Sebastien Struck

2: follow me like a shadow

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two: follow me like a shadow

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He abided by her wishes, and left before she had woken up.

But she wasn't alone when she opened her eyes the next morning.

Grey eyes stared at her from the edge of the bed, surveying her, or watching over her, she couldn't quite tell.

Half her face still squished by the pillow, she slowly held her hand out.

The dog's eyes flickered down to her hand, staring for a few moments before he finally took a hesitant sniff of her hand.

She let him warm up to her, not making any movements, until he nudged her hand with his snout, and she took that as a sign that she could pet him.

The dark fur was as soft as it looked, curling around the pointy ears.

"Good morning," she hummed quietly, "Have you decided you like me now?"

His only answer was moving closer to her. She smiled, despite the night she had had, the empty bed she had woken up in.

But she had asked for that.

Giving herself only two more minutes of solace, she sat up in bed, glancing at the time. It wasn't terribly early, making it the first time she had slept in, in months.

She stood up to stretch, raising her arms above her head. Sirius looked up at her, tilting his head.

She put her hands on her hips, giving him an amused look, "How did you even get in?" she motioned to the shut door.

He didn't respond, not that she thought he would, just moved to sit closer to her.

"Fine, keep your secrets," she gave him a few more head scratches before walking to her bag to grab a change of clothes.

While she wanted to go, she was in no hurry to get downstairs and be face-to-face with him once again, after her multiple moments of weakness the night before.

But it was a rare off-day for her, no classes or rounds, and she knew she should take the day to deal with the aftermath of her car breaking down.

Still, she didn't care to rush, taking another hot shower to calm herself, and then doing a light dusting of makeup, before slipping into some flared jeans that fit her snugly, and an old crewneck from her alma mater.

She finagled half of her braids into a large claw clip, and then spritzed on some perfume before packing everything up, and making the bed.

Though she had very slightly cracked the door open so that Sirius could leave, he sat patiently, outside the bathroom door while she showered, and by the edge of the bed as she cleaned.

"Are you keeping watch over me?" she asked him, a brow quirked up.

He just looked at her.

"Right then," she gave him a weak smile, "Please lead the way to my demise," she gestured towards the door.

He seemed to understand the command, making his way towards the door, one glance behind to make sure she was following.

In the daylight, the place looked every bit neat and tidy, and homey that it had the previous evening.

She looked at the plush couches with throw blankets, the soft rugs, the books, an outrageously large shelf of board games, plants, and, her heart skipped a beat, the fireplace.