Nyctophobia - Sirius Black

Chapter 44

They woke to a sound somewhere between a shout and a scream, which had Ruby instinctively covering the two of them with a shield of magic, though it turned out to be unnecessary when she finally opened her eyes.

In the night, Theus had managed to move closer to her head, so he was now sprawled across her chest, with his head on her neck. Ruby wondered how much the animagus transformation actually affected the person's weight, because she couldn't tell that it had changed much.

She breathed in slowly, letting her lungs fill with air before slowly exhaling. Then she pushed his head a bit to her left so it rested on the mattress beneath instead of her neck.

Pettigrew was standing on the other side of the shield, gaping openly and motioning for both Potter and Lupin to get out of bed, which they did reluctantly.

Ruby couldn't see Potter's face, given the placement of the bed, but Lupin waved awkwardly before moving towards the bathroom, looking half-dead.

Theus grumbled belatedly at the noise, before jerking up in surprise.

"Good morning, Theus." She told him, now able to breathe properly. It took him a moment to transform back, before he yawned a 'good morning' back. The shield dropped when he tumbled off the bed and then remained sprawled on the floor with no clear intention of getting up any time soon. She smiled, and got up herself. She'd woken up wide awake for as long as she could remember, but she could appreciate the time to get ready a bit slower than usual.

She left the boys dorm reluctantly, and trudged into the crowded girl's bathroom. Maneuvering around the others was difficult, but Ruby managed to shower and change into a clean uniform before heading to breakfast. She left her hair down for once.

Theus was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, holding out his hand. She smiled, taking it. Their fingers twisted together, and Ruby pretended that the gold tendrils weren't glowing a bit brighter than usual. They seemed to like Theus as much as she did, so she hoped it wouldn't ever try to hurt him.

Classes were busier than ever, as the time between them and their NEWT exams decreased. The library was filled with prepared seventh years, mostly Ravenclaws, though Remus Lupin was a frequent attendant, while everyone else enjoyed their last few months of school as freely as they could.

Ruby, Severus, and Sirius somehow managed to be split between the two groups, spending a significant amount of time both outdoors and in the library. Sirius had more to study than the other two, considering the exceptionally high grades he needed to get to become an Auror, while Severus mostly only needed to consider Potions as his main point of study.

Ruby had no such worries, although she likely should have. She'd never bothered to consider what she would do after Hogwarts, since any education, especially a magical one, had long been an inaccessible dream. If she were honest with herself, she would likely find herself in a muggle job, probably in the coal mines or factories of Cokeworth.

She might not even need a job, considering the excessive fortune in the Prince vault, but relying on that would be absurd.

Narcissa, coincidentally, also had few concerns for her final exams as long as she passed. Her wedding preparations were consuming most of her time now.

While Ruby enjoyed studying with Sev and Theus, she didn't mind slipping away when Narcissa insisted, almost hysterically, that she needed help right this second. Thankfully, for everyone's peace of mind, Narcissa rarely needed actual advice. She just needed someone to stand there and listen to her consider the far-too-numerous options until she came to a conclusion. And Ruby's suggestions, few and far between though they were, were usually barely considered as Narcissa dashed to her own solution.