parents after all

chapter 21

Chapter 20 - Guiding Light

Sirius blinked; his eyelids were heavy like lead. The string of words on the page he was reading floated and swirled like a snake, making him dizzy and confused as to what they actually meant.

On the other side of the room, Lily and Peter were still reading diligently (though with difficulty) in dim candlelight after the Gryffindor trio left before curfew. It was probably way past midnight, yet they refused to rest as long as there was still time before the task on the next day.

Sirius's eyes swept the surroundings. It was unusual, not having James and Remus by his side; and for the first time since he went to Hogwarts he was actually reading silently with Lily Evans and Peter... Don't think about Lupin and Potter, Sirius shut down his thought sullenly –they could've told him. Remus could've told him he was communicating with a strange man – he was rather reluctant to see that as himself –instead of inventing some trick to hide it from him. James could've informed him of his encounter with the older Sirius, not hid it and did his secret research. But what could they have done instead? A small part of him reasoned. It's not like he was the biggest victim; Harry was the living proof.

There Peter's head slowly sank between his arms, landing on The Magical Water with a soft 'thump'. Lily's red hair reflected the golden firelight, and Sirius was starting to see why his best friend was so hopelessly in love with the fierce lass. With a blinding flash, the redheaded girl and puffy boy became redheaded woman and medium-built young man. They were smiling and hugging, a chubby baby held firmly by the woman. There came another two men, one with round frame glasses, the other with hair the colour of straw. They stood, the sky tainted with bright red of the sinking sun, the trees rustling in the autumn wind...

Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck like a sword, separating the man with brown hair from the rest, while the others disappeared into thin air... The man shouted and tumbled, his hair rapidly turning grey, his back arching... Wait, Sirius wanted to say, but words became steam and no sound came out, so he made a move to grab him –and then he felt himself falling ... and falling...

'Master Sirius!' somebody squeaked, and Sirius felt his shirt being pulled and tugged. 'Wake up, Master Sirius!'

Sirius's eyes fluttered open to a small face with a pointy nose and two eyes the size of a table tennis, which were teary and full of fear.

'Master Sirius, y-you must come with Pinky now,' said the house elf unsteadily. 'Here, eat this – Dobby says it works –'

'What?' said Sirius as he scrambled up from the chair he was sitting on. It fell backwards with a 'BAM', rousing Lily and Peter, who looked at him with bleary eyes.

'It's Gillyweed, the plant you got from Professor Snape's office,' Pinky shoved something slippery into his hands. He held it up close to the window where sunlight filtered through – it must have been early morning already – and saw that it was a bundle of deep green seaweed-like leafy structure. 'Master Remus and – and Master James are in the lake – they will drown if the spell is broken –'

'The Lake?' Lily's hand shot to her mouth. She pushed through the books and rushed to Pinky's side with Peter following. They put on their robes and scarves shakily, Sirius feeling his bottom drop out of his stomach with each second passing.

'I petrified them before they fell – but it was a l-loose one–' Pinky was wheezing uncontrollably as she pelted down the stairs, ' – I only had a second to react so it was badly cast –will wear off anytime –'

'Why did they fall?' Lily pressed her robes tightly her so it wouldn't be blown away as she ran. 'They should've been waiting for Sirius –'

'But they... were waiting under... the yew tree!' Peter panted. His face was flushed red in the cold and as a result of running. 'The yew tree is... on the back shore of the lake...'