The Last Kiss

Kiss me Goodnight...

~15~

"Severus could do it...hell, he still owes me a favor!" Renae had never planned to ask for a favor in return for finding out about Aleanor's necklace, but now may be the time. If Severus was anything, he was true to his word. Sitting at the table, she began a letter, asking to see him.

~~~*~~~

Renae walked up to the castle, and saw Severus waiting outside the Entrance Hall for her. "Renae."

"Severus," she replied, his copy of Dark Intent: Ancient Draughts to Bewitch the Mind, the Heart and the Soul, under her arm.

He opened the large oak doors for her. "So what is so important that you needed to see me?"

Stepping inside, she smiled and pointed to the old book.

"You have a question?"

Renae followed Severus down the stairs leading to the dungeons. "In a manner of speaking."

Raising an eyebrow, he opened his office door for her. "Either you have a question or you don't. I hope you didn't interrupt my schedule for a trivial inquiry into the contents of such a self-explanatory book."

Renae rolled her eyes as she plopped herself in the black leather chair still occupying his office. Though the leather was worn now, its high back was still comfortable to sit in. Severus walked over, and slowly sat behind his desk, propping his elbows on the mahogany surface as he laced his fingers together.

"Relax, I'm not here to ask some stupid question. I couldn't write to you about this, since it's a... well... it's not exactly what a person should be discussing in open conversation."

His eyes glinted as an amused grin skipped across his pale face. "Go on."

Renae opened to the page she had book marked. Setting the open book on his desk, she spun it around and pushed it towards him. His hands unlaced themselves, and placing one hand on top of it, he slid it closer as he quickly skimmed over the open pages.

"Why am I reading this?" he asked coolly, as he leaned back in his chair.

"Would you be able to make that?" she asked, wondering if he would anticipate her thoughts.

He chuckled. "I thought you weren't going to ask any stupid questions."

She glared at him. "I'll take that as a yes."

Again, he leaned forward, his elbows on the wooden top, his finger intertwined, as he nodded. "Why do you ask?"

She grinned. "Remember when you asked me to find out about Aleanor's necklace?"

Again, one eyebrow rose. Slowly, he lowered his hands to rest on the pages of the book, fingers still entwined. "I take it you are planning on redeeming my favor?"

"As a matter of fact...I am."

With an exaggerated sigh, Severus picked up the book and sat against the back of his chair as he thoroughly read the contents of the pages. Renae's right leg began to thump with nervousness as time past, causing him to stop momentarily to gaze over the book and glare at her until she put her hand on her knee in an effort to stop the appendage. After what seemed an eternity, he set the book back down on the desk.

His lack of a response was deafening. "Well? Can you make that for me?"

"Do you have any idea what you are asking of me?" He pointed to the book. "That particular potion not only is extremely difficult to prepare, but illegal."

"Yes," she began, realizing she would have to pet his ego a bit. "But a potion such as this should be no match for a Potions Master of your skill," she pointed to his arm, now knowing what symbol was inscribed on it, "and as for the legality, I never imagined you to be one to concern yourself with such trivial details." The smirk spreading across her face felt surprisingly good.

A smile appeared on Severus' face. "By Merlin, have I really had that much affect on you?"

"What?"

Grinning, he answered, "You, just now...the proper little Ravenclaw, buttering me up to do your dirty work, a sickening grin on your face...for a moment there you would have made Salazar Slytherin himself, proud of you."

She laughed. "So, will you do it?"

~~~*~~~

Weeks had past and Sirius had only managed to see Renae four times since their second reunion. If he kept going into town, he would draw attention, and if she kept walking to the cave, she would do likewise. It was extremely frustrating; being so close to the one you love, yet so far away. The one thought keeping him from throwing all caution to the wind, was the thought that by capturing Peter and clearing his name, the two of them would be able to finally live the life together that had already been ripped from them once before. This time, he would leave nothing to chance, this time he would make her his wife.

Sitting in the cave, Buckbeak chewing away at the roast Renae had sent for him, Sirius watched as a dark figure soared through the sky outside. At first, he thought nothing of it, until he realized it was heading towards the cave. Quickly he jumped to his feet as one of the Hogwarts owls flew in the cave, bearing a letter for Snuffles. Sirius took the letter, instructing the animal to stay. As he finished reading it, Sirius paced the room, furious.

"Going out into the Forest, at night, with one of Karkaroff's students no less....what is that boy thinking?" He pounded on the cave wall. "I know what he's thinking, he's thinking too much like James and I did at his age. Only difference is WE never had anyone trying to kill us!"

Grabbing a piece of parchment, he began scrawling a letter in return.

Harry- what do you think you are playing at, walking off into the forest with Victor Krum? I want you to swear, by return owl, that you are not going to go walking with anyone else at night. There is somebody highly dangerous at Hogwarts. It is clear to me that they wanted to stop Crouch from seeing Dumbledore and you were probably feet away from them in the dark. You could have been killed.

Your name didn't get into the Goblet of Fire by accident. If someone's trying to attack you, they're on their last chance. Stay close to Ron and Hermione, do not leave Gryffindor Tower after hours, and arm yourself for the third task. Practice Stunning and Disarming. A few hexes wouldn't go amiss either. There's nothing you can do about Crouch. Keep your head down and look after yourself. I'm waiting for your letter giving me your word you won't stray out-of-bounds again.

Sirius

Finishing, he heard Renae walking in. "What are you doing like that? It might not have been me coming in here!"

"Sorry Renae," he responded with more bite than he had intended.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sitting down beside him.

He handed her Harry's letter to read, followed by his. Renae's mouth fell open as she read Harry's account of what happened in the Forest. "What was he thinking?"

"Exactly what I said!"

Handing back the letters, she said, "Well, he better listen to you. He has no idea how dangerous it is right now, and unfortunately, you can't be there to watch over him."

His face fell with those words.

"I, I'm sorry Sirius," Renae apologized. "I shouldn't have said that."

He pulled her in for a hug, smelling her violet scented skin as he did. "It's alright." He gave her a quick kiss, then chuckled. "Did I ever tell you how I love the way you smell like violets?"

"No," she laughed, "so you like violets?"

He grinned. "Only on you."

~~~*~~~

Renae had received the letter from Severus that morning, and she was now walking as fast as her legs would carry her to the Hog's Head to meet him. Upon entering, she noticed he wasn't there yet; for once, she was actually early. Finding an empty table towards the back, she ordered a bottle of rum and waited.

Placing her empty shot glass on the table, Renae looked up to see Severus walk in. He quickly caught her eye and quietly made his way to the table. "I didn't expect you to be here already. I thought you were allergic to being on time."

"Ha ha, Severus, you're so damn funny."

He chuckled, apparently pleased with the reaction he had evoked. "I have it. However, I want to make it clear that this more than satisfies my debt to you. I had to use connections I'd rather not have employed in order to obtain many of the ingredients, not to mention the time I had to put into its production."

Renae smiled and put her hand on his, which sat on the table. "Thank you, Severus, really. It means a lot to me that you'd do this for me." She could tell he was holding back a smile. "You're a true friend, a dear friend."

"Alright, enough of the endearments," he said, a look of faked disgust on his face.

Renae smiled, she knew he really did enjoy hearing that, even though he'd rather die than admit it.

"Here," he slid a rectangular box across the table, along with the book, "Follow the directions perfectly. One mistake, and it will completely wipe whoever's memory you're lifting."

Renae trembled slightly as she took the package and put it into her robes. "Alright, the last thing I need is to end up like that poor Lockhart character."

Severus grabbed her hand as she reached for the book. "You're using it?" he asked, a look of fear flooding over his features.

"Well..."

"Renae, are you out of your mind? You MUST be if you're considering using that! You read what it does, the madness it inflicts, are you bloody insane?"

She motioned him to keep his voice down. "Severus, calm down. I know how to follow directions, and how to be careful."

"You're using it as an escape aren't you? You want to lift your memories of Perdita to free yourself."

The blood in her face was draining, but she couldn't think of a plausible excuse quick enough.

"Renae, life is hell... I lost Aleanor, you lost Perdita, but we still must go on. I looked for refuge in a bottle of Somnus Letum, but you stopped me. I can't let you do this."

"I'm not trying to kill myself here, I'm just lifting my memories of her death so I can live my life without her face haunting my dreams! It's not the same thing!"

Severus' face was stern though his eyes held an unspoken understanding. "It's more similar than you want to admit. You're too wise to truly believe otherwise. Give me the potion," he said, holding out his hand.

"No."

"Renae, give it to me."

"I can't, I'm sorry. I'll use it for something else, okay?" The look on his face was not reassuring. "I swear I won't do it myself, alright? Have I ever broken a promise to you?"

Slowly he withdrew his hand.

~~~*~~~

Locking the door behind her, Renae dropped the package containing the Memory Vessel potion and the book with the instructions for its use on her table. Quickly, she closed all the blinds in her flat, and put up wards. She wasn't taking any chances. On the windowsill sat a small pot of violets. Since the day Sirius had told her about the way he loved how she smelled of violets, she knew what she would use to make the Vessel. Picking the most beautiful blossom, she went back to sit at the table and began following the directions.

Placing the violet in an empty cauldron, she poured the thin, silvery potion over it, the smell of rotting meat filling the room. Oh, dear Merlin! How did Severus survive smelling this for the past few days! Renae struggled to keep from vomiting as she continued in her effort to transform the small violet into a Memory Vessel.

When she finished, she looked over the tiny flower that would now, never wilt. All that was left was to lift their memories, forever storing them in the small blossom. That would require a kiss.

~~~*~~~

Sirius pawed at the door, as he sat waiting. Tomorrow was the third task, and he just couldn't sleep. Every time he laid his head down, he could only think of Harry, and he knew that if he didn't get any rest, he wouldn't be much help if anything happened. After a minute or two, he pawed again, this time with more force. Renae has to be here!

A light turned on inside and Sirius stood on all fours, while Renae made her way to the door. Opening it, she looked down at him and quickly waved him in. As she locked the door behind him, Sirius transformed back into his human form. "I'm sorry to wake you up."

When she turned around, he noticed she didn't look that tired for two in the morning. "It's alright, I wasn't asleep. What's wrong?"

"Tomorrow," he sighed and sat on her bed, "the third task is tomorrow, and I'm worried about Harry."

She nodded. "I had a feeling." With a smile she added, "Wait right there, I have a surprise for you."

As she disappeared in the kitchen, Sirius kicked off his shoes and took off his robes. Before he could sit back down, Renae had returned with a tray bearing a teapot and a cup of tea.

"Tea?"

"Yep."

He grinned. "Is it safe?"

"I make no guarantees. I just bought my first teapot today and tried using it after dinner. But I warn you, I was guessing on the amount, so drink at your own risk."

He laughed and took a precautionary sip. "Hmm, a bit strong, but I can manage. So why were you up?"

Renae set the tray on the nightstand on his side of the bed before climbing under the sheets on her side. "Nightmare."

He drained his cup and finished undressing himself before climbing in beside her. "Nightmare? About what?"

Renae was quiet for a moment, looking down at the sheets as she rubbed them between her fingers. "Did you ever hear about the Death Eater attack on that Quodpot game about nine years ago?"

"No, what happened?"

"Well, I went to the opening Quodpot season game, and while there, a group of Death Eaters, still disgruntled over You-Know-Who's fall, set off an explosion during the match. I was caught in the outer reaches of it. Hundreds died, thousands more were injured." Tears began rolling down her cheeks. "It was horrible. I've never seen so much death before, so much blood."

Sirius pulled her to him, laying her head on his shoulder as he ran a hand through her hair.

"Have you ever had memories you just wanted to escape; to just lock away until you felt you could handle them without going out of your mind?"

"Yes," he continued to run his hand through her hair to comfort her, "I do. Many nights I've woken up, crying from seeing James and Lily in the rubble of their home, reliving the day Peter framed me, or seeing you the day I was sentenced, they all haunt me. It would be nice if there was an escape, wouldn't it?"

****

Renae hadn't expected quite an answer as that from Sirius, but it was exactly the encouragement she needed. Slowly she pulled away from him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to show you something." She reached over to the nightstand on her side of the bed. For the past week, she had waited for the opportunity to fill the Vessel, and now her chance had come. Opening the drawer of the nightstand, she pulled out a small wooden box, beautifully carved on the outside. Renae had found the box the day before while visiting Diagon Alley.

"Sirius, I got you something." A pang of guilt shot through her as she lied, in a way, to him, and you lied to Severus! Well, not entirely, you AREN'T using it...alone.

Opening the small box, she handed it to him. He looked at the tiny violet, before pulling it out. "A violet?"

"Yes, a violet. One that will never wilt, like my love for you."

Sirius smiled and handed her back the box. "Here, set it over there for me. The tray's taking up all the room over here."

As she took it, Sirius leaned over to pour himself another cup of tea. Quickly, she pulled the violet out of the box, and concealed it in her hand. I've got to get him to kiss this with me! It's the only way to fill it!

Sirius emptied his cup and leaned back in the bed. Renae nestled in beside him, crossing her still closed hand over his chest. "Sirius," she whispered, looking up at him, "can I have a goodnight kiss?" she asked, letting a sheepish grin cross her face.

He nodded and leaned forward, quickly, she slid the flower between them just in time for them to feel the petals against their lips instead of each other.

It was like having a whirlpool attach itself to your mouth. A swift suction feeling started at her lips then dug deeper and deeper until it seemed to be tugging at the back of her head. The room spun around her as a flash of memories sped past her like a muggle movie. Sirius in her classroom, Severus' office, the Faculty bathroom, Perdita, the Quodpot game, seeing Sirius in his animagus form, getting the potion from Severus, Sirius sitting beside her on the bed.

Suddenly, all went black...