One Step Ahead Part II | Sirius Black

Chapter 227

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.