Disclaimer: I do not own any of Ms. Rowling's wonderful creations. Nor do I own any of the various songs that may be presented throughout the length of this fanfiction. The various songs will be named at the end of the fic, as well as in the chapter within which they lie.
A big thanks and a shout out goes to:
screwtheperfectlife – Yes...I wanted there to be one good moment for what will come in this chapter.
The Griffindor Drummer – You'll have to wait and see, won't you?
Idancer – I'm glad you enjoy this so much...and I know what you mean by the repeated chapters. That was my fault.
hpobessor – Well...you'll see if your prediction was right now, won't you?
ladyportista4 – Actually, it wasn't a short chapter. No shorter than the average for these chapters, which is 10 – 11 pages per chapter.
Warg – No. You can figure it out with everyone else.
Serlene – I'm glad you liked that. That was your "heartwarming" moment. There will be precious few of those from here on out.
Fantasy Loremaker – Um...I plead the fifth! You cannot incriminate me based off of anything I have or will say! -Slaps her hands over her mouth.- Read and find out who dies. I shall never tell!
Okay...now, I Know I said I would update once a week but I'm going to post this before my first final because you probably won't get another update for a while. Anyway...in this chapter, you all get to see who dies. I warn you now...I was sobbing as I wrote this. You will think me cold, and you will likely not like me very much at the moment that you realize exactly whose life expires within this chapter...but it cannot be helped. I am not very pleased with myself, either, because it is so very sad. However, with death comes the realization that life is short...and there is a small bit of happiness in the end.
Also, there are two songs in this chapter. One is Peter Rowan's song Casey's Last Ride...and the other is a well-known bluegrass song. If you've ever seen Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, you've heard this song...at least in part. The reason I don't give a specific artist in the singing of this song...which is titled Angel Band, after the name of the chapter...is because I sing this song. I've been singing bluegrass for about fourteen years now and this is one of the songs that I sing by myself and not with my dad or grandma. I will try to record it and get it posted somewhere to download, but I can't play the guitar (yet) so it'll be acapella.
Yours,
Allison
Chapter 5
Sometimes, I feel as if the Gods are out to get me. Yes, I believe in the Gods...for what good it does me. I am not some lawless, unthinking heathen. Nor am I insolent...nor arrogant...enough to believe that I make my own destiny. My "foray"- as Percy Weasley is fond of calling it- into the past proves that my destiny is one twisted piece of cloth. I sometimes wish that I could come face to face with the keeper of Destiny and give them a piece of my mind...and yes, perhaps a wand up his or her pompous, assuming ass. It seems that I cannot catch a break now that I have returned to the time period of my origin. I sometimes think that the dead are to be envied. Lily, James...you have no idea how easy it is, getting to sit back and simply watch things occur. That must be hard enough for you...but all you have to do when you feel despair is to imagine what it must be like to live this life.
Lucius took a sudden, unexpected turn for the worst.
He was well on his way to healing when his temperature suddenly spiked and a previously unnoticed infection became obvious. It was an infection that is so rare...so untreatable...that it could not have gotten into his system without help. Rodolphus Lestrange continues with every passing day to add more reasons for me to kill him. That Lucius is lying here...so sick...it kills me inside. I could have sidestepped all of this. All I had to do was kill two people before they had a chance to wreak their havoc on the world.
The list of regrets is beginning to add up. Shall we write it out?
1. I did not kill Bellatrix Lestrange when she was still Bellatrix Black and thus unable to harm Frank and Alice Longbottom.
2. I did nothing to stop the Potters from using Peter Pettigrew as their Secret Keeper...thus condemning them to death.
3. I led Sirius on for nearly four years before my "disappearance," allowing him to think that I would marry him that August. Only a month after my disappearance.
4. I decieved Remus, Sirius, Severus, Lucius, and Trevor when I returned to this time period, remaining in hiding until Bellatrix's actions forced my hand and made me seek her out to retrieve my godsons and Sirius from her clutches.
5. I ran from Lucius' welcome...fearing that once he found that I was blocking our connection to protect him from my own anguish, he would hate me.
6. I refused to kill Marius Flint when he was masquerading as Lucius...and thus did not kill Rodolphus
7. I- said to be one of the smartest witches ever to grace Hogwarts' halls- did not figure out sooner that Lucius wouldn't have betrayed me...
8. I must sit here and watch my soul mate die of an infection that...had our connection been open this entire time...would never have been able to take hold of him.
He is so pale, lying there. His silver-blonde hair looks very, very dark held in comparison to his face. Lucius...oh my Lucius...what will I do without you? Is this what you felt, knowing that you had been unable to prevent my "death," sixteen years ago? Is this...this anguish...what tore you apart when Sirius gave you the news? Oh Lucius...my dearest, closest friend.
...I do not think I can live through your death, Lucius...I don't have the strength that you do...
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Maya sat silently beside the bed in St. Mungo's. She had staunchly refused to be moved...even going so far as to hex whomever approached her with the intent of removing her from the blonde wizard's side. A meager pile of books lay on the ground beside her...all that Albus, Severus, Narcissa, and Alastor combined had been able to find on the Sin un Alma infection. The Minister of Magic was nearly as pale as the blonde lying prone on the bed, dark circles beneath her eyes becoming more pronounced with each sleepless night spent watching him try to fight the infection.
She could still remember Narcissa's accusing gaze when they had listened to the Mediwizards that Maya had sent for from the corners of the globe...Germany, Romania, Russia, Japan, Australia, America...even South America...explain the details of the Sin un Alma infection.
"Nobody has ever been known to survive it." The American Mediwizard explained slowly. "Nobody is entirely sure why this is...but the infection seems to hit the patient's lifeforce directly...not their actual body."
"Sin un Alma. It is Spanish for Without a Soul." Said the mediwitch from Spain. "Only a witch or wizard who has lost their soulmate to death or the actual magical closing of the link can contract this infection." At this, all eyes in the room had shot to Maya, whose own eyes had begun to widen, her face paling. "It attacks the part of the victim's soul that is missing and works its way inwards until there is nothing left."
"In short..." The Mediwitch from Argentina explained. "It will kill his soul first...and then it will kill his body."
"Maya." The hoarse whisper came from beside her. Hermione had thrown open the link between their souls in one last desperate attempt to save him that afternoon. She perked up immediately at the sound of his voice. "Maya...it's time to let go."
"No...Lucius, no! You're going to be okay..." She whispered. "I promise...the link...it's there now...it's back!"
The look he gave her was so gentle...so warm and sympathetic...so...forgiving...that she knew. It wasn't going to be okay. Lucius wasn't going to be okay. "It's been working on me for months now, Maya." He whispered. "I caught the infection just before..." Here he paused, taking a breath to gather his strength. "Just before you...as Hermione Granger...broke the time turner. It's too late for me, Maya. Close the connection between us so that you cannot feel it when I die. Please."
Maya's tears began. She was aware of Narcissa standing to one side, watching silently...mourning. Draco was standing beside his mother, she knew. Maya knew, somehow, that she was the last person to truly know that Lucius was dying. "I..." She choked on a sob. Narcissa spoke softly to a pair of nurses standing nearby and they disappeared. "I can't, Lucius. I want to be connected with you...to help you with your pain as best as I can."
"Very well." He closed his tired silver eyes for a long, long moment. "We had some good times, didn't we Maya?"
"The best, Lucius." She whispered. Through the link, she could feel his soul being devoured. It tore at a part of her that she had long since walled up against her pain. She was aware, barely, of the crowd of her friends and family that was gathering slowly in the private ward that Lucius had been settled into.
"Do me a favor?"
"Anything..." She choked on her sobs, wanting with everything that she was to beg him not to leave her...not after all of this time. Narcissa and Draco stood across from Maya, subdued. They had had months to say goodbye. Maya had never known that she was saying goodbye with each passing day. She had never known that as she had flung herself into the floo and back into the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, she had lost her last few, precious, weeks with Lucius.
"Take custody of Draco...until he is of age? Cissa...she and I have talked about it and...and she's going to begin travelling abroad. You know...like she always wanted to do." Lucius opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Of course I will, Lucius." Hemione whispered, half laying on the bed with him, holding him tightly close to her...ignoring the slight protest from her injured left arm. "Oh...Lucius..."
"Play a song for me, Maya?" His voice sounded so weak...so lost. "One last song? Sing me back home...before I die." Sobbing in earnest now, she nodded and turned. Severus had brought along her acoustic guitar, and she took it from him, double-checking the tuning before sinking back into her seat beside the bed. Her sobs subsided the moment that she held the familiar instrument close...though her tears continued to flow incessantly.
"Casey joins the hollow sound of silent people walking down" She began to strum a chord with every first and third beat, singing softly.
"The stairway to the subway in the shadows down below
Following their footsteps through the neon darkened corridors
Of silent desperation never speaking to a soul" She began to play along with her music...the gentle sound of the guitar ringing through the ward.
"The poisoned air he's breathing has the dirty smell of dying
'Cause it's never felt the sunshine and it's never felt the rain
But Casey minds the arrows and ignores the fatal echoes of
The clicking of the turnstile and the rattling of his chains" Maya paused, playing a few beats before the song sped just faintly and she continued playing along with it.
"Oh she said, Casey it's been so long since I've seen you
Here she said, Just a kiss to make a body smile" Narcissa began sobbing softly.
"See she said, I put on new stockings just to please you
Lord, she said, but Casey can you only stay a while" Her words slowed once more and she took up the slow strums once again...her tears barely choking off her words.
"Casey leaves the underground and stops inside the Golden Crown
For something wet to wipe away the chill that's on his bone
Seein his reflection in the lives of all the lonely men
Who reach for anything they can to keep from goin home" She began to play once more, staring into space...her soul lost in the struggle between Lucius' soul and the infection raging within him.
"Standing in the corner Casey drinks his pint of bitter
Never glancing in the mirror at the people passing by
And he stumbles as he's a'leavin and he wonders if the reason
Is the beer that's in his belly or the tear that's in his eye Iyiyiyi!" She continued playing unhesitantly, the song coming straight from within her heart. Draco began to cry.
"Oh she said, I suppose you seldom think about me
Now she said, now that you've a family of your own
Still, she said, it's so blessed good to feel your body
Lord, she said, Casey it's a shame to be alone" She began to play an instrumental break, the guitar literally singing in her arms as she took as much of Lucius' pain as she could...protecting him.
"Oh she said, Casey it's been so long since I've seen you
Here she said, Just a kiss to make a body smile
See she said, I put on new stockings just to please you
Lord, she said, Casey can you only stay a while
Oh she said, I suppose you seldom think about me
Now she said, now that you've a family of your own
Still, she said, it's so blessed good to feel your body
Lord, she said, Casey it's a shame to be alone" She began to hum the tune of the chorus, barely able to keep her voice steady as the last of Lucius' soul was devoured and his lifeforce began to slowly disappear.
"Another." Rasped out Lucius...clinging to consciousness thanks to the link that Maya was forcefully maintaining. "Please Maya...Sing me the song that...that you always sing."
"Lucius..." Her voice broke.
"The one about angels, Maya. Sing me the one about Angels..."
Obediently, Maya picked up her guitar and shifted it. She moved over to sit on the bed as he fell unconscious, strumming a chord slowly before she began to sing.
"My latest sun is sinking fast
My race is nearly run
My longest trials now are past
My triumph has begun" Her voice almost broke at the last line. Behind her, Sirius' voice joined hers...rising up on the harmony during the chorus.
"Oh come Angel Band
Come and Around me stand
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home" She began picking an instrumental break, feeling as though a part of herself was being torn away with each passing second. Only Sirius' hand on her shoulder kept her voice steady as she continued...and she had three more verses to get through.
"I know I'm nearing the holy ranks
Of friends and kindred dear
I brush the dew of Jordan's banks
The crossing must be near." She leaned back into Sirius as he joined her once more on the chorus.
"Oh come Angel Band
Come and Around me stand
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home" She picked another quick instrumental break, tears dripping steadily onto the top of the guitar.
"Oh bear my longing heart to him
Who bled and died for me
Whose blood now cleanses from all sins
And gives me victory" Behind her, she could hear Harry holding Draco, trying to soothe him...and she felt a deep regret that she wasn't able to be strong for them at that moment.
"Oh come Angel Band
Come and Around me stand
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home" She began to pick the last instrumental break, staring down at Lucius as she felt his life begin to go. Hold on... She thought. Only one more verse now, Lucius my friend...please hold on.
"I've almost reached my heavenly home
My spirit loudly sings" Her voice broke and Sirius' arm wrapped around her shoulders, careful not to hinder her playing. His voice joined hers halfway through the verse this time to give her the strenth to finish the song.
"The holy ones behold they come" As if they had been waiting for that moment, the corner of the room shone with light...quite suddenly. Draco let out a soft cry.
"I hear the noise of wings" Maya's voice broke once more and only Sirius' arm around her kept her from stopping there...clinging to Lucius with all that she was. She knew, somehow, that the blonde lying on the bed wouldn't leave her until she'd finished the song.
Taking a deep breath, she finished it.
"Oh come Angel Band
Come and Around me stand
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home
Oh come Angel Band
Come and Around me stand
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my immortal home
...To my immortal home..." Maya strummed the last chord as she and Sirius sang the last note.
The bright light in the corner had dimmed...the angels leaving and taking Lucius home. The monitor on his heart began its insistent, high-pitched, steady squeal. Narcissa's wail broke the silence as the Mediwitches and Mediwizards moved forward to unhook Lucius from the monitors that had been set up all around his bed. Seemingly oblivious to their presence, the Minister of Magic bowed her head over her guitar in silence, no sounds escaping her mouth as grief overwhelmed her completely.
The others left her there as they trickled out. Severus stood silently in the hallway to wait, Trevor beside him. Tonks supported Narcissa, who was sobbing in earnest, and Harry stood near Draco, holding him silently. Sirius stood near the two boys to give them both his support, while Remus joined Tonks and Narcissa.
...Inside of the ward, a shrill, hearbroken scream sounded.
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Maya watched, dry-eyed, as the caskett bearing her best friend was lowered into the ground. Narcissa was still sobbing, Trevor's wife was crying, even Severus and Trevor themselves had shed a few tears. Maya, on the other hand, had not cried since that day in St. Mungo's. Nobody knew for sure what had happened when the ward was abandonded...save for Lucius' quickly cooling body and the powerful, broken-hearted witch who had truly been able to call him her Soul Mate...and nobody was entirely certain that they wanted to know.
Maya stood in black mourning robes...her hair had been temporarily dyed black, and she had used black makeup for the occasion. A black veil had hidden her face earlier...though she had pulled it back to watch the caskett be placed into the grave. Narcissa stood at her left shoulder, Albus at her right. Sirius and Remus were standing with Harry to Albus' right, and Draco had chosen to stand with them, drawing what comfort he could from Harry's presence. Severus and Trevor stood behind Maya and Narcissa respectively, their hands on the witches' shoulders. Maya had been forced to give a speech at the actual service. She'd not said a word since she'd finished talking and stepped down from the podium in the funeral home.
Narcissa turned to press her face into the Minister's shoulder, sobbing. Maya let the blonde take what comfort she could...ignoring the ache in the stitches that would be removed the next day and lending her strength to her best friend's wife. Hogwarts' midterms had been cancelled and the students had been sent home for break a full week early to honor Lucius' memory, so Draco, Harry, and Maya wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts once the funeral was finished. They- along with Ron and Ginny Weasley- would be going to Maya's mansion, where they would stay for the duration of the holidays. Maya herself, Alastor, Sirius, and even Albus Dumbledore had been to the mansion already, erecting wards around it. The final step had, of course, been making Maya the secret keeper of the mansion. She told a scant few people- Nathan Tirelius, Alastor, Albus, Remus, Sirius, Severus, and Trevor- the address so that they could find her and the boys...and Sirius would be spending Christmas there...but she had yet to inform Draco and Harry.
Draco stood silently beside Harry, watching as his father was lowered into the cold, hard earth. The day was warm, but he could see that his godmother let out a shiver...it must have been hard, losing one's other half. Even his mother's loss couldn't quite compare. At least his mother had her family to return to. Voldemort had killed the Grangers earlier that year...and after four years, Maya had changed so much that she no longer needed them. She needed Sirius...and she needed Lucius, who was even now being lowered into the unforgiving ground of the graveyard.
He wanted so badly to comfort her, but when he felt Remus' hand on his shoulder, he turned instead to look up at the werewolf. "She won't appreciate knowing that you can see her pain, son." Remus said gently.
"She lets Severus and Mr. Zabini comfort her." Draco pointed out.
"Yes...and if you could see their flesh, you would see the rapidly healing scars from a good hundred hexes thrown their way before they could get close enough to hold her." Sirius said, softly.
"Maya feels as if she doesn't have a right to be comforted." Remus said softly. "I'm afraid that Severus, Sirius, and I were very foolish at the beginning of this year. We blamed her for everything that had happened...even when we knew that she couldn't have stopped destiny any more than she could have saved Lucius had she had much more warning than she did."
Draco nodded solemnly before looking at Harry. The younger boy gave him a comforting grin before looking at the grave solemnly. A spell from the gravediggers made the dirt begin steadily trickling into the hole. Maya and Narcissa both stepped forward, holding each other's hands, and tossed a pair of roses- one red, one black- into the grave. They then stood back and watched stoically. "Come on." Sirius said softly to the teens. They turned and followed Tonks, Remus, and Sirius as he walked to the edge of the graveyard to wait...where they were joined by Trevor and Severus.
After a few minutes, Maya and Narcissa finally turned and walked towards the group of mixed Slytherins and Gryffindors, their heads held high befitting their haughty, regal statuses. The two witches stopped about ten feet from the group and turned to face each other, hugging each other stiffly. Neither, it seemed, would be able to forgive Maya. She met Narcissa's red-rimmed eyes, however, and she did so without complaint...without breaking before the silent accusation there. "Take care of Draco, Maya. Remember your vow." Narcissa said, her voice hard.
"I will never forget, Narcissa." Maya's voice was equally hard...equally formal.
"He loved you." Narcissa said, suddenly...unable to handle the stark emptiness in the brunette's eyes. "He loved you more than anything else on this earth. He...he would be proud of who you are."
"Thank you, Narcissa." Maya whispered. She turned and walked to Harry and Draco, looking down at them. "Are you both ready?" When they nodded, she moved easily to one of the five identical cars that would be transporting herself and her godsons to their destination. The cars would cross paths multiple times on their trip, before Maya disapparated with both of the boys mid-trip to reappear at her mansion. She would then tell them the address to memorize. And voila.
The plan was carried off without a hitch, and before long, Maya, Harry, and Draco were sitting in the living room of her mansion sipping cocoa.
"Mistress Gurgeon?" Libby approached slowly. "That nasty, nasty Otty Elf Killeded himself last night."
"What have you done with the body?" Maya asked, softly.
"Libby has taken care of it, Mistress, Yes Libby has."
"Thank you, Libby." Maya said, looking out the window to spot Sirius standing on the corner with Ron and Ginny. "Draco, Harry." The boys, who were on their stomachs in the middle of the floor, looking at one of her old picture albums, looked up at her. "Remain inside. I'll be back shortly. Sirius, Ginny, and Ron have arrived." She stood and set her cocoa down on a coffee table, walking out to get the three on the street.
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"Things are coming to a head." Severus said softly, leaning easily on a counter. "They suspect that I am a spy. Trevor sent Blaise here with me so that Blaise was protected...something's brewing, Maya."
Hermione was standing silently in the dining room on Christmas Day, talking with Sirius, Severus, and Remus. Tonks was in the living room with all of the teenagers- plus Blaise, who had arrived that morning with Severus- entertaining them with stories of war and love, all that gunk. Maya couldn't be bothered to pay much attention. "Something has been brewing, Severus!" Remus said. "Maya has been injured more times in these past three months than she was in four years in the past!"
"She's been allowing half of it to happen, Remus! Think about it! She sat there and let Marius Flint hex her because she thought he was Lucius! She let him hex her again because she was trapping him!"
"What about the attack in the ministry?" The werewolf pointed out.
"Ivy Lestrange thought that she could pay Maya back for the death of her mother. That was all." Severus said. Before any further arguing could be done, however, Maya had her wand out and was running for the back door. The men glanced out the window and let out yelps, barrelling towards the front door and out into the street. Percy Weasley was standing on the corner with Rodolphus Lestrange's arm firmly around his shoulders, wand pointing at the redhead's temple.
"Let him go, Lestrange!" Remus shouted as he hit the sidewalk. Severus remained inside, forced to watch to keep his cover in tact. The teens all gathered around him, staring out in horror.
"Lupin...How nice of you to join us!" Rodolphus sneered. "Ah...and Black as well. Let's see if I can finish the job my wife started, shall we?" As he moved his wand, a spell on his lips, a pair of inky black talons closed painfully over his extended arm, digging deep as they sank in. The solid black Griffen let out an odd screech as it pulled out of its dive, yanking Rodolphus behind it and into the air by his arm. He let out a roar of pain as the talons dug more deeply into his flesh, dropping his wand and- in his surprise- releasing Percy...who slumped to the ground, unconscious. Rodolphus' shrieks of pain could be heard from hundreds of yards in the air as the strange eagle/lion-like creature carried him away.
Severus was already reaching for the piece of paper on which Maya had written the address of her mansion, handing it out to Sirius who hurried to join Remus beside Percy. "Ennervate!" Remus muttered, and Percy woke with a jolt. Immediately, he was engulfed in waves of excrutiating pain, barely able to fathom the scrap of paper held before his blurred gaze. The charm on it implanted it in his memory, however, and moments later, he could see the house. As he passed out, he was aware of Remus and Sirius hurriedly carrying him towards the open door.
Maya felt the wind in her sleek, powerful black wings and she would have smirked had she been able to in her present form. Rodolphus had ceased screaming below her after the third time she'd flung him into the air and sunk her hollow talons into his back, allowing her venom to flow into his bloodstream. By now, there was enough inside of him to kill a dragon. It was a slow, painful way to die...as only a griffen knew how to make the anti-venom...and she had made sure that his had been all the more painful. She was nearing her destination now, her tail slowly whipping around her as she paused and checked her speed, spotting the dementors hovering about the perimeter.
So...Voldemort had gotten smarter. No matter. She flew at one dementor in particular, letting herself gain speed. At the last moment, she changed directions and shot straight into the air, releasing the body held in her talons so that it barrelled into the dementor, knocking the creature clear out of the air. The other dementors approached her and she let out a mocking laugh-screech as she used the air currents to smoothly spin around and jet back the way she'd come...still flying at her top speed without hesitation.
Her message had been delivered.
Voldemort had been warned.
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"I thought I had enough on my hands with one Minister always being injured!" Tirelius groused as he finished his work on Percy and left the guest room at the mansion, closing the door behind him and turning to Remus and Ron. "He'll be fine...but when he wakes up, he'll have a bit of a headache. Don't worry, Mr. Weasley, your brother will be fine."
"Thank you, Doctor." Ron said, slipping past into the room and calling Pigwidgeon to him to send an owl to his mother, assuring her of Percy's safety.
"Now..." Nathan looked at Remus. "I don't suppose that Minister Gurgeon will be in one piece when she gets back?"
"You never know, Doctor." Sirius grinned. "She's actually pretty good at flying."
"Flying? Oh dear..." Nathan muttered. "If you gentlemen will excuse me...I think I'm going to need some more supplies." He hurried for the floo powder as Sirius and Severus broke out laughing.
"And here I was, assuming that you lot had some faith in me." A wry voice came from the doorway. The men turned to see Maya leaning casually against the doorframe with Ginny standing beside her grinning and Harry and Draco- for they were at least seven inches taller than their godmother- standing behind her snickering at the look on Tirelius' face. "Nathan...how is Percy?" She moved forward.
"As I told young Mr. Weasley...he'll be fine. There was no lasting damage...but considering, well, recent events concerning those close to you, Minister, I would tie him up for an hour without allowing him to drink anything." Nathan said.
"Of course. We will be monitoring him carefully." Maya nodded. "Thank you, Nathan."
"You are quite welcome, Minister." He said, glancing at his watch. "I tell you what...I have some time. Why don't I check your stitches now and remove them?"
"That would be most welcome." the Minister said, smiling and nodding her head. "Would you like some tea, Nathan?"
"Tea would be delightful, Minister." He said, smiling in return. "It has been a busy day."
"Is the emergency ward filled, then?" She asked. "Libby!" The elf appeared with a pop. "Would you please set places for tea in the living room?" The elf bowed and disappeared.
"Unfortunately, yes...there was an attack on an orphanage last night." The mediwizard sat on the sofa beside Maya and rolled up her sleeve, beginning to examine her left arm before working to take out the sitches. She made a face, but otherwise took the treatment stoically. As he finished the last stitch, Libby appeared with a tray balanced perfectly on her head, laden with small sugar cookies, teapot, and enough cups and saucers for all of them. Harry and Draco sat down at Maya's feet while Sirius sat to her right. Severus, Remus, and Tonks took the other couch, and Ginny sat at Severus' feet, leaning back against him as they listened to Tirelius explain exactly what had transpired at the orphanage.
Fifty children dead or injured. It was a monstrous move for Voldemort to have made. Anger showed in every line of Severus' clenched jaw...every tightened muscle in Harry, Sirius, and Draco...every animalistic, flaring spark in the eyes of Remus and Maya. As Maya escorted Tirelius out, she waved her wand and spoke an incantation. Without warning, the entire livingroom filled with presents.
"Happy Christmas." She said, managing a faint smile. It didn't truly feel right to her without Lucius there...she hadn't celebrated a Christmas without her best friend in four years.
The room seemed empty without him.
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Sirius walked up behind Maya...his Maya. She was standing in the doorway watching Harry and Draco talk quietly to each other as they played one of her muggle video games. The house was a lovely mix of muggle and magic, and Sirius had always thought that it offset his Maya's personality. He paused to wonder why he was calling her his Maya, but he didn't have much time to think about it, because she turned and looked up at him. As when he had first danced with her, so many years before, Sirius found himself drowning in the twin pools of bright milk chocolate.
"Maya..." He whispered.
"I didn't want to leave." She whispered. "I wanted, so much, to stop it all from happening...I wanted to kill Peter...to protect Lily and James myself..."
"Shh..." His lips lowered to hers, a chaste and tender kiss that lasted hours and yet ended only after a milisecond or two. "It wasn't your fault." He drew back just enough to let her eyes search his.
She was drowning. She couldn't get enough air, and she felt her knees giving way. Only the hands that he'd rested on her shoulders kept her upright, caressing her shoulders and neck as he watched her. She searched his eyes, trying to find any hint that he was playing her...that he wasn't completely serious. She saw nothing but the pure, unchanged, unconditional love that they had always shared.
Her lips rose to his, her hands sliding up his chest to his face, to his neck...into his hair. His tongue brushed her lips and they parted, granting him entrance. A battle of wills...a fight for dominance...a tender, delicate dance of tongues that ended all too soon as she drew back. "The boys..."
"Are busy..." He murmured, pressing his lips to hers. They left her lips, trailing down her chin and across her jawline to her neck, making her tilt her head back and let out a soft moan, despite herself.
"Sirius...we're in the..." She arched her back as he slid his hand under the back of her shirt and up, searching for the clasp on her bra. Finding it, he smoothly undid it and filled his hand with her breast, making her close her eyes, trying desperately to think. "...Living Room..." The last words were in a gasp as he feasted on her collarbone. Theirs was a desire that could never truly be sated for each other...the fires of it never truly dying...merely smouldering beneath the surface, waiting to burst into a fiery passion at the slightest glance...the merest touch.
"Where would you prefer to go, then?" He murmured, trying to find her breasts through the cloth of her volumnus robes.
"Our room." She drew back, this time, making them give identical whimpers of longing. His eyes never left hers as she backed slowly towards the stairs across the room. Neither of them noticed the eyes- one set of green one of gray- following their progress as he followed her, his lips searching for hers after a moment, pressing her back into the wall at the base of the stairs. She drew back again after a moment, continuing their trip upstairs despite his attempts to capture her and trap her, his desire growing with each moment that she eluded him.
Draco looked at Harry as the couple disappeared into the bedroom. "Looks like it'll be a happy Christmas for Maya, after all." He saw Harry's slight confused look and smiled faintly. "Without my dad, I wasn't sure."
"She deserves it..." Harry said, softly. "No matter what she believes, she deserves to be happy...even for only a short while."
"Yes." Draco said, quietly. "She does."