I don't own anything and I'm not making any money from writing this
I don't own anything and I'm not making any money from writing this. I used the third book as a basis of this story, as most of you know. I relied heavily on the book as a source of dialog for most of this chapter, so if any of this sounds familiar it's because I took some instances and added it to my story.
Chapter 26
A few days after their talk in the courtyard, the Slytherin and Gryffindor Third Years had Care of Magical Creatures. Remus was out for his monthly problem and this class coincided with Buffy's Remidial Defense training was scheduled at this time so she had no where to be. She decided go with Ron, Harry, and Hermione. When they reached Hagrid's hut there were already several students down there. The four Fryffindors stuck together and talked quietly waiting for Hagrid. The large man came out of the Forbidden Forrest with an overly excited look on his face. Buffy noticed that Harry, Hermione, and Ron were all exchanging nervous glances and this made her curious. She noticed Draco was standing at the back of the group with a completely unenthusiastic look on his face.
"Ohhh," said Lavender Brown, pointing across a small distance to a paddock.
"What are those things?" Buffy hissed nervously to Harry, who shook his head with a weary look on his face.
"I dunno but anytime Hagrid has that look on his face, it's bound to be a dangerous creature" That did nothing to put the young slayer at ease but all she could do was look on with unease. This was a surreal moment in her life, and that was saying a lot. The creatures walking towards the class from the back of the paddock seemed to be a hybrid, the most bizarre hybrid in the history of crossbreeds. The back half of the creature was Equine in nature. It had the fur, hind legs, and tail of a horse.
That was not the bizarre part, at least not in and of it's self. It was what the top half was in combination with the horse. The hop half was bird like, with large talon's on their long legs, they had wings, and a giant eagle's head, with a very scary beak. Really it reminded Buffy slightly of the griffin tattoo on Angel's shoulder blade.
"Aren' they gorgeous? Hippogriffs!" Hagrid exclaimed with pride sounding in his voice. Everyone just had an astonished look on their face in response. "Who wants to come forward and see how they react?" Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Buffy all stepped forward after they realized that no one else was going to. "Ah, good. Now the most important thing to remember about these animals is they're proud. They are easily offended. If you value your life, you won't insult them." Buffy took this piece of information to heart but could hear Draco's unmistakable drawl in the back ground and knew that he was not.
"You always want the beast to make the first move, because that's the polite things to do. You walk towards him or her, you boy, and then wait. If he bows back away slowly and carefully. You don't want to startle him. If you startle him, well, those talons will hurt, you know." Hagrid beamed at the class and Buffy could see how happy he was. "Right- Now, who wants to go first?"
Everybody in the class backed away including Ron, Harry, Hermione and Buffy. Hagrid's face fell. "No one?" Harry tentatively raised his hand and Buffy clearly saw the uncertainty shining brightly in his green eyes but knew that the other Gryffindor would not let his friend be let down.
"That's a good man, Harry." Harry went through the process of bowing and the giant horse bird bowed back. Buffy felt her heart stutter in her chest as she watched the younger boy reach out and stroke the creature's beak at Hagrid's urging. Then Harry got sent up into the air on the grey Hippogriff that he had been petting, aptly named "Buckbeak." He landed after several heart stopping minutes during which Buffy and Hermione clutched hands in joint fear.
When he landed the rest of class cautiously edged forward while Harry and Buffy hung back. Harry was left out because he had already had his turn, which was fine by him and Buffy because she wasn't part of the class. "That was nothing like broom flying." He murmured and Buffy smiled.
"I suppose not." Her attention was drawn to her cousin who was now bowing to Buckbeak and the next thing she knew he was down on the ground crying out in pain.
"He killed me!" Hagrid said, "I told ya not to insult him." Over the din and tried to wrestle the upset Hippogriff back into submission. As he was doing that Buffy ran over to Draco and knelt beside him.
"He's killed me." He said again when he saw Buffy's face hanging over his.
She rolled her eyes. "If he killed you, you wouldn't be able to say that. Let me see." He jerked his arm away and the cried out against the pain. "Drake! Let me see!"
He finally let her look at his arm. "How does it look?" He asked and Buffy shook her head. "You need to go to the hospital wing."
Hagrid heard that and he came over. "I'll take him. Class is dismissed." He said and started up towards the castle, Buffy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all hot on his heels.
The next day dawned gray and cold. "Well at least he didn't loose his arm, though it would serve him right for doing something after Hagrid explained exactly how to act around the thing." Buffy said over breakfast and the trio of younger Gryffindor's all just looked at her. She shrugged. "He's my cousin, besides; he did deserve what he got. He was being an idiot." The trio nodded.
"Good, it's Defense Against the Dark Arts." Harry said with an upbeat tone and Buffy nodded. "Yeah, but Remus isn't feeling well so he'll be out today." Little did they know that they had a not so good surprise waiting for them.
When they reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom Professor Snape was standing at the front of the class and Hermione was gone again. "Where'd Mione go?" Ron asked and Buffy knew then that something strange was going on.
"I dunno mate but we better take a seat."
A few minutes into the lesson Professor Snape had just been giving a lecture on werewolves and he asked a question. That was when Buffy got a shock. Hermione was suddenly sitting beside her. That was when she resolved to ask her friend what was going on.
Buffy knew what Snape was doing and it annoyed her. He assigned the essay 'List 5 Signs to Spot Werewolves' and she knew that it was so that the kids would find out Remus was a werewolf. After the class was let out she motioned for the others to go on without her and she made her way up to front of the class where the Potions Master was standing.
"What do you think you're doing?" She asked and his head darted up.
"I don't know who you think you are talking to Miss Summers but I assure you that you are not speaking to me in that manner." His dark brown almost black eyes glittered up at her.
She huffed. "You are egging those kids on to find out what Remus is." She said with her hands planted firmly on her hips.
He arched an eyebrow. "You know what he is." She nodded jerkily. "Yes and I plan on informing him as to what you are attempting to do. Don't hold it against him that you didn't get the DADA post. It's not Remus' fault. He's a good man with a flaw. We all have flaws."
He just looked up at her. "Professor Lupin will do what he wishes with the essay. It is too late for me to do anything about it. Now, you have other classes, isn't that correct Miss Summers?"
The weeks flew by and soon enough it was time for those who were staying for the Christmas Holidays to sign a sheet saying that they were indeed staying. Buffy signed the sheet with an air of resignation. At least she wouldn't be alone as Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all staying behind.
They were all located in the Gryffindor Common Room. The boys were playing chess while Hermione and Buffy were engrossed in a deep conversation on the couch about 2 feet from the boy's table. "Get that thing away from Scabbers, Hermione!" Ron shouted at the top of his lungs and Buffy saw Hermione's ginger cat pounce up on the chess board causing some players to get knocked over. Then came Felix right on Crookshanks' heels. "Get them out of here!" Hermione and Buffy both leaped off the couch and contained their respective pet. "Your bloody cat has been out to get Scabbers from the beginning. He's a demonic cat Hermione. Get rid of him!" Ron said, cuddling Scabbers close to him.
"Why don't you get rid of your rat Ron? Crookshanks is a good cat!" Ron puffed up and opened his mouth to respond when Buffy stepped in.
"Ron, just calm down. It's nature for a cat to attack a mouse." Ron just glowered at her.
"Course you would take her side. You're a girl." He sneered and Buffy felt a sting. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked and he just spun on his heel and went up the stairs to boys' dormitory.
Harry looked at the two girls and sighed. "I'll go talk to him." He left and Hermione let out a snarl.
"Ronald annoys me so much sometimes." She said through clenched teeth and the girls sat down again, no longer talking just looking into the fire lost in their own thoughts.
Two days later and Ron was no longer talking to Hermione or Buffy. If and when he needed to say anything to the two girls, Harry had to say it. Buffy just sighed and thought to herself, 'This is what you get for hanging out with 13 year olds.' It was the first Saturday of the Christmas Holidays and it was a Hogsmeade day also. Only thing was that neither she nor Harry were aloud to go because of Black. They said goodbye to Ron and Hermione at the large double doors and watched the two go in separate directions. "Do you think he'll cool off?" Buffy asked and Harry nodded.
"I know Ron. I bet you a galleon that he and Hermione are friends by the time they get back." Buffy smiled.
"So, what do you wanna do?" She asked and watched the raven haired boy shrug.
"I dunno. What about you?" Buffy thought for a moment and said, "I wanna go inside. I love snow but…it's cold…and wet which automatically makes it my hair's enemy." Harry smiled and they walked up the stone steps and pushed the giant wooden doors open. Just then two voices in unison said,
"Psst…" Harry turned around and there were Frd and George Weasley. "Hey Buffy." They said in greeting and then turned to Harry. "We need to speak with you in private real quick." Harry looked back at Buffy, a question in his eyes.
"I'll just wait here." The twins led Harry over to a secluded corner and Buffy turned her back, giving the scheming twins and Harry privacy.
5 minutes later Harry tapped her on the shoulder, "We gotta go." Buffy was confused.
"Where?" Harry got a mischievous grin on his face.
"To the common room. I'll explain there." He said and Buffy followed, not liking the look on his face. They made it to the common room and she said, "You wanna tell me what's going on?"
He grinned again. "We're going into Hogsmeade."
Buffy blinked slightly. "What? But…what about Black?" She asked and Harry just grinned wider, his bright green eyes dancing in merriment.
"Fred and George gave us a tool so that we will know exactly where everyone is on Hogwart's grounds and we'll take the invisibility cloak so that no one will know we are there. It's foolproof."
Buffy blinked and then grinned. "I'm always up for some active disobedience. I'm tired of being fenced in. Besides, I think we may be the only two souls in this building." Harry smiled.
"Let's see shall we." He led her up to the boys dorms and pulled out a piece of old parchment.
"Harry…that doesn't look like much of anything, let alone something that will tell us such amazing information, besides, how exactly are we planning on getting past the dementors?"
Harry just smiled. "There are secret passageways all over this place. I happen to know where the one remaining one leading to Hogsmeade is located." Buff smiled, not letting him know that Remus had told her that bit of information on Halloween.
"Show me what this puppy can do." Harry whipped out his wand and tapped the paper. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Before Buffy's eyes the paper exploded into life, showing tiny dots with names labeled all over. "Look, Remus is in his office…and there we are!" Buffy exclaimed in awe.
"Yeah, the passageway we want is the humpedback witch on the fifth floor." Buffy nodded and Harry handed her the map while he got into his trunk and pulled out his father's invisibility cloak.
He put it over the two of them and the walked carefully down the flights until they reached the hump backed witch. Harry glanced at the map, making sure that there was no one coming and he tapped the witch saying, "Dissendium."
The witch swung to the side and the two walked in. "It's too narrow, we have take off the cloak" He and Buffy both said, "Lumos." Then Harry took the map and said, "Mischief Managed." Buffy watched as the map went blank.
"Where now?" She whispered and Harry led her onward deeper into the narrow, low tunnel. While Buffy couldn't help but think her father may have escaped through this route just a little over a month ago.
They came to a trap door after about 20 minutes of walking. "We go up?" Buffy asked and Harry nodded. He pushed the trap door up slightly and saw no lights on and he threw the door open as quietly as he could and scurried out whispering "Lumos." Buffy did the same and she swung herself out of the hole in the ground up to level earth. "Whew that thing is almost enough to make me claustrophobic." She whispered and Harry threw the cloak over them just in time to avoid being seen by clerk that came down. He left the door open and Harry and Buffy scurried out of the basement into a loud colorful room.
"Honeydukes." Harry whispered in awe just loud enough for Buffy to hear him over the din. She spotted Ron and Hermione sticking close to one another without being to close, looking at some strange flavored lollipops. They crept closer, edging their way through the groups of Hogwarts students.
"Blood flavored lollipops…I wonder if Buffy would want us to get some of that for Angel?" Hermione asked Ron who shrugged, not answering.
"I don't think Angel has a sweet tooth." Buffy whispered into Hermione's ear. She spun and whispered back, "Buffy? Is that you? Is Harry with you?" Ron was looking at them blankly.
"Yeah, let's go outside where we can talk." She whispered and Hermione nodded.
Harry and Buffy followed Ron and Hermione out of the candy shop and into the blustery cold. "Let's go into the Three Broomsticks. You two could get some Butterbeer and warm up and it'll be less crowded but we could still talk." They walked to the Three Broomsticks, sat down and that's when the grilling started. "How did you get here?" Harry explained the Marauder's Map and Hermione huffed. "You have to turn that in!" Ron looked at her like she grew a second head.
"Why in the world would he do something like that?"
"Because something like that must be illegal and it might work on dark magic!" Ron just shook his head.
"You're bloody mad!" He said and the butterbeers were delivered.
"That's a lot of Butterbeer for two people", Madam Rosmerta said and Hermione waved her hand. "Ron likes to drink surgary things." The bartender nodded and seemed to accept that answer and walked away. Hermione pushed the two mugs underneath the cloak.
"We'll talk about the map later." Right as she said that a group of teachers and the Minister of Magic, Mr. Fudge walked in. Hermione saw that and whispered, "Mobiliarbus." And a tree floated to rest in between the two tables where the group was headed right next to the group of Gryffindor's.
Madam Rosmerta's voice came along calling out drink order's, McGonagall's, Hagrids, Professor Flitwick's and Fudge's voice answered back. "Come join us Rosmerta." Offered the Minister and she said, "Why thank you, Sir." They heard a chair scrape along hard wood floors and then the bar maid said, "What brings you to Hogsmead, Minister?" The minister paused for a moment and then said, "Black, I'm sure you've heard the stories of his break in on Halloween." There was another pause and Buffy felt her pulse rate speed up at the mention of her father.
" I may have heard a rumor or two. Do you think he could still be in the area?" Rosmerta whispered nervously.
There was another pause. " I am positive about that Rosmerta."
She huffed. "Well, are those Dementor's necessary?" She asked shortly. "They've come into this bar, twice. Scared away all the tourists. It's bad for the business."
There was a sigh and the minister replied. "It's for your safety Rosmerta. Nothing I can do to change it. It's a necessary move. We all know what Black is capable of."
"I still have trouble believe it. What he did. It just doesn't fit with the kind, if unruly, young man that I knew." Her voice had a retrospective tone to it. " Of all the people to go to You Know Who, I would not have guessed Sirius Black to be the one. I can still remember him running around here, happy with his friends. If you would have told me back then what he would become, what he would do, I would have told you that you had gone off the deep end."
The minister sighed again and said in a bleak voice, "You don't even know the worst. It's not that widely known." Everyone was silent for a moment.
"What is the worst Minister? What could be worse than killing thirteen people?" Rosmerta asked in breathy whisper
"A lot," was the minister's opaque response.
"Well, what is it?" There was a tired sigh.
"Do you remember Cassandra Anderson?" Professor McGonagall asked and Buffy tensed up, knowing what was coming.
"Yeah, Remus Lupin's cousin. Didn't she and Black have a relationship?" Rosmerta asked in a hushed voice.
McGonagall's voice replied, "Yes. He did and they had a child."
There was a gasp of shock and Rosmerta said, "What? I didn't know that!"
McGonagall said, "Well you wouldn't. They cast a concealing charm on her to hide it and then gave the baby up for adoption. They're daughter, Elizabeth Anne Black is now attending Hogwarts."
"But wait…that would make her almost seventeen, because they were around seventeen when they broke up." The barmaid's voice replied.
"Yes. She was adopted out to America and just recently, when her adoptive mother died suddenly, did she find out that she was adopted. She searched down Remus as he was her last living relative, well at least the last living relative that she could contact, and he explained being a witch to her. She decided to attend Hogwarts and is a 16 year old third year taking remedial courses."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all looking in her direction and Harry saw her bow her head in shame.
"So wait, they had a daughter, what is so bad about that, surely Black doesn't know she's back."
"No. He doesn't, at least not to our knowledge and that's the way we want to keep it. She knows who he is though and she's been tearing herself up about it." McGonagall said. "She's Harry Potter's friend. You haven't met her. Buffy Summers. A very sweet girl who wants nothing more than to see her father brought to justice."
"For killing those people." Rosmerta said and Fudge made a noise of derision.
"As I said, If only that was the only thing."
"Rosmerta, you remember who he dated, can you tell me who his best friend was?" McGonagall asked and the bar keep gasped.
"Why of course. Two halves of a whole they were. Nigh inseparable they were. The laughs they used to give me. Quite a team of trouble makers that Sirius Black and James Potter."
Buffy felt Harry go wobbly and reached out to steady him and he shoved her lightly, letting her know that he didn't want her anywhere near him.
"My point exactly." McGonagall said, "Potter and Black were the leaders of their gang. They were both extremely intelligent but I don't think we've had any two students cause as much havoc as they."
"Oh I dunno abou' tha' Professor." Replied Hagrid lightly. "The Weasley twins are givin them a run for their money."
"As close as they were, you would have thought they were brothers rather than best friends." Professor Flitwick declared in his squeaky voice.
"They were." Fudge said darkly. "Potter trusted Black with everything, that didn't change once they were out of school. They graduated, Lily and James were married, Black James' best man and when Harry was born, and he was declared Godfather. Harry has no idea of that fact however, you can imagine how that would affect the poor boy."
Buffy heard Harry choke slightly and she had to fight her instinct to give him comfort.
"Because Black went over to the Darkside?" Rosmerta asked, her tone showing just how caught up in this gossip session she was.
"If only it was just that. No, no my dear. The fact that is not widely known is that the Potter's knew You Know Who was after them and they went into hiding. Dumbledore advised them to go into hiding. He performed the Fidelious Charm."
Rosmerta was silent and then said, "I'm not familiar with that spell, how does it work."
"It's an ingenious spell. You cast the spell and if anyone came up to your house they would not see you, even if they had their nose pressed against the window. You let one person know where you are and it is impossible to find you unless the Secret Keeper tells." The minister said in a tired voice.
"So Black was the Potter's Secret Keeper." Rosmerta deduced.
"Of course, Potter trusted him with his life. Dumbledore was worried though. James swore that Black would never tell, he would rather die than betray them and that Black was planning on going underground as well. Dumbledore remained nervous though."
"He suspected Black as a traitor?" Rosmerta asked.
"Not precisely. He knew someone close to the Potter's had turned as he had a spy on the inside as well. You Know Who had knowledge that could only come from someone close. He pleaded with James to allow him to be the Secret Keeper but James remained firm. It had to be Black. Then, barely a week after the spell had been preformed…" The minister trailed off.
"Black sold them out?" Rosmerta asked in awe.
"He did. He got tired of being a double agent and he was ready to go over to You Know Who publicly. We believe that he planned to do this when the Potter's were killed but as everyone knows You Know Who met his downfall with young Harry Potter. Black decided to run for it."
"Damned turncoat! I saw him! I saw him that night at the Potter's." Hagrid exploded causing the bar to go hushed.
"Hagrid, calm yourself, you are helping no one by shouting." McGonagall's soothing voice said.
"I saw him. I had gone to pick up Harry on Dumbledore's orders. I had him in me arms when Black flew up on his motorbike. Demanded that I hand him over. I…I had my orders thought. I told him that Dumbledore wanted me to take Harry. He offered me his motorbike. I suppose he knew that he wouldn't need it anymore. Could you imagine what he would have done to poor little Harry? Probably thrown him into a river somewhere and said good riddance. His own best friend's son! His godson!"
A long pregnant silence lasted for a while after Hagrid had finished his story.
Rosmerta said, "But he didn't disappear did he? I mean you caught him after he killed all of those people."
The minister took this time to say. "If only that were the case. It was not the ministry that found him but Peter Pettigrew. Another of the Potter's friends. Knowing that Black had been the Secret Keeper, Pettigrew sought out Black. We imagine that he planned to seek revenge."
Rosmerta gasped. "I remember him. He was the fat little one that always hung on to Black and Potter's coat tails."
"That's the one. Poor man never saw it coming. He had Black trapped in a corner, eyewitnesses stated that he was shouting 'Lily and James? How could you Sirius?' The biggest part that we ever found was his pinky finger. Died a hero's death, he did. I was just beginning my career when it happened. I was one of the first on the scene. I still…have nightmares about that day." He paused again and they could hear in his voice the fear of the day coming back. "There was hole…a crater in the middle of the street, muggles screaming, bodies everywhere, and Black standing there with what was left of Peter Pettigrew at his feet. Just a pile of bloody robes and his pinky."
The sounds of noses blowing and sniffles echoed across the distance of the table.
"Is it true that he's mad?" Rosmerta asked with curiosity in her voice.
"I wish I could say yes but I can't. Most inmates have lost it within a few months of going in there. One day a few weeks before he escaped, I went to Azkaban. I was shocked at how…well…normal Black seemed. He saw that I had that day's copy of the Daily Prophet and asked if he could have it because he missed doing the crossword. I handed it over. He was one of the most heavily guarded prisoners. Always two Dementor's right outside his cell and yet he was completely lucid."
"You don't think that he's trying to find You Know Who again do you?" Rosmerta breathed.
"I am afraid to say that that is exactly what I believe he is going to attempt but he seems bent on finishing the work he began twelve years ago by killing Harry Potter. All I can say is that with our man power and the Dementor's guarding Hogwart's and searching surrounding areas, hopefully he will be caught before it comes to that."
"We better get up to the castle Cornelius." McGonagall said.
"Yes. Of course Minerva, I wouldn't want to be late for my dinner with Albus."
They group dispersed and they felt the cold rush of the artic air as the group of teachers and the Minister left, leaving the four Gryffindor's sitting in stunned silence.
So there we are. Another chapter finished, in one day too! Woohoo. I guess my muse is back. But like I said at the top most of the dialoge and all the spells belong to the ingenious J.K Rowling and I just threw my little twist in. I promise that the next chapter will be much more original. I just thought that this would be a good way to explain things to Harry. Plus it'll set us up for good old time going back through the tunnel to Hogwarts with Harry and Buffy. Lots and lots of angst next chapter! Please review, it helps me write faster.
Natalie