4. Sanctuary

Jade was running frantically down a corridor. Fluorescent lights reflected coldly off the gleaming, green tiled floor, flickering ahead of her. Her feet were sliding on the polished surface and she couldn't sprint any faster. Heavy footsteps echoed behind her, closer and closer, drumming in her head as they closed in on her. Cold, strong hands clamped her arms. She tried to wrench herself free, but a needle pierced her vein and a dull, deadening sensation flooded her limbs, her brain. She tried and tried to scream, but could not make a sound.

'Jade, wake up...' Sirius's voice penetrated her nightmare. She opened her eyes. By the light of the embers glowing in the fireplace, she could see the outline of his face, etched with concern. 'You were trembling...was it the same dream?' he asked softly.

She nodded, taking a shaky breath. 'Sorry I woke you.'

'Don't be sorry,' Sirius said, hugging her to him. She could feel the warmth of his body slowly penetrating the iciness inside her, as he stroked her hair tenderly and gently kissed the top of her head. After a few moments, he turned and leaned on his elbow to look down into her eyes. 'Jade...'

She looked at him questioningly.

'Promise me...you won't ever try to...hurt yourself again?'

Her eyes widened in surprise. 'That was a really long time ago – you don't have to worry about it.'

Sirius frowned. 'I know...but promise me...please.'

'I promise,' Jade said sleepily, curling into the circle of his arms.

Jade woke several hours later to the drumming of cold February rain against the dark windows. Iridescent grey light filtered through the heavy curtains. She sighed, wishing she didn't have to wake up and engage with another day. Being in this room with Sirius was like a sanctuary, where the world couldn't touch them. An unspoken consent between them said that no one else should know of their relationship. Things were just too complicated...Eventually, Jade knew, they would have to face up to a reality check, but for the moment their stolen hours and nights together signified an enchanted respite from the tensions of work, the Order, Sirius's confinement to the house and the sullen bitterness that overcame him...a quiet place in the midst of the storm, where thunder and rain passed them by.

Sirius regarded her sleepily. 'What time is it?' Since it was impossible to Apparate or Disapparate into or out of 12 Grimmauld Place – only within it (to the constant amusement of Fred and George) – Jade used the fireplace in Sirius's room to leave for work undetected.

Jade glanced at her watch. 'Oh God, I'm going to be so late!' she exclaimed, leaping out of bed and scanning the passage for passers-by, before darting across the landing to run the bath. Sirius sat on the edge of the claw-footed bath tub while Jade bathed and washed her hair, on the pretext that it would appear suspicious for his bathroom to be occupied whilst he was still in bed. Jade dressed quickly, her hair dripping down the back of her robes. She reached for the Floo Powder, only to find the canister empty. 'Damn it! I forgot I finished it yesterday. Now what?'

Sirius frowned thoughtfully. 'I'll see if anyone is in the kitchen. If I'm not back in five minutes, Apparate downstairs, and you can use the fireplace there.'

A few minutes later, Jade appeared in the chilly kitchen. Recklessly, Sirius slid his hands around her waist, and drew her towards him for a devastatingly sweet, lingering kiss. 'Do you want us to get caught?' Jade whispered, trying to sound reproving, though her pulse had quickened.

'This is my new version of living on the edge,' Sirius murmured sardonically, tracing his finger down the curve of her neck. Footsteps were approaching the kitchen. Jade just had time to step towards the fireplace and attempt to assume an innocent expression before Severus Snape appeared in the doorway. His cold eyes swept the room, taking in Jade's wet hair and flushed cheeks, and Sirius's fading smirk. 'Black, busy as usual?' he said snidely. 'And Miss Magellan, don't you have some i's to dot somewhere?'

'So you'll give Dumbledore that urgent message as soon as he arrives, Sirius?' Jade requested in a business-like tone. She threw Snape a dirty look as she took a pinch of Floo Powder. 'I have to get straight to work. Surely you're needed at Hogwarts, Professor? Don't you have some pupils to torment this morning?'

Jade glanced back at Sirius as she stepped into the warm green flames. She was dismayed to see that the laughter had already faded from his grey eyes, leaving only the dull and bitter hauntedness that had become so familiar.