Sirius wiped his bleary eyes, stretching out his stiff limbs. He looked out the window in the starry night sky; he must've fallen asleep in the cramped window seat. Looking down he saw that his watch read 2:15. Yawning, he crawled out of the seat and stood behind the curtain, stretching again. To his surprise, he heard someone still in the common room. Frowning, he paused: was that crying Sirius heard? He slowly slid out of his hideout, peering at the slight figure curled up before the fire, leaning on an armchair. He froze, heart racing. Eryn, he thought, panicked, Merlin's beard. He hesitated, not wanting to intrude, but steeled himself and walked over to her.
"Eryn? Are you alright?" She looked up, startled, her eyes wide. Her face went pale, and she hurriedly wiped at her cheeks. "Oh. S-sirius. Yep, it's all g-good." Her hands were shaking, and she wouldn't quite meet his dark eyes. Sirius crouched down beside her, leaning a strong hand against the arm of the chair.
"Your eyes are telling me something different, Eryn. Good God, what's the matter?" She looked down at the rug, breathing quickly and her whole body trembling now. "S-sirius, I-I..." She coughed nervously, wincing and involuntarily reaching for her side. Sirius moved to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she flinched away, making a weak noise in the back of her throat. He whipped his hand back, intensely worried now. A cold feeling started to gnaw at his stomach.
"Eryn, has... has someone been hitting you?" he asked, a tempest brewing behind his forced calm demeanor. He saw fear flash in her eyes and he almost knew his answer before she even opened her mouth. "Who... who have you b-been talking to, S-sirius?"
Sirius shook his head in anger. "No one, Eryn. It was just a guess. Who the bloody hell is doing this?" She shrank away from his gaze, still shaking like a leaf. His eyes softened a little bit. "Eryn, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not angry with you. I would never ever hurt you." He reached up and touched her cheek slowly, and she didn't cringe back. "It's going to be okay, Eryn. It'll be alright." She looked at him with an odd expression in her eyes.
"No it won't, Sirius. I'm so s-scared." Sirius knelt down next to her and carefully wrapped her in a hug, holding her as she first tensed and then buried her head in his shoulder, trembling all over. Sirius gently started stroking her hair, trying not to explode into a dog with this sudden surge of emotion. He sat there holding Eryn for a long moment - it could've lasted years or minutes. "Eryn," he whispered after awhile, "please tell me who's hurting you."
He could feel her breathing quicken and then she murmured softly "I-I... S-s-severus." Sirius clenched his jaw so tight he heard a loud pop. "Snape? Snape?" She nodded wearily, close to tears. He tightened his arms around Eryn, swearing under his breath. She sighed shakily and Sirius asked her gently 'How long has this been going on?"
She swallowed rather painfully and mumbled into his shoulder "S-second year." Sirius sucked in a huge, shocked breath and swore again. He bent down and kissed her hair gently. "I hope you realize I'm never going to let that bastard touch you again, Eryn." She bit her lip and pulled back to look into Sirius's face. His stormy grey eyes were wide with honesty, his black hair tangled all around his face. "Don't," she said almost plaintively, "I shouldn't have told you that. I shouldn't - " Sirius looked down into her icy blue eyes and shook his head.
"I really, really could kill Snape right now." he said, "You don't think I'm serious?"
She shivered, lip quivering like she was about to cry. "Of c-course you're S-sirius," she attempted feebly.
Sirius, despite himself, laughed. "C'mere, you," he said softly. She hesitated, but gingerly crawled into his arms, resting her head on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. After a moment Sirius said quietly "I've been here too, Eryn. Being hurt, I mean. My parents... well, they weren't the sort to forgive and forget. The things they used to do..." he trailed off. "Well, I can help you, I promise you that at least." She didn't say anything, but nestled closer to his chest. Sirius rested his cheek on top of Eryn's head, sighing. They sat in silence for quite awhile, Sirius racking his brain for something else to say.
"Hey, Eryn?" he asked rather softly. She didn't answer, didn't even show a sign that she had heard him say anything. Sirius looked down and smiled a little to himself: Eryn was sound asleep in his arms. He kissed the top of her head tenderly and very carefully scooped her up into his arms, trying not to wake her. He paused, thinking where to put her - he knew from embarrassed experience that the girl's dormitories were inaccessible to guys. A thought dawned on him, and he crept out of the portrait hole as quietly as he could.
The Fat Lady looked at him in askance, about to berate him for waking her up, but Sirius threw her a pleading glance. looking meaningfully at Eryn's sleeping form in his arms. "Please," he mouthed, "I'm sorry." She pursed her lips, shaking her head indulgently as she made shooing motions with her hands. Sirius set off down the corridor, watching Eryn's peaceful face as he made his way towards the seventh floor. He reached a blank spot of wall, closed his eyes, and thought as hard as he could: I need a place for Eryn to rest that Snape can't find. He opened his eyes to a magnificent door that had seemingly popped into existence: the Room of Requirement.
He nudged the red gold door open with a foot, stepping into a spacious, dimly lit room with a bed pushed in the corner and a stuffed armchair right next to it. Sirius pulled back the large bed's covers, and very gently laid Eryn down onto the crimson red sheet, resting her head into the pillow. He traced her cheek with careful fingers before covering her with the thick blankets. Sirius leaned down and kissed her forehead before turning to exit the room. He was halfway to the door when he heard a quiet voice whisper "Stay. Please."
Sirius turned around and saw Eryn's vibrant blue eyes open as she looked up at him pleadingly. Her dark chestnut hair was mussed all around her face and he resisted the irrational urge to swoop down and fix it. He slowly walked back over to her and knelt down by the bed, resting his forearms on the comforter. "You need to rest, Eryn."
"I will," she murmured, "I just... I just don't want to be alone tonight." Sirius nodded, completely understanding. "Okay," he said softly. "I'll stay." She frowned. "You have to sleep too, Sirius. I can't let you stay up all night." She pulled back the covers and sat up, wincing and holding her head. Sirius sprang up into a crouch, grabbing her shoulders. "Are you alright, Eryn?"
She nodded weakly, eyes closed in pain. She blinked a few times and looked down into Sirius's worried face. "M'fine, Sirius."
He shook his head. "Follow my finger with your eyes." She did as he asked, still pressing a hand to her temple. Sirius shook his head again, putting his hand down. "You have a concussion, Eryn. Did you hit your head?" She nodded, biting her lip.
"He... he threw me into a wall on Monday."
Sirius growled under his breath. "Little bastard." He crushed down his fury and stood up, gently pressing Eryn back down onto the bed. "Lay down, you really need to rest now." She shook her head weakly. "Only if you do too, Sirius."
"You're as stubborn as James," he laughed dryly. She smiled wanly and pulled back the covers again. "C'mere, you," she quipped.
Sirius hesitated, although something in chest was roaring in pleasure. "Are you sure?" She nodded slightly. Sirius slipped off his shoes and then crawled into bed gingerly next to Eryn. She laughed softly and then curled up right next him, tucking her knees up to her chest. Sirius hesitantly wrapped his arm around her shoulder again as she cuddled into his chest. "Warm and cozy now?" Sirius breathed into her ear. She nodded, her dark hair tickling his nose.
"Sleep well, Eryn. You're safe."