scars || sirius black

38 - it's not your fault

Platform 9 ¾ was quiet that September. People were cautious, untrusting of the anonymity of the large crowd.

But mainly, everyone was just glad to see each other. Friends hugged tightly and took a while parting from their parents.

Who knew if it would be the last time they saw them?

Emmy spent most of the journey playing exploding snap with Alice and Dory, the music turned up to full volume to settle their nerves.

The summer holidays had been like a dream, an oasis in the middle of a desert, and now they had to fend for themselves once more.

She met Sirius in the corridor leaving the train and he helped her down as they pulled into the station. There weren't enough spaces in the thestral-drawn carriages with their friends so they offered to stayed at the station until the next one arrived.

"Surprisingly warm tonight, isn't it?" Emmy said mildly, plunking down on a bench to wait.

"Nah, it'll be freezing in a minute. The weather never can make up its mind round this time of year."

"You'll just have to give me your jumper then?"

"What happened to the other one?"

"Key word: one."

They were the last two students at the station, there was no one else in sight with only the sharp breeze to keep them company. It had begun to get darker earlier in the past week or so, the sun had just started to set as they spotted their empty carriage trundling along the road up ahead.

Emmy couldn't see the thestrals which she was glad for, but still made her wary of the jolting movement as they travelled up the rocky path.

It didn't help her nerves as she spotted the castle in the distance and flinched. The sight of the battleground affected her more than she'd realised. She cowed away as discreetly as she could, but Sirius noticed. He always noticed.

He wrapped an arm around her and she could see his hands trembling too as he entwined them in hers, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

"Deep breaths, Ems, ok?"

She nodded but couldn't form words, the knot in her throat aching. Her hands shook, but she clenched them tightly together and calmed her trembling heart.

The journey passed pretty quickly after that and Sirius took her mind off it all completely. She'd missed him the past couple of weeks whilst he stayed at James', it felt so good to be back next to him. Emmy leaned over and brushed her lips against his cheek then across to the corner of his mouth.

A flicker of a smile crossed his features and she grinned into the side of his neck, trailing her hand across his chest to tangle in his hair.

With a swift movement, he'd pulled her on top of him and began kissing back in earnest, hungry for her touch.

She loved being in his arms, the coldness of the night and any fear she once had disappearing like smoke.

For what seemed like hours they were wrapped in each other, neither wanting to stop before they really had to at the doors to the school.

Emmy smirked as Sirius tucked his shirt back in and straightened his tie.

He laughed at the look on her face. Her lips were swollen and he could already see the bruises on her neck from where he'd gotten a bit carried away. He took the clip out of her hair to let it fall down to cover them. She ran a hand through her golden locks and smirked at him.

They had to walk past Professor McGonagall with the first years in the entrance hall, who gave them a suspicious then amused glance as they snuck past, clearly having figured out exactly what they'd been up to from the state of their appearance if not glint in their eyes.