Disclaimer: I disclaim owning you JK Rowling's stuff
A/N As the great Charlie Brown said, "Good Grief!".
Many of you said in reviews, "I'm confused!" I never said this story wasn't confusing. Now, I think, that the only reason you guys are confused, is because you are reading these chapters one month at a time (my own fault, I know). If you read these all at once, it would make more sense. And it also could be the fact, that I decided to skip a big part of the story and leave it for later... Just be patient! It will all come together soon, and HOPEFULLY none of you will be confused when this story is finished...If that time ever comes...
But, even saying that--I'll answer questions for all of you!! Especially since people said they liked that. :-) I'm glad you did, because it was fun for me to do!
I think that I can answer many, many questions with just one little fact--I *purposely* didn't put how Remus and Lily got back in, it'll come up later...I almost put it in, but I didn't like the scene yet and so I saved it for later so I could post chapter 23, I figured you would all figure it out--a few did--and just went on ahead and posted...Oh well, things will get less confusing in the mean time.
Questions and Answers
Question by Lily Lupin
They hit the fort? Weren't they going to Hogwarts?
Isabella likes Remus? And she gets to ride with him?
Answer:
Yes they hit the fort, yes they were going to Hogwarts--but they had to go to the Fort to get Sirius, because they hadn't known he was gone. I didn't really explain that well. I apologize.
And yes, Isabella gets to ride with Remus and she likes him. I was jealous too, but I decided you guys would like it if I paired the boys and girls up. :-)
Question by Starr
How did Lily and Remus get back?
Answer:
That's classified information between me and myself.
Question by Sierradogbaby
how did they get out of the . . . place again?
Answer:
Just a short sentence here: broomsticks, hole in ceiling, flying, Patrick is a cool guy.
Question by miss ballerina
Which castle did they bump into and why were they heading there? Why did James say "damn this attractions to redheads"? MY HEAD IS WHOOSHING AROUND HERE! Why does potter dislike Isabella?
Answer:
It wasn't a castle, it was a fort the place where they've been held captive by Voldie and his crew.
James said that, because he's attracted to Lily physically--anymore than that, we're not really sure about.
Potter dislikes Isabella, because she dislikes him. If someone's rude to you, you are going to be rude back.
Question by Annice Hastings
...one question HOW did Remus get them out of that place?
Answer:
Which place? The fort? He got out of there when the Death Eaters carried him out for the ceremony. If you're talking about the limbo place--well, that's disclosed information.
Question by vourshtygal
How did Lily and Remus get out of limbo, and who was the 3rd person that they saw?
Answer:
Not telling just yet...Next few chapters, maybe! :-) Be patient everyone! This will answer everyone who asked that question--because I think I'd be typing forever. I left that part out on purpose!
Question by Tigerlily Loamsdown
Where was Patrick in this chapter?
And did he give the wand to the Voldie people or does he still have them?
How did Lily and Remus suddenly come to that desert place where James and
Isabella found them?
Was that where their bodies were and their souls just came back to them?
And if there souls just came back to them how did that happen?
Could you do that Q/A thing again in the next chapter??
Answer:
Cookies to you for asking so many questions!!!! *lol*
Patrick...Still in the fort, picking his butt as far as I know.
He still has the wands--which there will be--I think it's a one sentence answer--in this chapter for where *they* go...Sorta.
Hmm--well there bodies were there--and they--came back...Oooh, but that's all I can say! And that's about answering your next questions.
I am doing the Q/A thing, see? Does that answer you question? *grin*
Question by Clearbrook
Are Remus and Isabella going to get together?
Answer:
Hmm...I can't say--they might, they might know. Wouldn't it be so cute though? Or should Isabella go with Sirius? Or should Isabella die?
Question by gryffcat
if Patrick, Lily, and Isabella were all friends and they're all death eaters, what would keep them from finding out?
Answer:
Good question! In explaining this with what I had in my mind when I wrote it, it is said in the books that no one knew who was who--Sirius, Remus, James and Lily hadn't known Peter was a traitor, now did they? Oh, I feel smart now...Kind of.
Question by mogliecat
Secret things up next. What would it take for you to make those things a long snog scene with James and Lily?
Answer:
It would take money, cash--in American dollars please.
Question by Magical Mischief Maker no5
Have I missed something or is Severus just...not coming back into the story?
Answer:
Oh...He'll be back, I do believe. Maybe you should ask him.
NOW READ CAREFULLY BECAUSE LOTS OF STUFF IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN!
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Flirting With the Enemy
By
Sierra Sitruc
Chapter 24 Pain and Fortune
~*~
The storm raged on above the two unconscious individuals, the pouring rain washed away the blood from the wounds caused by the crash into the fort. A mile away Remus had landed Isabella and himself to safety, by crashing them into the mud-like sand.
Isabella was highly irritated that she was covered in gritty black sand in her hair and inside her robe, they seemed to have crept all over her and she couldn't get rid of the itchy feeling she felt. It only made matters worse that Remus was there, seeing her in such a disastrous state. Then again, it was a definite plus that Remus was there, because she got to cuddle up to him while they waited the storm out.
Over the past days, regular human needs had disappeared from their lives, but now she was starving and felt like she could drink all of the rain in the desert, just as she opened her mouth to drink some...of course, the rain stopped.
The land around them was a murky vision, and Isabella and Remus spotted the gray fort, looming in the distance, a sign of life and death all at once.
"Do you think Lily and James made it through the storm alright?" Remus asked Isabella, his gentle voice full of concern for his friends.
Isabella bit her lip in thought, "Most likely...They probably crashed into this muck like we did."
"I doubt anyone, even a good flyer like James, could stay in the air through that storm--it was blinding." Isabella looked up at him, and noticed his amber eyes were red where they should be white. She assumed her eyes looked similar, it had been a whale of a storm, and here she thought deserts were supposed to be dry.
Isabella's thoughts were interrupted by Remus' voice, "Shall we be on our way?" He waved his arm in the direction of the fort.
"Sounds good to me." Isabella said, beginning the grimy track to their destination, the bent broom left behind.
Their feet sunk into the ground, making suction sounds each time their feet pulled up from the mush. It was hard work, a few times Isabella would lose balance and fall on her knees, but Remus would always help pull her up and they'd persevere on.
Sometimes they talked, most times they didn't. What could they talk about? Both were full of questions, but feared to ask them, terrified of the answers. What dark truths would they discover of the happenings around them?
"Have any ideas on how we could get home from here?" Isabella finally asked, it seemed a safe question; they were going to have to get home sometime, after all.
"None."
An idea came to Isabella, "I have my wand, I can apparate and go and get help!" She had completely forgotten her brother handing her her precious wand the day before.
Remus' eyes lit up with hope. "Do you know where we are?"
"Yes! The Sands of Death Desert." Isabella answered instantly, excitement flowing through her at the chance to get out of this horrid place.
"You can bring them back here then, tell them we're in trouble and need immediate assistance." They formed a rough plan of what to do, Remus would go on to the Fort in hopes of finding Lily and James, Isabella would go to the Ministry and bring back help with portkeys for the wandless ones---leaving out the fact the fact that Lily Evans was here for her safety. Getting Lily out of here would come later.
Isabella apparated, and Remus was left alone. He continued making his way to the ancient fortress ahead of him, wondering how on earth he was supposed to get inside; after all, he'd been unconscious when he'd left it.
As he approached the fort, he was alarmed when the smell of blood reached his nose. The wolf inside him howled in hunger. Fighting down the wolf's hunger, followed his oversensitive nose to the place of origin of blood.
He searched around a bit, and finally found what he was looking for. The scene before him made his stomach writhe in horror-struck dread.
A stone wall shadowed the splintered broomstick. Around it watery puddles of blood surrounded it, if Remus had any say in it; most of the blood had probably been washed away by the rain. The blood was dulled in color by the blackened sand, but it did not hide the fact that it was fresh.
Just as he had decided to go and search for his wounded friends, his eyes caught something. Footprints. Slightly indented, there were many tracks all around the disaster scene. Proving to him that someone else had been their first--several ones by the looks of it.
"Shit!" Remus cursed in frustration to himself, "I should have come faster...Damn Voldemort and all his nutty followers."
~*~
Thousands of miles away, in the holding cells of the Ministry, three old friends were imprisoned side by side. It hadn't taken long for Sirius to convince the Ministry officials that Isabella and Patrick Patil were both Death Eaters, and on sight had been arrested; Isabella as soon as she'd apparated into their Headquarters, Patrick when spotted at the fortress.
In the cell between the twins, Lily laid unconscious, the blood on her head where it had scraped against the wall of the fort, was dried and crusty with bits of sand dirtying it up. She looked a mess, she was damp all over from the down fall of rain, her robes were covered with black sand and an ill vibe radiated from her, the only sign that she had been apart of the Ceremony.
The twins were beside her, Isabella was sobbing loudly, the cries echoing against the stone walls. Patrick was oddly quiet, the few Dementors that guarded the holding cells were but a taste of what Azkaban would be like--and that thought chilled him to the bone.
A sound broke him from his muddled thoughts, and he jerked up as he watched a tall, slim figure come near him. He didn't recognize the wizard, graying hair and a mustache, he had a hard look about him; years of hanging around Dementors had given him a tough surface.
The man entered the cell beside him, where Lily was held and he felt concern fill him--and then a lot of dread of what that man might do to her.
The man was a medi-wizard, ordered by Albus Dumbledore to tend to Lily's wounds. He grunted as he took in the scar by her eye, nothing he could do about that, and the gash on her head would leave a few marks with or without his handiwork. He cleaned her up and left, keeping his head down as he passed the Dementors.
Isabella had quieted sometime during the medi-wizard's visit, and was now only sniffling loudly--Patrick had the sense to tell that she was having a nightmare. He'd told her not to fall asleep, but he hadn't taken it into account that she'd been up and about without hardly any sleep and must be exhausted--between Lily and Isabella, they probably wouldn't wake up for a few days.
Patrick sighed miserably, as he blinked away the memories the Dementors were bringing back, he almost couldn't wait until his trial...Too bad they'd confiscated those wands.
~*~
Remus was missing, Isabella, Patrick and Lily were in the holding cells of the Ministry, and James was out cold which left Peter and Sirius to worry about where Remus was and sort out the mess that had been made over the past few weeks by themselves.
Sirius and Peter each fidgeted as they sat in the waiting room of St. Mungo's, where James was in the care of specialists in head injuries. They weren't sure what kind of damage had been done to his brain, but they were doing plenty of tests and making sure that no more harm could be done and they would let Sirius and Peter know of James' condition as soon as they knew.
The Aurors, who had gone to collect James and the others, said that it looked like a storm had blown James right into the stone wall of the fort. Lily seemed to have been on the broom with him--the Aurors had asked Sirius if he'd known why James would have shared a broom with a Death Eater, and Sirius had only shrugged helplessly.
Damn this is one fucked up mess, Sirius thought. It had only been approximately two weeks since this entire disaster had started, but it felt like a year. Sirius looked at Peter who was busily folding a napkin every which way; the napkin had come from their shared dinner provided by some of Sirius' Auror buddies.
"Ahem," A gruff voice interrupted, "Mister Black, the Minister would like to see you in his office immediately." The voice belonged to a large man, with more hair on his face then Rubeus Hagrid.
Sirius was about to ask why, but then he figured it was about the confusion that had been going on. "Right--eh--which way is it?"
"Follow me." The man said, and Sirius followed.
Arriving at the well furnished office, Sirius was reminded of Dumbledore's office--except this one was square.
Sitting at a large desk, was Grogan Stump. The Minister of Magic.
His eye twitched as he looked Sirius up and down, as if sizing him up for a brawl. Sirius knew he had nothing to fear--as this man had been Minister of Magic for over a hundred and fifty years. Everyone expected him to croak any day now, but Sirius wasn't about to bring that subject up.
Abruptly the old wrinkled face broke out into a big, loud laugh; it amazed Sirius that a man so old and frail looking could laugh so loud. It was more of a bark anyway.
"Come in my boy! Important promotions and money to talk about!"
"Huh?" Sirius said stupidly, as he took the seat the man was gesturing to actively.
"Well, you don't think I'd let you do all this hard work without a spot of money did you? I'm increasing your salary by 20%--" Sirius almost swallowed his tongue, "And giving you a 1,000 galleon payment right now."
"T-thank you sir." Sirius said weakly, feeling like a heel. Putting someone who was his friend for awhile and her brother who had helped him out in a great time of need in Azkaban; not mentioning the fact that he was also probably killing the girl his best-friend was rather fond of in there too...It didn't seem like something to get promoted for.
"You and James will both become Unspeakables as well." The elderly man said offhandedly.
Sirius was sure he was dreaming now... "I don't know how to thank you--"
"Don't thank me." The man said, pulling a stack of papers out of a drawer. "Just have you and James (as soon as he'd better) fill these out and show up to the Trial tomorrow."
"Trial sir?" Sirius asked dumbly.
"Oh! You haven't heard? How long have you been in that St. Mungo's waiting room?" Stump laughed, and then coughed roughly.
"Quite awhile I guess." Sirius said bashfully.
"Well, we're having a large trial-- four people on trial for deviation to the Minister--I." He said briskly.
"Who are the four Death Eaters, sir?" Sirius said, knowing exactly what the Minister had meant.
"Hmm...Let's see. Patrick Patil...Isabella Patil--twins right? Then there's Forneli Wilkes, that bastard of a traitor." He added quietly, "Then of course--the most famous of the four Lily Evans."
"Won't we need James at the trial then?" Sirius asked curiously, after all Lily had been his capture.
"No, she's already admitted to it--she doesn't even need a trial, but Dumbledore thought it wise..." The Minister began to ramble after that and Sirius was finally let to leave an hour later.
~*~
A/N Well, I got it done. It was a lot of work, but I did it--I'm not particularly happy with this chapter...but oh well, what can you do?
Next Chapter:
The Big Trial--like To Kill a Mockingbird, which I've been reading in class. It's a wonderful book--I read ahead of my class...Oops.
PLEASE REVIEW!! I'm going to start on the next chapter right NOW! Promise! I will force myself to type if I have to (even though, when I do that it normally doesn't come out as nicely...)
Thank you to all you kind, kind reviewers who've stuck with me since the beginning.
*~Sierra~*