A/N: Sorry the last chapter was so short, but I couldn't very well continue after that kiss! Tehe... This chapter and the next are going to be a bit fluffy as Sheila and Harry's friendship develops, but I can't just leave these things out, so just stick with me, okay? Here you go and enjoy!
LET GO
CHAPTER 7:
CONTEMPLATIONS AND CONSTELLATIONS
*'Oh dear Merlin... his lips are on mine... we're kissing! But what soft lips he has... Wait! What am I saying?!'*
Sheila pulled away from him. "What are you doing?"
*'Fuck...'* Harry opened his eyes. He could see confusion etched on her face. "I'm sorry..." He quickly got up and helped her off the ground. "I don't know what came over me and I apologize for taking advantage of the situation."
Sheila grinned. "Such a gentleman..." She sighed. "Look, Harry, it's okay. It's not like I didn't want it..."
"So then... you wanted it?"
"I didn't say that. I just said that it's not like I didn't want it."
"I'm confused..."
"Don't get me wrong or anything, it's just... I'm an old fashioned kind of girl. I am a firm believer in becoming someone's friend before taking the next step towards a more... intimate relationship."
Harry nodded. "I totally feel the same way... This is great..."
She rolled her eyes. "Such a gentleman..."
He poked her in the side. "You said that already..."
"Yes, well, I mean it..."
They stood in silence for a few minutes. Harry cleared his throat.
"You never did tell me why you were out here alone."
*'Alone...'* That word struck a nerve. *'Goodness he has no idea...'* Sheila could feel the tears welling up already. She shook her head.
"It was nothing. Really..." She turned away from him, covering her eyes with her hands.
"Don't lie to me. If we're going to be friends, you have to learn to be honest with me."
*'Damn him! He was right.'* She sighed. *'Dumbledore DID say I should talk to him about my problems...'*
"Okay..." She sat down on the slightly wet grass and patted the place beside her. He complied and she looked at him. "Are you ready for this?"
~*~*~
It took her an hour or so to tell him everything. The dream. What she said in Dumbledore's office. How much it hurt to have him not talking to her. And by the end of it all, he was also in tears.
"I understand EXACTLY how you feel..." He sniffled.
"Dumbledore said you would." She wiped her face. "I'm just glad he was right."
"He usually is."
Sheila smiled. "I'm so glad all that's out in the open now. I don't feel so... bottled up anymore. It's like this huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders."
He put an arm around her and pulled her towards him. They fell back onto the grass, Sheila shifting down so that her head was resting on his stomach. (A/N: Think of a capital 'T')
"Your welcome." He paused. "You know the one thing I don't get though?"
"What's that?"
"How did you end up in the lake?"
Sheila considered this. "I never really thought of that... Apparation, maybe?"
Harry shook his head. "No. It's not allowed inside Hogwart's grounds. It must be something else...."
Sheila shrugged. "I don't know... Your guess is as good as mine..." A moment of silence passed between them. "Orion's Belt."
"What?" Harry looked down at her and saw that her eyes were cast towards the sky.
"Orion's Belt. Don't you pay any attention in Astronomy?"
He chuckled. "Yup. Look. The Big Dipper."
"Impressive. The Pleiades or, put simply, The Seven Sisters." She pointed to a patch of stars to the right.
"The Little Dipper."
"The Horseman."
"Oh yeah. The Great Bear."
"I can top that. Leo."
"You sound like a shoo-in for the next Astronomy teacher. Do you know all 88 of them?"
Sheila smirked. "Well, I don't like to brag... The Warrior."
"Hmmm.... Canis Major, or, the Great Dog."
Sheila grew silent. She sat up, looking at the group of stars he pointed to.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Sheila smiled. "I almost forgot about that one..." She licked her lips. "When I was 6, I used to beg my dad to build me a tree house in the big oak tree in our backyard. He kept telling me 'No, you're still too young. You could get hurt', but that didn't stop me. Eventually he gave in and that very summer he built me one."
Harry sat up, leaning on one elbow, and stared at her intently.
"It was perfect. Painted white with pink trim and shutters. I loved that place. It was my own little hideout. My dad worked for the Ministry so he was always away on business and when he was gone, I was too scared to stay in the house alone, so I would spend the night in the tree house. Eventually my dad didn't want me to be ALONE alone, so he got me a puppy."
Sheila laughed.
"I remember that day too. My dad was gone again and I woke up because something was licking my face. It was a puppy. A black one. I was so happy. I named him Padfoot because he had these huge paws and they reminded me of the scrub pads my dad used to clean the dishes. Every time my dad left, I would have him to keep me company."
She cocked her head to one side.
"Funny thing is, Padfoot was gone most of the time and only showed up when my dad left..."
Sheila shrugged.
"Anyway, the first time my dad spent the night in my tree house, he magicked the ceiling to look like the night sky, you know, like in the Great Hall. We stayed up for hours just staring up at it. He would point out various constellations here and there, but the very first one he identified was the Great Dog. He said it was his favorite and after he told me the story behind it, it became my favorite as well. It reminded me so much of Padfoot, and Padfoot always reminded me of my dad."
Sheila smiled.
"I guess that's why I love it so much... I can't believe I almost forgot about it... Well, when my father died, I tore the tree house down. I just couldn't look at it anymore. It held too many memories..."
She wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Your dad and you were really close, weren't you?"
"We were. He was my best friend... next to Padfoot, of course."
Harry fiddled with the blades of grass beside him, thinking. "Sheila?"
"Hmmm..."
"How did your father die?"
Sheila tore her eyes away from the stars and stared at him, then looked down at her hands. "He was murdered by a Death Eater."
"When?"
"June in the Ministry of Magic."
"Man, that was only a couple of months ago." He paused. "Did they ever find his body?"
"No."
"What was his name?"
"Richard."
"Was he in the Order?"
"Order? What Order?"
"The Order of the Phoenix. Was he in it?"
"What's with the interrogation, Harry?"
"Just answer the question."
Sheila stared at him, then turned away, thinking. "Yeah... I think he was... Why do you wanna know?"
Harry shook his head, smirking. "I have my reasons..." He grew quiet again. "Umm... it's probably none of my business or anything, but why were you guys in hiding? Did you do something illegal?"
Sheila set her face in anger. "No. The day after my mother was murdered, my dad went out looking for the person who did it. It turned out to be the same person who killed his two best friends as well. Their names were Harold and Christina and I guess Voldemort had it out for them too, because they died the same night as my mom."
She took a deep breath.
"Anyway, the day after they were murdered my dad goes looking for Peter, the guy who did it, and finds him on a street in the city. A few words are thrown around and then out of nowhere, the guy pulls out his wand and blows the street to pieces. He not only killed my mother and my father's two best friends, but also 12 muggles and himself. Or so people thought. Rumor has it that Peter was an unregistered Animagus and when he blasted the street, he turned into a rat, escaping into the sewer and leaving my dad to take the blame. Luckily at his trial, Dumbledore gave evidence and my father was let off. Unfortunately, Voldemort was still looking for us, so Dumbldore insisted we go into hiding... So we did."
Harry sighed. "Merlin, that sucks... Wait, you said the Ministry didn't know where you were, that's why they couldn't punish you for underage wizardry."
"So?"
"So... how can you work for the Ministry and them not know where you live?"
Sheila smirked. "We had our ways..."
"Right... So... they never caught the guy who killed your mom, huh?"
Sheila shook her head. "He's running around out there somewhere. It wouldn't surprise me if he was the one who helped Voldemort to rise 2 years ago..."
*'If only you knew how right you were...'* He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry... Yeah, they never caught the person who killed my parents either." He paused, thinking. "His name was Sirius Black."
Sheila looked at him. "What about him?"
"He killed my parents! He was supposed to be their secret keeper or something, but in the end, he told Voldemort their location and got them killed. Only I survived..."
"Who told you that?"
"Dumbledore. Why?"
Sheila smirked. "I have my reasons..."
"Right... Anyway, thankfully, Sirius was murdered last year, so I don't have to worry about him anymore."
"Lucky for you..."
A light autumn breeze blew passed the now quiet teenagers. Harry drew in a deep breath, breaking the silence.
"Sheila?"
"Yeah?"
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Go through each day laughing, like you don't have all these problems. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see this huge smile on your face."
Sheila shrugged. "I don't know... I guess I just don't let things get to me. Carpe diem, that's what I say. Seize the day. You never know... I could die right now and I'd rather die with a smile on my face then die pissed off or crying."
Harry smirked. "Die with a smile on your face, huh?" He ran a finger lightly up her arm. "I can make that happen..."
Sheila rolled her eyes, smiling, and swatted his hand away. "Back off, Casanova." She paused. "I'm still a virgin."
"YOU ARE?!" Harry cleared his throat. "I mean, you are?" Sheila nodded. "Well I didn't mean sex..."
"Sure, sure." She looked at him. "I take it that your not a virgin anymore." It was more of a statement, then a question.
Harry blinked. "How'd you know?"
"I dunno... You just give off this aura."
"Well, you're right..."
"You don't seem too happy about it. You regret any of them?"
"Only 3."
"How many girls have you been with?" Sheila asked, incredulously.
"Only 3."
"You even regret the girl you lost it to?!"
"I especially regret the girl I lost it to!"
"Who was it?"
Harry sighed. "Cho Chang, Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team."
"Oh... Doing a little one on one with the opposing team, eh?" She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, stopping when Harry glared at her. "Sorry." She looked across the lake. "Did you- did you love her?"
"I thought I did, but I guess it was just my hormones or something."
"Yeah, damn those hormones!" They looked at each and laughed.
"Were you ever in love, Sheila?"
Sheila guffawed. "How could I? The only other living soul I saw besides my father, was my cousin and that would've been illegal..."
"Oh right, duh..."
"Nevermind that... Tell me more about this Cho Chang..."
"What is there to tell? I had a crush on her since 3rd year, we talked a little in my 4th year, and last year we dated."
"And had sex." Sheila added.
"Yup, and had sex. A lot of it. Sometimes I think that's what are whole relationship was based on."
"Why's that?"
"Well, the more and more I talked to her, the less I realized we had in common. It was just a physical attraction. I don't even know why I went out with her for so long."
"Why did you?"
He shrugged. "It's gotta be the hormones."
"So... what's up with Ron and Hermione? Are they like going out or something?"
"Since 4th year. Ron got so jealous when Hermione went to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum, insisting that it should be him with her. So, Ron, not being the 'look before you leap' kind of guy, punches Viktor in the nose, which in turn soaks Hermione with punch. She was so furious with him that she didn't talk to him for a month."
"Then what happened?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't really know. One day, Hermione just walked over to him and kissed him. They've been going out ever since."
"Have they ever... you know?"
Harry feigned a look of disgust, then grinned. "I wouldn't be surprised."
"Why is that?"
"Well, sometimes after they fight, they disappear into the bathroom to "talk things out", and when their done, they both emerge with these HUGE smiles on their faces. It's scary enough to make people wonder..."
Sheila laughed. Harry reached over and took her hand in his. She rested her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a while.
"What ever happened to your grandparents?" Harry asked.
"Nice change of subject there. Just kidding. What about my grandparents?"
"Well, you said that you didn't have any other family, that's why you came here, so what happened to your grandparents?"
"Voldemort."
"Oh... Your whole family was murdered by Voldemort?"
"For the most part." She paused. "Except for my grandmother, Victoria. It was so weird... She just up and disappeared one day."
"Victoria? Victoria Williams?"
"Yeah, that was her name. Why?"
Harry's mind fluttered to his dream he had over the summer. *'Could it be the same woman? Is Sheila's grandmother an associate to Lord Voldemort?'* Harry looked uncomfortable for a moment, then stood, letting go of Sheila's hand, and brushed the stray grass from his pajamas.
"We'd better go inside. It's really late."
Sheila nodded and stood, wrapping Harry's school cloak tighter around herself. Harry draped an arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the castle.
She wiped away a tear and looked back at the constellation of the Great Dog.
"Goodnight, daddy..."
A/N: Still trying to process all that information? It was quite a bit, wasn't it? It's essential to the story! Please review!
LET GO
CHAPTER 7:
CONTEMPLATIONS AND CONSTELLATIONS
*'Oh dear Merlin... his lips are on mine... we're kissing! But what soft lips he has... Wait! What am I saying?!'*
Sheila pulled away from him. "What are you doing?"
*'Fuck...'* Harry opened his eyes. He could see confusion etched on her face. "I'm sorry..." He quickly got up and helped her off the ground. "I don't know what came over me and I apologize for taking advantage of the situation."
Sheila grinned. "Such a gentleman..." She sighed. "Look, Harry, it's okay. It's not like I didn't want it..."
"So then... you wanted it?"
"I didn't say that. I just said that it's not like I didn't want it."
"I'm confused..."
"Don't get me wrong or anything, it's just... I'm an old fashioned kind of girl. I am a firm believer in becoming someone's friend before taking the next step towards a more... intimate relationship."
Harry nodded. "I totally feel the same way... This is great..."
She rolled her eyes. "Such a gentleman..."
He poked her in the side. "You said that already..."
"Yes, well, I mean it..."
They stood in silence for a few minutes. Harry cleared his throat.
"You never did tell me why you were out here alone."
*'Alone...'* That word struck a nerve. *'Goodness he has no idea...'* Sheila could feel the tears welling up already. She shook her head.
"It was nothing. Really..." She turned away from him, covering her eyes with her hands.
"Don't lie to me. If we're going to be friends, you have to learn to be honest with me."
*'Damn him! He was right.'* She sighed. *'Dumbledore DID say I should talk to him about my problems...'*
"Okay..." She sat down on the slightly wet grass and patted the place beside her. He complied and she looked at him. "Are you ready for this?"
~*~*~
It took her an hour or so to tell him everything. The dream. What she said in Dumbledore's office. How much it hurt to have him not talking to her. And by the end of it all, he was also in tears.
"I understand EXACTLY how you feel..." He sniffled.
"Dumbledore said you would." She wiped her face. "I'm just glad he was right."
"He usually is."
Sheila smiled. "I'm so glad all that's out in the open now. I don't feel so... bottled up anymore. It's like this huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders."
He put an arm around her and pulled her towards him. They fell back onto the grass, Sheila shifting down so that her head was resting on his stomach. (A/N: Think of a capital 'T')
"Your welcome." He paused. "You know the one thing I don't get though?"
"What's that?"
"How did you end up in the lake?"
Sheila considered this. "I never really thought of that... Apparation, maybe?"
Harry shook his head. "No. It's not allowed inside Hogwart's grounds. It must be something else...."
Sheila shrugged. "I don't know... Your guess is as good as mine..." A moment of silence passed between them. "Orion's Belt."
"What?" Harry looked down at her and saw that her eyes were cast towards the sky.
"Orion's Belt. Don't you pay any attention in Astronomy?"
He chuckled. "Yup. Look. The Big Dipper."
"Impressive. The Pleiades or, put simply, The Seven Sisters." She pointed to a patch of stars to the right.
"The Little Dipper."
"The Horseman."
"Oh yeah. The Great Bear."
"I can top that. Leo."
"You sound like a shoo-in for the next Astronomy teacher. Do you know all 88 of them?"
Sheila smirked. "Well, I don't like to brag... The Warrior."
"Hmmm.... Canis Major, or, the Great Dog."
Sheila grew silent. She sat up, looking at the group of stars he pointed to.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Sheila smiled. "I almost forgot about that one..." She licked her lips. "When I was 6, I used to beg my dad to build me a tree house in the big oak tree in our backyard. He kept telling me 'No, you're still too young. You could get hurt', but that didn't stop me. Eventually he gave in and that very summer he built me one."
Harry sat up, leaning on one elbow, and stared at her intently.
"It was perfect. Painted white with pink trim and shutters. I loved that place. It was my own little hideout. My dad worked for the Ministry so he was always away on business and when he was gone, I was too scared to stay in the house alone, so I would spend the night in the tree house. Eventually my dad didn't want me to be ALONE alone, so he got me a puppy."
Sheila laughed.
"I remember that day too. My dad was gone again and I woke up because something was licking my face. It was a puppy. A black one. I was so happy. I named him Padfoot because he had these huge paws and they reminded me of the scrub pads my dad used to clean the dishes. Every time my dad left, I would have him to keep me company."
She cocked her head to one side.
"Funny thing is, Padfoot was gone most of the time and only showed up when my dad left..."
Sheila shrugged.
"Anyway, the first time my dad spent the night in my tree house, he magicked the ceiling to look like the night sky, you know, like in the Great Hall. We stayed up for hours just staring up at it. He would point out various constellations here and there, but the very first one he identified was the Great Dog. He said it was his favorite and after he told me the story behind it, it became my favorite as well. It reminded me so much of Padfoot, and Padfoot always reminded me of my dad."
Sheila smiled.
"I guess that's why I love it so much... I can't believe I almost forgot about it... Well, when my father died, I tore the tree house down. I just couldn't look at it anymore. It held too many memories..."
She wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Your dad and you were really close, weren't you?"
"We were. He was my best friend... next to Padfoot, of course."
Harry fiddled with the blades of grass beside him, thinking. "Sheila?"
"Hmmm..."
"How did your father die?"
Sheila tore her eyes away from the stars and stared at him, then looked down at her hands. "He was murdered by a Death Eater."
"When?"
"June in the Ministry of Magic."
"Man, that was only a couple of months ago." He paused. "Did they ever find his body?"
"No."
"What was his name?"
"Richard."
"Was he in the Order?"
"Order? What Order?"
"The Order of the Phoenix. Was he in it?"
"What's with the interrogation, Harry?"
"Just answer the question."
Sheila stared at him, then turned away, thinking. "Yeah... I think he was... Why do you wanna know?"
Harry shook his head, smirking. "I have my reasons..." He grew quiet again. "Umm... it's probably none of my business or anything, but why were you guys in hiding? Did you do something illegal?"
Sheila set her face in anger. "No. The day after my mother was murdered, my dad went out looking for the person who did it. It turned out to be the same person who killed his two best friends as well. Their names were Harold and Christina and I guess Voldemort had it out for them too, because they died the same night as my mom."
She took a deep breath.
"Anyway, the day after they were murdered my dad goes looking for Peter, the guy who did it, and finds him on a street in the city. A few words are thrown around and then out of nowhere, the guy pulls out his wand and blows the street to pieces. He not only killed my mother and my father's two best friends, but also 12 muggles and himself. Or so people thought. Rumor has it that Peter was an unregistered Animagus and when he blasted the street, he turned into a rat, escaping into the sewer and leaving my dad to take the blame. Luckily at his trial, Dumbledore gave evidence and my father was let off. Unfortunately, Voldemort was still looking for us, so Dumbldore insisted we go into hiding... So we did."
Harry sighed. "Merlin, that sucks... Wait, you said the Ministry didn't know where you were, that's why they couldn't punish you for underage wizardry."
"So?"
"So... how can you work for the Ministry and them not know where you live?"
Sheila smirked. "We had our ways..."
"Right... So... they never caught the guy who killed your mom, huh?"
Sheila shook her head. "He's running around out there somewhere. It wouldn't surprise me if he was the one who helped Voldemort to rise 2 years ago..."
*'If only you knew how right you were...'* He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry... Yeah, they never caught the person who killed my parents either." He paused, thinking. "His name was Sirius Black."
Sheila looked at him. "What about him?"
"He killed my parents! He was supposed to be their secret keeper or something, but in the end, he told Voldemort their location and got them killed. Only I survived..."
"Who told you that?"
"Dumbledore. Why?"
Sheila smirked. "I have my reasons..."
"Right... Anyway, thankfully, Sirius was murdered last year, so I don't have to worry about him anymore."
"Lucky for you..."
A light autumn breeze blew passed the now quiet teenagers. Harry drew in a deep breath, breaking the silence.
"Sheila?"
"Yeah?"
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Go through each day laughing, like you don't have all these problems. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see this huge smile on your face."
Sheila shrugged. "I don't know... I guess I just don't let things get to me. Carpe diem, that's what I say. Seize the day. You never know... I could die right now and I'd rather die with a smile on my face then die pissed off or crying."
Harry smirked. "Die with a smile on your face, huh?" He ran a finger lightly up her arm. "I can make that happen..."
Sheila rolled her eyes, smiling, and swatted his hand away. "Back off, Casanova." She paused. "I'm still a virgin."
"YOU ARE?!" Harry cleared his throat. "I mean, you are?" Sheila nodded. "Well I didn't mean sex..."
"Sure, sure." She looked at him. "I take it that your not a virgin anymore." It was more of a statement, then a question.
Harry blinked. "How'd you know?"
"I dunno... You just give off this aura."
"Well, you're right..."
"You don't seem too happy about it. You regret any of them?"
"Only 3."
"How many girls have you been with?" Sheila asked, incredulously.
"Only 3."
"You even regret the girl you lost it to?!"
"I especially regret the girl I lost it to!"
"Who was it?"
Harry sighed. "Cho Chang, Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team."
"Oh... Doing a little one on one with the opposing team, eh?" She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, stopping when Harry glared at her. "Sorry." She looked across the lake. "Did you- did you love her?"
"I thought I did, but I guess it was just my hormones or something."
"Yeah, damn those hormones!" They looked at each and laughed.
"Were you ever in love, Sheila?"
Sheila guffawed. "How could I? The only other living soul I saw besides my father, was my cousin and that would've been illegal..."
"Oh right, duh..."
"Nevermind that... Tell me more about this Cho Chang..."
"What is there to tell? I had a crush on her since 3rd year, we talked a little in my 4th year, and last year we dated."
"And had sex." Sheila added.
"Yup, and had sex. A lot of it. Sometimes I think that's what are whole relationship was based on."
"Why's that?"
"Well, the more and more I talked to her, the less I realized we had in common. It was just a physical attraction. I don't even know why I went out with her for so long."
"Why did you?"
He shrugged. "It's gotta be the hormones."
"So... what's up with Ron and Hermione? Are they like going out or something?"
"Since 4th year. Ron got so jealous when Hermione went to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum, insisting that it should be him with her. So, Ron, not being the 'look before you leap' kind of guy, punches Viktor in the nose, which in turn soaks Hermione with punch. She was so furious with him that she didn't talk to him for a month."
"Then what happened?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't really know. One day, Hermione just walked over to him and kissed him. They've been going out ever since."
"Have they ever... you know?"
Harry feigned a look of disgust, then grinned. "I wouldn't be surprised."
"Why is that?"
"Well, sometimes after they fight, they disappear into the bathroom to "talk things out", and when their done, they both emerge with these HUGE smiles on their faces. It's scary enough to make people wonder..."
Sheila laughed. Harry reached over and took her hand in his. She rested her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a while.
"What ever happened to your grandparents?" Harry asked.
"Nice change of subject there. Just kidding. What about my grandparents?"
"Well, you said that you didn't have any other family, that's why you came here, so what happened to your grandparents?"
"Voldemort."
"Oh... Your whole family was murdered by Voldemort?"
"For the most part." She paused. "Except for my grandmother, Victoria. It was so weird... She just up and disappeared one day."
"Victoria? Victoria Williams?"
"Yeah, that was her name. Why?"
Harry's mind fluttered to his dream he had over the summer. *'Could it be the same woman? Is Sheila's grandmother an associate to Lord Voldemort?'* Harry looked uncomfortable for a moment, then stood, letting go of Sheila's hand, and brushed the stray grass from his pajamas.
"We'd better go inside. It's really late."
Sheila nodded and stood, wrapping Harry's school cloak tighter around herself. Harry draped an arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the castle.
She wiped away a tear and looked back at the constellation of the Great Dog.
"Goodnight, daddy..."
A/N: Still trying to process all that information? It was quite a bit, wasn't it? It's essential to the story! Please review!