Prelude To Heartbreak
Harry was in the office shared by Sirius and Remus.
Remus was not here today, and his godfather was grading the Defense Against Dark Arts assignments by the first years. Occasionally, Sirius would read out some paragraphs he found hilarious to Harry.
It was a bright and clear day – perfect for practicing Quidditch. But Harry would not be anywhere else at the moment. He was enjoying every bit of private time he could share with Sirius.
After an hour, Sirius threw the last parchment to the pile of graded essays and gave a loud yawn.
"Finally! All these teaching and grading are turning me into a boring old man!" He flashed a sly smile. "Perhaps it's time to revive some of the old Marauders' pranks to liven up the school. This place is so dead and lifeless!"
"You're a professor now, Sirius. You are supposed to set a good example for your students," Harry reminded.
"Oh, alright," Sirius frowned but his face soon lit up again. "There're other ways to add some life into old Hogwarts. Perhaps something like a celebration."
"Halloween is over. We have to wait till Christmas."
"Oh no, we don't. We can always create an occasion for celebration."
"Such as?"
"Such as a birthday, an anniversary –" he put on an innocent look on his face and added, "- or a wedding."
"Isn't your birthday in late April? You're born under the star of Taurus, right?"
This is not working. He's not getting it, Sirius thought as he decided to change his tactics. "I promised you that you can move in with me after I get my freedom. I've been looking at some houses, Harry."
"Really?" Harry leaped out of his seat, excited. "I don't have to stay with Uncle Vernon anymore?"
"Not unless you want to."
"Are you crazy? Of course I'll want to stay with you!"
"That's great," Sirius grinned. "So the three of us can stay together."
"The three of us? Professor Lupin will stay with us?"
Sirius was getting exasperated. "Not Remus. He has his own place." Realising he might have sounded too harsh, he hastily added, "Of course, Remus is most welcome to stay over once in a while."
"Then who's this third person?" Harry thought about Dobby, but quickly rejected the idea. Sirius was unlikely to include Dobby in his plans. He had no emotional attachment towards the elf. Emotional attachment? Harry smiled to himself. There was one person whom his godfather was emotionally attached to.
"I was thinking of a mistress for our home," Sirius' hint was getting more obvious.
"Why can't you just say it's April?" Harry fought an urge to laugh.
"You prat!" he chided the boy fondly. "Are you agreeable if April joins us in our new home?"
"You don't have to ask me for permission. It's your house."
"And your home, Harry. Tell me, would you mind?"
"Of course not! It'll be fun to stay with April!"
Sirius beamed at Harry.
"You're going to marry April?"
Sirius nodded. "I plan to do that soon. I've not asked her yet though."
Harry laughed. "You'll have to pop the question soon if you want to make it before Christmas."
"I wanted to wait till I've found the perfect new house," Sirius replied thoughtfully. "But you're right. There's no point postponing the asking. I just have to get ready a back-up plan."
Harry reached out and gave Sirius a fierce hug. "I'm happy for you, Sirius."
"Thanks, son."
*
"Hi, beautiful!"
April jumped at the sound of Sirius' voice close to her ear. She had not heard him coming.
"Sorry I startled you," he grinned easily and sat next to her at the top of the Astronomy tower.
"It's not your fault. I was just too deep in thoughts."
"You seem to have too much on your mind these days. Shall I get you a pensive?" he said, only half-joking.
"How did you know I'm here?"
"Mr Padfoot told me," he replied with a crooked smile, as he fingered the Marauders' Map in his left pocket.
April frowned, not understanding a word of Sirius' seemingly nonsensical reply.
"Remember to keep Saturday free."
She felt the now familiar sense of panic. "Whatever for?"
"I told you I'll show you something to grant your special request this weekend."
"Oh," she responded lamely. "I'm not in a hurry. It can wait."
"It can't!" he replied quickly. "I want to do it this Saturday. You don't have other engagements, do you?"
She combed her mind desperately for an excuse. "I was thinking of seeing Brandy and Whiskey back to the fortress on Saturday."
Sirius almost laughed out loud in his relief. "That's not a problem at all. I'm sure the elves can find their own way."
He saw the reluctance in her face. "Or we can send them back together first thing in the morning. Then we can have the rest of the day to ourselves."
"We'll see," she answered vaguely.
Sirius' attempt at pressing for a committed reply from April was preempted by sudden bright red sparks shot high in the sky. Both of them recognized these sparks – they were a signal for them to gather in Dumbledore's office immediately. Something had happened.
*
Sirius and April were among the last to reach the headmaster's room. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Moody, Arabella and, to April's discomfort, Snape were already there. There were also three more whom they were meeting for the first time. Dumbledore introduced the strangers as aurors with the Ministry – Mark Steiner, Jude Molden and Craig Byron. Sirius guessed that Byron was in his early thirties while Steiner and Molden were in their mid to late forties. He returned his gaze to Byron and took an instant dislike to the younger man – especially the way the auror was openly gawking at April.
April shifted uneasily in no part due to unwanted attention from Byron, but more so because she could feel Snape's grey eyes boring into her face. She kept her gaze determinedly fixed onto Dumbledore, frustrated that after weeks of carefully avoiding Snape and succeeding at it, she now had to be in the room as the Potions Master.
Their thoughts returned to the present when the door sprang open again.
Sirius narrowed his eyes as Remus and Harry entered the room. "What's he doing here? Why is Harry part of this?" Sirius shot Dumbledore an almost murderous stare.
The elderly man remained calm and collected. He waved a hand and chairs appeared out of nowhere. Gesturing for everyone to take a seat, he began, "As all of you are aware, Moody and Mundungus have been keeping watch on Azkaban, ever since Harry witnessed the resurrection of Voldemort."
Snape gave a soft skeptical laugh and Sirius shot daggers at him.
Dumbledore went on, ignoring the slight disruption. "We had cause to believe that Voldemort was trying to get some of his captured followers back to his fold. Harry also told us about Voldemort's confidence of gaining the support of the dementors."
Snape snorted. Sirius, unable to control his anger any more, started to rise to his feet but was stopped in time by Remus and April who each kept a firm hand on either side of his shoulders. Remus also shot him a warning look and Sirius grudgingly stayed in his seat and returned his attention to the headmaster.
"Most of you already know that Harry has a special connection with Voldemort. An unfortunate one in some ways, but fortunate in others." Harry winced inwardly as Dumbledore continued, "Harry had another vision last night - one of Voldemort addressing his followers. We know all along that the dark side is stirring, but we did not know when. But now we may have a clue. According to Harry's vision, the dementors have already defected to the Dark Side," he paused and looked into the aurors' direction and they nodded.
"I'm afraid there may be some truth in that," said Steiner. "I accompanied the Minister to Azkaban last week. Old Fudge did not sense anything amiss, but I believe there were noticeably fewer dementors swarming around."
"We've been observing the prison and noticed there are times when there are no dementors on guard at the entrance," Moody's voice boomed.
Dumbledore allowed a pause for the rest to register what was just made known to them, before continuing, "As I was saying, now we know when the Dark Side is likely to strike. Now that there is a distinct possibility that Voldemort has already gained the support of the dementors. Their next step will be to rescue certain prisoners whom he believes to be of use to him."
"The Lestranges," Sirius said bitterly. He had been making a conscious effort till then, to hide his emotions and carefully arranged his features to appear nonchalant. He did not want anyone to know what a simple mention of the dementors and Azkaban could do to him. But he soon realized that he did not fool everyone. Remus patted his arm discreetly while April had, in the midst of Dumbledore's revelation, slipped a hand into his. He shot her a grateful look and forced himself to relax and breathe normally.
"Tell everyone what else you heard, Harry." Dumbledore turned to the boy.
Harry licked his lips before speaking. He knew that what he would reveal would upset everyone in the room, especially Sirius. "Voldemort told the death eaters that the dementors will attack Hogwarts in seven day's time," he stated as simply as he could.
There were gasps from many of those present. April looked at Sirius with concern and tightened her grip on his hand which had just turned colder. His face still betrayed no emotions, no sign of the turmoil and fear he was feeling inside.
"There must be hundreds of them. Surely not all have defected?" Mundungus asked.
"Attack Hogwarts? That's unbelievable!" Byron interjected.
"We have to be prepared for the worst case scenario, "Dumbledore informed them gravely. Then, addressing the aurors, he continued, "It is not convenient for the three of you to be present in the school during the attack."
Moody grunted. "We need all the help we can get."
"I don't deny that. But we need them at the Ministry. Mundungus and Arabella will be here," the headmaster said, looking pointedly at the pair who sat up straighter to signal their support despite their growing fears.
"I'll be calling for another meeting with the staff of Hogwarts tomorrow," Dumbledore carried on, in an amazingly serene manner. "It is a battle that Hogwarts must rise to fight."
"It's hasty to scramble and feat just because of some vision –" Snape deliberately dripped sarcasm on the word, "- of a student. For all we know, it may turn out to be a result of hallucination or an overactive imagination."
"Better safe than sorry. It's better to be over-vigilant than to be caught unaware," Moody spoke up.
"I agree with Moody," Dumbledore said quietly. "I hope that it's not true. But if it is as what Harry had seen and heard, we should be prepared."
The meeting soon came to a close, leaving all of them in a somber mood.
"Good luck," Byron told April as he departed, earning an angry glare from Sirius. After Sirius watched the aurors leave the room, he went to Harry.
April sighed inwardly. Things were not looking well. Why did this have to happen now? She had thought she could…
"Miss Flamel."
April jumped at the voice that interrupted her thoughts. "Professor Snape," she greeted warily.
"I apologise for what I did in the dungeon."
"What did you just say?" she asked numbly, taken off guard by his statement.
Irritation crept into Snape's hard face. "I do not repeat myself, Miss Flamel." He made to depart before changing his mind and turned back to her again. "I saw the black hawks."
Her breath was caught in her throat. "What black hawks?" she asked uneasily.
"Those that have been sending you letters," he sneered. "I know who they belong to."
April looked away, not knowing how to respond. She let out her breath when she was rescued by Sirius who had suddenly materialised by her side.
"Is he bothering you?" he asked her while keeping his eyes at Snape.
"No. Let's go," she replied quietly, lowered her head and made for the exit.
***
Apologies for the delay in uploading this chapter. A number of crazy (or silly) things happened along the way – the worse one being yours truly leaving my diskette in the office while I was staying home for a week.
Thanks for all the reviews! Shall we make a deal? I'll start writing my next chapter right away and will post as soon as I hit 700 reviews. Oh please? *tries to imitate Sirius' cute puppy-dog look but failed*
Since all of you asked the same "WHY?" question (i.e. why does April not want to marry Sirius), I'll give a single reply to everyone: "YOU'LL FIND OUT!" Oh no, you feel like tearing your…nope…MY hair out? Spare me! Snape guessed it! How about venturing a guess?
Lil Lupin: I'll keep things moving.
Ms. Padfoot: I love secrets and cliffies! *evil smile*
ANNE( v )79: Glad you liked the chapter!
Sallymander: Are you sure you'll continue to love my fanfic even after I break up the couple? *rubs hands together in glee and laughs wickedly*
OutofAzkaban: Yah, I know how you feel when you had to end your fic. I'm getting sad that this fic is near its end too.
Fire'N'Ice: I love the elves too! They should appear again, don't you think?
Katani Petitedra: I've bought many more pillows, so that you can't eat them all!
cesa: I'm so glad you gave my fic a chance! I like your observations about the different relationships April has with the two guys. Know what? I've made some minor changes to my summary. Thanks for the tip!
Mousy: Have you finished reading past chapter 4? Hope that you'll read this new chapter soon :)
phoebe666: 'Fab' is not a stupid word! At least, it kept me happy for a long time!
lizziepooh: Sorry for taking ages to update. Hope you've not given up checking back for updates!
nunnya buiznes: I'm working hard not to disappoint my readers!
SjabRox: You'll have to be patient and wait for my later chapters to find out!
Lisande: Thanks for reviewing four chapters at one go.
Blueberrie: Hope you're still waiting to read this chapter cuz I took more than a couple of weeks.
Diosa Alexia: She's not loony. You'll find out eventually, I promise!
padfoot1979: Oops, I didn't fulfil my part of the scout's honor! Oh no! Can we start all over again? I'll try to post soon and you'll continue reviewing?
Summerkins: It was a love match? Maybe… (yes, I'm evil!)
lildarkkitty: I'm not logging onto the Hogwarts castle site that often anymore. My dorm mates disappeared too :( But that's ok – we still have fanfiction.net!
Star06: Good to hear from you again. You hardly log on these days? Your reviews have been 'anonymous' instead of 'signed' recently.
an-angel36: This is getting better? Yippeeeee!!!!!!!
stormyweather457: I have to be nasty to get a review from you, right? Goodie…now that I know the trick, I shall plan some misfortunes to befall the characters…
LILRKCHK: I can't tell! It'll spoil the suspense!
black-cat-on-the-wall: I want to marry Sirius too! But unfortunately, I don't live in JKR's world.
peachgirl1608: He's my dream boyfriend too! :)
ice-cold-star: Why is she upset? I'll reveal later…
moe: Thanks for diligent moe's compliments! :) Sorry that I wasn't as diligent as you are. I'm working on it! :P
star-prancer: You were not rambling. You were making perfect sense!
Please remember to drop me a review before you leave this page. If you have time, do read my other two ficcies as well! :)
