Chapter 13: Halloween and Sirius Black

Chapter 13

Halloween and Sirius Black

Halloween finally came around a few weeks later and the general excitement was pretty high. The first years couldn't wait for a feast full of sweet goodies and all kinds of candy. Sage was finally feeling as if he might just make it through his schooling at Hogwarts. The novelty of him being Snape's nephew had worn off for most people and the novelty of him being a Magi was beginning to wear thin as well. Thankfully, Hermione had not mentioned him playing for their Muggle Studies class again, but the suspicions were still in the back of his mind as they had not gotten to the chapter on muggle music quite yet.

Sage was sitting in the leather chair in his room trying to make sense of the scrolls from the leather case again. There were a lot of different manuscripts in there and they seemed to just keep coming. Apparently the case had a spell on it to make it bottomless so it could hold more inside. He had given up on understanding exactly what the significance was of Ra and the Nag, and had started to read more about the life of Merlin. The prophecies, that he had seen earlier, had become unreadable after that first glance. Sage supposed that he was to read everything else first and then maybe read the prophecies.

I was born in the year of the lord 402, in a time of bitterness and strife. The world wrought between the light and that of the dark; the old ways dwindling, the new ways not yet strong enough, and of course darkness knew when it was best to strike. The Gods of old were being forgotten by men for the Christian God, which I must admit, it was easier for simple men to attend to only one God as their attention cannot handle the Gods of the old that were still worshipped by druids, wizards, and magical creatures alike.

Men did not understand our capabilities and our kind became persecuted and feared. Druids and wizards alike chose this time as the time to make their way out of popular knowledge, out of the lives of mankind, and into a world that they would make their own. I see we will all be that of children's stories and fantasy in the future, because of this choice to leave mankind. I alone was left with the suffering of man and the desire to ensure their safety from the darkness. Around me I had few other witches and wizards, but they were great, and they were descended from Fawkes and the members of the great Order of the Phoenix who succeeded in defeating the Dark One, the plague of all time, Ra in the many hundreds of year before the coming of Christ. They were forgotten, as I was remembered, they were mere shadows to the eyes of all because I was the Magi, because I was Merlin. My powers dwarfed theirs, but even if history will not remember, they will live on in their great lines. Powerful families of wizards each of them will bear, families known to all the wizarding world. They each will contribute hundreds to the fight against darkness while I shall contribute only few, but a powerful few, a powerful few to lead them.

Sage jolted up in the chair as someone knocked on his door. He hastily replied that it was open. When he turned to see whom it was, he saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione coming in looking like over eager 10 year old children.

"Sage, c'mon nearly everyone's left for the Great Hall already. The feast is going to start soon," Hermione said grabbing the sleeve of his robe to get him out of the chair.

Sage rolled his eyes at their excitement. He was not used to such juvenile displays as his uncle would have called them, but then again, he never really had much of a childhood. Juvenile behavior was definitely not something Severus Snape would have ever allowed. It's Halloween, what's so greatly exciting about Halloween? "A'right, I'm coming, I'm coming," he answered, giving in to her tugs.

"What's that then?" Harry said pointing at the scroll in Sage's lap.

"Potions," he swiftly replied, putting the scroll back into the case and closing the latches.

The reply was a little too swift for Harry, who was now suspicious of what it really was. Of course, being Harry, he supposed it was some kind of Dark Arts text. As they walked down the corridor to the Great Hall, Sage couldn't help but notice that he had a headache coming on. It was already making his head feel like it was pulsating. He figured that he ought not read in such dim light, but the did not want to read the scrolls where anyone could become suspicious of him.

The feast made the students all abnormally loud and Sage's head just kept throbbing worse and worse. He was in the middle of lifting a chunk of apple covered in caramel, when it suddenly hit him. He wasn't exactly sure what was happening to him, but it felt similar to the way he did right before he had a vision. The Fat Lady, his brain said to him. "The Fat Lady?" he said out loud.

Harry and Ron looked at him suddenly with weird expressions of their face. Hermione poked an eyebrow up at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked him.

Sage shook his head, "I dunno, nothing I guess." He went to lift the apple back up to his mouth and it happened again. Sirius Black is in the castle it said again.

"Sirius Black?" he said confused at what was going on.

Hermione gasped, Harry and Ron jumped up, Fred and George dropped their wedges of chocolate, and Percy stared with his mouth open.

Suddenly Hermione jumped up and out of her seat and went running up to the head table yelling the whole way there, "Headmaster! Professor Snape! Something's happening to Sage!" Before Hermione had even said anything Snape was already billowing down the stairs from the table with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and even Lupin in tow. Any mention of Black caught serious attention.

Sage put a hand to his head and wondered if he was going crazy like his mother. Sirius Black is in Hogwarts he heard inside of his head again. What the hell is happening to me, what's going on? He started to get up out of his seat at the table and suddenly two hands grabbed him from behind to help him get up and turn around. Sage was turned straight into facing his uncle, the headmaster, his head of house, and the Dark Arts professor.

"Sir, he said something about Sirius Black," Hermione said her voice shaking.

"Black!" Snape exclaimed. "Sage?" He sent out a pointed glare.

Sage, still holding his head, said, "I don't know what's going on, something in my head is telling me that Sirius Black is inside of Hogwarts."

Half the Gryffindor table screamed and by now the whole school was standing at their tables looking over at him wondering what was going on.

"Prescience," Dumbledore and Snape said at the same time. Then they stared at each other.

"Prefects, please lead your houses back to their dormitories. Everybody stay calm and stay together." Dumbledore boomed.

Sage looked at his uncle, "Sir, what's happening to me. I mean, what was that? Is Black really in the castle?"

Professor Snape swiftly answered, "Prescience, runs in the family, it's the ability to know what is going to happen right before it is going to happen or while it is happening somewhere else. Your father had it too."

The teachers were now all around Dumbledore looking to him for instructions.

" Sirius Black might be in the castle. We need to formulate a plan of attack to locate him quickly if he really is here."

Sage groaned softly, grabbed his head, and was close to falling over before he was caught by Professor Snape. He could feel himself jerk a few times and a quick wave of pain came crashing over him before he saw it. Something he had seen before, but it was more cloudy then. The painting of the Fat Lady slashed apart. It was the clearest and most obvious vision he had ever had. The pain washed away as quickly as it came. He reached and arm out and grabbed the Potions master by the forearm and squeezed it hard, opening his eyes, he said, "Gryffindor, now, the Fat Lady. Sirius Black slashed the Fat Lady's portrait, he is trying to get into the common room."

Lupin ran at break neck speed out of the hall and toward Gryffindor with McGonagall closely behind him. Four other professors took the hint and went running after them. Sage pulled himself up using his uncle's arms as support. "I'm fine. It wasn't long enough. I just need to sit down a minute and get my balance back. Go too." He gave his uncle 'the look' and Severus knew that he was being serious and that his nephew would be okay alone. "I'm not the one he is looking to kill," Sage said again forcefully. Nodding, Snape turned and grabbed Dumbledore by the arm on his way to the Gryffindor tower.

Sage leaned against the wall and let himself slip down onto the floor to sit down. He pulled his knees against him chest feeling quite useless, maybe he should have gone up to Gryffindor with the rest of them, maybe he could help. His head was still pulsing and he knew that it would be a few minutes before he could even think about moving or heading up as well. It felt think things just kept getting harder in one way and easier in others. New power just jumping up inside of him at such a moment? Why hadn't he ever experienced prescience before? Maybe he had but just never realised it.

Before he knew it students were flying back into the Great Hall as were all of the professors. He felt better when he realized that Harry was still alive and that Sirius Black apparently had not tried to attack them. Busy in his own thoughts he barely heard Dumbledore make the announcement that everyone was to sleep in the hall and that the head boy and girl were to be in charge. He did not even manage to notice the professors staring at him talking quite animatedly.

"Mr. Snape." No response.

"Sage." No response.

Finally, he jumped back into the situation when his uncle lightly whapped him on the side of the head. "Get up and come over here," he said offering Sage a hand up.

"What, sir?" he asked. His answer was that he was hushed and then glared at.

Snape led him by the forearm into the circle of professors that were talking to the headmaster. His eyebrow automatically went up in question and then he stared at Professor Snape's face searching for some answers. Dumbledore stopped talking to the professors and looked at him with a slight smile.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Umm, yeah-yes. Yes," he finished quickly looking at his uncle and not wanting to get corrected for saying 'yeah'. One of Severus' biggest pet peeves. Snape sneered at him.

Dumbledore continued, while looking at Sage. "This is very serious, we must more very quickly. Black may yet be in the castle. If you do not want to you can say no, but I think it may be a good idea for you to go with one of us in case you see or hear something else that may help us find him."

Sage looked around him. "Yes sir, I'll go with."

"Good," Dumbledore said, squeezing his shoulder with approval. "Severus, you will take him with you and cover the dungeons."

Snape nodded, tapped Sage on the shoulder and exited the Great Hall followed his uncle as fast as he could as they jogged down the hallways. He couldn't help but think that the dungeons were the last place a person would go to get out of the castle or hide. Afterall, Black had gone to Hogwarts, he probably would already be out of the castle.

"Keep up boy," Severus snapped over his shoulder. Sage redoubled his pace and ran up next to Snape. He could see the look of sheer anger and loathing in his uncle's face. Severus had told him all about Sirius Black and he knew that there was no person Severus would love to find and kill more. The man already had his wand out and poised.

"Why Dumbledore insisted you come, I have no idea."

Nothing else was to be found that evening, though, and Snape surely seethed at Black having escaped him.

Snape stared at Sage while he sat in the chair by the fire in the man's quarters. Dumbledore had insisted that his uncle keep a watch on him in case something else happened or he had another vision. Apparently, the older wizard thought that when you have a bout of prescience followed by a short vision you're in for trouble. The headmaster said that a person will continue to have prescience for certain things for a few hours or a few days after the occurrence of one case of it. Severus was not too happy about the situation.

"You're sleeping on the couch this time," he yelled. His uncle threw down a pillow and a blanket at his feet with a snarl. Sage figured he must be pissed off that he didn't get to kill Black that night. They had never found him. "There is nothing wrong with you." He added, with a warning look not to challenge him.

Sage crossed his arms too. "I didn't exactly ask for this either," he said bitterly. "You are not in the best of tempers tonight," he muttered.

"What did you just say?" he asked venomously while moving himself directly in front of his nephew.

"Nothing." He slouched in the chair.

Snape loomed over him, "That's what I thought." He sat down on the couch at proceeded to brood over what had happened that night. Damn Black! Sirius Fucking Black. Sirius Fucking Gryffindor Black. Wish I would have killed him while I was in school! He slammed his fist on the side of the couch. What I wouldn't give to see him grovel. Arrogant, idiotic, Black. No fucking loyalties to anyone. He gritted his teeth unconsciously. He got Lily killed. Black.

"Sir, what exactly is prescience?"

The thoughts faded from his head. Severus looked at him like he had not even realized he was still there. "What?"

"Prescience, sir, you said it runs in the family."

Severus sighed. He'd have to torture Black in his mind later that night. In his anger, he had completely forgotten that the damn boy had never experienced prescience before. What a nuisance.

"It is when you know what will happen before it happens. I already said that."

"How come I didn't know I had it?"

"Because it generally manifests itself in simpler ways. First it will seem as if you have really fast reflexes, that your body knows what will happen before it does. The actual knowing thoughts of what will occur come next."

Sage uncrossed his arms and leaned forward putting his elbows on his knees. "It runs in the family?"

"Yes," the older man answered simply.

Sage was getting aggravated with the one word answers, "Well, do you have it, uncle?"

"Ergh, do you have to ask so many damned questions?"

The youth stared back at him unmoved.

"Yes, if you must know, I do. So did your father, so did my father. Every male in the family to one degree or another," he answered shortly.

"Is it common?"

Severus looked at him like he had suddenly been covered in molten green sludge. "No, gods, sometimes I think you're a bit thick. That kind of magic does not just spring out of nowhere."

"What does that mean though? That we all have it? Does anything else run in the family?" Sage was genuinely curious now and for some reason Snape just kept getting more annoyed. It just seemed so obvious to him that he did not understand Sage's ignorance.

"You're a pureblood Sage, magical powers get passed down. Hence, the reason why some people think muggles and muggle-borns are inferior," he answered sarcastically.

"Well, how come I am what I am?"

Severus glared at him strongly, "Don't you think if we knew how your kind came about there would be a lot more of you?"

Sage shrugged, "I guess."

Severus sighed and tried to calm himself down, he was still on edge about Black. "The best guess we have is that you have brought together the blood of three very strong and very ancient wizarding families."

He watched Sage look down and exhale. It was so difficult to talk to him sometimes. Then again Severus did not like to talk to people all that much to begin with. He'd much rather be alone with his own thoughts.

"Sir, erm, do you have dreams too, like prophetic ones?"

Professor Snape smirked at him with a trace of acidity, "Good to know you take after the family. That is another one of those inherited abilities, all of the males, again, have had it."

This seemed to thankfully quiet Sage a bit. He sat back into the chair and laid his head back onto it, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Severus watched him intently for a few minutes with a slight sneer. Sage continued to stare into the fire, unblinking, transfixed.