Author's Note: Whoa-dee now! Long wait, eh? Ah, the sweet sound of readers suffering from cliff-hangers. Mwahahaha...
Reviewers:
JulesFelton: Must...write...fast. Okie dokie then. I'll put that on my to-do list. .
Dragonfirechick: (gasps) You DARE to think I would kill off Haylie! OF COURSE NOT!!! She's too important. Not that the person who DOES die is unimportant...
Carn: Yesh...I am sooooo evil....
Courtney: Well...I told you who dies at school and you hit me!!!!! (cries) Ah, the abusive life of an arteest!
Disclaimer: YESH!!! HARRY POTTER IS ALL MINE!!!! ALL MINE!!!! MWAHAHAHA!!!! (gets dragged out of the room by guys in white suits)
Flamers: Hissssss...I shall feed you to my evil muffin...HAIL THE EVIL MUFFIN!!!! MWAHAHAHAHA
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Out of the Shadows
Chapter 2: Sorrow Seeks the Heart
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All was silent. The whole house held its breath as tears streamed Mrs. Weasley's face.
"Harry, dear, I'm so sorry," she said, reaching for his hand. "I'm sure he was the only one you had left."
A stab of realization gripped his stomach. He knew who she was talking about.
A flash of green light...
"Who was it, Mum?" Ron asked in a shaky voice.
"Remus Lupin."
A figure falls to the ground as the light ebbs...
A brief look of relief crossed Ron's face. It passed instantly when he saw the look on Harry's face. Harry was frozen, his face showing a strange mixture of shock and recognition. It didn't seem that he was staring at Mrs. Weasley; it was as if he was remembering something.
A woman's cruel, shrieking laughter rang in his ears. Cold, high-pitched, ruthless laughter...
"I'm going out," Harrysaid in an undertone, whipping around and running as fast as he could out of the kitchen.
"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley called after him as he raced toward the door. "You can't go out alone!"
He didn't care. He just couldn't stay there. He needed solitude...away from the Black's house and the people who would try to comfort him.
Harry kept running until sharp pains like steak knives in his sides ordered him to stop. He leaned on a lamp-post, trying to slow his racing heart. But even though the pain subsided, he still felt his heart pounding in his chest.
Ron and Mrs. Weasley must think pretty highly of me now, Harry thought. I mean, it's not like Lupin was like a father to me like Sirius was...
But he knew that wasn't true. The little unknown fact about Harry was that he wrote to Lupin ever since Sirius died. Lupin had become the only father figure left in his life. Of course, he didn't understand Harry like Sirius did, but he tried, and that meant a lot to Harry.
Harry sat down onto the hard pavement. Another question came into mind. His dream the night before.
He had completely forgotten about it when we woke up. But when Mrs. Weasley told Ron and himself about...the casualty, it came flooding back to him.
He looked over the destruction and chaos as curses, charms, and hexes wound their way throughout the lobby of the Ministry of Magic. Black-robed figures dueled with other figures on the floor. It seemed as if Harry was floating above the fighting, soaring toward a specific pair of combatants.
One had his back to Harry. He knew he wasn't a Death Eater because he lacked the black-hooded robe and mask. The other, however was clearly one, for the person was in the standard attire and was dueling mercilessly, throwing curse after curse as the other struggled to block each.
One well-aimed hex flew toward the Death Eater off her feet, also sending her mask skittering across the marble floor. Thick, black hair streaked with fluorescent green spilled over her face.
"Morgana! Get up and kill him. Stop playing games," Harry said in a high, cold voice.
"Yes, Master," she said, grinning wickedly as she dodged another hex and aimed her last curse.
"Avada Kadavra," she hissed. A blinding glare of green light obstructed Harry's vision. Yet he could see a figure falling to the ground instantly. A voice raised above the chaos, harsh and bone-chilling.
Harry knew he could never forget that laugh.
(((((-)))))
"ARTHUR, YOU GO OUT LOOKING FOR HIM THIS INSTANT!" Harry heard Mrs. Weasley bellow as he quietly slipped into number 12 Grimmauld Place just before dark. He climbed up the stairs as silently as possible, but to his displeasure, Mrs. Weasley spotted him before he could reach his and Ron's room.
"HARRY!" she shrieked as she gathered him up in her arms, tears spilling on her already tear-streaked face. This made him extremely uncomfortable. "We thought for certain you were hurt, staying out for so long!" She then held him at arms length. "How dare you worry me like that, young man!" She wagged her finger under his nose threateningly. "You know better then to walk around like that, all on your own. And you didn't even have your wand? How idiotic is that?! Go up to your room. I don't want to talk to you right now."
She then spun on her heels, yelling for Mr. Weasley. Harry raised an eyebrow at her retreating back and then walked toward his room. He flung himself onto his bed, oblivious to Ron and Ginny's figures walking over to him.
"Harry James Potter!" Ginny said in an irritated voice. Harry pulled a pillow over his head.
"I've already heard the speech, Ginny," Harry said, his voice partially muffled by the pillow.
"I don't care!" Ginny replied stubbornly. "Ron and I still need to talk to you."
"Harry Potter is not listening at the moment," Harry said sarcastically. "Please leave a message after the beep. Beeeeep." Ginny emitted an angry growl, grabbing the pillow off his head and whacking him with it. "Hey!"
"You are going to listen to us, Mr. Potter," she said forcefully. "You are going to listen to us and you are going to answer us. Got it?"
Harry and Ron exchanged glances. This almost-sixth-year teenager was quite a different person from just a few years ago.
"Fine," he grumbled, sitting up. "What do you want?"
"For you to stop sulking for once in you life and read this letter," Ginny said, shoving an envelope under his nose. He took it, eyeing Ginny uncertainly.
"I thought you two needed to talk to me?"
"No, actually we didn't," Ginny said, smiling mischievously. "I just made a big deal of it so you wouldn't blow up on me."
"Why would I blow up on you?" Harry asked as he opened the envelope.
"You've been so moody lately. Not even Professor Trelawney could predict when you would throw a temper tantrum." Harry shrugged the comment off, looking at the end of the letter. It was from Haylie.
Dear Harry,
Ron just sent me an owl telling what happened.
Now, I know I may not know exactly how you feel, Harry, but I assure you; I'm hurting also. Just a few days ago, Lupin sent me a letter. It seems like you and I are the only ones who are like family to him, other then Dumbledore.
Lupin was like an uncle to me. He is the only person other then myself that knows what kind of prejudice and pain someone like me endures. He showed me how to keep my strength and faith when I had no other friend.
Okay, enough with the mushy stuff. Now I want to tell you what I bet LOTS of people have told you already. Guess what it is...c'mon...think hard! I know it's difficult for you...
Harry grinned at Haylie's attempt to humor.
BE CAREFUL. I know you'll go into the carelessness you went into last year. I know that now you are going to be grieving twice as much as you have, but remember ol' Moody's catch phrase: CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
Your Friend,
Haylie
Harry silently folded it up and stuck in his pocket.
"Who was it from, mate? Haylie? 'Cause I just sent her an owl a few minutes after you left," Ron said.
"Yah, it was from her," he said simply, carelessly. "C'mon, I'm starving."
"I bet you are, Mr. Run-Off-And-Worry-Us-To-Death," Ginny said, obviously peeved. She turned on her heel and walked out of their room.
"What is her problem?" Harry said when Ginny was out of earshot. Ron's ears grew red.
"Er...are you sure you want to know...?" he mumbled.
"Yah. What is it?"
"Um...Well...she's, uh...she's...." Ron lowered his voice almost to a whisper. "She's, er, PMS-ing."
Ron looked pointedly at him.
Harry's eyebrows shot up in shock, his face reddening.
"Oh," he said simply, suppressing the urge to burst out laughing.
(((((-)))))
Author's note: Mwa ha. I just had to put that there. : P
Question: (I know, I asked this in my other story, but only one person really replied truthfully) If you looked into the Mirror of Erised, what would you see?
