A/N: I'm going with the actual calendar dates when I do this, not from canon dates. The canon dates are a bit mixed up, and it'll help if I just continue using calendar ones.
Anyway.
It is now that we delve into the mysteries and intricacies of the Hallowe'en of 1981 through November the fifth. This is long, and I'll probably cry as I write it. And I'm sorry I took so long, but I wanted to make it right.
-sarcastically- Okay, guys, be mature.
The Scribe's Resurrection
Part Three: Chapter Twenty-Two
Late Friday Night of October 30, 1981
"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Selena whispered vehemently.
"You would've told Remus!"
"I would not have! You don't trust me to keep a secret!"
"Not from Remus!"
The couple argued in hushed voices because they didn't want to wake up the sleeping toddler in Sirius' arms. Selena opened up the house; they were returning from a visit to the Potters'.
"I can't believe you! You trusted Peter to be the Secret Keeper? Why not you? Why not Dumbledore? Why not let Lily and James and Harry live in my father's house?"
"What's wrong with Peter?"
"Nothing!"
"I wanted to do a bluff, that's all! If only the five of us know, then it'll be alright!"
"Five? You haven't told Dumbledore! You bloody idiot!"
"You said it yourself! He could be the leak!"
"Oh, God, Sirius." Selena sighed. "I thought you said Remus was the leak!"
"Exactly. That's why only the five of us know that the Secret Keeper's not me."
"You could've told them to live in my father's house, Sirius."
"Remus knows where that is."
"Yeah, only you, me, Dumbledore, Alastor, Lily, James, Alice, Frank, Remus and Peter know where the Belladonna Estate is. And you all can't breathe a word about it! Remus can't tell! He can't write it down on paper! He can't show Voldemort where it is! You all can't go to the house and perform Dark Magic in it like that when I'm not there... I've got the same enchantments Hogwarts has, if not more! It's even disconnected from the Floo Network!"
"Oh, bloody hell; we should've done that... It's got better protection."
"Now it gets through your thick skull!"
"Hey, it'll be okay. I'm going to check up on Peter tomorrow or Sunday, I promise. The enchantments on Lily and James' house will alert Dumbledore if anything happens."
"Good thing I enforced them while I was there. They were old. Here, get her another blanket. It's pretty cold." Sirius draped the blanket from the Weasleys over Alrescha's sleeping body in the cot. Selena left the room and went out into the hallway. Sirius followed her.
"What are you doing?"
"Doing something." Selena pulled from her dark locks the hair stick that her father had given her five years ago.
"Honestly, what are you doing?"
"Did it occur to you that maybe, just maybe we'll be attacked?"
"Why would we be attacked?"
"Because you never told Dumbledore that it wasn't you! That means that everyone else will think it's you too! Do you want us to be murdered in our beds?" Selena glared at him.
"Oh, Merlin, I didn't think about that." He hung his head.
"Sheesh, Sirius, I love you, but you've got to think things through." She patted his shoulder. "And now I've got to use this." She held up the hair stick.
"Again. What are you doing?"
Selena didn't answer, preferring to show him instead. They were stopped in front of the front door.
The young woman dragged the obsidian stone object across the door's perimeter, then reached into her pocket. She produced an antique key and put it in the keyhole, locking it.
"What did you just do?"
"I put a new enchantment on the house... It's complicated." Selena closed the door to the house. "But now we have an escape route from the mess you caused!"
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
"Not me."
"Then who?"
"Voldemort stole the beetles from the beetle jar." Selena burst into laughter.
"Come on; let's go to bed, silly."
11:32 PM of Saturday, October 31, 1981
"I'm gonna get you!" Sirius roared. Alrescha squealed and tottered behind the couch. Selena looked over the edge of her book to watch her family.
"Hmm. Where did she go!" Sirius asked, scratching his head and feigning bewilderment. Alrescha giggled from a corner.
"I think she's... here!" He peeked behind the couch Selena sat on. Alrescha nimbly crawled from her hiding place, giggling and looking back to see if her father followed her. She stopped and pulled herself up using Selena's knee. Selena's smile was wide.
"I've got you!" Sirius exclaimed, plucking her from the ground. He smothered her with kisses and tickles. With mirth in her eyes, the eighteen-month-old girl kicked to pull herself from his grasp.
"Be careful," Selena warned. Sirius stopped and sat down next to his wife; Alrescha sat in his lap, looking at him.
"Juice?" Alrescha exclaimed in her babyish voice. Sirius reached over Selena to pick up the sipper cup. Once she took it in her hands, Alrescha drank greedily from it.
"Alrescha's got to get ready to go to bed." Selena said. "Beddy-bye."
"No! No beddy-bye!"
"Yes, lovey, beddy-bye. Mummy gave you a bath, now Daddy's gonna put you to bed," Sirius said solemnly.
--
"She's sleeping?" Selena asked upon seeing Sirius come down the stairs. He plopped himself down next to her.
"Yes. She's an angel."
"Mm." Selena wrapped her arms around him and yawned.
"What time is it?"
"Two in the morning."
"Goodness, she likes to play." Sirius paused. "I think I'm going to check on Peter."
"Now?"
"Yes. I- I have a feeling. It's weird."
"Oh." Selena thought she was the only one with this strange, vaguely nauseating feeling in her stomach. She let go of him, as he gently tugged on her forearm.
"Going to Apparate?" Selena asked calmly.
"Can't. We put some spells on his house."
"Oh. Taking the bike?"
"Yeah." By this moment, Sirius was in the foyer, getting his dragon hide jacket from the hook by the front door.
"Sirius, I sent a letter to Peter's earlier. Artemis brought it back." Selena paused. "I told him that if Peter wasn't there, to bring it back to me. Don't deliver it, I said."
Sirius murmured an obscenity and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Okay. Alright. Stay in the house, please."
"I'm not an idiot."
"I know, love." He gave her a one-armed hug.
"I'll wait up for you."
"Mmkay."
6:02 AM, Sunday, November 1, 1981
Sirius Apparated onto his front porch and ripped the door open in a fit of rage. He slammed it shut, put his back to it, and slid down to the floor.
"Sirius!" His wife called to him. He heard the soft tap-tap of her bamboo-clad feet walking towards him. "Sirius?" She called again.
He tried to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, sobs poured out. He put his forehead to his knees, assuming the fetal position. Selena saw this from the fireplace in the family room; her heart beat faster.
"SIRIUS!" Selena cried, running to him. She collapsed next to him. "Baby, baby, what happened? Sirius?" She'd never seen him like this.
"Oh, God," he cried out. He put his hands up to her waist, clutching onto her clothes as he cried into her shirt. "Oh, Selena."
"Sirius, calm down. What happened?"
"They're gone. Remus wasn't the leak. Peter was. Lily and James... Lily and James..." He couldn't go on. It didn't matter; Selena didn't need him to.
She cried out in anger; her heart beat with such an ache, trying to rip out of her chest.
"Harry?" She gasped. "Harry."
"Ha-hagrid took him to Dumbledore."
"Oh, God." Selena ran her hands through his hair, crying herself. The two stayed like that for a while, trying to console each other, but not getting anywhere because they were each so injured. One can't heal someone without first being healed.
Crying profusely, Selena sat on the floor, two feet away from her husband, leaning on her hands. Her constant sobs reverberated through the house, each time causing her body to convulse.
Sirius, on the other hand, had stopped crying. He shook with rage, fists and jaw clenched. He emitted self-loathing, hatred, sorrow, volatility.
"I'll kill him," he whispered harshly. His throat was sore.
"I can't believe... Peter? Why, Peter, why?" Selena asked into the sky. She closed her eyes upon feeling Sirius embrace her. He lifted her up. She could hear his ragged breathing, feel the sweat on his brow, smell the anger on his body.
Sirius placed her in their bed and wiped her eyes.
"I will avenge them," he sighed, sniffling. And with that, his lips crashed onto hers.
Sirius made love to her that night, but Selena could feel a great difference in him. It was lingering and bittersweet, and he tried to leave no part of her untouched, as if to imprint in his mind what the love of his life was like.
--
1:11 PM of the Same Day
Selena had woken up to an empty bed. It would have been no use calling for him- Selena had known he was not in the house.
She now sat watching her baby playing quietly with blocks. Alrescha could sense something was wrong, as her mother occasionally would burst into tears.
"Mummy, what sound?"
"Hmm? Sound?" Selena stopped her fluid, rapidly-moving thoughts and listened. A roaring like a motorbike droned in the distance. It came closer.
Selena, thinking it was her husband, ran to the door and answered it. But a much larger person was riding the bike.
"Hagrid?" She called when the bike was cut off.
"'Allo, Selena," Hagrid said. He had a bundle in the crook of his arms.
"Is that Harry?" She asked hopefully.
"Yes, 'tis. Dumbledore told me to give 'im to you for a few hours, to do some sort of fancy wand work on 'im. He said you'd know and cast it best."
"Oh, oh yes." Hagrid eased the orphan into Selena's arms. He awoke and began to fret, but he saw he was in his Aunt Selena's arms and cooed.
"Hello, Harry," she whispered, taking him inside. "C'mon in, Hagrid. You both should be hungry."
"Why thank yeh." Hagrid, tentative about his height, attempted to go inside. The door and ceiling stretched to fit his stature.
Selena unwrapped Harry quietly and placed him on the floor next to Alrescha.
"Hahwee," Alrescha said sweetly. Harry wiped his eyes, and they began to play.
"Alrigh'?" Hagrid asked tentatively, watching Selena. They were in the kitchen.
"I'm as to be expected."
"No finer people than James 'n Lily."
"Rightly so." Selena placed bowls on the table, along with a cauldron of chicken noodle soup.
--
Alrescha scrambled out of the house carrying a sipper cup. She tentatively hopped down the front steps and sat next to her mother.
"That's a fine scar, Harry," Selena murmured, holding the green-eyed baby on her lap. She pulled her wand from her hair and tapped it on his head. Harry Potter fidgeted and began to fuss. Glowing green, his lightning scar grew warm.
"Ah, don't touch it." Selena moved his chubby hand away from his head.
"Hot!" Harry proclaimed.
"I know." Selena blew on it, and the green quickly simmered to gold. "Okay, little boy. Time for you to leave me."
"Gotta make good time," Hagrid whispered, picking up Harry.
"Keep him safe."
"'Course." Hagrid turned to Sirius' motorbike, but looked back to Selena. "Best take care o' yerself. You an' Alrescha."
"I will."
"Bye!" Alrescha waved as the bike accommodated Hagrid's size. Harry waved back.
"Bye, Harry! We love you!"
"Love, love!" The toddler echoed from the steps.
"Bye-bye!" Harry yelled.
As Hagrid and Harry flew away, Selena wiped away a tear.
"Poor baby boy, he doesn't even know about his mum and dad. Poor baby... The Boy Who Lived, they'll call him."
--
6:03 PM of the Same Day
"GAH!" Alrescha yelled from the dining room. She began to scream and cry loudly, teetering into the kitchen. Frowning, Selena looked down at the little girl bawling her eyes out. Alrescha yanked her mother's dress frantically.
"GAH, MUMMY! LOOK! TABLE!" Selena pushed the kitchen door open, and her eyes stopped at the dining table.
"Oh!" A sob inched out of the woman's mouth. "Oh, Lily. Oh, James..."
The first thing Selena noticed was James' glasses. They were cracked in the left lens.
"Occulus reparo," Selena mumbled, pointing her wand at one of her best friends.
The couple's bodies lay on the table that had stretched to hold them. James' nose had crusted blood on it, and he was covered in dust and debris. Lily was the same, only no blood was on her. Their faces were calm, and James' face could have even resembled a smile, however faint. Lily's mouth was solemn, turned down at the corners.
Selena flicked her wand, and Lily and James floated from the dining room into the music room. Selena thought that this room was much better, as she could close the doors.
"Shwee, shwoo..." The Garland Fuzzies had come out from their hiding places, sprinkling their glittery dust. They followed James and Lily into the music room.
"Mummy?"
"Yes."
"Why no move?"
"They've died, Alrescha."
"What died?"
"Died is death. Remember when you found that baby bird that fell out of its tree?"
"Yes. Daddy said birdie went to Heaven."
"Yes."
"Heaven happen to Auntie LeeLee and Umcle Yames?" Selena had to smile faintly at the toddler's pronunciation.
"Yes."
"Oh. They no come back?"
"No."
"Oh. Poor Hahwee."
"Yes, poor Harry."
"Where Daddy?"
"I don't know, sweetheart."
"Oh."
7:59 AM on Monday, November 2, 1981
It was a sunny, bright day- strange, because it had been raining the night before. And the street didn't even look rained upon. It was a normal day in that town. So very pretty.
"HEY! HEY, PETER!" Sirius bellowed, breaking the peace. The street was busy, full of Muggles. Some stopped and stared when they saw Sirius running, others did not.
Peter Pettigrew heard Sirius, but did not look back. He ran, trying to lose him.
"YOU BASTARD! LOOK AT ME!"
Peter suddenly stopped and turned around. Sirius stopped too.
"You, you-"
"Lily and James, Sirius? How could you!" Peter began to advance on Sirius.
"What the-"
"YOU KILLED OUR FRIENDS, SIRIUS!" Peter roared. "YOU SOLD LILY AND JAMES TO YOU-KNOW-WHO!" By this time, some Muggles at the stoplight had rolled down their windows to listen.
Sirius raised his wand, as did Peter.
"I'LL KILL YOU, PETER!" Keeping his eyes on Peter, Sirius sent a curse into the air, but Peter was faster.
It happened all too quickly.
There was a loud crack, and the street broke into pieces. Bits of concrete jetted into buildings and people. Cars sunk into the ground, and some collided and started fires.
"PETER!" Sirius screamed, staring at the man. Peter, in the chaos, severed his index finger from his right hand. He locked eyes with Sirius and grinned wickedly.
"Bye-bye, Padfoot."
"NO!" Sirius lunged forward as Peter transformed into Wormtail. And with his rodent self, he scurried into a nearby sewer drain and out of sight.
"NO, NO!" A string of profanities oozed out of Sirius' mouth. And within two seconds, people were holding him down.
"Don't kill him!" A voice yelled.
"Yes, Fudge! PUT HIM IN RESTRAINTS, MEN!" Sirius tried to pull them off, blinded with fury, but it was useless. Sirius Black was caught.
"Where's Pettigrew?" Fudge repeated over and over.
"LOOK, SIR!" A Hit-Wizard pointed down.
"A finger..." Fudge whispered. He turned to Sirius. "You killed him! You killed the Potters, and now Pettigrew!"
"NO!" Sirius snarled.
"Do not lie, or else we will use it against you in trial!" warned a man holding Sirius back.
"He will get no trial," Fudge said through barred teeth.
"I killed no one," Sirius replied desperately.
"Hmph. Take him away! You, you and you! Help me round up the Muggles!"
Sirius twisted and contorted his body, trying to pull himself from their arms.
--
12:30 AM of the Same Day
"Nothing will work, sir. She's barricaded herself inside," a wizard said to Cornelius Fudge.
"She's just one witch! How hard is it to get in?" Fudge yelled. He pushed himself forward, walking up the sidewalk with his wand brandished.
"Sir, you should step ba-"
"I am Cornelius Fudge." The portly man stood in front of the house and put his wand to his neck. "Selena Nisha Riviera Black! Please step out of the house! By the laws of the Ministry of Magic, you are arrested on this day!"
No answer.
"WE WILL FORCE YOU FROM THE HOUSE!"
"No, you won't," the house replied. "You will not get in, and you will certainly not find me."
"YOU ARE HEREBY CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE AND ACCOMPLICE TO THE TRAITOR SIRIUS BLACK!"
"No, I am not. My husband is not a traitor."
"Sir, we've been at this for over four hours-" a man pleaded meekly.
"I will not back down. Torch the house!"
"Sir!"
"TORCH IT!" He spat. "Because of her and her husband, we have to cover up the biggest incident of our time! We could have been found out!"
"My husband did nothing," the house echoed. "If you try to torch the house, you will meet terrible consequences."
"Sir, I think we should obey the house."
"I agree," a calm voice said. "Because she will let me in." Albus Dumbledore strolled up the walk. "Selena, please open the door."
"I will not tolerate a search of the house."
"We will not search the house. We have come to question you."
"Only two people are allowed in. You and Fudge. No more."
"Come, Cornelius."
The door swung open for Dumbledore, and the four wizards stepped inside.
"Please, sit down," Selena said loudly from her kitchen. "Tea?"
"Yes, please," Dumbledore answered, sitting in an armchair. Fudge, baffled, sat on the couch.
"Hi, Dumbeedoor!" Alrescha teetered over to Hogwarts' Headmaster. "Mummy says you know where Daddy."
"Where Daddy is," Selena corrected from the kitchen.
"Where Daddy is," the child repeated.
"I do," Dumbledore said. "But you cannot see him right now."
"Oh. When?"
"Soon."
"Okay." Alrescha scrambled into his lap. Cups of tea hovered from the kitchen to their drinkers. Selena revealed herself, hobbling. She stood, head held high, in front of her visitors.
"Where is Sirius?" She asked.
"In Azkaban Prison," Fudge responded.
"Why?"
"He killed Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles."
"He did not."
"Why do you say this?"
"Because Sirius would not have killed him like the Daily Prophet says. He would have done it with his bare hands. That's what you do for revenge," she said simply. "Now, why are you here?"
"Because we need your side of the story."
"Sirius left yesterday morning to find Peter because Peter betrayed Lily and James."
"Wasn't Sirius the Secret Keeper?"
"No."
"He was," Dumbledore said slowly.
"No. He thought it would be a good bluff."
"Her brain's been addled," Fudge decided.
"No," Selena said.
"The evidence points to Sirius."
"And? Evidence can lie."
"So can you," Fudge said. "Not on purpose, of course, but maybe you were made to think something happened-"
"No. I went to Lily and James' house on Friday, and Peter had to show us how to get in."
"Maybe it was really Sirius, and it just looked like Peter. Maybe he bluffed the bluff."
"That's stupid."
"Selena, unless you have tangible proof that Sirius was not the Secret Keeper, then he will receive a life sentence in Azkaban."
"The music of truth will play eventually." Selena sighed. "I am sorry to say I have no proof. ... Why is my word not enough?"
"He could have changed your memories."
"He could not have. I wouldn't have let him."
"Even the greatest minds can be wrong," Dumbledore said slowly, looking at her over his glasses.
"Then you can be wrong, Headmaster."
"He's going to jail. End of story," Fudge said, getting up.
"Leave my house, and tell your men to stop searching it under invisibility cloaks."
"I- I- I didn't give that order."
"Right. If you monitor me or put me on house arrest of any kind, you'll pay, Fudge. Now, please leave. You may stay, Headmaster."
--
Not even an hour after the Ministry vacated the premises, there was a knock on the door.
"Hello, Severus," said a surprised Selena. Of course, he was dressed in black, but he carried white flowers.
"Good afternoon."
"Come in."
"Thank you." Snape was not himself.
"Have you come for the funeral? It's around three-"
"No. I wanted to say goodbye."
"Oh, of course." Selena led him to the music room and left him inside.
A half hour later, Severus Snape emerged with tears on his cheeks. He bowed to Selena and went to the door. He opened it, but turned back.
"Sirius wasn't stupid enough to betray them, I know that, but I can't speak for the thirteen people that are dead." And with that, Snape closed the door. At least someone believed her.
The young woman stepped into the music room; Selena sighed and glanced at the bodies of her friends. Both Lily and James had flowers on their chests.
"Selena?" A familiar voice rang through the house.
"Over here." Remus walked into the room.
"Oh, God," he muttered. He broke down in tears.
--
6:56 PM of the Same Day
The funeral had been short and quiet. James and Lily had been draped in white cloth, with their wands in their hands. Only Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, Selena, Frank, Alice, and Remus had witnessed the burial. Everyone had gone home without discussing anything but 'the good old days.'
"I don't wanna hate you, Remus." Selena knew she was going to have this conversation.
"I don't want to talk to someone who thinks Sirius is innocent."
"Oh, Remus."
"Don't you 'oh, Remus' me! HE BETRAYED THEM!"
"No, he didn't. And he didn't kill Peter or twelve Muggles."
"He was crazy all that time."
"Remus!" Selena stood up. "I love you, and you are my best friend. I do not want to fight with you. Can we please not speak of it? I know you're hurt. So am I! Can we not look at the past and lament debatable loyalty? Please?"
"Fine!"
"Thank you," she sighed. "Do you want something to eat?"
"I've got to get home."
"Take something to go, then."
"No. I've got food at the house." Remus strode across the room to the front door.
"Remus, I'm just as hurt as you. Please remember that."
"The Daily Prophet's right. Your brain has been messed over." Remus departed, slamming the door.
Selena found herself stroking the crescent moon necklace, wondering how in the world life could ever be normal after this.
Author's Ending Note:
There will probably be major revisions, but I'll make sure to tell you if I do anything more in the next chapter. ... P.S. The editing thing on is being a little weird, that's why things aren't bolded and stuffs.