The other One

-By E.G.R. Woods

Disclaimer: Original storyline, characters, events and places belong to the wonderful J.K Rowling. I'm just borrowing them.

Warning: Contains spoilers of 5th book. I recommend reading the Order of the Phoenix before continuing.

-Seal their fate-

October 31st, 1981

Samantha Marsh sat alone in the living room, in the small cottage on the northern coast of Devon, fretting in the quiet night. Sipping her cup of tea, she tried to ease the rampage of emotions flooding her, not to disturb the baby in her womb. Sirius wouldn't like her to be in that state. He had assured her everything would be fine. And if Sirius Black said so, it had to be true.

It had been long hours since Sirius and Dumbledore had spoken. There had been something in the Headmaster's manner that revealed he was uneasy, even though he said there was nothing to worry about. Obviously, neither Sirius nor Samantha, whom usually did not question Albus Dumbledore, was convinced. Afterwards, Sirius had paced for a while in front of the fireplace, mumbling to himself. Then, without a second thought, he made ready to leave, saying he had the feeling something had gone wrong, and he had a record to set straight. Samantha's heart sank at the sound of the motorcycle speeding away; he had not come back yet, and she was getting more worried by the minute.

What if something really happened? Or what if something happened to Sirius? How would she be able to help him if she didn't even know where he had gone? There was virtually no way to contact anyone in any case: channels of communication, magic or muggle, were too risky to be used. She was isolated, and it was not a good thing to be distressed and isolated at the same time.

Sirius would be in a right state if he knew she was considering going out to look for him. No; she had to control herself. She was in no condition to go out. It would be too dangerous. And she would never leave Siobhan alone.

Sirius is fine, Samantha told herself. He's perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He was a clever and strong person, he always had been. That is how he had become the illustrious man he was now. And how she had fallen in love with him.

However, in all the years of knowing each other, she never believed she would find herself in this predicament. She never wanted to. Those were dark times for all the wizard community; there was so much uncertainty, and so much danger. She always felt unsafe. Everybody did.

Tonight had been even worse, the eeriness of Halloween night casting a particular spookiness to the atmosphere of uncertainty of every night. All day long she had been dreading this moment, although she was not fully aware of the reason. But since the sun had set, she had not stopped wringing her hands, and had she not been pregnant, she would have been pacing the hours away. It was almost midnight now, and she couldn't have a blink of sleep. Not with Sirius gone; not with the awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. That feeling of expectation, as if she was waiting for something to happen.

As if she knew something was going to happen.

It had something to do with the prophecy, that was for sure. Samantha didn't have the full story, but she knew of a prophecy Dumbledore had heard, something to do with the Potters and the Longbottoms. From the sombre mood that settled over them, it could only mean they were in danger. Something about their children; the Dark Lord might be after them.

Samantha bit her fingernail nervously. She was worried for her friends, Frank and Alice Longbottom, and Lily and James Potter. It had been days since she had seen them last, since she had heard of them. Dumbledore had performed a complex charm, the Fidelius charm, on both families, so that they could go into hiding, and only the designated secret keeper would be able to divulge the location if he or she chose to do so. Only Dumbledore knew who the secret guardians were. Samantha knew, however, that James had wanted Sirius to be his and Lily's keeper, and Sirius had refused. She never understood why. Who else would be more worthy of James and Lily Potter's trust than Sirius Black?

She was brought out of her thoughts by the chiming of the grandfather clock. It was midnight. It was then that she felt it. Something terrible had happened. She knew it, deep down. The baby stirred inside; she felt it too. Samantha held her bump with trembling hands.

Sirius was fine, she could sense it. But something else had gone horribly wrong. Someone else was not fine.

Samantha felt like crying. A strong emotion washed over her, and she was genuinely afraid for the first time that night. The baby was jerking inside of her. Samantha leaned back in the armchair and let herself cry. Just as the tears began to fall, the baby slowly relaxed and became still, allowing Samantha to fall into an uneven and restless sleep.

Samantha was dreaming. It was a nightmare, actually. She dreamed a dark figure swooped down upon her, like a gust of black wind, and snatched her baby from her arms; then it swooped down on Siobhan's crib, taking her too. Samantha was about to cry for help, when she was startled out of her sleep by a strange noise.

When she opened her eyes, she was not fully aware of where she was. Just as she saw she had fallen asleep on the armchair, she also realized the strange noise was coming from the fireplace. The flames had raised high into the chimney and turned green, and with a whooshing sound, Sirius unfurled himself from the hearth, pale and covered in ash and sweat.

"Sam! Thank God you're alright! I was so worried!" he exclaimed breathlessly as soon as he spotted her. He rushed over, and hugged her and kissed her stomach. She was so perplexed, that she didn't respond. After a few seconds, he let go of her and looked her in the eye, his breathing still accelerated. He stood up and started walking back and forth in front of her, Samantha following him with her eyes.

"I shouldn't have gone. I should have stayed here with you and Siobhan. I'm sorry. But I had to. You will understand, Sam. There is some much that needs to be explained, so much that will be revealed," he was saying, talking at miles per hour.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice small. Sirius stopped and knelt in front of her, holding her shoulders.

"What happened?" he echoed, eyes wide and wild, hands shaking. His dark hair fell messily into his face, making his expression even wilder. "What happened, my dear, is a wonderful and yet terrible thing. Tonight is going to change everything. What happened tonight is what we all have been waiting for too long now." He paused and licked his lips, as if he were trying to find the best way to say what he wanted to say, or perhaps he was just building up the suspense.

"He's gone."

Samantha frowned. "Who's gone?"

"Voldemort."

Samantha instinctively recoiled at the name. Sirius and few others used You-know-who's real name without even flinching. But then she registered what he had said, and frowned again.

"Gone?" she looked at him in wonder.

"Gone." Sirius was nodding, a smile lighting up his face. Samantha's mouth opened and closed several times. She wasn't sure if this meant what she thought it could mean.

"What does this mean?"

"It means, dear, that the days of darkness and fear are over. He's gone, he cannot do any more harm," Sirius's voice was rising, echoing in the quiet house. Sam couldn't smile; she didn't know if she was actually happy. That dreadful feeling still tugged at her gut.

"Are you sure?" she asked, still not believing it. It seemed too good to be true; perhaps she was still dreaming. "How do you know he's gone?"

Sirius stopped smiling and settled down again. "It might be too soon to tell for sure. But Dumbledore said… he said Voldemort's not gone for good, but he's gone for now. He might come back, or he might never return."

"Dumbledore said it?" Samantha said.

"Yes, I spoke to him, just recently. I come from his office," Sirius replied, shaking some of the ash off his coat. "He reckons Voldemort will come back, but it will be a very long time before he does."

"But I don't understand," Samantha said hesitantly. Her head was spinning, trying to make sense of what Sirius was telling her. "How? How is he gone?"

Sirius became sad all of a sudden. He stood in front of the fireplace, gazing into the hearth for what felt like a long time. He turned back to Samantha and took a deep breath.

"This is the part of the situation… this is why it's also a terrible thing," he said. He looked into her eyes, and Samantha could see that their spark had vanished.

"Dumbledore was right, Sam. Harry and Neville… Voldemort wanted them, after all. I don't know why, the headmaster won't say. But Voldemort went to find them…"

"How would he know where to find them?" Samantha asked fearfully. Sirius's gaze hardened, eyes fixed on her belly, but not really seeing it.

"Dumbledore always seemed more concerned about James and Lily, and about Harry," he seemed to be talking more to himself than to Samantha. "He thought it was most likely Voldemort would seek them. I did too…" he glanced at her, then looked away again. "I thought they were the ones in danger. I thought Remus was their secret keeper, and for some reason I couldn't trust him. I felt almost sure that he was capable of betraying them," he confessed apologetically. Samantha was shocked; she knew Remus Lupin very well, and he was one of the nicest and most noble wizards she had ever met, for someone who had been well known at school for dangerous high jinx, and for someone who was a werewolf. He was Sirius's best friend after James. Samantha could not imagine why Sirius would think his friend could be a traitor.

"So I went looking for him," Sirius continued, wanting to get it off his chest. "When I couldn't find him, I went to Dumbledore. I knew he wouldn't tell me who the keepers were, but at least he should be able to tell me whether or not they were trustworthy." He inhaled deeply. "He said… they were not."

Samantha thought she had misheard. "Come again?"

"They were traitors, Sam. Both of them, they betrayed our trust. Dumbledore told me it had all gone wrong, and he was worried."

Sirius rose to his feet and began pacing again, enraged. "Lily and James, Peter," he muttered, his clenched fist shaking. "And my rotten cousin, Ignatius, he was Frank and Alice's secret keeper, he betrayed them too." He shut his eyes hard before looking at Samantha again. There was pain in his eyes.

"He killed them, Sam. Frank and Alice…" his voice trailed off.

Samantha swallowed. This was it; this was what she had been dreading. "Frank and Alice… dead?" she whispered.

Sirius nodded sombrely. "Yes," he said, his voice deeper. "He found them, and he killed them. He also tried to kill Neville, but…" he sighed and shook his head. "He couldn't. I don't know how or why, maybe not even Dumbledore knows, but it was precisely when Voldemort tried to kill Neville that his powers vanished, and he disappeared."

Samantha's eyes were wide with surprise. Then they became sad. "Frank and Alice," she repeated under her breath, the truth sinking in just then. "What about Neville? What happened to him?"

"He's fine," Sirius's eyes were still devoid of their shine. "He has a scar on his forehead. I reckon that would be where Voldemort's curse hit him. It's like it bounced on him. But he's okay, I saw him. When Dumbledore told me he was worried for Frank and Alice, I went to check on them. The house was in ruins."

Samantha gasped, her hand going to her mouth.

"Hagrid arrived almost at the same time I did. We both knew what had happened. He pulled Neville out of the rubble. Dumbledore had sent him to get Neville. I lent him my bike so that he could get the baby to Dumbledore as soon as possible. Then I went to see Dumbledore again. He told me James and Lily and Harry were all fine. He also told me to come home, and forget about my cousin and about Peter. I promised to him I would. I came straight here."

Samantha was very still for a moment. Then she embraced Sirius, and they held each other for a long time.

"He couldn't kill a baby," Sirius said into her ear, as if still in disbelief. "Something must have happened. Maybe the curse deflected back onto Voldemort… and now he's gone. He could be dead, he might never come back. Who knows? He just vanished, so suddenly. He was so powerful, how could a baby…? I couldn't believe it, you know? I still can't… Neville lived, great wizards, and… he just, he lived!"

Samantha said nothing. She only allowed Sirius to ramble on, tears overflowing her eyes. But Sirius leaned back and became quiet. He wiped away her tears and then his own.

"We should get some rest," his voice was unsteady. "It's been a very long night. Tomorrow, we will go see Dumbledore. I really hope he can give us some answers."

She could only nod. He helped her stand up and she clutched his hand. "I felt it, you know?" she spoke softly. "I had a feeling something had happened," she caressed her stomach, fingers still trembling slightly. "He felt it too."

Sirius caressed her belly too. "It's going to be fine now. It's all over."

"I hope Neville's okay," Samantha whispered.

Sirius smiled faintly. "He will be."

Don't be surprised if I rambled too much in this chapter. I finished typing this on Halloween, with a few too many candy bars in my system and no sleep because I got home last night at 3 and woke up at 8 and I drank too much coffee today to keep myself awake. And you know what? That's not such a good idea. Don't try it at home.