The Godmother

16. the night is a terrible place

"Liz- He's hurt! Come on- come!", Remus cried.

Elizabeth paused. He? Sirius? How was he hurt? Where was he? Had he left the tent?

Elizabeth swallowed and threw the covers from her bed.

"Fuck, Liz", Remus said, his voice guttural and thickly coated with fear.

"What the fuck happened?!", Elizabeth demanded. She threw herself from her bed, grabbing her wand and following the half naked Remus from her room. He was hot on his feet, making Elizabeth worry as she fought to catch up to him.

"I- We were out in the woods- it was a full moon last night. We were there together just running around and then I started to change back- I don't remember what happened but when I woke up, he was in an Acromantula web."

Elizabeth didn't have time to be shocked. She was focused on keeping up with Remus. Sirius... in trouble... It was then when she consciously felt the necklace around her neck burning, pulsating with heat against her chest. Through the panic, she hadn't noticed it there.

She latched at the chain as she walked, pulling from around her throat and digging it into her pocket absent-mindedly.

Despite the sun, her and Remus were the only ones awake, racing down the castle. Elizabeth noticed Remus wasn't wearing any shoes. She wasn't either. They were both barefoot. Struggling to get down the stairs.

They heaved themselves from the castle and down the dewy-grass hill that led onto the Forbidden Forest. Elizabeth hadn't been in there since she last saw Sirius. She looked at Remus. He was contempt on getting back into the forest.

"Do you even remember where he is?", Elizabeth demanded.

"Its somewhere near the tent", Remus said as he jogged into the forest. Elizabeth was still struggling to keep up.

The pathway to Sirius' tent was partly forged in the forest, the twigs and leaves had all shifted out of the way since Remus had been down so often. Too often. It was too obvious and plain-sighted. No wonder he was in trouble.

Elizabeth kept following Remus into the forest. Since winter, it had been reborn with a refreshing, vibrant glow. The snow had disappeared and was replaced with the thick, earthy smell of mud and trees.

Elizabeth didn't take much notice as she merely fought to keep up with Remus who was running at the speed of a race horse.

He led her to the tent, following the usual but now more sproused-up path, then they passed it. It felt wrong.

Elizabeth kept following Remus as he trudged on, far past the tent and into the thick and dangerously vast array of trees that seemed more like an optical illusion than a forest.

She held her breath tightly. It had been months since she'd last seen Sirius. She hadn't mentally prepared herself to see him again. She hadn't even thought about the opportunity- atleast not until Harry had been saved.

The yearning to see him had disappeared. She wanted to stick to the plan. To pry away Sirius and save Harry.

She didn't know what she wanted.

"Are the spiders there?", Elizabeth asked, "what is actually wrong with hi-."

When Elizabeth looked up, she saw Sirius. Well. His entire body was thickly tangled in a knot of white silk that reminded her of Halloween spider-webs, only this spiderweb had blanketed Sirius all over so that his face was the only thing left.

She store in horror. His face was better- if anything only slightly wrinkles. Nonetheless, the coffin strapped around him looked like he'd been mummified.