A/N: I'm soooo sorry about the delay. Writers block. :( Haha. There's probably tons of mistakes in this, but hey, nobody is perfect... I've been rereading the beginning, and it looks like I have to go through it again. rolls eyes Joy. But no major changes, just grammer and maybe sme rewording.
Thanks to:
Monsoon: My only reviewer at this very moment, lol. :P
I felt odd being out of bed. It's been almost three days since the incident with Rilee and the lake. My legs still feel like there are no bones in them, and I haven't gotten the feeling in my toes back. Other than that I'm fine. Just as precaution though, Madame Pomfrey requested that I stay inside for the next week, not even going out for classes. Which is fine with me since I miss Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology- two of my least favorite classes. Instead, I was forced to sit and watch Professor Lupin teach his classes. Pretty boring. I was even used as an "assistant" once or twice. I'm sure that really helped my standing within the school.
Every time I walked past the infirmary, a shiver was sent down my spine. The scene with Rilee played in my head like a broken record player, over and over again. The entire staff asked me tons of questions about what happened. What? Why? How? And all that good junk. I refused to answer and told them it's up to Rilee. It's her story to tell, not mine. The questioned aroused in my head: What did happen? I wasn't quite sure myself. Maybe that wasn't really Rilee. I push it to the back of my mind quickly every time it started to bother me. It seemed all my friends… or in Rilee's case, acquaintances, have dark secrets about them. Nephiro with her past, Draco with his family, Lily with her mom, hell, I even have a secret.
"Miss Black, will you stay behind? I need to speak to you," Professor Lupin asked, as his fourth year students filed out of the classroom. I picked myself out of the desk I was sitting in, and waited for everyone to leave. Some turned their heads and made a unmistakable expression of disgust. It was almost lunchtime, and the weather was nice. Not to cold and not warm. But I was tuck indoors because of the bloody nurse. I sighed and walked over to his desk, stuffing my drawing I was working on into my bag. Lupin's skin was pale. The veins in his face were visible and the sags under his still grew darker. For the first time, I wondered if he was all right. He smiled at me and opened a drawer. He pulled out a small photograph, slightly torn and old, like the one I had received on Christmas. He handed it over to me slowly, and I took a hold of it like it was a piece of thin glass. "I figured you might want this."
The picture was faded here and there, but there was no mistaking what it was. My parents. My father, seeming happy, with his arm around my mother's waist. My mum, who only came up to about his chin, born medium brown hair and hazel eyes that glowed slightly. My dad's hair was short, but still looking like it needed to be cut with his piercing blue eyes shining at the camera. It was peaceful. And a lot different from what I expected them to seem. I glanced back up at Lupin, who was sitting in his chair, feet on the desk and hands behind head, gazing up at the blank ceiling.
"Why did you think I wanted this?" I questioned. His head turned toward me and he frowned.
"Was I wrong to think you'd want a nice pictures of your mum and dad?" He raised an eyebrow, and reached to take the picture away. "I'll just take it back and put it in my album, where is belongs." I took and step away.
"No. I want to keep it," I replied.
"That's how I thought it would be." He pushed up his sleeve and revealed his watch. "You better get going are you'll be late to your next class."
"Huh?" I looked at the clock on the wall, and my eyes widen. I was going to late. "Thanks Professor!" I cried, while racing out of the classroom.
I walked briskly down the hallway. I had time to run to my room and get my supplies for potions, and barely make it to class. Snape could possibly ignore me for being late this once. I stared at the photo while pushing thru the crowd. The background looked as if they were standing by a beach; possibly the same one from the other picture. My parents stood there looking at me and blowing kisses. I laughed and slipping it into my bag. I'll deal with it later.
"Emi! Wait up!" I turned to see my blond boyfriend, running in from Care of Magical Creatures. I smiled and hugged him. His breathing was fast and I could hear his heart beating when I placed my head on his chest. The bruise from Christmas was no longer there and all that remained was a small cut, probably smaller than a centimeter, next to his eye.
"What is it, Draco?" I asked, looking up at him. He placed his hands on my waist and gazed back at me.
"Why weren't you in class?" I grinned.
"Because I rather be getting extra credit by being Lupin's guinea pig, than going to Hagrid's horrible class," I replied dryly. Draco looked confused. "I'm not supposed to go outside yet you stupid prat. I was forced to be in Lupin's class, remember?" He let out an 'ohhh' and hugged me again. "Draco, we're going to be-"
"Hey, you lovebirds," a female voice cut me off from behind Draco. We parted and I looked to see who was addressing us. Nephiro appeared to his side, seeming to be pissed off. "I need to speak with Black." She glanced over at Draco. "Alone."
"Fine. I'll see ya later!" he stated, before turning around. When he was gone, Nephiro grabbed my arm and led me away from the entrance hall.
"I don't really have time- Ow! Lemme go, Miketsu!" I commanded, but she just kept on pulling. Finally she let me go. In front of us was the school library. I stared at her, confused, like I normally am. "What is so important that it's worth us missing potions for?"
"Screw potions. I have an idea Black." Nephiro looked evil. Her eyes had that scary confident gleam in them and her mouth was twisted with a weird grin.
"Does it involve me getting hurt?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes some. She turned towards me and sighed.
"You can be just as dim-witted as Pansy." I gasped at her insulting comment.
"I am not-" She waved her hand, telling me she wasn't listening any more.
"I think we might be able to find something out on Peter Pettigrew from old Daily Prophets." I raised my eyebrows at her.
"And how do you suppose we go about doing that?" I challenged. I scanned the hallway around us, looking for anyone that could possibly save me.
"Like this," she said, opening the library doors. As if she was on some kind of mission, Nephiro set off in the direction of the front desk. Madame Pince gave us an annoyed look as we approached her.
"Yes, ladies? What can I do for you?" Madame Pince inquired, sounding bored. I watched Nephiro.
"Does the library keep old newspapers?" she asked, sweetly.
"Indeed we do, Miss Miketsu. What dates can I get for you?"
"All of the week of October 31st, 1981." Pince gave Nephiro a weird eye and went off into some room. She came back with seven very old, moldy papers.
"Now, be careful, these are very old." She nodded and grabbed the pile. I followed her to a table in the far back corner and sat down. Nep handed me November 2nd and she took November 1st. I skimmed the first page. Nothing. On the second page though, there was a huge article that was next to a big picture of a man. The guy had black hair, which was pulled neatly back into a ponytail, and shimmering blue eyes like looked as though he was puzzled. The name next to it said. 'Sirius Black'.
Black's Betrayal to the PottersIt was a shocking scene as the Ministry of Magic and the local muggle enforcement arrived. The street was blasted apart by a powerful spell, still being disclosed by the Ministry. The muggle police claim it was a gas explosion. The culprit, Mr. Sirius Black, was found laughing hysterically in the middle of the avenue, when the law showed up.
Mr. Black is said to have betrayed his best friends, Lily and James Potter and disclosed their whereabouts to The Dark Lord himself. The Potter residence was found blow to bits and none of the members inside lived, with the amazing exception of the Potter's only son, Harry. The child bares a lightening shaped scar on his forehead as evidence of the Unforgivable curse used to kill. Besides having his supposed best friends killed, today investigators claim that young Peter Pettigrew was killed trying to face down the maniac, Black. The largest body part found was that of his finger, mere inches long.
In interviews of old Hogwarts students, they say that Peter was a good friend of Sirius Black, James Potter and Remus Lupin, who refused to comment. Many are perplexed by this turn from Black, since he had always been a polite enough boy.
The Minister, when notified publicly announced that Mr. Black would be sent to Azkaban on the charges of the use of an Unforgivable curse, murder, and the use of magic in front of muggles.
Sirius Black leaves behind a wife and two children.
I gaped at the paper for a second, before making a croaking noise. Nephiro looked up and rolled her eyes.
"Found something that interested you, Black?" I narrowed my eyes and tossed it to the Egyptian girl. Nephiro skimmed the page, seemingly taking in little detail, before placing the paper back on the table. "I think we found Peter," she said, her face in yet another twisted grin. I was beginning to question her sanity. Again.
A/N: I suck for leaving you off where I did. That scene was suppose to be continued but I need Smack's help on it... And I haven't talk to her in almost 2 weeks : I'm not completely sure how long it'll take me to get 25 up. Hopefully not as long as this one did, lol.