A/N: This is the new, rewritten version of Complexities. You don't need to have read the original, in fact I advise against it. It really is the most incredible shit. But this, I assure you, will be much better. I really hope you enjoy it. Thank you to my new and already amazing Beta-reader, Miss Bubbles. You rock my world.
Summary: Lost and sick in the middle of nowhere, Sirius falls into the hands of a woman whose secrets will tie inextricably into the fate of his godson. Sirius/OC.
The Complexities of the HeartBy katemary77
Chapter One
But when a young lady is to be a heroine, the perverseness of forty surrounding families cannot prevent her. Something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way.
- Jane Austen
"If you will thank me," he replied, "let it be for yourself alone. That the wish of giving happiness to you might add force to the other inducements which led me on, I shall not attempt to deny. But your family owe me nothing. Much as I respect them, I believe I thought only of you." Elizabeth was too much embarrassed to say a word. After a short pause her companion added, "You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever."
Anna sighed and slowly removed her glasses from where they rested on her nose, folding them onto the table before her. Taking a long sip from her tea, her ears perked at the telltale sound of raindrops falling on the roof of her small cottage. Carefully pressing down the corner of her page, she placed her well-worn copy of Pride & Prejudice on the coffee table and stood, walking over to her porch and leaning against the doorframe to watch the gentle summer rain settle over the forest. The night was cool, for summer at least, and Anna drew her quilt closer around her, her long fingers bent into the fabric.
It was then that she saw it.
A dark, hulking shape was approaching her, moving out from the trees that surrounded her home into the light of the clearing. Squinting, Anna moved swiftly to the coffee table, picked up a long, thin wooden stick of holly, and returned to the door way. As the creature came closer, Anna recognised it as a very, very large dog, with black matted fur and curious grey eyes. The dog whimpered quietly at her, trudging up the steps, and came to rest at her feet, its features drawn taut with exhaustion.
She knelt before the dog, brushing a pale hand across its face. "Hey, boy," she murmured, after a quick check to ensure that it was indeed a boy. "Where'd you come from, eh?"
The dog growled softly and pushed its muzzle further into her hand. It was emanating weariness, resignation and hope, and Anna came abruptly to her feet.
"Wait a minute…."
Scooping her wand up from where she had dropped it on the floor, she made a swishy motion, before pointing it directly at the animal.
There was a faint shimmering around the dog and then it seemed as if it were bending and moulding into a different shape, until instead of a dog lying on her porch, there was a man dressed in ragged robes, with long black hair and a tall, skinny frame.
Sirius Black.
Anna crashed to the floor in a dead faint.
-------------------------
"Shit. Shit, bugger, bloody shit."
Sirius Black quickly picked up the woman's wand and levitated her unconscious body onto a couch that sat before a merrily dancing fire. He ran a hand thoughtfully over the stubble on his chin, trying to decide his next move. Sirius didn't know how long his hostess would be out for, so he needed to work quickly to ensure that when she did wake up, he would be long gone.
Glancing around, Sirius's eyes fell upon the kitchen, his stomach grumbled angrily in response to the sight. He hadn't eaten in what felt like weeks and he wasn't about to let this opportunity pass. He moved slowly towards the pantry, stumbling in his exhaustion, and pulled off a chunk of bread from a loaf sitting on the counter, before slipping an apple into the pocket of his robes.
Now to figure out where he was. Sirius knew he was somewhere in Wales, in the middle of Wales to be more accurate. He was on his way back to Whitton, where Remus lived, so Sirius figured he had to be in the Radnor Valley forests or something like that. What he needed was a map and with a swish of the woman's wand, Sirius conjured one to his fingertips. His grey eyes quickly scanned the parchment, determining where he was in relation to Remus' house, not for the first time wondering why this witch was living in such a secluded area.
Almost as if she had heard his thoughts, the woman on the couch began to stir. Sirius cursed, dropped her wand onto the counter, stuffed the map into his pocket and moved towards the door. Just as his feet came to the first step, wet with the rain, he heard her cry out.
"Wait!"
Sirius paused, if only for a moment.
"You need help! I won't call the ministry, I promise!"
He turned, his eyes piercing into her. "Why not?"
She shrugged, a faint blush coming to her cheeks. She glanced down at her hands quickly, before looking back at him. "You're innocent, aren't you?"
Sirius gaped for a moment, having very little idea what he should say. After a moment, he forced himself to speak. "How do you – "
"Know?" she finished for him. "I don't. But you are, aren't you?"
He nodded. "Yes, I am." Sirius grimaced, swaying on his feet, as stabbing headache rocked his mind.
The woman stood, moving quickly towards him, and she caught him as he fell. "We can discuss this in the morning," she told him, leaving little room for negotiation. "You're sick, you need to rest."
Sirius vaguely felt himself nod, and was dimly aware of her giving a short smile, before darkness overtook his senses.
-------------------------
There was a Pegasus, a great white winged horse, galloping on strong, swift feet toward him, curses in purple, orange, red and yellow flying around the horse's body. Then, the horse was Harry, and he was looking at him with an expression of disbelief mingled with joy. "You died," he said quietly. "You fell. I saw you."
Then there was a wicked laugh to his right, and Sirius saw a tall, thin man with startling scarlet eyes grin maliciously at him. "You godfather first, Harry? The last of your family?" And then a green light was speeding towards him, and Sirius knew it was the end. But there was a scream of fury and sorrow so pure it brought tears to Sirius' grey eyes, and a dark shape threw itself before him.
Then there was a green garden, filled with the scent of jasmine and jonquils. A strong hand reached down and lifted him to his feet. "Time to go back, now, Padfoot old friend," said a voice that Sirius knew, knew like he would know his own heartbeat.
Sirius sat upright in the bed with a start, his eyes wide and his breathing erratic. Beside him on an old wooden chair was a woman, holding a bowl of delicious smelling soup in her lap and staring at him with an odd expression.
"Who are you?" he asked, and then clutched at his forehead as the words reverberated loudly in his mind. "Or better yet, who am I?"
A cool hand touched his forehead, followed by the tip of a wand. "Adleviare morsu," whispered a voice, and the wand lifted away, as did the pain. "I am Anna Fair, the kind and generous witch who has taken you in on a mad and unexplainable whim," the woman told him. "And you are Sirius Black, infamous murderer wanted by every Ministry from here to Peru. Soup?"
Sirius ignored her offer, although the soup did smell like the best thing he'd been presented with in weeks, instead staring back at the woman whose bed he was undoubtedly sleeping in. "You do realise I'm wanted by every Ministry from here to Peru?" he joked, although the thought did cause him some pain.
"Oh yes," she nodded with a grin, "but I've always been a firm believer that little is ever exactly as it seems. Besides, I've already spoken to Albus, and he confirmed my suspicions, although he did leave out some of the more questionable details," she finished with a frown.
"Oh?" he questioned, somewhat flabbergasted at her blasé manner concerning the wanted, possibly insane criminal lying in her bed. "And what else did he say?"
"That there is very little to no point in you continuing on to Remus Lupin's, now you're here. He thinks its best you just stay with me until the Order Headquarters are established." Her eyes twinkled, not unlike the man she was speaking of. "I think Albus might have an ulterior motive to set you and me up," she told him. "He thinks I've been lonely for too long. Always ready to meddle in everyone else's affairs…"
Ignoring the rather disturbing idea of the old man having an ulterior motive to set anyone up, Sirius asked Anna, "You know about the Order?"
"Of course I know about the Order," she scoffed, as if they were talking about something as simple as the absolute evilness of Lord Voldemort.
"Ah," Sirius said, and after having the steaming bowl of soup shoved into his hands, settled into a comfortable silence. He took the time to study the woman who had so easily accepted him into her home, comfortable in the knowledge she was doing the same to him.
Anna Fair had dark brown hair and quite pale skin, with a dusting of freckles across her nose and her high, rounded cheekbones. Her mouth was full and pert and she had smiling brown eyes. Although she was a little plain, the brightness of Anna's gaze made her quite pretty.
"Are you well enough to get up, do you think?" Anna asked, startling him out of his scrutiny. "I can get a bath ready for you."
"That would be lovely," Sirius answered, the idea of a long soak in a hot tub heavenly. "Thank you."
She smiled. "No worries. I'll just be a moment. Finish your soup." Anna stood and left the room, and Sirius noted that she moved with a grace that he had been known for in his Hogwarts days. Slurping on the ends of his meal, Sirius wondered if twelve years exposure to Dementors had had any affect on the grace of his movements, as it had affected so many other things about him.
Minutes later, Anna came and collected him, showing him into her small bathroom, where an old-looking tap was spouting hot water into a ceramic tub. Once she had left the room, Sirius stripped down and sunk into the hot water, groaning at the pleasure of it scalding his tired, thin body. After pulling his head under the soapy water, Sirius came up and rigorously scrubbed his body and hair, ridding it of the dirt of trudging through miles and miles of Welsh mud.
After a good, long soak that lasted almost an hour, Sirius rose from the bath and wrapped a fluffy white towel around his waist, moving across to the bathroom counter. Looking in the mirror, Sirius had to make an effort not to swear loudly. He knew Azkaban had done nothing good for him, but Sirius had no idea he looked this bad. True, the absence of dirt had done a great deal to his appearance, but Sirius still felt a pang of shame at the realisation that a woman, an attractive woman, no less, had seen him look this terrible. Looking down, Sirius saw that Anna had thoughtfully placed a pair of scissors, a razor and her wand on the counter, and with a hesitant grin, Sirius wrapped his fingers around the handle of the scissors. He would be Sirius Black – Sex God of Hogwarts – once more.
-------------------------
Anna was busy staring out the window, watching the sun dry the raindrops that clung to the leaves of trees outside, when she heard a soft cough behind her. Turning around, she found Sirius standing almost nervously in front of the crackling fire, clean and fresh from his bath. He smiled at her. "I'm going have a bath every day from now until I die."
She laughed, and allowed her eyes to travel over him. "You should. They do you credit." It was true; he was now cleanly shaven and had cut his smooth black hair so that it was still moderately long, hanging in his eyes with some effortless kind of elegance. Sirius had used her wand to repair and clean his teeth, and his smile was as dazzling as she supposed it had been before his incarceration. The pair of black trousers she had lent him fit snug about his hips, and the shirt, although loose, complemented him nicely. Indeed, she thought, he was devastatingly handsome.
"Do those clothes fit alright?" she asked.
Sirius nodded. "Whose are they?"
"Just a friend's," Anna answered offhandedly. "You're a little taller than him."
"They're fine, thanks," he smiled at her. "Does this friend happen to like black a lot?" he asked, commenting on the colour of the clothes she had lent him.
Anna laughed. "Very much so. It seems I've been asking him to wear a different colour my entire life, yet he still refuses to humour me."
"He must be a pretty stubborn man, then," Sirius commented.
She grinned ruthlessly. "Oh, you have no idea."
-------------------------
Anna moved her fingers deftly through her hair, tying it back into a braid, before shooting Sirius a smile. "I won't be gone too long, I should be back in about an hour."
"You'll Apparate there and back?"
She nodded. "There's a secluded valley about twenty minutes out of Bleddfa that I can Apparate to."
"Okay, I'll see you soon, then."
Anna smiled and brushed her hand over Sirius's shoulders before taking out her wand and disappearing with a crack! She appeared again in a small valley around four hours away from her cottage, and walked easily through the pastures and fields towards Bleddfa, an old village of Wales where Anna went for food and other supplies once a fortnight.
Sirius had been with her for five days, and in trying to fatten up his thin frame, she had used most of the goods she had filled her pantries with only a week ago.
"Anna! What're you doin' here? We wasn't expectin' you 'til next week!"
"Hi, Elaine," Anna smiled. "I have a friend staying with me at the moment, so I need some more groceries."
"Is it that mean lookin' man who comes with you sometimes?" the plump old woman asked, following Anna as she picked out the fruit and vegetables she needed.
Anna shook her head. "No, someone else this time."
Elaine grinned knowingly. "He handsome? You need a man, Anna, it's been too long!"
A faint blush appeared on Anna's cheeks. "Yes, he's very handsome, but I doubt he thinks of me like that."
Elaine nudged Anna with her generous hip. "Why don't you give 'im a go, aye? You're a pretty girl."
Anna laughed and set her basket of groceries down on the counter, and Elaine moved around to pass them through the register and into a bag. "We'll see, Elaine. I might be going away for a while, so don't worry if I don't come in the next couple of months, okay?"
Elaine nodded. "Where you goin' then? Back to London?"
"Maybe," she answered with a smile. "Hwyl, Elaine, diolch."
Anna left the shop and trailed along the street for a while until she reached the butcher where she ordered some meat for her and Sirius. While she was waiting for Banys the butcher to wrap her food, she turned and gazed out the window, starting for a moment when she saw a flash of white blonde entering a house down the road, a house that she knew belonged to Gwernach, the only other magical person in the area.
"Gwernach have guests?" Anna asked Banys.
The butcher grunted. "He was walking 'round with a man before, tall fellow dressed all in black."
"What did he look like, Banys?"
"Blonde hair. Pale. English, like you."
Anna looked back over at Gwernach's house, stifling a thread of pure fear that had risen within her. Thanking Banys, she took her meat and walked quickly down the road, back to the valley from which she could Apparate home. She imagined to herself that she was being watched, cold, ice grey eyes trailing her movements, but dismissed such a fear as irrational. Thankful that she had never revealed herself as a witch to Gwernach, Anna took out her wand and Apparated home.
-------------------------
Sirius woke sometime very late at night, or very early in the morning, whichever way you looked at it, with an insatiable and desperate desire to use the toilet. Racing quickly to the bathroom, Sirius relieved himself, and on his way back paused in the living room, looking over Anna's sleeping form on the couch. Feeling a pang of guilt in having her give up her own mattress for him, Sirius, who was in a rather gentlemanly and noble mood, resolved that he was well enough to sleep on the couch from now on. Crossing to Anna, Sirius peeled the crochet blanket from her body and gathered her small frame in his arms, and carried her to the bedroom. Once there, he laid her gently on the bed, tucked her in, and turned to leave the room.
"Sirius?" asked a voice drowsy with sleep.
"Yes. Go to sleep, Annie."
"Okay," she mumbled into the pillow.
Before fleeing the room, Sirius thought he might have heard a soft, "Sweet dreams, Sirius."
-------------------------
A/N: Well, there you go. I hope you all enjoyed that. Please do leave a review, for I am unlikely to continue at a rapid pace if this gets very little reviews. Thanks again to Miss Bubbles for beta-ing, who knows, if it weren't for you Sirius would be tying a towel around his waste and Anna would be buying meet at the butchers. Damn those homophones.
Hwyl – Is goodbye in Welsh, or so the internet tells me.
Diolch – Is thank you.
Any of the curses/spells etc that you haven't seen before are just derivations of Latin words.
Thank
you for reading! Please review!