/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟕.𝟜.𝟣

"think you're escaping and run into yourself. longest way round is the shortest way home." ~ James Joyce

~october 1976~

It was windy and cold as Sirius made his way out of the castle and down the grounds, looking for Artemis. She hadn't shown up for breakfast that day, and he'd been doing a lot of thinking for the last month. He needed to find her, to talk to her. The wind blew his hair over his eyes and he swept it back with one hand. He'd ask Art to cut it sometime this week. It had gotten so long Marlene had started asking to braid it.

She was standing on a rock overlooking the lake. Sirius stopped walking when he spotted her. Her figure was framed against the gray sky, her hair blowing over her face wildly, her body swaying in the wind. She looked like a statue standing there, and he instantly thought of the goddess, Artemis, and the paintings of her Art had showed him over the years. Looking at her now, he could see why her parents had chosen the name.

She didn't look up when he jogged over and leapt onto the rock to stand at her side. He touched her arm and she flinched, then quickly tried to cover it. "Hey," she said, her voice rough in the cold air. She wasn't wearing a jacket. Sirius shrugged his off and put it over her shoulders without question.

"Hey."

She didn't say anything. He carefully put an arm around her, partially worried she would blow away if he didn't.

"You weren't at breakfast."

She still didn't look up. "Wasn't very hungry."

"Art..." His voice was barely audible over the gusts of wind. "Come and eat with us. I missed you."

"No really," she said vaguely. "I'm not hungry."

Sirius stared upwards at the cloudy sky and chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to find the best way to say what he wanted to say. "Look, you've barely eaten anything since we've gotten here."

She didn't answer.

"We haven't really talked about anything that happened at your aunt and uncle's," he continued, "-and I don't want to make you talk about anything you don't want to. But Art, I'm worried, okay?"

"Why?" she said, still staring vacantly out at the lake.

He sighed. "Because you like to act like everything's fine until finally you snap and things get really bad. That's why."

She still didn't look up at him, still didn't answer right away, but she moved closer. She leaned her head into his chest and let him wrap both arms around her, shielding her from the cold. "They..." It was hard for her to get the words out. "My aunt and uncle's house was total shit." As the words came out of her mouth, all she could think of were the things her aunt had said to her all summer. About her appearance, about her eating, and her stomach churned at the thought.