Soon All the Suns Will Rise

High Above Me

Chapter Title from "She's So High" by Tal Bachman. Adapted excerpts from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling. 

The Battle of Hogwarts
POV: Colleen and Severus
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"...I do not want to spill magical blood. Give me Harry Potter, and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."

Sirius sprang from Colleen's arms like there was a rocket attached to his back. He had changed into wizarding attire and robes before they'd departed the house, and he hastily returned to them now, complete with gold-buttoned vest and double-Albert chain. Colleen's ears ached with the piercing, supernatural shrieks that still seemed to echo through the air even though the voice outside had ceased. It was the first time she'd had a true concept of the power they were up against, and the thought of sending Sirius out there into the thick of it terrified her. Part of her wanted to beg him to stay, secure in her arms, barricaded inside the shack. But she knew enough about Gryffindors to know that would be a fate nearly as terrible as death to a wizard like him.

"Here," Colleen said after throwing her own clothes back on. From her rucksack she removed the talisman she and Rhiannon had created from her sex magic practice with Sirius, and she placed it around his neck.

"No," Sirius argued. "I want you protected. You wear it."

"I'm not going to battle," Colleen reminded him. "And I have the dragon skin to wear."

"That's not full-body, love. It hardly makes you invincible. You need this more than I do. I have defensive spells."

Colleen shook her head, not taking no for an answer. "Just hide me," she said stubbornly, looking around for possibilities. "Like those spells you cast that night at Grimmauld Place, to keep others out but still allow me to escape."

Sirius sighed and hesitated, and she knew he was thinking no spell was foolproof. But he moved swiftly over to a shuttered cupboard of sorts, elevated a few stairs from the floor and standing across from the bed. It was tiny, and the slats of the door were crooked and in need of repair. It stood behind an old dusty piano, a moth-eaten chair, and a broken gramophone. But with a few wand strokes, Sirius repaired the door and set some protective charms.

"Get in, and take your rucksack with you," he instructed, his voice cracking a bit. He wasn't meeting her gaze, and Colleen knew he was slowly detaching out of fear. "I've set silencing charms and made it very difficult for someone to get in by conventional means. But if they sense your presence somehow or try to detect protective magic, they will be able to get through. This is unfortunately the best I can do."

Colleen drew him to her. "I know, Sirius. But we're bonded now. You'll know if I need you. Don't focus on me unless you hear a clear message. Focus on the battle, and on Harry. All right? This could be it...you could finally get to see him tonight." She smiled excitedly, and the briefest glimpse of a returned grin graced Sirius's face— a bright spot in the overall dread, if only fleeting.

"I love you, Colleen Black. I didn't know love or happiness was possible until I met you. I owe you my life, love. Rhiannon may have brought me back from the dead, and I will always be grateful. But you gave me a life worth living."

Colleen fought back tears and buried her face in his neck one more time, breathing his smell in so deeply that it almost hurt her chest. She needed that calming, powerful scent to last until they saw one another again. "I love you, too, Sirius. Now go to your friends, before midnight. They need you."

He nodded and started down the stairs of the Shrieking Shack, this time as a wizard, truly out of hiding for the first time in four years. With their newly formed bond, Colleen could feel the thrill of freedom pounding in his heart. Sirius looked back one last time, and she blew him a kiss. She felt like a heroine from one of those war movies, seeing her husband off as he boarded a train that would carry him far off into a world she could never truly hope to understand. She heard his footsteps retreat into the tunnel, and she drew in a sharp breath before sliding into the protective space he'd created for her.