InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Whatevs!"

James "Prongs" Potter (_cervus_) wrote in snapthread,
@ 2019-03-28 12:19:00

Entry tags:

james potter, remus lupin, sirius black

Who: Moony, Padfoot & Prongs
What: James' arrival
Where: The square
When: After this
Rating: E for emotions??

James took a deep breath and dropped the little metal box down beside him. His head was starting to pound slightly, remnants of the day’s earlier headache starting to take root behind his eyes. He slumped forward a little, spine curving as he rubbed his eyelids beneath his glasses.

Despite the messages continuing to arrive on the machine beside him, he felt utterly lost. One moment he’d been crossing the landing at home, and the next… well, he’d been shivering in this unfamiliar square, fresh air nipping at his skin. The primary emotion, after the momentary disorientation, had been panic. He'd spun around, looking for Lily and the baby, already knowing they wouldn't be there. Fear clawed it's way violently up his throat, dread winding tightly around his chest.

It had taken him a little while to pick up the box on the table, to try pressing the buttons. And then messages had started coming back, filling his head with so much stuff that it was suddenly hard to breathe, let alone think straight. Finding his friends had been an almost painfully huge relief, but even that had eventually left a bitter taste at the back of his mouth. It all felt wrong somehow. Twisted and warped.

Merlin, where were they??

It seemed like an age before he heard someone arrive in the quiet square. James jumped to his feet, his wand suddenly finding it's way to his hand as he peered across the open space, muscles curled tight as a spring across his back.

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lonewolfen
2019-04-11 06:14 pm UTC (link)

It had nearly ripped his heart out of his chest to have to tell Sirius everything that had happened. Remus had barely made it out of that conversation without completely wrecking himself. With James, it was harder. It was so much harder to be telling someone his own fate. What a horrible thing; to tell someone they were going to die. And not just him, but his wife too. His son was left an orphan. And for what? Because some dark wizard wanted to get his way and would kill anyone who dared defy him. It made Remus sick, and had he not already gone through the violent stream of emotions ranging from screaming, crying, isolation and -- just like James, vomiting -- he would've been doing the same thing now. As it was, he was just silently crying. But inside, he felt like he was the murderer.

When James sunk down to the ground, Remus looked at Sirius first, then moved closer to James and knelt by him.

"...What.. Peter? But he--" He stopped, trying to put together what James meant. He supposed he had to get to the next part, too. "James, everyone blamed Sirius for selling your lives to Voldemort because they believed he was your Secret Keeper. Pete, he-- He supposedly went after Sirius but was killed. Allegedly, by Sirius. All anyone could find of him was a finger, along with twelve other Muggles who died in the explosion. The Aurors, they took Sirius away, to Azkaban. When I was able to get away from the pack, to come home, it was too late. No one would listen to me when I said he was innocent. Dumbledore sent Harry away. I don't know where. Somewhere he'd be safe, he said. But... But what did you mean, you changed? What were you saying about Peter?" He chanced reaching out, placing a hand on James' shoulder and Merlin -- the validation of physical touch, to really feel that James was alive and breathing instead of cold and rigid had a whole fresh set of tears spilling down his cheeks.

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beingsirius
2019-04-11 08:58 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, mate," Sirius said when James turned to upend everything in his stomach to the ground instead, and it felt like a weird thing to be saying, like he was only a second away from teasing James for not knowing how to hold his liquor, or for eating something idiotic on a dare instead of what was actually happening here -- a bout of nerves and shock and horror.

It sank in eventually though, even though Sirius felt dangerously close to nervous giggles, even though that made no sense at all. He leaned in closer, hand on James' ankle and then back and then shoulder -- whatever, they were all sort of squirming now. And Remus was there too, and so Sirius put his other hand on the small of his back as they went on talking, more rehash but --

But then something clicked. "He changed secret keepers," he said dully, filling in the blanks with the obvious -- or what was now obvious now that James had said even a little something. "Because I'm too obvious. It was Peter."

Peter who had ratted them out. Peter who had lead evil to the home of their best friends, and who had pinned it on Sirius and let him suffer and rot for a crime he hadn't done, and left Remus with no one at all, and Harry orphaned.

James was in shock and Sirius was going to kill their fourth if he ever did see him again.

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