Maybe Memories

Soon, snow fell so deep that most were trapped inside. Wizards, of course, had other means of transportation. Sirius was content being stuck inside with Estelle. It might have been all the scares they'd had of losing one another, but Sirius and Estelle were closer than ever. During the snow, they had lots of tea and hot chocolate. Sirius listened to Estelle talk about what she was reading without interrupting. He started to realize he never wanted to be without her.

Luckily, it seemed as if the snow had slowed down the Dark Lord too. Sirius was weary, and thought it was much to quiet. Something big was coming soon. He prayed he was wrong.

However, when February came, an attack on the Bones family left a huge impact on everyone. The family were very powerful wizards who were kind and supported Dumbledore. Jasper and his cousin Amelia were the only survivors.

At the Order meeting that followed, Jasper Bones was pale and looked like he hadn't slept much.

"I'm terribly sorry," Estelle said, quietly.

He nodded.

"You're lucky--"

"I'm guilty," Jasper said quickly, "I wasn't home where I should've been."

"That's hardly you're fault, Jasper," she said.

"Yeah, take it easy," Sirius said.

"Try seeing your whole family dead on the ground in your house," he murmured, "I'll kill them."

Sirius and Estelle exchanged glances.

"Estelle, a word please," said a tired looking Dumbledore.

She approached, looking hopeful.

"Your mother has been moved to a new, more secure location," he told her, "I shall show you, if she wants. Now, if you could fetch me Sirius, I need a word with him as well."

Dumbledore informed Sirius that he would become secret keeper for the Potters.

Sirius contemplated this. The meeting went on, but Sirius couldn't keep his mind free of the matter. If the death eaters found out the Potters were in a new hiding place, he would be the first they came to, to find out where they were. He would die before he told.

...But if he didn't know, there was no way for him to tell... Not even if he was cursed or torchered. Not even if Voldemort had those terrible mind-searching powers he'd heard of. He would surely die before they found out from him.

Sirius stood by the church in front of the cemetery at Godric's Hollow, waiting. He stared at the headstones and read names to pass the time. It was very cold, but most of the snow was gone.

He wondered what was next. What was going to happen to them? Would James and Lily eventually have to flee the country?

He paced, hoping this was the right way to go about things.

"Sirius," James said.

"Alright?" Sirius asked.

James nodded, "Except Dumbledore's still got my cloak."

"Why does he still have it?" Sirius asked.

"Beats me," James said, "He can make himself invisible without any old cloak."

"So everything is in order?" Sirius asked.

Peter nodded, looking a little sad.

Estelle and Remus roamed the grounds of Hogwarts together, after the meeting. Snow barely covered the hillsides anymore. They didn't speak much.

"Can't we just go back to when things were easy?" Estelle said.

"First year," Remus said.

"I didn't care about anything first year," Estelle said, "Except using magic correctly and making friends."

He smiled.

"I miss you," she said.

"I'm right here," he said looking at the grey sky.

"I mean," she sighed, "seeing you every day."

He glanced at her, "I miss you too."

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. When she let go, he put both his hands in his pockets. He felt his stomach twist.

"I still trust you," she said.

"I know."

Winter slowly turned to spring. The snow had finally disappeared for good. Sun peaked through the grey clouds, although the sun didn't mean anything good came with it.

In mid-April, the death eaters discovered Daphne Danver's whereabouts. No one could explain how it happened. The result ended up being, Daphne was dead.

Estelle was in shock. She refused to come out of the bathroom for nearly three hours after she found out. She barely stopped crying all day. She blamed herself.

"I never even knew her," Estelle sobbed, "and that is why it kills me. I never got a chance to know her."

Wishing there was something-- anything at all-- he could do, Sirius held her while she cried.