Tenebrous ❆ Sirius Black [2]

Chapter Eighty Six

Nadia woke to a sharp ache pounding through her head. Finding herself lying on the sofa in the living room it took her a moment to gather her thoughts. To remember what all had lead to this. And as she did, she wished she hadn't woken up at all. She didn't have the energy to sit up, feeling the tears already start pooling once again behind her closed eyes. She must've cried herself to sleep after Nicholas had told her what happened.

She had explained it to him, explained their plan of switching Secret Keepers and keeping quiet about it, she told him everything while he patiently listened, letting her cry on his shoulder as he did so, holding her as tightly as he could while he himself felt his own tears streak down his cheeks. While he believed the story Nadia had told him, it didn't lessen the pain of losing James and Lily or of the betrayal they now had to suffer through, it just shifted the blame of it.

"It was bad enough telling her about their deaths, now this too?"

Not yet having revealed that she was awake, Nadia was able to overhear Nicholas' quiet whispers. For a moment, she hoped he was speaking with Sirius, that he had returned. However, once she heard another voice, that hope dwindled, but not yet fully lost.

"She doesn't deserve any of this, it'll break her." It was Henry who had replied, just as quietly. Neither of them wanted to wake her, knowing that when she did awaken they would have to deliver more bad news. Neither Nicholas nor Henry were ready to tell her, they wished she could be spared the pain, that they wouldn't have to break her heart even more. But it was something that was out of their control.

"Where's Sirius? Has he not returned yet?" Nadia croaked out, her voice sore from all the crying. The sound of it made Nicholas and Henry turn to her with wide eyes, fearing how much she had overheard of their conversation, however, her question let them know that she didn't hear what they had to tell her this time.

"Nadia..." Nicholas didn't know how to start, he wished there was someone else, that someone else could do it, he didn't have the heart to watch her break down again. It was painful enough watching it only hours ago.

"Why do you sound like that?" Nadia's panic instantly shone through as she recognized the tone having heard it already that night. She quickly straightened up into a sitting position, the blankets slipping from her shoulders. Her eyes fearfully looked towards the two, watching as they exchanged hesitant glances amongst themselves, and it was enough to tell her there was more. "Something else happened, didn't it?" Her voice shook and cracked as she tried to prepare herself. But even if she had years to do so, she wouldn't have been ready for what came next.

"Sirius... He's... He killed Peter." Henry was the one to start explaining, but as he said the words Nadia didn't feel any sadness over that fact.

"Good." She said simply. In her mind, Peter deserved much worse. She couldn't even believe he had betrayed them. Peter who they had always loved, who had been a part of their family. All this time, while Sirius and Remus blamed each other, when their group was forced apart because of all the tension, Peter had been right under their noses. All this time, everything that had happened, he had caused it.

He gave the Death Eaters whatever information he could, leading to so much death, so much pain and suffering. Nadia could remember the time she was taken by the Death Eaters, the night she had thought she was hallucinating the voices of her friends, she remembered thinking she had heard Peter in the distance. She should have thought better of it, she shouldn't have brushed it off as the workings of her worn out mind. If only she had known better, this all could have been avoided.

"Twelve Muggles were killed during their fight, in an explosion." Nicholas added on. That bit of news brought her no joy, but she didn't give herself much of a chance to think of it as something sparked within her mind.

"But wait, if their fight is over where is he? Where's Sirius?" Nadia was panicking again, her mind thinking of the worst possibilities instantly, praying that she was wrong, that he would walk through that door at any moment. "Is he...?" She couldn't even get out the words of her question, too scared that the answer would confirm it.

"No, he's alive." Nicholas quickly reassured her, watching as her breathing slowed a bit and she let relief wash over her, but he knew it wouldn't last long. He knew prolonging it any further after this would be more cruel than anything. And so he pushed himself to say it. "But Nadia, Sirius... He's been taken to Azkaban."

"What? Why? For killing Peter? He was a traitor!" Nadia was now once again upset, her voice rising the more she talked. Standing to her feet, she started to pace the room, her hands shaking violently as she thought of the horrid prison, of Sirius being stuck within it.

"He killed Peter before he could clear his name, all that was left of him was a finger. Everyone still believes Sirius betrayed the Potters and the Order, that he was the spy. Everyone believes he's the one who also killed the Muggles." Henry explained watching Nadia as she wrung her hands through her hair.

"Well he isn't. We have to do something, we have to clear his name. He would never do any of those things." Nadia rushed her words, already going through all the ways in which she needed to get Sirius out. The Ministry had to see the truth, Sirius had done none of the things he was accused of, she knew that, they had to know it too. He couldn't go to Azkaban.

"Hey, we will. We'll find a way." Nicholas came to stand in front of her, his hands settling on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. However, coming to a standstill, Nadia felt her fear and panic rise more than it had before, tears once again running down her face as her shoulders started to shake with silent sobs.

"Please, I can't lose him too." She whispered, her voice cracking, and were the flat not completely silent Nicholas doubted he could have heard her. But he did, and so he pulled her into yet another hug, one that Henry soon joined hoping to provide as much comfort as he could as Nadia cried. "I can't lose him."

"You won't. We'll find a way, I promise." Henry said. Neither he nor Nicholas could be sure of that, they didn't know how to clear Sirius' name. Nobody would take Nadia's words into consideration, she was his wife, an unreliable source. But they knew they had to find a way. If Sirius truly was innocent there had to be some proof of it out there.

"You'll see him again."

Nadia heard the words, but they only made her heart clench even more, another set of sobs escaping her. The same thing was said about seeing Lily and James... And yet it was a lie. She silently prayed to whoever might hear her pleas that this time it was the truth. She couldn't lose her brother and sister as well as her husband in one day. She couldn't bear the pain of it. It was all starting to be too much, and Nadia was crumbling under all the weight. Within just one day, she was completely broken, and it seemed that there was no way to fix it.

Published: 02nd July, 2020