scars || sirius black

68 - the end times

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...

Dumbledore's voice was gravelly as he recited Sybil Trelawney's prophecy. Each word felt like another twist of the knife.

In the devastated silence that followed, Emmy felt the world fall from beneath her. She sat down heavily next to Sirius, holding tight to his shoulder. He moved closer, needing her steadiness as much as she needed his.

She couldn't bear to look at her old professor, her mind reeling as she repeated the words over and over in her head. Surely there had to be some mistake? There had to be something that could fix this.

One phrase replayed in her mind... Either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives.

That meant that Alice and Frank's baby was their only chance of ending this war and saving them all, and their unborn child had been marked for death before he was even born.

Alice hadn't spoken a word since they'd returned to the kitchen. She simply sat in her chair, her eyes haunted and filled with tears, already grieving. Frank crouched next to her and spoke to her softly, brushing the tears gently from her face with shaking hands.

Dumbledore sat down heavily at the table and Ted slid him a glass of whisky. He took a hearty swig.

Emmy wanted nothing more than to smack it out of his hands and scream at him for the injustice of it all, but she couldn't do that to Alice. It wasn't her fight to pick.

Sirius who wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead as she brushed the tears from her eyes.

"Albus, what the hell are we going to do?" Andromeda whispered, her voice broken.

"There's a lot to tell you, please keep eating before your food goes cold," he replied gently.

Andromeda regarded him with palpable frustration but sank into her seat next to Ted. Sirius moved Maeve awkwardly to reach his plate but Dumbledore motioned for her.

"Let me hold her while you eat," he said quietly, but noticed Emmy's wary glance at the whisky glass in front of him. "I'm a slow drinker, it's only my second."

She nodded, taking a sip of tea and Sirius handed Maeve to him. He tucked her into the crook of his arm with ease and leant back in his chair as he settled her effortlessly.

"I'm sorry the evening has ended like this," he begins.

"How long have you known about the prophecy?" Andromeda asks impatiently.

"Since yesterday evening," he began. "I found Sybil Trelawney asleep in the library, or so I thought she was. Only when I woke her, she grabbed my sleeve and began talking in a voice I'd never heard before."

"And how do we even know this was a real prophecy?"

"I do truly believe Sybil has the second sight, the trance she was in would have been impossible to fake. Besides, there was always a strong chance she had inherited the gift from her great-great-grandmother, Cassandra, anyway."