I inhaled sharply as I stared at the escapee as my jaw fell open. A scream crawled its way up my throat, but before it was unleashed into the night, Sirius's hand covered my mouth, preventing any noise from escaping. My eyes widened even more at the action.
"Please don't scream." He pleaded. "I won't hurt you, but please don't scream." He said. "I'm slowly going to remove my hand, you won't yell if I do?"
I'm not sure what compelled me to but I found myself nodding, agreeing to his terms. Cautiously, Sirius retracted his hand, as my eyes followed his every movement, because I was petrified onto the spot with shock and fear. He rubbed the back of his neck,
"Maybe, let's talk in a more private place." Only when Sirius's hand was enclosed around my wrist, trying to tug me along did I regain my senses.
"No." I started shaking my head as I attempted to free myself. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
Sirius closed his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Rubi, I know you don't trust me, but it's important for you to hear me out."
Those words were all it took for my fear to vanish instantly as a raging fire was alight in me. My hands balled into fists, as my hair turned the deepest shade of red. Sirius sensed the change as he alarmingly released my hand and carefully backed away.
"Hear you out? You want me to listen to you cook up some story so I will believe you?! You want me to listen to you about how you justify the crime you committed?!" I shouted at him fiercely.
Sirius' head hung in almost what seemed like shame and guilt. When he moved his head back up to meet my eyes, they were puffy and red.
"I know how you feel about me, but if you would just let me explain everything to you, I can assure you that I'm innocent." His voice was croaky and cracked near the end.
I shut my eyes tightly as I breathed to help lower the fire within. Opening my eyes, I weighed my options as I looked at Sirius.
Well, he's wandless. He can transform into a dog, and maybe he might be carrying a weapon with him, but with a wand I could probably stop him. Plus, I have the map and cloak.
I sighed. "Fine, but make it quick." His face lit up like a little child presented with candy. "But," Sirius' happiness dimmed a bit, "any funny business and I'll immediately report you."
"Done." He said. "Follow me."
I pointed my wand at the map in my hand. "Mischief Managed." The map once more, resembled nothing but a tattered old piece of parchment, and I pocketed it. Bending down and grabbing the cloak, I straightened myself before following the raven haired man from a safe distance, whilst gripping my wand tightly. Confusion washed over me as we came to a halt by the large, dangerous Whomping willow, which had begun its movement to attack when suddenly it stopped.
"Amazing, right?"
Hearing the voice, I wiped the awe off my face, allowing a mask to conceal my emotions as I found Sirius studying me.
"Let's get this over with." I spoke bitterly. I realised he was holding a long stick that was touching a certain knot on the roots, freezing the majestic tree entirely. Sirius moved toward an opening in the trunk, large enough to let a human through. He bent down and vanished from sight.
I hope I won't regret this.
With that final thought, I copied his action. I slid down and hit the ground with a thud. Padfoot greeted me and led me down a tunnel, the farther we walked the more narrow it got causing me to bend down to avoid hitting my head. After what seemed like ages, an opening appeared and Padfoot climbed out, while I followed suit. My head came up and the view was strange.
The location seemed like a house almost, but what baffled me was the wrecked furniture with bite marks and bizarre markings on the walls.
Claw marks. I thought as I straightened myself. I mentally face-palmed.
You, idiot! Remus just mentioned this today, It's the Shrieking Shack and all of this must be from when he transformed in here.
My eyes trailed along the room until they landed on Sirius, who I'd nearly forgotten was present in the same surroundings as me. I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at him.
"What do you have to say? And, don't play any tricks, I'm well prepared for them."
It was mostly true. I had learnt a few muggle fighting techniques from Mum, more for fun than real use, and considering my intelligence in school I could probably keep him at bay long enough to get help, if he attempted to attack me.
Sirius ran a hand through his already messy hair. "OK, so first of all, how is Fiona?"
I gaped at him, as anger rose within me. After all he's done, he still has the audacity to ask how my Mum is?
"Oh, she's great!" I started saying sarcastically. "I mean, why wouldn't she be? She lost her twin and best friend." I began numbering the list on my fingers. "She narrowly escaped an attack that same night." Sirius's eyes widened at this statement. "Her husband turned his back on her." Guilt and regret washed over his face, but I didn't stop there. "She had to raise a child on her own, while fighting to get custody of her only nephew through Dumbledore, but to no avail. She limited contact with the Wizarding world, and cut out anyone that cared for her and attempted to home-school her daughter. Oh yes, she's definitely great!" I finished with a wave of my hands as I stared down the male Black, who held an expression of devastation upon hearing of his wife's situation.
How is he so good at making it look so believable?! No wonder no one apart from Remus suspected him as the traitor.
Sirius once again ran a hand through his hair. "If I hadn't been so stupid, none of this would have happened." He muttered, pacing back and forth.
"Actually," I said loudly, catching his attention. "If you hadn't entered our lives, none of this would have happened!"
To my surprise, his face broke into a small, humorous smile. "You do realise if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been born?" He finished smugly.
My eyes widened in disbelief at the joke. "I- what?"
"Sorry, not the time." He cheekily said. Sirius was behaving as we'd known each other for ages, and this was just a normal occurrence. His face turned serious again. "Listen, tell me exactly what happened that night on Hallowe'en."
I scoffed. "Like you don't already know."
Sirius's face darkened. "Rubi, tell me what happened." He repeated a little more aggressively, due to which I flinched.
"OK, you want to know? Fine, then listen, although none of this should be news to you." I huffed. "You," I pointed a finger at Sirius accusingly, "left that night and when you came back, you bloody attempted to kill me!" I yelled.
Sirius's face drained of all colour as his eyes widened and his hands slightly shook. "But I didn't - it's not possible - I-"
"You," I cut across him, "also tried to murder my mother and if it hadn't been for Mum's quick thinking, the two of us would have died that night!"
The Azkaban escapee slowly inched towards a wobbly chair and sat down, hunching over Sirius covered his face with his hand. Silence overtook as I stood there, watching the man while he seemed to be processing this new information. After a few moments, Sirius slowly moved to face me.
"Rubi, I didn't - I swear it wasn't-"
I threw my head back as a cold, mocking laugh escaped my lips. "Sure you didn't, just like how you weren't the Secret Keeper, and how you didn't rat out both families!"
Sirius's gaze was transfixed on me, before he broke away with a sad sigh. "It's my fault." His voice cracked. "It's all my fault, if I hadn't convinced James and Lily to switch from me to Peter as the Secret Keeper, none of this would have happened." He muttered miserably.
This caught me off guard, and although I shouldn't have, a small glimmer of truth seemed to be behind his words.
"W-what?"
Sirius sighed once again as he stared at the wall ahead. "Let me tell you what really happened that night."
Sirius's Flashback
"Sirius, please don't go."
Fiona's eyes brimmed with tears. With my thumb, I brushed away a single tear that escaped and rolled down her cheek. Looking into her brown eyes, I told her,
"I promise I'll be back quick, but it's important for me to go."
She shook her head, "But-"
I cut her off as I smashed my lips with hers, gently kissing her, reassuringly. We slowly opened our eyes as we broke apart. I placed a hand on her cheek as Fiona leaned into the touch.
"I'll be back soon, love."
I pressed a kiss onto my wife's forehead before I turned around and without another word, I exited the house. Walking over to my flying motorbike, I swung a leg over before kicking the engine to life and departed towards the sky.
I wonder what Peter is doing. I thought as the night breeze nipped at my skin.
***
"What have I done?" The once joyful, full of life Potter house was now nothing more than a wreckage, haunting the soul. A hand thumped my back, and with that Hagrid made a leave on my motorbike with Harry, seeing he had his orders from Dumbledore and wouldn't allow me to take my godson.
I watched as Hagrid grew smaller and smaller in the night sky, before a cloud shifted and they disappeared. I didn't dare look back at James and Lily's house, knowing the sight would only keep me rooted there when I had to get back.
My face paled even more, if that was possible, as the mere thought of what may greet me at my own home numbed my whole body.
"Please be alright, I can't lose my wife and daughter too." Concentrating on the house, I turned on the spot and I was being plunged into a whirlwind of darkness. My two feet landed with a thud on the ground, and not sparing a second I sprinted towards the door.
Grabbing the shiny doorknob, I twisted it to the side only to realise the door was already open.
What if I'm too late? Shaking away the gut-wrenching thought, I barged in.
"Fiona! Rubina!" I shouted as my feet carried me into the sitting room, only to find it empty.
My heart began racing faster. "Fiona!" I yelled as I stumbled up the stairs, thrusting each door open on the landing, only to fear the worst of what may be on the other side. Tears began streaking down my face yet again, as I halted in the sitting room after thoroughly searching the entire house but to no avail.
I ran a hand through my hair as I paced worriedly. "They're not here. What if the death eaters took them? What if they're..."
I froze as my eyes landed on a shattered vase, and the small, brown table toppled over, the only difference in the landscape. I felt my knees give way.
"They took my family, where do I look? Who would know?" My jaw hardened. "Peter, that traitor must know where they are and if not, he still has to pay for his crime."
With my target set, I ventured out to locate the rat.
Rubina's Point Of View
My lip trembled as tears pricked my eyes.
Could he be telling the truth?
"Afterwards, I finally caught up to Peter, but that bastard blasted the whole street, and cut off his finger before transforming into a rat and escaping. Then the Ministry showed up and took me away." Sirius spoke bitterly. "All those years in Azkaban," he said in a pained voice, "I couldn't understand how it all went wrong. I didn't know if you or Fiona were still alive and it was constantly bothering me, but when I saw you that night in September, a new hope lit up in me. I wasn't sure if it was really you, but using my Animagus form I was able to get close, and when I realised that you're my daughter, it was the best feeling on earth, knowing that you and Fiona were both safe."
My gaze was transfixed on the wall, staring into nothingness as countless thoughts ran through my head, making the whole situation more baffling. I shook my head rather aggressively, "I'm not saying I believe you since you don't have the evidence and I believe what mum told me," Sirius' grey eyes dimmed, "but I also don't think you're lying." His eyes lit back up a bit. I sighed heavily as I rubbed my temples. "I-I need some time to wrap my head around this."
With that, I pulled out the map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
"Could I see that, quickly?" Sirius was eyeing the map with a strange expression.
"No, I don't trust you."
His shoulders slumped in defeat. "As I thought, but if I could just search the map for P-"
"No means no, besides I need to head back before Remus finds this missing and he'll know exactly who took it, if he does."
Sirius perked up. "Remus? Is he here?"
I slightly smiled at the mention of my godfather despite the situation. "Yeah, he's the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, and he does a damn well job of teaching the class."
Sirius also smiled. "We always used to tease Moony about how he'd end up with a teaching job, surprisingly it turned out to be true."
The smile was wiped off my face as I suddenly realised who I was talking to. I moved towards the entrance of the tunnel but stopped and turned my head, "Don't try to contact me again, you're lucky I didn't tell anyone, and I-I'll leave some food near the Whomping Willow whenever I can because I'm not a heartless person like you." With those final words, I put on the cloak concealing myself, and I descended into the tunnel, not looking back at the raven haired man.
Hey!
Here's the next chapter, and please let me know what you think. Also, I loved the little moment between Fiona and Sirius, and now we know Sirius's side of the story. The flashback was originally longer, but I shortened it and also excluded the part where he sees James and Lily. :( (Maybe it was better to leave it out, reading about Jily's deaths just makes me sad) Hopefully PoA will be done within the next five chapters and then I can start writing about the summer!! I'm excited for the summer!
Have a good day, Potterheads! :)