The Everlasting Day

14

In the end, we remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

While Buckbeak had no problems being fed or petted by Lupin, the hippogriff appeared to draw a firm line under being actually ridden by him. After several attempts to win Beaky around, Sirius had eventually conceded defeat. Lupin had found the whole episode highly amusing, much to Sirius' annoyance, but as he had pointed out to him after Beaky had flapped his huge wings and clawed at Sirius for the last time, broomsticks were less likely to object to his condition and throw him off in the middle of the Pennines.

'You haven't ridden a damn broomstick in almost twenty years, Remus,' Sirius said irritably, still shooting angry glares at Buckbeak. 'You'll break your bloody neck.'

'Oh, I'll be all right. I wasn't looking forward to sitting that close to you for hours anyway,' Lupin said, watching his friend with a look of restrained amusement as Sirius struggled to keep hold of Buckbeak's chain.

Sirius's anger fractured as a resigned smile finally broke through. He threw his head back and let out a bark-like laugh, slapping Buckbeak's back and throwing the chain down in defeat.

'Ah...bugger it....I give up...I sometimes think I'd be better off with a cat or a toad.'

'But they don't fly, Sirius,' Lupin replied dryly, 'and they are far too normal for you.'

Sirius glanced over his shoulder at him. 'And you're an authority on what's normal, aren't you, Remus?'

'More than you are, my friend,' Lupin smiled as he dragged his trunk and Comet 260 outside and locked his door with a barrier charm. He enchanted the trunk to weigh as much as a feather and tied it onto his broom before pulling on his travelling cloak. 'Right then, I'm ready if you are.'

Sirius hauled himself up onto Buckbeak's back and wrapped his hands firmly around the chain-reins as Beaky reared up and flapped his huge wings, still intent on making Sirius know that he didn't appreciate being compared to a toad.

'All right, all right! Whoa, Beaky!'

Lupin laughed as he kicked off from the ground, looped up around the garden and then touched back down.

'Mmm...seems to me that you're the one who should be worried about falling off, Sirius,' he quipped just as Buckbeak finally began to settle down. 'Are you sure you wouldn't rather borrow a broom?'

'Right then...' Sirius grinned, rising to the challenge as Lupin took off again. 'You're not going to let that old twig get the better of you, are you, Beaky?'

Buckbeak squawked loudly and shot up into the air, rapidly gaining on Lupin's Comet as they flew through the cloud cover, beyond the rain, levelling off when the sky finally became blue and the sun began to shine again. Sirius drew up beside Lupin, grinning as he watched him trying to cast a drying charm over himself after being thoroughly soaked coming through the clouds.

'Might have been quicker getting off the ground with that bloody old stick,' Sirius laughed, 'but you didn't have the foresight to use a water repelling charm, did you?'

Lupin shoved his wand back into the folds of his robes and screwed up his eyes against the drying effects of the air rushing by them. 'You could be gracious in defeat, you know, Sirius.'

They travelled northwards steadily as the day wore on, not daring to dip below the clouds again until they were only two miles away from Hogwarts castle, according to Lupin's compass, which not only told them in which direction they were travelling, but also the time, the date, the weather they were likely to encounter on the journey and the remaining distance to their destination.

Although it remained cloudy, the rain held off as they eventually landed just outside the main castle gate not far from Hagrid's hut.

'Hello there, Sirius!' Hagrid said warmly, emerging from between the trees at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a bunch of dead rabbits clutched in his hand. 'Didn't 'spect yeh back so soon. And yeh brought Professor Lupin too! Welcome back, Professor.'

'Oh, there's no need for formalities anymore, Hagrid,' Lupin smiled, smoothing his long, thin fingers through his hair as he dismounted from the broomstick. 'Just Remus will be fine.'

Sirius waited for Buckbeak to open his wing then climbed down, landing on the rain-sodden ground with a soft thump.

'Hey, Hagrid,' he said in greeting, 'it's all right if I leave Beaky with you again for a while?'

''Course it is!' Hagrid grinned, tossing one of the rabbits into the air. Buckbeak caught it effortlessly and began gambolling around Hagrid like a hungry dog, nudging him with his beak and squawking loudly. 'Hey, down there Buckbeak! He dun 'alf get excited after a run, dun'he?'

'And he's had plenty of those for the time being. Better get him into the forest quickly though. Before anyone...'

'Oh, don't yeh worry about us. We'll be fine. I'll take 'im right in,' Hagrid replied. 'Yeh better be headin' up to the castle quick though. Dumbledore's bin expectin' yeh.'

'Yeah, I know. We'll go straight up,' Sirius said, affectionately rubbing Buckbeak's feathery head. 'Now you behave for Hagrid, Beaky, you hear me?'

Buckbeak flicked him in the face with his tail before running off after Hagrid, still nipping at the dead rabbits in his hand.

'Bloody hell...' Sirius muttered, wiping away the grass and mud that Buckbeak had sprayed over his face, 'that hippogriff'll be the death of me.'

Lupin was laughing as he said, 'Locomotor Trunk!', and started walking up towards the gates. 'As I said, Sirius, broomsticks are less trouble, but, generally speaking of course, they won't save your life. I bet Buckbeak regrets saving yours now though.'

'Hey, now watch it, Moony, unless you want another chunk taken out of your shoulder,' Sirius growled again, but he still glanced back down the hillside as they climbed to make sure Hagrid had taken Buckbeak safely into the forest.

Dumbledore was already waiting for them in the Great Hall when Filch finally opened the door.

'Sirius! And Remus, too! An unexpected pleasure,' he said jovially as he came down the staircase towards them.

'I must confess, I hadn't intended to return quite as soon as this, Professor,' Lupin replied, an apologetic smile on his face as he lowered his trunk to the floor, 'but Sirius can be quite persuasive.'

'Oh, not to worry, Remus. You are more than welcome here, you know that. The more, the merrier! Hogwarts is far too quiet during the holidays anyway. I shall have Filch prepare a room for you in the guest quarters. He will take your trunk up for you.'

He nodded to Filch, who had been standing behind them, listening to every word as he picked up Mrs Norris from the floor and tucked her under his arm.

'Yes, sir,' he said begrudgingly, shuffling off towards the dormitories, Lupin's trunk floating after him as though pulled by invisible strings as he mumbled something that sounded decidedly derogatory about being a porter for half-blood animals, but Lupin stoically ignored him. Of all the people he might have been insulted by, Filch was one he cared about the least. Obviously Sirius hadn't heard him, Lupin thought with a sly smile to himself, or else Filch would probably have found himself missing a limb by now.

'Now then,' Dumbledore continued, 'I expect you're hungry after your trip. Why don't you freshen up and then we'll meet back in the Great Hall for dinner in around half an hour?'

'That sounds great to me,' Sirius said gratefully, stretching and kneading his lower back with his knuckles. 'Where's Ariadne? Has she been all right?'

'Oh, quite well, I assure you. I haven't seen a great deal of her or Severus though. They have been very busy, but I gather the potion is nearing completion now.'

'Good...good...' Sirius nodded, hoping that the way he actually felt about those words was not as obvious to everyone else as it seemed to be to him. 'Well, I'll leave her to it and see her at dinner then.'

Dumbledore smiled, inclined his head politely, then headed across to the Great Hall.

'Come on, Sirius,' said Lupin when he caught him eyeing the open doorway that led down to the potions dungeon longingly, 'you can see her later. Let's go and warm up a bit with a Firewhisky first.'

Sirius sighed, wondering what exactly she and Snape had found to talk about for the past few days, but reluctantly followed his friend upstairs.

* * *

In retrospect, Sirius had supposed that perhaps he should have dragged Lupin down to the potions dungeon first so that he and Ariadne could have some time alone to say the things that needed to be said, away from the pressure of politeness required at the dinner table.

He should have realised that Lupin's sudden desire for a Firewhisky had more to do with his reluctance to see Ariadne when the moment had finally arrived than an urgent need for some alcohol in his system.

'Remus,' Ariadne smiled awkwardly as she had sat down at the table for dinner. 'It's...nice...to see you again.'

'You too, Ariadne,' Lupin said, then lowered his gaze to the table as though he could think of absolutely nothing else to say.

A profound and deafening silence descended over the room after these few words as everyone pulled up their chairs and began dishing out potatoes, roast beef, Yorkshire puddings and vegetables. Sirius glanced from Ariadne to Snape to Lupin, wondering if he could make the earth open up and swallow him just by willing it. He had never asked either of them what exactly had been said after he had been locked away in Azkaban, but judging from the leaden cloud that sat over the table, it couldn't have been anything that thirteen years of silence could have mended. Lupin and Ariadne just sat there, looking at anything but each other, both probably wishing that dinner could be over as quickly as possible so that they could go back to hating each other in peace - at opposite ends of the castle, if possible.

Dumbledore reached for the gravy and began pouring it carefully over his dinner. 'The potion is ready then, Severus?' he asked casually as though completely impervious to the tension.

'It is, Headmaster,' Snape replied. 'Ariadne and I have tested it and it seems to work exactly as it should, with no lingering after-effects, even though we had to increase the potency by one third to ensure that the sleep lasts for at least eight hours. We believe that should be more than sufficient for our purposes.'

'Indeed,' Dumbledore nodded appreciatively. 'Excellent. All is in place then. The meeting, I believe, is scheduled for tomorrow night, is it not?'

'It is, sir,' Sirius replied, spooning carrots onto his plate.

'Very good, very good. Then I shall contact the head of the Magical Law Enforcement department tonight to make sure they know that the arrangements have been confirmed. Remus, will you be accompanying Sirius and Ariadne?'

Lupin, who had been sullenly and quietly pushing the vegetables around his plate with no signs of any kind of appetite whatsoever, was started from his reverie and jumped as though someone had just shocked him with an Enervate charm. Anxiously, his gaze darted from Sirius to Ariadne before turning to Dumbledore.

'Er...no, sir.'

'Then why are you here, Lupin?' Snape asked rather coldly. 'You resigned from your post, did you not?'

Lupin shot Snape a vicious glare that was full of the very deepest loathing that Sirius would never have believed him capable of. It flashed in his eyes for a split second before being replaced with his more usual tolerant, forbearing smile.

'Your memory is as sharp as your wit, isn't it, Severus? And your tongue. I never got around to thanking you for your kind words to the Prophet about me, did I?'

'Remus, I don't think that...' Dumbledore started to say, but Ariadne cut him off.

'Leave him alone, Remus. He was only doing what he thought was right. You have to admit that he was probably right. Perhaps teaching wasn't the most advisable profession for you to go into.'

Sirius, Lupin and even Snape himself stopped, forks halfway to their mouths as though they'd all been hit with a Glacius charm. Only Dumbledore carried on eating.

'Ariadne,' Sirius said with an awkward little cough, glancing across at an extremely injured looking Lupin. 'I...er...I think that may have been a little harsh, don't you? Remus has never hurt anyone...you know that. Dumbledore saw fit to give him a chance.'

Ariadne sighed, dropping her fork onto her plate a little harder than was necessary. 'I apologise. I didn't mean that to sound quite the way it did,' she said reluctantly, as though Sirius had extracted the words from her, causing her pain. 'It's just that...you have to see it from the parents point of view...you have to understand that Severus only did what he thought was right. From what I understood of it, you were out of control that night. You were negligent in not taking the Wolfsbane, Remus. You could have killed Harry and the others. You could have killed my brother. He was right to let people know. Teaching is not an appropriate job for you with your condition and I think you know that.'

'Ah,' Lupin nodded, his smile managing to look strained, polite but very hurt at the same time. His already pale skin blanched and his blue-grey eyes seemed to sink further into their sockets. 'I see that some old prejudices are as alive now as they ever were.' He wiped his mouth with his napkin, dropped it next to his plate and stood up. 'Forgive me, Headmaster...Sirius. It seems that I'm not that hungry after all this evening. I have a few things I need to do anyway, so if you will excuse me.'

'Remus, there's no need for you to go,' Sirius said quickly, 'come on now, finish your dinner. You've had nothing to eat all day.'

Lupin held up his hand. 'It's all right,' he said firmly, his eyes widening in warning. 'Sit down, Sirius. It's fine.'

'No, it's not fine, Remus!' he yelled, even as Lupin slipped quietly and unobtrusively away.

'Sirius!' Dumbledore said sharply. Sirius spun to face the Headmaster. 'That is enough! Now is not the...'

'Like hell it is,' Sirius growled, thumping the table, sending glasses of water spilling across the cloth. 'How dare you speak to him like that, Ariadne? I don't know what the hell you two said to each other, but my Merlin, thirteen years is more than enough time to let it go. I have, and I'm the bloody one who had to sit in Azkaban. He was your friend, for God's sake! I expected better from you. I suppose I was wrong to leave you alone with your brother for so long. Didn't take long for the poison to seep in, did it?'

'Now, look, Black,' Snape interrupted, 'you can say what you will to me, but you will speak to Ariadne with more respect...'

'I am not interested in anything that you have to say, Snape. Speak again and it'll be the last bloody thing you ever say,' he spat through clenched teeth, his eyes wide, dark and hate-filled before turning on Ariadne. 'And you...I don't have the words to describe what you've just done. I am so bloody angry with you that I can't even bring myself to look at you. I...I have to get out of here before I say something I might regret.'

He stormed from the room to angry protestations from Dumbledore and Ariadne, but he was too furious to care. He had never expected her, of all people, to be so blinkered and prejudiced as to come out with such bigoted comments about someone who used to be one of her best friends. He didn't understand it. She had accepted his story when he had told her what had happened that night at the Shack, she had even expressed sympathy for Lupin at the time. What had changed?

Only one thing possibly could have, he thought, as he opened the front doors, ran down the steps to the courtyard and transformed into Padfoot.

Snape must have said something to her. He must have. She was far too empathetic and generous a person to have come up with such ideas on her own. She always looked for the best in people, she never had allowed prejudices to cloud her judgements before. Only Snape could have poisoned her so.

Sirius ran as fast as he could around the edge of the lake and out towards the mountains that encircled Hogwarts. He pushed himself, running harder and faster until his paws were sore, his lungs were screaming for air and every muscle ached and protested its punishment, but it was the only way he could vent the anger and frustration he felt without breaking someone's bones. Far better to take it out on himself than to do what he really wanted to do at the moment.

To do exactly what Lucius Malfoy had asked him to.

* * *

'Damn it, he is the most volatile, argumentative, impulsive man I have ever met in my life,' Ariadne said angrily as the door slammed behind Sirius. 'Any time that anyone thinks differently to him, he just...'

'Ariadne, I don't think you should be quite so judgemental about him,' Dumbledore said calmly. 'You cannot expect him to be in control of his feelings all the time. Not after spending so long in isolation. He has always been impulsive, but his anger arises from his devotion to his friend and that is a quite admirable quality to possess. He just has trouble expressing it sometimes, that is all. You cannot expect him to spend twelve years in a cell with Dementors inches from his door and not suffer at least some lasting effects. Overall, he has coped with the experience remarkably well.'

Ariadne sighed in exasperation, covering her face with her hands, gently massaging her temples.

'The Headmaster is right, Ariadne. Of course Black will defend his friend, as you defended me,' said Snape. 'It was thoughtful of you, and I appreciate it, but I would not want you to alienate him on my account.'

Ariadne's hands slid slowly over her face as she turned to her brother. 'Excuse me? I'm not quite sure I heard that properly...it sounded as though you were actually saying something considerate about Sirius for a moment.'

Snape smiled and nodded. 'Something of a foreign concept for me, isn't it? But the truth is that I would be foolish to stand in your way. I know how you feel about him, Ariadne. I cannot deny that there are many aspects of him that give me cause for concern, but it is clear that he thinks a great deal of you, as you do of him. Knowing something of my history as you now do, you can surely understand that, now I have my sister back, I do not want to risk us quarrelling again.'

'No...nor do I, Severus,' she said, taking his hand and squeezing it, 'which is why I said what I did. Remus never showed any loyalty to us. He said some really hateful, hurtful things to me...and the way he talked about Sirius after he was arrested... He wouldn't help him; he just didn't want to know when we both needed his help the most. I was prepared to try and look past all that, but knowing what I know about you now, Severus, I just...oh...' she sighed, stopping to pinch the bridge of her nose. 'I don't think he has the right to question your morals, that's all.'

'I don't believe Remus was doing that, Ariadne,' said Dumbledore. 'Again, he has his reasons for feeling aggrieved. He has suffered greatly too in his turn. Don't judge him too harshly either.'

'What do you mean?' she asked, her brow furrowed with curiosity rather than accusation.

'I'm afraid that morality was not on my priority list when I allowed the fact of Lupin's lycanthropy to leak beyond Hogwarts,' Snape admitted, avoiding her eyes. 'I am not proud of my behaviour. It was motivated by jealousy, anger and frustration caused by Black's escape. You have to understand that I still believed him to be guilty at that time, Ariadne.'

'Oh,' she said flatly, but disappointment in him flashed deep within her eyes. 'Well...in that case...'

'I was wrong. I admit it. I have given my reasons and I am sorry that you are disappointed in me, Ariadne. You understand that there was a certain amount of self-interest in my actions though, don't you? My long held concerns about Black

with regard to his influences on you...'

'He never influenced my decisions, Severus...'

'...and it infuriated me when I thought that he had escaped justice again.'

'All right,' she sighed, massaging her temples again, 'it's all right, Severus. It's done now. It doesn't really matter what the reasons were. But we do have to try and make peace between ourselves here or what we're planning is never going to work.'

'Ah,' said Dumbledore, smiling, 'at last...a constructive, non-inflammatory remark. The conversation is moving forward. Perhaps a good idea would be for you to go upstairs, Ariadne, and speak to Remus before Sirius gets back. It appears that there may be some bridges to rebuild before tomorrow evening.'

'Yes,' Ariadne agreed with a tired smile, 'I suppose so. Will you excuse me, Headmaster?'

Dumbledore nodded. 'Of course.'

'I'll see you later, Severus,' she added, leaning over to kiss his cheek before she stood. He grabbed her arm as she started to move away.

'You won't tell him about Erytheia, will you? Not yet.'

'No, of course not,' she reassured him, 'I won't tell him anything you don't want me to.'

He nodded, satisfied.

Ariadne left Dumbledore and her brother to clean up the remains of dinner and reluctantly headed upstairs. She had no idea where Sirius had gone, but she very much doubted he was still in the castle. Knowing him, he would have transformed and run off to the woods or something; anything, to have avoided seeing her.

She knew that he was angry with her, but she also knew that he would be an entirely different person when he got back after working off his fury and as long as she apologised - particularly if she had apologised to Lupin too - then she had no doubt that Sirius would forgive her. When he understood her reasons.

These were strange days for them all - she wasn't the only one who had been tested.

She knew that Lupin had been placed in the same wing but a few doors down from her and Sirius' rooms. With some trepidation, she headed down the corridor to the large oak door at the end.

'It's not locked!' Lupin called from the inside as she knocked.

'Great...you're in,' Ariadne muttered to herself as her fingers closed around the handle and she went inside.

Lupin was sitting at the writing desk beneath the window. It stood open, revealing the full majesty of the breathtaking views of the lake and mountains beyond Hogwarts. A pile of parchments lay on the desk with a scattering of charcoals and Lupin was busy sketching the panorama. He didn't raise his head from his work, keeping his back to the door. Ariadne quickly scanned the room, her eyes taking in the old, worn books on the bed, the battered case at the foot of the bed and the threadbare cloak hanging from one of the bedposts and instantly felt a very sharp, and very uncomfortable, pang of guilt. How could she ever have thought that Remus would ever have hurt anyone? This gentle, introspective, intelligent soul who had suffered just as much as anyone...

'Hi...er... Remus?'

He spun around in his chair and stared at her. Clearly, he had been expecting Sirius. Or anyone but her.

She smiled to show her intentions were peaceful. 'Hi,' she said again, 'I...er...I think I owe you an apology. And an explanation.'

'Oh...right...' He turned back for just a moment to replace the charcoal that he had been holding and wiped his blackened fingers on his patched, worn trousers. 'Well, then, perhaps you'd better sit down.' Lupin stood up for her to take his seat while he moved to the edge of the bed. 'Would you like something to drink?'

'No, I'm just fine...thank you anyway though.'

Lupin nodded, fidgeting nervously with the edge of his frayed cardigan, his eyes fixed on a space on the carpet between them.

'You can get something though...you know...if you wanted...you didn't have much dinner,' she continued, rambling on, hoping that an easy way into the apology might present itself if she kept talking.

He didn't reply. He just sat there, an infuriatingly patient smile on his face.

'Oh God, I'm sorry, Remus,' she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes as she shook her head, disbelieving of her own behaviour. 'It wasn't the best of starts, was it?'

'No...it wasn't. But I'm used to it, as you can probably imagine.'

'But you shouldn't expect to be treated like that by an old friend. My behaviour was inexcusable and I am sincerely sorry for hurting you, Remus. I really didn't mean to. There is an explanation for my sensitivity and I wish I could give you all the details, but I can't. Suffice it to say that the past twelve years have been very difficult for me with no friends...no family...and now I not only have Sirius back, but I have my brother too. I'm not the only one who's been through tough times, I know that now, and the realisation of that fact where my brother is concerned has led me to be a little defensive over him but that was no excuse for me to say the things I did. I really am sorry, Remus.'

Lupin appeared to be lost beneath Ariadne's apology. He hadn't expected it to be quite so...sincere...particularly after Sirius' outburst - the most colourful parts of which had been audible even from half way up the staircase.

'Well,' he sighed, his eyes flicking up to meet hers, 'that was one of the best apologies I've heard. Thank you; accepted.'

She smiled in relief at the dissipated tension between them. 'Can we start again?'

'Let's. How about, 'How've you been?' That's usually a good place, isn't it?'

'It is, yes,' she laughed, pushing her hair behind her ear, 'I've been just fine, thank you. What about you?'

'Great...you know...six sackings and one resignation to my belt and I'm only thirty-three. That has to be a record, doesn't it? I take it Sirius told you about my glorious year as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher here.'

'He did, yes,' she admitted awkwardly, anxious not to go down that road again lest it cause more arguments between them, 'but there'll be other jobs, Remus.'

'Oh, I don't know,' he chuckled cynically, 'I'm beginning to lose faith in my staying power. But the house is paid for and I have my sketching to keep me busy, so I'm not too worried at the moment. I suppose the clothes and the food will just have to take care of themselves for a while.'

Ariadne nodded. She understood his situation and felt deeply for him, particularly in light of her own reaction to him - and his to her. Uncomfortable guilt prickled at the edges of her consciousness.

'I can't help feeling that things would have been so different between us if I'd tried to understand your point of view back then, Remus,' she sighed. 'I was stubborn and blinkered. I should have realised that you were feeling James and Lily's loss as deeply as I was...not to mention Sirius'...for different reasons, I know, but... We shouldn't have said the things we did to each other. The years would have been so much easier if we had remained friends.'

'Perhaps,' Lupin muttered sadly, 'but there is no point in dwelling in the past now. I think all of us would have preferred things to turn out differently. We're different people now, Ariadne. Products of our experiences. We both did, and said, what we felt was right at the time.'

She nodded dully, feeling tears welling in the back of her throat although she wasn't altogether sure why.

'Anger does strange things to people, doesn't it?'

'Don't worry about it, Ariadne. None of us are immune to it. Whether or not we apologise and genuinely regret it, now that's the important thing.'

'I suppose,' she said, allowing a soft smile to touch her lips.

'Anyway,' Lupin continued brightly, 'all that's gone now. We're here, Sirius is here and we're on speaking terms again. That's what counts. Has Sirius told you why he asked me to come back up here with him?'

'No, I haven't had the chance to speak to him properly yet. I doubt he'll even be prepared to be in the same room with me at the moment.'

'Oh come on, you know Sirius. He's probably run off somewhere in temper. He'll be fine once he's calmed down a bit. He never could stay angry with you for very long.'

'I don't know. You should have seen the look on his face. I think it'll take more than a kiss and a smile to make up for this one.' She stood up and went over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. 'All the same, I appreciate your support. I did miss you, you know.'

'I missed you too,' he smiled warmly, reaching up to cover her hand with his own, then added in a whisper, 'though I wouldn't mention that to Sirius. He's already given me two permanent scars this month, I should hate to have to sustain another.'

Ariadne returned his smile and bent to kiss his cheek. 'I wouldn't worry. Sirius' bark is far worse than his bite. Look, as soon as he gets back, and if he's still speaking to me, why don't you come up to our room and we'll have a few drinks, do a little reminiscing? I think that might do us all some good.'

'I'd really like that, Ariadne,' he said sincerely, lifting her hand from his shoulder to kiss her fingers. 'I'll be here. Just give me a shout whenever you're ready.'

'I will. See you later, Remus.'

He nodded, watching her as she gave him one last smile before leaving him, pulling the door closed quietly after her. She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning up against the wall just before going back into her own room. That wasn't so bad after all, she thought...humble pie wasn't as bitter as she imagined it would be. And it left her feeling much less empty than she had before.