Note: Slight warning ahead for some minor language in this chapter. Sirius has a bit of a trash mouth lol.
27
Funeral etiquette demanded that Sirius visit the family, attend the wake of William David Barreau to provide sympathy and demand for the loss of the child's life.
It was the least he could do. For Renee. But his feelings for the young blonde Muggle restaurant owner, however, were much more complicated, and Black found himself struggling to reign in…whatever his emotions were for her.
Sirius and Renee stood alongside Remus and Tonks and most of the Order, at least the members who had been present the night Barreau had fallen through his bloody ceiling, at the front of the private funeral.
Everyone's heads were down. Maybe it was the Order showing respect, dressed in Muggle attire to blend in, or maybe they were too afraid to look at what was coming, with the grim knowledge of just how that boy had died.
The coffin was pulled from the hearse by six strong men, all wearing suits. The silence dwelled as they entered the open grave and gently lowered it into the hole in the ground.
The coffin itself was dark stained cherry red and it was perfectly polished and immaculate. It seemed inviting. It was good at least, in a macabre kind of way, to know that Renee's kid brother was resting in what Sirius hoped was a comfortable place.
Sirius held Renee's shaky hand the entire time, against what she wanted, she kept trying to pull away. She wiped tears onto the long sleeve of her black lace dress and rested her head against her shoulder.
The poor thing kept it together until the minister passed around a Muggle photograph of her and her brother to everyone and that was when the memories came flooding back to Renee again.
Her brother's face seemed so alive and happy and Renee couldn't help but wonder what Billy looked like underneath that closed wooden box.
She stared blankly at it, hoping that one of these wizards would work their magic somehow, that a miracle would happen, and Billy would rise again and come back to the world, come back to Renee.
But nothing happened. Billy was dead. Gone. Renee cried as if the ferocity of it might bring Billy back; as if by the sheer force of her grief the news would be undone. He was her brother, her only sibling and he could not be gone.
Even from the top of the street curtains were twitching as neighbors craned to locate the source of the screaming sobs.
Both Sirius and Remus tried to hold her back, to calm her, even as his own tears fell thick and fast, his tears were for her, not the kid, but in her hysteria, she was too strong, too wild.
After whirling about, unable to look through her puffy eyes at the photograph a second longer, she tumbled out of the men's arms and onto the rain-kissed street.
Sirius watched her go, dissolved in the kind of despair that can take one's mind prisoner and never give it back. Once in the open, she sank down to her knees in the middle of the street, bathed in the headlamps of the cars now static before her. Ordinarily, the Muggles in this part of the city around here honk their horns in three seconds flat, but her wailing carried in that damp air, freezing them in place, helpless, just like Sirius, at a loss...
Sirius gnashed his teeth together in anger. He needed to protect Renee and Tonks from Everett's wrath, and Merlin help the man if he dared show his face here, he'd kill him where he stood. He would risk being sent to Azkaban Prison all over again if it meant he could permanently take the Morning Killer off the streets for good, this time.
It was only as he felt a figure nudge beside him, realizing it was Lupin as he watched his wife bolt towards Renee with a speed Sirius didn't even know Dora possessed, knelt on the ground and whispered something inaudible into the shell of the blonde's ear and after a few moments, rose with her, slung an arm over her shoulder and escorted her towards a nearby Muggle café, that he realized how a few hours ago must have seemed to Renee.
The emotional torment of knowing how he had hurt her seemed far worse than anything he could have possibly endured on his own.
Why had he kissed her and then just…left? He hated himself.
But Merlin, Renee must hate him by now.
He'd been a blind, bloody fool and did not deserve that girl in his life and had no idea what to fix it.
Sirius cringed as he caught Lupin staring at him quizzically out of the corner of his eye as they walked towards the River Thames, in the complete opposite direction of where Dora and Renee had gone.
Moony must have been able to sense his hesitation and initial reluctance to leave her alone with just his cousin for company, for Remus quickly spoke up in his quiet, reserved way.
"Dora will look after Renee, Sirius. Your…friend is in good hands," he muttered, looking away.
It did not escape Sirius's attention that Moony had placed a heavy 'emphasis' on the word 'friend,' and he could tell by the look in Remus's brown eyes, that he knew the bloody full truth of his feelings.
"I…I left her, Remus," he blurted out, inwardly cringing at the awkwardness of this whole damned sticky situation he'd gotten himself into. "I…we…I kissed her," Sirius confessed, shoving his fists into the pockets of his dark maroon coat, the gust of cold wind on this dreary Friday morning blowing his shoulder-length dark hair off his shoulders, and his bangs off of his forehead.
Lupin furrowed his brows in a quandary as the two men and friends walked alongside the sidewalk for a moment, wanting to put as much distance between themselves and the funeral as possible.
"I don't understand," he said at last. "If you truly care for Renee, then…why did you leave her?"
Sirius had been asking himself that same question for hours on end, wracking his brain and trying to come up with an answer, not able to do it.
The choice had seemed obvious at the time, but now it permeated his every thought.
There had been such an urgency to it at the time, that he hadn't wanted to take advantage of her that way. But now, he wished there was another way.
"Did she like it?" came the soft voice of Remus, warmer and kinder than it had been before with no hard edges to it.
It was cautious, however, which Sirius was quick to recognize, and he knew what his best mate was bloody thinking. It was in Moony's eyes.
He felt his cheeks flush in color.
"I don't know," Sirius grumbled darkly under his breath, but he immediately felt the sudden rise of a burning heat around his neck at the declaration of her name and felt the constraint of his collared shirt beneath his maroon velvet coat as he inappropriately thought of Renee's lips pressing fervently against his, her fingers almost clawing at his shirt, reaching for something indescribable, but that he himself had recognized.
"I—I mean…" Sirius quickly stammered, trying to correct himself, as he pointedly averted his gaze from Remus, wishing to rid his mind of the image. "I—I don't, that's none of your business, Moony!"
Ending his statement by raising his already hoarse voice at the very person he was seeking advice from was not perhaps the smartest choice he could have made, but he felt as though Remus were pushing him into a corner with no way out.
He was trying to make sense of all this in his mind, but he seemed to be going nowhere, fast.
Sirius furrowed his brows in a frown. He was beginning to regret his decision to come to Moony with his problems, but he had no one else to ask.
Moony was married with a kid, knew about these things now. It wasn't as if Remus lacked experience!
"I…after it happened, I—I didn't think, and I…I just left her standing there, like an idiot!" His voice turned rough and the words died upon his tongue, which wanted nothing more than to refuse their release, but his brain wouldn't let it.
Sirius felt his thoughts start to swirl faster in his mind, and he flinched at the look of dawning outrage and anger flitting across Remus's face.
"What?! Oh, Sirius, tell me you didn't," implored Remus, and Lupin's suspicions were only confirmed when Sirius averted his gaze and ducked his head in shame, turning away from him. "Merlin, Dora and I told you to talk with Renee, to confess your feelings, not to—to ravage her like some wild wolf! No wonder she could hardly speak to you today! So, Renee thinks you just left her and that's it?!"
Remus was looking at Sirius in such dismay as if the man hardly knew him at all now. Lupin stared at him accusingly. Even he would have been more tactful at making an exit, but he didn't have to.
"Th—that wasn't the plan!" Sirius shot back. "I—I had every intention of…talking to Renee…"
"Did you tell any of this at all to Miss Barreau?" Remus sighed, sounding exasperated as he pinched at the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "She's strong. She will understand."
"No," Sirius confessed, feeling more than utterly humiliated. "I—I couldn't. I was ashamed. Given my… history, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you and Dora would imagine I might stoop that low," he growled begrudgingly. "Anyway…none of it matters anymore, Remus."
"What? What do you mean?" Lupin demanded, alarm ridden in his usually quiet, polite, soft tone.
Sirius blearily lifted his chin to better meet his best mate's gaze. "I mean to send her away," he offered with a sadly sympathetic smile. "From me. She is not safe back at Headquarters. Near me…"
"But…why?" Remus demanded in a gruff-sounding voice that almost sounded…well, wolfish.
"I can't keep Barreau around anymore, Moony," barked Sirius, his impatience starting to seep through his voice as he tried desperately to make his best mate understand his perspective of this. "I don't…trust myself, and you know as well as I do no good can possibly come of having her around. She's in danger, and I promised her I'd take care of Everett. Alone," he emphasized through gritted teeth. "It's what she wants. Do you understand?"
As Sirius thought of what to say next, Black quickly realized he'd lost his train of thought, then. Of course, he bloody didn't want Barreau to leave the otherwise safety of his home, to leave his side, not with a madman like Everett on the loose, but nor did he trust himself to not be able to control his urges.
"What are you going to do about Renee?" asked Remus softly, his shoulders slumping forward in defeat, recognizing the note of finality in Sirius's voice that almost was bordering on indifference.
Sirius, almost sanguinely, lifted his head and turned towards his best friend with almost a furtive, guilty expression on his handsome face.
"She cannot return home to her flat. He'll be expecting it and it's too dangerous for her. He'll find her unless I can get to him first. For all I know, he's already here," he growled angrily. "I was hoping she could go with you."
Lupin parted his lips open slightly to speak, though before he could so much as utter the first syllable, a rough, hoarse voice coming from directly behind Sirius rendered both young men frozen solid.
"You'd be right in that regard, Black," whisper-hissed the Morning Killer into the shell of his ear.
The autumn in early October settled over London with gentle ease, bringing with it the changing of the leaves of the trees in brilliant hues of reds, browns, and oranges.
Everett loved this type of weather. It invigorated him, brought new life to his wretched soul, taking away the hot, heady heat of summer and bringing with it crisp fresh air and new life.
Admittedly, the weather was not the only thing he was enjoying, as the wretched werewolf across the sidewalk was eyeballing him with an abject look of horror on his face and found himself disarmed of his wand before he could even it raise it to his chest.
Everett lazily caught the wolf's wand in his hand and held his wand to the column of Black's throat and held Remus Lupin's wand out in front of him, aimed directly at his head, the moment he caught the wolf taking a cautious step forward to advance upon his position.
"I don't think so. Not one more step, wolf," he snarled angrily. The fingers of his wand hand itched and gave a painful spasm, almost teeming with anticipation at what was to come next.
Everett couldn't wait to get his hands on the little blonde Muggle girl that had made his life a confusing torpid whirl of frustration ever since she had given him that cup of water in the lobby. Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin was currently the only obstacle standing in his way of getting what he wanted, but he'd soon take care of the witch.
He'd take care of all of them, and then, it was just him and Renee Elizabeth Barreau, yes.
Everett couldn't wait to get his hands around the Tonks woman's throat before plunging his own two bare hands into her chest and taking her heart.
It would be a fitting end to the one who had so coldly given his own son a death sentence.
Bloody, violent deaths the Muggle way was always his favorite. He was growing increasingly frustrated and impatient to take the blonde bitch for himself, and more than anxious to get this little farce over with, not sure how much longer he could wait.
He supposed it was a good thing he'd attended the wake for the kid in secret, then…
"Tell me, Sirius," Everett heard himself whisper into Sirius Black's ear, his ironclad grip around the man's waist tightening, preventing his escape or Disapparating. "How's your precious home's security situation these days? I'd hate for anything to happen to your new little plaything, Black. I heard about how you just…up and left the poor girl alone, how absolutely atrocious of you. Seriously, Sirius?" he taunted, wishing he had more time to savor the look of abject horror and shock in the man's narrowing pale grey orbs, and the werewolf's as well, whose already peaky face had paled a shade further and turned an interesting green hue.
Sirius Black's eyes blazed with a wave of intense anger as he dipped into the pocket of his maroon jacket for his wand, though Everett's arm shot out with lightning speed, trapping the man's wrist, and pinning his arm violently behind his back, twisting it.
"You—you bastard! You—son of a bitch!" Black shouted, fighting almost tooth and nail to get free, though his efforts were in vain.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Black. Lupin," he added almost as an afterthought, still keeping his voice calm and collected, in spite of the growing anger welling as a hot-fire seed of rage in his chest.
"This—this isn't the way. We can help you. Just…let Sirius go, let us help you, and no one else needs to get hurt," the accursed wretch of a werewolf called out in a cautious, calm voice that infuriated Everett to no end.
The sickeningly prideful way Lupin was behaving almost made him kill him there on the spot, but he had no quarrel with the dog, only her.
Everett was grateful the hood of his thick black woolen robes concealed most of the features of his face, so neither man would see how flushed and red his face was becoming, and he practically growled with the effort to restrain himself from killing both wizards in the middle of broad daylight.
A flaring, white-hot rage temporarily blinded the edges of his vision as fleeting images of his wife and son flooded his tormented mind before that bitch had arrested his son. Before his sweet, lovely Helen had died…
"My family deserved better. Tell me why yours still draws breath, when mine is dead?" Everett hissed, clenching his fists, and digging the tip of his wand even further into the column of Sirius's throat.
Everett squeezed his eyes shut, willing the worst of his temper to quell.
The time was almost upon him to act.
He needed to wait, and could not afford to lose control prematurely, or else…or else… He didn't like to think about it.
This time, he really did let out a growl of frustration and bared his teeth, the edges of his lips curling upward to reveal his pink gums.
"That bitch as good as killed my son!" he shouted, not even caring if the Muggle passerby shot them all fearful, questioning looks.
If they were smart, they'd stay the hell away. He stifled another growl that threatened to escape at the back of his throat as his fingers twitched. Everett had just about reached his limit. His entire body convulsed with the effort not to kill.
"My wife had nothing to do with your family," Remus Lupin snapped, his peaky appearance becoming almost pallid, and he swayed a moment. For a second, it almost looked like he was going to faint, but the younger man quickly composed himself and stood up straight to his full height, determination, and resolve etched upon his face.
Stupid. A brave wizard, but stupid. He's probably a Gryffindor, Everett thought darkly.
"Watch what you say around me," growled Everett, removing his wand and lowering it, so now the tip was digging squarely into Black's broad chest. Black ceased his struggling and became still. Everett quickly shot a glance to the left and right. No other witnesses around that he could see.
Good. He needed to wrap this up quickly.
"I'd think very carefully about your next steps, Black. You too, Lupin," he added, almost as an afterthought. "I'm taking Barreau, and we're going away today. If you come after us, the bitch dies, and you're not going to like how I do it."
Remus's face rapidly paled.
He was talking about Tonks, he could see it in the counselor's eyes. He swallowed down thickly past the lump in his throat and dared to take a cautious half-step forward, his hands raised in a show of surrender.
But when he managed to regain control of his voice, though it shook, it was calm and laced with just a slight tinge of rage that Everett thought admirable in the wretched werewolf, though he would never dare admit to anyone, especially him.
"If you step one foot inside our house, Everett, you're mine. I don't care how it happens, I will do what is necessary to protect my family. You're threatening my family and I will not tolerate it," he said, his light brown eyes flashing with rage and his tone cold and calculating. "If you so much as set one foot inside, if you do anything to cause harm to that Muggle girl or to my wife and son, I won't hesitate to kill you where you stand. Do I make myself clear?"
Satisfied for now, Everett sheathed his wand and pulled his hood tighter around his face.
He laughed cruelly at seeing the rage in the werewolf's eyes as he relinquished his grip on Sirius Black and shoved the dark-haired man forward so violently that the younger wizard almost tripped, and likely would have, had Remus Lupin not shot out an arm to catch his fall at the last second.
"I look forward to killing you both, Mr. Lupin, I'll try not to make too much of a mess," he said, grinning wickedly and leaving the shaken men alone to ponder his words.
He sincerely hoped he'd get the chance to duel him later.
Everett, without another word, stalked towards the Muggle café, his hands shaking.
It was time to bring Renee Barreau home.