Chapter Sixty-Two
Suspicious
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I'm one step closer to the edge
I'm about to break
(One Step Closer - Linkin Park)May 12th, 1977"Sirius, where are you going?" Mia called after him as he stormed up the hill away
from the Black Lake.
The moment he took off, Mia turned, trying to find the words to explain to the rest
of their friends what caused him to storm away; somehow she could not bring herself to
tell them that Sirius was convinced his younger brother was responsible for the botched
attempt on Lily's life. Instead, she requested that Remus and Frank escort Lily to the
hospital wing so Madam Pomfrey could give her a quick check and make certain she was
all right. James tried protesting, but when Lily gave him a scathing look, he backed away
with multiple apologies, offering to scan the lake with Peter to retrieve the fallen brooms
and any undergarments that surfaced.
"Sirius!" Mia yelled. "Padfoot! Where are you going?"
"To see Dumbledore!" Sirius snapped at her when she finally caught up to him,
taking two of her steps to match each of his long strides. "I fucking knew it! I knew that I
should have brought Regulus with me to the manor when I escaped Grimmauld Place. It
would have technically been kidnapping since he wasn't going to come willingly, but I
wasn't of age at the time, so it's not like I'd be sent to Azkaban for it."
"Don't say things like that," Mia said sharply at his casual mention of going to
Azkaban. The image of Sirius's mugshot in the Daily Prophet came to mind. She recalled his
sunken face, and his long, matted hair; Sirius had looked the perfect mixture of madness
and defeat. She clenched her eyes tightly and shook her head side to side as though she
could erase the image from her mind like an Etch-a-Sketch.