A/n: Alright, approaching the end… Read and Review!!!!
Chapter 13:
Sarah slept until dinner. When her eyes opened a crack she noticed the flickering glow that suggested the only light in the room came from a candle. She groaned a little; her head pounded like it always did after a near complete magical draining. Pushing herself roughly into a sitting position, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, covering her mouth with a hand as she yawned. She spied a glass of water on the bedside table and took a long, deep gulp, draining it.
She stood after a few minutes of sitting silently and made her way to the door, not bothering to get changed. There was only one thing on her mind; a decent meal. Sure, there were grass stains and smudges of soot all over her clothes, as well as smatterings of blood on her sleeves from when she had roughly yanked the sword from falling Death Eater bodies… Sarah thought it was better she changed her shirt, at least.
She pulled an emerald top from her trunk, replacing the once brown shirt in a few, quick moments. Sarah yawned, eyeing the bed hungrily, but shook her head to herself. She needed food, sooner, rather than later. Sarah trumped down to the dining hall, her mood darkening as she took each step.
She didn't know what to expect when she entered the dining hall, but she knew it would probably involve whispers and finger pointing.
She wasn't disappointed; as she entered the room all heads turned in her direction, and a tentative applause started from the head of the Gryffindor table, spreading across the room, filling every corner; except, of course, the Slytherin table. Sarah shook her head, glancing about the room, noticing the figures standing at the walls; an honour guard of Aurors.
She spied Tonks standing behind Amelia, who sat between Harry and Ron, and gave her a quick wink. The metamorphagus grinned and gave a little wave. Mad Eye Moody was standing three Aurors away, his watchful electric blue eye whizzing around the room in search of a potential threat. She caught his eye and nodded, a silent thanks for saving her life. He responded with a slight incline of his head, accepting the gratitude without a word.
Sarah had almost made it to her seat when she heard a whisper from the Hufflepuff table. It was a fifth year boy, who glanced furtively around before speaking to a girl next to him. "If we'd just given You Know Who that Slytherin chick then Joseph wouldn't be in the infirmary right now."
Sarah narrowed her eyes and sped up, ignoring the questioning look Alanna sent her way as she walked past. When she reached the teacher's table she spoke quietly to Dumbledore. "How many are dead?"
He looked her over with a curious expression. "None. We were very, very lucky."
Sarah nodded before muttering a silent thanks to the gods. She turned to face the assembly of students and Aurors alike. "Just so everyone knows, Voldemort- Stop wincing at the name, it won't bite- was here for me, not Amelia. She was just a ploy to get me alone." She held up a hand to stop the mutters that spread throughout the hall like wildfire, her gaze drifting over Hermione, Harry, Ron and the rest of the Gryffindors as they sent her silent encouragement. "That does not, however, mean that the fault of those injured falls upon anyone but the Death Eaters and Voldemort. They committed the act; it is them to blame for those lying in the infirmary right now. But-" she continued, her voice turning hard. "Do not allow this attack to scare you into fleeing. Just this morning, in the Daily Prophet, there were reports of three attacks on wizarding families by Death Eaters, and a further five suspected attacks that are yet to be confirmed. You are, by all means, safest here, in Hogwarts. Now, eat up."
Sarah ignored the stares she got as she walked back towards the Gryffindor table, sitting with her head down next to Alanna and Hermione. She gave Amelia a brave grin and served herself some steak, mashed potato and steamed vegetables, topping it all off with gravy. She was about to take a bite of her potatoes when spidery writing appeared in the side of the mound facing her. Our associates would like a word after dinner. Sarah looked up to see Dumbledore watching her. She gave a miniscule nod and scraped off the message, digging into her food zealously.
Everyone watched her for a moment, eating her food like she hadn't eaten in days, and with a grimace Alanna pushed her plate aside. "Suddenly I'm not hungry any more…"
Sarah spared a grin in her direction before continuing eating. After a few minutes of stuffing her face she sat back with a yawn. Meeting everyone's stares she scowled. "What? I overused my magic, and I missed lunch. I was hungry!"
Alanna muttered a reply that Sarah didn't quite catch. "What was that?"
The red head grimaced. "I said that now no one else is hungry. Thankyou oh so much."
Sarah shrugged and asked, "So are you finished then?" At the red head's nod she turned and caught eye with Dumbledore. "Good. I need to talk to you for a minute. See the rest of you at the Common Room." She stood and led the other knight outside, into the corridor. Minutes later they were joined by Mad Eye Moody, Tonks, Kingsley and Dumbledore.
Silently they made their way to the headmaster's office. When they were all inside the other members of the Order turned expectantly to Sarah. She frowned in confusion. "What?"
Mad Eye growled in exasperation. "Well? What did You Know Who say?"
Sarah blinked. "Oh. Well, your basic megalomaniacal rubbish… join my side and you can be powerful… together we can rule the world and bring the wizards to their rightful place, a top the muggle scum etcetera etcetera. Not really that important."
"Not really that important?!" Mad Eye began, but Dumbledore held up a hand.
"My dear, can you remember exactly what he said?"
Sarah blew out a sigh. "Um… let's see… he started off by complimenting my abilities… said that he wouldn't have tortured his Death Eaters if he had known how skilled I was, or something to that effect. Then he said he wanted me to join his cause and that together we would free the world of muggle and mudblood oppression. I told him I was a mudblood, but he didn't seem to care. He said that only a pure blood could control the Wandless Arts as I do… he didn't want me for my wand work, just my Gift. I asked whether he wouldn't kill me after I was done, and he started getting angry, saying that he would find my 'community' and one of two things was going to happen. Either they were going to be destroyed, or they could be made great, or something like that. I almost laughed at him, but then he tried to read my mind."
Everyone's eyes widened, but Sarah was quick to reassure them. "Don't worry, I asked the Great Mother for help and she repelled him. He didn't get anything."
"How can you be sure?" Moody growled.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Because I just know, okay? Anyway, I told him everyone in my society would rather die than receive help from him, and that there was no deal. Since my society is me and Alanna, that's more or less true… Then, well this was stupid, I must say. I told him to either kill me or leave us all alone, so he tried the killing curse. That's when I raised my shield and he turned to fire another curse on you lot, so I raised a reverse shield, to keep his spell in, rather than let it out. That's when the Aurors all arrived, and when he broke out of my shield it kind of… dazed me. Thanks for the catch, by the way, Moody."
His face softened almost imperceptibly, but his words were harsh. "You should have been more careful."
Sarah smiled ruefully, but Alanna's face turned red with anger. "I'd like to see you do better against Voldemort!"
"Okay…" Tonks began, stepping between the vigilant Auror and the red headed knight. "Point is, Sarah survived the killing curse… a second time, and made Voldemort angry. He also now knows how powerful she is, so chances are the next time he attacks he'll have a heap more Death Eaters and he probably won't risk attacking the school. There are too many skilled witches and wizards here to defend the school."
Sarah nodded and yawned. "Is that all? I told the others I'd meet them in the common room, and after that I really intend upon sleeping for another… oh, day or so."
Dumbledore nodded. "Have a good night's sleep, my dear, and don't be surprised if you find a party raging in the Gryffindor Common Room."
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Sure enough, there was a party raging in the Common Room. Bottles of butterbeer were being passed around, and when Sarah entered the room a loud cheer went up. She almost turned around, but Alanna and Tonks pushed her through the door and into the Common Room proper. Sarah grimaced and accepted a bottle as it was pushed into her hand. She found a seat against the wall were she could defend herself from the first years and waited for Hermione, Ron and Harry to find their way to her. She didn't have to wait long; Ron's loud voice cut through the throng of younger students.
"Oi! Get away from her, give her some space to breath! Geez, you'd think Harry'd never saved the day from You Know Who before either!" Suddenly there were kids swarming around Harry, the forgotten hero, and Sarah found herself with room to breath, even as Ron and Hermione sat down next to her.
"How are you feeling?" The girl asked.
Sarah yawned, "Better."
"You scared the hell out of us!" Ron added. "Falling off your broom like that… What were you thinking?!"
Sarah choked on her bottle of butterbeer as Tonks swiped at Ron's head. "I didn't plan to fall off my broom; I was blown off when Voldemort broke my shield! Jeez… you'd think I practiced swan diving off of roofs in my spare time."
Harry, who had only just managed to get rid of the first years that were now bugging him, sat in a seat next to Hermione. "So you're alright then?"
Sarah nodded and yawned again. When she yawned for a third time, Alanna took control of the situation. "Alright, let's get back to our rooms. You need some sleep."
Sarah yawned again and allowed herself to be tugged to her feet. "Alright. See you all tomorrow. Don't stay up too late; tomorrow's a Hogsmeade visit."
"Yes mum…" Ron dragged out with a half grin. Sarah shoved him playfully as she exited the room. When she stopped at her door she didn't turn the handle, rather leaning her head against the cool wood.
"Sarah?" Alanna's voice was concerned, it came from beside her.
Sarah turned her head, still leaning against the door. "I'm fine." She pushed herself off the door with a groan and turned to Tonks. "You staying the night?"
The metamorphagus shrugged. "Do you mind? I could go home if it's easier."
Sarah shook her head. "Nah, come on in. Amelia, do you mind the floor? Tonks can take the bed…"
Amelia was shaking her head even as Tonks started shaking her head. "Not a chance, Sarah. You need the bed."
Sarah frowned. "No. I'll take the couch."
The argument moved into the lounge room, Alanna joining Tonks' side. Each of the others beat Sarah to a couch, and Tonks grinned in triumph. "Take the bed, Sarah."
"That wouldn't be very hostly of me, now would it? No." And with that she moved to sit next to Alanna, who had sat on the two seater, and swung her feet atop the other knight, allowing her eyes to flutter shut.
Alanna groaned and stood. "I'll fetch the tea, shall I?"
Sarah didn't answer; she was already asleep. That left Tonks and Amelia sitting uncomfortably in silence. "Umm…" The metamorphagus began. "So… what's your favourite band?"
Amelia frowned. "The Weird Sisters. Why?"
"I figure we should get to know each other. Favourite drink?" Tonks didn't meet her eyes; she seemed very uncomfortable.
"Ummm… Pumpkin juice." Amelia's mouth worked for a few moments before saying, "Yours?"
Tonks grinned. "Firewhiskey."
Amelia was stopped from asking another question by a slight moan from Sarah, her brow creased as she bit her lower lip. Tonks stood quickly, striding over to the prone form as Alanna reentered the room. "She having a nightmare?" Tonks nodded. "Can you help me move her to the bed?"
Another nod, and Tonks had her wand out. She murmured the incantation for the Hover Charm and Sarah rose a few feet in the air, drifting towards the door Alanna had just opened, the one leading to Sarah's bed.
Alanna pulled the covers back and Tonks let Sarah drift slowly onto the bed, even as the girl let out another soft moan. Alanna pulled the covers over the unconscious girl, stroking the hair out of her eyes as Sarah tossed and turned, fighting off an invisible assailant.
"What are they about?" Tonks asked, concerned.
Alanna shook her head. "She'll tell you if she wants to. Ask her when she wakes up." She met the metamorphagus' eyes, now a deep blue. "Do you want the bed or a couch?"
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Tonks took the couch, and when Sarah woke up, yawning, and strode through the door to the living area she scowled at the sight. The sky was pinkish through the window; Sarah thought it must be approaching dawn. She trod quietly, careful to avoid waking Amelia, who slept on a pile of blankets near the two seater the metamorphagus was sleeping on.
With a quick and quiet spell she started the tea pot boiling; seeing the door to Alanna's room open and the red head reading quietly, she pulled down two cups and took out tea and filters for both of them. Walking to the open door she stuck her head in and said quietly, "Tea?"
Alanna started and dropped her book, swearing quietly. "Sure. How'd you sleep? You were having a few nightmares, but then I think you calmed down…"
"Yeah… I've had worse night's sleep. I'm not anywhere near as tired as yesterday, but my magic's still pretty low. Tonks took the couch?" She asked with a slight hint of reproach.
Alanna held up her hands, "Hey. I offered the bed, she wanted to stay in the living room and have a slumber party with Amelia, whatever that is…"
Sarah almost barked a laugh, before remembering that there were two potentially very tired witches in the other room. She nodded instead, explaining quietly, "It's where you get together with a bunch of friends and sleep in the same room, eat lots of junk food and watch movies. It's mostly a girl thing…"
Alanna nodded and ignored the question that sat on the tip of her tongue, and when a soft whistle started from the small kitchen Sarah rushed back to the tea pot, muttering "Finite Incantum." Before pouring two cups and passing one to Alanna. They moved quietly back to Alanna's room and had barely sat down on the bed before a loud rap at the door had Sarah leaping to her feet, rushing to open the door before Tonks and Amelia woke up.
She found Mad Eye, Dumbledore and a centaur at the door. Unwittingly, she took a step back from the centaur, fear hardening in her stomach like a cold fist of ice before she calmed down. In Tortall the only centaurs were killers or creatures that thought they could trade wild horses for human women. "What's up?" She asked, realising something serious must have happened.
The centaur spoke, his voice deep. "There has been a prediction. There will be an attack nearby, and very soon. The prediction was made in the early morning sky, where only the brightest and truest of stars are found; there is little chance of a mistake."
Sarah's eyes widened. "Do we know where?"
The centaur shook his head, and his face betrayed his disappointment. "We only know that it will not be on Hogwarts; the school figures very prominently in predictions. Apart from that, it could be anywhere."
Sarah nodded. "Thanks for the warning…"
"Malrinze." He supplied his name for her.
Sarah nodded again. "Thanks for the warning, Malrinze." She turned to Dumbledore and Mad Eye. "Where else could it be? Hogsmeade, obviously, but anywhere else?"
The older wizard was shaking his head. "Hogsmeade is the only place nearby that would appeal to Voldemort's sense of grandeur; it is the only village, and there are few houses or cottages in the immediate area." He turned to Malrinze. "Why did Firenze not inform us himself?"
Malrinze shifted from hoof to hoof, his head hung low. "Firenze is dealing with an… insurrection. The younger members of the tribe believe we are too… friendly with wizards. It is not serious, but he was detained."
Alanna grimaced. "Now there's the centaurs I'm used to." She muttered to Sarah, who elbowed her lightly.
"Hush." She said quietly before raising her voice. She ran a hand over her brow, massaging her forehead. "We should be going. I didn't think it would be an attack so soon…"
Alanna eyed her carefully. "Perhaps you should sit this one out. It might be a false alarm…" But Sarah was already shaking her head.
"Not a chance. I doubt it's just a false alar-"
"But you're still weak from yesterday-"
"But I might be needed!" Sarah's voice had risen over Alanna's, she was almost shouting. "Look. I need to be there in case innocent people are targeted again! There were fifteen people put in the infirmary yesterday; who's to say there won't be fatalities this time!"
"Yeah, yours!" Alanna's face was red; her purple eyes blazed. "You're not going. You're still tired! If you're attacked with a killing curse, you'll probably end up dead!"
"Oh for the love of- Look, remember what you said when I got out of the Chamber of the Ordeal? You said you'd never doubt me again, but what are you doing right now? The gods-"
A gasp from behind her caused Sarah to break off quickly, but the damage was done. She turned to see Amelia gaping at her, with Tonks cringing behind the young girl. Sarah groaned, which deepened to a growl when she heard what Dumbledore had to say. "My dear, Alanna is right. And it seems you have some explaining to do. Besides, if it is you that Voldemort wants, everyone will be much safer with you here, out of harm's way."
"Or he'll just kill everyone there in annoyance…" Sarah trailed off, a hint of her will power left for the argument.
Moody spoke up. "You aren't coming. I'll stun you myself if I have to. You'll be a danger in the field."
"But-" Sarah faltered.
Alanna pushed her gently back through the door. "No buts. Stay here, explain everything to Amelia. We'll be fine."
Sarah watched the door as Tonks walked through, joining the hunting party. The door was closed behind her, and Sarah was left alone with Amelia. She cleared her throat quietly. "So… just how much did you two hear?"
Amelia's mouth worked for a moment before she asked, "Why were you talking about the gods? They're just myths, aren't they?"
Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming along nicely. "Alright. I'm going to explain everything, so let's sit down, shall we? Sorry for waking you, by the way, I understand you and Tonks had a late night."
Amelia shrugged off the apology, focusing intently on Sarah. "So you're telling me that the gods are real? Not just make believe stories to scare children into doing their chores?"
Sarah shook her head. "No, they're real enough. Truth be told, I'm not from some secret society of wandless witches and wizards. I'm from entirely another dimension- no don't look at me like that, it's true. The gods are real, and they've sent me here to help defeat Voldemort. I fully don't know how I'm going to manage it, but they want me to, so that's what I'm here to do. And Alanna? She was in charge of my training back home. I- should probably start from the beginning."
Amelia nodded seriously. "That would be a start."
"Alright, so I'm originally from another version of Earth. There's no magical world there… as far as I know. I might look into that when we get through this… any way. I was brought to another dimension, to a country called Tortall, by the Great Gods. I was told by them that I had to do a mission, to train as a Knight, mage, which is like a witch, and a Shang, which is, in laymen's terms an expert martial artist- and would you please stop looking at me like that, it's all the truth!" Sarah exclaimed.
Amelia was shaking her head. "It's alright, if you don't want to tell me the truth…"
"Oh for the love of…" Sarah started, standing. "Fine, you know what, just wait here." Sarah marched out through the door, and stormed down the corridor to the Gryffindor common room. When the Fat Lady granted her admission, she continued her rampage, first up to the sixth year girl's dorms, rousing Hermione and ignoring Parvati and Lavender as they complained about the hour. Next, she woke Ginny, in the fifth year girl's dorms, and then made her way back down the stairs, depositing them in the common room before stalking up the opposite stairs, gathering the boys who staggered down the stairs, yawning as they came.
She led them back to her rooms, ignoring their questions. Planting her fists on her hips, she turned to Amelia, but spoke to the others. "Guys, tell her where I'm from."
Ron frowned. "You're from a secret culture that exists separately fr-"
Sarah cut him off abruptly. "No, not that load of codswallop that Dumbledore fed the Minister to keep him from arresting me. Where am I really from? She overheard me and Alanna arguing in the hallway with Dumbledore and Mad Eye, and now she doesn't believe me."
Hermione looked from Sarah to Amelia, and back again. "Geez, you really suck at keeping secrets, don't you? Yes, Amelia, it's all true. She's from another dimension, there's no secret community, and she's really here to help defeat Voldemort."
The first year jutted her chin out stubbornly, apparently thinking the joke was on her. "Really? Prove it."
"Prove- How the hell am I meant to prove it?" Sarah asked, bewildered beyond her annoyance.
"What, you all think it's funny, acting all nice and then pulling a prank on me? Are you going to laugh it up later? It's happened before, with my former house mates, you know! I'm not a fool!" Amelia was on the verge of tears.
"I- wha- prank? You think this is a prank?" Sarah gaped, gobsmacked. She turned to the others, who wore identical expressions on their faces. "Can you guys give us a minute? We'll meet you later in the common room."
They all left, shooting encouraging glances in Sarah's direction. When they were left alone, Sarah approached the hurt ten year old, wary of her reaction as she drew closer. "Amelia, what would make you think we'd want to trick you? Why would we ever want to play a prank on you?"
Amelia didn't meet her eyes. "The other students did it… they pretended to be my friend and then stole my stuff, or embarrassed me in front of the other students… You weren't joking?" The last part was whispered, and Sarah sat down on the couch, clasping her hands together as she lay back, cradling her head as she stared at the ceiling.
"Nope. Truth is, I really am from another dimension, and fact is, the Gods are real. They recruited me, had me train up, sent me on a mission that almost killed me, and then, after oh, maybe a month's rest sent me here. Good fun, eh?" Sarah said it all in a carefree voice, not revealing the bitterness she felt over the situation.
"I- I'm sorry, Sarah, for not believing you." Amelia started.
"Pfft, don't apologize to me, apologize to the others. It's them I woke up to try and convince you." Sarah grinned.
The younger girl was still curious about something, however. "Is that what… Is that what your nightmares are about?"
Sarah sat up slowly, trying to think up an answer. "Some of them. Others are from some… other events during my training. But really, that's not important." Sarah stood. "Let's get to the common room, I need to tell the others of what's going down in Hogsmeade so Harry can show me the secret passageway down into Honeydukes."