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MarsMoonStar Ishtar Crystal Winter Lady Aya Koosei Silverpaws the silver Nukachu Henio DevilWench
Zaeria S Libby Queen Diamond Eternal Salior Earth Yadrianne Setasuna-3000 Taiki Mayumi-8805
Silver Moon Princess Miranda Compton sailorsunandchildofthesun Chibi-Ami Imperial Saturn Firelightz
Madison Conway, Secret Agent Water Angel1 Black Phoenix
Alessandra: hum…You were right. Transpierced is not a word…*I feel silly now ^_^;* I think I'll correct that mistake!
Chibi Koneko: You didn't get what 'this problem' was?! Hum…She gripped his ARM. *nudge, nudge*
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Father Mine
Chapter 23: He knows
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*Somewhere*
"This girl, my Lord! She holds so much power! She would be a great ally on our side! But the problem is…she's with Harry Potter, my Lord…" The quivering Death Eater bowed even more and adverted his gaze when no words came from his master's mouth. He knew what could happen to him by mentioning the wretched boy's name in the presence of the Dark Lord, but he had to make it clear.
On his own side, Voldemort was also thinking seriously. He petted Nagini, who coiled on his arm, in distraction. 'That girl,' he thought, 'could she be the one? Could she be the one who defied me when I schemed Potter's demise with the dragons? What an interesting turn of event it would be, meeting that girl face to face, the one who ridiculed my troops so easily.'
He glared darkly at his servant, who kneeled on the floor in submission and fear. "I'll give her a chance."
The Death Eater's head snapped up but quickly bent down again. "Master?"
Voldemort nodded to himself and made a parchment appear with a wave of his wand, along with a quill. "I'll invite her to join us. If she refuses, she'll be another person to add on my 'to kill' list. Oh, my precious servant, come to me." He addressed the Death Eater kneeling in front of him, grinning menacingly.
The submissive man didn't have any choice but to obey the orders given to him, trying to compose himself.
"Such a shame. I've forgotten to make some ink appear. How will I ever write my letter?" Riddle inquired innocently; well, as innocent as a snake could be. "Give me your arm, my servant."
The Death Eater cocked his head on the side in a questioning manner but obeyed nonetheless. He watched as his master rolled up his sleeve and traced the outline of his dark mark, making him shudder. His eyes had closed as a reflex but he opened them instantly when he felt a sharp pain searing through his arm, screaming in agony.
Voldemort gripped his arm tightly enough to break the flow of blood and the Death Eater could only watch and let out plaintive sounds when his master used the sharp point of the quill to pierce his arm, near the dark mark, and use the blood as ink to write his letter.
The dark servant cried out when Voldemort dipped the quill rather harshly in his wound. Voldemort sneered at him. "Next time you wish to say the boy's name in my presence, just say you have a death wish first and I'll understand."
Tears of pain flowed on the servant's cheeks but he didn't try to get out of the death grip he was in. "Y. Yes, my Lo-rd." He fell on the ground in a huff when Voldemort finally released him and pushed him away. He scrambled on his knees again, not daring to touch his aching arm.
"Get out of my sight!" The man snake said, Nagini hissing angrily at the servant, who gulped and stumbled away after bowing one last time.
"Take an owl and have this message delivered to whom it concerns; she has blond-silver-ish hair with black highlights, and deep blue eyes." He said to no one in particular. That was the only memory he had of her when he looked through the wretched boy's eyes. "She should be near* the damned boy*, if the owl doesn't recognize her."
He spat the name with venom in his voice. Another Death Eater came out of the shadows and a gloved hand took the offered parchment. Pale blue eyes looked maniacally back to his master's red ones. He grinned sadistically and bowed. "Your wishes are my command, my Lord. It shall be done." Then, he was gone, leaving a thoughtful Voldemort behind.
*~*~*
"MISS BLACK! COME BACK HERE AT ONCE!"
Usagi winced when Mme Pomfrey yelled at her but she didn't stop running. The over caring nurse had decided to test her in everyway she could, making the rabbit run away when she saw the needles. She turned a corner and yelped loudly as she collided with someone, making them fall on the ground in a tangle.
She removed herself from the hard chest and gasped. "Professor Snape! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you coming! Here, let me help you!" She grimaced and got up, helping Severus to stand. The teacher scowled lightly and seemed to look a bit uncomfortable with her presence. He fidgeted a little but didn't dare say anything about yesterday. "You could watch where you're going next time, Miss Black. What are you running for anyway? It's as if you had the devil on your trail."
The rabbit sweatdropped. "It's almost that. Mme Pomfrey insisted to take care of me. I ran away when I had the chance."
Snape rolled his eyes. "I know what you mean. Poppy is nice, but she tends to become annoying when she's in nursing mode." He rearranged his clothes while Usagi watched him curiously.
"What are you doing here anyway? It's not often that I've seen you get out of the comfort of your dungeon."
Snape raised an eyebrow and searched his pockets, before giving a relieved sound. "Good thing I spelled the glass so it wouldn't break." He shoved something in her hands and turned around, but not before saying; "I won't take any points from you because you ran in the corridors, so you owe me one. Take the vial and give it to Lupin. I'll be going back to my comfortable dungeon now." He finished sarcastically, leaving a slightly offended rabbit behind.
She gazed at the vial in her hand and headed towards Lupin's room. "Cursed blood." She spoke the password out loud and the entrance of Lupin's room opened slowly. She fingered the portrait of the wolf which was guarding the entrance and got in, closing the door behind her.
"Dad?" She raised an eyebrow when she spotted her father, sitting on the sofa of the living room.
Sirius startled and dropped his coffee. "Argh! Crud!" He murmured a repairing spell and the coffee went back from the rug to the cup. "Serenity! You startled me! What are you doing here? Is Harry with you?"
Usagi raised her hands in front of her. "Whoa there! One question at a time! Harry isn't with me. He helped me escape from Mme Pomfrey's grasp. I'm here to give professor Lupin a vial, it's from professor Snape." She showed her father the small glass object and chuckled when Sirius eyed the thing with disdain. "Honestly, father, can't you be a little bit more tolerant with professor Snape?"
Sirius grimaced and said; "No!" as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Usagi shrugged. "Where's professor Lupin?"
Sirius got up and motioned for her to follow him. "He's in bed. He didn't feel too good this morning." Usagi nodded and didn't reply. Lupin was lying in bed, book in hand and eyes half closed. Sirius rasped his throat and the teacher made a slight squeaking noise as if being caught in bed by a student and leaned on the bedpost, putting his book aside. "Miss Serena! To what do I owe this visit?"
Usagi chuckled and sat on the corner of his bed. "You can call me Serena, you know. Miss sounds too formal for my taste. You ok with that?"
Lupin gulped and covered himself a little more with his blankets. (Mind you, he's wearing his pyjama. You bunch of pervs! ^_^;)
Usagi giggled to herself and approached him. "Ohh!" She cooed. "Is uncle Remy shy?" She started to tease him, talking in baby-talk, and hugging him in a playful way. He blushed even more and Sirius laughed out loud, a big bark of laughter.
Remus whined at him. "Don't encourage her, Padfoot!" Said animagus only ignored him and continued to laugh.
"So," Remus started when Sirius stopped his mocking, "why ARE you here?" Usagi handed him the vial and Remus grimaced. "Oh yeah, right."
Usagi stopped him before he could open the vial and drink its content. "Before you drink this, I would like to examine you."
Remus made a plaintive sound in the back of his throat and Sirius choked on his saliva, coughing and taking big gulps of air.
"YOU WANT TO WHAT?!" The dog animagus said, more like yelled, completely disconcerted by her demand.
Usagi rolled her eyes and whined. "DaAad! Not like THAT! I just want to try to find what's causing him to change on the full moon!"
Sirius blushed "Oh, right!" While Remus let out the breath he was holding.
"Right." Usagi said, rolling her eyes one last time, before closing them and putting a hand on Remus' forehead. She was starting to feel a soft glow of power but she frowned and made a swatting movement with her shoulder, making her loose the magic trail. She growled silently in her throat and reopened her eyes, glancing at her father. Hey! It wasn't easy to concentrate when you had someone breathing on the back of your neck, something Sirius looked totally oblivious to.
"It would be better if there was only the minimum of people required…" She hinted, with an annoyed voice. Sirius hummed in acknowledgement but didn't sway from his position.
'Oh, honestly!' Lupin thought, with an exasperated tone. "Sirius, get out."
Usagi raised her eyebrows at Lupin's blatant declaration while the dog animagus had the decency to look offended. "Fine! I know when I'm not wanted!" He humphed and exited the place, door banging rather loudly in the background.
"He'll come around. Sirius is a thickhead, so the only way to tell him something is to tell him directly." Lupin explained when he saw Usagi's raised eyebrows at him. He shrugged and offered no more explanations.
"You were quite direct, there's no mistake with that…Anyway, let's get back to business, shall we?" Usagi finally said pleasantly.
*~*~*
The day passed, and soon it was time for Dinner. Remus and Usagi were talking quietly in Remus' room when the rabbit's stomach began to protest from the lack of food. The older man chuckled. "It's getting late. Maybe we should go grab a bite in the Great Hall?" He quirked a playful eyebrow at her, while she held her stomach, cheeks flaming red in embarrassment.
They walked in the empty corridors, and Usagi couldn't help but comment; "It's so silent here. There aren't any students in the halls!"
Lupin nodded and they walked on the shifting stairs, holding on the ramp securely. "You're right. You've been in my rooms all day, so you didn't know. The students went back to their homes this afternoon. Classes are cancelled, and the only kids left are the ones who wanted to stay and help. Many wizards from around the world probably arrived this afternoon to help too. I know that the Weasley family will be there, and the remaining members of the…you know what." Remus said silently, while the rabbit nodded in understanding.
As Remus said, many people were busying through the entrance doors. They got in the Hall and looked around seriously, watching who had decided to stay and who had decided to join them. The tables had all been rearranged in a circle and they spotted Sirius talking with Molly Weasley and the other red heads.
When said dog animagus spotted them, he waved cheerfully as they walked to the red headed family. Sirius eyed Remus worriedly. "Shouldn't you be in bed, Moony? Did Serena cure you?" He circled his friend while the Weasley family looked on curiously.
Usagi and Remus gazed at each other uncertainly and Usagi started, putting a hand on her father's arm; "I couldn't cure him, father. Lycanthropy isn't something that can be removed. I'm sorry." She finished, eyes downcast. Sirius looked completely crestfallen.
"But that doesn't mean that the effects can't be diminished." Remus said, and it took Sirius a while to take the hint.
"Huh?" He gazed at Remus curiously, but the DADA teacher wasn't looking at him, instead fully smiling at Usagi, who was doing the same. Then, he turned and winked at Sirius, adding on a wolfish grin.
Sirius looked gob smacked. "You mean…"
Usagi nodded and patted Remus on the shoulder. "Yep! You're looking at the new and improved Remus; a werewolf animagus!"
Sirius' jaw dropped to the floor, just before he 'bear-hugged' his daughter and Remus at the same time. "This is great!!! I can't believe it! How?!"
Harry looked happy but he tried to detangle his girlfriend from the death grip. "Huh, Sirius? I do believe air is becoming an issue for them…" He chuckled when his godfather blushed and let the 2 go.
Mrs Weasley was the 3rd to congratulate Remus, after Harry, of course. The news travelled and soon everyone knew of the DADA teacher's new condition. "How did you ever do it, child?" Dumbledore looked pretty surprised when he learned of this bit of news.
"Well, Lycanthropy is a part of his DNA, so I couldn't change that. Luckily, I have power over the moon, so I repressed the killing instinct inside him and took back the moon's power that was triggering his transformation. Since the beast is still inside him, I saw it fit to make him become an animagus, so it was a good compromise. Took me 5 hours to get the whole damn thing under control and working, but I managed. Professor Lupin can now transform into a werewolf anytime he wants. As for the other werewolves, I'll try to diminish the moon's glow so it won't make them transform. Taking on wizards is less difficult than taking on enraged blood lusting beasts. No offence, professor." Lupin shrugged.
They all took a seat around the table and Usagi frowned when some people tried to get as far away from her as possible. Harry pecked her lovingly on the cheek and sat beside her, Sirius on the other side. "Just ignore them, love. They just don't understand how great a person you are."
Usagi gazed into Harry's shiny green orbs and kissed him on the lips. "Thanks, I needed to hear that." She said huskily. Harry smiled and was about to reply when Ron elbowed him in the ribs.
"Ow! Hey Ron! What do you-" Ron put a hand on his mouth to make him shut up. Sirius and Usagi watched them with interest.
"Hey mate! Why d'you reckon Malfoy's still here? He's usually scared of his own shadow!" Ron said, glaring in the direction of the blond boy. Harry grimaced and Hermione gave a thoughtful look.
Sirius started to pick up his fork and toyed with the potatoes in his plate. "The git's probably doing the nasty business, spying no doubt." Lupin hissed to him but he shrugged nonchalantly. "What? You know I'm right."
The dinner went on pretty silently. Sometimes, a debate would start between the aurors or other wizards but the atmosphere was pretty gloomy in general. The students who had decided to stay, mostly seventh years, looked frightened or nervous.
Out of pure Gryffindor courage, or idiocy, take your pick, Neville, Seamus and Dean had decided to stay. They looked pretty untrained beside Harry but they didn't loose hope, which was a start.
Usagi was about to take her dessert when a small screech resonated trough the room. Everyone gazed upwards while an owl made its way inside. It was pretty ordinary looking, with its cream and brow stripes, and it flew in circles many times over their heads, as if it was searching for someone.
It let out a hoot and flew down, only to settle itself right before the rabbit. It lifted a leg and Usagi took a nicely rolled parchment from its claws with a quirked eyebrow. Whispers ran through the Hall but she ignored them and her questioning father. She opened the letter and began to read, and it wasn't long before she was openly glaring at the piece of paper.
"Who's it from, baby?" Sirius asked her when he saw her frowning. She didn't reply and continued to read. She only stopped and lifted her gaze when she saw Severus get up from the corner of her eyes. She furrowed her brows when she saw he was fisting his hand and trying not to wince. He was being called.
"Don't go." Was the only thing she said.
Severus stopped momentarily but didn't turn around. "I have to." He started to walk again towards the side exit but she didn't want to cause a ruckus by running over to stop him. Instead she said the only thing that would make him come back to his seat.
"He knows."
Severus reeled back and stared at her. She lifted the parchment for him to get the hint but made sure nobody could see what was written on it. Curious murmurs started again, as long as harsh whisperings. The potions master tried not to wince, nodded thankfully at her for saving his butt, and went back to his place. Clearly, this was going to be a long discussion.
"Harry, can you transfigure something into a quill, a parchment and some ink?" Harry nodded and did as she asked. She dipped the quill in the black ink and wrote clearly and boldly on the paper;
'I WON'T JOIN YOU. GO TO HELL. BY THE WAY, MY NAME'S SERENITY BLACK. HAVE A NICE DAY AND SEE YOU LATER.'
She smirked and gave the letter to the owl. "Give this to the man who sent you here, but don't stay there too long. He's going to be very mad when he reads the letter." The owl hooted in understanding and she gave it a part of her dessert, before it flew off.
"Was it really a letter from…?" Harry asked uncertainly.
The people in her vicinity looked at her as if she was crazy when she began to snicker. "Man, is he going to be pissed!" She tried to hold her snickers in check.
Sirius grimaced, questioning the sanity of his daughter, while Dumbledore approached them and asked Usagi to hand him the letter, which she gladly complied to.
Her look turned serious once again and Fudge, who was beside Dumbledore, took a few steps back, gulping, but still frowning.
"I was right. He wants to attack when the moon will be full. You must prepare, the battle will be in 2 days from today." Silence greeted her statement.
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Jesus Christ that was long! ^_^; I'm soooo tired right now!
The battle is nearing! YAY!
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Eternal Cosmos ^_~