Nyctophobia - Sirius Black

Chapter 1

Ruby quickly got up from where she lay on the living room floor. She barely wobbled when she stood, despite the fact that she had been unconscious mere moments ago. A little light streamed in through the dirty window of the old house on Spinner's End, signalling that dawn had arrived.

She jogged to the kitchen, her footsteps silent on the cold stone floor. She quickly cooked three eggs, and scooped one onto a small plate that she hid at the very back of the small cabinet next to the oven. The other two were put on a larger, cleaner plate. She set the plate on the table with a glass of juice, and disappeared up the stairs.

Her brother lay on a cot that was much to small for him in a dark corner of the small attic. She shook him awake, and he sat up quickly. There was a small cut on his cheek, and she pulled him to the bathroom, quickly washing it out. He barely flinched, too used to his older sister cleaning his cuts.

He averted his gaze from the large bruise forming on her jaw and the deep cut on her arm, knowing she wouldn't clean her own wounds until his were properly taken care of. She instructed him to take a shower and washed his clothes in the sink. Severus wore a pair of old jeans that were stained,badly torn at the knees and showed two inches of his legs that the pants should have covered. Ruby had a short skirt that looked dirty, even with the brown color that was supposed to hide stains. It was ripped at the edges from far too many falls, and frayed. Their matching dingy grey t-shirts were also too small, Ruby's ripped at the bottom showing some of her stomach.

Tobias Snape, their father, was an imposing man, easily twice as tall as his children, as well as being large, despite his stature. The two kids had clearly inherited their father's black greasy hair, and black eyes. However they had inherited their pale skin and hooked nose from their mother.

"Get down here, you filthy brats." He yelled up the stairs. Severus pulled on his damp clothing quickly, and the two bounded down the stairs as quickly as possible. Severus tripped on the last step, and was sprawled on the floor. Tobias sneered, and kicked at the boy. He didn't touch him, however, the elder of the twins having jumped in the way. She flinched at the pain, but didn't make a sound.

"I'm leaving for work. I want food on the table when I get home for dinner."

Ruby nodded, not daring to say anything. The door slammed behind the man, and Ruby rushed upstairs, washing her clothes before stepping into the shower to scrub as much of the blood and dirt from her body as she could. Neither child ever really bothered with their long greasy hair that was constantly tangled, more from a lack of a comb than from neglect. Severus's hair reached his shoulders, while Ruby's went all the way to her waist.

She told Severus to eat the egg she had hidden in the cabinet, lying and saying she had already eaten, so he would.

They didn't look much better when they stepped out the door than before they had woken up, the only noticeable difference was the lack of dried blood on their skin.

They put on their matching sneers, and Ruby held her younger brother's hand tightly as she walked slightly in front of him.

"Hey, Grease ball!" One boy yelled as they walked into the walled compound of the school. "Still hiding behind your sister like a coward?"

Ruby's lip curled up into a feral snarl, and the boy took a step back.

"You don't even look at him." She growled, pushing the boy to the ground. "You got it?" She nudged the boy with her bare foot.

He nodded, and she smirked in satisfaction. She walked into the one room school, and sat down in the front of the fifth grade section. Severus sat between her and the wall, just like always.