Chapter 12

March 1988

It was a cold and frosty day as Charlotte sauntered slowly through the small garden, in which the first colourful crocuses and snowdrops of the year began to blossom. She held her face out towards the sun and went to the little bench, where she carefully sat down. In a few weeks her child would be born. Charlotte could hardly await the moment she would finally hold her baby in her arms. Happily smiling she laid a hand on her belly and felt the kicking movements of her child.

Abruptly her beaming smile disappeared and fear sneaked into her dark blue eyes. She hated to admit it but she was worried. Her fears gave her sleepless nights; she knew however that her dread was justified. Asking herself if she actually had the right to give birth to a child in this terrible and war- ridden world, she doubted more and more often that she would be able to protect her baby. She knew which tragedy had happened to the Potters and their son. Her husband still mourned over the deaths of his best friends and his little godson. She had often caught him starring at pictures of them, with an expression of sadness and guilt in his eyes. He had forbidden her however to take the pictures away.

Sirius, she thought and a painful longing seized her. The fear that something could happen to him in the course of her absence was overpowering. She remembered the carelessness and lightheartedness of her childhood, which seemed to be so incredibly far away. She had nearly forgotten already how it felt to not having to worry and to be afraid every day. Yawning she leaned back. Ever since she was pregnant, she was in a permanent condition of tiredness. But Poppy had calmed her and had said that it wasn't anything unusual. Alison as well suffered occasionally from the same symptoms. Alison also was pregnant and her child would be born to the same time as hers. Charlotte felt how her baby kicked her strongly and her thoughts riveted on a future without war and without fear.

The little girl trembled like a leaf while she was trying to hide behind the large wall clock, which was standing in the hall. Her big brown eyes were wide and were fixed upon her parents, who were surrounded by several black figures. A few instants ago she had been sitting in her room and had played with her dolls as an ear-splitting noise had shook the house.

Most startled she had run to the staircase and had seen the strangers. They were wizards, she was absolutely sure of this. Although her father had always said that no wizards existed and had brushed aside all the rumours and stories as lies, she had been convinced that they were true since never had she forgotten the bedtime stories of her grandma, which had been about a magic world and wizards and witches.

While her mother fell to the floor and began to scream and her father was desperately struggling to free himself of invisible bonds, she whimpered and pressed herself closer to the smooth wood of the old wall clock.

"Mum, Dad." she whispered.

The sneering laugher of the wizards rang in her ears. She wanted to run away, to scream, to help her parents but she was incapable of moving. It seemed so that she had frozen to ice in her corner. A raven-haired man, whose left cheek was disfigured by an ugly scar, stepped out of his companions' circle, lifted his wand and a glaring green light hit her father, who slumped to the ground with a slight turn and remained lying motionless. A second figure grabbed her mother's arm, yanked her to her feet and pushed her against the wall. Suddenly, with a strange sound countless people appeared from nowhere in the hall and startled the girl flinched back. Those strangers however wore vivid scarlet cloaks. Instantly they turned towards their attackers. The little girl couldn't do anything else than to helplessly watch the fiercely fighting.

While Sirius Black was blocking the curses of a slightly plump wizard he had to think – to the most unsuitable time – of his wife. Would he ever see her again? And would he be alive when his child would be born? Currently Charlotte was in France and was visiting her aunt and uncle over the weekend. How he wished to be with her now.

"Sirius!" a voice screamed a warning to him and Sirius spun around.

With a big leap Sirius could just in time save himself from a spell, another Death Eater had intended for him. Turning again towards his original opponent, he fought on and killed him a moment later while cursing about his inattentiveness which had nearly cost his life and forced his thoughts to concentrate again upon the fight. An agonizing scream distracted him once more. For a fraction of a second he turned his head and saw a woman, obviously a Muggle, clinging desperately to a man who was lying on the floor. Sirius knew that the woman hadn't any chance to survive this hell without help. But before he could get to her, she was hit with the Killing Curse. He saw her falling and with a rage beyond description he threw himself in the fight.

Brutally he attacked and instead of the unknown woman he saw Lily and James in front of him. Now he only wanted to kill and did so then. Only when no one of the black dressed Death Eaters was left, Sirius lowered panting his wand and came again to his senses. For one moment he was taken aback about the fact that the death of so many people did not touch him particularly but then he shrugged his shoulders. They were Death Eaters after all, his enemies.

Lifting up his hand, he ran it over his hair. Slowly relief rose in him, he had survived. In the chaos of scarlet robes it was impossible for him to spot Remus or Emily. 'Please, let them be alive.' he prayed forcefully and while looking around he noticed something that caused him to hold his breath.

Next to a large wall clock, which was standing in a corner, a little girl was sitting. Her knees she had drawn up and she pressed herself so close to the wall, as if she wanted to disappear. Sirius went to her, kneeled down and spoke in a soft voice:

"Hello, little one. I'm Sirius Black and you?"

She didn't move and indicated through nothing that she had heard him. Sirius reached out his hand and cautiously lifted her chin. She stared at him with wide brown eyes but their expression was completely blank.

Great, he thought, she obviously had got a shock. Since she had witnessed the murder of her parents, it certainly wasn't much surprising. He felt how his heart clenched with sympathy for her. To leave her here alone, he wouldn't bring himself to do this. He had to help her. The best would be to get her first to a safe place. He took her by her arms and picked her up. She didn't resist but he felt how her small body was trembling fiercely. Since he could find neither Remus nor Emily, he apparated alone to Hogwarts. Thanks to his bracelet he passed the wards without any difficulties and hurried with the girl towards the castle.

Arriving there, he brought the girl to his rooms. Poppy would have enough to do with the injured ones and wouldn't have time anyway to take care of the child. After brief reflection what would be the best in such a situation, he wrapped the girl – according to his guess, she was about seven years old – in a warm blanket and made her a hot glass of tea. While he was helping her to drink, he told her about his Hogwarts times. Most of it what he told her was incoherent rubbish. But his silly babbling was certainly much better than oppressive silence. As the ideas ran out what else he could say, he tried a second time to ask for her name. This time she answered in a hardly audible voice,

"Hermione Granger."

"Neville! Come immediately down!"

Charlie Weasley wished that he had never given in to Ron's wish to teach him and his friend Neville how to fly. But his little brother had got so long on his nerves that he finally had agreed. So he had gone with them to the Quidditch field and had just wanted to begin with his explanation what was important when flying as Neville, who had been more than nervous, unexpectedly had shot in the air and now couldn't control his broom. Seconds later the boy crashed into the ground.

"Neville, are you alright?" screamed Ron and ran to his friend.

Charlie followed at a face pace, while praying that Neville was unhurt. Meanwhile Neville had sat up and looked at them with a slightly dazed gaze. Holding his wrist, he murmured with pained expression on his face.

"I think I've broken my wrist, Charlie."

Sighing Charlie bent down and helped Neville up.

"Then come. Let's go to the hospital wing."

"But, tomorrow we continue, yes?" asked Ron.

"Perhaps."

Charlie smiled at his brother. Basically he wasn't surprised however that his brother wanted to learn flying so eagerly to be able to play Quidditch. Their whole family were obsessed with the game. If they hadn't been at war, Ron and Neville would have been able to fly long ago but so nobody had had the time to teach them. Probably it would have been the best if they had tried it out alone, at least when their mother wouldn't have forbidden it. Charlie thought that her behaviour was a bit exaggerated but you couldn't do anything against it. She was also always afraid that he injured himself at Quidditch games. Although everyone who had seen him flying, described him as a natural talent. Since his second school-year he played for his house and he loved it. His brother Bill was as well on the team.

He had tried to persuade Bill to come along. Bill however had refused to help him to teach Ron und Neville how to fly, having said that he had no time and had to learn for his OWL which he would have this summer. Because he wanted to become an Auror, he needed good marks. But Charlie suspected that that wasn't the real reason. He had seen how Bill had looked at a pretty Ravenclaw girl and that he had given her a little letter yesterday. It was more likely that his brother would spend his time with her. But perhaps he should ask his friends if they could help him.

After his wife had tended his minor injuries which he had sustained in the battle that had taken place earlier this day, Lucius Malfoy leaned back in his armchair and stared with a frown in the lively flickering fire which was warming the room pleasantly. Lucius was thinking. Ever since he had discovered that the Dark Lord had a son, he had been thinking. Such a long pondering was rather unusual for him. Normally he always made decisions quickly. But in this case he didn't know what he should do. At the beginning he had toyed with the idea to kill the child. Only for a brief time, though, since it would have been actually impossible to put this into action.

The young Lord was either in the company of Draco and Carolina, Bella's or of his father. It was out of the question that he did it in the presence of the Dark Lord and just as little he could do it in the presence of his son. Apart from that it was too dangerous.

Even if the undertaking should be successful, if the Dark Lord would ever find it out, he would be dead. Not only he but his family would be punished as well and this he wanted to risk on no account. In addition, although there was the fact that Harry would hold the position which he strived for some day: to become the right hand of his master –a position he had to share with Bella at the moment – but if that would be such a disadvantage for him, he couldn't say at that point in time. He would wait, see what the future would bring and if the necessity would arise for action he would take the required measures.

Yawning Harry stared at Bella's curved handwriting. The last quarter of an hour he had spent with reading his homework, which had turned out to be rather difficult, over and over again. Up to now nothing had however fallen into place how to solve the task. Casting a glance at his phoenix he considered for a moment to send a call for help to his friends but dismissed the thought directly afterwards. Although they were now learning together, he still knew more than his friends, so that it was rather unlikely that they would be able to help him along.

For getting lessons in magic since he had been four years old, this wasn't very surprising after all. Draco and Caro had begun to learn the arts of magic only much later. Yet Harry had been shortly before fearing that it would be forbidden to them. But he had begged his father to allow Draco and Caro to remain his friends and his father had agreed. As he thought of his father, it occurred to him that he could ask his father for the solution of his homework. After all he would come to him soon.

Shortly after his sixth birthday his father had begun to come to him two or three times a week and taught him spells and curses in Parsel or told him who their enemies were. His father had explained him that Muggles and those wizards who fought against his father were evil. Also other creatures were worthless, apart from a Pureblood wizard who was on their side. Harry never thought much about it. He just learned it. Only in one case he could and did not want to agree with his father that house- elves were worthless creatures. Although he hadn't said it, he thought it. Never would he consider Nell to be worthless; the only one who took really care of him and who had been there for him as long as he could remember.

Noticing how warm it had become in his room, he stood up and sleepily went to the window. The cold air had an invigorating effect on him. He leaned forwards and stared into the park. While looking at the wall which surrounded the castle and the park, he realized that the last time he had left the castle had been when he had bought his wand. Suddenly he felt the desire to leave the castle and see other places. But why shouldn't he go out? There was no reason not to do it, was it? He was the son of the Dark Lord after all. It shouldn't be a problem. If he and his friends were careful, they could go everywhere.

He even knew how they could leave the castle. Nell and Diamond had told him and on his explorations he had found some secret passages as well. The way he had in mind was deep down, near to the dungeons and had many advantages. It was unlikely that someone would see them and the exit ended in a forest which didn't belong to the castle anymore. The greatest advantage however was that they even didn't have to pass the wards which protected the castle since the way was below them. Harry smiled.

Yes, they would do it. He had enough of staying in the castle and besides it was boring to see every day the same. They could go to Diagon Alley or somewhere else. They only had to await the right opportunity, when nobody would notice their disappearance. Harry knew that it would be very likely dangerous. But somehow it didn't bother him. It gave him an exciting feeling. Soon they would go searching for adventures.