Nyctophobia - Sirius Black

Chapter 2

 Ruby was assaulted by loneliness as soon as she stepped inside the house. She knew this was better for the both of them, but she couldn't help but miss him. The lack of parchment and an owl didn't help matters either.

She continued the same routine, but now there was no one to protect. So instead of giving a little food to Severus and eating nothing herself, she ate the extra that she had cooked. Tobias came back, drunk as usual.

"Where's the boy?" He growled, shaking her roughly, his fingers digging into her shoulder.

"He's at Hogwarts where you can't hurt him." She stared up at him defiantly, only to be thrown to the ground. She was quickly met with a sharp kick to the face. A coppery taste filled her mouth, and a resounding crack told her that her nose was broken. Another kick was promptly aimed at her ribs. She knew they were broken as soon as she gasped for air.

Every instinct in her body told her to either fight back or curl up into a ball, but instead she lay limply on the ground like a rag doll as kick after kick was directed at her, leaving either bruises or broken bones. She felt the familiar darkness clawing at her mind, and let it consume her. Now she couldn't feel every hit. She couldn't feel her entire body throbbing in pain.

It was a welcome feeling. Ruby had been unconscious too many times to not know that the darkness brought relief, if only for a few hours. It was dark when she woke, but she slept on the living room floor surrounded by glass shards, dreading the attic that no longer held her brother.

Ruby woke again with dawn, and made breakfast, forcing herself to swallow what she would have normally giving to Severus. She got ready for school, and healed the broken bones, before leaving.

Life wasn't much different, except now she ate more, and got in trouble less at school.

She was startled to see an owl tapping on the window on Halloween.

She took the letter, and asked the owl to stay so she could reply.

It was from her brother.

Dear Ruby,

Everything's great here. The lessons are fun, and there's so much food. I wish I could send you some, but Malfoy said it wasn't a good idea. I got into Slytherin, no surprise there, but Lily's in Gryffindor. We still hang out a lot, and we have most of our classes together. Malfoy's cool, I guess. He's letting me borrow his owl so I can write to you. I'm glad I'm in Slytherin, because it's a really cool house, and none of them seem bothered that I'm really poor. The other houses aren't that nice, except maybe Hufflepuff but they just avoid us, but Malfoy's been sticking up for me.

I don't know if you'll be able to reply, but if you can, please do.

You are eating more, and not letting dad beat you up as much, right?

Your brother,

Severus

Ruby smiled, and read the letter again, before turning it over so she could write on the back. She didn't have any other parchment.

Dear Sev,

I'm really glad you like Hogwarts. Don't worry about me. I am eating more, and avoiding dad more too.

Lily can't be in Slytherin because she's a muggleborn, but it's great that you are still friends even though you are in different houses. Please tell Lucius I said thank you. He's right. Transporting food by owl wouldn't be a good idea.

Learn everything, be careful, and have fun. Happy Halloween, and I'll see you at Christmas.

Your sister,

Ruby

She gave the owl a bit of her dinner and tied the letter to its leg before letting it fly out the window.

Ruby waited on the platform as the train pulled in. Severus was quick to see her, and jumped out, running to greet her. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, before stepping back to check him for injuries. She hugged him again after realizing he didn't have any.

She noticed a small group of Slytherins a few steps away, and waved a little.

"Are these your friends?" She asked her brother after they had pulled apart.

"Yeah. This is Avery, Mulciber, Black, and Malfoy, who you already met."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Ruby Snape, Sev's older sister." she said before turning to Lucius. "And thank you for protecting my brother."

"It was no trouble, really. He's a Slytherin, and Slytherin's look out for each other."

"We should probably get going." Black said, her long curly black hair swaying in the breeze.

"Goodbye. It was nice meeting you." Ruby said, before pulling her brother away. She met Lily on the other side of the gate, waiting for her. "Hi, Lily. Did you have a great school year so far?"

"Oh, yes. It was wonderful. I think my favorite class is Transfiguration, but Potions is a close second too. That's Sev's favorite." It was a long walk back to their houses, but Lily managed to talk the entire time.

As soon as they got home, Ruby sent Severus up with a small amount of food she had hidden.

Although he had had a growth spurt while at Hogwarts, Ruby had also grown, and was still several inches taller than him. Because of this, neither really fit on the cot. they put the mattress on the floor, and slept with their calves hanging of the end of the mattress.

Ruby learned as much as possible from Severus and his books in the two weeks that he was there. Tobias had gone to visit a friend, and the two were alone in the house.

Ruby resolved to drop out of school and get a job so that she might be able to go to Hogwarts by the time she was older, and also so that if their money ran out sooner than intended, Sev could stay at Hogwarts.

So that's exactly what she did. As soon as he went back to Hogwarts, Ruby went to the school and told the teacher that she wouldn't be coming back. He gave her a referee to a factory, and Ruby ran there.

The factory didn't pay much, only a four pence a day, but money was money.

"You what??!!!" Sev was shocked when he heard the news.

"I dropped out of school so I could get a job. Maybe by the time I'm older, I'll be able to go to Hogwarts."

"Why would you drop out of school? You're twelve. How'd you get a job?"

"There's a factory. They pay four pence a day. If I don't spend any of it, I should be able to go to Hogwarts for my seventh year."

"Okay." He sighed. "but please be careful. Factories are dangerous."

"I will. I promise."

Severus went back at the end of spring break, and Ruby didn't hear from him until summer when he went home, but she was so busy with work that she barely noticed.