Chapter 36

We talked for a bit longer. They were telling me about this wicked trip they took to Egypt when their family won the lottery that past summer. They told me they got their photos taken for the prophet and Percy even got to bring his rat. I believe I recall seeing the photographs

The twins rose from the table, informing me that they were extremely tired from earlier events. When Percy looked up at that comment, they winked at me and dashed off.

The Great Hall was close to empty. I looked up to see my sister talking animatedly with Poppy. Poppy was so kind to us. Almost like a mother.

I pushed myself up from the seat and trudged up towards the table. As I seated myself back into my Anne raised her eyebrow questioningly. I just shrugged my shoulders, she narrowed her eyes at me.

"So . . . who were they?" She innocently picked at her potatoes. "Are you mad or something, Anne?" She quickly darted her head to me. "I'm not mad, but you never told me you were friends with Gryffindors."

I was completely taken aback, "So what, you have something against Gryffindors now, huh? You do know our mum was a Gryffindor, right?" Anne just rolled her eyes angrily.

"I never said I had something against Gryffindors, they're fine . . . BUT our friends do. Why don't you go tell Noah, Thomas, and Rory right now how peachy you are with those other boys. You know Slytherins and Gryffindors don't mix."

"Well, you know what I'll make them. I'll tell my friends tomorrow and they will accept it, you'll see!" I turned away from her and tried to ignore her the rest of the night.

Dad seemed to notice something was up, but didn't engage. We were monitoring the halls said night and it was as eerie as ever. Anne had her arms crossed in a minor rage. I knew she was just looking out for my friendships, but if my friends can't accept my new friends, then . . . I don't know, maybe they just aren't good blokes. But Noah, Rory, and Thomas are the absolute best. They are like the older brothers I've always wanted.

We were walking through the dungeons after about two hours of monitoring. I yawned loudly, me being an extremely tired lad. Anne still wore her angry facade in a perfect manor.

Trailing into the portrait whole, we all went straight for the couch. Anne immediately noticed the unopened Daily Profit on the coffee table. She all but lunged for it. She loves reading the post for some odd reason. But this time was different.

Anne gasped in pure terror. She dropped the paper to the floor and turned us in utter shock. Her emerald eyes darted between us, trepidation clear. The slight shaking took over her and I ran forward. This has happened before. A panic attack.

She gasped in air quickly, like she was drowning. I held her tightly, reminding her I was there. Dad stood there in shock. He didn't know what to do, but he soon got it together and retrieved her from me, laying her on the couch gently as she shook. Pure terror resting on her face.

While our father comforted her, I picked up the parchment that caused such an attack.

Azkaban Escape

By Alice Pevensie, informed by Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt

We here at the Ministry regret to inform the wizarding community of an Azkaban escape. Early yesterday morning, the notorious, mass murderer Sirius Black has escaped. Our aurors are still unaware of how the escape occurred. There was no tampering within the cell. There were no signs of escape whatsoever.

"He slipped through our fingers, but we will find this man and bring him to justice once more," Head Auror Shacklebolt said. "We are sending dementors to every possible location that he may attempt to penetrate, including Hogwarts school, to ensure the safety of all students."

We at the Ministry implore everyone to inform the Auror department immediately if you believe you have sighted this man. Auror Kingsley also suggests not engaging Black, as he is extremely dangerous. Also, do not engage any dementors. Stay safe all.

It was just a murderer. Well, . . . I understand how that can be frightening, but why did it have such an effect on her. I looked up to see dad raising an eyebrow at me, questioning what set my sister off.

"Do you know who Sirius Black is?" I looked up to my father, slightly shocked to see his reaction. His mouth dropped a little, his face got paler (if that's even possible), and a flare of anger burst in his eyes. "Why is that name in the paper?" He stuttered out.

"Um . . . I don't know it says he broke out of prison, uh, they don't know how. Uh, it just said to watch out for him. That he's dangerous . . . what has got your knickers in a twist now?"

Dad just sat in his own world for a moment, just seated, staring into space. He didn't look at me, but he spoke his instructions to me. "Take your sister to your room. Um, I have to go out. I'll be back at some point to check on you."

He laid Anne's head gently on a throw pillow and swept from the room quickly, down the entrance corridor. I stared at the place he had left for a moment before assisting my sister. I allowed her to settle her feet on the ground and steady herself before we began down the hall.

She seemed a bit dizzy and lost in a trance. Her breathing was still uneven, but she appeared to be calming. I rubbed her shoulder as we strode slowly down the corridor to our room.

I pushed through the wooden door and it creaked open. I moved Anne to sit on her bed, laying her over the comforter. I seated myself beside the bed in a chair, holding her hand gently.

We were there, just sitting, for close to an hour. She then turned on her side, her breathing evened out. "Harry?" I looked to her and she seemed purely terrified.

"Anne, what's wrong? I read the article, but why did it scare you so? It's not the first murderer to ever escape prison. I mean, it's not a good thing, but . . ." She just looked completely pitiful., shaking her head. "Harry, there's something I ought to tell you. I didn't want to before because well . . . I knew what happened and I didn't want you to be jealous or . . . I don't know, but dad didn't seem to want you to know either. Because, well, you didn't need to know."

I looked to her angrily, "Anne, what do you know?"

"I'm so sorry, Harry! Um, where to begin, uh. Alright, so you know Remus right? Well, I found out when I did monitoring with him two months ago . . . that he's my godfather." Confusion was placed on my face, "A godfather? I don't understand."

"Well, a godfather is put in place by your birth parents . . . or a godmother if they so choose. But Remus is mine, the one that mum and James picked. So it means if mum or James were to die I would go live with him. But for some reason when they did die they wouldn't allow me to go live with him. Probably because they didn't want to separate us."

"So, you mean to say that he isn't my godfather also." She nodded her head solemnly. "Alright, um, lemme wrap my head round this. Two questions. Who is my godfather and why is this relevant to the current situation?"

She nodded and looked deep in thought. "Your godfather was best friends with James, Remus, mum, and another man named Peter. At first when I learned of your godfather, I thought he was dead. Because that's what dad told me. Then I learned from Remus that wasn't true. I don't blame dad from hiding the truth. He was trying to protect me, I know that. But he told me the truth." As far as I could tell, this wasn't promising. How bad could this be? Maybe that man that escaped killed my godfather. Wait, but Anne said he wasn't dead. I nodded for her to continue.

"When mum and James went into hiding, from Voldemort, they had a person called a secret keeper. One person who knew where they were and could share that secret with others. I learned about it, it's called the Fidelius Charm. Your godfather was their secret keeper. Remus couldn't have been, he was in hiding himself. As was Peter, their other friend. Well, Voldemort found your godfather." I looked at her, she had just stopped talking. I motioned for her to continue.

Tears began to drip slowly from her young eyes, "Harry, he turned them over to him. Turned us over to him!" I took in a shaky breath, "Why?" She peered at me through her tears.

"I've heard he was working for Voldemort all along and I've heard he was just scared, but most think he was one of Voldemort's most faithful followers. After he turned us over, that's when Voldemort killed our mum and James and we got these." She motioned to the scars on our heads. "Peter Pettigrew, their friend, found out what your godfather had done and hunted him down. He killed Peter Pettigrew and 13 other muggles. The aurors got him though."

I sat in my own thoughts before responding to what I had just learned. "My godfather is Sirius Black, isn't he? He escaped."

"Harry, this isn't good! Not at all. What if he escaped to finish what his "Master" couldn't do?" I looked at her confused, "You don't think he means to kill us do you?" She nodded solemnly.

What did this man have against us? I've never met him before. Why did he want to hurt us? "This isn't good at all. If what I read was correct, no one has ever escaped Azkaban before. The fact that they don't even know how he escaped is terrifying. And those dementors are harsh creatures, how he escaped them . . . I wish I knew." She gave me one last sad look and bid me goodnight. She turned over in her bed and pulled her blanket up over herself.

I didn't feel like going to bed now, I needed to process all this information that I just learned. I sulked back to the lounge and dropped myself carelessly on the couch to ponder everything.

Severus POV

I stormed from my quarters towards Albus' office. The bloody idiots working in the Ministry can't contain one mad wizard can they. Anne knew exactly what she was reading, the brilliant girl. She'll hopefully explain to Harry. But do I want Harry to know he's in danger? Anne already knows and she didn't take it well and she's the more mature of the two.

I strode down the dimly lit corridors and came to a four way entrance. I was about to turn when a form knocked right into me, nearly knocking me off my feet.

"Well, well, well, Lupin, strolling around in the moonlight, are we?"

"Yes, Severus. I have . . . business with the headmaster. And what are you doing out of the dungeons? Your monitoring time has long since ended." I narrowed my eyes harshly at him. I couldn't trust this man till I was sure. Black was his best mate for years. "I too have business with the headmaster. May I ask what your business is?"

"Well, if you are speaking with Dumbledore at such an hour, you've read the prophet haven't you. You know he's escaped, then, don't you?" I nodded my head stiffly. "I really hoped . . . I don't know . . . that he would feel some remorse for what he's done. I really don't recognize him any longer."

I nodded once more, "And why do you need to speak to Dumbledore on this subject?" Lupin blushed a bit, embarrassed. "Well, I wanted to know if he was comfortable with me continuing to work here, considering the state of things and my past . . . connection to . . ." I narrowed my eyes at him, but believed him. No matter though, I would still be cautious leaving the twins with him. "Perhaps you could speak with him at a different time. I have slightly more pressing matters to discuss on the subject, Lupin."

Lupin nodded as though he understood the slight distrust. He bade me goodnight and walked in the opposite direction of the headmaster's office.

-Hello everyone,

I am just starting to work with someone else on my story, Sarapha. Go visit her page, too. Also, she has a great website that you should go and visit. I'll leave her link below.

If you are interested, the link to the website is .com (copy and paste the link to your browser. Or, an easier way is to google "Accio Nox", and click the first link in the list)