✔️ 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄 → 𝑠. 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘

14 | T I M E

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     Sirius (believe me, it is a strange feeling, to address this to anyone else than Padfoot),

     I would have to lie, if I would tell you that this wasn't quite of a shock. No, I haven't expected it. Not even guessed.

     I need time. The last months you had put me into a rollercoaster of feelings, and though my heart knows what it desires, my head is all in a mess. Therefore, I will leave for Romania after I finished this message for you. I will need time, as well as distraction, to sort out the chaos on my mind, and to allow my heart to heal.

     I will return. This one I promise. There'll come a day, we will talk about all of this, face to face. But I can't promise you, that I will be able to fully trust you ever again. Though you know all about me since I first stepped into the Gryffindor common room, I know so little about you, and I fear that what I might find out, could hurt me beyond repair. I couldn't take another lie being revealed. Therefore, I also need time to build up the strength for this deciding talk of ours.

     Please understand I have to do this. I will come back, all you have to do is to wait.

          Margo

    

     Sirius had read it over and over again, as the days passed by, as they turned into weeks, then moths, leaving him wondering, if her words weren't just false promises.

     But he would wait. And so he waited with the book always with him, though knowing that no new words of Margo could ever appear on those empty pages again. No magic in this world could help him, and he was getting more and more restless in this bloody house, more and more frustrated, because while Margo sought for distraction to keep her mind sane, there was no distraction left for Sirius. Not even Remus' weekly visits could brighten his dark emotions, and no Order meeting could ever catch his full attention, for he, Sirius, was a useless supernumerary in all of their plans.

     "She told you, that she would come back", Remus told him, "you just need to wait. Tonks is in contact with Charlie regularly. Margo is alright. She is on her own a lot."

     But Margo didn't return. Spring slowly turned into summer, as May arrived, bringing sunny and warm days, Sirius took no notice of, while still being trapped at No. 12 Grimmauld Place.

     He was barely able to follow the Order meetings, his mind always traveling to Romania, and to the young woman with her auburn hair and amber eyes, wondering if her pale skin had already been kissed by the sun, or if the shadows of Romania's forests had kept it ivy as porcelain.

     The Order's situation had turned into a disastrous mess; Dumbledore was forced to go into hiding, and the Order members working in the ministry were given a rough time by Cornelius Fudge, who was eager to find all the Dumbledore supporters wandering through the ministry's halls. It got more and more difficult to keep it a secret day by day, and not only for the ministry workers, but also for the teachers at Hogwarts, who were now under the full control of Dolores Umbridge, while their half-blood members like Lupin and Hagrid had to put themselves into not only the danger of trying to gain the trust of werewolves and giants, but also of getting caught by those Death Eaters that had been ordered to follow the very same task.

     Sirius wouldn't have minded for having that kind of thrill in his life, and if it just would have been for one day. He'd even rather be still on the run, than being forced to hide in this house for a second longer. And damn his ungrateful soul, but he couldn't take another speech of Snivellus about him being the heroic double agent and all the dangers it brought with it.

     Silently sighing, as the meeting already came to a close, he didn't notice the fire place behind him coming to life; not the green flames stinging out of the ashes, not even the rather loud whirring noise as a petite figure started to twirl in this emerald fire, rapidly getting slower.

     "Ah, yes, of course", Moody said, but Sirius barely listened, his elbow placed onto the table, his hand cupping half of his face, as he leaned into it, eyes staring right through Moody. "I almost forgot. We have another point to discuss tonight, before we end the meeting."

     Sirius still wasn't aware of what was happening behind his back; he still took no note of the new arrival, not even as her eyes landed upon him, while she stepped out of the fireplace, also not her quiet steps, as she passed him by, making her way around the table slower than she would have to. He didn't notice her shaking hands, as she was on his height, he did not even smell her wildflower shampoo in her auburn hair.

      His gaze was pointed straight into nothingness, he was daydreaming himself away, ignoring the movement the corner of his eyes caught, not even reacting, as she reached the head of the table, shyly smiling at the attendants, but avoiding to look at Sirius, who was still caught in his head.

     "To end this meeting with a pleasant report from Romania", Moody explained. "Therefore, Miss Fudge came here straight from the dragon sanctuary."

     Her name exploded in Sirius ears and his head snapped up, never having felt wider awake than in this very moment. His eyes met hers, amber orbs burning into marble grey, like a fire they brightened his dark mind, warmed his soul into its tiniest fibres, and as he sat up straight, a smile appeared onto her lips, that got him melting fully away, unable to pay attention to a word she spoke, but being fully consumed by the sound of her voice.

     And suddenly, No. 12 Grimmauld Place felt like home.

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