Months passed and I finally returned. And I promise I'll finish this fanfic.
Sorry for my delay, but I'm here to stay!
I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'll post the next one really soon!
Chapter X – Almost a normal life
Almost a month had been gone since Harry left to his journey, September was knocking on the door desperately, announcing another year at school, or not.
Sarah still actually didn't have put much thought into school yet, and school without her friends seemed desperate and lonely. The Death Eaters had taken over, and the new headmaster? Kill me if I'm wrong, but it was now the one and only Severus Snape. Yeap, the man who killed Dumbledore was now in charge.
It was almost 1a.m. and no sign of sleep appeared in the blonde's face, who struggled with the decision she was about to make, flashes of her last conversation with her parents kept showing, encouraging her to go on.
~ Flash back ~
The Knight family was having dinner as the normal family they were, well, not quite. The only sound made in their fancy dinner room, was the cutlery touching the plates. Silence broke by Sarah's mother, Elizabeth, when she decided to pronounce herself.
"This cannot go on like this, Sarah. You must understand our decision. We just want what's best for you!" The fight between the beef and the potato looked more interesting to Sarah than her mother as she just kept playing with her food.
"Sarah, your mother is talking."
"And that doesn't mean I should listen and reply." The girl replied harshly to her father, James, comment. The potato got a little more smashed.
"I'm sorry you want to be out there in the world in some kind of sick adventure with your friends. But must I remind you that you almost got killed early this month at that wedding? Only Merlin knows how you survived, it was a mystery when you appeared at St. Mungus!"
"Sweetie, we can get you out of the country, of the radar, just give us a chance, this is the safest thing to do, you know that." Her father's voice was calm, unlike his wife's, it was a lost fight. "Ok…" That's all Sarah said.
"Go pack, dear. We'll fly right away to arrange everything and will be back in some hours to take you to Australia, oh, it's a lovely country!" They excused themselves of the table, apparating a second later.
"AUSTRALIA?" Sarah screamed after being left alone, it was too far away! She couldn't go! Her place was there, in London. Knowing that, she ran upstairs to her room, grabbing the enchanted suitcase so it could fit more than normal ones.
Everything she could see and think needed was now in her suitcase, among with sentimental objects like photos, she didn't plan to go back so there was no need to leave things there. "Eleanor!" The girl yelled while closing the suitcase.
A young house-elf appeared, bowing deeply. "Yes, miss Knight?"
"Please, take this to The Burrow, tell Mrs. Weasley I'll be there shortly and I will explain everything." Without questioning, the elf grabbed the suitcase and disappeared with a loud POP.
~ End of flashback ~
Now she was back to the present, there was no time to waste remembering her discussion and decision, it was made. And it was time to go; her parent's would be back soon. Picking up the first pen and paper she saw, Sarah started writing a note.
Mom, Dad,
I'm sorry, but I couldn't go through with your plan, and had to go. I belong out there, with my friends, in this fight. It's my too, and I should fight it with all my forces.
I promise I will be back alive, don't look for me, it won't be safe, hide as planned.
I love you.
Goodbye,
Yours Truly, Sarah.
The girl pulled herself together, now was not the time to cry, she must get going. Nowadays the Floo Network was being monitored by the Ministry, except a few houses, her own as an example.
Sarah took some Floo Powder and stepped into the fireplace, yelling loud and clear. "The Burrow!" She ashes faded away just in time before the Knights arrived home, she was gone.
-\\-
It was a shock to Mrs. Weasley when the house-elf appeared in her house, speaking quickly about Knight, home, ran, parents. But it was enough to make the kind woman prepare a cup of hot cocoa for the guest, sooner after Sarah arrived.
"Oh dear, come here." The older woman mentioned the couch , where they sat comfortably, Sarah taking the cup and drinking a bit. "Tell me what happened… We haven't heard from you in months…"
Sarah sighed deeply, taking another sip. "At the wedding, I covered for Harry and the others to escape, but I was hexed. Everything went blank; I cannot remember anything, until I woke up at St. Mungus. They didn't know who had taken me there, but if it had been someone from the Order, probably the person would have stayed with me. I think it was a guest, or someone who didn't want to get involved with the war. But anyway… When I woke up and was capable of telling my identity, one week had gone by, and my parents were called to the hospital. They absolutely freaked out! I was grounded in my own house, I couldn't leave, there was someone watching me all the time and the first chance I had to escape was today… My parents had the crazy idea to send me to Australia, to a safe house, they said it was the safest thing to do, it may even be so, but not the right and wisest. I told them I agreed, and when they let the guard off, I ran and came here…"
It was a lot of information to absorb, so no one said a word for a few minutes, and steps were heard coming down the stairs. Ginny had woken up. "Sarah, I heard what you said… I'm sorry we couldn't get you out of there…"
"Don't worry, Ginny, you know my parents, they're a little paranoid with their own child… Ever since… Well… We lost a sibling in the last war, they tried their best to protect me…" Sarah had never mentioned a relative who died, that was brand new information, but no one pushed her to tell.
"So… No word from Ron and the others?" Ginny shook her head while saying. "Well, now he is a vampire and lives on our loft. We came up with an excuse; he is very very sick and cannot go to school until he gets better." They laughed a little, not knowing if it was a good thing or not.
"Mrs. Weasley, I've been surprisingly thinking… And I want to go back to school."
"What? No way! It's insane, everybody knows you have deep ties with Harry and the others, you will be an easy target, we cannot intervene! Your parents would kill us!" Sarah touched the woman's arm gently.
"I know that… I'm willing to take the risk… We need someone on the inside and a way to connect the inside with the outside, and I think I have the perfect way."
-\\-
On the following morning, Sarah, Mrs. Weasley and Bill made their way to the Diagon Alley to buy school supplies. This year's list was just a little more macabre than usual. Muggle Studies was now obligatory, fun, innocent people being tortured. And the Defense against the Dark Arts was now Dark Arts, just magnificent.
Not many people had the guts to go out those days; it was too dangerous and tense outside, as the Death Eaters now walked around freely and fearlessly.
The first stop was on the bank, Gringotts Wizarding Bank, one of the safest places of all wizarding world. The Goblins kept working, stuffing their noses on the large books of contability.
As Mrs. Weasley waited at the door, Sarah and Bill approached the Goblin in charge, keeping their head high. Without a word, the girl showed her wand, the strange man analyzed the wand, then called another Goblin to walk their through.
Her family's vault was magnificently full of gold and precious items. Sarah took a bag of her pocked and started filling it with gold, lots of it, enough to feed three families for an entire year, and with extravagance. "Never knows when gold is needed, never knows…" She muttered, as Bill nodded briefly.
"Bill, there's no need to stop by your family's vault, there's plenty in here for them. I know how difficult these times are." Bill just smiled thankfully, he knew that his vault was almost empty.
Sarah was never a big fan of shopping, but today was an exception, she was dying to get out of there, and the tense atmosphere was suffocating her. She felt glad when Mrs. Weasley told her to go kill some time in Fred and George's store.
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes surely was the only place with a spark of happiness. It made the blonde girl feel warm and welcome. "FRED!" She yelled, running toward the twin, her favorite one.
The boy was caught off guard, but hugged her back, they have always been great friends, but since he opened his store, there wasn't much time to catch up.
Once they reached the room on the back, and George joined them, Sarah told what happened. "You ran away? I guess we really are a good influence for you! If we knew… We would have gone to rescue you, just like we did with Harry, remember Fred?"
For the first time in a month, she was able to laugh whole heartily , God, how she missed those guys.
"Oh, and I'm thinking about going back to Hogwarts. You know, kill some ugly guys and restore the order in that mess. ." They seemed apprehensive, but smiled. "It will be dangerous, without Dumbledore and the Order to help; you will be almost on your own. "
"I have an idea, but I need your help, take me to Hogsmeade."
-\\-
No other word was needed, adventure was the twin's middle name, or was it trouble? Anyway, Hogsmeade was empty as the curfew hour came close, nobody was allowed to go out or walk on the streets, so no one dared.
Hooked and cautiously, Sarah led the way to the infamous pub: The Hog's Head. This place once was point of reunion of the DA, so she knew the way.
The only human being inside the pub was the owner, who stood in the shadows cleaning a cup they all knew wasn't going to get clean. With Fred and George following close, Sarah stood before the man, who didn't look up.
"I need your help." He opened the door to the back, going first, but leaving it open so the trio could follow him. Once on the light, the resemblance was remarkable, it was just like seeing Dumbledore again, well, Albus Dumbledore.
"Aberforth Dumbledore. Your brother told me about you once. In desperate times, family should stick together and work as only one. Those were his last words for me. I need your help." The old man remained silent, staring at the portrait of a young woman.
"I need do make a passage between the castle and the outside walls. No one can be trusted, but Albus trusted you, so I believe that so can I."
"What makes you believe that a little girl like you can go inside the castle and pull something like this off? The Death Eaters are inside there, you'll be caught. Go home and hide, that's the best thing to do." His eyes remained lost in the portrait; the woman smiled and waved her head at him.
"I don't think I can, I know I can. My best friends are out here, fighting day after day to give us a chance to live again, to give the kids a chance to grow, build families. This fight is ours too. This is our world, Aberforth, you've lost your family, and so have I. There's no hope, there's no way but to fight. You can help me, or stay closed up in your mind, in your endless suffering. What would she want you to do? If that's the side you want to show her, the coward one, that's fine by me." Sarah turned away to leave, grabbing Fred by the arm, but the similar voice of Dumbledore stopped her. "Fine, we'll try. Sit, let's think of something."
A smile appeared in her face, wide and happy, but she contained it before turning to the man and taking a seat at the table, with Fred and George.
"We need to find a weak spot and who better than the two guys who walked through every passage in the castle? Fred? George? Any idea?" The twins stared at each other, smiling, they always knew what the other was thinking.
"Under the castle. We can create a passage under the castle, between the pub and the Room of Requirement. But I don't think the Room is capable of altering the outside world, so we need to dig ourselves." Fred and George said, one completing the phrase of the other.
"That's what magic's for, my dear friend. That's what magic is for."
-\\-
The last few days had been so agitated that Sarah didn't even see September come. It was time to leave, finally…
At 11:30a.m. the train left the King Cross Station, initiating another adventure in the castle, but this time, only Ginny and Sarah had returned. They walked around with baggage in hand, looking for a familiar face, because empty places there was a lot, since not many people had returned.
It was after some minutes that they saw the shiny hair of Luna Lovegood, who sat next to Neville Longbottom. It was so nice to see friends again.
"Neville, Luna! It's so nice to see you! I thought you weren't coming this year." Ginny said, while the girls put away the luggage. "And miss the party? I wouldn't." The boy said, something about him was just… Different this year.
Sarah sat across Neville, with Ginny beside her, quietly she whispered while pointing her wand to the door. "Muffliato." The attention turned to her, who got a little closer.
"I'm working with people in the Order to make a connection between the castle and the outside. This year is going to be really different, so there's no guarantee we will be anywhere near safe. Will you help me?" The couple nodded, Ginny already knew the plan, so she helped Sarah fill them in.
The talk was interesting, but suddenly the train stopped, making the group jump with wand in hands. Doors being opened abruptly could be heard from a long distance, and steps grew closer to their cabin.
Two Death Eaters soon got to them, opening the door with such force that the window trembled a little. They seemed surprised to see the group, especially Yaxley, the same Death Eater Sarah had a previous love story, just kidding. He got closer, looking down to her, a sick smile appearing on his face.
When he was two steps away, Neville stood in front of Sarah, wand firmly in hand. "He is not here. Now go." The other Death Eater, who kept his mask on, pulled Yaxley by the arm, murmuring something while doing so, and they left.
"I hate those guys!" Neville said while closing the door, Sarah patted him on the arm while sitting, her voice returning slowly. "We will be alright, mate, we will."
The trip came to an end, not as pleasant as expected, since the little visit the climate was tense, and quiet, even during the way in the carriages, no one said a word.
At the gate, the students were being inspected by the headmaster himself, alongside with Filch. One by one was poked by Snape's wand, Sarah's turn soon arrived, and she reluctantly stood in front of the former potion master.
"My, my. Miss Knight, what a pleasure. No friends this year, hm? Seems like it will be an interesting year. Come to my office after dinner." She rolled her eyes, making her way to the castle with Neville and the others.
The castle was darker and scarier than ever, the ghosts wandered around more lifeless, making everyone shivers at their presence. Or perhaps it was because of the Dementors wandering around the castle.
The decoration at the Great Hall, once warm and cherishing, was now sinister and gloomy, the ceiling still reflected the sky, but the walls and candles were all black. Once everyone took their seat, the headmaster rose from his chair, glass in hand.
"Welcome to our new school. This year comes with great changes as you all can see. The Defense Against the Dark Arts is now no longer part of our curriculum, instead we will be teaching you how to master the beautiful Art we so tried to avoid. This year's professor will be Amycus Carrow, also made Deputy Headmaster, with his sister, Alecto Carrow, who will be teaching Muggle Studies, that is mandatory to all classes. Let's all have a pleasant year, to the feast."
His voice was so calm and low, but let the students frightened, while others smiled and nodded in approval. She felt the anger growing inside her, her face acquired a noticeable tone of slight red, that faced when she felt Neville's hand on hers.
The feast, if you could call it that, was totally unequal, since the Slytherin house had more food than the Gryffindors. Sarah looked at the younger students, who didn't know if they could eat, so she pushed her own plate to a little boy, who thanked quietly.
Sarah looked around, scanning the room, the teachers had not changed much, except for the two new ones, and the others did not seem very happy with the new changes. The students, not a lot, I must add, were quietly eating.
She could feel eyes on her, two coming from Snape, and another two coming from the Slytherin table. Blue ones. Great, what was he doing there? He said he wasn't coming back!
As the feast ended, the students excused themselves and made their way to the dormitory, but Sarah remained there, staring at her watcher intensely, gaze that kept being held.
"Miss Knight, shall we?" The voice of Severus Snape made her wake up, so she stood up, and followed in to his new office.
And you could add a huge NEW to the office. It was now filled with potions and ingredients, those who replaced the former shiny items Dumbledores possessed, even Fawkes was gone. "Like my new office?"
"It's gross just like you." She replied, taking a seat in the chair in front of the desk, the Headmaster was already sitting. "Now, Miss Knight, straight to business. Where's Potter?"
"Do you really think I'd be here if I knew? Well, I thought you were smart, Severus, obviously I was wrong and you're dumb just like that noseless guy." She could almost swear she saw a smile appear on his lips, well, almost, since it was Severus Snape we are talking about. Their relationship that once was a nice one, had faded away, he couldn't be trusted.
"I think you know the effect of Veritaserum, Miss Knight. And I think we can spare me from making more after using it on you." She rolled her eyes, she could feel him trying to enter her mind, but she had practiced Occlumency while being held captive in her own house.
"I don't know, Sevy, so let's do us both a favor and save our time. Is that all, headmaster?" Snape smirked and motioned the door, opportunity Sarah took gratefully to leave.
It was only the first night and she felt like going crazy. She still had to meet the new professors and avoid a certain Slytherin prince. It wasn't going to be so hard… Or was it?