Chapter Seventeen: Did You Ever Have....

Summary: Seventeenth chapter. Thirty-two to go. That about sums it up.

(Ok. The actual title of this chapter is 'Did You Ever Have A Chapter That Was Too Short To Be A Chapter, But Had To Be A Separate Chapter Because It Didn't Really Fit At The End Of The Previous Chapter Or The Beginning Of The Next Chapter?'. You'll see what I mean.)

By the time Harry returned to their small apartment, Arabella was quietly sitting on the couch, reading a book.

Harry looked at her skeptically as he sat next to her.

Catching his stare, Arabella put the book down as she turned to him. "And what can I do for you, young man?" She asked.

"Where were you this morning?" Harry asked quizzically. "I looked all over for you."

"I was down in the library looking for a particular book of spells." Arabella replied, holding the book up for Harry to see.

"Do-it-yourself Protection Charms. Making Your Home As Secure As Gringotts."

"One can never know enough protection spells." Arabella stated.

"I thought we were leaving early this morning?" Harry asked, loosing interest in the book.

"Well, we were, Dear." Arabella replied, turning casually back to her book. "But your godfather said he wasn't feeling quite up to a trip first thing this morning. He wanted to have a bit of a lie in, that's all. So we'll leave this afternoon instead. OK?"

Harry nodded with a frown.

Arabella brushed a bit of his hair back as she noted it. "What is it, Harry?"

"I'm afraid Sirius didn't get much of a chance to sleep in." He replied. "I think I woke him up this morning looking for you."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it, Harry. My guess is he was already up." She replied innocently.

"So when are we going to leave?"

"I suppose when your godfather gets up. No harm done in leaving a little later. But make sure you have everything ready to go."

Harry nodded as he got up off the couch and went back to check his packing again.

Sirius got up a few hours later, grumbling about having missed breakfast and being hungry. But by lunch time Arabella had them safely settled back in her small cozy cottage at the kitchen table, each happily spooning up a bowl of home-made soap.

For all of the delicious, fancy meals they could make, Harry had to admit that there wasn't an elf in the Hogwarts kitchen that could make a bowl of soup to compare to Arabella's. Or for that matter, he couldn't find a single luxury the whole castle had to offer that he wouldn't have traded for just to be back in Arabella's little cottage.

The rest of the day past with very little incident. By dinner time Harry had expected to find himself famished. All afternoon he had been treated to delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Sirius had insisted on cooking that night, promising a splendid meal. But as soon as he sat down at the table, Harry found himself more tired than hungry.

"Harry, are you all right?" Arabella asked, a light concern to her tone as she watched her godson absently moving the food about on his plate, hardly eating any of it..

Harry nodded slightly. "I think I'm just tired." He replied, leaning against his hand as he rested his elbow on the table. He felt terrible that after Sirius had worked so hard on the dinner, he had hardly eaten a thing.

Arabella reached over and lovingly brushed a bit a hair away from his eyes. "You look a little tired." She agreed. "Why don't you go on to bed?"

Harry nodded again. "I'm really sorry, Sirius." He apologized as he pushed himself away from the table. "It really does smell good."

Sirius waved off his concern. "Just means there's more for me." He stated past a mouthful of food. "Go on to bed."

Harry found himself getting shakily to his feet, but managed to steady himself by the time he made it to the kitchen door. A few minutes later he was dressed in his pajamas and crawling into bed. He didn't remember anything past that as he quickly fell asleep.