Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

Hogwarts, The Marauder’s Era, Year Six

The dorm was empty.

Sirius shivered as he registered that they’d all left for Hogsmeade.  Not one of his friends had decided to stay and keep him company.  He slumped to lie on his bed despondent at being left alone.

He wanted to feel rage at Snape for his situation, but Sirius knew he only had his own Black bad temper to blame.  Regardless of how Snape had taunted him with knowing about the terrible Summer which had seen Sirius fleeing to the Potters, Sirius should have kept his cool.

He definitely shouldn’t have responded to Snape’s jab about where Remus went every month with giving away the secret of how to get into the tunnel below the Whomping Willow.

If he hadn’t realised Snape was going to take him up on his dare and told James and…

Being banned from Hogsmeade was one of the many punishments Dumbledore had dished out for thoughtlessly putting Remus at risk and endangering a fellow student.  Banned from Quidditch and any of the other social clubs.  Detentions with Filch or, worse, Slughorn, for a month which had only just ended.

Worse by far though was the punishment from his friends.  Being given the cold shoulder for the past month had been hard.  Not one of them had relented.  Not even James who was his brother in all but blood.

He deserved it, Sirius reminded himself briskly.  It was only right that Remus had refused his apology and refused to talk with him or have anything to do with him.  Only right that James and Peter supported Remus.

But the past month had been lonely without their friendship.  It kind of broke Sirius’ heart to think that the rest of his Hogwarts’ years might be more of the same.

Sirius sprang to his feet and without conscious thought he shifted into Padfoot.  Being a Grim was easier.  He padded through the castle and out into the ground.  As soon as his paws hit grass, he was running.  He swerved away from the edge of the Forbidden Forest and followed the curve of the Lake around past the Hogwarts dock and away from the Hogsmeade side.  Instead, he kept to the Forest boundary.  He ran and ran…

When he stopped running, he was on the other side of the Lake from the castle.  He could see it through the faint mist that descended, its spires still visible in the distance.  He panted faintly and padded over to the Lake to lap up some much-needed water.

He turned back to the Forest.

Something tugged on his magic, beckoning him into the trees.  He let himself be tugged, too much Padfoot to resist following his Grim instinct.  A narrow path suddenly widened into an overgrown clearing, bordered by a variety of trees which gave away that it was an old Druidic circle.

There was a moss-coloured boulder in the middle, an old altar, Sirius mused.

A shaft of sunlight broke through the forest canopy and the boulder rippled with magic and…

A gleaming sword appeared, stuck in the stone with only a third of it visible including the ornate hilt of gold.

Sirius stopped abruptly at the sight of it.

It couldn’t be…

He stared wide-eyed.

There was a sword stuck in a stone. 

That meant…

A wind blew through the clearing and the leaves rustled.

A woman appeared, emerging from an old oak tree at the far side of the clearing as though it was as natural as breathing.  Sirius knew he should leave, he should…

But he was frozen.

The Wood Nymph was clothed in a skin-tight layer of inter-lapping multi-coloured leaves of brown, green and russet from ankle to neck.  She padded over on bare feet, not making a sound as she stepped on the woodland debris that littered the floor.

Sirius lowered himself to the floor, belly down, head between his paws. 

“Peace, mo chariad,” the Wood Nymph whispered as she reached him and crouched down.

She was beautiful, Sirius mused.  Her brown face was unlined and smooth like the oak she inhabited.  Her green-brown eyes were kind.  Her ears were pointed, their tips emerging from the messy nest of spiky chestnut hair that topped her head.

Sirius whined as she stroked a hand over his head, scratching lightly behind his ears.  He squirmed closer to her.

She laughed and scratched him again.  She shook her head.  “It’s too soon for you to find this place, chariad.  Cal still sleeps as Arthur is not yet here.”  She frowned, her eyes saddening.  “Oh, chariad, so much sorrow.  No wonder your paws found a path to do leannan.”

Sirius was completely confused, but he did love her scritches behind his ears.  Her gentle affection seeped into his being and warmed him.

The Wood Nymph looked away into the direction of Hogwarts.

“You should be on your way, chariad,” she said.  “Your friends worry about your absence.”

Sirius whined.  He really didn’t want to leave the peace of the clearing. 

She dropped a kiss on his head.  “Go on, now,” she said, “you’ll always find us when you need peace, but your heart won’t show you the truth of us again until it’s properly time.”  She disappeared in a whirl of leaves and wind.

Sirius felt the wind gently surround him, pushing up from the ground and away from the clearing.  He took one last look back at the shining sword before he turned and ran.

The path back to Hogwarts seemed shorter somehow, the distance not so long.  He bounded away from the Lake and across the Quidditch pitches back towards the side entrance they’d found tucked away under the Astronomy tower. 

He slowed as he saw James pacing in front of the door.  He stopped at the sight of Sirius approaching.

“Padfoot!” James breathed out as though relieved to see him.

Sirius frowned.  James hadn’t called him that since before…of course, he hadn’t called him anything in weeks.

James took a step toward him, and Sirius flinched back. 

James frowned but stopped.

They looked at each other for a long moment.

“I’m sorry,” James said.  He fiddled with his Gryffindor scarf, loose around his neck despite the chill.  “We got to Hogsmeade and we realised…well, we realised that maybe shutting you out had gone on long enough.  When I got back to the dorm and you weren’t anywhere on the Map…” he ran a hand through the disaster of his Potter hair.  “I’ve been really worried, Pads.”

Sirius transformed, regretting his hard run when all of his muscles protested.  He shook his head to clear it.  “And the others?” He asked gruffly, his voice stiff with disuse.

“Remus said he’s not quite ready to forgive you,” James admitted, “but he did say he didn’t mind if we all spent time with you again.  He said leaving you alone now felt like we were being cruel.”

“I deserve it,” Sirius said, dropping his head.

James sighed.  “Dumbledore punished you, and you sincerely apologised to Remus.  We were the ones who took this a little too far, Sirius.  Maybe it was right for Remus to want time away from you, and for us all to support him in that initially, but…” he took a step towards him, eyes intent on Sirius’ as he looked at him squarely.  “Pete and I shouldn’t have just left you alone for so long.  That wasn’t right of us.  You didn’t deserve that.  It’s not like we don’t know how Snape can get.”  He glowered.  “He set the whole thing up and I refuse to let his shenanigans break us up.”

Sirius grimaced.  He shrugged.  “I was an idiot and I don’t blame you all for being mad.”

“You’re our idiot,” James said.  He opened his arms a touch and Sirius moved forward into the hug he was being offered.

James tightened his arms around him briefly before he stepped back, glancing over towards the Lake.  “Where did you get to?  You weren’t on the Map.”

Sirius shook his head as though to clear it.  Where had he been?  In the Forest?  Had there been a clearing?  He couldn’t quite remember.  “Nowhere important, Prongs.”

James tugged on his thin shirt.  “Come on, let’s get you inside.  We can get some hot chocolate from the kitchen and then…I think we should start plotting how we’re going to get revenge on Snape.”

Sirius let himself be tugged inside.  He frowned as they got to the doorway and looked back towards the Lake.  It really felt like he was forgetting something important…

James tugged on him again and Sirius fell inside Hogwarts, his attention diverted to James and the beginning of a thaw in his soul that had nothing to do with the cold.

o-O-o

1980

“Fancy grabbing a pint at the Leaky?” Sirius asked as he sent the folder with his report into the out-tray on his desk with a wave of his wand.

James shook his head.  “I’d best get back to Lily.  She hasn’t been feeling well for the past couple of days.”

Sirius turned and frowned at his best friend, brother and Auror partner.  “She alright?”

“She says it’s just a tummy bug,” James shrugged on a heavy outer robe.  His brow was creased with worry.  “I got told off for fussing last night.”

Sirius slung his arm around James as they walked out of the bullpen and into the corridors of the Ministry toward the main lifts. Ever since the death of his parents from dragon pox, James had become a worry-wart whenever anyone he loved fell sick. 

“She’ll be fine, Prongs.  She’s the strongest person we know,” Sirius said.

James jabbed at the call button for the lift.  “I know, I just…worry.”

“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t,” Sirius commented dryly.  “How’s her new teaching apprenticeship with Flitwick going?”

“She’s enjoying working with Filius and Minnie,” James’ expression brightened a touch before he grimaced.  “Not so much with Dumbledore.”

“Oh?”

“He wanted her to take over Muggle Studies,” James explained.

Sirius pressed the lift button again.  “I wouldn’t think she’d mind that.  Didn’t she complain how out of date and backwards it was all the way through Hogwarts?”

“Yes,” James said, “and he wanted her to teach it just like that.  Apparently, he’s still on about it despite her helping Flitwick with the lower Charms classes and the Duelling club on top of her own coursework.”

“Oh,” Sirius swallowed the laugh that wanted to bark out. “I’m surprised the old coot still has his beard then.”

“She put a potion in his lemon drops which randomly makes him cluck like a chicken or crow like a rooster,” James confided in a whisper.  “Apparently he thinks one of the students did it.”

They were giggling when they entered the empty lift.

Sirius only just remembered to stab the button for the atrium before the lift got moving again.  “Are you going to that meeting he’s called tomorrow for the you-know-what?”

“Maybe, if Lily’s better,” James said.  “Merlin knows we need to do something with the Ministry being so useless about stopping the attacks.”

“Crouch is campaigning for Aurors to get permission to use Unforgiveables,” Sirius said grimly.  “Not sure that’s going to end well either way.”

James nodded in agreement.

Neither of them liked the taciturn and ambitious Director of Magical Law Enforcement.

“At least he wants to do something, unlike others,” James muttered.

Sirius nodded.  The level of corruption in the Ministry still surprised him even after months of working there.

The lift slid to a stop at a floor.  The doors opened and they both grinned at the sight of Peter on the other side.  They ushered him in quickly.

“Finished for the day?” Sirius asked brightly.  Peter had gone to work for the Department of Magical Transportation after Hogwarts.  He seemed happy enough and had even stopped complaining about his boss, Travers, since the end of the Summer.

Peter nodded, his head shining faintly with sweat.  He looked over-heated in his layers of sweater, robes and heavy woollen winter coat.

“Want to grab a pint?” Sirius pointed at James.  “This one already turned me down because Lily isn’t feeling well.”

Peter mopped at his brow with a handkerchief.  “’Fraid I have to say no for similar reasons, Pads.  Mum isn’t feeling well.”

“Maybe there’s a bug going round,” James offered sympathetically.  “Lily’s been ill for a couple of days.”

Peter nodded.  “Maybe, but you know Mum.  If she’s got a sniffle, it’s pneumonia.  If she’s slightly nauseous, it’s stomach flu.”  He rolled his eyes.  “It’s probably nothing.”

“Let us know if you need anything,” Sirius said.  “Maybe I can pop by Remus’ place and see if he’s recovered enough from the full moon to tempt him into a beer.”

“He’s not there,” Peter said.

James and Sirius both turned to look at him.

Peter flushed red.  “He didn’t tell you?  Dumbledore sent him over to France as soon as the full moon was done.  Something about meeting up with…with someone else who has a furry problem?”

“Damn it,” James said.  “I thought he’d stopped doing those.”

“It’s not like it’s ever going to work,” Sirius said darkly.  “I know Remus told the old goat that too.”

Peter shrugged.  “I think he pays him?  You know how difficult it can be for Moony to find work.”

The lift slid to a halt and they spilled out into the atrium.

Peter scurried ahead of them towards the apparition point.

“Hey, sorry to leave you on your own,” James nudged him.  “I’d invite you round but if Lily has got a tummy bug, I’d rather you didn’t get it too.”

Sirius sighed.  “I’ll be fine.”

James bumped his shoulder against Sirius’ in a friendly way.  “Maybe you should consider getting back out there.  You haven’t been on a date since that whole thing with Byron Diggory.”

That whole thing being a three-month long relationship that Diggory had ended to marry a Greengrass witch after orders from his Father to stop playing the field over a year before.  Sirius hadn’t realised Diggory thought they were playing.  Not that the blond curly-haired Quidditch player was the love of Sirius’ life, but he’d been fun and affectionate.

“I’m just not ready yet,” Sirius mumbled.

“I think Wormy has someone,” James confided in a stealthy whisper, shooting an amused look at the back of Peter’s head, some distance in front of them.

“Yeah?” Sirius had thought Peter was still crushing on Marion MacPloon, the administrative secretary in the Department of Muggle Artefacts.

James nodded.  “Lily and I caught him sneaking about Hogsmeade the other week when he said he needed to work late instead of going to the meeting.”

“He was with someone?”

“No, but he lied really badly when we pointed out his robes were done up incorrectly,” James chuckled.  “He’d clearly re-dressed in a hurry.”

“That sly old rat!” Sirius murmured, amused at the image.   “Maybe his girl is married.”

“It would account for why he hasn’t said anything,” James noted.

Sirius poked him.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

James shrugged unconcerned.  “Forgot.”

The apparition point was upon them.

Peter waited until they caught up before saying a swift goodbye and apparating away.

James turned and hugged Sirius.  “Promise me you won’t just stew inside your flat, Pads.”

Sirius’ lips twisted but he managed a smile.  “I won’t.”

James let go of him.

“Give Lily-Pad my love,” Sirius called out as James took up position.

James saluted and apparated.

Sirius let out a long slow breath and stepped forward into the apparition spot.  He twisted and…

…landed in the apparition spot in the centre of Hogsmeade.

He shivered as the winter chill of a Scottish November night slapped straight through his robes and into his body.  He hurriedly made his way to the Three Broomsticks, castigating himself for not getting the warming charms renewed.

Rosmerta greeted him with a cheery smile.  They flirted outrageously while Sirius placed his order of real beer and that night’s special of Steak and Ale pie.  He wandered away from the bar as she turned to deal with other customers and went to hide in one of the cubby booths in the nook on the other side of the bar.

His pie appeared in front of him, steaming hot and smelling delicious.  It was accompanied by a mountain of buttery mash, hearty vegetables and a thick beef gravy.  His stomach growled appreciatively as he tucked in.

He was mopping up the last of his gravy with the remnants of his pie crust when he heard voices from the neighbouring booth in the nook behind him. He smiled as he recognised the Scottish brogue of the formidable Professor McGonagall and the warm brisk voice of Madame Pomfrey.

“…I’m telling you that I’ve never seen a more intelligent witch more oblivious!” Poppy was complaining.  “I had to show her the results of the test three times!”

Sirius leaned closer to the wall eager to hear the latest Hogwarts’ gossip.

“Does Filius know?” Minnie asked, sounding amused.

“Of course not,” Poppy scoffed.  “He thinks the same tricksters that stuck something in Albus’ drops have moved onto making Lily sick every day.”

Oh.  Not cool, Sirius thought.  He winced.  To be fair the Marauders had definitely done worse.

“He hasn’t quite clocked that regular morning sickness might have a more prosaic cause when added to the reality that she’s a young newly-wed witch,” Poppy sighed. 

Sirius froze.

That sounded like…

No.

That couldn’t be…

Well.

It could be.

It wasn’t like James and Lily were abstaining from their marital bed while the war was on, but still he was sure they’d said they were going to wait before trying for kids.

“She was quite distraught,” Poppy said.  “She said they hadn’t planned for children yet.”

“Life sometimes finds a way,” Minnie said.

Sirius picked up the rest of his beer and downed it.

“She wants to keep it under wraps until the end of the first trimester, but she gave permission for me to tell you as I told her that I needed to tell someone in the administration,” Poppy continued.  “Only you, mind.  She wants to tell Filius himself tomorrow so he can better adjust their teaching schedule.”

“And Albus?” Minnie asked pointedly.  “He is going to need to know sooner rather than later, Poppy.  He has a duty of care.”

Poppy snorted.  “Like he doesn’t leave the whole running of the school to you anyway!”

Sirius quietly slid out of the booth and sneaked away to the side-door before either of the two ladies realised he’d been eavesdropping.

Merlin, Sirius thought a touch hysterically.  Probably he’d get to work in the morning and James would tell him and…

A baby.

A baby Potter.

James was going to be a father!

Sirius suddenly felt very alone.

He loved Lily.  He was happy James was happy and married, all loved up with his soulmate but…

Sirius had adjusted to Lily being part of their day to day at Hogwarts once she and James had started dating; to spending Hogsmeade weekends more often alone or rambling around with either Remus or Peter if they didn’t have dates of their own.

After Hogwarts, Sirius had adjusted to Lily being at the flat he and James had shared most nights.  He knew the small bedsit she’d secured in London while she’d been working for a small potions apothecary on the Alley had been grim and barely big enough for Lily herself never mind James.  He hadn’t minded.  He and James spent the majority of their days together training as Aurors.

And he had adjusted to the lack of time with James in the wake of the wedding.  He knew it was only natural for James and Lily to find their own home and to need space from even the closest of friends.  He still spent his days working with James.  It wasn’t the end of the world not to see him on their downtime.

But it was lonely.

And Sirius felt lonely.

He shifted into Padfoot and ran.

The dock to the Lake at Hogsmeade station wasn’t far and he headed towards the path that would lead him to the far side of the Lake and his usual clearing; the place he went to whenever he was alone and lonely; the place that made him feel hugged, loved and wanted.

The night was clear, clouds absent from the starry sky as he raced along the edge of the water.  Moonlight gilded the surface, not quite the full moon which had been and gone a week before.  It turned the Lake from a scary place of dark ripples to a silver mirror reflecting the stars.

Sirius bounded into the clearing and paused in confusion.

There was a stone in the middle of the overgrown grass.

A memory flickered at the corners of his mind.

Had that always been there?

Moonlight bathed it in a silver glow and…there!  The glint of metal and…

A sword.

There was a sword in the stone.

How had he never seen that, Sirius thought half-hysterically.

He transformed to his human self and carefully made his way over to the centre of the clearing.  He looked around at the circle of trees bordering the space.

Why had he never noticed that they formed a Druidic circle?

His gaze drifted back to the boulder and the sword housed within it.

He peered closer at the sword.

Writing glimmered along the lines of the blade.

“Take me up; cast me away,” Sirius repeated aloud.

Magic hummed around the sword, and he hurriedly took a step back.  He took another and another as the sword sparkled and glowed and…

The sword slid out of the stone and hovered for a second above the boulder before flipping over and shifting form…

A man landed on the ground in front of the stone. He was well-muscled, with bare arms wearing an old-fashioned breastplate and breeches covered with chainmail, a blue cape flowed from his shoulders. His long blond hair was tied back in a braid. His eyes were a startling summer sky blue. He was gorgeous.

Sirius gaped at him.

“Mo chariad,” the warrior smiled at him. “I am honoured to finally meet my Champion.”

Sirius was tempted to look behind him. He gently closed his mouth and took a deep breath as he took the warrior’s offered hand in a strong clasp. Neither of them let go.

He had a feeling everything was going to change.

fin.