A New Definition of Family
Chapter 12: Second Chances
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of JK Rowling’s characters or any portion of the Harry Potter universe. Any characters, places, situations or whatnot that you don’t find in her fabulous books, well they are mine. I WISH I owned Sirius and Remus, ‘cause then I would take them and…uh, (glances at all the readers looking at me in deep concern), hmmm…scratch that.
Harry sat out on the back porch, morosely staring at nothing in particular. He heard the back door open, then close. Footsteps moved toward him, squeaking the floorboards as they came. He had to smile, in spite of his mood, as he realized who had joined him. “How is Ron doing?” he asked Hermione.
Hermione sat down in the wicker love seat next to him and sighed. After the upsetting encounter with Rinna, Ron and Hermione had dragged a very despondent Harry to the kitchen to talk. Ron had spied a bowl of sweets on the table, and had tried to convince Harry that a few candies would help him feel better. Harry, who at that point felt almost nauseous, had declined. That, of course, did not stop Ron from partaking in the tempting treats. Hermione was trying to be kind and remember that Ron had been just as upset for Harry’s sake, but really, how could he have forgotten the unwritten rule of the Weasley household: never eat anything that might have been left out by Fred and George?
The latest Weasley Twin invention, the Ton-Tongue Toffee, had been a brilliant success. “Well, I think Mrs. Weasley has finally hit on a shrinking charm that will work. His tongue is only hanging down to his belly button now.”
“Poor Ron,” Harry said, trying not to smile at the image her words brought to his mind. “What was he thinking, eating those sweets?”
“Well, to be fair, he was very concerned that you were so upset. That must have distracted him.” Hermione watched as Harry heaved a big sigh. Knowing him, he was now thinking that this, too, was all his fault. She ransacked her mind quickly for something to divert him. “You should have heard Mrs. Weasley muttering all kinds of threats about what would happen to Fred and George when they got home. I’m sure she was doing it to make Ron feel better so he’d calm down.”
“Well, it looks like I’ll be part of another conspiracy to get back at the twins,” Harry said ruefully. “Thanks for checking up on him for me.”
Hermione looked at him knowingly. “You mean, thanks for giving you time to mope out here on your own.” When Harry opened his mouth to deny it, she interrupted, “Come on, Harry. You are no more to blame for this happening than you are for Rinna’s blow-out about Sirius.” At the look on his face she continued, “I know, I know… you wrote that letter. I’m sick of hearing about that miserable letter!”
Harry looked at her sourly. “What are you doing out here, Hermione?” he asked pointedly.
“I’m trying to help you feel better!”
“Well, you’re doing a bang-up job of it so far!” he retorted sarcastically. “You just don’t understand.”
Hermione took a deep breath and huffed her bangs off her forehead. She hadn’t come out here to have a row with Harry. She leaned back and said, “All right. Help me understand.”
Harry was taken off guard. “What?”
“Help me understand. You know, talk to me. Tell me what you are feeling.”
“T-tell you my feelings?” Harry looked completely alarmed, as if Hermione had asked him to tickle a scorpion or something.
“Yes,” she said, barely hanging on to her patience, “that’s what people do when they communicate with each other.”
When did Hermione get to be all touchy-feely, all “let’s talk this out,” all so, so, so…girly? Harry glanced at Hermione, sitting next to him, her face full of concern and her gorgeous brown eyes so troubled at his distress. Actually, to be truthful, over the last week he’d begun to appreciate the more girly aspects of Hermione. She’d grown a little taller, and she’d gotten a bit curvy, and soft looking, and her lips always seemed an inviting shade of pink. And her eyes, warm like melted chocolate and wouldn’t it be nice to fall into warm, melty, chocolaty sweetness…
“Harry!”
Hermione’s voice snapped him out of his reverie, and he hoped desperately that he’d not said any of that out loud. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“Fine, if your eyes are going to glaze over like that every time I ask you to talk to me…” she began irritably.
“No, no,” he said, mind racing, “I, uh, was just trying to think of what to tell you first.”
“Really?” she asked skeptically.
Harry sighed. He was no good at this. “Actually, no. I was just thinking about how pretty your eyes were.” Harry heard Hermione’s surprised intake of breath and froze. Damn! I said that out loud, didn’t I?
Said eyes were gaping at him now, a bit wide and wild. “You were what?” she asked weakly.
Well, he’d put his foot into it; he might as well throw himself in completely. “You have pretty eyes. And I like it when you look at me all concerned like that.”
“Harry,” her voice was faint, “how did we get from talking about your feelings to talking about my eyes?”
“I dunno, but it sure is helping me feel better.” He grinned at her, not knowing how it seemed to make her heart stop for a moment. “Isn’t that what you wanted to accomplish?”
“Yes. I mean, no. Uh, I don’t know,” she said confusedly, desperately trying to gather her scattered wits.
Harry’s grin grew wider. The sight of a completely flustered Hermione was a rare one. He pressed the advantage and boldly took her hand, lacing his fingers between hers and placing them on his thigh. “Well, it’s working,” he said with satisfaction.
As startled as Hermione was, she found she liked the feeling of his warm hand in hers, and she made no move to change the situation. And so they sat, fingers intertwined, shoulders touching, hearts beating madly, the muffled sound of Mrs. Weasley shouting various shrinking charms drifting down from the upper level windows…
Eventually, Harry spoke. “I am feeling badly that Rinna read all those rather uncomplimentary things Sirius wrote. And that they had another row because of it. At least I’m assuming they had a row. She flooed through because he was there, and she was mad as a hornet…” Hermione squeezed his hand to encourage him to continue. “And I’m rather worried for Sirius because of it.”
Harry didn’t see Hermione roll her eyes. “She should learn to control her temper better,” she opined.
Harry shot her a look. He was beginning to think that Hermione didn’t like his godmother very much. She noticed his glance and the baffled expression. “Besides,” she continued sweetly, “Professor Lupin was there. He’d have made sure she didn’t hex Sirius too badly.”
Harry’s glance turned to a look of exasperation. “Thanks. I thought you were trying to make me feel better.”
Hermione gave a mental sigh. Trying to follow Harry’s moods was like riding a roller coaster in the dark; you never knew which way they would turn. Attempting to salvage the romantic moment they’d just had, she shifted in the seat and turned her body to face him more. “Maybe you should look into my eyes again,” she suggested. Harry thought the proposition a brilliant one.
Sirius Black stared moodily into the fire, a scowl on his face. He was unhappily reviewing the events of the afternoon. Things had not gone according to plan. He snorted. Not that you had a plan to begin with, you idiot. You had no idea you would see her again so soon…
He’d been convinced, when Rinna had emerged from the fireplace, eyes flashing and hands on her hips in fury, that Remus had been wrong. This was the girl he remembered; she hadn’t changed at all.
Of course, a phrase like “I came back because of you” should have melted the girl he remembered into a puddle of goo. She had loved romantic talk like that.
Sirius’ scowl deepened as he remembered what this new Rinna’s reaction had been…
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Rinna shot up out of the chair and began pacing restlessly around the room.
“No, Sirius. Do not say that to me,” she said with quiet intensity. “You shouldn’t have come back here. You are the most wanted wizard in England; if they catch you, they will have the Dementors perform the kiss.” She shuddered. “If that happened, and the reason you were here was because of me… it would break me. I would not be able to bear it…” the last part came out a whisper as her face sunk into her hands.
When she composed herself, she looked up into Sirius’ stunned face. “No,” she whispered. “No,” this time louder. “I will NOT accept responsibility for your foolish decision. You are not going to lay that on me.”
Sirius looked at her incredulously. “Rinna, what did you think I would do once I learned you were here: stay away?”
She returned to her agitated pacing. “Yes! I expected you to want to stay as far away from me as possible. I expected that you would never want to see me again. I expected you to hate me for what I did!”
“I did hate you,” he said quietly, bringing her to an abrupt halt. “At least, part of me did. The rest of me spent the last thirteen years thinking about you, about what could have been. I can’t just let go of that.”
She looked at him sadly. “Sirius, I have spent the last thirteen years trying to get over you. I’ve tried to stop thinking about you.” She ran her hands through her hair, tugging at it fretfully. “You can’t just ask me to suddenly change the way I think.”
“Why not?” he countered. “You changed the way you thought about me once before, back at school. You took a chance on us then.”
Her feet began moving again, not so much pacing as just little aimless movements as she wrung her hands nervously. “You don’t know what you are asking of me.” Her words were anxious and laced with trepidation.
She looked for all the world like a rabbit trying to determine if it should freeze, or bolt.
“Tell me,” he pleaded, standing up and reaching for her. But he dropped his arm when she brought her wringing hands up to cross at her breastbone, just under her chin, as if warding her heart.
“You are asking me to feel things again,” she spoke apprehensively, “To feel things for you. I can’t. It will hurt too much.”
She turned away, and strode toward the fireplace. It occurred to Sirius that she was once again running away, and he moved to intercept her, taking her arm and spinning her around to face him. “Rinna, please…”
Her eyes were desolate. “Sirius, let me go. I can’t do this. Not right now. If you open the floodgates, I will be swept away and drowned.” He heard her voice quail. “Please, Sirius. If you even care for me a little, you will let me go.”
He immediately released her arm, but his eyes did not release her gaze. He probed deeply into her eyes, so familiar and green, and so haunted. She was…hurting, frightened…damaged.
She stared at him for a moment, startled and discomfited, before she gave a choking sob, and turned for the fireplace; in a flash of green flame, she was gone.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Sirius was forced to acknowledge that it was naïve to think that so much time could go by and not have changed her. Hell, he had certainly changed. He had never been so introspective; back then if he had spent even two minutes in contemplation he would have considered himself on the level of Socrates. But now, after an eternity in Azkaban where he had nothing to do but think…
Suddenly he was struck by something he’d noticed in the recent encounter with Rinna, one thing that had not changed: the repartee between Rinna and Remus. Sirius felt comfort in finding something familiar, and yet, simultaneously, he felt a vague disquiet as he recalled their interaction. Their banter had been typical of their exchanges back at school: witty, sharp, jibing, clever, acerbic… and flirtatious, his mind whispered harshly.
Sirius closed his eyes and perceived the flickering of the flames through his eyelids. He struggled to think rationally, suppressing the ugly monster of jealously that was trying to rear its menacing head. Remus had told him there was no other man in Rinna’s life now. Surely if there had been something going on between them, Remus wouldn’t have played it off as nothing…
Sirius head snapped up as he heard Remus’ voice from the couch. Neither of them had changed positions since Rinna had left.
“How are you holding up, Padfoot?” Remus sounded full of concern.
“You were right, Moony. She has changed.” He turned around and stalked back to the chair. “You must know her pretty well,” he added pointedly, an edge to his voice.
Remus’ heart began to pound as he felt the anxiety of guilt press down on him. He suspects something! But the rational part of his mind admonished, What are you feeling guilty for? Your relationship with Rinna has simply been a deep friendship, and a small number of snogging sessions the last few weeks… His pulse slowed a bit with this realization, until a traitorous thought slipped in: and an unrequited infatuation for the last twenty-some-odd years… He tamped that last thought down viciously. There was no point in encouraging that line of thinking anymore, even if he knew that squelching such quisling feelings would never negate the fascination he felt for Rinna.
“Of course I know her well, Sirius. All we had left was each other. Her love and friendship has meant more to me than anything; she was my link to the past and she gave me a reason to look forward. I probably know her better than anyone else, except maybe Tonks, although I think I know her better because of all our years of friendship.” Remus put a slight emphasis on the last word.
Sirius frowned. Just because he recognized the truth to what Remus said, didn’t mean he had to like it. In the past, no matter how much Remus and Rinna had carried on, Sirius had known that she would eventually turn to him and flirt with him outrageously, or kiss him, or, even better after they’d left school, go home with him to the tiny bedroom in the flat he had shared with James. Perhaps that was why the way she had interacted with Remus had never incited him to jealousy before.
Remus continued, “I still catch glimpses of the girl we used to know; it’s not that she has changed completely. But I think our Rinna has become overburdened with guilt. She blamed herself for your apparent defection to the Dark Lord, and a mere couple of months of knowing the truth can’t yet negate what she’s told herself for so many years. And, of course, now she feels guilty for ever thinking you could have done what you are accused of.”
Something clicked into place in Sirius’ brain. “She doesn’t expect that I would forgive her…” for breaking our engagement, for shattering my heart, for doubting my loyalty. If he was honest with himself, part of him did not want to forgive her. His anger with her, even hatred, had been such a part of him and a key to his survival… and yet, deep in his heart, he knew he wanted a second chance with her, and he wanted to forgive and forget the pain and regrets.
“No, she doesn’t,” Remus confirmed.
Sirius felt almost panicked, and he sprung from the chair in agitation. “I need to show her she’s wrong. I need to…” He turned to Remus, desperation on his face. “I need her…”
Remus sat in silent contemplation for a few moments. Her heart was never yours, he reminded himself. He got up and walked over to Sirius, clapping his hand on Sirius’ shoulder. “She still loves you, Padfoot. I know it. You heard what she said: she tried to stop thinking about you, but she couldn’t. In all these years, she has not gotten over you.”
There was a flicker of hope in Sirius’ troubled eyes. “Why are you telling me this, Remus?”
Remus sighed, and Sirius was surprised to see a pained expression cross his face. “Sirius, literally overnight, I lost everyone I loved. Rinna was the only one I got back… until now. I love you. I love her. I want to see you both happy.” It was the truth, and Remus was almost able to convince himself that he didn’t feel the little spasm of pain grip his heart when he said it.
Sirius was moved by what his oldest friend had said. Remus had always known how to soothe even his most tumultuous moods… especially back at school, when the fledgling relationship between him and Rinna had caused him much anxiety and insecurity. He gripped Remus’ forearm and asked earnestly, “You don’t think it’s too late? That we have both changed too much for it to work?”
It’s funny, thought Remus, that despite all we have been through, the dynamic between the three of us has stayed the same. “Some things will never change, Sirius, no matter how much time has passed.”
Sitting alone in the darkened living room of her flat that had been recently vacated by a werewolf and an outlaw, Nymphadora Tonks was feeling a bit…meddlesome. It wasn’t often that she felt the need to interfere in her friends’ lives, but when her two dear friends and her favorite cousin were involved, well…that was a different matter entirely.
Remus and Sirius had related what had happened that afternoon a short while before Tonks had arrived home from work with dinner in hand. Yesterday, Tonks had felt sympathy for Rinna; after all, the poor thing had been taken by surprise at Sirius’ arrival at the Weasleys, but today…today, Tonks was feeling a bit frustrated with her former flatmate. Quite a bit frustrated, in fact, and more than a bit concerned.
Apparently, Rinna had provoked a confrontation with Sirius, had heard the man declare that she was the reason he had returned to England (thus answering the forgiveness question in Tonks’ opinion), and then ran like hell. This was not like her at all. And Tonks had a feeling she knew why. So, she was going to meddle. Why is it that matters of the heart are so messy?
A bubble-gum-pink haired head poked into Rinna’s fireplace. It was getting late, but she knew Rinna wouldn’t have left for work yet. “Dunnie? You there?”
Rinna stepped into the living room. “Oh Merlin. Your cousin has sent you here to torment me for being such a jackass, hasn’t he?”
Tonks climbed into the room, pointedly ignoring Rinna’s outburst. “You know, it’s very convenient, having you connected to the floo network now. Why didn’t you do this sooner?” She flicked some soot off her jeans. “And my cousin is no longer at my flat.”
“What? He’s gone?”
Tonks walked into the kitchen, Rinna at her heels, and reached for the teakettle. She continued conversationally, “Sirius and Remus told me of your rather abrupt visit to my flat today. I’m sure I got the abridged version, but I heard enough to gather what had happened…” Rinna groaned and put her face in her hands. “And yes, you were a bit of a jackass. I’ve never known you to lose your cool like that!”
“I haven’t been myself lately,” Rinna said weakly.
Tonks looked at her with a mixture of pity and exasperation. “That’s because you are not being honest with yourself.” She pulled some teabags from the cupboard, accidentally knocking down a tin of crackers. “And you’ve been keeping things from me, haven’t you?”
Rinna was struck by how much Tonks reminded her of Molly Weasley at the moment. “Keeping things?” she asked lamely as she tucked the crackers she had deftly caught back up on the cupboard shelf.
Tonks set the teapot on the table. “I came home with Chinese take away, which the two of them wolfed down.” She looked slyly at Rinna who had sat at the table and was looking rather on edge. “Or should I say they ate doggedly?”
Rinna was startled. “What?”
“Sirius used his dog form to enter and leave my flat. Why didn’t you tell me he was an Animagus?”
“It’s not supposed to be common knowledge, Dorrie. That’s why I kept it from y…”
“Actually,” Tonks interrupted, “I was referring to your relationship with Remus.” She poured the hot water carefully while Rinna paled and gaped at her.
“How… how did you…how did…”
“How did I know about that? Honestly, doesn’t anyone remember that I am a fully trained Auror, skilled in piecing together evidence?” Tonks exclaimed huffily. “I’ve observed the two of you over the years, how you behave around each other, and…I skillfully extracted a confession from your Professor last night,” she ended with satisfaction. A flush of anger began to creep up Rinna’s neck, but Tonks was undeterred. “Is that what is keeping you running away from Sirius? This fling you are having with Remus?”
“It is NOT a fling!” Rinna said hotly. “We just kissed a few times. And it could probably be something more, but Sirius came crashing back into the picture and now I don’t know what to feel…”
“Bollocks!” Tonks fired back sharply. “You know how you feel; you just refuse to be honest with yourself, because if you admit that you are still in love with Sirius, it means you will have to start processing through stuff that you have put off dealing with all these years!”
Rinna looked at her friend with wide eyes, completely staggered.
“Come ON, Rinna! This is the love of your life we are talking about! The man you were going to marry! The man you were willing to give up everything for in order to save him… The man who came back here to see you again, despite how dangerous it is for him. The man who wants a second chance with you…”
“How do you know that’s what he wants?” Rinna whispered.
Tonks threw up her hands in exasperation. “Hello! Auror here, remember? I have taken what Sirius has said to me and Remus, what he’s said to you the past two days, combined it with what you’ve told me about your past, and voila! Deductive reasoning! You should try it sometime.”
Even though she had spent several hours in heated debate between her heart and her brain over these very same things, it was hearing Tonks say everything out loud that finally brought her heart and mind into agreement. Rinna closed her eyes, a single tear making its track down her cheek. “You’re right, Dorrie. I’ve never stopped loving him.” She felt Tonks grab her hand and squeeze it, and looked at her friend. “But what about Remus? I care about him, too. I don’t want to hurt him…”
“Oh, Dunnie. Remus will be fine. He already knows you still love Sirius, you know.” At Rinna’s surprised look, she added, “He told me.” She paused. “I think you two have always had a little crush on each other, haven’t you? All through school, and even now?”
Rinna groaned and leaned forward to smack her forehead on the table. “Can’t I have both of them?” she asked in a small voice.
Tonks let out a snort of laughter. “Well, that would make you a greedy little bint, now wouldn’t it? Or are you into some weird kinky stuff I don’t know about?”
Rinna lifted her head slightly and looked up at Tonks. “Please. I’m messed up enough as it is, don’t you think?”
“What I think is, you need to figure out what you want. That way, the next time you see Sirius Black, you are prepared.” Tonks poured some tea and pushed the cup toward Rinna, accidentally with a little too much force.
Rinna nimbly caught the cup just as it slid off the edge of the table, and, without missing a beat, she poured the contents that had sloshed out into the saucer back into the cup and sipped it.
“Nice save,” Tonks noted.
“Thanks. I’ve had a bit of practice,” Rinna replied with a smirk. Tonks made a face at her. Rinna held her cup up in a salute to her friend before sipping again. “But Dorrie, didn’t you say Sirius left? Where did he go?”
Tonks shrugged. “I don’t know. He told me that you mentioned his name as you flooed the flat,” she paused as Rinna brought her palm to her forehead, “and he didn’t want to put me in a compromising position. Personally, I think he’s overreacting a bit, but I suppose being a little paranoid is what’s kept him from being caught so far.”
Rinna nodded. “Is Remus still at your flat, then?” She was surprised at the twinge of jealousy she felt licking at her heart.
“Oh please! Remus Lupin is too much of a gentleman to ruin the reputation of an unmarried woman by spending the night at her flat.” But Tonks couldn’t resist the dig. “Unless, of course, he is completely squiffy. Then he’d be willing to spend the night in her bed…” She gave Rinna a sly look.
“Stupid, nosy Aurors: never happy till you have every sordid detail. I hate you, did you know?” Rinna glared at her.
“No you don’t, Dunnie,” Tonks countered cheerfully as she stood up to take the teakettle back to the stove. “You love me, and you don’t know what you’d do with out me.”
Rinna stood up as well. “Too bloody right.” The two women embraced. “Merlin, Dorrie, I’m glad I have such a pain-in-the-arse friend like you to keep me grounded.”
Tonks gave her one last squeeze and pulled away. “Are you going to be all right now?”
Rinna cocked her head in thought. “I’m not sure. But I haven’t ended up in the madhouse yet, so that’s a good sign, don’t you think?”
Tonks snorted, and glanced at the clock. “And if we want to keep you out of the poorhouse, you should scamper off to work, I think.”
“Damn!” Rinna gave her a quick continental kiss. “I’ve got to fly, Dorrie. Thanks for the tea, and for the figurative smacking upside the head.”
“That’s what I’m here for, luv.” Tonks turned and made her way to the living room.
Rinna’s head jerked up at the sound of something breaking into tiny pieces. “I can fix that!” she heard Tonks call from the living room. Rinna looked down and shook her head with a sigh as she heard a mumbled “reparo” followed by the whoosh of the fireplace.
The sound of rapping at the window assaulted Rinna’s ears, and with a moan, she dragged herself from the depths of sleep and opened one eye. The clock told her it was 11:00 am. The curtains were closed, but the sound was unmistakable; someone had sent her an owl. Too tired to even grumble, she stumbled to release the window latch. The owl flew in and settled on the dresser, offering its letter to her. She mumbled to the owl to wait for her reply.
My dear Arinna,
I was very pleased to receive your letter and your curriculum vitae. While I remember your excellence at mixing drinks (and that still was the best martini I have had by far), I would agree that your myriad of talents could be put to better use in other venues. I believe I have a proposal that you will find most interesting. I would like to meet with you five days hence, at your home, if that is convenient?
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
PS: You wouldn’t happen to have any more of that Irish beer, now would you?
Rinna was wide awake now. A proposal? Her heart raced in anticipation. What could he have in mind? She quickly dashed off a reply and sent the owl on its way. Then she reread the letter, and sighed. She would have to procure some more Guinness.
She sat in the armchair and explored all the possibilities of what Dumbledore could have in mind, turning his words over and over in her head. At some point she must have drifted off back to sleep, because she found herself waking to another rapping at her window.
Annoyed by the crick in her neck, she opened the window yet again and was perplexed to see a different owl. It flew in and also landed on her dresser. She was startled to see that it had a rose in its mouth, and she took the rose with trembling fingers. It was a “fire and ice” rose, its soft petals white on the outside and deep crimson on the inside. She automatically brought it to her nose as she became lost in a memory...
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The four Marauders sat down at the library table where Rinna was working on her Ancient Runes assignment. She was expecting a group of third years she’d been tutoring, so she was surprised to see them when she looked up. “Need some help with your schoolwork, gentlemen?” she grinned saucily at them.
James smiled easily at her, running his fingers through his hair and pouring on the charm. “No, Dunlevy, blokes as brilliant as us don’t need to trifle with schoolwork.” Rinna snorted, and rolled her eyes at them.
Sirius leaned forward conspiratorially, and spoke in a low voice, “We just want to thank you for getting us out of that tight spot the other night…”
“You lads were cutting it awfully close, don’t you think?” she frowned at them, eyeing Remus. “What if you hadn’t made it to the Shack in time?”
“Well the point is: we did. Thanks to you.” Sirius replied.
“And we were wondering,” added James, with a sly look at Sirius, “hypothetically, of course, if someone wanted to get you something nice, say flowers or candy, you know, as a ‘thank you’ gift, well… what should he get you?”
Rinna leaned back in her chair, shifting her gaze from one to the other. They all managed to radiate a look of innocence. Her eyes narrowed. “Why would I reveal that kind of information to you four, of all people?”
“It is strictly for research purposes,” Sirius assured her, and at her skeptical expression, he added ingenuously, “You don’t think we’d try to use this knowledge against you, do you, Dunlevy?”
Rinna gave another rather unladylike snort. “I can’t imagine why I would ever think that, Black!” she retorted sarcastically, but grinned at him cheekily to take the sting out of her jibe. “Besides, you don’t need to give me a gift for helping you out, you know. I did it because it was the decent thing to do.” She smiled at Remus.
James smacked his hand lightly on the table. “Pay attention, Dunlevy! I said it was a hypothetical situation.”
“Come on, Rinna, you know we will wheedle the information from you eventually; you might as well give it up now,” cajoled Remus. “Or… we could wait here, and obstruct the flow of higher learning…” He cocked his head toward the three third year Ravenclaws who had arrived for their tutoring session.
She arched an eyebrow at Remus. “You are all insufferable gits. I just want that stated for the record.”
“Duly noted,” quipped James, his eyes sparkling playfully. “Now, are you going to comply with our simple request?”
She rolled her eyes again. “Since when has anything to do with you Marauders ever been simple?” She paused to sigh in a long-suffering manner. “All right then. Hypothetically, my favorite candy is dark chocolate, and my favorite flower is the ‘fire and ice’ rose.” At their puzzled expressions she added, “You know, the ones that are white on the outside but red on the inside.”
The boys stood up, having accomplished their mission, and all flashed Rinna what she had labeled “the trademark Marauder smile” before turning to leave. “Wait!” Rinna called before they’d gone far. Four pairs of eyes regarded her with surprise.
Rinna eyed James, a small smirk on her face. “Here’s some more information for your so-called ‘research.’ My friend Lily likes pink roses and milk chocolate with almonds.” James’ face split into a huge grin as he beamed at her like she had just fluttered down from heaven.
As Rinna’s eyes followed them out of the library, Sirius tossed a glance back at her. She raised her eyebrows inquiringly. He winked and his lips quirked his best Lothario smile at her before he sauntered off after his mates. If she was blushing furiously, the third year students waiting patiently for her attention made no comment of it.
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Rinna tapped the rose against her lips and smiled as she recalled that the morning after the next Hogsmeade weekend, she had received by owl post two things: one had been a half-kilogram tin of Honeydukes Finest Dark Chocolates with a small card that read “Hypothetically from your Marauders-- thanks for saving our arses” and the other had been a single “fire and ice” rose, carried in the owl’s beak. No note had accompanied it, but a certain blue-eyed Marauder had watched very intently as she had brought it to her nose…
Rinna continued to smile as a funny feeling that had nothing to do with the need for breakfast tickled at her stomach. She inhaled the scent of the rose again, and a trickle of hope began to wash over her. Maybe you should rethink your belief that second chances are a myth, Rinna girl…her heart whispered.
Author Note: Whew! First of all, I just want to thank all of you who have reviewed my story so far. I just LOVE to hear from you! And I especially appreciate my loyal reviewers who come back again and again to give me feedback. A big sloppy kiss for all of you: MWAP! For some reason, I cannot respond to reviews. Hopefully it will be fixed someday...sigh.
That said, I now issue a review challenge. By the time I posted this chapter at another site, I was up to 88 reviews! (I have 36 here. Yippee! I am tickled pink. Like I said, I love my reviewers.) I’m wondering if you all would like to see if you can bump up my numbers a bit. I know you can do it! And wow, I would be in, like, fan fiction author heaven! So, help a poor girl out and leave a review for chapter 12, or any chapter for that matter, won’t you? Thanks!
A New Definition of Family by RahNee
Chapter Notes: Lots of interaction in this chapter including: Harry and Hermione on the Weasley porch, Tonks smacking some sense into Rinna, Sirius and Remus having a heart to heart, and our favorite Marauders make an appearance (in flashback, of course)!