Nyctophobia - Sirius Black

Chapter 20

"Black?" Ruby gaped at him for several moments. "How are you- What-"

"Um, hi. I'm Theus. Your dog." It didn't take Ruby as long to process that. She had already suspected that Theus wasn't just a dog. She just hadn't expected it to be Sirius Black of all people. She tried to sit up, but found that it was more difficult than she thought. Black helped her sit up.

"Thanks." She said, leaning against the headboard. "What happened?"

"There was an accident at the mine. You were really badly injured, and I brought you home." He said, running a hand through his tangled black hair, only for it to get stuck in the knots. He pulled it out, grumbling.

"I remember. I kind of meant why are you all the way out here. You live in London."

"I got lost." He shrugged.

"No kidding." Ruby deadpanned. "It takes hours to get from here to London. But you couldn't have been just lost, because you were unconscious and injured, and if you were just lost, you would have turned around and followed your scent to get back home. Did you run away?"

"Something like that." He mumbled. "I really don't want to talk about it." Ruby didn't feel like pushing for answers, so she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She wobbled a little, but managed to walk just fine.

"Alright. Come on, Theus. You're probably hungry." He seemed surprised, but stood up and followed her to the kitchen.

"How long has it been since the accident?" Ruby asked as she cooked some rice.

"Three days." If Ruby had been holding anything, it would have fallen to the ground.

"What? Three days?" Ruby felt her panic rising. She needed to work every single day on vacations so she would have enough money to stay in Hogwarts.

"What's wrong?" Ruby calmed herself immediately.

"Nothing." She said quickly. Too quickly. "I'm just surprised. That's all." He narrowed his eyes at her, already knowing that wasn't the truth. "Food's ready." She said, dividing the rice into equal portions.

"Thanks." He ate, eating so quickly Ruby was afraid he would choke. "Sorry." He said, looking up, some rice stuck to his face. "I don't really know how to cook, so..."

"You didn't eat while I was unconscious." He shook his head. "And you've got rice on your face." He wiped it away quickly, looking embarrassed.

"If you're worried about money, I was working at the factory too. I've got no use for muggle money."

"I am not taking your money." She said immediately, taking their dishes to the sink.

"I don't need it. Consider it payment for saving my life."

"I'm not going to accept your money. And that's that." Ruby glanced out the window and guessed it was around three in the afternoon. "I guess we've got a few hours to finish Hogwarts homework." Sirius groaned. "Please tell me you didn't leave your homework at home."

"No." He grumbled. "It's in my trunk outside."

"You should probably bring it in." Sirius agreed, and brought his trunk inside. He reluctantly pulled out his homework, and the two got to work. "You've got a lot more homework than I do." Ruby said, looking at his list of assignments. The two were laying on their stomachs on the floor.

"I've got two weeks suspension right after break for the werewolf incident." He said, looking at the list sadly. He couldn't deny that it still hurt every time he thought of his friends. Why wouldn't it? They were his family, but he had betrayed them and now they were out of his reach.