the_debt_of_time

Remus offered her a small smile. "Goodnight, Mia."
She could only smile sadly in return.
Once Remus was gone, she tilted Sirius's head to look up at her. The soft curves
that he had when they first met in Diagon Alley had given way to the sharp angles that he
would carry with him for the rest of his life. There in her lap with his long black hair tucked
behind his ears, and his face covered with evidence of a physical brawl, she could
immediately recognise the older Sirius buried behind the stare of the teenager as he
snuggled her.
"What happened?" she murmured. "Alice and I were helping Frank get his trunk
from the train. When I looked back, the rest of you were being restrained alongside the
Slytherins."
"Snape's a bloody git," Sirius grumbled, reaching up and grabbing her hand, putting
it on his head like usual.
She frowned but stroked her fingers through his hair regardless. "What did he
say this time?"
"Nothing, not a thing. Wilkes called Lily a you-know-what, and Snivellus just stood
there. Didn't even defend her. And she thinks that James is a toerag while that greasy git
parades around acting like her friend."
"So you punched him for it?"
He shook his head. "No. I punched Reg."
"Why did you hit your little brother?" she asked, eyes wide. "Sirius, he's eleven!"
"I don't give a shit. He's a little prick, just like the rest of my family." He pulled away
from her, something that he had never willingly done before. There was a lost look in his
eyes as he turned to gaze into the fireplace ahead of them.
"Come here, Sirius." Mia took her wand and muttered a Healing Spell for the
swelling on his eye. She moved his collar to look at the injury she could see peeking out
from beneath the fabric. "I've got some Dittany upstairs if you want me to fix your lip and
the burn on your shoulder."
Sirius's hand touched hers, lacing their fingers together. "Can you just stay with
me?" he asked, though not making eye-contact. "Let the things scar."
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to imagine she was back home—back
in 1998. It was something she rarely did these days: wish to go home. James, Sirius, and