Two Lonely Monsters (Marauders fanfic) Book 2

25- The End Of An Era

After caring for Remus all day, after his werewolf transformation, Sara decided to visit James and Lily, as they had asked, late, on the eve of Halloween.
She said goodbye to Remus, and Apparated directly in front of the Potter's cottage, in Godric's Hollow.
As soon as she arrived outside the building, she knew that something was wrong. The cottage roof had collapsed inwards, and the front door was hanging off its hinges.
The house and the empty street, were eerily silent. The only sound came from Sara's feet, as she ran into the building, with her wand raised.
Her feet crunched over broken glass, as she stepped inside the Potter's cottage, using her wand to light her way.
When she raised her wand to light more of the room and looked up at the staircase in front of her, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, and forgot how to breathe.

James way lying on his back, on top of the stairs, with his eyes frozen in place.
Sara ran towards his body, praying that he was not badly hurt.
"James. James, please wake up!" She begged, as she began to shake his body.
Tears streamed down Sara's face, as she desperately tried to awaken James's dead body.
Sara wiped her eyes, and stood to her feet, as she began to make her way through the rest of the house, searching for the rest of the Potters.
For a moment, she was hopeful that Lily had managed to get Harry away safely. But as she entered the nursery upstairs, her heart sank.
Lily was lying dead in her front, with her head turned slightly to one side.

Sara dropped to her knees once again, as she fell down beside her friend's body.
The sound of crying, made Sara's head snap up, and see Harry sitting in his crib.
Sara lept to her feet in seconds, and ran to where Harry was crying. She placed her arms inside the crib, and scooped him up, holding him close to her chest.
He seemed fine, except for the large red, lightning shaped mark, on his forehead.
Sara kissed the top of his head, and held him closer to her, while she tried not to cry, as she stared down at Lily's unmoving body.
While still holding Harry in one arm, she raised her wand and sent a Patronus message to Dumbledore. Informing him of what she had found in Godric's Hollow.
He replied a few minutes later, and told her to wait for Hagrid to show up, and take Harry to safety.

As the sun began to rise in the sky, Sara refused to move from her spot in the nursery.
Harry eventually fell asleep in Sara's arms, while they waited for Hagrid to arrive.
Sara knew the moment he arrived, as she heard the half-giant enter the building, as he was not exactly a quiet person, so she got up to meet him.
She stepped passed Lily, and made her way down the stairs, trying not to look at James's body, as she passed him. Knowing that if she saw his dead body again, she was likely to collapse in grief, which wouldn't be good, while she was holding Harry.
"Have you got Harry under there?" Hagrid asked, pointing to the blanket that Sara was carrying, which she had wrapped Harry in, before leaving the nursery.
Sara nodded, and gently transfered Harry into Hagrid's arms, trying not to wake him.

As the pair stepped outside, they heard the rumble of an engine, coming from the sky. They looked up and saw Sirius, riding his flying motorbike towards them.
He landed a few feet away from them, before jumping off the bike, then sprinting towards the house.
"No... James- He's not- Lily and James, they're not..." Sirius saw the look on Sara's face, and faltered.
Seeing Sirius's face fall, killed Sara almost as much as seeing her friend's bodies.
"Harry's alive" muttered Sirius, sounding confused, as he looked at the baby in Hagrid's arms.
"Yes. When I arrived, I saw James and Lily's bodies inside. But Harry was fine, other than that mark on his head" replied Sara.

"I don't understand. Why didn't the Death Eaters kill him too?" Questioned Sirius.
"I don't know... This whole thing is very strange.
When I arrived, there was no Dark Mark above the house, which is unusual...
And there were no Death Eater bodies inside... But I can't see why they would have just left him alive...
Besides, from what I can remember, Voldemort wanted to kill Harry in person. So I don't see him allowing his Death Eaters to do it instead.
This whole thing makes no sense" Sara admitted.
Harry made a sound in his sleep, and everyone turned to look at him.

"You should give him to me Hagrid" sighed Sirius.
"I can't. Dumbledore instructed me to bring Harry straight to him" replied Hagrid.
"But we're his Godparents. Now that his parents are gone, it's our job to look after him. Mine, and Sara's"
"I'm sorry Sirius. But Dumbledore wants to take Harry to his Aunt and Uncle's house. They're his last living relatives"
"Harry can't go with them. James told me about them. They're awful. And they don't even have magic-"
"Sorry. But I don't have any say in this. Talk to Dumbledore about it, if you want to have Harry live with you".

"Padfoot. They're his family. He should go and live with them... What can we give him?" Asked Sara sadly.
"We're a family. We care about him, and each other. And you and Remus are getting married soon. So you can raise Harry, with my help" answered Sirius.
"We're not a real family, you know that.
And Harry can't live with me and Remus. It wouldn't be safe, not with me being what I am, and him being what he is.
And you live in a small flat, Sirius. Neither of us can care for him.
So it's probably best that he goes to live with these Muggles, where he can be raised right".
"Look, you two can sort all this out later. But right now, I need to take Harry to Dumbledore. Before any Muggles wake up, and find out what's happened here" admitted Hagrid awkwardly.

"Then take my bike, Hagrid. Use it to take Harry away to safety" suggested Sirius.
"Are you sure?" Quizzed Hagrid.
"Yes. I'm not going to have any use for it now"
"Well, if you're sure. Thank you... You two should leave as well, before the Muggles, and the Ministry, arrive, to deal with the situation".
Hagrid threw his large frame onto the bike, and made sure that Harry was sleeping peacefully in the crook of his arm.
"Fly carefully" reminded Sara.
"I will... See you soon, Miss Burne, Mr Black" replied Hagrid, as he started the engine.

Sara and Sirius took a step back, as they allowed Hagrid to fly into the sky, taking baby Harry with him.
Once they were alone, Sirius placed his hands in his pockets, and began to walk away.
"Wait. Where are you going? Aren't you coming back with me?" Asked Sara.
Sirius shook his head.
"No. I've got something to do first" he admitted.
"What?"
"Wormtail is missing. He wasn't in his hiding place, so I'm going to go and find him"
"You don't think he's been killed, or kidnapped do you?"
"No. I don't think so. There's no sign of a struggle".

Sara threw her arms around Sirius, and held him tight, as she began to cry again.
"Be safe Padfoot. I can't lose you too" she cried.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine" muttered Sirius.
"Well, once you've found Peter, bring him round to mine, so that we can be together. We all need each other right now".
Sirius kissed Sara's head, before pushing her away, and sighing.
"I have to go" he whispered, as he wiped the tears from Sara's cheeks.
"I know... Just promise me that you'll stay safe. And don't do anything, that I wouldn't do" Sara warned.
Sirius nodded his head, removed his wand, and then Apparated, leaving Sara alone, outside the ruins of James and Lily's house.