Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise

''The Meanings and Magical Properties of Gemstones',' I read. Odd the books that my mother bought. They ranged from pureblood genealogy to Dark magic to-…to gemstones apparently. I flipped it open on a random page and collapsed into the dusty armchair in the library. Oh if the Ministry could see me now! No desperate running from Dementors, no looking over my shoulder for Aurors, no plotting world domination or mass slaughter of Muggles. Nope, I was sitting in my mother's house reading a book about gemstones. The wizarding world were quaking in their collective boots at the mere thought of 'notorious mass murderer Sirius Black' and I couldn't even get my house-elf to shut up.

I glanced down at the top paragraph.

Zircon

Description: a naturally occurring gemstone, Zircon is sometimes confused with cubic zirconia ("CZ"), which is synthetic. Zircons are used to increase intuition, durability and steadiness. The zircon gemstone aids in the easing of depression and insomnia.

'Aids in the easing of insomnia,' I read with some interest. It probably wouldn't work, a mean voice told me. No, probably not. Nothing worked but Firewhiskey now. It was the only thing that got me unconscious and beyond caring about nightmares. I grimaced. I was like a child, too afraid to go to sleep because of the monsters, Mum. Not that I'd ever ran into my mother as a child because of a nightmare or ever, ever called her 'Mum'.

Besides, it wasn't as if I could get zircon anyway, confined as I was to this bloody house. I shut the book closed with a snap and threw it onto the floor in the general direction of the bookcase. A moment later, Molly appeared at the door, asking for some help in cleaning one of the upstairs bedrooms. Oh fucking joy.

AN: this is Sirius's POV by the way, written for the Gem Challenge. Hope you liked it, please leave a review :)