Limerence | A James & Lily Story

Shatter

     The air has turned very chilly in the common room of Gryffindor tower. Nobody says anything; it's unusually quiet compared to how rambunctious it sounds normally with the six of us present in a room. There is a ringing throughout the space that followed the words that left Sirius' lips. "Shut up, Marlene." The fire whiskey is still thick in my throat as I meet the gaze of a wide eyed Remus.

     "What?" Marlene asks stunned, eyes dazed. Sirius glares at Marlene, his gaze unwavering and cold. I realize with a pit of dread in my gut that this is the first thing Sirius has said all night. With the alcohol and the feeling of ecstasy in my veins, my good mood had caused me to forget my earlier realization that something was wrong with my best friend.

     Sirius gets to his feet slightly wobbly, an empty bottle of fire whiskey clutched in his hand. My eyes shift down to the other empty bottle at his feet. "I said shut the hell up," he says harshly throwing the bottle against the stone wall. The bottle shatters littering the floor with minuscule pieces of glass.

     We all get to our feet as well, somewhat more stable than Sirius. "Padfoot, mate, you've had a bit to drink," says Peter easily, putting a hand out towards our best mate.

     "Shut up, Peter!" Sirius roars; Peter shrinks away. The dread in my stomach grows.

     "Hey, Sirius, calm down," Lily say carefully, her green eyes appraising him carefully.

     "Stay the fuck out of this, Lily!" He roars turning to face her. She stares at him unwavering, but she has a peculiar look in her eyes, like something has clicked inside of her.

     "Watch it, Padfoot," I say, voice low, carefully placing myself between him and Lily.

     "Oh, sure, take her side," he spits angrily, before turning towards Marlene again. "You!" He jabs his finger at her.

     She backs away unsure of what to do. Her arms are halfway stretched towards him like she wants to hug him. She lowers them as her back hits a wall.

     "You want to know what it's like to fight death eaters?" Sirius demands coldly. "Why don't you just go fight my brother now, huh? Why don't I go get Regulus right now? And then we can all find out!"

     The room fall silence as everything begins to make sense. Sirius had been acting weird all night, and Marlene's comment about fighting death eaters had finally sent him tumbling over the edge. Joining the Order for Sirius is signing up to fight his own family, his own little brother. The same little brother Sirius had taken care of all of these years. The same little brother that Sirius was more of a father too than their own biological dad. The madness in his eyes is understandable now.

     Marlene looks to all of us, her eyes hazy with tears before turning back to Sirius. "Sirius," she says carefully. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. You know, I would never say something like that."

     Sirius' face contorts into one of a cold mask. "It wouldn't be the first time," he spits icily. 

     Marlene's teeth snap together, and her eyes blaze, no longer careful. Her nostrils flare, and it looks as if for a moment, she could breathe fire. "We've forgiven you for worse."

     "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

     Everyone grows uneasy, it's evident on everyone's faces. This fight is taking a dangerous turn, and Marlene and Sirius are two of the most passionate people that I know- they're both bound to say something they'll wind up regretting. Remus is the first to intervene.

     "Sirius," he eases towards Sirius placing a hand on his shoulder. Sirius throws his elbow back, connecting with Remus' nose with a sickening crack! Remus collapses onto the floor, pressing his hand to his nose, but blood still seeps through his fingers, dripping onto his robes. 

     I leap forward pushing him against a wall, one hand pressed firmly to his chest, the other gripping his wrist tightly. "Sirius!" 

     I can see Lily kneeling next to Remus; she's fixing what is probably a broken nose. I turn my attention back to my struggling best friend. I have a few inches on him, but Sirius has always been stockier than myself. However, the copious amounts of alcohol in his system our aiding me tonight.

     "Let me go!" He roars after a moments struggle.

     "No!" I yells back, pushing against him harder. "Look, what you've done!"

     His eyes blaze before he gives one sharp push with a grunt. I loose my balance as I fall, my back collides with the floor. The air rushes from my lungs in whooshing sensation, and I try not to panic as I fail to catch my breath.

     I jump to my feet as soon as I am able and leap for Sirius, anger now alight in my veins. His grey eyes shine with bloodlust, and I know he is angry as well. He makes his way towards me, and I brace myself for the fight.

     "Sirius, stop!" Lily cries leaping for.Sirius spins around and shoves her. I see red as I watch Lily fall to the floor. The rage bursts from within me as I lunge at Sirius, my fist connecting with his jaw.

     "Agumenti!" Marlene cries, shooting a fountain of water at Sirius' face. Remus pulls me away from Sirius, and we all watch as the water soaks through his hair and clothes, running down his face and neck.

     "Sober up!" Marlene yells. Her chin quivers as if she will begin to cry, but we all know she won't. She's too stubborn to cry in front of anyone.

    The water ceases to flow from Marlene's wand, and there Sirius sits- drenched in water and eyes empty. "I'm sorry," he whispers.

     "We need to get him upstairs. We probably woke up half the dormitory," Remus says crouching down next to Sirius.

     I fight the urge to roll my eyes and instead turn to Lily. "Are you okay?" 

     "I'm fine," she replies, placing a careful hand on my arm.

     "Mar?" I shift my gaze.

     She doesn't look at me, she only nods and says, "Just get him up to your room."

     "Night," Lily says quietly, placing a kiss on my cheek. "Happy birthday."

     Remus pulls Sirius to his feet, putting his arm over his own shoulders, bearing some of his weight. He leads Sirius up the stairs, and Peter and I follow behind closely leaving the girls in the common room.

     Our dormitory is eerily silent as we dress for bed. I make no attempts to hide my anger; I slam my trunk unnecessarily loud, I kick anything of Sirius' back to his side of the room, and most of all, I refuse to even look at him.

     "Remus," Sirius says hoarsely. 

     "Don't," Remus replies before he closes his curtains sharply. 

     "Pete," Sirius says carefully.

      Peter shrugs, unable to meet Sirius' gaze before pulling the curtains around his own bed.

     "James, mate," Sirius says voice thick. "I'm real-"

     "No," I interrupt him coldly. "Do not talk to me." I crawl onto my bed, pulling my own curtains closed, leaving Sirius to stand there dumbfounded.

     I feel slightly guilty not even listening to whatever he was going to say, but the anger in my system overrides any other feelings. I turn on my side, facing the wall. I understand the reason behind Sirius' rage, but the way he handled it was way out of line. 

     Honestly, his reaction was somewhat scary. I've never witnessed his father's blind rage the way Sirius has told me, but I imagine it would look a lot like what just happened. There's a part of me that I will never voice allowed, but that part sometimes wonders if Sirius may turn out to be like his family. I shudder, feeling sick just thinking about it. No, he can't.

A/N*

Look at me posting twice in one week!!! aye *dabs* 

We're almost done y'all!! Like four chapters to go almost done!! Can you believe it? Stick with me alright?

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