Orphic » Sirius Black

Chapter 29 - Your Mess Is Mine

Mornings were worse than ever. Not only Juniper was barely functioning, but she had to make herself aware, as it was the only time of the day she could gather information. Mostly useless, in her eyes, but as of that morning, it wasn't the case.

"A witch took some pictures near a Muggle town last week," explained Judson, as he turned the page around for the rest to see, "It's a group of maskless Death Eaters in the picture, supposedly. The witch and her family were killed last night, with the dark mark above them. I'm telling you, it's them. There's no coincidence."

Juniper mercilessly plucked the paper from Judson's hands and analysed the picture.

"This is too revealing. Cross your fingers so they don't go after the editor for this."

"Too late," Ophelia said, placing the fifth page on top, pointing at a small article at the bottom, "she was killed already."

The group was silent.

"So they're killing 'their kind' too?" Maverick asked. "What do they really want?"

"In their eyes, I suppose it's just power and fear. This case is just a message. Don't come in their way."

"What a bunch of nutters."

"Maverick, they could kill you."

"I dare them."

But Juniper wasn't hearing any of it.

The high-pitched whine of her neural activity was the only sound she could hear. Not even the friction of the paper with her fingers, nor the discussion her friends were having. She was focused on the picture on the front page.

The moving image captured a group of wizards with their long, dark robes, walking in the streets of a wizard village in Yorkshire. There were about eight of them, all together, and even though the picture was taken from far away, it was close enough for Juniper to recognize Mars.

Juniper folded the paper forwards, hiding the picture from the rest, and was kicked back to reality. The urge to check it again bothered her, though she was sure.

Her legs bounced and her stomach began turning inside out. She blinked repeatedly, making sure she wasn't dreaming. And of course she wasn't.

She grabbed the paper with her fist, and after rubbing her eyes and nose and bidding goodbye, she got up and hurried outside. To her misfortune, on her way out, she ran into Uma, then Margaret, and forced a smile as she walked out. And as if the world wanted her to be more exposed than ever, she stumbled across James, Peter, Remus, and Sirius.

"June?" the latter asked when he saw her fake smile and the angst within her eyes. He reached for her wrist immediately, stopping her from getting away. "What happened?"

Juniper turned, her dismal expression waking Sirius up at last, uneasiness flooding his mind. She looked at the boys behind him, and then back at Sirius. He didn't know what it was, or how it would be done, but he knew she'd tell her. Just not there.

Not even three seconds later, she was already bolting across the hallway, and Sirius followed her. They strolled around the castle, following a clear path through the maze, breaking up from everyone. The darkness and the freezing air seemed sharper as they pulled themselves away.

They both arrived at the North Tower, as far as they could go inside the castle. Juniper got inside the Divination storage room, and closed the door after Sirius walked in. She lit up her wand and placed it at the top of a shelf, above their heads, allowing them to see each other.

He didn't insist. Or at least, not verbally. He grabbed her waist, and cupped her face with his other hand. Their eyes were connected to the other's, and Juniper wasn't pretending anymore. It was rage, desperation, angst, and sadness all over her, making her taut and hesitant. Sirius wiped an involuntary tear that ran down her cheek as she, in despair, looked around.