THE TIES THAT BIND

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"What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies."
Aristotle

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Sirius has never known a longer night. The stars too have fled with the winds; they seek no sad tale to damper their light.

He leans against the wall, feeling utterly wretched, and he can feel the same pain that is wreaking havoc with James's heart four corridors away. It wasn't supposed to be like this…A potion seems too harmless a thing to make them grow into men within the span of a night. It isn't supposed to be like this.

The past week has been an endless torture for Sirius. It is torture to see James in pain, torture to see him bear his pain without a complaint, without a whisper of protest, without a prayer. James pretends that he has forgotten the phial of midnight, but in all his carefree ways and hollow laughs, Sirius can see the turmoil within him, even in this ongoing instant. Sirius hates it; he hates to see James acting this way, because James is not an actor, and yet James acts so damn well.

The mighty James Potter, invincible to his enemies, immune to sorrow, impervious to failure…He has been defeated, nay, destroyed by love. The indomitable spirit of James Potter lies crumpled in despair, and the very foundation of his existence has been uprooted. And what cruel trick of fate is this that has left James Potter broken and defeated, in an abandoned, forgotten room? How is it possible?

Is this the love that poets praise and books speak of? Is this the love that finds homage in the pages of history-books? Is this the love that brings countries to kneel, and feeds fire into ashes? This doesn't seem like the love that ordinary people experience. This can't be the love that brings happiness to people.

This is different, oh so different… This kind of love can scar you, blight you, tear you into dust. This kind of all-consuming passion for one person—it's so surreal, so strange, so unbelievable.

This kind of love may be a blessing, but it is also a curse. It is beyond reason, beyond understanding; it is madness.

Haven't all great loves ended in tragedy? Haven't all famous love-stories collapsed into misery?

This is the love that forespells doom.

To Sirius, it is inconceivable that love can hold so much power, that love can be so sadistic.

"You're back," whispers a soft, silky voice, but Sirius knows who is speaking to him.

Lady Pura Cervantes (1534 – 1612), Healer
Founder of "The Pura Healing Home",
Order of Morgana, First Class.
-- So says the inscription on the portrait of this old, sweet-looking dame, if you peer closely at it.

"You seem tired, my dear boy," says Lady Pura. "Has the noble Marauder Mission been too taxing lately?"

Sirius needs to get it out of his chest, this venom boiling through his veins, this pain gnawing at his heart with its thousand teeth…He needs a release, a release. He needs it so desperately. And Lady Pura has always been so sympathetic, such a kindred spirit.

And it comes out, word after word, spewing like lava out of a volcano…There is no room for lies, no time for hesitation…The entire story has uncoiled; it is over, this sad, sad tale of the greatest epoch of their lives.

Sirius's words are echoing against the walls. His one last question is haunting the alcove, begging for answers.

"Why can't Lily love James? Why is it so hard for her to give him a chance? Can't she see how his heart is breaking for her? Can't she see it?"

"I wonder whether the mountain has bowed down, because the snow asked it to?" the Lady responds. "What tree has bended because man wanted it to? What river has rested because a boulder came unto its path? When has the sand not slipped away each time you tightened it within your fist?"

"Why do you always talk in riddles, Lady Pura?" asks Sirius, tired and exasperated. "I can't make head or tail of what you're saying."

Lady Pura smiles that strange, enigmatic smile of hers. "You cannot force love, Sirius. You see, love is like a newborn unicorn, so pure and untamed. Let it come to you of its own freewill, and it will glow like the moon. But compel it into your arms, and it will wither away and die. You cannot force love. It is the one thing that only fate can control. If Lily cannot love James, you cannot force her to do so."

Sirius cannot understand this thing called love. It is far too baffling, far too frightening.

"So what do we do, now?" says Sirius. "Now that the Renascence Potion has failed to work--"

"The Renascence Potion did not fail," Lady Pura interrupts. "It did not fail, because it was never needed in the first place."

Sirius splutters at her. "What do you mean?" he rasps out. "What on earth do you mean? Even James keeps saying that, but he won't tell us what he means by it! If the Renascence Potion did not fail, why did he kiss her again? Why did he attack her again like that? And he did drink Amortentia at midnight, isn't that the reason that the Renascence Potion fails?"

"Once the lion has tasted of blood, he will keep wanting it again and again," says the Lady, smiling gently at Sirius.

"You're talking in riddles again," snaps Sirius, sounding annoyed and bitter.

"Listen closely to me, Sirius," says Lady Pura. "The potion of Amortentia was invented by my friend, the esteemed Potioneer, Ada Tudor. I know more about it than any other person in Hogwarts…You should have come to me sooner, but never mind.

"The main purpose of all love-potions is to find a remedy for unrequited love. When you have been pining away for love, and your love isn't returned, what option do you have but to use Amortentia…? It is a treacherous friend, this potion, for it is unreliable and unpredictable. We foolish humans do not understand that no potion can ever create love. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, Amortentia simply causes a powerful obsession or infatuation."

"But James says he loves her," Sirius ejaculates with a strangled cry.

"James has always loved Lily," says Lady Pura. "How many times have you told me of his failed attempts to woo her? He never needed Amortentia to fall in love with Lily. He was already in love with her."

"I don't understand," says Sirius.

"My dear boy," says Lady Pura, her eyes closed, "it's really very simple. Amortentia has no effect on the victim who is already in love with the subject. And since James was already in love with Lily that night, Amortentia was powerless over him. But here lies the catch. James drank the love potion at midnight, and the power of Amortentia is wrought to its highest at midnight. So what does that lead to? It only served to conquer James's inhibitions, and created an overpowering need to kiss Lily that one time…. Just one kiss, just the one, to see what she tasted like, in the weakest moment of his life."

"So, James kissed her of his own free will?" repeats the horrified Sirius. "And not because he drank the potion?"

"That is correct," says Lady Pura, nodding her elegant head.

"But what about the incident outside the Greenhouse?" asks Sirius, flabbergasted. "Why did he kiss her again there? Why did he have to attack her again?"

"Because, the King who has tasted of love once shall be tempted to be a Pauper evermore," is her answer.

Sirius continues to stare at her, but her riddles are finally beginning to make some sense.

"He has kissed her once," says Lady Pura, ever so softly. "He has known the wonder of her touch, and he loves her so very much that it is astounding. Can you blame the poor boy for giving in to temptation one last time? Can he be blamed for wanting her again and again?"

"I hope I'll never fall in love," says Sirius vehemently.

"Oh, not all boys can love like James does," says Lady Pura lightly.

"So what do we do now?" asks Sirius, from the one person he can trust for advice. "Do we just sit and watch, as James destroys himself? Do we just allow James to fade away? And…and what if he hassles Lily again?"

"You needn't have any fear on those accounts," says the wise woman.

"He has a very strong will power, our James. He will survive. After all, he has promised Lily never to bother her again, and James keeps his promises. He will survive, for he has not yet given up the hope of having her for himself.

I think she does have a soft corner for him; she's just a bit scared. Anyone would be. She's been going through a hard time; and James is far too intense for comfort. It's all too much, too soon, for a sixteen-year old girl.

But you'll see, he will come out a victor in the end. In the meanwhile, all he needs is patience, and your friendship."

"I am there for him," says Sirius.

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A/N:

I hope this story has cleared all your remaining doubts and answered all the questions you had about it. :P

This story is Angst. Its not fluff, but Blue Dark Stormy Angst, and there's a lot of difference… Just like there's a difference between a Poem and a Ballad. Just like there's a difference between Pride &Prejudice and Wuthering Heights. I know that this kind of love does not make sense and it does not exist. I know people (including me) like the Normal romance much better than Angsty romance, but this story is just an experiment.

I've modelled Lily & James as a 1970s Romeo & Juliet, not as an ordinary couple in love. Its nonsense, I know, but its fanfiction, not the truth.

These are the prime reasons why the dialogue is heavy, James Potter is aggressive and the scenes are melodramatic.

Tell me if you don't agree with me here. Even though I think people hardly like this sort of story enough to Review.