Chapter Six; Of Fur and Feathers.
Much to Sirius' disappointment, things had not improved in the slightest by the time he and Ursa returned home a few days later. In fact, Sirius would much rather have stayed away. While Sirius had to admit that it was great to see his mother out of the lab more often, he dearly wished it were for some other reason – to see the light of day, for instance. Anything other than Richard.
With Richard coming and going all the time, Sirius stayed in his bedroom most of the time, working on his homework. Unfortunately, he had to contend with the distractions. More often than not it was the booming shout of:
'Sirius! Get down here! Now!'
Slamming his Ancient Rune dictionary shut with an irate sigh, Sirius abandoned his homework to see what Richard was complaining about this time.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Richard was standing up against the wall and holding a long fly swat out in front of him like a sword, making shooing motions towards a very disgruntled Cosmic. The cat was up on the counter beside the kettle, calmly licking a front paw and delicately washing his face.
Sirius flashed Richard a bemused sneer.
'You bellowed?'
'Get your filthy cat off the side,' Richard barked. 'It won't let me near it.'
He edged forward, brandishing the fly swat again. Cosmic's fur stood up and he let out a hiss, showing off a set of sharp, needle-like teeth. Richard quickly took a step back.
'Well, perhaps if you didn't threaten Cosmic with a fly swat and you asked him politely, he'd move,' said Sirius, folding his arms.
'Ask?' said Richard incredulously. 'A brick has more intelligence than that creature – I doubt it understands the concept of manners.'
Look who's talking.
'Cosmic.' The cat turned its green eyes to Sirius, who patted his shoulder. 'If you don't mind, could you move, please?'
Cosmic snarled once more in Richard's direction, then sprang off the counter, pattered across the kitchen table and jumped up onto Sirius' shoulder.
'Vicious little beast,' Richard growled, seizing the kettle.
Sirius tickled his cat under the chin. Closing his eyes, Cosmic flopped down, hanging around Sirius' neck. He started to purr loudly. Richard sneered with contempt as Sirius turned his back on him and left the kitchen.
Andromeda was lounging on the couch, reading a book. She glanced up over her reading glasses as Sirius entered the living room and sank into an armchair.
'What did Cosmic do this time?' she asked, in an almost bored tone of voice.
'He existed, apparently,' Sirius muttered, stroking the animal.
'You know Richard doesn't like cats. I know it isn't easy, but couldn't you keep Cosmic out of the way when Richard's here?'
'Cosmic was here first,' said Sirius stubbornly, realising, as he said it, how immature the argument sounded. He cast a nervous glance towards the kitchen and lowered his voice to a whisper. 'Mum, are you sure it's okay for Richard to be in the kitchen? I mean, the lab …'
Andromeda smiled, waving a hand dismissively.
'Oh, there's no need to worry about that, Sirius. The entrance is quite secure. I sincerely doubt that Richard could open it accidentally and fall down the stairs.'
The highly amusing mental image of Richard bouncing down the stairs, setting off Andromeda's 'safeguards' as he went, caused Sirius to snigger out loud.
Andromeda raised an eyebrow.
'What's so funny?'
'Nothing,' said Sirius, quickly suppressing the laughter. 'I was just – '
Sirius stopped in mid-sentence as Richard entered the living room, carrying two cups of tea. He stood in the doorway for a moment, his cold grey eyes fixed on Sirius. Cosmic raised his head and emitted a grumbling noise from his throat.
'Not interrupting anything, am I?' he asked, smiling pleasantly as he handed Andromeda her drink.
'Of course not,' said Andromeda, beaming at Richard as he sat down beside her, draping an arm round her shoulders.
'Excuse me,' said Sirius shortly, standing up. He strode out of the room and back upstairs.
*
For the second time that day, a completed essay made a satisfying 'flump' into the trunk, never to surface again until Professor McGonagall asked for it in September.
Having nothing better to do, Sirius rummaged through the remaining assignments, searching for anything even vaguely more interesting than the Potions essay. (It had conveniently found its way to the bottom of the pile.) If the worst came to the worse, he'd do it on the Hogwarts Express. James would probably help him out, if only to keep Sirius from whinging that he didn't know what to write.
The afternoon had been very slow and uneventful. So, typically, three things suddenly happened in quick succession.
Firstly, Cosmic, who had been roaming around on top of the desk, accidentally bumped Sirius' crystal ball off its stand; Sirius quickly leaned over to try and catch it but missed. At that moment, an owl swooped in through the open window just as the bedroom door opened and Richard stepped in.
'Sirius, it's nearly time for din-AARRGGHH!'
Tally flared her wings, screeching loudly as she tried to get out of the way of Richard's flailing arms as he trod on the crystal ball and went tumbling backwards.
Sirius leapt up from his chair, swiftly kicking the ball across the floor before Richard could spot it. It rolled away under his bed, Cosmic in hot pursuit.
Tally was fluttering about the room, looking for a perch. Richard sat up, staring at the bird with a look of horror.
'It's okay, it's only an owl,' said Sirius, quickly holding out his arm. Gratefully, Tally dropped down from the ceiling onto it.
Richard gaped at the bird like he'd never seen one before. Then his gaze dropped to his lap, where a parchment envelope had fallen.
The door was flung open as Andromeda came in demanding, 'What's going on?' Her eyes widened in alarm at the sight of the owl.
Richard picked up the letter, reading the envelope. Sirius could see his lips forming the word 'Padfoot', clearly baffled.
'That's for me,' said Sirius quickly. 'It's from a friend of mine.'
Richard and Andromeda both stared at him; one incredulous, the other promising to lynch him if he didn't come up with a decent cover story and fast.
'The owl is perfectly tame; look,' Sirius stroked Tally gently to demonstrate. 'She's … er … like one of those trained messenger pigeons,' he said brightly.
Andromeda was not impressed, frowning darkly from behind Richard's back as she helped him back to his feet. Richard seemed to have recovered his voice.
'What is that bird doing in here?' he demanded.
'Delivering my letter,' said Sirius. 'May I have it, please?'
Richard stared at the envelope.
'What on earth is this 'Padfoot'?' he sneered contemptuously.
'Me. It's a nickname.'
Sirius held out a hand for it.
Slowly, Richard held it out, pinching the very corner of it, as if it was covered in germs. Tally leaned forward, blinking benignly at him. She gave what sounded like a reassuring hoot, but as soon as Sirius took hold of the envelope, Richard quickly withdrew his hand.
'She won't bite,' said Sirius, innocently stroking the owl's striped chest. Not very hard anyway.
Richard did not look even slightly reassured, his cold eyes flashing ominously.
'It's outrageous,' he growled. 'First it's savage felines; then it's wild birds of prey. What's next, hmm? Stray dogs?' He pointed a threatening finger at Tally. 'Get rid of that bird before I call the RSPCA. Teenage boys should not be fooling around with such dangerous wildlife.'
'You can't do that! She isn't a native species!' said Sirius. 'They'll put her in a cage for the rest of her life! Tally isn't even mine; she belongs to my friend.'
'Then tell your friend to keep his pet under control. I don't want to see so much as a feather inside this house, understand?'
Richard turned and stomped angrily from the room. Before Sirius could even think to breathe a sigh of relief, his mother stormed up to him.
'What do you think you were doing?' she hissed furiously. 'Do I have to remind you that Richard is a Muggle and that Muggles do not send owls to their friends with letters? What did I say about keeping our magic quiet?'
'But, Mum, how am I supposed to stop owls from flying in my window? Besides, Richard could have at least knocked on the door instead of barging in. I could have sent Tally back outside if I'd had the chance!' Sirius protested.
Cosmic poked his head out from under the bed, mewing softly.
Andromeda frowned.
'Right, from now on I don't want a single owl coming to this house. You send Tally back and tell your friends that they're not to send any more letters here.'
'But – '
'You can ask them to drop letters off at Mrs. Fennel's house across the road, if she doesn't mind holding on to them for you. But if I see an owl anywhere near your window, I will ban your letters completely. Is that clear?'
Sirius stared disbelievingly at his mother. He'd never seen her so angry.
'Crystal,' he said, his voice quiet.
'Good. Now I want that owl out of here in no more than ten minutes. Dinner's nearly ready.'
With that, she left the room, slamming the door closed behind her.
'Great,' Sirius muttered under his breath. He grabbed a sheet of parchment and sat down to write a note to Remus, hastily explaining the reason behind the new drop-off point for his letters.
Tally seemed to understand the situation, perching on the edge of the desk, her eyes downcast. Cosmic crept out from under the bed, nosing the crystal ball back across the room with none of his usual enthusiasm.
The brief note finished, Sirius tied it to Tally's leg. Spreading her huge wings, the owl quickly took flight. Sirius watched until she was out of sight then picked up the letter she'd brought. Ripping open the envelope, Sirius pulled out the letter.
Eyes travelling slowly down the page, Sirius felt a smile gradually slide over his face, before he let out a laugh.
Things, he decided, were definitely looking up.
*
To Be Continued.
*
Author's Notes.
Orion San – Well, I have to admit Orion is an unusual name and I like names that are a bit different. My real name isn't given very often (in England anyway) and people are forever spelling it wrong, shortening it (which I find annoying) or making fun of me because of it. Not that I care; it's mine and I love it! Although I must say that the name Orion is becoming a bit overused in Sirius related fics; if I had been able to find an alternative 'starry' name that I liked the sound of, I would have used it.
Hey, it's important if you feel you need to talk/write about it. I found this story a bit hard to write considering that my parents aren't divorced, but I'm glad to hear that someone can actually relate to what's going on.
WallyTheWhale – Ah, new name, interesting choice. Yes, I'd be annoyed if my name was tagged with a number. Lucky me; I'm one of a kind! I loved writing the Quidditch scene. I'm trying to include more Quidditch matches in my next project, so I'll be attempting to make each of them as different as possible.
Oh, being a teenager is not fun. Someone's always on your back about something! Orion is concerned that Sirius apparently isn't coping well with the fact his mother has a new partner – not that you can blame him, mind you! And schoolwork is your basic 'parental nagging' point. They want you to do well, but somehow it never quite comes across as encouragement as it does lecturing. Been there, done that, will be twenty next January, thus no longer a teenager. 0_0 That's a very scary thought! Bloody hell, in less than six months I'll be twenty!? *looks dazed* Not that that growing up gets rid of your problems; you just get more of them. *sigh*
Zucchini? Baby marrows? Err, to be completely honest; I don't know. I'm sure I've heard the name Zucchini before but if it's the same as baby marrows, I have no clue. If anyone reading this can help us out, that would be great! (It's going to bug me until I get the answer.)
Ouch! Sorry to hear that. I've never broken a bone before. Nearly broke my arm flying over the handlebars of a bike once, but it was only bruised. Hope it mends soon!
NightSpear – Glad you like Orion. Does he still love Andromeda? Well, I guess you could say that a part of him still loves her. It's the part of you that says; if only I'd tried harder, we could have worked it out; why wasn't it meant to be; all that kind of stuff that can go through your mind when you break up with someone. They may not get along anymore but it doesn't necessarily mean that they hate each other with every fibre of their being. I like to think of Orion as a nice guy who cares a lot about what happens to his children and his ex-wife, despite the fact he doesn't love her the way he did when he married her. Love's a funny thing.
Christy – Like I was just saying to NightSpear, Orion's a nice guy, although he's not any happier than Sirius to hear the news. He's a bit jealous and feeling a tad resentful about it. But he's trying to do the mature thing to set an example to his son.
Hee hee, I loved thinking up that prank! Not that I play tricks on people, oh, no, I'm a good girl. *halo gleams* But I might have played them if I had the guts to! *evil cackle*
Lil Lupin – Ah yes, how silly of me. Thou art the Queen of Criticism; all shall bow before you! You'll notice I included the apostrophe in Author's Notes this time? I pay attention. ^_^
Orion, I have to confess, is what I feel would be a great middle name for Sirius, and as parents will sometimes bestow the father's name on their son as a first or middle name, I gave Sirius' father the name Orion. I just don't mention anywhere that Sirius' middle name is Orion. It just suits him!
Part3 is coming on. And on and on. The sheer length of my notes is scaring me! *whimpers*
Squintz1 – Thank you for the compliment. Oh, do not get me started on book 5! I read the book to my brother a few days ago and as soon as I reached the line, 'The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.', forget it; I needed a huge box of tissues to get through the remaining chapters. It's torture! I can't read it aloud without my voice wavering all over the place. Just like with book 4, during Dumbledore's speech I get a lump in my throat every time. It's so well written, but these passages just turn some people into human hosepipes!
Kittens! So cute! Names, huh? Well, it may depend on the sex and colour of the kitten(s), and what you like. A friend of mine kept cats and one had a litter of kittens when The Lion King came out, so she named two of them Simba and Nala. Simba being Swahili for lion. Orion's a nice name. I'd suggest going through books of stars and constellations or mythology. Maybe language dictionaries if you fancy an exotic or mysterious sounding name. I was going through a Latin dictionary and came across Bellatrix and Regulus, meaning 'warrioress' or 'war-like', and 'prince' or 'petty king' respectfully. Harry Potter is full of good names. I named one of the gerbils at college Albus because he was white in colour. And my third hamster was named Carling after the alcoholic drink. (Not that I drink alcohol, it was my sister's suggestion!) Let me know what you decide!