Frigus . Sirius Black (Mortem BOOK 2)

chapter thirty

note: there's references of smoking inside, which i know is illegal but please keep in mind that this was the 70s

August 1st, 1979 - Muggle London 

The good thing about being considered dead? Nephera Winchester got to read all the articles praising her on what she had done for the war, and mourning her loss. The absolutely horrible thing about being considered dead by everyone in the wizarding world? Nephera couldn't work. 

That's right, she couldn't exactly march into the ministry and begin right where she left off, no, she had to sit at home, pretending she had dropped dead about two months ago. For some, that hardly sounded like a punishment, hell, they'd probably overjoy at the fact that they didn't have to wake up early anymore. The brunette witch though absolutely hated it. 

Sure, she was practically the only person handling intel and information for the Order, giving her much more control over the entire operation. With Dumbledore mostly at Hogwarts, she was basically running the Order herself, but even that wasn't enough. She wanted to be out there, in the midst of the action, not sitting at home and handling information. 

That's how she found herself shopping in muggle London that day. Thankfully for her, the Winchester vault was practically unlimited, and after sending her parents to Azkaban, it was all hers. What else was there to do except from visit every single store in the city to try and kill some time. 

The things she had bought, spanning from records, to books, to clothes, had all been shoved into her bag, the one with the undetectable extension charm. She struggled slightly to lug it around, it was significantly heavier than it looked, but let out a breath of relief when she saw her favorite tattoo parlor come into view, "Lyla," she greeted, pushing the door open, "Any openings today?" 

Lyla had done every single one of Nephera's tattoos up to that point, excluding the first one she had gotten in Paris. The bunny and the raven on the inside of her left elbow, the constellation of Canis major on her hip, the skeleton design on the back of her left hand, it was all her. 

Needless to say, the two had become quite close over all those designs, "You're lucky," smirked the woman, "Although you should know that I always have time for you," 

Nephera laughed, "As much as I appreciate and adore you, I should inform you that I got back together with Sirius," 

Lyla scowled and rolled her eyes teasingly, and Nephera laughed knowing there was no malice behind the action, "Come on, after all the fun we had together that one time?" she wiggled her eyebrows 

The witch laughed, entering the private room, setting down her things, and taking a seat in the chair, "Who knows, he might screw up again the future," 

"I'll be holding on to that hope. Now, what were you thinking of getting?" 

Nephera had no idea, and honestly, she didn't really mind, "Lucky day, m'lady. You have the entirety of my right arm to work with. Be creative," she replied, "After that I've got a couple of more specific requests," 

Lyla's eyes flashed with what appeared to be a combination of greed and excitement, "Have I told you you're my favorite client," 

"I better be," 

Thirty minutes later, and Nephera's arm was prepped and at the woman's mercy, who had already begun freehanding a design, "How come you're here on a Tuesday?" she asked, "No work?" 

Not really, ever since my boss and the entire world thinks I died, it's been pretty tough finding something, "I uh, quit, one could say. Been pretty bored ever since, it's why I'm here,"