CHAPTER ONE- Emptiness
Emptiness. It filled the house and the people in it. There was seven though there should have been eight. At night, just before going to sleep, you could hear muffled sobs from any of the rooms. It was very hard to decide who the saddest person in the house was. It was a close contest between Mrs. Molly Weasley, and Harry Potter.
Harry lie in the room, staring at the ceiling with blurry eyes. His blurry vision was due to one of two things. One, his glasses were off. And two, he had been crying and was still. Above he could see orange blurs zipping around the ceiling and walls. Beside him, a snowy owl was settled, trying to cheer him up. She kept nudging him and clicking her beak.
In another part the room was an extremely downhearted feathered tennis ball with a beak. It was really a minute owl. Pigwidgeon (Or Pig, for short) sat at the bottom of his cage, sighing and hardly moving.
There was a gentle knock on the door and a young, slender and extremely beautiful girl entered. Her flaming red hair curved under her chin, framing her sweet, innocent face. She had bright brown eyes, many freckles and a slender yet curvy body. She was wearing baggy denim jeans and a black top. Ever since IT happened, she always wore something black.
"Harry?" She asked, holding a tray of food.
Harry blinked and turned his head towards her. ". what." He croaked from a dry throat.
"You need to eat. Drink. At least get out of bed." She said, setting the tray by the bed.
"I'm not hungry. I'm not thirsty. And I don't feel like moving."
"Harry you haven't eaten anything since that piece of toast yesterday morning. And you haven't had anything to drink except for half glass of water last night." She said, spying a half-drunk glass of water. She quickly exchanged it with a full glass. "and you haven't gotten out of that bed except to go to the bathroom. yesterday!"
"I said I'm not hungry, I'm not thirsty, and I don't feel like moving." Harry said, staring back at the ceiling.
"MUM!" Ginny Weasley suddenly screeched causing Harry to jerk. "HE WON'T EAT OR DRINK OR MOVE!"
There was the sound of pattering feet then Mrs. Weasley appeared. "Harry, dear, you need to." She said, blinking away her tears.
"I don't feel like it." He managed.
Molly crossed the room, stabbed a piece of meat with the fork and shoved it in Harry's mouth. "You eat or else!" She snapped.
Harry chewed and swallowed, then sat up. "I really don't feel like-" Molly forced some potato in his mouth. She glared at him and he chewed and swallowed. "I know you want me to but I don't wan-" Molly forced some cooked carrot in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. "this is-" Molly forced-fed him until the plate was completely clean. He was already beginning to get color in his cheek already. Molly then forced a small glass of water into his mouth followed by a large glass of milk.
"Are you quite done?" He asked as she wiped his mouth off with a napkin.
"Ginny, leave us. I need to talk to Harry alone."
"Okay, mum." Ginny said and left.
Molly sat down beside Harry, and gently put an arm around him, embracing him like a mother would. "Harry. you can't blame yourself. I don't want to see you malnourished or dehydrating yourself or beating yourself up." She said and Harry felt like crying again. "I miss him. we all do but. Ron wouldn't want you to starve or thirst. Would he?" She asked and Harry slowly shook his head. "Ron would want you to continue your life. and not sink into an incurable state of depression. Right?"
"Y-yeah." Harry managed.
"Good. if you need anything. I'll be here for you." Molly gently kissed his forehead and left.
***
The sun beat down on the figures of two, stretched out in the grass and talking happily. A third figure sulked under a tree, trying to avoid the heat of the sun.
"Draco come on. You're not a vampire." Fourteen year old Jasmine Potter said, looking at her scowling boyfriend.
"Maybe he is." Suggested Jasmine's close friend, Matthew Green. "Yep. He is. He's been hiding it from you."
"Oh shut up." Draco snapped, arms folded. "I am not coming out of the shade."
"Oh yes, heaven FORBID you lose your nice tan." Matt said.
Sixteen year old Draco Malfoy, a small, extremely pale boy with silvery blonde hair, looked hard at Matt. "Watch it, Green. I've already started studying ahead for my human transfigurations and you might wake up as a nice lizard one morning."
"Draco!" Jasmine snapped rather angrily. "we do NOT threaten to turn my best friends into reptiles."
"How about a frog then? Hey! Those aren't reptiles!" Draco said as Jasmine scowled at him.
"You KNOW what I meant."
"Yeah, Drakie. You know what she meant." Matt said.
Draco leapt to his feet and aimed his wand. "Homo Switchus bison bison!" He shouted. Matt fell back against the ground and grew a pair of huge horns and his hair turned a deep brown.
"DRACO!" Jasmine screamed.
"I'm sorry I just couldn't take it." Draco said, putting his wand up.
"Magic isn't allowed out of Hogwarts." Jasmine said, looking at a bewildered half-bison half-Matt.
"We're not in England now, are we?" Draco drawled out.
"And why would you turn him into a bison?!" Jasmine demanded, trying to think of a counter-spell.
"It was the only Latin name of an animal I could think of." He said, gray eyes wide with innocence.
"Wipe that look off your face. okay I can't think of anything- MOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!" Jasmine screeched.
Mrs. Eleanor Ebbins ran from the house. "What on earth are you screeching at, dear- oh my!" Eleanor stared at Matt then looked at Draco who was putting his wand up. She didn't really like that odd boy much. She often wondered why her beautiful daughter chose a boy like HIM to be a couple. Jasmine was one of the prettiest girls in the world. Her deep red hair flowed down to halfway between her shoulders and elbows. In light, it glinted beautifully. Her face was oval, her eyes a deep, deep brown. A couple inches shorter then Draco, and she was slender and curvy. 'Oh well.' Eleanor thought. 'At least she is happy.' "Come on, Matt. I'll get you fixed up." Eleanor and Matt went inside. Jasmine turned angrily towards Draco. "Jasmine. please stop glaring at me like that."
"Okay I'll stop glaring. but no more kisses today because of what you did." She said.
Draco started scowling again.
***
Despite his sad state, Harry had to laugh at the letter from his sister. At Malfoy trying to turn Matt into a bison.
I can wait to get back in England in two weeks. I really miss you, Harry. And Hermione and Peggy. I got a letter from Hermione the other day. She seems to really, really be enjoying her time with Viktor Krum. Nearly as much as I enjoy spending time with Draco. Harry. I know you scorn him but please try and be nice to him when we come. please. I'm begging you.
Love always,
Jasmine
Harry folded the paper up, wrote a reply back and sent it back with Toby, Jasmine's red-tailed hawk she used instead of the usual owls.
The previous year, Harry and Jasmine had met for the first time since they were babies. They were long-lost brother and sister. Jasmine had found out the truth, they had met and discovered it was all true. They're close relationship had threatened to tear when Jasmine started dating Harry's bitter rival, ruthless opponent and mortal enemy- Draco Malfoy. There were threats and so Jasmine had secretly dated Draco. But Harry had found out but knew he couldn't break the two up.
Harry walked over to the window and looked outside.
In the garden below, were four red-heads. Two pairs of identical twins. One pair were two trouble-making boys. Fred and George Weasley, who had just graduated Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The second pair were two trouble-making girls. Frederika and Georgette Halls. They had transferred to Hogwarts the previous year and had also graduated. Fred and Georgette were dating, and George and Frederika were dating. The four of them had just opened a joke shop with Lee Jordan, Fred and George's best friend. Molly had made no protest at this. And Harry knew it was only because of Ron.
Harry leaned against the windowsill. Ron Weasley. Closing his eyes, he could easily see his best friend in the entire world. or. his old best friend.
Less then two months prior. Ron had been killed. saving Harry's life.
"Harry.?" He turned and saw Percy standing on the other side of the door, adjusting his glasses.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"Letter for you." He said and handed over a letter.
"Thanks Percy." Harry said in a rather hollow voice.
Percy just nodded and left quickly. He could not go inside of Ron's old room. He hated even being near the door. He was the only one who had not gone inside the room since Ron's death.
Harry was quite the opposite. He had hardly left Ron's room since he had arrived back at the Burrow.
With his only living relatives (minus Jasmine) hospitalized, and his godfather disappeared plus an indicted murderer of thirteen people, Harry had no where else to go.
Jasmine was in America with the family that had adopted her.
Hermione Granger, his other best friend, was in Bulgaria visiting Viktor Krum.
Harry thought of Peggy Morlins. He didn't know WHAT to think of her. when he had found someone close to him was a servant of Voldemort. after a while the finger of suspicion fell on Peggy.
Sirius Black (His godfather), who was an unregistered Animagus, had acted extremely strange when they had met in Hogsmeade one evening. and Peggy acted equally odd. Then she 'had' gotten a note that 'said' 'Master wants you right away'. And she disappeared from the school.
But then the traitor had been discovered to be somebody else. And then when Harry, Ron, Hermione, Jasmine and Sirius were in a cave, face-to-face with Voldemort and three of his Death Eaters (two which died). Peggy had 'appeared'. She was obviously going to fight Voldemort. but Voldemort sent the Death Curse at Harry and Disapparated. That was when Ron had shoved Harry out of the way and was hit with the Death Curse.
Peggy had paralyzed Wormtail- a lying, stinking, treacherous Wizard who was the reason Harry and Jasmine's parents were dead and Sirius was an indicted murderer. Then after talking to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, Sirius had taken Wormtail (whose real name was Peter Pettigrew) to what Dumbledore had said was 'headquarters'. Then Peggy left.
She appeared a few days later (with straight hair and glasses) and insisted that she had never done any of that and the note had really said her aunt had been attacked. She also insisted the other one was a plant and denied everything. And since the girl didn't look exactly like her, she insisted it must of been someone who looked like her with no glasses and curly hair.
Nonetheless, Harry didn't completely trust her.
***
The Stone was nestled there. not yet detected by Harry. It had been two weeks and he hadn't even begun to clean out his trunks.
Inside the Stone, though invisible on the outside, a white spirit floated.
Waiting..
*** (Sirius's point of view)
I was stretched out on the most comfortable bed in the entire earth. Thinking about that. I laughed. "In the earth." I mumbled to myself and began laughing again. "BBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKK!"
I fell of the bed and landed on the floor with a very loud 'thud' at the voice of HIM. I scowled, rather upset over being disturbed. In the first time for a while, I was quite comfortable. The beds here were like heaven. no bed, even with all the magic making it soft, could simply not COMPETE! The beds just seemed to be the exactness of what you need to get an absolute perfect night of sleep. It was just total-
"BLAAAAAAAAAAAACK! SIRIUS BLACK!"
I ran my fingers through my long, yet brushed and neat, hair. "Yeah?"
"GET IN MY OFFICE RIGHT AWAY!" And HIS voice fell silent.
"In his office yeah I'll give him in his office." I grumbled angrily, grabbing my cloak and card, and left my perfect room.
The corridor was extremely long. The floor was tiled white and silver. The walls were smooth and creamy. My boots echoed down the empty corridor as I walked forward.
"Hullo Sirius." A woman with hair like the moon passed me.
"Hello Cassandra." I managed without wincing or cringing. No one liked to talk to Cassandra. oh no. not her. She paused and looked at me with silvery blue eyes that slowly began turning pure silver. I jumped back. "I gotta go!" I turned and ran down the hall as fast as I could.
Cassandra watched the future like Muggles watched TV. And when her eyes turned silver and she was looking at you. well that meant she was seeing your future and 99% of the time she told you what she had seen. And that could really mess a person up.
I finally reached an ebony door and opened it. Behind it was a small room where a witch typed furiously on a magical typewriter.
"Hello Mr. Black." She looked up at me and slid her cat-eye glasses back up. "He will see you in just a moment if you will please have a seat."
I sat down on the over-stuffed leather couch, watching the witch. She must of been the height of Harry. Her gray-brown hair was pulled tightly in a bun on the back of the top of her head. Her skin was smooth and fair. She had bright brown eyes behind thick-rimmed cat-eye glasses. She was wearing a pink blouse, gray skirt and matching gray jacket as well as four-inch high heeled pink shoes.
"Long time no see, eh?" I asked, looking around the waiting room.
"Trust me, Mr. Black. Not long enough." She mumbled, eyes focused on what she was typing. Amelia Walitza could type exactly nine hundred and thirty- two words a minute. She often tried breaking her record. She once nearly got nine hundred and thirty-three, but the minute was up before she could finish the word 'yours'.
The large mahogany door burst open and a very distressed wizard left. He spotted me and sighed. "Good luck, Sirius. he's in a foul, foul mood."
"What, is he doing the Chicken Dance?" I asked.
Amelia burst into giggles and the wizard, Carlton by name, shook his head. "You're never going to change, are you?" He asked.
"I hope not." I said with a wide grin.
Carlton left and I went in, winking at Amelia on the way. "You wanted to see me boss?" I asked. The large maroon chair had its back to me, but I could see HIS hand rested on the arm. I could see a bit of gray sleeve from his suit, white cuffs and his claw-like hand. His fingers tapped against the wood at the end of the armrest, fingernails making a 'tapping' sound.
"It took you long enough, Black." Came the cold voice of HIM. I didn't know his real name. I always called him 'HIM' or Sir.
"I ran into Cassandra on the way." I said, not bothering to point out the fact he was in a meeting with Carlton when I had arrived.
"You know why I called you?" Sir asked.
"Uh. to cheer you up?" I asked brightly.
The maroon chair swirled around and his steel gray eyes glared at me. "You failed to get the Stone of Power!" He shouted and I leapt back.
"Hey! It is NOT my fault!"
"Yes it is! You are TOO soft on that boy. Being friends with his father was a mistake." He growled.
"James was a great man." I said, narrowing my eyes. "and Harry's best friend had just DIED!!!! He was kind of in SHOCK!"
"Don't you dare scream at me." He said, raising a hand. A long, thin bony finger pointed at me.
"Sheesh, sir. You act like the world is on the verge of a Muggle-Wizard war." I said, folding my arms.
"I just want Voldemort down. he nearly got the Philosopher/Sorcerer's stone. and he could of gotten the Stone of Power." Sir said. "we must get it and destroy it."
"What if it has a spirit in it?" I asked.
"That does not matter. We MUST destroy the Stone so Voldemort cannot get it." Sir continued, and began searching through his desk. He raised a claw- like hand which gripped his wand. Waving it, a teapot appeared as well as two saucers and cups. "Would you like some?"
"Oh yes, sir. It would be lovely if I. could have. a cup. of. TEA!" I shrieked. Sir narrowed his eyes and waved his wand. The teapot tipped and poured tea in the cups then settled on the desk as one cup and saucer flew to him and the other to me.
I caught it and gulped half down with one gulp while he slowly sipped his. "So what you are saying is. we must destroy the Stone even if it has a spirit in it. without trying to get the spirit out and give that person another chance at life?" I asked.
"Black." Sir set his cup of tea down. "it is the person's fault for being greedy and having the Stone with him or her in the first place."
"If that is the way you feel then I won't find out where Harry has so cleverly hidden the Stone." I finished my tea and let the cup and saucer clank down on his desk. "good day." I walked out and looked at Amelia. "What did he want?"
"Trying to rise up in here like always." I said with a shrug. "if he doesn't watch out, he'll end up as Crouch did."
"Crouch?" Amelia asked, adjusting her glasses. "the man from the English Ministry of Magic? The one who sent you to Azkaban without a trial?"
"The one and the same." I said and slowly shook my head. "Sir and Crouch are too much alike for my liking. good day, Amelia."
"Bye Sirius." She giggled as I left.
*** (Harry's point of view)
A beautiful tawny owl floated through Ron's open window and dropped a letter in my lap. It took a quick drink of water, before leaving again.
Frowning, I opened the letter. I recognized Sirius's handwriting right away.
Dear Harry,
I just thought I should tell you that I am perfectly fine. I'm safe and Wormtail will be on trial soon. As in, I'll be proven innocent. Wormtail is locked up somewhere where he cannot escape, even if he turned into a puff of steam. Heh, heh. I can tell you ONE thing- he is getting very crazy. Keeps yelling that we'll get our 'comeuppance' and that 'the dark lord will kill us all and have his revenge'. He keeps trying to make it sound like a prediction/prophesy thing but there are plenty of experts who can tell the real thing from what Wormtail is doing.
Anyway. don't bother to write back. I'll send you an update as soon as anything happens.
Sirius
I reread the letter over many times then frowned. 'Don't bother to write back'. sighing, I folded the paper and tucked it in my robes.
*** (Sirius's point of view. again)
I walked down the corridor, muttering angrily to myself. Sir had called me in to demand I write to Harry and find out where the Stone was hidden. I wrote to Harry, all right. but certainly didn't ask him where he concealed the Stone.
"Ziriuz?" I looked up as Claire Clavell appeared.
"Yeah, Claire?" I asked.
"Don't let Zir get to 'oo. He ees a thick-headed dolt." She said in her French accent.
"I know. is that all you wanted?"
The 19-year old girl tucked a strand of white-blonde hair behind her ear. "Oui. Monsieur Jones would like to seeee 'oo."
"Thanks." I said.
"Eet iz being nothing." She said and floated off.
I went the corridors, going through various doors, until finally I got to Mr. Jones door. It was just like him- bland. My hand fell on the doorknob, and I opened.
His front office was NOTHING like sir's. Jones's secretary was about my height with curly blandish brown hair, tan skin and bright blue eyes. She wasn't as good as a typist as Amelia, but Jessica Fins made up for it with genius. There was not a dictionary or thesaurus to be found in the room. The room, in fact, was empty except for the desk and a filing cabinet.
"Go on in, Mr. Black." Jessica said, eyes closed and obviously thinking.
I walked into Mr. Jones office. He was staring out his window and shaking. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Jones?" I asked.
Mr. Jones turned. He was unlike any other man I had ever met before. A tall, thin man whose small, thin face was very plain and bland. He was a very bland man, wearing very bland clothes. His dull brown eyes watched me as I shut the door.
"Hello Mr. Black." He said in his voice so bland, and way of talking so slow, it would of put Professor Binns to shame if he went for the History of Magic teacher's job at Hogwarts. Really when he said something more than three sentences long I found myself feeling quite drowsy.
"Hi Mr. Jones." I said.
"Have a seat."
I sat down in a chair (another difference between him and Sir. Sir didn't allow anyone but himself to sit in his office) and Mr. Jones sat in his bland chair. "I wanted to talk to you about Mr. Peter Pettigrew." Jones talked slowly and blandly.
"Okay." I said.
"He gave us a confession after we gave him the Veritaserum potion. though we already knew you were innocent. but some didn't. But now we got everyone. You got the entire place to back you." I rested my elbow on my leg, on my other hand, and my chin on my fist, trying not to fall asleep. "we'll be sending a letter to the English Minister of. oh wait. there is no Minister of Magic in England right now. oh dear. I suppose I'll have to write to One of the TOP. Miss Fins." He called and Jessica ran in. I fell asleep as Jones told Jessica what to write in the letter.
***
Harry paced in Ron's room, not wanting to do anything. Suddenly he heard a strange noise behind him. Slowly turning, he saw his trunk lid slowly opening. Figuring it was the Weasley's ghoul being invisible, he shrugged it off.
Suddenly Harry began breathing hard as the tiny blue stone floated out of his trunk, and landed on the floor.
It rolled over and stopped at his feet. Harry stooped down and picked it up. The last time he had held the Stone it felt like a regular stone. but now it was pulsating with a life.
A. life?
Harry nearly dropped the Stone which held a life force inside of it.
Ron's life force.
Emptiness. It filled the house and the people in it. There was seven though there should have been eight. At night, just before going to sleep, you could hear muffled sobs from any of the rooms. It was very hard to decide who the saddest person in the house was. It was a close contest between Mrs. Molly Weasley, and Harry Potter.
Harry lie in the room, staring at the ceiling with blurry eyes. His blurry vision was due to one of two things. One, his glasses were off. And two, he had been crying and was still. Above he could see orange blurs zipping around the ceiling and walls. Beside him, a snowy owl was settled, trying to cheer him up. She kept nudging him and clicking her beak.
In another part the room was an extremely downhearted feathered tennis ball with a beak. It was really a minute owl. Pigwidgeon (Or Pig, for short) sat at the bottom of his cage, sighing and hardly moving.
There was a gentle knock on the door and a young, slender and extremely beautiful girl entered. Her flaming red hair curved under her chin, framing her sweet, innocent face. She had bright brown eyes, many freckles and a slender yet curvy body. She was wearing baggy denim jeans and a black top. Ever since IT happened, she always wore something black.
"Harry?" She asked, holding a tray of food.
Harry blinked and turned his head towards her. ". what." He croaked from a dry throat.
"You need to eat. Drink. At least get out of bed." She said, setting the tray by the bed.
"I'm not hungry. I'm not thirsty. And I don't feel like moving."
"Harry you haven't eaten anything since that piece of toast yesterday morning. And you haven't had anything to drink except for half glass of water last night." She said, spying a half-drunk glass of water. She quickly exchanged it with a full glass. "and you haven't gotten out of that bed except to go to the bathroom. yesterday!"
"I said I'm not hungry, I'm not thirsty, and I don't feel like moving." Harry said, staring back at the ceiling.
"MUM!" Ginny Weasley suddenly screeched causing Harry to jerk. "HE WON'T EAT OR DRINK OR MOVE!"
There was the sound of pattering feet then Mrs. Weasley appeared. "Harry, dear, you need to." She said, blinking away her tears.
"I don't feel like it." He managed.
Molly crossed the room, stabbed a piece of meat with the fork and shoved it in Harry's mouth. "You eat or else!" She snapped.
Harry chewed and swallowed, then sat up. "I really don't feel like-" Molly forced some potato in his mouth. She glared at him and he chewed and swallowed. "I know you want me to but I don't wan-" Molly forced some cooked carrot in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. "this is-" Molly forced-fed him until the plate was completely clean. He was already beginning to get color in his cheek already. Molly then forced a small glass of water into his mouth followed by a large glass of milk.
"Are you quite done?" He asked as she wiped his mouth off with a napkin.
"Ginny, leave us. I need to talk to Harry alone."
"Okay, mum." Ginny said and left.
Molly sat down beside Harry, and gently put an arm around him, embracing him like a mother would. "Harry. you can't blame yourself. I don't want to see you malnourished or dehydrating yourself or beating yourself up." She said and Harry felt like crying again. "I miss him. we all do but. Ron wouldn't want you to starve or thirst. Would he?" She asked and Harry slowly shook his head. "Ron would want you to continue your life. and not sink into an incurable state of depression. Right?"
"Y-yeah." Harry managed.
"Good. if you need anything. I'll be here for you." Molly gently kissed his forehead and left.
***
The sun beat down on the figures of two, stretched out in the grass and talking happily. A third figure sulked under a tree, trying to avoid the heat of the sun.
"Draco come on. You're not a vampire." Fourteen year old Jasmine Potter said, looking at her scowling boyfriend.
"Maybe he is." Suggested Jasmine's close friend, Matthew Green. "Yep. He is. He's been hiding it from you."
"Oh shut up." Draco snapped, arms folded. "I am not coming out of the shade."
"Oh yes, heaven FORBID you lose your nice tan." Matt said.
Sixteen year old Draco Malfoy, a small, extremely pale boy with silvery blonde hair, looked hard at Matt. "Watch it, Green. I've already started studying ahead for my human transfigurations and you might wake up as a nice lizard one morning."
"Draco!" Jasmine snapped rather angrily. "we do NOT threaten to turn my best friends into reptiles."
"How about a frog then? Hey! Those aren't reptiles!" Draco said as Jasmine scowled at him.
"You KNOW what I meant."
"Yeah, Drakie. You know what she meant." Matt said.
Draco leapt to his feet and aimed his wand. "Homo Switchus bison bison!" He shouted. Matt fell back against the ground and grew a pair of huge horns and his hair turned a deep brown.
"DRACO!" Jasmine screamed.
"I'm sorry I just couldn't take it." Draco said, putting his wand up.
"Magic isn't allowed out of Hogwarts." Jasmine said, looking at a bewildered half-bison half-Matt.
"We're not in England now, are we?" Draco drawled out.
"And why would you turn him into a bison?!" Jasmine demanded, trying to think of a counter-spell.
"It was the only Latin name of an animal I could think of." He said, gray eyes wide with innocence.
"Wipe that look off your face. okay I can't think of anything- MOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!" Jasmine screeched.
Mrs. Eleanor Ebbins ran from the house. "What on earth are you screeching at, dear- oh my!" Eleanor stared at Matt then looked at Draco who was putting his wand up. She didn't really like that odd boy much. She often wondered why her beautiful daughter chose a boy like HIM to be a couple. Jasmine was one of the prettiest girls in the world. Her deep red hair flowed down to halfway between her shoulders and elbows. In light, it glinted beautifully. Her face was oval, her eyes a deep, deep brown. A couple inches shorter then Draco, and she was slender and curvy. 'Oh well.' Eleanor thought. 'At least she is happy.' "Come on, Matt. I'll get you fixed up." Eleanor and Matt went inside. Jasmine turned angrily towards Draco. "Jasmine. please stop glaring at me like that."
"Okay I'll stop glaring. but no more kisses today because of what you did." She said.
Draco started scowling again.
***
Despite his sad state, Harry had to laugh at the letter from his sister. At Malfoy trying to turn Matt into a bison.
I can wait to get back in England in two weeks. I really miss you, Harry. And Hermione and Peggy. I got a letter from Hermione the other day. She seems to really, really be enjoying her time with Viktor Krum. Nearly as much as I enjoy spending time with Draco. Harry. I know you scorn him but please try and be nice to him when we come. please. I'm begging you.
Love always,
Jasmine
Harry folded the paper up, wrote a reply back and sent it back with Toby, Jasmine's red-tailed hawk she used instead of the usual owls.
The previous year, Harry and Jasmine had met for the first time since they were babies. They were long-lost brother and sister. Jasmine had found out the truth, they had met and discovered it was all true. They're close relationship had threatened to tear when Jasmine started dating Harry's bitter rival, ruthless opponent and mortal enemy- Draco Malfoy. There were threats and so Jasmine had secretly dated Draco. But Harry had found out but knew he couldn't break the two up.
Harry walked over to the window and looked outside.
In the garden below, were four red-heads. Two pairs of identical twins. One pair were two trouble-making boys. Fred and George Weasley, who had just graduated Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The second pair were two trouble-making girls. Frederika and Georgette Halls. They had transferred to Hogwarts the previous year and had also graduated. Fred and Georgette were dating, and George and Frederika were dating. The four of them had just opened a joke shop with Lee Jordan, Fred and George's best friend. Molly had made no protest at this. And Harry knew it was only because of Ron.
Harry leaned against the windowsill. Ron Weasley. Closing his eyes, he could easily see his best friend in the entire world. or. his old best friend.
Less then two months prior. Ron had been killed. saving Harry's life.
"Harry.?" He turned and saw Percy standing on the other side of the door, adjusting his glasses.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"Letter for you." He said and handed over a letter.
"Thanks Percy." Harry said in a rather hollow voice.
Percy just nodded and left quickly. He could not go inside of Ron's old room. He hated even being near the door. He was the only one who had not gone inside the room since Ron's death.
Harry was quite the opposite. He had hardly left Ron's room since he had arrived back at the Burrow.
With his only living relatives (minus Jasmine) hospitalized, and his godfather disappeared plus an indicted murderer of thirteen people, Harry had no where else to go.
Jasmine was in America with the family that had adopted her.
Hermione Granger, his other best friend, was in Bulgaria visiting Viktor Krum.
Harry thought of Peggy Morlins. He didn't know WHAT to think of her. when he had found someone close to him was a servant of Voldemort. after a while the finger of suspicion fell on Peggy.
Sirius Black (His godfather), who was an unregistered Animagus, had acted extremely strange when they had met in Hogsmeade one evening. and Peggy acted equally odd. Then she 'had' gotten a note that 'said' 'Master wants you right away'. And she disappeared from the school.
But then the traitor had been discovered to be somebody else. And then when Harry, Ron, Hermione, Jasmine and Sirius were in a cave, face-to-face with Voldemort and three of his Death Eaters (two which died). Peggy had 'appeared'. She was obviously going to fight Voldemort. but Voldemort sent the Death Curse at Harry and Disapparated. That was when Ron had shoved Harry out of the way and was hit with the Death Curse.
Peggy had paralyzed Wormtail- a lying, stinking, treacherous Wizard who was the reason Harry and Jasmine's parents were dead and Sirius was an indicted murderer. Then after talking to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, Sirius had taken Wormtail (whose real name was Peter Pettigrew) to what Dumbledore had said was 'headquarters'. Then Peggy left.
She appeared a few days later (with straight hair and glasses) and insisted that she had never done any of that and the note had really said her aunt had been attacked. She also insisted the other one was a plant and denied everything. And since the girl didn't look exactly like her, she insisted it must of been someone who looked like her with no glasses and curly hair.
Nonetheless, Harry didn't completely trust her.
***
The Stone was nestled there. not yet detected by Harry. It had been two weeks and he hadn't even begun to clean out his trunks.
Inside the Stone, though invisible on the outside, a white spirit floated.
Waiting..
*** (Sirius's point of view)
I was stretched out on the most comfortable bed in the entire earth. Thinking about that. I laughed. "In the earth." I mumbled to myself and began laughing again. "BBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKK!"
I fell of the bed and landed on the floor with a very loud 'thud' at the voice of HIM. I scowled, rather upset over being disturbed. In the first time for a while, I was quite comfortable. The beds here were like heaven. no bed, even with all the magic making it soft, could simply not COMPETE! The beds just seemed to be the exactness of what you need to get an absolute perfect night of sleep. It was just total-
"BLAAAAAAAAAAAACK! SIRIUS BLACK!"
I ran my fingers through my long, yet brushed and neat, hair. "Yeah?"
"GET IN MY OFFICE RIGHT AWAY!" And HIS voice fell silent.
"In his office yeah I'll give him in his office." I grumbled angrily, grabbing my cloak and card, and left my perfect room.
The corridor was extremely long. The floor was tiled white and silver. The walls were smooth and creamy. My boots echoed down the empty corridor as I walked forward.
"Hullo Sirius." A woman with hair like the moon passed me.
"Hello Cassandra." I managed without wincing or cringing. No one liked to talk to Cassandra. oh no. not her. She paused and looked at me with silvery blue eyes that slowly began turning pure silver. I jumped back. "I gotta go!" I turned and ran down the hall as fast as I could.
Cassandra watched the future like Muggles watched TV. And when her eyes turned silver and she was looking at you. well that meant she was seeing your future and 99% of the time she told you what she had seen. And that could really mess a person up.
I finally reached an ebony door and opened it. Behind it was a small room where a witch typed furiously on a magical typewriter.
"Hello Mr. Black." She looked up at me and slid her cat-eye glasses back up. "He will see you in just a moment if you will please have a seat."
I sat down on the over-stuffed leather couch, watching the witch. She must of been the height of Harry. Her gray-brown hair was pulled tightly in a bun on the back of the top of her head. Her skin was smooth and fair. She had bright brown eyes behind thick-rimmed cat-eye glasses. She was wearing a pink blouse, gray skirt and matching gray jacket as well as four-inch high heeled pink shoes.
"Long time no see, eh?" I asked, looking around the waiting room.
"Trust me, Mr. Black. Not long enough." She mumbled, eyes focused on what she was typing. Amelia Walitza could type exactly nine hundred and thirty- two words a minute. She often tried breaking her record. She once nearly got nine hundred and thirty-three, but the minute was up before she could finish the word 'yours'.
The large mahogany door burst open and a very distressed wizard left. He spotted me and sighed. "Good luck, Sirius. he's in a foul, foul mood."
"What, is he doing the Chicken Dance?" I asked.
Amelia burst into giggles and the wizard, Carlton by name, shook his head. "You're never going to change, are you?" He asked.
"I hope not." I said with a wide grin.
Carlton left and I went in, winking at Amelia on the way. "You wanted to see me boss?" I asked. The large maroon chair had its back to me, but I could see HIS hand rested on the arm. I could see a bit of gray sleeve from his suit, white cuffs and his claw-like hand. His fingers tapped against the wood at the end of the armrest, fingernails making a 'tapping' sound.
"It took you long enough, Black." Came the cold voice of HIM. I didn't know his real name. I always called him 'HIM' or Sir.
"I ran into Cassandra on the way." I said, not bothering to point out the fact he was in a meeting with Carlton when I had arrived.
"You know why I called you?" Sir asked.
"Uh. to cheer you up?" I asked brightly.
The maroon chair swirled around and his steel gray eyes glared at me. "You failed to get the Stone of Power!" He shouted and I leapt back.
"Hey! It is NOT my fault!"
"Yes it is! You are TOO soft on that boy. Being friends with his father was a mistake." He growled.
"James was a great man." I said, narrowing my eyes. "and Harry's best friend had just DIED!!!! He was kind of in SHOCK!"
"Don't you dare scream at me." He said, raising a hand. A long, thin bony finger pointed at me.
"Sheesh, sir. You act like the world is on the verge of a Muggle-Wizard war." I said, folding my arms.
"I just want Voldemort down. he nearly got the Philosopher/Sorcerer's stone. and he could of gotten the Stone of Power." Sir said. "we must get it and destroy it."
"What if it has a spirit in it?" I asked.
"That does not matter. We MUST destroy the Stone so Voldemort cannot get it." Sir continued, and began searching through his desk. He raised a claw- like hand which gripped his wand. Waving it, a teapot appeared as well as two saucers and cups. "Would you like some?"
"Oh yes, sir. It would be lovely if I. could have. a cup. of. TEA!" I shrieked. Sir narrowed his eyes and waved his wand. The teapot tipped and poured tea in the cups then settled on the desk as one cup and saucer flew to him and the other to me.
I caught it and gulped half down with one gulp while he slowly sipped his. "So what you are saying is. we must destroy the Stone even if it has a spirit in it. without trying to get the spirit out and give that person another chance at life?" I asked.
"Black." Sir set his cup of tea down. "it is the person's fault for being greedy and having the Stone with him or her in the first place."
"If that is the way you feel then I won't find out where Harry has so cleverly hidden the Stone." I finished my tea and let the cup and saucer clank down on his desk. "good day." I walked out and looked at Amelia. "What did he want?"
"Trying to rise up in here like always." I said with a shrug. "if he doesn't watch out, he'll end up as Crouch did."
"Crouch?" Amelia asked, adjusting her glasses. "the man from the English Ministry of Magic? The one who sent you to Azkaban without a trial?"
"The one and the same." I said and slowly shook my head. "Sir and Crouch are too much alike for my liking. good day, Amelia."
"Bye Sirius." She giggled as I left.
*** (Harry's point of view)
A beautiful tawny owl floated through Ron's open window and dropped a letter in my lap. It took a quick drink of water, before leaving again.
Frowning, I opened the letter. I recognized Sirius's handwriting right away.
Dear Harry,
I just thought I should tell you that I am perfectly fine. I'm safe and Wormtail will be on trial soon. As in, I'll be proven innocent. Wormtail is locked up somewhere where he cannot escape, even if he turned into a puff of steam. Heh, heh. I can tell you ONE thing- he is getting very crazy. Keeps yelling that we'll get our 'comeuppance' and that 'the dark lord will kill us all and have his revenge'. He keeps trying to make it sound like a prediction/prophesy thing but there are plenty of experts who can tell the real thing from what Wormtail is doing.
Anyway. don't bother to write back. I'll send you an update as soon as anything happens.
Sirius
I reread the letter over many times then frowned. 'Don't bother to write back'. sighing, I folded the paper and tucked it in my robes.
*** (Sirius's point of view. again)
I walked down the corridor, muttering angrily to myself. Sir had called me in to demand I write to Harry and find out where the Stone was hidden. I wrote to Harry, all right. but certainly didn't ask him where he concealed the Stone.
"Ziriuz?" I looked up as Claire Clavell appeared.
"Yeah, Claire?" I asked.
"Don't let Zir get to 'oo. He ees a thick-headed dolt." She said in her French accent.
"I know. is that all you wanted?"
The 19-year old girl tucked a strand of white-blonde hair behind her ear. "Oui. Monsieur Jones would like to seeee 'oo."
"Thanks." I said.
"Eet iz being nothing." She said and floated off.
I went the corridors, going through various doors, until finally I got to Mr. Jones door. It was just like him- bland. My hand fell on the doorknob, and I opened.
His front office was NOTHING like sir's. Jones's secretary was about my height with curly blandish brown hair, tan skin and bright blue eyes. She wasn't as good as a typist as Amelia, but Jessica Fins made up for it with genius. There was not a dictionary or thesaurus to be found in the room. The room, in fact, was empty except for the desk and a filing cabinet.
"Go on in, Mr. Black." Jessica said, eyes closed and obviously thinking.
I walked into Mr. Jones office. He was staring out his window and shaking. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Jones?" I asked.
Mr. Jones turned. He was unlike any other man I had ever met before. A tall, thin man whose small, thin face was very plain and bland. He was a very bland man, wearing very bland clothes. His dull brown eyes watched me as I shut the door.
"Hello Mr. Black." He said in his voice so bland, and way of talking so slow, it would of put Professor Binns to shame if he went for the History of Magic teacher's job at Hogwarts. Really when he said something more than three sentences long I found myself feeling quite drowsy.
"Hi Mr. Jones." I said.
"Have a seat."
I sat down in a chair (another difference between him and Sir. Sir didn't allow anyone but himself to sit in his office) and Mr. Jones sat in his bland chair. "I wanted to talk to you about Mr. Peter Pettigrew." Jones talked slowly and blandly.
"Okay." I said.
"He gave us a confession after we gave him the Veritaserum potion. though we already knew you were innocent. but some didn't. But now we got everyone. You got the entire place to back you." I rested my elbow on my leg, on my other hand, and my chin on my fist, trying not to fall asleep. "we'll be sending a letter to the English Minister of. oh wait. there is no Minister of Magic in England right now. oh dear. I suppose I'll have to write to One of the TOP. Miss Fins." He called and Jessica ran in. I fell asleep as Jones told Jessica what to write in the letter.
***
Harry paced in Ron's room, not wanting to do anything. Suddenly he heard a strange noise behind him. Slowly turning, he saw his trunk lid slowly opening. Figuring it was the Weasley's ghoul being invisible, he shrugged it off.
Suddenly Harry began breathing hard as the tiny blue stone floated out of his trunk, and landed on the floor.
It rolled over and stopped at his feet. Harry stooped down and picked it up. The last time he had held the Stone it felt like a regular stone. but now it was pulsating with a life.
A. life?
Harry nearly dropped the Stone which held a life force inside of it.
Ron's life force.