Some Day | Wolfstar

Thirty-nine

Weak, weak, weak!

Sirius gripped his head as his mother's strident voice cut through the silence. Her angry eyes flashed in front of him. And a flash of green lightning.

Alarmed, Severus hopped off of the desk and rushed to his side. "What is it? What's wrong?"

How could you?

Sirius tried to speak, but he couldn't. Don't you dare, Sirius. Don't you dare come any closer. And Remus was pushing him back, wand at his throat.

"No, snap out of it," Severus gripped his collar and shook him lightly. Sirius gasped, his eyes finally registering his surroundings. "I... I don't know what happened," he shook his head. Severus frowned. "Were you having some sort of hallucination?"

Sirius shook his head no. "More like... a flashback," he said. Severus' frown deepened. "Did it feel like this?"

And all of a sudden, Sirius was back on the ground, his mother's black skirt brushing his face.

Weak, weak, weak! Merlin, how he hated her laugh.

"Stop it, please," Sirius squeezed his eyes shut.

"What are you doing to him?" James. Sirius forced his eyes open. James grabbed Severus by his collar, and slammed him into a wall, wand raised. Remus rushed to pry them apart.

"Stop it, James!" Sirius stood up. "Stop it. Stop, he's not... he won't hurt me," Sirius pleaded. Remus managed to pull James back, who immediately pulled his best friend into his arms.

"Are you okay? What did he do to you?" He asked once they pulled away, hands still on Sirius' shoulders. "He didn't-"

"Someone's using Legilimency to probe into his mind," Severus spoke up, pushing himself off of the wall. He pointed his wand at the door, which James and Remus had forgotten to close. It slammed shut.

"Legilimency doesn't hurt like that, does it?" Remus asked. Those dreams Sirius had been plagued with...

"It's not the Legilimency that's hurting him, Lupin. It's the memories."

James looked at Sirius' face, which showed more confusion than pain. "But who?" James asked.

"Someone powerful enough to practise it without even being able to see him," Severus frowned. "It only seems to happen when he's at school. It didn't happen at the Shack, right?" James frowned.

"So that's where they hid you. Clever." Severus tapped his chin. Remus glared at James. It was supposed to be a secret... more or less.

"But who could it be?" Remus asked. Severus shrugged.

They fell quiet again. "So why did you call me here, Sirius? And how did you get in here? Where's Peter?" James made himself comfortable on the teacher's table. Remus almost flinched as he watched Sirius go pale again. It was horrible, how easily the colour could drain from his face. Not that he had ever had a lot of colour to begin with.

Sirius told them everything, slowly so that he wouldn't slide into panic again. James was furious.

"He actually let you come? He let you?"

"I asked him to," Sirius said quietly. He didn't want poor Peter in trouble. He hadn't done anything wrong.

"From now on, either you or me will always have to be with him," James told Remus. Remus nodded quietly. They couldn't risk Sirius getting hurt.

"Where is Regulus, then?" Remus asked no one in particular. "They might've transfered him to St. Mungo's. Or maybe the Blacks took him away." Severus gave the cauldron a careful stir, and added a vial of clear liquid into it.

"We'll just have to see tomorrow," Sirius said. Remus rubbed his back. "We have to get you back into the Shack..."

James stood up. "The two of you stay here," he said, looking at Severus and Remus. "I'll send Peter back in the morning. It's my turn to watch Sirius tomorrow anyway."

"Watch me? What am I? A child?"

"Worse, Padfoot. So much worse. Now come on."

***

Sirius fell asleep curled up with a book of Remus'. James had a long talk with Peter while he slept, which only ended in Peter breaking down in tears. James sighed and pat his back gently. "No, no, Pete. Don't be upset, it's alright. Sirius is alright. Just... we have to take care of him, okay? He needs us to."

Peter left early in the morning. Hagrid brought them some warm toast and tea for breakfast, and James managed to persuade him to buy them a bunch of sweets from Honeyduke's.

James and Sirius spent the early hours of morning lying in bed, talking.

"How's Lily?"

"Fine. Worried about you."

"Does she know?"

"No. We told her that you went home for an urgent matter. She asks me if I heard from you everyday," James smiled. "Tell her you did. And tell her I said that I love her."

James rolled his eyes and punched his arm. "She's my grilfriend, Padfoot!"

"I don't care, man. I'm gay," Sirius laughed. James smiled at him.

They heard the staircase creak, and James ran to the door. "Professor, it's you," he sighed in relief, letting Dumbledore in. Sirius immediately got out of bed and straightened his shirt. He pulled a chair closer to the Headmaster. "Some tea, Professor?" He offered.

Dumbledore shook his head, looking grave. "Sit down, boys," he sighed. Sirius looked at James, biting his lip. They sat down on the couch.

"I'm afraid I come bearing bad news," Dumbledore sighed again. Sirius felt a knot form in his stomach. "Regulus is missing."

Sirius gagged, feeling sick. James rubbed his back. The Professor gazed at them sadly. "We've notified the Aurors, Sirius. Your parents as well. The entire school is being searched."

Sirius could barely nod. How could he just... go missing?

As soon as Dumbledore was gone , he stumbled into the bathroom, throwing up his breakfast until his stomach finally became as empty as his heart.