DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Harry Potter.
The Fire of the Phoenix
Overdue Confrontation
Phoenix stopped in the middle of a sentence of the book she was reading when she heard a knock on the door. Remus cracked the door open and sneaked his head inside.
"Can we come in sweetheart?" He asked and entered the room when she nodded, followed closely by Sirius who snapped the door shut behind him.
Phoenix had to count her breaths to calm herself down, willing herself to believe that just because her godfather closed the door behind them and she was alone with two men in her bedroom it didn't mean they would hurt her, that those two men had saved her from the abuse she suffered and that they've promised countless times that they wouldn't hurt her.
"Phoenie? Phoenix? Come back to us baby girl." She blinked her thoughts away to see Sirius kneeling down in front of her, looking at her concerned and Remus sitting on the foot of her bed looking the same. She didn't recall scooting up to the corner and drawing her knees to her chest. "We are worried about you darling" Her godfather said his stormy eyes searching for hers. She looked down and bit her nails. He cupped her chin and with the other hand grabbed hers in his bigger one. "Hey, look at me."
"Look at me while I'm talking, freak!" Vernon slapped her face.
"S-s-sorry sir. I-it won't happen again." She cried out, her eyes glazed over locked in a flashback that seemed too real.
Sirius was beyond worried. It's been two days now and they had yet to hear Phoenix's voice. What Snape said kept echoing in his mind. Her vocal chords could paralyze. She could stay mute, forever. He voiced his thoughts to Remus, who decided that now was a good time to have a talk with her.
Remus knocked on the red head's bedroom door and as he knew he would receive no answer peeked his head inside the room.
"Can we come in sweetheart?" Sirius supposed she nodded, for Remus entered the room and Sirius followed closing the door behind him. The moment the door clicked shut Phoenix changed. Her eyes got wide and she subconsciously looked for an escape route whilst backing away and drawing her knees to her chest. Her hands trembled and in two long strides Sirius was kneeling beside her on the floor.
"Phoenie? Phoenix? Come back to us baby girl." He stroked her arms and called softly. She blinked her beautiful emerald eyes owlishly at him. "We are worried about you darling." Sirius said softly. She looked down and brought her hand to her mouth, biting her finger tips until they bled. A nervous habit of Lily's she's inherited. Sirius cupped her chin and searched for her eyes. "Hey, look at me."
The three words seemed to do the trick. Her eyes glazed over as she went rigid under his grip. Her trembling got worse as she began to hyperventilate.
"S-s-sorry sir. I-it won't happen again." She shouted. Remus has had enough. He came over to the bed and gathered her in his arms in a strong hug, one that limited her trashing and that was efficient in bringing her back to the reality.
"Sorry." She looked down after she was calmed and Remus released her. She immediately backed away and took her hand to her mouth.
"You are not in trouble sweetheart." He said taking her hands in his. "We need to talk to you." The werewolf said as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.
"You see, after we brought you from the Dursley's-" she flinched at the name. "-and Poppy and Sni-er... Professor Snape healed you they expressed their concerns over some small detail. Not small, because something like that isn't small but-" Sirius got lost in his words and Remus picked up for him.
"They were concerned about your vocal cords. From lack of use, yours are weakened and this is dangerous sweetheart." Remus said searching for her eyes as she looked up, looking scared. "They gave us a strengthener potion but it won't work without er... exercising for a lack of better word."
"It could lead to paralysis. You could loose your voice." Sirius said softly and she looked at him horrified.
"We understand that at the Dursley's you were punished for talking but here is different, Phoenie. We will never hurt you or punish you in any way for speaking your mind. You don't have to be afraid of speaking here. We are here to listen to you, whatever you have to say." Remus said cupping her chin.
"You have a beautiful voice, baby girl. It reminds me of Lily's but with a tone that's your own. We would hate to never be able to hear it again. I know this is hard but you are stronger than this and this is a victory we'll conquer together alright? Step by step." Sirius said, eyes moist.
"Okay." She said softly.
"Good." Remus said with a smile as he got up from the bed. "Now it's bed time." He said as he looked at his watch.
"I'm scared of falling asleep." She said quietly as if expecting to be hit. Sirius and Remus shared a look and Sirius got up from his place on the floor.
"Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?" The animagus asked kindly understanding too well her fear.
"Y-you don't have to." She said blushing.
"Sirius doesn't mind. Now lay down." She did as asked and Remus tucked her in as Sirius sat beside her and began to stroke her hair.
Remus then said goodnight and closed the door behind him.
"Do you want me to keep the castle lit?" Sirius asked as he dimmed the lights.
"Y-yes please." She said unconsciously scooting closer to her godfather. He did as told and continued stroking her forehead as if in slow motion.
"You know, when you were a baby and was ill or couldn't sleep, James used to do this and you would calm down instantly." He said quietly more to himself than anything.
"It makes me sleepy." She said her voice heavy.
"Mmhm. I know it does darling. Don't be afraid, I'll keep the nightmares away." He said and kept rubbing her forehead.
"Okay. Thanks Paddy" She said and fell asleep soon after that.
Sirius took a deep breath at the old nickname he was called, knowing it was her subconscious bringing it back. A million thoughts ran through his mind, thousands of those being memories of the twins when they were babies.
"No problem, baby girl." He said and got up, moving quietly towards the door. He took one last look at his goddaughter's sleeping form before closing the door and walking to his room. Hoping for a night as peaceful as hers would be.
In two days after they talked to Phoenix – three after the trial – and well within the night when Sirius, Remus and Tonks apparated to the Ministry of Magic. The building was eerily quiet – it didn't take an expert to know that they shouldn't be here. Yes, it was a reckless risk they were taking, having three teenagers at home, but it was necessary. In that dark night, the wind howled and trees shifted to its music. In that dark night, they would get their revenge.
Nymphadora Tonks was no stranger to that building and began leading the way to the ministry holding cells, producing a key from the pocket of her leather jacket. "Be quick and please, make them suffer." She said before leaving the two men alone to search their way through the cells.
Sirius and Remus walked without making a sound through the dark corridor until they were in the cell number MOM001 seeing two shapes huddled in the corner.
They opened the door with a banishing spell and saw the two figures jump and turn their beady eyes at them.
The smallest one was a woman with long neck and horse like face, that could barely be seen under the torch-like lamps. The other one was a huge man who made up for his wife's long neck, having none apparent at all. He had a thick mustache and a prominent belly and even though he was visibly shaken by fear he managed to produce a malicious smile. That bastard.
"The time has come, I told you it would, Dursley." Sirius spat the name and a wave of his wand the door was fixed and closed behind him.
"Do NOT use this magical nonsense near me or my woman, freak!" The walrus of a man replied with a courage he didn't know he had.
Remus was quick. Before Sirius could move, in two strides he was in front of the man – Vernon – and with a punch from the werewolf the man was on the floor.
"Do NOT dare to speak out of turn, you bastard. We are here to talk and you-"He punctured each word with a kick. "will. listen."
"How does it feel to be in that position?" Sirius roared as he charged towards the fallen man aiming a kick in his groin. "How does it feel to be hurt by someone more powerful than you?"
"They deserved it. Those little freaks." Vernon managed to say through the pain.
"Deserved it? DESERVED IT?" Remus shouted, taking advantage of the inhuman strength the near to come full moon gave him. "They are kids you bastard! They deserve to be loved and cherished. How would you feel if we did the same to your own huh?"
"Duddy! No please, not my Duddy!" Petunia yelled in desperation.
Sirius and Remus would never hurt a kid, but the Dursleys didn't need to know that.
"How does it feel to watch a loved one suffer, Tuney?" Sirius said with so much venom that she flinched, or maybe it was for the fact that he had his wand trained on her.
"We didn't ask for those freaks! If my good for nothing sister and her freak husband didn't get blown up we would never have had this problem. But no, they are too good to raise their kids and throw them on the shoulders of their normal relatives who want nothing to do with them." The horse-like woman ranted.
"You bitch! They were murdered. You sister died protecting their children and yet you decide to mock her sacrifice by being a danger to your own blood. Do you have any idea what you've done to those kids? How they felt all this time being rejected and hurt under the roof of what's supposed to be their home? If it was the other way around Lily and James would have treated your son like their own and raised him to be a good man, something you never did. No matter. You can't take back what you did, and we know you never would. But we can make you suffer. Crucio." Sirius said quietly and watched in satisfaction as the woman convulsed on the floor.
After a while he let her go and turned to the husband who was now shaking in fear, trying to find an escape route instead of saving his woman.
"I'm tired of talking, Moony. What about some action?" Sirius looked at his best mate as if asking for permission.
"Let's make them suffer." The werewolf said, his eyes were two orbs of amber and his pupils just a slit.
Sirius then transformed and began to tear the clothes on the man's legs, biting every surface he found tasting blood. Remus meanwhile threw a nasty string of hexes and curses as dark as his best mate's name, making sure he focused on both of them.
Padfoot's mind was a blur, his instinct repeating a mantra over and over again "hurt, not kill". He saw only red as the man screamed and twisted on the floor. Padfoot liked the taste of fresh meat.
The werewolf focused his attention on the woman now, he researched a lot of books of mind-magic to find this one. He cast the spell and watched as her bawling eyes glowed and then faded and as a scream left her mouth. Every living thing she saw from now on would be a twisted cadaver. When he looked back at his brother, he saw him calling the old family magic. This was the grand finale.
"I, Sirius Orion Black, Lord of the House of Black call to me the power that is mine by blood and command it to make Vernon Dursley and Petunia Dursley suffer their due consequences for all the crimes they committed. The justice will be made over the power of my blood so that every pain they suffer for hurting Phoenix Lily Potter and Harry James Potter will turn into protection for the mentioned children. I bid you to make them suffer, what they called for through all these years. So have I asked, so mote it be." There was a glow in the room and the couple was paralyzed, locked in their own nightmares.
Remus then removed the wards he put, so that their magic would not be trace-able and cast an old spell that would mask the spells cast on the couple.
"Shall we go home Sirius?" Remus looked at his friend who was breathing heavily.
"Let's go home, Remus." Sirius nodded back and off they went, not even bothering to close the door behind them. The Dursleys would be escorted to a muggle prison that morning and would not be going anywhere on their own, for a long time.
A/N: This chapter wasn't planned at all but I really like how it turned out. Also, the excess of "Okays" is John Green's fault. He's just amazing.
Anyway, sorry for the long wait. You know my reasons. I'm just getting better from a major relapse. Last week was terrible and I cut myself after more than two months clean. Too much info? Well… Since here is my escape I thought you should know.
I hope you liked it and thanks for reading.
Lots of love,
Maria