(A/N: Yes, I have done it again: gone insane on you. But this chapter is not entirely an insane romp through this whole book... It has a point, and a very dramatic part...)
Chapter 33: I can Fly!!!! (Also known as Sirius goes Crazy, and Cate breaks down)
James continued to stare. He grinned. But he'd still called Meagan flat-face. But something very odd took his mind off that for a minute.
Sirius, who looked very crazed was... He blinked. Sirius was trying to fly?
"C' Mon Padfoot... Just cuz you have feathers doesn't mean you can fly..."
"I CAN FLYYYYY!" Sirius was running about the corridors. Everyone broke out into laughter, which seemed to have been brought to the attention of a very crabby certain someone... Who happened to have very greasy black hair and well... Everything was black. Even the words he said...
"BLACK! Have you gone mad!? What are you doing..." Snape shouted at Sirius, who skidded to a stop right in front of Snape. He smiled and blew a feather from his nose, which landed on Snape's robes. This feather was fluffy and pink. "20 points from Gryffindor!"
"But... Have you forgot we don't go to school here any longer?" Sirius said, still standing there covered in feathers. Snape ignored this, and jotted something down on a piece of parchment.
"And a detention for you, Sirius Black."
"I'M NOT A TEENAGER ANYMORE!" Sirius huffed. "You can't give me a detention! We're the same age... It's not fair!"
At this point, which happened to be the wrong time, Sirius changed into a teenager. "So much for not being a teenager..." James chortled. Sirius made a face.
"He still can't give me detention. I'm still... Erm.. How old am I anyways, James? I lost track in Azkaban..."
James didn't answer, but he laughed. Sirius scratched his head. He was still covered in feathers though. He grinned. He finally noticed his body changed.
"Hey... I'm like... 17 again!" He said, checking himself out.
"Well spotted Sherlock!" Meagan chimed in.
"Sherlock?"
"Muggle book character..."
"Okay then."
"I gotta show Lizzie..." Sirius grinned.
"You sure she wants to see?" Remus teased.
"Ha, ha. Yes." He grinned. "I'm goooooood lookin'."
"Sometimes I worry about you..." James said, casting sideways glance to everyone else.
"I can flyyyy!" Sirius was still going about the corridors. But much to everyone's surprise, for a few minutes, he actually did make it off the ground. But it was short-lived. He got his robes caught on a statue with a sword, and was dangling about 5 feet in the air.
"I... Need... A... Picture... Of... This..." Meagan said, between breaths of air, for it was hard to breathe she laughed so hard. A camera appeared, and she snapped not one photo, but around ten or so. Sirius wiggled around, until finally, James magicked him down.
"Lizzie! Lizzie! Lizzie!" Sirius said, rounding a corner into a comfy room.
"AHHH! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Lizzie shrieked, appearing from the room. "He's... he's..."
"Sirius?" Remus suggested.
"Yeah... When we were... young..."
"Aww... I just look like it!" Sirius said, grinning from ear to ear. "But really I'm still.. Well, however old I was before."
"Why are you covered in feathers, love?"
"Pillow fight." Everyone answered.
"Aww..." Lizzie said, lapping it all up and giving Sirius a big hug. "He might be a weirdo, but at least he's my weirdo!"
~*~
Cate rolled her eyes. She had a new TV set this time... And another challenge for the lot of them. She glared at Dolere, who had decided to give Meagan the soccer challenge... She was supposed to have a different one. But this time it was Harry's turn, and he would go all by himself.
"Hello my... Friends" She said, putting a deadly emphasis on the word friends. "Are you ready for your net challenge?"
"No..." Came an answer from everyone.
"Too bad. Come along..."
Cate snapped her fingers and they all appeared back on the isle. It didn't have much of a beautiful beach, the sand was blackish and rather coarse. The water, which was presumably an ocean of some sort, was a rather sickening green color. Everyone gave a disgusted look around.
"Do you like my lovely little island?" Cate's voice said with a very sarcastic tone. "Get a suntan eh, Meagan?" She chuckled. Cate was rather proud of her perfect skin tone, but Meagan looked as if she needed a little sunlight. But the sky was cloudy, and looked as if it might rain.
Meagan spat on the gross sand to show her appreciation to that comment. Harry put an arm around her, and glared around, as if expecting to see Cate someplace.
"Well, time to separate the lot of you." Cate snapped her fingers and watched on the new screen, which was an exceptionally large big screen TV this time; everyone separate, leaving Harry alone. This time no one touched their bubble of electric shock, but Sirius, still covered in feathers, had to give it a try. But what Cate didn't know was that while she was watching Sirius flap his "wings" which were still his regular arms, Meagan slipped the Orb into Harry's pocket. He smiled at her, knowing he wouldn't lose. Then the were separated into separate electric-thingys (like my choice of words? electric thingys... I need some serious help...)
"Harry Potter..." Cate hissed. Bellum, Dolere, and Facere made a face of disgust. "How good to see you again..." She said this with heavy sarcasm as well. " This is your challenge. You are good at mazes, no?"
"Erm..."
"That's what I thought." Cate rolled her eyes. "How do you react to one where my favorite dragon is following you?"
Then, as if on cue, there was a blast of fire, and there was a dragon, which astoundingly no one had noticed before. This dragon was a breed no one had ever seen before. This was clearly a challenge thought up by Facere. It was full of fire. The maze was a large border of fire, a lot like the shrubs that had been used in the Tri-Wizard tournament.
"Well, you get to the end. You win this challenge. Simple."
Harry felt the orb in his pockets, and took a deep breath as the large strange dragon flew over his head, the tail nearly missing him. There was fire everywhere, and it was getting hot. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and began...
It was a long maze; surely it went around the island? There were obstacles, such as creatures. Cate herself had not seen this challenge to "Okay" it before they started. It appeared too easy. Facere smiled sheepishly. But Harry has still had a little trouble with the meteors. One had happened to hit him dead on in the leg, but he was lucky it was a small one. His pants torn, blood everywhere, he limped on. He sighed, thought again of the orb and fought the pain. It burned. Even the sand was hot, and
he had lost a shoe and sock in the moving tar pit. He thought he could just apparate over it... But it moved to the spot he had apparated to... he only lost a shoe and sock. But at least he was alive.
"Harry use the orb!" Ron shouted, leaning against the electric cage. He got the shock of his lifetime, and passed out on the spot.
"The what, I beg your pardon?" Cate said with a grin, and definite flash in her eyes which was visible to Bellum, Dolere, and Facere.
"RON!!!" Meagan shouted. How did Ron know Harry had the orb now? Cate was sure to figure something out...
But before Cate was able to appear on the spot and stop this challenge, Harry raised the orb in the air, and suddenly found himself at the end of the maze. But they didn't disappear. Appearing in front of Harry was Cate, dressed in the usual swanky sort of outfit. The red skirt and shirt she seemed to favor above all. She looked him dead in the eye and grinned.
"I'll be taking that, thank-you..." she said.
"No.. You won't!"
"Standing up now are you?" Cate laughed. "How brave. Bravery gets you killed. Maybe it isn't bravery at all, just stupidity. Trying to make something more of yourself? Thinking of saving the world?? Now hand it over, before I kill you."
She made a mad grab for it, making contact, but it gave her a sharp shock. She glared, and looked around. "None of you are leaving until I get it!" She shrieked.
"Then get it." Harry glared. As long as he had it, she couldn't touch it without hurting herself. "You can't touch it, can you? That's really too bad..."
Cate glared, her eyes flashing gold. She took a step towards Harry, who backed away. She grinned. He was still afraid of her. The rather crooked grin still fixed on her face, she stepped right on Harry's foot with her high heeled boots. This surely broke a few of his toes, because there was a crunch, and he yelled in pain. Still not letting go of the orb, Cate elbowed him hard in the stomach. That did it. For she really didn't use just her elbow, but another well placed stepping on his toes.
"Getting beaten on by a woman... Humiliated yet Potter?" She said, kneeing him in the stomach. Lurching and throwing his hands, the orb went flying. Re-directing its flight, Cate caught in her left hand steadily. " So I could never et it? Bravery is stupidity Harry. You should know it. All it does is create a false sense of pride, and make you think a bit differently of yourself. It really isn't bravery. It's stupid to get yourself killed." She threw a bit of magic at him, and he flopped over. It
looked painful... This made her laugh. "So much pain. Is this what bravery is?"
She ended this speech, which caused everyone to be in silent shock, with a shark kick to Harry's side. He was a bloody mess, and still unconscious. But Sirius couldn't take it. It was his own child doing this. He began to yell...
"You're a coward!" He shouted at her. "You wouldn't ever know bravery! What kind of an excuse for a human being does this?"
"What did you call me?" Cate said, leaving Harry and wheeling around to face Sirius's perch in the air.
"A coward! A bloody coward! You could have a happy life! But this is what you choose?!"
"Very well then. Do you wish to speak to me, Sirius Black?"
"I'm your father! You can call me father, it wouldn't kill you. Please Catie..." He pleaded.
Cate shook her head. Was this a death wish? Was he truly crazy? It was his wish though... She snapped her fingers. Everyone else disappeared. They were going back to Hogwarts... Sirius's electric force field disappeared as well. he fell from the air about five feet, to the ground. She clapped her hands, and back in the Muggle house, the orb appeared in Bellum's hands. He
also had her wedding ring, which she had also given him. He closed his eyes and really couldn't bring himself to look...
"You wanted a word?" Cate hissed, approaching him as he stood up.
"I just wanted to see you. You don't know what it's like to be a parent, let alone lose your child. I lost everything. Everything. Your mother, Lily and James, Harry... My life. And now I lose you. I had you back. What happened, Catie?"
"I was never your child." Cate said, with no emotion. "I was no one's child. No one wanted me. Just because I was a little different. I thank you for those genes. The genes that made me an outcast. Part of the reason I am what I am."
"But... I would have loved to raise you. Why do you think I'm here now, if I never loved you?"
"You didn't even know I existed!" Cate practically shrieked, pacing in a circle around him, like a vulture circling its prey. "How could you love what didn't exist to you?"
"I was in prison. You're all wrong. I knew you existed. I was there when you were born. Because the one for so many years you called a father was not. I loved your mother, and the thing I wanted most was a family. Do you know how I wished you were my daughter? Do you know? It's hard to watch the things you love most go away. In one year... Everything was taken away. The woman I loved, my best friend, and you. Even though I didn't think you were my baby, I was supportive. You know the story. And I have a question for you: How could you hate me if you didn't know I existed?"
"I always hoped..." Cate said, stopping in front of Sirius, a different look in her eyes. It was a sad sympathetic look. She looked ready to cry. "That Jacob James was not my father." She paused for a breath. "I knew it, in a way. I knew I was nothing like him. I didn't even look like him. And I had this feeling... Of hatred. To whoever was my father, for not being there.
I told myself it was his fault as much as anyone else's. For being careless. Think before you act. You are bad at that. Did you ever consider what would become of a child, produced in some sort of one-night-stand? The emotional effect on the child?"
"I'm sorry Catie." Sirius said, now crying. He had given in. She had a talent for making him feel guilty. It seemed as if it were his fault now. His fault that she was bad? It didn't make sense, but yet it did. Cate knew exactly why she was bad, and that meant she would know how to get out of it... If she wanted to. "I'm sorry!" He sobbed on. "It was more than that. More than a simple one-night-stand. You understand... Don't you?"
"Then you should have thought about it. If it was more, than why did you not consider it impossible for you to have a child? Think Sirius Black, before you act. You can ruin lives when you forget to do that. Like my life. No matter how much you try, or claim you love me, you can't correct my life. It was messed up from the beginning, and will be until the end."
"But you're going to be a sister." He wailed. His own dark brown eyes matched Cate's "Come home Catie. Please. We miss you. Lizze wants you back too. Why else is she alive again?"
"A baby?" Cate said, stunned. She closed her eyes. She was in silent tears. "What good will it do for me to be home? Not everyone wants me back. All they want to do is stop me. They don't truly want me back. Meagan." Cate spat. "She's convinced she'll stop me. She wants the glory to herself. Then what will they do with me? I bet she never thought of that... Throw me an asylum and label me mad? No, she'll just treat it as a trophy. I see her as the good evil person. She's on the good side, but greed seems to lead her. She cares not about me. If she were truly all good, she'd care about everyone, even the evil people. I'd rather not rot in a place where the truly mad go. Would you like to?"
"She doesn't mean anything. She just... doesn't know. What... to do with you once it's over."
"What about you? What would you do with me?" Cate hissed.
"Make you part of the family. You can do it."
"You have to realize this, Sirius." Cate said, starting to cry again. "I don't want to be good. I can't do it. It's in me. See, most of me right now wants to kill you. It wants to rip you to shreds and feed you to those sharks."
Sirius gulped. He looked around nervously.
"If you want to do the world a favor, leave me alone. Let me go about my business, you go home and raise a family. If you don't like this, make sure your baby has a father. Make sure your wife, whenever you decide to get married, has a husband. Just let go of me. It's part of life. It isn't all good. Go home. You're disqualified from my game. Let everyone else go on.
Raise your kid."
"But..."
"No buts. That's the best thing you can do for this world. Make sure another Black doesn't go rotten. Might I also add that you are lucky you have your younger body, or I think judging by the look on your face you might have died by cause of heart attack."
"But..." Sirius sputtered again, feeling a little more nervous.
Cate pulled a knife from her boot and held it to his throat, again crazy and evil. She was breathing fast. She was crying. She did look as if she should belong in an asylum...
"I can't..." Sirius said.
"Yes you can!" she said, cutting his cheek with the knife. Blood ran down his cheek and dripped on his robes. She gave him a hard shove, and he disappeared. Cate took a deep breath and bowed her head. She couldn't believe what she had done. After one last look at the hideous isle, she appeared back in the living room of the Muggle place. In front of the TV screen. Dolere and Facere were staring, with rather odd looks on their faces. Bellum however, who still had the orb and her ring, wrapped his arms around her.
"It's okay..." He said, and after the look her gave the other women, they left the room. He clearly wanted some alone time. Cate buried her face on his shoulder and cried. And cried. Picking her up, and taking a seat on the couch, Bellum cradled her in his arms. "Don't forget... I love you." He said, almost starting to cry himself. He slipped the ring back on her left ring finger and kissed her hand.
"I know." Cate sniffled between sobs. "I love you too. Don't let go of me. Just hold on."
"I've got you." he said, wondering what she was talking about really. He kissed her forehead. He had never seen her cry. He liked the feeling that he made her feel secure. It was the feeling of being her husband, and in the future, she would need lots of comforting...
"Destroy it." Cate muttered. "Get rd of it."
"What?" he said, smoothing her hair as she looked up at him.
"The orb. I want it gone."
"But you could use it..."
"Meagan isn't happy. She'll try to get it back. I'm not taking a chance. Destroy it."
Bellum did have power. He never really used them as much as everyone else, but he sighed, and picked up the orb again. It levitated above his hand and glowed. He looked at it longingly, and closed his eyes. He took Cate's hand, and put it on top of the orb. Instantaneously, it exploded, leaving golden shards all over the floor. Bellum picked up a piece, as Cate looked at it all emotionlessly (Is that a word even? Well, if it wasn't... It is now....). Bellum picked up a piece.
"Well, it's ordinary gold." He smiled at her. "I'll make you a nice ring. How about that?"
Cate nodded, and smiled at him. Well, if she couldn't have the power, no one could then...."
~*~
Dolere was thinking again. Facere was giving her odd looks, because she was grinning so much. Cate did after all have a major weakness. Sirius Black. She already had a plan devised.... She was going to make it all work out. Cate was going to fall.
~*~
Harry had been taken not only to the hospital wing, but to a professional hospital. Cate had nearly killed him. After the doctors took a look at him, the injuries were savable. It was a powerful curse she had used, apparently Cate hadn't let out her anger for a long time. But Harry was talking, though he looked pretty horrible.
"Mreaageen.." He mumbled. His speech wasn't quite the best yet.
"I'm here, Harry." Meagan said, sniffling. "It's okay. You're alright." She said, her heart leaping that he could at least talk, somewhat.
Cate had gone a bit far. Whatever she had done, it was effective. Now that Harry was alright, there was another question on everyone's mind: Where was Sirius?
"It's okay Lizzie." Marykate said, she was taking turns comforting Meagan and Elizabeth both. "He can take care of himself. Sirius can talk his way out of anything." But he could talk himself into anything too... She thought
Sitting in a rocking chair, Lizzie stared out the window. There was still no sign of Sirius. She had been hoping that this child would have a father...
"What if he doesn't turn up though?" She cried.
"He will." Ferre said. "I know he will."
Ron was keeping to himself in a corner. He felt responsible for all of this. He had messed up... Bad... He wondered what would become of him... He didn't talk top anyone, not even Marykate.
Even though it was late when Sirius showed up, he showed. Everyone was asleep. Sirius winced as he looked at the scene. No one was happy. They all looked as if they were a bit depressed. But they did have good reason. He sighed quietly and cast a weak smile at the sleeping Meagan and Harry. Then he looked at his own fiancé, and sniffled. He kissed her lips softly, and
sat down beside her. She had moved from the rocking chair (which was now occupied by Ridere) to a fold out couch.
"Sirius?" she whispered.
"Yup. That's me." he said, kissing her again n the cheek.
"I thought you might have been dead!" she said, kissing him back, and rolling (with effort) to put her arms around him.
"I thought so too. For a minute there, she was really scaring me."
"She's still-"
"Well, I don't know what came over her, but she let me go."
"You're hurt." Elizabeth said, her hand brushing over his bloody cheek. "It's a deep wound."
"It's nothing. A small cut at the most. Nothing compared to what she could have done."
"See a doctor, Sir."
"Tomorrow Liz. Not now... I just wanna sleep."
Sleep? Yeah right... Like that was going to be possible. Just then, the lights flickered on, and Michael walked in, looking sort of ghostly. Everyone woke up, when he swore loudly at the room.
"What's wrong with you?" Sirius said, who was the only one actually not groggy.
"The orb was destroyed. I came to say goodbye."
"Wha-?" Meagan said, looking up.
"Well, I helped create it. Part of me is in it. So, I'll be disappearing soon." As he said this, his color flickered and he looked more transparent. I wish I would have had longer... I shouldn't have handed it out... I should have known this would happen!" He sighed, disappearing even lighter.
"But... You can't go!" Meagan objected.
"Rest assured, you'll come across me in some other way... In the future. Goodbyyyyyyyyye..." He said, disappearing for good.
At this point Meagan hated, hated, hated Cate. She didn't believe she was truly human any longer. She clenched her fists, and noticed Sirius was back. All he had was a cut? And what had she done to Harry? Almost killed him. It wasn't anything Harry did at all. It was her. Cate hated her most of all, and was determined to get everyone close to her. Then, she suddenly realized something. What did Sirius hadn't said anything to Cate? She probably would have finished off Harry... And knowing Cate, it was probably a very true thought.
"Welcome back, Sirius." She smiled weakly. She didn't know what to say after that. Sirius smiled and waved. "Thank-you." she managed to choke out.
"For what?" Sirius said, a little taken aback.
"For speaking up."
Chapter 33: I can Fly!!!! (Also known as Sirius goes Crazy, and Cate breaks down)
James continued to stare. He grinned. But he'd still called Meagan flat-face. But something very odd took his mind off that for a minute.
Sirius, who looked very crazed was... He blinked. Sirius was trying to fly?
"C' Mon Padfoot... Just cuz you have feathers doesn't mean you can fly..."
"I CAN FLYYYYY!" Sirius was running about the corridors. Everyone broke out into laughter, which seemed to have been brought to the attention of a very crabby certain someone... Who happened to have very greasy black hair and well... Everything was black. Even the words he said...
"BLACK! Have you gone mad!? What are you doing..." Snape shouted at Sirius, who skidded to a stop right in front of Snape. He smiled and blew a feather from his nose, which landed on Snape's robes. This feather was fluffy and pink. "20 points from Gryffindor!"
"But... Have you forgot we don't go to school here any longer?" Sirius said, still standing there covered in feathers. Snape ignored this, and jotted something down on a piece of parchment.
"And a detention for you, Sirius Black."
"I'M NOT A TEENAGER ANYMORE!" Sirius huffed. "You can't give me a detention! We're the same age... It's not fair!"
At this point, which happened to be the wrong time, Sirius changed into a teenager. "So much for not being a teenager..." James chortled. Sirius made a face.
"He still can't give me detention. I'm still... Erm.. How old am I anyways, James? I lost track in Azkaban..."
James didn't answer, but he laughed. Sirius scratched his head. He was still covered in feathers though. He grinned. He finally noticed his body changed.
"Hey... I'm like... 17 again!" He said, checking himself out.
"Well spotted Sherlock!" Meagan chimed in.
"Sherlock?"
"Muggle book character..."
"Okay then."
"I gotta show Lizzie..." Sirius grinned.
"You sure she wants to see?" Remus teased.
"Ha, ha. Yes." He grinned. "I'm goooooood lookin'."
"Sometimes I worry about you..." James said, casting sideways glance to everyone else.
"I can flyyyy!" Sirius was still going about the corridors. But much to everyone's surprise, for a few minutes, he actually did make it off the ground. But it was short-lived. He got his robes caught on a statue with a sword, and was dangling about 5 feet in the air.
"I... Need... A... Picture... Of... This..." Meagan said, between breaths of air, for it was hard to breathe she laughed so hard. A camera appeared, and she snapped not one photo, but around ten or so. Sirius wiggled around, until finally, James magicked him down.
"Lizzie! Lizzie! Lizzie!" Sirius said, rounding a corner into a comfy room.
"AHHH! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Lizzie shrieked, appearing from the room. "He's... he's..."
"Sirius?" Remus suggested.
"Yeah... When we were... young..."
"Aww... I just look like it!" Sirius said, grinning from ear to ear. "But really I'm still.. Well, however old I was before."
"Why are you covered in feathers, love?"
"Pillow fight." Everyone answered.
"Aww..." Lizzie said, lapping it all up and giving Sirius a big hug. "He might be a weirdo, but at least he's my weirdo!"
~*~
Cate rolled her eyes. She had a new TV set this time... And another challenge for the lot of them. She glared at Dolere, who had decided to give Meagan the soccer challenge... She was supposed to have a different one. But this time it was Harry's turn, and he would go all by himself.
"Hello my... Friends" She said, putting a deadly emphasis on the word friends. "Are you ready for your net challenge?"
"No..." Came an answer from everyone.
"Too bad. Come along..."
Cate snapped her fingers and they all appeared back on the isle. It didn't have much of a beautiful beach, the sand was blackish and rather coarse. The water, which was presumably an ocean of some sort, was a rather sickening green color. Everyone gave a disgusted look around.
"Do you like my lovely little island?" Cate's voice said with a very sarcastic tone. "Get a suntan eh, Meagan?" She chuckled. Cate was rather proud of her perfect skin tone, but Meagan looked as if she needed a little sunlight. But the sky was cloudy, and looked as if it might rain.
Meagan spat on the gross sand to show her appreciation to that comment. Harry put an arm around her, and glared around, as if expecting to see Cate someplace.
"Well, time to separate the lot of you." Cate snapped her fingers and watched on the new screen, which was an exceptionally large big screen TV this time; everyone separate, leaving Harry alone. This time no one touched their bubble of electric shock, but Sirius, still covered in feathers, had to give it a try. But what Cate didn't know was that while she was watching Sirius flap his "wings" which were still his regular arms, Meagan slipped the Orb into Harry's pocket. He smiled at her, knowing he wouldn't lose. Then the were separated into separate electric-thingys (like my choice of words? electric thingys... I need some serious help...)
"Harry Potter..." Cate hissed. Bellum, Dolere, and Facere made a face of disgust. "How good to see you again..." She said this with heavy sarcasm as well. " This is your challenge. You are good at mazes, no?"
"Erm..."
"That's what I thought." Cate rolled her eyes. "How do you react to one where my favorite dragon is following you?"
Then, as if on cue, there was a blast of fire, and there was a dragon, which astoundingly no one had noticed before. This dragon was a breed no one had ever seen before. This was clearly a challenge thought up by Facere. It was full of fire. The maze was a large border of fire, a lot like the shrubs that had been used in the Tri-Wizard tournament.
"Well, you get to the end. You win this challenge. Simple."
Harry felt the orb in his pockets, and took a deep breath as the large strange dragon flew over his head, the tail nearly missing him. There was fire everywhere, and it was getting hot. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and began...
It was a long maze; surely it went around the island? There were obstacles, such as creatures. Cate herself had not seen this challenge to "Okay" it before they started. It appeared too easy. Facere smiled sheepishly. But Harry has still had a little trouble with the meteors. One had happened to hit him dead on in the leg, but he was lucky it was a small one. His pants torn, blood everywhere, he limped on. He sighed, thought again of the orb and fought the pain. It burned. Even the sand was hot, and
he had lost a shoe and sock in the moving tar pit. He thought he could just apparate over it... But it moved to the spot he had apparated to... he only lost a shoe and sock. But at least he was alive.
"Harry use the orb!" Ron shouted, leaning against the electric cage. He got the shock of his lifetime, and passed out on the spot.
"The what, I beg your pardon?" Cate said with a grin, and definite flash in her eyes which was visible to Bellum, Dolere, and Facere.
"RON!!!" Meagan shouted. How did Ron know Harry had the orb now? Cate was sure to figure something out...
But before Cate was able to appear on the spot and stop this challenge, Harry raised the orb in the air, and suddenly found himself at the end of the maze. But they didn't disappear. Appearing in front of Harry was Cate, dressed in the usual swanky sort of outfit. The red skirt and shirt she seemed to favor above all. She looked him dead in the eye and grinned.
"I'll be taking that, thank-you..." she said.
"No.. You won't!"
"Standing up now are you?" Cate laughed. "How brave. Bravery gets you killed. Maybe it isn't bravery at all, just stupidity. Trying to make something more of yourself? Thinking of saving the world?? Now hand it over, before I kill you."
She made a mad grab for it, making contact, but it gave her a sharp shock. She glared, and looked around. "None of you are leaving until I get it!" She shrieked.
"Then get it." Harry glared. As long as he had it, she couldn't touch it without hurting herself. "You can't touch it, can you? That's really too bad..."
Cate glared, her eyes flashing gold. She took a step towards Harry, who backed away. She grinned. He was still afraid of her. The rather crooked grin still fixed on her face, she stepped right on Harry's foot with her high heeled boots. This surely broke a few of his toes, because there was a crunch, and he yelled in pain. Still not letting go of the orb, Cate elbowed him hard in the stomach. That did it. For she really didn't use just her elbow, but another well placed stepping on his toes.
"Getting beaten on by a woman... Humiliated yet Potter?" She said, kneeing him in the stomach. Lurching and throwing his hands, the orb went flying. Re-directing its flight, Cate caught in her left hand steadily. " So I could never et it? Bravery is stupidity Harry. You should know it. All it does is create a false sense of pride, and make you think a bit differently of yourself. It really isn't bravery. It's stupid to get yourself killed." She threw a bit of magic at him, and he flopped over. It
looked painful... This made her laugh. "So much pain. Is this what bravery is?"
She ended this speech, which caused everyone to be in silent shock, with a shark kick to Harry's side. He was a bloody mess, and still unconscious. But Sirius couldn't take it. It was his own child doing this. He began to yell...
"You're a coward!" He shouted at her. "You wouldn't ever know bravery! What kind of an excuse for a human being does this?"
"What did you call me?" Cate said, leaving Harry and wheeling around to face Sirius's perch in the air.
"A coward! A bloody coward! You could have a happy life! But this is what you choose?!"
"Very well then. Do you wish to speak to me, Sirius Black?"
"I'm your father! You can call me father, it wouldn't kill you. Please Catie..." He pleaded.
Cate shook her head. Was this a death wish? Was he truly crazy? It was his wish though... She snapped her fingers. Everyone else disappeared. They were going back to Hogwarts... Sirius's electric force field disappeared as well. he fell from the air about five feet, to the ground. She clapped her hands, and back in the Muggle house, the orb appeared in Bellum's hands. He
also had her wedding ring, which she had also given him. He closed his eyes and really couldn't bring himself to look...
"You wanted a word?" Cate hissed, approaching him as he stood up.
"I just wanted to see you. You don't know what it's like to be a parent, let alone lose your child. I lost everything. Everything. Your mother, Lily and James, Harry... My life. And now I lose you. I had you back. What happened, Catie?"
"I was never your child." Cate said, with no emotion. "I was no one's child. No one wanted me. Just because I was a little different. I thank you for those genes. The genes that made me an outcast. Part of the reason I am what I am."
"But... I would have loved to raise you. Why do you think I'm here now, if I never loved you?"
"You didn't even know I existed!" Cate practically shrieked, pacing in a circle around him, like a vulture circling its prey. "How could you love what didn't exist to you?"
"I was in prison. You're all wrong. I knew you existed. I was there when you were born. Because the one for so many years you called a father was not. I loved your mother, and the thing I wanted most was a family. Do you know how I wished you were my daughter? Do you know? It's hard to watch the things you love most go away. In one year... Everything was taken away. The woman I loved, my best friend, and you. Even though I didn't think you were my baby, I was supportive. You know the story. And I have a question for you: How could you hate me if you didn't know I existed?"
"I always hoped..." Cate said, stopping in front of Sirius, a different look in her eyes. It was a sad sympathetic look. She looked ready to cry. "That Jacob James was not my father." She paused for a breath. "I knew it, in a way. I knew I was nothing like him. I didn't even look like him. And I had this feeling... Of hatred. To whoever was my father, for not being there.
I told myself it was his fault as much as anyone else's. For being careless. Think before you act. You are bad at that. Did you ever consider what would become of a child, produced in some sort of one-night-stand? The emotional effect on the child?"
"I'm sorry Catie." Sirius said, now crying. He had given in. She had a talent for making him feel guilty. It seemed as if it were his fault now. His fault that she was bad? It didn't make sense, but yet it did. Cate knew exactly why she was bad, and that meant she would know how to get out of it... If she wanted to. "I'm sorry!" He sobbed on. "It was more than that. More than a simple one-night-stand. You understand... Don't you?"
"Then you should have thought about it. If it was more, than why did you not consider it impossible for you to have a child? Think Sirius Black, before you act. You can ruin lives when you forget to do that. Like my life. No matter how much you try, or claim you love me, you can't correct my life. It was messed up from the beginning, and will be until the end."
"But you're going to be a sister." He wailed. His own dark brown eyes matched Cate's "Come home Catie. Please. We miss you. Lizze wants you back too. Why else is she alive again?"
"A baby?" Cate said, stunned. She closed her eyes. She was in silent tears. "What good will it do for me to be home? Not everyone wants me back. All they want to do is stop me. They don't truly want me back. Meagan." Cate spat. "She's convinced she'll stop me. She wants the glory to herself. Then what will they do with me? I bet she never thought of that... Throw me an asylum and label me mad? No, she'll just treat it as a trophy. I see her as the good evil person. She's on the good side, but greed seems to lead her. She cares not about me. If she were truly all good, she'd care about everyone, even the evil people. I'd rather not rot in a place where the truly mad go. Would you like to?"
"She doesn't mean anything. She just... doesn't know. What... to do with you once it's over."
"What about you? What would you do with me?" Cate hissed.
"Make you part of the family. You can do it."
"You have to realize this, Sirius." Cate said, starting to cry again. "I don't want to be good. I can't do it. It's in me. See, most of me right now wants to kill you. It wants to rip you to shreds and feed you to those sharks."
Sirius gulped. He looked around nervously.
"If you want to do the world a favor, leave me alone. Let me go about my business, you go home and raise a family. If you don't like this, make sure your baby has a father. Make sure your wife, whenever you decide to get married, has a husband. Just let go of me. It's part of life. It isn't all good. Go home. You're disqualified from my game. Let everyone else go on.
Raise your kid."
"But..."
"No buts. That's the best thing you can do for this world. Make sure another Black doesn't go rotten. Might I also add that you are lucky you have your younger body, or I think judging by the look on your face you might have died by cause of heart attack."
"But..." Sirius sputtered again, feeling a little more nervous.
Cate pulled a knife from her boot and held it to his throat, again crazy and evil. She was breathing fast. She was crying. She did look as if she should belong in an asylum...
"I can't..." Sirius said.
"Yes you can!" she said, cutting his cheek with the knife. Blood ran down his cheek and dripped on his robes. She gave him a hard shove, and he disappeared. Cate took a deep breath and bowed her head. She couldn't believe what she had done. After one last look at the hideous isle, she appeared back in the living room of the Muggle place. In front of the TV screen. Dolere and Facere were staring, with rather odd looks on their faces. Bellum however, who still had the orb and her ring, wrapped his arms around her.
"It's okay..." He said, and after the look her gave the other women, they left the room. He clearly wanted some alone time. Cate buried her face on his shoulder and cried. And cried. Picking her up, and taking a seat on the couch, Bellum cradled her in his arms. "Don't forget... I love you." He said, almost starting to cry himself. He slipped the ring back on her left ring finger and kissed her hand.
"I know." Cate sniffled between sobs. "I love you too. Don't let go of me. Just hold on."
"I've got you." he said, wondering what she was talking about really. He kissed her forehead. He had never seen her cry. He liked the feeling that he made her feel secure. It was the feeling of being her husband, and in the future, she would need lots of comforting...
"Destroy it." Cate muttered. "Get rd of it."
"What?" he said, smoothing her hair as she looked up at him.
"The orb. I want it gone."
"But you could use it..."
"Meagan isn't happy. She'll try to get it back. I'm not taking a chance. Destroy it."
Bellum did have power. He never really used them as much as everyone else, but he sighed, and picked up the orb again. It levitated above his hand and glowed. He looked at it longingly, and closed his eyes. He took Cate's hand, and put it on top of the orb. Instantaneously, it exploded, leaving golden shards all over the floor. Bellum picked up a piece, as Cate looked at it all emotionlessly (Is that a word even? Well, if it wasn't... It is now....). Bellum picked up a piece.
"Well, it's ordinary gold." He smiled at her. "I'll make you a nice ring. How about that?"
Cate nodded, and smiled at him. Well, if she couldn't have the power, no one could then...."
~*~
Dolere was thinking again. Facere was giving her odd looks, because she was grinning so much. Cate did after all have a major weakness. Sirius Black. She already had a plan devised.... She was going to make it all work out. Cate was going to fall.
~*~
Harry had been taken not only to the hospital wing, but to a professional hospital. Cate had nearly killed him. After the doctors took a look at him, the injuries were savable. It was a powerful curse she had used, apparently Cate hadn't let out her anger for a long time. But Harry was talking, though he looked pretty horrible.
"Mreaageen.." He mumbled. His speech wasn't quite the best yet.
"I'm here, Harry." Meagan said, sniffling. "It's okay. You're alright." She said, her heart leaping that he could at least talk, somewhat.
Cate had gone a bit far. Whatever she had done, it was effective. Now that Harry was alright, there was another question on everyone's mind: Where was Sirius?
"It's okay Lizzie." Marykate said, she was taking turns comforting Meagan and Elizabeth both. "He can take care of himself. Sirius can talk his way out of anything." But he could talk himself into anything too... She thought
Sitting in a rocking chair, Lizzie stared out the window. There was still no sign of Sirius. She had been hoping that this child would have a father...
"What if he doesn't turn up though?" She cried.
"He will." Ferre said. "I know he will."
Ron was keeping to himself in a corner. He felt responsible for all of this. He had messed up... Bad... He wondered what would become of him... He didn't talk top anyone, not even Marykate.
Even though it was late when Sirius showed up, he showed. Everyone was asleep. Sirius winced as he looked at the scene. No one was happy. They all looked as if they were a bit depressed. But they did have good reason. He sighed quietly and cast a weak smile at the sleeping Meagan and Harry. Then he looked at his own fiancé, and sniffled. He kissed her lips softly, and
sat down beside her. She had moved from the rocking chair (which was now occupied by Ridere) to a fold out couch.
"Sirius?" she whispered.
"Yup. That's me." he said, kissing her again n the cheek.
"I thought you might have been dead!" she said, kissing him back, and rolling (with effort) to put her arms around him.
"I thought so too. For a minute there, she was really scaring me."
"She's still-"
"Well, I don't know what came over her, but she let me go."
"You're hurt." Elizabeth said, her hand brushing over his bloody cheek. "It's a deep wound."
"It's nothing. A small cut at the most. Nothing compared to what she could have done."
"See a doctor, Sir."
"Tomorrow Liz. Not now... I just wanna sleep."
Sleep? Yeah right... Like that was going to be possible. Just then, the lights flickered on, and Michael walked in, looking sort of ghostly. Everyone woke up, when he swore loudly at the room.
"What's wrong with you?" Sirius said, who was the only one actually not groggy.
"The orb was destroyed. I came to say goodbye."
"Wha-?" Meagan said, looking up.
"Well, I helped create it. Part of me is in it. So, I'll be disappearing soon." As he said this, his color flickered and he looked more transparent. I wish I would have had longer... I shouldn't have handed it out... I should have known this would happen!" He sighed, disappearing even lighter.
"But... You can't go!" Meagan objected.
"Rest assured, you'll come across me in some other way... In the future. Goodbyyyyyyyyye..." He said, disappearing for good.
At this point Meagan hated, hated, hated Cate. She didn't believe she was truly human any longer. She clenched her fists, and noticed Sirius was back. All he had was a cut? And what had she done to Harry? Almost killed him. It wasn't anything Harry did at all. It was her. Cate hated her most of all, and was determined to get everyone close to her. Then, she suddenly realized something. What did Sirius hadn't said anything to Cate? She probably would have finished off Harry... And knowing Cate, it was probably a very true thought.
"Welcome back, Sirius." She smiled weakly. She didn't know what to say after that. Sirius smiled and waved. "Thank-you." she managed to choke out.
"For what?" Sirius said, a little taken aback.
"For speaking up."