The Marauders: Year Seven Part One

It Would've Been the End of Sirius Black

But then one of the wolves spotted him as he ran away from the ravenous fight on the shore, chasing him down the bank. Still in his dog form, scared to transform with the wolf on his heels, remembering what Dumbledore had once told them about wolf bites and how it effected his DNA as a dog versus as a human. He ducked and dodged brush and boulders, slid under low lying branches and leaped over logs. The wolf, much larger, crashed through all of it and remained on Sirius's heels. The sound of the other wolves fighting was fading behind them for how far they had gone, and Sirius was terrified. Not only could he himself be killed, but Remus was back there, Remus was fighting a whole pack of wolves alone...

And then Sirius misjudged a step and he tumbled over the side of the bank and down a small slope, hitting the sand and rolling, twisting his back funny, and landing on his side, a pain going up his front leg. 

The wolf had leaped upon him, stood over him with snarling fangs and hot breath that smelled of blood and rancid meat and Sirius had the fleeting thought that this would be the end of him. This is how I'm going to die. The wolf's teeth sank into his shoulder and tore and he began to dig and rip and shred at the fur at the neck and chest of Sirius's dog form. 

And it would've been the end of Sirius Black for real if there hadn't risen through the trees a loud shrieking howl that echoed and shivered the leaves.

The wolf paused his mangling and lifted his head, looking back the way they'd come and Sirius used the moment of him being off his guard to slam the wolf in his belly with his back legs just as hard as he could, knocking the dog into the river beside them. The current caught the wolf and he was dragged away, paddling with his legs hard, trying to get back to the shore. Surely, he would, surely within seconds Sirius would've been back under attack... Blood was gushing out of Sirius's chest, the top layer of skin and fur pulled away, hanging like a bloody loose flap. He couldn't run. He had only one way to get out of there.

Sirius transformed as the wolf fought all the harder for the shore... Sirius struggled to his feet as the wolf caught his footing on the riverbed and started to pull himself from the water, bracing his back haunches... springing forward... and CRACK!

Sirius disapparated.

And there he'd found himself at St. Mungo's, and he'd fallen into the glass, unable to stay standing as the blood poured from him, and he smacked his fist on the window, hoping somebody inside had seen him, and he fell onto the cold street...

That was the last he'd remembered before waking up in St. Mungo's.

Guilt filled him. He should've done more to help Remus, he should've disapparated to where Remus was on the shore and stunned the wolves before going for Mungo's. But then again, he'd barely made it to Mungo's. It was a miracle if he didn't splinch himself as it were, he never would've been able to disapparate twice... He would've died if he'd stayed... but now Remus... gods only knew if Remus was alive, and Sirius felt hot tears flood his eyes and he started sobbing there in the hospital bed.

The door to the room opened suddenly and there was Dorcas Meadows. Sirius had never in his life been more pleased to see anyone in all the world. She ran across the room to him, her eyes wide with worry. "Sirius?" she asked, "Bloody hell it really is you." She reached his side and her face paled as she saw the raw redness of his chest, the grafted skin laying upon it, oozing and melting into him, and she grabbed onto his hand to comfort him as he cried. "Sirius, what happened?"

"I want Moony," he cried. "I want my Moony."

Dorcas ran her hand over his hair, "We'll get him here for you. Where is he? I'll send for him right now."

"The Potters," Sirius choked out the words, "I need the Potters." 

"Alright. I'll get the Potters." Dorcas nodded.