The 7th Year
Chapter 14: Death Eaters
(Sirius' POV)
I sent the first curse I could think off towards the Death Eater ready to attack Max. I hadn't heard who he was from my position but all that I knew was that he was pointing his wand at the only girl I had ever loved. He was pointing his wand at Max ready to kill her. I didn't stop him in time he had already raised his wand and I saw red soak through the white shirt she was wearing. I heard Max scream and bend over in pain. I swore at him promising him that I'll get him for it but he had already run off along with the short Death Eater. Four other Death Eater's remained and I knew who two of them were. Bellatrix and Regulus.
My stomach sank I knew Bella was a Death Eater after she graduated last year but Regulus was only a fourth year and had already been dragged in by Bella and sick, twisted, evil parents.
"Regulus, I thought you promised me that you wouldn't join the Death Eater's without talking to me first. You always talked to me about mum and dad at home and how you wished that you were in Gryffindor sometimes." I said trying to stall the other Death Eaters but it was too late. Bella had drawn her wand towards me and I just managed to block her spell from hitting me.
"I'm sorry bro but we're the stronger side and if you join us we'll heal her." Regulus said gazing at Max.
I looked at her and saw the shirt get darker and redder then back at my brother. "You promise to heal her." I asked I couldn't waste any valuable time I had to get her up to the castle now.
"No of course not we want you both dead for Merlin's sake now Avarda Kedavra." Bellatrix shrieked and I jumped out of the way just before the curse hit the tree behind me.
I shot every spell I knew back at the Death Eaters and saw two Death Eaters retreating back to the castle which left Regulus, Bella and another Death Eater with me and Max. I was duelling both Bella and the unknown Death Eater when I saw Regulus angle his wand towards Max. "No!" I screamed and heard him say something but not before I heard four words escape from her lips."
"Sirius I Love You!" Max moaned and I watched her collapse under Regulus's spell.
"Take it back!" I scream running after my brother shouting every hex I knew. "Heal her please do anything your my brother, I'd do anything for you!"
I saw Regulus turn around and look at both Bellatrix and the other Death Eater then back to me. "It's too late, we've gone our separate ways and we aren't brothers anymore not since you ran away and left me alone."
I watched as Regulus walked towards the castle followed by the other Death Eater and Bella who shot a spell towards me shattering my knee cap. I ignored the pain and limped over to Max where I crouched down besides her trying to stop the bleeding and ignore the pain. I sent a patronus towards the others since I couldn't get her back to the castle on my own not when I was injured.
(Lily's POV)
Sirius had told us as much as he could about what happened to Max. That she got hit by a curse we never heard of which cut her open. That she knew something but the Death Eaters confunded her so she couldn't tell us. I felt guilty for what happened to Max since Alice and I decided to search for Kerry instead when we got bowled over by the dog which we realised was Sirius we left him and her to sort their mess out. We never found Kerry since she could avoid us well when she wanted us to so we just went to bed hoping to talk to her in the morning. James was waiting for me and I realised that if Sirius was an animagus then he was too. I didn't know what to think about that all that I knew was that they weren't legal animagi.
None of that mattered because Sirius had sent us a patronus telling us that both he and Max were hurt in the forest and that they needed help. James and I immediately ran down to the entrance along with Alice, Remus, Frank and Dylan who also got the message. Even though he was hurt Sirius had managed to carry Max out of the forest and it was the most horrible thing I had even seen. Both were covered in blood. Max's Blood and she was lying limply in his arms unconscious. Sirius' arm looked broken but he had ignored the pain.
Remus took Max from Sirius and rushed her up to the hospital wing while James and Dylan helped Sirius walk to the Hospital wing while Alice, Frank and I went to go find Peter, Ella, Monique, Hamish and if we could Kerry since they had a right to know what had just happened.
We had spent all our free time in the Hospital wing, we brought breakfast, lunch and dinner with us and waited for Max to wake up. Luckily one of the Death Eaters felt remorse for what he did and went to see Dumbledore as soon as he could to tell him what happened and how to cure her. Dumbledore wouldn't tell us who it was that performed the spell but Sirius looked like he might know. Max was lucky they got to her just in time and managed to close the wound before she lost too much blood. No one talked while we were with Max we all just watched her and waited for her to wake up which was suppose to be any day know according to Madam Pompfrey. Max had been unconscious for just over a week and apparently it was because she was hit with the confundus charm before she slipped out of consciousness.
(James POV)
Madam Pompfrey wouldn't let us stay any longer than curfew but told us that if she saw Max wake up she would let us know immediately so Lily and I let everyone sleep in our Common Room. Sirius was acting really strange. He was worried about Max but none of us knew what else was worrying him or how he managed to catch up to Max.
"James I need to tell you something." Sirius whispered to me when everyone else was asleep.
"Okay what's wrong?" I asked.
"Well before Max was hit by the confundus charm she told me something, something that she won't remember and I don't know how to handle it. I don't want to be there when she wakes up because I don't know what her reaction to me is going to be. All she is going to remember is me turning my back on her she isn't going to remember anything else." Sirius rambled.
"Sirius your rambling what did she say?" I asked quietly.
Sirius looked around at everyone sleeping and then back to me. "She told me she loved me."
I was not ready for that, I was ready for something like I'm sorry or I never wanted to hurt you but not to hear that Max told Sirius that she loved him. Sirius noticed my shocked expression and I now knew why he was acting so weird. Max wasn't going to remember what she said and was going to break Sirius' heart.
(Lily's POV)
Sirius and James aren't the quietest of whisperers and I overheard what they were saying. I couldn't sleep and I was sure that everyone else was like that but laying there and pretending your asleep helps. I didn't know who else was awake but once the boys stopped talking and went to sleep I heard someone stir besides me.
"Lily are you awake?" Monique whispered.
"Yeah did you hear what James and Sirius said?" I asked.
"Yeah and Max isn't going to know, It's going to break Sirius' heart." Monique replied.
"We have to do something; we have to make Max remember." Alice said from beside me. I soon realise that Kerry and Ella were also awake.
"Well tomorrow's Saturday so we can spend all day with Max and hopefully we can remind her before she sees Sirius if she wakes up tomorrow." Ella added.
"She'll wake up tomorrow she's strong, she'll pull through this." Kerry muttered.
"First thing tomorrow we'll go to the Hospital wing and see Max." I told them all.
(Max's POV)
Everything was white and bright. I could see people but my focus was blurry until I came to the person I loved.
"Nick," I mumbled.
"Max, you shouldn't be here, go back, go back to the people you love. Sirius' loves you more than I do and I'm sure that you love him more than you love me." Nick's voice echoed through my mind.
"We are soul mates." I cried out.
"No we're not we thought we were but I saw you with Sirius on New Year's Eve that kiss you shared with him had a spark a spark that we lost. Go back to him." Nick told me.
"But he turned his back on me." I replied I wanted to stay in this place with Nick. "Every time I see Sirius I feel like I'm hurting you, I feel like I'm dumping you."
"You're not dumping me because I'm dumping you and telling you to go with Sirius. You aren't supposed to be here until you die and you're not dead, not yet at least. Sirius loves you, go back to him." Nick finished and pushed me away from the brightness from the happiness and into the darkness I couldn't see anything I could hear sounds but I couldn't hear what it was properly.
I was trying to wake up trying hard to hear the sounds clearly but it was so hard too so hard to open my eyes that my head hurt my eyes lids felt like they were sewn shut. I wanted to go back to Nick, back to the pure whiteness that felt just like a dream. What if it was a dream! What if Nick never dumped me than I would be hurting him if I dated Sirius?
"Max," I heard someone say. It was all I could hear and it sounded like it was coming from far away.
I wanted to get closer to whoever it was, they were calling my name and they sounded sad. I couldn't get past the darkness so I tried to call out to them but I didn't know who I was going to call out to. I tried to lift my arm up to reach something but I felt someone's hand in it. I tried to squeeze the persons hand and felt them squeeze back. I realised that I was asleep and that all I had to do was open my eyes and see who it was holding my hand. It took all my strength to open my eyes. I was hoping that it wasn't a dream and that I was going to wake up in the place Nick was in.
The first thing I saw was red hair. Damn I thought it was a dream and now I have no idea where I am.
"Lily." I murmured.
"Oh my God Max you're finally awake." Lily shrieked.
I heard movement around me and I tried to raise my head to look around but it hurt too much to move.
"Where am I, why am I so sore?" I asked my voice croaky.
"You're in the Hospital Wing and have been for just over a week. You ran into a few Death Eaters and they almost killed you if Sirius wasn't there to stop them. You also got hit with the confundus charm which won't make you remember anything. Before Sirius and they guys get here we need to tell you something." Lily said.
"What do you need to tell me?" I asked. I saw Kerry, Alice, Ella and Monique around me as well looking serious.
"Well what can you remember?" Kerry asked.
"Umm the last thing that I can remember is standing in the doorway to the Great Hall trying to find Sirius and watching him turn his back on me." I told her. "No the last thing I can remember is
"Well before you blanked out you told Sirius-"
Bang! Lily was interrupted by the doors banging open and I lifted my head a tiny bit to see that James, Sirius, Dylan, Remus, Peter, Hamish, Mellissa and Perri walk in.
"Is she awake yet?" I heard Sirius ask nervously.
I shook my head a tiny bit which Ella who was hiding my face from the boys took for no.
"No she isn't, not yet but she has been mumbling a bit." Ella replied for me.
"Oh it's been over a week I thought that she would be able to get through the charm and wake up by now. I heard James say.
"Well remember what Madam Pomfrey said, her first few nights were really rough and that she wasn't sure if Max was going to make it." Kerry replied.
Wow that was news to me, I thought that I might have been unconscious for the week back if I nearly died than maybe my encounter with Nick wasn't a dream. Now that I thought about it I didn't feel strong feelings for him anymore, I felt like I could finally move on. If Sirius saved my life than maybe he still cared about me but he did sound nervous around me. Well it was worth a try to see if I could finally sort out my feelings for him.
Maybe Nick was right maybe I had stronger feelings for Sirius than I did for him and maybe Sirius had stronger feelings for me than Nick did. I was finally going to move on from Nick no matter what and dedicate myself to, "Sirius."
I snapped my eyes opened I didn't mean to say that out loud for everyone to hear. I sat up ignoring the pain and the dizziness even if it made my vision blurry but I could feel everyone's eyes on me.
I heard Madam Pomfrey leave her office and rush to the bed I was in. "Did I hear her talk, is she awake."
Everyone was crowded around me that she couldn't see me.
"Everyone move I need to give her a few potions." The matron said.
Great potions I thought sarcastically. All the potions in the hospital wing never had flavour. If they got me out of the hospital wing then maybe I'd have a new appreciation for them.
(Sirius' POV)
I couldn't believe it. I was keeping my distance and standing a few feet away once I heard Ella say that she had been mumbling. Ella didn't tell us what Max was mumbling but I was sure it was Nick's name. It surprised me, Max said my name first but I don't think she was asleep I think she was awake especially with the way she sat up so she must have known I was there.
I couldn't say anything back to hear since Madam Pomfrey was hustling around and trying to give her potions. I wanted to ask if the memory charm worked if Regulus really performed the charm well. I wanted to ask if she knew who it was that cursed her since I want to rip them to shreds. Dumbledore had asked me if I knew any of the Death Eaters but none of them spoke except Regulus and I didn't want to hand him over, not yet at least there was still a chance that he would change and I wanted him to make the choice. Max must have otherwise Regulus wouldn't have stayed to charm her and she would have woken up days ago.
I was still over the moon when Madam Pomfrey left and everyone moved away to let me see Max. I hadn't once looked at her since she entered the hospital wing. I was scared of what I would see and what she would say to me. When I brought her up to the castle she had already lost too much blood and gone pale, as white as you could go that I didn't think she could survive. I then knew how she felt when Nick died and got jealous that she was going to see him again and get another chance with him while I only got one chance with her but when I heard her say my name I felt like I was the luckiest guy on the planet. I now had the rest of my life set out with Max if she wanted and I was willing to take it slow as long as she was alive. Almost losing Max made me see how sick the world was going to be when I leave Hogwarts and I am now ready to fight Voldermort and his Death Eaters to ensure that this never happens to anyone again.
(James' POV)
No one was expecting Max to remember saying I love you to Sirius and we were all hoping that she would be able to tell us what happened in the Forest. Only Peter looked nervous and had resulted to bitting his fingernails. Dumbledore strode into the hospital wing a few minutes after we let Sirius see Max alone. For the whole week we had seen nothing but the curtain around the bed and now we were still looking at the curtain but we thought that since Max said Sirius' name it was fair for him to see her first. That was until Dumbledore entered.
"Now Miss Ride," I heard him say. "I was wondering if you could tell me anything about your attack since I'm sure you were there longer than Mr Black was and I was hoping you could identify some of the Death Eaters for me."
I couldn't hear her response but Dumbledore didn't visit for very long and spoke to Sirius asking him if there was anything new he remembered like who the Death Eater's were. All that he said was that he knew one was Bellatrix Black or formerly known as Bellatrix Lestrange and that most of them were a bunch of cowards but I could see it in his eyes. He knew one more and I knew who it was as well. His own brother was a Death Eater.
(Lily's POV)
The marauders threw a party for all of Gryffindor when Max got out of the Hospital wing even if it was a Thursday night. I didn't care we needed a reason to celebrate before the furious studying began in a few weeks time. McGonagall looked like she was going to stop the party when she came up to the common room when we were all suppose to be in the Great Hall with the other houses, but instead told us that anyone in her class tomorrow better finish their homework. Of course she was back up at 11 to tell us to all go to bed since classes were tomorrow.
Sirius didn't leave Max out of his sight the whole night and I was hoping that he wouldn't stay over protective even if it was sweet but I knew that Max wouldn't stand for it all the time. I didn't know how much butterbeer I had last night but I was feeling really groggy when I woke up and the shower didn't even stop the headache I had. Judging by the looks on everyone's faces at breakfast they all enjoyed last night a little bit too much. I silently cursed to myself that the first class I had with McGonagall.
A month went without any problems unless you count Dylan and Kerry who were acting like they had broken up when they didn't even go out. They would argue in the morning before breakfast and we all cast spells to drone them out so we could eat in peace. They would argue on the way to classes so we would walk off without them. At first we made sure that there was no seats left except for two together so that Kerry and Dylan could sort out their problems but they didn't stop arguing instead started yelling at us. It didn't help that it was in Transfiguration and that McGonagall gave them detention together. They argued and started hexing each other everywhere when they were together and once Max got hit by one of Kerry's hexes we separated, the boys taking Dylan off and we were left with Kerry going on and on about Dylan.
(James' POV)
"So what is going on between you and Kerry?" I asked when we were sure that we were on the opposite side of the castle to Kerry and the girls.
"I don't know she was keeping her distance from me after the ball and not even looking at me. Then we started arguing about stupid stuff from years ago like the time I stole her school robes and hid them around the school or like the time I went out with Freda from Ravenclaw and then I got angry at her and brought up all this stuff about her." Dylan rambled on.
"Okay maybe you guys just need to chill. Look at Max and I we had a massive fight and now look at us we're together." Sirius said with a big grin.
"That's true." I murmured remembering how angry Sirius got at Max but it wasn't the same especially since Sirius and Max acted like it never happened the next day. "But I don't think it's the same."
"Look forget about it lets just head to class and make sure I'm sitting nowhere near Max." Dylan said.
(Lily's POV)
Kerry and Dylan decided to give the rest of us a break and spent the weekend avoiding each other. This gave James and I the chance to be together.
"So what do you want for your birthday?" I asked him.
"To spend the whole day with you without any interruptions." James replied.
"Prongs." Sirius shouted from behind us. I could hear Max giggle from behind as well.
"I see what you mean." I whispered in James' ear. Every time we tried to spend some time together Sirius would show up sometimes with Max.
"Prongs," Sirius called again while we were trying to find somewhere private. "Dumbledore wanted to see us."
James turned around to see Sirius looking serious and not joking around. You could always tell when Sirius was lying because he couldn't keep a straight face. That was why the marauders ended up in trouble so often.
"Why what have we done wrong?" James asked.
"I don't know but Dumbledore didn't look happy."
"Do you want me to go with you?" I asked.
"Nah it'll be alright I'll meet you in our common room." James told me and headed off with Sirius leaving Max and me behind.
Author's Note.
I don't know how often I will be able to update on this story since I am busy at the moment but I'll try to update as often as I can. Hope your still enjoying the story.
SpringBabe