The Other World
SUMMARY:
Sirius Black son of Orion Black falls through The Veil and is reborn as Sirius Black son of Regulus Black in the other world. And well, wherever Sirius goes, Sirius is Sirius.
Author's Note: Italics are thoughts of people when story is from their POV. English is not my native language.
THANKS for reviewing and everybody who favorited or followed the story despite its shortcomings
This chapter is dedicated both to all the people who reviewed and favorited this story .
I apologize for the long delay. I was v ill.
If there are English mistakes, kindly point them out..I ll correct them.
Thanks a lot
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Sirius Black POV
It was time to go back to Hogwarts. Sirius felt well rested. He sat in the last compartment of the train alone as usual. He again had the pleasure of pranking PPW on their way towards Hogwarts. Nevertheless, Sirius noticed that Harry didn't hold the same angry expression, he always had when he looked at Sirius.
Must be because of his grandmother.
First day back, Remus approached him. Remus, happily, showed him the letter from Ministry about the approval of the wolf insignia as his family crest. Sirius could see that his old friend was delighted at the prospect of spending time with his friend's reincarnation. Sirius thought about using this opportunity to become close to Quirrell, too. The same day he talked to Luna in their Common Room about her Christmas gift.
"Luna, I know you know that these are powerful magical items. Are you sure, you want me to have these? They are priceless. They are from the Magical Creatures that are extinct," said Sirius.
Luna replied with a smile, "If I didn't want you to have them, why would I gift them to you? Somehow, I know that they are powerful and I think you are the only person who can handle power well."
Of course, Luna doesn't know about her powers. In addition, I am not the right person to tell her either.
Sirius teasingly asked, "Do you even know what they are?"
Luna said, " No, I don't."
Sirius said, "This black fang is horn of unicorn, this is a thestral hair and this is blood of wyvern."
Luna seemed quite excited to learn this.
Luna said excitedly, "You can use them to make a powerful wand."
Sirius smiled and replied, "Do you want me to make a wand for you from these items?"
Luna replied,"No, I love my wand. Mr. Ollivander told me that mine and his destinies are entangled."
Sirius had no idea what Luna was saying but he knew that the wand Luna was using was made by him.
The list of participants of the Dueling Championship was announced at the end of first week. Sirius was wondering why Quirrell had chosen Rat Jr. He found the answer soon when he went to meet Remus on their first training session. When they met in an empty classroom, Sirius saw that they weren't alone but accompanied by Quirrell, Lockhart and Snivellus.
Remus said," Your other teachers wanted to see what we do during our training session. "
Sirius replied, "They don't have to train their own champions?"
Quirrell said," I don't think I will be training my champion at all. I just chose him because he annoys me."
Remus gave him reprimanding look and said, " Why choose him at all?"
Snivellus answered "He wants him to lose badly in the first duel to tone down that kid's attitude, you know the way he behaves like he rules the world."
Lockhart added," Well, his father had bet around fifty thousand galleons that his son will win the championship. "
Snivellus replied, "Yeah, that's because of this werewolf actually. Few days after Christmas, we met at Diagon Alley and the Chosen One was there, too. He intentionally said loudly so that Pettigrew could hear that Quirrell was even a better teacher than Dumbledore when it came to dueling and his champion had the highest chances of winning."
Sirius was listening to the conversation of his teachers and internally snorting.
Quirrell said, "Well, it's no different than when Remus was telling Trelawny that as per his tea-leaves, she should bet on PPW. And the poor woman lost two hundred galleons."
Sirius couldn't help but laugh at hearing this.
Remus cleared his throat and said," I don't think it's appropriate for the students to know such details. "
Sirius laughed even harder.
Snivellus said," It's not like you were thinking of training him properly. I am sure you two would just carry out mischief. Wonder what you will be up to?"
Sirius said before he could stop himself," I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Quirrell and Lockhart laughed while Snivellus gave him a hard look.
Remus' eyes reflected pain and he asked, "Where did you learn that?"
Sirius lied, "I read a letter from my Uncle to his friend , Prongs or something."
Remus gave Sirius a sad smile.
Lockhart said," What are we going to teach Sirius today?"
Snivellus said, "What do you mean by 'we'? I am only here to watch him make a fool of himself. "
Quirrell said, "Really? Weren't you praising him on Christmas eve? Remus, if I recall correctly he said that 'Sirius is a genius ', right?"
Snivellus gave a venomous look to Quirrell . And Sirius was sure that if looks could kill then Quirrell would have been dead by now.
Remus chuckled, "Yes, you are right, Quirinus. "
Snivellus said in an angry tone, "I said no such thing."
Sirius gave his best Marauder smirk to Snivellus, to which he just scowled and left dragging Lockhart with him.
Remus said ,"Quirinus, I hope you are ready for Severus' reprisal. "
Quirrell just shrugged it off.
Sirius thought it was a good time to become friendly with Quirrell.
Sirius said, "Professor Quirrell, if you want I can charm your robes with shield charm. It would protect you from majority of spells unless Snivellus decides to use unforgivables on you."
Quirrell snorted, "Snivellus? "
Remus lightly slapped on the back of Sirius 'head and said in an amused tone, "It's professor Snape and stop reading letters of your Uncle. They are private."
Sirius rubbed the back of his head and said playfully, "Oh, Come on, Moony. I have the same name. I live in his room. I use his wand. "
Remus smiled brightly on hearing his nickname from Sirius.
Sirius saw Quirrell give a cautious look to his wand. Sirius snickered.
Sirius said, " So should I charm your robes, Professor Quirrell? "
By now, Sirius had gauged that Quirrell didn't hold any grudge against him for his pranks.
Quirrell looked at him suspiciously and said, " How can I be sure you won't set them on fire?"
Remus laughed while Sirius pointed his wand at Quirrell and casted the spell. Quirrell, instinctively, yelped and tried to move away but it was too late and spell hit him. Quirrell frantically checked his robes.
Sirius said,"Calm down, Professor. I only charmed your robes with shield charm."
Quirrell calmed down a little.
Remus said,"So let's check your charms work."
Remus threw a spell at Quirrell which was deflected by his robes. Quirrell seemed genuinely happy.
Quirrell thanked Sirius and asked him to teach him the charm.
So the training session was spent teaching Remus and Quirrell how to charm the robes with shield charm.
At the end, Remus laughed and said, "Instead of training you, we are getting trained by you."
Sirius laughed and left.
For some unknown reasons, teachers had suddenly become obsessed with homework. Sirius was sitting in library listening to Neville complain about homework.
Snivellus, too, was lurking in the restricted section of the library . He was soon joined by Quirrel and Remus. Sirius was wondering as to what they were searching when once again Hermione interrupted his train of thoughts.
"Are you a prince?" asked Hermione.
Neville snorted with laughter while Sirius gave her a confused look and said, "Pardon. "
"Are you a prince?" said Hermione again holding up a book titled "Pureblood Families and their secrets" to show Sirius and Neville.
Sirius replied, "The only prince I know in the wizarding world is Sni.. I mean Professor Snape."
Hermione gave him a befuddled look and said," Professor Snape is a prince?"
Unbeknownst to Hermione, Sirius saw that Snivellus had heard Hermione's statement.
Sirius replied looking at Snivellus, "Yes, you can ask him. He is just standing behind you."
Hermione dropped the book and turned backwards.
"Yes, Miss Granger. I am the last Prince alive from my mother's side. Though instead of researching about your teachers' families, you should concentrate on your homework. Your grades have fallen," said Snivellus in a cold voice.
Sirius also noticed how Snivellus was avoiding looking at Neville.
Remus came out of the restricted section with an old book and called Snivellus to see it.
Snivellus moved his head weirdly and went away.
"Professor Snape is a prince," said Hermione with a mortified look.
"Why are you suddenly interested in the prince family, anyway?" asked Neville.
Hermione replied," This book said that many Pureblood Families have royal titles. I though Sirius Black must be a prince since it said that Black family holds the highest royal title."
Finally, Sirius and Neville understood what kind of Prince was Hermione talking about. They both laughed.
Sirius said in an amused tone " You know you can also call Professor Snape, His Royal Highness, Prince Severus Snape. Everybody in the Pureblood circle does."
Hermione said," Really? "
Neville replied ,hiding his grin, "Yes."
Sirius added, " That is one of the reasons, Neville and I don't get detentions. And His Royal Highness is right, stop reading these Pureblood family books and focus on learning magic. You have potential of being better than many of those Pureblood, you keep obsessing over. "
Hermione had a look of pure delight on her face and said,"You really think so?"
Just then Robert entered library before Sirius could reply and gave an annoyed look to Hermione.
Hermione didn't miss it and left their table. Robert came and sat with them. Robert asked what they were talking about at which both Sirius and Neville laughed.
"Leave that, tell me how are you coping with homework," said Sirius.
"Don't even ask. I feel like my hand will fall off," said Robert.
"So guys, I was thinking of charming a quill to write what I read. You know the quills used by those journalists, "said Sirius.
"Why didn't I think of it? I will just buy one of those," said Robert.
"Can't you charm the quill to automatically write essays? You know like you put data of different books in a quill. You understand what I am talking about? "Neville hinted.
Sirius replied," Nev, that's actually a wonderful idea."
Sirius took a quill and tried charming it putting data of the transfiguration book. He was so lost in his charms work that he had forgotten about the three teachers who were lurking in the library and had apparently heard their conversation.
Sirius said after some time,"Nev, check this quill. Tap thrice with your wand and say some topic."
Neville asked, "What topic?"
Robert said, " Try asking it to write about inanimate transfiguration."
Neville did that and quill started writing all the text which had phrase 'inanimate transfiguration' in it.
Robert and Sirius high-fived each other. Then doing the same with Neville. This earned them a scolding from the librarian and she asked them to leave the library.
A voice interrupted," Leave these students to me, Madam Pince."
A sneering Snivellus came into the view.
Snivellus said," So from what I can understand, you three charmed a quill for cheating."
Remus came behind and said," Leave that, Severus. We have that bet with Filius and Lockhart to worry about? "
Severus picked up the quill and said,"Let's take them to the Headmaster and also call their Head of Houses."
Quirrell also joined and said," Let's just confiscate the quill. Why do something bothersome like going to the Headmaster? "
Snivellus said, "Because he thinks that we give preferential treatment to Mr. Black. Besides, I feel like annoying that old man."
Remus replied, "You can annoy him about something else. Kids , we are taking this quill and you won't charm the again. Now go."
Remus gave a look to three boys at which Sirius, Neville and Robert left hurriedly before Snivellus could stop them again.
Once safe distance from library, Neville said," So automatic essay writing quill is a 'no'. Snivellus will now tell other teachers and they will look out for it when checking homework. "
Sirius sighed and said," But still we can Charm the quill to write what we read. That won't be cheating or anything. "
Robert nodded and said, "Charm few of my quills. I also want to use it to take notes in History of Magic class."
Neville said," That's actually a nice idea."
Sirius said, "You will get your quills tomorrow." With that he bid them goodbye and left.
Soon, the rumours of Prince Severus Snape spread like a wildfire. Weasley twins , whenever, they saw Snivellus they called him His Royal Greasiness. Sirius did hear from Neville that Hermione had been given a week of detention by Snivellus on just being annoying know-it-all.
After few days, Sirius was checking out the books that he had taken from Bathilda Bagshot's vault. His eyes fell on an old tome. He picked it up and opened it. He was so surprised by the name of author that he accidentally dropped it. The book was titled, 'Godric's Guide to Controlling Magical Creatures by Godric Gryffindor'. Unlike Helga Hufflepuff tome, this was not charmed and anybody could read it.
Books of two of the founders. I just got very lucky.
In his enthusiasm, Sirius spent the whole night reading as much as possible. The more he read, the more he was getting disappointed in Godric Gryffindor.
Why was he so obsessed with controlling and enslaving the magical creatures?
Sirius decided to pay a visit to the hat. After all, the hat belonged to Godric Gryffindor. Sirius spent next few days spying on Dumbledore to get a know-how of his schedule. He found that it was only during meal times that he would have enough time to talk to the hat. So next day, he skipped dinner and went to Dumbledore 's office. He got the password on his third try.
He didn't want the portraits to tell the Headmaster that he had been sneaking in to his office. He cast a disillusionment charm on himself and decided to steal the hat thinking he would return it after a day or two. He cast a silencing charm on the hat and took it to his dorm room. Then he hurriedly went to the Great Hall for dinner to avoid suspicion.
After dinner, he went to his dorm room, locked and silenced it. Then he lifted the spell from the hat. The hat angrily told him that he shouldn't have put a silencing charm on it.
Sirius apologised and asked about the Grryfindor's obsession with magical creatures.
The hat remained silent for a few minutes and then began it's story.
"Godric and Salazar were both brilliant wizards. They were apprentice of the same master who taught them the art of magic. It was evident that Godric excelled in Transfiguration while Salazar was a master in potions. Both were extremely competitive and went to great lengths to earn the praise of their master. Salazar had a special gift that he could talk to the snakes and control them. This made Godric feel inferior. What Godric didn't know was that Salazar felt the same. Godric after completing his apprenticeship became obsessed with controlling magical creatures while Salazar became obsessed with transfiguration. Godric traveled far and wide and created spells to control all the magical creatures he came across. He went so far in his ambitions that he enslaved the entire race of creatures now called house-elves for eternity." Said the hat.
Sirius wanted to interrupt but stopped himself.
The hat continued, "I know what you are thinking . Yes, it was Godric Grryfindor who started the system of house-elves and the first ones to use that system was the Black family. The name of the master of Godric and Salazar was Aldebaran Sirius Black. "
Oh great! In every dark story, Blacks are bound to make an appearance.
"Salazar went on his own journey to learn every art of transfiguration. People of now don't know but the one who developed the art of animagus was Salazar Slytherin. Godric gradually realized that what he had been doing was wrong. He saw the error of his ways and started to change his ways. He started repenting for his sins by helping the creatures with the help of his new friend, Helga Hufflepuff. But both of them were unable to end the magic enslaving the house-elves. In their quest, they met Rowena Ravenclaw who was able to add some aspects of free will in the house-elves but was unable to end the magic. Godric finally decided to contact the most talented wizard he had ever known, Salazar Slytherin. Salazar and Godric met again. The four became friends. Even with Salazar's wit, they weren't able to break that magic. Truth is Salazar might have been able to end the magic but he never found anything wrong with it and thought of it as extremely useful. Godric became a preacher of equality among all. Salazar, however, adhered to the purity of blood. You must be thinking how I know about Salazar's thoughts. When I was chosen for selecting students for each house, the founders poured their essence in me which gave me access to their thoughts and actions," explained the hat.
Sirius blinked a few times and said rubbing his forehead, "If Godric Grryfindor considered his research such a bad thing, how come he never destroyed it."
"The knowledge, whether good or bad, should never be destroyed; it was a principle engraved in the soul of Salazar and Godric. It was the first thing their master taught them. And not everybody can read this book. Only the people who hate controlling others and who hate being controlled can read it. Godric did made a mistake of sharing his research with Salazar. It was through Godric's research that Salazar got the idea of controlling human beings and invented the imperius curse," said the hat.
Sirius was trying to absorb all the history that hat had just told him.
"Oh and if it makes you happy ,the Black lake was named after their master, your ancestor," said the hat.
Sirius snorted at this.
"It would be nice to spend a few days in a new place," said the hat.
Sirius just smiled and went to his bed to sleep .
The next morning, it was announced how someone had stolen the sorting hat and the culprit would be punished severely if they do not return it by next day. Sirius decided not to return the hat until the end of the year just to annoy the Headmaster and staff. He knew that he was the prime suspect. But what he didn't know was that even Remus and Snivellus were being considered as suspects until he heard Dumbledore asking them.
Sirius turned around the corner and heard Dumbledore saying," Remus , Severus, if you took the hat to have some fun or something, kindly return it."
Severus sneered," And what kind of fun do you think we can actually have with an old hat, Albus? "
Remus added, "Albus, I am noticing this pattern of yours. Whenever something happens, you think we are the culprits. Is there a reason behind this?"
Dumbledore replied," I apologize Remus for suspecting you but it's only because I feel that I no longer know you two."
Remus rolled his eyes.
Severus gave a hard look to Dumbledore and said," It's not that you don't know us. It's just you feel like you have lost two pawns."
Dumbledore said," I never thought of you as pawns."
Remus sighed and said," We are drifting from the topic. Anyway, Albus, we didn't steal the hat."
With that Remus went away. Severus followed him after a few seconds.
Dumbledore, however, stood there and took a long breath.
"How long do you plan on staying there, Mr. Black? I suppose you heard the whole conversation, " said Dumbledore turning and looking at Sirius.
Sirius cursed himself for not going away fast enough and replied," Sorry Headmaster, it was not my intention to eavesdrop. "
Dumbledore smiled and said, "It's ok, Mr, Black. What would be your answer if I asked the same question to you?"
Sirius said," I hardly doubt I can be your pawn. I don't do well when people try to control me."
Dumbledore laughed and said," Not about being pawn but about the hat, Mr. Black. "
Sirius said, "Oh! Question is not whether I stole the hat or not, Headmaster. Question is whether you will believe my answer or not."
Dumbledore said ," Your prefer to answer with riddles rather than give a straightforward answer."
Yeah, I learnt that from you, old man.
Sirius smiled and replied, " Headmaster sometimes a straightforward answer isn't enough. Take care , Sir."
Sirius could feel Dumbledore's eyes on his back while he was walking away.
After few days, Sirius was talking to Remus about their next 'training session' date that Professor Kettleburn came up to them.
Professor Kettleburn said," Remus, I need a favor."
Remus replied, " What is it, Professor? "
Professor Kettleburn said," I have told you to call me Silvanus, Remus. The herds of unicorn are missing. I was looking for them to show during my lecture but it's like they have vanished. Hagrid has gone to do some work for the Headmaster. You are the only one I can ask."
Remus said, " No problem. I will go check out in the evening today. "
Professor Kettleburn thanked and left.
Sirius said," I am going with you, Professor Lupin."
Remus said, " No, Sirius. It's dangerous. "
Sirius replied, " Either you take me with you or I am going on my own."
Remus sighed and gave up. He asked Sirius to meet him at the door of the Great Hall at eight after dinner.
When Sirius reached the door, he found out three more people standing there with Remus as usual, Lockhart, Quirrell and Snivellus.
Remus smiled brightly at him and said, " Sirius, I hope you don't mind the extra company. "
Sirius said," Not at all, Professor."
Quirrell said, "I have… been concerned….. about the unicorns… so I decided to join… Remus. I have actually…. Liked…. unicorns since I…. was a kid. "
Sirius said," Why were you concerned about them? Even if you like them, you had no way of knowing about the disappearance of the unicorns. "
Instead of Quirrell, Lockhart replied, "Oh, so that's why you visit Forbidden Forest. I have seen you a few times going into the forest. "
Sirius saw that Remus and Snivellus were surprised to hear that.
Snivellus asked, "Why do you go in to the Forbidden forest? "
Quirrell stuttered," I like unicorns. "
Sirius snorted with laughter as he knew why Quirrell liked unicorns.
More like your other half acts like a vampire.
Sirius said, "Let's go. Who cares why Professor Quirrell goes in the forest? "
Quirrell looked at Sirius with slight gratitude in his eyes because he had saved him from the interrogation. Sirius had been trying to be on good terms with Quirrell without arousing suspicion ever since he came back from Holidays. He didn't even prank him anymore.
Ok, I prank him whenever I am sure he wouldn't suspect me. And I feel bad that Weasley twins are often blamed for those pranks.
Remus said,"Let's go then. Quirrell, you can guide us."
The five of them made their way to the Forbidden forest.
At the entrance, Snivellus said," Should we split into two groups? "
Remus replied, "Yes, that way we would cover more ground. Let's communicate with our patronuses if you find the unicorns or in case of emergency. "
Everybody nodded.
Quirrell asked, " So how should we spilt up?"
Remus replied, "Sirius and Lockhart can come with me while Quirrell and Severus, you can go together. Is that OK?"
Lockhart happily nodded.
Snivellus said,"Let's do that. Come on, Quirinus."
Quirrell nodded and followed Snivellus.
Sirius followed Remus with Lockhart behind him.
Lockhart was telling Remus how he met Bronte Charles. Valentine's Day was next week. Sirius wasn't enthusiastic about this particular day unlike other students. He was sure it would turn out to be a pretty annoying day. Receiving chocolates from unknown witches, who would be stupid enough to eat it.
It had been an hour since they ventured into the forest but still there was no sign of unicorns. They were quite deep in the forest now.
Lockhart said in a worried tone," Would we be able to find our way back? It's pretty dark, now."
Remus replied in a calm tone," Don't worry about it. "
Never underestimate the sense of smell of werewolves!
Remus looked at Sirius and smiled.
He said," Look at our student, he is completely relaxed despite being in the Forbidden forest. "
Lockhart looked at Sirius and relaxed. Just then a loud roar shook the forest.
Lockhart let out a scream while Remus had almost fallen due to surprise. Sirius, himself, was bewildered.
Lockhart said," What… what… wa…..was that? "
Lockhart 's eyes were wide with fear.
Remus replied, "I have no idea. I think Severus and Quirinus are in danger."
Sirius had recognized the sound. He had heard such voices before, when he went on a trip with Moody.
"It's a dragon," said Sirius.
Remus and Lockhart looked at him.
Remus said sending patronus to Snivellus," We need to go to see if Severus and Quirinus are fine."
Lockhart said, " There is no need for us to go."
Sirius rolled her eyes and asked Remus to lead the way.
Remus said," Gilderoy, we need to find them."
Sirius said, "You can either stay here or come with us."
Lockhart looked angrily at Sirius.
Remus ignored him and started to move towards the sound.
Soon they saw Snivellus and Quirrell standing in front of a large cave. They seemed fine.
"Are you OK?" asked Remus.
They both turned towards them.
"What was that roar like noise?" said Snivellus.
Sirius shouted," Look out."
Remus jumped and dragged Snivellus away from the entrance of cave as they rolled to the side while Sirius accio'd Quirrell just as the dragon breathed fire.
It came out of the cave. It was a Norwegian Ridgeback. The dragon stopped right in front of Lockhart.
Lockhart, on instinct, pointed his wand at the dragon and shouted, "Obliviate."
Remus, Quirrell and Snivellus looked at him incredulously.
Sirius internally groaned and shouted, " Idiot, run."
Remus, Snivellus and Quirrell tried to stun it but it had no effect.
Sirius shouted again and asked them to run.
As soon as Sirius shouted, all of them were running at full speed. After running for unknown number of minutes and barely avoiding the dragon fire, Quirrell stumbled.
They all stopped, short of breath due to running.
"What is a dragon doing in the Forbidden forest?" asked Lockhart after catching his breath.
The other four wizards sighed and replied together, "Hagrid. "
Sirius said, "Uncle Roy, I think you are the first person in the world who tried to Obliviate a dragon."
Remus said, "Seriously, what were you thinking, Gildeory? "
Snivellus replied, "As usual, he wasn't thinking at all."
Quirrell's stuttering was completely gone when he said, "Dumbledore gave him permission to raise a dragon in the forest even after all the fiasco with the Acromantula."
Snivellus was about to comment that a severed leg of unicorn fell near them from the sky, missing Remus only by an inch or two.
They all looked at it.
After a moment of silence, Sirius said," Atleast, we know what happened to the unicorns now."
Lockhart fainted and landed on Remus. There was a sound like 'crunch'. Everybody looked towards them to find that Remus' wand had broken under Lockhart's weight. Remus groaned loudly.
"My wand," said Remus in a doleful voice.
Quirrell moved forward and enervated Lockhart. Remus was blaming Lockhart angrily at the loss of his wand.
Sirius said in a slightly loud voice,"I am wondering about one thing. "
Snivellus replied, "What is it? "
Sirius said,"We know that the unicorns are highly magical creatures especially their silver blood is very pure and potent magical item. Since this dragon has eaten almost all of the unicorns in the Forbidden forest, would it be more powerful than the normal dragon? "
Snivellus replied, "That could be the reason why our stunners didn't work. "
They all looked at each other and started running towards the exit of the forest.
Remus asked them to follow him.
Sirius, however, decided to take care of the dragon. The runes on the wands of the Black family increased the power of their spells depending on the number of runes that had been activated. However, it did strain the Magical core.
He was wondering whether to stun the dragon or use the new spell he had learnt from the "Godric's Guide to Controlling Magical Creatures".
Sirius decided to try the Godric's spell. He, however, needed to be away from the four Professors accompanying him.
Sirius looked at the four wizards running at full speed ahead. Remus, however, slowed from time to time looking at Sirius and encouraging him to run faster. Sirius found an opportunity to slip away when a stretch of forest with thick trees came.
Sirius didn't have to go far to reach the dragon as it was still following them.
Sirius activated one of the runes on the wand and shouted, "Drakon Ut Imperium. "
The dragon, at once, stopped. It blinked and looked at Sirius with glazed eyes. Sirius ordered the dragon to sleep. Sirius didn't like the controlling magic and wasn't happy that the spell had succeeded. But he knew that dragon's life shortens to almost half, if it has to live alone due to the loneliness they feel, being away from their own kind.
Ministry officials will take you to some reserve and you won't be alone…!
Sirius made a portkey to the entrance of forest and transported himself there.
He could hear Remus shouting his name.
Remus said," I am going back to look for him."
He shouted, "Professor Lupin, I am at the entrance of the forest. "
Remus came out of forest after ten minutes. He ran towards Sirius and hugged him tightly.
Remus said," Padfoot, don't leave me again. I can't lose you again."
Snivellus cleared his throat and Remus, at once, let Sirius go.
Remus said," I am sorry, Sirius. "
Sirius told him that he didn't mind.
Lockhart and Quirrell were extremely exhausted and were lying down on their backs at the entrance of the forest. Remus and Snivellus, too, were sitting down.
"It isn't following us now," said Remus.
"Maybe it started flying, " said Snivellus.
Sirius stood up and sent a patronus to his father with a message, "Dad, there is a dragon in the Forbidden forest which almost roasted us alive. Kindly send people from the Ministry to deal with it."
Sirius saw Remus' eyes widen when he saw the form of patronus.
"Your patronus, " were the only words that came out of Remus' mouth.
Sirius replied, " I have the same patronus as my father. "
Well, it's a Grim…
Remus sighed and nodded.
"Shouldn't you be more surprised that a first year is using Patronus charm," said Snivellus.
Quirrell said," Shouldn't we have informed the Headmaster first?"
Sirius replied, "Do you really think Headmaster doesn't know about it? "
Lockhart, who was finally brave again, said,"Headmaster should be suspended if he knew and didn't do anything. "
After few minutes, Sirius saw Minnie coming out the door and going towards the Hogwarts gate. Whereas, Dumbledore was coming towards them.
"What happened? " asked Dumbledore in a panicked voice.
Before anyone could reply, Regulus came running towards him.
Regulus said, ignoring everybody ,"Sirius, are you OK? Are you hurt? Do you need a Healer?"
Sirius smiled and said," Dad, I am fine."
Regulus hugged him and breathed a sigh of relief.
Regulus,then looked towards Remus and said, " Remus, what happened? Why is there a dragon in the Forbidden forest? "
Remus briefly explained the story without mentioning Hagrid's role.
However, Lockhart wasn't that kind and said, " We, all have suspicion that this dragon might have been raised by Hagrid."
Regulus looked at Dumbledore indignantly and sent a message to Lucius via patronus, "Lucius, come to Hogwarts right now. It's an emergency. "
Dumbledore had slightly lost his calm demeanor and seemed vexed.
Dumbledore asked everyone to move to his office. It was past curfew so no students were roaming around to see the disheveled looks of the five wizards who fought the dragon or rather ran away from the dragon.
Dumbledore asked Sirius to go back to Ravenclaw tower.
Regulus objected, " He isn't going anywhere until Madam Pomfrey has checked him. I am taking him to the Hospital Wing. "
Dumbledore didn't say anything.
Regulus and Sirius made their way to go Hospital wing. Regulus told him that he hadn't told Marlene or anybody else about it yet, as he rushed without any delay after receiving Sirius' message.
Madam Pomfrey checked Sirius and expressed great displeasure when she heard about a dragon roaming almost in the Hogwarts.
As Regulus and Sirius were walking back to the Ravenclaw Tower, they heard Lucius' voice. They found Lucius talking to Minister Fudge. Minister Fudge was accompanied by Gideon Prewett. Gideon Prewett was the new head of Magical Creatures Department. He had transferred to the said department few years ago from Magical Law Enforcement department.
Gideon Prewett gave a venomous look to the Blacks whereas Lucius looked at them like they were his sons. Minister Fudge had respect in his eyes for them or rather for their money and status.
Lucius came over and said," Is our dear Sirius ok? He wasn't hurt by the dragon? "
Regulus replied, "Thank God, he is fine."
Lucius said, "I panicked when I heard your message. The other Governors are coming shortly along with the journalists. I will have that groundskeeper sent to Azkaban this time. "
Mention of Azkaban sent chills down Sirius' spine. The memories of his twelve years in Azkaban hit him hard. He felt dizzy but as he was about to lose balance, Regulus caught his arm.
Regulus asked hurriedly, "Are you OK,Sirius? "
Sirius replied, "I am fine. Just tired,I guess. "
Regulus gave him a look that clearly stated that he knew Sirius was telling a lie.
Regulus picked him up and said, "I am taking you to the Hospital wing. "
Sirius became red with embarrassment and said,"Put me down, Dad. I can walk there myself. "
Regulus replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, sure you can. "
Then Regulus looked at Lucius and said, "Lucius, can you handle it? I am going to be with my son. "
Lucius said,"Don't worry about it. Do you want me to call healers from St Mungos? "
Regulus replied, "For now, Madam Pomfrey will do. If there is a more serious problem, I will ask the Chief Healer to come here."
Lucius nodded and walked away towards the headmaster's office.
Sirius said, " Put me down, Dad, else you will have a Sirius problem. "
Regulus laughed and said, "You loved it when I picked you up before. What's wrong now? "
Sirius said, "I was a baby then."
Regulus smiled and said, "You will always be a baby to me."
When they reached the hospital wing, Regulus told madam Pomfrey about Sirius feeling dizzy.
Madam Pomfrey said, "This might be because he is exhausted. Seriously, what are they thinking keeping a dragon in the forest. Of course, the kid would have been terrified. "
Madam Pomfrey gave him some energy potion along with dreamless sleeping potion.
Regulus conjured a chair and sat beside the bed Sirius was in.
Sirius said in a sleepy voice, "Dad, don't send Hagrid to Azkaban. It's a terrible place."
Sirius saw his father looking at him with a strange look.
Then Sirius fell asleep realizing his mistake.
Next day, Sirius woke up to a hushed conversation between his father and mother.
"Why didn't you tell me last night? Leave last night aside, you didn't bother to tell me at all. Narcissa told me. He is my son,too," said Marlene angrily.
Regulus said, 'I was busy with the dragon business and then I fell asleep here. It wasn't intentional, darling."
"Don't darling me,"said Marlene moving towards Sirius' bed.
When she saw Sirius awake, she smiled and hugged him.
"Are you OK? How are you feeling? Do you need some medicine? Do you want breakfast? Do you need to rest more? Are there any burns on your body? Why were you in the Forbidden forest? Did Remus take you there?" asked Marlene.
Sirius gave a blank look to his mother and said," Am I supposed to answer all these questions?"
Regulus snorted with laughter but one look from Marlene sobered him up.
Marlene said," Just tell how you are feeling? "
Sirius said, " I am fine."
Just then Remus entered and greeted the Blacks.
Marlene looked at him angrily and said, "What were you thinking, Remus? Why did you take him to the forest?"
Instead of Remus, Sirius replied, "Professor Lupin didn't ask me to go; I gave him a choice, either to take me with him or else I will go alone."
Marlene sighed and apologized to Remus.
Remus was about to say something that Ravenclaw Quidditch team barged into the hospital wing.
"Why are you getting injured three days before our match with the Gryffindor? " said Jeremy.
Jacob slapped on the back of Jeremy's head and politely greeted his parents.
All the others followed suit.
Sirius said, " I am fine. Nothing to worry about. I was just exhausted from running away from the dragon."
Jacob said, "So Captain, we will have practice today, right? "
Sirius said, "Yes, we will."
Rogers asked Regulus, "What happened to the dragon, Mr. Black? "
Sirius realized that he had forgotten to ask about what happened afterwards.
Regulus replied, "The Ministry officials will be transporting it to the reserve in Romania."
"Where did the dragon come from?" asked Chang in a worried tone.
"This matter is under investigation but we do know that someone brought it to the forest," said Regulus.
"It must be Hagrid. He, once, told me when I was serving detention with him that he would love to have a dragon as pet, " said Ethan.
"Yeah, well he is a person of interest for now, too," said Regulus.
Lockhart entered with a huge bouquet of pink roses.
"Ah, my favorite student is awake. I know today is not Valentine's Day but I brought these flowers for you so that you get well soon," said Lockhart.
Madam Pomfrey entered and shooed away all the people except the Blacks. She met Marlene very enthusiastically as she had been trained by Marlene's grandfather in the arts of healing.
She asked Sirius, "Mr. Black, how are you feeling? "
Sirius replied, " I am fine, Thanks."
Madam Pomfrey then asked, "Dear Marlene, would you like to have breakfast here or in my office. "
Marlene replied, " If possible, Madam Pomfrey, I would like to have breakfast with my son and husband here. It would be nice if you join us, too."
Madam Pomfrey asked the elves to bring breakfast for four and conjured a table for all to sit.
They had a pleasant breakfast and Sirius left for his classes.
The first class was Transfiguration that day so Sirius had to listen to Rat Jr remarking loudly what a big coward Sirius was that he was afraid of a dragon. Minnie reprimanded Rat Jr but that still didn't stop the snickering of Gryffindors.
Therefore, Sirius took the matters in his own hands and transfigured the Professor's desk into a dragon. Well, all the students screamed and ran out of the class except for Sirius.
So much for being a Gryffindor.
Sirius smirked while Minnie turned the dragon back to desk. She glared at Sirius and said," Ten points to Ravenclaw, Mr. Black for such an impressive transfiguration. I won't give you detention this time but kindly behave from now on."
Sirius smirked and said, "I am always on my best behavior, Professor Minnie."
Minnie rolled her eyes and went outside to bring the students back.
At lunch time, he saw Remus showing his new wand to Snivellus. Sirius recognized it at once as he was the one who made it. One thing that Sirius had learned during his apprenticeship with Ollivander was that when one made a wand, they could recognize it immediately as their own creation and even remember the substances in the core. Ollivander's remarkable memory was the part of Ollivander's wand making traditions. Yes, one who made the wand by the Ollivander's family method remembered it for a lifetime.
Sirius had seen many students like Luna, Draco, Neville, Ethan, Susan and others who had wands made by Sirius. Even his dear cousin Nymphadora Tonks didn't know that the wand she had bought that day from Ollivander's shop was made by Sirius when he was doing his apprenticeship.
Rest of the day was uneventful except for bidding goodbye to his parents and Quidditch practice.
Night before match, Sirius could sense that his teammates were restless. Jacob was giving pep talk to everyone despite being nervous himself.
Sirius stood on the table and said," Do you want to win the match? "
Everybody, even the ones who weren't in team replied in unison, " Yes."
Sirius said," Great moments are born from great opportunity; and this is what we have tomorrow. Do you not want to be the part of team that breaks the century old tradition of losing?"
"We do," came the reply.
"Then let them know tomorrow how wit beyond measure is the man's greatest treasure. Let everybody know who underestimate us, who mock Ravenclaws as bookworms, let everybody know, WE WILL WIN," said Sirius loudly.
A sound of 'Yes' roared in the tower.
Luna smiled brightly at Sirius.
Ravenclaw tower went to sleep that night with high spirits.
The spirits were high at breakfast, too.
Remus and Quirrell came to the Ravenclaw table to tell the team that they will be cheering for them.
Sirius teased Remus, " Professor Lupin, weren't you in Gryffindor? "
Remus gave him a short reply, " That doesn't matter. "
Luna handed them small flags with the color and symbol of Ravenclaw and said," Just like last time."
She added, " Professors, why don't you come and sit with us at the stands. "
Both Professors readily agreed.
Remus placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder and said," You will win, right? "
Instead of Sirius, the whole Ravenclaw shouted, " Yes, we will."
This sudden display of passion was so out of character for the Ravenclaws that everybody was bewildered.
Quirrell shouted punching his fist up in the air, 'Yeah."
Slytherins came to the Ravenclaw table and told them that they will be supporting them. Luna handed multiple flags to Draco, which Draco passed to the Slytherins beside him.
Romeo said," If Ravenclaw win today, then you might win the Quidditch Cup even if you lose to us. But still we will support you. "
Sirius replied, " There is no way we are losing to Gryffindor or Slytherin. "
Sirius looked towards the staff table. Snivellus was scowling, Minnie looked something between perplexed and vexed and Professor Flitwick was pleasantly surprised.
Gryffindors, too, were scowling.
Sirius knew it was going to be a hard match. Gryffindor had an excellent team especially their beaters and seeker. Their Chasers were good, too but Ravenclaw clearly outshone them in that department. Sirius knew that Gryffindor will try their best to end the match as quickly as possible by getting the snitch. Harry was an excellent seeker; in fact, the best seeker in Hogwarts right now.
Well, I expect nothing less from James' son.
Ravenclaws wanted the snitch to be caught when the score difference between them and Gryffindor was greater than hundred and fifty. Sirius had asked Ethan to try his best as a keeper to not let the Gryffindor Chasers score. Jacob who was as good a beater as the Weasley twins, was to target Harry all the time to restrict his movements and help Chang. Mark was assigned to take care of the Chasers and if possible, knock out the Gryffindor keeper.
The match started. The commentary, this time, was extremely biased, favoring the Gryffindors. But anybody could hardly hear it over the cheering being done by the students.
Sirius scored the first goal. As soon as the first goal was scored, the Ravenclaw Chasers became unstoppable. Jacob was successfully launching bludgers at Harry who was now surrounded by Weasley twins who were taking care of the bludgers. Ethan had brought his best game to the match.
Sirius heard the commentary, " 110 – 20. Ravenclaw Chasers are completely destroying the Gryffindor team. And Davies scores again, 120-20."
Finally the difference was one hundred and fifty. The cheers from Ravenclaw stand were deafening. And the difference kept increasing after that.
Harry broke away from the beaters and zoomed towards the snitch closely followed by Chang. Sirius realized that Harry wanted the game to end on his terms even if they lose.
The score was 240-40.
A second or two before, Harry caught the snitch Sirius had scored another goal.
Ravenclaws were overjoyed. They had won the match.
250-190 was the final score.
Sirius landed and shouted, "Yes, yes, yes."
The Ravenclaw team had come down and picked Sirius up.
Sirius saw Professor Flitwick almost dancing of joy in front of Minnie who was trying her best to keep her cool. Snivellus was taunting Minnie.
Lockhart, Remus and Quirrell were congratulating the Ravenclaw students. There was a certain thrill in the atmosphere. And Sirius was enjoying a lot.
The Tower was buzzing with joy at dinner time. Sirius had invited Remus, Quirrell and Lockhart to the party, too.
Sirius clinked his spoon on the butterbeer bottle to get everybody's attention.
He said," We won."
There was a loud cheer from the ccrowd.
Sirius said," Everybody played well but if I was to declare any one of you player of the match, it would be Ethan. "
There was loud clapping and Ethan looked abashed.
Sirius continued, " We wouldn't have won this match if even one of you were missing but the effort of Ethan in stopping the Gryffindor Chasers was the biggest factor in our victory. "
Everybody clapped loudly and cheered 'Ethan, Ethan, Ethan'.
Ethan said in an embarrassed tone," But Sirius, I could only move like that because you gave me your broomstick and even trained me in the extra time to maneuver on it properly. "
Jacob said, " Wait, but Sirius you were using your own broomstick. "
Sirius replied, " Glamour charm on the broomsticks. I didn't want the other team to know that Ethan was using my broomstick. Ethan, you are talented and you performed this well by your own hard work. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. "
The party went on whole night.
Gryffindors remained sour for quite a few days after the match whereas Ravenclaw basked in the glory of their victory. Same was the case with Minnie and Professor Flitwick. Even Quirrell was boasting that his house's team had won.
Sirius' happiness vanished when he saw the calendar because Valentine's Day was day after tomorrow. The next day, the excitement of Quidditch had died down as the students and teachers started preparing for the arrival of their favorite author, Bronte Charles. Many girls could be heard squealing here and there. Professor Sprout even cancelled the lecture to give them time to prepare for the arrival of her favourite author. Draco and his fan club had prepared special banners to welcome the author. Draco had told him that it was his goal to get his picture taken with Bronte Charles and get an autograph on that picture to gift it to his mother.
To his great annoyance, Lockhart had decided to make the Valentine's Day special by making elves take love letters here and there. The elves were supposed to read the letters aloud. Sirius made Lockhart, at least, to not let the elves read the letters out aloud in front of everyone.
Ah, it is going to be one irksome day!
Sirius woke up next morning and ate breakfast in the kitchen. He had decided to avoid the Great Hall all day. He didn't even want to see who Bronte Charles was. Sirius was early in the potions class . Like always, he sat at the back. He wasn't expecting anyone else as there was still half an hour till the lecture began.
Sirius was sitting quietly when he observed Snivellus enter the class. Snivellus was wearing very expensive robes and had even tied his hair back.
At least, he won't be swinging his greasy hair today ridiculously.
But for some unknown reason, Snivellus seemed extremely happy.
I doubt Augusta Longbottom would have sent him chocolates. What is he so happy about?
Sirius wasn't expecting on discovering another secret of Snivellus that day but he did. Snivellus was singing in a really bad voice. Sirius moved towards the adjoining office and sneaked a peek. He saw Snivellus kissing the novel, 'The Sexy Sorceress' by Bronte Charles.
Snivellus said in a very happy voice," I will get autograph of my favorite author on my favorite book, today."
And then Snivellus giggled.
Sirius, at once, moved back to his seat. He was having a very hard time controlling his laugh. When he couldn't take it anymore, he silently moved out of the class and literally ran the other direction. After he knew that Snivellus couldn't hear him this far, he started laughing like a maniac.
Oh my God, I could die laughing because of Snivellus…
Sirius was still laughing when two elves came up to him with six love letters with chocolates. He was quite friendly with the elves due to his frequent visits to the kitchen. He had gotten along with them well even in his past life.
The elf Bingo said," Master Sirius is quite popular. "
The little elf named Flora shyly gave chocolates to Sirius saying, " Flora made chocolates for Master Sirius. Will Master Sirius accept them?"
Sirius said, "Yes, I will, Flora. Thanks a lot."
Sirius took the chocolates and gave a peck to Flora on the cheek.
Flora squealed with happiness which made Sirius laugh.
Bingo said, "Bingo will have to deal with Funny Flora all day now, Master Sirius. "
Sirius smiled and hugged Bingo, too.
Bingo smiled and left with 'Funny Flora'.
Sirius looked at the letters. They were from the witches he didn't even know the face of except for one. Apparently, Hermione Granger had a crush on him. Sirius sighed.
Looks like Nev was right.
Before seeing that letter, Sirius just thought Hermione was curious about him being a Black, a wizard from the Dark family.
Oh well, whatever.
Sirius burned all the letters and chocolates without reading and went to attend his potions class.
The day continued like this, Sirius burning letters and chocolates. Even the Rat Jr's girlfriend had sent him a letter. Maybe, it was a prank letter or a hate mail. Sirius didn't bother with it. He ate lunch in the kitchen, too where he requested the elves to not bring him any other letters or chocolates. The elves asked what to do with them, to which he replied that they should dispose them.
Elf named Fluzzy said," Fluzzy feels bad for the girls, Master Sirius. "
Sirius smiled and replied, "Fluzzy, if they aren't brave enough to give it to me themselves, then they aren't worth my time. Flora did it herself, that's why I accepted her chocolates. "
Fluzzy nodded and brought him treacle tart. Rest of the day passed peacefully as elves didn't bring him more letters.
Rat Jr had received a few and bragged about them in front of Sirius.
He stood near Sirius and said,"Dark wizards are never loved by anyone. Looks like you will die alone like your uncle."
Sirius looked at Rat Jr angrily.
These people will never know what true loneliness is.
Sirius pointed his wand at Rat Jr, turned him into a pig and walked away ignoring the words of everyone.
Sirius was about to retire to his dormitory for the day that he was caught by Lockhart. Sirius tried to say that he wasn't feeling well and that made Lockhart take him to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey looked at Sirius and smiled.
"Too many chocolates, Mr. Black?, " said Madam Pomfrey.
"Actually none, Madam Pomfrey. I am not even sick. I just said that to get rid of Professor Lockhart, " said Sirius.
"Well, Mr. Lockhart can be overbearing sometimes, " said Madam Pomfrey.
Sirius nodded.
"So you don't mind if I go to the Great Hall and well, welcome Mr. Bronte Charles," said Madam Pomfrey.
"Even you ,Madam Pomfrey, " Sirius teased.
Madam Pomfrey smiled and left.
Sirius stayed in the silence of the Hospital Wing for a while. As he was walking out of the Hospital Wing, he bumped into a blond handsome man with a melancholic look on his face. He was wearing black rectangle spectacles and Sirius had to admit that they made him look even more handsome.
Sirius said," Sorry, I wasn't looking?"
The man replied, "Oh, don't worry. Its my fault as much as it was yours. "
The man looked eerily familiar. Sirius was trying to place the guy in his memory.
The man extended his hand and said," I am Bronte Charles. "
Sirius looked at him surprised and shook his hand.
Sirius replied, 'Sirius Black. "
Sirius saw strange emotions in the eyes of the man.
"I know. I have seen you in the newspaper, " said Bronte Charles.
That was when it struck Sirius.
Of course, he is different now. Untainted by Azkaban, he looks so different. Barty Crouch Junior, one of the most loyal Death Eater.
Sirius noticed that both of them had been looking at each other for quite some time, so he cleared his throat and looked away.
Great, Voldemort would be reunited with another minion of his.
"Mr. Charles, are you lost? There is supposed to be a big welcome for you at the Great Hall, " said Sirius.
Crouch Jr. sighed and said, "I know that's why I am here. I am not fan of crowds so I was trying to escape. Why did I even accept Lockhart's invitation?"
Sirius asked,"Why did you accept? "
Crouch looked at him curiously and said,"I don't know. I felt something might change if I come here."
Sirius knew that he wasn't entirely truthful but had no grounds to press for more.
Yeah, everything will change if you meet your master.
Sirius said," Then if you will excuse me, Mr. Charles. "
Crouch Jr cut him off, " Barty Crouch, that is my real name. You can call me Barty, Sirius. "
Sirius looked strangely at the familiarity being shown by Crouch Jr.
Crouch Jr said," Why aren't you at the Great Hall in the welcoming squad? "
Sirius replied, " Mr. Barty, hope you won't be offended when I tell you that I am not a fan of your books."
Crouch Jr laughed and said, "Straight forward like the Blacks."
Sirius didn't reply. He was feeling hungry and was thinking of going to the kitchen for dinner.
Sirius said," Then excuse me, Mr. Barty. "
Crouch Jr said, "Where are you going? "
Sirius replied, " To have dinner in the kitchen. "
Crouch Jr smiled and said, "Ok, then I will join you. I am famished. And call me Barty, no need to add Mister. "
Sirius gave an irritated look to Crouch Jr and said, "Baaaarty, people are waiting for you in the Great Hall. Won't you have dinner with them?"
Crouch Jr replied, "I won't be able to have dinner peacefully while being stared by hundreds of people. I did say I am famished. "
Sirius said, "Fine."
Sirius started walking towards the kitchen followed by Barty.
Barty said, "Do you know that I was in the same year as your father at Hogwarts? "
Sirius replied, "My father never mentioned you."
Barty said," I was second -best at every subject except Transfiguration. I beat your father in it."
Sirius didn't say anything and entered the kitchen.
He was greeted by Flora who had arranged a special table for him.
Flora said,"I have prepared Master Sirius' favorite dishes for dinner."
Sirius thanked her and introduced Barty Crouch Jr.
They ate dinner in silence. Barty wasn't telling a lie when he said he was famished.
Sirius thanked the elves for dinner and was about to leave when Barty asked," Sirius, what do you think , of me?"
Sirius replied, "I don't know you well enough to have any opinion of you but I do know one thing that people underestimate you, Barty. "
Barty laughed and asked," How so?"
Sirius replied, "You are a powerful wizard. "
Barty Crouch smirked and said, "Nothing escapes you, Blacks now, does it?"
Sirius gave him a smirk of his own and said, "Actually it does. Aunt Narcissa Malfoy née Black and her son are your big fans. And well, you are the first wizard I have met who knows how to weave simple English words into an enchantment. Even if enchantment is weak and harmless , it still induces the emotion the reader desires."
Barty laughed and said, "Sirius, people underestimate you, too. "
Sirius replied, "I don't think so. The people who are precious to me know the real me."
That is a lie though , kind of….
Barty said, "Do they now? You are the first person who has become aware of my true talent in writing. How did you find out? "
Sirius replied, "When I saw two girls give entirely different reaction to the same book. One insisted that book was a tragedy while the other one was convinced that book had a happy ending. And that reminded me of the wizard Dante, the last known wizard who could use the word weaving magic."
Barty replied, " How do you know of Dante? He is unknown in this part of our world. Even I was unaware of it until I travelled to Italy. By the way, I based the novel Vixen of Venice on his great great great granddaughter or something."
Don't tell me he, himself is the hero, a blond man with melancholic look…Milly's dream wizard
Sirius said, " Never underestimate the Black's library. "
Barty laughed and said, "I would never underestimate anything associated with the Blacks. Back in the day, I was kind of a fan of the Black family. "
I know. But you were only fan of Bellatrix.
Sirius said," Anyway, Barty have a good night. "
Sirius waved a goodbye to Barty and went to the Ravenclaw Tower. There was a small pouch outside his room's door. He picked it up and read the note attached.
"I made chocolates for the first time to give to the whole Ravenclaw Quidditch team. I made these one especially for you. I have been waiting for you to come back for quite a while. Since you were taking your time, I left them here. Hope you will accept them and not burn them like I saw you do in the morning before potions class. – Luna"
Sirius laughed and opened the pouch to taste the chocolate. It was unique, that was all Sirius could comment.
Next morning, Sirius was eating breakfast listening to how festive last night has been, that someone suddenly came and sat beside him. Sirius looked at the newcomer, only to find Barty Crouch Junior smiling at him. Sirius made a face that clearly showed his displeasure.
"Don't make such a face. I have decided to stay for a few days," said Barty.
"Why don't you go and sit with staff or your fan club?" asked Sirius.
"I feel like I have a connection with you," said Barty.
"I don't think we have any connection. I don't have a self-righteous prick for a father like you," said Sirius, a little too late to realize that he had said too much.
Barty laughed and said," You and I will get along well because we share the same feelings when it comes to Barty Crouch Senior. I knew we had a connection. "
Suddenly many students mainly girls started coming to ask for autograph or picture of the author. Sirius rolled his eyes got up.
Luna said, "Sirius, you haven't finished your breakfast? "
Sirius replied, "I will grab a few sandwiches from the kitchen. And someone did give me chocolates with a peculiar taste yesterday. I will eat them."
He saw that Luna 's cheeks became slightly pink. But he was distracted by Barty.
Barty grabbed his wrist and said,"Save me, Sirius. "
Sirius' eyes fell on Robert who was most probably consoling Draco as Barty didn't sit with him on the Slytherin table.
Sirius smirked and said," I have a perfect protector for you in mind. You know my Aunt Bella, Bellatrix Lestrange née Black?"
There was a certain shine in the eyes of Barty Crouch Junior on hearing the name of Bellatrix.
Sirius continued, "Her son, Robert Lestrange is a very capable wizard. "
Barty Crouch Junior ignored all the girls and said," Mrs. Lestrange has a son? "
Sirius said, " Were you living under the rock or something? "
Sirius couldn't hear his reply because of the chatter of the girls.
Barty Crouch Junior said in a firm tone to the girls," Leave. I am not in the mood. "
The girls were baffled but left nonetheless.
Barty asked," Where is he?"
Sirius pointed towards the Slytherin table and said," The one sitting beside Lucius Malfoy's clone."
Barty got up and went towards them. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and went to his class after picking up a few sandwiches.
The next few days he saw Robert with an annoyed look on his face while Draco seemed euphoric. Sirius was just happy that he didn't have to deal with Barty Crouch Junior anymore even if it was at the expense of Robert's peace.
Barty Crouch Junior stayed for a week and on his last day,Sirius saw him talking to Quirrell in hushed voices.
So he has met his master.
When he was leaving, he came to the Ravenclaw table and placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius turned around and looked inquisitively at him.
Barty Crouch Junior smiled and said, " Well, you are my responsibility now."
Sirius replied, " What do you mean?"
Barty said," You will know when the time comes. So until then, let's be friends. "
Sirius said bluntly,"Sorry, I but don't make friends nor do I plan to have any in the future. "
I don't want any friends…. Not after what happened…
Sirius realized that he was still afraid of making friends.
Oh great! I have developed a phobia.
Barty said, " We will need to correct that. Here I am gifting you my new book with my autograph. It hasn't even been released to the public yet."
He forcefully gave the book to Sirius who was resisting saying that he didn't need the book. Sirius could see that BC fan club was looking at him angrily.
Sirius sighed and took the book. As usual it had a strange title, 'The Reaper of Corsets '. Sirius gave an exasperated look to Barty who just smiled in response.
Sirius asked, " Why do you write such ridiculous novels?"
Barty replied, " Because they are ridiculous and they irked my father so much that he banished me from the Manor. "
Sirius' expression hardened on hearing about Barty Crouch Senior.
Barty looked at him and said," And that look is why you and I will be best friends forever. "
Sirius rolled his eyes and laughed.
Sirius said," In your dreams, Barty. Besides, I already have a best friend. "
Barty said, " I will write letters to you and if you don't reply, I will come and spend some time with you. Oh, and I will come and watch the Dueling Championship. "
Sirius gave him an annoyed look. Barty just laughed, ruffled Sirius' hair and left.
Time passed and now dueling Championship and Quidditch Match with Slytherin were just around the corner. Only a week apart from each other.
The Quidditch match came first. Romeo Lestrange, son of Rabastan Lestrange, was in the Slytherin Quidditch team. Rabastan Lestrange was doing well this time around, too. He was biggest shareholder in the company that made Nimbus series broomsticks. He also had other business ventures and let's just say that Lestranges were one of the wealthiest family in the wizarding world. Romeo told Sirius that Snivellus had warned the Slytherin team that if they lose , they will be spending rest of the year in detention. Sirius assured him that Slytherin team will be spending rest of the year in detention.
When the time of match came, Slytherin team came with the latest Nimbus broomsticks. Match with Slytherin was expected to be rough. Sirius asked Chang to get snitch as soon as she can. Sirius told his team not to relax and underestimate the Slytherin team. The match started. Romeo was also a Chaser. Well, as soon as match started so did the rough play. Slytherin have decided to send all bludgers towards Ethan. Jacob was now flying around goal post to send the bludgers away. Despite their bludger strategy, Ethan hadn't let any goal in. Ravenclaw, on the other hand, were on a roll. The score was 120-0 that Slytherin succeeded in injuring Ethan. They sent the bludger and Quaffle at the same time. Ethan accidentally went for bludger and injured his shoulder. His movement slowed down and Slytherin scored a few goals. The score, now, was 190-50. Sirius went to Ethan and asked him if he was ok. He could see Ethan was in pain. He then, flew towards Chang and told her to hurry up. Jacob was flying nearby, so Sirius asked him to search for the snitch with Chang and leave the bludgers to Mark. Jacob and Chang nodded and flew away together. The score was 210-100. Meanwhile, Jeremy had been knocked out as the Slytherin beater had hit him on the head with his bat. When asked he said that he thought Jeremy's head was a bludger. Sirius was angry and realized that it was him that was underestimating Slytherin team as to how far they will go to win the match.
In his anger, he decided to play like Slytherin . He asked Rogers to give him the Quaffle. He took the Quaffle and zoomed towards the goalposts. He turned sharply to the side towards the stands. He could see that Flint was following him with full speed. Near the stands, he shot vertically upwards in a tight space, a move only possible with a broom like Firebolt. The Flint crashed with the stands and was out of the game. Sirius saw that his teammates were laughing and giving him thumbs up. Sirius and Rogers scored a few goals again. Sirius next decided to take out the beater that had hit Jeremy. Sirius flew towards him with full speed. The Slytherin beater thought that Sirius would stop but when Sirius didn't stop coming after him, he became anxious. Sirius didn't collide with him but passed so close that he lost balance and fell from his broom. Slytherin team complained to which Sirius said that he thought his head was a Quaffle. Sirius heard Lee's voice that Ravenclaw are maintaining their lead, 260-130. Sirius and Rogers diligently tried to cover the difference to win if they didn't get the snitch. Well, they finally succeeded and at the same time Chang caught the snitch. The final score was 440-130.
Ravenclaw had won the Quidditch Cup. Even though the crowds were cheering loudly, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team was silent. They all flew down and looked at each other . After a long moment of silence , they all rushed towards each other and huddled together. The cheers from Ravenclaw were deafening. The Ravenclaw Team after a century had won the Quidditch Cup. Sirius was awarded the cup by the Headmaster. The team surrounded him and cup was being passed around. Lockhart didn't miss this opportunity and asked Remus to take his picture with the winning team. Everybody knew the intention of Lockhart. Sirius made Professor Flitwick hold the cup in the picture.
The next day there was a big article in Daily Prophet Sports Section with the said picture.
Ravenclaws conquer the field of Quidditch after a century!
The article had written about Quidditch Cup history and famous Quidditch players from Hogwarts. Regulus and Marlene had sent gifts for all Quidditch team. Sirius received congratulatory letters from almost everyone he knew. He had even received letters from Mr. Ollivander and Mr. Burkes. Barty had sent his new book which Sirius already had with his autograph to the Ravenclaw team. Ethan had decided to auction this book at BC Fan Club which Sirius said was a brilliant idea. Mr. Florean sent his special ice creams which had shape of raven in Ravenclaw colors for the whole team and told Sirius in the accompanying letter that he, too was a Ravenclaw. Dorcas sent letters to the Ravenclaw team members which was a special pass making meal free for them and their families at her restaurant for lifetime. Jacob remarked how even they were being treated extra special because of Sirius. Sirius told him that they were famous because of Lockhart not him.
NEXT CHAPTER
Duelling Championship
Chamber of secrets
Prongs is about to come back !
