Sirius Feels Old
Sirius perked up as he saw the passageway open. Finally, he could speak to his pup!
"Hullo Sirius" Harry! His Pup! Sirius settled for striding forward rather than running up and swinging the kid around.
"Only with their lack of knowledge. Otherwise they've been fine" Hermione shrugged when Sirius tried to ask for the newest pranks that had been pulled off. Sirius couldn't help but slump. How could they be the Marauders without pranks??? His godson gave him a glare that wouldn't look out of place on Lily's face back in the day. So he tried to backtrack and hope they calmed. Which failed since Harry's glare got worse, and his two friends also gave dark looks.
"Would you be saying that if Remus was here? In our position?" Ron shot.
"Wha- I- You! Why are you bringing him into this?!" Sirius spluttered. What did his boyf-last close friend have to do with this? He was busy for the Order, so there was no way he had any stake in this. Except he did, as the children soon informed him. Sirius was just trying to process everything they were throwing at him. He didn't notice what his pup was trying to show him. And when he tried to reassure them with Dumbledore's involvement, they dismissed it!
"Lines" Sirius finally saw the words carved into the dark skin of his pup, his godson. And it was unbelievable to him. No one, not even Walburga, had ever forced him to write that much that it started scarring over. He didn't even notice the anger of the youngest Weasley boy. He started coming back to present when the air around him started becoming more magically charged. He put up protests until his godson became something more briefly.
"Hermione, enough" Harry barked. And to Sirius' surprise, after a summer dealing with the bookworm, she fell silent. Her emotions were still clear on her face, but she was no longer attacking. Sirius watched numbly as they ended the conversation and left him alone in the passages. He recognized the set of the Indian boy's face. He had only seen James like that three times in his life. The first against him was after Snape nearly was attacked by Remus. James was beyond pissed at Sirius, and nearly turned his back on the Black heir entirely. Luckily, fleeing his family that summer had sealed it into the past. Though James never forgave him. For a moment, Sirius was lost in the second time.
"GET AWAY FROM MY WIFE YOU BASTARD" James bellowed, his face set in his angriest setting as he charged wand blazing on You-Know-Who. At the shout, Lily whirled around, her own wand soon flinging spells at the self-proclaimed lord. Her magic crackled around her as she demonstrated the reason her and her husband were so feared.
Sirius blinked and then it was James sprawled dead on his safehouse's stairs, his face still set in fury. And then that blurred with the young boy he saw earlier. He was so little. And for a second it was that James on the stairs with Harry's wails echoing through his ears.
"Jamie, I promise. I just wanted to make it safe for Prongslet. I was going back for him. I promise. Your son was safe while I went after Wormy. Please, I promise" Sirius sobbed out, falling to his knees, reaching for the nonexistent body. And then it was Harry's face staring back in anger and reaching a hand, a scarred hand, towards him. Sirius let out a wounded bark, scrambling away from the hallucination.
"Sirius!" A voice finally pierced his attention when a warm hand landed on his shoulder. He turned to Padfoot, whirling around with a snarl. Just to see it was Remus. Safe, Remy. He transformed back immediately and grabbed his Remy in a hug.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Looking for you Siri. Which it seems like I came at a good time as that looked like a hallucination" Remus said softly.
"Seeing Jamie on the stairs of their house, dead. Mixed with the glimpse I got of past us" Sirius grumbled out, swaying slightly as he stood on his own.
"Let's discuss this at home Pads. I already don't like how long you were here" Remus gently led his boyfriend towards the opposite end of the passage where they could apparate out of. Sirius just mumbled nonsense as they walked. Finally they exited the wards, and Remus grabbed tightly to the fugitive before turning in place. An echoing crack was the only evidence of their presence.