She's Dead
Sirius woke to hushed conversations.
He felt people at his bedside and strained his ears to listen. "-He should be up" "-has to plan the funeral-" "Lucky kid-" "our savior-"
"Padfoot?" Sirius recognized James' raspy whisper. "Are you up?"
Sirius peeled open his eyes with some difficulty, staring at James who was sitting on his right. He looked horribly sleep-deprived, but his smile was blindingly bright when he saw Sirius up.
"Oh thank Merlin!" Remus exclaimed from his other side. He, too, looked just as tired as James.
"W-what happened?" Sirius stuttered, before recalling the events of that night... Voldemort... Melanie... duel... the kids...
"Mela!" Sirius suddenly jerked up, trying to sit, but was pushed back by both his friends. "The children! Are they all okay?!"
"Mr. Black." Dumbledore appeared, his eyes twinkling. "It's a pleasure to see you awake at last. It's been a week, and your friends have been very worried. May I enquire as to what happened that night?"
Sirius blinked and rambled, "Voldemort came, and I told Mela to run with the kids. I dueled with him for a few minutes, but he got me with a blasting curse. Please, sir, is Mela okay?"
Dumbledore bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Black. But your wife didn't make it. It was the killing curse."
Sirius felt as if he'd been punched in the gut as all the air was sucked out of his lungs. He fell back against his pillows in shock and didn't even try to stop his tears from flowing. But he knew he had to compose himself. Mela wouldn't want him to waste away.
"What about the kids? Are they...?"
"They're alright," Dumbledore assured him. "Jéricho and Harry were found unconscious. Charles is now the boy who lived. I believe it was Mela's unwavering love and sacrifice that triggered ancient magic, and allowed the killing curse Voldemort fired on Charles to rebound on him when he was targetted."
Sirius couldn't quite process that. "So... Voldemort's dead?"
"Yes and no. I believe he's been vanquished for the time being, but he's not really dead."
"And Lyra?"
"She's okay." Sirius startled at Lily's voice. He hadn't known she was there. "Ech was asking for you, though."
Sirius just nodded and swallowed with difficulty. "And... the funeral?"
James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We were waiting for you to wake up, actually. I'm so sorry, Pads-"
"Prongs," Sirius interrupted. "Don't apologize, and don't feel guilty. It wasn't your fault."
"But-"
"Did you know he was going to show up?"
"No-"
"Did you purposefully set me up to save yourself?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Did you kill Mela?"
"No, but-"
"Then you're in the clear. By the way, where's the rat?"
James' face contorted. "Azkaban. He was the mole - the traitor. A death eater. I didn't wanna believe it, but there was no sign of struggle. He wasn't tortured. He planned to betray us all on his own."
Sirius nodded. "I'm tired."
"Then sleep." Remus urged. "We'll be here when you wake up."