Memento Mori - Sirius Black

Chapter 26

December 1st, 1975.

Morgan couldn't move. Her limbs felt like they were on fire and even lifting a finger would be too much of an effort. Her bed had her imprisoned. With good reason, because the witch was sure that without at least a full week of sleep, she would never recover.

The boys had dropped her off in the dungeons and the adrenaline in her veins had been the only thing that allowed her to even get there on her own two feet. Once inside the common room, the Bloody Baron had raised a brow at her as if in question. Had everything worked out? Or maybe at how shitty she looked, the girl wasn't sure.

Morgan didn't bother giving him any details but was ready to tell him what a terrible ghost he was for forgetting about the fact that he was supposed to warn her when a storm was coming. He must have seen it in her eyes, though, because the ghost rolled his own and said, with his low and cold voice that was a perfect match for the dungeons, "I told him to knock,"

Morgan only stared at him. Not knowing what he was on about and without the energy to care. The ghost threw his hands up in the air with irritation, his hands in manacles, making the chains rattle with a loud sound. How they could make noise when they weren't even real things was beyond her and her tired mind. "I also cleared the way for the boy. I terrified students into going to sleep when I heard him and his little posse outside. Some appreciation would be nice,"

Then she understood. He had helped Sirius. Kind of. Helping him get to her instead of going to get her himself. Morgan had sighed with a tired smile on her lips, "Well, Baron, thank you for your services. They're much appreciated,"

The ghost had bowed his head before floating off to Merlin knew where. He always did that. From the moment they met in her first year. Claiming she was Slytherin's living heir, making him a man, or ghost, at her service. If someone had house pride it was definitely that old thing.

Morgan had then made her way up to her room. She avoided the wary glances from her roommates and the confused but teasing smile from Ophelia, who had no idea about the Animagus thing. Morgan had never told her, especially because that would've meant telling her about the marauders' own illegal transformations. The witch hadn't even bothered to put on any clothes or to dry herself with a towel, or magic. She just pulled Sirius' very wet coat tightly around herself and got under the covers of her bed. Sleep claimed her in less than a second.

So that morning she had awakened because of the noise of her roommates getting ready for breakfast. And then she hadn't been able to fall back asleep. After a few hours of it, even if she was completely drained, now her brain had enough energy to not want to shut up.

It was running through a few things. First, the fact that she was completely naked and wearing only Sirius' coat. Now, Morgan generally wasn't one to give too much importance to these kinds of things, but... Well, why was he the one to step forward and give it to her? She thanked the gods he did because last night it was freezing. She was sure she had caught a cold after her fifth sneeze that morning. She shook her head. She shouldn't read too much into it. But the look on his eyes when he saw her... Morgan knew that look. And generally, she would've played along and flirted a little. It was their thing. Fight, flirt to get the other flustered, and resume the fighting. But she hadn't. She didn't think it would've played out well for her.

Then, there was the fact that she was a fucking animagus now. An illegal one at that. Which was so much better. Now no one that saw a pretty white leopard slashing some throats would be able to pinpoint it to her. She would never do that, obviously. But the idea was nice.

However, the transformation had taken its toll. At first, it had been agonizing. Her clothes melded into her skin and went who knows where. That little fact only told her that the feeling of being burned alive wasn't only in her mind and it was very much real. Later, being in that amazing body and doing more exercise than ever before in her life, once she shifted back, had left her feeling like a ghost herself. She could feel all her muscles, because damn it, they were burning, but also felt light as a feather. And unable to move.