Play the Game ✔️

Jazzman

"You're an animagus," Sirius said in a quiet voice as he donned his shirt after Poppy had wrapped the trunk of his body with several feet of cotton gauze wrapping.

"Yes," Misses Moody said as she looked into his eyes and smiled. Of course, she had overheard the entire conversation regarding secrecy between her daughter and him and she winked her eye. Only then did he relax. "Thank you Mister Black for bringing her here. She would of course worked herself into a frenzy trying to please everyone otherwise! She's always been like this!"

The nurse's assistant, Poppy walked up to them to check on Liesel and asked Misses Moody if she'd like anything from the kitchen and she looked up into her eyes. "Thank you, no. You don't remember me, do you?"

"Of course I do...how could I not!"

"Not one of my finest moments, I must say," she countered as she looked to the floor. 

Eyeing each other, Remus and Sirius fidgeted uncomfortably as they were in such close proximity to overhear everything that was being said between the two women.

"Laurie! You saved my sister's life! Mine too for that matter! A centaurian firing squad is something that I never want to see again..not even in my wildest dreams!"

"I was too terrified to do magic, though!"

"But your voice worked its own magic, now didn't it!"

Misses Moody rolled her eyes. Her gaze fell to the boys as she looked away. "Can either of you two sing?"

Sirius grinned and pointed both index fingers toward Remus and nodded his head.

"Peter has a wonderful voice," Remus offered quietly. He's learning to play the drums and James plays the guitar." He looked up toward Sirius as he grinned, trying to talk him up to his Godmother, and winked his eye, "Sirius here plays a mean saxophone..."

"And Remus plays the piano like Mozart! He'll make you cry, he's so good!"

"Mozart was mad," Remus said under his breath and Misses Moody chuckled.

"Who are Peter and James?"

They're in our crew," Remus replied.

She nodded. "Ah yes. The other two boys."

The three discussed music and the boys learned that Liesel played the piano and was able to hold her own on the acoustic guitar. Her voice was that of an angel, her mother had said. Sirius smiled to himself and wondered if it were really a truthful statement or if she was biased?

Soon it became quiet in the hospital wing, except for the quiet snores of a young werewolf and another patient. Sirius fought to keep his eyes open as he watched the girl's breathing. Misses Moody levitated a chair over to her daughter's bedside and sat in it to warm it up for the boy, unbeknownst to him.

In her peripheral vision she saw a man standing in the doorway and she looked up and saw her husband smiling warmly at her and she returned it as her breath caught in her throat. Still, as much as she missed her husband, she returned her gaze toward their daughter and stroked her hair. AJ Moody approached stealthily onward toward the bed after seeing his wife's finger to her lips and her gaze move toward the sleeping boys.

He bent down, lowering his face to hers and kissed her tenderly bringing a loving smile to her lips. He'd lost track of when he'd actually seen his wife in her true form and not that of the wolf-hybrid dog. He licked his lips, tasting her kiss on them and realized that he wanted more of her. Laurel Moody returned her gaze to her daughter. He took her hand in his and lifted her to her feet then tapped Sirius on his shoulder causing the boy to awaken suddenly and from having his head hung for too long, he winced and groaned.

"Sirius, I'm taking my wife to the Three Broomsticks. I've let a room there for the duration. If Bobbie awakens during the night, please tell her where we are and that we will return in the morning?"

"Yes, of course Sir," Sirius replied sleepily. Seeing the empty chair, he turned around and waited until the adults were out of sight then he moved the chair toward the bed so that he could lay his head on the mattress and planted his backside in it then rested his chin on his folded arms.

Mister Moody backtracked to see where the boy was and moved to return onto the ward, but his wife took firm hold of his arm and stopped him abruptly. "Leave him be. I was told that it was he who brought her here with no prompting from anyone else. Bobbie had been here but a short time before he retrieved me."

"Mmmm..."

"Besides, what's he going to do? Crawl into bed with her?"

"I did," he replied stiffly.

"We were of an age."

"Well, she'll be in a few days and I got the impression he's already of age or close to it as well."

"You worry too much, John." She pulled him from the doorway.

"Yes well, if you recall, I was a boy once upon a time, in love with the prettiest girl in school too!"

"Oh yeah? And who was that!"

"As if you didn't know," he replied warmly as he kissed her cheek.

She grinned and eyed someone approaching up the staircase toward them and hoped that he would not make a big fuss at seeing that she was indeed alive and well.