Chapter 22 - Loose Ends
~*~*~*~
Rowan glanced at Sirius, her eyebrows raised in question.
Sirius quickly reviewed what he had just said, realized that it could be taken in different ways and flushed slightly. "I . . . I'm sorry that just came out wrong. I didn't mean that..." He stopped stuttering and ran his fingers through his short hair in frustration. "Not that I would complain if-" He cut that thought off abruptly when he realized that he was speaking aloud. He'd already done enough to anger Rowan - it was, frankly, amazing she'd forgiven him thus far - and it wouldn't sit well if he told her that he wouldn't complain if she wanted to do more.
Frustrated, Sirius began pacing. I had been too long. He was out of practice, badly, at this. How did one tell the women they loved more then life itself - and would gladly make love to in an instant, if she gave him the slightest signal that she would allow it -that he would be content if she simply allowed him to remain close for a bit longer?
He knew Rowan far too well and, given the way things had turned out, he was grudging grateful for her original ultimatum. No matter how infuriating it had been for him in the past. She'd had enough to worry about after Wormtail's betrayal without a small version of Sirius running around causing trouble. He'd missed so much of Harry's life while in Azkaban. What if he had missed his own son's as well? The thought terrified him.
James and Lily died. Harry suffered under the dubious mercy of Lily's Muggle family. Sirius faced the horrors of Azkaban, in the constant presence of the dementors. Rowan and Moony had been left to sort through the tattered pieces of their lives and futures. By Merlin, how could things have turned out worse? Six lives shattered, all because Peter couldn't be bothered to protect his friends. Familiar rage smoldered within Sirius.
"Rowan, I'm sorry about everything." He stopped pacing and looked at her, his heart in his eyes. "I'm sorry."
Unexpectedly, she giggled, catching him completely off guard. "Prongs always did the bambi eyes better, you know."
Sirius' shocked look melted into a wry grin. "You are a holy terror, do you know that?"
She answered him with a small, knowing smile. "Are you attempting to seduce me, Sirius Black?" Sirius replied with a mocking grin as he moved closer and enfolded her in his arms. Verbal sparring matches were old, familiar territory.
"An old game I have yet to win."
"One you very nearly won," She laughed, poking an accusing finger into his chest. Sirius caught the hand and brought it to his lips.
"One I intend to win yet." He bent to give her a kiss, but a slithery bump startled the pair and they turned to see the bright green tail end of an escaping runespoor disappear under a cabinet. "What is that?" Sirius asked, slightly alarmed.
"That was a hungry runespoor." Rowan laughed at his expression. "Its name is Rune and I think it's mad because I forgot to feed it tonight."
"Rune?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "My, what an original name. Did you pick him up in Romania?"
"Oh stop!" she rolled her eyes. "Rune is a perfectly good name! Hagrid found it slithering about the pumpkin patch at the start of term and gave it to me. I don't think the poor thing was dangerous enough for Hagrid. It's only mildly venomous."
"Mildly?" Sirius asked cautiously as he stepped away from the cabinet. Rowan knelt down and tried to coax Rune out. Sirius shook his head, Rowan and Hagrid were two peas in a pod as far as Magical Creatures were concerned: the scarier the better. "Did Hagrid ever tell you about Buckbeak?"
Rowan turned and looked at him quizzically. "No, what does that . . ."
A sudden terrified squeaking followed by a triumphant triple hiss rattled the desk. Sirius and Rowan looked over to see a long, bald rat-tail disappearing into the suddenly emerald hearth flames and the intra-castle floo network. A determined Rune followed an instant later in pursuit of his prey, diving fearlessly into the hearth and disappearing in the flames.
"You leave the fireplace open?" Sirius asked incredulously. That, in his opinion, didn't seem very wise, even in Hogwarts. He dimly noted that he'd been spending too much time around Mad-Eye Moody.
"Not usually," Rowan frowned. "Rune must have opened it. It and Orion are clever enough to work it and it's better than constantly opening and closing the door for Orion." She laughed wryly, getting to her feet and brushing the dust off her robes. "He doesn't understand that humans aren't here to pander to his every wish and desire. If I'm in here I'm usually in the middle of something. Can you imagine the look on Severus' face if I showed up in the hospital wing with scratches and potion burns? I wouldn't be able to live it down for weeks. I . . ." Rowan words stilled as Sirius chuckled and silenced her diatribe with a kiss. She really did talk too much.
~*~
Harry burst into the Gryffindor common room; barely noticing his two best friends spring to opposite ends of the couch they shared, rather breathless and flushed. Harry barely spared them a glance before he excitedly began relating the night's events, ending with the revelation that Professor Myfanwy was a unicorn animagus. "She must be unregistered, but Hagrid didn't seem surprised," He commented, pacing across the width of the hearth. Hermione looked indignant.
"She is registered! You owled me about it last summer," She reminded him.
"You never replied," Harry told her. "Then I forgot to ask you again at the Burrow."
"Harry, I did," Hermione protested. "I sent you a letter with Pigwigeon before you even left the Dursley's!"
"There's your problem," Ron snorted. "The feathery git probably delivered it to the wrong person."
"Well, it's not like your relatives to forward mail, either," Ginny commented from the dormitory stairs. She glared at Ron in defense of the little owl. "I'd say it's either gathering dust in your cupboard or ashes in the Dursley's hearth."
She came the rest of the way down, wrapping her slightly tatty housecoat closer around herself. Her brown eyes flickered toward Ron and Hermione, an amused glint catching in them as she took in their dishevelled appearance and overly casual attitudes. She took a seat on another couch, looking mildly surprised when Harry joined her.
Ron stared at Ginny, as though just noticing her. "You're up awfully late, Ginny. You weren't having nightmares again, were you?" He asked. Ginny frowned at him for mentioning that.
"Nightmares?" Harry asked, turning to Ginny in concern.
"It's nothing," Ginny blushed prettily and turned back to Ron. "I heard you talking to Harry. I wanted to know how his detention had gone." She turned to Harry with wide eyes and Harry felt a lurch in his stomach. "Werewolves, Harry? Really?"
"Um . . .yeah," Harry responded, oddly uncomfortable with her scrutiny. 'Stop it', he commanded himself, 'it's only Ginny!' A Ginny in a greater state of undress than he'd ever seen her . . . Harry cleared his throat and continued. "Professor Myfanwy said we have a wild pack of them on the grounds. We were harvesting wolfsbane tonight and the pack attacked us."
"Outside?" Ginny frowned. "On a full moon?"
"Professor Myfanwy was right there, Ginny," Hermione added primly.
"So was Siri . . . um, Snuffles and Professor Lupin," Harry added, hoping Ginny would understand their codename for Sirius. "We heard them not far off."
"It was still dangerous!" Ginny protested darkly. She suddenly grabbed Harry's hands in concern. Harry blinked, looking down at their clasped hands in surprise, noting distantly how very soft, but cold, her hands were. "I can't believe she put you in danger like that!"
"She wasn't happy about their behaviour tonight!" Harry defended, confused at Ginny's unusually prickly attitude. "She left me with Hagrid to go find Snuffles and Lupin. I was safe!"
"What if this whole thing was a trap set by You-Know-Who?" Ginny countered.
"That's not possible!" Ron paled slightly. "You-Know-Who couldn't control the werewolves like that, could he?"
"Snape said he was trying," Harry pointed out, reminding Ron of the conversation they'd overheard. What if, indeed? Harry thought, his mind going over possible implications of Voldemort's new power. I explained why the Death Eaters were after Professor Myfanwy. Who else knew as much about werewolves? Hermione insisted she was 'the wizarding world's foremost expert on lycanthropy'. Ginny's voice suddenly broke into his train of thought.
"I'm going back to bed," she announced, shooting a smug, teasing look at her blushing brother. "Don't keep Hermione up too late, Ron."
~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~
Rowan glanced at Sirius, her eyebrows raised in question.
Sirius quickly reviewed what he had just said, realized that it could be taken in different ways and flushed slightly. "I . . . I'm sorry that just came out wrong. I didn't mean that..." He stopped stuttering and ran his fingers through his short hair in frustration. "Not that I would complain if-" He cut that thought off abruptly when he realized that he was speaking aloud. He'd already done enough to anger Rowan - it was, frankly, amazing she'd forgiven him thus far - and it wouldn't sit well if he told her that he wouldn't complain if she wanted to do more.
Frustrated, Sirius began pacing. I had been too long. He was out of practice, badly, at this. How did one tell the women they loved more then life itself - and would gladly make love to in an instant, if she gave him the slightest signal that she would allow it -that he would be content if she simply allowed him to remain close for a bit longer?
He knew Rowan far too well and, given the way things had turned out, he was grudging grateful for her original ultimatum. No matter how infuriating it had been for him in the past. She'd had enough to worry about after Wormtail's betrayal without a small version of Sirius running around causing trouble. He'd missed so much of Harry's life while in Azkaban. What if he had missed his own son's as well? The thought terrified him.
James and Lily died. Harry suffered under the dubious mercy of Lily's Muggle family. Sirius faced the horrors of Azkaban, in the constant presence of the dementors. Rowan and Moony had been left to sort through the tattered pieces of their lives and futures. By Merlin, how could things have turned out worse? Six lives shattered, all because Peter couldn't be bothered to protect his friends. Familiar rage smoldered within Sirius.
"Rowan, I'm sorry about everything." He stopped pacing and looked at her, his heart in his eyes. "I'm sorry."
Unexpectedly, she giggled, catching him completely off guard. "Prongs always did the bambi eyes better, you know."
Sirius' shocked look melted into a wry grin. "You are a holy terror, do you know that?"
She answered him with a small, knowing smile. "Are you attempting to seduce me, Sirius Black?" Sirius replied with a mocking grin as he moved closer and enfolded her in his arms. Verbal sparring matches were old, familiar territory.
"An old game I have yet to win."
"One you very nearly won," She laughed, poking an accusing finger into his chest. Sirius caught the hand and brought it to his lips.
"One I intend to win yet." He bent to give her a kiss, but a slithery bump startled the pair and they turned to see the bright green tail end of an escaping runespoor disappear under a cabinet. "What is that?" Sirius asked, slightly alarmed.
"That was a hungry runespoor." Rowan laughed at his expression. "Its name is Rune and I think it's mad because I forgot to feed it tonight."
"Rune?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "My, what an original name. Did you pick him up in Romania?"
"Oh stop!" she rolled her eyes. "Rune is a perfectly good name! Hagrid found it slithering about the pumpkin patch at the start of term and gave it to me. I don't think the poor thing was dangerous enough for Hagrid. It's only mildly venomous."
"Mildly?" Sirius asked cautiously as he stepped away from the cabinet. Rowan knelt down and tried to coax Rune out. Sirius shook his head, Rowan and Hagrid were two peas in a pod as far as Magical Creatures were concerned: the scarier the better. "Did Hagrid ever tell you about Buckbeak?"
Rowan turned and looked at him quizzically. "No, what does that . . ."
A sudden terrified squeaking followed by a triumphant triple hiss rattled the desk. Sirius and Rowan looked over to see a long, bald rat-tail disappearing into the suddenly emerald hearth flames and the intra-castle floo network. A determined Rune followed an instant later in pursuit of his prey, diving fearlessly into the hearth and disappearing in the flames.
"You leave the fireplace open?" Sirius asked incredulously. That, in his opinion, didn't seem very wise, even in Hogwarts. He dimly noted that he'd been spending too much time around Mad-Eye Moody.
"Not usually," Rowan frowned. "Rune must have opened it. It and Orion are clever enough to work it and it's better than constantly opening and closing the door for Orion." She laughed wryly, getting to her feet and brushing the dust off her robes. "He doesn't understand that humans aren't here to pander to his every wish and desire. If I'm in here I'm usually in the middle of something. Can you imagine the look on Severus' face if I showed up in the hospital wing with scratches and potion burns? I wouldn't be able to live it down for weeks. I . . ." Rowan words stilled as Sirius chuckled and silenced her diatribe with a kiss. She really did talk too much.
~*~
Harry burst into the Gryffindor common room; barely noticing his two best friends spring to opposite ends of the couch they shared, rather breathless and flushed. Harry barely spared them a glance before he excitedly began relating the night's events, ending with the revelation that Professor Myfanwy was a unicorn animagus. "She must be unregistered, but Hagrid didn't seem surprised," He commented, pacing across the width of the hearth. Hermione looked indignant.
"She is registered! You owled me about it last summer," She reminded him.
"You never replied," Harry told her. "Then I forgot to ask you again at the Burrow."
"Harry, I did," Hermione protested. "I sent you a letter with Pigwigeon before you even left the Dursley's!"
"There's your problem," Ron snorted. "The feathery git probably delivered it to the wrong person."
"Well, it's not like your relatives to forward mail, either," Ginny commented from the dormitory stairs. She glared at Ron in defense of the little owl. "I'd say it's either gathering dust in your cupboard or ashes in the Dursley's hearth."
She came the rest of the way down, wrapping her slightly tatty housecoat closer around herself. Her brown eyes flickered toward Ron and Hermione, an amused glint catching in them as she took in their dishevelled appearance and overly casual attitudes. She took a seat on another couch, looking mildly surprised when Harry joined her.
Ron stared at Ginny, as though just noticing her. "You're up awfully late, Ginny. You weren't having nightmares again, were you?" He asked. Ginny frowned at him for mentioning that.
"Nightmares?" Harry asked, turning to Ginny in concern.
"It's nothing," Ginny blushed prettily and turned back to Ron. "I heard you talking to Harry. I wanted to know how his detention had gone." She turned to Harry with wide eyes and Harry felt a lurch in his stomach. "Werewolves, Harry? Really?"
"Um . . .yeah," Harry responded, oddly uncomfortable with her scrutiny. 'Stop it', he commanded himself, 'it's only Ginny!' A Ginny in a greater state of undress than he'd ever seen her . . . Harry cleared his throat and continued. "Professor Myfanwy said we have a wild pack of them on the grounds. We were harvesting wolfsbane tonight and the pack attacked us."
"Outside?" Ginny frowned. "On a full moon?"
"Professor Myfanwy was right there, Ginny," Hermione added primly.
"So was Siri . . . um, Snuffles and Professor Lupin," Harry added, hoping Ginny would understand their codename for Sirius. "We heard them not far off."
"It was still dangerous!" Ginny protested darkly. She suddenly grabbed Harry's hands in concern. Harry blinked, looking down at their clasped hands in surprise, noting distantly how very soft, but cold, her hands were. "I can't believe she put you in danger like that!"
"She wasn't happy about their behaviour tonight!" Harry defended, confused at Ginny's unusually prickly attitude. "She left me with Hagrid to go find Snuffles and Lupin. I was safe!"
"What if this whole thing was a trap set by You-Know-Who?" Ginny countered.
"That's not possible!" Ron paled slightly. "You-Know-Who couldn't control the werewolves like that, could he?"
"Snape said he was trying," Harry pointed out, reminding Ron of the conversation they'd overheard. What if, indeed? Harry thought, his mind going over possible implications of Voldemort's new power. I explained why the Death Eaters were after Professor Myfanwy. Who else knew as much about werewolves? Hermione insisted she was 'the wizarding world's foremost expert on lycanthropy'. Ginny's voice suddenly broke into his train of thought.
"I'm going back to bed," she announced, shooting a smug, teasing look at her blushing brother. "Don't keep Hermione up too late, Ron."
~*~*~*~
