Mortem . Sirius Black

chapter twenty-seven

February 16th - Slytherin Dorms 

It was early in the morning when a tipsy Sirius walked an equally tipsy Nephera to the dungeons. They both knew it really was no use going to bed, neither of them would be able to sleep after everything that had just happened, but it was worth a shot to at least pretend. 

The brunette was now lying in bed after having changed into sleeping clothes, Sirius's jacket resting on the chair of her desk, having forgotten to give it back to him. Seeing the boy's jacket reminded her of the present that he had given her, which was still in her bag, forgotten after everything that had transpired that night.

Reaching into the bag, she felt the wrapping paper collide with her palm, she pulled it out and sat on her bed. Tearing the wrapping paper, she saw the last thing ever would've expected from Sirius. It was a book, 'Peter And Wendy', and an old copy from the looks of it, definitely used. 

There was also a small piece of paper, and she smiled when she saw what was written on it. 

'Dromeda gave it to me when I was nine, she was fifteen and bought it at a second-hand muggle bookshop. I trust you'll understand why it quickly became my favorite book,' 

Flicking through the pages, the Slytherin saw that there were small comments written on some pages, annotations. The handwriting varied somewhat, but it had some similar characteristics, leading her to believe that the Gryffindor had read the book multiple times. 

She wondered why Sirius had decided to give her that, it was given to him by Andromeda, his favorite cousin, and clearly meant a lot to him. 

Shaking her head, she figured that she'd get the answer when she read it, and if not, she'd be able to pry it out of him eventually. 

Sirius came across the Portrait of the Fat Lady after running all the way up to Gryffindor Tower from the dungeons, not wanting to get caught by Filch. 

He hadn't slept at all, and he was exhausted, yet his mind was still running a mile a minute, trying to digest all the new information. 

He still didn't like the idea of Nephera playing into Voldemort's games with Stark, but there was nothing he could do to change her mind. He didn't know how she remained so calm during the entire night when he himself had been freaking out and had considered multiple times grabbing her by the arm and running away from the window and the meeting.

However, her calm and nonchalant attitude had helped him stay calm as well, just as much as it had freaked him out. He denoted that Nephera often had such an impact on people, she helped ground them and keep them focused on her while also unsettling them at the same time. 

She'd probably opened the present by now, he thought and shuddered slightly. The book was very personal, and a gift from Andromeda no less, so the reason behind him gifting it to her was unknown. All he knew was that he was racking his brain trying to find a gift that was suitable for the Slytherin, and then his eyes had fallen on the old book, and he picked it up and wrapped it with no second thought. 

She'd like it, even if it was a fairytale meant for children, he was sure of it. He was also sure that she would understand why it had been his favorite book for so long, the idea of an island of children running amuck with no adults would appeal to her just as much as it had appealed to him when he was nine. 

Opening the door to his dorm, he saw that the rest of the marauders' were asleep, and he too fell face-first in bed and waiting for sleep to overcome him, but it never did. 

Instead, his thoughts once again drifted off to Nephera and her father's diary.  How she had kept it a secret for so long, he didn't know. He was certain that's if it was him in her situation, he'd never been able to deal with all of that alone for as long as she had, and a new wave of admiration and wonder flashed through him.