The Burning of the White Wisteria

CHAPTER 12: AFTER HOURS

"And then," Sirius' hands raised higher and higher, fully dedicated to telling his story, "I flew up so high, I passed out and fell out of the sky!"

"From the high altitude?" Luci asked, leaning onto Remus' shoulder.

Sirius shrugged, handing me a granola bar. "Godric, I don't know. All I know is it bloody hurt when I hit the ground."

"Do you remember the fall then?" I questioned, taking a bite of my granola bar with a satisfying snap. "I thought you were unconscious?"

"Any man would wake up to his bones snapping in half," he responded, teeth digging into his apple, "I'm tough, 'Lex, but not that tough."

"Please," James rolled his eyes, "he's putting on a show for you, Malfoy."

"Am not!"

"Are too!" James looked at me, eyes sharp underneath his glasses.

"Knock it off," Remus ordered, "it's too early for you to be screaming at each other."

I glanced through the window to see the early morning sky. It was 8:45, meaning we only had a couple of minutes before we had to go to class. It'd been a week since I'd finally been able to get sleep again, clocking in at over 12 hours a night to make up for what I lost. I thoroughly enjoyed it and began to notice how much life it brought back into me. I no longer had terrible bags, headaches, or achy muscles, though those last two might have to do with my increased appetite.

Thinking about it, my stomach growled as I went in for my breakfast that consisted of a fruit parfait. The delightful flavour of the food bloomed against my tongue, bringing a small smile to my face. I could tell that the Marauders were watching me eat as if it were foreign-- not that I could blame them really.

I haven't made up with Abraxas and Mara yet-- in fact, our relationship is worse than ever. Abraxas and I haven't spoken to each other since, a downgrade to what it was before.

Thinking of him, I glanced over at where my brother was sitting. He was where he was normally with his group of pureblood friends who I assumed were all in Tom Riddle's club. He only sat with Mara on a fraction of the days, saving me from having to hear their conversations. He seemed to be more lively these days too: the colour coming back into his complexion and his face well maintained as it had been before. It made me happy. As bad as our relationship is right now, I would never want Abraxas to be unhealthy, especially if it's my fault.

I looked over to find Mara too. She was sitting with a group of Slytherins who I recognized as my friends too. They hadn't necessarily picked sides in all of this, deciding to stay neutral until the winner was decided as a true Slytherin would. She looked more and more like herself these days too. One thing I noticed was that Mara's hair has gotten considerably longer, almost back to its former glory. I almost commented on it one day, forgetting that we were fighting all together, before remembering and clamping my mouth closed. I wondered if there were times she thought about talking to me too.

Sirius' elbow poked me, gaining my attention. "You alright?"

I smiled and nodded, peeling my eyes away from her. "Yeah." His grey eyes seemed to scan over me, looking for any inconsistencies. "I'm fine, I mean it."

He shrugged and took another bite of his apple. "You know," he lowered his voice, "we can hold off on tonight if you're still not ready for it."

I shook my head, heart lightening at the prospects of tonight. "No," I smiled at him, clutching his hand underneath the table, "of course not. Unless you want to?"

Sirius laughed, his thumb rubbing against the backside of my hand. "Doll, you couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

I chuckled at his words, my heart feeling full.