To Build a Home - SIRIUS BLACK

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟔

BREAKING BONES

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COLD was the water to Maggie's touch; she cupped her hands and splashed it on her face, trying to knock some sense. She looked at herself in the mirror, focusing on the sound of the water running down the drain, still, it felt like Maggie's head was spinning out of control.

The reflection on the mirror showed someone who had had a restful sleep; groggy eyes, puffy face and the wrinkle of the pillow still pressed to the cheek. If Maggie was honest, she had slept better than she had in a very long time, no tossing around and definitely no bad dreams. But her messy hair, swollen lips and flushed cheeks were indication of something else too. Something entirely different.

What did I just do? Maggie asked to herself, looking straight into her worried blue eyes. She hated that look on her face —the furrowed brows, the pout on her lips. She hated to look lost. Unsure.

Maggie Potter could count with the fingers of one hand the amount of times she had been reckless and stupid. To pretty, perfect Maggie, every choice had been well thought out, every decision was surely the right one; she knew nothing of impulses and getting off track. So, how was it possible to find herself stuck in a bathroom, loosing her mind trying to find a way out? Maggie could feel the frustration begging to build within her at the realisation that she did not know what to do —how to proceed from this.

And she asked herself, again and again, why? Why did I do that? She knew the answer, of course —it took only her high-rate beating heart to attest to it— but she could not accept it. So, therefore, why?

Maggie had woken up to a warm ray of sun resting on her face. The morning light sneaked in through the window blinds and painted the room of a faint yellow. The witch had laid for a moment in the bed, confused as to why her pillow felt softer than usual or why she felt a certain warmth next to her body. She stood up rather abruptly at the realisation that her body was naked. And then Maggie saw him.

Sirius was sprawled next to her, sleeping on his stomach and his bare back in full display for her to see. She couldn't see his face, but his dark hair was a tangle of messes and the side of his neck carried maroon markings. It was then that it rained on her.

Last night had felt similar to a fever dream. The wet kisses, the heat in the mouths... And as Maggie took in every detail from the night before, she began to notice the clothes scattered around the bedroom —a bedroom, might she add, that was not hers— and the bed sheets pushed to the feet of the bed.

The air in the room was heavy, it seemed to weight on Maggie and she felt like it was getting harder to breathe. It was humid and smelled of a mixture of fragrance, sweat and rain. She had to get out of there.

After taking a moment to calculate her next moves, she slipped out of the bed with extra care so as to not awaken the wizard next to her. She picked up her garments from the floor and rushed in silent tiptoes out of the bedroom. Now, she had locked herself in the bathroom, trying to compose herself and digest what the hell had happened.

What on earth was she going to do now? How could she had let this happen?

Yet, it was getting harder to think straight when all she could look at were the love marks on her collarbone and neck. When her mind travelled on its own to the kisses and murmurs. Her entire face flushed a shade of red at the thought, and her stomach did a flip.

Margaret, stop. She had to order herself.

She had been honoured with the task of being Harry's caretaker, of providing him a loving home and a somewhat normal childhood. And what had she done? She had slept with the man who was supposed to help her, who was her partner in all of this crazy mess.