The Godmother

21. all that is left is the sky

Elizabeth crawled through the tiny tunnel with Harry ahead of her and Sirius behind her. Harry pressed the knot in the roots of the Whomping Willow as they exited.

The smell of fresh grass and clean air was enough motivation to get Elizabeth to throw herself into a sprint as they rushed down the hill. She was beyond elated knowing that Harry trusted her with the truth, and even more happy that he wasn't yet showing signs that he was angry or the slightest bit mad at her. She knew that it could all change.

"How are we going to get out?", Harry asked as they ran across the field. They were running toward the entrance of the pathway to Sirius' tent. The night was dark and the moon wasn't out yet, so they were well-hidden from anyone who was looking down at the grass.

"Accio broomsticks!", Sirius suddenly shouted, his wand was raised high in the air. He jolted to a stop, signalling for Elizabeth and Harry to stop as well. They waited for a few seconds, and all at once, three broomsticks came flying into view. They froze right in front of the trio, upright and ready to be mounted.

All three grabbed the broomsticks and mounted it. They shot into the night sky.

It was warm on the ground, but suddenly freezing in the air as the wind lashed past them at an impeccable rate. It stung Elizabeth's cheeks and made her hair twirl wildly behind her head. Her fingers felt like they were freezing off at the end of the broomstick.

They flew above the Forbidden Forest, darting past the blur of trees and towards a steep, tall mountain.

"FOLLOW ME", Sirius shouted above the hiss of the wind.

Elizabeth felt free. She felt unchained and unbound. The secrets were all off her chest. Everything was in its right place. She felt like she could let go and she'd be fine. Everything was going to be fine.

Sirius led them down into the centre of the mountain, underneath a thick cluster of trees and rocks. They landed sharply on the earth and dismounted from their brooms. Sirius lit his wand so that they could see where they were.

It was a dense gathering of trees and seemed to be on the edge of a steep drop-off. It was enough room to comfortably move around or even camp if they had to. The smell of pine and fresh air infused in Elizabeth's nostrils as she looked around. There was nothing but bark and dirt for days.

Elizabeth paced over to Sirius and grabbed either side of his cheeks, planting a kiss firmly on his lips. He seemed stunned but smiled as Elizabeth stepped back. "We did it", Elizabeth whispered. Sirius laughed heartedly and kissed her again. She felt invincible. Undefeatable.

Elizabeth turned to look at Harry. "The truth", she said matter-of-factly. Harry nodded. Elizabeth felt Sirius at her side.

"All of it. No lies", Harry said. "Why didn't anyone tell me that I had an Aunt?", he asked.

Elizabeth took a breath. She was afraid of this part. Harry needed to know the details. She prayed the Athena that he wouldn't hate her.

"When your parents died, Sirius and I were there. After Peter blew up the town square and they took Sirius away, I went back to the house. When I got there, Dumbledore and Severus- Professor Snape- were already there", she explained.

"Professor Snape was at my house?", Harry asked.

"He was dearest friends with your mother, Harry", she said. Harry was shocked. "Severus loved Lily. He hated James and Sirius-".

"Then again, he was a daft asshole", Sirius butted-in. Elizabeth smacked his shoulder.

"Shut up, I'm story-telling", Elizabeth said. Harry laughed. "Dumbledore told me that he didn't believe Voldemort was truly dead. Afterall, how can a wizard who had an army and proclaimed immortality just simply die at the hand of an infant- you", she said. "He warned me that having an Aunt could have caused you more trouble than what I was worth. He thought that Voldemort might one day use me to lure you out. To capture you and torture you. On top of that, I would have been arrested for my war crimes", Elizabeth explained.

"War crimes?", Harry repeated.

"Yes... it was a long time ago, Harry. I'll spare you the details some other time when you're older", Elizabeth said. Harry looked back at her partly frustrated partly scared. "There were other reasons too. Bigger ones."

"What are they?", Harry asked. Elizabeth was reluctant. "The whole truth, remember?", Harry said.

"I'm a basket-case, Harry", Elizabeth said. "I watched my brother and best friend die, then my fiancée was carted off to Azkaban despite being innocent, I was betrayed by one of my best friends and the last best friend decided to run away from the face of the earth", she said. "I'm talking about Professor Lupin, of course." Harry nodded. "It was survivors guilt in ways. I was the last one standing. The only one left. It drove me away from reality. From you. All I wanted to do was hide because I thought it was the best way that I could protect you. By doing it from afar... So the answer to your question, Harry, is that I faked my death, much cowardly like Peter, and ran and hid".

"I don't think its cowardly", Harry objected. Elizabeth smiled kindly.

"Thank you, Harry. I forget sometimes how much like your mother you are. The Potter genes mostly consist of raging idiocy and bravery mixed into one", she sighed, "that is something I see too much in you."

Harry smiled proudly. Shamelessly.

"And you understand why I couldn't tell you about myself during the school year, right?", she asked. Harry shook his head. "I- I wanted to tell you, desperately-... but... I didn't know what you'd say, whether you would hate me or not...".

"Oh", said Harry. "What about you, Sirius... you've been out all this time, why didn't you say something?"

Sirius snorted. "It took a psychotic ex-Death Eater to convince you that I was innocent, Kid. You think if I came up to you and told you that I was your Godfather that you'd believe it without screaming off to Dumbledore?", he asked.

"I guess not", Harry shrugged, a dumb smile on his face. Sirius laughed and nudged Harry's shoulder.

"Don't stress about it, Kid. It was all due in time", he said with a sigh.

Harry smiled at Sirius and looked down at his feet. They stood in silence for a few moments before Harry asked, "What now?"

"You'll go back to Hogwarts, Harry", Elizabeth said. Harry looked back at her in horror.

"You're sending me back to school?", he asked, shocked.

"Well, what else are we going to do?", Sirius asked, almost sarcastically.

"I- I don't know! I can't go back there! I don't want to leave- what if-".

"They're not going to catch us, Harry", Sirius said calmly, shaking his head. Harry froze and watched Sirius carefully.

"You don't know that, Sirius", he said. "You're the only family I have left."

"Harry", Elizabeth said. She put a hand on his shoulder and looked deeply into his eyes. All that she saw was Lily. "We're not going to leave you... You don't need to worry about that anymore", she said carefully. Harry swallowed and nodded slowly. "You'll go back to Hogwarts and then go to your Aunt Petunia's on the holidays", she instructed. Harry cringed at Petunia's name.

"Can't I stay with you?", he asked. Elizabeth looked at him and bit her lip.

"I'll try, Harry", she offered. Harry gobbled the words up and nodded. "I'll write to you-"

"You're not coming back!", he said, even louder this time. Elizabeth shook her head.

He shifted slightly, then suddenly flung himself into Elizabeth's chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. The feeling was warm and ecstatic. Elizabeth felt like she'd lost the ability to breathe. Somehow, holding Harry, felt like she was holding her child. The baby that she'd lost.

All the care and worry in the world suddenly came tumbling onto her, and all Elizabeth wanted to do was shield Harry from the world. She felt Sirius wrap himself behind Harry and hug Elizabeth so that Harry was sandwiched in between them. It was warm. It was good. For the first time in a long time, Elizabeth had a family. It was the first time in a long time for Harry and Sirius, too.

And in that moment, everything was well. Despite it being a goodbye, the feeling of family struck through them unlike any other. It was good. It was pure. All was well.

Now, all that was left was the sky.