InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Wag the dog"

Sirius O. Black (pad_foot) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2011-08-01 18:31:00

Entry tags:

!open, james potter, sirius black, willow rosenberg

WHO: PoA!Sirius Black and Willow Rosenburg (Open to people who got texts)
WHAT: Sirius is pretty sure hanging in a strange flat isn't a good plan, so he heads for the streets.
WHERE: Colligo Streets
WHEN: This evening
RATING: TBD.
PROGRESS: In Progress

Sirius had woken up in a bed he didn't recognise and a flat he didn't know. It wasn't the first time - Muggles were bloody careless when it came to locking stuff sometimes, and when it had been raining for three days in a row and even Padfoot's fur wasn't keeping him warm he had occasionally been moved to breaking and entering. He always supposed the owners were on holiday or something. Still, he liked to think he was a very conscientious squatter. He always cleaned up after himself, for example. Once he had even fixed their broken sink with a wand he'd lifted off some elderly old Wizard. It had only run hot water, but for a freezing escaped convict that hadn't seemed like a bad deal.

It wouldn't be the first time he'd forgotten choosing a place to sleep, either. He forgot a lot things these days. The days and night all blurred into one and more than once he just let Padfoot decide where he was sleeping. He'd been heading North, he knew that much. North to Scotland and Hogwarts and Harry and Wormtail. He didn't know what the date was. Checking a newspaper didn't hold much appeal, not when he kept seeing his own gaunt face screaming out at him. He'd been proud of his hair once, for Merlin's sake. Still, it didn't matter. Nothing much mattered any more, apart from heading North. Maybe he'd frighten Peter this way. Good. He wanted him scared. He wanted him scared and begging and bleeding, and then he'd rip his heart out and it would be done. It would all be fair and over then.

Padfoot had found a darkened alley behind what smelled like a fast food place, and Sirius allowed himself to transform back for a moment to dig his dirty hands into an open bin, searching for something, anything, to satisfy the gnawing pain in his stomach. He could work out where he was later. Right now he needed to eat.

Shaking the sheet of filthy, matted hair from his eyes, Sirius pulled out an old chicken bone with a few scraps of meat attached and attacked it furiously, suddenly more dog than man as he squatted down in the shadows beside the bin. His Azkaban robes hung like rags off his bones, his muscles staining like cords of rope as his teeth ripped at the cold meat.

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thecallofmagic
2011-08-01 07:12 pm UTC (link)

Although Willow had long since perfected the art of teleporting, most days she really did prefer to simply walk to and from the magic shop to the apartment. Ninety percent of the time Tara was with her, which made the walk especially nice, but this evening Willow was on her own. Still, the cold that had permeated the city for the month of July had given way to much warmer weather, even in the evening hours, so she definitely didn't mind. Walking the streets gave her time to think, time to stay in tune with the city and the earth beneath it so her magic didn't go wonky quite so easily. And, on some occasions, she even got the chance to speak to a few people. Usually she avoided the locals as much as possible but tried to keep her senses tuned in enough to know if she was near someone who wasn't from this reality. Non-locals just had a different feel to them than locals did and the ones seeped in magic were even more noticeable to the redhead's 'radar' than others.

It was as she was passing by an alley that she first got a sense that she wasn't alone. Someone with magic, who used magic fairly regularly, was nearby. As there weren't any wizards or witches in the city that weren't non-locals, Willow decided to do a bit of investigating. After all, if a non-local was hanging out behind a fast food place, they could be in trouble. Possibly deaged, lost and frightened, or maybe even hurt. Such thoughts kept her moving forward into the creepy darkness, green eyes darting about for signs of some kind of ambush. Growing up on a Hellmouth had certainly left an impact on her but not so much that she wouldn't take a chance. She was, if nothing else, brave to the point of downright idiocy sometimes.

Getting closer to the trash bins, she finally called out in a soft voice, "Hello? Is somebody there?" She stopped moving as she spoke, not wanting to spook the person and risk them trying to barrel past her to run off. She was pretty sure if she got hurt on her walk home, Tara would never let her live it down. And Willow would be hard pressed to blame her.

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pad_foot
2011-08-01 07:24 pm UTC (link)

He froze, his mouth full of cold, rancid chicken.

There was someone there.

Sirius swallowed his mouthful, too used to the unpleasant aftertaste of rotting food to care much any more, and risked a quick glance around the bin. He had a wand. The one he'd stolen from... somewhere. Sirius didn't quite remember taking this particular wand, but he supposed he must have. Anyay, he'd have to abandon it and move on to another soon, of course, but for now at least he had something. Sirius sat on his heels, frozen like a dog that had picked up a scent as a figure moved down the alley towards him.

There was a flash of red hair. Lily. The memory was ripped almost painfully from the back of his thoughts, tearing bloody and painful and bright through his consciousness until it mixed with that night, and he felt muscles knot over the bones in his back and shoulders. He was frozen, unable to move for just a moment too long. And then it was too late and he was sure the girl with the red hair would have seen him.

Bugger.

Sirius forced himself stiffly to his feet, reaching for the wand stuffed into his loose waistband. Usually it felt odd when he used a strangers wand, like that feeling you got when you wearing someone else's shoes. But that didn't come today. Still, Sirius didn't put much thought into it as he leveled the wand in her direction. He didn't want to hurt her. But he couldn't get caught. Perhaps if he just exploded the bin he could transform and be away before she understood what was happening... He just couldn't get caught. Not now. Not after everything.

"Leave," he croaked, and his voice sounded foreign to him. "Leave."

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thecallofmagic
2011-08-01 07:41 pm UTC (link)

Willow very nearly did as he'd commanded. In fact, she'd immediately taken a step back at the croaked-out word and was perfectly content with turning on her heel and going back the way she'd come, or possibly even just teleporting out of there as that would ensure she wasn't attacked from behind. However something stopped her from doing either of those things. Something kept her rooted to the spot, her brain trying to process just where she knew that voice from while also trying to determine exactly how much of a threat he posed. Unfortunately with the darkness that surrounded them it was hard to tell but Willow could take care of that easily enough.

"Light," she said simply, with a slight wave of her hand. A small ball of light appeared at her side, rising up into the air before expanding enough to cover the distance between them. It wasn't quite as bright as her little ball of sunshine she used to attack vampires - she didn't want a spotlight on the guy - but it enabled her to at least make out his gaunt features and filthy skin and hair. It also helped ensure her that he was most definitely someone she recognized.

Almost saying his name, Willow stopped herself at the last second and instead stated in a firm yet sincere tone, "I'm not going to hurt you. You're not in any danger here. It... it's okay. Really." Green eyes - illuminated by the light she'd provided - swept over his features before she finally met his gaze. Admitting she knew who he was was tricky, certainly, but she couldn't see how this conversation could continue and not end with a very one-sided duel or her attacked by a pissed off, scared dog if she didn't say something to get him to stay.

"You're Sirius, right? Sirius Black?" she finally questioned. Then with a slight breath, she added, "I know where Harry is."

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pad_foot
2011-08-01 08:01 pm UTC (link)

Sirius flinched as she waved her hand and a light appeared. That wasn't right. She hadn't even used the right incantation and she didn't have a wand and oh fuck. Perhaps he'd finally lost it. Bloody typical that that would happen to him once he was outside Azkaban. But then again maybe it was the chicken...

He was pulled from his frankly inane thoughts when she spoke his name. Sirius wasn't surprised. His face had been splashed over every muggle and wizarding paper for the last few months, after all. He'd heard muggles talking about him, while they waited for buses, while the stood in queues. As if he was a monster from a story book. It wasn't fair. It wasn't supposed to be like this and not for the first time, Sirius felt the cold of Azkaban reach out from somewhere deep in his chest.

But then, then she mentioned Harry. That baby flashed in front of his eyes in a series of frozen images. Curled in the crook of his elbow, playing with a stuffed toy, giggling as he crawled across a worn rug and screaming, with an open wound on his forehead. "Harry..." Sirius heard the name pulled from his lips, tugged from him on its own accord.

Did people know he was looking for Harry? He wasn't. Not really. He was looking for Peter, but he's give anything to see... He felt himself sway a little on the spot, and gripped the edge of the bin harder in skeletal hands. The metal dug cold and unforgiving into his skin. "How do you know about Harry?"

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thecallofmagic
2011-08-01 08:14 pm UTC (link)

It took everything Willow had within her to keep from surging forward to try to catch him before he tipped over. Fortunately the trash bin gave him something to hold onto so Willow stayed where she was, simply watching him with a look that was a mixture of worry, concern, and hesitation. "It's... a little complicated," she answered as honestly as she could. "But he's a friend of mine." With another pause, still trying to decide what to do, Willow tried another route.

"I can contact him," she offered. Pulling out her PDA, she held it up so he could see it. "With this. I know you probably don't know what it is, since it's muggle and all..." With a hard swallow, Willow finally just blurted out what she really wanted to say. "In fact, I'm going to do that. Contact him, I mean. Because you don't know me and I don't expect you to really trust me and I so can't blame you but I kinda can't just leave you here either so I'm going to contact him now."

And without any further preamble, Willow sent out three text messages as quickly as she could feasibly managed. Which turned out to be a bit faster than normal thanks to using a bit of her magic to speed her along. When she was finished, she glanced back to Sirius and offered a little awkwardly, "And my name is Willow, by the way. Willow Rosenberg. It's, uh, nice to meet you."

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pad_foot
2011-08-01 08:23 pm UTC (link)

She had a little muggle box thing with buttons. She could conjure up little balls of floaty light and she had a little muggle box thing with buttons. And she had hair like Lily. And she knew about Harry. Sirius tried his best to tie these bits of information together into something remotely logical, but logical hadn't been his strong point even before he'd been shut away. And now even the concept of things making sense seemed somewhat insane.

"Why would you want to bring me to Harry?" he croaked out, ignoring the introduction. Sirius offered her a smile, and it was brown and unpleasant. Not to mention a little bit unhinged. "I'm a mass murderer. Didn't you hear? It's been in aaall the papers." Suddenly, he rather wanted to cry. But he didn't have the energy - he wasn't even sure he remembered how. Instead he let out a sudden bark of sharp, bitter laughter, his fingers clenched hard around the edge of the metal bin.

"I think if you're willing to take someone like me to Harry you're probably as bad as I'm supposed to be."

Or it could be a trick, he supposed. He wasn't sure he even cared.

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thecallofmagic
2011-08-01 08:30 pm UTC (link)

Willow had half-expected the question but hadn't wanted to risk babbling any more than she had already managed. So rather than explaining and heeding off the inquiry before it had even been asked, she waited for it to come and focused on dealing with it then. Once more, she was honest in her answer but tried her best not to be so forthcoming as to overwhelm him even more than she was fairly sure she was doing just by being there.

"I want to bring you to Harry because you're innocent," she said simply, her expression open and earnest. "You didn't sell out your friends and Harry knows that." She paused then, knowing she was getting into dangerous territory but also not seeing any other way to really proceed. So she slid her PDA into her pocket, making sure to keep her hands in plain view and not make any sudden movements as she met his gaze.

"They found Pettigrew, Sirius. Remus was teaching at the school and spotted him..." She trailed off, not wanting to outright lie and hoping he would infer the rest on his own. Sure it wasn't entirely truthful but it was close enough. Besides. With any luck, Harry and James would be there soon and then they could step in and do all the damage control that was necessary. Hopefully. If not... well, she would cross that bridge when it came to it.

Almost as an afterthought, she added, "And I'm not bad. Really. I'm just a witch who wants to make sure that a good ma doesn't have to pay anymore than he already has for something he didn't do."

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pad_foot
2011-08-01 09:01 pm UTC (link)

He froze once again, some kind of leftover reaction left over from too much time as Padfoot. But before she'd finished speaking he was shaking his head frantically, almost childishly. "No. No, no, no. Stop it!" The wand had been dropped slightly during the last few minutes, but suddenly it was back up, and Sirius was actually a little embarrassed to see his hand was shaking.

"You're lying," he insisted. "You're... I'd have heard. I've been listening." But had he? He couldn't remember the last time he'd overheard anything and looked at a paper. It might have been yesterday or it might have been a month ago. For a moment, he shut his eyes tight to try and get some order back in his chaotic thoughts. She knew. She knew and he hadn't had to even tell her. What did that mean? What was he supposed to do now? The urge to transform was overwhelming, but he pushed it far back and tried his best to ignore it.

Merlin, he was tired.

Carefully, Sirius released his grip on the edge of the dustbin and moved a little closer to her. Perhaps he thought he could tell a little more about what was real and what wasn't if he got a look at her face. But her expression was open and concerned, and she didn't look like a liar. But then neither had Wormtail.

"Tell me," he demanded, his voice catching a little and painfull hoarse. "Tell me you're not lying."

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thecallofmagic
2011-08-01 09:11 pm UTC (link)

"I'm not lying," Willow assured him instantly. "I'm not exactly so great with the lying. I tend to get twitchy and there are hives and then I have to go away and it's just not pretty. So definitely no lying. Especially about something like this." And even though she was a fully grown woman, Willow still made a slight X over her chest. "Cross my heart," she added sincerely. "Harry knows you're innocent. No one is looking for you, here. You're not wanted by authorities. Not even close."

Granted, it was entirely possible the Sirius Black that had been in the city before was wanted for something by the Colligo authorities but Willow sincerely doubted it. And even if he was, he certainly wasn't going to be wanted for the same crimes as back home. Not to mention, if he was wanted for some other reason and the cops showed up at the moment, there was no way on this planet or Earth that she was going to let them just take the guy. So really, it was all moot. He was as safe as he could possibly hope to be.

And if Harry or James or, hell, even Regulus would respond to her text already, he would be amongst people who cared for him as well. Not that she didn't care but they weren't exactly what you would call close.

Not sure what else to say or do while waiting on the others, she finally asked almost hesitantly, "Do you want to get something to eat while we wait? You look like you could use a meal or twelve and it'll be my treat..." Not that she really expected him to say yes, what with her being a complete stranger and all, but she at least had to make the offer.

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stolensnitch
2011-08-01 09:53 pm UTC (link)

James had quickly found Lily and explained what had happened, then gave her and Luke a goodbye kiss before he checked the reply from Willow and disapparated with a pop. He appeared at the mouth of an alleyway which was illuminated by witchlight. He could see Willow, so he made his way down to stand beside her, clearing his throat as he got closer so that he wouldn't startle anyone. "Hello," he said as he walked into the light, nodding at Willow and then looking over at Sirius.

He didn't mean to stare, and he'd been telling himself not to react too badly, but oh, fuck, this was what had happened to him? He'd read the books, he'd known, but this made it real. He blinked, then shook himself out of it. "Hey, Pads," he said, forcing himself to smile at his best friend. "It's me." How very reassuring, he thought, mentally rolling his eyes at himself. He couldn't afford not to say it, though, since Pads thought him dead. And as much as he wanted to apparate him back home and get him fed and cleaned up and have Lils fuss over him, he couldn't. Sirius might have been almost fifteen years older than he was used to, but he knew that look and he knew the other wizard was getting ready to shift into Padfoot or to run away or something. He had to take this one slow. "I hear we're going to get food," he continued, then risked taking a step or two closer to his friend.

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pad_foot
2011-08-01 10:12 pm UTC (link)

Well, it wasn't fair to offer him food. Sirius hadn't had decent food for weeks. He should have pinched something from the flat he'd come from. Maybe then he wouldn't be so tempted to take her up on her offer. He'd probably get blown up or killed or cursed, all for a plate of chips. Bloody hell. Chips. Sirius' stomach gave a weak gurgle at the thought, and the muscles in his caved abdomen ached and cramped painfully.

Anyway, it was easier to worry about the food question than everything else she'd said. If Harry knew... If Remus really had got to Pete... Surely he'd know. Somehow. He'd just know surely.

But if it was true, and he'd missed it, what was he supposed to do? Getting to Peter had been it. The only thing that'd fuelled him. He hadn't even considered past that. Suddenly Sirius felt very lost.

There was a pop of someone apparating, and Sirius immediately took a sharp step back from the redhead. There was a figure stepping out of the gloom. And... oh, fucking hell.

Sirius made a noise in the hollow at the back of his throat. No. That wasn't right. That was cruel. He stepped back further as the man who couldn't be James approached, shooting an accusing gaze across at Willow. What was she doing to him? Why was she doing this? He should have known the moment she'd created that stupid floaty ball-light thing. He should have run then. Because this wasn't fair, having this man standing in front of him when Sirius knew that it couldn't be true. It hurt. Was this what Death Eaters did these days? Sirius gripped his stolen wand tighter, his knuckles turning white.

He looked like James. He acted like James. There was his awkward way of standing when he didn't quite know what to do. The random cleaning of glasses. Bloody stupid hair he'd obviously been running a hand through. All things James did when upset. But James was dead. He'd seen him.

Sirius shook his head again, as if he could shake the image away. But it remained, solid and real and there, stood right in front of him. "Stop it. He's dead," he finally croaked out, and suddenly there was the bin again, and he'd backed right into it without even noticing. His voice shook. "James Potter is dead. You're fucked up. Both of you. It's sick."

But he couldn't help glancing across, almost wistfully, at the newcomer.

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thecallofmagic
2011-08-02 04:40 am UTC (link)

The saying that hindsight was 20/20 had always been something that Willow had understood. However, as she stood in the alley, watching Sirius' reaction to a man he believed long dead, she understood it at a level she never had before. And she couldn't say she liked it very much either. Because while her intentions had certainly been the best, it was obvious to her - and probably anyone who wasn't legally blind - that her intentions really weren't going to amount to much in the grand scheme of things.

Still. Willow knew that she had to figure out some way to convince the man that they were telling the truth. Fortunately, the answer seemed to come from a response to the earlier texts she'd sent out. And although the answer came from Regulus, Willow knew that he had a very good point. The fact that Harry said he was on his way there as well only helped to ensure that, even if she had the 'Potter' in Regulus' text confused with father rather than son, the situation would still be fixed soon enough.

"Your Patronus," she said as she quickly looked to James, slipping her PDA back into her pocket. "Show him, James." Even as she said the words, Willow was doing her best to pull up any information she had retained after reading the books pertaining to their reality for anything else that might convince Sirius that they were telling the truth. After a heartbeat, she added, "Or just... do what you can. Harry's on his way."

Okay. Not the most subtle of suggestions but Willow wasn't very good at subterfuge. She could, however, track Padfoot if Sirius opted to transform and take off, and focused on being fully prepared to do exactly that just in case she'd totally misunderstood Regulus' text or, for some truly bizarre reason, James couldn't create a Patronus that would prove he was exactly who he seemed to be.

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stolensnitch
2011-08-02 08:08 am UTC (link)

James hadn't looked away from Sirius, but he nodded as Willow spoke to him. The instant she mentioned his Patronus, he had his wand out; he had a plethora of happy memories to sort through at the moment but the one that stood out the most for him was of Sirius meeting Luke for the first time. He fed other memories into the feeling as well, like spending time with Harry or Moony, or how he felt when he was with Lils and even how much he enjoyed playing Mario Kart. He pointed his wand at a spot further down the alley once he had the memories in place, and smiled at Pads again.

"Expecto Patronum," he said, watching as his Patronus formed out of the silvery spellstuff, and then there was a glowing silver stag watching them all. It bowed its head at James and Willow, then carefully made its way over towards Sirius. Ducking its head again, it leant in close to Sirius and borrowed James' voice as it spoke softly. "You switched with Wormtail, let everyone think you were our secret keeper, and then he betrayed us on Hallowe'en. We're not at home any more, and this place brings people from different points in time. I came here from that Hallowe'en. Lily's here, and Harry and Moony too. We know it wasn't you. We know it was Wormtail. We believe you."

The Patronus lifted its head after that and walked over towards James and Willow. Stepping forward, James raised a hand and ran it along the stag's neck. It turned to nuzzle at him before dissolving back into spellstuff, and then James spoke to Sirius again. "I'm me, I promise."

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pad_foot
2011-08-02 12:50 pm UTC (link)

James-who-may-not-have-been-James lifted his wand, and Sirius immediately raised his stolen one in return. But then he was casting a Patronus, a silvery stag that blossomed out of nowhere and stepped forward towards him. Then it was speaking to him using James' voice. You couldn't duplicate a patronus, just as no'one could duplicate Padfoot or Prongs. Sirius knew that. He glanced sharply back at up James through his curtain of matted hair, stood a few metres away.

Sirius wasn't quite sure what was going on. This morning he'd been homeless and lost and freezing cold and hungry, but at least he'd had a purpose. He'd known what was going on and why and what he was going to do about it. Now... Well, what now? What was going on? If that really was James, as was appearing more and more likely... Sirius decided to stop questioning things, before he went completely mad. If he wasn't already, obviously. Which was also looking quite possible. But then he looked up at James something seemed to snap deep in his chest and perhaps it was just because he wanted it to be true so badly, beyond all reasoning and logic, that he let himself believe him.

After all, if it was a lie, and they killed him or did whatever else it was they wanted, what did it really matter? Especially if Peter was really was already gone. He was too tired to fight it.

"James," he stumbled forward, seizing James' arm with born skeletal hands. Sirius stared out of wide eyes in sunken sockets, drinking him in. "Sorry. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'll find him. But you have to tell them it wasn't me, James. I can't go back there. I'm so tired, James. Please. I'm so sorry." He was babbling, clinging onto the other man like a desperate child.

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thecallofmagic
2011-08-03 03:47 pm UTC (link)

If Willow had felt as though she was a third wheel when James arrived, that was nothing to how out of place she felt as Sirius was reunited with his best friend after going through something that she couldn't even begin to fathom. She remembered, briefly, her stint with dark magic and her being convinced Giles was going to send her somewhere like Azkaban for what she'd done. When he hadn't, when he'd instead taken her to a coven to learn how to properly use her magic, she had felt a debt to him that she wasn't sure she could ever repay fully.

Then the thought was gone and Willow quietly took a step back from the duo. "Harry should be here soon," she said, moreso to James since she doubted Sirius was really listening to her. With a pause, she added, "So I'll go. Take care, Sirius. Let me know if you need anything, James." And with a soft smile at the two of them, she disappeared silently into thin air, teleporting to the hallway outside her and Tara's apartment. What had started as an evening stroll had become something much different and, as much as Willow enjoyed her walks, she now wanted nothing more than to hold her girlfriend and be grateful to have her back in her life again.

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stolensnitch
2011-08-03 11:49 pm UTC (link)

James let Sirius cling to him, before pulling him into his arms and just holding him close for a while. Willow spoke after that, so he turned his head to look back over his shoulder at her. He smiled and nodded as she took her leave of them, replying quietly. "I will. And thanks, Willow." He watched as she vanished, then turned his full attention back to Pads.

"Shhh, you're okay, Pads. Nobody here is after you, I promise. And you don't need to apologise, but if it makes you feel better, I'll accept them." He hugged Sirius tight again, ignoring the state of the rags his friend appeared to be dressed in, and the fact that he stank of bins because really, that was unimportant right now. "Do you want to come back to my place? Lily's there, and, uh. Baby Luke. I'll explain that later. Do you want to? And I can get you new clothes and Lils will want to feed you and fuss at you, you know what she's like, and you can sleep. I can let Harry know where we're going, unless you want to wait here for him? He's... a bit older than you're expecting, though."

Gradually, he moved them over to a couple of packing crates, so he got his wand out and quickly turned them into a comfy seat for the pair of them. "I see you found your wand," he remarked as he sat down. He then got his cigarettes out of his pocket and turned off the miniaturising spell he used to try and keep Lily from finding them. "Want one?"

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