Harry Potter and Dumbledore's Secret

by chadsgirl824

YEAR SEVEN Harry's 7th year at Hogwart's, and the hardest he's yet to face. New enemies and tough challenges await him, as well as the discovery of incredible new powers. Written PRIOR to OoTP

10. Chapter 10

When Sirius opened his eyes some time later, he felt very disoriented. He realized immediately that he was in a bed, but when he pushed himself slowly into a sitting position and took a glance at his surroundings, he had no idea where he was.

The pain in his head that he remembered all too well, was now only a dull ache, and his vision and feeling had completely returned to him.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he got shakily to his feet. His strength, it seemed, still wasn't up to par. Nevertheless, he began to explore the room he was in. It was very bland, nothing special, white walls with the paint cracking and peeling. The sheets on the bed were faded and dull. An ugly orange armchair and a couch were across from the bed in the middle of the room, facing each other. A rickety wooden coffee table between them. There were two doors on his left and another on his right, he made his way over to the closer of the ones on the left and turned the knob. Inside was an empty closet with a few bent hangers clinging to the wooden bar.

Shuffling along a bit further, he swung open the next door to reveal the ridiculously small bathroom complete with rust stains under the sink and behind the toilet. He shut the door on the steady sound of dripping water, only to hear another being opened. He spun around awkwardly, catching his balance on the handle behind him, to see Marzia entering the room.

"Why are you out of bed?" she asked immediately rushing over to him. Slipping her arm underneath his own and wrapping it around his back, she began to guide him back to the bed.

"Nice to see you too," he remarked playfully, allowing himself to be led. "Where are we? What happened with Gridman?"

"We are in the local wizarding motel," she began while lowering him down to the bed. "Gus managed to get away."

"Dammit, We were so close."

"And then you almost got yourself killed," she interrupted him. "What were you thinking?" she asked throwing her hands into the air. "Even watching those stupid muggle movies should tell you when you see a large electrical ball, you don't touch it!"

"Never was a fan of those." he replied blandly.

"Yeah, well maybe you should be. It's actually quite frightening how many things they come up with that are similar to our reality. Makes you wonder how much they really know."

"Um," Sirius began laughing, "If you don't mind.Gridman, remember? What was that thing?"

"Gus was inside a portal, that's how he escaped," Marzia said.

"A portal?" Sirius asked confused.

"Something you use to travel from one destination to another."

"I know what it is," he said a bit impatiently. "What I'm wondering is why? Couldn't he just disapparate?"

"I'm sure he could've," Marzia answered. "But he wasn't just traveling to any destination, he was traveling to another realm. You can't just apparate into those."

"How can you be sure that's what he was doing?" Sirius asked.

"Sirius, with all the places I've been sent over the years there's not much I haven't seen. No one uses portals anymore, not since they began allowing us to apparate. Portals are slow and take such energy to create that no one cares to bother with them."

"So he traveled to another realm." Sirius mused.

"With Cho's file," Marzia added.

"I would bet everything I own he was going to Faerun."

"There are other realms." Marzia put in.

"It doesn't matter. We know that Faerun holds many followers of Voldemort of which he is one."

"I still can't believe that," Marzia said, shaking her head. "I used to work with him, we were even on assignment together once. It's something I never would've expected from Gus and wish it weren't so."

Sirius wanted to say something to her, but couldn't find anything nice to say about this man he hated so much. Finally, Marzia seemed to bring herself out of it.

"We still have to find Cho's address," she said standing up. "If she is there she's in big trouble because whoever is looking for her has it."

"Well where else can we look?" Sirius asked. "If absolutely necessary I can send word to Dumbledore that we need it, but I'd rather not worry them if we have another option."

"We do," Marzia replied. "The ministry has several offices in England that are not open to the public, and each of them has a complete history of every ministry employee since it was established. They'll have it."

"Will they be willing to give it to us?" Sirius asked, doubtfully.

"I just this morning sent them an owl, all we can do is wait for a reply."

"How far away are they located? Will it take long for the owl to make the trip?"

"The closest one is about a day's flight, so by tomorrow night we should have our answer, which will give you enough time to recuperate," Marzia said pointedly.

Sirius waved his hand casually, brushing off her last statement.

"I'm fine, really," he said. "We should look for a quicker way."

"Sirius, you most certainly are not fine, not even close. Do you have any idea what Gus did to you?"

"Well, my I had a bad headache and I know I passed out." he trailed off.

"And your body went numb, and you had trouble breathing," Marzia prompted. "I would think a 'bad headache' is a very loose term to describe the pain you were really feeling."

"How do you know what I felt?" Sirius asked. "What did he do to me?"

"He tried to steal your life-force," Marzia said.

"By touching my hand with his finger?" Sirius asked, puzzled.

"Yes, but it was the portal that allowed that to happen. They are full of energy that is very difficult to harness and that is another reason they are rarely used. If someone on the outside comes in contact with someone on the inside, the one on the outside doesn't always come out alive. The one on the inside, however, gets to live longer. Portals were almost outlawed because of this; there were a few corrupt wizards attempting to cheat death and would endeavor to lure unsuspecting victims near them while they were inside. While most wizards and witches were smart enough to realize and not go near them, muggles would have no idea, and the braver ones would rush to the aid of the seemingly trapped man or woman, only to have their lives stolen from them when they came in contact with them."

"So.why weren't they outlawed?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Convenience," Marzia replied dryly. "No one liked walking when you could fly and no one wanted to fly great distances. So, they allowed the usage of Portals to continue. Luckily, when apparating was discovered, this problem lessened greatly. Anyone found creating a portal was immediately suspected of trying to cause harm and careful watch was kept over them wherever they went. The constant surveillance was enough to ensure they didn't steal anyone's energy, and portal usage is completely unheard of now."

"Except if you're traveling to another realm," Sirius added darkly.

"It's the only way to get to one," Marzia replied.

"Okay so why didn't it work then? Why am I still alive?" Sirius asked.

Marzia hesitated a moment, deep in thought before answering.

"I couldn't tell you," she began. "When the process starts, you feel the place you were touched by the person go numb, and the feeling will spread through your body from there. You're head will hurt so badly that you can't believe it isn't split in two and your lungs will begin to fail, making it impossible to breathe."

"Sounds about right," Sirius said with a shudder. "But, that still doesn't explain why I'm not dead."

"And I can't explain it either, but," she said sitting down next to him and placing her arms affectionately around his neck, "the relief I felt when I realized it hadn't killed you.Sirius.don't ever scare me like that again." She buried her head in his chest as she finished her sentence and he reached around her, pulling her closer still, and leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"I promise."

Two days passed and Sirius was regaining his strength quickly. Marzia was on the alert to make sure he wasn't overdoing anything, and he was most grateful, even though he complained that he was fine and didn't need any help. He felt loved.and he loved being pampered.

By the time the owl they'd been anxiously awaiting arrived that night, Sirius was almost completely well again.

"At last," Marzia said catching sight of the tawny owl as it swooped in through the window. It circled around the ceiling once, before setting down on the arm of the couch. Marzia kneeled beside it, quickly untied the letter from its leg and dropped a few knuts into the sack fastened to it. She carefully opened the letter; not bothering to watch as the owl let out a squawk and flew back out the way it had come.

"Well?" Sirius asked as he watched her scan the parchment. "What does it say?" He lifted himself out of the chair he'd been sitting in and crossed to where she was still kneeling.

She turned around and stood up, smiling at him.

"They gave it to us," she replied.

"They did?" Sirius asked in amazement. "I wonder why."

"Does it matter?" Marzia asked. "They gave us the address and now we can continue looking for Cho."

"Must've been because you're an employee, or I'm sure they never would've."

"Will you stop worrying?" Marzia cut him off. "Whatever the reason it's over and done, why dwell on it?"

Sirius sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. We should probably head off right away."

"Not a chance mister," she interrupted, putting a hand firmly on his arm and giving him a knowing smile. "You need one more good night of sleep before we're going anywhere. Besides, it's pretty late, you don't want to arrive at Cho's house to two very tired parents who aren't expecting any visitors, do you?"

Sirius chuckled.

"Well honestly I'm fine, but that second reason of yours I'll buy, I wouldn't want to be woken up at this hour either, by strangers especially. But we're leaving first thing in the morning, got it?" he asked giving her a pointed look.

"Agreed," she smiled.

The next morning Sirius and Marzia were up very early. Marzia grabbed the letter and they both headed down to the office where Sirius paid for the room.

"I can't believe this," Sirius said in disgust as they walked outside into the brilliant sunshine. "Ten Galleons for two nights? What do they think they are, the Flendyck? That was ridiculous, that room was barely livable."

"Oh stop complaining," Marzia admonished swatting his arm. "It was all we needed for the two nights and believe me it's not even close to the Flendyck's prices. Try adding two more zeros to what you just paid."

"Boy, I really have been gone long," Sirius said in shock. "You have to be wealthy just to stay in a little hole in the wall like that one," he said pointing at the grungy motel behind them, "and you have to be insanely rich for anything better. Nice to know the economy isn't suffering." he said rolling his eyes.

"Alright already can we drop this?" Marzia asked sounding slightly annoyed. "I only picked that place for two reasons. One being if anyone were looking for us they most likely wouldn't check somewhere like that first. Two, all I cared about was getting you where you could rest, and this was the closest place."

Sirius smirked at her and put his arm over her shoulder, pulling her to him.

"It's so sweet when you get all maternal," he joked.

"Oh shuddup." she said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, now, lets see that address," Sirius said, becoming focused as they began to move up the street. "How far are we going?"

"Not too far from here, ironically," Marzia replied, passing him the letter. "We probably could've asked some locals and gotten the address quicker. They're within walking distance."

"You mean you could've," Sirius said. "I doubt anyone that recognizes me would be too willing to give me any information."

"You're name has been cleared, I know you had a bad experience with Harry in Hogsmeade over the summer, but many more people are aware of what's happened now."

"Are you even looking around us?" Sirius asked. "Do you see the suspicious glances I keep getting? The glares? No one trusts me, and after what was said about me, I can't blame them." He hung his head, remembering the day that had started this mess. Peter had gotten what he'd deserved at least, and it was fitting that Harry had something to do with it.

"Okay, enough of that talk," Marzia said abruptly. "We can't change what's happened."

"I know," Sirius spoke quickly, "but what if my presence here ruins things? What if Cho's parents refuse to see us just because I'm there?" He looked directly into her eyes before continuing. "Maybe you should go alone, they would trust you before they would me."

"Don't be dumb," Marzia replied with a casual wave of her hand. "Your godson dates this girl for heaven's sake! She trusts you and I'm sure she's told her parents about you as well." Then she turned and pointed to her left. "Besides it's too late anyway, we're here."

"Wow, that really was close," he said as they came to a halt. They had gone several blocks into a quaint neighborhood and were now standing in front of a small cottage. It was all light blue with white trim around the windows and a gorgeous flower garden in the front. Sirius and Marzia exchanged glances, before walking up to the front door.

"Here goes nothing," Sirius said, slowly raising his hand. He hesitated a moment, his finger hovering, before finally pushing the doorbell.

Sirius held his breath, waiting, until the door swung open slowly. A short woman that looked much like an older version of Cho, with black hair that was neatly tucked into a bun and deep brown eyes was standing in front of them, a curious look on her face.

"Yes?" she said in a very tiny voice, looking back and forth from Sirius to Marzia. "Can I help you?"

"We're sorry to bother you.Mrs. Chang, I presume?" Sirius spoke quickly, trying not to sound nervous even though his stomach was in knots. It didn't appear as if she recognized him yet but when it happened, he feared what her reaction would be.

Mrs. Chang nodded once.

"Yes I'm Carol Chang, and you are?" she asked.

"My name is Sirius and this is Marzia," Sirius said avoiding his full name. "I know this is going to sound strange, but we're looking for your daughter, Cho. Has she been by recently?"

"Why are you looking for Cho?" Carol asked, her brow furrowing.

Sirius and Marzia exchanged glances before Marzia took a step forward.

"May we come in Mrs. Chang? We'll explain everything to you."

"Well, I suppose so," Carol answered quickly which Sirius thought was a bit strange. Stop being paranoid, he thought to himself as Mrs. Chang held the door open and he followed Marzia inside.

"Please have a seat, I'll go get Russell," Carol said gesturing towards the couch in what must've been the den. She turned on her heel and took very fast, petite steps out of the room, in search of her husband, Sirius assumed.

"How lovely," Marzia remarked looking around at the antique vases and scenic paintings that decorated the room. "I bet we could make your house look this nice." she said giving him a sideways smile.

"Our house," he corrected her gently. "Everything I own I consider yours too." His heart swelled seeing the happiness in her eyes and he reached over, taking her hand in his. She gave him a soft squeeze, gazing into his eyes and Sirius couldn't help himself, he leaned nearer and pressed his lips to hers. He felt her release his hand as she brought her own up to his face and he wrapped his arms around her. They were caught up in the moment, kissing passionately and holding each other, when they heard someone clear their throat. Their eyes sprung open and they both sat back quickly. Marzia began to fuss with her hair as Sirius looked away.

"Forgive me for the interruption." Carol began.

"No, no, no," Marzia cut in, standing, "forgive us, please. This wasn't the right time or place." she trailed off seeing the smile on Carol's face.

"Don't worry about it, I can understand," she said sweetly, before turning to the man behind her. He too had black hair but his eyes were blue and he was looking suspiciously at Sirius.

"This is my husband, Russell," she said gesturing to him, "and this is Marzia and Sirius," she continued now looking back.

"Good to meet you Mr. Chang," Sirius began, "We were wondering if you."

"What's all this about my daughter?" Russell asked interrupting him abruptly.

Sirius closed his eyes for a moment, here it comes, he thought. He knows who I am and he doesn't trust me. However, when he opened his eyes he saw only a concerned father.

"We think she may be in trouble sir," Marzia spoke up, taking control.

"What do you mean?" Carol asked worriedly. "What's happened?"

"A student at Hogwart's received a letter from your daughter," Marzia began. "In it she said there were reasons she needed to leave her job at the ministry, but she declined to say where she was going and asked that he not try and contact her. She mentioned someone might be looking for her as well."

"Who did she send the letter to?" Russell asked seriously.

"Harry," Carol said before Marzia could answer. "It had to be, right?"

Marzia nodded.

"Yes, she sent it to Harry."

"Why him and not us?" Carol asked confused.

"I don't know to be honest with you," Marzia replied, "but there's more." She went on to tell them how much time had gone by from the date the letter was written to when it was received, and then to the recent events involving the ministry file on Cho, and Gridman having taken it.

"So you see why it's very important that we find her?" Marzia asked. "He's had that file for over two days now, and we know he's looking for her."

She paused, waiting for a reaction of some kind, but none came. Sirius and she exchanged worried glances and he stood up slowly.

"I'm sure this all comes as a shock, especially since you haven't heard from Cho in a while, but we really need your help if we're going to find her before someone else does. Do you have any idea where she might've gone?"

"Hmmm?" Carol asked, looking up at Sirius, seeming dazed.

"Cho," Marzia said, coming up next to Sirius. "Is there a place you know of that she might use to hide?"

"Well, of course she would use our cabin," Russell said suddenly in an irritated tone. "It's the only place."

"Great," Sirius said, overjoyed that they were finally getting somewhere. "How do we get there?"

"It's upstairs," Carol said slowly, turning and heading for the staircase.

"Um, excuse me?" Sirius asked, bewildered.

"Her room, didn't you want to see it?" she asked, sounding very sure of herself. Sirius looked wide-eyed at Marzia, to see she was just as mystified as he.

"Mrs. Chang." Marzia began.

"Carol my dear, call me Carol."

"Alright, Carol." she trailed off looking at Mrs. Chang's contented expression. "Lead the way," she said, deciding maybe it would be a good idea to see Cho's room. If her parent's were as out of it as they seemed to be, they would need any more clues that might possibly be there. Sirius and Marzia followed the Chang's out of the den to the stairs, and slowly began to climb them.

"Stay alert," Sirius whispered to Marzia as they ascended the stairs. "I don't know exactly what's going on here, but something doesn't feel right."

"I heartily agree," Marzia whispered back, over her shoulder. "One minute they seemed to hear what we were saying and the next.I don't know."

"Maybe it's the same situation as with Percy, where someone is trying to control them," Sirius suggested.

"They'd have to be very close for that," Marzia said.

"In that case, we really have to be careful, we don't know who's doing this or even how many of them there are."

"If that's even what's happening," Marzia pointed out.

"Sirius? Marzia? Are you both alright?" Carol called to them and it was then they realized they had stopped halfway up the stairs while they'd been talking.

"Fine," Marzia replied sweetly, turning and smiling at her. "Everything's fine, we were just talking, sorry."

"No need to apologize," Carol replied, shaking her head and smiling. The Changs waited for Sirius and Marzia to reach them.

"She really keeps her room quite lovely, I'm sure you'll agree," Carol said proudly to Marzia.

"I'm sure," Marzia replied, forcing a very convincing smile. "Is this hers?" she asked, looking at the door she was standing next to and reaching for the handle. Russell sprang forward suddenly and roughly grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her away before she could reach the knob.

"Let go of her!" Sirius yelled, ready to lunge at Mr. Chang, but he'd already released Marzia and she held up a hand motioning for him to stay put.

"Wrong door," he said in a low voice, taking a step back. He raised his left arm and pointed down the hall. "Down there," he grunted.

Sirius moved quickly to Marzia's side as the two of them stepped past the Changs. They made their way to the end of the hallway and stopped in front of the last door.

"Is this the one?" Sirius asked cautiously, not wanting to take any chances. His right hand was hovering above his pocket, ready to go for his wand if necessary.

"Yes," Mrs. Chang answered, still smiling. Sirius looked at Marzia and shrugged slightly, this whole situation was very awkward. She met his gaze briefly, before turning and reaching for the handle, this time without anyone pulling her away.

The door swung open to reveal an unexpected sight. The room was in complete disarray, and had obviously been ransacked. Sirius and Marzia exchanged worried glances before turning back to face Cho's parents, who hadn't seen their daughter's room yet.

"Carol," Marzia began gently, "before you."

"Let me show you her china doll collection," Mrs. Chang said with excitement, stepping closer to the room.

"Wait!" Marzia cried stepping in front of her, not wanting her to see the room yet. She didn't know what she had planned on doing, but she didn't want the woman to have a heart attack from the sight about to befall her.

"Is something wrong dear?" Carol asked with concern. "You're acting quite strangely I must say."

Marzia stared at Mrs. Chang with a look that clearly said 'I'm acting strangely?'

"Come now, let me show you," Carol said briskly, stepping past them into the room as she spoke.

Marzia had been about to stop her again when Sirius reached out to stop her. She looked at him questioningly but he only nodded towards Mrs. Chang, who had gotten all the way across the room without so much as a second glance at anything.

"After you," Mr. Chang spoke up from behind Sirius, who looked over his shoulder briefly, before turning back to Marzia, staying close to her as they entered the room.

"Look here," Carol said proudly, opening a glass set on a shelf near the window. She didn't seem to realize most of the glass had been shattered and didn't make a sound when she slit the top of her hand on a sharp edge while opening the case.

"Carol, are you alright?" Marzia said stepping towards the shorter woman.

"There we are now," Carol said, ignoring the question. She carefully pulled a figure out of the case, and held it out to Marzia. It was about eight inches long and had beautiful black hair that was littered with glass. "This is her favorite, be careful with it."

Marzia looked entirely baffled as she took the doll from Carol, examining it.

"It's lovely," she said quickly. "But, Mrs. Chang.well, um.is Cho's room always like this?" she asked, stumbling on the words.

"Yes, she's very good about keeping up with it, wouldn't you say?" Carol replied, beaming, as she looked around her, oblivious to the destruction.

Marzia glanced at Sirius, who was making no attempt to join this conversation, but signaling that he wanted to go.

"I don't mean to be rude," Marzia said, turning back to Carol. "But we have to be on our way, could you tell us please where the cabin you mentioned is located? If it isn't too much trouble?"

"Well, I." Carol began looking unsure.

"Come downstairs, I'll show you," Russell spoke up, surprising both of them.

"Thank you," Marzia said nodding and allowed Sirius to go first. He was showing no trust towards Mr. Chang after what happened earlier. They followed him back down to the den, and past that into what looked like a study, before stopping. Sirius and Marzia watched as he looked skeptically at a map tacked to the wall, before tearing it down, ripping the corners. He pulled out his wand, waving it over a spot on the map, creating a circle on the paper.

"There," he said, thrusting the map at Sirius. "That's where the cabin is."

"Thanks," Sirius replied, carefully taking the map. He folded it and put it into his pocket. "And thanks for all your time, we appreciate your help."

"Tell Cho we said hi!" Carol said cheerily as they walked to the door.

"We will," Marzia said, smiling, and followed Sirius outside.

The two of them walked away as quickly as possible, wanting to shake the uncomfortable feeling the Changs gave them.

"They didn't even see it.all of it." Sirius said when they were about a block away. "That room was destroyed. The bed sheets were sliced, and the mattress looked like it was inside out, the curtains were shredded too and there was glass everywhere."

"I saw it," Marzia said thoughtfully, "but why didn't they? And how long has the room been like that? You would think you would hear something like that happening."

"It's possible it could've happened when they were out, but by the way Mrs. Chang was acting, you would think she visits that room several times a day. She sounded like she still thought of Cho as a small child," Sirius pointed out.

"I agree, poor girl. In any case let's focus on finding Cho first, then we'll try and figure out what's been done to her parents, as I'd bet anything they aren't normally that.strange. Let's see the map."

Sirius reached into his pocket, extracting the folded paper and handing it opening it.

"Wow, that's very far.from everything," Sirius said showing Marzia the glowing circle. "If she suddenly needed help, I doubt there are any neighbors close by."

"Agreed," Marzia nodded, "so I suggest we apparate there. The sooner the better. If she's there, great, if not, maybe she stopped by at least and we could find something that would point us to where she is now."

"Well I agree apparating would be fastest, but not directly to this spot," Sirius said pointing his finger at the circle. "For one thing, I'm not sure I entirely trust Mr. Chang to tell us the truth, and this could be a trap. Secondly, If Cho is there and the person looking for her found her, I want to know about it before we're inside the house, which means scoping it out first. So we'll get as close as we can, and then walk the rest of the way."

"Whatever you say boss," Marzia kidded.

"Oh cut it out, this is no time for jokes," Sirius admonished her, smiling.

"What?" Marzia cried, appearing shocked. "Repeat that, please? I swear I just heard the king of pranks tell me this is no time for jokes, I think my ears must be clogged."

"Alright, alright," he laughed. "Point taken." He pulled her close to him and kissed her forehead. "I love you," he whispered softly. "And I'm not going to joke around right now because the truth is, I don't know who we're dealing with. It scares me that I might not be able to protect you," he said in a serious tone.

"Don't think like that," Marzia said quickly. "It doesn't help anything. I can take care of myself pretty well, don't forget."

"I know you can, but." he stopped as Marzia raised her forefinger and pressed it to his lips.

"Shhh, don't," she whispered. "Like I said, doesn't help us at all to worry about things that may not even be. Now, I say we get going before we talk ourselves out of it, okay?"

Sirius nodded, knowing she was right, and reluctantly stepped away from her to bring the map up again.

"Here," he said pointing a short distance from the circle, "let's start from this point, and work our way to the cabin from there. It's far enough away so if anyone is there they won't see us before we're aware of their presence, but close enough so we won't be needing to camp somewhere before we get to the cabin."

"Looks good to me," Marzia said. "Ready?"

"As ever," Sirius replied nodding and putting the map away. "Let's go."

"Not half bad," Sirius commented, looking at their new surroundings. They'd arrived in a tiny thicket of trees just near a very small river, which seemed to go on for as far as either of them could see. The two of them stepped out of the trees and into the clearing.

"Two feet, that's all it would've taken," Marzia complained, wiping bits of tree bark from her clothes. "Ech, and I have sap all over me, how horrifying."

Sirius just shook his head and laughed.

"I'm sure there are plenty of things more horrifying than sap on your clothes," he said rolling his eyes as he watched her take out her wand and begin to magic the sap away.

"Name one," she joked, pushing her hair back and pulling her hand away in disgust. "Not my hair too," she cried. She shook her head in despair and began working on that as well, muttering under her breath.

"Take your time," Sirius said sardonically, "not as if we have anywhere to be."

"Hey, cut me some slack Mr. I-managed-to-apparate-closer-to-the- clearing. We can walk while I do this, which way are we headed?"

Sirius chuckled as he pulled out the map again and pulled out his wand.

"Point me," he said and immediately felt the wand tug in his hands, pulling him to face north. When he lined the map up correctly, he turned to Marzia. "We're heading west, let's go saphead."

Marzia lifted her head slowly and glared playfully at him.

"You'll pay for that remark, you know that, don't you?"

"Counting on it," Sirius replied, "Now c'mon, walk and zap at the same time, not like we have someone to impress you know." He rolled his eyes as she feigned shock and began to walk away.

"Women." he muttered. "Possibly heading into a life or death situation and she wants to make sure her hair is perfect."

"Hey, I heard that!" she cried catching up to him. "And for your information, it just grosses me out leaving it there, I don't care how I look."

"Could've fooled me." he joked and smiled devilishly at her, earning him a swift punch in the arm.

"How far do we have to go until the cabin?" Marzia asked, changing the subject while searching for sap in her hair.

"Not far," Sirius replied, consulting the map. "Just short of two miles, we should be there in less than half an hour."

They walked on, discussing what they would do upon reaching the cabin. What their options would be if they found it to be occupied by more than just Cho, and what they would do if they found it empty. Soon enough, they had reached their destination, and took cover behind some nearby trees. They were on a hill overlooking the cabin and wanted to watch it for any sign that someone was there.

"Maybe we should try moving closer?" Marzia suggested after twenty minutes had passed. "Or get around the other side?"

"I don't like the idea of getting closer, they can't see us here," Sirius replied quietly, watching the cabin intently.

"If there even is a 'they,'" Marzia pointed out. "It could be empty for all we know."

"Or it could be filled with death eaters.or worse," Sirius said. "Just waiting for someone to come along looking for Cho, or perhaps even waiting for Cho herself."

"Well there's only." Marzia began but stopped as Sirius put up a hand abruptly. She followed his gaze back to the cabin and held her breath.

The front door was opening, and four death eaters emerged from inside the cabin.

"I knew it," Sirius hissed as he watched them close the door and face each other. They were discussing something, but were too far away for anything to be heard. After a moment, they split into two groups, and headed off in opposite directions on either side of the house.

"Left or right?" Sirius asked Marzia, keeping his eyes on the death eaters.

"I'll take the right," she replied evenly, wand out.

Silently they stood up and went their separate ways down the hill, trying to use the trees for cover the whole way down.

Sirius reached the bottom, just behind his two death eaters, and was elated to see a large wooden fence lining this side of the house, letting out several feet away. Quickly and quietly, he ran along on the opposite side of the fence from the death eaters, until he reached the end, and waited. He didn't want to attack too soon, or whichever one he didn't hit might have a chance at escaping back to warn whoever was surely in the cabin.

He waited until they were less than five feet away, before aiming his wand at the one further from the fence. Taking a shaky breath and coming to a sudden decision, he uttered the two words he hated more than any other.

"Avada Kedavra."

The last thing the death eater saw was a flash of green light before he was lying motionless on the soft ground. His cohort was looking at him, stunned, and Sirius took advantage of the opportunity. He shifted his wand slightly to the right, before saying the curse again.

"That was too easy," he thought worriedly, standing up from his hiding spot and walking over to the bodies. He hated death, especially when there was no good reason for it. But if he had left either of these men alive, these men who worked for the man trying to murder his godson, it would've come back to haunt him.

"Not as if this isn't just as bad," he muttered to himself lifting the hood of the first man and discovering he could barely be called that. He would be surprised if this kid were older than Harry. Feeling greatly saddened, he moved on to the next death eater and found a middle-aged man, who he again didn't recognize.

"Why couldn't one of you be Malfoy," he said aloud and was startled to hear someone reply.

"Because that would make things too easy," Marzia said. "As if it weren't already. Does something feel not right about this to you?" she asked.

"I was just thinking that as you showed up, I take it you didn't have any trouble?"

"None at all. Granted there were only two of them, but I thought death eaters were supposed to be trained killers.right?" she asked.

"Last I heard," Sirius shrugged. He looked again into the lifeless eyes of the younger death eater, realizing his purpose in being here was to die, probably to give them a false sense of calm about this mission.

"Only one thing left," Marzia spoke up, looking from Sirius, to the cabin, and back again."

Sirius tore his eyes away from the boy, to look at her and nodded resolutely. He stood up and tightened the grip on his wand as they headed for the cabin together.

They crept up to the front door of the small two-floor cabin, Sirius motioning for Marzia to stay behind him. He held his wand out as he reached for the latch, and turned it ever so slowly. When he heard it click, he gave it a gentle push, just enough for him to see inside.

"Doesn't look like anyone's here," he whispered to Marzia.

"Well, let's have a better look," she replied.

Sirius pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped inside, Marzia right behind him, into the completely empty room.

"There has to be someone here," Sirius said as he began looking around. The front room was decorated very similar to the Chang's house, but the furniture here was all covered in sheets. If Cho had arrived, she hadn't bothered to make the place livable, which would be understandable, given the circumstances. "Those death eaters looked like they were guarding the place. What's the point if there's no one here?"

"Agreed," Marzia said, "so are we splitting up or staying together to check the other rooms?"

"Together," Sirius replied without hesitation.

"We could cover more ground if we." she trailed off as Sirius shook his head. "Oh, alright, together," she said, rolling her eyes and smirking at him.

They searched the first floor carefully, checking every crook and corner. They went through the kitchen, the den, the study, every closet and cupboard; not wanting to miss anyone who might be hiding or any clues that may've been left, but came up empty.

"Nothing here," Marzia said as they came back into the front room. "Let's head up to the bedrooms."

Sirius nodded, heading for the stairs and made sure he was in front as they ascended. When they reached the top, they heard voices from behind the last door to their right. The two of them exchanged a brief glance, before heading down the hall, as silently as possible. They had no idea what to expect or how many people were in the room. Sirius looked up sharply when he heard what was unmistakably a girl's cry, and quickened his pace.

"I'll go in first," he whispered as they reached the door.

Marzia looked into his eyes, with undisguised concern.

"I'm right behind you, no matter what. Be ready for anything Sirius," she warned.

"You know me," he smirked. He tore his eyes from hers and raised his wand. Grasping the handle, he turned the knob until he heard it click, and hesitating for only a second, pushed the door open fiercely, bursting into the room.

Sirius looked around, ready to strike, but froze at the sight before him. An enormous man wearing armor over his chest and shoulders and holding a whip was standing a few feet away, his back to the door.

Marzia came up next to Sirius, also pausing to take the sight in; neither of them realizing the door hinges were loose, until it slammed shut behind them. They both jumped slightly as the giant of a man turned towards them, looking amused. Sirius could hear muffled sounds behind the man, but couldn't see past his bulk.

"Menetor," Marzia whispered, alarmed. Sirius looked at her questioningly but his attention was drawn away as the man took a step forward.

He looked at Sirius, smiling wickedly, before sizing up Marzia.

"Shadow Behind," he whispered gleefully, and cracked his whip against the floor.

"Where's Cho?" Sirius asked in a demanding tone, pointing his wand at the man.

"You will address me properly or you will pay," the man said almost casually, but giving Sirius a piercing stare.

"Menetor," Marzia said loudly. "We know you have her, now just give her here and we'll leave you be." Menetor threw looked at her as if she were joking and threw his head back in laughter. Sirius thought he had to be at least 12 feet tall.

Menetor brought his gaze back to Marzia and no longer appeared amused.

"I said properly," he hissed, raising the handle of his whip. He swirled it in the air above his head, and brought it down with a crack at Marzia's feet. She didn't flinch.

"I'm not in the mood for games," Marzia said icily.

"Nor am I," Menetor replied, matching her tone. Sirius had no idea what to make of the situation, and looked from one to the other, anxiously.

Menetor began to turn away at last and Marzia's shoulders dropped, some of the tension leaving. Sirius just caught a glimpse of someone further back in the room, when Menetor swung back around unexpectedly, brandishing his whip. Before Sirius could react, Menetor lashed out at Marzia, securing the whip around her waist, and with a mere tug on the handle, pulled her to him.

Marzia ripped at the cord around her in vain, as it wasn't budging. Her fingernails caught in the rough hemp and tore down to the quick. She looked up at Menetor he smiled at her evilly.

Sirius was after her in a flash, ready to rip the larger man's throat out, when he felt a sudden force push him backwards. He flew the length of the room, slamming his back against the wall and slumping to the floor. Menetor lowered his hand that he had waved at Sirius to push him, and used it to grasp Marzia's wrists. His hand was the size of both of hers combined, and his grip like steel. Dropping the whip handle to the floor, he brought his other hand up to her face, cupping her chin in his palm.

Sirius was stunned; literally, he couldn't get his legs to move, and watched the scene before him with growing horror.

Then the screaming began.

Sirius looked on, utterly powerless to stop what was happening, but the sound of Marzia's screams were tearing his heart out. He tried furiously to get even just his hand to respond, but he couldn't move. Whatever he'd been hit with had paralyzed him, and he had no idea for how long.

Suddenly the screams stopped, and Sirius watched as Menetor took his hand away from Marzia's face. She was physically spent and Sirius could tell she was ready to collapse. If she weren't being held up by her wrists, she'd be on the floor. Glaring hatefully at Menetor, Sirius' heart leapt as he felt the effects of the blast beginning to wear off. His fingers were tingling and he was able to move them slightly. His wand was lying in the palm of his hand still, and he kept flexing his fingers, trying to get a grip on it.

Meanwhile, Menetor had begun running his fingers through Marzia's long red hair, almost caressing her face as he did so. However, the expression on his face showed no affection, merely enjoyment, satisfaction even.

Sirius felt hot anger swelling within him as he watched this monster touch the woman he loved. He grasped his wand and tried to take aim at Menetor, which was quite hard considering he still couldn't move his arm completely.

Looking up again, he saw Menetor was bringing Marzia over to a chair near the center of the room, where a table was also set up. That's when he spotted Cho, whom he'd suspected had been there the entire time, but couldn't see her because she'd been blocked from his view.

She was barely standing, and there were two silver beams of light around her wrists, which she was weakly trying to pull away from. They seemed to be holding fast to nothing, and weren't allowing her to budge in the slightest, keeping her where she was. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were wide with terror. She didn't even seem to notice Sirius or Marzia's presence, just kept tugging in vain, trying to free her hands.

Sirius was now feeling his strength returning and the paralysis was quickly wearing off. He pulled his legs to him slowly, not wanting to attract any attention until he was ready. Menetor was busy propping Marzia up in a straight-backed chair. She began to slump immediately and he backhanded her across the face. Sirius bared his teeth as he began to push himself up the wall using it for support, and raised his wand, with a shaky hand.

"Get away from her," he spat, glaring at Menetor.

The large man looked up at Sirius, not at all shocked that he was standing and looking rather pleased with himself.

No, we need to have a small discussion, she and I," he said casually. Maybe it's best you stay out of it, as it doesn't concern you." He raised his left hand, which was glowing silver, pulling it back as if he were getting ready to throw something.

Sirius watched as Menetor released the ball of light at him, thinking only one thing; he could not let it hit him. Barely able to move as it was, he only had a split second to get his timing right, and just as the light was about to collide with him, he dropped to his knees, wincing from the pain that instantly shot up his legs.

"Oh don't play stupid tricks, boy," Menetor growled, "You can't win, I'm more powerful than you could ever hope to be."

Sirius didn't reply, just glared at the giant of a man as he got painfully to his feet. His movement had returned completely, but everything that had been paralyzed was now throbbing, though he didn't dare let it show. Gritting his teeth, he raised his wand again, deciding not to wait for Menetor to strike again.

"Stupefy!" he yelled watching the beam of light emitting from the end of his wand head straight for its target.

Menetor raised a hand casually, deflecting the spell with ease. He wiped his hands together afterwards, as if they had dirt on them that he was brushing off.

"Nothing like that will work, Sirius," Marzia spoke up in a shaky voice, "You need something mo-" her words were cut off abruptly as Menetor whirled on her, once again backhanding her viciously. Marzia's head rolled harshly on her neck and she cried out in pain, causing a fresh surge of anger to rise within Sirius.

He stepped towards Menetor, ignoring the pain that was coursing through his body. He had wanted to keep this monster alive, to question him, but now he felt there was no other choice. Glancing once at Cho, and then at Marzia, he pointed his wand at Menetor again.

"Avada Kedavra!" he screamed in anger and the green light burst forth from the tip of his wand. Menetor, who had just been turning back to face Sirius, a sneer on his face, was caught off-guard, and the curse hit him with great force. The large man fell backwards, slamming to the floor with a crash, causing the room to shake violently, followed by dead quiet.

Cho was first to break the silence as the silver rings around her wrists vanished suddenly, and she sunk to the floor, sobbing.

"Hurry," Marzia said, sounding nervous, using every ounce of strength left in her to stand. "We have to get her out of here."

"Hey, take it easy," Sirius said in concern and began heading over to Marzia, "You're hurt badly and."

"Sirius!" Marzia cut him off sharply, with an edge of fear in her voice. "He isn't dead! We have to get Cho and get out!"

Sirius looked at her in confusion and shock.

"That's impossible."

"No, it isn't, and unless you want to witness it first hand I suggest you start moving!" Marzia replied. She had already begun moving towards Cho, but her strength was completely gone, her legs could no longer support her and she slipped towards the floor.

Sirius lunged forward, catching her in his arms. He lowered himself down to his knees for he too was growing weaker.

"How long do we have?" he asked Marzia, who was losing consciousness. She didn't reply. "Marzia!" he said a bit louder, lightly tapping the side of her face. He made sure not to touch the right side, which was now bruising quite badly from Menetor's attacks. "Can you hear me? Please answer."

Her eyes fluttered slightly, and she looked at him curiously for a moment before realizing what he had asked.

"Five minutes.maybe ten." she replied, before losing consciousness entirely. Sirius looked from her to Cho, knowing neither of them would be able to help, then to Menetor's still form. Even though the man wasn't breathing, he didn't doubt for a second that Marzia was right, as she seemed to know much more about this creature than he did. He fought back the panic threatening to consume him, and realized there was only one way to get all three of them out alive.

Sirius gripped his wand tightly, fighting off the wave of nausea he was now feeling. He summoned all the strength he had, knowing that he was the only one that could get them out of there, he could not allow himself to lose consciousness, or it was all over. Gently, he laid Marzia on the floor using the utmost care. He brushed a few strands of hair away from her bruised face, before slowly standing up. He headed to Menetor first, who was showing no sign of life whatsoever. His eyes were open wide, with a glassy look to them and he wasn't breathing at all. Nevertheless, Sirius trusted Marzia's knowledge of the situation far more than his own eyes, and summoning cords from the air, he bound the larger man from neck to ankles, knowing they'd probably do little to hold him back. Turning quickly, he went to Cho, who was still sitting in a heap, sobbing quietly.

"Cho?" he asked, trying not to sound panicky. "Are you alright? Can you stand?"

She either didn't hear him or was ignoring the question, as she made no attempt to acknowledge he had spoken. She stayed where she was, her shoulders shaking slightly as she wept.

He knew she was most likely in shock, and didn't want to think about what she'd probably been through, but also knew they didn't have time for him to coax her gently. Reaching out, he placed a hand on her forearm, causing her to jump. She tried to scramble away and he tightened his grasp, hoping she would realize who it was.

"Cho, look at me! It's Sirius! I'm here to help you and I'm getting you out of here but you have to help me by doing as I say!"

She seemed to hesitate for a second at the sound of his voice, and he loosened his grip slightly.

"That's it, just calm down a bit," he said soothingly, throwing a nervous glance at Menetor.

"S-Sirius?" she asked in a shaky voice. "It's really you?" Her eyes searched his with a desperate yearning, wanting it to be true.

"Yes, I'm really here, but we need to get out and soon. Are you well enough to walk?" he asked, praying she would be able to.

"Thank goodness!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. "That man, he was going to kill me, and he's after Harry." she said in a muffled voice, her face pressed into chest.

Sirius had to fight the urge to begin questioning her right then and there when he heard his godson's name, they needed to escape, and he could find out what had happened later. Bringing his hands up and easing her arms away from him, he looked at her seriously.

"Miss Chang, this is very important, we need to get out of here now or Menetor may still have his chance at us, now, can you walk?"

This hit home for Cho as her eyes went wide with terror yet again. She nodded fearfully at Sirius and lifted herself off the floor, wincing as she did so. Sirius wondered if it was a good idea to let her do move on her own, she looked in a lot more pain than he felt, but knew this was the fastest way at the moment.

He stood with her and turned to Marzia, conjuring a stretcher and placing her on it. Cho was staring in trepidation at Menetor's still form, and Sirius had to take her by the hand and lead her away.

"He looks dead." she whispered, glancing over her shoulder as they moved towards the door.

"He isn't, believe me," Sirius replied. He opened the door and guided Marzia through it, then stood aside for Cho to pass. As he was shutting it behind him, he heard a low moan and new their time was almost gone. Fighting the dread inside him, he again took Cho's hand, leading her and Marzia down the hall.

Sirius pulled Cho along beside him while nudging the stretcher Marzia lay upon, silently down the hall and back the way they had come until all three of them were standing in the front room. He looked around the room briefly, than at the doorway they had just come through, before aiming his wand at it.

"Contectum" he spoke quietly and a soft glittering light emitted from his wand, spreading itself over the space of the entrance and forming a shield.

"Will that hold him?" Cho asked nervously, unable to look away, as if expecting Menetor to burst through at any second.

"I don't know, he was able to deflect the stunning charm and didn't die when I used the killing curse, so I have my doubts as to any of this having an effect on him."

"So the ropes."

"Won't hold, you can count on it," Sirius finished for her, heading to the window. Taking one of the vases from the ledge, he hastily pulled the replica flowers out of it, and turned back to Cho, who had slumped to the floor near Marzia.

"Your parents won't mind if I borrow this, will they?" he asked holding the vase up. Cho shook her head no, a confused expression on her face, as Sirius headed back to the center of the room. He knelt down next to Marzia, laying the vase on the floor.

"What are you.?" Cho began, but stopped as Sirius pointed his wand and began speaking.

"Temporalis Permutonis Gerulus Clavis," he spoke quickly, and Cho's eyes widened.

"You're making a port key?" she asked, hesitantly. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's our only choice," Sirius replied firmly, looking worriedly at Marzia.

"But.look at her, there's no way she'll make it through a journey like that! She'll be so much worse off.possibly even."

"No one is going to die here," Sirius cut her off before she could finish. "Marzia will be fine, but what I need to do is."

The sound of a door crashing violently open above them drowned out what Sirius was saying and they looked towards the hallway fearfully.

"We're never going to find out if she'd make it!" Cho cried, close to panic, "It'll never be done in time."

"We have to stall him," Sirius replied as they heard heavy footsteps descending the stairs. Menetor was moving slowly, to make sure his victims were quite terrified.

"How?" Cho whispered so high pitched it was almost a squeak. "Didn't you say he deflected your spell upstairs? And if trying to kill him didn't do anything more than knock him out, what else is there?"

"Well we're gonna hope that shield holds," Sirius said nodding towards the shimmering light in the doorway. Menetor had reached the first floor, and they could see his silhouette looming at the end of the hallway.

"And if it doesn't?" Cho pressed.

"Then we do whatever we have to until this is ready," he said looking down at the vase.

"You're clever boy," a dark voice floated down the hall at them, "but you have made a serious error, and you will be punished." Menetor stepped up to the opposite side of the shield, glowering at them.

"This is children's magic," he laughed, looking at the glimmering barrier, "You humans are so pathetic, and over-confident."

Sirius and Cho looked on, frozen to the spot, as Menetor reached out an over sized hand, and managed to grasp the light, tightly. He grinned briefly, before pulling fast on the shield, ripping it from the door as if it were nothing more than a blanket. Letting it fall to the floor in an uneven jumble, he stepped at last into the room.

"Did you honestly think you're little cords would hold me?" Menetor asked, looking pitifully at Sirius.

Sirius didn't answer; instead, he gripped his wand, raising it swiftly towards the giant man.

"Cassesium!" he shouted and immediately a white substance poured from the tip. It spread itself out in a netlike pattern, heading directly at Menetor. The large man was prepared to block a curse, and was already raising his hand to deflect it, but when the net came towards him, he lifted his other arm as well, catching it before it was able to ensnare him.

"Foolish boy!" he yelled angrily, holding the clump of white material, ready to throw it, but when he released his grip, he was shocked to find he was unable to do so. The net was web-like and sticky, and the more he tried to let go of it, the more it clung to him.

Sirius smirked; throwing another glance at the vase, praying it would not be much longer.

"Conglacio!" he yelled as soon as he was sure Menetor would be unable to deflect it. The blue light sped towards its target and the huge man gave a violent tug with his right arm, freeing it, but too late. The curse hit him on his right side and they watched as it spread over his entire body. First, a wave of blue washed over him, followed immediately by ice, beginning from where the spell hit and branching out from there.

Seconds that felt like hours passed for Sirius and Cho, until Menetor was completely encased in ice.

"How long will that hold for?" Cho asked tearing her eyes away from the glacial mound and looking at Sirius.

"I don't know," he replied darkly. Suddenly from below him, there was a flash of light, which made his heart leap. It was almost ready! He pointed his wand at the vase, ready to finish the spell, when a loud cracking sound caused him to look up quickly.

Menetor was escaping. He'd managed to punch his way through the ice and in seconds, he'd be completely free. Sirius turned his attention back to the vase, and spoke quickly.

"Quoquoversus Usquam cum Attrecto."

The vase lit from within, flashing brightly, before going dark again. Just a few more minutes, Sirius thought to himself. He looked up just as the last of the ice was shattered to slivers and Menetor looked murderously at him.

Sirius felt himself being lifted into the air, and tried frantically to grasp anything nearby, but it was too late. He heard Cho let out an anguished cry as he flew the short distance to where Menetor stood with his arms outstretched, powerless to stop him.

"Now," Menetor hissed, grabbing Sirius' arms roughly, pinning them to his sides, "I'm going to make sure your end is quite painful."

Sirius struggled to move his arms; he still had his wand, but was having trouble aiming it with his limited movement. His feet were hanging a few feet above the floor, and he swung them forward, kicking at the larger man with every ounce of strength left in him.

Menetor looked at him, an amused expression on his face, and let out a wicked laugh.

"You weak boy, stop making this harder on yourself," he spat. Glancing down as Sirius tried to hurt him, but there seemed to be no effect. His eyes were drawn to Sirius' wand and he smiled evilly.

With a harsh thrust, he slammed Sirius' feet to the floor, causing his knees to buckle in pain. Sirius clenched his teeth, not allowing himself to cry out from the burning sensation ripping through his legs, but couldn't prevent the tears that had sprung to his eyes from slipping out.

Menetor paid no mind to this; he was still looking at the wand. Pushing Sirius' hands together and holding him with one hand by the wrists, he snatched the wand from his grasp, turning it over in his fingers.

"I've always wanted a wizard's wand," Menetor mused, examining it carefully. He slipped it into his belt, before turning his attention back to Sirius.

It took Sirius a moment to realize the giant man had taken his wand, and he tried to pull his arms free, but was too weak. He looked around desperately for anything that might help him, but there was nothing except furniture, covered in sheets. He looked over his shoulder to see Cho frozen with shock, he would have called to her, but didn't want to draw Menetor's attention to her, she'd had to deal with him enough as it was.

His head was jerked back around roughly as Menetor grabbed him under his chin, forcing him to look into the larger man's eyes.

There was a strange tingling pulsating from Menetor's grip, and Sirius wanted to tear his hand away, but couldn't. Even if he managed to free himself the pain in his legs was far too great, and he doubted very much that he'd have any luck standing on his own. All he could do was stare into Menetor's eyes, which he now noticed were silver, just like the beams of light he'd shot earlier.

"I'm going to destroy your mind," Menetor whispered, gleefully, "and do the same to that pretty little girl behind you. Then your woman and I are going to have a talk, a very long talk."

Sirius felt cold fury running through him, wanting to kill this man who was threatening the woman he loved, if only he could get to his wand.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of light behind him, and knew the port key was complete.

"What is it you want?" Sirius asked in a strained voice, desperate to stall Menetor from whatever he was about to do.

"Nothing that concerns a weak wizard such as yourself," Menetor replied, smiling, and Sirius felt the grip above his neck tighten.

"How do you know?" Sirius asked. "Maybe I have the information you're looking for."

"Doubtful," Menetor said stiffly.

"It's about Harry Potter, right?" Sirius asked, cautiously. "I'm his godfather and know more about him than anyone here."

"Really?" Menetor asked suspiciously. "If you're so close to him, then that's even more reason for me not to trust you. You'd never betray him." He drew Sirius closer, leaning down so their eyes were at the same level and Sirius began to feel something happening.

"But I want to spend the rest of my life with Marzia," Sirius managed to get out, desperate now. "I don't want to see her hurt."

Menetor hesitated for a moment, blinking in uncertainty.

"You would give information on your godson, in exchange for her?" he asked in disbelief.

Sirius nodded, as best he could.

"Yes, I would, please just let them go and I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"No, they stay. I still have no proof you have the knowledge I'm looking for. But I'm willing to put off your death for a bit longer." He took his hand away from Sirius' face, letting it drop to his side, but kept hold of his arms.

"Do you swear you won't hurt them?" Sirius asked, nodding behind him.

"I make promises to no one," Menetor spat. He dragged Sirius painfully to where Marzia was laid out on the stretcher, dropping him down to where he'd been sitting before and paying no attention to the vase, which Sirius was careful not to touch. He pulled himself into a sitting position and looked up at Menetor, who was kneeling next to him, looking at Marzia very strangely, and causing Sirius' stomach to turn.

He glanced across at Cho, who was paler than he'd ever seen her.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, trying to both make sure she was and get her attention.

"That is not what I let you live for," Menetor growled, physically turning Sirius on the spot to face him. "Now, about your godson."

"I just wanted to make sure she's okay, surely you can allow me one moment." Sirius began.

"Don't be presumptuous boy, you're alive because I've allowed it, so is she," he said nodding towards Cho. "If you want to stay that way you will begin talking."

Sirius sighed lightly.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, sounding defeated.

"This Harry Potter, does he know who he is? Is he aware of his power?" Menetor asked, turning his attention back to Marzia as he did so. Sirius watched, feeling anger twisting inside him as the large man put a hand to her head, and began stroking her hair.

"He knows he's a wizard, if that's what you mean," Sirius answered carefully. He glanced at Cho to see her looking back at him desperately and his heart leapt. He looked directly into her eyes, then down to the vase, before looking back at her. She nodded anxiously and began to lean forward as if to grasp it. Sirius widened his eyes and shook his head, mouthing the word 'no.'

"I know he's a wizard, don't be foolish, I'm referring to his other powers, has he been told of them yet?" Menetor continued. He was still leaning over Marzia, entranced by her, it seemed.

Sirius looked again at Cho, turning his gaze pointedly to the vase, and then to Menetor. He looked back at her and repeated what he'd just done.

'Him?' Cho mouthed in amazement, nodding slightly towards the large man.

Sirius nodded insistently, feeling overjoyed she had understood, before turning back to look at Menetor. It was all up to Cho now.

"What powers do you mean?" Sirius asked not wanting to say anything about Lunis.

Menetor tore his gaze away from Marzia and gave Sirius a pointed glare.

"If you have to ask you must not know," he hissed, his eyes flashing.

"I just want to make sure of what you're asking!" Sirius replied hurriedly, seeing there wasn't much time left. Suddenly he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and knew Cho was going for it. He looked to where she was kneeling, wand outstretched, lifting the vase into the air.

Menetor looked at the vase curiously before speaking.

"No more, these games are ending.now," he said quietly, reaching for the vase, which was hovering near Sirius' head.

Sirius held his breath, waiting, when suddenly the vase whipped through the air, away from Menetor. He looked to Cho, confused and wanting to scream. What was she doing?

The vase flew through the air barely avoiding collisions with furniture and the ceiling, Cho was obviously very tired and Sirius prayed she didn't lose control of it, it was their last chance, but a look at Menetor told him what she was doing was working. When she had pulled it out of his grasp, she'd piqued his curiosity as he was standing in an instant, holding his arm out in front of him. He summoned the vase to where he stood, but didn't touch it. He let it float a few feet in front of him, looking cautiously at it.

"What's so important about this?" he asked aloud, not taking his eyes away from the vase. Sirius and Cho exchanged glances, but neither one answered.

"Well?" he asked, whirling around on them. He looked from Cho to Sirius to Marzia, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"It's a port key, isn't it?" he asked at last, looking quite proud of himself. "Yes, I've heard all about these, you can use them to travel great distances. So tell me, where were you planning on escaping to?" He settled his gaze on Sirius, looking expectantly at him.

Sirius refused to answer; he set his jaw stubbornly, glaring at Menetor.

"You, girl!" Menetor shouted, turning to face Cho, "answer my question, now!"

Sirius didn't think it was possible, but Cho became even paler than before. She opened her mouth, obviously trying to speak, but nothing came out. Suddenly, an idea came to Sirius.

"Hogwart's," he said defiantly. "It will go to Hogwart's." Cho looked at him in horror and Menetor grinned.

"And to Harry Potter, himself. Wonderful. Now, for my next question, are you lying?" he asked, looking knowingly at Sirius.

"No I'm not, where else would I set it to go?" he replied.

"Well, we'll see about that," Menetor said quietly. He began to move forward, towards Sirius, and Marzia.

"What are you.?" Sirius began, feeling nervous.

"Insurance. I'm taking her with me. If anything goes wrong."

"No!" Sirius yelled, furious. His legs were screaming in agony but he forced himself to stand.

"No?" Menetor laughed. "You can do nothing to stop me, boy." He glowered evilly at Sirius, before leaning towards Marzia. Sirius looked to Cho desperately, he could do nothing without his wand.

However, Cho was already reacting, she again took control of the vase while Menetor was distracted, whirling it in the air.

"Hey!" she shouted suddenly, causing the large man to spin towards her, before he had a chance to react, she slammed it into his chest. He reached up to push it away but it was too late, and they watched him disappear in a swirl of color.

Sirius exhaled, not realizing he'd been holding his breath, he shakily bent his knees, wincing at the pain, until he was sitting again next to Marzia. After a moment, Cho sat back down too; looking drained and shocked.

"Good job, Cho," Sirius said tiredly. "Did you have to pull the vase away from him though? He was ready to grab it when he first saw it."

"Well if you didn't want him taking her with you I did," she replied pointing at Marzia. He still had his hand on her; she would've gone wherever you sent him. Tell me it wasn't Hogwart's; please." she said, pleadingly.

"No it wasn't Hogwart's," he replied shaking his head and grinning. "Good thing one of us was paying attention too, thank you." He reached out a hand, running his fingers through Marzia's hair.

"Where is he then?" Cho asked, sounding nervous. "Will he be able to get back?"

"Eventually, I suppose," Sirius answered. "I made it so it won't be stopping anytime soon, it'll keep going, probably for days. No specific direction and he won't be able to stop it.

"Where will he end up?" Cho asked.

"Very far north, in the mountains."

"As long as it's nowhere near here, wonderful," Cho stated.

The two of them were silent for a few moments, before Sirius spoke again.

"What happened Cho? Why was he after you? Do you know something, or find out something at the ministry?"

"I only found out what I wrote to Harry, that the dementor's were sided with Voldemort, and he'd taken over Azkaban. I overheard Mr. Thurston and someone else talking about it, and that's when I left the ministry."

"When did you send that letter?" he asked.

"Um, I don't remember the date, the end of September I think?" she replied, unsure.

"Harry never received it until Halloween."

"What?" Cho asked, confused. "I know I didn't send it that late, it should have arrived weeks before then."

"Well it didn't, so someone interfered, but then went and sent it anyway."

"Who would do that?" Cho asked.

"I have no idea." Sirius trailed off. He sighed heavily, looking to Marzia and then back to Cho.

"We can try and figure everything out later, what we need now is to find our way to the nearest town."

"How?" Cho asked, glancing again at Marzia. "A port key would."

"I know she shouldn't be traveling that way, but we may have no choice. I'm going outside first though."

"What? Why? You can barely walk." she began.

"We ran into some death eaters on our way in, it's possible one of them may have some floo powder. You could make a fire and we could take it to a hospital."

"Are you sure you should be going out there?" she asked, worriedly. "There may be more of them, watching."

"I have to chance it," he replied firmly. "We certainly can't stay here. Even with Menetor gone, they know we're here."

"Maybe I should go," Cho offered, looking at Sirius' legs uncertainly.

"No, you stay here, you're the one with the wand. Look after Marzia and I'll be back shortly, I promise." He reached over, taking one of Marzia's limp hands in his. Brining it close to his lips, he kissed it softly, before gently placing it back at her side.

Cho nodded miserably, as Sirius once again forced himself to stand. Every muscle was screaming for him to stop, to rest, but he knew he couldn't. He began walking, very shakily, towards the door. Throwing one last look over his shoulder at Marzia and Cho, he swung it open, stepping into the sunlight.

Squinting his eyes, as they weren't adjusted to the brightness, Sirius forced himself forward; towards the area where he'd left the bodies of the two death eaters. He glanced around warily, praying there would be no others lurking about, and very glad for the daylight. It would be much easier to spot a person clad in a black robe now than it would be several hours from now. Nevertheless, he didn't want to stay outside any longer than necessary, and made himself move faster.

The short walk across the cabin grounds took almost fifteen minutes, and when he reached his destination, he was breathing heavily and could no longer stand. He slumped to his knees beside the body of the young boy, biting his lip in pain. Sweat was dripping down his face, and he wiped it from his eyes with the back of his hand.

After a long moment, Sirius was able to calm down enough so he was breathing normally again. He bent forward slightly, not allowing himself to look into the boy's lifeless eyes, and began searching his robes. Five minutes passed and still he found no floo powder, but as he shifted his position to search the older death eater, his eyes fell upon the boy's limp arm, and the wand lying in the palm of his open hand. Instinctively he reached out for it, but hesitated, his hand hovering above the boy's.

"Well, he doesn't exactly need it anymore," Sirius spoke aloud, reasoning with himself. He didn't feel right about taking it, but knew the situation was too dangerous to not take advantage of this. His decision was made for him however when he heard someone moving behind him. Grasping the wand with sudden determination, he whipped his arm around turning himself, ready to attack whoever was there.

A young girl, who couldn't have been older than 13 was standing in front of him. She had long sandy blonde hair that fell loosely over her shoulders and light hazel eyes. Her robes were baby blue and she was looking curiously at Sirius.

"Hello," she said pleasantly, making him jump a little. He'd been unsure for a moment if she was really there or if he was so tired, his mind was playing tricks on him.

"H-Hello," he replied, clearing his dry throat.

"What are you doing?" she asked, glancing from the wand in Sirius' hand to the two men sprawled on the ground.

Sirius hesitated for a moment, before replying.

"Looking for floo powder."

"Are they sleeping?" the girl asked, nodding at the men.

"Er.yes, they're taking a nap," Sirius replied.

"Outside?" she asked, sounding skeptical.

Sirius, who was getting frustrated, sighed lightly.

"Yes outside, now where are your parents? Won't they be looking for you?"

"Up there," the girl said, pointing up a hill in the distance.

"I don't see anything." Sirius said, straining his eyes.

"You can't see our house from here, but it's over that hill," the girl replied.

"Oh," Sirius said, turning his attention back to the death eater. He couldn't waste any more time than he already had.

"He doesn't have any," the girl said after Sirius had searched all the man's pockets.

"I know," he said, trying not to sound angry. He wasn't mad at her, but upset that he'd let the situation get this bad.

"I can give you some of mine," she offered, reaching into her robes and pulling out a small pouch.

Sirius looked at her, smiling uncertainly. Why was someone so young carrying floo powder with them? Did her parents let her travel alone?

"Are you sure?" he asked slowly. "You're parents won't mind?"

"No silly, it's mine," she replied, giggling. "So is that a yes.?"

"Yes, yes thank you," Sirius said quickly. Ever so slowly, he began to stand, gingerly putting weight on his legs. He still had the younger death eater's wand in his hand, and quickly shoved it into his pocket.

"Are you alright?" the girl asked hesitantly, seeing clearly how much pain Sirius was in.

"I'll be fine," he replied in a strained voice. He took a few tentative steps forward, and knew he would never make it back to the cabin. As he reached the girl, he stopped to ask her if she would take the floo powder up to the others, but never got the question out.

Sirius was unable to speak as he looked at the girl. Her hair and robes were billowing out behind her, yet he felt no wind. However, what really caused him to worry was an aura of blue light had begun to form around her. She was looking directly into his eyes, and Sirius could not break his gaze.

Suddenly he felt his legs go very cold, almost to the point of being numb. Stifling a cry, he clenched his teeth, adjusting to the new feeling. It wasn't painful, but it had come as a great surprise. The girl had crossed her arms over her chest now, and lowered her gaze to his legs. Sirius would have sworn on his father's grave she was seeing inside him, and it was strangely pleasant and discomforting all at once. The numbness began to fade almost immediately and he could feel the blood once again racing through his veins.

Looking down at his legs in disbelief, he smiled to himself, before looking again at the small girl. She uncrossed her arms, letting them fall to her sides, and blinked her eyes several times, before looking up to meet his gaze. The two of them stood facing each other, an awkward silence between them, and Sirius was first to find his voice.

"Who are you?" he asked, meaning for it to sound firm, but his tone revealed he was somewhat in awe of her.

The girl blushed fiercely, and she looked down at the ground.

"My name is Fenestraal," she said in a softer voice than he'd heard from her so far. "But you can call me Fern, all of my friends do." she trailed off, glancing up shyly.

"Okay, Fern it is," Sirius smiled. "What did you just do to me?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound rude.

"You mean you don't know?" she asked, confused.

"No not that," Sirius replied. "I know what you did, I guess I meant what magic did you use? I've never seen anything quite like that."

"It's just something my father taught me," she said with a shrug.

Sirius considered this for a minute, thinking it was possible she was telling the truth. If he'd had that kind of healing power, he would be insistent about having Harry learn it.

Would you be willing to do it again?" he asked, remembering Marzia and Cho. He glanced around again, wondering why no death eaters had shown up yet.

"Why?" Fern asked, cocking her head to the side questioningly.

"My friends are in that cabin over there, both of them are injured," he began, "if you could help them I would be so thankful, we're really in a terrible hurry and."

"I'd be glad to help you," Fern interrupted. "Lead the way." She stepped aside, gesturing with one arm for him to go first.

"Thank you," he said with sincerity, meeting Fern's eyes. "I really mean it, you don't have to do this and I can't express how grateful I am."

Fern blushed again, dropping her gaze.

"C'mon," Sirius spoke, not wanting to take any longer. "I'll take you to them."

They hiked the short distance to the cabin taking a considerably shorter amount of time than Sirius had on his way out. He opened the door quickly, glancing behind him to make sure Fern was still there, and turned around to find himself at wand point. He stopped dead in his tracks, and looked up slowly.

"Sirius!" Cho cried, lowering her wand. "You scared the life out of me!" Her eyes were wide and she leaned forward, embracing him.

"You knew I was coming back," he laughed, "besides I'm not the one who was holding you at the end of my wand, you did some scaring there yourself."

"I'm sorry, but you could've been anyone and you've been gone so long." she trailed off catching sight of Fern. She looked from the girl to Sirius and back again.

"Who's that?" she asked cautiously.

"I'm Fenestraal," Fern answered cheerily. She gave Cho a wide smile and continued. "You can call me Fern though."

Cho regarded Fern cautiously, glancing uncertainly at Sirius.

"Why is she here?" she whispered.

"I live just over the hill back that way," Fern answered before Sirius could speak. She was pointing at the back of the house.

"There's nothing back there except trees," Cho spoke, keeping her tone even. "I've been coming here since I was 5, I know the land very well."

"Well you must not then because I live just over the hill, my parents are there right now, want to see?" Fern asked.

"No I don't," Cho answered quickly. "My family owns the land around here for miles, there's no way a house could be built so closely without us knowing about it."

Fern's smile faltered as she looked directly at Cho

"You're mistaken," she replied, now sounding defensive.

"Look it's not worth arguing about," Sirius cut in suddenly. "We don't have time for this Cho, we should be gone already." He walked away from the two girls to wear Marzia was laying and Cho gasped.

"Your legs.they're alright! How?"

Sirius glanced up from where he was now kneeling at Marzia's side and nodded towards the smaller girl. "Fern is to thank for that," he replied, smiling.

Cho looked again to the girl to see her smiling with pride, as if a parent had just complimented her on a good grade.

"Is she?" Cho asked skeptically.

"This is the other one you wanted me to help?" Fern asked, ignoring Cho and heading towards Marzia.

"Yes, please, if you're able." Sirius trailed off, his eyes on Marzia's face. He looked up for a moment to see Fern looking strangely at Marzia, almost as if she recognized her. She caught Sirius staring though and quickly averted her eyes.

"What's her name?" she asked softly.

"Marzia," he replied.

"Oh.pretty."

Without another moment's hesitation, she crossed her arms over her chest and Sirius watched as she went through the same motions as she had outside with him. When she was finished, however, Marzia was still unconscious.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, worriedly. "Why didn't she."

"She was hurt far more than you were," Fern cut him off. "She's alright, but it'll be a bit before she wakes up."

Sirius nodded slowly, turning his attention back to Marzia as Fern stood up and faced Cho. She walked over to the older girl who was looking very distrustfully at her.

"Your turn," Fern said with a smile.

"No, I'm fine.not nearly hurt as much as."

"But look," Fern interrupted, reaching out in a flash and grasping one of her arms. Slowly and gently, Fern traced a finger along one of the burns on Cho's wrist.

"That's nothing, it'll be." she began but Fern wasn't listening. Cho looked into the younger girl's eyes, which were looking back at her, but not seeing her. She began to pull her arm back when suddenly there was a flash of light, engulfing the entire room.

Sirius stood up quickly as light surrounded him. He turned towards where he though Cho had been, straining to see anything. But the light was so bright it was painful to keep his eyes open. Then as suddenly as it came on, the room began to dim and ever so slowly his eyes adjusted themselves. When everything seemed back to normal, the first thing he noticed was Cho. She was lying on the floor, one arm across her stomach, the other stretched out to her side. He knelt down at her side, and gently shook her by the shoulder.

"Cho, are you alright?" he asked, concerned. "Cho?" He shook a bit harder.

"Mmmm?" she stirred, tilting her head towards him. He let out an inaudible sigh of relief.

"What's going on?" She asked, blinking a few times, realizing she was on the floor. "Where's Fern?"

Sirius looked around quickly. In his concern for Cho, he hadn't even realized Fern was missing.

"I don't know," he said, confused. "Maybe she got scared." he suggested uncertainly.

"I don't think so," Cho said skeptically, sitting up. More likely she's the reason for whatever just happened, and left so we couldn't ask her what she did."

"Well whatever it was, she healed you.look at your arms," Sirius said nodding.

"Yeah, I guess she did," Cho mused, rubbing her wrists gently. "But something doesn't feel right about all of this."

"About all of what?" a voice behind them spoke. Sirius and Cho both turned to see Marzia, leaning up on her shoulders and looking more confused than anything.

Sirius was up in an instant and at her side. He leaned down, lifting her to her feet and taking her into his arms, giving her a long passionate kiss.

"Not that I'm complaining," Marzia began with a wry smile as they separated, "but what was that for?"

Sirius looked deeply into her eyes, feeling her warmth so close to him.

"I love you," he said softly. "And I'm going to tell you that every day for the rest of our lives."

Marzia flushed brilliantly, unable to keep from smiling.

"You don't even have to say it for me to know." she trailed off, her eyes suddenly widening in concern. "What's happened? Where's Menetor? We need to."

"He's gone," Sirius interrupted before she could get too worked up. "Cho and I tricked him into taking a one-way port key out of here."

"How did you.?" she said, looking from one to the other.

"Tell ya later," Sirius replied. "I guess we'll have to make another port key since." he stopped, catching sight of something near the door. Marzia looked at him quizzically as he let go and headed to where he was looking. Leaning down for a closer look, he saw Fern had dropped her bag of Floo Powder, probably on her way out.

"Well, she did say we could use some.as long as we leave the rest here for her, I guess," he said, inspecting the pouch carefully.

"Where are we going then?" Cho asked. "We can't get into Hogwart's unless a passage is opened in the floo network."

"Are you alright?" Marzia spoke up, looking at Cho. "You look like you're going to be ill."

"I feel a bit light-headed, that's all. Probably from all that light."

"What light?" Marzia asked as both she and Sirius moved closer to Cho.

Sirius explained as quickly as possible about running into Fern, and what she had done for them.

"We're going to see a doctor then," Marzia stated. "And I want to hear more about what happened today, it seems I've missed quite a bit."

"We don't have to see a doctor," Cho said, raising one of her hands to wipe the sweat that had begun to form on her face. Sirius and Marzia exchanged knowing glances and without a word, Sirius handed off the pouch of floo powder to Marzia, before stepping forward and scooping Cho up in his arms. She didn't put up any fuss over this, and leaned her head onto his shoulder, seeming exhausted. He was a bit shocked to see the burns had returned to her wrists, redder than they had previously been.

Marzia stepped up to the dusty fireplace, and pulled out her wand.

"Incendia."

The hearth was alight immediately, and she tossed some powder into it, instantly turning the flames green.

"After you," she said, stepping aside.

Sirius moved forward, into the fire, and felt the familiar sensation of traveling the floo network. He emerged into the bright lights of the waiting room in a wizarding hospital in London. Half a second later, Marzia was at his side, and they headed toward the nearest nurses station, to find a doctor for Cho.

~HARRY'S POV - PRESENT TIME~

"They kept her there a few days," Sirius said. "Unfortunately, they couldn't tell us exactly what was wrong, she did seem to respond to some of their treatments, however. We took some floo powder from the hospital back to Hogsmeade earlier today, got our brooms from the shop we left them at, and rode here."

Harry looked at his godfather in numb shock. He now knew someone else was out looking for him, most likely an ally of Voldemort. A very large someone by the way Menetor had been described. On top of that, Cho had been badly hurt, because they were trying to get to him. He looked again at her pale features and down to the burns that stood out so brightly on her fair skin.

"So the doctors had no idea how to help her at all?" Harry asked, looking to Sirius

"I'm sorry Harry," Sirius began, meeting his gaze. "But none of them were sure enough of what was wrong to be able to help her."

Everyone looked up as the doors to the room flew open and Gazten strode in. Sirius's expression again went dark and Harry was a bit surprised to see Marzia's was the same.

"Allison," Dumbledore said kindly.

"Sorry I'm late," Gazten said, stopping as she neared the headmaster. She looked up at everyone in the room, before settling her gaze on Cho.

"Oh my," she muttered, stepping up next to Harry and gently lifting one of Cho's wrists. Harry looked on in trepidation and hope.

"Thank you for coming Allison," Dumbledore spoke sincerely, standing up and moving to the foot of the bed. "It seems our young Miss. Chang here has been seen by quite a few doctors in the past few days, and none of them seem to have been much help in figuring out why she's ill. I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on that subject?"

Gazten barely nodded, as she was busy checking over Cho. She had moved from her wrists to her ears, then to her eyes, pushing the lids back gently and leaning down to get a close look at them.

From there, she went back to Cho's arms and more specifically her hands. She turned over her right hand, inspecting the palm carefully.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked after a few minutes of this.

"Who did this to her?" Gazten replied.

"The burns?" Marzia asked, "An abnormally large man called Menetor."

"No I don't mean the burns," Gazten snapped, "The burns aren't killing her, the poison, however, is."