The Marauders Year Five Part 2 #Wattys2017

Always With The Saving

Always With The Saving

"Animagus."

Sirius felt his throat tighten.

"You're an animagus," Regulus said, his voice afraid, accusatory. "Like - like McGonagall."

Sirius nodded, "Yes."

"And you turn into Snuffles."

He nodded again.

Regulus's eyes were wide and terrified and awestruck at exactly the same time.

There was a crack - a twig snapping behind Sirius - and he turned around to see James and Lily there, James's face bright red with emotion and tears in Lily's eyes, two steps behind him... a frantic look to her face...

Sirius forgot about Regulus standing there. The look on James Potter's face was so gut wrenchingly agonized that Sirius forgot pretty much everything and he went to his friend, his defenses on full alert. He grabbed James 'round the shoulders, swinging himself between James and Lily and he looked into James's face, "What happened?"

"Sirius --" Lily started, but Sirius held up a palm to silence her and looked at James. "Prongs. What happened?"

"Didn't come," James breathed. "I sat there -- so stupid -- and gave the chair away... loads of butterbeer... after one o'clock, and... and the fountain...."

"I was coming and Severus Snape --"

Sirius looked up at Lily, "What'd that miserable dungheap do now?"

"The first years have your invisibility cloak and they mean to use it to go and save Harold Minchum from Malfoy Manor," Lily spat out the words. "Severus Snape saw their minds - they were invisible in the crowd of students and passed by him and he told me - and we tried to find them, but they're invisible and time went a lot faster than I thought it would and when I realized it was 12:40 --"

"Harold Minchum isn't the only one they're rescuing if they're going to Malfoy Manor." Regulus's voice broke over the scene as he and Kreacher came over. Regulus looked at James. "The Dark Lord also has Charlus and Dora Potter."

James let out an inhuman sound and fell to his knees on the dirt.

"Fuck!" Sirius ducked quickly to catch James before he fell forward completely. "Fuck. When? Why?"

"I don't know," Regulus said.

Lily had covered her mouth with her palms in horror.

"The Dark Lord searches for the Potters for such a long time... wishing to kill them... but their Secret Keeper is unknown and so the Dark Lord has finally found the filthy blood traitor family..." Kreacher croaked. "Finally he can kill the Potters, and the Dark Lord is happy..."

Another strangled sound from James erupted at this.

"You filthy disgusting --" Sirius started, cursing the elf.

"Don't call him that!" Regulus said hotly. "He doesn't know better, Sirius!"

Sirius's eyes flashed to Regulus, "So teach him some manners."

Regulus flushed.

"This is why he hasn't written me, this is why... should've known sooner... no letter last week, no letter... should've told Dumbledore, should've --" James's voice was numb. He wasn't crying. He wasn't anything. He was staring, eyes sort of glazed over.

Sirius hugged him tighter, without even thinking about it, he held him the way that Dora Potter would have. Because Sirius's only experience of being held by a mother had come from Dora and, subconsciously, it was that night way back in first year, when he'd run away the first time and found himself at the Potter's, soaked to the bone from the snow that came to him... and he started rocking James gently as he crouched before him, one hand on the back of James's head. "We need to go save the Potters." Sirius's voice was filled with solid determination. After all, Dora and Charlus Potter were his mum and dad, too.