When She Spoke (Marauders Era)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lark felt distorted.

She could barely remember any events of the previous night, but the pain lingered freshly in her memory, and the touch of Sirius Black's lips on her head remained in her heart stubbornly. She wanted to let the pain go so, so badly- to forget about it and just let go of the last twenty-four hours, and she just might, but there was an unshakeable feeling in the back of her mind that if she let the pain slip away, then so would the kiss.

Was the kiss worth the pain? It really wasn't, and Lark knew that, but for the moment, she wanted to pretend that it was, just to have something to believe in.

"Ah, Miss Riddle, I see you're away," Professor Dumbledore smiled over his half-moon spectacles.

Lark groaned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and sitting up, "Where am I?"

"My office," he nodded. "I recommend that you keep still for a minute or so. The memories of last night will return in a few seconds, and you may experience some brief pain, but I promise that it won't hurt nearly as much as you expect it to- calming draughts often have the effect."

She rested her hands on what looked like a baby blue silk comforter and looked around, noticing for the first time that she was on a mattress in the middle of the Headmaster's office. It felt strangely comforting to know that she was awakening to a room filled with books. She loved the way that they smelled, and how they whispered to her with comforting words.

"You gave me a calming draught?"

"Yes- the house elves had to force-feed it to you when you wouldn't stop crying, Miss Riddle. I'm very sorry about that; you may experience some minor bruising around your collarbone. On the bright side, you were ready to sleep in seconds."

Lark waved her hand dismissively, "Thanks, Professor. I understand."

It was only then that the memories from hours ago flooded back into her mind, and she gave a short yelp of pain, feeling the front of her brain pinch in reaction.

"It is quite unpleasant, isn't it?" the older man observed.

"Very," she agreed.

"Breakfast will be here any moment now, and I'll bet that your male complement might be even faster than that."

"My male comple-" she shook her head distractedly. "Ah, Sirius."

"Very much so."

A small, frail elf with ears too big for its head popped into the room, and a knock on the door echoed around the expanse simultaneously. Lark groaned, and the Professor placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly before opening the door.

"Come in, Mr. Black. Please tread carefully."

Stepping into the room with his hands behind his back and- as Lark noticed -tie for the first time tight enough to be acceptable, Sirius walked into the room. She looked down at her shoes and stood to acknowledge his presence respectfully. The dust danced in the light from the stained-glass windows like snowflakes, and she felt a strange sadness knowing that this was the world that she would be lost in, where dust danced more than she did.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I think so. I definitely feel different, but I'm not sure if it's better or just a different, more tolerable sort of pain."

She looked over at the Headmaster for approval, and didn't need words to see the see the music behind his watery blue eyes, clear and deep and sadder than the world that she was beginning to sink into.

"Why don't we discuss these developments over breakfast?"

The house elf who had been waiting patiently on top of his desk with a large collection of silver dishes grinned happily, clambering down to hand them their separate meals with a series of small clangs and clashes. They each dug into their meals, and Lark was pleasantly surprised when she found a side of ketchup with her eggs. Sirius quietly told them about how he'd gone to the kitchens for Andromeda and brought her some herbal tea, chocolate, and fruit salad before she went to bed, also informing them that her baby bump had become much more noticeable over their winter break.