Disclaimer: Yep, anything you don't recognize is mine, anything else is J.K's.
A/N: yeah, so it's been a little while, but I've been momentarily distracted by the genius of virtualhogwarts.net – it's amazing!! Anyhoo, in this chapter, we will be having the real debut/return of everyone's beloved Sirius!. Have fun!! Oh, and thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed, I got a couple new people this time around – keep on reading! I'm making this better (hopefully) bit by bit! I love all your reviews, people, thanks a bunch!
On with the Story!
Chapter 13: Overboard
Upon apparating back to Grimmauld Place, they immediately found themselves surrounded by various members of the Order. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, Moody, Arthur, Molly, Bill and Charlie Weasley were just a few of the many that were all around them, including a few others that Sarah had never met.
Before they could even move a muscle spell after spell came flying at them, the majority aimed at Sirius. He made to jump out of the way, but someone got him with a body bind, evidently intent upon determining then and there if he truly was Sirius Black.
"Hey!" he cried, indignant. "Is that anyway to welcome me back?!"
Most, however, ignored him, and would have continued until each and every one of them was thoroughly satisfied had not Dumbledore held up a hand, followed by an authoritative pronouncement that the man standing before them was indeed Sirius Black and not a Deatheater in disguise. Once this had been done, Remus immediately made a beeline for his friend, nearly knocking him over in the process.
"Now, now, Moony," Sirius put on an expression of mock pain. "I'm a bit on the thin side – I haven't had anything to eat for a while – so handle with care, please."
"Merlin, Sirius – its – you – its…" Remus was at a complete loss for words, thoroughly overjoyed to have one of his best friends back again.
"Yup!" said Sirius, grinning widely. "It's seriously me!" Remus groaned as many of the Order members simultaneously rolled their eyes.
"Harry?" Sirius asked, nervous of the answer. "If dear old Trixie did anything to him…" the room's jovial atmosphere vanished in a second. Sirius's joking expression was gone, replaced by a much harder one that was reminiscent of the one he usually sported while holed up in headquarters.
Molly, upon seeing the all too familiar depression begin to sink in, took things into her own hands. "Now, Sirius, don't worry yourself, Harry's fine – he'll be home in no time for Christmas. And you'll be fine too, if you just let me get some food in you…" she bustled around him, insisting upon mothering him despite the fact that Sirius actually looked exactly as he had the day he'd fallen behind the veil. The tension quickly lifted from the room and soon everyone was chatting animatedly, no one quite willing to let Sirius out of their sight lest he disappear again.
Sarah took note of the situation; everyone was absorbed by something or another, and so decided that right then would be as good a time as ever to make an inconspicuous exit. Backing slowly out of the room, she figured that she could be back upstairs and in her bed in no time. Unfortunately for her, the mass of people in the room had momentarily separated Remus from Sirius. Just as she thought she was free, her foot inching through the doorway into the hall beyond, an arm shot out of nowhere and she suddenly found herself in the midst of everything, facing a very angry looking Remus.
"And just where," he ground out, eyes blazing. "do you think you're going?"
"Uh…" Sarah frantically searched her mind for something that would appease Remus. Guiltily probing his mind gently, she stammered an explanation. "I thought you all should – you know – have some time with Sirius? Re-connect? Catch up?"
Remus gave no audible reply, but his eyes told her all she needed to know, boring deeply into hers. The majority of people in the room were still enthralled by Sirius, but McGonagall and Dumbledore had turned instantly towards Sarah when Remus had first caught her sneaking off. She looked to them for help, but saw nothing but mild disapproval mixed with a hint of amusement in their eyes.
"Er, maybe not? Well, look, it all worked out, though, didn't it?" she said, her voice falsely bright as she pleaded with Remus.
"OH, AND THAT JUST MAKES IT ALL BETTER, DOESN'T IT??!!" Remus bellowed. If no one had paid them any heed before, they now had everyone's complete and undivided attention. Sarah cringed as jaws dropped around the room, heads swivelling in their direction. Most were in a state of shock – Remus Lupin was known as a calm, levelheaded man whose even temper was such that most people aspired to. And yet here he was, clearly furious and shouting at the top of his voice.
"Remus," breathed Sirius, jaw slack. "Remus, I think we may need to catch up on a few things."
Sarah opened her mouth to say that this would indeed be a most excellent idea, but took one look at the murderous glare Remus was giving her and decided against it.
"No." she admitted at last.
Remus had been gathering his breath to continue his tirade when Sarah replied, but promptly let it all out when he heard her reply, the wind taken out of his sails. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at them, intrigued. Remus losing his temper, I-don't-follow-any-rules-I-make-them Sarah admitting she was wrong without any fight whatsoever… what was the world coming to?
"Sarah, you were in no condition to go and get Sirius – you were in no condition to even get out of bed!" Remus insisted, feeling the need to at least impress something upon Sarah. Unfortunately, his words only seemed to be of any importance to anyone but Sarah. A murmur ran around the room as they left Remus's lips, causing Dumbledore to close his eyes in thought. Most had only a basic idea as to Sarah's abilities – only he really knew the true extent of them, and even then he wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't holding some of it back from him. There would be a lot of explaining to do at the next Order meeting.
"Get me?" Sirius asked, bewildered. "Moony, am I missing something here?"
"Sarah!" Bill exclaimed, throwing his own two cents in. "You were dead on your feet yesterday! What were you thinking?"
"I was in bed all day!!" Sarah insisted, finding herself beset upon from all sides. "Look!!" she ran on the spot for a few seconds, eliciting some strange looks from various people around the room, especially Sirius. "I'm fine!"
Sirius tilted his head to one side. What is with this fight? He wondered. What is with this girl??
"Eh?" he said, totally confused.
"I don't care." Remus stoically announced. "If you are fine, well, but you could have… I mean…suppose you weren't able to bring him back and you got trapped behind it or worse you…"
"Do I look dead to you? No!!" Sarah tossed her head defiantly.
"Right." Said Bill. "Okay, I'm officially joining the what the hell are you talking about club with Sirius right now. Trapped?"
"Are you telling me," Sarah continued, seemingly oblivious to Bill's interruption of their 'discussion'. "that you would never do anything in life unless you were sure of the outcome? Where's the fun in that?!" She slowly advanced on Remus as she spoke, but he stood his ground.
"This is not a philosophical discussion." Remus enunciated, closing off any more attempts by Sarah to get into such a topic. The tension in the air was so thick now that everyone watching them felt as if they could reach out and touch it. "You could have been hurt!!!"
"Hey!!" Sirius said, looking mightily offended. Heads turned towards this new participation in what was now considered a highly entertaining debate. "Um, best friend of mine? What about me!!??"
"And Sirius too!" Remus loyally added on. Sarah rolled her eyes.
"Oh, he's fine. I'm fine. We're all fine – you'd be fine too if you just accepted that we're all fine!!"
"Actually," Sirius commented. "Molly, as you were saying earlier – is there anything to eat? I'm famished, really."
"See??" Remus said, pointing at Sirius and displaying an astounding lack of mental capacity. "He's not fine!! You could have really been not fine!! And-"
"I AM FINE!!!!!" Sarah yelled, exercising her lungs to the best of her ability.
A hush came over the room as everyone looked to Remus to see how he would take Sarah's latest proclamation. Charlie Weasley privately thought that this was the most fun he'd ever had in the Order and so was rather disappointed when Remus's shoulders drooped as he took a step back from Sarah's imposing stance, going over to Sirius.
"Alright, Sarah – I can see that." He said wearily.
"Good!" Sarah said, more enthusiastically than she felt. The crowd that had gathered around them began to dissipate and she realized that she was every bit as famished as Sirius had said he was. Making her way over to the fridge, she saw that the people around her were talking quietly, sending curious glances her way now and then when they thought she wasn't looking. Her stomach grumbled and she rubbed it absently, hoping that there were leftovers from the meal Remus had made earlier for her. Yeah, food would be good – I guess I am a bit tired…she swayed slightly, catching the eye of Dumbledore across the room. He frowned at her and she immediately straightened up, smiling and waving at him. He looked intently at her for a few seconds, then turned away, but Sarah was fully aware that he was still watching her out of the corner of his eye.
Oh, honestly… Sarah thought, shaking her head to clear it of a sudden fog that seemed to have momentarily clouded her vision. Instead, though, she swayed even more on her feet, the world spinning and noise ringing in her ears.
Remus, in the middle of the room with Sirius and Tonks, had been pointedly ignoring Sarah, despite the fact that he was actually watching her to make sure she was okay. After a few minutes, though, she seemed to be okay, so he turned away from her, opening his mouth to reply to Tonks's query about the day's events. A weak voice calling his name for help stopped him in his tracks however, and he found himself moving towards her instinctively.
He had almost reached her when she said again "Remus?" very faintly, and gave him a small apologetic smile. "I'm…not…fine…" she managed and with that her legs gave from beneath her and she crumpled to the ground.
It was only thanks to Remus's quick reflexes that he caught Sarah's head before it hit the hard floor.
"Sarah!" He cried out, lifting her head up so that she face him. Seconds later, he wished he hadn't – Sarah's normally lively brown eyes stared unseeingly past him, her mouth slightly open and her face pale.
"Oh Merlin," he breathed, holding her tightly. "Oh, no – she can't be…"
Sirius had been just behind his friend and had seen Sarah fall. He'd only just met her, but he'd gathered enough from what Remus had just told him to know that the girl called Sarah who'd been standing in front of him when he emerged from the veil was the one responsible for getting him out of there.
Kneeling down beside Remus, he quickly checked for her pulse. Remus looked desperately at him, mentally pleading with him not to say what was already painfully obvious.
Sirius felt awful as he shook his head. "Sorry, Moony." He said, as gently as possible. "She's gone."
A/N: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Oh yes I know I'm evil!!! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time – keep on doing it!! I love it when you guys do, and if you all have ideas it really does help me! (although in this case I know for sure what's going to happen next – and you don't!! Muahahahaha!!!!) But input is still greatly appreciated!
-Laren