Serenity
Thank you to those who wrote a review and/or favorited this story. It really means a lot to me.
I already have an idea on the direction of this story, so the next few chapters have been plotted out.
I should warn you that this chapter won't be as long as the previous. The reason why the last one was so huge was because I wanted to start off in this big way that helps set up for the rest of the story. And I didn't want to divide it up into two or three chapters long.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter!
Anyway, please enjoy Chapter 2! :)
Chapter Two:
Time for Celebration
In the house of 12 Grimmauld Place, the ancestral home of the Black family, six figures appeared at the center of the living room of the second floor, almost as if from out of nowhere. Looking around, two girls immediately threw themselves on one of the couches between them, relaxing against the soft surface.
One of the boys raised an eyebrow at the littlest one, who returned the favor with a glare.
"What?!" Liz exclaimed. "Regulus pretty much invited us over."
Gideon shook his head.
"It's fine," Regulus reassured him as he helped Severus to the opposite couch. "Besides, this calls for a celebration!"
Liz's eyes widened with excitement, bouncing up and down, "Oh, can we try some of your family's wine?"
"ELIZABETH!" Gideon's mouth dropped, his expression mixed with shock and anger.
Liz glared at him, "Don't call me tha-"
"Just because we're no longer under our parents' supervision, doesn't mean I'm going to let you drink wine! You're not seventeen yet!"
"But you got to try some before that age!" she whined, getting to feet in front of him, just inches from his face. "And don't deny it! I saw you at that end of school year party! Not very gentleman-like from what I saw went on there!"
"That was different and-" his eyes widened. "Wait a minute, from what you saw?"
"Oh... um..." her face turned red.
"You were there too?!"
"Well, yeah... I was... so what of it?!"
"How come I didn't see you there?" he demanded. "I would have recognized you, drunk or not."
"Oh, so you admit that you did try it!" she teased, raising an eyebrow.
"That's beside the point! How come I didn't see you there?!"
Blushing, she turned away, fiddling with her hands, "Well... you see... I knew I wouldn't have been allowed... so... I..."
Gideon's eyes widened, "You used Polyjuice, didn't you?!"
She answered in silence, unable to look at him.
"You are in so much trouble, Elizabeth!"
"Hey, don't call me that!" she snapped. "And second, don't get onto me for something that you have done as well!"
"But... wait!" he glared at her. "Did you drink the alcohol there?"
Looking away again, she whispered, "Yes."
"Oh, for crying out loud, Liz!" he shouted up towards the ceiling. "What am I going to do with you?!"
"Hey, don't get mad at me! Apparently, we both had the same idea! How else did you expect me to cope with our disownment?! You dealt with it in your own way, so I figured why not give it a try?!"
Gideon's expression softened, his anger fading into sympathy. Silence passed between them as they stared at each other, unaware of the eyes that were watching them.
Regulus coughed, breaking the tension that had filled the room, "Uh, I'll go get us the oldest wine that my family has. It seems we all can use it right now." Both Kreacher and him walked out of the room, heading down the stairs for the first floor.
Continuing to stare at each other in silence, Selena sighed, "Alright, this is too depressing! Aren't we supposed to be celebrating our victory against Voldemort?!"
The name made the two siblings flinch, turning to look at her.
"What?!" she exclaimed. "The bastard is dead! His name was never really that frightening, to begin with. I have no fear in saying it."
Severus rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, don't we have anything to play some music? A radio or something?"
The two siblings frowned.
"You've never heard of a radio?" Selena's mouth dropped. "Alright, that's it! I'm going to the nearest store and getting myself one!" Getting up from the couch, she skipped over to the doorway.
"Wait, you're going out at this time of night?" Gideon exclaimed.
"What? You afraid that someone might jump me or that one of Voldie's last remaining minions might find me and try to avenge his death?"
"Not entirely out of the realm of possibility," said Severus. "You might even get abducted by some serial killer."
"Ah, hello! I just helped a group of misfits-"
"Hey!" Liz glared.
"-take down the most dangerous Dark Lord of our time and saved the world! Not to mention the fact that I traveled into a dark, spooky forest to search for an evil ring that gave this same Dark Lord the power to stay immortal and helped make sure it was destroyed in the firey shack of Mordor! I think I can take care of myself, thank you very much!"
Severus raised an eyebrow at her reference, which she stuck her tongue out at him for.
"Anyway, I'll be back in a little bit. Hopefully, the money I stole from one of those rich Death Eaters will be enough to pay for the radio. See ya!"
They watched as she left the living room and listened to her feet climbing down the stairs of the house.
"That is one interesting witch," said Gideon.
Liz raised an eyebrow at him, smiling.
"Now that the Dark Lord is dead and his followers will be taken care of by the Ministry, we should discuss what's next," Severus leaned forward, hands intertwined. "By morning, all of the Wizarding World will hear of the news and everyone will be celebrating."
"Speaking of celebrating," Regulus returned with a bottle of wine, followed by Kreacher, who carried five glass cups with him. "It's time we get right to being the first ones to- Where's Selena?"
"Oh, she left to go buy a radio from a store or something like that," said Liz. "Though, I am curious what a radio is."
"It's a muggle device that plays music, without the need of the musician actually being in the same place as the listener," answered Severus.
"So, it's like those earpiece deals that we have."
"They work in a similar way, but not entirely the same. Muggles can record music and play them over the radios for those who are listening."
"Cool! I want one!"
"Well, then you can have this one," said Selena as she entered, carrying a large radio over her shoulder.
"That was fast!" said Gideon.
Selena carried the radio over to one of the small tables of the living room, beginning to set it up, "Didn't take me long to see an old homeless man out on the streets. The moment I saw his radio, I offered him those golden coins your people use and he just handed it over without hesitation."
"How do you know he didn't hand you one that doesn't work?" asked Severus.
Flipping the switch from off to on, the radio came to life, music slowly coming out of the speakers, making Selena squeal with excitement, "It's alive!"
Liz ran up next to her, bending down to look at it, "Muggles are awesome! They actually made this?"
"Yep!" Selena patted her head. "They've made better ones than this, but it'll do for now. Let's see what we can find." She began to turn the knob, changing channels to find a song that was to her liking.
"Not to ruin the moment or anything-" said Gideon.
"Too late!" Liz giggled, earning a glare from him.
"-shouldn't we be worried about your parents returning home to find us here?" he asked Regulus.
The Slytherin popped open the wine bottle in his hand and began to fill up the cups he had placed on one of the small tables, "No need to worry about that. They're in Paris at the moment. And my brother was disowned by my mother, so he's been living with Potter now."
Severus sneered, something that Black took notice of.
"HERE WE GO!" Selena shouted, making them look at her from behind. Turning up the volume, Selena got up and began to dance to the beat of the music, almost as if she was under its spell. And right as the artist began to sing, Selena sang along as well, putting all of her passion into her voice.
"Deep down Louisiana, close to New Orleans,
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens,
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood,
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode,
Who never ever learned to read or write so well,
But he could play a guitar just like ringing a bell,
Go, go,
Go, Johnny, go-"
"Are we sure we didn't invite a psychopath onto this team?" Severus sneered.
"Oh, don't be like that," Regulus smiled. "You just feel embarrassed before she's doing something embarrassing."
"I'm not embarrassed!" he snapped at him.
"Of course not," Black winked at him.
Liz began dancing along with Selena, not knowing what she was doing but was enjoying it all the same. She tried to sing along as well, but failed to get the words right, having never heard the song before.
"Gotta admit, the song is catchy," said Gideon as he danced a little from where he was standing.
Regulus laughed, while Severus sneered and rolled his eyes.
As the song drew to a close, the two girls stopped dancing and rested. Once turning down the volume, the two walked over to the boys and stare at the drinks.
"So, are we going to make a toast or what?" Selena asked, take a glass cup herself.
Looking at his sister, Gideon felt torn between letting her drink the beverage or not, only to give in the moment she did the puppy-look with her eyes, "Alright, I guess tonight is a special occasion. But not too much, alright?"
Liz cheered as she took a cup, leading to him taking one as well. Severus and Regulus did the same, getting into a circle with them at the center of the living room.
Turning to the house-elf in the corner, Regulus took the wine bottle and offered it to him, "Come on over here, Kreacher! You were part of this too!"
The elf stared at him with wide eyes, unsure what to do, "But... Kreacher is not worthy..."
"Yes, you are!" argued Liz.
"Get over here and take it!" said Selena, who smiled at him. "Besides, you were the one who transported the Horcruxes and destroyed them. Meaning that, without you, we would be dead corpses right now. You deserve it!"
"Come on, Kreacher," said Regulus.
Though hesitant at first, Kreacher slowly walked over to his master and accepted the bottle, holding it gently in his hands as he joined them in their circle.
"Too bad Grimworth can't be here," said Liz. "He did help us get into the Lestrange vault."
"I'll send him a gift as a way to reward him," said Severus. "But, having known him for the past two months, I don't think he would have taken part in this toast."
"Well, his loss! Now, can we please drink our wine before I lose it!" Selena smirked.
Everyone, except for Severus, chuckled as they brought their cups forwards, almost touching each other. Kreacher stood on his toes in order to reach them.
"I'm... not good at these kinds of things," Severus began, which earned a chuckle from them. "But I think the right words would be..." he prepared himself, "... thank you... all of you... For helping me put an end to the D... no, Voldemort."
Hearing the name made Regulus, Gideon and Liz shudder.
"As much as it pains me to admit it, I once aspired to become his servant. To become a Death Eater. But in the last year, I came to realize the error in that decision. And it was mostly because of you four."
They became curious, narrowing their eyebrows.
"I once believed that no one could change. That being alone was something I was destined to be. But you prove me wrong and helped me become a better person," he paused, feeling unsure of himself in saying any of this. He wanted to run and hide. To do something to make the feeling go away. But he forced those feelings down in order to finish what he had to say. "If it weren't for you... I don't know what would have happened to me... and I don't want to know."
He brought his cup closer to theirs, "May our victory ensure a better future for us and all of the Wizarding World. To a new tomorrow."
"To a new tomorrow!" they all declared, clicking their cups together with his and beginning to drink from them.
Once finished, they heard a gulping noise and turned to see Kreacher attempting to drink the entire bottle, eventually stopping as he reached the quarter line.
"Sorry, sir," the elf apologized. "There's too much for Kreacher to finish by himself."
Everyone laughed, except for Severus, as Regulus said, "No worries, Kreacher. You don't need to finish it."
"Oh, thank you, sir," the elf appeared to be dizzy. "If Master would be pleased... may Kreacher go lie down? Kreacher... feels... sleepy..."
Shaking his head, Regulus took the bottle from him, placed it on one of the tables and picked up the elf, "Alright, let's get you off to bed. You've earned it." He walked out of the living room, leaving the four of them by themselves.
"Ah, he's sweet when he's like that!" Liz cooed, earning an eye roll from Severus.
Suddenly, a new song began on the radio, making Selena's face light up with excitement.
"Oh, I love this song!" she exclaimed, rushing over to turn up the volume again. As she began to dance to the beat of the music, Liz joined her, finding a nice rhythm to work with as they sang along with the song.
"People all over the world (everybody),
Join hands (join),
Start a love train, love train,
People all over the world (all the world now),
Join hands (love train),
Start a love train (love train), love train
The moment Regulus returned, he smiled at the sight and sat down on the couch, being joined by Severus. Gideon sat down on the opposite couch, watching his sister with a smile on his face. Eventually, the young girl rushed over and pulled him off the couch, forcing him to dance with her. Leaving the two Slytherin boys by themselves as they watched.
As the song drew to a close, they all decided to head down to the kitchen, to search for something to eat. Eventually, they settled on cooking something major, which Gideon and Liz did themselves as they knew how to make it. They cooked up a dish of Lasange, which Selena couldn't help but compare to the muggle recipe. Sitting on the counters of the kitchen, they ate and talked, losing themselves into their conversation.
Once they were done, they looked for some snatches for dessert, settling on some chocolate frogs, which the girls had trouble catching as they tried to hop away. The moment Liz caught hers, she accidentally squeezed too hard and made it explode into Gideon's face. Unable to contain her laughter, she was met with surprise as her brother took another chocolate frog and did the same, covering her face with it. And by that action alone, everyone began to throw their chocolate frogs at each other, beginning a food fight, as Selena liked to call it.
After cleaning themselves up, they headed back to the living room to listen to some more music and play a few games, which Severus didn't participate in. Instead, he watched from the couch and lost in his own thoughts, becoming worried for the morning to come. Knowing that his actions of that night would warrant him to make new decisions about his life, he began to wonder what was truly next for him? He even wondered what the Nott twins would do, considering their situation. He figured Regulus and Selena would continue on with their lives. But for himself, he honestly had no idea.
Shaking his head, he forced those thoughts to the back of his mind, not wanting to worry about them at the moment. He closed his eyes as a new song began on the radio, bringing a sense of peace to his heart. A peace he hoped would remain with him.
The two songs I used in this story were "Johnny B. Good" (by Chuck Berry), which was in the Back to the Future movie, and the second was "Love Train" (by O'Jays), which was used in The Martin movie. I was looking for songs that were made before 1977 and I came across these two, so I figured it would be a good idea to use them.
Message to "trickster32": 'Thank you for the review and for going into detail. I love those types of reviews. I can't answer your questions here, as it will ruin the experience if I give anything away. But I will confirm and agree that teamwork did, indeed, help bring down the Dark Lord. I thought it would have been a good idea to combine the use of magical and muggle tools into this story, as a way of poetic irony in how the Dark Lord falls (considering his backstory). I thank you for the review and hope you continue with this story.'
Message to "vani12": 'I appreciate your kind words and praise. To be honest, I don't consider myself that good, but your words and thoughts are much appreciated. Thank you. I'm glad that my story is raising the right sort of questions for you and I promise that there will be answers for them later on. As for the involvement of the goblin (Grimworth) and Regulus's elf (Kreacher), I thought it would be cool to see almost everyone taking a stand against Voldemort. You have a half-blood (Severus), a few purebloods (Regulus, Gideon & Liz), a muggleborn (Selena), a goblin and an elf all working together. As for the "Twist of Fate" story, I really like it too. A lot of inspiration is coming right off of it, but there will be enough changes and additions to make this story its own thing, as opposed to a rip-off. Thank you for the review. Can't wait to see your next one later!'
Sorry once again for this chapter being so short. I don't plan on writing something on the scale of the previous chaper again, but I will try to make future chapters bigger than this.
I apologize for any grammar problems. I'll try to correct them when I go back and edited the chapter.
Well, that's all I have for right now. I'll see you guys in Chapter 3! :)