The howl that pierced through the night caused Rujuta to wake up. A quick glance at the watch made her realize that, despite the darkness, it was not night but early morning. She should be getting ready for work.
Still tired and slightly confused as to what the howl that had woken her originated from she managed to drag herself out of bed and into the en-suit bathroom. As she turned on the lights and looked at herself in the mirror she noticed the dark shadows beneath her eyes. Midnight meetings were definitely not some of her favorite things to attend, especially not when she knew she would have to get up early the next morning to go to work.
While trying her best to hide the marks of tiredness there was a knock on her door.
"I'll be right out!" she called. There was a pause, then another series of knocks. Rujuta groaned and stomped out of the bathroom.
"What is..." she begun as she yanked the door open, but found herself losing her voice as she saw what was outside.
"Sirius..."
The human outside her door glowed with a silvery light and seemed pale, almost see-through. Clear signs of a ghost.
"Rujuta", he said, his voice echoing.
"You... you're dead?"
He vigorously shook his head.
"No", he responded. "He's keeping me alive. I don't know why."
"But... but you're a ghost", she protested. "How..."
"I'm not a ghost, my love", Sirius interrupted. "I know I must look like one, but I am still partly solid. Hence why I could knock on your door."
Rujuta reached out a hand towards him, still not sure if she could believe him, but she shied away.
"I'm sorry", he said. "No touching. I don't want you to get hurt."
"How could I get hurt by you?" Rujuta asked. Sirius shook his head.
"I don't have much time", he said. "I need to talk with Hermione."
"Why Hermione?"
"She has to alert the Order of the Phoenix", Sirius explained. "They have to find something, something very important."
"Sirius, we have no magic", Rujuta slowly said. "Gathering the Order of the Phoenix would take a very long time and even then I'm not sure we could do anything."
Sirius frowned.
"What do you mean you don't have magic?"
"When you were taken away, on Christmas Eve, a man that had possessed Remus somehow managed to block our ability to use magic", Rujuta explained. "Only those still in training can wield it; once they graduate they have as much power as a regular Muggle."
Sirius looked at her in shock.
"You don't have magic?"
Rujuta shook her head.
"Oh no", Sirius said. "No, no, no, this is not good."
"What's not good?"
"If you don't have magic you're in danger", Sirius said. "You all are."
After quickly changing out of her pajamas, Rujuta had wasted no time in gathering all of the adults responsible for the training of the new Dumbledore's Army in the Room of Requirement. She had considered trying to wake and gather the students as well, but they deserved to rest. It was Saturday after all and they had been up late the previous night.
Hermione was home with her children, leaving Ron in her place. Other than that the group also consisted of Ginny, Neville, Fred, Luna, Draco and Snape. Sirius looked surprised, but not that annoyed, at the sight of the former teacher in Potions.
"So how is this possible?" Neville asked after Rujuta explained what had happened that morning.
"I'm not sure", Sirius admitted. "I only know that since I was captured I have not seen sunlight. Every morning I am fed some sort of potion, which allows my soul to travel separated from my body without me dying. My captor has been using me and other prisoners that I can hear around my cell to find things for him around the world. The longer you're fed the potion the more control he gets of where you can go."
"So he might be the one controlling you right now?" Draco asked.
"He's not, I promise", Sirius said. "He has nothing to gain here. There are no artifacts that he needs around Hogwarts and he does not fear you. Rujuta's explanation of you being ripped of your magic explains why."
"But you told us to find something", Rujuta said. "Is that one of the artifacts he needs?"
"Yes", Sirius answered, "but you can only find it through magic."
"Tell us anyway", Ron said. "Even if we have no magic we might be able to stop him through other means."
Sirius hesitated.
"I don't know its exact location, only that it's somewhere near or in a lake up here in the north", he eventually said. "The lake is protected by a very old and cunning creature that won't allow anyone near it."
"What does the artifact look like?" Ginny asked.
"A pentagrammic pyramid", Sirius answered.
"A what?" Fred asked.
"A pyramid with a base like a pentagram", Snape said, sounding less than amused. "The symbol of magic."
"It shouldn't be that hard to spot, then", Ron said. "Pyramids don't usually have that sort of base."
"It's too dangerous for anyone to go looking for it without being capable of wielding magic", Sirius said.
"Well, now that you've told us I don't think you can stop us", Ginny pointed out.
"Have you seen who's holding you captive?" Neville suddenly asked. "His face, I mean."
"Not clearly", Sirius admitted. "He's dark-haired and pale, but that's all I know."
"Then he's not possessing Remus anymore", Rujuta said. "Have you heard him somewhere near you? You mentioned hearing other prisoners."
Sirius looked sad.
"No. I haven't heard him."
"You said that a potion was what made your soul able to travel", Snape suddenly said.
"Yes", Sirius said, turning to face his old classmate. "Which was why I was pleasantly surprised to see you here."
He fell silent and seemed to grasp for words.
"You, Snape, are one of the best Potioneers alive", he eventually said.
"Thank you, that must have been very difficult for you to say", Snape said, his voice disdainful. Sirius glared at him.
"Would you two stop bickering for the time being?" Rujuta groaned. "Sirius, I assume there is something you wanted to ask Severus."
"Yes", Sirius answered after a while. "I wanted to ask him to analyze the potion my captivator uses to control me and other prisoners."
"How?" Ginny asked. "We're not allowed to touch you; you said so yourself."
"I assume you have a vial close by?" Sirius asked, still looking at Snape. The greasy-haired man nodded.
"Good", Sirius said. "Hold it out for me."
Snape looked at him, then at Rujuta. When she nodded he slowly obeyed the order. Sirius quickly tore off a few strands of his hair and allowed them to fall down into the outstretched vial.
"That should be enough for you", he said. Snape refused to reply and simply corked the vial before he put it back in a small porch he carried in his belt.
The next moment Sirius gasped and grasped at his own chest.
"He's coming", he hissed. "I have to... Rujuta, I..."
Then he was gone.
"Bloody hell", Ron said.
"Has anyone else noticed the feathers spread out across the room?" Luna suddenly asked. Everyone turned to look at her, then at the floor around them.
"Phoenix-feathers", Snape quickly remarked, sounding surprised. Rujuta thoughtfully picked one up.
"How can there be phoenix-feathers in the Room of Requirement?" Ginny asked. She has hardly finished the sentence before the sun's first rays found their way in through the windows of the room and, as if it was its cue, a phoenix that had been resting up by the roof swept down to them. He dropped a piece of parchment on the floor in front of Rujuta before he landed on a windowsill.
"What?" Fred asked. "How... what?"
Rujuta picked up the parchment and unfolded it.
"What does it say?" Neville asked. "Who is it from?"
As she read, Rujuta's eyes widened in fear.
"Oh no."