Tenebrous ❆ Sirius Black [2]

Chapter Sixty

Remus walked at a leisurely pace through the streets, a small smile on his face as he took in the area around him. He always loved Camille's neighbourhood; full of parks and trees that made it green as far as the eye could see during the spring and summer months. 

He listened to the birds chirping, hidden among the leaves and branches. However, suddenly his ears picked up on something else, a noise coming from behind him. A thudding sound was paired with calls for Remus to watch out. Confused and curious as to what may be happening, Remus turned around, but it was already too late. He had no chance to prepare himself for the impact as a large ball of golden fur barreled right into him, bringing him down to the ground. 

"Yes, yes! It's good to see you too Elton." Remus let out a chuckle as the familiar golden retriever stood above him, leaving slobbery dog kisses all over his face. 

Remus groaned as the dog's paws came to rest on his chest, preventing Remus from moving and licking himself up off the ground. Luckily, he wasn't pinned down much longer as the dog's owner finally pulled Elton away from Remus and extended his hand to the younger boy to help him to his feet. 

"Sorry about that mate, as soon as he saw you he was running; had no time to stop him." Milo Beauchamp let out a laugh as he apologised to his sister's boyfriend, sheepishly running his hand through his neatly combed light hair as he sent Elton a scolding look. Paying no attention to his owner's disapproval, the dog continued to bark at Remus and wagging his tail in excitement. 

"Yes, well, then you can be the one to take the brunt of Millie's scolding when she complains about my dirty clothes." Remus said in a joking tone, trying to dust off his clothes as best he could on the spot. 

"On second thought, maybe we could circle the neighbourhood one more time. How about it Elton?" Milo asked, although he too was laughing along with Remus as both could already hear Camille's complaining in advance. Elton on the other hand, seemed to be highly against the idea, going as far as to let out a low growl. 

"I think you may have tired him out." Remus chuckled, and whatever Milo's reply would have been, it was quickly cut off as Elton started barking up a storm once more. However, this time it wasn't the same excited barking which he had previously directed at Remus. No, these were rapid, threatening barks which made Remus and Milo exchange confused looks amongst themselves. 

"Elton? What is it boy?" Milo kneeled down next to the dog, trying to calm him down as he ran his hand through the long golden fur. But Elton didn't even spare a glance at Milo, his eyes peeled to something in the distance making Milo and Remus turn to look in the same direction. Their eyes searching for whatever had upset the dog, they barely caught sight of three indistinguishable figures disapparating in the distance. But that wasn't the thing that made them freeze in shock. 

"Is that…" Remus couldn't even utter out the words because, of course he knew what it was. The Dark Mark hung high in the sky above them, so close that he had a hard time believing it. And until mere moments ago, everything seemed so peaceful. Now yells of the neighbours echoed through the street as they too seemed to notice the new development. But Remus didn't even realise how bad it actually was until Milo spoke, realisation dawning on him.

"Remus, that's my house!" The Beauchamp exclaimed, not even waiting for the words to register in Remus' mind before he started running down the street as fast as his legs could carry him. Elton had no issue keeping up and soon enough Remus was following too, running faster than he had ever before in his life. 

It took them only a few seconds to reach the house, noticing at once the flames which seemed to be devouring the Beauchamps' childhood home. Many of their neighbours were by now running out of their own houses, already working on putting the fire out before it could spread. But even though it was his home, it wasn't the first thing Milo worried about. 

"Camille!" He called the name of his sister, Remus' and his own calls mixing together as they scanned the crowd, hoping to see her among the people, safe and sound. 

"She's not out here dears, was she in the house?" The voice of Mrs Allen, the Beauchamps' next door neighbour sounded from beside Milo, making his eyes snap down to look at the woman as panic spread through him. 

For a moment, Milo didn't know what to say, but even if he had known, he wouldn't have gotten a chance to say anything as from the corner of his eye he spotted Remus rushing away from them. 

"Remus! You can't-" Milo tried to call out to him, some of the people tried to keep him from going into the house, but Remus didn't let anyone hold him back as he rushed into the flames and soon disappeared from sight. 

"Go! Go!" Mrs Allen instructed him quickly, taking Elton's leash out of Milo's hand. He didn't need to hear it again as he, just like Remus, pushed past all of his worried neighbours and ran into the house; into the flames. 

The smoke was almost blinding, instantly making him cough loudly as he rushed to cover his nose and mouth. With his wand now in hand, Milo dimmed the flames around him, putting them out whenever they intercepted his path while he searched through the house. He was now searching for both Camille and Remus, his heart racing with worry. 

He never should have left the house. It seemed like such a harmless act. He knew Camille wanted him to leave, despite her failed attempts to make it seem innocent, but he thought it was merely because she wanted to be alone with Remus when he arrived. Now Milo couldn't help but fear why his little sister wanted him out of the house so badly; the real reason. He should've made her tell him then, perhaps he could have helped. Oh how he hoped that he'd still be able to get the answer from her. 

Milo was growing more and more desperate as he moved through the halls and saw no sign of either of the two. He was about to throw his own safety out the door and start calling both their names despite what the smoke may do to him as a result. When finally, he spotted movement. Remus was slowly making his way through the flames, his wand now put away and out of use as he carried Camille in his arms. 

"Remus! Over here!" Milo called out to him, already casting the spells with which he could clear a path through the fire for Remus to get through without him or Camille getting burned. 

He wanted to check on Camille as soon as Remus reached him, her closed eyes sending a spark of fear through his mind, his heart skipping a beat as he took in his little sister's state. But now was not the time, despite everyone's efforts to put it out, the fire was swallowing the house whole. They needed tk get out quickly. 

Milo took the lead, continuing to use his wand and soundlessly casting spells to get all three of them out of the burning building. By now, even he and Remus were starting to cough profusely, the smoke irritating their lungs tremendously and leaving their clothes and skin stained. It filled them with an even bigger sense of urgency than before. They couldn't get stuck in here, or it'd be the end for all three of them. 

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the fire and smoke starting to close in on them, both Milo and Remus growing more and more exhausted, they found themselves stumbling through the door, almost collapsing to down to the grass below them as they took in the fresh air they so greatly needed. 

Remus quickly set Camille down on the floor, her head resting in his lap as his hands brushed the hair and ash out of her face. Milo was quick to drop down and kneel next to his sister, taking in the burns on her hands worriedly. 

"Come on Millie, open your eyes… Please Camille…" Remus whispered to her, his voice pleading and begging. But no matter how many times either Remus or Milo tried calling out to her, Camille's eyes remained shut. 

Published: 07th March, 2020

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