Elena felt an immense ripping inside her, as if her heart was being torn from her chest. She watched helplessly as her demented cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange sent a curse straight for her father, who was facing the other way. "Sirius!" she screamed and he turned round swiftly, his eyes meeting hers for only the briefest of moments, before the curse slammed into him. Elena felt her heart stop as she watched in horror as her father stumbled backwards through the veil. "No!" the cry erupted from her lips. "NO!" She stepped forwards, only to have the firm grip of Remus Lupin grasp her from behind, holding her back. "Sirius!" she sobbed. "Sirius…" She was so distraught she did not notice the departure of the Death Eaters, nor the arrival of more members of the Order. "No…" she broke down and fell to her knees, Lupin clutching her violently shaking body in a desperate embrace. "No… SIRIUS!"
Elena slammed the door shut behind her, and stumbled over to her bed. She sat down roughly against the headboard and leant her head back against the greying wall. A tear leaked from her eye and slid down her already tear-stained face.
She opened her eyes slowly, puffy and red with crying a lifetime of tears. Elena glanced round the room uncertainly, until her eyes rested upon the almost-empty bottle of fire whiskey on her bedside table. She reached out a shaky hand and grasped the bottle in her weak fingers. She twisted off the cap with a swish of metal against glass, and lifted the bottle up to her lips.
She swigged down the remaining contents of the bottle, and felt a burning sensation pass down her throat, briefly warming her up from the inside out, taking away her pain and heartache.
She lifted the bottle to her lips to once again taste the healing liquid, only to find the bottle empty. In anger, Elena threw the empty glass bottle against the far wall, and it shattered, breaking into a million pieces, just like her heart.
She groaned and rolled onto her side. Her head was thumping now as she reached a shaky hand under the bed, searching for another bottle of fire whiskey. How many bottles had she had today? Three? Four? Elena couldn't remember.
She hastily unscrewed the cap and took a refreshing gulp of the burning liquid, melting away her feelings of sorrow and despair.
Elena heard gentle footsteps approach her door, and a quiet knock followed soon afterwards.
"Ellie?" questioned the gentle voice of Remus Lupin. He entered the room with a look of dismay upon his face.
"Oh, Ellie…" Elena didn't look at him, she couldn't, she could hear the disappointment in his voice.
"What are you doing to yourself, Ellie?" He walked over to her bed, and softly sat down next to her feet. He slid the bottle of fire whiskey out of her firm grasp and set it down on her bedside table.
"Your father wouldn't want to see you like this, Ellie." Elena squeezed her eyes shut, she didn't want to remember.
"Shut up! Just shut up! What would you know about my father?" Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence and she broke down in tears.
She sobbed into her hands, shoulders heaving, until Remus wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close so that her head rested upon his chest. The tears came more readily now, streaming down her face.
"Shh…" he whispered, stroking her hair. "It's alright, I've got you…" She glared up at him angrily.
"Alright? Alright? Nothing will ever be alright again! He's gone…" her voice trailed off. "Sirius is gone…" She staring sobbing once more, and Lupin rubbed her back consolingly.
"I miss him, Remus, I miss him so damn much…" her voice was thick with anger and sadness.
"I know, El, I do too." It took everything Remus had to stop him breaking down as well. No. He had to be strong for Elena.
Elena stared up at him, her languid green eyes adorned with tears.
"What am I going to do, Remus? What am I going to do?"
Remus took her face in his hands and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"Make him proud, El. Make him proud."