Untreated Wounds | Sirius Black

Chapter 15

The air was cold on the late November afternoon. Still, it was pleasant. The forest whistled and rustled with every gasp of wind that filtered through the tall pine trees. In front of us was a small running creek as we sat on the pebbly bank with cigarettes between our lips. Laughter filled the air around us from our tongues.

"This is much better than raiding a village, isn't it?" He grinned at me, 

I turned to him with furrowed brows for a short moment until my eyes went wide, "Was this your intention all along? To get me out of the attack?"

A big, sly grin pulled at his lips, "What if it was?" 

Uncontrollably, I smiled back at him, "I'd have never thought you were sharp enough to pull off a scheme like this,"

"Hey! It took you this long to catch on, who are you calling blunt?" His smile didn't falter.  I couldn't find blame for what I'd realised -- He had a beautiful smile. How straight his teeth were and how he had two dimples on either side of his cheeks. His smile was contagious. And as I smiled back at him, my chest swelled with warmth. It had never done that before.

And it hadn't done that before because I never used to fancy Sirius Black.

My eyes went wide when I realized I'd thought of fancying Sirius Black.

Oh, God. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God.

I glanced over at Sirius. His eyes were back on the lake, watching the sun reflect off the smooth water peacefully. The sun glowed on his features and reflected on his bright eyes, his skin was smooth and soft, his jaw was defined, and his granite-like eyes were the peaceful grey clouds and gentle rain that ran down your window while you fell asleep wrapped in blankets. I shook my head quickly, scolding myself. Slowly I took a drag of the joint, trying to distract myself but the silence that Sirius must've deemed comfortable because he was smiling to himself.

Maybe he fancied me. Did he?

I mean, we sat there in silence but not the kind where you're swallowing and fiddling with your thumbs -- the kind that only came when we didn't need to say anything -- his company was plenty. The gentle fire in his chest kept my brittle heart warm, kept it beating. 

"Thank you," I finally whispered, "For helping me get out of it,"

"Anything, Lil,"

I turned to him with a tilted head, "Even kill another death eater for me?"

He glanced over at me with a grin, "Only if it's Mucibler."

"I think he has suffered enough considering his new lack of eyebrows," I snickered,

Sirius chuckled, tapping the ash off the bud of his cigarette. The silence was never heavy with Sirius. It lifted weights off my shoulders as I admired the forest around us. My heart swelled in my chest. 

I was so used to a fire roaring hot in my chest. I was used to it burning my skin and boiling my blood and clouding my mind with smoke. It never burned as hot when I was with Sirius. It didn't reach out to pinch him with its ember fingers anymore. Still, it crackled away in my chest. It kept my heart just warm enough that it could continue to burn in my chest.  Its embers flickered across my skin, every now and then heating my cheeks up and painting them scarlet when he made me laugh. 

Suddenly, he jumped and staggered to his feet, "What the hell just touched me!?"

I chuckled as he brushed himself down while I recognised the small hiss. A small snake lifted its head from beneath the leaves we sat on. His scales were brown with speckles of dark spots and vibrant yellow eyes. I shifted to face the snake, remaining crouched with my knees against my chest as I bowed my head respectively.