Things Fall Apart
by StickPegasus
Disclaimer: I own so little of this it's pathetic. I don't even own the plot. Sheesh. The great JKR owns everything Harry Potterish, and no matter how jealous that makes me there ain't a thing I can do about it. :)
I'm borrowing the title from a cool book by Chinua Achebe. Please don't sue me, not only am I not making a cent off of posting this, I don't have any money anyway.
A/N: This is the first chapter of I don't know how many. It's also my first fic, and I'm pretty excited about it. If you like it, please review, and even if you didn't like it, review anyway... I don't care. Enjoy! (I hope..)
The fire crackled mirthlessly in the chilly third floor room of the Riddle manor as Lord Voldemort stood before it. He gazed in to the flames, hypnotized by them as they licked relentlessly at the popping wood. His cruel face was hardened in thought... The Potters. They must be taken care of. The Potters were the only obstacle to complete world control, for once the two powerful Aurors and their son were destroyed, the Old Fool, Dumbledore, would have lost two of the most important members of his small army. Not to mention that the Potter boy would be a very powerful wizard if not eliminated soon.
Quietly, at his feet, Nagini stirred. She raised her head high, listening, smelling; she had heard something.
"Do not fear, my pet, it is one of my servants," said the Dark Lord softly. He then directed his gaze sharply to the hallway, where there stood a meek, chubby little man, with a timid sparkle in his beady eyes.
"My Lord," said he, "my Lord, I have news that will please you." The man was clearly very nervous, his voice trembled and squeaked upon addressing Lord Voldemort.
"I certainly hope it is worthwhile, Wormtail; you know what happens when you waste my time." At these words the man's eyes visibly darkened and his expression grew more tense.
"M-my Lord, I," he took a deep breath, his voice barely a whisper, "I can give you the Potters."
Voldemort's snakelike eyes widened and a cold, cruel smile twisted his lips. "How on Earth," he said, "did you manage that, Wormtail?"
"They have asked me to be their Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm, Lord."
"I would have thought they would have chosen that brazen fool, Sirius Black, or the werewolf."
"S-Sirius convinced James that he would have been far too obvious as Secret Keeper... I don't know exactly what they think about Remus, but I was sure to mention, when I spoke with them, that I thought he might be slipping you secrets, my Lord... They know that someone is giving information but they don't know who exactly. But Sirius convinced James that I would be the least obvious choice, and he and Lily finally agreed, my Lord."
"Very well. Good work, Wormtail. If what you say is in fact true," Voldemort's smile grew more cruel, "then very soon, I shall rule the world."
~*~
Earlier that evening:
"Listen to me, James, for God's sake," Sirius Black gripped James Potter's shoulders tightly. His deep black eyes had a different fierceness in them, one that James had rarely, if ever, seen. "I don't trust myself with your secret. What if they torture me, and I crack? I couldn't live with having betrayed you and Lily. I know that the minute the charm is performed, the Death Eaters will come looking for me because they'll know that I'm your best friend, and obviously Secret Keeper. They'll be ready to torture it out of me, Prongs, and I don't know if I will be able to hold it back if they hit me with the Cruciatus Curse for very long. If I tell the secret, James, they'll- they'll come after you, and Lily, and little Harry, and it will be MY fault for being weak! Please, James, I beg you... don't use me. Use someone else. Then, when they come after me, thinking that you must have used me, they can torture me to their hearts' content and I won't reveal anything."
"But Padfoot... I trust you with my life! I know that you'll be able to-"
"No, James. I can't. I just- can't. This is too important."
Lily looked up from feeding Harry and stared intently at Sirius and James. She looked at the fierce determination in the eyes of her husband's best friend, and knew that there would be no changing his mind. "Well, then, James, I want Remus to do it. He's the next best choice- you're almost as close to him as to Sirius, and there's no way that Moony would ever let the Death Eaters find us, I'm sure. I trust him," she said.
Sirius' expression became very drawn and worried. "I don't think that's such a good idea," he said slowly.
Lily's green eyes flashed. "What do you mean, Sirius? You're not honestly trying to tell me that HE has been passing information to Voldemort?! Because I refuse to believe it." She searched Sirius's eyes. "I don't think you believe it either, no. Not Remus. Never." James nodded in agreement.
"No, no, I'm not saying- I mean, I don't believe that he would do that, but-"
"What, Sirius?" Asked Lily.
Sirius sighed deeply. "The full moon was night before last, and it was very difficult for him. He's very weak, and still in a lot of pain. Something is bothering him- something I don't even know about, but it's awful. The wolf ravaged his study, ripped everything off the walls and nearly tore through the door. You should have seen him that morning when I went to check on him... he lay there, trembling like a leaf, nearly unconscious in a pool of his own blood. When the wolf got tired of trying to escape, he unleashed the fury on himself. I'm telling you, Lily, there's something on his mind that he's not telling us, and it worries me."
James and Lily stared at Sirius; Lily was very pale. "Imagine what he's going through, James," Lily said. "Something so horrible is inside him, and he's not letting it surface until he's transformed... the poor dear, we should go see him, make sure he's all right."
Sirius looked at the two of them. "I've tried to speak with him about whatever's bothering him, but he won't let me. He's shutting me out for some reason... he seems perfectly normal otherwise, but I can tell that something's wrong. It may not even have anything to do with Voldemort, which I'm sure is true, but I don't know if he can take any more pressure so soon."
James nodded grimly. "Poor Remus. Soon this will all be over, and everything will be back to normal, and when we've defeated Voldemort we can all relax a bit, right Lil?"
The three of them smiled weakly.
"So James, I think that you should use Peter instead. It's the perfect ruse! The Death Eaters will never think to come after him! I mean, honestly, even if they figured out that it wasn't me, they'd head for Remus next, wouldn't they? It's perfect!"
James looked at Lily. "All right, call Peter," he said.
"I'll leave you guys to talk to him about it, and I'll see you tomorrow then. I'm going to go see about Remus."
James walked Sirius to the door. "Take care, Padfoot... I'll see you in the morning."
~*~
Remus Lupin sat in an overstuffed armchair with his feet on an ottoman before a bright fire. In his long fingers he cradled a steaming cup of tea, which he sipped absently. He was exhausted. He couldn't remember a night when the full moon was harder on him than the last. He didn't remember much about that night, except feeling... hunted... and alone. The transformation itself had been very painful, more so than usual, and to top it off, the wolf, when it realized it could not escape, turned on itself. Remus would have several angry scars from these wounds, he was sure of it. Sirius had patched him up, but werewolf scratches and bites were hard to heal.
Sirius... it was odd... Sirius had seemed very distraught when he had come to check on him yesterday morning. Remus knew that a lot was at stake, what with Voldemort searching so relentlessly for Lily and James, but it was strange to see his carefree friend so worried about something so ordinary as a wounded werewolf after the full moon.
Perhaps not having Padfoot with me, Remus thought, was what made the wolf feel so- confined. But we had decided the night before that Sirius was to stay with James and Lily and Harry -just in case. But something was still wrong. With both of us.
Remus had to admit that this worried him, a lot. He knew that someone close to James and Lily had been keeping tabs on them for Voldemort, but could Sirius suspect him? Or could it even be Sirius? No, Remus thought fiercely, drive those thoughts OUT of your head, NOW. Sirius knows that I would never do that, and I know the same of Sirius. The pressure- it's making us all crazy, that's all.
He rubbed his temple wearily, but despite his exhaustion, Remus knew that it would be a long time before he would be able to really sleep soundly. Nightmares always came after the full moon, to be ripped from the arms of sleep so violently was not something he wanted now. So he sat, staring in to the fire, torturing himself with his own thoughts.
~*~
"Tell me, Wormtail, when will the Fidelius Charm be performed?" Inquired Lord Voldemort. He sat in an armchair before the fire, his fingers steepled, his back to Wormtail.
"Tomorrow evening, just after supper," he replied timidly. "After the spell is cast, I will come to you with the information, my Lord."
"Very well." Voldemort's words were barely audible. "Remember, Wormtail, if you fail me, I guarantee that you will regret it."
He shuddered at the Dark Lord's words. Peter Pettigrew knew all too well the wrath of the Dark Lord. He was familiar with the Cruciatus Curse. He had seen the indifference with which Voldemort used the Killing Curse. No, this was not a man to cross.
"Now, Wormtail, go; make whatever arrangements are necessary to perform the Charm. I will await your arrival tomorrow evening."
~*~
The next day was spent making preparations for the casting of the Fidelius Charm. Peter had accepted James and Lily's request to be Secret Keeper somewhat nervously, but neither James nor Lily thought this odd. It was a remarkable responsibility. Not to mention the fact that Peter was ordinarily a rather nervous person.
Sirius came to visit that afternoon, briefly. He was very relieved that Peter had agreed. "The Death Eaters will never even think to look for him," he had said. "I have to get a sleeping potion for our insomniac werewolf now, James. Take care of yourselves, all right?" "We will, Sirius. We will." James and Sirius embraced before Sirius left.
After supper, Peter Pettigrew arrived in Godric's Hollow on James and Lily's doorstep. James opened the door.
"Hi Peter," he said with a smile. "Come in."
Peter and James made their way to the cozy living room where Lily sat, holding Harry on her knee. Lily smiled brightly at Peter.
"Well, let's get started, shall we?" James said. "This is a fairly difficult charm, and it will take both Lily and I to do it. So just sit tight while we enchant you with our secrets," the three of them laughed nervously.
Lily sat Harry down on the couch, where he watched in rapt attention. She stood beside James, facing Peter. "Since we've put up such elaborate wards on this place, Voldemort does not yet know we are here. It's only a matter of time, though, before he stumbles upon us and tears our wards down. We're going to enclose our location and how to get past the wards in you, and then, even if the Death Eaters come close, they won't be able to get in," she said.
"All right, Peter, Lily, we have to touch the tips of our wands together, and then Lily and I will cast the spell. When we stop the spell, you can lower your wand, and what is said from the time we cast to the time we stop will be enclosed in you, Peter."
The three of them raised their wands so that they touched, then James and Lily spoke at once.
"Fidelius." They said. The three wands began to glow a soft blue.
James spoke first. "James, Lily, and Harry Potter are tucked away in their home in Godric's Hollow. There are several charms to get around before gaining entry to the house."
Then Lily spoke. "The wards around the house are old magic, and to break them you need to speak the counter-charms." She went through the list of every spell she and James had cast around the house, and the words used to break them.
"Finite Incantatem," they said together. The blue glow faded to nothing and the three lowered their wands. For a moment all was silent, then James sighed softly.
"Thank you, Peter," he said. Peter smiled.
The three of them got up and walked to the door. "Get some rest, buddy. We'll see you later," James told Peter. As he walked down the garden path in the twilight, James and Lily watched him go.
"I hope he takes care of himself," Lily said. "I hope that Sirius is right and the Death Eaters won't look for him."
"I told him to go in to hiding until this all clears up. Hopefully Dumbledore will have enough information from whatever raids they make tonight to make some serious progress in this war." James put his arm around Lily's shoulders and they went back to the living room to play with Harry.
~*~
Peter Pettigrew went home and had a cup of tea before meeting with Voldemort. It helped to calm his nerves. He knew that this was wrong, betraying his only friends like this, but there was nothing else he could do. He needed to please Voldemort, before the Dark Lord grew tired of his feeble assistance and decided to kill him. He didn't want to die.
After his tea was finished, Peter rolled up his left sleeve and touched his wand to the Dark Mark there. It burned in his flesh, and he allowed the pain in his arm to guide him to Voldemort. He then held up his wand and Disapparated.
He reappeared on the porch of the Riddle manor, and entered the old house without qualms. He mounted the rickety old stairs, listened to their creak beneath his feet, and walked down the hall until he reached the room where the Dark Lord sat before the fire. He knocked softly on the ancient door and entered when the Dark Lord's cold voice beckoned him to do so.
Lord Voldemort stood facing the fire, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. "Ah, Wormtail," he said without a glance. "I take it the charm was successful?"
"Y- yes, my Lord."
Lord Voldemort turned slowly. The firelight played terrible shadows across his grotesque face and around his tall, thin frame. "Then tell me," he said softly, menacingly, "where are Lily and James Potter?"
"James, Lily, and Harry Potter are tucked away in their home in Godric's Hollow. There are several charms to get around before gaining entry to the house." He went on to describe the wards and how to dispel them, exactly as Lily had said mere hours before.
"Thank you, Wormtail, you have been very helpful to me. I will call the other Death Eaters; then, while you tell them about this evening, I will perform the murders I have been waiting for for so long." His thin lips formed a cruel smile. He pressed his finger to Peter's Dark Mark, and as it sizzled, the other Death Eaters were summoned. "Tell Lucius, when he arrives, that he is to make sure everyone waits until I return." Then, with a twist of his wand, he Disapparated to Godric's Hollow.
~*~
James was bouncing Harry on his knee when a sharp knock was heard at the front door. He looked, puzzled, at Lily, handed Harry to her, and went to investigate. "I'll be right back, dear," he said.
He threw the door open and was met face to face by a tall figure robed completely in black, with a black hood over his head. As he lowered the hood, James knew that it was Lord Voldemort himself.
"Lily! It's him!" He shouted. "Take Harry and run! I'll hold him off!" He stumbled, and began to run. "Go, Lily, run! Now!" He turned and pointed his wand at Voldemort, who had yet to raise his.
"Will you, really, Potter? I've been waiting for this for a long time, I assure you."
James was about to disarm and stun Voldemort when the Dark Lord raised his wand, grinning maliciously.
"Avada Kedavra," he said. A jet of green light shot from the end of his wand and hit James Potter square in the chest. He was dead. Voldemort grinned down at his body in satisfaction, and he laughed, high and cold. "One down, two to go," he said.
With a swish of his cloak he turned, and swept down the hallway to the back of the house.
~*~
Lily had heard Voldemort murder her husband in the front hall. Tears streamed steadily down her face as she clutched Harry to her. There was no place else for her to go.
She lifted her wand and pointed it at baby Harry and cast the most powerful protection spell she knew. She put everything she had in to it. All the love she had for Harry went in to that charm, and she hoped it would be enough to save him from the fate that was hers.
As she turned around, Voldemort charged in to the room. "Give me the child," he said.
"No! Not Harry!" Lily begged. "Please, not Harry! Please- I'll do anything. Don't take him from me!"
"Stand aside, girl, I want him first!"
"No!" Lily sobbed.
"Get out of the way!" Voldemort was tired of this. "Avada Kedavra!" He shouted. Lily fell to the floor, but Harry was unharmed. This could not be. The boy must NOT live. Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry. "Avada Kedavra!"
The room exploded in green light. The curse rocketed off of Harry and hit Voldemort, who was ripped from his disintegrating body. As the house tumbled down around little Harry, the Dark Lord's spirit was carried away on the wind. But he was not truly dead. He would be back, and would take vengeance upon this child for destroying him.
~*~
Sirius Black paced in the front room of his apartment. He knew that the Death Eaters were looking for him, but that wasn't what made him so nervous. Something was wrong. He could sense it. He kept trying to tell himself that everything was going to be all right, and that once the Charm was performed, Dumbledore would be able to hunt down Voldemort rather than hide James and Lily from him.
He glanced at the clock. Seven. They'd probably just begun to cast the spell. He paced some more, raking his hands through his thick black hair.
Earlier that day, he'd been to see James and Lily and Harry. He was so worried about them! What if the Death Eaters showed up before the spell could be cast? What if they found Peter?
He forced himself to rationalize and relax. You're just nervous. Get over it. He went in to the kitchen to make something to eat, but by the time he'd made a sandwich he realized that he wasn't at all hungry. He left the sandwich lying on a plate on the counter and resumed his pacing in the front room.
"I hope Remus is all right," he said to himself. Sirius had been worried about him also. Something was wrong, and he didn't know what it was. The full moon was harder on his friend than he could ever remember... and he didn't know why. That worried him.
Sirius had seen Remus that day also. He could tell that Remus was having trouble sleeping; the dark circles under his eyes, which contrasted so drastically with the pallor of his tired face, made that obvious. Remus was usually fairly pale, but this month was worse, so he'd brought him a sleeping draught. Hopefully his friend had been able to sleep peacefully once he'd left, and hopefully he would continue to sleep through the night. Instead of worry. Sirius knew that Remus would be worrying himself sick, almost as sick as Sirius himself was now, if he weren't in a deep sleep.
Sirius willed himself to sit. After all, it surely wouldn't do to have a deep trench in the carpet... the landlord would not be pleased. But he just couldn't ease his troubled mind. Perhaps some tea will help. He made his way again to the kitchen and put the kettle on.
A little while later, Sirius had drunk three cups of tea and was on his fourth as he paced once again in his front room. Enough of this! He thought. I'll just go check on Peter, make sure he's all right, make sure the Death Eaters haven't come looking for him. He left the apartment, climbed on his infamous motorbike, and took off.
~*~
The quaint little cottage was dark when Sirius landed in front of it. He knocked apprehensively, and when Peter did not come to the door he became quite worried.
"Peter! Open up, it's Sirius! Where the hell are you?" He pounded on the door.
After a minute or so of this, Sirius magicked the door open and entered Peter's house. A quick peek in the rooms told him that Peter was not in.
No sign of any capture. It certainly did not look as though any Death Eaters had been here. Everything was in order, and the door had been neatly latched (before Sirius had opened it, that is). No, something was definitely wrong.
Sirius looked around anxiously for any sign of Peter. His nerves were shot. Peter was gone.
"Bloody hell," Sirius said vaguely. This was very, very wrong.
He ran outside, got back on his motorbike, and flew like a bat out of hell to Godric's Hollow, hoping against hope that everything was in fact all right. Nothing he had ever seen in his brief time as an Auror could ever have prepared him for the shock that he felt when he arrived.
James and Lily's house was a pile of wreckage. It was utterly destroyed. And high above it, in the sky, obscuring the stars, was the Dark Mark. Sirius ran to the house.
"James! Lily! Dear God, JAMES! Oh, please, oh please, don't be here... Please, please have gotten away..." Sirius was nearly hysterical. He searched the wreckage for any sign of life.
Then he stumbled across the body of his best friend, lying in what used to be the hall.
"No! James!" And this was all too much for Sirius. He broke down, sobbing bitter tears. PETER... Peter did this.. Oh, God, James, what have I done? What have I done? This is all my fault...
Sirius stood slowly, glancing at James's body once more, tears streaming steadily down his face. Lily. He must find Lily. And Harry- his godson. Oh, God.
Rubeus Hagrid heard Sirius's desperate sobs as he picked Harry Potter out of the wreckage that was his home. Hagrid sniffled loudly and cradled Harry to his chest, then walked towards the front of the house. He saw Sirius, his head bent in sorrow.
"Sirius?" He said quietly.
Sirius looked up. He was paler than Hagrid had ever seen him, his eyes were red and swollen, and he was shaking violently. "Hagrid..."
"Oh, Sirius, I'm awful sorry... poor James an' Lily..." he blew his nose loudly into a handkerchief in his free hand.
Then Sirius noticed Harry.
"Harry... he- he's ... alive?"
"Yeah, I don' know how... look at the gash on his forehead... an' You-Know-Who's gone! Som'thin' about little Harry here defeated him, Sirius."
"Hagrid, give- give Harry to me. I'm his godfather... I'll look after him," Sirius said unsteadily.
"Aw, Sirius, I can'. Dumbledore's said he's ter go an' live with Lily's muggle sister," said Hagrid.
"But- Hagrid, he's... he's James and Lily's son! He can't be raised by muggles! I'm his godfather."
"No, got ter follow Dumbledore's orders. I'm awful sorry, Sirius."
"Can I at least say goodbye to him?"
Hagrid handed the little bundle to Sirius, who cradled it like his life depended on it. He rocked Harry back and forth as the tears ran steadily down his face.
"Goodbye my little Marauder," he said softly. "I'll see you around." Sirius handed Harry back to Hagrid. "Hagrid, take my motorbike... I won't be needing it anymore," Sirius said heavily.
"All right. Will yeh be all righ', Sirius?"
"Y- yes. I'm going to stay here and... say goodbye," he sniffed.
"Goodbye, Sirius. Good luck." Hagrid smiled weakly, then mounted the bike and flew away.
Sirius watched him go. Then he went to look for Lily. Her fiery red hair wasn't difficult to spot, even through all the mess. He knelt down beside her, the tears in his eyes threatening to overwhelm him. "This is all my fault, Lily. I'm so sorry," he choked, and a new wave of sobs cut off his words. "I should have listened to you... Remus would never have done this... it was Peter, he must be working for Voldemort... he must have been the spy... oh, God," he dissolved once more in to tears.
After a few minutes, Sirius picked Lily's body up and carried her to the front of the house. He laid her on the ground next to James and cried.
Soon the Ministry wizards would arrive, and the muggle police, and Sirius did not want to deal with people right now. He stood wearily and looked at James and Lily for one last time. "Goodbye, my dear friends... I'm so sorry."
He had to find Peter.
~*~
Dawn broke cold and crisp the next morning. Sirius had not rested. His face was drawn, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was exhausted. But he didn't notice. He had to find Peter, that spineless little rat. He would pay for betraying Sirius Black's friends. He would pay dearly.
It was a few hours before Sirius caught up with Peter Pettigrew. He spotted him on the street in a muggle town. He strode towards him, menacingly, until Peter spotted him.
The disgusting traitor turned abruptly and ran towards Sirius. "Lily and James, Sirius!" He sobbed. "How could you?!"
Sirius started to draw his wand. "How could I? You-" His words were cut off by a tremendous explosion in the street behind Peter. When the dust settled, a pile of bloody robes lay in the street where Peter had stood. Sirius never even had the chance to curse him, the little bastard.
Ministry Hit- Wizards were on Sirius like ants on an old Chocolate Frog. Sirius was beyond shock. He'd lost his chance to avenge James and Lily. He was out of tears. All he could do was laugh, bitterly, as the ministry carted him away.
~*~
Remus Lupin awoke around nine on the morning of November the first. He had slept ever since Sirius had dropped by yesterday afternoon with a sleeping draught for him, for which Remus was grateful. The long sleep left him feeling groggy and a bit stiff, but he felt recovered from his transformation the other night.
As he stretched languidly and pulled himself out of bed, he thought of Sirius. Last night, he and James and Lily would have cast the Fidelius Charm... he hoped they were all right. He shuffled to the kitchen and put the kettle on to boil. As soon as he settled down at the table, full teacup in hand, he heard an intense rapping on his front door. I wonder who it could be... it's a bit early for Sirius to visit...
He cradled his warm teacup in his hands and walked to the door. When he opened it, he saw Albus Dumbledore standing on his porch, looking very haggard.
"Headmaster! Do come in," he said. He was surprised to see Professor Dumbledore this morning. But something was wrong. The Headmaster's eyes were missing their usual sparkle, and he looked very -well, old.
"Remus..." he said slowly.
"What's wrong, sir?"
Dumbledore sighed deeply. "James- James and Lily were... murdered... last night, Remus. By Voldemort. Peter was killed this morning, along with twelve muggles... Sirius- was arrested, Remus-"
The teacup in Remus's hands fell to the floor with a great clatter, and shattered in to a million pieces on the hard wood. But Remus didn't notice. The tea spilled out on to the floor, making a dark puddle around the shards of china. But Remus didn't notice. The world around him grew blurry, and he tried to listen to what the Headmaster was unsteadily saying, but he couldn't focus. The entire world came crashing down and shattered in to a million pieces around him, all he knew to be true and right puddled around the broken shards. And he was completely powerless to stop it.
Dumbledore was apologizing softly, and tears were running slowly down his pale cheeks. Remus drew in great gulps of air and clutched his hands to his chest. He didn't know what to do. He sunk to the floor slowly at first, then his knees gave way. He felt Dumbledore's strong, thin hands grasp him beneath his arms and guide his descent to the floor, where he crumpled among the shards of china. He felt two thin arms wrap around his body. Slowly awareness crept back to his mind, and he realized he was sobbing; great, desperate sobs that threatened to consume his entire being. His cheeks were wet from the tears that ran endlessly down his drawn face. Dumbledore sat patiently with him.
After several long minutes the sobs diminished enough for Remus to speak.
"So Sirius was- the spy?" Remus could not believe it to be true. If Sirius Black was a spy for Voldemort then it seemed that all the truths he had believed before were askew. Sirius had been the most loyal friend he had ever known, both to himself and to James. If there was one person to trust, it was Sirius. If there was one good- hearted person in this world, it was Sirius. This was impossible.
"It seems that way, Remus. I am so sorry." Dumbledore looked very tired. "All we found of Peter was his finger... it seems that he found out about James and Lily and went to confront Sirius... but he wasn't fast enough. Poor boy..."
"But this can't- oh, my God, I- I don't know what to say. I just find it so hard to believe that Sirius... my best friend, for God's sake, betrayed them... dear God..." he broke off in to more quiet sobs this time.
He stopped crying abruptly. "What about Harry?"
Dumbledore smiled very slightly. "Harry lived. Voldemort tried to kill him, and failed," (Remus's jaw dropped), "and he has been sent to live with Lily's muggle sister."
"Harry? He's alive? And Voldemort is... ?"
"Gone. For now, at least, Remus. It doesn't feel to me that he is truly gone."
"I see." Remus looked out the window at the bright sky. This wasn't right. His life was ruined. Shouldn't it be raining? James and Lily and Peter were dead... Sirius was responsible... Remus dissolved in to tears once more.
A few minutes later, Dumbledore spoke. "I'm sorry, Remus, but Sirius is due to go on trial in a few moments out at the Courthouse. I have to go. Will you be all right?"
Remus looked up in to Dumbledore's piercingly blue eyes. He searched them for some sort of guidance, some sort of truth. But it seemed that even Dumbledore could not help him now. "Let me go with you... please, sir, I need to see Sirius..."
Dumbledore gazed back at him for a moment, then said tiredly, "All right. Let's go."