Azalea Evans °Marauders Era°

Chapter 8 - Deadly

"No one can resist me, can they," he joked with her quietly. Lily walked over to Azalea and put a hand on her cheek, whimpering slightly at how hot she was.

"You look you are about to break down," Sirius observed, "Do I need to get somebody?" Lily nodded.

"Please. Hurry." Sirius nodded and handed the cotton ball to Lily, rushing out of the room. Lily put the cotton ball on Azalea's arm, hoping that the results for her sister would come in soon. She watched Azalea's mouth twitch as she slept, tears running down her face. Lily's eyes widened and she began crying, calling for Madam Clara who had left.

"Sirius," she exclaimed as he walked in, "I think she's having a nightmare! I can't get her up! Help her, please! I don't want her to be scared," Lily whispered. Someone came behind her and wrapped their arms around her, pulling Lily to them. Lily gasped and turned around to see James and she scowled through her tears.

"I told you to go get someone who could help, not Potter," she snapped at Sirius as she struggled to get away from James.

"Prongs is better than anyone else," Sirius snapped back at her. He began shaking Azalea just like Lily had, even tapping her cheeks lightly.

"Come on, Z," he muttered, "Wake up!"

"Siri," she murmured, still asleep.

"I'm here," he reassured her, "I'm here." At those words, Azalea opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"What happened?"

"Are you okay," he ignored her question, "What were you dreaming about?"

"Oh-I don't remember," Azalea frowned, "I remember that I was scared-so scared-but I don't know why." Sirius nodded and hugged her tightly, Azalea confusingly hugging him back.

"What's happened," she asked.

"Do you remember what happened earlier today," he asked her, "At all?"

"No," Azalea shook her head, "Why? Should I? And what am I doing here? I remember seeing something flash in the pub but....other than that, I don't remember anything." Sirius frowned.

"Flashed? What flashed?"

"It was no-nose dude," she muttered, " I remember seeing him walk over James dead body-," Azalea stopped when she saw James.

"I mean a different James," she reassured him, lying through her teeth. Sirius looked at his other best mate and shook his head, not believing it.

"You were having visions, then," he asked to make sure.

"Yes," Azalea agreed, "Why? What had happened?"

"Do you remember saying anything about poison," Lily asked. Azalea turned to see her sister in James arms, crying onto his chest loudly.

"Did I miss something," she questioned.

"No," they both said quickly, Lily blushing. Azalea raised her eyebrow but answered Lily's question anyways.

"No. Why would I say anything about poison?"

"Because you have been poisoned," Sirius broke the news to her, "If you were right about having visions then you must have saw it in a vision. You told us before you fainted."

"I don't-I don't remember any of that," Azalea murmured, "Are you sure I said any of it?"

"Positive," Sirius told her, "They took a blood sample and are sending it to Saint Mugo's."

"Cool," Azalea exclaimed, "Can I see it?"

"What? The results," Lily asked.

"No! My blood, duh." Sirius laughed.

"I don't think so."

A few days later the results were back and Madam Clara had decided it would be best to just tell them straight forward. Sirius and Lily were the only people visiting Azalea at the time, the Marauders still asleep in their dorm room. He was laying beside her, whispering things in her ear and making her giggle. Madam Clara hated to break the happy moment, but she had to tell them. She coughed to let her presence be known, Azalea blushing as she realized she was watching them.

"I have your test results," she told Azalea. Sirius sat up quickly, helping Azalea sit up as well.

"Well, what are they?"

"It is not a common poison," she muttered, "And it has, in fact, been modified slightly. It will first make the person depressed, asymptom if you will."

"Azalea had that," Sirius gulped, "What else?"

"Well, the second symptom is too much sleep, not eating, and so on. You will only get one or two of those."

"She wasn't eating," Sirius muttered. How had he not noticed that his best friend was poisoned? What kind of best friend was he?

"And," he tried to make her continue.

"And then she would slowly, but surely, die. She would have died in the next few weeks if her seeing ability had not acted up and shown us otherwise. She is very lucky that it did. This poison is designed for murdering. So the killer can get away and everyone will think the victim committed suicide, a sad thing indeed. It is awful to think that someone would do that to a person." Lily had her hand over her mouth by now, an angry look overtaking Sirius' face.

"Can we find out who did it," he growled.

"I'm afraid not," Madam Clara shook her head. He let out an aggravated hiss and slammed his fist into the bed, narrowly missing Azalea's leg.

"Be careful," Lily snapped.

Sirius didn't move his fist or acknowledge that he had heard her, staring down at Azalea instead.

"I'll kill whoever did it," he hissed, "I would kill him in a heartbeat if you just tell me how we can find him."

"You automatically assume it was a him," Madam Clara questioned.

"Well, yes, of course. Azalea is beautiful and one of those idiots she rejected probably took it a bit too far! Or her bloody ex could have hired a hit-man," he exclaimed, "You can't honestly let him get away with this-"

"You don't know if it was him," Lily interrupted, "He is in Azkaban now, anyways."

"Does it matter? He probably has connections! I say we go after him first!"

"Siri," Azalea whispered, "I don't think it was him."

"Of course you don't," Sirius snapped, "But he did! If it wasn't him, then who could it possibly be?"

"I don't know," she said hoarsely, "But it doesn't matter now, anyways."

"Doesn't matter," Sirius questioned, "You almost died! I almost lost you! I don't want to loose you, Z!"

"I wouldn't leave you," she took his hand, "You know I would never do that. But you need to be sensible here and not go blaming everything on him. He didn't do it! I know he didn't! The arm I saw. It didn't have a tattoo on it. His did."

"Well-" Sirius started, but Azalea interrupted him.

"It wasn't on either arm, Siri," she whispered. Sirius shrank back, defeated. Lily and Madam Clara had both watched the two argue silently, neither wanting to interupt their conversation.

"I suppose," Madam Clara cleared her throat, "That this is all of the information I have. Don't worry, I have the antidote with me. It may take a few days go completely leave her system, but it will be gone." Lily nodded.

"And I should really be leaving," she muttered. She walked away and to the door, wondering what would become of the two. They always seemed to make everything in their relationship so complicated, and it never made any sense to Lily. Why confuse everything when it could all be as simple as putting on shoes?