Chapter Eight,
Uh...
Serena was so tired at breakfast the next day. She had stayed up all night the previous night stewing over the things which Sirius had told her. She was hardly even paying attention to her surroundings.
Harry threw a look at his friend. She was awfully preoccupied with something. Maybe something had happened to make her so.
thoughtful today. He scooted up to her. "Is something wrong?"
Serena looked up, as though he had startled her. "No, nothing is wrong. I'm just thinking." she said, shrugging her shoulders.
Harry nodded. He could sense that she didn't really want to talk in front of Ron and Hermione about something.
"What are our classes today?" asked Serena, looking at Hermione's schedule. Her eyes widened slightly. "Dang, 'Mione, you're schedule is so full."
Hermione nodded. "That's the way I like it," she said.
Serena's eyes flickered toward the Slytherin table. It had been a few days since the whole thing at the lake happened, and she hadn't encountered Malfoy since, but occasionally she caught him glancing at her. Today was no different.
Then she turned to Harry. Harry was her best friend, and she was starting to develop a crush on him. It hadn't been like that before this whole thing with Sirius Black happened, but now she felt differently about things. She looked back at her food and blushed a little bit. She was starting to have a crush on not only two boys, but one Gryffindor and one Slytherin.
After Hermione left in a hurry, both boys looked at Serena. She was making shapes in her food, something that was rather unusual for her. Usually she would eat her food as fast as Hermione had been eating lately. Now she was making patterns in it.
"Are you feeling okay?" asked Ron, looking at Serena with a raised eye brow. True to her word, she had cut her hang out time with the boys short and had been a recluse, taking to the library lately.
"Yeah," said Serena, laughing. "I'm fine. You two can stop worrying."
Ron raised his eye brow higher. "You're being quiet. For you, that should be a crime."
Serena blushed more. "I don't talk THAT much, do I?" she asked, slightly surprised at all the attention she was getting,
especially from all the boys. She had just caught Malfoy looking at her out of the corner of her eye and she wanted to
crawl under the table and not come out until the year was over.
Harry and Ron looked at each other. "Not THAT much, no." said Harry, shaking his head.
Serena's eyes widened and she stood up quickly. "I've just remembered there is some homework that I need to finish. It's really important, too." she said, and left quite quickly after that, blushing like crazy.
Professor Dumbledore had caught the scene out of the corner of his eye and smiled a little bit while still in conversation with Professor McGonagall.
Serena was walking the halls, quickly, trying to get her mind off of her thoughts. After all, she had more important things
to think about, like her father, for instance, and the way her mother had been acting lately. But, for some unknown reason,
she couldn't get the picture of the ride that her and Harry had on the Hippogriff. She hit her head. She was being stupid.
Harry liked somebody else, anyway. She mentally cringed.
She was so busy thinking, or trying NOT to think, she didn't realize where she was going and ran into somebody coming from the library with arms full of books.
"I'm so sorry!" said Serena, scrambling to pick the books up. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
"That was apparent," said the cold voice of her least favorite teacher.
Serena mentally shuddered. Of all the people she could run into it just HAD to be Snape. She had finished picking the books up and handed them to him. "I am sorry, Professor."
"Next time, watch where you're going. It is not a good practice to run into people, especially people who have stuff to do"
snarled Snape. "So much like that father of yours. He was always busy paying attention to other things too. And look
where he ended up."
As he strode passed Serena's eyes filled with hot tears. "My father isn't a bad person!" she said quietly.
"You keep trying to convince yourself of that, Ms. Black," said Snape, spitting out the last part with venom.
Serena watched Snape walk away with such loathing. If looks could kill, Snape would be six feet under and deteriorated.
Heaving a sigh, she started walking again. She had no idea where she was going to go, but she had to get away from everything for a while.
When she got to a window and looked out, she shuddered. The dementors were hovering about outside, threatening anybody who came outside. She felt a chill climb up her spine. Her dad was out there somewhere, and with those dementors hovering around like that, she knew he was probably having a hard time trying to hide.
Shaking her head, emptying her head of any thoughts, she went into the library and started studying for Professor Flitwick's Charms essay. It was really easy, just the usual definition of what the charm was, what it did, why it was important.
But, try as she might, the young blond couldn't think on her homework at that moment. She was busy thinking of other things,
as equally important, if not more important than the piece of parchment that wasn't even halfway filled sitting before her.
The day was getting steadily darker and Serena's eyes were getting heavier and heavier. She decided that the library wasn't the best place to go to sleep at, so she picked up her books, parchment, ink bottle and quill and stuffed them all into her bag and made her way up to Gryffindor Tower.
As she was walking her mind drifted back to that day in Trelawney's class room. Nothing exciting had happened since then, but she still wondered about what was said. What adventure was she going to have? Was it going to be scarey, fun, boring? All things she would have liked to know.
As she rounded the corner she ran SMACK! into somebody coming around the corner at the same time. She fell hard on her back side and scowled. She brightened as she looked across from her and saw that it was, to her relief, Harry that she ran into.
"Hi," she said brightly, getting up and handing him her hand to help him up.
"Hi," replied Harry. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you."
Serena blushed. "I've been studying," she said. Then she got serious. "I've told you, Harry, I'm cutting down on my hang out time until my grades pick up. They've been slipping a little bit, and if my mother found out, I'd be in some major trouble."
"I'm lucky; I don't have that problem. The Dursley's could care less about what grades I made, so long as I didn't get kicked out of school and be placed there for the rest of my life." replied Harry grinning.
They both started walking towards Gryffindor Tower together. "What were you doing out there, anyway?" asked Serena, turning to look at him. His black hair was unruly as ever and his vivid green eyes were bright in the dimming sunlight.
"I just fancied a walk," said Harry, putting his hands in his pockets and blushing slightly.
Serena smiled. "Oh, please Harry. You were totally trying to find me." she said.
He blushed a little bit. "No, if I'd have wanted to find you I would have a long time ago. I would've just looked for the blond who was running into everybody," he retorted.
Serena glared mockingly. "Hey, I've only run into you and Snape today, so I'm doing better." she said.
The two decided not to go to Gryffindor Tower, but to go outside by the lake. It was still pretty light out, and some students could be seen walking about here and there.
"It's so pretty out here," said Serena, looking around. "I don't think I've ever seen grass this green."
"I don't think any Muggle has ever seen grass this green either," replied Harry, nodding.
Serena grinned. "No, I don't suppose so." she replied.
They went to sit under the tree by the lake and watched the Giant Squid's tentacle lazing about above the water, waving with the current.
"So, what is it that you were so preoccupied with earlier?" asked Harry, breaking the silent, peaceful mood.
Serena sighed and then chuckled. "I knew you would ask that," she said. Then she turned to him, her eyes bright. "Harry, I don't think it was Sirius Black who betrayed your parents."
Harry stiffened. He had purposefully been avoiding this subject. He had just accepted that Serena was his daughter, but as far as anything else went, Black was still a very bad person. "Why do you say that?" he asked.
Serena sighed again. "What if I told you that after he had supposedly 'attacked' Ron, he didn't leave the Tower? What if I told you that he stayed and talk to me about things? Would that upset you too bad?"
"Yes," replied Harry quietly. "I know that he betrayed my parents, Sere. There was no other person that close to them that could have done it."
Serena looked at him, the sparkle in her eyes totally gone now. "I knew we couldn't agree on this. Harry-"
"Why are you trying to make excuses for him?" butt in Harry quickly. "He's a murderer."
"Why don't you ever try to understand me?" asked Serena just as quick.
"I do try to-" began Harry, but Serena cut him short.
"Malfoy does," she said too quickly. She mentally kicked herself. She was trying to keep her crush on him secret, but if stuff like that burst out of her like that, then she couldn't very well do that.
"What?" asked Harry, narrowing his eyes. "You've talked to Malfoy about this?"
Serena softened a little bit, but she was still angry at Harry. "Yes, I did talk to Malfoy about this." she replied slowly.
"But that was when you weren't talking to me and I was so upset."
Harry looked at the ground. "You talked to Malfoy about this?" he repeated. Then, "It wasn't even HIS problem!"
"So? He seems to understand me a lot better than you do!" spat Serena hotly. "Besides... Oh, wait. You wouldn't understand.
You're too close-minded to-"
Just then something ugly jumped out at them from behind the tree. It was tall and pale white with purple hair and ugly beady black eyes. It reached out and slashed at the two, cutting into Harry's shoulder and Serena's side.
"Ouch! That really hurt you dummy!" said Serena, standing up. It was one of those things that her letter about her being a 'Sailor Scout' mentioned. She didn't know they would be coming this soon, though.
"What is that thing?" asked Harry, looking at it while holding his cut shoulder.
Serena looked around and noticed all of the students that had been out were out cold on the ground. "I don't know, but I know one thing. We need to get rid of it!" she said.
The thing slashed again, but this time they both jumped out of the way. Serena pulled Harry behind the tree and told him to stay put.
She searched her pockets while the creature thing was looking for them. "Aha!" said Serena triumphantly, pulling out a round golden locket with a moon and a pink dot above it. "Moon Prism Power!" she said quietly. As soon as she had pulled Harry behind the tree she had jumped into some nearby shrubs to transform.
As soon as the lights to the transformation died down, she jumped out of the shurb. "Hey, you evil piece of slime! You get out of here or..." said Serena, thinking of something to say. "Or I kill you, how does that sound?"
The thing merely laughed at the young Sailor, and charged at her. But, somehow, knowing it was going to attack, Sailor Moon jumped out of the way of the attack and the creature had to stop quickly if it wanted to stay dry.
Sailor Moon was at a loss for what to do. She didn't know any of her attacks just yet, and so she just had to dodge it for a while.
Little did Sailor Moon and Harry know that, off in the Forbidden Forest, they were being watched.
"This isn't looking so good, Luna." said the man sitting next to a purple colored cat with a yellow crescent moon on her forehead.
"I know that, Sirius." replied the cat, wagging her tail in frustration. "I wish she'd practiced like the letter told her to."
"She hasn't had time," replied Sirius. "With all the homework she's been getting, she has hardly any time to do anything."
Luna digested this for a moment. "You're right, of course. I'll have to go tell her."
By this time the creature had taken Harry's energy and he was laying flat on the cold grass, out cold.
"You'll pay for that, you idiot!" said Sailor Moon, jumping out of the way of another slash. At this point she had several cuts on her; one on her side, which was the first one she'd gotten; one on her leg where she had tripped and fallen on a log; there was also a bruise on her shin where she had fallen on the log; two cuts across her shoulder from where she rolled away a little too late; and one on her cheek and above her eye brow.
Luna was behind the tree now. "Sailor Moon!" she called out.
She looked around, slightly confused. Then she saw the cat and dashed across to the tree while the creature thing was still disoriented from her attack.
"I didn't know cats could talk!" she said, shaking her head.
"There isn't time for rude jabs right now; you'll have all year to do that. Right now you need to pull off your tiara and say these words- 'Moon Tiara Magic'. Do you understand?" said the cat.
Sailor Moon nodded. "I think so," she replied, jumping out from behind the tree. Then she turned to the monster. "Moon Tiara Magic!" she shouted, taking her tiara off and throwing it at the creature. It screamed then turned to dust.
Sirius nodded from the forest floor. "She won't be too bad then," he said to a white cat sitting next to him. "And with the other Sailors on their way, she'll be just fine."
The cat nodded. "She will. I have no doubt about that."
As soon as the monster had gone, Sailor Moon de-transformed back into herself. She went over to where Harry was just waking up.
"What happened?" asked Harry, sitting up and holding his head. "I just remember this crazy thing jumping out at us and a blond in a weird outfit fighting it."
Serena was slightly confused. "Uh... Don't you remember anything before that, Harry?" she asked.
"About what?" asked Harry, looking at her, more confused than she was.
"About who that blond in the weird outfit was?" asked Serena, cocking an eye brow.
Harry shook his head. "I have no clue, but it's a good thing she came along, otherwise we would be in major trouble." he said.
Serena nodded, then looked around. "We had better get back to the castle, Harry. The hospital wing sounds good right now."
Okay, that sounded like a good place to end that chapter. I hope ya'll liked this one. It was fun to write. Sorry for the delay in getting it out, too. I've had a little bit of writers block. But, anyway, R&R if you liked. If not, I'm sorry. ;(