Save Me
Save Me: A drabble about my character saving yours or vise versa.
A can rolled across the street, his bags thudded to the ground, and the jug of milk exploded over his shoes and the ankles of his jeans. None of that worried him. His gaze was already intent on the alleyway from which the flash of red had zoomed just past his eyes. He ran up concrete steps to a stoop and hid behind the thick doorway, heart thudding. Muggles were giving him strange looks; those who had seen the flash were looking around quizzically.
“Oi, get out of here!” He shouted at them. Most of them raised their brows and continued to mill around. Only the mothers with children scurried away, probably put off by Sirius rather than following his advice.
The rope of fire got their attention. It curled around them, teasing ankles like a cat, slithering under cars like a snake. It cut off every alleyway and every street within the next few blocks. Sirius heard a cackle. The street raised then fell like a whip before splitting open. Waterlines and sewage lines splattered into the air, collecting rubble into a muddy sludge while dust choked the air.
“Shit.” Sirius could only whisper past the cough that held him hostage for a few seconds. He was on his ass, head aching where it had hit the door of the house behind him. The moment he could, pulled himself to his feet and ran out into the street. Hooded figures had the entire radius surrounded, but Sirius picked a direction at random and threw up a shield, letting some of the muggles run, screaming, into doors that flew open then closed again. Some of them closed to early and the remaining people hid behind flipped cars and garbage bins.
Lights were flashing everywhere and Sirius vaguely wondered how often fights like these were covered up as fireworks gone wrong or some other kind of explosion. He didn’t have long to wonder before he had to duck from a spell that was terrifyingly green in color. He rapidly set off three hexes of his own in the same direction, and wondered how long it would take him to lose patience and use unforgiveables just like them.
He was fighting hard. He didn’t notice the others apparating into the area, movements quick and trained where Sirius’ were more instinctive--less uniform. In his mind, he might as well have been alone until someone heavy shouldered him roughly so that Sirius fell onto the other side of what had once been a gate of fire.
“You shouldn’t be in this. Go home and stay safe.”
Sirius looked up at the man midnight hair, bright brown eyes, dark skin, and Auror’s robes. Despite the order, Sirius stood and stepped again over the invisible line, feeling his hair raise on his neck. “Fuck. That.” He was pretty sure his ribs were bruised.
Someone shouted and the man turned his head, stepped forward and nearly made it into a run. His foot barely hit the ground when a crack sounded near them. The support of one of the row houses upper levels snapped. Stone and brick tipped forward, crumbling. Sirius grabbed the man’s elbow, tugged him to the ground hard, then threw up a shield over both of them.
Seconds later, they were both panting, still, waiting for rubble around them to clear. Once they could make out each other’s eyes, the auror spoke again. “Thanks. But look, you really need to leave. You can’t be here. Ministry’s Orders.”
Sirius opened his mouth to say exactly what he thought of the Ministry and the DMLE, but just as he did, he caught a shock of dark red hair and heard a familiar snarl. The figure fighting Moody crumbled and Moody ran back into the chaos. Sirius let out a breath. The auror was pushing him toward the line again, but Sirius pushed him back away before putting his hands up. If Moody was there, it might end up okay. “Don’t waste time on me. I’m good. I swear.”
It killed him, but Sirius turned his back. He wondered how many of his family was destroying the world behind him, but he turned his back and walked away. He added it to the tally of yet another fight against them lost.
