RP: Dinner for Two

[tt_cecilia.insanejournal.com]

Date: 30. November, 2001
Characters: Cecilia Proudfoot and Sirius Black
Setting: Early evening, Sirius' house
Content: TBD
Status: Open: Private


The basket on the kitchen table had been packed even before Jamie had left to join the rest of his class for the astronomy camp-out. Some of the faster growing vegetables in her own garden were on the verge of being ready for harvesting; another short week or so, she estimated, but they weren't completely right for tonight. So, she had made a round of the market, adding to the things she already had in her cooler and cupboards as well as a good portion of what most of all resembled dark turkey meat. She forgot which animal it came from, but she recognized it as a favorite whenever it was available.

After her shower she had let her hair dry into the stubborn curls she had given up on trying to tame, though she did let it hang loose, rather than tying it up in the usual ponytail. The clothes took a bit more consideration. Dinner with Sirius called for something a bit less casual than her regular everyday clothes, but they would be cooking, which took out some of the formality. She eyed her tank tops and cargo shorts longingly, but those wouldn't even be considered casual; they were her work clothes. Finally she settled on her white tunic with the black lace decoration over her sand coloured denim skirt and comfortable sandals. There, relaxed without being too casual.

With a light jumper draped over the basket, she apparated to Sirius' house, taking a moment to run her fingers through her hair, before she knocked on the door.

Comments

[tt_sirius.insanejournal.com]

"Thank you," he replied, a frown flickering across his forehead. She meant it. It was evident in her tone. So unlike all the others who merely mouthed the words, hollow and without thought. She was thoughtful, like Remus. Sirius felt a pang when he thought that but knew that his friend would have truly felt comfortable with this woman - perhaps that's why he'd felt drawn to her in the first place.

Sirius watched the ease with which she transfigured the leaves, finding a serenity in the way she moved, so neat and precise. He let her fix the fish, just watching as he leaned against the counters edge. "This place? No, no evil, just... just nature the way its supposed to be. If there's any evil, we brought with us. In us," he replied after a long moment.

Sirius did as she instructed, placing slices of the butter along the fish and splashing a bit of the wine in on top. He hoped it would be as good as it sounded, as he was feeling hungry just looking at it. "There's something old, very old and evil in the Veil, or there was. I didn't - it wasn't the same when I came through to here. At least, I don't think it was. I had more than a few drinks before I came through. Kingsley thought he'd have to sedate me."

"Hell, I thought he'd have to sedate me to get me to step through that damned thing but I didn't feel anything like - like I remember. Here, let me," he said, shifting the glass pan under the paper wrapped food and lifted it inside before moving the whole package to the cooker.

[tt_cecilia.insanejournal.com]

Cecilia nodded, understanding what he meant. Nature was a great many things; beautiful, overwhelming, and immensely dangerous, but never evil, and though she wasn't certain why, she felt a sense of relief in hearing that Sirius didn't sense that evil he had been surrounded by behind the veil here. Not that she had been aware that that could have been a risk until he had mentioned it, but at least he didn't feel it.

While Sirius put the fish in the oven, Cecilia went to get the glasses of wine he had poured earlier, that was still standing untouched on the counter. "But you got through," she said with a small smile, handing him one of the glasses, "and now you're instrumental in finding places to expand the settling..." Tilting her head she looked at him, curious about his motives. "You're doing things for the future of everybody, but what about you? What do you want for yourself?"

[tt_sirius.insanejournal.com]

He took the glass of wine from her with a nod of thanks, his thoughts swirling as they normally did whenever he had a moment to think. Sirius had been close to falling down drunk, a level that had taken quite a bit of time to get to, before he allowed Kingsley to bring him to the Portal room. Even then, nearly at a pass-out level, Sirius had put up a bit of a fuss until Hermione had stepped forward, taking his hand and that had been the moment when Sirius knew he'd do it. He didn't have an ounce of cowardice in him but he wasn't ashamed to admit that he'd held her hand very tightly until the second in time when they'd stepped through the Portal.

"It needs to be done," Sirius replied with a minor shrug of his shoulder. "Kingsley doesn't think the portal will stay open past February. We're already having trouble getting messages through when the portal is open - things on the other side - they aren't stable enough for consistency." He had considered not telling her these things but he knew that Jaime was her entire family. "Me?" Sirius was surprised by that question. "I...I don't know. It's not something I've thought about in years. Since I escaped Azkaban. Even then, I just wanted to give Harry a home."

[tt_cecilia.insanejournal.com]

"True," Cecilia agreed, taking a small sip of her wine, nodding in appreciation at the taste. He was right, the exploration needed to be done, somebody had to do it, but in her opinion it didn't have to be just one person doing it. And that wasn't just because it was Sirius; it was simply too big a task and responsibility to place on one single person. What he said about the portal, however, had her pause for a moment. That the world they left behind was growing unstable didn't come as a surprise, after all, if things were turning out the way they had been predicted by scientists, then it was steadily being encased in ice winter, but that the portal would be going inconsistent too, that one she hadn't expected. Personally, everybody she cared for and about was already here, but she was only one of very few who had that luxury. Sirius, for example, there was only one person he had talked about who was still alive, and that one person wasn't here. "Does he know or have any idea what might happen with it?" she asked him carefully, purposely avoiding mentioning the fact that Harry Potter had yet to join the new world.

As surprised as Sirius seemed to have been at her question, just as surprised was she to hear his answer. He had been travelling alone, living rather secluded from the rest of the population which she had thought had given him time to think, but apparently, if it had, it wasn't his own future he had been thinking about. That thought was both noble and sad at the same time. She could understand his desire to give his godson a home, though; it had been and still was like that for her when it came to Jamie. "That last part I recognize," she acknowledge, looking down at the wine in her glass for a moment, then back to him, looking at his eyes for a beat – he really had spectacular eyes. "Can I ask what you do when you're back here, when you're not out exploring?"

[tt_sirius.insanejournal.com]

"I don't keep anything from him. He knows I want him here but he's a grown man and his faith in me is measured by how short a time we've known each other," Sirius admitted, his tone reflective of the fact that the had done his best to convince his godson that the portal was the only real chance humanity had but there were other factors playing upon Harry's decision. "He knows things aren't getting better there."

Sirius paused and took a deep drink of the wine, then gestured that they should move into the living room area. He led the way, settling on the sofa and stretching his legs out. "Usually, I help Kingsley. Review the notes from the herbologists out in the field. That sort of thing. Mainly, I do whatever I want. The last two times I've been back, I was over on Three helping them with auto repairs - seems their Magicals were having trouble with the manual transmissions."

[tt_cecilia.insanejournal.com]

"From what I've heard from the latest arrivals, I don't think there's much you can keep from him that he's not already aware of when it comes to how things are going back there," Cecilia sighed, wishing there was more she could do to help Sirius out with his situation, but there wasn't, except for listening to him.

Following him to the sofa, she took a seat next to him, turning to face him while she rested her elbow on the back of the sofa and her head on her hand. "You review our notes?" she asked him, with a chuckling smile and small burst of self-awareness. "Well, guess I'd better start putting some effort into making them more interesting from now on, don't I?" With a small wink at him, she took a larger drink from her glass, and let it come down to rest on her thigh. "So, that's what you like to do? Auto repairs?" Her question was genuine; she wanted to know what he liked to do, where his interest were and what kept him going despite all the reasons she had heard from him to not do so.

[tt_sirius.insanejournal.com]

"I'm afraid I have never understood some of Harry's motivations. He's like James and Lily in so many ways but there's Dumbledore's influence still lingering. I wish I'd had more time with him. I'm sure he'll come through, eventually. Hermione keeps in contact with him as well. If anyone can convince someone to come through, its that girl," Sirius commiserated grimly. He knew Kingsley sent messages as well but Sirius didn't know what was influencing his godson on the other side. All his friends were here. Could the hero complex still have such a grip on him?

He watched as Cecilia joined him on the sofa, sitting close. She had curves in all the right places. Distracting curves. Sirius arched an eyebrow but there was a slight pause before he answered, glancing down at his wine glass. "I don't judge them. It's the discoveries that I look for - to see if there are any similar plants on Australia. I crib the notes, to be honest. If I find the same plant over there, I just cross-reference it to the discovering Herbologist's report."

"I've always been something of a tinkerer - magical or muggle, doesn't matter. It keeps me... busy," he admitted. Sirius had been about to say 'sane' but he thought the better of that, given his history and what had been written about him. "What about you? What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Besides taking pity on the settlement's resident recluse."

[tt_cecilia.insanejournal.com]

Cecilia knew neither Harry Potter nor Hermione Granger well enough to know how one of the could be persuaded or the skills of persuasion possessed by the other; she had to trust Sirius on those matters, and settled for nodding in acknowledgement of what he was saying. From what she had heard, people were staying behind for all sorts of reasons, from believing they could wait out the cold that was coming to feeling that they'd rather die on their own terms than try to make a new life for themselves here.

His arched eyebrow had her tilt her head slightly in curiosity, wondering what was causing his reaction. "That's... actually pretty smart," Cecilia admitted, nodding, considering the way she was doing it. "I'm wondering if it wouldn't be easier for you if you transferred all the notes to your datapad so you'd have more to base a search on... but that'd probably take up too much space on your pad, so... nevermind." The datapad was a nifty thing, she could only agree to that, and she enjoyed using it and had become very familiar with it during her time here, but it did have its limitations, as did parchment and quills. Perhaps, in time, someone would find a way to make it better suited for large amounts of data without the direct connection to the command center's database.

As Sirius revealed what he liked to do, Cecilia's eyes were drawn to his hands. Long elegant fingers on slim hands; she could see how they suited tinkering and could easily imagine what they would look like caressing over gizmos and gadgets and naked skin. Shoving those last vivid images out of her mind by taking a drink, she smiled up at him. She got the feeling that 'busy' hadn't been the word he had meant to say, but didn't put more into it other than it was where he found his solace. "Taking pity on the settlement's resident recluse? Is that what I'm doing?" Cecilia's eyebrows shot up and she couldn't help but laugh softly at Sirius' description of her. "And here I thought I was stalking him, showing up at his house to push my company on him and make him accept that I really do enjoy his company," she teased him gently, as she leaned over to set her glass on the coffee table before she sat back, still facing him. "Believe it or not, but I enjoy working in my garden and... cooking what I grow there. But mostly, I just enjoy spending time with the people I care about."

[tt_sirius.insanejournal.com]

"If I did that, I wouldn't have anything to read when I come here," Sirius pointed out with a half-smile. It wasn't necessarily accurate as he read all the reports that came into the Command Center out of curiosity alone but he didn't say that. Sirius wasn't a trained Herbologist and his time on Australia was limited in what research he could do. He was building wards and mapping the terrain for settlement along with making notes on the animals that were potentially going to present problems for them. He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not a scientist like you are, Cecilia. I'm just a scout."

He didn't miss that her gaze dropped but Sirius didn't think anything of it, his own attention just taking her in, flashing a smile when she laughed. It was such a pleasant sound and Sirius felt a surge of pride that he'd made her laugh. Without thinking, he reached over with his free hand and brushed her hair back from her eyes. "You should have been an Auror, then, if you managed to find me so easily," he teased sardonically in return. Sirius sighed and took a drink from the wine glass. "You're a herbologist. I'd find it strange if you didn't enjoy gardening. You're welcome to my yard. It's overgrown with the native plants here, if you want to expand your efforts," he offered.

[tt_cecilia.insanejournal.com]

"Ah, true," Cecilia smirked back at him. "Couldn't have that, could we? I mean having to read those dull and dreary books from the library rather than the thrilling Herbology reports?" Sirius' chuckle was a welcome sound, and not one she had heard from him before. She had seen him smile, smirk, even scowl and heard something that could have been a sharp bark of laughter, but the soft sound of his chuckle, she found, suited him. "I wasn't a scientist until I came here," she said with a small sigh. "Back there, I was just an Herbologist growing medicinal herbs, using my knowledge to enhance their Healing properties."

His touch was gentle, the gesture chaste in itself, but the few times his fingers brushed against the skin of her forehead, felt scorching and even when he withdrew his hand, she could easily have pinpointed each tiny spot precisely. Quirking an eyebrow, amused by his teasing, she reached up to take his hand. "I don't think it takes an Auror to find a man who's already given you his address and invited you over for dinner," she smiled at him, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze before she let go when he moved to take a drink from his glass. She considered his offer for exactly two moments, then nodded. "You know, I might take you up on that. Perhaps get a good vegetable patch going that you could use as well?"

[tt_sirius.insanejournal.com]

He chuckled again at her teasing, shaking his head a little as he did. "I've read most of those dull, dreary books. After the settlements were staked out and the wards raised, I was fairly bored until Kingsley sent me to Australia."

Sirius glanced toward the kitchen. The cooking food smelled good and he was mildly grateful for the momentary distraction from her touch. He was being a gentleman, more so now than he had been at the door when his better judgement had gotten away from him in an impulsive moment. "True but I don't think it would be a good idea to underestimate you. If I hadn't given you the address, I feel fairly certain that you would have found me again," Sirius pointed out, amused.

The wine was nothing to talk about but it wasn't terrible. They were starting to get older vintages through the portal. "You're welcome to do anything you like, Cecilia. Kingsley says its important that we all have gardens. I think he's afraid of something happening to the crops but I haven't seen anything in the reports to worry about."

[tt_cecilia.insanejournal.com]

"Generally, I'd say it's never a good idea to underestimate anybody," Cecilia mused, sending Sirius a small curious smile. "But if you hadn't given me your address, I would have just left it at that and figured that if I was meant to meet you again, I would, eventually. However, had I not respected your wishes for privacy, I'd just need to look in the directory. It's not that difficult finding people here, really." Watching him as she spoke, she couldn't help but wonder at the fact that not too long ago, she had been ready to leave, and now she was sitting here, feeling comfortable and relaxed with him. Maybe it was the topic of their conversation, it was safe, or maybe the intense blow-out had set them more in tune than they had been before.

"I think he's wise to worry about that," she said, unconsciously glancing in the general direction of the fields that had already been planted. "There are plenty of things that can lead to failed crops that can't be predicted or foreseen." Gesturing towards the mountains, she continued, "there's the volcano, for instance, and for all we know, this place could be the breeding area for one of the migrating species here every year in January, not to mention pest infestations, drought, wildfire..." She managed to stop herself before she got too carried off on the list of possible things that could go wrong. "Anyway, the private vegetable patches are easier to protect and they'll have people better prepared if we had to start over from scratch again."

[tt_sirius.insanejournal.com]

"I suppose you are right in that aspect. It's impossible to disappear on the settlements. Off of them... well, it would be rather too easy to do that. I had neighbors when the first refugees came through, that is, until they discovered who they were living next to. Within a week, both homes on either side of this one were empty again. It took no effort to find the requests for resettlement," Sirius explained with an uncaring shrug.

Sirius found the sound of her voice soothing, and he relaxed more listening to her talk, clearly on a subject that she had a wise opinion on. A small frown flickered across his forehead at the mention of the volcanoes - the ones on this island were active but he'd been to the top of the calderas and they were vast so the threat of another Pompeii was minor. "It sounds like you've given this some thought before," he teased dryly, giving her hand a light squeeze. "You're welcome here anytime, Cecilia."

[tt_cecilia.insanejournal.com]

"Sometimes people are just... ugh." Cecilia sighed deeply, shaking her head as she combed her fingers through her hair. The fact that they had been given this second chance, being relocated to a place safe from the disastrous winter that was brewing in their old world and to a place where every step to avoid a society divided by class, and still they refused give other people the same second chance frustrated her deeply. Still, it explained a few things. "That's... why you were so worried about how being seen with you would affect me?"

His comment, however, had her chuckling softly as she nodded. "It's what I do, Sirius," she smiled at him, touched by the gentle squeeze of his hand. "Or, well, it's what I used to do. Back then it just wasn't a volcano or pterodactyls I had to take into consideration, but the neighbor's sheep or a leaking greenhouse." Tilting her head slightly, she watched him for a moment. Then she smiled and nodded. "I hope I won't make you regret that invitation."

[tt_sirius]

"Partially. There was the fairly remote chance that you hadn't heard of me and I couldn't take that chance. Kingsley gets away with associating with me because of who he is here. I would loathe for you to suffer from your... friendship towards me," Sirius replied gravely. He glanced toward the front of the house, where the shadows of dusk were making it impossible to see further than the light of the front porch.

"And now you have volcanos, pterodactyls, dragons, continental shifts and neighboring sheep, cows, goats, chickens, and ducks to worry about. I'd add in whale-sized sharks but I doubt you go that far out on the water - at least, I hope you don't. I'm down at the docks once a month helping to relayer the wards on the fishing boats as it is," he added, slightly serious, slightly teasing. He felt a tension in his stomach at the thought of this witch out on the water in that kind of danger.

The timer in the kitchen began to sound, making Sirius realize just how much time had passed while they talked comfortably. He flashed a sly smile. "It's not an invitation I offer lightly," Sirius pointed out, rising to his feet and holding out a hand to her. "But I daresay you won't make me regret it."

[tt_cecilia]

"Hey," Cecilia said softly to regain Sirius' attention as he looked away from here, and with a gentle hand on his cheek, she physically urged him to do so. "Your friendship means more to me than their judgment," she assured him. "Simple as that. I told you, the only one whose opinion matters to me, is Jamie, although yours is beginning to gain a bit of significance as well, but as long as I'm not forcing you on him, I don't see how he could possibly have any objections to this..." she shrugged slightly. "If he does, I'll deal with that as well. Alright?"

"Among other things," Cecilia chuckled as Sirius listed all of the things she had to take into consideration here. "You forgot the downpours and generally different climate altogether, but yeah, it's a challenge, but one of the better ones." With a smile, she shook her head. "I'm not a marine botanist or marine anything, for that matter... I prefer my feet on solid ground, so I sincerely doubt that the whale sharks will be much of a concern for me, at least when it comes to my work."

The sound of the timer had Cecilia look to the kitchen, surprised that the food was already done. Time had flown as they had talked, and with a smile she accepted Sirius' hand. "We'll see how regretful you are when you're trapped in your own home, surrounded by edible plants."

In the kitchen, she opened the oven and moved the dish to the counter. Careful not to burn her fingers, she worked open the paper package and smiled satisfied when the aromatic steam came wafting out smelling perfectly. "Perfect," she beamed up at Sirius, and unfolded the paper completely, letting the dish serve as a serving plate for the fish and vegetables. "All we need is the bread and the wine."

[tt_sirius]

It took a moment of mental struggle not to cup her soft hand to his cheek but Sirius had given his word that he would be a gentleman and he would abide by that as long as she let him. Sirius nodded. "All right."

"After twelve years of feeling like I would never be warm again, I rather enjoy the climate here," he chuckled warmly after she made it clear that she didn't go near the boats. That was a thought that would have haunted him, to be sure. As it was, he was somewhat assured of her ability to safely explore - on this continent, at least. She was a thoughtful witch, so the risk of being near the volcanoes was minimized there.

Following Cecilia into the kitchen, he circled around behind her and opened one of the cupboards to select two plates. He set them on the counter and returned to the cooler to retrieve the bread and the wine bottle. "Done and done," Sirius declared with a flashing grin as he set the bread into a shallow basket then levitated both over to the table.

"Just getting the cutlery," he added, nodding that she should head to the table with the main dish. Pulling one of the drawers open, Sirius selected knives, forks, and a set of larger spatulas to transfer the fish, then he joined Cecilia at the table. "That smells great."

[tt_cecilia]

"I didn't say I didn't enjoy the climate," Cecilia grinned back at Sirius, "but when you're used to colder weather, even for an Herbologist, the change of weather is a challenge. It's a different mindset, so to speak." Looking at Sirius, she felt a sense of relief, of delight, that he was comfortable here, that he was no longer cold and hoped that he would eventually begin to seem more at ease with this second (or was it third?) chance of life he had been given.

Placing the fish on the table, Cecilia took a seat and gestured for Sirius to start serving. "Hopefully it tastes just as great," she smiled at him, and made herself comfortable, ready for a comfortable night with Sirius.

[tt_sirius]

Sirius' easy smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he began serving, first to her plate, then to his own while Cecilia refilled their glasses from the wine bottle. It was a much easier setting than had been earlier and he was content not to push the envelope there.

"Mmm, this is a great deal better than what I normally have," Sirius commented after taking a bite. He'd have to remember the trick of wrapping the fish and veggies up - it could work over an open fire as well though he normally stuck to what was quick and necessary out there.

Dinner passed with easy conversation, safe topics, and the wine smoothed out any internal arguments Sirius might have felt though he was far more interested in listening to Cecilia regale him with tales of her exploring adventures since arriving on the island.