The Road to Godric's Hollow

29 June 1980

The rolling clouds muted the late afternoon sun and the warm breeze gently rustled the leaves. The graveyard was devoid of all life, except for the easternmost portion where a funeral was taking place. An old, gaunt woman with a harsh face and yellow skin stood prominently among the small group of mourners. Her stringy black hair, heavily streaked with grey, whipped around her tear-streaked face. She would wail loudly every time the coffin was covered with earth, though the other people seemed immune to her screeching voice. A stern looking man, who looked to be almost a century old due to his heavily wrinkled face, stood a little behind her. Unlike the old woman, he stood impassively beside the grave and barely spared a glance towards the coffin.

Two women supported the old lady on either side. An attractive brunette with heavily lidded eyes stood by the matron's right. The lady looked scornfully down at the black coffin. A regal blonde stood by the old woman's left. Her expressionless face gave the impression that she was immensely bored with the proceedings. A house elf hovered inconspicuously a few feet behind her, minding an elegant black baby stroller.

Not one of the mourners noticed the enormous dog that was watching them from a few meters north. It had soft black fur and was sitting patiently underneath a mahogany tree. It would growl softly every time the wind carried the old lady's wails.

The burial ended just as the sun was sinking below the horizon. One by one, the mourners paid their respects to the deceased's parents. The two women took turns holding the old lady, before disappearing with loud cracks. The crowd slowly dwindled, until only the old couple and the dog remained. The woman seemed reluctant to leave, and was eventually dragged away by her husband. Her echoing bawls could still be heard even after their departure.

The dog seemed to be waiting for this moment. It stood up, stretched lazily, and started to walk towards the freshly covered grave. Halfway across, the dog started to change. Its fur began to shorten, until only a mop of black hair remained on its head. Its torso was rapidly growing, along with its limbs. Only moments later, a man was walking in place of the dog.

Sirius Black purposefully strode towards his brother's grave. He knew it was dangerous for him to be there. He knew the complications that would arise if his hag of a mother decided to come back. He was aware of the possibility that Voldemort might have assigned Death Eaters to guard this place, in case Sirius decided to pay his respects. But frankly, he no longer cared.

He stood over the recently carved tombstone.

REGULUS BLACK

1961 - 1980

He was Always Pure in Life.

He will Always Be Pure in Death.

Sirius gave a soft snort. "More like a coward in life, a coward in death," he muttered. "That's why you always needed me. I wasn't just your older brother; I was also your protector. Do you remember how you would run to me every time you had a nightmare? You would come into my room, shaking with fear and mumbling about banshees trying to take your soul. You would dive under my covers and refuse to leave my room. At first, I would be cross with you and act annoyed with all your foolishness. I would eventually let up and allow you to stay the night. We always ended up staying awake the whole night just playing exploding snap and eating my secret stash of chocolate frogs."

Sirius sighed softly and tentatively sat down beside the cold tombstone. "You have always been scared, no terrified, of mother. You would hide in terror every time you broke a plate, for fear of her harsh words. You hated Kreacher with a vengeance, didn't you? You loathed how he would gleefully cackle every time mother admonished you, how he would add his own insults to mothers. You also hated father, how he was never there."

Sirius continued in a quieter tone, "You also hated me. I've always known that. You hated the way mother preferred me to you. You hated it whenever father would ask me, and only me, to accompany him on his trips. You hated the way Kreacher never had the gall to insult me."

He stopped for a moment, lost in his memories. In his mind he could see Regulus' sweet face paling in terror under their mother's barrage of insults. Even though the event occurred decades before, he could still clearly see his brother's eyes welling with tears. He could still feel the ache in his gut, this anxious tearing in his soul brought about by the realization that he couldn't always protect his younger brother.

"You hated me because I wasn't always able to protect you," Sirius whispered. "And I am sorry for that. I'm sorry for not being strong enough for you, for both of us. I know you felt that I abandoned you when I went to Hogwarts and met James. You felt that I somehow replaced you. And you're right. I did try to escape that hellhole we called home and in the process I managed to leave you behind. I left you with the monsters, not the monsters of your dreams but the monsters of reality."

"You liked it at first, didn't you?" Sirius asked. "For the first time in our lives, I was the shameful one. Our parents probably saw you in a new light. They realized how close they were to losing you, the same way they lost me. They probably drilled in you the nobility of our blood every single day. And you probably were just too happy to be finally noticed that you believed every damned thing they said."

Sirius again stopped to catch his breath. He shut his eyes in an effort to calm himself, although this had an adverse effect. Instead to seeing nothing, his mind returned to a week before. His mind forced him back to Knockturn Alley. He could see the black form lying in the gutter, rats crawling all over him. He could see those lifeless black eyes that would never cry again. He could still see that mouth open as if in shock - a mouth that would never laugh again nor scream in anger.

Sirius murmured softly, "But they never fully won you over, never fully captured your soul. Dumbledore told me what they wanted you to do. He told me how they wanted you to kill me, and how you refused. Even though you knew the implications of denying Voldemort's demands, you refused to do his bidding."

He laughed mirthlessly. "In the end, you were the one protecting me. Even though I failed you, even though I turned my back on you, you still protected me."

He slowly stood up and turned around. Before disapparating, Sirius whispered to the darkness, "I truly am sorry, brother. Until we meet again..."

***

He was freezing. They were meeting somewhere in Scotland tonight. He wasn't sure of its exact location, only that the property belonged to Malfoy. His breath came out in great white puffs, and he could no longer feel his face. His ears have long been numbed by the cold. He awkwardly adjusted his thick, dragon-hide gloves, making sure that they were secure. He had no wish of losing them in this weather. He surveyed his surroundings. He was at the edge of a patch of woods and was facing a majestic house. This enormous white house, almost the size of a small castle, was clearly inspired by Greek architecture. Tall marble columns surrounded the house, along with various statues of Greek gods and goddesses.

"Muggle statues," he muttered disdainfully.

A loud crack suddenly sounded from behind him. He turned around to see a tall figure in a dark cloak, a white mask covering his face. Severus Snape gave a small nod to the other man. Together they went up the path that led into the house. Inside they were greeted by more opulence. Every space exuded expensive elegance: a crystal chandelier on the ceiling, antique French furniture in the drawing room, and fragile Ming vases in the living room.

A house elf materialized out of nowhere. He squeaked, "Sirs, the Master and the Dark Lord is seeing yous in the basement."

The two men strode towards the aforementioned room. About a couple dozen figures, all in white masks, filled the chilly chamber. They were all positioned around a tall man, if he could still be called that. This figure had serpentine red eyes and only slits where his nose once has been. His deathly pale skin gave him the appearance of a phantom. Severus and the other Death Eater quickly took their respective places in the throng and bowed down.

"My loyal Death Eaters, my noble Knights of Walpurgis, the time of our ultimate victory is almost upon us," Lord Voldemort said in his cold voice. "Rookwood here has actually managed to do something right. He has received information about a prophecy," the Dark Lord spat out. "Concerning the one that would have the power to 'vanquish the Dark Lord,'" Lord Voldemort finished his sentence with a sarcastic laugh. The group surrounding him laughed uneasily.

"My Lord, if I may," said the tall figure standing nearest Lord Voldemort. "Do we know who this 'hero' is?"

"Ah, but that's the beauty of prophecy, my servant," Voldemort answered. His pale, seemingly bloodless lips curled up into a malevolent grin. "Perhaps Rookwood would like to quote the prophecy for us?"

The indicated Death Eater took a step forward and said in a quivering voice, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies."

A soft murmur spread along the group. Severus felt a sense of dread and hopelessness. The room suddenly seemed a lot colder. It is inevitable. His victory is inevitable, his miserable thoughts ran through his mind, and he realized with a start that he needed to suppress them if he wanted to leave the room alive.

"Quiet!" The harsh voice of the Dark Lord ordered, and the room immediately fell into silence. "Thanks to my useful little rat here," Lord Voldemort gestured to a small figure behind him. "We now know whom the prophecy is referring to."

Severus knew that Lord Voldemort was referring to his most valuable spy, so valuable that the Death Eaters did not even know his identity. "The value of a spy lies with his anonymity," Severus thought.

"Tomorrow night," the Dark Lord continued. "We will put this information into good use. Tomorrow night, we will be sealing our victory. For tomorrow night, we will kill this 'hero' before he even enters this world. We will attack the Longbottoms tomorrow, and I will honour Alice Longbottom and her son by killing them myself."