01226 The Surprise

Amelia, who only a moment ago had been scolding Bryan in such stern, virtuous tones, lost every scrap of that sternness the instant Sirius's name was spoken.

A flush rose from her collar to her hairline, as though someone had turned a lamp up beneath her skin, and the woman who had been so ready to lecture him suddenly looked about seventeen.

She slipped out from the circle of his arm and began to wring her hands, her eyes were skittering away toward the dark fields as if the answer might be written somewhere out there.

"So… um. You know. About all this—what do you actually think?"

To be honest, Bryan felt something faintly strange stir in his chest.

Sirius was, without question, his loyal friend, a man who would walk through fire for him.

And Amelia… By blood she was his elder, his aunt. In his heart he would much rather have thought of her as a younger sister.

"What matters is how you feel, Amelia,"

Bryan said, shaking his head gently.

"So tell me. How do you see Sirius?"

"He's a very brave wizard, that's all—"

The question silenced her for a long while. The wind lifted a strand of hair across her cheek and she did not brush it away. When she finally spoke, she bit her lip first, and what came out had all of a young girl's shyness in it.

"He was willing to spend thirteen years in Azkaban to make up for one mistake. Thirteen years, Bryan. Mrs. Weasley says he's a bit thick-headed, and perhaps he is, but not every wizard has that kind of courage."

Her voice dwindled until it was barely louder than a gnat's hum.

"I think it shows a sense of responsibility."

"Funnily enough, I'm rather inclined to side with Mrs. Weasley on the thick-headed part—"

Bryan said, laughing, and raised a hand before Amelia could leap indignantly to Sirius's defence.

"But you're right, Amelia. He is brave, and he's dependable. He's a man you could entrust your whole life to.

"He can be reckless, of course, so you'll need to take hold of the reins when the moment calls for it."

"Then that means—"

The verdict startled her. She stared up at him with wide, clear brown eyes, afraid to finish the sentence in case it blew away.

"You don't object?"

"Honestly, Amelia, you're acting as though I were some ancient relic who disapproves of everything—"

Bryan pulled a mock-wounded frown. It lasted about two breaths before it dissolved into a smile, and he patted her shoulder.

"You're a clever witch. You know your own mind, and you know you've chosen well. All I can do now is wish the two of you every happiness."

Amelia walked back toward the house looking thoroughly content.

What she did not say was that how to tell Bryan had been something she and Sirius had talked over at great length. Two people who, on any other day, were never short of decisiveness had both turned oddly timid over this one thing.

The moon hung only a little short of the highest point of the sky, a pale coin pinned to black velvet.

By now, Paris and the British Ministry of Magic were surely already abuzz.

Only out of consideration for Remus and Tonks, the couple about to step into the hall of matrimony, had the news been held back from this quiet house for the time being.

"And what are you thinking about, I wonder?"

Before the voice reached him, Bryan caught a faint, graceful fragrance on the cold air: lavender, with something warmer beneath it, like vanilla.

He turned at the sound of footsteps and saw Fleur crossing the grass toward him, a tea tray carried carefully in both hands, her silver-gold hair spilling over one shoulder.

Bryan gave her a small smile but said nothing, his attention was settling on the tray. Beside a plate of dainty pastries dusted with sugar, each no bigger than a coin, sat two teacups whose fine patterns gave them the air of something different.

"Those are lovely," he said, lifting one eyebrow. "Wherever did you find them?"

Fleur smiled, pleased to have been noticed.

"I've always thought your taste in tea was rather unusual. But after trying a few of your favourite blends, I began to understand it. You are quite particular, aren't you?"

She tilted her head and watched him with bright, curious eyes.

"When I left Hogwarts, I spent a good while travelling,"

Bryan answered easily.

"I passed through a fair few places with fascinating magical societies, and I suppose I came away with some odd habits."

"Is that so?"

Her smile turned playful. She set the tray down before him, and the cups chimed softly against their saucers.

"Then you must tell me, truthfully, what you make of my handiwork. I made every bit of it myself."

Above them, the light of all the stars in heaven had gathered into one brilliant Milky Way, drifting silently across the curtain of night. Bathed in moonlight faintly tinged with red, Bryan and Fleur talked in low voices, steam curling from the spout of the teapot and vanishing into the cold.

After so many rebuffs, Fleur had learned a gentler way of being near him. She no longer pressed; she simply stayed. She told him about the two months she had spent in Asian countries opening new markets for the Learning Machine: lantern-lit streets at dusk, food she could not name and could not stop eating, traditions so unlike her own.

She wanted to keep talking a little longer, so she went into great detail. She described the colours of temple roofs, the shouting and singing of the night markets, drawing the story out like a ribbon.

Bryan listened patiently the whole time, and for once he did not glance at the stars.

They talked of many things, and did not stop until every pastry on the tray had gone and the teapot had given up its last cup.

Like a wheel come full circle.

After Fleur had carried the empty tray back into the house, Remus came out again, his face etched with weariness.

"Tonks has finally gone to sleep."

He smiled at Bryan, the lines at the corners of his eyes were deepening.

"Ever since she's been expecting, she hasn't had half her old energy. It's strange to see."

"Then you ought to go and rest too, Remus—"

Bryan drew his gaze down from the stars and spoke gently. "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen."

"Oh, I don't doubt that for a moment. It's just—"

Remus gave a bitter, wrysmile.

"I can't sleep. There's so much turning over in my head… and not only the family's safety. I keep wondering how to be a good husband, and how to be a good father. I find myself going back over the way James did it, again and again. I even wonder, since Tonks and I decided to marry… Well, I don't regret it. Of course I don't. It's only that—wasn't it all a little hasty?"

Remus, who always put on a calm front before his wife, poured out such things only to Bryan—not even Sirius would do, because Sirius was not made for listening to this sort of thing.

"You're worrying too much, Remus. I think you'll make a good husband and a good father—"

Bryan gave him an understanding smile.

"You know better than most how much a warm, loving family means to a person, and that's exactly why you'll do everything in your power to give them one. Most men never ask themselves the question you're asking tonight."

The words stirred something in Remus. He, too, tipped his head back and looked up, a little wistfully, at that vast and mysterious sky, where a thousand old nights seemed to lie folded in the starlight.

After a long while he came back to himself, turned his head, and looked at Bryan. In that young face, the pair of violet eyes seemed nonetheless as deep as the starry sky before them: impossible to fathom.

"Come to think of it—"

Remus suddenly smiled.

"What do you plan to do with your future, Bryan? Once Albus steps down, you'd be Headmaster of Hogwarts, I suppose. Though a good many people say you'd achieve more as Minister for Magic."

"To be honest, I can't stand the thought of being buried under paperwork, so staying at Hogwarts suits me far better… And if life ever grows dull, I can always go out and wander for a while as the Golden Viper—"

"Ah, the Golden Viper…"

Remus's face lit up.

"The last time Tonks and I were talking about the years since you came back to Hogwarts, I nearly let it slip! Speaking of which, can I share all this with her? I swear she won't breathe a word!"

Bryan's expression darkened, and he sent Remus a sidelong look heavy with foreboding.

What kind of joke was this? If those two put their heads together, Remus would find out that Bryan, as the Golden Viper, had beaten up his wife…

When faced with major changes in life, people can't help but look back on the past.

Bryan and Remus talked on for a long time in the garden of the Tonks house, until the dazzling river of stars had faded and the westering moonlight had turned soft and gentle, laying a thin silver sheen across the dew-wet grass.

"I have to step away for a little while, Remus—"

In the middle of their lively conversation, the sudden remark left Remus plainly bewildered.

"You're going to…?"

Bang!

Dazzling flames burst open above their heads and lit up the yard that had sunk into dimness. The shadows of the garden leapt and swayed, and the heat of it brushed their faces like the door of an open oven.

Fawkes came out of the fire with his wings spread, swooped low, and circled, trailing sparks of gold and scarlet. At last, he settled on Bryan's shoulder and nuzzled his hard beak against Bryan's earlobe for a while, as though he had a great deal to report.

"What's happened, Bryan? What's going on out there? Why has Fawkes come?"

Remus had jolted in alarm, his hand flew to his wand.

"No need to worry—"

Bryan said with a smile.

"It's all more or less over… Oh, but I need to go back to Hogwarts and deal with a few things. Don't worry… I should be able to make it in time for your wedding tomorrow—"

His glance fell on the two heavy dark circles under Remus's eyes, and he added, "I think you ought to get some rest too, before the guests arrive, Remus… Well then, see you at noon—"

With a sharp crack, and under Remus's anxious gaze, Bryan and Fawkes vanished from the yard, leaving only a few drifting embers and the smell of warm ash on the cold air.

And along the edge of the sky, a thin line of pale gold was already spreading across the black.

Dawn was about to break.

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