Bless the Beasts and the Children - 7. Chapter 7

“Did you have a good summer, Sirius?” Professor Dumbledore was walking around his desk, straightening different things on it. As far as I could see, nothing actually needed straightening. Maybe it’s an old folks’ thing.

“Yes, sir,” I replied automatically. He turned away from his desk long enough to give me a sharp look. I suspected he knew better. Dumbledore knows just about everything. And I knew he was well acquainted with my family.

To know them is to despise them.

Still, I wasn’t about to admit how hellish spending time with them actually was. Some things are just too hard to talk about. I had this fantasy that began soon after my arrival at Hogwarts, back in my first year, that Albus Dumbledore was my father. How I wished that was true. Well, most of the time.

“Help yourself.” He waved to a glass dish in the shape of a salamander which held his favorite candy. I took a few of the lemon drops it contained and put them into my pocket to share with Remus when I was through here. I wondered what he’d want me to scrub out this time. I think I’d set a record, even for myself. Detention on the first day of class. Maybe next year I could come up with something that might get me into trouble at the Welcoming Feast. Maybe I could talk James into another bet? I smiled to myself.

“That was a rather ingenious spell you cast tonight. Think it up yourself?”

Turning my attention back to the present, I nodded.

“A spell such as that could have some practical uses,” he mused aloud, taking a seat on the edge of his desk and regarding me.

Practical uses? I had no idea what he was talking about, and he didn’t seem inclined to explain himself.

“By the way, I talked to your cousin Andromeda recently, she sends her love.”

I couldn’t help but scowl at the mention of Andy’s name, but quickly recovered. I hated that I couldn’t see her except through devious means, but as soon as she married Ted Tonks the family had cast her out. Goddamn snobs. He was a good man, no matter what they thought of his birth. He was a Muggle, so what? He was worth more than any of them.

I missed seeing Andy, and I missed her little baby, my niece Nymphadora. She was utterly adorable. I think she had stolen Remus’ heart too, when Andy secretly brought her to the school so we could see her. That was another reason I loved Andromeda—she knew about me and Remus and she never criticized us, she supported us. If I ever had children—which I considered rather unlikely, considering I was in love with Remus and would never get married to any woman—I had already decided I would allow them to love whoever they wished.

“Send her mine back, if you would,” I said, and Dumbledore nodded.

He continued to regard me with those fathomless eyes of his. I never could tell just what he was thinking. His brows were white caterpillars stretched across his forehead, but I knew from experience that his frown didn’t mean he was angry. Just thinking.

Finally, he stood and sighed as he went around behind his desk and took his seat. “You can go, Sirius,” he said. “I’m sure Remus will be wondering what’s become of you.”

I tried to figure out what he meant by that, but his expression remained bland. Sometimes I think he knows about me and Remus, like Andy, and doesn’t judge us. I wish that was true. But he hadn’t said a word about detention. Surely he hadn’t forgotten?

As if he read my mind, Dumbledore smiled. “I’ll let it pass this time,” he said. “But please try to be on your best behavior if you would, all right, Sirius?”

“Yes, sir!” I responded with alacrity, my good mood suddenly returning. Hot damn, no detention! Someone must have been looking out for me.

I quickly rose, before he had a chance to change his mind, wished him a good evening and exited his office, skipping down the stairs.

I was almost down to the bottom when I spotted a strange-looking figure, and damned if she wasn’t headed in my direction. Damn. Sybill Trelawney. My first impulse was to duck down the nearest hallway to avoid her. Too late. She’d seen me.

I could almost hear Remus in my head. “Be nice to her, Sirius, and quit calling her crazy. She’s not crazy, and it bothers me when you say that.” That made me feel guilty, because some people called him that too. He wasn’t, of course. Remus was brilliant. If his behavior was ever erratic he wasn’t his fault, it was the fault of the wolf inside.

Maybe she’d just walk by me and go on her way. I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders and was just about level with her when she began to speak.

So much for my theory.

Actually, she ran into me first. Not surprising considering those thick glasses she wore. I’m amazed she could ever see where she was going. What would it be like when she got older? Sybill was not ugly or anything, once you got past her myopic stare. She just needed a little … work. She had red frizzy hair that was even unrulier than James and a constant expression of bewilderment. And sometimes she had the oddest habit of saying things. Like she was telling your future or something. Not surprising she loved Divination.

“Sorry, Sir—” she began to apologize, stopping in mid-sentence, as if she’d forgotten what she was going to say.

“It’s okay, Sybill, no harm done,” I managed to mutter and started to push past her. But suddenly one thing hand latched on to me, almost knocking me off my feet, so unexpected was it. Damn, she was doing it again, I could tell.

“Dogs and deer and rats,” she murmured in a spooky voice, her eyes not seeing me, even though they appeared to be focused on me. But I could see her attention was more inward. As her words washed over me, I began to shiver and my eyes widened. To anyone else, those might seem to be nonsense, but to me they made perfect sense. James and Pete would agree.

What the hell?

“Beware of haste,” she continued, “and do not waste, for time is precious, and time is fleeting. And woman’s work shall become man’s.”

What the hell any of that meant was anyone’s guess. Maybe the rest of it was just an accident. Chances were she had no idea about our secret and was just rambling. Nonetheless, I would have to tell Jamie, and see what he made of it.

I was impatient to move on, but I didn’t want to startle her. They say it’s dangerous to wake a sleep-walker. I couldn’t swear she was sleeping, but why take chances? After a moment, she shook her head, and looked at me as if she was unaware I was there. Good. She probably had no idea what she’d said.

“Sirius?” She sounded nervous. Thinking of Remus, I decided to be kind.

“You all right, Sybill? Sorry to run into you like that.”

“You… ran… into me?” Her voice sounded uncertain, so I went with that.

“Um, yeah. You okay? Want me to walk you to Hufflepuff?” Wouldn’t that just earn me extra brownie points with Remus?

“Th-thank you, no.” She cast her eyes shyly to the floor, fidgeting. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine.” With a final nod, she headed on down the hall, and I went on in the opposite direction. I was going to look for Remus, but first I needed to find James, for what I had to say Remus could not hear.