And So the World Falls to Pain

The Dust Explodes

Sirius stared at the once beautiful woman who was seated in the large armchair. Barely three weeks in the grave, but her fair skin was already hanging loosely from her bones as though she had aged sixty years in the blink of an eye. Her long red hair was matted beyond repair and had thinned considerably as he skin decayed around its roots. Yet she was still a sight to behold, her very presence screaming grace and elegance and Sirius was very thankful that she wasn't too damaged, if only because James' and Harry's eyes were locked on her like a moth to a flame.

"M-Mum?" Harry stuttered out hopefully as he took a tentative step forward. Sirius reached out quickly and grabbed the boy's shoulder, preventing him from moving any closer. Harry turned and glared up at him as his small body struggled in Sirius' grip. "Let me go! That's my mum! I want to see her!"

"That isn't your mum, Harry," Sirius explained gently. "It looks like her, but it's really not."

Lily leaned forward and her piercing green eyes locked on Harry's. "Don't listen to him," she murmured. "He's lying to you. Listen to my voice. It is me, love." Sirius wrapped his arms around Harry as he struggled harder at the words and Lily smirked at Sirius. He looked to James for help, but the man was completely frozen as he stared at his dead wife.

"Don't you miss me, Harry?" Lily asked softly, her lips pouting into a sad frown.

"Yes," Harry panted.

Lily stood and crossed her arms as she glared down at her son reproachfully. "I don't think you do," she hissed. "I think your father and you have been quite happy without me."

"No!" Harry yelled. "Mum, no, we have missed you! Why did you leave?"

Lily ignored him. "You haven't missed me, or else you would be over here with me instead of with Sirius!" she shouted, uttering Sirius' name as though it wasn't fit to pass her decaying lips.

"That isn't true!" Harry cried as he worked his arms vigorously against Sirius' hands. "He won't let me go!"

"Then fight harder!" Lily snarled, and Harry did. His hands came up into balled fists and he beat against Sirius' arms with as much force as a ten year old could manage. When that attempt failed, he brought his left leg up and kicked out his foot, slamming against Sirius' knee. The pressure overbalanced Sirius and he fell backwards, Harry slipping out of his grip easily. Sirius cried out as the boy darted forward, but there was nothing he could do.

"Catch him!" he shouted at the other three children. Their arms reached out, but Harry dodged around their grasping hands. Sirius could do nothing but sit, panicked, and watch with bated breath as Harry quickly approached the waiting, grinning woman.

Just before Harry reached her, a pair of arms shot out and grabbed the boy round the waist. "Harry, no!" James cried as he fell to his knees, and Lily shrieked with rage. Harry turned and looked at his father in shock.

"Dad?" he whispered.

"Do you see, Harry?" Lily snapped and Harry's green eyes shifted to her. "I was right. Your father doesn't miss me."

"Harry, listen to me," James said vehemently, his hands framing the boy's face so that the green eyes were locked with his hazel. "That is not your mother." Harry opened his mouth to protest, but James overrode him. "Listen to me! I know it looks like her, and I know it sounds like her, but it isn't, Harry. Your mum is gone, and she can't come back, do you understand me?" A tear leaked down Harry's cheek and James' tone softened as he pulled his son against his chest. "I wish she could, Harry, every day, but she can't. She just can't, Harry, and we have to accept that."

Harry's back shuddered with silent sobs and, slowly, his head nodded against James' shoulder. James pulled back and his hands smoothed over Harry's hair before he stood. He stared at Lily as he kept a firm hold on Harry's shoulder and Lily smiled sweetly at him.

"James, dear," she murmured. James' back tensed at the sound of her voice and his grip tightened on Harry.

"Sirius," he said flatly, his hazel eyes not leaving his wife's green, "take the kids upstairs. Put silencing charms up."

Sirius stood and reached for Harry. The boy hesitated, but after a sharp look from James, he allowed Sirius to pull him away. He and the other three children gathered in the living room doorway as Sirius turned to the other man.

"James -" he began quietly, but James cut across him.

"Go!" he roared, fire and sadness burning in his eyes. Sirius swallowed and ushered the children out of the room and up the stairs.

"James, darling, you -" Sirius' heard Lily say before he slammed the bedroom door shut behind him and placed the requested charm over the room. He leaned his back against the smooth wood as his chest heaved for air and his eyes searched out the four children left under his charge. He found them huddled together in the far corner, staring at him with wide, fearful eyes. Sirius swallowed and tried to provide them with a reassuring smile as he walked over and sat on the floor in front of them.

His eyes travelled around the room as he tried to think of something that would distract the four from what was happening downstairs. "This is your bedroom, Harry?" he finally asked as he took in the smaller bed, the child-oriented décor, and the various toys.

"Yeah," Harry muttered, his eyes locked on the door.

Sirius moved a bit and positioned his body in Harry's line of sight. "Mind showing us some of your things?" Harry shrugged and Sirius clamped his lips down around a sigh. This is one of the reasons I'm gay, he thought to himself. Children and I do not get on. That, and Remus was too irresistible to pass up. A lump rose in his throat as he thought of his lover and he quickly looked around for something to focus his attention on. "What's that?" he asked, motioning with his chin to what look like a miniature Quidditch Pitch.

Harry stood and walked to retrieve it. "It's my game board," he said as he set it down between Sirius and his friends. "Dad got it for me when he took me to the World Cup two years ago."

"Did you enjoy the match?" Sirius asked, reflecting on his own experience at the same game. It had been Remus' first World Cup, and Sirius had spent more time watching the man watch the players than actually viewing it himself.

Harry's face broke out into a weak smile. "It was wicked," he answered. "The Quafflepunchers destroyed the Vultures."

"Who were you cheering for?" Sirius said.

Harry grinned. "The Quafflepunchers."

Sirius balked and the children laughed in amusement. "What?" he squawked. "Why? Their robes are so bright and garishly pink that you can barely see them."

"Which makes them all the better," one of the twins said.

"Blinding and brilliant," the other continued.

Sirius shook his head in mock dismay.

"The Cannons are still the best team," Ron spoke up, "even if they are International."

The other three kids snorted in amusement and Sirius cried, "The Cannons? They haven't won a match in three years!"

Ron opened his mouth to retort, but Sirius held up his hands for peace. "All right, all right. Harry, show us how this thing works before all out war breaks."

Harry did as he was told and as he prodded the miniature players around the Pitch, Sirius' thoughts drifted down the stairs to James. Why had he not been up to find them yet? Was he all right? Was he hurt? Was he...dead? Had he managed to kill Lily and done the same thing to himself because of the grief?

Questions upon questions flooded into Sirius' mind and his head began to pound from the stress of the entire day. James was all right; he had to be. If not, Lily would have already been upstairs, searching them out.

Sirius swallowed down his doubt. "Harry," he began and the boy glanced up at him, "where's your toilet?"

Harry's eyes shifted around the room. "Down the hall; last door on the right. You're not leaving us, are you?" he asked, panic sparking in his tone. The others looked up at him fearfully.

"I'll be back before you know it," he assured as he stood. "And I'm locking you in with a spell that only Aurors know, so you'll be perfectly safe, all right?" They slowly nodded at him as he withdrew his wand, their eyes terrified. "It's going to be all right."

He opened the door quickly, wand positioned, and stared down the small hall in both directions before stepping out and pulling it closed behind him. He tapped the wood with the tip of his wand, silently locking it against anyone but himself and carefully made his way to the stairs. He reached the living room without any problems and what he found there made his heart fall to his feet. In front of Lily's headless body, James lay slumped on the floor, unmoving.

Sirius' chest heaved as his breathing increased and he slowly advanced forward. Halfway across the room, his heart leapt into his throat as James' body shuddered with sobs. He moved towards the man quickly, wand still ready, and gazed down at him warily.

"James?" he whispered. James' back tensed and he quickly pushed himself up into a sitting position. He looked up at Sirius, his eyes swollen and his red flushed face streaked with tear tracks, and tried to force his sobs away. His eyes, though, shifted to Lily, and he broke down once more. Sirius sank to his knees at the man's side and pulled James into his arms, comforting him the only way he knew how: silently.

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"Harry," Sirius murmured as he opened the door and saw all four children visibly relax when they saw Sirius' face. "Harry, your dad's all right." Harry's shoulders fell in relief and Sirius stared the other three as well. "I still want you four to stay here. Do not leave this room until James or I tell you to, understood?" The children nodded and Sirius slowly backed out of the room.

He made his way down to the living room. When he arrived, he found Lily's body gone and James Scourgifying the blood stains from the carpet.

"James," he said softly as he approached, "you should have left that to me."

James' throat tightened at he swallowed. "She was my wife. It was my responsibility," he muttered and Sirius wondered if he was referring to the clean-up, or the death itself.

Sirius didn't know what to say and stood in silence until James turned to him. "Didn't you say you need to call the Auror office?" he asked.

Sirius' head snapped up. "Oh, yeah. Right," he mumbled. He moved to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo powder from the mantle. "Be ready behind me in case something tries to come through." James nodded and held his wand at the ready as Sirius crawled to his knees, lit the fire, and threw the powder into the flames. "Ministry of Magic; Auror Department."

His head spun as room after room flashed before his eyes. When the images finally settled, Sirius was gazing at a deserted room filled with cubicles.

"Hello," he called cautiously. "Anyone here?"

No one answered and Sirius was about to push himself through when a grizzled face appeared before his.

"Black," Moody growled softly, "what are you doing here? Go away!"

Sirius gaped. "What are you talking about? Have you not seen what's going on?"

Moody huffed. "Of course I've seen it. The Ministry's overrun."

Sirius' eyes glanced around the room skeptically. "Where is everyone?" he asked. "All the Aurors? Tell me you have someone. I've got a man and four kids here and I need help."

Moody studied him. "Where are McKinnon and the Longbottoms?" Sirius swallowed thickly and looked down at the green embers beneath his head. Moody sighed. "Everyone's dead, kid. Far as I know, you and I are the last two Aurors left."

"Then we're coming there," Sirius said vehemently. "You need all the help you can get."

"Don't you dare, Black!" Moody barked. "I've locked and barricaded them outside the office, so I'm safe for now. Your job is to stay as far away from here as you can and keep those people safe."

"Then you can come here," Sirius snapped. "If you're the only one left, there's nothing you can do there."

"Don't take that tone with me, boy!" Moody warned. "And I ain't leaving." Sirius opened his mouth to object, but Moody waved him off. "I took an oath when I became an Auror to protect this Ministry until the end. That's exactly what I plan to do."

"So did I!" Sirius shouted in desperation. "I took the same oath and you're telling me to stay here?"

Both of Moody's eyes landed on Sirius. "I am," he replied. "You also swore to protect the innocent, and that's exactly what you're going to -" Moody broke off as a banging sounded against the door that Sirius' couldn't see, followed by the sound of splintering wood. Moody's magical eye swiveled and his shoulders squared. "Here we go." His hand came up and pushed against Sirius' head. "Go on, boy. Put a block on that fireplace so that they can't follow you."

"Mad-Eye," Sirius breathed just before a horde of undead barreled around the corner. Moody shoved harder against his head and Sirius quickly backed out of the fire, the connection snapping the moment he was free.

He didn't know how long he sat and stared at the orange flames. One thought kept running round and round through his mind: Moody's gone. There's nothing I can do. Mad-Eye Moody, the greatest Auror in existence, is dead and there is nothing I can do about it.

A hand landed on his shoulder and Sirius started under the gentle pressure. He glanced up to see James staring down at him in understanding.

"We're not getting any help, are we?" he asked softly.

Sirius stood and pointed his wand at the flickering flames, placing a block on the fireplace before he turned to James. "No, we aren't," he whispered.

"All right," James sighed, a sense of calm overcoming him. "Go around the house and put that special locking charm you've got on all the doors and windows. I'm going to get the kids and bring them downstairs. Then we can figure out what we're going to do."

"Yeah, okay." James turned to walk away, but Sirius stopped him. "James?" The man glanced back at Sirius. "You would've made a good Auror."

James gazed at him for a long moment before a small smile worked its way over his face. "Almost was one," he said.

Sirius stared at him in shock. "What changed?"

James motioned to the front door. "We'll talk about it later," he said. "Get those doors locked." Then he disappeared out of the room.

Sirius went about his task quickly, moving from the first floor to the second in a matter of minutes. When he was finished, he made his way downstairs and found James and the four children in the kitchen. James was bent over, searching through a cupboard and the kids were seated around the table, playing with Harry's Quidditch Pitch.

James straightened up and clapped his hands together. "How does sandwiches sound to everyone?" he asked cheerily.

Sirius' stomach rumbled at the suggestion as the kids voiced their enthusiasm.

"Sounds good," Harry said.

"Yeah," agreed Ron as he pushed a player into position.

"We're starved," one of the twins said.

"Famished," the other joined in.

"Ravenous."

"Voracious."

"Hungry."

"Empty."

"Hollow."

"Er...peckish?"

"That's enough," James called. "And 'peckish' doesn't fit with the rest of those words, George."

I really have to learn to tell them apart, Sirius thought.

"Want some help?" he asked as he walked up next to James.

"Yeah," James answered, handing him a pack of meat. He caught Sirius' eyes travelling to the twins and he grinned. "The only way to tell them apart is by their hair. George's hair flips a bit up front. Fred has tried to get his to do the same, but he can never manage it. Keep an eye on them. They think it's all good fun to confuse people."

"Thanks," Sirius murmured as they finished up and passed the plates around.

James and he sat at the counter so that they could watch over the kids. Sirius lifted his sandwich to his mouth, but one smell of the meat had his stomach rolling as the events of the day became fresh in his mind again and he set it back down, pushing his plate away. He noticed James doing the same and he sighed.

"Think we'll ever be able to eat again?" he asked quietly.

James shrugged as he picked at his bread. "S'pose we'll have to eventually." He brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. "So what are we going to do? We can't stay here forever."

"I was thinking about that while I was locking up the house," Sirius began. "My boyfriend -"

James' head jerked up and he stared at Sirius sharply. "You're gay?" he snapped.

Sirius' jaw clenched as he squared his shoulders. "I am," he answered, a warning tone entering his voice. "Do you have a problem with that?"

James raised his hands for peace. "No, I don't," he assured. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. You just...don't look the type, that's all." His eyes shifted away and Sirius' narrowed.

"There's something you're not saying," Sirius prodded.

James sighed and began pinching at his sandwich again. "When I saw you at the cemetery and you started talking about Lily, and I saw you, I couldn't stop myself from wondering..." He trailed off and sighed again. "I didn't want to remember Lily like that, though, so I didn't think about it anymore, but earlier...she was making references and hints..."

Sirius' hand squeezed James' arm gently. "Lily was a beautiful woman, James, but not at all my type," he murmured. "I've known I was gay since I was fourteen and I've been in love with my boyfriend, Remus, for just as long. We've been together since we were sixteen and he's the only person I've ever been with, the only person I have ever wanted, and the only person I will ever want."

James smiled wistfully. "It's nice to have that, isn't it?"

"It is," Sirius agreed quietly, his thoughts and worries turning to the man he was discussing. Was he all right? Was he safe? Sirius would have given anything to have been able to hold him at that very moment.

"So what's this idea of yours?" James asked, and Sirius broke himself out of his melancholy.

"Right," Sirius said, spinning his plate around between his hands. "Well, like I said, Remus, he's a Medi-Chemist -"

"Dad, can I have another sandwich?" Harry asked from beside James' elbow.

"Yeah, Harry. Give me your plate," James replied. "Who else wants more?" The other three carried their plates up to James as answer and he chuckled. "I forget how much boys can eat sometimes."

Harry studied Sirius as James carried the plates to the opposite counter and began making more sandwiches. "What's a Medi-Chemist?" Harry finally asked.

"A Medi-Chemist is basically the same as a Muggle scientist," Sirius explained. "They invent, study, and discover new things. A Chemist discovers medicine."

"What's a sien-fist?" Ron questioned in confusion.

"Er..." Sirius began as he struggled to find a suitable answer. "Well, a scientist is...erm..."

"Harry, you know what a scientist is, don't you?" James said as he brought the boys' plates back. When Harry nodded, James handed him his food and smiled. "Think you can explain to this lot what they do?"

"Yeah, Dad," Harry answered cheerily as he walked back to the table and launched into an animated discussion about what it was a Muggle scientist did.

"Lily was a Muggle-born, wasn't she?" Sirius asked softly.

"Yeah," James sighed. "Made sure Harry knew everything there was to know about Muggles. Made sure I did too, for that matter. Up until Harry was about six, I couldn't go a day without her explaining something to me." James stopped as his eyes turned distant and to Sirius' surprise, he actually grinned. "When we first got married, one of her relatives gave us a blender as a wedding present. The first time I attempted to use it was...interesting. Lily was always talking about how we could make something called a smoothie with fruit in, and it sounded good, so one day, while she was out, I decided to make one and surprise her when she came home."

Sirius choked down a laugh as he asked, "Did you surprise her?"

James snorted. "And myself," he chuckled out. "I didn't exactly know what it was going to do, just sort of threw the fruit inside without cutting it up and pushed the button. The lid popped off and great lumps of fruit flew everywhere. This entire kitchen was covered, from the floor to the ceiling." James' eyes roved around the room, their hazel depths sparking wistfully. "Lily came home before I could clean it up. She took one look at the kitchen before she turned around and walked back out. She came back in after a minute and started laughing at me because I was covered with fruit as well and standing there looking like an idiot because it hadn't worked. Then I started babbling something about trying to surprise her and she stopped laughing at me, but the clean-up was put off for a while longer."

Sirius smiled as his hands continued to work at his plate. "Sounds like you had fun," he teased the older man and James winked.

"You have no idea."

"Oh, I can imagine," Sirius retorted smugly.

James huffed. "All right, enough talk of this," he said, waving his hands about wildly. "I don't care what you do, honestly, but it's not something I want to picture, either." Sirius barked out a laugh and James' lips dropped into a mock frown. "So, this idea...?"

"Yeah," Sirius said as he provided James with a lewd grin. "So you know how the Muggles set up that research facility in Samara?" James nodded and Sirius continued. "Well, the wizarding Ministries set one up as well."

James eyes widened. "I didn't know that," he said in astonishment.

Sirius shook his head. "No one does," he murmured. "The only reason I do is because Remus was one of the Medi-Chemists they sent. The facility's in the same place as the Muggles' is, just underground and completely charmed and warded against them. They don't even know there are levels underground."

"So..." James began, "your boyfriend, Remus, and the rest of the Medi-Chemists were trying to develop some sort of cure for that illness?"

"Yeah," Sirius answered as his eyes traveled to the children at the table. Harry was still gesturing wildly and Sirius could only guess that he was miming a great explosion. His lips twitched as he thought of the Muggle Albert Einstein. "He's been there for about three weeks and I talked to him a few days ago and, though he couldn't tell me much, he said he thought they were getting closer. If they're -" Sirius broke off and swallowed. "If they're still...alive, then maybe they can alter what they were making so that it stops this madness."

"So all we have to do is Floo to the facility in Samara," James said excitedly.

Sirius sighed and his hands clenched around his plate. "It's not that simple," he mumbled. "They don't have a Floo connection at the facility for security's sake. Any time I talked with Remus, he had to go somewhere else and Floo from there, and I don't know where he went. He said it was private, so I'm assuming that means there was somewhere else that was set up for that very purpose. If that be the case, there's no way we're going to find it and be able to just pop in..."

"We're still stuck then," James said as his shoulders sagged.

Sirius shrugged as his mood darkened. "We have two options. We can go to my flat - which isn't nearly as big or as safe as your house is, though the wards can be touched up - and wait to see if Remus Floos and then ask him where they are, or we can go to Samara and see if we can find the facility ourselves."

James' brow furrowed. "Samara's a big city, Sirius," he muttered.

"I know," Sirius sighed, his eyes moving to meet James', "but what else can we do? If this same thing is going on in Samara - and I have no doubt that it is - I highly doubt Remus will be able to Floo."

"All right," James said thoughtfully. "How do we go about finding it, then?"

"Got a map?"

"Yeah, give me a second," James said as he stood and rooted through a drawer. "Aha!" he exclaimed as he pulled out a folded piece of paper. He knocked their plates to the side and spread it out across the countertop. "Lily was always fond of gathering maps of every country she could find, just in case we ever decided to take a holiday. Always the planner, she was."

"Right," Sirius said as he located Samara on the giant map of Russia. "From what Remus let - er...slip, I know that the facility is on the east side of the city, so that puts us around here." Sirius pulled out his wand and pointed it the map. "Apices." He drew a red circle around the east side before muttering another spell and the circled portion flew up to hang in the air. The map portion became translucent as the streets and buildings glowed red. The children at the table looked up and gaze at the floating image in awe. "I also know that they wanted the facility as far away from the general public as it was possible to be, so that means it's on the very outskirts of the city." He flicked his wand and the map magnified and zeroed in the outside ring. "All right, these -" Sirius waved his wand and three blue squares appeared in random places "--are the places that have been built within the past three months. These -" He waved his wand again and another handful of green squares appeared on the map "--are the buildings that have been empty and vacant up until two months ago. And these -" One last flick of his wand showed numerous purple squares covering the map portion, some overlapping the blue and green ones "--are the buildings that are restricted from the public."

"How do you know how to do all this?" James asked in amazement.

Sirius flashed him a cheeky smile. "Auror, remember? They teach us these types of things in Training." James hummed distractedly as Sirius turned back to the map. "I'd say the blue and green squares that coincide with the purple are our best bets. Newly built or newly housed and are restricted," he said, motioning to four squares with his wand.

"I think you're right," James agreed. "All right, so I say we stay here tonight and pack up some supplies. We can leave out first thing in the morning and go to Samara to see what we can find. Apparate as much as we can."

"This won't be easy, James," Sirius whispered sadly.

James bowed his head. "I know," he sighed. His head lifted and he stared across the room to a laughing Harry before he turned his somber hazel eyes on Sirius. "But we have to try."

James stood and collected the dishes from the children for washing. Sirius swallowed and closed his eyes for a brief moment before he stood as well and followed to help James.

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A/N: Arrgh! I had all these wonderful plans for gruesome-Lily, but when I got there, I just couldn't do it! She was going to be ghastly, believe me, but I adore Lily, so I just couldn't do it to her. So, bit of a long, boring chapter, I know. Not much happened by way of action, but I had to get a lot of things out of the way before the plot could move on. So, next time, look forward to zombies (of course), Samara, and a new addition to the mismatch group I've put together! I hope everyone is enjoying this so far.

An Additional Note: I'm planning to put this story on hold until the end of August (which really isn't that far away, so you guys can wait, right?). I've joined the R/S Games on LJ (Go Team Sirius!) and I've got about halfway through the piece I'm writing. Until I get it finished, however, I really need to focus on that right now since there is a deadline. Unless I simply get massively bored one day, or have a sudden surge of inspiration for this story that cannot wait, there won't be another update for about a month and a half. Feel free message me, leave comments, or anything else you can think of, yelling and screaming at me for it. I'll accept them easily. But! If you're a fan of Remus/Sirius (and you must be if you're reading this), posting for the Games starts in October, so drop by and read all the amazing entries that everyone's going to submit and see if you can pick mine out while you're at it. ^_^

Words of Thanks: To eldritcher again for another lovely (and fast!) beta job. You are amazing, ducky! Also to ChimericalParoxysm for the idea of just what do call Remus' profession (Medi-Chemist). I was completely stumped and she bailed me out of my spot. Thank you, dear!