Many thanks to lolitaweasley, Roman's sundial and AkaShika0306 for their wonderful help !

Chapter Four: Prompt #12 - Playing With Fire

After he'd destroyed everything in his brother's room, Sirius shut himself up in his own room and refused to leave.

Kingsley and Arthur visited him regularly. Even Molly came to see him, though their relationship before Sirius' fall behind the Veil hadn't been friendly. But her maternal instinct dictated that she should try to reach him. Sirius was suffering and her matriarchal heart could not stand it. She went to Grimmauld Place once or twice a week, bringing some of her most delicious secret recipes with her and leaving them on a tray on Sirius' nightstand.

He barely touched it. He ignored it like he did with all the food that was brought to him. At least it made Molly felt a little less useless, as if attempting to feed him was already helping Sirius get better.

Since Harry and Andromeda had told him everything that had happened since his death, he had been silent. No one managed to get a word out of him, not even Harry. He stayed in his room all the time, lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling angrily, as if he held some answer to the mysteries of life.

He barely turned his gaze away from the ceiling when someone entered the room, except for when it was Harry. Then he would stare at him for a long time with a look filled with bitter nostalgia. The mute suffering was almost unbearable to Harry.

At Harry's request, Hermione, Ron and Ginny had agreed to keep Sirius company to prevent him from being alone all-day long. Everyone made an effort and rearranged their schedules, to spend time with Sirius even if he remained impassive.

Ginny told him stories about her training and her tours with the Harpies. She described games with passion and exaggerated gestures, but Sirius never looked at her as he stubbornly continued to stare at the ceiling.

Ron told him about the flourishing joke shop and his recent integration into the Aurors. He explained to Sirius that since Angelina was moving in with George and he felt he was no longer indispensable, to his brother nor to the shop. George no longer needed him, and he was grateful for that.

Hermione, however, had decided on a different approach. Indeed, she was also telling her day-to-day activities to Sirius, but unlike Ginny or Ron she was trying to provoke a reaction from Sirius. She preferred to broach topics that could make him smile or annoy him. Anything would have been good if it meant he finally came out of his unbearable lethargy.

She had started softly, talking about all the creatures she had visited many times to create bridges between the Wizarding Community and the beings who had been so unjustly treated in the past. She hoped that the stories of her disappointments with the centaurs because of their more than cryptic words would amuse Sirius, but he didn't even react. She even told him the time she had fallen fully clothed in a frozen lake in the depths of Connemara while she was talking to a merperson officer, but that did not even induce a smile from him.

She then tried to talk to him about Hippogriffs. Since he had lived with Buckbeak for two years, she hoped it would spark an interest him… But nothing, not even a stir. Only his steady breathing and blinking eyelids proved he was still alive.

Still, Hermione was sure that he would be glad that she had managed to have Hippogriffs designated as intelligent creatures when they had until then been considered only as dangerous pets.

After several weeks, she resolved to tackle one of her most important fights: the liberation of the house elves. She had always carefully avoided talking about the work she had done for the werewolves so as not to remind Sirius that he had lost in Remus the only friend he had left from his youth. So, Hermione was left with the elves as the only subject not already covered expansively… and knowing Sirius' positions on the subject, she really doubted it would cause a reaction from him.

She told him about Dobby and the way he had opened the way for all the house elves to be considered free even if their wages were more symbolic than profitable. And progressively, without even noticing, she came to talk about Kreacher.

Hardly had the name of the Black house elf passed her lips than she saw Sirius leap up. Before she could even react, he grabbed her arms, squeezing them painfully. She was surprised at his strength despite his seeming weakness and weeks of immobility. But she did not have time to think. Despite her protests of incomprehension and pain, he pulled her to the door with force. His breath was ragged, as if he was struggling not to explode.

He opened the door sharply, and firmly pushed Hermione out of the room. She almost fell to the ground. She turned to look at him, amazed at the violence he had just shown, but found herself face to face with the door that he had slammed. Because of his force, Hermione felt the floor vibrate.