Till Forever Falls Apart

Sirius and Remus' Apartment,
Spring, 1979

The storm outside raged with a fury that mirrored the turmoil within James Potter. Rain pounded against the windows of Sirius and Remus' apartment, thunder rolling through the sky like a war drum. The air inside was thick with tension as James paced back and forth, his fingers raking through his already messy hair. He had barely stopped moving since he arrived hours ago, his nerves stretched taut.

Aurora was gone.

Not just from his bed that morning, not just from work—she had disappeared completely. No note, no explanation. Just an aching void where she should be. And James knew something was wrong. He felt it in his bones, in the suffocating weight pressing against his chest.

"James, mate, you need to sit down," Remus tried, his voice calm but firm.

"No," James snapped, whirling around. "You don't get it. She wouldn't do this. She wouldn't just disappear like this. Something's wrong."

Sirius exchanged a glance with Peter, both of them clearly worried but unsure what to do. "Prongs, I get it, but panicking isn't helping," Sirius said, though his own foot was tapping anxiously against the floor.

James let out a shaky breath and turned back to the window, watching the sheets of rain cascade down. His hands clenched into fists. He couldn't shake the feeling, the gnawing certainty that something was very, very wrong.

And then, there was a knock on the door.

All four men froze. Their wands were drawn in an instant as Sirius cautiously moved to check the peephole.

The moment he saw who it was, he threw the door open.

Regulus Black stood there, drenched, shivering, his Slytherin robes clinging to him. And worst of all—he was crying.

Sirius' breath caught. "Reggie?" he asked, stepping forward. "What the hell—?"

Regulus didn't answer. His glassy eyes flickered toward James, his face pale and drawn. And then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he spoke the two words that shattered James Potter's world.

"She's gone."

The air was sucked out of the room. James staggered forward, his breath caught in his throat. "Who?" he asked, his voice barely there. "Who's gone?"

Regulus reached into his pocket, his hands trembling, and pulled out a small gold ring. The promise ring. Her ring.

James' heart stopped.

His fingers curled into his palms so tightly that his nails bit into his skin. Every horrible thought he had tried to suppress came crashing down all at once.

"Where is Aurora?" His voice was hoarse, broken, his entire body shaking.

Regulus placed the ring in James' hand and whispered, "She's gone. She left. And she's not coming back."

James felt the ground crumble beneath him.

Sirius' voice was a distant roar, demanding answers. Peter and Remus were shouting, but James couldn't hear them. His ears were ringing, his vision swimming.

He stumbled backward, his legs barely carrying him as he turned and fled.

Out into the storm.

He ran.

He ran and he ran, until his legs gave out, until he collapsed onto the wet ground, sobs wracking his body. He clutched the ring to his heart, screaming into the night as the rain soaked through his clothes, drowning in the grief he never wanted to feel.