Author: Lady Padfoot
Story: Twelve Years Later
Rating: Everyone
Setting: Pre-OotP
Status: Completed
Reviews: 5
Words: 740
Disclaimer-I don't own anything, so don't sue me. I might have to give you my nickel.
He's escaped.
After fourteen years in Azkaban, he's escaped. As if it's not bad enough what he did to Lily and James, he has to come back for Harry. And Peter. Poor Wormtail, he never stood a chance against him.
I remember so clearly our carefree days in Hogwarts. Pranking teachers, students, Slytherins, winning the admiration of the female population, and you can't forget the pranking. How we've changed from the innocent mischief makers we once were. Although looking back, I don't think James and Sirius ever were innocent. They were born demented, with their insane sense of humor. Victims of some of the more inventive pranks they thought up were left with very odd results. We turned the hair of all the Slytherins bright pink on Valentines Day once, and another time we accidentally turned the Headmaster into a flamingo with a lemon drop meant for Snape. He took it rather well.
There are events that clearly stand out in my mind-the first train ride to Hogwarts which led to our first meeting, when they found out I was a werewolf; the time Snape was almost killed; the day they finally mastered the animagus transformation, and last of all, our final leaving feast in seventh year. These, excluding our first meeting, were the things that proved how strong our friendship really was. There are other memories that weren't so important like winning the Quidditch Cup; the creation of the Marauders Map; and, of course, the time that Lily finally agreed to go to Hogsmeade with James. I can remember Sirius moping in The Three Broomsticks about how James had won the bet that he would get the girl of his dreams before Sirius did. I had absolutely no clue they had a bet involving that. Their usual bets were on Quidditch games and who would get the next detention.
The next few years are a blur of war and funerals with a few happy moments in between. Like when James and Lily got married, and when Harry was born. We stayed friends, but we changed. We were forced to grow up, but not in the way we had at Hogwarts. We learned to accept death, and not to let it cripple us in the fight. But then we found out that Voldemort was after the Potters. It was all downhill from there. I remember the months after that with horrible clarity. Waiting to see the Dark Mark every time I came back to the flat Sirius and I shared, or worse, every time I came to James' and Lily's. Which should have been a stupid fear, I should have believed that Sirius wouldn't give in to Voldemort, wouldn't tell him where James and Lily were. I should have believed, but I was wrong.
It's all because of him that James and Lily are dead. It's all because of him that Harry is parentless, and Voldemort is after him. If it hadn't been for him, Harry would have at least had longer with his parents. I still don't understand how he could have gone from the Sirius I knew, to a Death Eater. All through school he hated the pureblood beliefs; hated those who believed them, and hated his family most of all. It's been twelve years, and I still don't know why it happened. I don't know why he betrayed us, I don't know how he could have changed so much from the Sirius we knew. Wealth, power, purity of blood-- those things didn't matter to Padfoot. Growing up the way he did; being the black sheep of the Black family, he hated people who coveted those things. Or considering his family, you could actually call him the white sheep of the Black family.
In a way, he's worse than the rest of his family. They didn't kill one of their best friends, and betray the rest. They didn't become the Secret Keeper of the man who was their brother in everything but blood, and betray him to Voldemort. He deserves to rot in Azkaban for what he did. And that leaves me as the last surviving Marauder. It's twelve years later and I still don't know...
AN-Many thanks to my awesome beta Gerry, and to Astarte, Capramagus, and Alex for pre-betaing. Sorry it took so long for the plunnies to find me!