Burned Black

The Days After A (Special) Moon

Sirius never left Remus's side, Minerva always noticed that. No mater how bad the moon ways, or how hurt he was, he never left the boys side. It was a dedication that she rarely ever saw, so it didn't take her long to figure out what had happened the night before.

Sirius had come into the Hospital wing later than normal, but he was there none the less. At first Minerva had thought that he had been doing something in the Forbidden Forest, he hadn't been snuggling with Remus so there was a chance that he had been given an order from Moony.

That thought was quickly cast aside when she noticed that he smelled distinctly like Honeydukes. Again she didn't think much of it, she knew Sirius had an issue with kleptomania, he was probably dealing with that. But then there was the box. That was what had tipped her off as to what he had been doing. What he had been planning.

It had fallen out of his pocket when he had climbed next to Remus, and Minerva had been unable to quell her curiosity. She was the head of Gryphindore for a reason. It would almost have been wrong if she hadn't investigated. She wasn't expecting the beautiful golden ring embedded with a beautiful red garnet. An engagement ring. Of course she made quick work returning it to his pocket.

The next morning she smiled as Sirius woke. It hadn't been a bad moon, no one had been badly injured. Even Remus was in good shape, so they had probably been hunting for the most part.

"Mr. Black, it's good to see you. I was hoping to have a word," Minerva said smiling at the boy. "As representative and soul caregiver of Remus Lupin."

Sirius lost a bit of color as he turned with a nod. "Yes Professor?"

"Well, this may not mean all that much to you Mr. Black, as it is in a since a tradition. However I must say, you have my blessings."

"I'm sorry, what?" Sirius asked, tilting his head. "You..."

"I saw the ring; and yes, you can have his hand in mirage." She responded, smiling happily. "I think it would be good for both of you."

Sirius smiled, pulling Minerva into a hug. It was one of the most genuine smile that she had seen from him, one of the purest. Of course she was going to have to burst his bubble, but that could wait a bit.

After a few minutes she let out a small sigh. "About the candy."

She could feel Sirius tense the way he always did when he was called out. He was never in trouble, he had never really been. But Minerva was still somewhat disappointed, he always made some progress then something bad happened drawing him completely back into his addiction.

"You okay?" Minerva asked, running a hand though his shoulder length hair. "What's going on up here?"

"There is a war coming Professor. I'm scared, I am so scared." He responded, laying against her chest with a small whimper. "I don't want to fight! I don't want to be part of this War and I don't want to fight. I just want to disappear with Remus to his cabin."

"Then disappear. If that is what you and Remus want to disappear, I will be your secret keeper." She smiled softly. "All I ask is that you take care of yourselves."

"Of course." Sirius gave a nod. "I'll talk to Rem about it when he wakes up. He's got a really hidden cottage, I don't think anyone knows about it as it is." He chuckled. "It would be a good place to get away from it all."

"I would expect nothing else. Now I should ask what you were doing last night for all of you to be in such good shape."

"We had a hunt night. I am ever grateful that animagus allows us to kind of eat weird shit. And the potion you gave us." He shrugged. "But even still we did scout a bit, but it was mostly hunting."

"As I expected." Minerva gave a small nod. "Now, it's quite early Mr. Black, you should try to get a bit more slee. We wan speak more after class."

"Thank you Professor. This means a lot." Quickly Sirius snuggled back into his mate drifting back to  sleep.