Dum Spiro Spero

Chapter 5

"What is it Rem?" Just as she said it, small puffs of smoke flew in their faces. The witch looked down in a panic and noticed that she unintentionally caught part of his robes on fire.

With a flick of his wand, the small flame was extinguished and she looked down in guilt. "I didn't know, I'm sorry."

He put an arm around her shoulder as the golden light slowly faded from her eyes.  "I just didn't want you losing control of it in front of everyone. I figured you wouldn't want to give them more of a reason to not trust you." She nodded in thanks and shrugged the robes off.

"I'm going to go see if I can find his broom, I'm sure his friends want to check on him first." Evalyn awkwardly smiled and walked off into the distance. She wandered aimlessly around the Black Lake, the Whomping Willow, and started edging towards the Forbidden Forest. The feeling of someone watching her slightly startled her. When she looked around she couldn't see anyone, but decided to pull her wand out just in case. Suddenly one hand covered her mouth, and another wrapped around her waist, dragging her back into the forest. The witch tried to wriggle out of her captor's grip to no avail. When they got decently far away, she was spun around to face the person who grabbed her.

Sage green met a dull grey. A scrawny man, rotten teeth and matted hair stood in front of her. So familiar but at the same time not. Despite the grime and smell, she knew that once he was able to clean up, he'd be just as handsome. Her hand stayed clench around her wand, not out of fear but out of shock. "Lynnie?" His voice cracked as her name rolled out of his mouth.

Her lip trembled and her eyes watered with tears. "Sirius" The name wasn't a question, it was more a statement made out of disbelief. Her husband was actually standing in front of her. Slowly he held his arms open for her, hoping she believed in his innocence. Sirius closed his eyes, prepared to take a hit or a hex. Instead, two arms wrapped around his waist and a head buried into his chest.

"Do you trust me Lynnie?" He was afraid to call her love, unsure if she would welcome it or not. She nodded against his torso and brought her eyes up to meet his.

"What happened Pads?" The man guided her to some rocks to sit on and he picked at the grass. She waited patiently for him to speak.

He focused on tying two blades of grass together while he spoke. "Peter Pettigrew."

Sirius watched as Evalyn narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. Merlin she is beautiful. "Peter is dead, I don't understand."

"He will be when I'm done with him." Now Evalyn was truly confused. Maybe the dementors did more damage than she thought. Sirius scowled and threw the grass down before starting over on some new blades.

"Peter is dead, they found his finger at the scene."

"Peter is a lying arse and when I catch him he will wish a finger is all he lost."

Evalyn sat still, she eyed him carefully, unsure of what to say. "Just tell me what happened, maybe it will make more sense."

He huffed and threw his hands up in exasperation. "Merlin Lynnie! He is the rat! He betrayed James and Lily! He is the deatheater scum. HE FRAMED ME!" In his rant, he had gotten up and kneeled in front of Evalyn. His hands cupped her face as he searched her eyes.

Despite the crazed look on his face, she couldn't find an ounce of deceit in his words. "Well if it's true, where is he?"

"Weasley's rat."

"Scabbers?!" Evalyn hadn't actually seen the rodent herself, but had heard the kids talking about it. Apparently, he hasn't been doing well. Sirius whipped out a clipping of a newspaper. The Weasley's all stood together in a photo. Evalyn searched it and froze when her eyes landed on a familiar looking rat. "I can't believe it!" She turned towards Sirius who showed anger all over his face. "How could he?!"

"He's a coward." He muttered as Evalyn took his hand.

"Let me help you love. Meet me here tomorrow and I'll bring you some food and some blankets."

Sirius looked up at her in shock, "You'd do that? For me?"

Evalyn looked him up and down like he said the dumbest thing, "Of course, I love you."

It was his turn to narrow his eyes, to him it was the perfect opportunity to bring up another issue. "But what about Remus?"

"What about him?"

"Aren't you two shagging now?"

Evalyn coughed and flushed red, "Merlin Sirius, no!" Sirius deadpanned like he didn't believe her. "Trust me, my heart has belonged to you since the day we got together. Remus and I have a different bond. For a long time, we thought we had nobody else, so we supported each other. As friends. Nothing more."

He nodded and then gasped, one hand covered his mouth and the other tried to cover his hair. Evalyn stared at him in wonder. "Don't look at me Lynnie, I look like rubbish!"

Evalyn giggled, and pulled his hands away. "You don't look rubbish, you just need to clean up a bit yeah? I'll bring some stuff tomorrow." He puckered his lips waiting for a kiss but instead she placed a finger on his mouth. "How about we wait until you get a toothbrush love?" Sirius pouted her grimace. "I have to get back before Remus starts searching the castle for me. I love you." She placed a warming charm around him and blew him a kiss which he caught with a smile. He watched as she walked off towards the castle, the hole in his heart slowly mending.

When she got back, Remus dragged her into his classroom. He looked angry at her. "Where were you Evalyn? You've been gone for hours?! I was about to go looking for you!" The werewolf looked over all of her features for any injuries. All he found was a bit of dirt on her clothes and a leaf in her hair. He picked it out with furrowed brows and waved it in front of her face.

She glanced around and cast a silencing charm after locking the door with her wand. "I thought I spotted him, so I went looking for him." It wasn't necessarily a lie, but not the complete truth. She couldn't bring herself to tell him the full truth, it would crush him.

"Evalyn are you sure? Did you find him?" He started pacing back and forth in front of her, she reached her hand out to stop him.

"It's possible, I was at the edge of the Forest and couldn't bring myself to go in alone. But maybe I could have also just been worked up from the match." It's something that Evalyn thought was possible, maybe she was just losing her mind.

He frowned and held both of her shoulders, leaning down to look her in the eyes. "Are you okay? Do we need to go to Dumbledore?" Evalyn held back a grimace, she didn't hate the old man, but she didn't agree with things he's done. Especially after what Harry and his friends have been through the past couple years.

"Maybe in the morning, I think I just want some rest tonight if that's okay."

Suddenly, she was pulled into a warm embrace. "Can you stay here tonight Evalyn? I'd feel better knowing you're safe." They witch nodded and he conjured a bed before wrinkling his nose. "You should probably shower first, you stink."

Evalyn shrugged and smiled, "Honestly, you aren't wrong there."