A/N: The last full chapter of Darkest Night! Only the epilogue is left. It should be up quickly.
Chapter 39-To Return Home
Severus Snape felt more than heard the small 'pop' of displaced air. When it was followed by the rustling of silky feathers a small smile quirked his lip. He looked up and saw the silver, white and blue-feathered Storm Phoenix as the majestic bird landed on the back of his chair. He chuckled softly and continued working on the potion in front of him. As he did so he remembered the first time he'd seen the bird.
It had been less than a week ago that Rial's wolf Patronus had raced into the villa with the message, "Albus Dumbledore has found us. Out by the lake."
Sirius had been out the door before Severus had done more than blink. He'd swiftly followed however, along with Draco and Lucius. Remus had stayed behind to alert Regulus and the other members of the Custodis Pondera of the current events. The most sensible of the Marauders Remus may be, but he hadn't been happy at all about staying behind.
When they'd reached the lake clearing it had been to the sight of Rial sprawled on the grass, clearly dazed from some spell as Albus taunted him. When after a long moment a little smirk had crossed Rial's lips Severus had echoed it across the clearing. Rial had obviously thought of something.
At first the soft 'pop' that followed had confused him. It had taken him only a few seconds to realise exactly what had happened. Severus had been unable to prevent his shocked expression as he took in Rial's Animagus form. He had seen the storm phoenix before but it had been in a book, the beautiful creature was considered extinct.
At the fiery end of Albus Dumbledore he could only smirk in pure satisfaction. The phoenix was the bird of light and to meet his end at the hand, er- talons of a creature like that was the ultimate irony. He had been the first one to move after the shock wore off, collecting the tiny baby phoenix and more reluctantly the glasses and wand of Dumbledore.
Eyeing Rial again he noted the much larger size of the phoenix. No doubt due to Rial's innate magic and the little pulses of magic he could occasionally sense, the bird was growing much quicker than normal. They had hypothesized that Rial wouldn't be able to change back until it was fully grown again.
Two days ago Sirius had attempted to go to the Ministry and report Albus' death, but the phoenix had blocked his way and kept him from leaving. Taking it as an obvious sign that Rial wanted them to wait for him they had settled on making preparations to return to England. As much as Severus liked Italy, he would be glad to return home. However, he was not returning to Hogwarts. At Riley's Institute of Magic he had found students who were both clever and motivated to succeed in his subject and he would gladly remain a part of their staff.
The bird gave a soft trill as he finished the potion and bottled it in a waiting flask. Cleaning the work station he moved to the beautiful bird and rubbed the feathers on the crest as he studied the creature. "I think you're almost back to adult size, Rial. Let's head up to the others and see if you can't shift back. I for one am curious as to your reasons for delaying our return."
The phoenix trilled again in obvious amusement and took off, leading the way down the hall, up a set of stairs and into the smaller 'family' sitting room at the villa. The others were already sitting there, Draco speaking with Pansy and Blaise, Sirius engaged in an animated conversation with Remus while Lucius looked on in fond affection.
Severus cleared his throat and made his way over to sit next to Sirius. When the others looked at him he said smoothly, "I believe Rial may be close enough to adult form to change back."
The phoenix trilled nervously and settled into a chair. It went very still for a long moment and Severus was about to tell Rial to stop when a very slow, stilted 'pop' revealed the black haired teen sitting there instead of the bird. Sirius gave a happy laugh and jumped out of his seat, crossing the distance with a few bouncing strides and hugging Rial, who gladly returned his father's enthusiastic greeting with a small grin.
Once everybody had greeted Rial (Draco he noticed had taken the spot next to Rial), Severus asked, "Why did the change back take so much effort?"
Rial looked at him and sheepishly replied, "Well, it figures that the first time I'd complete a full change would be under pressure. I wasn't sure how to change back at first."
Severus tilted his head back for a moment, staring at the ceiling in exasperated amusement. "That was the first time you fully transformed and yet you managed to figure out how to trigger a spontaneous burn?"
"Speaking of which," Remus said, looking immensely curious, "I thought phoenixes only burned when it was time for them to die and be renewed?"
"Normal phoenixes do, but the Augurey and Storm Phoenixes can trigger a spontaneous burn due to their attachment to the elements. The Augurey is particularly attached to rain and the Storm Phoenix was always seen amongst thunder and lightning during a storm," Rial explained. "Once I figured out what my Animagus form was I read everything I could on them in the villa Library."
"Want to explain why you stopped me from going to the Ministry?" Sirius dryly asked his son.
"You need my memories," Rial stated. "Dumbledore said he had turned over information to the Ministry that Severus and Lucius weren't actually spies. Plus we need to make sure and not show them exactly how he died, but the conversation beforehand would make the Ministry think he is most likely insane. Especially if I come along and act as if he attacked me without provocation, which for the most part he did. His death would be ruled self-defense, otherwise there would be an inquiry and that would defeat the whole purpose of having him dead. We want to move on, not linger."
"You clearly thought this out, it's well planned," Remus said.
"I had plenty of time while I was stuck in my phoenix form. Speaking of which, I think I will keep my Animagus unregistered, it's a convenient element of surprise in a duel or situation like the one I was in."
Lucius nodded in approval. "It's a good plan; you can trust those of us in this room to keep it quiet. I highly doubt anyone would believe it if we said your Animagus was an extinct strain of phoenix, anyway. As for Albus Dumbledore's manipulations, I am not surprised in the least. At least we have no reason to worry about Zachary Potter, with his father and Albus both dead he will most likely fade into obscurity."
Quiet mirth filled Sirius' eyes as he said, "If he doesn't keep a low profile Regulus should quickly bring him to heel. I received a message the other day about their engagement. Zachary's fate is now in the hands of a Black, the very family he learned to dislike so strongly under James' guidance."
Rial's expression remained carefully blank. She may be remaining in his family, but he would have nothing to do with her for the rest of his life. Lily Evans had made her decision when she'd left him to her husband's shameful neglect. Rial would never forget, nor forgive, the comments about the 'lack of intelligence' behind 'her eyes'.
They sat there quietly into the late afternoon, making their plans for the return to England. It would be good to go home, Rial reflected. Exchanging a smile with Draco, he listened idly, placing in a few comments here and there as necessary.
They had won and the magical world would prosper because of it. Without Fudge, James Potter, Lord Voldemort or Albus Dumbledore magical society would be safe for years to come and continue to evolve along with the rest of the world.
Rial leaned his head against Draco's shoulder and smiled. They had triumphed, but not without some significant losses... Varian Malfoy, Lucien Snape, Taryen and Torian Lestrange... But they would never be forgotten, never. Scanning the room filled with the people he loved and cared about made him nearly giddy for the future. With his family at his side, he would go forward into the future. And what a grand future it was setting up to be.
Thank you to the reviewers who pointed out my glaring error. I typed this fairly late in the evening and didn't notice. All that's left is the Epilogue, it should be here sometime soon.