Frigus . Sirius Black (Mortem BOOK 2)

chapter eight

November 10th, 1978 - Nephera and Sirius's Home 

Nephera almost always wore dark colors, usually different variations of black, dark green, and grey. She didn't know why, she simply supposed she liked the way the dark colors made her feel, more confident, more dangerous. 

That day, however, as she stirred awake in her bed, she hated the fact that she had to dress in black. She hated that she had to wear black that day, at Fleamont and Euphemia Potter's funeral. 

The brunette hadn't had much time to dwell on her own grief. She had Sirius to look out for, which is what she did that morning as soon as she realized he wasn't in bed. 

Making quick work of brushing her teeth and pulling on a pair of sweatpants, she went downstairs in search of the wizard. The faint sounds coming from the garage told her that he was working on his bike, even though there was nothing else left to fine-tune. 

Realizing that he needed some time to himself, and not wanting to intervene in that, she went to the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee for herself and lighting up a cigarette. 

It was raining that morning, not that the girl minded, it made her think that nature was grieving along with her, and the sound of raindrops against the window filled in the tense silence of the house. 

The moment of peace did not last long, for the sound of someone flooing in caught her attention. Worried that it was probably Lily, asking for more calming crystals for James, she rushed to the living room only to see Ailani dusting the ash off of her, "You scared me," scowled Nephera, turning on her heel and going back to the kitchen 

The Hawaiian witch did not take the bait, following after her younger friend and sitting down on the table opposite her, "How are you, Ra?" she asked gently 

"Since when do you ask such personal questions?" 

"Since the fact that this is the first time I haven't heard of you in over a week. Even when you lived in the Winchester manor, you always wrote to me," 

Knowing that there was no way she'd be getting out of this conversation, the Winchester girl relented, "It's been tough," she sighed, not making eye contact, "The first night was the worst, he cried all throughout it, Remus had to slip him some calming draught in his tea to make him fall asleep," 

"Remus?" asked Ailani 

"Yes, he stayed here for a couple of nights, helping Sirius-" 

Ailani could very well see what was going on, and she did not like it one bit. Nephera was notorious for keeping her thoughts to herself, especially those as vulnerable as grief and sadness. Even more so than that, in the eighteen years she had been alive, the brunette girl did not accept help from anyone around her. She dealt with things on her own, and the Hawaiian witch feared that this was one thing the young brunette couldn't simply keep inside, "I didn't ask how Sirius was doing, Nephera, I asked what you were doing. And I'm certain that Remus wasn't here to help only him, but you too, you need to feel this," 

"I'm well acquainted with Death, I'm used to it by now," 

And it was true, the young girl had long ago familiarized herself with the concept. She had killed people before, taken life, and she had lost people before, Ellie and Tony. She didn't need to grieve, she needed to take care of her family, and she couldn't do that if she was lost in her own mind. 

Ailani only sipped her coffee as a response, eyeing the ashtray on the table which was nearly filled to the brim with cigarette butts and ash, "This is different than Ellie and Tony, and you know it," 

Much like Nephera, Ailani was rarely wrong in what she said, and this was one of those situations. With Ellie and Tony, it had been sudden, yes, but she hadn't seen it happen, and she had someone to blame, Riddle, who had also conveniently given her something to keep her mind occupied. The brunette also hadn't been around to see the others grieve, she hadn't seen Remus drink himself into a stupor, she hadn't seen the fight between the boys, she hadn't seen Sirius keep himself awake so the nightmares couldn't come.