black | sirius black

The Potters' Demise

Things were flowing too smoothly and were too calm.

So, when an owl flew in, dedicating a letter to James Potter, no one expected it to be important.

Oh, but how it indicated the turn of events.

"Prongsie's got a letter?" Sirius asked, mouth filled with food.

The Marauders were eating dinner together for the first time in a while.

With the NEWTs coming up, new relationships forming, and the Triwizard Tournament going on, group hangouts became tough and rare.

"It's been a while since I've gotten a letter." James chuckled, observing the letter that was just dropped into his hands.

But, upon seeing that it was from his parents, his smile faltered.

"Everything alright?" Remus asked, noticing James's worried expression.

"Yeah, it's just been a while since I received a letter from my parents," James told his friends, slowly opening the letter. "They're sick, so I wasn't expecting anything from them."

"What's it say?" Peter asked curiously as James started reading the letter.

The table became quiet as James's eyes scanned the letter thoroughly.

After a few minutes, James placed the letter down and had a blank expression on his face.

The rest of the boys exchanged confused glances.

"Prongs?" Sirius gently called out.

James heaved a sigh, his hands shaking as he pushed the letter to his friends.

"We need to pack and leave for a few days." James finally said.

Peter, Sirius, and Remus all peered at the letter, confused.

"What happened?" Sirius asked as his eyes traveled between the letter and his best friend.

"My parents died."

The carriage ride to the Potters' was quiet.

Everyone was quiet and had solemn expressions on their faces.

Upon hearing James's words, Sirius went into a trance for a few minutes and Peter had to shake him out of it.

Remus, although shocked, managed to get the word out to the rest of their friends and informed the Professors that they would need a few days of absence.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore were very sympathetic, even offering them no work to do or makeup during their absence.

Jayce immediately called in for a carriage that would accommodate all of their close friends: Remus, Sirius, Peter, James, Lily, and herself.

While the others offered to come, James didn't want to bring the situation too much attention, so they stayed back.

They had been in the carriage for about an hour and no one spoke a word.

But, everyone was mostly worried about James and Sirius, who hadn't said a word since James announced the deaths.

As they entered Godric's Hollow, they realized that the once bright and homely town itself seemed gloomy now.

The small town was draped in an air of melancholy as people arrived to pay their final respects to the Potters.

Once the carriage stopped, the friends got down one by one, their hearts heavy with sorrow, as they exchanged subtle nods.