Chapter Sixteen: The Truth About Cats And Dogs

Summary: Sixteenth chapter. Thirty-three to go. That about sums it up.

Dinner, as always at the castle, was nothing less than a full meal. Sirius sat and happily just listened to his godson give his account of what had happened in the alley way and ending with all that had happened while he was gone. Discussion that leaned mostly to how worried he and Arabella had been. With every mention of his godmother's concern, Sirius would glance over at her, receiving only a small smile in response.

After dinner Harry found himself shuffled off to bed by Arabella, reminding him that they had a busy morning ahead of them with returning home and he should try to get some sleep. Harry protested all the way to his room But finally gave in and went to bed.

With Harry settled off to bed, Arabella finally headed for her own room. But she stopped outside of Sirius' door as she glanced in and saw him sitting silently on the edge of his bed. She leaned in the doorway, but Sirius seemed to take no notice of her.

"It's going to be an early morning." She said finally. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

Sirius looked up abruptly, then smiled slightly as Arabella came over and sat next to him. Sirius draped an arm over her shoulders and affectionately kissed her on the cheek.

"How's Harry?"

"Tired mostly. He's worried himself into exhaustion, I think. But with you back he's to excited to notice just how tired he is."

"And what about the rest of it?"

Arabella sighed quietly. "He isn't going to stop blaming himself just because we tell him to, Sirius. I'm sure he still feels very much responsible for what happened in Diagon Alley. Did you talk to him about it?"

"Yes. And I explained to him that while he did do something wrong for not listening to us, he certainly wasn't responsible for how things turned out. That was solely Peter's doing and my own stupidity. And he did get grounded for a few weeks for not listening to us."

Arabella leaned against him. "Maybe you need to take a page from your own book about being too hard on oneself, Sirius." She suggested. "You fell into Peter's trap as much as Harry did."

"True. But as I explained to Harry, a fourteen year old boy is one thing. An adult Auror is another."

"How did he respond to you?" Arabella asked. "I don't think he heard a word I said to him."

"As you said, 'Bella, he isn't going to stop blaming himself just because we tell him to. It'll take time."

Arabella slid her arm around Sirius' and lanced her fingers through his as she leaned against him. Resting her head on his shoulder she gave a contented sigh as she smiled.

Sirius turned to her with a wide grin. "That sounded almost blissful."

"It should have sounded utterly blissful." She replied, snuggling up against his arm. "I'm just so very happy you're back and you're safe."

Sirius' grin faded into an equally contented smile as he kissed her head. "You should have known, 'Bella."

Arabella turned her face to him. "Known what?"

Sirius soften his smile even more as he leaned towards her. "I'll always come back to you." He whispered just before capturing her lips with his own in a passionate kiss.

Arabella felt her senses unraveling under his lips as they slid and stroked and teased against her own. Her arms snaked their way around his neck as he laid her back across the bed, pulling him down to her as she opened her mouth to his, encouraging his boldness as he deepened the kiss.

Too many days of tension, fear, and unanswered questions seemed to melt away from her as two strong arms wrapped themselves around her body as gently as though she were made of glass. Carefully feeling their way as they memorized their path across her back. Somehow, without once breaking from the kiss or even briefly interrupting it, Sirius managed to remove his shirt, much to Arabella's delight as she quickly caressed her hands over his back. The skin wasn't as smooth as she remembered it, and she didn't need to ask or see to know what had caused the scars she could feel under her fingertips. But the muscles beneath were being built on more and more, moving under her hands as he shifted his position until his body was over her's, but careful to keep his weight off of her.

A deep, satisfied rush of air escaped her lips as Sirius moved his kisses to her neck. Fourteen years was a very long time. And Sirius seemed absolutely determined to make up every minute of it for her. She felt his teeth lightly nip the flesh of her neck as he rubbed his body against her's, his need unquestionably clear.

Arabella carefully slid her hand down into her robes and slowly drew her wand out to the side.

Sirius immediately caught sight of the slim piece of polished wood. His whole body froze as he stared at it for a moment. But then he slowly pulled back with a disappointed, but agreeing sigh.

A hand reached up and caught hold of his hair. He quickly turned back to Arabella. A lazy smile greeted him as she waved the wand about loosely in her hand.

"I forgot to close and lock the door." She said, the words coming out in a slow and contented sigh.

Sirius smiled wickedly at her, turning to watch as she flicked her wand towards the door. An invisible force slid the door soundlessly closed and the lock slid easily into place.

"I could have done that." He said, turning back to her.

"You'd have slammed it shut." She reproached him with a soft smile.

"You might want to do the room too." He advised. "After all, it's been fourteen years."

Arabella laughed softly as he buried his face in her neck again. Staring at the ceiling over his shoulder, Arabella wrapped her arms back around his neck and directed her wand toward the center of the ceiling and whispered a spell. A stream of light shot out of the tip and struck the ceiling, slowly cascading around them as it gently fell to the floor.

"Only from inside of the room out?" Sirius questioned.

Arabella gave a languid nod. "We'll hear if he knocks." She replied, pulling his head back so that she could look at him. "Other than that....."

She let the sentence trail off as she watched the smile moving across Sirius' lips, finally spreading all the way to his eyes. It was a smile she hadn't seen in too long. For several minutes she lay beneath him, gently stroking her fingers over his face, memorizing every curve and angle of it again as she slowly searched the depth of his stare. For all his teasing and all his suggestive innuendos, all she saw in his eyes now was his burning love for her. Cared for, hidden, and treasured within him for fourteen long years, crying now for the release she had no intention of denying him. She folded her arms back about him as he pulled himself back around her, nuzzling his lips against her neck again.

***************

The next morning Arabella lay contentedly in Sirius' arms, her head pillowed across his chest as she listened to his heart beating steadily beneath her ear. It was the most comforting sound she could ever remember hearing. A finger was lazily tracing its way up her arm and then back down again. She smiled at the tingling sensation that ran along her arm wherever he touched her. Slowly she stretched out a little, then settled back down against him.

"Comfy?" A quiet voice asked her.

"Hmmmm." Was as much effort as she cared to give the answer.

Sirius laughed softly. He grabbed her about the shoulders and pulled her up until she was laying next to him on the pillow, encircled in his arms.

"I said I was comfortable." Arabella protested, frowning at him. "If you needed a translation you only had to ask."

"I didn't need a translation." Sirius replied, running a finger across her lips. "And you'll forgive my selfishness, but after fourteen years, this is a far away from me as I ever want you."

"Laying on your chest was too far?"

"That was too far."

Arabella snuggled up closer to him in his arms. "Still in love after fourteen years." She muttered.

Sirius kissed her forehead. "Still incredibly much in love...even after fourteen years."

Arabella's expression grew suddenly solemn and her hold on him tightened slightly. "It's a wonder you came out of that place still able to love anything." She whispered.

"It's what I loved that kept me sane, 'Bella." Sirius whispered back. "What kept me alive." He laughed softly, though it sounded a little sad at the same time. "There was cell across from mine." He told her. "Most of the time it was empty. But on occasion the guards would bring a prisoner and put them in there." He paused for a moment as he gently stroked her hair.

Arabella turned to him. She hated when he talked about Azkaban. His eyes would suddenly get a very dulled, unfocused look about them. It was as though he wasn't even there anymore. His expression grew very hollow, with no trace of emotion in it anywhere. The only thing that held onto any semblance of emotion was his voice. But it only seemed to know two. Anger and sadness. Both she hated the sound of. Of what they represented. Of how clearly they spoke of what he had suffered through those twelve years.

Sirius continued to absently stroke her hair, but he didn't look at her. "The prisoners were almost always women." He finally went on. "Usually female Deatheaters who had been sentenced there. The ones they brought were almost always extremely beautiful. They couldn't have been in there but a few hours. A few days at best." He stopped again. "But almost always women."

Arabella failed to see the point of the conversation.

"Why women?" She asked.

Sirius turned to her. He pulled himself out of his memory enough to favor her a small smile. "Because they were masters at subtle torture. Or at least they thought they were."

"Torture?"

"Chain up a dog until he's starved." Sirius explained. "Then hold a steak out to him, but just out of reach."

Arabella's expression darkened a little as she caught onto his meaning.

Sirius sighed to himself. "They paraded them all in front of me, in a hundred different ways. I don't know what exactly they expected of me. To jump at the bars and start clawing at them like some deranged animal?" Sirius shook his head. "They simply never understood."

"Understood what?"

Sirius slowly shook his head. "They never understood that it didn't matter to me what those woman looked like. I never even saw their faces...their bodies. Never remembered them." He settled back down on the pillows, tracing a finger along the line of her jaw. "The only woman I ever saw standing before me...the only face I ever remembered...was yours. And they never had to place it before me, since it was always there to begin with."

Arabella stared back at him. "Well, I'm sorry I was such an unwitting form of torture for you."

Sirius suddenly smiled and Arabella saw a small flicker of life light behind his eyes again. He laughed softly. "Oh, 'Bella. You weren't torture. Far from it. Your memory brought with it the will to get up every morning. To keep fighting. To escape. Even if I didn't know if you remembered me, or loved me any longer, or cared. It was the memory of you that helped me survive. And it gave me something to hope for. To hope that you still remembered me, that you still cared...., that you still loved me."

Arabella leaned over and kissed him passionately on the lips. "Yes, I still love you ." She whispered. But she suddenly pulled back, barely stifling a huge yawn.

Sirius laughed. "Ohhh, that was very romantic."

"Well, you're the one to blame."

Sirius kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry I kept you up all night."

Arabella scoffed at him. "Up all night? That's quite an imagination you got there, Mr. Black. I'm glad it keeps you so entertained."

"Imagination?" Sirius' voice raised slightly in mock indignation. He grabbed her by the waist and playfully threw her back on the bed. "I'll show you what my imagination was doing last night."

Arabella let out a teasing shriek, then began laughing as Sirius started to tickle her without mercy.

A knock sounded on the door.

Sirius and Arabella froze.

"Oh, please tell me this is one of your games." Sirius begged.

Arabella quickly shook her head. "Nope!"

The knock sounded again. A bit more tentatively than before. "Sirius?" Harry called. "You up?"

Sirius jumped back to his side of the bed, making a grab for his cloths that lay on the floor.

"Just a minute, Harry." Sirius called. But Arabella thumped him on the shoulder.

"He can't hear you." She reminded him in a hasty whisper.

"Then why are you whispering?" Sirius whispered back.

Arabella gave a low growl of frustration as she began searching for her wand.

"Sirius? You up?" Harry asked again with a slightly louder knock.

Sirius found his wand seconds ahead of Arabella and lifted the spell.

"Just a second, Harry." He called, turning to Arabella in a panic, waving his arms at her. "Quick, apparate back to you room."

"I can't!" Arabella hissed.

"Why not?"

Arabella thumped him on the shoulder again. "You can't apparate within the castle grounds. Geez! Read a book, will you!"

Sirius looked on the verge of some sort of breakdown. "Well...., all right." He lifted the covers and shoved her under them. "Hide."

Arabella quickly dove for cover and began to fluff the covers over her, trying to obtain some sort of natural look with them as Sirius crawled out of the bed and pulled on his robe. He took one more glance back at the bed before opening the door.

"Yes, Harry?" He asked, holding tightly onto a state of calm, albeit overstated, control.

Harry looked him over quickly. "I'm sorry." He said. "I woke you up, didn't I?"

"It's all right." Sirius replied. "I was just getting up anyway. What did you need?"

"I can't find Arabella."

"And why are you looking for your godmother?" Sirius asked, still trying to sound casual.

"She said we were suppose to be leaving early. You know Arabella. That usually means...early. Like before sunrise. But its past nine and I can't even find her in the apartment. I wondered if maybe she went out and said something to you."

Sirius gave his godson a mischievous smile. "Well, you know your godmother, Harry. Try the kitchen. She's probably down there teaching the elves to all cook like muggles."

Harry shrugged. "All right. I'll check."

Sirius watched him disappear around the corner before closing the door. He padded his way across the floor and climbed back into bed. But unexpectedly he felt a hand wrap itself about a most sensitive part of his body.

Sirius gasped, then eased himself back down with a pained smile. "Honestly, Arabella. Harry'll be back in a few minutes. I don't think we have time."

The hand tightened its grip.

Sirius gasped again as he watched a figure rise itself up under the covers and pull up until it was inches from his face.

"I'm where?" Arabella seethed.

Sirius gritted his teeth into a smile as he slowly slid the cover back from her face, revealing a very irritated expression. "In my bed," he amended in a strained voice, trying his best to sound sincere, "making me the happiest man in the world."

Arabella considered the revision, then let go of him.

"That's what I thought you said."

Sirius looked flabbergasted. "You honestly believe I would say that to our godson?"

Arabella made an amazingly accurate grab under the covers again, eliciting another gasp from Sirius.

"And I'm sure he appreciated the honesty." Sirius stated quickly, breathing a sigh of relief as Arabella released her grip again.

Arabella grabbed her robe and headed for the door. Sirius flew out of the bed after her, grateful for the short distance to the door.

"'Bella! Wait!"

Arabella stopped just short of the door as she turned back to him.

"Wha...."

But that was as far as she got as Sirius suddenly swept her up in his arms and kissed her again. After a few moments he let her go, easing her back down until her feet touched the floor. He smiled down at her.

"You didn't let me kiss you good morning."

Arabella smiled back at him, then stood up on her toes and lightly touched her lips to his. "Good morning." She said, then turned and hurried out the door, her robe barely making it past the door as she pulled it shut.

Sirius stood for a few seconds staring at the door with a silly, but contented grin on his face.

"Good morning, 'Bella." He replied.