Chapter 17: Reunion
The atmosphere in the entrance hall was unpleasant to say the least. Remus and Caighlynne were both looking very worried and pale, whilst staring open-mouthed at each other. Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Dean were all exchanging confused glances, as were Tonks, Charlie, and the tall, dark haired woman they were with. Ali and Harry, who appeared to be the only ones with a clue what was going on, were looking around uncomfortably.
"Harry," Ali whispered urgently, "I think we should get out of here, that man, Remus, and my aunt…"
Harry cut her off, "I know," noting her surprised glance he added "Sirius told me"
"Ah," she replied, "but seriously I do think we should leave them alone, they have a lot to catch up on, "
"Yeah," said Harry, "Ok, you take these guys back to the common room, I'll go tell Tonks and Charlie"
Ali nodded, casting a worried glance over to her aunt who was yet to move after seeing Remus.
Harry skirted round the edge of the couple that were still gaping at each other to get to Tonks and Charlie. When he reached them they were looking extremely confused.
"Harry, what's…" Charlie started, exasperated,
"I don't really know what's going on with them, but I do know that they should get some privacy…they have a lot to catch up on…um…we're all going to bed, but I dunno what you guys want to do…" Harry interrupted him
"Well, we have to see Dumbledore…but so does Remus…" Charlie continued with concerned looks over towards him
"They don't look in any fit state to talk to each other" commented the dark haired stranger that was standing next to Tonks.
"Yeah," agreed Tonks, "maybe we should take Remus with us; they can always catch up tomorrow…"
"I s'pose" agreed Harry, noticing that both Remus and Caighlynne were still staring at each other in silence, it seemed neither of them could manage to speak. "Sorry, but who are you?" Harry suddenly blurted after studying the stranger for a few seconds,
"My name is Trisana Fiorn" she replied her face remaining expressionless, "I assume you're Harry Potter?"
"Uh, yeah" said Harry awkwardly, "nice to meet you"
"And you"
"So um, are you guys going to take Remus to see Dumbledore then?" Harry continued, through a stifled yawn,
"I think it would be for the best" said Charlie, Tonks and Trisana nodded in agreement,
"Ok, well, we're off to bed, I guess I'll see you around"
"Yeah, night Harry!" called Tonks as he headed back to Ali, who to his surprise was still there,
"I thought you were going to the common room?" he asked
"Mmm, we decided to wait" she said with a smile, that lessened Harry's concerns dramatically,
Harry smiled back, "are we going back to the common room then?"
Ali reluctantly looked over at her aunt, who, even though Remus was gone, still looked shocked, "I think I should maybe go and talk to her for a bit, though I don't know what I'll say, I mean I don't know that much about Remus other than that they used to date…"
Harry nodded sympathetically, "Or" he said, as an idea sprang to mind, "we could take her to see Sirius – he knows both of them a lot better than either of us"
Ali smiled, "that's a good idea, but won't he mind being woken in the middle of the night?"
Harry thought about it for a second, "Nah, I doubt it, from what he told me, they used to be best friends – surely that comes first?"
"Yeah, I guess", she still looked dubious about the idea though,
"I could go up first to make sure he's awake – and let you talk to your aunt if you like?" added Harry
"Yeah, that would be great Harry" she smiled, and leaned over and kissed him lightly, then headed over to her aunt,
Harry smiled to himself as he headed towards Sirius' room to wake him up. He got to the portrait which was still a phoenix and let himself in.
"Sirius?" he called, heading towards the bedroom, "Sirius!"
"Wha?" a muffled cry came from behind the door,
"Sirius, it's Harry, I need to talk to you" he called out, whilst taking a seat
Sirius appeared at his bedroom doorway, wearing only blue pyjama trousers, his long hair mussed up, and his usually bright eyes clouded with sleep, "Harry? What are you doing here at this time?" he asked stifling a yawn "is everything okay?"
"With me, yes, with Professor Danson, no"
"What?" asked Sirius concernedly, taking a seat next to Harry, "start from the beginning"
"Well, we had just finished Defence Club, and were leaving the hall with Professor Danson when we heard voices, so we all drew our wands before going through the door, when we got there we saw it was Tonks, some woman called Trisana, Charlie Weasley and Remus. Professor Danson and Remus just stood staring at each other for what seemed like forever. Eventually Charlie, Tonks and Trisana took Remus away but Danson, still looked really pale. Ali was going to talk to her, but she didn't really know what to say…and since you two used to be such good friends we thought you might deal with it slightly better. So, um, Ali and Danson are on their way here, I hope you don't mind." Harry explained quickly
Sirius, rubbed his tired eyes in an attempt to take it all in. "No, I don't mind,"
Harry smiled at him, just then the portrait swung open to reveal Ali, who couldn't help but stare at the half-naked Sirius facing her, and Caighlynne, who was looking slightly better than before, but still not great.
Sirius stood up and walked over to her, "Caigh, are you okay?"
She nodded slightly, but the tears were already beginning to fall,
"Ssh, it's okay," comforted Sirius as he hugged her, and gestured to Ali and Harry to go,
Ali gave Sirius a last approving glance as she moved towards the portrait hole, Harry close behind her,
"Well that was an unexpected turn of events," he commented, seeing as he had nothing better to say,
"I know…I wish that hadn't upset Caighlynne so much" said Ali, a sad smile crossing her face,
"Don't worry, it was just a shock, I mean she loves Remus right? So it has to be a good thing that she's seen him, she just needs to get used to it. Anyway she's with Sirius now, and if anyone can cheer her up it's him."
"I s'pose" conceded Ali, yawning, "god, I'm tired"
"Me too," said Harry after he finished a yawn of his own, "I guess our duel earlier tired me out" he added with a mischievous smile
"I guess so" she replied, "We really should get some sleep just now, after all we're going to Hogsmede tomorrow, and I've never seen it, it won't be any fun if we're falling asleep!"
"Mm hmm" Harry murmured as they made their way into Griffindor tower, and he pulled Ali into a hug, their faces inches from each other, "I can't wait"
"Me either" she replied as she leaned in to kiss him
"Night Ali" Harry said when they finally pulled apart,
"Night Harry" she replied, heading towards the girls dormitory. When she reached the stairs she turned round to find Harry watching her, and blew him a kiss before she rounded the corner and went to bed.
Harry grinned as he saw her disappear, and continued to do so until he fell asleep.
****************************************************************************************************************
The next morning Harry, Ron and Dean spent much more time than usual getting ready, after all Hogsmede trips were one of the few times they could have proper 'dates' and they wanted to look good. Dean and Ron were standing in front of the mirror trying to style their hair while Harry – who had long since given up even trying to tame his – was searching for the few items of clothing he had that actually fitted him. Eventually he found a pair of baggy jeans, and a plain white t-shirt, and he pulled them on followed by his robes.
When Ron decided his hair looked good enough, he pulled on similar jeans to Harry's and a red jumper. Dean also decided on jeans, but with a black t-shirt. All three boys studied their reflections for several minutes before heading to the common room to meet the girls.
They made their way down to the common room feeling inexplicably nervous; they saw these girls every day, why should this be any different? None of them could answer that question, and their nerves only increased when they sat down in the common room waiting for the girls to arrive.
The few minutes felt like years to the waiting boys, but eventually, when the girls did decide to show up, there was the unspoken feeling that it had been worth the wait.
Hermione, Ali and Ginny all looked fantastic; but then again in the eyes of their boyfriends they always did. Harry had gotten to his feet and moved over towards Ali without fully realising what he was doing; Ali looked incredible, though her outfit was casual. She wore low-hung, black, flared trousers, with a bright pink, slit-neck top, that showed off the tips of her shoulders and her prominent collar bone perfectly. She didn't wear lots of make-up; she didn't need to, only a touch of eyeliner and mascara to compliment her stunning eyes, and a little lip-gloss to accentuate her lips. Her long, thick, black, wavy hair was pulled to the left of her head and tied at her neck with a matching pink ribbon.
Harry's eyes thirstily drank in the vision in front of him, and he smiled eagerly at Ali, "You ready to go?"
She grinned inwardly at his reaction, "Yep"
Harry reached our his arm and feigned seriousness, "Then let us go my lady"
She giggled, and swatted his arm playfully, but took his arm nonetheless and the group happily made their way out of the castle.
"So what are everyone's plans for today?" Hermione asked curiously,
"Well, I was going to show Ali around Hogsmede" Harry said with a slight blush,
Hermione barely noticed as she nodded in reply, "Ok, how about we all meet for lunch in the Three Broomsticks?"
"Ooh, good idea" enthused Ginny, while Dean, Harry and Ali murmured their agreement.
"Ok, so we'll all meet there at one?"
"Sounds good" agreed Harry, who was then distracted by Ali who was tapping his arm impatiently, while stealing glances out of the window,
"Is this Hogsmede?" she asked, and Harry leaned over her to check – though where else they would be he didn't know-
"Yeah" he looked round at her, "you looking forward to today?"
She grinned in response, "definitely!"
He smiled back at her as they left the carriage. They waved to the others and headed into the village.
Harry showed Ali all of his favourite shops including Honeyduke's and Zonko's; both of them making several purchases in each. Harry was amazed by how happy just walking around shops with Ali could make him; she was definitely different to Cho, then everything had been so difficult and forced. With Ali it was easy and comfortable, even if neither of them had anything to say they were happy just to be in each others company.
"Hey, Harry?" said Ali, breaking the amiable silence, "I'm really thirsty, could we go somewhere to get a drink?"
"Of course" Harry replied, looking down warmly at her, "What time is it anyway?"
"It's quarter to one" she replied after consulting her watch,
Harry looked at her in disbelief; several hours had passed already? "We should be going to meet Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Dean anyway"
"Oh yeah" she said eyes twinkling mischievously, "I had completely forgotten about them"
Harry raised his eyebrows questioningly,
"I would've been quite happy to spend the whole day all alone with you too" she
continued,
"Well" remarked Harry quickly with a grin, "we don't have to meet the others"
"Oh it's too late now" she replied innocently, "you've already reminded me"
"Damn," he murmured, pulling her closer to him "next time I have you all to myself I'm gonna make sure it stays that way okay?"
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and kissed him lightly, then she quickly turned and tugged his robes, "Now come on, is the Three Broomsticks this way?"
"Mm hmm" muttered Harry who was still recovering from their kiss, as he stumbled after her.
Upon arrival at the Three Broomsticks Harry and Ali found Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Dean already gathered around a table with two spare Butterbeers waiting for them. Harry slid into his seat and thirstily drank his Butterbeer as Ali did the same.
"No need to ask what you two have been up to all morning then, eh?" remarked Ron with a smirk,
Harry blushed slightly, but Ali simply replied, "Nope, guess not" her eyes shining
The rest of the group chuckled appreciatively and settled into conversation. The plates arrived piled with delicious food, and left without a crumb on them, everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal, and had moved on to discussing how to spend the rest of the afternoon.
"I did notice a few new clothes shops that had opened" said Ginny hopefully,
"Ooh, yes those did look nice" added Ali, as Hermione also nodded her approval,
All three boys looked around nervously; none of them particularly wanted to go shopping.
Ali noticed the glances, and seeing as she didn't really want to drag Harry somewhere he didn't want to go, she suggested an alternative, "Well, us girls could go there, and we could meet you guys before we head back to school if you prefer"
Harry looked at her gratefully, "that would be brilliant"
The other two guys emphatically nodded, and their girlfriends reluctantly agreed. Everyone got up to go after chipping in for the bill, and Harry quickly kissed Ali before she walked off with the girls,
"See you later" he called after her
"Bye!" she called back,
"So what do you guys want to do now?" Harry asked,
"I dunno" said Dean while Ron shrugged,
"Well, um, "started Harry, slightly embarrassed, "I kind of want to get Ali something, I mean she did get us out of a tough spot in there."
"Yeah, I suppose" conceded Ron, "What are you gonna get her?"
"I have no idea" Harry replied wistfully,
"Oh, there's a little jewellery shop just along the road, you could find something there" remarked Dean,
Both Harry and Ron shot him enquiring glances,
"What?" he said, "Ginny dragged me in earlier, speaking of which," a thoughtful look crossed his face, "maybe I should get her something too"
Ron looked pleased with the idea, "yeah, and I could get something for Hermione too"
And with that they set off to the jewellers.
After only a few minutes in the shop Harry found the perfect gift for Ali. It was a silver chain with a silver pendant attached; the pendant was some sort of symbol with an amethyst –that would perfectly complement Ali's eyes -set into it. Harry couldn't explain exactly why he thought it would be so perfect until the shopkeeper explained that the pendant was an ancient symbol for air; the element Ali had told him she was closest to.
Ron had found a charm bracelet that was supposed to promote good mental health –"perfect for Hermione" he remarked, and Dean had bought Ginny an intricate Celtic style bracelet she had been admiring earlier.
All feeling extremely pleased with their purchases the exited the shop.
As they were leaving Harry got a very uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach; it was completely irrational but he felt like there was something awful waiting for them on the other side of the door. And he was right; they opened the door to reveal a group of Death Eaters descending on the town.
"Run!" he yelled to Ron and Dean, but there was no need as they were already doing so, diving for cover behind some trees.
Back at Hogwarts…
Remus had just left Sirius' room when he walked into Caighlynne, who had evidently been seeing Dumbledore. "Caighlynne" he began, unsure of what to say, "I'm sorry about last night, it was just a bit of a shock to see you that's all"
She nodded, "I'm sorry too, Remus I owe you an explanation, and this isn't the place for you to hear it, will you come back to my office?"
"Of course" he agreed, though she could see in his eyes how much he'd been hurt; she desperately hoped hers didn't give so much away.
Once they were seated in her office, she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep hold of the tears that were welling up inside her, "Remus, I've missed you so much" she declared throwing her arms around him, he warmly returned the embrace, but cut it short after a few moments.
"I missed you too Caigh, but you need to tell me why I had to"
She looked up at him, acknowledging the suffering she'd caused and sat down gesturing for him to so the same. She took a deep breath and began to explain.
Once she had finished she fought back the urge to cry and looked at Remus, "I couldn't get in touch when I came back, what if you had met someone else? Remus it almost killed me losing you the first time, I don't think I could've done it again"
He nodded, tears forming in his own eyes; something that rarely happened, as a werewolf he was more used to dealing with pain and anguish than most people and was exceptionally good at hiding it. This time though, he just didn't want to. "I know Caigh, but you have to understand this; there could never be anyone else, not ever"
She saw the love and desire in his eyes, and knew that hers would echo those feelings. She leaned over and kissed him, softly at first, but he kissed her back, harder, more passionately.
When they broke apart she was gasping for breath, "I love you Remus" she whispered,
"And I you, Caighlynne" he replied, and he leaned over to kiss her again,
"Remus! Caighlynne!" a desperate shout from the doorway interrupted them, "There's Death Eater's in Hogsmede!"
Both Remus and Caighlynne leapt to their feet immediately, to see a panicked looking McGonagall facing them, "Well come on" she cried, "You need to get down there at once!"
Both of them exchanged determined glances and set off for the village at once, meeting most of the teachers, Tonks, and Trisana on the way.
Harry was surveying the scene unfolding in front of him; students were panicking but luckily there weren't many on the streets at least in shops there would be some adults who could help defend them. The Death Eaters were focussing on the main square in front of the Three Broomsticks, probably because that's where most people were. Unfortunately that square lay directly between the boys and the school, and though they were hidden for the time being it was unlikely to last.
"Harry, Ron, look!" whispered Dean anxiously pointing towards the school, from which a hoard of teachers could be seen descending on the village.
"Thank god" muttered Ron
"Look out" cried Harry, as he saw two Death Eaters break off from the main group and head towards them, "Fiducia Protegge!" he muttered pointing to himself and he heard both Ron and Dean do the same,
"On three?" he confirmed, as he raised his wand and watched his friends do the same,
"Stupefy!" yelled Harry, and a red flash of light burst from his wand, hitting one of the unsuspecting Death Eaters square on the chest,
Just as Ron's "Petrificus Totalus" hit the other.
The teachers were now in the village, amongst the Death Eater's fighting them off, shouting for the students to go back to the school whenever they had a chance.
Harry looked round at Ron and Dean, the question obvious to all of them- should they go back to school? Just then Harry noticed another two Death Eaters heading down a side street; the same side street as most of the clothes shops where located on and no-one was following them.
"Ron, Dean!" he cried urgently, "look," he pointed out the Death Eaters, "the girls are down there!"
The boy's faces set in determination as they scrambled to their feet and sped after the Death Eaters. When they got to the end of the street they paused observing their opponents. The Death Eaters looked around, and moved to enter one of the shops, when they did a faint squeal of surprise was heard.
"Ginny!" shouted all three boys at the same time, as they took off down the alleyway. None of them were thinking clearly, none of them had a clue what they were doing; the only thing they knew was that their friends were in danger, and somehow they had to stop that.
They burst through the door to find a duel taking place; Death Eaters hiding behind some clothes rails, the girls behind others. Harry was surprised to note that Luna Lovegood had joined the trio they expected to find. His surprise lasted just too long and allowed one of the Death Eaters the chance to fire a 'Crucio' at him, while Ron and Dean were diving out of the way. The shield he still had up meant that he didn't feel the full effects of the curse but he still felt enough to make him scream out in pain.
That scream was more than Ali could bear; she leapt from her hiding place, collided with Harry, and set them both flying to the ground beside Luna, out of the Death Eaters range while sending a 'Neocroi!" at the Death Eater that had cursed Harry, knocking them out and freeing Harry from the curse. The other Death Eater realising how outnumbered they were lunged towards Harry, Ali and Luna while pointing their wand at themselves and apparating away, Harry felt a pull at the bottom of his leg but yanked it away in time. However Luna was not to be so lucky; she was gone.
The six friends exchanged worried glances 'what should they do now?'
"I think we should get back to the school" said Hermione, making use of her calm logic
The others nodded dumbstruck and made to exit the shop, wands drawn, they looked up and down the alley and it looked all clear so they cautiously made their way back towards the main square, they were pleased to note that the last of the Death Eaters were disapparating, obviously outnumbered by the teachers and –looking at the crowd – aurors.
The pleasure was not to last however, as suddenly the atmosphere became hideous, cold, chilling, and depressing, the group of friends turned to see another group of black hooded figures approaching them; suddenly they wished the Death Eaters were back.
****************************************************************************************************************
Hi everyone!
Well that was kind of a cliffy, but not really, I mean we all know what's approaching right?
School holiday this week and you'll be glad to know I've put a lot of work into the story over the past few days! Not only did I get this chapter done early, but I've also made up a basic outline of the plot, so I know roughly how long it's going to be, and what's going to happen. I'd say we're just about half-way through, but don't worry the second half is much more action-packed!
Anyway, as always I hope you enjoyed the latest instalment-which would have been up sooner if not for technical difficulties-, and I hope to hear from you all soon!
Replies:-
Hplova4eva - *grins* It's such an inspiration to know people are so interested in my writing – thanks for the support!
Kyntor – Wow, I appreciate all the effort you've put into reviewing the story, and will try and address all of your points.
- Yes, the Death Eater scene in chapter 6 is awful, I agree. I have considered going back to fix it…but I dunno, maybe I will someday. Thanks for pointing it out though.
- Now about the Fidelius charm – we don't know all the facts about it do we? My theory is that Wormtail could have snuck back with Remus or one of the kids as a rat – hidden in their robes or something. How could the charm stop that, because he was already there he wouldn't have to find it as such. Maybe I'm wrong and this couldn't have happened – but for the purpose of the story let's say it can. *smiles hopefully*
- Okay, the main thing to address here is it's not exactly the same club. It has the same ideas but has been set up by Dumbledore to help out all the students. I realise I have probably confused the issue by calling it the D.A. and have decided to call it the defence club instead (yes, I will go back to correct it). Now about Harry – I don't think he's regressed – just because he's not showing his new-found leadership skills doesn't mean he doesn't still posses them! Anyway I think being quidditch captain brings out those skills in itself. However – anyone reading this that doesn't want to see a spoiler look away now – I do have plans for Harry to re-establish the old D.A. for reasons that will be disclosed later. And he will once again be in charge!
-Anyway thanks again for the brilliant reviews, they mean a lot!
Manga-lunatic – I'm so glad you like it – Ali's become a favourite of mine too! I hadn't really planned for her to be so involved – but she fought her way in! Anyway, hope you keep reading and reviewing! :D
