Some Day | Wolfstar

Forty-six

"What's wrong, James? Where's Sirius?" Lily asked her boyfriend, noticing that he hadn't eaten anything. And James Potter never ate nothing. James sighed. "I don't know, Lily. Probably sulking somewhere," he smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Lily placed her hand on top of his.

"What's going on, James? He's not even coming for lessons anymore, and none of the Professors seem to mind... is he okay?"

"He's fine, babe. Just some... family trouble. You know how they are. Don't worry."

Lily bit her lip, knowing that James was hiding something a lot more profound than that. She knew that asking him would do no good. She looked over at Remus, who looked equally worried.

Something big was definitely up.

***

"I won't go to bed and have a good rest when he could be anywhere, James," Remus sighed. James frowned. "Come on, let's go somewhere else." They exited the common room and walked until they found an isolated corridor on the fourth floor. James pulled the Map out. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," he spoke. The Map opened itself.

They searched for Sirius' name on every single page. But it wasn't there. "He could've turned," Remus said. James sighed. "We'll just have to wait."

"Can't we go to the Shack? Just to check?"

The Shack was empty. So was the Honeyduke's cellar. It was nearly bedtime when they got back. They quickly changed and went to their dorms.

"Hey, guys." Peter looked shaken. "Where's Padfoot?"

"No idea, Pete. Did you see him around?" James asked.

"Not after he left to meet Snape..."

"He left to- what?" James' eyes widened. Peter shrugged. James really, really wanted to hex his ass, but figured that that would cause too many complications. As if they didn't have enough already.

"If he went to meet Snape... he's probably there, still." Remus sat down on James' bed. James nodded. "But why wasn't he on the map, then?" Remus asked, clearly not convinced of Sirius' safety.

James thought of Sirius' propensity for taking walks in the night. He hoped, oh Merlin he really hoped that somewhere outside of Hogwarts, he was safe and warm, smoking a cigarette and watching the stars.

"He'll be fine. He always turns up, doesn't he?" Peter asked. James looked at him. "He does. Let's hope it stays the same for this time too."

***

No one needed to sit the boys down and explain what had happened. When Sirius didn't appear the following day, they knew. But they told themselves that he would soon come back. Even if they knew it was a lie.

When a week passed without a word of him, they had to accept it. Sirius had been taken.

Remus walked with James to their dormitory in silence. Everything around him seemed to be distant, unreachable. It was as if Remus' world was made of two spheres. He was trapped inside the smaller one, all alone, in some sort of viscous reality where everything moved sluggishly, heavily. The outer one seemed to have a pace of its own, spinning and spinning, dragging everyone around him along with it, leaving him behind.

Remus couldn't keep up. He only had James, only talked to James, only let James touch him.

He couldn't bear to look at Sirius' bed, sheets unmade as always, Remus' copy of The Picture of Dorian Grey still sitting on the pillow.