CHAPTER TEN
MemoriesOh, how quickly one's life can fall apart.
'Together Forever' was her motto when it came to Sirius. How wrong she was. Holly Maywater was now alone save for her young sister. But it's just not the same as having all those that loved her here. She looked around the apartment. Holly could still feel him here. Still feel his touch and taste his kiss, but he was gone. Forever. He deserved hell for what he did, but hell didn't have a patch on what he was going through in Azkaban. He was innocent of the crime he was convicted for, but he was a cheat, a liar, and a criminal to her. After all this she still couldn't hate him and deep down she knew it.
Holly had taken three months off work to mourn the dead and come to terms with the loss of her hero. She remembered the day, not so long after graduation, that she got her job in a muggle library. The scene played out in her mind clearer than any film.
Holly came home after the interview. She had been hired! She felt wonderful but had no idea how to tell Sirius. He was an auror, a glamorous and important job, both in the war effort and during peacetime. Holly was now a junior librarian and she adored the job but it was hardly comparable to an auror. As she walked in the door she heard Sirius in the shower so she knocked on the bathroom door and went in.
"How was your day, Love?" Sirius asked through the steamy glass of the shower unit.
"It was great. I had an interview at the library today. How are you?"
Ignoring her question, he asked eagerly, "How'd it go? Are you their new star employee?"
"I don't know about 'star employee'," she said with a giggle, "but I am an employee."
As soon as she had said that the shower door sprung open and a very wet Sirius grabbed her in a huge hug.
"I'm so proud of you!" he beamed.
"Sirius! Must you be so free with your nakedness?" she scorned be fore he had a chance to shut her up with a kiss and drag her into the shower behind him.
That was the first time they had made love in the bathroom. He had been so proud of her that day she had forgotten her fear that she wouldn't match up to him.
As one memory faded from her vision another scene played out before her tear stained eyes by ghosts she would never see again. The life-filled red head and the mischievous grins of two brothers she loved as her own. Lily beamingly announcing her pregnancy, just barely after the death of her parents, and James asking Sirius to be godfather to his baby. How she wished that moment could have lasted forever. She would have gladly given her life to see those expression filled faces again instead of stony graves that could never show the affection that her friends had.
She watched as they faded again and another memory replaced them. This time it was the emergency room at St. Mungo's. Sirius had been hit by a spell which damn near killed him although by the time Holly got there he was smiling and winking, charming the medi-witch into getting him another chocolate frog. She couldn't help but wonder if he had been cheating on her even then.
When this memory disappeared a far more brutal one replaced it. The one thing she feared would happen since she left home to live with Sirius that Christmas that seemed an eternity ago.
Holly opened the door to reveal a huddled and unconscious figure on the doorstep. She was bare-footed and only dressed in pajamas. Upon looking at the girl's bruised and bloody face she recognized her.
"Who is it, Hol? I'm dead tired. Let's go to – BLOODY HELL!" Sirius swore before bending down and picking the girl up from the floor and carrying her inside to the couch. He then set to work on healing the young girl's wounds.
"Who do you suppose she is? Homeless I suspect. Poor thing. Hope it isn't drug related." He said as he finished and stood to see the shocked and terrified expression on Holly's pale face.
"What's wrong?"
"She isn't homeless and she isn't a drug addict. Her name is Carie," she looked up at Sirius with tears streaming down her face, "She's my sister."
"Lollie? Is that you?" Carie asked in a whisper from the couch. Holly rushed over to her sister's side.
"Yeah, Cutie-pie. It's me. You're safe here. You have to tell me something. Did our father do this to you?"
The young girl opened her eyes and looked straight at Holly. "He said I'd been talking to you, Lollie. He said I was evil for talking to you. Who's that?" she asked, looking past Holly to Sirius who was clearly outraged that the man who had hurt his Hol had now attacked 14-year-old Carie.
That was the start of the horror that was the fight against Voldemort. A dinner party, however, marked the start of her young life falling apart.
The Marauders, Lily, Natalie and Holly sat around Sirius' flat after a good hearty feed of fish and chips laughing at some of the old pranks that the boys pulled in Hogwarts, however, two of their number were not really paying attention as they were quietly talking about the social themes in Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice. Well, at least Nat and Remus were talking about that until they were noticed.
"I'll clear up for you, Hol." Natalie announced.
"I'll help." Remus declared a little too loudly and much too quickly for it to sound innocent.
As soon as Remus and Natalie reached the kitchen and Lily and Holly could hear the dishes being done, they positioned themselves so they could see through the window to the couple within.
"You know, Remus, I think I've actually lost my copy of Pride and Prejudice." Natalie mused while washing a plate and handing it to Remus to dry.
"Ah! Umm…about that – " Remus stuttered before Natalie cut him off.
"You have it. That's fine. Keep it. Consider it a gift from a shy admirer." Natalie said, blushing lightly.
"An admirer? Well, what I mean to say is, is thank you, Natalie." Remus replied as he turned his back to put the plate away. Remus turned back around swiftly as he heard Natalie angrily throw a fork into the sink.
"FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, REMUS! How long are we going to dance around this issue? I like you, Remus. Not just as a friend but also as in I want to kiss you stupid, rip your clothes off and have my wicked way with you every time I see you. I fell in love with you years ago and yet you have proved to be the single most unresponsive male in the world!" Natalie raged.
For a split second Remus looked shocked but then his features turned to that of determination and desire as he strode across the kitchen, pulled Natalie to him and kissed her so hard he had to hold her up.
It seemed to Holly that every time something good happened someone died. Natalie was shot down by the killing curse outside her house the next morning. She had been on her way to meet Remus for breakfast. It had only been mere weeks before Lily gave birth to little Harry, making the experience rather bittersweet for Remus. Holly couldn't help but think of poor little Harry. Living with Petunia and her family would be difficult for him. Sirius should be looking after him, but then Sirius hadn't exactly been role model material since Regulus had left. No. Died. Regulus was dead, and Holly must remember that. Gone, disappeared, left the world she was now stuck in and there was no use writing him a letter. Besides, how would it look if the girlfriend of the notorious Sirius Black, convicted murderer and sell out to Lily and James Potter, had a letter lying around addressed to a known Death Eater?
Sirius had started drinking and stopped coming home the day Regulus disappeared. He seemed to withdraw into himself. Holly had known then that something wasn't right. It had only increased after Lily and James went into hiding with Harry. He often frightened her when he did come home, he would fly into violent rages and more fire whiskey bottles had been smashed against the wall than she cared to count. Sirius had always been passionate enough to be violent but not once had he directed that towards Holly. She knew he would never, could never hurt her.
Then there was that night. The night to end all nights. She lost it all. Holly went to Remus' apartment to check he was okay after a bout of sickness and he had admitted the worst t Holly. The one thing that crushed her more than any other before then or since.
Holly sat in Remus' small kitchen sipping hot tea.
"He cheated on you, Holly." He had said so simply and honestly.
She could hardly believe her ears.
"It was only the once. He was drunk and some girl at some pub managed to get him into bed. He couldn't look at you. He couldn't go home for over a week. He felt, still feels guilty."
The last she saw of Sirius Black was a haunted, scared man who had grabbed her upon entering her darkened flat that night.
"Don't scream, Hol, it's me." Sirius had said hurriedly.
"I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU! YOU'RE A LIAR AND A CHEAT AND A –"
"Holly! Shut up! It's not so important right now! Lily and James are dead! Peter. It was always Peter! He was their secret keeper, Hol. I'm going after him and I won't be back. They'll arrest me for it all and I can't prove my innocence. You have to believe me, Hol. Please." He begged.
"I believe you. You might be a scoundrel but you wouldn't do that to James." She said before she kissed him for the last time.
The next day Holly found out that Sirius had been given life imprisonment in Azkaban without a trial.
A/N: As always, sorry it took so long to update. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter. R&R please.
Cheers!
SF.