Everything to Me

55.

"Do it, Black!" Mulciber encouraged as a shirtless Regulus moved towards Juli. "The Dark Lord will be very pleased with you."

She was cowering with her hands tied in the corner of what looked like a barn. An oil lamp was dimly lit on a haystack. It shone on Regulus' eyes which were grey exactly like his brother's. A tear rolled down her cheek when she remembered Sirius' promise about protecting her.

"Reggie, please. You can't do this." She pleaded, more tears rolling down her cheek.

Ignoring her words, he bent down and removed a strand of hair from her face. She shivered at his touch. The same person's touch whose hugs had made her feel content and comforted her. The person who teased her about her crush on Sirius. The one who secretly wore a Gryffindor scarf underneath his Slytherin Quidditch robes not for his brother, but for his best friend.

The same person was in front of her, staring into her eyes, piercing her soul, scaring her. "No, please... Don't listen to him..." She cried. She felt drowsy and her vision was blurry.

Regulus laughed darkly, as if he had no emotions inside and his heart was made of stone. "Why not, Juli?"

"I... I trusted you!" She shouted, mustering all her strength.

"Trust is a strong word, indeed, my dear."

Juli's eyes darted to the direction of the voice. She could see only darkness but she felt the presence of something cold. The kind of cold which made her soul shiver. She felt the air move and two, slit-like eyes came into view.

Not being able to bear the hatred in those red eyes anymore, Juli woke up with a start. Panting hard with beads of sweat on her forehead, she looked around and found herself in her dorm.

She wanted someone to talk to. To assure her that it was in fact, a nightmare and she was at Hogwarts, not in the corner of some barn.

But she couldn't wake up Lily. She didn't want to. So with her heart still beating rapidly and tears in her eyes, she grabbed her wand and got down from her bed, tip toeing out the dorm.

Silently thanking Merlin for the fire in the common room and Sunday tomorrow, she ran up the boys' dorm and found them all asleep.

She moved towards Sirius' bed and shook him gently. "Sirius?" She said in the quietest voice, afraid that it might break.

He opened his eyes and casting a quick Lumos, saw that it was Juli. Seeing her moist eyes, he instantly shifted to the side and lifted his blanket, making space for her. "What happened, Juliette?" He whispered, not wanting to wake the others up.

She whispered a nox and put away his wand along with hers. Then, she wordlessly climbed into bed and laid down beside him, hands on her stomach as he pulled the blanket over them.

"What's wrong, love?" He asked again and wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

She realized what he was doing and moved away from his touch.

Understanding what she wanted, he shifted closer to the edge of his bed, increasing the distance between them. "Juli?" He said, one more time.

"You promised." She murmured, staring at the ceiling. "You promised that you would protect me and - and not let anyone get near me without my permission."

"I have every intention of keeping that promise, darling. You need to tell me what happened. Did someone do anything?" He asked, his voice full of worry.

She shook her head. "Nightmare... Reggie naked... Dark Lord... Barn.... I don't know where..." She mumbled.

It was clear to Sirius that she was having a hard time talking about it. He wanted nothing more than to hold her but she wanted space and he respected that. "It was just a nightmare, love. This is real. I am real. And I won't let anything happen to you. I love you."

Hearing the love and sincerity in his voice, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to cry. She felt Sirius inch closer and hesitantly wipe the tear. She looked at him and suddenly threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest.

"You're safe, sweetheart. I swear." He wrapped his arms around her and decided to talk to Dumbledore about it. Dark Lord and a barn whatsoever, there has to be some link between them. It would not take a genius to figure out the naked part and Juli but Regulus? How was that even a possibility.

Choosing to concentrate on Juliette for now, he placed his chin on her head, allowing her sob into his chest. Hearing her rapid breathing slow down after a few moments and be replaced with calm, deep breaths, he heaved a sigh of relief and kissed her head.

Juli finally felt safe. "I love you, too." She was barely audible but hearing Sirius' heart speed up, she knew he had heard her.

And not many seconds later, they fell asleep together, feeling loved and warm.