Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Two weeks had passed, the usual distance between their meetings. But this one was different. She stumbled in late, dirty and bruised, into the empty classroom, empty beside him himself: Sirius Black. Her breathing was heavy as she had just ran her way through most of the castle. "Sirius." She spoke, her voice cracking as soon as she closed the door behind her, resting her body against it. "We have a problem."
Sirius frowned when she stumbled in, his eyes scanning her body up and down. She looked like she'd just came out of a fight. "You're hurt." He stated, more of a fact than a question. "What happened?" As he crossed the room, he could see just how dirty she was. She had blood and mud all over her, including her face. Her body was covered in scratches and bruises. He looked at her with worry. Her body was trembling.
"It's not just me." She breathed out, her voice weak. "Regulus."
His stomach dropped as soon as she spoke his brother's name. "What do you mean? What happened to him?" He asked, taking her shoulders in his hands, trying to steady her as much as possible. "Is he alright?"
She winced slightly at his touch, pain filling her body even more than previously. "It's not good. I.. I don't how to say it." She rushed out her words as her mind spun. She stayed silent for a few moments before she lifted up her shaking left arm, revealing the fresh ink that laid upon it, the dark mark. Tears filled her eyes as she looked down at it.
"The dark mark?" He said, his eyes widening as he looked down at the ink on her forearm. He didn't think it was possible to sink any lower, but it just did. His voice was a bit shaky, as if on the edge of breaking. "What happened to him? Tell me."
"We both got marked... together." She admitted as she pulled her sleeve back down. "Sirius, I tried to stop him. I really did." The tears filled her eyes once more.
"Together?" He asked, his voice now a whisper as this throat became so tight he could barely speak. He looked at her with wide eyes as new, scarier thoughts ran through his head. "Are you telling me that he's... that he joined?"
"Willingly." Was the only word that escaped her dry mouth. Her tears streamed down her face, smearing the blood coming from the cut on her cheek.
His stomach dropped even lower, his hand gripping onto her arm tightly. "You mean he joined them? He's on their side now? He's a..." He spoke, barely able to finish his sentence.
"Death Eater." She confirmed his worst fear.
Sirius let out a deep, shaky breath as his heart almost exploded out of his chest. He looked at her, his mind barely processing the information. "I don't.." He said, his voice breaking. "I don't believe..." He looked away from her, his own eyes blurred by his own tears. "He was doing well." He mumbled, his chest suddenly hurting. "He was..."
She pressed her body into his, pulling him into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry, I failed you both."
For a few seconds, he stood there in shock and disbelief. But when she held him, he almost instinctively wrapped his arms around her, as tight as he could. His heart started breaking as he felt her body close to him, her warmth, her familiar scent. Even if his brother became... what he had become... this was not how things were supposed to go. This was not how any of this was supposed to go.
She held onto him tightly, the only sound in the room being her sobbing. She had just endured torture in hopes to protect the two boys. Her own father sent her the Crucio curse not long ago and forced the dark mark upon her skin. But she wasn't even bothered by that, she felt like she betrayed Sirius for not doing a better job at protecting their loved one.
Hearing her sobbing, seeing her in such a mess had him even more worried. He looked down at her for a second, taking in how broken she was, inside and out. Then he pulled her even closer to him with her head on her shoulder. He held her like he was never going to let go. "Stop." He murmured against her head, wiping his own eyes. "Stop, you didn't fail us."
She lifted her head back slightly, not daring to let go of him. Her bottom lip quivered as she looked up at him. If anyone were to look close enough into her eyes, they would notice just how broken she really was.
He was aware of every single of her subtle movements. When she raised her head, even the way she took a deep breath. His hand went through her long hair, still holding her head as it was, as if he was afraid she'd pull away any second. "Don't cry... you didn't do anything wrong." He said, his voice cracking as he tried his best to get her to believe them.
They remained in that place for what felt like hours, holding onto each other and looking into each other's broken souls.
