Silence had descended in the church and Remus even imagined he could hear the sound of the snow that had once again begun to fall, slowly pelting the stained glass. He had sat down in the pew beside James and now both of them were re-reading the words on the inside cover of the Bible Sirius was holding: ‘Property of the parish of Godric’s Hollow.’ It was James who spoke first, his eyes not moving from the open page as he whispered, “Wh…what does that mean, do you think?”
Sirius slammed the Bible shut impatiently, tossing his head back and sending his hair flying back over his shoulders as he replied, “Nothing. It doesn’t mean anything…it’s a coincidence…”
Although Sirius had taken the Bible away, James was still staring. The blood that he had not managed to wipe away had dried on his face, making his skin appear muddy and brown. “We must have flown further than we thought…Godric’s Hollow is miles away from my house…it’s right over on the opposite side of the valley.”
Remus shivered as James spoke, unable to tear his eyes away from the Griffins that seemed to be everywhere in the church: in the stained glass, in the gold and scarlet cloth that was draped over the altar, carved into the back of the very pews they were sitting in. Even Remus had to admit that as far as coincidences went, he was not used to encountering so many emblems of their house outside of Hogwarts. Sirius, however, seemed to have grown more agitated and was now pacing along the aisle, his shoes scuffing nosily on the marble floor. Finally, he placed the Bible down on the pew in front of them and said, “Look, it’s not exactly Peter’s fault we ended up here, is it? I mean, it’s just one of those things that happen from time to time. We’re just not…not used to seeing anything like this, are we?”
“B…but surely, it must mean something though “ right, Padfoot?” James was anxiously looking about himself, his bloody appearance made him appear even more frightened in the multi-coloured light that came through the stained glass.
Sirius growled softly before snapping, “Bloody hell, Prongs, if you keep this up we’ll have to commit you to St. Mungo’s…Remus -” Sirius turned to Remus, his face imploring him to agree as he continued, “Can you please explain to James that he’s simply taken one too many blows to the head?”
Remus shrugged and pulled the sleeves of his jacket down in attempt to cover his freezing hands as he replied tentatively, “I don’t know what to say…I mean…I’ve never heard of a Godric’s Hollow before, but I know it’s not unusual for there to be instances where the wizarding world and the Muggle world sort of overlap. But even I have to say it’s a little odd for it to be as…obvious as this…”
Sirius exhaled deeply, frustrated that Remus had not given the response that he had wanted and, after glowering at him for a moment, he threw his hands up in the air and said, “What are you saying, then? That Peter deliberately set this whole thing up to freak us out…”
“No…I’m not saying that at all…” James sounded tired, yet his voice was tinged with anger and he shifted in his seat beside Remus, almost as if he wanted to stand, but couldn’t quite bring himself to do it just yet. “All I’m saying is…well, don’t you find it a bit strange? And I’m not just talking about the Griffins and stuff, although that is pretty weird. I mean…doesn’t it just feel weird here to you?”
Inwardly, Remus agreed. From the moment he had run into the churchyard, Remus had felt as though his feet were not moving of his own accord, that he was pulled by some invisible force to where James was lying on the ground. Of course, it was preposterous to think that Peter’s charm had anything to do with it, but when Remus had rushed over to see James sitting on the ground between two ominous looking tombstones, hand to his nose and blood spilt on the snow around him, he had got the feeling that somehow, something had led them here…something other than the Quaffle.
Sirius gave a short, sharp laugh as he flopped down in the pew in front of them with the words, “Oh, come on! Look, you just took a pretty nasty blow to the head, no wonder you’re freaking out. I mean, it’s like you said, you knew that there was this Godric’s Hollow not far from where you lived, and yet you’re surprised that we should end up here? I never took you for a fatalist, Prongs…I thought you hated Divination.”
Sirius had expected James to laugh, but it was almost as if he hadn’t heard what Sirius had said. James was shaking - not shivering from the cold and the wet, but shaking so violently that Remus automatically put his arm around his shoulder and pulled him close into his side. It was as though James wasn’t there, though; it was almost as if James could not feel Remus’ arm about him at all. Remus looked to Sirius, who was already moving from his seat to James’ other side.
“Come on, Prongs, I was just having a laugh…” James said nothing; his teeth were chattering hard now, and his pupils seemed to have trebled in size.
“James…James, can you hear me?” Remus tightened his hold around James’ shoulder, lightly shaking him, yet still James stared fixedly ahead.
“What’s wrong with him?” Sirius asked, bending forwards in an attempt to catch James’ eye.
Remus was watching the last of the colour drain from James’ face, feeling the way he continued to tremble between them as he said, “I don’t know. James, it’s Moony, can you hear me? It’s Moony…”
James turned and for a moment he looked at Remus as if he didn’t know him; as if he was someone he had never met in his life, rather than someone he had known for five years. James turned to Sirius, and Remus watched as Sirius tried to smile.
“It’s Padfoot…it’s Sirius…come on, mate, you’re scaring us now…” It seemed that those words were what it took for James to stop shaking, and the colour once again seeped into his cheeks as he began breathing more steadily, more slowly.
After sitting for a few moments in silence, reassured by the now virtually motionless James beside them, Remus reached into his pocket and handed James the squares of chocolate he kept there with the words, “Eat this; I promise, it will make you feel better.”
Reluctantly James popped the chocolate into his mouth and as he chewed, Sirius slapped him a little too hard on the back and said, “Bloody hell, Prongs, you had us there…what was wrong?”
James swallowed and, after looking down at the floor in front of him, he began to speak very quietly. “I don’t know, but I started to feel odd, you know? Something about this place makes me feel strange. It’s almost as if…” James hesitated, but Remus gave him a quick squeeze and Sirius placed a hand reassuringly on his knee so that, after a few more moments of staring at the floor, James looked up and continued, “I got the strangest feeling that I’m going to come back here…like, sort of…whatever I do I’m going to come back: like I can’t escape it.”
None of them spoke. James seemed unable to say anything else as he nervously wiped his nose on his sleeve. Sirius was still staring at James’ face, his grey eyes wide with concern as he patted James’ knee again and again. Remus allowed his arm to slip from James’ shoulder and he shifted awkwardly, consumed with a sudden desire to leave this church immediately. It seemed that all it once, it was too quiet. Whereas it had been freezing cold outside, there seemed to be something about all this red and gold that made Remus feel as though it was impossible to breathe.
Yet the tension in the church seemed to break as the large, oak door they had come through suddenly opened, sending a blast of cold air rushing up the aisle. Peter stood in the doorway, his broom in hand as he smiled nervously at his three friends.
James stood and, after gazing at the Bible that Sirius had left on the pew in front for a moment, he muttered, “I want to get out of here.” Sirius stood up beside him and nodded to Remus, and both of them began to try and help James towards the door. He didn’t want their help, and when they offered their arms he pushed them away. Remus was the last to leave. He wanted to glance behind them, to see the strange sight of emblems of Godric Gryffindor carefully hidden within everything in the church one last time. But as they were leaving Sirius grabbed his arm, preventing him from turning, and with his free hand he reached behind Remus and slammed the church door closed.