Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue, you know the deal.
Authors Note: Okay, so it took a little longer than I expected, but really this was wonderfully fast! Aren't you proud of me? Expect it to go about this rate from now on. I plan on getting at least one chapter up a month now. Have gotten adjusted to college again, and so have my beta readers, so now we create a well-oiled, unstoppable machine! Or something…
Onto responses –
Rotae: What did I think of HPB? Good question. Well, I loved it, of course. Can't really place it above POA, though because that one had the most Remus and Sirius without the angst!Harry of OotP. And I just love POA unconditionally. But for this book, I loved that Harry is finally becoming the hero that I've wanted to see. I always knew he had it in him, he just needed the time for it to come out. I knew that Dumbledore was going to die, but then again, I always knew he was going to die, it was just a matter of when. It still broke my heart. I know that Snape isn't evil, as well, because we all understand that situation. It just makes me angry that everyone so easily dismissed how much Albus trusted him, and were sure that Snape was evil now. I felt terrible for Draco, who we all could see was on the verge of dropping the wand and going to Dumbledore. That just pissed me off when the Death Eaters interrupted that. I was happy that Remus and Tonks were together, but I was confused because we haven't really seen them together, so in my brain the relationship doesn't work yet. We don't know enough about it for me to be entirely comfortable, so I'm hoping we'll have more of them in Book 7. Loved all the H/G and R/H interaction. They're such great pairs. Anyway, now that I've rambled long enough (even though that's the short version of what I think of it), I'm glad that you're still enjoying the story, and that you hate Clayton (because really, there's nothing about him that's nice or anything), and I hope this chapter keeps you happy!
Brielle Lupin: Oh, I love your long reviews! They make me so happy! And of course I read them – reviews are like essential nutrients for writers. We can't survive without them. Yeah, the error that you found was definitely an real error, and the betas have been beaten thoroughly for it. Of course, they're also both 'content' beta readers, meaning that I have to give it to them first, not just for spelling, but to make sure that they think the story is going were it needs to, and that everything sounds in character. It's sort of annoying that no matter how many times you go over something, you still find more errors! So thank you for that. I'm glad you're liking Bruce, he's a cutey and I loved him from the moment he opened his mouth (in my head, of course). And Gwen softens up after a while, don't worry, she just needs a lot of time. I'm happy that you like her and Sirius together :). You've got the right idea about Clayton, but I won't give anything away or it won't be interesting. Just keep guessing! Now go read and enjoy!
MackenzieW: My first year was fabulous, thank you (and I'm glad yours was too)! I'm so happy with how much everyone hates Clayton and feels bad for Remus. It lets me know that I'm doing this right. Well, how can Harry and Ginny not be together! They're perfect and adorable, and now they're officially cannon :)! Yeah, Draco got some issues. But then again, we already knew that. I'm glad you're liking everything so far, and I hope you like this chapter!
BlueFeather11: Thanks for your good luck and your lovely review, as always:) And thank you so much for your flattering comments – I'm so glad that you like the way I write the characters, and find them realistic. I really love writing Remus as he gets jealous, it allows for a really interesting exploration of his character because he's normally so calm instead. I think you'll like Sirius and Gwen and the football game too (it's coming up in chapter 6, if I remember correctly). Thanks again, and now continue onward!
Sirius-Ella: Thanks so much! If you like Guinevere now, I'm sure you'll keep liking her. She just gets more and more interesting as I write her:) I hope you like this chapter as well!
Jess Pallas: I promise it will never be abandoned! That is my solemn oath to all of you – I will never stop this story before it is completed That would just be mean. And I updated when you checked because I'm psychic. Yeah, that's it. I'm glad that you're liking it so far! Interesting theory you've got about Clayton and Remus… but I'm not going to give anything away! You'll just have to keep reading and find out ;) Enjoy!
TheMysteriousPhoenix: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you're liking Guinevere, It's important to me that people enjoy her as she becomes more important with every chapter I write. That's cool that Bruce reminds you of a friend – you must have really awesome friends:) Yeah, we all totally knew about Harry and Ginny – it was fate. And tickling is just essential to cute romantic plots ;) You comparison makes me want to read this other series you mentioned… I'll have to check it out when I find time… Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter too!
Chii: Oh, I'm sorry I made you cry! And you've flattered me so much that I'm blushing (really, I am). I cannot tell you how much that means to me. And I'm glad that you like the couples because I enjoy writing them so much. Yeah, the benefit of getting Harry and Ginny together after Voldemort has been defeated is that I don't have to worry about Harry's Hero Complex. So he can't dump Ginny – he has no excuse (teehee). Stupid Malfoy indeed. Coming in at bad times grumble growl Anyway, hope this chapter is to your liking as well!
SchungsAllAround: Yay! You love my dialogue! That makes my life! And you're catching all the good stuff between Sirius and Guinevere, which makes me even more happy. Isn't jealous!Remus fascinating? I've been having such fun working with him, he's really been throwing me for a loop. Just goes to prove, you can't write a character – they tell you how they want to be written. Silly Remus. And I wholeheartedly agree: Kill the Texan What-His-Face! Now onward to the next chapter (I hope you like it)!
LadyLupinLover: Yeah, I'm bad, 6 months was a long time. But I'm getting better! Like 300 better! Oh, you like Sirius and Guinevere. That makes me so overjoyed! Aren't they fun? I know their wasn't as much Remus as usual, but in this fic I worry more about where the story is going in little chunks than who gets the most chapter time. Hopefully there's enough Remus in this chapter. Hope you like!
Alora05: When will they get together? Well, it's romance centered fic, which means… a ways from now. Sorry! raises up hands to fend off flying implements thrown in my direction But don't worry, it will happen! You know me, I'm a sucker for the happy ending. Don't worry, no one likes the Texan. Not even me. But he has a purpose, believe it or not. I have a grand master scheme that I am plotting away at… insert evil laugh And I have Sirius to put Clayton in his place on occasion, because that's why we love Sirius (not the only reason, but one of them). And you're not a suck up. You're just a really awesome person, who makes me happy-ful because I know I'm writing this story for such awesome people! Now read and I hope you like it!
deathbycookie15: Yay, you liked it! I'm glad you get wrapped up, let's me know that I'm doing something right. You're right, poor Sirius. He's a sweet baby and I worry for him. I hope you think this chapter is as good as the last too, so I won't take up anymore of your time! Read!
squirrly doughnut: No, your speech is very fluent! Or I'd be all confused, and that would be weird…. I'm glad that you are enjoying Sirius and Guinevere:) As for what happened to Guienvere… you'll find out soon enough ;) I hope this chapter is up to your expectations!
kArlITaLUna: I'm glad that you're liking everything so far. When will Sirius and Guinevere get it… well, that's gonna take some time. And I will warn you that Remus and Ivy are in for a bit of a rollercoaster in this story too. I'm flattered that you like Remus and Ivy better that Remus and Tonks. I myself don't really know how I feel about Remus/Tonks yet. I loved the idea at the start, but since we know so little about their relationship, it's not quite real for me yet. I hope she tells us more about them in Book 7. As for Clayton – don't we all want him to get eaten by a giant squid? That would be fantastic! Unfortunately, I have to do other things with him… damn. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter too!
Radiant: Yes, I promise, no quitting on this story ever! Rest assured! And you actually thought the chapter was worth the wait? I'm so glad! I thought that most of you guys were just going to stop reading since it was taking so long, but you're all awesome and still care enough to keep reading. That makes me feel so special:) And I'm glad you think that Sirius and Guinevere are moving at a good pace. I am determined to make sure that they don't go too fast – it wouldn't be realistic. Anyway, I hope you like the next chapter!
Aldavinur: Hi! Wow, I got you review for Echoes and was so flattered that you read the story in German, and now you're here? That's incredible! Thank you so much for continuing to read the story, I know it must be hard since it's not in your language now. I know, Clayton makes everyone mad, including me. He's a jerk, but you know Ivy – she trusts people too much and has a hard time thinking that people are bad. But you're right, she loves only Remus, and that's not gonna change. And I'm glad that you like Sirius and Guinevere. They are both very interesting, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy them as much I like writing them. And I'm so pleased that you think I write Harry well, because he's not easy to write for me, so if you like it, I know I'm doing a good job. And of course we all love Harry and Ginny together. I'm glad you felt a little bad for Draco – he's not a happy boy, and I think that even though he's nasty and vicious, there's a lot to his character that we don't know yet. Yeah, Ron and Hermione are getting married quick, but it's got to happen now because we all know it's meant to be! And they're just so cute together:) Anyway, I'll stop babbling now and let you read the next chapter! Thank you for leaving such a lovely review!
Clarissa: Glad you like! Here's more! ;)
Amber Magic: Yay, you liked it! I'm glad you like the Sirius-Clayton interaction, that was so much fun to write. Sirius is such a sneaky devil ;) Yeah, Ivy's clueless, but then, we already knew that, didn't we? She just trusts people too much. I should know, I designed her that way. Character flaws and all. Wow, JCS really needs to happen now. I'm getting funny images in my head of everyone in that show. Peter would have to have one kickass voice hidden in there to play Judas, though. That would be really interesting. The real question is Pontius Pilate: Sirius or Snape? That's the question that's really taking over my brain right now… You're so sweet to say that if it can't be Ivy in the pairings it might as well be Tonks! That made me feel so special! I agree, I liked all the pairings. She's clearly trying to make one of her big messages 'love conquers all', and I have no problem with that. I don't care who Remus is with as long as he is happy. And I do love Tonks (although I wasn't happy with how mopey she got just because Remus was trying to keep away from her – I always thought of her as being stronger than that). But I would have liked to know more about their relationship because I'm having a hard time seeing it without more information (just basic stuff like: when did it start? Did Sirius know about it, if it started before his death? How did they fall for each other? We really need to know all that stuff). As for your AU question, it's a good one. I hadn't really thought about it, but right now, since I already have Voldemort as being vanquished, it looks like it'll just stay AU. Not much of a point in me trying to incorporate it, especially since these two stories are more for Remus and Sirius anyway. So that's what it looks like. But enough of me blabbing, go read the chapter and tell me what you think! Hope you like it!
And now… SHAZAAM! Er, I mean, A CHAPTER!
Chapter Five – Gods, Transformations, and Distance
THEN – Marauder Sixth Year
"James, this man is a god. I'm not joking."
"I just don't… get it, Sirius."
"You will, trust me."
Sirius had found a way to get a record player working in the castle. Lily had protested, reminding him that electronic devices were not supposed to work in Hogwarts for a reason, but Sirius ignored her irritation, reminding her that what the staff didn't know, wouldn't hurt them.
His reason for wanting it to work was that, over the summer, Sirius had discovered muggle music from his cousin, Andromeda. He had also run away from home that summer, casting off the oppression of his family for good. His feeling of newfound freedom was boundless, and the music only helped.
And so Sirius had gathered everyone in the common room to listen to his new messiah. Andromeda had apparently been a fan of the man for a few years and provided Sirius with plenty of pictures to show his friends. The girls were suitably impressed, Peter laughed, Remus politely excused himself from the conversation in puzzlement, and James seemed slightly disturbed, although that was probably only due to the fact that Lily found the musician so "gorgeous".
"What did you say the album was called again?" Ivy asked.
Sirius pulled the record out from its sleeve and stared lovingly. "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars."
Remus made an attempt to understand. "But you said the chap's name was David Bowie. I'm confused, is he this Ziggy Stardust person, or David Bowie?"
Sirius rolled his eyes in irritation, amazed that no one got it yet. "His name is David Bowie. Ziggy Stardust was a sort of character that he played while he performed his music on stage. That's why he wears all those colorful jumpsuits and feather boas and everything."
"Yes, but Sirius," James began slowly, still trying to wrap his mind around it, "with all that clothing and all the stuff you've told us about him, doesn't he seem to be a bit of… well, a bit of a poof?"
Sirius straightened up authoritatively. "He's bisexual, actually. He's actually got a wife and a kid, but he still has sex with anyone he fancies. Boys and girls alike."
James blinked stupidly. "And that doesn't seem a bit… odd to you?"
"What? No, of course not! James, don't you understand what this man is?" James, Remus and Ivy all leaned in closer, feeling Sirius' conspiratorial tone in the air. His voice softened to a whisper. "This man is the ultimate Marauder!"
James opened his mouth to protest, but Sirius quickly cut him off.
"He's managed to get most of the world to accept or even love what he's doing. He has packaged and promoted himself in such a way that he can get away with anything. Don't you get it, Prongs? This man is a self-made god! And all the poofy clothes and all the makeup just make him more capable of doing whatever he wants."
Remus' eyes widened in horror. "Please don't tell me that you are planning on making yourself a god too, Sirius."
"Don't be daft, Moony. I just want you to listen to the music."
He carefully placed the record on the turntable and moved the needle to the edge. Music filled the common room and many stopped to listen to the hypnotic combination of drums, guitar, piano, bass, and the haunting, searing vocals of Ziggy Stardust.
By the end everyone was so caught up that they felt let down when they realized that there was no more music.
But James was still a bit skeptical. "I think I needed the lyrics in front of me."
Sirius sighed along with half the room. "It's not just the lyrics, James. It's the performance of it." When James looked still unconvinced, Sirius held up one finger to stop him. "Watch."
He grabbed another record that he had laid on the table and proceeded to change albums. He carefully placed the needle further in on the new record to start on a specific track. A blazing guitar hook blasted through the room.
Ivy staggered back into a chair. "Oh Sirius, I think you may have found my new favorite song if the rest of it is as good as the opening," she yelled over the pitch.
Sirius smiled and sauntered over to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her up out of her chair as the singing began.
And Sirius sang along with all the bravado, body language and appeal of a real space-age rock star.
"You've got your mother in a whirl,"
On "whirl" Sirius held up Ivy's hand and spun her around.
"She's not sure if you're a boy or a girl"
He then made a move to pull up Ivy's skirt and check, which she stopped with a gentle kick, so that the drama king could pretend to fall to the ground. He leapt up with surprising agility and twirled a lock of Ivy's hair around his finger.
"Hey babe, you hair's all right,"
He caught her chin with his index finger and leaned in close. Ivy pretended to swoon.
"Hey babe, let's go out tonight"
He pushed Ivy gently toward Remus, who was standing in the corner watching with his usual mild amusement, and perhaps just a hint of jealousy. Ivy staggered back into his arms and he had to grab hold of her to keep her from falling. She giggled at her clumsy footwork and he joined her sheepishly.
Sirius had moved onto Lily, beckoning her with a finger. She edged her way to him warily.
"You like me and I like it all,"
He grabbed Lily round the waist and dipped her dramatically. Lily laughed as he brought her back up and stared pointedly at James, who was shooting him warning glares.
"We like dancing and we look divine"
He strutted over to Tara Phillips, the Head Girl. Spinning around her, he grabbed her hips from behind and pulled her in close.
"You love bands when they play it hard,"
Tara, being one of the few people in Hogwarts who had taken dance classes when she was younger, knew how to pull a move or two. In time with the guitars she and Sirius both dramatically snapped their heads to the right and forward again. Sirius trailed his fingers down her arm.
"You want more and you want it fast"
Sirius moved over to Tara's best friend Andréa Wellstone and got a bit too close for comfort. Andréa laughed it off, pushing Sirius' face away with one hand. He pretended to look hurt.
"They put you down, they say I'm wrong,"
Then kneeling down to the ground, Sirius trailed one hand from the girl's hip all the way down to her ankle. She shrieked, but his only response was to wink at her devilishly.
"You tacky thing, you put them on"
And with that, Sirius leapt onto the table, the song seeming to pick up just to keep up with him. He played air guitar as if he actually knew something about the instrument, and shook his head so hard that his perfect hair whipped back and forth across his eyes. Licking his lips, he started in with the chorus.
"Rebel, rebel,
You've torn your dress"
He casually slipped next to one of the girl's surrounding the table in awe and pushed one side of her robe off of her shoulder. She blushed, but kept her eyes fixed on him, as did everyone in the room.
Gryffindors had learned at very young ages that when Sirius Black was performing, it was not something that should be missed. The common room had been filling up steadily since the song had started, giving Sirius a wide range of people to harass as the music continued. The next girl Sirius grabbed had just come in from studying in the library, and probably was going to forget every fact she had just memorized due to his performance. Sirius took her face in his hands and brushed a thumb over her bottom lip.
"Rebel, rebel,
Your face is a mess,"
The sight was beginning to get a little out of hand when Guinevere entered the common room with her Gryffindor friend, Sylvia. She looked around in confusion, trying to figure out what had made everyone go so berserk, and quickly spotted Sirius Black at the center of it all. She rolled her eyes. Not as though she was surprised.
"Rebel, rebel,
How could they know,"
Sirius' eyes moved to the edge of the crowd. His eyes happened upon Guinevere as he came to the finish of the phrase. Oh, this is too good to be true… It was so much fun to make her squirm. And her eyes had locked with his exactly when he wanted them to –
"Hot tramp!
I love you so!"
He finished it off by blowing her a kiss and giving a little finger wave.
Guinevere turned bright pink and glared as best as she was able, but it was too late. Sirius didn't notice her embarrassing flush or her death glare. He was too busy working the crowd.
"Some girls would kill to have him look at them the way he just looked at you," Sylvia whispered.
"Some girls have no brainpower," Guinevere hissed back harshly. "Or self-respect for that matter. It's plain to see that he just toys with people. There's no real emotion behind it."
"Who said anything about emotion? I'm just talking about some good old-fashioned flirting. That's what boys like Black are good for. You shouldn't take him so seriously. You should just learn to have a little fun with it."
"Well, I'm sorry, I just can't take everything so lightly. I don't appreciate meaningless acquaintances."
"All right," Sylvia sighed. "Just don't plan on having a lot of fun in your life. Or a lot of relationships for that matter."
Guinevere shook her head. "I don't want a lot of relationships. Just one perfect one would be nice. Leave all the unnecessary ones out of the picture."
Sylvia snorted. "Yeah, right."
Guinevere looked back toward the table, where Sirius was now dragging girls up to dance. "Besides… it's people like Black who always end up alone. It's impossible to love someone who's so self-involved."
Through all the crowd mumblings, James Potter's voice rose up from the muddle.
"All right, Sirius! I think I get it now! Just please stop making girly-eyes at me!"
NOW
Sirius peered behind the partition before leaving work. He had something to take care of.
"Oh, Guinevere?"
She didn't even bother to glance up from the paperwork that she was meticulously filling out. "Yes, what do you want?"
"I need the address of the Waldens."
Guinevere's head snapped up abruptly. "What for?" she inquired suspiciously.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "I want to rob their house."
"Very funny."
Sirius sobered quickly. "It's Charlie's first transformation. I have to be there."
Guinevere paused, her eyes narrowing quizzically. "You're really going over there…"
"Of course I am. He's not getting the Wolfsbane Potion. I have to be there for him, I promised I'd see him soon and he can't go through that alone."
Guinevere's face saddened. "Sirius, just think about it for a moment, what can you really do for him?"
"The same thing I did for Remus," he answered determinedly.
"Are you sure he'll understand that?"
"He's a real bright kid, Guinevere. He'll be fine with it."
Guinevere stared him in the face for a moment. Sirius stared right back. Finally, she sighed and opened her file drawer. After sifting through for a moment, she pulled out a sheet of parchment. "57 Thornton Street in Brighton." She pulled out a spare piece of parchment and wrote the address down for him just in case. "How are you getting there?"
Sirius took the address from her and pocketed it. "I'll probably just take the bike over."
Guinevere blinked, the corners of her mouth upturning ever so slightly. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Bit of a quiet neighborhood."
He waved a dismissing hand. "Ah, they'll be fine with it. The neighborhood could probably do with a little excitement anyway." He turned around to leave, but stopped short and turned back to her. "You don't want to come, do you?" The words came out hesitantly, and Guinevere couldn't tell if it was because he was nervous to ask her or because he really didn't want to ask her at all.
Guinevere shook her head, her voice taking on the same hesitant tone. "No, I shouldn't… I mean, he trusts you… not me… you should go…"
Sirius nodded, looking rather relieved that she had said no. "Well, I'll see you, then."
"See you." A thought occurred to her as she watched him walk off in his leather jacket that she hated so much. "Don't think that spending the night with this boy means that you can come into work late tomorrow!"
"And don't think that just because I'm not around tonight you can have some dashing young man over at your flat for a night of wild passion!" he tossed back over his shoulder.
A few people in the hall stopped at that comment and looked back toward Guinevere, who disappeared behind her side of the partition as quick as was humanly possibly. Some bloody nerve he's got!
And she almost smiled… almost.
The bike was loud enough that Charlie was already dashing out of the house as Sirius pulled into the Walden's driveway. Sirius hopped off the bike waited for the boy to approach.
"That's yours?" Charlie asked in amazement.
"Yep," Sirius answered with smile. He had a feeling the kid would appreciate it. And it would help to take his mind off of things.
"Can we go for a ride?"
Sirius laughed. "I don't think your mum would be happy if I let you. Maybe when you're older." Charlie's jubilant expression dimmed somewhat. "Want to know a secret, though?" Sirius prodded. The boy perked up again and he nodded. Sirius leaned in close to his ear. "It flies."
Charlie's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Really?"
"Really."
Charlie grabbed Sirius by the arm and started dragging him toward the backyard. "Want to see my tree house?"
"I can't think of anything in the world that I would like to see more than your tree house," Sirius answered with a grin.
He followed Charlie into the backyard, and found a comfy-looking little cabin up in the largest tree. "That's great, Charlie. I didn't have one of those when I was a kid."
"Dad and I built it," Charlie explained. "Well, actually, he did most of the building, but I helped a lot." He started up the tree and beckoned Sirius to follow. "Come on, you can come up, it's safe."
Sirius began his climb up, aided by the wooden blocks that were nailed to the trunk, invigorated by the feeling of doing something that he hadn't done since he was a boy. He got into the tree house through a trap door in the floor and hoisted himself up to sit inside.
Once they were both sitting, Charlie grabbed a blanket for himself and gave one to Sirius. "It's getting cold, you might need this," he prompted. Sirius took the blanket gratefully and wrapped it around his shoulders, even though he wasn't very cold.
Charlie lit a small lantern in the corner, and from a box labeled in blocky, awkward handwriting: 'Charlie's Stuff: DO NOT TOUCH EVER' he pulled out two granola bars. He handed one of those to Sirius as well. "For sustenance," he instructed, and proceeded to pull off the wrapper. Sirius followed in suit, not allowing it to escape him that the boy had used the word 'sustenance' correctly in a sentence at the age of seven.
"How often do you come up here?" Sirius asked.
"Every day, even in the winter. I always go up here after school. Once I got sick from staying up here for too long when it was cold outside, so mum had to make rules about how long I could stay here when it's cold."
"So you must really like it up here."
Charlie nodded as he nibbled on his granola bar. "Sure. I can do whatever I want up here. No one bothers me, and I can just think if I need to, without anyone bugging me to make sure that I'm all right."
"What do you think about?"
"Lots of things… well, lately just the one thing…" he tilted his head up, and Sirius could already see the telltale circles beginning to form under the boy's eyes. "I'm not getting the Wolfsbane Potion this time."
Sirius nodded solemnly. "I know."
"How long are you here for?"
"All night, if you want me here."
"But… how? You can't be in the same room with me."
Sirius took a deep breath. "Charlie, I have a special secret to tell you. But if I tell you, you have to promise that you won't tell anyone in the entire world, all right?"
The boy nodded enthusiastically. "I promise."
"In the wizarding world, I'm what's known as an Animagus. Do you know what that means?"
Charlie narrowed his eyes in puzzlement and shook his head.
"It means that I have the ability to turn into an animal at will."
The boy's mouth dropped open. "What sorts of animals?"
Sirius shook his head. "No, I can only turn into one animal. When you become an Animagus, you find out what animal you have the power to turn into. My friends and I all decided to become Animagi when we found out about our friend, Remus."
"The werewolf," Charlie finished for him.
"Because – and I'm sure you've already read this – werewolves are not a danger to other animals unless they are provoked by them. They only hunt humans."
"So you turned into animals so you could be with him when he was a werewolf?"
"That's right. This was before the Wolfsbane Potion was invented, and it helped him because when he had us with him he didn't hurt himself as much. He didn't want to tear anything apart with us around. And if you want… I can do that for you tonight. I can keep you company."
The relief on the Charlie's face flooded Sirius' senses. He didn't need to possess any powers of Divination to see what his offer meant to this little boy. Charlie finally looked as young as he really was for the first time that evening.
"Will you really do that for me?"
"Of course, I will."
"What sort of animal can you turn into?"
Sirius smiled. "I'll show you. And you should know, my friends called me Padfoot."
With a brief pop, Charlie suddenly found himself looking at a big, black dog with a wagging tail and huge brown eyes. And the dog seemed to be… smiling at him.
Charlie smiled back. "Padfoot?"
The dog barked once.
Charlie thought for a moment of what else he could do. "Sit, Padfoot."
The dog sat.
"Lie down, Padfoot."
The dog lay down.
"Pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time, Padfoot."
The dog stared at him and seemed to be raising one brow in ill-amusement.
The boy laughed. "Just kidding."
The dog walked over to him and sat down beside him. Charlie reached up and scratched him behind the ears. The scratching slowed as Charlie seemed to get lost in his thoughts for a moment. Then, without warning, the boy threw his arms around the dog and started sobbing.
With another pop, Sirius was back and hugging the boy close to him. "Hey, hey, take it easy, lad. You're going to do fine."
"I'm really scared," he managed to make out through the stuffy nose and muffled sound of a face buried in his jacket.
Sirius pushed him back so he could look Charlie in the eye. "You'd be crazy not to be scared. And that's okay. It's okay if you're scared. Because this is the worst part of it. And once you've gone through it once, you'll know what it's like and it won't be so scary anymore. Right?"
Charlie looked up at him and nodded. Sirius looked at the sky.
"It's starting to get dark. We should get you into the cellar."
Sirius helped the Waldens to make sure that everything was safe for Charlie in the cellar. They moved out all of the furniture and made sure that the windows were either boarded up or too small for him to climb out of. Sirius checked and rechecked the door lock to make sure that it was secure enough.
"I still don't understand, Mr. Black," Mrs. Walden said slowly. "Why is it that you will be able to stay with Charlie without getting hurt?"
Sirius had decided not to explain the Animagus form to Charlie's parents, knowing that too much of an immersion into the wizarding world would probably confuse or alarm them. However, this still made things difficult in trying to tell the Waldens that he could be in the cellar with their son while they could not.
"I have special protection in this case. It's a talent of mine. It will help him get through the night. And next time he will have the Wolfsbane Potion and everything will be much easier. You could even let him sleep in his own bedroom when he has the potion; he won't be any danger to himself or you then."
He took another step toward Mrs. Walden and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I need you to promise me that whatever you hear tonight, you will not go into the cellar. I know you love your son and he loves you too. But don't make the mistake that so many others have made in thinking that their loved ones will not be mentally affected in the transformation. Your son will kill you if you go down there, and so it is vital that you remain up here. There is nothing more tragic than a werewolf waking up the next morning and finding that he has killed someone he loved while he was completely unaware of his own actions."
Mrs. Walden nodded and gulped. "Has your friend ever done that?"
Sirius sighed. "No, thank God. He never would have been able to handle something like that. There are few who can."
Sirius took a look outside. "I should get down there."
Mrs. Walden nodded, tears in her eyes. Before he could make it to the stairs, Mr. Walden stopped him.
"You take care of him, Mr. Black."
Sirius knew that any sort of display of affection was difficult for this man, so he did his best to be reassuring. "Don't worry. He'll be fine. A little worse for the wear tomorrow, but nothing more."
Sirius walked down a few steps and waited to hear the locking of the door. He went back up and checked the door to be safe, testing it with his shoulder to make sure that it was sturdy. Then he walked down the flight of stairs, and found Charlie sitting on the floor.
"You talked to your mum and dad, right?"
The boy nodded. "When will you change?"
"I'll wait until you're most of the way through the transformation. I'll be more of a help to you that way."
"How much time do I have?"
"A few minutes at most."
Charlie looked out one of the tiny windows, trying to figure out when the moon was rising. "How did your friend wait for this every month?"
Sirius shrugged. "He would sit in a corner and try to calm himself down usually. It's easier when you're calm, at least that's what he says."
"I can't be calm."
"I know."
"I hate this."
"I know."
The boy paused. "Are you afraid of me?"
"Of course not."
"Why not?"
"Because you're still Charlie, no matter what you look like or how you act tonight."
The boy took a moment to think those words over. He stood up and started walking in a circle.
Sirius smiled. "You'll make yourself dizzy."
"It helps, though."
"Well, in that case…" Sirius joined Charlie walking in a circle. They walked in a circle for what felt like forever, and Sirius understood why it helped the boy.
Suddenly Charlie doubled over. He edged his way to the corner of the room put his hands up against the wall.
Sirius rushed to him. "Charlie?"
He threw up along the wall; a clear sign to Sirius of how much pain he was in.
"Charlie, turn around and look at me."
The boy turned around with tears in his eyes. Eyes that were turning a golden yellow.
"It hurts," he whispered.
Then he screamed.
Sirius knelt down in front of the boy, and Charlie grabbed onto his shoulders as his back began to crunch and rearrange itself. Sirius could feel claws digging into his skin now.
"Look at me, Charlie! Charlie, look at me!" Sirius shouted. "Don't focus on the pain, focus on your favorite place in the whole world. Focus on how it sounds and what the weather is like. What it smells like. Don't feel any of this now, push it from your mind!"
But Charlie couldn't answer him in words anymore. His face was changing, a snout elongating his face as he sprouted fur all over his body. His clothing ripped and tore, falling from his body in shreds. Sirius changed into his Animagus form.
The wolf wasn't very big, so Padfoot wasn't worried. When they had started transforming with Remus he had already been fifteen; the wolf had been nearly three times the size of Padfoot, and was still growing just as Remus was, but Sirius had learned to handle it. This wolf wasn't even twice the size of the shaggy dog. It would be much easier.
The wolf lay on the ground whimpering for the first half hour. The body was not used to the change and could not cope consciously right away. So Padfoot had curled up next to the furry form and waited. Eventually, the wolf stirred, his fur bristling in confusion. He leapt up and started growling at the black dog, demanding to know who he was.
But Padfoot wasn't really intimidated, though he didn't let the wolf know it. He simply stared the wolf in the eye, hoping that a trace memory would subconsciously surface and he wouldn't attack.
The wolf stared back at him for a long time, gnashing his teeth and clawing at the ground. He slowly approached the dog, circling him, trying to determine if he was a threat.
The dog sat.
The wolf was puzzled. He came closer to the dog. He kept his senses on high alert for anything that felt wrong.
The dog lay down.
The wolf wasn't sure what to make of this animal. It was clear that it wasn't going away, but it didn't seem to want to fight either.
The dog rolled over and bared his stomach.
The wolf was shaken off his guard. He nudged the dog in the stomach with his nose. And the young wolf now remembered what he really wanted now – to play. He nudged the dog again, this time with more force. The dog jumped up, tail wagging and eyes bright with mirth.
The wolf jumped at Padfoot and they began to wrestle. The dog made sure not to show any signs of dominance or distrust, just to show the wolf that they were having fun. But the wolf inevitably noticed something as they continued on. Something about the limitations of his space. He raced to the door of the cellar and scratched. Then he ran into the door, yipping when he hit too hard.
Padfoot barked, trying to get him down the stairs and away from the sense of confinement that was bound to build up now that the wolf noticed he had boundaries. The wolf retreated downstairs, but this time, he went to the tiny window at the opposite end. Jumping up and pawing toward the glass pane, the wolf whined, straining to see the outside light.
He howled at the moon.
Padfoot howled with him.
The wolf spent half of the night staring miserably out the small window, dying to be outside. He clawed at himself a few times, which the dog tried to stop, though he wasn't entirely successful. The wolf would then resume staring out the window when he was done tearing at himself. Padfoot sat beside him, waiting for him to snap out of it. He eventually did, and the two played for a few hours, exploring every crevice of the empty cellar and jumping at every little bug and rodent that happened across their path.
The wolf tired. His energy wasn't boundless, young as he was. He yawned, opening his mouth wide to show a set of very sharp teeth that Padfoot was glad he didn't have to worry about. The wolf curled up on the floor and gently put his head down. But he glanced up at Padfoot.
The dog lay down next to him.
He sighed deeply as the wolf started to drift off. It was nearly morning, and the transformation would wake the wolf when it reversed, but it was best to let him sleep while he could. Padfoot kept his eyes open and watched the young wolf all night.
As the moon sank low, Charlie's fur began to recede. Sirius quickly changed back and watched as the boy's features resumed. Charlie groaned and shouted a few times, but he was too tired to do much else. Eventually, he opened his eyes.
"Sirius?"
Sirius had already grabbed a blanket that had been stored up high where the wolf couldn't reach, and draped it over him. He placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "I'm here."
"I didn't hurt you, did I?"
Sirius smiled. "Nope, not a scratch. We actually had a pretty good time, although you scratched yourself up a bit."
Charlie began feeling for his injuries. When he found them he winced. "Why did I do that?"
"You couldn't get outside. It made you sad."
Charlie blinked in amazement. It was hard to digest when he couldn't remember any of it.
"You need anything to eat?" Sirius asked.
The boy shook his head. "I'm a little too nauseous for that. Maybe later. As soon as the room stops spinning."
Sirius nodded and waited silently. He knew that at this time it was usually best to just be there. Words were not particularly important now. As long as Charlie knew that he wasn't alone.
The boy sat up eventually and he and Sirius started playing silly little games to keep themselves occupied. One particularly difficult one that Charlie called 'Hand Slap', turned the back of Sirius' hands bright red.
There was finally a knock at the door. "Is everything all right?" Mrs. Walden asked in a shaky voice.
"Yes, everything's fine, Mrs. Walden," Sirius called up as Charlie got to his feet.
The door unlocked and Mr. and Mrs. Walden both rushed downstairs to their son. Mrs. Walden shrieked when she saw the claw marks, and Mr. Walden kept sighing in relief as he reminded his wife that Charlie would get the Wolfsbane Potion next time and everything would be better.
"You were very brave, son. I'm proud of you."
"Can you eat, dear?" Mrs. Walden asked.
Charlie nodded tentatively. "I think I can now."
"Good! What would you like? I'll make you whatever you want!"
Sirius edged his way toward the stairs. "I have to get going. I have work today."
Mrs. Walden turned to him. "You mean, you came here to stay with our boy even though you have to go to work today?"
"I wasn't about to let him go through that alone, Mrs. Walden."
She threw her arms around Sirius, close to tears. "Bless you, Mr. Black."
Once she withdrew, Mr. Walden stepped forward and stretched out his hand to Sirius. "Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Black. I suppose that we will never really understand just how much you've done for our son. Only he really knows that."
Sirius shook the man's hand uncomfortably. He really didn't think it was necessary for them to be so overly grateful. "It was my pleasure, Mr. Walden."
But before he left, he turned to the boy, who didn't seem so pleased.
"Do you really have to go now?"
Sirius sighed. "I'm afraid so. My partner will kill me if I don't come in today."
"You mean your friend that came with you last time?"
Sirius chuckled inwardly at Charlie's continued perception of his relationship with Guinevere. "Yes, my friend. But don't worry. I'll come back and see you again. Maybe you'll get to meet my other friend next time."
Charlie gave him a small smile. Then he rushed forward and gave Sirius a hug. Sirius wrapped his arms around him and didn't let go until Charlie was ready.
"I'll see you soon."
Charlie followed Sirius up the stairs and to the door. His parents followed, and the whole family waved as Sirius walked back to his motorbike and drove off.
"Lupin, are you sure you're all right?"
It took Remus a few moments to realize that he was being addressed. When he finally did, he lifted his head up and blinked stupidly at Professor Snape.
Even Severus was beginning to notice that something was up.
"What do you mean, Severus?"
"I mean, I don't think you've heard a word I've said in the past five minutes."
"Of course I have. You were talking about…" Remus blanched, much to his horror, and realized that he had absolutely no idea what Severus had been talking about. "Er…. Oh, I'm sorry, Severus. I'm just not in the best place today."
"You haven't been in the 'best place' for the past few weeks is more accurate."
Remus sighed under the assault. Why wasn't Severus ever affected by anything? Why did he always have to have everything under control, so that no one could accuse him of faltering on occasion?
Remus used to be that way. He kept everything in check, no matter what the dilemma or how much it injured him. No one was ever allowed to know what he really thought about during the day, or what plagued him in the darkest hours. Until he had married her.
Now everything was on display. Because the wolf wasn't the only one feeling threatened now. As much as he hated to admit it, his two separate personas were merging in this particular instance. Ivy belonged to both of them. And now someone was threatening that.
"Lupin, kindly pay attention, this is rather important."
Remus' fingers curled up in frustration. "I'm sorry, Severus, I just have a lot on my mind lately. Please, continue."
"Start over, you mean," Snape snapped. Remus winced at the annoyance in his colleague's voice.
Severus paused to recompose himself before beginning again. "I have been having problems in figuring out what Mr. Malfoy should be doing as my assistant."
Remus' eyes narrowed. "Well, I suppose that is really a matter of how much you feel you can trust him with."
"Precisely. And at the moment, the young man has given me no cause to trust him with anything other than gathering supplies from the storerooms. I want to give him a great deal more responsibility because I believe that pulling his own weight will be a good experience for him. But at the moment, he is uncooperative."
"How so?"
"To start, he never says more than three words to me at a time."
Remus nodded understandingly. "Well, that shouldn't come as much of a surprise. He hasn't been speaking much to anyone, and I doubt he will until he is comfortable here."
"That could take years."
"Point taken."
"And he frightens the students."
Remus smirked. "Not to be rude, Severus, but so do you."
Snape rolled his eyes. "I intimidate the students. There is a difference. When you intimidate someone they respect you, Lupin. The students simply cower from Mr. Malfoy because they know about his past. I can't have the students feeling that way. It is detrimental to everything I hope to accomplish with him."
Remus thought for a moment. "I've never heard of intimidation being the best road to respect," he said with a small smile. Snape opened his mouth to retaliate, but Remus continued. "In regards to the rest, I think that the only way that the students will learn not to fear Draco is if they are constantly exposed to him."
"Yes, well that would be all well and good if he would talk in a classroom setting. But since he barely talks outside of one, I don't see how that will work."
Remus sighed. "Well, I'm not sure, then. I have a feeling that this is something that you and Draco will have to work out for yourselves."
"I'm not his babysitter, Lupin," Snape replied, sneering.
"I know, but you were the only teacher in this entire school that he ever respected. That's got to count for something. If anyone can reach him, you can."
Snape didn't seem entirely satisfied with Remus' answer.
"Do you want to talk to Ivy about it?"
"I would, but she has been very busy dealing with that American."
Remus' eyes narrowed. "Yes, she has."
Snape spotted the look on Remus' face. "You don't like him either, I take it."
Remus blinked, caught off guard. "Well, I , er…." He wanted to lie, but Snape was eyeing him steadily. He gave up under that stare. "No, I don't."
"Have you told her?"
"He's helping her. I have no place saying anything about him to her."
Severus raised an eyebrow at him in something that Remus swore resembled amusement. "It seems to me that you are the only person who has a place saying something to her about him. But, I digress. Thank you for your time, Lupin."
Remus nodded politely and watched Severus walk away, feeling far more dejected and off-center than before.
Remus waited patiently in Ivy's office for her to return. It was getting late and he wanted to go look for her, but he reminded himself that she was a big girl and she would probably resent him coming to find her as if she had stayed out past curfew.
He actually did have to speak with her. For some reason, the rest of the staff assumed that since he was married to the headmistress, it would be fine if they simply relayed all of their messages to him and had him talk to Ivy. How Albus had managed to keep in touch with his staff without someone collecting messages for him, Remus would never know, although he was getting annoyed with how often everyone approached him with something he had to tell his wife.
The portraits were all dozing lightly, noted by the snoring throughout the room. All except for one. Albus' portrait remained alert, and Remus had a funny feeling that he was keeping an eye on him. He finally turned around to face the painting, tired of pretending that he didn't feel the twinkling gaze on him.
"Speak up. What's going on?"
The oil rendering of the former headmaster raised his eyebrows. "My dear Remus! I am surprised at the lack of your usual tact."
Remus sighed. "I apologize."
"I understand. He is bothering you."
Remus sat down in the chair behind the desk. He realized how odd it was that he was willing to share his problems with a painting, but at the moment, Albus was the only person he felt he could really trust. After all, he was a member of Ivy's family, and he had tried to tell Remus that he approved of his love for Ivy before Remus himself had been aware of it.
"Tell me I'm overreacting, Albus. Just tell me I am and I won't think on it anymore."
Albus tilted his head. "I wish I could, my friend. But I don't trust him any more than you do."
Remus blinked. "Then why don't you say something to her? She always listened to you. Tell her what you think and maybe she'll ask him to leave!"
"I would if I thought she might listen. But she won't." Remus opened his mouth to object, but Albus held up a hand to stop him. "Think what you will about my relationship with Ivy, but she has always done exactly as she pleased. If she hadn't, she would have never left for America after you two had your falling out. It is a quality, I believe," he said with that familiar twinkle, "she inherited from that mother whom she speaks of so fondly. Ivy never likes the feeling that someone is stepping on her toes. The moment she feels that someone is telling her what to do – "
" – She feels insulted," Remus finished. "I know. And it is an admirable trait, in many ways. I just wish – "
" – That you could say something just this once?" Albus finished. "I understand. Would you like to know what I suggest?"
Remus nodded vigorously.
"Be patient with her," the old man said gently. "One of Ivy's other most bothersome traits is that she is blindly trusting. It has hurt her on many occasions, and it probably will this time around, though I am not sure how. Just try not to be too cross with her for it. She loves you so dearly. She worries about you, you know."
Remus' brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"She talks to me all the time about you. She worries about your health, and lately," he said staring deliberately over his half moon spectacles, "she has been worried about how distant you seem to be."
Remus hissed out a breath through clenched teeth. "I don't mean to be. I've never had this hard a time controlling my instincts."
Albus was about to respond when a loud creak announced the opening of the door to the office. Remus turned around in the chair to find Ivy stepping inside. She closed the door behind her and looked up toward her desk, giving a small start when she found Remus sitting there.
"What are you doing in here?" she asked, smiling.
"Waiting for you," he answered truthfully. "I have your daily messages, headmistress."
Ivy pulled a face that showed how much she was dreading that. "How urgent are they?"
"Not very," he answered with a grin.
"That's what I thought," she said. "Forget it. Let's go upstairs. I want some tea and a fire."
"You can get both of those things down here."
Ivy walked over to him, grabbed his hand, and pulled him to his feet. "Yes, but down here there are portraits that spy and no places where we can both sit down together."
"Ah…"
"Come on."
Remus followed Ivy up the stairs. She muttered the password that unlocked their door and stepped inside. Once the door was closed, she turned around to face her husband and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
Remus froze.
She smelled like him.
It chilled him to the bone to catch that scent on her. Nothing had happened between them – he would have been able to smell that the second she stepped into her office if it had – but they had to have been close all day for him to smell that.
Very close.
Clayton had to have been right at her back all the time, nose over her shoulder.
Ivy stepped back and stared at him. She looked hurt and confused, which didn't surprise Remus – he hadn't touched her at all.
"What is it?"
Remus shook his head to clear it. "Nothing," he said with as much of a smile as he could muster. "Nothing, I'm just tired."
"Still? Are you having trouble sleeping?"
"Something like that…. What did you do today?"
"I took care of some legal things with the Ministry. Mailed off some papers. Clayton helped me sort it all, thank God, or it would have never gotten done. All the House lists have been officiated for the records. I had a meeting with Minerva and set up one with Severus for tomorrow."
Remus flashed back to his conversation with Severus.
It seems to me that you are the only person…
"Ivy," he began, "about Mr. Wilcott…"
"Yeah, what about him?" Ivy asked with a smile.
Remus decided to try a tactic rather than just come out and say what he meant. "Some of staff have been complaining about him."
"Really?" Ivy said, clearly surprised. "I wonder why. They don't see him very often since he's usually helping me. What did he do that would bother them?"
Remus pressed his lips together and sighed. "Well, it's not so much what he did, as how he acts. He's just been rubbing people the wrong way, I think."
Ivy waved a dismissing hand and walked toward the couch where their tea was waiting. "Oh, that's probably just because they're not used to having an American around. He is a bit of a cowboy, after all. That is bound to clash with someone as straight-laced as Minerva or Severus."
Remus gave up. She wasn't buying it.
"Yes, I'm sure you're right."
Ivy patted the couch next to her. "Sit down with me. I won't be up for much longer."
He walked over the couch and sat down, but not too close. The scent was bothering him. "Something to do early?"
"Well, I always jog on Wednesdays, but I have to meet Clayton by the fountains early so we can get started."
Remus nearly dropped the teapot that had been pouring tea into his cup. "He's going to jog with you now?"
"Yeah, says he likes having an exercise buddy. I'm going to show him my route tomorrow."
Remus stood up. "I'm going to bed."
Ivy looked hurt again and Remus tried not to feel guilty. "Why?"
"I'm really tired. I need to go to sleep."
Ivy dropped her head and stared at the tea tray. "Okay. I'll be in soon."
"Don't rush yourself, I'm fine," Remus tossed over his shoulder as he retreated into the bedroom.
He could feel her reaction to his brush off through nearly every sense he possessed. Heightened instincts be damned.
After a night of tossing and turning, Remus woke up early the next morning. He waited at the place where Ivy finished her jogs. He waited for a half hour until she showed up, Clayton in tow.
"What are you doing here?" she asked playfully.
Remus smiled. "Thought I'd wait for you so we could go to breakfast together."
"That was nice of you."
Remus nodded and turned his gaze immediately to Clayton. The man was gasping for air, red in the face. It was clear that despite his impressive build, long distance running was not something that he was used to. 'Exercise buddy' my eye…
"Are you all right, Mr. Wilcott?" Remus asked lightly. "You look a bit worn out."
Clayton straightened up, wiping the sweat from his brow. He was still a bit short of breath so Ivy started talking for him. "He's not used to the hilly terrain yet. It took him a while to get up to my pace."
Clayton smiled, placing a hand fondly on Ivy's shoulder. Remus' shoulders tensed.
"She's just too damn fast fer me!" he exclaimed jovially, tilting his head to eye Remus venomously. "Hard to keep up with a woman who has so much stamina!"
"Not if you have a little yourself," Remus replied, raising a superior eyebrow. The back of his brain was shouting at him that he was engaging in an exchange which was highly inappropriate, but he couldn't help himself. Not when Clayton's face sneered at the cold jab it had just been dealt.
Ivy thought it was a joke and thwacked Remus in the arm. "You! Stop trying to make our guest feel inadequate. He did a fine job for his first day."
Clayton grinned at her. "Why thank ya kindly, ma'am."
"Now, let's get some breakfast," Ivy said, making her way into the castle.
"Yes, let's," Remus responded, glaring at Clayton all the while. Clayton carefully glared back as they both followed Ivy into the castle.
Sirius had been half-asleep at work all day. He couldn't pull all-nighters the way he had when he was young, and the lack of sleep had made him sluggish. Guinevere had noticed and did scold him, though Sirius noticed that she was far gentler than she might have been since she knew why Sirius was tired.
He was glad to be back at home and was planning on going to bed as soon as he finished his second glass of firewhiskey. Raised voices upstairs caught his attention, but he quickly reminded himself that it was none of his business and returned to the amber-filled glass in front of him as he read the newspaper.
About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at his door. He didn't want to answer, but the knock sounded urgent. He only hoped that his partner wasn't in desperate need of salt or the like. His kitchen wasn't well stocked at the moment.
He opened the door and instead of Guinevere, he found Bruce on the other side. The man gave him a sheepish stare. "I hope you don't mind – she's in a bit of a mood right now, so I thought I'd drop in on you."
Sirius grinned. "Not at all, come in." He raised the glass in his hand. "Firewhiskey?"
"That would be great, thanks."
Sirius got out another glass from the kitchen and walked back to Bruce. He filled the glass and handed it to him. "Sit down," he directed.
Bruce sat down in the chair nearest to Sirius and stared into the bottom of the glass.
"You look like you've got a problem."
Bruce glanced up and shrugged. "Just her. Always her."
Sirius decided to finally ask the question that had been bugging him for a long time. "So what is her problem? Really."
Bruce grimaced. "Are you sure you want to know? If I tell you, you can't say anything to her."
Sirius crossed his heart with a finger. "I swear she won't hear a word from me."
Guinevere's brother took a deep breath. "How much do you know about her life after Hogwarts?"
"Nothing."
"She hasn't mentioned anything?"
"Not a word. Except for the fact that she doesn't have many friends and doesn't do anything interesting on the weekends. But she only told me that when I pissed her off and forced it out of her."
Bruce nodded. "That doesn't surprise me. She wasn't exaggerating, you know. About what she does most of the time. But it's not just because she's that wrapped up in her work."
"Okay, I'll bite. What happened?"
"… Did she mention that she was married?"
Sirius choked on his firewhiskey. "Are you serious?"
"Yep. For five years. Got married when she was twenty-five. Guy named Alec. He was a foreigner."
"What country?"
"Ah, I don't remember."
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "You don't remember the native country of the man who married your twin sister?"
"Well, I never liked him much. He had some accent. French or Italian or something."
Sirius shook his head in amazement. "So dear Guinevere was married…. What went wrong?"
"He started blaming her for things. Claimed that she wasn't emotionally ready to be a wife, started staying away from the house. It went on for a few years like that. Finally, he tells her that he's found someone who 'understands him' and runs off. She finds out later that it was a friend of hers from school."
"Bloody hell…"
Bruce snorted. "You're telling me. Sounds like one of our stupid muggle television programs, doesn't it? But after that, she closed off a lot. Stopped seeing friends, going out. She got her job while they were married, and I think she decided to do it because she felt so lonely. But that only distanced him more. Said she cared more about her job than their marriage, and other nonsense like that."
Sirius didn't know what to say. It certainly explained a few things, but it left him with far more questions than answers.
"You know what the worst part is?" Bruce whispered. "She still thinks it's her fault. She thinks that she is the reason that she's alone. She doesn't like herself. Not really. I mean, if she heard me say that she'd just snap at me and tell me I was being ridiculous, but it's true. She has no real self-confidence. The only things she thinks she's good at are schoolwork, reading, her job, and cooking. That's why she never tries to date."
"Well…" Sirius faltered. His perception of the woman upstairs had just been turned on its head. He wasn't quite sure what to do. "I was never a big fan of hers while we were growing up, but I know she never did anything to deserve that. No one deserves to be back-stabbed like that."
"Tell me about it," said Bruce, taking a swig from his glass. "Thanks for the whiskey."
"No problem. So what were you two arguing about?"
"Oh, nothing important. Just the usual: I want her to get out of the house and do something for herself, she wants me to mind my own business. She needs a boyfriend. Badly."
"She probably needs to get laid," Sirius said loudly. When he realized that he had spoken those words out loud, he promptly shut his mouth and set his firewhiskey on the table next to him. Clearly, he'd had enough.
Luckily, Bruce only laughed. "You're probably right about that. It's been a long while for her, I know that. I've been trying to get her out, but it just doesn't work. There's this one guy that I really think she should go after, but she's not listening to me."
"And who might he be?" Sirius asked.
Bruce grinned slyly, but Sirius was too tipsy to catch the look. "Oh, no one in particular…. But if you could ever get her out of the house at some point, that would be great. Take her out somewhere. A bar or a club or something. Somewhere she can be around people."
Sirius was trying hard not to laugh. "A bar or a club? Your sister? That's like sticking a centaur in the middle of a herd of hippogriffs – there are similarities, but they just don't mix."
"Teach her how," Bruce pleaded. "She won't go anywhere with me. If you could get her to do it once, I'd be grateful."
Sirius thought for a moment. "I can't make any promises. She doesn't really like me, in case you hadn't noticed."
But Bruce only smiled. "Thanks."
They sat for a while discussing other things. Bruce went over the sport of football again for Sirius' benefit, so he wouldn't be totally lost when he went to the game. Eventually, Bruce stood up.
"I should get going."
Sirius stood up to see him to the door. "All right. Thanks for dropping by. Feel free to do it any time."
Bruce thanked him and left. Sirius put the glasses in the sink, cast a cleaning spell, and decided to go for a walk in the night air.
Guinevere was sitting outside at the back of the flat. She had just meant to take out her garbage, but seeing how beautiful the night sky was, she just couldn't bring herself to go back in. So she found the old, wooden bench that rested in the small backyard of the flat and stared out, thinking to herself. It was one of the few peaceful activities that she allowed herself from time to time.
After a while, she heard rustling nearby. She looked off in the direction that the noise was coming from, trying to figure out what caused it. Eventually she saw something stir the low bushes to her left. She tensed, wondering what was making the sounds, hoping that it wasn't a boggart. Tonight was not a good night for her to be dealing with boggarts.
Finally, it emerged from the bushed. But it was not a boggart, nor was it any other magical creature. It was a shaggy black dog. Guinevere smiled.
"Hello. What are you doing out here all by yourself?"
The dog walked over to her and barked.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she responded. "I don't know what you're saying. Wish I did. I could use another person to talk to besides that daft brother of mine."
The dog tilted his head curiously at that comment and sat at her feet.
"Well, aren't you friendly?" Guinevere said, reaching out to pat the dog on the head. His fur was soft and shone blue in the moonlight.
"It's sort of silly that I'm talking to you, isn't it?"
The dog looked up at her, his large eyes unblinking. Guinevere peered back questioningly. Those eyes were familiar somehow…
"It's strange, but I feel as though I've seen you before somewhere. But that couldn't be, could it? There are no dogs on this block."
She shivered as a cool wind swept through the yard. The dog leaned against her legs, his warm body shielding her as much as he could.
Guinevere moved her hand to his ears and started scratching. "You're a rather perceptive animal, aren't you?"
The dog sighed and laid his head in her lap, clearly won over by the ear scratching.
"You don't belong to Sirius, do you?" she eventually thought to ask. "I don't know why I asked that; I haven't seen or heard any animals over at his house."
The dog seemed uninterested in her rambling and nudged her hand with his nose to get her ear scratching started again.
"All right, all right!" she laughed. "Persistent one, aren't you? I bet you always get exactly what you want."
The dog barked, probably in affirmation.
They sat like this for a long while. Eventually the dog lifted his head and looked off in the direction he had come from.
"Oh, have to go, do you?" Guinevere guessed. "Well, I suppose that's fine. It's rather common that no one chooses to stick around."
The dog seemed to blink sadly at her comment, but Guinevere was sure she was seeing things.
He raised a paw to her and she shook it.
"Nice to meet you," she said good-naturedly. "Come back if you're ever in the neighborhood."
The dog barked once more before taking off into the bushes.
Guinevere stayed outside, still not caring to go in. A few minutes later, she heard footsteps. She turned around.
"Oh. It's you."
"What a kind greeting!" he replied, spreading his arms in mock gratefulness. He walked over to where she sat. "Budge up."
She blinked up at him, surprised, but moved over all the same. Sirius sat down next to her, folding his arms across his chest and looking upward.
"What are you doing out here?" she finally asked.
"Bird watching," he replied without missing a beat.
She raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "You never stop do you?"
"Should I?"
She shrugged. "It might be nice to hear the real you just once."
He glanced over at her, more a than a little surprised. "So now there is a real me. I'm not some heartless prat with a bad sense of humor?"
She didn't respond.
"I could say the same about you, you know."
"That I'm a heartless prat with a bad sense of humor?"
"Careful, my dear Guinevere. You're on the verge of being witty. Wittiness is akin to a sense of humor, which is akin to being human."
She laughed quietly. "So you think you don't hear the real me either?"
"You tell me."
She sighed. "You're probably right. Does it really matter?"
"It matters to you."
"Maybe."
They sat in silence for a while.
"So, you know any dogs around here?"
"There aren't any, far as I know."
"One came and sat with me for a while. Before you came out here."
"What did he look like?"
"Big, shaggy, all black. Beautiful eyes. Really friendly."
"Never seen him."
"…Oh."
There we are! Did you like it? Did you, did you? I hope so. And you'll probably like the next chapter too. No singing, but… well, have you ever wondered what would happen if Sirius did certain illegal substances? How about Remus (without his own knowledge, of course)? If you ever wanted to know, the next chapter is for you (I will give you the story of how the scene came about in the next author's note)! Also if you want to know what's next with Clayton, what Sirius' next job assignment is, and how football games go, naturally you will have to stay tuned…
Please review! It is my life source! Next chapter should be up in no longer than a month!