And So the World Falls to Pain

The Days Grow Sour

Sirius ran and slammed his body into the nearest door around the corner. His shaking hands fumbled with the knob as he tried to open it before they came and discovered where he was.

The door finally fell open and he tripped his way inside and slammed it closed behind him. Then his body was leaning against the cool metal and he was crying because they were dead. Alice, Frank, and Marlene were all dead and there was nothing he could do about it.

Before Sirius knew what was happening, blackness overwhelmed him as something hard crashed into the back of his head.

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Consciousness came back to Sirius and he emerged from the thick darkness slowly. He stirred and groaned as a sharp pain raced beneath his skull.

"Don't move," a faintly familiar voice advised quietly. "I've managed to Heal you well enough, but it's best not to move around too much right now."

"But, what about those things?" Sirius asked in panic as he opened his eyes to peer through the shadows cast by the dull light and attempted to sit up.

A strong hand pushed him back down. "We're safe for now," the man assured. "Don't worry more than you have to."

Sirius finally caught a glimpse of who was speaking and he gaped. "James?" he asked in astonishment.

"Yeah, it's me," James replied before motioning to Sirius' head. "Sorry about that, by the way. I heard you beating at the door and I thought you were one of those things. Didn't realise that you weren't until it was too late. At least I didn't kill you."

"Bully for you," Sirius remarked sarcastically at James' attempt at humour. James shrugged at him and walked over to a small desk in the corner and started fiddling with something. A low murmur of voices sounded and Sirius realised it was a wireless.

"These things are everywhere," James said. "I've been listening to reports since before you ran in here. It isn't just London or the country, it's the entire world. Everywhere, in every country and every city, those who died of whatever that illness was are suddenly walking, talking, roaming the Earth, but they aren't alive." James closed his eyes and sighed, lifting his glasses and massaging the bridge of his nose. "First Lily and now this..."

Sirius slowly sat up and gazed across the space at James' weary face. "Why are you here?" he asked.

James looked at him in surprise. "I work here," he said. "I'm a Healer. Didn't Lily ever tell you?"

"She didn't, actually," Sirius replied, a frown pulling at his lips. "Odd that she didn't, really, considering how much she talked about you."

James shrugged. "Probably never crossed her mind," he dismissed. He turned to face Sirius fully. "So what are we going to do? We have to get out of here."

"Yes, we do. So how do we do that?" Sirius muttered to himself, his training kicking in. "We have to get to the Auror office."

"Sirius," James said, his eyes meeting Sirius' firmly. "My son is at a friend's house. I have to find him."

Sirius' eyes slid to the side as he thought quickly. "Where is he?"

"Ottery St. Catchpole," he replied.

"How many people are there besides Harry?"

"Five," James said before swallowing and meeting Sirius' eyes in fear. "They recently lost one of their sons and their daughter."

Sirius' eyes widened. "The illness?" he asked, dread filling his stomach and making him nauseous.

James only nodded. He knew what that meant as well as Sirius did.

"Right," Sirius said, thinking quickly, "first thing we have to do is get out of this hospital."

"Any idea how to kill those things?" James asked.

"Kill the dead?" Sirius scoffed. "Not a clue. Stunning them doesn't work and neither does the killing curse, as much as I hate admitting that I tried."

"I tried a number of things as well," James said, leaning against the desk. "None of mine worked, either. The closest I got was cutting one of their arms off and it didn't even seem to notice that it was gone."

"Our best bet will probably be burning them or severing their heads," Sirius murmured. "It probably won't do much to stop them, but it should slow them down."

James nodded and pulled out his wand. "Ready?" he asked.

Sirius stood and copied the other man's movement. "Ready," he confirmed.

"On the count of three," James said as he reached for the doorknob. "One, two, three!"

The door swung open and both men charged out into the corridor. Their eyes searched for any signs of threat, but they encountered nothing.

They paused to catch their breaths when they reached the ground floor. James looked at Sirius and gave him a small smile.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be," he whispered, lowering his wand.

"James, don't -!" Sirius cried just as a snarl sounded from behind them.

James was suddenly tackled to the ground, his wand rolling out of his hand and bouncing down the corridor. Sirius watched in horror as the man wrestled with a bloodied figure, his own wand aimed and waiting for an opportunity. He got his chance when, with a might kick, James threw the woman off of him.

"Incendio!" Sirius cried. A piercing scream echoed through the corridor as the woman turned and ran.

Sirius quickly scanned the surrounding area for any more threats before turning to James. "Are you hurt?" he demanded, his hands patting at the man's arms and torso, searching for wounds. "Did she bite you?"

James shook his head and swallowed. "I - I'm fine," he stuttered.

Sirius sighed in relief. "Accio James' wand," he said. The light brown wood soared up and into his free hand and he offered it to James.

"Thanks," he said.

"Don't you ever lower your wand again, understood?" Sirius growled and James nodded. "Good. Now let's get out of here."

They slowly made their way to the main lobby, watching and listening for anymore danger. They reached the large room without any difficulty and were about to Apparate away when a voice sounded behind them.

"Sirius," it cooed sweetly, "you're not just going to leave me, are you?"

Sirius rounded quickly and gasped. "Alice," he whispered and the sight of her caused his stomach to twist unpleasantly. He heard James gag behind him.

"Look what's happened to me," she continued, pulling at her blood-stained blond hair. "Do you want to see what I can do?"

"No," Sirius answered, his heart pounding.

Alice smiled and her teeth flashed red. Her hand reached up to the back of her head and Sirius realised that three of her fingers were missing. Left behind were three stubs, bone and tissue dangling freely from where the rest of the digits had been chewed off by flat, dull teeth. Sirius swallowed back the bile that rose in his throat.

"Look," Alice prompted as she brought her hand back down. It was covered in even more blood than before, and when she opened it, Sirius retched when he saw a piece of her brain lying in the middle of her palm like some sort of twisted, morbid offering.

Alice cocked her head to the side as she watched Sirius vomit up the contents of his stomach. "Don't you like it, Sirius?" she asked, her lips pursing into a pout.

Sirius' chest heaved as he struggled to breathe. "No, I don't," he whispered desperately.

Alice frowned. "Your birthday is in a couple of months," she said. Her eyes narrowed and her head tilted even more. "I think I'm going to miss it. This is your gift."

"I don't want it," Sirius breathed.

Alice's hand twitched as thought she was going to close it, but she stopped. "A mind is a beautiful thing, Sirius," she stated as she glared at him. "It's a horrible thing to waste."

Her hand rose to her mouth and she tossed the piece of brain inside. It made a sickening squishing sound as her teeth collided with it. Sirius' stomach rocked again.

"Mmm," she hummed in appreciation, running her tongue over her hand. "Delicious."

James reached up and gripped Sirius' shoulder. "We have to go," he whispered.

Alice's eyes focused on Sirius sharply. "What are you going to tell my son?" she asked harshly. "He's an orphan now. Mummy and Daddy aren't coming home for little Neville." She licked her lips and grinned. "At least not the way they used to be."

"Leave him alone," Sirius warned.

"Don't defend him, Sirius. This is your fault," she snapped. "Moody put you in charge of this and you failed. You failed because you let us die!"

"No," Sirius protested. "I tried to help you, but I couldn't. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" she laughed out cruelly. "You, Sirius, are never sorry about anything. Always so cocky and sure of yourself, strolling through life without a care in the world. What does the great Sirius Black have to be sorry about? He's alive!"

"No!" Sirius screamed. "That isn't true. I do care and I am sorry." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter what you say because you're not Alice."

"Of course I am," she snapped, throwing her arms wide. "Look at me."

Sirius shook his head. "You have her body, but you're not her. Alice Longbottom is dead. I saw her die."

Alice clicked her teeth together and smirked, her eyes narrowed. "True," she relented with a shrug, "but she's still in here, screaming, burning." A spark of twisted glee entered her eyes. "And do you know what she's saying, Sirius? She's saying that it is your fault. It's because of you that she'll never see her son again. It's because of you that he's alone."

Sirius shook his head violently and clenched his hands. "No," he said.

"It's because of you that she's dead," Alice continued. "You're a coward."

James' hand wrapped around Sirius' arm. "Ignore her," he whispered. "She's lying."

Alice took a step forward and all Sirius could do was stare. "You just stood there and watched as her husband was murdered before her very eyes. You never even moved. She begged you to do something; begged you to help her and you did nothing. You froze and never even twitched until they came after her and by then it was too late. She died because you were too much of a fucking coward to save her."

Sirius fell to his knees with a sob. "I'm sorry," he moaned. "I'm so sorry. I - I didn't know what to do. There were so many of them."

"You're weak!" she screeched, advancing towards him. "Weak and ruled by petty emotions. You allow death to approach you so easily." She grinned again. "Which reminds me, I am so dreadfully hungry."

She lunged before Sirius could react. He tired to scramble backwards, but she was too quick and her nails dug into the flesh of his neck as she grabbed for him. Just as Sirius began to think that it was his end, there was a flash of blue light and Alice leapt back and screamed with rage as her arm was severed from the rest of her body.

James was suddenly there behind him, hauling him to his feet. "Come on!" he shouted.

Just before they Disapparated, Sirius turned to the quickly approaching dead woman and whispered brokenly, "I'm sorry, Alice" as he severed her head from her body. The muted thump it made as it hit the floor was lost under the loud crack of Apparition.

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Sirius collapsed against an old stone wall when they reappeared. His body shook and his eyes stung and all he wanted to do was scream. Yet still he felt nothing more than strong guilt and regret. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever feel the type of sorrow that so many others had.

James gripped his shoulder as he stood behind Sirius. "Forget about what she said," the man told him. "All she was trying to do was distract you."

Sirius clenched his eyes closed. "She was telling the truth, though," she said, voice shaking. "It is my fault they're dead. I was in charge and they were my responsibility. When we were being attacked, all I did was stare because I was terrified. There was so many of them and they were all pouring through the door and my mind just froze at the sight. All I could think was why is this happening? Why here and now? Why us?"

Sirius drew in a shuddering breath. "When I finally reacted, it was too late. They were all dead and there was nothing I could do. So I ran. I ran and I hid like a great bloody coward."

"Sirius," James sighed, "everyone reacted like that. Those...things, they're people we knew; people we watched die. And they were up, walking around, talking, pretending to be the people they originally were. They aren't those people, though. I don't know what they are, but I do know that they aren't human."

"You don't understand!" Sirius shouted, jumping from the wall and pulling at his hair. "I'm an Auror. I was trained for this. I should be able to do something, but instead I'm helpless."

James stood abruptly and brought his face so close to Sirius' that their noses were almost touching. "Don't you dare tell me that I don't understand," he growled. "No one has been trained for this, Sirius, because no one expected it." He pulled away slightly, but his eyes still blazed. "Do you not think that I feel the same way you do? I'm a Healer, Sirius, but there isn't anything I can do for any of them and it is killing me inside. They are all suffering, but even with every single bit of training I have, there is nothing I can do."

Sirius deflated at James words and slowly sank to the grass at his feet. "You're right," he whispered. "You're right, James, and I'm sorry."

James exhaled a large breath of air and sat down beside Sirius. He gazed into the distance with a far-off expression in his hazel eyes. Finally, he turned to Sirius and stared at him in contemplation.

"You talk about wanting to help someone," he said softly. "What would you say if I told you that you already had?"

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, confusion marring his tone.

"Harry," James replied. "That lily you gave him, he carries it with him everywhere. Hasn't let the thing out of his sight. I go into his room in the mornings while he's still sleeping and there it is, lying on his bedside table." The corner of his lips tugged up slightly. "He smiles a lot when he looks at it. When I see him doing that I know he's remembering Lily, and that makes me smile as well."

Sirius swallowed as James' eyes turned away. "So really, you've helped two people," James continued, "because when he smiles, I see her and it's made it easier to bear."

They sat in silence for a long while as Sirius attempted to gain control of his swelling emotions. Eventually, he stood and offered his hand to help the other man up.

"Let's go get your son, James," he said.

James nodded and they set off across the field. A short time later, they crested a small hill and Sirius caught his first glimpse of the tall, crooked house.

"That's the Burrow," James said. "Home of the Weasley family."

"Weasley?" Sirius asked in shock. "As in Arthur Weasley, the one that works at the Ministry?"

"That's the one," James answered. "I take it that you know him?"

"Just a bit," Sirius said, shock coursing through his body. "I went to school with three of his sons. We were all in the same House. Bill was in my year; shared a dorm with him for seven years." Sirius shook his head in despair. "Merlin, when you said friends and that they had recently lost children...I never even connected it."

"Horrible, isn't it?" James asked with a shake of his head. "I don't even want to imagine losing one child. I can't possibly dream of what it would be like to lose two, especially only within a couple of week of one another."

Sirius glanced at James and saw that he his face was tight with worry. He gently bumped his shoulder into the other man's.

"He'll be all right, James," he assured. "Those Weasleys, they're a tough lot. Curse breakers and dragon handlers..."

James swallowed, but didn't reply and they walked on. As they came upon the stone wall surrounding the garden of the Burrow, both men pulled out their wands and crouched down, surveying the area.

"See anything?" Sirius whispered.

James shook his head. "No," he answered just as quietly. "You?"

"Nothing," Sirius said. He glanced around, searching for something within the boundaries of the property that they could use for cover and shelter. "You see that shed across the way?" James nodded. "Let's get over there and use the side wall."

They climbed over the wall and raced across the grass as quickly as they could. Just as they ducked behind the corner, the back door of the house opened and slammed closed.

"James, dear," a feminine voice called cheerily, "is that you?"

Sirius glanced at James questioningly and the other man muttered, "Molly, Arthur's wife."

"Can you see her?" Sirius asked quietly.

"Not without her seeing me as well," he said, shaking his head.

"Shit," Sirius cursed. "So how do we know if she's..." He trailed off, not wanting to say what they both knew he was thinking.

"Gear up and come out to fly," James replied in a demeaning tone. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"James, dear, if that's you and you're looking for Harry," Molly called again, "I don't know where he is. He and the other children ran off in a bit of a fright earlier. I can't imagine why." A jeering tone had entered her voice as she had spoke and James glanced at Sirius sharply.

"James, no!" Sirius shouted, making a grab for the other man, but he missed as James dodged around the corner of the shed and pulled his wand on someone Sirius couldn't see. He growled in frustration as he followed the older man.

The sight that greeted him was not pleasant. A short, plump, red-headed woman of about forty stood before James. Her hair was hanging in blood-matted tendrils around her pale and scratched face. Her right arm hung uselessly at her side, half of the flesh of her shoulder missing. Her abdomen was also missing a sizable portion and the gaping hole left behind was enough to send Sirius' head reeling.

"What have you done with my son?" James hissed.

Molly flashed a motherly smile at him, a hint of something feral glinting in her brown eyes. "I haven't done anything, James," she replied sweetly. "We were going to have lunch, but as I said before, all the children ran off. There must have been something I offered that they didn't like. I don't understand why. The other three were quite pleased with the selection."

As the words left her mouth, three more figures emerged from within the house. The first was clearly Arthur Weasley. He wasn't nearly as badly damaged as Molly was. There was a small bite in his neck that was surrounded by rusty, dried red blood. Sirius assumed that it had been Molly to provide him with it. It was much too tender looking to have been one of the others.

The other two were obviously their once dead children. The boy, Percy, was not much younger than Sirius himself was. He had been in his first year at Hogwarts when Sirius was in his last, which meant he was probably fifteen or sixteen. His skin was starting to decay and a horrible stench radiated from him and the other child. His dark red hair was beginning to thin and fall away as his scalp peeled back from his skull.

The other, the girl, was Ginny. She was so young and so tiny and probably no more than a year away from Harry's own age. Her jaw was dislocated and hung askew from the rest of her face and Sirius wondered how she fed. The side of her face beside her left eye was black and a bit dented and looked as though something had hit her round the head. The sight of her made Sirius' heart ache in a way he had never thought possible.

Arthur walked up behind Molly and wrapped his arms around her chest, his arm brushing lightly over the large wound in her stomach. "Molly Flooed me and I came home from work early and found the loveliest spread," he said heartily. "Never in my existence have I seen such an appetizing selection."

"Where's my son?" James said pleadingly, his eyes swimming with tears. "Please, I just want Harry. We'll go; we'll leave you be. I just want my son. Please tell me where he is."

Ginny tugged on the hem of her mother's apron and looked up at her silently. Molly smiled at her daughter and turned to James and Sirius.

"Ginny is requesting that you stay for lunch," she said politely. "Will you please stay?"

"No," Sirius snapped. "Where's Harry?"

"It's rude to refuse such an invitation," Percy stated pompously.

James' hands clenched at his sides in fury. "Where's my son?" he roared.

Arthur tsked. "Now, now, James," he said. "Is that anyway to behave?"

"D - Dad?" a soft voice called from behind them.

Both Sirius and James rounded to see Harry's frightened face peeking out from around the shed door. James released a strangled cry and ran to Harry, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close. He hugged him for a long moment before pushing Harry away slightly and running his hands along the length of his son's body and across his face.

"Are you all right?" he asked desperately, panic filling his voice and causing it to shake. "Are you hurt?"

"I - I'm fine," Harry stuttered out. "We ran and hid when they said it was time for lunch." Harry glanced over at the foursome and his eyes widened a bit. "Dad, they wanted to eat us." He stopped again and his face flamed red in shame as his eyes landed on Ginny. "And I hit Ginny with a wooden board."

James emitted a half laugh, half sob as he pulled Harry close again. "It doesn't matter so long as you're safe," he whispered. "Where are the others?"

"They're in here," Harry said, motioning behind him. There was the sound of shuffling and three other redheads emerged from within the shed. James grabbed them as well and examined them until he was satisfied that they were all right as well.

"Fred, George," James said as he stood, "I want you to grab onto Harry and Ron and don't let go of them for anything, understood?" The twins nodded and did as they were told, moving in behind Sirius and James as they turned back to the rest of the family.

"We'll go to my house," James whispered in Sirius' ear. "It has loads of wards, so we should be safe for a bit and you can try and contact the Ministry. We have to use the Floo, though. You can't Apparate anywhere within a mile of the property."

"Right," Sirius scoffed, "the easy option, then, is it?" James' only answer was an apologetic glance. Sirius looked to Arthur. "Don't suppose you'd be willing to let us use your Floo, would you?"

Arthur's eyes narrowed. "I don't think that would be the best idea," he replied in a low murmur.

"Thought not," Sirius remarked. "Well, I suppose we'll have to do this by force, won't we?"

Molly's left hand reached for her wand and she aimed it at Sirius, but her aim was off due to the lack of her wand hand and she growled when she missed.

"Don't worry, Mother," Percy said superiorly, stepping forward and raising his own wand, "I'll take care of them."

"Such a wonderful boy," Molly stated proudly.

"Close your eyes, kids," Sirius called to the four children standing behind him.

"Stupefy!" Percy cried as he stepped forward.

James blocked the spell quickly as Sirius shouted, "Incendio!" Percy screamed as he burst into flames and fell to the ground. Sirius gagged at the sickening smell of burning flesh that radiated heavily through the air.

"Percy!" Molly screeched. She rounded on Sirius, anger filling her eyes as she roared, "You will not harm my children!" Her wand slashed through the air, but she missed again and hit a ceramic flower pot. It exploded, raining dirt down around their heads.

"I'm sorry, Molly," James said gravely, "but you're too dangerous." He raised his wand and severed her head from her shoulders. Sirius watched as the green grass tinted red beneath her body.

"No!" Arthur cried as he dropped to his knees beside the woman. Ginny released a strangled, keening cry.

"James!" Sirius shouted. "Grab the kids and get them inside. Make sure there's nothing in there before you let them follow you all the way in. I'll bring up the back."

James nodded and ran to the children, leading them towards the house and directing their eyes away from their family members. Sirius followed behind, his back to the others and his wand trained on Arthur and Ginny. Just as he was entering the door, Arthur leapt to his feet and charged towards him, wand held aloft, Ginny running at his heels.

"Go!" Sirius screamed into the house.

He raced into the living room and slammed the door behind himself, performing a locking charm while he was at it. He turned to the other five.

"That won't keep them out for long, so we have to go," he said. "James, Floo ahead to your house and make sure it's safe. I'll give you thirty seconds. If you haven't come back, I'll send them through one at a time."

"Right," James said, grabbing a handful of Floo powder and throwing it into the flames. "Shadow Cottage, Godric's Hollow!"

Sirius waited, counting the seconds in his head as he watched the door. After half a minute had passed and James had not returned, he motioned to one of the twins. "Go on," he urged.

One by one, the children disappeared into the Floo. Just as Sirius was throwing his how own handful of powder down, the door burst open and Arthur pounded in. Sirius flashed him a cheeky grin before the flames swallowed him.

He reappeared inside a light, tidy, and nicely decorated room. He glanced around quickly, searching for the others and found them standing a small distance away from the fireplace, none of them moving. Sirius advanced slowly and gazed around the group. He gaped.

"Hello, loves," Lily greeted from her seat in the armchair.

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A/N: The zombies that you see here are not fully mine. They are based off of zombies I read about in a book called The Rising by Brian Keene. An amazing book, I have to say, and I highly recommend reading it.

Also, another large thank you goes to eldritcher for another wonderful beta job! Thanks, dear!