Fragments of Us
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Warnings: None for this chapter.
Chapter 22 – Tempers Flare
Sirius and Harry spent the majority of Boxing Day together – talking, playing Wizard's Chess or just sitting quietly. Kate kept to herself, allowing Sirius the distance he so obviously needed after their most recent falling out. As much as Kate longed to approach Sirius and attempt to clear the air, she was determined not to force his hand. With Remus and the Weasleys in residence and Order members coming and going throughout the day and evening, it was relatively easy to maneuver through meals and find someone to talk to during other times of the day. Kate was hopeful that the rift between Sirius and her was not obvious to anyone who did not know about what had transpired between them.
At the end of the day, Kate found herself in the library with some folders she'd brought from the Ministry when she'd left on holiday. Sirius and Harry were wrapping up their latest Wizard Chess contest, which had ended in a draw. As Kate tried to focus on the parchment in front of her, she felt someone watching her and, looking up, she met a pair of brilliant green eyes behind dark-rimmed spectacles. Harry had come to sit in the chair opposite where Kate was sitting.
"Hi," he said, somewhat shyly.
"Hello, yourself," Kate responded. "What can I do for you?" She put the parchment inside the folder and closed it.
"I was wondering if you were busy tomorrow," Harry responded. "I thought we could talk or something…umm…if you're not doing anything. But if you're busy – working or anything…"
Kate put an end to his misery, smiling warmly at the young wizard. "I'm not doing anything and I'd love to spend some time talking…or something. Maybe we could go out to lunch, if you'd like."
Harry smiled back at her, nerves seemingly under control now. "Yeah, that'd be great. We can work it out in the morning, right?"
"Absolutely," Kate agreed. "I have an Order meeting tomorrow night, so we should probably plan to leave here around noon so we have enough time and I'm not back too late. We'll work out the rest of it tomorrow."
Harry nodded and rose from his seat. As Kate followed his progress to the door, her eyes met Sirius', who was watching the whole scene from the fireplace, where he leaned against the mantel. "Thank you," Kate mouthed. Sirius' cold gaze never wavered and he gave no response. Rather, he turned to the doorway and called a warm good night to Harry who responded in kind.
"Good night, Kate," Harry was speaking to her.
Kate roused herself. "'night, Harry," she said. "Sleep well."
With a wave, the teenager left the room and headed up the staircase.
Kate looked down at the folder in her lap and sighed. "Fury", indeed. For the next half hour, Kate focused on the report in front of her, doing her best to tune out all other distractions until a gruff voice, shouting her name brought her out of her thoughts with a jump. She looked up to see Mad Eye Moody standing in front of the fireplace, face flushed and mouth fixed in a snarl. His magical eye was aimed directly at her and Kate felt as if it could see inside her head, as well.
"I'm sorry, Moody. What is it?" Kate tried to keep the tremor out of her voice. The man had always made her just a bit nervous, although she knew that he had a good heart and cared deeply for the safety of everyone with whom he served – and those he protected.
"Are yeh daft, girl? Taking Potter out tomorrow? How do yeh know ye'll be safe?" he growled.
Kate took a breath and closed her files to give herself some time to calmly formulate a response. As she fixed her attention on the former Auror, she noted that Sirius was standing almost at his elbow, watching her intently. Ah, Kate thought. Moody's source of information. That realization touched off a spark of anger that began to do a slow burn inside of Kate as she turned her attention back to Moody.
"Mad Eye, really," Kate said. "I'm not marching him through Knockturn Alley at midnight! Give me some credit; I'm not stupid. I'm also a very experienced Auror. I'm confident that I can keep Harry safe." There. Take that!
"And just where are yeh takin' him, lass?" Moody challenged.
"To London," Kate said, defiantly. "Muggle London. That's as specific as I'm going to get – with anyone! And if I see anything suspicious or have even one uncomfortable feeling, we'll leave." She bent to pick up her files and faced Moody once again. "Anything else?" she asked.
Moody gazed at her for a long moment, then shook his head. "Just remember, lass…Constant…"
"Vigilance," Kate finished. "You have nothing to worry about. Harry will be safe with me."
Kate began to walk toward the door and, as she passed Sirius she stopped. The spark had turned into a flame that Kate could no longer contain. Sirius' cold, fixed stare had not wavered and she had reached her limit for the evening. She took a breath and stared determinedly back into those icy blue eyes. "The next time you want information about anything to do with me OR something I'm doing with Harry, be a man and ask me yourself," Kate gritted out. "Don't have Mad Eye do your dirty work for you! It's beneath you and we both deserve better!" and with that, she left the room, slamming the door behind her. Once in the cool safety of the hallway, Kate leaned against the door and took several deep breaths. She realized that her comments to Sirius had been inflammatory and not in keeping with her plan to "give him a wide berth", but she just couldn't take his cold, silent stare and not-so-subtle manipulations where Harry was concerned. How on earth was she to establish a relationship with Harry with Sirius looming over them like some great vulture? Kate resolved to stay out of his way for the rest of Harry's holiday – even if it meant spending less time at Grimmauld Place. With that thought in mind, Kate made her way quickly up the stairs and down the hallway to her room.
Back in the library, Remus sat, unmoving in his chair, awaiting the explosion from Sirius that he was sure would follow Kate's remark. To his shock, Sirius said nothing. While Remus could see that he was shaking and his face had gone white, he kept resolutely silent. After several long moments, Sirius took a deep breath and tersely announced that he was going to retire for the night then did so, exiting the library without further comment.
Moody and Remus exchanged a look of surprise, but said nothing. Gradually, Remus went back to his newspaper, while Moody remained standing, looking into the fire.
"I'm not keen on being put in the middle of couples fightin', Remus," Mad Eye muttered suddenly, breaking the silence in the room.
"No, I can't imagine you are," Remus agreed. "What did he tell you when he asked you to come over?" It was a pure guess, but Remus somehow felt he might be on track with it.
Moody turned around. "Sent me an owl. Asked me about putting a security detail on Potter for tomorrow."
Remus raised an eyebrow. "I had a feeling Sirius didn't really go to the restroom after Harry went off to bed," he commented wryly.
"Do I need to know about this?" Moody asked.
Remus shook head. "No, Mad Eye, you don't; not yet anyway. See you tomorrow evening, yes?"
"Yeah," the older man said, picking up his walking stick and stumping across the floor, heading for the hallway.
Remus shook his head as he heard the front door close – quietly. Even Mad Eye Moody had respect for the vocal talents of Walburga Black's portrait. He thought of Sirius and his latest dig at Kate. "Padfoot, what in hell are you thinking?" he muttered, waving his wand at the candles. As the room was shrouded in darkness, Remus, himself, headed up to bed.
The following morning found the occupants of Grimmauld Place eating one of Molly's more elaborate breakfasts – with one notable exception…the Master of the house had not yet appeared. Harry and Kate had their heads together at one end of the table, talking quietly about their plans for the day. They decided to have lunch at a small delicatessen, and then take in a movie at a nearby Muggle cinema. It had been ages since Kate had been to a movie and probably longer for Harry, given the Dursleys' propensity to exclude him from absolutely everything involving fun. Molly took advantage of Sirius' absence to cluck a bit over the potential danger involved in Harry leaving Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore, while somewhat concerned, had confidence in Kate's abilities to protect the boy and Kate thought that it was probably only his approval that kept Molly from forcibly restraining Harry from leaving the Black residence. What Kate did not know was that the Headmaster had arranged for several Order members to provide an inconspicuous security detail, with orders to operate under "Disillusionment" charms – frequently renewed – to avoid detection. Hestia Jones, Emmeline Vance, Tonks and Mad Eye Moody, himself would augment Kate's superior skills in keeping Harry safe – while blissfully unaware of their presence. Remus would stay behind and manage Sirius who, he imagined, would work himself into a state of agitation until Harry was once again under the roof of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Privately, Remus couldn't decide whether he'd rather face an afternoon of Sirius' steadily declining mood or the risk of incurring Kate's wrath if and when she discovered Dumbledore's little troop of "security guards". He smiled to himself. It would almost be worth it to have the chance to see her reaction first-hand…as long as he wasn't on the wrong end of her wand when she discovered them.
Kate wrapped up the remaining casework she'd opened the previous evening and at noon, she made her way back downstairs to meet up with Harry. As she closed the door to her room and turned toward the stairs, Kate narrowly avoided colliding with Sirius who was making his own way down the hall, heading in the opposite direction. As each attempted to resume their progress, they kept moving in the same direction, continuing to block the other's path. After several false starts, Sirius gave a huff of frustrated disgust and reached out toward Kate. Clasping her shoulders firmly, he muttered, "Stay put," then released her and stepped to one side. Kate gritted her teeth and resumed her walk to the staircase, still feeling the heat of Sirius' grasp. Although she had the feeling he was watching her, Kate refused to look back at him and continued toward the first floor – and the hallway where her Godson was waiting for her.
As she approached the first floor landing, Kate paused, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She wanted to make sure that no irritation was visible to Harry when she greeted him. Kate turned the corner at the foot of the stairs and was greeted by the smiling face of her Godson, who was early – and waiting by the front door.
"Ready?" Kate asked him and, at his nod, moved toward the door. Harry was quick to open it for her, allowing her to pass before walking through the doorway himself. Kate smiled to herself. How many times had she witnessed James do the same thing for Lily? And, although the fiercely independent redhead would sometimes scold by saying that she wasn't a helpless female and could open doors for herself, Kate knew that she was secretly pleased that he would think to show her that courtesy. As Harry closed the door behind him, he didn't notice his Godfather watching from the staircase, a deep frown fixed on his face.
"You wouldn't be eavesdropping, would you, Padfoot?" Remus hoarse voice floated from the hallway below as he made his way from the kitchens. Although Remus knew he probably shouldn't tweak Sirius' nose with the comment, his friend's complete unwillingness to even hear Kate's side of the story seemed to compel him to act more rashly than he normally did.
Sirius jumped at the sound of the werewolf's voice, but narrowed his eyes at Remus' comment. "I seem to remember that the only directive I got from you was to give Harry his Godmother, which I have done. I am not eavesdropping, Remus. I was making sure that he got on his way alright."
"Actually, Sirius, I seem to recall suggesting that you give Harry his Godmother without guilt or animosity. Everything about you has fairly screamed animosity every time you and Kate are in the same room. I think we both agree that Harry isn't stupid. Eventually, he's going to catch onto your mood. Wouldn't it be a pity to undo all the progress you've made with him just to continually reinforce your anger to Kate?" Remus paused. "Because believe me, Padfoot, Kate already knows you're angry with her. We all do. That stunt with Moody last night even brought him into the picture."
"That stunt last night got Harry a security detail," Sirius growled.
"No, Sirius, Dumbledore arranged for the security detail. Your stunt was never intended to do that. You wanted someone to thwart Kate's efforts to spend time with Harry. Oh – you'll let Harry have time with her – on your terms, which means here, in this house, where you can watch over them. I'm glad that's not happening. Sirius, please, I don't want to argue with you every time we're together, but I beg of you – if you no longer care about Kate, think of Harry. Think of your relationship with him and do nothing to jeopardize it. If you try to drive a wedge between them through your actions whilst telling Harry that you support their relationship, you'll lose him, too. He trusts you, Sirius. Don't throw that away the way you're pushing Kate out of your life. You're going to end up being very lonely if you do."
Sirius shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his robes. "Mooney, you keep going on about how I'm pushing Kate away and I'm unjustifiably angry with her. Did you ever stop to think about how it feels for me to realize that she didn't love me enough to stick to our plan? That she didn't trust in what we had mutually agreed to do regarding telling Harry who she was? I don't think she really cares for me quite the way you think she does," he said quietly, his voice holding traces of both grief and bitterness.
Remus sighed in exasperation. "The two of you will be the death of me at this rate," he bit out. "Look, Sirius, she doesn't think you love her; you don't think she loves you. Don't you think that for the sake of accuracy, expediency and your mutual sanity that sitting down and talking this out would be the best course of action?"
Sirius shook his head and turned to go back up the stairs. "She betrayed my trust, Mooney. Something made her do that. 'Talking this out' isn't going to change that. I don't know what will."
Remus watched him go. "Stubborn git," he muttered. It was going to be a damnably long afternoon.