Tenebrous ❆ Sirius Black [2]

Chapter Fifty

Four days...

Four days had passed since the wedding. Four days had passed since Nadia was taken. And in those four days, they found nothing. No sign, no clue. Aurors were tailing known Death Eaters, trying to follow them to any location where they might be keeping Nadia, but they always managed to evade them. They had gone back to the chapel in search of clues, but all Sirius found was the broken piece of wood now clutched in his hands.

He sat on the sofa in the flat, his eyes looking down at the broken wand in his hands. It was beyond repair, in multiple pieces and so shattered he had to be careful not to get the splinters stuck beneath his skin. Although Sirius doubted the pain would be anything compared to the pain he felt in his heart.

For four days he hadn't seen her. Even when they were on holiday while they were still in Hogwarts, they never stayed apart for that long. He felt like a part of him was missing. He felt empty. Sirius couldn't bear it. The flat felt like a prison. Even though Marlene had come back and was sleeping on the sofa while Konstantin extended his stay and remained in the guest room. Even though Lily and James as well as Remus and Camille were taking turns staying over. Even though Nicholas, Henry, Adam and Eliza came over as much as they could. Peter was there the least, claiming he had to take care of his mum who had caught the flu, but even he came over when he had time... But the flat still felt empty without Nadia there.

"Sirius, you really should eat something. And then maybe you could get some rest." Lily' voice broke through Sirius' trance, making him look up from Nadia's broken wand and to his three friends that surrounded him. Marlene, Lily and James all looked at him, and while they tried to mask their concern, he could still see it in their eyes. Some of the food Camille continued to bring over was set out on the table, but Sirius couldn't think about eating.

Sleeping seemed to be even worse. He tried. But whenever he closed his eyes, his sleep was haunted with the thoughts and fear of what was happening to Nadia. Sometimes his mind jumped to the terrifying thought of what would happen if he never found her, to the fact that they didn't even know if she was still alive. But he refused to think like that, he had to hope. Because the thought of her being gone, of never seeing her again, broke Sirius' heart more than anything else could. He needed her. He couldn't give up on her.

"I can't sleep." He mumbled quietly, just like he did every time someone suggested it. "I'll sleep when we find her." He added, ignoring the looks which the three shared amongst themselves. He wished they would stop worrying about him. He was here, he was safe, there was no reason to worry about them. In Sirius' mind all their worry, all their focus, should be on Nadia and finding a way to rescue her. That was what mattered most.

"Padfoot, everyone's looking for her. We'll find her. I know right now you can't think of anything else but getting her back, but you need to take care of yourself too. When we do get her back, she'll need you." James' words contained no 'if's, and his voice was confident. He refused to give up. He refused to think they would lose her forever. He clung to hope, all of them did. They had to. To James, this was someone he loved as much as he would a sister. Their group, they were a family, and none of them could bear the thought of losing another family member.

"I can't stand being apart from her. I keep expecting her to walk into the room and scold me for not watering the plants or waiting too long to feed Tybalt." Sirius admitted. Although, he knew she wouldn't scold him for it, at least not now. In the midst of all of this he made a point of remembering the plants. And Tybalt... even the cat knew something was very wrong. He kept following Sirius around wherever he went. Even now, the black ball of fur was right beside him on the sofa, pressed against his leg even though he wasn't sleeping. Tybalt missed Nadia too.

"We'll get her back. You'll get her back." Marlene reached her hand out, grasping his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. They held on to hope, but as time continued to pass it became harder and harder. "Now come on, please eat something Sirius." She pleaded with him, her other hand reaching out for a plate with a slice of Shepard's Pie; one of Camille's delicacies, and one of Sirius' favourites. Marlene was there the most, taking care of him the most as she stayed with him. He and Nadia cared for her after she lost her family, now Marlene took it upon herself to repay the favour. Not that she wouldn't do that same independent of the past.

For a moment Sirius looked at the plate, he didn't feel hungry. He could barely think of food. But his mind went back to what James had said. Nadia would come back, and she would need him. And Sirius knew that once she was back he would feel the symptoms of not taking care of himself. He couldn't let himself lag behind, he had to be there for her when she came back. So slowly, he finally accepted the plate and he could almost hear the sighs of relief Lily, James and Marlene let out as he did.

Reaching for a fork he dug into the pie, and eating actually made him realize how hungry he truly was. Every time Camille brought food over, he thanked her, but Sirius knew that the muttered and simple thank you wasn't fooling anyone. Camille knew everything she brought was most likely just going to sit in the fridge and wait. Sirius made a note to himself to thank her properly. And he was sure she and Remus would be happy to hear it.

They sat in silence as Sirius ate, Lily, James and Marlene not wanting to say anything that would distract or deter him. Sirius didn't mind the silence too much, he had gotten used to it in the times when everyone in the flat was asleep while he remained in his room, running over every possibility, every idea he could muster up. But this wasn't night time, and nobody was sleeping in the early evening, so the silence couldn't last long. And this time it was broken by the sound of apparition in the hallway.

When he came back to the flat from the wedding and Hogsmeade, the first thing Sirius did was remove all of the protective charms guarding the flat. Back then he didn't know Nadia didn't have her wand with her. And even after he found it, he still kept the charms down. Maybe, somehow, Nadia would find a way out, maybe she would escape from wherever they had taken her and would need to apparate into the flat. Sirius wanted to be sure she could do it.

But since from their spots in the living room none could see who it was that had apparated into the flat, the four still stood from their seats, Sirius setting his plate back onto the table as they moved into the hall to check it wasn't an uninvited guest instead of someone who would have been welcome to the flat. However, as they all walked out into the hall, the sight was one none of them were expecting and it brought out a whole lot of mixed emotions.

There he stood, Nadia lying in his hold, her arm draped over his shoulders while her head leaned on his chest. Beside him stood an unfamiliar woman, but nobody was really focused on her.

"What the fuck?!" Marlene was the first one to call out, her voice full of shock, surprise and confusion. Because while all of them were happy to see that she was back, that he had brought Nadia back, James, Lily and Marlene were having a hard time wrapping their minds around the fact that a dead man was now standing in front of them. But it was rather clear now that Regulus Black was most certainly not dead.

Published: 17th January, 2020

Okay, I think I'm done for the day... 

Now, first things first, I know Metamorphosis is lagging behind a bit, but as you can see, this is one of the points where the stories intersect. I know not everyone is reading Metamorphosis, so don't worry, the important stuff will be explained here too, but just so you all are aware, the full rescue mission will be over there when it gets to that point.

Secondly, I want to disucss today's updates with those of you who are reading Tenebrous as I publish. Now I'm aware that it might not be as intense or exciting to have all of the chapters published within a day and the issue (the main part of it at least) resolved in a day. It would be different if a book is already completed and you're reading it all in full, but that's not the case here. I'm not the type to hold back a chapter if I've finished it and wait to post it at a later time (even though with my updating schedule it might be the smarter way to fill up the days when I can't write) and that is what happened today.

But I just wanted to ask you guys whether anyone minded that I put up all of these chapters in one day? If in the future you would like me to prolong the publishing process just say so.