A/N: I've finally updated.
To those who supported me, I'd like to thank you. By the way, for anyone who wondered, Roger is indeed a product of Murray from the Monkey Island Series. A somewhat modified one, but yes, that's where I got the idea.
Please review if you like it.
Chapter 6
Argus Dragonslayer
The gleaming emerald symbol filled the night sky, casting it's malevolent light upon the darkened city. The symbol of the Death Eaters, the sign of Lord Voldermort's resurgence to power gleamed brighter than the magical lights conjured up by the greatest wizards in the world's largest magical city. The symbol's majestic beauty could not be denied, yet it's purpose struck fear into the hearts of anyone who gazed upon it's terrible visage.
"You can't be serious? Sirius Black? The Sirius Black?" Mr. Weasley shot a confounded look at Mad-Eye Moody, his nose twitching nervously. "He couldn't have done that. Think about what your saying Moody. This is Sirius Black we're talking about."
"I do say Moody, Arthur's got a point there. Latrinval's locked down tighter than Gringotts nowadays. How would an well-known death-eater like Sirius Black be able to pull off something like that?" Fudge blanched white, as if considering his own words. "Unless…unless…"
"Exactly." Moody rumbled, turning his ancient, grizzled face to the sky where the serpent still hung, it's hungry eyes looking down upon the small group. "Do not forget who Black works for…or what powers the Dark Arts grants those who give their lives and…"
"Preposterous! There has to be another explanation!" Mr. Weasley interrupted, drawing a dangerous look from his auror companion. "Sirius Black? Cornelius, you don't really believe that Sirius Black had anything to do with this do you? He hasn't been seen since…"
"Since he escaped from Azkaban. Since he accomplished what was deemed an impossible feat." Mad-eye Moody's stern and unforgiving look temporarily subdued Mr. Weasley. "Might I remind you, Arthur, that Sirius Black is an dangerous and unpredictable individual. He has escaped the grasp of dementors on several occasions…do not put it past him to be able to sneak past an auror guard or two."
"But there were over four-hundre-"
"Anything's possible, Arthur." Fudge replied, cutting the argument short. For a moment, the trio of adults turned their eyes to the sky, and each relived distant memories of that same symbol, and the sorrow and fear that it had brought. Families destroyed, wizards and witches slain…
Harry briefly wondered if the Dark Mark had appeared when his parents had been slain so many years ago. Was that how Dumbledore and the others had found him? Had Voldermort's symbol cursed the very air around him the day his parents had been killed?
Fudge turned to his companions, his voice quavering with barely restrained terror. "With you-know-who back…anything's possible…"
The air of possibility did seem to fill the air, the possibility of unimaginable darkness. After all, the most powerful Dark Wizard the magical world had ever known had been resurrected from near death. His followers had returned to him. What horrors might Voldermort unleash upon Latrinval if he knew that Harry was there? How many others would die because of who Harry was, and what Harry had done?
"We should at least get Dumbledore…" Mr. Weasley replied after a moment of silence. "He'll want to know what's happened."
"Dumbledore is not the Minister of Magic! I am! He will learn about this when he needs to! Right now, there are more important things to attend to!" Fudge suddenly spat out, his eyes narrowing at the other two adults, silently daring them to contradict his statement.
For a moment, even Mad-Eye Moody seemed a bit perturbed at Fudge's unusual behavior, and the suspicious glare that his grisly, wooden eye shot at the Minister of Magic seemed to calm the thin, raggedy man immensely.
"Going to have to get to Cloakwood sooner or later." Moody replied after the moment of stunned silence. "The Elves won't be too happy."
"I do say, I wouldn't be if the situations were reversed." Mr. Weasley replied, still a bit uneasy after Fudge's outburst.
Lost in his own thoughts, Harry Potter fared no better than Mr. Weasley. Sirius Black? His godfather? It couldn't be, could it? No, it couldn't be. Harry mentally berated himself for even suspecting that this…this could be the work of his beloved godfather.
No, Sirius Black had already been proven innocent of one heinous crime. This would be no different. The rest of the magical world could continue to view his godfather as a dangerous criminal, but in Harry's eyes, Sirius Black was a good man, and a trusted friend. He would never have done this.
Whatever this was. The magnitude of what had happened still escaped Harry. Something had been stolen, something important. And the elves of Cloakwood were somehow involved. Yet why had Voldermort come to Latrinval? What exactly had been stolen? The possibilities did nothing to ease Harry's anxious mind.
"Harry?"
He turned slightly, gazing into Cho's troubled eyes. Her face was etched with worry. Worry over him. Her concern touched him to the depths of his heart.
"Are you okay?" She looked away, her voice growing softer as she spoke. "I mean…you looked like you were somewhere else…"
"I…I'm fine…I…" Harry sighed, and shook his head. "Just thinking about something else…"
"Do you want to talk about it?" Cho asked tentatively, her earlier bravado forgotten as she noticed the familiar lines of worry appearing over Harry's brow.
It had often amused her when it had happened before. At Hogwarts, she had been surprised when she had first noticed it. Harry Potter, the great Harry Potter, actually worried about something. Oftentimes, it had been things that were quite silly. His first match of Quidditch for example, a match that after all these years, she still couldn't resist teasing him about.
Other times, it had been things that had been quite serious. When the entire school had somehow come to the dramatic conclusion that Harry Potter was the descendant of the Dark Lord, she had seen those worry lines grow and grow. She had wanted to come up to him, and comfort him. To tell him not to worry…but how could she? What could she offer to Harry Potter that hundreds of other girls couldn't?
"Cho?"
She turned slightly, gazing into his light-green eyes, marveling at the intensity of his gaze. "Wha..what?"
He grinned, arching an eyebrow as he leaned in closer. "Is something wrong? You looked like you were somewhere else…" His horrible impersonation of her voice made her smile. Just briefly.
Then she punched him on the shoulder. Hard.
"Ow!" Harry rubbed his shoulder, his grin growing wider as he noticed her flustered look. For a moment, he considered continuing the verbatim, yet the sudden sorrow that had crossed her face stopped him. Something was definitely bothering her, something that pained her a great deal. And he had a good idea what that something was.
After all, hadn't Cedric's death been heralded by this very sign?. A call to the followers of Voldermort to return to him? What did she feel when she looked at him? Disgust? Anger? Guilt?
His heart ached as he tried desperately to find a way to help her, but how could he? After all, wasn't he the cause of this pain?
"Thinking about something?" Harry reached for her hand gently, drawing her close. His emerald eyes softened as they gazed upon her almond ones, and he felt a sudden impulse to wrap his arms around her waist…a impulse that he found rather difficult to deny.
Cho blushed self-consciously and turned away, ignoring the warmth ignited by his touch. "Hard not to after all that's happened."
"That's true…" He sighed, and shook his head. "I don't think it'll get any better. "
"Probably not." She replied lightly, the mischievous sparkle in her eyes returning. "But hey, don't worry so much, I'll be there to get you out of trouble."
Reading the challenge in her eyes, Harry chuckled. Whatever it was that had pained her so deeply, it was gone now. No doubt, it would resurface later on, but evidently, she had buried it once more. Perhaps one day, she would share her secret worries with him…perhaps one day she would confide in him.
He wondered if she had been like this with Cedric. So warm, so giving…did he really think he deserved her? After killing her only hope for happiness, he would simply barge in on her life and expect everything to be fine? What would she want with a boy like him anyway? What could he offer that a hundred other boys couldn't?
"Who says I need your help?" He replied with a slight huff, the sparkle in his eyes mirroring hers.
"Who says I'm going to give you the option of refusing my help?" Cho replied honestly, her radiant smile widening. He felt his knees melt as he looked at her, his lips automatically moving closer to hers. She looked confused and hesitant for a brief moment, and then the long-buried feelings that she had nestled within her heart escaped, and she could no longer deny that she wanted this.
After all, did anyone truly deserve someone else? Perhaps the secret of love was simply accepting someone else for who they were, and listening to your heart. And perhaps the secret of forgiveness was love…
As their eyes met, their lips inched closer, each hesitant to make the first move, each looking to the other for reassurance. She lowered her eyes briefly, blushing furiously as she met his gaze again, filling his heart with a gentle warmth that uplifted his spirit.
They looked at each other, each seeking something else from the other…
In her, he found the reassurance and warmth he needed to calm the intense guilt in his heart. In him, she found the confidence and strength she needed to move along with her life.
He smiled and leaned in closer, brushing a strand of hair away from her eyes. "Cho…" His words fell flat as his eyes promised her everything and anything…
It could change them forever, if they allowed it to happen…
But could they?
"'Dat wuz zee most 'orrible experience that I have eva had the misfortune of experiencing in my life!" A familiar, melodic voice suddenly rang across the night, shattering the mood.
To their embarrassment, Harry and Cho found all three adults gazing upon them with strange looks on their faces. Well, three adults and one young woman who looked decidedly scandalized.
Fleur Delacour, her beautiful face streaked with tears, her perfect hair in less than optimal condition stormed through the crowd and shook her fist angrily at the young pair. "Wee should have gone 'ome! Theese is not safe anymore! 'Arry should not even be out here!"
She turned her sharp glare at the three adults standing nearby. "And why are you dree just standing there?!" The wrath of this temperamental vision of beauty spurred the officials into action, and they turned away, chuckling knowingly amongst themselves.
Harry didn't want to know what they were talking about, although he had a pretty good idea what they were saying.
"Fleur!" Cho piped up, the red in her cheeks disappearing as concern for her friend gradually replaced it. "What happened?"
"Zee..zee…'orrible, 'orrible man and ees imp!"
As one, the three of them turned to gaze upon a giant of a man as he strode through the streets, his entire, rotund body sporting an equally large suit of archaic armor. Every movement that he made sent a shrill, ear-piercing shriek through the air. An axe, several times larger than Harry himself, could be seen slung across his massive shoulders.
And Roger the imp could be seen leering at the three of them, firmly planted on the man's shoulder. "Well, well, well…a little late to be out isn't it? Don't know what could be in the shadows looking for little children like you…" The small creature raised it's wings impressively, or so it thought, and snapped it's jaws. "Boo!"
When none of the three seemed to be overly fearful, it gave up and marched sulkily back up it's master's shoulder.
"Now now, Roger, that not be the way we be wantin' to treat the innocents that we save, now is it?" The giant man glanced down at Harry, his eyes widening in surprise once he spotted the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead. "Well now, this be a pleasure that I didn't think I would be havin' in me lifetime. Harry Potter! Well, it be a pleasure to meet ya, chap. A real pleasure indeed."
"Pleasure?!" Fleur seemed to be in the throes of a violent tantrum, and for a moment, even Mad-Eye Moody stepped uneasily away from the half-veela. "I never needed your help! You and that dirty little creature of yours!"
"Dirty?" The Imp looked rather pleased. "Dirty and TREMENDOUSLY EVIL! You must remember th-…" Mad-Eye Moody's warning glare managed to shut the raving creature up rather nicely.
"Zee imp! I will destroy zee imp!" Cho barely managed to restrain Fleur from her wand before Roger's fate was sealed. Just for a moment however, she wondered if it would be better for Fleur to unleash her anger upon the horrible creature.
"Now now, ye can't be threatenin' to kill me imp like that! Roger can be a bit…" The large man stumbled about for words to adequately describe his pet.
"Evil?" Roger offered from his side.
"Annoying…" The armored behemoth finished with a stout smile. "But he is a bit of an useful creature, yes. Got me out of a few scraps that would've finished me for sure. And believe me, I've been in a few scraps. Why just last week, I was fighting several giants on the hills of Humar when a bloody dra-"
"Argus Dragonslayer." Mad-Eye Moody growled finally, a measure of respect coming into his one good eye. "Good to have you here."
"And good to be here!" Argus offerered, his eyes narrowing as he gazed upon the sky. "These times offer us no opportunity for rest, now do they. Has Dumbledore been told about this?"
Now it was Fudge who seemed to be on the verge of a violent tantrum. He managed to control himself in the face of the large crowd, and merely shook his head and walked away, promising that Dumbledore would be notified first thing in the morning when he got to the office.
The group watched the Minister of Magic as he departed, angrily muttering things about a lack of respect for betters.
Mr. Weasley looked at Fudge's retreating back with some concern. "Can't understand it. Been like that for a while. Seems to think Dumbledore is going to be after his job next. Not that Dumbledore would even consider being the Minister of Magic. Too many responsibilities, he always said, although the position was offered to him many times before." Looking conspiratorially at the others, he shook his head. "I do say, I would feel a lot better with Dumbledore behind us then Fudge now that you-know-who has come back. Especially since Fudge didn't even believe it when it first happened. But Dumbledore won't hear of it. Insists that Fudge is a good man. If you ask me, the stress is finally getting to our Minister of Magic."
"Aye, the dark arts plagues all of our souls these days." Argus said, watching as a cadre of aurors began sweeping down the streets. "Fudge be a good man, trust in him. Aye, we go back quite a ways, him and I. Met 'im while he was still traveling about the world. Not one to go and face the dark arts head-on, but he wasn't the kind to run from it either. He just needs some time to adjust, that be all."
"Time, is a commodity we don't have much of these days, gentlemen." Mad-Eye Moody shook his head vaguely and moved off with another group of aurors who were casting various types of reversal spells onto the sky, hoping to rid the city sky of the ever-present Dark Mark.
"If ye ask me, Moody's the one to watch." Argus smirked, following the infamous auror with his eyes as the other left. "Always gave me the creeps, that one." Looking back at Harry, the monstrous man smiled cheekily. "'Arry Potter! Always seems to be in the thick of things, eh?"
"Uh…yes, Mr. Dragonslayer..I mean, not that I try Mr. Dragonslayer…" Harry started, a faint flush coming to his cheeks.
"Aye, call me Argus! Everyone else does! Except Roger that is. Aye, my imp has got a few choice words he be liking to call me! A few pet names if ye will."
"Indeed, fascinating…pet you have there." Mr. Weasley offered with a genuine smile. "Don't see many of them around here nowadays."
"No ye don't. Roger's one of the last of his kind, or was that is. Now that you-know-who's come back, imps and demons will be popping out of the ground quite regularly if ye ask me."
"Now now, I'm sure that's quite an exaggeration…" Mr. Weasley chuckled, his smile becoming strained now. "The Ministry wouldn't…"
"Bah! The Ministry's outmatched and ye know it Arthur! Runnin' scared they is, now that you-know-who's come back. I've always wondered why you didn't quit your job. Now that Voldermort's back, I would think that ye would want ye children and ye wife to be safer than that. The W.A.D.A. would take good care of ye all. Never doubt that." Argus stroked his beard and offered Mr. Weasley a strange smile.
"The Ministry provides me and my oldest son with good jobs, Argus. And you've seen Mad-Eye Moody and the others...they're doing their best…"
"Why their best doesn't seem to be good enough, now does it? Blessed be, I wouldn't want to be with Moody when he gets over to Cloakwood and has to explain all this to the elves. Say…how far do you reckon they'll be able to throw him?"
"Now really, Argus, that's not overreact here. The elves have always been understanding…"
"Aye, but now ye've gone and lost…" Argus blinked, suddenly noticing the three pairs of curious ears paying attention to his every word. "Well, that's not for me to say, now is it?" Turning around, transferring most of his substantial bulk to the side of the street, he gave them all a small wave."I reckon it be about time for me and Roger to be departing. Don't want to wear out our welcome. Besides, lots to do before the…well, that's a bit o' a surprise it is. Reckon' I'll be seeing a lot more of you later, I will."
As he moved away, Cho finally let go of Fleur, who seemed on the verge of going after him. Well, perhaps not Mr. Dragonslayer, but his untrustworthy companion, Roger the Imp.
Mr. Weasley turned back then as if noticing Harry and the others for the first time. "Ah, Harry! Well, dreadful business…sorry you had to witness it all."
"Mr. Weasley, you don't really think that…Sirius…" Not wanting to betray his godfather in front of the others, Harry trailed off, looking expectantly upon his best friend's father, one of the few people who knew the truth about Sirius Black.
"Well, as they say, anything's possible." Mr. Weasley replied, looking pointedly at Cho, before shooting a sly wink at Harry. "Although somethings are more possible than others, I would say."
Harry turned bright red, and was trying to manage a reply when Cho suddenly spoke up. "Perhaps they are…" The look on Harry's face afterwards was priceless.
"What am I doing? Oh! Molly will kill me for leaving you kids out here. Come on, I want all three of you home with me right this instant. Cho, Fleur, you can return to your place later, it's not safe out here right now." Mr. Weasley shook his head as he reached for a small packet of floo powder buried within his cloak. "Molly will be worried sick. With Ron and Hermione not due back until tomorrow, and the twins out with their business, she's got an inordinate amount of time to worry nowadays." He gave the three of them a strained smile. "Even caught me bringing home a computer from work just the other day…had to sleep in the doghouse. Very uncomfortable it is, with the gnomes and all."
Harry had an interesting vision of Mr. Weasley sleeping in a small house surrounded by gnomes, and had to try hard to hide his smile. Cho seemed to instinctively know what he was thinking, and merely arched her eyebrow imperiously.
"Well, if you get in trouble today, I'm sure Harry would be happy to join you. Must be awfully lonely in there." Cho grinned at Harry's ensuing glare. "If it makes you feel better Potter, I could go with you." She stared with interest as Harry's face turned a new shade of bright red that she hadn't seen before.
"Why Harry! Such an offer!" Mr. Weasley replied with sudden glee, not noticing the exchange between the two. "Think about what we could talk about down there with Molly out of the way…not that she wouldn't catch on eventually. But I do want to talk to you about all this Internet stuff I've been hearing about. Seems it's becoming rather big in the Muggle world. Such ingenuity those muggles have to live without magic..." He sighed happily, his mind on his favorite topic as he absently applied flame to his packet of floo powder. "That must be the life, living off a dozen inventions a day."
"Yes…it's great." Harry offered without much enthusiasm. Perhaps if he had been allowed to use the Internet more, he would be able to talk to Mr. Weasley about it in greater detail. But even after being left alone in the house at the Dursley's, Uncle Vernon had insisted on turning off anything that Harry could have used that would have cost the family money.
"Well, Ron and Hermione will be back soon, and I'm sure they'll be glad to see them. Had an interesting time they did, with that Krum fellow. Although I can't say he was too pleased when he learned Ron was going along." Mr. Weasley smiled. "Although Ron didn't seem to mind much, and neither did Hermione. In fact, last I heard, they weren't even staying at Krum's place anymore. Said that they had found an old friend of yours…Neville Longbottom, and were keeping him company."
Harry grinned at the thought of his two best friends deserting one of the world's most celebrated players of Quidditch. There was more to that story than he had been told, he could count on it.
"Don't have much extra space back home…I reckon Fleur could stay with Ginny, and maybe you and Cho could share Ron's room…we'll see…" Mr. Weasley offered an apologetic smile, before beckoning into the rising flames ignited by the floo powder. "Well, no time like the present."
With a glance at Cho to gauge her reaction, Harry merely nodded and stepped in. It had been an interesting day, and by the look of Cho's face when she had learned Harry might have to share a room with her, it would be an even more interesting night.