Disclaimer : I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters……
Chapter 8: Surprising friendships and Planned attacks
The next few weeks gave the student body of Hogwarts one of the worst shocks it had ever received. Every one who saw Sirius and Helina walking down the hall together, laughing, pinched themselves to make sure that they weren't dreaming.
Then, there began a circulation of rumors that the two were secretly dating which became stronger as the days wore on and their relationship only seemed to strengthen. By the end of two weeks every one had begun to get tired of the development and was eagerly awaiting a clash between the two.
After apologizing to her friends, the rest of the Marauders and Frank, Helina had promptly returned to her routine of being the prankster. The only difference was that, now, most often, Sirius joined her in her pranks.
The two had previously agreed to look for any other signs of abnormality after discussing the details he had gathered from McLaughlin.
"It seems that Voldemort" Sirius uttered in a whisper as the two were walking along the corridors "was looking for some one"
"Some one?"
"Yes. It seems that he is looking for some one as powerful as him"
"Wouldn't that be obvious? It'd be Dumbledore!"
"No. No. It isn't Dumbledore"
"Even so, what is he doing searching for some one as powerful as him, at Hogwarts? We're merely students!"
"He believes that, since he, the most powerful sorcerer of the age,"
Here, he was interrupted by Helina, "Dumbledore's the most powerful sorcerer of the age!"
"According to him" Sirius continued, "came from Hogwarts, that the person he's searching for will also be from here"
"Hmm…….."
"That's why he attacked the train. He doesn't want Dumbledore to know what he's looking for either"
"Why?"
"Imagine what'd happen if Dumbledore knew?"
"He'd find out who that person was"
"And he'd make sure that Voldemort never even set his eyes upon him"
"Or her" Helina added.
"Or her" Sirius agreed.
"He was, at one point, convinced that it was James he was hunting for"
"What? Why?"
"Can't you see why? Haven't you seen the excellence he has in magic? Also, the Potters are an ancient magic family. They date back to the time of the Peverells"
"I've heard that one"
"And his parents are known to be the most powerful and successful Aurors of the century and that's after taking Moody into account"
"Yeah! They're great people. I guess James'd be a valid candidate. And the duel in the train would only have assured Voldemort further"
"One thing doesn't add up though"
"What?"
"What does James' parents have to do with him being 'The One' as he put it?"
"Voldemort's all about this pureblood mania, right?"
"Yeah?"
"How many magical families can claim that they are truly pureblood?"
"A select few"
"Namely?"
"The Potters, The Jones', The Malfoys and……..The Blacks"
"There are a few more of them but lets not go into that"
"Okay!"
"So, according to Voldemort, to be as powerful as him, the wizard should be a pureblood, right?"
"It narrows down to either you, me or James since both Lucius and Regulus are already under his……….slavery"
"That's why he told James that on the train"
"But, from what Garcia told me, it seemed as if being pureblood wasn't the only criterion"
"What else! Never thought the Dark Lord would be such a demanding person"
"I'm not sure. But it seems that it has some thing to do with a prophecy"
"Prophecy! What else is there? An ancient myth coming alive to destroy the evil! This has become cliché enough already!"
"Well……..It isn't my choice!"
"Okay! Sorry. I shouldn't have blown up like that. Any thing else?"
"Yeah. There was one other………"
Here, Sirius was interrupted by the arrival of their Potions Professor, Slughorn.
"Do you reckon he has become any fatter?" Sirius whispered to Helina, smirking.
"Why don't you ask him yourself? After all, you are his favorite student"
"That'd be Lily or Snivellus. Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" he replied with a twinkle in his eye.
"Like I'd be jealous of some one who goes to the Slug Club parties!"
"I could take you to one if you want?"
"Is that your novel way of asking me out, Sirius? It isn't working"
"Worth a try, I guess"
"Class!"
"Here he goes" Helina said as she began taking out the ingredients for the potion they were brewing that day.
And so, they set to work brewing the Shrinking solution and at the end of the class, Slughorn declared their potion 'surprisingly strong and undoubtedly the best', surprising them.
This was another development that had taken place that year. In a move to have time for discussing their plans, the two had decided to sit together in Potions and Charms which were the two classes where they could talk without being overheard or interrupted.
As it happened, the two, when put together, could brew almost any potion flawlessly.
As they exited the classroom and headed for the Great Hall, they were joined by the rest of the Marauders, Frank, Alice, Emily and Lily.
"Great going guys!" exclaimed Lily as she walked beside Emily.
"Thanks Lily" Helina beamed up at her.
"What has put you in such a good mood?" Remus asked, seeing the sunny smile she was sporting.
"Oh! Nothing. I guess being appreciated by Slughorn has put me in this happy mood"
"Mhmm" and Remus got a thoughtful look on his face.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Helina! Helina!" Sirius shouted as he tried to get her attention amongst the crowd.
She turned her head and saw Sirius trying to wade his way through the throng of students.
"Hey, Sirius!" she greeted as Sirius came near her.
"Any news?"
"Yeah! I overheard some thing" Sirius whispered in her ear.
"What?"
"Not here" he caught her arm and made her stand still as the horde of students passed by them.
Some recognized Sirius or Helina and waved to them.
After the crowd had passed, Sirius spoke again, in such a low tone that she had to strain her ear to hear what he was saying.
"They're planning an attack"
"What so new about that? It has almost become a daily…."
"On Hogwarts"
"What? That was funny, Sirius. Tell me what the real news is"
On seeing Sirius' somber face, she said, "You're serious, aren't you?"
"I'm always Sirius, Jones" Sirius said with a twinkle in his eye.
"UH! That joke became old even before it was invented!" she retorted even as she was sporting a smile.
He knows just how and when to lighten the mood.
"Coming back, yes, there's gonna be an attack on Hogwarts"
"But, that's not possible. Hogwarts is the safest place in the wizarding world!"
"I know. It seems their 'Lord' has told them this"
"When? How?"
"They weren't sure themselves"
"What shall we do now? Should we inform this to Dumbledore?"
"What shall we say? He'll know the truth as soon as we step into his proximity. And, assuming he doesn't reproach us, which is not likely, what evidence can we give him that will be tangible enough for him to take measures?"
"What do we do then? Look on as the walls of Hogwarts are blasted open?"
"No. I say we wait until we gather more information. Then, probably, we can convince Dumbledore and he'll be too busy making arrangements to punish us"
"Why are you so afraid of Dumbledore punishing you? I have heard that he's as easygoing as they come"
"Yeah, but, I don't want him to get the wrong idea about me. What he thinks of me matters a lot"
"Why?"
"He is one of the very few wizards that I revere. Also, he helped me in a time when nobody else did…….."
Sirius stopped as he went into reflection mode.
"Sirius! Sirius!" Helina waved her hand in front of his face bringing him back to earth.
"Oh, sorry! I just spaced out. Let's go. Dinner should be ready by now"
"Okay!"
Later, after dinner, she, Lily, Emily and Alice were lounging in the commonroom sofa facing the window.
As Helina looked around the commonroom and finally at her friends, it finally hit her that if what Sirius had said was true, this would most likely be the last time she saw her friends and she had been ignoring them for almost two weeks now.
"I'm sorry, guys!" she suddenly blurt out, starting Emily and Alice who had been discussing about the need for studying Herbology to become an Auror.
"Whatever for, Lina?" Lily asked, looking up from the book she had been reading, Magical Beats and their Mysteries.
"You read that in third year"
"So, can't I read it again?"
"That's the fifth time you're reading that book Lily" Emily muttered from her place on the floor.
"So? I like reading books" Lily protested "What did you apologize for, Lina?"
"Uh……..I just realized that …………….I had been ignoring you guys for so long"
"What?"
"No you didn't!"
"There's no need to apologize for any thing"
"Thanks for putting up with me, I guess. I was too preoccupied with……."
"Sirius?" Emily suggested helpfully.
"No. It's just………nothing. Just forget I ever said any thing. I'm just confused…."
And she lapsed into silence.
A few minutes and a lot of concerned stared thrown her way later,
"I'm going for a walk" she declared, and, before Lily could protest about it being after curfew, she jumped out of the couch and went towards the portrait hole.
"That girl will never follow the rules" Lily sighed as if resigning herself to the fact.
"Aren't you going to give her detention?" Alice asked incredulously.
"No. What's the use? She'll so the detention and right after that, she'll break another one of the rules. There's no sense in giving her a detention and I can't take points away from her"
"Why not?"
"I never take points away from students. I don't think it fair that, just because a student does some thing wrong, the entire house should be punished"
"Is our Lily turning soft?" Alice taunted.
"James is rubbing off on you already?" Emily asked with a knowing smile.
Lily went back to her reading without agreeing or objecting.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As Helina was about to round a corner, a door by the side opened and a hand reached out to drag her in.
"Umph……Why do you always do this?"
"Shh………They're coming" he said as he showed her the infamous map where the dots Avery, Snape and Mulciber were moving towards the dots labeled Sirius Black and Helina Jones.
"What do we do now?"
"We listen" he muttered secretively.
"How?"
"Watch and learn. Permite Audierea" he said as he pointed his wand towards Rosier who was passing through the corridor out side the room.
"What was that supposed to do?"
"Wait. Écoutez"
"What! It's been decided!" the voice of Avery rang loud and clear as if he was right beside them.
"WoW! Where did you"
"Shh…….."
A/n: What was the decision? You've gotta wait for the next chap for it!
Any questions? Ask me through a review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
