Shooting Star

Chapter One

I sat down to dinner with my family, home for the holidays. My sister was talking, as always. I tuned it out.
When she took a breath, my mum spoke up. "It's been so quiet without you here."
Oh, God.
"I'm here, Mum." Natalie said bitterly.
"Yes, but without you two fighting all the time, it's quite silent." My dad didn't look up from his newspaper.
Mum laughed, trying to cover her mistake. "Yes, well. How's school, Eliza, dear?"
"Good. I got a boyfriend." I mumbled.
"You're dating one of those freaks?" Natalie spat.
I feel so bad for Lily. It must be unbearable for her at home, too. "If you call him a freak, I'll hex you." I snapped.
"Eliza." My dad said warningly.
I looked back down to my food.
"What boyfriend?" He asked.
"His name's Sirius..." I hoped he wasn't at home. I hoped he was with James...
"Oh, that's nice." My mum said. "Have we met him?"
I didn't want to tell them that he was the guy who grabbed my arse at King's Cross. "I'm not sure." I said.
And then Sirius Black appeared in the middle of the dining room. My dad wouldn't even have noticed if Natalie hadn't started screeching and Mum hadn't gasped.
He was totally pissed. Either that or just having a really, really bad fit of anxiety.
"Who are you?" My father asked.
"Sirius?" I demanded, standing.
He was straight up sobbing. His hair hung over his eyes, wet from his tears. He was hyperventilating. "Eliza." He choked out. "Help me, Eliza." He begged.
"Sirius?" My mom echoed faintly.
"Come on, let's go outside." I grabbed his hand and pulled him out.
He stumbled after me onto the back porch. "I'm sorry. I--I--"
"Sh, it's okay. Let's sit, okay?"
He kissed me, one hand on the back of my head. "Tell me you love me." He pleaded. "I need you to tell me you love me. Just lie to me. Please."
"Do you want me to tell you I love you or lie to you?" I asked, entirely uncertain of what to do.
He kissed me again, hard. He pulled back and sucked in a breath. He exhaled in a cry.
I made an executive decision. "I love you, Sirius." I said quickly.
I barely finished before he kissed me again. My head was pushed back by the force of it, but he had his hand there to keep it in place. I couldn't even remember if I was supposed to breathe or not.
"Bloody hell, Black." I muttered when he pulled back, pursing my lips and reaching my hand up to touch his face. "What did they do to you?"
He stood there panting, sobbing, not looking at me. His arms hung down by his sides.
I didn't think he was drunk. He didn't taste like liquor. I kept my hand on his face, continuing to watch him. This was gonna be a hell of a job to explain to my parents. My mum was probably forbidding my father to come after us, and Natalie was probably rattling off about how she hates me and my 'kind.' Oh well.
He cupped my face in his hand and dropped his face down to mine, kissing me slowly, gently. Talk about sensory overload. With time, his breathing slowed. "I'm sorry." He finally said. "I just..."
"No, it's okay." I assured him.
"I just needed to see you." He swallowed hard.
"I don't think you've looked at me." I smiled a little bit.
The ghost of a smile came and went. "I'm sorry. I interrupted your dinner."
"It's okay. My sister made it. It's not very good. Are you hungry?"
He shook his head.
"Thirsty?"
He shook his head again.
"Okay. Let's go to bed, then." I suggested gently.
I wanted him to smirk and say "It's about time." or something of the sort, but he didn't. "No, it's okay. I'll go to James'. I don't want to... Intrude."
"You aren't, love. Let's go inside."
"Are you sure?" He met my eyes for the first time that night.
I felt my heart break. "Yeah, positive." I took his hand and led him inside. I made eye contact with my mother, praying she understood. She nodded, so I took it to mean that she understood.
I took Sirius to my room and started unmaking the bed.
"Is this your room?" He asked, looking around.
"Yeah."
The decor was sparse. There were a few pictures. Muggle ones, of me and my family, and wizarding ones, of me and the boys and Lily. There was one of me, Lily, and Severus, but Sev was covered up with another picture. He stared at them. He picked one up, of me and him.
"All right." I said. "Time for bed." I pulled his jacket off and hung it over the back of a chair. "Take off your shirt. You'll get hot. Natalie keeps the air up."
He shook his head.
"All right." I agreed. "Time for bed, then."
He didn't move, so I led him to the bed. He laid down, and I pulled the blankets over him, kissing him on the cheek. "Aren't you staying?" He asked, sounding panicky.
"I'll be right back, love. I'm just going to tell my parents goodnight."
"Oh." He said. "Okay."
I made my way back out to the dining room. Mum had already brought the dishes to the sink. She left mine in case I hadn't been done, as well as a clean plate, probably in case Sirius wanted to eat. I brought them both into the kitchen, ignoring Natalie's death glare. Even if I hadn't been done eating, I wouldn't be able to eat after that. I felt sick. What could they possibly have done to him to make him do that?
"Is he okay?" My mum asked, washing the dishes.
"I guess so." I said. "He's sleeping."
My dad came in. "Sleeping where?" He said suspiciously.
"In my bedroom. I'll sleep elsewhere." I resisted to roll my eyes at his distrust.
"What was wrong with him?" He pressed.
"What isn't wrong with him?" Natalie demanded, having come in at some point. "He's a--"
"Don't you dare." I snapped. "Don't you dare insult him. Keep your mouth shut when you don't know what you're talking about."
"Natalie, sweetheart, why don't you go clean the table?" My mum said.
With an irritated sigh, she stomped out, mumbling something--probably derogatory--under her breath.
"Well?" My dad asked.
"I don't know." I said. "I didn't want to ask. His family life isn't desirable. I assumed it to be something about that." I didn't look at them.
"Is this really something you should get mixed up in?" My mum asked. She wasn't being rude, she was just being concerned.
"I knew before I started dating him." I said simply, looking back up. "Normally he's not like that, so he'll probably be acting differently in the morning. Please don't question him or say anything."
"We won't." Dad assured me.
"I told him he could stay here. Is that okay?"
"Yes, of course." Mum said. "Honey," she asked my father, "Does it really matter if they sleep in the same room? I don't think he's in the mindset to do anything."
Sometimes I think my mother's a saint.
"Yes, it does." Dad said.
"No, it doesn't." She countered.
"Fine."
"I'm going to bed, then. I told him I was just coming to say goodnight." I said.
"Okay. Are you okay, sweetheart?" Mum asked.
"Yes." I kissed her cheek, then my father's. "Goodnight, love you guys."
As I walked past Natalie, I debated what to do. "Goodnight, Nat." I said, the old nickname slipping out.
"Don't call me that." She said cooly, and I kept walking. "Hey, freak." She said, and I stopped. "How does a weirdo like you get a boyfriend that hot?"
I kept walking. She's going to degrade me and my boyfriend?
I slipped back in my room.
"Eliza?" He whispered.
"It's me." I said softly, sliding into bed without changing. I laid facing him, in case he wanted to talk.
He touched my cheek gently and kept his hand there for a moment. He let it fall.
I kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Sirius." I whispered, turning over. I moved towards him so he could put his arm around me.
He snaked his arms around my waist and he held me tightly. I felt his body shake as he cried silently. I put my hand on his arm and stared at the wall opposite.
After a while, when he still hadn't calmed down, I turned in his arms.
"Don't leave!" He said.
"I'm not." I promised, my nose now inches from his.
His eyes stared into mine, but they were haunted and hollow. He stared right through me.
There was absolutely nothing I could do to comfort him, and that broke my heart. I turned back over in his arms, my body held close against his. He buried his face in my hair.
When his grip finally loosened, the clock blinked 3:46. I didn't fall asleep until at least four.