Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Original A/N: Thanks to MaeSilverpaws1, who is beta-ing this story.

Chapter One Hundred Thirty-One

Snake Attack

Looking at the red Muggle phone booth, Sirius realized that it had been a long time since he had to use the visitor entrance to the Ministry. The last time was when he had applied to the Auror's office. That had been a much better day, when him and James had been eager kids getting ready to start their lives. Now he was fuming and he felt like cursing someone (particularly a certain toad but he wouldn't mine it much if the idiotic Minister crossed his path). He had spent the last hour trying to console Harry over his unjust explosion form the Quidditch team. After that, for the first time since he gotten back to Hogwarts, he really couldn't stand being in the castle.

Thinking that he would go to the Ministry and find Emmeline; he had Apparated to the safe spot in London and had walked the few blocks before making his way to the visitor entrance. Now that he was standing here though, he's insides were boiling and he couldn't help but get angry at having to leave the Auror department the way he had.

Sirius took a deep breath (he wasn't going to feel better just standing here) and walked into the phone booth and dialed in the right numbers, telling the phone he was there to see Emmeline Vance. After having his wand checked (Eric the security guard asking him what he was doing back at the Ministry did not help his mood at all) he got on the lift. Luckily the place was pretty empty, it was almost six now so most of the employees had already left for home. He knew that Emmeline however was planning on staying much later as she planned on finishing her paperwork before the holidays.

"Sirius?" he heard her voice coming from behind him as he was about to knock on the door. He turned to see her carrying a stack of papers and beaming at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I had a long horrible day and I needed to see you," Sirius answered, opening the door to her office, letting her in before following after her.

After closing the door Sirius turned round to find Emmeline's arms around his neck and kissing him. When she pulled away she look at him closely, she frowned. "You do look terrible."

"Way to kick a guy when he's down," Sirius sighed, bowing his head, but really her words had made him feel better, not to mention her greeting.

"Sorry," Emmeline said, "what happened?"

"It's a long story," Sirius sighed, looking at her desk and the stacks of papers on it. "How long are you going to be here?"

"I was planning on working until those were finished, but …" she started to say.

"If you're busy I don't want to bother you," Sirius interrupted.

"Nonsense, you obviously have a lot on your mind," Emmeline said.

"I don't want to take you away from your work," Sirius said.

"How about we go get some takeaway," Emmeline suggested. "We can eat an early dinner and you can tell me what's bothering you."

"Okay," Sirius agreed.

They walked to the cafeteria where they were able to order some food from the fireplace there, and waited for it to come.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Emmeline asked as they waited but Sirius shook his head.

"Not here," Sirius said. "Why don't you tell me about your day?"

She did though it didn't take long so she moved on to tell him about how Remus and Tonks were doing, telling him an amusing stories that had him laughing, though his mood was so grim it died quickly. Once they got their food they went back to her office and ate while Sirius told her everything that happened the last few weeks. She already knew about his probation of course, but he hadn't vented about it to her or anyone else yet and it was nice to get all of this off his chest.

When they had finished, Sirius transformed one of Emmeline's chairs into a couch so he could lie down while she worked. He knew he probably should have left, but he didn't want to be alone right now. She had told him they could go home, but he didn't really want to get her to go because he knew she wanted to be done today so she could start her holiday early.

Sirius must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew was hearing Harry's voice calling for him. He sat up quickly before he leaned back, thinking it must have been a dream.

"What is that?" Emmeline asked.

Sirius looked at her and noticed that she looked worried and confused, which made him feel the same way.

"Sirius!"

This time he knew it wasn't a dream; he was hearing Harry's voice. He patted at the pockets of his robes until he found what he was looking for and pulled out his two-way mirror.

The mirror showed Harry, who was very pale and sick looking with wide crazed eyes. Sirius had thought the boy had looked bad a few hours ago when he had last talked to Harry, but that was nothing to the way he looked now. "Harry? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Harry said and his relief in seeing Sirius was clear. "Sirius … I had a dream … snake … Mr. Weasley … you have to help!"

"Harry slow down," Sirius said, "I can't understand you."

Harry took a breath but he didn't seem to calm down at all, still he forced himself to make complete sentences. "I had a dream … a vision! I was a snake! I was in a room … I've seen it before, but I don't know where it is! Mr. Weasley … I bit him! Sirius you have to help him!"

"Harry, have you talked to Dumbledore?" Sirius asked as he processed the information that he just heard. This wasn't just a dream, Harry wouldn't panic over a nightmare; he never has in the past. Arthur must have been attacked by a snake. Sirius couldn't comprehend how Harry had see that … thought that he was the snake but they did live in a world of magic and sometimes you just had to take some things on faith. Arthur was hurt and in a room but Harry didn't know where. Luckily, Sirius was pretty sure where he was.

"No! I didn't think … I called you!"

"And that was good, I got your message and now you have to go to Dumbledore, he needs to know this, and tell him I'm on my way," Sirius said, trying to keep his voice calm so Harry would become calmer himself. He wasn't sure that it worked exactly but Harry nodded his head.

Harry's head disappeared from the mirror a second later and Sirius put it in his pocket as he looked at Emmeline who was already at the door, her wand out. "We have to get to the Department of Mysteries quickly!"

"The stairs," Sirius said, that would be the quickest, especially since they would need to use them anyway.

Emmeline nodded and they both sprinted to the stairs. They had just past the flight of stairs to the atrium when they heard a noise. Sirius stopped, grabbing Emmeline's arm to make her stop as well. He listened closely, there was definitely something there, but it sounded odd …

Sirius reacted before he even realized what the sound was, pointing his wand down he muttered a spell that caused the floor to become like fly paper.

"HHIIISSS!"

"What is that?" Emmeline gasped.

"A bloody snake," Sirius gulped, there were more noise and it was getting closer, "and it's not stopping," he then cast a quick spell on his and Emmeline's feet so they could walk easily on the ground and then moved on.

The snake was huge, he had known it would be from previous description of it, but it was one thing to hear about it and another to see. Luckily for Sirius, the sticky floor seemed to be slowing the snake down, though it hadn't stopped it. When it went to strike at Sirius the snake's body seemed to have caught for a second and Sirius was able to jump to the side. As he sailed backwards, he sent a blasting curse at the snake. Sirius had seen the damage that spell could do on things first hand … even people and it wasn't pretty. Against this snake however, it just blasted the thing against the wall.

"What the hell is this thing made of?!" Sirius growled as the snake turned and lashed out at him again. This time the floor wouldn't stop it, as half of its body was already in the air. If it wasn't for Emmeline's curse, Sirius would have been bitten.

"Use a cutting curse," Emmeline said.

Sirius knew immediately that there was a reason she would suggest that and he looked at the snake where her curse had hit. There was a cut on it, though it wasn't deep. It would probably take forever for them to cut the snake in a fatal way if they use the traditional curse, but Sirius, thanks to being a Black, knew several dark curses that would work much more efficiently.

The snake lashed out at him again, Sirius wasn't sure why he was the only one that was being attack, but he preferred it that way. Especially when he was able to put up a shield (an actual shield made of iron) that the snake smashed into, and even better tangled in.

Sirius shot Emmeline a look that luckily she understood immediately. She shot another curse at the snake, distracting it and also keeping it unable to move. Sirius gathered his strength; he never liked using dark arts, or channeling the anger that was needed to make it work. It help that he was going to be using this against a snake, one that was definitely a killer. He shouted out the curse, the dark red spell hitting the snake a foot below its head, a cut burning a long gash down its body, but it wasn't able to sever the snake's head from its body.

Sirius groaned, it hadn't been easy to do that spell, he had hoped it would work, but it wasn't good enough. The snake turned on him as quick as lightning and struck. He raised his hand defensively … the fangs sank into his forearm … but he wasn't about to let this stupid snake beat him. Through the immediate pain, he raised his wand and used the blasting curse again, aiming at the same spot as the cut he had just made.

O

Emmeline heard the blast as she picked herself up. The snake's tail had knocked her off her feet and down the stairs a bit. When she turned around she saw the body of the snake moving and falling towards her. She rolled out of the way. "Sirius!"

He didn't answer her and she felt panic build in her, more so than it had when she had first spotted the snake. She took the stairs two at a time to get to him, listening closely to any sign that the snake might attack her from behind. However, that thought left her when she got to Sirius, and she knew that the snake was no longer a threat though the danger hadn't pass.

Sirius was lying unconscious with what looked like the remains of the snake's head on his forearm. She acted without thinking; she conjured a stretcher, floated his body onto it and then brought him upstairs.

"Help! Somebody help me!" she yelled, but there was no body in the atrium, not even the security guard. They would have left that desk hours ago, they would have gone to their main offices or be on patrols right about now. She ran to the floo and was just about to use it when she remembered that Arthur had been attacked too. She didn't know what to do, Sirius needed help as quickly as possible, but so did Arthur. She shouted again, and again because that was all she could do … she wasn't about to leave Arthur behind not knowing if he would be saved.

Finally someone came, and they were running to her.

"What happened?" the man asked, she couldn't for the life of her remember his name though she knew that they had spoken together before.

"You need to go down to the stairs near the court rooms," Emmeline said, though obvious that wasn't where Arthur was, she couldn't say just outside of the Department of Mysteries. "There's another man that was injure. I don't know how badly, but he needs help!"

"What?" the man said slowly, as if he didn't understand English.

Emmeline groaned, she knew what she had to do, but she wished it didn't have to be this way. "Please, take this man to St. Mungo's … he needs emergency help, he was bitten by that snake," she added pointing to the partial head that was still there. "I'll get the other man."

The guy didn't say anything, but nodded his head. He took some floo powder and then vanished in the flames. She turned from the fire place, Sirius is okay … he's okay … he'll be just fine. I need to make sure Arthur is okay too …

The thoughts repeated in her mind as she ran down the stairs. When she found Arthur she felt sick … she should have come down here earlier … what if …?

She knelt down beside him, forgetting the puddle of blood as she checked his pulse. She sighed with relief as she felt the faint beat, conjured a stretcher to use for him as well, and turned to bring him up the stairs and to St. Mungo's.