Over the next few days Onyx gathered her strength and spent more and more time among the residents of Grimmauld Place. She found that she was no longer a stranger to these people, instead they accepted her as a friend. She reveled in the antics of the twins and they knew they could always find a willing audience for their pranks with her. Onyx was delighted to meet Tonks - another woman in a field dominated by men. The two became fast friends, swapping stories often late in to the night.
As for the owner of the house. Well. How could Onyx describe what she saw in Sirius Black? They had both seen horror. Maybe that was why when, after the others were fast asleep, the pair found themselves commiserating over bottles of whiskey. They both came from dysfunctional families - Onyx the daughter of a teenage mom and Sirius the son of a family who rejected him. They were both fiercely loyal to the cause. All these things would have made them close but this was different. This was more than alumnus of the school of hard knocks finding common ground in one another. The long glances and lingering embraces spoke to both of them of the potential for something so much more. Although Onyx figured him to be at least a decade older than her, she had never been as drawn to men her own age as she was to Sirius. Time and time again she found herself seeking his company, desiring to explore this - whatever this was - more deeply.
It was after a night of particularly bad terrors - when she could not tell if she was truly safe or if this was just another tortured illusion - that she wandered up to Sirius' attic door. Onyx barely knocked when the heavy wooden door was opened.
"Can't sleep?" Sirius moved aside to let her in, checked the hallway, and closed the door.
"No. Not tonight." Onyx settled herself into one of the large overstuffed chairs in front of the window. The attic smelled of aged paper and stale cigarettes. A shaft of moonlight illuminated particles of dust floating through air. Onyx never bothered asking why he preferred this dusty attic to the empty bedroom downstairs.
"Do you need to talk about it?" Sirius reached for the bottle of firewhiskey on the nightstand and passed it to Onyx who took a long pull.
"No. I just -" Onyx hesitated and made eye contact with Sirius. "I just didn't want to face it alone."
Sirius sat in the other chair next to Onyx and took her hand in his, a gesture that had become quite common between them. The two sat in companionable silence, enjoying the view of moonlit London and occasionally taking drinks from the bottle. Onyx was beginning to feel a good buzz and stood to walk closer to the window.
"My mom told me a story about the moon once. Before the moon existed nights were as black as a cave. Every night people would go into morning over the loss of the sun's light, men feared to leave their homes because of all the dark creatures who came out. Finally, one clever witch created a giant mirror which would reflect the sun's rays. She charmed it into the sky and now lives on the tallest point of the tallest mountain and every morning and evening charms the sun and the moon to show their light." Onyx was thinking about her mom, about how they hadn't spoken since well before the attack.
She turned away from the window and started a bit at seeing Sirius mere inches from her. He put a hand on her cheek and stroked her lips with his thumb. When Onyx gasped at the touch Sirius leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Onyx wrapped her arms around Sirius and deepened the kiss, opening her lips to grant his tongue access. This. This was what they both had been waiting for. Their bodies moved in harmony as they made their way to the bed, clothes peeling off, kisses, and small bites were exchanged in perfect choreography.
Sirius held himself up, heat radiated from Onyx's core. "Are you sure you want this 'Nyx?" He managed to fumble out the words, unwilling to go further until he heard her consent.
"Yes Sirius," Onyx moved her hips beneath him. "Never wanted anything more in my life."
And he sunk into her and both their worlds changed in an instant.