Engaging

The Aftermath

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me, they belong to J. K. Rowling. Except for Sara Sweets, she belongs to me . (Ope, and the ghost, she's mine too!) Author's note: This is based upon what I have taken from the Harry Potter stories, and is totally in my head. And I seriously believe that Voldemort is either in love with Lily or is her half-brother, so that is in this story. If you are easily offended by vulgar language or sexual content you should not read this fanficiton. Please review.

Crouch was furious, he was losing his council, and that was not a thing that he could afford to loose at such a time as this.

He stepped towards them, his arms outstretched, his mouth open as he prepared to speak to them.

He froze immediately, a cold sweeping easily through him, chilling his very bones.

It took him a moment to realize the sudden draft had been caused by a ghost that had walked through him.

Fury overwhelmed him, "I beg your pardon!" he snapped, locating the ghost.

Her eyes met his, sending another shiver down his spine, for he knew this woman well.

"You will never have it," she said simply.

He took a step away, "You," he whispered.

She glared at him, "Me."

"What do you want?" he asked with a great gulp of fear.

She turned to fully face him, her hair flickering about her as if it were on fire, the scar over her eye making her seem all the more menacing, "I want my daughter." She said simply.

He swallowed once more, "It cannot be done. She has been banished."

"What was the cause?" she asked.

"It was a just one!" he declared.

She stared into his soul, "I did not ask its manner or state, I simply asked what it was."

"That," he said, his voice going low, "is a private matter. Ministry members only."

"I died a member." She stated flatly.

"Yes, there you have it. You died. You are not required to know any recent information, not since the time of your death." He said, proud of himself for coming up with this reasoning.

She smiled at his fumble, "Then is it right of me to ask how far you got into my murder?"

He blinked, "I am sorry…but…uh…we have seemed to have misplaced all the details," he stuttered.

She came closer to him, though her voice never lowered or heightened, making sure that everyone in the room could clearly understand her at any and every point, "If anything happens to my daughter, wherever it is that you have sent her, then you should know that those details will be brought up for all to see." She put a chilled hand to his cheek, making him shiver from her ghostly status, "Is that clear, Mr. Crouch?"

"Crystal," he said simply, stiffening at her frozen touch.

She smiled, "Good," and walked through him again to find her way out of the building.

It was easy for her to find Albus, "Well, I doubt he'll be coming home anytime soon." She said simply.

He shook his head, "You should not have done that. It was not as good of an idea as you might think."

"He can harm me not, it would be idiotic for him to attempt so with you, and he has just sent Sara away. What do I have to fear from that loathsome little man?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning into a nonexistent wall.

Dumbledore smiled, for he knew where Sara got the spark that he so respected in her. He watched as his two friends sat in silence. "What are we to do?" he asked in a quiet voice.

The ghostly redhead looked up at him, she had never heard this in him nor ever even knew it was there. Dumbledore was lost. He had taken the world upon his shoulders when Sara could not hold it without being tripped and being forced to drop it, to watch it shatter. His burden seemed almost too great for the tall but skinny wizard, his clear blue eyes sparkling, for the first time she had seen, with tears.

Right now she desperately wished that she could embrace him, comfort him, offer her shoulder to take off the brunt of the weight.

But alas, she was already dead. And she had learned long ago, that the dead could do nothing for the living.

"We are to go forward," the third member of their trio said finally, firmly.

The two looked up and saw the determination in their comrade's face.

Dumbledore smiled, "I suppose that is the only way to go."

She smiled, though she felt like she was betraying her daughter for doing such at a time like this. "Forward it is then."

The one thing that lingered on their minds, was not Lily and James, for they could do nothing for them now, was not Sirius, for he was protected in the hell where he was imprisoned. Not even Sara worried them more than the baby boy that the Potters had left behind, the one in the care of his aunt and uncle.

The boy who lived.

&+&+

" What is that? " a woman asked out loud.

" It is a girl! " a man replied.

A woman in a purple velvet robe came forward, her eyes noticing everything about this new discovery.

It was, in fact, a girl. She was laying unconscious on the side of the street, her face upward towards the clouds that rained on her.

She smiled, " This, my good friends, is a pyromagus. "

&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+&+

Review Responses 42:

Lizzieangel90, Here, have another update :P Thanks again for reviewing, I like getting reviews, and I used to get a lot before the story was deleted. I have a total of 418 reviews from that old one, then I got about 7 from Angel. And now I have a total of five! I want to respond to what people think and such, but I can't if they don't review. Lots of hugs to you!

Bitcake, there really is no reason why Sara is being banished, that's what makes all the charas so upset. But Crouch wants her gone, and so does the ministry, so they use her relationship with Sirius against her to force her out of England forever. Thanx fer reviewing on such a great note! I'm pleased that at least two people like to review :P And thanx for luving the story. It's almost over you know, only 45-47 left (after 44). Then it's on to Discretion! Are you going to read Discretion?