Eighteen

"He was coming for you." Paul spoke. "You defended yourself, that's it."

He tried to appear calm, but his voice trembled.

"We need to go." He added.

"To St Mungo's, we have to go to St Mungo's." Sirius said. "But we can't Apparate there."

He shifted until he reached the door, past the Death Eater's lifeless body, and shuddered.

"We need the Flu network." Katherine said, agreeing with him.

She had rushed to give her daughter a hug and try to comfort her. Erin walked past Sirius, looking straight ahead and trying to avoid the man's sight. When they were outside, Sirius noticed that her hands were still shaking.

"We can go from my house." He suggested.

"And what about the secret?" Erin spoke.

The three of them stared at her. She was barely able to hold Sirius's gaze and he knew that once they were out of danger, Erin would break down.

"Screw the secret, it's an emergency." He answered. "If I Apparate inside with your father, would you be able to take your mother?"

Erin looked at Katherine, who squeezed her arm with the intention of encouraging her and the girl nodded with little conviction.

"You can't think of anything else for a single second." Sirius reminded her.

Apparating with someone else required a lot of concentration and although he didn't doubt Erin's abilities, it was a very delicate situation. He could come back again, but he had already Apparated twice in a single day and would end up exhausted.

"I can do it." Erin said.

"Alright, then."

Sirius grabbed Paul and on the count of three the two met at the entrance to Sirius's house. In a few seconds, Erin and Katherine leaped into the air and their mother leaned against the wall to keep from falling. They were both in one piece.

"Follow me." He told the others, although Erin knew very well where the fireplace was.

The unwashed dishes they had used before were still in the kitchen, there were a couple of books on the living room table and an Erin sweatshirt was lying on the sofa.

"Kreacher!" Sirius called.

The elf suddenly appeared from the kitchen, frowning as more people were present. Sirius did not stop to look at him as he searched for the jar with the Flu powders to reach St Mungo's.

"Where's Harry?"

"Mr. Potter and his friends have not yet returned."

"Well, when they do, tell them that Erin and I are fine, but we've gone to St Mungo's." He ordered. "And tell them especially not to move from here."

"As the Master wishes." Kreacher nodded, then looked at Erin. "Miss doesn't look well."

Erin opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again without saying a word. Her mother squeezed her hand and Paul approached the fireplace as soon as Sirius found what he was looking for. One by one they went through the fireplace until Sirius was the last to use the powders.

Arriving at St Mungo's, all they had to do was get to the lobby to see it was full of injured people from that attack. Erin avoided his gaze, was completely pale and gave the impression she would vomit at any moment. They stood in line in front of the main counter, waiting for some healer to come take Paul. They were going through the whole line looking for the people who were more seriously injured, and those who were not or were only going to accompany them were sent to another room. Not even five minutes had passed when Erin's father was taken away and Katherine also left with him. Erin stayed next to Sirius and took the opportunity to speak to her, trying not to make her feel uncomfortable. There was no point asking her if she was okay when it was clear she wasn't.

"You want to wait until they come back, right?"

She nodded.

"You don't have to stay with me if you don't want to."

"I am going to." He replied. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"No." She answered. "I think you have a wound."

Erin pointed at his belly and he looked down. At first he thought it had been stained with blood when he helped Paul, then when he touched it he realised it was his own blood.

"It's just a cut." He said, dismissing it.

He hadn't even noticed when it happened, it was clear he had other concerns at the time. The queue moved forward, and they were next in line. There were two women at the counter, one of whom was pointing on a list, without looking up.

"Hello. You two, are you wounded or companying?" The other woman asked them.

"Both." Sirius answered for them. "It's nothing serious."

"You may go down this hall, first to the left and they'll heal you." The woman explained, then started to attend to another woman who came with a child in her arms behind them and Sirius had to move away.

"My father just come in to have an operation with my mother." Erin insisted to the other woman.

"Then only one more companion, two per person, those are the rules."

The girl leaned against the counter and Sirius anticipated the direction the conversation was going to take, seeing that the lady had not even intended to look at their faces.

"But my mother is already inside."

"I'm so sorry. We are overwhelmed, we cannot let more people pass. It has been a very difficult day."

Erin began to raise her voice.

"I know very well it is a difficult day and it is not your fault or mine, but I cannot conceive that in all of St Mungo's you have just a single waiting room."

The hall was almost silent, it seemed that everyone was listening to their conversation. The woman put down her pen, huffing and looked Erin in the eye for the first time.

"Honey, there are a lot of seriously injured people here, who have been risking their lives out there. I can't stop to argue with you because you have a tantrum."

"First of all, don't call me honey." Erin started. "I've also been out all day and the whole bloody summer watching over you all. I was an Auror before, you know? And now I can't even do my damn job."

Sirius had never seen Erin so upset and after limiting himself to looking, he had to step in before things got worse. He put a hand on Erin's shoulder and saw tears welling up in her eyes, cause by her anger.

"Erin, take it easy. It's alright"

"No it's not, Sirius."

It was far from alright and they both knew very well. Erin was not mad because of that nonsense only.

"I can't do this."

She muttered and ran off to the bathroom. Sirius stood on the spot, unsure whether to go after her, and the woman who had attended to them earlier appeared in front of him, asking the other woman to let her speak.

"Mr Black?" She asked, watching him. It seemed that after hearing Erin name him and looking at him more than twice she had realised who he was.

Sirius glanced back and noticed that there were many people watching him. No one called him Mr. Black, Mr. Black was his father.

"Only Sirius." He corrected her.

"Please write down your name and that of your friend." She indicated, handing him the list of people accompanying patients.

The woman who had argued with Erin was looking at him, pursing her lips angrily. He tried not to look at her so as not to give more importance to the matter, but it infuriated him to see how a person working in public treated people like that. Sirius added his name and Erin's next to his father's and gave it back.

"Do you have any calming potions? My friend is not feeling well."

"Yes of course. We apologise for bothering you."

"I just hope you treat everyone in need better and still make exceptions, not because they have a last name like mine." He cut her off.

The woman reddened and Sirius went after Erin. It was not very difficult to find her, because only one bathroom had the door closed, the one she occupied. From outside, he could hear the crying that she was trying to stop, without much success.

"Erin." Sirius called, leaning against the door.

She stopped sobbing for a second, the latch was released, and the door opened. Erin took him by the arm, tucked him inside and closed the door again.

"Come here." Sirius murmured before hugging her, making her weep again.

Erin tried to speak in between the tears, but Sirius could not make out what she was saying, other than that she had killed someone. He did not release her until she stopped crying and her shoulders stopped shaking with each tear. Erin pulled away from him to look at him, her face red and her eyes puffy. He reached out and stroked her cheek, wiping away a tear. Sirius had also cried silently, how could he not seeing her like that?

"We should go and check everything is fine." Erin told him.

"Are you sure?"

"I am not feeling well."

"I know. I'm so sorry Erin."

She vaguely nodded and followed him outside, head down as they walked down the hall. A nurse healed Sirius's cut in a second, and in the meantime, Erin sat in front, waiting for him to finish. Afterward, the same woman gave her a potion to calm her nerves without asking any questions. They waited in a room that was not half as crowded as it had been before. Still, Sirius could feel all eyes on him. Erin dropped into a seat, where there was no one around or in front, sighing heavily. Sirius sat next to her.

"Doesn't it bother you that everyone recognises you?" Erin asked.

He shrugged.

"It's been that way all my life." He answered. "I bet there are still people who don't think I'm innocent."

Most would say that it was impossible for an innocent man to go to Azkaban, but Sirius thought the system had simply stopped working a long time ago.

"It would bother me."

It did bother him too, although he had already learned to live with it.

"I know my truth, Erin. That's enough for me."

The girl was silent looking at the window at the end of the room. What it reflected was an illusion, just like the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, though it would be dusk outside as well. The lights inside were dimmer than in the hallway, and the few conversations were whispers.

"And what will be my truth now?" Erin asked, turning to look at him.

Her eyes were no longer watery, nor her face was red, she just looked exhausted.

"You know it well." Sirius replied, resting his hand on her knee. "You are patient, intelligent, and you have the greatest heart I've ever known. You are brave and you'd never harm anyone if you were not in danger. That is what I've seen today and what I know."

"I can't get it out of my head."

"Why don't you try to get some rest?"

It was unfair, but it was the truth. Erin could barely speak up. As soon as she rested her head on Sirius's shoulder and saw her close her eyes, he couldn't blame her. He had no strength to say anything else. He didn't think she would actually fall asleep, but her breathing slowed down little by little. That potion must have been good. Sirius tried not to move too much in the time that followed so as not to disturb her and just when he thought he would fall asleep too, it would not have been more than half an hour, he heard the door open. He saw Erin's mother and raised his hand to tell her to come closer.

"Is everything okay?" Sirius asked.

Katherine shook her head.

"Oh no. They are going to treat him and asked me to leave. It is better than we imagined."

Hearing it was a relief, it was the only good thing that had come out of the day.

"How did they let you two through?"

"Erin had a bit of a fight with the front desk ladies. Then I did too."

Katherine sat across from Sirius, watching her daughter.

"I can't believe she fell asleep."

"She drank a potion."

"I imagined." She commented. "Has she been very agitated?"

Sirius nodded.

"I don't think she's done yet."

"You better not wake her, then I'll let her know if something happens." Katherine said.

Erin's mother put the jacket on the seat next to her and sighed.

"Erin had told us something of a job, by order of Kingsley Shackelbot. Then she came home just a couple of times, to bring something and after today I'm a little confused."

Sirius felt as if the conversation he had had with Paul was repeating itself. Evidently neither of them knew anything, although it seemed that Katherine was more determined to understand what was going on. He didn't know how much he could reveal, but he also felt it was unfair not to give her any explanation.

"Yes, Erin and I are partners." He admitted. "Kingsley thought it was a good idea for ... work."

It was everything he could tell her. Besides, what was he going to explain? That her daughter was living with him, and that they had whatever they had? Until a few hours ago, she did not even know they knew each other.

"But you're not finished, are you?"

"If only it were. I've been fighting for the same cause all my life. Some days I don't even see the end of it."

"Maybe not the one we'd all like." Katherine said, knowing full well what they were referring to. "That's the problem."

"All of this," her mother continued, "whatever Erin is up to, it has to do with your godson, right?"

Katherine had lowered her voice as well as trying not to mention Harry. There were more people, but no one seemed to be paying attention to him.

"Yes. He's safe so far and that's what matters."

"Good." She replied.

Sirius was silent and looked sideways at Erin, who was still asleep. The conversation was over, but Sirius still felt that he had not been entirely honest. He didn't like secrets and after that afternoon, it was the best time to realise those were not good times to stay silent.

"As for Erin and me ... " he said looking down at his hands, "maybe what unites us is more than a job."

Katherine answered him immediately, which surprised Sirius.

"I was thinking you must care a lot about my daughter to stay with her. I imagine that you also know, as I do, that what happened today is going to destroy her. That's why you are here. I didn't want to assume anything."

"It doesn't bother me." Sirius replied.

For some reason, he almost felt the heat have risen to his face when in fact, he had not explained anything to her. Perhaps it was a mother's intuition.

"It reassures me to know she has someone with her."

Katherine smiled and Sirius did the same.

"She's a good girl." He said, looking at her again. "She doesn't deserve any of this."

Her mother agreed and they were silent again. Then Sirius was no longer so uncomfortable; at least he had said what he wanted. Katherine got up more than a couple more times while they waited nervously. Erin woke up just as they were told they could go see Paul and Katherine was already at the door.

"How long have I slept?" Erin asked, withdrawing from Sirius's shoulder.

"I don't know. About an hour?"

"Wow, sorry about that."

Sirius smiled at her. The truth was he could not feel his shoulder that much anymore. At least she had no worries for a while.

"Your mother and I've been here a long time. They just came looking for you to come through."

The two got up and joined Katherine at the door. Since Sirius would stay outside to wait for Erin, he said goodbye to Katherine.

"I wish I had met you both differently." He said honestly. It was not exactly how he would have imagined meeting Erin's parents. "I'm so sorry about what happened today."

"It's not your fault, Sirius. Thank you very much for helping us. I hope we see each other again." She said with a smile.

He expected it too, because it could only mean one thing. Sirius looked at Erin and her mother smiled at her again. Neither said anything else before the door opened because they needed no words.

I initially didn't aim to hurt poor Erin like that, but it ended up happening. More drama and happiness to come, and also a new character. From what I've seen in this fandom you either love it or hate it. I hope it's the former, see you soon again!