I think you'll all LOVE this chapter! I'm not telling why! *wink-wink*
In the mean time, I'm nearing the 500s reviews! That's brilliant! Thanks to:
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Sarcastic am I: Ummm…ok. Thanks for the rather…elaborated review. I know I made Usagi majorly OOC, but hey! People change! And anyway, It's my story! But thanks again for the constructive review! ^_~
Dracos: THANKS! I've been searching for the darn name for awhile! Alicorn, huh?
Happy reading! ^_~
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Father Mine
Chapter 18: How does it feel to be hexed by behind?
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Somewhere…
"CRUCIO!!!" The dark and sinister voice shouted in fury. Cries of pain erupted from one of the Death Eater's mouth while he writhed on the floor in agony. The others backed away in fright. Since they had come back from a failed mission, their master had been in a particularly bad mood. Truth to be told, the last time they had seen him like that was when the Potter child had deflected the killing curse.
"YOU LET THIS! THIS! WHOEVER HE IS CAPTURE MY MOST TRUSTING SERVANT! YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS!" The curse ended and the Death Eater was left gasping in pain. "Forgive…Forgive us, master! We shall not loose again!" He wheezed out in vain.
Voldemort let out a growl. "No, you will not. Avada Kedavra." He left the cadaver there for all to see. "Let this be a warning for all of you! I shall not tolerate failure any longer!" The Dark Lord paced in front of them, seething in rage. "Whoever that was, he'll pay! Such cheek, to leave a card with the Hogwarts' crest behind in mockery! It HAS to do something with Dumbledore!"
A dark servant advanced slowly and kneeled. "My Lord, allow me to go there and wreak havoc in their ranks!" The voice was malicious and wicked and the one under the hood was clearly looking for trouble. "Let me avenge Pettigrew's capture! Let me get you the Potter boy! I want to make him suffer for you!"
Voldemort's gaze turned almost delirious and Nagini coiled around his master's arm. "Very well. You've been looking towards this moment, haven't you, my pet? I give you permission to do whatever you wish. Go and have fun." The person under the cloak smiled sadistically in return. "Thank you, my Lord." The servant backed away and Riddle stared at his trusted servant's departure.
*~*~*
The ministry of magic, England--3AM
"Are you sure? How can this be?! Surely, the tests are wrong! Do them again!" Whispers invaded the room from all sides. Pettigrew was lying on a testing table, strained, and the investigators were starting the processes again only to confirm what they all dreaded.
It had been a shock to one Greg Markham, simple secretary for the department of enchanted muggle technologies, to find the body of an unconscious man lying on the ground when he was going home after his shift. The minister floo'ed there in the middle of the night in a rush and simply wouldn't believe this until the tests came back positive.
An investigator came to Fudge with his pile of papers, answering the silent question in the minister's eyes. "We did the tests 2 times to be sure. This man, as unbelievable as it is, is Peter Pettigrew. We did all the magic tests, and we discovered something astounding; it looks like Mr. Pettigrew is an unregistered animagus. We saw a faint trace of a rat image in his magic trail."
The whispers got louder still, deafening cries of pure shock ran through the room, and Cornelius Fudge had to use the sonorous charm on himself to make them shut up. He sighed, overwhelmed with their current situation and sat on the nearest chair, plopping his head in his hands.
"We have to find whoever caught him. But I think the media will be even more interested in the fact that Black wasn't as dangerous as we thought he was. We'll have to write him a major excuse letter and give him back what's his. The guys from the Daily Prophet will have a joy over this storyline."
*~*~*
Harry woke up like any other day, showering and putting on his robes for another day of school. He joined his friends in the dining hall and kissed his girlfriend's cheek on the way to his seat. "So Neville, Seamus told me you wanted to see me?" Usagi asked questioningly. Neville nodded fervently. "Yeah! About my potions homework-"
He got interrupted by loud squawking noises. "Ah! Mail's coming." Ron said, between 2 bites. The hundreds of owls came flying down and dropped their parcels and letters. Ron was trying to get Pig to give him his mail and Harry asked Hedwig if she could help him to calm the hyper owl.
He heard a little cry of anguish and gazed to the head table, where Remus had just opened his Daily Prophet. The teachers looked aghast and murmurs of shock poured from the students' mouths. Tired of waiting for Hedwig and Pig, he snatched the journal from Luna Lovegood, who was more interested in her crossword puzzles. His hands started shaking just by reading the title.
PETER PETTIGREW FOUND CHAINED AND UNCONSCIOUS NEAR THE MINISTRY'S ENTRANCE!!!
By Rita Skeeter
Greg Markham, employee from the ministry, was going home early this morning after his shift when he came across Pettigrew's body near the entrance of the ministry. Shock ran through everyone when the tests were conclusive. This man is with no doubt Peter Pettigrew, said to have been killed by Sirius Black. The traitor was also an unregistered animagus, which would explain a lot.
We can only guess about who has left him there and defied the Dark Lord himself. A while later, a letter was found near the entrance, from the hand of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself. He has officially declared war to the light side, and swore revenge against whoever dared to challenge him so openly.
For the moment, it is imperative we find the still hiding ex-convict Sirius Black. Proper excuses about the wrong imprisonment will be in order, and he is to be given back all his possessions. We invite him to show himself again with no fear of being wrongly imprisoned again. His courage will be rewarded and he will be honoured by our minister; Cornelius Fudge himself.
More info in pages2 to 5 about Pettigrew and Black's lives in Hogwarts and their link to the deceased Lily and James Potter.
Harry found himself hardly able to breathe. At his side, Dean Thomas couldn't hold his surprise. "I can't believe it! Black is innocent?! But what about out 3rd year when he ripped the Fat Lady's portrait? It'll be weird to see the guy! He's been hiding for a while!"
Harry gritted his teeth and crumpled the paper. "He's not coming back." He gritted out in pure anger.
"Sorry, what did you say, Harry?" Harry got up and punched the table hard enough to leave a bruise on his hand, making everyone turn to him.
"I SAID HE'S NOT COMING BACK! HE'LL NEVER COME BACK! I'LL NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN! I TOLD THEM, AT THE MINISTRY! I TOLD THEM HE WAS INNOCENT! I TOLD THEM PETTIGREW WAS STILL ALIVE! THEY WOULDN'T BELIEVE ME! AND NOW HE'S DEAD! SIRIUS IS DEAD! AND IT'S MY ENTIRE FAULT!" By then, he was in full tears and shaking all over, starting to be delirious.
"MR. POTTER! THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT! SO STOP BEING SO CHILDISH AND ACCEPT THE FACT!" Snape roared from the head table. Harry turned to him, rage showing in his eyes. His voice was deadly calm, which surprised Snape, and worried Dumbledore and the other staff members.
"You don't care, don't you? You never cared. Well…IT'S NOT YOUR ONLY FAMILY WHO HAS BEEN KILLED!!!" With this burst of anger, a spark of angry red magic bursted out of his body and cracked the head table near where Severus was standing. The potions master even had to use a strong shielding charm to protect himself against the unexpected boost of magic.
When it ended, Harry dropped on his knees, shaking again and panting, chanting over and over again; "He's dead, it's my fault! He's dead! All my fault…" A loud clapping of hand interrupted the disturbing scene and everyone whirled around, only to gaze with horror at a cloaked Death Eater, still clapping.
"Wonderful demonstration of a magic boost from one so young. But Mr. Potter, why do you make yourself the killer in all this? Don't you remember who attacked the miserable excuse of a man and hurled him in the veil towards his ultimate death?" The person made a shivering movement of excitement.
"Oh yes! I can still picture the look on his face! Pure shock at being stunned from behind! He never saw it coming! Trying to be the hero of his Godson made him loose his life! The poor imbecile! Hahahaha!" Harry eyes narrowed dangerously. "You! It's you! Bellatrix Lestrange!!!"
Shock echoed through the hall. The person threw her hood off and surely, Bellatrix Lestrange was grinning sadistically back at them. "My master will be pleased!" Harry being in his line of vision, Dumbledore couldn't do a thing that wouldn't endanger the boy, and everyone being too stunned to move an inch, they could only watch in horror as Bellatrix started to recite an unforgivable. "CRUC-!"
It was cut short when a spell hit her by behind. She fell on the floor, writhing in agony when she felt the same unforgivable she wanted to hurl to the boy being sent out to her by someone else. It was really intense, as if the person who had cast it had poured all his hatred in it. Being as strong a witch as she was, she watched as another cloaked person entered the now silent hall of Hogwarts, with the exception of Lestrange's cries.
The shadow loomed over her and she grasped a faint familiar image. "No. It. Can't. Be!" She rasped, before falling unconscious. The cloaked person kicked Bellatrix rather roughly on her side and snorted before turning back to the students, mainly facing Harry. Remus got his wand out swiftly and spoke harshly. "STAY WHERE YOU ARE OR IL'LL CURSE YOU! WHO ARE YOU?!"
The cloaked person chuckled softly, before saying; "I can't believe you don't recognize me, Moony. I'm hurt, really. We've only been in school together!" He said sarcastically. Remus frowned at being called Moony, and at the fact his brain was screaming at him that this was impossible.
Harry, however, took a step towards him and extended his arm to him in a disbelieving manner. "Sirius?" He called out softly, disbelief written on his face. Another chuckled, then a sigh. "Leave it to you to be the first to recognize me. Remus sadly lost his belief in me faster than I would've expected."
A tanned hand pulled the hood off and Harry's knees threaten to buck. Remus fell on his knees, his being unable to hold him anymore. Dumbledore had an arm over Minerva's shoulders, and he looked as shaken as her. Even Snape's usual glare was replaced by a look of utter shock. The students were looking in apprehension the scene before them, not knowing how to react. Obviously, they didn't know all the inside story about Sirius Black.
"It's nice to finally be able to see you again, Harry." The dog animagus said, smiling softly to the green eyed boy. "Sirius?...SIRIUS!!!" Harry's legs finally found a way to move and the Boy-Who-Lived ran to his Godfather's outstretched arms, giving and receiving one heck of a bear hug. Harry eyes filled with tears once again and he buried his face in his godfather's shoulder.
"I thought you died that day! It was my entire fault!" He cried. Sirius stroked his back in a comforting manner. "Shhh! It's ok! It wasn't your fault, Harry. You're not to blame for what happened that day." They stood like this for what seemed like hours, but only several minutes had passed. Still, it was silence throughout the hall. Sirius put his hands on Harry's shoulders and looked at him in the eyes. "I should've been more careful this day. Bellatrix sure caught me by surprise. I really thought I was a goner this time." He said, grimacing.
He turned to the body still lying unmoving on the ground and gave her a little kick again just for the fun of it. Then, he growled lightly, surprising everyone from their stupor. Harry watched his surprisingly alive godfather growl as Remus got to his feet shakily, holding on the teacher's table.
"You certainly took your sweet time to capture him, damnit! I've been bored out of my mind while you had all the fun!" Sirius said, slightly kicking Bellatrix again. Harry stared at him weirdly and looked over in the crowd. "What are you talking about, Sirius?"
The blue eyed man ignored him. Usagi glared at her glass, still seated correctly in her seat. She was about the only person to stay still during all that. She closed her eyes and growled slightly. Hermione glanced at her worriedly and moved to touch her shoulders. "Serena? Are you ok?" She asked silently.
Usagi ignored her too. "You think I've been having fun?" Hermione reeled back when the rabbit opened her eyes and turned in her seat to get up, facing Sirius. She stared emptily at him, while everyone was too stunned to even comprehend what was going on. "The damn rat was really good at hiding, I'll let you know. Had to get him out of his hole, sneaky little thing. It's been hell here, while you've been staying in a comfy house."
Sirius snorted. "I just can't stand being cooped up in a house! I just can't stand not playing jokes or get moving! How you can do it amazes me." He muttered. Usagi chuckled and advanced a few steps, not minding for a second the stares she was getting.
"It's called maturity, you dolt! Something you don't possess, unfortunately. And it's that same immaturity that got you nearly killed when you fell through the veil, baka." She said playfully. "But I'm happy to see you nonetheless. I thought leaving Bellatrix to your care would please you."
Sirius nodded fervently. "Yeah! Thanks for that, by the way!" Usagi chuckled and passed in front of a dazed Harry, hugging the man close to her. Sirius hugged back possessively and sniffed her to ensure she was fine, a habit he had taken from his animagus form. "God I missed your smell!" He said happily.
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER, BLACK!" Sirius let go of her, but still had an arm draped over her shoulders. "What the? Oh. It's you, *Snape*." The disdain in Sirius's voice was clearly showing.
"Don't start you 2. This is not the time, nor the place." Snape turned to the rabbit and was about to speak when Remus beat him to it. He advanced to his friend hurriedly, eyes wide and hands shaking, making his way pass Harry. He was in front of Sirius and ignored Usagi, who was still attached indirectly to the dog animagus.
"How can this be, Sirius?" He said, tears of amazement in his eyes. "I saw you die! You fell into the veil!" Sirius stood silent, and it's a hand on his shoulder that got him out of his stupor. He gazed into the warm eyes of Usagi. "I told you to believe. Everything is possible when you believe, uncle Remus."
Remus took a few steps back while some gasped. Harry was openly staring now, not knowing what to make of this. "What did you call me?!" A disturbed Remus asked. He had to be supported by Minerva and Albus, who were clearly as lost as everyone else. Usagi took a few steps forward and bowed slightly.
"That's right. I haven't been totally honest with you. Whilst my name has been Usagi Tsukino for as long as I can remember, it has been a decoy all this time. In fact, my true name is Serenity Usagi Sirius Black, but you can call me Serenity, or Serena Black, it's shorter."
Sirius hugged her by behind and added the cherry on top of the sundae. "Yes, and she's my daughter, Remus." Total silence met the father-daughter duo.
"Your…what?" Sirius chuckled. "My daughter, Remus. It's a long story and I'm not feeling like reliving this again. So you'll have to wait."
He heard a moan and everyone turned to Severus, who had his face in his hand. "Don't tell me I've actually been friendly with a Black!" Some chuckled at his behaviour. Suddenly, their attention was diverted to Bellatrix, who had awaken and got up when no one was looking.
"You'll pay! My master will not accept this! He'll kill you all!" She started to laugh maniacally but Usagi had heard enough. "Tell us when I care." Bellatrix stopped immediately and glared hard at the foolish girl. She took out her wand menacingly and the students gasped in fear.
Harry ran to protect his girlfriend without thinking about the earlier development but it had already begun. The moment Usagi took her own 'wand' out, Bellatrix had already hurled a Crucio towards her.
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Sorry for the cliffy, but I've been caught in a major case of writer's block over the entire weekend.
At least, I've been able to write the moment you've all been waiting for!!! ^_^ *nods her head energetically*
Well, what do you think about it? I didn't want to make Lupin fall unconscious like a sissy…But he still got the shock of his life! ^__^
If any of you guys have any ideas or suggestions, I'm open! *sweatdrops* But really, do tell!
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Love ya all!
Eternal Cosmos ^_~