The Awakening Power

Chapter 18: Tributes

The Awakening Power

by Sib

Chapter 18: Tributes

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Harry walked alone through the halls of Grimmauld Place, feeling like being by himself for a while. It was quite different from what it was when they had first arrived; when the house had been dusty and dirty from years of neglect. If he were objective, he even had to admit it was a pleasant place now.

But he didn't feel particularly objective at the moment. The walls seemed to whisper to him words of despair, as the reality of Sirius's death was brought home to him. How could he really be dead? Harry thought. It almost felt like the house should cease to exist along with Sirius, as if everything in the world tied to him died as well. Yet, the house continued on somehow, a huge vacuum of absence seeming to draw out all the air.

It seemed odd to imagine Sirius as a young boy, wandering through these hallways, running up the stairs, playing with toys like any child. The Sirius he knew had spent so much time at Azkaban that it was difficult to imagine him as anything but the worn, world-weary person that he had known.

He was very grateful to have seen Remus's memory of Sirius, which gave him a better perspective about his earlier life, particularly considering that his only other Pensieve experience of Sirius had been with Snape.

He wandered upstairs, and stopped, looking at a closed door. It was the door to Sirius's bedroom.

He stared at the door for several minutes, feeling an urge to go in and find some remnant of Sirius. He finally reached out and turned the doorknob, pushing the door open gently. The door gave a creak as it swung open. Harry peeked through the door, and finally went in, closing the door behind him.

It was a very large room, apparently the master bedroom of the house. It looked as though it hadn't been disturbed since Sirius's death, since he could see many personal items still around the room. The bed was unmade, and several robes were casually strewn across several chairs. Several pairs of shoes laid at the foot of the bed, along with several pairs of unwashed socks that apparently never made it to the clothes basket. An opened book was set face down on the night table.

It was rather dark in the room, so Harry walked over to the windows and opened up the curtains, allowing gray light to come in from the cloudy sky outside.

The room contained a large four-poster bed, along with several large dressers and a writing desk. Off in the corner was a sitting area containing several large chairs and a sofa, with several well-stocked bookcases.

Harry noticed some items on the desk, so he went over to take a look. He choked up a bit as he noticed that it held several pictures of himself alone, as well as several pictures with Sirius. There were also pictures of his parents, plus one of Sirius, Harry's father and Lupin.

One picture of Harry was taken at Christmas last year; he and Sirius were laughing by the fireplace. Another picture had Harry on his Firebolt during a Quidditch match, and still another was Harry playing chess with Ron, with Hermione reading in the background.

Harry sat down at the desk, contemplating the fact that Sirius had sat in the very chair only months before. What had he been thinking about? He undoubtedly would've been angry about being confined to Grimmauld Place.

He opened up a desk drawer, seeing various quills, ink bottles and some blank writing parchment. He closed the drawer, and opened another one, and noticed a letter in Sirius's handwriting. His heart sank as he read the partially written letter.