Black as Knight || Sirius Black

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Friends are the family you choose."

From Remus' crumpled position on the wet ground, heavy droplets rained down on him. Blood pooled from the large gash on the back of his head—he could feel it—the thick, red liquid flowing from the open wound. His ribs were bruised, maybe worse. Although not as much of a cause for concern, cuts littered his forearms, the murky water of the alleyway rushing through them as the downpour only became harder and harder. The sound of the rain crashed into his ears—a result of his heightened lycanthropy—with the full moon inching closer and closer, he only had grown more tired as the night dragged on. And now, Remus was left for dead by one of his closest friends, just when he no longer had the strength to defend himself.

    Defend yourself, Remus' mind screamed back at him. Give up, and you die.

    Then it hit him. Remus tightened his weak grip on his wand, one spell coming to mind.

    "Expecto Patronum," he struggled to cast, closing his eyes and concentrating with all of his might. No Patronus was formed. He tried to focus on a happy memory, but all he could think of was...

"Okay, Remus," James said, "don't freak out."

    "You should listen to James," Sirius grinned, elbowing Remus. "No reason to be scared. We only took you to the Forbidden Forest at night, with no teachers around, and no one to save you if you get snatched up by the dangerous and scary creatures that looove kids like us."

    Peter laughed at Sirius' antics. "If that's how you plan on scaring him, I don't think it's working."

    "It's not," Remus playfully rolled his eyes, "but go ahead. Why would I be so freaked out about—MERLIN'S BEARD!"

    Right on cue, the three boys had transformed into three animals in front of his eyes: Peter was a rat, Sirius was a large, black dog, and James was a stag.

    "James..." Remus croaked. A bright wolf formed from the tip of his wand, the only source of light in otherwise absolute darkness. It stood for a moment, staring at him with its big, round eyes. The wolf bounding off and out of the alleyway was the last thing Remus saw before surrendering to the clutches of sleep.

♡♡♡

It had been a few months since Dumbeldore advised that the Potters stay in their cottage under the Fidelius charm, and trusting Dumbledore's word, James was forced into hiding with Lily and Harry.

James constantly found himself asking the question: is it better to be safe, or to be free? But as he tucked little Harry into his Quidditch themed bed sheets, James knew that sometimes, there were far more important things than freedom. He'd learned that much since his Hogwarts years.

    James carefully shut the door to Harry's bedroom and clicked off the hallway light. He felt his way in the dark to the living room, where Lily was curled up on the couch. Her face was dimly lit by a lamp that dangled hopelessly from the ceiling, flickering every so often.

    "Lily?" he asked, taking a seat next to his wife. "What are you doing up?"

    "Oh, it's nothing," Lily waved her hand dismissively, turning away from him, "just thinking."

    Lily almost never shied away from James. That's when he knew something was wrong.

    "Do you ever realize how much danger we're in?" she asked, quite suddenly, back still turned to him. "What about Harry's future? Will Voldemort always be after us, after him? Will he ever be able to leave this house? Have a childhood?"

    "I..." James was at a loss for words. He hadn't known she was feeling this way.

    "Maybe we should move somewhere far away," Lily proposed, toying nervously with a loose strand of her hair. "Pack up all of our things and go to America."

    "You know we can't do that," James said. "What about Remus? Sirius? Peter? The Order? Somebody has to fight Voldemort."

    "I know," Lily sighed, "just a thought."

    James placed his hand tenderly on her chin, turning her face towards his. He glanced up and saw tiny droplets on Lily's face.

    "Lilyflower," James spoke, using his fond nickname for her. He moved his hand upwards towards her cheek, and swiped away her tears with his thumb, pulling her into a tight embrace. "We'll figure it out. We always do."

    She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Thank you."

Out of the corner of his eye, James caught sight of thin wisps of silver mist. It was a wolf, a patronus he hadn't seen in a long time. It crept up next to him, stepping over with a sense of urgency.

"James..." It was Remus' voice. He sounded weak, like he was in pain.

Lily looked up to James, who broke apart from their embrace and stood from his position on the couch, grabbing his wand from his jean's pocket. He rushed to the front door, grabbing his invisibility cloak from the coat hanger.

"James, you can't!" Lily stomped over towards him, fear evident in her tone. "You know what Dumbledore said. We can't leave."

James looked back at her, a determined gleam in his eyes. "Remus is in trouble. I have to find him."

And with that, James disapparated away to find his friend.