Note: I know I said this was the concluding chapter but the next chapter is the Epilogue and to make it more Epilog-ish—I'll split the chapters.
Hogwarts Secret Scandal 29
Love Conquers All
Darien's legs felt like they were going to give out. His arms were heavy. He didn't hear his mother right. There was no way his father could be…
"No," Darien mumbled, falling onto his desk.
His mother reached for him but Darien pulled himself into his chair before he passed out from shock.
"No," Darien said again. "It can't be. It's not true."
"It is true," Professor Snape said firmly. "I performed a test to prove it."
"Test?" Darien inquired, looking up at Professor Snape.
"Yes," answered Snape, "It is called the Flesh and Blood test. I simply use samples of your flesh and blood and flesh and blood from potential fathers. Whatever flesh and blood meshes with yours, determines who your father is. Black's flesh and blood meshed with yours like a net."
"When did you do this?" Darien asked.
"You were about five," his mother replied.
"And Dad knows about this?"
"No, he didn't then," Maria Shields replied, "he found out when he found the prophecy in the Hall of Prophecies yesterday."
"What about Sirius?"
Maria smiled sadly. "He was convinced he was the father when he saw me pregnant for the first time"
"How could you keep this from me?" Darien demanded. "You didn't want me to know who my father was—why? You thought I couldn't handle it?"
"I thought I was doing the right thing," Maria said, "Sirius was in prison. I couldn't tell you who he really was. He was accused of killing thirteen people."
"Not to mention he tried to kill me," Snape growled.
"He what?" Darien questioned, looking at Snape.
"Severus, no," Maria warned.
"Why not tell him, Maria?" Severus demanded with a small smirk. "Tell your son what his father really was like. You might as well."
"What did he do?" Darien questioned. "How did all this happen anyway?"
Maria hesitated and glanced at Snape who stepped back and folded his arms. He wasn't going to help her anymore. He had tried to stop her from telling Darien the truth. Now that it was in the open, he wasn't going to stop her from telling Darien everything.
"Mother?" Darien prompted. "Just what happened between you and Sirius Black?"
"You don't need to hear it," Maria said, turning around. "I just wanted you to know about the prophecy."
"I'm not a child anymore!" Darien yelled, rising to his feet. "You come here and tell me that the man I called 'Father' for the last twenty-one years isn't my real father and you expect me to just let it go? You've got to tell me how all this happened if you want me to understand!"
There was an awkward silence where the three of them just looked at each other.
Maria sighed, wiped a tear from her eye, and looked at Severus. "Could you leave us alone, please?"
Severus looked at Darien. "You want me to stay, Shields?"
Darien shook his head. It was bad enough knowing his mother had lied to him all these years let alone his Head of House was keeping things from him too. He already knew about the test Severus did. Now he just wanted to know why in the world his mother would sleep with a man like Sirius Black. Later, if Darien wanted to, he'd just walk to Severus' office and yell at him there.
"Go," Darien said coolly, waving his hand. "I'm sure you have plenty of Potions essays to grade."
Without a word, Severus walked out of Darien's office and shut the door behind him. Darien looked at his mother.
"All right, Severus is gone," Darien said to her, sitting back into his chair, "it's just you and me. How did…all of this happen?"
Maria was too anxious to sit with Darien. She stood against the wall for support, her arms folded, gazing out the window. She sighed and launched into her story.
"I became involved with Sirius Black during Hogwarts. I was a seventh year; he was a sixth year. I just knew he hung in the same crowd as James Potter and they were playing jokes on other students.
"I brought my cat with me outside one day. I never let her roam the grounds alone. I didn't want her to get lost in the forbidden forest, you know."
Darien nodded. He knew his mother was a real cat lover. His family owned three cats and she didn't let them outside, especially when they were young.
"Well, she got away from me and I chased her to the Whomping Willow. She crawled underneath it, I went after her and that's how I found out that the Whomping Willow was the entrance a secret tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack."
"That's the entrance to the Shrieking Shack?" Darien inquired.
"Yes," Maria answered, "everybody stayed away from both the Shrieking Shack and the Whomping Willow. They didn't know what the Whomping Willow was for. But I found out that day when I chased my cat down the tunnel. The Shrieking Shack was a mess. I wanted to leave but couldn't leave my cat there. I felt…compelled to search the Shrieking Shack. Everyone wanted to know how to get in there and once I finally was in there, I wanted to know its secrets." Maria sighed. "I climbed up to the room on the second floor and learned Remus Lupin's secret: he was a werewolf. The full moon was waning and he was not a full werewolf at the time. But he just looked so scary, so pale. I thought that he was dead or may have gone insane. I didn't stand there long enough to figure it out. I just turned and ran—right into Sirius Black.
"Sirius stopped me and told me what was wrong with Remus," Maria answered, "he explained everything, how Remus was bitten as a young boy. They explained that Professor Dumbledore allowed Remus to come to Hogwarts. They arranged him to transform in the Shrieking Shack every month. I decided to help Remus."
"Why?" Sirius asked.
Maria shrugged and smiled sadly. "I don't know. When they explained to me that it was Fenrir Greyback that did to that to him, I pitied Remus. Fenrir Greyback was a monster, always attacking little kids, whether it was a full moon or not. I thought that I could be in Remus' place. I could be the one that was isolated in the Shrieking Shack, having to transform into a monster month after month." Maria took a deep breath and shook her head.
"When the full moon was over and Remus was recuperating in the shrieking shack, I would bring him food. I tried to keep him comfortable—as comfortable as a werewolf could get, anyway."
"But that doesn't explain how you and Sirius got involved," Darien said impatiently.
"I was getting to that, Darien," Maria said, looking at him, "Sirius was impressed that I was helping Remus. He thanked me for keeping his secret. Sirius and I talked a lot about ourselves, and our families. Even though Sirius was a Gryffindor, his family shared the same views on Muggles as mine. We both had brothers that turned out to be Death Eaters. His family was probably prouder of their pure blooded lineage than mine was. He told me about the family motto, the family tree and how they mount their houselves' heads on the wall when they get too old."
Darien swallowed. Neither in his mother's family or his "father's" family did they go so far as to kill their own servants.
"But Sirius was different," Maria said in admiration. "He ran away from his home at sixteen and lived with James. He knew it would anger his parents. He knew his mother would burn his name off the family tree and disown him but he didn't care. He had the courage to stand for what he believed was right—and I admired that about him. I admired him because I couldn't do that. For ages, my family drilled the idea into our minds that Muggles were filth. I grew up believing that but after meeting Sirius, I wasn't so sure. I wanted to be like Sirius. I wanted to be different—but I couldn't. I just wasn't strong enough. I was afraid of what my family would do to me if I had run away from home. I didn't have anywhere else to go. All my friends were Slytherins, and they had the same views on Muggles as my parents."
"How long were you," Darien said, "together?"
"A few months," Maria answered, "We got closer and closer. One day, we snuck to the Shrieking Shack alone. One thing led to another and we…we made love. Then he asked me to run away with him. I agreed. Then a week later, I learned what Sirius tried to do to Severus. He tricked Severus into finding the entrance to the Shrieking Shack and almost had him killed."
"He did what?" Darien demanded.
"Severus was trying to figure out where Remus and his friends were going every month," Maria explained. "So Sirius told Severus how to get through the tunnel. Severus saw Remus change and he would've been killed if James hadn't gotten him out of there in time.
"I was furious with Sirius when I found out. Not only was he trying to kill Severus, but he was going to use his friend to do it," Maria muttered. "I told him we were through and then I got involved with Adrian Shields. He was the type of man my parents wanted me to marry. He was pureblood and so against Muggles that he lived in Hogsmeade to be away from them. One Hogsmeade weekend, he took me to his house when his parents were gone."
"And you slept with him," Darien said.
Maria nodded. "I realized I was pregnant with you about a month later. I wasn't sure who the father was but I led myself to believe it was Adrian. I didn't want Sirius to know. I was still angry with him. But Sirius found out when he saw me shopping in Diagon Alley that summer. When he saw my stomach, he knew that it was his child I was carrying. He begged me to run away with him. But I told him he was wrong. I told him it was Adrian's child and I was going to marry him and I told Sirius I never wanted to see him again.
"After you were born, Sirius was trying to see you," Maria went on, "You got lost in Diagon Alley when you were two and I found you talking with Sirius Black."
Darien saw a flash of the memory, sitting down at Florclean's Ice Cream Parlor and talking with a man with black hair. The man had Darien's eyes. Darien had been eating ice cream with his real father and didn't know it.
"And there was a time you chased a black dog," Maria said, "Sirius was a dog animagus and he would come and see you as a dog a lo to the time."
Another flash entered Darien's mind, this time of him petting a big black dog.
"Then when Sirius went to Azkaban," Maria said, "you would cry because the dog wouldn't come visit you anymore. You eventually forgot all about him. But when you reached the age of five, you were showing more signs of the prophecy: your kindness toward muggles, how you wanted to keep the peace between Muggles and wizards. When you heard about Aurors catching the Death Eaters, you said you wanted to grow up to be one. That was when I knew that the prophecy might be true. But to be sure, I had to know who your real father was. The test proved that Sirius was your father—and though he was a pureblood—he was a blood traitor. He turned his back on the pureblooded prejudices of his family and ran away from his home. He became fond of muggles and had half-blood and muggle-born friends."
"What did you do when you found out the truth?" Darien asked.
"I went to Azkaban," Maria answered, "and told Sirius he was right. I told him about the prophecy. When he broke out, I was worried that he would come after you."
"Was that why he broke out?" Darien inquired, "To see me?"
"Has he?" Marina asked him.
"Yes," Darien admitted, "saw him hanging around the grounds. I got knocked out by the Whomping Willow. Some dog pulled me out of the way and when I came to, Sirius was looking down at me. He said my name. I was wondering how he knew me."
Maria smiled. "He recognized you by your smell."
"My smell?"
"Yes, well, he is a dog animagus, after all," Maria told him.
"I see," said Darien, "anyway, if I'm the reason why he broke out of prison, he would've told me who he was. But I'm sure he'd want me to see him on better circumstances."
"He would. Sirius was innocent," Maria explained, "Pettigrew framed him and made it look like he betrayed the potters and kill all those people. Pettigrew is a rat animagus and he lived with the Weasleys for thirteen years as a pet. Sirius saw the pet rat with the Weasley family from a picture in The Daily Prophet."
"I remember now, Percy said something about Sirius attacking his brother. He was after Pettigrew."
"Pettigrew escaped so Sirius never got to clear his name," Maria said sadly.
"We can still clear his name," Darien proclaimed. "Where is he? We'll go settle this somehow."
"Darien, I'm afraid that's not possible," Maria said, "because…Sirius is gone. He was killed."
"Killed, how?"
Maria did her best to keep her lip from trembling. "He was fighting somebody and he just…fell through the veil in the Death Chamber."
"Who killed him?" Darien demanded, rising to his feet. "Who?"
"Bellatrix LeStrange," she answered.
"LeStrange—the one who put the Longbottoms in St. Mungos?" Darien said, aghast.
Maria nodded mutely.
"I don't believe this. Why wasn't this in the Daily Prophet?" Darien asked. "They just talked about the Death Eaters they caught."
"I don't know."
"Why did you wait so long to tell me?" Darien sat in his chair. "I should have known who he was before he died."
"I didn't know he was going to be killed," Maria said.
"It makes no difference!" Darien exclaimed. "I'll never know who my father really is! Maybe you were right not to tell me when I was a child, but you should have told me when Sirius broke out Azkaban! You should have told me you knew he was innocent, I could have done something to help him!"
"Darien…I'm sorry. I was doing what I thought was right."
"You thought wrong, Mother," Darien muttered, turning in his chair. "You've said what you wanted to say; can you go now please?"
Maria nodded, apologized again and left Darien alone.
Serena was too exhausted from cleaning the Shrieking Shack to bother changing into her pajamas or get under the covers. She fell onto her bed and straight into a dreamless sleep. For Darien, however, sleep didn't come so easy for him and he had more than enough dreams for one night. He was dreaming about Sirius Black, his mother, his "father" Adrian Shields, and Snape. He dreamed about the few times he spotted Sirius Black, both as human and as a dog. Darien had gotten lost a couple of times in his childhood a large black dog helped him find his home. He saw himself living in Japan, though he could swear he's never been there in his life. Out of all these crazy and wild dreams, there was one that really made no sense.
Who am I? Darien wondered, while dreaming. Who am I really? If Sirius Black is my father, who does that make me and what does this absurd prophecy have to do with anything?
"I can tell you my prince," said a soft male's voice.
Who said that? Darien looked around him. He was standing in mist. The mist slowly cleared, and Darien discovered himself in a room with aged, cracked marbled pillars. There were black rose bushes along side of the pillars. As he walked along the pillars, he heard the click clack of his feet. He looked down at his feet. He was no longer barefoot in his pajamas but he was wearing armor, boots and a cape with a sword on his belt.
"What is this place?" Darien asked. "Why am I dressed like this?"
"Prince Darien," said the soft voice again.
Darien turned to the voice and saw a young man dressed in white kneeling down.
"Who are you?" Darien asked him.
"I am Helios the priest," the young man answered, standing up so Darien could see him more clearly. The young man's hair was white and he had red eyes. The trim of his white robe was blue and there were five gold medallions on the front of his robe with blue tassels. There was a golden horn on his head and in the middle of his forehead was a red gem.
"Helios, is it? Why do you seem to know me?"
"We both lived in this place," Helios gestured around him. "But sadly, Elysion isn't quite the dreamland it used to be. Darien, I know you are questioning your identity. I want you to know that you were, and still are, Prince Darien: Prince of Earth."
"You're joking," Darien laughed. "This is all just a dream."
"Your daughter didn't seem to think so," Helios said with a smile.
"Daughter?" Darien gasped. "I don't have a daughter."
"Not yet," the priest said gently, "but you will. I still visit her sometimes. She asked me to help you understand. There is something I have to give you."
Helios approached Darien and opened his hand to reveal a glowing golden gem. "This is the Golden Crystal. It will help you find out who you are and achieve your destiny."
Darien looked at the gem and at Helios. It was all way too crazy for him. A day ago he was Darien Shields, the Auror and the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher of Hogwarts. Now Darien had no idea who he was. Here the professor/Auror stood, staring at a man with a horn on his head offering him some kind of golden gem. Even Darien's dreams made no sense. Had he lost it?
There really was nothing to lose now. Darien sighed and picked the crystal.
"Fine, I'll take it," Darien said, "if it really is going to help me find out who I am."
"We will meet again," Helios knelt in respect once more and disappeared.
"Hey, wait!" Darien called out to him. Darien's armor disappeared and he was once again in his pajamas. He was flying to the moon and he saw a man dressed in armor walking with a girl in white.
"Now what's going on?" Darien wondered out loud.
Reenie and Pegasus were standing in the land of dreams again. She nuzzled her face into his neck and petted his long and soft face.
"Thank you, Pegasus," she whispered. "I didn't know what else to do."
"I would do anything for you, my dear Reenie," Pegasus said, closing his eyes. "I have done all I can. I have given the crystal to Darien. The rest is up to him now."
"Yes, I understand," Reenie said, stepping back. "I trust that Darien will figure it out. He is my father, after all."
Reenie and Pegasus shared a laugh.
"I also want to thank you for visiting me," Reenie told Pegasus. "I was getting lonely. The others had just regained their memories and before then, you were he only one I could to talk to."
"It's all right, Reenie," Pegasus said, "soon when this is all over, we will meet again but it won't be a dream."
"Just like before," Reenie said, sighing at the memory. It wasn't all too long ago when she met Pegasus outside of her dreams. She had touched him and held the priest Helios in her arms. They had kissed. All that will happen again.
"Yes, Reenie," Pegasus agreed, changing into Helios. "Just like before."
"I can't wait," Reenie said.
Helios pulled Reenie into his arms, kissed her gently on the lips and bid his love farewell.
"Hey, wake up, Serena," said Hermione.
"Go away," Serena flapped her arm lazily and it fell back down with a plop.
"It's ten o'clock," Hermione said.
"So?" Serena demanded through one eye. "It's Sunday. No classes today."
"I have a message for you from Professor Shields," Hermione said.
"What?" Serena sat straight up. "What'd he say?"
"He wants you in his office right away," Hermione answered. "Are you taking private lessons from Professor Shields?"
"Uh—yeah—something like that," Serena chuckled. "When did you see him?
"Just now," Hermione replied, "saw him coming out of the teacher's break room. He stopped me and asked me if I could give you a message. Now that I think of it, he really didn't look well."
"Thanks Hermione," Serena said, getting to her feet and leaving the dormitory. Hermione watched Serena leave thoughtfully. Judging by the way Serena got up so quickly once Hermione mentioned Professor Shields, there had to be more between them than just private lessons. Hermione shrugged and thought nothing of it. It really wasn't any of her business. She had NEWT's to prepare for.
Serena knocked on Darien's door and pushed it open. "Hey Darien. You wanted to see me?"
"Serena, thank you for coming so quickly," Darien said, his eyes blood shot and his face pale.
"Whoa!" Serena approached Darien with her face full of concern. "Hermione was serious when she said you didn't look well. Are you coming down with something?" She put her hand to his forehead.
"I haven't slept all night," Darien rubbed his temple. "I was having crazy dreams. I heard some…disturbing news yesterday."
"What?" Serena asked, sitting on the edge of Darien's desk.
Darien sighed. There really was no easy way to tell her than to give it to her straight. "You've heard of Sirius Black, haven't you?"
"Yeah," Serena nodded, "he's Harry's godfather. Heard he was framed for like thirteen murders."
"Well, he's not just Harry's godfather," Darien said, "he's my real father."
"W-what?" Serena gasped. "How can that be?"
"Long story," Darien said, waving his hand. "But evidently, my mother was involved with him during Hogwarts."
"She just barely told you?"
"Yeah. There was a prophecy about my birth," Darien said awkwardly, "me being a golden child. It really is strange. My mother didn't want to tell me about this when I was younger but after the World Wide Prophecy, she felt like she couldn't keep at a secret anymore. Last night I had I had so many dreams that just don't make any sense."
"What were they about?" Serena inquired.
Darien smiled an "I-think-I'm-losing-it" kind of smile and leaned back in his chair. "I dreamed that I was in someone else's body, living someone else's life. I was dreaming about Japan and I know I have never been there in my life."
"Japan?" Serena said, her heart skipping a beat.
"And I had dreams of some guy in a top hat."
"You dreamed of being Tuxedo Mask?" Serena questioned. "That's who you were for Halloween."
"Yeah…thought the outfit was familiar," Darien said, "but it's weird. I was…fighting things. I also dreamed about being on the moon and I was with a girl that looked a lot like you. There were other girls in funny outfits."
"Hmm, yeah, that is weird," Serena whispered.
"Then some guy with a horn on his head came to me and gave me something called the 'Golden Crystal,'" Darien went on. "When I woke up, the thing was in my hand!"
Darien pulled open a drawer and took out the Golden Crystal. "Serena, I think I'm going crazy!"
"Calm down," Serena said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're not going crazy."
"Then someone must be playing with my mind," Darien muttered.
"No one is messing with your mind either," Serena said softly. "Darien, your dreams are more than just dreams. They're memories of a past life."
Darien looked at her like she too was losing it. "A past life?"
"Yes," Serena said, "we were together on the moon a thousand years ago. I was Princess Serenity and you were Prince Endymion. The Moon Kingdom was destroyed and we were all sent to the future. We were in Japan. My name then was Usagi Tsukino and you were Mamoru Chiba. We fought many enemies together and our last enemy, Chaos, destroyed us all. My mother, Queen Serenity, must have sent us here to give us all another chance at life."
Darien sat staring at Serena. "You mean…this is real?"
"It's better than believing you've gone insane, isn't it?" Serena asked him.
"I don't know what to believe anymore," Darien rubbed his head.
"I think I can help you," Serena said with a grin. She leaned forward and kissed Darien. When their lips met, all of Darien's lost memories returned to him. He was Prince Endymion, Tuxedo Mask and Mamoru Chiba. He was glad to know that he really wasn't losing his mind. He was finally just figuring out who he really was. The kiss ended and Darien studied Serena's face.
"Usako," he whispered. "I…I remember now."
"Mamoru," Serena pressed her face against his chest, hugging him tightly. Tears leaked out of her eyes. "I've missed you so much!"
"I've missed you too," said Darien, "how did we get here?"
"My mother must've had a hand in it," Serena said, "we'll have a meeting tonight. The others have been worried about you."
"They've got their memories back too?"
Serena nodded.
"I'm sorry I made you all wait for me," Darien frowned.
"It's all right," Serena said, laying her hand over his. "We're together now. You just needed more time. Now that you know that you're not going crazy, you must be able to get some rest."
"I've got some work to do," Darien yawned.
"You won't do a good job on it if you're exhausted, Darien," Serena insisted. "Get some rest and we'll have a scout meeting after dinner."
Because she finished fixing up the Shrieking Shack, Serena decided to hold the scout meeting there. The scouts were happy (especially Reenie) that Darien had his memories back. Darien felt weird being in the very place where he was conceived. They went over their previous missions and what must have led them to this place and time.
"We might have our memories back," said Amara, "but I haven't the slightest idea what we should be doing here. What's our mission supposed to be?"
"Beats me," Mina said with a shrug. "We've conquered a lot of enemies. Who else will be crazy enough to challenge the sailor scouts?"
"I just hope it's not an old enemy," Serena said.
"This might sound a little crazy," Darien said, rubbing his chin, "but I think the prophecies might have something to do with all of this."
"Prophecies?" Trista said, turning to Darien. "I'm only familiar with the one Trelawney said."
"Yeah, her and the rest of the seers of the world," Serena smirked, folding her arms. "Martina made the same prophecy."
"Well, this prophecy is more personal," Darien explained, "it's about me. The midwife that delivered me was a seer and when I was born, she made a prophecy about me."
"What did the prophecy say?" Reenie inquired, looking up at her future father.
"I can't remember it all," Darien admitted, "but it said something about me being a golden child. My mother never told me about it until recently."
"Serena, was there a prophecy about you when you were born?" Mina asked looking at her cousin.
Serena laughed and shook her head. "Mina, are you joking? I was born in a muggle hospital and none of the doctors went all weird and started making a prophecy."
"Well, there doesn't need to be a prophecy about Serena for us to figure out who these gold and silver ones are," Trista said knowledgably . "Serena is the holder of the Silver Imperial Crystal and the Moon Princess and so she qualifies for the Silver One."
"Uh, yeah," Serena said with a shy smile. "I guess I do."
"And as Darien is the holder of the golden crystal," Trista said, nodding at Darien, "he is the golden one. The prophecy spoke about the aligning of the planets which means that the sailor scouts will soon reunite."
"What about the ridding of great evil?" Mina inquired. "Is there going to be a new enemy?"
"The prophecy does say that the gold and silver ones will rid the 'universe' of all evil," Trista said, "which is exactly what Darien, Serena and all of us has done in the past. But I think that this time, the evil we have to be concerned with is an evil that is already here."
Darien thought hard about the prophecy. Something stuck out to him. Defeat the dark forces of the world.
"Wait, the prophecy about my birth," Darien said, catching everyone's attention. "It said something about me defeating the dark forces of the world, not the universe. Maybe Trista is right. There may be an evil already on Earth. The most evil person on Earth that I can think of would be Lord Voldemort."
"That's right," Serena said, "we were just saying that he may be trying to stop us unite the two worlds. But how are we supposed to do it?"
"The worlds are already uniting without us," Darien said, "muggles all around the world are remembering things that obliterators tried to get rid of. The Muggles are getting more and public about it. They know that wizards exist."
"They got to be careful that they don't run into he wrong kind of wizards," Serena said.
"I know, ministry members are keeping tabs on muggles," said Darien. "It's all they can do for now. I guess when the ministry can't do anymore; we'll step in and do whatever we as the gold and silver ones are supposed to do."
"I just hope it won't be too hard," Serena said.
There wasn't much time for them to ponder this because the NEWT's were the very next day. The following morning, Darien was going over the schedule when he got a very unlikely visitor.
"Leaning in your chair with your feet on the desk. You really are Sirius' son, aren't you?"
Darien's feet fell from his desk and he stood right up. "Professor Lupin! What are you doing here?"
"You're the professor now, Darien," Remus said as he came into the office. "There's no point in calling me professor anymore."
"Oh, of course," Darien said awkwardly. "What brings you here?"
"I'm helping out with the NEWT's," Lupin answered.
"You're an examiner?" Darien inquired.
"No," said Lupin as he sat down. "Just an observer. Professor Dumbledore asked me to come and observe the NEWT's. Help out a few students prepare to pick up the slack."
Darien noticed that Lupin did not look as pale as he remembered him. He had more color in his face. He was wearing nicer robes and there was no more gray in his hair. He looked ten years younger.
"You look…better," said Darien awkwardly, "I mean, you look well."
"Thank you," said Lupin, "I never felt better. I managed to get the cure from Roy Ashton. I don't have to worry about becoming a werewolf ever again. However, I am free to transfigure into an ordinary wolf if I want to."
"I'm glad," Darien said.
"I know that your mother has told you about Sirius," said Lupin.
How'd yo know about that?" Darien asked.
"Your mother and Sirius?" Lupin asked. "Well, I always assumed something was between them. Sirius told me he was your father when Dumbledore reformed the Order of the Phoenix. When Sirius was killed, I felt that it'd be best to hear the news from me then reading it in the paper."
"Only there was nothing about Sirius' death in the paper," Darien muttered
"I know," Lupin said sadly. "I thought that since I'm already here, you might want to hear more about your father."
"Really?" Darien asked, raising is eyes up at the former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Lupin nodded. "So, what would you like to know?"
Darien was glad that Lupin told him more about his father. It was good for Darien to know more about the kind of man Sirius was. It helped him with understanding the prophecy more. All the students were happy to see Lupin again and many asked if he was going to be a teacher again. Lupin said he would want nothing more than to come back and teach at Hogwarts. It was Lupin's favorite job.
Serena and Mina were happy to be united with their cats again. When the human Luna examined Serena on her Potions NEWT, she wasn't surprised that Serena had made the potion all wrong.
"Didn't study much, did you?" Luna asked.
"My Potions teacher is scary!" Serena hissed, wiping the excess goo from her poor attempted potion from her robes. "You can't blame me!"
As Serena disappeared from the Great Hall to wash up, Professor Tofty approached Harry and Mina. Harry recalled him as the old man that examined him in his Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL. Professor Tofty had asked Harry to show him a Patronus and gave him extra marks. Harry would never forget that moment. Harry had used the fantasy of Umbridge being sacked as his happy thought. It was one of Harry's best Patronuses.
Harry smiled at the old man. "What would you like me to demonstrate first, Professor Tofty?"
"Oh, this won't be like las time, Harry," Professor Tofty answered. "you will decide what spells do use and when. An obstacle course to prepare you and Miss Lovegood for becoming Aurors."
Mina chuckled. "I'm not going to be an auror."
"No?" the examiner asked.
"Mina's going for Professional Quidditch," Harry said fondly. "She's already sent her application to Holyhead Harpies. Haven't you, sweetie?"
"Yeah," Mina answered, blushing. "It's an all witches team. Harry will get jealous if I'm on a coed team."
"That's not true," Harry said.
"I see," said Professor Tofty, "but even though you are not planning on becoming an auror, you still need to understand the Dark Arts and how to defend yourself. You can pretend that you are both Auror partners."
"Okay," Mina said with a nod.
"This way, please," Professor Tofty said and he led the two out into Hogsmeade where there was an obstacle course set up. It reminded Harry of his Defense Against the Dark Arts final in his third year.
"Now I need you to make it through this course and into the tent at the end," Professor Tofty explained, "My associates will be waiting for you there. Good luck."
"Thank you," said Harry and he and Mina approached the starting point. They reviewed themselves over certain spells and then entered the course. It reminded Harry a bit of the maze during the Triwizard Tournament. There were a few dark creatures that they were able to dispel with simple charms. Sometimes they had to get through a couple of traps set by dark items. Harry recognized some similar things at Grimmauld Place. Harry was beginning to wonder where Tofty had gotten all of these things. By the end of the course, they were exhausted.
"You think he'll give us top marks for this?" Mina asked, gasping.
"Probably," Harry said, putting his arm around her. "Here's the tent, come on. Maybe he'll have water for us or something."
They entered the tent only to discover that it was empty and dark except for a few candles with green flames. The tent had a strange odor.
"Hey, where are the other examiners?" Harry questioned looking around. Mina looked at the candles closely and grabbed his arm.
"Harry, these candles are poisonous!" she said. "We've walked right into a trap!"
They turned to leave but a death eater stood in their way. He had appeared out of no where. The exit was blocked and the candles burned more acid green smoke.
"You can't leave yet," the Death Eater said, "you still have to do the second half of your NEWT."
"What's…going…on here," Mina choked.
"I can't breathe…can't see…" Harry moaned.
Their lungs filled up with the poisonous gas and Mina and Harry passed out cold.
An hour or so later, Mina's head was still swimming with the toxic gas. Her body ached and her throat felt like sandpaper. There was no telling how much of the fumes she and Harry had inhaled. She opened her bloodshot eyes and her vision was hazy. She was lying on her back looking at a stone ceiling. She blinked a couple of times and took a couple of breaths to clear her head.
"Ugn, where am I?" she wondered out loud.
Mina sat up and she didn't feel her hair on her back. Wondering if someone had chopped off her hair, she lifted her hands to her head and felt a knot of hair with a metallic haircomb. She looked down to see that instead of wearing her school robes, she was wearing a silky silver gown.
"Why am I dressed like this?" she asked herself. She pushed herself up off the bed and rubbed her head.
"What's wrong, don't like your house colors?" asked a woman's voice.
Mina whirled around and in the doorway stood a woman with heavy eyelids.
"Hey, I know you," said Mina, "you're Bellatrix LeStrange! You're a Death Eater."
"Ah, I'm touched that you recognize me," said Bellatrix, "a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Can't say the feeling's mutual," Mina spat. "Where am I? Where's Harry? If you hurt him I'll…"
"Oh don't worry, the Golden One is getting ready for the ceremony."
"Golden One?" Mina mumbled. "What are you talking about? What ceremony?"
"Haven't figured out the great allying prophecy, have you?" Bellatrix inquired with a smirk. "You, my dear, are the great Silver One and Harry Potter is the Golden One."
"You think we're the ones?" Mina demanded. "Hah! You're wrong."
"But you are from the house of silver, aren't you?" Bellatrix inquired. "Slytherin House? And Harry Potter is from Gryffindor, the house of gold. You have come from two different sides and you are going to make some great changes. The Dark Lord is waiting for you. Come with me."
Mina hesitated but followed Bellatrix anyway. Though Mina was unarmed, she could still fight. Bellatrix and the Death Eaters had no idea who they were dealing with. When she found Harry, they had to get out of wherever they were. Bellatrix led Mina through twist and turns inside a dark cavern. The paths were lit with a few torches here and there.
"What are we doing in this place?" Mina demanded. "Where are we?"
"What are we doing in this place? Where are we?" Bellatrix taunted shrilly. "My, aren't you impatient."
"You kidnapped us," Mina hissed, "don't you think I'd be a little angry?"
"Can't you tell," said Bellatrix, holding out her illuminated wand. "We are in a mine. The Dark Lord thought this would be the perfect place for you and Potter. As the Silver and Gold Ones, you should feel quite at home here."
They came into an open space in the mine where all the Death Eaters were seated, with Voldemort standing at the far end. Harry was standing in silky gold dress robes nearby Voldemort. He took his hand off his forehead and looked at Mina.
"Mina, you're all right!"
"Harry!"
They ran to each other and the Death Eaters mocked them. Mina put her arms around Harry.
"Did they hurt you?" she asked.
"I'm fine," he said.
"Look, my Death Eaters, we have special guests with us today," Voldemort said, "the Gold and Silver ones."
The Death Eaters gave Harry and Mina fake praise and bowed mockingly.
"What?" Harry questioned.
"They think we're the ones from that prophecy," Mina whispered to him.
"Us?" Harry looked at Voldemort. "How did you know about that?"
"I have a seer right here in the circle," Voldemort said, gesturing to Bellatrix. "She told me the prophecy first hand. I knew immediately that you were the Golden One."
"You're wrong," said Harry, "sorry to disappoint you but I'm not. Mina's not the silver one either."
"Don't be so modest," said a Death Eater. "We know you are the ones. We want to see what you can do, the kind of power you have before we kill you."
"I'm never modest," Mina muttered, "we really aren't the ones you're looking for."
"Liars," hissed Bellatrix.
"They're not lying, Bella," said Voldemort. "They are not the ones. What a shame."
"And if even if we knew who they were," said Mina, "we wouldn't tell you."
"So you do know, don't you?" Voldemort looked at Mina and Mina felt like her head was being opened. She backed away.
"No," she lied.
"You are lying," he said, "tell me who the Golden and Silver Ones are or watch your precious sweetheart die."
Mina bore her teeth down in a sneer and clenched her hand into her fist. A sense of rage awakened inside her body. Forced to choose between the ones she had sworn to protect and the one she vowed her love to? It wasn't going to happen.
"I am not going to hand them over to you," Mina said, "and I won't let you kill Harry either!"
"And how do you suppose to do that?" Bellatrix questioned. "We took your wands away and destroyed them. You're defenseless."
Mina grinned and looked at her. "Like I need a wand to take you creeps on!"
Mina pulled out her Renovation Rod. The Death Eaters laughed at how unusual it looked to them.
"Mina…what's going on?" Harry inquired.
"Harry, I hope what you're about to see isn't going to change anything between us," Mina said, "but I've got no other choice. I have to reveal my other self to you."
"What?"
"VENUS PLANET POWER!"
In swirls of hearts and stars, Mina transformed into Eternal Sailor Venus with her wings outstretched. The Death Eaters and even Voldemort was shocked. Harry stared at Mina.
"Mina?"
"Stand still," Mina said. "VENUS LOVE SHIELD!"
Sailor Venus put up four heart-shaped shields to protect Harry from all sides. She put another one top to serve as a ceiling. He was unarmed and even though she would love to have him fight at her side, she needed to keep him safe.
"Mina! Let me out!"
"You'll be safe in there, Harry," Sailor Venus said.
"What are you?" Voldemort demanded.
"I am Sailor Venus. The Soldier of Love and Beauty," Sailor Venus said defiantly. "Voldemort, you took something very valuable from Harry. You took his parents but you were unable to take his life because the love of his mother protected him. I know that you don't understand human love. If I pitied you, I can teach you what human love is so your heart will change. Maybe then you will turn away from this evil life. But I don't pity you at all. I detest you!"
"Why you…" Bellatrix went to attack Mina but Voldemort told her to hold back.
"I don't understand love, little girl?" Voldemort demanded. "I do know a few things."
"Oh yeah, you do love power," said Venus, "but that's not real love. You could not understand the love a mother had for a child because if you did, you wouldn't have tried to kill Harry! You wouldn't have killed Lily Evans! Not understanding human love, Voldemort, is your first and vital mistake! That's what caused your downfall! It was the power of love that defeated you once and it's going to defeat you again. But this time, I'll make it so that you'll never come back."
"You can't kill me."
"Kill you?" Mina said, her eyes wide with insanity. "No, I'm not going to kill you but when I'm finished with you, you're going to wish I had killed you! I'm going to take away the things that you love most, like you've done to Harry. I'm going to take your beloved powerful body away from you! I'm going to break it down so you'll never hurt people again!"
Mina raised up her hands. "VENUS METEOR SHOWER!"
Chunks of metal and rock came down, hitting the Death Eaters and shaking the mines. Sailor Venus charged Voldemort.
"You'll learn that true love does conquer all," said Sailor Venus, "THE HARD WAY!"
Voldemort backed up and ordered his Death Eaters to destroy her. Venus acted quickly and held her arms out in front of her.
"You guys like playing with people's hearts," she said, "let's see how you like! VENUS LOVE PUPPETS!"
Two paddles shaped like hearts appeared in Sailor Venus' hands and dozens of orange strings came out and connected themselves around the Death Eater's limbs. Venus made them turn to each other and attack one another. They tried to resist but it was pointless.
"Fool, stop choking me!" Bletchley gasped at Macnair.
"I'm trying!"
After making the Death Eaters knock themselves out, Venus took out her swords and approached Voldemort. "It's over for you."
"On the contrary," said Voldemort, his wand outstretched. "It's over for you. Avada Kadava!"
The green jet of light flew to Venus and she cut the curse in half. "Love's stronger than death, Voldemort."
Voldemort sent more curses at Sailor Venus and she spun around to avoid them or deflected them with her swords. She got in close, drew a heart with her swords and stabbed Voldemort in the front.
"VENUS LOVE STEAL!"
Voldemort howled in pain. He backed up, dropping his wand. He felt his body growing weaker.
"No, you can't destroy me," Voldemort said in denial. "I'm am the most powerful wizard on Earth."
"Not anymore," said Sailor Venus.
Voldemort's left hand broke off, flew over to Wormtail's silver hand. The silver hand disintegrated and was replaced with Voldemort's hand. Drops of Voldemort's blood floated up, toward Venus' shield and absorbed through it. The blood that was used in Voldemort's "resurrection" had been returned to its rightful owner. Voldemort's bones cracked and specks of dust flew out of the mine and toward Tom Riddle Sr.'s grave. Voldemort's body shrank down to the form it was before, skinless, black and red and helpless. All power was removed. He could not even lift a limb or call out any curses. Voldemort couldn't even see. Voldemort had been defeated, once again, by the power of love. Venus formed a cage around Voldemort's helpless body and took down the shield she put around Harry. Harry looked around, surprised that all the Death Eaters were out cold.
"What happened?" Harry questioned.
"You're safe now, Harry," Eternal Sailor Venus said, picking up the cage. "Voldemort can't hurt you anymore."
"But his followers still can," muttered a voice. Sailor Venus and Harry whirled around. Bellatrix LeStrange was getting to her feet. She had a black eye from where her husband had hit her due to Venus' attack. Bellatrix looked furious and more insane than ever..
"You're not getting out of here alive," Bellatrix said, "and no one is coming for you. No one even knows you're here. You will pay for what you did to my master!"
"Oh yeah?" Venus demanded. "I'm not the only Sailor Scout in the world, you know. They'll come for me!"
"Yes, I know," Bellatrix said, "I've heard much about the Sailor Scouts. The Dark Lord has made a new friend with Chaos."
"No," Sailor Venus whispered. "Not…"
"Yes," Bellatrix said, "she asked The Dark Lord to kill The Moon Child for her. The Dark Lord sent Greyback to do the task but evidently, this Moon Child is stronger than we expected and Greyback was killed. Chaos told us about nine powerful warriors called the Sailor Scouts. It doesn't matter if your friends are coming or not, because you shall die today! I call on the power of Chaos."
"No, don't!" Sailor Venus shouted.
Dark energy swirled around Bellatrix and bat wings sprouted from her back. To Sailor Venus' horror, Chaos had returned and taken a new host. Only this time, the host was evil to begin with. Sailor Venus wondered when her friends were coming for her. Even with her new powers, Venus wouldn't last long against Chaos. She needed the help of her friends and she need it now.
TO BE CONCLUDED