Shelter • wolfstar au

50 ; mysterious man

Chapter Fifty: Mysterious Man

Sirius ran his fingers through his hair much more frequently than he usually did. Casting quick, nervous glances around him every now and then, he put his hand inside the neck of his shirt and pulled out the P shaped locket that hung cool and menacing against his skin. He brought it up to his eye level, and felt a sharp pang ring through his bones.

The surface of the metal was painfully bare. True, the iron has rusted at the edges and the brown flakes had been washed away over the days, but what Sirius was looking for wasn't there. There were no words magically etched onto the metal surface, the words that would invite him to a fight against the death eaters, before disappearing again. Dumbledore had remained true to his words, and was refusing to accept him back into the Order.

Sirius was miserably ignorant about the goings on at the Order of the Phoenix. Nathan and Marlene had been called for meetings or for fights a few times, but he hadn't been. It had left a growing sense of hollowness inside his chest, a pain at the thought that he was unable to do anything to avenge the deaths of his best friends and godson, a dull, thumping ache because he was being forced to remain hidden with nothing to do.

He couldn't go into a battlefield on his own because, first and foremost, neither Nathan, nor Marlene would allow or support him. And second, despite his large ego, he knew there was nothing he could achieve on his own. He had to remain hidden, try to return to the good graces of Dumbledore, no matter how much it killed him to do so, and bring back the trust he truly deserved.

Sirius wouldn't have survived this immense sense of guilt at not being able to do anything, had it not been for Elizabeth, the woman who had somehow untwisted him and made him see light amidst the darkness, hope amidst the despair, and who kept Sirius's mundane life somewhat bearable, who had managed to bring the smile into his long destroyed, beautiful face, who was so full of life and happiness that Sirius couldn't help but feel an automatic trust in her – a comfortingly warm shoulder in which to rest his head on and drift off into a peaceful slumber while her enchanting voice lulled him into a sense of peace that he so lacked in his life.

He was happy he had met her, and he wished she felt the same way.

A click sound ruptured the silence that had encased him, and with a jerk, he whipped his head up and around, his hand creeping towards the pocket of his pants where lay his wand. But the interruption was none other than Elizabeth herself, whose eyes followed the path of his hand before returning to his grey eyes, and her warm brown eyes twinkled with laughter that lingered around her soft, pink lips. She had a camera in her hands, and Sirius belatedly realised that she had taken a picture of him, and that the device was where the click sound had issued from, amplified by the emptiness of the air.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," she stated with a soft laughter that echoed through the air, and through Sirius's insides, bouncing off his skin and making it tingle. "Never taken a picture before?"

He shook his head slightly, a smile appearing on his face, and patted the spot beside him. Elizabeth came over and sat down, swinging a leg over the bench so that she had one leg hanging on each side, leaving her to directly face Sirius. She placed the camera between them.

"It's not that," he answered. "Uhm – you just appeared so suddenly, I –"

"Relax, Sirius," she said, laughing, and touched his elbow lightly. "I was joking. You don't have to explain yourself."

A faint blush crept up to his cheeks, and he averted his gaze to look directly in front of him, focusing his eyes on the large tree that stood by the twisting and meandering road like a guardian angel. He suddenly began to feel awkward, and he brought his hands down from his lap to rest on the bench either side of him, but seconds later, he brought them up to his lap again. The presence of Elizabeth began to feel pressing next to him, and the sound of her breaths and the soft humming of a tune kept distracting him. He raised a hand to run his fingers through his hair.

She clicked the camera again.

He whipped his head around. "Hey, stop taking my picture," he protested, albeit halfheartedly, and a smile continued to grow on his lips. She smiled innocently at him, before blowing a kiss in his direction. He blushed again. "I – I look ugly."

"Okay, first of all," she began, sounding much like a professor readying herself to start a lecture, and set her camera aside, "I'm not taking your picture because of your face. I have a habit of capturing anything, any moment I like, so that I can look back at them and smile fondly when I'm old and senile. And second, you're not ugly. In fact, you're the prettiest person I have ever met, and that's saying something, because I meet a lot of people everyday in my shop."

Sirius's hand climbed up involuntarily to touch his left cheek, where the burn from the spell was still very visible. Elizabeth noticed the movement, and she gently held his hand to bring it down. "How did you get this?"

"I burnt it," he muttered quietly, gazing down to where his hand lay on hers.

"It doesn't look like a regular burn," she observed and flitted a finger softly over the skin. It didn't hurt – it had stopped hurting long ago – but it felt strange. Sirius couldn't feel her touch, it had become numb, and he gently tipped his head sideways away from her, so she dropped her hand slowly down to her lap.

"Where do you live, Sirius?" she asked suddenly. "I never see you around."

He remained silent, ignoring her question, and stared down at his feet.

"You're a mysterious man, Sirius Black," she stated with a mischievous smile tugging up the corners of her lips. "And I have so many questions about you."

He bit down on his lip nervously. His lips had become sore and raw due to the lack of nutrients and enough water, and it stung terribly as the skin split and the taste of blood flooded his mouth. He didn't wipe it, and instead, allowed the stinging sensation to remain, acting as a sort of a reminder for what remained of his sanity.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" she asked, the mischievous smile gone, and a look of seriousness plastered over her face.

Sirius didn't answer her. Instead, he shifted sideways and looked into her deep brown eyes. She lifted a hand to wipe the blood gently from his lips, and almost impulsively, he leaned forward to connect their lips together. A soft gasp left her mouth, but soon, she kissed him back, their lips worked together, and one of her hands reached up to catch his hair between her fingers. The other hand placed itself over his left cheek, soft and gentle.

He had a sudden image of Remus reaching out to kiss him, but recoiling at the sight of the nasty burn on his face. The thought struck him suddenly, and took him by surprise, and Sirius hastily drew back from the kiss, causing Elizabeth to detach her fingers from where they had been rooted to his hair.

Why was he thinking about Remus now? 

He was gone.

None of them spoke for several minutes, catching their breaths. Then Elizabeth asked something that shocked him so much that he leapt out of the seat and gaped at her, utterly dumbstruck.

She asked, "Sirius, are you a wizard?"

❇

yer a wizard, sirius

also, this is the fiftieth chapter whoop whoop. i've honestly never realised i would be able to reach this far, and this is such a big achievement for me. so thank you so much to all of you for reading, voting and commenting, it means a lot to me to know that my work is being enjoyed, and i love you all so so much!

stay awesome!

(in the gif above is elizabeth, in case anyone's wondering)