Here's to the Night

So denied so I lied are you the now or never kind
In a day and a day love I'm gonna be gone for good again
Are you willing to be had are you cool with just tonight
Here's a toast to all those who hear me all too well

Here's to the nights we felt alive
Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry
Here's to goodbye
Tomorrow's gonna come too soon

As Sirius pulled Vala from the cave and into the star-speckled night, she realized something. She'd never trusted anyone before quite like she trusted him. Her soul was a complex labyrinth with twists and curves and underground passages and locked doors, and nothing in the labyrinth was inanimate for longer than an hour. There were corners of the Labyrinth man nor woman had ever touched, corners Vala had long since forgotten about, and Sirius reached those cob-webbed areas and filled them with a type of fire that could never burn out as long as he was near to keep it lit.

Inside Hogsmeade there were bars that didn't close until the early morning lights struck the land. These bars were dark and dank, but you could always get a decent drink and the Regulars never gave you much mind. They were bars people came to get away from their problems, or rather, drown them out. Every town had one, and they were headed for them. They were just the kind of bars a runaway convict and a runaway bride could slink into without notice.

And they could sit around, toasting each other and toasting the Regulars, but neither of them really wanted that. Vala could read it in his eyes, and she knew it in her heart.

"Sirius," she laughed, tugging on his arm. "The night is young--dance with me."

He turned and his eyes lit with a smile. His hair was already drying, and the moonlight danced across it, throwing shadows around. She was so delightfully jealous she could pull him into her and run her fingers through his glorious locks until his scalp ached. Thirteen years had come and gone, and things hadn't changed. Certainly her situation had, but she was just as torn between dependence and independence. She wanted to feel him against her, but at the same time, so far away she couldn't see him.

Tomorrow would come all too soon, and tomorrow she would be gone. Tomorrow was for independence, tomorrow was for distance. Tonight was for dependence and closeness. "Dance with me," she repeated, pulling him into her. Tonight breathed of love and life. If nothing else, they would always have tonight.

She linked their hands together, and set his other on her hip. Resting her hand on his shoulder, she took him for a spin.

Sirius would never be defined as clumsy or even ungraceful, but he was no swan. If anything, he was a bit jerky and fast-paced. Vala had a difficult time containing her laughter as they spun and danced across the sodden grass; the rain made it glistened in the moonlight, adding a magical atmosphere. The fog skipped off of them, and wherever they chose to dance was clear and fresh.

For once, the Gods played in the favor of the luckless.

~+~+~+~

"Where are you off to?"

Clyde took his time as he set his hat on top of his head and turned to Bonnie. He mimed a man rocking a baby.

"The Crib?" she hazarded. "I don't think so."

He nodded, his subtle way of saying he was. He tipped his hat to her, and moved for the doorknob.

"Don't you go out that door, Clyde."

He sighed, and reached for the stick of chalk resting on the ledge under the small chalkboard they kept by the door. On the black slate, he wrote, Why not? We're not married.

"That doesn't mean I can't leave you, pretty boy," she retorted, a smirk playing at her lips. She was accustomed to being in charge, but she had to laugh every time Clyde tried to take over.

True, but you wouldn't, he scratched onto the board.

"Oh? Why would you even risk it to spend the evening with the James instead of me?"

Now Clyde had to smirk as he wrote, You're very pretty--but the James got a new game system.

Bonnie let loose a wave of laughter. "Fine then," she said, holding her arms open for him. "Come give me a kiss."

He waltzed to her, doing a type of sidestep and trick with his hat before bending low to kiss her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, weighing him down and placing him in an awkward position. "You be safe," she whispered, "And take care…" Neither ever had to say a thing for the other to know that they would be lost without each other. She let him go, and he straightened his overcoat. He smiled at her, turned on his heel, and made his way back to the door, trying a few dance steps on the way. He rubbed his coat sleeve across the chalkboard, smearing his writing and chalking up his coat. Grabbing the stick of chalk again, he wrote one last message and left.

Bonnie looked up at the board and had to laugh. In thick, white lines he'd proclaimed: Cheese is good.

~+~+~+~

Vala had forgotten the simple pleasures of life. She'd forgotten what it felt like to dance with someone you truly cared about, to feel the wind blow across your face and ruffle your clothes, to lie in wet grass and stargaze… your head resting on the chest of a dear friend and lover. But lover is a very broad term--it's used to define close friends and distant relations you get together with every Friday night to party and drink and wake up next to come morning, wondering where you are and what you've done.

"Look, there's Ursa Minor," Vala pointed out.

"Which is the equivalence of the Little Dipper," Sirius replied with a smirk.

"The Little Dipper is not a constellation, Sirius, it's an asterism."

"What's the difference?" he asked, the smirk washing away.

"An asterism is a distinct group of stars… Like the Big Dipper, which is really called Ursa Major. The Little Dipper is kind of like a slang name… Ursa Minor is its proper name," she explained.

"Oh."

"I thought everyone knew that," she said with a touch of shock.

"I never took much interest in astronomy, to be honest," he replied, not embarrassed in the least. Back in his fifth year he and James had to decide between Astronomy and Divination. On one hand they had some old crone rattle on about stars and constellations and forgotten tales nobody really cared about, on the other they had some old bugger who limped around the castle mumbling old blues lyrics under his breath and occasionally accusing the House Elves of theft. The crone was stern and had the icy stare of a rattlesnake, the bugger was somewhat paranoid, practically deaf, and kept a flask of Firewhiskey in his hip pocket. If nothing else, you could watch him fall into a drunken rage where he trotted around the tower shouting death omens at the most unlikely victims. Which would you choose? Yeah, they picked Divinations too.

"I never would have guessed," she replied lightly. "There's Orion," she said, shifting her head on Sirius' chest. "See those three stars together? That's his belt."

"Hmm… didn't his girlfriend kill him or something?"

"Diana? Not purposely. She was a brilliant huntress and her brother tricked her into shooting him."

"Why would he do a thing like that?"

"Because he was a paranoid little bastard and probably thought her boyfriend would impregnate her and skip out before the child's birth," Vala answered with an ounce of sarcasm.

"That's not true," Sirius declared, and after a moment of uncertainty followed, "Is it?"

She shook her head. "Not entirely. Diana was a virgin, and he was protecting her virginity."

"Oh…" Sirius rose an eyebrow. He'd heard of protective older brothers, but that just took the cake. "So he had his sister kill him? That's a touch traumatizing."

"Well," she shifted again. "Really there's two stories… the one where Diana was tricked into killing him and the other where he sent Scorpio after Orion."

"Then Scorpio killed him?"

"I tend to lean more towards that tale," she replied, then added as an afterthought, "They're placed at opposite sides of the sky, you know."

"I didn't, but I like that one better."

"Yeah… hey, did you know Orion had two hunting dogs?"

"No, are they up there too?" he asked curiously.

"Of course. Here, see that star there?"

"Where?"

"Okay, the three stars in Orion's belt point right to it. See that star right there? That real bright one?"

"Um… Yes, now I do," he answered, still uncertain.

"Good, that's the chest of one of his dogs--Canis Major. There's another one nearby called Canis Minor, but I really couldn't pinpoint it for you, I'm afraid."

"That's alright. Tell me more about this one." Astronomy was a boring subject indeed, and you were lucky to escape it with a two-pence train of thought. However, there were upsides to the subject. One being that it impressed the ladies, but this plus side worked in two ways because for once Sirius found he was intrigued by what a woman had to say about the stars. It was a dry subject, but Vala's passion for astronomy seemed to rub off her and intoxicate Sirius. For once, he felt more than lust.

"Well, Canis Major is made up of twelve stars, and unlike several other constellations it actually looks like what it's named after… Hmm… You'll like this, you know that star I pointed out to you? The bright one?"

"Yes," he answered, gazing thoughtfully at the sky. He found that he would be interested in anything she had to say, no matter how boring it appeared. She could talk about the life span of lightning bugs, and he'd be interested.

"Guess its name."

Sirius wrinkled his brow, searching for some typical Latin name. He was Einstein with a comb and style when it came to foreign foods, but quite the contrary when it came to languages. "I'm… not sure."

"Sirius. Often called the Dog Star," she said with a smile. She rolled over to face him. "It's the brightest star in the sky. Ironic that you should have so much in common." Before he could comment, she sat upright and pulled herself to her feet. "But enough of this, it's getting cold." She held a hand out for him. "We should be getting back--I don't like leaving Buckbeak all alone all this time."

Sirius took her hand, but he wasn't ready to go back. He wanted to hear more about the stars. Bugger that. He wanted to lie idly across the grass, feeling the weight of her head on his chest and listen to her voice. "He can make it alone," Sirius replied, catching his tongue too late. Momentarily caught off beat, he fell back into step. "The night's still young, we've got time to kill." He spun away from her, his arms open to greet the world in one big welcoming hug. "There's things to see, things to do…"

A soft smile powdered Vala's lips. "Sirius," she said, touching his arm and turning him to look at her. "The night is young, but so are we… there will be a tomorrow."

His shoulders drooped. There would be no tomorrow--Vala was leaving him tomorrow. How could a tomorrow exist without her?

"Come on, let's go back." Gently swinging an arm across his shoulder, she guided him back to the cave.

~+~+~+~

Romulus swept through Hogsmeade, potions concealed inside his cloak and weapons tied to his ankles and forearms. He was a man who prepared for the worst, but nothing could possibly have prepared him for what was about to happen.

~+~+~+~

"You shouldn't have to lie on the rocks."

Vala spared a glance for Sirius as she made to sit down. "Why is that?"

He moved in next to her and sat down. He opened his arms for her. "Here, lie on my chest, I'm used to it."

She brushed some pebbles away, and sat down. She lied down, propping herself up on her elbows, and looked to him. Sirius dropped his arms and rolled on his side to face her. "Which is why I should," she said.

He wrinkled his brow.

Vala couldn't say why, but if Sirius were a dog she could imagine him with perky little ears and an expression that simple said, What's going on? She had an urge to ruffle his hair, but contained herself. "Come here," she said, beckoning him to rest down on her. Obediently, like a good dog does, he moved closer and set his head on her chest. Gently, she wrapped one arm around him and rest her other hand on his head, smoothing his hair back.

Sirius closed his eyes soothingly, feeling the smooth intake of breath beneath him. Feeling life.

At length, Vala asked softly, "Do you remember the past, Sirius?"

"Mm Hmm," he answered in a slight hum.

"Those were real magical days, weren't they?"

He thought back, stirring up past memories. "They were sad," he said, eventually.

"Every day has its toils and struggles, but… you made it what it was. I really loved you guys--You were like brothers to me. I lost my family, and you guys took me in, simple as that, as if it was nothing."

Sirius' eyes were open now, listening to what Vala was saying.

"Did you ever think once of the danger I could have put on you?"

"Yes," he said and he bent his head to look up into her eyes. "But we had bigger concerns. You'd just lost your family to Death Eaters and Voldemort was still at large."

"And that never phased you?" she asked, tucking his hair behind his ear.

Sirius grinned. "It made things more exciting."

She smiled, and he shifted back into position. She lied in a reflective silence, brushing Sirius' hair back and recalling past experiences and questions. Finally, she took the dive. "Sirius?"

"Hmm?"

"What was it like escaping Azkaban?"

His breath caught for a moment, but soon fell back into place. "It was… like seeing the sun for the first time." He paused then added, "It's hard to explain, really."

"No," Vala replied, "I think I understand… it's like breathing fresh air for the first time in years."

"Yes," he agreed. "And feeling lush, green grass under you."

"The music of the birds," she continued, "A cool summer breeze."

Sirius sighed. "It really makes you appreciate the simple things in life."

"Yes, it does… and I'm not willing to give it back."

Sirius shifted to look up at her, but at that exact moment they heard Buckbeak ruffle his feathers, sending a heavy glare at the cave's entrance. Sirius watched him for a full heart beat before rolling over and unto his feet. Crouching low, he narrowed his eyes, inching backwards. Vala stared out into the night until a black-clad figure swept in front of her view.

(A/N: Dedicated to my dear friend Ren, who suggested the song to me and turned out to be a great idea. Love ya, Ren!

Sorry guys… I was just told today I'm spending the rest of the week with my sister… so I'll be back Monday, and I feel horrible about leaving the story here, but the next chapter is hardly started and it's not worth the rush to post crap. Well, I love you and thanks for giving me so much of your patience!)