(Note from the author: These are not my characters, my world, or my
situations. They all belong to J. K. Rowling, and are protected by
copyrights.)
The city was alight with life that night. Cars drove past the small flat building, mothers tucked their children into bed, and fathers returned from their late working jobs. Life had continued on, contrary to what was happening inside flat number 308.
Sirius could see Jessica, that woman from so many years ago, tucking her son into bed this night. What had been his name? What had been her last name? It had all faded away, the past few years.
None of it mattered now.
After all of these years, and after all of the people he had met, only one face had stayed as bright and as alive as the last night he saw it.
Elise Warren.
He had once told James, months after her death, that if she had lived, she may have been the one for him. He hadn't known her long enough to determine if this was true, but he hadn't met anyone after her that could outdo that girl he had lost. No, he hadn't pined over her, but it was some sort of comfort to him that there may have been someone out there that had been made to just be with him. James had a family.
He did not.
He would have given anything to go home and see a girl's face smiling at him, his son being rocked in her arms. His best friend didn't know how lucky he was. And he doubted if he ever would.
"Do you know where the box with the bedsheets went?" James asked, coming out of their bedroom.
Sirius turned from his window to face the scattered living room. Boxes and things were stacked ontop of each other, all marked and ready to be delivered to Godric's Hollow. Sirius shrugged, and pointed to the kitchen.
"Probably in there," he said.
James nodded, and ran behind the counter to retrieve a box marked, "BED." Harry was sleeping away in a makeshift bed on Sirius's couch, and Sirius found himself staring at the baby for the hundredth time that night.
It's all for you, kid, he thought to himself, Don't you disappoint us.
Harry stirred in his sleep, and Sirius smiled to himself.
Don't you forget me, either, he added.
"James, what time is it?" Lily asked, emerging from the bedroom. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, and she carried a cleaning rag, "We have to move all this stuff there by midnight tonight."
"It's eight o' clock," James said, looking at his watch, "We better start getting out of here. Are you ready, Sirius?"
Harry was tucked between two blankets, his perfect skin so pale under his jet black hair. He had grown so much in the past year, and Sirius still couldn't believe that they had celebrated his first year of birth three months ago. He was perfect.
"Sirius!"
Sirius jumped to attention, "Yeah, yeah. I'm ready."
"Lily?"
Lily looked hesitant, gave Sirius one more look, and then nodded slowly, "Yes. I am."
"All right," James said, and set the "BED" box on the "BABY" box. They didn't have too many things to take to the new house, due to the fact that most of their belongings had been destroyed. But the Order had pitched in, and had bought them some necessities of life. The three of them crawled over the pile of junk, and then made their way into the bedroom.
It was the moment that they had all three been waiting for, and yet dreading. Sirius couldn't believe that it was finally here. The moment that he could make a difference. The moment that he would prove to the world that he . . . Sirius Black . . . was worthy of the Order.
But most of all, it was the moment in which Lily could trust him.
"Sit on the bed," Lily said, taking over. James found a seat next to the windowsill after shutting the door behind them, and looked out to the rooftops and chimneys. They contrasted with the dying light of that day gone by. The last day of his freedom.
Sirius took a seat on the bed, across from Lily. She looked nervous. She didn't have faith in him.
"It's all right," he assured her as she reached under the bed for her spell book. Flitwick had lent it to her during one of his lessons with her, and now she treated it as if it were a venemous insect, ready to strike and kill her at any time. Sirius touched her hand, and her head whipped around to gawk at this man. Who was he?
What was he thinking?
Could she really trust him?
"I know," she said, her hand now shaking as she situated herself on the bed. She took out her wand while opening the book. The illustration on the sixtieth page showed a man, with colored light surrounding him in a swirled design. The light was slowly seeping into his mouth, and making his body glow with that same colored light. Then the light was gone, and the man waved out at the reader. Finally, the illustration repeated itself, the light re-emitting itself into the air and forcing itself down the man's throat again. Sirius wondered if it would hurt.
He didn't care. It was too late now.
"Give me your hand," Lily instructed him, still reading the page. Sirius obeyed her, and extended his left hand, palm up. She rested her beautiful fingers on his, and then raised her wand to his wrist.
"This may feel a little funny," she said slowly, not sure herself, "And this is the first spell in five. Each one is to take a short amount of time, but they're very complex," she looked at him, her green eyes sparkling from behind her red bangs, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Are you?" Sirius asked her, and she gave out a forced laugh.
"It isn't really a choice, Sirius," she said.
"It isn't for me, either," he replied, and she bit her lip.
Lily looked back to the book. Was she making a mistake? Should she stand up and demand that it should be Remus? That they should kick Sirius out and never let him see her baby again? Should she run? What if she was just signing her own death warrant for trusting this man?
Lily was staring at the book, her eyes scanning the page. Sirius knew she was nervous, and having second thoughts. He was having a few of those himself.
He looked over to the windowsill, where James sat. That boy had meant nothing to him the first day they had met. Or the second. He had just been a regular boy who stole Chocolate Frogs from a food cart. One in a million trouble makers that he could befriend at this new school. But then, something had happened. Somehow they had become so close.
He couldn't let anything happen to him. He wouldn't be able to go on living if anyone touched James or scarred him in any way. He couldn't let that happen.
This is the only way I can save them, he thought to himself as Lily started chanting the first spell. A small, cold sensation had flowed through his veins, and he winced a bit.
Voldemort can torture me, I will never tell him anything. I'll die before letting that freak get to them, he thought, I can only trust myself now. I know what I am and what I'm not. I'm not a traitor. I am a friend. That's all that I can be sure of.
The coldness swept through his body, and he shut his eyes. It did feel funny. But his mind felt clearer, purer.
But how long until Voldemort finds you? he wondered, How long would it be until he tried to come for you? What if he knew it was him all along? What if Lily did the spell wrong and something would go wrong? What if Voldemort put him under the Imperius Curse and made him tell him? There were a hundred things that could go wrong.
"All right," Lily said, turning the page, "Here's the second spell. Just don't think about anything, all right? Clear your mind. This one isn't as bad. The third and fourth are worse."
Sirius nodded, and closed his eyes. What would happen if Voldemort found him? The man probably already knew that it was him that they would pick. What if he wasn't strong enough to fend him off? What if he was forced to tell him? How could he live with himself.
Lily's cold, shaking hands touched his chest, and Sirius breathed in and out steadily. Lily then closed her eyes, and whispered a spell. The cold that had run through his body now was replaced by a burning sensation. It felt as if his entire body would burst into flame from the inside out, and he clenched his teeth together. His hands became fists, and his body shook.
Finally, he let out a howl, and Lily stopped, somewhat afraid.
"I'm sorry," she said, exasperated. She seemed to be hurting as well, "It's to clean your body. I'm sorry. I think that's long enough. I . . ."
"Just get on with it," he growled, his teeth still gritted.
Lily nodded, and turned the page, "This one, and the fourth one will melt together for you, all right? Your mind is going to go back into two different times. The past, and what you believe to be your future. It's a way for the spell to find a place to fit itself, in the back of your mind. Back where you store all your older memories you don't want to remember or think about."
"So everything I've tried to forget," Sirius grunted, "Wonderful."
Lily raised her wand to his forehead, and took a deep breath, "Cecerete Ceep-ere. Cecerete Ceep-ere."
Sirius closed his eyes, and slowly felt himself falling back into the darkness of his mind. And a rush of blind memories ran at him, hidding him head on. Voices exploded from his past, trying to deafen him. He gritted his teeth as he heard them all around him, banging, pounding, screaming . . .
"Do you see Regulus speaking to lowly commoners such as them? No. You will never be associated with any of them. Never. I forbid it."
"You're not on probation because you were helping Remus! You're on probation because you tried to kill Snape! You tried to have Remus kill him! Don't you see what you've done? Are you that blind, Sirius? Do you really think it would help Remus to have a murder on his conscience? Are you that thick headed?"
"I dunno. I saw Remus's face, and I was thinking . well, you know, it's gonna happen to all of us sometime. Our parents are going to die. And eventually, we'll die. You know? I mean, I never really thought about it until his mum got all sick ... we aren't here for very long. And it's best to do whatever we can while we're still here ."
"AAAAAAA - OOOOOO!"
"Remus?"
"HEEEEEELLLLPPP MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! MUUUMMMM!!"
"What's going on?"
"Could someone shut that lout up?"
"Wake up! Come on, Remus. It's just a dream."
"I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I DON'T WANT TO ."
"Peter, go get Professor McGonagall."
"I'm sort of unnerved about it, though. I mean, it doesn't sound like a family picnic, does it? Rallies of Dark Magic? Knights of Walpurgis? Secret meetings with all the purebloods? If only I could remember the name of the man that's doing all of it . he goes by some weird foreign nickname . I know his real name, though. Riddle. Tom Riddle."
"The Potters have declined to answer their calling into the rally. Unlike us, they do not support the cause. Therefore, I forbid you to ever talk to this child again. And anymore of your little friends."
"Now listen to me, both of you. I don't care what he is! I don't care what he did! I know Remus, and Remus is my friend. And that's the way it's gonna stay. If either one of you have a problem with that, you can leave now. There's the Cloak, but I'm going to stay here with him and be here when he turns back. You guys make your own decisions."
"I know who your boggart was. And I don't know how you found out ."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. We both know. And I am warning you not to tell anyone. If I get wind that you've been poking around next to that ."
"I really don't know what you mean, sir. It was a picture from my first year text book. You can look it up for yourself if you'd like. Page two thirteen."
"Why do you fear werewolves?"
"What are you doing?"
"Something that I should have done a long time ago. I'm not doing it anymore! I hate you! I hate you all!"
Sirius fell into darkness again, and was now set back at Grimmauld Place for the last scene. His mother screaming at him, and him packing his suitcase. His father threatening him, he himself sticking his wand between his father's eyes . . . and running down the stairs.
Far away from that hell on Earth.
He opened the door, and was surprised to be faced with a new setting. One of his own flat . . . except Voldemort was there, leaning over him, taking out his wand . . .
"Imperio!" the Dark Lord sneered, and Sirius opened his mouth.
He opened his mouth to tell him. He said the address . . . the street number, the house . . . everything.
And then he saw Voldemort walk there, to that house, and break down the door, and . . . .
"NO!" Sirius howled, and Lily jumped back, her wand falling on the wooden floor. She gasped as Sirius jolted himself out of the spell, and jumped back into the headboard of the bed. He was close to tears as he looked at his hands, and then at Lily, and at James. They were alive. Everything was still all right.
"Are you okay, mate?" James asked, and Sirius didn't respond. He just stared at Lily, and Lily stared back, confused.
"Sirius? Are you okay?" James said, urgency now in his voice. He hopped up from his seat, and rushed to the side of the bed to pat his friend on the back. Sirius jumped again, and then shook his head.
"This is wrong," he said, to no one in particular, "No, he'll know it's me."
"What are you talking about?" James asked.
"Voldemort. He'll know it's me. I'm your best friend, James. He'll know you would pick me. It's all part of his plan. He's going to find me, and . . ."
"Sirius, the spell's almost done . . ."
"I can't do it, James!" Sirius tried to explain to him, pleading with his eyes, "I would do it if I could, but I can't! I won't let myself! I can't trust myself to not slip up . . .to not fall right where he wants me to."
"Sirius! I trust you! We all trust you! I need you to do this for me."
"Get a new Secret Keeper," he said, "Send an owl to Peter. Dag is fast. He'll make it in time . . . Wormtail's just a few blocks away . . ."
"Peter?" James exclaimed, "Why Peter? No, Sirius. No. We're running out of time. Just try to relax . . ."
"Exactly! We're running out of time!" Sirius shouted over his friend, "We're all running out of time! Send Dag to him! He's the only person we can trust now, James!"
"We can trust you!"
"No you can't!"
"Sirius, please! Please do this for me! Please!" James tried to shove his friend back into place, but Sirius just shoved him back.
"I can't, James!"
"Please!"
"I - CAN'T - JAMES!" Sirius shouted, and James and Lily grew silent. Sirius took this opportunity to bolt out of the door and into the living room. He saw Dag sitting in his cage next to Harry, and he grabbed him.
James followed him out of the room, and grabbed his arm. He forced him to turn to look at him, and then grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Why are you doing this, Padfoot?" he ordered, "Why? We had agreed on this . . ."
"Send for Peter," Sirius said, determined, shoving Dag into his owner's arms, "Send for him. Now."
"I can't trust him," James said, "He could just as easily be the spy . . ."
"For Merlin's sake, James!" Sirius shouted, "He's Peter Pettigrew! He's scared of his own reflection! Why would he go to that Side?"
"Why would he keep a Secret?"
"Because he'd be scared to let us down," Sirius said, "It works both ways. I know that little rat. Voldemort will never suspect him. No one would. We don't tell anyone that anything's changed. As far as anyone's concerned, I'm still the Secret Keeper. It's just another precaution. Please. You have to trust me. If you truly do, you'll send for him."
Dag, old and tired Dag, hooted from his cage, and James sighed, defeated. He took the old owl, and then nodded slowly.
"You were always right," he said, "Always got me out of trouble. And I trust you."
Sirius returned his nod, and patted him on the shoulder, "Good. Now get him here. We're running out of time."
With that, Sirius returned to the bedroom to wait with Lily. Lily hadn't moved from her position on the bed, and she looked haunted. Sirius sighed, ran his fingers through his black hair, and took a seat on the sill where James had been sitting. Lily looked at him, and gave a sad smile.
"I trust you now," she said.
Sirius looked at her, and nodded, "Good."
"No," she said, "I trust you. You have to go through with it. We don't know about Peter . . . He could be the traitor as easily as Remus . . ."
"No, he couldn't," Sirius said, "There's too much on Remus's side."
"Sirius . . ."
"You said you trusted me, right?" he interrupted her.
Lily slowly nodded, and said, "Yes."
"Then trust me on this, and choose Peter."
The door opened, and then shut. Both of them looked to the bedroom entrance while James ran to the door, and greeted someone.
"Wormtail, good, you were home," he said in a rushed voice, "We need your help."
"What's going on?" Peter's high squeaky voice sounded.
Both of the boys hurried into the room, Peter still wearing his coat. Sirius grabbed him, and set him down on the bed.
"You remember how James and Lily agreed on me for Secret Keeper?" he started.
Peter nodded, eyes almost popping out of his skull. He could feel the tension through the room, and it almost choked him to death.
"We're changing it," Sirius continued, "Now it's you, Wormtail. You're going to be the Secret Keeper."
Peter's jaw dropped, and James could see a small twisted smile peeking from underneath his pale skin.
"You'd trust me with that, would you?"
"Yes," Sirius said, "Yes we would. Right, James?"
James nodded, and came to stand next to his best friend, "Peter, I've known you for a long time. And whenever I had a problem that I needed to tell you about, you never told anyone. You've kept all of my secrets in the past. So this is just another one of those problems. And I know that you'd die before letting Voldemort know where we were."
"But . . ." the smile faded away, "I . . . I . . ."
"Peter, you really don't have a choice," Lily said, "We have a short amount of time. We have to get going."
"I can't!" Peter said, all willpower taking over, "I can't do that to you. I can't be a part of this. I can't . . ."
"You have to!" Sirius barked.
"I can't, Sirius!" Peter said, swallowing hard, "You don't understand! I can't!"
"That's all you ever say! You can't, you can't!" Sirius said, shouting now, "Your friends are in trouble! It's time to be a hero, Peter! It's time to help your side in the war and finish it off! As soon as James and Lily and Harry are hidden, we have a better chance of survival! For the end of the war!"
"You want to see the end of the war, don't you?" James prodded.
Peter hesitated at that one question, as if taking it to heart. He clutched his hands together, wringing them together quickly. His complexion was one of a ghost, and his beady little eyes looked to the floorboards.
"Yes," he said quietly, "Very much so."
Sirius was seated at the sill with James, watching Lily start the fourth spell. The first three had been rather painful for Peter, and now he was shaking from both nerves and the icy heat that flew through his veins and heart. Now he was jolting on the bed, tears running down his cheeks, as he watched the scenes of the past and future. He shook his head vigorously, as if denying something. Sirius knew that both he and James were in many of those memories that he was watching being played out.
Finally, the jolting stopped, and Lily let go of Peter's hand for one moment as she flipped the page to begin the fifth and final spell. She took a hold of his wrist, and with a shaky voice, began the incantation.
"Cecerete Ceep-ere. Cecerete Ceep-ere."
Peter now stood still, his eyes wide open, yet not being able to see any of his surroundings. He was petrified, staring right in front of him as if he were in a sort of trance. Sirius didn't know if he was truly in a trance, or just scared out of his little mind.
Probably the latter.
"Cecerete Ceep-ere. The secret of James Potter and Harry Potter and Lily Potter is restricted to the mind of Peter Pettigrew," she said, and Sirius nodded. Yes. Yes, it was working, "Cecerete Ceep-ere. The following people will be found at the following address. Cecerete Ceep-ere. James Potter and Harry Potter and Lily Potter will be found at Number 5 Godric's Hollow. Cecerete Ceep-ere. Cecerete-Ceep-ere."
And with a sound like a thundercloud, the room seemed to explode as a bright wave of light flew from Sirius's body, and he collapsed on the window's frame. James grabbed him, and helped him back up to a sitting position. The light flew above all of their heads, spiraling on the ceiling. And just as soon as that one had come, a thousand more flew from the outside, seeping through the walls and cracks and windows and chimney pipe. With a sound that none of them had ever heard before, and could not be described, the lights flew to the top of the room to join Sirius's, and began whirling together in a bright array of color and explosions. A mighty wind swept into the room, and Lily shielded her eyes as the light grew brighter and brighter.
Peter now looked up to the ceiling, and it seemed as if he was going to die right there on the spot. His mouth hung open and he couldn't move.
The lights turned to one, and began to make a downward spiral towards Peter who sat there on the bed. A funnel cloud appeared, running right into the mouth of Wormtail himself. The man choked as the light threw itself down his throat, and began to radiate his body. Peter glowed for a moment in the dark of the room, before the sound ended, and the blackness regained control of the small space. Peter lay there for a moment as James, Lily, and Sirius stared at him in amazement.
And then he collapsed on the bed, his eyes closed and his face chalk white.
"Peter!" Lily cried, and leaned over to try to shake him.
"What happened?" she asked as Sirius and James stepped closer to take a look at him. Sirius shrugged, and then gave out a laugh.
"The dolt fainted."
The day had begun to seep through the night sky to reveal the city's beautiful skyline. Lily and James were supposed to have been in their new house by now, but there had been delays. Lily checked on her son on the couch as she brought in the last of the boxes to the living room where they were all going to Apparated to the new location. James stacked them on top of each other, while Lily did a quick check of their room to see if they had forgotten anything.
Peter was still white, and sitting on the couch next to the sleeping Harry. He couldn't look at the boy. He was still afraid of him.
He had to protect him. James watched the two of them from the other side of the room. Harry's foot kicked out in his sleep, and Peter jumped.
"Peter?" James started, and Peter didn't look at him. His hankerchief was in his hand, and he religiously dabbed as his face with it, trying to shake off the spell's feeling of doom.
"Peter, I want to thank you," James said, coming closer, "I know that you're a very brave man, Peter. And I trust you. Thank you for this. I know that when Harry gets older, he'll consider you a closer uncle than before. You saved his life, Wormtail."
"What have I done," Peter whispered, more to himself than James.
"You've just become a hero, Wormtail," James said, touching his arm, "You just saved the day."
A shuffling of a chair came from Sirius's room, and James turned to look at the darkened doorway.
"Just a minute," he said to Peter, and crossed the room to peer into the darkness.
Sirius was sitting on his bed, looking out his window, and humming a tune to himself. It was that song from Remus's music box. James had almost forgotten how it went.
Sirius looked old. Ancient, even. He was only twenty one, and still his entire posture was one of a worn and beaten fossil. He pushed his longer hair out of his face, and sat without saying a word. James felt his heart fall into the pit of his stomach, and he now realized how hard this night was for his brother.
How hard it was for himself.
"Sirius?" he asked, and Sirius jumped. He turned around to look at James, but he didn't stand.
"Oh, hey, James," he said, "How are you holding up."
"The best I can," James replied, and walked to the bed to take a seat next to Sirius, "And you?"
"Same here," he said, and then looked back to the window, "Same here."
"Lily's doing a last minute check, and then we're going to be going," James informed him, "I don't know when we'll be back, but I hope soon."
"What's tomorrow?"
"What?" James asked.
"What's tomorrow? What day of the week?" Sirius asked. James, taken aback by this random question, shrugged, and answered, "I don't know. Sunday."
"Then I guess I'll be going to church in a few hours," Sirius said.
James looked at his best friend, and gave out a laugh, "You don't go to church. You haven't since Harry was born."
"Yeah, I know," Sirius said, smiling a saddened smile, "But I think I should go tomorrow."
James nodded, and then put his arm around Sirius. They were quiet for a moment, and then James reached into his pocket for something.
"I almost forgot," he said, and Sirius looked to the crumpled and torn piece of parchment that his friend now held in his hand. It had jumbled letters on it, and it was only a small slip of one line of writing. But Sirius couldn't read it.
"If anything goes wrong," James said, handing the paper to him, "You'll be able to read this. I wrote it out myself. It says where we are. But you'll only be able to read it if the secret gets out. You understand?"
"Yeah," Sirius said, taking the parchment, "But you'll be fine. Peter will never . . ."
"I know," he said, "But just in case. I want you to know where we are."
Sirius nodded, and stuffed the parchment in his pocket, "I understand."
"Good," James said, and then gave out a deep breath, "Now what to say now? We were never really good at this goodbye thing, were we?"
"No, we weren't," Sirius said, not moving.
"So what should we say?"
"Goodbye, I guess," he shrugged, and James laughed.
"Yeah."
The two boys sat there for another moment, not looking at each other, before Sirius spoke up.
"When you three get back, I'm going to help you buy a house. A new one."
"What," James snorted sarcastically, "You don't like us living out of your flat?"
"Harry keeps me up at night," he said, and they both laughed.
Soon, their laughs turned into small chuckles, and then disappeared. Then Sirius grabbed James and held him close to him like a father holding a son. James returned the embrace just as hard, and they sat there, trying not to cry on each other's cloaks. James hit Sirius on the back, and Sirius squeezed him even tighter.
"Hey, someone messes with one of us, he messes with all of us," Sirius said, through the oncoming tears, and James nodded.
"Yeah, Padfoot," he said, his own tears appearing, "That's how it is. That's how it's always been."
"Look at you two," Lily said, now leaning up against the doorway and smiling sadly, "It isn't like we're going away forever."
The boys, somewhat embarrassed, let go of each other, and stood to face her. Sirius tried to hide his tears by wiping his sleeve across his face.
"It's dusty in here," he commented, rubbing his eyes, "It keeps bothering me and my eyes."
"Yeah," James agreed, "You should clean once in a while."
Lily held out her hand for her husband, and James took it. The three of them walked into the living room, and to where all of their luggage was piled ontop of each other. Sirius went to the side of the couch, and looked down upon Harry, sleeping peacefully next to Peter. He felt a lump appear at the back of his throat.
"So Harry," he said, only talking to the baby. He didn't care if anyone else could hear him or not, "You're the boy who's gonna change our world."
Lily and James looked to him, and stopped in their tracks. Peter closed his eyes, maybe out of pure fear.
"You're a lucky kid, you know that?" Sirius said, kneeling down to look into the sleeping boy's face, "You've got parents that would sacrifice for you. You've got friends that would die for you. And that's gonna make you strong, Harry. You're gonna be the bravest, the smartest, and the greatest little boy the world has ever seen. You're gonna be in history books, and part of bedtime stories. And everyone will know your name. You've got a future ahead of you, because of those two over there. You're lucky, kid. Real lucky."
Lily took James's hand, and James looked to her. She was smiling at Sirius, but squeezing his fingers tightly. They were still in love. After everything that had happened, she loved him. He knew that now.
"And I'm always gonna help you, Harry," Sirius said, "When you get back, I'm taking you out to the park. And I'm gonna put you on the swings, and I'll push you. And no matter how high you go, no matter how much power you have, or how fast you fall back to the ground, you'll always know that I'll be there behind you, ready to push you back up into the sky. That's what your father did for me, Harry. And that's what I'll do for you."
Then he took Harry in his arms, and buried his face in the boy's black hair. Getting to his feet, he handed him to his mother, and took his seat on the couch. It was time for the Potters to leave.
James waved goodbye to his two friends of life, and Lily held her baby tight against her chest. Dumbledore had prepared a special liscense for them to haul everything there in one trip, including Harry. Everything was set. Now the only thing left was for James to raise his wand and leave.
And he did. Slowly his hand rose, and he shut his eyes. The last look that Sirius got of his friend was of him smiling, content. He had done the right thing.
And in the blink of an eye, all of the boxes and all of the people were gone. It was so fast that Sirius might have thought it to be a dream. But alas, Peter still sat next to him, not saying a word.
"Show's over, Wormtail," Sirius said, getting up. Peter didn't move, and Sirius sighed. He was snap out of it sometime.
He headed back into his bedroom as the sun rose on a new day. He shut the doors, and left Wormtail by himself.
Sirius had to get ready for church.
The city was alight with life that night. Cars drove past the small flat building, mothers tucked their children into bed, and fathers returned from their late working jobs. Life had continued on, contrary to what was happening inside flat number 308.
Sirius could see Jessica, that woman from so many years ago, tucking her son into bed this night. What had been his name? What had been her last name? It had all faded away, the past few years.
None of it mattered now.
After all of these years, and after all of the people he had met, only one face had stayed as bright and as alive as the last night he saw it.
Elise Warren.
He had once told James, months after her death, that if she had lived, she may have been the one for him. He hadn't known her long enough to determine if this was true, but he hadn't met anyone after her that could outdo that girl he had lost. No, he hadn't pined over her, but it was some sort of comfort to him that there may have been someone out there that had been made to just be with him. James had a family.
He did not.
He would have given anything to go home and see a girl's face smiling at him, his son being rocked in her arms. His best friend didn't know how lucky he was. And he doubted if he ever would.
"Do you know where the box with the bedsheets went?" James asked, coming out of their bedroom.
Sirius turned from his window to face the scattered living room. Boxes and things were stacked ontop of each other, all marked and ready to be delivered to Godric's Hollow. Sirius shrugged, and pointed to the kitchen.
"Probably in there," he said.
James nodded, and ran behind the counter to retrieve a box marked, "BED." Harry was sleeping away in a makeshift bed on Sirius's couch, and Sirius found himself staring at the baby for the hundredth time that night.
It's all for you, kid, he thought to himself, Don't you disappoint us.
Harry stirred in his sleep, and Sirius smiled to himself.
Don't you forget me, either, he added.
"James, what time is it?" Lily asked, emerging from the bedroom. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, and she carried a cleaning rag, "We have to move all this stuff there by midnight tonight."
"It's eight o' clock," James said, looking at his watch, "We better start getting out of here. Are you ready, Sirius?"
Harry was tucked between two blankets, his perfect skin so pale under his jet black hair. He had grown so much in the past year, and Sirius still couldn't believe that they had celebrated his first year of birth three months ago. He was perfect.
"Sirius!"
Sirius jumped to attention, "Yeah, yeah. I'm ready."
"Lily?"
Lily looked hesitant, gave Sirius one more look, and then nodded slowly, "Yes. I am."
"All right," James said, and set the "BED" box on the "BABY" box. They didn't have too many things to take to the new house, due to the fact that most of their belongings had been destroyed. But the Order had pitched in, and had bought them some necessities of life. The three of them crawled over the pile of junk, and then made their way into the bedroom.
It was the moment that they had all three been waiting for, and yet dreading. Sirius couldn't believe that it was finally here. The moment that he could make a difference. The moment that he would prove to the world that he . . . Sirius Black . . . was worthy of the Order.
But most of all, it was the moment in which Lily could trust him.
"Sit on the bed," Lily said, taking over. James found a seat next to the windowsill after shutting the door behind them, and looked out to the rooftops and chimneys. They contrasted with the dying light of that day gone by. The last day of his freedom.
Sirius took a seat on the bed, across from Lily. She looked nervous. She didn't have faith in him.
"It's all right," he assured her as she reached under the bed for her spell book. Flitwick had lent it to her during one of his lessons with her, and now she treated it as if it were a venemous insect, ready to strike and kill her at any time. Sirius touched her hand, and her head whipped around to gawk at this man. Who was he?
What was he thinking?
Could she really trust him?
"I know," she said, her hand now shaking as she situated herself on the bed. She took out her wand while opening the book. The illustration on the sixtieth page showed a man, with colored light surrounding him in a swirled design. The light was slowly seeping into his mouth, and making his body glow with that same colored light. Then the light was gone, and the man waved out at the reader. Finally, the illustration repeated itself, the light re-emitting itself into the air and forcing itself down the man's throat again. Sirius wondered if it would hurt.
He didn't care. It was too late now.
"Give me your hand," Lily instructed him, still reading the page. Sirius obeyed her, and extended his left hand, palm up. She rested her beautiful fingers on his, and then raised her wand to his wrist.
"This may feel a little funny," she said slowly, not sure herself, "And this is the first spell in five. Each one is to take a short amount of time, but they're very complex," she looked at him, her green eyes sparkling from behind her red bangs, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Are you?" Sirius asked her, and she gave out a forced laugh.
"It isn't really a choice, Sirius," she said.
"It isn't for me, either," he replied, and she bit her lip.
Lily looked back to the book. Was she making a mistake? Should she stand up and demand that it should be Remus? That they should kick Sirius out and never let him see her baby again? Should she run? What if she was just signing her own death warrant for trusting this man?
Lily was staring at the book, her eyes scanning the page. Sirius knew she was nervous, and having second thoughts. He was having a few of those himself.
He looked over to the windowsill, where James sat. That boy had meant nothing to him the first day they had met. Or the second. He had just been a regular boy who stole Chocolate Frogs from a food cart. One in a million trouble makers that he could befriend at this new school. But then, something had happened. Somehow they had become so close.
He couldn't let anything happen to him. He wouldn't be able to go on living if anyone touched James or scarred him in any way. He couldn't let that happen.
This is the only way I can save them, he thought to himself as Lily started chanting the first spell. A small, cold sensation had flowed through his veins, and he winced a bit.
Voldemort can torture me, I will never tell him anything. I'll die before letting that freak get to them, he thought, I can only trust myself now. I know what I am and what I'm not. I'm not a traitor. I am a friend. That's all that I can be sure of.
The coldness swept through his body, and he shut his eyes. It did feel funny. But his mind felt clearer, purer.
But how long until Voldemort finds you? he wondered, How long would it be until he tried to come for you? What if he knew it was him all along? What if Lily did the spell wrong and something would go wrong? What if Voldemort put him under the Imperius Curse and made him tell him? There were a hundred things that could go wrong.
"All right," Lily said, turning the page, "Here's the second spell. Just don't think about anything, all right? Clear your mind. This one isn't as bad. The third and fourth are worse."
Sirius nodded, and closed his eyes. What would happen if Voldemort found him? The man probably already knew that it was him that they would pick. What if he wasn't strong enough to fend him off? What if he was forced to tell him? How could he live with himself.
Lily's cold, shaking hands touched his chest, and Sirius breathed in and out steadily. Lily then closed her eyes, and whispered a spell. The cold that had run through his body now was replaced by a burning sensation. It felt as if his entire body would burst into flame from the inside out, and he clenched his teeth together. His hands became fists, and his body shook.
Finally, he let out a howl, and Lily stopped, somewhat afraid.
"I'm sorry," she said, exasperated. She seemed to be hurting as well, "It's to clean your body. I'm sorry. I think that's long enough. I . . ."
"Just get on with it," he growled, his teeth still gritted.
Lily nodded, and turned the page, "This one, and the fourth one will melt together for you, all right? Your mind is going to go back into two different times. The past, and what you believe to be your future. It's a way for the spell to find a place to fit itself, in the back of your mind. Back where you store all your older memories you don't want to remember or think about."
"So everything I've tried to forget," Sirius grunted, "Wonderful."
Lily raised her wand to his forehead, and took a deep breath, "Cecerete Ceep-ere. Cecerete Ceep-ere."
Sirius closed his eyes, and slowly felt himself falling back into the darkness of his mind. And a rush of blind memories ran at him, hidding him head on. Voices exploded from his past, trying to deafen him. He gritted his teeth as he heard them all around him, banging, pounding, screaming . . .
"Do you see Regulus speaking to lowly commoners such as them? No. You will never be associated with any of them. Never. I forbid it."
"You're not on probation because you were helping Remus! You're on probation because you tried to kill Snape! You tried to have Remus kill him! Don't you see what you've done? Are you that blind, Sirius? Do you really think it would help Remus to have a murder on his conscience? Are you that thick headed?"
"I dunno. I saw Remus's face, and I was thinking . well, you know, it's gonna happen to all of us sometime. Our parents are going to die. And eventually, we'll die. You know? I mean, I never really thought about it until his mum got all sick ... we aren't here for very long. And it's best to do whatever we can while we're still here ."
"AAAAAAA - OOOOOO!"
"Remus?"
"HEEEEEELLLLPPP MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! MUUUMMMM!!"
"What's going on?"
"Could someone shut that lout up?"
"Wake up! Come on, Remus. It's just a dream."
"I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I DON'T WANT TO ."
"Peter, go get Professor McGonagall."
"I'm sort of unnerved about it, though. I mean, it doesn't sound like a family picnic, does it? Rallies of Dark Magic? Knights of Walpurgis? Secret meetings with all the purebloods? If only I could remember the name of the man that's doing all of it . he goes by some weird foreign nickname . I know his real name, though. Riddle. Tom Riddle."
"The Potters have declined to answer their calling into the rally. Unlike us, they do not support the cause. Therefore, I forbid you to ever talk to this child again. And anymore of your little friends."
"Now listen to me, both of you. I don't care what he is! I don't care what he did! I know Remus, and Remus is my friend. And that's the way it's gonna stay. If either one of you have a problem with that, you can leave now. There's the Cloak, but I'm going to stay here with him and be here when he turns back. You guys make your own decisions."
"I know who your boggart was. And I don't know how you found out ."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. We both know. And I am warning you not to tell anyone. If I get wind that you've been poking around next to that ."
"I really don't know what you mean, sir. It was a picture from my first year text book. You can look it up for yourself if you'd like. Page two thirteen."
"Why do you fear werewolves?"
"What are you doing?"
"Something that I should have done a long time ago. I'm not doing it anymore! I hate you! I hate you all!"
Sirius fell into darkness again, and was now set back at Grimmauld Place for the last scene. His mother screaming at him, and him packing his suitcase. His father threatening him, he himself sticking his wand between his father's eyes . . . and running down the stairs.
Far away from that hell on Earth.
He opened the door, and was surprised to be faced with a new setting. One of his own flat . . . except Voldemort was there, leaning over him, taking out his wand . . .
"Imperio!" the Dark Lord sneered, and Sirius opened his mouth.
He opened his mouth to tell him. He said the address . . . the street number, the house . . . everything.
And then he saw Voldemort walk there, to that house, and break down the door, and . . . .
"NO!" Sirius howled, and Lily jumped back, her wand falling on the wooden floor. She gasped as Sirius jolted himself out of the spell, and jumped back into the headboard of the bed. He was close to tears as he looked at his hands, and then at Lily, and at James. They were alive. Everything was still all right.
"Are you okay, mate?" James asked, and Sirius didn't respond. He just stared at Lily, and Lily stared back, confused.
"Sirius? Are you okay?" James said, urgency now in his voice. He hopped up from his seat, and rushed to the side of the bed to pat his friend on the back. Sirius jumped again, and then shook his head.
"This is wrong," he said, to no one in particular, "No, he'll know it's me."
"What are you talking about?" James asked.
"Voldemort. He'll know it's me. I'm your best friend, James. He'll know you would pick me. It's all part of his plan. He's going to find me, and . . ."
"Sirius, the spell's almost done . . ."
"I can't do it, James!" Sirius tried to explain to him, pleading with his eyes, "I would do it if I could, but I can't! I won't let myself! I can't trust myself to not slip up . . .to not fall right where he wants me to."
"Sirius! I trust you! We all trust you! I need you to do this for me."
"Get a new Secret Keeper," he said, "Send an owl to Peter. Dag is fast. He'll make it in time . . . Wormtail's just a few blocks away . . ."
"Peter?" James exclaimed, "Why Peter? No, Sirius. No. We're running out of time. Just try to relax . . ."
"Exactly! We're running out of time!" Sirius shouted over his friend, "We're all running out of time! Send Dag to him! He's the only person we can trust now, James!"
"We can trust you!"
"No you can't!"
"Sirius, please! Please do this for me! Please!" James tried to shove his friend back into place, but Sirius just shoved him back.
"I can't, James!"
"Please!"
"I - CAN'T - JAMES!" Sirius shouted, and James and Lily grew silent. Sirius took this opportunity to bolt out of the door and into the living room. He saw Dag sitting in his cage next to Harry, and he grabbed him.
James followed him out of the room, and grabbed his arm. He forced him to turn to look at him, and then grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Why are you doing this, Padfoot?" he ordered, "Why? We had agreed on this . . ."
"Send for Peter," Sirius said, determined, shoving Dag into his owner's arms, "Send for him. Now."
"I can't trust him," James said, "He could just as easily be the spy . . ."
"For Merlin's sake, James!" Sirius shouted, "He's Peter Pettigrew! He's scared of his own reflection! Why would he go to that Side?"
"Why would he keep a Secret?"
"Because he'd be scared to let us down," Sirius said, "It works both ways. I know that little rat. Voldemort will never suspect him. No one would. We don't tell anyone that anything's changed. As far as anyone's concerned, I'm still the Secret Keeper. It's just another precaution. Please. You have to trust me. If you truly do, you'll send for him."
Dag, old and tired Dag, hooted from his cage, and James sighed, defeated. He took the old owl, and then nodded slowly.
"You were always right," he said, "Always got me out of trouble. And I trust you."
Sirius returned his nod, and patted him on the shoulder, "Good. Now get him here. We're running out of time."
With that, Sirius returned to the bedroom to wait with Lily. Lily hadn't moved from her position on the bed, and she looked haunted. Sirius sighed, ran his fingers through his black hair, and took a seat on the sill where James had been sitting. Lily looked at him, and gave a sad smile.
"I trust you now," she said.
Sirius looked at her, and nodded, "Good."
"No," she said, "I trust you. You have to go through with it. We don't know about Peter . . . He could be the traitor as easily as Remus . . ."
"No, he couldn't," Sirius said, "There's too much on Remus's side."
"Sirius . . ."
"You said you trusted me, right?" he interrupted her.
Lily slowly nodded, and said, "Yes."
"Then trust me on this, and choose Peter."
The door opened, and then shut. Both of them looked to the bedroom entrance while James ran to the door, and greeted someone.
"Wormtail, good, you were home," he said in a rushed voice, "We need your help."
"What's going on?" Peter's high squeaky voice sounded.
Both of the boys hurried into the room, Peter still wearing his coat. Sirius grabbed him, and set him down on the bed.
"You remember how James and Lily agreed on me for Secret Keeper?" he started.
Peter nodded, eyes almost popping out of his skull. He could feel the tension through the room, and it almost choked him to death.
"We're changing it," Sirius continued, "Now it's you, Wormtail. You're going to be the Secret Keeper."
Peter's jaw dropped, and James could see a small twisted smile peeking from underneath his pale skin.
"You'd trust me with that, would you?"
"Yes," Sirius said, "Yes we would. Right, James?"
James nodded, and came to stand next to his best friend, "Peter, I've known you for a long time. And whenever I had a problem that I needed to tell you about, you never told anyone. You've kept all of my secrets in the past. So this is just another one of those problems. And I know that you'd die before letting Voldemort know where we were."
"But . . ." the smile faded away, "I . . . I . . ."
"Peter, you really don't have a choice," Lily said, "We have a short amount of time. We have to get going."
"I can't!" Peter said, all willpower taking over, "I can't do that to you. I can't be a part of this. I can't . . ."
"You have to!" Sirius barked.
"I can't, Sirius!" Peter said, swallowing hard, "You don't understand! I can't!"
"That's all you ever say! You can't, you can't!" Sirius said, shouting now, "Your friends are in trouble! It's time to be a hero, Peter! It's time to help your side in the war and finish it off! As soon as James and Lily and Harry are hidden, we have a better chance of survival! For the end of the war!"
"You want to see the end of the war, don't you?" James prodded.
Peter hesitated at that one question, as if taking it to heart. He clutched his hands together, wringing them together quickly. His complexion was one of a ghost, and his beady little eyes looked to the floorboards.
"Yes," he said quietly, "Very much so."
Sirius was seated at the sill with James, watching Lily start the fourth spell. The first three had been rather painful for Peter, and now he was shaking from both nerves and the icy heat that flew through his veins and heart. Now he was jolting on the bed, tears running down his cheeks, as he watched the scenes of the past and future. He shook his head vigorously, as if denying something. Sirius knew that both he and James were in many of those memories that he was watching being played out.
Finally, the jolting stopped, and Lily let go of Peter's hand for one moment as she flipped the page to begin the fifth and final spell. She took a hold of his wrist, and with a shaky voice, began the incantation.
"Cecerete Ceep-ere. Cecerete Ceep-ere."
Peter now stood still, his eyes wide open, yet not being able to see any of his surroundings. He was petrified, staring right in front of him as if he were in a sort of trance. Sirius didn't know if he was truly in a trance, or just scared out of his little mind.
Probably the latter.
"Cecerete Ceep-ere. The secret of James Potter and Harry Potter and Lily Potter is restricted to the mind of Peter Pettigrew," she said, and Sirius nodded. Yes. Yes, it was working, "Cecerete Ceep-ere. The following people will be found at the following address. Cecerete Ceep-ere. James Potter and Harry Potter and Lily Potter will be found at Number 5 Godric's Hollow. Cecerete Ceep-ere. Cecerete-Ceep-ere."
And with a sound like a thundercloud, the room seemed to explode as a bright wave of light flew from Sirius's body, and he collapsed on the window's frame. James grabbed him, and helped him back up to a sitting position. The light flew above all of their heads, spiraling on the ceiling. And just as soon as that one had come, a thousand more flew from the outside, seeping through the walls and cracks and windows and chimney pipe. With a sound that none of them had ever heard before, and could not be described, the lights flew to the top of the room to join Sirius's, and began whirling together in a bright array of color and explosions. A mighty wind swept into the room, and Lily shielded her eyes as the light grew brighter and brighter.
Peter now looked up to the ceiling, and it seemed as if he was going to die right there on the spot. His mouth hung open and he couldn't move.
The lights turned to one, and began to make a downward spiral towards Peter who sat there on the bed. A funnel cloud appeared, running right into the mouth of Wormtail himself. The man choked as the light threw itself down his throat, and began to radiate his body. Peter glowed for a moment in the dark of the room, before the sound ended, and the blackness regained control of the small space. Peter lay there for a moment as James, Lily, and Sirius stared at him in amazement.
And then he collapsed on the bed, his eyes closed and his face chalk white.
"Peter!" Lily cried, and leaned over to try to shake him.
"What happened?" she asked as Sirius and James stepped closer to take a look at him. Sirius shrugged, and then gave out a laugh.
"The dolt fainted."
The day had begun to seep through the night sky to reveal the city's beautiful skyline. Lily and James were supposed to have been in their new house by now, but there had been delays. Lily checked on her son on the couch as she brought in the last of the boxes to the living room where they were all going to Apparated to the new location. James stacked them on top of each other, while Lily did a quick check of their room to see if they had forgotten anything.
Peter was still white, and sitting on the couch next to the sleeping Harry. He couldn't look at the boy. He was still afraid of him.
He had to protect him. James watched the two of them from the other side of the room. Harry's foot kicked out in his sleep, and Peter jumped.
"Peter?" James started, and Peter didn't look at him. His hankerchief was in his hand, and he religiously dabbed as his face with it, trying to shake off the spell's feeling of doom.
"Peter, I want to thank you," James said, coming closer, "I know that you're a very brave man, Peter. And I trust you. Thank you for this. I know that when Harry gets older, he'll consider you a closer uncle than before. You saved his life, Wormtail."
"What have I done," Peter whispered, more to himself than James.
"You've just become a hero, Wormtail," James said, touching his arm, "You just saved the day."
A shuffling of a chair came from Sirius's room, and James turned to look at the darkened doorway.
"Just a minute," he said to Peter, and crossed the room to peer into the darkness.
Sirius was sitting on his bed, looking out his window, and humming a tune to himself. It was that song from Remus's music box. James had almost forgotten how it went.
Sirius looked old. Ancient, even. He was only twenty one, and still his entire posture was one of a worn and beaten fossil. He pushed his longer hair out of his face, and sat without saying a word. James felt his heart fall into the pit of his stomach, and he now realized how hard this night was for his brother.
How hard it was for himself.
"Sirius?" he asked, and Sirius jumped. He turned around to look at James, but he didn't stand.
"Oh, hey, James," he said, "How are you holding up."
"The best I can," James replied, and walked to the bed to take a seat next to Sirius, "And you?"
"Same here," he said, and then looked back to the window, "Same here."
"Lily's doing a last minute check, and then we're going to be going," James informed him, "I don't know when we'll be back, but I hope soon."
"What's tomorrow?"
"What?" James asked.
"What's tomorrow? What day of the week?" Sirius asked. James, taken aback by this random question, shrugged, and answered, "I don't know. Sunday."
"Then I guess I'll be going to church in a few hours," Sirius said.
James looked at his best friend, and gave out a laugh, "You don't go to church. You haven't since Harry was born."
"Yeah, I know," Sirius said, smiling a saddened smile, "But I think I should go tomorrow."
James nodded, and then put his arm around Sirius. They were quiet for a moment, and then James reached into his pocket for something.
"I almost forgot," he said, and Sirius looked to the crumpled and torn piece of parchment that his friend now held in his hand. It had jumbled letters on it, and it was only a small slip of one line of writing. But Sirius couldn't read it.
"If anything goes wrong," James said, handing the paper to him, "You'll be able to read this. I wrote it out myself. It says where we are. But you'll only be able to read it if the secret gets out. You understand?"
"Yeah," Sirius said, taking the parchment, "But you'll be fine. Peter will never . . ."
"I know," he said, "But just in case. I want you to know where we are."
Sirius nodded, and stuffed the parchment in his pocket, "I understand."
"Good," James said, and then gave out a deep breath, "Now what to say now? We were never really good at this goodbye thing, were we?"
"No, we weren't," Sirius said, not moving.
"So what should we say?"
"Goodbye, I guess," he shrugged, and James laughed.
"Yeah."
The two boys sat there for another moment, not looking at each other, before Sirius spoke up.
"When you three get back, I'm going to help you buy a house. A new one."
"What," James snorted sarcastically, "You don't like us living out of your flat?"
"Harry keeps me up at night," he said, and they both laughed.
Soon, their laughs turned into small chuckles, and then disappeared. Then Sirius grabbed James and held him close to him like a father holding a son. James returned the embrace just as hard, and they sat there, trying not to cry on each other's cloaks. James hit Sirius on the back, and Sirius squeezed him even tighter.
"Hey, someone messes with one of us, he messes with all of us," Sirius said, through the oncoming tears, and James nodded.
"Yeah, Padfoot," he said, his own tears appearing, "That's how it is. That's how it's always been."
"Look at you two," Lily said, now leaning up against the doorway and smiling sadly, "It isn't like we're going away forever."
The boys, somewhat embarrassed, let go of each other, and stood to face her. Sirius tried to hide his tears by wiping his sleeve across his face.
"It's dusty in here," he commented, rubbing his eyes, "It keeps bothering me and my eyes."
"Yeah," James agreed, "You should clean once in a while."
Lily held out her hand for her husband, and James took it. The three of them walked into the living room, and to where all of their luggage was piled ontop of each other. Sirius went to the side of the couch, and looked down upon Harry, sleeping peacefully next to Peter. He felt a lump appear at the back of his throat.
"So Harry," he said, only talking to the baby. He didn't care if anyone else could hear him or not, "You're the boy who's gonna change our world."
Lily and James looked to him, and stopped in their tracks. Peter closed his eyes, maybe out of pure fear.
"You're a lucky kid, you know that?" Sirius said, kneeling down to look into the sleeping boy's face, "You've got parents that would sacrifice for you. You've got friends that would die for you. And that's gonna make you strong, Harry. You're gonna be the bravest, the smartest, and the greatest little boy the world has ever seen. You're gonna be in history books, and part of bedtime stories. And everyone will know your name. You've got a future ahead of you, because of those two over there. You're lucky, kid. Real lucky."
Lily took James's hand, and James looked to her. She was smiling at Sirius, but squeezing his fingers tightly. They were still in love. After everything that had happened, she loved him. He knew that now.
"And I'm always gonna help you, Harry," Sirius said, "When you get back, I'm taking you out to the park. And I'm gonna put you on the swings, and I'll push you. And no matter how high you go, no matter how much power you have, or how fast you fall back to the ground, you'll always know that I'll be there behind you, ready to push you back up into the sky. That's what your father did for me, Harry. And that's what I'll do for you."
Then he took Harry in his arms, and buried his face in the boy's black hair. Getting to his feet, he handed him to his mother, and took his seat on the couch. It was time for the Potters to leave.
James waved goodbye to his two friends of life, and Lily held her baby tight against her chest. Dumbledore had prepared a special liscense for them to haul everything there in one trip, including Harry. Everything was set. Now the only thing left was for James to raise his wand and leave.
And he did. Slowly his hand rose, and he shut his eyes. The last look that Sirius got of his friend was of him smiling, content. He had done the right thing.
And in the blink of an eye, all of the boxes and all of the people were gone. It was so fast that Sirius might have thought it to be a dream. But alas, Peter still sat next to him, not saying a word.
"Show's over, Wormtail," Sirius said, getting up. Peter didn't move, and Sirius sighed. He was snap out of it sometime.
He headed back into his bedroom as the sun rose on a new day. He shut the doors, and left Wormtail by himself.
Sirius had to get ready for church.