A Change Of Seasons

Over two months had passed since Sirius, Harry and Draco had come to the little town of Coxley in Somerset Country, UK. It was now getting well into November, and Winter had quickly approached. After making another stop into the marketplaces for pullovers and such for the cooler weather, Sirius was becoming apprehensive.

Not that he was going to tell this to the boys, but he was concerned of the fact that their 'hiding' was taking far longer then he'd imagined, and he wasn't sure how much longer they really could continue hiding out like this. Muggle money, though not really in issue yet, was beginning to seriously decrease, things were becoming more dear then he had first thought, and already over a quarter of what he'd brought was gone.

There were other issues as well. Since that night in which Sirius and the boys had seen their pictures on the telly, and even though Harry's new glasses had made him look completely different yet again, Sirius was still on guarded terms, always keeping one eye over his shoulder. It was beginning to take it's toll on him, and he found himself sadly even snapping at the two boys, sometimes without reason.

They're magic studies were becoming overshadowed as well, which concerned Sirius. Now that Harry and Draco had become firm friends with James, Peter and Michael, they found other activities that boys could do to occupy themselves, including certain 'pranks' that even Sirius had to chuckle bout. Worthy of the marauders indeed these 5 boys were, James and Peter truely holding up their 'counterparts' from the wizarding world. However the lack suddenly of patience for their 'magical' studies did worry Sirius, and he was of the mind that the boys were beginning to forget who they really were, which was beginning to make him more then a bit skittish.

Even round the house, Harry and Draco stopped refering to themselves as "Harry and Draco", and only by "Dan and Tom", while Sirius was always "dad" and nothing else. Though he knew it was definitely safer, it almost in a way made him wish this would end, and soon. Not that he minded a'toll being a 'father', infact a part of him secretly was terribly enjoying this all, but Harry and Draco weren't his 'sons', and no amount of wishing could make it so. The fact was, the boys belonged back in the wizarding world, and he feared that part of them was slipping away, even if gradually.

It was that very afternoon after school that Sirius realized he would have to risk contacting Albus in any means possible, for Harry and Draco had come home with some startling news. Atleast, it was startling to him.

"Daaad! Dad you home?" Harry said running in and throwing his bookbag onto the table, headed straight for the refrigerator to grab something to drink, Draco doing likewise.

"I'm right here, what is it?" Sirius said walking out of his room in a hurry. "Dont have more then a small snack, dinner will be ready shortly." he said grabbing up a pot and some stew items.

"Umm, actually dad, we were wondring if...well...that is..." Harry said not quite actually looking at Sirius, but he had a very hesitant tone of voice.

"Wondring what?" Sirius said turning round to face Harry apprehensively.

"What Dan's trying to say dad is that we've been invited to spend the night over at James's house. Peter and Michael will be there too, it's his birthday you see, so his mum said he could do a sleepover if he wanted. So can we go?" Draco said not a'toll afraid to ask apparently.

Sirius only gazed at the boys, unsure of what to reply really. They had never once spent a night away from the house, mainly due to safety reasons, but somehow both the boys felt that since Lucius hadn't made any moves yet, and really there was no way a'toll he could possibly find them at this point, why shouldn't they relax a bit and have some fun. Atleast, that's how Sirius was seeing things through their eyes, and frankly, it bothered him, though he wasn't going to admit that to them.

"Well, I see. I suppose...for one night it couldn't hurt. However, you both realize that you will have to be careful, remember you haven't spent a night apart in months now, and...." Sirius began but was cut off by Harry.

"Yes, yes we know dad, dont worry, we'll be careful! I think for one night Tom and I will be allright anyway, though it it wont be easy." Harry said grinning at Draco, who slightly blushed, but grinned back.

The last two months, the two boys had been inseparable at bedtime, and Sirius would pretty much find them wrapped round each other's bodies come morning, their pyjama's most times on the floor in a pile. He'd come to grow accustomed to it really, after all, he had little to no rights in this area to intercede, and he never would. What the two boys did in their room, was their business now, and he was not only use to it now, but accepted it, along with giving them his blessings in a sense. Now however, they wouldn't be there in the morning to wake up, to cook breakfast for, and do the things they normally would do on a Saturday afternoon.

They wanted to go though, and he knew he really couldn't stop them, so finally releasing a breath he didn't even know he was holding he said, "Allright boys, you can go. What time will you be home tomorrow so I can expect you?"

"Well, James said something bout going down to see that new cinema complex that opened up. I hear it's got a wicked look to it, something like a pyramid or such. The one that opened up down in Glastonbury. Peter's mum let him get his drivers now, so we're going to take her car down there. I heard it's so big that it's even got a lift to get to the separate film areas!" Draco said his brown eyes shining nearly golden at the thought.

Sirius sighed, lost in the fact that he felt like he was losing the boys to the muggle world. Two months ago Draco had barely even known what a 'film' or a 'cinema' was, and now all he wanted to do was go to them. This wasn't the first time this had happened either, the two boys had now been to the cinema a total of five times in the past 2 and some months since their new friends had shown them round town. He didn't blame James, Peter and Michael a'toll for this, they were only doing what normal teenage boys did, or rather, what normal teenage muggle boys did, and he honestly couldn't say they were 'corrupting' Harry and Draco for that.

"Well, when are you leaving then? Who's coming to get you? And I want the phone number to James's parents home, just incase I need to ring you up for anything allright?" Sirius said acting now like a true father would.

"Allready done actually..." Harry said jumping up and removing a piece of paper from his bookbag. "We hoped you would say yes, so we had James write all that down for you." he said a bit sheepishly as he handed Sirius the paper.

"Peter should be here in bout 10 more minutes, so we'll just pop in our room and pack a few things out of the wardrobe, that okay dad?" Draco said nearly grabbing Harry's arm to lead him out of the room.

Sirius just looked at the paper in his hand, there was really nothing else to say. As the boys disappeared down the foyer to their room, for the first time since they had arrived in Coxley months ago, Sirius Black was unsure that what he had done had been right. At the time certainly it was the only viable solution, but he never had imagined for a moment that this would have happened, and he had noone to blame for himself.

Ten minutes later with packed bags and quick goodbyes, Sirius watched as Harry and Draco climbed into a rather new looking car, and waved goodbyes to each other. Peter had promised Sirius that everything would be allright, otherwise he said his own mum would have killed him herself if he even scratched the paint, which gave Sirius a bit of comfort that atleast he knew all five of the boys would try and be as careful as possible.

As the car rounded the bend out of sight, Sirius walked back into the house and sat down at the kitchen table, debating what he was now going to do. Dinner didn't seem to matter any longer, eating by himself suddenly wasn't that appealing since he'd grown to use to eating dinner with the boys. The house felt very empty just then, giving him perhaps too much time to reflect on the events that had led up to now.

He knew Harry and Draco would have a good time at the cinema, and at James's house, that's not what bothered him. What did bother him was that this was giving him the opportunity to think, and nearly half an hour later, his thoughts all boiled down to the fact that somehow, someway, he had to contact Albus and inform him that things were taking a drastic turn, and perhaps not for the best.

Searching his mind for a way to contact Albus, his mind focused on perhaps the only way possible to contact him, and standing up quickly and going into his bedroom, he pulled out one of the 'magical papers' Albus had given him, along with one of the 'magical quills'. It was by pure chance he had remembered the persons address that he was going to send this parchment to, although he'd only been in the neighborhood once, 4 years ago, he remembered seeing the address later, on some papers involving Harry, and it was to this person he now wrote.

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I dont know how to begin, and I know you will be surprized to receive this via muggle post, and I do hope you will forgive me for this, but as I cannot contact our esteemed Headmaster for reasons I'm sure you are fully aware of, I need your help desperately.

If somehow you can arrange to see me during a weekday, in the daytime, I would be most appreciative. There are matters I must discuss with you, and I know you will somehow be able to pass on my concerns to Albus for me since I am unable to do so myself.

You do not need to inform me of when you can come, if you can come that is, I will be here. If you happen to talk to Albus before you do see me, please, pass on this message for me---

Tell Albus...that I've failed James and Lily. I think he'll understand.

With warmest regards,

SB

Making sure that the letter contained his address, he addressed it to her, sealed it, and making sure everything in the house was in order, got into the car and headed to the postal office to post it off. It had been a hard decision to make to contact Arabella, but she was the only person whom he knew that could receive muggle post, and still had contacts with Albus and the Order. If anyone knew what Lucius might be up to these days, it would be her. Satisfied that he had made the right decision, he felt a bit cheerier now, and rather then face the evening alone, decided to take his dinner out of the house, and driving along Glastonbury Road, made it a point to see what would be interesting to eat.

Though his range of cooking was mainly of the British variety, he spotted a small, but quaint looking Italian Restaurant, and decided to give it a go, parking his car in the small lot next to it. As he opened his car door however, and paying no attention a'toll to what he was doing, he accidentally hit something, or rather, someone, who gave out a small gasp in surprize. Sirius looked up equally surprized, and found himself staring into a very wide pair of blue eyes...eyes that he knew he'd seen before.

"Are...are you allright? Terribly sorry if I startled you Ms. Argent, I wasn't paying attention you see." he said apologetically and got out of the car, closing the offending door behind him.

"Yes, thanks, I'm fine. Just a bit surprized is all, wasn't expecting a door in my path exactly." she said regaining her balance. "I suppose I wasn't watching what I was doing either, or I wouldn't have been caught offguard like that."

"Well, glad to see no harm was done then." Sirius said smiling at her hoping to reassure her that he really had been sorry.

"Really Mr. Brandon, I'm quite fine. Thank you for the concern though." she said getting ready to walk away towards the restaurant.

He noticed then that she too was alone, though it was possible that she was meeting someone inside, but he tested the waters anyway. He knew he shouldn't be doing it, but if Harry and Draco could be off galavanting crost the countryside having fun, why shouldn't he? "Perhaps I can make it up to you then, a drink? Unless your date would take offense that is." he said still keeping his smile.

She shook her head, "Can hardly take offense to that, considering I'm not here with one Mr. Brandon." Though not quite smiling, her eyes were definitely shining a bit brighter it seemed.

"Perhaps then, if you wouldn't mind that is, I can extend that drink offer, and perhaps dinner as well? It's too lovely a night for two people such as ourselves Ms. Argent, to be alone I'd say, don't you agree?" Sirius said and offered up his arm to her.

She looked at Sirius for a moment, almost as if in debate, but finally gave in to him, putting her arm through his. "I"m not sure I should, but I shall. And I agree, it is too lovely an evening to waste wallowing in one's own self. The company is appreciated Mr. Black." and with that, she smiled at him, and they headed off towards the entrance to the restaurant.

As Sirius opened the door, he glanced up for a moment, and noticed it was a beautiful moon tonight, in point of fact, it was a full moon, brightening the sky as if in soft daylight, and he suddenly thought of Remus, and the fact that on this night he would be in his animalistic form, most likely at the feet of his lifemate Severus. In that same moment a pang of regret, of jealousy, and homesickness struck him, but as two soft blue eyes looked at him from the doorway, the moment passed, and he resigned himself to one thing. The past was the past, and only now existed. And in the here and now, those eyes were reaching out to him, and perhaps it was something he needed, something to take away the troubles that plagued him.

The door to the restaurant closed shut with a soft click, the moon only a glowing object in the sky, while soft strains of Italian music drifted off on the wind. Inside however, two people, troubled and lonely, needing friendship and companionship, got to know each other, and neither cared whether or not they should or shouldn't, for there was only the here and now, an nothing else mattered.

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2002-03-03 12:11:23 AM