SPLITAPARTS: lessons in love ✔️

Dreamboat Annie - Part One

Christmas Eve - 1979

The trip home was bittersweet for Cassie as she sat between her parents on the large plane. She would doze often and wake up when a loud noise such as a child crying, or the clatter of the metal drink cabinet as it passed by, occurred. Landing in Boston, they were ushered through customs and Cassie wondered how her ruck was going to make it through. Prior to their departure however, Ann had cast a silent spell to make most of the contents of the ruck oblivious to the X-ray machine and prying eyes. Unbeknownst to Cassie, Sirius had placed a very large stuffed black dog and had placed Padfoot's collar around the neck of the large cuddly toy, along with his leash. When she saw it, she asked the customs agent for the toy and hugged it tightly when he unceremoniously gave it to her. She inhaled deeply and could smell Sirius' scent. She wondered how he managed to put it in there when she wasn't looking.

The next leg of the trip landed them in Allentown and from there, they drove the ninety minutes home without incident. She learned that the bothers were staying at Elizabeth's house and they had no idea that their "Sissy" would be joining them. The plan was to have Cassie crawl into a large box and they would unwrap it Christmas Eve afternoon and she would pop out of the box, surprising them. It was her father's idea and Cassie thought it was brilliant. They ate a light supper of fast food take out and went to bed, all three exhausted but in good spirits.

Cassie woke up in her own bed and was happy to do so, but then she become conscious of the fact that she was missing Padfoot as she had been clutching the large stuffed dog in her sleep. She woke up fingering the soft leather of Padfoot's collar in one hand and clutching the toy tightly with the other.

Once she learned that Snuffles was actually Sirius in his animagus form, the ruse of James coming around to collect or drop off the dog ended abruptly. She realized that Sirius transformed into the dog when he was overly anxious and this often happened around bedtime. She didn't mind; the dog's thoughts and feelings were far more simple, nothing like the complex young man she was falling in love with...he was worried about everything under the sun and was prone to outbursts of fury at the drop of a hat. She also realized that the bond between them had grown stronger simply due to the extra time spent together as James and Lily's Best man and Maid of Honor. Remus had been included in the wedding party but did not nearly have the responsibilities that the splitaparts had.

She heard a knock at the door and Theo turned the doorknob and peeked in. "Awake, Missy?"

"Yeah, kind of."

He had entered the room and placed a hot cup of coffee on her nightstand while noticing that she had not unpacked as he sat on the edge of her bed. He nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess you slept on the flight okay then?"

"No, not really--the ocean," she said, wrinkling her nose. "I just dozed really. You were there, you ought to know."

"Oh yeah, well I was crashed almost the whole way," he said.

"Lucky you," she said and sneered, causing him to laugh.

"Your mom's downstairs making breakfast and she's starting a roast beast for tomorrow. She has it in her head that she wants to smoke it."

Cassie yawned. "I know you do that with pork, but with beef? Is it gonna be any good?"

Theo chuckled. "Well, if your mother has a say, I would think so. She's got both the smoker and the grill fired up."

Cassie nodded and yawned. She reached for her cup of coffee, but it was just beyond her reach and Theo handed it to her. "Thanks, Daddy."

"Missing Sirius?"

She looked down at the collar and moved to place it on my nightstand table. "Yeah, I guess so, but I miss Remus too. And Lily. And James."