Mortem . Sirius Black

chapter forty-two

April 15th - Paris 

Fabian and Nephera were sitting on a rooftop in Paris, a carton of cigarettes between them and a bottle of wine being discreetly shared. They knew they shouldn't drink on order missions, but they had been sitting there all night, and they both had enough self-restraint to know how to stop before they became drunk. From their spot, they had a perfect view of both inside the window of Barniers' apartement-shop and the street below it. 

The man in question had been sitting behind his desk all day, writing and sending out letters, for what, they did not know. 

Nephera had tried to intercept one of the owl leaving his office, but the bird was too fast for her to catch, and the use of any magic would alert the man of their position. 

Gideon had been in the French Law Enforcement Department since yesterday, trying to explain their situation without giving away any information about the Order. 

"My Merlin this is exhausting," sighed Fabian, lighting up another cigarette 

"It can be interesting if you know what to look for," she pointed out 

In reality, this was very entertaining for Nephera. Being able to gaze upon someone and observe their behavior when they thought they were alone, it was as though she was gazing directly into his soul. 

On the other hand, however, there was still a storm being waged in her mind, and she longed for a duel or some form of a fight to let go of her pent-up aggression and frustration.

"What d'you mean?" asked the redhead 

"See how he keeps chewing on the inside of his lip every now and then? And at the same time, his grip on the quill tightens? Whatever he's writing, it's making him angry," she pointed with her cigarette slightly 

"Godric you're good," he gasped

"I know," she replied cheekily 

Fabian decided to take a leap and ask her why she had left school for this mission. He may not know how to read people as good as her, but he knew how to draw conclusions, and a seventeen-year-old ditching school to hunt Death Eaters across Europe hardly screamed 'mentally stable'. 

"Are you going to tell me why you left school?" he asked, not looking at her 

Nephera knew that he wouldn't stop asking until she gave him something, and so she decided to reveal some information, "My best friend, she's a muggleborn and she was attacked. I was supposed to be with her at the time, but Dumbledore called me to his office, he needed something for the order. My other best friend was angry and stressed, and he said some things," 

The boy nodded, finally understanding the girls' weird behavior, "You shouldn't take any of it at heart, it was a stressful situation, he probably regretted it the second the words left his mouth," 

The brunette shook her head, taking a drag of her cigarette "No, what he saying made sense, he wasn't speaking out of anger, he was speaking based on logic," 

Fabian knew that if Nephera was saying that, there was more to it than she had told him, but he decided not to press any further, "It'll all get resolved in the end, kid, trust me," 

She quirked an eyebrow at his words, "Kid? You're only three years older than me," 

"Yeah but you're short," he teased, nudging her shoulder with his 

They went back to looking at the man through his window in silence, Fabian hoping that his brother would manage to convince the Aurors sooner, rather than later, so they could go home, while Nephera was secretly pleading for a couple of Death Eaters to show up. She wanted something to get her blood pumping, to raise her adrenaline levels.