "My example is probably not the best." They both laughed. "Still, it's not a bad solution. Any possibility of that?"
Harry frowned. Dawn and Ginny's faces both popped into his mind. With Dawn living half a world away, he knew that could never work, intriguing though she might be. Ginny … Harry and Ginny had been spending more time together of late, and he was beginning to realize that she was more than a shy little girl. Still, she was Ginny. Ron's sister, and therefore not the solution Sirius was talking about, no matter how he might feel.
"Not really." The conversation paused awkwardly, as Sirius was unsure what to say. Harry saved him by pressing forward on another subject. "What do you think you'll do now?"
"Don't know. Whatever Dumbledore needs, most likely. I'd like to stay here for awhile, though. Maybe catch a Quidditch match or two, if that's alright with you?"
"That would be great," Harry said, excited by the possibility of an extended visit with Sirius. Maybe I'll finally learn what it's like to have a real family, he thought hopefully.
"Hello?"
"Wesley, is that you?"
"Rupert. How are you?" The guarded voice on the other end of the line sounded darker than the Wesley he remembered.
"I'm doing fine, Wesley. And yourself?"
"Erm … well, thanks," the younger Watcher said tentatively. "Though it has been a bit of a long week. What can I do for you?"
"I'm searching for a particular relic to perform a spell entitled Spring Rain, and I wondered if you might aid me in tracking down a lead on its location."
"That's an evil purification spell, if I'm not mistaken."
"That's correct. We have an … associate here who has been bewitched by a terribly potent magic."
"That sounds unpleasant. What is the name of the artifact in question?"
"It's a device called the Eye of the Golem."
"Oh my," Wesley said, startled. "I am quite familiar with that. Could you hold on a moment? I think we need Angel on the line as well."
"Certainly." Giles heard shuffling, and then the click of a second phone lifting.
"Giles?"
"Angel. How are you?"
"Things are a little hectic, truthfully. I called Buffy to see if she might help, but she's tied up with a post-vacation backlog." The vampire shifted gears quickly. "Wesley said you're looking for the Eye of the Golem."
"Quite desperately. Do you know something about it? Possibly its location?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
"Up until yesterday, it was here."
"And where is it now?"
"Stolen."
"Oh my."
"So the poof had it an' lost it. Why am I not surprised?" Spike was back in Dumbledore's office with the group from Christmas Day, minus Harry and Ron.
"The poof?" Sirius asked.
"Angel."
"And he's the Slayer's vampire ex-boyfriend? With a soul?" Spike had filled him in on the entire story the night before.
"That's the one, Puddles."
"I told you not to call me that," Sirius growled. Despite the vampire's invitation to hide him, the two grated on each other more with each passing hour. Sirius had slept in dog form the night before in a corner of Spike's dungeon, and woke in a pool of water. The vampire, for some reason, thought it extraordinarily funny when Sirius shook off the water, then changed to human form to find himself still completely soaked.
"How did this man Angel come to possess the Eye?" Dumbledore asked.
"It seems that when he left Sunnydale, he removed several dangerous artifacts for safekeeping. The Eye was one. Apparently a number of demons broke in to his office two days ago and stole the entire collection."
"Is it connected to our search?" Grey asked. Giles shook his head.
"I doubt it. First of all, we only learned of it days ago ourselves. Secondly, there are a number of powerful devices which could have been the target."
"We need to find it and get it back. Is Angel going to retrieve it?"
"I asked him that. He doesn't believe he has the forces to do so. It seems that the robbery damaged his headquarters and injured some of his allies. Buffy has been away from Sunnydale for too long as it is." Buffy had already called Giles with the disturbing news that a human serial killer stalked the Sunnydale streets. "I don't believe that she can help."
Spike knew where this was heading.
"Go on and say it, Watcher. You want the Big Bad to go help Peaches, right?"
"Well, Spike, honestly, you're the most … logical choice."
"You mean expendable."
"No, not at all. I simply mean …"
Spike stopped him with a raised hand. "Didn't say you were wrong, Rupes. Just tryin' to be straight about it." He rolled his shoulders to release the rising tension. He could deal with the poof in exchange for a little action. "I'll help find the Eye. Could use a good scrum anyway. Need some help getting there, though, and getting back." Returning to Hogwarts from Los Angeles without air travel would be tedious, but Spike's vulnerabities made such a long flight impossible.
"Perhaps you might be willing to go with him, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked.
"I really don't want to leave Harry."
"I'll watch out for him, Sirius," Grey said. "He'll be safer more quickly if we get the Eye. You're the only other wizard without an objective condition that forces you to stay."
Sirius knew it was true, but he had really begun to enjoy Harry's company. Talking with the boy had almost been like having James back. Dumbledore saw the play of emotions on his face, and put his hand on the younger man's thin shoulder.
"Regardless of whether you undertake this mission, Sirius," Dumbledore said softly, "we should discuss alternatives to keep you here on a more permanent basis. I think it would benefit both of you, and I daresay I can come up with something."
Sirius glanced at Dumbledore, tears shiny in his eyes, and nodded. For that to work, though, Harry had to be safe. In the end, that decided him more than anything.
"I'll do it. Then, when I come back, I'll come back to stay."