Disclaimer: Own it just as much as I did last chapter, or the chapter before. Which is none. The dream at the start is adapted from the season 6 Buffy episode 'Dead Things', sort of. 'Objects In the Rear View Mirror' is by Meatloaf.
A/N: Have to apologise for how disorganised these last couple of chapters and one-shots have been, but after this things will get back on track. Thanks for reviewers of one-shots, too.
VERY IMPORTANT INFO:
This chapter refers to events in the one-shot 'Hands' so I hope you've all read it. If not, to sum up, after the events of 'Forsaken', things got a little heated between Sirius & Dawn resulting in some 3rd base action. 'Objects' deals with the fallout of said rashness in a pretty heavy way. Again, I promise things will get back on track, and hopefully this should put all you readers' (who very rightly suggested that things were moving too fast between Dawn & Sirius post almost-rape) minds at ease that the issues are being dealt with properly. And the dream sequence at the beginning of 'Objects' is a mixture of Dawn's on mind and the dream sequence Buffy has after thinking she's killed Katrina in the Season 6 episode 'Dead Things', only I tweaked it a little. Obviously I had to
Reviewers:
Many of you have asked questions about what characters are thinking & feeling & what things might happen further down the track. I'm a notorious spoiler, so in the interest of keeping readers interested and not knowing every singly little thing I have planned, let's just say a lot of you are not so very far from the truth.
Big thanks!
Sonofgloin, Christa, Mademoiselle Morte, Lunawolf, Raclswt, Phoenix83ad, Eleclya111, Beachgurl2005, the Summer Princess, CodeName Targeter, ChibiChibi, Yoshocrow, Crazy-VampireSlayer, Halric the Harmless
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Objects in the Rear View Mirror (May Appear Closer Than They Are)
Dawn was naked, laid out and handcuffed with her arms held high above her head. She let her head roll to the side, peering through the darkness in confusion at the stripy green wallpaper. What was she doing in Buffy's room?
She made a small noise of apprehension when she realised she wasn't alone. Dawn moaned and writhed in pain and humiliation as Buffy straddled and abused her. She tried to cry out, but all that she could muster was a few strangled whimpers as Buffy disappeared, only to be inexplicably replaced by a just as hurtful Spike.
At length, both Buffy's room and Spike faded, Dawn found herself still naked and handcuffed, sprawled on the ground out in the open. She vaguely recognised the area as the woods not too far from Spike's crypt. There was a girl lying next to her. About Buffy's age. Pretty. Long brown hair. Eyes wide open and empty. Buffy had appeared again, Dawn had a sudden vision of her accidentally striking the girl with a fatal blow as the Slayer loomed over the dead girl and stared down at her.
"Do you trust me?"
The girl flickered into a shirtless Spike, before resuming her usual form as Buffy brought a stake down with all her unnatural strength. It slammed straight into the girl's heart.
"No...!"
At the sound of Dawn's horrified cry, Buffy turned to stare at her. She ran a contemptuous glare over the exposed, abused body of her little sister and smirked. And then everything was fading into blackness.
The dungeon again. Malfoy on her this time, and nobody coming to her rescue. Dawn moaned in pain and squeezed her eyes shut tight against it. The stone floor was cold. coarse against her back. The atmosphere and weight around her shifted into something more painfully familiar, and Dawn's eyes opened against her will.
She gasped.
Sirius.
He was on top of her, staring down into her with a horribly unreadable expression. His movements were relentless. Dawn started to cry.
"Stop, please," she begged.
He kept going. She thrashed madly against him, but her efforts were useless. Her hands were still cuffed and Sirius was keeping them held high above her head. Keeping her helpless and defenceless. He just arched an eyebrow at her.
"Do you trust me?"
She sobbed harder. "No."
James and Sirius both awoke as the girl in between them on the bed started throwing herself about and moaning horribly. Somehow, miraculously, Peter was still asleep, curled at the foot of the bed like a spoilt pet. Dawn had even kicked out at him a couple of times, but still the boy snored on in oblivion. Remus had pulled a chair up to the bedside as if he intended to spend the night watching over them, but he'd propped his feet up on the side of the bed and looked as if he'd fallen asleep hours ago.
Dawn was still moaning and writhing, her face screwed up with pain and leaving the boys with little doubt as to the experience she was reliving.
"Should we wake her?" Sirius asked. He laid a hand on Dawn's sweaty forehead as she whimpered beneath him, her hands stretched high above her head as if she believed she couldn't move them.
"I don't think so," James hissed back. "Doesn't Madam Pomfrey always say it's best to leave these things to run their course when you can, or they just get worse the longer you put them off?"
Sirius looked away. If he had to watch his girlfriend reliving her attempted rape through her nightmares for any longer, he wouldn't be able to stand it. He'd have to wake her up. James stared down at Dawn, wishing to Merlin there was something he could do to help her out. In the end he settled on pinning her shoulders to the mat so she couldn't thrash about so much. She was going to hurt herself.
"No...!"
Sirius snapped his gaze back to her. James yanked his hands away guiltily. It took him a minute to realise she was reacting to something within her dream, not to his touch. Dawn's face now held such a deep look of pain that both boys were seriously reconsidering their agreement to not wake her up.
When she let out a gasp of shock and horror, Sirius started shaking her regardless of James' warnings. He wasn't going to let her suffer and do nothing. But Dawn could not be woken. Tears flowed down her face, and the boys could do nothing but wipe them away while in her sleep Dawn begged for the end of her torture.
Dawn was thrashing about wildly, straining against an invisible force. Her feet pounded into Peter's back several more times, but still he did not wake. Dawns started crying harder, then choked on a final heartbreaking word.
"No."
And as suddenly as it had begun, it was all over. Dawn became quiet and still, only the tear tracks down her cheeks remained as evidence of her nightmare. Dawn's face was permanently pinched into a frown, though, and her arms were still stretched up towards the headboard. Sirius and James shared another look.
"I think it's over for now," James muttered.
Sirius' look sharpened at the use of the phrase 'for now'. He reached up and pulled Dawn's arms down to rest more comfortably at her sides, keeping one of her hands held firmly in both of his. James rearranged the covers over the three of them and at length the two boys let sleep overtake them once more.
Dawn's eyes sprang open wide, she found herself staring at the ceiling of the boys' dorms and feeling strangely crowded. She shifted her gaze slightly to one side. James was fast asleep next to her. A little ways beyond him she could see Remus passed out on a bedside chair. She glanced down and realised Peter was curled at the foot of the bed, sleeping at her feet. Finally, Dawn turned her head to the other side, already knowing she would see Sirius, both his hands still clutching at one of hers even as he slept.
Her stomach clenched painfully as she looked at him. She felt a stab of horrified regret for how involved she'd let things get between them last night. The images and sensations of it all were stampeding through her min, mingling with her nightmare and the memory of Malfoy's attack until Dawn could no longer keep the three experiences separate in her head.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she forced them back. Dawn pulled her hand free, silently begging all the Gods and Goddesses not to let Sirius wake, and sat up. James mumbled something about the onion rings conspiring against him, but rolled over and kept sleeping contentedly. Dawn looked around the lightening room, her hands clutching self-consciously at the neckline of Sirius' shirt. Her mind was plagued by the memory of how easily those buttons had been unfastened, and what a seemingly simple movement it had been for her to pull it back and let it fall from her shoulders. The confused, mortified tears welled again.
She cringed in shame, her eyes darting around the bed in a futile search for escape. She was surrounded. Her gaze strayed longingly to the protective cover of the track pants she'd left on Sirius' bedside table, but there was no way of reaching them without waking Sirius and Dawn didn't know if she could face him just now. She was still wondering how she was going to get herself free without any of the boys noticing when one of them stirred. He twisted to look up at her.
"Morning, Dawn."
"Oh, hey Peter," she returned, shifting uncomfortably under his look.
He yawned and sat up. "Ow, I've got a horrible sore back," he tried to stretch it out. "Kept dreaming I was being attacked by a kick boxer. Oh well, must've slept on it wrong."
Dawn faked a smile. "Um, Peter? Do you think you could get up and, um, hand me those pants? I'm sort of trapped here and I... really need to go to the bathroom," she lied.
"Sure," he bounced up eagerly to fulfil her request.
"Thanks," Dawn pulled the track pants under the covers with her so she could work them on modestly. Peter watched with fascination. How she was managing to put a pair of pants on, in bed, sitting under the covers and without waking the two boys slumbering on either side of her was beyond him.
Finally covered, Dawn crawled out from under the bedclothes and down to the end of the bed. She practically bolted past Peter to take sanctuary in the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind her. She leaned heavily on the basin, staring hard into the mirror. It was strange, she didn't look any different than she had yesterday morning. But she felt different. Soiled, somehow.
A few of the tears that had been welling off and on since she awoke fell from her eyes. Dawn sniffled quietly and swiped at the little droplets, afraid that if she cried too loudly she'd draw unwanted attention to herself. Dawn looked away from the mirror, offended by her own reflection. She'd been so stupid to think that if she let Sirius touch her it would somehow take away the filthy branding Malfoy had given her.
It had all seemed to simple in the cover of darkness, but the morning sun that now spotlighted her seemed harsh and accusing. Dawn felt doubly used, and ashamed because she'd not only let it happen, she'd welcomed and encouraged it. She reached for the plug and wrenched at the tap, allowing cold water to fill the basin. Dawn plunged her face into it, pulling back only when dire need for oxygen forced her to. She repeated the process several more times, taking comfort in the cold burning of frigid water against her skin.
When she stepped back into the dorm several minutes later, the boys were all awake and dressed. Dawn found their state of consciousness a little strange, considering it was still quite early on a Saturday morning, but said nothing of it. maybe she'd slammed the bathroom door too hard and woken them all or something. She wasn't sure if she was merely losing her mind and imagining things, or if James had just shot a guilty look at her.
"Morning Kitten," the boys called. They were acting normally. Too normally, their almost forced ease immediately put Dawn on edge.
Sirius walked over and tried to hug her. Dawn flinched at the contact, giving him only a moment before pulling forcefully away. She didn't look at him, didn't want to see if there was hurt in his eyes, or if he'd even noticed her sudden aversion to having him touch her.
"So you guys are up early," she commented, curling up in the chair Remus had slept in.
Remus arched an eyebrow at her. "Well I know you think that chair is pretty comfy right now, but you just try and spend a whole night in it. I don't know if my backside will ever recover."
"I'm sure Isabel will kiss it better," James remarked casually. A blushing werewolf smacked him in the back of the head with a pillow.
Grinning, James readjusted his glasses and handed Dawn the sweatshirt he'd been digging out of his drawers. Dawn took it and a few things from her own pile of clothing, as always folded on Sirius' bedside table, and disappeared into the bathroom once more. She freshened up as much as she could and tugged on James' cosy sweater. A few minutes later, she'd been bundled back onto Sirius' bed, curled up in the middle while the four boys sprawled around her. Sirius touched her face and Dawn looked away, biting her lip.
"I don't think that's going to bruise," he said, studying the slightly faded red welt on her cheek. He leaned over to kiss her, and half a moment later Dawn was shrugging him off.
"Maybe I should get back to my own dorm," she made to scoot off the bed, but the boys held her back. They didn't want her escaping before McGonagall came, since she'd made it clear yesterday she wouldn't be reporting Malfoy's attack herself.
"Stay a little longer Kitten, it's still early. For us?" Remus pleaded and Dawn relented, allowing them to watch over her for a while longer.
Dawn jumped at the sudden brisk knock at the door. A moment later, it swung open and Professor McGonagall stalked in. Dawn turned a half-panicked stare to the boys, thinking she'd been caught out of bounds, but none of them looked either surprised or concerned at the Professor's arrival.
McGonagall raised an eyebrow at the group all crammed onto Sirius' bed, but said nothing of it. "I was told there was a situation here that needs reporting?"
"Lily..." Dawn realised, feeling a stab of betrayal. Lily had given her word that she'd help conceal the beating Sirius and James had given Malfoy.
"No, Kitten. It was me," James admitted without hesitation. "I asked her to tell for us. I know you're worried about all this other stuff, but what happened to you is more important than that, so please just tell her, ok?"
Dawn looked down. Did they really expect her to say the words out loud? How could they even ask her to? Dawn didn't think she could bear the further humiliation, hadn't she been exposed enough already? She opened her mouth, then closed it and shook her head. She couldn't say it.
"If you won't tell her, I will," James pressed. Dawn stared up at him with pleading eyes, and at last he understood. "Do you want me to, Kitten?"
She nodded.
"Oh for heaven's sake, Potter! Just spit it out and tell me why I should be taking Miss Evans' advice and not punishing Miss Summers for being in the wrong dormitory. What is going on?" McGonagall demanded impatiently, not at all liking the uneasy glances passing between her students.
"Well, Lucius Malfoy tried to rape her yesterday afternoon," James replied, forcing the words out in a rush and wincing as Dawn blanched at the crudeness of the statement.
"My goodness!" a slightly wrinkled hand flew to McGonagall's throat. She levelled her piercing stare at Dawn. "Miss Summers, is this true?"
Dawn nodded again. Sirius tried to take her hand but she shrugged away from the contact. He frowned as his hand fell back to his side. She'd done that a few times already this morning. McGonagall absently took a seat in the chair still left by the bedside.
"These are serious charges, Miss Summers. I need to be sure you're very clear about such an alleged incident," she began. She got no further, cut off by a heated, indignant voice.
"She's not lying! The slimy git chained her to the wall! Go on, look at her wrists," Sirius snapped, glaring at McGonagall like an overprotective guard dog.
The Professor glared right back at her insolent student, though she held out a hand to take one of Dawn's and inspect the bruised and red-raw wrist. In less than a heartbeat, she was on her feet and nodding curtly. "Professor Dumbledore will need to speak with each of you at once. Please come with me," she said. It was not a request.
They all piled off Sirius' bed. Dawn glanced down at herself. She was still only dressed in James' sweater and Sirius' track pants from the night before, both items of clothing were looking as rumpled as she felt.
"Um, Professor, can I just-" she indicated her attire.
"Of course, Miss Summers," McGonagall allowed.
Sirius immediately offered to wait for her, but Dawn was shaking her head almost before he'd even finished speaking. When he argued there was no chance in hell he was leaving her alone, McGonagall interrupted, announcing that Dawn would need to bring Lily with her anyway. Dawn practically bolted from the room.
She spent a few minutes in the comfort of the bathroom in her own dorm, freshening up and pulling on a pair of jeans and a clean sweater of her own. Lily was waiting for her when she stepped back into the main room of the dorm.
For a long moment the two girls just stared at each other, their expressions unreadable. Then Dawn surprised Lily by hugging her tightly.
"Thanks," she mumbled into a mass of dark red hair. "You did the right thing."
Lily just tightened her hold. "If you need anything, I'm here," she reminded Dawn. They separated and headed out the door. A moment later, Dawn flew back in and snatched up a stray set of robes to throw over her clothing, almost like a protective shield from the world.
They walked to Dumbledore's office, Dawn's stomach churning with fear the entire way. She didn't know exactly what was going to be expected of her now, but she did feel that it wasn't going to be pleasant. And then of course, along with everything else, was the incessant underlying fear that she was about to lose both Sirius and James. She felt Lily rest a hand on her arm, then the two girls stepped into the outer room of Dumbledore's office, where McGonagall and the boys were waiting.
Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk, a quill and parchment at the ready. His Deputy Headmistress had bustled in a few minutes earlier, completely flabbergasted and horrified that she had four boys in the waiting room and two girls on their way, who had information regarding the attempted rape of one student by another which would require his immediate attention. He'd listened to the story and asked McGonagall to kindly let him know when Miss Evans and Miss Summers arrived.
There was a brisk knock at the door, a moment later McGonagall popped her head in, awaiting instruction.
"Send Miss Evans in, please."
Lily stepped into the office and took the seat that was offered to her. Dumbledore gave her a reassuring look. "Well, Lily? What would you like to tell me about all this?"
She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Professor, I don't know all that much to be honest. I was in the Common Room when Black carried Dawn in, I followed them and the rest of the boys up to their dorm. When I asked what was going on, they said Malfoy had tried to rape her."
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "What evidence could you see to support this?"
"A mark on her face, like she'd been hit, and it looked like she'd been chained up because her wrists were all bloodied and bruised. I had to, um, bring her some new underwear because Malfoy had taken hers. Black pulled them from his pocket, said he took them back but Dawn didn't want anything to do with those ones anymore."
"What did you do then?"
Lily shrugged. "I got the underwear and some essence of Murtlap to patch Dawn up. Then I said I was going to tell Professor McGonagall and she got really upset and begged me not to."
Dumbledore looked curious at that. "Why?"
"Well she didn't want to get Black and Potter into trouble," she explained. "From the looks of their knuckles before I cleaned them up a bit, they gave Malfoy a pretty horrible beating. I guess Dawn was afraid that if she reported Malfoy, then her friends would have to be punished for assaulting him, too. But Potter followed me out the door and asked me to report it first thing this morning anyway."
"I see," said the Headmaster. "Thankyou Lily. Please send in Mr Pettigrew."
Lily left, and a moment later Peter walked in, practically falling into the chair the Prefect had vacated. He began to squeak out a nervous statement before Dumbledore could even request it.
"Sir, I saw him taking her. He shoved her and dragged her into one of the dungeons... I didn't know what else to do, Sir, so I ran for my friends."
"Always a wise thing to do," Dumbledore commented. "Our friends can be our greatest source of protection sometimes. Please continue."
"Well we ran back down to the hall, James and Sirius and Remus were faster than me, Sir. They were throwing open doors all down the hall. Then I heard Sirius yell and they all ran into one of the dungeons," Peter squeaked. "By the time I got there, James and Sirius had tackled Malfoy off Dawn, and Remus was covering her up again. I tried to unlock the chains, but I couldn't so Remus and I had to do it together."
"And may I ask, to avoid any confusion later, what were you doing in that part of the castle in the first place?" Dumbledore queried.
Peter flushed deep pink. "I, er, got lost," he admitted.
The Headmaster stared appraisingly at the boy before deciding he could well believe it. "Quite understandable, Mr Pettigrew. I'd like to speak to Mr Lupin next."
Remus sat down and waited for the questions to come. Dumbledore listened to his simple, direct and honest replies with some interest. "So you were in your dorm with Mr Potter and Black when Mr Pettigrew came in?" he prodded, to clarify the details.
Remus nodded. "Yes, Sir. I'd just got back from the Prefects' Meeting with Lily... I couldn't believe they'd let Dawn go off like that alone. I should have said something, I'm so sorry," he groaned, putting his head in his hands.
Dumbledore stared, perplexed by the apparent admittance of guilt. "Remus, my boy, you have nothing to feel sorry for. How could you have known something like this would happen?"
Remus straightened, turning a shamed glance to his Headmaster, the man who had given him chances at life he should never have expected. "I knew," he confessed. "I knew Malfoy was after her, knew what he was capable of... he's been hounding her since she got here but she wouldn't say anything. She begged me not to. I should have forced her to!"
"And that would've shaken her trust in you," Dumbledore countered. "Instead of feeling used by an enemy, she'd have felt used by a friend. Dawn will eventually recover from this ordeal, and that much quicker if she still feels she has a friend like you to confide in. She needs you to be her friend, Remus, not to be caught up in your own guilt. If that is all, I'd like to see Mr Potter please," Dumbledore requested pointedly, closing the discussion.
"Thankyou Professor," Remus responded, before he left to alert James. James stepped into the room, his back straight and his head held high. He sat and locked gazes with Dumbledore, who silently accepted the show of defiance. It did not escape his notice that James' knuckles had not quite completely healed.
"Well Mr Potter? Tell me your story."
James shrugged. "Remus was at his meeting and Peter had gone to get something to eat. The Kitten- er, Dawn, went to the Library to return a book and me and Padfoot, I mean Sirius, went up to the dorms. Then Remus came back and started yelling at us when he found out where Dawn went, and that's when Peter came bursting in."
"I see," said Dumbledore, pleased to note that the stories were all matching well thus far. Also, he didn't have to look too deep into any of his students to see that they were telling the truth. But now he planned to test that theory by addressing something both Lupin and Pettigrew had seemed keen to gloss over. Something only Miss Evans had not been afraid to touch upon. "And when you found Miss Summers with Mr Malfoy?"
"Sirius opened the door, I was right behind him. Malfoy had his trousers undone and his hand up Dawn's skirt, he was just about to-" James, for the first time since he'd entered the room, looked away. His gaze had clouded over with anger and revulsion, reliving the moment as he spoke the words.
"I understand," Dumbledore intervened, saving him the trouble of having to say it again. "What did you do?"
The stare, completely void of remorse, lifted once more. "We tackled him off her, and started hitting him. We didn't stop until Remus started yelling for Padfoot to help him get Dawn out of there."
Dumbledore nodded, not surprised by the frank confession. If there was one thing he'd come to expect in the last five years, it was for James Potter (much like his best friend and partner in crime) to own his actions. "Anything else?"
"Yeah," James said, standing up. "I told Malfoy if he ever touches her again, he's a dead man. Just thought you should know I stand by that, Professor. Should I send in Sirius or Dawn next?"
"Sirius, please," Dumbledore returned, unfazed by the threat to another student's life that had just been blatantly made before him. If anything, he looked pleased to see James standing by his word with such conviction.
Sirius' eyes were still thundering with barely-controlled rage when he threw himself moodily into the seat. "I'm not sorry," he said abruptly.
Dumbledore blinked. "I didn't suspect you were, Sirius. Please, tell me about what you aren't sorry for."
Sirius didn't hesitate. He told the Professor about Dawn going off to the Library alone, about the way his blood had run cold when Peter burst in, panicked, about the way they'd run through the castle and he thought he was never going to get to the dungeons in time.
Sirius talked about throwing the door open, about shouting out at the sight of Malfoy violating his girlfriend, how he'd thrown himself on the filthy piece of shit -er, dirt, sorry Professor- and started punching. He admitted it had taken him a moment to realise that James was there too, how he would never have stopped punching if Dawn hadn't needed him...
Dumbledore sat silently, no longer even taking notes as Sirius talked himself out. It hadn't taken the Headmaster more than a few seconds to understand that Sirius' words were not his confession, but his therapy. When Sirius realised what he'd just done, he glanced up at Dumbledore sheepishly.
"So am I expelled? Because I think if I turned up on the front doorstep six months early, my dear old Mum would throttle me and curse you, Professor."
"We shall see, Mr Black. We shall see," Dumbledore replied evasively, but Sirius was almost certain he saw the old man wink ever so slightly. "But for now I think I'll be needing a word with that delightful young lady of yours. Please send Dawn in."
Sirius nodded and stepped out. The waiting room now only contained two people, Dawn and McGonagall. The Deputy Headmistress had been quick to send each student on their way once they left their little interview. Dawn stood the moment the door opened, her energies focused on not vomiting up all the butterflies currently engaging in a battle royale in her stomach.
"It's your turn Kitten," Sirius said unnecessarily.
Dawn nodded, not quite looking at him. McGonagall was glaring pointedly between Sirius and the exit, but he pretended not to notice. He stood before Dawn, lifted her chin with a finger, and kissed her lightly.
"Black," McGonagall said in a dangerous warning tone, wringing her hands to keep herself from losing her temper.
"It'll be ok, baby," Sirius whispered to Dawn, taking to the moving stairs while she crept into Dumbledore's office. She sat down in the chair and stared fearfully up at the Headmaster.
He stared back with sympathy. "Whenever you feel ready, Dawn."
Dawn looked down. Did never work for him? Because that was about when he could expect her to feel ready to talk about it. Dumbledore let a few minutes tick by, watching her open her mouth and then close it again without making a sound before he interceded.
"Your friends have given a strong indication of events in their statements," he said softly. "That you were on your way to the Library to return a book when you were attacked, that Mr Pettigrew witnessed this and alerted his dorm-mates, and that although you were assaulted your friends intervened before Mr Malfoy was able to... fulfil his objective," Dumbledore concluded gingerly. "Can you confirm that?"
"Yes," Dawn whispered.
"I'm going to need a few more details, Dawn. I'm sorry, but I must ask you what happened between the time of Mr Malfoy taking you and your friends arriving on the scene," he said apologetically. But it needed to be done, so this situation could be dealt with at once.
Dawn shrank into the seat and stared at her hands. "Um, he forced me into the dungeon, chained me to the wall," she mumbled. It took her several minutes to get the next sentences out, but Dumbledore waited with great patience. "He ripped my shirt... took my pants..." Dawn started to cry.
Dumbledore closed his eyes a moment before continuing. "And he touched you inappropriately?"
Dawn choked on a sob. "Y-yes."
"And you asked him not to?"
"Too many times," Dawn sniffled.
"Good girl, you've done very well," the Headmaster soothed in his most calming, grandfatherly voice. "You don't have to say any more, I have enough of your statement now. Though I will be needing the shirt that was torn."
Dawn, sniffing and wiping her eyes, glanced up at him. "It's in the boys' dorm," he admitted.
Dumbledore looked neither shocked of angered by the confession, he merely nodded and began scribbling out a short note. "I shall send a House-Elf to collect it shortly. In the mean time, please take this note down to Madam Pomfrey. Professor McGonagall will be waiting to accompany you," he handed her the parchment he'd been writing on.
Things seemed to happen quickly for Dawn after that. She was whisked down to the Hospital Wing for a check-up. Madam Pomfrey mended her wrists and cheek with a mere flick of her wand, then asked a series of personal questions and carried out a few tests, none of which Dawn felt entirely comfortable with. When the matron at last announced Dawn was in decent health, she was released and McGonagall walked her all the way up to the girls' dorms, leaving her in the care of Lily and Isabel.
Isabel, who had been filled in on the situation by Remus and Lily, pulled Dawn into a tight hug the moment their Head of House snapped the door closed behind her. Dawn sagged against Isabel, completely drained. She didn't remember much about the rest of the day, only that the girls had produced a substantial amount of chocolate and devoted a lot of energy to making her smile.
When evening rolled around, their stomachs began to rumble for something more substantial than chocolate. "Remus said you guys know how to get into the Kitchens," Isabel said to Dawn. "If you want to tell me how, I could go and get dinner," she offered.
But Dawn shook her head and stood up. "No, I'm good to go. Besides, how could I hide in here forever? There's no cable."
Lily laughed, and Isabel gave a politely puzzled smile as the three girls began the journey from the dorms to the Great Hall. When they reached the Hall, Dawn hesitated just outside the doors. She bit her lip.
"Is he in there?"
Isabel leaned around the doorframe to scan the Slytherin table. "No. And lucky for him, too, or I just might've hexed his little Lucius off."
"I'll give you a hand," Lily muttered, leading the way to the Gryffindor table. The moment they sat down, four boys claimed the seats around them. Dawn was sitting next to Isabel, she saw Remus slide in next to his girlfriend and didn't need to look to know Sirius was now seated beside her. Across the table, Lily looked very put out, sandwiched in between James and Peter.
The food appeared, but before Dawn could decide what she was going to take Remus had her plate and was loading it with generous, but not unreasonable portions of food. A hand settled on Dawn's leg, she jumped at the unexpected contact and shoved the hand away.
"Don't touch me!"
Everyone within earshot turned to stare. Sirius raised his hands slowly, looking alarmed and confused, and more than just a little hurt. Dawn flushed and looked down.
"You startled me," she mumbled lamely.
Sirius lowered his hands back to the table. "Sorry, Dawn. I didn't think," he said, frowning. After last night, he really couldn't understand her extreme reaction to his innocently-intended touch. Come to think of it, she'd been distant all morning, too, and then completely absent for the entire afternoon. His frown deepened. She couldn't be avoiding him. Could she?
Dawn silently took her loaded plate from Remus, keeping her eyes fixed on her food. She could practically feel Sirius' gaze on her, staring right through her, could hear his voice in her ear.
"Well then I guess we'll have to test that theory."
It took her a few moments to realise he'd actually spoken, she'd just registered words he'd said to her last night instead of what he'd actually said. "Sorry? Did you say something?"
"I said I missed you today," he whispered. "Where did you get off to?"
"I had to go to Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall took me there. And then she brought me back up to the dorms to stay with Lily and Isabel," Dawn recounted.
He nodded, showing her a hand with smooth, unbattered knuckles. "Yeah, Pomfrey fixed Prongs and I up right quick, too. But I guess she kicked us out before you got to the Hospital Wing."
Dawn just kept her eyes lowered and forced in another mouthful of chicken. It was getting too hard to look at Sirius' face without being assaulted by memories of acts that had seemed like such a good idea at the time. A lone owl swooped into the Great Hall then, a letter clasped in its beak. Most students regarded it curiously, watching as it flew directly to Dumbledore and deposited the letter before his plate.
"I thought the Owl Post was just for mornings," Dawn commented, her eyes tracking the owl's flight path back out of the Great Hall.
"Must be a special delivery," Remus told her. "They happed from time to time, especially with Dumbledore. Wonder what it's about."
When they all rose to leave after the meal, Sirius held out a hand for Dawn to take. She just stared at it for a moment, before slowly extending her own hand and allowing him to take hold of it. Once in the Common Room, Isabel settled with the Marauders for a while, though Lily went to sit with Candice and Michelle. After a few minutes, Isabel kissed Remus goodnight and went to join her dorm-mates.
When it was just the five of them alone, Remus sat forward a little. His body had tensed in the way it always did when he was about to disclose one of his brilliant, top-secret ideas to his friends. "Guys, I have an idea for something that would probably be useful for all of us," he began.
The others immediately leaned in. "Let's hear it, then."
"Well, it's a map," Remus announced with an air of quiet drama.
"A map?" James wrinkled his nose. "You mean like the one Wormtail used to have to find his classes first and second year?"
Sirius started to snicker, but Dawn's reproachful look quelled the impulse at once. Remus didn't look too pleased with the complete lack of enthusiasm with which his idea had been received. "No, something much better than that. What if we could make a map that not only showed us where the classes and all that stuff everybody knows about are, but everything only we've learned about the castle?" he mused.
Sirius' eyes widened. "You mean... the secret passages and everything?" he hissed.
Remus nodded. "I suspect there's loads we haven't found out about yet, but we could scour the castle from top to bottom when we're all back from holidays, then make a start on the grounds."
James grinned. "Sounds great, Moony. But I don't really see how big a help it can be for us. I mean, everyone here except Wormtail can find their way around pretty easy so what would be the point of writing it all down? What if someone else got their hands on it?"
Remus arched an eyebrow. Didn't James know by now to trust Remus could work around the bumps? "I'm not finished yet. Because we could Charm it so only we would know how to unlock it, and then we could use this spell I've been working on to plot people's movements while they're in the area of the map."
Sirius and James shared a look. "You mean, where they are?" James began.
"What they're doing?" Sirius added.
"Every minute?"
"Of every day?"
Both boys were grinning wildly, and Dawn couldn't help but smile at their little interaction. Remus nodded, though he'd turned a little sober, his face was much more serious than those of his friends.
"We'd never get caught because we'd see Filch of the Professors coming, but also it means we'd all be safer," he said with a pointed look at Dawn. "If one of us is in trouble, we'd be able to get to them quicker because we'll always know where we all are. So what do you think?"
"Brilliant," Peter squeaked.
Dawn smiled at Remus. He could be such a beautiful person sometimes. Remus smiled slightly and shrugged in response. It was the least he could do to help protect his friend, he only wished he'd done more to help her before she'd been branded with that jaded, used look that had been haunting him since it appeared in her eyes that morning. Remus felt a violent jolt of self-loathing. Whatever Dumbledore had said, he should have spoken up sooner. He might have saved her a world of pain.
The portrait door swung open and a little figure scurried in. "Sir Prongs? Please, is Sir Prongs being in here?" a high-pitched voice squealed.
James stuck his hand up, waving the House-Elf over. "I'm here, Locky. What's the matter?"
Locky scurried over and presented herself before James. "Sir Prongs, Locky is being sent with a very important message from Professor Dumbledore Sir. Locky is very happy to be helping," she babbled with enthusiasm.
"Ok, great." James shrugged. A few long moments passed. "Er, what's the message then?"
Locky blinked. "Oh! Locky is needing to give Sir Prongs this," she announced proudly, handing James a small slip of parchment and giving a little curtsey.
"Thanks," James accepted the note and read the single sentence scribbled out for him.
'She will need someone to speak for her.'
James frowned as he mulled the message over, stuffing the note in his pocket before his friends could read over his shoulder. He was so deep in thought he barely noticed Locky's departure, or the way the others were glaring at him for keeping them in suspense. Then, suddenly, he understood. his gaze found Dawn's and he could tell she knew it involved her somehow, but was either too tired or afraid to ask.
She would need someone to speak for her. It was clear that Dumbledore meant to put him on guard for Dawn's sake, James suddenly realised how stupid they'd all been for thinking Malfoy would just cop it sweet. Of course the slimy snake would try to slither out of the mess he'd created by any means possible. And a Wizard from the Malfoy family had a lot of means at his disposal. James stood up abruptly. He had a letter to write.
"James?" Remus began to ask, but got no further.
"Not now. I've got to take care of something, I'll catch up with you lot later," he called, already jogging up the boys' stairs. Dawn watched him go, the cold dread already icing its way through her veins.
Sirius touched her cheek lightly. "I'm sure it's fine, Kitten. Nothing to worry about."
"Yeah," Dawn muttered, staring intently at his left knee and not at all sounding like she believed a word he'd just said.
Sirius grabbed at Dawn's elbow to hold her back as the rest of the Marauders stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast. Dawn jumped at the contact once again, and she could tell he'd noticed by the way his eyes had darkened.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.
Dawn looked longingly on as the rest of her friends disappeared through the doors. "Yeah, I guess," she stepped to the side and folded her arms across her chest.
Sirius stood by her a little awkwardly. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked bluntly. He wasn't sure how else to do it.
Dawn's eyes locked onto his accusingly, and he couldn't help but notice it was the first time she'd really even looked at him in about two days. All he knew was that he'd gone to sleep on Friday night with a girlfriend who trusted him. Who had liked the way he touched her. And the next morning it was a different world, she wouldn't even look at him and had become colder than the other side of the pillow towards him.
Dawn sighed. He had to ask. "No," she said slowly. Technically he hadn't done anything wrong, she'd just really felt like it was the wrong thing to do afterwards.
"Don't lie to me Dawn. Is this about... what happened the other night?" he ventured, reading the answer in the way her entire body shifted before she could say a word. "Because I thought, I mean, you said you were ok... you wanted me to," he mumbled, looking down.
Dawn cringed and crossed her arms so tightly she was hugging herself. "I know I said that at the time, but I-" she faltered.
Sirius crossed his own arms and shifted his weight from foot to foot. "What? You said it bet you didn't mean it?"
"No," Dawn stared up at him, pleading for understanding. "I meant it at the time, I really did, but after... I just wish I... I mean, I think maybe we shouldn't have let things get so far."
Sirius had to fight to keep from gaping at her. He was starting to feel physically sick. "You mean to tell me you regret everything that happened between us that night? That if you could take it back, you would?" his stomach clenched painfully.
Dawn just stared at him through the tears welling in her eyes. He had to look away. If Sirius had ever thought any person could make him feel as unwanted as his family did, he certainly wouldn't have believed it could be Dawn Summers. He shoved his hand roughly through his longish hair.
"Miss Summers, there you are," a crisp voice interrupted.
Dawn blinked her tears away before turning to face Professor McGonagall. The Transfiguration teacher was pursing her lips, her face was grim. Had she overheard the conversation? "If you will come with me, I am to escort you to the Headmaster's office at once. Black, get yourself to breakfast."
Sirius sensed the foreboding in Dawn as she made to move after McGonagall, but he wasn't sure what he was allowed to do about her now so he did nothing. He let her walk away without a word. Dawn tried to ask what was going on, but her Head of House merely suggested (rather strongly) that if she would concentrate on where she was going without asking too many questions, she'd get there quicker and find out all in due time.
Sirius stood there, staring numbly at the spot where Dawn had been standing a moment earlier until another figure came barrelling out of the Great Hall and almost crashed into him.
"Oi- Prongs! What the hell?" Sirius snapped. Now was not the time for interruptions.
James was shaking an opened letter at him. "Come on, Padfoot, we're out of time. We've got to get to the front gates!" Sirius took off after his nimble best friend without another word.
Dawn swallowed audibly as Professor McGonagall pushed open the door to Dumbledore's office and led her in. The Deputy Headmistress took her place behind the Headmaster's seat, but Dawn was too busy staring in horror at the two people closest to her to notice. Lucius Malfoy and a man who had to be his father were glaring contemptuously at her from two of the four seats set before Dumbledore's desk.
"Have a seat, Miss Summers," Dumbledore prodded her.
Dawn, fighting every major instinct that was screaming for her to run for her life, stepped over and took the furthest possible seat from the Malfoys. Her eyes were wide and fear-glazed, she looked distinctly like a deer caught in the headlights under the scrutiny of her grim-faced Professors.
"Well I'm sure you can have no doubts as to why we're all here," Dumbledore began, straightening the papers on his desk. "First thing's first, you will need to nominate an adult guardian, Miss Summers. Someone to be present throughout this little discussion."
Dawn paled. "But- but I don't have-"
Dumbledore levelled his unfathomable blue stare at her. "I am aware of your situation, which is why you have this opportunity to request an adult you would like to be here on your behalf."
Dawn's eyes darted around. There was nobody she could really ask. Well, Mrs Potter had told her to owl if she needed anything, but did that include emergency representation? Even if Dawn could ask, she'd never get to the school in time anyway. "Well... Professor McGonagall is Gryffindor's Head of House..."
"Absolutely not," the senior Mr Malfoy interrupted immediately. "Shows blatant favouritism towards the girl to have a Professor speak for her. I won't have it."
McGonagall huffed angrily behind Dumbledore. "Well she must have someone!"
"Indeed," Dumbledore said, sounding much calmer than his colleague. "Miss Summers, can you think of no one you could ask to be present before we begin?"
Dawn paled further. Her mouth was hanging open an bit, she was slowly beginning to shake her head in defeat. Then there was a quick knock at the door, it swung open and Dawn felt a rush of hope as tangible as a breeze."Sorry I'm late. Have we begun?" Mr Potter strode into the office and stared expectantly around.
"Not at all, Mr Potter. I assure you you've arrived right on time," Dumbledore said cheerily. "Young Miss Summers here was just about to nominate a guardian for the duration of this little meeting. I trust you shall be able to act in that capacity, and we can get on with it if there are no further objections?" the Headmaster glanced pointedly at the two Malfoys, who remained silent.
Dawn was staring at Mr Potter in disbelief, still shaking in relief after her close call with being totally ambushed. James' father took the seat shielding her from her attacker and tossed a sly wink at her. She almost dared to smile.
"Well," Dumbledore was once again engrossed in the papers before him. "We are here to sort out this incident which occurred on Friday night, we hope that the truth will take this opportunity to reveal itself."
Dawn had difficulty in keeping up with all the words that were flying around her and above her head from that point on. Dumbledore and McGonagall looked on, grim-faced, as Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy went head to head arguing the cases for their wards. Dawn could not contain her gasp of outrage when the senior Malfoy tried to insist that not only was his son innocent, but a victim.
"Oh?" snapped McGonagall, before Dumbledore could quell her outburst with his raised hand. "And how do you figure that?"
The elder Malfoy arched an eyebrow. "Look at the condition of my son- he's been brutally beaten. But the girl? Not a scratch on her! How do you explain that?" he folded his arms complacently.
"It's quite simple, really," Mr Potter rebutted. "Dawn was seen with wounds to her face and wrists by five students and the two Professors present before submitting to an examination by Madam Pomfrey. Am I correct in saying Malfoy the younger refused such medical treatment?" he looked to Dumbledore for confirmation.
"That is correct, Harold," Dumbledore returned evenly, though there was the tiniest flicker of pleasure in the depths of his eyes that Mr Potter had gained the upper hand in the argument for the time being.
Dawn lost track of how many times they went round and round in circles that morning. The Malfoys were relentless in their accusations that Dawn had fabricated and staged the entire attack as part of a planned assault on Lucius. Mr Potter was easily as relentless in his defence of Dawn and the boys, he'd even brought into play Dawn's shirt that had been torn to demonstrate his point that there was nothing fabricated about what Dawn had been put through.
"A torn shirt proves nothing," Malfoy pointed out. "That damage could have been done by anyone to make this pathetic excuse for attacking my son seem plausible." Dawn closed her eyes as Malfoy continued to construct his case against her.
"The fact remains, Lucius was assaulted and the evidence of that is right before your eyes. There is nothing solid to support Potter's little story. His son and the elder Black boy should be expelled along with the girl for this deceit, there is no alternative I will accept as justice," he declared.
Dawn severely wanted to panic, but the completely controlled way Mr Potter fielded the accusations and demands somehow kept her from losing her head.
"Sirius and James made no secret of their actions, in fact they insisted the entire situation be reported the first opportunity they had," Mr Potter stated evenly. "Those boys are rash and passionate, but they aren't foolish. Only those without a guilty conscience, those who had nothing to hide would not hesitate to admit their involvement. As I've been informed, Lucius made no such attempt to come forward until he was confronted with the charges laid against him."
Malfoy's jaw ticked angrily. "Come, Dumbledore," he said in a voice of strained civility. "Let us be reasonable about this. The Malfoys are one of the oldest and most respected Wizarding families to date. We don't even know who this girl really is, where she has come from. You can not seriously be considering discrediting my son's word in favour of some lying, unconnected little Mudblood."
Dawn glared at him, as did McGonagall. The Professor's hand had even started to reach for her wand before she stayed it through great self-control. Mr Potter's hands had clenched over the arms of his chair and he'd begun to rise.
"I must ask you to mind your language while in this office, Marius," Dumbledore warned, a hint of coolness about him. "I will not tolerate anyone speaking ill of one of my students in that manner. Sit back down, please Harold."
Mr Potter relaxed in his seat at Dumbledore's request, though he still looked livid. He drew in a deep breath, Dawn could almost see him counting to ten in his head. "Well then I see only one resolution to this dispute. Veritaserum. A truth potion," he clarified for Dawn's sake. "As an Auror, I'm authorised to administer it, and if we really want the truth to be known I'm sure nobody here can have a reason to object."
By her reaction to some of the Marauders' more amusing pranks, Dawn had come to recognise that Professor McGonagall always pressed her lips into a thin, tight little line when she was trying not to smile. And at that moment, Minerva McGonagall's lips were pressed into the tightest, thinnest line Dawn had ever seen. Dumbledore was nodding in agreement.
"That sounds reasonable. Miss Summers, would you agree to being questioned under the influence of Veritaserum?" he levelled his stare at her once more.
Dawn's eyes widened a little. Sure, she knew a truth potion would only confirm her story and catch Malfoy out in his lie, but there was more at stake for her. If she was asked any questions about who and what she really was (and she wouldn't put it past the Malfoys to try) she'd be powerless to withhold the truth. She might as well gift wrap herself and have the package sent to Voldemort with a nice Christmas card for good measure.
"Of course only I shall be questioning you, and we will be keeping strictly to the topic at hand," Dumbledore added.
How had he known what she was thinking? "Yeah, sure," Dawn shrugged. Bring on the truth.
Dumbledore turned to the stony-faced Lucius. "And you, Mr Malfoy? Would you be willing to undergo questioning with Veritaserum?"
"Absolutely not," Marius Malfoy cut across his son. "I refuse to bear such an insult to the credibility of the Malfoy line. My son's word should be accepted on his honour alone!"
"And may I remind you that Dawn has five witnesses she can call upon to corroborate her story, and two of those witnesses are Prefects," Mr Potter countered drolly, sparing a look in Dawn's direction. He could smell victory.
Dumbledore heaved a sigh, though he did not look troubled at all. "You do realise, of course, that without undertaking the test I am unable to act upon your request to have Miss Summers, Mr Potter and Mr Black expelled from Hogwarts?"
"I am aware of it," said Marius stiffly. "I believe we should renegotiate on that point."
"Renegotiate?" Mr Potter snorted. "I don't think you're in much of a position to negotiate anything, Malfoy."
"On the contrary, Potter, I still have the matter of the beating my son sustained. That remains a fact with or without your precious Veritaserum," Malfoy countered. "I still insist upon the punishment of Black and Potter for their attack, though I understand the girl will no longer be able to be punished for her part in all this."
Dawn had to bite back the retort that considering it was the innocent victim, it was nice to hear she was off the hook. Luckily Mr Potter had spoken up, overriding any chance she might've had to make matters worse for herself. "James and Sirius knew all along they were likely to receive potentially serious repercussions for their provoked actions and they've accepted that. But Lucius must have an equal, if not greater punishment for his unprovoked attack on Dawn," Mr Potter pressed.
"Alleged attack," Marius corrected.
"No, not 'alleged'. Attack," Mr Potter snapped. "Everyone in this room knows that Lucius attacked Dawn in cold blood, and I'm not leaving this school until I'm satisfied she's going to be safe!"
Dawn's lower lip trembled. She had to grab onto the arms of her chair to keep from throwing herself at Mr Potter and hugging him to death then and there. He squeezed her hand for a moment before staring expectantly at Dumbledore, awaiting the final verdict.
"I agree that there is nothing more important at Hogwarts than the safety of its students," Dumbledore rested his elbows on the desk and pressed his fingertips together. "The punishment of James and Sirius will be deferred to Professor McGonagall, their Head of House. But Lucius faces more serious charges which I shall be answering myself."
The Headmaster locked gazes with the Slytherin, who refused to cower under the stare even though it took all his willpower to keep a straight face. "I'd hate to see you ruin your education just months away from taking your NEWTs, Lucius. Do not disappoint me again, and you would do very well to stay as far from Miss Summers as possible. I will not hesitate to expel you should I hear of such disgusting behaviour again. After the Christmas holidays, you shall have one month of detention and one hundred points shall be deducted from Slytherin House. I will be watching you very closely," Dumbledore warned, his eyes blazing so brightly in the weathered face that Dawn suddenly felt very grateful he was on her side.
Neither Malfoy argued with the judgement. "And what of the other boys?" Marius asked with a savage glare at McGonagall.
She merely regarded him with disdain over the top of her square-rimmed spectacles. "Both Mr Potter and Mr Black will receive a week's detention for violence, and Gryffindor will lose fifty points."
"Is that all?" Lucius muttered under his breath.
Unfortunately for him, McGonagall's cat-like senses easily caught the sound of his voice. She straightened to her full, intimidating height and glared. "Malfoy, you'd do well to keep your remarks to yourself!" she thundered. "I have half a mind to award Potter and Black fifty points each for their actions, so consider yourself lucky! I would've had you packing your trunk by now, so you'd better thank Merlin I'm not the one dealing with you!"
There was a moment of ringing silence in which Dawn debated whether or not it would be appropriate to applaud. Dumbledore stood, concluding the meeting with a simple nod of his head. The Malfoy name was powerful, he had done all he could. The Malfoys headed for the door without a word while Mr Potter leaned over to shake Dumbledore's hand.
"I'm glad you could make it, Harold," Dumbledore smiled.
"So am I," returned Mr Potter, and with a polite nod to McGonagall he led Dawn towards the exit.
"Miss Summers?"
Dawn looked back, one hand resting on the doorframe.
"You showed extraordinary bravery by being here this morning. Fifty points to Gryffindor," Dumbledore winked.
With a smile, Dawn left. In the outer office, Mr Potter was waiting for her. Unfortunately, so were Lucius and Marius Malfoy. As the younger blond sneered at her, something flickered in Dawn's core. Something with an attitude that felt very much like her sister. Dawn matched her attacker's sneer with a curled lip that would've made Cordelia proud.
Acting purely on an adrenaline-fuelled whim, Dawn stepped up to him. "Stay away from me," she snarled. "If you ever touch me again-"
"Your little buddy Potter already told me this one," Malfoy interrupted, looking extremely bored. "Let me guess, they'll be finding bits of me for weeks? How frightening."
Dawn snorted. "No. That's James' purgotive. I'm telling you they won't find you at all."
With that, Dawn turned on her heel and stalked over to the moving staircase. Mr Potter shot a victorious glance at the Malfoys before he joined Dawn, grinning proudly. He laid a hand on her shoulder and watched her relieved, empowered expression come alive as the stairs began to move. He decided he didn't have the heart to tell her she'd mispronounced the word 'prerogative'.
They stepped past the stone gargoyles to find the hall littered with Gryffindors. James, Sirius and Lily were pacing in an almost perfect triangle formation while Peter looked on, Remus and Isabel were leaning against the wall as though they felt like they'd been waiting there for hours. They all sprang to attention when Dawn and Mr Potter appeared, his hand gripping her shoulder supportively.
"Well?" Sirius prompted. He was staring at Dawn strangely, trying to gauge too many things at once. What she was thinking and feeling now, how the meeting had gone, if she really meant what she'd said to him earlier, exactly how much damage had been done to their relationship...
Dawn sighed, her returned stare as easily conflicted as his. "Nobody got expelled," she breathed. "You guys have a week's detention, Malfoy got a month and Dumbledore watching his every move."
"Well at least it's all over now," Isabel said consolingly, she and Lily each taking a moment to hug Dawn swiftly. Dawn nodded, taking the small comfort offered by the knowledge.
"Why didn't Malfoy get expelled?" James asked, narrowly beating Remus to the question.
Dawn shrugged. "It was the trade-off. You get to stay, he gets to stay."
Mr Potter looked down at her apologetically. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, Dawn."
"Are you kidding? Without you I probably wouldn't have lasted two minutes in there," Dawn admitted. "Knowing the Malfoys, I'd probably even be packing my bags right now. Thank you so much for coming," she whispered, swiping at her teared-up eyes.
Mr Potter hugged her briefly. "Of course, dear. Now I know you and Sirius are all signed up to stay at school over Christmas, but wouldn't you like a couple of weeks away from all this?" he asked, looking between the two teens in question.
Sirius had half a mind to decline the offer for the both of them. Before all this mess, he and Dawn had been looking forward to the time alone with the entire Gryffindor tower practically to themselves and Sirius still half hoped they could salvage some of that despite everything. At the very least, he figured he could try and get her to look at him without cringing again. but he never got the chance to speak up.
"Are- are you sure?" You wouldn't mind?" Dawn asked hopefully, looking between the Potter men who were both grinning at her.
"We'd love to have you," Mr Potter affirmed.
James was smirking. "Mum's always whingeing she doesn't have enough people to spoil on Christmas."
A small smile of relief crossed Dawn's face. Escape. "Ok then."
Sirius was frowning. He'd always known that girls were complicated, rash, emotional and prone to changing their minds at the drop of a hat. And it hadn't taken him long at all to figure out that Dawn was one of the most complex of a complex species. But he'd never before been stuck feeling as if he didn't understand her at all, and it scared him more than he cared to admit. It took a minute to filter through to him that Mr Potter was now addressing him.
"How about you, Sirius? Will you join us, too?"
Sirius locked gazes with Dawn, both sets of eyes guarded. He spoke without breaking his stare.
"Yeah, sure."
A.N: Depressing, I know. But I do promise about the getting back on track thing after this chapter! Please don't leave me, reviewers, I love you!
Anoron
