A/N: Hey guys! It took less than a month this time around!
Enjoy!
Chapter 21: Darkness Prevails, but Hope Shines Yet
Knock Knock Knock
The Potter family paused in eating their dinner when they heard three loud knocks on their front door. Casting a look back at his son and wife, Robert Potter stood drawing his wand and moved towards the front door. The whole of the house was silent save for the sound of rain pattering down on the roof and the occasional distant rumble of thunder.
Knock Knock Knock
The knocks sounded again, a little more desperate this time and impatient. Robert padded silently to the door, a precaution from his training as an Auror. James had moved from the table to the door of the kitchen as he watched his father reach the large oak front door. He too, had his wand at the ready in case his father needed help.
Knock Knock Knock
It sounded now like the person at the door was beating with both hands, quite frustrated with the lack of response from inside the sprawling house. Robert stepped carefully to the door.
"Who is it?" He demanded with his wand raised.
"It's me, Mr. Potter!" a voice exclaimed, "Sirius." Mr. Potter looked back at his son.
"How do we know that for sure?" Mr. Potter asked warily.
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs!" Sirius shouted from the other side of the door and James rushed forward towards his father.
"It's him dad," James told his father, "Only Sirius, Remus, Peter, and me know about those nicknames." Mr. Potter opened the door slowly and a drenched Sirius stumbled in with a couple of trunks from the front porch.
"I can't take it anymore," Sirius cried out angrily as he wrung water from his clothing, "I'm so sick of their bigot attitudes, their constant harassment, and their sneering remarks. I had to get out!" Mr. Potter had closed the door and locked it, and Mrs. Potter had come into the hall during Sirius's rant and had used a spell to dry him off.
"Who are you talking about, Sirius?" Mr. Potter asked slightly confused.
"My entire family of nutters!" Sirius yelled, "The only sane people are Uncle Alphard and my cousin Andromeda! I can't stand being around them any more!" Sirius then got very subdued, "So . . . um . . . can I crash here for a while?" There was silence in the hall for a few moments. The James started to laugh at his friend. His father then chuckled slightly.
"Of course you can stay here, Sirius," Mrs. Potter said embracing the sixteen year old in a motherly hug, "you can say as long as you need or want." Sirius smiled genuinely.
"Thanks a lot," he said as he grabbed one trunk and James grabbed the other.
"Your usual room?" James asked with a laugh. Sirius smiled again.
"Yeah," he said before looking at his best friend's parents, "Thank you so much." He vanished up the stairs with James to move his stuff in. Mrs. Potter had to hold back the tears after hearing the sincerity in the young man's voice. Mr. Potter just smiled.
"Looks like we've got that second son James used to pester us for," he said with a chuckle.
The next morning . . .
James and Sirius strolled into the kitchen at around nine the next morning to find a note on the countertop from James's parents saying that they had to leave early for work because of an attack late last night. James let out a sigh as he fished through the cabinets looking for something the two of them to eat. The only thing not requiring magic (because they were still under-aged by a few months) was cold cereal.
"Cold cereal it is," James muttered as he grabbed two bowls as Sirius looked over the newspaper.
"Prongs," Sirius said sadly, "There have been so many attacks . . . Why is he doing this? It's so stupid." James nodded as he handed Sirius a bowl.
"He's closed-minded, and an idiot," James supplied, "to be obsessed with blood and heritage is utterly pointless. There aren't enough of the pureblood lines left, but there are some amazing muggle born witches and wizards–"
"Does this have to do with a certain red head, James?" Sirius asked trying to make the conversation a bit lighter. James smiled secretively.
"Maybe," James replied with a sigh, "but after what happen last year, I doubt anything is ever going to happen now. I think I've royally screwed things up . . ."
"Duh," Sirius said, "she was so mad that you were picking on Snivellus again . . ."
"It's not just that," James replied looking at his friend in disbelief, "but after that Lily and Sairina got into it because she thought Sai was being easy on us because she is dating Remus. Then Sai got into it with Moony . . ." he sighed, "To put it bluntly, Padfoot, I've fucked everything up."
"You could try to fix it," Sirius suggested weakly. James looked at him in disbelief.
"How?" James asked skeptically.
"Well," Sirius began, "Lily always complains that you act to immature, so start acting mature. It wouldn't hurt to try." James couldn't believe the words coming out of Sirius's mouth, but he knew that his best friend had a point. They finished their cereal in silence.
/0/0/
The masked man smacked Elfwine across the face again. He had been hit so many times now that he was spitting blood. With the force the strange man had been hitting him, the prince wasn't surprised that he wasn't spitting out any of his teeth yet. He glared up at his captors.
"No," he said hoarsely, "I won't do it." This obviously wasn't the answer the man had been looking for, because the prince was smacked again. The man was getting frustrated and just wanted the damned teen to cry so that he could collect the tears and leave. No amount of physical pain that they had inflicted on the boy had brought even near to tears and the masked man was at his wits end.
It had been hell to kidnap the boy without alerting the king, his queen, or any of the Rohirric guards. Thankfully the ringleader had been smart enough to know that physical pain might not break the boy, so they took another from the city. He gestured to one of his fellow cohorts who silently left the room to retrieve the other captive.
"Very well," the man said in a leering tone as he looked down on the beaten and battered boy. The door opened again, and Elfwine watched in horror as they brought in the limp form of a maiden about the same age as Elfwine. The young prince struggled against his bonds as they roughly let her fall to the floor.
"Hathawyn, no," he growled as he glared at the masked men, "let her go, now!" It had been over a year ago that both Lily and Elfwine had decided that they couldn't court properly and decided to remain friends. Shortly after, Elfwine had been introduced to Lord Deor and his daughter, Hathawyn.
Elfwine had rigged a bucket filled with water over her door that did indeed soak her. She retaliated by burning all of his clothes. The two had started courting about a week later.
The girl stirred and groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She seemed to register her surroundings and let out a startled cry as two men grabbed her and held onto her tightly. The head man laughed as she put up an impressive struggle.
"Let me go!" she gritted between her teeth as she elbowed one of her captors in the gut. Getting fed up with the girl the ringleader drew his blade and forced it to her throat. The color from her face drained instantly and she stopped fighting. The man forced the blade closer drawing a bit of blood from her throat.
"If you don't cry, my lord," the man sneered coldly, "I will not hesitate to slit her pretty throat." Elfwine locked eyes with Hathawyn who truly looked fearful for the first time in the year that he had courted her. Elfwine let out a faltering sigh.
Silence hung in the small shack for several moments. The man applied more pressure to the blade and then . . .
. . . a soft nearly inaudible sob . . .
/0/0/
Sairina was riding hard with her staff across her lap and her black locks streaked with gray flying behind her. She had left her company far behind her as she raced towards the small shack in the distance that was steadily growing larger. She had arrived at Meduseld earlier that day to discover that Elfwine had already been taken. She had feared that her vision had already come to pass as she raced out of the gates of Rohan's capital city with a company of shoulders.
She urged her steed to go faster as she neared the rundown building. Dismounting before her horse had even come to a complete stop; she ran to the door and tried it. It was locked. She could hear muffled cries from inside. Instinctively she pulled her wand from her staff and pointed it at the door.
"Alohomora," she cried and the door flung open. She quickly stepped inside sliding her wand back into her staff as the others were just reaching the building.
She saw two forms writhing on the floor and quickly went over to the girl first knowing that she had been too late. Sairina undid the girl's bonds and took the gag from her mouth careful of the open wound on her neck.
"Hold still," Sairina commanded as she lowered her staff and began chanting some Elvish softly. A soft white light surrounded Hathawyn's neck for a moment before vanishing. Her injury completely healed. Sairina sighed tiredly as she wiped the sweat from her brow. Using the ancient magic took a lot out of her. Éomer and several others had entered the building and were now helping the prince up. Hathawyn went over to help them. Sairina followed leaning heavily on her staff.
The group parted as she approached and she walked straight up to Elfwine who was now supported by his father and Hathawyn. Sairina raised her hand slowly as she brushed away the wet residue left by tears. The young prince looked at her remosefully.
"I'm sorry, Sairina," he said weakly. Sairina put a finger to his lips to silence him. She then began chanting in Elvish again and some of his wounds were surrounded by a soft light. When the light vanished they were healed, but he had been beaten so severely that she couldn't heal all of the wounds.
"It is not your fault," Sairina said softly cursing herself mentally. It was her fault that she had not gotten there sooner, "but know now that you are safe. They have from you what they need; you are of no more use to them." She turned and left the hut and mounted her horse once more. Setting her staff across her knees, she took off in the direction of home knowing that there was nothing more she could do in Rohan.
/0/0/
Two days later, it was early morning as Sairina rode tiredly into Minas Tirith. She vaguely registered the fact that people were bowing to her and acknowledging her presence as she rode up to the White Tower. She went to the stables and allowed one of the stable boys to take her horse as she tiredly walked toward her chambers. Her father and brother intercepted her along the way.
She regretfully explained to them that she had arrived too late and that the tears had been collected. With a tired air, the two took leave of her company and went to inform Faramir and Elboron of the recent news. Sairina continued to her room using her staff for support.
As the door swung open to her room she sighed tiredly as she looked at the state it was in. The ground was littered with spell books and note filled parchments. Stepping over the stacks of papers and books Sairina went to her bed and fell, face down, on the soft surface. She knew she should tidy up since she had dismissed her maids sometime earlier that summer because she wanted to make sure that everything stayed organized in a manner where she could find any notation on a spell she was attempting to learn.
Then her room had turned into a disaster zone.
A soft tap on her door signaled that her new 'assistant' was there for the day. Sairina waved her hand and the door opened slightly allowing Hallien to know that it was safe to enter the room.
"Rina," she spoke softly, "Are you alright?" The bed dipped a little bit and Sairina turned her head to look at her younger sister. She had gracefully aged three years and was now a lovely nine year old girl with a gentle smile. Sairina knew she was going to be a very beautiful woman someday and have many suitors clamoring for her hand that is if she didn't get too involved in her studies (as she tended to even at her young age).
"I'm fine Hallie," Sairina said with a hint of sadness in her voice, "but I was too late. They have the tears." Hallien nodded carefully allowing her sister to continue, "All summer I have been developing my abilities with ancient magic, and it's still not enough to stop this prophecy. I'm beginning to think that it's inevitable."
"But you are so powerful, Rina," Hallien protested, "Ada says that you may be even more powerful than Gandalf the White." This caused Sairina to smile weakly.
"Thank you, Hallie," Sairina said before finally getting up and moving towards her desk, "I should look over more of those defense spells . . ."
"You should rest," the nine year old girl protested as she took her older sister's hand and drug her back to her bed, "You are exhausted. Rest now." Sairina laughed softly as she slid between the sheets and her little sister tucked her in.
"Thanks, Hallie," she murmured. Hallien suddenly let out an exclaimed cry startling Sairina. The young girl reached into her dress pocket and pulled out several parchment envelopes before handing them to Sairina.
"These all came while you were away," Hallien explained as she sat on the edge of the bed and watched her sister open them one by one. The first was Sairina's list of things for Hogwarts along with a letter saying that she had been selected as the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain.
The second letter was the result of her O.W.L. Exams.
"What did you get?" Hallien asked excitedly as she looked over her sister's shoulder.
"I got an Outstanding in Divination," Sairina said slightly surprised, "Another O in Ancient Runes, Charms, and Herbology; Exceeds Expectations in Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Astronomy, and Potions; an Acceptable in History of Magic; and a Poor in Defense," Sairina pouted slightly, "It would have been better, but they wouldn't let me redo the practical part . . ."
"What classes are you going to take then," Hallien asked. Sairina had explained earlier in the summer that she would have to narrow down her classes for the next two years. Sairina furrowed her brow.
"Divination and Charms for sure, but not Ancient Runes or Herbology because I get enough of those here," Sairina reasoned thinking back over the summer to all of the reading, translating, and experimenting with plants she had done, "Not Care of Magical Creatures, but I will take Transfiguration, Astronomy, and Potions, but no History of Magic . . ."
"That's five classes," Hallien replied, "Half of what you had before." Sairina pouted again.
"I'm going to see if I can get Professor Flitwick to allow me to take Defense," Sairina pondered out loud, "That's probably the class I need the most . . ."
"Who are the other letters from?" Hallien asked looking at the last two envelopes. She instantly recognized the handwriting on each of them. One was from Lily, the other was from Remus. Sairina suddenly remembered the fall out that she had had between each of them at the end of the year before. She had been so wrapped up in learning Elvish magic, she hadn't written to either of them at all during the summer. She opened Lily's first. To her surprise it was an apology, and the other girl filled Sairina in on the happenings of her summer.
Apparently Lily's sister had married that overly wide man over the summer and Lily was forced to be a bridesmaid and wear the most disgusting dress imaginable.
Lily also said that more "weird" attacks were occurring in the muggle news meaning that Voldemort was growing in power and boldness. Lily also said that the number of muggle deaths was rising rapidly and dangerously.
Finally, Lily apologized again and told Sairina when she would be going to Diagon Alley and asked Sairina if she wanted to go shopping. Sairina looked at the date and did the quick calculation before groaning.
"That's tomorrow," Sairina sighed, "Where did my summer go?" She sat back in her bed and opened the letter from Remus. His wasn't as in depth as Lily's, in fact it really wasn't much of a letter:
Sai,
I'm sorry about what happened between us at the end of last year. We need to talk about us. Can we meet at Diagon Alley maybe? I'm going for my things on the 25th. See you there?
Remus
Sairina sighed when she saw the date; it was the same as when Lily was planning on going to Diagon Alley. Seeing her sister's distress Hallien took the letters and looked at them. Realizing she didn't recognize any of the characters she looked back at her sister.
"What's wrong, Rina?" Hallien asked cocking her head to one side. Sairina smiled at the look on her sister's face.
"Lily and Remus want to talk to me tomorrow at Diagon Alley," Sairina informed her sister. Hallien made a face.
"Didn't you have a fight with them?" Hallien asked and Sairina nodded her head.
"But they want to be friends again," Sairina explained.
"I bet Remus doesn't want to be just friends," Hallien teased. Sairina swatted playfully at her sister who giggled. Once she had settled down, Hallien looked at Sairina seriously, "Can I go with you this time? You said I could go with you when I was older. I'm older now, so can I please go, pretty please?" Sairina looked at the longing in her sister's eyes.
"We'll see what ada and ammie have to say about it," Sairina said sitting back. Hallien grabbed her arm and drug her out of bed excitedly.
"Let's go ask them now!" Hallien giggled excitedly.
/0/0/
"Where are we going first, Rina?" Hallien asked excitedly as they stepped out of the grate inside the Leaky Cauldron and tugged on Sairina's sleeve. Sairina laughed merrily at her little sister's excitement. The two girls were dressed inconspicuously; they were both wearing simple dresses (Hallien's a dark gray color and Sairina's a dark blue) and plain black cloaks over their shoulders. Sairina led her to the back room where she tapped on the brick to open Diagon Alley. Hallien let out an excited little gasp as the bricks folded out of the way reveal a bustling street.
While to Hallien it may have seemed busy, Sairina knew that it wasn't jammed packed like it had been in the past. People were wary and untrusting with the increased involvement of the war. Sairina noted the posters on general public safety and the shady figures lurking in the alleyways. She furrowed her brow in concern.
"Hallie," Sairina said cautiously moving closer to her sister, "I want you to put one hand on my staff and not let go of it." The girl, hearing the worry in her sister's voice, complied instantly.
"O-o-okay," the girl stuttered noticing the foreboding figures looking in the darkness. She reached her hand out and wrapped it around the warm wood. Sairina, still leaning on the staff for support began to move forward along with her sister.
"Turmamé, varyamé," Sairina chanted softly as she felt the ancient magic course through her body and around her and her little sister. Taking her sister's hand, she pulled it so the girl was walking in front of her and Sairina's left hand rested on Hallien's left shoulder as she guided her through the street. Her right hand still tightly gripped her staff as she leaned on it for extra support.
Sairina and Hallien entered Gringrotts and Sairina withdrew some money from her small account and in no time the two girls were back on the street. Sairina then guided Hallien to Flourish & Blotts. When they entered Hallien's mouth nearly fell to the floor in amazement.
"Wow, Rina," she exclaimed excitedly, "Look at all the books!" Sairina laughed lightly as she took her list out and examined it closely.
"Alright I need books for Divination, Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy, Potions, and Defense . . ." Sairina mused as she moved through the aisles her staff making a soft clunk as it hit the floor. Sairina grabbed the books she needed as she moved through the aisles and double checked her list. Hallien helped carry her books so Sairina was free to browse the shelves and locate them.
"And that's for Potions," Sairina murmured as she plucked a copy of Advanced Potions-Making off of the shelf.
"That just leaves Defense right?" Hallien asked from behind the stack of books in her arms. Sairina laughed at her sister.
"Yes," she replied taking two books off of the top revealing her flushed sister's face, "and I'll take a few of those for you. Come on then." The two then made their way towards the Defense section where they could hear raised voices.
"I do not need your help, Potter," Lily's voice seethed. Sairina sighed. She had been hoping to finish her shopping before she had the confrontation with Lily and Remus.
"Please, Lily," James practically whined, "I'm just trying to be nice . . ."
"James, just lay off," Remus said tiredly and he shifted his weight. Sairina looked at her little sister. Taking the books out of her arms, Sairina handed her the list and lean towards her ear.
"Do you want to have some fun?" Sairina whispered and Hallien nodded excitedly, "Here's what I want you to do . . ."
/0/0/
Sirius Black watched on as James pathetically tried to be civil and nice to Lily, and Lily completely rebuffing him. He scoffed silently and shook his head before leaning back against the sturdy bookshelf behind him. He was startled when something began tugging on his robe sleeve. He looked down to see the most adorable nine-year-old girl with wavy brown locks and wide gray eyes.
"Can you help me?" she asked quietly. Sirius smiled and he sunk to his knees so he was at her eye level.
"For a pretty little girl like you, of course," he smiled kindly, "What do you need?" Hallien looked at the list in her hands and pointed to the title of a book. Sirius nodded before standing back up and taking the required book off the shelf and handing it to the girl. "There you are. Do you need anything else?" The girl shook her head.
"No," she smiled, "Hannon le, Sirius." She then turned and walked away from the aisle. Sirius stood there stunned for a few moments attempting to register what had just happened. How had that girl known her name? And what did hannon le mean? The cogs in Sirius's head were turning slowly and then it finally clicked. Lily and James were still bickering and Remus was attempting to break it up. Rolling his eyes, Sirius let out a shrill whistle getting everyone's attention in that general area.
"What is it, Black?" Lily demanded glaring at him. Sirius just sighed tiredly.
"Sairina's here," he replied as he headed out of the aisle. The others quickly followed his lead, even Lily.
/0/0/
Sairina had just reached the register when Hallien bounced up beside her and put the book on the counter beside the others. She had a sly smile on her face. Sairina looked at her expectantly.
"They're coming," Hallien said cheekily. Sairina looked up to see the five coming out of the Defense section. Lily put a hand to her mouth when she saw her friend and even the boys couldn't stifle a slight gasp. She knew she must look completely different: the premature gray in her hair, the tired eyes, and the drawn features. The summer had been hard on her, robbing her of any innocence she had left after the fight for the palantir and she was feeling it completely now.
A cry from outside broke the connection between the teens and Sairina looked outside the window and into the street. She could see black cloaked figures moving in a pack towards one end of the street. She knew they were Death Eaters. Tightening her grip on her staff she moved deftly to the door. She had had enough with evil triumphing, and she was going to turn the tables, damning all consequences.
"Hallien, stay here," Sairina ordered as she moved outside and into the street. The Death Eaters were gathered at the far end of the street surrounding three people who were cowering against the wall.
As Sairina approached, she recognized the girl as a Hufflepuff third or fourth year, and she assumed the man and woman with her were her parents. She was muggle-born, and her parents were obviously muggle. The person in front was slowly stepping forward with his wand raised threateningly. Narrowing her eyes, Sairina raised a hand and focused completely on the wand in his hand.
"Toloenni," Sairina commanded and the wand was ripped from the person's hand and soared directly into hers. This drew the Death Eaters' attention away from the three against the wall and towards Sairina.
"Fool!" the man (it was obvious because of his voice) bellowed as he glared at Sairina, "Return my wand now and we won't have to kill you." The other Death Eaters snickered darkly. Sairina looked at him, cocked her head to one side, dropped the wand on the ground, and stepped on it. The crack resounded throughout the now silent Alley.
"No," Sairina said firmly bracing herself for the attacks she knew were coming. The man seemed to growl low in his throat.
"Kill . . ." was as far as he got because Sairina took two running steps forward as she raised her staff over her head. On the third step, she brought the staff down and slammed it into the ground while going down on one knee and shouting an Elvish incantation. A burst of light shot forth from the end of the staff and spread like a rippled across the ground and as it struck each of the Death Eaters, they fell to the ground writhing in pain. Sairina rose back to her feet as the people in black cloaks were still writhing on the ground.
"Go," she commanded the family and they ran for shelter in one of the shops. Sairina watched them to make sure they got their safely, but her back was to the fallen Death Eaters, so she didn't see one of them rising to his feet. Luckily someone else did. Hallien ran out of the book store knowing she had to warn her sister.
"Rina, look out!" she shrieked. Sairina spun on her heel while raising her staff into a defensive position.
"Bedi," she chanted causing the group of Death Eaters to be knocked back against the wall and hoisted into the air. She stood there still as a statue with her arm holding her staff raised, pinning the Death Eaters to the wall. Cocking her head to one side, she shouted at her sister.
"I thought I told you to stay put, Hallien," Sairina may have said the words harshly, but there was a thankful smile on her face as she stared at the pinned evildoers.
/0/0/
A group of Aurors, including James's father, came a few moments later and carted the Death Eaters away. Sairina had slunk away from the excitement with Hallien and returned to the bookstore to pay for her books. After convincing the shop owner that he shouldn't give her the books for free after what she had done, she paid and she and Hallien snuck quietly into Madame Malkin's robe shop.
Sairina was standing on a stool getting measured while Hallien sat off to the side with the bundle of books when the shop bell rang signaling that someone had entered. All three females turned to look. It was the Marauders and Lily. Taking a deep breath Sairina looked away. The Madame, sensing some tension quietly excused herself and vanished into the back room.
Silence reigned as Sairina stepped off the stool and her little sister handed her staff back.
"What the hell was that?" Sirius asked incredulously. Sairina groaned as she sat down next to her little sister. "What were you doing? Because that certainly wasn't any magic that I had ever seen before."
"Sirius, shut up," Remus said angrily to his babbling friend. There was a great deal of stress in his voice and posture that was evident to Sairina. But there was also relief there two as he looked at her. Sairina gave Sirius a pitying look.
"I've had a long summer," Sairina replied sitting back in her chair anxiously gripping her staff. She eyed strands of gray hair that had fallen into her face, "A very long, stressful summer. Lily seeing the dark look that stirred in her friend's eyes immediately moved to where she was sitting and knelt in front of her.
"Sai, what happened?" Lily asked gently. Sairina tucked the offending strands of hair behind her ear, but didn't say anything. She merely shook her head.
"P-part of the prophecy was fulfilled over the summer," Hallien spoke up as Lily turned to look from Sairina to the younger girl, "Prin-. . . uh Elfwine was captured and they got the tears from him." Lily's face whitened as the color drained from it. The boys simply stood speechless.
"O-oh," Lily said softly.
"I had foreseen it," Sairina said softly, "but it wasn't enough. I had arrived too late." Madame Malkin had returned from the back with three flat rectangular boxes. Sairina stood and paid for her school robes. She took the boxes and nestled them under her left arm as she held her staff with her right. She turned and looked at Lily before setting her gaze on Remus. "You wanted to talk?" she asked softly.
"Yes," Remus said softly as he nodded. Sairina nodded and turned to Hallien and knelt to her eye-level.
"I want you to stay with Lily and the others," Sairina told her in Sindarin, "You will be safe with them. Once I am done talking to Remus, we can finish my shopping and then go back to Minas Tirith. Understand?"
"Yes, Rina," Hallien replied as she moved towards Lily and took her hand. Sairina looked back at Remus.
"Lead on," she said and followed him out of the shop.
/0/0/
They had walked together in silence for a few minutes, neither knowing what to really say. The silence hung thick between them, but (to both of their surprises) it wasn't awkward, just contemplative. Remus snuck a glance at Sairina from the corner of his eye.
"Would you like me to carry those boxes?" he asked gentlemanly and startling Sairina from her reverie.
"What? Oh, um, sure, thank you," Sairina replied as he took the boxes and tucked them under his left arm. The continued walking and Sairina slid her free left hand into his free right. Remus looked ad Sairina questioningly, but she had lowered her eyes and was looking at her feet. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Remus asked, confused. He thought he was the one who should be apologizing . . .
"For yelling and fighting with you at the end of the year," Sairina replied still looking at her feet, "I was just under a lot of stress with all that had happened and I just snapped," she paused for a moment before laughing dryly, "Things have only gotten worse since then . . ." They fell into silence since again as they walked back towards Madame Malkin's.
"You know I still care deeply for you, right Sai?" Remus asked cautiously as he intertwined their fingers and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Sairina nodded.
"I know," she replied with a small smile before turning to look at him, "It's what kept me going over the summer." Sairina leaned forward and kissed Remus gently. Startled, Remus didn't get a chance to respond before she pulled away. "Thank you."
"I-I-I . . . um," Remus stammered as he looked into Sairina's deep blue eyes. He saw wisdom in there, but pain as well, "Sai, what happened to you over the summer?" She put a finger to his lips.
"Not here," she responded as James, Sirius, and Peter approached them from one direction and Lily and Hallien from the other, "I'll explain to you and Lily later." Hallien raced up and wrapped her arms around her sister's waist nearly tackling her.
"All better?" Hallien asked in Sindarin.
"Right as the sun rising in the east," Sairina responded back. Hallien giggled.
"Am I going to be getting a brother-in-law soon?" Hallien teased. Sairina's jaw dropped at her sister's brashness.
"Hallien!" she exclaimed. The young girl giggled as her older sister swatted her playfully. "This is the thanks I get . . ." Lily glanced at her watch.
"I need to get going, my parents are going to be here soon," she said as she hugged Sairina, "I'll see you at the start of term, and I want a full account of what happened this summer." Lily had added the second part softly and Sairina nodded and smiled at her friend.
"Of course," Sairina replied as Lily fingered a chunk of Sairina's gray hair. Sairina laughed at the look of disbelief on her friends face. They hugged briefly and Lily said good-bye to Hallien before she left without acknowledging the other four standing there. James looked crestfallen causing his friends to laugh.
The Marauders and the princesses parted ways shortly afterwards. Sairina finished her school shopping with Hallien's help. The girls were back in Minas Tirith before the sun had set.
Sairina went to bed that night with a smile on her face. She had patched things up (for the most part) with Lily and Remus. Her world didn't seem as dark and foreboding as it had every other day of the summer. Sure, darkness had won the first round, but with the hope that her friends had given her, she knew she would be ready the second time around.
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It was the middle of a still and silent night in the city of Minas Tirith, everyone seemed to be asleep.
A dark shadow moved stealthily through the upper levels of the city until he came to the now familiar dwelling of Lord Gange. The angular building looked sharp and cold in the darkness, but this did not shake the path of the silent wraith. He knocked thrice on the door and it creaked open slowly. Upon entering, the late night visitor acknowledged the doorman with a curt nod before ascending the stone stairs.
He ventured down the long silent hallway before stopping at the last door. Knocking once more, he entered when a voice from within beckoned him. He opened the door just enough to allow him entry before entering and closing it behind him.
"Well?" Lord Gange demanded, "Where is it?" The cloaked man pulled a small crystal phial from the depths of his dressings and handed it to the advisor. A greedy grin spread across the man's face as he examined the clear liquid.
"And my payment?" the cloaked man asked. Gange grabbed a large sack from off his desk and tossed it to the man. It fell to the floor with a loud jangle and jingle signaling that it was filled with the gold required for the job. Asking no questions, the man scooped the bag off of the floor and left. He was done and eager to leave the company of the corrupted lord.
The instant the door had snapped shut behind his visitor, Gange strode over and locked and secured the door. Taking the phial he moved over to a locked cabinet. After undoing several complex locks he swung open the small square door revealing the orange glowing palantir. He carefully set the phial on the cushion next to the glowing orb and withdrew a second clear but empty phial.
"Now for the blood of the Steward's son . . ."