Chapter 8: Sound the Alarm
Tuesday October 12th, 2:05 am
From outside Sirius and I could hear voices coming from the potions room. Sirius put a finger to his lips to make sure I stayed silent as he edged towards the door and pressed his ear against it, trying to listen better. I could hardly make out their voices, all I could tell was that there were three to four people in the room and they were talking in harsh whispers. What they were actually saying though I had no clue.
I watched Sirius's face for a clue as to what they were saying. At first his eyebrows were furrowed together in confusion and then suddenly something flashed in his eyes as if he understood and his eyes immediately became black and his face hardened. I was about to ask what was going on when suddenly Sirius whipped the invisibility cloak off of him and pushed me away.
"Go and run, get James and send him down but don't come back." Sirius said urgently before retrieving his wand from his pocket and flinging open the door.
I stood in the middle of the hallway in shock with the cloak still over me. I looked beyond Sirius and saw the surprised faces of Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Bellatrix Black, and Regulus Black. At first they stood surprised but once they recognized Sirius they immediately withdrew their wands, sinister grins on their faces.
"Well well well, look what we have here." Lucius Malfoy hissed as he took in Sirius's appearance.
"Are you all by yourself? Being rather bold, aren't we Black?"
"Stay away from my brother," Sirius said through gritted teeth.
I stood paralyzed in my spot. I didn't know what to do. I feared that if I made any movements that Sirius would become distracted and that the Slytherin's would attack him.
"Stay out of this Sirius, this has nothing to do with you. If you can't recall you were blasted from the family tree, making you no longer a part of my family." Regulus looked at Sirius with pure loathing but I noticed behind the loathing there was a slight pang of fear for his brother. As if telling Sirius to leave before he got himself injured.
"Reg, what are you doing with these people? Hey Snivellus, why don't you go find someone else to rub your nose on."
Bellatrix let out a loud screech of laughter. Her laughter sent a shiver down my spine. She sounded positively maniacal. "Oh little cousin, always ridiculing Snape here. I'll have you know he's going to come into great power soon and you'll be terrified of the boy who you once hung upside down and revealed his underpants."
"Snivellus will never amount to anything more than a grease mark." Sirius said through clenched teeth as his grip on his wand tightened. Bellatrix quick to see his new movement quickly reacted and yelled "crucio."
I watched as Sirius fell to his knees as he screamed in pain. His whole body seemed to be writhing as his face contorted. Without thinking I screamed his name and threw the cloak off of me. Bellatrix was caught off guard by my sudden appearance and in her distraction the spell lifted from Sirius.
Sirius immediately got to his feet and retrieved his wand before pointing it at Bellatrix and yelling, "expelliarmus."
Sirius was outnumbered however and Snape quickly retaliated and yelled, "petrificus totalus." Sirius became as stiff as a board and toppled over in the entranceway to the potions room. With Sirius now unable to do anything everyone stared at me. I quickly raised my wand and tried to send out a curse but Lucius Malfoy was quicker than me and screamed expelliarmus. The spell sent my wand flying ten feet away from me. I realized what situation I was in and how serious it had become. I was alone in the middle of the night at Hogwarts with no one to help me. Sirius was unable to do anything and his eyes were focused on me, fear flickering fiercely in them.
"What shall we do with you?" Lucius said as he rounded in on me, the rest of the pack following behind him.
"How about the cruciatus curse," Bellatrix suggested with a maniacal look in her eye.
"Too predictable," Lucius dismissed quickly. "Snape," he said turning his attention to the greasy haired boy. "I believe it's time you prove yourself. I'm leaving it up to you to decide what to do with her."
Snape stepped up in front of Lucius as he looked me over. He was less assured than the others and while he kept a firm grip on his wand and a strong stance there was uncertainty in his eyes. "I say we introduce her to Aragog," he concluded with a smirk.
Everyone looked pleased with his answer as they agreed with his choice. "Well then go ahead Severus." Lucius commanded, leaving the responsibility to Snape.
"Muffliato," Snape said. My throat felt like it had bindings around it and I knew that if I tried to open my mouth nothing would leave it. I looked around my surrounding in horror realizing that this was it, I had no one and I couldn't yell for help. I don't know why I didn't think to yell for help before. I looked to Sirius and he was still unable to move, pure horror coursing through his eyes. I looked at him and mouthed 'I'm sorry,' before Snape raised his wand again and declared, "levicorpus."
My body lifted from the ground and I was no longer in control of my movements. I was paralyzed and mute. I had no idea what or who Aragog was but from the looks on the Slytherin's faces I knew it wouldn't be good. Panic started to rise in my body as we left the castle and started heading for the forbidden forest. I realized that whatever was waiting for me out there would probably be the last thing I see. I felt like crying but I felt so numb that the tears wouldn't come. From behind me I could barely make out the conversation between them, there was just a lot of snickering and victorious cheers.
We made our way deeper into the forest and with every step they made panic rose even more. I never had a chance to say goodbye to anyone, never had a chance to experience anything. I'd suddenly regretted the life I'd chosen for myself and wished that I had been more social and made more friends and that the last month with the Marauders had been the most fun I'd ever had in my life, even though being their friends was why I was now in this situation.
Even though the odds of me getting out of this situation are almost none I swear that if I make it out alive I'll change. I'll be more social, I'll make more efforts with my parents whom I've never gotten along with, hell, maybe I'll even try and get a boyfriend. A real boyfriend though, not what James and I are.
Without meaning to Sirius immediately flashed in my head when I thought of boyfriends. I shook the thought from my head, there's no way I was interested in Sirius that way, right? I mean, he'd become a good friend, someone I could confide in, someone who made me laugh. But there was no way that he'd ever be into me. Although I couldn't shake the memory from when he'd held onto my waist in the broom closet and how he smelled and his dark grey eyes-
"How much longer," Bellatrix's piercing voice broke through my thoughts and I was brought back to reality. Somehow it seemed to have gotten darker, I probably wouldn't be able to see my hand in front of my face.
"Don't be so impatient Bella, we're almost there," Snape snapped.
Silence passed as they walked for the next few minutes with me hanging in the air in front of them. I felt like they were using me as shield, as if they were afraid of what the forbidden forest held and that if something were to attack I would be the one that was sacrificed.
Suddenly I stopped moving and could no longer hear anyone's footsteps. I swallowed once I'd realized we'd reached our destination. "This is as far as we can go." Snape informed everyone. Slowly I felt myself being lowered to the ground and I thought that the spell had been lifted and I tried to run but realized I had no control over my body.
My body suddenly jerked and my legs started moving forward without my consent. I realized that whatever was waiting for me was too dangerous for them to face. I felt my heartbeat quicken as my eyes took in my surroundings. From my peripheral I could see things moving quickly but couldn't figure out what it was. I felt a liquid fall onto my shoulder but I couldn't turn my head to see what it was.
To my right I heard the ground giveaway to something as it walked towards me. I looked to my right and stopped breathing as I saw a gigantic spider walking slowly towards me. So this is how I'm going to die, I'm going to be killed by a giant spider.
I closed my eyes and braced myself for death. There was nothing I could do. I heard the spider nearing me and I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut. I was waiting for death to come, I could feel one of the spiders leg brush against me. And then suddenly I heard a loud booming voice, "what the bloody hell is going on here!"
My eyes flew open and the spider that I had felt against my arm had vanished and I felt the curse lift off of me and I turned around quickly to see Hagrid standing between me and the Slytherin's, a look of furry on his face. The Slytherin's didn't wait any longer before turning away from Hagrid and running quickly out of the forest.
"Don't think I didn't see yer face Malfoy! Dumbledore will be hearing about this," Hagrid shouted at them before turning to me. The furry left his face as concern replaced it. "Are you alright?" He asked me as he came lumbering towards me.
I could only nod as relief flooded me. I wasn't going to die I realized and fell to my knees. Hagrid rushed over to me, under his weight the ground shook as he neared me. In one swift motion he picked me up and held me close to his chest. I borrowed my face into his chest and realized that I was shaking. "What's yer name?"
"Avery Muze," I managed to croak out. My voice was weak as if I had been shouting for hours straight.
"Are you injured?" I tried to say no but my voice was lost and I shook my head. "Well I'll take you to Poppy just to be safe. When yer feeling better we'll go to Dumbledore."
I nodded my head against Hagrid. I felt drained of all my energy and only wanted to sleep. I was drifting off, the slight sway from Hagrid's step was oddly soothing and I was fighting against my eyelids. Right as I was about to drift off the sleep Hagrid yelled, "bloody hell."
My head jerked up and I looked ahead of me. Right outside of the edge of the forest I saw colors going back and forth. James and Sirius had made it down to the forest and were currently fighting the Slytherins. Snape was on the ground and motionless while Lucius, Bellatrix, and Regulus continued fighting James and Sirius. I could see James and Sirius growing tired from being outnumbered and having to block more curses than they could send.
"Stay here," Hagrid said as he set me down on the ground before running over to the fight. "That's it, I've had enough." Hagrid then grabbed an umbrella from the inside of his large jacket and waved it. A force field was put up and any spell that was sent to the barrier immediately disintegrated. "You lot," he said pointing a forceful finger at Slytherin. "Undo Snape's curse and go up to your rooms. I'll make sure Dumbledore hears about this tomorrow." The Slytherin's cursed at Hagrid but they levitated Snape and headed towards the castle. "And you two," Hagrid said rounding in on James and Sirius. "Why is it whenever there's trouble you two are always found at the scene?"
James stuffed his wand in his back pocket and shrugged at Hagrid, "trouble seems to find us."
Hagrid looked unamused at James's response, "don't think I wont be telling Dumbledore what happened tonight."
"Where's Avery? Is she alright?" Sirius asked Hagrid in a concerned voice.
"Yeah, she's right over there." Hagrid said pointing in my direction. Sirius's eyes found me and relief seemed to wash over his face as he ran towards me.
"Avery," he breathed as he knelt down besides me and put a hand on my shoulder. "I was so worried. Why didn't you run away you stupid girl," he smiled at me and I gave him a half hearted smile in return. "I was so worried that we wouldn't get to you in time. And when the Slytherins came running out of the forest and you weren't there I thought, well," Sirius stopped and swallowed hard as the reality of the situation came pounding down on him.
I tried to smile to assure him I was alright but instead I broke down crying and leaned my face against Sirius's shoulder, sobbing heavily. Sirius wrapped his arms around me and put one hand on the back of my head and rubbed my back as he tried to sooth me. "Let's get you inside," he said in a soft voice. He put his arms under my legs and picked me up, holding me against his warm chest.
"Take her to the infirmary," Hagrid instructed Sirius.
"Do you need help carrying her mate?" James asked Sirius as he followed behind Sirius towards the castle.
"No," Sirius said in finality.
I must've passed out as Sirius carried me to the hospital wing because next thing I knew Madame Pomphrey was hovering with curlers in her hair and a robe wrapped around her body. "What happened?" She demanded looking at Sirius and James.
"Slytherin," Sirius said darkly.
"What is with the rivalry. Every week it's something different with you two." Madame Pomphrey continued scolding the boys before she turned back to me. "Dear are you alright? What happened?"
"I'm fine," I managed to croak out. "I'm just tired."
Madame Pomphrey nodded at me before edging closer, "do you mind if I inspect you for any cuts or bruising?"
I nodded my head yes and Madame Pomphrey put an arm behind me to help me sit up as she examined me. After a few minutes she laid me back down and said, "just a few scratches which I can easily fix but aside from that she's fine. I'll have her stay here for the night just to rest. Let me just go get some ointment and a sleeping potion dear," she patted me lightly on the arm before scurrying off into another room.
"I'm so sorry," Sirius said immediately coming to my side and holding my hand. "You're freezing," he said in a worried voice. It was then I realized I was shaking slightly and my body was cold but I was almost too tired to care. "Take my sweater," Sirius offered as he removed the sweater from his body.
He tenderly helped me sit up as he helped me put the sweater on. Once the sweater was on he laid me back down carefully.
The sweater was large and came to about mid thigh on me. It hung off of one shoulder and smelled of Sirius. I gave him a grateful smile before I heard Madame Pomphrey come back.
"You two leave now and go back to your rooms. It's almost four in the morning and you'll be tired for classes." Madame Pomphrey said, shooing the boys out of the room.
"But-" Sirius argued.
"No buts Mr. Black, leave now or you'll be receiving detentions."
Sirius looked like he was going to fight her on the issue but gave a reluctant shrug and walked out of the room with James.
"Alright," Madame Pomphrey said turning back to me. "Drink this, it will help you sleep."
I took the bottle from her hands and drank the liquid. It tasted bitter and I winced slightly as the potion went down my throat. I set the bottle on my bedside table and immediately started feeling the effects. I blinked once and saw Pomphrey putting ointment on my cuts before my eyes closed and I fell asleep.
I awoke with a start and my eyes adjusted to the dark room. At first I was panicked because I didn't know where I was but then last nights memories came flooding back to me. I settled into my bed and looked around the room. From the window I could see the sun slowly rising. It was then I felt a heavy weight near my feet and looked down to see a large black dog resting by my legs. I let out a little shriek of fear. The sound awoke the dog and it stared back at me. I tried to remain calm, afraid the dog was going to attack me. As I continued to stare into its eyes I felt oddly comfortable, and the eyes looked so familiar...
I shook my head, I was starting to imagine things. Still, I had no idea where this dog came from. "Hi," I said to the dog in a hoarse voice. The dog lifted his head and his tongue fell out of his mouth as he gave me a goofy look. I couldn't help but giggle lightly. The dog then started crawling towards me and nudged my arm. I placed my arm over the dogs body and petted it gently. The dog seemed content and rested it's head on my stomach while looking at me. I smiled at the dog once more before tiredness came over me again and felt myself drift off to sleep.
I could feel the hot sun on my face and voices around me, although they sounded distant. I slowly opened my eyes and faces swirled in front of me.
"She's awake," I heard Sirius declare. "Avery, Avery, are you ok?"
"Give her space Mr. Black," Pomphrey scolded.
My eyes opened completely and adjusted to the light. Around me Pomphrey, Sirius and James were hovering looking at me with wide eyes.
"I want water and biscuits," I said in a raspy voice. All three of them let out little chuckles. I felt beside me and realized that the dog was no longer there. "Where's the-" I stopped from asking where the dog was, maybe I'd imagined it. I looked over at Sirius who looked like he was concealing a smile.
"Where's the what dear?"
"Nothing," I said quickly.
"Here's some water," James said shoving a glass of water into my hands. I gratefully took the cup and drank half of the water in one gulp. I wiped the back of my mouth with Sirius's sweater and sighed contently.
"How are you feeling dear?" Pomphrey asked in a soft voice as she looked at me.
"Fine, a bit hungry."
"Lucky for you Miss Muze lunch will be ready in a few short minutes." I looked behind James and Sirius and saw Dumbledore walking into the room. He stopped short at the end of my bed and looked at me over his half moon glasses. "Glad to see you're doing well, you gave Mr. Black and Mr. Potter quite the scare. From what I have heard you had quite the night. After lunch I was hoping we could meet and I can hear from you what happened if you're feeling up to it. And of course you'll be excused from any class you have missed. Do these terms seem acceptable Miss Muze?"
I nodded my head, "yes professor."
"Good," Dumbledore said with a small smile. "I'll see you in my office after lunch. The password is exploding bonbons." And with a flick of his robes he turned and left the room.
"You're free to go," Pomphrey said to me. "I'm sure Mr. Black and Mr. Potter will help you. If you feel unwell at all don't hesitate to come back."
I thanked Madame Pomphrey and pushed the blankets off of my body as I sat up in bed and put my shoes on. Sirius was at my side as if he was afraid I would collapse at any moment. I stood up and made my way out of the hospital.
"I retrieved this for you," Sirius said handing over my wand. I took it from him and put it in the waist band of my pants. I thanked him and we walked in silence to the Great Hall. Once in the Great Hall I suddenly felt self conscience. Everyone was in their uniforms and I stuck out in Sirius's sweater and pants. I didn't look over at the Slytherin table but I could feel the death glares boring into the back of my head as I sat down at the Gryffindor table and started piling my plate with food.
"What happened?" Sirius asked in a strained voice. I took a bite of my biscuit and looked at his plate which remained empty. When I'd finished chewing I paused for a few moments before gathering the strength to tell him what happened.
"They were taking me to Aragog." I managed to force out.
"What's Aragog?" Remus asked me. Obviously Sirius and James had told him about what happened last night.
"From what I remember it was a giant spider. They brought me to it so it would ki-" The word stopped short on my lips as I trembled at the thought, remembering how close to death I was. I looked up and all the Marauders looked pale as the realization of how close to death I was hit them.
"Why weren't you able to fight them?" Peter asked.
"I had lost my wand in the castle and they charmed me so that I had no control over my body."
"Who was the one controlling you?" Sirius asked.
"Snape," I whispered his name and felt hate radiating through my body. Never in my life could I say I honestly hated someone but in that moment I hated Snape. I hated for what he intended to do to me.
Sirius slammed his fists against the table, causing the plates to bounce. People who heard the noise stared at us in confusion but quickly lost interest and returned to their food. "I'll kill him, I'll bloody kill him."
"Sirius," I said placing a hand on his arm. My action caused him to stiffen slightly before his body seemed to relax. "I'm alive and lucky. There's no point dwelling on it. Dumbledore will punish them and they'll get what they deserve."
"They deserve to be sent to Azkaban," Sirius said roughly.
"Padfoot," Remus said in a warning tone.
Sirius seemed to tune out his friend as he helped himself to potatoes. He dug into them furiously and shoved a large spoonful into his mouth.
"I know a lot has happened Pads but you can't forget that we have Quidditch practice tonight. Saturday we play against Hufflepuff."
Sirius grunted as his response and the rest of the meal passed without anything else said. I tried to eat fast to avoid the awkwardness and grabbed a biscuit as I left the table. Sirius offered to come with me to Dumbledore's but I assured him that I could make it on my own. Along the way I noticed a lot of people staring at me and whispering, no doubt news had already broke on what happened. As I neared Dumbledore's office I saw that Lily Evans was waiting by the entrance. I wondered why she was standing there and looked at her quizzically once I'd approached her.
"Do you need Dumbledore's password?" I asked her.
"Oh no," she seemed shocked. "I was just er-making sure that you got here fine and all, I heard what happened."
Ah, she just wanted to know what happened. "Thanks for the concern but I'm fine and you can go back to lunch."
Lily looked nervous and her eyes darted between me and Dumbledore's gargoyle. "I just wanted to say that I thought you were really er-brave last night from what I heard. Anyone in your situation would've run away but you stayed."
"Thanks Lily," I said awkwardly.
There was a few moments of silence as Lily looked at the ground and shuffled nervously on her feet. "I also wanted to say I'm sorry for the other night at the party. I said some things that weren't very nice."
"It's alright," I said wanting this conversation to end. It was becoming more and more awkward.
"Right well, I'm glad that that's cleared up." Lily said clapping her hands together. "I think I'll head to lunch now, I'll see you around Avery."
I waved goodbye to Lily before saying, "exploding bonbons" and entered Dumbledore's office.
A/N: Alright I know this is a weird ending but it was going to be longer but then it would've been over 9,000 words so I decided to break it up into 2 chapters. So tell me what you guys think! Do you like the direction of the story? Do you think Sirius is too affectionate too soon? Do you like Avery/Sirius together? If you don't like anything let me know, and if you like anything let me know :) The chapter title song is by Thievery Corporation.
