Chapter 44: Safe

Ariadne fell backwards as if coming out of a deep trance. A pair of well-built arms immediately caught her and pulled her over the scarlet-and-gold hung four poster bed to sit down as she recovered. Ariadne briefly registered her skin deepening to its normal color and her hair returning to its customary almost-black-brown before she buried herself in Sirius's chest.

Remus and James cautiously gathered around the bed as well, but giving Ariadne and Sirius somewhat of a berth. Ariadne glanced back at the full-length, freestanding mirror in front of which she had been controlling the body double. The ominous dungeon room with the bloodstained door had disappeared, leaving only a reflection of the interior of the room that had taken shape in response to their needs, with its crackling fire, bed, and two comfortable armchairs.

Though Sirius was still gripping her tightly, Ariadne titled her head back just enough to look into his face. "Sirius, I was terrified. I know I wasn't technically in any physical danger, but that's the most scared I've ever been."

"I know, Morrigan," murmured Sirius, now cupping her face in his hands to look into her eyes. "You were incredibly brave. And you're safe now."

"You did great, Ariadne," chimed in James.

"Impeccable performance," said Remus.

"Were you all able to hear any of the meeting?" she asked, now pulling away to address the others as well.

"We could see, but not hear," answered Remus.

"I suppose I should fill you in before I forget any of the details, then," muttered Ariadne. "There's a lot of information to sift through and decipher."

"We'll collect the memory and re-watch it in a Pensieve," answered Sirius, holding up a tiny vial. "That way, we'll have access to every detail, and you don't have to worry about memorizing it."

Ariadne made a move to get out her wand to extract the memory, but Sirius stopped her. "We can do it later. For now, Ariadne, you deserve to rest," he said.

"Uh, you guys…what about Ariadne's unconscious cousin?" asked James quizzically, pointing to the real-life Clarissa slumped in a corner, dressed in borrowed robes. Sirius gave James a pointed look and said, "Just as you were responsible for getting her here, I'm sure you and Remus are capable of putting her back where she came from." He paused, caressing Ariadne's hair. "And don't forget the memory charm." At the words "memory charm," Ariadne raised her head to offer, or perhaps interject, her assistance, but Sirius said firmly, "We'll take care of it."

For once, Ariadne didn't need to be told twice. She collapsed back into Sirius's arms and he held her while rocking her back and forth her ever so gently.

…

Ariadne woke up on the later side the following morning (late for her, anyway), a quiet and chilly Saturday. She descended to the Common Room still wearing only her nightdress and a light robe, to find it mostly empty other than a fully-dressed Sirius Black waiting expectantly in an armchair.

"Good morning, Morrigan," he said somewhat…brightly? If cool, sarcastic Sirius could ever be described as such.

Ariadne slumped down in the seat across from him. Maintaining the doubling enchantment with such precision, combined with the effects of taking her own strongly brewed Polyjuice Potion, had been a bit draining, and she was glad she had taken the extra hour or two to sleep in.

"Good morning, Black," she said, harboring just the tiniest bit of suspicion at his cheerful demeanor.

"Got some rest last night?" he asked, and it was slightly more than a formal pleasantry—he seemed genuinely invested in her answer. Ariadne suddenly remembered her uncharacteristic vulnerability with him yesterday after her ordeal at the Death Eater meeting. In the dungeons she had felt scared, exposed, intensely anxious—but as soon as she was with Sirius, she felt safe. And even if she had difficulty admitting it to herself, it felt…good, to have someone looking out for her, someone taking care of her, someone tending to her emotional needs. Ariadne had gotten so accustomed to her solitary world, only letting in a select few people, and usually just relying on herself.

"Sickle for your thoughts, Morrigan?" said Sirius, breaking her reverie. She realized she hadn't actually answered his question. "I did sleep well, actually. For once."

"Good." Sirius seemed satisfied. "Because you'll need your energy for today."

"Right," Ariadne said, straightening up in her seat and taking on a more businesslike air. "What do you want to start with? I can extract the memory so we can all view it together. I'm also thinking that we should do some advanced incantatem work just to make sure that my doubling enchantment wasn't traced back to the Room of Requirement. Though I think it's unlikely that Yaxley or anyone in his gang knows about it—"

Sirius held up a hand to stop her. "Not for debriefing or recon work."

Ariadne paused mid-sentence, confused. "So…you want to work on the Transfiguration project?"

Sirius rolled his eyes in exasperation, a move that Ariadne was becoming all too familiar with. "Look, I know you have some kind of genetic predisposition against having fun, but this time, Morrigan, please…just go along with it."

Ariadne promised nothing, merely holding Sirius's gaze, still sitting in her dressing-gown.

"For me?" Sirius added in his slightly gentler, huskier register. The voice that Ariadne heard in her ear in class, or at the masquerade, or in the dungeons brewing a complicated potion, or curled against him in bed. The voice that she couldn't deny made her heart flutter, then thrum pleasantly; that seemed to warm and relax her at the same time, shooting through her bloodstream like a shot of Firewhiskey. Sirius's plan for infiltrating the meeting had gone as seamlessly as could be expected, and he surprisingly seemed to know just what she needed in the aftermath. Maybe, just maybe, Ariadne could trust him this time, too.

"All right, Black. I'm ready. Do your worst."

Sirius's eyes lit up. "On the contrary, Miss Morrigan, I am about to show you the best time you have had during your illustrious career as a Hogwarts student. And even better, it won't be at Hogwarts."

Ariadne raised an eyebrow. "So we're going to Hogsmeade?" She hadn't been keeping track, but it being a designated Hogsmeade visiting weekend would explain the emptiness of the common room.

Sirius actually walked over to the chair in which Ariadne was seated, stepped behind it, and placed his arms on the back so he could lean down and bring his face close to hers for dramatic effect.

"Has being a Marauder still not taught you to think bigger, Morrigan?" Ariadne just shrugged. If not Hogsmeade, she had no idea what Black had in mind for this spontaneous excursion.

"Get dressed, Morrigan. We're going to London."