*trigger warning: explicit moments of parental abuse, physical and emotional, explicit anxiety attack; skip to end for chapter summary*

Savannah Stone awoke the night before she and Dalton were due to return home for the Christmas holidays in a cold sweat, gasping.

She shot up in her four-poster, knotting her hands in her hair as the nightmare she just woke up from replayed in her mind. Nightmare didn't feel like a suitable word to describe what she just seen, as those things actually happened.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that, boy!" Her father yelled at Dalton, backhanding him across the face as he did so.

Savannah rushed towards the horrible man she called her father, going to push him away from Dalton.

Her father, a man standing at 6' 5", was easily able to push her away, sending her flying into the wall.

Her mother simply sneered at her, pulling her hair back to force Savannah to look at her. "You don't disrespect us. We brought you into this world and we can take you out of it, you filthy freaks," she growled.

Savannah shuddered at the memory. She didn't understand why their parents forced them to come home every holiday if they hated them so much.

To Savannah, nothing was worse than feeling afraid. To her, fear was synonymous with vulnerability. She was quite a proud witch, never wanting to show fear or weakness. So she hated the fear she felt at the thought of returning to the beaten down, decrepit townhouse in muggle London.

She threw the covers off of her, not wanting to go back to sleep for the fear of having another memory or nightmare plague her sleep.

She glanced at the clock, mentally cursing when she seen that it was three o'clock in the morning.

She shuffled down to the common room, not bothering to grab a book or anything else to keep her mind busy.

She was thankful when she seen the fire still roaring in the fireplace, casting an orange glow over the room. The couches looked even more inviting than usual, most likely since she had the image of her bare living room at "home" still in her mind.

She sat down in her typical spot, bringing her legs in and hugging them, burying her face in her knees. She decided it was best to ignore the wetness she felt on her knees when she let her tears start flowing.

Another memory forced its way into her head, causing her to begin sobbing and knotting her hands in her hair, still keeping her head buried in her knees.

"You little freak! What, you need more food to keep doing that- that voodoo shit?" Her father roared when she asked if he wanted anything from the grocery store when she went.

"No, I need more food because you ate all of the god damn stuff!" She yelled right back, not able to control herself. She didn't want her pride to be bruised.

Her comment earned her a slap, and then another on the opposite cheek.

"Savannah!" Dalton exclaimed, rushing
towards her. His father quickly thrust an arm out, pushing Dalton back. "Leave the bitch."

Sirius Black also awoke that night, simply due to not being able to sleep. He wasn't dreading his return home like Savannah was, as he was going to go to James's for the holidays. He didn't live with his horrible parents anymore anyway.

He decided to go down to the common room, so that he didn't wake the others. He was quite shocked when he heard sobs, nearly turning back around and going back to his dorm until he seen that it was Savannah who was crying.

He rushed to her side, timidly wrapping his arms around her when she didn't acknowledge his presence.

Savannah, having nearly the worst anxiety attack she'd ever had, leaned into him. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. All she was aware of was the tears running down her cheeks and the arms squeezing her.

"Savannah." Sirius had had to deal with a few anxiety attacks of his own, back when he still lived with his parents. He was trying to calm her down the way Regulus did with him.

"Savannah," he repeated, tightening his hold on her even more. She was pressed into his side so tightly that not even a hair could fit in between them.

"Hey.... shhhh.... it's going to be alright," Sirius tried again. He didn't know the cause of her anxiety attack, so he couldn't say anything about that.

Sirius racked his brain, trying to think of something that would calm her down. Finally, he remembered the song that she loved, the one that made her grin from ear to ear.

"'Cause I'm T.N.T, I'm dynamite. T.N.T, and I'll win that fight! T.N.T, I'm a power load. T.N.T, watch me explode!" He sang in what he was sure was a terrible voice, but he noticed that she was shaking less violently and her sobs had quieted, so he kept singing what he could remember of that song.

"I'm dirty, mean, I'm mighty unclean. I'm a wanted man, public enemy number one, understand? So lock up your daughter, lock up your wife, lock up your back door. Run for your life. The man is back in town, so don't you mess me 'round!" He continued singing into her ear. He felt her shaking stop, but he could tell she was still crying. So, he kept singing.

"Cause I'm T.N.T, I'm dynamite. T.N.T, and I'll win that fight! T.N.T, I'm a power load. T.N.T, watch me explode!"

Savannah finally looked up, tears still streaming down her face as she chuckled. "Anyone ever tell you that you can't sing?"

She reached up to wipe her tears away, still looking him in the eyes.

It was a moment before she realized that she was in Sirius Black's arms after he comforted her during one of her worst anxiety attacks.

Normally, she would push him away and stomp off to her dorm, upset that he had seen her at her most vulnerable.

And yet, there was something about the feel of his arms around her that made her want to stay there. As she was sitting there, staring up into his eyes and contemplating what she should do, she realized that she had grown quite tired.

"Don't tell anyone?" She murmured.

Sirius smiled slightly. "I promise I won't."

He couldn't help but think about how he didn't think there would ever be a day that he had enough of the feeling of Savannah in his arms.

He swore his heart stopped when she put her head on his chest, allowing herself to fall asleep in his arms.

The next morning, Lily and Alice were down in the common room with Lily's Polaroid camera, taking pictures of Sirius and Savannah, who were sitting upright on the couch, asleep, looking like a mess of tangled limbs.
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Summary: Savannah has a nightmare and memories flood her mind, causing her to have an anxiety attack. Sirius happens to go down to the common room and finds her. He comforts her and helps stop the anxiety attack.