The Marauders: Padfoot

"You Saved Me."

This chapter is dedicated to every single one of you for helping me reach 2000 reads!!

After we had exchanged the L word, the following days were more heightened, more exciting, more on edge.

I felt electrified, charged with a current, charged with the love of Sirius Black.

Lily sensed the change. She kept asking me why I was smiling, why I seemed so happy. My only reply was "Lily, I'm in love." To which she rolled her eyes.

We would steal glances at each other in transfiguration. He would kick my foot under the table in the great hall. We'd grab each other when nobody was looking, and disappear, just to be alone.

It was like a crazed frenzy, a need that could only be satisfied when we were in each others presence.

I walked into the common room one cold afternoon. January had come to a close, and February was just beginning, Winter still looming in the air.

I spotted a brown mess of curls, with his head on the table at the corner of the room, a book peaking out from under his mess of hair. I quickly glanced around the empty common room before making my way over to him.

"Hello James." I said, lowering myself down onto the seat opposite him.

He lifted his head, clearly disorientated as he yawned and rubbed the sleep from the corners of his eyes.

"Seren." He mumbled, resting his chin in his palm.

I couldn't recall a time when I had ever been alone with James. He was quieter on his own, or it may have been down to the fact that I had just woken him up.

He quickly closed the book that he had been sleeping on, its black cover decorated with intricate gold spirals, dancing all over the cover as the soft light hit it.

"What's this?" I asked, pulling the book towards me.

His eyes widened a fraction as the book stopped in front of me. I watched him for permission, scared of what may hide inside.

He nodded, another yawn escaping his mouth.

My hand ran over the thick spine of the book before I opened it to the first page. The horrors inside made my mind race.

"James... Where did you even find a book like this? I daren't ask why you need it either." I said, wanting to close it, but my eyes were too curious, too hungry for information.

"The restricted section."

My eyes snapped up to his. Why had he been in the restricted section? How? More importantly, why was he reading a book like this. James was intelligent but he wasn't the type to read a book for fun. He must have been searching for information.

"Seren... I don't know if Sirius has told you, but a war is coming."

"War?" I whispered, peering around to check that the common room was still empty.

He nodded and leaned across the table, closer, almost as though he didn't even want the furniture in this empty room to hear him.

"We all need to be prepared. A war is coming, soon, and it won't be easy."

"A war? With who?" I asked in horror. Of course, I knew that Sirius and I had been practicing dueling for a reason but I had never thought things were this extreme.

"Voldemort has been recruiting... Forces... For quite some time now. He could attack at any moment." He said, the panic evident in his voice.

I started to hyperventilate. I knew that I had always been a little out of the loop living in the muggle world but this was some serious stuff. A war! I was only seventeen, how was I meant to fight?

Then I thought of Sirius. He had been preparing me. He knew that I would need this. He knew all along.

"Si-Sirius." I managed to stammer.

James knew what I meant instantly.

"He's always had a thing for you Seren, he just wanted to make sure you'd be safe... When the time comes."

This explosion of information sent my brain into a spin. How was I meant to process all of this so quickly?

I felt warm. Very warm.

I hadn't known that Sirius had liked me? Had everyone else known? It hadn't seemed obvious. Sirius. His parents, everyone knew they were proud Slytherin supporters and lovers of the dark arts. Would Sirius be expected to join Voldemort?

"Is he... Is he on Voldemort's side?" I asked, feeling guilty as the words seeped from my mouth.

James laughed, and a smile formed on my face.

"Of course not."

"But, his parents-"

"-His parents are no longer a part of his life." He reminded me, and I felt my body flood with relief.

I heard the door creak and in walked Sirius and Remus.

In an instant, I was out of my seat and into Sirius's arms, making him fly backwards into the wall.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." I whispered, realising that all along, everything he did, hadn't been for his benefit, but for mine, to ensure that I was safe.

"What for?" He laughed softly into my hair, clutching me close.

"You saved me. The first day, you saved me, and you've continued to save me ever since." I replied, tears brimming my eyes.

We broke apart, and I looked up at Sirius to see him looking over the top of my head. I turned around, his gaze was caught with James's.

"I told her. She had to know."

Sirius just nodded in response.

"I think we should have a group dueling session. What do you think?" James asked, cocking his head to one side.

A goofy smile rose onto Sirius's face.

"I think that's a splendid idea." He said, looking at Remus for his response.

Remus nodded, before putting his bag down.

"Let me just hide this." James said, holding up the decorative book.

He quickly ran up to their dorm, and arrived back in the common room a couple of minutes later, presumably after he had hid the book.

The four of us made our way down to the room of requirement. I had always wondered whether or not they all knew about the room, but then I realised that it one knew, they would never keep it from the others.

We entered the familiar set up of the room, the one that Sirius and I had spent hours in, always alone, where it had all begun.

The memories came rushing back. Lately we hadn't spent as much time dueling as we should have, as we did in the beginning. Now that I knew the seriousness of the situation, I felt stronger, more focused, more determined.

This time, our lives really did depend on it.

War was coming. And it was coming soon.