SexeiAlexeiGurl: Thanks a lot! I know what you mean. My mid-terms are next week. Bah! Yes, we haven't seen the last of Lana yet ;)
DollFace080: Thank you :D I'm very flattered. I can't tell you whether I agree with you or not, because then I would be giving away part of the story... ;) Good observation about Niamh and Evan, btw, that will be explained later.
darklady5289: Sorry! Well, this update is pretty fast, it's only thursday. I agree, they both could've invented the word stubborn... Hope you like the next chapter!
hpandfriendsruletheworld: Thanks! I can promise you that. We all know what will happen to Sirius (grits teeth) and Niamh is still alive to tell the story... Here's the update!
Kurama-forever: Thank you!I hope you like the next chapter.
Messr-Paddifoots-love: That's just Sirius ;) Niamh was forced to mature all at once and really quickly, and Sirius... well, don't want to give away the story ;) Anyhow, thanks and here's another chapter.
Wendela400: Thanks! Another chapter for you.
Another Christmas
Sirius's place
Remus stood in the kitchen preparing dinner for himself and Sirius, who had just returned from his guarding duties.
"Smells good, Moony," Sirius said when he entered the kitchen, sniffing the air. He threw the towel he had been drying his hair with on a chair and planted himself on the table. "Ugh, I can't believe I'll have to guard Dangerley at Christmas. Dorcas has it in for me, I'm telling you."
Remus grinned at the thought of Dorcas Meadowes going out of her way to make Sirius miserable. The formidable witch, who trained Aurors at the Ministry on a daily basis, had such a strong sense of justice that she would ask Voldemort himself to play fair.
"You know she doesn't," Remus soothed. "She just thinks that you should be more serious. And don't even think about making another name pun."
"I wasn't!" Sirius protested.
"Sure you weren't."
"She completely fawns over Frank, just because he is training to be an Auror. That's why he doesn't have guard duty."
"I thought you wanted to go into Auror training as well?"
"I do. And I will. But in the mean time I'm not actually in Auror training yet, which means that I'm a worthless piece of wizard that has to guard Dangerley at Christmas, according to Dorcas."
"Worthless, maybe," Remus grinned, ducking a cuff from his friend, "but no one will deny that you've got a great feel of drama."
What drama? I'm just stating the facts here, Moony. She hates me."
"Yeah, yeah. Hand me a saucepan, will you?"
"I have a saucepan?"
"Yes," Remus groaned. "In that cupboard." He waved his wand at the mentioned object and its door sprang open.
"So, Moony, enlighten me. What exactly is a saucepan?" Sirius asked cheerfully, standing in front of his cupboard with his hands on his hips.
"Never mind." Remus pushed his friend aside, rummaged through the cupboard and got out what he wanted.
When dinner was ready twenty minutes later, Sirius slid from the table from where he had been annoying his friend and took a seat. Remus magicked plates and glasses to the table and sat down.
"When do you think James is going to ask her?" he asked.
"Ask who?" Sirius frowned.
"Lily."
"To do what?"
"To marry him of course, you idiot," Remus groaned.
"Oh, that. When he's drunk enough, I guess. I would need tons of Firewhisky to ask Lily to marry me. She'd kill me." Sirius shuddered.
"I don't think she'll kill James, Sirius."
"Let's hope not, for Prongs's sake." A distant look appeared in Sirius's eyes. "Do you think I should talk to him? Give him some advice? Perhaps a little nudge in the right direction? After all, it's been a month since he dragged us to that jeweller."
"Just be careful. You don't want to scare him off."
"Of course I won't. Sirius Black, marriage counsellor extraordinaire. I like it." He got up and walked to the fireplace, grabbed some Floo powder and threw it into the fire, shouting, "Potter Mansion!" He stepped into the emerald flames and disappeared.
Remus rolled his eyes. "Now they'll never get married."
Malfoy Manor, a week later
"Niamh, darling!" Narcissa exclaimed. "You look great."
"Thanks, Cissy," I smiled. "That dress looks perfect on you."
"Thank you," she giggled. "You look great too, Evan."
"Thank Merlin," Evan grinned. "I was beginning to feel left out."
"I'll talk to you later," I promised Narcissa. The Malfoys always invited loads of people to their Christmas Ball and Evan probably wanted to greet all of them, so we walked on. Evan had his arm around my waist and I leaned into him, catching the adoring looks of older witches.
My pale blue dress tinkled softly with each step I took. Countless beads had been sewed onto it. White gloves made of silk covered my hands and arms and a diamond necklace – a gift from Evan – finished my outfit.
"Evan!" Cornelius Fudge said cordially when he saw us.
"Minister," Evan nodded.
"And that wonderful fiancée of yours," Fudge added, shaking my hand. "Delighted to see you again, Miss Carden."
"Happy Christmas, Minister," I smiled.
"Surely I'll see you on the New Year's Ball. My wife would hex me if I didn't ensure that you were coming."
"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Evan said politely.
"So, Evan, how is that business of yours?"
I suppressed a sigh. Great. Business talk. I couldn't leave Evan yet, we had only just arrived. I put on an interested face and pretended to listen.
Christmas Eve had been a success. I repressed a cynical snort. "Just a small group of family," my mother had said when I asked how many people would be there. It turned out my mother had invited both sides of the family – the Cardens and the Lestranges – plus the Malfoys, the Rosiers and the Zabinis. I wondered why the Zabinis had been invited; they were only distantly related. It was all cleared up when the table setting revealed that Deirdre was placed next to the youngest Zabini, Orion. He was a year older than my sister and taking his NEWTs this year. His mother was a Black, hence the naming after a constellation.
I watched my sister's face closely that evening. Whether she realised that she was being set up with Orion or not, it did not show on her face. She was polite and charming, entertaining but modest; in short, she was everything a well brought-up witch should be. Later that night I had managed to speak to Deirdre alone. I asked her what she thought of Mother's matchmaking. "Orion is a great catch," she had said. "He's rich, a pure-blood, and not bad-looking either."
"And that's enough for you?" I asked, unable to stop myself from sounding incredulous.
"What are you talking about?" Deirdre frowned. "Look at you and Evan. It's the same. It's how it's always done."
Me and Evan.
I smiled. "I'm sorry. I just want my sister to be happy."
Deirdre laughed. "Of course I'm happy. Orion is very suitable. And you are very sweet."
I managed to keep the smile on my face. My sister, a pure-blood through and through.
I snapped out of my reverie when Evan whispered something entirely inappropriate in my ear. "Evan!" I scolded him. Fortunately the Minister had already begun talking to someone else. "I really don't appreciate that suggestion. I am not sneaking off with you."
Evan chuckled and squeezed my waist. I used Occlumency to block my feelings. Evan was a lot easier to deal with when I could hide behind the walls I had created. There was barely a moment left when I didn't use the Occlumency techniques. At least then I could control the hate, grief, fear… and the memories. When I used Occlumency I didn't have to feel and I craved for that lack of pain.
I glanced at Evan. Lana's voice spoke in my mind. "At least you've got yourself a bloody sexy man…" I supposed she was right. I figured my engagement would have been even lesser pleasant when he wasn't so attractive. When I pushed my knowledge of his character away, I could see why quite a few witches envied me. Evan was an exceptionally charming wizard when he chose to be. With an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach I realised that this made him even more dangerous.
Evan gave me a little nudge and we walked along to greet other people.
Dangerley Hall, Christmas
Sirius had just finished his round through the elegant mansion and returned to the parlour room where the family were celebrating Christmas. Lady Dangerley had invited him to join the festivities – however small those were – because she would not have him and the others spend their Christmas merely guarding the house.
Elizabeth and her husband Nathaniel Dangerley had accepted the existence of the Wizarding world with surprising ease. Their seventeen-year-old daughter Annabelle had more difficulty being so compliant. The restrictions that were placed upon her social life had caused quite a few rows between her and her parents.
The Order members had caught her sneaking out on several occasions. She didn't seem to understand that she could not evade the magical alarms that they had set around the house. After Sirius had given up being polite to the spoilt brat and gave her a piece of his mind, she had somewhat adjusted her attitude and apologized to her parents for endangering them and herself.
She had also begun looking at Sirius with fascination. Sirius, not one to disregard feminine beauty, had noticed the attractive blonde from day one.
She looked up at him with a smile when he entered the parlour room. Sirius smiled back and told Gideon and Sturgis that everything was quiet. They had had a small dinner earlier and were now sitting leisurely in the comfortable armchairs. Annabelle patted the empty spot next to her on the sofa to invite Sirius to sit with her.
Gideon raised an eyebrow when Sirius did so and Annabelle snuggled a little closer to him. It seemed things were beyond repair between Sirius and Niamh then.
The remainder of the evening was spent in pleasant conversation. It was late when Annabelle declared she wanted to go to bed. Sirius got up to walk her to her room. They walked next to each other in silence.
"Thank you," Annabelle said softly when they had stopped at her door and Sirius had searched her room.
"You're welcome. Goodnight," he replied and turned around.
"Sirius?" Annabelle said quickly. He turned back. "How long do you think it will take for things to go back to normal?"
Sirius looked at the girl. She was tall, only a few inches shorter than him. Her brown eyes shone with fear in the soft light. He stepped closer to her. "I don't know," he said honestly, "but you're well-protected here."
Annabelle gave him a tiny smile. Sirius surprised himself by cupping her cheek with his hand for a moment. "Get some sleep."
She moved closer to him, pressing her cheek against his hand. Sirius's eyes dropped from hers to her mouth. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Annabelle sighed and put her arms around his neck. Sirius didn't pull back, but instead kissed her more urgently. He was surprised by Annabelle when she slid her tongue past his lips and deepened the kiss. With one hand he searched for the doorknob while keeping her close with the other. The door opened and they stumbled inside, heading for the bed.
Gideon and Fabian's Christmas party
Two days after Christmas Sirius walked to the front door of Headquarters. Fabian opened the door and pulled him inside. "You were right!" he grinned happily. "The tequila was a great idea."
Sirius gaped at him. "You mean McGonagall and Dumbledore…"
"No, no, not them…" Fabian's voice faltered and he scrunched up his face. "Merlin's nuts, I just had the most horrible image of…" He shuddered.
Sirius chuckled. "Then who are you talking about?"
Fabian flashed him a wide grin. "Emmeline and Sturgis."
"Emmeline!" Sirius choked. "You got Emmeline Vance to drink tequila?" The stately witch was beautiful, but also notorious for being unable to loosen up. "Ah, Fabian. You're my hero!" Sirius laughed.
They quickly entered the party and Sirius grinned like a Cheshire cat when he saw Emmeline and Sturgis snuggle up to each other. The room was filled with people. Dumbledore sat in an armchair in bright red robes adorned with little green Christmas trees. Minerva sat beside him with an expression on her face that said she didn't know whether to disapprove of or be amused by the antics of the wizards and witches around her.
Gideon had bewitched James's head so that little fairies flew in circles around it, singing Christmas songs in squeaky high-pitched voices. Remus and Peter took turns in trying to charm Gideon's robes pink in revenge.
Peter waved enthusiastically at Sirius when he saw him enter and sent sparks flying all over the room. James quickly extinguished the little flames on his robes. "Someone should take your wand, Wormtail. You're a danger to wizardkind," he said, shaking his head. The fairies around his head squealed in excitement.
Peter looked abashed. Lily said dryly, "I wouldn't listen to someone who has a dozen fairies flying around his head."
"Hullo, Lily, Moony, Wormtail, Fairy," Sirius grinned. "How are you?"
James glared at him.
Gideon strolled by. "Sirius, drink?"
"Of course," Sirius grinned and accepted the bottle he was given.
"Did you survive Dangerley at Christmas?" James asked.
"It wasn't bad," Sirius shrugged.
Gideon snorted. "Right. Don't let Annabelle Dangerley hear that."
"What?" Remus frowned.
"Our friend here and the young lady Dangerley celebrated Christmas in their own way, if you know what I mean," Gideon grinned.
Peter's jaw dropped. "Annabelle Dangerley?" he asked loudly. "Tall, blonde, bleedin' hot Annabelle Dangerley? You slept with her, Padfoot?"
"Jesus, Peter, shut up," Lily snapped. Niamh stood only a few feet away from them, talking to Caradoc Dearborn. She had turned her head to look at the Marauders when Peter spoke up. Her face was completely blank. After a moment she turned back and resumed her conversation with Caradoc, who gave her a scrutinizing look. Nothing but a faint, friendly smile showed on her face, however.
Remus managed to speak to her alone half an hour later. "Niamh, I'm so sorry."
Niamh blinked. "For what, Remus?"
"About what Peter said…"
Niamh shook her head. "That's none of my business, Remus."
Remus shot her an disbelieving look. "Of course it's your business. It must've hurt when you heard it."
"It's not. And it didn't hurt. By the way, I meant to ask you, how are the translations going?"
Niamh's voice was void of any emotion. It was as if he was talking to a stranger. Remus sighed. "It's difficult, but I'm making progress. Mundungus got me an ancient scroll that's been very helpful. I don't even want to know how he got it."
"That's good to hear," Niamh smiled. "Excuse me, I have to talk to Mad-Eye."
Lily joined Remus when he was still staring befuddled at Niamh's back. "There's something wrong with her," he sighed.
"Yes, obviously. Something would be wrong with me too if that happened to me. I could kill Peter, you know," Lily growled. "And Sirius too. And James. And Gideon."
"I see what you mean, but that's not what I'm talking about."
Lily looked curiously at the werewolf. "What do you mean then?"
"She's different. Cold. She's so distant she could be on another continent."
"Yes," Lily agreed. "I noticed that too. She's been that way for a while now."
"It's as if there's a wall of ice in front of her. I can't get through. Merlin, I'm not even sure she hears what I'm saying."
"It's the Occlumency," a voice said behind them. Both turned around in surprise. "She uses her Occlumency skills to hide from the pain she's suffering," Dumbledore explained.
"From Sirius?" Remus asked angrily.
"Yes, as well as from being a Death Eater."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Remus asked worried.
"No, if anything, it will make her an even better spy. However, the cost is high."
"Can't you help her?" Lily asked.
"No, Lily," Dumbledore said. "This is something she'll have to see for herself. What I would like to ask of you is to be near her when it's time to pick up the pieces." Dumbledore nodded at them and walked on.
