Rough Waters |Sirius Black

Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Five

Nixie wished she could say that her nap was able to last but she didn't even enter a sleeping state, she simply couldn't, not with the idea of Harry not being with the group. Practically everyone else had returned but Harry was not among them and his godparents were growing worried with every passing second. No matter how tired she was, she could push through for Harry's sake. They had been given an hour to turn him in, which meant that he wasn't in the clutches of the Errand girls, that was certainly a bonus. However, during the hour they were given, the injuries of plenty needed tending to. Only one person on their side had lost a life so far, and many were conflicted on how to feel about it.

Artemis had been a complicated sort from the moment Nixie met her, she was troubled beyond anything with little place to run to. She was frightened to prove her loyalty to any side because no one ever fully trusted her, except for Eleanor and George, however, they were surrounded by people that saw her nothing more than her surname. Glancing over at Sirius, she remembered during the stressful times of war how everyone neglected what Sirius had done and only focused on his surname. No matter what good he had done, it was nothing in their eyes and that wasn't fair. 

Not to mention, Artemis was young and placed in a terrible situation, yet everyone continued to expect her to make the right decision without offering their full support. Nixi didn't blame the girl for what happened, it should have never come down to such things, but war was brutal and even the lives of the young were taken. 

Eleanor remained next to Artemis' body, apologising to her friend that she couldn't help her any further. Of course, many could argue that it was either Artemis or Fred that would have been sacrificed, but it didn't justify anything. No, Eleanor didn't care for Artemis in the same sense but she did care for the girl and obviously, Artemis didn't deserve death, she didn't deserve to be placed in the situation at all to begin with. 

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you," Meri said as she and Sirius sat down on either side of Nixie, " but I'm ready to go home. I'm not coming out of the water for a long time either. Just leave me to my seaweed and rocking waves, drama on land is just too much for this little sea heart."

Nixie smiled as Sirius took her hand and held it in his lap. "I don't blame you, Mum. You should go on holiday, maybe to some warmer waters. Might help you relax."

"Yes, but you're going to make me go by myself," Meri pouted, " and that's no fun."

"You don't have to go alone, take Conch with you. Merlin knows, that he needs a nice holiday too."

"We could turn it into a family holiday," Meri reminded her. "I don't see why we can't all go."

"What about me?" Sirius asked.

"I distinctly remember that you can doggy paddle," Meri told him, " you can come too, you just have to keep up."

"This seems highly unfair."

As the hour was nearly coming to an end, Nixie had already chewed down her nails with Harry nowhere in sight. Everyone seemed to be questioning the same thing as well, where was Harry? 

"Sirius," Nixie called over to him, "we should go. We should go out there and look for him. There's no sense in waiting around here. He could be in trouble."

He understood her reasoning but he was sure with their luck that if they went out that Harry would show up at the Great Hall shortly after. But she was right, they needed to do something besides sit around and wait. They were just preparing to tell Arthur to send a patronus if there was any sign of Harry before they left, but just as they took the first few steps there was a thunderous boom and Voldemort's voice returned to the coriddors and halls.