Chapter 11.

"D'you think I'll need my broom?"

"No."

"The Cloak?"

"Depends how much sneaking around you're planning on doing."

"The Map?"

"Are you planning on spying on me?"

"No. Right. Erm…Biting Tea-Cups? My Sneak-o-Scope? Exploding Snap Cards?"

Sirius puts down his Daily Prophet, and raises an eyebrow.

"James. Are you going to a 'See How Many Magical Objects a Person Can Fit in a Trunk' competition?"

"No," James answers in a dull tone.

"Where are you going?"

"To stay with my girlfriend's family."

"Who are…?"

"Muggles."

"And who live…?"

"In an area with a large population of Muggles."

"So it's probably best not to pack as if you're going to…?"

"A 'See How Many Magical Objects a Person Can Fit in a Trunk' competition."

Sirius smirks, his job done, and returns to his newspaper.

"I can't help it," James whines. "I'm nervous."

"Stupid is what you are."

James reaches for his wand, but before he can cast a spell, he's interrupted by Remus' voice. Remus is sitting on his bed beside his own neatly-packed case, wearing a mildly-amused expression.

"James. Take clothes. Take a bottle of wine for her parents, and take your Christmas presents. It's not that difficult."

James seems to be shaken awake by the sense of these comments. "Right. Clothes, wine, presents. Simple," he says to himself, and closes the curtains around his bed so that he can pack before he forgets.

"You shouldn't wind him up," says Remus, reproachfully. "Not when he's incapacitated with love."

"Seems to me like the best time to wind him up."

Remus fails to hide his grin.

A little while later, and after at least three scrupulous checks of James' case, the Gryffindor seventh-years gather in the Common Room to bid each other farewell.

Sirius and Lou stand together - but not too closely, as Jess notices with a satisfied smirk -, saying goodbye to their friends like proud parents watching their children step out into the big, wide world.

"Where have you left your presents for us?" asks Sirius, his eager face close to James', to emphasise his enthusiasm.

"I'm taking them with me, I'll post them to you," James replies, squeezing Sirius' face patronisingly. "I don't want you opening them before the special day!"

"So little trust," says Lou, mournfully.

"Where are yours?" asks James.

"In the dorm," Lou replies with a wicked grin. "I'll post them to you."

Laughter is followed by hugs all round. Lily gets to Lou last. "Try to have a nice time, won't you?"

"Of course I will. And you too - don't let James frighten your parents, though."

Lily laughs softly, and hugs Lou extra-tight.

"Come on, then," says Peter. "It's time for us to leave."

And they - and almost all of the other members of the House - trickle out of the room, leaving Sirius and Lou standing awkwardly beside the doorway.

A few moments later, Sirius is surprised to see Lou setting up her cauldron and Potions ingredients.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Potions practice. Antidotes!" replies Lou, and Sirius is thunderstruck to hear a note of glee in her voice.

"Is there something wrong with you?" he asks, tentatively, wondering if he should get Madam Pomfrey.

Lou laughs, tossing ingredients, seemingly at random, into her cauldron. "Of course not. I thought you knew I liked Potions?"

"There's a difference between liking a subject and happily spending your free time doing it."

Lou laughs again, gives the mixture a few stirs, and adds a sprinkle of something else. "It reminds me of my childhood," she says. "Dad wanted me to know about magic, but obviously he couldn't teach me anything that required a wand, it wasn't allowed. So he taught me other stuff - Potions and Astronomy and History of Magic, mostly. And I've loved all that stuff ever since."

"But nobody loves History."

"I do. I wanted to do it at N.E.W.T, but I couldn't fit it into my timetable."

"You're an odd one, and no mistake."

Lou looks up from her cauldron and smiles. "Of course I am. Fancy chopping up a Murtlap?"

Sirius takes the knife from her with a sigh and a secret smile.

Christmas morning finds them both sitting in front of the fire in the Common Room, each next to a small pile of presents. They smile shyly at each other and quickly set to work on opening them.

Sirius' first present is from Jess, and he looks at it in horror when he discovers that it's a t-shirt with her name on it, surrounded by little love-hearts. Lou laughs for a full five minutes before she can gather her composure enough to open her own presents. She's delighted to find a new subscription to Quidditch Weekly from James, 'The Bell Jar' from Lily, a packet of self-shuffling playing cards from Mary and an assortment of confectionary from Remus and Peter.

"Wait," says Sirius, "I've got something for you, too." And he produces a rectangular package from behind his armchair.

Lou opens it enthusiastically, to reveal a hardback, leather-bound edition of 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'. "Wow," she breathes, touching it reverently. Then she looks up at him. "But I've already got a copy. Not as fancy as this, but…"

Sirius raises a hand to stop her speech. "And where is that copy?"

"I lent it to James a couple of weeks - oh. What's he done to it?"

"Scribbled notes. A couple of torn pages."

Lou puts her hand to her heart, as if mourning a loved one. "Why?" she whispers.

"I'm not sure. Something about a conspiracy theory. You know what he's like when he gets enthusiastic about something…incoherent, foaming at the mouth. So I thought you should have a new one."

"And I've only got you a copy of the photo album that I did for everyone. I feel like such a cheapskate."

"I love it, though."

"No, you deserve more." Lou thinks for a moment, then leaps out of her seat. "Be right back," she calls, as she races up the stairs.

A minute later she's back again, wearing a triumphant expression, saying "One good turn deserves another", and dropping a pair of plain black boxer shorts from the end of her wand on to his lap.

"Why are you giving me pants?"

"They're already yours."

"Why do you have my pants?"

"I didn't. Jess has been sleeping with them under her pillow -"

"- she's my girlfriend -"

"- since before you started going out."

"Oh."

"Oh, indeed."

"That is a bit creepy. Won't she notice they're gone?"

"I replaced them," Lou pauses for dramatic effect. "With a pair of Peter's."

Sirius bursts out laughing and opens his one remaining present. When he sees the large box, his forehead wrinkles in thought.

"What is it?" asks Lou. Sirius turns the box so she can see the inscription. "Who's bought you pineapple?"

"James."

"Do you, er, like pineapple?"

"Not especially."

Lou raises an eyebrow. "That's odd."

"James and I always get each other odd presents."

"I see."

"Can I tell you a secret?"

Lou nods her permission.

"Ever since first year, James and I have been buying weird presents for each other, and the idea is that we have to do something funny - a prank or something - involving those objects. Then we decide whose is the best and that person's the winner. We lose credibility if we get caught."

Recognition flits across Lou's face. "Ah. So…fifth year, the first day back after Christmas? When all those Slytherins' meals were replaced by various types of dung?"

Sirius smiles, remembering. "James won that year."

"What's the score?"

"Three all. This year's the decider and he's sent me pineapple."

"What did you send him?"

"A medium-sized tank of flobberworms."

They both chuckle. Lou gazes at the fire for a minute, then pipes up, "I'm going to ask you some questions. Answer them honestly and don't ask why, okay?"

Sirius nods.

"Right. That pineapple, how long will it keep?"

"Ages, it's crystallised."

"And it's split into several boxes, right?"

"Yeah."

"How good are you at forgery?"

"Brilliant, of course" says Sirius proudly.

A conspiratorial smile forms on Lou's face. "Wait right here," she says, before sprinting upstairs yet again.

When she returns, she's holding an envelope, upon which is scrawled, Lily Evans, Gryffindor Tower.

"Can you forge that?" she asks eagerly. "Is it enough for you to be able to write anything in that handwriting?"

Sirius screws up his face in thought. "Probably. I could do a passable impression of it, anyway. Whose writing is it?"

"Snape's."

"Snape's? Why's he writing to Lily?"

"He's not. He was, they were friends until a couple of years ago. You know that."

"Okay. Right. I forgot. And how is forging his handwriting going to help me play a prank with a few boxes of pineapple?"

Lou smiles sanctimoniously. "Dear Professor Slughorn," she says in an admiring voice. "I know you're a fan of crystallised pineapple, so I'm making this gift to you in appreciation of your years of hard work, dedication, and excellent teaching."

Sirius is confused. "But won't that just make Slughorn nice to him?"

"At first, yes." Lou moves a little closer. "Dear Professor Slughorn, what a joy it is to be taught by you! Tuesday is by far my favourite day of the week this year, I'm so glad to have double Potions!" She takes another step. "Dear Professor Slughorn, I never thought a lesson at school could be so exhilarating, I just love watching you toiling over a hot cauldron." Another step. "Professor Slughorn, there are few things I'd rather see than you stirring a potion with the vigour you did today." Lou's whispering in Sirius' ear now, he can feel her hot breath on his neck. "Dear Professor Slughorn, I hope you're enjoying the pineapple. It makes me happy to think of you eating it…licking the sugar from your fingers. Professor Slughorn, how I dream of stroking your lustrous moustache, grasping your erotically rotund belly!" Lou laughs, then composes herself. "Yours longingly, Severus."

"Oh," says Sirius. "Oh."

"You like it?"

"Its genius," Sirius laughs. "I'm bound to win this year!"

Lou grins, and lightly ruffles his hair. "Happy Christmas, Sirius."

"You too," he replies, hoping that their Christmas morning closeness will continue.

As the days pass, though, and New Year approaches, Lou becomes more and more withdrawn. It's a side to her that Sirius has never seen before. Even when things between them were less than cordial, she still seemed so vital, so alive. But now, she's quiet, pale, and spends as much of her time as she possibly can all alone.

Sirius wonders if he's done something to offend her, but she seems to be avoiding everybody, not just him. The only times he sees her, apart from meal times, where she quickly, silently eats before leaving, are when she trundles into the Common Room, bedraggled and soaked through, after practicing flying in the wind and rain. Every time he sees her in that state, he invites her to sit by the fire and get warm, but she always shrugs and goes to her dormitory.

She's becoming so difficult to find that he doesn't even get a chance to ask her to go to the New Year party he's been invited to in the Ravenclaw Common Room. So he heads to the party alone, trying to work out what could be bothering her.

Sirius finds himself spending much of the evening with an acquaintance of his, Dorcas Meadowes. She's a seventh-year Ravenclaw, with mousey hair and a friendly, expressive face. She's a prodigiously talented witch, but very easy-going with it, and Sirius spends a pleasant couple of hours in a corner of Ravenclaw Common Room with her, drinking Butterbeer and cheerfully mocking the party, everybody present, and quite a few people who aren't.

"You know my friend, Hestia?" she asks.

"Erm…Jones?" replies Sirius uncertainly, vaguely remembering a dark-haired girl from a couple of his classes.

"Yeah, that's the one. Do you think Remus'd go out with her?"

"Remus Lupin?"

"How many Remuses do you know?"

Sirius smiles. "Fair point. I've got no idea, though. He doesn't talk about stuff like that, I think he finds it a bit improper."

"Oh."

"Why? Does she like him?"

Dorcas sighs. "She never shuts up about him. She's my best friend but she doesn't half go on sometimes. I thought maybe you could have a word with him, push him in her direction?"

Sirius shakes his head. "Nah, I've given up on matchmaking, ever since James and Lily only got together when I stopped interfering."

"How's it going between them?"

"Perfectly, if you can stomach it."

Dorcas raises an eyebrow. "Stomach what?"

"The hand-holding, and the whispers, the giggles." Sirius sighs. "It's a nightmare, if you're allergic to romance, like I am."

"Does that girlfriend of yours know about your allergy?"

"I don't think it'd stop her if she did."

Dorcas laughs. "I don't think you're allergic to romance, anyway. No-one is. You just haven't found the right girl."

"And I don't intend to. You forget - I spend most of my life with James Potter, I know what a snivelling wreck a person becomes when they fall in love. No thank you!"

More laughter, and a comfortable silence ensues. It's only broken when Dorcas asks, "Isn't Lou Reece here for Christmas?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, why isn't she here?"

"I don't know," Sirius shrugs. "She's been in a weird mood, these past few days."

"I don't blame her," says Dorcas compassionately. "Wasn't it this time last year that her mum got killed?"

Sirius pales, overcome by the memory.

"She died, didn't she? Death Eaters?"

"Yeah. New Year's Eve. She was alone and she was a Muggle, she didn't stand a chance."

"Sirius? Are you okay?"

He hands his bottle to Dorcas, and starts to leave.

"Where are you going? It's not even midnight!" Through her concern, Dorcas allows herself a little smile. "Where's my New Year's kiss?" She pouts comically.

"Sorry," mutters Sirius, not smiling. "I have to go."

When he gets back to the Common Room, she's sat there on a sofa, wearing pyjamas. She's gazing into the embers of a dying fire.

"Lou?" says Sirius from the doorway, slowly moving toward her.

She turns her face to look at him, and he sees that it's wet with tears. He sits down next to her. "I'm sorry I forgot," he says, touching her arm. "You're freezing, come here." And he wraps his arms around her.

At his embrace, she begins to sob. He strokes her hair, trying to make comforting noises.

Crying doesn't suit her, and it makes her grief seem more real. Sirius' family aren't the crying types, and neither are his friends. The only people who ever cry in front of Sirius are usually girls he's just dumped. They sit or stand in front of him, staring reproachfully with their pretty, shining eyes, allowing a single tear to trickle down their cheek and, occasionally, he gives in.

Lou's face is red and blotchy, her lips slightly swollen, her eyes bloodshot. She's really, properly weeping, clinging blindly to him.

Sirius carefully manoeuvres them both so that they're lying down, his arms around her, her head on his chest. He can feel her hot tears soaking through his shirt. She wraps her arms around his waist.

After a while, her crying begins to lessen.

"Tell me about her," Sirius says.

Lou lifts her dark eyes up to his, as if checking that he's serious. He nods and she looks away again.

"My mum," she begins, "she was a Muggle. She was really clever, and she knew a lot about lots of different things, but when she was young she never really felt like she belonged anywhere. Her dad died when she was little, and her mum died when she was a teenager, so she was kind of all alone in the world. She travelled a lot, doing various jobs to pay her way. Then, one day, she decided to go to London."

Lou pauses, finding it difficult to carry on, but she takes a deep breath and manages to find her voice.

"She'd been there for a few days, when she met a man in a café. They became sort of…friends. He was fifteen years older than her, and he could be really secretive, but he was funny and he was kind and he obviously really liked her. They got closer and closer, and she became his girlfriend, and moved in with him. That was when he told her the truth. He was a wizard, and he worked at the Ministry of Magic."

Lou smiles.

"I think that was when she fell in love with him. When she realised that he wasn't just the strength and stability that she needed - he was the mystery and excitement she wanted, too. They got married a few months later, and he managed to get her a job at the Ministry."

"Doing what?"

"On the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee. She was the most junior person there, and the pay wasn't great, but she really enjoyed it. She got to be a part of the magical world, which was so exciting to her, and she got to be helpful, too - all her random knowledge came in useful when it came to thinking up plausible explanations for magical events, and the Committee really valued her input. Of course, there were some people, inside the Ministry and out, who thought it was awful, a Muggle working for the Ministry. They thought it was the beginning of the end for the magical community."

"That's stupid."

"I know that. Anyway, time went on smoothly enough. She loved her husband, loved her job, everything was great. But then she started wanting a child. The problem was, having children was never a part of my dad's plan. He was a lot older than she was, and he was successful, and he had a wife he adored…he didn't need anything else. But he wanted her to be happy, so he agreed to try for a child, and a year or so later, I was born. She loved me. I made her life complete, and my dad tried to love me too. He taught me about magic, and he was nice to me, although it never came easy to him. The years passed, and Mum went up the ranks, until she was almost running the Committee. And then…"

Lou buries her head in Sirius' chest, and takes a few deep breaths, before turning away again to continue.

"Last New Year. I was at Lily's, and Mum and Dad were supposed to be having a nice quiet New Year together. But then Dad had to go into work. It's not unusual, he's pretty high up in the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, and he's always getting messages, asking him to go in and sort stuff out, so there was nothing unusual about that night, it was just inconvenient, so off he went. Not long after he'd left, the house was attacked by Death Eaters. It was easy enough to kill her," Lou says, her voice shaking a little. "She was a Muggle, she couldn't protect herself, and Dad hadn't thought to set up any protective enchantments."

"But why did they want to kill her?"

"Well, it's not like Death Eaters justify themselves to me, but I think it was for two reasons. The first is that she was a Muggle - not just a Muggle, but a Muggle who knew about magic, and was accepted by the magical community - she even worked for the magical authorities. Obviously, that goes completely against their aspirations for the world. And the second reason was to get at Dad. I think they thought that if they killed his wife he'd be easier to manipulate - grief-stricken, and scared they'd go for him or me next. If he'd joined them, he could provide them with valuable information on the Ministry."

"Did he join them?"

"I don't think so, but I haven't seen him for months."

There's silence, and Sirius wipes his face on his sleeve. "Thanks for telling me all this."

"You asked," Lou replies simply.

"Do you think you'll ever make up with your dad?"

"I don't know. It's just too painful at the minute, and without Mum…we don't really have anything to hold us together, so I suppose I'm pretty much without family."

"Me too," whispers Sirius. "You've got your friends, though," he says, a little more loudly. "We both have."

"I know. I'm glad of that." She absent-mindedly rubs his side with her thumb, and he holds her closer to him, breathing in the scent of her hair.

He places a small, chaste kiss on her scalp, and they fall asleep.