"Mamamama." Harry babbled sleepily.
"Yes, that's right." Lily replied, placing him in his crib with a kiss and spinning the mobile of Golden Snitches before going back downstairs where James was pacing.
"Is he asleep?" he asked, ruffling the pages of the Daily Prophet he held.
"Only just." She said. "Don't pace, James, you'll drive yourself crazy."
"Can't help it, Lil." He muttered. "I'm tense and nervous and I've been cooped up too long."
"It's only been two weeks." She replied, touching his shoulder and easing him down to the couch. "It's bound to be over soon."
"It's been so long since he's been in power, Lily." James said with a pained look on his face. "What makes you think it will end just like that?"
"Peter's in hiding. No one's going to suspect him." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Sirius is going to see him tonight and-"
She stopped as something in the house broke with a dry wooden crack and slow echoing footsteps sounded in the silence before that silence was broken by a small baby's wail.
"It's him." James muttered, feeling an incredible wave of panic, fright, and terrible hatred overcome him. Lily paled and began to shake. James' voice rose to a shout.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"
Without thinking, Lily dashed up the stairs and into Harry's room. He lay in his crib, wailing from being woken up suddenly. There was a crash downstairs and James shouted, "Lily, go!" Then a horrid scream, and - nothing. At once Lily knew what had happened. A dry sob caught in her throat as she picked up the crying child.
"Shhh, baby, its okay, it'll all be over soon." Lily was next to the window in a matter of seconds, Harry pressed to her bosom to stifle his cries. She raised a hand to open the window when the bedroom door behind her crashed open. Lily whirled around, and framed in the door was Voldemort.
"No!" she cried. "Don't take my baby! Not Harry, not Harry, please, not Harry!" There were desperate tears running down her face now.
"Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside now..."
Lily put Harry down in his cradle and stood in front of it, a crazy idea running through her head.
"Not Harry, please no, take me instead, kill me instead-"
"I don't want your life, you stupid girl. You are of no value to me, no real threat. I have to kill the boy, now stand aside and let me kill the child!"
"No, not Harry! Please, not Harry!"
If it were possible, Voldemort actually sighed. "You leave me no choice, girl." And with a cry and a flash of green light, Lily was on the floor.
"It's just you and me now, boy. Little Harry. You're just a child, how can you possibly be my downfall? But the prophecy reads true, and the Fates don't lie... goodbye, little Harry Potter. Its too bad the world will never know what you've done for me."
One last flash of green light, and he was gone...
* * *
Sirius arrived at Peter's flat at ten o'clock on the nose and knocked once on the door. He was afraid he would be late - he had spent every evening at the bar since he left Annie, not drinking, just sitting. Then he'd return to Remus and Rhia's, partly because he had nowhere else to go, but partly because he wanted to keep his eye on Remus.
Sirius knocked again on the door, panic starting to rise. Why wasn't he answering? After a third knock, Sirius took out his wand. "Alohomora," he whispered, and pushed the door open.
There was no sign of a break-in, no mess on the floor, no clues to indicate a struggle. But Peter was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't have just left, he was forbidden to leave! But then, that would mean...
"Oh god," Sirius whispered.
It hadn't been Remus, nor Rhia! It had been Peter all the time! Dim-witted, slow, innocent little Peter! Innocent no longer, Sirius thought, feeling his fists clench up in anger. And they hadn't told anyone! Everyone would think he had betrayed them, that he had been the spy...
But maybe there was still time! Sirius ran outside at breakneck speed, throwing himself on his bike and revving it up, flying off into the night sky.
C'mon! FASTER! He ordered it, rising above the clouds, gaining speed. It took some time to fly to Godric's Hollow, and as he arrived, the full moon was climbing the hills and a wolf bayed lowly as it's pearly shine glistened over everything.
Please, let everything be all right. Let Peter just have gone out for a bit, Sirius prayed, throwing his bike to the floor and running up the path through the trees to James and Lily's front door.
Only...there wasn't a door. There was a pile of rubble.
"NO!" Sirius shouted, staring at the giant jumble of stones and dirt. Like a complete maniac trying to force his way out of a quarry, he threw aside bricks and pieces of destroyed furniture, looking for something, anything that would tell him if James...Lily...Harry was alive. He pulled a chair cushion up from the rubble and gasped at what he saw.
A small, white hand wearing a simple golden ring around the second to last finger.
"Lily...no!" He shouted, tearing at the debris on top of her until she was completely removed. When she was brought completely into sight, he froze. She looked just like the red-haired young woman he had watched the other day, as in sleep, like she had done so many times, with little Harry in her arms or on James's shoulder...
James! Perhaps he had gotten away!
He looked about, removing a piece of garbage every second, staring about for his bespectacled, untidy-haired best friend.
"Prongs..." Sirius whispered as the moon rose ever higher over the hill, shining down on a horrible sight. James lay not far from his wife, his eyes wide open and his mouth set in a determined way. He knelt next to the body, cradling his dead best friend in his arms. Most of Voldemort's victims died with looks of fright on their faces, but James- oh, brave, fearless Prongs!- had gone down with a look that was not afraid. A look that was proud to die in his family's place...not knowing what was to become of them.
Sirius picked James's cold, stiff body up from the ground and laid it beside Lily's, touching their hands together. Together forever, just like they said, Sirius remembered bitterly. Unlike James, Lily's face was one of horror, her eyes clamped shut and her mouth open in a silent scream that Sirius could hear in the back of his mind. He turned away, trying to drown out the noise, but it remained.
Wait...that isn't a scream...
Sirius turned around, his eyes wide as he began digging around in the wreckage, searching for little Harry's body.
"I've got 'im, Sirius."
Sirius flinched at the noise. Hagrid stood amidst the ruins, holding a small bundle of blue blankets in his arms.
"Hagrid, is he...alive?" Sirius asked, stepping carefully around his dead friends' bodies.
"Yeah, but jus' barely." Hagrid replied, sopping up some blood from Harry's forehead with a handkerchief.
"What happened?" Hagrid glanced around sadly at the remains of the house.
"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's gone." He whispered. "Seems when he tried to kill all of 'em, little Harry got the best o' 'im. He's gone, at least for a while, I reckon."
Hagrid clapped a huge hand on Sirius's shoulder.
"They died a hero's death, Sirius." Hagrid mumbled, tears dripping into his coarse beard. "They'll be remembered by all o' wizard kind."
"Give Harry to me, Hagrid." Sirius held out his arms, noticing he was shaking like mad. "I'm his godfather, I'll look after him."
"Dumbledore's given me 'spress order to take Harry to his aunt an' uncle's in Surrey as of t'morrow." Hagrid said, guarding the small child with a protective hand. Sirius glanced over at the boy. He looked exactly like James when he was asleep; the same forehead, nose, chin, everything. It was his eyes that gave him away. Lily's romantic, emerald eyes.
Peter... Sirius thought, his mind burning with incredible hatred he had never felt before. It had been Peter! Peter had been working for Voldemort this entire time, not Remus! Oh, if only he had trusted Moony and insisted on HIM being the Secret Keeper! But Peter...
Oh, Peter will pay.
"Then...then take my bike." Sirius reached into his pocket and held out the keys. "I won't be needing it anymore."
Hagrid gave him a confused look, but took the keys.
"Are yeh sure?" he asked uncertainly. This bike had been Sirius Black's pride and joy for almost five years. He wouldn't dare give it up without a fight, would he?
"Go." Sirius ordered, reaching out to touch Harry's warm cheek lovingly. The poor little orphaned thing, he thought, his melancholy tears sliding unchecked down his own face. Hagrid gave him a sympathetic look and nodded, clambering onto Sirius's motorcycle and flying off into the night sky with Harry in his arms.
Sirius brushed aside the last of his tears and pushed up his sleeves, his hands clenching and unclenching, readying themselves to pull Peter apart piece by piece. But there was still one thing to do. He had to explain. He wouldn't kill Peter without her knowing the truth first.
It didn't take long to run to the nearby village after he had transformed into a dog, and it took an even shorter amount of time to find the small wizarding pub there once he had transformed back. No one asked any questions as he slammed a coin on the counter then took a fistful of Floo Powder from a jar atop the large fireplace, whirling amidst the green flames until he landed at his wanted destination, Blackwood Flats, Number 4B.
"Annie?" he called out, praying she would be home.
No answer. He opened a few doors and looked around. The lights were all off, and no one was to be seen. Sirius let out a forced sigh to keep himself from crying out. He collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. How could this have happened? How could James and Lily be... be... he couldn't even fathom the thought yet. He needed Annie right now. The entire plan was gone, so what was the point in being away from her anymore?
Annie... she wasn't home for him to explain it to. She wouldn't know it wasn't him! The only ones alive who could testify his innocence was himself and Peter... and Peter's word wasn't exactly trustworthy anymore. How could he prove to the world, to Annie, that he was innocent? Unless..... unless he could catch Peter! If he could catch him, they could get the truth out of him, and Sirius would be okay, Annie would understand... everything would be okay again!
Sirius sobbed. Not everything.
So he was off to risk his life for James, again. I guess some things never change, he thought. But if something happened, if he didn't come back... Peter was, after all, working for Voldemort. He needed Annie to know the truth. Jumping up, Sirius rummaged through the drawers until he came upon a spare quill and a piece of parchment.
Dear Annie...
* * *
"Rhia, I'm home!" Remus said, opening the door and tossing his cloak on the couch. He heard a small grunt from the study. Smiling, he walked in and saw Rhia sitting with her back to him, pouring over a large dusty tome. He wrapped her arms around her and kissed her neck. "Hello sweetheart. What are you reading?"
"A book," she replied distractedly.
Remus laughed. "I figured as much. What about?" Rhia finally looked up at him with a nervous smile.
"Oh, just a little project." Remus just shook his head and walked into the kitchen. Rhia looked back at the book, and pulled some photos out from underneath it. They were pictures Dumbledore had gotten for her of the carvings the little psychic girl had made a while back. She had almost figured out the prophecy. By now, she knew it had something to do with her and her friends. It was just figuring out the captions, especially Harry's. "The Boy Who Lived" She didn't understand...
Suddenly a searing pain ran across her chest. It felt as if she could barely breathe. Doubled over, Rhia let out a cry of pain. What was going on?
"Rhia? Are you okay?" Remus asked, running into the study. When he saw Rhia, he slid to his knees next to her. "Honey, what's wrong?"
"I... I don't know... I think... it feels like the world is falling apart..." Little did Rhia know, the world was falling apart. Hers, at least...
~*~
A loud banging at the door startled both Remus and Rhia from sleep early the next morning. As Rhia pulled on her wrapper, Remus opened their bedroom door to find-
"Annie?" he mumbled sleepily. "What are you doing here? It's six in the morning."
"I just got home from work an hour ago pulling the late shift." She said quickly, surprisingly awake for that time of day. "And found this on the table."
"What is it?" Rhia asked, leading them all into the living room.
"I'm not sure." Annie replied. "It's the strangest letter from Sirius, apologizing for all sorts of crazy things, and-"
Annie stopped abruptly as three figures apparated into their midst.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Remus greeted, then frowned at the sight. "And Mr. Fudge and Mr. Crouch."
"Good morning, Remus. I assume you are well?" Dumbledore asked. Remus nodded mutely, noticing that the look of merriment behind his light blue eyes had been replaced by one of solemnity, a look far too unfamiliar for the old wizard.
"Yes." Remus nodded slowly. "What brings you here?"
"Unpleasant business, I'm afraid." Fudge replied and Crouch grunted in agreement. "As you both know, James and Lily Potter have been under the Fidelius Charm for a week, along with their son, Harry."
"Yes." Rhia rose to stand at Remus's side.
"Last night, their Secret Keeper...gave them away to He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named."
Remus and Rhia exchanged worried looks.
"They died. I'm so very sorry."
The look on Fudge's face as he said that was obviously one not of sorrow, but of hidden joy.
"Lily and James...dead?" Remus murmured. "Then you mean...Sirius..."
"No!" Annie shouted, falling onto the couch.
"It can't be..." Rhia whispered.
"Yes." Crouch said gruffly. "Black was a Death Eater working for You-Know- Who. And when Peter Pettigrew went to try and avenge their deaths, Black killed him and a dozen helpless muggles."
"If there's any consolation, we have some good news." Fudge added excitedly.
"Good news?" Remus shouted. "How the hell can there be good news?!"
He felt like screaming and crying all at the same time. So many times Sirius had betrayed him. With Annie during school, almost having him devour Severus Snape in their sixth year, so many, many times. Remus grabbed a picture of the Marauders from the mantle. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, each smiling and waving jovially. Little did they know that two of them would be killed in a few years' time. Did any of them suspect that the one in the middle was a cold-blooded killer, working for the most horrible Dark wizard of their time? Staring at it bitterly for a moment, he threw it to the ground, watching the glass shatter about his feet.
"Remus." Dumbledore reached forward and touched his heaving shoulder. Remus turned and fell into the man's arms, sobbing as if he were a small child with a hurt finger. Rhia shook violently and sat next to Annie on the couch.
"How could he?" he cried. "They trusted him! We trusted him!"
"And we were deceived." Dumbledore said, sitting Remus next to his sister, who had gone speechless and ghastly white. "But out of all this darkness and evil, good has prevailed. Lord Voldemort has fallen."
"Fallen?" Rhia repeated and Remus' tears stopped suddenly. "But...how?"
"We are not sure, but it seems that when he tried to kill baby Harry, his plan backfired." He explained. "Harry survived and Lord Voldemort was destroyed."
"He survived?" Remus's tears had subsided and he became anxious. "Where is he? Who's taking care of him?"
"He's with his aunt and uncle in Surrey." He replied. "Hagrid took him there."
Dumbledore held up his hand as Remus started to object.
"We've put up the necessary precautions at their home and he is to stay there the next ten years."
"Thank you." Rhia said for them all, tears choking her voice.
Dumbledore clapped and hand on his shoulder again and apparated out with Fudge and Crouch in tow. Remus bit his lip angrily, drawing blood, before grabbing another picture from the mantle and raising it high.
"That's what you get, Padfoot!" Remus hissed.
"NO!" Annie jumped up and snatched the photo out of his hand, hugging it to her chest, the picture of Sirius leaning over to kiss Annie's cheek as she laughed happily. "Not this one, please!"
"Give it to me!" He held out his hand.
"Remus!" Rhia shouted, trying to pull his arm down.
"No!" She refused. "He wouldn't do that, I know it!"
"But he did." Remus muttered. "He killed them all and now he has to suffer the consequences!"
Annie's eyes filled with hot, angry tears before she ran down the hall. Rhia stood, her mouth opening wordlessly as she fell to the couch in a hot torrent of tears, and Remus, feeling as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders, went into the kitchen to open up a bottle of Ogden's Olde Firewhiskey.
Rhia followed him into the kitchen. "Remus, sweetheart... you can't truly believe Sirius betrayed us all, do you?" She gently took the whiskey bottle from his hands and dumped it into the sink.
"Rhia, what are we supposed to think?"
"Remus, I know him. Sirius is my best friend, he always has been! He would never do this, he loved Lily and James like they were family. They were family, we're all family. He wouldn't do this!"
"But he was the Secret-Keeper. We all knew it..."
"How do we know Voldemort didn't torture it out of him?"
"Peter cornered him, remember?"
"Maybe... maybe it wasn't him. Something must have happened. Remus, this can't have happened! James and Lily can't be dead, Sirius can't be evil... this is all just a dream, right?"
Remus pulled her into his arms and she broke down. "I wish it was, love, I wish it was..."
~*~
"Is she ready?" Remus asked as he adjusted his dress robes. Rhia nodded mutely. Annie had been staying with them for the past few weeks, unable to return to the home she and Sirius had once shared. None minded. Everyone felt as if they had to stay together since their number had been reduced from seven to three.
Today was the day of Sirius Black's sentencing, and Dumbledore had invited each to attend, in the feeble hopes that his appeal would work and he'd get off at the last moment.
"It's time." Remus said softly. "You go get her, I'll get the Floo ready." Rhia nodded and walked to the guest room, where Annie had spent most of the past weeks.
"Annie, it's time to go." She said through the door. "Are you ready?"
The door opened and Annie stepped out, dressed in the simple black robes that Rhia remembered her wearing at little Mira's funeral.
"Let's go then." Annie replied. Rhia led her into the living room, where Remus was leaning over the fireplace.
"All right, we've got to get to Ministry headquarters. Rhia, you first." He suggested, holding out the Floo powder jar. Rhia took a handful and was sent off in a swirl of green flames, Annie and Remus following her quickly.
They arrived in the large atrium of the Ministry of Magic, other witches and wizards arriving behind them in the many gold-plated fireplaces.
"It's lovely," Rhia said, staring at the polished floors and light blue ceiling.
"Give me your wands, I'll go register them." Remus offered and held out his hands. Annie and Rhia deposited their wands in them and he walked to the desk where a grumpy-looking witch sat, handing out silver visitor badges to a news crew. Annie reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin, tossing it into the Fountain of Magical Brethren with a gentle splash.
"Making a wish?" Rhia asked.
"I'd empty my Gringott's account in the fountain if it made this wish work." Annie replied as Remus came back towards them.
"That's that, then." he said, handing them their wands and a silver badge each. "We can go through."
He nodded towards the golden gates next to the grumpy witch's desk. The two girls followed him through the gates, into an old lift filled with flying purple airplane memos and a smelly hag, out onto the ninth floor, down a series of steps, and through a musty hallway until they reached a large door bearing the title 'Wizengamot Courtroom Ten' upon it. Annie immediately started shaking.
"I... I can't do this..." she mumbled, beginning to turn. Remus put a comforting hand on her shoulder, urging her forward. As they moved nearer, they could see there were words inscribed in the door. By the flickering torchlight, the three could just make out what it said.
"'A verbis legis non est reeedendum'; from the words of the law there is no retreat," Rhia translated softly and held back a sob. Her Sirius, he didn't deserve any of this...
Remus took hold of Rhia's trembling hand. Just as he was about to whisper words of encouragement in her ear, the doors opened.
The room was made entirely of stone. The only light came from the flickering torches on the walls and the only sound came from the gentle hushed words of the people crowded in the row upon row of benches. There were the Wizengamot officials in their purple robes, reporters with pens poised above their paper, and curious witches and wizards, each talking in a low, excited manner, as if eager to see what would happen. After all, such a crime as the infamous Sirius Black's had never been seen from any other wizard but Lord Voldemort. Their chatter was quiet, but Remus, Rhia and Annie each wished they had brought earplugs to keep out the words that flew at them.
"...murdered 'em all in cold blood, 'e did..."
"I heard he laughed! Yes, right after he killed them all!"
"You see those three? They're supposedly friends he betrayed."
All cringed at that last remark.
"Ah, Remus, Annie, Rhiannon, you came," said a sad voice to their right. Remus turned to see Dumbledore standing there, his hands behind his back, looking sorrowfully back at them. "I wasn't sure if you'd make it."
Rhia took the old headmaster's offered arm as he led them to their seats. "Of course we would, Albus. I, at least, want to see this trial."
They settled into the courtroom, watching and waiting until Bartemius Crouch entered the courtroom. Every spectator and Wizengamot official grew quiet, the silence only broken by the scratching of quills on parchment. Crouch took his place at the head of the Wizengamot as two Dementors led Sirius in. Annie and Rhia gasped while Remus sat staring blankly. He was thinner than ever and very pale, and though he had only been in the jail for a month, he looked very ill. The Dementors shoved him harshly into the chair reserved for the accused and chains wrapped themselves around his arms, legs, and torso. There was no need, though, for Sirius looked far too weak to walk, much less escape from chains, Dementors, and a barrage of fully-qualified wizards and witches.
"Sirius Black." Crouch said gravely. "You are on trial for being a known supporter of the Dark Lord and for the brutal murder of the following people on November the first on Hilde Street in Muggle London,"
Mr. Crouch went on to announce a long list of names, finally ending with, "Peter Pettigrew."
A large, blonde woman near Mr. Crouch gave a great bellow and Rhia recognized her at once: Mrs. Pettigrew, Peter's mother. She felt something next to her move rapidly and she looked up to see Remus moving rapidly out of the courtroom, his face a mixture of pain and incredible fury. The courtroom watched as Sirius mouthed the word, "Moony," and Rhia tore after him, leaving Annie alone with Dumbledore. One ancient, wrinkled, shaking hand closed over a youthful, smooth, shaking one as Crouch continued.
"The Wizengamot has found you guilty of those thirteen murders and of consorting with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." He said. "You are hereby sentenced to six hundred and fifty years in Azkaban Wizard's prison under maximum security."
The chatter grew into undeniable dissonance at this announcement. Crouch gave the Dementors a flippant wave of the hand.
"Take him away. Court dismissed." He banged his gavel loudly and stood, everyone else following suit but Annie, who sat stone still in a state of shock.
How could he lose? She had wished and prayed so hard...and Crouch had thought him nothing more than a common scoundrel to deserve such a sentence!
"Hello, Annie, dear."
She looked over her shoulder as someone sat next to her, a familiar-looking black haired woman with a very small and thin frame and sad blue eyes.
"Mrs. Black." She murmured, feeling as if she were going to be sick. "How are you feeling?"
"As well as I can be." She replied. "And you?"
Annie watched her eyes flicker down to the left hand where Sirius's ring still sat.
~*~
Rhia ran out of the courtroom after Remus. She spotted him down the hall just as he collapsed to his knees. She quietly walked over to him and crouched down.
"Mrs. Pettigrew... she looks so desolate... and he's so pale... and Dumbledore, I've never seen him look so old..." Remus muttered between sobs. Rhia put her arms around him and rocked him back and forth.
"I know baby, I know. This is a horrible time for all of us."
"How could he do this? I keep looking over my shoulder, expecting to see Lily and James. And poor Harry, how can he be doing without his mother? The poor thing..."
Rhia smiled sadly... it was easy to understand why Remus was taking this the hardest. Before he went to Hogwarts and met these people, his lycanthropy had kept him from making any friends. "I know honey..."
Remus looked up at her, and Rhia bit her tongue to keep from crying out loud. Remus' eyes were black. His nose was growing... hair was sprouting up all over his body... he let out a wolfish growl.
"Rhia, go get Dumbledore," he moaned.
"But Remus, I don't understand-" It was nowhere near the full moon, and she wasn't changing at all. What was going on?
"Rhia, just go!" Rhia got up and ran back to the courtroom, just as Annie and Dumbledore emerged.
"Professor!" Rhia cried. "It's Remus, he's changing, and-"
Dumbledore said not a word, only motioned for Annie to stay there and hurried down the hall, moving quickly for an aged man. By the time they reached him, he had almost fully transformed.
"Hold him, Rhiannon, he can't hurt you." Dumbledore ordered and Rhia wrapped her arms around Remus's neck and shoulders, feeling him writhe one way and the next as he became a full-fledged wolf. Pain seared through her right arm. The wolf had ripped his teeth through her arm, leaving a large, bloody gash from her wrist to her elbow. Rhia paled at the sight of her wound and very nearly let go just as Dumbledore shot a spell at them from his place near the wall. It hit the wolf's back and it howled pitifully, sinking onto the floor and shuddering before transforming back into a man- Remus.
"Go get Annie to close that up," Dumbledore said to Rhia, "I'll take care of him." Rhia nodded and walked back down the hall.
"W-what happened?" Remus asked, looking about in a confused manner.
"You lost control." Dumbledore explained. "The wolf is always inside of you, Remus, no matter what happens. I believe that today, because your emotions were very high, the wolf inside took over and emerged. There was nothing you could have done."
"I didn't hurt anyone, did I?" he asked.
"Rhiannon's been bloodied up a bit, but nothing more." He answered.
"Rhia? Where is she? What did I do to her?"
"Calm down, Remus, she's with Annie." Dumbledore placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine."
"Oh." Remus stared at the floor for a few moments, making invisible drawings on the stone floor, before looking up into the face of his mentor. "And the trial?"
Dumbledore shook his head sadly.
~*~
The three walked silently back into the house, hanging their robes on the hooks in the hall before walking into the living room and sitting down quietly.
"I can't believe it." Rhia murmured. "I just can't...oh, Sirius!"
She bent forward, weeping pitifully into her hands.
"Shhh..." Remus moved next to her, putting his arms about her. She nestled her head on his shoulder, crying softly as he stroked her hair.
"How could he?" she mumbled through her tears. "How could he?!"
"I know." Remus replied comfortingly, nodding and rocking her back and forth until she stopped crying and resorted to soft whimpers. "We all know. But we just...have to go on."
Annie, watching them hold each other during this time of trial, felt a great burst of anger, jealousy, and pain. She rose like a bullet and ran up the stairs.
"Great." Remus muttered, watching her leave. "I should go talk to her, I guess."
"No." Rhia shook her head and wiped away her final tears. "I'll do it."
She stood and walked upstairs to the spare room, where Annie had flung herself across the bed and was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Annie, darling." Rhia sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on her heaving back. "What is it? What's the matter?"
"Oh, Rhia..." Annie wept. "It's...I'm so selfish, I'm ashamed to tell you."
"Selfish?" Rhia repeated. "And you have no need to be ashamed."
"It's you." Annie explained, blurting it out as if she had been wanting to say it for the longest time. "You and Remus. I'm jealous and...oh, it's not just that."
"Well, go on." Rhia prodded, feeling awful for causing her this obviously unbearable pain. She forced herself to sound strong, for Annie's sake, but was truly feeling like breaking down and crying again.
"Every time I looked at him, all I could think about was Mira." She whispered.
"Oh, love..." Rhia murmured, smoothing out Annie's tangled hair.
"He wanted a baby, he wanted one of his own so much, and then it happened." She said quickly, pouring it out as fast as the words would come. "And we were so happy, ready to be a real family...and then I lost her. We wanted a child, we wanted to be married in December!"
She stared at the floor, her lip quivering, then stared back up again as her eyes filled with angry, scalding tears.
"Rhia, that was all I could think about while I was in there. The only thing that kept going through my head was how I had taken the thing he wanted most...but now I know that that wasn't what he wanted."
"He wanted them dead." Rhia muttered bitterly, remembering that she had once been so very jealous of Lily with James and then Annie with Sirius. Now she was the one to know good fortune, to still have her love in her life, while Annie's was in prison and Lily's was...dead. Along with her.
"Yes, that's right." Lily replied, placing him in his crib with a kiss and spinning the mobile of Golden Snitches before going back downstairs where James was pacing.
"Is he asleep?" he asked, ruffling the pages of the Daily Prophet he held.
"Only just." She said. "Don't pace, James, you'll drive yourself crazy."
"Can't help it, Lil." He muttered. "I'm tense and nervous and I've been cooped up too long."
"It's only been two weeks." She replied, touching his shoulder and easing him down to the couch. "It's bound to be over soon."
"It's been so long since he's been in power, Lily." James said with a pained look on his face. "What makes you think it will end just like that?"
"Peter's in hiding. No one's going to suspect him." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Sirius is going to see him tonight and-"
She stopped as something in the house broke with a dry wooden crack and slow echoing footsteps sounded in the silence before that silence was broken by a small baby's wail.
"It's him." James muttered, feeling an incredible wave of panic, fright, and terrible hatred overcome him. Lily paled and began to shake. James' voice rose to a shout.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"
Without thinking, Lily dashed up the stairs and into Harry's room. He lay in his crib, wailing from being woken up suddenly. There was a crash downstairs and James shouted, "Lily, go!" Then a horrid scream, and - nothing. At once Lily knew what had happened. A dry sob caught in her throat as she picked up the crying child.
"Shhh, baby, its okay, it'll all be over soon." Lily was next to the window in a matter of seconds, Harry pressed to her bosom to stifle his cries. She raised a hand to open the window when the bedroom door behind her crashed open. Lily whirled around, and framed in the door was Voldemort.
"No!" she cried. "Don't take my baby! Not Harry, not Harry, please, not Harry!" There were desperate tears running down her face now.
"Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside now..."
Lily put Harry down in his cradle and stood in front of it, a crazy idea running through her head.
"Not Harry, please no, take me instead, kill me instead-"
"I don't want your life, you stupid girl. You are of no value to me, no real threat. I have to kill the boy, now stand aside and let me kill the child!"
"No, not Harry! Please, not Harry!"
If it were possible, Voldemort actually sighed. "You leave me no choice, girl." And with a cry and a flash of green light, Lily was on the floor.
"It's just you and me now, boy. Little Harry. You're just a child, how can you possibly be my downfall? But the prophecy reads true, and the Fates don't lie... goodbye, little Harry Potter. Its too bad the world will never know what you've done for me."
One last flash of green light, and he was gone...
* * *
Sirius arrived at Peter's flat at ten o'clock on the nose and knocked once on the door. He was afraid he would be late - he had spent every evening at the bar since he left Annie, not drinking, just sitting. Then he'd return to Remus and Rhia's, partly because he had nowhere else to go, but partly because he wanted to keep his eye on Remus.
Sirius knocked again on the door, panic starting to rise. Why wasn't he answering? After a third knock, Sirius took out his wand. "Alohomora," he whispered, and pushed the door open.
There was no sign of a break-in, no mess on the floor, no clues to indicate a struggle. But Peter was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't have just left, he was forbidden to leave! But then, that would mean...
"Oh god," Sirius whispered.
It hadn't been Remus, nor Rhia! It had been Peter all the time! Dim-witted, slow, innocent little Peter! Innocent no longer, Sirius thought, feeling his fists clench up in anger. And they hadn't told anyone! Everyone would think he had betrayed them, that he had been the spy...
But maybe there was still time! Sirius ran outside at breakneck speed, throwing himself on his bike and revving it up, flying off into the night sky.
C'mon! FASTER! He ordered it, rising above the clouds, gaining speed. It took some time to fly to Godric's Hollow, and as he arrived, the full moon was climbing the hills and a wolf bayed lowly as it's pearly shine glistened over everything.
Please, let everything be all right. Let Peter just have gone out for a bit, Sirius prayed, throwing his bike to the floor and running up the path through the trees to James and Lily's front door.
Only...there wasn't a door. There was a pile of rubble.
"NO!" Sirius shouted, staring at the giant jumble of stones and dirt. Like a complete maniac trying to force his way out of a quarry, he threw aside bricks and pieces of destroyed furniture, looking for something, anything that would tell him if James...Lily...Harry was alive. He pulled a chair cushion up from the rubble and gasped at what he saw.
A small, white hand wearing a simple golden ring around the second to last finger.
"Lily...no!" He shouted, tearing at the debris on top of her until she was completely removed. When she was brought completely into sight, he froze. She looked just like the red-haired young woman he had watched the other day, as in sleep, like she had done so many times, with little Harry in her arms or on James's shoulder...
James! Perhaps he had gotten away!
He looked about, removing a piece of garbage every second, staring about for his bespectacled, untidy-haired best friend.
"Prongs..." Sirius whispered as the moon rose ever higher over the hill, shining down on a horrible sight. James lay not far from his wife, his eyes wide open and his mouth set in a determined way. He knelt next to the body, cradling his dead best friend in his arms. Most of Voldemort's victims died with looks of fright on their faces, but James- oh, brave, fearless Prongs!- had gone down with a look that was not afraid. A look that was proud to die in his family's place...not knowing what was to become of them.
Sirius picked James's cold, stiff body up from the ground and laid it beside Lily's, touching their hands together. Together forever, just like they said, Sirius remembered bitterly. Unlike James, Lily's face was one of horror, her eyes clamped shut and her mouth open in a silent scream that Sirius could hear in the back of his mind. He turned away, trying to drown out the noise, but it remained.
Wait...that isn't a scream...
Sirius turned around, his eyes wide as he began digging around in the wreckage, searching for little Harry's body.
"I've got 'im, Sirius."
Sirius flinched at the noise. Hagrid stood amidst the ruins, holding a small bundle of blue blankets in his arms.
"Hagrid, is he...alive?" Sirius asked, stepping carefully around his dead friends' bodies.
"Yeah, but jus' barely." Hagrid replied, sopping up some blood from Harry's forehead with a handkerchief.
"What happened?" Hagrid glanced around sadly at the remains of the house.
"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's gone." He whispered. "Seems when he tried to kill all of 'em, little Harry got the best o' 'im. He's gone, at least for a while, I reckon."
Hagrid clapped a huge hand on Sirius's shoulder.
"They died a hero's death, Sirius." Hagrid mumbled, tears dripping into his coarse beard. "They'll be remembered by all o' wizard kind."
"Give Harry to me, Hagrid." Sirius held out his arms, noticing he was shaking like mad. "I'm his godfather, I'll look after him."
"Dumbledore's given me 'spress order to take Harry to his aunt an' uncle's in Surrey as of t'morrow." Hagrid said, guarding the small child with a protective hand. Sirius glanced over at the boy. He looked exactly like James when he was asleep; the same forehead, nose, chin, everything. It was his eyes that gave him away. Lily's romantic, emerald eyes.
Peter... Sirius thought, his mind burning with incredible hatred he had never felt before. It had been Peter! Peter had been working for Voldemort this entire time, not Remus! Oh, if only he had trusted Moony and insisted on HIM being the Secret Keeper! But Peter...
Oh, Peter will pay.
"Then...then take my bike." Sirius reached into his pocket and held out the keys. "I won't be needing it anymore."
Hagrid gave him a confused look, but took the keys.
"Are yeh sure?" he asked uncertainly. This bike had been Sirius Black's pride and joy for almost five years. He wouldn't dare give it up without a fight, would he?
"Go." Sirius ordered, reaching out to touch Harry's warm cheek lovingly. The poor little orphaned thing, he thought, his melancholy tears sliding unchecked down his own face. Hagrid gave him a sympathetic look and nodded, clambering onto Sirius's motorcycle and flying off into the night sky with Harry in his arms.
Sirius brushed aside the last of his tears and pushed up his sleeves, his hands clenching and unclenching, readying themselves to pull Peter apart piece by piece. But there was still one thing to do. He had to explain. He wouldn't kill Peter without her knowing the truth first.
It didn't take long to run to the nearby village after he had transformed into a dog, and it took an even shorter amount of time to find the small wizarding pub there once he had transformed back. No one asked any questions as he slammed a coin on the counter then took a fistful of Floo Powder from a jar atop the large fireplace, whirling amidst the green flames until he landed at his wanted destination, Blackwood Flats, Number 4B.
"Annie?" he called out, praying she would be home.
No answer. He opened a few doors and looked around. The lights were all off, and no one was to be seen. Sirius let out a forced sigh to keep himself from crying out. He collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. How could this have happened? How could James and Lily be... be... he couldn't even fathom the thought yet. He needed Annie right now. The entire plan was gone, so what was the point in being away from her anymore?
Annie... she wasn't home for him to explain it to. She wouldn't know it wasn't him! The only ones alive who could testify his innocence was himself and Peter... and Peter's word wasn't exactly trustworthy anymore. How could he prove to the world, to Annie, that he was innocent? Unless..... unless he could catch Peter! If he could catch him, they could get the truth out of him, and Sirius would be okay, Annie would understand... everything would be okay again!
Sirius sobbed. Not everything.
So he was off to risk his life for James, again. I guess some things never change, he thought. But if something happened, if he didn't come back... Peter was, after all, working for Voldemort. He needed Annie to know the truth. Jumping up, Sirius rummaged through the drawers until he came upon a spare quill and a piece of parchment.
Dear Annie...
* * *
"Rhia, I'm home!" Remus said, opening the door and tossing his cloak on the couch. He heard a small grunt from the study. Smiling, he walked in and saw Rhia sitting with her back to him, pouring over a large dusty tome. He wrapped her arms around her and kissed her neck. "Hello sweetheart. What are you reading?"
"A book," she replied distractedly.
Remus laughed. "I figured as much. What about?" Rhia finally looked up at him with a nervous smile.
"Oh, just a little project." Remus just shook his head and walked into the kitchen. Rhia looked back at the book, and pulled some photos out from underneath it. They were pictures Dumbledore had gotten for her of the carvings the little psychic girl had made a while back. She had almost figured out the prophecy. By now, she knew it had something to do with her and her friends. It was just figuring out the captions, especially Harry's. "The Boy Who Lived" She didn't understand...
Suddenly a searing pain ran across her chest. It felt as if she could barely breathe. Doubled over, Rhia let out a cry of pain. What was going on?
"Rhia? Are you okay?" Remus asked, running into the study. When he saw Rhia, he slid to his knees next to her. "Honey, what's wrong?"
"I... I don't know... I think... it feels like the world is falling apart..." Little did Rhia know, the world was falling apart. Hers, at least...
~*~
A loud banging at the door startled both Remus and Rhia from sleep early the next morning. As Rhia pulled on her wrapper, Remus opened their bedroom door to find-
"Annie?" he mumbled sleepily. "What are you doing here? It's six in the morning."
"I just got home from work an hour ago pulling the late shift." She said quickly, surprisingly awake for that time of day. "And found this on the table."
"What is it?" Rhia asked, leading them all into the living room.
"I'm not sure." Annie replied. "It's the strangest letter from Sirius, apologizing for all sorts of crazy things, and-"
Annie stopped abruptly as three figures apparated into their midst.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Remus greeted, then frowned at the sight. "And Mr. Fudge and Mr. Crouch."
"Good morning, Remus. I assume you are well?" Dumbledore asked. Remus nodded mutely, noticing that the look of merriment behind his light blue eyes had been replaced by one of solemnity, a look far too unfamiliar for the old wizard.
"Yes." Remus nodded slowly. "What brings you here?"
"Unpleasant business, I'm afraid." Fudge replied and Crouch grunted in agreement. "As you both know, James and Lily Potter have been under the Fidelius Charm for a week, along with their son, Harry."
"Yes." Rhia rose to stand at Remus's side.
"Last night, their Secret Keeper...gave them away to He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named."
Remus and Rhia exchanged worried looks.
"They died. I'm so very sorry."
The look on Fudge's face as he said that was obviously one not of sorrow, but of hidden joy.
"Lily and James...dead?" Remus murmured. "Then you mean...Sirius..."
"No!" Annie shouted, falling onto the couch.
"It can't be..." Rhia whispered.
"Yes." Crouch said gruffly. "Black was a Death Eater working for You-Know- Who. And when Peter Pettigrew went to try and avenge their deaths, Black killed him and a dozen helpless muggles."
"If there's any consolation, we have some good news." Fudge added excitedly.
"Good news?" Remus shouted. "How the hell can there be good news?!"
He felt like screaming and crying all at the same time. So many times Sirius had betrayed him. With Annie during school, almost having him devour Severus Snape in their sixth year, so many, many times. Remus grabbed a picture of the Marauders from the mantle. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, each smiling and waving jovially. Little did they know that two of them would be killed in a few years' time. Did any of them suspect that the one in the middle was a cold-blooded killer, working for the most horrible Dark wizard of their time? Staring at it bitterly for a moment, he threw it to the ground, watching the glass shatter about his feet.
"Remus." Dumbledore reached forward and touched his heaving shoulder. Remus turned and fell into the man's arms, sobbing as if he were a small child with a hurt finger. Rhia shook violently and sat next to Annie on the couch.
"How could he?" he cried. "They trusted him! We trusted him!"
"And we were deceived." Dumbledore said, sitting Remus next to his sister, who had gone speechless and ghastly white. "But out of all this darkness and evil, good has prevailed. Lord Voldemort has fallen."
"Fallen?" Rhia repeated and Remus' tears stopped suddenly. "But...how?"
"We are not sure, but it seems that when he tried to kill baby Harry, his plan backfired." He explained. "Harry survived and Lord Voldemort was destroyed."
"He survived?" Remus's tears had subsided and he became anxious. "Where is he? Who's taking care of him?"
"He's with his aunt and uncle in Surrey." He replied. "Hagrid took him there."
Dumbledore held up his hand as Remus started to object.
"We've put up the necessary precautions at their home and he is to stay there the next ten years."
"Thank you." Rhia said for them all, tears choking her voice.
Dumbledore clapped and hand on his shoulder again and apparated out with Fudge and Crouch in tow. Remus bit his lip angrily, drawing blood, before grabbing another picture from the mantle and raising it high.
"That's what you get, Padfoot!" Remus hissed.
"NO!" Annie jumped up and snatched the photo out of his hand, hugging it to her chest, the picture of Sirius leaning over to kiss Annie's cheek as she laughed happily. "Not this one, please!"
"Give it to me!" He held out his hand.
"Remus!" Rhia shouted, trying to pull his arm down.
"No!" She refused. "He wouldn't do that, I know it!"
"But he did." Remus muttered. "He killed them all and now he has to suffer the consequences!"
Annie's eyes filled with hot, angry tears before she ran down the hall. Rhia stood, her mouth opening wordlessly as she fell to the couch in a hot torrent of tears, and Remus, feeling as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders, went into the kitchen to open up a bottle of Ogden's Olde Firewhiskey.
Rhia followed him into the kitchen. "Remus, sweetheart... you can't truly believe Sirius betrayed us all, do you?" She gently took the whiskey bottle from his hands and dumped it into the sink.
"Rhia, what are we supposed to think?"
"Remus, I know him. Sirius is my best friend, he always has been! He would never do this, he loved Lily and James like they were family. They were family, we're all family. He wouldn't do this!"
"But he was the Secret-Keeper. We all knew it..."
"How do we know Voldemort didn't torture it out of him?"
"Peter cornered him, remember?"
"Maybe... maybe it wasn't him. Something must have happened. Remus, this can't have happened! James and Lily can't be dead, Sirius can't be evil... this is all just a dream, right?"
Remus pulled her into his arms and she broke down. "I wish it was, love, I wish it was..."
~*~
"Is she ready?" Remus asked as he adjusted his dress robes. Rhia nodded mutely. Annie had been staying with them for the past few weeks, unable to return to the home she and Sirius had once shared. None minded. Everyone felt as if they had to stay together since their number had been reduced from seven to three.
Today was the day of Sirius Black's sentencing, and Dumbledore had invited each to attend, in the feeble hopes that his appeal would work and he'd get off at the last moment.
"It's time." Remus said softly. "You go get her, I'll get the Floo ready." Rhia nodded and walked to the guest room, where Annie had spent most of the past weeks.
"Annie, it's time to go." She said through the door. "Are you ready?"
The door opened and Annie stepped out, dressed in the simple black robes that Rhia remembered her wearing at little Mira's funeral.
"Let's go then." Annie replied. Rhia led her into the living room, where Remus was leaning over the fireplace.
"All right, we've got to get to Ministry headquarters. Rhia, you first." He suggested, holding out the Floo powder jar. Rhia took a handful and was sent off in a swirl of green flames, Annie and Remus following her quickly.
They arrived in the large atrium of the Ministry of Magic, other witches and wizards arriving behind them in the many gold-plated fireplaces.
"It's lovely," Rhia said, staring at the polished floors and light blue ceiling.
"Give me your wands, I'll go register them." Remus offered and held out his hands. Annie and Rhia deposited their wands in them and he walked to the desk where a grumpy-looking witch sat, handing out silver visitor badges to a news crew. Annie reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin, tossing it into the Fountain of Magical Brethren with a gentle splash.
"Making a wish?" Rhia asked.
"I'd empty my Gringott's account in the fountain if it made this wish work." Annie replied as Remus came back towards them.
"That's that, then." he said, handing them their wands and a silver badge each. "We can go through."
He nodded towards the golden gates next to the grumpy witch's desk. The two girls followed him through the gates, into an old lift filled with flying purple airplane memos and a smelly hag, out onto the ninth floor, down a series of steps, and through a musty hallway until they reached a large door bearing the title 'Wizengamot Courtroom Ten' upon it. Annie immediately started shaking.
"I... I can't do this..." she mumbled, beginning to turn. Remus put a comforting hand on her shoulder, urging her forward. As they moved nearer, they could see there were words inscribed in the door. By the flickering torchlight, the three could just make out what it said.
"'A verbis legis non est reeedendum'; from the words of the law there is no retreat," Rhia translated softly and held back a sob. Her Sirius, he didn't deserve any of this...
Remus took hold of Rhia's trembling hand. Just as he was about to whisper words of encouragement in her ear, the doors opened.
The room was made entirely of stone. The only light came from the flickering torches on the walls and the only sound came from the gentle hushed words of the people crowded in the row upon row of benches. There were the Wizengamot officials in their purple robes, reporters with pens poised above their paper, and curious witches and wizards, each talking in a low, excited manner, as if eager to see what would happen. After all, such a crime as the infamous Sirius Black's had never been seen from any other wizard but Lord Voldemort. Their chatter was quiet, but Remus, Rhia and Annie each wished they had brought earplugs to keep out the words that flew at them.
"...murdered 'em all in cold blood, 'e did..."
"I heard he laughed! Yes, right after he killed them all!"
"You see those three? They're supposedly friends he betrayed."
All cringed at that last remark.
"Ah, Remus, Annie, Rhiannon, you came," said a sad voice to their right. Remus turned to see Dumbledore standing there, his hands behind his back, looking sorrowfully back at them. "I wasn't sure if you'd make it."
Rhia took the old headmaster's offered arm as he led them to their seats. "Of course we would, Albus. I, at least, want to see this trial."
They settled into the courtroom, watching and waiting until Bartemius Crouch entered the courtroom. Every spectator and Wizengamot official grew quiet, the silence only broken by the scratching of quills on parchment. Crouch took his place at the head of the Wizengamot as two Dementors led Sirius in. Annie and Rhia gasped while Remus sat staring blankly. He was thinner than ever and very pale, and though he had only been in the jail for a month, he looked very ill. The Dementors shoved him harshly into the chair reserved for the accused and chains wrapped themselves around his arms, legs, and torso. There was no need, though, for Sirius looked far too weak to walk, much less escape from chains, Dementors, and a barrage of fully-qualified wizards and witches.
"Sirius Black." Crouch said gravely. "You are on trial for being a known supporter of the Dark Lord and for the brutal murder of the following people on November the first on Hilde Street in Muggle London,"
Mr. Crouch went on to announce a long list of names, finally ending with, "Peter Pettigrew."
A large, blonde woman near Mr. Crouch gave a great bellow and Rhia recognized her at once: Mrs. Pettigrew, Peter's mother. She felt something next to her move rapidly and she looked up to see Remus moving rapidly out of the courtroom, his face a mixture of pain and incredible fury. The courtroom watched as Sirius mouthed the word, "Moony," and Rhia tore after him, leaving Annie alone with Dumbledore. One ancient, wrinkled, shaking hand closed over a youthful, smooth, shaking one as Crouch continued.
"The Wizengamot has found you guilty of those thirteen murders and of consorting with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." He said. "You are hereby sentenced to six hundred and fifty years in Azkaban Wizard's prison under maximum security."
The chatter grew into undeniable dissonance at this announcement. Crouch gave the Dementors a flippant wave of the hand.
"Take him away. Court dismissed." He banged his gavel loudly and stood, everyone else following suit but Annie, who sat stone still in a state of shock.
How could he lose? She had wished and prayed so hard...and Crouch had thought him nothing more than a common scoundrel to deserve such a sentence!
"Hello, Annie, dear."
She looked over her shoulder as someone sat next to her, a familiar-looking black haired woman with a very small and thin frame and sad blue eyes.
"Mrs. Black." She murmured, feeling as if she were going to be sick. "How are you feeling?"
"As well as I can be." She replied. "And you?"
Annie watched her eyes flicker down to the left hand where Sirius's ring still sat.
~*~
Rhia ran out of the courtroom after Remus. She spotted him down the hall just as he collapsed to his knees. She quietly walked over to him and crouched down.
"Mrs. Pettigrew... she looks so desolate... and he's so pale... and Dumbledore, I've never seen him look so old..." Remus muttered between sobs. Rhia put her arms around him and rocked him back and forth.
"I know baby, I know. This is a horrible time for all of us."
"How could he do this? I keep looking over my shoulder, expecting to see Lily and James. And poor Harry, how can he be doing without his mother? The poor thing..."
Rhia smiled sadly... it was easy to understand why Remus was taking this the hardest. Before he went to Hogwarts and met these people, his lycanthropy had kept him from making any friends. "I know honey..."
Remus looked up at her, and Rhia bit her tongue to keep from crying out loud. Remus' eyes were black. His nose was growing... hair was sprouting up all over his body... he let out a wolfish growl.
"Rhia, go get Dumbledore," he moaned.
"But Remus, I don't understand-" It was nowhere near the full moon, and she wasn't changing at all. What was going on?
"Rhia, just go!" Rhia got up and ran back to the courtroom, just as Annie and Dumbledore emerged.
"Professor!" Rhia cried. "It's Remus, he's changing, and-"
Dumbledore said not a word, only motioned for Annie to stay there and hurried down the hall, moving quickly for an aged man. By the time they reached him, he had almost fully transformed.
"Hold him, Rhiannon, he can't hurt you." Dumbledore ordered and Rhia wrapped her arms around Remus's neck and shoulders, feeling him writhe one way and the next as he became a full-fledged wolf. Pain seared through her right arm. The wolf had ripped his teeth through her arm, leaving a large, bloody gash from her wrist to her elbow. Rhia paled at the sight of her wound and very nearly let go just as Dumbledore shot a spell at them from his place near the wall. It hit the wolf's back and it howled pitifully, sinking onto the floor and shuddering before transforming back into a man- Remus.
"Go get Annie to close that up," Dumbledore said to Rhia, "I'll take care of him." Rhia nodded and walked back down the hall.
"W-what happened?" Remus asked, looking about in a confused manner.
"You lost control." Dumbledore explained. "The wolf is always inside of you, Remus, no matter what happens. I believe that today, because your emotions were very high, the wolf inside took over and emerged. There was nothing you could have done."
"I didn't hurt anyone, did I?" he asked.
"Rhiannon's been bloodied up a bit, but nothing more." He answered.
"Rhia? Where is she? What did I do to her?"
"Calm down, Remus, she's with Annie." Dumbledore placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine."
"Oh." Remus stared at the floor for a few moments, making invisible drawings on the stone floor, before looking up into the face of his mentor. "And the trial?"
Dumbledore shook his head sadly.
~*~
The three walked silently back into the house, hanging their robes on the hooks in the hall before walking into the living room and sitting down quietly.
"I can't believe it." Rhia murmured. "I just can't...oh, Sirius!"
She bent forward, weeping pitifully into her hands.
"Shhh..." Remus moved next to her, putting his arms about her. She nestled her head on his shoulder, crying softly as he stroked her hair.
"How could he?" she mumbled through her tears. "How could he?!"
"I know." Remus replied comfortingly, nodding and rocking her back and forth until she stopped crying and resorted to soft whimpers. "We all know. But we just...have to go on."
Annie, watching them hold each other during this time of trial, felt a great burst of anger, jealousy, and pain. She rose like a bullet and ran up the stairs.
"Great." Remus muttered, watching her leave. "I should go talk to her, I guess."
"No." Rhia shook her head and wiped away her final tears. "I'll do it."
She stood and walked upstairs to the spare room, where Annie had flung herself across the bed and was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Annie, darling." Rhia sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on her heaving back. "What is it? What's the matter?"
"Oh, Rhia..." Annie wept. "It's...I'm so selfish, I'm ashamed to tell you."
"Selfish?" Rhia repeated. "And you have no need to be ashamed."
"It's you." Annie explained, blurting it out as if she had been wanting to say it for the longest time. "You and Remus. I'm jealous and...oh, it's not just that."
"Well, go on." Rhia prodded, feeling awful for causing her this obviously unbearable pain. She forced herself to sound strong, for Annie's sake, but was truly feeling like breaking down and crying again.
"Every time I looked at him, all I could think about was Mira." She whispered.
"Oh, love..." Rhia murmured, smoothing out Annie's tangled hair.
"He wanted a baby, he wanted one of his own so much, and then it happened." She said quickly, pouring it out as fast as the words would come. "And we were so happy, ready to be a real family...and then I lost her. We wanted a child, we wanted to be married in December!"
She stared at the floor, her lip quivering, then stared back up again as her eyes filled with angry, scalding tears.
"Rhia, that was all I could think about while I was in there. The only thing that kept going through my head was how I had taken the thing he wanted most...but now I know that that wasn't what he wanted."
"He wanted them dead." Rhia muttered bitterly, remembering that she had once been so very jealous of Lily with James and then Annie with Sirius. Now she was the one to know good fortune, to still have her love in her life, while Annie's was in prison and Lily's was...dead. Along with her.