Chapter 39 - Attacks of Sirius Black
The moment I arrived back at Hogwarts on Sunday evening, I ran to find Hermione. I found her sat on her own in the common room just at Harry and Ron came down from their dorm while sending 'Mione daggers, I ignored that for now.
"'Mione!" I squealed. "I have so much to tell you!"
"Ash!" Hermione squealed back and hugged me. I showed her the Firebolt that I got for Christmas.
"You guys! Oh my God! I got a Firebolt! Someone sent me a Firebolt!" I started bouncing in happiness like I had on Christmas day. Hermione's face dropped while Ron's eyes went wide.
"So did Harry." Hermione said in a monotone.
"I don't care what Harry got." I sniped.
"Ash, run. She gave Harry's Firebolt to McGonagall to be stripped." Ron said urgently.
"Yes and who do you both have in common. Sirius Black! He wants to kill you both so he's sent you a jinxed broom that will probably kill you!" Hermione said angrily.
"You did what!" I gasped in shock.
"You need to give your broom to McGonagall so she can strip and test it." Hermione ordered. My jaw dropped. I jumped on my Firebolt and hovered as high up as I could in the common room.
"Never. You'll have to catch me!" I grinned and flew away, stopping to open the door out of the common room before flying to Moony's office. "Uncle Moony!" I called while hovering in the classroom, his office door opened to reveal my uncle in everything but blood.
"What's this?" He asked amused, eyeing up the Firebolt.
"Someone sent me and Harry a Firebolt each for Christmas anonymously. 'Mione reckons its Black to try and kill us." I replied nonchalantly while gliding over to Moony.
"He could definitely afford it." Moony said begrudgingly.
"I think it's from Dad. As an apology, maybe?" I asked.
"Perhaps. Thank you for the photo and from plus the wolf teddy was kind of cute." Uncle Moony grinned at me.
"I love the earring, see!" I showed him that I had them in my ear. "And the jewellery box is beautiful so thanks."
"You're welcome." Moony hugged me. "I missed you at Christmas."
"I missed you too, Uncle Moony." I hugged him tighter. "I'm going to hide my Firebolt in the shack until the heat dies down."
"I'm sorry?" Uncle Moony asked confused.
"If I know Hermione, she's told Professor McGonagall by know and they're going to look for it. Probably here first." I replied exasperatedly, Moony hummed in agreement. "I'll see you at dinner, I'm going to hide my Firebolt."
"I'll see you later." Moony waved as I got on my broom and started to fly away, I paused before I left the room.
"By the way, I'm dating Dean Thomas now." I winked at him and flew to the Shrieking Shack where I hid by broom in a cupboard in the upstairs room before sealing it off and strolling back to the castle. The first person I saw was Dean.
"Hey. You told anyone yet?" Dean asked me.
"Professor Lupin. I didn't get chance to tell the guys. Harry got a Firebolt too but 'Mione told McGonagall and they think it's from someone who's trying to kill us." I rolled my eyes and grinned at my boyfriend. It felt weird to think I had a boyfriend.
"Who would want to kill you, angel?" Dean grinned back and placed my hand in his.
"Sirius Black, Voldemort... the possibilities are endless really." Dean sighed at that thought.
"Come on, let's go to dinner." Dean pulled me out of the common room and down to the great hall holding hands. Cedric Diggory saw us holding hands and frowned then glared at Dean for some reason before Abe did the same. They were so weird, I didn't want Cedric to be just another brother yet he was acting like one. Allie ran over to us as soon as she saw and dragged me away from Dean.
"What was that?" My twin whisper-shrieked.
"He's my boyfriend now. We got together over Christmas when I stayed at his house." I replied watching amusedly as Allie tried to contain her craziness. She was very over-excitable.
"Oh my God! I thought you stayed at Hogwarts but you went to a boy's house! It must be serious, wait 'till I tell Mum, she's gonna freak." Allie was practically bouncing off the walls at this point when Adair approached us.
"Thanks for the gift. A rat, nice." Addy sneered at me.
"Well, you know, a rat for a rat." I replied easily.
"What are you doing anyway, trying to bring the family name down by going with a mud...?" My wand was at his neck before he could finish.
"Adair Sirius Hyde!" Allie shrieked in anger.
"I dare you to finish that word, you filthy snake." I growled at him. "We're in Hogwarts I can and will use my wand, I won't take your shit."
"Ash, calm down." Allie said soothingly while still glaring at Adair.
"I'm going for my dinner, I'll see you later Allie. And at least I can get some without paying them, Adair." I smirked and walked to sit in between Hermione and Dean.
"What was that about?" Dean asked me.
"Nothing of importance, sweetness." I smiled sweetly at him before he rolled his eyes. I looked to Hermione who had an eyebrow raised.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked looking at me with slightly narrowed eyes.
"I'll tell you if you haven't already told McGonagall." I smirked as she flushed bright red.
"Miss Hyde." I heard from behind me.
"Professor McGonagall, I hope you had a nice Christmas." I smiled up at my head of house.
"I did indeed, I wish to see the broomstick you got for Christmas." McGonagall ordered.
"I'm afraid I haven't a clue what you're referring to. I'm still saving up to buy a broom for the team." I smiled sweetly again as McGonagall narrowed her eyes.
"Hyde, this is no laughing matter. You could die on that broom, Sirius Black murdered thirteen muggles and Peter Pettigrew, and you should not be acting childish." McGonagall chastised me.
"Believe me, Professor, I know what he did and it certainly is not a laughing matter." I paused to calm myself. "I simply don't know what you're talking about."
"I will find that broomstick, Aurora." McGonagall finished sternly before walking off. I caught Moony's eye at the staff table and smirked at him, he winked back.
"Liar, liar, pants on fire." Ron grinned at me. Dean bumped my arm jokily as I started laughing.
"Lasagne, anyone?" I offered the others after I spooned some on my plate.
-.-
I stayed behind after the Defence lesson with Moony as I usually would when Harry approached Moony. I was spinning in his office chair behind the desk do he didn't notice me.
"Professor Lupin?" Harry asked.
"Yes, Harry?" Moony replied.
"I was wondering if you'd thought any more about the anti-Dementor lessons you promised to give me. Oliver Wood's been asking if I've got it sorted so I can play again without nearly dying as much." Harry reminded him.
"Ah yes," Moony said thoughtfully. "Let me see... how about eight o'clock on Thursday evening? My classroom should be large enough... I'll have to think carefully about how we're going to do this... We can't bring a real Dementor into the castle to practice on..."
"How about a boggart?" I asked him. Harry whirled around to see me, I pretended that he wasn't there.
"An excellent idea, Ash! Now, I will be teaching you both so you will have to learn to get a long during these lessons. You both need them and I will have no childish squabbles in my classroom." Moony ordered forcefully.
"Yes, Professor Lupin." Harry replied in a monotone voice.
"Yes, Professor Lupin." I repeated mockingly. Harry glared at me then walked away.
"Ash." Moony warned.
"But it's just so much fun." I said cheekily.
"He's your brother." Moony reminded me.
"He's my god brother and he was the first to treat me like dirt so I get to do it back to him until he apologizes. I have to go meet Dean and Hermione in the library to finish my Muggle Studies work. I'll see you later." I replied then left his office.
At eight o'clock on Thursday evening I sat in the corner of Uncle Moony's classroom quietly waiting for Harry to turn up while Moony set up the Dementor ready for us to practice on. Harry wandered in at ten past eight greeting Moony and not saying anything to me.
"I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll get to a real Dementor. The boggart will turn into a Dementor when he sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk he'll like."
"Okay," said Harry, he sounded quite worried. My big sister part wanted to comfort him.
"So..." Moony took out his own wand, and indicated that we do the same. "The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, it's - well beyond ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm."
"How does it work?" I asked, speaking for the first time.
"Well, when it works correctly, It conjures up a Patronus," explained Moony, "which is a kind of anti- Dementor - a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the Dementor. The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon - hope, happiness, the desire to survive - but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."
"What does a Patronus look like?" Harry asked curiously. I was curious myself.
"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it."
"What does yours look like?" I asked him.
"A wolf." Moony grinned at me as I snorted in laughter. Harry looked like he felt out of the loop.
"And how do you conjure it?" Harry asked, trying to steer the conversation.
"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory." Moony replied pleasantly. I thought hard about the day I started working at Ollivanders, how happy and independent I felt, like no one in the world could bring me down. None of my family. And the only reason I had been able to get the job was because I was staying at Moony's, the person who has always made me feel excepted and loved. I smiled softly as I let these memories fill me up inside. "The incantation is this -" Lupin cleared his throat. "Expecto patronum!"
"Expecto patronum," Harry repeated under his breath, "Expecto patronum." "Concentrating hard on your happy memory?" Moony asked, he continued on the affirmative. "Good, then we'll let you go first, alright Harry?"
"Yeah," Harry replied, "Expecto patrono - no, patronum - sorry - expecto patronum, Expecto Patronum." Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas. "Did you see that?" Harry said excitedly. "Something happened!"
"Very good," Moony praised him while smiling amused. "Right, then - ready to try it on a Dementor?"
"Yes," Harry said confidently. Moony waved his wand at the trunk he had trapped the Dementor in, unlocking all the locks and opening the lid. The Dementor rose from it, its hooded face looking straight at Harry. "Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled. "Expecto patronum! Expecto -" Harry slowly went white before he collapsed in a pile on the floor.
"Harry!" I called worriedly and ran to him as Moony put the Dementor away in the trunk again. Moony pulled a chocolate frog out of his jacket as Harry jerked away again. I realised I was too close to someone I'm supposed to be mad at so I backed away. He looked quite angry that he'd collapsed again as Moony lifted him from the floor.
"Are you all right?" said Lupin.
"Yes..." Harry replied as he leaned against a desk.
"Here -" Moony handed him the Chocolate Frog. "Eat this before we try again. I didn't expect you to do it your first time; in fact, I would have been astounded if you had."
"It's getting worse," Harry muttered, biting off the Frog's head. "I could hear her louder that time - and him - Voldemort." My eyes widened as Uncle Moony looked slightly paler.
"Harry, if you don't want to continue, I will more than understand..." Moony suggested, I knew he wouldn't take it, there's too much riding on this.
"I do!" Harry replied fiercely as he stuffed the rest of the Chocolate Frog into his mouth. "I've got to! What if the dementors turn up at our match against Ravenclaw? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose this game we've lost the Quidditch Cup!"
"All right then..." Moony sighed, he never did understand how devoted people could be to Quidditch. "You might want to select 'other memory, a happy memory, I mean, to concentrate on... That one doesn't seem to have been strong enough..."
"Why don't you have a rest while I have a go?" I suggested looking mainly at Moony however I saw in the corner of my eye Harry nodding.
"Have you got your memory?" Moony asked me as I stood in front of the trunk with my wand out. I nodded the affirmative. I let my memories fill me up again as Moony released the Dementor again. But I couldn't remember the spell. Oh my God, I'd forgotten the spell. I backed up slowly as I went cold and tried to remember the spell. Shit. I then thought of a picnic blanket.
"Riddikulus!" I cried and it changed and the Dementor hit the floor, changing into a blanket. Moony and Harry both looked at me confused. "I forgot the incantation."
"Expecto Patronum." Moony recited in a clear voice while Harry snorted in quiet laughter. That pissed me off, this time I was determined. Expecto Patronum. I could do it. I tried to focus on the memory in my anger while Moony released it again.
"Expecto Patronum!" I growled and huffed when it didn't do anything. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" I shouted at it before I passed out and re-lived that memory. I came too quickly but by this time I was angry at Harry. "Densaugeo!" Harry's teeth grew out of his mouth.
"Aurora-Shaw Lily Hyde! What on earth are you doing?" Moony boomed.
"It's his fault I didn't get it, he made me angry so I couldn't concentrate." I glared at him angrily as Moony fixed him.
"I will have no more of this childishness from either of you. One more thing and these lessons stop immediately, do I make myself clear?" Moony ordered. I nodded at the same time as Harry. "Good, now Ash. Calm down. Focus on your memory and remember the incantation; Expecto Patronum." I took a few deep breaths and did as Moony told me as he released the Dementor again.
"Expecto Patronum." I repeated the incantation but nothing happened. "Expecto Patronum!" A silvery shield shot out of my wand and went against the Dementor. I was panting from the energy I was using with wide eyes but I was so happy, I did it! Moony put the Dementor back in the trunk before he turned to me.
"Excellent Ash, have a chocolate frog. Now, Harry; what memory have you chosen?" Moony asked him.
"I first chose riding my broom for the first time and then winning the house cup." Harry replied.
"They aren't strong enough, Harry, you need a really strong happy memory." Moony emphasized happy.
"There is when I found out I was a wizard that I got to leave Privet Drive and the Dursley's." Harry smiled at that thought.
"Let's try that, wand at the read, Harry." Moony said as Harry nodded before he released the Dementor again, hopefully for the last time today.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry bellowed. "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He wasn't leaving it to chance, he shouted it at the Dementor and a silvery shield appeared from his wand like mine did. His grin said how happy he was that he'd done it.
"Excellent!" Moony said, striding over to where Harry sat. "Excellent, Harry! That was definitely a start!"
"Can we have another go? Just one more go?" Harry asked.
"Not now," Moony replied firmly as I looked up hopefully. "You've had enough for one night. Here -" He handed Harry a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate before giving me the same. "Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next week?"
"Okay," Harry replied grinning before he left the room.
-.-
The match against Ravenclaw had crept up on the team and now Harry had his Firebolt back I could go on mine without worrying about McGonagall trying to steal it unfortunately the boys weren't talking to 'Mione because Crooks had eaten Scabbers. Good riddance really, rats are gross. Practice, since we got back nearly two weeks ago, had been difficult with Harry and the practices were pretty much every day with Oliver being Oliver. At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the locker rooms. The weather couldn't have been more different from their match against Hufflepuff. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there would be no visibility problems this time. They could hear the rest of the school moving into the stadium beyond.
"You know what we've got to do," said Wood as they prepared to leave the locker rooms. "If we lose this match, we're out of the running. Just - just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!" Ravenclaw would be an easy, they had a good few members but they were all on cleansweeps, I couldn't wait to win my first game on my Firebolt. The captains shook hands and we mounted our brooms, Lee mainly talked about how good the Firebolts were as Gryffindor scored again and again the Ravenclaw's just didn't know where to hit the bludgers. Cho Diggory was one of the better players, she certainly was a good seeker and was doing well a blocking Harry even though he was on the Firebolt, Harry was going after the snitch and Cho was appearing out of thin air to stop it, it was driving Oliver and probably Harry mad if he wasn't busy mooning over her. We had scored eighty points when Harry caught on to try and trick her when three dementors appeared. I couldn't help but be proud of him taking them out before he caught the snitch, ending the game. The best news wasn't until after when we learned that the 'dementors' were some of the Slytherin muppets pretending, they got their comeuppance though from the Patronus and McGonagall. Moony was definitely proud too and told him so before we all went to the Gryffindor Tower and partied late into the night all except for Hermione who was really just reading in the corner while Ron acted like a muppet, I was getting a bit sick of the four of us not getting along anymore. Something had to be done. Tomorrow, of course. I was asleep a few hours later when I caught a funny smell in the air. It was too late in the night so I groaned and rolled over to try and go to sleep, I only opened my eyes for a second before they bounced open again in shock. A tall pale man with a haunted face, crazy brown curly hair and bright grey eyes was staring at me. I screamed and looked at Hermione in fear but when I looked back he was gone.
"Ash? What's wrong? What's happened?" Hermione asked while Lavendar cast a lumos charm and aimed at me.
"There was someone there, there was someone staring at me." I replied terrified.
"There's no one there, Ash." Lavendar stated obviously.
"Maybe it was a nightmare?" Hermione suggested gently.
"Go back to sleep, Ash." Pavarti moaned, she was always the grumpy one.
"Sorry guys." I finally replied. Maybe it was a nightmare but I wasn't sure how I could have imagined that smell. I rolled over and fingered my wand as Lavendar distinguished the light and the others fell to sleep. I just couldn't. I'm not sure how much later it was when I heard a manly scream. It was Ron, coming from the boys dorms. I threw back my covers and grabbed my wand before running out of the room and to the common room. And he was there. The man I saw staring at me. I walked in just as the man changed into a black dog, it could have even been the grim. It all clicked. Sirius Black was in the Gryffindor common room and had just come from the boy's dorm. "Stupefy!" I cried, firing the red spell at him, missing him by millimetres and smashing part of the wall as he escaped out of the portrait. "HARRY!" I cried as I ran up the stairs and threw open the door, begging that he was okay. I saw all four of the boys, they looked as if they'd just jumped from the beds. I saw Ron's bed curtains slashed.
"You saw him." Ron accused me. I nodded wide eyed.
"I heard you scream, I came running." I replied.
"Why were you awake?" Harry asked me.
"He was in my room. Standing over me, I woke up because I could smell him. I screamed and he just disappeared so the others convinced me I was just dreaming..." I explained breathlessly.
"Ash?" Hermione called, coming into the boy's dorm.
"I saw him in the common room, I tried to stun him but he got away. I broke the wall instead. He came from your room... I thought he'd... he could've..." I didn't finish before I burst into tears and threw myself at Harry, squeezing the life out of him. "I'm sorry."
"He was in your room?" Harry and Dean growled at the same time. I just nodded while sobbing.
"Oh my God." Hermione whispered. "Thank God you screamed, you probably scared him off Ash. I'm so sorry we didn't believe you."
"But I should have got up and checked... he could've killed you all in your sleep." I whimpered.
"It's okay, we're all okay." Harry soothed me and rocked me while Dean rubbed my back until I stopped sobbing. Percy came in next and had a go before we made him fetch Professor McGonagall to tell her what happened, I think he felt he had to with how I looked. A terrified teary mess, I must have looked a right state. It turns out he'd been let it because he knew the password and unfortunately, Neville was the one who had lost his list of them. I've never seen her so angry. I didn't get back to sleep in my room that night, I didn't want to leave the sofa in the common room after I got there so a few of us camped out. All the boys from Harry's dorm, the Weasley twins, Katie, Angelina, Hermione and I all snuggled up in front of the fire and lapsed back into sleep. I'm just glad I had all three of my best friends back.