Disclaimer: Don't own anything...
Chapter Forty-Two: Of Chess and Pineapples"In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness."
--Mahatma Gandhi
The next few weeks passed without remorse, January and February trickling by in a haze of late-night conversations, chess playing and camaraderie. Before Sirius knew it, it was mid-March, bringing an animated Anna exuberantly bursting into the sitting room where Remus and Sirius lounged, Quibbler in hand.
"Look!"
She rushed into the room and literally dove onto the lounge.
"Look!" she repeated, her eyes brimming with excitement. "Look what Harry did!"
This got Sirius's attention.
Anna thrust the magazine at Sirius, who quickly looked down to see his godson blinking benignly up at him with a sheepish grin.
"HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:
THE TRUTH ABOUT HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED
AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN
Harry winked.
"No way..." Sirius murmured absentmindedly. "He didn't, did he?"
"He did!" Anna squeaked, as Remus made his way over to the couch. "Can you imagine the look on Umbridge's face when she sees this?"
"Can you imagine the amount of detentions he'll be getting from the miserable old hag?" Sirius mused, flipping idly through The Quibbler as he searched for the article.
"Well," Anna resumed with a nonchalant shrug, "the cat's among the pixies now. No use crying over spilt potion. Now quick, read the interview!"
He quickly flipped to the appropriate page and read the lengthy article, Remus reading over his shoulder.
Once finished, he exhaled a long, heavy sigh. "Well. You can't say the boy hasn't got guts."
Anna nodded. "Having to relive it all... must've been horrid."
"Mmm... still, Umbridge's face would've made it all worthwhile. Priceless."
...&&&...
"Pawn to F3."
"Knight to E7."
"Queen to E7."
A lengthy pause.
"Rook to E7. Check."
"Bugger. Bugger, bugger, bugger."
Sirius smirked up at Anna over the chessboard. "Language, Miss Fair."
"Oh, sod off. Pawn to C5."
"Aha!" Sirius cried in triumph.
"What happened to your poker face?" came the amused remark.
Sirius grinned. "Don't need it now, dearie. Knight to D4."
The marble chess piece made it's slow, agonizing way across the black and white board.
"And I believe that would be checkmate."
Anna growled. "You and your stupid logics. I really don't like playing chess with you."
"That's because you lose every time," Sirius replied, cocking an eyebrow. "You don't stand a chance against my unprecedented skill."
Anna gave a sweet smile. "Oh, and modest, too."
He smirked. "Another game?"
"What, and face another arse-whooping and then have you gloat about it for the rest of the night? I think not."
Sirius pulled his infamous 'puppy-dog' look, his eyes widening and his bottom lip trembling in a pleading pout. "Please! There's nothing else to do in this house!"
"Hey!" Anna cried in mock-indignation. "I resent that!"
Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. "I meant no offence, Anna dearest, I was just commenting on the lack of entertainment in this godforsaken place."
As soon as the words had left Sirius's mouth there was a loud crack! that resonated throughout the sitting room. There was a flash of fire, and Sirius, leaping out of his chair and whipping his wand from his robes, gave a startled cry.
After the hazy smoke in the room had cleared, he let out a shaky sigh. "For the love of Merlin, Albus, could you please warn us before you just pop in here? I was about to turn you into a bloody pineapple."
Anna giggled.
"What?" Sirius snapped.
She grimaced, trying, and failing, to stifle her laughter. "Sorry, sorry, just had a random mental image. Albus Dumbledore, the amazing tropical pineapple, silver beard and all...."
Dumbledore chuckled heartily, but soon sobered when Sirius asked what exactly he was doing there.
"I can only stay for a moment before I leave to go into hiding – "
"What?" Sirius exclaimed loudly. "Hiding? Why do you have to go into hiding, Albus?"
Dumbledore held his hands out in a calming gesture. "Because I have been removed from Hogwarts and the Ministry is attempting to place me in Azkaban."
"WHAT!" But this time it was not Sirius, but Anna who roared the word.
"Calm down, child," Dumbledore placated, "it was bound to happen sooner or later."
"What did happen?"
Dumbledore sighed wearily. "Harry's Defence Association was discovered. He would have been expelled, so I took the blame and claimed that I was assembling an army to fight against the Ministr,y and Fudge saw fit to attempt to arrest me. No doubt I have already been replaced by Dolores Umbridge."
Dumbledore took in the aghast faces of Sirius and Anna and gave a wry smile. "So now I must go into hiding. I only came to make sure someone knew what was going on. Until later..." he turned away and moved towards the roaring fire.
"Wait, Albus!" Anna cried, snapping out of her stupor. "Where are you going to go?"
Dumbledore winked. "I think its high time I payed my brother a visit."
...&&&...
Sirius lay on his side and gazed thoughtfully at Anna. "What are you thinking about?" he murmured quietly.
"Hmm?"
He smiled. "You were looking all pensive-like, as if you had the weight of the world on you shoulders."
She sighed, her shoulders drooping into the mattress. "Do you think we're going to win?"
Sirius blinked. "Well... yes. Yes, I do."
Anna stared, her eyes spearing into Sirius. "But how can you be so sure?"
He exhaled a long, slow breath. "Because it's to terrifying to think that we won't? Because I have absolute faith in Harry, as much as that scares me? Because in all the stories and all the songs, good always wins over evil? Because it's just the right thing? Because I can't and don't want to imagine the world any other way?"
She nodded, rolling over to face Sirius. "But there is just so much ignorance. I mean, Fudge and the Ministry and everyone else, they're just so incredibly stupid! Doesn't that scare you? Just the fact that so many people, all those fanatics who follow Voldemort, are that cold and heartless." She scoffed. "And they think they're any better than the Muggles? They're no better than all the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan and all those other Muggle groups that kill people for their religion or race."
She was sitting up now, her eyes bright and passionate.
"It's sort of sickly ironic, isn't it?" Anna asked, turning to Sirius. "That they're no better than those they feel superior to." She made a noise revulsion. "It's disgusting, Sirius. If people, people with hearts and with brains, can really be that evil, what hope do we honestly have?"
"Not much. But we can have faith."
She sighed, leaning back into the pillows. "I guess so."
A/N: And on that happy note.... Ugggghhh!!!! There's something wrong with me!!! I seriously have just lost all motivation and inspiration. Grrr! I'm so restless! One second I'm soooo in the mood to write, and then as soon as I start writing, poof! it's gone, and I'm left writing sucku, crappy, forced shit that really is the most incredible crap, as I'm sure you've noticed in the last couple of chapters. What's wrong with me!!! : : wails pathetically : :
Oh, and thankyou to Severus-Snape-Rog who pointed out my oh-so-amusing 'SHIT' typo. Ah, I woke up my cat, tipped over my water and fell off my chair laughing when I read that. But it has been rectified.
Okay, only a few more chapters to go before we move on to the sequel, which at the moment looks like it's going to be called "Intricacies." Still mulling over that one...
Anyway, hopefully you all haven't abandoned me in light of my horrible writing at the moment, let's just all pray it's a phase. Please review! It might make me a little more motivated to actually do something.
Always, Kate.