They say the first time's the worst, but I beg to differ. They were all the worst.
~John and Mary~
"Alright Mare and Johnny boy," He pointed to the pair of them, " Take middle." Sirius said motioning down the corridor. "James and I will take Left, Frank and Alice you guys have Right." He hated the fact that they were splitting up. In his gut he knew it was an awful idea. If anyone died Sirius would blame it on himself. Even if it wasn't his fault, it was just the way it worked. Luckily, although with much fighting, James and he had managed to keep both Lily and Marlene home. They still weren't sure how they did it but they managed to trick two, head strong, selfless girls into thinking of their own safety for once.
Sirius gazed around at the faces of the people he'd known his whole life. People he's come to love as brothers and sisters. They were a family. No matter what kind of war was going on, they were together. But that tiny sliver of doubt in his mind crept up. What if you don't see them again? It could all be you're fault. It taunted, and drove Sirius near insanity. He choked up, but he wouldn't allow himself to be seen crying. So he mustered up as much strength as he could and spoke to the group again, "Never leave your partner, they are your life line!" It wasn't exactly necessary to say this, considering John would never leave Mary and vice versa. Same went for Alice and Frank and there was no way in hell Sirius would leave James. They all simultaneously nodded in agreement and turned to their respected partners. Not much was said, but the aurora in the room was radiating love. Just John and Mary alone were staring into each other's eyes with enough passion to melt the North Pole. "Be safe." He finished and headed down the dark, gloomy corridor with James in tow.
If he had expected anything, this surely wasn't it. Or maybe he had his hopes far too high; maybe he had expected to run in and out in a matter of minutes, mission complete. But as soon as they pushed the large brass doors open, the room they entered was already erupted in chaos. Wizards were running around, dodging spells just barely, and the fallen lay on the floor. A jet of red flew just past Sirius' ear, cutting some of his hair off. But he hardly payed any attention to that. He saw his target just across the run and ran full sprint to it. Sirius waved back at his partner in tacit compliance that he would keep guard.
"BELA!" Sirius screeched upon arriving at the copper bars. She was weak, lying in a heap on the dusty floor; blood was pouring from her multiple cuts. The worst one being placed just above her eyebrow. He cursed to himself and with a flick of his wand, removed the bars. Sirius gathered her in his arms and stepped back out into the heap of chaos. He saw the messy black hair take down a death eater and Sirius called loudly. "PRONGS!" When James neared, as gently as he could, Sirius placed Bela into James' arms. "Take her back, I'll get the others." And with that he was off into another sprint.
He rounded the corner and instantly collided with another body. While still on the floor, Sirius whipped out his wand prepared for the oncoming battle. He slightly smiled when he realized it wasn't a foe, but was actually Frank and Alice. They seemed disheveled but still intact. He hoisted himself up from the ground. "John and Mary?" And with those three words they raced towards their assigned corridor.
It was as if time froze. The doors cracked open into the landscape of the wide room. John and Mary's wands went flying at the flick of Yaxley's wand. In that moment they basically radiated the words I love you without speaking a word. Still linked by holding hands, they tried to turn and run, while Sirius, Alice and Frank ran towards them still a little in shock. Yaxley's smirk grew wider and with a final flick of his wand, they fell. Still hand in hand, lying together. Sirius tried to run towards Yaxley, in a fit of rage, but Frank held him back and forced Sirius into an apparition. He felt the tug then the ground beneath his feet. They couldn't…they just couldn't! He repeated to himself. Not even bothering to try and make it to a couch or such, he fell on the floor in a slump. They just couldn't.