Harry Potter

and the

Daughter of Darkness

Chapter 10

Sirius Remembered

by Ri-kun

Fleur did indeed arrive the next morning. Mrs. Weasley greeted her rather cooly as she drifted through the front door to greet Bill with a warm kiss. Arthur Weasley was a bit more welcome with her, but Harry noticed he too seemed stiff around them. None of the Weasley family was very happy about the engagement, he could see.

Arthur was surprised to find Rayne there, but quickly extended a hand in welcome. Harry was glad to see at least one person he knew not treat her with suspicion. Ron and Hermione's questions about her the previous night had left him wondering if she would be able to stay here. Mr. Weasley simply nodding when Harry explained the situation to him, and granted his blessing to stay. He was quite shocked to hear of the recent development at Surrey, but didn't stick around to hear the full version of events.

"I'm terribly sorry, Harry!" he said, munching on a bit of toast as he dashed out the front door. "But it's been madness at the office recently, and I really can't stay. You can fill me in this evening when I get home. I've insisted on taking Friday evening off so we can celebrate your birthday! There'll be time to talk then."

Harry had completely forgotten about his birthday. Mrs. Weasley assured him it would be no trouble whatsoever, and even asked him who he would like to come. The first person that came to mind was Rayne. He had no idea how long she was going to be staying here, and hadn't gotten the nerve up to ask. Mrs. Weasley began naming off people Harry knew, including Professor Lupin, Hagrid, Tonks, and several others. Mad-Eye Moody, she explained, was far too busy at the moment. He'd been called back into active duty by the Ministry to help train new Aurors. That, and the work he did for the Order, left him with little to no free time.

"Yeah," Ron added. "And besides that, you wouldn't want him showing up anyway. He'd insist on jinxing all your gifts to make sure there weren't any booby traps!"

Mrs. Weasley glared at him, and while her back was turned, Harry had a funny vision of Mad-Eye dive-bombing the cake Mrs. Weasley said she was baking to search it for a concealed basilisk egg. It took him a minute to calm down enough and whisper to Rayne what was so funny. By the time he was finished, however, she was doubling over in her seat with laughter.

Hermione, meanwhile, had been watching the windows like a starved hawk all morning. Each time something moved outside, even as small as a morning bird passing by, she jumped up out of her seat and dashed over to it, only to sit down a moment later with a very morose look on her face. She'd been anxious about the O.W.L.s since they woke up, and the strain showed all over her face.

Ron was taking his time eating breakfast, so as to enjoy the show. When he finally couldn't hold his laughter in any longer, Hermione responded by getting up and leaving the room. Their eyes met for just a moment as she stormed out, and Ron caught the exchange. Pretending to not care, he attacked his sausages with a ferocious vigor worthy of Fluffy the three-headed dog! Harry sighed, and rose to his feet, giving Rayne an apologetic look on his way out. Hermione was sitting down in the drawing room in a chair far to the corner. She didn't look up as Harry approached, but began speaking as soon as he got near enough.

"Hermione..."

She cut him off before he could continue, however. "Oh, come off it, Harry!" she spat. "We both know he meant every bit of it!"

Harry felt very confused. "What's wrong?" he wondered, hoping that asking wouldn't lead to a row, because Hermione looked ready for one.

"I'm just so sick of him!" she growled. "All he ever talks about is his precious Phlegm; about how her hair shines, how her eyes glimmer in the moonlight, how her feet don't seem to really touch the ground as she glides effortlessly through the room!"

Harry didn't think that sounded like Ron at all. "Are you sure you aren't talking about Bill?"

He'd meant it to be funny, but the look she shot at him silenced the laughter in his throat. "All Ron ever does is follow her around like a sick puppy. Ginny thinks it's sad too, in case you didn't know. And then, last night, all he wanted to talk about was Rayne!"

"Rayne!?" Harry wondered. What had Ron said about her? Then, something else struck him. "Hang on a second. When were you and Ron talking last night? I thought you both went to bed after you left my room."

Hermione didn't answer, but he thought he saw a bit of red creep up her neck. Before Harry could press the issue any further, Rayne called to him from the kitchen. "Harry," she shouted. "You've got mail!"

"It's our O.W.L.s, mate!" Ron said, racing into the room. "Hermione's came, too!" he added, almost as an afterthought.

Hermione snatched hers from his hand at once, and nearly tore the envelope in half trying to get to it. Ron and Harry each took their time opening theirs. Harry was suddenly feeling extremely nervous. He'd been doing his best all last year to try and get top grades, so as to begin a career as an Auror after Hogwarts. He now felt very empathetic towards Hermione's anxiety. Sighing, Harry unfolded the letter and perused the top part, after receiving a nod of good luck from Rayne.

Hogwarts School

of

Witchcraft and Wizardry

Ordinary Wizarding Level

Results

Passing Grades Failing Grades

Outstanding -- O Poor -- P

Exceeds Expectations -- E Dreadful -- D

Acceptable -- A Troll -- T

Harry James Potter

Astronomy P

--

Care of Magical Creatures E

--

Charms O

--

Defense Against the Dark Arts O

--

Divination A

--

Herbology E

--

History of Magic D

--

Potions O

--

Transfiguration E

--

It is my duty as head of Gryffindor house to inform you that you've been nominated for the title of Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.

Congradulations!

Sincerely,

Deputy Headmistress,

Minvera McGonagal

Harry gulped, and looked over his grades to make sure he hadn't read them wrong. Failing Astronomy was no big loss, especially considering how the exam had been interrupted halfway through by Umbridge's attempts to have Hagrid arrested. Harry still felt the occasional surge of anger at the injustice of it, despite the fact that she failed miserably, and was dragged off into the Forbidden Forest not long after! Plus, having passed Care of Magical Creatures with an Exceeds Expecations only served to credit Hagrid in the end. Though, Harry mused silently, he was seriously considering not taking the subject this year! There had been enough adventures there to last him a lifetime.

Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts, he'd both received an Outstanding in. That put him one step closer to his goal of being an Auror. Divination, he could live without, but Herbology, he couldn't afford to let go, no matter how many times Professor Sprout made them work with the Venemous Tentaclua. And it was no short of relief to Harry knowing that he'd never have to put up with Professor Binns droning voice again.

What truly shocked him, however, was that he'd passed his Potions grade with such flying colors. There seemed to be something to that, though he couldn't guess at what. Perhaps, he reasoned, it had all been on account of the lack of Professor Snape in the room. Even Neville, he remembered, had been more at ease, and turned in a passable result by the end. Still, something worried him about it, enough that he couldn't truly enjoy coming out of Transfiguration with an Exceeds Expectations. Had Dumbledore somehow...

"What did you get, Harry?" Ron pressed, leaning over his shoulder.

Harry pulled back a little, and grinned. "Not until I see yours!"

Ron looked put out, but reluctantly handed over the parchment with his grades on. Ron had faired more or less well in his classes; his Charms O.W.L. had been a disaster, having mutated a teacup into a mushroom somehow. Most of his grades were either right on par, or just below Harry's. The exception being that Ron didn't have any O's!

"How'd you fair, Hermione?" Ron asked, looking up from Harry's results.

Hermione was still standing off to the side, and had managed to place some distance between herself and Rayne. The way she was standing, Harry thought she suspected her of trying to read over her shoulder. It wouldve been funny, had Harry not found the scene highly irritating. Ron didn't wait for her to respond, and quickly snatched the parchment out of her hands. Surprisingly, Hermione didn't fight back, but waited with a sort of anxious look on her face as he read through them.

Ron looked up at her. "How'd you manage to get an Exceeds Expectations in Astronomy!? None of us passed that test, so how did you do it?"

"I was really worried about that one," she moaned, biting her lower lip. "There just wasn't enough time to fill in everything, what with Hagrid trying to escape, and the Ministry Stunning him! And after poor Professor McGonagal got hit by all six of them, I could barely think at all!"

Harry peered over Ron's shoulder to have a glimpse. "That's the only score you've got that isn't a perfect O!" he teased, shaking his head. "Hermione, you've done better than all of us put together!"

Rayne was looking at all of them, meanwhile, with a perplexed expression. "Just what sort of exams are these?" she wondered. "Why did a teacher get attacked during an Astronomy exam? And who tried to escape?!"

Harry found himself laughing. "It's a really long story," he told her. "I'll have to tell it to you sometime."

"It was horrible!" Hermione said, glaring at him. "Professor McGonagal could've really been hurt! And so could have Hagrid!"

"Yeah, but they're all fine now," Ron pointed out. "How'd you think McGonagal's doing these days? She seemed alright when school ended, but still! Six Stunning spells to the chest!"

"She must be fine," Harry noted, pointing at his scores. "She left a message saying I've been made Quidditch captain."

"What?!" Ron gasped, looking farther down. "I didn't even see that. Well, congradulations, I guess. Come on, and lets show these to mum. The sooner she gets a look at them, the less I have to hear her yell."

Mrs. Weasley, however, seemed very chipper with Ron's results. Of course, she also managed to point out that Fred and George had only gotten a total of three O.W.L.s, which possibly helped his case. Harry and Hermione were both congradulated, especially Harry, given him being named Quidditch captain, and were offered extra sausages. Harry shared one with Rayne, who thanked him before quietly snaking her hand around his. Together, they sat there close to one another, barely touching.

It sent ripples down his spine.

After breakfast, Harry wanted to show Rayne around the rest of the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley provided the chance for them to slip away by fussing over the state of Ron's hair. It'd gotten very shaggy over the last several months, and she was determined he wouldn't leave the kitchen before she'd given him a proper haircut. Hermione, on the other hand, was going over her results again and again, muttering to herself about classes and spellbooks. Ginny was nowhere to be found, so the two of them had the garden to themselves as they walked along hand in hand.

"You have some interesting friends," she noted, as they watched Crookshanks chase gnomes back and forth. "Hermione doesn't like me very much, though."

"What?" Harry tried to think of a lie quickly, but Rayne was one step ahead of him.

"Dhampir have very good hearing," she informed, giving him a coy smile. "I overheard the whole conversation last night."

"Oh." Harry was embarassed, both for what Hermione had suggested, and the fact that he now felt he hadn't done a very good job of defending her.

"Champion of the wizarding world, huh? That's a pretty high honor to have."

Now Harry was really embarassed. But before he could say anything else, Rayne spoke again.

"So," she said, turning her head away slightly. "Do you believe I'm a Death Eater, Harry?"

"No," he said at once. "And neither does she, really. If the Weasleys thought for a second you were, they'd have never let you in here. Hermione is just being Hermione, really; she gets suspicious about everything!"

"Besides," he added. "You don't have the Mark."

That got her attention. "The Dark Mark," he explained, pushing her sleeve up ever so slightly. "I've seen your arms bare about a hundred times now. There's never been any sign of a Mark there. Plus, you told me once that you couldn't have any kind of tattoo markings. Of course, I really don't know how it gets there, so it could be magical..."

"What are you talking about?" she wondered, pushing up her sleeves. "A Dark Mark?"

"Right," Harry said. "Most people don't know. It's how Death Eaters recognize one another. They have this mark on their arms, to show they work for Voldemort."

"That sounds..." she said, pausing. "Creepy! Now, I kinda feel bad about making you get that Hungarian Horntail!"

Harry had completely forgotten about that! He'd need to be very careful about where he changed clothes while he was at the Burrow. Somehow, he doubted Mrs. Weasley's patience with Rayne would last much longer if she knew.

Rayne was looking at him closely now, and Harry found himself wanting to kiss her. Each time before had been because of sheer impulse. He hadn't thought about it, but reacted on instinct. Now, she was watching his eyes, and he found himself leaning forward. There was no way to stop, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. His mind was racing, though, and refused to shut up. Rayne was less than an inch away now!

BANG!

The door to the back of the Burrow slammed shut, and Ron came storming out towards them with a furious glare in his eyes. Harry thought perhaps for a second he was angry at them, attempting to make out on his fence without permission. Then he got a look at Ron's new haircut, and fought not to laugh. His mother had trimmed it down to the point that it nearly touched his scalp in places. The thickest part was on the top, but even that wasn't saying too much. Having had several bad haircuts from his Aunt Petunia, Harry knew better than to laugh out loud, but it was very hard. In truth, it didn't look too bad. His ears, however, stuck much too far out now, making Ron resemble a house-elf.

"Mum wants to know if Rayne will help her with the laundry," he mumbled, looking down at the ground. "Sorry about this," he added. "But Ginny's not around right now. I think she snuck off to send a letter to one of her boyfriends!"

"That's fine," Rayne said, and headed for the house. "After several days of fighting bloodsuckers, laundry doesn't sound so bad. See in a little while, Harry!"

Ron watched as Rayne headed inside, then turned to face Harry. "Don't say it!" he stated, before Harry could open his mouth. "I know it looks horrible. My ears stick out like a bloody house-elf! Mum wouldn't stop until she nearly shaved me bald, though."

"I wouldn't say that!" Not aloud, anyway, he added, silently. "Hermione can probably fix it. Why don't you go inside and ask her?"

Ron grumbled. "She's being such a prat recently. I'd be afraid of walking off with something worse! D'you know she keeps accusing me of fancying Phlegm! I keep trying to explain it to her, but she won't listen. It just sort of hits me, when she walks into the room. I've gotten a lot better, but every now and then, she'll catch me by surprise."

"At least there's no Yule Ball this time," he offered. "No chance of you asking her out." A thought occured to him. "Or, have you?"

Ron turned as red as his hair. "No, I haven't!" he growled. "And why aren't you mooning after her like the rest of us. The twins don't even both trying to hide it when they're over here with laundry for mum to do! I can't see how Bill stands it, really."

Harry looked over to where Rayne had just left. "Maybe he really is in love with her," he said, thoughtfully. "Maybe being part veela has nothing to do with it?"

Ron nodded. "She showed us a picture of her parents. Phlegm, I mean Fleur, and her father is a dumpy old fart. I mean, her mum's pretty much what you'd expect and all, but I don't see how she wound up with someone who resembled Cornelius Fudge's distant cousin. They're coming here next summer, by the way. Mum got Bill and her to agree on a July wedding, so we can be there before school starts. I can't wait to leave for Hogwarts; listening to her and mum argue about wedding plans is driving me Bat-Boogey Hex crazy!"

Soon, their conversation turned to more serious things; what the Daily Prophet was saying about Death Eaters, why there had been no mention of Harry's disappearance, and of course, what Voldemort was doing right now.

"Any ideas?" Ron asked, suddenly. "I mean, have you been getting any weird turns like last time, seeing what he'd doing and all?"

"No," Harry said at once. "And it's really strange. I couldn't keep him out last time, but now... it's like he's there, but it's gone all quiet."

"I overheard Dad talking with Dumbledore," Ron said, looking around. "He was asking questions about it, wanting to know whether it would be safe to... you know, bring you here. Not that he thought you'd murder us all in our sleep or something. I think what he was really asking was whether you'd been getting those same dreams as before. The one you had before Christmas saved his life, remember! Dumbledore seems to think You-Know-Who's been doing his best to block you out."

"Dumbledore's been here?" Harry wondered. "When?"

"All the time," Ron shrugged. "He comes by every couple of days. It's usually Order business, which means Mum won't let me stick around to hear. I managed to nick a couple of Extendable Ears from Fred and George's room, though. They helped out some. Dumbledore said something about You-Know-Who trying to posess you down in the Department of Mysteries, but it backfired."

"Yeah," Harry muttered, remembering the pain of having Voldemort in his mind, as well as seeing Sirius once again fly through the black Veil.

"So, you really hurt You-Know-Who then?" Ron pressed. "He couldn't stay in your head for very long?"

"No," Harry said, rubbing his scar. It wasn't bothering him, but thinking about that time gave him a headache.

"Blimey!" Ron went on, oblivious to his discomfort. "That's gotta be something! I mean, you were popping in and out of his mind all last year, but he couldn't stand being in yours for more than a second or two. D'you think that's got something to do with the prophecy?"

"No idea," he admitted, bring his hand away from the scar. "Rayne knows about it, by the way. She overheard us talking last night, including the part where Hermione thought she was a Death Eater!"

Ron had the descency to look embarassed. "Sorry about that, mate!" he said quickly. "But talking of Rayne, do you mind if I asking you a private sort of question? Mate to mate sort of thing."

"Alright," Harry said, wondering where this would lead. Ron cleared his throat and raised himself to where he towered over Harry. "Is there... you know, anything going on between you two? You and Rayne, I mean!"

Harry considered being honest, but decided at the last second that discretion was by far the better part of valor. "We'd just friends," he quickly answered, hoping his eyes didn't betray anything. "Nothing more. She was someone to talk to when I was stuck with the Dursleys. And," he added. "She did save me from those vampires."

"Good point," Ron said. "I thought maybe it was something like that. Cuz, you know..."

And then Ron's face grew very serious. "If you got shagged before I did, I swear I'd have to kill you!"

Harry was suddenly very glad that it was summer holiday, and Ron could not use magic against him.

The next several days passed without too great incident. That is, if one didn't consider Molly Weasley fluttering about in a huff, mumbling under her breath like a Hippogriff with it's wings clipped. Bill and Fleur had taken to spending as much time with one another as possible, usually attached at either the hip or lip! Arthur Weasley was rarely seen these days, except in the mornings or evenings. His promise to hear Harry's whole story was put on hiatus. Mrs. Weasley finally slowed down long enough to explain that he'd been promoted.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Harry!" she exclaimed, when Harry inquired. "I thought you already knew. But it's such good news, after all; Arthur's been promoted!"

That did take him back. "To what?" he wondered. Surely, Harry thought, not Minister of Magic, since Lupin had said someone named Rufus Scrimgeour had taken Fudge's place.

"Department of Muggle Security," she declared, breaking his train of thought. "He's been fussing with Muggle objects for years, the Ministry decided to leave him in charge of a whole department. Arthur's got twelve whole people under him, now, and they work to protect Muggles from You-Know-Who! It's actually a very big responsibility, which of course is the reason why he hasn't been in much. But I've checked, and he's swore to me that it's been marked down for him to take the night off of your birthday. So, everything is good to go, dear!"

Arthur Weasley did show up early in time for Sirius' memorial. Molly decided to hold it on the night before his birthday, since according to her, turning sixteen should be a happy occasion. It struck him as odd that she'd be willing to arrange something like this. To Harry's recollection, Molly had never gotten along well with his godfather. Things became a bit clearer as he was introduced to a small table dresser left far down the hallway. There were three candles there, one Harry assumed, for Sirius. Molly caught him staring as she came through with a bundle of folded clothes, and smiled sadly.

"The others are for my two older brothers," she explained, straightening them. "They were killed during the first war, while I was still at Hogwarts. I remember my mother coming to get me, so we could attend their funerals."

She made a small sound, and covered her mouth quickly. "A day doesn't go by that I don't think of them. It's terrible, really, how war seems to take away the best of us all. Oh, they would have loved having you around, Harry. Gryffindors to the core, they were; full of brash and boldness, and always ready to do the right thing."

And then, Harry couldn't help but note, they'd died. Just as Sirius had died trying to protect him.

"No one should forget the people they've lost," she muttered, before moving on. "No one."

Harry spent the rest of the night sitting very close to Rayne. Ginny was very friendly towards the both of them, unlike Hermione, who still refused to really get along with her. Rayne didn't seem to mind, although she confessed in private before others started showing up that Molly had grilled her on her past. She'd left out a few details, admittedly, but mostly Mrs. Weasley had wanted to know how they became friends.

"She almost made it sound like I was up to no good," Rayne finished, looking a little amused. "I think she's afraid for your virtue, or something."

Harry blushed, and looked the other way. "Ron's mum can be a little..."

"Overprotective," Rayne offered, grinning. "I got that, and it's really not that big a deal. Besides," she added, leaning in close. "How do you know I'm not a threat to your virtue?"

In spite of the subdued atmosphere, it took a very long time for Harry to stop blushing. Members of the Order came in one after the other, first having to pass the checkpoint questions Arthur Weasley set up. Hagrid got stumped on one, and spent several minutes trying to assure everyone that he really wasn't a Death Eater, and only needed a moment to collect his thoughts. Ginny finally stood up and led him to a nearby foot stool that'd been magically reenforced to support his size and weight. Hagrid grinned cheerily as he laid eyes on Harry, but thankfully, Ron's mother came in a moment later with several bottles of firewhiskey and a cup for each of them. Harry didn't feel like answering questions as to where he'd disappeared to just yet.

He watched as each cup was filled, before floating to their prospective owners. Harry noted that everyone in the room who was underage had considerably less than others. Even Rayne, who should have been of age, had the same ammount as he. She simply nodded when he glanced at her glass, and raised it along with everyone else. Harry's was the last to go up, as he hadn't been paying attention.

"To Sirius," Professor Lupin said quietly. "And to everyone else who has given their lives to fight the Dark!"

"Here! Here!" Hagrid called out, before downing his in one gulp.

Harry felt a lump rise up in his throat as he swallowed. Though it was only a spot, the firewhiskey still burned its way down his throat. Rayne drank hers without so much as batting an eye, while Ron had to have Hermione clap him on the back.

"The twins both said they couldn't make it," Mrs. Weasley whispered to him, as the room began to break up into various groups. "They had some kind of emergency at the shop just before closing time, and I said that it'd be better if they didn't try traveling after nightfall. Too dangerous, you see. But they swore to be here for your birthday tomorrow, Harry. You are turning sixteen, after all!"

Harry thanked her, and wandered off to be by himself. He noticed, as he walked past, that Professor Lupin was looking intently over to where Tonks stood. His eyes never moved an inch from her face. Tonk was looking a little more grey than usual, but her hair still retained a bit of pink here and there. It was almost as if she'd grown older overnight, and didn't quite make it.

Wondering what was wrong, Harry wandered down to the end of the hallway where the table dresser was sitting. More candles had been added to it, to the point that it almost looked on fire. Sirius' candle still hung out farther than the others, only now it had company. The thought made Harry's chest tighten painfully.

There was a drop of firewhiskey left in his goblet, and Harry strained to get every last drop out. As he did, a pair of hands slid around his mid-section, pulling him in close. He didn't bother looking up, as it could only be Rayne. She held him there as he stared into the candlelight, letting each individual flame burn into his memory. Each one meant that someone had lost somebody, that he was not along in his grief. Rather than take comfort in it, this only served to remind Harry of what lay ahead.

Neither could live while the other survived!

Rayne seemed to be reading his thoughts. Turning him around, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips, then pulled something out of her coat pocket. "I snuck it out of there when nobody was watching," she said, holding up a near-full bottle of firewhiskey. "Shall we?"

Harry thought for a moment, then took the arm she offered. They wound up settling on the roof with a wide span of stars to look at. Rayne had her glass with him, and filled Harry's before giving a toast of her own.

"To victory!" she said, raising hers up high. "And to living life, for as long as we may have it!"