InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Use the Force!"

Sirius O. Black (pad_foot) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2010-10-16 19:08:00

Entry tags:

!closed, #complete, hermione watson, john watson, sirius black

WHO: Sirius Black (kind of...), Hermione Granger and John Watson
WHAT: Sirius has an odd craving, and Hermione and John turn up to try and 'save him'. They're just a little late.
WHEN: Mid-afternoon.
WHERE: The Park.
RATING: PG-13 [violence]
STATUS: Complete

If Sirius had been capable of (his version of) logical thought right now, he would have made an excellent(ish) joke about his new friends being a little 'lifeless'. Or something to that respect. Okay. Admittedly, it needed work. But right at this moment, as had happened many times before, his joke-making ability had taken second place to his rumbling stomach. It was just the nature of the snack he fancied that was rather... different. Sirius Black had always been a little on the odd side, but he could honestly say that today was the first time he'd had a irresistible craving for some tasty human brains.

The thing which up until five minutes ago had been Sirius Black struggled forward, the arm where the bite had been placed hanging limply at his side as a strange, breathy gargle rattled up his throat. Just below the elbow, a set of teethmarks created a swollen, seeping wound, tinted somewhere between blue and green. The limited amount of colour had left his skin, leaving it gray, while his dark eyes were glassy and dead. Even his hair, his swooping, shiny pride and joy, had somehow become limp and lifeless. What was worse, the bright smile was gone, along with the spark of life which had made Padfoot so perky and charming and well... Sirius.

To be completely honest, if the young animagus had seen himself right now, he'd probably have begged for someone to blast his head off. He did not look good.

The smell of two new arrivals suddenly wafted over the park, and the small pack of walking dead turned, the empty shell that had been Sirius amongst them.

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the_cleverest
2010-10-16 09:04 pm UTC (link)

It had taken longer than she expected to retrieve John from his flat and get to the park. Normally she would have Apparated, but the research was unclear on whether one could successfully Side-Along-Apparate with a Muggle and not have them splinch themselves, and right now was really not the right time to risk it. And what normally would have been a rather quick journey took even longer when dealing with roving bands of zombies.

"He said he was up a tree," she said softly, wand out and eyes searching. She didn't see Sirius immediately, but that was likely because he was hiding. Or had managed to escape and leave the park. Right? That was why he hadn't answered any of her messages. Stupid boy, making her worry. He had to be all right.

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hisbestman
2010-10-16 10:55 pm UTC (link)

John was glad they hadn't apparated. As much as Hermione's magic fascinated him, he didn't quite want to test that aspect of it out and he had no desire to end up splinched. He hadn't wanted to leave Sherlock alone, but he couldn't say no to his girlfriend or just leave someone in danger, so he'd grabbed his gun and left with her immediately.

"At least he had the forethought to get away from them," he said. "Hopefully they haven't adapted to climbing yet and they decided to go after easier prey." He was trying to be reassuring as possible, but it was hard to be hopeful during a zombie apocalypse. Idly, he wondered what zombies thought about the term. Maybe they preferred 'undead revolution'. He shook his head. He was losing focus and that was dangerous.

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pad_foot
2010-10-16 11:43 pm UTC (link)

Together the mass of bodies lurched, shuffled and crawled over the park, a shifting lump of rotting flesh and broken bones. Some were newer than others. Some were partially decomposed. A sickening stench drifted up from the group, colouring the air. The one that had been Sirius was the newest. His long legs carried it to the front of the pack, his trademark dark jeans stained with mud and ripped by branches from where he'd been trying to escape them. And failed.

Pushing its way violently through the bodies, the Marauders body staggered as it reached the forefront of the group. There weren't many of them - a dozen or so, at the most. But every pair of dead, sightless eyes set upon the pair stood a few feet away on the grass. Even now, there was no flicker of recognition in Sirius' staring, frozen face. And there wouldn't be.

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the_cleverest
2010-10-16 11:59 pm UTC (link)

Hermione looked at the group of zombies and swore violently, one hand coming up to cover her mouth. Not Sirius. This was worse than she'd expected - she'd been bracing herself to find him merely dead, not... this. It was that moment of shock that led to her hesitation, wand clutched in her hand but not pointed at any of the zombies. She'd duelled and fought in battles, but she couldn't bring herself to curse Sirius's head off. Not here, not like this.

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pad_foot
2010-10-17 12:18 am UTC (link)

It was only a moment. A second, perhaps two, when Hermione didn't move. Perhaps if Sirius had any part of himself left he would have felt bad for causing the expression that flashed over her face. But there wasn't, and so he didn't. Couldn't.

The body stepped forward, taking one of the long strides that the living Sirius had perfected into a elegant, loping stroll. Then cold, dead fingers grasped Hermione's warm arm, wrenched her forward, and sunk teeth deep into the flesh of her shoulder.

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hisbestman
2010-10-17 02:42 am UTC (link)

John had hoped this wouldn't happen, but he had been too realistic to assume anything but the worst. Still, he had, like Hermione, erred toward the assumption that Sirius was dead. Not a zombie who could hurt people. Who could hurt Hermione. But shock made him slow. Too slow. And he watched, horrified, as Sirius's teeth sank into Hermione's skin.

No. No, no, no. This can't be happening. Not her. His mind was racing and he felt sick to his stomach.

Then training and instinct took over. He pulled Hermione away from Sirius, then raised his gun with a hand that was too steady for the situation and shot the younger man in the head. He turned his gun on the other zombies in the group, and with a few bullets and a few curses they were gone. Once they were gone, he finally turned his attention to Hermione and the vicious looking wound at her shoulder. He knew, without even having to ask, what it meant. He knew, but he didn't want to believe it.

"He bit you." It was stating the obvious, as Sherlock would be quick to point out, but what else could he say? Words wouldn't fix this. Nothing would fix this. He already knew what he had to do, but he pushed the thought aside and forced himself to ignore it. Because he couldn't think about what necessity dictated in this situation.

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the_cleverest
2010-10-17 02:53 am UTC (link)

She didn't scream. There was a choked sort of yelp as the zombie's teeth broke her skin, and she flinched as the bullet thudded into its brain. It, not Sirius. Hermione sank to the ground, shoving the body away from her and staring at the wound in her shoulder. She knew what this meant. And she knew she couldn't take care of it herself.

"John." Hermione pushed herself up and pressed her wand into his hand. "Take care of this for me. I... I'm sorry." She put her hand over the bite mark and grimaced, looking back at him with full eyes. "John, please." Too many things she wanted to say but couldn't, now that this had happened. She was a fool, and she had never expected things to end this way.

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hisbestman
2010-10-17 03:12 am UTC (link)

She couldn't be asking him to do this. She just couldn't. It was too horrible, too unfair to even consider. And yet, at the same time, he knew he had to do this. He couldn't let Hermione turn into a monster. He couldn't let her change and kill people. She'd hate herself, and he'd never let that happen. If he did, he'd blame himself for every person she killed and it would drive him mental. But could he really kill the only person in Colligo other than Sherlock who he really cared about?

"I...okay," he said, the words heavy with resignation. "Okay. For you." God, it hurt to even say that. He pulled Hermione into his arms and just held her. It wasn't an immediate thing, so they had a little time. "For what it's worth," he said quietly, "we had some really good times. And I think I was falling in love with you." And then he leaned down and kissed her. One last kiss before dying and all that nonsense.

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the_cleverest
2010-10-17 03:22 am UTC (link)

Oh, this wasn't fair at all. And now she really was going to start crying. "It's worth a lot," she said softly. "I wish we'd had more time." The worst timing possible, really. She rested her cheek against his for a moment after the kiss, taking a deep breath. This was so unimaginably stupid.

"I'm so sorry, John. I... there's no way this will be easier." Hermione stepped back, looking straight at him. "Please. Just do it before I lose my nerve." He was a doctor and a soldier. He'd know how to do this properly.

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hisbestman
2010-10-17 03:34 am UTC (link)

"I wish we did too," John said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. He could do this. He would hate it, and he would never be okay with it, but he could do it. He didn't have any other choice. What else was he supposed to do? Hand her the gun and watch her kill herself? No. That would be worse.

"I'm sorry too," he said. He looked down at his gun and then back at her. "Close your eyes, Hermione," he said after a moment. "I can't do this with you looking at me. I don't want you to see me do it." It was a stupid sentiment, but he couldn't bear to have her watch. Once she had done so, he raised the gun to her head. "I'm so sorry," he said, and then pulled the trigger. It was hard, maybe the hardest thing he'd ever done, and he felt a sick numbness settle over him when it was over.

He headed back to the flat, on autopilot more than anything. He had no idea how he got there without something killing him, but somehow he managed it. He wasn't sure if he cared enough to be glad about that.

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