Sequel: Lost & Found ›
Status: Completed! Minor editting - mostly for grammar and spelling - now underway. ;)
Sugar & Spice
An Unexpected Visit
*Rosie's Point of View
The Easter Holidays were looming and the pressure was mounting for the OWL and NEWT students to study for their exams.
Unfortunately, though we didn't have anything important to study for, besides the usual end of year exams, the professors were piling on the workload, and study sessions with Black were becoming increasingly...necessary. Or they were necessary for my mental well-being rather. Because I didn’t want to fall behind.
...Or so I told myself.
It still rankled that he could pick this stuff up so much faster than I could. He was always at least one step ahead. I knew I couldn't hold that against him, though - he was just very good with all things magical.
"No, you have to hold it like this Tammie – like this, see! I keep telling you..."
"Well you fucking do it then! Merlin's beard it's not as easy as you say it is!" He waved his wand at the desk and turned it into a live, moving pig. I rolled my head to look at him disparagingly. "Why are you so good?" He smirked cheekily.
"Because I'm the best."
"Ha ha, so clever." He looked thoughtful as he took up a leaning position against one of the desks in 'our classroom'.
"I don't know why you're so hard on yourself Tamms. You're really advanced. I mean, everybody else is probably stuck back at the beginning of the school year. You've got nothing to worry about. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you get top marks at the end of year exams." I was surprised by his compliments. He never usually commented on my magical ability.
I thought about it for a moment, and after holding his eye for a long moment, I put my wand down and sat down next to him. I decided something.
"You know how you wondered at the beginning of the year about why I couldn't perform the most basic spells?"
"Yeah! That was pretty…"
"Strange. You're right." I nodded and stopped for a moment, staring at my knotted fingers. He said nothing, just watched as I fumbled for a way to put it. "I grew up thinking I was a squib. I sent Dumbledore a letter the day I arrived, and that was the first time in my life I was sure I was a witch. I never even thought I'd get to come to Hogwarts." It all came out in a rush. I waited for a whole minute, but he still said nothing.
I finally looked over at him and felt the urge to laugh. He looked nothing short of utterly horrified.
"Earth to Black?" I waved my hand in front of his face.
"Jesus…" He blinked and his eyes focused on me. "How the fuck did you manage to catch up so fast with no previous experience? I mean…I mean…fucking Nora Tammie. That's really something!"
I shrugged, embarrassed by how earnestly he seemed to be speaking. I kept thinking somewhere in the back of my mind (and it was small) that he’d suddenly start laughing and tell me that he was just joking. Naturally, he didn’t do that.
"I mean, you've got to be some kind of genius or something! You -!" I clapped a hand over his mouth, laughing.
"Sssh! I can't take any more praise! I get it, truly I do." He nodded and smirked as I removed my hand. His eyes darted to my mouth and then back up again; he licked his lips.
I became fully aware of how close we were at that moment – my face was inches from his, having leaned forward to make my point. My mouth grew dry and I couldn't seem to look away.
Black's hand came up slowly, so slowly I almost thought he was avoiding quick movements in case he scared me away.
His eyes focused only on my lips and he leaned forwards infinitesimally. Unconsciously I moved closer to him too, and my eyes fluttered closed as I breathed in the smell of him.
Our lips were centimetres apart and our noses were brushing when the door slammed open and James flew in as if jettisoned from a canon.
He hardly seemed to notice as I jumped so spectacularly that I fell off the desk onto a couple of rickety chairs – one of which broke – and finally to the floor with a bone-shattering crash, mainly due to the chairs coming down on top of me.
Black stooped quickly and yanked me to my feet, in his irritation pulling too hard and almost dislodging my shoulder.
“What, James?” He exclaimed exasperatedly.
James braced himself against the doorjamb to get his breath back.
“Tamm’s – Dad – brother...they’re in the hospital wing. Here at Hogwarts.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didn’t think twice – didn’t think at all in fact; I dashed out of the classroom, brushing past James on my way out.
“Tammie, I’m so sorry!” James shouted after me.
An icy hand took hold of my heart.
What does he mean ‘he’s sorry’? The thought raced by, was acknowledged but not answered, and then disappeared. Only one way to find out...
I could hear them both following me as I ran full-pelt in my little kitten heels. At the end of the corridor I kicked them off without stopping and left them there, twenty-plus feet apart.
Somehow, whether out of respect or because I was moving faster than I thought, neither James nor Black caught me up. Either way I was grateful; I wasn’t sure I would be able to rearrange my features into a more people-friendly position.
In next to no time at all I skidded to a halt outside the huge locked double-doors of the hospital wing and for the second time since coming to Hogwarts I pounded on them as hard and loud as I could.
One of the doors was flung open and Madam Pomfrey stood framed in the doorway. Her first expression was one of indignant anger, but then it twisted into something a thousand – a hundred thousand – times worse: sympathy.
She swung the door wide and I slowly moved past, eyes on her face, trying to gauge how bad it was before I saw it with my own eyes. Time seemed to slow for a second and then she looked away, her expression once more carefully neutral.
“Miss Tamsworth.” A quiet voice spoke behind me; I twirled around to find myself inches from the Headmaster’s gentle expression. His serenity calmed me – if he wasn’t worried then it couldn’t be anywhere near as bad as I could imagine it to be.
And of that I was fully capable – my imagination had been running wild since James had burst into our classroom.
Heavy panting behind me announced the arrival of a group of people larger than that of James and Black, but I didn’t look to see exactly who was there, content to just draw comfort from their presences.
A darkly cloaked figure stood at the very end of the wing, their back to me, looking down at somebody lying in one of the beds. My voice stuck in my throat as they turned towards me and lowered their hood.
I nearly bowled him over with the force of my running leap, and buried my face in his neck like I used to when I was a younger...and lighter. He laughed softly and kissed the top of my head.
“Tom!”
And then I was crying into his shaggy mane of unkempt hair, so hard I could barely breathe.
And all the while I could feel my friends standing behind me, unwavering.
The Easter Holidays were looming and the pressure was mounting for the OWL and NEWT students to study for their exams.
Unfortunately, though we didn't have anything important to study for, besides the usual end of year exams, the professors were piling on the workload, and study sessions with Black were becoming increasingly...necessary. Or they were necessary for my mental well-being rather. Because I didn’t want to fall behind.
...Or so I told myself.
It still rankled that he could pick this stuff up so much faster than I could. He was always at least one step ahead. I knew I couldn't hold that against him, though - he was just very good with all things magical.
"No, you have to hold it like this Tammie – like this, see! I keep telling you..."
"Well you fucking do it then! Merlin's beard it's not as easy as you say it is!" He waved his wand at the desk and turned it into a live, moving pig. I rolled my head to look at him disparagingly. "Why are you so good?" He smirked cheekily.
"Because I'm the best."
"Ha ha, so clever." He looked thoughtful as he took up a leaning position against one of the desks in 'our classroom'.
"I don't know why you're so hard on yourself Tamms. You're really advanced. I mean, everybody else is probably stuck back at the beginning of the school year. You've got nothing to worry about. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you get top marks at the end of year exams." I was surprised by his compliments. He never usually commented on my magical ability.
I thought about it for a moment, and after holding his eye for a long moment, I put my wand down and sat down next to him. I decided something.
"You know how you wondered at the beginning of the year about why I couldn't perform the most basic spells?"
"Yeah! That was pretty…"
"Strange. You're right." I nodded and stopped for a moment, staring at my knotted fingers. He said nothing, just watched as I fumbled for a way to put it. "I grew up thinking I was a squib. I sent Dumbledore a letter the day I arrived, and that was the first time in my life I was sure I was a witch. I never even thought I'd get to come to Hogwarts." It all came out in a rush. I waited for a whole minute, but he still said nothing.
I finally looked over at him and felt the urge to laugh. He looked nothing short of utterly horrified.
"Earth to Black?" I waved my hand in front of his face.
"Jesus…" He blinked and his eyes focused on me. "How the fuck did you manage to catch up so fast with no previous experience? I mean…I mean…fucking Nora Tammie. That's really something!"
I shrugged, embarrassed by how earnestly he seemed to be speaking. I kept thinking somewhere in the back of my mind (and it was small) that he’d suddenly start laughing and tell me that he was just joking. Naturally, he didn’t do that.
"I mean, you've got to be some kind of genius or something! You -!" I clapped a hand over his mouth, laughing.
"Sssh! I can't take any more praise! I get it, truly I do." He nodded and smirked as I removed my hand. His eyes darted to my mouth and then back up again; he licked his lips.
I became fully aware of how close we were at that moment – my face was inches from his, having leaned forward to make my point. My mouth grew dry and I couldn't seem to look away.
Black's hand came up slowly, so slowly I almost thought he was avoiding quick movements in case he scared me away.
His eyes focused only on my lips and he leaned forwards infinitesimally. Unconsciously I moved closer to him too, and my eyes fluttered closed as I breathed in the smell of him.
Our lips were centimetres apart and our noses were brushing when the door slammed open and James flew in as if jettisoned from a canon.
He hardly seemed to notice as I jumped so spectacularly that I fell off the desk onto a couple of rickety chairs – one of which broke – and finally to the floor with a bone-shattering crash, mainly due to the chairs coming down on top of me.
Black stooped quickly and yanked me to my feet, in his irritation pulling too hard and almost dislodging my shoulder.
“What, James?” He exclaimed exasperatedly.
James braced himself against the doorjamb to get his breath back.
“Tamm’s – Dad – brother...they’re in the hospital wing. Here at Hogwarts.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didn’t think twice – didn’t think at all in fact; I dashed out of the classroom, brushing past James on my way out.
“Tammie, I’m so sorry!” James shouted after me.
An icy hand took hold of my heart.
What does he mean ‘he’s sorry’? The thought raced by, was acknowledged but not answered, and then disappeared. Only one way to find out...
I could hear them both following me as I ran full-pelt in my little kitten heels. At the end of the corridor I kicked them off without stopping and left them there, twenty-plus feet apart.
Somehow, whether out of respect or because I was moving faster than I thought, neither James nor Black caught me up. Either way I was grateful; I wasn’t sure I would be able to rearrange my features into a more people-friendly position.
In next to no time at all I skidded to a halt outside the huge locked double-doors of the hospital wing and for the second time since coming to Hogwarts I pounded on them as hard and loud as I could.
One of the doors was flung open and Madam Pomfrey stood framed in the doorway. Her first expression was one of indignant anger, but then it twisted into something a thousand – a hundred thousand – times worse: sympathy.
She swung the door wide and I slowly moved past, eyes on her face, trying to gauge how bad it was before I saw it with my own eyes. Time seemed to slow for a second and then she looked away, her expression once more carefully neutral.
“Miss Tamsworth.” A quiet voice spoke behind me; I twirled around to find myself inches from the Headmaster’s gentle expression. His serenity calmed me – if he wasn’t worried then it couldn’t be anywhere near as bad as I could imagine it to be.
And of that I was fully capable – my imagination had been running wild since James had burst into our classroom.
Heavy panting behind me announced the arrival of a group of people larger than that of James and Black, but I didn’t look to see exactly who was there, content to just draw comfort from their presences.
A darkly cloaked figure stood at the very end of the wing, their back to me, looking down at somebody lying in one of the beds. My voice stuck in my throat as they turned towards me and lowered their hood.
I nearly bowled him over with the force of my running leap, and buried my face in his neck like I used to when I was a younger...and lighter. He laughed softly and kissed the top of my head.
“Tom!”
And then I was crying into his shaggy mane of unkempt hair, so hard I could barely breathe.
And all the while I could feel my friends standing behind me, unwavering.
