It All Fell Down | A Marauder's Story

The End: Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black

     Horror rose like bile in Sirius' throat. He sprinted from the house, racing out the front door and back onto his motorcycle. He sped off into the night once more because he needed to get to James and Lily's house, and he needed to get there now.

     His heart pounded violently in his chest as he made his way through the clouds. His stomach twisted, and he fought the urge to vomit. His mind raced with the possibilities that laid out before him. He refused to let himself think the worst of it.  

     Sirius pushed his bike as fast as it could possibly go. It felt like he was barely moving; it felt like hours were passing instead of minutes. He felt every second ticking passed the clock like the steady, painful throbbing of a headache. 

     The bike was lowering as he came over Godric's Hollow. He cleared passed the clouds and could see into the clear, Halloween night. That's when he saw it. 

     He landed with a thud, the tires of the bike crunched along the loose gravel of the road. Sirius Black dismounted his bike, stumbling as he did so. He stood there just looking. Something inside of him had disappeared. He wasn't sure what; he just knew that at this moment he felt very empty. 

     When Marlene died, it gutted him. It took everything from him. What little he had left disappeared with Charlie. At least he had had James. Now, he felt truly and completely empty.

      The Potter house was in shambles. Collapsed in on itself like a spare pile of wooden planks. There were still walls standing, but it no longer resembled a home. It reminded him of pictures that his father showed him of the aftermath of muggle wars to remind him that muggles weren't only stupid, but they were also violent. 

     Sirius' mind raced to make sense of it all, but he couldn't. They were protected. They were supposed to be safe. 

     His breathing quickened as his world spun. How could this happen? 

     "Sirius?" 

     It wasn't the voice Sirius longed to hear, but he looked up out of habit. A large, familiar man was walking towards him with some type of bundle in his arms, as if he were taking something from the house. Sirius blinked a few times, but he couldn't remember how to tell his mouth to say words. 

    "Sirius, are you alrigh'?" 

    His chin quivered as he shook his head. "Hagrid," he whispered. "Are they in there?"

    Hagrid's face, which Sirius now noted was stained with tears, hardened. "Now, look Sirius, I don' reckon ya outta-"

    Sirius didn't wait. He raced forward to the house he had been to a thousand times. Where he had had countless meals. Countless laughs. Countless drinks. 

    "Sirius!" Hagrid called after him. 

     He didn't acknowledge his name. Sirius knew that if he never saw them, he would never believe it. He wouldn't let himself. Besides, James and Lily were two of the smartest, bravest people who knew. Maybe they escaped. 

     Hope was a dangerous thing. 

     As Sirius crossed the landing of the broken front door, he saw his friend. His best friend. His brother. James Potter was laid out eyes open, glasses broken. 

    Hagrid flinched as he heard the scream that came from within the house. Sirius was on his knees and the explosion of emotions within him could not be contained. Anger. Grief. Fear. All of it. 

    Through his tears, Sirius stared at his fallen friend. "Where is your wand, Prongs?" His chin quivered. "Where the fuck is your wand! Why didn't you have your wand?"