A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters

This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Assignment #3 Astronomy Task #3: Uranus rotates backwards, implying a collision disrupted it long ago. Prompt: Write about something that has a lasting impact on someone.

Word count: 619

Ginny heard the clock striking three as she crept down the stairs of number 12 Grimmauld Place. Lately, it had been harder and harder to sleep. She had nightmares about snakes, giant snakes, about her first year at Hogwarts, about what had happened in the chamber. She didn't remember much. She thought she had managed to put it all behind her.

But with her father being bitten, the snake no one found or saw, it had all come back in flashes. Normally, she'd maybe talk to Harry, but he was being weird and not talking to anyone. He was an idiot, but if she told him that, it wouldn't get her anywhere. The kitchen was empty when Ginny walked in and grabbed a mug from the cabinet.

She turned around and grabbed the cocoa powder from a different one. She knew exactly where it was since she had seen Remus put it there just yesterday. He'd thought he'd been being sneaky hiding it, but Ginny had a habit of watching everyone. She quickly made her drink, sitting down at the table and blowing it slightly to cool it. The steam rose from the cup. Yes, she knew she could have made it proper temperature, but it never tastes the same if it didn't scald her tongue with the first taste.

"You forgot the marshmallows," Sirius said, sitting down next to her, making his own cup of hot cocoa, he used his wand to heat it, cocking his head at Ginny's steaming cup. She just shrugged. It wasn't as if the ministry was going to notice one tiny little heating charm in a house full of adults.

"Oh, didn't know you had any."

"Got to keep them hidden or Remus will eat them all," Sirius laughed, pulling out a bag from under the sink and tossing it to Ginny. She put a handful of the small marshmallows in her drink and took a sip. Now it was perfect.

"What are you doing down here drinking cocoa in the middle of the night anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep. I could ask you the same question."

"Same. Hard to sleep when you can still hear the screaming. What demons are keeping you up?"

"Basilisk, snakes in general, the Chamber of Secrets, Tom Riddle, that's who-"

"I know. I heard a bit about what happened to you from Harry."

"I thought I was coping, that it was behind me, but then Dad was attacked and it was a snake and it all came back. You still hear the screaming, from when you were-"

"Yes, every time I close my eyes. Easier to sleep in my dog form sometimes, less complex, don't think as much. Other nights, maybe I deserve it, you know, for not realizing."

"I don't think anyone did, Sirius. Not until after it happened. No one could have realized what has happening to me either, course, I shouldn't have been writing in something that wrote back."

"Not your fault, Red. You were a lonely little kid. It makes sense you wanted a friend, someone you didn't have to share with your family."

"Yeah, Mum would pitch a fit if she knew I was down here instead of sleeping."

"And no one's going to tell her," Sirius said, finishing his drink. Ginny took the last sip of hers, savoring the rich chocolateyness of the last drops.

"Thanks Sirius, talking to you actually made me feel a little better."

"Same strangely enough. Night, Red," Sirius said, rising to his feet. Ginny did the same, walking towards her room as Sirius walked in the opposite direction.

"Night, Sirius," she called after him, wondering if it had been the cocoa or the company that had helped her.