The Truth Behind the Veil ✔️

Insomnia

  That night Fawn was unable to sleep. She had never been someone to sit by and do nothing. In second year she had tried desperately to figure out the mystery behind the Chamber of Secrets, she had helped with Buckbeak's trial, she had been one of the first to join the DA, and yet, here she was, doing the exact thing she vowed she'd never do.

   In five years Harry's parents would be dead. Betrayed by their best friend, their other friend locked up for a crime he didn't commit.

  "Fawn?"

  Fawn looked up to find that she had subconsciously stumbled into the Potter's living room, and she wasn't alone. Sirius sat on the sofa, looking at her in confusion probably due to it being such a late hour.

"What are you doing up? Did I wake you?

  Shaking her head, Fawn took a seat beside him, "No not at all, I was just lost in thought. Couldn't sleep."

   Sirius nodded, being all too familiar with anxiety induced insomnia. "Same here."

  "Are you alright?" She knew the answer to this of course. He wasn't. No one could be okay after being brutally disowned.

  Sirius just scoffed. "Oh yeah I'm doing great. Never been better."

  "Yeah sorry, that was a poor question."

The pair shared a light laugh.

  "So what was keeping you up anyway?"

  Fawn took a deep breath. "Oh you know, just homesick."

   "Can't relate."

  Another bout of laughter ensued.

  Fawn found the younger version of Black to be funnier than she had expected. He had been funny at Grimmauld Place, but it was a forced humor. An attempt to break through the fear and trauma of the wars. Now the jokes were still strained, but less so. Sirius still had a harder life than James but it hadn't reached its climax yet. For that, Fawn was thankful.

  This was the moment that she decided she would make the most of her time here. She would ensure Sirius, Remus, James, and Lily had the best next five years that the circumstances allowed. Maybe she couldn't change their fates, but she could make the inevitable a little less daunting.

  "So they were good to you?"

Fawn was broken out of her thoughts by Sirius' question. "Hm?"

  "Your parents, are they good?"

   "Oh."

  Fawn didn't know what to say to this question. She hadn't seen much of her parents the past year or so. After third year, she spent the summer with the Weasley's and this past summer well... she was at the Order headquarters. Between the Yule Ball and Arthur's attack, she was unable to return for Christmas either.

  Her parents were kind, that much was certain, but they weren't around much. Her father was a businessman so he was often gone on work trips. Her mother...

"Yeah they're good to me." Fawn decided to respond. It was a brief response but it seemed to suffice.

  "That's good. I'd hate for anyone else to have to grow up like I did."

   "Me too."

   Sirius offered up a soft smile. He was a lot more open than he let on. They sat in silence together, letting their thoughts consume them as the sunrise began to peak through the hills. It was nice, she hadn't gotten much silence lately. Even back home, she, Harry, Ron, and Hermione always had some plan hatched. The quartet had never been good at quiet or peace. Not that they had much of a choice, it was that or Harry dying every year. Merlin, that boy had a target on his back. It was honestly exhausting having to save his hero-complex arse every year. Bloody Leo.

*****

   James was talking the world about Evans. He had been doing this everyday for the past two weeks, and Fawn was nearly ready to slap him.
She had known that James had fancied the girl ages before they had ever gotten together but this was a bit much. It was cute though, seeing his dedication. Ron and Harry had never really given romance a second thought.

  Well Harry did that weird bit of a fling with Cho Chang, but that had just been miserable for everyone involved. Ron didn't even realize girls existed till the Yule ball. They were quite oblivious but she loved them just the same.

  "Yeah I'm not gonna mess it up this time. We talked after the incident and I understand everything now so I think things might actually work out."

Sirius spit his drink back into his drink causing Fawn to crinkle her nose in disgust. "You talked to her! Prongs, why didn't you tell me? This is major progress! I feel betrayed!"

  Fawn snorted into her waffles. James just grinned sheepishly. "It was a private conversation."

   "Private my arse! We tell each other everything Prongs. Everything!"

  James cringed. "Yeah maybe we should rethink the 'everything' agreement."

  Fawn grinned in amusement as she watched the brothers banter, it reminded her too much of Ron and Harry. "Do I want to know?"

   Sirius and James just smirked at each other. "Probably not."

  Fawn shook her head. Idiots.