Chapter 3
Nymphadora Tonks was not expecting to see his husband return this soon and with grim expressions on his face, thus also rubbing angst in her heart once she realised that James Potter wasn’t with them. Just by the look he gave her once she approached them, she knew something had gone seriously wrong. Sirius Black looked exhausted, almost like he was ready to throw up, and Pettigrew rushed off to most likely grab him a bucket in case he did in fact expel the contents of his stomach. She grabbed onto Remus’ arm, watching as Lily Evans took Sirius to the couch to sit down before he collapsed under his own weight.
“What happened?” Tonks asked him. Her husband exhaled, placing his wand back in his pocket as he took her in for a hug. A tiny bit shocked, it took her a moment before returning the embrace, listening as Remus struggled to keep his composure. Something has shaken him, and it’s making her concerned.
“That thing ended up nearly turning us against ourselves, messing Sirius up the most. It decided to take root in his home, showing him moments from his past while slowly driving him down a dark path,” Lily revealed as she approached them, having just sat Sirius down to regain his composure. Remus stepped back, hands still holding onto her biceps.
“He nearly turned his wand on me, Dora.” Tonks’ heart sank. She had to force herself not to snap her head in the Gryffindor graduate’s direction. The Hufflepuff never truly got to know him, due to the war and the imprisonment scandal, but from what Remus told her Sirius Black had always been quite popular for causing mayhem. Since meeting, her husband never quite stopped talking about his adventures with the Marauders, and since being brought back from the depths of death she understands why. When they aren’t bickering or getting over past grudges, they are genuinely nice people to have around, and the witch has wondrous conversations with Lily about how life was during their era of school. To hear that one of his friends tried to do that is gut wrenching, especially so early in their seemingly endless journey so far.
“I’m so sorry, dear, was it because of what happened earlier with Pettigrew?” Tonks asked and Remus shook his head, nervously glancing over to his friend sitting on the futon. He hasn’t moved since Lily placed him there, one leg crossed over the other with his gaze fixated on his hands. Sirius appeared to be just as shaken as Remus was.
“Maybe, but the Fracture was different this time. It was much stronger than the one before. It could show multiple visions at once and even summoned an entire ballroom into the area, not to mention it latched itself onto 12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius’ childhood home,” Moony responded, finally gaining his natural composure back. Though Tonks knew very little, she did know that he probably had the worst family residing within the Wizarding World, and that’s saying something considering they’re related in some way.
“It looked like it was toying with him, getting him into a state of depravity before attempting to turn him against us. There was definite magic happening during your conflict,” Lily pointed out, earning a nod from Remus.
“I did notice that, a small shimmer surrounding the outside of his form. There’s a high chance that the Fractures we encounter in the future will be similar to that one,” Lupin theorised. Pettigrew returned with the bucket, although he was shocked to see Sirius suddenly up and walking over to the group of three. A sense of dread crept up into his chest, however the animagus followed to see what was about to happen. Remus noticed it first.
“Sirius, old friend, is your head clear again?” Moony asked.
“It is. I, um, wanted to give my apology while we are taking this moment to calm ourselves. You did not deserve the insults I threw at you,” Sirius told him, resting a gentle hand on the other’s shoulder. Remus put a hand up, shaking his head.
“There’s no need, we all understood what happened there. You had a momentary lapse in judgement and that thing attempted in getting you to boil over, we had no inkling that would happen,” He said. Sirius smiled, taking a quick look at Peter-- who had come silently up to him. The dejected Black wanted to say sorry but he could not get himself to do so, his voice being cut off by a sudden lump forming in his throat. So he simply turned away, taking note of Dumbledore finally acknowledging their reappearance.
“This thing sounds petrifying, I cannot imagine having to face that,” Tonks sympathised, wrapping her arm around Lupin’s as she placed her shoulder against his.
“It will be common to see things like this,” Dumbledore cut in suddenly, standing in his usual spot in front of the strange mapping table. “There are many more that have similar signatures within the globe we are given, and many of them appear to be growing at an extraordinary rate.” Sirius rolled his eyes, a low groan escaping his mouth.
“Great, just what we needed, more things to fuck with our heads,” He said. Lily shook her head, giving her friend a sharp pat on the bicep.
“Have you calmed down, Sirius?” She asked. The man in question nodded, crossing his arms at remembering he’d have to return to his home to finish that mission. While he no longer held the rage he had when they first began, it wouldn’t be surprising if the thing still had some hold over him. For some reason, however, they couldn’t help but feel as if leaving their friend behind to deal with it alone had been a terrible decision. And they would be right.
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James Potter saw his fellow wizards and witches as people to cherish, to make memories with, and to protect when the going gets tough. The aspect of losing them made his very core quiver. The one time he was left without his fellow Marauders by his side-- not counting his wife, Lily-- he perished at the hands of Voldemort, protecting his son til the very end. Left without his wand, they both knew that doing so would be guaranteed death, which was something James accepted without hesitation. Recalling that infamous moment on their own second story staircase with disdain and heartache, the man focused on the task ahead of him, casting a small spell to contain the Fracture once more. It appeared as if the regulation of the enema’s energy grew smaller the more he did it, which was strange considering he did not believe the others had been gone that long. Already he felt that creeping darkness begin to surge, and already he understood that this was becoming too much.
“This isn’t good, I hope they’re coming back soon,” James mumbled, recasting the spell and watching it piece back together. A sheer chill brushed past the wizard with a force that blew his hair back, as if the thing were physically there and fighting back against him. Letting out a small huff of frustration, the Potter went back to what he was doing, though he soon discovered that it was beginning to make little difference at this point in time. Suddenly, his stomach lurched and he was forced to momentarily fight to keep the contents of it down.
“Sheep sheep sheep, it’s time for sleep!” James flinched hard, snapping his undivided attention at possibly finding out who the hell else was in the room with him. Finding no one, he took a moment to still his beating heart, but the poor wizard could not shake the feeling that someone was watching him. He shivered at the abrupt drop in temperature, rubbing his arms as the breath protruding from his mouth came as shrill mist. It hovered briefly in the air before disappearing, only to repeat again after his next nervous exhale.
“What the fuck…?” James asked quietly. Looking to his left, he was shocked to find a door that had not previously been there with no people remaining in the room, a quiet thrum echoing from the confines of the hardwood exterior. The Potter shook his head, adjusting the glasses on his face as he tried to wrap his mind back on the job at hand. He needed to stay focused, he needed to hold this thing off as much as possible, he needed to be there for his friends.
“Let us go, please, we’ve done nothing to you,” James’ head perked up at hearing a familiar voice, breath hitching as his gaze diverted to that of the newfound door off to the side. No, that’s not possible, they couldn’t be here, but Prongs wanted to believe. He wanted to imagine the possibility of seeing Alice and Frank back to their old, happy selves again, reminiscing about the good old days and laughing about their children growing up and having fun together, however the Marauder knew what really happened within the Death Eater den. He knows what they sacrificed so that their war would come to an end.
“Shut up, shut up,” James muttered in an angry tone, once again forcing the Fracture to heal itself, though the ringing continued to buzz in his one ear. A dark, playful giggle echoed across the ballroom.
“Run away, bunny, it’ll make things much more entertaining for us!” The Wizard growled, finally caving in as he rushed up to the door, taking the handle roughly in one hand before pulling it open with more force than he originally intended. It opened up to a drab interior, ebony colours lining the walls and floor with an oil lantern hanging on a chain from the ceiling. Prongs’ eyes widened, snapping around as the door back into the ballroom slammed shut behind him. Attempting to remove himself from this strange panic-inducing room, he soon found out that there would be no coming out of this one unscathed. Turning back to face what he had put himself into, he put on a brave face, pointing his wand defensively out in front of him.
“What do you want, why do you enjoy hurting people?” Words he’s said before, though he does not understand why he’d be using them here. A pulse cut through the air, knocking the wind out of the poor man as it sent him to his knees. Short wheezes push from his lungs, the animagus gripping his abdomen when a pulsating pain wracks through it, a dull throb pounding on his skull. It was torture, but it was feeling he was used to. “L-Lily…” Through blurry eyes and a wavering stance, he saw the image of a female laying across from him, blood pouring down the front of her apathetic face. James remembers this, he lived through this and he wasn’t able to protect her then.
“James?! Where have you gone?!” An animal-like instinct activated at hearing the new voice come past him. Gripping tightly onto his wand again, he briefly put down his walls, allowing this strange new sensation to completely ravish the inside of his brain.
“No, not again… ‘m not gonna fail you again… I won’t let you get hurt…” James mumbled, standing up as he turned back to the door, a strange blue hue encompassing the details carved within the wood as he got close to it. Taking one last look back at the love of his life, laying motionlessly on the ground before him, James Potter made a promise to no one but them. He didn’t care what it would take or how many people he needed to take down, he would get her out of here, even if it cost him his own life… again.
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When they bid farewell to the Sanctuary for the second time that day, Remus almost wished Tonks could come with him. The amount of emotional support he would have would benefit him to the point where words could not describe, however it seemed as if the great beyond had a different plan for them. Together in death, separated in life, how cruel love is indeed. Tonks placed her forehead against his.
“Don’t let them beat you, take control of your own destiny,” She encouraged, kissing him on the cheek. It had been good advice, but nothing could prepare them for the storm they were about to encounter. Sirius exhaled with great unease at feeling the apparition take place again, however they were all shocked to find themselves not in the foyer but back in the ballroom where they left. A darkness weighed heavily above them, a blurriness encompassing the room that had previously been grand and full of life. It was vacant of the purebloods who were celebrating other people’s misery and Sirius was glad for that, unsure he would be able to face the rift in time while staring down the ghostly visages of his family. Peter stepped forward.
“This is not how I remember it,” Pettigrew commented, already having his wand at the ready. Lily looked around, peering through the fog only to have her heart leap into her throat when finding another thing absent from the room.
“Where’s James?” She asked. It was then that the panic began. The other side of the room was obscured by the strange effects of the Fracture and everything the strange laceration in reality touched became broken and fuzzy, almost misplaced in nature. They were unable to see their friend, and there had been no sign of him going through the doors that led into the ballroom. Remus looked back, his sharp gasp catching the attention of the other three Marauders. They too shared expressions of shock. The dual doors that made up the entranceway to the Ballroom were gone, replaced with a glass surface that reflected their worst moments in history. Peter nearly vomited.
Lily sat at the end of his crib, crying and giving pleas that she knew he couldn’t possibly understand. The marionette had been cut by his strings and landed on the stage steps, left to be walked over by the grand puppeteer on his way to achieve perfect victory, and the witch knew she was in the way. The door to oblivion swallowed her whole and for the first time Lily cried for more than just other people. She didn’t want to remember the screams of her child as Voldemort walked into the room and the thing that hurt the most was definitely not the killing curse the Dark Lord cast upon her, but the idea that she was leaving her child alone in a world full of hate and abhorrence.
Sirius’ voice had gone hoarse before the month even came close to ending. Dementors sent his brief moments of happiness through hoops of blemished memories, make-belief flashes of the tragedy of life replaying over and over and over again in his mind. What a filthy dog, so encroached upon the whims of others but too busy playing pretty little liars on loop. He makes himself sick, the dog could only wonder how Remus feels. Broken heart, broken spirit, broken mind, like him. Is this what it feels like? If so, he’ll make that fucking rat pay for what he’s done, use that god damn curse himself if he has to.
Peter couldn’t focus on a single sin that was shown before him, however a grander one probably remained in that night caught all alone, stuck between an evil untapped and the Death Eaters lapping at his throat. He wept, like the coward he was, silently smothered as a hot knife dug into his skull, relishing in the numb sensations of the Imperius Curse. It felt good to be useful, to be wanted, to be needed, but he was asking questions he couldn’t tell. Why would he betray his friends when they were nothing but kind? Kind? No, everything except that. The rat made a promise to them to uphold their secret, to protect them if they ever needed anything, but how could they mean something when all he remembered them as were blurred faces and shattered dreams?
While Lily saw her failure as a mother, Sirius’ loss of innocence and life, and Peter’s powerlessness to uphold his promises, Remus only saw himself basked in the glow of a full moon. There were no images, there were no voices, it was just him, the wolf in sheep’s clothing. No matter how hard he tried, he could never get away from the beast within. A compromise to life as his father wanted, a child born of blood and flesh who’s unsatiated by the casual consumption which the pure intake on a daily. But he’s been through this, he’s experienced life like a beast since he was bitten, and the images couldn’t handle the self confidence that suddenly spurred up in him. Remus quickly blinked everything away before pointing his wand at the anomaly.
“Riddikulus!” Once again Moony saves the day, the images that previously held his friends frozen in place disappearing in a flurry of butterflies. Lily shuddered, rubbing her eyes as the others struggled to regain themselves in the presence of danger. Remus exhaled, fixing his coat as if the things he saw somehow managed to ruffle it up.
“That was… unpleasant,” was all Sirius said. Peter only nodded, covering his mouth, looking away from where it had once been before another horror beseached his eyes. Furiously tapping Sirius on the shoulder, Peter didn’t bother watching as the pureblood turned around, his eyes trained on the figure emerging from the door that hadn’t been there previously. Sirius’ eyes widened. “By the gods.” This caused Remus and Lily to turn too, however they wished they didn’t. Stumbling from the bleak entranceway was James Potter, eyes completely emblazoned with a raw madness and his wand pointed with the intent to kill. Lily shook her head, taking a small step towards her husband.
“James, no… oh god, we shouldn’t have left you,” She whispered but he didn’t hear her. He just pushed on closer, muttering some nonsense about not wanting to fail them again. Remus stepped in front of her.
“I do not believe he has our best interest in mind at the moment, most likely the Fracture messing with his head,” Moony speculated, Sirius nodding as he too began to prepare for a fight, Pettigrew and Lily following suit. .
“It appears similar to what I experienced. I do not know whether to be glad you got me out of it before it reached this point or sad that it ended up inficting itself upon another person close to me,” Padfoot digressed. James tilted awkwardly, expression twisted into a dark sneer that reminded them of a wounded animal in distress. This wasn’t going to be easy.
“Peter, Sirius, take care of that Fracture. It’ll probably require two to take down this one, so please try not to kill one another,” Remus ordered, cautiously watching James in case he were to spring at them. Lily stood by him, a tad bit more hesitant to take down her husband but understands what she must do to protect herself. Peter took a concerned glance at Sirius but the pureblood paid no attention to him at that point in time.
“Alright, we got this,” Peter assured them. James reeled his wand back, Lily taking notice just quick enough to shove Remus and herself down to the ground.
“Incendio!” Prongs casted, a flash of orange streaking overtop of them and smashing into the mirror behind them, shattering it into at least a dozen pieces. The shards floated outwards, drifting off from the gaping hole that now resided where the spell struck, and behind that was endless darkness that threatened to consume their thoughts. Lily groaned.
“Makes me wish I had fought him during our duel,” She commented, springing to her feet. Remus nodded.
“Definitely would have made things easier,” Lupin added as he followed his friend in defending Sirius and Peter from James’ attacks. Wormtail and Padfoot, on the other hand, traversed across the room in an attempt to get away from what was happening behind them. Peter took a glance every once and again to see how Lily and Remus were doing, nervous for their well-being against the best duelist in their group. Evans was good and Moony was even better, but James is unmatched. Though, in the state that he’s in, it’s not very likely that he’s using a lot of his brain. It’s amazing how his intelligence increases when not used in day to day things. Sirius stopped suddenly, causing Peter to run into his back, the both letting out a harsh grunt as Padfoot shot a glare behind him.
“Why’d we stop?” Wormtail asked. Sirius looked back ahead of himself, eyes narrowing at the Fracture that was slowly becoming further out of control the longer it remained. The ghostly apparitions have returned, beady eyes glowering down at them as the mist coalesces about their forms. “Are those… ghosts?”
“Quite so. The Fracture is boosting their connection to our realm, making them just real enough to be dangerous,” Sirius explained, nervously shifting him and his fellow Marauder back as the spirits approached them diligently, a soft moan gradually forming into a shrill scream that shook the two wizards to their core. This even caught the attention of Remus and Lily, Moony-- who looked away just for a split second-- feeling that mistake as a blast of radiance slammed into his chest, knocking him a good ways away from the fight.
“Remus!” Lily shouted, throwing up a quick protego spell before making sure he was alright. Letting out a small groan, the werewolf got to his feet, gritting his teeth as the image of the world around him shifted just barely.
“Quite the pup you are, you’ll make an excellent monster one day,” Eyes widening, Remus spun around expecting Grayback to be there, but there was nothing. A concerned shout from Lily allowed his mind to travel back to the fight at hand, rushing back to his feet and giving James a Confringo, mimicking what he just did to Moony back at him.
“Are you okay?” Lily asked, only receiving a head nod from Remus as their focus returned to James, watching as he unsteadily got back to his feet.
“Won’t fail again… need to protect you…” Prongs muttered.
“Who do you need to protect, James? What are you seeing?” She asked, desperation clear in her tone. The Potter twisted again, almost fighting to stay on his feet, groaning as that shimmer around him flared in strength.
“You won’t… hurt her…” James said, raising his wand again. Lily and Remus shared a confused look but the peace didn’t last for long. The battle resumed just as quickly as it had ceased. Peter ducked out of the way of an incoming ghost, the two unsure of how to deal with them due to their unnatural coming into existence. Everything that they’ve faced so far has been altered by the Fracture, spells that wouldn’t normally work on things becoming just what they need and creatures docile and harmless gaining the strength and capability to kill if they wished. It was scary, but this was more than just the outside world that was at risk. James is being controlled by this thing, they need to set him free somehow. The issue with that being the multitude of spirits standing in their way, however.
“This isn’t working!” Sirius shouted, avoiding yet another close call with a pureblood ghost. Frustration boiled over, Padfoot starting to become aggravated by the desecration of life that has occurred here. “Lumos!” The end of his wand erupted in brilliant light, shrieks and gasps of the spirits informing the animagus that the law of ghosts still remains in the Shattered Realm. Peter stuck close to him, waving off the angered remnants of life with small offensive spells, nothing that might piss them off further.
“How do we move forward? Every time we turn our back, another comes out of nowhere. We’re pinned down,” Pettigrew pointed out.
“We have to find a way, there are lives on the line. Light up your wand and follow in my footsteps, we will get to that Fracture, one way or another,” Sirius growled, beginning to walk away from him. Peter meweled, walking after the man as he followed in his directions. He watched their back as the two Marauders slowly made their way towards the Fracture, though the closer they got the more the darkness began to pull them in. Sirius pushed through his headache, that familiar sense of being lost which he felt before his outburst at Remus sending small shivers down his back. Peter recalled this feeling from his time as Voldemort’s servant and it nearly stopped him in his tracks. Wormtail knew that this time was different for he wasn’t going to become a puppet again, not to something that craves the destruction of the Wizarding World.
“I’m right behind you, the whole step of the way,” Peter told him, giving his friend a small tap to remind him that he wasn’t alone. After shooing away spirit after spirit, the Fracture at this point was in sight. The measma of chaos shook the floorboards with the sheer power it held and it was clear how close it was to erupting just by looking at it. Sirius shot off a small confinement spell, hoping to wrap it long enough to allow them more time to reach it, due to being unsure of how long James had left it unattended before they arrived. They were running out of time, they needed to act fast.
“Watch my back, I’m going to try and fix this bugger!” Sirius informed, rushing ahead without another word to his fellow Marauder. Wormtail nodded, turning away from Padfoot to keep the ghosts at bay, praying to whatever was out there that his efforts were enough to help just this once. Lily huffed at the feeling of exhaustion ripping at her bones. The battle hadn’t been going for that long, but the sheer amount of spells being thrown at them forced a lot of dexterous movement, movement that the two aren’t used to doing quite yet. Thirty or so years of being dead will do that to you, but she’s surprised by how hard James was going at them. Remus cut in front of her, throwing up a Protego and watching Prongs’ stupefy bounce off it harmlessly.
“I believe I finally understand what’s happening,” Remus told her, pulling the femme behind a piece of furniture that their fighting had knocked down. Whatever they touched with their own magic ended up being released from the Fracture’s hold, thus leaving it null and void of the magic that kept it in the air. Lily allowed her lungs to regain breath within them, listening to Remus as he continued to talk. “The Fracture is doing the thing that it was doing to us before, but on a grander level. It has gained the power to send memories to James’ brain, forcing him to relive moments of his life that have given him great pain and anguish, thus causing him to think that he was actually playing a part in that memory.” Lily winced as a spell slammed into the top of their hiding place, shifting herself further into cover.
“You’re saying he thinks he’s seeing something that has already happened, and is trying to live through it differently to change how things went down?” She asked, earning a nod from Remus.
“We most likely cannot shake him out of this by sheer magic alone. That Fracture needs to be taken down,” Lupin said before sending a rogue Expelliarmus over the top of the sofa. James easily managed to get out of the way, although it gave them just enough time to regain their composure and return to the fight. James rushed forward, pretending like he was notching a bow and arrow before shooting his hand out, a volley of arrows erupting out of the end of his wand towards Remus who had moved the opposite of Lily to avoid being caught in an unwanted situation. The werewolf bared down.
“Protego,” He said, although it only held up for most of it. The shield of magic cracked under the sheer force of the spell, a piece of it breaking away and creating a hole just big enough to allow one of the arrows to fly through, landing purchase within Remus’ wand shoulder. Moony grimaced, grabbing onto the wound as a hot pain shot up his arm, nearly forcing him to let go of his wand. He’s never fought left handed before, might as well try it now.
“Remus, you alright?” Lily asked, defending her friend by shooting a Stupefy James’ way, causing Prongs to retreat briefly as Evans helped Remus up. The wizard nodded, taking a quick glance at how bad it was before turning his attention back on the battle.
“At the moment, yes. Look sharp, Lily, he’s coming back our way!” Remus informed. Peter could see Sirius working as hard as he could, piecing together as many shards of the Fracture before almost welding them back on. They learned from Dumbledore that while the rifts in time were best healed when they were about to erupt, they had to make sure all pieces were attached before doing so, or else they risk it opening again. He was so close Peter could almost taste victory, but the spirits were becoming too much for just him. Constantly being bombarded by the ghosts of purebloods and Slytherin’s long since dead did something to Pettigrew that he was not sure of why it was happening, perhaps because he too is a pureblood and did in fact go down the same road they did. Maybe he too is destined to turn out like this.
Snapping back to reality, Peter fought off another spirit, groaning in discomfort as this one managed to get a part of his shoulder during his assault. The chilled feeling of having one of them touch you almost felt like that of a Dementor, and it became clear where the Fracture possibly got it’s idea from. Ghosts and Dementors don’t and should never mix, so you can expect Peter to be happy when they no longer have to deal with this shit. It was then that Wormtail realised that one of the spirits was coming at an angle where he could not get his wand to in time. Coming to the conclusion that if Sirius went down that thing wouldn’t get fixed in time, the wizard came to a decision on what to do.
“Sirius, watch out!” Peter shouted and pushed the dejected Black out of the way, taking the full brunt of the spirits assault. The feeling of his entire body spasming forced a shout out of his lungs purely out of how hard his muscles were constricting them. He dropped his wand, reaching a hand to his chest, his heart pounding against his ribcage as his entire being fought against death for a second time. Sirius’ eyes widened.
“Peter, hang on-”
“No!” Wormtail shouted, putting a hand out and freezing Padfoot in place. “Finish what we started, close the Fracture! You can do this!” Sirius straightened, giving his friend one sharp nod before returning to healing the tear in time. The blue shimmer fought against the healing aspects of his own orange magic, but slowly and surely it was doing its job. The pieces of the Fracture held in place, slowly allowing the chaos energy to die down before the final step ensued to assure this thing would not threaten the Wizarding World again. The bands of crimson wrapped around the rift, shrinking bit by bit as the ghosts attempted one last time to stop him, but they were too late. With a shriek and a cry, the ghosts disappeared, following in the Fracture’s footsteps as the break in time disappeared from view. A low pulse rang through the room, slashing through James just as the wizard was about to strike at Lily. His form shuddered, shoulders slumping while reality returned to him and his vision cleared from it’s blurry veil. Sirius exhaled, looking down at Peter.
“You alright mate?” He asked, helping the fellow animagus to his feet. Wormtail nodded, shaking himself to regain the brief fortitude that he had. He picked up his wand, giving Sirius a large smile.
“Yeah, I’m good. You did it!” Peter congratulated as he turned his attention to the other three. James had his hand on his head, just beginning to shake off what had happened to him before.
“Not without you. Never fucking do that again, yeah?” Sirius threatened nicely, throwing his arm over the smaller man’s shoulder. Peter laughed but said nothing, the two walking over to where Lily was checking out her husband. Remus still held onto his shoulder, grimacing as he watched the blood seep through between his fingers. Sirius stopped beside him while Peter helped out Lily.
“Took a nasty shot there, Moony,” Black pointed out. Remus sighed.
“Yes, will take quite the work in fixing my coat,” Moony responded, earning a bellowing laugh from his friend.
“You get shot in the arm and of course the thing you think about is your uniform. You’re on your own explaining this to Nymphadora,” Sirius told him. Lily grabbed her husband by his shoulders gently to make sure she didn’t startle him. James focused on her, still a little dazed and his eyes glossy and obscured.
“Lily?” He asked, rubbing the side of his head. “What happened?” She only smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek as Peter helped steady him from the other side.
“We’ll explain everything later. Well done you guys,” Lily praised. Sirius shrugged his shoulders.
“Could not have been done without the rest of you. You feeling alright, Prongs?” James jumped at hearing his name, however he gave a small nod.
“Yeah, yeah I’m good. Just a little confused on when you all got here and where the hell the giant rift in space went,” He admitted, although it wasn’t the full truth. There was a constant ringing in his ear with a head that suggested he had been hit by a griffon, but the worst part was the feeling of someone watching him remaining in his mind. James almost expected to look around and see other people still standing in the room, but it did not come as a shock when he found that they still were the only ones. Peter beamed brightly.
“Good, that’s good. Thought we would have had to hit you over the head or something for a second there,” He laughed, although it only confused the poor wizard further. Prongs decided not to ask anymore questions, focusing on the fact that the job was done and everyone seemed fine-- for the most part, anyways. Sirius approached Peter nearly stone faced, placing a hand on his shoulder before giving it a tight squeeze. Pettigrew thinks he’s in trouble, and the other three almost believe that the good feelings that were happening before had only been in the heat of the moment and that Black was about to shout at the shorter man. That never happened. Sirius smiled, bringing Peter in for a tight hug as a low laugh escaped from his mouth.
“Is everything… okay, Sirius?” Peter asked nervously and the wizard in question stepped back.
“You proved just how much of an ass I was being, and I’m sorry for that. You have proved yourself to be one of us time in and time out and I was taking out past grievances on you, and that was wrong of me. Hope you can forgive me,” Sirius apologised. Peter’s eyes widened in shock before he playfully crossed his arms, turning away from the wizard.
“I’m not sure, you were being a rightful ass…” He trailed off but soon enough turned to face his friend again. “There was nothing needing to be apologised for to begin with, Sirius. You were hurt and it was going to take some time. But, if it makes you feel better, I forgive you,” Pettigrew said, Sirius smiling as he jokingly punched his fellow Marauder in the arm.
“Alright, I think that’s enough for today. Besides, we need to get these two to see Marlene,” Lily cut in, motioning to James-- who was just barely keeping on his feet-- and Remus-- who still had the large arrow protruding out of his shoulder. The group of five bunched together, Sirius bringing out his wand to cast the apparition spell before stopping in place.
“Peter, you get this one. I think you earned it,” Padfoot told him. Peter hesitated but then he nodded, excitedly taking out his wand before putting it out in front of him. As Peter whispered the incantation to return to the Sanctuary, the five Marauders gladly accepted the feeling of nausea as the image of the ballroom disappeared. Finally putting the emotionally damaging mission behind them, they were glad to know that going from this point forward there was nothing that could damage their relationship again. The shadows sung in familiarity, however, as they too witnessed the beginning of an era of healing between friends.