Chapter 10

Sirius looked at the clock. Eight o'clock. He hadn't slept since Alice's panicked wake-up call. For six hours he had sat stiffly in that chair. Madam Pomfrey had tried to make him leave but he was too stubborn on this matter. In the end she had given in and gone back to bed. He didn't care though. He would sit there for all eternity waiting if he had to.

Amanda was still unconscious. He didn't know why but whatever the cause it was bad. Professor McGonagall had spent twenty minutes whispering with the matron in a corner. Both had looked flustered as they snuck looks towards him. As she had left McGonagall had tried to get Sirius to go to bed. But with only a look he had silenced her.

As dawn pushed its way through the large room Sirius became aware of just how ill Amanda really was. She looked so pale that he was frightened for her. Unlike her siblings she had inherited much more of her mothers looks. While both Anastasia and Adrian had the Dixon English look about them, Amanda had the Herchicero Spanish blood in her. She usually glowed with the tanned look that those of the Mediterranean carry. However she was so pale now that one would never have guessed that she ever had colour.

As the silence continued to engulf him Sirius held tightly onto her hand. It felt so small in his. All he wanted to do in that moment was hold her close and protect her. He couldn't help but be reminded of those awful nights back in the summer before their third year. How he had felt like this then. From nowhere Amanda began to shake. He tightened his grip as her body flung around on the bed. As quickly as it started it stopped. Her body fell back into a gentle slumber as if no movement had ever occurred.

With his free hand he ran his fingers through his dark hair. He couldn't help but worry looking at her. His stomach was in knots thinking about last night. When she had fallen hitting Alice he had pushed James away so that he could get to her. He had needed to be the one to hold her then. Needed to be able to feel that she was still there, to see her eyes open and a small smile on her face as their eyes met.

When she hadn't smiled he knew that something terrible had happened. He would never have guessed what but his gut had told him. He had wanted to bring her here then but something in her face had stopped him. There was a look of determination that made him put her on the sofa.

But when her head had gone to his shoulder he had felt how cold she was. Her body felt like a corpse to him. The colour had left her and the linger of death had hidden itself in her eyes. He had been petrified for her. He had had to hold her to convince himself she was still there. He knew too that his pleas had been his attempt to keep her safe. But when she started that spell…

Shivers ran through his body just thinking about it. The sound of her scream would haunt him for a long time. It had come and gone so quickly that everyone had jumped. It was a scream of pain though, of death hitting. He had not known at the time how true that description was but that was what he had felt.

As the vision had shown for them all to see though his eyes had stayed on her. Amanda's body had been rigid. He could tell that she had been in pain the entire time. Her eyes were blank staring ahead but behind them was a ghost of what she had suddenly lost in that moment.

As the vision had progressed he witnessed the anger build in her eyes, the sorrow and guilt. Then the fear. His stomach had jumped to his throat as he realised that behind the show of the spell Amanda could see and feel everything. She had been afraid. Then the murder had appeared.

The gasps had sounded as the spell had left the mouth of the Death Eaters. Everyone gathered knew that in that very moment Ginny was going to be killed. But Sirius watched as the affects of the spell seemed to hit Amanda. The way she had arched her back as the spell hit Ginny in the chest. She had felt it. The screams had echoed from both Ginny and Amanda at the same time.

He had grabbed her hand tightly then too. He had been scared that in that very moment Amanda would be killed too. Her screams continued as the image faded and he had pulled her against his chest. He held her as tightly as he could as still she screamed. He couldn't help but worry that the entire house would awake but he didn't care.

As she had called out for help he felt sick. Something about that spell hadn't felt at all right. He hadn't needed Pomfrey to yell at him to pick her up. He would have ran all the way to London to get her to the hospital if that had been needed. But the more he thought back on it now the more he felt the spell was to blame for this. Something about it didn't sit right with him. It gave out a vibe that wasn't natural, a vibe that made him think that it had been Dark magic.

He rubbed his free hand over his face looking back at his friend. Her hair fell in knotted tangles around her face like a lions main. Her eyes fluttered although never opening. It was almost as though she was conscious underneath the sleep. She still felt too cold to his touch though. Blankets covered her body and yet she was still cold. It frustrated him to no end.

A creaking noise at the door stole his attention. It echoed too loudly in the silence of the room. After it came the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Turning his head slightly Sirius shared a look with James. His friend too looked pale; there were black circles under his eyes. Something about it told Sirius that he had not been the only one with a sleepless night.

Without making a sound Sirius turned back in time to see Amanda begin to shake again. James made a small gasp but Sirius didn't move. He squeezed Amanda's hand to try and indicate that he was still there. His heart though had jumped to his throat. What if she was dying?

As she again fell into motionless slumber James spoke up.

"Does Pomfrey know she's doing that?"

Without taking his eyes from her Sirius nodded.

"Has she woken up at all?"

This time he just shook his head.

"Has Pomfrey said anything?"

Again he shook his head. He wasn't trying to be ignorant. It was just his attention was focused on Amanda. He was trying to will her to wake up. He didn't want to speak to anyone, not even James. He needed to remain silent. If he opened his mouth, well he didn't know what would happen.

"I've brought your timetable up. We've got charms first thing at nine."

Sirius turned to look at the clock. Eight thirty. James' hand came into his view as he placed the parchment onto the small moveable table. The boy silently looked at Amanda. Sirius could see that James was as scared by all this as he was. They had lost a friend last night and if things didn't improve they might even lose a second one.

Silently James and Sirius shared another look. Sirius squeezed Amanda's hand again as James turned and made his way to the exit. But the footsteps stopped short of the door.

"You're not the only worried Sirius. None of us want to see anything happen to Mand. But you can't help her now. Pomfrey needs to take care of her and well it's the first day of classes and McGonagall isn't going to be happy if you miss them."

He didn't wait for a response. The echo of shoe falls bounced off the wall just before the dragging of a heavy door. Then silence took over once more. Sirius closed his eyes slowly taking in a deep breath. He didn't care what McGonagall or anybody else thought he wasn't leaving Amanda's side. He'd sit there until she woke up.