Hello again! Welcome back to another chapter of Of Blackest Hearts, as we go through Sirius's past once more. Since you would have had to go though the first two chapters to get here, thanks for sticking with it. It means a lot to me. Enjoy!
Chapter 3
Sirius revved the bike, trying to coax it to go faster through the dark sky. They could already be under attack by Lord Voldemort. He had to hurry. Their lives could depend on it. Sirius knew he wasn't powerful enough to stand against Voldemort alone, but that didn't mean he couldn't make a difference. He had to get there as soon as possible.
Damn that rat. Damn him! Sirius hoped to God he was wrong, that Peter had just stepped out or something. But that feeling in his gut, he couldn't get rid of it. Somehow he knew that Peter had betrayed them. That sniveling coward... After all the times that he and James had stood up for him, and this was how he thanked them? Bloody traitor!
Peter had always followed them around, always tried to catch some of the greatness that they left in their wake. He had always been their biggest fan. He had been obsessed with Sirius and James, two of the most mischievous students to ever pass through Hogwarts. They had included the small, fretful boy along with Remus into their schemes out of pity. Sirius still didn't know to this day if Peter had ever had friends beyond those three.
But now he's forsaken us, Sirius thought. Forsaken us for a new Master. If Voldemort kills that piece of vermin it would be exactly what was coming to him. Who does this sort of thing? It's horrible, betraying the only ones who care about you. There will be a special place reserved for Wormtail in hell.
Why did he ever trust him? Sirius should have known better. After all the times Peter tried to get out of trouble when we were caught pulling pranks as kids it should have been obvious. He was always too paranoid, too prone to giving in to fear. Peter was too willing to lay down his friends if it meant not being on the losing side. Peter was always a survivalist, always playing the part of the Rat. Sirius could too easily see Peter stealing away in the middle of the night to go to Voldemort and tell He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named every scrumptious little detail about how to kill the Potters. Peter probably hadn't even been torn on his decision. As soon as they had made him Keeper, as soon as they had put him in that position to betray him at the maximum gain, he had been planning this, Sirius was willing to bet. Wormtail had been a little too enthusiastic to take the job, Sirius remembered. Perhaps he had been planning to betray them for a while. It wouldn't surprise him. Voldemort has been getting more powerful for months, and Peter always knew who the highest bidder happened to be. Betrayal was natural to a rat.
But Sirius couldn't put all the blame on Peter. Sirius was the one who had caused all of this. He had given Peter the power to do this, the opportunity to give Voldemort the win. That had been Sirius. It may have been unintentional, but he was guilty as well. He could only hope that he was wrong. That James and his family were safe. That he had jumped to conclusions. That this Halloween night would end happy.
As he finally flew over Godric's Hollow he knew that he was right. Too right for his own good. He could see a great flame in the town, a bright light against the dark night. He knew exactly what was on fire, exactly where that flame was, but he still refused to believe it. It couldn't be true.
He landed his bike in a nearby park. Thankfully it was empty. All of the Muggles were too busy with the nearby fire to notice his arrival and the few present wizards were writing letters, owls at the ready. It wouldn't take long for news to get out.
Whatever Voldemort had done, it had been quite powerful. The Fidelius charm had been broken, allowing everyone to see the destruction, even Muggles. Their fire people, whatever they were called, were busy trying to douse the fire while the Muggle police tried to keep people away.
Sirius hoped to God that James, Lily, and Harry were alright. He knew that Voldemort was powerful beyond belief, but the Potters were quite skilled themselves. It wouldn't have been out of the question that they had escaped. He could only hope.
The house itself was in horrifyingly bad shape. It looked like a large bomb had gone off. The house was broken into pieces, and those pieces were all on fire. Why would Voldemort have ever needed to resort to this? Was the Killing Curse not enough for the Dark Lord now? This was beyond overkill. He had destroyed everything. The living room, where Sirius had sat for tea many times, was completely gone. Just gone, nothing left. And the kitchen was just an unrecoverable wreckage. James and Lily's room had survived best. There was a dark blob that might have been a bed once, and the dresser was unusable but still recognizable. But Harry's room was... Oh no...
There was a crater. Literally a crater. There was a dark shape at the middle of it, but besides that everything was gone. It was all bloody gone. Why would Voldemort have needed to do this? It was beyond evil. Why?
Someone tapped on Sirius's shoulder. Sirius turned to see Dedalus Diggle, another wizard there.
"Sirius." The man said. "Y-youre here." He was a young man, a few years younger than Sirius, small and wiry. Dedalus was one of the more peaceful members of the Order of the Phoenix, who was happier to spend time practicing charms rather Voldemort and what he stood for. But he wasn't a fighter in any way. Sirius didn't blame him, as he himself had seen what horrors fighting could cause.
"Dedalus." Sirius said softly. "Its good to see a familiar face."
Dedalus glanced at the ground uncomfortably. "Sirius. Im sorry, but you should see this. He was you're friend." He pointed to something on the ground, by where the front door once was. Sirius stepped closer. He couldn't quite make out what it was in this darkness. It almost looked like...
No. Dear God, no. Sirius's worst fears had been confirmed. It was a body. The body of a man that Sirius knew, a man that Sirius had loved, admired and respected, had been through everything with, had been brothers in all but name with. His best friend, James Potter, stared lifelessly into the smoke filled sky.
It didn't hurt how Sirius expected it to. He didn't explode in anger and pain, fall weeping over his friend's body. The grief wasn't sudden, wasn't a burst of pain and confusion. It was gradual, as the knowledge that Prongs would cause mischief no more slowly sank in. It got worse and worse, growing exponentially painful as the seconds ticked by. But still he gave no reaction. Sirius didn't know why he was taking his friend's death so calmly. Was it because he had really known for hours that he would find this? Why? Did it make him a bad person?
Sirius crouched down next to James and closed his best friend's eyes. He didn't know why he did it, besides that it seemed the right thing to do.
"I'm sorry, James." He said quietly. "I failed you in the end. It's as much my fault as Peter's that this happened." Sirius knew he would have to live with that painful, painful truth for as long as he lived. If James and Lily hadn't put their trust in him, they would still be alive. If they had listened to Dumbledore instead, and made him their Secret Keeper, it would never had reached Voldemort's ears. This was on Sirius. They had entrusted him with their most precious secret and he had told it to the very person who would sell them out to the devil. And now as a result they had paid the ultimate price, and now he was alone and broken. He had gotten exactly what he deserved.
"Sirius!" Dedalus Diggle yelped. "Look!"
Sirius turned his gaze to where the wizard was pointing. Among the smoke of what remained of the Potter household, the large shape Sirius had seen before in the crater had moved. It stood, now much taller than a human and far wider. It walked slowly out of the crater, almost lumbering like a zombie. Sirius's first thought was that it was some trick of Lord Voldemort's. Perhaps it even was the Dark Lord himself. He drew his wand, ready to defend himself and those around him if needed. He may have let down James and Lily, but if whatever that was wanted to hurt these people, it would have to kill him first.
The titanic figure moved closer, lumbering one giant step after another. By now the Muggle police had noticed and were trying to figure out what it was.
"What in the bloody blazes is that thing?" Dedalus asked frightfully. He too had his wand out, but Sirius knew he wasn't that skilled at combat. Dedalus was a peaceful soul, and likely wouldn't be that much help if it came to a fight. Having Dumbledore, or Mad-Eye maybe, would have been a lot better. Or James, Sirius realized sadly. He glanced over at his friend's body. James looked so small in death. He had always been so animated, so full of life. Just laying there didn't suit him. It wasn't the James that Sirius knew.
As the figure got closer, it began to look more familiar. He had seen this before, definitely, but he couldn't quite place where. This giant was so familiar, but from where? Sirius suddenly realized what it was.
"Dedalus." Sirius breathed. "It's okay, you can put your wand down."
Dedalus Diggle gave him a queer look. "Why would I put my wand down? That thing might want to kill me!"
"No, he won't." Sirius answered. "It's Hagrid. Just Hagrid."
"Hagrid? What in the blazes was he doing in there?"
"I don't know." Sirius said, putting his wand away. "Let's ask him."
Hagrid was hard to recognize at first, or at least as hard as it was to mistake a man as large as him. Hagrid's face was covered in soot and his clothes, hair, and beard had all been burned at spots. But despite this Hagrid had a sad smile on his face, and even tears in his eyes.
How could he be smiling? Sirius was about to grow angry when he realized that Hagrid was holding something. It didn't take Sirius long to figure out just what it was.
"Harry." He muttered. He couldn't believe it. Somehow Harry Potter, a helpless baby, had survived facing arguably the most powerful wizard in the world. It was impossible, yet there he was. The proof was in Hagrid's enormous arms.
Hagrid pushed his way past the police that tried to stop him. They were powerless to stop him as he kept walking. He spotted Sirius and Dedalus Diggle and walked over to them.
"Hagrid... What happened?" Sirius asked.
"I dunno too well meself, ter be hones'. Dumbledore told me ter come see abou' gettin' Harry here. Told me he would be here, he did, even after all tha' happen't. Found all o' this, jus burnin' away. A shame it is. A shame."
"Dumbledore sent you?" Sirius asked, surprised. How had he known? "He knows about this already?" He knew James and Lily were dead. He knew Harry had survived. How could he have possibly known that already? How could he have known soon enough to send Hagrid? How?
But these were questions to be left for another time. For now what mattered was Harry. His godson's eyes wandered around, intrigued by the strange people and bright lights around him.
"Give him to me, Hagrid." Sirius said, holding his arms out to take the boy.
But to his surprise Hagrid did nothing. "I'm 'fraid I can' do tha', Sirius. Dumbledore has it covered. Harry is goin' ter-"
"No." Sirius said firmly. "He's coming with me. I'm his godfather." He had already let down James, but he refused to let down Harry. He would take care of his godson, no matter what.
"I know yer his godfather, Sirius." Hagrid pleaded. "But Dumbledore told me ter-"
Sirius interrupted him angrily. "I don't care what Dumbledore said! Harry is my responsibility and he is coming with me!"
"Sirius..." Dedalus cautioned, but neither Sirius nor Hagrid were listening.
"I understand, Sirius! I do! But I can' jus' hand him over ter ya, Dumbledore said-"
"NO" Sirius roared. "I AM HIS GODFATHER!"
"SIRIUS! STOP THIS NOW!" Dedalus shouted at him. Dedalus grabbed Sirius's wrist. Sirius glanced down to see his wand in his hand, pointed at Hagrid.
What had come over him?
"I- I'm so sorry, Hagrid." Sirius said, dropping his wand. He couldn't believe himself. He had been about to attack Hagrid, who had been his friend for years now. He didn't feel well. Perhaps it would be better if he wasn't looking after Harry. At least not yet. "I didn't mean to point- and at you- I'm so sorry."
"I don' blame ya." Hagrid said, relief evident on his face. "After losin' James an' Lily, you have a righ' ter be a bit protective. Still, no need ter blas' me. Imma jus' tryin' ter help."
"Where is Dumbledore sending him to?" Sirius asked quietly.
"Ter the Dursleys. Lily's family." Hagrid didn't sound too happy about this decision, something that Sirius agreed with.
"He's to stay with Muggles?" Sirius asked, disgusted. "Why would Dumbledore think Harry would be safe there? I'm sure plenty of You-Know-Who's followers would like to finish the job, and Muggles aren't going to protect him!"
Hagrid shrugged. "I'm sure Dumbledore has his reasons." The large man sighed. "I'd love ter chat summore, but Dumbledore wants me ter git 'im over there real quick like. Imma have ter go."
"How are you getting there?" Dedalus asked.
"Not too sure meself, ter tell ya the truth." Hagrid admitted. "Imma have ter take Muggle ways. Train, perhaps."
"No." Sirius said softly. "You can take my bike."
Hagrid was surprised. "Yer- yer bike? But ya love tha' thing!"
"I know. And I want you to take it. Get Harry to the Dursleys safe and sound." Sirius picked up his wand and put it away. "You can keep it." Yes, this was what Sirius wanted. Even if Dumbledore would have these Dursleys take care of Harry instead Sirius could still help this way. The bike was capable of carrying Hagrid and Sirius knew that it was in good hands.
Hagrid balked at that. "No! It's yer bike!"
"It's yours now. It's sitting over in that park." Sirius pointed.
"Ya- ya sure?" Hagrid asked.
"Yes." Sirius said solemnly. "I won't need it anymore. And I'm sorry to leave you alone on a night like this Dedalus, but I'm afraid I will have to leave as well. I have a job to do."
"A job?" Dedalus asked, confused. "What job?"
"I have a rat to kill." Sirius said darkly before Disapparating.
Well, it happened. James and Lily are⦠dead. (takes minute to cry softly) I had to go through a surprising amount of research to put this particular chapter together, especially Hagrid's speech patterns. Getting that together was a pain in the ass. But it was worth it. I like how this turned out. I hope you did too. Well, soon Sirius will be hunting down Peter Pettigrew to avenge James and Lily, and im sure you all remember how that will turn out. See you next time! And until then, don't forget to turn to the dark side (we have cookies!)
