Author's Note - I really didn't like how I ended last chapter, so as promised (mostly to make myself feel better) I went back and re-edited the final scene of chapter 36; the scene between Serefina and Fudge has been added too and is completely different to what I had there previously, feel free to go back and read, you don't have to re-comment if you don't want too, I just hope you will all spare two extra minutes of your time to go back and read the additional information that has been posted. Thank you.
Dedications: Chapter goes out to the following people: Fan of Fics, Vivi Fontaine, KingdomHeartsNerd and 10th Squad 3rd Seat.
In responses: First to Fan of Fics: I agree, Fudge is completely opposite of what we should have as Minister for Magic; I also took into consideration of what you said about calling Serefina by her name outside of Hogwarts, and I have changed it now, you are right to assume that it would be strange, I wouldn't do it with my own teachers from school. Um, no there was no significance to Phoebe's foal being named 'Blackheart' I thought it would be just a cute little filler between Phoebe, Harry and Terence. As for Serefina being calm about Phoebe and Terence, what did you mean? Any particular reason she should react to their relationship? Again, I wish I had taken the time to plan last chapter before I had written it, because I really did want Serefina to question Fudge on Black and his history because as you stated she is in tune with what is happening around Hogwarts and it's students - despite not going to Hogwarts as a child - I was re-reading your review and I re-edited the previous chapter and I hope you enjoy/enjoyed the changes.
Secondly to Vivi Fontaine:It's good to hear from you. As for Phoebe and Terence, I couldn't resist the little scene between them, and the reaction from Ashlyn, it was priceless. As I said above to Fan of Fics your review also played a part in the re-write seeing as I included some information on James and his family as to how they react to Sirius's escape. Ashlyn will come later (possibly in the chapter below) but Sirius is more concentrated on getting Peter, but he will focus somewhat on his family, namely his son's, daughter, niece and godson. You'll see what I mean =)
Lastly to 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Yup. Harry has arrived. Fudge doesn't seem happy about it but, eh, what is he going to do? Serefina doesn't seem to want to let young Harry go quite easily =D. As for your favorite couple, they have kissed exactly three times, and Terence kissed her forehead once; so much for keeping the kissing to a minimum =P
BLACK STILL AT LARGE
Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.
"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."
Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis.
"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it - who'd believe him if he did?"
While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand which Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.
James looked into the shadowed eyes of his father, the only part of his sunken face that seemed alive; the rest of his face represented that of a vampire that James had remembered seeing in one of his Defence Against the Dark Art books from school.
"James," Samantha - Sam - Black called, as she hurried through the manor looking for her eldest son. Her hair was dishellved and her breathing ragged as she reached the kitchen. "James, didn't you hear -" she cut off a she noticed the Morning newspaper in her son's hands. She sighed, a frown adorning her beautiful features. "Oh, James..."
"Why didn't you tell me?" James asked, looking up from the paper to stare accusingly at his mother. "You knew, why you didn't tell me!"
Sam sighed and approached her son. "James, I am terribly sorry for not telling you," she said.
"Obviously you're not!" James snapped. "If you were then you would have told me sooner, rather than letting me find out for myself!"
James met his mother's gaze a mixture of grief and fury crept into his features, before he bolted from his seat into the family room.
"James!" Sam called, as she followed him, but by the time she had reached the family room green flames flickered in the fireplace and James had gone.
Samantha Black sighed, touched the necklace which hung around her neck as tears pooled in her eyes, what had she done?
~*Phoebe*~
'Witch burning in the Seventeenth Century was Completely Pointless Discuss!'
Ashlyn shook her head as she looked up from the magazine she was reading, she was laying on her stomach on Phoebe's bed while the Gryffindor sat at her desk scratching away at her History of Magic summer essay. "In the last three years of knowing you," the Slytherin said, "I have never known you to leave an essay this long."
"Circumstances arose which kept me from finishing it," Phoebe answered. "Like Dance recitals, Harry turning up, Fudge arriving and trying to remove Harry from Portugal -"
"He didn't," said Ashlyn. "He does realize that Potter was invited, right?"
Phoebe nodded. "He does now. Harry accepted my invitation in front of him." she grinned, looking up at her best friend. "Fudge can't touch Harry now, government law."
"I would love to live in Portugal," Ashlyn grinned. "Your laws are so much cooler than ours."
"Trust me, not everything about Portugal laws are fun." Phoebe said. "Some of them are cruel and harsh as any country."
Ashlyn frowned. "What? They don't burn witches at the stake do they?"
Phoebe giggled. "No, we're not that inhumane, but the punishment clause out here can sometimes be unnatural, even to Wizarding standards. Our criminals like Murderers, Child abusers, Wife beaters and such can sometimes find themselves in a situation that would make even their blood turn ice cold. For example; a few years back, there was a witch down in the village, her husband tried to rape her daughter, and he was convicted, but instead of sentencing him to a certain amount of time in prison, they sentenced him death."
"How did he die?" Ashlyn asked, unsure of if she actually wanted to know.
"That's the harsh part," said Phoebe. "You know the Capital Punishment in Muggle London?"
Ashlyn shook her head.
"Well, it was abolished in the UK in 1965 for all crimes except treason and piracy," Phoebe explained. "Well, a Portuguese death sentence is related to that. We don't hang victims much anymore, but we do still use Beheading, Stoning and Crucifixion."
The Slytherin winced. "Savages. So, how did the wizard die?"
"Beheading," Phoebe answered. "It was quick, clean and painless. I remember doing a study on it when I homeschooled as a child."
"Professor Blackheart had you study Capital Punishment when you were a child?" Ashlyn frowned, "Isn't that a bit cruel?"
The Gryffindor shook her head. "No, most magical children in Portugal are taught the laws from a young age, our parents - or in my case guardian - try to help us understand what will happen to us if we break the law. It may sound like a cruel thing to do, especially to someone so young, innocent and naive, but it is the only way for us to understand that bad things happen to bad people."
Ashlyn nodded, in a way it did sound cruel, but it also sounded reasonable when you actually thought about it. If a child was taught the law from a young age, and they understood that bad things happened to you if you broke the law, then there was a less likely chance that the child would grow up to be a criminal. In a way it sounded logical.
Turning back to her essay, Phoebe reached for A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot which lay beside her on the desk; she flipped it open to the correct page and started to write.
Non-magical people (more commonly known as Muggles) were particularly afraid of magic in medieval times, but not very good at recognizing it. On the very rare occasion that they did catch a witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever, the accused would simply cast a basic Flame-Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek in pain while enjoying a gentle tickling sensation. Wendlin the Weird enjoyed being burnt so much that she allowed herself to get caught at least forty-seven different times whilst in various disguises.
Pausing, Phoebe referenced her work, before reaching for another book that she had taken from her grandfather's library. It was labeled Salem Witch trials 1692-1693, by Casimiro Fabio, she turned to the index, found the page she had found a few nights ago and quickly flipped to the designated page, dipped her quill into her ink well and started to write once more.
Elena Wild; was another woman that was caught using magic and later sentenced to death by burning; but before officials could cast her into the flames of 'redemption' for her sins as they re-called it, Elena died, leaving behind, in the care of her family, a very magical baby. Her daughter - Melinda.
Knowing she was going to die and she had already been found out as a witch, Elena made it possible that the Witch hunters did not find out about her baby's magical heritage and therefore pleaded with her family to keep he daughter safe, and if the time came, they would bind her magic until she was old enough to fully understand the dangers of the Muggle world.
Elena died April 16th 1676.
Her daughter, Melinda Wild grew into a lovely young woman, and was born October 31st, 1669. She was born in a rural village in Portugal, but later moved to Salem, Massachusetts in hopes of evading the Witch Hunters, who in her mind, had driven her mother to death.
Several years after living in Salem, Melinda gave birth to a daughter - Elena (named after her mother), but was later burned at the stake in the Salem Witch trials of 1692. It would have been easy and simple for Melinda to escape being burned, but the Witch Hunters did not suspect her daughter of being a witch, they merely believed that young Elena had been kidnapped by the 'Witch' as Melinda was profoundly named and they did not suspect her of any magical heritage.
So in order to protect her daughter, and keep her from death, Melinda died in 1692.
It is believed that Melinda Wild was the beginning of the magical Blackheart witches of modern century Portugal.
Happy with her essay, Phoebe signed the bottom of the page and put it aside along with her History of Magic and Salem Witch trials 1692-1693 books, before reaching for the thick black leather bound Potions book, she opened it to the correct page and proceeded to write her last essay of the summer; putting quill to parchment, Phoebe scratched out the title...
The Properties of a Shrinking Potion
...and started to write.
However, Phoebe hadn't written more than a single line, when her bedroom door crashed open causing both herself and Ashlyn to look around, to find - much to their surprise - James standing on the threshold; his usual solid demeanor broke the moment he saw both girls and tears slid rapidly down his cheeks, as his legs buckled.
"James!" both Ashlyn and Phoebe exclaimed, darting forwards to catch their friend before he could hit the floor.
~*Phoebe*~
"Why didn't she tell me?" James asked as he sat in the middle of Phoebe's bed, his hands were shaking and he had only just managed to stop crying, long enough to tell his friends exactly why he was there, when he should have been in Italy with his mother, siblings and Grandparents.
Phoebe touched his shoulder comfortingly. "We don't know, Jamie," she said using the affectionate nickname she had given him during her second year at Hogwarts. Only she, Ashlyn, Amelia and Sarah could call him 'Jamie' it was their name, they held the copyright.
James felt his body shake as he repressed another sob. "Twelve years," he murmured. "They had twelve years to tell me the truth but they didn't. They lied to me. Every time I asked 'Where's Daddy?' and 'When is Daddy coming home?' and not once did they bother to tell me the truth, instead they kept it from me!"
Ashlyn touched his hand as she realized he was shaking in anger and fury, both she and Phoebe knew that the 'they' that James was referring too was his mother and godfather.
The door to Phoebe's room opened.
"Just a sec," Phoebe called out. "Give us a minute!"
Blake withdrew and closed the door behind him, Phoebe, James and Ashlyn could hear his muffled voice on the other side of the door and knew instantly that he was talking to Jackson, Harry and Terence who was more than likely wondering what had caused James to come here in a fit of hysteria.
There then came a knock on the outside of the door.
Phoebe sighed and slid from the bed, crossed the room and slipped out to face the rest of her guests.
"Is he alright?" said Terence. "I've never seen Black look so vulnerable."
"He's fine," Phoebe answered. "He's just found out the truth about his father after twelve years, it's taking a while to comprehend but he should be alright by dinner." she turned to Blake. "Are Amelia and Sarah here yet?"
Blake shook his head. "Not yet, you want me to send Athena with a note?"
"Yes, please," Phoebe nodded. "Tell them that James is here and he could use his friends."
"Okay," Blake nodded, "I'll do that now. You tell Black to get his act together, he can't stay cooped up in there forever."
Phoebe grinned. "I'll tell him, and thanks Blake."
As Blake walked away to write to Amelia and Sarah, Phoebe turned back to Jackson, Harry and Terence. "He'll be fine. Once he has relaxed further I will have him message his mother to let her know that he is safe, he doesn't have to tell her exactly where he is if he doesn't want too, but she needs to know that he is safe..." she paused, "Mrs. Black should know that her husband has escaped, the last thing we need is for her to panic over her son missing."
"But Black is in England," said Harry.
"That doesn't matter," Phoebe replied. "For all James's mother knows is James has gone to his godfather for answers, as far as I know she doesn't know about me...mostly because when I first met James I was living in England."
Terence, Jackson and Harry nodded. Jackson knew that for the months leading up to Phoebe's first year at Hogwarts she and Serefina had been living in a small cottage in England before returning permanently to Portugal.
"I'm going to head back in," said Phoebe motioning over her shoulder. "If we're not out by the time Amelia and Sarah get here send them straight up, and I'll see you guys at Dinner, okay?"
The three nodded once more.
Phoebe smiled as she reached up to kiss Terence, before returning to her bedroom where James and Ashlyn were talking about reasons why Samantha Black would keep her husband's arrest a secret from her children.
~*Phoebe*~
Several hours after James had turned up unexpectedly, Amelia and Sarah arrived in the middle of Phoebe's bedroom. The two Hufflepuff's immediately attacked the only male of their group and hugged him so tight that Phoebe feared they would crush him.
"Can't breathe!" James choked as the two Hufflepuff's finally let go.
"You need to start working out, Jamie," teased Sarah "If you can't handle a simple hug."
"Simple?" James asked, "You nearly crushed my ribs!"
Amelia giggled and shook her head. "Oh, poor little Jamie, can't handle a simple little hug; what will he ever do when he finds a girlfriend?"
"If he finds a girlfriend," Sarah added in, grinning from ear to ear.
James scowled. "Why again did you invite them?" he asked, turning to Phoebe.
The Elemental grinned in amusement. "Because they are your friends, and you needed cheering up."
"I was fine until they showed up!"
"Oh, well that's nice," gasped Amelia. "Next time we won't drop everything and rush over."
Ashlyn frowned. "Who says there will be a next time?"
"There is always a next time with us five," said Phoebe.
The Slytherin paused and then nodded. "True."
James rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Can we get back to the topic at hand please? I just found out that my missing father has in fact been a prisoner in Azkaban for twelve years, I want to know why!"
Amelia and Sarah exchanged looks, since both of them were Muggleborns the word 'Azkaban' was lost on them and so was the story of James's father.
"Azkaban is a prison," Ashlyn explained spotting the confused looks, "it is where wizards who violate the laws of the British Wizarding world are sent. There is only one other prison that I have heard of that caters for law-breaking wizards around the world and that is Nurmengard."
"So, where is Azkaban?" Sarah asked.
"Somewhere in the North Sea," Phoebe answered. "Generally, only very severe crimes are punished with a term in Azkaban. Many prisoners who are in there were supporters of Voldemort. For example, Quirrell would have been sentenced to life in Azkaban after what he did to me during first year at Hogwarts; he used the Cruciatus curse on me, tried to use the Imperious curse and failed to use the Killing curse because Voldemort wanted me alive."
Ashlyn nodded. "Yeah, performing any of the Unforgiveable Curses on someone is punishable by a mandatory whole life sentence. So, Quirrell would have gone away for life -"
"Good," said James. "He deserved for what he did to you."
"Yeah, but he got his death handed to him - literally," said Phoebe. "Was that punishment enough?"
Sarah shrugged. "At least now he can't hurt anyone."
"Who guards these prisons?" asked Amelia "How did the guards not notice Black escaping?"
"That's what has gotten everyone so scared," said Ashlyn. "Azkaban is guarded by creatures we call Dementors. A large presence of Dementors renders the inmates incapable of happiness and forces them to relive their worst memories, as they become gradually helpless and often severely insane, many eventually stop eating and soon die of starvation -" she paused at the weird looks of confusion she was receiving "Adrian's father visited Azkaban once, he said he will never go back there, horrible place."
Phoebe and James nodded whilst Amelia and Sarah simply looked sick to their stomachs.
"As for how Black escaped," Phoebe continued where Ashlyn had finished. "No one knows. No one has ever escaped Azkaban until now."
"Care to enlighten us on why he was sent away in the first place?" Sarah asked.
Phoebe hesitated, glanced at James and then shared a look with Ashlyn. They were unsure if James knew the reason behind his father's imprisonment seeing as he didn't know where is father had been for the last twelve years.
"Okay," said Phoebe, with a heavy sigh.
The Slytherin nodded and while Sarah and Amelia settled themselves down on the bed for the back story of Sirius Black's history, James leaned back into Phoebe's pillows as his heart twisted painfully in his chest. It was like someone had taken a knife to him and was twisting it every time he breathed, but he wanted answers, and he knew - somehow - that in order to get the answers that he so badly wanted, he would have to face the past, and not only face it, but understand it completely.
"Well, one can only speculate exactly what happened that night," Phoebe begun. "But on Halloween night 1981, Black was suspected of betraying the Potters and was sent to Azkaban for murder and treason, it was a life's sentence, he has now escaped and become one of the first men ever to escape the prison."
"That is why every Wizarding family is on high alert," said Ashlyn. "Both here in Portugal and in England -"
Phoebe shook her head. "It's not just our two countries, every Wizarding family in the world, is on high alert..." she looked around at her friends. "Black is suspected to be highly dangerous, and considering that he is believed to have killed thirteen people with one curse proves that he is."
Sarah - who had been playing with her fingers - looked up at James. "What were you thinking?" she asked him. "I know he is your father and everything, but he is still a convicted murderer, and with him on the loose, you just decide to run away? Are you out of your mind?"
"He's in England!" snapped James. "I was in Italy!"
"That doesnt matter," said Amelia. "If what Phoebe says is true, and the all Wizarding families all over the world are on high alert, then you should have been more careful. Black could have intercepted the Floo network and snatched you and then where would we be?"
James lowered his gaze, his glare softened and he sighed. "What am I going do?"
"Write to your mum," said Phoebe.
"But she'll make me go home!" James whined. "I don't want to see her right now."
"I didn't say you had to go home," said Phoebe. "You don't even have to tell her where you are; just tell her you're safe, and that you will see her at the end of the summer at Kings Cross Station."
"Okay, but I can't use Athena," said James. "My mum will remember her from Christmas last year and two years ago, do you have any owls?"
Phoebe shook her head. "No, but Harry is here, I will ask if you can use Hedwig." she smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry so much, James, we'll figure this out."
Copyrighted ©
I simply LOVE James and Phoebe's relationship; they are the perfect Brother/sister couple.
This chapter (as you have probably noticed) is an original created by myself. It does not belong in the book whatsoever. This has taken me relatively all evening to bring together and I hope it is flawless, and runs smoothly. I hate chapters that you can tell have been forced together and seem really choppy and abrupt.
Next chapter will be the end of the summer.
Anyway...i'm going to stop talking now.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx
Chapter updated Sunday, November 13, 2011 at 1:47am