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Kurama has abandoned my story- tear tear
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Chapter 9:The Shrieking Shack
The cave outside of Hogsmeade had been made quite comfortable for Sirius. The inside was given a expansion charm from Dumbledore himself, the walls were now high and the room was spacious and well lit. He and Remus had moved in a comfortable bed and there was a small refrigerator in the corner. It wasn't a palace, but he was warm and eluding the Ministry still, so he didn't complain. The only problem with his "war time home" was that Persephone was so close to him, only a few minutes walk up to Hogwarts and he could have seen her. Dumbledore had first suggested the cave to hide out and Remus had argued with him about being too close to Hogwarts. Sirius accepted, it was his punishment for this lie. Water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.
Not to say that his time was full of free moments to think on his hidden love, Sirius was guarding, transporting and building weapons. It was still dangerous for him to be in human form so most of his days were spent as a black spectral dog, his haunts were the outside of Death Eaters homes and the numerous paths they walked doing evil deeds. In fact Sirius had saved a newly recruited order member from torture not two weeks ago, right out from under Macnair's nose. He was proud of himself but the feelings were wasted when he had only Remus to share them with, Lupin was so entrenched in under cover work with Fenrir Greyback that Sirius was left completely alone when he wasn't on the job. These were the lonely times.
He had hoped that this treachery of Persephone would have at least granted him more human contact but in reality, he was lonelier than ever. The cave would be silent and dark as he laid in his bed at night, thinking of his friends. It had been months since he had seen Tonks, Arthur or Dung and Remus hadn't been by in over a week.
Lupin had informed him of Persephone's near collapse and her time spent confined in their bedroom. Sirius listened when he was told about her tears, how she never truly smiled any longer and how she had become distant with everyone. Sirius hated himself for these bits of information but he had to admit, at the news of Peters demise, he grew a little happier. It scared him to know that Persephone had turned that cold blooded but he couldn't deny that the rat had gotten exactly what he deserved.
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The first Hogsmeade weekend was rapidly approaching and the faculty was greatly anticipating a day without all the students milling around the castle. Persephone kept herself busy with Dumbledore's Army and grading her midterm papers. McGonagall said she always knew when Persephone was feeling depressed because students would complain of heavy workloads from her classes.
Minerva knew of the plot Dumbledore had put into order about Sirius and Persephone and she couldn't say that she agreed. Her love for Dumbledore was in combat with her feeling about his evil plan, in fact she found herself angry at Dumbledore because of it. She had always greatly admired Persephone and to see someone so powerful acting this weak drove her crazy.
The other teachers were not as sympathetic, many did not know of Sirius' true fate and the only other who did know had a secret agenda of his own. Severus Snape had long held a lust for Persephone, everyone knew about it and it had only increased many's dislike of him. Years ago, James, Remus and Sirius would watch him constantly whenever he and Persephone were in the same room and Snape had known, James was not above cursing him flat out. Persephone had always been gracious about it, calming the three men and merely ignoring Snape at Order functions. But now, with Black and Potter out of the way and Lupin far away from her, Snape was free to pursue her all he wished.
Persephone knew that he watched her with ill intent, his licentious eyes gleamed when she walked into a room and he sweated like some animal whenever she got close enough to him. For the first time in her life she was thankful for Voldemort, Persephone held Snapes very life in her hands. He was at least smart enough to keep a good distance from her, also in the fear that she would kill him 5 times before his hand even reached her face.
Dumbledore was a different case entirely. He avoided her at all times. His shame overpowering him. Especially after his meetings with Sirius and chats with Harry, he could barely stand those, let alone facing down Persephone when she was mad at him.
Dumbledore knew he was dying. His old body simply could not withstand the strain of combat and the stress that came along with it, his secret wish was for Persephone to take over the Order when he finally did pass. But she was not ready yet, not near at all. He had not confessed either of these bits of information to anyone, not even Minerva, though he longed to tell her. It was only last year he had worked up the courage to start calling her "Minerva" rather than Professor McGonagall, Tonks was right, he HAD given up his chances at love and a family for these people. And he would die being hated by most of them, where was their justice now?
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Persephone stepped outside of the castle gates, breathing in the crisp air like a much needed life line. Covered in her flowing black velvet cloak she walked down to Hogsmeade to meet Remus in The Three Broomsticks. The day was bright and sunny, birds chirping in the trees and the students running past her to reach the town were laughing and flirting with one another. Persephone briefly thought of where Harry was, he had become rather withdrawnlately. She suspected it had something to do with his two friends dating. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley had become inseparable, Persephone had even had to reprimand them on occasion for not taking their… "time alone," alone. She envied the two of them, so happy together with their new love. Persephone herself could never see her with another person, the prospect brought up too much pain.
The tavern was smoke filled and loud, a frazzled looking woman in purple heels ran to and fro, fetching orders for the demanding students. Persephone glanced around and saw a cloaked man sitting in the corner, his old greyed hood covered his face but she could tell he was looking at her. So were 15 other people, ever the spy, Persephone turned around and headed back into the street, hoping Remus would understand and follow.
She waited at the end of the high road until he met her a few minutes later,
"That probably wasn't the best meeting place we could have picked." He said, his breathing short. She laughed,
"No definitely not. Too many people to see us together, we should think these things out a bit more from now on." The pair smiled and continued on the path towards the Shrieking Shack, Remus noticed that her smile had become real again and she laughed often. They chatted about students he had and what she thought about them, Harry and how Dumbledore's Army was going. They never mentioned Sirius, more than likely because they both knew an emotion filled afternoon was ahead of them. Remus had no doubts that she would be sad to walk around a place where Sirius had wasted away, she wasn't so sure.
"It might be healing. To see where he was, know what his place of refuge was like." Persephone just hoped that she wasn't lying to herself.
They rounded the corner and the small old house came into view. Atop a hill it looked like something from one of the movies Persephone watched as a child, the home of the old miser that had mysteriously died years ago. It sent chills up her spine, the house looked as though it had once been painted purple though the paint had been worn off years ago. The grounds were clear with few dead trees dotting the landscape. A few of the windows had been broken in by vandals and the dust on the others made it impossible to see in. Persephone glanced at Remus, but he looked just as entranced as she, staring at his old prison in wonder, it was something from a bad dream. She touched his shoulder and the pair went through the high gates, performing a charm to let them slide through easily they silently stalked up the hill towards the front door.
Persephone braced herself and pushed open the moldy door, the hinges creaked in protest and she pushed on. Her eyes squinted at the change of light, the bright sunlit afternoon she had been experiencing was cut short by the almost sheer blackness inside. She walked into the dust filled hallway and Remus shut the door behind them. The interior of the house reminded Persephone of Grimmauld Place, the furniture was all broken and shredded, the walls coated in dust and dirt and a sense of foreboding hung in the air. She turned to Remus, he gave her an encouraging smile and the pair walked the length of the hall taking in their surroundings. Remus had a preoccupied look upon his tired face, remembering the times he spent here.
"Good memories? Or bad?" she asked him softly, he grinned timidly.
"Well you have to understand that before James and Sirius figured out about this place it was almost torture having to come here." he paused, "But once they did, some of the best times of my life started right here. This house, this village, it is all of them. All of us." she nodded, satisfied with his reply for now. They strolled through the house slowly, Remus telling her of all their adventures and indeed, misadventures. Persephone felt a calming sensation overcoming her, a step in a therapeutic healing that her heart so desperately needed. The two of them sat in the small kitchen and talked about the past for hours, completely secluded from the outside world so full of war and terror. They were spending a much need vacation in the past.
Their conversation eventually came around to after Sirius escaped from Azkaban and the confrontation that they had with Harry. Choosing to illustrate what he was saying, Lupin led Persephone upstairs to the old musty bedroom. Leaving the kitchen they once again walked the length of the hallway to the stairs, Remus was about to climb when Persephone held him back. Someone else was inside the house.
The layers of dust on the stairs had been disturbed, foot prints dotted the steps and there was a sweep at the edges where a cloak had hit. They glanced at each other and pulled out their wands, in silence they crept up the stairs, prepared for whatever came their way. Remus took the front and the snuck along towards the very bedroom he had been taking her to in the first place. Pausing outside of the door he tried to listen to the person inside but all was silent. He motioned for Persephone to cover him and she quickly crossed to the other side of the door, waiting in the wings to protect him.
Remus held his wand tightly and breathed in deeply, despite the dust. In a quick fluid motion he pushed open the door with Persephone right behind him, but it was only Harry, sitting in silence on the bed. The two of them sighed and let their wands fall to their sides, Harry looked up at the two of them with a quizzical look on his young face.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked Lupin, he wouldn't look at Persephone. Remus glanced at her, attempting to ask for a quick story to tell him but seeing his blank stare she dove in,
"We could ask you the same thing." Harry's face grew dark and dangerous,
"I wasn't asking you." Persephone was shocked, he had never spoken to her with such an attitude. Remus looked down at him,
"Harry, what ARE you doing here?" Satisfied with talking to Lupin Harry stood up and crossed the room towards them,
"I had some…memories, that needed to be revisited." Remus could tell that he was avoiding talking about Sirius in front of Persephone. So he broke the ice,
"Are you here for Sirius?" asking the obvious Harry became flustered and angry.
"Yea so! What do you care! Cant I just have one afternoon of peace without all you liars constantly surrounding me like I'm a little baby that needs to be protected!" Remus slightly cocked his head, causing his gray hairs to fall to the side,
"Harry with all do respect, we have never lied to you. And of all the people in the world, we are two of the few who know how well you can defend yourself."
"She lied!" he said, pointing at Persephone with an accusatory look. "She lied when she said she didn't go to school with my Dad! But she did! I know she did!" Persephone remained quiet, choosing to watch this train wreck rather than jump in between the cargo car and the wall it was heading towards.
"Harry," Remus replied calmly, "What makes you think that that was a lie?" Harry's face grew uncomfortable, his face less red than before.
"Fred and George told me that she was an Order member and that she was with you and Sirius a lot." Remus looked over at her with a bemused expression, Harry continued, "And she knows stuff about my Dad. How else would she have known that?" Clearly, Harrys anger, young hormones and his mourning were fueling this breakdown, Remus tried to talk in the most soothing manner he could muster.
"Well Harry don't look at me for an explanation. She's right here, ask her yourself." Harry whipped his head around to her, still standing by the door watching the scene in front of her. She stepped away from the frame and spoke to him,
"Yes I am an Order Member but that's really none of your business until your seventeen now is it?" she lacked tact but she thought Harry lacked a smack across the face so she simply pressed on, " Yes I was with Remus and Sirius while I was at headquarters because we were all friends through your mother. Who I met at work, not at school, like I said before I am an American. I went to school in Salem. Does that satisfy you for now?"
Harry looked slightly embarrassed, he had overreacted to a major degree and his face flushed.
"Oh. Yea I guess that would make sense wouldn't it?"
"You'd be guessing right." He stood and looked at the two adults, feeling smaller by the minute. An uncomfortable air had settled over the room and Harry asked again (demurely) what the two of them were doing there.
"I'm giving her a tour of the lesser known places in Hogwarts." Harry grinned, his anger miraculously washed away, " Has he shown you the secret passageway behind that mirror yet?" She smiled too,
"No we were going for a more, historical, feel. I wanted to see where he and my other friends came during their free time." The three of them chatted all afternoon and eventually told Persephone every detail about the night Sirius proved his innocence. She held her composure very gracefully and hours later they all walked back to the castle together. She and Harry saw Remus off at the gates and the other two continued up the pathway talking about Dumbledore's Army.
About 5 minutes away from the school Persephone looked up and saw a silver phoenix flying at her, Dumbledore's Patronus. This was not a good sign, she stopped Harry mid-sentence and allowed the bird to perch on her shoulder. It translated a message to her before fading away, she had a horrified expression on her beautiful face.
"Harry, I'm so sorry but I have to go, there's a bit of an emergency." And without another word she took off running towards the castle, leaving Harry bewildered and standing alone. The message said,
"The Weasley Twins, along with Kingsley Shacklebolt have disappeared. All we can find of them is signs of a struggle in the Weasley's flat where Kingsley had been staying to protect them. I need you to help find them, get to my office immediately."
Hearing Dumbledore's voice repeating this in her head Persephone ran flat out towards Dumbledore's office. Panting, her velvet cloak flew out behind her like wings as she quickly ascended the many staircases to the stone gargoyles. Trying to catch her breath she found herself in front of his office whispering the password to the guardians. She didn't wait for the stairs to take her up, she jumped everything until she arrived at the heavy wooden doors and pushed them open without bothering to knock.
Dumbledore was sitting at his desk talking to Professors Snape and McGonagall, Tonks and Mad-Eye Moody.
"Dumbledore what's happened?" He sighed, raising a bony hand towards his forehead.
"This morning Arthur and Molly stopped by the flat to give the boys some cakes and they found all of the possessions strewn around the floor, lamps and furniture were broken and there were small amounts of blood on the floor."
"Oh my God. Well what about the lab? Was that destroyed? They're known to be jokers had anyone considered that?" McGonagall shook her head,
"No, I knew those boys. Many things they would joke about and this is not one. They would never maliciously cause their parents this much pain. They have boundaries and this would have crossed them." Persephone nodded solemnly, waiting for her instructions from Dumbledore, but he didn't give them. Instead he turned to her,
"Well Persephone, give everyone their orders for finding the boys."
To Be Continued..
Next Time: Persephone begins to take a leadership role for the Order and the search begins for the 3 captives.
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