Cigarette Burns - Sirius Black

Ch 79: Unspoken Knowledge On Chapped Lips

It had barely been a week and Morrigan already wanted to pull her hair out. The small cottage just outside of the Yorkshire Dales was cramped. Only possessing one bedroom, there was no room for privacy. Morrigan could only wonder what would happen when Tonks arrived. 

The nights in the cottage were cold and Remus, not having many belongings, only had two thinly knit blankets. Yet he refused to let Sirius and Morrigan venture to a village to gather more, stating that they needed to wait until it was safe to do so. Morrigan began to wonder if Remus will ever consider anything safe. 

Sirius, having lived with Remus before, was used to his annoying habits. However, without the buffer of school and their other friends, Sirius too was ready to scream from frustration. Remus had a tendency to sleep at odd hours of the day, perhaps because of his affliction, but Sirius believed it was just the way he was. This of course meant, that Morrigan and Sirius had to adapt to the lycanthropes odd schedule. Breakfast being far too early and dinner far too late. 

And unlike the vast collections of books that could be found in Grimmauld Place, Remus owned very few books. Both Morrigan and Sirius had managed to read them all within a few days. Neither of them complained though, knowing that Remus did not have an easy life, that he struggled to find a steady job at the best of times. So they began finding other ways to pass the time, creating their own stories, talking about their hopes for the future, but always dancing around the topic of the war. 

Early in the morning Morrigan had woken up shivering once again. Her head rested on a couch cushion repurposed as her pillow, and even though she pulled the blanket closer to her body, the cold still ran its icy fingers up and down her spine. Her muscles were stiff from sleeping on the hardwood floor, and her eyes struggled with the early morning light. 

She sat up, running her fingers through her hair in an effort to detangle it. A few days ago it had returned to its usual grey tones and she was grateful that it had returned. Sirius who slept a few feet away from her woke up shortly after, running a hand down his face he groaned, "What time is it?" 

"Around five in the morning," Morrigan said showing sympathy for the tired man. She stood up and made her way to the kitchen, "Coffee or tea?" 

"Coffee please," Sirius said from the small living space. 

It had become a routine similar to the time they lived in Grimmauld Place. Remus or Morrigan waking up first and making a pot of coffee. Then spending the day doing their best to make time move as quickly as possible. 

Morrigan walked over to Sirius handing him the mug of coffee before sitting down beside him. He noticed the goosebumps that littered her skin, "We really need to get you more blankets. You'll end up freezing during the winter." 

"I know," Morrigan said glancing around the room for any sign of Remus, "I'm thinking of sneaking out while Remus goes to collect Tonks." 

Sirius smirked taking a long sip of his coffee, "Mind if I tag along?" 

"Of course not," she replied. 

The bedroom door opened with a creak, Remus trudging into the kitchen and pouring himself a cup of coffee. He added in a few heaped teaspoons of sugar then looked over at his two houseguests. "Did you two sleep well." 

They nodded, neither willing to tell their friend that they had barely gotten any sleep since arriving. Morrigan looked up at Remus, "When are you getting Tonks?" 

"In a few hours, I'll be gone most of the day." Remus answered. 

"It'll be good to see her," Morrigan hummed, pleased that Remus would be gone for an extended period of time. When it came to Remus's rules she found it was better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.