Of Wizards, Akuma, and Exorcists
Forty-six: Good-Bye Hogwarts
Disclaimers: I do not own any D. Gray-Man or Harry Potter characters/settings. They rightfully belong to Mr. Hoshino (D. Gray-Man) and Ms. Rowling (Harry Potter). Also, some conversations between the Harry Potter characters are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and that also does not belong to me!
Recap:
"How is she?" Lenalee asked timidly.
Lavi's green eye betrayed no emotion, but he gave a sigh.
"She's still alive," he whispered, "but let's go take her to the hospital wing."
"Let's," Allen agreed, and both boys gingerly picked McGonagall up. At Lenalee's insistence, Lavi ended up carrying her into the castle.
"She's a tall woman, Allen, you'll have a hard time carrying her," she explained to Allen's confused look. The two of them glanced at Umbridge, who was giving them a look of hatred as the Aurors began to stir.
They looked away from her and followed Lavi into the castle.
The message came the next afternoon.
The Exorcists were having their usual meeting at the edge of the forest, all of them wearing their black uniforms for the first time in weeks (just because they wanted to). The Gryffindor three was retelling the story of Dolores Umbridge's attack on Rubeus Hagrid and Minerva McGonagall's misfortune. Lavi was just reciting Poppy Pomfrey's words on the teacher's condition.
"She's going to be moved to St. Mungo's soon," he said. "Four Stunning Spells to the chest at her age - that's no good news."
"Poor woman," Arystar Krory muttered from his spot. His presence was suddenly alien among them, along with Miranda Lotto and Yu Kanda, all three of whom were usually away from Hogwarts school (they were mostly in charge of walking around Hogsmeade and traveling to and from the Order of the Phoenix's base). Allen and Lenalee realized that they hadn't seen the three much at all ever since Christmas holidays, and were glad to have them sitting nearby again.
"What has happened to Mr. Hagrid after he escaped?" Miranda asked worriedly.
"No clue," Lavi shook his head. "Anyway, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Allen, and me are still in charge of taking care of dear ol' Grawpy, and-"
"Dear old who?" Kanda said incredulously. "You two idiots got yourselves mixed into some personal problem once again? How about you put the mission first before everything else, eh?"
"Quit snapping at us, Kanda," Allen said calmly, grateful that the swordsman's irritation was, for once, not directed solely on himself. "It's not exactly our fault that we were told by Komui to look through the Dark Forest and ended up being nearly killed by Grawp. I mean - what's that doing in the air?"
"Oh my," Miranda gasped.
"Oy!" Lavi suddenly exclaimed, waving his arms. "Thestral! Come down here, come down I say!" He did a horrible imitation of Hagrid's echoing call, but it seemed to work as the thestral turned on its course and came soaring down toward them.
"Lavi... what was that scream for? You sounded like an insane freak," Kanda commented.
"Oh, shut up, Yu..."
"A letter," Lenalee muttered as the thestral sniffed her hand and shook its head. Hanging from its neck was a small pouch, and Allen had opened it, pulling out a small folded up parchment. On it was the unmistakable handwriting of Komui Lee. "It's from brother! But how did it manage to get through-"
"Umbridge can't see thestrals, that's why," Allen explained shortly. He quickly scanned the letter, and without another word, handed it to Lenalee before turning on his heels and disappearing into the forest.
"Where might he be headed?" Krory mused as Lenalee began to read her brother's letter.
To everyone,
As Mr. Moony advised me, I am sending this letter by a thestral (I myself am not sure how it came, quite honestly...)
I would like to request that you, immediately upon receiving this letter, find yourselves some thestrals and come to the Black's house. Allen and Lavi should know how to call them, right? Will explain later.
See you soon, Komui
"So that's where Moyashi went?" Kanda said as he and the others stepped into the forest as well, followed for some reason by the thestral who brought the message.
"He could have explained," Lavi sighed. "Well, it was him that learned from Hagrid first, I just went along. I think he mentioned the smell of raw meat... How is he going to get his hands on that?"
"Hey! Guys!" a distant voice called, and there was a flash of white in the darkness beyond.Allen was waving his arm to beckon them over, and when they approached him, he was standing by a couple of thestrals, patting their scaly necks at a rhythmic pace with his left hand and smiling. One of them was licking at his right hand, which hung at his side. In the darkness of the forest, no one was sure of it, but there was something wet and shiny trickling down his fingers, and that was what the thestral was licking up.
"Allen!" Lavi exclaimed in shock. "You... you... you cut yourself to call the thestrals?"
"I couldn't think of anything else, you see," Allen chuckled nervously.
"You're so stupid," Lavi said.
"There's enough for two of us to ride on a thestral," Allen said, ignoring Lavi's last comment. "More will probably come, but I don't think we have time to be waiting for all of them, so-"
"W-well, since Krory and I are accustomed to traveling together now, I think we could go on one," Miranda suggested, and the tall man nodded. Allen agreed and handed one of the thestrals to the two.
"I'll go with Lena-" Lavi started, but Lenalee cut him off.
"No, Lavi, you'll go with Kanda," she said with a tone of finalty. "If you go with me, Allen and Kanda will have to go together, and months of experience tells us all that that isn't a good idea."
"Fine," Lavi whined. "Let's go then, Yu."
"Whatever," Kanda grumbled, hopping onto the black creature with his usual scowl.
Allen, relived he didn't have to be with Kanda during their trip, helped Lenalee onto the thestral and hopped on himself.
"They're supposed to have a good sense of direction," he said. Leaning across Lenalee's shoulder to pat the mane, he said to all three thestrals, "Please take us to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place."
- - - -
"Well, that certainly was quick," Sirius Black said as the six Exorcists stumbled into the dark house. "And quiet, too."
"We know how to stay silent, thanks," Lavi said to Harry Potter's godfather with a grin. "How are things?"
"Where's Komui?" Lenalee asked, cutting him off.
"He's in the drawing room," Remus Lupin answered with a yawn, pointing down the hall. "He wanted to talk to you about something."
Upon entering the drawing room, Allen, Lavi, and Krory gave shouts of surprise when Lenalee was suddenly enveloped in a mass of white. Kanda instinctively drew Mugen in defense, but the mass spoke.
"Kyaa, Kanda! Calm down! It's me, it's me!"
"Komui?" Allen and Lavi blanched as the scientist pried himself away from Lenalee and showed them his smiling face.
"Long time no see, everyone," Komui Lee greeted with a cheerful nod. "I have good news for you."
"What would that be?" Kanda asked.
"I found it."
A heavy silence followed those words.
And then, Miranda spoke up slowly, "You... you found it?"
Krory snapped out of his trance and exclaimed, "That is wonderful! Where was it?"
"It was in a hidden room at Hogwarts," Komui answered. "Dumbledore and I located it before we left, and he moved it into a secured place. I know where it is."
"When exactly did you find it?" Lenalee said, a confused look on her face.
"Didn't I say? Just a couple days before Dumbledore and I left Hogwarts-"
"You said on Halloween that you already knew where it was!" Kanda suddenly said angrily. "You lied, didn't you, you idiot-"
"So all this time you didn't know if we'd be able to go home, and yet you convinced us that we will?" Lavi cried.
"What would you have said if we couldn't go home after all?" Allen asked, calm despite the sudden outbursts of the older boys.
"Apologized?" Komui suggested in a small voice. Beside him, Lenalee let out a sigh.
"But that doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Miranda said with a smile. "He's found it, so there's really nothing to worry about."
"She is right," Krory nodded. "So it's wonderful news for all of us. Once we finish our job in this world, we will be able to go back home."
- - - -
Sirius sat on the floor and carefully bandaged Buckbeak the hippogriff's wound. He didn't know who'd done it, but it was rather a deep cut, and whoever did it would get a good yelling for it - and maybe a knock on the head. He'd spent a good twenty minutes cleaning the damp feathers, when his mother began screaming. Somebody had arrived, and they'd forgotten about his (deranged) mother's portrait again.
"Probably Tonks," Sirius muttered as he gave Buckbeak a pat on his head and left the room. "Somebody better shut up my good mother before-"
"-can't be in the Department of Mysteries... Sirius is here!"
"You believe this to be one of Voldemort's tricks? Harry-"
"Sirius!" Allen gasped from where he and Lavi were struggling with the portrait. At his voice, the newcomer and the four other Order members (they had probably been somewhere in the house until just now) who'd been whispering feverishly by the front door, fell silent. With a grunt, the two boys closed the drawings.
"Why the sudden silence?" Sirius asked curiously, glancing from Allen and Lavi, to the other Exorcists who were just coming out of the drawing room, to Lupin, to Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and-
"Snivellus," Sirius said to the guest.
Severus Snape ignored him and, turning to the others, he said, "I suggest you all depart at once."
"Depart?" Sirius asked, stepping into the group. "To where? I know I heard Harry's name. What's this about the Department of Mysteries and Voldemort?"
"Mr. Potter believes that the Dark Lord has taken you captive and is torturing you in the Department of Mysteries," Snape answered curtly. "He and his friends should be headed there by now-"
"Harry went to the Department of Mysteries?" Sirius exclaimed.
"We're going to go find him, and help," Lenalee Lee said, her young voice tight with determination. "So don't you worry, Sirius-"
"What do you mean, 'don't you worry'? I'm going with you!"
"You will not," Snape cut in. "We will need somebody to inform Professor Dumbledore of what is happening. He will be here at any moment-"
"Can't Komui-?"
"No, apart from needing somebody to inform Professor Dumbledore, there is also the fact that-"
"I will be going no matter what!" Sirius growled, challenging Severus Snape to argue with him. "I will go, Snivellus, whether you want me to or not. Harry is my godson! Kreacher and Komui could inform Dumbledore! You can't stop me from going!"
Snape seemed to want to continue the fight, but Yu Kanda suddenly spoke up.
"I don't think we have much time to be spitting at each other over trivial things like that," he said coolly. "Unless, of course, you want Harry Potter to die. If so, feel free to continue your lovely arguing."
Both Sirius and Snape glared at each other before Snape said, "I will leave the rest to you," and stepped out of the house. After a moment of silence, Tonks broke the tension.
"Well, let's get going, why don't we, eh?" she said.
This chapter was rather short compared to my other chapters... I'm hoping I could make the next one a bit longer.