(A/N): Hey guys! Wow, so many of you! ^^ Sorry it's been so long, I got swamped in tests and art work Sir didn't tell me to complete. -.- However, it's here now and I'll natter on at the end.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Soul Eater or oil pastels.
Chapter Fourteen: Grimmauld Place
"This place is pretty old, huh?" Soul muttered to Maka as the two were dragging their cases up an uneven path. After an awkward train journey, coated in stares, sprinkled with counting everyone to make sure they were still there and a lot of mindless, loud chatter and the feeling of impending doom, they had arrived at Grimmauld Place.
"Yeah. It's grim too." Maka raised her head slightly to look around at all the tall, musty houses surrounding them. Most of them were shabby and falling to pieces, the storm clouds overhead did nothing to add to the minimal beauty.
All together there were three wizards, three meisters, three weapons and Shiku. The only people who had travelled to twelve Grimmauld place were Harry, Ron and Hermione so it's understandable that once the group had passed number eleven, and number twelve was nowhere in sight, that there was a lot of confusion. Right next to number eleven was number thirteen.
"Uh, you sure it's number twelve?" Soul turned to Harry, who nodded and pushed up his round spectacles.
"Yeah. They said they'd send somebody to meet us." Harry replied; Ron crossed his arms next to them.
"Well they could hurry up. It's bloody freezing out here!"
"They're probably just hesitating because I'm such a big star!" Black*Star interrupted, but no one reacted. They had put up with comments like this for the whole journey and it had since everyone had gotten used to it, it had lost its effect somewhat.
"Harry?" whilst they had all been turned to each other, they hadn't noticed a newcomer to the party. It was a haggard looking man, with greying hair and icy blue eyes.
"Lupin!" Harry, Ron and Hermione cried together, the DWMA group exchanged clueless glances with each other.
"Where did you come from? How can you just appear like that?" Maka asked, looking hastily around for secret passageways through which Lupin could have entered.
Then man chuckled slightly in response and fished in the pocket of his fraying, faded robes. He brought out a scrap of paper that had more creases than an accordion.
"Maybe this will help you understand. Read it and then pass it around." he said, as he gave the paper to Maka. She stared at it; the paper read 'The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve Grimmauld place, London' in cursive handwriting.
She raised an eyebrow at Lupin as she passed it onto Soul. This was information she already knew, why did she need a bit of paper to tell her that? Lupin still had an amused smile on his face as he continued.
"Think about it." he said simply, his hands back in his bedraggled pockets. More than a little confused, Maka thought about the words she had just read.
She had barely got halfway through when a door started to appear from the gap between number eleven and number thirteen. She watched in awe as another grubby house pushed its way into existence from the two either side it, the number on the door said it was number twelve.
They had arrived at their destination.
"Super cool." Soul muttered next to her and she suppressed a laugh. She couldn't expect a more stereotypical sentence to come from her partner's mouth.
Once everyone could see the house before them, Stein and Lupin lead the group inside.
They emerged into a dark hallway, on one side there was a grotesque leg-shaped umbrella stand which, when Black*Star bumped into it (noisily) they realized was a real leg. It must have been from some enormous creature.
"Troll's leg." Shiku muttered quietly, the group turned to him for a second, before dismissing him. No one had really warmed to him in the journey, but he could count on Soul as a friend.
"Shhhh." Lupin put a finger to his lips. "You don't want to wake someone up in this house."
In front of Maka, Harry gave a shudder and Ron a grimace. She reached out for Soul's hand, what could be that bad in here?
They followed Lupin through the dingy hallway, down some worn stairs-this was certainly an old house-and finally into a wide kitchen with roughly cut stone walls. It had a long table, at which a few people were sat, which made the atmosphere slightly less depressing. There was a kitchen running along one wall and a fireplace on the other. This must've been how Sirius came through the fire at Hogwarts.
Some of the people sat at the table waved good naturedly at Harry; a female with spiky bubblegum pink hair, Sirius, a balding ginger-haired man and an angry looking ginger-haired woman that was evidently his wife. The woman was the one who sighed and stood up.
"More dinner for me to cook, then." She said, but her eyes were sparkling and she smiled warmly at each of the newcomers. "Sit down and I'll sort something out for you."
"Yes, do sit. I've been looking forward to meeting you all face to face." Sirius said, his hollowed eyes were twinkling as well, as though this was the first bit of excitement he'd had in months. He crossed the room to give Harry a fierce hug as well.
The large group found places at the table, tired from their journey and really wanting nothing more than to make themselves cozy by the fire. However this was no holiday, they had things to discuss and work to do.
"Maka, Soul-we've met before." Sirius nodded at the two.
"It's good to know you're not a flaming, disembodied head." Soul nodded back, Maka slapped him lightly on the arm, though Sirius just chuckled.
"And who are your friends?" he turned to look at the large group that had accompanied them."
"Oh, I'm Tsubaki and this is my partner-" the timid girl was cut off by Black*Star standing on his chair and yelling.
"I'm the mighty Black*Star and I'm the one to surpass God!"
"...I knew you're silence wouldn't last that much longer," Tsubaki sighed. "Please sit down Black*Star, this is embarrassing."
It took a minute or two of bragging and yelling, yet they still managed to get Black*Star to sit back on a seat.
"I'm Professor Stein," Stein spoke slowly, it reminded Maka of when he was about to experiment. "And this is Marie, a death scythe."
"Death scythe?" the pink haired woman asked, frowning slightly.
"Yes, that's right." Marie smiled, looking the complete opposite of a dangerous weapon.
"And this is Shiku. He was going to be a Kishin, but we got there in time." Soul gestured to the small boy sat beside him. All eyes turned to him. It was still hard to believe that he could have wreaked havoc on Hogwarts.
"He needs a good meal. You all do." the ginger woman returned, with large dishes of roast potato and boiled carrots. It looked like she had gone and prepared a whole feast for them; the dishes just kept coming.
"Blimey Molly, you didn't need to make all of this." Sirius tutted as a platter of turkey meat was placed before them. Molly cuffed him around the head in response.
"Don't be silly! You eat like a horse and I can guarantee this lot won't be much better." she wiped her hands on her apron as she spoke, her long hair had frizzed with the heat of the kitchen and the smoke from the fire.
Everyone dug into the home cooked meal before them, it was clearly made by apt hands, as it tasted absolutely delicious. Harry had always had the feeling that Mrs Weasley liked to feed him up, though this was slightly overboard, even for her.
As they ate, the pink haired woman introduced herself as Tonks and commented on how she loved the colour of Soul and Black*Star's hair.
"Has it always been pure white like that?" she asked curiously, Soul shrugged as he shoved a whole roast potato in his mouth.
"I guess so."
In the middle of the table was Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius and the ginger man (who was identified as Mr Weasley; Ron's dad). They were talking good naturedly and chatting about what had happened in one another's absence. It was like a bizarre family reunion.
Lastly, at the end of the table was the uncomfortable silence of Stein, Marie, Lupin and Shiku. None of them really had much to talk about, so it was limited to remarks such as, 'could you pass the peas?'
Eventually, when it was extremely late and everyone was rubbing their eyes and yawning, the food was eaten and they could get back to the manner at hand.
"So, this witch...she's not like the normal ones?" Sirius asked, looking at the newcomers and expecting answers.
"Yes. She's not 'normal' as you'd put it. This witch is extremely powerful. All she wants to do is make Kishins and bring madness back into the world." Stein explained, his lips curling in distaste at the mere thought of witches.
"Kishins?" Tonks queried.
"Demons," this time it was Marie speaking. "Monsters that have devoured uncountable human souls and are left in madness."
Shiku's face went carnation pink at this, he was still classed as a Kishin until further notice, though thankfully only Lupin noticed this transition.
"If this witch is raising more Kishins then she probably wants to send the world into chaos," Stein continued. "At any rate, the DWMA cannot sit back and allow this witch to continue."
"DWMA? As in Death Weapon Meister Academy?" Mr Weasley leaned forward, his curiosity gained.
"How do you know about the DWMA?" Soul intervened, leaning forward as well.
"I work at the Ministry of Magic and that school has come up a few times. Is it true that students risk their lives on missions?" Mr Weasley seemed concerned that teenagers were being sent out to fight the war between good and evil, which was understandable.
"Well, yeah. We have to go out and destroy Kishin eggs." the albino replied, frowning. It was perfectly normal for him.
"Not the teachers?" Mr Weasley persisted, in response Stein gave a chuckle.
"We're too busy teaching the rest of the class."
An uncomfortable silence soon fell over the table, not really because of the conversation that had taken place, it was late and people were running out of things to say. Finally, Sirius stood and stretched his arms.
"Well, I think it's time we all head to bed, don't you?" he looked around the table at the various faces. Tonks and Lupin nodded, said their goodbyes then left. The Weasleys then proceeded to guide the remaining visitors to rooms they could stay in for the night, when the morning came they could talk about a strategy plan.
-Later that night-
"Soul?" Maka whispered into the darkness. It had been hard to drift off on the uncomfortable camp bed and when she had it had been a nightmare that made her paranoid there was a witch in their room. She'd dreamt that Manea had snuck in and demanded a fight, since it was pitch black in the room she didn't know whether it was real or fake. It was times like this she wished she had Blair, when in her cat form the two girls got on okay, in fact Maka enjoyed having cat Blair sleep at the end of her bed and keep her company.
Her whisper was only greeted by snoring. Maka rolled her eyes-even the clumsiest burglar couldn't wake Soul.
So she slipped out of the covers, staying low to the ground, Soul's bed was but an oddly shaped shadow. Blindly, Maka reached out a hand and shook Soul's shoulder.
"Hnnnh?" was the disorientated grumble that came from the mess of duvet, strange as it seems it gave Maka a little comfort.
"I-I can't sleep." her hand was still on Soul's shoulder and after a second his slightly tanned hand appeared on hers.
"I didn't think you would. You want to go downstairs and get some milk or something?" he grumbled, half asleep still but meaning well. Maka shook her head, pulling her hair loose to protect herself against the draughts in the room.
"In this creepy place? No thanks." Maka said.
"You're starting to sound like Liz." Soul made a sound resembling a yawn.
"Thanks, I think," Maka muttered, before she gave Soul a push. "Move over."
"What are you doing?" Soul begrudgingly moved over as Maka sneaked under the covers. She tried to do it smoothly and indiscreetly, but she elbowed Soul in the face in the confusion and he accidently kicked her shin.
They rubbed their wounds as they huddled under the thin blanket.
"What are you doing, Maka?" Soul repeated, Maka felt her face go hot.
"Just let me stay here. I feel safer when I'm with you."
This time it was Soul's turn to heat up. He put his arms around his meister comfortingly. Maka snuggled into him, so that his chin rested on her blonde locks.
The two were asleep in minutes.
-The next morning-
Stein sighed as he looked around him, the teens were either asleep on the table or staring gormlessly into space, completely lost and even Marie was stifling yawns.
"Are we going to come up with a plan of action or not?" he snapped, Harry and Black*Star appeared from their folded arms, which had served them both as pillows. Soul and Ron blinked rapidly in an attempt to gain focus.
"Apparently not." Few turned to see Lupin appearing in the room, a kneazel at his heels.
"Vallata." Shiku mumbled, before crossing the room to his new pet. She rubbed herself against him, making him smile. He sat on the floor with her, whilst Lupin carried on to the table.
"Where do you suggest we start to look, Professor?" Hermione rubbed her eyes as she spoke, trying to prove that she was ready to go.
"Well, if the witch is linked to the underground, then our safest course would be to search caves, tunnels-anywhere below the surface." Stein replied, fiddling with his screw. He winced as he screwed it too far and started to loosen it. The adults unaccustomed to this stared in fascination.
"Caves? You could try Chislehurst caves." Lupin said helpfully, pouring himself a glass of milk from the table. Sirius shook his head.
"Only allowed guided tours in there. There's no way you'd be able to explore it by yourself."
"We could sneak in when they close." Maka shrugged, Soul grinned, it was unlike his partner to break the rules.
"I'll ask Azusa!" Marie declared, then closed the honey-coloured eye not hidden by the patch. Sirius and Lupin frowned at each other.
"Azusa is a death scythe we know. She has strong telepathic abilities and can probably supply us with the information we need. Presuming she's tuned in to us." Stein explained, still unscrewing and re-screwing, he talked over Marie as she asked questions.
After a few minutes Marie opened her eye, "they close at four in the afternoon. It leaves us with plenty of time to explore!"
"What do we do whilst we wait?" Shiku asked, stroking Vallata. Stein shook his head.
"Not 'we' kid. You can't come with us." Stein finally left his screw alone and helped himself to breakfast.
"Why not?" Shiku frowned.
"Well, you're powers may not be as haywire, but you've not stopped being a Kishin egg just yet. To be around a witch would be dangerous. In addition, you can hardly protect yourself and we can't pick up the slack for you. Stay here." Stein said firmly.
"It's okay. You can help me out." Lupin smiled at the boy, Soul smiled a little at the smaller boy too.
"Tough luck, kid."
Suddenly, everyone was awake and after breakfast started rushing around. Grabbing bags, packing food and water, changing into clothes that would allow them to fight more easily and of course, sparring and training against each other. At four o'clock they stood as a small army outside of number twelve Grimmauld place, Lupin, Shiku and Sirius waved them off at the door.
It was time to go witch hunting.
(A/N:) So, I hope that quenched your thirst!
Fun fact: Grimmauld Place is a play on grim old place, which explains the lame joke at the beginning. XD
Funner fact: Chislehurst caves are real and you can take tours on them. (Thank you google chrome!)
Funnest fact: I have decided this fanfiction will have two more chapters, before it ends.
Chapter fifteen will be the battle.
Chapter sixteen will be an epilogue
I had no reviews that I can really reply to on the last chapter, so I'm going to have to sign off here.
Tell me what you think by typing a review down below, or click 'follow'/'favourite'
See you next water time~!