A/N: In response to a review by a guest:
There are two Theodore Notts. One is the dad (Theodore Nott Sr, the one who tortured Sirius last chapter), and the other is his son (Theodore Nott Jr, he's at Hogwarts with Harry, Ginny and the rest).
I have had a change in plans. I'm doing the main part of the Remus, Sirius, and Marlene storyline in the next Chapter.
This Chapter will mostly be filler and ramblings, but it also sets up Runes and Arithmancy for my fic. So, naturally, this might not be up to the usual standards.
Hopefully you can understand it.
Also, the Sirius, Remus, and Marlene Storyline takes place ahead of Harry's. They will come together in the next Chapter.
A Song of Lightning and Fire
Arc I: Hogwarts
Part IV: The Last Wish
Come Friday, the 3rd of September, Harry was very excited. The Fourth Years would have their First Elective classes today, and he couldn't wait to learn more about them.
He was especially excited about Runes. He'd been fascinated by them ever since he'd visited Egypt, and now, to actually learn more about them, knowing that they were also connected to Curse-Breaking… well, needless to say, Harry was very much looking forward to it.
Unfortunately, Harry's good mood evaporated the second he stepped into the Common Room and saw Theodore Nott with Sean's cane. His mood was further soured when he saw most of the other students cheering for Theodore.
"Come and get it, little boy," Nott taunted Sean, who lunged at the other boy.
Nott jumped a few feet back and kicked Sean in the stomach when the latter fell on the ground. "Filthy Mudblood," he spat.
Harry's blood boiled at the sight of it, and he drew out his Wand, but he couldn't do much else as at that moment, because Sean thrust out a hand toward Nott, who went flying across the Common Room and hit the Entrance Wall of the Slytherin Common Room with a crack.
Sean's cane flew back into his hands and he began walking toward where Nott was lying on the floor, whimpering in pain. "Filthy inbred," Sean said, stepping over the fallen boy.
Harry felt a smile come onto his face and chest swelled with pride as he watched Sean walk out of the Common Room, his head held high. It was Harry that had advised him to start standing up for himself when he got bullied. He'd also learnt that insult from Harry, who had said that to Draco when he'd tried bullying Sean.
Normally, Harry wouldn't have suggested fighting back to a blind person, but since Sean had Aurumsense, he could probably 'see' the world around him better than all of Slytherin House combined.
Harry followed Sean's lead, hopping over Nott's back and leaving the Common Room as the rest of the students looked worried at Harry's smile.
Harry started jogging to catch up with his friend. "You alright?" He asked.
"Fine," Sean replied, a small smile on his face. "That felt much better than it probably should."
"I know," Harry said, remembering the feeling. "How's Hogwarts for you, by the way?" Harry asked, mostly to make conversation.
"It's… not what I was expecting," Sean settled on saying after a moment.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Harry asked as they reached the Grand Staircase.
"Er… I don't know," he answered. "Sometimes it feels like a good thing, I mean look at the stuff I can do with a Wand. Then I remember that I'm a Slytherin…" he trailed off, shaking his head.
"I know the feeling," Harry said sympathetically, marvelling at how similar their experiences were.
"Sometimes I feel like I might have been better off at home," Sean said as they reached the top of the Stairs, into the Entrance Hall. "At least Mum wouldn't treat me like this."
Harry just nodded to show that he was paying attention since he couldn't exactly empathize with him there.
They entered the Great Hall, not surprised to find Ginny and Jessica sitting on their usual table. Neither Ginny nor Jessica were early risers, but whenever Harry didn't go on a jog, he usually woke up at least an hour after them.
"I'll see you in the Common Room," Sean said.
"Yeah," Harry replied. "See you there."
Harry watched the boy walk over to one of the other tables with some other First Years from different houses as Harry walked over to join Ginny and Jessica.
"Good morning," Ginny and Jessica said as he sat down.
"Morning," Harry replied with a smile, piling up his breakfast plate.
"What's got you feeling so happy?" Ginny asked after a few moments. "You're not usually this chipper just after waking up."
"Can't I just be happy to see my absolutely brilliant best friend?" Harry asked, a hand on his heart, as though bracing himself if she said 'no'.
"Oh, so I'm brilliant now, am I?" Ginny asked as Jessica rolled her eyes at Harry.
"Of course you are," Harry said. "You've always been brilliant, you knob."
Ginny sighed, shaking her head tragically. "Boys," she said, sniffing. "They're stupidity astounds me sometimes, don't you agree Jess?"
"Amen," Jessica said, raising her fork in the air.
Harry pretended to flinch like they'd physically hit him. "Now, that's not fair," he said. "Two girls ganging up on one guy? What is this?"
Ginny snorted. "A glimpse into your dreams."
Harry gaped at her. "You got the talk too?" Harry asked her as Jessica burst out laughing.
Ginny nodded, the smile slowly slipping from her face. "Remember that week where I refused to come visit you?" Ginny asked.
"Oh," Harry said with a wince. "I'm sorry," he added sympathetically, patting her hand.
"Nah, it's alright," she said. "Ron had to get it, too, so…" she trailed off, struggling not to laugh.
Harry didn't find it as funny as she and Jessica did, though. He didn't think it would have been a walk in the park for the poor boy. And he was already so insecure sometimes.
At least Mr. Weasley wasn't someone like Sirius. Ron might have just fainted if he'd heard half the things Harry had.
Devon plopped down beside him a few minutes later as Ron and Hermione went next to Jessica. "You've got your First Elective Classes today, right?" Hermione asked, straight to business.
"Merlin, Hermione, let them eat at least," Ron said, even though Ginny and Jessica had already finished their breakfast and Harry just had a sausage left.
"They're almost done," she replied impatiently.
"Breakfast is an important meal of the day," Ron countered.
They started another one of their infamous rows that Harry found adorable and horrible at the same time, so he chose to start a conversation with Devon.
"You're taking Divination, right?" Harry asked.
"That, and Care of Magical Creatures," Devon replied.
"Only two?" Harry asked, receiving a nod from the boy.
"Yeah," Devon replied. "Don't really need much else to become a Magizoologist, do you?"
Harry nodded in understanding. There was an option to select two Electives if one wanted to, but it would be bad for you if you wanted more O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts.
But Devon had wanted to be a Magizoologist since he'd found out that Dragons existed, and that job didn't need too many O.W.Ls or N.E.W.Ts. Harry and Ginny still chose not to tell him about Aries and Artemis, though. That was a Secret they would take to their graves if they had to.
They waited for everyone to finish their breakfast before Harry, Ginny, Devon and Jessica headed to their first lessons, Devon going toward the Divination Tower while the rest of them went to the Ancient Runes classroom.
The classroom was large, and rectangular in shape, with long desks, looking capable of seating three people on one of them. There were posters of Runes between the Windows labelled with various different words like 'Eihwaz' and 'Graphorn', the latter indicating that the Rune was meant to be used to denote the number 'Two'.
There were also a few Runes written on the Blackboard, which looked like they spelled the word 'Runes' but Harry couldn't be too sure.
The number of chairs behind each desk made it convenient for them to have seats beside each other, Harry on one side of the table, Ginny in the middle, and Jessica occupying the other side.
Professor Babbling came in just a few moments later. She looked to be about Professor Trent's age, even though Harry still wasn't sure what her age was, but he knew she was younger than the rest of the Professors.
She looked to be quite baffled to find them here, probably because they were a bit early. "Oh," she said in surprise. "Can I have your names please?" She asked, quickly walking forward and pulling out a notepad from her desk drawer.
They gave their names and the Professor ticked Jessica's before briefly pausing at Harry and Ginny's, glancing up at them before ticking those off too.
More students entered over the course of the next five minutes, and Professor Babbling ticked their names as well. After the entire class had arrived Professor Babbling began her class.
"Good morning," she spoke. "Welcome to your first class of Ancient Runes. Before we begin, I am going to tell you some basics that you need to know about Runes. Please pay attention, and if you need to write these notes down, feel free to do so."
"Ancient Runes are of two types," she said. "Those are Runic Alphabets, and Magical Runes. Runic Alphabets are the Runes that have no Magical Effect on the object they are written or cast upon. They are merely another language, one which was used during the rule of King Arthur Peverell to send secret messages to the King. You will learn more about it in your History of Magic classes this year."
"Magical Runes," she continued. "Are another language, but this one has never been used as such, and I doubt it ever will be. Magical Runes are considerably more complex to write properly, but if you do, the object you are writing them on will gain certain Magical Properties, depending on what Rune you use. We will learn to write Runes in your Sixth and Seventh Years."
"Magical Runes are frequently used in the creation of Magical Objects," she added. "Magical Objects are further classified into two categories, does anyone know what those are?"
Ginny raised her hand in the air and Professor Babbling called her name. "Magical objects are classified as Enchanted and Runic Objects," Ginny said.
Professor Babbling nodded at her. "Very good. Five Points to Gryffindor," she said. "And can anyone tell me what the difference is between those two?"
Harry raised his hand this time and she called his name. "Enchanted Objects are made with a combination of Runes, Spells, and Arithmancy. Runic Objects are only made using Runes."
It was also what made them far more valuable and precious, but he suspected that it probably wasn't a part of the answer Professor Babbling was looking for.
"Absolutely correct," she said. "Five Points to Slytherin. Now, you must be wondering why people would use Runes when there are Charms, yes?" She asked, receiving a few nods. "Well, this is because Runes, once cast properly, last for a lot longer than Charms do."
"Magical Runes are also used for Curse Breaking," she continued. "Those of you who wish to be Curse Breakers will need to pay a lot of attention in this class. Every Spell, every enchantment, every Ward, has a unique Runic sequence that is used to denote its Magical structure."
"According to Henry Fawley's rule of Magical Opposites," she began. "If something Magical exists in nature, then there must also exist another Magical object, or person, that has the potential to oppose and nullify the Magic in it."
"Keeping this in mind," she continued. "It is safe to say that every Rune has another Rune that opposes its effects, just like every Jinx, or Hex, or Charm, or Curse, has another that can oppose, or block it."
Harry raised his hand in the air. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"
"The Killing Curse," he said by way of explanation, causing several gasps to go off around the room. "That doesn't have a counter."
"It doesn't have one that we know of," she said, smiling at him gently.
"But that's impossible, isn't it Professor?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. "No Spell has the Potential to bring back the dead."
"True," she said. "But Spells aren't the only form of Magic, Mr. Potter. Something you are very well aware of," she added, obviously referring to his Wandless Magic.
He nodded in understanding and thanked her, and she told them all to take their Wands out since she was about to show them how to cast the Sequence Revealing Spell. The incantation for which was Revelio Runa.
She had them cast the Spell without a target first, waiting till everyone had a yellowish pulse coming out of their Wands. She then gave them all an object, saying that it had a few Charms cast on it. They were instructed to cast the Sequence Revealing Spell on the object, and then, with the help of the Spellman's Syllabary, write down the names of the Runes they found, along with a drawing of the Runes.
Harry cast the Spell on his object- a book- and watched a yellow smoke rise out of the object when the pulse made contact with it, forming Two Runes in the air. Harry quickly drew them as well as he could, which wasn't too well.
He then opened up his Spellman's Syllabary and set about identifying them. He found that there was a Strengthening Rune, and a Waterproofing Rune on it. The former was named Uraz, and the latter was named Vannet.
The Professor checked all of their translation, and drawings, and allotted grades to them accordingly before instructing them to read up to page 6 of Spellman's Syllabary for homework just when the bell rang.
The Arithmancy classroom was similar to the Ancient Runes classroom in size and layout, but there were only two seats per desk. There were various equations on the board, which were probably about low level Spells like the Full Body Bind Charm, the Knockback Jinx, and the Mending Charm.
Harry took a seat beside Ginny, and Jessica went over to the one next to Neville Longbottom, who looked rather flustered when she did. "Do you mind if I sit?" She asked.
Neville blushed and muttered a barely audible, "Yes," before looking away. Jessica furrowed her brow at him but sat down anyway.
Professor Vector came in soon after that, and so did the rest of the students. She took a quick roll call of the students, and Harry was pleased that she didn't stop at Harry and Ginny's names like the rest of the Professors would.
"Good Morning," she said in a droning voice after she was done. "Welcome to Arithmancy. Today we shall be learning about the basics of the Subject so please pay attention."
"Arithmancy," she said. "Is used mostly in Spell Creation. You had Ancient Runes before this class. Did Professor Babbling tell you about Runic Sequences?" She asked.
Everyone in the class nodded. It was common knowledge that if you wanted to take Arithmancy, you needed Ancient Runes.
"Good," Professor Vector commented. "Then, we can apply a similar concept here. Every Alphabet in Every Language has an Arithmentic sequence. These sequences can be found in an advanced Numerology book, which we will be using in Sixth Year. These sequences can be used in Spell Creation and Modification."
"Spell Creation stems from Spell Modification," she continued. "You take your desired parts from a certain spell, and try to combine them with the desired parts of another, using their formulas. You do this using Arithmancy first, then, from the formula, you gain your words. If the words are all from the same language, and have the same meaning as you want it to, there is a 90 percent chance that you have succeeded."
Harry barely kept up with any of that. He turned to his right to look at Ginny, who was appearing every bit the model student. But Harry knew her, and he knew that the slight parting of her lips, and the furrow in her brow meant that she was as lost as he was.
Some time later, Harry was struggling not to fall asleep to the sound of Professor Vector's droning voice. She was merely reciting the textbook, and adding the occasional helpful explanation, but it did nothing to rouse Harry's interest.
He caught sight of Ginny's fingers sliding over to his side of the desk and saw that she had passed a piece of parchment to him. Don't fall asleep. were the words written on it.
Harry dug out a quill from his bag. Why not? He wrote, passing the note to her again.
She gave a small smile and wrote something on the note again. Well I'm not going to break Hermione's heart by telling her you find her favorite subject boring.
What makes you think I wouldn't tell her? He wrote back.
She scoffed quietly. Oh come on. It's always me who deals with the emotional stuff. Like that time when Lavender's rabbit died.
Lavender has a Rabbit? He wrote. Since when?
Ginny rolled her eyes when she saw his note. See!? This is what I mean. The whole school knows about it. She had underlined the word 'This' many times. His name was Mr. Fluffbunny.
Well, no wonder he died. I would off myself too, if I had such a horrible name.
Ginny's jaw dropped open in indignation HARRY JAMES! she had written.
Sorry, Sorry. He wrote, managing not to burst out laughing.
That's not funny. She wrote back.
Kind of is. He responded.
….okay maybe Kind of.
Their current note had run out, so Ginny had to dig out another one before she started writing again. On another note (pun intended), what's going on with Neville? He looks really weird with Jessica beside him.
Harry smiled and tried not to laugh. Maybe he has a crush…?
Neville and Jessica!? No way. I would've seen it coming. I hang out with both of them!
Not together, though. He responded.
You do?
Nope. But I do see the way Neville stares at her sometimes. Makes me want to do something about it.
So… you want to dabble in the Art of Matchmaking? She asked with a smiley face next to the question
Nah. I'll be shit at that. Although, I do think I could pull it off with some help. Maybe yours and Sean's.
Hey, why does Nott keep rubbing the back of his head? She asked after a moment.
Nott was bullying Sean and then… he went on to explain everything that had happened this morning in great detail, and Ginny's eyes were as wide as saucers by the end of it.
That kid's got nerve. I can see why you like him.
Just then the class bell rang. "Your homework for the day is to write down the translations for everything we have discussed today. I shall see you in the next class."
Harry and Ginny were the first ones out of the class, and Jessica and Neville caught up to them soon. "Well," Jessica said. "That was boring. Is it bedtime yet?"
All three of them chuckled. "Not yet, Jess," Ginny said, patting the girl's shoulder sympathetically.
"Oh, I so wish I had a best friend like you two who I could pass notes with in Arithmancy," Jessica said.
Harry and Ginny shared a guilty glance. Most of the time, they were so wrapped up in each other and their own adventures that they were completely blind to everyone else.
"It's not your fault," Jessica assured them. "It's just… well, everyone wants a friendship like yours."
"Really?" Ginny asked.
Jessica nodded. "It's kind of cool how you two have been inseparable since you met on the Hogwarts Express."
"Wait, what?" Harry interrupted her.
"Yeah," Ginny said. "We didn't meet on the Hogwarts Express."
"Where did you meet then?" Jessica asked, furrowing her brow.
"Knockturn Alley," they responded simultaneously.
"Seriously?" Neville asked. "What were you guys doing in Knockturn Alley?"
"That's a secret," Harry said, smirking as Ginny was about to open her mouth. "We might have been selling Human Body Parts, or we might have Flooed in via the wrong grate. You'll never know."
They reached the Great Hall, while Harry and Ginny avoided answering Neville and Jessica's questions. A little bit of mystery always made for some fun.
They quickly finished up their Lunch and their entire friend group headed down for Hagrid's class, which Harry had to admit, he was looking forward to the most after Runes.
They reached Hagrid's Hut soon, only to find that most of the students were already there. This class was a popular one it would seem. Harry saw Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott talking to each other, muttering something foul about Hagrid, no doubt.
Harry ignored all of this and went to stand as far away from them as he could. He didn't want to ruin Hagrid's class.
Unfortunately it was not to be. "Where is that big oaf!?" Malfoy asked. "Oh, you just wait till my Father hears about this. He'll have his job for sure."
"Doesn't your Father ever get tired of having such a Daddy's Girl for a son?" Devon asked, causing the Gryffindor's to chuckle.
"Shut it, you Mudblood," Draco shot back.
"You got nothing better to say than that?" Devon asked, smiling. "It's getting a bit old don't you think?"
"My Father-" Draco began.
"Is on the run from the law for being a Death Eater," Harry interrupted in a bored tone. "If you know where he is, you should tell the Aurors, not flaunt it about like it's something to be proud of."
Draco turned red, but just then Hagrid himself stepped out of the Forbidden Forest. "Sorry for the delay," he said. "It took a little longer to set it all up than I originally thought it would. Come along everyone," he waved them over to the Forest, and suddenly everyone looked a lot more hesitant.
Harry and Ginny just rolled their eyes and went in without hesitation. Really, it was ridiculous how used to they'd become to this place. Harry absently wondered if they would get to see Aries and Artemis pop up somewhere before the class ended.
Hagrid didn't lead them too deep into the Forest, though. He led them to a large clearing a few metres into the Forest. It was illuminated by sunlight, and it had a large paddock set up in the centre of the clearing.
Inside the paddock were some very weird looking creatures that Harry recognized as Hippogriffs. They had the body, hind legs, and tail of a Horse, while their head, front legs, and wings were those of a Giant Eagle. There were about half a dozen of these creatures in the paddock, all of them looking at the students with apprehension.
"Hagrid," one of the students said. "Are those Hippogriffs?"
"Indeed they are," Hagrid said, clapping his hands enthusiastically. "And that is today's lesson. Hippogriffs. Don't open your books now. We can do that later. Just listen first, this is a practical lesson."
"Now, the first thing you have got to know about Hippogriffs is that they're proud," Hagrid said. "Very easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't ever insult one, because it might be the last thing you do. You always wait for the hippogriff to make the first move. It's polite, see? You walk towards him, and you bow, and you wait. If he bows back, you're allowed to touch him. If he doesn't bow, then get away from him as soon as you can, because those talons hurt."
"I will need a volunteer for this demonstration," Hagrid said. "Who's gonna help me out here?"
No one stepped forward, and Hagrid seemed a little disappointed, so Harry and Ginny decided to take a few steps forward towards the paddock.
"That's the spirit!" Hagrid cried. "Unfortunately, I can only allow one of ya in at a time."
"You go ahead," Ginny said to Harry.
"You sure?" He asked, knowing how much she liked chimaeras in general.
"Yeah," she replied. "I'll have the next one."
Harry grinned and thanked her as he walked forward. Hagrid opened the paddock, allowing Harry to make his way in.
Hagrid followed him in and closed the paddock gate. He led him over to a Hippogriff who had Gray Hairs and Feathers all over its body. Harry had to admit, after the shock of seeing a half-eagle, half-horse creature, the Hippogriffs were truly beautiful. There was a majestic look to them.
"This is Buckbeak," Hagrid said, gesturing to the Hippogriff. "Your job for now, is to get close enough to him to pet him. Follow the instructions I gave you, and you'll be fine. Also, make sure to have eye contact."
Harry bowed to the Hippogriff like Hagrid had instructed, all the while maintaining eye contact with the creature. The Hippogriff just stood there for a long while, and Harry's eyes were really beginning to water.
Just then, Buckhead bowed back and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He slowly extended a hand toward Buckbeak, not wanting to scare the creature, as he stepped forward.
Buckbeak took a few tentative steps forward, and kept walking ahead to meet Harry halfway, dipping his own head allowing Harry to pet him.
The rest of the students cheered and most of them were now seemingly okay with the presence of the Hippogriffs. Enough to make them enter and try their own hand at gaining a Hippogriff's trust.
Ginny tried it with Buckbeak, who took to her a lot faster than he did to Harry, but when Harry tried going over to another Hippogriff with a Chestnut colored coat, that one took him almost instantly, and Ginny had to bow for a long time before the Chestnut coated Hippogriff bowed back.
"It's all a matter of personal preference for them," Hagrid had told them when they asked the reason for this.
"If someone like Potter and Weaslette can do it," Harry heard Malfoy say to Buckbeak, stepping forward. "Then it must be easy. You're not dangerous at all are you, you great ugly brute!"
Malfoy had not bowed, nor had he approached the Hippogriff with respect, and as a result, Buckbeak raised its Talons in the air and slashed them downward.
But Hagrid had already pulled Draco away with a Spell from his Wand that released a kind of Golden Chain from it. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU BLOODY IDIOT!?" Hagrid roared, causing many of the students to flinch.
Harry and Ginny watched slack-jawed as Hagrid marched forward, the pure image of anger, and hauled Draco up to his feet by the collar of his robes. "You have ignored my warnings, and my instructions, and for that I am taking 20 points from Slytherin. Never have I seen a more idiotic student," Hagrid muttered, shaking his head.
"What?" Draco cried. "But the Hippogriff…" he trailed off when Hagrid whirled around to him.
"Go on," Hagrid said. "You were saying something about Buckbeak attacking you after you insulted him, yes? Even though I had explicitly told you not to insult it, and to treat it with respect? Go back to the Castle and think about getting a change of class. I will see you in McGonagall's Office at 8 tonight. You better be there or I'll come down to the Slytherin Common Room and drag you up with me. Do you understand?"
Draco nodded and ran back toward the Castle as Hagrid heaved a sigh and checked his watch. "That's enough for today, I think," Hagrid said. "Thanks for coming everyone, for those who succeeded today, we can start to learn how to ride a Hippogriff in the next class. Those who haven't succeeded today can try later, or meet me at my Hut in the evenings between today and the next class."
Sirius woke up a few days later in an unknown bed. He raised his hand to untangle his hair, but he was shocked to find that he didn't have one.
Then the memories of days past came rushing back to him, and he flopped his head down on the pillow with a grunt of pain. "Are you okay?" He heard Marlene ask worriedly.
"Fine," Sirius muttered. "Apart from the fact that I lost my hand."
"Remus applied for a prosthetic if you want one," Marlene gently suggested.
Sirius frowned. "Don't you need, like, measurements for that?" He asked.
"He gave your s-severed hand," Marlene said. "They will have it ready by Christmas time."
"That's too long," Sirius said, sighing.
"It's the best we can do," Marlene replied with a grimace.
"Well it's not enough," Sirius muttered with much more venom than he should have.
Marlene seemed to understand, though. She just placed her hand in his remaining one and squeezed it gently. "Harry's been calling you this past week," she said. "Hogsmeade weekend is coming up on Halloween, apparently. He wanted to see if you and Remus could meet him."
Hearing Harry's name made him feel even more shifty about the whole situation. What was he doing here? Searching for clues about his memory that were probably better off staying forgotten? For what? Revenge? Closure? He had a kid to take care of now. It should be enough for him. He couldn't go losing limbs and coming home injured. He'd even left Harry alone for a week…
"Remus told him you were sick," she continued. "He's been worried. Harry, I mean. You can hear it in his voice."
"I'll meet him in Hogsmeade," Sirius said, grimacing. "What happened after I…?" he trailed off, but Marlene understood the question.
"Remus shot an Exploding Hex and the ceiling fell down on the creature-" Marlene began.
"The Orc," Sirius said, interrupting her. "It was an Orc."
"From the Muggle Fairytales?" She asked. "Nevermind," she added when Sirius looked at her blankly. "The Orc was buried under the ceiling and we got out of there. We also grabbed Nott with us."
Sirius' widened at that. "Where is he?" He asked.
"Dead," she responded. "Had a fake tooth in his mouth that released poison. We got some information out of him, though."
"Oh?" Sirius asked, sitting up.
"He said that the creature, the Orc, was created by the Talons," Marlene said. "And get this, they made it using Human Blood. They modified it to an extent where it is just… a better human. He was going to say something else too, but then… well, he died."
"Did he say where these Orcs were made," Sirius asked.
Marlene nodded. "Some Potions Lab called Tempest," she said. "Ever heard of it?"
Sirius shook his head no. "Must be a new one," he said. "Merlin, I wish I knew Legilimency as well as I do Occlumency. It could have made getting rid of this memory block so much easier," Sirius already knew Legilimency of course, but not enough to perform it on himself.
Marlene nodded and squeezed his hand tighter. It felt really nice if he was honest with himself. "Where's Remus?" He asked, not willing to dwell on those emotions now.
"Downstairs," she answered. "Remus found a Journal in the Manor with a Protean Charm on it when we were looking for the Smithing Hammer. Remus is decoding it right now."
Sirius nodded in understanding. A Protean Charm was a Charm which allowed two similar objects to be affected by the changes in each other. For example: If someone wrote in a notebook paired with another one using a Protean Charm, then the content written would appear on the other notebook, too.
"Thank you," Sirius said to Marlene. "For coming to find me."
"We should have been there earlier," Marlene said, shaking her head.
Sirius squeezed her hand and leaned forward, giving her a hug as best he could. She reciprocated, and they held each other for a while before pulling back.
Their foreheads were almost touching now, and Sirius wasn't sure if either of them would be pulling back. Hell, he wasn't sure that he wanted to. He slowly inched his head toward hers, trying to gauge her reaction.
She licked her lips and leaned forward as well, but their moment was interrupted when the door burst open.
They sprang apart, blushing like guilty teenagers, but Remus didn't seem to care. And he must have had a good reason for it, by the way his eyes were wild and panic filled.
"What's wrong?" Marlene asked, quickly composing herself.
"Azkaban is under attack," Remus said.
A/N 2: Please Leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter. I didn't get too many reviews for the last one, and it gets really demotivating after a while.
I understand that it hasn't even been two days since I updated, but still, to those who read it and enjoyed it within that time, even something as simple as 'Good Chapter' helps. If you really liked a chapter (any chapter), please make sure to add a little more than that. It only takes like 2 minutes at most for a simple one, even if you are introverted (I'm speaking from experience here).
And this isn't just for my fic either, try and leave a review on every fic you read. *ESPECIALLY* if it's a WIP. I've seen/heard of many authors losing interest because they don't get reviews on their fic.
Anyway, I'll see you in the next Chapter.
Byee!!
