Diana stared at Snape breathless and wide eyed as if she had forgotten how to formulate words correctly.
Snape's face contorted into a nasty kind of smirk, his long, hooked nose high in the air and his brows shaped in a contemptuous raise.
Sirius was saying something, that much Diana realized but what he was actually saying, she didn't know. A ringing noise filled the whole room or Diana had the impression that it was only inside her head.
There was a time in Azkaban, no, not one time, from time to time she thought about what Sirius was thinking about her, did he really believe that she had betrayed Lily and James, and how relieved he'd be when he'll finally find out that she was innocent all along? After a couple of years, she could hardly remember her friends' faces but the person who never faded away from her memory was Sirius Black.
Now how was she supposed to feel when she had learned that he was partly the reason she didn't get justice and couldn't get out of the Azkaban for twelve years?
"Diana, listen to me!" Sirius pleaded.
"I'm listening." She heard herself utter.
"I-it was all a mistake. I didn't know James and Lily changed their secret keeper. I-I saw their bodies on the floor, Di, dead and cold and I retrieved Harry from there that night. I was enraged, Diana. I was blinded-"
She heard him rambling on but she could hardly say she actually listened to anything at all. She interrupted him.
"You know, you preach so much about your friends and friendship but the truth is," She looked at him dead in the eye. "You don't even know a thing about friendship."
Sirius froze.
"You used to call all three of them- James, Remus, Peter, your brothers but in reality you've always seen only James as your best mate and your brother." Sirius opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. "When the news of having a double agent among us spread, you didn't hesitate to suspect Remus just because of his condition."
Remus stiffened at that and Harry looked at him confused. Hermione gasped slightly and Ron looked at her confused. The teacher glanced at his smartest student with narrowed eyes but didn't say anything.
"You never suspected Peter because you've always thought less of him, always thought of him a good-for-nothing. And Regulas, oh Regulas..." She looked at him coldly and he clenched his jaw in anger for bringing up his brother. "You never even tried to understand his situation and just cut him off completely when he got the dark mark. Just like you did when you found out about mine. You didn't even listen to me for once- my reasons, my situation."
Remus looked at Diana astonished. 'So Sirius had known about her dark mark all these years?! Is that why they were in such bad terms at the end of the war?'
Sirius looked at the verge of breaking down as he looked at her with glazed, dark grey eyes. She was stabbing him with her words that felt like shards of glass, words about him that he wanted to deny vehemently but deep inside he knew it was what he deserved probably.
"You don't even treat your own friends equally, and who am I to you? An outsider." A cold chuckle came out of her chapped lips.
Sirius's handsome face ashened and eyes widened. "No! Diana, you're not an outsider--" He wanted to say he loved her but in a way, he felt like he'd be insulting the words.
Diana continued as if she wasn't even listening to him. "You always say how you've always hated prejudice and everything, well, the truth is, Sirius, you've been prejudiced against people all this time, even if you don't want to admit it."
Pain flashed in Sirius's face but before he could say a word, she turned around, completely blocking him out. She was scared if she had given him a chance to speak, she might actually forgive him, which she wasn't planning on doing.
Besides, it wasn't about forgiveness anymore; they weren't starry eyed kids that they were once used to. When everything was forgotten once your friend asked for forgiveness. They were adults now; they had to own up to mistakes eventually and handle it like adults.
"Let's just get out of here. I'm suffocating, I need some fresh air." She said nonchalantly and strode out of the room, followed by Snape who didn't forget to send a smirk at Sirius's way.
Sirius glared at him with killing intent as if he would pounce on him right then and there but Remus put a hand on his shoulder, holding him firmly. Sirius gave him a look of hurt but his brown haired could do nothing but send a sympathetic look in his way.
Soon, all of them cleared out of the room where all of the drama took place.
Diana was in front of the group, trailed by Snape; Harry and Sirius were carrying Ron as his leg had broken. Remus and Hermione followed closely with Peter Pettigrew floating in the air behind them, binded and unconscious.
Remus stepped towards Harry. "I'll take Ron from here. You go ahead, Harry." He motioned his eyes towards Diana who was walking ahead.
Surprisingly, Harry nodded without any protest and marched ahead to catch up with his godmother. Sirius raised his brows at Remus who just shrugged with a light smile.
Diana, startled a little, looked beside her and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw it was none other than her godson.
She smiled a bit timidly at him and when he mirrored her action without any hesitation, her heart filled with sheer joy and her grin widened.
Without any words exchanged between them, soon, all of them came out through the hole of the whomping willow tree that was still rigid.
It was almost dark now, way past Harry's curfew, but Diana didn't say anything as both of them stood side by side at the edge of the slope, staring at the majestic silhouette of the Hogwarts castle, the enchanting beauty of it magnified by double in the dark.
"I wish I could go inside there one more time, you know..." Diana said softly.
"Didn't you sneak inside once already?" Harry, wanting to make the mood a bit lighter, joked.
Smirking, she turned to him and winked playfully. "As a free woman, a free witch."
"You will." Harry said firmly. "You're innocent. Once your name is cleared you can be free again."
Looking at the younger boy's determined face, the woman was instantly and painstakingly reminded of her late friend James who literally used to be the Everest of confidence and determination among them. All of them shared so many things together- so many laughs, so many cries, so many pranks, so many detentions... so many memories. Colorful memories that eventually turned into ashened pain.
Diana looked down. "Harry," Her own godson's name rolled off her tongue like a foreign word.
To Harry, it sounded like the softest and most loved way anyone has ever called him and she had a very beautiful voice. He almost blushed.
"I don't know if anyone had told you this before but..." She was still looking down, her voice hesitant. "... you see, your parents made me your godmother when you were born..."
"I know."
"O-oh, I see."
They stayed silent for some time.
Then she started again. "You know, if we can prove that Peter was the main culprit all along... my name might be cleared again."
"Yes."
"So, being your godmother," Her voice was getting quieter by every second and Harry had to step closer to her to listen clearly. "Your parents appointed me as one of your guardians. If anything were to happen to them... I know you live with your uncle and aunt... I actually saw you there when you ran out of the house that night..."
"That goshawk! It was you?!" Harry exclaimed.
"Yes," she nodded with a playful smile but it was only for a second. "I don't know why you're not living with Sir- your godfather at the Grimmauld Place but if you... if you ever feel like wanting a different home... you know, you can think about it, once my name is cleared..."
"And what? C-come and live with you?!" Harry said, bewildered. "And leave the Dursleys?"
"Only if you want to..." Diana looked away. "Of course, I'd thought you wouldn't want to. I understand. I just thought, I'd..."
"Are you mad?" Harry exclaimed, grabbing her hand, making her look at him wide eyed. "Of course, I want to leave the Dursleys! Do you have a house? Where is it, in the muggle world or the wizarding world? You know what, I don't care. Just tell me when can I move in?"
Harry's sudden rambling astonished Diana. She really didn't expect Harry to agree with her and live with her- the truth was, she was the one who wanted to live with him. She wasn't there when her godson was growing up- she couldn't see his first day at school, she couldn't be there when he bought his first school supplies, she couldn't see when he first mounted on the broom.
She was totally absent from his own godson's life and she was getting a reminder of it every time she looked at him.
Suddenly she felt an unbelievable amount of anger towards Sirius. No, not because she had to rot twelve years in Azkaban but for totally wiping her out from Harry's life as if she didn't even exist.
She embraced Harry when he finished talking and it took the bespectacled boy surprise but he hugged her back too, although, very awkwardly.
Diana almost barked out a laugh at how awkward the boy looked, but she pursed her lips. She didn't want to make the boy even more shy.
When these two were having this heartfelt moment, Remus and Sirius were binding the now conscious Peter and Snape was reprimanding Hermione and Ron for sneaking out of the castle after the curfew. The scowling teacher probably saved it for Harry seeing the moment he was having with Diana.
Sirius and Remus looked at Harry and Diana who seemed to be deep in their own conversation.
As the long, black haired man looked at them, he suddenly couldn't help but feel like an outsider, as if he'd intrude their intimate conversation if he were to join, even though he really wanted to. He almost felt like they wouldn't want him to join- well, after what he did maybe that was his punishment.
He was the master of controlling emotions but on the inside he was completely breaking down every second that passed, every glance he took at Diana. His own mistake and blinded anger took away 12 years from her life. The woman that he once vowed to protect, he eventually became the ultimate reason for her misery and affliction.
'She isn't even looking at me...' Sirius thought, looking downwards with a clenched jaw.
After Snape was done with Ron and Hermione, he quickly went towards Peter who kept begging for not giving him to the dementors.
Hermione slowly approached Remus. Ron was sitting by the taproot of the whomping willow looking at them curiously.
"Sir?" She asked.
"Yes, Hermione?" Remus turned to his friend and Sirius also turned his attention towards her.
"May I ask you about something?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"Let me guess," Remus said with a pleasant smile on his face. "Is it about something Diana said?"
"Actually, yes, sir." She nodded. "When she said that you have a condition, did she mean that..."
Remus and Sirius raised their brows at her though the brown haired man looked a bit pale.
"... that you have lycanthropy? You're a werewolf?"
Now, Remus's face fully paled.
"How long have you known?"
"Since professor Snape set the essay."
Sirius gave a dirty look towards Snape and Remus let out a dry chortle. "Now, Hermione, you really are the brightest witch of your age I've ever met--"
Suddenly Sirius's eyes widened, as if he suddenly remembered something. "Moony! Today is a full moon. Have you taken your wolfsbane potion?"
Now everyone fell silent and Remus's face ashened. "I think I might've forgotten."
Hermione let out a shriek of fear as she saw the full moon was right about to come out from behind the clouds.
Hearing the scream, Diana and Harry snapped their heads behind them.
"Harry, we have to go now!" She said as the three of them quickly gathered together and Diana went towards Remus who started acting differently; Diana horrifyingly realized he was about to transform.
"Professor Lupin is a werewolf!" Hermione informed the other two with another shriek.
"What?!" Astounded beyond their wits, the other two gasped.
Snape quickly came in front of them as a defense, staring horrifyingly at Remus in front of him whose eyes just turned into glowing yellow and his whole figure started to transform. The potions master pushed the three kids behind his back and he stood in front of them.
Sirius was holding him back from going to the kids. "Moony! Get a hold of yourself! You don't want to hurt them, this is not who you are! Listen to your heart, Moony!"
"He's going to transform!" Diana stated urgently. "Snape, take the kids to the castle! We've got to transform too." Sirius nodded at the auburn haired woman and in an instant both of them turned into their animagus form.
A large black dog and a big brown, red eyed goshawk.
Suddenly Peter Pettigrew, not binded and fully conscious, went for Remus's wand that fell on the ground but Harry was able to quickly disarm him. But it was of no use; Peter gave them a nasty smile and turned into his animagus form and ran away.
Diana saw her best friend turned into a ruthless werewolf in front of her eyes as she and Sirius started distracting him away from the children. Suddenly they heard a cry of another werewolf and Remus quickly went that away followed by the hawk and the black dog.
Despite Snape and his friends' protest, Harry quickly slipped out of Snape's hand and ran towards the way his godparents went.
Going inside the forbidden forest, he ran around the dark forest for some time but spotted no one. Suddenly he heard rustling of leaves and saw the silhouette of the werewolf and the dog went towards another direction but he didn't see the hawk anywhere near.
Realizing that Sirius was keeping the werewolf distracted, Harry quickly went looking for Diana. Something must have happened; she wouldn't have fallen behind then for nothing.
Suddenly he saw a body lying by the bank of a lake that was flowing in the middle of the forest.
He rushed towards the place and his heartbeat fastened when he saw Diana lying on the land, her face completely waxy and lips dry and white. Feeling a bone-chilling, cold feeling from upwards, he looked up and saw in pure terror that there were at least twenty dementors flying closely above.
Harry quickly pulled out his wand and screamed, "Expecto Patronum!"
It casted a protective shield of bright light above them but it didn't last long.
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry cried again.
The shield became stronger for some time but it quickly started to die down again.
"Expecto Pat-- Expecto--"
Harry felt himself falling down beside Diana who suddenly opened her hazel eyes wide, a glint of fear and horror in them.
The dementors started sucking out her soul and eventually they started to affect Harry too.
"Sirius..." He heard her mumble but the black haired man was nowhere near. Then she let out a blood curdling scream before falling completely silent and limp.
Just right before Harry passed out, he saw a bright light in the shape of a stag standing on the other side of the lake. A patronus charm.
"Dad..." He whispered then he fainted.
_
Word count- 2811
A/N: Did you realize that both Harry and Diana called out the names of the persons they both loved dearly?
The last part was almost the same as the movie so I kinda used my shortening techniques. Hope it didn't bore you much, as I can't just ignore it or finish it in one sentence even though this is just a fanfic. You'd enjoy it better if I don't ignore these scenes. AND there will be more Sirius x Diana moments starting from the next chapter!!
I really hope you liked this chapter and don't forget to vote if you did 💛🖤💛🖤