Rough Waters |Sirius Black

Chapter Sixty One

Artemis awoke with a start during the middle of the night as she heard strange noises emitting from the darkness of the flat. She sat up from her small cot and glanced around, trying to determine where the whimpering sound was coming from. Finally, she grabbed her wand and carefully whispered "Lumos" under her breath. The tip of her wand ignited in a bright light, illuminated the room where she and Nixie were sleeping. Of course, one she did so, it didn't take her long to figure out where the noise was coming from. Crawling off the cot and onto the floor, she made her way over to where Nixie was asleep on the sofa. 

The woman was curled up in a near fetal position, gripping onto her blankets tightly. Artemis cringed at the sound of Nixie's teeth grinding together. Placing her wand closer, she could see that Nixie's teeth were also bared and sharp, causing the younger woman to take a couple of steps quickly. She wasn't sure whether or not to wake the woman, in fear that Nixie would attack her out of fear of whatever was happening in her dream state.

Artemis became more and more uncomfortable as she heard the woman let out several cries in her sleep, a couple of times she heard Nixie utter Sirius' name as she held onto her blankets tightly. Reaching a hand out slowly, Artemis placed it on the woman's shoulder and let it rest there for a few minutes. Nixie wasn't settling down much, flinching at the touch.

"Shh...it's alright, Nixie. Calm down, everything is alright."

At the sound of the voice, Nixie's face began to relax, her teeth returned to their normal state and her fingers didn't hold onto her blanket with such a strong grip. Artemis could feel the tense of her body fade as she entered a more relaxed state. It was hard to believe that such a strong witch as she had heard in the past was suffering from such a simple thing as a nightmare. Artemis had heard Amycus  and Alecto curse the woman's name multiple times as well as Eleanor's father, calling them filthy beasts. 

Filthy beasts that needed to be rid from the world so it could be a better place. Yet, Nixie had been one of the only adults to show some sort of compassion to Artemis and Artemis genuinely felt it. While Eleanor's father had not been the most welcoming, Artemis fully understood why. He was protective over his daughter as any good parent would be. Artemis' family were nothing good and while Artemis didn't want to be like her family, it certainly didn't help that she had been quite nasty to Eleanor in the past. 

But as Nixie had stated earlier in the evening, a name didn't define a person. Sirius didn't let the Black name determine who he had become. Instead, he became an example that no matter what family told one to do, at the end of the day, a person had choices. It wouldn't always be the easiest road to take, but in the end, it would more than likely be worth it. 

Artemis remained by Nixie's side for the duration of the night. 

Harry was sleeping in the bed that Nixie and Sirius had provided for him at the Grimmauld Place. Meri and Nixie had done everything to make the bedroom inviting for the boy, but it was still not up to their standards. However, to Harry, it was amazing. Everything about it was fantastic. It was spacious, there weren't bar on the windows and he had a comfortable bed that was made every morning with magic. What was there to dislike? 

There wasn't the sounds of the heavy feet thundering in the halls like back at the Dursleys, no one dared to yell at him, except for Walburga's painting, which he had learned to ignore awhile back. He could sleep soundly for a night, thinking all was right for the world, at least for a few hours. 

But as his head settled on his pillow, Harry was disrupted by the sound of shuffling in the hall and low muttering. He quickly recognized the voice of his godfather as he propped himself up in bed. The sound of scratching quickly followed the man's voice, revealing that Buckbeak was on the move too.

Pushing himself out of bed, Harry wandered over to his door and pulled it open gently. He could hear rummaging coming from down the stairs in the kitchen.  There was light coming from down the way too. Harry wondered what Sirius was doing up past midnight with Buckbeak.

Walking out of the bedroom, he made his way downstairs and found Sirius sitting in the kitchen. Buckbeak was nowhere in sight, making Harry believe that Sirius had let the hippogriff out to stretch his wings. Sirius, on the other hand, was sitting at the table, looking exhausted with a cup of something warm in front of him in a mug. He had a couple of blankets wrapped around him, as if he were a child with a pout on his face.

 Harry's foot scuffed against the floor, suddenly startling Sirius who's head jerked up at the sound and looked over.

The man clasped his hand over his chest, while inhaling deeply as if he had been a muggle seeing a ghost. 

"Merlin, Harry, what are you doing sneaking up on me like that?"

"Sorry," Harry said walking over and sitting across from him. "I heard some noise coming from down here and.."

"Came to investigate?" Sirius smirked.

"Yes. Why are you up?"

"It's simple enough, I can't sleep." The man answered. "I'm tired, that's for sure, but I can't get comfortable."

"Is it because Nixie isn't here?" Harry asked.

"More than likely. It's not fun having all the blankets when you haven't stolen them during the night." He said in a joking manner, but the smile on his face faded in a matter of moments. "Of course, the dreams I've been having, probably haven't been helping either."

"She won't be gone for long, right? Only a couple of days and she'll be back?" Harry was worried about Sirius' state, he had seen the man at some of his worst moments and he certainly didn't want to see him fall into them again. 

Sirius gave his godson a reassuring smile. 

"Yes, it's nothing to worry about. Nixie and I can manage just a couple of nights apart."