Dark Synesthesia | Sirius Black ͛

「 learn 」

He must speak to the bereaved, clasp their hands, witness their tears, receive their thanks, hear the news now creeping in from every quarter as the morning drew on; that the Imperiused up and down the country had come back to themselves, that Death Eaters were fleeing or else being captured, that the innocent of Azkaban were being released at that very moment, and that Kingsley Shacklebolt had been named temporary Minister of Magic...

They moved Voldemort's body and laid it in a chamber off the Hall, away from the bodies of Percy, Dora, Remus, Colin Creevey, and fifty others who had died fighting him.

McGonagall had replaced the House tables, but nobody was sitting according to House anymore:
All were jumbled together, teachers and pupils, ghosts and parents, centaurs and house-elves, and Firenze lay recovering in a corner, and Grawp peered in through a smashed window, and people were throwing food into his laughing mouth.

After a while, exhausted and drained, Harry found himself sitting on a bench beside his sister and Sirius.

"I just want to sleep. " he said quietly.

"Me too, " Sirius sighed, knowing that going home meant facing Andromeda and the newborn they were now to care for — it meant facing the death of the last of his friends, and the heartbreak his cousin was about to experience.

"I'll stay, " Harry said thickly, staring at his sister as she slept on Sirius's shoulder.

He shook his head gently. "Stay here tonight. Have one last night in the dorms with your friends and girlfriend, then return whenever you're ready. "

Harry swallowed, wanting to say so much, but his voice came out scratchy and dry.
"You're both parents now, I guess. "

"I know. It's fucking terrifying, but also beautiful. " he smiled sadly, "She'll be an amazing mother. "

"I know. " Harry nodded. "She will. "

"You were her baby first, don't forget it. "
Sirius patted the boy's shoulder before lifting Hera so that his arms supported her head and the back of her knees.
"Right, well, we're off. Sleep well, kid, and try to get some peace and quiet. "

There would be time to talk later, hours and days and maybe years in which to talk. He saw Neville, the sword of Gryffindor, lying beside his plate as he ate, surrounded by a knot of fervent admirers.

He walked along the aisle between the tables, and he spotted the three Malfoys, huddled together as though unsure whether or not they were supposed to be there, but nobody was paying them any attention. Everywhere he looked, he saw families reunited, and with that, Sirius left the Great Hall with Hera in his arms.

Great chunks of the marble staircase were missing, part of the balustrade was gone, and rubble and bloodstains occurred every few steps as they climbed.

Happiness would come, Sirius thought, but at the moment it was muffled by exhaustion, and the pain of losing Remus and Dora pierced him like a physical wound every few steps.
Most of all, he felt the most stupendous relief, and a longing to sleep with his wife in their bed once more before they woke to a new reality.

With a heavy heart, a blaring headache, and aches all throughout her body, they were home.

She wanted nothing more than to keel over.
She wanted to scream, throw something, or go straight to bed and not leave until the nightmare was over. But she couldn't walk or talk properly, let alone throw things around.

As they crossed the doorway, Hera felt her knees buckle under Sirius's arms.

Andromeda was pacing around the living room, her eyes swollen and red, much like Hera's.