Author's note: There is part taken from the actual story itself ( "Prisoner of Azkaban) that leads up to the concluding events of this chapter. Stay tuned. If have any questions, simply leave it for me in a review and I will try to answer it. Enjoy!
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A big Thank you Sakura Lisel, link01742 for the favorites and follows!
Term was slowly coming to an end with only a couple weeks left and there was still one last trip to Hogsmeade on the last weekend. Aundrea, who had been released from the hospital wing was guarded around the clock night and day by Legolas and White Sages. Much to her irritation, she could only roam freely when it came time to return to her bedchambers for bed. The gateway to Zanarkand had been sealed by her father and her Summoning staff confiscated to keep her from summoning Sunbeam or any aeons. Before she knew it, Christmas was near much to her dismay for she dreaded returning to Zanarkand for the holidays. The day of the trip to Hogsmeade, Legolas and the Sages let Aundrea go off with Ron and Hermione to Honeydukes. She was standing next to them helping Hermione pick out some Toothflossing Stringmints for her parents when she felt something bump into her from behind. Sensing it was Harry, Aundrea decided to lead her friends out of the shop and to the Three Broomsticks.
"Damn it's crowded in here," Aundrea said haughtily as she sat down at a vacant table near the back of the room with a handsome Christmas tree that stood next to a fireplace.
"You're not used to crowded in spaces are you?" Harry laughed as Aundrea folded her arms and scowled at a curvy woman who was serving drinks at the bar.
"That's Madam Rosmerta," said Ron. "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" he
added, going slightly red.
"Merry Christmas!" he said happily, raising his tankard.
Harry drank deeply. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted and
seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside.
A sudden breeze ruffled his hair. The door of the Three Broomsticks had
opened again. Harry looked over the rim of his tankard and choked.
Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had just entered the pub with a
flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was deep in
conversation with a portly man in a lime-green bowler hat and a
pinstriped cloak - Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.
In an instant, Ron and Hermione had both placed hands on the top of
Harry's head and forced him off his stool and under the table. Dripping
with butterbeer and crouching out of sight, Harry clutched his empty
tankard and watched the teachers' and Fudge's feet move toward the bar,
pause, then turn and walk right toward him.
Somewhere above him, Hermione whispered, Mobiliarbus!"
The Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the ground,
drifted sideways, and landed with a soft thump right in front of their
table, hiding them from view. Staring through the dense lower branches,
Harry saw four sets of chair legs move back from the table right beside
theirs, then heard the grunts and sighs If the teachers and minister as
they sat down.
Next he saw another pair of feet, wearing sparkly turquoise high heels, and heard a woman's voice. "A small gillywater -"
"Mine," said Professor McGonagall's voice.
"Four pints of mulled mead -"
"Ta, Rosmerta," said Hagrid.
"A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella -"
"Mmm!" said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips.
"So you'll be the red currant rum, Minister."
"Thank you, Rosmerta, m'dear," said Fudge's voice. "Lovely to see you
again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us..."
"Well, thank you very much, Minister."
Aundrea looked at Harry, whom she felt was just as nervous as she was. He could be so thick sometimes, she thought to herself boredly, placing her face in her palms as she watched Madam Rosmerta serve the Minister of Magic and teachers their drinks.
"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" came Madam
Rosmerta's voice.
Harry saw the lower part of Fudge's thick body twist in his chair as
though he were checking for eavesdroppers. Then he said in a quiet
voice, "What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what169
happened up at the school at Halloween?
"I did hear a rumor," admitted Madam Rosmerta.
"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" said Professor McGonagall
exasperatedly.
"Do you think Blacks still in the area, Minister?" whispered Madam
Rosmerta.
"I'm sure of it," said Fudge shortly.
"You know that the dementors have searched the whole village twjce?"
said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. "Scared all my
customers away... It's very bad for business, Minister."
"Rosmerta, dear, I don't like them any more than you do," said Fudge
uncomfortably. "Necessary precaution... unfortunate, but there YOU
are... I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore
- he won't let them inside the castle grounds."
"I should think not," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "How are we
supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?"
"Hear, hear!" squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, whose feet were dangling
a foot from the ground.
"All the same," demurred Fudge, "they are here to protect you all from
something much worse... We all know what Black's capable of..."
"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta
thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius
Black was the last I'd have thought... I mean, I remember him when he
was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to
become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."
"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta," said Fudge gruffly. "The
worst he did isn't widely known."
"The worst?" said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity, "Worse170
than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"
"I certainly do," said Fudge.
"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?" "You say youremember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured Professor McGonagall.
"Do you remember who his-best friend was?"
"Naturally," said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. "Never saw one
without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here -
ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and
James Potter!"
Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Ron kicked him.
"Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "Black and Potter. Ringleaders
of their little gang. Both very bright, of course - exceptionally
bright, in fact - but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of
troublemakers -"
"I dunno," chuckled Hagrid. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a
run fer their money."
"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Professor
Flitwick. "Inseparable!"
"Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his
other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man
when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry
has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."
"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" whispered
Madam Rosmerta.
"Worse even than that, rn'dear..." Fudge dropped his voice and
proceeded in a sort of low rumble. "Not many people are aware that the
Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course
working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies.
One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He
advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an171
easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance
was the Fidelius Charm."
"How does that work?" said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest.
Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.
"An immensely complex spell," he said squeakily, "involving the magical
concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is
hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth
impossible to find - unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to
divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who
could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and
never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their
sitting room window!"
"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.
"Naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore
that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was
planning to go into hiding himself... and yet, Dumbledore remained
worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper
himself."
"He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta.
"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping
You-Know-Who informed of their movements," said Professor McGonagall
darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side
had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."
"But James Potter insisted on using Black?"
"He did," said Fudge heavily. "And then, barely a week after theFidelius Charm had been performed -"
"Black betrayed them?" breathed
Madam Rosmerta.
"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready
to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have
planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know,
You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone,
horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position
indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had
shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it
-"
"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar
went quiet.
"Shh!" said Professor McGonagall.
"I met him!" growled Hagrid. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he
killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an'
James's house after they was killed! jus' got him outta the ruins, poor
little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents
dead... an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter
ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd
bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o'
You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an'
shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN'
TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared.
"Hagrid, please!" said Professor McGonagall. "Keep your voice down!"
"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was
You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me,
Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him -' Ha! But I'd had me
orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was
ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave
in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,' he says.
"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that
motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it
anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin
the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer
it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was
after him.
"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd 've pitched him off173
the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard
goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to
em anymore..."
A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmerta said with
some satisfaction, "But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The
Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!"
"Alas, if only we had," said Fudge bitterly. "It was not we who found
him. It was little Peter Pettigrew - another of the Potters' friends.
Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the
Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."
"Pettigrew... that fat little boy who was always tagging around after
them at Hogwarts?" said Madam Rosmerta.
"Hero-worshiped Black and Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Neverquite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather ,harp with him.
You can imagine how I -how I regret that now..." She sounded as though she had a sudden head cold.
"There, now, Minerva," said Fudge kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's
death. Eyewitnesses - Muggles, of course, we wiped their, memories
later - told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing,
'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand.
Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens..."
Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, "Stupid boy ...
foolish boy... he was always hopeless at dueling... should have left it
to the Ministry..."
"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I
wouldn't 've messed around with wands - I'd 've ripped him limb - from
- limb," Hagrid growled.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid," said Fudge sharply.
"Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad
would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was
Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time,
and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those
people. I - I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A
crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer
below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there
laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him... a heap of
bloodstained robes and a few - a few fragments -"
Fudge's voice stopped abruptly. There was the sound of five noses being
blown.
"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta," said Fudge thickly. "Black was
taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement 'Squad and
Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think wassome comfort to his poor mother. Blades been in Azkaban ever since."
Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh.
"Is it true he's mad, Minister?"
"I wish I could say that he was," said Fudge slowly. "I certainlybelieve his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the action of a cornered anddesperate man - cruel... pointless. Yet I met Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them... but I
was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me.
It was unnerving. You'd have thought he was merely bored - asked if I'd
finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed doing the
crossword. Yes, I was astounded at how little effect the dementors
seemed to be having on him - and he was one of the most heavily guardedin the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night."
"But what do you think he's broken out to do?" said Madam Rosmerta.
"Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, ishe?"
he?"
I daresay that is his - er - eventual plan," said Fudge evasively.
"But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who
alone and friendless is one thing... but give him back his most devoted
servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again..."
There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their
glass.
"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, he'd better
head back up to the castle," said Professor McGonagall.
One by one, the pairs of feet in front of Harry took the weight of their
owners once more; hems of cloaks swung into sight, and Madam Rosemerta's
glittering heels disappeared behind the bar. The door of the Three
Broomsticks opened again, there was another flurry of snow, and the
teachers had disappeared.
"Harry?"
The faces of Ron, Aundrea, and Hermione appeared from under the table. They were allstaring at Harry, lost for words.
"Where'd Aundrea go?" Ron said blankly looking around. To their surprise, Aundrea had disappeared.
Time: Dusk
Location: Hogsmeade Village
Aundrea's Current Location: Unknown
"SHUYIN STAR POWER!" Aundrea screamed after reaching the outside of the Shrieking Shack. Kicking open the doors, she looked around madly for Black. "Come out you, coward! I'm not afraid of you!"
Hearing something creak behind her, she managed to duck as a large black dog jumped towards her. Pointing her finger at the animal she yelled: "ANIMGUS REVILIUM!"
"HOW COULD YOU?!" Aundrea screamed at him, holding her hands around his throat after he had changed into his human form. "YOU LIED TO ME!"
"What….are…you….talking…about…?" he choked as she tightened her grip around his neck. He was shocked at Aundrea's sudden strength.
"YOU BETRAYED HARRY'S PARENTS!" Aundrea screamed, tears running down her face. "I heard everything when I was in the Three Broomsticks, you bastard! Every single word. I heard what you did to Peter Pettigrew! I trusted you, Sirius! I trusted you, and you lie to my face?"
"Let…me..go…and I'll explain," he said, turning blue in the face.
"So you can try and kill me again?!" Aundrea yelled angrily . "Think again!"
Throwing him to the ground, she disarmed him with a single flick of her hand. Adrenaline rushing through her veins, he watched her as she stared at him murderously. Her hair was tasseled about, her amber eyes on fire with such ferocity, he feared he might get scorched under her piercing gaze. It was only when he threw his arms up in surrender did Aundrea let her guard down.
"Now-talk," she said, breathing heavily. "And you better have a good explanation or I'll let the dementors have you."
"I did not betray them," Sirius said to her slowly, walking towards her. But Aundrea backed away. "Aundrea please listen. I need your help!"
"Why should I help someone who betrayed my best friend's parents?" Aundrea said to him.
"Because I can tell you how your grandmother died," Sirius said to her. When her eyes narrowed, he held up his hands in caution.
"How did you know about my grandmother?" Aundrea said to him, her voice shaking.
"I told you, your mother was friends with James and I at Hogwarts before she changed Houses," Sirius explained to her. Feeling her adrenaline rush, Aundrea held out her hand for Sirius to shake.
"Truce, that you won't hurt me again?" she asked him as he took her hand. Nodding, Sirius shook it.
"It was more of an accident really," he said to her.
"Really now?" Aundrea asked him.
"What are you doing?" he asked her in horror as she raised up her top. There wrapped around her chest and torso was a fresh set of bandages. "Did…did I do that to you…?" he asked her, causing Aundrea's brow to furrow. She nodded.
"I don't remember harming you like this," Sirius said to her as he examined her bandages.
"I do," Aundrea said firmly, as she pulled her top down. "You said to me that I part of the reason you were sent to Azkaban for thirteen years, and when I tried to ask you what you meant-"
"I charged at you in a blind fury." Sirius said, more to himself than to her. Turning to look at her. "You remind me so much of that woman…."
"Who?' Aundrea asked him as she walked towards him slowly. He turned to face her.
"Isabella," he said to her. "She was originally Sorted into Gryffindor her first year at Hogwarts with James and myself, but changed after being transferred to Slytherin her third year. There she became friends with none other than Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape…."
"What?!" Aundrea breathed.
"Your mother never told you?" Sirius said to her. The young Guardian shook her head. Taking a seat on the ground, she gave Sirius her full attention.
"Tell me more about her," Aundrea said pleadingly, her amber eyes wide and shining. "I've always wondered why she was the way she was…"
"Like I said, she was good friends with James and I," Sirius said smiling to himself as he sat across from her. "We first met her on the train…."
Aundrea pulled out a sphere out of her robes and handed it to Sirius who looked at her. Closing her eyes, she took his hands and pressed it over the sphere. There was a flash, and before she knew it, she and Sirius were looking back at the day he first met Isabella.
Shocked?
What will Aundrea learn of her mother's past?
Will the truth of Elenora's death finally be answered?
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