Team
Falmouth Falcons
Position
Chaser 1
Main Prompt
The number 4
Optional Prompts
[word] Essential
[setting] Malfoy Manor
[word] Absence
Word Count
1,401
Note: Remus is moons
They had only been boys then, little more than children, how could they have possibly known about the events set into motion on that day.
They had thought that it was all just fun and games when they made the map in their 5th year, but what they didn't realize then was that by signing their names the four friends had forever bound together their futures. When Peter betrayed them however the lines of fate were cut short and a curse was born, none of those involved were destined to have a pleasant life.
October 31, 1981
James wasn't sure of when he first knew that something had happened but he wished that he had acted sooner. From the moment the man burst into the house everything seemed to be going in slow motion, his wife was only halfway up the stairs and he told her to run before trying to follow.
But it was all for nothing. He knew that as soon as he saw the flash of green against the wall. In the end, he couldn't save anyone at all.
It wasn't as painful as James would have thought, death, even in a manner such as this. The worst part, he thought as his consciousness grew dark, was dying first.
A moment later he swore that he could feel a breeze and opened his eyes to find himself standing in the field where he and his friends had spent the better part of their teenage years. He saw a small golden object hovering just a few feet away and reached for it, smiling as he held the snitch tightly between his thumb and forefinger.
June 18, 1996
Sirius was out of practice. Twelve years in Azkaban had all but destroyed his body and the way he had been living since escaping didn't help much, but he still tried his best to be strong, he had too, if only for the sake of he boy.
When he faced off against his cousin, Sirius felt a twinge of latent childhood fear but there was also a feeling of excitement at the chance to finally fight back. There was a sort of giddy anger behind each spell that he cast, and in that moment it was almost as if nothing else existed around them.
When the spell knocked him off his feet Sirius knew that it hadn't been the killing curse but then why was his gut telling him that something was wrong. He looked away from Bellatrix and saw Harry trying to reach for him, why did he seem so scared?
He met Remus' eyes as he held back the boy, why did he look so hurt and sad? They were going to be alright, the fight wasn't over yet. Sirius opened his mouth to tell him this but no words came out and his eyes grew wide as he felt something tugging at him, he wanted to reach for them but his body was failing him as he was pulled further into the void, the world outside starting to fade.
The last thing he saw before his mind went black were the faces of the two people he cared about the most as they watched the closest thing they had to a family vanish behind the veil.
Sirius soon found himself standing behind James in the field and grinned as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
James turned his head and smiled in return. "I was wondering when you would get here, how long has it been?"
"Too long, old friend."
March 1998
As Peter felt his airway being crushed, his vision blurred but he was still vaguely aware of the boys' futile attempts to help him. 'But why?' He thought to himself. 'After I got James and Lily killed, after everything I've done to you, why do you still try to save me?'
He remembered when James had saved Snape from certain death all those years ago. 'You really are his son, but it's too late for me.' He managed one ragged and painful breath before the hand tightened its grip. 'Then this is where I am to die, in the dungeons beneath the manor like a coward.'
With his death looming ever nearer, Peter finally began to understand the curse that had taken ahold of them. All 4 of them had lived cursed lives but Peter, the betrayer, was the only one doomed to be cursed in death as well.
When the pain finally stopped, Peter also found himself in the field, but upon trying to approach his former friends, he never got any closer, no matter how many steps he took. He tried calling to them but no sound came out.
'So this is to be my punishment? Watching them from a distance but never being able to interact? The fates truly are cruel.' He thought as he looked to the sky.
May 2, 1998
The fight had been going on for far too long and Remus knew it. He needed to move on, needed to help the others. As he started to push harder, he didn't see the green spell beginning to break through his shield, the web like cracks creeping towards the edges, and then his eyes grew wide as it shattered. For the briefest of instances he met the gaze of the man he now knew to be his killer, and Dolohov was laughing as he reveled in his triumph.
Time seemed to slow as the spell hit his chest, taking his breath away and making him fly backwards. 'Why now?' He thought as he turned his gaze skyward. After so many years of pain and inescapable torture why did he have to die now? Just as he was finally learning to be happy again, finally moving on...
His mind flitted back to that night just before his 5th birthday, the one that had changed the course of his life. Since that day, the wolf had been hiding in the darkest shadows of his mind, just on the edge of his consciousness, spewing pure hatred. There were so many times in the past when he would have done anything to rid himself of that monster and now it was finally gone, but at what cost.
He thought he heard his wife scream and a tear rolled down his cheek as he came back to the present. His body was going numb, he couldn't get to her, couldn't protect her. It was too late now, he had only one job as a husband and he had failed.
As his vision began to fade he thought of his wife, his friends, his parents. Everyone who had ever been there for him was dead and now he would join him too, but despite everything he had been through, he wasn't ready to die.
With thoughts of his family in his mind, the world around him disappeared as he hit the ground, and for the first time in any living persons memory, he seemed to be truly at peace.
As Remus finally joined his friends, James looked over at him and grinned. "What the hell happened, Moons? You got so old."
Remus looked down at his hands and just had to let out a laugh. "I guess I did, living a life twice cursed certainly takes its toll." He told him, though his hair was already starting to darken as the lines on his face faded.
James looked down at the snitch as it flapped furiously and let it go as all of them watched it fly away. Once it had vanished, he grinned at his friends and draped an arm around each of their necks. "C'mon, Let's go see where the next adventure will take us!" He told them before starting to walk towards the old whomping willow.
To this day you can still hear the laughter and voices, carried by the wind, of 4 teenage friends who, even in the absence of physical bodies, never quite left the school where their journey began.
"Is it really finished?"
"Yup, just have to add one more essential thing."
"Let me see! Let me see!"
"Calm down, I'm done, I'm done."
"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present the Marauders Map."
"Bloody brilliant!"
"But does it actually work?"
"Only one way to find out."
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."