Long-ish chapter! We're close.

Thanks for the reviews, Nova5621, thewrittenword87, xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx, and CharlotteBlackwood (Sorry for almost making you cry!)

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS QUEEN!

CHAPTER 111

Sirius found it very difficult to leave. He stood in the backyard, looking at the house for a while. Could he really do this? No, he had to; he had to make sure Peter didn't screw up.

He then noticed a window on the second floor was open.

There was a small breeze that hit his back; some tiny pebbles came with it.

He turned.

"Darling, what are you doing out here?"

Anastasia stood far in the distance, looking very frightened. Sirius approached her carefully; he crouched down to her height.

She didn't say anything.

"You saw all of that, didn't you?" He asked.

She nodded.

"I'm very sorry you had to see us like that."

"Daddy, do you still love mummy?" She whispered.

"Of course I do, sweetheart." Sirius said without falter. It was true; he had no doubt in his mind that he loved Audrey after everything they had been through.

"Then why did you hit her?" She asked, tearing up.

"Because I am an awful, awful, terrible excuse for a man." Sirius replied. "But I love you and your mother more than anything, and that's why I'm leaving."

"But if you love us you can't leave." Her lip quivered the same way that her mother's did.

"Sometimes, we have to leave our loved ones to protect them." Sirius replied. "It won't be for long, honey. I promise."

He pulled her into a hug.

"When this is all over, we'll be a proper family again, you'll see."

It was hard seeing her cry, and feeling Audrey's tremors running through the ground.

"Go back up to your room, love." Sirius said, stroking her hair.

Anastasia stepped on a tiny rock and flew back to her window; once she crawled back inside she looked out at him.

Sirius flicked his wand and the shed opened, his motorbike rolled out. He mounted the bike, put on his helmet, and looked up at the window.

He blew her a kiss and took to the sky.

One week later, the Hogs Head.

Audrey had given up; she couldn't feel anything but emptiness after he left.

Without Sirius, the world seemed to stand still. I had less than a handful of days left and I couldn't say good-bye.

The very last night I went to the Hogshead, I did not disguise myself. Everyone stared, they knew who I was. They had seen the newspapers. But no one moved, no one got up to turn me in. Those were my people, or, it'd be more fitting to say, those were my creatures. They understood.

Audrey walked up to the piano, receiving calls from several of the men and half men (half creature) who sat at the bar, and around the bar..

She situated herself on the piano bench and took a moment to stretch. Looking at her up close, Audrey's once voluminous, thick, straight hair now seemed limp and lifeless. Her face had lost its lively glow; her cheek bones seemed to be protruding more than they once had. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy, how long was it since she last cried? Not long…Her irises had faint traces of green still left, her make up was already running.

And then she began to play.

"I can't believe what you said to me, last night when we were alone…you threw your hands up. Baby you gave up, you gave up."

Her voice became slightly menacing…"I can't believe how you looked at me with your James Dean glossy eyes. In your tight jeans with your long hair and your cigarette stained lies!"

Her voice, turned softer, sympathetic, with a tragic hint behind it.

"Could we fix you if you broke? And is your punch line just a joke? I'll never talk again, oh boy you've left me speechless. You've left me speechless, so speechless, and I'll never love again. Oh boy you've left me speechless, so speechless."

She held the last note…

"I can't believe how you slurred at me with your half wired broken jaw. You popped my heart seams on my bubble dreams, bubble dreams."

She lamented "I can't believe how you looked at me with your Johnnie Walker eyes…"

Her voice turned vicious, her words stained with grief.

"He's gonna get you and after he's through here's gonna be no love left to rye'"

My eyes scanned the room as I played, I saw him. He didn't notice me staring, but I knew he was there. I wanted him to see.

"And I know that it's complicated, but I'm a loser in love so baby, raise a glass to mend all the broken hearts of all my wrecked up friends!" She placed emphasis on 'all my wrecked up friends' by crescendoing, a mourning cry, and literally raising her glass of gin and downing some of it.

The regulars jeered and raised their glasses.

"I'll never talk again, oh boy you've left me speechless. You've left me speechless, so speechless. And I'll never love again, oh friend you've left me speechless, you've left me speechless, so speechless…How? How? How?"

A chord breakdown.

"And after all the drinks and bars that we've been to, would you give it all up? Could I give it all up for you? And after all the boys and girls that we've been through, would you give it all up? Could you give it all up? If I promise, boy, to you…"

She became calmer.

"That I'll never talk again, and I'll never love again. I'll never write a song, won't even sing along. I'll never love again."

The last four words coming out in a cry.

"So speechless, you left me speechless, so boy, why you so speechless, so speechless?"

Her voice was bitter…

"Will you ever talk again? Oh boy, why you so speechless? You've left me speechless."

Audrey's gaze returned to Voldemort, he caught her eye this time.

"Some men may follow me but you choose "death and company" why you so speechless? oh, oh."

There was a standing ovation from most of the bar, but Audrey did not feel satisfaction. After all, it wasn't the same as playing in a concert hall.

She saw him across the room, he was sitting and clapping. His eyes were concealed but she knew he stared at her.

Audrey left the Hogshead quickly and dissapparated. She only had a day…

When she arrived home, she began to flick her fingers and wave her hands. The furniture began to move and break.

I had two days to make a mess of the house…it was a last resort. I thought that if I showed signs of a struggle, perhaps I could trick Voldemort. I had nowhere to hide Anastasia, so this was my only option.

"Mummy, what are you doing?" Anastasia asked, tugging on Audrey's pant leg.

"Just re-arranging the furniture, darling."

"Mummy, that chair is upside down."

"I know, sweet heart. Let's get you to bed." Audrey said, picking up her daughter.

Audrey tucked Anastasia into bed.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

For the last month, she had been having these terrible nightmares. Sirius and I always alternated who would stay with her. On the nights we were okay with each other, we would both stay.

"Always." Audrey said, stroking her hair. She didn't have the heart to tell her, it was too soon. They still had a day.

I spent my last day with my daughter; I took her outside to play. We read books, we played music, and we played games. I wanted her to feel as normal as possible, though deep down, I knew she felt something was wrong.

I had secretly wished that Sirius would come running back through the door. If I was going to die, I wanted his company. I didn't want our daughter to see…she was far too young.

The hours passed quickly, and no matter what I was doing, I kept my eye on the door.

He wasn't coming back. He was no longer in my seeing eye…

Audrey began to shatter glasses in the kitchen, she broke the cabinets, and she put dragon's blood on the piano keys. She made bloody handprints on the walls. She wanted to make their home look like the shrieking shack.

And that's what she did.

"Speechless" credit to Lady Gaga/Interscope Records.