𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 | 𝐡. 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝟒𝟑 - 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧...𝐧𝐨.

𝙏𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙊𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥, was a complete understatement, she was having terrible nightmares of a young faceless man being dragged to the bottom of a lake by a sea of cold, skeletal hands, clawing at his life as it was taken so cruelly from him.

She woke with a start in a cold sweat, her neck was soaked, and as was her pillow from the horrible terrifying feeling she was put through, she could still feel their cold icy hands all over her skin and she shuddered.

Looking over to the sleeping Ginny beside her, she scowled... it must be nice for some people to sleep so soundly in a mattress that seemed to have been invented by the same guy who made the Iron Maiden.

Still shivering cold, Ophelia grabbed her (Harry's hoodie) and stepped out of the bedroom, catching a glimpse of a metal engraving on the wood of the door that she initially hadn't noticed.

R. A. B.

She traced her fingers over each letter, the metal cool to the touch, and she got flashes of the lake again... shaking her head, she walked into the bathroom, determined to have some sense of normalcy she turned on the tap and began to brush her teeth, her gaze turned to the rather grim looking wall to her right... she'd have to get that sorted today if she was going to have any chance of relaxing.

As she turned to look in the dirty unpolished mirror, she saw a shadowy slightly transparent figure standing behind her,  she whirled around to confront it, her heart pounding in her rib cage she found nothing except the bathroom door.

Feeling quite uneasy, she looked back in the mirror, afraid to see the figure again, but instead... she saw her own reflection, a dribble of blood gently cascading down from her nostril.

Something is trying to get her attention.

She wiped it away with her sleeve, regretting it instantly as it went into Harry's hoodie, she began to try to wash it off again when the ringing in her ears returned.

"Oh fuck off would you?" She grumbled angrily, as she washed out the blood.

"Right I'll make myself scarce then." Said Sirius from behind her, in a light joking voice.

Ophelia jumped, turning around she saw Sirius sticking his head into the bathroom, he saw the remnants of the blood clinging to her top lip and frowned.

"Remus mentioned your nose bleeds now." He said, his eyes skimming over it.

"It only happens when I try to shut out the noise in my head, or if the noise tries to switch it back on... gives me a headache if they do..." said Ophelia, wiping the rest of the blood away with a piece of tissue.

Sirius frowned, "That won't do... do you know who they are?"

Ophelia shook her head, "I think one of them might be mum, she's not as bad... she doesn't give me headaches... but the others, they can be very persistent on my sinuses." She explained, putting her toothbrush away.

Sirius seemed to ponder that for a moment in brief shock, touching his lip with the tip of his finger thoughtfully.

"Come on, I'll make you some breakfast." He said, stepping out of the bathroom, the two of them walked down, "No one else is awake yet, given it's 4 in the morning but no doubt Molly will be up in a couple hours, she wanted to get up at the crack of dawn to begin cleansing but... I told her to wait till she woke up, it will still be here if she has a lie in." Said Sirius, as the two of them stepped into the kitchen.

Sirius flicked on the stove, and began to cook a few sausages, to make a nice and simple sausage butty.

Ophelia grinned as he put the plate down in front of her, taking an immediate bite, the warmth of the sausage in the buttered bread made her smile, Sirius watched her fondly, she looked a lot like her mother with her chipmonked cheeks, he smiled to himself.