SPLITAPARTS: lessons in love ✔️

Dreamboat Annie - Part Three

December 30, 1979

Sirius sat in the back seat of the taxi with his eyes closed and rubbed at his one temple while James looked on with concern.

"I need to clear my head, James."

"What are you suggesting, Sirius?"

"I need a bike ride."

James watched the rain bathe the windows of the car. "In this weather, are you mad?"

"If I don't, I will be."

James shook his head. "Come on mate—you'll be right soon."

"Her visions are gaining strength and getting more intense the closer we get. I've had a headache for over four days and nothing is quelling it James," Sirius panted. "It's very nearly overwhelming. I need to just—go."

"You should have said something to Scrimgeour—he may have let you leave sooner instead of locking you up like he did."

"I tried—apparently, what I told him was unintelligible."

"You know, I've never seen fear in his eyes until the first time he left you."

"Yeah, he appeared pretty shaken," Sirius said, chuckling. "So just imagine what it's like for me?"

"I'm sorry, mate. Can't you block her out?"

Sirius thought for a minute. "I suppose I could, but what if she has no one else to turn to? What if she thinks I've forsaken her?" He shook his head. "No, I can't do that. I won't. I can take it." He swallowed hard as he clenched his eyes and his teeth."

"You're just being stubborn, you know."

"Well why the hell should I change now? Besides, I already asked the driver to take us someplace where I can hire a bike."

"You're mad, Sirius! I'll follow you," James said with concern.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "Go to Lily, she needs you."

James smiled with pride at having heard that. "You think so?"

Sirius opened his eyes and stared hard at his best friend and shook his head, as he rolled his eyes. "Y'know, I think that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say. Of course she needs you, you wanker!"

James smiled inwardly, thinking of Lily. "I feel really badly for Remus though--he wanted to come so badly. It's so close to the new moon—he always gets very depressed during this time of the month, and he's at his safest, but—it's like he has all this pent-up energy and nothing to do with it. No one knows why Weres get like that."

"I know why--he says it's because he actually feels so good. It's really only two or three days out of every month—that's got to be enough to knock the wind out of anyone. After that, he says, it's like a slow decent into hell."

James nodded and looked out the window. "I spoke to Lily from the airport—she said it's bad there with all this rain. Said that she feels so sorry for Theo. Not only has he lost his wife and newborn child but he thinks his daughter is very damaged and there's nothing he can do for her--and then there's those little boys. I don't think I want kids if it's going to be like that."

"Don't let Lily hear you say that. You might lose her to Sniveless after all."

"Not likely," James said in all seriousness.

"What else did she say?"

"That Cassie came into the house because she said that she felt new people there. Lily tried to talk her through it all and couldn't stand the pain--it had become magnified somehow, but only during the spell. So apparently, Cassie is aware that she's sending all these disturbing images to everyone and she's anguished over it, that's according to her little brother, Sammy—she doesn't know how to stop it. So she's taken to hiding from everyone. They think that she ran away and they have the aurors out looking for her. And Sirius, she's made herself unplottable."