For everything remains as it never was
(Eluveitie - Otherworld)
Sirius
It was their first Christmas out of Hogwarts and all the Marauders (and Lily was one of them by now), sat in James' and Lily's flat in London under the Christmas tree. It was a fine evening and for once they all forgot the things that had happened over the last couple of weeks and months. Sirius and James were caught in their Auror training, Lily worked at St. Mungos, Peter was running the shop all on his own and Remus had finally found a job in a small bookshop in Muggle London. They were all active in the Order of the Phoenix and had met quite a lot of very interesting and nice people. There was Alastor Moody, Head of the Auror Department and James' and Sirius' superior; the Prewett twins, two very mischievous, funny guys that always had a good story to tell, and Emmeline Vance, she was two years older than them and a very talented witch who, too, worked at St. Mungos as a Healer. Frank and Alive had also joined, along with Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadows. They couldn't do much jet because Dumbledore thought it best to keep it quiet, so their main work was to keep eyes and ears open, to watch potential Death Eaters and find more supporters. But although the last couple of months had been stressful, they had also been exciting. It was true, the Marauders spend less time with each other than before but for the moment that was even a good thing; Remus and Sirius didn't fight as much anymore and they both managed to get their heads of each other, so that they, now, could sit close to each other on the sofa and talk about Quidditch.
»Potter! «, Lily squeaked.
»Oh, I love it when she calls him that. «, Sirius muttered, causing Remus to chuckle and they both turned around to see Lily and James standing in the kitchen door, stuck under a mistletoe; James had warned his friends beforehand not to go into the kitchen in pairs but apparently, Lily had had no idea.
»Yes my Lilyflower? «, James asked innocently.
»Pray tell, why is there a mistletoe in our flat? «
»Why, so you can kiss me of course. «
»You are such an idiot. «, she said but there was nothing but fondness in her eyes. »I will kiss you when I want. Where I want. As often as I want. «, She explained and emphasized every sentence with a kiss, then turned around to go but still couldn't.
»Potter. «, she hissed again. »What have you done? «
»And I love how she automatically assumes he has done something. «, Sirius commented. Of course he knew what James 'had done' and he really hoped that it was the right thing but he couldn't help but be highly amused at this scenario.
»I haven't done anything, love. «, James said and grinned his 'Marauder - grin'.
»Why won't this stupid thing let me go? «
»It's not just any mistletoe. It's a special one. «, James explained, his fingers fidgeting nervously.
»A special one…? «
»It will only let you go if you give me an honest answer. «
»An honest answer to what? «, Lily asked confused. James smiled, pulled something out of his pocket and got down on one knee. Lily let out a gasp.
»Lily Evans, will you marry me? «, James asked and held up a very pretty, shimmering ring.
»Oh my – Yes. Yes, I will. « Lily said, smiling widely. James, too, grinned and got back up to his feet to kiss his future wife. Sirius looked at Remus who watched his two friends stunned.
»Did you know about this? «, Remus asked in a low voice and Sirius smirked.
»I helped choose the damn ring, actually. «
Remus
Remus had been surprised by James' proposal but it was a very positive kind of surprise. It seemed like that weeding was about to be a bright star on an otherwise black sky. On Boxing Day, Remus visited his parents and almost died out of boredom. His parents were both quite old and stubborn. Remus tried to convince them to go somewhere save, with Voldemort being on his uprising but they didn't want to hear any of that.
»I've been born in this village. I will die in this village. Voldemort can stick it if he thinks he can scare me away. «, his mother said and that was the end of the discussion.
For New Year they had planned a big party. The sister of Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Molly Weasley had invited the whole Order to her house. Molly Weasley was a stout but pretty woman and she and her husband Arthur, had four sons already; all with bright, red hair.
»Bill no! Give Charlie his teddy bear back and Percy I told you not to touch the food! «, Molly said when Remus, Sirius, James and Lily arrived. »Oh, hello my darlings. Come in, come in. «. They entered the house and where greeted by the twins, Marlene, Dorcas and Emmeline.
»Where's Peter? «, Marlene asked and poured them each a drink.
»He's coming a bit later. Said that he has to look after the girls.
»Oh. Okay. «, for some reason that seemed to make her very happy but Remus decided not think about it too much. More and more guests arrived and soon the Burrow was very crowded and loud.
»I will go out for a bit. «, he shouted to his friends.
»What? «, Sirius shouted back.
»I said: I will go out for a bit! «
»What? «
Remus groaned and simply pointed towards the door. Sirius seemed to understand and followed him. Outside it was much quitter and Remus relaxed at once. It was ten minutes to midnight and the two of them strolled through the garden.
»It's a nice night. «, Sirius suddenly said and Remus laughed.
»Really? You're talking about the weather? «, he asked.
»What do you want to talk about? Because we haven't done that in quite some time, you know. Talking. «
»I know. «
»I miss you, Moony. «
»Sirius - «, Remus started but Sirius cut him off. »I do, Remus. I do. I'm sorry for all that mess I've caused. I miss you as my best mate. «. For some reason the words 'best mate', still tasted bitter in Remus mouth but he ignored it. »I want it to be the way it used to be. «
»That is not possible, Sirius. «
»What do you mean? «
»I mean that things have happened and you can't just…unhappen them. You can't undone what's done and you can't forget. Unless you want me to Obliviate you. «
»So…what can we do? «
»Accept it. You know…my dad always said that every change is a chance and you can always choose to make the best out of it. «
»That sounds nice. «, Sirius said and Remus smiled. They turned to look at each other.
»Yeah it does. «
Voices were carried over to them, »Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, happy new year! «. The fireworks exploded and turned the sky into a colorful ocean.
»Happy new year, Moony. «
»Happy new year, Pads. «, Remus whispered and pulled Sirius into a gentle hug.
Sirius
Although Sirius had hoped that things might get brighter after New Year, he was not that surprised that, in fact, it got even worse. He hardly saw anything except his office, Remus was even more quiet than usual and Peter kept to himself too and the rest of the Marauders had learned now that Peter and Marlene had been a couple for months already. Sirius was frustrated. The Auror training was hard and lately they had been on far more missions that usual. It was only good that he wedding was only days away, at least he had something to look forward to.
Currently, he was on watch duty with Moody and the Prewett brothers; they were supposed to keep an eye on the Malfoy Mansion because they suspected it to be the Headquarter of Voldemort.
»This is pointless, as if anyone walks up to the gate with a waving flag over their head, saying 'Death Eater'. «, Fabian muttered as they crouched behind a bush in the mud hidden by a good placed Disillusionment Charm. It had been raining all day and Sirius' clothes were damp and cold, they had been waiting for hours now and all he wanted was to get home, have a hot shower and drink a couple of Butterbeers.
»Right you are, Prewett, right you are. «
»Hey, what're you up to after this? «, Fabian suddenly asked and Sirius shrugged. »Dunno. Reckon I'll try to reanimate myself because, really, this weather is killing me. «. Fabian chuckled. »Fancy grabbing a beer later? «.
»Sure, why not. «
»Now is not the time for romance, boys. Constant vigilance! «, Moody barked behind them. Sirius rolled his eyes, sometimes it was really ridiculous how paranoid Moody could be.
»Charming as always. «, Fabian muttered.
»Lads, something's happening. « Gideon suddenly said and they all got quiet and watched as a group of hooded figures left the house.
»What d'you reckon? Death Eaters? «, Fabian whispered.
»Hard to tell. «, his brother answered, narrowing his eyes and starring at the group in concentration. »Hang on. «, he suddenly said. »Isn't that your brother, Sirius? «
Sirius stepped forward to get a better look and undoubtedly, amongst the group of potential Death Eaters, was Regulus. »Fucking git. «, Sirius snarled and clutched his wand but a hand on his shoulder held him back. »Better not risk it. «, Fabian whispered.
»Wait here for me. «, Gideon said and tiptoed nearer.
»What the bloody hell does he think he's doing there? «, Moody asked. It was obvious that he was torn between getting Gideon back and keeping their cover and Sirius couldn't blame him. What Gideon did was stupid and dangerous and they had agreed not to draw attention to themselves; there was absolutely no need to take a risk. Gideon was only a few steps away from the group of people now, near enough to overhear their conversation and thus far they hadn't seemed to notice anything but then everything went wrong. A shrill, high pitched tone started ringing and the effect of the charm was gone, leaving Gideon very visible behind a small tree. The hooded figures reacted immediately and drew their wands in alarm. Regulus was the first to see Gideon and attacked.
»Stupefy! « he cried but Gideon jumped aside just in time.
»Come on. Come on. Come on. «, Fabian said and ran out of their hiding place to help his brother. Sirius followed him and he could see Moody swearing from the corner of his eyes but he, too, followed. It was nine against four but most of the Death Eaters, and Sirius was very sure that's what they all were, seemed to be quiet unexperienced, which was a big advantage. Fabian had fought his way through to his brother and Sirius did his best to watch their backs.
»Black! «, Moody shouted. »Get the twins and then we get out of here! «
Sirius nodded and moved forward. He was careful not to face his brother yet and it seemed like Regulus, too, did his best to avoid Sirius. He stunned a very young looking boy and avoided a ricochet Confringo before he arrived at the tree. He saw immediately that something was wrong. Gideon lay on the ground, bleeding and Fabian desperately tried to keep him awake and to keep the Death Eaters at distance.
»Let me help you! «, Sirius called and cast another Stunning Spell blindly over his shoulder. Together, Sirius and Fabian managed to lift Gideon up. Sirius looked around to find Moody and saw him lying on the ground, motionless
»Alastor. «, he muttered. »Go. I'll get Moody. «, said to Fabian and let go of Gideon. Without looking back, he ran towards Moody.
»Confringo! «, he shouted and cast a Blasting Spell towards the remaining three Death Eaters. Too late, he realized that Regulus was amongst them but he couldn't bring himself to care. Not now. He quickly dropped to the ground and suppressed a gasp. His face was covered in blood. »Jesus, fucking - «, he muttered and lifted Moody's body up. He gathered all the strength he had left to Apparate, when he saw a flash of red light followed by darkness.
Remus
He had sat on the chair for hours now, intently watching Sirius face, when suddenly, Sirius stirred. It wasn't much, just a deep breath a flicker behind his closed eyelids but it was more than he had done since his arrival.
»Sirius? «, he whispered softly and Sirius opened his eyes. »Thank Merlin. You scared the shit out of me. «. Sirius smiled weakly and then looked around in confusion. »Where am I? «, he asked.
»In my room. You Apparated right into our garden; gave my parents a right shock. «, Remus explained.
»Sorry 'bout that. «, Sirius said, then he seemed to remember why he was here in the first place. He sat up, »Moody. «, he said. »How is he? «
Remus swallowed. The sight of Alastor Moody, unconscious and covered in blood had been terrible. »He's alive. «, he said hesitantly.
»Alive? «, Sirius asked. »That sounds like - «
»He's at St. Mungos. The healers say he'll make it. «
»But -? «
»He…er…oh Merlin, I'm so sorry…he's lost an eye, Sirius. «
»He…what? «
»He lost an eye. «
»Fuck. What about the Prewetts? Do you know where they are? «
»They're at the Burrow. Molly's stitching them up. «
»Good. «
»What happened? «
»Everything was fine and then some kind of alarm went off and blew our cover. They were too many, Moony and Gideon was hurt and Fabian just wanted to get his brother out of there…«, Sirius stopped and took a deep breath. Without thinking, Remus took his hand and squeezed it gently.
»It's okay, now. Everything's okay. You're safe. «, he whispered.
Sirius nodded and for the next minutes they just sat there, together in silence but for once it wasn't awkward or forced or uncomfortable. The door opened and James' head appeared.
»Hey, you okay, mate? Gave us a right shock. «, he said, while approaching the bed.
»I'm fine. Just a bit of a headache. «, said Sirius, then added, »Better than Moody, anyway. «
»Yeah. «, James swallowed. »About that. «, he took a deep breath; both, Sirius and Remus looked expectantly at James, waiting for him break the news, »Lily just sent a Patronus, she's at work and looking after him. She says he'll be fine. They can't do much about the eye jet but there are ways. «
Remus breathed in relief and closed his eyes for a moment. He had always like Moody.
»What ways? «, Sirius asked frowning.
»Dunno. She didn't say but as long as he's going to be fine it doesn't matter, does it? «
»Suppose not. «
