☽・゚ ❛ ––– @lupiinee ⊰ PROMPT ⊱
HE HAD NEVER KNOWN SILENCE LIKE THIS -------- IT’S HAUNTING . bitter && cold . there is no warmth here . all shades of grey flicker through the scene in front of him . there is NOTHING but tones of cold . heart still beating within the confines of his chest , he knows that he is alive . he is safe . bones ache from the fight && mind exhausted completely to the point he is sure that if asked , he would not be able to offer a response . not one COHERENT at least . && then , && then oh that feeling in his whole torso --------- not unlike moments before a full moon where he felt displaced .
head dipped down . the greying swirls of his vision only blinded by the sheer radiance of her glow as she sat beside him . fingers around the end of his wand , the piece of wand pointing down as he let his magic touch upon the stones below , weeds sprouting from the cracks . yes they SURVIVED .
perhaps of course he should have known that sirius would always die in battle . always die upon the edge of a sword ------- as how he LIVED .
head tilted towards her as she then threads her arms through his own , balancing her head against his shoulder . it’s not just his dearest friend who has gone but her closest connection to a family she’s NEVER KNOWN or been part of . his gaze flicks towards her . there is a feeling of warmth that permeates this grey cloud that weighs . they survived . they would live to see another day . that was at least something .
he could not help but think though ------ sirius should have LIVED . && thusly , he should have been the one to die .
CACKLING LAUGHTER / A JET OF LIGHT / THEN THERE WAS NOTHING BUT AN UNBEARABLE BURNING SENSATION SPREADING THROUGH HER VEINS . ' constant vigilance ' rang through the auror's mind / one last coherent thought / before her body began to tumble down steps && her vision faded into darkness . it all happened so fast . Tonks had been climbing the steps two at a time , meeting each of her deranged aunt's attacks . from her peripheral vision , she could see remus circling the death chamber heading towards where harry and sirius stood then a flash of ginger hair took her by surprise as ginny stumbled before her && just as bellatrix sent a cruse flying towards the young weasly / tonks yanked the girl back and spun in front of her to block the curse's trajectory .
two days later / after she had regained consciousness in st mungo's / tonks was informed of her cousin's death . it was hearbreaking , knowing that sirius had died before ever getting a proper shot at life post imprisonment && more so than heartbreaking it was TERRIFYING . the war against voldemort and his followers for so long had seemed almost distant in a way / like a tragedy you'd hear about on the news but not be personally affected by . during voldemort's first reign of terror , tonks had been too young to even register what was happening && even with believing Harry beyond a shadow of a doubt && being a member of the order , everything still felt like a nightmare more so than REALITY . with sirius's death , however , everything had changed . suddenly the nightmare was real && fear of what they were facing hit the eccentric witch like a ton of bricks .
as soon as she'd been able to , tonks went searching for remus . though madeye had mentioned that order meetings would no longer be held at grimmauld place , tonks knew that remus would still be there , gathering the last of his belongings , ensuring that buckbeak was taken care of before he could be safely rehomed , and helping to remove any evidence of the order's time there .
upon finding remus , looking more broken than she'd ever seen him , they sat together , mourning their friend . the evening came && went as the two bounced between extended periods of silence && tonks' unsuccessful attempts at offering words of comfort . no words would suffice , the loss they had endured was too devastating . eventually , she gave up on trying to use words to comfort him && instead she simply laced her arms through his && balanced her head against his shoulder .