/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟔.𝟞.𝟧

"never love anyone who treats you like you're ordinary." ~ Oscar Wilde

~december 1976~ ((continued))

James and Artemis sat in the living room long after Mrs. and Mr. Potter went to bed, playing cards and drinking hot chocolate. A fire was burning in the grate and it hung in the reflection of Artemis's eyes as she won her third game in a row and James threw his cards down and buried his face in his hands. "I hate you," he groaned, falling dramatically back onto the floor. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you-"

"You don't hate me," Artemis laughed, throwing a pillow at his head. "You hate yourself for not being better at cards."

He sat up, his hair a wild mess, sticking up at odd ends. "Don't psychoanalyze me, Blake," he said with a pointed look.

She rolled her eyes and started shuffling the cards again. "Here, I'll deal. D'you mind getting those cookies your mum made from the kitchen?"

"Exactly what I was thinking." James hoisted himself up from the floor and tread back to the kitchen, his socks padding across the hard wood floor.

Artemis dealt the cards and sat back on her heels, pulling her hair back into a knot behind her head. "James, hurry up!" she called over her shoulder.

Then, there was an enormous bang! from the backyard.

Artemis jumped a mile and stood up, alarmed. James poked his head through the entrance to the living room. "You heard that, right?"

"It came from outside."

James nodded and grabbed two coats from the hook by the door, tossing one to Artemis. "Bring your wand just in case."

Artemis wordlessly grabbed her wand from the kitchen counter and pulled her boots on. They hesitated for a second by the door, listening for more noises, and then James thrust it open and pointed his wand into the dark night. Artemis slipped past him onto the porch and her breath caught in her throat. "Sirius?!"

He was lying in the snow, motionless, dressed all in black. A few feet away, a black muggle motorbike was crashed against a tree. James and Artemis wasted no time running to kneel at his side. "Sirius," James said, shaking his friend urgently. "Sirius, come on- Sirius-" He turned helplessly to Artemis. "He's not waking up- shit, he's bleeding-"

A trickle of blood was running from Sirius's mouth and the longer Artemis looked at him, the worse he seemed. He had a dark bruise over his left eye and his lower lip was swollen. His face was gaunt and there were blood stains on his t-shirt. "Sirius," she said, her voice no more than a whisper. He didn't move. Without hesitating, she slapped him in the face- hard.

"What the hell?" James said, his voice raising an octave.

Sirius stirred then, his eyes fluttering open and gazing up at them with vague recognition. "Why'd you slap me, Blake?"