Apple from the Tree

Apple from the Tree

Second Chapter

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Summer Dream and Nightmare

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Sirius frowned as he pushed the door open only to find the hall unlit and quiet. "Severus?" he called out. "Hey, Severus, brats, where are you?" His hand moved towards his wand as he took a step forward.

No matter how many times he called out, he didn't get any response. Warily the darkhaired wizard walked further into the house. His wand at ready, he paused at the door of the living room they used most, the one that also held the stairs leading upstairs. Then, gathering his courage, he slowly opened the door.

At first he couldn't see anything. The curtains were drawn, blocking any light coming from the outside, and there were no lights on. "Lumos," he whispered, wanting to see whatever was lurking in the darkness. As a bright light lit around the tip of his wand, illuminating his surroundings, he took a glance around. Then, he gasped in horror as his eyes met the most gruesome sight.

It was Hermione. Or, rather, what had once been Hermione. Now it was merely a mess of torn flesh and blood, only vaguely resembling anything of a human origin. Only her head was left, lying in the middle of all this, her mouth opened in an endless scream and her eyes wide with horror. Heroically fighting the strong urge to throw up anything and everything that resided in his stomach at the moment, Sirius staggered a few steps back, wondering what could have caused such a thing. A feeling of absolute horror was starting to crawl through him as he looked at what was left of his son's best friend.

Now even more wary, he decided to check the attached study. With great care he went around Hermione's bloody remains to the door on the opposite side of the room. Opening it with caution, he then breathed a sigh of relief as the light of his wand didn't reveal another horror scene.

That is, until he saw a hand lying on the floor, attached to something -- or someone -- behind the desk. A puddle of blood was surrounding the dark appendage, spreading even further on the floor. Slowly going around the desk, he drew a sharp breath as he saw the person behind it. Kingsley lay there, lifeless, blood pooling around his slit wrists. On the floor next to him Sirius saw a folded piece of parchment. Reaching for it with shaking hands, he swallowed as he unfolded what he supposed was a suicide note.

"Poppy Pomfrey just owled me," the note read. "Remus slipped from coma to death this morning. I could not bear living anymore, knowing that it was me who killed him. Therefore, I decided to follow him. I hope you will not hate me. -- Kingsley"

The note fell from Sirius' suddenly trembling fingers as he opened his mouth, no sound coming out. Then he turned around, rushing out of the room. Remus was dead. Kingsley was dead. Hermione was dead, too -- and whatever had caused her death was most probably still somewhere in the house, as were the rest of his family and friends. All the time afraid of what he'd see next, he hurried upstairs.

There he encountered a couple of empty rooms. Just as he was beginning to calm down as much as he could with the images of dead Hermione and Kingsley still burned in his mind, however, he came upon another horror. Opening yet another door, he saw Harry lying on the floor, bloody and torn. The young wizard was at least still mostly intact, unlike his girlfriend, but he was very obviously dead. Sirius's stomach all but disappeared at the sight. Fighting against the nausea and the ever growing horror, he fled.

Even though he was at least somehow mentally prepared for what came next, it still startled him when he tumbled over it. Literally. Running around a corner, he almost fell over as he tripped over something. Regaining his balance just before he went crashing to the ground, the Grim Animagus quickly turned around to see what he had tripped over. He very nearly cried out aloud as he saw Samantha's tiny body lying there, just as lifeless as everybody else he had encountered before that.

"She is dead," came a quiet voice from behind him. Turning around as quickly as he could, Sirius saw Remy lying where he could have sworn had just moments before been just the empty floor of the corridor. "That beast killed her... Father chased it down to the room in the end of the corridor. I don't know what happened then." Remy lay on the floor, blood seeping from numerous deep wounds. It was obvious that he wouldn't live long anymore; in fact, it was a miracle that he was still alive.

Wondering just how his legs still obeyed him, Sirius hurried to his son's side. Kneeling down next to the boy he then drew the bloodied teen into his arms, cradling him close to his chest. "Remy," he said quietly.

"I tried to save her, Dad," Remy whispered, "I tried to save them all... I did everything I could, Dad. But it was not enough. She is dead... They are dead, all of them... And I... I failed." A bitter smile crossed the teen's lips as he continued, "You must be disappointed in me, Dad. I failed to protect them... protect her."

"No, Remy, I'm not disappointed," Sirius muttered, tears pooling in his eyes as he wiped away a strand of hair from his son's face. The hair was sticky with sweat and blood. "You could never disappoint me."

"I could, too..." the boy whispered, his eyes now half closed. Then, they slid fully closed. "Bye, Dad..."

"Goodbye, my son," was all the wizard could say now, almost choking on the words. "Goodbye... I love you, Remy." He then settled the now limp body onto the floor and stumbled to his feet. Looking down for a moment, he took in all details, from the finest strand of ink-black hair to the tiniest smear of blood on the pale skin. Then, with a deep ache in his chest, he slowly turned around.

The room in the end of the corridor was empty. This both relieved and horrified him; he was relieved because no new horror was there for him to face, horrified because he didn't know if he could even bear opening another door. He did open the next door, though... or at least he pressed the handle. It took him a long time to actually push the door open and slowly, very slowly step into the room.

The beast was indeed there. It was huge, with fangs and claws rivalling those of any dragon Sirius had ever seen. Its fur was dark red with the blood of both the beast itself and its victims. Now, however, it was dead. And next to the beast, Sirius saw somebody else. Somebody he had feared seeing all the time.

Even usually pale, Severus's face was white like a sheet now. His hair, which Sirius had so enjoyed running his fingers through, was now a tangled mess, and his black robes had been torn. His stomach was a simple mess; apparently the beast had run its paw right through him. However, against all odds, he was alive.

"...Sirius?" the other wizard whispered. "I killed it, Sirius... It's now just as dead as the children. I couldn't save them, I failed them, but I could at least have revenge for them." He then coughed up blood.

Like with Remy, Sirius quickly went to his husband's side, gathering the slender body into his arms. Severus felt awfully light there in his embrace, awfully light and fragile. "Be quiet, Severus," he whispered hoarsely, holding his beloved in slightly trembling arms. "Don't waste your strength in speaking."

"It's no use, Sirius," protested the other man, leaning his head against Sirius's shoulder. "I'll die anyway. And I deserve to die for not being able to save them... to save the children. Not only them, but I failed my friends, I failed James, and Remus... and you." A sad, slightly bitter smile curled the thin lips. A few drops of blood escaped the corner of Severus's mouth, leaving a crimson trail on the pale skin.

"You didn't fail anybody, love," was Sirius' response. "You did everything you could, I know that. Now, don't give up fighting. You'll be all right, I know that." His mind screamed against that, his whole being screamed at him for lying so, telling him that Severus would die. However, his heart refused to listen.

Now the ghost of a smile was in genuine amusement. "Ever... denying it, aren't you?" whispered the Potions Master. Then, his eyes started to slowly slide closed.

"Don't close your eyes, Severus," Sirius pleaded, remembering all too well the moment of absolute horror when Remy had done that, never opening them again. "Look at me, Severus, love. Please just... look."

Severus did so, his eyes staying half open, his lips still curled into a tiny smirk. Then, however, the light in the onyx depths disappeared, and their intent gaze turned into an empty stare. For a moment Sirius still just held the head, looking into the dark eyes, hoping to see at least some sign of life in them. Then, however, he reached out a trembling hand, slowly closing the eyes he had begged to stay open just moments earlier.

And at that moment, his heart finally shattered into a thousand tiny pieces, never to be put together again. Unable to do anything else, Sirius screamed.

And he screamed.

*

Severus shot up in the bed he shared with his husband as a horrible scream tore him from his slumber. His eyes darting around to find the source of the sound, he found to his horror Sirius sitting on the bed, sweaty and trembling, screaming from the top of his lungs. Immediately he reached out to grasp his husband, drawing the still screaming man into a warm embrace. Holding tightly the trembling wizard, he started to talk to Sirius, not saying anything sensible but hoping to soothe the obviously horrified man's mind. Little by little the screaming subsided, until finally Sirius just sat there in the circle of his arms, still trembling.

"Calm down, love," Severus whispered, tightening his embrace for a moment to reassure his husband that he was safe and secure now, no matter what the horrors of his dream had been. "Everything is all right. I am here, and I'll make sure nothing bad happens. Just calm down now, Sirius."

"But... but you weren't there," muttered Sirius. "Or, you were, but you went away. You died, Severus, you died right there in my arms! And I could do nothing to help you -- or anybody else! Everyone died! Remus died, and Kingsley killed himself, and some fucking monster killed you and all the children!

"Merlin," mumbled the Potions Master under his breath, then continued with a gentle tone, "Calm down, Sirius. I am alive, and so is everybody else. I'm here, the children are all sleeping, Kingsley is wherever he is and Remus is preparing to wake up. Nobody is dead, and there are no monsters around to kill anybody. Just what triggered you to have this nightmare now, anyway? You never had any while Voldemort was around. So why now, when he has been disposed of and we can finally be at peace?"

"I've had this for Merlin knows how long," confessed the Grim Animagus with a sigh. "For over a year now... every few nights at least, every night at worst times. The exact events differ, but the basic is the same... Everyone is dead, and I wasn't there to help them. I've never screamed before, though... or at least not loudly enough to wake you," he added then. "Usually I remember the Silencing Charms."

"You hid that from me?" asked Severus sharply. "Sirius! What on Earth will I do with you?"

However, his anger disappeared as soon as Sirius turned towards him and he saw the other man's eyes, so full of pain and silent fear. "Hold me?" Sirius asked in response to Severus's words.

"You don't need to ask that," muttered Severus. Never letting go of his husband, he slowly lay himself back down on the bed, drawing Sirius down with him. For a moment they just lay there, Sirius wrapped in Severus's arms, neither saying anything. Then, however, Severus said, "Tell me about it."

And Sirius told. While he did so, Severus began to understand something. Their supposedly innocent prank must have reminded Sirius about his nightmare -- the quiet, dark house, then the unfamiliar beast. Unknowingly he, along with the others, had caused great pain to the one he loved most. Deep regret filled his heart and he silently vowed not to try to scare Sirius, or anybody else, ever again. The one moment he had thought he'd lost his husband after Voldemort's downfall had definitely been the most horrifying moment in his life. But to first repeatedly feel that fear in his dreams, and then, knowing very well that he was awake, to start to fear that your worst nightmares have come true... The mere prospect of losing a loved one was too terrible to even think about, leave alone experience. And Sirius, his dear Sirius...

"I'm sorry," he whispered as Sirius finally was finished with his story. "I'm sorry for going along with the kids when they planned that prank... and I'm sorry for not stopping them altogether."

"Don't be," Sirius sighed. "You couldn't have known that it would remind me of a nightmare." Turning around inside the comforting circle of Severus' arms, he gave his husband a weak smile. "I'll be okay."

And Severus, wordlessly tightening his embrace, could only hope that Sirius was telling the truth.

*

Samantha laughed as she emerged from the water, shaking her head, sending droplets of water flying everywhere. Nobody minded this, if they even noticed it; they were all soaked anyway. This time even the adults had decided to join them -- well, join and join. Sirius was indeed in the water, splashing and laughing and yelling more than any of the teens. Severus, however, merely sat on the beach, seemingly too bored alone in the house to resist the temptation of their company, or at least their voices around him. At the moment the pale man was sitting well away from the water, reading a Potions magazine. Every now and then he casted a glance at the five playing people, shook his head at their antics, and continued reading. Sarlass lay next to him, enjoying the heat. The snake much preferred the hot sand to the cool water. Her deep blue scales glittered in the sun as if trying to outdo the blue sky and water.

A shout drew her attention to her friends. Remy and Sirius were currently in the middle of a fierce water fight, while Hermione and Harry were throwing the ball at each other. As nobody was at the moment giving her any attention, she then allowed her eyes to rest on her boyfriend for a bit.

Her eyes travelled to his back. There, in the middle of tanned skin and muscles, right next to the ink-black line of his long, thick braid, she saw a white scar. A scar he had received because of her, while protecting her from the results of her own stupidity. This thought made her flinch a bit. Whatever had she ever done for Remy, aside from causing him trouble? Nothing. Nothing good at all.

Suddenly, a ball hit her in the back. "Oi, Samantha!" Hermione called out. "Do wake up, will you?"

Samantha flushed a bit as everybody turned to look at her. "Sorry," she muttered. "I was just distracted."

"Well, that's pretty understandable," Harry said, smirking suggestively at her. "After all, which girl could ever resist looking at her boyfriend's practically bare backside?"

Now, the tiny girl blushed even further, especially as Remy raised an amused eyebrow. "It's not that!" she exclaimed desperately. "I wasn't looking at his behind! Just... his scar..." Her voice trailed off.

The tiny smirk that had appeared on Remy's face at Harry's statement left as quickly as it had come, his expression softening. "Aww, you have no reason to feel guilty about it, you know, Samantha," he commented lightly. "It was entirely my own fault for not getting out of the way quickly enough." He then stepped forward and drew his girlfriend into an embrace. She couldn't help but blush as her chest was pressed against Remy's, only the thin layer of her swimsuit separating them.

"Get a room, you two," chuckled Sirius. "Or... maybe not. So, hands off, Remy!" He caught the beach ball that had just moments earlier hit Samantha and threw it at his son. "That's getting indecent!"

Then Remy dropped Samantha into the water, turning towards his carrier with a growl on his lips. The others just laughed, all hurrying away from him as he started to splash water into every direction. Shrieks of laughter echoed over the water's surface as they were soon all involved in a big water fight that knew neither rules nor boundaries. Severus glanced at them, snapping his tongue with something between frustration and reluctant approval, then slid his sunglasses over his eyes again and continued reading the magazine. However, as the beach ball was thrown at him, he put the magazine aside and ran towards the water in his ink-black swimming trunks that were definitely not pink, thank-you-very-much.

And, as they were all laughing -- yes, even Severus, although his laughter was closer to an evil cackle as he managed to pull Sirius beneath the surface -- and happy and alive, it was easy to forget their fears for a little while. Just as easy it was to forget their friend, lying quietly on a bed in the Hogwarts Infirmary, and the fact that not all Death Eaters had been caught and the free ones were after them.

However, all too soon it would be the time to remember.

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