The Dictionary Divine Challenge—oh sweet Merlin, what have I gotten myself into?
hal·lowed (no, I swear) \ha-lōd, ha-lod, in the Lord's Prayer often ha-low-wed\ - adjective 1: holy , consecrated the church stands on hallowed ground 2 : sacred , revered the university's hallowed halls hallowed customs
op·pro·bri·um \-brē-um\ - noun 1: something that brings disgrace2 a: public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious b: contempt , reproach
es·pouse \is-pauz also -paus\ - transitive verb 1 : marry 2 : to take up and support as a cause : become attached to
The Night He Died
It was now considered hallowed grounds; the place where James and Lily met their deaths at the hands of he-who-must-not-be-named. As it lay in a pile of rubble that night, he stood there from the shadows, praying that what he was looking at was only a hellish nightmare. He knew! James and Lily were dead because of him. There were heavy footsteps coming from behind and he saw Hagrid approach. Hagrid, the massive bear of a man, weeping like a baby.
Alive? Someone was left alive? He couldn't believe it. Hagrid had the boy in his arms. A moment of grief subsided when he saw the boy move and heard him cry out. Then he saw Dumbledore who must have been there the whole time. Of course he would be there. He wanted to run to him, mourn with him, but something told him to stay where he was.
Hagrid and Dumbledore were speaking quietly. Did he hear his name? Who was the secret keeper? Betrayal. Not him! Oh Merlin, if they only knew! Dumbledore disappeared into the night, leaving Hagrid alone, inconsolable in his grief. He dared approach Hagrid. Give me my godson! Let me take him to safety. But no, Hagrid told him, Dumbledore's idea was better; take him away from the wizarding world, protect him. Yes! Yes! Take him to safety now. Use my motorcycle. No, keep it. Where I'm going, I won't need it any longer.
He knew what he had to do! He must find and kill him. The secret keeper. The true betrayer of James and Lily; their best friend. Peter Pettigrew! How had he allowed him to betray the Potters? Peter Pettigrew must die!
Twelve muggles lay dead on the street in the massive explosion. And in the midst of it all, he stood, laughing. He wand in his hand, assured that despite the chaos, Peter Pettigrew was dead. Take me away. I've killed them. And take him they did.
The next day, the Daily Prophet reported that he-who-must-not-be-named had disappeared and the boy lived! In a much smaller column, the newspaper espoused the quick work by Aurors in the capture of the one Sirius Black, a well-known death eater, who had killed the Potter's friend Peter Pettigrew and taken along with him twelve innocent muggles. The headline read: Sirius Black: Opprobrium! The Vicious Killer of the Innocent!
A/N: I'm not used to the angsty stuff and I've never written a Sirius Black story, but for a challenge, I'll do almost anything. I said, almost. Thanks for reading and a review would be nice. --Rita