𝙰 𝙳𝚘𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙰 𝙳𝚘𝚟𝚎 - 𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘

Chapter 31

Sirius' pacing had James feeling ill, as the two best friends awaited Madam Pomfrey outside of the hospital wing, accompanied by Lily, who had nearly chewed off her nails, and Alice, who'd been with Lily when James and Sirius had come running to the hospital wing, after Minerva had told them that Aurelia was unable to be woken up from her vision.

When Aurelia had lost her consciousness in Regulus' arms, he'd taken no time in carrying her out to the main section of the library, where, perhaps by some chance, Filius Flitwick had been, the Charms teacher and Head of Ravenclaw's eyes widening as he saw the boy carrying the unconscious form of his best student.

Aurelia had been rushed to the hospital wing as soon as possible, and the only people who'd been permitted to enter were Dumbledore, Flitwick, McGonagall, and the Divination professor, who none of the Marauders nor their friends had ever seen before, as only Aurelia took the class.

"Sirius, she's in the best hands. I'm sure she'll be okay in no time but pacing like this will only have you thrown in there too," Lily tried to reason, hand tightly clutching at James. Sirius' brow raised as he contemplated the idea of genuinely being thrown into the room, but Lily was quick to clear her throat, garnering his attention once more.

"Getting thrown into there will only divert attention from her, not make her better."

Sirius sighed, his mind racing with a million 'what-ifs', and Alice, who'd been quietly fiddling with her bracelet the whole time, stood up, timidly shuffling over to Sirius before wrapping her arms around his shoulders, forced to stand up on the tips of her toes. The boy in her arms stiffened for a second, not used to the comfort of another besides Lily and Aurelia, and as Alice hugged him, his arms hung limp by his side, before he slowly lifted them to rest against her back.

"My mother says sometimes hugs are the best comfort," Alice whispered to Sirius, pulling away from him to look him in the eye. With her short hair, and slightly oversized uniform, Alice looked small, meek perhaps to those who did not know her. And, to a degree, she was small. Usually, the quiet one amongst the Gryffindor girls, who never spoke out of turn, and who was often left behind if not accounted for.

But Alice was Alice. Alice had a kind heart, and Alice was certainly far more braver sometimes than others who'd gone through Gryffindor. Sirius had only witnessed Alice's protective side once, back in their first year when Remus had been bullied by a few seventh years, but it had been enough to solidify an unspoken friendship between them both, one that only came to light in a few moments, such as Sirius' current problem.

As Alice kept an eye on Sirius, Lily nuzzled her cheek into James' shoulder, her eyes looking down at their interlaced fingers. James' hands were a direct consequence of his years of playing quidditch; they were calloused, and rough, and littered with small scars between nooks and crannies, and often, Lily spotted dirt under a few nails, after a particularly messy training session. Compared to her own hand, it was like a yin and yang situation.

Lily loved holding James' hand.

Something about its roughness, about how worn and torn they felt, grounded her, in a way.

James loved Lily's hands because they reminded him of all the soft clouds in the sky, ones he had often stared up at as a child to make shapes out of.

"She'll be okay, yeah?" James asked quietly, his voice clearly only for Lily to hear. Lily nodded gently, unable to form any words, and scooted in closer to James, her feet tucking under herself so that she was now half-leant on her boyfriend. When Sirius came over to take a seat on her left, she placed her free hand on his thigh, and smiled at him reassuringly, hiding any of her own worries in order to be strong for both of the boys.

☽ ☼ ☾

It took another few hours before finally, someone emerged from the Hospital Wing, and the four Gryffindors outside of the looming doorway stood up, stomachs grumbling from missing lunch, and hands all intertwined. It was Minerva, her face creased with more worry lines than usual, and she did not even bother to hide her grim expression as four of her students approached with hope shimmering in their eyes.

"Minnie," Sirius said quietly, leaning on Lily ever so slightly. "How is she? Can I see her yet?"

Minerva immediately bowed her head but raised a hand just before Sirius went to move, her eyes softening.

"She's weak, Sirius," Minerva said gently, resting her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Usually, those with the Sight are raised with the knowledge of how to keep their visions at bay, or at least can see the warning signs before a vision such as the one Aurelia experienced this morning. But, being muggle-born and all, Aurelia has no such preparedness, and her vision has taken a toll on her body."

"She'll be okay though, right?" Sirius asked, clutching at Lily's hand slightly tighter. Minerva noticed the small action, noticing the fear laced behind the hope in Sirius' eyes, and curved the corners of her mouth up into a small, comforting smile, echoing for a second the hope that Sirius was quickly losing.

"She is expected to make a full recovery, Mr Black," she said gently, squeezing Sirius' shoulder in a comforting manner. At this, Sirius eyes lit up once more, before he finally loosened his hand out of Lily's, and quickly scurried into the Hospital Wing, almost slipping on the tiles at one stage, before shutting the looming doors behind him. James went to follow, always only a few steps behind his best friend, but Lily tugged on his arm, forcing him to look down to her.

The look in her dark green eyes told him everything. He needs some time alone with her.

☽ ☼ ☾

It was only Sirius and Aurelia in the Hospital Wing once all of the teachers had left. Filius had looked drained, half-shuffling out of the room accompanied by the Divination teacher, whilst Dumbledore, for the first time in Sirius' life, had looked worried, his half-moon spectacles for once not atop his crooked nose, but stuffed into his hand, alongside his wand, which Sirius had sworn he'd never seen before.

The teachers had only offered Sirius half a nod, before they'd all walked out, leaving Sirius to look upon the barely conscious form of Aurelia. Though she smiled at him as he had come into sight, Sirius could not hold back the shock from entering his face as he took Aurelia in.

Sirius wasn't sure her skin could have looked any more translucent, as he took a seat right beside her atop her bed, his hands finding hers and grasping them for dear life. As he fought back his initial shock at the sight of Aurelia, he raised their conjoined hands to his lips, and pressed a small kiss to them, unable to halt his bottom lip from wobbling.

"Oh, my love," he whispered, letting go of one of her hands to caress the hair that had fallen onto her face. Her cheeks, so usually full of colour from her infectious smiles, now matched the rest of her pale body, and Sirius caressed Aurelia's cheek gently, trying to stay strong and smile as she weakly nuzzled her cheek closer to him. Still dressed in her white sweater, she looked just as she had last night, when Sirius had kissed her and she'd stalked off to bed with her arms wrapped around each other, bottom lip tucked between her teeth.

"I'll be okay, Siri," Aurelia whispered, her voice barely reaching Sirius' ears. He nodded, trying to stay hopeful for both Aurelia and him, but he could not help the few long tears that slipped down his cheek as he bent down to hug Aurelia, engulfing her so tightly in his arms that it almost left marks.

Aurelia did not complain.

She only tried her hardest to hug him back with the same ferocity, as memories of why she'd initially wound up in the Hospital Wing flooded her mind.