Chapter 16
"Sirius, please make sure that you can pass for a Muggle," Isabelle called through the bathroom. He had a nasty habit of wearing odd clothing combinations to try and get funny stares from Muggles. Once, he and James decided to wear sandals, plaid golf pants they stole from their fathers' wardrobes, butterfly collar shirts and baseball caps for a trip to Piccadilly Circus in London, much to Lily's humiliation. Isabelle was thankful she missed that particular outing.
"Well, this is the best I could do since my favorite polyester leisure suit got blown up," he said, walking into her bedroom wearing chinos and a grey sweater. "Will this do?"
She stared for a minute, deciding that wizard's robes just didn't do him justice. He barely looked like he could be in his early thirties, let alone about to turn forty-one in a month and a half. Get a hold of yourself, she scolded herself firmly.
"Surprisingly, I believe you're getting a sense of style in your old age," she retorted. "Or did you just order one of everything from Hermione's J. Crew catalogue?"
"Cute," he grumbled, but didn't deny it. "Ready yet?"
"I was waiting on you," she said, exasperated.
"Sure you were," he drawled, making fun of her Southern accent. She scowled, and disapperated. Laughing, he quickly followed suit.
Sirius apperated in a narrow alleyway between two large brick buildings. He looked around, and didn't see Isabelle. Or anyone else, for that matter. Cursing himself for traveling to the wrong location, he moodily walked to the end of the alleyway to try to figure out where he was.
"Thought you'd never get here," Isabelle smirked, leaning against one of the buildings, arms crossed.
"You didn't exactly make finding the place, or you, easy."
"Yeah, well that's what you get for being a stupid git. The Cheese Shop is this way," she pointed, leading Sirius through Colonial Williamsburg.
Located in the heart of the town, Williamsburg's colonial district consists of an assortment of shops, taverns, and historic buildings. Everything branches off Duke of Gloucester Street, which is a colonial mile, with the College of William and Mary's Wren Building at one end, and the Colonial Capitol at the other. The Cheese Shop is on the Wren Building end of DOG Street, as the townies call it. Isabelle easily wound through the clusters of shops in Merchant's Square, walking into the tiny delicatessen.
People crammed themselves from one end of the store to the other; shopping for deli products, fine wines, and touristy souvenirs. Others crowded the food counter, waiting for their lunch ticket to be called.
"So, what's good here?" Sirius asked, squinting at the menu. The chalkboard was far enough away that he should've been able to read it, but he couldn't see a word. The notion that he might need bifocals irritated him.
"Everything," Isabelle gushed, fighting her way to the counter. "Do you mind if I order for you?"
"Not at all," he replied, relieved.
Sirius looked around the shop as Isabelle rattled off the order, only catching pieces of what she was saying. Something about bread ends and a house. She walked up to him a couple of minutes later with large brown bag and two drinks in her arms.
"Since it's such a pretty day, I thought we might eat at the Sunken Garden," she explained.
Sirius nodded, taking the bag out of her hands; wherever she wanted to go was fine with him. They walked through Merchant's Square, crossed Richmond Road at what Isabelle called "Confusion Corner", and around the Wren Building. Suddenly, she stopped, clutching Sirius' arm.
"Look, a wedding," she whispered excitedly, discreetly pointing to a bridal party assembled on the portico for photos. "Phillip and I used to watch the weddings all of the time."
"Phillip?"
"Yeah, we would look at the bride and groom and try to figure out if they were going to stay together or not." She laughed. "It was cheap entertainment. We didn't have two pots to pee in back then."
Sirius wrinkled his nose at the colloquialism, and at the mention of Isabelle's ex-boyfriend. She didn't notice, and continued talking as they walked down a steep brick staircase to the large sunken field.
"Those were crazy times, with me in undergrad and him in law school. I think every square inch of that closet we called an apartment was filled with a book of some sort," she reminisced. "We were so broke. I worked double shifts in the chemistry lab in-between class and ballet, and he had two jobs. Quite a jolt from my Hogwarts days."
"How long did you live with him?" Sirius asked, as casually as possible. And why didn't she marry him, he wondered.
"From the end of freshman year until I graduated, so three years. I lived through two years of law school, three bar exams, and the establishment of his firm. Phillip wanted to open a firm that dealt with conflict of laws issues between the Muggle and wizarding system. Everyone told him that there wasn't a market for it, and wouldn't help him out. For that first year, it was just he and I, living on a dream and a prayer. Well, he proved the critics wrong, for sure. Last time I checked, Spence, Markham and Powers has twelve offices around the world," Isabelle said proudly.
His curiosity got the better of him. "Why didn't you marry Phillip when he asked?"
"He thought the firm was our dream, but it wasn't. It was his dream, and I was thrilled when it came true." Isabelle sighed. "Right around the time I graduated, Phillip took two partners, and hired personnel to replace me. That's when he proposed. I couldn't see myself as Mrs. Phillip Spence, Quiddich mom to those five kids Trelawney said that I'd raise. I dedicated three years of my life to his dream, and I was just ready to chase my own rainbows."
"What are your dreams, Belle?"
"They've already come true. Most of them, anyway. Showing you my second home. Watching Harry play Quiddich and ignoring those looks Hermione gets on her face when she thinks you're stupid. Teasing Remus about spending too much time at the pub. Teaching. I love kids; that's what I went to college for, actually."
Sirius took a bite out of his sandwich, and chewed it thoughtfully. "Why don't you remarry and have those five kids, then?"
"One, I don't exactly see guys lining up to marry me. And secondly, the doctors say that I can't have any more children, even if I wanted to. Shows what a fraud Trelawney is," she said, rolling her eyes. "Here, try this. It's bread ends and house."
"What's house?"
"House dressing," she huffed. "Also called ranch dressing."
"Not bad," he said, with his mouth full.
"Not bad? I lived off this stuff. Come on, it's time for the tour." Isabelle stood up, and brushed the crumbs off her jeans.
She showed off the campus, describing various traditions at the college. On the way from the historic campus to the new portion, where most of Isabelle's classes were located, Sirius interrupted her.
"Is that the famous Crim Dell bridge?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I see you read my letters," she replied, blushing slightly.
"Every word. Aren't you going to show it to me?"
"Alright," she gave in, leading him to the large pond and up the steep bridge.
"So, how many guys did you kiss here?" Sirius asked, only partially teasing. According to tradition, if two people kissed on the bridge, they were supposed to marry.
"None. I'm a very superstitious witch. Besides, I like to keep my options open," she said archly.
"Do you now?"
Before he lost his nerve, he leaned over and kissed her. Just when he thought he had a chance for a nice, long snog session, Isabelle pushed him over the railing and into the murky water below. She laughed hysterically as he stood up in the waist-high water, livid and sputtering.
"What did you do that for?" he grumbled, brushing wet hair out of his eyes.
"I told you I like to keep my options open. If you remember correctly, pushing the guy into the water breaks that whole getting married charm. Besides, you look so cute swimming in the Crim Nasty."
Fuming, Sirius sloshed his way back to the shore and charmed himself dry. In less than twenty-four hours, she bruised his ego twice. What an amazing woman, he thought. Besides, he liked a good challenge, anyway. Or was just a glutton for punishment.
Isabelle yawned, carefully walking down the steep bridge. It had been an incredibly long day, and she was ready to relax. "Hey, Sirius?"
"Yes?" he snapped.
"I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired. So, why don't we spend the night at Brittany's house? The whole group has wanted to meet you for a while now, and since we're in town, why not?"
"Sure," he replied, still a little irritated.
He followed Isabelle through New Campus, across Jamestown Road and onto a small side street. She walked to the door of an impressive brick house, and rang the doorbell. A small, dark haired girl of about seven answered the door.
"Auntie Isabelle," the little girl screamed, throwing open the screen door and hugging Isabelle tightly.
"Merry Christmas a day late, M. J. Was Santa good to you?" she asked.
"Oh, yes," M. J. said seriously. "I even got a new chemistry set so that when Uncle Severus comes, he can show me how to make potions. I want to know how to make Stephen disappear."
Isabelle hid a smile. "I'm afraid that there's no potion that would make Stephen disappear. Besides, that's not very nice."
"He's not very nice."
"But, he's still your brother. M. J., this is my friend, Sirius Black."
"Nice to meet you. My name is Mary Jane Parker, just like in Spider Man," she said proudly, extending her hand. "But, you can call me M. J."
"Nice to meet you, too," Sirius said, making a mental note to ask Isabelle what Spider Man was.
"Where's your mother?" Isabelle asked.
"Inside. Come on." M. J. pulled her by the arm, dragging her inside. "Mama! Auntie Isabelle's here with a strange man."
"Aunt Is-belle," shrieked a tiny voice from the back of the house. Two tiny arms wrapped themselves around her legs, nearly tripping her. She picked up the toddler, and turned around.
"Sirius, this little one is Rose, my namesake. She's three and a half. Stephen just turned five, and I'm not quite sure where he is." Her voice trailed off.
"M. J., you know you're not supposed to tell stories," a stern voice called from the kitchen. Isabelle walked in carrying Rose, causing Brittany to drop her spatula in the spaghetti sauce she was stirring.
"Hey, Brit. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, yourself!"
The two women hugged each other excitedly, chatting in high-pitched voices. Sirius stood behind Isabelle, watching her in amusement. No one noticed a pair of startling blue eyes pop up from behind the bench tucked underneath the kitchen table. A wild-eyed boy rushed out from the table, whooping Indian chants. Swinging a mock tomahawk, he stopped in front of the adults.
"I'm Powhatan, the greatest warrior there's ever been. And, all of you are now my prisoners," he said with great importance.
"Stephen, are you supposed to kidnap prisoners in the house?" Brittany asked patiently.
"No, ma'am," he replied. His Indian headdress made a loud swishing noise as he shook his head from side to side.
"Why don't you run next door and tell your Aunt Sarah Lindsay that Aunt Isabelle's here," she said in a tone of voice that prevented any argument.
"Yes, ma'am." He turned, and ran out the front door.
He returned a few minutes later, with a petite blonde woman and two little girls in tow. The girls immediately rushed over to hug Isabelle. Stephen mumbled something about girls being sissies, and thundered upstairs.
"Hi. I'm Carrie and this is my sister Abbie. Who are you?" she asked Sirius, pulling on his pants leg.
"I'm your Aunt Isabelle's friend Sirius," he told her.
"Oh. Do you know my Uncle Severus?"
"Yes, I do." And, I wish I didn't, he thought wistfully.
"Is he coming for a visit, too?"
"Not this time, Carrie," Isabelle jumped in.
"Why not?" M. J. whined, tears filling her brown eyes.
"Just because," Brittany replied. "Why don't you girls go upstairs and play?"
"Finally, a moment of quiet," Sarah Lindsay breathed, as the girls stomped upstairs to the playroom.
"Where are Jake and Thomas?" Isabelle inquired.
"Jake and my darling brothers are off on one of their male bonding hunting expeditions," Brittany said, rolling her eyes. "So, what brings y'all to this neck of the woods?"
"Well, we dropped the kids off for the holidays, and I wanted to show Sirius my second home," Isabelle explained.
"You have a daughter who is almost sixteen, right?" Sarah Lindsay asked Sirius.
"Yes, Hermione will be sixteen in May." He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, and wished for some excuse to disappear into a guest room. Fortunately, the opportunity presented itself quickly, and he stretched out on the foreign bed, thinking.
-----
Downstairs, Isabelle, Brittany and Sarah Lindsay stretched out in the family room with tall glasses of iced tea and giant bowls of double chocolate ice cream."So, that's the famous Sirius Black," Sarah Lindsay mumbled through a mouthful of ice cream.
"Yep."
"Nice to finally meet the reason you wouldn't marry my brother," Brittany said snidely.
Isabelle turned three shades of red. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Deny that you're desperately in love with Sirius Black. I dare you to."
"I can't, Brittany."
She smiled. "Thought not. Good Lord, he's one good looking man."
"Especially for his age and the whole prison thing. And that accent – wow," Sarah Lindsay added.
"And a single dad is always sexy," Brittany mused.
"Definitely."
"Enough! Y'all are terrible to me," Isabelle pleaded.
"Poor baby," Sarah Lindsay teased.
"That's it. I'm going upstairs to tuck in M. J. She wants me to sing from the Evita soundtrack tonight." Isabelle quickly escaped up the stairs.
-----
Sirius padded into the hallway, trying to remember if the bathroom was the second or third door on the right. He was completely lost in his own thoughts when Isabelle gave him a quick tour of the house earlier. Being here, around her friends, bothered him. They were a living reminder of the consequences of his mistakes and failures. She knew them because he couldn't protect her.A familiar alto voice drifted into the hallway as he passed a partially closed door. He peered around the doorframe. Isabelle sat singing to M. J., who was rapidly falling asleep. The little girl's eyes opened partially when she finished the song.
"Just one more song, Auntie Isabelle? Please?" she yawned.
"One more. I'll sing 'Another Suitcase in Another Hall', ok?"
M. J. nodded groggily as Isabelle began the song.
I don't expect my love affairs to last for long, never fool myself that my dreams will come true.
Being used to trouble I anticipated it, but all the same I hate it, wouldn't you?
So what happens now? Where am I going to?
Time and time again I've said that I don't care, that I'm immune to gloom, that I'm hard through and through.
But, every time it matters, all my words desert me, so anyone can hurt me – and they do. So what happens now?
Sirius quickly passed by the room before she saw him. When he left the bathroom a few minutes later, which happened to be the third door on the right after all, Isabelle was still singing. The emotion in her voice stopped him in his tracks, and he leaned closer to hear her clearly.
Where do we go from here?This isn't where we intended to be.
We had it all – you believed in me, I believed in you.
Certainties disappear
What do we do for our dream to survive?
How do we keep all our passions alive as we used to do?
Deep in my heart I'm concealing things that I'm longing to say
Scared to confess what I'm feeling
Frightened you'll slip away
You must love me
You must love me
Why are you at my side?
How can I be any use to you now?
Give me a chance and I'll let you see how
Nothing has changed.
Deep in my heart I'm concealing things that I'm longing to say
Scared to confess what I'm feeling
Frightened you'll slip away
You must love me
"You must love—oh!" Isabelle ran right into Sirius as she rounded the doorway. He grabbed her by the waist to prevent her from falling, but didn't let go when she righted herself.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I heard you singing, and couldn't resist eavesdropping."
"That's alright."
"Isabelle, there is, rather, I would like to talk to you about something."
"What about?" She tilted her face upward, and her green eyes stared straight into his.
"About us – you and me. Belle," he began, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the staircase. He quickly let go of her, and took a step back. "It can wait until we get home."
"Are you sure?" She was absolutely dying to know what he was about to say.
"Positive," he said, looking over Isabelle's head at a very curious Brittany. "Good night, Isabelle."
"Good night," she called after him, puzzled and slightly hurt.
-----
Isabelle rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It read nine o'clock. She groaned, and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Going back to sleep now is impossible, she decided, getting out of bed and heading downstairs to rustle up some breakfast. She opened the cabinet door, removed a juice glass, and set it down on the countertop."Good morning, sleeping beauty."
Individual follicles of hair rose on Isabelle's neck as she turned around slowly. Severus Snape sat at the kitchen table, casually sipping a cup of tea. How could he know that I'm here, she wondered.
"Good morning. What brings you here?" she asked through narrowed eyes.
"A holiday visit to my godchildren. Imagine my surprise when my lovely goddaughter Mary Jane owls me that her Auntie Isabelle is visiting with a strange man. Pray tell, does the strange man have a name?"
"Don't play games with me, Severus. You know good and well Sirius is here. Why else would you have bothered to grace me with your presence?"
"Sarcasm does not become you, my dear. What, am I ruining your fun?" he sneered at the look on her face.
"Sod off," she fumed. If Rose hadn't walked into the room at that exact moment, Isabelle would have delighted in smacking the triumphant smirk off his face.
"Hi, Uncle Sev-us," she said, running to him.
"Hi yourself, Rose. What do you have in your hand?" he asked her.
"My broomstick. Santa brought it to me for Christmas." She held it out proudly.
Isabelle tuned out the conversation and returned to pouring her orange juice, wishing it was something far stronger. She crossed the room, nearly running over M. J., who was chattering excitedly with Severus.
"And, then I combined the ginger root with the confetti, but it didn't turn out quite right," M. J. told him, showing him an odd green goo.
"You're supposed to put in the confetti first," he patiently explained.
"Ohhh." She mixed together the potion again. "There. Hair gel."
"Very good," Severus said, hiding a smile.
Isabelle looked up and saw Sirius standing in the doorway, surveying the scene with a look of surprise and mild distaste on his face. She stood up quickly, and walked out with him into the hallway.
"I'm so sorry. I had no idea he would show up here," Isabelle apologized.
"No, it's alright. He clearly belongs here," he replied quietly.
"Sirius--"
"Belle, don't argue with me." He clenched his jaw, and looked away, pain reflecting in his eyes. "I have business in London, and I really should get it over with before the holidays are over."
"What business? I administer your finances," she said through narrowed eyes.
"Personal business. Please give my respects to your friends."
"Please don't--" she began. Sirius disapperated with a pop. "leave."
Isabelle's face fell as she walked back into the kitchen alone. Severus looked up, and she saw a hint of a triumphant gleam in his eyes.
"Where did your traveling companion go?" he asked snidely.
"I wanted him to meet my friends, to get an idea of what my life was like when he was in prison. It wasn't fair to chase him off like that. He went to London." She threw herself in a kitchen chair and buried her head in her arms. Severus put a hand on her arm.
"I didn't force him to do anything. He left of his own free will."
"You didn't give him much choice," she murmured through her arms.
"True enough. But, Isabelle, have I ever done anything that wasn't in your best interests?" She looked up and shook her head no. "I just want to have a talk with you before you get in over your head. Sometimes an outside perspective is helpful, and makes you see things you wouldn't have otherwise."
"What I see is that your hatred for Sirius outweighs the happiness I could have with him."
"Then you're not seeing the complete picture. Give me a half hour of your time; that's all I ask."
She nodded curtly in agreement as the rest of the family piled downstairs for brunch. It truly was wonderful to be back home, she decided. Here, she could relax, didn't have to worry about making a good impression on teenagers. And it was awfully nice to see the kinder side of Severus. The children brought out the best in him.
After brunch, Severus and Isabelle excused themselves to take a walk in Colonial Williamsburg. They walked silently to Duke of Gloucester Street, enjoying the beautiful winter day. A gentle breeze gave the air a wintry feel, but the weather was still warm enough to be comfortable outside without a heavy coat.
Severus broke the silence as they reached Merchant's Square. "What were you thinking, Isabelle?"
"That Sirius is a big part of my life, and I wanted to share him with my other family. Is that so difficult to comprehend?"
He ignored her question. "You're shamelessly throwing yourself at him. Only a fool could miss your intentions."
"I suppose Sirius is a fool, then," Isabelle said softly.
"You have a firm grasp of the obvious. Luckily for you, he's oblivious to your little crush."
"Lucky?" she spat.
"Yes, lucky. Isabelle, this isn't just about you and him. It's about your whole family, especially the children." Severus paused and looked at her to make sure he had her attention before continuing. "What happens if you have a fling with him? It's everything you ever wanted it to be, but like all of your relationships, it ends in an ugly breakup."
"Not all of my breakups are ugly. Phillip and I are still close."
"If I remember correctly, you only refused to marry him. And you continued to be 'close', as you so quaintly term it, until you married Remizov."
"True."
"So, you hook up and break up. Naturally, you can't stand to live near each other, so one of you moves out. Sirius has custody of both children, and can refuse you visitation. To see the children you've devoted your entire adult life to protecting, you sue him. He's Sirius Black, you're Isabelle Evans, and you're fighting for the custody of the two most famous children in the wizarding world. It would be a media circus."
"But, it wouldn't come to that. We always agree on what's in the best interests of the children."
He smiled. This was going even better than he hoped. "Fighting, in public or private, is not in the best interests of the children, is it? They've been to hell and back. We're talking about your sister's baby, who got stuck with abusive Petunia, only to discover that he had living family he had never even heard of. And, what about Hermione, the toddler who called you Mummy?"
"Yes, she was pretty stubborn about it, too. Whenever I told her Mummy was in heaven and I'm Isabelle, she pitched a hysterical fit," Isabelle recollected with a small smile. Severus decided it was time to use his best argument.
"I recall a scared, hurt sixteen-year-old girl whose life was turned upside down because of the actions of other people. Would you want them to go through more pain because you couldn't control your libido?"
"Of course not." She sighed. "You're absolutely right, Severus. Wanting to be with Sirius is selfish on my part. I just need to distance myself from him and focus on what's best for the children."
They crossed Jamestown Road on the way back to Brittany's house, both lost in thought. Suddenly, Isabelle got an eerie feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong. She broke into a run, dashed through the street, and stopped suddenly in front of the house. Severus caught up with her, wondering what possessed her to take off like that. The reason was clearly illuminated on the door.