Chapter 14

The Heir of Slytherin

They were standing at the end of a very long and dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling too high to see which cast long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom the seemed to resonate throughout the place. With his wand at the ready, Orion tried to keep his rising anxiety from surfacing. It wouldn't help to panic now with a Basilisk that could be lurking anywhere.

"All right Ori," Sirius said quietly as he slowly moved his wand from right to left. "Let's take this slowly. If you see anything—"

"—I know, Dad," Orion whispered, his voice cracking slightly.

Together, they moved forward between the serpentine columns. Every footstep echoed loudly throughout the chamber, making it difficult to hear anything else. As they reached the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall. It was hard to take in the giant, ancient and monkeyish face with a long, thin beard that fell down to the bottom of the stone robes. As Orion's gaze lowered, his eyes fell upon a figure with flaming-red hair curled up in front of one of the two enormous gray feet belonging to the statue.

It was Ginny.

Orion immediately took a step forward only to be held back by Sirius. "Be aware of your surroundings, Ori," Sirius whispered as he cautiously moved forward. His body constantly shifted slightly with every step along with his gaze. Time seemed to pass in an agonizing slow rate until Sirius knelt down and pressed two fingers against Ginny's neck. "She's alive," Sirius said while shifting her so she was lying on her back allowing Orion to catch a glimpse of tear stains on her face.

Clutched in her arms was Riddle's diary.

"Dad," Orion said quickly. "Get the diary! We need to destroy it!"

Sirius reached for the diary only for a voice to bring him to a halt.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Sirius immediately jumped to his feet with his wand pointing in direction of the voice with Orion following suit. A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching with a cold look on his face. He was rather blurry as if he were slightly out of focus. Orion's gaze shifted to the diary then back to the boy. He really didn't like where his thoughts were taking him.

"Why shouldn't I?" Sirius countered.

Orion stepped forward and grabbed Sirius' arm. "Dad," he whispered. "That's Tom Riddle. The diary is his."

Sirius shot Orion a quick, alarmed glace before returning his gaze to Riddle. "What are you doing to her?" he demanded.

Riddle stared at Sirius with a raised eyebrow. "How could I possibly do anything?" he asked casually. "I am, after all, unarmed—" he raised his hands to articulate the point. "I have done nothing but be there for little Ginny Weasley while everyone else ignored her."

Orion held back a flinch. Riddle had a point. He had noticed that something had been wrong but—like everything else this year—he had remained silent.

"How are you here?" Sirius asked. "You can't possibly be a ghost or a spell creation—"

"—a memory," Riddle interrupted quietly as his gaze shifted to Orion. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years."

Sirius immediately raised his wand. "That's impossible," he said confidently. "A memory can't take a life of its own."

Riddle's eyes narrowed slightly at Sirius but when he responded, his voice never wavered. "I'm not aware of how I came to be, I just know I'm here now."

And getting clearer by the moment. Gazing over at Ginny, Orion could only think of one option. He only hoped that he was wrong. "Dad, he has to be an actual piece of Voldemort," Orion whispered, grasping Sirius' arm tightly. "It's the only explanation."

Sirius glanced sharply at Orion. "Orion, how do you know—"

"—Dad, do you honestly think I don't know where you've hidden the Black family books?" Orion asked dryly. "Look at Ginny. She looks really sick."

"Orion?" Riddle asked curiously. "Orion Black?"

Sirius immediately pushed Orion behind him. "How do you know my son?" he demanded.

A smile slowly spread on Riddle's face. "Oh, Ginny told me all about perfect little Orion," he said almost gleefully. "'The boy who can do no wrong' according to Ginny. She doesn't like you too much. She believes you steal the limelight from her 'hero', the-boy-who-lived. I must say that I'm disappointed. I had hoped that he would be the one to come to the rescue."

"I'm sure you did," Sirius said sarcastically. "Let's jump ahead, Riddle. Miss Weasley informed you what happened to your older self and you wanted to know how Hayden managed to defeat you. You used Miss Weasley as bait and gain what you required to leave that diary."

Riddle's lip curled. "And you must be the infamous Sirius Black," he sneered. "Yes, little Ginny's told me all about you. She was rather worried that you would figure out that she was the one behind opening the Chamber of Secrets. She was the one that strangled the school roosters. She was the one who wrote the threatening messages on the walls. She sent the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, the Squib's cat and your own son."

Sirius tensed as he inhaled deeply. "She only did those things because you possessed her," he growled through his teeth. "Do you honestly think that I don't know anything about dark magic? My family has been obsessed with the dark arts for centuries. I don't know how you did it but I do know what you did."

Riddle slowly raised his right hand to reveal a wand and pointed it at Sirius. "I'm surprised that the Black family turning their backs on their heritage," he sneered. "I seem to remember the pride one Orion Black had towards blood purity at an early age. He was a proud Slytherin—"

"—he was misguided and arrogant!" Sirius interrupted angrily. "He learned the hard way what type of person you were really like when you killed my brother!"

Riddle stared at Sirius with a raised eyebrow. "Is that so?" he said in a bored voice. "Was he a blood traitor like you?"

Orion didn't know what to do. Regardless of how much Sirius had tried to deny it, Orion knew that his Uncle Regulus' death had affected Sirius. The brothers had never been close, especially after Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor. Sirius had been the 'black sheep' of the family while Regulus was the obedient son, being sorted into Slytherin and becoming a Death Eater. No one actually knew how Regulus died. His body had never been found but the Black Family tapestry clearly stated that Regulus was indeed dead. Back in those days, it was the only way to know for certain whether a loved one was alive or dead when they went missing.

"At least he wasn't a hypocrite," Sirius shot back. "I wonder how many of your followers know you had a muggle father."

It happened before Sirius or Orion could even blink. "Crucio!" Riddle shouted.

An arm wrapped around Orion and pulled him to the wet floor. A tense body curled around him and held him in place.

A high pitched laughter filled the air. "I see," Riddle said slowly then flicked his wand causing Sirius to fly backwards and hit one of the pillars hard, leaving Orion unprotected. "A father's love. How…sickening. Tell me, Orion, do you always hide behind Daddy?"

Orion didn't hesitate. He couldn't afford to. Jumping to his feet, Orion pointed his wand at Riddle. This had gone on far enough. Riddle was coming more into focus with each passing moment. He didn't know how to stop what was happening. He just knew it needed to be stopped.

Riddle took a step forward, twirling the wand between his fingers. "Do you really think you can duel me, Orion?" he asked in amusement. "The Heir of Slytherin? The controller of Slytherin's beast?"

Orion cast a quick glance over his shoulder at his father who lay unconscious by the pillar he had hit. Whatever he did, he had to make sure that Ginny and Sirius weren't caught in the crossfire. "I think you'll find that I'm full of surprises," Orion growled. "I know what you are, Tom, and it's not some powerful wizard. You're nothing more than a bully who's ashamed of his parents."

In one motion, Riddle had moved forward and grabbed Orion by the throat. "You know nothing about me!" Riddle seethed. "You have no idea how hard I've worked to become the wizard the entire wizarding world fears to this day. Little Ginny told me everything. No one has the courage to speak the name I created for myself. My dreams have been realized. I am the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

Orion gasped for breath as he tried to pull at Riddle's hands. "You're not!" he croaked.

Riddle's gripped faltered slightly as his eyes narrowed. "What?" he growled.

"You're not the greatest sorcerer in the world!" Orion repeated. "You're nothing compared to my Grandad!"

Riddle's gaze turned curious for the briefest of moments. "Is that so?" he asked coolly. "Please, tell me about Orion Black, Sr."

Orion took the opportunity to kick Riddle in the shin as hard as he could. Riddle let out a cry of pain, releasing his hold on Orion to grasp his stinging shin. "He died before I was born," Orion said as he pointed his wand at Riddle. "I was talking about my other Grandad, Albus Dumbledore."

Riddle froze. "Dumbledore's your grandfather?"

Orion stood proud. Riddle didn't need to know that the title was in the honorary sense only. "My granddad is the greatest sorcerer in the world!" he said confidently. "Even everything you've done, you're still afraid of him! Everyone says so!"

Riddle stood up straight, a look of fury on his face. "Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!" he hissed.

Orion met his gaze with all the courage he could muster. "And yet here I am!" he shot back. "As long as there are people willing to fight for what he believes in, he'll never be gone!"

Riddle moved forward, looking like he was about to attack only to freeze when the sound of music filled the Chamber. Riddle's entire stance changed to one of panic as he whirled around pointed his wand towards the entrance of the Chamber. The music grew louder with each note. Orion could only smile. Even though the music was a little eerie and spine-tingling, Orion knew that help had arrived in the form of the phoenix that normally resided in Professor Dumbledore's office. The appearance of flames at the top of the nearest pillar confirmed it.

A crimson bird the size of a swan with a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons appeared, singing its oddly comforting music to the vaulted ceiling. At a second glance, Orion noticed that Fawkes the phoenix was holding something ragged in its talons. He had to fight back a grin when he noticed Fawkes fly straight at him until Fawkes dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at Orion's feet. It took Orion a few moments to realize that the 'ragged thing' was actually the sorting hat. All he could do was glance at Fawkes, who had landed on his shoulder, in confusion.

Once Fawkes had stopped singing, Riddle seemed to regain his sense. "That's a phoenix," Riddle said softly before his gaze turned suspicious. "You apparently are full of surprises, however,—" his eyes fell to the sorting hat, "—I'm curious how the old school Sorting Hat will be of any help to you."

Orion didn't answer. In all honesty, he was wondering the same thing. What help could a ragged, torn and worn hat be?

Riddle let out a cold laugh. "The old coot is even crazier than I thought!" he said gleefully. "He honestly believes that a songbird and an old hat can help you?"

Orion didn't answer. Professor Dumbledore wasn't at Hogwarts so that meant that Fawkes was acting on his own accord. The question was why did Fawkes think the Sorting Hat would help in a situation like this? What was he missing?

"I thought so," Riddle said with a twisted smile. "Now, Orion, let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against Orion Black and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him." His eyes fell to the Sorting Hat before walking away towards the stone face of Slytherin. With a smirk on his face, Riddle cast one final glance at Orion before opening his mouth to speak, "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."

There was a slight hiss to his voice which was the only sign for Orion that Riddle was actually speaking Parseltounge. Orion immediately began to panic. It didn't take much to conclude to what Riddle had activated. Slytherin's gigantic stone mouth was opening to make a huge black hole, a hold big enough for something extremely large to slide out of. And something was stirring inside, slithering up from the depths.

Orion took a frightened step back as his eyes searched his surroundings. Ginny was still unconscious on the ground in front of him and Sirius was still unconscious by the pillar behind him. He couldn't do anything for them now. His first priority was staying alive. Suddenly, Fawkes' comforting pressure vanished as Fawkes took flight, leaving Orion alone to face the king of serpents.

It was hard for Orion to tear his eyes away from the mass that emerged from Slytherin's mouth and hit the stone floor. Orion found himself backing away, his mind frantically searching for any sort of solution. What would Dad do? What would Grandad do? Someone help me please!

Riddle's hissing voice broke into his thoughts, "Kill him."

"Stop!" Orion shouted, the slight presence of a hiss was the only indication that he had spoken parseltongue instead of English. "He's not your master!"

Riddle froze, staring at Orion in shock. "You're a parselmouth?" he asked softly. "H—how is that possible?"

Unfortunately for Riddle, Orion wasn't able to answer due to an enormous snake slithering towards him. Slamming his eyes shut, Orion turned to run towards the entrance only to trip over Sirius' feet and fall hard onto the stone floor. A harsh laugh from Riddle echoed off the walls. Orion desperately covered his head, mentally pleading for someone, anyone to help him.

A loud, explosive spitting sound right above him silenced Riddle's laughter. When mad hissing and the sound of something thrashing wildly off the pillars filled his ears, Orion had to fight the urge to open his eyes. A soft grunt of pain, though, forced Orion to forget all common sense. Opening his eyes, Orion was able to see the shadow of an enormous serpent and swan-sized bird flying around its head against the wall.

"NO!" Riddle screamed. "LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS IN FRONT OF YOU! SMELL HIM! KILL HIM!"

Orion didn't waste any time before running out of the Basilisk's path as fast as his legs could carry him. It was then that he was able to see that Fawkes had attacked the Basilisk's eyes, rendering the snake blind. Blood was streaming to the floor from the wounds as the Basilisk continued to thrash in agony.

A blur of movement caught Orion's attention. Turning quickly, Orion could only stare at the sight of his father pulling out a large, gleaming, silver sword with glittering rubies the size of eggs on its handle from the sorting hat. It took Orion a moment to realize what he was actually seeing. It was Godric Gryffindor's sword!

"NO!" Riddle shouted as he raised his wand and pointed it at Sirius. "YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE!"

Orion didn't hesitate and pointed his wand at Riddle. "Expelliarmus!" he shouted.

Riddle's wand jumped out of his hand and soared through the air, over the Basilisk's head just as the Basilisk lunged for him. Orion caught the wand and ran, dodging the jaws of the Basilisk only by inches. Moving towards the nearest pillar, Orion's blood froze at the loud screech of pain bounced off the dark walls. Against his better judgment, Orion glanced over his shoulder to see Sirius pulling Gryffindor's now blood-covered sword out of the side of the Basilisk.

"Orion!" Sirius shouted as he moved to strike again. "Go for the diary! It's the only way to stop him!"

Orion quickly turned to see Riddle moving for Ginny's unconscious form. There was no time to waste. "Impedimenta!" he shouted while running towards Ginny but Riddle ducked out of the way. "Stupefy! Locomotor Mortis! Levicorpus!"

The final spell had caught Riddle. With a flash of light, Riddle found himself hanging upside-down in the air by his ankles. Riddle let out a cry of fury as Orion rushed to Ginny's side and pulled the diary out of her limp hands. He needed to destroy it while Riddle was occupied.

Pointing his wand at the diary, tried every destructive spell he could think of but nothing happened. It was almost like the diary was protected by an invisible shield. This was certainly going to complicate things. How was he supposed to destroy something that couldn't be destroyed?

A loud cry of pain forced Orion to turn and stare in horror as the Basilisk keeled over sideways onto the floor to reveal Sirius stumbling to maintain his balance, dropping the blood covered Gryffindor sword in the process. Sirius' left hand immediately went for his right arm which was covered in blood and had something sticking out of it. At first, Orion thought that Sirius had broken his arm but he quickly realized that it was actually one of the Basilisk's teeth. One of the Basilisk's poisonous teeth!

"Dad!" Orion cried as he jumped to his feet, leaving the diary on the floor.

Sirius sank to his knees. "Ori, destroy…the diary," he ordered, gasping for breath.

Riddle let out a high pitched laugh as he twisted himself in order to watch even if it was upside down. "Oh, this is better than I could have ever hoped for," he said gleefully. "What are you going to do now, Orion? Let your father die from Basilisk poison? Isn't it obvious that my diary is protected? Lord Voldemort wins again!"

Orion's gaze shifted to Riddle, his eyes narrowed in anger. "I don't think so!" he growled then pointed his wand at Sirius. "Accio Gryffindor's sword!"

The sword shuddered slightly before taking flight, straight for Orion.

"NO!" Riddle yelled as he desperately fought against the invisible force holding his ankles up in the air. "NO! STOP!"

A newfound confidence filled Orion. Riddle wouldn't react like that unless the sword could damage the diary. The sword slowly spun in the air allowing Orion to catch it by its handle. Pocketing his and Riddle's wands, Orion held onto the sword in both hands as he raised it up in the air. "You'll never win, Riddle!" Orion said confidently. "I'll make sure of it!"

Not waiting for a reply, Orion slammed the sword downwards, stabbing the diary in the center. There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then he was gone as if he had never been there to begin with.

His task done, Orion dropped the sword and ran to his father's side. Sirius was lying on the floor, clutching his injured arm to his chest. His breathing was labored and his face was extremely pale. Orion had never seen him in such a state before and immediately began to panic. His father had always been so untouchable, unstoppable. This couldn't be happening!

"Dad?" Orion's frightened voice squeaked. "Dad, what should I do?" Sirius slowly reached out with a shaking hand. Orion took the hint, grasped Sirius' hand and held on tight. A patch of scarlet swam past causing Orion to jump but let out a relieved breath when he saw Fawkes land by his father's injured arm. "Fawkes, please help him," Orion begged.

Fawkes let out a sympathetic cry before lowering its beautiful head to the injured spot and blinked. Looking closer, Orion could see tears slowly fall out of Fawkes' eyes. It was well known that Phoenix tears had healing powers and it was also well known that Basilisk venom was deadly. Orion didn't want to think what would have happened if he hadn't summoned Gryffindor's sword. Dad would be dead.

Orion watched in silence as the wound shrunk with each tear until it vanished completely. Only then did he relax and let his own tears fall. The only thing he could think about was that he nearly lost his father. Arms wrapped around him, pulling him to a dirty and damp chest but Orion didn't care. He quickly wrapped his arms around Sirius and held on tight. No matter what it took, Orion was determined to hold onto his father for as long as he could.

Sniffling came from the end of the Chamber, reminding Orion and Sirius that they weren't alone. Shifting slight, Orion saw Ginny sitting on the cold, wet floor wiping away tears. Sirius motioned for her to join them. Ginny shakily rose to her feet and stumbled towards them.

"I—I'm so sorry!" Ginny cried. "It was—me but I s-swear I d-didn't mean to—R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over."

Sirius raised his hand, silencing her before she could continue. "We can discuss this later, Miss Weasley," he said while shifting Orion slightly so he could pull out his wand. "Thanks Fawkes," he nodded to the Phoenix. "I owe you one." Fawkes let out a pleasant trill before taking flight. "All right, Ori, I need you to get the diary, the Sorting Hat and the sword. We need the evidence."

Orion hesitated but reluctantly obeyed. He wasted no time returning to Sirius' side, pretending not to notice the look of concern that appeared on Sirius' face. At the moment, Orion didn't care. Nearly losing the only parent he had really put his priorities in line. Sirius relieved Orion of Gryffindor's sword which was greatly appreciated. Orion would never outright admit it but the sword was heavy, especially when one was exhausted.

They reached the Chamber entrance to find Fawkes was waiting for them. Ginny was still sniffling and needed Sirius to urge her forward. Orion knew he should say something but nothing came to mind. What do you say to the person who indirectly almost killed you?

They walked down the tunnel in silence with only Ginny's crying and the faint sound of rock shifting their only accompaniment. Fawkes led the way past the snake skin only to come to a halt by the mountain of debris that remained in their path. Judging by the sounds of shifting rock, they were just on the other side of the wall.

"There must have been more damage than I thought," Sirius said quietly then stepped closer. "Moony? Is that you?"

"Sirius?" Remus' muffled voice called out from behind the wall. "Is everyone all right? Did you find Ginny?"

"Mission accomplished," Sirius answered as he looked around for a moment before his gaze landed on Fawkes. "How about a little help?"

Fawkes let out a soft trill before landing on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius quickly adjusted Gryffindor's sword reached out and pulled Orion and Ginny close just before warm, comforting flames rose above them, surrounding them. A moment later, the flames vanished to reveal the dirty but relieved faces of Remus, Evelyn and Kingsley, at least until their eyes rested on the blood covered sword Sirius awkwardly held with his bent arm.

"Sirius," Remus said in shock. "W—what happened?"

Fawkes let out a reassuring trill before taking flight. "We can discuss it later once the children are tended to," Sirius said as he urged Orion and Ginny forward.

Stepping past Remus, Orion could only stare at the sight ahead of him. It looked like the entire tunnel had caved in forcing Remus, Evelyn and Kingsley to physically dig their way through in the shape of a hole that was large enough for an adult to crawl through.

"Orion, you go first," Sirius said as he gave Orion's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We'll follow you."

Orion nodded before lowering to his knees and entering the hole, clutching the diary and the Sorting Hat to his chest. The tunnel was extremely long, curving back and forth making it difficult for any sort of light from the end to be seen. Orion had to rely on touch which kept him at a slow pace but at least he was moving forward. He could hear Ginny's uneven breathing and even Sirius' grunts from behind, making him feel really claustrophobic. When the small circle of light entered his line of sight though, Orion couldn't help but try to pick up his pace. Finally.

"Orion?" Ron's voice echoed in the tunnel. "Hayden! Neville! Orion's coming through!"

Hands reached in and pulled Orion out of the tunnel as if he weighed nothing at all. Meeting their anxious faces, Orion suddenly found himself at a loss for words. What he had just experienced had been so unbelievable that you just had to be there.

Ron quickly moved to help the next person out while Hayden and Neville pulled Orion off to the side. "Ginny!" Ron shouted as he pulled her out. "You're alive! Are you all right? What happened?"

"Leave her alone, Ron," Orion interrupted as Sirius crawled out of tunnel. "She's been through enough."

Ron looked like he want to protest but Ginny's sniffling silenced him. Thankfully, the sound of shuffling distracted all of them. Turning, they saw Lockhart sitting on a pile of rocks, softly humming to himself while he picked up a small piece of debris, tossed it in the air and caught it.

"His memory's completely gone," Remus said brushing loose debris off his clothes. "He tried to cast a memory charm and it backfired on him due to a broken wand." His gaze shifted to Ron who flushed in embarrassment "Impaled upon his own sword. Too bad. I had looked forward taking him to the Ministry personally."

Lockhart looked at them with a cheerful smile on his face. "Hello, odd sort of place, isn't it? Do you all live here?"

Neville, Hayden and Ron sighed in exasperation. "No!" Neville shouted. "How many times do we have to tell you?"

"Neville," Remus chided gently. "As difficult as it may be, try to remember that some people can't control how irritating they are."

Lockhart smiled, completely missing that Remus had been talking about him. Shaking his head in annoyance, Sirius moved over to the long dark pipe and looked up however, before Sirius could question the return to Myrtle's bathroom, there was a flash of fire above Sirius' right shoulder only to be replaced by Fawkes.

"Whoa, where did that bird come from?" Ron asked.

"It's Dumbledore's phoenix but what's he doing here?" Hayden asked.

Orion stepped forward. "Helping," he answered simply. "Phoenix's can carry heavy loads. He'll have to make two trips but he should be able to get us up the pipe safely."

Fawkes let out a trill of agreement as his talons gripped Sirius' shoulder. Everyone was quickly separated into two groups. Sirius went up first with Ron holding onto his legs, Ginny holding onto Ron's followed by Evelyn and Neville. Orion watched the first group vanish into the pipe faster than what should be possible.

"So," Hayden said Orion softly, breaking the silence. "Is everything all right? I noticed the sword Sirius had—"

"—he stabbed the Basilisk with it," Orion interrupted. "He saved me and nearly died because of it."

Remus quickly turned and stared at Orion in shock. "What?" he asked in a choked voice.

Orion bit his lower lip nervously. "Well, the Basilisk bit Dad," he said softly. "If Fawkes hadn't been there…I almost lost Dad tonight."

Remus let out a sigh as he wrapped his arms around Orion. "Try not to think about it Ori," he said gently. "Your dad's safe now. That's all that matters."

There was a flash of flames over Remus' left shoulder that quickly vanished to show Fawkes. Those a part of the second group wasted no time lining up. Well, everyone except Lockhart. It took Kingsley a bit to get Lockhart to join them. In all honesty, Orion never thought that Lockhart could be any more useless than he originally was but Orion had been proven wrong. It ended up that Kingsley had to stun Lockhart just to move things along.

Like the first group, they formed a line and grabbed hold of the one in front and waited until Fawkes took flight. An extraordinary lightness seemed to spread through Orion's entire body as they flew upward through the pipe. Chilled air was hitting his face, forcing him to close his eyes. It wasn't long before the ride was over and they found themselves hitting the floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom where the first group was waiting for them. As Kingsley dragged Lockhart away from the entrance, the sink that hid the pipe slid back into place, hiding any evidence that the bathroom was anything but a bathroom.

Myrtle's gaze focused on Hayden. "You're alive," she said blankly.

Hayden rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Myrtle," he said dryly as he walked over to the farthest sink and picked up his invisibility cloak.

"Oh, well…I'd just been thinking…if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet," Myrtle said with a silver blush appearing on her cheeks.

"That's enough," Sirius interrupted sternly. "Come on now. Professor McGonagall is waiting for us." His gaze shifted to Neville, Hayden and Ron. "I'm sure she will be eager to learn that three of her Gryffindors had been missing." Neville, Hayden and Ron paled slightly as Sirius' gaze shifted to Kingsley. "Leave Lockhart here. We'll inform Madam Pomfrey after the debrief."

Fawkes led the way, glowing gold along the corridor. Sirius' team followed at a brisk pace leaving the four Gryffindors to try to catch up. Even though Orion had gotten permission to join the effort, he couldn't help the nervousness that grew at the thought of what Professor McGonagall would think of a student involved with an Auror investigation. She believed in following the rules and demanded explanations. It was going to be difficult to explain this without revealing the secret the Black family had tried to hide for so long.

In what felt like a matter of moments, they had reached Professor McGonagall's office. Standing tall, like an Auror, Sirius knocked and pushed the door open.

A/N: Sorry for the delay but real life has kept me away from my computer. I'm still working on Chapter 15 but i figured I better get this out before May was over.