The Other One | Sirius Black

Chapter 58 - Breathe

Thunder could be heard outside the room. Joanna was bound to a rickety chair, her hands behind her back. She could only move her bruised legs, but she was too tired to use them for anything. The cloth over her mouth left a red imprint from her calling for help even though she knew the room was cast with the Muffliato charm. She only stopped shouting when it started to rain. It would be truly futile at that point.

Three motionless bodies floated above the table in front of her. She could barely keep her eyes open, but she was able to make out the faint rise and fall of their chests.

Bellatrix asked in a sing-song tone, "Tell me where the bastard is, Joanna!"

"Never!" She replied, but no words escaped her mouth. All she could do was ball up her fists.

"You leave me no choice, darling..." The curly-haired witch cackled as her hand reached for her wand.

She pleaded, tears streaming down her face, "No, don't hurt them, hurt me!" It seemed Bellatrix heard that because she then tutted, "How selfless of you. A nice gesture, but keeping you for the show is much more fun." A green light was emitted from the wooden stick. The bodies fell to the floor. Their chests no longer rose and fell. Her cry was drowned out by the lightning that struck. A light almost as blinding as the one from Bellatrix blanketed the room.

"Jo! It's just a dream," she opened her eyes to find Sirius hovering over her, her hands tightly clenched to his shoulders.

She had gotten the wind knocked out of her. She frantically eyed her room. Animated posters adorned the walls and only the rustling of tree branches could be heard outside.

Sirius gently raised her chin to meet his gaze, "Hey, it's just me, alright?"

She weakly nodded. "It's not real, love. Breathe," she heard him say.

Jo buried her head in his chest before echoing, "It's just you."

His steady heartbeat slowly brought her back to reality. She looked up at him to see if he was still alive. To make sure her mind wasn't playing games with her again.

Those same grey eyes looked at her when the phoenix disrupted their happiness. And when they apparated to Hogwarts. And when they noticed James and Lily in Dumbledore's office with a sleeping Harry in her sister's arms.

Jo asked, "What's going on? We visited yesterday -- wi-with permission. Everything was okay."

Before James could open his mouth, Dumbledore suggested, "Before you continue, James, this is a life-changing revelation that will affect your family. Are you comfortable with Mr. Black being in here?"

Joanna latched onto Sirius's arm as her brother spoke, "Sirius is family. Always has been, always will be."

Dumbledore proceeded, "Of course. You must understand we need to keep this as confidential as we can."

Sirius voiced, "Merlin, what's so important we need to keep this confidential?"

Lily was gently rocking the baby, "Some information concerning how to defeat You-Know-Who has surfaced." If Lily was nervous, she certainly didn't show it; her voice could have soothed Jo to sleep right there.

"Ok, that's great. What do you have to do with it?" Sirius was tapping his left foot on the tile floor.

Jo's face was splashed with sobriety when James blurted, "It's Harry. Harry is involved somehow."

She pointed at her nephew, "But he's only a baby. Ho-how is he..." She didn't finish. Her hands dropped to her sides.

Sirius continued, "What does this mean? For you guys? For us?"

Dumbledore explained, not a quiver in his voice, "They will have to go into hiding. Officially this time which means no more 'monitored' visits, I'm afraid. They can't risk staying at your parents' house."

"Hiding? But we just got them back!" Jo whined, her eyes sparkling.

How often had they visited? Four times? Five? Certainly not enough to make up for the time they wouldn't see each other after this. I shouldn't have fought with James. We could have seen them more. Harry hasn't even said his first word yet.

"They have to be sent away to be able to raise Harry until he is of age. Or if we can find another way to defeat Riddle," the old wizard elaborated.

With his head leaning on the wall, Sirius whispered, "Fuck."

"Not 'if you can find another way' when you'll find another way. You can't put this burden -- whatever it is -- on him. He's only a baby," Jo countered.

Dumbledore reasoned, "Joanna, keep in mind these measures are exactly for his safety and that of James and Lily. Until we discover a different solution, we cannot risk them getting found."

His gaze was unwavering from his seat on the cluttered desk. His blue robes were sprawled atop fizzing whizbees and lemon sherbets. It was as if he was dealing with the school's bully setting off a dungbomb in the girls' bathroom and not a 'life-altering revelation' about her family as he had put it. How could he remain so calm? Jo wanted to shout.

Squeezing James's shoulder, Sirius asked, "In that case, I'll do anything to help. "

"I assume you know what a Secret Keeper is?" Dumbledore lowered his half-moon spectacles.

Jo's eyes lit up as she responded, "We'll do it. I know I will." Sirius nodded in response.

Jo knew they would take the secret to the grave. If it meant saving their family.

Dumbledore faced the young parents, "James, Lily you have to be completely sure. Do you trust Joanna and Sirius to be your Secret Keepers?"

"I wouldn't choose anyone else. They'll take this secret to the grave." James answered while Lily almost whispered while looking down at her son's resting face, "They're family."

James's hazel eyes fixed on Joanna's. At that moment, she was proud to be his sister with the way her big brother looked so confident and fearless. Like he did when he would ease everyone's nerves before every quidditch match. And when he stayed with her overnight in the infirmary when she broke her bones. Unlike those times, he needed her now. He had always been the one to protect her and it was her turn to repay him.

Dumbledore leaned closer to the desk, "We still have some time to formally enact the charm and let you all think this through. For now, we can discuss the procedures that will follow."

Remembering that night made Joanna want to throw up. James and Lily would have to rely on her not only for their safety but also for Harry's. She rubbed on her chest as she sat up on the bed. Sirius had left the room to make them some tea.

"They're fine, they're fine, they're fine," she repeated in hushed tones. Nothing had even happened yet. Dumbledore arranged for them to meet next week to finally cast the Fidelius charm on them. A lot could happen in a week. A lot had happened in a day.

She shut her eyes tight, "Breathe."