A/N: Oh my! I just noticed I'm so close to 300 reviews! Only about twenty something off! Cool!
Oh, and when I wrote part of this I was listening to one of Evanescence's songs (Imaginary) and I got some sudden inspiration for some stuff.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, so go and bug someone else about that.
Chapter 22
Harry groaned as he entered the kitchen in Grimmauld Place, grimacing as he sat down. Who knew that animagi training could be so tiring?
Happened to you?" asked the amused voice of Bella from the doorway.
"Sirius," Harry said simply, resting his head against the table. "For a marauder, he's definitely taking his chance to teach me how to become an animagus too serious."
Bella chuckled slightly, before sitting down opposite him.
"So how far have you got? He's been teaching you for two months so far."
"Apparently," Harry said with feigned joy. "Tonight I get to find out what my animagi form is!"
"Why tonight of all nights?" she asked him curiously.
"I don't know. When I asked him he said something about the moon."
"Ah, Harry Potter, good of you to finally join me again."
"Huh?" Harry muttered unintelligently, before opening his eyes and finding himself face to face with Tanhisial. "Oh, err, hi."
She chuckled amusedly for a moment, her face shining slightly, before some seriousness set into her face.
"It has been over a month since I last spoke to you, Harry Potter."
Neither said anything for a moment, and Harry sifted slightly, looking around. It was much darker in their than it had been before, parts being pitch black, though there were a couple of spot of blinding white light. There were also far fewer trees than before, and far more mist.
"You are wondering why you are here, are you not?" she asked, continuing before waiting for an answer. "You have heard the prophecy made by the witch seer Sybil Trelawney, 15 of your earth's years ago. I can see it in your eyes. In the prophecy it stated that you would have a power the Dark Lord knew not. Unfortunately, with just the help of the wizards and witches of earth, you will not be able to realise this power."
Tanhisial stared off into space, almost mournfully, for a few minutes, obviously lost in thought. Finally she blinked and snapped out of it.
"I apologise," she said, shaking her head. "Some of the time my mind wanders without my realising."
"Er, right," Harry said quickly. "But you still haven't told me why I'm here. You just said I can't learn what the power that's in the prophecy is, let alone use it."
"Ah, but I said no such thing. I said that you could not learn about it in your world. That is why you are here. Here you will be able to learn to control it."
"But… but what is it?"
"You will find out in time, little human," she chuckled quietly. "But you must go back now."
Harry woke with a slight shock and sat up quickly, his eyes darting around him for some unknown danger. Sure enough, soon a figure threw a bucket of water at his bed, which he just managed to avoid by scrambling out of the bed at the last second.
"You're getting predictable Sirius," Harry laughed at his godfather who was smiling at him.
"Well, you're learning to be more alert. It's harder to surprise you now."
Harry smiled, before yawning and looking briefly out of the windows, suddenly scowling.
"Sirius! It's still dark out!"
"Yeah, well, you're awake now," he said, sifting slightly. "So get up! There's only a couple of hours before the moon sets!"
Harry growled and rolled his eyes as Sirius left the room, but follow, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
"Where are we going anyway?" Harry asked, somewhat grumpily.
"We're going here!" Sirius said brightly, stopping and going through what appeared to Harry as a random room. "We're gonna find out your animal form is tonight!"
Harry yawned slightly, still tired. "So I'll be able to transform?"
"Only if we hurry!"
Harry sighed, and stepped into the room, surveying it briefly. It was large, and looked as if the walls and ceiling were painted with a scene from another world. The ceiling was violet in colour and painted in such a way it looked like sky, with pale pink clouds painted on it and a few birds (none of which he recognised) flying across it. The walls and floors were painted to look like open fields, charmed so that the grass that appeared to be growing there moved and swayed in the breeze. In one direction there were some woods far off in the distance, and a lake in another. Altogether it looked beautiful.
But it wasn't how the room looked that immediately caught his attention. It was a mural on the far walls of someone whom Harry instantly recognised. She looked exactly the same.
"Tanhisial," he murmured, before passing out.
Harry groaned as his opened his eyes, quickly shutting them again against the blinding light. Slowly he opened them again and sat up. He was in his room, alone, and could hear voices downstairs, all obviously arguing.
"SIRIUS! DOD YOU EVEN THINK OF WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF YOU TOOK HIM IN THERE?!"
That was Bella. He'd recognise that yell anywhere.
"OF COURSE THE UNGRATEFUL BRAT DIDN'T THINK! HE NEVER DOES! AND LOOK WHAT THAT GOT HIM! DISOWNED AND TWELVE YEARS IN AZKABAN!
That was Mrs Black's portrait getting in on the argument.
"YES! I THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN! DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT I WOULD DELIBERATELY DO SOMETHING THAT WOULD ENDAGER MY OWN GODSON'S LIFE?! I MAY DO SOME SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS THINGS THAT COULD GET MYSELF KILLED, BUT DO YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD INVOLVE HARRY IN ANYHTING LIKE THAT?! HE'S ALL THAT'S LEFT OF ONE OF MY BEST FRENDS!"
That was Sirius, and he sounded really distraught over what had happened. 'Whatever that was' Harry thought to himself.
"WELL, PROBABLY NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HAD JUST JOINED THE DARK LORD IN THE FIRST PLACE!"
That was Mrs Black, and whatever tirade she had been planning was quickly cut short by a sheik and the sound of a glass breaking against a wall. Probably Sirius.
"DO NOT EVEN THINK OF GOING THERE! JOINING VOLDEMORT - STOP FLINCHING WOMAN! YOU'RE DEAD AND JUST A DAMN PORTRAIT! HE CAN'T HURT YOU! JOINING VOLDEMORT HAS DONE NO ONE IN THIS FAMILY A SCRAP OF GOOD! LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO REGULUS! DEATH FOR FINALLY REALISING THE TRUTH! THAT VOLDEMORT WAS AND IS A MONSTER! IT GOT MYSELF, MY HUSBAND AND HIS BROTHER THROWN IN AZKABAN, BOTH OF WHOM ARE NOW DEAD! AND DO YOU KNOW WHY?! THEY WERE SCREAMING TOO LOUDLY WHEN UNDER THE RUCIATUS FOR VOLDEMORT'S TASTES! YES! THAT'S RIGHT! THEY WERE KILLED FOR SCREAMING TOO LOUDLY WHEN THEY WERE BEING TORTURED! SO DON'T EVEN THINK OF GOING THERE!"
That was Bella, meaning that instead of Sirius, it must have been her that threw the glass. Voldemort and Death Eaters must have been a sore subject for her to have gone off on a tirade.
Harry heard Bella storm off, and lay back down. He might as well try and catch up on the sleep he missed that morning.
Bella stormed off from the argument, shaking with fury and fists clenched, though she couldn't stop a slight smirk of triumph sneaking it's way onto her face when he thought about the fact she had gotten to her aunt's portrait. The image in the woman's painting had pales slightly when she had brought up Regulus, so obviously she actually cared for one of her sons.
Still angry beyond belief, Bella walked into the nearest room, slamming the room shut with a resounding bang, before ramming her fist into one of the room. Her rage leaving her for a moment as pain flooded her arm for a moment and then left, anger taking it's place again, though not quite to the same extent as before.
How could that old bat even consider saying such a thing?! She knew that it would have all happened, regardless of whether Sirius had chosen to join Voldemort or not. She knew that it would have made absolutely no difference, apart from the fact Sirius' imprisonment would have happened for something that he was responsible for, rather than nothing. She even knew abut the prophecy. But the spiteful old cow just had to say it. Just to get at Sirius. She hadn't even considered the fact it may have affect her as well. She just had to say it.
Bella jumped slightly as she felt someone put their hand on her shoulder and turned quickly, only to see that it was Sirius, with, for once, a serious expression on his face.
"Why did you go off at her like that?" he asked her simply, his eyes boring into hers. "Normally it's just me that does."
"She had it coming," Bella scowled. "And she really should not have brought up Voldemort."
"Why?" Sirius asked suddenly, slightly taken aback. "Why did you leave Voldemort? You never did explain that to me."
"I… uh…" she started, totally speechless for a moment, causing Sirius the grin at her, though he quickly sighed his expression much more sombre.
"Bellatrix, do you remember when we were kids? Someone pranked Mother, and she blamed me? This was before any of us started Hogwarts, before you ask."
"Yeah…" Bella said, scowling. "What about it?"
"You, Reg, Narcissa and Adromeda all stuck up for me, telling her that I didn't do it. What happened to us?"
"We grew up, we grew apart," she said, scowling even more and getting up. At some point they had sat down, though she wasn't quite sure when. "Just tell me one thing. Why did you take Harry into that room?"
Sirius sighed. He had really been hoping not to have to get into that.
"Because…" he said slowly. "It's the only room in this entire house that's big enough for the first animagi transformation that anyone can have. No one can ever tell what there form will be until their first transformation."
There was a brief silence between the two of them, neither knowing what to say, but it was broken quickly enough.
"Do you know what his animagi form is then?" Bella asked Sirius, barely audible.
"Yeah," Sirius said, equally quietly. "I do. It's a…"
A/N: Yes, I'm evil, leaving you with a cliffy like that but I couldn't resist. This chapter's already over 1700 words long, so gimme a break. I do know what his animagi form will be though, for those that are curious, but I'm not telling. You'll have to find out next chapter.
For those that don't already know about this, I now have an order for updating my fics. After I update this I will update the AU version of it, followed by my fic 'Dad?' and then come back to this. It's kinda like a cycle.
Hi Im Crazy: Thanks!
Potts: This is longer, isn't it?
The Vampire Story Hunter: ::growls:: Listen here bub. This is my fic, and if you're just going to call my work a piece of shit I suggest you stop reading it, because I won't stand for it. If you have anything bad to say about it then you should try to leave a constructive review that could help, and not just badmouth it, so screw you!
mellowyellow36: Lol, good guesses, but neither are right, I'm afraid.
Amscray: Lol! But, according to the fifth HP book, I'm fairly sure that people only become ghosts if they're scared of death. And good point about all of the people you mentioned. I honestly forgot about them.
Topsta: Great! Just great! A bloodthirsty reviewer! Wonderful!
SiLvErFaTeD: LOL!
Gina: Thanks! And Lol! I take it you think this is unique?
INMH: Lol! Okay!
Ryua Malfoy: Lol! Thanks! But Siri had to come back!
FallenAngel12: Lol, okay, I'll try for more intensity and more descriptions (I can never mange them too well though).
Irina Derevko: Nope, he won't be a stag. He'll be something that I don't think I've ever seen in a fanfic before. And everything in this that's supernatural (that I put in and isn't part of the canon) will be explained. I pretty much have explanations sorted.
panuru4u: It's entertaining? That's good to know.
jeangab057: Ah, that's okay. Just try not to forget too often. I like reviews!
A. Person: Lol, next chapter should hopefully have more explanation, but if you get any ideas about who he is before then I want to hear them. I want to know if it's possible to guess who he is.
Krissy Riddle: Lol, thanks!
Draco-FutureBF: I swear the romance will really begin in only a couple of chapters! I mean it!
