The Corpse That Lived.

Chapter 17

Dahlia stumbled forward, choking on ash, barely catching herself on her knees before collapsing entirely. The world spun. Her ears rang. Everything felt far away and too loud at once.

James slid from her grasp, his unconscious body thudding gently to the floor beside her like a ragdoll. She made a small sound that was not quite a sob or a word and tried to reach for him instinctively, but her arms wouldn't obey her.

Lily's voice was the first to break. "DAHLIA!" she shrieked, sharp and high with panic but it was Sirius who got to her first. He was on her before she could even register him, dropping to his knees beside her and wrapping her up in his arms as if he was afraid she'd vanish again if he so much as blinked.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" he snarled into her hair, one hand gripping the back of her head, the other winding around her waist with crushing force. "You disappeared. You fucking vanished, Dahlia, I thought-" His voice broke in his throat. "I thought I'd lost you."

Dahlia didn't even realize she was shaking until her body collapsed into his. She melted and felt all her worries and melting into him too, all the fight gone now that she was no longer alone. His warmth was overwhelming, fierce, alive, and it made her chest crack open with something that felt like grief and relief all at once.

"I had to," her voice muffled as she buried her face into his neck.

"Absolutely not," Sirius growled, pulling her even tighter against him. "You don't do that again. You don't get to leave me like that, Dahlia. I'm meant to protect you. You're my goddaughter."

His hand cupped her cheek, fingers brushing gently over a long cut there. His jaw clenched. "You're bleeding."

Before she could speak, he raised his wand, fury and tenderness wrapped tight together in his voice.

"Episkey."

The wound closed beneath his touch, but Sirius's eyes never left her. His thumb hovered where the blood had been, trembling slightly.

Across the room, Lily let out a sob as she dropped to James's side. Her hands flew over his body, checking for a pulse, brushing his hair back from his ruined face, murmuring broken, desperate fragments of his name like she could bring him back by will alone.

"James—James, no, no—oh God, what did they do to you—?"

Her voice cracked as she looked up at Dahlia, and her expression froze, eyes wide with horror at the blood, the bruises, the sheer wreckage she and James had returned as.

"What happened?" Lily whispered, though part of her seemed afraid to hear the answer.

"Peter....Pettigrew" she choked out, it felt like her throat was filled with thorns. She could still taste iron. Still hear the sound of a gurgling plea. Still feel the knife slipping through skin and spell-wracked flesh.

Almost like he could sense her thought, Sirius's hold on her tightened instantly."Let's not interrogate her now ," he said sharply, not even looking at Lily but drinking in Dahlia's aperance, scanning every inch.

Sirius turned back to Dahlia, still cupping her cheek, his hand sliding to the back of her neck. "Look at me."

She shook her head, her face buried in his neck, his embrace was warm and she felt safe. She didn't want him to let go.

"Dahlia, look at me." He commanded.

She did.

"You're with me now," he murmured, brushing blood-matted hair from her face. "No more running off, no more going alone. You don't fight this war without me. Ever again."