Disclaimer: I don't own the Phantom of the Opera, nor anything by the Tremoloes, the Four Tops, or the Foundations. Just thought I'd let you know. Oh, and while I'm at it, I don't own HPstuff either—the only things I do own would be Renee and Meg. Sadly, that's it.

OOO

Chapter Five: We Meet Again…

OOO

"So Professor," Snape said, as the staff made its way up to the meeting room adjacent to the staffroom to discuss the year ahead. "You came back. Why?"

"You leave me alone," Renee muttered. "I haven't forgotten sixth year…"

"That's a long time to hold a grudge, love."

"Shut up."

"Hem, hem. Not acting like teenagers, are we?" a voice said behind them. They whirled to see a short, dumpy looking witch, who looked something like a toad. Renee recognized her only by sight: she was the one who'd been sitting next to Meg on McGonagall's left—the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor—Umbage? Rumbridge?—something of the sort.

"Of course not," Snape said, lip curling. It was a look that would curdle milk, but somehow the short woman stared it down. Renee wasn't impressed, though. She moved away from the unsavory pair and entered the staffroom with Meg, sighing with relief at her escape from Severus.

"So," Meg asked. "Did you find the Potions Master in good spirits?" Forget good spirits. He was just as horrible as ever.

"Certainly," Renee said aloud. "At least he has not renewed those sentiments that he so professed in sixth year yet."

"I'm sure he will."

"I'm sure he won't. If he does—if he says one single thing along those lines, I'll—I'll—I'll punch him in the mouth, knee him in the groin, slap him in the face and run from the room screaming bloody murder."

"That'll make the students laugh."

"And then I'll tell Dumbledore. You've stated the obvious again. And if Dumbledore doesn't do anything about it, I'll do it all again, over and over until he gets the point and leaves me alone. I—" she broke off as Dumbledore stood up and the last staff members took seats around the large table.

Dumbledore spoke of what was going on, of how Voldemort was returned (a statement that the dumpy toad-woman snorted with contempt at), and how that would affect Hogwarts. He mentioned something about new safety measures and a few other things. It went quickly, but seemed to drag on longer for Renee as she simply wanted to get to her room or find Sirius, whichever came first. Finally Dumbledore sat down. Renee made to get up and ask McGonagall where her rooms were, but the toad-woman got to her feet with a "hem, hem" and began to reiterate what she'd said in her sickly speech to the students.

"Madam, we heard before," Snape said silkily—a dangerous sign.

"Excuse me Professor," she said in a voice like poisoned honey. "I believe you've interrupted me."

"Have I?" he asked sarcastically.

"I believe so." She remained silent as though waiting for something. Snape snorted derisively and turned away. "Hem, hem," she coughed fakeily.

"If you're waiting for him to apologize for interrupting, you've got another thing coming," Renee said. The witch turned to her, feigning surprise.

"Excuse me, I don't understand you."

"Sure you do. He's not going to say anything. So you'd best give up and sit down."

"Well! I—I never!" She sat down with a flump and remained, fuming silently. The staff members who knew of her character exchanged sidelong, shocked glances; Delores Jane Umbridge (which was her name) never gave up so easily.

"I believe this meeting is over," Dumbledore said calmly, as though nothing had happened. "Good night, all."

McGonagall led Meg and Renee to the third floor. She pointed Meg to a door and when opened, it led to a study/office and behind a false window were her rooms. Renee was the next door over, another study/office, this one with room for crates and cages for her Magical Creatures. Her bedroom was behind a tapestry of a dragon. She smiled at it—it looked like one that had been hanging in her home years and years ago—back before it had all happened.

"Do you like it?" McGonagall asked hesitantly. "It was Dumbledore's idea."

"Is it the actual?" Renee asked, running a hand across the cloth.

"Yes, restored."

"Thank you. Oh…Professor?"

"Yes?"

"If you see Snuffles roaming around, could you please send him here? I've been longing to speak with him for years."

"I understand…yes. I will see to it that he finds his way here."

"Thank you."

OOO

"Ah, Dogbreath, there you are!" I looked up from a last stolen sausage as Professor McGonagall came down the corridor toward me. I barked a sullen greeting—I hadn't been able to find Renee anywhere and it was getting on my nerves.

"I believe Professor Eraque is waiting on the third floor, in the office to the right of portrait of the drunken monks singing." I stood and ran off, and barely heard her calling after me that my rooms were in the empty classroom to the left of the Gryffindor Tower. I barked to let her know I'd heard her and bounded off to the third floor.

I transformed in the secret wardrobe behind the drunken monks and pulled out the Marauders' Map. No one was anywhere near—they were all in bed or getting ready for bed, except for Dumbledore, who was pacing his office. I chuckled, watching him and remembered how many times we'd check, just to see how many hours a day he spent pacing. I left the secret room and entered Renee's office.

I shuddered looking at the cages around the room—cages in general frightened me, as they reminded me too much of a certain terribly cold, terribly frightening, terrible prison in the North Sea—can we all guess what I'm talking about here?

I stared at the tapestry. It was the one of the dragon, protecting her eggs from anything. I brushed my hand across the cloth lovingly—this had once hung in the bedroom of Renee's flat, a place where I'd spent a good portion of my time. (A/N: Bad Russet! No gutter-mind!)

As I brushed my hand over the red dragon's eye I pulled back as it rolled away.

"Sweet!" I breathed as it revealed a secret set of rooms. I was standing in a small sitting room that connected to a bedroom. I assumed the closed door leading off the bedroom was the bathroom. There was no sign of Renee, so I entered the bedroom and then I heard it: she was singing.

One of her favorite past-times was singing in the shower. She would sing mushy oldies like stuff from Celestina Warbleck, or newer stuff by the Weird Sisters. I even caught her singing some Muggle songs—and those were my favorites. "Oldies but goodies," she had always called them. I lounged on the bed, listening to her sing in that pure, sweet voice of hers.

She was singing my favorites: "Here Comes My Baby" by the Tremoloes, "Sugar-Pie Honey-Bun," by the Four Tops, and "Build Me Up, Buttercup," by the Foundations. I smiled listening to her, and even hummed along to the words I remembered. I leaned back and waited for her to come out.

Eventually, she did, dressed in pj bottoms and a tank-top. She gasped and jumped back into the bathroom. I sat up. Slowly she came out again.

"Your voice is as sweet as it ever was," I said. She stared at me with wide eyes, her rose-petal lips parted slightly in surprise or shock. I smiled shyly. "Renee?"

"Sirius?" she whispered. "I can't believe it's really you."

"How can I make you believe?" I asked standing up and taking hold of her hands. "How can I make you believe that it's really me?"

She said nothing, just squeezed my hands tighter, as if not believing they were solid. I slowly drew her in closer and began to hum "The Music of the Night," from the Phantom of the Opera. She closed her eyes and suddenly grabbed me in a tight embrace, as if afraid I might disappear.

"It is you…" she whispered. I laughed softly.

"Who did you think I was?" I asked. She said nothing, just held me tighter. I leaned down and softly kissed her, as I'd been longing to do for fifteen years. She gasped and then returned my kiss, passionately. I was reminded of the night we'd first met…

OOO

Every day he saw her as she passed him in the corridor, during the passing period between Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Most days she walked with a group of Ravenclaw girls—her friends. Other days, she was with Ravenclaw Quidditch Beater Cody Jacobs. Some days she was alone. He sighed over her so much that James had gone as far as to threaten him with the Muggle Studies student who had set up a physiatric help hot spot. He had then continued his sighing in private, and only occasionally sighed in front of James. It was those few times when he had to tell James that he 'needed more oxygen'.

Sirius finally learned her name when, in fifth year, Remus came back from his first prefect meeting and told him his "totally unreturned crush of four school years and four summers was the smartest thing on two feet and was the Ravenclaw prefect who knew what she was doing." Her name was Renee Eraque, and from then on, Sirius spent his History of Magic classes doodling her name onto scraps of parchments and writing her love letters that all, naturally, got burned before James could see what he was writing.

Finally, over winter holidays, they were formally introduced at the New Year's Eve ball—the first and last of its kind for a hundred years before and after it. There they had danced one dance, during which they had spoken not a word to each other, but his love for her was obvious and she seemed to return it, though having her own boyfriend.

The first time they spoke was three days later. It was her birthday—obvious by the small presents exchanged at breakfast that day and the loud firecrackers set off by some of the boys in her House. Sirius had stopped her in the corridor outside Defense class, and finally spoke to her.

"Um, Renee," he said. She turned at the sound of her name.

"Hello Sirius," she said quietly. He simply stared at her for a moment. "Was there something you wanted?" He had quickly improvised. He actually had had no idea why he'd stopped her, other than to see her. He smiled and pulled his wand out. She looked from it to his face nervously.

"Happy birthday," he said simply, pulling from the wand a single red rose. He handed it to her with a polite bow, not his usual flamboyant and mocking ones. She took the flower tenderly.

"Thank you," she whispered. "But I'm afraid I'll kill it."

He took it back tapped it with his wand and gave it back. "There," he said. "Now it will only die when you do. Which, I hope, will not be for a very long time." She laughed and took it lovingly.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He bowed again, holding the door open and smiled as she passed. "And I hope we have a chance to speak again…or dance…"

She smiled and sat down. Her friends gathered around to admire the rose and Sirius's friends were shocked that he had finally made a move on his love life. She turned in her seat to smile at him again, and he grinned back. Now all he had to worry about was Cody Jacobs. Once he was out of the way, Renee was all his. And then they could dance all they wanted…

OOO

As we sat in her tiny living room at midnight, I conjured up two tankards of Butterbeer and gave her one.

"I've heard from a very reliable source that this stuff is very good at midnight," I commented lightly, tossing one to her. She smiled and caught it, moving closer to me on the couch. We continued our conversations about our friends, what we'd been doing the past few years, and what we were going to do. Somewhere in the castle, a clock struck one.

"I'm so glad you found me," she whispered after a few minutes of silence, starring into the fire.

"I'm glad I found you too," I said, stroking her hair. She snuggled closer to me, and sighed with happiness. I hummed the tune for "The Music of the Night" again, and she smiled. When I finished she looked up at me.

"That was the song we danced to at the New Year's Eve Ball," she said. I nodded. "You still remember that?"

"Don't you?" I asked, then kissed her…