The Sunrise of My Heart

About a week after I had received all of Moony's letters, I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling groggy. I sat up, looking around in confusion. Why was I awake? At the foot of my bed, a dark shadow loomed, hunched over and looking ready to spring. I gasped, scrambling backwards, my heart pounding. The thing jumped off of my bed and walked over to me. It was at this point that I realized it was a dog. A large, black dog.

"Snuffles??" There was a soft whine and Snuffles put his cold nose in my hand. "Snuffles, what time is it." Of course, he didn't answer me. He just gripped the bottom of my shirt in his teeth, tugging. "No. It's too late for this. Or too early. Go back to sleep." I curled up in my bed again, closing my eyes and pretending he wasn't there so I could sleep.

This time, he jumped onto my bed, laying across me and snuffling my ear.

"Oof! You're fat, Snuffles. Get off." He didn't get off, but instead squirmed, so I sighed and sat up, pushing him off. "Fine, fine, I'm getting up. I hope this is important." He padded away, and I followed, curious despite being tired.

My eyes were half closed as I shuffled along behind him. When he finally stopped, we were in a room I'd never seen before.

"Snuff- What is this place?"

"The Room of Requirements." Snuffles had turned back into Sirius, and therefore could talk again.

"That sounds familiar. Have I been in here before?"

"Once upon a time," he said softly.

Without warning, I ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Even if it's an evil hour for me to be awake. I'm glad to see you again. It's been a year!"

He chuckled, patting my back. "It has been long, hasn't it? So, how have you been?"

"Well, I've been alright. A little lonely without all of you, but fairing well all the same. How have you and Remus been? Bickering as usual?"

"Of course we are. But I know deep down underneath, he loves me."

"Sure, of course he does. How could he not?" I grinned at him, then crossed my arms. "So, why are you really here? I know it's not just because you missed me and happened to be in the neighborhood so you stopped by."

"You know me too well," he muttered.

"Yes, I do. Now spill, mutt."

He sighed softly, shaking his head. "Such harsh words from a teenager." When I gave him an annoyed look, he held up his hands defensively. "I know, I know, I'm getting to it. Alright, there are two reasons why I'm here. The first is because, yes, I missed you. You're like a... like family or something." He shrugged softly before moving on. "And the second is because I wanted to talk to you."

"Alright, talk to me about what?"

"About the letters, and what they included. I wanted to apologize. If you really like the Malfoy kid, we'll all accept that. But he better treat you right, or else."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. If he hurts me, he's a dead little weasel." He chuckled at me, and I smiled in return.

"And, while we do appreciate that you're keeping an eye on him, I also wanted to apologize for what we asked you to do and say that I feel bad about asking you to do such a thing."

I laughed softly. "Sirius, you're such a crappy liar. Why are you here?"

He walked away from me, going over to a hammock hanging on the wall. He plopped down in it, one leg hanging over and dragging the ground. He used that leg to swing himself slowly back and forth.
"Honestly? For old times sake. For memories. For... I don't know, just because."

I walked over to the hammock, sitting down next to him. "You were thinking about the past again?"

He nodded, lounging in the hammock and looking utterly relaxed. "I think about the past all the time. Wonder if I've made mistakes, laugh at the jokes I did, smile at the things I know I did right."

"You know, one day, you'll have to let it go. It's the past. It's all gone."

He sighed softly, turning his head to look at me. "I know. But not yet. I'm not ready to let go yet. The times were so great."

I chuckled softly. "So I've heard."

He closed his eyes, rocking slowly back and forth. Before long, his breathing evened out and I could tell he was asleep. I sat next to him, passing the time by counting the tiles on the floor and going over the lessons I'd had the day before. After about two hours, he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I fell asleep?"

"Yep. After you woke me up. You fell asleep. Cheater. Wimp."

He rolled his eyes and stood up, stretching. "Don't be so over dramatic. I stayed up all night, first debating whether or not I should come, and then figuring out how to get in without getting caught."

"Dumbledore helped you, didn't he?"

"Hey, I'm perfectly capable of getting into places on my own."

"Dumbledore helped you, didn't he?" I repeated.

"He might have intentionally ignored my entering."

"Ha! I knew it."

"Hey, I can get in here when I want. I did last year."

"Yeah, yeah, true. Whatever. I'm still gonna hold this against you."

"You're very conniving and evil."

"What can I say? I'm dating a Malfoy."

"If I thought that was the reason you were this cunning and evil, I'd kill the boy. However, I know you, and I know you're just by nature a really cruel, mean person."

"Aw, such flattering words!"

"Mental case," he muttered.

"This, coming from the guy who stalked a fourteen-year-old girl due to memories."

"You make me sound very creepy."

"You are creepy, creep!" I grinned at him and he pushed me over. "Ouch, hey! Jerk!"

"Alright, I'm gonna need your help so I can get out of here. I need you as a lookout. I'm using this room to get out, but I can't get caught." We crept silently from the room. It was still nighttime, and everyone was still asleep. Still, we moved quietly. Sirius paced in front of the door three times, muttering under his breath, and a door appeared again. We walked back in together, both of us silent for a minute. On the opposite wall was another door and a window, and I could tell the door led outside.

"Well, I'll see you some other time, then. Take care of yourself, Riley."

"You too, Snuffles." I hugged him tightly, then let go and stepped back. He turned back into the big black dog. I walked with him to the door and opened it for him. "Bye, Snuffles," I said softly as he padded away.