CHAPTER 5 – The garment
Harry, Ron and
Hermione were preparing to leave Sheeba's house. Sirius took off Crookshank's
collar, that was around his neck ever since they were at the pub, and handed it
over to Hermione. "Thank you very much, but I won't need it anymore."
"Won't you come with
us to the cave?"
"Nope, I'll stay
here."
"Hermione, do you
really, really think that while he can be at this house with Sheeba, Sirius
would want to go back to that cave full of fleas?" said Ron and Hermione seemed
to get really embarrassed, and put quickly the collar in her bag.
"Harry," Sheeba
approached him with a package on her arms, "I also have a gift for you. I would
have liked to give you a Firebolt, but Sirius did it first, didn't him? Anyway,
I believe my gift's going to be useful."
Harry opened the
package and took out from it something that resembled a rustic garment, weaved
in black and gold fiber. It was not exactly good-looking, and the touch of it
was rough.
"Wearing these robes,
you can walk on fire without getting burned and you'll also be protected from
Muggle bullets, knives and many kinds of spells, including Dark Magic. It can't
only stop two of them: Cruciatus and…"
"Avada Kedavra,"
Harry said without thinking.
"Exactly. Be careful
with this garment, I took ten years weaving it for you."
"Why the hell does he
need protection against Muggle bullets?" Sirius looked almost offended.
"I have an identical
garment," said Sheeba, "It was very useful when I worked for the Muggle Police.
And don't be jealous, Sirius, you can borrow mine tomorrow at London. And don't
care about its queer appearance, Harry, for it gets invisible as you put it on
your body."
"Okay, let's go," said
Harry, "It's time to go."
They waved goodbye at
Sirius and Sheeba, and then, they joined the students who were coming back from
Hogsmeade's trip. When they arrived at the Great Hall, Ron commented, "Harry,
what a godmother you have, eh? Sirius's a very lucky guy… can you imagine what
they are doing now?"
"Ron!"
Hermione exclaimed, shocked, "Don't be so rude!"
"Come on, Hermione,
you're not a little girl anymore… you know what a man and a woman can do
together…"
"Yes, I know, but you
shouldn't talk about her like this; she's Harry's godmother and Sirius's
fiancée!"
"This don't change the
fact that she's a yummy woman."
"Harry! Are you
listening to the foolishness he's saying?" Harry definitely was not paying any
attention at all in this conversation, since he was already very worried about
himself falling on the chasm with Voldemort.
"What? Oh, Hermione,
let him say what he wants. Currently, Ron spends half of his time thinking
about sex. Do you think he would have any chances with Sheeba? Don't be
jealous."
"Harry! I'm not
jealous of Ron! And I don't think there is anything very special about Sheeba…
what makes her so special?"
"Thirty and something
years, Touch of Prometheus, an incredible house, an exuberant personality and
last but not least, what's really important: a fantastic shape."
"Ron, you're really
getting sick," said Harry, "I think I'll turn in that magazines you keep under
your bed…"
"Potter! Granger!
Weasley!" the trio got cold as they listened to Professor Snape's disagreeable
voice. They turned on their heels thinking about the same word: 'trouble'.
"All right. I'd like
to know about what magazines are you talking about."
"No big deal," said an
embarrassed Ron, "just some Muggle magazines I'm collecting… it doesn't give me
Detention, does it? To read some comics?"
"Not comics, but… I
think the magazines Mr. Potter was talking about weren't exactly these… I may
ask Filch to make an inspection in your dormitory."
"It won't be
necessary," said Ron, "I myself will bring my magazines and give them to you,
sir… I think you're really needing them…"
Oh, no, Ron! Harry and Hermione thought at the same time.
"Ten points from
Gryffindor. And I'll send Mr. Filch to your dormitory to make the inspection,
and in your trunk too, Mr. Potter. What are you carrying under this package?"
"A gift from my
godmother. I guess you know her, sir."
Snape was paralyzed.
He looked at Harry, and now, he wore a completely different face, "Did she tell
you she know me? Did she talk about me?"
"Not much, really."
"And how is she doing?
We have some sort of… friendship."
"She's very happy,"
Harry lowered his tone of voice, "She and my godfather retied their engagement.
I guess I can tell you that, since now you know he's innocent, sir…"
"Well… yes… of course…
I'm happy for them… I think Sheeba deserves to be… happy. Excuse me, I've just
remember I have something really important to do," he said and vanished,
heading to the Dungeons.
As soon as he was out
of sight, Ron said, almost rolling over with laughter, "Harry Potter, you prat!
You've just broken old Snape's poor heart! Do you think he still had any hope
he had a chance with Sheeba?"
"Something completely
absurd," said Hermione, "But do you think she and Snape were really friends
with each other?"
"Of course not!" said
Harry. Suddenly, he remembered the vial with his name at Sheeba's study.
**
Sirius was at Azkaban.
The Dementors dragged him to a room where a hooded Dementor was going to punish
him with a kiss. In a corner, Sheeba watched to everything, tears rolling
across her cheek. It was useless, nobody listened to him claiming he was
innocent… he wanted to scream, but he could only manage to yank from his throat
incomprehensible murmurs. The Dementor took off its hood. And then, Sirius
finally managed to shout, "I'm innocent!"
The Dementor and
Azkaban vanished Sirius found himself lying on a king-sized bed, absorbed into
darkness. His mind clarified and he remembered where he was. He threw his arms
at a asleep Sheeba, pulling her even closer to him, burying his head into her
cold black hair. He wanted to forget. He wanted Sheeba. He missed her.
"The dream," Sheeba
said without opening her eyes, "It's just going to stop when you put Wormtail
into jail."
"Are you awake?"
"I woke up just as you
did it," she kept her eyes closed, lying on her back, her face aimed at the
ceiling. One of her arms was on her face. She started caressing Sirius's arm
that was on her body, smiling, and still having her eyes shut, "Do you know
what I missed more in those fourteen years?"
"What?"
"Your laughter. Your
voice provoking me. Caressing you like this, feeling your arms' hair. Sometimes,
I woke up in the middle of night from this same dream you're having, and I
couldn't sleep anymore. Sometimes, I dreamed of you in your canine form,
howling in the middle of darkness. That was the day you found to avoid the
dream, wasn't it?" she opened her eyes and faced him. The conjured landscape's
faint light illuminated the bed they were lying on. Sirius Black's eyes flashed
concerned on her face.
"Yeah. It hurt even
more because you always were in it."
"And it would be
impossible if I wasn't. I slept wearing your pajamas to feel you near me.
During fourteen years, I've always dreamed the same thing you did," Sheeba
closed her eyes again, "Now go back to sleep, Sirius."
"I don't want to
sleep," he said and kissed her passionately.
To be continued…