Tomorrow.
Demain.
Gwen sits on the edge of her bed, staring at the wall. Tomorrow. Today was tomorrow, tomorrow would be the next day. The day after that would be tomorrow too. But this tomorrow, the one she and Sirius had spoken about so hopefully in the daylight yesterday and the day before and would speak of again tomorrow, it seemed a chimeric dream. Tomorrow. They kept saying tomorrow, again and again. Why did today, the tomorrow she'd spoken of yet again, feel like it had yet to truly arrive?
What always approaches, but never arrives?
Tomorrow.
Demain.
"Inferi, do you know where..." Sirius slips past the half open door and trails off slowly, the words he was going to say easily forgotten at the sight of his favorite being staring perplexedly at the wall. Gwen stares at that wall, puzzling pieces of consciousness in her mind. Something was not right. Something was horribly wrong. Her brows pull together, voice flat, "What are four days of the week that start with the letter 'T'?"
"What?" Sirius chuckles at the riddle, tilting his head to the side. Gwen doesn't move however, her lips covering her teeth and pressing into a thin line. He settles in next to her asking playfully, "Is this because we haven't gotten hitched yet, Whitlock? You said Dumbledore was going to reply--"
"Today, Tomorrow, Tuesday, and Thursday," Gwen rattles off calmly, though her nails dig into the flesh of her palms as something unsettling cloaks her like a blanket. She slowly turns her head to face Sirius' confused expression. It wasn't about how they hadn't gotten married yet. They had been saying 'Tomorrow' for nearly a year. But the Tomorrow that had yet to arrive today felt like it never would. Like it was suspended in dark space. Gwen inhales slowly, "That's the answer. Sirius, today is tomorrow. Today is Tuesday." She pauses to swallow past the lump in her throat. "Today is Tuesday and Albus was meant to be here. Albus said he would be here."
"I don't understand," Sirius replies, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed as he tries to unravel her riddle. Gwen shakes her head, standing and insisting, "Something is wrong. Something is wrong. He was supposed to--" Her voice stops short when she hears a knocking sound below. She hurries past Sirius, skipping the steps two at a time as she rushes to the front door. She's just about to throw it open when she hears the knocking again, spinning on her heel and heading into the kitchen. She freezes in the doorway, staring silently at the pelican that sits on the back of one of her chairs. Sirius' strides over to her after thundering down the stairs, concern heavy in his voice, "What do you mean, Gwen? What is it?"
He looks at her side profile for a few long moments, eyes tracing her face before following where her pale gaze is pointed at her pelican. His lips purse into a frown, "Where's the letter?"
"What letter?" Gwen asks softly, eyes still locked onto the sea faring bird staring back at her.
Sirius gestures towards the pelican, "James and I always send letters on Tuesday. That way we don't have to sign our names, because we always know on Tuesdays." He pauses, looking thoughtful before his eyes falter and he says, "James sends a letter every Tuesday and once I know he's okay... I check on Peter."
His words become a whisper amongst waves, drowned by realization and horror that builds and builds until the two of them turn from the bird in her small kitchen and stare at each other with recognition. Gwen's hands shake slightly, Sirius' face grows pale. She sucks in a shaky breath, exhaling, "Tomorrow. Today is tomorrow. Today is Tuesday."
The two of them turn and race back up the stairs, Sirius already frantically saying, "We have to get to them. We have to go, Gwen." Gwen follows after him, shedding her pajamas halfway down the hall and ripping open the drawers of her dresser as soon as she's back inside their room. She tugs on the first shirt she finds, wriggling into pants and shoving her shoes onto her feet. "Wand," She says passively, tossing Sirius' behind her and shoving her own into her pocket. She turns, taking his already outstretched hand and clenching her eyes shut as time and space squeeze and pull at her body and mind.
They land with considerable force, Gwen's knees hitting the ground and skidding slightly. Sirius' hands reach under her arms, hurriedly pulling her to her feet and whispering, "Mon ange--"
"I'm fine," She says briskly despite the raw skin on her knees, grabbing one of his hands and lacing their fingers together. The world seems mockingly bright today, the trees finally changing their colors to match the autumn air. She nods at Sirius' questioning expression, reassuring, "I'm fine."
He squeezes her hand tight, staring down at her with despair creeping up from the corners of his eyes. Gwen wipes it away with her free hand, swiping at the streaks across his face as he mumbles uncertainly, "I-I have to tell you the secret. I have to tell you where we are so that we can get to them."
She nods her head up and down slowly. Time wasn't on their side, and yet the sense that tomorrow hadn't arrived yet kept her from insisting he say this all faster. She steps closer to him, clenches her eyes shut when his head lowers and his lips brush her ears, "Godric's Hollow. We're in--They live in Godric's Hollow."
Air fills her lungs, and then they're moving again, rushing forwards past the houses that line the streets. Any other day, any other time, Gwen would want to stop and admire its beauty. Dorcas would want to stop too, to tell her about the history of the village. Marlene would want to find out if they had a decent pub or any town stories that could rival the Celtic myths she would tell around late night fires. It was beautiful, a perfect place for Lily to step out into the town square and read a good book. A place for James to run wild and meet and befriend new people. Gwen is sickened by the beauty of it, sickened by time.
Sirius pulls her along, shoving past muggles and dodging groups of children playing. It was still early. It was early tomorrow, early Tuesday. Maybe James just hadn't sent his letter yet. Maybe he and Lily had been up all night taking care of Harry and had yet to sit down and write about their days in Godric's Hollow.
A loud curse sounds from Sirius as the Muggles seem to only multiply, his grip on her growing tighter as the venture deeper into the village. Her heart seems to slow when the crowd around them swells just as they round the corner.
There, swarming with Muggles, is the tattered remains of tomorrow.
Gwen and Sirius slow to a stop, their bodies jostled around by Muggles seemingly desperate to get a closer look at the ruins of a family home. Sirius inhales sharply. Gwen blinks as if to clear up the mirage in front of her. No.
No.
A broken cry forms in her chest and dies out on her tongue. No. This was a mistake. Sirius must be wrong. But his shaking shoulders tell the horrible truth that she so desperately wants to ignore. Lily. Her lily. She stares at the smoldering rubble, the cracked wooden beams. She stares like she's waiting to see a flash of fiery hair and a triumphant smile. Lily would be the one to finally get Gwen. She was smart, she was determined, she was tenacious despite how difficult it could be to understand the Veela that had befriended her their first year.
Of all the people Gwen had come to know in her life, the one the she expected to predict her thoughts and challenge her the most, was Lily Evans.
Sirius lets go of her hand, pushing through the crowd to talk to someone just outside of her peripheral vision. She sees a flash of a rather bushy beard, squared shoulders that match a hulking stature. She doesn't care. She doesn't really see. Because she's too busy looking for James.
James.
Gwen slowly lifts a hand, rubbing the back of it against her cheek. It rids her of silent tears. It tells her that she's awake, that this isn't a dream. She blinks again, dizzied by her strained attempts to conjure an image of James walking from the smoke with soot smeared across his forehead. His glasses would be askew, his grin would be slightly crooked, like he was waiting to see if Gwen was pleased with his dramatic appearance. Then James would stop. He would stop and stretch out his arms, his smirk fading to a sweet, dimpled smile. James would look at her, he would see her standing amongst confused muggles and say simply, happily, "Love."
James would greet her with love. James would be alive. If this were a dream, James would be alive and she would hug him till her bones ached and her heart sang. They would spend hours discussing his pranks and how she hadn't seen this one coming. He would ask her for a riddle or a story, and Gwen would give it to him gladly. James, her brother. Her best friend. The Marauder that had won her heart with a carelessness that she felt kinship with. James. Love.
Love.
I don't want to leave you, love. I don't want you to leave me.
"Gwen. Gwen!"
She rips her eyes away from the remains of so much love, lips parted slightly in a voiceless scream that simply refuses to leave her. Sirius' eyes are wide, frantic. Angry. He shakes so badly she fears he may fall over, her hands reaching out to steady him. To steady herself. She nearly vomits out the question she's afraid to ask. Did he get close enough to see their dead friends? Had he gotten closer while she stood frozen in time and dreamt of an existence where James and Lily would be alive? She didn't ask. She didn't want to see their bodies.
Sirius speaks to her hurriedly, "Hagrid has Harry. I want you to go with him. He's going to Grimmauld Place to get the motorcycle and I need you to go with them and--"
"No," Gwen says faintly, passively. Sirius searches her glassy eyes, follows the scrawl of words written across her face in tears. If she could see them, she wondered what it would read. Devastation? Despair? Fear? She wasn't sure. She shakes her head, saying firmly, "No. You need to tell me what is going on. You need to tell me how James and Lily are gone."
"Peter," Sirius chokes on venomous words, spitting hatred and determination. Gwen blinks at him, listening with ears half-muffled by grief, "I-I told James to make him the secret keeper instead. I was--I had been from the beginning but it was getting riskier and James--" His voice cracks and Gwen's hands slip down to find his. She holds onto them tightly.
"It's okay. Sirius, it's going to be okay."
He shakes his head, a fresh set of tears falling from each eye in unison. Gwen's grip grows tighter, breaths shorter, "Dumbledore must know. He must know and thats why he didn't show up, because he's going after Peter." She isn't sure who she's explaining her reasoning to. Herself, perhaps. Dumbledore must know, she was certain of it. She was certain the headmaster would have predicted the things she couldn't, would have planned for the things she hadn't. Albus Dumbledore knew that someone had revealed the location of James and Lily and Harry, and he was going to find that person. He had to know the things she didn't. He had to. Gwen pauses, blinking rapidly.
But she still knew some things. Dumbledore knew things she didn't. She knew things that Dumbledore didn't. Tomorrow she would try to understand how she had missed this. Today she could only be glad that she understood enough.
Her eyes grow wide, head whipping up to stare at Sirius. He wipes his cheek on the shoulder of his shirt, seemingly understanding that the veela was putting something together. He doesn't ask questions when she begins weaving through the crowd again, pulling them away from the carnage that neither would forget anytime soon.
"Peter," She starts, bile rising at the thought of the sweet boy. A traitor. She'd missed it. She'd accused Alice Longbottom of keeping secrets, of sharing secrets she shouldn't, when the whole time it had been Peter. She shakes her head, starting over, "Peter said he wants to move out of that village, out of his mothers house. He wants to be on his own, make something of himself."
"Gwen," Sirius pleads from behind her, anguish heavy in his voice and her heart. She forces herself to breath again, forces the racing in her mind to slow so that she can call over his shoulder, "London, Sirius. That candy shop, his fresh start. He's confident now, he feels brave. He wants to get away from his mom, be on his own in a city. London. He's got a place in London already. Thats where he's hiding."
She stops sharply in an alley between two homes, "He's stepping out on his own. Betraying you, betraying them. He's been hinting at it this whole time, distancing himself from everyone. When was the last time he went to an Order meeting? When was the last time he fought a damned death eater?!"
Sirius stares at her in surprise, shaking his head slowly. A ripple of raw fury crosses his face. Betrayal quickly replaces pain, and Gwen pictures the place Peter had once described to her in such great detail. Sirius holds onto her without another word or question, and the two of them apparate away from Godric's Hollow. Away from the final resting place of their friends.
London. 1,583 square kilometers for a rat to hide. Tomorrow didn't seem so far away.
Gwen knew exactly where he would be.
{{ Love </3. I'm 99% sure that the next chapter will be the last. To those of you that have stuck with me this whole time (yes, I know this story is longer than most!) thank you. Your dedication to this story and these characters is the greatest compliment in the world. I love you. We'll get through the end together <3 I'm probably gonna bawl my eyes out while writing it.}}