The Last Kiss

What lies ahead?

~11~

Sirius finally had him cornered. No longer caring what the muggles around them thought, he advanced on Peter, his wand out and ready.

"You will pay for this Peter! Turning your back on us, I always knew you were weak!"

Peter was cowering before him. "I couldn't do it! I couldn't betray my friends!"

Sirius felt his face burn with anger. "Oh, but you have!"

Trying to scurry away, Peter leaned back against a lamppost. "No, no...it was you, Sirius..." Peter began waving his hand at him, "you turned... like all the others!"

Muggles were beginning to point, questioning each other as to what the two men were talking about. Sirius turned for a moment, looking at a small girl peeking around her mother's legs. When he turned back, he found Peter had put more space between them.

****

Renae watched and listened in horror as Peter and Sirius faced off.

What are they doing? Why'd Peter say he betrayed them? What's going on?

They paused for a moment as Sirius looked to his right. As he did, Peter quickly peeled himself off the lamppost and backed up five more yards, shouting, "Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?"

Sirius aimed his wand at Peter. The next thing she saw, she would never have believed it if anyone had told her. Sirius had blown Peter to ashes, leaving a crater in the street; taking out about dozen muggles as he did.

Her heart racing, she dropped the binoculars and ran down the alleyway across from the doctor's office. Quickly, she Apparated into Hogsmeade.

Running through the wizarding village, she bumped into an old wizard, shooting sparks out of the end of his wand, shouting, "Hurray, hurray, He's gone! He's gone!" Stunned by this, she stopped for a moment and looked around. Everyone, it seemed, was celebrating in the streets. Renae caught bits and pieces of their conversations.

"...yes, both of them are dead, but their son..."

"...heard it was reduced to rubble..."

"How did the poor thing survive?"

Completely boggled by what was going on, she dashed up the hill to the castle.

~~~*~~~

Sirius fell to his knees, laughing. He couldn't believe it; he just couldn't believe Peter could get the better of him like this. Though he knew he shouldn't be laughing, he couldn't stop. Pathetic, backstabbing, Peter had out-smarted him! Peter had out-smarted all of them, for he had them all believing he was still their friend. Oh, how he wanted to kill Peter!

How long he remained there, he had no idea. He couldn't think on it. Laughing hysterically, he felt himself being pulled to his feet by his arms. He continued to laugh as tears rolled down his face, Tarlton and Longbottom dragging him away.

****

Renae ran into the Entrance Hall, and straight down the stairs to Snape's office.

"Severus!" She pushed open the door. "Severus!"

Sitting at his desk, he had his head in his hands. Renae quickly ran over and put a hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"

He slowly lifted his head. There were no tears, but she could tell something was wrong. Frustration was written all over his face. "You better sit down."

The dark look in his eyes as the words slid off his tongue made Renae feel colder than usual in the damp room. She felt her heart pound against her ribs as she took her place in the black leather chair before his desk.

Looking at the dark mahogany surface for a moment, he slowly met her gaze. "James and Lily Potter are dead." Her heart leapt into her throat, nearly choking her. Severus let his hands fall haphazardly onto the polished wood with a thud as he continued, "Their son, Harry, has miraculously survived."

Finally she managed to swallow the lump and form a question. "W-was it..." She didn't need to finish; his solemn nod confirmed her fears.

Suddenly he stood up, pacing the room as he mumbled. "...should have taken proper measures..." Renae struggled to make out more of his ramblings. "...after the risks I took..."

It hit her like a falling branch; he was the one! She jumped to her feet, grabbing him by the robes. "It was you! You're the one that found out You-Know-Who was after them...you've been a spy for Dumbledore! That's why you've been gone so much!"

All he did in response was nod.

****

Tears continued to roll down Sirius' face as his laughter echoed off the cold walls of his cell. It wouldn't be long before he was dragged out for a trial. Perhaps they will believe my story, and search for the bastard! Leaving your finger...never thought you were clever enough, Peter!

Though he felt his blood boil with rage, his heart ripping apart from the memory of his best friend and his wife's lifeless bodies; he just still couldn't stop laughing. If he stopped, he felt sure he would die from having to face reality. As long as he laughed, he could convince himself it was all a dream. A sick twisted dream induced by three days of insomnia...yeah that was it!

He began to laugh even more uncontrollably, his face dripping with tears.

~~~*~~~

Renae couldn't sleep. They were gone. It seemed like only yesterday she was at Harry's first birthday party, struggling to prevent Sirius from throwing her in the cold lake as James and Lily laughed at the sight. Rolling over, she glanced at her muggle clock; it was two in the morning.

Wiping away the tears that had been trickling down her face, she sat up and grabbed her dressing gown off the back of the couch. One of her strolls through the castle was needed. Tying her gown tightly, she pushed open the panel and walked out into the dark corridor.

Not knowing exactly where she was going, she walked through this corridor and that, through the library, and across the courtyard. As she made her way into the Entrance Hall, a voice she hadn't heard in several months caught her attention.

"We will see him again soon, Hagrid. Do try to take comfort in the knowledge that he lives," Dumbledore said with his usual warm tone.

Walking into view, Renae saw Hagrid wiping his nose with a handkerchief large enough to be her shirt. McGonagall stood beside Dumbledore solemnly.

Dumbledore looked over at her. "Renae. I take it you cannot sleep if you are out in the corridors at this early hour?"

"Yes. Do you know what's become of Harry?" she asked as she walked up to Hagrid, putting her hand on his arm.

"His is with Lily's sister and her husband."

She nodded in acknowledgement.

Suddenly, the great oak doors burst open. Severus swept in. "It was Black...he's been taken into custody. He killed Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles today. Peter announced that Black had killed the Potters." His eyes fell on Renae and grew wide. All of them turned to face her, looking as if they were expecting her to faint.

"I know... I saw it." Her voice shook with the words as tears formed in her eyes.

Severus' eyes grew wide. McGonagall quickly lifted her hand to her mouth as it fell open. Dumbledore looked composed, like usual. Finally Severus spoke. "You said nothing earlier about witnessing..."

Quickly she interrupted him, "I know," the tears flowed freely down her face, "I didn't want to talk about it."

Closing the distance between them, Severus wrapped his arms around her, letting her warm tears soak into his black robes.

~~~*~~~

He sat across from Crouch, who looked like he was ready to leap over the desk and strangle him with his own two hands. Sirius' mind had finally gone numb. Words failed him, laughter failed him, and even tears failed him as his mind replayed the images of James and Lily among the rubble that had once been their home.

When others spoke, it was as is they were a mile away, in slow motion. The words they uttered no longer had any meaning. He was at fault. He suggested switching to Peter. He's the one who backed out. Now his friends' lives were on his shoulders. For the time, he cared little about what would happen to him.

His thoughts were interrupted with the word "...Azkaban." Looking up, he realized he had been sentenced. Was there a trial? No, there couldn't have been, I would have noticed THAT.

"My trial! I didn't get a trial!" he shouted, the first words he had spoken since witnessing Peter's act.

Those in the room showed no remorse whatsoever. His sentencer stood, and with a wide grin informed him, "We have heard all the testimony we need. You deserve no trial."

His hands behind his back, bound at the wrists, Sirius finally struggled. They just had to listen to his story, it wasn't me, it was Peter! Peter is still alive! Opening his mouth, no words escaped, he had been silenced with a muting charm. As he was being lead out of the room and into the corridor, the door to the room beside them opened.

Sirius nearly collapsed as he watched Snape lead Renae out of the room. In tears, she grabbed Snape's hand to steady herself as she saw him, being dragged away to Azkaban. He kept opening his mouth to shout out her name, tell her he loved her, and he was innocent; but only the sound of escaping air was heard.

The memory of her frightened face would haunt him for years. As well as the faces of James and Lily...

~~~*~~~

Severus helped Renae back into her room. Dumbledore had insisted she go and give her account of what she saw when Peter was killed, and Severus had gone with her. Still trembling from seeing him being drug away, in bonds, only a look of sheer terror on his face, she knew where he was headed - Azkaban.

Her heart wanted so much to believe it was all a mistake, that she hadn't seen what she thought she saw, but eyes don't lie. Do they? Now she would be raising their child alone, a child he wouldn't even know existed. Now that she knew the truth, she wasn't going to tell him, or anyone else for that matter, the father of her child. What kind of reception would they receive, the child of Sirius Black.

Severus led her straight to her bed, pulling the covers over her as she slipped in, still wearing her dress. Pushing the hair out of her tear soaked face; he then pulled out a small vial of sleeping potion. "Please take this. Minerva and I will take care of your classes tomorrow."

She nodded and emptied the glass container. "Thanks, Severus... for everything."

With a weak smile, he responded, "I'll check on you later."

Reane smiled. He gave her a delicate kiss on the forehead, as the room slowly grew dim. Before she succumbed to sleep, she watched Severus leave.

~~~*~~~

Death would have been more humane. Then again, no one would have wanted him to be treated like anything less than vermin. Azkaban was worse than his worst nightmare. He couldn't focus on any happy thought. His ears rang with Peter's last words, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' James and Lily's dead body's stuck in his mind and he slowly felt himself slipping further and further into madness and despair.

It could only get worse. It would get worse.

~~~*~~~

"Damn it! Everything fit in these trunks when I got here!"

Severus had already begun shrinking most of her things to make them fit. "They would still fit if you hadn't bought so much."

"Thanks for that observation." Though she needed the help, he was really getting annoying.

Renae fought with her large blue trunk. Clothes stuck out here and there and she was shoving them back in through the slightly open lid. As she pushed the last article in, she quickly sat on the trunk, hopping on it as she tried to lock the clasps. "Lock... you... damn... trunk!"

"Yes, Renae... threatening the trunk will make it cooperate."

She looked over at Severus as he broke into a sickening smile. "Shut the hell up! I need help, not badgering!" Ignoring the sneer she knew was spreading on his face, she concentrated on locking the final clasp. Dumbledore was back, so she was returning to Blakmore, which, she was more than happy to do. Yes, Severus had become a dear friend, but there were too many memories here, most of them with Sirius.

Every time she thought of him she rubbed her stomach. Though it was nothing more than a small pooch yet, it frightened her more and more each day. Would her child grow up to be like its father? She prayed not.

~~~*~~~

Years had past, and Sirius spent almost every moment of the day curled up in the corner of his cell as a big black dog. It was the only way he could bear the utter hopelessness that came with his captors presence. Even as a dog, whenever the Dementors would walk past his cell, he would cover his ears with his paws, trying to drown out the voice of Peter, accusing him over and over.

Time was no longer important, for in here, he had all the time in the world, though it didn't matter. Life in Azkaban was constant torture, mental torture, from which none could escape. Sirius, though, did what he could to keep what little sanity he had left.

Would he have to remain like this for forever? A mangy, black dog?

~~~*~~~

On her way home from Blakmore, Renae stopped at the Magical Minis daycare. Entering, a little girl with long black hair came running to her, her arms open wide.

"Mommy, Mommy!"

Bending down, Renae opened her arms to embrace the sweet little child. "Ohhh, I missed you today!" She planted kiss upon kiss on the girl. "So what did you do today, Perdita?"

The girl released her mother and grabbed her hand, leading her to a table at the back of the room. Picking up a paper she exclaimed, "I made this for you!"

Renae took the paper and saw a drawing of a girl on a broomstick, flying around, Quod in hand. She giggled; Perdita loved Quodpot. "Oh, this is you! And look how well you fly too."

The girl was beaming from ear to ear, her hazel eyes gleaming with pride. "I made it for our trip tomorrow."

The next day they were heading to the opening game of Quodpot season. Renae had been lucky to get two seats, center pitch, mid-level for Perdita's third birthday, especially since her favorite team, the Fredericksburg Fighters were playing. For the past week, it was all her daughter could talk about.

~~~*~~~

Perdita was dragging her through the stands. "Hurry mommy, hurry!"

Renae gripped her daughter's hand tighter. "Perdita, I told you to walk. The game doesn't start for thirty minutes, so slow down!"

The black haired girl grudgingly slowed down, pouting as she flashed her mother her best puppy dog eyes. Renae rolled her eyes. "Don't start that again, it's not going to work, this time." A painful tug pulled at her heart every time the girl did that, it was the same face Sirius use to always give her. It took all Renae's will-power to withstand it. Shaking her head, she reminded herself not to think about him.

"Okay, here we are." She helped Perdita settle into the large seat, before settling into her own. "So, what do you think so far?"

It was Perdita's first professional Quodpot game, and she was teeming with excitement. All Renae had to do was ask that one question, and the small girl burst with conversation. As Renae listened to her daughter's ramblings, she overlooked the headline of the Colonial Seer in the lap of the wizard in front of her.

Retaliation attacks not over, Ministry Museum latest target.

A lump formed in Renae's throat. Though it had been more than three years since Voldemort's overthrow, his faithful followers were still rather active in the States. With such a vast landmass in which to hide themselves, many were still lashing out at the wizarding community for their leaders demise. Shaking her head, she decided not to think on it. It was her daughter's birthday, and her first Quodpot game, and nothing was going to ruin this day for them.

~~~*~~~

Halfway through the game, Perdita's team, the Fighters, were up by six points. Renae had found herself cheering along with the raven-haired girl, each waving blue and black "Fighter" flags. It was beautiful out, the sun was shining, and they hadn't a care in the world, besides their team winning.

Perdita lifted a cup to her lips, sipping on the long straw protruding from its lid. Loud suction noises came from the empty cup. "Mommy, I'm out of pop!"

Renae looked down to the end of their row, only six seats away. A vendor was walking up the aisle towards their row, ice-cold cups of pop on his tray. "Stay right here, I'll get us some more." The little girl nodded and looked back at the game. Renae stood up and squeezed her way through to the aisle.

"Two please," she asked, holding out two Galleons. As the man reached for the money, there was an ear deafening crash, like thunder. Renae felt herself being thrown into the air, landing in a heap of bodies yards away.

Pain pulsed through her body as she realized what had happened. Her heart felt like it was breaking her ribs, it was pounding so hard. She tried to pull herself free of the bodies, living and dead, that were covering her. The smoke in the air caused her to cough painfully. The hot air was dry and harsh in her lungs. Finally she gasped, as smoky air rushed in.

"Perdita!"

She began shouting at the top of her lungs. People were crying in pain and calling out for help all around her. Her eyes filled with tears, she had to find her baby!

"PERDITA!"