Raylynx's POV

It was Halloween night and I was a grumpy cat.

Little children were running all over the streets of Hogsmeade, which were lit up with orange lights for a Halloween Festival. Of course, despite the decorations, the streets were basically deserted. Few people risked being out at night these days. But there were still enough brats for them to corner me on my way to Aberforth's and tie a tin can to my tail.

I clanked my way into Aberforth's storeroom and yowled unhappily. He entered, looking confused.

When he saw me, he said, "Scat, cat. Don't make a mess in here."

I mewed angrily and glared at him indignantly. I held out my tail to him as best as I could.

Aberforth sighed and pulling out his wand, he helped me out.

I purred in relief as the tin can was finally removed from my tail. My tail flicked in gratitude.

Then, Aberforth said, "If you think I can't recognize you, you're wrong. I'd recognize that look of indignation anywhere."

I snorted. Only Aberforth would figure me out so easily.

I transformed back into my human form. "Have you got a spare bed?" I asked him. "I don't much feel like being caught again on my way back."

"Have you got money to spare?" Aberforth returned.

"Deduct it from my wages," I suggested.

"You already have no wages if you deduct all the drinking you did."

"George paid for that," I reminded him. "C'mon, Aberforth," I pleaded. "One night? I can't stand little kids. They terrify me."

Aberforth half-sighed, half-growled. "Fine," he muttered.

"I didn't realize Halloween was so terrifying as a cat," I told him.

"So you're an Animagus," Aberforth stated the obvious.

"Guilty."

"An unregistered Animagus."

"Obviously," I said, then yawned. "So, how about that bed, aye? I'm dead tired from dragging around that awful can."


I woke up the next morning, feeling better than ever. It'd been a long time since I slept in a proper bed. I washed my face and Transfigured myself before I headed out to the bar.

To my surprise, there was a crowd of people there.

I whirled around and checked the clock. It was only ten in the morning. Aberforth had barely opened his bar. Why were there so many people?

"Aberforth…" I said, but he pretended not to hear me.

"Oh, it's Freddie! We never see ya here this early, boy!" George called, waving me over. I went over to where he was sitting with Frank, Ern, and a lot of other people.

"So you've heard the news, too, eh?" Frank said to me.

"The news?" I said, puzzled. "What's everyone doing here so early? It's not even noon yet. You lot don't usually come in until eight at night."

"So you haven't heard!" George said. Then, in his booming voice, he announced, "The Dark Lord's gone!"

What…?

"What?" I echoed my thoughts almost unconsciously.

"Yep, couldn't believe it myself, but it's true! And what's more, he was defeated by a one year old."

"A… a one year old?" Shivers ran down my spine. Suddenly, I felt a bit sick.

Just say it's not-

"Yeah. Little Harry Potter."

No.

"Lily and James..." I murmured. I swear a mist started creeping into the pub. My vision started going hazy.

"Did you know the Potters?" George asked me.

"What happened to them? They're safe, aren't they?" I almost begged.

George frowned. "Of course not. They had to go up against the Dark Lord himself. They're dead. Both of them. Except somehow, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named lost against their one-year-old son, Harry."

"Ain't that right, fellas?" George looked to the others for confirmation.

"Yeah!" Frank agreed, nodding vehemently.

I whirled around to look at Aberforth for confirmation. The look of despair and sympathy in his eyes said all I needed to know.

"Yeah, that's right," Ern said, more solemnly. "Bless that little boy."

"To the boy who lived," Ern said, and raised his glass. The whole bar quieted down and joined him.

They all echoed, "To the boy who lived."

The ground was spinning. All I could hear was my own breath.

Aberforth, who had been watching me warily this whole time, finally cracked.

"Lass-"

"Harry's safe, isn't he?" I managed to ask. The fear kept clotting my voice.

Dumbledore must have Harry. That's obvious. There's no way he would let anyone else decide what to do with the Boy who Lived, now the most important piece in this war.

Slowly, Aberforth nodded.

"Lily and James…?"

Aberforth shook his head.

I darted out of my seat, threw open the pub door, sprinted down the village road, and Apparated.


For the first time, I desperately wished that I wouldn't be able to see James and Lily's house as I sprinted down the street towards their home in Godric's Hollow.

I could.

I stopped dead when the wreckage came into view.

Muggle police had already been here. Yellow tapes were strewn around everywhere with signs saying "DO NOT CROSS". But there were no officers, meaning they had already taken care of the bodies.

Trembling, I stepped over the tapes and made my way into the house. Half of the second floor had collapsed into the first and the roof had been blown off altogether.

Once, not so long ago, when you entered this house you would be greeted by Dusky the house elf, led to a kitchen where elderly Mr. and Mrs. Potter would embrace you, and then find your way into the living room where Lily and James were with Harry.

Starting at the incredible destruction around me, a small voice in my head whispered: This amount of force would be enough to take down even James and Lily.

"Lily!" I called out. "James?"

There was only silence. In the deepest part of my heart, I knew I had just confirmed that they were truly gone forever.

But I wasn't going to let go that easily. I searched the whole damn house, picking up fragments of stone, glass, metal, and wood and pushing them out of the way. My hands and arms were badly scratched and bleeding, but I didn't care. I was looking for two pieces of wood, which would look like nothing but splinters to the rest of the world. But I knew better. I finally found James' wand in the sofa, stuck between cushions and in a mess of broken glass. I reached in, gritting my teeth in pain as I felt glass cut against my hand. But I managed to grasp it and pull it out.

Then, I headed up to the second floor. I found Lily's wand on the ground just besides Harry's cot, which was amazingly, still standing. I found more than that, though. I discovered the shattered remains of an old charm, still strung on its silver necklace.

Shivering violently, tucked away the necklace in my pocket. I cradled both wands to my chest and got up from the floor. Two splinters of wood, but utterly precious to me. They represented two souls that had given so much to me and had so much more to give to the world, except that they were now gone and interacting with them was now impossible.

Standing in the middle of the destruction, I blinked numbly and tried to remember how to breathe. It felt like my lungs were constricted. My mind flashed back to the freezing pain I had felt from the vampire venom. It felt close to that, only it was much more emotional. Tears dropped fast and heavy from my eyes, which felt frozen open.

They're gone. Lily and James… They're gone. And the person who betrayed them is their Secret-Keeper. Their Secret-Keeper was...

I panicked. I tried to breathe too fast and I started hyperventilating. The pain coursed through my lungs and I started to get dizzy. I knelt down and held my head in my hands. My body bucked from the effort it took to breath, and I still wasn't successful.

Raylynx, you have to move. You need answers.

"But where?" I whispered to myself. "I don't know where to go."

Yes, you do, that voice in my mind replied. You know exactly where to look.

In a daze, I got up in the mess of glass and wood and focusing my mind, I Apparated.

I landed in front of Sirius' flat. I pushed open the gate, ran up the stairs, muttered, "Alohomora!", and entered his flat.

Everything was as it was. Even the flowers, now dried up.

I could tell- the trap had not been sprung.

The question was now whether there had ever been a trap in the first place.

The gust of wind I'd created from shoving open the door blew through the room, and a petal fell from the flowers onto the table.

I passed out.


I woke up to someone vigorously shaking me.

"Raylynx! Raylynx, wake up!"

My eyes opened.

I felt confused when I saw Remus' face.

Where am I? Why is Remus here?

"Did he hurt you?" Remus demanded, his voice unreasonably angry.

Then, I remembered everything that happened.

I got to my feet, shaking my head.

"No. No, he didn't hurt me. He… wasn't even here."

My eyes flickered up to Remus' and we both had the thought at the same time. Traitor.

He immediately turned towards the door.

"Remus, wait!" I grabbed his arm firmly.

"No!" he shouted, and threw my hand off. "No more waiting! All I have ever waited for is death."

Remus was furious. "Don't you see?" He hissed at me and grabbed my shoulders roughly. "He betrayed us! He-"

His voice cut off and he swallowed hard. "Sirius betrayed us."

"No…" I murmured, shaking my head.

"Don't let your feelings get in the way, Raylynx. We both know it's true."

"He wouldn't-"

"But he did," Remus pressed. "And now… now James and Lily are dead."

His voice broke at the end.

For a moment, I thought he was going to break down. Instead, his lips formed a grim line and he stalked out of the flat.

I stared after him.

He was right. James and Lily were dead. But I still wasn't fully convinced that it was Sirius.

But how was I going to find Sirius? Who knows where he was now and what he was doing? I bit my lower lip, thinking hard. Then, I felt something rustle and stir in the back of my mind. Words sprang from a dusty ancient archive I had not looked at for some while now. It whispered to me: Cedar…

I realized what my next step was. I took a deep breath to steel myself. It would take some nerve, but there was no other choice now.


"Mr. Ollivander."

I stood up from sitting on the steps as he stepped in front of his shop.

His eyes widened in shock before his expression grew cold and displeased. He shuffled past me and unlocked the store. Then, he entered without holding the door open for me.

I quietly followed him in.

Ignoring me, he took off his cloak and started to head to the back room.

I spoke before he disappeared. "Mr. Ollivander."

"What do you what?" he muttered, annoyed.

"I need your help."

"Well, Ms. Kingsley. You seem to have forfeited any right to my help when you abandoned this store and your training with no prior warning. Good day to you," he said irately and started to turn away again.

"I'm not claiming a right," I said. "I'm not even asking for a favor. I have something to bargain with."

Ollivander paused in his step. He looked back at me, his eyebrow arched high in skepticism.

I stepped forward and laid down the King's wand on the counter.

Ollivander immediately recognized it for what he was. Nevertheless, he ran it through the usual examination.

"Ebony and dragon heartstring. Thirteen inches long. Quite sturdy, but not inflexible. Solitary, strong-minded, perceptive. This is an immensely powerful wand. It harbors suchimmense and intelligent magic. Could it be..?"

"Yes. That's the King's Wand," I said.

He looked up at me, thunderstruck. "Where did you get this wand?" he whispered.

"I underwent a series of quests," I told him. I felt a strange magic within me, and I knew I should say no more.

"Will you take it?" I asked Ollivander. "If so, I'm desperately in need of your assistance."

Ollivander hesitated, glancing at me twice before reaching out to take it.

"What is our bargain?" Ollivander asked me.

"I need to borrow your Pensieve bowl and some Cedar."

"You're tracking someone," Ollivander realized immediately.

I nodded.

"Follow me."

He took me to the back room and with a wave of his wand, summoned his Pensieve. Then, he went to the scrap pile and found the largest twigs and bits of cedar he could find. He handed them to me.

I broke the pieces of cedar and sprinkled them into the bowl of swirling silver. Then, I took out my old wand and placed its tip on my head. Slowly, I pulled out my last memory of Sirius.

When the silver strand touched the liquid in the Pensieve, it swirled for a moment and then formed the actual scene in the bowl for a brief moment.

The voice from the memory emanated for a split second.

"Come live with me, Lynx. After this is all over, I mean…"

His voice died out and then images suddenly flashed in the bowl one after the other.

All of the images were of places. Some I could identify, others were more difficult… I hesitated.

Then, I stepped away from the Pensieve.

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander," I said and bowing to him, I left the room and hurried back out onto the street.

I took a deep breath and focused my mind. I had several places to check and time was of the utmost importance. There was no doubt that Dumbledore, Sirius, and the Death Eaters were all on the move. I had to be able to catch up to Sirius and sort this all out before everything collided.


Sirius' POV

I hadn't slept for over a day. But it didn't matter. My mind felt more alert than ever, because I knew I was close. To him. To the traitor who sold Lily and James, who sold us all to Voldemort. To Peter Pettigrew.

He knew, of course, that I'd be after him. So he was hiding in a city, trying desperately to disguise himself in the sidewalks full of people. But I didn't care. This was between me and him.

I stepped out of the shadows of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk.

"Peter!" I roared, insurmountable anger manifesting itself in my voice. I was so enraged that my vision was tinged with red.

He shouted in fear when he saw me and started to run, but I had always run faster than him. I cornered him within minutes.

This is it. I drew my wand.

"Peter, you-"

"You betrayed Lily and James!" Peter squeaked out to me. "How could you!?"

Fury reared inside of me, but at the same time, a hysterical laughter was building up. I kill Lily and James? I betray them? How dare he frame me like this?

I raised my wand to curse him. "Peter, you son of a bitch-!"

BOOM! The whole street caught aflame as a huge explosion blasted everything in a twenty feet radius apart.

I felt the fire rip straight across my chest. I was thrown backwards. My head cracked against the sidewalk. That wasn't my spell. I didn't even say anything yet.

Dizzy, I still pushed myself onto my feet and brandished my wand.

But Peter was gone. No doubt he'd transformed himself into a rat and ran down into the sewers.

There was a crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. There were bodies everywhere and Muggles were screaming and running left and right. There was red everywhere now, fire and blood and anger and betrayal and…

This can't be real.

I started to laugh.

You let yourself be defeated by the likes of Peter? You colossal fool.

No, you've always been the fool. You thought you were doing him a favor letting him hang around you. But the truth is he's always been far more powerful, far more secretive, and far more clever than you. He outsmarted us all. Isn't it hilarious? You lost everything because of one rat. This whole time, you overlooked small little Peter. This whole time, you thought you were in charge… What a fool you've been, Sirius Black. You've really acted out a whole comedy here.

Magical Enforcement Squad showed up and immediately swamped the scene. Twenty Ministry members ran at me with wands, shouting at me to forfeit.

I laughed hysterically.

Sirius Black, did you think that if you lived your life fairly, you would be treated fairly?

You poor, naïve fool.

I could hear my own laughter ringing maniacally in my ears.

There it is.

The Black bloodline and the insane gene are never far apart.

You'd be proud of me, Mom and Dad.

Finally, the flesh reflects the madness within.

Someone jabbed a wand against my temple and dragged me away.

The fire and wreckage of that scene was the last thing reflected in my own human eyes. Red, red, red… The most vibrant color of them all.

Everything after this point, everything after Azkaban, was seen by eyes far less bright.