A/N: Thank you, FireboltRider and everyone who reviewed!

Chapter 4

Cecily turned away. It was not her place to watch. It would never be right for her to be involved in something she was not supposed to.

The sadness on each of their faces was so clear and heart wrenching. As the witch began to retrace her steps toward her coat, Remus stopped her.

"Don't leave, Cecily, please." He didn't look at her, but she glanced at him. In some way, he must have known the truth about Sirius as he eyed him in wonder because his voice was calm and he hadn't dived for his wand.

Cecily shut her gaping mouth. "I-I won't." She averted her eyes toward Sirius Black and glared with all her might. "How dare you?"

"What?"

"That's right," she said, forgetting the intense moment. "How dare you leave my home when I-I-I…I let you stay in my flat! And then you just leave? And then…and then—what did you do to my mother? If I find you harmed her in any way—"

Sirius's eyes widened considerably. "Cecily—you don't understand. I didn't do anything! It was her!"

"What did you do?"

"Nothing, I swear!"

"Cecily, you let him stay at your flat? Are you insane?" Remus demanded.

Cecily's voice raised a great deal as she exclaimed, "I think I would have to be! I can't believe I could be so stupid and I—oh, Harry—"

The baby began to wail loudly from the thunderous voices of the adults surrounding him. Each one's face softened as they stared apologetically at the infant. It was such a sad fact that his second Christmas was one of suffering and unhappiness. Cecily wished she could have changed it all for this tiny little boy. He continued to cry, tearing at her heart agonizingly with each sob and tear.

"Here, Moony, hold him. You know how to calm him," Sirius offered. Remus blinked. The tired werewolf gave a very small smile and he embraced the baby boy with love.

"Sirius—I want to know—"

"Do you think I could have done something so disgusting to-to James? To Lily? To Harry? I am sick at the thought of anyone so cruel to do anything like that."

Remus didn't look up, but he let Sirius slip from the closet. He passed the calmed baby to Cecily and muttered, "Would you take him upstairs to the room on the near left?"

Cecily looked at him confused but nodded and scurried from the site. Her ears were still open, listening for more information, but the men's voices were hushed. She sighed and journeyed up the stairs. They creaked with age and gravity. Her legs were exhausted from excitement and her eyes drooped almost as much as Harry. That kid is the sleepiest child I have ever encountered! He could sleep all day if he wasn't bothered! Maybe he was sick. Cecily inhaled deeply at the thought. It would be awful if he had gotten ill - just terrible.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she wondered briefly if the Minister would believe all this. Everything that had happened in the last day and a half was insanely incredible. Who would even begin to consider her to be so stupid? Why couldn't I have acted like usual? Or just taken Harry and left? I would still be in a little bit of a mess, but not this big!

The room Remus had mentioned was magically spacious. Cecily gave a snort at the décor; it was a Quidditch themed area with three large beds and a crib. The wall was decked with photos of Quidditch players who zoomed from poster to poster on the latest brooms.

The room seemed untouched for some time. Each bed was unmade as if the last occupants had just rolled out of them and never given it a second thought. Cecily peered into the crib and grinned. Below her was a blanket and four stuffed animals representing a wolf, a rat, a dog, and a stag. She set Harry in the crib and despite his tiredness, he squealed in delight and recognition.

Immediately he snatched the little stag and hugged it close. He muttered something so quietly that Cecily had to lean in. "Daddy," he said. The young witch took a step back. What did he say?

Still clutching the stuffed toy, Harry closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep. Cecily awkwardly watched the boy sleep. She was tired too, but it couldn't have been five o' clock yet. What was she doing? Harry couldn't take a nap now! He'd never sleep through the night!

But she was too, what she thought, weary to wake him. Instead, she turned and chose the bed closest to the door and sat upon it. She let her thoughts wander, and the voices downstairs flooded through her ears, making absolutely no sense at all. It didn't really matter, because whatever was going on must have been progress…she hoped. Cecily lowered herself so her back was leaning against the pillow.

The plans for Christmas had been damaged. Remus clearly wasn't going to make it to Mary Adams' flat for supper, and Cecily was certainly not contacting her date from last night but it didn't matter. Today was a new beginning for everyone and especially Harry Potter.

And Mum, Cecily mentally scolded her mother, don't you dare ask where I've been.

8o8o8o8

"Cecily, wake up. Now… Wake up…now. Are you ignoring me?"

The secretary inhaled deeply. Had she really fallen asleep? Where was she again? Ooh, the pillow smelled so good…who—?

She sat up with a gasp. A thud boomed and a throb erupted in her head. "Ouch," she moaned, clutching her hair.

"Well, I can't say that didn't hurt," drawled Sirius Black from beside her. Cecily blinked sleep furiously from her eyes until they focused on him. He held his own head in his hands and she realized her mind felt as if it had been scrambled and her vision was blurred.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. Sirius was clearly developing a headache, but he grinned broadly. "Oh dear, what have I done?"

"I feel so…special. You chose my bed over James's and Peter's."

Cecily formed an 'o' with her mouth. She looked to her side for a clock but found none. "Is it still Christmas?"

"Just barely. I thought you'd like to see its last limbs. But don't get too excited: there's only a few minutes left," said Sirius.

"Thank you for waking me, anyway. I cannot believe I fell asleep. And Harry, how could we have been so stupid to have put him down for a nap so late? Honestly, you'd think I'd have known. Or you, especially—"

"Oh, stop being such a mother," he teased. His grey eyes danced with mischief.

"How's Remus?"

"It's amazing, really. The man's a lunatic. Pulled out the liquor as soon as he was sure that I was telling the truth."

"Is he okay?" Cecily implored.

Sirius rubbed the back of his neck. "Sort of. He's sleeping off his alcohol consumption on the couch."

"Why are you still up? Shouldn't you be drunk or something?"

"I should be, but I guess I'm making up for lost time from not drinking."

Cecily gave a sigh and squirmed from the bed. "I really should be going," she said.

Sirius jumped quickly. Maybe he wasn't so sober after all. "Why?"

"I don't know," she replied almost silently.

Sirius reached for her hand. "Stay here?"

"I really wish I could, but…my mother will have sent out a search party by now. I don't want her to worry. She worries too much about me. She'll be alone and she hates to be alone. I'm just going to go home and sleep. I'll be back in a little while. I'm already in a lot of trouble—my mother and the Ministry are probably going to kill me. I should just go. I'm ruining everything. I'll grab my things. Just tell Remus—"

Sirius placed a finger gently upon her mouth. Cecily stared at it and whispered an apology. He placed another finger on her lips and Cecily immediately quieted. She felt her stomach lurched in pleasure from the touch of his warm palm over her face. His hands were cracked and dry. She wanted to kiss them a million times and heal every cut. What am I thinking? she demanded herself.

"You talk too much," he muttered.

Cecily felt her lips push out the words, "I'm sorry."

Sirius removed his fingers and smoothed her hair. "Always sorry, aren't you?" he asked. "Don't apologize."

"I'm…" Cecily stopped herself. "I'm going home."

"Please don't."

Cecily sighed deeply. Well, there wasn't too much harm in staying here. Remus would have some extra company in the morning, wouldn't he? She made sure an eye roll could be seen.

"I won't. All right? I won't."

"Thank you," whispered Sirius. He kissed her forehead gently. "Thank you. Besides, a hung-over werewolf can never be dealt with alone, can he?"

"No…no, of course not."

"And what if he changes his mind about me?" He asked her nose.

"I don't know…"

Cecily's eyes watered. His steamy breath upon her skin warmed her insides. Without warning, he leaned in so close that their noses were almost touching.

"Sirius, I don't think—"

"Shh. Just let me enjoy this before you push me away," he breathed. A lock of hair fell gracefully into his eyes. His face glowed in perfection and his lips were brilliantly chapped. A familiar feeling washed over Cecily that she had not experienced for several years. She wanted him to kiss her deeply and hold her in his arms forever. What was taking him so long? His eyes were radiant in thought. Was he having second judgments?

Well? "Kiss me," Cecily ordered.

"Not yet. I will sometime. Just not yet."

Cecily knew he was right, but all of a suddenly she wanted his lips on hers. Trailing a finger along his jaw made her sad for a moment. No, it was not the proper time for anything inappropriate.

"All right," she said. "But it will happen?"

"It's unavoidable."

It certainly would. For the next couple of days, Cecily's eyes hardly ever left Sirius's. They were kept to the confines of Remus Lupin's cottage, but it was often that Cecily and Sirius took walks together through the trees. Every day, they both agreed that nothing should happen, that their mouths should be kept to themselves. It never stopped Cecily from imagining her lips under his, of course.

Remus was not blind or stupid. He was bound to notice something between the two of them. Sometimes he would walk in when their noses were too close and awkwardly step back to where he had come from. Not that he minded too much; he had company for once. It was wonderful not to be alone.

The truth of Sirius Black's innocence was difficult to fathom at first, but after careful consideration and a great deal of explaining, Remus changed his mind. Ever since Peter Pettigrew disappeared over a month ago, he'd been extremely saddened. Without anyone to truly care about, he talked to his Aunt Mary. He spilled everything to her about the betrayal despite his knowledge that she was almost a convicted Death Eater. But now he was a bit skeptical of her and made sure he didn't make too much conversation.

"How shall I plead your innocence?" Cecily asked Sirius as they trudged through the snow.

Sirius sighed. "Well, we'll have to get try to get a legal hearing."

"Why not just Veritaserum?"

"Because some wizards have built up immunity to it and others know how to trick it. The Ministry knows that. Veritaserum makes a wizard tell the truth and if someone honestly believes a lie is the truth, that's what he will speak."

"You'll need some sort of legal attorney, won't you?" said Cecily.

"Unless we catch Pettigrew first."

"But that's certainly not guaranteed. We'd need someone good. Like…"

"We need Dumbledore."

Cecily smiled. "That man can do anything, can't he?"

Sirius said, "It sure seems like it."

As they wound their way around snow covered trees and fallen branches a few words were exchanged. Cecily was mentally writing a letter to Albus Dumbledore and hoping it didn't sound stupid. He was a man whose presence almost demanded respect. The twinkle in his eyes instantly warmed her. Cecily couldn't remember one time when she didn't stutter to him, awed by his talking to her.

"Stop," ordered Sirius.

"Why?"

He retrieved his wand and held it out before him. "Shhh."

The bushes rustled loudly and fear immediately coursed through Cecily. The leaves began to part and slowly inching out was a…

"Look! A rabbit!" squealed Cecily. The furry white animal made to hop away as soon as its eyes caught the humans before it. But, it was a strangled sort of leap because one leg was twisted in an odd angle and bleeding. "Oh, no! It's hurt!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. "Might as well put it out of its misery."

Cecily's jaw dropped. "No!"

"Why not?"

"You can't just murder an innocent animal for being injured! That's like-like—"

"Like what? Would you rather it suffer in its own pain, or put it to rest?"

Cecily stomped her foot. "Give it to me."

Sirius eyed the rabbit and handed it to Cecily.

"I will take care of it and nurse it back to health," she said. "Besides, it's already proven its worth, hasn't he? I mean, he hasn't died of fright."

"Ah yes, the noble rabbit of Gryffindor," said Sirius.

"Indeed." Cecily lifted it slightly and checked its underside. "It's a boy."

"Male."

The witch ignored him. The two humans and rabbit began to trace their steps back to Remus's cottage.

"What is that?"

"A rabbit, Remus Lupin," scowled Cecily, carrying her new prize to the kitchen.

"Wolves eat rabbits," Remus said.

Cecily turned sharply and dizzied the hare. "You wouldn't dare."

"Just keep it—" Sirius began.

"Him!"

"—keep him, away from here during the full moon."

Cecily hugged the rabbit to her chest. The furry mammal huffed loudly in pain as she squished his injured limb.

"What do you expect to do with it?" asked Remus.

"Nurse it back to health."

"It would just be better to—"

Sirius was gesturing to Remus as if to say, "Shut up."

Harry, who was sitting impatiently in Remus's arms, peered at the animal in curiosity, intrigued by its sudden appearance. Its long ears were odd and the nose never seemed to stop twitching.

"You see this, Harry? This is a rabbit. It is cruel to murder them," Cecily said.

"What about people who eat rabbits?"

Cecily raised her eyebrows one at a time. "That's different. They eat rabbits to live. You're just going to kill it for the sake of…killing it."

Sirius scowled and bit back a rather rude response. Instead, he let the words, "if that's how you want to think about it, go ahead" drip quietly from his mouth. Cecily only fixed her chin in a rather snobbish position towards the ceiling and said, "Hem."

Over the next few days, Cecily ordered Sirius to take care of the rabbit while she was at the Ministry. Fearful of the suspicion that he might eat it, the young witch refused to let Remus come near the animal. Her free time was spent writing down lists of names that would suit the rabbit and his white fur. She became quite upset when Harry consumed one of her hard-worked lists.

"Frederick," Cecily said.

Sirius stared down at the rabbit. "Doesn't suit." He felt sorry for the rodent. A red bow was tied around his neck while he desperately tried to scratch it off with his large foot. Cecily mentioned earlier that the precious rabbit looked just darling all dressed up.

"Fuzzy?"

The wizard gave a sigh. "Why not?"

Cecily grinned in appreciation and snapped her fingers. "Fuzzy! Come here, Fuzzy."

She'll be lucky if it doesn't eat her tongue in her sleep with that name, Sirius considered thoughtfully. Fuzzy didn't seem to mind much, but he still pawed furiously at the bow around his neck.

"Fuzzy!" Harry giggled towards the rabbit.

"That's right, Harry, Fuzzy!"

Harry chirped the rabbit's name once more and Sirius felt the corners of his lips twitch into a smile.