Coming Together ༄ Sirius Black

Chapter Forty Eight

"S-Sirius. Get Sirius." Asteria stammered weakly. James only nodded in response before dashing after his friend.

Asteria couldn't sit there.

"What the hell was that?" Mulciber questioned.

"You shut up!" Sirius glared at Mulciber, his wand still pointed at Avery's neck as he backed up against a tree.

"Sirius, mate, come on." James pulled on his shoulder.

"No! Get off." He yanked free, never taking his fiery gaze off of Avery.

"Sirius." Regulus warned, tucking his own wand away into his pocket as he tentatively neared his brother. He recognised this all too well. Whenever Sirius felt threatened - be it fear or damaged pride - he acted out in unpredictable ways. Regulus was honestly surprised his parents had managed to keep it somewhat under control over the years.

"Shut up." Sirius gritted his teeth, "You're lucky I don't kill you."

"Go on Black. If you've got the guts, do it." Avery sneered, his words laced with poison.
Sirius scoffed, "Don't tempt me."
"It's not like you're going to either way."

"Avery shut up." Regulus snapped, still keeping his own distance.

Whilst that situation was unfolding, Mulciber and the other two Slytherin boys dashed from the scene. Asteria watched as they ran, her ribcage still rattled, her heart still racing at a mile a minute. She was frozen, barely able to stand and barely able to process what was going on in front of her.

"Severus, I don't understand." Lily spoke softly, her eyes watering.

"You never will." He replied, "You can't understand."
Lily's bottom lip shook, "Help me. You realise I'm here for you? This isn't the only option."

Snape closed his eyes and allowed his head to hang with remorse. There would always be more to his story than Lily would ever be able to understand. She'd never know the full truth.

"We're all in it. Up to the neck. There's no backing out. This is the right thing to do." He spoke quietly, refusing to look up at the girl. The girl that had befriended him all those years ago.

Severus and Lily has been side by side through thick and thin over the years. She always had his back and was always defending him, even when he was unable to stand up for her. Only now, Snape had nothing else to do. He truly felt like he was doing the right thing. Perhaps he was.

"Right thing to do?" Lily stepped away from him in shock.

Perhaps he could save her. He could keep her safe. Snape would follow the Dark Lord, but above all else he would save Lily's life. He truly thought that was why those words fell from his lips.

"You're a mudblood. Dirty blood. It's true."

That's why he had to sever all ties.
The fear gripped his heart. If even the newly formed Death Eaters found out about his connections with a muggle born, she would be at risk. It wasn't all selfless though. That much has to be made clear. Snape knew that he had to show compete, unwavering devotion in order to protect the skin on his own back. That meant no corroboration with muggle borns or blood traitors, and that much was clear.

"Severus?" Lily questioned quietly, her voice practically inaudible over the scuffles of the boys only a few metres away.

"Lily..." Asteria staggered to her feet, clutching the tree for support, "Lily."

Lily cast a glance at Asteria. It broke her heart. She wasn't able to help both of her friends and in that moment one needed her whilst the other was running away.

"Goodbye." Severus murmured weakly, turning around with his head still kept low as he walked towards Regulus.

"Lily, are you okay? What did he say?" Asteria clutched Lily's arm for support.
"N-nothing. It's fine. I ended it." She lied, blinking away tears.

"Get out! All of you!" Sirius shouted, his voice practically echoed around the clearing. Avery had lost all colour in his face and tripped as he ran away, pulling Snape along behind him.

Sirius kicked the tree in anger, smashing his shoes violently against the bark. At the edge of the shadows of the clearing, Regulus watched slowly. He watched anger consume Sirius and a small smile emerged on his face as Asteria approached the hotheaded Gryffindor.

"Sirius." She said, firstly causing the boy to stand still although he didn't turn it face her.

"Padfoot, come on. It's fine, it's all done." James watched him carefully.

"Sirius." Asteria reached out a shaky hand to take Sirius' arm.

Regulus was ready for a phenomenal outburst. He half expected Sirius to tear the girl's head off for getting too close. However, he was left somewhat dumbfounded.

"You're alright? Tell me you're alright." Sirius turned around and held his hands on either side of Asteria's face.

"I-It's fine. Really." Asteria nodded, placing her hand over Sirius' to steady her shaking.

Regulus watched for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed in thought before he too finally faded into the darkness, leaving the scene for good.

"Are you sure?" Sirius rested his forehead against her's.
"Yeah. Yeah I think so. Just shock. I was scared, is all." Her attempts to reassure him were futile.

"I was scared too. So scared." Sirius closed his eyes, holding Asteria close to him.

James shook his head, turning to look at Lily who seemed to have become lost in her thoughts. "What kind of spell was that? I've never heard of it." He said.

Lily ran her tongue along her bottom lip, "Some sort of curse, I guess. I've never heard of it."
"Maybe we should look it up in the library?" James suggested.

"If this is some badly timed joke where you ask me out, just don't." Lily grumbled, finally walking over to where everyone else stood at the far edge of the clearing.

"I'm serious. If they're practicing deadly spells they could get someone hurt. Plus, it's not safe being in here. They could get hurt too... You know... Werewolves and stuff." James pointed out slowly.

"Prongs, shut up." Sirius warned, "If they all get killed by a werewolf it's their own fault."
Asteria looked up at him, "And what about the human within that werewolf?" She asked quietly so Lily couldn't hear.

"Let's get out of here, yeah? If it's so dangerous we probably shouldn't hang around." Lily said. James agreed and gathered up the invisibility cloak, lifting it up to allow everyone to step under.

Asteria's knees still felt weak beneath her and she gripped Sirius' hand tightly as they walked back up towards the castle. Nobody said a word. No jokes were shared and nobody even breathed too loudly. A rare silence hung over the group as they individually came to terms with what had happened in the forest.

"You don't think that spell could have killed someone?" James asked, throwing Asteria a glance as they came to a stop outside of the Slytherin common room.

She stepped out from underneath the cloak and watched Lily. "I don't know."
"Do we go to Dumbledore?" Sirius suggested.
Lily shook her head this time, "No. Then they'll get in trouble and hate us more. We can still help them, I know it."

Asteria sighed, pocketing her still shaking hands. "Well I'm going to bed. See you guys later." She kept her eyes trained on the floor as she stepped inside, leaving her friends behind.

It was a surreal thought, as she climbed up to the girl's dormitory, that she could have been really hurt or possibly died. She still felt light headed and her body was still trembling as she crawled into bed that night. However, one thing didn't make sense.

Why had Regulus Black of all people gestured for her to drop to the floor just moments before Avery cast the spell?

Had he really saved her life? Why?