Grey Eyes (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

24. Reconnection

I open my eyes to a vast cobalt blue. My hair swirls before my face ethereally and my limbs feel heavy around me. Where am I? No… I know exactly where I am. It’s the same place I’ve found myself every night when I went to sleep.

The water.

I’m sitting here under what feels like miles of water, so far under the surface that I can barely see. It feels empty… and lonely. I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them, hugging myself closely. I feel like I’ve been here forever. Just waiting… But for whom?

I don’t want to be alone anymore.

“Mr. Black? Visiting hours are over.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m going.” I feel someone give my hand a soft squeeze before letting go completely. I hear his chair scrape across the floor as he slowly gets up to leave the room. Somehow the sound made my heart ache.

Don’t leave.

“Wait.” Before I realize it, I feel myself reach out to grab Sirius’ hand. My eyes open slowly, dazed and unfocused, to see him glance at me in surprise.

“Cecilia?”

I blink. Why did I do that? I look down at my hand, which was gripping his so tightly that my knuckles were white, and quickly let go.

But Sirius smiles sadly at me before turning to the nurse waiting just ouside the door. “Hey, I know it’s way past visiting hours, but do you think you could…?”

“I suppose I could make an exception. It’s not a problem, Mr. Black,” I hear the nurse answer kindly before shutting the door behind her.

Sirius pulls his chair back up to the bed and takes my hand again. “You alright?” he asks in a low voice, peering at my face with a concerned look in his eyes.

I stare at my hands for a moment before looking back up. “I was lonely,” I mumble awkwardly.

Somehow saying it out loud made me feel guilty for making him stay with me. He had dark circles under his eyes and even his smile looked weary. Why does he push himself so hard?

“I don’t know what got into me. You don’t have to stay,” I finish hastily.

Sirius ignores this last bit as he reaches up to brush away the hair covering my eyes. “Did you have a nightmare?”

I hesitate before answering, “Not exactly. It’s just that whenever I fall asleep I dream that I’m sitting under the water. Nothing happens. I can’t see or hear anything. It’s just empty.” I look up to see a dark expression pass over his eyes. It was so brief that I thought I imagined it. “What?”

“Cecilia,” he starts, a determined look on his face, “I need to talk to you about what happened.”

“What happened…?” I repeat slowly.

Sirius nods. “I mean, what happened that caused you to become like this. Why you keep dreaming about water. Why you don’t remember anything.”

Don’t listen.

My head throbs and I wince in pain. Suddenly, every cell in my body is telling me to run.

“C-can we maybe talk about something else?” I blurt out hastily. “Tell me about school again! Or another story about one of the pranks you and James have pulled! Those are fun, right?”

Sirius’ brows furrow in confusion. “No, seriously, I need to talk to you about what happened. There’s so much that you don’t kn—”

Suddenly, the hospital lights go out and the room is plunged into darkness. Sirius stands abruptly and looks around. “What the, why did the lights turn o—whoa!”