Safer in the Forest (A Sirius Black Fanfic)

Chapter 8: Pyxis

"Yours is the light by which my spirit's born:--you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars." –E.E. Cummings

***

            "Goodnight, Cassiopeia," Sirius whispers before sending her off to her dormitory. Cassie smiles at him before she disappears, glad that she turned his light back on.

            She hasn't even shut the door before Lily and Alice are flocking her with questions and making assumptions.

            "Did you guys make up?"

            "Did you guys make out?"

            "Are you dating now?"

            "Can we go on double dates?"

            Cassie doesn't answer anything until she's situated in comfortable clothes and is hugging one of her many pillows. "The answer is yes to all of those questions." Cassie wonders if the dormitory walls are soundproof because if not, there's going to be complaints from neighbors about squealing.

            "I am so happy!" Lily gushes.

            Cassie's eyes widen. "Wait, double dates?"

            Lily giggles uncontrollably. Alice, apparently, didn't know either, as she's looking at Lily with the same expression as Cassie.

            "James asked me out this evening after dinner. And it wasn't one of those fleeting 'be mine, Lily Evans' things. It was real and sincere. So I said yes."

            "This is the best day of my life," Cassie says. "We are going on so many double dates."

            The next morning, Sirius finds Cassie after breakfast and asks if he can talk to her later.

            "Sirius, you don't have to ask your own girlfriend if you can speak with her," Remus says with a chuckle. He seems relieved that there'll be no more tension between them or James and Lily.

            "I just want to make sure she doesn't have previous engagements; Merlin, Moony, I'm only being polite." Before they enter the room for Transfiguration, he says to her quietly, "Meet me by the forest at six."

            Cassie doesn't know what to expect from Sirius, so as she waits by the forest, she wonders what is so important that he has to tell her in the meadow. Upon arriving, Sirius wraps her in a warm embrace (he loves hugs, absolutely adores them) before leading them to the meadow. Cassie pays more attention to where they're going so that next time she can find her way by herself.

            As they enter their sanctuary of safety, Sirius says, "I think it's time you know how Remus doesn't maul us every month."

            "It's about time," Cassie teases. "Go on; tell me!"

            "It'd be easier to show you. Stay there." Sirius moves behind one of the large trees nearby. Cassie waits, and when Sirius comes back out, it takes her a moment to realize that it's Sirius. A giant black dog has trotted out from behind the same tree Sirius vanished behind. The eyes are what gets her. They're the grey eyes she saw in the forest that night she had detention. Why she didn't recognize them on Sirius as a human, she can't figure out. Sirius disappears again, this time emerging as a human.

            "So," Cassie starts, "you're a dog?"

            "Yeah." He sits down in front of her and pats the spot in front of him. "Story time!" Once Cassie is seated, he launches into his tale about how he, James, and Peter all managed to become unregistered Animagi through extensive research and dangerous experimenting. He tells her that since they're animals, Remus won't attack them; werewolves only attack humans, so they're safe, and they're also big enough to restrain Remus should they need to. He explains why Peter is a rat, so he can reach the knot on the Whomping Willow to freeze it in order for them to get into the passage, and that James being a stag and him being a dog means they have to wait to change until after they arrive at the Shrieking Shack.

            "And you still doubt your wizarding skills," Cassie says once his tale is over. "That's an incredibly loyal thing to do for a friend."

            "He scolds us for wasting our time, but I know he's really grateful. When we found out, you could see it in his eyes; he thought we were going to abandon him, but we did the exact opposite and stuck by his side." Sirius also tells her about the Marauders Map, all of their names and what they mean, and how they came up with the idea.

            "You guys are geniuses!"

            "It's just a lot of brain power working together," Sirius claims. "Anyway, promise me you'll never come near the Shrieking Shack on a full moon. Not to see me, not to give me anything, never, ok? I couldn't bear it if something happened to you under my watch."

            "I'm not an idiot, Sirius, I know not to mess with werewolves and the like."

            "I hope I'm not included in 'the like'."

            Cassie smirks, leaning in to capture his lips with hers.

            "I couldn't stay away if I tried."

***

            After two hours of an engaging conversation about Muggles with Lily, Cassie sits in the common room alone. It's a full moon, so the boys are out. Lily has gone to bed, leaving only Cassie in the common room. Break starts tomorrow, and most people are leaving. The common room is littered with trunks and suitcases.

            A tapping at the window gets Cassie's attention. Glancing up from her Arithmancy book, she sees an owl at the window. Upon closer inspection, she finds out that it is Lily's owl holding tomorrow's Daily Prophet. Her cousin works for it and always sends copies early, especially if there's juicy news.

            Cassie lets the owl in, takes the paper, and lets it fly off again. She unrolls the newspaper and freezes. She stops dead. Because on the cover are two people she thought she'd never see again.

            Her parents.

            And they've been broken out of Azkaban by Lord Voldemort.