Despite everything that had happened in the past, Sara had never imagined a future, without Sirius at her side, since the two of them had spent nearly a year, safely hiding in Grimmauld Place together.
Even when they had been on the run, Sara's worst fear at the time was being Kissed by a Dementor, losing Sirius hadn't even been an option for her.
But now she was kneeling on the cold stone floor, inside the Ministry of Magic, and Sirius was dead.
Everything around her seemed blurry, and Sara was unable to focus on anything.
She was aware that two people had run out of the room, but Sara could not tell who they were.
Sara's whole body was shaking, as tears streamed down her face, and she came very close to losing control.
There were people talking all around her, but Sara was incapable of focusing on the sounds they were making.
This was until Remus knelt down on the floor in front of her, as another figure exited the room.
"Sara. Sara, it's me. Can you hear me?" Asked Remus.
Sara was in no fit state to form a reply, instead her body fell even closer to the floor, as she clenched her fists tightly.
"Sara. Sara! Listen to me, you need to focus. You need to stay in control" reminded Remus.
Sara's head seemed to be split in two, as one side of her seemed to be losing control, and was desperately trying to fall apart over Sirius' death. While the other side of her mind tried to remind her that she couldn't lose control and transform into a dragon, in the middle of the Ministry. And the two sides kept fighting for dominence, inside her head.
Although Sara's potion usually kept her dragon side at bay, when she became stressed or emotional, it became harder for it to keep her human.
"Sara, look around the room. Look at the people in here. You can't afford to lose control in front of them, Sara" insisted Remus.
Sara gritted her teeth, and lifted up her head, to look at the other people in the room around her.
There were several Death Eaters who had been tied up by the Order members who were still in fighting condition, as well as many of Harry's friends, some of which were lying unconscious on the floor.
Sara knew that losing control, would put all those in the room, at risk, and she didn't want to do that. However, her grief over losing Sirius, was taking over her body and her thoughts.
"I- I can't. I can't keep it in" sobbed Sara, before letting out another loud scream.
Her potion was doing its job, as she wasn't in any physical pain. But this time it was her emotional pain, that was making her lose focus, and trying to make her change.
Normally, at times like this, Sara would think of her strongest memories, as that would keep her human, but thinking of those memories was only bringing her more pain.
"Sara, you can do this. I know you can. You're stronger than all of us" admitted Remus, who was still kneeling in front of her.
"I can't" cried Sara.
"You can... Think- Think of Harry. You need to stay human, for him"
"But Sirius is de-"
"Don't think about that. Think about Harry, and staying human. That is what you need to be focusing on right now".
Sara pressed her fists into her temples, hoping that the physical pain, would cement her in the present, and keep her human.
"Lupin, you need to think of something, and fast. The Ministry officials will be here any second, and we can't have her turning into a dragon in front of them" warned Kingsley.
"I- I don't know what else I can say to her. She's falling apart Kingsley, and there is nothing I can do to stop her!" Screamed Remus.
Although Sara could hear the others talking about her, their words meant nothing to her.
"If she can't stay in control. Then there is only one option left to us" admitted Kingsley, as he approached Remus and Sara.
Before Sara had a chance to react to his prescence, she felt a sharp prick in her arm, which made her start to feel very tired, and within seconds, she was fast asleep.
****
When Sara woke up, she found herself in a strange white room, with a worried looking figure beside her.
Sara tried to push herself up, but she realised that her wrist was tied to the bed she was lying in, by a metal handcuff.
"It's O.K".
Sara frowned at the figure sat next to her, whom she realised was Remus.
"What happened?" She questioned.
"You were starting to lose control. So Kingsley injected you with a sleeping Potion, that Dumbledore had given him months ago, in case of an emergancy" revealed Remus.
"That explains why I started feeling so sleepy. But that does not explain this" replied Sara, pointing at her wrist.
"Ah, well, we are currently in St Mungo's you see, and they were forced to put that on you, as a safety precaution".
Sara's heart dropped, as she suddenly realised how much danger she was now in.
"Are they going to kill me?" She questioned nervously.
"No. When the Ministry officials turned up last night, they insisted you be brought here, so that they could question you when you woke up... Since most of them saw Voldemort last night, they can't deny his existance any more. It was in the Daily Prophet this morning. And since they now know the truth, they believe everything that Dumbledore has been saying all year. Including the stuff about you and Sirius being innocent" answered Remus, pointing to the paper on Sara's bedside table.
"Sirius... He's really gone, hasn't he?" Sara asked quietly.
Remus lowered his head, and nodded.
A single tear fell down Sara's cheek, as she remembered what had happened the night before.
"Harry, is he O.K?" Sara questioned.
"Yeah, he's fine. Dumbledore protected him from Voldemort, and then again from the Ministry, by sending him back to Hogwarts last night. He also wants to come and visit you here, once the Ministry officals, who are waiting outside, have gone" admitted Remus.
"Thank Merlin he wasn't hurt" sighed Sara.
"His friends weren't too badly injured either, and Tonks will recover from her wounds soon enough as well"
"That's good... Why don't you send in the Ministry prats, so that they can say what they have to say, and then leave. Then I can see Harry"
"Are you sure you are ready to speak to them, so soon?"
"No, not really, but I want to get this over and done with as quickly as possible. So let's get this over with"
"Alright, I'll send them in, and then send Dumbledore an owl, so he can tell Harry that you're awake"
"O.K".
The Ministry's interrogations were long and repetative, but eventually they decided that Sara was not a threat, and had indeed been innoccent all along.
But Sara had to remain chained to her bed, until all the official paper work was completed, back at the Ministry.
Sara was alone in St Mungo's, despite not being injured, for the rest of the day, until Harry arrived later that evening.
"Are you alright?" Asked Harry, the second he stepped inside the room.
"I'm fine. I was not injured in the fight. I was just knocked unconscious by Kingsley, to stop me from hurting anyone" revealed Sara.
Harry approached her bed, and frowned when he saw the chain around her wrist.
"They're treating you like a prisoner" he growled.
"Apparently it's just a formaility at this point. But the Ministry have said I will be freed, and have my wand returned, once all the necessary paperwork is complete" replied Sara.
"Right... Once you're out of here, will you be going back to Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked curiously.
"No, it won't be safe for me or any of the Order to go back there. The house will most likely fall to Sirius' next closest relative, which is his oldest cousin, Bellatrix. Unless he managed to alter this, before dying, which I wouldn't put passed him" sighed Sara.
"No, it can't go to her!" Snapped Harry.
"I'm afraid that's the way things work Harry, and there's nothing we can do to change it... Not that I would want to go back there without Sirius"
"Then where will you go? To Lupin's?"
"No. I definately won't go and live with Remus, as that would take us right back to where we were after your parents died, which was not a good place"
"Don't you have your own house somewhere?"
"Not really. Me and Remus lived together in a cottage, for a few years, but I could never go back there again... I guess I could go to my friend Mary's for a while. She let me stay there before, so she might do the same again, now that I'm not a wanted criminal".
"Do you think it's my fault, what happened to Sirius?" Harry asked quietly.
"No. Harry, listen to me, Sirius' death was not your fault" insisted Sara.
"But it was. I went to the Ministry, and you followed. I led him to his death"
"You didn't know that was going to happen. You thought you were going there to save us, remember. Everyone wanted me and Sirius to stay behind in Grimmauld Place, but we both refused. We chose to go after you. Nothing was going to stop Sirius and I, from coming to your aid...
Besides, if Dumbledore had let us tell you that Voldemort might have tried to lure you there, then none of this would have happened...
We wanted to tell you the truth Harry, especially last summer, but Dumbledore made us swear not to. During the first war, Dumbledore was all we had. He created the Order of the Phoenix, and we all relied on him, he was our light in the darkness. Which is why we all find it so hard to go against his wishes.
So I guess it is all our fault, for not warning you about Voldemort".
"It wasn't your fault Sara. You were just following Dumbledore's instructions" Harry said quietly.
"Maybe. But I keep replaying his death in my mind, and I wish that I had joined him in his fight against Bellatrix, then prehaps he wouldn't have died" admitted Sara sadly.
"I don't think it's good for either of us to think about what could have happened"
"No, I guess not... How are you coping with all this? I didn't ask"
"I'm fi... I don't know how I'm feeling"
"That's O.K. It is O.K to feel like this... James and Lily might kill me for saying this, but Sirius and me saw you as our surrogate son. And I hope you know how much Sirius loved you... Although I'm sure you love your parents, you don't remember them. Sirius is the first person you have lost, that you have memories of. So is perfectly understandable to feel sad, Harry".
Tears began to slide down Harry's face, and Sara threw her arms around him, as best she could, with one hand tide to the bed.
"It's alright. It's alright to cry... I'm here" she said softly, as she too began to cry.
The pair of them stood there for ages in each others arms, holding each other as they both cried for Sirius.
He had been a father figure for Harry, and a best friend and lover for Sara. And neither of them knew how they were going to cope, without him in their lives.