chapter
10: Rapture
Sirius woke suddenly, bolting up in his bed. He had always been a sound sleeper
in his youth, but his years in Azkaban had destroyed his ability to sleep
through a full night. He looked around the dim room, lit only by the full moon
and saw a figure at the end of the bed, clutching the brass posts.
"Ruby?' he breathed quietly. She came around the bed slowly, her footsteps
dragging heavily. She fell to her knees by his bedside, and Sirius swung his
legs over the side of the bed. Her breath rasping slowly in and out, Ruby
grasped Sirius' knees for support. Sirius gently pulled back her heavy hood,
and gasped.
Ruby sported a large black eye and her hair was in wild disarray. A deep gash
above her left eyebrow was bleeding profusly as she gasped for breath.
"What happened to you?" Sirius gasped. He took his handkerchief off
the bedside table and gently began swabbing the bleeding cut.
"Voldemort...came to our house." she finally said. Sirius waited for
her to say more.
"...tried
to kill me, but I escaped. Came here, for you." she said slowly. Sirius
immediatly switched on the light, and looked down. Ruby had removed her hands
from his knees and was holding them to her stomach. Carefully, Sirius moved her
hands, stained with a mixture of dirt and blood, and swallowed heavily when he
saw the huge slash across her abdomen. He lifted her onto his bed gently,
heedless of the blood.
"I'll be right back, Ruby. Don't move a muscle, you'll be safe here."
he said. He dashed into the hall and up the stairs, colliding with Hermione as
she came down, carrying a suitcase and her mediwizard bag.
"Sirius, what's wrong? Oh my god, you're covered in blood!" she
exclaimed. Without pausing to explain, Sirius seized Hermione's arm and dragged
her into his room. Hermione didn't say a word when she saw Ruby on the bed, she
just rolled up her sleeves and gave Sirius a list of chores to help her.
Hermione worked into the dawn, struggling to keep Ruby alive. Finally, when
Ruby was relaxed and sleeping, breathing easily, Hermione sat back, peeling off
her blood-soaked gloves and destroying them with a swish of her wand. Another
flick, and Ruby was resting on clean sheets.
Sirius dropped into the chair next to Hermione, his hands free of blood and his
clothes changed.
"Where were you going?" he asked. Hermione looked at her suitcases
piled near the door.
"I'm thinking about taking a flat in Diagon Alley. I need some time to be
on my own, and think things through." she said carefully. Sirius saw she
was near tears, but decided to press on.
"So
because things are rough, you're going to run away?" he asked evenly.
Hermione shook her head.
"No...and yes. I love Ron, I do, but sometimes I don't know. We married
right after graduation, there wasn't ever anyone else for me. Sometimes I
wonder what it'd be like to be with other men...." Hermione turned bright
red, but Sirius leaned over and said seriously, "Don't forsake Ron. He's
enough man for twenty girls I think."
Hermione laughed and wiped her eyes.
"We'll see." she said.
to be continued.......
