Padfoot's Weakness - HP / Marauders time travel

5: Meanwhile in 1997

Dumbledore frowned. "I know the answers to your questions, but not the end."

The Azkaban escapee blinked. "Dammit, is that another one of your riddles?"

"Henrietta is safe," the elderly wizard murmured comfortingly. "I know the spell Jane used, and I know where she is. But I do not know if she will return safely, if at all."

"Then where is she?" Sirius huffed.

"1976."

A loud silence resonated around the office. All movements Sirius was making were suddenly stopped as he stared in a mix of confusion and shock at the older man.

"You're--you're not serious are you?" he whispered.

"I am."

1976. The year he and the other Marauders had met Renley Lane. The year a beautiful, lavender-haired girl came randomly falling from the sky, but landing unharmed. The year he fell in love for the first, and last, time of his life. And later, the year where his life began falling apart.

Sirius collapsed in a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk, eyes wide and unblinking. His hands trembled as his jaw dropped shamelessly. He was too shocked to do anything other than sit still and stare into space.

"Sirius, I understand this must be shocking, but--"

"No," Sirius whispered. "No... I don't...."

He was so confused and torn. He wanted to feel happy, so insanely happy, that his Renley was still alive, and he might see her again. But then, he wanted to feel disgusted. If Renley returned--no, when Henrietta returned, he would be chasing after his own Goddaughter--James' child. But she was still here! She was breathing, her heart was beating, and maybe, just maybe, she would love him when she got back.

"Sirius--"

"She didn't leave me."

"Pardon?" Dumbledore murmurs, leaning forward to try and catch the man's muttered phrase.

"She didn't leave me," Sirius spoke up. "Not on purpose, anyway." He glanced up to Dumbledore's bespectacled eyes. "You know, don't you? You know what happened when she disappeared."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Yes, I did. But I never learned her identity until recently."

Sirius nodded. He knew he should feel angry at the Headmaster for not telling him that Renley was a time traveler, but right now, he was focused on one thing.

"Did she hesitate?" he questioned heartbrokenly. "Did Renley... willingly go, or--?"

"Renley was not happy to leave," Dumbledore answered with a small, nostalgic smile. "At first, she was determined to stay. She wanted to continue living in 1976, with you and your friends. But then, I had to remind her of the life she had left behind, though I had no idea what it was. She agreed when I had mentioned getting back to the ones she loved."

He paused, placing a warm hand on Sirius' shoulder.

"She only agreed when I reminded her that she could continue protecting the one person she loved the most: you."

"Me?" the man frowned. "But I thought you didn't know--?"

"I did not," Dumbledore agreed. "But when she first arrived, she explained she was protecting a friend from Aurors."

Sirius inhales sharply, reality dawning on him. The only reason Renley left, was so that she could return to 1997, to save him.

"What do I do?" Sirius moans sadly, dropping his head in his hands. "What will she say when she returns? I'm not--I'm not the same, and everything will change--"

"Henrietta knew exactly what she was getting into when she fell in love with you, Sirius," Dumbledore reasoned. "She knew you are her Godfather, and she knew who you are and who you have become. And she still found herself in love."

When Sirius had lifted his head back up, his eyes gleamed with unshed tears. He couldn't bring himself to smile, mainly because the lump in his throat was so distracting from any other part of his body. He was so happy, yet so anxious. What if Renley didn't love him when she returned?

"All will be fine, Sirius," Dumbledore reassured him. The man sounded so sure of himself, that it helped console Sirius.

"Okay," Sirius sighed. "When... when does she get back?"

"If my knowledge is correct, then she will return in three and a half months."

The raven haired man furrowed his eyebrow in confusion. "But I thought she had stayed in 1976 for almost eight months?"

Dumbledore just smiled, eyes twinkling mischievously. "Time travel works in mysterious ways."

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