The Last Horcrux

Livin' On a Prayer

When Sev got home the next night he heard loud music. The Muggle radio was playing Great Hits From the Seventies. In the kitchen, Remus was dancing in the kitchen with the ghost of Sirius Black, accompanied by Gavin and Oakley. Phoenix burbled in her bassinet. The dancing was riotous, joyful even. Gavin and Oakley were rocking out with abandon, lost in the music. Remus looked twenty years younger. Even Biscuit had joined in, running about, barking and nipping at the heels of the dancers with excitement.

"Wo...ah.....we're halfway there," came the music from the radio. "Wo...ah......livin' on a prayer."

Sev stood and watched the scene in disbelief.

"Take my hand, we'll make it I swear. Wo...ah, livin' on a prayer."

The music switched.

A song by the Hollies came on, a song that Sev knew because he remembered dancing to it with Lily, a lifetime ago "All I need is the air that I breathe and to love you."

Sirius put a ghostly hand on Remus' shoulder. "Ooh, Moony! I love this song!"

Sev had had enough. He went over to the radio and shut it off. He glared at everyone.

"Papa we was dancin!" Oakley cried.

"Yes, I see that," said Sev trying to control his rage.

"Sirius taughted us the Wronski Feint," Oakley reported.

"He would have played for England probably, if it hadn't been for the war," added Gavin. Hero worship shone in his eyes.

"Would he have now?" said Sev. He felt utterly undone. He wanted to hit Oakley's innocent smiling face, smash his fist into Gavin's bright, hero worshiping eyes. The ghostly figure of Sirius Black stood there with a triumphant grin on his stupid ghostly face.

"Get..... out..... of this.....house!" Sev yelled.

"Fine, Snivellus," said the ghost. "I'm leaving. But...." He paused dramatically. "I'll be back!" He put his fingers in his ears and wiggled them at Sev. He disappeared with a loud pop.

The silence rang loud in the kitchen. "I likeded him," said Oakley, with a sniffle. In her bassinet Phoenix started to wail.

"Sev," said Remus, moving toward him.

"No," said Sev. "Just....No."

And he turned on his heel and walked out, slamming the front door behind him.

*******

Sev walked for hours. He didn't know where to go, what to do. He was so angry he couldn't think. It was a chilly night in late February, the air cold and dank, the yellow street lights reflecting off the melting snow.

He ended up at the Leaky Cauldron. He sat at the bar drinking firewhiskey, neat. Once he was properly pissed he lurched up, unsure what to do next. He supposed he'd go home and have it out with Remus. It's what his father would have done, after all. Sev shuddered internally. He had tried so hard to be different from him. But in the end, perhaps, he was just the same.

Maybe Dudley and Draco would let him sleep on their sofa.

As he staggered toward the door, he saw Andromeda Tonks curled in a booth, nursing a butterbeer and reading a book.

"Hello Sev," she said, looking up.

"Andy," he stammered. Through the haze of alcohol he felt embarrassed. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled, ruefully. "Sometimes I just need to get out of the house for the evening." She looked him over with a critical air. "Everything all right?"

Sev shrugged, and felt his throat tighten. Just like a bloody ponce, he thought. He willed himself not to cry.