NO I DON'T WANT IT TO BE OVER!!!! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!!!
except i can't make you all wait forever because i know you love this story.
you guys, all my reveiwers, you are so amazing. you have no idea how happy you guys have made me when you reveiwed and said all those crazy things and you're just too awesome. you all deserve the biggest bowl full or desserts ever created. and then some.
my thanks goes especially to people like kerrie, freemoney, ladyblue, rockstar101, seanymph, and qt starr, who have been reveiwing this whole time (or mostly) and always brighten my day. you guys get an extra large helping of sugary goodness.
i'm going to reply to the numerous (THERE ARE SO MANY!!!) reveiws at the end. though i find it funny that most of you were all "so that sequel...when is it going to start?" i don't ever recall saying there would BE a sequel... but you never know. i'm thinking.
by-the-by, if anyone who is reading this is an artist, i wouldn't mind a picture of rya's necklace. i'm not much of an artist myself, but i still think it would be cool to have. if you're interested in making it, i would LOVE to see it.
It was mid-November when I finally returned to London. Sirius had sent me a letter in October telling me that Voldemort was trying to hunt down James and Lily, forcing them into hiding. He told me they wanted him to be the Secret-Keeper, but he figured he was much too obvious, and that Voldemort would hunt him down just to get to them. He told me he was working on convincing the couple to pick another—less obvious—friend, though the way he described this 'friend' made me nervous. It sounded like he was describing Pettigrew.
But I forced myself to trust Sirius and James' perceptive abilities. After all, they both knew Pettigrew ages before I even came along. Maybe I'm just an easily creeped out girl.
I doubt it. I have to trust Sirius though. This is too important.
Then, right after Halloween, I heard there had been a major attack in London, and the infamous He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (what a ridiculous title, honestly) had finally been defeated.
By Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived.
Which could only mean something had happened to Lily and James. They would've died before letting Voldemort near their son. That train of thought terrified me. James and Lily were probably dead. Where was Sirius? Why hadn't he tried to contact me, now that the danger he had been so afraid of was gone? What about Remus? And not that I cared about his well-being, but where was Pettigrew? I was left with no choice but to return to London myself and seek out my soul mate.
Of course, I needed to tell him a thing or two as well. Some things you can't share through a letter. News like this needs to be passed person to person.
Sirius never told me where exactly his and Remus' home was, so I found myself unwilling to attempt an Apparation there. I hadn't even Apparated into London; I had taken an underwater train through the ocean. It was a bit too dangerous in my condition to Apparate overseas.
Anyway, unable to go directly to his home, I headed to the Leaky Cauldron. I was sure that someone there would at least know how I could get a hold of him. Sirius had made friends pretty much everywhere he went.
Everyone inside the pub was drunk already. I didn't even bother asking them. I went and stood outside the door, listening to their joyful celebration. Apparently even after two weeks people were still celebrating the downfall of the Dark Lord. Finally, a balding man with a beer belly walked up to the pub. I could tell he was sober (for now), so I intercepted him on his way to the door.
"Pardon me sir, but do you know where I might find a man by the name of Sirius Black?" My stomach twisted in apprehension.
"Azkaban, thank heavens. The traitor," he said viciously.
"What??" I asked, shocked by his reaction and his words.
He gave me a strange look. "You're not from around here, are you?" he asked.
"No I'm not." I heard panic in my voice. I didn't care. "What's Azkaban? What's happened?"
The man sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "It was Halloween. You-know-who—you do know who that is?" I nodded. "Yes, well, he attacked the Potters."
I gasped, interrupting whatever he had been about to say. I had already guessed, but hearing it so carelessly from this stranger made it shocking. "But they had a Secret-Keeper!" I said. My voice almost turned it into a question.
"That rotten Sirius Black was their Secret-Keeper. He gave them to You-Know-Who. Sentenced them to death. The child—Harry Potter—survived somehow though, managing to bring down the Dark Lord at the same time. Then that Black fellow went and killed another friend, Pettergoo or something. Poor fool went after Black for killing the Potters and ended up dying as well."
"Peter? Peter Pettigrew?" I asked desperately. I was really starting to panic now.
"That's it. How did you know that?" I didn't answer him. My mind was swirling with confusion and terror, leaving me lost in a dark and cold tornado that enveloped my mind and carried me beyond any help.
This isn't right, I thought. That can't be what happened. Sirius loved James and Lily, he would've sacrificed himself to save either one of them. Peter was the shady one. He wasn't as dense as he acted. Sirius never would have told old Voldy—he didn't even want to work with the bastard. Something isn't right here. This can't be true.
"Anyway," the man continued, obviously taking my silence as a willingness to keep listening. "They caught Black after he got rid of Pettigrew. Sent him straight off to Azkaban—that's our very high security prison. He won't be leaving there anytime soon, if ever. Probably'll die in there, thank heavens."
I was hyperventilating. He's in prison! For life! This can't be happening!
"Lady, are you alright?" the man asked. I barely even heard him. My world was spinning. "You don't look too good, are you okay?" He took a step towards me, reaching out to me, trying to get me to respond. I couldn't. All my energy was focused on one thought.
Sirius!
I dropped to my knees. As my vision went dark, I could hear the man calling for help. I didn't care if he found any. Without Sirius, this darkness was perfect.
0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0
Through the haze that encompassed the past few days, she could hear voices. One was familiar and strange…someone who had tried talking to her since the darkness. The other was new. Visiting a friend a work perhaps. She didn't really care. This darkness was more comforting than reality.
"What happened to her?" the new voice asked.
"We're not sure yet. The man who called the Healers said she just passed out when he told her about events surrounding the Downfall."
"Passed out? That's a bit extreme. I mean, just like that?"
"Just like that. It's weird."
"How long has she been here?"
"Almost three days now."
"What? Why?!"
"Look at her cheeks."
A pause. "They're wet!"
"She's been crying since we picked her up. Nonstop. She screams sometimes too, like she's having nightmares."
"For three days?"
"Yes." A moment's hesitation. "I'm worried about the baby. If she keeps going like this she might miscarry."
"Do we know who the father is?" Fresh tears feel down her face.
The familiar-strange woman lowered her voice. "We don't even know who she is." She sounded genuinely worried. Oh well.
"This has to be the weirdest case I've ever heard of, and I've been nursing for twenty years."
"I know."
Silence.
"I wish we could find the father." She tossed in the bed, on the verge of nightmare and unwilling to fight it.
"Good luck with that until she wakes up."
"She was wearing this necklace." Footsteps. Metal sliding off metal. "No one recognizes the work though. It looks like a great cat and a large canine, but we have no idea what that means." The nightmare backed off, as if too intrigued by this new information to torment her.
"Looks like she's a mystery."
Metal clinking against the same surface, being set back down.
"Come on, let's get lunch. We won't know anything until she wakes up."
"I guess you're right. I'm still worried about that baby though."
"It'll be fine." The door closes.
The nightmare wasted no time in attacking her. There he was, always just out of reach, just out of hearing. He was trying to tell her something. She was trying to tell him something. A giant rat wrapped its tail around his abdomen and pulled him farther from her, throwing him into a dark, dirty dungeon. Screams forced their way out.
Even as the nightmares faded and she began to regain consciousness, her whole being ached: mind, body, and soul. She began living again, but it wasn't really living.
She was in a nightmare. Without him…there was nothing else…
0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0
A baby cries out, almost in the same instant its mother falls back against the pillows. "It's a boy!" the doctor proclaims, with more enthusiasm than necessary.
"Orion," the woman says. She's breathing hard; labor was tough on her.
"Pardon?" a nurse asks, stepping closer while the baby is cleaned up.
"His name. Orion. Orion Canopus."
okay, here we go;
noitceffadeeni: don't hug your moniter too tightly, dear. you don't want to hurt it so bad that it gets mad and won't let you visit anymore!! but i'm glad you enjoyed the story.
seanymph: yeah, that's what i was going for. i was originally going to just make him say "i'd rather die" but i thought that would have a better affect. yes i am american, i'm actually from minnesota, hence why rya is as well. i think i remember that song, but i'd have to listen to it again to be sure.
the singer in white: you're so right, if harry and ron knew each other when they were first learning how to talk that would've been the cutest thing ever. "won" and "hawwy"!!! i wish. haha, after hearing you describe france i feel the need to catch a plane... ah well, i can't exactly afford that right now. maybe someday. but i would so pick the brit over the french as well. that accent alone melts my heart.
ladyblue: yeah i wasn't getting any alerts from fanfiction either. it was confusing me. why were you distracted my johnny depp? what was he doing? was he doing a jig on your kitchen table? i hope he took his pirate boots off first. i'd hate to eat on that table after those were on it. hehe... anyway, you know what else is a fun word? "lugubrious." it's one of my favorite words. that and "wench" and "cabbage." actually i just think "cabbage" is a weird word. honestly, who named cabbage? good grief. ...why did you name your brain demetrius? i mean, isn't that technically naming yourself demetrius? ah, i'm going to miss your reveiws.
rockstar: yes, my foreshadowing was evil. i wanted to see how many people noticed, and there was actually quite a few of you. but don't worry, you're not the only one to cry. though i AM still surprised by that. i mean, I didn't even cry. it's sad as all hell, but i didn't think it was THAT emotional. i guess i was wrong.
dreammedelirious: what exactly was disastrous now? the whole rya-trying-to-convince-sirius-to-let-her-stay thing? yeah, she failed pretty miserably at that. she isn't one to convince others to do whatever she wants--unfortunately she lacks that skill.
renee: i still can't believe i made you guys cry. but you made me happy just by saying that i kept your attention. maybe i've been hanging with too many adhd kids lately and i automatically know how to keep people's attention. ah well.
padme4000: too true. that's the wonder of reality, of course. oh well, what can you do. though, who said this was the end...?
freemoney: detailed with what? what? i'm confused. but yes, you missed popsicles and brownies. but you get a really big chunk of cake, so no worries! you rock.
tricksterstheif: how does that taste? and you forgot about the ice cream. careful it doesn't melt all over you.
qt star: i always though sirius would be this way as an adult. i mean, he can't change completely from who he was as a kid, but he's not an idiot. he knows what he's getting himself into. but he's always going to have that humor with him. he even has it after azkaban, you see it every once in awhile in the books. i just don't think someone can loose a humor that is that big a part of them. but don't worry, i'll probably be writing for a looong time.
channe: i'm glad you liked it so much, and i hope you enjoyed this as well!
lee: you know you and channe had almost the same exact reveiw? but i'm happy you liked it too, and i hope you liked the ending.
OH MAN THAT WAS ALOT.
i am going to miss you guys so much. reveiw one last time for me!!!