(no subject)
Title: Halloween
Prompt: What have I done? from justprompts
Words: 895
Summary: Sirius gets some bad news.
Notes: I don’t own these characters. They and their universe are the property of JKR. This is an AU. The OC is at deirdra36 and belongs to crescent_gaia. I’m just borrowing her.
It’s after dark when it happens. I get the worst news I’ve ever heard in my life, news of an event that I can’t help but picture in my head and wonder if I could have done anything to prevent it. (The answer to that is no, I most likely couldn’t have done anything to chance what happened, and if I had done things differently, I’d likely have ended up dead too.)
It’s Halloween. The neighborhood has come together to throw one large party for everyone, in our back gardens. It’s the last chance for a celebration until Christmas, and by then it will definitely be too cold to celebrate at an outdoor party.
I know when it happens that I will never forget the exact moment that I found out.
I have just gone into the kitchen of my little house, accompanied by one of the neighbors, to replenish some of the snacks when I hear a pounding on the front door, followed by a voice I recognize instantly.
“Sirius!” Lily calls through the door. “Sirius!” There’s a note of panic in her voice. I drop the bag of crisps I’m holding and go to let her in.
“Just go ahead and take those,” I say to the neighbor as I open the door. Lily practically falls into the house before I can catch her and steer her in the direction of the sofa.
“What happened?” I ask as I take Harry from her. I know what it is. Only one thing would cause her to leave her safe hiding place and come to find me. Harry curls up in my lap.
“He’s dead, Sirius,” she says through her tears. “James is dead.”
“What happened?” I know the big stuff. I need to know details.
“I was taking Harry up to bed when he walked right in. James yelled at me to run just before Voldemort killed him. He followed me upstairs and tried to kill me but for some reason it didn’t work and then he tried to kill Harry and it backfired and his lost all of his powers instead and fled, and I came here because you need to know and I didn’t know where else to go and I had to get out of that house.”
I hand her a tissue and she uses it to dab at her eyes. I put my arms around her because that’s the kind of thing you do when someone’s husband who was also your best friend has just died. She sobs into my neck and I don’t stop her. I feel strangely disconnected from it all, like I don’t really believe it because I didn’t see it happen, even though I know it’s true.
Harry starts to fuss, pressed between us like he is, and she sits up straight, dabbing at her eyes with the tissue.
“Peter,” I spit. “I am going to kill Peter!” Harry is startled by my outburst and crawls back to Lily’s lap.
“How could he do this? He was our friend.” Her question comes quietly. I don’t answer.
“I’ll make us some tea.” It’s mostly an offer to change the subject, to stop thinking about Peter, to stop thinking about how this might be my fault. I get up and go into the kitchen to put the kettle on the stove. The neighbor has left.
It seems to take forever for the water to heat. I pour it into mugs and add a teabag to each, then take them back to the living room. Harry has fallen asleep on his mother’s lap. I notice that he has a scar on his forehead that he didn’t have before.
Lily takes her tea and we sit in silence for a few minutes until I can’t stand it anymore. I get out of my chair and start pacing the room.
“I shouldn’t have convinced you to go with him. I should have done it myself, like you asked me to. I never would have betrayed you.”
“I know.” She sounds tired, weary. “But you would have told Peter, and then they would have killed you so that Peter could tell them. Things would still have ended up this way only you’d be dead too. This isn’t your fault, Sirius. It’s Peter’s fault.”
Her words do little to reassure me. I turn away from her and lean against the wall. My tea is untouched. She says nothing more.
Twenty minutes later we’re still silent when Deirdra arrives. She’s known as long as James and Lily have. She knows both of us well enough that she knows something is wrong.
Lily has fallen asleep on the couch so Deirdra comes to me. “What happened?”
“James is dead.” Those three words explain it all. She can figure out the rest of it herself. She puts her arms around me and holds me tight. I put my arms around her too, taking what comfort I can.
“Has anyone told Remus?” I shake my head. “I’ll send him an owl then.” She lets go of me and goes into the next room, where I keep my parchment and ink. A few minutes later an owl flies through the night. We stand and watch it go.
Now begins the time when we must pick up the pieces and find a way to go on with our lives.
Prompt: What have I done? from justprompts
Words: 895
Summary: Sirius gets some bad news.
Notes: I don’t own these characters. They and their universe are the property of JKR. This is an AU. The OC is at deirdra36 and belongs to crescent_gaia. I’m just borrowing her.
It’s after dark when it happens. I get the worst news I’ve ever heard in my life, news of an event that I can’t help but picture in my head and wonder if I could have done anything to prevent it. (The answer to that is no, I most likely couldn’t have done anything to chance what happened, and if I had done things differently, I’d likely have ended up dead too.)
It’s Halloween. The neighborhood has come together to throw one large party for everyone, in our back gardens. It’s the last chance for a celebration until Christmas, and by then it will definitely be too cold to celebrate at an outdoor party.
I know when it happens that I will never forget the exact moment that I found out.
I have just gone into the kitchen of my little house, accompanied by one of the neighbors, to replenish some of the snacks when I hear a pounding on the front door, followed by a voice I recognize instantly.
“Sirius!” Lily calls through the door. “Sirius!” There’s a note of panic in her voice. I drop the bag of crisps I’m holding and go to let her in.
“Just go ahead and take those,” I say to the neighbor as I open the door. Lily practically falls into the house before I can catch her and steer her in the direction of the sofa.
“What happened?” I ask as I take Harry from her. I know what it is. Only one thing would cause her to leave her safe hiding place and come to find me. Harry curls up in my lap.
“He’s dead, Sirius,” she says through her tears. “James is dead.”
“What happened?” I know the big stuff. I need to know details.
“I was taking Harry up to bed when he walked right in. James yelled at me to run just before Voldemort killed him. He followed me upstairs and tried to kill me but for some reason it didn’t work and then he tried to kill Harry and it backfired and his lost all of his powers instead and fled, and I came here because you need to know and I didn’t know where else to go and I had to get out of that house.”
I hand her a tissue and she uses it to dab at her eyes. I put my arms around her because that’s the kind of thing you do when someone’s husband who was also your best friend has just died. She sobs into my neck and I don’t stop her. I feel strangely disconnected from it all, like I don’t really believe it because I didn’t see it happen, even though I know it’s true.
Harry starts to fuss, pressed between us like he is, and she sits up straight, dabbing at her eyes with the tissue.
“Peter,” I spit. “I am going to kill Peter!” Harry is startled by my outburst and crawls back to Lily’s lap.
“How could he do this? He was our friend.” Her question comes quietly. I don’t answer.
“I’ll make us some tea.” It’s mostly an offer to change the subject, to stop thinking about Peter, to stop thinking about how this might be my fault. I get up and go into the kitchen to put the kettle on the stove. The neighbor has left.
It seems to take forever for the water to heat. I pour it into mugs and add a teabag to each, then take them back to the living room. Harry has fallen asleep on his mother’s lap. I notice that he has a scar on his forehead that he didn’t have before.
Lily takes her tea and we sit in silence for a few minutes until I can’t stand it anymore. I get out of my chair and start pacing the room.
“I shouldn’t have convinced you to go with him. I should have done it myself, like you asked me to. I never would have betrayed you.”
“I know.” She sounds tired, weary. “But you would have told Peter, and then they would have killed you so that Peter could tell them. Things would still have ended up this way only you’d be dead too. This isn’t your fault, Sirius. It’s Peter’s fault.”
Her words do little to reassure me. I turn away from her and lean against the wall. My tea is untouched. She says nothing more.
Twenty minutes later we’re still silent when Deirdra arrives. She’s known as long as James and Lily have. She knows both of us well enough that she knows something is wrong.
Lily has fallen asleep on the couch so Deirdra comes to me. “What happened?”
“James is dead.” Those three words explain it all. She can figure out the rest of it herself. She puts her arms around me and holds me tight. I put my arms around her too, taking what comfort I can.
“Has anyone told Remus?” I shake my head. “I’ll send him an owl then.” She lets go of me and goes into the next room, where I keep my parchment and ink. A few minutes later an owl flies through the night. We stand and watch it go.
Now begins the time when we must pick up the pieces and find a way to go on with our lives.