First off, I want to apologize for not updating sooner. I think my muse has taken a vacation! This part was painfully difficult to write. I don't think it's my best, but I wanted to get it written and posted before everyone began to think I fell off the face of the earth! <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=
http://www.uniquehardware.co.uk/server- ... /cwm27.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> I have a few days off, so I'm hoping with a little relaxation, my muse will come back to me! Anyhow, here's part twelve ...<br><br>*****<br><br>Part Twelve<br><br>Genevieve clutched her moonstone pendant tightly in her fist as she slept that night and had the strangest of dreams.<br><br>She watched a scene in her sleep – the setting was a bedroom, decorated with infant furnishings – walls covered with paper painted with puffy, white clouds and pastel dragons with polka dots.<br><br>In the nursery, she watched herself sitting in a rocking chair, cradling a small bundle wrapped in a downy blanket and whispering a rhyme in a peaceful voice,<br><br>“Dragon stretch your wings and blow puffs of fire. Then off you go, flying over towns below. Now safely land on tippytoe.” <br><br>She rocked and rocked, humming softly and supporting the tiny child’s form.<br><br>The dragons in the wallpaper seemed to be enchanted – they flew through the clouds, which resembled giant, swollen heaps of cotton candy. The mint green dragon had nearly collided with the pale pink one. And the one the color of orange sherbet was rolling with laughter until he slipped off the edge of a cloud and had to test the theory of whether or not a dragon could really land on tiptoe.<br><br>In her sleep, Genevieve was truly captivated by watching the strange scene in the wallpaper. And seeing herself with her baby made her feel wonderfully content. As she observed more of the dragon antics, the door in the nursery opened. A figure was walking in, but as the dreamer, Genevieve found it difficult to see the person’s face.<br><br>It was a man. She was sure of that. The figure’s stature made her certain. And it was a man the dream-version of herself was pleased to see. The Genevieve in the rocking chair smiled warmly and she heard the baby coo …<br><br>And then she was awake.<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Damn</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, Genevieve thought. <br><br>*****<br><br>Genevieve received a reply back regarding the owl she sent to Sirius the following morning. An owl had delivered his message as she was groggily recalling the odd dream she’d had the night before. He instructed her to meet him the following evening and asked her to bring food.<br><br>So, the next evening, wrapped in a cloak that served the dual purpose of keeping her warm (the temperature had taken a sudden dip) and hiding a food basket, Genevieve slipped out of the castle and hiked out to meet Sirius.<br><br>She huffed and puffed her way up to the cave and paused at the entrance, catching her breath.<br><br>Sirius emerged from the shadows and scolded her.<br><br>“You didn’t walk all this way from Hogwarts, did you?” he asked her, noticing her flushed cheeks and rather disheveled hair.<br><br>“Well…” started Genevieve, guiltily.<br><br>“You could have just apparated once you got to the school gates! That walk’s got to be at least …”<br><br>“I know, I know,” she said. “But I like the autumn air. And once I had made it to the outskirts of Hogsmeade, I thought it would be rather pointless to apparate since I had gotten <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>that far.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Of course, I was reassessing the situation once I actually made it <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>up</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> here.” <br><br>“Well, next time you need to see me, we’re arranging something with Dumbledore. You shouldn’t be coming all this way …”<br><br>“Yes, Dad,” interrupted Genevieve in a sarcastic voice. “Point taken. Lecture over!”<br><br>Sirius gave her another reproachful look, but said no more on the subject. Instead, he turned a keen eye to the basket she had pulled out from under her cloak. <br><br>“So, what did you bring for dinner?” he asked eagerly. “I mean, I’m not exactly living off of rats these days – Dumbledore sends food – but, I don’t exactly have a kitchenette here, either.” He laughed as he gestured to his humble surroundings.<br><br>“Help yourself,” Genevieve said as she offered him the basket. “Eat all you like – I had dinner myself before class earlier this evening.”<br><br>“Are you sure?” asked Sirius as he looked longingly at the basketful of food.<br><br>“Positive,” she replied.<br><br>“So,” he said as he began to munch a bit of bread. “What’s this urgent matter you needed to see me about, eh?”<br><br>Genevieve nervously coiled a strand of hair around her finger as she looked at him. She was suddenly quite anxious about asking him to be her Secret-Keeper. And after she broached the subject to him, she realized why she was.<br><br>He wasn’t angry or upset, but he definitely didn’t receive the request in the manner she’d been hoping for. He objected to her notion that Dumbledore would turn his back on her if she knew about the pregnancy. He told her that there was no way to keep it from him forever – that once she had the baby, the charm would expire and surely the headmaster would want to know where a newborn baby had come from. Genevieve didn’t dispute that particular argument. <br><br>In the end, Sirius gave in – but very reluctantly.<br><br>*****<br><br>After she left (apparating back to the gates of Hogwarts at his strong command), Sirius sat on the cold floor of the cave and shook his head.<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>What have I gotten myself into?</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> he thought.<br><br>He wasn’t sure if he was taking his devotion to her too far with this request. His sense of duty told him it was his obligation to protect her – she was, after all, the love of his best friend’s life. Lupin was gone, so it was Sirius’ responsibility to look after her, especially in her current condition.<br><br>He just wasn’t exactly sure casting a Fidelius Charm was the right way to go. If it had been up to him, he’d have solved matters in another way. The decent, honorable thing to do – in his mind anyway – would have been to marry her. But, Sirius knew it wasn’t up to him to solve matters. Besides, several barriers stood between him and that particular solution. One, being that he was still a wanted man and until his name was cleared, marriage was utterly out of the question. And two, being that he’d never in a million years be able to convince Genevieve to marry him even if he wasn't a fugitive. Honorable as his intentions were, he couldn’t picture her accepting any proposals at the moment.<br><br>He sighed as he opened one of the bottles of butterbeer Genevieve had smuggled to him. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>This is going to be an interesting ride.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br>*****<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Author’s Note:</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> The rhyme Genevieve recites to her baby in the dream is a children’s poem called <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Dragon</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> and was written by Lynn Murray. The wallpaper was inspired by the artwork that illustrates that poem, which was done by Judith Pfeiffer.<br><br> <p><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:DarkOrchid;"><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain." - Arthur Weasley</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:DeepSkyBlue;"><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"D'you think we've got nothing better to do in Potions than listen to Snape?" - Ron to Hermione</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:DarkOrchid;"><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through...." - Fred & George</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:DeepSkyBlue;"><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"Yeah, he's off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant." - George about Harry.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--> <br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:DarkOrchid;"><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - Prof. Dumbledore</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><!--EZCODE BR START--><br /><!--EZCODE BR END--><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="
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