Sugar & Spice

*Rosie's Point of View

I was asleep in the hospital wing, my head on Black's knee as I dreamed. Startling images flashed through my mind, forgotten as soon as the next one appeared.

Somebody's fingers lightly skimmed over my shoulder and I struggled to pull myself from my deep slumber.

"Tammie," The person said quietly, their voice deep and gruff at the early hour. I replied with some kind of incoherent sound which could have meant anything.

They shook my shoulder again and I bolted upright, suddenly fully awake and finding myself staring into the eyes of Sirius Black.

"You're alive," I stated stupidly and after a surprised second he started laughing, his bark-like laughter echoing off the stone walls of the hospital. "I mean," I tried again, blushing deeply. "Well - you're better is what I meant to say," I clarified feebly.

"Sure," He said, smirking at me. Then he felt his head and winced, his calloused fingers scratching against the soft bandage around his forehead. "Yeah I'm alive, but damn, that was a bad one. Care to tell me what happened?"

"You remember when we went to my house after your mother's party?" He nodded. "And we escaped?" He nodded once more, his piercing grey eyes boring holes through me.

I continued with the tale, my speech becoming faster and more jumbled as the clarity of last night came back to haunt me. "Well, I pulled you into the chimney, right, but there were two of us, so we both got a bit battered. But when I came out into Dumbledore's office you, uh - well you didn't really, um - you know?" I finished, exasperated. I didn't want to be reminded of what I'd felt when I'd seen him lying there, covered in blood and ashes from the hearth. The mere thought of what could have happened...well, I just didn't want to think about it.

He leaned forward and his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Pardon?" He asked politely and I raised my eyebrow at him and took a deep breath.

"Basically, you got yourself wedged in Dumbledore's fireplace and you had this big cut on your head, so Dumbledore carried you to the hospital wing and I went ahead to get Pomfrey ready. Got it? Anything else you need to know?" I snapped. I looked down, trying to get a grip on the tangled emotions that washed over me.

First, there was Black, and how I felt for Black (which I couldn't even figure out myself), and then there was my house, which had all but been demolished. There was also the fact that I was pretty certain I had Death Eaters after me (if not Voldemort himself), which meant that either my Father or my brother had done something to make them angry. I knew one thing: people who made Voldemort angry had a funny tendency of living short lives.

The thought of anything hurting my brother made me feel faint.

Black was still watching me. After a second he looked away, obviously deciding not to ask for now. I was very grateful for that. I stood up.

"I'm just going to go get Pomprey and we can see if we can get you out of here, okay?" Usually, Black would've grinned or made a joke – something – but he didn't this time, just nodded and reached for the glass of water on his bedside table.

Madam Pompfrey obviously thought that Black was fit and healthy enough to leave, so he was discharged. On our silent way back to the common room I remembered that Dumbledore had said he wanted to speak with us.

"Oh! Black, we have to go see Dumbledore. He told me last night but I didn't remember till just now." He sighed, but didn't comment and we redirected our steps to his office.

When we reached the gargoyles I realised we had a problem though. I felt Black glance my way out of the corner of his eye and I avoided his gaze.

"Um...do you know the password?" I asked hopefully and he snorted.

"Great. This is just brilliant Tammie, well done." He said sarcastically, sitting down next to one of the ugly gargoyle's guarding Dumbleore's office. The gargoyle swivelled its head to look at him and after a minute he turned and stared back at it.

"What are you looking at?" He asked irritably, unusually aggressive. The gargoyle to grimace and look away.

I sat down on Black's other side and crossed my arms, thinking.

I hadn't allowed myself to think of the possibilities of what might have happened at my house, and I still resisted, but I couldn't deny one thing: something very bad was happening to one or both of my family members, and Dumbledore probably knew something about it.

Again, the thought of how I would feel if anything happened to my brother, Tom, crossed my mind and I visibly winced.

"What is it?" Black questioned softly, head down and staring at his clasped hands. I shook my head. "Come on Tammie, I already know that it has something to do with last night so just tell me. I think we've been through enough together for you to tell me some things." He said sincerely, watching me with intense interest.

I sighed; he was right. I took a deep breath and looked down at my shoes as I spoke.

"I just keep thinking about what might've happened at my house. I mean, and the Death Eaters were there!... It looked like a struggle, and...I have a brother - Tom - and if he's -" My voice broke and I blinked rapidly, keeping the tears from spilling over. I swallowed hard and continued. "If he's been hurt or anything bad's happened to him...I don't think I could stand it. I really don't," I finished, looking up into Black's eyes, wanting him to understand.

I could tell he did because he nodded slowly, solemnly.

We continued to sit in silence, side by side and it didn't feel uncomfortable. I knew we were both thinking along the same lines; the Death Eaters were growing in strength and number and Voldemort was growing in power.

It felt like we were on the edge of a revolution, and it wasn't a good one, either.

After maybe twenty minutes we heard the door to Dumbledore's revolving staircase grate open and he poked his head out, his long silver hair and beard bright in the semi-darkness of the early morning.

"Ah! I thought it was you two. Please, come up," He said, and stood back as we passed him. We travelled up the staircase and opened the door to his study, standing next to the chairs opposite his desk until he politely motioned for us to sit down. As we did so, Black's hand brushed mine comfortingly and I tried - and failed - to hide my small answering smile.

Dumbledore leaned forwards slightly and clasped his hands on the desk in front of him, peering at us both over his half-moon glasses with his piercing blue eyes.

"So, tell me Miss Tamsworth. What exactly happened last night?" He asked gently, his tone of voice contrasting slightly with his intensely interested gaze.

I told him - I told him about Nott and the other boy showing up. About how thoroughly my house (or my living room at the very least) had been ransacked.

I told him everything apart from what Lestrange's intentions had been; they weren't important enough to share with somebody such as Dumbledore.

When I'd finished he sat back, steepling his fingers near his face and gazing into the distance, as if deep in thought. Black and I exchanged a glance after a minute or so.

"Professor Dumbledore? Is there anything more you would like to know?" Black asked, sounding much more respectful and polite than he usually did. I had to hold back a snort as I compared this strangely demure boy sitting next to me to the cheeky, mischievous, rock-the-boat troublemaker I knew him to be.

Dumbledore jumped as he came out of his reverie.

"Oh! I beg your pardon. No, I do believe that's everything... unless you have anything else you would like to add, Mr Black? Miss Tamsworth?" He asked us, serious once more. After a second Black shook his head but I felt like an electric shock had gone through me; I couldn't believe I'd forgotten until now.

"Sir? Do you know anything about my brother, or my father?" I asked quickly, keeping the desperation out of my voice. Dumbledore at once looked weary, as if he'd been hoping to avoid this question.

"Would you like Mr Black to be present or would you prefer to speak privately?" I saw Black stand up out of the corner of my eye and I grabbed his hand without thinking, forcing him to sit down.

"Black can stay, sir," I decided, not meeting Black's gaze as he settled himself again. I could feel his curious eyes on my face.

"I know of your father's whereabouts, but not of your brother's; he seems to have hidden himself very effectively. Your father is currently in hiding from Voldemort and his followers," He paused and I breathed a sigh of relief for my brother, assuming no news was good news.

I was also surprised, though. My father always spoke ill of Dumbledore, so why had he allowed himself to be in communication now? "Your father has asked me not to tell you anything more for the moment. He wishes to come and see you sometime in the next few weeks, and he begs you to be patient until he reaches Hogwarts, at which time I shall send for you." I could feel both his and Black's gaze on me, so I tried to feel what my face looked like now from the inside out.

Shellshocked or gobsmacked would probably have summed it up.

My father begging me? And in touch with Dumbldore? And what about leaving Voldemort - I'd thought that he was very much a Death Eater.

I just nodded, unable to come up with anything to say and we were dismissed.

We made our way out of his office and down the corridor in complete silence. It wasn't until we were halfway to Gryffindor Tower that I spoke.

"Well I never thought it was possible, but I think that was, quite possibly, the worst Christmas I've ever had," I said, having to work to keep the crushing disappointment out of my voice. Black looked at me and bit his lip, obviously on the verge of saying something. I didn't speak, deciding not to push him, and after a second he obviously decided not to say what was on his mind.

He looked down at his feet, something I'd never seen him do. He heaved a deep sigh.

"Yeah - and I bet everybody at the Potters' are going out of their minds with worry," He finally said. "Do you want to come with me to the owlery? I should send them an owl to let them know everything's fine," I shook my head; I suddenly felt so tired and battered from the night's events that I wanted nothing more than to sleep the rest of the day away.

"No, you go on. I think I'm going to go catch a few more hours of sleep."

Black and I parted a few moments later and I made my way, alone, to the common room.

The castle was almost completely empty. I was sure there would only be a very small handful of students remaining at Hogwarts for the holidays, and I knew that Black and I might even be the only two in the whole of Gryffindor tower. For some reason this thought brought a silly grin to my face.

I lay down on one of the comfortable couches in front of the fireplace and pulled an afghan off one of the nearby armchairs, covering myself with it, before I fell into a much more restful sleep than I'd had the night before.