Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer applies; I don't own Harry Potter.
A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter. I don't know why but I'm updating this story a lot more now. Thanks for reading.
Also, I would like to tell you that there has been a time skip of a few weeks. It's September now.
xoxo
11. Surprise After Surprise
'Are we really doing this, my Lord?' whispered Bellatrix. She couldn't believe it, looking at the thirty or so giants standing before them. They were enormous: powerful, strong and a force to watch out for. Though not the smartest species gracing the world, they sure were mighty.
Everyone feared them. And wasn't that what Voldemort wanted most? To control the most frightening thing on the earth?
He himself was powerful, so didn't it make sense for him to seek out the next most impressive and supreme group and turn them into his slaves? Because that was what the Dark Lord was doing; he was turning them into his slaves. They would do what he wanted.
'Yes Bella,' replied Voldemort quietly. He turned to face her and reluctantly smiled back. She beamed and started laughing a deep, rumbling laugh. Madness glittered in her intense, pretty eyes as she threw her head back, her uproarious laughter catching and making Voldemort chuckle softly too.
'Calm down Bella. We haven't even started yet.' He said after he stopped laughing.
'I'm so excited, my Lord.' She replied. She quickly looked around, appraising the Death Eaters behind her and the Dark Lord. Narcissa was holding hands with Lucius, who had a stern expression on his face, but did let a smile loose on his face once or twice.
The cracks of apparation finally stopped, and soon came the inevitable question.
'Is everyone here?' Voldemort was only including the trusted Death Eaters, or rather, the Death Eaters he trusted to not mess everything up. Still, they came to a staggering total of fifty, and with them were twenty of the best giants. Twenty.
'Yes my Lord!' everyone shouted.
Slowly, and with the tension of a strong, gaining tempest, Voldemort turned to face his followers, opened his mouth, smiled and said in a voice no louder than a whisper, 'It's time.'
The cracks rippled through the air, like gunshots, startling the neighbouring animals: sending some into paranoid frenzies and sending others into a whimpering and pathetic shock. But they were gone, including the giants, who, though they couldn't apparate, could be bound to a wizard or witch and therefore controlled. It was from a deserted and treeless forest (so really just a large deserted open space) that they apparated into Hogsmeade.
The shoppers walking past didn't even bat an eyelash, until they heard the bellowing roar of the first giant. After that, it all went downhill. People were screaming and running, crying and begging. Death Eaters were torturing the shoppers sporadically, throwing spells at them and cackling with laughter when they cried out.
'This will certainly get Dumbledore's attention,' thought Voldemort, tossing people aside like they were obstacles: but to him they were obstacles. They were nothing but objects if they weren't on his side. Dumbledore was even an object, just a large and usually unmoveable one.
'Enough!' cried Voldemort. 'We're not here to terrorise the public. We're here to challenge Dumbledore and his people. Once and for all.'
There were enthusiastic cries and screams from the Death Eaters, the loudest of course being Bellatrix. 'Onwards.' Voldemort said calmly.
xo
The Lestrange Manor was very beautiful. It was large, tall and towered over the trees and houses nearby. The space around it, though not as extensive as the Malfoy Manor, was larger than say, the House of Black's Grimmauld Place for example.
The defenses on the Lestrange Manor were similar to Lucius's wards, yet perhaps even a little easier to pass through. Sirius was sure he could get James through if he tossed a few spells about. So he did. He asked his friend to come through with him.
'Are you sure Padfoot?' asked Lily. Her and Remus were going to be waiting, like before, behind the cluster of bushes and trees not too far away.
'Yes, he's a pureblood. And one of the originals from Britain, despite his blood-traitor status. He'll be fine, I promise. Besides, I need to get this job done quickly. We don't know where everyone's gone, there could still be a wizard or two inside for all we know. We need to get the horcrux and get the fuck out.'
'Right,' said Lily, leaning up to peck his cheek, 'be careful,' she told him sternly before turning to face her husband and kiss him quickly, 'you too,' she warned James. Both men looked down at her with mischievous smiles on their faces.
'Of course.' They said in unison before grinning widely at one another. They each slapped Remus on the back before disappearing under the Invisibility Cloak. The sound of their footsteps faded before finally, Lily and Remus could hear them no more.
When Sirius and James got to the gates, they were a little surprised at the lack of resistance they encountered. Sirius easily got through, and it only took a quick, weak confundus on the gates to get James safely through. They walked with deliberate and careful slowness, scared to make too much noise as they walked along the gravel.
Alohamora was cast twice and it opened with a drawn out creak. The house didn't smell as divine as the Malfoy Manor. Whereas Narcissa and Lucius's home smelt like it was lived in, Bella's home smelt like an old, unused library: it had a dusty sort of smell. Everything was immaculate and untouched.
Bustling around in the lounge were house-elves. Sirius also knew the layout of the Lestrange Manor too. He pretty much knew they layouts of every pureblood home in the UK. He'd definitely visited them enough to know.
'… yes, well, just in case, ha ha, alright dear...'
'FUCK!' Sirius mouthed, closing his eyes almost shucking the whole cloak off his shoulders, and James's too. His friend had to pinch him and step on his foot to get him to shut up.
But Sirius ignored him and continued to listen to the voice making its way towards them, getting louder and louder, closer and closer... It was, oh of course, Rodolphus's mother, Theodosia Avery Lestrange.
She was vile, she was. She liked hurting people and didn't hesitate to snitch someone at in a moment if she benefited from it.
She came into their view: tall, a little chubby but beautifully dressed, and with her dark locks piled atop her head. Her friend came with her, and Sirius, with a startled jolt, recognised his own Mother. What was she doing? Why was she with Theodosia? The foulest woman in the whole pureblooded circle?
'The powder room is on the first floor, take a left, the first room you see.' Mrs Lestrange said, despite the fact that Walburga obviously knew how to get to the toilet. But she smiled, thanked her friend graciously and made her way up the grand staircase. Sirius and James didn't miss a beat, skipping onto the stairs and placing their feet in sync with Walburga. Despite the fact that the master bedroom or Bella's tearoom was not on the first floor, they followed Walburga anyway. When they were sure that Theodosia could not see or hear them, they pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and awoke Walburga to their presence by tapping her on her shoulder.
She looked close to screaming, but she was a smart woman and managed to restrain it, though she slapped a hand to her chest and exhaled heavily. She cocked her pretty little head to the lavatory and opened the door for them before following afterwards and slamming the door quickly. She collapsed on the small cream Victorian sofa; you know, the ones that seemed like a mix between a sofa and a bench that could seat two men comfortably.
Walburga put a small hand to her mouth and turned her angry eyes to her son. 'What is wrong with you? It's impolite Sirius to frighten your Mother like that.'
'Sorry Mother,' he said, looking at his best friend all the while and exchanging a large grin with him.
'Why are you here?' she whispered, standing up and making her way towards him. He flinched a little and stepped back. When her son didn't answer her, Walburga's eyes glittered dangerously. 'Sirius,' she said forcefully, 'this is stupid and dangerous. Whatever you're here for, forget about it and leave. Don't risk it-'
'I can't leave Mum!' he sounded a lot like a petulant, moody kid but he was past caring. 'We can't leave, we have something to do. Something that'll be done a lot quicker if you could just help us.'
Walburga sighed, massaging her temples and worrying her lip. After a few short moments of quick deliberation, she turned her glare to her son and said, 'What is it, Sirius?'
'Get Theodosia out of here please. Tell her you've found a new restaurant and would love to show her or something along those lines. We won't be long. We're just looking for something.' If his Mother was curious, she didn't ask - she knew how powerful and dangerous knowledge could be.
Mrs Black didn't even bid him goodbye, or wish him good luck; she just nodded once sharply and left the lavatory rather quickly. About a minute later, they heard her quiet conversation with Theodosia, fake laughter, agreements and soon, the sounds of shoes and coats being put on. The pair of men waited until they heard Theodosia call orders to her elves and close the door behind her.
'She's gone?' asked James.
'Let's go,' Sirius said, nodding. There were three rooms it was most definitely going to be in. Though Sirius couldn't sense anything yet. But there was still time. And even if they didn't find a horcrux, though they so desperately wanted to, they could find a clue that could lead them to a horcrux. Just something helpful.
But anyway, back to the three rooms: it was either going to be in the bedroom, Bellatrix's tearoom or the library. One of those rooms, most likely Bellatrix's tearoom - simply because she would have the horcrux if it were to be in the Lestrange Manor, not her husband.
The closest room was the library. It wasn't as big as the Malfoy one or the Black library, but it was a round and rather cute room, with an empty fireplace, an open window and dark wooden flooring. The chairs were clustered around the fireplace and the shelves were spaced apart generously.
Sirius and James barely exchanged a word when Sirius walked around the room, peeping his head into each row of books. But not once did he feel the horcrux. It wasn't in the library.
'It's not here Prongs, I can't feel it.' Sirius said, but he was still hopeful. It was probably in the tearoom. They would go there next.
'Let's go to Bella's tearoom, I don't think she'd leave it somewhere her husband could find it. Voldemort seems like the type to order them not to tell anyone. I bet Narcissa doesn't even know about the diary.' Sirius explained as they made their way up the stairs to their destination.
James smiled nervously. 'Well, Malfoy really doesn't seem like the type to sit his wife down at dinner and explain to her about all the secretive stuff Voldemort's doing with his soul or whatever.'
As they said this, they approached the thick oak door of Bella's private room. Unsurprisingly, it was locked. A simple Alohamora didn't do the trick either. Nor did Recludo or Resero. Both Marauders looked at each other, eyes widening.
'It's not opening, why's it not opening?' Sirius muttered to himself, waving his wand once more and jabbing it at the doorknob.
'D'you think the horcrux is in there?' James questioned, 'She's gone to a lot of trouble to keep the room locked.'
Sirius bit his lip. 'I'm not sure, I can't sense it. But there could still be something important in there. James, there's one more spell, isn't there? The powerful Unlocking Charm. The really powerful one. I'm sure I remember Flitwick telling you off one time and he was talking about it...'
x
It was a summer day, bright with shining clear skies and a golden sun beaming down at all the students. But Sirius, James, Remus and Peter weren't outside enjoying the summer sun. Instead, they were trapped inside a Charms class, listening to Flitwick bustle about and cackle excitedly when he spoke about the more complex charms.
They were in their Fourth Year, and had done complex Locking Charms for a week now. It was awfully tedious, but very important apparently. Especially since most of the class couldn't perfect the last and most powerful Locking and Unlocking Charm.
The class was filled with sweaty, tired and bored students. Emanuelle and Rose sat at the back with the Marauders, talking in quiet tones and smiling at each other. Lily sat closer to the front, and appeared to be dozing off into a soft slumber. But that was because she was one of the few, alongside three Ravenclaws, who had perfected the last Unlocking Charm. She was a smart one, she was.
Sirius and James laughed at something witty Remus said, they always laughed at what he said. He was really very funny. The werewolf winked at them and then ran a hand through this golden brown hair. He was close to perfecting the spell, but really wasn't bothered. It was too hot for this shit.
'Now,' Flitwick's squeaky voice rose over many, but not the Marauders' of course, 'the Aperire Charm is one of the most …' he trailed off when Remus and Sirius's laughter interrupted him and James continued telling his rather exciting story. Flitwick scowled angrily at the group sitting at the back and said in an angry voice, 'Now, see here boys! I've had it with you chatting this whole lesson. Why don't you all demonstrate the charm for us. If you successfully do it, I might not give you a detention.'
In the end, Remus was the only one who managed, after three tries, to successfully cast the charm. But Sirius and James hadn't been listening at all. In fact, James even had the ruddy audacity to ask, 'What's the incantation again sir?' Which is why he wasn't surprised at all when he was given an extra detention.
o
'Fuck!' shouted Sirius, biting on his lip. 'I can't remember the fucking incantation. Remember that time we got the detention for not being able to do that charm, with Flitwick? It's the Aperire charm, but I can't remember the incantation.' He shook his head. 'We won't be able to get in James.'
'What should we do then?'
Sirius tapped his chin as he thought and started pacing the small corridor of the second floor. Then he paused in front of his best friend and broke into a wide smile. 'I've known Bellatrix since I was a baby. She's always had a one-track mind. She's almost certainly defended the door from being broken in magically but I think … I think she's the sort of person to dismiss the possibility of someone physically breaking in.'
'You're having a laugh,' scoffed James, shaking his head. 'What if it doesn't repair? What if we break it and we can't fix it? What about the house elves? Won't they wonder what the hell all that noise is? And what about the actual door Sirius? It looks to thick to break through and as strong as you are, I doubt you can break through this door. Unless you use Reducto or Bombarda.'
Sometime during James rant, Sirius had conjured masks - actual, real, burglary looking black masks - and was in the process of putting his on. He handed one to James. 'Go down and lock all the house elves into one room please. I'll blast this door open in the meantime. Ransack the house whilst you're at it, break some things, trash some other things, steal some maybe. We'll make it look like a burglary and not like a targeted attack.'
The bespectacled Marauder seemed to be hyperventilating. He put on the mask, and held his wand tightly in his arm. James swallowed harshly, nodded at his friend before he tore through the corridor, knocking the cabinets and vases whilst he was at it.
Sirius smiled as his friend reminded him just a little of a child, running and laughing. James wasn't laughing though. He himself was silent. Sirius turned to the door and flexed his wand, sighing tiredly. 'Bombarda Maxima,' he thought, and with an almighty bang, the door burst open. Bits of wood flew everywhere as the noise resonated through the large house. Sirius didn't wait a moment. He ransacked the room: flipped the sofa, threw and broke the chairs, stuffed jewellery into his pockets and a good bit of cash too. When all that was done, he finally paused for a second, letting the feeling of the room flood him.
Many feelings flooded him, but, unfortunately the tingling sensation created by the horcruxes didn't come to him. Instead, he felt only the anticipation and apprehension of the situation him and his best mate had gotten themselves in.
A few letters crinkled under Sirius's foot as he moved, and he looked down at them. Obviously the fates were on his side because the first letter was addressed to Bellatrix from her beloved Dark Lord. With shaky hands, Sirius picked up the envelope and took out the letter before he began to read.
Dear Bellatrix,
I hope the cup has safely made its way to the Lestrange family vault of 9. It shall remain there for as long as necessary but should I call for it, I would want it almost instantly. The cup has great value, and therefore, I would appreciate it if you told no one of this.
Your deed for me Bella, will certainly not be forgotten. Thank you.
Sirius reread the letter. Vault … cup … deed … Bellatrix did have the cup. But it wasn't here. It was in her vault. Calmly, he placed the letter back into its envelope, threw it to the ground and made his way to where James was downstairs, who was in the process of vanishing objects and breaking others.
'Got it?' the bespectacled Marauder shouted to him.
'No.' Sirius replied, 'But I have something else. Let's go mate.'
The house elves were locked in the kitchen, Sirius later learned. But him and James were past caring. They had been so close...
The didn't even bother locking the front door and instead sauntered out of the Manor, ripping their masks off and meeting Lily and Remus at the edge of the field in front of Bella's home. Together, the group of four made their way to the closest pub - to get something to eat and exchange details of what happened.
xo
Rose Taten could easily get frightened sometimes. She was a fearless woman, most of the time, but in certain situations she lost all her bravery and courage. Instead, she was reduced to a frightened fay. She didn't like being scared though, because then she lost the upper hand.
Her placed the small vial down and started to cry. Burying her face in her hands, Rose cried the hardest she'd cried in such a long time. She placed a hand on her abdomen and looked down at her stomach, cursing her uterus and her eggs and the fucking condoms she and Sirius repeatedly used.
Stupid Muggles, they didn't know a thing. It hadn't worked. They hadn't worked. She was so frightened, so scared. What would he say? He'd be furious. She looked at the vial, which had turned dark blue - positive - and looked in the mirror. Her pretty light green eyes were blotchy and red, her skin was flushed and her hair was messy and knotted from all the times she'd run her hands through it.
There were a gentle knock on the door that sucked Rose out of the daze she was in. It was Emanuelle. She had picked the test up for Rose. And she was patiently waiting outside the door. 'Rosie,' she whispered. 'Are you alright?'
'Y-you c-can co-come in.'
When the pretty Italian saw her friend, crying and clutching at her hair, she murmured, 'Oh bambi,' and hurried forward to wrap her arms around her friend. Rose settled into Emanuelle's arms and cried heartedly, her head resting on Emanuelle's breast and leaving wet marks from where her tears fell.
'He's g-going to be fu-furious, Emanuelle.' Rose stuttered, looking up with her red eyes and wet eyelashes and quivering lips.
Emanuelle shook her head. 'He can't blame you. You didn't do anything wrong. You just … got knocked up, that's all really.'
Rose laughed a watery chuckle and shook her head, 'You know Sirius, you know he'll find something to be angry with me about. He'll blame my eggs or my uterus, or he'll tell me it's someone else's. I bet you.'
'Then he's not worth being with, if he accuses you of that.' She said. 'Aren't you even just a little bit excited?' her hand fluttered to caress her best friend's stomach. 'To have a baby growing inside you. What d'you want? A boy or girl?'
'A boy. Even if I have a hundred, I only want boys.' Rose answered after a few seconds of calming herself down. She turned to face her friend and said softly, 'I'm really scared Emanuelle.'
'You're allowed to be scared,' her friend replied, 'there's nothing wrong with a little fear.' She kissed Rose's head and held her tighter. 'A little bit of fear can take us a long way, Rose. It just depends how you use it...'
xo
The group of four sat around a table right at the back. They waved away the menus and simply ordered some beer and the meals of the day: lamb steak and potatoes. They were all ravenous, not having eating since yesterday night. The waiter smiled at them, winked at Remus who blushed furiously, and finally left.
'Oi,' Sirius said, a smirk on his face, 'stop looking so mysterious and sexy. You're stealing all my lady love.'
They all laughed when Remus simply showed him a finger and ignored the rest of what he said. 'So,' he said, 'I'm gathering that we don't have the horcrux. But we do have a lead, right?'
Sirius nodded. 'Right. I found a letter in Bella's tearoom from Voldemort himself. The cup, I'm guessing it's the Hufflepuff cup, is in her vault, or rather, in the Lestrange family vault. We just need to get into there.'
Lily's pretty emerald eyes widened. 'Because it's so easy to break into a Gringotts vault. Sirius, stop being a fucking idiot. This is going to be hard, really really hard. It's going to be fucking impossible actually! No one has ever broken into Gringotts before, Sirius.'
He leaned forward and placed a finger over her lips. 'Let me explain what I intend to do Lily.' He said. 'James, would you like to tell everyone what number your family vault is.'
'Eight.' He said.
'And the Lestrange one?' the other asked.
James grinned. 'Nine.'
Sirius flourished his hands. 'We're going to get in through James.'
Lily started shaking her head though, 'But James is wanted by Voldemort. Don't you think it's bloody dangerous for us to waltz into Gringotts and for James to ask if he can get access to his vault when Voldemort's out there chasing us.'
The silver eyed Marauder shrugged, 'Look, goblins don't want anything to do with us and our wars. As long as we're using their vaults. In fact, it'd be better if James transferred money into one of the accounts or tipped one of the goblins. Something that would get them to like us. But anyway, once we're at James's vault, we'll imperius or confund the goblin to open the Lestrange one. We'll get the cup, and get the fuck out. It's not that hard Lily.'
The beer and their platters of food came. The waitress was making lovey eyes at Remus, who turned pink and smiled at her before looking away quickly. She was rather pretty: light hair, caramel skin, dark shimmering eyes. After assessing her properly, Remus warmed up to the idea of maybe getting to know this pretty waitress. But dammit, didn't he have a thing going on with Medina? Pretty, gorgeous half Moroccan Medina?
He shook his head and turned to his golden beer, sipping it. The waitress soon left and they each tucked into their food. Lily was past caring about how wild and feral the three men before her looked when they ate. She was used to it; to them eating in such a manner. She was past caring, really. They were soon finished and were polishing off their large beers, ordering another round.
'I don't think you should do it James,' whispered Lily, 'I really don't think you should do it. Get someone else to do it.'
'Who else?' interjected Sirius, a little angrily. He fastened his usually kind grey eyes onto her. 'You know I'd do anything to make sure James stays safe, or that you're happy. But there isn't another … unless…' he trailed off before breaking into a wide, beaming smile.
'What?' they all asked him, wondering what on earth could get Sirius smiling so widely.
He cleared his throat and said slowly, 'Wasn't my Mother with Theodosia today, James?'
James was grinning himself now. 'Yes, I believe she was.'
'I'll get my Mother to do it. She'll get the cup. If it doesn't work Lily, my gorgeous flower, then James'll have to get us in.'
'Quick question,' cut in Remus before draining his second glass of beer, 'how are you going to get your Mother to agree, Sirius?'
This stopped the other man for a second. He contemplated deeply, tapping his chin just like he always did when he was thinking hard. Then he looked at his friend and smiled. 'I'll agree to do what she's wanted me to do for so long. I'll agree to marry Rose.'
This gathered a round of laughter from his three friends. 'What's funny?' he asked.
James ran a hand through his messy hair and said, 'You and Rose? Married? Alright then.'
'What? You don't think we'll be a good couple.'
'I think you'll be a fucking disastrous couple, Padfoot mate.' The hazel eyed one replied, taking his wife's hand and kissing it. 'See, me and Lily are written in the stars. We're meant for each other. You and Taten on the other hand … you might have knocked her up but that doesn't necessarily mean you and her are meant for each other or something. Probably the opposite in fact.'
Sirius shook his head, outlandishly at first but quickly growing sincere by the minute. 'I think me and her kind of suit, in our own way. So we're not romance or whatever but we have pretty awesome sex and we make each other laugh. Besides, just because I tell my Mother I'll marry her doesn't mean I actually will.'
'Well then,' said Remus, 'we should go back to Grimmauld Place. I think the sooner we get this horcrux, the better.'
xo
Their rampage, maybe fifteen minutes ago, through Hogsmeade had been more than frightening. People had screamed and cried, some had started running - those were the Mudbloods of course, who were hiding from the government. Voldemort would be sure to get them back later. He commanded the giants, and they followed him and Bellatrix without a doubt or pause; doing everything asked of them.
Buildings and shops were smashed, a few civilians were hurt and maybe even some were killed for all the Dark Lord cared. But now they were at the gates of Hogwarts and they just could not get inside. No giant could force its way through, nor could any spell damage it. Voldemort screamed at his followers to be 'QUIET!' and they were. Almost instantly.
He ran a long, serpentine hand with thin delicate fingers over his hairless, shiny head and turned to the space at his left, where Bellatrix stood. Then he turned to his right and was acquainted with the sight of Malfoy. He smiled softly to himself. He had good followers, strong followers. But the Dark Lord still would have preferred one Sirius Black to ten Bellatrix Lestranges.
Sirius Black. A name he hadn't heard in such a long time, apart from within his own head. He missed Sirius, to a certain degree. But he was not sorry to see the dirty blood traitor dead; not one single bit.
Voldemort knew how to get inside the school, but he always knew he had to wait a bit. Just a little bit longer before it didn't look suspicious at all for the Death Eaters to finally break down the walls.
Just a few more minutes, he told himself.
xo
'Sirius,' the first thing Walburga said when her son entered the drawing room. Sitting on Walburga's lap was her grandson. He was biting his fist and looking up at the group which had come in. Lily knew it was foolish to enter the room, so she had hurried up the stairs to where she was sure Rose and Emanuelle would be.
And hopefully her son, she couldn't wait to cuddle and kiss him - Harry was all she thought about these days...
Lily's absence left the three men alone with Mrs Black; and Remus and James would be lying if she said they weren't a little nervous to be around her - she was a scary woman. 'Say, Mother,' said Sirius, 'do you think it would be foolish of James to make an appearance at Gringotts, given his current situation.'
She scoffed and nodded. 'Well of course it would be foolish. Though the goblins may not spread word, a pureblood working there or a person visiting will certainly tell a Death Eater. There's still a prize on James's head, mind you. No, whatever it is you need done, get someone with a clean file to do it.'
'Okay,' replied Sirius, then he smiled tightly and without humour at his Mother. 'Mum, will you please go to Gringotts for us.' As he said this, he took his son from her and kissed SJ on the cheek and the forehead. 'Hey baby-' he began, just as Walburga's frustrated scream cut him off.
'Are you stupid? What on earth do you want me to go to Gringotts for, Sirius? What is it now? Does it have something to do with Theodosia and what happened to her house earlier, Sirius? Because she floo'd me just twenty minutes ago. And she's suspecting that it was "Dumbledore's lot". She means your … your vigilante group. She's furious. She's going to Gringotts tomorrow to put all her family jewels in their vault, she's worried your lot might come back for more-'
'Did you hear that?' James was muttering excitedly to Remus just as Sirius looked at his Mother with wide, excited eyes.
'The Lestrange vault? Number nine, if I'm not mistaken?' When Walburga nodded, he broke into an even wider smile. 'Well Mother, you're in luck. That's the place we need you to go.'
She raised an elegant, dark eyebrow and looked at him before laughing gracefully. 'And what makes you think that I'll do it?'
'I'll marry Rose if you do it. I'll marry her and I'll get her pregnant a few more times.' Despite saying this, he couldn't help but invision a world where he was married to the woman he loved, where they had a few kids and they lived in a nice home. He couldn't help but want such a world. A sentence uttered by his girlfriend from behind him, standing in the doorway however, interrupted what he was thinking and instead brought everything to a stand still. He was sure he would have dropped his son had James not supported the small boy quickly.
Sirius felt his jaw fall open, felt his knees go weak and his eyes bulge dangerously large. No, she couldn't be serious. She was joking, she had to be...
'You're in luck,' Rose had said softly, 'I'm pregnant Padfoot.'
xo
The Hogwarts gates were ripped open with a resonated, ear popping noise. The giants wailed when they found they could run at the gates and tear them with their bodies: the defences were down, the spells were lifted and the charms were off. Everything was going to plan. All Voldemort wanted now was for Dumbledore to come, like the gallant fool he was and duel the Dark Lord. Duel him and lose.
The screams and shouts from inside the castle reached Voldemort even though he was a few hundred metres away. It was chaos and mayhem, especially inside the castle. Severus couldn't think properly: part of him wanted to get as many students out as possible, but another part was afraid of what Voldemort might do if he evacuated all the students.
Though the Dark Lord hadn't specifically said to Severus that he couldn't help anyone, he hadn't said that Severus could help people either. But what would Lily think of him if she found out that he'd let hundreds of children get killed? She'd probably come down to kill Voldemort herself, and then Severus.
McGonagall bustled past Severus, a line of First Year Gryffindors in tow. He touched her arm and she turned around, fixing her cold angry on him. Before she could shout at him the string of swear words dancing on her tongue, Severus said to her, 'Tell all the other teachers to use the secret passage near the Fourth Floor Boys' Toilets. The statue of Urnug the Ungrateful needs to be tapped twice by a wand and then it opens into Aberforth's pub. Use it quick and don't tell anyone I told you.' He hissed.
Without another word, McGonagall's route deviated as she ran from teacher to teacher, gathering with them large crowds of frightened, scared students. It seemed like the only noise in Hogwarts right now was the sound of hearts racing and lungs desperately searching for oxygen.
Within moments, all talking stopped. All breathing stopped. Because the only sounds that could be heard were the furious blows landed on the Entrance Hall doors as the giants attempted to knock them down.
Attempted and succeeded. The doors blew open with an intense breeze touching the faces of all the people standing within vicinity. At the forefront stood Voldemort, but no one expected anything different. As usual, he had that self-satisfied smirk on his face, and Sirius Black's old wand in his hand, having still not found his white yew one.
The Death Eaters piled up behind Voldemort and Severus saw Barty exchange smiles with Bellatrix. It was sickening really.
'Good evening, Hogwarts.' Despite it being evening, the skies were still a light blue outside and the sun was still peeping from the horizon, though it was descending gradually.
However, the light within the castle seemed to extinguish the moment Voldemort had stepped into Hogwarts. The students who still hadn't been rounded off and taken away by the teachers were, thankfully, some of the older students. Unfortunately, many of them appeared not to be pureblooded. These were the half-bloods, or the ones with one or two mudblood parents.
Voldemort didn't have any qualms with harming them: in fact, he hadn't planned on harming a single pureblood. Instead, he had vowed to start with the dirtier ones. 'Bellatrix, Malfoy, Nott, order them into groups of blood status. Barty and Emmett will help you. As for the rest of you, scour the castle and look for any hiding students - at least half of them are missing.'
Severus held his breath. He was going to get it now, he was really going to get it. Unless he was to… to lie to Voldemort, maybe? Because Severus remembered telling his Dark Lord that he and the teachers should offer defences "so as not to cause such an emotional upheaval". But they hadn't talked about transporting the students or anything.
He shook his head. I'll deal with that problem when it gets here.
'Now,' Voldemort shouted. 'A student will die for each hour Dumbledore leaves me to wait.' He said this more for the benefit of the students and teachers still remaining. The Headmaster's chair, seemingly on its own accord, slid across the length of the hall and stopped right behind Voldemort, who didn't even have to look back reassuringly to check the chair was positioned properly as he sat down.
He tapped his chin with his wand before casting a spell and watching as numbers, formed from fiery ember and ash it would appear, made a clock and started flashing overhead. All eyes were drawn to it, as the large group a few metres from the large Great Hall doors but still in sight, came closer; seemingly undetected. That was until Voldemort felt them when they were inches from the door and broke into a wide smile, beaming at the man leading the group; at Albus Dumbledore.
Though the smile did not leave Tom Riddle's face, he felt his persona change. Immediately, he was more stiff and rigid, his wand arm straightened and his hand clenched his wand tighter. He stood from the seat and bowed mockingly at the old Headmaster.
'Professor,' he said scathingly, 'it's good to see you came. And so quickly too. Not a single student had to die-' despite Voldemort saying his, he pointed his wand at a half-blood girl and watched as she collapsed to the floor, her shrieks echoing through the room for all to hear.
Instantaneously, the members from the Order of the Phoenix charged: charged at Voldemort, at the Death Eaters, at the giants. With a jolt, Voldemort noticed that the Order was bigger than he anticipated. The same size as the Death Eaters he had brought along with him. Moreover, there were others with them. Werewolves who weren't part of the Order, vampires who too, seemed to be guest appearances.
What aggravated Voldemort the most however, was catching sight of Romeo Kelley and a few other Azkaban mudbloods. They weren't the same, they were frailer and smaller but a whole lot angrier.
Bellowing instructions, Voldemort threw spells as hard and as fast as he could before he finally found himself tumbling into a duel with the noble and esteemed Albus Dumbledore. He twirled his wand a little outlandishly and laughed when his spells were met head on by Dumbledore's. The old man seemed to have been revived with a spark that Voldemort hadn't seen before. Maybe it was because he was realising that he was going to lose the war, and he needed to up his game. Or maybe he was just really angry that Voldemort had threatened to harm children.
The real reason for the spark, though, really had nothing to do with the sudden realisation of Tom Riddle's potential win in the war, or the threat of him harming children; in actual fact, Dumbledore felt and seemed different because of Gellert's reappearance in his life.
Their duel was the most dangerous of all, though Fabian and Gideon were certainly second in their duel against Bellatrix and Lucius which seemed to be fuelled by hatred and anger and disgust. Frank and Kingsley were certainly impressive too, with their strong sweeping incantations and their fast reflexes, both having played Quidditch in their Hogwarts time.
Cries echoed through the hall as werewolves and vampires tore at the giants and were torn back at. There were more giants outside which were being taken care of by more vampires and werewolves. It wasn't very hard to kill them, contrary to popular belief: all one had to do was find a means of getting to the brain or the heart, though it was easier getting to the brain.
Also, thanks to the Order, the werewolves and vampires were equipped with knives and bats and swords to penetrate the giants' hearts and brains with. Already, they'd killed a good quarter of the giants and it had only been twenty minutes now.
This seemed like a fight that would go on till the deaths of every person in the hall or an eventual win. The giants and their screams weren't getting any quieter and the warriors battling against each other weren't showing any signs of stopping. Regardless though, Severus desperately wanted the fight to end. If Lily found out that he let the children be harmed or hurt, she would never forgive him. And whenever this was over, whether it was in a month, year or decade, he still wanted to be friends with her.
Isn't that what mattered? Being friends? It sure did matter to him a lot.
Then, Severus noticed Professor Flitwick ushering the students away bit by bit so as not to catch anyone's attention. When their eyes met, black and light blue, he nodded once sharply before looking away and defending himself from the attacks Dumbledore's lot were greeting him with - it was probably another ploy from the old man to reinforce Severus's Death Eater character.
He threw the wizard he was duelling back and turned just in time to see a Mudblood called Romeo Kelley, the one who had started all of this, kill Barty. Yes, Barty! Barty Crouch Junior. It wasn't a fast death, by all means. But then again, the Mudblood had conjured a piece of glass and sent it hurtling at the other wizard's chest - it was bound to take a minute or two.
The glass was protruding from Barty's body and was very long; at least ten or eleven inches. Barty tried to wave his wand, tried to cast one more spell, but Kelley kicked it from his hand and watched him die. Bellatrix's shriek echoed through the room when she caught sight of Kelley, thus giving the opportunity to Fabian to disarm her and prepare to stun her.
But she threw one of her knives at him and didn't even watch when it pierced his leg. She was too busy running with another knife, a bigger blade this time, at the Kelley Mudblood. But by then, Dumbledore was already shouting for Kelley to go and he was running as fast as he could, his Order friends supporting him by making sure no spells touched him until he left the hall.
It was surprising, Severus thought, when he looked back and saw that Barty was dead. With his beach blond hair and his open eyes, he didn't seem dead. Just laying down maybe, but definitely not dead. Ah well, it's just another surprise. With more vigour and even more care, Severus continued to battle. But he, and he was sure the rest of the Death Eaters would agree, did not feel the same knowing such a powerful and esteemed Death Eater like Barty had just died, so quickly and all thanks to a Mudblood.
It reminded him that Mudbloods, like Lily, had the capability to be just as smart, just as powerful and just as normal as any other witch and wizard. But then he looked at Voldemort and shook his head. As long as he played on that man's team, he couldn't afford to think in such a way. Roaring, Severus threw the person he was duelling back just as another person sprung forward to replace them. And like a conveyer belt, each person Severus defeated was replaced.
And each time, he grew just a little more tired and just a little more weak. And each time, he grew a little more scared and just a little more apprehensive. As time wore on, and the Order did not weaken, and the giants were all dead, Severus felt for the first time - truly truly felt - that they were going to lose. Voldemort would, for once lose. And Voldemort did lose - September the Tenth, 1982; the day Voldemort lost Hogwarts.
A/N: I know, I know, I didn't explain enough at the end but I hope you liked this! It was so much fun to read! And I'll explain the ending in the next chapter in more detail. But yes, surprises! They know where the Hufflepuff cup horcrux is, Rose is pregnant and Crouch is dead. Also, the Order have won Hogwarts. A rather eventful chapter, wouldn't you say ;)
Please review, I know you want to. I've stayed up really late to finish this. Also, I'd like to thank the guest reviewer Bren for the kind review: more SJ in the next chapter, I promise.
Enjoy the rest of your day, thanks for reading xxxxx