A/N - thank you so much, LovelyEvil (who is indeed lovely x3) for that review. Hm, that was too short for a chapter, so let's just call it a Prologue. n.n
Sirius sighed, stood up and mumbled something to his friends. He opened the compartment door and strode outside, closing it after him. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door to the bruised girl's compartment. He saw her jumping a little in surprise before looking up and seeing him, at the other side of the door. He opened it slowly, stepped inside and closed it again softly. He put down the blind so others couldn't see the compartment from the outside. He sat down next to her. ''Hey.'', he said softly. ''Hi...'', she whispered. He sighed and looked at her again. Now that he was closer, he could see her face was worse than at a distance. Her cheekbone was black and blue, instead of its usual healthy glow. He reached out a hand to stroke it and she winced, putting her hand up defensively. He raised his eyebrows and put his hand down onto his lap. They were silent for a while, her scared, shaky breaths filling the compartment, as her hands covered her face and she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for a blow that would never come.
A/N - okay, correction. I have now decided I'll try to update quickly, but with short chapters like these when I'm stuck, maybe longer. n.n
