Friend or Foe

Chapter 3 - When a Spell went Wrong

With a gasp, Harry was suddenly able to see again. He was back in Dumbledore's office. He was still sitting in the armchair, and he was grateful for that. Harry wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve, and winced when he accidentally brushed his scar. It was throbbing painfully- he had to bite his tongue from crying out.

After a full minute of quiet panting, the pain slowly ebbed away. He took a look at his surroundings. Remus was sitting in front of him, watching Dumbledore intently. Harry wondered how long he had been in the vision, it seemed like forever. He must have managed to refrain from moaning and thrashing somehow, otherwise he was sure that Remus would have taken him to the hospital wing.

The young boy wanted to tell the Headmaster about is vision. He opened his mouth, but closed it quickly when he saw his mentor's serious expression. Beads of sweat were shining on Dumbledore's forehead. It was when he discovered that no light balls were suspending in front of the wand tip. Instead, there was a chain of light beads, which kept colliding on Sirius' chest.

Harry's mouth dropped open when he saw Sirius' face.

His Godfather's face was no more worn-out and tired; it had become more peaceful and youthful. His hair was a lot tidier and shorter, but a few strands still stood on end stubbornly. Sirius still looked very tall, which made Harry become extremely jealous of him. The 'convicted murderer' looked like an eighteenth-year-old now. So Harry knew the charm was almost complete.

Without warning, the door was flung opened violently. A black figure dashed into the office, knocking the Headmaster over in the process. A huge light ball erupted from Dumbledore's wand and hurled towards Sirius.

Sirius did not know what was going on, as he had shut his eyes tightly. He opened his left eye when he heard Harry yelling his name in panic. However, it was already too late. He felt a great magical power crashed into his body. The animagus was rendered unconscious at once. He was thrown backwards in a great speed and he collided with a nearby bookshelf. The bookshelf swung once, and then twice, and finally all the books fell out of it and buried the knocked-out wizard.

"Sirius!" Harry cried in alarm as he dashed towards the pile of books.

Remus, on the other hand, was helping Dumbledore to sit on an armchair nearby. He turned around and faced the tall, black figure.

"What was that for, Severus?" he asked quietly, annoyance was clear in his voice. "Can't you see that Albus is performing a complicated charm?"

Snape sneered at the werewolf.

"I'm here to report the Dark Lord¡¦s movement. It's important." the Potions Master replied, his arms folding across his chest.

"You've been called?" Dumbledore asked in concern.

"No. Mr. Weasley informed me that the Redwood Village was destroyed. The Aurors had already gone to the village, but they could not get inside. Powerful wards were placed around it and¡K no life can be detected." Snape reported emotionlessly.

"Are you the only Death Eater whom Voldemort hadn't summoned during this attack? Does he suspect you?" the Headmaster questioned.

"None of the Death Eaters was called, Headmaster. The Dark Mark would have burnt if he summoned any of us. Voldemort destroyed the village, alone." The ex-Death Eater's face darkened as he continued, "It's obvious that he has already come to his full power."

The three adults sat gravely in silence as they tried to process the information. Several minutes later, Snape noticed what Harry was doing and snapped.

"Potter! Would you mind using the big head of yours and say the Levitation Charm? Stop throwing the expensive books around at this instant!"

Harry was so worried that he had not thought of using magic to rescue his godfather at all. He was throwing another book away when Snape criticized his state of mind. Unfortunately, the heavy book flew through the air and landed on the Potions Master head, hard, and with a loud smack.

Harry's face paled; while Snape's face was tinted faintly in red in anger.

"Wingadium Leviosa!" the professor snarled.

The books rose into the air, revealing a mop of sooty air. Harry quickly grabbed Sirius' hand. He froze.

It was too small.

Harry blinked and looked at his godfather. Resting on his chest was a delicate child, who was about five or six years old. He looked cute even if he had closed his eyes. A bruise was formed on the child's forehead.

Harry's jaw dropped. "S-Sirius?" he stuttered.

"What? That midget was Black?" Snape snorted. The damn mutt met his fall, finally!

"He's not a midget!" Harry and Remus shouted at the same time.

"What did he get himself into this time?" the greasy-haired wizard asked lazily, clearly enjoying the scene in front of him.

Remus spoke nothing but glared at Snape. The Headmaster took the chance to explain the current incident; while Harry was shaking his godfather's shoulders frantically, trying to wake the de-aged wizard.

"I was performing a De-aging Charm on Sirius. Somehow I lost control of my magic and I poured too much power in it. It's supposed that Sirius would be de-aged to a fifteen-year-old boy, but now he's de-aged to his childhood. I should be responsible for this¡K I just hope Sirius' mind won't be regressed as well." Dumbledore said tiredly, still not fully recovered from the magical expense.

"It's not your fault, Albus. If that idiot-" Remus paused as he threw a dirty look at Snape, "-hadn't knocked you over, you wouldn't have lost control of your power."

"You should have placed a Locking Charm on the door, if you thought that the charm was so important," the Potions Master said snidely, a few strands of greasy hair fell in his eyes.

"Excuse me, I remember so well that I did place a Locking Charm. Only a certain someone was dense enough to blast through the door." Remus began to raise his voice.

"That only proves that you're too weak to perform a basic spell," Snape said harshly.

"You-" Remus was about to retaliate when he heard Harry's call.

"Professor Lupin!"

The little boy in Harry's arms stirred slowly. Snape clicked his tongue in annoyance, as the kid opened his eyes with the speed of a flobberworm. Harry tensed as two large, pale blue eyes stared at him in confusion.

Little Sirius looked around, taking notes of his surroundings. He glanced pass a scowling Snape, a concerned Remus and a worried Dumbledore. Then his eyes rested on Harry again.

"It hurts..." Sirius whimpered softly, his lower lip trembling.

Harry did not know what to do when Sirius' eyes began to water. Without warning, the child wailed at the top of his lungs.

"WHAAAAH!"

* * *

I find that this story is becoming weirder... Well, I¡¦ll certainly revise it, find a beta-reader and replace the ridiculous chapters in future. I have written about 10 chapters already and I need time to amend the drafts and type them. Happy New Year to you all!

Thanks to all reviewers:

Dimgwrthien, Heaven's Angel Chick, sweetyspy05, Padawan Jess Kenobi, Gracie Lou1, Bronfelen, Yukirei and Lady Tanarion