A Marauder's World

Part 7

I didn't forget about this story!

It just suddenly occurred to me while on holiday and looking through all my projects I hadn't posted in a while...

I do still have a good long outline done for about twenty more chapters to come.

HPWDHPWDHPWD 

When Sirius's wish was granted, it was in the most twisted way he could imagine. The gray-haired, ragged, and bleeding again father came back. Right up the road, with his daughter in his arms once more.

Sirius sneered in outrage and raised his gun from the shadows of the roof, but couldn't do it. Damn it all, he couldn't shoot the man holding his kid.

He had two women with him as well, possibly one of the people who'd shot that arrow at his family.

Peter raised his rifle and cocked back the first bullet, but Sirius reached over and pointed it down. "Take the shot if I give the signal," Sirius murmured.

"You're as nuts as he is," Wormtail hissed back. "They nearly killed James and Lily, and you're just going to let him come back with more people!"

"He came back with his kid," Sirius stood up slowly and wearily, mentally cursing the universe he couldn't go a full twenty-four hours without having to deal with crazy since this guy showed up, and he was getting the feeling that wasn't going to go away. "If this is some ploy, he doesn't deserve the babe, and you shoot them all while I grab Judith."

Peter huffed his frustration but Sirius ignored him as he went to the ladder and slipped down, equal parts frustrated and grateful Remus had talked him into being nurse-made for their two injured friends for a few hours. James had woken up once, groggy but aware enough to eat a bit before passing back out. Lily had been waking up sporadically and was already trying to talk them into letting her back to her garden before she passed back out, she'd lost a lot of blood. He fought the urge to look at the spot on the street again as he passed it and met them at the sign, gun out but at his side, while none of the assembled had drawn their weapons.

"What makes you think I won't shoot you where you stand, even holding her, after what you did?" Sirius snapped, but he was honestly curious as well. The two women, one dark skinned and eerily blank faced with something pole shaped strapped to her back, the other gray haired and even smaller than Lily. Both tensed with unease at his declaration. Good to know, they were to be watched as closely as Lily would be in a fight.

"I wasn't sure," the man's voice was deep, a gravelly edge that only came with age, and a life Sirius still didn't fully grasp in his rough tenner. "I hoped though. I'm, sorry, for how that happened. My friend shot, you did, it all got out of hand."

Sirius narrowed his eyes but acquitted he'd been the one to start it, at least. James was always telling him he ran into fights too much. He'd been doing so well avoiding it for over a year now, but just hadn't been able to let the slight against Remus slide. Now here the very man was right in front of him.

They were okay, he assured himself, but this man wasn't done showing his hand yet either. "What's your name?" Sirius finally asked, seeing how well he'd play this time, eyes scanning for the rest of the people inevitably hiding out. Neither of these women were holding green fletched arrows.

"Rick," he didn't relax at all, and Sirius hadn't stowed his gun away. "This is Michonne, and Carol." He didn't indicate which was which. "You've already met Judith," he added with the first hint of a smile.

"You ruined her dress," he huffed. He didn't smile back though when it seemed he'd have to do this the hard way. "How many others you got hiding out there?"

Rick didn't seem particularly ashamed of the call out, but the answer surprised him. "Two, just in case."

"The one who shot my friends, tell them to come out, and we can talk nicely," Sirius relented.

Rick only hesitated a few moments before raising his hand high, and waving it. Both of them came out, a teenage boy with a cowboy hat, and a scruffy looking man in a leather vest Sirius instantly envied. It was the second who had a crossbow on his back, Sirius's eyes zeroing in on those arrows. There were no silver ones on display, but he still wasn't sure he trusted this enough to let his guard down. Still, he stowed his gun away in its holster as promised.

"That's Daryl, and Carl," Rick added in what he clearly thought was a helpful tone of voice.

"Do I have this right?" Sirius spoke evenly. "You wanted out of here the second you knew about my friend, the werewolf, shot at us and left us for dead, and now you want to come back?" He frowned at the laceration still visibly growing redder under the filthy shirt it was tied up in on Rick's forehead. "Want another patch up before you try it all again?" He mocked.

"I am sorry about Harry's parents," Rick took a cautious step forward, and Sirius let him. He'd remembered his godson's name, even in that mayhem. "Carol here was a nurse," he finally indicated the short, gray haired woman. "We'd like to help, in whatever way we can, for, protection, to stay here." His eyes gave him away though, he flinched and looked all around for exactly what he was asking, Moony.

Sirius pursed up his lips as he tried to guess if this man was crazy enough to bring his kid back just to shoot Remus in front of him. They were outnumbered now, and it was obvious this group were survivors, had done rough things on the road to make it this far.

Why come back like this though, where was the trick? If he'd wanted to come in and kill them all, he'd have snuck back to do it, they obviously had the long range capability to pick them off; not come strolling up the street with two women and his baby. It felt too heavy handed, like he was trying to seem more vulnerable and helpful than this really was.

There had only been two arrows though.

This fact alone had left some lingering feeling in Sirius he hadn't quite been able to beat off, a growing sense of dread since the end of the world. If these strangers had been going to make a play at Remus, they'd had the chance when he'd come running up the street towards the mayhem. No arrow had been fired at him, and the two Sirius had found had been used on James, millimeters from a gutter in the street, and Peter, still lodged in place of the cracking wood behind him.

Something else had happened to Lily in the fallout, that he hadn't been able to properly explain to himself. The shell casing he'd found hadn't been silver, and why aim at their own man, that baby?

He wanted answers, and he wanted to protect his family. He just had to find a way to do both.

"Stay here," Sirius popped the collar of his jacket, the silent indication for Peter to wait. "I'll know if you don't."

It was a three part test, and damn it all if aces didn't come all around.

If they'd been waiting on a chance to do something, they did not.

Peter didn't shoot at any of them in his absence to start any shit like he'd half feared.

And when Remus came up behind him holding Harry, they all tensed, but not one of them even drew their weapons.

Looks like Prongs got his wish.