A Broken Inheritance

Chapter 52: A Truth, However Small

He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his curls. "You're impossible."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Alright, since we're apparently just going to ignore the obvious terrifying thing that happened, let's get back to the first part— where the hell have you been?"

Anastasia scoffed. "You know where I've been."

"Yeah, avoiding us."

Remus, who had been quiet up until now, finally closed his book and sat forward. "You do realise you haven't actually spoken to us since that night at the pub, right?"

"I've been busy," she said flatly.

Sirius let out a dry laugh. "Busy? Doing what, exactly? Brooding and haunting the halls of the castle? Because I swear, every time we saw you, you looked half-dead. You still do."

"I can take care of myself," she muttered.

"Sure, you're doing a great job," Sirius shot back. "You know, you don't have to—" He stopped himself, running a hand through his hair. "Never mind. Forget it."

Anastasia flicked the ash off her cigarette. "Already have."

James sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, Ana... We're not trying to start a fight."

"Could've fooled me."

James ignored her. "We just—fuck, we just want to know you're alright."

She turned her head, looking at him properly.

The candlelight softened him. His face still held exhaustion from the past few days, the weight of too many things left unspoken.

And for a moment, she almost wanted to tell him.

Almost.

But then her gaze flickered down.

To his ribs.

To the red, already seeping through the fresh bandages.

The pull inside her lurched.

She clenched her jaw, forcing herself to look away.

"It's late," she said, standing up abruptly, putting out her cigarette.

Sirius frowned. "What, leaving already?"

She exhaled. "I shouldn't have come."

James stood too, stepping into her space before she could move toward the window.

"You should've come sooner," he muttered.

Something about the way he said it—quiet, earnest—made her chest tighten.

But she couldn't stay.

Not when she could still feel the magic stirring under her skin, not when her body still remembered the rush of touching his blood, not when she was standing too close to him and her fingers itched to reach out again.

She forced herself to smirk, cocking her head. "Missed me that much, did you?"

James didn't take the bait.

His eyes only searched hers, like he was trying to see something beyond the words.

"Yeah, I did." he said.

Anastasia just blinked.

"Alright, so we don't actually need to talk," James said, voice steady, casual—too casual. "Just stay."

He shifted on his bed, to give her space, urging her to sit down again.