the_debt_of_time

He shook his head. "Not that I'm aware. He knows about us being bonded, though,
at least partially. Little shit likes to try and tease me about it any chance he gets."
Mia laughed quietly to herself as she moved to stand, walking to the closet where
she browsed through Sirius's clothing until she found an old Sex Pistols t-shirt that was
too big for her. "He and I have had conversations about it," she said as she began stripping
her clothing off. Sirius turned his back to give her privacy. "It's been years for me, of
course, but I remember he said he knew because of the life debt you collected from
Narcissa. He put all the pieces together and figured out how I brought you back from the
veil."
"Probably learnt about the ritual from his father," Sirius said, glancing over his
shoulder as he watched her crawl back into the bed and cover herself with the blankets. "It
seems like something a Death Eater would try to learn: using life debts to bind people to
them."
She eyed him teasingly. "Comparing me to Death Eaters now?"
Sirius laughed uncomfortably. "Hardly. You're much smarter than any Death Eater
I've ever met."
"It's strange, though." She frowned, reaching up to rub at the tension in her
shoulders. "I feel like... like I'm still preparing for war. Yesterday, it was all just really
beginning for us, and today it's all over. I don't think my body realises it can relax now. I
don't even know what to do with myself. I don't have a job or a purpose anymore."
Sirius made his way to her side of the bed, sitting behind her and pushing her long
curls to the side so he could rub her neck and shoulders. She moaned softly at the touch
of his hands, and Sirius winced painfully at the sound. "You can do anything you want to
do now. I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"Why didn't you take Kingsley up on his offer to re-join the Aurors? I remember in
Hogwarts, you said you wanted to be an Auror, and I was shocked because you'd never
told us—Harry and me, I mean. Why is that?"
"I... I left the Aurors after you.. ."
Mia turned around to face him, her brows pinched together creating a little line.
"Why? You loved your job."
Sirius sighed loudly and rubbed his hands down his face. "Because the Ministry was
corrupt, and I couldn't do a thing about it. I tried to investigate your disappearance, and