It was late afternoon. The house was quiet. He didn't even hear the ticking of the giant clock, standing proudly in the hallway. Imperturbable, since… well, always. It has always been there.
It seemed to him that the curtains and carpets absorb all sounds.
Nothing can happen. Nothing will.
His feeling of loneliness was aggravated by the fact that he had company. Lupin and Tonks were upstairs. Molly Weasley promised him steak for dinner. Snape locked himself up somewhere. Some people were arranged to come in the evening to discuss something with…
Eeeeh.
And suddenly, the silence broke. He heard a crack outside the room, somewhere near the library, and then the sound of books falling and broken glass. He raised his wand and rushed to the door. Somebody… Teleported? Here? Who could that be?
Then he slowed down. Apparently, nobody else noticed the sound. He took a step towards the door, and then they threw wide open and he saw the person that appeared.
First there was long silence. They scanned each other. Faces, so much changed by time and pain. Robes. Hair.
Her facial expression revealed nothing. His mouth was wide open.
"You're alive" – she whispered. With amazement? Sympathy? He could never read through her. Nobody could.
Tension grew higher and higher as he didn't answer.
"I…" – his voice broke. She took a sudden step towards him and they embraced.
"Sirius, I never knew."
"Where have you been all this time?", he answered, almost angrily.
"Here and there, mate, here and there", she replied, laughing gently. She crumpled his clothes and hair, nervously.
They stood in the corridor, none knowing what to do next.
"I knew it would be awkward", she remarked, letting him off. "How are you feeling, nutter?"
"I'm fine, where the hell have you been for fifteen years?!"
"You don't look very well, do you eat enough? I think I might have something for you", she reached for something in her bag.
Sirius was startled, but then, suddenly, he remembered all the things. And decided.
"Stop it. Stop, STOP NOW. Fifteen years, Matilda. We have a lot to discuss, my dear."
"Whatever you say, Mr Black", she teased him. That were the last words that he heard from her… Before…
"Don't you want to see the others?"
"The others? Whom exactly?"
"Remus and Tonks are somewhere around, and Ms Weasley, you know the Weasleys, don't you? Oh, and there is Snape."
"Really?", he could sense some sentiment in the way she said it.
"Matilda?", they suddenly heard Tonks' voice above their heads. "I can't believe! Remus, look who's here! Matilda came home!", she shouted.
The women run towards each other and hugged a lot. Then Matilda came closer to Remus.
"I thought I will never see you again. It's so strange, how things can change in a day, isn't it, Remus? I always said I will not let that happen to me. And…", her voice really broke.
"You didn't", remarked Lupin.
"I missed you. I did. I missed you.", she hugged Remus and came back to Sirius. "But you haven't been feeding him, I'm not gonna let that go"
"Where the hell have you been?", Sirius' tone was clearly angry now.
"Let me catch my breath. I will tell you everything, I promise. Can I see Severus? Sirius told me he's here"
"Second floor, last door on the left", Remus said and she was gone.
"Why didn't you tell her? Why?"
"Sirius, she left. She left just after your arrest and God knows where she had been all this time"
"How did she get to know now? How did she teleport here, then?", he was trembling with anger. His hands were shakinng when he raised a glass with whiskey.
"She has always been a powerful witch", Tonks remarked. Sirius gave her an evil look. "In case you don't remember", she added.
"Sirius… There's one thing we haven't told you." Lupin searched Tonks' sight.
"No, not again."
"We were trying to protect you", she was clearly sad. Sirius got even more angry, so he poured some move alcohol into his glass. He drunk it in one go.
"Go ahead. I will take anything."
"Right after you were arrested… She searched for us. She demanded us to tell her the accusations were true. She even had veritaserum with her. She was really, really mad. I hadn't seen her so devastated before…"
"I don't remember seeing her even slightly moved, ever. For Merlin's sake, to the point…"
"She demanded with Knot to see you, but he refused. So, she got even more mad, and.. presented what she can do to him. When that didn't help… You know, it only works with people who actually have thoughts to be interfered with… Then she attacked the aurors who guarded your cell. But she couldn't break the spells in jail. They got her. It wasn't reported, the Ministry wanted to avoid a scandal, you know. She was released on the plea of the Hospital, but Knot plotted to use her abilities to his purposes. Everything was against her again. She simply disappeared one day. We didn't search for her. I guess we must have concluded that every person has their own way of dealing with pain…"
Sirius was taken aback. He felt pain where void has been just a few minutes ago. It was strange.
"Why? Why couldn't you tell me?"
"Because you would go searching for her, that's why", Tonks lowered her head.