Harry waved his wand and conjured two sets of clothing, then cast a spell that allowed the clothing to dress the two unconscious figures on the floor, quickly. He then dragged them both to the small table on the other side of the small cottage, (It had only two rooms, a small bathroom and everything else fit into the other.) and sat them into the chairs. With a wave of his wand, two long, thick chains appeared and wrapped themselves around Charlie and the girl.
"Enervate." he said, pointing his wand at Charlie.
He opened his eyes and blinked a few times, before widening them and looking up. His eyes quickly fell on Harry, and he started, his look fearful and surprised, then, quick as a flash, angered.
"What did you do?" he demanded, settling his eyes upon Harry's worn face.
"Blew the door down." he said simply. "Then stunned you."
"That's not what I mean! What did you do with her?"
Harry, catching his meaning, stepped forward and pulled the chair she was in into Charlie's view. He showed no signs of relief. He glared up at Harry.
"What did you do to her?" he demanded in a deadly whisper. Harry raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"What do you mean?"
"You know damn well what I mean! I swear, if you've touched her-"
"Shut it!" Harry ordered. Suspiciousness, he thought, I should've expected it. Anger flared inside of him. "You think I'd waste my time on the likes of her? I've got better things to do."
His eyes narrowed. "So you haven't touched her?"
"What the bloody hell did I just say?" he snapped. "I didn't wake you up so that I could stand here and be falsely accused of such petty crimes."
"Then why did you wake me up?"
"I'm curious," he said. "Where do you keep your food?"
He gave him a look that clearly showed mistrust and resentment. However, his eyes must've flashed toward the wand in Harry's hand, and he said nothing he thought may provoke him.
"Over there, in that cabinet." He nodded in front of him, behind Harry. He turned and rushed to it, throwing it open and hurriedly searching through the contents.
Half an hour later, a small, but hot and fresh meal sat in front of Harry. Without even pausing to look at it, he grabbed hold of the first few eating utensils he could find and starting nearly gorging himself, hardly stopping to breath.
He actually choked a few times, and by the time he was done eating he had gone through about four glasses of Pumpkin juice. Finally content with his small meal, he stood and brushed the crumbs of the front of his shirt. He looked at Charlie.
"Hungry?" he said in a toneless voice.
"Why would you care?" he said, looking at the floor, his expression determined.
"I don't want you starving."
"Why not?"
"I don't want you dead."
"Why would it even matter to you?" he said nastily.
Moving quickly, he latched hold of the front collar of the black flannel shirt he had clothed him in.
"Why should I have to tell you everything I do and why?" he hissed softly, putting his face close to his.
He swallowed, a look of fear in his eyes he tried to hide. He said nothing more, and refused to make eye contact.
"So, are you hungry?" he said again after a few seconds, letting go and stepping back. He shook his head.
"I, I ate a few hours ago."
"Hmm." Harry said. "What about… about," He motioned to the girl.
"Her name's Cassandra."
"What about Cassandra? Did you feed her anything?"
He nodded. "Good," Harry said. "That's taken care of, I need to finish getting ready."
Charlie's attention was caught, and his head snapped up. "Ready for what?" he asked fearfully. He was ignored, as Harry simply walked into the bathroom without a word.
"Ready for what?" he demanded again. The door was shut. An echoing silence hung in the air.
Sirius led the Aurors farther into the forest, completely silent against the leaves thanks to the charm he had placed on their shoes. The early morning sun was barely shining through the tree tops.
"He's not here." he said a few moments later. "We've been all over this forest. He's not in this part of Africa. Let's get back to Headquarters."
They agreed, frustrated at their lack of success.
They entered the familiar large cubicle where all of their desks were, lining the walls, facing inward, in a very annoyed manner.
"So, Black." Stephen said, smirking at him from behind his desk. "Find anything? Guess not, I'll have to record your failure-" He sighed. "again."
He ignored him as he entered and said nothing. Stephen Moon, the stupid git, wasn't worth it. He saw the satisfied look in his eyes behind his rectangular-framed glasses.
"I didn't see you out there looking, Moon!" Gage Ryan said, face contorted in anger. "I thought it'd be a bit more exciting than this. I haven't seen any action in at least a week!"
"Fight, fight, fight, is that all you love, Gage?" Lacy said, her apple-shaped face set in a skeptic look. He grinned and nodded.
"Action, fighting, that's what I do, that's what I love!" he said as he seated himself behind his desk, which was littered with empty food containers and soda cans. He reached down and pulled out another one from the stash he kept in his bottom drawer.
"And explosions, don't you love those too?" Chrissy Short said, looking at him. He put on a comically insane face and nodded. She suppressed her laughter.
"Grow up." Lonnie Short, Chrissy's older brother, snickered as he seated himself at his desk, which was opposite Stephen's. Stephen gave him a look.
"Your telling her to grow up? You're the only one here having all these ridiculous girl problems, you shouldn't talk!"
Chrissy gave a sudden laugh, before covering her mouth and suppressing it. Lonnie's face was immediately set.
"I'm not having any girl troubles, Stephen, my dating life is just fine, thank you. And don't you preach about growing up, look at your desk, it hasn't been clean in the last year or so. Didn't they teach you to pick up after yourself in America before they transferred you here?" He gave him a victorious smirk.
Stephen looked down at his desk, which was unorganized, with papers scattered here and there, an empty coffee cup to his left, and various other things. He gave him an uncaring look, reached into his drawer and pulled out a muggle device, small and round, silver, a Walkman, he knew it was called.
He had figured out a way to get it to run on magic and had been highly rewarded for his brilliant idea. He stuck each small piece in his ear and opened it up, switched the disks, closed it and pushed a small button on the side. They could faintly hear the heavy metal music it was emitting, but they were used to it.
"Well, our obnoxious little brunette has zoned out." Chrissy said, gladly. "That reminds me, how do you like my hair?"
"You dyed it again?" Gage said incredulously. She nodded. Her short hair was now a dirty blonde, with brown streaks running through it.
"I don't get why you bother with your hair so much," Lacy said, looking at it. "You never really date, you don't have a boyfriend. Why does it matter so much to you?"
"I like to look good." she said, twirling before sitting at her desk, beside Gage's, who's was beside Stephen's. Lacy took her seat beside Lonnie, where her desk was. "Besides," Chrissy continued. "Your hair's down to your ankles, you can't tell me that's not hard to take care of!"
"I'm not allowed to cut it." she said. "It's against my religion. I can't dye it either, and I can't wear make-up, I always have to wear dresses and stuff… I can't do anything…" She had her mass amount of blonde hair up in a high ponytail. Sirius could never figure out why her neck didn't snap because of the pressure of holding her head straight all day. She indeed always wore the same kind of skirt, one that reached her knees, khaki colored.
"I don't get why you think you have to dye your hair." Gage continued.
"That's easy for you to say! What with your perfectly golden blonde spikes you have on everyday!" Chrissy said.
"I like my spikes." he said with a pout. He finished the soda in his hand and reached down again, this time bringing up a small package of doughnuts.
"And I don't see how you an eat so much and stay so skinny. You look malnourished and you eat like an elephant!" Chrissy said, eyeing the package.
"I work out every chance I get." he said simply, ripping the wrapper off of the package.
"Hmm… and yet you have no muscles and no six-pack." Lacy said, grinning. "I guess all that work goes toward all that fat burning you have to do. You really should eat better, I mean, your growth is so stunted, maybe it could be helped if-"
"Shut up!" he said, offended. He was, in truth, about a head and a half shorter than Sirius.
"Don't make fun of short people, Leggett." Lonnie said, grinning. "Chrissy'll have your head."
"Hey! I'm not near as short as him, your all just tall! Especially you, your like, six foot eleven or something!" she accused. He grinned wider.
"Actually, I am seven feet tall exactly."
"Could you guys please keep it down?" Sirius finally said, sitting at his desk, which was against the third wall, giving him a perfect view of the others.
They had given him the spot for being the Top Auror in his division, as well as the authority to order the others in his group around, with the exception of Stephen, only because he was the 'Communications expert.' All he did was record any and all progress they made and stay at the office to make sure they could be contacted by a ministry official.
They all fell silent, and the only sound was Gage's chewing and the music still coming from Stephen's headphones.
Sirius pulled the paperwork in front of him closer and tried to focus on it…. Gods, he was tired… 'By signing this decree you agree with the terms set for all…' What he wouldn't give for a good, long rest right now… 'In the action the said fugitive is caught…' So tired…
A feminine hand came into his view, and he looked up as a small paper cup with a thin, plastic lid was set on his desk.
"You look a bit tired." Came the whispered voice.
"Thanks," he said appreciatively, but very quietly. No one else noticed.
Behind him, she stood straight again and stepped around his desk, addressing the team. She was dressed in a loose black sweater and blue jeans, her usual accommodations.
"Alright now- Stephen? Could one of you-?"
"I've got it, Chief." Gage said. He reached over and plucked the pieces out of his ears. Stephen looked up at her, grinning an apology.
"Well, I'm glad to see you've finally joined us." she said. She sat on the edge of the side of Sirius' desk, (She almost always had to lean against something when she talked, out of habit, he supposed.) and flipped her chocolate brown hair to the side. Sirius sipped the coffee as he watched her. "I was going to talk to you about-"
She stopped as someone else stepped through the doorway.
"Rikku Sanchez?" he asked.
"What do you need?" she said irritably. She hated to be interrupted.
He gave her an appraising look. "You don't look like a Rikku Sanchez." he said simply.
"Excuse me?" she said icily. Her dark brown eyes narrowed at the man.
"Isn't Sanchez a Spanish name? Your not Spanish, your white."
"If your so curious, I was adopted, now what do you need?" Her tone was becoming more agitated.
"The Minister wishes to see you and your team."
"I-" She stopped. "The minister? Why?"
"How should I know?" he snapped. "He just told me to come and get you."
She sighed. "Come on," she said, turning her tall, slender form and motioning for them all to follow. "Let's go see what the Minister wants."
Remus Lupin sighed to himself, apparating back to Headquarters at old Grimmauld place.
"Nowhere to be found." he said sadly to Molly, who was waiting for him. She sighed as well. Much thinner than in her previous years, from stress and sometimes lack of time to eat, she looked rather different. She scribbled away on a piece of parchment for Dumbledore and rolled it, then sealed it and sent it off with the order's owl.
Everyone present- Mundungus, and a few of his 'friends', who couldn't search only because there were some that were searching for them, -was silent. He sat and stared at the far wall, feeling fatigued.
He had gone through a situation a bit similar to this when the wizarding world was searching for Sirius, before he knew the truth, and though he didn't know Harry that well, Sirius did, and just seeing the effect it had on the man was rather depressing.
"I take it you didn't find him." One of Mundungus's friends said.
"Obviously."
"Any idea where he could be?"
"None at all, if we knew that we would have found him by now."
She blushed. "Yeah, of course… sorry we can't help."
"That's fine." he said dismissively. He sat silently and tried to rid himself of the migraine that was making his head ache. He wondered how Sirius was doing, back at work. He wondered where Harry was, on the run, where he could be. Somewhere sunny? Somewhere dark and dreary? Was he infact already dead, or had he ran back to Voldemort? He was, after all, nothing more than a death eater, Voldemort's right hand man. A powerful death eater, and far more dangerous death eater, but a death eater nonetheless.
"Here," Molly said a few moments later, placing a plate of food in front of him. "You look hungry."
He thanked her and pulled the plate closer, but didn't make any move to eat. His thoughts were far too clouded. In truth, he felt like throwing a childish temper tantrum and thrusting the plate against the wall, screaming in anger and frustration. But, of course, he didn't. Something about being a werewolf had taught him a strong amount of self-control.
He sighed to himself and ate reluctantly, feeling overwhelmed. Damn, how much more of this was he going to have to take in one lifetime?
"Checkmate." Adam said proudly.
"What?" Connor cried, his eyes scanning the chess board. "Where?"
"There!" He pointed. Connor turned red.
"Oh. Didn't see."
They were interrupted as a sharp cry was suddenly audible.
"Percival- shush- I'll get him." Emily said, abandoning the game of Gobstones she was focused on. Callum sighed.
"I'll help. This game was getting boring anyway." They both stood and headed toward the baby as Emily picked him up, both attempting to hush him. He quieted down a bit, but remained awake, fussing around.
Luke and Benjamin took over the game where Emily and Callum had left off, just as Charlotte strode in, wiping the sweat off her brow. Her broom was in one hand and she had a Quaffle in the other.
"Been practicing," she said before anyone asked, even though it was obvious. "I swear I'm twice as good than last year. I'll make the team for sure!"
"Gryffindor will still win." Callum said. "We'll stomp you."
"You haven't been sorted yet!" Charlotte said, looking at him. "Your more Slytherin material, to tell the truth. Well, I better go take a shower…" she strode off, leaving both Callum and Emily rather nervous.
"I'm gonna be in Gryffi-dor." Bart said confidently. "I know I am."
"Of course, Bart. You want some more chocolate milk?" Emily asked. He looked at his cup.
"Still not finished." he said, swishing it around in his cup. They door was opened again and Sophie stepped through, looking angry and frustrated.
"Where's Charlotte?" she snapped, sitting down. She sniffed and looked around expectantly.
"I'd leave her alone if I were you, she'll get you into more trouble." Benjamin said. Luke nodded in agreement.
Sophie crossed her arms and sat angrily, not listening. "Is mom coming to pick us up soon?" she asked, sighing.
"Yeah, pretty soon."
Sophie sighed, leaning back on the couch. "I hate it here."
In a busy part of London, in a small coffee shop on the corner Cho ate quietly, glancing up every now and then at the passerby of men who would glance at her in a way that would make most women uncomfortable, though it only mildly annoyed her. The seventh man walked by, with short black hair, and he, just like the previous six, glanced at the Charms professor.
How, at a younger age, she would've loved to throw her coffee in the man's face. His eyes continued to travel along her outline, and the oh-so-familiar look in his eyes, the shine and glow, made Cho sure she knew exactly what he was thinking. She took another drink of her coffee and looked upward, and the man, most likely afraid she would catch him looking, turned away and pretended to be reading the cover of the paper in the small stand. He purchased it and leaned against the wall beside the coffee shop window.
Cho almost wished she had not worn the short black miniskirt that hugged her thighs so tightly, or the black flannel button up, with the buttons that only went so high and came down so low. Why did she dress this way? Hell, even she didn't know. She liked the attention, in a strange sort of way. She could see the man glancing at her continuously. She shifted her legs, from having her left on top of her right to having her right on top of her left, and looked down at what was left of the pastry she had been nibbling on earlier.
She heard the small bell ring as someone entered the coffee shop, and didn't need to look up to know who it was.
"Excuse me," he said, and she saw his hand rest on the other end of the table. His voice was low, deep, and as she looked up at him, she saw it fit his demeanor rather well.
Though it was unable to tell from outside, he was very well-built, the kind of guy who probably worked out, without going overboard and becoming so muscled up he couldn't move properly, but not weak, not anywhere near weak, as even through his black cloak and whatever type of shirt he had on underneath, she could tell that all of his muscles must at least be well defined. His face was handsome as well, and he had the look of someone who had forgotten to shave in the morning, a rugged sort of look. His short black hair even fit him well.
"Yes?" she said, looking up at him, tilting her head a bit to the side.
"Is this seat taken?"
She shook her head and smiled at him. He smiled back and removed his cloak, throwing it onto the back of the chair. He was wearing a red t-shirt, and blue jeans.
'I was right,' she thought. He did have well defined muscles, and he was very handsome. He sat across from her and smiled at her, raising one eyebrow in a way that seemed to complement his appearance.
"There's a coat rack, over there." she said, nodding. He shrugged.
They talked of small, unimportant things, sometimes giving the other a smile or raise of the eyebrow, and sometimes flirting rather carelessly.
She noted that he had manners enough to look her in the eye as she spoke, unlike other men she had met, who seemed to find having a conversation with her breasts was more interesting than anything.
She finished her breakfast and coffee, and he stood to leave with her. He took her cloak from her hand and draped it around her shoulders for her as they stepped out, and she gave him a small smile as her reached around her torso to button it for her, lingering with his arms around her for only a split second.
"So," he said, falling in stride beside her. "Funny, how during our conversation, I never learned your name…"
She gave a small laugh. "Well, I never learned yours, Mister…?"
"King," he said. "Blake King. And yours, Miss?"
"Cho Chang," she said.
"Cho…" he said, as if thinking the name over. "Chinese or Japanese, right? Beautiful name."
She smiled at him again. He looked her in the eye with a similar one.
"Well, Cho Chang, can I ask, do you have anything planned for today? I'm only free for the next hour or so."
"I don't have any plans until later today." she said, thinking only for a second. "Would you like to just head around to a few shops? There are a few interesting places in Wizarding London, I've been searching around…"
Harry awoke to the sound of a scream, followed by a startled cry. He curled himself up in the soft sheets in the small bedroom, ignoring it, knowing it was the girl waking up and Charlie trying to quiet her. Harry had gotten a lot taken care of, and was now catching up on some much needed sleep.
He had spent time researching, planning, plotting, and he had been working as well, mainly brewing potions. (all of which were simply simmering, they required much more tending to.) He had finished quite a bit and had then taken time to shower, shave, and was now trying to catch himself up on rest…
The girl would not silence herself… he covered his head with the pillow, trying to block it out, but it was far too loud…
He finally stood, angry, and had to grab hold of the bed stand as he became dizzy. He shook it off and walked into the living room, switching the light back on.
"Quiet, Cassandra!" Charlie hissed as the light came on. She gave a funny sound, like a gasp, a cry, and a squeal all at once.
Then, as her sight fell on Harry, she screamed. Harry stepped forward, ignoring Charlie's cry, ("Please, don't hurt her!",) and, clamping a hand over her mouth, she was silenced. She hunched her shoulders, and her eyes became wide and tear-filled.
"Don't-hurt-her." Charlie panted, watching him closely.
Cassandra gave a muffled sob, and he could feel her trembling.
"Be. Quiet." Harry said in a final voice. "I am trying to sleep. I. Want. Silence."
She didn't move, but was still trembling violently. Charlie gulped audibly.
"Please, don't hurt her, please, don't." he begged.
"Quiet," Harry said, turning toward him, then turning back. "Now," he said to the girl. "You had better be quiet when I take my hand off. Understand?"
"Mm-hmm." was her muffled response. He took his hand off of her mouth. She swallowed and watched his hand carefully, as if she feared it would strike her at any minute.
"Harry- please man, let her go," Charlie said. "She doesn't know anything about anything. Let her-"
"Shut up." Harry said, in an impatient voice.
"Just let her go!" Charlie said in a demanding, ordering voice.
"QUIET!" he brought back a fist and struck him in the side of the face.
Cassandra almost screamed, stopping herself only when Harry turned with a threatening glare.
"Please don't hurt him, please, stop…" she said in a small voice. She squeezed her eyes tightly. "Stop it, please…"
He eventually lowered his fists, and gave an exasperated sigh.
"Just be quiet, that's all I'm asking, just shut up…" He looked at them both, at Cassandra, who was crying silently, to Charlie, who was staring at the floor, the side of his face red.
He stepped back out, switching off the light as he did so.
The next morning he awoke, (rather late in the day,) feeling for the first time in a long time, well rested. He changed out of the pajama's he had borrowed from Charlie, (After showering and shaving again; he had been in that filthy prison for so long he now adored the feeling of being clean,) and into blue jeans and a shirt he had also borrowed from Charlie. They didn't fit him that well, but with a quick swish of his wand they were just his size.
He stepped into the living room once more and quickly conjured a table of food, a variety of breakfast choices. He looked at Charlie and Cassandra. She had fallen asleep, and he was quiet, not to mention oddly still.
Harry stepped past Charlie and to the girl. He sensed more than saw Charlie's gaze fixated on him.
Harry muttered a spell, pointing his wand at her. Charlie tensed, but didn't say anything.
He undid the girl's chains and picked her up. She was limp in his arms, and completely unconscious.
"What- what are you doing?" Charlie said, finally gaining his nerve. He was ignored, as Harry carried the girl to the small couch and laid her there.
"I put a charm on her." he said. "When she wakes up in a few hours she won't be hostile or try to fight me, or she'll be pulled back onto the couch. She'll probably be hungry," he added, taking one of the plates and putting it on the table in front of the couch.
Charlie didn't understand. Why was Voldemort's servant acting this way?
Fifth Year, Ron's Explanation
"Ron," Harry said, interrupting their fight. "why did you have to attack Malfoy in the first place?"
Ron's face became serious. "He was being a git, that's why. Came up to us, started smarting us about the same old, my family's house, Hermione's heritage, and…" he stopped, as if contemplating what to say next. Hermione finished it for him.
"And started talking about your parents, Harry." she said. "Then, Ron talked back, and, well, Malfoy tried to sick Crabbe and Goyle on us, but Ron hit Malfoy before anything. They kind of just stood there, looking stupid for a few minutes, then they lunged at Ron, and did that," she pointed to his bloody nose. "They would've done much worse if I hadn't already screamed for the teachers."
"Yeah," Ron said, turning to Harry. "I got him in the nose, in the jaw, I landed my foot right in his ribs…"
"Ron!" Hermione said, scandalized, as they turned and started climbing the staircase to Gryffindor Tower. "Mrs. Malfoy's going to sue… and this time, you know the ministry's not going to let you off, because of-" she stopped.
Harry knew why. "Because of me, right?"
"What? No! It was because of… well, his dad, I mean, everyone knows he's sided with Dumbledore, right? There not going to like this…"
"I guess," Harry said. He knew, of course, that she was lying.
That night, Harry couldn't help twisting and turning in his bed, a nightmare haunting his dreams…
"Liar! Thief! I was Cedric's! You killed him, you murdered him, for me!" Cho sobbed.
"No, no, I'm not! I didn't!" Came Harry's own voice.
"LIAR!" she screamed. She continued sobbing.
Suddenly, she changed, now she was wearing the same robes he had seen on her at the Yule ball… Black, with what looked like silver glitter all over it… she bent down and picked something up off the floor… a mask.
She put it on, and it seemed to disappear into her skin. Her tear-stained, wet face was replaced by a happy, smiling one…
"Harry," she said, smiling at him. "Wanna dance?"
"Er- what?" he said, confused. Weren't they in the Room of Requirement?
No, no, the walls were melting, there was a bright flash of white light… they were in the Great Hall.
Music was playing, and couples were dancing all around them, but there seemed to be at least ten feet between Harry and the nearest person. Like they were in a gap on the dance floor.
Cho was about ten feet away as well, but far from any other couple.
"I said, do you wanna dance?" She was much nearer now, less than a foot away.
Without a word, he took her hand and waist, pulling her close, closing his eyes. She felt rather cold against him though, like she had been out in snow… wet snow…
He opened his eyes and pushed her away gently, to ask her about her strange decrease in body temperature, only to find her in her school robes, with her hair down, and her tear stained face back. Above him, mistletoe, and without looking, he knew he was back in the Room of Requirement. This was where they had kissed before Christmas break…
The mask lay on the floor behind her…
"I really like you, Harry." The familiar words echoed in his brain.
She was getting closer… closer…
She disappeared…
Everything disappeared…
Now it was clearing, a room full of people, all masked and robes, all working diligently, running around in what looked like a greenhouse with no light… no, it was just the time, it was late. People rushed around pulling flowers up, collecting certain petals or pieces of plants…
One of them approached from behind and bowed. Harry turned, curious as to who it could be.
"My Lord," came Snape's voice. "My Lord, we have found the location of the book."
