minnow // sirius black

fifty-eight

58 ;  homecoming

Her body was left on the street outside of my house. 

I found her, and the shock that rippled through my body stole the breath out of my lungs. 

That morning had been like every other, I woke up and made breakfast. I fed Aubrey as Esme was eating, and then I'd wake up Sirius to eat too. I'd let Esme and Aubrey play together in her room, watching them closely from the door. 

They'd play for around an hour before Aubrey would become tired, and so I'd change her before putting her down for a nap. 

I had moved her crib to my room and put her down for a nap. I told Esme to be a bit quieter to let her sister sleep, and then I moved into the living room where Sirius was reading the Daily Prophet. 

The headline was about the missing Aurors. 

It was the paper from a few days ago, so I was going to open the door to see if an owl had dropped a new one on the doorstep. Albus sent them to us, always two days after it was printed. 

I had told Sirius I was going to check, he looked up from his paper and nodded. He watched me, just in case, as I opened the door. 

The paper was on the walk-way to the street, just outside of the door. I informed Sirius the paper was there, and then stepped out of the doorway. I had grabbed it, and turned to walk back into my safe home. 

Once I was through the door I turned to close it, and saw the lump on the street. 

Confusion washed through me, but then I saw the fiery hair. I couldn't breathe.

I had said Sirius' name before I dropped the paper. He saw the look on my face, the terror, the moment that I sprinted out the door. I got to her before Sirius got to the door. 

He realized what I had not, and he screamed for me. I rolled her body towards me, a sense of relief washing over me when I saw it wasn't Lily. 

In that same moment of relief, I was hit with the strongest sense of pain. 

I had saved her life, she was supposed to grow up, get married, have kids, and live. 

But here she was. She was ice cold, her eyes wide and fixed. Her lips were blue, her eyes foggy, no emotion playing in her eyes. There was nothing, just a husk of what she used to be. Who she used to be. 

I felt arms around my waist, and panicked for a moment before I heard Sirius' voice in my ear. I saw the picture taped to her shirt the moment he lifted me away. I barely managed to pinch it between my fingers and pull it off of her. 

"They left her here because they know you're here."

He dragged me into the safety of our home, and immediately sent a patronus to Albus. The panic in his voice was undeniable. I felt a similar sense of panic, but as I stood in the doorway watching Eilene lay there from the safety of the Fidelius charm, it was for a different reason. 

I looked at the picture, and a shock of panic rushed through me. It was a moving polariod of Kayla, Riley, and Max. They were going into St. Mungo's, likely to visit Dean. I flipped to the back, and gasped aloud. 

Give yourself to the Dark Lord, or they are next.

Less than a second passed before I was sending a patronus to Kayla, warning them that they were being watched. I told her to stay in the hospital, I'd come for her. 

The weight of the situation settled into my soul.

Someone told them where I lived, showed them the exact plot, but because it wasn't Sirius, they couldn't see the house. It was likely very safe to assume that there was going to be a Death Eater outside of my house every day now.