Temptation
Heartaches and Hogsmeade
*A/N--Geez. Sorry I went so long without updating, but I was on Spring Break. And, to boot, sorry this is such a short chapter. I decided to break up Chapter Eight, and what is now nine is too short to be posted at the moment.*
Lachlan decided that she could not take her sister for very much longer without performing several curses that would land her in Azkaban, so she opted to get a room at the Three Broomsticks while she was conducting her investigation at Hogwarts. She was sure that Madam Rosemerta, the innkeeper and barmaid, would be more than happy to set her up for a week or two on Ministry expense. Lachlan, in return, would tip her graciously as she wasn\'t having to endure Miss Priss for hours on end.
The weather was remarkably spring-like for early February and Lachlan was excited at the prospect of being around for spring in the Highlands. Spring was always the most magical time of the year, when even the Muggles in the area could sense the vibrant hum of magic potential from fairy mounds and in vales of heather. One might even see a fairy peek out from the woods, and, if quick enough, catch them and steal a wish.
The prospect of being out in such marvelous weather struck Lachlan as an excellent opportunity for she and Archie to spend some quality \"pet\" time. She laughed as his ears perked up and he chased what appeared to be a refugee Leprechaun down into an abandoned badger hole. Frustrated at the size of his snout and the agility of the tiny gnome, Archie huffed and ran back towards his master, nearly knocking her down with his enthusiasm.
\"You silly dog. Trying to get me all muddy! And me in me nice robes as well. It\'s shame, I tell you. Dinna fash yourself w\' wee gnomes and come along.\" Archie cocked his head at the sudden appearance of a very thick Scottish accent over the cultured tones of Tara\'s voice. Something about being at home brought out the accent that she\'d tried to thin down a bit in order to be readily understood in the workplace.
Aidan Lachlan would have turned over in his grave if he knew that his daughter tried to water down her natural accent in order to blend in better with wizards at the Ministry. Even Isobel, for all her culture and so-called airs, had a relatively thick Scottish accent despite her care to enunciate and articulate everything with extreme precision.
Archie ran ahead into the small village, Tara close behind. Strolling along the streets of Hogsmeade was not a luxury taken lightly and Tara stopped to stare into several store windows before ducking into a Quidditch supply store at the end of High Street. The sign over the door read, \"Kincaid\'s Quidditch Supply.\" Tara huffed. Very original, that one. Why, she\'d never seen such an eloquent and inventive sign in her entire life. Of course, her brother-in-law, for all his kindness, was not very creative when it came to things like signs and letters.
\"Hullo, Keith. How\'s the business?\" Keith Kincaid looked up then, his blue eyes lighting up with a smile as he hurried around the counter to envelop his sister-in-law in a rather large bear hug. He pushed her back slightly and tipped her chin up to get a look into her eyes.
\"You look happy, lass.\" He tilted his head toward Archie, who was pawing at a clear container of Golden Snitches. \"I suspect that fellow has a lot to do with it. Interesting dog, Tara. Looks to be right intelligent. Hell of a lot better than that louse you live with.\" Keith then dissolved in a stream of muttered curses and threats directed towards her live-in boyfriend. Lachlan sighed. There was no convincing Keith that Reginald was a wonderful man.
\"I saw that blighter the other day. Looked right cozy with some blonde lass. Now, I know you can change yourself about, but I\'m tellin\' ya, she dinna look like ya. She looked like one o\' those Gilliam sisters.\" Lachlan arched an eyebrow. She worked with Juliana Gilliam. Surely she wouldn’t…no. Juliana had a little more sense than to take up with her co-worker\'s long-term boyfriend. Besides, if it was her, it had to be completely innocent.
\"Did they come in together, Keith?\" He shook his head yes and reached under the counter for what looked like an instant photograph. Apparently they had come in on a customer appreciation day and won some sort of prize for being the tenth customers of the day.
Lachlan gazed at the photograph in shock. There was Reginald, her Reginald, looking insanely cozy with the blonde Gilliam. She didn\'t know which betrayal was worse: her friend or her lover. Sighing loudly, she pushed the photo back across the counter to Keith and gathered up her things. She didn\'t have time to deal with these things right now, she had an investigation to run. She would question Reginald on his indiscretions at a later date, but for now, she would write him a letter as if nothing was wrong. Maybe she could convince herself of thn thn the course of writing her little piece of fiction.
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Later, curled up in her pajamas in a cabin in Hogsmeade, Lachlan again turned her thoughts to the straying Reginald. She was lying in bed, Archie beside her and within arm\'s length so that she could rub his ears between lines of painful letter-writing. She\'d been trying to write for the past twenty minutes and all she had was \"Hello, love.\" Pretty pathetic for a woman who had every right to dash off a very eloquent Howler to the man in question.
\"Archie? Why is it that I always get the scummy ones? Am I that terrible to look at?\" With that, Lachlan broke down in a cry that rivaled the third time she read \"Avril\'s Atonement.\" Archie nudged closer and licked her hand while she cried, trying to offer some comfort in the only way he knew how.
\"If only you were some…animagus in disguise or something. It would be perfect, really.\" Lachlan yawned sleepily and fell back into the pillows, exhausted and out of tears. Archie nudged her lightly, and, assured that she was asleep, got up and padded into the living room. Once there, he transfigured himself back into human form and quickly made a set of pajama pants from a towel he found in the hallway.
He crept back into the bedroom and watched for a few moments as his \"master\" sighed noisily. Her lilac pajamas covered every inch of exposed skin, but she was still sexy as she snuggled into the sheets, the moonlight picking up subtle highlights in her red hair. Sirius smiled. She wasn\'t his type. No, he was never allowed the innocent ones. Those always went to James or Remus, never him.
The innocent girls never let him get close enough for a taste. But this one…this one didn\'t know any better. She would trust him. She would want to believe that he was innocent, that he hadn\'t done any of those horrendous things to Pettigrew and a dozen Muggles. Of course, he hadn\'t, but the wizarding world didn\'t believe that. It would take a strong woman like her to turn the tables on twelve years of idle gossip and outright lies.
However, it wasn\'t quite time for him to reveal himself. He took her wand and cast a sleeping charm on her and set it for twelve hours. Twelve hours would give him plenty of time to kill Pettigrew at Hogwarts and spend some quality time with his \"master\" in his human form before she woke up.
Before leaving, he crept to the bed and trailed a hand over her cheek. She sighed again, and turned her body so that she was closer to him. He took her face in both his hands and kissed her lightly on the mouth, groaning when he felt the soft exhale of her breath followed by her licking her lips lightly.