Renegade

Disclaimer: Sad to say, I don't own Sirius Black. If I did, I would not have killed off the closest thing Harry had to a father because he's been through enough bullshit already in his life!­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

A/N: Thanks for the great reviews. I'm getting about 10 per chapter, which is really great! Reviews make my day so much better, I can tell you. One reviewer was really mad at me because in the last chapter there was a part where Sirius and Raven almost kissed. I'm sorry, but I didn't want it to happen until they both knew what they were dealing with. So now that they do know….

Chapter 6 – In A Vampire's Absence

Without a knock, Sirius pushed open the front door of Raven's house and ambled slowly in. Without a word, he went straight to the kitchen, opened a cupboard, and took out a mug. Then he went to the coffee machine and tilted it to fill the cup. He did this for four or five seconds before he realized that the coffee pot was empty as was the cup he was trying to fill. 'Maybe she isn't up, yet,' Sirius thought. He exited the kitchen, putting the clean cup back into the cupboard, and crept slowly to her bedroom door. It was closed, but slightly ajar. This time he did knock.

"Raven?"

There was no answer.

"Are you asleep?…" Nothing. "Are you…naked? I'm coming in."

Sirius stuck his head through the door hesitantly and then looked around the room. He had never been in her bedroom before, but he guessed this isn't how she usually left it. The bed was not made (he remembered how it had annoyed her when he had left his unmade) and her nightclothes were scattered along the floor. Her wardrobe had been thrown open and was in disarray.

"Okay…" he spoke to himself as worry crept over him. "Rio?" he whistled, but Rio did not bound up to him like he usually did. Neither of them was in the house.

Sirius shrugged it off at first. He went back to his own house and fed Lily her breakfast. 'Maybe she went shopping. Women like to go shopping, right?' This satisfied him for a little while, until, 'And what? She took her dog with her to the mall?' He pushed away from the window, where he was watching for her return and got in the shower, thinking she'd be there when he got out. When she wasn't, he got even more worried. 'What if someone found out she was a vampire and…and I don't know what…'

As darkness was falling and Raven hadn't come back all day, Sirius was finding it hard to sit still. He jumped up and ran to his window at every cricket chirp and every crashing wave. After doing so several times in a row, he rolled his eyes and scoffed with disgust at himself.

He finally made up his mind, threw on a t-shirt—Raven was right, he barely ever got completely dressed unless he was going over to see her—and threw open his front door. Jumping when he came to the porch steps and completely clearing them, he walked briskly past his own house, past Raven's house, and then stopped uncertainly, staring up at the one before him. He shrugged, walked up the steps, and knocked hesitantly on the door.

Jordan opened the door and stepped back to admit him with a mischievous smirk on her face. "Aw, you miss her, don't you?"

Sirius entered the house. It was very neat. He wondered briefly how he hadn't noticed Raven was not a Muggle before he found out from her. Raven had a television, a radio, and most Muggle kitchen appliances, but that was about it. Jordan had a rack full of Muggle magazines, a case full of Muggle music (all Raven had was AC/DC) a desk with paper, pens, envelopes, stamps, etc., and many other Muggle objects scattered throughout the house.

Sirius turned to glare at her. "Do you know where she is?"

"Well, no, not exactly. I don't really want to know—"

At the sound of Sirius's voice, Rio had issued a loud bark from a back room and trodden into the living room.

"Rio!" exclaimed Sirius, bending down to scratch his ears.

"…either," finished Jordan. "Hasn't she told you about…you said you knew her big secret, right?"

"That she's a vampire? She told me, yes. Does that have something to do with her being gone all day?" asked Sirius, trying, and failing, to avoid Rio as he licked at Sirius's face.

"Well, of course it does," stated Jordan, as though this was the most obvious thing in the whole world. "When it gets to be too much for her, she clears out for a little while and leaves the dog with me."

Sirius stood up. "When what gets to be too much for her?"

Jordan gestured to two armchairs that were in front of her television and took up one of the seats. Sirius took the other. "Being a vampire, obviously."

"…I don't think I get what you mean," said Sirius, unsurely. "She said if she takes her potion, she isn't a vampire."

"She's always a vampire somewhere inside. And if she doesn't let it out every once in awhile, it could completely take her over. I doubt she told you that." Sirius shook his head as Rio nudged one of his hands with his wet nose and Sirius pet him absentmindedly. "She didn't want to scare you away, I'm sure. ...But I can tell by the looks of you that that's out of the question," she smirked again.

Sirius chose not to argue with this last comment. "Well, when will she be back?"

"Oh, she won't be long, don't worry. She feels the same about you, you know."

Sirius grinned, but said, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Jordan."

"Of course you don't," she responded.

"So how often does she do this?"

"I don't know, every few months, I guess. It comes upon her very suddenly, you know, and by then, taking her medicine won't help, so she needs to get away from everyone. She usually just lets Rio out so he won't attack her, and he's learned to come over here. This is why she got the dog all those years ago, in case she didn't notice the change. Hard not to notice it, I would think."

Sirius nodded, though he was still very confused.

"Would you like something to drink, Sirius?"

"What?" He was deep in thought. "Oh, no thanks. I guess I'll get back home and wait for her to come back. Sorry for just barging in on you like this." He stood and made his way for the door.

"Don't be silly; we have a mutual friend. Raven's a very confusing girl, but I've known her quite some time now, so if you ever need answers, don't hesitate, really."

Sirius laughed. "Thanks. I'll see you around then."

"Okay."

Raven didn't return until 2:17 the next morning. Sirius was awoken from his stupor as he slouched on his couch by a loud bark, undoubtedly from Rio. He jumped up and after seeing lights on inside her house from his window was out the door in a matter of seconds.

As he pushed open her front door silently, Raven was crouched over Rio, scratching the top of his head and giggling as he tried, and failed, to lick her face. Sirius didn't bother thinking. He walked quickly up to her without saying a word. As he neared her and she, now alerted to his presence, stood up, he placed one arm around her waist and pulled her against him, covering her mouth with his own.

Raven was understandably taken aback, but met his lips willingly, only letting a short gasp escape her throat. With one hand still firmly around her waist, he placed the other at the back of her neck, kissing her more deeply. Rio was whining and nudging at his empty food dish at their feet, but Sirius and Raven no longer had ears: only lips…and tongues…and hands.

After several indistinguishable moments, Sirius broke off the kiss, letting them both catch their breath.

Raven's eyes would not leave Sirius's as she cleared her throat and said, rather unsteadily while smirking, "If this is your way of getting me to make more of those ruddy burritos…"

He kissed her abruptly again and she laughed into it. "Maybe it's my way of telling you I missed you."

She smiled. "Yeah, that part was obvious. I'm sorry I couldn't let you know. I had to get away as soon as possible."

Sirius nodded. "Jordan told me. You don't have to apologize."

Rio's whining became more persistent as the two of them stood staring at each other. Raven sighed and tore her eyes away to fill Rio's bowl. Sirius leaned against the kitchen table watching in silence until she was finished and Rio was eating happily.

"So…have fun, did you?"

"Not exactly," Raven answered, sitting down opposite him. "Do you really want burritos?"

"Actually, I wanted to show you something," said Sirius, closing the distance between them again and reaching for her hand.

Raven looked up at him mischievously. "Show me something?"

"Come on," he said, pulling her from the kitchen and out her front door.

"Sirius, you're pulling my arm out of its socket," said Raven, trying to find her feet as he pulled her strongly toward his house.

He slowed up so that Raven could walk next to him and they fell in step together. She turned to look at him sideways.

"Where are you taking me, Sirius Black?"

"Down into my basement," he said, trying to sound as normal about it as possible.

Raven stopped walking. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah… I want you to see something," he said, taking her hand again and pulling her.

"But what exactly are you planning on showing me?" she asked, trying to resist him.

"You'll see. What, are you scared?" he dragged her up his front steps and through his house.

As he opened the door leading to the basement stairs, he picked up a bloodstained gray bag leaning against the adjacent wall. He led Raven down in front of him.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she stopped. "I'm here. What do you want me to see?"

"Around the corner, to your left," said Sirius as he set down the bag at the foot of the stairs.

"Wait." He put one hand over Raven's eyes and another in the middle of her back, leading her around the corner and forward.

Buckbeak gave a loud hoot as he saw Sirius coming towards him and Raven quickly wrenched Sirius's hand from her eyes and jumped backwards into him. Sirius let out a chuckle, which he regretted as she gave him a look of pure terror. Leading her slowly forward, he gently put his hands on her shoulders and spoke soothingly into her ear.

"This is the hippogriff that helped me escape from Hogwarts. His name is Buckbeak. He won't hurt you if you don't insult him."

Raven looked over the creature. He had the hind legs and tail of a horse, but eagle wings and head. Her eyes drifted to the six-inch, long talons on the beast's two front legs and she shuddered. Sirius's voice floated back to her, insistently.

"I'm not going to let him hurt you, Rave." He reached around Raven and stroked Buckbeak's gray feathers, reassuring him. He then returned to Raven's side and pushed her up to him. "Look him in the eye and try not to blink too much. That's it. Now you have to bow."

"What?" She spoke out of the corner of her mouth, but didn't dare look away from the hippogriffs brilliant orange eyes.

"Like in karate. Bow. You have to let him make the first move."

Raven didn't argue. She cautiously bowed and then looked up. Buckbeak immediately sank into a bow and Sirius smiled. He moved up behind her again, taking her hand and running it across Buckbeak's feathery beak. The hippogriff reacted much like Lily the cat would have if Raven had been petting it. She relaxed slightly.

"You escaped on this?" she asked.

"Yep."

"He's beautiful," she said as she more freely ran her fingers across his feathers.

"Mmhmm," said Sirius into her ear.

Raven smirked at how close they were standing again. She turned her head slightly to glance back at him. Sirius was biting his bottom lip, but smiling at her.

"So are you."

He kissed her again, fervency rising quickly in both of them. There seemed to be a sort of desperate intensity to the way he kissed her. They were both getting more lost in it each time their lips met.

For the second time, an impatient animal broke them apart. Buckbeak gave another loud hoot, as he impatiently waited for his dinner, and the two of them jumped away from each other. Sirius gave Raven a sideways smirk before leaving her to get the bag he'd left by the stairs.

He spoke to Buckbeak as he pulled a dead rat from the bag and held it by its tail. "Yeah, yeah, I know what you want."

Raven cringed as she watched Buckbeak devour the rat. He finished it in a matter of seconds and lifted his head questioningly again.

"Want another one?" Sirius threw him another rat and he caught it with ease. "What about you, Rave?"

"Actually I do," she said, as she pulled down on the collar of his shirt until his lips met hers again.

A/N: I was getting tired of dancing around the subject, so I just decided to get it over with. What did you think? Extremely corny, I know…especially the first time they kissed. I never write stuff like that, but I just couldn't help myself. Reviews are greatly appreciated, you know. If your day was brightened by reading this, why don't you brighten mine also with a review? This is the last chapter that I have completely written. After this I just have notes on where I want the story to go. And all of a sudden I have so much homework in all of my classes that it's not even funny. So posting will most likely slow down a bit. I'd really appreciate your patience. Thanks! Luv, Liveley.