"Sorrow Comes to Mind"
(Full) Summary: OC New faces around the Order are common, but this particular face has brought some news with her. With a new prophecy recently discovered, it seems that a few Death Eaters have decided to come out of hiding and take some action, and maybe even get some revenge. What does this prophecy have to do with the newcomer, and what is the Order going to do about it? This is my version of book 5. R&R please!
Disclaimer: Oh no, I'm not the clever J.K. No, no. Not me...Never…
A/N: This is just something that I thought up one day and I have been building on it for quite some time now, so I figure it's about time I type it out. Well, the first chapter anyways. Please review, whether you like it or not. Flames may anger me at times, but they help me all the same : ) Thanks a bunch!
Chapter 1...
Wrapped tightly in her husband's arms, sipping hot cocoa in front of the blazing fire while rain pitter-pattered softly against the window pane, Nova Cherton felt that everything in her life was going just the way as planned. She was with the man she loved, had a secure job with the Ministry of Magic and she was fighting alongside her husband against the most evil wizard to ever set foot in the wizarding world: Lord Voldemort.
Many wizards and witches were terrified to even utter one syllable of this dark wizard's name. Both Nova and her husband Andrew, worked for both the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry. Nova was an Auror, someone who catches dark wizard's and witches, usually Voldemort's supporters (also known as Death Eaters), and locks them up in Azkaban, the wizard prison. Andrew was in the most peculiar division of the Ministry. He was an "Unspeakable". Unspeakables worked in the Department of Mysteries, a very strange place which, as far as Nova knew, involved several doors full of bizarre rooms. They were not allowed to speak of the work they do, but Andrew sometimes told his wife a little bit of his duties in his Department.
Nova sighed and rested her head against Andrew's muscular chest, her long, sandy blonde hair fanning out, framing her face. She blinked her soft periwinkle blue eyes, trying to fight the sleep that was slowly consuming her. She shifted comfortably in her husband's embrace and let herself drift off to sleep.
She dreamt a most peculiar dream full of towering shelves with peculiar orbs balanced carefully upon them, each one labelled with a name and giving off an eerie glow. She saw one with her name and someone else's, but she couldn't make out the name. She reached up to grab it, knowing full-well that she shouldn't, just in case it was cursed, but she did anyways. Her fingers were only inches away from the strange object when she heard a very loud crash and her eyes flew open, only to see Andrew staring down at her, shaking her urgently.
"Nova", she heard him whisper decisively. "Nova honey, wake up".
Nova rubbed at her eyes blearily, trying to sort out her dream from reality. "Andrew, what…I heard a crash…"
"No time to explain", he said, straightening up as another loud crash came from the kitchen. He withdrew his wand and had it at the ready. Nova followed suit and they quickly advanced towards the kitchen where the noise was coming from. Andrew launched himself through the door, Nova on his heels, only to find several Death Eaters having apparated into their kitchen.
"Stupefy!" they both roared, sending five Death Eaters flying across the kitchen and slamming into the table, leaving them crumpled on the floor in a heap.
"Flipendo," a newly apparated Death Eater said, pointing it's wand at Nova, sending her flying backwards and thudding against the refrigerator.
She got up, wincing at the pain in her back and pointed her wand at the Death Eater who attacked her, while Andrew duelled with 2 others. "Petrificus totalus!" she yelled, causing the Death Eater's joints to lock immediately.
Another Death Eater joined the fight, sneering through his mask. "So, how about that prophecy?" he snarled.
"What prophecy?" Nova scoffed disdainfully.
"Oh, you know exactly what prophecy I'm talking about!" the Death Eater roared. "Don't you play dumb girlie!"
"What prophecy!" Nova screamed. She looked over at her husband who was now battling four Death Eaters.
The man cackled and screamed "Crucio!", directing the curse at Nova. She crumpled up into a ball, screaming horribly, pain searing every inch of her body it could unearth. The curse was lifted and the Death Eater who performed the curse advanced quickly towards Nova, still sneering maliciously. "How did that feel?" he whispered.
"Wonderful," Nova spat, breathing heavily and kicking her legs out, sending the Death Eater sprawling on the floor. "How did that feel?" she mocked scornfully, rising back up to her feet. "Confundus."
"Nova, watch out!" Andrew called out. She ducked just in time to miss a jinx coming from the corner. "You go warn the Order okay? Apparate or go by floo or something! Just get out of here!"
"Yeah, fat chance!" she said incredulously.
"GO!" Andrew bellowed. "I can hold them off, just tell them what's happened and get them down here! NOW!"
Andrew's voice had a finalizing tone about, and Nova saw no other choice but to do as he said. Just as she felt the sensation of being sucked through a very small tube, she saw an image so horrifying, it would be burned into her mind for an eternity. There was a screamed incantation, a flash of green light, and Andrew's limp body thudding to the tiled kitchen floor, all light having left his once bright chocolate eyes, his dark brown hair perfectly framing his face. She didn't even have time to gasp for air before she was being sucked up, temporarily robbed of breath and thrown onto a muggle sidewalk. Her mind was swimming.
No, she thought frantically. No, no, no, no…that did not just happen. It---it didn't. It couldn't! H-He's not dead. I need to get to the Order and we can go help him finish off the Death Eaters. Yes, that's what I'll do. But something deep down inside of her was screaming at her, telling her that what she saw was real.
She glanced around, searching desperately for Grimmauld Place, getting soaked as the rain began to shower down more forcefully than it had been only an hour ago. Focus, she thought, trying to calm her quaking mind. She thought hard about the house where the Order of the Phoenix was located, the old Black house. She looked up and saw it emerging from between the two muggle houses. She walked quickly up to it and, hesitantly, rang the doorbell. She knew that right now, they were probably all grumbling about Mrs. Black's vile screams reverberating throughout the house. She saw the doorknob turn and Sirius Black, the man that Ministry was after for mass-murder (though it wasn't him who committed the crime, it was one of Voldemort's supporters, Peter Pettigrew), standing in front of her, his thick, black locks hanging in his face.
"S-Sirius, what have I t-told you about that h-h-hair of yours? It's always hanging in y-your f-f-face," Nova stuttered bewilderedly, pushing Sirius's ragged hair our of his face.
"Nov, what happened---come in," Sirius said, observing her bruised eye and the several cuts along her face, and opened the door wider, allowing her to step inside, completely drenched, as the screams of Mrs. Black, his mother, were silenced by Remus Lupin, a former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Nova!" he smiled, "what a nice surprise---what happened?" His eyes widened at the pale look upon her face.
Nova chuckled disconcertedly, "Remus…you need s-some new c-clothes. Those one's have got r-rips in them. I've been t-telling you for ages…"
Remus threw a questioning look over at Sirius who shrugged and led Nova down the stairs, supporting most of her weight, and into the kitchen located in the basement.
"Here," Sirius said, settling her down in a chair at the table, "I'll make some tea."
"That would be n-nice, Sirius. Th-thank you."
Remus sat down beside her and peered over at her. "Nova…what happened? Where's Andrew?"
She went deathly still at the sound of his name and turned her head slowly towards Remus and blinked. "A-A-Andrew…"
Remus nodded, encouraging her to continue.
"It--I--A-Andrew---D-Death E-Eaters…" she muttered incoherently, shaking her head violently, her breathing uneven and ragged.
"Here," Sirius set down a tray of biscuits and three cups of tea and sat down opposite Nova and Remus. "Drink some tea."
Nova picked up her cup, her whole body shaking brutally, and attempted to take a sip, but the cup fell from her grip and shattered on the floor.
"Reparo," Remus muttered instantly and the pieces flew back together.
"Sorry," she whispered.
"That's quite alright," Remus patted her hand. "Now Nova, did Death Eaters attack you and Andrew? It is really important that you tell us," he said as if talking to an over-emotional two-year-old.
She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and then exhaled. "Me and A-Andrew were sitting on the couch a-and I dosed off and had a weird dream…" she looked into her hands momentarily, trying to remember her dream…she knew it was important, had something to do with all of this somehow. She shook her head lightly and continued, "A-Andrew woke me up and we heard a crash come from the kitchen…there were a bunch of Death Eaters, we fought them. A-Andrew t-told me to come h-here and tell the O-Order…he said he c-could keep them o-o-off…" Tears were threatening to spill out of her eyes, but she continued on. "Right b-before I apparated…a c-curse hit A-A-Andrew…f-flash of green l-light…A-Andrew…d-d-dead…k-killing c-curse…" She swallowed down the large lump growing in her throat, tried to ignore the big, empty hole in her stomach, but it was no use. The tears were spilling from her eyes like a waterfall.
"Andrew…" Sirius muttered while Remus tended to Nova who was trying desperately pacify her ragged sobs.
A great clap of thunder ripped through the growing silence, aside from Nova's sobs. The rain was now pouring unmercifully down from the heavens, perfectly mirroring the mood of the three members of the Order settled around the table.
Just as another rumble of thunder threatened the sky, a plump witch by the name of Molly Weasley came bustling in. "Oh! You're up too. No one can sleep, so I'm just going to put on some tea and see what I can dig up for bit of a midnight snack---" she stopped dead at the sight of a disoriented looking Remus, a perplexed yet raged looking Sirius, and a woman she had only ever seen once before, who she remembered to be named Nova Cherton, wife of Andrew Cherton, who was now staring mournfully into her renewed cup of tea.
She seemed to not know what to say or do, so she just stood there as her husband, Arthur Weasley came strolling in, humming a little tune, who also turned to see the dazed looking threesome sitting around the table. "What happened?" he asked instantly. "Nova?"
Nova seemed to come out of her reverie and looked up at Arthur and quickly buried her head in her hands, letting out a tiny sob.
Remus shook his head sadly at Mr and Mrs Weasley. "Andrew Cherton was murdered tonight by a gang of Death Eaters."
Molly let out an audible gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. Arthur exhaled slowly and sat down heavily beside Sirius, wiping his glasses on his shirt.
A silent couple of minutes later, four teens came hurrying into the kitchen, squealing with laughter. They stopped dead and looked up at the adults who were all settled around the table, looking thoroughly depressed. "Who died?" a red-headed, freckle-faced boy asked in a joking manner, but soon realised that that was the absolute worst thing he could have said. A woman with dirty blonde hair that fell down past her shoulders, whom he had never seen before let out another sob of despair and continued to cry even harder into her hands. "Ron!" A bushy-haired girl beside him hissed.
He mouthed wordlessly and was finally able to mutter a quick apology as two other teenagers looking to be a bit older than the first four came in, talking in low voices.
"Arthur, when was Dumbledore supposed to be back here?" Molly asked quietly.
Arthur Weasley heaved a deep sigh and shook his head. "Molly, dear, I have absolutely no idea."
"Professor Dumbledore's coming?" a green eyed boy with a particularly messy head of jet black hair and a thin scar on his forehead blurted, in spite of himself.
"He's supposed to sometime soon. He was not very specific when we spoke with him last…" Sirius said with a hint of bitterness.
"But Sirius, I thought I made myself quite clear that I would be arriving tonight, did I not?" a tall man asked innocently, striding into the kitchen, his snow white hair and navy blue travelling cloak, soaked from the downpour, flowing behind him.
"Albus!" Sirius exclaimed, straightening up. "I only meant---"
"I know perfectly well what you meant, Sirius. And it is quite alright. Mrs Cherton!" Dumbledore turned his attention to the puffy-faced, red-eyed woman, who's sobbing had ceased. He looked questioningly at her.
"Albus, Nova came here to tell us that her home was invaded by several Death Eaters. Andrew Cherton was murdered tonight," Remus said remorsefully.
"Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear…I had a feeling…I thought that the Death Eaters must be getting slightly impatient. This is most peculiar though. They have been laying low all summer. No disturbances at all…but why now?"
"The Hall of Prophecy," Nova breathed.
"Pardon me?" Dumbledore asked politely.
"Hmm?" she looked up at the questioning faces peering at her. "Oh. No, I just remembered my dream before A-Andrew woke me up just before the attack, that's all."
"What was this dream about?" Dumbledore asked, his face unreadable.
"Nothing really...I was in a room, which I am sure was the Hall of Prophecy, and there were a bunch of orbs. One of them was labelled with my name and someone else's…I couldn't make out the other person's name though. I was just about to grab the orb labelled with my name when A-Andrew shook me awake."
"Have you been having these dreams often?" he asked again.
Nova shook her head slowly and answered, "no. No I don't believe I have."
Dumbledore nodded and sat down, removing his trademark spectacles and rubbing his eyes.
"Er---tea anyone?" Molly asked awkwardly.
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A/N: Well, there you have it, the first chapter. It shall get better…I hope. Reviews would be GREATLY appreciate, seeing as it's very frustrating to a writer when he or she is writing a story and no one is telling them what they think of the story, so they get bored of the story, because they think that no one even likes it, and blah, blah, blah. Anyways, the story sometimes ends up getting deleted in the end, like my old story The Shadow's Song. A shame, really. It could have been a decent story…maybe I'll rewrite it someday…Well, review and I shall continue. Ciao!
xxoxo
BalladForDeadMemories
Aka: Sarah
PS: Don't always be expecting long chapters like this one. It was originally supposed to be two separate chapters, but I combined them into one. Happy reading!