[HP Doujin] take care of you

2003. 2, 6

It was cold, stinging the exposed skin of his face, and he wondered again why he didn't go in and stay by the fire.He was sitting in a metal chair on the balcony, overlooking a lonely, dark backyard.He could hear branches snapping in the woods, whether it was from the animals in the forest or from the snow.The snow on the balcony wetted his thick socks, and his long-sleeved shirt could not protect him from the cold.

But he can't leave.

Sirius was used to being quiet since childhood.12 Grimmauld Place was a very quiet house as long as he was not offending his mother, brother or father.No one knows the hatred lurking within the four walls and the uneasiness of the guests in the house.Sirius was a naturally noisy child, but he found that when he was most upset, when he couldn't think normally, he liked to be in the dark, where no one could hear or see him.

Then he went to Hogwarts, where nothing was quiet.There's James and Remus, Peter and Lily...and Ginny.There's Quidditch, and he can swear and scream whenever Professor McGonagall or the other professors can't hear him.There was the Gryffindor common room, where not a single student understood the meaning of the word "quiet".There are great halls, where there are laughter, kisses and warmth.

After leaving Hogwarts, Sirius felt his whole world became quieter.Ginny is gone.Voldemort is on the rise.Everyone has secrets.But Sirius was used to quietness and secrecy, and was suspicious of everyone.That's how his family raised him.He needed to keep quiet to keep James, Lily and Harry safe...

Azkaban is also quiet, save for the occasional scream from the prisoners.If it weren't for the silence of Azkaban, Sirius would never have figured out how to catch Peter.

Now, like so many other times, Sirius sat in the silence, trying to collect his thoughts.He still felt a little sick, and it distracted him a bit.On the way to Remus' house, he felt a constant throbbing pain behind his right eye and a rolling stomach that made him throw up more than once.Sirius held his head, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.Ginny is losing hope.He is losing hope.For five years, five very long years, Sirius tried again and again to undo the curse that the Veil had cast upon him.

But he couldn't imagine life without Ginny.Even now, he smelled of her on his clothes, and he remembered hours ago when she was lying beside him, and he ran his fingers over her freckled skin.The smile on her face was the most special he'd ever seen, lighting up every inch of him with light and freedom, leaving Sirius breathless.He thought about her hair, her small hands, her big eyes.He thought of her stubborn voice when she said "no", and her lips curled up when she was young...he still couldn't believe that Ginny had gone to this level for him, just to bring Sirius back from the veil.She had no reason to do so, and risked her life for him.

Sirius shivered, raised his head, and looked at the yard again.They had worked so hard to be together for five years, and sometimes Sirius really wanted to give up.After she went to meet him in Florence; when the curse fell on him and he was too sick to move; when he saw the pain on her face after she discovered the secret he had kept from her...

"Damn it," Sirius cursed softly, his words forming a cloud of mist in front of him.

"Damn it."

Startled, Sirius turned around to find Remus closing the balcony door and coming outside.Remus glanced at Sirius out of the corner of his eye, then walked to the railing.

"Are you crazy?" Remus asked, shaking his head at Sirius.

Remus' question made him frown.

"If Tonks finds out you've kept the balcony door open, she'll kill you."

Sirius raised his eyebrows and let out a loud laugh.Remus laughed too, leaning on the railing for support.Their laughter echoed in the night air as Sirius stood up and walked over to his friend.Sirius rested his elbows on the railing, resting his chin with his hands, with a smile on his lips.

"It's hard to believe my cousin would worry about something like this," Sirius replied.

Remus snorted.

"You may be very angry," Sirius continued.

Remus laughed again, turning to look at Sirius.When he saw the appearance of his good friend, the laughter gradually disappeared.

"Still not working?" he asked.

Sirius avoided the moon face's eyes and nodded vigorously.

"What did the Reticent say?"

He cleared his throat, feeling the burning in his throat.Sirius liked being quiet and he liked being the troublemaker, and Sirius hated that he had to say what he didn't want to say, that he had to admit that what he was trying to pretend didn't happen at all.Remus had always been able to see through Sirius and James' disguises when they were upset, a skill he could use at any time, like now.Although Sirius had always relied heavily on James when they were growing up, he found that Remus had become his shoulder to cry on.

"I haven't spoken to anyone. Just came here."

Both were silent for a while, Sirius cleared his throat again.

"They've run out of options. Abigail, the witch of Florence, she can't do anything... Do you know what she told me?"

Sirius licked his lips, but Remus remained silent.No big deal, Sirius thought.

"She said let me go back in the Veil—"

"what!"

Remus' cry startled Sirius, and probably everyone within ten miles.Sirius looked up in surprise, and Remus' hand grabbed his collar like lightning, pulling his face in front of him.

"Padfoot, you can't go back in the veil."

Remus' amber eyes were bright, protective and angry, and Sirius didn't speak.Remus's hand clenched even tighter.

"Padfoot, you can't go back in the Veil. We can't lose you again. That witch was wrong."

Sirius nodded silently, and Remus narrowed his eyes.

"Sires, you have to promise me that you're not going back. Think of Harry, think of Ginny! She's done so much for you, and you're going back to the Veil, just because some damned witch told you —for Merlin's sake, think of Teddy! He loves you. We all—"

"I'm not going back!" Sirius yelled, reaching out and grabbing Remus' hand that was clutching his collar. "I don't want to lose any of you."

"Sirius." Remus' tone was warning, but he was interrupted by the sound of the balcony door opening.

The two turned around to find Tonks standing there with his hands on his hips.However, her eyes were shining and she was clearly holding back a smile.

"Are you going to kiss?"

Remus put his hand down in surprise, and Sirius smiled, reaching out to feel where his neck was strangled by the collar.

"Think about me telling everyone what I just ran into," Tonks said, giggling, as Remus walked over to his wife.

"We're not going to kiss," said Remus, kissing Tonks on the head.

"alright."

"We really don't—"

"Really." Sirius repeated with a smile.

Tonks rolled his eyes.

"Come on in, boys; Teddy wants you to say goodnight to him before he goes to bed. If you two are out making out and keeping the kid up at night, it will pay dearly."

Sirius showed a smug smile, followed the couple back to the cabin, and closed the door behind him.

-*.*.*-

2003. 6, 26

"I feel a little bad about leaving Hermione at home."

Ginny rolled her eyes and reached out to stroke Ron's hair affectionately.

"Hey! Watch out!"

"Don't be stupid, figure it out," Ginny said, poking him in the chest.

"Ouch--"

"I'm tired too, but we need this."

"You don't understand, Kim," said Ron, his blue eyes widening. "She's crazy. Her back hurts, her feet are swollen and she keeps bringing up really disgusting stuff that will definitely give me nightmares."

"Too much talk, Ron," Ginny interrupted, laughing. "She's pregnant. What else do you want?"

Ron sighed through his nose.

"Is nine months too much to ask for?"

"Yes!" Ginny couldn't help laughing. "You are such a fool."

"Oh, sorry. Butterbeer?"

Neville handed Ron and Ginny the two butterbeer bottles he was holding in his left hand, almost spilling his drink on them.The Weasleys each took a bottle, smiled at Neville, and walked towards Luna and Blaise next to the kitchen.

"Shouldn't you want to leave the house?" Ginny continued, taking a sip of her drink.

Ron shrugged.

"I just knew she wanted to come."

"You're lying." Ginny rolled her eyes again. "Hermione hates going to pubs, she hates crowds on dance floors, she can't stand the questions you ask her about Muggles when we go to Muggle London."

"What! You wicked—"

"Hi, Ron, Ginny."

Dean Thomas had just walked into Ginny's apartment, came up to the host, and put two bottles of Fire whiskey on the table in front of her.

"This is for you as a thank you for letting us meet here before we leave," Dean said, waving his hand exaggeratedly at the whiskey.

Ginny smiled smugly, got up and hugged Dean.Ron stood up too, shook Dean's hand, and ran through his hair.

"Is that all for tonight?" Ron asked cautiously.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked with a smile, taking a sip of Ginny's butterbeer.

"Ronald's like a child when he doesn't come out with Hermione," said Ginny sweetly, winking at Ron when he stared at her.

"It's not true!"

"Weasley, you're going to have a real child soon, you'd better grow up and be a man!" Dean smiled and patted Ron on the shoulder, and Ron pushed his hand away.

Dean returned the drink to Ginny and headed for the kitchen, where Ginny was sure he was going to get some shot glasses.She saw Blaise and Dean nodding at each other, Dean hugged Luna in greeting, and then Neville and Dean started talking and laughing.Harry was talking to Pansy by the kitchen sink, jumping up when he saw his Gryffindor classmate.Ginny counted quickly and found that they were still a few people away from leaving.

"Let's go to the party." Ron muttered, sat back on the sofa and opened a bottle of whiskey.

This gathering at Ginny's apartment had become a tradition.It's weird, but they're all grown-ups now, and there's very little time for everyone to get together.So they try once a month or every two months to get everyone together for dinner or a night out.This group has changed over the years.

At first it was just Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny.Then Neville and Luna joined in, and Ginny wanted to keep in touch with them as much as possible.They became a regular part of the group, and it reminded Ginny of her fourth year, the year they entered the Department of Mysteries.Not long after, they bump into Dean and Seamus on a bar trip, and they wish to ask them to hang out too.Fred, George, Angelina and Hannah also attend occasionally.

Harry and Ginny later broke up.Harry started dating Pansy, the Slytherin who chose to join the group of mostly Gryffindors.She even brought Blaise Zabini, Ginny didn't know if it was for moral support or because he was the most annoying Slytherin they'd ever seen.A party of four quickly turned into a party of a dozen.

"Jin, your toilet is out of paper." Seamus' voice interrupted Ginny's thoughts.

She looked up annoyed, and he laughed, throwing up his hands in surrender.

"A joke, just a joke."

"Where are Fred and George?" Neville's voice actually drowned out the laughter of everyone in the small apartment.

She heard Ron curse and turned to look at him.

"Ah, by the way, they'll meet us at the bar!"

Seeing Ginny's narrowed eyes, Ron shrugged sheepishly.She couldn't help laughing when Dean returned to the sofa with his many shot glasses.

"Come here, everyone!" Dean called.

Pansy was the first to come, but Ginny thought she wanted to be with her.They smiled at each other, and Pansy moved closer to her.

"I despise Thomas for that," Pansy said softly so Dean wouldn't hear. "I hate shot glasses."

Ginny laughed.

"You say that all the time," Ginny pointed out. "You pick up the shot glass every time, too."

Pansy folded her arms across her chest.Ginny took another look at her, still marveling at Pansy's Muggle attire.She wore her hair in a high bun and wore shorts and a slightly baggy blouse.Despite her sharp features, which Ginny likes to think every Slytherin has, Pansy could still be considered a Muggle rather than a pure-blood Slytherin.

Times have really changed.

"Here you are, and you—hey! Don't drink it yet, Seamus! Luna, here you go, pass it to Zabini—Luna! Don't pour it into the plants!"

"But Firewhiskey helps prevent—" Luna's dreamy voice said, interrupted by Blaise's snicker.

"Ginny."

Ginny was taken aback that Harry had managed to get to her and Pansy without being noticed.

"Hi, Harry." She smiled at him.

She couldn't help watching Pansy drop her arm and put her hand in Harry's.

"Is Ron all right?" Harry asked, pushing his glasses over his nose with his other hand.

Ginny shrugged and smiled.They exchanged glances, and Harry leaned over to his best friend.

"Friend, is everything okay?"

Ron sighed exaggeratedly.

"This is for you, Harry," replied Ron, handing Harry the glass that Dean had poured.

Soon they had wine in their hands, and cheering, they clinked their glasses together and drank what was in them.The wine slid down Ginny's throat hotly. She resisted the urge to gasp and just shook her shoulders, as if she could swallow it smoothly.

"Ah!" Seamus cheered. "Second round?"