𝐉𝐈𝐆𝐒𝐀𝐖

Chapter 21

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Chapter Twenty-One:

Swallowing the Darkness

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There were four people at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. One man, two boys, and a young woman. One had been rescued from death, one had been marked for death, one was terrified of death, and the last practically personified it.

It wasn't so much the house that was depressing, but more the people inside it, Harry often reflected.

Harry was sick of beans on toast. As much as he loved Sirius, he did not love his beans on toast. Christmas break was over and the food alone made Harry long for the fine meals at Hogwarts. Harry had taken to cooking--since he was the only male in the house that could--but his culinary skills were rather limited, since Aunt Petunia had only taught him enough to be useful. So macaroni and cheese, sandwiches, baked beans, bacon, eggs, sausages, and lots of other simple meals became their staple. Harry hated cooking. Draco threw a fit every meal, but eventually ate when he got too hungry. When it was suggested that Draco could cook, he succeeded in topping Sirius by blowing up the stove and the pot. Sirius spent an entire day repairing it.

So much for Lupin's theory on good cooks being great potion brewers. Harry was eating a lot of Christmas cookies, cakes, and candies he'd been given for Christmas. So was Draco. Sirius moped around and stubbornly ate his beans on toast, muttering to himself darkly every time he did so.

Contessa, of course, could cook, but she refused to leave her bed except to use the toilet. When Harry last peeked in on her, she was lying on her bed in practically the same spot and position she'd been when Hermione and Ginny packed their things. She never came out, nor did she speak to anyone. She hadn't washed and the smell of unwashed female disagreed with Harry. Draco went in every now and then to talk to her, but she ignored him. Sirius brought her food once or twice a day, but she wasn't eating. Kaw had come back, but he didn't go anywhere near her. He stuck close to Sirius most of the time, preening and watching everyone.

Lupin's name was not to be brought up. When Harry tried, Sirius gave him a look that peeled a bit of paint off the wall near Harry. He definitely avoided bringing up Snape's name, so as to avoid getting hexed. Sirius was not much in a talking mood and usually took to sitting in the darkened drawing room, brooding. He occasionally tried to talk to Harry, but his sentences usually trailed off and he'd stare off into the distance.

Harry caught him at the cabinet Lupin kept his alcohol in. Sirius was holding a bottle of Wolfsbane Water--apparently Lupin hadn't thrown them all out--and frowning. "This is hard stuff. I don't normally drink this. When did it get here?" Sirius asked, eying Harry suspiciously.

"That was Lupin's drink of choice over the summer, while he thought you were dead. He stopped drinking completely when he found out about the potion to bring you back," Harry explained.

Sirius's jaw worked. "This stuff could kill him," he said after a long moment.

"He knows."

"He didn't used to drink you know. He never touched the stuff until after James died and I went to prison. I think I taught it to him," Sirius said darkly.

Harry didn't respond to that, because he couldn't think of a response. Sirius took the bottle and stalked out to brood over the bottle alone.