the secret of Erised {s.b.}

chapter 22: reunion

this chapter is dedicated to @anotherweaslette

i don't know if this book would've reached 10k reads without you. thank you :)

***

One would assume that after performing the spell that pulled Esmeralda out of the Mirror, Sirius Black would've been allowed to be at her side from that point on. Unfortunately, things did not work in his favour.

After he saw Esmeralda's unconscious body on the floor, Sirius called out to McGonagall and Dumbledore, who rushed in and urged Sirius to get out of the Room of Requirement. He refused at first, but then McGonagall told him that he must. She said it was imperative for Madame Pomfrey to have a bed ready for the girl, so Sirius ran out of the Room of Requirement and ran down to the Hospital Wing without complaining further. Once Esmeralda was safely levitated unto her bed, Sirius was kicked out of the Hospital Wing by Madame Pomfrey.

Sirius complained loudly to Dumbledore and McGonagall once they came out of the Hospital Wing a couple of minutes after he did. He refused to leave the door until he could properly see Esmeralda and check if she was alright. He hadn't had the chance to do any of those things, he'd barely caught a glimpse of the girl because everything and everyone was moving too fast. Although he wanted to guard the door all night, Dumbledore informed him he couldn't. Nobody except them and Madame Pomfrey knew about Esmeralda, so if a prefect or a teacher caught him out of bed he would get into trouble. He agreed to leave the Hospital Wing that night on the condition that he could be excused from his classes the following day to stay outside the door. McGonagall and Dumbledore happily agreed to his terms.

Once McGonagall had escorted him back to the Gryffindor Common Room and left, Sirius ran upstairs to his dorm. He woke up his three friends with the bang of the opening door. None of them knew if he had succeeded or not, but they were too afraid to say anything. He was searching for something through all of their things. Once he found what he was looking for, he rushed out the door and down the stairs. After organising their things, James, Remus, and Peter realised he had taken the Map and James' Invisibility Cloak.

Sirius opened the Map and threw on the Invisibility Cloak before slipping out of the portrait of the Fat Lady. He carefully ran back to the Hospital Wing, making sure to avoid the corridors where prefects and teachers were seen patrolling on the map. He quickly reached his destination and checked the Map to see if there was anyone inside the room.

He stared at the area where the Hospital Wing was on the Map with a dumbfounded expression plastered on his face. There was only one person inside the room, Esmeralda Dragonstone. He'd never seen a more beautiful name appear on the Map. It was the first time he saw her name dance on the enchanted piece of parchment, and he was bewitched by it.

Staring at Esmeralda's name on the Map, Sirius realised that it might not be a good idea for him to walk in. What if she hadn't woken up at all and was scared to death once Sirius awoke her ? What would happen then ? McGonagall would find out and prohibit him from seeing her ever again, and he couldn't have that.

He closed the Map and leaned against the doors of the Hospital Wing. He slid down towards the floor until he was sitting down. If he wasn't going to see her, then at least he could guard the door from beneath the Invisibility Cloak. He tried to stay awake, but the fatigue from the spell and running up and down the castle all night got the best of him and he drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes.

Sirius was woken up the next morning by someone removing the Invisibility Cloak off of him. James and Remus noticed he wasn't at breakfast and asked McGonagall where he might be. She said that they'd given him detention and he would be guarding the Hospital Wing all day. Of course, Remus and James knew the detention part was a lie, but they still headed to the Hospital Wing. They figured Sirius hadn't had anything to eat, so they brought him a handful of biscuits. James began to move his arms in front of him until he felt the Invisibility Cloak and pulled it off of Sirius.