When the Angels Sing

When the angel of death comes to looking for me
Hear the angels sing
I hope I was everything I was supposed to be
When the angels sing
There's gotta be a heaven
Cause I've already done
My time in hell
And a little
Baby's born when it all comes down
Hear the angels sing

Bonnie sighed exhaustingly. "This is such a bore."

Two green eyes curved to her. Clyde gently searched his pockets, and withdrew a switchblade. With a flick of his wrist, the blade sprang forward. He rotated it slowly, letting the sun strike the sharper edges. His lips curled.

"I've had enough tricks for tonight, dear," she said.

He held the knife steadily and slashed the air once. His eyes glinted as the smile grew wider. He rose his free hand, and wiggling his fingers, suggested the reality of it all. Bonnie had seen the trick a hundred times before, and though she attempted to look irritated, she failed, and the shadow of a smile grew.

Concentration flashed across his face. His hand firmed, and his equipped hand pointed at the empty one. He made to stab it, Bonnie screamed and covered her eyes, but as always, when she peaked through her trembling fingers, the blade disappeared and he cradled a dove.

"I hate when you do that!" she scolded, but the twitch at the corners of her lips said otherwise.

He extended his hands to her, encouraging her to pet it.

"Ooh no, I'm not falling for that," she said shakily.

He shook his hands gently, urging her to touch the bird.

She sighed. "Oh, fine then."

Clyde could be very persuasive, for someone who never spoke.

She stroked the bird, and holding it single-handedly, Clyde convinced her to place her hands over his. She did. He set his free hand over hers, and the bird began to vibrate.

Her eyes widened. Some tricks never get old.

Gingerly, he lifted his hand, allowing Bonnie to follow suit. The dove was no longer traditional white, but purple. He held up a finger to signify, one moment please, waved a hand over the dove, and it was blue.

Bonnie smiled gracefully.

A snap of the fingers, the dove was green. A click of the gun, the dove was red. A wink of the eye, the dove was aquamarine.

Bonnie leaned in and kissed Clyde. The dove turned pink, and as the kiss deepened, to a crimson red. She moved away, batting her eyelashes softly. He swayed in his seat, then shaking his head a bit, tucked the bird into his breast pocket.

Bonnie looked down the lane. "Any idea what we're waiting for?"

Clyde shook his head, patting his pockets.

She stared at him. "What are you looking for now?"

He brought forth a small notebook and quill, flipped it to an empty page, licked the quill end, and began scratching across the page. He showed her his finished product.

"Oooh nooo… No way am I playing that game," she refusing, waving the notebook away.

He shook the notebook at her, insisting she play.

"Oh fine," she huffed. He smiled, setting the notebook steadily on his knee and readying his quill. "Is there an A?"

~+~+~+~

He lowered his lips to her sleeping figure. Kisses trailing her arm down to her fingertips. "Gale," he whispered, "I have to leave."

Her eyes fluttered. "Mmm…" she hummed, "Must you?"

"Yes," he said gently, "But I'll be back… Don't leave the room."

She folded her arm behind her head and smiled. "I won't." Her finger ran down his chest. "Don't keep me waiting."

He breathed a laugh, "I won't." In an agile movement he rolled from the bed and unto his feet. Buttoning his slacks and following with a well-knitted sweater, he threw on a traveling cloak. He stepped into his shoes and made for the door.

"Lupin?"

He stopped, his fingers resting on the doorknob. "Yes?"

"I love you."

He paused, his breath catching. "Yes," he said, opening the door. "Be careful." And he left.

~+~+~+~

"What are you doing?"

"Something seems off balance…" Fae waved a hand over the crystal ball, catching wisps of air.

Grant's eyebrows knitted. "What do you think is causing that?"

"I'm not… exactly positive," she said uncertainly. She lit a stick of incense on her left and then another on her right. With a mastered spell, she snapped her fingers and twelve candles of various heights lit. For a shining moment they blazed, but soon fell to a misty glow. She stirred the incense into the air. "Oh the days," she mumbled, "When a cigarette was sufficient…" She rubbed her brow with one hand and mixed the thin mist above the glowing orb into a type of artificial fog with the other.

"Shut the door on your way out."

"Tea leaves and palmistry?" he said with a bite of sarcasm, looking deserted. Reluctantly but dutifully, he got up and went for the exit.

"And love?"

He paused hopefully. "Yes?"

"Don't jest about Divination--You know well enough that I failed the course."

"Which is beyond me," he rolled his eyes, stepping out, "You're a true Seer."

When she heard the door click, she muttered, "No, I'm just good at tapping minds… consider it a skill, not a gift."

~+~+~+~

Lupin closed his eyes pensively. Oh, it'd been a long time. It was no wonder the house still stood; he'd seen magical shacks outlive Muggle mansions. That was the class of magic, it only went down with style. Even wizards died more glorious deaths than a car crash, unless, of course, it was a particular gory one.

Though, there are exceptions to every rule, and then there were rule breakers.

You had the witches who refused to use magic during childbirth, it was reasonable enough, but it had the threat of claiming a life; sometimes two. Then, he smiled, the husband lives on in great despair, sleeping the days away in a mess of broken bottles and crushed cans and drinking the night away with hookers and cigars.

Voldemort was another disruption of the perfect balance. Avada Kedavra had its uses, no doubt, but killing with a single curse? It wasn't even flashy; just a stream of green light. Despicable. A child had more imagination than that. Though, he supposed, one didn't rise above the rest by pushing back the boundaries of imagination; one used trickery and deceit, and when that failed--brute force.

He raised his chin optimistically, You'll never see me leaving without a fine exit. He twisted the knob.

Vala stood up and stared. "What are you doing here?"

~+~+~+~

"What about," she said carefully, "M?"

Clyde shook his head, smiling.

"Damn," she swore, "What do I have so far?" He handed her the notebook. Her eyes scanned it. "Hmm… let's see… Cheese Is… four letters?" He nodded. "What about, 'Cheese is… Gross?'"

He shook his head and held up five fingers.

"Oh… Well," her forehead wrinkled. "How about a P? or an O?"

He nodded, took the notebook, spelt 'Cheese Is _ oo _' and added the last leg to the Hanged Man.

Bonnie swore. "Well, what is it then?"

Clyde smirked and added the G and D to good.

"'Cheese is Good?'" she read aloud with a hint of annoyance. "Is that the best you could come up with?"

He shrugged, and began patting his pockets again.

~+~+~+~

The question caught him off balance. He expected the place to be empty. A thousand explanations ran through his head, and then a thousand questions. He didn't know why she was here, but he had a good idea. He nodded knowingly, finally understanding Ares tiff with the girl. "I just… came to pick something up. Forgot it, you know? On my way out."

She stared at him quizzically, but she did in fact take her seat.

"Don't mind me," she said, "I was just leaving…" she sipped the rich hot chocolate from a chipped mug with the legend 'C is for Carol' scribed and fading across it. She read on, excusing his abrupt return. "Mmm…"

He paused, his breath hitching.

"Potions is on tonight. Do you still watch that?"

He entered the living room. "Only on occasions." His eyes folded over the surroundings. Things had certainly changed. Change isn't bad. Change can be good; only on the assumption that you find it in the deep tucks of a set of spare robes. Quite useful on those early mornings to buy a cup of coffee when you thought you were dead broke.

Her eyes traced down the page, skimming over blown up happenings and closely following the chase of Sirius Black. Well, chase was a bit too generous. It was more poking fun at the Prime Minister and his clueless goons. For the most part, Sirius dropped from sight. Nobody had seen him for well over a month. And she was glad of that. She wanted to see Sirius again, but at the same time she wasn't sure if she could. So much had changed. I used to fancy him, she mused, sipping her hot cocoa. Yes, a school girl crush, but a crush all the same… Oh, but how things have changed! I'm married now. Married to a… oh, what's the use in pretending? I'm married to a, ah ha, to a cool, calculating bastard. But I love him. I suppose.

"Do you need help looking for anything?" she looked up inquiringly.

"Uh…" his eyes shot into every corner, then- "No, no, I've got it quite under control."

"I bet you do," she muttered, "Always cool and in control."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

He frowned. He didn't trust this girl. But what did that matter? He found what he was looking for. He lifted the black veil. The crystal sparkled.

~+~+~+~

"What the-" Fae leaned forward. The crystal blackened again. She sat back and rubbed her head. "Well, that was odd."

~+~+~+~

Lupin was busily covering the crystal ball.

Vala appeared in the doorway. "What are you doing with that?"

He was silent, pretending to use his full concentration to cover the ball when really he was devising an excuse. He hadn't expected to find anyone at the flat, otherwise he'd of thought one up prier his appearance.

"Just uh… er…" he only needed one to get out of the house. "Taking it down to the Lucky Clover. You know, ask old Ronnie a question or two."

"Why would you go there?"

"Well, you know…" he finally turned to look at her, the wrapped crystal in his hands. "Ronnie's a smart guy. Thought he might be able to answer a question or two for me."

She shook her head. "No, you misunderstood, his son took over management in the Clover years ago."

"He has, has he? Well, old Ronnie still hangs around from time to time."

She shook her head again. "No, he's been living off the coasts of Ireland for a number of years."

"Oh, well… er… I'll just be going then, shall I?"

She stared. Then, leaning against the frame, "You've been acting rather oddly today. What's up?"

He cringed inwardly. He really wasn't prepared for another excuse. "You know," he smiled, "I'd love to tell you all about it. However," he waved a finger, stepping forward, "I'm in a bit of a hurry so it'll have to wait for a later date." He set the crystal on a wobbly table, unawares that the veil had slipped off the side facing them.

Swinging an arm around her waist, he dipped her.

~+~+~+~

Fae pounced forward. "Now we're getting something… Hey," her brow wrinkled. "Isn't that Remus and Vala--and oh my--" she clasped her hands over her mouth. "He's kissing her!"

(A/N: hehe… I feel naughty. One clue, The Quartet practiced in the park And Lennon read a book of Marx.)