Chapter Text
There was still smoke in the air and the dust and debris hadn’t quite settled from the explosion when Sirius reached Godric’s Hollow and the two-story cottage that had previously been hidden in the magical neighborhood.
He was too late.
Even through the dark of night and the haze in the air, Sirius could see James’ dead body by what used to be the back door, slumped in what could have once been a protective stance.
The first line of defense, because Sirius hadn’t been there. He’d been lured away by Peter instead.
That traitor.
Rarely had Sirius felt so torn.
A large part of him wanted to go after the rat, to erase his existence from all the realms for betraying James and Lily—a betrayal which had resulted in the deaths of Sirius’ Bonded.
And yet, another large part demanded that he stay at Godric’s Hollow, because while his Bonded might be gone, the cries starting to cut through the air was a sure sign that his son was still alive.
Harry.
Sirius weighed the options for only a heartbeat before parental instinct won out.
He went to Harry, his heart aching when he found Lily’s body lying prone beside the toddler’s crib.
The second line of defense.
Which would make him the third, then.
Fitting, because he was Harry’s Third in another sort of way.
They couldn’t remain here. Harry’s life might not have been in danger from Voldemort any longer, but he was still in danger from other forces.
Like Death Eaters, seeking revenge for their master’s death.
Like Albus Dumbledore.
In recent days, the Order had discovered evidence that Voldemort had split his soul. And with soul fragments still out there, the mad wizard could come back—would come back—eventually.
As head of the Order, Dumbledore would be well aware of that fact and, knowing the old man, would insist the prophecy hadn’t been fulfilled yet. He would expect Harry to fulfill it eventually and Sirius knew that his former headmaster would do anything to keep control of Harry until it was fulfilled.
That was no life for a child.
So to prevent that from happening, he would have to remove Harry from the equation completely.
Himself as well. It infuriated his base instincts to tap out of a fight early, but Harry deserved to grow up with at least one of his parents around and there was no telling how far Dumbledore would go to maintain control of the child.
Luckily, Sirius already knew of a place to go, a place that would offer the pair of them sanctuary without question—Nevarah.
It pained him to leave James and Lily there without the proper final rites, but he knew they would understand. Time was of essence now.
So, he only whispered a few soothing words for their souls as he reached into the crib and picked up Harry. Then, he turned on his heel and apparated the pair of them away.
Over the past several years, Andromeda had become all too accustomed to being woken up by someone banging on her garden door.
Usually, it was a Muggleborn seeking a quick respite before continuing on the next leg of their journey to get out of the country before a Death Eater killed them.
Sometimes it was an Order member needing a safe house for a few hours, before their next set of orders came in.
Only twice before had it been a family member.
And the second time had occurred only the night before.
“Sirius,” Andromeda said, greeting her cousin quietly. It had been ages since she’d seen him outside of Order meetings and her stomach filled with dread at the sight of the toddler in his arms.
She therefore wasn’t very surprised by the first words out of Sirius’ mouth.
“James and Lily are dead.”
“Him?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.
“Who else?” Sirius replied grimly. “It’s time, Andy. It’s not safe for us to stay here anymore. If we do—the shadows’ blessing won’t be enough.”
Shadows’ blessing. Those two words indicated just what Sirius had planned, what he expected from her.
“It’s time for all of us,” Andromeda realized. “Narcissa came to me last night with Draco. She finally realized that that husband of hers is a lost cause.”
Long overdue, in her opinion, but it wasn’t easy for a dragel to give up and sever a connection with their Bonded. They usually couldn’t, but fortunately for her sister, Lucius had a different sort of creature blood and their instincts had never really matched up. They were barely compatible enough to bond and get a child—with the help of another, to donate the necessary magic—but they weren’t compatible enough to compel Narcissa to stay any longer.
Sirius’ eyes darkened at the news, but he said nothing.
“Rest,” Andromeda said firmly after a minute, ushering her cousin inside. “I need a few hours to prepare. We’ll leave at pre-dawn.”
Sirius arched a dark brow at her. “We?” he echoed.
Andromeda nodded curtly. “We.”
Typically, one had to travel to Nevarah by being ‘ported there by a native of the realm. To ‘port there without one risked the portal being redirected to one of Nevarah’s sister realms, if Nevarah herself was not actively taking in any newcomers.
But ‘portals weren’t necessary when one was a Shadow element. Their element, aside from a few Circles and Clans, didn’t practice the art of Caspering, and without Caspers to provide the magic for portals, most Shadow dragels practiced other methods of transportation instead.
Flying and Shadow-walking were most common, but when it involved traveling inter-realm, lesser known techniques like transportation medallions were used.
The only downside to a transportation medallion was that it required a lot of magic to function. Andromeda and Sirius had used the Black family medallion only once before and both of them had spent months recovering.
Neither of them were particularly looking forward to experiencing it over again for a second trip.
But it was the only way to ensure their freedom and to provide a life free from the wizarding world’s war for their next generation.
Bellatrix was a lost cause, but four out of five Blacks from their generation making it to Nevarah wasn’t bad. And all three of the next generation were coming with them.
Maybe in Nevarah, away from the restrictions and prejudices of the wizarding world, their family could flourish again.
Andromeda held the transportation medallion in her hands. It would require more magic this time around, because there were more of them traveling, but that was why she had insisted on waiting to pre-dawn, for the brief hour when the shadows would be stronger, boosted by the presence of natural light.
For there couldn’t be shadow without light and there couldn’t be light without shadow.
“With the shadows’ blessing, bear us to the sanctuary we seek,” she whispered when the time was right, her family standing around her.
Black sparks flew around them as the medallion activated.
And in the next moment, they were gone.