Tears of the Ages

The rain began again. It fell heavily, easily, with no meaning or intention but the fulfillment of its own natures, which was to fall and fall. It is so simple, so effortless and yet has the power to hurt as many people as it saves. But here--here the rain is everything. It washes away the sins of the past and brings hope to the future. And into each life some rain must fall. There is no telling when it will fall, but it would at one point or another. The rain had not fallen on Silvia's life yet, and she feared it never would. For her sins ran too deep and were buried within her soul. They were a part of her and she them.

Rain, however, was not lost entirely to Silvia Colton; she had a link--a link through Aurelia. They were more opposite then alike, any fool could see that much, but they got on like the best of friends. It was a mystery to them and the world. Aurelia didn't know how Silvia spent her nights, at least the ones she wasn't at home for.

Silvia glanced down at her up rolled sleeve and pulled it snuggly over her left forearm. It was a constant reminder. The Dark Mark. His mark. A Death Eater. What nearly everyone from Slytherin had become. She was one of them. She had been highly recommended by her old friends Bellatrix and Lucius. Narcissa had chosen to support from the side of her husband, but Cissy had never been as wicked as her sister. Silvia was like that, too; the little girl who craved mischief had been given an outlet.

Regrets were always present, but she attributed them to her cousin's influence, yet she couldn't stop seeing Aurelia. Lia was her link--her link to the rain and salvation. A road she would likely never take but needed to have there, just in case.

Rough hands covered her eyes and stopped her musing, turning a somber mood to a brilliant one. "Guess who?" a delicious voice whispered in her ear.

"Santa?" Silvia asked, smirking.

The hands slid to her shoulders and down her arms as the owner left a kiss on her cheek. "I knew you'd get it."

"But aren't you going to ask if I've been naughty or nice?" Silvia had turned in her seat to look up in her supposed Santa's eyes. Her Santa, she mused. The man in front of her could be considered a childhood friend as she'd known him since they were eleven, however, they had been more then friends for quite some time. Most men would either drive Silvia up the wall or out the door, except Evan had something that made her stick around. She hadn't figured out what it was yet either.

"I already know, I was present last night," Evan Rosier looked down on his gray-eyed girl. She was gorgeous as women of her age were, but she had a personality that most people would call frivolous. She had a mischievous side that anyone could see and an innocence that was hidden, but not in the usual sense of the term. It was more a purity from her childhood that had stayed with her, though it had been repressed. It was easily hidden underneath her carefree exterior. Although she lived a loose lifestyle, she only had one man in her life and that was him.

"Maybe we should have a repeat performance, luv," Silvia suggested as she moved to stand up.

Evan smiled, "Have I ever told you I love the way you think."

"Often," Silvia murmured as she leaned in to kiss him. It was then that simultaneously the tattoo on their left forearms turned from crimson to a literally burning black.

"He's got bad timing," Silvia muttered under her breath.

Evan seemed to have heard and grasped her hand, kissing her navy hair before apparating the both of them to the meeting.

- - - - -

Aurelia stepped into the square and surveyed her surroundings. She never felt comfortable in rich neighborhoods or small towns...or kitchens, but that was for an entirely different reason. But this place was quiet and peaceful. The weather had cleared of any sign of the rain last night and the grass that had recently looked a bit famished was now a brilliant shade of green.

The only real problem she had encountered since her return to London had been trying to locate her father's current residence. He had moved back to England after a year in France without a single notice to his daughter. The effort of finding him wasn't much, for her cousin kept in touch. He was the relative who knew anything relevant or irrelevant going on in the Colton household. Even if no one had told him anything, Jonathan would know it.

The path to the front door was adorned with dead flowers on either side. With all the money her father had, Gavin could have hired a gardener or two. The yard in front of the house seemed void of life and it was pitifully barren compared to the others in the square.

As she got closer, she heard a familiar tune playing in a near-by window and began to hum along, for the lyrics had escaped her memory.

The door opened promptly after just two knocks, but the man inside was not her father.

"Sirius? What are you--" she began, but was interrupted before she could ask.

"Come inside. Quickly." It was all he managed to say before gripping her arm and pulling her through the door. Aurelia's foot caught on the doorframe but Sirius grabbed her around the waist to keep her balanced. After he had shut the door and closed all the windows, he beckoned her to follow him down a narrow hallway. Still stricken with shock, she journeyed after him.

The hall led to a small drawing room where Sirius entered. He told her to sit down and wait until he returned. Aurelia tried to ask questions, but he only discarded them. Closing the door silently behind him, he exited the room. Lia stood beside a rather large chifforobe that she assumed hadn't yet been moved to a guestroom.

It was so like Sirius to keep her in the dark until the last possible minute. Apparently, he was doing this in secret. Hence the hushed voices and shut windows.

She looked around the room for a few moments. There was not much to take in. The room was small and inhabited only by a couch, an armchair, a desk and the spare chifforobe. There were no windows to shut in here, but a small oil lamp was sitting on the desk.

The door creaked open once again and Sirius stepped inside.

"All right, I've had it with your little charade, Sirius," said Lia, her voice taking on a perplexed tone. "Now tell me what's going on. Why are you here...and where is my father? How did you know I was coming here? WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

Sirius dropped a piece of paper on the desk and moved closer. "Since we're not wasting any time catching up," he said, grinning. "It's official business."

"Official business? From whom?" She was still aghast at his presence and, not that it had been unpleasant, it was far from expected.

"I'm here to recruit you," he said flatly.

"Recruit me? Into what?" Aurelia asked suspiciously.

"Lia, I thought I told you to sit down," said Sirius.

Aurelia flung her hands up in the air, then placed them on top of her head and started pacing.

She knew what this was. The Order wanted her to join. Well, what good would she be to them? They had all the brains and talent they could ever want. She was nothing special. It was not logical, but something told her they had been keeping eyes on her for some time. Ever since she set out for Italy, perhaps. She knew she had been followed from King's Cross until at least Paris. But, the questions would not leave her mind. Why on earth would they need her? And Black was sent to recruit her--of all the members they had? Didn't he have some place to be? How did he get into the house? Where was her father?

"Mr. Colton is out of town at the moment," Sirius suddenly answered her unspoken question, his eyes following her motions across the room patiently. "And it wasn't too difficult to break and enter. Well, really it was just entering. The back door was open."

He smiled as he saw the astounded expression on Aurelia's face.

"You were muttering," he said.

Lia glanced back at the desk to the crumpled piece of paper that lay beside the lamp. Sirius followed her gaze. "Admission to the Order's headquarters," he explained, exploring her face. "If you were to join."

After a moment of thinking over her position, she still couldn't figure out a sound reason as to why the Order of the Phoenix would need her. It was not as if she had been extraordinary at any subject. She was fair at spells, which came naturally to her, but that was to be expected, being a pure-blood who had lived around them her entire life. Potions and Herbology had not been her specialties, that was certain. Her current occupation did not give her any bonds with dark witches or wizards and a mind for trouble making had not gotten James and Sirius into the Order.

"So tell me, Sirius, and be honest: Why is the Order so eager for my membership?"

Sirius stepped forward a couple of feet to stand in front of her and lifted his hand to her face; he brushed his fingers against her cheek as Aurelia closed her eyes. Abruptly, he drew his hand away and stepped back, her eyes fluttering open.

"Honestly, I have no idea. You don't have any useful ties, no particularly unique talent. You're not even that smart," he added faithlessly. He paused for a second, then looked to the back end of the house. The playful smile he wore was pleasant enough. "But don't worry, Lia. Can't blame yourself for that one. Must be in your blood."

Aurelia snorted. She took one step towards him and mocked a disdainful tone. "What am I good for then?"

Finally, the mischievous grins they had both been hiding were uncovered. Sirius moved forward, grabbing Aurelia's shoulders as he got to her and Aurelia, who had been expecting it, braced herself with feet planted firmly on the floor. They locked lips, closed their eyes and their tongues roamed each other's faintly familiar mouths. Sirius found the zipper of her fleece and as he pulled it down, Lia wrapped her arms around his neck. Opening his partner's jacket, Sirius moved his hands down her curved body. He let them linger around her waist, his fingers tickling her sides, and he could feel her lips form a smile around his own.

After only seconds of this, they were completely unaware of their surroundings. The flame in the oil lamp was flickering, threatening to extinguish itself. The world was spinning slowly around them and Aurelia's knees almost buckled.

Then the world came to an abrupt halt as she tasted blood. Before she realized what she had done, she felt Sirius' hands drop from her waist. Lia opened her eyes and grimaced as she watched Sirius lick his lips, discovering bite marks. He grinned.

"Apparently, I'm not the only animal here," he teased before wrapping his hands around her once more and lowering his head to kiss her neck as if nothing had happened. She cautiously passed her fingers over his back, afraid she might scratch him with her nails. Sirius moved his head up her neck and Lia yelped in pain. As he pulled away from her, she held her hand up to her left ear.

In his defense he stated, "You tasted my blood. I just wondered if yours was any different."

Aurelia scowled, then asked, "And was it?"

"I must admit, yours was a bit sweeter, but lacking in wit."

She pushed a leering Sirius aside and strolled out of the drawing room. Pulling her jacket together, she concealed her smirk impressively.

His footsteps she could hear behind her but did not look back. She stopped as she reached the front door and felt Sirius' breath against her ear. He whispered, "You always were an excellent kisser."

Aurelia spun around on her heels to glare at him. "The last time you snogged me we were in a broom closet at Hogwarts," she reminded him.

"And I will never forget it."

"As I recall," said Lia, stepping several inches forward so their eyelashes touches and she lingered over his lips, "today was something to be added to your Forget-Me-Not Plaque."

"I still haven't gotten an answer," he said, their lips brushing for mere seconds, their breath warming each other's faces.

Lia feinted a kiss and pulled away from him quickly. "Will you be at these meetings?"

A little disappointed, Sirius replied, "Of course I..." and finished with a satisfied grin.

"All right," said Aurelia, turning the knob and sliding soundlessly out the door. "I'll join."