A Cry in the Dark

Disclaimer : Not mine - all characters belong to JK Rowling

A/N : Just a short angsty bit of nothing, My first ever fic so please read and review to let me know where I'm going wrong. Thanks

Pairing : Sirius/Hermione

The night's quiet is broken as the whimpering starts.

Whimpers become sobs.

Sobs become the full throated cries of a soul in anguish, hastily muffled but continuing on and on, unending as the soul's torment is unending. Pain, loss, grief and loneliness, howled out each night in private but hidden during the daylight hours. Never let them see you cry. Never let them know you suffer. Never give them any ammunition to use against you.

That's the only way he knows how to live, to survive. It's a strategy that has served him well. He is alive; he is sane; he is proud of these achievements - it's the best he can ever hope for.

Morning light brings new resolution. Shower, change, brush teeth. Fixing a smile he steps out of his room (cell). He feigns interest in the small goings on of the day, the comings and goings of others on errands and missions. He is forbidden the outside world and the beating pinions of his spirit smash helplessly against the wards that imprison him.

He smiles, jokes, reminisces about friends long gone and, like a wild animal in a trap, gnaws at his own impotence.

The day passes and the dreadful night comes again . . .

The night's quiet is broken as the whimpering starts.

Whimpers become sobs.

Sobs become the full throated cries of a soul in anguish. Hastily muffled . . .