The Godmother

12. holidays

DRACO WAS GIVEN FULL-TIME DETENTION UNTIL THE END OF TERM. Even his father agreed that he should've been punished for breaking the rules.

Classes finished and there was a buzz in the air as students began to leave the castle, heading home for the holidays. Elizabeth had planned to leave- but not to go home. She was going to spend the first Christmas in 12 years with Sirius. Her heart was contempt.

She'd already planned her escape, telling Dumbledore that she'd be going home early that morning before anyone awoke as she wanted to 'make it to London by mid-day'. This wouldn't be happening. It was a lie.

Sometimes Elizabeth wondered if Dumbledore knew that Sirius was on the castle grounds, hiding a few hundreds metres into the Forbidden Forest. There was always a twinkle in his eyes when he talked about Sirius, especially when he looked towards Elizabeth.

He'd, of course, known about Sirius and Elizabeth's relationship. He was the first person Elizabeth spoke to with a half-sane mind after Lily and James died.

Elizabeth woke up on the 19th of December to a blizzard outside.

It was dark, the sun was desperately trying to break through the clouds, but the snow was no match. It was 5am. Elizabeth gathered her trunk, packing her clothes before descending the stairs to the castle.

She walked past Filch who was asleep in a seated window, Mrs Norris purring warmly against his chest. She had the heart to conjure a heated blanket and lay it against him before walking off.

The cold was harsh, the wind was harsher. It lashed wildly against Elizabeth, to the point that she put a spell on her feet to ensure that they didn't leave the ground while she walked.

It got easier once the made it to the forest. The trees were screaming and the wind was howling in a different key- telling Elizabeth its stories- its past.

She found the tent inside of the base of the tree and climbed in, conjuring her trunk to follow.

Sirius was asleep in bed.

Due to the journey, she didn't have the energy to wake him up or even make a cup of tea.

 

She climbed into the warm bed next to him and fell asleep almost instantly.

 

 

Elizabeth felt something warm against her cheek. It was gentle. Soothing.

Her eyes fluttered open to a dull orange light, surrounding her eyes and illuminating Sirius' cabin. The smell of cinnamon and pork instantly filled her nostrils. She sat up.

Sirius was sitting next to her, gentle touching her cheek.

He looked like he was examining her face- taking in every pore and contour on her skin- memorizing the differences between 20-year-old Elizabeth and the one he had now.

As her eyes opened, he looked into them. He seemed to be quietly exploring, a serious look cast upon his face.

"Oh, I didn't mean to wake you", he said quietly, brushing her cheek once more with his thumb before sitting up properly in the bed. Elizabeth shifted herself up with him, lying against his chest.

"Its ok", said Elizabeth, "what time is it?", she asked.

"2 in the afternoon", Sirius answered. Elizabeth glowed red.

She didn't realise that she had the ability to sleep for that long and hadn't since she arrived at Hogwarts. She'd gotten to Sirius' tent by 5:30am, meaning she'd slept for roughly 8 and a half hours. She drew a steep breath in and realised why. Because she was sleeping next to Sirius. His bed smelt like him, that homely, Sirius smell.