Silvia and the Rising Moon [EDITING]

The Moon Begins to Set

This is where their story will come to a close.
     All she had ever known since the beginning of her life and memory was his secret.
      It was obvious the two had become the best of friends from the second she was born until now. She sobbed until he lightly placed a calloused hand to her prematurely aging face. It was as if a blessing had been placed upon the two. He remained her guardian, as she remained his.
     Brother and sister, they were a mother's dream come true. A mother's dream refused to die with her.
     "It'll be okay," he told her softly. "Voldemort is dead. It's over. We won."
     "We shouldn't have won like this," Silvia replied solemnly, resting her head on her brother's shoulder.
     He swallowed hard and choked back tears as the two continued to stare dreadfully at the morning's copy of the Daily Prophet. "I can't believe it. I can't believe that it was him all along."
     She sniffed, raising her head once more to gaze sadly upon Sirius's mugshot. "He tried to put the blame on you." she reminded him. "If James and Lily knew..."
"They're with Peter now," Remus said sorrowfully.
"I'm sorry, Remus. You've lost everyone."
He shrugged. "I still have you, I suppose. And dad."
"You'll never lose me."
"Never say never," he warned her. "Please."
She looked away, hurt. "I'm sorry."
"You've lost everybody too," he added.
"I still have Sienna, wherever she is."
Remus sighed and put the newspaper down. "Remember when we lost all of our friends? It feels like forever ago."
"Yeah," Silvia said, wiping a tear.
"We're so lonely, not even Sergeant Pepper wants us."
Silvia choked back her tears. "This was not how I expected my life would turn out twenty years ago."
"We were too young to picture this, Silvia, too naïve."
Silvia smiled hopelessly. "We can start our lives over. It's a brave new world that we live in now, Remus. We're free."
     "Are we really free?" asked Remus, wrapping his arm comfortingly around his sister. "The moon will still rise inevitably." He turned to her suddenly. "I want you to be free."
"What do you mean?" Her voice cracked as she spoke.
"I need to leave, Silvia. I need to get out of here."
"Where will you go?"
He sighed. "Somewhere far. The mountains would do well for me, you know. I just want to be alone and be who I truly am."
"You can't leave me," she cried softly. "I've never been without you. What about Callisto? She's already lost Sirius, and she's about to lose you too?"
Remus rand a hand anxiously through his hair. "I can't take her childhood the way I took your's and Greyback took mine. I just can't. Bellatrix is in Azkaban. Nobody is going to come for you, Silvia. You're safe here."
"I'm safe here, but will you be safe there?"
He waved his wand. "You know I will."
"That's right," she laughed nervously. "Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in training."
He stood up and smiled. "A horrible pain swells in my heart. I'm sure it ails you too."
She looked up at him and nodded. "Of course."
"I need some time to adjust to this world. If I have to live without them... I have to live without anyone."
Silvia stood up quickly. "When will you leave?"
     "As soon as I can," he admitted. "Tonight, maybe."
     Silvia's heart sunk. "T-tonight?"
     He nodded solemnly. "I can't be here knowing that he will haunt me."
     "Sirius..."
     They stared at each other for a moment in uninterrupted silence before Silvia took a deep breath and hurried out of the room. She returned moments later with a brown wool cloak.
     "What's this?"
     "You were always cold during your nights in the Shrieking Shack," she explained. "It was supposed to be a Christmas gift from Sirius and I... but I don't see why now wouldn't be an inappropriate time to give it to you."
     "You... made this?"
     She nodded. "Both of us." Then, she revealed the inner collar of the coat to see sloppily embroidered letters.
"SRL, SOB," he said. He pulled the cloak close and inhaled the embroidering, deeply hoping that Sirius's scent still lingered on it. "It's beautiful," he told Silvia, tears swimming in his eyes. "Thank you."
"It's cold out there," she replied sadly. "Be safe."
"You know I will."
Silvia sniffed. "Will you visit us?"
"I'll visit often," he nodded. "It would do Callisto good to see me."
"She loves you," Silvia said. "She should be waking up soon."
Remus smiled. "She lives in a free world. Callisto will never have to live with the impending doom of dark arts."
A sudden crying erupted from upstairs. Silvia turned. "She's awake," she explained as she moved toward the stairs. Remus followed her.
Callisto was standing in her crib. "Siva!" she called as she reached out.
"Hey, big girl," Silvia said as she lifted her from her crib. "You're almost two! Are you excited."
"Yay!" Callisto replied. She immediately reached for Remus, who took her carefully from Silvia's arms. "Sirus?" she asked as she placed her head on Remus's chest.
The two shared a nervous glance.
"Sirus?" she asked again.
"Babydoll, Sirius went on vacation," Silvia explained, playing with Callisto's dark hair.
Callisto didn't respond. She reached for Remus's nose and held onto it. He smiled.
"I'm going on a vacation too, Callisto. I'll be back, I promise I'll come and visit you."
"Siva?"
"She's staying here."
"I'm not going anywhere, Callisto."
Callisto let her hand drop. "Down," she said, loosening her legs from Remus's waist.
He set her down carefully and offered a hand. She took it and turned to Silvia, holding out her other hand.
The three walked down the hallway of 12 Grimmauld Place. They stepped carefully down the stairs that had once belonged to Sirius Black, to Regulus Black. A covered portrait of Regulus as a child hung at the bottom of the staircase. Callisto stared at it as they walked by. Sirius's jacket lay carelessly on an armchair. Callisto walked towards it curiously before Remus and Silvia pulled her away.
Kreacher was already cooking breakfast, which he claimed was for Callisto and Callisto only. Silvia nodded understandably and offered to make breakfast for her and Remus herself. Kreacher growled and served Callisto. She tugged on one of his ears affectionately.
Silvia sighed watching the house elf. He has seen it all, lived through it all, and continues to live to see what lies in the road ahead. She turned back to Callisto, who would never truly know where she lives, who she lives with, what this house had once been, once meant. Callisto lived in a free world, a world with the absence of hatred, of fear.
She would be happy, she would be free.
Remus smiled and turned to his sister, who smiled back.
"It's a bright new world that tomorrow brings," she said softly. Hope filled her heart for the first time in what felt like an eternity...

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the song of angry men
It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!
When tomorrow comes.
When tomorrow...
Comes.

Fin.