Genetics • Sirius Black

Chapter Fifty Six: That Would Be Twat-ish

Both Severus Snape and Freya Grey were drenched in blood. Panting heavily, they felt iron fill their nostrils as they stared at the doe lying on her side. Seconds stretched like hours, then the doe lifted her warm cider head, dotted with white specks and lightly slathered with her own blood. Neither of them moved an inch. Then, she pranced off back into the Forbidden Forest.

Their day was off to a splendid start.

Feeling the thick maroon liquid stick to her skin with time, Freya used her voice. "Sev."

"I almost killed a deer." His eyes fixed on where the animal had been. He didn't know it could produce so much blood. The scene replayed over again. A flash of blue. A wail piercing into the air. Then the red. So much red.

Freya reacted first. Her tan hands were covered by the time Sev knelt down to join her. They moved quick since the spell was... vicious. Every wound closed; it seemed like another had opened. Wild. Not cuts, but slashes, burning with magic. He couldn't remember when the bleeding stopped (his vision had been blurry during most of it).

After a moment, Freya corrected. "It's a doe."

"I almost killed a doe."

"It was an accident." She reminded him. They hadn't even seen the doe till it collapsed on the floor.

Scanning over her dirty shirt and his splattered face, she tried to ignore the stench. "Sev, we need to clean this up."

Their best bet was going to the lake before everything stained. Wash the red out with water and magic, then hope no one saw them. It was mid-day, but she doubted anyone would be out during this time since classes were still going on.

Freya walked forward but noticed her footsteps were the only crunches in the forest. Turning around, she waited momentarily, watching him stare at the spot on the floor. Two dried, clean streaks ran from his eyes and met down his throat. "Sev." His eyes flicked up to hers, taking in her appearance. Part of her hair was weighed down with blood, and her usually crisp clothes were spattered with red from her white shirt to where she had the deer cradled on her skirt. He didn't want to know what he looked like. "You saved her." She said, but his attention lingered on the ground. She approached him slowly and leaned forward.

Arm wrapped around his middle, her cheek pressed against his chest.

His attention fell away from the dirt spot and to her gesture. Foreign was the best word to describe it. Slowly, he let his chin rest over her head and one arm around her waist. A few seconds passed, slightly stiff but not entirely uncomfortable, confirming neither of them had been hugged very much now or as a child. Then she pulled away awkwardly without a word.

Sev followed Freya to the Black Lake.

***

Water cleaned the physical signs of their sins, but the residue stayed on their skin. Still, Freya walked down the dining hall with a high chin and Sev lurking on her shoulder. They both quietly sat down across from Regulus Black. Sev stared at the table wood, and Regs could tell something was slightly off. It seems like they saw each other nude and were desperately trying to avoid the subject, so Regs felt within his right to tease them. "How was your walk?"

"It went well," Freya replied primly as she fixed a plate, and Sev nodded

"Clearly." A sarcastic note fell into Reg's words, and he continued flipping through his quidditch magazine, but he could feel Freya's light glare. Then she set the plate she had been fixing in front of Sev.

Regs had been somewhat right on his speculation. While at the lake, Freya caught a glimpse of Sev's bony back and decided to prepare his plate for him since he clearly could not be trusted with his own nutrition. She knew she had no control over his home diet, but she must have been so enveloped in her potion's work that she had not been slipping enough food on his plate while he wasn't looking... Or when she thought he wasn't looking (he knew she did it but pretended not to, for both their sakes.)