Chapter 8 – Hopeless Case
Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters recognisable as J. K. Rowling's, which in this chapter would be Sirius, Snape and Florence.
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The roaring fire was the only noise in the room as Sirius entered. He smiled slightly as he spotted Heather curled up in a chair, obviously absorbed in her book. Moving quietly as so not to disturb her, he padded into the room and sat down on the sofa, contented just to look at her for a while.
Her blue eyes were bright as she scanned each page and a satisfied smile had settled on her face. Every now and then, she let out a little sigh, maybe when she got to a good part in the novel or maybe because she was at peace.
Squinting his eyes so as to see the title, he could not contain the amused smile as he realised what sort of book she was reading. Obviously, Heather had a romantic soul or she wouldn't be enjoying a book titled 'Two Hearts Entwined'.
Leaning forward slightly to peer at the synopsis, a creak in the ageing settee caused Heather to look up and smile happily when she saw him.
"Sirius! I didn't hear you come in." Her voice was slightly breathless with the surprise and Sirius wished that he could kiss her soft mouth until she could no longer talk. "Sirius?"
As though she knew what he was thinking, or could see his intention in the pale blue of his eyes, Heather blushed quite pink.
"Heather... I..." Sirius awoke from his daze with a start. She had just split from her fiancé, who had hurt her very badly, and what was he thinking of doing? Trying to seduce her? He cleared his throat. "How was your day?"
Heather's eyes faded slightly with what Sirius wanted to believe was disappointment. "Oh, nothing much. Just hanging around. I've been looking for that job and asking around my old friends at the Ministry but there are no vacancies at the moment, so I'm going to have to trespass on your kindness a bit longer, if that's ok?"
If she really knew what he had been thinking, she'd definitely be sure it was ok! Or she would run away...
"Yeah, of course! You're welcome to stay as long as you want!"
"Oh, thanks. It's just... I don't want to get in your way... you know, if you wanted to bring any... guests home..." Heather stuttered, embarrassed.
Sirius frowned. What sort of man did she think he was? "You're not in the way," he said abruptly, giving her the impression that he didn't mean it at all. "I'm going to freshen up and then I'll start making dinner, ok?"
Heather nodded and he left the room, before she remembered that she had planned to make dinner tonight as a sort of thank you for him letting her stick around. After all, he didn't have to offer her a place to stay. He could have chucked her out on her ear by now.
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Heather sank down at the kitchen table with an aggrieved sigh. Finding a job was a very hard thing to do – especially when her area of expertise was so specialised. She dragged over another chair and pulled her boots off, setting her tired feet on the seat and shutting her eyes.
Sirius padded into the kitchen and paused silently near the door, his smile fading when he saw how tired his tenant looked. She had been working hard during the past couple of days to try and get out of the house. If it had been anyone but Heather, he'd have been insulted, but he knew how much she wanted to stand on her own two feet, as it were.
The click of the kettle turning off made Heather groan and open her eyes. She struggled to stand up again but was stopped when a warm hand was placed firmly on her shoulder.
"I'll do it," Sirius said soothingly. "You just sit there and relax."
Heather sank back into her seat with a weary smile. "Thanks."
Watching Sirius potter around the kitchen filled Heather with a cosy feeling. It spoke of her dreams and possibly things to come, she hoped desperately.
Heather drew herself up short. Was she so desperate to stay? Sure, she was attracted to Sirius, but she couldn't possibly… love him? Could she?
Sirius turned around and set their mugs on the table with a grin. "Here you go. There's nothing like a good cup of tea to set you right after a tiring day."
Heather could only stare at him in silence, stunned at the discovery that her feelings were so strong. When had it happened? When had she fallen?
"Heather, are you alright?" Sirius' searching gaze swept over her pale features and her frozen expression. "Maybe you should have an early night. You should go to bed now," he ordered in concern.
"No!" Heather squeaked. "I'm fine. I mean, maybe I should lie down and have a nap for a couple of hours," she changed her mind, realising a path for escape.
"Err…" Sirius looked slightly confused. "Ok."
Heather got to her feet and shuffled quickly out of the room.
"Heather, you forgot your… Oh, well." Sirius stared at the extra cup of tea on the table and shrugged. "You can never have too much tea, I suppose."
I'm in love with him. I'm in love with this fascinating, charming, energetic, loving man and he doesn't think of me as anything but a friend... or worse, as a nuisance from his past.
Heather paced her room, trying to think of what she could do. She had to leave this house or it would be too painful for her; her hopes would rise and rise and then he'd bring one of his 'friends' home and she'd be lost.
But, then again, she couldn't leave so abruptly because that would be an insult to the kindness he had shown her over the past week. Plus, she had nowhere to go. She couldn't-
"Heather, are you alright? I thought you were going to have a nap."
Surprised at hearing his voice, Heather walked straight into the corner of the chest of drawers and swore, hopping on one foot. "Ow!"
"Sorry! Are you alright? You'd better sit down." Sirius put down the cup of tea he had been carrying and picked her up in his strong arms. He set her down on the bed and Heather had to stop herself from drooling. "You always seem to hurt your feet when I'm around," he teased, referring to their first meeting at the Quidditch World Cup. Looking down at her dazed face, Sirius was concerned. She looked a bit out of it; was the pain really that bad?
"Let me see your foot," he said firmly and tugged lightly on the arm that held it close to her. She unravelled her leg and gave it to him trustingly. Blood was seeping from a cut on one of her toes and he tutted over it. "Just a little cut. Nothing to worry about." He felt her foot a little, checking for bruises.
Nothing wrong except my state of mind! Heather thought pithily.
"Hmm... I think I've got a potion for that." Sirius mused and Heather was immediately confused - he has a potion to cure my state of mind? – before she realised he was still talking about her foot.
He levered himself off the bed and headed towards the bathroom, returning with a little brown bottle.
"I hope Snape didn't make that," Heather said, looking at the bottle a tad reluctantly, and Sirius grimaced.
"You really think I'd accept a potion from Snape and actually use it? It would probably be poisoned..."
He dabbed some of the potion on with a bit of cotton wool and the wound began to instantly feel better.
"Ok?" Sirius asked and Heather nodded. "You gonna tell me why you were pacing? I could hear you thumping about from downstairs."
Heather looked shocked. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I didn't mean to disturb you," she apologised, feeling guilty, but he shook his head.
"So, what was wrong?"
"Nothing," Heather paused as Sirius raised his eyebrows doubtfully. "Well, nothing that you should worry about," she admitted.
"Are you worried about your parents? What they'll say about you being back in England?" he asked gently.
Heather grabbed hold of the excuse eagerly. "Yes, that's it. Worried about my parents." Unfortunately, she seemed to have grasped hold of it a little too eagerly and Sirius was suspicious, but he left it alone.
"Well, I've just brought a cup of tea up to have if you're thirsty. I think it best if you do take that nap after all," he advised, pushing her down so she lay flat on the bed and pulling the covers around her.
Heather smiled weakly. "Yes, boss."
Sirius grinned and nodded. "Sweet dreams," he said softly, before leaving the room. She could hear his heavy footsteps thudding down the stairs. Only then did she relax. It was going to be a tough affair to keep him from finding out how she felt but on no account did she ever want him to know that she loved him.
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Heather fiddled about in the bathroom, too awake to go to bed yet. She brushed her hair back from her forehead and looked in the mirror consideringly.
"I look like a hag."
"Oh, don't say that, dear. You don't look your best, but you don't look like a hag," the mirror comforted.
"Well, thank you very much," Heather smiled.
"I mean it. I've seen worse faces pass through this house. Just a couple of months ago, there was a lady and she looked-"
"I don't really want to know about Sirius' past conquests, thanks," Heather interrupted and the mirror looked at her knowingly.
"Do you want to join the list, my dear?"
"Err… No!"
"I think you and Sirius could work. He is a lovely gent – and there's no-one who looks better in the morning."
"I'm sure," Heather agreed vehemently, which caused the mirror to giggle.
"So much for you not liking him. He's single at the moment, you know. He told me."
"Really?" Heather elapsed into a thoughtful silence. "He really is nice looking, though, isn't he? I wouldn't mind being involved with him."
"If I was ten years younger and not a mirror, I would give you a run for your money."
"I'm sure you would! You really think Sirius would go for someone like me?"
"Oh, indubitably. Your children would be the most beautiful creatures to behold."
Heather smiled. "Thank you. Children with Sirius would be…" she blushed and froze when she heard a shuffling noise behind her.
"What are you doing?" Sirius asked from the adjoining door into his bedroom.
"Err… just washing my face!" Heather squeaked.
"We were also talking about how this young lady wants to-"
"That's enough of that!" Heather interrupted the mirror with a warning glance.
"Well, there's no need to be rude," the mirror complained before elapsing into silence.
"You want to do – what?" Sirius asked with one eyebrow raised at Heather's flushed face and horrified expression.
"I want to… go to bed! That's it!" Heather faked a yawn and made to push past him.
Sirius looked at her doubtfully but let her pass. Once she had gone, his face broke into a grin. He winked at the mirror.
"I'm sure mine and Heather's children would be beautiful, too. Thank you for the compliment," he said before going back into his bedroom.
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"Muh…" Heather climbed out of her sleep-warmed bed and rubbed her eyes. She had just been woken from the most wonderful dream, where she and Sirius had been… well, they had been having fun, whatever you would like to call it! Whatever that had woken her had silenced itself now.
Pulling down her old bed t-shirt and making it as decent as possible, Heather trudged her way to the bathroom to splash her face and get a drink before returning to bed.
When she reached the bathroom, the mirror's silence was telling.
"What? I know that I look like a tramp that's spent the last three days in a shoebox, but I've just been sleeping for five hours! Name me one person who looks good when they've just woken up! And Sirius doesn't count," Heather added mercilessly.
"You look lovely, dear! Just like a squashed muffin," the mirror placated.
"I'm not sure whether I want to look like a squashed muffin!" Heather complained.
"Sirius loves muffins."
"I think you are the only mirror in the world who professes to know anything about my love life."
"Well, someone has to."
Heather ignored the pithy comment and cocked her ear as she heard a sound coming from Sirius' room. "Ssshh! Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Sirius just moaned."
"Did he?" The mirror was trying to cover something up and Heather knew it.
"Has he got a girl in there?" she asked grimly, knowing her heart would break if the answer were yes.
"No, dear. Not that I know of – he could have bypassed the bathroom on the way to his bedroom."
"And that's supposed to offer me comfort?!"
"Err…" The mirror subsided into silence. "He can't have another girl in there! He talks about you all the time!"
Heather looked at the mirror sceptically. "Yeah, right."
"No, really! He does!"
Not even bothering to answer, she pressed her ear to the door leading to Sirius' room, checking whether she could hear a woman's voice but she could only hear Sirius. Opening the door a crack, she peered into the darkness.
"No!" Sirius moaned loudly and Heather jumped back in surprise.
"Sirius?" she whispered; she could only see shadows. She moved forward into the room again and left the bathroom door open, allowing a shaft of pale light to disturb the gloom. Squinting, she could only just make out the end of the bed, so she crept towards it. "Are you alright?"
There was no reply. Heather could see Sirius lying on the bed, getting himself more and more tangled up in the bedclothes as he rolled to and fro. She felt herself gasp as she saw his lack of attire, a corner of the sheet just hiding his modesty, and couldn't help the blush that spread from her neck to her forehead. This is not the time or place for such imaginings, she told herself sternly.
"No! You can't!" Sirius moaned again and brought Heather's thoughts back on track. "You can't die!"
Perching on the edge of the bed, Heather clasped one of his hands firmly in one of her own and rubbed the back of it gently, trying to make him feel at peace.
"Heather!" he yelled and she froze, but he was still dreaming. She felt a glow run through her at the thought that he was dreaming of her.
"Sirius? Wake up, darling. You're having a nightmare," Heather said soothingly. She stroked his hair until he became still. His breathing slowed.
"Heather?" he whispered and her hand paused in its movement.
"Mmmm?"
"What are you doing here?"
Heather cringed. It wasn't the most welcome greeting that he could have said. "I heard you calling out in your sleep," she clarified. "You sounded like you were in pain."
Sirius moaned and sat up, rubbing a hand through his already mussed hair. Heather averted her eyes.
"Umm… Sirius… You might want to put some clothes on."
Sirius cursed under his breath and pulled on a pair of boxers that had been lying in disarray by the side of his bed. "Sorry," he mumbled sleepily as he climbed back under the twisted sheets.
"What are you apologising for? It's what…" …I've been waiting to see for years. Heather gulped back the remainder of her words as she realised that he would probably think her some sort of pervert. He didn't seem to notice her unfinished sentence.
"What did I say? In my sleep, I mean."
Heather hesitated. "Oh, I didn't hear very much. You were mumbling." She didn't want him to feel embarrassed.
"Oh." He sighed in relief and leant back against his pillows.
Heather smiled at him. "Did you want a glass of water or something?"
"No, thank you. I should be fine."
"It won't be too much trouble, I could-"
"Heather?" Was it her imagination or was there a husky tone to Sirius' voice? There was certainly an extra warmth to the expression in his eyes. "I don't know how to thank you enough for caring enough to check that I was alright. Most people would just leave me be. I think you've saved my sanity, for tonight at least."
"I could never leave you if you were in pain," she whispered.
Suddenly Heather found herself living one of her forbidden fantasies as Sirius leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
Her heart stuttered and she completely forgot to breathe after her first startled gasp.
He was so big and strong, his body radiating warmth everywhere it touched hers from the lean length of his thighs to the velvety rasp of his jaw against her cheek.
Her pulse began to race, or could it be his heartbeat she could feel? Was he as affected as she was by their intimate contact? Could this be the start of a new era in their relationship?
"I needed this, Heather," he murmured softly, his warm breath on the side of her neck sending shivers of awareness up and down her spine. "Thank you for being such a good friend."
Friend?
Heather pulled the covers up overhead and screamed silently. She'd nearly made a complete fool of herself. There she'd been, with her common sense floating off in a happy pink haze, imagining all sorts of impossibly romantic scenarios, when all Sirius had been doing had been giving her a hug to thank her for looking out for him.
Replacing her covers so she wouldn't suffocate – although that wouldn't be too bad an idea – she proceeded to make a whole series of comical faces of embarrassment.
"Ugh! Am I always destined to feel unrequited love? To let it blind me to reality?" Heather frowned. "And besides, what's really important is Florence waking up, not how I feel about Sirius!" She nodded determinedly and got up.
The fireplace crackled behind her as she put the finishing touches to her already longer hair. Heather thought that it was beginning to look nicer and definitely more feminine. Her mother had already told her that she looked too boyish when she had it cut her normally short length.
"Heather, dear? Are you free to talk?" her mother's voice echoed through the flue.
Heather grimaced but turned towards the fireplace.
"Hello, Mum. How did you know I was here?" she asked as the thought suddenly occurred to her.
"How do you think? I tried to floo your old house and scared some muggles; of course, your father had to Obliviate them. Then we got some of your workmates at the Australian Ministry to tell us where you'd gone. Imagine, letting your colleagues know where you are and not you parents!" Magnolia admonished sternly.
"Sorry, Mum. I didn't think. But it doesn't matter now; you know where I am."
"That's not the point, young lady! Your father was almost pulling his hair out in worry!"
Heather smiled inwardly at the idea of her calm father getting shake up about anything. He had never, in all her years of existence, got worked up about anything. She cleared her throat. "I'm really sorry. Next time, I'll tell you before I leave, ok?"
"Next time? Is the place you're living at now so bad?" Magnolia Harris sounded aghast at her daughter's almost nomadic-like existence.
"Err… no, not really. It's just that I'm staying with a… friend at the moment and I'm sure that he wants the house to himself again."
"You're living with a man? And you're unmarried?" Nolie's horror increased ten-fold.
"Err… yes. If you remember, I was living with Paul before we were married."
"But that was different! You were engaged."
Heather rolled her eyes. "Would it help if I said I was engaged to my friend?"
"YOU'RE ENGAGED?!"
"No, but would it help?"
"Stop playing with me, young lady. You shouldn't play with your mother's emotions that way!"
Heather winced. "Sorry, Mum. I was just trying to make you feel better."
"So, who is this man you're living with?"
Heather hesitated. "Err… Siriusblack," she mumbled, knowing that her mother would get annoyed at the mere mention of his name.
"What?"
"Sirius Black," Heather repeated more clearly.
"SIRIUS BLACK!" Magnolia screeched. "Isn't he the one who was in Azkaban for twelve years?!"
"Err… yes, Mum. But he was innocent – he was cleared. If you met him, you'd love him as much as I do…" Uh-oh. Heather realised her mistake just as her mum did.
"You love him?! You're in love with a criminal?!"
"He's not a criminal, Mum. And, no, I don't love him, not in that way, anyway." Heather held her breath, hoping her mum would leave the subject alone.
"Well…" Nolie didn't sound convinced. "I'll have to talk to your father about this…"
"Yes, Mum."
"Be in later. We have to discuss this," Magnolia said firmly before the fireplace returned to normal.
Heather sat on the bed in her and sighed miserably. Even if she did make Sirius fall in love with her, her parents – well, her mother – would never approve. It was a hopeless case.
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Authors' Notes:
Thank you all for reading!
Special Thanks to:
Hopeful Writer, sapphireskies, Drachenaugen and deadSEXY.
Oh, and Harry should be coming in later in the story, for those who are wondering where he is! His godfather couldn't get a girlfriend without him knowing, could he?
Love,
(Martha and) Squirrel.
xxx.