Gearing Up For Battle
It was almost three in the morning when Sirius left Remus' quarters. Despite the late hour, he was not the slightest bit weary. In fact, he felt almost energised.
Sirius and Remus had an extremely fruitful brainstorming session. In the first couple of hours, they were frustrated at getting nowhere. But soon, Sirius had an idea and by the fourth hour, they not only had a plan but also meticulous details on how to put the plan into action. The two friends were pleased with the outcome. They knew they had outdone themselves this time. Dumbledore and the rest were bound to be impressed.
Sirius started to whistle softly as he turned round the corner into the corridor where his quarters were. Perhaps it was due to the darkness, or because he was too preoccupied that he did not notice the figure waiting for him.
"Sirius."
He whirled around. "April? What are you doing here?"
He touched her arm and instantly noticed that it was icy cold and she was shivering.
"I'm waiting for you," she said, willing her teeth not to chatter.
"C'mon in!" He quickly unlocked his door, pulled her inside, and pointed his wand to the fireplace to summon flames. "Are you crazy?" he sounded almost angry as he retrieved a cloak strewn onto the couch and set it over her shoulders. "It's three in the morning and for Merlin's sake, how long have you waited?"
"Since the meeting ended."
"Five hours? Five hours in the cold? Why didn't you just look for me?"
She pursed her lips into a stubborn line.
Sirius was exasperated. "You knew I was with Moony. You could have looked for me at his place or at least get one of your house elves to send me a message."
"I wanted to see you alone," she said quietly, not quite meeting his eyes.
Sirius softened at once. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
April did not reply. Instead, she abruptly wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek hard against his chest. Sirius' arms automatically went around her and held her to himself.
"April?" he probed gently.
"I can't bear to lose you," she replied in a whisper.
Sirius chuckled softly. "Why do you say that? You're not going to lose me. I'm here. And I'll always be here for you."
Her only response was the tightening of her arms around him.
"Are you afraid that I'll let the dementors get to me? There's nothing to worry about! Moony and I came up with the perfect plan!"
She stayed silent.
Sirius pulled away slightly and cupped her face in his large hands. "I know you've been troubled ever since you were wounded…" he began hesitantly.
April widened her eyes and wondered how much he knew.
"You can't understudy Snape anymore after that…well, incident. So you're feeling that you've lost your role at Hogwarts?"
She let go of the breath she did not realise she was holding. He did not have a clue afterall.
Sirius saw the relief in her eyes and read that as an indication that his guess was correct. "I've thought of a fabulous position for you. It's perfect! And I'll speak to Dumbledore about it first thing after breakfast. If you want it."
"What are you talking about, Sirius?" she smiled inspite of herself. She was touched by the concern the man was showering upon her and felt that the tenderness in his eyes could almost melt her resolution. Almost.
"I know you'll love my idea."
"Go on."
Sirius looked thoroughly pleased with himself. "How would you like to be –" he paused for dramatic effect.
"Spill the beans!"
"Alright," he grinned. "How would you like to be Hogwarts' first detentions mistress?"
April raised an amused brow at him.
"I'm serious!"
"I know," she giggled.
He feigned an annoyed glare before saying cheerfully, "you'll enjoy that position! Will you not? Moony and I will send you a constant supply of –"
"Of Slytherins?" she reached out for the top of his head and messed up his hair.
"Of course, Snape will send you Gryffindors too. But I think Harry and his friends would rather enjoy their detentions."
"So I'm supposed to get tough on the Slytherins and go easy on your favourite students?"
He gave an expression that resembled a pout. "Why not?"
Her laughing eyes suddenly misted over. "You did this for me, didn't you? You were worried that I'll feel like an outsider and that's why you thought of all this?"
Sirius lowered his head and let his lips brush lightly against hers.
She quivered involuntarily. "Oh Sirius…why are you making it so hard for me to leave you?" Tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"You're not going to leave me, silly."
April closed her eyes and wished fervently that he would still feel the same way after she had done what she had to do.
*
Sirius was awakened by the bright sunlight pouring into the room. His first instincts were to get up and stretch, but the weight on his legs soon reminded him that he was not in his bedroom. And he was not alone either. Sirius lowered his gaze and smiled lovingly at April, who was still fast asleep. He continued sitting in the upright position while she was curled up on the couch with her head rested on his lap.
They had chatted till it was almost daybreak, and April was so tired that she had dozed off without meaning to.
Sirius' legs were numbed due to the lack of blood circulation, but he did not mind it one bit. He had no intention of moving them anyway. He smoothed the faint frown lines on April's forehead in gentle strokes, before running his fingers through her long silky hair as he watched her sleep. He recalled the first time he had seen her like this. How different things were! Then, he was still refusing to admit his feelings for her and actually thought that Remus was the one she fancied. Now, months later, they were a couple and soon, Sirius would make her his bride.
*
Hours later, the staff of Hogwarts, as well as Moody, April, Arabella and Mundungus gathered in the staffroom. Moody ensured that all doors were securely locked and cast spells to prevent any one outside from overhearing their conversation.
Dumbledore started by giving a brief account of Harry's vision for the benefit of those who were not present in his office the day before. As soon as he was done, the headmaster signalled for Sirius and Remus to take over.
"There is only one thing that can drive away the dementors," Sirius began confidently, striding to the centre of the room.
"And if it's powerful enough, it may also destroy them," Remus continued.
"We're referring to the Patronus Charm, of course."
Trelawney and Filch looked terrified, while Mrs Norris kept close to the caretaker. Before anyone could raise any doubt, Remus quickly cut in, "we know that we may be facing hundreds of dementors –"
"So we have to combine the powers of everyone in the school –"
"Including the students. The older ones of course –"
"Anyone who can conjure a decent Patronus Charm will be roped in –"
"Sirius and I will train those from the third years and up starting today –"
"And every student who passes the test will join us in the Great Hall –"
"There's strength in numbers –"
"The greater the numbers, the more powerful our Patronus will be. We need at least two hundred of them," Sirius interjected.
"Wait," Snape sneered. "You mean to get the students involved in this?"
"We'll not force them, of course. They can opt to stay in their dormitories with the rest of their housemates," Remus quickly assured.
Sirius smirked. "I'm sure we can count on the Gryffindors. And perhaps some from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."
"Are you implying that Slytherins are incapable of mastering the Patronus Charm?" Snape asked menacingly.
"Certainly, I do not doubt that there may be a handful of them who can, Professor Snape." Sirius looked amused. "Why, I just don't know if they will be willing to fight against creatures sent by their own deatheater fathers."
"That's enough, Professor Black. I think Professor Snape has your message," McGonagall interrupted.
"What if the dementors go to other parts of the school instead of the Great Hall?" asked Flitwick.
"That's right!" Mundungus chipped in. "The students will be in danger!"
"All students who are unable to work the Patronus Charm will be in their dormitories," Remus glanced quickly at Trelawney and Hagrid and made a silent wish that none of the adults need to be kept in as well. "I'm afraid we'll need all the manpower we can get, so we can't spare any staff member who know the Patronus Charm."
Snape let loose a very audible snort.
"Don't worry, Snape," Sirius jeered. "We'll not leave your little snakes unprotected." He ignored the Potion Master's furious glare and continued, "We'll put up heavy wards and the portraits will be watching over them."
"We'll assign at least three portraits to each House," Remus explained. "If there's any sigh of trouble, one of them will immediately inform Filch who'll be stationed in the inner hall."
Filch nodded with an air of self-importance. He was very glad and relieved that he was assigned a role. He would be utterly humiliated if he was forced to hide in their students' dormitories and let everyone know that he was a squib.
"We will also put the ghosts to good use," Sirius quipped. "They'll stay with the students and maintain order there. It's time they do something useful."
"That sounds doable!" Moody gave his approval. "The only thing we need to figure out is how to make sure the dementors go to the Great Hall and nowhere else."
Sirius' smile faded. "That's not too hard to figure out. We just have to make sure that they know that the two persons at the top of their list are in the hall."
April gasped. "That'll be you and Harry?"
When Sirius looked away, Remus decided to answer on his behalf. "The dementors have been after Sirius for a long time, ever since he escaped from Azkaban. As for Harry, he's at the top of Voldemort's wanted list. The dementors will be given strict instructions to attack him."
There was a long stretch of silence as everyone considered the proposed plan.
Finally, Dumbledore stood up. "Does anyone have a better suggestion?" He looked around and none besides Sirius, Remus and of course Moody, met his eyes. "So it's settled then," he announced before leaving the staffroom, satisfied with the unspoken consensus.
The rest slowly dispersed after the headmaster's departure.
"I'll walk you out," Sirius told April.
She did not bulge. "I don't like the idea of using you and Harry as baits," she said softly.
"It's no big deal," he shrugged. "It's not as if we have to deal with them alone. All of you will be with us."
When Sirius noticed her deep frown, he forced a chuckle. "Don't look so glum. You'll just get premature wrinkles and lines on your face! C'mon!"
"I was there, remember?" she said in a bare whisper. "I saw your reaction when the dementors tried to attack you at Hogsmeade."
"Things are different now. I'm not afraid of them anymore," he assured her. "I have so much more to protect and live for now."
April cracked a stiff smile.
"And after Saturday, I'm sure I can conjure such a spectacular Patronus that all dementors within a mile will be blasted!"
"Right," she muttered, with a horrible sinking feeling.
***
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!! : )
Blueberrie: You're the first to review my last chapter! :)
ANNE( v )79: I've reached 700 reviews, so I'm updating as promised!
Lisande: Good guess but…hmm…
Summerkins: I enjoy torturing people! I'm a sadist! *evil laughter in the background*
an-angel-36: I'm glad you love my cliff hangers. I've some wicked ones in store!
Senshichan14: Good guess. Aaron is somewhere in the picture. Or is he?
tenniStar514: I keep forgetting to ask you – is your birthday on 14th May? That's why you chose '514'? Anyway, keep my fic in your top ten. I promise I'll try not to disappoint you!
starangel2106: Your birthday falls on 21st June? I know, I know – I've asked a weird question. I'm still in the new year mood!
OutofAzkaban: Tough luck, dear. Sirius's taken! There's April, Katie, Becky and Caitlin, remember? ;)
Ms. Padfoot: It's her loss…and our gain? Hee…pity that Sirius is not a real guy. If he is, I'll kill off all the characters so that he has to date me!
nunnya buiznes: Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.
padfoot1979: Yes, you're right. There'll be plenty of gloom and doom in the chapters to come. There'll be some light-hearted moments as well, to balance it up. You'll read more about the couple in the next chapter.
Katani Petitedra: Hidden clues? Yes, I did include some but they're really well-hidden!
acabooba: Thanks :) My other two stories are called 'I Can See You' and 'Stranger From The Past'. To access them, just click at 'BlackLupin' at the upper left corner of this page. Alternatively, you can do a search by author's name using 'BlackLupin'. Let me know what you think of those stories too, ok?
Fire'N'Ice: Don't hate April cuz Sirius and I love her!
moe: My original intention was to make April the detention mistress immediately after she recovered, and get her to torture Snape's little Slytherins, especially Draco. But April started receiving those horrible messages and she refused to cooperate! *sigh* She's actually not angry with Snape anymore and may even… OH NO! I'm revealing too much. I mustn't give more clues of what's to come!
black-cat-on-the-wall: I wish I'm in April's shoes up to the next chapter. I don't want to go through what's to come after that…
uNoeWho: Brandy and Whiskey will appear again. Hold your breath!
Annoriel: Actually, I'm persuading Sirius to propose in my next chapter. Let's hope he cooperates!
alwaysginny: Your George is cute :) Drop me a review when you reach this chapter, ok?
Sallymander: You have to continue loving and reading my fic, ok? Otherwise, there's no way you can find out if they'll really make the perfect couple! ;)
star-prancer: You're my 700th reviewer!!! Voldemort's troops (the dementors) will attack soon – that's only two or at most three chapters away!
Tanglise: Have you reached this chapter yet? Thanks for reviewing all three of my stories! And thanks again for including me in your list of fave authors. :)
*
As Fanfiction.net has set a new rule that disallows Author's Notes from taking up an entire chapter space, I've removed the old Chapter 6. Hence, my chapter numbering has changed and many of you who had reviewed the previous chapter (used to be 41, now 40) may have a problem submitting a signed review for this chapter. I would still like to hear from you (are you kidding? I desperately want to!), so please submit an unsigned review instead. You can do so by simply logging out and revisit this page without logging on with your password. Sorry for the trouble, but I don't want to risk this fic being removed! Oh, some of you have posted your own stories too…please remove those chapters that carry only Author's Notes quickly – I've come across some stories that were mercilessly pulled out for non-compliance!
