DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, any of the characters used. THIS
STORY IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH THE HARRY POTTER SERIES BY JK ROWLING,
IT IS A PURE FORM OF FANFICTION!!!!
Anyways, here's a rather dark chapter love Alexei Noire xXx :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter Six: Halloween Ouija~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been a week since the incident at the Shrieking Shack, but the memory was as crisp as ever in Sirius' mind. Although Remus had forgiven him totally, and had recovered in a matter of days from the injuries, it haunted Sirius and plagued him to think that he had beaten his friend up, just for a new superpower that he didn't even receive - all he got was a measly and very cryptic instruction.
The words iterated themselves in Sirius' head and every detail bounced off the corners of his mind. But it still didn't make any sense at all - how on earth was he meant to work out how to bring forth a demon from the depths of its hellish dimension before Halloween?
What he needed was some help, and the first person he'd turn to in a situation like this would be James, but he wasn't allowed to discuss the Black Challenge with anyone but another Black, so Sirius decided to go for his only other option - Andromeda.
"Hey Andie!" Sirius yelled to his cousin, who sat by the Lake, poking at some Grindylows who had made their way to the shallows. Dominique was sat beside her, totally absorbed in a book entitled 'Hogwarts: A History'.
"Oh hi there Sirius!" she yelled back, shading her eyes from the bright sun which shone down upon them during on this October's Saturday.
"Listen," Sirius said, sitting down next to her, "That was a great match last week, and those nine goals you scored were superb!"
Andromeda suddenly began to fall forwards, as the Grindlow had grabbed hold of the stick she had been poking it with, and started to drag her down.
Sirius quickly got his wand out and yelled, "DISCERPO!" and the stick broke in the middle, causing Andromeda to fall backwards and land onto the dry soil behind her with a thud.
"Thanks," she said, grimacing at the pain in the region of her lower back.
"No problem," he said casually, "Anyway there was something I'd been meaning to talk to you about."
"What? You want to gloat some more about how your Prongs caught the Snitch after my ninth goal?" she laughed derisively.
Sirius coughed pompously, "Err no, it's more about the THING, you know that family thing?"
Dominique looked up from his book and rolled his eyes, "Fine, I'll leave - I don't need telling twice."
As soon as Dominique had disappeared into the castle, Sirius began to tell Andromeda everything - about how he had managed to find a werewolf, how the large scab across his cheek was due to that fight and about Maxilla's vague instructions that he just could not work out. The only thing he didn't tell her was that the werewolf was one of his best friends.
Clouds had now made their way into the sky and were moving fast, darkening the grounds.
Andromeda sighed, "Well then...I suppose I'll have to help you then."
Sirius smiled widely and hugged his cousin tightly, "Thanks Andie! I wasn't sure if you'd say yes or not, but you really made my day! Thanks!"
"That's quite alright," she said patting Sirius' head condescendingly.
Thunder rumbled overhead, forewarning a potential storm.
"Come on, we'd better get inside," Sirius said, looking to the sky.
They got up off the ground, and began to walk up the grounds to the castle. All of a sudden, there was a strange sort of music coming from somewhere near them.
The pair paused, as they heard more of the music - it was a deep, throbbing, mournful song that sounded quite upsetting.
"What the cowin' eck was that?" Andromeda asked Sirius, who looked just as bemused.
"It's coming from the Forest!" he cried, pointing to a nearby tree.
They ran towards the Forest, and saw the most unusual sight they had ever seen - dozens of dull green Augureys were coming out of their teardrop shaped nests and singing their mournful song.
"They're Augureys!" Sirius cried, "Come on, let's catch one!"
But Andromeda held his arm in a firm grip before he could take off.
"There's no point of that now, is there?" she said to him, through the increasing winds, "I already know what to do next."
Sirius nodded and the pair of them ran inside after a group of Hufflepuff Third Years.
"We should start on this straightaway," Andromeda said to him, once they were in the Entrance Hall, "To the Library!"
_____________________________________________________________________
"You found anything yet?" Sirius asked, coming back with an armful of books from the Restricted Section. Because Sirius had taken Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts, he was allowed to take books from the Restricted Section, although he had a time explaining to Madam Valerie as to why he wanted 'Demonic Possession for Beginners' and 'Demonic Lords of Duat'.
"Umm, well this is all about how demons in the past have possessed people, it even tells you how to do it and all," Andromeda said to Sirius who had sat down opposite her and began looking through 'Chief Devils Replenished'.
Sirius sighed, looking over at her, "Uh, well then add that to the precaution pile - we don't know if Azazel might want to possess us after we bring him forth."
Andromeda shuddered, "Are you sure you actually want to do this?" she asked unsteadily.
"Yeah," he replied, "I want to show Bellatrix I can do anything she could."
"Do you reckon Narcissa's got the message?" she asked, without looking up at him.
"Possibly, I mean she DID woo that Malfoy kid," Sirius answered, still reading his book, "but I don't know if she's bright enough to figure out how to invoke demons, in fact I'm even sure she WOULD go as far as using Magic that Dark."
Andromeda looked up at him, "You mean we're going to perform Dark Magic?"
"Well I am," Sirius responded, still gazing at the mouldy pages of the book before him, "You won't have to do anything, except help me look for a way to do it."
Andromeda heaved a sigh, "But Sirius this is bad - very bad."
Sirius didn't reply her, he just continued to look through the book which contained ways of returning Devils to earth from hell, but you had to go back to the place that the Archangels had vanquished them - and a lot of the places were in the Middle East or in the midst of some faraway, Unplottable desert.
After about an hour, Andromeda looked up and cried, "Eureka!" making a few people's heads to turn in her direction - the Library was fairly full today.
"SHUT UP!" Madam Valerie yelled from behind a bookshelf.
"Sorry!" she said to her, but carried on in a more urgent whisper to Sirius, "Look! Read this!" and she thrust 'Gateways to Hell' at him.
Sirius began to skim the book, and his eyes widened in surprise, but a grim smirk appeared on his face too.
"Ouija Board?" he asked.
"Yes!" Andromeda seemed astonished at her own brilliance, "Of course! Look, even Muggles have come to use it - but THEY think it's a way to communicate with dead people, what twaddle! They don't realise what we do - that it opens up a gateway into the darkest demonic dimensions!"
Sirius heaved a very long sigh.
"Isn't this meant to be dangerous for anyone involved? Maybe I should do this alone," he asked her.
"Oh, I'm not scared!" she said, waving her hand impatiently, "And I'm not having you botch things up on your own."
Andromeda seemed highly excited by all this, but Sirius was still unsure about it all.
"Maybe if we give it a miss?" he asked tentatively.
"No way are you giving up on this now!" she breathed, punching his arm moodily, "I'm going to do this with or without you!"
Sirius rested his face in his hands, "I still don't get how raising a demon will give us powers."
"Well maybe he'll tell us how to get them," Andromeda explained thoughtfully.
"Yeah okay then, Andie," Sirius said to her without smiling, "we'll do this - but we'll need to be careful, and it says here that there's several precautions we need to take beforehand."
Andromeda's face lit up and she punched Sirius once on the arm, this time, happily.
"Attaboy!" she cried.
"Do you ever shut up!?" a loud and rude voice came from behind Andromeda - Madam Valerie was standing over her with her large pretty, cow-like eyes, "All you ever do is cause a racket, get out! OUT!"
Andromeda stood up and towered over the pompous librarian, "Well I don't want to stay where a tight lipped old cow raises her own blood temperature at the slightest pin drop. See ya, Miss Cowface!"
And with that, Andromeda strode out of the Library, in all her dignity.
_____________________________________________________________________
It was the week before Halloween and Sirius had gone as far as telling Remus, who he seemed to be trying to make his new best friend that he was going to play the Ouija. Not surprisingly, Remus didn't have the foggiest as to why he wanted to raise demons on All Hallow's Eve.
"I just don't see the point of it, Padfoot," Remus told him he umpteenth time, "I mean, Azazel is meant to be a very dark and evil demon, in fact it's been said that his mere appearance can terrify mortals witless."
Sirius smiled down at him, and hugged him tightly - this had become quite normal now, as Sirius had started to constantly hug Remus, because he was so sorry for what he'd done in the Shrieking Shack.
"Look, Sirius, mate," Remus said gruffly, "You don't have to do that - seriously, I'm okay. People will start talking if you keep touching me like this."
Sirius loosened his grip and patted Remus' shoulder. "Sorry, Remus, but I worry about you, you know?"
Remus sighed, and looked down at his shoes, unsure as to what to say next - he was not used to such an overt show of emotion around his mates. Sirius began to fold his school robes from his trunk.
"Umm you know, that Evans girl's mate fancies you," Remus said finally, breaking the silence.
Sirius stopped folding his robes, and paused.
"Oh...I-I'm sorry, mate I didn't mean anything," Remus said quickly, busying himself with the Marauder's Map. Since the girl had first spoken to Sirius, she had been trying various ways of getting his attention - but Sirius just wasn't interested.
"It's okay," Sirius replied, without facing him, "Slappers like her don't need to be thought about twice."
The door to the dormitory opened and James walked in, looking very blanched, and shivering. He was carrying his broomstick and put it safely into his trunk.
"Padfoot, mate," James began, "That blonde friend of Lily's - Jenny DeLonge, she keeps saying she wants to talk to you alone. She won't leave ME alone - hounding me as soon as I walked into the Common Room, she's bad news, mate. I'd keep away from her."
Sirius nodded, and took out the Ouija Board that he and Andromeda had made themselves by copying a template out of 'Gateways to Hell' and put it onto his bed. It was a large wooden board, that could have served as a good chopping board had it not had the alphabet, numbers nought to nine, a 'Yes' and a 'No' towards the top and a big bold 'GOODBYE' at the bottom written on it with shiny black paint.
James looked over to Sirius' bed, and stared at the Ouija Board.
"You're not planning on actually using that are you?" he asked Sirius uncertainly.
"'Course I am," Sirius replied, "It's not for decoration is it?"
Remus caught James eyes and shook his head hopelessly, as if to indicate that there was no point in talking him out of using the Ouija.
James opened his mouth, but thought better of it, and merely sat down on Sirius' bed, and looked down at the board.
"It's great isn't it?" Sirius asked him, still transfixed at the board.
"Umm yeah, it's gorgeous, mate," James answered him reassuringly, "when you gonna use it?"
Sirius looked up at him with a manic glint in his eyes, "On Halloween."
James looked to Remus, "Did you know about this?"
Remus nodded his head.
"And you're not going to try and stop him?"
"I'm sat right here!" Sirius cried angrily.
Remus got up off the bed and laid a reassuring hand on Sirius' shoulder.
"No I'm not going to stop him," he said confidently, "If Sirius wants to do Ouija on All Hallows Eve, then Sirius will do Ouija on All Hallows Eve!"
James sighed hopeless and shrugged his shoulders - he was unyielding and stubborn, and there was no point in stopping him.
_____________________________________________________________________
"You ready?" Sirius asked Andromeda.
"Yeah, I will be as soon we get out on the grounds," she replied.
"Well, then we'll meet in the Entrance Hall after the Halloween Feast, yeah?" Sirius asked, looking into his cousin's dark eyes, which now looked severely troubled.
She nodded and headed off to the Hufflepuff Table to sit down next to Dominique. They had decided to play the Ouija in the Hogwarts grounds, away from any unsuspecting people, it also made sense because they could not do it in their Common Rooms seeing as they were in different houses.
The Great Hall was aflutter with a black cloud of live bats that flew hither and thither over the House tables. There were carved pumpkins the size of watermelons floating above the tables, and the flambeaux were lit with a reddish fire that blazed angrily.
Sirius made his way to the Gryffindor table, with a large satchel slung over his arm containing the Ouija Board and other necessary items. He sat down next to Remus, who was already helping himself to 'Banshee Bones', which were actually long corn cakes, made to look like greenish bones.
"I'm not touching THAT," Peter said, eyeing the Banshee Bones with apprehension and disgust.
"Mmmm, they're actually quite nice," James said, munching through a Banshee Bone.
At that moment, Lily Evans and her gang of girls walked by, and Jenny DeLonge waved at Sirius.
"Dear Lord," Sirius muttered, giving Jenny a very stern look, "can't she see I'm not interested?"
James laughed, "Why? She not your type?"
Sirius laughed shortly and helped himself to some Pumpkin Pasties.
"Well, now that you mention it... no she's not," Sirius said, through a mouthful of Pasty, "she's too..."
"What - pretty?" Peter asked, from across the table.
"No, she's nice looking and all, I suppose," Sirius continued, looking over to Jenny, who appeared to have taken very little food, "A bit skinny, a bit too girly and well, too perfect!"
"Well who IS your type then?" Remus asked from beside him.
"Uhhh, someone like... Sylvia Plath," Sirius answered to an assembly of confounded expressions.
"Who?" James asked insolently.
"She's a Muggle author, a bit morbid, despondent and oh so mysterious," Sirius said, chewing on a Banshee Bone.
Peter laughed, "You weirdo! The only person I can think of like that at Hogwarts is your Bellatrix!"
Sirius gave Peter a disgusted look, and punched his arm from across the table.
"OW! I was just messing, Padfoot!" Peter replied, looking dejected.
Sirius looked over to the Hufflepuff table for Andromeda - she appeared rather grave and distressed, and rightly so - she and Sirius were going to be raising demons in a matter of minutes.
At the Staff Table, Professor Darnley was munching away at the Banshee Bones and his temperamental hat had become a deep red. Professor Aquinas, the Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher, who was a squat Wizard with a short grey hair and a permanently astounded expression on his face, was eyeing the Pumpkin Pasties warily - he loved being surprised. McGonagall was back, and she was looking as resolute as ever. Professor Dumbledore was looking quite tired today, and kept blinking deeply every so often. Professor Flitwick, however seemed absolutely hyper and was doing a sort of jig upon his table, attracting a lot of attention and cheers.
Soon, everyone had eaten their fill and dessert had now appeared before them - but Sirius was not planning on eating any.
He got up off his seat, slung his bag over his shoulder, and stood, hoping Andromeda would see him.
"What you doing?" Remus asked, looking up at him.
Andromeda looked up momentarily, and Sirius quickly waved his arms to catch her eye. She looked his way, and looked down at her plate but abruptly looked back up.
Sirius pointed outside towards the door to the Great Hall and Andromeda got up quickly, wrapping her cloak around her.
"You going somewhere?" James asked curiously.
"Uhh... I'll explain later remember?" Sirius replied tentatively.
James' eyes widened.
"You mean, this is to do with the family business thing? - It's still going on?" he asked, avidly.
"Something like that," Sirius answered cryptically.
Andromeda was stood by the door and beckoned him toward her.
With a final wave to his friends, Sirius ran off to meet her, but as they began to leave, a coarse, irked voice came from behind them.
"Going somewhere?" the voice asked, clapping a withered hand onto Sirius shoulder, and he saw, turning round that it was Apollyon Pringle, the caretaker at Hogwarts. With his slit-like eyes, withered face and grey cloak, he looked like old age personified.
"We...were just off to the Owlery to write to my Mum," Sirius invented quickly, remembering Peter's feeble fib.
"Oh is that so?" he asked, in his rough cockney voice.
"Yeah, we thought we'd do it before bed," Andromeda replied without hesitation, "that's not against the rules is it?"
"W-Well not entirely, no," Pringle muttered, "Very Well, be off with you then."
Sirius tried not to smile, and kept a straight face all the way to the Entrance Hall, where he and Andromeda broke into a run, opening the oaken front doors through giggles.
"Did you see his face, when he realised we weren't breaking any rules?" Andromeda laughed.
"Ahh old Pringle - I wonder if his successor will be as callous as he towards students," Sirius thought.
"Yeah, I heard he's retiring this year, and that some bloke called Filch is replacing him," Andromeda said, walking down the stone steps.
"Hmm, sounds like a decent guy."
"Well anyone's gotta be better than Pringle!" she said, now nearing the Forest.
They laughed all the way to the edge of the Forest, at which point they both lit their wands and proceeded further, acting more seriously now.
The Blacks treaded slowly and carefully, making sure they didn't attract any unwanted attention from the wild creatures that roamed the Forest, particularly at night.
"Why did he ask us to do this tonight?" Andromeda whispered.
"Well it's All Hallow's Eve innit?" he responded, from in front of her, "the night upon which darkest creatures walk the earth once more."
Andromeda shivered, she was getting quite unsure about this whole thing now, it had all seemed so much more exciting from the comfort of the Library.
After a few minutes, Sirius stopped in his tracks.
"This place is fine," he said, "not too further in, and not clearly visible from the grounds either."
"But what if the gamekeeper comes into the Forest?" she asked.
"Hagrid?" Sirius laughed, "What business would he have in the Forbidden Forest upon Halloween?"
Andromeda eyed Sirius nervously, as he sat down upon the ground.
"Look let's just get this over with, eh?" he said, patting a hand on her shoulder.
Andromeda nodded and sat down on the ground opposite Sirius.
Sirius removed the Ouija Board, a glass, a picture of Azazel and a small bag of salt from the satchel. He placed the board before them and put the picture of Azazel next to it.
"What's the glass and salt for?" Andromeda asked, puzzled.
Sirius looked up at her and smiled. He began to pour a circle of salt around the Ouija board and the picture.
"Salt," he explicated, "is said to repel evil spirits. So if our Azazel does show up, he won't be able to possess us or harm us in any way."
"Ah," Andromeda replied, "And the glass?"
"This," he said, brandishing the glass, "is going to be our planchette."
"Our - what now?"
"Our planchette," he repeated, "the moving part of the board, upon which we put our hands and the glass will move to different places on the board. Andie, I thought you read up on this."
"Well I missed out the boring bits," she replied, tightening her cloak around her.
Sirius put the bag of salt beside him, and turned the glass upside down upon the Ouija Board. He looked at the picture of Azazel and then to his shivering cousin.
"Look, this way," he said soothingly, "we'll get new powers, perform complicated magic, AND win one over on Bellatrix."
Andromeda nodded, the night was very chilly and she was sure that her constant shivering would attract attention from some dark creature in the Forest.
Sirius got out the book, 'Gateways to Hell' from his bag and turned to the page upon which the beckoning incantation was written.
"You have to read this with me," he explained to Andromeda, "I've already written out the particular beckoning incantation for Azazel, so all you have to do is read it and concentrate upon invoking Azazel, no one else but. As soon as we begin this, we'll open up a doorway and demons will be flocking from all over, but we can't let that happen okay?"
Andromeda heaved a sigh and nodded tensely.
"Right," he said, returning to the book, "place your hand upon the glass, Andie and read this with me."
Sirius got out the piece of parchment he had placed in the pages of 'Gateways to Hell' and placed it in between Sirius and Andromeda.
The two Blacks looked at one another briefly, then looked down at the parchment, hands on planchette.
"Come forth, Come forth, Lord of the Dark, Understudy to the Darkest - Satan," they chanted in unison, "I call thee! Adeo! Adeo! ADEO! Speak to us here, upon the Eve of All Hallows, I invoke thee - I INVOKE THEE!"
And suddenly, there was a cold wind that rustled through the trees, making the Blacks shiver terribly. Then, without warning, the upturned glass moved to the 'Yes' on the board.
"Oh... my... Lord," Andromeda breathed, she looked up at Sirius, wide-eyed.
Sirius looked back at her, the same expression upon his handsome face, he bit down on his lip ring, through steadied breaths.
"Is this Lord Azazel, Chief Demon under the will of Satan?" Sirius asked to no one in particular.
The glass abruptly moved to the 'Yes' once again.
"Oh... crap..." Andromeda whimpered - she looked close to tears, something that barely ever happened to her.
Sirius took a deep breath, but kept his hand on the glass, this was their chance to get powers so he wouldn't blow it that easily.
"Let me handle this," Sirius said to his cousin.
Andromeda nodded, too thunderstruck to speak.
"If you really are Lord Azazel," he asked, "Then tell me, which three letters will be written upon the Beast upon the Days of Calamity?"
He had read about how to tell if a demon was really who they claimed to be by asking them certain questions that only that demon would know. In this case, Sirius had looked up on the history of Azazel in 'Demonic Lords of Duat' and memorised a series of questions to ask.
The planchette shifted to the letter 'K', then to 'F' and finally to 'R' - he was correct.
"Let's go, Sirius," Andromeda said shakily.
"No, we can't just leave it like this, Andie!" he cried, "It'd be even worse, leaving a gateway open to all sorts of dark spirits."
Andromeda grumbled and closed her eyes.
"Tell me," Sirius continued, addressing the Ouija, "Who is the Chief Lord of the Third Valley in Hell?"
The planchette quivered slightly, then spelt out the word 'Abaddon' - it passed once more.
Sirius was now convinced this was Azazel, so he asked it the question, the REAL question. The one that would tell the Blacks whether their venture into a dark forest full of danger, in the night upon Halloween was worthwhile or just a waste of time.
"Lord Azazel," he said, "Understudy to the Darkest, tell me, explain - how is it that we shall get our new powers promised to us by Maxilla Ulnaris Black?"
The plancette remained still. Andromeda looked to Sirius, her eyes looking eerily bluish in the pale wandlight.
"Well do you know or not?" he asked.
The glass abruptly shifted to GOODBYE, and without warning, smashed before them.
"Can we leave now?" Andromeda asked, a definite note of panic now in her voice.
Siirus shook his head, "Just help me gather this stuff up, but leave the picture of Azazel."
Andromeda picked up the Ouija Board and swept the shards of broken glass off it onto the ground. Sirius then took the board and put it back into his bag, as well as 'Gateways to Hell' and the parchment upon which the beckoning incantation was written.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Andromeda asked, pointing to the salt bag next to him.
"No, we might need this later, and by the way," he said, pulling out a piece of alabaster-white parchment with writing on it in black ink, "take this."
Andromeda read the title in the wandlight, "The Lord's Prayer? What's this for?"
"For protection - if there's one thing that repels any demon, it's any mention of God."
"Are you sure?" she asked, uncertainly.
"Positive, Andie," he replied, moving the picture of Azazel to the middle of the ring of salt he had made.
Andromeda got to her feet, and looking down at her good-looking cousin asked, "Well what now?"
Sirius heaved a particularly long sigh, and replied, "Now, we ask Azazel to show himself."
Andromeda whimpered, stepping back slightly.
"Please, Andie I need you for this," he said, looking up at his tall cousin.
Andromeda didn't move.
"Look, any sign that we're in danger - we run for our lives okay?" he said, gravely.
Andromeda nodded, and walked forward, she then sat down opposite Sirius once more and eyed the picture of Azazel tentatively.
"Right, we have to link hands now," he said, taking hold of Andromeda's icy hands.
He looked meaningfully into his cousin's eyes and smiled reassuringly.
"I take thine name, Lord of the Dark, He who art under the rule of Satan," Sirius began in a serious voice, unlike his own, "I urge thee, appareo - show thyself. I ask thee - show thyself!"
He looked at Andromeda and urged her to do the same and both Blacks said in loud voices, "SHOW THYSELF! SHOW THYSELF!"
Suddenly there was a short tremor, pulsing from beneath the children, and the Blacks let go of each other's hands. There appeared cracks in the ring of salt, and from it shone eerie green light that became brighter as the cracks lengthened, but they didn't spread beyond the salt.
The picture of Azazel caught fire all of a sudden, and crumbled up into putrid ashes.
"Crap!" Sirius breathed, falling backwards and watching with horror as a spindly, bright red hand shot upwards from the ground, followed by another arm, with an enormous red crab claw on the end of it. The monster proceeded to expel itself from its demonic dimension in the gateway of the ground, and the Blacks looked with terror upon the demonic presence of Lord Azazel - the chief demon.
Before them stood what looked like a horribly mixed up being, it seemed to have stolen parts of several creatures to be created. Its head was most unusual - it looked a lot like a goat's but its eyes were a sickly yellow colour, devoid of any pupils. It had more of a human mouth than anything else, surrounded by a bushy black goatee. Upon its head were two pointed spiralling horns that looked very charred indeed. It had the torso of a man, but the legs of what seemed to be a very shaggy goat, with strangely toed hooves. On its back were two gigantic black bat-like wings that were twice the size of the beast's body. But the worst and most intimidating feature was its tails, which ended in an array of bright green snakes, all snapping malevolently at one another.
Sirius was too speechless to talk, he was sure the brute would realise where it was and eat him and his cousin up.
Andromeda clutched the Lord's Prayer tightly in her hand, crumpling it beneath her white knuckles.
"Lord A-Azazel?" Sirius asked, with a very throat.
The beast turned to face Sirius and snarled, it then spoke in an indistinct language Sirius could not understand a word of.
"I-I'm sorry," Sirius breathed, his heart hammering beneath his ribs, "but I can't understand you."
Azazel snarled very harshly and, throwing his head back, let out the most unearthly and bloodcurdling wail Sirius had ever heard. Sirius could have sworn he was having an out of body experience, he seemed vaguely aware of his whereabouts and didn't know whether he was existing or dreaming.
Andromeda screamed loudly and ran over to Sirius.
"Let's get out of here!" she howled.
Sirius then looked down to the ground upon which Azazel was stood and realised something - he couldn't move past the salt. It really did work!
He then pointed this out to Andromeda who seemed happy enough to leave him stuck in the ring forever.
But Sirius realised that the beast had no other way out, unless one of them broke the circle of salt, 'til then Lord Azazel would have to listen to Sirius.
"Azazel!" Sirius called, getting up off the ground and brushing his robes off, "Can you help me then?"
The demon growled at Sirius and began to bark deafeningly - someone was bound to be roused from the castle with that much noise.
"Sirius let's go!" Andromeda wailed.
"You go ahead, Andie," he said to her.
"NO! I'm not leaving without you!" she cried, stamping her feet.
"Well then you'll have to wait for me."
Andromeda looked like she could have beaten the crap out of Sirius for even mentioning that - and make no mistake, she COULD.
"Lord Azazel," Sirius said in a scathing, mocking tone, "Chief Demon eh? And Understudy to Satan himself eh? Hmm pretty impressive, I say. Now, surely someone as clever and in as high a position as yourself is well aware that you cannot cross the line of salt - it's the only thing stopping you from entering our dimension and tearing me to shreds."
The demon eyed Sirius, emitting harsh breaths.
"Sirius don't taunt him!" Andromeda yelled from behind them.
"Andie, I got this under control!" he yelled back at her.
Andromeda leant against a nearby tree sulkily.
"Right, then Azazel," Sirius continued, "Surely you know as to why I called you here tonight?"
Azazel made to attack Sirius with his crab-like claw.
"Tut tut," Sirius said derisively, "One of the most powerful demons in existence and he can't overcome a sixteen-year-old wizard - that's disappointing Azazel, it really is."
The demon's serpentine tails snapped furiously, and Azazel muttered once more in his own language.
"Well then, let's make a deal, Lord," Sirius said, bending down to the edge of the salt circle, "I'll make an exit in the salt, so that you can escape if you tell us how we can attain these powers promised unto us."
The demon considered this, making peculiar snorting sounds. After a while, Azazel bent down and, looking Sirius in the face, with his pale yellow eyes, uttered the only piece of speech that made any sense.
"Let... me go before," he spoke in a deep, rumbling voice.
"And you promise to explain how we'll get the powers then?" Sirius asked, enjoying the fact that one of the darkest devils of Hell was at his bidding.
The beast stood back up and nodded slowly.
Sirius abruptly turned to Andromeda, "Okay, I'm going to let him out now."
"NO!" she screamed, "ARE YOU CRAZY!"
"Andie!" he yelled, "Look, I want you to listen very carefully. I'm going to make a hole in the ring of salt, and although the gap will be tiny, he can slip out of it very easily. As soon as I yell 'go' I want you to run - run out of the Forest as quickly as you can, and recite the Lord's Prayer as you do, and most importantly - DO NOT LOOK BACK."
Andromeda whimpered, and stared at Sirius with utter disbelief.
My cousin's gone mad, she thought, he's lost it, he's dotty, he's beany, he's off his head!
"You understand?" Sirius asked, without the slightest hint of anxiety in his voice, Andromeda nodded, horrified.
Sirius brought his hand down to the salt circle, and Azazel mumbled contentedly. And in a flash, he made hole in the salt, and screamed, "GO!"
Andromeda ran through the woods, trying to read the Lord's Prayer whilst fleeing like mad. Sirius was close behind her, but he was reciting another prayer.
There was a terrible shriek from the depths of the Forest, and Sirius' heart almost jumped out of his chest as he saw that hovering a few feet above him was Azazel, his gargantuan wings spread out behind him like torn and crooked umbrellas.
Sirius tried not to look back, as he began sprinting through the forest at full speed, with the snapping of Azazel's claw behind him. A burst of flame erupted before Sirius, and he immediately swerved quickly out of the way.
The castle was nearing, the trees were thinning, and the grounds were becoming more visible - Sirius had no idea if Andromeda had escaped or not, all he knew was that she'd be safe is she did exactly as he told her to.
Azazel's shrieks were becoming louder, and Sirius almost yelled out in horror, as the beast materialized before him, causing Sirius to stumble backwards and fall flat on the ground.
Sirius had totally forgotten about the parchment in his right hand, which had upon it, verses from the Koran, which were a sure way to rid one of any evil.
Azazel landed before Sirius, somehow looking twice as tall as he did when he was trapped in the salt circle.
He growled, and smiled his wicked grin, and snapped his claw threateningly. Azazel walked forwards and pointed one spindly finger at Sirius.
The feeling that Sirius felt at that point was utterly indescribable - it was as if his body was being pulled apart in every, there was a fire blazing beneath him and fine needles pricking him from every joint in his body.
Sirius wanted to yell out, but he was in too much pain to make any noise.
And then he felt for the second time that night, as if his body was a distant object - something he was watching rather than living in. The pain seemed to be vague now, and he wasn't sure whether it was madness or death overcoming him, but what he did know was that there was a parchment in his right hand, and this was his escape.
Wishing frantically for release from this treachery, Sirius began to read the verses somehow without actually looking at them - for he could feel them through his hand. And as soon as he had begun to recite the Arabic verses, the pain diminished, and Azazel screeched into the night sky.
Sirius continued to read it, as if he had them inscribed upon his heart, and Azazel burst into flames and vanished.
Sirius grabbed a nearby branch, protruding from a tree beside him and made to get up, but found that his knees were feeling too weak to hold his body up and he fell back down. Now he was sure that he would die, there was no hope, some creature from the Forest would soon come and eat Sirius, and he could have cried.
After what seemed like half an hour, there was a rustling from the trees behind Sirius.
This is the wild werewolf coming to eat me now, he thought, well come on then, make it quick.
But Sirius felt himself being hoisted up, and was utterly relieved to see James looking back at him with his hazel eyes.
"Oh James!" Sirius sighed, falling into James' arms, sobbing horribly.
"Hey, it's okay," James said, holding his friend tightly, "Andromeda ran into me on her way back. I was on my way over because I remembered that you said you would be playing Ouija."
"Oh Prongs, it's all gone wrong!" Sirius sobbed, "I totally screwed things up, I'm such an idiot. First I beat Moony up, then I bring forth demonic beings and allow not only myself but my cousin to be in danger. I deserve to die, James, leave me here to die!"
"Shhh," James said soothingly to his friend, "Let's get you out of here, eh? Now come on, stop sobbing, it's all okay - Andromeda's fine. No one blames you for anything, mate."
Sirius leant onto James' arm and hobbled with him out of the Forest. The boys remained silent on their way out of the Forest.
As soon as Sirius and James were back in their dormitory, Sirius felt a certain emptiness inside himself - one that he had never felt before, and it was damn depressing. He seemed to be upset for no particular reason and that was the worst part.
He couldn't express how much he loved James for saving him, and refrained from jumping off the Astronomy Tower, just for his sake.
James sat down next to Sirius, who was on the foot of his bed and put a reassuring arm around his best friend.
"Look, Padfoot," he said to his fragile friend, "I don't know what happened back there in the Forest, but d'you know what? I don't CARE. I'm just glad you're okay. And I don't want to hear any of this rubbish about you wanting to die, because I'm not having it - you hear me?"
Sirius nodded, a tear trickling down his face. James quickly wiped it away and held his friend closer to him.
"All this family stuff, it stops now," James continued, "you're not going out and getting yourself killed for this stupid family secret. Look," he said, putting his hand softly onto Sirius' cheek, "if anything happened to you, I couldn't live with myself."
But Sirius was getting over the shock of the demonic resurrection and his mind was gradually returning to the present. He was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable in his best friend's arms now.
"Um," he said, freeing himself from James' brotherly grip, "I'd better go to sleep."
James smiled, "of course, 'night."
Thus Sirius fell into his bed with his aching bones, and felt that depression rising in his body again. He sat back up, and got his wand out from his bedside cabinet.
Breathing heavily, Sirius conjured up a small scalpel and eyed it with shuddering breaths.
Putting his wand back, he picked up the razor sharp scalpel in his right hand and pulled back the sleeve of his other arm, baring the pale flesh beneath.
With one swift movement, he had cut a deep gash across his wrist with the scalpel, and Sirius closed his eyes as he felt the blood trickle down onto his covers. He let out more shuddering breaths, bearing with the pain, letting it relieve him of his heavy heart.
He proceeded to cut another slash, on his right arm this time, and slowly felt his depression being alleviated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Whoa, okay that was a bit darker than I had planned, but do tell me what you thought of it.
I realise I'm such a bad BAD boy for making this such an unbearably long chapter, but the thing is, the bit with Andromeda and Sirius in the Library was meant to be part of 'The Instructions' but I decided that that wud make Chapter Five have too many events, so it became part of this chapter.
Anyways enough rambling from me - remember the Golden Rule:
THE AUTHOR KNOWN UNTO OTHERS AS ALEXEI SHALT NOT CONTINUE IN WRITING THIS HERE STORY UNLESS EVIDENCE IS GIVEN OF PPL READIN IT IN THE FORM OF REVIEWS!
LOL sorry, but that's the way it has to be! Alexei Noire xXx :D
p.s. Don't forget to REVIEW now!!
p.p.s. If anyone has trouble visualising Lord Azazel, Bellatrix, Martyn, Rodolphus or some other characters - I have some pictures of them, so if you wanna see em, email me!
Anyways, here's a rather dark chapter love Alexei Noire xXx :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter Six: Halloween Ouija~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been a week since the incident at the Shrieking Shack, but the memory was as crisp as ever in Sirius' mind. Although Remus had forgiven him totally, and had recovered in a matter of days from the injuries, it haunted Sirius and plagued him to think that he had beaten his friend up, just for a new superpower that he didn't even receive - all he got was a measly and very cryptic instruction.
The words iterated themselves in Sirius' head and every detail bounced off the corners of his mind. But it still didn't make any sense at all - how on earth was he meant to work out how to bring forth a demon from the depths of its hellish dimension before Halloween?
What he needed was some help, and the first person he'd turn to in a situation like this would be James, but he wasn't allowed to discuss the Black Challenge with anyone but another Black, so Sirius decided to go for his only other option - Andromeda.
"Hey Andie!" Sirius yelled to his cousin, who sat by the Lake, poking at some Grindylows who had made their way to the shallows. Dominique was sat beside her, totally absorbed in a book entitled 'Hogwarts: A History'.
"Oh hi there Sirius!" she yelled back, shading her eyes from the bright sun which shone down upon them during on this October's Saturday.
"Listen," Sirius said, sitting down next to her, "That was a great match last week, and those nine goals you scored were superb!"
Andromeda suddenly began to fall forwards, as the Grindlow had grabbed hold of the stick she had been poking it with, and started to drag her down.
Sirius quickly got his wand out and yelled, "DISCERPO!" and the stick broke in the middle, causing Andromeda to fall backwards and land onto the dry soil behind her with a thud.
"Thanks," she said, grimacing at the pain in the region of her lower back.
"No problem," he said casually, "Anyway there was something I'd been meaning to talk to you about."
"What? You want to gloat some more about how your Prongs caught the Snitch after my ninth goal?" she laughed derisively.
Sirius coughed pompously, "Err no, it's more about the THING, you know that family thing?"
Dominique looked up from his book and rolled his eyes, "Fine, I'll leave - I don't need telling twice."
As soon as Dominique had disappeared into the castle, Sirius began to tell Andromeda everything - about how he had managed to find a werewolf, how the large scab across his cheek was due to that fight and about Maxilla's vague instructions that he just could not work out. The only thing he didn't tell her was that the werewolf was one of his best friends.
Clouds had now made their way into the sky and were moving fast, darkening the grounds.
Andromeda sighed, "Well then...I suppose I'll have to help you then."
Sirius smiled widely and hugged his cousin tightly, "Thanks Andie! I wasn't sure if you'd say yes or not, but you really made my day! Thanks!"
"That's quite alright," she said patting Sirius' head condescendingly.
Thunder rumbled overhead, forewarning a potential storm.
"Come on, we'd better get inside," Sirius said, looking to the sky.
They got up off the ground, and began to walk up the grounds to the castle. All of a sudden, there was a strange sort of music coming from somewhere near them.
The pair paused, as they heard more of the music - it was a deep, throbbing, mournful song that sounded quite upsetting.
"What the cowin' eck was that?" Andromeda asked Sirius, who looked just as bemused.
"It's coming from the Forest!" he cried, pointing to a nearby tree.
They ran towards the Forest, and saw the most unusual sight they had ever seen - dozens of dull green Augureys were coming out of their teardrop shaped nests and singing their mournful song.
"They're Augureys!" Sirius cried, "Come on, let's catch one!"
But Andromeda held his arm in a firm grip before he could take off.
"There's no point of that now, is there?" she said to him, through the increasing winds, "I already know what to do next."
Sirius nodded and the pair of them ran inside after a group of Hufflepuff Third Years.
"We should start on this straightaway," Andromeda said to him, once they were in the Entrance Hall, "To the Library!"
_____________________________________________________________________
"You found anything yet?" Sirius asked, coming back with an armful of books from the Restricted Section. Because Sirius had taken Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts, he was allowed to take books from the Restricted Section, although he had a time explaining to Madam Valerie as to why he wanted 'Demonic Possession for Beginners' and 'Demonic Lords of Duat'.
"Umm, well this is all about how demons in the past have possessed people, it even tells you how to do it and all," Andromeda said to Sirius who had sat down opposite her and began looking through 'Chief Devils Replenished'.
Sirius sighed, looking over at her, "Uh, well then add that to the precaution pile - we don't know if Azazel might want to possess us after we bring him forth."
Andromeda shuddered, "Are you sure you actually want to do this?" she asked unsteadily.
"Yeah," he replied, "I want to show Bellatrix I can do anything she could."
"Do you reckon Narcissa's got the message?" she asked, without looking up at him.
"Possibly, I mean she DID woo that Malfoy kid," Sirius answered, still reading his book, "but I don't know if she's bright enough to figure out how to invoke demons, in fact I'm even sure she WOULD go as far as using Magic that Dark."
Andromeda looked up at him, "You mean we're going to perform Dark Magic?"
"Well I am," Sirius responded, still gazing at the mouldy pages of the book before him, "You won't have to do anything, except help me look for a way to do it."
Andromeda heaved a sigh, "But Sirius this is bad - very bad."
Sirius didn't reply her, he just continued to look through the book which contained ways of returning Devils to earth from hell, but you had to go back to the place that the Archangels had vanquished them - and a lot of the places were in the Middle East or in the midst of some faraway, Unplottable desert.
After about an hour, Andromeda looked up and cried, "Eureka!" making a few people's heads to turn in her direction - the Library was fairly full today.
"SHUT UP!" Madam Valerie yelled from behind a bookshelf.
"Sorry!" she said to her, but carried on in a more urgent whisper to Sirius, "Look! Read this!" and she thrust 'Gateways to Hell' at him.
Sirius began to skim the book, and his eyes widened in surprise, but a grim smirk appeared on his face too.
"Ouija Board?" he asked.
"Yes!" Andromeda seemed astonished at her own brilliance, "Of course! Look, even Muggles have come to use it - but THEY think it's a way to communicate with dead people, what twaddle! They don't realise what we do - that it opens up a gateway into the darkest demonic dimensions!"
Sirius heaved a very long sigh.
"Isn't this meant to be dangerous for anyone involved? Maybe I should do this alone," he asked her.
"Oh, I'm not scared!" she said, waving her hand impatiently, "And I'm not having you botch things up on your own."
Andromeda seemed highly excited by all this, but Sirius was still unsure about it all.
"Maybe if we give it a miss?" he asked tentatively.
"No way are you giving up on this now!" she breathed, punching his arm moodily, "I'm going to do this with or without you!"
Sirius rested his face in his hands, "I still don't get how raising a demon will give us powers."
"Well maybe he'll tell us how to get them," Andromeda explained thoughtfully.
"Yeah okay then, Andie," Sirius said to her without smiling, "we'll do this - but we'll need to be careful, and it says here that there's several precautions we need to take beforehand."
Andromeda's face lit up and she punched Sirius once on the arm, this time, happily.
"Attaboy!" she cried.
"Do you ever shut up!?" a loud and rude voice came from behind Andromeda - Madam Valerie was standing over her with her large pretty, cow-like eyes, "All you ever do is cause a racket, get out! OUT!"
Andromeda stood up and towered over the pompous librarian, "Well I don't want to stay where a tight lipped old cow raises her own blood temperature at the slightest pin drop. See ya, Miss Cowface!"
And with that, Andromeda strode out of the Library, in all her dignity.
_____________________________________________________________________
It was the week before Halloween and Sirius had gone as far as telling Remus, who he seemed to be trying to make his new best friend that he was going to play the Ouija. Not surprisingly, Remus didn't have the foggiest as to why he wanted to raise demons on All Hallow's Eve.
"I just don't see the point of it, Padfoot," Remus told him he umpteenth time, "I mean, Azazel is meant to be a very dark and evil demon, in fact it's been said that his mere appearance can terrify mortals witless."
Sirius smiled down at him, and hugged him tightly - this had become quite normal now, as Sirius had started to constantly hug Remus, because he was so sorry for what he'd done in the Shrieking Shack.
"Look, Sirius, mate," Remus said gruffly, "You don't have to do that - seriously, I'm okay. People will start talking if you keep touching me like this."
Sirius loosened his grip and patted Remus' shoulder. "Sorry, Remus, but I worry about you, you know?"
Remus sighed, and looked down at his shoes, unsure as to what to say next - he was not used to such an overt show of emotion around his mates. Sirius began to fold his school robes from his trunk.
"Umm you know, that Evans girl's mate fancies you," Remus said finally, breaking the silence.
Sirius stopped folding his robes, and paused.
"Oh...I-I'm sorry, mate I didn't mean anything," Remus said quickly, busying himself with the Marauder's Map. Since the girl had first spoken to Sirius, she had been trying various ways of getting his attention - but Sirius just wasn't interested.
"It's okay," Sirius replied, without facing him, "Slappers like her don't need to be thought about twice."
The door to the dormitory opened and James walked in, looking very blanched, and shivering. He was carrying his broomstick and put it safely into his trunk.
"Padfoot, mate," James began, "That blonde friend of Lily's - Jenny DeLonge, she keeps saying she wants to talk to you alone. She won't leave ME alone - hounding me as soon as I walked into the Common Room, she's bad news, mate. I'd keep away from her."
Sirius nodded, and took out the Ouija Board that he and Andromeda had made themselves by copying a template out of 'Gateways to Hell' and put it onto his bed. It was a large wooden board, that could have served as a good chopping board had it not had the alphabet, numbers nought to nine, a 'Yes' and a 'No' towards the top and a big bold 'GOODBYE' at the bottom written on it with shiny black paint.
James looked over to Sirius' bed, and stared at the Ouija Board.
"You're not planning on actually using that are you?" he asked Sirius uncertainly.
"'Course I am," Sirius replied, "It's not for decoration is it?"
Remus caught James eyes and shook his head hopelessly, as if to indicate that there was no point in talking him out of using the Ouija.
James opened his mouth, but thought better of it, and merely sat down on Sirius' bed, and looked down at the board.
"It's great isn't it?" Sirius asked him, still transfixed at the board.
"Umm yeah, it's gorgeous, mate," James answered him reassuringly, "when you gonna use it?"
Sirius looked up at him with a manic glint in his eyes, "On Halloween."
James looked to Remus, "Did you know about this?"
Remus nodded his head.
"And you're not going to try and stop him?"
"I'm sat right here!" Sirius cried angrily.
Remus got up off the bed and laid a reassuring hand on Sirius' shoulder.
"No I'm not going to stop him," he said confidently, "If Sirius wants to do Ouija on All Hallows Eve, then Sirius will do Ouija on All Hallows Eve!"
James sighed hopeless and shrugged his shoulders - he was unyielding and stubborn, and there was no point in stopping him.
_____________________________________________________________________
"You ready?" Sirius asked Andromeda.
"Yeah, I will be as soon we get out on the grounds," she replied.
"Well, then we'll meet in the Entrance Hall after the Halloween Feast, yeah?" Sirius asked, looking into his cousin's dark eyes, which now looked severely troubled.
She nodded and headed off to the Hufflepuff Table to sit down next to Dominique. They had decided to play the Ouija in the Hogwarts grounds, away from any unsuspecting people, it also made sense because they could not do it in their Common Rooms seeing as they were in different houses.
The Great Hall was aflutter with a black cloud of live bats that flew hither and thither over the House tables. There were carved pumpkins the size of watermelons floating above the tables, and the flambeaux were lit with a reddish fire that blazed angrily.
Sirius made his way to the Gryffindor table, with a large satchel slung over his arm containing the Ouija Board and other necessary items. He sat down next to Remus, who was already helping himself to 'Banshee Bones', which were actually long corn cakes, made to look like greenish bones.
"I'm not touching THAT," Peter said, eyeing the Banshee Bones with apprehension and disgust.
"Mmmm, they're actually quite nice," James said, munching through a Banshee Bone.
At that moment, Lily Evans and her gang of girls walked by, and Jenny DeLonge waved at Sirius.
"Dear Lord," Sirius muttered, giving Jenny a very stern look, "can't she see I'm not interested?"
James laughed, "Why? She not your type?"
Sirius laughed shortly and helped himself to some Pumpkin Pasties.
"Well, now that you mention it... no she's not," Sirius said, through a mouthful of Pasty, "she's too..."
"What - pretty?" Peter asked, from across the table.
"No, she's nice looking and all, I suppose," Sirius continued, looking over to Jenny, who appeared to have taken very little food, "A bit skinny, a bit too girly and well, too perfect!"
"Well who IS your type then?" Remus asked from beside him.
"Uhhh, someone like... Sylvia Plath," Sirius answered to an assembly of confounded expressions.
"Who?" James asked insolently.
"She's a Muggle author, a bit morbid, despondent and oh so mysterious," Sirius said, chewing on a Banshee Bone.
Peter laughed, "You weirdo! The only person I can think of like that at Hogwarts is your Bellatrix!"
Sirius gave Peter a disgusted look, and punched his arm from across the table.
"OW! I was just messing, Padfoot!" Peter replied, looking dejected.
Sirius looked over to the Hufflepuff table for Andromeda - she appeared rather grave and distressed, and rightly so - she and Sirius were going to be raising demons in a matter of minutes.
At the Staff Table, Professor Darnley was munching away at the Banshee Bones and his temperamental hat had become a deep red. Professor Aquinas, the Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher, who was a squat Wizard with a short grey hair and a permanently astounded expression on his face, was eyeing the Pumpkin Pasties warily - he loved being surprised. McGonagall was back, and she was looking as resolute as ever. Professor Dumbledore was looking quite tired today, and kept blinking deeply every so often. Professor Flitwick, however seemed absolutely hyper and was doing a sort of jig upon his table, attracting a lot of attention and cheers.
Soon, everyone had eaten their fill and dessert had now appeared before them - but Sirius was not planning on eating any.
He got up off his seat, slung his bag over his shoulder, and stood, hoping Andromeda would see him.
"What you doing?" Remus asked, looking up at him.
Andromeda looked up momentarily, and Sirius quickly waved his arms to catch her eye. She looked his way, and looked down at her plate but abruptly looked back up.
Sirius pointed outside towards the door to the Great Hall and Andromeda got up quickly, wrapping her cloak around her.
"You going somewhere?" James asked curiously.
"Uhh... I'll explain later remember?" Sirius replied tentatively.
James' eyes widened.
"You mean, this is to do with the family business thing? - It's still going on?" he asked, avidly.
"Something like that," Sirius answered cryptically.
Andromeda was stood by the door and beckoned him toward her.
With a final wave to his friends, Sirius ran off to meet her, but as they began to leave, a coarse, irked voice came from behind them.
"Going somewhere?" the voice asked, clapping a withered hand onto Sirius shoulder, and he saw, turning round that it was Apollyon Pringle, the caretaker at Hogwarts. With his slit-like eyes, withered face and grey cloak, he looked like old age personified.
"We...were just off to the Owlery to write to my Mum," Sirius invented quickly, remembering Peter's feeble fib.
"Oh is that so?" he asked, in his rough cockney voice.
"Yeah, we thought we'd do it before bed," Andromeda replied without hesitation, "that's not against the rules is it?"
"W-Well not entirely, no," Pringle muttered, "Very Well, be off with you then."
Sirius tried not to smile, and kept a straight face all the way to the Entrance Hall, where he and Andromeda broke into a run, opening the oaken front doors through giggles.
"Did you see his face, when he realised we weren't breaking any rules?" Andromeda laughed.
"Ahh old Pringle - I wonder if his successor will be as callous as he towards students," Sirius thought.
"Yeah, I heard he's retiring this year, and that some bloke called Filch is replacing him," Andromeda said, walking down the stone steps.
"Hmm, sounds like a decent guy."
"Well anyone's gotta be better than Pringle!" she said, now nearing the Forest.
They laughed all the way to the edge of the Forest, at which point they both lit their wands and proceeded further, acting more seriously now.
The Blacks treaded slowly and carefully, making sure they didn't attract any unwanted attention from the wild creatures that roamed the Forest, particularly at night.
"Why did he ask us to do this tonight?" Andromeda whispered.
"Well it's All Hallow's Eve innit?" he responded, from in front of her, "the night upon which darkest creatures walk the earth once more."
Andromeda shivered, she was getting quite unsure about this whole thing now, it had all seemed so much more exciting from the comfort of the Library.
After a few minutes, Sirius stopped in his tracks.
"This place is fine," he said, "not too further in, and not clearly visible from the grounds either."
"But what if the gamekeeper comes into the Forest?" she asked.
"Hagrid?" Sirius laughed, "What business would he have in the Forbidden Forest upon Halloween?"
Andromeda eyed Sirius nervously, as he sat down upon the ground.
"Look let's just get this over with, eh?" he said, patting a hand on her shoulder.
Andromeda nodded and sat down on the ground opposite Sirius.
Sirius removed the Ouija Board, a glass, a picture of Azazel and a small bag of salt from the satchel. He placed the board before them and put the picture of Azazel next to it.
"What's the glass and salt for?" Andromeda asked, puzzled.
Sirius looked up at her and smiled. He began to pour a circle of salt around the Ouija board and the picture.
"Salt," he explicated, "is said to repel evil spirits. So if our Azazel does show up, he won't be able to possess us or harm us in any way."
"Ah," Andromeda replied, "And the glass?"
"This," he said, brandishing the glass, "is going to be our planchette."
"Our - what now?"
"Our planchette," he repeated, "the moving part of the board, upon which we put our hands and the glass will move to different places on the board. Andie, I thought you read up on this."
"Well I missed out the boring bits," she replied, tightening her cloak around her.
Sirius put the bag of salt beside him, and turned the glass upside down upon the Ouija Board. He looked at the picture of Azazel and then to his shivering cousin.
"Look, this way," he said soothingly, "we'll get new powers, perform complicated magic, AND win one over on Bellatrix."
Andromeda nodded, the night was very chilly and she was sure that her constant shivering would attract attention from some dark creature in the Forest.
Sirius got out the book, 'Gateways to Hell' from his bag and turned to the page upon which the beckoning incantation was written.
"You have to read this with me," he explained to Andromeda, "I've already written out the particular beckoning incantation for Azazel, so all you have to do is read it and concentrate upon invoking Azazel, no one else but. As soon as we begin this, we'll open up a doorway and demons will be flocking from all over, but we can't let that happen okay?"
Andromeda heaved a sigh and nodded tensely.
"Right," he said, returning to the book, "place your hand upon the glass, Andie and read this with me."
Sirius got out the piece of parchment he had placed in the pages of 'Gateways to Hell' and placed it in between Sirius and Andromeda.
The two Blacks looked at one another briefly, then looked down at the parchment, hands on planchette.
"Come forth, Come forth, Lord of the Dark, Understudy to the Darkest - Satan," they chanted in unison, "I call thee! Adeo! Adeo! ADEO! Speak to us here, upon the Eve of All Hallows, I invoke thee - I INVOKE THEE!"
And suddenly, there was a cold wind that rustled through the trees, making the Blacks shiver terribly. Then, without warning, the upturned glass moved to the 'Yes' on the board.
"Oh... my... Lord," Andromeda breathed, she looked up at Sirius, wide-eyed.
Sirius looked back at her, the same expression upon his handsome face, he bit down on his lip ring, through steadied breaths.
"Is this Lord Azazel, Chief Demon under the will of Satan?" Sirius asked to no one in particular.
The glass abruptly moved to the 'Yes' once again.
"Oh... crap..." Andromeda whimpered - she looked close to tears, something that barely ever happened to her.
Sirius took a deep breath, but kept his hand on the glass, this was their chance to get powers so he wouldn't blow it that easily.
"Let me handle this," Sirius said to his cousin.
Andromeda nodded, too thunderstruck to speak.
"If you really are Lord Azazel," he asked, "Then tell me, which three letters will be written upon the Beast upon the Days of Calamity?"
He had read about how to tell if a demon was really who they claimed to be by asking them certain questions that only that demon would know. In this case, Sirius had looked up on the history of Azazel in 'Demonic Lords of Duat' and memorised a series of questions to ask.
The planchette shifted to the letter 'K', then to 'F' and finally to 'R' - he was correct.
"Let's go, Sirius," Andromeda said shakily.
"No, we can't just leave it like this, Andie!" he cried, "It'd be even worse, leaving a gateway open to all sorts of dark spirits."
Andromeda grumbled and closed her eyes.
"Tell me," Sirius continued, addressing the Ouija, "Who is the Chief Lord of the Third Valley in Hell?"
The planchette quivered slightly, then spelt out the word 'Abaddon' - it passed once more.
Sirius was now convinced this was Azazel, so he asked it the question, the REAL question. The one that would tell the Blacks whether their venture into a dark forest full of danger, in the night upon Halloween was worthwhile or just a waste of time.
"Lord Azazel," he said, "Understudy to the Darkest, tell me, explain - how is it that we shall get our new powers promised to us by Maxilla Ulnaris Black?"
The plancette remained still. Andromeda looked to Sirius, her eyes looking eerily bluish in the pale wandlight.
"Well do you know or not?" he asked.
The glass abruptly shifted to GOODBYE, and without warning, smashed before them.
"Can we leave now?" Andromeda asked, a definite note of panic now in her voice.
Siirus shook his head, "Just help me gather this stuff up, but leave the picture of Azazel."
Andromeda picked up the Ouija Board and swept the shards of broken glass off it onto the ground. Sirius then took the board and put it back into his bag, as well as 'Gateways to Hell' and the parchment upon which the beckoning incantation was written.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Andromeda asked, pointing to the salt bag next to him.
"No, we might need this later, and by the way," he said, pulling out a piece of alabaster-white parchment with writing on it in black ink, "take this."
Andromeda read the title in the wandlight, "The Lord's Prayer? What's this for?"
"For protection - if there's one thing that repels any demon, it's any mention of God."
"Are you sure?" she asked, uncertainly.
"Positive, Andie," he replied, moving the picture of Azazel to the middle of the ring of salt he had made.
Andromeda got to her feet, and looking down at her good-looking cousin asked, "Well what now?"
Sirius heaved a particularly long sigh, and replied, "Now, we ask Azazel to show himself."
Andromeda whimpered, stepping back slightly.
"Please, Andie I need you for this," he said, looking up at his tall cousin.
Andromeda didn't move.
"Look, any sign that we're in danger - we run for our lives okay?" he said, gravely.
Andromeda nodded, and walked forward, she then sat down opposite Sirius once more and eyed the picture of Azazel tentatively.
"Right, we have to link hands now," he said, taking hold of Andromeda's icy hands.
He looked meaningfully into his cousin's eyes and smiled reassuringly.
"I take thine name, Lord of the Dark, He who art under the rule of Satan," Sirius began in a serious voice, unlike his own, "I urge thee, appareo - show thyself. I ask thee - show thyself!"
He looked at Andromeda and urged her to do the same and both Blacks said in loud voices, "SHOW THYSELF! SHOW THYSELF!"
Suddenly there was a short tremor, pulsing from beneath the children, and the Blacks let go of each other's hands. There appeared cracks in the ring of salt, and from it shone eerie green light that became brighter as the cracks lengthened, but they didn't spread beyond the salt.
The picture of Azazel caught fire all of a sudden, and crumbled up into putrid ashes.
"Crap!" Sirius breathed, falling backwards and watching with horror as a spindly, bright red hand shot upwards from the ground, followed by another arm, with an enormous red crab claw on the end of it. The monster proceeded to expel itself from its demonic dimension in the gateway of the ground, and the Blacks looked with terror upon the demonic presence of Lord Azazel - the chief demon.
Before them stood what looked like a horribly mixed up being, it seemed to have stolen parts of several creatures to be created. Its head was most unusual - it looked a lot like a goat's but its eyes were a sickly yellow colour, devoid of any pupils. It had more of a human mouth than anything else, surrounded by a bushy black goatee. Upon its head were two pointed spiralling horns that looked very charred indeed. It had the torso of a man, but the legs of what seemed to be a very shaggy goat, with strangely toed hooves. On its back were two gigantic black bat-like wings that were twice the size of the beast's body. But the worst and most intimidating feature was its tails, which ended in an array of bright green snakes, all snapping malevolently at one another.
Sirius was too speechless to talk, he was sure the brute would realise where it was and eat him and his cousin up.
Andromeda clutched the Lord's Prayer tightly in her hand, crumpling it beneath her white knuckles.
"Lord A-Azazel?" Sirius asked, with a very throat.
The beast turned to face Sirius and snarled, it then spoke in an indistinct language Sirius could not understand a word of.
"I-I'm sorry," Sirius breathed, his heart hammering beneath his ribs, "but I can't understand you."
Azazel snarled very harshly and, throwing his head back, let out the most unearthly and bloodcurdling wail Sirius had ever heard. Sirius could have sworn he was having an out of body experience, he seemed vaguely aware of his whereabouts and didn't know whether he was existing or dreaming.
Andromeda screamed loudly and ran over to Sirius.
"Let's get out of here!" she howled.
Sirius then looked down to the ground upon which Azazel was stood and realised something - he couldn't move past the salt. It really did work!
He then pointed this out to Andromeda who seemed happy enough to leave him stuck in the ring forever.
But Sirius realised that the beast had no other way out, unless one of them broke the circle of salt, 'til then Lord Azazel would have to listen to Sirius.
"Azazel!" Sirius called, getting up off the ground and brushing his robes off, "Can you help me then?"
The demon growled at Sirius and began to bark deafeningly - someone was bound to be roused from the castle with that much noise.
"Sirius let's go!" Andromeda wailed.
"You go ahead, Andie," he said to her.
"NO! I'm not leaving without you!" she cried, stamping her feet.
"Well then you'll have to wait for me."
Andromeda looked like she could have beaten the crap out of Sirius for even mentioning that - and make no mistake, she COULD.
"Lord Azazel," Sirius said in a scathing, mocking tone, "Chief Demon eh? And Understudy to Satan himself eh? Hmm pretty impressive, I say. Now, surely someone as clever and in as high a position as yourself is well aware that you cannot cross the line of salt - it's the only thing stopping you from entering our dimension and tearing me to shreds."
The demon eyed Sirius, emitting harsh breaths.
"Sirius don't taunt him!" Andromeda yelled from behind them.
"Andie, I got this under control!" he yelled back at her.
Andromeda leant against a nearby tree sulkily.
"Right, then Azazel," Sirius continued, "Surely you know as to why I called you here tonight?"
Azazel made to attack Sirius with his crab-like claw.
"Tut tut," Sirius said derisively, "One of the most powerful demons in existence and he can't overcome a sixteen-year-old wizard - that's disappointing Azazel, it really is."
The demon's serpentine tails snapped furiously, and Azazel muttered once more in his own language.
"Well then, let's make a deal, Lord," Sirius said, bending down to the edge of the salt circle, "I'll make an exit in the salt, so that you can escape if you tell us how we can attain these powers promised unto us."
The demon considered this, making peculiar snorting sounds. After a while, Azazel bent down and, looking Sirius in the face, with his pale yellow eyes, uttered the only piece of speech that made any sense.
"Let... me go before," he spoke in a deep, rumbling voice.
"And you promise to explain how we'll get the powers then?" Sirius asked, enjoying the fact that one of the darkest devils of Hell was at his bidding.
The beast stood back up and nodded slowly.
Sirius abruptly turned to Andromeda, "Okay, I'm going to let him out now."
"NO!" she screamed, "ARE YOU CRAZY!"
"Andie!" he yelled, "Look, I want you to listen very carefully. I'm going to make a hole in the ring of salt, and although the gap will be tiny, he can slip out of it very easily. As soon as I yell 'go' I want you to run - run out of the Forest as quickly as you can, and recite the Lord's Prayer as you do, and most importantly - DO NOT LOOK BACK."
Andromeda whimpered, and stared at Sirius with utter disbelief.
My cousin's gone mad, she thought, he's lost it, he's dotty, he's beany, he's off his head!
"You understand?" Sirius asked, without the slightest hint of anxiety in his voice, Andromeda nodded, horrified.
Sirius brought his hand down to the salt circle, and Azazel mumbled contentedly. And in a flash, he made hole in the salt, and screamed, "GO!"
Andromeda ran through the woods, trying to read the Lord's Prayer whilst fleeing like mad. Sirius was close behind her, but he was reciting another prayer.
There was a terrible shriek from the depths of the Forest, and Sirius' heart almost jumped out of his chest as he saw that hovering a few feet above him was Azazel, his gargantuan wings spread out behind him like torn and crooked umbrellas.
Sirius tried not to look back, as he began sprinting through the forest at full speed, with the snapping of Azazel's claw behind him. A burst of flame erupted before Sirius, and he immediately swerved quickly out of the way.
The castle was nearing, the trees were thinning, and the grounds were becoming more visible - Sirius had no idea if Andromeda had escaped or not, all he knew was that she'd be safe is she did exactly as he told her to.
Azazel's shrieks were becoming louder, and Sirius almost yelled out in horror, as the beast materialized before him, causing Sirius to stumble backwards and fall flat on the ground.
Sirius had totally forgotten about the parchment in his right hand, which had upon it, verses from the Koran, which were a sure way to rid one of any evil.
Azazel landed before Sirius, somehow looking twice as tall as he did when he was trapped in the salt circle.
He growled, and smiled his wicked grin, and snapped his claw threateningly. Azazel walked forwards and pointed one spindly finger at Sirius.
The feeling that Sirius felt at that point was utterly indescribable - it was as if his body was being pulled apart in every, there was a fire blazing beneath him and fine needles pricking him from every joint in his body.
Sirius wanted to yell out, but he was in too much pain to make any noise.
And then he felt for the second time that night, as if his body was a distant object - something he was watching rather than living in. The pain seemed to be vague now, and he wasn't sure whether it was madness or death overcoming him, but what he did know was that there was a parchment in his right hand, and this was his escape.
Wishing frantically for release from this treachery, Sirius began to read the verses somehow without actually looking at them - for he could feel them through his hand. And as soon as he had begun to recite the Arabic verses, the pain diminished, and Azazel screeched into the night sky.
Sirius continued to read it, as if he had them inscribed upon his heart, and Azazel burst into flames and vanished.
Sirius grabbed a nearby branch, protruding from a tree beside him and made to get up, but found that his knees were feeling too weak to hold his body up and he fell back down. Now he was sure that he would die, there was no hope, some creature from the Forest would soon come and eat Sirius, and he could have cried.
After what seemed like half an hour, there was a rustling from the trees behind Sirius.
This is the wild werewolf coming to eat me now, he thought, well come on then, make it quick.
But Sirius felt himself being hoisted up, and was utterly relieved to see James looking back at him with his hazel eyes.
"Oh James!" Sirius sighed, falling into James' arms, sobbing horribly.
"Hey, it's okay," James said, holding his friend tightly, "Andromeda ran into me on her way back. I was on my way over because I remembered that you said you would be playing Ouija."
"Oh Prongs, it's all gone wrong!" Sirius sobbed, "I totally screwed things up, I'm such an idiot. First I beat Moony up, then I bring forth demonic beings and allow not only myself but my cousin to be in danger. I deserve to die, James, leave me here to die!"
"Shhh," James said soothingly to his friend, "Let's get you out of here, eh? Now come on, stop sobbing, it's all okay - Andromeda's fine. No one blames you for anything, mate."
Sirius leant onto James' arm and hobbled with him out of the Forest. The boys remained silent on their way out of the Forest.
As soon as Sirius and James were back in their dormitory, Sirius felt a certain emptiness inside himself - one that he had never felt before, and it was damn depressing. He seemed to be upset for no particular reason and that was the worst part.
He couldn't express how much he loved James for saving him, and refrained from jumping off the Astronomy Tower, just for his sake.
James sat down next to Sirius, who was on the foot of his bed and put a reassuring arm around his best friend.
"Look, Padfoot," he said to his fragile friend, "I don't know what happened back there in the Forest, but d'you know what? I don't CARE. I'm just glad you're okay. And I don't want to hear any of this rubbish about you wanting to die, because I'm not having it - you hear me?"
Sirius nodded, a tear trickling down his face. James quickly wiped it away and held his friend closer to him.
"All this family stuff, it stops now," James continued, "you're not going out and getting yourself killed for this stupid family secret. Look," he said, putting his hand softly onto Sirius' cheek, "if anything happened to you, I couldn't live with myself."
But Sirius was getting over the shock of the demonic resurrection and his mind was gradually returning to the present. He was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable in his best friend's arms now.
"Um," he said, freeing himself from James' brotherly grip, "I'd better go to sleep."
James smiled, "of course, 'night."
Thus Sirius fell into his bed with his aching bones, and felt that depression rising in his body again. He sat back up, and got his wand out from his bedside cabinet.
Breathing heavily, Sirius conjured up a small scalpel and eyed it with shuddering breaths.
Putting his wand back, he picked up the razor sharp scalpel in his right hand and pulled back the sleeve of his other arm, baring the pale flesh beneath.
With one swift movement, he had cut a deep gash across his wrist with the scalpel, and Sirius closed his eyes as he felt the blood trickle down onto his covers. He let out more shuddering breaths, bearing with the pain, letting it relieve him of his heavy heart.
He proceeded to cut another slash, on his right arm this time, and slowly felt his depression being alleviated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Whoa, okay that was a bit darker than I had planned, but do tell me what you thought of it.
I realise I'm such a bad BAD boy for making this such an unbearably long chapter, but the thing is, the bit with Andromeda and Sirius in the Library was meant to be part of 'The Instructions' but I decided that that wud make Chapter Five have too many events, so it became part of this chapter.
Anyways enough rambling from me - remember the Golden Rule:
THE AUTHOR KNOWN UNTO OTHERS AS ALEXEI SHALT NOT CONTINUE IN WRITING THIS HERE STORY UNLESS EVIDENCE IS GIVEN OF PPL READIN IT IN THE FORM OF REVIEWS!
LOL sorry, but that's the way it has to be! Alexei Noire xXx :D
p.s. Don't forget to REVIEW now!!
p.p.s. If anyone has trouble visualising Lord Azazel, Bellatrix, Martyn, Rodolphus or some other characters - I have some pictures of them, so if you wanna see em, email me!