Chapter 6: Games, Confessions, and the Marauder's Map
Alice and Dominique sat in their dormitory, painting their nails while they waited for Kierra to return from the library, and Lily to return from the prefects' meeting.
"Dear, this shade is way too bright for me" Alice said, holding her hands out to examine them. "I should've gone with a lighter shade, magenta isn't me".
"I think it looks great! You're just not used to those colors, honestly though, it suits you fine" Dominique answered, carefully sealing her bottle of red polish, as to not spoil her manicure.
Just then, the door burst open and in walked Lily.
"How'd your meeting go?" Dominique asked, blowing on her nails.
"Great! We've convinced Dumbledore to allow the 7th years extra Hogsmead visits, aside from the monthly ones that we have with the other students. The 7th years now get the privilege to go every other weekend!" Lily said excitedly.
"Excellent!" Alice said, "Potter treating you O.K?"
"Yea, actually he was being really nice to me! He seemed kind of nervous actually, when we talked…but he kept stuttering, and he wasn't being as loud and obnoxious as he usually is." Lily said, sitting Indian-style on her bed.
"Aww, how cute is he?" Alice exclaimed. Lily simply rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, he's trying to impress you, since you're going on a date with him next Saturday! That's sweet of him!"
"Yea, I guess…" Lily said, "So, what have you two been up to?"
"Well, we were discussing how we're going to hook Kierra and Remus up!" Alice said, exchanging excited looks with Dominique.
"And speaking of the devil"—Dominique said, pointing to the door. Kierra had just come up to the dormitory, with several books under her arm. "Well, how'd your essay writing date go?" Dominique giggled.
"Oh, shut it…" Kierra said grumpily as she set her books on the floor by her bed. "Well, at least I got my essay done." She said.
"So I take it that it didn't go too well?" Lily asked. "He wasn't being annoying was he?"
"Well, I was doing research for like the both of us, pretty much wrote his essay…keeps asking me questions, when most of the answers were in the book…urgh, why of all people, does it have to be me that he likes? And he's got a girlfriend! That cute little fifth year who tails him 24/7..."
"Don't worry Kierra, it's probably just a little crush that'll pass away soon enough," Dominique said, "since he's got that little girlfriend of his I highly doubt he'll make any moves on you."
"Let's hope not."
"Besides, he wouldn't dare make a move on you, not when you're gonna be Remus' girlfriend!" Alice said excitedly.
"Er, what?" Kierra looked from Alice to Dominique, to Lily.
"Dude, I don't know anything, they just told me right before you came in here!" Lily said.
"Ok, listen Kierra," Dominique said, sitting next to Kierra on her bed, "We all really want you to hook up with Remus. We think you two would be perfect for each other. But…it's going to require some effort on your part"—
"I'm not gonna ask him out!"
"You won't have to! You just need to get him to ask you out!"
"And how would I do that?"
"Well, he needs to notice you first!" Alice said.
"I think he already does. He notices that I'm an idiot"—
"No he doesn't!" Dominique interjected, "look, I was just telling Alice, before you and Lily came in…oftentimes, love is nothing more than a game…and in any game…you have to play to your strengths"—Dominique turned to Lily, who began to snigger. "What?"
"you sound like a coach…"
"I am so confused…" Kierra said, looking at Alice for help. "What do you mean you want me to play to my strengths? I haven't gotten any!"
"Yes you do! Look, you just need to learn to flaunt a little…strut your stuff"—
"I haven't gotten any stuff!"
"Yes you do!" Dominique replied, pointing at Kierra's chest.
"Oh gosh, you want me to flash my boobs at Remus? Look, I'm not that desperate"—
"No! I'm giving you an example! I'm just saying you've got some assets that you should use to your advantage! So, let's see, stand up Kierra" Dominique said.
"Why"—
"Just stand up"—Dominique ordered, and Kierra stood up. "Ok now turn around slowly"
"Oh God, I feel like I'm on display" Kierra groaned as she took tiny steps clockwise so the girls could examine her."
"Well geez, those are like the nicest legs I've ever seen" Dominique muttered, "you should really wear skirts on the weekends"—
"I hate skirts! And five days of skirts a week is more than enough for me!"
"Well, you need to learn to like them!" Dominique replied.
Kierra let out another groan. "Look, I don't know if I want to play this little game, as you call it. I like Remus, but I don't think I want to go to these extents to get him…"
"Alright…fine…" Dominique said, crossing her arms over her chest, pretending not to care. Kierra rolled her eyes and laughed. "We'll see, O.K? Right now, all I want is to sleep. We'll talk about it tomorrow, k?"
"Alright then" Dominique said, as she made her way to her own bed.
"Night guys" Kierra said as she pulled the curtains around her four poster bed.
"Ahh Miss Fiore there you are! I need to talk to you, please come into my office." The newly appointed headmistress, Madam Maxim said.
"Yes Ma'am" Dominique replied as she followed her into her office.
"Well, you might want to sit down for this", Madam Maxim cleared her throat as Dominique took a seat, "my dear, I am very sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but…I'm afraid I just received a note from your great uncle, Professor Dumbledore. Your parents were killed this morning in an auto accident. I'm sorry." Madam Maxim slowly extended her arm out, to give her the letter from Dumbledore. "He explained the full details here."
Dominique took the parchment, unrolled it, and read over it. When she reached the end, she looked up at Madam Maxim. "I don't have any family"—
"You have Dumbledore, my dear. He'll be taking care of you"—
Tears came down her eyes. "But I don't even know him! And my parents said he was a weirdo"—
"Dominique, you didn't take everything your parents say to be the truth, did you? I know how you felt about them"—
"Well, all the same…" Dominique sniffed. Madam Maxim looked at Dominique with sad eyes. "I am sorry, dear." She sighed and got up. "I need to make my appearance at the dinner right now. Do you want me to summon Tyler here for you"—
"No!"
Madam Maxim looked at her appraisingly.
"I mean, no,..no thank you." Madam Maxim walked up closer to her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…I..er…I broke up with him, that's all." Madam Maxim nodded slowly.
"Well, Professor Dumbledore will be here shortly to escort you out. I suppose it would be best to for you to pack up then."
"Right. Well, Good bye Ma'am"
"Good bye Dominique" she replied as she pulled her into a hug, lifting her off the ground as she did so.
Dominique opened her eyes and sat up, looking around her dormitory at the sleeping girls. 'I can't believe I'm here sometimes' she thought as she lay back down in her bed, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep.
"Look how beautiful it is outside!" Kierra exclaimed as she looked out the window from the common room. "Let's go out"—
Dominique groaned. "I have to finish my homework though!"
"Oh come on, you've got all day!"
"Kierra, it's like 4pm, most of the day is gone! You guys can go on without me, I need to finish this essay for Care of Magical Creatures, so I'll just see you all at dinner."
"Alright, see you then!" Kierra called after her as she, Alice and Lily headed out the portrait hole.
Dominique sighed and looked around. The Gryffindor common room was practically empty, it was such a nice day that everyone was outside, enjoying the fresh air. The only other person in her acquaintance whom hadn't gone outside and was in the common room studying like her, was Remus, who sat right next to her on the couch.
"Remus, you know anything about phoenixes, aside from the fact that their tears have healing powers?"
Remus looked up from his stack of work. "Er…well, I know that they catch on fire when they die, and are reborn again…"
"Ooh, that's right! Thanks!" Dominique said excitedly as she began scribbling furiously on her parchment. "Oh, I just remembered! Dumbedore's got a phoenix! Maybe I could ask him!" Dominique said as she put her quill down, and looked at the clock. "Well, I suppose I'll ask him after dinner then…Say, what are you working on?"
"Finished! Sorry, did you say something?" Remus asked as he closed his books.
Dominique smiled. "What were you working on?"
"Oh, transfiguration homework"
"Oh" Dominique leaned over and rested her head against Remus' shoulder and closed her eyes. "Remus…"
"Hmm?"
"You're not seeing anyone, are you?"
Remus stopped reading his book, but kept looking at the pages. "Er…no, why?"
"Oh, just wondering…are you interested in anyone?"
"uhh…why?"
Dominique lifted her head from his shoulder and stared at him as if he had said something stupid. "You can tell me, Remus! How far do we go back now?"
Remus laughed. "Right, right…well…if you must know…there is a girl"—
"oooh! Who?"
"but I'm not going for her, because she's taken…and I'm not telling you who it is"—
"Why? It's not like I'm not gonna get her to break up with her boyfriend to get her to go out with you!"
"Yea…that is something you would do" Remus smiled.
"No it's not!" Remus raised an eyebrow at her. "Ok, it is…" she smiled back. "Well, I feel bad for that girl, whoever she is…she is missing out! And I bet the guy she's dating is some deadbeat compared to you"
Remus let out a hollow laugh. "You flatter me. He's a nice guy though."
"Not as nice as you though, I'm sure" she smiled as she took his hand in her own.
'Then why are you dating him and not me?' Remus thought, as he smiled back at her, putting an arm around her as she rested her head against him again.
Dominique closed her eyes, but started up again, "Really Remus, you're such a sweet guy. Can't understand why you haven't got a girlfriend. Well, I must say though that I'd want her to be deserving of you…"
"Can you think of anyone here who deserves me?" he asked, laughing.
Dominique looked up at him, her face a few inches from his. She smiled slyly. "Yes, I can think of one girl who would."
He looked at her, a bit startled, but regained his composure. "Really, who?"
"Guess"
"No, I hate guessing games! Come on, tell me. I bet she doesn't deserve me at all" he said sarcastically, running his fingers through his hair, ruffling it up, Potter style.
Dominique laughed. "Ok, she's in Gryffindor, that's all I'll say"—
"D, there's a lot of girls in Gryffindor! What year is she?"
"I'm not saying! There's only a few girls in each year!"
"She's not like a first year is she? That'd be kind of gross…" he said, making her laugh.
"No, no…she's much older than that…"
"What's she like?"
"Well…she's very pretty…mmm…she's smart…funny….very cute…"
"She sounds like you..."
Dominique laughed. "Remus!"
"No really, you are all of that…" he said, looking deeply into her dark brown eyes. Dominique smiled at first, but as she stared back at him, she realized something. He wasn't joking around, he looked very serious…and his eyes…that look in his eyes…. Suddenly, a light seemed to flicker on in Dominique's head. "Remus…" she gasped as her smile melted.
Realizing that Dominique had seen through him, Remus let go of her, causing her to fall back on the couch slightly.
"You don't…"
"I do" Remus said, looking at the ground. "You're the girl who's taken…"
"no…you don't"—
"yes…I'm sorry…" he looked up at her anxiously. "I really am. Don't think I'm happy about this, D…you're one of my best friends….and Sirius, he's like my brother! Great…I feel like shit now for doing this to you"—
"How long…have you?"
"Since the first day I saw you, Dominique. Just my luck that Sirius got to you first, I suppose…"
Dominique looked down at her hands, trying not to let Remus see tears well up in her eyes.
"Well," he continued, "you're with him now…I can see you two are quite fond of each other…I don't want to be the one to ruin it for you guys. I mean, I hope I haven't already…"
Dominique simply nodded in understanding.
"You don't…well…I mean…I'm uh…assuming my feelings aren't reciprocated?"
Dominique looked up at him and took his hands again. "I've always loved you, Remus. You've been like the big brother that I've never had. I want to keep seeing you as that…" Remus nodded, and looked back at Dominique, whose eyes were filling with tears.
"Now it's nothing to cry about D…"
"I can't believe all this time though…" she said more to herself than to him, "you were supposed to like her…oh…oh, I'm a terrible person…" Dominique whispered through her tears.
"Who?"
"Oh, nevermind!" Dominique snapped. She stood up quickly, and before Remus could protest, she was out of the common room.
"Aaah Dinner! I'm famished!" James announced as he took a seat in the great hall.
"You're always famished, Prongs" Sirius said, as he sat next to him.
James grinned as he reached for a roll. "Hey I'm a growing boy, I need extra nourishment!"
"Of course you do" replied Sirius, who was looking down the Gryffindor table, hoping to catch a glimpse of Dominique.
"Hey Moony!" Peter waved at Remus as he came to join the boys. "Where were you? We thought you'd be in the common room, but you weren't there when we came, so we went to dinner without you!"
"Oh..sorry…I uh…fancied a walk outside…"
Twenty minutes later, (yes, the boys were still eating, the pigs) the marauders were joined by Lily, Alice and Kierra.
"Oi ladies, care to join us?" James asked, scooting over to make way for Lily, who took the seat.
"Have you guys seen Dominique?" Lily asked abruptly.
"What she's not with you?" asked James.
"Ugh, don't talk with your mouth full, Potter! And does it look like she's with us? Why do you think we're asking in the first place?" Kierra retorted.
"Don't get frisky with me, Nakofsky, save it for—OWWW!" Alice had pinched James very hard in the arm.
"Do you know where she is or not?" Alice asked.
"No!"
"You were probably with her last, Remus" Lily said, "where did she go after you guys studied in the common room?"
"Oh…uh…you know, she didn't look too well…maybe she went to the hospital wing…"
"She was sick? She didn't say anything about where she was going?"
"Sick…I don't know…maybe….where she was going, she never said…I'm just throwing a suggestion…"
"I know how we can find her!" Sirius said, getting up.
"How?" Lily, Alice and Kierra asked at once.
"Come on, let's go to our dormitory"—
"wait…whaat?" James said, "Why are we going"—
"the map!"
"What map?" asked Kierra.
"I don't know! We haven't got a map!" James exclaimed, grabbing the basket of rolls from the table as they left the great hall. He ran to catch up with Sirius. "Sirius, what are you doing!" he hissed, "that's top secret!"
"What's top secret?" Kierra asked; she too had caught up with Sirius.
"Nothing!"
"Oh shut it James" Sirius said, as they made their way through the portrait hole, "Come on!" Sirius shouted as he led the way up to the boys' dormitory.
"Hey how come they can come up here, but we can't go into their dorms?" Peter asked, as he saw that all the girls were able to make it safely up the steps.
"Oh, the architects of Hogwarts thought boys were less trustworthy than girls" Lily said.
"They had good reason too, I think" Remus added.
"Oh my gosh, this place is disgusting!" Lily exclaimed as they entered the dormitory. Books and clothes lay around the floor everywhere. Plates of food were scattered around, a spilt box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans lay on one of the unmade beds.
"Ugh, boys are gross…" Alice said, as she accidentally got her foot caught in a pair of boxers. "Those are Frank's you know.." James commented.
"Ohh…"
"Where is it? James"—Sirius was searching under one of the beds.
"Sirius, why don't we all split up and look around the castle!"
"Do you know how big this castle is, James?" Alice snapped.
James ignored her and continued at Sirius. "Come on! We were bounded by secrecy! We can't reveal our secrets to them! Doesn't fraternity mean anything to you?" James bellowed.
"James, I want to know where Dominique is, o.k.?"
"She's probably not in any trouble"—
"I don't care—AH here it is! I just want to know where she is!" Sirius opened up a battered up piece of parchment.
"What is that?" Lily asked.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" Sirius said, tapping his wand on the parchment.
"Monsieur. Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail…present…The Marauders' Map…" Lily read, "what the hell is that?"
"This is a map of Hogwarts, and it shows you all people that are moving around the castle. We made it ourselves…" Sirius said proudly.
"Way cool! So those are your nicknames?" Kierra asked. "Ohh! I remember hearing one of you guys call Remus Moony! So who's Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail?"
"I'm Padfoot" Sirius answered.
"I'm Prongs" added James.
"And I'm Wormtail" said Peter.
"What's with the names"—
"Never you mind. Look we're trying to find D…look, there she is!" Sirius said, pointing to a dot labeled Dominique, she was walking around in a small circle, in the girls bathroom.
"Wait hold on…" Alice looked at the map more closely. "is that the one bathroom"—
"that has Moaning Myrtle in there?" Lily finished.
"I think so" Kierra answered.
"Well," James took the map from Sirius, "Mischief managed" he said as he tapped the map, he turned to the girls. "Listen, we've helped you find your friend, so you cannot, and I repeat, you CANNOT tell anyone about this map, got it?" The girls nodded quickly and ran out the door, followed by the boys at their heels.
Dominique had been walking aimlessly around the castle for half an hour. During her meandering, she walked passed a bathroom, from which came a shrill moan.
"That's probably the loo the girls are always talking about! She can't be that bad…" Dominique thought as she came into the bathroom.
"Hello…?" Dominique called out. SPLASH! One of the toilets seemed to have overflowed and water exploded from it, followed by a loud cackle.
"What do you want!" asked the ghost who had just come out of the exploding toilet.
"You must be Myrtle then?" Dominique asked.
"I can't believe it! So even 50 years after my death, girls still gossip about me!"
"Oh dear…" Dominique muttered. She leaned against the tiled wall of the bathroom and sunk to the ground, crying.
"Ah, I see that the girls have found a new victim to pick on? You've come crying to the bathroom now, huh? Well that's what I used to do…I'd come in here almost every day to cry my sorrows"—
"No one's picking on me"—Dominique said between cries.
"Then what you crying about?" Myrtle asked, floating over towards Dominique. Her tone of annoyance seemed to have disappeared, and was replaced by curiosity.
"I just feel guilty"—
"Oh, so you must be one of those girls, on the other end! The bully! I had a feeling…no way you could have been in my place…too pretty to be a victim of teasing…."
"I never bullied anyone!" Dominique replied. "I just feel guilty, because I wanted to hook up two of my friends…cause she liked him….but….I found out he likes me…and I feel bad about it…I feel bad for her…" she sniffed.
Myrtle rolled her ghostly eyes. "You call that a problem? I wish I had problems like that! You want to know what people used to make fun of me about? My glasses!"
"You know, why don't you tell someone who cares, Myrtle!" Dominique retored, as she got up. Just then she could hear voices coming from outside the bathroom.
"Oi, here it is guys!" she heard Kierra's voice.
"You can come in, no one uses this bathroom" she heard Alice say.
"Cool, I've never been in a girls' bathroom before!" she heard James say excitedly.
Dominique quickly turned to Myrtle. "Don't you dare say anything to them!" she said harshly.
Myrtle smiled. "YOOHOOO IN HERE! OUR LOVELY DEAR HAS BEEN CRYING HER EYES OUT! HEY WHERE'RE YOU GOING?" Myrtle shouted as Dominique ran out of the bathroom. 'Hah…she can't follow me out' Dominique thought as she shut the bathroom door behind her.
"Dominique! You've been here all this time?" Lily shouted as she ran over to her. Dominique tried laughing but choked halfway through when she saw that Remus was amongst the search party. "What happened?"
"N-nn-nothing…" Dominique said quickly, trying to avoid Remus' eyes, as well as Kierra's and Sirius'.
"Come on…something's wrong D, what happened?" Kierra asked. Dominique looked around her. They were all closing in on her, pressuring her to talk. All except Remus, who stood at the edge of the circle, hands in his pockets. Dominique shut her eyes tightly to keep the tears from coming down again. Without thinking, she pushed herself through her group of friends, smacking the first person who tried to hold her back. "Ooof!" she heard Sirius grunt.
"I'm sorry!" She called out after him as she stormed off. "I just want to be alone!" Dominique sprinted up the stairs, two at a time, determined to get some solace, and she only knew one place to get that.
"Lemon drop"
As the eagle statue swerved out of the way for her, Dominique went up another flight of stairs, and found herself standing in front of a heavy wooden door. She knocked lightly on it, hoping it wasn't empty.
"Come in."
Dominique slowly opened the door, much to her relief, to find a small old man with a very long, white beard, with half moon shaped glasses, sitting at his desk.
"Are you busy?"
"Not for you dear. Have a seat" he said, indicating the chair that sat opposite of him. "You know, I'm very glad to see you, Dominique. I was a bit worried you'd never come and visit your great-uncle."
"Sorry"—
"No need to apologize, Dominique. Now, I am thinking that you came in here for a particular reason. Is there something you wanted to tell me?"
Dominique nodded. "I…um…are there any extra rooms around here?"
Dumbledore stared at her, half amused, half perplexed. "Do you not find your dormitory to be suitable?"
"No, its great…it's just that…I don't want to see my friends…I don't want to go back to the Gryffindor common room to see anyone…I don't want to face them."
"What is troubling you, my dear?"
"You'll think it's stupid…"
"There are no such things as stupid troubles, Dominique".
"Yea there are…well, no matter. Well…I…was trying to help a friend with something…but it sort of backfired…" Dominique said slowly, trying to be as vague as possible.
"Dominique, I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate for me, as I am not of understanding. What exactly did you try to help your friend with?"
"getaboyfriend" Dominique mumbled.
"I see". Can I conclude then, as you said your plan backfired, this boy…er...likes you?"
"yes…"
"Mr. Black?"
"No…I mean, he does, and I like him too…we're together, I guess…but…I was trying to set my friend up with some other guy…and its even worse because he's friends with Sirius…"
"I see…" Dumbledore nodded in acknowledgement. 'He's not stupid. He probably knows I'm talking about Remus' Dominique thought.
"Pardon the interruption Headmaster," one of the portraits in Dumbledore's office spoke up, "but I couldn't help overhearing this young dame mention my great-great-grandson's name! Is the lady being courted by him?"
Dumbledore let out a small sigh. "Dominique, this is Phineas Nigellus, he was once a headmaster here at Hogwarts, and is the great-great-grandfather of Mr. Black."
Dominique looked up at the portrait of the tall, well built man, who was dressed in all black. "Pleased to meet you sir" Dominique said, trying to smile.
"Well, I'll be very happy to convey the news to Mr. and Mrs. Black!" Phineas announced, running out of the portrait.
"Phineas"—Dumbledore called after him, but he had already disappeared. "Well," he said, turning back to Dominique, "Phineas often forgets that Sirius is not on good terms with his parents, and that they've disowned him. I expect he'll be back here in no time, telling us about their reactions. Well, enough digression. So, it seems that you're caught in a bit of a love triangle then? Or, a square, rather?"
"yea, pretty much"
"Did you come to get advice on the matter?"
"Yes…no….I don't know…I just needed to talk, I guess…I mean, I don't know how to act around them now…so I guess advice is welcomed…" Dominique said.
"Well, in my 100 years as headmaster, this is the first time someone has ever approached me on the subject of love. Well, man-woman love…Well, there are firsts for everyone…let this be mine…Dominique, how do you feel about Sirius?"
"Well…I just met him…but I like him…he's really nice…interesting guy…"
"And your friend…the one who likes you…what do you think of him?"
"I like him too…even more, as a matter of fact, since I've known him longer…but I see him as a brother."
"Well, it seems perfectly clear to me what you should do."
"Stay with Sirius..and…stay friends with Re—oh hell, I'm sure you knew I was talking about Remus, didn't you?" Dominique asked. Dumbledore nodded.
"He is a good boy. I was surprised actually when I saw that your affections went towards Sirius and not him…I knew that you two had grown up together, so I only thought you two would have…coupled up….but on the other hand, young Mr. Black is also a good boy, in his own ways, and he can be a quite determined fellow, as I saw on the day you got sorted" he said, his eyes twinkling at her.
"So you approve of him then?" Dominique asked, smiling for the first time that day.
"Do you need my blessings?"
"No, but I should like to know I have them all the same" Dominique replied.
"Yes, I approve of him completely. And I daresay Remus will soon enough find love elsewhere, perhaps in Miss Nakofky…she's a good girl…"
"Uncle Alby! You knew I was talking about her too?"
Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Well, I was only hypothesizing…and Dominique my dear, I ask only one favor of you."
"Anything"
"If you could limit the usage of that nickname to only our private conversations? I don't think the ministry, nor parents, would be too thrilled at having a headmaster named Professor Alby."
Dominique smiled. "Got it".
"Well, any other preoccupations you'd like to tell me about? How do you find Hogwarts? Not homesick are you?"
"Well, only for the food…but otherwise I'm O.K." Dominique replied.
Dumbledore nodded. "Well, if that is it, and if you don't want the extra room"—
"I'm fine…oh, one more thing."
"Yes?"
"Do you know anything about phoenixes? Since you've got Fawkes…and I've got an essay to write"—
Dumbledore smiled. "I am afraid that I cannot assist you too much with your homework, as that is your own responsibility, my dear. However," Dumbledore walked over to one of his bookshelves, and pulled out a thin, colorful book, with a picture of a bright red phoenix on the cover, flapping its wings. "you might find this book to be useful in your research".
"Oh wow…thanks! Well…I'll see you…good night"
"good night Dominique".
As Dominique came through the portrait hole, she sighed with relief to see that Remus was not there. Instead, there was Alice, Kierra, Lily, and Sirius, staring at her, as if they knew she was coming at any second.
"About time!" Kierra said, "we were worried! What took you so long?"
"I was…just…"
"Talking to Dumbledore?" Sirius asked.
"What? How'd you know"—
"I'll explain later. Is everything ok?" Sirius asked.
"Yea, everything's fine…look, I'm tired, I just want to sleep right now. Can I just talk in the morning?" Dominique yawned and headed up the stairs without waiting for a response, leaving Sirius and the girls staring after her with curiosity.