That Fateful Night
The flying motorbike roared once before landing noiselessly and coming to a stop. A man alighted it gracefully before turning off the headlights. He removed his helmet and goggles to reveal his handsome face, with dark, curly hair and grey eyes. He scrutinized the spot where he'd parked the bike carefully, as if to memorize it, before pulling out his wand and casting a powerful Disillusionment Charm on the bike, completely hiding it from view. It was a warm evening in late October, possibly the last warm evening before the cold set in.
The sun was setting as Sirius Black strode forward with an easy grace, a small package underneath his arm. It contained a number chicken sandwiches; it was something of a tradition for him and one of his best friends, Peter Pettigrew, to have a sandwich-eating contest, something that had been going on since their Hogwarts days. Peter had beaten Sirius more times that the latter would care to admit; he certainly loved to gorge himself on chicken sandwiches, his favourite food in the world. It was to his small house that Sirius was headed to; it was time for his daily check on Peter.
And yet, as he walked forward, Sirius was not his usual cheerful self. He was preoccupied; there were things he was thinking that didn't make sense to him. For instance, he was sure that someone from their side had turned traitor, and had been feeding information to Voldemort for more than a year now. Ever since Voldemort had started hunting down the Potters for some crazy, psychopathic reason (the only ones privy to which were the Potters themselves and Dumbledore), they'd gone into hiding. He knew where they were, of course, but he was among the few who did.
Sirius frowned as he walked forward. There had been a few very near misses. The first time, it had been a terrible battle in Tickenham, a quaint village near Bristol, headquarters of the West Zone Muggle Office, which handled Wizard-Muggle relations. The entire building had been destroyed, and Sirius had lost one of his school friends, Mary MacDonald, in the battle. Voldemort had arrived, and had tried to recruit him, James, Remus and even Lily. Naturally, they had refused, which had resulted in the battle escalating to a whole new level. They all had nearly been killed, and had it not been for the timely arrival of Marlene McKinnon with reinforcements, they wouldn't have survived. Mary's death had impacted them all greatly, and Marlene still blamed herself for not arriving in time.
Then there was the time it had been he and James and Lily fighting against half a dozen Death Eaters more than a year ago in London. They were having a quiet dinner at the Potters' apartment in Fulham on the banks of the Thames, when the doors burst open to reveal about six hooded and masked Death Eaters. Skilled duellers that they were, James and Sirius managed to disable two of the Death Eaters before the others could even draw their wands; a five-minute skirmish had followed before James, Lily and Sirius had overpowered their opponents. Before they could do anything more, however, six more Death Eaters had appeared, and all three of them immediately cast Blasting Curses at them before Disapparating in the nick of time. They Apparated at one of the Order's safe houses, white and shaking; it had been close, really close. Sirius still shuddered at the thought of how lucky they'd been; he doubted if they'd still be alive if Voldemort had arrived that night.
The Potters soon moved to Manchester, and decided that Lily, now pregnant, would stay at home (something Lily had vehemently protested, but had been forced to give in eventually), while James carried out work for the Order of the Phoenix. However, this hadn't gone down very well with Lily; and after about a month of spending every night at home, she'd insisted on accompanying James to a possible attack location. James had protested but he'd finally given in, admitting that Lily's skill would be useful in any duel. Lily and James had been able to limit the damage done by the attack on Alice Longbottom's parents' home, but had faced Voldemort in the process and had escaped from him yet again – only in the nick of time. It had been a near miss, and the result had been a prolonged fight between James and Lily. Lily was furious with James for thinking that she needed to be protected at all times, and James wouldn't let her venture out of the house because an image kept haunting him: a Killing Curse from Voldemort that had missed Lily by half an inch just before they'd Disapparated. In the end, with James unwilling to leave Lily's side, they had decided to stay indoors for the time being. Dumbledore had supported this idea, and had taken them both off field work for the time being.
As Lily's pregnancy progressed, James became even more adamant about leaving her side. With their expertise with defensive spells, the Potters were well-protected; a single use of Dark Magic within fifty yards of their house in any direction (even underground, for that matter) would make sure that help arrived within ten seconds. And so, they'd remained there for about three months, venturing out sporadically, and James had grown more and more restless. Sirius had been his constant source of news, and James had grown jealous of the fact that his best friends got to do all the work while he just sat at home, although arguably it was due to his own insistence. James had lost his temper with Sirius too after the latter had jokingly goaded him about his sojourn at home, and it had taken an intervention from Peter and Lily to break up the argument. Peter, for once, had spoken to Sirius bluntly; he'd chided him for joking about the Potters' need to stay at home constantly, and that had calmed James down more than anything else. Peter had suggested a small jaunt to the neighbourhood park just to break the monotony, and James hadn't needed much persuasion to accept. Peter even got Remus (who had hitherto been underground, living with the werewolves as a spy for Dumbledore) to join them, and the four Marauders, with Lily in tow, had gone to the park to spend the evening, just like old times.
However, just as it darkness had fallen, they'd been surrounded; Voldemort, accompanied by a dozen Death Eaters, had attacked them. James, Sirius and Lupin took down six Death Eaters in less than a minute while Peter Stunned one; however, it had been Lily who had saved the day. Sirisu marvelled at her skill; despite her pregnancy, she had battled Voldemort himself, matching him for curse after curse, defending herself and her unborn child with such vigour that the others had paused to watch her momentarily, mesmerized, before resuming the battle. Help had come soon enough, and facing Auror reinforcements, Voldemort and his remaining Death Eaters had chosen to flee. This was the last time Lily and James had risked venturing outside the protection of their home, for they'd relocated yet again the next day, this time to Godric's Hollow. It had been Lily's maternal instincts that had saved her this time, but they couldn't take any more risks without compromising the safety of their unborn child.
The birth of Harry had been a joyous occasion; Sirius was even more elated to be godfather. He spent his days playing with the little boy and helping to raise him when he wasn't doing field work, and Remus and Peter dropped by occasionally, too. Baby Harry seemed to fill in the void left by the deaths of some of their comrades: Dorcas Meadowes, Edgar Bones, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Caradoc Dearborn… A void that kept growing even bigger. He had found himself being drawn to Marlene during this time, until her death, too…
Even with the protective spells, their safety couldn't be guaranteed; thus, James had readily acquiesced to Dumbledore's suggestion that they use the Fidelius Charm. James and Lily had been cooped up in Godric's Hollow for nearly a year now, and James was growing restless again, according to Lily's last letter to him. It's been only a week since the Fidelius Charm wasperformed, Sirius thought as he walked up the street on which Peter's house stood, and he was already breathing easier. Of course, the rest of the world thought that he was the Potters' Secret-Keeper, but he had suggested that Peter take up the responsibility, believing that his own superior skill would make him an obvious target for Voldemort. Even Dumbledore didn't know they had switched at the last minute; this was a secret between James, Lily, himself and Peter (they had decided against contacting Remus as it could potentially compromise his own mission). Peter had accepted after a little bit of persuasion, and it was to his house that Sirius walked now, which served as his hiding place as well.
A few paces from the house, Sirius stopped. His instincts told him that something was wrong. The blinds were drawn, but that was nothing new, it had to be done anyway for safety reasons. But there were no signs of life as such, although the door was closed. He reached the door and knocked three times, but there was no answer. Suddenly scared, he dropped the parcel he was carrying and drew his wand. Pointing it to the doorknob, he whispered, 'Alohomora!'
The door swung open. Sirius ventured inside before raising his wand once more and shouting, 'Homenum revelio!' Nothing happened. Sirius stood rooted to the spot. Where is Peter? He should know better than to venture outside on his own. His heart in his mouth, Sirius looked around the three-room house, trying desperately to find any sort of clue that would explain where Peter was. He found none, apart from the fact that all rooms were clean and tidy and organized.
Wait, he thought suddenly. It doesn't look like there was a struggle here. But where is Peter? Did the Death Eaters tidy up after themselves? He walked over to Peter's bedroom and examined the bed. It looked like no one had slept in it for a few days at least. He looked around the room, then once around the house. It was dusty, and something was off. He checked the kitchen; he found a nearly-empty bottle of Butterbeer and a couple of loaves of bread. Other than that, there was no food in the house. It was almost as if no one had been there for quite some time. Unless…
Sirius Black sat down on the couch as the wave of realization hit him. He felt suddenly sick. True, Peter had always been the most timid of the Marauders. He'd never been brave like James, Remus, Lily or himself. He'd always hung around with them, though, preferring to keep the company of stronger and more charismatic people. James, Remus and he, Sirius, had let him hang out with them out of pity early on, but they had come to regard him as a good friend and trust him too, mainly because of his part in their cause to help Remus keep his transformations bearable. An old unease flickered inside of him. Peter was a coward; yet, they had chosen to ignore that trait, passing it off as lack of confidence instead. He had done nothing to break their trust. Until now, said the nagging voice inside his head, until now…
Sirius stood up as suddenly as he'd sat down. It's obvious that Peter is the traitor, he thought, even as he felt a wave of shame for believing that the spy had been Remus. Was he prejudiced against werewolves, just like the rest of the Wizarding community? Is that why he'd never questioned Peter's loyalty, instead thinking that Remus had been the spy? He remained preoccupied with these thoughts as he lifted the Disillusionment Charm on his bike, kicked it to life and took off into the sky. He knew where he was headed: Godric's Hollow.
It was about halfway there that the true consequences of Peter's betrayal (by then, he was sure that Peter was the traitor) hit him. Peter was the traitor. He had been passing information to Voldemort for the past year. Lily and James remained safe as long as they were indoors, and all times they'd defied Voldemort had been when they were outside the protection of their own home. They had been safe in Godric's Hollow, too, until the Fidelius Charm was performed. And it had been at his own suggestion that Peter and not he be named their Secret-Keeper. They had played right into the Voldemort's hands.
A hot surge of fear, sadness and guilt ran through Sirius. Please let them be all right. Please let them be all right. They shouldn't die because of my stupidity. Why did I suggest that they make Peter Secret-Keeper instead of me? He cursed himself and made the bike go faster. He was nearly there. With one final surge, he landed into the front yard of the Potters' cottage, parked his bike and looked at the cottage with a cold sense of dread.
A scene of utter devastation met his eyes. He could see that an entire side of the house had been blown apart. He felt sick to the core of his being. Whipping his wand out, he ran to the door like a madman, and entered the house. The house that had belonged to his best friends from school, the two people whom everyone knew were meant to be together, the couple at whose wedding he'd been the best man, the couple who had barely been out of their late teens when their son was born, the two people who he had sworn to protect with his life when Voldemort had started to hunt them down…
He saw a body on the floor and froze. He stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds before making a beeline for the body of a man who lay face-down. He fell to his knees and turned the body over with shaking hands.
The handsome yet strangely blank face of James Potter looked up at him. The round glasses, now askew, the hazel eyes that stared without seeing, the untidy hair mixed with the powdery rubble… Sirius Black couldn't believe what is eyes were showing him, for his best friend, the talented, brilliant and cocky James Potter simply could not be –
"James," he said hoarsely, shaking the body before him, "James, wake up!" But he knew that it was futile even as he grasped his best friend's hands; they were cold as ice, cold as the frosty winter snow… Cold as death. Sirius Black couldn't control the wave of tears that overcame him. "James," he said huskily, "I'm so sorry, James, I'm so sorry…"
How long he sat there, he didn't know. He thought back to all the fun they'd had together in school, all the times they'd pulled those pranks, all the times when they'd nicked food from the kitchen or gone to Hogsmeade through the secret passages… All the times when they'd roamed the Hogwarts grounds with a werewolf, all the times when they'd been in detention… All the times after school and in the real world, when James had had his back while fighting Death Eaters… The man who lay before him hadn't just been his best friend. They were brothers… And he had failed him. He'd failed his brother.
The sudden cry of a child brought him out of his reverie. He could hardly believe his ears. How could someone still be alive in here? With a gargantuan effort he rose and made his way up the stairs, in the direction of the crying child… The sound came from the room at the far end of the passage. Making his way through the rubble, he entered the room at the end of the passage and took in the scene in front of him. He saw something... Something incredible… But it couldn't be –
The crying child lay in the crib, the very crib that he'd helped James assemble. He reached over and scooped his godson up in his arms. Harry Potter quieted at once, and Sirius took his time looking around the room. As his gaze went to the ground, he felt another dull blow in the pit of his stomach. He fell to his knees while clutching Harry; next to the body of a young, red-haired woman… The woman whose life he'd sworn to protect…
He set Harry down in his crib again and bent over the body. He turned it over and looked straight into the dead eyes of Lily Evans, another of his best friends… He broke down completely looking at her beautiful face, her dark red hair, her beautiful green eyes that looked at him vacantly… It was she who had been the bane of his existence for the first five years at school… She never saw the humour in his and James's pranks, and constantly told them off for bullying other students… How James always made a fool of himself in front of her… How she gave him a chance and began to date him in their seventh year… How they fell in love, got married, and worked for the Order of the Phoenix whilst living off James's family gold… How she had been the cleverest witch in their year, and how she was a champion dueller… How sweet a woman and how doting a mother she was… Had been, corrected the logical part of his brain… She's gone now… He couldn't believe it. The family of his best friend, whom he'd sworn to protect with his life… Gone forever.
Sirius hardly had time to process anything else; his mind was numb with shock when he heard something. He had his wand out in a trice, but before he could hex the intruder, he heard heavy footsteps and saw the huge man come up to the room in which he stood. Rubeus Hagrid stood in the doorway, his eyes swollen and puffy, his body shaking with the sobs that he couldn't control. With a swift motion, he gently lifted Harry into his pudding-bowl sized hands. "There, there, little one…" he said softly, his voice hoarse.
Sirius couldn't control himself. "They're dead," he croaked, "They're dead!" White and shaking, he went over to Hagrid, who looked at him with sympathy mixed with sadness in his otherwise warm, beetle-black gaze. "Give Harry to me, Hagrid," said Sirius, "I'm his godfather, I'll take care of him…"
"No," replied the huge man, "Dumbledore's orders. Harry will live a' his aunt n' uncles'."
"Petunia's?" replied Sirius incredulously. "You're joking, right? Hagrid, she thinks we all are –" he grimaced, "freaks! She wouldn't understand…"
"All the same, Dumbledore's orders, Black. Professor McGonagall will look a' them Dursleys 'omorrow… Tonight he'll stay wi'h… Wi'h me…"
Sirius knew better than to protest Dumbledore's orders. "Can I just hold him, then, please?" he asked. He was in control of himself now. As he held his godson, however, he felt a new emotion: rage. Perhaps it was better that Harry wasn't going to be staying with him tonight. He had other business to take care of, business which mostly involved tracking down a former best friend. He gently handed Harry back to Hagrid.
"All right… Here, Hagrid – take these," he said, and gave Hagrid his bike keys. Hagrid looked nonplussed; it was a well-known fact that Sirius loved his bike very much. As if reading his mind, Sirius continued, "I won't be needing it anymore." Hagrid accepted the keys after a pause. "Thanks, Black," said the gamekeeper, "I bes' get goin' now, Dumbledore's waitin'." Saying thus, the huge man took one last look at the dilapidated house, before making his way downstairs. About a minute later, he heard the roar of his bike, which subsequently faded away.
Left alone among the bodies, Sirius knew what he had to do. He waved his wand and whispered, "Mobilicorpus!" Lily's body rose into the air behind him. He descended the stairs and walked to where James's body lay. He repeated the spell, and walked out of the house, levitating his best friends' bodies behind them, fighting the wall of tears inside of him that was threatening to break at any moment.
Slowly, he made his way to the village graveyard. At that hour of the night, with no one on the street, he reached the graveyard quickly. He found the Potter family gravestones where Mr and Mrs Potter were buried, and with space present next to them, he quickly created two graves and deposited his best friends' bodies in it before sealing them shut, trying not to spend more time than absolutely necessary to do his sad task. There would be time for a funeral and a proper burial later.
Sirius Black made his way out of the graveyard, his face grim and set. He didn't know why Voldemort had failed to killed the small child. He didn't know what had happened to Voldemort, his wand or his body. There would be time to answer these questions later, because at that moment, nothing else other than the traitor responsible for the deaths of Lily and James Potter mattered to Sirius Black as he strode purposefully away from the graveyard.
He had a rat to kill.