Scars and Bruises

Bruises

"Well..." he started slowly. "That wasn't my brightest moment." Sirius tried to smile, but just one glance at Alex and he changed his mind. "When I found out that James and Lily were dead..." he swallowed hard. "Something clicked in my brain, because, as you know, I suspected Remus, but fact that it was Peter all along almost killed me."

Sirius glanced to Remus, almost as silently pleading for his forgiveness. But Remus just shook his head, showing him to keep talking.

"That's why I laughed when aurors came for me," he continued. "I laughed, because the way how Peter tricked us all, seemed so hilarious to me at that moment, how blind all of us were. And nobody suspected him, not for a moment."

Silence between them. Once again.

"Why in the hell didn't you tell me any of that when I visited you in Azkaban?!" she was angry and her voice shook, looked like all her world had been brought down to ruins.

"You visited him in Azkaban?" Remus was surprised.

"Because I didn't wanted for you to lose your life fighting for my innocence," Sirius confessed quietly. Alex and Sirius decided to ignore Remus's question.

Alex still fully did not believed him; Sirius saw that in her eyes. She sighed and her gaze fell upon the floor, her hands shook, Sirius could not even imagine what happened in her head. Realization, that you have been living believing a lie for fourteen years, must have been hard.

Alex started to pace the kitchen, her eyes still fixated on the floor. Sirius studied her – her hair was much shorter now comparing to the last time he had seen her, they were also much grayer. Small fine lines were visible around her eyes, showing the years that had gone by while she lived her own life.

She truly looked good, where her skin showed, Sirius could not spot any scar, or cut, or bruise, that was a very good sign. But, damn, she still was the most beautiful women Sirius had ever seen. In her leather jacket and army boots, she looked like she could conquer the world. He slightly smiled one of his crooked smiles.

"Please tell me that you have firewhiskey," she finally said, still looking down.

Sirius waved his wand, bottle of firewhiskey and some glasses started to fly towards them. Alex grabbed the bottle from the air and swung it, liquid pouring straight in her mouth.

When she had managed a couple of big swallows of firewhiskey, she sat by the table, and put the bottle in front of her.

"Alex," Sirius almost begged, he took couple of steps towards her, already stretching his hand to touch her shoulder, to comfort her.

"Leave me alone," she said, anger still lingering in her voice. Sirius halted; his hand dropping down to his side.

"No," he said silently, he had no intention to leave her alone.

"Then at least shut the hell up," she said, and tossed back the bottle once again.

Sirius walked around the table and sat down in front of Alex. Remus sat beside her. The best they could do, was to let her sort through everything she just heard.

Sirius watched how Alex hid her face in her palms. There was no black onyx stone ring on her finger. Sirius sighed almost without a sound, sharp pain stung in his heart.

He continued to look at her, still he saw the old Alex in her, Alex that he loved so much. Once again she had returned in his life. And he had thought, that her words Goodbye Sirius, would be the last he would ever hear from her.

She lowered her hands, resting them on the table. Sirius saw pain in her eyes when she finally looked at him.

"You should've told me," she said very quietly, it sounded almost as a plea.