Sorry for the late update! I've been a little tied up with work recently, and I'm also brainstorming with the story plot for my upcoming HP/Twilight crossover. Anyway, this chapter might not be up to my usual standard, so bear with me. And as far as group naming goes, I'll be calling them 'Zeus'. It is the name of the God of the Sky in Greek mythology, and only this name seems to suit them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

Chapter Six: Halloween

He has been in this darkness for a long time now.

Darkness…

It was everywhere around him.

It is enough to drive a man insane.

How long has he been in here?

Judging by the strokes that he made on the wall as each day passes; he had to be in here for at least a good ten years or so by now.

Lily. James. Remus. Hilda.

Those names were always resounding around in his head, particularly the last one. How is she doing now? Who is she living with? The Longbottoms? They were a relatively nice family, and Lily did name her best friend Alice Longbottom as godmother to her one and only daughter.

His ears pricked up just then as he heard the sound of light footsteps. Extremely light footsteps like someone who is trying not to let his footsteps be heard. In a place as quiet as this, even the lightest sound could be magnified ten times.

Then the whispers could be heard not far away from where he is currently in.

"Here it is," said a voice that he found rather familiar, though for the life of him, he simply couldn't remember where he had heard it. "You only have ten minutes, Ethan. Ten minutes is all that I could get for you from the Minister. He thinks that Narcissa is the one who had wanted to speak to her cousin. But as official reports stated that he is a dangerous criminal, I can only get ten minutes for you."

Ethan…

Who is that?

He didn't hear anything for a few moments before he almost jumped out of his skin as a cool hand touched his skin. How did anyone get in here without him sensing them? And scratch that, how did they even get in here in the first place?

He opened his eyes only to meet mesmerising red eyes with a look of concern in them. With the pitch black darkness that surrounded him 24/7, it'll be a wonder if he can even see anything but pitch black darkness.

"Just bear with it for awhile longer," said the stranger in a cool and calming voice, and it had the instant effect to calm his mind down immediately. "I'll have you out of here soon enough. I know that you are innocent. I'll have you with Hilda soon. You'll like that, won't you?"

Hilda…

That name alone had him grabbing onto this stranger's cloaked arm which felt cold even through the fabric which he found odd for a moment, but didn't give much thought into it. His voice cracked as he hadn't used it for over ten years.

"Hilda? Do you know her? How is she doing? Is she alright? Is she fine?"

"She's with me," said the stranger simply. "Don't worry, she's doing fine. As fine as a child her age could do anyway. I can't tell you more than that as she didn't even know about you yet. Once she comes home for the Christmas holidays, then I'll let her know. I should have you out of here around Christmas time too. It'll be a nice Christmas present for you both."

"Holidays?" His voice sounded slurred, almost like he didn't even know what that word means. A smile, one that hadn't been seen on his face for almost a decade, and which once upon a time could send many a young lady to faint, appeared on his face. "I see. She's in Hogwarts now, isn't she? I've sure missed out a lot on her life."

"Ethan, hurry!" The first voice from earlier hissed.

The stranger turned back towards him. "I have to go now," he said simply, patting him on the hand. "I'll have you out of here soon enough. Can you last out until then?"

"I've been in here for almost a decade," he said, his voice cracking up and sounding hoarse because he hadn't used it for such a long time. "What is a few months more compared to over ten years? I'll wait. I'll wait until I can see Hilda again. Until I can face James and Lily and tell them proudly that I've never betrayed them. Until I can catch that rat with my own hands and kill him myself. Until I can get Albus Dumbledore myself and tell him what I think of him for throwing me in here without a trial when that lemon sucking so-and-so knew that I'm not the Secret Keeper! Until I can face Remus again and call him 'brother' once more. Until I can see Hilda again and tell her how proud her parents would be of her. Until then… Until then, I can last until then. I'll wait."

"Good," said the stranger in a calming tone, patting his hand. "Just hang on for awhile longer. I'll have you out of here soon enough." He got to his feet. "I'm Ethan Nightwing. Guardian of your little goddaughter."

He blinked. Guardian? Then what had happened to the Longbottoms?

"Wait. Isn't Hilda supposed to be with Alice and Frank? What had happened to them? Just…just what had happened during these past ten years?"

"I'll tell you everything once you're a free man," said Ethan, his back facing him. "Many things have happened. I promise. I'll tell you everything. Just for Hilda's sake at least. Hold out until then. Sirius Black."

And then he was gone.

XXXXXX

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland

"I'll kill them." Draco seethed, one hand curling into a fist.

"I know."

"They're so dead."

"I know that, but at least wait until I can repair Nev's books," said Hilda irritably, hard at work at repairing Neville's torn and tattered books with a roll of tape beside her.

The group of them which most of the Hogwarts' inhabitants had taken to nicknaming them 'Zeus' as each of them are as temperamental as the weather were currently in the Slytherin common room, with all of them sitting at the table near the fire.

Hilda, Padma and Hermione were sharing one couch, with Draco and Neville taking the other. Jasper and Cedric were taking another couch, with Daphne, Theodore and Blaise taking another couch. And currently, a mountain of books was on the table before them, and Hilda, Jasper, Cedric and Daphne were all helping to repair Neville's books.

It had happened that evening after dinner.

And really, it wasn't really Neville's fault as he returned to his dormitory after dinner that day only to find all his books torn and tattered beyond recognition, and he immediately guessed it as the handiwork of the boys in his dormitory or some of the other Gryffindors.

To Neville's credit, he didn't cry or anything. He merely gathered all his damaged books as well as the loose pages of the books quietly, and with help from a third year Gryffindor by the name of Oliver Wood, he had headed straight towards the Slytherin common group where he was supposed to meet his friends at. And this is where it can find them all at present.

Cedric sighed as he looked at the miserable Gryffindor, trying to piece Neville's Transfiguration book back together. The whole lot of them were trying to fix Neville's books as best as they could so that the teachers do not rail at Neville for letting his books get into this condition.

"Neville, this is way getting out of hand," said the third year Hufflepuff tiredly. "I never thought that the Gryffindors will do something as…as despicable as this!"

"You're better off just changing Houses at the end of the year, Neville," muttered Daphne Greengrass, holding two pieces of a torn page together so that Theodore can fix it back together with some tape.

"Yeah," muttered Neville, looking extremely miserable. "Maybe I will."

XXXXXX

Halloween evening dawned bright and clear, and majority of the Houses were down in the Great Hall on the dot, enjoying the Halloween feast that had been prepared for them.

And as usual, Hilda and her friends were seated at the Ravenclaw table, though the girl itself in mention is looking particularly pissed off, and storm clouds were almost hovering above her head.

Padma blinked at her friend as she looked over a book. Strangely enough, Hermione wasn't with Hilda, and the blue-red eyed girl was looking particularly pissed off, and was emanating such a dangerous aura that anyone with even half a brain was wise enough to leave her alone.

The raven haired girl was currently mauling her steak with her knife and fork, pretending that it's Ron Weasley's face that she's stabbing at.

"What has that poor steak ever done to you, Hilda?" said Jasper sarcastically. "Leave it alone!"

"And what has gotten you so mad?" asked Padma, blinking curiously.

Hilda turned towards Padma with furious looking eyes, and Padma gulped inwardly. If looks could kill, she'll be dead a hundred times over. "It's that blasted Ronald Weasley!" Hilda nearly took Padma's eye out with her fork before turning back to mauling her steak which is starting to look like mashed steak.

Draco blinked in confusion in his seat across Hilda, his mashed potatoes halfway to his mouth. "What did that Weasel do this time?" he asked tiredly.

Hilda tends to have very good self-control, and no one ever saw her truly get mad before. He is ready to bet everything that he have that whatever Hilda is so angry over is bound to be something large.

Neville sighed. "Terry Boot was in the hospital wing today because of an accident in Herbology yesterday," he explained. "And so, Ron was without a partner in Potions earlier in the afternoon. Hermione found out that he was struggling with some parts of today's Potions lesson, and decided to help him out. But when she tried to help, he yelled at her and called her some pretty dreadful names."

"Neville, what did he call her?" asked Cedric, his face darkening considerably.

Neville muttered something beneath his breath that no one could hear.

"Pardon?"

Hilda slammed her fork so hard onto the table that a crack actually developed on it, and Draco winced. Technically, Hilda is part-vampire, and she had the strength of one as well. Not as strong as a full-blooded vampire, but still stronger than the average human.

But Hilda rarely shows traits that are more than human unless she's really pissed, and Draco knew her well enough to know that she's really angry. He won't be surprised to see sparks flying from Hilda's eyes.

"He called her an insufferable know-it-all little Mudblood!" Hilda growled out, speaking so quickly that her friends could barely catch what she had just said. "He also said that she has no business being here, and being friends with me is no difference from being a Dark supporter herself."

Crack!

Draco winced as he saw the fork broke beneath Hilda's hand, and it is pretty surprising, considering the fact that the fork is entirely made out of metal.

The faces of Jasper and Cedric darkened, and Padma looks as if she would like nothing more than to kill the redheaded Weasley.

"Where is Hermione now?" asked Draco, looking around.

"She ran into the girls' restroom on the second floor," said Hilda with a growl, still angry. "I've tried all afternoon to get her to come out, but she wouldn't listen to a single word that I've said!"

Padma got up from the table. "Come on, Hilda," she said briskly. "Let's go and get Hermione. I'll come with you this time."

Hilda nodded. She started to get up when the doors of the Great Hall swung opened just then, and Professor Quirell came running into the Great Hall, screaming at the top of his lungs. "T-Troll! T-T-Troll in the d-d-dungeons!" He stopped just before the teachers' table, and the entire Great Hall went eerily silent, all staring at him. "Thought that you ought to know."

And he fell backwards in a deep faint.

Hilda furrowed her brows together as the entire student population of Hogwarts started screaming their heads off and scrambling for the doors. 'Did he just faint backwards?' she thought, perplexed.

It took several firecrackers popping at the end of Dumbledore's wand before the entire Great Hall quietened down. "Prefects," said the Headmaster. "Kindly lead all students back to your House dormitories whilst all teachers will follow me to the dungeons."

"Come on," said Cedric, tugging Hilda by the arm.

The raven haired girl was about to follow the older boy when an awful thought struck her, and she grabbed hold of Cedric's arm, and all her friends stared at her. Hilda's face was awfully pale. "What about Hermione?" she asked urgently. "She doesn't know about the troll!"

Draco's face drained of all colour as he heard that. "Oh Merlin…" he muttered, palming his face.

Jasper nearly groaned to himself. "We'll probably all get detention for this, but we definitely can't leave a first year by herself when there is a troll roaming about in the school!" he said. "We have to find her! And let's hope that luck is on Hermione's side so that she does not end up running into the troll!"

XXXXXX

Luck is anywhere but with Hermione right at this instant, it seems like.

The moment that the group of them have arrived on the second floor, they saw a massive burly shape duck into a nearby room that turned out to be the girls' restroom. Not long after that, screams of terror reached their ears, and everyone turned pale.

Hilda and Draco were the first ones in before the others rushed in after them. The troll was massive and large like all trolls were supposed to be. It also had a stupid look on its face with a particularly dangerous-looking club in one hand that almost seemed like it could do a lot of damage if it should connect.

The troll in mention had Hermione backed into a corner where the sinks were located, and the bushy haired girl looked almost ready to faint, staring at the troll in absolute terror.

Cedric and Jasper were the first ones to act by casting Reducto simultaneously at the troll. But because of the troll's thick hide, the spells bounced harmlessly off it. But still, the two Hufflepuff third years kept up with their spells as it seemed to be the only way to draw the troll's attention away from the frightened Hermione.

Padma took that chance to get to Hermione and to get her away, but it seemed that action of movement had caught the troll's attention as it immediately turned around, focusing on the frightened Padma and Hermione immediately.

Hermione screamed as the troll's club came down a foot away from where she and Padma were standing, instantly shattering the sink that is just next to them.

"Get away from there, you two!" Draco shouted to the two girls, pulling his wand out and casting spells at the troll alongside Cedric and Jasper in a bid to distract the troll as well, but to no avail.

Padma and Hermione immediately scrambled away from another swing that had the instant effect to shatter the doors of a nearby cubicle, causing the two girls to scream in terror.

The troll grunted stupidly, wondering why the little things before him hadn't been squished yet.

Hilda gritted her teeth. She prayed to Hekate (1) that what she is going to do here would not get to the ears of the teachers, particularly Dumbledore. Ethan had warned her time and again to not use any vampire magic if possible, but it seemed like that would not be possible now.

"Jasper! Cedric! Draco! Hold your fire!" Hilda turned towards the three bewildered boys before turning back towards the troll. "Listen. Whatever that is going to happen here will not get out!"

"Huh?" Cedric and Jasper echoed, but Draco understood what Hilda meant.

He had only seen Hilda go into 'vampire form' once when she was chasing down a rouge vampire about two years ago with Ethan. He had only seen it once, but once is once too many. And Draco prayed hard to every single deity in existence that he will never get to see it again. If he has to put it into words, Hilda is…darker, much angrier, and more…aggressive in that form.

Ethan had explained it to him once; he had said that Hilda's vampire form is like her dark side. However, Hilda has extremely good self control and rarely lose control of her emotions, and thus, accidentally activating her 'vampire form'.

"You guys had better step back," said Draco, taking one step backwards. "Trust me, you don't want to be near when Hilda does this."

Jasper and Cedric glanced at each other, but obeyed as there is something in Draco's voice that told them that they wouldn't like testing his theory. Everyone was now watching Hilda.

Her eyes were cold, and is it Cedric's imagination, or is Hilda's eyes flashing red every now and then?

And when Cedric blinked, Hilda was gone from where she was standing where he had last seen her, and was on the right side of the troll. She raised her right hand before her face, and dark flames formed within her palm which she tossed at the troll's foot.

The troll gave a howl of pain and began lumbering around, swinging his club at where he thought Hilda was, but the girl was unexpectedly fast. One doesn't spend nearly all their life being trained by a vampire as well as hunting rouge vampires without picking up a few tricks. And if it is in speed, Hilda wouldn't lose to anyone save for perhaps another vampire.

"Hey ugly!"

The troll turned with a stupid look on his face, and all those watching watched as a black blur appeared in mid-air who kicked the club out of the troll's hand, with said club crashing against the wall not too far away from where Hermione and Padma were, causing them both to scream in fright, causing several cracks to appear on the wall as well.

But Hilda wasn't done yet as she turned 180 degrees in mid-air before using her other foot to kick the troll in the face. There was a sickening crunch as everyone heard the sound of bones breaking – though whether it is the troll's nose that is broken or Hilda's foot, no one had any idea.

Hilda then landed back onto the ground, cradling her left foot with one hand as she watched the troll, along with everyone else. Almost like in slow motion, the troll gave out a low groan before falling forwards and landing with a sickening crunch.

Silence fell among the group of students.

Draco was the first one to move or even speak as everyone else was too busy alternating between watching the troll and Hilda. But Draco had seen Hilda go after rouge vampires once, and he had seen her fight. Because she was brought up by Ethan, Hilda will be a prime target for the enemies of the Eastern vampire clan, and Ethan had deemed it fit to train her in combat so that she could protect herself even if she couldn't use magic.

That is actually how all vampires taught their young.

"Are you alright?" asked Draco, bending down to Hilda's eye level, one hand on her shoulder as he watched Hilda cover the ankle of her left foot with one hand.

"I think that my foot's broken," said Hilda with a wince as she tried to move her left foot, and pain shot through her leg immediately. "That is the last time that I'm actually going to kick a troll in the face."

Draco sighed. "And I hope that that is the last time that we'll ever get to face a troll again," he said.

The door of the bathroom swung opened just then, and everyone present turned only to see the enraged faces of their Heads of Houses.

"Good Heavens…" muttered Professor McGonagall, feeling quite faint as she saw the oversized troll lying unconscious on the ground, along with the current state of the bathroom which Hilda had never really noticed before. It looks as if a hurricane had just gone through the bathroom. "Explain yourselves, all of you!"

"It wasn't their fault, Professor McGonagall," said Cedric before anyone else could say anything, stepping forward. "Ronald Weasley had said some really awful things to Hermione which had caused her to run in here. Hilda then remembered that Hermione didn't know about the troll, and had come to warn her. The rest of us came along as we couldn't just leave Hilda and Hermione roaming about the school alone with a troll on the loose."

"Quite right, Mr Diggory," said Professor Sprout briskly. "You and Mr Summers did Hufflepuff proud by not abandoning your friends. Ten points will be awarded to each of you."

"Hilda, what's the matter with your foot?" asked Severus, speaking for the first time ever since the teachers have made their grand entrance.

Hilda's eyes were sharp enough to notice that the Potions master seemed to be walking with a limp, and there was even the faint stale smell of blood in the air that seemed to come from Severus himself.

"She hurt her foot earlier when she was distracting the troll from attacking us," said Hermione with a squeak, showing how terrified she had been, and still is.

"I think it's broken, Professor," said Draco, glancing over the injured limb, and looking at the teachers.

"Well, if that is all, you should help Ms Evans to the hospital wing," said McGonagall briskly.

Draco nodded before he helped Hilda up, with the girl hobbling on her uninjured limb until Cedric decided to carry her piggy-back to the hospital wing, much to her embarrassment, and Draco, Jasper, Hermione and Padma's amusement. But despite Hilda's protests that she can walk just fine, despite a broken ankle, the honey-blonde haired teen wouldn't listen to any protests on her part, and carried her to the hospital wing to have Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse to take a look at Hilda's injury.

And if truth be told, Jasper thought that Cedric seemed rather disappointed when they've reached the hospital wing at last, and he has to let Hilda down from his back.

XXXXXX

Starlight's Hall
Knockturn Alley

Ethan sighed as he passed a cocktail drink to one Remus Lupin who is sitting at the bar counter. It was an hour till closing time, and there were hardly any customers around save for the man himself. And because it is currently the school term, Severus couldn't come down quite so often anymore, and Lucius is currently busy trying to arrange a trial date for one Sirius Black on Ethan's behalf.

And from what Ethan had heard, Dumbledore wasn't too happy when he had heard that, and seemed to be trying to persuade the Minister that a trial isn't necessary for Sirius Black. That is, until Amelia Bones had put her foot down, and had declared that since Sirius Black wasn't given a trial before he was chucked to Azkaban because of the confusion back then during the war, they should give him one now since someone thinks that he might be innocent. And if he is indeed guilty, well, they can just chuck him straight back to Azkaban.

And as such, Lucius is trying to schedule a trial date for Sirius, and even so, the earliest that one could be held is during the Christmas holidays. And the fact that a trial is going to be held for Sirius Black is kept extremely secret, and only a selective few among the Ministry knew of it.

"Why so in the dumps?" asked Ethan briskly as he watched Remus stared into the contents of his drink. "You're even gloomier than usual. You're even affecting the mood of my house elves."

Remus was silent, not reacting to that rather feeble joke. "I lost my job again," he said.

Ethan sighed. "Again?" he said tiredly. "This is your fifth one this month alone, isn't it?"

Remus nodded. "My employers aren't stupid," he said. "They can easily figure out what I am especially since I always have to take day-offs during the time of the full moon. And getting a job in the Muggle world is nearly out of the question as I do not have Muggle education qualifications to even get the simplest job." He sighed. "If this goes on, and I can't pay my rent, I'm going to get evicted from my house soon."

Hilda may not like Remus because of what he represented of her past, but she doesn't exactly dislike the man himself, and Ethan seemed to like him as well. As long as Remus doesn't say anything relating to the Potters, Hilda has nothing against him. And when Hilda had found out during one of Remus' stays in Starlight's Hall that he couldn't afford the simplest things like buying new robes or even food, she had told him to come here whenever he couldn't afford food or the Wolfsbane Potion, and in return, he can help out around the bar.

Ethan sighed. "Housing is expensive these days," he said, and Remus nodded. "And not to mention that nearly everything speaks about money. It's difficult not holding a job."

Remus sighed. "Who would even want to hire a werewolf?" he asked miserably. "I don't blame my past employers for reacting how they did. I would probably react the same way if I hadn't been a werewolf myself. No one would want their families and friends to be near a potentially dangerous threat."

"But you are no threat," said Ethan patiently. "Not until the full moon at least. And even then, you still kept your mind, didn't you?" He sighed. "If only people understood that, then the werewolves might still have a chance in being accepted in society."

"And that decree released by that Ministry woman is making it even impossible for me to find a job," said Remus with a growl. "What is that toad faced woman's name again? Doris? Doreen?"

"Dolores Umbridge." Ethan corrected. "Hilda told me about her. Most of the Howlers that we received from the Ministry are from that woman or those working in Fudge's department. Just ignore her. Amelia Bones and Amos Diggory are working to reverse that decree."

Remus sighed. "But still, decree or no decree, it is nearly impossible for me to find a job," he admitted. "I'll take any job as long as it is something that I can do honestly, never mind the pay."

Ethan frowned slightly, studying Remus Lupin's dejected form. Well, Hilda did complain on more than one occasion that it's high time that they hire another person to help out around the bar as the house elves can't do everything around here. Even with Hilda around, they're short-handed enough as it is, especially since someone has to make the meals and drinks, keep an eye on the customers, make sure that the inn-stayers are not in trouble, etc.

Too much for one person to handle all at once.

Ethan is usually the one handling the food and drinks, but Hilda usually does the rest. And now with Hilda at school, he is running a one man show all by himself. Even for a vampire, this is enough to wear him out.

"Remus." Said man looked up at the sound of his own name. "If you're interested, I've got a job offer for you." Remus brightened up. "Mind you, the pay isn't exactly high, but it should be enough to pay for your daily expenses as well for any other purchases that you wished to make monthly." Remus knew that Ethan is talking about the Wolfsbane Potion as it is expensive. "But the work involved will probably require you to be on your feet from morning to night."

"But will the employer mind about me being a werewolf?" asked Remus with concern. This is what he is worried about.

"No, he won't mind," said Ethan with a grin. "He isn't exactly human himself."

"What job is that? And who is he?" asked Remus in interest.

"I'm the one that wants to hire you," said Ethan, much to Remus' surprise. "I need another helper around here since Hilda's away at school, and I doubt that she will mind if we hire you. We've been looking for a helper for some time now. It's just that no one wants to work for us here since you knew our reputation." Ethan smiled. "Will you be willing to try? I'll even offer housing here since it'll be easier for you time-wise, and it'll lessen my workload too."

Remus thought about it for a moment before his face broke into a smile and he nodded.

"I'll accept your offer, Ethan."

A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter isn't up to my usual work standard. I have writer's block for this story for awhile. Anyway, I'm doing some brainstorming for my HP/Twilight crossover which should hopefully be up either this week or next week. I'll appreciate it if you can drop off a review for it then.

Anyway, I hope that you like this chapter and please read and review!

(1) Hekate is the Goddess of Witchcraft in Greek mythology, and I thought it fitting to have her as the goddess that the vampires believed in and worshipped.