Getaway Car／Sirius Black

━━ chapter 38

i'm standing on a tightrope, alone

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Sirius watched as James paced across the floor, muttering anxiously under his breath. The bespectacled boy ran his hands through his hair again, as though tearing it out might bring him resolution. He groaned. "They should be back by now!"

"I know," Sirius grumbled again. "Just relax. The girls know how to take care of themselves." Despite his words, internally, he was panicking. Lily and Marlene were due to be back a while ago. They had promised not to stay over two hours. But now, three hours had already passed. If they made it back safely, Sirius could rest assured that Celeste wasn't harmed.

"If something- anything happens to Lily, I might lose my mind."

Sirius slumped back on a couch, his own worry making him unproductive. "I know."

"What if she's hurt? What if they figure her out?" James ranted, continuing to pace. He paused. "Actually, no. She's too clever to be caught."

"I know," Sirius said numbly, staring up at the ceiling.

"What if Dolos really did jeopardize them? They're never late! Good Godric, Padfoot. I feel sick."

This time, Sirius couldn't find it in himself to answer. He also felt sick. And he didn't trust Olivia to act rationally around Celeste. His eyes were closed midway when the door flung wide open.

Sirius scrambled up, as James was already frantically rushing towards Lily.

Lily's face was blushing as she laughed at the sight. Beside her, Marlene was kicking off her high heels, muttering about the pain of wearing them.

"Lily! Are you alright? What took so long?" James said in a frenzied manner, taking her face between his hands. He scanned her up and down. "Are you hurt?"

Lily smiled softly and nodded. "I'm alright."

From the side, Marlene snorted. "Gee, thanks for asking Potter. I'm quite alright as well."

James shrugged. "Well, if you were hurt then we all know you'd rolling on the ground with your dramatics by now."

Marlene grinned.

"McKinnon," Sirius suddenly said, interrupting their banter. "Did you see Celeste before you left?"

Marlene nodded, remembering. "Yeah, I think she was dancing. She said she needed to stay longer - to keep up appearances or something."

Sirius frowned. "Who was she dancing with?"

Marlene hesitated, and then shook her head. "I didn't get a close enough look. We were just trying to get out quickly. Though I think it was another girl."

Lily's head snapped towards her. "A girl?"

Sirius clenched his jaw, the realization hitting him all too quickly. "No blood supremacist girl would want to dance with another girl. She was probably dancing with Dolos."

James blew a breath. "Okay, but that doesn't mean something bad's happened, right? It's just a dance?"

"I certainly hope so," Sirius said, striding back to the couch to retrieve his wand. A part of him was terrified for Celeste. He just needed to be sure. Looking back at Lily, he said, "The ball's still happening?"

"Yes, and I'm coming with you," Lily said without missing a beat.

Marlene nodded in agreement, already putting her shoes back on.

"Okay, hold on a second," James said, waving his hands for attention. "You two just got out, and you want to risk your necks again?"

"Of course," Lily said ludicrously. "We just need to check on Celeste. We'll be in and out. Easily enough done."

James raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, but I'm coming too."

And so, the four old friends linked arms and with the flick of Lily's wand, they apparated back to Yaxley Mansion.

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Sirius was expecting screaming, chaos, and some horrific scene awaiting his eyes. Instead, he saw... nothing. There was not a single guest in sight. The ballroom was perfectly empty, with nothing out of order. It seemed as though the house elves had already cleaned up as well, with every candle flame extinguished and every massive curtain drawn tightly shut.

And the silence. It was so quiet that the emptiness ringing in his ears was chilling.

But worst of all, Sirius didn't know whether to determine it good or bad that Celeste was nowhere in sight.

Lily surveyed the ghostly room with a suspicious glare. "We barely just left. There's no way they've all picked up and left so quickly."

"Or maybe we're overthinking all of this," Marlene said hesitantly. "Maybe Celeste is safe and sound back at her house."

None of them knew how to reply.

"Where does Celeste live?" James suggested. "Maybe we can find her there. We can deal with Roiser easily enough. Just like our Hogwarts days, yeah?"

Lily shook her head, stress written across her features. "That would out her as a traitor. This was a highly secret ball, remember? We weren't supposed to know about it."

The four friends stood in the chilling shadows of Yaxley Mansion, half terrified, and half hopeful.

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Celeste was alone again, with only the soft sound of heartbeat to accompany her. She was awake - that she knew for certain. After all, she could feel the cold night seeping through an open window nearby. She could hear the sad hoot of an owl, and the quiet beat of its wings. And yet, she couldn't truly think. It was as though her spirit was missing. Why was she so terrified? Why were her hands tightly gripping the blankets around her? Why wouldn't she stop scanning her bedroom for threat?

She tried and tried, recalling and racking her brain of every most recent memory. She tried and desperately tried again, searching for an anchor to pull her spirit back in.

But even still, she found nothing.

The thought should have terrified her - but she had forgotten what exactly was terror? Was it confusion? Numbness?

A stinging scar now ran across her right cheek, and Celeste wondered how she had gotten it. Her mother would be furious that her best quality had been ruined.

Her throat was dry and parched, and she reached for the cup of tea that a house elf had left for her. It had gone cold now. Trying to find it in the dark, Celeste mistakenly knocked it off her nightstand, the porcelain smashing against the wooden floor. She recoiled slowly, blinking with uncertainty. The shattering sound of the teacup sounded strangely familiar to her ears. Not very long ago, Celeste imagined that she must have been fearful - terrified, even - of what the sound meant. But she could not recall it.

Shrinking back beneath her blankets and pillows, Celeste tried to find fear, and found that it had altogether disappeared.

Slowly, the echoing in her ears faded back into a maddening silence.