One Step Ahead Part II | Sirius Black

Chapter 213

Smoke.

For a moment, thats all Sirius can see. Smoke, thick waves of it rolling in towards him and burning his nose. His eyes water, and he ignores the sound of Frank and Marlene yelling at him.

Sirius takes off, sprinting in the direction of the stifling silence. His ears ache from the quiet, the only sounds the crackling of burning homes. The only sound until he hears screaming. Screaming that is coming from him,

"GWENYTH! GWEN!"

He races forward, ignoring the shouting behind him. He knows what Frank is trying to warn him about. They could still be here, Sirius could get them all killed. But in that moment he didn't care. He thought of long hair and cold eyes, a laugh that could grow flowers from cinder and a smile that changed tides.

The stars glow fuzzily through the blankets of smoke, and Sirius needs to find Gwen. He needs to tell her that the constellations over their heads are heavenly waters that he would swim through with her until this life turned into the next. He needs to find her so that they can finally get married, so they can win this war and have a life that isn't hanging on the threat of death.

"GWEN! INFERI!"

The heat from the homes on fire has drenched him in sweat, and he nearly trips over a smoldering corpse with no face. If he wasn't in such a hurry, he'd have been sick. But then he sees the black robes and the golden mask and savors the feeling of pleasure derived from staring at that corpse.

He waves his hand in front of his face, choking on black smoke and his feelings that threaten to cut loose from his heart like a monster freed from it's cage. Gwenyth. Gwen. Inferi. Where was she? He steels himself, swears to not look for a splash of pearl on the cobblestones. His nerves are frayed, and he spins around, deaf to the sounds of people calling his name. He couldn't tell what direction he'd come from. It didn't matter. He just needed her.

He begins to move forward once again when something hard slams into his back. He whirls around, wand raised and heart roaring in his ears. Arms band around his back, hands cup his face.

"Wait wait!! It's me! It's me, Sirius," 

His wand falls to the ground, and his arms cage her to his front, face buried in her ash stained hair. Gwen. His breathing stutters, and he knows he should let go when he demands, "Tell me something that only you would know."

He can feel her heart thundering against his, and his eyes clench shut at the wobble in her voice when she whispers, "The day you first came to the beach, we planted tulips. You asked me why i kissed you, and I said it was because I wanted to."

It's her. Sirius hugs her tighter, until her ribs are digging into his and their racing hearts become one. His chest shudders, "Gwen." Her name. It's all he can manage. His arms shake when he hears her whisper his own, a prayer, a gift. He leans back to look down at her, frowning at her dust covered cheeks and watery eyes.

"Gideon and Fabian. There's nothing left of them."

Sirius swipes at her cheeks, listening quietly as she works through what has just happened. The haunted look on her face tells him just how awful it had been, but he sees guilt too. She shakes her head, whispering, "We were here maybe five minutes before I told Madeye something felt off. By the time we realized what was happening, they were already here. So many of them, Sirius. He has an army, a hoard of dark wizards and beings at his command. And they knew we would be here."

"Where is James? Remus?" Sirius asks gently, and Gwen blinks, replying hurriedly, "It's okay. They're with Madeye. They're looking for anything that the death eater's might have left behind."