December 18th, 1976
11:57 pm
Astronomy Tower
"Stop!" Lucius commanded suddenly. I hesitantly opened my eyes as a silent sigh of relief escaped my lips. Regulus lowered his wand obediently.
Lucius smirked. "Why not make her suffer first? Introduce the both of you to the Cruciatus curse." He offered thoughtfully.
Regulus nodded and raised his wand once more. My eyes must have bled fear since Malfoy was grinning ear to ear.
"Crucio."
Head to toe I felt a thousand daggers stabbing me. Every inch of my body was in pain. I didn't even realize I was screaming. I laid curled in a ball, breathing heavily. It wasn't until the pain halted that I felt the wet tears streaming down my face.
I craned my neck painfully to see what had stopped the unbearable torture. A blurred Sirius Black came into view, his wand was raised and his face was hard.
"I never thought you'd do something like this, Regulus." Sirius muttered resentfully. Regulus stayed silent.
"Kill him, Black!" Lucius commanded. Regulus stood, unmoving. His eyes were pained and fixed on Sirius. He couldn't kill his brother, even if they hated each other.
The only thing I remember after that was the cold, dark nothingness.
*
"Gen? Genevieve? Bloody hell! Please be okay!" A voice pleaded. I groaned in pain as my eyes fluttered open. I heard a sigh of relief.
"W-what happened?" I croaked, my throat hoarse from screaming. I rubbed my sore throat gingerly as I sat up from the ground. I looked to see Sirius Black sitting beside me with a worried look on his face.
"What do you remember?"
I rubbed my forehead as I tried to recall any previous events. "I... I remember your brother. And pain, loads of pain. And I remember you but... that's it."
Sirius's face darkened. "My brother performed one, almost two, of the unforgivable curses. He was going to kill you but I stunned Lucius. He and the other Death Eaters fled when I made them believe that Dumbledore was coming." I looked around our environment to see where he'd brought me. We were at the Black Lake. The moon was glinting off of the waters surface beautifully. It calmed my nerves.
"I brought you here, well... because this is where I come to think. It relaxes me. I should have taken you to the infirmary, I'm sorry." He apologized earnestly. I shook my head.
"Don't apologize. This is perfect. Thank you, Sirius."
"Are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner."
"If you hadn't been there at all, I'd be dead. I'm grateful." I confided earnestly before pausing. "Sirius, how did you know I was in the Astronomy Tower?"
He pursed his lips together and scratched the back of his head. "I, uh- I sent you the letter, Gen. I was supposed to meet you there and, well, apologize for everything. There was so much I wanted to tell you." He confided.
"Tell me." I demanded softly.
He sighed heavily. "The reason I've been the way I have is because my family hates me and I hate them. They believe that only pure blood lines should exist, it's pathetic. If I told them that Regulus was a death eater, they'd be proud of their son. Me? I'm the failure. Ever since I got into Gryffindor and made friends with "blood traitors" and muggle borns, they've resented me."
I was shocked at how horrible Sirius's family was. A slight scoff escaped my lips.
"My brother... he's soft enough to believe in their stupid pure blood mania. I do everything I can to rebel, to piss them off."
"I'm sorry, Genevieve." He apologized. I smiled softly.
"Call me Gen. And it's okay, Padfoot." He smiled back.
"Can I call you kitten, also?" He asked playfully. I tried to shove him but I cringed since I was still sore from the curse. His playful attitude changed to worry. "Alright, uh, I'm gonna carry you to the infirmary. Is that okay?" He asked.
I waved him off. "I can walk fine." I muttered as I tried to stand but I groaned in pain. "Okay, okay fine. Bloody hell, I'm useless." I grumbled.
"You just experienced one of the most painful curses in the wizarding world and you're upset because someone has to carry you?" He asked with an amused scoff. I nodded with a shrug. He rolled his eyes while wearing a small smile as he swept me off of the ground bridal style.
"You know, don't be surprised if I'm carrying you like this again someday." He muttered jokingly.
"Oh, piss off." I grumbled while wearing a half smile. My smile dropped and I pursed my lips. "I'm sorry about your brother." I said suddenly while looking up at him.
He breathed in deeply. "I knew he was like my family but... I never thought he'd do this. I'll handle it."
"Thank you, Sirius... for everything."
"Of course, kitten." He glanced down at me once more with a grin playing on his lips. "You look beautiful, by the way."
And although he still annoyed me, I found no reason to get angry with him for my little nickname. I found no reason to avoid him anymore. And in this moment, Sirius Black actually made me blush.
A/N-
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