chapter twelve ; back to the forest

AFTER RECIEVING THE VALIDATION FROM HER BELOVED GODSON, TEMPEST THATCHER FINALLY FELT CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO RETURN TO THE PLACE SHE HAD RECENTLY FELT LEAST SAFE. Over her shoulder was a bag of notes and in her hand was her wand, held at the ready. Her eyes were wide and alert, and she looked back and forth, making sure nothing was following her and there was no danger present.

She had told Remus where she was going, and though he wasn't the happiest about her decision as she had chosen to go back during school hours, he knew there was no changing her mind. He did remind her several times that if she saw something dangerous, to turn back and not engage.

Plants brushed at her legs as she trampled through the uneven ground, though she was uncaring at how her cloak got caught in the branches. She was looking for something, someone, in particular, and she wouldn't rest until she found him. Her mind was switching on and off -- she could barely think straight, but she knew exactly what she had to do.

She wanted to find him for Harry, she wanted James and Lily's son to be safe. It was her duty that she had sworn to them when they named her Godmother, and even though she could only fully put it into action some years later, she was eager to give him the life he deserved. The way his face lit up as she spoke of his parents earlier made her heart swell, and she was able to relive the memories she had locked away long ago.

"Sirius?!" Tempest yelled at the top of her voice once she had made it to a clearing in the middle of the forest. She tried to sound as confident as she could, but she couldn't deny the shake in her tone. It was dark around her despite it being daytime, and she clutched the wooden weapon in her hand so tight it could snap. "I know you're out here!"

She didn't know how she would react if he actually showed up; would she stun him? Would she disarm him? She'd never do anything unforgivable -- she didn't know if she had it in her. Could she torture the man who killed so many? The man who gave up two of the kindest people she'd ever known? Over the years her denial had seeped away, only to be replaced with shame; humiliation that she had trusted someone, loved someone, who had betrayed her. She had thought about killing him if she ever saw him again...though those thoughts had really only appeared once she saw Harry in Primary school for the first time in the four years.

Sirius had truly broken her heart, and she didn't know if she could ever come back from that. As far as she was aware he didn't deserve anything from her.

Her mind flashed back to when she saw him last, when they were crying in each others arms, mourning the loss of their friends and their godson, who had been taken away from them just as quickly. She remembered how he told her everything would be okay; how he would fix things. He had sounded so assuring, like he knew this wasn't the end. He had said that he loved her, that he would be back the next day, and that she should keep her head down and out of sight until he came back.

Tempest had trusted him, and since then she had hardly felt the same about anyone else. It was only those she had fought alongside years ago that she remained loyal to, with the exception of their children. She had isolated herself for almost two years following the incident, not knowing who was to hurt her next. Maybe it was just paranoia, but in her mind, evil was invisible until you turned your back.

Looking down at the ground, Tempest bent over to inspect the wet soil. Her eyes were locked on any strange indents in the ground, waiting to see something in particular. It wouldn't be a centaur print -- that was to be shaped like a hoof; it wouldn't be Hagrid -- his feet were far too large to be considered; she was keeping an eye out for pawprints.

Tempest sighed, quickly glancing around herself, before shrinking down into her animagus form. She immediately fell into action, her wide yellow eyes examining her environment. A thousand different scents hit her nose, and she struggled to separate them all, though she knew one could lead to Sirius.

Time passed faster than she wanted it to, and the forest was soon filled with golden noon streams of light, illuminating her dark figure. She had been searching for hours, but had come up short. She didn't think she'd find any success seeing as she hadn't thus far, until she finally come across a clear and deep pawprint close to the edge of the woods. To see where the print would lead to, she leapt onto a boulder and overlooked the familiar place, scoffing to herself once she realised her stupidity.

The first thing in plain sight was the towering and angry Whomping Willow, which stood proudly on the outskirts of the school. Tempest knew it all too well, and she wanted to hit herself for thinking like a witch, rather than like a Marauder.

Without hesitation, she sprinted in the direction of the tree, remembering how she used to enter when she was a student of Hogwarts. Though Peter Pettigrew was no longer there to push the part of the trunk that paralysed the moving branches, she was agile enough to dodge the violent swings that came her way. Her speed made it almost easy to leap over the harsh attacks, and she inhaled sharply before diving into the hidden hole at the base of the trunk.

The tunnel below the Whomping Willow was damp underneath Tempest's paws, and she felt the need to pull a face, as she definitely didn't miss the feeling. She looked above her to see the lengthy pathway she had to travel down, but she knew she was onto something, and there was no reluctance as she began to run again.

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Tempest still hadn't shifted out of her animagus form when she entered the haunting building by the name of the Shrieking Shack. The walls still remained unwelcoming, and the swaying of the structure still made her stomach churn uneasily. She crawled silently through the house, her ears perked alertly and her eyes wide. She wasn't sure what to anticipate, but the nerves that racked her body set her on edge.

She knew that every movement she made would most likely cause a sound, which was why she was so hesitant in taking each step. She was wary something would jump out at her, and she felt incredibly vulnerable, more than she had in a decade.

"Tempest?"

And for good reason too.

Tempest's head shot up to the top of the stairs, where a tall, malnourished man stood. He rested against the creaky banister and appeared breathless, his tattooed chest rising and falling visibly. Tempest coiled defensively and didn't waste time in transforming back into her human body. She dropped her bag on the floor and grasped her wand tight in her hand again, holding in out in a threatening fashion.

Sirius flinched, holding his hands above his head helplessly. "I'm not armed, Onyx, I swear!"

"Don't call me that," she snapped, trying to battle the weakness inside her body. She couldn't believe her eyes -- twelve years passed and she was finally seeing him again. She barely processed his appearance, she was only focused on trying to stop him. Her eyes were fierce and her voice dripped with venom as she glared at his slumped body. She lifted her foot and brought herself up to the first step on the staircase, clearly intending on seeming threatening. "Give me one good reason why I should kill you right now."

Sirius was trembling as she inched closer to him, though he couldn't seem to stop staring at her. She was almost as he remembered -- but at the same she was so different. His eyes trailed down to the tip of her wand, which was pointed explicitly in his direction, and he inhaled sharply, before speaking. "Because I'm not the man you think I am."

"You betrayed James and Lily," Tempest hissed, angry tears brimming in her eyes. She couldn't believe she was face to face with the man who had hurt her so badly; it was as if she were staring at a ghost from her past. "You killed Peter. You left Harry all alone. You left me..."

"Do you really think I'd do all that?" Sirius responded, his own cheeks glistening with salty tears. "James was my brother! You were...you were my entire heart. Please allow me to explain myself, Tempest. I've waited twelve years to find you again."

"What, to kill me?" Tempest retorted, causing Sirius to stifle a sob. The woman didn't let this affect her, she only raised her voice. "To kill Harry?!"

"To kill Peter!" Sirius screamed, as if the words she shot at him were bullets hitting him and sucking the blood out of his body. He fell into his knees, as if giving her permission to harm her if she didn't believe him. He exhaled shakily, before repeating himself. "I came to kill Peter."

"You're insane," Tempest muttered, the tight grip she had on her wand never ceasing, though her heartbeat had quickened considerably. "Peter's dead."

"No, he's not," Sirius shook his head without hesitation, his chest rattling as he breathed in and out. He then looked up at her, his eyes glinting ever so slightly. "You never did hear my side of the story, did you Tempest?"

The way his voice seemed to calm made Tempest feel sick to her stomach, and she tried to decide what to do with so much pressure on her back. She could just stun him; knock him unconscious and bring him to the ministry, that was easy enough. But there was something about what he said that made her want to hear what he had to say. 

Her heart pounding, she inhaled sharply and slowly lowered her wand down to her side. Her eye twitched as Sirius got to his feet, and she watched him carefully as he brushed past her and began trudging weakly down the stairs, before turning right. She followed him closely as they entered one of the few rooms in the house, one that had a worn wooden table and two chairs. Sirius pulled one out for Tempest,  before shuffling over to the one on the opposite side of the piece of furniture.

Tempest cautiously lowered herself onto the chair, her eyes glued to Sirius, finally allowing herself to take in his appearance. He looked so unfamiliar; his face was sunken in and sickly, with a lengthy beard and hair falling past his shoulders. His black and white Azakban jumpsuit was tattered and torn, his tattooed chest half-shown, covering the skeleton-like look of his body. Tempest pursed her lips as he seemed to be assessing her in a similar fashion, so she shifted slightly uncomfortably and cleared her throat. "I don't have all day, Sirius."

Sirius lifted his hands onto the table and began wringing them, and before he began, he swallowed anxiously. "I wasn't James and Lily's secret-keeper."

Tempest's eyebrows furrowed in utter puzzlement. "But-"

"It was going to be me, but I knew that Voldemort would figure it out. So, at the last minute I told them to give the role to Peter, seeing as he'd be the last person anyone would expect to be concealing such a matter. I left them just before they went into hiding and came to see you, and I thought everything would turn out fine, and then when we got the news that they had been killed," Sirius paused, his eyes trained on an indent in the table. His expression was glazed over, though it was clear he'd been waiting to say these things for an awfully long time. "I gave Hagrid my motorcycle to take Harry away, and then I left you alone."

Tempest was silent. 

"I know you think you know the rest of the story, that I went out and killed twelve muggles and then Peter, but that was wrong. As soon as I heard the news, saw James and Lily, I knew that I had to avenge them. There was no other way that could've happened had Peter not told Voldemort their location, so I went to find him. I found him on a busy street and confronted him, and that coward shouted that I killed the Potters and sent a blasting curse that was meant for me, but he hit a gas pipe and blew up the section of the road, before he transformed into a rat and escaped through the sewers."

"And his finger?" Tempest pressed on, and he blinked.

"He cut it off, I watched him do it," he responded, his tone completely blunt and emotionless. "He left it behind like it was some little sacrifice for all the crimes he had committed."

"What about the Aurors who found you?" Tempest asked, her eyes still latched onto his figure. She was hardly able to process all of this information, and she had no idea whether or not he was telling the truth. "The newspaper I read said you were laughing, surrounded by your own destruction."

"I was laughing," Sirius admitted, his fingers clasping together. "I was defeated; I had been fooled by the one person I had always underestimated. I had lost my best friends, my Godson, and I was about to lose you. All in one night. There's something quite sadistically humorous about that, isn't there? And when the Aurors found me, I was sent to the dementors without trial. I didn't even get a chance to stand up for myself."

"Which brings us to now," Tempest muttered, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. Sirius seemed to relax a bit now, as he knew the expression upon her face all too well, even if she didn't realise she was doing it. She was becoming a little more comfortable in his presence, though she would probably deny it. "How did you escape?"

"Molly and Arthur Weasley," Sirius replied easily, and Tempest's posture tensed significantly in surprise. Before she could question him, he chuckled softly. "They went on a trip to Egypt -- landed themselves a picture on the front page of The Daily Prophet. A guard was walking past with the paper and I got a good look at the rat in one of the boys' arms. It was old and ugly, with lost patches of hair and a missing finger on one of its hands. I'd been waiting for a sign, and that was it. So, when I got the chance, I transfigured and escaped under their noses as a dog. I swam back to the mainland and found my way back here, just so that I could finish what I started."

"Wait a moment," Tempest held her finger up, trying to understand what he was getting at. "You're saying that Ron's rat is Wormtail? Peter Pettigrew, who I've been told has been dead for twelve years, is the Weasley family pet?"

"Do you remember when they got the rat?" Sirius shot at her, knowing that he had to find some way to make her believe him. Tempest didn't respond. She recalled when she visited the Weasley's when Ginny was born, and they were taking care of the rat they had found in their crops a few months before. "And it's been alive for over a decade, has it not? As far as I'm aware, the brown rat has a life span of two years."

Tempest couldn't deny her shock. Her face remained vacant, though her mind was churning. Even if he was right, it wasn't as if she could just believe him, not after twelve years of denial. She had been conditioned to think of the man before her as a murderer, a traitor, and she had no idea how she was to escape that mindset. 

Sirius was now waiting for her to say something, anything. His eyes were wide and exuding hope, and as Tempest's stare met his, she felt as if everything he said had been confirmed. He seemed so helpless, but so determined. She had only seen this expression and emotion in his face like this once before, and that was when he had gotten down on one knee. In that moment years ago, she knew he was telling the truth, and somehow she knew now.

"How do I know that you aren't lying to me right now?" She said, trying to keep her walls up high. 

"The only time I've ever lied to you is when I told you that your red hair was a good look," he responded, and Tempest suddenly found herself smiling unconsciously. It fell as quick as it rose, and she felt like she had been invaded. Sirius had caught it though, and he had smiled absentmindedly as well. He leaned forward and little bit and pressed the palms of his hands together, as if he were begging her. "Tempest, please believe what I'm saying. I don't expect you to throw yourself back into my arms and understand everything -- all I'm asking is that you consider what I'm trying to tell you."

Tempest hesitated for a minute, before she gave him the smallest of nods. She then stood up and exhaled softly. "I won't tell anyone you're here just yet. Remus will need to be sat down if you want to convince him, as will Harry."

"Remus is here?" Sirius asked, his eyes widening a little. Tempest nodded. His smile seemed to grow. "And Harry? How is he? Is he like James? Like Lily?"

"Remus is the new dark arts teacher," Tempest explained, turning a little so she could face him properly. She realised how little Sirius must have known since being gone for so long. "Harry is...a mix. He's always getting in trouble, and we both know where he gets that from. But he's also quite intelligent and kind like Lily. He's selfless too. I'm sure you two would get along."

Sirius' face seem to brighten up like the morning sky. "Really? You think so?"

Tempest's lips were slightly upturned as she moved to walk away. "Have a good night, Sirius."

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another long chapter but wowow

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