The Difference in Reality [A Harry Potter Fanfiction]

Year 3: Chapter 12

The Power House quickly came into view. Sally shot a questioning look to Willow, which she ignored. Willow took her shoes off on the front step and motioned for Sally to do the same. When she knocked, Sirius answered the door. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of Sally.

"Another one? Merlin's beard, Willow, how many friends do you have?"

"Enough to provide an army for you, that's for sure," Willow replied. "Come on, Sally, the wind is chilly."

Sally stepped across the threshold in a sort of trance. Her eyes never wavered from Sirius, who sighed and looked to Willow for explanation. Willow groaned, motioning for Sally to sit down.

"Okay, you're not as intuitive as Cypress, I've got to explain this to you before you blow up," she said. Sally plopped down on the couch, crossing her arms. "Lighten up, will you? I'm not keeping a murderer in my safe house. Sirius is innocent, Sally, so get over the whole manhunt thing. I've known him to nearly burst into tears when he bumped into Felicity."

"I did not cry!" Sirius protested.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Same difference. Anyway, Sally, meet Sirius, and Sirius meet Sally."

Sally narrowed her eyes at Sirius. "You're not lying? You really didn't murder all those people? Willow is easily manipulated, you know, and I'll have your head if you've been tricking her all this time."

"Why would I do that?" Sirius asked, horrified. "Willow's shown me nothing but kindness ever since I arrived at Hogwarts! Trust me, one of her magical creatures would have destroyed me and eaten me for dinner by now if I'd been lying."

Sally smiled. "Okay, now I believe you. Only Willow's close friends get to know about her magical creature army."

Willow clapped her hands. "There we go! Now that you're not going to arrest each other, I need you guys to do something for me. No, Sally, it's not exercise, you can stop looking at me like that." Willow wrung her hands. "You see...both of you seem to have a similar past, and both of you seem to be dealing with it in a very unproductive way. Sirius, you need to stop burying it. You may not like it, but you wear your heart on your sleeve, and not doing anything about it is not healthy."

Sirius scoffed. "This, coming from a hypocrite!"

"Sally, you need to stop pretending it never happened," Willow continued, causing Sirius to dramatically throw up his hands in defeat. "Covering up the past with a new persona doesn't work. You both need to talk it out, and if you actually try...I will tell you a little bit about what happened to me."

"Willow, Sam and I already told our story this month during our Sunday meetings," Sally reminded her. "Isn't that enough?"

"Sally. You spoke two words."

"Yeah...but...so did Cypress when he spoke in February."

"Sally, you realize Cypress has never had anything bad happen to him, right?" Willow chortled. "The worst thing that's ever happened to him is something I accidentally put him through, and that was nothing compared to the past you need to conquer."

Sally groaned. "You're incredibly annoying, you know that?"

"I share the sentiment most days," Sirius said, earning him a glare from Willow. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to share!"

"Good. You don't even have to go super in depth here, guys. Just go over the main points, talk it out, and force yourself to actually acknowledge what happened. If it hurts, say so. Get rid of any lingering emotion, or it's going to get so much worse. Got it?"