A New Dawn,
Chapter Eleven,
Unexpected Surprises
Serena punched as hard as she could against the punching bag that she had somehow managed to conjure.
She had been outside in the early morning hours, about 5:30 continuing her training that Luna had been so anxious that she start up again.
"Harder this time, you've almost got it!" said Luna, in what she hoped was a motivational tone. These passed few weeks that she had Serena as a Scout-in-training, they had bonded quite well, and Luna had high hopes for her yet, although there were still a few things that Serena needed to work on.
With a huge blow to the punching bag, Serena managed to knock the thing down this time. She jumped up and down in victory, then did a little victory dance to go with it.
"Very good," said Luna, smiling at the young blond's enthusiasm. "Should we turn in so you can get yourself showered and cleaned up?"
"No, I think I want to take another jog around the grounds," said Serena, smiling. "I want to burn off a little bit more sugar so that I'm not hyper all day long."
Luna smiled. "Alrighty, then I'll be waiting for you in the library so that we can catch you up on some of your homework." she replied, heading towards the castle.
Serena and Luna had come up with a deal; if Serena promised to train every week-end and keep herself in shape and stuff, Luna would help her with her school-work.
That surprised Serena, because she didn't think that Luna had that much magical knowledge, but people surprise you sometimes as she had come to learn. Turns out Luna was a well of knowledge of magical nature.
Taking a breath of fresh air, Serena looked around. There was an ulterior motive for her to be taking another jog. Truthfully she didn't think she could do as good this time 'round, but she didn't need to. She just had to make it to a certain spot.
She had over-heard her brother and her sister talking to Hermione late the night before and over-heard their plans to meet at six in the morning, so she decided to go 'meet' them. Only, she had just happened to snag Harry's Invisibility Cloak the night before, so she wasn't really 'meeting' them.
She hurried and put it on as she saw them coming down the steps and followed close behind them as they walked briskly over to their 'hiding place' right on the edge of the Forbidden Forest; they were covered by the underbrush and such, so it would have been impossible to be seen.
"So, did she tell you about the Outer Planetary Scouts yet?" asked Mina anxiously, looking at Hermione, who shook her head.
Letting out a sigh, "No," replied Hermione. "And there's either one of two things that that could mean; that she's hiding the information from me, or that she really doesn't know about them."
Serena laughed mentally at Hermione. Brilliant deductions out of one of Hogwarts smartest third years, but neither close to the truth. She listened in again.
"She has to know about them," replied Josh, shaking his head. "It would make no sense if she didn't. You can't be the leader of the Inner Planetary Scouts and NOT know about the other Scouts out there. It just doesn't work like that."
"Well," sighed Mina. "We always have all of the Summer to ask her about it; it's just too bad it's coming up so quick."
Josh looked around for a minute, then pulled out a certain map.
Serena gasped. If they unfolded that, they would know that she was there! There was nothing that she could do, unless she ran, but she really wanted to stay and hear what they were saying. She had no hope of them not knowing how to use it, because Hermione knew how, and she could tell them.
Shaking her head, she got up and booked it back to the castle; she didn't want to take a chance of them finding out that she was eavesdropping on them. She hid in a closet and took the Invisibility Cloak off and headed for the direction of the Great Hall. She wanted to look as if she were on her way to eat breakfast.
Just as Serena had sat herself down, Josh muttered those words that could have gotten her in loads of trouble with them. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
"Good," said Mina, taking a breath of relief. "I thought she might've been near. I could swear I heard her a few times."
Hermione froze. Maybe she had taken the Invisibility Cloak!
"We have more pressing matters than her finding out what we're doing," said Josh, looking at the map. "Black's here!"
Hermione gasped. "What are we going to do?"
"The only thing we can do," sighed Mina, although with a spark of glee in her face.
---
"Excuse me, boys." snapped Professor McGonagall pushing Ron and Harry aside. "Ms. Tuskino, I need you to come with me to the headmaster's office right away! It's serious."
The three looked at each other for a minute, then Serena got up and went up to McGonagall. "Okay, Professor." she said. "I'm ready."
The two walked up to the headmaster's office, McGonagall keeping a stony silence.
"Professor, do you mind telling me what this is about?" asked Serena. "Because I really don't have the-"
McGonagall twitched a bit. "Ms. Tuskino, I would prefer it if you spoke to the headmaster about this, not myself."
They reached the stone gargoyles and McGonagall gave the password. They sprang apart, giving them entrance to the headmaster's office.
Serena got a little nervous when she got on the stairs going up. She wondered what on earth this could be about. Had she not done some homework and needed to have a 'talking to'? She couldn't remember doing something that was so bad she had to be brought up to the headmasters office.
She entered, still in her train of thought. She noticed with a sharp pain that Professor Dumbledore was not alone; Lupin and Snape were also present.
"Ms. Tuskino, have a seat." said Professor Dumbledore standing up and bidding her to take the chair in front of his desk.
As she did so, she could feel a lump jump into her throat and found it extremely hard to speak. Trying to gain control of herself, she managed to ask. "Professor, what's going on? What's happened?" then she got worried. "Has anything happened to any of my family? My mom, how's my mom?"
Professor Dumbledore smiled a small, sad smile. "Your mother is fine, as are your brother and sister." he replied.
Serena sighed with relief. Then she got uncomfortable again. "Then, what is this about? Have I done something wrong? Did I not do any of my homework? I can assure you I have reason-"
"Ms. Tuskino, you have no problem on your homework. I do have reason to believe that you have indeed done something wrong." replied the headmaster. He hated this; he did not know if his accusation was true, but if it was he needed to get it taken care of. "I have reason to believe that you have been helping Sirius Black get into the castle."
Serena looked at him with a mouth dropped and a shocked expression. "No, no, Professor, I would never." she replied. "I would never... You have asked me not to associate with him, I have done as you asked. I would never help him into the castle."
"Even if you believed him that he was not guilty?" asked Dumbledore softly. "As you told me you did when we last met?"
Serena's eyes stung with tears. "Professor, I would never... I could never... You asked me not to, I haven't. I really, really haven't, that's the honest to goodness truth. I promise you. I wouldn't let him in! He's trying to get to my best friend!" she took a breath. "I promise you, Professor, I haven't done anything like that."
Dumbledore looked down, then at McGonagall, who came forward. "But the fact still stands, Tuskino, that you are rather suspicious right now, and we cannot have suspicions flying around as they have. I have no choice but to suspend you until the authorities can catch Black and put him back where he belongs."
Serena sat there for a minute. She did not know what to do. She had never been placed in this situation before. She... She took a deep breath, because she felt that if she didn't her insides would burst. What would her mother think? What would her mother do?
Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Okay," she said, trying to smile. "Okay, I guess that's fair." then she nodded. "Of course that's fair!"
Just then a tiny purple presence came into the room. "Professor, could I interrupt for a minute?"
"Certainly, Luna." replied Dumbledore.
Luna jumped up on Dumbledore's desk. "Albus, Serena can't've done everything that you accused her of just a minute ago," she said. "because she has been training with me the whole time."
Dumbledore sighed. "Luna, I want you to accompany Serena to get her stuff together," he replied.
Luna glared at Dumbledore as she walked out of the room with a heartbroken thirteen year old Serena trailing behind her. "You bust your but for them all year long and then they treat you like this? What the heck was he thinking and why in the heck was Snape in there? It's not as if Dumbledore needed his moral support or anything. I think Snape just wanted to gloat."
Serena shook her head. "Well, now he can gloat all he wants," she said glumly. "I just wish that I would have presented myself better than I had back there; then maybe it would have counted for something."
Luna shook her head. "I don't think so," she replied. "Besides, you did fine. You tried to assure them that you were innocent, but they were too hardheaded to believe you."
Serena thought about it all the way to the common room. She got out some paper and wrote a little note to Harry and Ron explaining to them a bit of what happened; she also left one for Hermione, because Serena figured she may want to know.
Taking one last look around the common room, Serena sighed. She was going to miss this. She didn't know exactly how long it would be until she saw Hogwarts again; possibly never.
It was funny to her that all the students were not in the school building as all of this was happening. She couldn't help but feel a stab of bitterness towards those who told Dumbledore such falsehoods and lies. If it weren't for them, she wouldn't be suspended.
Before she closed her trunk Luna told her to wait. She jumped in there and grabbed a book out of the trunk and put it on Hermione's bed and then told Serena to carry on as she had been before.
When asked about the book, Luna simply smiled and told her that it was nothing, just a little going away gift for Hermione from them.
Serena got out of the common room to see that none other than Professor Snape was standing there, waiting for her.
"Professor, what on earth are you doing here?" asked Serena rather dully. The one good thing about this suspension thing is that she didn't have to endure looking at Snape's greasy locks again for awhile.
Snape sneered at her. "Believe me Black, I would much rather be spending my leisure time leisurely rather than escorting you to the Hogwarts Express."
Serena thought about this for a minute. "Then why did you come? Why didn't one of the other teachers come?" she asked, coldly. "Did you think that it would be fun to torment me all the way to the Express?"
"Sadly I must take away fifty points for that comment, Black," sneered Snape again. Seeing her open her mouth, he cut in quickly. "While you are still in this school you are not fully suspended and it is perfectly fair to take away points from your house."
"When have you ever been fair, Severus?" asked Luna from somewhere at Snape's feet.
Snape rolled his eyes. "It is a great day to be getting rid of you, Luna. Too great of a day indeed." he snarled. Then, to Serena. "Come along, we have to get you to your uncertain future ahead of you. Who knows what your mother will do to you?"
"I must admit, Black, giving your dear old man the passwords into Gryffindor Tower," said Snape, thinking about what he was going to say next. "I never would have believed you to be the type to do so."
Serena looked outraged. "I didn't! You have to believe me, Professor! I-"
"Must I?" asked Snape, sneering down at her. "I never would have believed you to put Potter in danger, either."
Serena was starting to piece things together a little bit, but was still having a hard time. She tried again to plead her innocence. "Please, Professor, you have to believe me. I didn't do it!"
"Sure you didn't," snapped Snape, getting quite impatient. "Like father like daughter, I would certainly say."
Serena thought back to a time when Luna was talking to her about her father.
Flash Back:
Luna jumped on Serena's bed and peeked to see what Serena was looking at. She smiled when she saw that it was school pictures of her mom and dad.
"Your dad was sure bright when he was at school," commented Luna, smiling at the memories.
Serena looked at her. "How did you know my dad?" she asked.
"Did your mother not tell you?" asked Luna, giving her a quizzical look. When she noticed Serena's blank look, Luna continued. "I was the one who taught your mother everything she knows about the Moon Kingdom and the Sailor Scouts."
"You mean..." Serena trailed off, a look of awe gracing her face. "My mother was a Sailor Scout?"
Luna nodded. "Your father must have passed down some of his traits to you; all the other people I would have told that to would never have figured that out."
Serena grinned. "Well, I won't lie when I tell you some of my teachers call me the brightest student in their class." then her face fell. "But, then again I don't have hardly any classes that Hermione has. In them, she's the brightest student."
Luna laid down at the foot of the bed. "It's because they're scared to call you smart or give you too high of grades because they are afraid of what you would do with the knowledge after you graduate. Would you turn out like your father, supposed to be evil and treacherous? Or would you simply outshine Miss Hermione Granger, because heaven forbid if that would happen." then the cat got serious. "I'm proud of you, Serena."
Serena looked confused. "For what, Luna. I've accomplished hardly anything in training and I-"
"For using your brains as the tool to guide you. Your brains and heart are the key to being a great Sailor Scout and you're on that road and you're not even officially a Sailor Scout yet. You've accomplished more than you know, and I am proud of you for that, as would your father be if he could be here."
"Thank you, Luna, for everything." said Serena, turning out the light and going to bed.
End of Flash Back
Serena thought of all the things Snape said. Then it clicked. He would never have believed her capable of doing those things that Dumbledore said! But, that must mean- "Professor, do you think somebody wants me out of this school?" she asked, turning to him in the entrance hall, leading to the huge oak doors.
Snape turned to her and looked at her for a minute, his cold black eyes sparkling. "What would make you say such ridiculous things, Black?" he asked her, while nodding his head only slightly.
"Well, what do you think I should do?" asked Serena, rather urgently. She knew she couldn't leave school. It was too dangerous. "I mean-"
"I think you should get as far away from the castle as you possibly can," replied Snape coldly. "You certainly are so like your father; arrogant, always jumping to conclusions. It would have been the best day of my life if he would have left this school permanently. Instead, he was always running off with his friends in that stupid forest..."
That was all Serena heard as she took her wand out of her trunk, said a quick "Thank you, Professor, I owe you big time." and hightailed it in the direction of the forest.
Luna looked up at Snape. "Wow, Severus, that's the first humane thing I've ever seen you do." she said.
Snape didn't say anything, just watched as the young girl made it into the woods and then turned, his robes billowing, as always. He couldn't help but hope that she makes it into and out of the forest okay.
Alrighty then... Hope ya'll liked this chapter. I really, really liked how this one turned out. By the way, to get a few things cleared up... From now on, shorter chapters, quicker updates. I hate to do that, but it's the only way I can get out all of my other stories and keep up. So, stay tuned, though. The last chapters of this one are going to be the longest, I think. So, R&R, and sorry about the shorter chapters:D