His Angel

"Krona," he shuddered as he heard his own voice; it sounded as if a dead person were speaking. "Can I have water, please?"

"Krona be bringing water for young master Sirius, sir," said the young house-elf, and went out with a pop, returning a moment later with a goblet of water.

"Thank you, Krona." He let the dedicated house-elf guide him to a sitting position and brought the goblet to his parched lips, drinking the water in small sips. With a tired sigh, he returned the half-empty goblet to the elf who vanished it with a snap of her fingers. He suddenly gasped as his stomach cramped, and the elf whimpered.

"Master!"

The pain, which he had gotten used to, went away, and he slid back under the covers. He thought back to when he was younger. He had never cared for the house-elves who did all the work around the manor; he had thought those beings to be beneath him. Technically, it was not his fault as he had been raised this way, but now, he couldn't help but feel guilty.

An unknown illness had caught him a year back, when he was six, and the only one who really cared even now was Krona. He turned to the elf who was sitting by his side. "Krona, why does Father never come here?"

Krona hung her head. "Krona is not be knowing, young master."

He asked her the same question everyday, and she gave the same answer. It had come to be a tradition for them — one he did not break in the hope that his father would come to see him one day.

He went back to staring the ceiling. After what could have been a minute or an hour, sounds coming from the hallway caught his attention. For the first time in his short life, he heard his mother and father arguing.

"You should at least go to see him, Cygnus. The healers still do not know what has made him this ill, and he might not live long." Sirius' heart sank as he heard the last statement, even though he had already known he had little time left.

"No, Ella," said his father. "I have told you before, and I am saying it now. For me, he died the day he let that illness catch him. He is weak, and I do not consider someone as weak as him my son."

By his side, he felt Krona dissolve into a fit of sobs, as she hastily erected a silence ward around the room, but he had heard enough. Strangely, he did not feel as if his heart had shattered at his father's rejection. It was as if he had already known this.

He felt the door to his room open, and his mother entered. She did not speak a word, just sat down on the bed by his side and caressed his cheek. A tear fell down his cheek, matching his mother's, and he felt her wipe it away with her thumb. She stood up without a word and left. To him, it felt as if she had come to say a goodbye.

His father, he realised, must have forbidden her to meet him. Sighing heavily, the seven-year-old boy closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

—o§o—

He woke up suddenly with a sharp pain in his chest. He felt the muscles in his torso spasm, and a scream escaped his lips. He felt someone clasp his hand in theirs, and he knew it was Krona.

"Krona!" he breathed.

"Yes, young master. Krona be here."

He felt his magic surge inside his body, trying to fight the pain. An unfamiliar magic suddenly joined his own core — Krona's magic, he realised. Yet, it felt as if they were fighting an already lost battle.

He felt his body stiffen, then shake violently. It was if someone had clutched his heart and was trying to tear it apart from his body. He clenched his teeth and tightened his hold around Krona's hand as he lost the control of his body.

After what felt like hours, he felt his muscles relax. He looked at Krona, who had gone pale white. Even with those large eyes and that long nose of hers, in the moonlight coming from the window, she looked like an ethereal being… an angel. His angel.

Another bout of pain seized him and he screamed. He felt Krona calling for help, but no one arrived. He stared into those huge blue eyes he had come to love. "Krona," he whispered, his voice just a hiss of the wind, as a blissful feeling of separation and peace, with a promise of eternal rest, overcame him.

—o§o—


Written as Hogwarts Assignment for Lineage Study: The Black Family

Character — Sirius Black I

Extra Prompt used: (creature) House-elf

Word Count: 788