scars || sirius black

51 - witching hour

Emmy's heart hammered against her chest as she crouched behind Thorfinn Rowle's back wall. Marlene was on the other side of the gatepost, wand gripped tightly in her hand as Caradoc secured the perimeter with a shielding charm so that any muggles walking past wouldn't see them.

No one in the house had stirred since midnight and it was now well past two in the morning. Witching hour was fast approaching and they'd delayed long enough, lying in wait to be absolutely certain he was asleep.

Emmy's nerves were frayed already, heart thudding loudly in her chest as she desperately tried to slow her breathing. She thought about what Sirius had said last night when they had stolen away to see each other.

"I'm so scared," she had whispered. It was something she only ever admitted in the darkness, something she only ever admitted to him.

"I'm scared too, Ems," he replied, bring a tentative hand to brush her hair behind her ear. "I can't lose you, not now. Not before we've won this war."

Tears fell down her cheeks, she could taste them on her lips.

The wind rushed through the trees and Emmy moved closer to him, resting her forehead against his. These precious moments they spent together where often all that sustained her in the days they spent apart. It was desperation, sheer desperation that led them to these risks. Sirius was hunted for his betrayal of the Dark Lord, the dark mark on his arm a permanent reminder of the price he had paid, and it was all they could do to make sure no one knew the one thing they could use to control him.

"I'll be careful, I promise. I'm doing this for us, there's no way I'm giving up on a chance for us to be together."

"I love you," he sighed, kissing her softly. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"How can you even ask that? I can't live without you, Merlin I'm barely even living now."

"It'll all be over soon, I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she choked, throat tight with emotion.

"We're going to win this war, you hear me? And when this is all over we're going to be so so happy. You and me."

He gently brushed the tears from her eyes.

"We'll get a house somewhere by the sea, you'll be a badass healer, saving lives... I'll stay home and look after the kids," he grinned.

Emmy laughed through the tears.

"And have dinner on the table by the time I get home from work?" she added.

"Every day."

"Sirius, you're an awful cook."

"I know... but it's the thought that counts, right?"

"Not in this case," she teased, lifting a hand to his cheek tenderly.

"But we'll be happy."

"We will," she agreed. She repeated it firmly; not a dream or some fantasy of her own imagination but an order, an affirmative that somewhere ahead of them was a beautiful, brilliant life just waiting for them. All they had to do was survive this war.

As she watched him walk away into the darkness, the world seemed a whole lot colder. And she felt so much more alone. That loneliness stayed with her now and she felt it most bitterly in times like this, when it felt like the whole world was against them.

She jolted out of her thoughts as Caradoc tapped her shoulder, signalled for them to move forward. Keeping close to the ground, they covered the short distance to the back door quickly.