Chapter 24 - Moving On



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Sirius stretched languidly as the morning sun found it's way through the tall windows above him, bringing an unwelcome end to pleasant dreams. He found himself smiling at the small form nestled securely beside his own. Her white robes were wrinkled and her hair mussed, and never, in his opinion, had she looked lovelier. Rowan's dark hair fanned over his arm and her slightly bruised lips quirked upward in a contented smile.



Sirius hadn't meant to stay the entire night, but Rowan had drifted off to sleep in his arms and he hadn't had the heart to wake her. He also hadn't quite trusted himself to simply carry her back to her room and tuck her in, assuming he could find the Staff Wing.



He felt thoroughly content and Sirius began to realize where Rowan's abnormal fondness for pillows (specifically his pillows) stemmed from: comfort. Sirius realized, as he woke fully into the winter morning sunlight, that, for the first time in over fourteen years, he had slept in human form and avoided the nightmares, nightmares that usually woke him screaming and gasping for breath. Rowan's presence quieted the creeping death-cold of the dementors!



This, he realized, was also the reason he'd woken up in the dead of night so often during the latter bit of his Hogwarts days to find his bookish girlfriend curled up beside him, usually in tears. Or, on her easier nights, found his pillows had all absconded to the sixth-year girls dormitory.



Rowan's nightmares had been horrible. She had missed her family desperately, been forced into the position of Clan Elder at sixteen, and became one of the youngest inductees of the Order of the Phoenix and the War with Voldemort for her unusual talents. She'd never complained - at least not in public, though she occasionally confided her frustrations to Sirius - merely sought silent comfort when it became too much. Even James avoided commenting on it, and, as Head Boy, he should have. But neither he nor Lily ever did more than exchange the occasional worried look or whispered conversation.



Whatever their reasons, Lily covered for Rowan in the girls dormitory, James never said anything overtly, but let Rowan 'discover' the existence of his invisibility cloak and Peter followed his lead. Remus never said anything either, though Sirius would occasionally catch him with a sort of smile drifting across his face. Sirius had a sneaky suspicion that Moony was more wolfish than he generally let on and, even then, considered the pair of them mated.



Mated. There was another large tangle to be dealt with. Firstly, Rowan wasn't wearing any jewelry, beyond a pair of silver earrings, let alone her engagement ring! His own had been taken by the Ministry wizards long ago. Honestly, after thirteen years, their engagement was most certainly annulled. The thought bothered him immensely. After waiting for so long, he didn't want to lose her again.



However, when he came right down to it, Sirius realized he really had no right. Rowan was the leader of the most powerful wizarding family in Britain while he was an escaped convict. Regardless of their feelings on the matter, this wasn't a relationship that was going to work right now!



Following this thought was a feeling of dread. The next night would not be good. There would be no Rowan involved. There couldn't be. No comforting warmth in his arms, and no soul-stealing kisses to call him from the brink of despair. The nightmares would return, and probably worse for being repressed so throughly the previous night.



Coward, his inner voice accused. You're using her! She won't thank you for it later!



Beside him Rowan stirred, blinking as she shifted to look up at him. "Sirius," she murmured softly, invading his thoughts with her voice.



Lost in his thoughts, Sirius didn't register the rest of the sentence. "Hmm?" He mumbled absently, not looking down at the witch in his arms.



Rowan pulled away and poked him lightly. "Padfoot!" She said a bit more sharply, forcing his attention to her.



"What?"



Rowan smiled at him and playfully threw his words back at him. "You think too much."



Sirius began to deny it, but reconsidered and kissed her forehead. "Morning, love."



She murmured something vaguely agreeing and snuggled a bit closer. "What time is it?"



They couldn't quite see the clock Rowan kept beside her desk, but Sirius could guess from the bright sunlight streaming in the windows. "About seven?"



"Ungodly hour. Wake me up at nine." Rowan grumbled before snuggling more comfortably into his arms. Sirius chuckled deeply and raised an eyebrow mockingly.



"Aren't you worried about being late for class, Professor Myfanwy?"



"Stop it, you." She mock-glared at him. "Christmas Holidays start today and the students are leaving. I don't have classes, so I can afford a bit of a lie in."



"Really?" Sirius looked at her, his eyes gleaming with sudden mischief as he mulled over various plans for the day. "So you're free all day, then?" Harry would probably want to see him, but Sirius also wanted time to continue the mending he and Rowan had started the night before. She had, apparently, forgiven him for his earlier betrayals, but he knew this girl all too well. She didn't trust him, not yet. Rowan may have given him her heart, but she hadn't given him her trust. He'd have to earn it.



"Unless one of my students pops up with a last minute question, yes." Rowan answered, interrupting his thoughts. "And I wouldn't put it past one of the Ravenclaws or Hermione Granger."



They sat - or rather lay as they were still comfortably mired in the beanbag chair - in silence for several minutes, until Sirius' eyes slid closed and he began to decide that perhaps Rowan had the right idea. Seven AM was too early for conscious thought. He loved that about her. Rowan, unlike Moony, wasn't a morning person, and Sirius felt quite content to just curl up and finish catching up on a bit of the sleep they'd missed the night before. On the brink of dreaming, Sirius felt something slither by. Sirius opened one eye cautiously, wondering what flesh-rending monster had escaped it's confinement, praying it wasn't a lethifold, and found three glistening pairs of eyes staring at him. Three small, gray forked tongues flickered out, tickling his face with their feathery touch.

Sirius grinned. "What, you can work the castle floo network, but you can't let yourself into your cage, Rune?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Head One snapped at him, Head Three hung its head in chagrin and Head Two looked confused. Sirius laughed outright, waking up Rowan, and startling the runespoor. The snake slithered off Sirius' chest and coiled on the floor, watching the two expectantly.



"All right, I give up." Rowan sighed, trying to suppress a smile as she rolled off Sirius and stood. She leaned down and coaxed the runespoor onto her arm and turned to put it back in it's cage. "Did you catch your rat, Rune?" She asked as it slid back into it's glass box. The runespoor hung its heads and hissed dejectedly. Rowan reached in and stroked its back in consolation before firmly shutting the lid and turning back to Sirius.



"Naps will have to come later. Hungry yet?"



Sirius grinned at her. "Always." He answered.



A mischievous grin crept across Rowan's lips and eyes as she thought of something. "Kitchen raid, Padfoot?" She suggested innocently.



"I think so." Padfoot nodded, a mischievous glint lighting in his eyes as well.

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Twenty minutes later found them securely hidden in the kitchen. Sirius and Rowan collapsed in laughter once they made it without being seen, lamented that they were growing old, and promised to find Moony and pull a few pranks on Snape and Filch for old times sake.



The house elves mobbed them immediately, only too happy to fill a request for a special breakfast, which they thoughtfully packed in a basket. Rowan thanked the house elves before slipping out of the kitchen, heavily laden down with food enough for a large party and Padfoot loping silently at her side.

Rowan stood at the bottom of the stairs, her hand resting lightly on the banister. Sirius had wanted to come down with her, but he was still a wanted man. Even with it being Christmas holidays, it was still too dangerous.



Her Ravenclaw students interrupted her at the oddest times. What if they caught Sirius in her office? How could she possibly describe her relationship with her . . . Boyfriend? Fiancé? No not fiancé, she decided. She'd lost her engagement ring long ago. Well, not precisely lost. She remembered sealing it away in its velvet box and leaving it on the garden paths of CaerMyrddin. Then she'd fled, leaving her painful memories behind her or locking them deep inside, crushing her heart and her idealism in one ruthless action. "Boyfriend" sounded too juvenile, somehow. Beloved? Yes, certainly that.



Content with her qualification, Rowan looked down at Padfoot to suggest a new location for breakfast while changing direction and leading the way behind the great hall toward the staff quarters. Her comment turned into a surprised gasp and a stumble as she collided sharply with Severus Snape.



Sirius lunged forward, transforming mid-stride, and caught her in his arms. Snape shot them both a derisive glare while picking himself off the stone floor and resettling his robes. "I find it amazing you've had any small success at Potions, Myfanwy," he snapped nastily. "When simple walking seems to be beyond you! "



"Good morning, Severus." Rowan replied brightly, sharply elbowing Sirius to keep him quiet. She refused to allow the Slytherin to ruin her good mood and she wasn't about to let Sirius spoil it either.



"You're reverting to old school-girl habits, I see." Snape's black eyes narrowed and focused on Sirius. "Old boyfriends as well." Sirius glared balefully at the Potions Master, but kept his silence. Snape smiled nastily, throughly enjoying watching the insufferable Sirius Black be so controlled by a female. "You seem to be making quite a collection of them, Rowan. First Lupin, then Pettigrew, and now Black. Such a pity Potter isn't alive for you to complete your collection."



Snape's face snapped back as he was hit simultaneously by a spell from Rowan's wand and Sirius' fist.



"You really are a barbarian, do you know that?" Rowan commented idly, as she checked her wand for damage. Sirius cast a glare toward her then glanced back at Snape. His nose oozed a healthy stream of blood, but otherwise he hadn't taken visible damage. On second glance, Sirius found that ominous.



"What did you do to him?" He ask with curious trepidation.



"Nothing that can't be undone by Madame Pomfrey." She smiled sweetly, making Sirius shudder and look at her askance. Rowan kissed him lightly, before stepping across the prone body on the floor and opening the wall to the Staff Quarters. "Let's just say Severus won't be catching any scoring any goals on that broomstick for a while."

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Yes, I'm quite aware that my POV was completely screwed over in this chapter. Sorry about that. I'm starting to think I need to re-edit this whole story.



Reviews:



Ferguspork: Thank you! It's in Music. *shudders* I'm hopeless at chemistry. Good with physics though!



Nell: lol, it's reviewers like you that keep me going! And remind me to update!



Viper2005: I never see you in chat anymore! Thanks though! And I write as fast as I can. Though my parents won't exactly let me sit in front of a computer all day!



Gros minou #1: *bows* Thank you! Next term is going to be so easy! I got rid of all my hard classes! Lots of writing from me I hope!



Galadriel7: Hermione is being snitty because she doesn't think they should disturb Dumbledore. Polite prefect Hermione! And Ron's just panicking. It wasn't that short page-wise. Must have been good if it seemed short! :)



Lia Snowstar: I loved your email! (Email junkie? Me? Noooo!) I've also got a few more outtakes for you. I just had to buckle down and finish this chapter. Sirius was being a total git for me!



TheMonkeyStoleMyDadsVisaCard: Long name! Yes, I'll be your beta. Just send me the chapters you want me to look at by email! Don't worry. It's really hard sometimes to remember "they are not eighteen! They can't get married yet!"



TatraMegami: Thanks! That invisibility cloak's going to get a lot of use . . .



Lily Evans: Thanks you!



Celtic Ember: May I say, SQ is really hard to get on? Yes, I survived finals. Ended up in tears once, but I survived!



Mija: No worries. I don't usually manage to review every chapter either, and this is a long story! Thank you! I've been nervous about my characterization lately! Glad to know I'm not too far off!



May 2002