Marmoris | Rabastan Lestrange [1] ✔︎

31 | WARMTH

From the second Phoenix stepped through the door she could sense how different the Potters were to her family. Perhaps it was the it was based on her powers but everything felt so different. Mrs. Potter was so determined to make a girl she didn't even know feel comfortable and hurried into the kitchen to get her a drink, calling up the stairs next to the door for Sirius once again before she ran up said stairs to bring Phoenix some dry clothing. Her own mother would most likely have yelled at the stranger on her doorstep.

Even the bathroom, in which she changed, looked more friendly than the Black's complete household and the living room looked like a part of an alternate universe compared to it. There were pictures of the family on the yellow walls and some of them even showed Sirius smiling brightly into the camera and in addition somebody had decorated the room with various plants.

It didn't take long for her to understand why her brother had gotten so attached to this family and their home. Although she didn't know them, except for James, they seemed to be a family with a chaotic way of doing things, which made them rather charming, and they didn't have that darkness to them, which her family had. There was an atmosphere of kindness and love spread through the complete house, which didn't mean Mrs. Potter couldn't get a little upset when Sirius still didn't show up as she called for him for the third time.

When Phoenix finally heard footsteps on the stairs and her brother's voice mumbling something, she slowly turned around to find him standing in the door of the living room.

His eyes widened in surprise as he saw her. "Phoenix?"

He seemed to notice her wet hair and her unusual clothes and quickly crossed the room with a few big steps. Gently he touched her arm and asked with a concerned look: "Are you alright, Princess? What happened?"

Although Phoenix felt like she had run out of tears a few hours ago already, her eyes filled with the salty liquid again. Almost immediately Sirius drew her into a hug, caressing her long, dark hair. "Shh... Whatever it is, we'll work it out."

She felt more than just a little weak. In her complete live she had never cried so often as she had cried in the previous year and she always needed somebody to help her get up again. She didn't want to be like that; she didn't want to be weak. She was sure there were people who had encountered worse in their lives than she had, but still she couldn't ignore that empty feeling, which seemed to be eating up her body. It simply took her in like a black hole and the only way to get out was by being saved by another person.

And this time, said person seemed to be her older brother, as he directed her towards the red sofa in the centre of the living room.

Phoenix stared at the floor, her voice sounding hoarse as she whispered: "He did it."

Because of her abilities she didn't even have to look up at him to feel his confusion. "Who did what exactly?"

She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly to prevent herself from crying again. "You were always right. Regulus joined him." She finally looked up at Sirius. "I know he will get hurt, I can feel it."

Although he had always told her Regulus would take that path one day, her brother looked shocked. "I always knew he would do it, but I thought he would wait until after you finished school."

Phoenix looked up at him, feeling terribly helpless. "I don't know what to do. I can't just let him run into an ill fate and leave like you did. I don't want to lose him – none of them, but Bella told me that mother wanted me to join him too and I'm not sure if I can do that."

"No, you wont do that under any circumstances," he told her, heavily shaking his head.

"But what if it's the only way to get Reg out of this mess?"