Savior Complex || Sirius Black

(two.)

"I just don't get why I have to be here." Dalia grumbled around her finger, chewing on the nail anxiously. Evander rolled his eyes and smacked the hand away from her mouth.

"Dalia, it's an organization. You can't just be some mysterious figure that we vouch for. These people don't fuck around alright."

The woman glared up at the Black Manor- Grimmauld Place, Evander called it- as if it had somehow offended her. "Can't they just... Trust me by association? I mean, they knew Ophelia- they know you. They knew our parents..." She trailed off, hand moving slowly back up to her mouth. Evander grabbed her wrist.

"Just- stop. Look." He dragged the other hand over his face, letting out a long breath. Dalia felt a pang of guilt as she noticed just how dark the bags under his eyes had gotten. He looked older, as if the past few months had been years instead. "The Order they've- they've lost a lot of members, okay? Most of the people fighting are children. Children that you-" He shook her wrist for effect, "-are in charge of keeping an eye on, alright?"

'"Children?" Dalia echoed, and Evander nodded enthusiastically. "What- like, child soldiers?"

Evander let out a harsh laugh, and then he was also glaring up at the building as if it had offended him.

"Yeah- something like that." He muttered. Dalia finally let out a dramatic sigh.

"Alright, big brother, let's get this bullshit over with."

The hallway was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Evander had informed her that there was a cursed painting, but he'd also told her that there were about five or six teenagers staying in the house at this time, so she'd anticipated at least a little more noise as they moved towards the kitchen. There was definitely muffled conversation coming through the door, and Dalia caught sight of a head of ginger hair ducking back from the bannister as Evander rapped his knuckles twice. The conversation seemed to pause, and then a disgruntled looking Alastor swung the door open.

"Ah, Raycrofts! Come in, come in." He said in his usual gruff way, ushering them in. Dalia balked at the crowded table, consisting mostly of men. She shifted awkwardly from foot to foot as Evander introduced her. Dumbledore, who she'd noticed sitting at the head of the table, stood and announced what she was there for, and that they all vouched for her. The room was silent for a moment afterwards, and Dalia swiped a nervous hand down her face, wishing that someone would say something.

"Merlin, you look just like her." Came a man's voice. He sounded sad, and Dalia chewed on her tongue a bit as she surveyed the faces before her, trying to determine who'd spoken. Dumbledore was smiling at her, eyes twinkling, but she knew it hadn't been him.

"Um- I- like- Ophelia?" She said lamely, reaching to scratch at the back of her neck. A man who looked probably around her age, maybe a bit older, stood up suddenly. His chair clattered to the floor, and Dalia blinked at his steady gaze. He was gorgeous, sure, but the intensity of it made her nervous. His hair was the same color as the head she'd seen earlier, and she wondered absently if they were related in some way.

"Yeah. I- Hi. I'm Bill Weasley." He moved to her side quickly, sticking out a hand. "Ophelia and were- well, we- we worked together. She was- fuck. She was a fantastic person."

Dalia took it tentatively, pretending not to notice the way that Evander had stiffened at her side.

"She was pretty awesome." Dalia said dismissively with a firm shake. His blue eyes studied her face as he held her hand a moment longer than needed- and then dropped it, cheeks tinting pink , as if he'd just realized what he was doing. Someone at the table had cleared their throat. Another man had stood- definitely older than Dalia, or Evander, with long black hair and scruff that made him look sexy in a rugged sort of way.