DISCLAIMER: THE BOOK BELONGS TO J. I HAVE ONLY BORROWED BOTH CHARACTERS AND PLOTLINE.
SO BEGINS THE LONG AND DAUNTING BUT PLEASURABLE PROCESS OF BEGINNING ANEW. I CHOSE THE TITLE TO BE 'THE RISING SUN' BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THE STORY IS ABOUT A NEW DAWN. I HOPE YOU GUYS WILL BE JUST AS SUPPORTIVE AS YOU WERE FOR THE FIRST BOOK AND THAT YOU STICK AROUND WHILE I POTTER AROUND WITH THE PLOT.
I WISH TO THANK ALL THE REVIEWERS FROM MY FIRST STORY: RemmyBlack, Lady Constance Malfoy Hummel, PyroFyre1214, madeyemarauder, patimi, emcee31, Phaedra Coopers, NewTimeFan, CurledRibbons, kisscool, laydjess, Alarith, pikachumomma, Cobra000o, hulagal13, Indigo Lily, spatz, cascol3, RogueNya, Lumcer, Rux, whelp, headsup, Escaped Ninja, Fro Boy, murtaghxblaiseyum, Dark Neko 4000, Kotori-Sensei, tash, AnimeDreama, petit-dragon 50, Saturn-Lily, RebeccaRoy, astrallumiere, lurveandbliss, E the time keeper, Yami-Taichi, Kira the DaySlayer, Dark Dragon 4x4, J.F.C, ryanaven, Gemstones, murtaghxblaiseyum, anon, meglovesklaine, dreamatlin.
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THANK YOU FOR APPRECIATING MY WORK:
Kethatril, I love Gaara 0416, Lady Constance Malfoy Hummel, ., geetac, Dark Neko 4000, murtaghxblaiseyum, Harrykirk,, mizz-shy-gurl, megalovesklaine, J'aime Manga, I love Naruto 0416, Dsmith1991318,Kira the DaySlayer, E the time keeper, bluedot, sugarcanefirefly, Panthers of darkness16.
ENJOY! (AND AS ALWAYS PLEASE REVIEW!)
CHAPTER 1
"Lily! Lily!"
"James? Is everything alright darling? You look so tired" Lily noted critically after hurrying into the living room and tensing up at the sight of her preoccupied husband.
"I'm fine sweetheart" he assured her quickly with a peck on her cheek "I just wanted to ask you if you could ready any of the spare rooms right now? I know that this is so sudden but Hestia has been injured pretty badly and the blasted Hospital has been flooded with casualties leaving us with no one to attend to her immediately" he sighed, rubbing his eyes sadly.
"Wh…?" Lily said taking a step back with worry written all over her face.
"Attack, in Diagon alley" He volunteered in answer to her question "Blasted new generation death eaters! They've gone out of bounds with this latest attack and have finally been declared dangerous to our society. Augustus the good man has rounded up a couple of his members from the Hit wizard squad and they're going on the offensive as this was the last straw."
"Are you going back to join in the fight?" Lily asked her husband clutching his shoulders worriedly in a tight grasp.
"No, thankfully that parts over" James said while gently extricating himself from her hold "But that doesn't mean the headache's over. I still have to go back to the Ministry and write up the report and have a talk with the other Aurors. We have yet to discuss increasing security around that area."
"Do want to eat something before you go?"
"No, but thank you love. This is just too important for me to hold off any longer."
"Alright, just…just take care of your-self and don't worry about the room, I'll have one ready as soon as I can."
James pulled her into his arms hugging her tightly to his chest "I know that this is overwhelming especially since we've been through it before but we need to be brave for Darren and Harry, they will need us to be strong during this never-ending battle."
"I know" she whispered stepping away from him "I…I'll go and…"
Kissing her on her forehead, James looked deeply into the exquisite green eyes of his wife and said "I'll be home for dinner by the evening I suppose, hopefully by then everything should have settled down. Also don't forget that today's order meeting will held in our home" James grimaced apologetically feeling bad for burdening her with so much work after having unsettled her with bad news.
"Go" Lily said "I'll manage, don't worry" she smiled at him and straightened her back in a show of strength.
Nodding he turned around and went striding out of the house towards the apparition point outside.
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"Harry! Harry! Sweetheart could you come down for a minute?" Lily called out distractedly while making her way to the supply closet.
Harry entered the room giving his mother pause as she watched her tall, strong and rivetingly handsome son enter the room with a flash of pride, his impossibly green eyes like her own, examining her with a hint of worry in them that she so easily recognized since it was a look that nearly everyone wore these days. A look that clearly asked 'So what fresh hell has descended on our world now?'
"Hestia Jones was found injured in a scuffle in Diagon Alley" Lily quickly explained to him while she pulled out extra blankets and pillows out of the closet, "they're bringing her in right now to our house since Mungo's is pretty busy and I'm going to need your help to tidy up the room upstairs while I get my medicine kit ready in the meanwhile okay?"
Harry nodded looking calm and steady in the face of his mother's anxiety knowing that she needed his support right then and after briefly hugging her he went upstairs to finish the task.
Voldemort's resurrection had not been as dramatic as he'd expected. There had been no overt signs of a coming war, just daily disturbances and small hints of trouble such as the one today, nothing that spiked real terror in the hearts of people.
The Ministry taking opportunity of the situation had lead people to continue believing that it was not in fact a big deal at all; simply a minor gliche to their well-oiled machine, saying that they had kept the situation well under control and that Voldemort was being held in check by them.
Only the Order members and few of the higher ups in the Ministry were truly aware of the danger. Lily for one had made sure that her sons were well protected at all times and worried constantly about her husband's coming and goings.
It was as Dumbledore had said at the last meeting with the Order; the Dark Lord was probably busy gathering his forces once again, biding his time for a final attack.
The Order of the Phoenix had come together a week after his comeback and had held their meetings alternating between the member's houses once a week so that the enemy would be unable to pin-point their location. The children had of course been excluded but that hadn't stopped them from listening in on the conversations on the sly.
Because the nature of the attacks had been so erratic and varied based more on emotional offsets, they had not yet made much progress in identifying any pattern behind them at all. Still they were not giving up and were constantly preparing themselves to fend off these attacks in any way that they could.
Most of the Order members had regrouped with a moment's notice from Dumbledore. It was as if somewhere deep down they had expected this to happen. The only member missing in action so far was Sirius who caught up in France wrapping up a business proposition so that he could come back and devote his full attention to their cause. In fact it was tonight that he was expected to make and entrance and Harry was excited to finally see his favorite god father.
Having been left alone and bored for most of the holidays since Darren had been holed up with the Weasley's to train alongside Hermione and Ron under Dumbledore's tutelage (after having been given special permission by the Ministry to use Underage Wizardry) he felt the need to experience some change in this dull, monotonous existence.
Even Draco, whom he'd missed talking to or simply hanging around with had been taken away to France by his cautious mother and Narcissa proving herself a resourceful woman had unfortunately and effectively made sure to cut off all contact with the outside world ensuring that Harry would have no company whatsoever.
After cleaning up the room quickly and trying not to dwell on depressing thoughts Harry went back downstairs and saw that they had already brought in the injured woman who was lying immobile on a stretcher while bleeding profusely over their clean floor.
Closing his eyes for a minute and shutting out the gruesome sight, Harry let them pass by and leaned against the wall sighing, knowing that it would be another long and tiring day today.
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"You cannot be serious Sirius!" James ground out angrily "Why are you being so stubborn about this?"
"I'm a goddamn liability James! Maybe you do not see it but trust me, if I screw up like I did the last time then the entire operation could be compromised and I for one do not wish to be held responsible for your lives."
"Sirius, we need you to stand with us as a forerunner in this fight like the last time. We need all the men we can get" James said lowering his voice while trying to sound more reasonable.
"Yes I know, but if I have a flashback while fighting or if I'm incapacitated as is bound to happen in the middle of the battlefield, then we're as good as dead" Sirius said patiently "Right now, all I can do is help around with the strategy or provide the funds necessary. I have a wide network of connections and they will be glad to aid us at my word. We need sponsors to help us fight this war anyway and you are aware of that James. Didn't we learn that the hard way the last time?."
"This is not like you at all Black. You…you were so much stronger before, you hated sitting by the sidelines and doing nothing. In fact you would have been offended if I had tried suggesting it" James said sadly.
"I know" Sirius said quietly "But I need more time to gather my shit together James, please?" he said getting up and walking to the sink to wash his plates up preferring not to use magic as it gave him something to do.
Harry and the others who were listening intently from upstairs looked at each other worriedly and left their posts to gather in Darren's room.
"What's up with Sirius?" Ron asked immediately, looking around at the others in the room.
"He was a prisoner of war the last time" Darren explained nodding to Harry "Dad says that Sirius has never been the same since."
"Poor guy, he was supposed to be a master dueler" Fred shook his head in sympathy "Crikey! War stinks!"
"Yeah it really does" Darren said looking out of the window and getting an eyeful of a ghostly looking Dark mark floating around in the sky a little away from their own house.
"How's Hestia Harry?" Hermione asked suddenly, breaking up the melancholic silence.
"Recovering. Though they did a real number on her. The dark magic they've used on her prevented mum from closing up her wounds for a long time."
"Bastards!" Ginny mumbled, making them all smile a little to hear the youngest swear.
"How's training going you guys?" Fred asked leaning forwards and looking at the golden trio who had finally revealed their secret to their closest friends.
"Yeah think we can get in on the action too?" George asked thumping his brother on the shoulder.
"Actually…" Darren started to say when Hermione cleared her throat pointedly and shook her head.
"Sorry guys can't say much" Darren said apologetically "But we'll definitely think about it yeah?"
"Kids! Come down for supper, everyone's gone home!" Lily's voice floated up, so they all got up and went down to eat, avoiding looking at Sirius or James too much.
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Harry tried to sleep but found himself too wound up and nervous to be able to; he was too caught up in thinking about what Hestia had blurted out after regaining consciousness. The open fear in her eyes as she had spoken about the extraordinary power and evil that the young wizards and witches had wielded. So unnatural in their strength it was if Voldemort was feeding them his own acrane magic.
The marks on her body were strange and undecipherable and it had taken a good deal of his mother's energy and time to help bring around the poor woman.
Slowly making his way down to kitchen for a drink of water Harry was startled when he heard a noise coming from outside the porch; walking towards it stealthily, he peeped outside the door and saw Sirius sitting down on the steps with a cigarette in his hands.
"Going completely muggle on us Sirius?" Harry asked quietly joining his godfather.
"Harry? What are you doing out of bed so late?" Sirius asked looking at the younger man while putting out the cigarette.
"Couldn't sleep, bad day today."
"Yeah, heard about Hestia, god this brings back all the worst memories" Sirius said rubbing his face wearily and looking into out into the night sky that was glowing with a faint eerie greenish light.
"By the way Harry, you're looking good! Almost as tall as you father now eh? I'm sorry we couldn't talk earlier but things were just…"
"I know we…heard" Harry said guiltily.
Sirius looked at him for a minute and let out a bark of laughter "Of course you did! Extendable ears huh?"
"How…how did you know?"
"Let's just say that the twins had a proposition for me and leave it at that shall we" Sirius winked at him and smiled.
"Are you okay?" the younger Potter son asked Sirius carefully, knowing what a touchy subject this was for his god father.
"Yeah I'm okay though I wish your father would relent sometimes you know? I can't…" he said and abruptly turning to face Harry asked "Do you want to know what happened to me the last time?" his eyes filled with a vulnerability that made Harry think about it. "I can see you itching to join in the fight, what with the training and protecting your brother, and I suppose it will even be inevitable whether you want it or not but I think someone should tell you kids what it's really like though. Dueling, fighting with honor, those are just fanciful stories Harry. This war however is bound to get dirty, really filthy, trust me I know. Voldemort and his minions are real scum kiddo, anything that gets in their way, even a defenseless baby will be murdered. You and Darren of all people should know that, considering…"
"Tell me" Harry said impatiently "You're right. I need to hear this, I need to know."
"Well…I had been working as an Auror during the last battle. The Order had just been newly created at that time and the war was gradually escalating to the point where Voldemort had begun attacking us openly" Sirius said with a faraway look in his eyes.
"We were in the Ministry that day when we just received information that Hogsmaede was under attack and so with only a handful of the Aurors available we managed to hold back our enemies when the Dementors came in out of nowhere. We were already too tired by then and with no reinforcements coming in we tried our best and fought madly until only I was left. And then…" Sirius said clenching his fists "they captured me and took me to their hideout."
"It was there that I understood the full extent of their corruption, their evilness. Repeatedly, over and over again they tore into my mind battering all my defenses until I was left begging for death. They stole a few of my memories and replaced them with horrors I couldn't even begin to comprehend. For want of a better word I was mind fucked completely" he said looking apologetically at Harry who continued to look on unwaveringly at him in support.
"Every day they'd stand in front of me and open up my mind making me imagine that they were pulling out my fingers and toes over and over again. Oh it wasn't real of course, but the pain was; the agony was almost too much for me to handle."
"Do you know, what was the only thing that had kept me alive in there Harry?" Sirius said laughing tiredly "You'll never guess!"
"What?" Harry asked shuddering while imagining his godfather in that much pain.
"Severus Snape!"
"Huh?" Harry said flabbergasted.
"Snape, my mortal enemy and your potions master was the one who truly saved me! He was holed up with the other death eaters of course in that hideout, but was masquerading as a spy for our side. He'd sneak in everyday after I had been tortured and he'd tell me that help was coming, that I needed to live for my pregnant Anne, for my godsons and friends."
"He reminded me every day why I fought and why dying was not an option. Stupid bloke even snuck in food all the time, tiny scraps, but enough to sustain myself. And at the end of the week he helped the rescue party save me."
"Wow!" Harry exclaimed, "He's a really good guy isn't he?"
"Yeah he's okay" Sirius said smiling now "I can't even begin to imagine living the double life that he does, it's frightening. But if I tell him that he'd have made a good Gryffindor he'd have had me decapitated!"
"Yeah he would" Harry said chuckling.
"I get flashbacks even now Harry, suddenly, without warning, making me incapable of moving beyond my mind. I lost everything during that war and to tell you honestly, we were fighting a losing battle. The Dark Lord was getting stronger all the time so when we got the news that he'd been killed by Darren; I swear to you, the world erupted all around us! People were crying and laughing, the sky that had gone dark finally cleared up and we were able to see the stars. It was a miracle a real miracle!"
Harry swallowed a lump and felt renewed love for his brother wash over him.
"He saved me too Sirius and my family and friends and that's why I'll do anything now to protect him, anything."
Sirius looked sadly at him and said nothing.
"How's your friend Draco holding up? All this must be freaking him out what with his father…"
Harry blushed red and was unable to say anything.
"What?" Sirius asked him suspiciously "You hiding something kiddo?"
"No-o" Harry mumbled completely thrown off kilter.
"Really?"
"We…I…we're…"
"Best to spit it out Harry" Sirius said amusedly.
"We're dating!" Harry said and hid his face out of acute embarassment.
"Oh my god!" Sirius said laughing, "Does anyone else know?"
"No just you, Darren and Ginny."
Sirius pulled him in for a warm hug and held him tightly "It won't be so easy you know?"
"Yeah" Harry said feeling the sudden urge to cry.
"He's a boy and more importantly he's Malfoy's boy."
"I know. It's tearing him apart" Harry admitted.
Sirius just held him and didn't say anything for a long while, levitating him to his bedroom when he had fallen asleep in his arms and tucked him safely under the covers while ruffling his hair affectionately.
'You don't like taking the easy way out do you?' he though exasperatedly, 'always staying strong, no matter what you've heard or seen.' Sirius had been told about what had happened in school recently and he'd felt an immense pride and fear for his two warriors.
He knew that this time around he would have to be there for his two godsons, hopefully he would find the courage to do so once again but until he did he would help out in any other way that he could. The very idea of letting them down a second time was unbearable.
Sighing softly, he looked one last time at the beautiful boy who was sleeping so peacefully and silently left the room, gently closing the door behind him as he left.
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