12) Coffee

Róisín and Sirius get coffee, a surpirse visit from Barty Crouch Sr, and more fluff.

"So, how was it?!" Cynthia asked as she busted into the kitchen the next morning for breakfast. "Where did he take you? What did you talk about?!"

Róisín was sat on a bar stool at the kitchen counter table, munching on a bowl of Cornflakes. She quickly swallowed and gushed, "Oh, my, God - it was fantastic!"

"I see, judging by the fact you're eating breakfast alone, that he didn't stay the night?" Cynthia gave an exaggerated fake pout, and Róisín laughed. Cynthia pulled up a barstool and joined Róisín for breakfast.

"Also..." Róisín blushed, "we kissed!"

Cynthia screamed. "Oh my God! How did that happen?!"

"Well, when we left the restaraunt it was raining-"

"It was raining," Cynthia swooned, resting her chin on the ball of her palm, a dreamy look crossing her face.

"It was raining, and we were stood under the overhang above our front door, and..." Róisín shrugged, with a small blush, "it just sort of happened... he pulled me a little closer to him - his hands were on my waist-" this comment got a delighted squeal from Cynthia "-and he just sort of leaned in and kissed me."

"Oh, that would just melt your heart," Cynthia murmured. "Is he a good kisser?"

"He's Sirius Black, what do you think?" Róisín replied, taking another spoonful of cereal.

"So what else happened?" Cynthia asked, pouring herself a bowl of Cornflakes.

"We walked to the restaraunt - it was a long walk, actually - but it was nice and we just talked the whole way there, and at the restaraunt we both had pizza - gorgeous, artisinal pizza, really authentic just like I wanted - and then took a cab home, and... that was it," Róisín smiled.

"So will you see him again?"

Róisín nodded, "Today, for coffee," she glanced at the clock, "actually, in about five minutes!"

She hurridely got ready in her room, and was coming down the stairs just as Sirius rang the doorbell.

"Hi," she breathed, opening the door. Sirius beamed back at her, looking dapper as ever in a burgundy coat with little fleks of gold.

"Hi," he replied, and pulled her in for a kiss. "Long time, no see," he joked.

"I know, didn't I see you like, last week?" Róisín replied, and he laughed.

"I hope you had a nice time last night," he said, as they began walking down the street towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"I did, thank you," Róisín smiled sweetly back at him. "Where are we off to today?"

"I thought this cute spot near Gringott's on Diagon Alley," Sirius said, linking their arms together, and pulling Róisín in closer to him.

"Lead the way, my dear," Róisín replied, squeezing his arm and thoroughly enjoying the little blush in his cheeks.

"So... what do you think?" Róisín asked hesitantly.

Sirius held the ABBA tribute tickets in his hands, his mouth agape.

"This is perfect!" he exclaimed, almost giddy with excitement. "So this is what you wanted to ask me on Thursday? If I'd come with you to this concert?"

"That's right," Róisín said, taking the tickets back and popping them into her purse, "I just never had a good chance to - that was the day that you looked really stressed out."

"Yeah, that was a stressful day, all right," Sirius replied with a slow nod. Then his face lit up again, and he quickly added, "Oh, I can't wait! I adore ABBA and the last time they were in London was in 1979 and I was still in Auror training at the time and honestly didn't have two pennies to rub together, so I couldn't go."

"Well, I hope this makes up for it," Róisín said, deciding to spare Sirius' feelings and leave out the fact that she had seen ABBA live when they performed in Dublin later that year.

For a few moments, they sat in peaceful silence, sipping their coffees and taking in the atmosphere on Diagon Alley - which, admittedly, wasn't good - even since last time Róisín had visited, a couple more shops had been looted, and there was most definitely a tension in the air around the area. She found the reports of the Death Eater attacks extremely concerning, but knew precious few facts - given her junior position, like her classmates, she was never trusted with cases of real consequence. However, it was definitely a smart move for the British Auror Office to keep their sensitive cases, pertaining to the Wizarding War, to themselves. But curiosity got the better of her...

"What was so stressful for you on Thursday, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked innocently.

For a few moments, Sirius didn't answer - Róisín began to feel she should retract the question, until she realised that Sirius was merely lifting a silencing charm bubble around them with his wand under the table.

"Honestly, it's just case work - I have to keep on the trails of a few suspected Death Eaters, and it's challenging since I went to school with them, so I'm definitely the right person for the job, because I know their habits and movements - but the tracking and tracing element of this job is something I've never enjoyed, to be honest," he replied, occasionally with a furtive glance over his shoulders. "I prefer the field work - you know, being in actual battle - that's where I do my best work, not stuck at a desk, or hiding out behind bins and Invisibility Cloaks and the like to stalk suspects."

"So why don't you do more of the field work?" Róisín asked.

"I'm not senior enough, to be honest with you - I may be good in battle, and I know that I am - but I'm not experienced enough to lead a crew or anything like that - it'll take me years to get there. Just a few more years of case work and desk work, and then hopefully I can lead a division."

"Sometimes I forget that you only graduated the training programme recently," Róisín replied, "you certainly behave as if you have much more experience than you do."

Sirius pondered this for a moment, and hesitantly replied, "I'm, um... Look, I can't say much - there's so much about what I do that's confidential - but I am definitely getting the experience I need, let's say that much."

Róisín frowned in confusion - Sirius was always at the office though, either tutoring or doing case work, or in meetings. He rarely was called out - where was he getting all his practical experience from? She didn't bother asking, knowing that he wouldn't answer.

"That all being said though, there's something happening next week which may help me somewhat - and I also wanted to mention it to you, to make sure that you're in the office," Sirius said, and Róisín's ears pricked up. "The head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement-"

"Bartemius Crouch Sr?" Róisín asked.

"Yes, the same - he will be visiting the Auror Office Friday - next week - at around noon, for a departmental meeting. I didn't say this to the others, but I'm saying it to you - make sure that you're there, and he may be a stern man, but don't be afraid to introduce yourself," Sirius replied.

"Why? Why's he visiting?" Róisín asked.

"Morale is quite low in the Ministry of Magic, apparently - so he's sort of doing the rounds within the department, checking in on every office, including ours, to rally the crowd, so to speak." Sirius leaned in a bit closer, prompting Róisín to do the same. "Between us though, I think he wants the Minister of Magic's job - I think that he sees the light at the end of the tunnel in this war, and he wants to be ahead of the curve when it comes time for the next Minister to be chosen - and he wants to win votes now."

"Quite the political analyst you are," Róisín said with a smirk. "Have you met him before?"

"Twice, yes," Sirius said, "at similar such random visits. He's a stern man, like I say - he punishes Death Eaters ruthlessly, and lots of people fear him for it, but equally as many respect him."

"So... why are you telling me?" Róisín asked.

"He's not a bad person to know, just in general," Sirius said, "I mean - whatever you decide to do afterwards - whether you go for an Auror job here, or back in Dublin, he's a good man to know. Of course, he would be on an interview panel for a job here - so that's another advantage."

Now, as Róisín sat in the stuffy conference room in the Auror Office, packed in with almost all of the entire Auror Office staff, as well as her own classmates, of which there were about 15 - in addition to Crouch's own personnel, which numbered at least 10 people, she wholeheartedly agreed with Sirius' analysis of the motivations for Crouch's visit. Even James and Lily were in the office, which was unusual nowadays, especially for Lily, given that she was eight months pregnant.

Crouch had begun with a lengthy speech about the current status of the war, the state of play between the authorities and Voldemort's Death Eaters, the position of magical creatures on the war, and all sorts of other political matters. Then, he opened the floor to questions - Róisín highly suspected that at least some of the questions had been planted, which Sirius had also expected. Perhaps the most interesting exchange was between Crouch and Mad Eye Moody (who had lately become a champion of sorts of the young Aurors and trainee Aurors in the office).

"What is the Ministry's position on us leaning on the budding young expertise in the room from our current tranche of trainee Aurors?" Moody asked, his usual gruff demeanor having been taken down a notch. "They may have some brilliant insight to bring to the table which, at present, we are not allowed to tap into - however, we must also use up our staff time and resources to train them - but how can we provide them the best training possible if we don't trust them with sensitive information?"

Crouch Sr turned this over in his head for several moments, and slowly nodded. "That's a very insightful comment, Alastor, and I will take it under advisement. Of course, I am also acutely aware of the strain on resources that it takes to train new recruits - and we certainly hope that some of you will consider joining us full time at the end of your training," he said, addressing the students directly. "It is an undeniable fact of war that we need a constant pipeline of new people to be equipped and ready with the best skills possible to ward off evil - and while we have been fighting this war for ten years now, it has only intensified to the current scale in the last short number of years. Our training programme has been running for much longer than this war however, and we are proud to invite students from all around the world - this year, as I understand it, our trainees are from Ireland, is that correct?"

He glanced at one of his aides, who nodded. "Perhaps would one of you like to ask a question?" he asked, scanning Róisín and her classmates. "I'm aware that so far, only the professional Aurors have spoken."

Róisín met Sirius' eyes (he was standing near the door to the conference room, while she was in the front row, at the far end) and he gave her a keen nod, encouraging her to speak up. Several moments of silence passed, with no one from her class indicating interest in engaging in the discussion - so she slowly raised her hand, and Crouch Sr smiled stiffly and said, "Yes, please - your name?"

"Róisín," she replied, shakily, and cleared her throat. She felt the heat rise in her face, with every eye on her. "Sorry. Róisín Rí is my name, sir, and I'm from Derry in Northern Ireland."

"Ah, yes, I'm aware of the Muggle conflict currently happening in that part of Ireland," Crouch Sr replied, "the Minister for Magic was telling me about a recent conversation he had with the Muggle Prime Minister about this very topic - it is a frightful conflict indeed. I don't mean to put words in your mouth, but I imagine that your lived experience of that conflict is what has driven you to be here with us today?"

"Exactly, sir," Róisín said. "I am Muggleborn, so I feel very impacted by it, and... I lost a family member too. And that's what brought me here today - I want to help others."

Crouch Sr nodded, with a compassionate look on his face. "You had a question?"

"Er - yes - sorry... my question was... given the very bad state of things right now, both in our world, and in the Muggle world... what keeps you hopeful for a better future, and what would you say to us young people to help us to also stay hopeful?"

Róisín felt her mouth go completely dry, immediately wishing she hadn't opened her mouth and asked such a cheesy question, or been so forthright about her personal life. She glanced back at Sirius, who gave her a discreet thumbs up. Crouch Sr meanwhile digested her question slowly, nodding once and then twice, and once more, before responding, "When I think of what keeps me hopeful, I think of my loved ones, my family. I have a darling wife and son, who I named after myself, and he is the apple of our eyes. The bonds of friendship, and comradery, and collegiality that you make here will be what will keep you moving forward in the dark days ahead..."

He took her question as an opportunity for a finishing speech, which she expected from a politician, and he ended his sermon to applause from the room. As the Aurors began to file out, and the rest of Róisín's class, some of the more senior Aurors hung back to network more with him. As she was on her way out, Sirius caught her arm and said, "Where do you think you're going? Come on, I'll get you a personal introduction."

She met his eyes, and in them saw both pride for her having spoken up, and also the fact that he wouldn't take no for an answer. She smiled discreetly and said, "Thank you."

For a few moments, they hovered at the back of the small group of senior Aurors wanting a personal word with Crouch Sr - until Moody (who was speaking to him about involving the trainees more) spotted them, and he cut through the crowd and pulled them both up in front of Crouch Sr.

"Bartemius, I believe you know Sirius Black already," Moody said, and Crouch Sr shook Sirius' hand.

"Yes, we met at a previous departmental meeting," Crouch Sr said, "you are the only Black to be in Gryffindor, is that correct?"

"That's right, sir," Sirius said, "it's a point of pride for me."

"You always did like to stand out from the crowd," Crouch Sr replied, with a stiff smile. He looked at Róisín, as if assessing her.

Moody said, "And this, as you just heard, is Róisín - she is actually the best student in our class."

Crouch Sr reached out and shook Róisín's hand firmly, which she returned.

"Firm handshake," he said, "I appreciate that in a person. You seem like the no nonsense type."

"Oh, she is," Moody said, "she sustained a leg injury earlier this year and didn't miss a day of class - she took plenty of extra practical hours with Sirius to make up for it too. She is one of the most dedicated trainee Aurors I've met."

"Is this true?" Crouch Sr asked, and Róisín nodded.

"All true, sir," she said, "it's a privilege to be studying in this department, and I don't take that lightly."

In that moment, one of Crouch Sr's aides quickly approached him and whispered something in his ear, causing his face to harden. He quickly made his apologies, and shook hands with a couple of more Aurors quickly, before being escorted back out of the room as quickly as he had appeared.

Sirius turned to Róisín and said, "Well done! See, that wasn't so bad."

Moody gave her a puzzled look - "Were you nervous about meeting him?"

"Just a bit," Róisín chuckled, "I mean - he's famous even in Ireland."

Moody flashed a puzzled smile, and then glanced at Sirius and asked quietly, nodding his head to Róisín, "Have you, er..."

Sirius just shook his head, and Moody nodded again. What was going on with them? Was there some secret Róisín couldn't be made aware of?

She pushed the strange exchange to the back of her mind, and returned to her desk to continue her case work. Today the office was busier than normal, and she saw some Aurors around that she hadn't seen in a while, like Frank and Alice Longbottom. Alice was also pregnant and also eight months along, and Róisín spotted Alice by the water cooler with Lily, swapping notes and stories about their pregnancies and hopes for both of their babies (Alice was also having a boy).

On the opposite end of the office, she spotted some of her classmates, hanging around and passing a pack of sweets back and forth on their tea break. Ameila was with them, and she was staring resolutely at Sirius' desk, where he sat with his face buried in a file, with a pouty look on her face. Róisín felt suddenly guilty for dating Sirius, knowing how much Amelia had liked him. This led her to wonder how on Earth Amelia would react when she found out about Róisín and Sirius - would she freak out? Would it be a whole drama? Róisín could only hope not, and that Sirius had indeed let Amelia down gently.

The last week at work after they'd started dating had definitely been one of the weirder weeks of her life - on the one hand, they weren't determined to keep their relationship a secret - but on the other hand, they weren't keen for others to find out until they knew where their relationship was actually going. For now, they had both agreed to keep dating, and see where things went, and not put a label on anything too early. This meant stealing glances at each other in meetings, and in the corridor, and resisting the urge to act too familiar around each other. Róisín had indeed forgotten how they used to behave before they began dating and she found it incredibly difficult to hide it from everyone - Sirius probably felt the same, given that she'd caught him staring at her multiple occasions, and each time his face flushed red.

Just the previous night, on Thursday night, Sirius had surprised her with the most romantic gesture she could have imagined. They had planned to have one more practice duelling session before Róisín's exams, just to double cover all potential questions, and had agreed to meet in the big hall to practice. As she had approached the hall, she spotted Lily quickly walking towards her away from the hall - Lily didn't stop to chat, but she beamed at Róisín and gave her a small thumbs up. Confused, Róisín tried to stop Lily but she was pacing quickly away and clearly didn't want to slow down - so Róisín just continued into the hall, slowly opened the door, and then stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth agape.

She spotted Sirius in the middle of the room, standing next to a vinyl player, dressed in his velvet black waistcoat, dark trousers and a white shirt - he looked so handsome, so put together and suddenly Róisín felt quite inadequate dressed in her sportswear. But that was nothing compared to the beauty of the ceiling above her head - it had been transformed into a breathtaking night sky, from the deepest black to purple, pink, and golden constellations, awash with tiny pin picks of bright white stars. Róisín slowly brought a hand up to her face, dropping her head back down to meet Sirius' eyes, and he gave a theatrical bow.

She quickly paced the room to meet him in the middle, and he took her in his arms, wrapping himself tightly around her. When they parted, she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck, and pulled him down for a deep kiss, once, twice, and three times before letting him go, breathless with excitement.

"What... Is even happening?!" she asked, "What - how did you do this?"

"Lily helped me - she was top in our class in Charms and still the best at Charms that I know," Sirius replied, with a wide smile, and a blush in his cheeks. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Róisín breathed, taking another moment to absorb the beautiful charmed sky above them. "Oh, it looks exactly like what I imagine space to look like. This must have taken you hours! Is this why you were hardly at your desk this afternoon?"

Sirius nodded, "I wanted to make sure it was perfect for you, my dear."

"It's so perfect - you're perfect - thank you," she said, pulling him in for another hug. Her eyes then landed on the vinyl player, and she asked, as they parted, "What's with the vinyls?"

Sirius beamed and took a step back to fetch a vinyl - he returned with one of ABBA's collections.

"I thought that it would be nice, as a warm up for the concert this weekend, and also just in general as a surprise, to ask you to join me in a dance to some of ABBA's best slow dances," Sirius replied, and handed Róisín the vinyl to examine the tracklist. Fernando, Thank You for the Music, Chiquitita, Slipping Through My Fingers, Andante Andante... Completely lost for words, she handed the vinyl back to him, and he popped it onto the vinyl player. One or their slow ballads, Gonna Sing You My Love Song, began playing and Sirius pulled Róisín in for a dance, putting his hand on her waist and holding her right arm outstretched. As the song continued, they moved wordlessly around and around each other, once or twice Sirius spinning Róisín around and then twirling her back into his arms. Róisín felt like her stomach flipped around in circles every time he smiled at her, and as the song ended, she pulled him down closer for a kiss, and whispered, "This is the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me."

Sirius just smiled at her, and softly kissed her forehead, and she rested her head on his shoulder. They danced and danced around for the whole record, and when the record ended, Sirius opened up a picnic basket he had tucked behind the vinyl player, and laid out a red and white picnic blanket and took out a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

"To us," he said, pouring both glasses, as Róisín sat down on the blanket, "and to whatever the future may bring us."

That Saturday, Róisín and Sirius went out to the ABBA tribute concert and stayed out late that night, going out for a few drinks at a club after the show was over. When they finally decided it was time to go home, they found that they had ended up in a neighbourhood much closer to Sirius' house than Róisín's, and neither of them trusted themselves to Apparate safely under the influence of alcohol.

"Well, we could... just go back to your place," Róisín suggested. It was getting cold, and she felt a small shiver down her spine. She was dressed for a night of dancing in a crowd, not for a midnight walk. Sirius took his own waistcoat off and shook it out, and it transfigured into a long, warm coat, which he wrapped around Róisín.

"That's probably the best idea," he replied, and took her hand and began leading the way to his house. "Of course, you take the bed - I'll take the couch."

"Are you joking? - I'm not going to evict you from your own bed!" Róisín protested. "I'll take the couch, I'm fine on the couch."

"Seriously, it's a very comfortable bed, it's all yours-"

"Well, whenever I've thought about your bed, I've always pictured it being comfortable," Róisín murmured, with a grin. Sirius' face flushed red and he laughed out loud.

"You've been thinking about my bed that much, have you?" he asked.

"Well, yeah," Róisín giggled, "your bed, you in your bed, me in your bed with you..."

The alcohol had completely lowed her inhibitions, and she adored Sirius' awkwardness, but she couldn't help notice a glint of something else in his eyes - something that told her he'd been having the same thoughts.

"But not tonight, obviously," Róisín said quickly.

"No, no, we're far too drunk for that," Sirius replied, but that glint didn't go away. He broke eye contact quickly, and looked back to the street ahead. "Not far now," he said.

"Do you live alone?" Róisín asked.

"I do now - myself and James and Lily were roommates for a short while, but they moved out when they got married, and now I'm alone. But it's my own house, so thankfully I didn't need to replace them with new roommates," Sirius said. "I'm getting to that point in life when I am sort of done with the whole roommates thing - like, in Hogwarts, they have you sleep in communal dorms - I'm sure it was the same at your school-" Róisín nodded "-and living with James and Lily in London was fine, like they're my best friends, but seeing them get married and now have a baby has definitely made me think that maybe it's time to grow up a bit more, and be independent... Sorry, I'm rambling," he chuckled.

"No, it's fine, I understand - can't say that I don't sometimes feel the same way," Róisín replied. "I love Cynthia like a sister, and we live together in Dublin too - and of course shared a dorm in Bríd too when we were in school together - but when I go back - if I go back - I think I want to live alone too."

They turned a corner, and Sirius stopped in front of a tall, mid terrace house, on an old street which gently curved in the distance.

"This is home," he said, "7 Dewfalls Lane."

"I thought you lived on Grimmauld Place?" Róisín asked.

"That's where I grew up, yes," Sirius replied, "but after Hogwarts, when I moved to London to train as an Auror, my uncle had just passed away and left me a large sum of money, and I bought this place."

The house was small enough, very thin but at least three floors tall. It was a brown brick property, nestled in a row of Muggle houses, each house with a neat but miniature front garden, and Sirius' was no different. A short flight of steps led up to the door, which Sirius opened with an almost comically old fashioned key, and led the way inside.

Róisín had given a great deal of thought to what Sirius' house might look like, and this was fairly accurately what she expected. Inside the door was a thin, narrow corridor, with a staircase leading up to the right, and a parlour or kitchen at the end of the corridor. The walls of his home were light, with a few tapestries from some of his favourite Muggle bands, and lots of photos of him and his friends. First, he led them into the kitchen, to grab them a couple of glasses of water and some painkillers for their inevitable hangovers in the morning. Then, they went upstairs, all the way to the top floor where Sirius' bedroom looked over the back gardens of the other houses in the street. Róisín marvelled at the sheer number of photographs on the corridor walls of Sirius with friends - at parties, at Hogwarts, at their Hogwarts graduation, at their Auror trainee graduation...

"That's Remus," Sirius said, stopping mid-pace and pointing to a photo of himself as a teenager with a tall, lanky, pale-faced boy who smiled softly through the photograph. They were standing below a tree on the grounds of Hogwarts, the castle visible in the background. "And that's Peter," he said, motioning to another photograph, this time a group photo with the entire gang - Sirius, James, Remus, and Lily - with Peter (a shorter, stouter chap with stocky teeth) ducking in to the side of the photo.

"You have so many photos," Róisín said, as Sirius lead them towards his bedroom.

"My friends are my family - my found family," Sirius replied, with a warm smile, admiring the photographs.

His bedroom had fewer photographs - although some were tucked in to the gap between his mirror and the mirror frame hanging on his wardrobe door - and had more tapestries and posters: several Muggle bands and singers Róisín recognised - Queen, ABBA, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, The Beatles, Billy Joel to name a few. His room was much larger than the others in the house which she had peeked into on the way up - it seemed that the entire attic had been converted into a bedroom. With tall, tilted ceilings, a large skylight window in each, and some exposed brickwork and dark wooden beams, she could see why Sirius chose this as his room. His bed stood to the left of the room, against an exposed brick wall, adorned in black and burgundy sheets and pillows. In the corner, she spotted the same vinyl player he had brought to dance with her at the Auror Office, accompanied by a vast collection of LPs. Next to that was his wardrobe, with a small desk next to that. Under the window, and next to the vinyl player, was a dark green double couch, and directly opposite the bed was a fireplace. The floor creaked softly under Sirius' shoes as he crossed the room, placing their water glasses and painkillers down on the desk, before opening up the wardrobe and scanning it.

"I'm afraid that I have nothing that would fit you," he said, "but we could always transfigure a pair of my pyjamas to fit you?"

"That sounds good," Róisín replied. Sirius laid out a pair of his pyjamas for her - grey stripey pants, with a black long-sleeved (very faded) band t-shirt. She crossed the room, picked up the pyjamas, and shook them out to transfigure them into her own size. Sirius took out another pair of pyjamas for himself, and then crossed the room to the door.

"I'll, um... give you some privacy," he said, "let me know when it's ok to come back in."

"Okay," she replied, and Sirius ducked out.

When he returned, a few moments later, he had changed into a loose shirt and shorts, and Róisín had sat herself down on the edge of his bed. Sirius dimmed the lights with a wave of his hand, allowing just for a soft glow from a bedside lamp.

"Are you, um..." he cleared his throat, "are you warm enough? It's not cold up here, is it?"

"There's a bit of a draught," Róisín replied. Sirius grabbed a draught stopper from his wardrobe and placed it at the bottom of the bedroom door, then he waved his wand at the fireplace and a fire burst into life, immediately giving the room a warm glow.

"That better?" he asked, with a smile. He stood at the foot of the bed now, and Róisín stood up to approach him, slowly wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him in for a soft kiss.

"Much better," she replied, and dropped her arms to wrap around his waist, resting her head just below his chin. "I feel so safe wrapped up in your arms like this."

Sirius kissed the top of her head, and replied, "I love having you in my arms. It feels so right."

"It does," Róisín said. She looked up at him, and added, "Thank you for letting me stay here."

"Anytime," Sirius smiled, "now, better off to bed - or we'll really be kicking ourselves."

He parted from her, but Róisín tugged his hand.

"Stay with me," she said, "come on - I feel awful evicting you from your own bed on my account."

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, his eyes softening. "I offered because, well, I didn't want you thinking that I would try anything when we're both still drunk - because, of course, I wouldn't-"

"I know you wouldn't," Róisín smiled, "I trust you. We're adults - I think we can keep our hands of each other and just sleep for one night."