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 62 – Separate Memories

Remus put the mirror into his pocket and turned to Kingsley. "You are meeting Albus at Tonks' flat, yes?"

Kingsley nodded. "I'll Floo him to let him know when Kate and I expect to arrive." The Auror glanced down toward the Witness chair where Kate was still seated. "I'm going to take Kate over to The Leaky Cauldron and see if Tom will let us use that back room for an hour or so. I'd like to give her a chance to have some time to regroup. I'm also curious about Malodorous Spear – and why he was not present to testify today. It was my understanding that he was on the Ministry's witness list. I'm going to have Tonks check into it while I'm with Kate." Kingsley glanced down at Remus' pocket then looked his friend in the eye. "I'm guessing you might have something to do, as well?"

Remus smiled sadly and nodded. "I think our friend is having a bad time of it right now after hearing Kate's testimony." Remus started to turn away then stepped closer to Kingsley. "There are many aspects of this trial that I find most curious: Fudge, chief amongst them. I'm also interested in knowing exactly what was in that vial that Severus took from Jarvis. And, speaking of Jarvis – he made some very amateur errors here today. That's diametrically opposite his reputation as a solicitor."

Kingsley nodded. "I was thinking the same thing several times during the trial. I can't shake the feeling that there's a connection somehow. We'll get on it straight away. I'll meet you at The Annex after we've met up with Albus at Tonks', yes?"

Remus nodded. "Give Kate my l-," he paused. "Well, perhaps not this particular version of Kate. Kingsley, tell her that I send my best, won't you?"

Kingsley nodded. "I will. It's temporary, Remus, you know that. She'll be fine by tonight."

"I know, Kingsley. It's just not an easy thing to look into her eyes and realize that the past few months have simply not happened for her. I can only imagine what Padfoot is feeling right now," Remus shook his head.

"You'd better find out," Kingsley said and turned to make his way to the Chamber floor.

Remus watched him go for a moment before making his way to the lifts.

XXXXXXXX

Remus stood in the middle of the Great Room at the Annex, his heart beating more quickly than usual. After a complete search of the area – including the balcony – he had found no trace of his friend. His mind raced. Remus knew Sirius would not be foolish enough to wander the halls – or grounds – of the school; there was too much at stake for him to do so. But Remus also knew his best friend well enough to know that when Sirius was in pain, Sirius went to ground. What he did not know was where. After another five minutes of rumination, Remus' head snapped up. He strode to the hearth, threw a pinch of Floo powder into the hearth and stepped into the resulting green flames. "Kitchen – Grimmauld Place," he called distinctly and was immediately drawn into the swirling chaos that was Floo travel.

A moment later, the werewolf stepped out into the kitchen of Headquarters. The room was cold and bore no sign of the Master of the house. Not wishing to disturb Kreacher – nor the apparently sleeping portrait of Sirius' mother, Remus crept along the corridors and staircases, checking out Kate's bedroom, then Sirius', the library, Buckbeak's room. Nothing. Remus made his way downstairs and was just passing a side corridor when a noise from the end of the hall caught his attention. The porch, Remus thought and hurried down the hallway to the door at its end.

He opened the partially closed door and entered silently, looking around the darkened room for the source of the noise. It didn't take long to find. Sirius was seated on the worn sofa in front of the fireplace. The hearth was cold, the room lit exclusively by the weak sunlight filtering in through the street-facing windows. On the table before him stood a ¾ full bottle of Old Ogden's Finest; in Sirius' hand was a quarter-full tumbler which, as Remus watched, the dark-haired wizard brought to his lips and downed in a single swallow, grimacing as it burned his throat and hit his empty stomach.

"Padfoot?" Remus approached the sofa slowly, pointing his wand at the hearth to start the fire blazing in the grate.

"Mooney!" Sirius greeted him. "Come to drown my sorrows with me? There's a good mate; always there when you need him!" He shakily poured another two fingers of Firewhiskey into the tumbler. "Here, Mooney. You take the glass; I'll just save time and use the bottle, eh?"

Remus shook his head. "I'm fine, Pads. It's too early in the day for me, anyway."

Sirius took a generous swig from the bottle then replied, "Bollocks, Mooney! It's 5 o'clock somewhere in the world, isn't that what the Muggles say? American Muggles, more like. Bet it's 5 o'clock there."

"She didn't mean it, you know," Remus said, softly, taking a seat next to his friend. "They removed her recent memories of you – you know that, Pads. All the memories she has left of you end on the day of your arrest. She doesn't know that you're innocent."

Sirius raised the bottle to his lips, then changed his mind and lowered it to rest on his knee. "She hated me, Mooney," he murmured. "I was the unfortunate relationship she had as a teenager and didn't have enough sense to end. Katie thinks of me as the killer of James and Lily. Well, killer once-removed, I suppose, since I didn't actually cast the Killing Curse – I just turned them over to the one who did." He looked up at his oldest friend and Remus caught his breath at the raw pain he saw reflected in Sirius' face. "D'you think she actually felt that way, Remus?" His voice was soft.

"I think she probably felt some of that, Padfoot, as I did. You knew that when she first came back, though. She knows the truth about you, Sirius," Remus said.

"That truth is lying in a Pensieve in Tonks' flat at the moment," Sirius put the bottle on the table. "She thought Harry shouldn't know about me." He shook his head sadly. "She didn't want my children, Mooney. 'Not in this lifetime,' she said. You heard her. You were there. She called me the enemy, Remus. That's what she thought I was." The dark haired wizard shook his head, his eyes bright as he looked at the blazing fire.

"I didn't think about what I would hear if I used that bloody mirror," he whispered. "I wanted to make sure she was ok – and I really wanted to hear that fuckin' tosser get what was coming to him when they convicted him." Sirius looked over at his friend. "I didn't think about what Kate would sound like without the memories of the last six months." He swallowed. "I didn't think it would hurt this much."

Remus nodded and slid closer to his friend. He put his arm around the other man's shoulders comfortingly. "I know, Sirius. You and Kate have been through so much together in such a short time. Even though she had to do this to testify successfully, I know it had to have hurt you to hear it."

Sirius said nothing for awhile, then scrubbed at his face roughly and cleared his throat. "Thanks, Mooney," he said softly, rising then swaying slightly.

Remus rose swiftly and steadied him. "Steady there, Padfoot," he said, a slight smile on his face.

Sirius turned to face his friend, his face pale. "I don't think I feel very well, Remus."

Remus shook his head and gestured toward the bottle on the table. "You haven't had any of that for awhile, Sirius. Come, why don't you lie down for a bit? Then you can shower and meet Kate back at the Annex, yes?"

Sirius took a breath to speak, but a look of sudden horror crossed his face and he clapped one hand over his mouth and hurriedly left the room.

Remus was waiting in Sirius' room with a glass of cool water. His friend appeared in the doorway a few moments later, still a bit pale, but without the somewhat glazed expression he'd worn during their conversation. He crossed into the room and sat on the bed, gratefully accepting the glass from Remus. After downing the water, he handed the glass back to Remus, kicked off his boots and settled down on the bed. "'night, Mooney," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

Remus smiled at the other man. "'night, Pads. I'll wake you up if I don't see you in an hour or so, yes?" He paused. "Sirius?" But the sound of soft, even breathing was his only response. Sirius was already asleep.

Remus left the room, closing the door quietly behind him and went into the study to read while waiting for Sirius to awaken. Thirty minutes after he'd settled into a deep armchair with a book, his tea and the warmth of a blazing fire, he heard a cry from the direction of Sirius' room. History had made Remus intimately familiar with the sound of Sirius' nightmares and he therefore rose quickly and half-ran to the other man's bedroom.

When he arrived, it was obvious that Sirius' terror was in full swing. The bedclothes were twisted around him as he thrashed against their binding. His face was a study in pain and his face and hair were damp with sweat. Remus moved toward the bed and gently grasped Sirius' flailing arms, moving them by his sides and holding them there. Sirius' eyes flew open, but his struggle continued. "Katie!" he cried out. "Don't go! Don't leave me! I didn't…."

"Padfoot!" Remus called out, loudly and when nothing happened, "Sirius!"

At the sound of Remus' voice, Sirius fell silent and his body went still. He blinked several times, until he finally recognized Remus face above him. "It's alright," Remus said quietly. "Everything is alright. Take deep breaths, now."

As Sirius began to slowly respond to Remus' soothing voice, Remus released his wrists and sat on the edge of the bed until Sirius had brought himself back under control. "Better?" he asked after awhile, as he helped his friend disentangle himself from the covers.

Sirius nodded. "Thanks, Mooney. I'm sorry about that. Must have been Old Ogden's revenge." He didn't meet his friend's eyes as he spoke.

Remus shook his head slightly. "Perhaps in part, but we both know it's more than that, don't we? Want to talk to me about it?"

Now Sirius did look up. "What did I say? It must have been something to bring you in here."

"Actually, I heard you cry out; no words, just a cry. When I came in, you were flailing about, all tangled up in the bedclothes." Remus stopped speaking for a moment. "You called out to Kate."

Sirius nodded. "We were here, but downstairs in the kitchen. It was the first night she came back and the Order was meeting here. Remember how she saw me in the doorway after the meeting broke up?" Remus nodded. "That was it, except this time, you all disappeared and she came over before I could get away. She called me a traitor and told me that she'd come back to keep Harry away from me. Said I didn't deserve him after I'd killed his parents." Sirius began to cry softly again as he retold the story of his nightmare. Remus reached over and covered Sirius' hand with his own.

"It's alright, Padfoot. It was only a dream. Come; get the rest of it out. You'll feel better once you have," he said to the distraught wizard in a soothing voice.

Sirius drew a deep breath. "She told me that she was pregnant, but that it wasn't mine. She'd found someone else and she didn't want me anymore. She walked out, Mooney. She left me. I called to her but she wouldn't turn around. She just…" his voice trailed off.

Remus squeezed his hand reassuringly. "But it wasn't real, Sirius. You must realize that everything in your nightmare came from her testimony today. That isn't reality."

Sirius nodded, but remained silent. Remus released his hand and stood.

"I'm going downstairs to make some tea. Why don't you shower and change and join me when you're finished, yes?" Remus watched his friend carefully. He could not allow him to wallow; Sirius had made too much progress in the past months to allow these nightmares to take hold of him again. "Sirius?"

Sirius nodded again, this time looking up at the other wizard. He pushed the covers back and rose. "I'll be downstairs shortly, Remus. Promise."

Remus watched him into the bathroom; after the door had closed, he listened for the start of the shower and, hearing it, headed down to the kitchen.

XXXXXXXX

Kate and Kingsley sat in the back room of The Leaky Cauldron. Kate had a half-empty bowl of vegetable soup in front of her and she sipped a cup of tea thoughtfully.

Kingsley watched her for a moment before speaking. "Ready to head back to Tonks' place?"

Kate put her teacup down and nodded. "Kingsley, we need to get in touch with Severus about the potion in Jarvis' vial. I'd also like to know what Spear's got up to; I wouldn't have thought he'd miss the trial."

Kingsley nodded. "Tonks is looking into that one. We'll get in touch with Severus later on."

Kate looked up at the senior Auror. "How many others, Kingsley?"

Kingsley's brows drew together. "I don't understand, Kate."

"How many others do you think believe what Jarvis said in that courtroom? Llewellyn Jarvis never had an original thought in his life, so someone had to have given him the idea that I would actually resume my relationship with Black and attempt to frame Malfoy in the bargain," Kate clarified, her voice bitter.

Kingsley sighed. "Well, Kate, I would wager that Malfoy is probably responsible for planting the seed and Jarvis, given his silver tongue, refined it. I don't imagine anyone believed him after they heard your response."

"I hope so, Kingsley," she said. "I've been away from home long enough. I'd like to make this move a permanent one and that will be difficult if all the rumor and innuendo start up again."

Kingsley reached over and patted her hand. "I don't think you have anything to worry about there, Kate. Come on; let's head back to Tonks'. You look like you could use a rest. I'll just settle the bill and be right back." Kingsley knew Albus was awaiting word that they were heading to Tonks' flat so he could meet them there. He planned to Floo call the Headmaster whilst settling the bill.

Kate agreed and waited quietly until Kingsley returned to the table. Moments later, they were stepping out of the fireplace at Tonks' flat.

Dusting the ash from her robes, Kate looked up and found herself staring into the calm blue eyes of the Headmaster, standing opposite her. "Hello, my dear," he said warmly, extending a small vial to her. "You've had a trying morning; this should help you rest for a bit without any nightmares to disturb you." Kate hesitated only a moment before sitting on the sofa, accepting the vial and downing its contents. It didn't take long before the dreamless sleep potion took hold and Kate was fast asleep.

"She had a difficult time," Dumbledore murmured. "All those feelings about Sirius and times gone by will take an emotional toll on anyone. I think it's time we restored Kate's memories and let her get on with her life." With that, the elderly wizard sat down next to Kate and, with a repeat of the complicated wand movements and incantations from earlier in the day, he removed and discarded the fabricated details of her "past" and slowly replaced them with the memories stored in Sirius' Pensieve. Once he had finished, Dumbledore sat back against the cushions, the empty Pensieve cradled in his lap.

"Let's let her sleep for a bit," he suggested, wearily.

Turning to Kingsley after a moment, the older man smiled. "You've done it. Lucius Malfoy is going to Azkaban without possibility of parole."

Kingsley allowed himself a brief smile, as well. "Yes, Albus, but there are several open issues as a result of that trial – as you well know."

Dumbledore nodded. "I might suggest that we call an Order meeting for tomorrow evening at Headquarters. Tonks should have some information for us by then and I will also make a few discreet inquiries as well. Severus will have completed his analysis of the potion Jarvis tried to introduce, so we can decide if – and how – we will pursue that issue once we have his report." He paused, glancing down at Kate for a moment before bringing his full attention back to Kingsley. "You know, I would be very much interested in learning more about Cornelius' change of heart, as well. You and I both know that he has been a very strong supporter of Lucius Malfoy – right up until this very morning. Something has happened to turn him away from that path and, although I'm cautiously grateful, I don't completely trust that this change is permanent. At least not quite yet."

Kingsley nodded. "I'm heading back to the Ministry now. I suspect I'll know more soon enough. If the Minister has something on his mind, he'll be setting up a meeting with me fairly soon."

Dumbledore rose. "I'm going to Apparate Kate back to The Annex."

Kingsley nodded. "I'll help you then Apparate to the office from there." With that, he picked Kate up and held her tightly to him. Picturing the hospital area of The Annex, Kingsley turned on his heel and, moments later materialized in the far end of the room. Dumbledore followed shortly after.

Kingsley laid Kate on the bed near the window and turned to Dumbledore. "She's fine. I'll check in with you later this evening if Tonks has anything to report to us."

Dumbledore smiled at the Auror. "Thank you, Kingsley, I'd appreciate that."

"May I offer you gentlemen some tea?" Molly Selkirk's voice came from the direction of the doorway.

"Not for me, thanks. I'm just leaving," Kingsley declined politely. "I'll speak with you later, Albus. Molly, it was nice to see you again." With that, Kingsley turned and Apparated back to the Ministry.

"Come into the Great Room and I'll bring the tray in by the fire," the Healer said. As she turned, she caught sight of her former patient lying in the bed she had so recently been deemed well enough to leave. "Albus?"

"She's fine, Molly. I gave her a Dreamless Sleep potion a short time ago. It will allow her memories to settle a bit now that we've replaced them," the Headmaster explained.

Molly nodded. "Come. I'll only be a few moments."

When she and Albus were settled before the fire, Molly looked over at the older wizard. "I assume things went well," she said.

Albus nodded over his cup. "Relatively speaking," he replied. "Malfoy has been convicted and will be taken to Azkaban today, if he is not, indeed, there already. Kate had a bit of a hard time, though and, as a result, so did Sirius."

Molly raised her eyebrows in question. "How so?"

"As you know, Kate's memories of Sirius – those that occurred in the past 6 months – were removed to ensure that she could truthfully testify against Malfoy without divulging anything about Sirius. To have done so would have led to devastating consequences, as I'm sure you realize," Albus said. "We inserted fabricated events in Kate's life to accommodate the miscarriage which was, of course, critical to ensuring Malfoy's conviction due to his use of an Unforgivable."

"But I thought the goal was to hide Kate's pregnancy from the Ministry," Molly said.

"Originally, yes. But, somehow they had found out about it and had planned to use it to discredit her. If we had not prepared a plausible story to counter their efforts, I'm certain Malfoy would have been acquitted," Dumbledore explained. "Of course, by removing all of Kate's memories of Sirius but those that occurred up to the date of his arrest, all of her old suspicions and feelings about him resurfaced. It was very emotional for her."

Molly shook her head. "Thank Merlin Sirius was unable to attend," she said.

Dumbledore looked up sharply. "Regrettably, Mr. Black ingeniously found a way to be present without physically leaving The Annex," he informed her and went on to tell her the details of the charmed mirrors.

When Dumbledore had finished his explanation, Molly sighed, "That young man is too smart for his own good sometimes. He will suffer mightily for having heard what had to be very difficult sentiments coming from Kate," she added.

"But he will realize that she was without recent memory of him and, therefore, operating in the past as far as he was concerned," Dumbledore reasoned. "I suspect that they have not fully dealt with the feelings Kate had about Sirius back in those days. They will need to deal with them before they can completely move on. Perhaps this will be the catalyst they need to do so."

"Well, if it is, I hope it's the last of it," Molly said, placing her now-empty teacup on the tray. "It's time they were able to move on."

XXXXXXXX

Kate awakened to a dim room and the sound of wind driving a hard rain against the windowpanes. It took a moment for her to get her bearings. She sat up and looked around the room. Of course, she thought. The Annex. Kate rose and walked toward the doorway leading to the Great Room. As she drew closer, she could see the flickering, orange light of the fire reflected on the white walls that stood opposite the hearth. Other than the snap and crackle of the logs, the room was silent. Kate stepped into the Great Room and caught her breath at the sight of Sirius, seated on the sofa, gazing into the fire.

Sirius. Kate placed her hand against the doorframe to steady herself as memories of the day came flooding back to her. While fuzzy at first, the trial – and her testimony – became clearer in stages until the memory was sharp. The things she had said; those must have been the planted memories from Dumbledore. Kate's eyes filled as the words she had uttered rang hollowly in her mind. She thought back to the time just before James and Lily were killed. There was so much suspicion, so little trust amongst them all – and they had all suffered; James and Lily paying the ultimate price for it all. Afterward, though, Sirius had been sent to prison and she had walked away from all of it – the memories, the continued suspicion that bordered on shunning. She had believed him guilty and she had been bitter – more than bitter, really. Kate sighed heavily. It was sobering to realize that she had testified truthfully this morning. Without the memories of the past six months to reveal the lies of so long ago, Kate's feelings about Sirius had been realistically revealed. She trembled a bit under the weight of that knowledge and turned her attention back to the wizard on the sofa. Kate stepped into the room, suddenly needing the feeling of his arms around her; the sound of his soft voice in her ear. The sound of her footfalls alerted Sirius to her presence, however, and the look on his face stopped her in her tracks.

"Sirius?"

He rose at the sound of her voice and Kate watched the play of emotions across his face. His eyes were bright, his face pale and Kate detected the slight trembling of his hands as he stuffed them in the pockets of the Muggle jeans he wore.

"Kate," his voice was soft and tentative and his eyes never left hers.

Kate walked toward him, noting that he continued to watch her as she approached. When she stood directly before him, Kate reached over and cupped his cheek in her palm. "Sirius, what is it?" she asked him.

Sirius closed his eyes and Kate felt the hot splash of a single tear fall over her thumb and slide down the back of her hand. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Kate's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "I don't understand; sorry for what, darling?"

Sirius' eyes opened. "For everything that happened to you because of me. For not trusting you enough to tell you about the switch in Secret Keepers. If I had just trusted you, then maybe we would have worked it all out about Peter and James and Lily would still be alive," he whispered. "And you would not have had to move to the States; and maybe you wouldn't have hated me."

Kate's mind raced. It isn't possible for him to know, she thought, but in her heart she knew that Sirius had to have – somehow – learned of her testimony before the Wizengamot. She decided to take the chance. "How did you get into the Wizengamot Chamber?"

"The mirror," he replied, watching her face carefully. "I persuaded Remus to take one of the mirrors into the Chamber. I had to hear it if Lucius testified; I had to hear him try to defend what he did to you; I had to hear him convicted." Sirius paused, smiling sadly. "I heard much more than I anticipated."

Kate gently lowered her hand to her side and sat down on the sofa. Sirius followed.

"Sirius, it is I who should apologize to you," Kate said, her voice so low he had to lean toward her to hear.

"For legitimate feelings you had a dozen years ago?" Sirius questioned softly. He shook his head. "I don't believe so. I didn't think about what it all meant, removing your memories, replacing them with something that would explain the baby; hearing what you were feeling late in the first War. Hearing what you were feeling about me." He stopped and collected himself for a moment before continuing. "You owe me no apologies, Kate. I brought this one on myself."

"But it hurt you. I hurt you. I can see that in your eyes," Kate said. "And I hate that my words put that pain there."

Sirius looked at her. "I need to touch you while we talk. Need to. Yeah?"

Kate nodded, reaching out to him. Sirius slid closer to her, taking her hands in both of his. Kate squeezed his fingers lightly and felt the return pressure from him.

"Katie, did you really feel those things?" he asked.

Kate took a deep breath then looked at Sirius. "It's complicated, but yes, in some ways I did feel those things. I was so angry that you'd left me out of all your suspicions which meant, I suppose, that you thought I could have been the traitor as well. At the time, all I knew was that you were always tearing off to this place or that place – mostly to Godrics Hollow without me – and I hated it. When I saw you immediately after you'd been arrested, my take on the whole of the previous months was – obviously – quite changed. It all clicked in: you'd been plotting with the Dark Lord; you'd turned. You'd left us all behind. I couldn't figure out what sign I'd missed. I felt guilty that I could have stopped you, but had missed something obvious and had, therefore, contributed to James' and Lily's deaths."

Sirius nodded, his face reflecting his sadness and hurt. "If I could go back in time, there would be so many things I would do differently. Trusting you would have been the first change I would have made."

"You know the old saying, 'Hindsight is 20/20'," Kate said quietly. "If you had it all to do again, with no knowledge of the consequences of your choice and with no more information than you had back then, can you honestly say your choices would be different?"

When Sirius was silent, Kate continued, with a sad smile, "You can't, you see. And you shouldn't. It's what saved your sanity in Azkaban; what brought your friends back to you once you'd escaped and were able to tell them the truth. Your choice in switching with Peter was pure you. You believed with all your heart that you were doing what was necessary to keep James, Lily and Harry safe. Once we heard it from you, we knew it was the truth."

"But in the time before my escape…"

"I thought you to be the traitor, while I found more than a little betrayal in my own heart as well," Kate replied. "You'll remember that I said that despite my anger, my bitterness – that I loved you. I loved you through it all. That was true."

Sirius nodded and squeezed her hands more tightly. "But you didn't want to love me then," he said to her. "When Jarvis suggested that you'd returned to London, fully aware of my escape, found me, became involved with me again and had become pregnant with my child, you denied it all by saying that only a Dark Witch would want to bear my child. You said that you would never carry a child of mine 'in this lifetime'."

Kate leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. "Based on the only memories I had at the time, yes. Remember that Albus planted a memory of another relationship that resulted in my pregnancy. That, coupled with the feelings from the time before your escape, would certainly have led me to that statement. But my memories have been restored and those false ones removed."

Sirius watched her face as she spoke. "And now?" His voice was barely a whisper.

Kate returned his gaze. "Now, I would have your child without question, without hesitation. I love you, Sirius. I love you more than I ever thought it possible to love another person. I want to put the past behind us – once and for all. Now that we've finally dealt with all that happened after your arrest – and recognizing that we'll still have issues to work out – I don't want to be away from you ever again. I want a life with you – despite the fact that we haven't yet caught Pettigrew. Despite the fact that your name hasn't yet been cleared. None of that matters to us, Sirius. None of it. We've already been through more than most people experience in their lives and we're still here. We've forgiven each other for the poor choices made and pain inflicted in times past. We're still together. We still love each other, yes?"

Sirius nodded, raising a hand to brush the back of his fingers over her cheek then her ear then to rest his palm against the back of her neck. "I love you so much, Katie. I want you for all my life – as short or as long as it may be. I want children with you. No more questions of forgiveness. Just…just us. Yes?" He gently pulled her toward him and Kate moved willingly until they were nose to nose. She reached up and wound her arms around his neck and tilted her head to capture his lips with hers. They kissed softly, gently, tenderly for some minutes and Sirius felt the fear and pain of the day begin to fade.

"Make love to me," Kate murmured against his lips. Sirius caught his breath at her words, kissing her once more before pulling back from her embrace and rising, pulling Kate upward with him. He wound his fingers through hers and, smiling, led her to his bedroom – now theirs – and closed the door behind them.