Harry Potter and the Sword of Eternal Flame
By: Alex Lyons3
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything in the wonderful world of Hogwarts. Disney owns Gargoyles and Demona.
Author's Note: In order to understand this you have to read Harry Potter and the Soul Shifter, my Year six fan fiction. As I said in The Soul Shifter, Harry started school back in '97, so Seventh Year is 2002-2003.
Sorry this took so long, but I've been experiencing writers block. A very long/large amount of it.
Chapter 5: Changes
It had been around a week or so since the terrible tragedy of Malibu's death had struck the clan, so horribly. Elisa Maza, a good friend of the gargoyles, was walking down the hallway toward the gargoyles usual roosting spots. When she arrived, Sirius Black was already there, gazing up at the regal statues.
"Oh! Hey!" Elisa said, slightly startled by him, yet again.
"Hey." He said preoccupied with looking at Lexington's form. "You know, of course, that they are quite magnificent." Sirius said off handedly.
"Well, yeah, of course they are."
"You know, I've always wondered what it'd be like to have wings. I bet it'd be awesome." Sirius said again off handedly.
"Yeah! It is really awesome." Elisa said, Sirius gave her a look, "Having wings," she continued, "I had wings once. One night, the gargoyle known as Demona got a hold of Titania's Mirror..."
"Holy! Who did she bring here?! Puck? Odin? Titania herself?!" Sirius said, looking around as though expecting one of the aforementioned to pop up out of thin air, clearly shaken to his shoes.
Owen came through the hatch located in the middle of the "floor" of the tower carrying Alex.
"Ms. Maza, your mother wishes to speak with you about something of great importance. She is down stairs in The Great Hall." Owen said in his usual dead pan voice.
"My mother? Here?" Elisa said rather shocked and she turned and went down the stairs.
"Mister Black, you've been staying with us for quite a while." Owen said, "Even though very few people know who you are here, I believe we need to rectify the problem of you being accidently recognized. Don't you agree?"
"I suppose a hair cut and a change of clothes would help..." Sirius said looking down at himself.
"How about something a bit more permanent?" Owen said off handedly.
"Like a Switching Spell?" Sirius asked, a scowl now firmly in place since Switching Spells were, while extremely easy were also, extremely easy to mess up. Especially for a rank amateur as he believed Owen to be.
"No, I was thinking of just changing you into a gargoyle." Owen said as though it were something he did every day, which he probably did, but erased everybody's memory after he was done. After all can't have humans babbling incoherent nonsense about seeing an "elf" that could turn one's self into a demon and back again. It would end a lot of people up in the loony bin.
Sirius looked at Owen as though he were mad, which Sirius did indeed think the majordomo was a bit eccentric. Owen just smirked and took off his glasses, his bright blue eyes gleamed with otherwise concealed mischief. Then he spun in place revealing himself to be the one and only Puck. Sirius, knowing that the people of Avalon could be very easy to anger and quick to execute the mortal responsible, began to back up slowly.
"Now," Puck said in his usually cheerful voice, "you are in need of an extreme make over. Otherwise people will begin to notice that you are who you are. We can't really change who you are, but that doesn't matter. We merely need to change your outward appearance, but since I'm not an expert at human magic. I'll leave Switching Spells to you humans."
Sirius stared at Puck, wide eyed as he backed up. Puck grinned cheekily. "Oh come now." He said ever cheerful. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not much anyway." Puck's grin widened.
Puck began to chant. A cold; rushing wind encircled Sirius and drowned out what Puck was saying. Sirius' feet left the ground; his body began to ache and he began to grow dizzy as he was spun around and around. Suddenly, the innocent escaped ex-convict landed on the tower as a mere jumble of limbs. Sirius groaned and moved to sit up. Great wings stretched out of his back and a whip like tail lay on the stones behind him. He looked up at Puck, glaring.
"Okay! Now that, was just plain weird." Sirius said with a pout.
Puck grinned and then reverted back to Owen. "Yes, one would assume that it is a bit disconcerting to become a creature you are not. Forgive me, but I need to go attend to Alex's primary needs. Good day to you, Mister Black."
Sirius blinked as Owen headed down the stairs with Alex in his arms, "A creature that I am not? What in the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"
Just then a great almost deafening roaring could be heard coming from behind him and he turned to watch his somewhat friends awaken from their sleep.
"Good Morning!" Sirius called up to the gargoyles happily. Brooklyn turned to greet his friend from when he was James and nearly fell off of his roost in the wrong direction.
"What happened to you?" Lexington voiced all of their main concern in that single sentence.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, clearly confused.
The clan of gargoyles stared, Lexington who had obviously found his voice before the others rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "You see, Sirius, you aren't human anymore."
"Was I ever?" Sirius asked with a grin.
Brooklyn snorted in amusement and to a degree frustration. "Wiggle your fingers, Padfoot!" He said, doing the same with his right hand.
"Fine." Sirius said, clearly bored...until he saw his fingers. They weren't the puny human extremities that they once were anymore, but great talons. "What happened to me?!" Sirius cried looking at his other hand and then his feet.
"I believe that is something we must find out. I will go looking for Owen." Goliath said angrily.
Sirius then remembered what Owen had said to him, "Wait a moment! Owen said that he was going to change me, so people wouldn't be trying to have me thrown into Azkaban! I guess this is the extreme make over he was talking about." Sirius shrugged.
Goliath looked at him, perplexed, "So, Puck did this as a favor to you?"
"I'd have to say so mate." Sirius said.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to teach you how to glide then." Goliath said.
"Glide?" Sirius asked, confused.
"Yeah, you know, open your wings up and jump off a building sorta thing." Brooklyn said with an evil smirk gracing his somewhat demonic features.
"Glide?!" Sirius asked looking slightly panicked.
"Yeah, but don't worry," Lexington said in a comforting manner, "we'll help you learn."
"You will?" Sirius asked, seemingly better now that he knew he wouldn't be alone trying to learn how to glide. He then smirked at Brooklyn, "Well, Prongs, old boy, shall we see who's faster at learning how to glide?"
Brooklyn rolled his eyes, "I already know how, git! Now," Brooklyn caught Sirius up by the back of his pants and pitched him over the side of the wall, "open your wings!"
"Sirius!" Lexington screamed, opening his wings and gliding after Sirius, who had opened his wings on some sort of instinct and was gliding around haphazardly and occasionally bumping into the walls of the great stone fortress because he could not glide properly.
Brooklyn cackled as Sirius tried to get his bearings straitened out. Lexington sent up a glare toward his brother.
"Brooklyn, knock it off and help me before Sirius hurts himself." Lexington spat at Brooklyn and looking angrily up at him.
Brooklyn chuckled a bit mercilessly and then glided down to help his friend right himself. "Having fun yet, Padfoot?"
Sirius looked rather pale, "Not near as much as you I'd imagine." He snarled angrily.
Brooklyn chuckled again as the others came up toward them. Lexington looked practically scandalized at the two of them. "Brooklyn, I thought Sirius was your friend! Why'd you go and pitch him over the side of the building like that?"
Brooklyn smirked, "To get this reaction out of you." He then landed and went inside for something to eat.
Lexington glared and then huffed, "That male is going to be the death of me yet." He turned to Sirius who was just beginning to get the hang of gliding and now hovered in place. His huge bat like wings stretched out to their fullest extent. His now dark yellow skin was no longer as pale as it had been before. "Do you want to try landing?" Lexington asked him.
Sirius shrugged, "Might as well. My new wings are getting a bit tired, to be honest."
Lexington nodded and swooped down to the ground as Sirius followed close behind. The two gargoyles went into the kitchen and saw Angela and Broadway there.
"Where's Brooklyn?" Lexington asked, his hands on his hips and an angry gleam in his eyes.
Broadway grinned a little, "He's with Jessica. She told Owen that she wasn't feeling well and Owen told Brooklyn...so, he's making sure it isn't anything too serious."
Angela chuckled slightly, "Too bad she's human. It seems that I'll be the only one laying an egg when the time comes." She then turned the page of her newspaper.
Sirius looked skeptical, "I thought she was a banshee. Can't they have children with any kind they want?"
The other three looked at him wide eyed and then turned to look at each other.
"Well," Angela said slowly, "this might change things a bit."
Jessica laid on her side, her eyes tightly shut against the bright light of the lamp that was on. She hadn't the strength to turn it off and now was futile trying to ignore its presence in her room. A soft knock sounded on the hard oaken door, which to her sounded as though someone (or several someone's) were trying to break into her room. She whimpered as she tried to move her head and it exploded in pain and bright multicolored lights went whizzing past her eyes. She heard the door open and close, just as softly as the knock and just as grating on her poor nerves. Someone laid a cool, almost cold hand on her brow...which at that touch unfurrowed from it's pained expression.
Brooklyn entered and saw her curled on the bed, her eyes shut as tightly as she could get them. He laid his hand upon her brow. Apparently she had a headache. Her face was so contorted with pain after all. He knew Goliath would not approve of him carrying potions around the castle, however, lately he really didn't care what Goliath thought about him practicing magic. He sat her up carefully so that she could drink the potion to help ease her headache, putting the vial up against her rose pink lips. She whimpered and shut her mouth tightly. He sighed.
"Come on, Jess, this potion will help relieve the pain." Brooklyn said coaxingly.
"Promise?" She questioned, turning her whole body toward him now that she knew who had come in.
"Of course, love, now please, take this. It'll bring down the fever too." He said, putting the vial against her lips again.
She drank this time. The potion was gone with in a few moments. She opened her eyes as Brooklyn set her back down on the bed and turned the light down to a dimmer setting than what it was originally on.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly as he took her back into his arms and stroked her thick blond hair away from her face.
"I'm feeling better, but my head is still pounding!" She pouted, her lips looking down right kissable.
Brooklyn chuckled, "I'd suggest you stop. You're making me think things I shouldn't."
Jessica snorted and she looked at him cautiously, "You don't need me for those naughty thoughts." She smiled ever so slightly.
Brooklyn pulled her closer to him, "Oh I don't know...you do seem to have a rather strange effect on me. Ever since we met in fact, I've always known there was just something about you that could stir me to the very core." He smiled at her, "Too bad most of those thoughts can't be realized."
She simply smiled at him and then a panicked expression flitted across her features and she was up and out of bed as quickly as she could be. Soon the bathroom door was closed and bolted and the sounds of her being very sick came muffled through the door.
Brooklyn sat there on the bed, blinking at the bathroom door over his shoulder. He got up and went over to the door. The door was locked and he couldn't get in.
"Jess? Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.
"Yeah," she said weakly once the noises had stopped and she had turned the water off after washing her mouth out. She came out, looking very pale and shivering slightly.
Brooklyn put his arms around her shoulders. "Maybe you should go talk to a doctor."
"I'll be fine." She spat at him angrily.
Brooklyn winced, "I'm just saying..."
"Don't! I'm not in the mood to hear you lecture me!" Jessica snarled and sat down on the bed, her eyes downcast.
Brooklyn looked deeply hurt and turned to leave, so Jess could sleep or whatever she wanted to do in peace.
She could tell from the way he was hunched over and the way his feet shuffled towards the door that she had hurt him deeply. She turned to look at him squarely. "Brooklyn," she said softly, almost too softly to be heard, yet he did hear her and he turned ever so slightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all catty with you."
"It's alright." He said quietly, "I'm just going to let you get some sleep."
"I'd really rather not." She said abashed. "If you wouldn't mind...I'd like to go to one of the doctors here in the building."
He smiled slightly at that and helped her up from the bed. "Alright, but are you sure?"
She snorted at his playful tone, but kept her thoughts reigned in and instead said the other less hurtful insult to him, "You've been spending too much time with Albus."
He grinned, it had been a ritual of their's long ago, when she had taught muggle studies and he had taught Defense. When they had been James and Lily. She had often said he'd been spending too much time with Albus when he asked her about something, but then retracted the statement just as quickly.
"I try to keep from him as much as possible," he said as they walked down the hall towards the elevator, "however, Albus does pop up in the most curious of places."
She sighed and gave him a small smile, "At least, while we're here, I don't have to worry about you going and flitting every where with The Order." She sighed again, "I wish this war never started."
"As do I, love, but it has started and all we can do is sit here and wait until Voldemort makes his move." Brooklyn said as they rode the elevator down. They got off and took a left. Sitting at a desk in a small room was the doctor they were looking for. "Hello, Dr. Jones." Brooklyn said cheerfully.
Doctor Samantha Jones looked up from her paper work and smiled. "Okay, Red, what did you do this time?"
Brooklyn mock pouted at her, "I did nothing! Jess is sick. We were wondering if you could take a look at her."
"Of course. Now, Miss Cotten, what seems to be the trouble?" She asked as she began her examination.
"I don't really know. When I woke up this morning, I had horrible chest and stomach pains. As well as a horrible headache." She said weakly.
"Not to mention the vomiting." Brooklyn added as he helped Jess into a chair.
"Hmm. Let me run a few test and then I'll be certain about my prognosis." Dr. Jones said and pulled out her stethoscope.
Brooklyn came into the kitchen, as Sirius; Broadway and Angela were just finishing up their meal, and began rustling through the refrigerator while humming happily under his breath.
"Hey, Prongs, what's going on with Jess? Is she feeling okay?" Sirius asked as he peeked over the fridge door.
"She's better than okay." Brooklyn said, almost sang in his happiness.
"What's got you so happy, Brooklyn?" Angela asked, clearly baffled.
Sirius studied him closely and then chuckled. "I know what it is. Will she let you tell or does she want to?"
"Unlike last time, she's going to let me break the news. However, I'd like everybody to be there before I do." Brooklyn said as he piled vegetables and fruits into a bowl.
"Do you need any help with that, Brook?" Broadway asked looking at the large pile of food with some shock.
"Um, yeah." Brooklyn grinned sheepishly, "I think maybe I do. I still haven't gotten this down yet. Then again, I was human the last time this happened." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sure she can't eat that much and I don't want to insult her by fixing up that much."
"Why don't I call the others? I want to know just what you're talking about and I'd like to know now." Angela said, clearly frustrated at how Brooklyn wasn't going to say anything to give his news away.
"Okay, Angela. I'd like for this to be out in the open as soon as possible anyway." Brooklyn said with a sigh.
"Well, while we're waiting for the others to come in why don't you tell me why you're getting a banquet ready for her. I mean, I thought she was sick?" Broadway said as he grabbed up the bowl and started to take things out of it.
"Poor Prongs!" Sirius said with a grin. "Going to have to change poopy diapers again." He snickered.
Brooklyn glared at the recently changed gargoyle, "I said, I can tell...not you!"
"Sorry. I guess it is your news to tell anyway." Sirius said, kind of abashed.
"Congratulations!" Broadway said happily. "Now that I know what's going on I can fix something appropriate." He then went to work cutting a cucumber into slices.
Angela came back in with the entire clan; Elisa; Fox; Xanatoes; Owen; Harry; Ron; Hermione; Lupin and Demona all there looking eager to hear what Brooklyn had to say.
Brooklyn gulped, opened his beak and then faltered. Just like last time, he turned to Sirius with a hopeful look in his eyes.
Sirius chuckled, "Same old Prongs! Can't tell your family and friends that your lovely wife is about to have a baby! Did the same thing with Harry! Fainted too last time, if I recall correctly!"
Everyone looked stunned. Lupin was the first to find his voice. "She's pregnant!" He then swooped over and enclosed Brooklyn in a huge hug. "Oh Wow!! This is so...wow!"
Brooklyn laughed weakly.
"I think we'd better sit him down, Padfoot. He looks about ready to faint!" Lupin said grabbing a chair and setting it behind the brick red gargoyle.
As soon as Brooklyn was sitting the whole room exploded with noise.
"How far along is she?" Demona asked.
"Three weeks."
"Do you know if it'll be a boy or a girl?" Angela asked.
"Too early to tell."
"I'm going to have a brother or sister! I'm going to have a brother or sister! ...." Harry said excitedly while running madly around the kitchen.
Broadway smirked at everyone's antics and carefully made it out of the room, so he could give Jess her food.
He knocked on the door lightly.
"Come in." Came a muffled voice.
"Hey, Brooklyn told us that well..." Broadway said setting down the plate.
"I know. I could hear the others all the way up here." Jess said turning to look at Broadway. She looked angry.
"What's wrong?" He asked unsure if he really wanted to know.
"I'm pregnant, not broken! Brooklyn carried me from the doctors back to our room." She said angrily.
Broadway grinned, "He's just worried about you, that's all. This whole father thing is rather new to him. By the way he was acting though when he came into the kitchen, I'd say he'll make a wonderful father."
"I know. It just irks me that I'm now pretty much bed ridden for the next nine to ten months. The doctor knows next to nothing about gargoyle or fae pregnancies, so she's not taking any chances. I'm to stay in bed, unless it is to go to the bathroom or to the clinic until the baby is born." She said with a huff.
"That doesn't sound like fun." Broadway said sadly.
"It isn't." Jessica said, "I'll have nothing to do for months." She pouted.
"Oy! No pouting at my brothers." Brooklyn mock snarled as he came into the room. "That's for me alone to savor."
Broadway grinned, it had taken him the death of Malibu to see that Brooklyn had wanted nothing to do with Angela and everything to do with Jessica and raising Harry. It had been when Brooklyn had gone to Jessica and then Harry to see if they were all right, but he never asked Angela. He had no reason to be jealous of his brother. He had just thought he had.
"Don't worry, Brook. No matter what she loves you. The rest of us could go jump off of a cliff for all she cared." Broadway said putting a reassuring hand on the beaked gargoyle's shoulder.
Brooklyn smiled and then nodded. Then he went up to his mate and sat on the bed to talk with her while Broadway left the room.
August 26th rolled around far too soon for the inhabitants of the castle. Harry; Hermione and Ron were all running around like chickens with their heads cut off as they looked for missing socks and hidden school books that would be needed for next term.
A helicopter bearing the logo of Nightstone Unlimited was out on the castle's landing pad awaiting the children. Ms. Dominique Destine, Demona's human form, sat quietly sipping tea as she made polite conversation with Xanatoes and Fox. Luckily, Goliath along with the rest of the clan minus Brooklyn were in stone hibernation a top the highest tower of the castle, so there should be no trouble.
Brooklyn was currently in human form dressed in a muggle business suit (which clashed horribly with his waist length white hair, but he had refused to cut it), since he had recently been introduced to the company's investors as Dominique's nephew and would soon be taken to Nightstone Unlimited to handle the business affairs, which the investors were now worried about until Dominique told them that they could all give her back the stocks she sold them and not get a penny of profit from it. Needless to say, they stopped their murmurs about how poor a job "Brian" would do.
Brooklyn sat next to "Aunt" Dominique holding Hedwig's cage looking very put out about having to wear a suit, which made him look ridiculous. Lupin had had a good laugh when he'd seen him and had to have several jinxes fired his way before he'd finally leave Brooklyn alone. Of course, the fact that he was now a slug the size of a medium sized dog might have had something to do with that.
Harry; Ron and Hermione came into the sitting room where the other's were waiting their trunks hovering above the floor behind them.
"We're ready." Harry stated.
"Alright then, let's go." Dominique said, Brian nodded and handed Harry his owl.
"Take care of yourself, Harry." He said as he grabbed up Harry's trunk and took it out to the waiting helicopter. Xanatoes then grabbed up Hermione's trunk and Owen grabbed up Ron's.
The kids, with their familiars, all sat in the helicopter waiting for Dominique. When she arrived they were off to the airport where her private jet would be waiting to take them back to England and back for their final year of schooling.
Author's Note: Okay, the titles is Changes. Sirius' change was a physical one, obviously. Brooklyn's was a mental and an emotional one, then physical later on. Jessica's was a mental; physical and emotional one. Harry; Ron; Hermione and Demona's change was location based. The whole chapter including Author's Note; Disclaimer and Thank you's comes out to a whopping nine pages. Aren't we all so happy!
To athenakitty: Yes, loads of fun. Yes, Demona is rather shocked to say the least. Well, the death of Malibu was rather upsetting, especially on Harry's birthday, was it not? Sirius didn't transform last chapter, obviously though, he will.
To Maxies Gurl Zoe: [Soul Shifter, Ch. 19] I'm glad you liked it. [Ch.20] Yeah, it was disgusting, but I wanted everyone to understand how doctors get turned babies out. Some people have no concept and I wanted to show how much danger the little gryphon was in. That, and make Draco a somewhat hero for a chapter. [Ch. 26] Thanks! [Ch.28] Yes, thankfully, Lupin is alright. Sort of! [Ch. 32] Thanks! I'm glad you think these are wonderful and I haven't scared you off yet. [Ch. 33] It isn't normal for Malfoy to be nice. I'll try to make him less so for this story, but one never knows what my mind has in store for me. [Ch. 39] I hope you'll join me for this one soon.
To Butler: Most of my chapters are in HTML, are you having trouble reading it? I have Word Perfect and they only now just decided that Word Perfect Documents could be uploaded. :P [Ch. 4] Yes, it is very sad...I hate having to kill off a character. Unlike Sirius, Malibu will NOT be back.
To crazy person: [Soul Shifter, Ch. 7] I thought Severus could use a compliment right about now. [Ch. 37] Of course; you're right. [Ch. 38] LOL!!
To Kimori Kiaa: Thanks! I'm glad you like my story.
To Izzy Love's Kai: Thanks! [Ch. 4] This Chapter was a bit difficult to write, but not near as difficult as this one.
To Liaranne: I hope that this is a good enough update. I'm sorry I didn't get to it sooner. Neopets addiction and other stuff piled on top of that is a known deterrent from writing. Also, this was a very difficult chapter to write and very long.
To Bahzad: [Soul Shifter, Ch. 40] Thank you!
To Spellcaster Hikaru: Thank you! Yes, Demona and Brooklyn are my faves as well. I just simply adore their interaction in this. You have to wonder what's going on in Angela's mind. Something like, " Oh My God!! They're being civil to each other!?" faint, twitch twitch That's what I always figured anyway. [In The Beginning] I'm unsure if I'll ever finish this one. I'm not too sure if I want to anymore.