The End of All Things

by 1monster2

Leah is being attacked by Peter Pettigrew when she runs into two old friends. She, Sirius, and Remus rekindle their friendship while trying to navigate the challenges of day to day life-which hits closer to home than any of them would like. Begins post-Goblet of Fire, continues past Deathly Hallows.

A/N: Hey, all! I'm not even apologizing at this point…if I have an idea, I'm rolling with it. Haha…I've had this idea rooting around in the back of my head for a while, and am just now getting it down on the computer (although I've been working on it almost as long as I have TLC…haha… ;) ) This story basically takes place after Goblet of Fire, and deals with Leah and the two good Marauders left alive. Peter will appear occasionally (I have to plan it out, so I'm still not sure how often), but the main focus is going to be on Remus, Sirius, and Leah, and how they deal with the events that go on around them (especially key events in Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows. Sorry not sorry). Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the other main characters will appear eventually, but since this is set pretty much right after Goblet of Fire, they haven't all arrived at Grimmauld Place, so the only people appearing in this chapter (Order members) are Sirius, Remus, Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, and Tonks (name only).

That all being said…there is one thing that I'm going to try to do with magic in this story that…might not actually be possible…I thought about tweeting J.K. Rowling about it, but she didn't respond to the last one…plus I'm one of those shy and reserved folk who don't want to "impose or intrude". Oi… ;) My plan is to basically make this journal (not that kind of journal, WJC readers) that somehow has essences or something of Leah's friends after they die (so currently, James and Lily), and that she can somehow bring it to life and talk to them if she needs to. I figure if the Marauders could make the Marauder's map, something like this should be possible. Here's hoping! ;)

DISCLAIMER I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER AND NEVER WILL I JUST LOVE THE MARAUDERS WAY TOO MUCH! ;)

Please enjoy "The End of All Things" Chapter 1!

"Crucio!"

The young girl cried out in pain as the spell hit her. This was the second time that her opponent had used that spell on her, and she was definitely convinced that the second time hurt worse than the first. She had just arrived back in London, and was looking forward to seeing if she could find two of her old friends…before she ran into another old friend. Or, rather, former old friend.

"Owh…crap crap crap…" Leah muttered to herself. She wasn't just complaining about the Cruciatus Curse (although that hurt like the dickens), but also the fact that she then-because of the force of the spell-flew across the ground and smacked into a pile of rocks. "Man…is it just me, or is Peter actually able to land a spell now? I mean, seriously?" she wheezed. She then let out a gasp as another spell whizzed by her head, before yelping in pain as moving to avoid it angered most-if not all-of her injuries.

Crap. I'm in trouble. From Peter, of all people.

Suddenly, two red lights flashed over her head. Leah turned to see two people standing in the shadows. She hadn't heard them approaching, so they must have used nonverbal spells. She looked at them nervously-were they planning to attack her too?

"Get away from her, you brainless rat!" Another spell, blue this time, shot over her head. It smacked into Peter and knocked him down. He rolled down the hill a ways, before apparating away. Leah took a deep breath, tuning to face the others. "Who are you?" she queried softly. One of the two chuckled. "Come on, Leah-you can't have forgotten us that quickly!" At his voice, Leah gasped in amazement.

"Sirius?"

"The one and only, Newt!" He stepped forwards into the light, and was immediately engulfed in a hug from the younger girl. One of his hands rested on her back, while the other gently rubbed the back of her head. "It's good to see you, Padfoot." Leah smiled warmly. Sirius chuckled. "It's good to see you too, Leah." As they stepped back, the other man cleared his throat. Leah gasped again. "Moony!" she cried, almost knocking the older man over as she gave him a hug. Remus grinned. "I'm glad to see you again, Leah." After a while, they broke apart. "Are you all right, Leah? You took two Cruciatus curses straight to the chest." Remus asked, discreetly steadying her as she listed to one side. "Yeah, I'm all right…just getting my bearings. I'll be all right…eventually." Sirius and Remus looked at each other, unconvinced, but didn't say anything. Leah sighed in relief, finally able to stand without leaning. "Oh, I can finally show you…" She suddenly closed her eyes, before turning into a blond dog-somewhat of a mix between a Shiba Inu and a wolf.

"You finally figured out the Animagus spell! Good for you!" Remus said. The dog yipped happily, before lightly nipping Sirius's hand. "Owh! Leah-stop it! Will you…oh fine!" With that, Sirius shrunk to his own Animagus form and began to chase Leah around. Remus just stood there laughing at his friends. Suddenly, Sirius let out a bark. Remus's head immediately snapped to his friend. He had heard that bark so many times that he knew exactly what it meant. "Where, Sirius?" The black dog slowly circled around the other, who was nipping at his heels and trying to avoid him. Sirius suddenly barked up at Remus, who nodded, murmuring a spell under his breath. Leah's form glowed briefly, before she turned back into her human form. "Remus, what the heck-oof!" Leah let out a grunt as Sirius knocked her down. He then curled up on her lap and looked straight up into her eyes. "What the heck? Sirius, get off of me!"

"He won't get up until you tell us." Remus muttered. Leah looked up at him in shock-and possibly a bit of nervousness. "Tell you what?"

"Where you're injured."

"What? I'm not hurt!" Leah barely held in a grimace as Sirius's back paw-intentionally-gingerly landed on her left leg. "Owh-Padfoot!" A quiet huff from above told her that Remus knew exactly what she was trying to hide. She looked away, trying to avoid meeting either of her friends' gazes. She should have known it wouldn't work, however. Remus slowly knelt down beside her, while Sirius scooted up a little closer on her chest. "Leah. We all know that you're hurt. Just let Padfoot and I help you. You know you can trust us." Leah gulped nervously. Both of the Marauders knew that their younger friend was close to breaking, so Sirius added the final touch. He gently leaned forwards, pushing Leah down a little further. He then lowered his head onto the crook of her neck. That seemed to push Leah over the edge, as she slowly shuddered, and then nodded slightly, seemingly drawing comfort from Sirius. "I…I may be a bit banged up…and a bit sick." she murmured quietly. Remus rubbed her back.

"Where have you been, Leah? We haven't heard anything from you in almost three years." Leah sighed. "I was out in Bristol for the last six months…and it was bloody raining the whole time…and then before that I was up in Glasgow for a year and a half, getting rid of a nest of Death Eaters based up there." She sighed, letting out a whimper of pain as Sirius rested more on her ribs. "What happened, Leah?"

Leah sighed. "Well, like I said, I'm a bit battered and bruised…a couple broken ribs…at least five bruised…and some…other things." Her eyes ducked down again, but Sirius moved his head up, which in turn moved hers up, forcing her to meet Remus's brown eyes, which were full of concern. "Leah." That quiet word was all that it took. "I, uh…I ran into Sirius's cousin while I was in Bristol…"

"Bellatrix Lestrange?"

"Yeah. She…um…she decided that since I'm a friend of Sirius and yourself, that…that she would use me to make an example to the other Order members…and would use any curse to do it." Sirius growled low in his chest, causing Leah to jump-and then wince in pain.

"Did she use the Cruciatus curse on you too?" Remus asked. Leah nodded, now unable to look her friend in the eye, and starting to have a minor panic attack. Sirius gently licked her cheek, which seemed to help a bit. "Leah…how many times did Bellatrix use the curse on you?" She shook her head, but Remus simply asked her again. She didn't say the answer, but simply held up fingers (which was what she did when she didn't trust her voice to respond, and the question could be answered by a number).

Four fingers.

Remus choked back a gasp. "And how many days ago did you run into her?"

Even less this time.

Three fingers.

"So you've been hit with the Cruciatus Curse…six times in the last five days?" Leah nodded again, right on the cusp of a full-fledged panic attack. Remus pulled her into a warm hug, and Sirius transformed back to his human form before doing the same. "Easy, Leah…just relax. You're all right…you're just a bit banged up, right? We can help you with it…just trust us, all right?" Leah nodded, slowly trying to calm herself down. Both of her friends pulled her to her feet, and then helped her towards a row of houses that was nearby. As they arrived, Sirius leaned down and murmured in her ear. "Leah, think about this for a second…the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found at Number 12 Grimmauld Place." He could tell that his friend had done what he asked when the houses began to shift, and when she stepped back in shock. "What the heck?" she queried softly. Her friends just grinned at each other, helping her in the door. Once they were inside, Remus turned to Sirius. "Padfoot, you should probably go on ahead…because of…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Sirius muttered sullenly. He slunk on ahead, as Remus and Leah followed on behind. "Moony, what's going on?" Leah murmured, but Remus shushed her as he looked cautiously around. "We'll explain in a little while…just stay quiet for a while, all right?" Leah nodded, not quite understanding, but willing to trust her friends. About thirty seconds later, they heard a bellowing from up ahead.

"YOU DISGRACE TO THE BLACK NAME, HOW DARE YOU BRING THESE FILTH INTO MY HOME! AND NOW YOU EVEN BRING ALONG YOUR PATHETIC PET, THAT RETARDED VEGETABLE OF A GIRL! I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH OF A DISAPPOINTMENT TO THIS FAMILY YOU ARE! YOUR BROTHER WOULD NEVER-"

"SHUT UP, YOU OLD HAG!" A fierce banging accompanied the last five words, and then silence. Remus began to tug Leah along, until they met up with Sirius in front of some curtains. "Did you hear any of that, Leah?" Sirius queried. Leah nodded, now completely and utterly confused. "Padfoot…who was that?"

Sirius sighed, running a hand through his hair. "My dear old mum." he snarled, almost as a growl. Leah gaped. "That was your…wait, then…this was your house?"

"It still is…and I'm letting Dumbledore use it as the headquarters for the Order while I'm…cooped up."

"Why are you cooped up?"

"Think about it, Leah-have they cleared Sirius's name yet?" After a few seconds, Leah muttered an "Oh" under her breath. "Now I get it…I'm sorry, Sirius. I know you must hate it…" Sirius waved a hand, cutting her off. "It's all right…at least I get to see everyone, right?" He grinned lightly. "Just be careful around my mother's portrait...she's got a Permanent Sticking Charm on the thing, and will blow up at any loud noise…or whenever Tonks comes back."

"Tonks?"

"Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to go by her surname only. She's a cousin of mine…and a special lady for Moony here." Leah gaped at Remus, who spluttered for a few seconds, before glaring at Sirius. Before he could say much, however, everyone was distracted by a noise to the left. Looking over, Leah could see a short, slightly rotund woman with red hair glaring straight at Sirius. "Sirius Black-where have you been? You know Dumbledore said not to leave the house…who is that?" As the woman pointed, Leah unconsciously leaned into Remus a bit, so that she was somewhat hidden behind Sirius. Remus sighed. "Molly, we'll explain later. Right now, we're going to take her upstairs to one of the top rooms and take care of her for a bit. We'll explain once we're done."

"You can't just bring in strays from who-knows-where, Remus…we don't know who could turn out to be a spy!"

"She's not a spy!" Sirius barked back. "She was a member of the original Order of the Phoenix-although she was out on assignment so much that we all seemed to forget it-and she's been on assignments for Dumbledore ever since! We've known her since her fourth year, and we know we can trust her with our lives. Now we're going to prove ourselves worthy of her trust and help her upstairs before she has a nervous breakdown!"

Remus gently caught Sirius's arm. "Why don't you take Leah upstairs?" he queried. "I'll stay here and explain things to Molly briefly, and then head up to join you." Sirius nodded, helping Leah to head up the stairs. Remus then turned to Molly, who was preparing to blast him with questions. "Leah's a friend, Molly, from back when we were in school together. We met her during our fifth year, and have been friends ever since. She's one of the few people-besides the other Marauders-who knew about my…monthly issues…back then. Sirius and I completely trust her, and she completely trusts us. If you're still concerned about it, you can always ask Dumbledore-he'll vouch for her."

Mrs. Weasely sighed, nodding. "All right…since you trust her, and Dumbledore can speak for her, I suppose it's all right. I assume she'll be joining us for supper?" To her surprise, Remus vehemently shook his head. "No-she probably won't be leaving the room for a couple of days. For one thing, Sirius and I won't let her, since she was hit with six Cruciatus curses in the last five days by Peter Pettigrew and Bellatrix Lestrange, and needs to rest as much as she can. Secondly, Leah has social anxiety, and needs time to get used to the feel of this place. With how many people are currently in Grimmauld Place, it would be like putting a sheep in a wolf den. She'll feel the situation out for herself…and she might not talk to people for a while. Just let her feel comfortable at first, and then it'll be easier for her." Molly looked like she was going to argue, but she finally nodded. "Very well. I have some soup that I can warm up from earlier…would it be all right for me to send it up later with one or two people?"

"Yes, that would be very much appreciated...I'll let you know when she's ready. Until then, please make sure people don't come up to her room." Mrs. Weasley nodded, and turned to head back to the kitchen. "Oh-and Molly? Thank you."

"I didn't know there was a Death Eater nest in Glasgow…how long has that been there?"

"You mean was there...owh! I think…a year and a half or so before I got there…I'm not exactly sure, though." Sirius was helping Leah with her lighter injuries, while Remus was taking care of the more tricky injuries (since he was the better of the two at healing spells). There were some injuries-particularly from the Cruciatus curses-that would have to heal on their own, as there weren't a lot of ways to heal them, and most required some sort of potion that none of them had on hand. There were also a few wounds that simply wouldn't heal, and would simply go on to scar. One was a small line on Leah's left hand, right next to her thumb, and another diagonally crossing over her left eye. Apparently though, Leah didn't mind, saying that it would 'only enhance my currently rugged appearance'. Both of her friends had gotten a laugh out of that, as Leah looked more tired and banged up then she ever had before. Unnoticed by Leah earlier, Remus had sent a message down to Molly via Patronus, letting her know that it was okay to send the soup up. Leah usually dealt with new people better while she was talking or bantering with someone else that she trusted, which the Marauders had recognized as soon as they had met her. This was exactly why they were doing it-partly to distract her from whoever they knew would be coming up, and partly because they hadn't seen her in around three years.

As they bantered, a sudden knock sounded from the door. Everyone turned to see two tall red-haired boys looking into the room. "Ah, Fred, George, good to see you." Remus said, smiling at them. "Come on in." As the twins entered the room, Leah scooted back a little, only to run into Sirius, who had been sitting behind her. "It's all right, Newt…just relax." he quietly whispered, leaning in towards her ear so that only she could hear him. "Do you remember the Prewett family-Fabian, Gideon, and Molly?" At Leah's nod, he continued. "These are two of Molly's sons, and Fabian and Gideon's nephews." Leah silently murmured an "Oh" under her breath, before shyly looking up at the twins. "Leah," Remus announced from up above her, "meet Fred and George Weasley. They're both seventh year Gryffindors, and are very similar to James and Sirius at that age."

"Oh, so you mean playing stupid pranks on Snape for no apparent reason?" Leah replied, grinning as Sirius gently shoved her. "Oi-they weren't stupid! And we didn't pull them on Snivellus after James started going out with Lily…or at least he didn't. I did, but it was a bit more…restrained."

"Sirius Black restraining himself? Now that I'd like to see!"

"Oh come on, Leah-"

"Shut it, Padfoot." Both Leah and Sirius quieted at Remus's order, sheepishly smiling up at him. The werewolf rolled his eyes, before turning back to the twins. "Fred, George, meet Leah Thompson. She's been a friend of ours since our fifth year and her fourth. She's the only one of our little "group" that wasn't from Gryffindor."

"Wait-you're not a Gryffindor?" one of the twins-was it Fred or George? -queried. Leah quietly chuckled and shook her head. "No, I'm a Ravenclaw. The rest of my family is all Gryffindors or Hufflepuffs…so apparently I'm the brains of the family."

"Hey-Gryffindors can have brains too, you know!"

"I know-but not my brother." All three of the adults chuckled. Seeing the looks on Fred and George's faces, Leah explained, "My brother is a couple years older than me, and was a fantastic Quidditch player-he just retired, actually-in the American Quidditch League. Both he and my twin sisters got mostly As on their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. I got Es and Os on mine."

"Didn't you and James have a bet on who would get better grades?" Sirius queried. Leah nodded, gently huffing. "Yeah, we did…he just beat me. Barely." Fred and George chuckled, before both held a hand out to Leah. She smiled shyly before shaking both. "It's nice to meet both of you." she grinned. One of the twins-she thought it was George-smiled down at her, slapping away his brother's hand as he did so. "The pleasure is all ours, ma'am." he replied, still trying to get Fred to stop poking him. Remus cleared his throat. "All right, boys-if you're going to start tackling each other, there is a wide open hallway." Their attention was drawn to that same hallway a second later as a loud voice rang out, calling for the twins. The two grinned sheepishly, before waving to the other three and heading out of the room. Once they left, Remus closed the door. "I like them. They remind me of you and James, Padfoot." Sirius chuckled, gently swatting the back of her head. "No one can match Prongs and I, Newt. Right, Moony?"

"I am not getting involved in your comparison game, Sirius."

"Wet blanket."

"Shut it."

A few seconds passed, before they all started laughing. The exchange had sounded so much like when they were teenagers that it was almost surreal. Remus was the first to recover, and turned to Leah. "Hey Newt-I just wanted to warn you, but there's going to be a lot of people here in the next few days…and for a while. You don't have to interact with them if you don't want to, but I figured you should know beforehand." Leah smiled at him-although he noticed that her smile didn't exactly meet her eyes (which, he could also see, were slightly glazed over, indicating a minute fever). "Thanks, Remus…I'll probably end up spending most of the time up here." she murmured quietly. "Can finally practice a few things without Sirius constantly trying to jump on me and tickle me." Remus let out a small laugh, which grew both larger and louder as he caught a glimpse of Sirius's pout.

"I didn't jump you all the time!"

"At least seven times-I counted!"

Sirius rolled his eyes, gently levering Leah up to lean against him more comfortably as he did so. "All right, so I jumped you seven times…I did worse to Prongs, though."

"What did you do to…no, I don't want to know what you did to James. The thought itself is enough, thanks." Now it was Leah rolling her eyes.

The three friends continued on bantering for a while, Leah eating as much as she could of the soup as they did so. By the time that she had finished, both Remus and Sirius could see that she was worn out, and almost about to drop. They knew she would stubbornly refuse to go to sleep, though, since her friends were still around and awake-and they remembered what had happened in their fifth year (her fourth) with Montair and his cronies. Remus sighed, flicking his eyes over to meet Sirus's, subtly drawing his wand as he did so. His friend seemed to get the message, and began to distract Leah, drawing her attention away from what Remus was doing. As the two good-naturedly bickered on, the third quietly whispered, "Placeo." The spell meant "be agreeable", but wasn't the same as the Imperius Curse. That curse tended to strictly be used either for pain or interrogation. Remus had actually seen Madame Pomfrey use the Placeo Charm on Leah once, when she was exhausted in the hospital wing, but refused to rest. Once he could tell that that spell had taken affect, he murmured another spell, "Silentium Mentis". This spell was similar to one that James had used on Leah back in school-Animum Lenire-but James's simply quieted a mind's thoughts, making it so that a person could simply ignore them and relax, Remus's spell gradually silenced them, so that there were no thoughts running through the person's brain.

"And for a Ravenclaw like Leah…that's probably a good thing."

By this point, Leah was almost completely relaxed, leaning heavily against Sirius. She did have an idea of what they were doing, but the spells were already beginning to take effect, removing the thoughts from her mind. Before she forgot about it, however, she managed to throw a weak glare at both of her friends, who simply chuckled. Before Remus cast his last spell, Leah felt Sirius shift out from under her, slowly laying her down onto the bed. He then leaned over slightly, and softly brushed his lips across her forehead. "Sleep well, Leah." he murmured. Leah had a brief thought about turning to ask him what he meant (she "wasn't tired", after all), but even before her mind could complete the thought, she heard Remus mutter one last phrase: "Placide Quiescas" ("gently sleep").

She lost the battle with sleep quite quickly after that.

A/N: Well…that actually went pretty well! I enjoyed working on the chapter, and I'm excited to see where the story is going to go from here! I've got some ideas on how to shape the next few chapters…but we'll see. My main focus right now (besides schoolwork) is to get the next "Why Jack Cried" chapter out, and then finish "The Leah Chronicles"'s next chapter…and then probably "Ladies of the Night" or something like that. ;) I have way too many unfinished multi-chapters…

Well, that's it for now…it's currently midnight out here on the West Coast, and I'd like to possibly actually get 8 hours of sleep tonight. It's an impossible dream, I know, but… ;) Haha…Plus, then I can work on my movie trilogy script! (It's called "Space Force", and it's AWESOME! (although I'm tremendously biased…) )

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all soon!

God bless,

1monster2