Dark Days Ahead

James had been gone for over a day now and Sirius was worried. It wasn't like perfect James Potter to slip away from Hogwarts. It didn't help that he'd taken the Marauder's Map with him.

Sirius gave Remus a worried look. Remus had also heard James' quiet departure yesterday morning, but neither of them had commented. Maybe James was going to the common room, they'd thought, or maybe he just needed some quiet time.

When James missed classes, Remus and he made excuses easily. They had not been questioned yet. Sirius had no doubt that they would be, and he had no idea what to say. He was tempted to go to the headmaster with his concerns about his missing friend, but that thought was so foreign to him. Pranksters just didn't do that.

Sirius met Remus' eyes and inclined his head sharply. Peter knew that something was amiss, but neither of them felt right about confiding in him. It was an unspoken agreement.

Remus settled on the couch beside Sirius and let out a slow breath when Peter continued playing wizarding chess with Alice Smith.

"Sirius, what do we do?" Remus' voice was urgent and the worry was shown in his face. "Where could he have gone? Do you think he's safe?"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't bloody know and that bothers me." Confiding in Remus was almost as natural as speaking with James...almost.

Remus motioned over to McGonagall. "Sirius, I think it's time to tell her he's missing. What if he's hurt or--"

"Don't! Don't say it, Remus! He's fine. He has to be!" Sirius stalked away, unable to consider the possibilities. He saw Remus approaching the head of house and had to turn away. This was going to be a bloody cock up and James would never forgive them. Sirius stared out the window into the winter night and tried to calm his raging emotions.

A commotion startled him and he turned to see a figure stumble through the entrance to the common room. The figure staggered two steps before collapsing into a heap of bloodied robes.

"JAMES!" Sirius rushed over, but Remus and McGonagall were closer and reached their injured friend first. He shoved at their professor ineffectually, not caring for the moment. He had to get to James. He had to see how bad it was.

"Mr. Potter." She breathed urgently and there was something in her voice that scared Sirius. "Miss Smith, please get the Headmaster and Madam Pomfrey."

She waved her wand and moved the bloody heap over to a couch, levitating him with ease. James' still form was immediately surrounded by the other students.

"Step away!" Her voice had never sounded like that before, so urgent and....there was something else in her tone. Was it fear? Uncertainty? Sirius swallowed hard and moved to the back of the couch. Remus' hand found his and their fingers touched just briefly, in a sign of support. Someone clasped his hand on his other side, and Sirius turned to see Lily Evans' grave expression.

"He'll be all right, Lil. He has to be. We all need him so much..." Lily's hand felt cold and clammy, her pulse fluttering at her wrist. She was panicked. They all were. The war had never come to their doorstep before, in quite this way.

James was bleeding from dozens of places, his cloak crusty with dried blood. Scrapes and cuts married his face and his hands appeared to have been burned and coated with soot. Where had James gone and what had happened to him?

James' eyes fluttered open suddenly and he shuddered, glancing around as if in panic before locking on Sirius. "Siri?" His voice was low, raspy, anguished. Sirius moved around the group of hovering Gryffindors without a word and knelt in front of James. They had been so discreet, but now his soulmate needed him and by God, he wasn't going to leave James in his hour of need. He didn't care who knew. None of that mattered when he had almost lost the person that made life worth living.

"I'm here, mate." Sirius strove to make his voice reassuring, despite the tremors running through his body. He stroked James' face gently, wiping away a thin line of blood. "What happened? We were worried."

"Not now, Mr. Black." McGonagall's non-nonsense tone cut through the intensity of the moment.

James shook his head urgently. "Now....have to." His tear-filled gaze held Sirius' again. "I got an owl...late. From my father."

His voice had thickened and it was then that Sirius knew that something devastating had happened. He gathered James close and cradled his head. "And what, James?" He infused calmness and control into his voice. Someone had to be strong for James.

"He..." James' voice broke on a sob. "He said that there was trouble and that I was to take extra care. I...I went to Hogsmeade and Apparated home."

Sirius nodded, stroking that black mussed hair, being careful not to open up any more cuts. "What did you find there?" Sirius tried to make his voice as tender as possible.

"Darkness..." James began painfully. He lifted his head to look at Sirius. "Dead...all of them. My whole family, Siri. You're all I have left." He broke into choking sobs and Sirius lightly rocked him back and forth. The urge to comfort him, to wipe the pain away was at odds with his need to make sure he didn't injure his friend more severely.

"Mr. Black?" The words came from far away. When he looked up, Headmaster Dumbledore was standing over them, an expression of profound sadness on his face. "Come with us to the infirmary. Mr. Potter will need you in these dark days ahead."

James raised his bruised and battered head. "Siri, don't leave me. Stay. I can't make it without you!"

"I'll never leave you, James. I'll be with you forever."