Author: Masqued.
Title: When the Wounds Mend
Summary:
Rating: PG-13.
Disclaimer: Bah humbug. I do not, in anyway, shape, or form own the characters. JK owns all of it, including the dreamy Draco Malfoy, making it impossible for me to own him. Bah! But, this story is mine, so please, no stealing? Thank you.
Warning: This fic has a song in it. You have been warned.
--
When the Wounds Mend
Chapter Three: Turn Your Love Around
--
"You're joking!" Ron quipped sarcastically to the frizzy-haired girl that was slumped in her stride in front of him. "I would never have guessed such a thing was possible." Hermione, determined to ignore the pompous jerk that was blabbering about her most recent mistake, sauntered from the coat rack and directly to a chair at the counter.
"Harry, can you get me a cup of tea, a scone, and a sledge hammer?" Harry, lips tweaking in mild amusement, nodded his head and poured a cup of tea for his best friend.
Ron, having finally placed his coat onto the coat rack, leaned over Hermione's hair and turned his lips directly to her ear.
"Told you," he smirked and took the seat beside her. Of course, what he'd said awarded him with a swift swat to his arm. "Hey, what was that for?"
Hermione shot him a glare and the red-head immediately shut down his hyperactivity, newly founded by his best friend's inevitable mistake.
"So, does Harry get to find out what happened?" Harry placed down Hermione's tea cup and leaned over the counter in interest, awaiting one of his friends to answer.
"Seamus," Hermione stated after an elongated sigh. Harry nodded his head knowingly.
"Guess what he tried to do on their date last night." Ron chided innocently before shoving half a scone into his mouth.
"Oh, tried to get into your knickers, did he?" Hermione, having taken to a staring contest with her steaming water, let out another distracted and irritated sigh.
"Yes, yes! All right? We all now realize that Hermione made a mistake. Lets all bugger off so she can enjoy her hot tea, scone, and hope for better decision making in the future." Raising her cup, she toasted to herself before downing nearly half of the hot liquid.
"Ron, you twit, you've upset her." Ron held his hands up in defense.
"She was the one that gave me the details about the date." Harry turned his eyes back to Hermione.
"I know, I know… bad move," she stated, snaking her fingers around a scone. Harry shook his head and turned to get Ron a cup of coffee, nearly smacking into Sirius.
"Oh, sorry pop," Harry skirted around his Godfather and to the coffee pot.
"So, Hermione, 'said you needed to talk to me?" Sirius leaned over the counter to look at the brunette in front of him.
"Yes, if it isn't too much trouble… I just wanted to know what happened between you and Remus Lupin." Hermione Granger – straight to the point on anything, even if it makes everyone in the room uncomfortable. A smirk flitted across Sirius' lips as he looked at the completely serious girl in front of him.
Of course, directly next to her, Ron was choking on the other half of his scone in bewilderment.
"'Mione!" He belted in surprise after regaining composure. This fueled a soft chuckle that Sirius let slip from his lips.
"No, no, it's all right." His lips curled again as he let out another chuckle before leaning his back against an inactive coffee maker. "Remus 'n me, huh? Well, where to begin. We met in high school, along with Harry's folks. It was like a little crew we had. We were good kids, smart, but cunning and very mischievous in our little ways. We reeked a great deal of havoc in that school," he paused to let out a mild laugh; "great deal of havoc… and ole' Moony was always the one to simply disagree with our chaotic ideas. Of course, he was nearly always the one that forced us to go through with it by the end of it all…"
--
"Come on, Moony! Please?" A young, longer-haired Sirius whined, clinging to his best friend's arm.
"No. We have our finals this week, you git!" Sirius refused to release Remus' arm, his lips curtly floating down to a strong, and puppy dog pout. Nearby, James was laughing hysterically at his best friend's inability to encourage Remus into their newest villainous scheme.
"Oy, come on Moony! It's just a little prank…" Sirius whimpered, dropping to his knees; "You can just be the driver of the getaway car!" Remus kneaded his temples in a hopeful chance of resistance to his best friend's persistent banter.
"I'm always the getaway driver. Or, proposed to be such. Then I'm the guy that forces you out of the car so you actually do your dastardly deed." Remus had a very good point. That was always the truthful detail of all of their little escapades.
"Prongs, give me some help here!" Sirius looked to his bawling best friend.
"No deal Pads, your own your own with this one." Sirius glared at his best friend in disdain.
"Mooooon-y!" Remus sighed.
"Fine. Let's go and get this done with. And don't either of you gits chicken out at the last minute." Sirius nodded and took his two friends by the arms and immediately skipped out of the garage they'd taken homage in.
--
Hermione smirked warmly.
"Remus and I would have a great deal to talk about," she chirped, glaring daggers at Ron and Harry, who instinctively turned to each other and struck up a conversation about sponges to give the effect that they hadn't been eavesdropping the entire time.
"Well, yes, I think that's where this little prat gets it from," Sirius ruffled Harry's hair, receiving a swat to his hand in the process. "Well, Moony and I were caught in a bind once… literally. James was determined to keep us away from his date with Lily, hoping to actually have a real date with the girl of his dreams. Of course, in the friendliest way, Remus and I declared that we would accompany him and Lily on their date, just too unsure that she wouldn't find James to be a total twit, which he was when he wasn't with us." He paused, smirking. "Of course, ole' Prongsy wasn't too keen on the idea, and so, he took to binding Remus and I in the garage – with multiple locks on the garage door as well as on the windows…"
--
"Prongs! This isn't fair! You're locking me in with the human encyclopedia!" Sirius, as per usual, complained rather loudly to his best friend that was standing on the opposite side of the garage door.
"I'm sure you'll be just fine, Pads. And say you're sorry, I'm sure you just hurt poor Moony's feelings." Sirius, realizing that he'd made a quick sarcastic remark about his best friend without registering the fact that he did indeed have feelings, turned his attention back to Remus.
"Sorry Moony, didn't mean any harm," came a very soft reply. Remus chuckled and clapped his hand onto Sirius' back.
"No harm done." Sirius smiled and flopped onto the couch in the garage, staring at the ceiling.
"Well, this will be a wonderful adventure, huh?" Remus chuckled again and slid down onto the opposite end of the couch, leaning his back against the cushion.
Now, it wasn't that Sirius didn't enjoy Remus' company. He loved his best friend very much. It was just the unbearable and unexplainable attraction to his best friend that he didn't enjoy, as it was beginning to get harder and harder to even sit beside the lithe, brunette male. Even with just his heels resting on the unaware male's thighs gave Sirius' body a surge of something he wasn't quite sure he wanted to square with just yet.
Guys weren't supposed to be attracted to guys – let alone love them.
Sirius' thoughts jolted to a halt.
Love?
Love.
'I… no. I can't! That's… do I?' Sirius' befuddled thoughts transferred to his expression, gaining a smirking Remus' stare.
"What's on your mind, Sirius? Thinking of another way to terrorize that old cat lady on Third?" Sirius' expression betrayed no emotion but completely clouded and distant confusion. "Padfoot?" Sirius still had yet to come out of his thoughts. Remus was beginning to say his name in a sing-song voice in attempt to get Sirius back to reality. It wasn't until Remus was leaning his face over Sirius' that the dark-haired male realized he'd been spoken to.
"Huh?" His eyes turned up to the face inches from his eyes, butterflies soaring to his stomach as Remus' smile-lit eyes scanned over his best friend's face.
"Where'd you go? I thought I'd finally lost you to your own world." Remus' cheeky grin gave Sirius the urge to wipe it off his lips… with his own. "Sirius, wake up. What's on your mind?" Remus' face was still dangerously close to Sirius.
Defeated, Sirius let out a soft sigh.
"This," and with that soft utterance of an explanation, Sirius shot his head up and slammed his lips against Remus'.
Surprise would be an understatement to what Remus was feeling when his lips collided with Sirius'. Emotions going haywire would be a measly example to what was surging through their bodies as they both fought to make the kiss as intimate as possible – including tongues, hands, and soft moans.
For a split second, the two broke to breathe.
"Sirius-" was all that was muttered from Remus' lips before Sirius attacked Remus' lips again, taking the opportunity to slide his tongue into the warm cavern. Remus, not allowing Sirius to best him, eagerly fought back.
Again, they broke apart.
"Sirius, wait." Sirius, sighing, slid back up against the arm of the couch, looking at the brunette that had settled on Sirius' hips.
"Remus, I'm sorry. It's just that, you were on my mind so much, and I didn't think I'd ever have a more perfect chance, and since I figured you would be too receptive to me loving you, I-"
"What?" Sirius paused.
"I said it was the perfect chance to--"
"No, after that. About loving me." Sirius' face submerged to a must unusual blush.
"Yeah, about that… while I was just sitting here, thinking about it… I realized I loved you." Remus' lips curled hurriedly to a smile before he slammed his lips to Sirius' shocked lips. The heated kiss began and ended so fast, Sirius was still wearing a bemused smile over his lips. "Well?"
"I love you too, Pads."
--
Hermione's tear-filled eyes glimmered as she rested her chin her hands and stared at Sirius.
"That's so romantic," she muttered wistfully, smiling. Sirius smirked.
"That's what Remus said." He chuckled again. "Well, anyway, he and I dated for five years… we graduated high school the year after we started dating, then went to college together. Near the end of college, though, I broke it off with him." Hermione's ears perked up at the disappointing news.
"But… why?" Sirius waved his hand to brush the matter aside.
"I loved him too much to hold him down like the lazy bum I was. I wanted to open this coffee shop, maybe take a few night courses in Literature… he wanted to be a traveler, and wanted to be together forever. Now, don't get me wrong… I'm not afraid of commitment. That's not the case at all. I simply did not want to limit his chances of being completely happy with whoever he could be with… because I knew there was no way I was the best for him." Sirius shrugged his shoulders lamely. "So I walked out, determined to make sure I didn't hold him down anymore." Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in anger.
"What? You've got to be kidding. Didn't you ever take into consideration that he may have loved you enough to stay with you? Maybe that perfect person for him was you! For all you know, he could have planned his life around being with you – and now he could probably be the most miserable person alive." Sirius, taking her outrage as young frustration and misunderstandings, shook his head with a weak smirk on his lips again.
"Well, we'll never know, will we?" With that, he waved his hand to dismiss the matter all together, and sauntered off to help a nearby customer.
"See? He's still in love with him." Harry pointed out. Hermione, having never doubted the subject, sighed and leaned against the back of her chair in defeat.
"Well, what are we going to do? Remus is miserable with himself. He hates that he hasn't been with Sirius for over sixteen years, and hates even more that neither of them have tried to contact one another…" Hermione's frustration was taken out on the counter, which she slammed angrily with her fist.
"You could get them to meet up in person, somehow," said Ron vaguely from behind his mug and plate. "That way, they could… you know… talk." Hermione, having completely forgotten her eminent hatred of the red-head, flung her arms around the boy's neck and smothered his face with kisses.
"Ron! You're a genius!" Ron, who was now blushing immensely, barely managed a few squeaks of approval and gratitude. His eyes shifted from the girl clinging to him to Harry.
"Don't look at me, I'm not kissing you." Ron shot him a deadpan look. "Well, all right, so we get them together. But we can't guarantee that they would talk at such a meeting." Hermione, who had finally pried herself off of Ron, sighed and slumped back into her chair.
"No… we can't." Ron sipped his coffee before speaking up again.
"There's a karaoke bar right near here… it's going to be Christmas soon, and they have a special night for couples to come and admit just how much they love each other through corny and sappy songs." Having received odd looks from his best friends, Ron held his hands up in defense. "My Mum and Dad go every year. They even dragged me once, because no one else agreed to be there to drive them home." Harry chuckled.
"Sounds like something they'd do," he admitted, before leaning on the counter.
"You know, Ron… I have to admit. Your chunk full of useless information is actually very handy…" Hermione smiled and patted Ron's shoulder.
"Thanks! …Wait!" Hermione and Harry simply looked to one another and smiled again.
--
"No. He doesn't love me anymore. Where's the point in even trying?" Remus Lupin was sitting, unnerved, on the bed in his hotel room.
"You've come this far! Why not just go through with it." Remus seemed defeated as the girl in front of him had the ability to instill in him a type of courage he was unaware of.
"How'd you get up here, anyway?" Remus asked, amused at Hermione's showing up at his door.
"Well… Let's just say, the clerk at the front desk thinks you're a very lucky man right now." Which, indeed the clerk had stated before Hermione had walked up the steps to the room that he'd stated was Remus'. Of course, he'd instantly thought that if a relatively pretty, young girl was walking up to a middle-aged, wealthy man's room that her intentions were not to force him to go to a karaoke bar and sing to his ex-lover.
Remus smirked.
"All right, well, tell me the plan…"
Hermione smiled and happily obliged.
--
Now, you may be wondering, where was Draco Malfoy in this whole mess? Had he fallen off the face of the earth? Had he disappeared? Well, not precisely – but he had managed to avoid Harry at all costs after their project had been finished and handed in, awarding both of them with high nineties.
Lounging in a small breakfast nook in his mother's home, Draco pondered the very existence that was Harry Potter. He wasn't a person, or a creature – he was entity, all to himself. An entity that lingered fruitlessly in Draco's mind, as he wasn't going to bother to start anything with him. They'd kissed, they'd embraced, and that was all. There was nothing more between but pure lust and infatuation, which he had concluded was beginning to subside.
But then why was the boy stuck in his head?
Draco sighed and resumed his thoughts back to the day that he and Potter had embraced near his car. Thankfully, though, there was an interruption in Draco's thoughts.
"Draco – dear, can you help me with this?" Narcissa Malfoy was hauling a large potted plant into the breakfast nook in an old and rusting radio flyer. Draco slid down from his seat and aided his mother in placing the tall, flowing plant to a resting place in a corner of the room.
"Mother, what is this?" Draco's eyes scanned the plants form.
"It's a plant, Draco dear." Draco rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Mother, I'm well aware of it. What kind of plant. And better yet, why on earth do you have it?" Narcissa smiled warmly.
"Well, I have every intention of keeping it and watch it thrive under my care." With that, the lithe female strode out of the room, humming. Draco sighed and hung his head.
"First I sit thinking about Potter, now mother has begun a lifestyle of gardening… has the entire world gone mad, or is just this household?" Sighing again, Draco resumed his spot at the counter in the breakfast nook. "Well… the plant seems all right… who knows; maybe Potter and I can make it work like my mother and this stupid thing." Draco lazily gazed at the thriving plant. "Huh, maybe…"
--
"Harry… where on earth are you taking me?" Sirius, following his godson to wherever he was leading like a blind man, questioned for the fiftieth time the whereabouts of their destination.
"I told you, Dad, it's a surprise. Now shut up and just follow me." Sirius, admitting his own defeat, scanned the area they were traversing through and tried to catch a common landmark to clue him in to where they were off to. Nothing, unfortunately, gave him any idea of where he was being led to.
"We're here!" Harry stopped right in front of 'Estelle's Karaoke Bar', the name lit up by golden light bulbs, a sign beside the door imploring all couples to come that night to relieve their inability to express their love with the use of songs. Sirius, utterly confused, blindly followed Harry into the small bar, was raising an eyebrow at his godson again.
"Ok… this is… nice…" The entire bar was decked out in red and green and the soft murmur of people's hushed voices were heard around the bar. Candlelit tables held only two people each, and Sirius was even more lost. "What now?" Harry pointed vaguely to a reserved table, where a rose sat beneath a note. Sighing, Sirius glared at his godson one last time before making his way to the table in the middle of the room, and then picked up the note.
Sirius,
I haven't the slightest of clues on how to start this. I never thought I'd be doing, in all truthfulness. Bit, I figured… if I don't ever do this, I'd never know if what we had was truly meant to be… or if you were right to leave. Of course, I've never thought you were right in your reason for leaving… and it took me forever to convince myself that it was a misunderstanding that I shouldn't have let happen.
Sirius, I love you. I always have, I always will, and there is nothing on this planet that could make me stop.
Look up.
Sirius' gaze drifted to the front of the room where Remus Lupin was standing, nervously, at a microphone, his absent hand fiddling with a few loose strands of his hair that fell to his eyes. Music swiftly flew through the speakers, and Remus opened his lips to begin to sing.
"You've
got the love
You've got the power
But you just don't understand
Man,
you've been charging by the hour
For your love."
Sirius couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at Remus on the stage in front of him. Was Remus Lupin, singing a love song, to him?
"I'm
tryin' to show how much I love you
Still believe in romance
You're
taking way too many chances
With my love."
Sirius hid his face; yes, Remus Lupin was indeed singing a love song to him.
"I
remember
When you used to be
The talk of the town
All you
get is lonely.
"Turn
your love around
Don't you turn me down
I can show you how
Turn
your love around."
Harry, outrageously amused at Remus' singing and Sirius' blushing, stood against the back wall with Ron, who was humming along to the song he'd picked out for Remus to sing. Harry had already congratulated Ron for his amazing and cunning ability to play a relatively good role in his Godfather's love life, but he would have to thank him for the love choice in song. It was far more humorous and adorable to watch with the song he was singing.
"Without
the woman I can make it
But I need the man to stay
Oh, don't
you let the lady take it
Away
When all I need's a taste of
yesterday
But you stay at home
All they get is lonely
"Turn
your love around
Don't you turn me down
I can show you how
Turn
your love around."
Remus was actually getting comfortable with singing in front of his ex-lover, as the crowd of people were rather happy with the song choice. They also enjoyed the way Sirius was blushing like a mad-man. Yes, it was one of the few times in life that Remus Lupin, or anyone for that matter, had made Sirius Black blush deeply.
"Oh
boy you know me
I'm alone until you show me
That you're still
in love with me
We're gonna make it
We're gonna take it
Back
where we belong."
For some reason, Sirius' conversation with Hermione seemed to ring a bell in his head, and he immediately shot a glare at his godson, who was smiling and wagging his fingers to the music with Ron. Well, at least he knew whose doing it was.
"Turn
your love around
Don't you turn me down
I can show you how
Turn
your love around
"Turn your love around
This time the boy
became a man
Don't you turn me down
Everyone needs a someone
I
can show you how
I love the boy, I love the man
Turn your love
around."
What he wanted to know, was how on earth they had instilled in Remus enough courage to, not only stand up in front of him and sing a love song, but also to stand in front of people in public and profess his adoration for him. Sirius chuckled and winked to the brunette on stage, receiving a grin in return.
"Turn your
love around
This time the boy became a man
Don't you turn me
down
Everyone needs a someone
I can show you how
I love the
boy, I love the man
Turn your love around
"Turn your love
around
This time the boy became a man
Don't you turn me
down
Everyone needs a someone
I can show you how."
The song faded out and Remus handed the microphone back to the presumed Estelle, who was smiling and clapping along with the rest of the crowd that had at that point stood to their feet. Ambling down from the stage, Remus stood in front of a standing, grinning, and clapping Sirius.
"I didn't know you could sing," he stated, his grin widening.
"I didn't know you'd like it," Remus muttered back before the two embraced in a heartfelt, make-up kiss. And make-up as in it made up for over sixteen years of separation. Whoops of approval and an array of 'Hurrahs!' were heard throughout the crowd as Sirius dipped Remus in his arms and then let the breathless man up from their kiss. Harry and Ron looked to each other and saluted Remus, who was the only one of the two that was facing them, and then made their way out of the bar.
"Pads, I love you," Remus muttered through Sirius' hair.
"I love you too, Moony… more than you know. And I'm sorry for walking out on you like that…" Remus pressed his finger to Sirius' lips.
"It's the past – we're in the present, lets keep the conversation at that." Sirius smirked and nodded, pecking Remus' lips gently and then pulled the other's chair out before taking a seat in front of him.
Harry and Ron lingered at the door, smiling widely, and then walked out of the bar completely, closing the door behind him.
--
"Harry Potter!" Sirius growled as he entered the café. Hermione looked sheepish as she straddled the chair behind the counter. Harry ducked behind her and Ron made his way behind a coffee maker. "Harry James Potter, remove yourself from behind that girl."
"Now, now, Sirius…" Remus had taken his time entered the café, only to add to the effect that Sirius was about ready to rip off Harry's head. Reaching forward, he wrapped his fingers around Sirius' hand. "The boy did good. They all did, as these three were all apart of it."
Sirius' mock anger faded away as he grabbed his godson into a tight hug.
"You're a good kid, Harry, a good kid. Thanks a lot, you guys." Sirius then wasted no time in dragging Remus up to the flat upstairs, leaving the three college students in fits of laughter.
"Well, Harry, I told you it would work." Hermione stated matter-of-factly. Ron nodded his head agreeably.
"I never doubted, Hermione," Harry looked up to the steps that led to his shared flat with his Godfather; "Never, ever doubted…" he grinned again and leaned onto the cash register.
Sirius was happy, Hermione was happy; Ron was happy… why wasn't Harry happy?
Because he was lonely – lonely for a certain someone.
"Don't doubt my prediction about you and Malfoy, either. In time… in time." Harry waved his best friend off.
"You two best get out of here, before dawn breaks and you spend Christmas Eve in a café."
Hermione and Ron exchanged amused glances and then gave Harry a tight hug each before exiting.
Harry wasn't too fond of the idea of missing Draco, but he'd found himself thinking a lot about it since their project had finished. Well, what if he did care about Draco Malfoy a great deal? Was it entirely that big of a problem? Perhaps, as the two had decided to not even recognize that other was alive. Harry simply took it as an unspoken understanding that what had happened was going to remain as nothing – and forever nothing.
And on that disheartened note, Harry flicked off the lights of the counter and made his way to his room, quickly side-stepping passed his Godfather's door to avoid an encounter of the eerie kind – one that involved Sirius and Remus without clothes.
--
"Harry!" Why was it that nearly every morning that was the first thing he heard? Harry wasn't too keen on the realization that his name was becoming very popular to everyone that spoke. But, being levelheaded about his own popularity, Harry shook the thoughts from his head and turned to look up at Hermione as she waved a letter in her hand. "Look what I've got here – a letter for you! It was stuck to the door this morning!"
Harry eagerly snatched the letter from Hermione's hand, and was disappointed to see no return address. In fact, the handwriting didn't even give a clue to who it was as it was unrecognizable. Skipping over the details mentally, Harry peeled open the envelope and out came a small, glittery Christmas card. On the front was a sparkling Christmas tree, presents decorated beneath it, and a bright star at the top. Merry Christmas! Was on the top in red and green lettering. Curiously, Harry perked an eyebrow gracefully, then flipped open the card.
To Harry-
Feel privileged – this card took me an hour to decide on.
I decided that the best way to go about this would be telling you how I feel. It's nearly Christmas, and perhaps my mind has been completely mangled with the unusual cheer of the season, but I have a feeling that my feelings may last this way, if you allow them to.
My father and I never loved each other, and my father never enjoyed my mother's presence like he did your mother's. I saw his eyes light up when he saw her that fateful day. I saw the way he lusted passionately over your mother, and I couldn't find it in my four-year-old mind to try and deal with it. It was hard trying to believe that my father was not only attempting to cheat on my mother, but was trying to seduce your mother, one of the most wonderful people I'd have the very short pleasure of meeting. She was amazing, Harry… simply amazing, and I'm sorry you were deprived a lifetime of knowing that.
I have one last apology to give. I'm sorry I didn't do all of this in person, but I knew with our large break for Christmas, we'd both have time to mull things over. If you choose not to ever speak to me again, that's reasonable, but I do hope we can speak again in person once the holidays are over.
Harry Potter, I'm even more sorry that I let you get away that day. We were vulnerable, and for a short amount of time, I was able to convince myself that that's all it was that had us snogging like bunnies in heat – vulnerability. But that just wasn't it… I cared, and still do care, a lot about you.
Please, accept this apology, and give me a call if you have the chance, my number is on the inside fold of the envelope.
Yours,
Draco Malfoy.
On the right side of the card was another small tree, the words A Merry Christmas and Many More! Hugging the star in a roundabout way.
"Well?" Hermione butt in.
"Draco sent me a Christmas card… and his number, how high school?" He smiled; "What should I do?" Hermione jerked her lips to another smile.
"Call him tomorrow, wish him a merry Christmas… then-"
"-Go to his house and shag him, like you know you want to." Ron added, grinning cheekily. Harry laughed, heat rising to his cheeks.
"Ronald!" Hermione swatted his arm.
"What! It's the truth…" Harry's shoulders shook as he chuckled again.
"Thanks for the idea, Ron, but I think I'll wait until we talk in person, he and I." Hermione nodded her head.
"Then you'll shag him." Hermione swatted Ron again, but laughed along with her friends.
Harry's laughter subsided, and he ran his fingers over Draco's letter in the card, his smile dwindling to a mere, genuine, smirk.
Draco had left the ball in Harry's court – and he was determined to step up and swing back full force.
--
Well, lads and lasses, there you go. I hope you enjoyed this lovely piece of work. Sorry for the long-time, no write for it. Review, review, review! It'll get a reply out of me faster. (:
Masqued.