THE LOST DOG ' s. black

[28] here and there

   I LEANED over the parchment, scribbling notes in the dim light of Grimmauld Place’s kitchen. The fire crackled, lending a surprising warmth to the normally foreboding space. Despite everything, it was oddly comforting—probably because of the boy at my side.

Sirius sat close enough that I could feel his warmth, close enough that every now and then his elbow brushed mine. He had a habit of making work impossible, with that playful grin of his and his insatiable curiosity over everything I did.

“What are you working on?” he asked, reaching over to take one of my notes before I swatted his hand away.

“It’s called studying,” I replied, trying to hide my smirk. “Maybe if you actually helped instead of causing trouble, you’d learn something.”

“Maybe,” he said, leaning back with a smirk. “Or maybe it’s more fun to watch you pretend I’m distracting you.”

I rolled my eyes, but he wasn’t entirely wrong. It *was* distracting, having him here, so close. And the easy way he seemed to settle into this unfamiliar future, into my life, made it hard to think straight sometimes.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar laugh from the doorway, and I looked up to see Older Sirius, lounging with his arms crossed, a smug look on his face. Next to him was Remus, who gave me a small, knowing smile. Both of them seemed way too pleased.

“Finally!” Older Sirius muttered, loud enough for all of us to hear. He strolled into the room, grinning at me and then at his younger self, looking like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Did you seriously just say ‘finally’?” I asked, crossing my arms as I tried to ignore the heat rising to my cheeks.

“Well, yes,” he replied with a smirk, unbothered. “We’ve been waiting for this. And by we, I mean everyone here.”

I could feel my face warm even more. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Sirius looking back and forth between us, a flicker of realization crossing his face.

Harry, who had been sitting quietly by the fire, chimed in, his voice filled with a familiar teasing warmth. “It’s true, you know. We’ve been waiting ages for this.”

“Oh, really?” I shot back, trying to sound indignant, but a smile crept onto my face anyway. “So now it’s a spectator sport?”

Harry grinned, looking to Sirius. “You two were obvious. At least… to the rest of us.”

Sirius just shook his head, feigning surprise. “And here I thought we were being subtle,” he murmured, meeting my gaze with that mischievous glint in his eye.

Then, Kreacher shuffled into the room, grumbling under his breath as he set down a tray of cups. His eyes darted between me, the two versions of Sirius, and then back to me, as if making some silent judgment of his own.

“Filthy half-bloods, cluttering up Master’s kitchen with nonsense…” he muttered as he poured tea, though I caught a slight eye-roll when he looked at us.

Older Sirius let out a short laugh. “I’d take that as a blessing, Eloise. That’s about as close as he gets to a compliment.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, and for a moment, the room seemed lighter, even with the heavy shadows lurking around us. As strange as this was—having two versions of Sirius here, one from the past, one weathered and older—I couldn’t deny how right it felt.

Older Sirius caught my eye, his expression softer now. “It’s good to see you two together,” he said quietly, and there was a sincerity in his tone that left me speechless.