Across the Universe

The bare stone floor was cool on his back as he listened to the waves break on the jagged rock. He closed his eyes for a moment, pretending that he was back home, on holiday by the sea. His reverie was abruptly broken by a tortured scream. From the sound of it, whomever it was had to be a few cells down. He rolled onto his side; laying his head on the folded, threadbare blanket they had given him ten years ago when he had arrived. Another scream pierced the silence. He exhaled loudly and sat up.

"Is it possible to have a moment's peace in this hellhole?" he muttered.

Another inmate, nearer to his cell, moaned loudly.

"Apparently not," he answered himself.

He decided to abandon the filthy floor and seek comfort on the only furniture in his cell; a wooden slab in the corner he called his bed. His joints cracked in protest as he propelled his emaciated body up off of the floor and dropped onto the bed. From his vantage point, he could see the sun rising over the sea, its weak light filtering into his tiny cell. Even after all these years he could still appreciate the beauty of a sunrise.

He began to hum to himself, softly though, as to not attract any attention from the guards. Any hint of happiness and they would bear down on him and suck it out.

"Words are flowing out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me."

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly at the memory the song brought him.

"You mean you haven't heard of the Beatles?" Lily asked in shock.

"Are they a foosebowl team or something?" James asked, rumpling his hair.

Remus rolled his eyes. "They're a muggle band, the most famous muggle band in the world, in fact."

Lily bent down, her red hair swinging over her shoulders. She fiddled with a square box with several knobs on the front and an odd looking, arm like apparatus on top.

"It's a record player," she said, noticing the baffled looks on his and James' faces. "There," she said, straightening up and sitting on the arm of the chair Peter was in. The strange 'record player' began to emit music.

Lily closed her eyes and began to sing along with the man on the record. "You say yes, I say no, you say stop and I say go, go, go, oh, no, you say goodbye and I say hello hello, hello..."

They had been thirteen then, when Sirius had first been introduced to the Beatles. It was what had sparked his interest in muggle life. That summer he'd used his pocket money to purchase his own record player and dozens of muggle records, several of them by the Beatles. He'd hidden it all under his bed, bringing it out at night and listening to the music in the dark. Reg had even joined him a few times, before he had been brought into the fold by their pureblood obsessed mother.

"Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world."

The sound of metal clattering on stone told Sirius breakfast had arrived. He swung his legs off of his bed and crossed his cell in one stride. The ghost of a smile lit his face for a moment, a pewter mug of water and a runny gruel, same as always. He picked the flimsy metal tray up off of the floor and sat back on his bed. He ate slowly, watching the grey waves pound upon the rock of the island prison.

"Images of broken light which
dance before me like a million eyes
They call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a
restless wind inside a letter box
they tumble blindly as
they make their way across the universe."

Poor Reg. The few times Sirius thought about his family, it was always of his younger brother.

"C'mon, Siri, let me have a go," Regulus begged.

Sirius brandished his brand new Nimbus. It had been a gift from his uncle Alphard for getting ten O.W.Ls.

"What about your broom?" he asked.

"I just want to try yours for a moment. Please?"

"Stop being so selfish, Sirius," his cousin, Narcissa said.

Sirius rolled his eyes and made a rude hand gesture at her. Then he handed Regulus his broom and the boy whooped with delight, kicking off from the ground and soaring into the air.

They were in the Wizarding section of Regent's Park. Their parents had left them to their own devices, preferring to discuss politics with their aunt and uncle. Sirius looked toward the adults crowded around his cousin Bellatrix. Rumor had it she had become a Death Eater, one of the Dark Lord's closest followers. He caught his mother's eye. She frowned at him with disapproval.

He hadn't known then that he would be living with his family only a few more months before leaving for good. That day in the park had been one of the happier days he had spent with his family.

A loud, metallic sound rang through the prison. Sirius stood and crossed to the door of his cell. It slid open and he entered the narrow corridor. He stood, facing the back of his neighbor. Together, the long line of prisoners shuffled slowly down the corridor. They moved like ghosts down the stairs out into the sunlight. Sirius lifted his face to the sky, allowing the weak sunlight to caress his gaunt, waxen face. The inmates walked around the small compound in the center of the prison. Many of them muttered to themselves or laughed maniacally. Sirius was one of the few who had been able to retain some semblance of sanity while incarcerated here. He began to sing softly again.

"Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world."

"Look at him!" James exclaimed. "Isn't he brilliant?"

An eight-month-old baby Harry crawled across the floor, chasing the bubbles from Sirius' wand. He giggled, attempting to catch one.

"He's going to be just like his dear old dad," James said, leaning back into the sofa.

"You mean an arrogant, pig-headed git?" Lily said as she entered the room, balancing a basket of freshly washed laundry on her hip.

James laughed, and stood, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist.

"But darling, I'm your arrogant, pig-headed git, aren't I?" He kissed her lightly on the lips. "You love me just the way I am."

Lily smiled. "Well, I don't like how you leave the toilet seat up..."

James silenced her with a passionate kiss.

"Oy, Prongs!" Sirius called out. "Young and impressionable eyes are seeing this." He picked a giggling Harry up off of the floor and covered the baby's eyes.

"He doesn't understand any of it," Remus said.

"Well, still, I don't want to watch Prongs and Lily lick the back of each other's throats. I'd rather watch Snivellus and the Giant Squid go at it."

Lily wrinkled her nose. "Merlin's toothbrush, Sirius, get a grip."

Baby Harry caught one of the bubbles still floating from Sirius' wand and drew it to his mouth. His tiny face contorted and he sputtered.

"Give him here, Padfoot," James said, reaching for his son. "It's about time for his nap anyways."

Sirius handed Harry over to his father.

"Pafoo," Harry called, reaching for his godfather.

"Did you hear that?" Sirius said, leaping up. "He said my name!"

"Sounds of laughter shades of life
are ringing through my open ears
inciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which
shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe."

Sirius shuffled back into his cell and sat down on the floor. He transformed into Padfoot and curled up in the corner. Dementors prowled down the corridor, making sure none of the prisoners had attempted to escape during their time in the yard. He closed his eyes as the shrieks and groans of his fellow inmates pierced the air. After a time, the prison was silent again; only the rhythmic sound of the waves pounding rock was heard. Sirius returned to his human form and lay down on his bed. He wondered how Harry was. He'd heard that Harry had been taken to live with Lily's beastly sister Petunia. Sirius ticked off the years in his head. Harry would have started Hogwarts this year. He wondered if Harry still looked like James, and if he'd gotten Lily's talent in Potions. He closed his eyes again, this time he fell into a restless, haunted sleep.

"Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Jai guru deva."
Jai guru deva."