A/N: Sorry this took so long. I was having huge writers block when it came to this chapter. It's probably because Smack and Monsoon aren't helping me. (They're in a different state.) I had this half way done, and then left it for like a month. I decided that all of that was shit, so I rewrote the whole thing. Enjoy.
Chapter 29 – Giving UpWhen Nephiro and I split, I felt empty. Part of me wanted to find Peter and step on him, and another part told me I was stupid for thinking this could even work. How could a 13 year-old girl with an attention span of 30 minutes, and tons of owed homework, and a not so great knack for thinking of useful spells on the spot, find an eight-inch rat? Make that a nine-inch rat in a huge school. It's a dumb idea.
"Why am I even bothering?" I asked myself. The hallway was pitch black and I didn't feel that making it brighter would help me in the least bit. It was a hopeless mission from the start.
Suddenly I could hear the rustling of cloth coming from around the corner, and it was growing louder. I pressed my body against the wall and held my breath. It stopped and I pushed the air out of my lungs. I slid down the wall and took a seat on the floor. The sounds started again, and I quickly laid down and pretended to be sleeping, but kept one eye opened.
Professor Lupin rounded the corner and stopped when his eyes caught sight of my motionless body. He openly swore and bent down.
"Don't tell me you fainted, Emi. This isn't the greatest time," he told me, shaking my shoulder with his free hand. I let out a tired groan, and allowed my eyes to open. He was looking down at me with a mix of worry and anger on his face. "What in the bloody hell are you doing?"
"Prof . . . Professor Lupin? Where am I?" I questioned, feeling cheap for lying. The fact that I was bluntly lying sorely bothered me.
"In the corridors, after hours." He put out his hand and helped me up. "Do you feel OK?" I leaned against the wall, basking in my lie. Lupin reached in his pocket and pulled out a half eaten chocolate bar. Placing it in my hands, he looked into my eyes.
"I feel fine, a little dizzy and really confused, but fine," I answered.
"I'm in a rush so I can't bring you to Pomfrey. Eat that and go see her. You don't look well." I felt insulted, since there currently wasn't anything wrong with me.
"Alright Professor. Thank you." He gave a short nod and ran off. I listened to his footsteps die off before dropping the candy on the ground. 'I have no purpose for it and it tastes gross . . . Why does Professor Lupin always have chocolate?' I stared down the dark hallway and was snapped back to reality was I heard more movement. I didn't get a chance to react before Snape was in front of me. I braced myself for a yelling but he just kept running. I don't think he glanced at me. "I wonder what's going on that two teachers are running to?"
I began to walk in the oppose direction of the professors. Lupin's classroom door was wide open and full of light. I decided that my curiosity wasn't that strong and kept going. 'Besides, if I'm caught in Lupin's room, it wouldn't look good for either of us.'
About 15 minutes passed before my head started to hurt. It felt ten pounds heavier and the world that wasn't shrouded in blackness blurred. I rested my forehead on the nearest wall. It was nice and cold and it felt so good when it touched my skin. Trying to breath normally, I concentrated on something other than pain. Soon, I found myself feeling better and I continued to walk again. Not a minute later it returned and I sat down on a set of stairs.
My body was tired even though I hadn't done much activity today and my eyes seemed to throb. I rested my back against the wall and covered my eyes with my hands. Waves of pain would hit me every couple of minutes like I'm a beach on a rough day, and I couldn't help but cry. It hurt so much.
"Emi?" I turned my upper body to see who was calling me, half expecting to be yelled out and saw Ephraim. He was sporting a pair of baggy blue jeans and a black shirt with a witty saying on it. The light given off by the lone torch burning showed me the confused look on his face. I wiped my tears hoping he didn't see them. "What are you doing?" he questioned in his Irish accent.
"Resting and wondering why I exist." I gulped to force back a new set of tears welling up in my eyes. The pain was getting worse and consuming all of my body. "And you?"
"This is right by the Ravenclaw house, and I couldn't stand being in there anymore," he replied. "Hey, you look like you're sick."
"Thanks," I said sarcastically and thought my sudden pain was ironic. Lying to Lupin was a bad thing . .
"Maybe you should go to the Infirmary." I shook my head.
"It'll pass . . ." I hope it does at least.
"Yeah, sure, after you pass out that is. Come on, get up."
"No," I groaned. He pulled me to my feet. My heart was racing and I felt the cold sweat rolling down the back of my neck. I shrugged him off me when he tried to help me walk. I didn't want to seem too bad . . . too weak. My legs screamed as I moved them, I gritted my teeth and released my built up tears.
"Are you crying, Black?"
"No," I said again. A surge of pain went through my body, starting at the tip of my toes and ending at the top of my head. I bit my lip to keep myself from crying out in pain and bit right through it. I could taste the coppery liquid in my mouth as well as more pain. "Ow."
"What now?"
"I feel like I'm dying . . ." I told him faintly.
"You're not –"
"I know . . . I . . . I just . . ." My eyes wanted to close and my legs gave out. I felt my body hit the stone floor and Ephraim saying my name, asking me to stay with him. My mind was already gone and the world went black.
o.O
I was sitting in a room with walls covered in posters and notes. A broomstick rested in the corner, and clothes were thrown about haphazardly. Even though I've never seen this place before, I felt like I knew everything there.
"Emi! Sirius! Dinner!" called a woman from what seemed like downstairs. I got off the queen-sized bed with excitement and flung open the bedroom door. A man came out of the room across from me. He looked exactly like my father in the pictures I have, but his hair was wet and combed backwards. I could smell his aftershave from where I stood.
"After you my love," he said, mocking me with a bow. I laughed and without giving it a single thought hurried down the stairs. The woman, with her long brown hair in a ponytail and feminine dress, was placing the plates on the round maple table. Zandyr was sitting in one of the chairs, grinning about something. I took my place across from him and stuck my tongue out at him.
"Grow-up, smallpox," he spat while eyeing me evilly.
"Kids, please, can we have a civilized dinner for once?"
"Oh man, I'm starving," my father said and he sat down next to me. "It smells great Annie . . . What is it?" My mother chuckled, and put the big bowl down in the middle.
"Chicken Caesar salad."
"Com'on mum, we have this all the time!" Zandyr suddenly complained.
"Live Alex, I didn't have the time to something fancy tonight. If you want something different, make something yourself." That seemed to shut him up.
I felt overwhelmed and out of place, but this also felt so right. This wasn't the real world. In reality, my mum died, and my dad looks like a crazy homeless person. His hair is probably longer, uncombed, and greasy and his face unshaven; nothing like the handsome man sitting next to me.
Still, I ate my dream food, at my dream table with my make believe family situation. I was happy, and wished all my dreams were like this –a world where Voldemort didn't exist. No Peter to frame my father, no Deatheaters to kill my mother and my brother and I weren't split up.
The best part pf this was being able to watch my mom. Every night I stared at those photos and dream of her voice. Now I could see her face gleaming brown eyes of happiness and her radiant beauty that made the whole room glow. She was even prettier in person. I wanted to hug her, smell her, and tell her I love her, just so I could remember every singles detail. I got to my feet and did exactly that, and soaked in every moment into my mind. She smelled like the Spanish iris' that were sitting in a vase on the counter, and were equal in their beauty. Zandyr and my dad looked on confused.
"I love you too Emi," she answered. The words were music to my ears and I began to cry. "Oh, honey, what's wrong?" It felt so good to be there. Father got up as well and hugged us both.
"Nothing mum . . . nothing is wrong. Everything is perfect . . ."
o.O
Voices coming from outside the Infirmary woke me with a start. I sat up quickly in my bed and looked around me. Nephiro was sitting at the bottom of my bed staring at the door, Harry laid in one, seeming to be knocked out, Ron had one as well, and his leg was bandaged and suspending in air and Hermione was awake and listening as well. Madam Pomfrey was walking toward Harry's bed with a huge piece of chocolate. Him and Hermione both asked how Ron was and of course she said he was fine.
"As for you two, I mean three, glad to see you alive Emi . . . you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're –Potter, what do you think you're doing?" He was getting up, and I held back a laugh. Pomfrey wouldn't allow this.
"I need to see the headmaster."
"Potter, it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now –"
"WHAT?" Harry and I yelled at the same time. I was amazed. He is here, in the castle? What about Peter? The kiss? Harry, Hermione and I jumped to our feet just as two people came in. The Minister of Magic had on his strange little outfit and his ugly hat and Professor Snape looked beat up, but pleased.
"Harry, Harry, what' this?" the Minister asked. "You should be in bed –has he had any chocolate?"
"What's going on?" I asked Nephiro quietly, she looked at me intently as if to say 'Shut up'.
"Minister, listen! Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's –" Harry said this in a terrible rush and I found it a little hard to follow. I believed him; Nephiro and I were trying to prove the same thing for months now.
"He is right!" I chided in, and Snape glared at me.
"Harry, Harry," Fudge said again. "You're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, all of you lie back down, now, we've got everything under control . . ."
"YOU HAVEN'T!" Potter bellowed, his face turning red with anger. I was surprise to see him do this. "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"
Hermione cut in, "Minister, listen, please. I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew I mean and –" I sat down on the bed next to Nephiro and watched the scene progress, and stayed quiet.
A/N: Yup. Coping from the book again. Live. It needed it. And another thought, why does Lupin have chocolate handy all the time? It's that a bit strange?