A/N: Muchas thankies to all my sweet, lovely reviewer-people! I'll do
credits and shout-outs for everyone who's reviewed when I get up to twenty
reviews, hint hint. Apologies for the lateness, I got banned again, and in
the Easter holidays too... blasted parents. The next few chapter should turn
up pretty quick, I've written as far as chapter five and I'm now halfway
through chapter 6. Beta readers are always welcome, if you want to give me a
nice Easter surprise, though Merry, Pippin, (from the LotR film) Sirius and
Remus on a leash will do just as well. Sick, aren't I?
If you only read one other fanfiction this holidays, read Feeling Sorry
For Hermione by jaffacake and join the lobby for the darn girl to update
(apologies if she's done so since I checked five minutes ago) or, if you've
a hankering for Legolas (in other words, if you're female with a pulse),
read A Mirkwood Elf in Dumbledore's Court by Sun Queen. Shirtless Legolas,
girls, it's all good.
The Marauders' Return 3: A Meeting With The Minister
The Hogsmeade street was in chaos as roughly a dozen Death Eaters and two
Dementors closed in on a cheese-white Minister for Magic.
"Padfoot, get out of here, help the twins!" Monique snapped to the dog
at her side. He stuck his tongue out at her for a second then raced over to
the other end of the street, where two Death Eaters were attacking Fred and
George, who were standing protectively in front of a young woman and her
small baby. Sirius took the first from behind, sinking his teeth into his
shoulder and dragging him away as Fred used his Quidditch bat to whack the
other round the head with an almighty thump. He fell to the ground, knocked
out, and George ushered the woman and baby inside their shop with a snap of
"Touch nothing in there!"
Milo raised one arm into the air, his stutter vanished as he yelled,
"Hufflepuff, aid your heir!" At once in his hands appeared a large staff
made of some shiny jet-black wood, the top being composed of a large lump of
amber. This he wielded with breathtaking skill in place of a wand, at an eye
blurring speed, for Milo was a distant relative of Helga Hufflepuff, and as
such was granted the ability to wield Hufflepuff's own weapon, a staff
with fierce magical powers of its own. Mundungus' fists were flailing
dangerously as he thumped the nearest Death Eater with all the fervour of a
Slytherin-Gryffindor punch-up. Monique's small form slipped through the
screaming crowds like quicksilver, kicking the legs out from underneath a
Death Eater before he even realised she was there, leaving him for Erin to
finish off. Another prepared to perform the Cruciatus curse on a young girl
but Minerva got there first, pulling the girl out of the way with her left
hand as her right held her wand.
"Stupefy!"
Apollo and Artemis fought side by side, their black belt karate skills
just as dangerous as their wands as they defended a group of teenagers from
three Death Eaters. Suddenly a Dementor loomed behind them. They spun round
to face it as a silver beam blazed from each of their foreheads, connecting
and shimmering upwards to form a tiny woman even smaller than Monique- their
triplet sister, Artemina. 'Mina,
as she was known, had been murdered by Death Eaters on her ninth birthday,
but her soul had continued to grow inside her twin brother and sister,
emerging at times of extreme danger to form a very special Patronus, one
with a voice- and a fiery personality.
"I'll handle it!" Artemina told her siblings. "Watch your back!"
The twins wheeled around just in time to avoid an Avada Kedavra curse from
the lead Death Eater. Artemis kneed him just below the belt and he fell to
the ground, where Apollo knocked him out before the two leaped over him to
do the same to the other two. Artemina, meanwhile, launched a high-kick at
the Dementor that cracked its neck, then drove it away with a blaze of blue
flame.
Arabella darted in front of two of the remaining Death Eaters, who were
currently attacking a fatly quivering Cornelius Fudge. His wand was
spluttering hopefully but having no effect on his attackers.
"I don't know why the hell I'm doing this, but here goes," she
muttered from between clenched teeth. "Impedimenta!"
The two Death Eaters were driven backwards, one falling over and striking
his head on the hard pavement. He didn't move. Arabella's foot swung
outwards in a dangerous arc, crashing into the other's knee and bringing
him down.
"Stupe- what the hell?" her
concentration was broken by the sound of frantic yelping from behind her.
She swung round, but could see nothing but milling crowds. Monique and the
others had plainly heard it too, judging by their expressions. Everyone
backed off as Monique raced in the direction of the sound, her face pale and
her blue eyes dangerous. It was probably just as well that they moved away
from her, for as well as being more powerful than the ordinary witch,
Monique was also a brilliant street fighter, Lily (who had won a number of
kickboxing prizes, including Best of Britain three years running) having
taught her as much as she could. Arabella felt something burning rush past
her face. She whipped round; the Death Eater she had been about to knock out
had recovered and was advancing on her fast. She tried to think of the right
spell, but her brain had jammed.
Swoosh!
A blue-flighted arrow went darting past her face, embedding itself in the Death Eater's skull.
Arabella couldn't see who had fired it, but she didn't care too much as
she headed in the direction of the yelping sound as fast as she could.
At the far end of the street Sirius (as Padfoot) was having the time of
his life as he bit a Death Eater in the knee as hard as he could, watching
the others at the same time. He noticed Arabella's difficulties with the
Death Eaters and watched for a little too long- he yelped as he was gripped
in an iron hold by a Dementor that Fudge had brought with him and the shock
of its icy, clammy grip made him transform back into a man. Trying
desperately to force his limbs into action, he struggled frantically and
finally kicked out, forcing the Dementor
to drop him but striking his head against the nearby wall as he fell. And
Sirius blacked out…
The people around her backed
hastily away as Monique slammed her way through the crowds, using sharp
elbows and hard feet unmercifully as she fought her way through the people,
uneasily familiar with the yelp she had heard but too short to see what was
going on. Finally she made it to the front, and the sight made her heart
stop: Sirius lay crumpled on the ground like a rag doll as a Dementor
advanced on him with Fudge watching, a triumphant smirk on his round face
and the last Death Eater hovering nearby. A strangled scream burst from her
as she flung herself forwards in front of Sirius, pushing the Dementor away
and trying desperately to shield the man on the ground.
"No!" she sobbed, her voice
catching, her blue eyes terrified but resolute. "Leave him alone! You
can't, you can't, he's innocent…"
The Dementor gripped her by the
shoulders, lifting her and forcing her face upwards as she struggled
desperately, dropping her wand. She could see the house in Godric's Hollow
in rubble; Lily's cold, tanned brown arm stretching out of the ruins, and
her frozen, dead green eyes as she pulled her out; hear Harry crying for his
mother, see Sirius being dragged away by Aurors, see her tiny dead baby
lying grey and cold in a coffin as she ceased to fight against the
Dementor's iron hold…
But then a ghostly-looking silver
fist slammed into the Dementor from behind and it dropped her as Artemina
swung it round, her silvery form fading now but still powerful. Monique
slipped to the floor, crawling over to Sirius and cradling his head with one
hand as the other searched for a pulse point, the nightmarish memories
receding along with the Dementor. Her shoulders sagged with relief as she
felt the steady but weak drumming at his temples that proved he was still
alive.
"Move, girl!" snapped Fudge.
"And call that- that thing
off!"
"Artemina won't come," said
Apollo quietly, forcing his way out of the crowd with Artemis behind him.
"She follows only us."
The rest of the Marauders
struggled out of the crowd, standing between Sirius and Fudge as a human
shield with Artemina in front of all of them, still struggling with the
Dementor. Apollo took the last Death Eater from behind, punching him so hard
to the neck he was knocked out instantly, then muttering the Binding spell
to stop him escaping.
"You'll have to take out all
ten of us to get to him!" Remus told the (rapidly turning puce with
barely-suppressed fury) Minister for Magic.
"Make that twelve!" came two
voices behind him, as Fred and George Weasley made their way to stand with
the others. Artemis gave the two of them the thumbs-up and Erin winked.
"Thirteen!" snapped another
voice, as a teenage Asian girl carrying a sapphire-encrusted bow and quiver
of blue-flighted arrows (clearly denoting her as Arabella's rescuer of
earlier) joined them. Fudge's eyes flashed dangerously.
"And who might you be?" he
enquired irritably.
"My name is Cho Chang," she
told him calmly. "I'm a relative of Rowena Ravenclaw, and if the wisest
House can give him a chance to prove his innocence, why can't you?"
"I won't move, Fudge,"
Monique told him ominously from her position on the ground, kneeling next to
Sirius. "You'll have to take me out to get to him, and I'm by no means
unconscious."
Fudge turned to her. "My
dear," he said, surprisingly gently, "Is he really worth it?"
"My friends and I just risked
our butts saving your life, Fudge!" she said scornfully. "Did we ask if you
were worth it? But yes, he is worth it. He's worth everything…"
Sirius came back to consciousness with a groan and she turned back to
him, one hand reaching out to scrabble for her wand and picking it up again.
"Hey babe," she smiled softly. "You OK?" Sirius grinned weakly.
"Yeah," he murmured. "My head kinda aches, though." Monique
muttered the pain-relieving charm and he relaxed with a smile, then found
her hand and held it tight.
Artemina wasn't having much luck with the Dementor, however: she had
been in her Patronus state for too long to have very much power left and
eventually she disappeared with a soft poof, silver light rushing
back to Artemis and Apollo. The others drew their wands once more, pointing
them straight at the Dementor.
"Expecto Patronum!" they roared as if with one voice, and the
Dementor exploded, shattering into tiny ash-like pieces that flew in all
directions. Fudge squeaked in fright, a high, involuntary sound.
Minerva dropped back from the semi-circular shield they had formed,
dropping to her knees beside Monique. "How are we going to get him out of
here?" she muttered to her friend. "I don't think he can
Apparate, not in his state, and it's dangerous to Transfigure living
human beings- anything could go
wrong, and knowing Sirius, it probably will."
Sirius raised his head. "Get me my wand. I can Apparate, I'll be
fine." Minerva silenced him with a single Look, much like the one she was
wont to use on offending students at Hogwarts.
"Not a snowball's chance on a sunny day, mate," she told him
firmly. "Fudge can still perform Avada Kedavra on a splinched guy, you
know, and that's what you'll do to yourself, laddie."
Monique outlined her plan to Minerva. "I'll never be able to carry
him, I'm not that sure if I can even run- twisted my ankle when that
Dementor dropped me. So it looks like we're going have to try the old
diversion tactics. Remus is the strongest, him and Mundungus, anyway, so
they can get Sirius out of here- use the Floo powder in the twins' shop,
while us and the rest of the guys distract Fudge and the Aurors."
A thought struck Minerva. "Hang on a sec, is there anything we can use
as a Portkey?" Sirius grinned.
"Now that's a plan!" he chuckled. "Try someone's boot- not
mine, anyone who touches it will probably catch Bubonic Plague or
something." Monique rolled her eyes.
"You've been staying at Remus' again, haven't you?" she
sighed, wrinkling her nose. "I swear, you seem to forget how to wash every
time you hang around with the guys." Sirius winked.
"Aw, you know you love me really."
"Whatever."
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