Nyctophobia - Sirius Black

Chapter 3

It was the first day of summer after Severus's fifth year. Ruby was already at work, after bringing up some food to the attic where neither was short enough to be able to stand up straight. She had left a note on the door to stay upstairs, but he hadn't listened.

She was almost home when she heard her brother's screams. She sprinted the rest of the way to the house, throwing the door open so hard one of the windows cracked when it slammed into the wall. Her fury gave her enough strength to pull her drunk father of the screaming boy.

She was so angry. No one hurt her brother. No one. Like a feral instinct, her palms shot out towards the man. A jet of bright red magic shot towards him, hitting him square in the chest. He gasped for breath, writhing on the floor in pain. His screams joined the pained pants of her twin. She didn't stop when he begged and pleaded for her to stop, the magic turning a sickly green as she glared hatefully at him. He let out one last scream, gasping for breath before sagging back, his last breath stolen. Still she didn't stop, the sickly green curse still flowing from her hands into his dead body.

She stopped when a whimper from her brother distracted her. Instead of feeling exhausted, she felt energized, the powerful magic still coursing through her veins. She knelt at her brother's side, carefully healing them like she always did. However this was much worse than any abuse he had ever endured. Unable to heal them completely, she transferred his pain to herself, not making a sound. He was still shaking in fear, quietly pleading for his father to stop, and for his sister to come save him.

She cupped his face in her hands, gently kissing his forehead, healing his mind.

"He will never hurt you again. I'm here. You're safe. You're safe." She didn't realize she was crying until Severus wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She sobbed, holding him tightly. "I should have been here. I'm so sorry."

She didn't know how long they sat there on the glass-covered living room floor, but eventually she pried herself from her brother's grasp and wiped away her tears. He only now seemed to notice their father's body.

"Is he dead?"

"I'm pretty sure. I was so mad that he hurt you. I wanted him dead."

"Good." He said, "Now he can't hurt us anymore. Are you coming to Hogwarts this year?"

"I just killed someone with accidental magic. I think I should. Do you think they'll arrest me?"

"Depends if they know. I'm not sure they can track accidental magic, but you're not going to a magical school either."

"I guess we'll find out if they show up."

"Do we have enough money for both of us to go?"

"If I work over vacations then we'll have enough. Just barely, but enough."

"That's great." He smiled.

"I think I'll wait a few days to see if they show up to arrest me, and if they don't then I'll send the letter asking if I can come now that we had enough money."

"That's probably a good idea. What about dad?"

"We'll tell the neighbors he drank himself to death. It's mostly true anyway, and he was drunk. So if they decide to do an autopsy or something, they won't find much difference. We'll keep it quiet too, just telling a few of the neighbors so they can help us bury him. If word gets out we're living alone they'll send us to an orphanage and sell the house."

It was three days later when Ruby went to a magical post office and sent the letter to Hogwarts. Surprisingly, nothing had come of the incident. They had told their next door neighbors on either side, both who at least guessed what went on in the house. Both were very sympathetic and helped the twins bury the dead body. They had promised not to tell anyone after Ruby had insisted that orphanages were dangerous and they would be separated.