The Last Gryffindor (Sirius Black)

Chapter XXII: The World Ends In Fire

• — • — •

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
- ROBERT FROST

• — • — •

Aeliana tore her hand away as soon as she could, but it was already too late; the damage had been done.

"What the hell do you think you're..." she began furiously, but the heated words trailed off into nothingness as she looked around at where he'd brought them, feeling as if she suffered a punched to the gut by a mountain troll. "Why would you bring me here?"

"To remind you of what you're throwing away," he responded, matter of factly.

Sirius took a bold step forward through the ancient gateway, eclipsing her view of Gryffindor Manor in the distance. The last time the two of them had been there, in that spot nearly a year ago he saved her life from Death Eaters. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"You coming?" he asked, only slightly impatient. He offered a lone hand, confident she'd follow.

Always so sure of himself, the cocky prick, Lia mused. It would teach him a lesson in humility if I just left him here.

She swallowed, taking a tentative step towards him. Abruptly, her movements fell short, crashing into a wall of... nothing. She reached a hand across the threshold of the gate, frowning when it met, yet again, with an invisible barrier preventing her from passing.

"Quite playing around, Lia," Sirius exclaimed, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Do you not know what 'walking' is? It's simple, really. All you have to do is place one foot in front of the other and -like magic!- you're where you want to be."

"I'm familiar with the concept, magic and walking," she muttered back. A smile tugged stubbornly at the corner of her mouth, but let it fall as the dots connected themselves in her mind.

"So what's the hold up?"

He reached through the boundary with relative ease, grasping her hand in one of his own, and attempted to drag her through after him.

"Sirius, wait -you don't-"

That was as far as she got before her hand made contact with barrier and again was repelled, like two magnets push off one another. It happened so fast, she didn't even feel Sirius loose his grip.

"Typical," she sighed, trying to sound less affected than she actually felt. Sighing dramatically, she continued, "Can't even go back to my own house. What's a poor Death Eater to do? It seems your plan to get me to 'remember what I'm throwing away' has gone up in flames."

His brows knit together in confusion as he asked, "What do you mean you can't go back?"

"The enchantments Dumbledore placed over the manor after my family died work a little too well, it seems. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it repels the Mark," Lia said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Ergo, myself and all of my Marked pals can't just skip on through. Pity."