Trapped In Time: Love's Secrets (Adult)

Chapter Twenty Nine

Sirius slept soundly in the small country cottage miles from any nearby town. It was run down and barren but it was the first place he could think to go last night. He needed to get somewhere before the sun rose and it was a huge relief to have the whole ordeal over with. More than anything he was happy to spread out in human form on a real bed. Tonight he would get cleaned up before making the trip home to his family.

Buckbeak was curled at the end of the bed twitching in his hippogriff dreams when the door creaked open. In a flash everyone was on their feet, wands raised, beak snapping.

“Sirius? What are you doing here?” Remus lowered his wand and hung his head. It had been a long carriage ride home and with no one to talk to or distract him he had been reliving his nightmarish morning and sinking deeper into despair.

“Remus! Good friend, oh shut up Buckbeak” he pushed the long feathered neck back down to the bed. “I’m sorry; it was the first place I thought of. I assumed after last night you would be okay with me borrowing your place for a day.”

“Of course” he answered quietly and rubbed his eyes distractedly, dropping his suitcase to the floor and placing the grindylow tank on the counter.

“Needs a bit of fixing up though, in rough shape isn’t it?” Sirius was glancing around, still grinning to himself. The thrill of last night, clearing his name with Harry, evading capture once more; it was like old times and he had one of his best friends back in  his life after so many years. Even knowing it was coming hadn’t prepared him for the joy he now felt.

 “I was going to use my school pay to do that this summer” Remus took a stuttering breath as a tear slipped and slid down his haggard face. “Now… no point.”

“What could you possibly mean? Fixing up property is an investment after all.” Sirius was still glancing around thinking of the things that could be done with the small space. When there was no answer, he finally turned back to his friend and realized something was very wrong.

“Remus? What’s happened?” he stepped closer to reach out and squeeze his friend’s arm. “Come sit down, get off Buckbeak!”

He didn’t know where to start, he didn’t know if he could explain. Instead his head dropped to his hands, elbows anchored on his knees and he broke down. Sirius was only catching bits of information in the outpouring, something about being a werewolf, something about Shannon and resigning? Unable to do much but sit patting his friend’s back, he made up his mind to take him home. The kids and some good home cooking might help, it was better than leaving him here alone.

The knock at the door startled Alissa who called out to Lyla to check who it was.  The letter from Shannon was so long and full of information that she had spent a few days answering it in pieces whenever she could spare a moment. Cory and Aquila still had a week of school left but Danny was more than enough work on his own, even with Lyla’s help. When the weekend arrived and still Sirius didn’t appear at the door, Alissa shifted between worry that something had happened to him on his journey home and frustration that he was taking so long. After she kept him prisoner in bed for a day or two, she was looking forward to a break from the kids. Sirius could take a few days of doing everything, maybe she’d go to a spa retreat or something ha!

Lyla recognized the big black dog immediately and longed to throw her arms around him, she had missed her father dearly but the presence of the tall, thin, rough looking stranger kept her in place. “Hello?” she said, waiting for some kind of explanation and hoping the man wasn’t some ministry official bringing bad news.

“Hello, I’m a friend of your father’s” Remus nodded down at the dog so that she understood he knew who and what he was.

“Oh, um, come in…” Lyla pulled the door open wider as Sirius wagged his tail to signal she was doing the right thing.