Sirius and the Goddess

Usual blah blah blah... don't own it, not gonna say it anymore.


When Sirius woke several hours later he found a glass of water and a potion sitting on the bedside table. He gulped down the potion and almost gagged. It tasted absolutely horrible! Somewhere between parchment and rotten fish. He made a disgusted noise and then went for the water. He swished it around in his mouth, trying to make certain that he wouldn’t have any of that retched potion still in there when he was finished. That being done, he got up to look out the window. He moved his tongue around in his mouth and found that there was a little bit of the taste still in there. He cringed and took his glass to the bathroom sink to get more water to wash it down.
Going back into his room he heard a knock on the door. “Come in.” he said.
Athena came into the room and he straightened up. “Oh, you’re already awake. The house elves made you a potion to put on the wound, did you see it?”
Sirius froze and his eyes went wide. “To put on the wound? Uh oh.”
Athena looked at him curiously for a moment before her eyes went as wide as saucers. “Oh Merlin! You drank it didn’t you?” Sirius nodded and she smirked a little before hiding it and saying, “Oh, well that makes things interesting. Um, there’s nothing in it that’s going to harm you per se, but I can’t say what all is going to happen.”
Sirius felt the heat rising in his face and wanted to explain himself. “Well, I woke up and it was right there on the table so I figured… and the water was right next to it and, oh Merlin!"” He sank down onto his bed and put his face in his hands.
Athena came over and sat next to him and said, “Don’t be embarrassed, I probably would have done the same thing. Well, I guess we’ll find out what this does to you in the next day or so. Since you’re not completely sick yet it shouldn’t be much of anything, really.”
Sirius nodded wordlessly and thought of all the stupid stuff he and James had done in their youth and how funny he would find this now and smiled, despite himself. “Do you really think so? I mean, I’ve done some pretty stupid stuff in my time and this just seems to fit in with all of them. The potions pranks always seem to hit me the hardest. One time James and I actually managed to turn me into a girl. It lasted for about a day and I was so completely mortified that I wouldn’t leave the dorm for anything. I’m not sprouting anything I shouldn’t am I?” he smiled beneath his hands and Athena laughed loudly.
She coughed from the lack of moisture in her throat and had to ask, “What on earth were you trying to do with something like that?” Sirius chuckled and shrugged. “Well, I can assure you that you don’t have anything extra. At least not that I can see.” She got up and went to the door. She opened it and Sirius heard her talk to someone outside. “Milly, would you bring us another healing salve? I spilled the other one. Oh no thank you, I already cleaned it up. Thank you Milly.” She turned back to him and smiled, “I don’t think we have to tell anyone about that right now, do you?” Sirius shook his head gratefully and Athena came back over.
He laid down on his back and sighed. “You know, that stuff tasted absolutely disgusting. Yep, right after stinkweed sap and scurvygrass.” He made a face, “Blech!”
Athena erupted into laughter (a sound Sirius liked very much) and covered her mouth with her hand, “Should I ask?” she said to herself, “Aw, why not? Sirius, why and how on earth do you know what those taste like?”
Sirius sat up again and came about an inch away from her. He was suddenly very aware of himself. The look on her face changed ever so slightly when he did this, but he didn’t notice. “Well, James dared me to eat them. When my best friend dared me to do something, I usually did.” Athena nodded and Sirius felt the urge to kiss her. He leaned his head forward and grazed her lips slightly, eliciting a soft moan from Athena. He looked into her eyes and pushed a little harder and licked her bottom lip begging for entrance. She opened her mouth just enough to let him in and Sirius pushed his tongue into her mouth, probing softly. Her tongue mingled with his for a second and pushed into his mouth. Sirius groaned longingly.
Suddenly he felt the bile in the back of his throat. He pulled away swiftly and ran for the bathroom. “Oh Merlin.” he whimpered before vomiting into the toilet. Athena was at his side, rubbing his back and comforting him as best she could. He retched again and again until there was nothing left in his stomach. Athena helped him get shakily to his feet and led him toward the bed. Sirius collapsed into it and Athena stroked his forehead. “Shh.” She said to his groans. “It’s alright. At least we know what would happen from that potion. Be calm and I’ll get you some soda.”
Sirius opened his eyes in curiosity, “Soda? Isn’t that a muggle drink?” Athena nodded. “And it will help with my stomach? Alright then.”
A knock sounded at the door and Athena went to answer it. She talked in a low voice and then came back with another potion. She smiled faintly at Sirius and sat down next to his prone form on the bed. “I really have to use this now. Just lie on your back and I’ll be as gentle as possible. Milly is getting you something to drink.”
Sirius turned onto his back and watched as Athena undid his shirt. The angry red welt underneath had healed some since his shower. She carefully spread a little bit of the potion on his chest and he winced at the burning sensation it caused. She stopped for a second and waited for his approval to go on. Sirius nodded and Athena poured a little more on, brushing it with her fingers until it coated all of the redness.
She sat up, put the goblet of salve on the floor and smiled reassuringly. “Well, that’s better, isn’t it? The numbing solution that has been put in it should start working right about now. Do you feel up to going down stairs for dinner?”
Sirius did indeed feel the pain that had been constant for the last week ebbing away and smiled with relief. “I think I can manage. What are we having?”
Athena smiled brightly and shrugged. “Whatever you want. I’ve been told to pamper you right now so that’s what I’m going to do.”
Sirius grinned wickedly at her and raised an eyebrow, “How far are you going to go with pampering me?”
Athena blushed slightly and shook her head. “Not that far. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get a little bit of work done before dinner. It be be about dinner time when I’m finished so come down when you’re ready, okay?” Sirius nodded and Athena left the room.
He let out a breath and thought of how her lips felt against his. She might just pity an injured man. She probably didn’t want to even do that, just humoring me. Sirius smiled at his own thoughts and turned to sit by the window when he heard a small knock at the door, house elf by the sound. “Come in.” The small elf from the other day came in with a glass of liquid. “Thank you. I’ll just drink this now. I am supposed to drink it, right?” The elf nodded and Sirius laughed. “Oh good. I don’t want to do anything I shouldn’t.” With that the little elf bowed and hurried from the room. Sirius looked down at the glass of clear liquid. It had bubbles along the sides of the glass and hissed when he swished it in the glass. A little leery of the consequences, Sirius took a small sip. He was taken aback when it bit his lips and tongue. This is supposed to make me feel better? He took a bigger taste of it and felt even more of aglingling sensation in his mouth. It was strange but not altogether unpleasant. Sirius looked into the glass again and decided it was all right. He sipped it for quite a while before he felt hungry enough to venture downstairs.
He opened the door into the hallway and peered out. It was covered in rich tapestries on one side and heavy curtains on the other. To his left it ended with a door and to his right was the banister of a staircase so he went right. The stairs opened up into the floor below, revealing an immense room that reminded him faintly of the Gryffindor common room with it’s plush fabrics and warm jewel colors. On one end a fireplace covered the entire wall, surrounded by exquisitely carved braces holding up a mahogany mantelpiece. Sirius immediately realized that this house was much grander than he had originally thought. His room gave the impression of a small cottage and he hadn’t seen any indication out his window to prove this idea to be false. He studied the room for a minute before slowly making his way down to the opulent room below. He had no sooner sat down in a chair by the fireplace when he heard Athena’s voice, raised and menacing in a room to his left. Curiosity overcame him and he went to investigate what was wrong.
He finally found her in the kitchen yelling at a young man who had to be a relative. “Trust me, Marcus, I will tell Mom and Dad if you ever decide that you need to do something so ridiculous and foolhardy again! Now go home before I explode!” The young man, Marcus, smirked and didn’t remain for another tongue-lashing. Sirius chuckled to himself and Athena turned to face him.
”Oh, sorry about that. My idiot brother decided to go and gather up all the information he could about giants. He couldn’t find enough information, though, to satisfy him so he went to see them. Nice way to send your parents to an early grave, isn’t it?”
Sirius stifled a laugh and sat down in a chair at a little table in the corner. “Don’t ask me, I’ve done too many stupid things in my life to look down on someone else for doing what they want.”
Athena let out a big sigh and looked at Sirius, “So what do you want for lunch?”
Sirius shrugged. “I don’t know, how about Beef Wellington?”
Athena smiled brightly. “That’s my favorite! Beef Wellington it is!” She motioned to the house elves who began scurrying about to fulfill the request. “Why don’t we go sit down in the common room?” Sirius agreed and they went back into the room he had just been in.
Athena helped him sit down in a plush velvet armchair and took a seat in the matching one opposite it. “So, Sirius, how are you feeling?”
He took stock of himself before laughing softly. “Well, I think my chest just might explode if it doesn’t heal sometime soon.”
Athena sucked on her bottom lip and gave him a concerned look. Sirius waved away the concerns and put on a brave face. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine. I’m just being whiny about it all. I’m sure that anyone else would be up and about, prancing around and having a good time.”
Athena pulled her hair out of her eyes and raised an eyebrow. “Anyone else who hadn’t been into the veil might be. You’ve been through quite a bit you know. Make me feel better and take things slowly for now, okay?”
Sirius sighed and consented, not wanting to argue with her. She grinned at him and looked over at the house elf standing quietly by the doorway. Sirius startled, as he hadn’t even seen her there.
“Dinner is ready Miss.” The elf bowed and several more came out with trays full of food on them. They pulled a table around in between Sirius and Athena and placed the food on it before quickly departing.
Sirius helped himself to everything that was offered and started eating enthusiastically. Athena finished her dinner long before Sirius and sat watching him until he finally pushed his plate back and slumped into the chair. He loked up at her and saw she was bemused about something. “What? Have I done something wrong?”
Athena laughed and shook her head. “Oh, no, not at all. I was just amazed about how mush you ate at lunch and now you’re eating again.”
Sirius smiled sheepishly and ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, I’ve been really hungry lately. I don’t know how else to explain it.”
Athena nodded and sighed. “I think we should get you back upstairs before you get too tired to climb those steps.” She stood and walked over to him. “Come one, up.”
Sirius looked up at her and frowned. “But I was having such a lovely time talking to you, do I have to go?”
Athena tugged lightly on his arm and Sirius gingerly rose from the chair. “Yes, Sirius you do. I’ll stay up there and talk to you if you want.”
Sirius nodded and waited for the pain to subside before moving towards the stairs. “You know, this wasn’t nearly so painful on the way down.”
Athena went up the first step and held his arm so he could do the same. “I know, it was the potion you drank. I put a pain reliever in it for you.”
Sirius sucked in a breath of air and grimaced. “Oh, do you think I could get another one of those?”
She shook her head and they ascended a few more steps. “No, I’m sorry. I ran out of a few ingredients so I’ll have to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow and refil my stores before I can make you more. Do you need something else to help with the pain?” She furrowed her brow, making Sirius smile warmly at her.
“No, I’ll be alright. I would like one, but I don’t need it.” He sighed as they reached the top of the stairs and stopped for a minute before walking back to the bedroom he was staying in.
Athena followed him in and sat down in a chair beside the bed after making sure that he was settled. “So, what would you like to talk about?”
Sirius laid back on the pillows and felt his eyes close of their own violittion. “Oh, I don’t know. I think now that Iuld uld probably go to sleep. Would you mind if we just talked later?”
Athena smiled and patted his hand. “No, I don’t mind at all. Why don’t you sleep and I’ll go to Diagon Alley first thing tomorrow and be back here before you know it.” Sirius mumbled something and drifted off into sleep, vaguely recognizing the door closing when Athena went out.