Myk: Hi! Thanks for reviewing again. I'll try my best to make the chapters longer although I think it would be easier to make the chapter a little shorter during the memories for there are not as much to talk about. Only a few more chapters until the real story continues. Thanks again for reviewing.
Chapter 7: Memories Part III: Harry's Survival
Sirius Black stared into the fire from his seat in front of the fireplace. Something felt wrong, but he couldn't place it. Today was the night of August first, which Sirius and the other Marauders called August Fools and played tricks on people. Quite frankly, every day was a Fools Day. There was January Fools, January Second Fools, January third Fools, etc. He smiled to himself as he thought of the times he had at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sirius just sat in his chair and remembered.
FLASHBACKIt was a bright and cheery morning. Sirius was back at Hogwarts, sitting through yet another of Professor Binn's dull lectures. At least, everyone but the Marauders, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, thought that they were boring. The Marauders always came out of Binn's class refreshed, happy, and kicking. Not many people knew why, for they were always asleep in the class. In reality, the Marauders always planned pranks and Hogsmeade trips and talked about girls in his class. There was no need to be quiet. As long as you didn't raise your hand, Binns didn't notice. He seemed to be deaf, permanantly, not temporarily like Dumbledore. Maybe his vision was a little wacked off also, for he could only see people raise their hands. Not even Snape right in front of the Professor's eyes would not make Binns react. The last he had heard from Hogwarts, Binns was still teaching. He felt sorry for the next generation of young learners, fascinated by Hogwarts castle, looking forward to and expecting interesting classes, and getting them, to walk into Binns classroom and only be surprised once by his entrance through the blackboard.
Sirius quickly folded a note to his friend Remus Lupin, a.k.a. Moony, in the shape of a paper airplane. Though it wasn't necessary to make notes, they could just talk, it was a lot more fun to. He heard faintly Binns explaining the Warlock Convention of 1111, the coolest, although Binns used a word that Sirius didn't recognize but suspected meant 'interesting to Binns yet excessively boring to everyone else' (and sure enough, as he looked through the Hogwarts dictionary, it read quote 'fsoi: The use of this word is limited, for it only works for people with a last or first name of Binns and has become a ghost while teaching and enters a room through the blackboard. The teacher also teaches boring History of Magic and at Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry. It means, interesting to Binns yet excessively boring to everyone else.') year in all of history, a palindrom, an upside down year, and the year that the Convention of Warlocks gathered for the first time in a run down cottage with stone tools and stone food, not to mention stone wives. Sirius had always wondered why warlocks, who are a lot more powerful but stupider than wizards, were extinct. He guessed that warlocks found that after they turned their wives into stone, they couldn't produce offspring and they couldn't turn the wives back. The Warlock Convention of 1111 was probably the first and last and only time the warlocks met.
Remus intercepted the note in the air and opened it. He smiled right after he read it. It read: 'Dear Remus, best buddy, alias Moony, fellow Marauder, sitting in a boring lecture that is very very fsoi on the Warlock Convention of 1111, provided courteously by Binns, friend of Prongs, Padfoot, Wormtail, soon to graduate, soon to be Order of Merlin First Class, soon to turn into a werewolf, soon to get a girlfriend and have tons of kids...'
Remus scanned the closing. It read: 'Yours with love, Remus, best buddy, alias Moony, fellow Marauder, sitting in a boring lecture that is very very fsoi on the Warlock Convention of 1111, provided courteously by Binns, friend of Prongs, Padfoot, Wormtail, soon to graduate, soon to be Order of Merlin First Class, soon to turn into a werewolf, soon to get a girlfriend and have tons of kids...'
Remus returned to the body. It read: 'HI! P.S. REPLY!' Remus shook his head. Sirius was always like that. He always wants to make his letters long. He quickly replied. 'Dear Padfoot, Yours with love,? Sorry mate, I don't lean that way, although I think Prongs does. Hi, Your dear friend Moony.'
Sirius read the letter and immediately sidled up to James, who was sitting with Lily chatting idly. Even Lily, the smartest student in the whole school wasn't taking notes. "Hi James," he said innocently.
"OK, spill it," James replied looking at him nervously. He was ready to run.
END FLASHBACKWith a jolt, Sirius remembered about Lily and James. That's what was wrong. Oh no, what if Pettigrew was killed? Sirius hurried out into the yard grabbing his coat and sunglasses along the way. He jumped onto his trusty motorcycle and revved it up. Sirius, who by now was really serious (no pun intended), flung the motorcycle up to the heavens, not caring that the Muggles may see, for the life of his friends were at stake.
In no time at all, although it seemed like hours to a nervous and anxious Sirius, the motorcycle landed in Godric Hollow. "What happened here?" he wondered. Could Voldemort have killed Peter and then attacked the unprotected Potters? He quickly shrugged away the idea when he realized something important. If they have killed Peter, they would still have to kill him in order to see Lily and James and discover their location, for he was their second. Peter must have ratted on them. Figures, he was a rat. Man, Wormtail must have been a follower of Voldemort all this time, and I was anxious for him. The house that housed the Potters was burned down. The ashes were still warm and Sirius started blasting hexes and curses everywhere for fear that there were Death Eaters still lurking around. Hearing no cries, Sirius relaxed a considerable amount. He stepped into the ruins of the once cozy home and found James and Lily's body, all burned severely. Sirius checked their pulses, there was none, so Sirius concluded that they must have either burned to death or been a victim of Avada Kedavra, probably the latter. Just when he was losing hope of finding anyone else, he heard a cry. It was a wailing, like a banshee. Sirius hurried to investigate, wand out, ready to duel if it was a trap. But he stopped in his tracks. Directly in front of him was a little boy, Harry. Sirius recognized him. He had just seen him, and everyone else perfectly fine yesterday. He shuddered when he remembered Wormtail's nervousness. He should have known.
Sirius picked Harry up and set off back to his motorcycle. He was Harry's godfather now, and Harry was in his custody. As he swung his legs over the seat of the motorcycle, he heard footsteps. Once again with his wand out, Sirius jumped off the seat still clutching Harry. He needn't have worried, for Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper of Hogwarts, appeared.
"Whaddaya want, Hagrid?" Sirius asked puzzled.
"Ahh...Sirius Black, is it?" Hagrid said. "I'm 'ere to take young 'arry to his only livin relatives."
Sirius didn't want to hand Harry over, but under Hagrid's insistence, he obeyed, letting Hagrid take his motorcycle. He stood on the ground watching it fly out of sight, and sighed.
Another chapter done. I'm so happy. Please R&R!