Chapter 66: Time To Understand
"I rather die than to go back there." Sirius practically shouted.
"That's the place where you rightfully belong." Jason said desperately.
"But I'm not welcomed there at all."
"I can't force you, but for my sake, do go back."
"I see about it. What about Stef??"
"Dumbledore had arranged for Stef to join Lily and Arabella at the Undersea City."
"I can go with them."
"It's not a matter of can or not. But the thing is that I want you to reunite with your parents."
"They don't treat me as their son at all. They only have one son and that's Regulus who is two years younger and studying in D.I.."
"Alright, you're old enough to decide for yourself. I believe that Voldemort next target would be me and I don't have much time left."
"Dad, thank you for everything." Sirius gave his father a manly hug. Though their relationship was uncle and nephew, but they had similar build, which made them looked enough like father and son.
"Professor!!" Dumbledore had just emerged from the fireplace of Potter's Manor.
"Good day, Mrs. Potter." Dumbledore greeted Helen. She was just discharged from St. Mungo after being admitted for five days. "How are you feeling??"
"I'm fine, thank you. How is everything??" Helen asked with deep concern.
"So far everything is alright." Dumbledore said with a serious tone. "Barely anything to report. Everything is in the papers."
"Any news about Voldemort and stuffs??"
"More killings, several students had suffered."
"I'm really sorry to hear that. Do you have any plans??"
"I had set up a secret society to fight Voldemort, currently recruiting more members."
"Count me in." James volunteered.
"How can you forget me??" Sirius reproached James in a joking manner.
"And me in as well." Remus added.
"We're going to be in this together." Stefanie said.
"That's right." Arabella agreed.
"We're here to fight Voldemort in the first place." Lily said.
"That's right. I'll recruit my members personally. Not everyone who appear to be trustworthy is trustworthy." Dumbledore said seriously. "Do not mention this to your dorm-mates or people who are your friends. It's highly secretive."
"Yes, sir." James nodded.
"There's one condition. I do not want any of you to pry into this matter until you graduate from Hogwarts. No questions asked."
"Why not??" Sirius enquired.
"That's because you're not equipped with the necessary skills. Besides I want you all to concentrate on your very own powers right now. Do not forget to practice it frequently." Dumbledore reminded.
"So what is this secret society to fight Voldemort about??" Lily asked.
"It's called the Order Of The Phoenix." Dumbledore explained. "We have meetings frequently at highly secretive places and we work undercover."
"Sounds cool." James was awed by the work.
"As cool as it sounds, it is highly dangerous and involved great risk. Several had lost their life at this." Dumbledore said in a gravely tone and turned to Helen.
"Father is in this Order Of The Phoenix??" James asked his mother.
"Yes, your father and I are involved in it actively. So is your sister."
"Why wasn't I informed??"
"That's because you're still young. We can't risk your safety."
"How about my parents??" Stefanie questioned.
"I'll not mention who's in it or whatsoever. When the time comes, you will learn about everything. Right now, all I want is you to concentrate in your studies and doing what's important at this moment. Fight Voldemort is your priority in life, but not now."
"We'll work hard and would not disappoint you or any of those who sacrificed in the process." Remus said.
"That's the spirit." Helen smiled encouragingly.
"I'm going to Grimmauld Place alone today." Sirius declared suddenly after lunch.
"What??" Stefanie asked.
"Dad told me to do so. I'll return to the place which is supposed to be my home."
"How are you going there??"
"Apparating over to the entrance of the house?? How else can I go??"
"I nearly forgot that you can apparate." James said in pretended shock.
"Oh Prongs, how could you forget my lovely ways of apparating??" Sirius said in a pretended effeminate manner, which made the group of six bursts into laughters.
"You're so right, I can never forget how you apparate sitting on my lap for the last few days."
"I thought I apparated on the sofa."
"You're so wrong, I was waiting for you on the sofa."
"That's so sweet."
"Bbbrrrr.. that's so cold." Lily teased.
"Give me Goosebumps."
"Try geesebump."
"Haha."
"Would you guys mind to stop flirting with one another because it's making we men look extremely sissy in front of the girls??" Remus said, trying hard to sound serious and hiding his grin.
"Back to the serious topic." Sirius announced.
"We didn't stop on the Sirius topic in the first place." James said mockingly.
"I better make a move first. You guys continue." Sirius said, standing up and leaving the dinner table.
"Where's Sirius going??" Helen came into the dining room as Sirius was leaving.
"He's going home to Grimmauld Place." James replied.
"That's definitely not one of the greatest place on earth to be at." Helen said.
"I totally understand."
"My cousin married to the Blacks. As you all know all the pure-blood families are inter-related." Helen said. "Been there once and I felt that I hated that place as much as Azkaban though I never been there personally."
"How's Azkaban like??"
"I supposed it's like living hell. They introduced these new guards known as Dementers. I've no idea how the Ministry gets them in the first place. The Minister before your father had gotten them and they had kinda roamed the isolated island."
"Sounds horrible enough."
"Well, to me I used Grimmauld Place to give me the Azkaban feeling."
"Sounds bad enough."
"I've seen Sirius grew up. He's like my second son and I know he is able to handle this." Helen said. "I better leave you youngsters alone. I know how it feel to have a parent around the youngsters." She gave a motherly smile and left the dining hall.
"I think so far we settled everything already, right??" James asked.
"Our main objectives were to see your mum, take care of the general funerals, accompany Sirius home, basically the family matters." Remus named out their objectives.
"I think we forgot one." Arabella spoke up.
"What??" Stefanie questioned.
"We had yet to make a trip to the Undersea City of Atlantica."
"Huh?? For what??"
"We're here to visit our home and family. It's your turn."
"But now is school term, and it's not like the most important thing to do on earth."
"It is. How can a Princess not know her homeland??"
"B-but.."
"We can ask Dumbledore for permission. Besides I always want to see how the merpeople world is all about."
"Sounds like a good idea."
"We were entitled two weeks away from school. We still have about four days left."
"So we owl Dumbledore and ask??"
"There isn't a need to." They turned to see where the source of voice came from. "Sorry for another disturbance."
"Professor!!"
"Permission granted." Dumbledore smiled at the five teens.
"Thank you so much." Lily said, smiling at Dumbledore appreciatively.
"Keep to the two weeks leave." Dumbledore reminded. "And don't forget to practice your powers before they get rusty."
"We will remember your advice." James grinned cheekily.
"So we're going via the lake in Hogwarts, right??" Lily asked uncertainly.
"Yes, why do you have that strange expression on your face??" Stefanie teased.
"Nervous?? Scared?? I don't know. Foreign place I supposed."
"I think should be. Ready to floo back to Hogwarts??" Arabella gave Lily a comforting squeeze on her shoulders.
"Thanks. Let's go." Lily mustered up a convincing smile and the three girls stepped into the Potter's fireplace.
"My dears take good care of yourselves and one another." Helen was sending them off at their fireplace.
"Thank you Mrs. Potter for your hospitality." Lily said thankfully. With polite goodbyes, they flooed back to Dumbledore's office together, leaving the guys back there.
"Help one another. The six of you have to depends on one another." Helen said and gave James a pat on his back. "You're truly your father's son."
"Thanks mum. We're leaving now." James said. Sirius and Remus thanked Helen and with the usual jokes, they left the Potter's Manor.
"I'm so not used to flooing since we learnt how to apparate." Arabella commented.
"I can't agree with you more. It makes me feel kinda pukey now." Lily said, taking a seat at Dumbledore's office
"But too bad Hogwarts is protected by all those enchantments that prevents people from apparating inside." Stefanie said reasonably.
"See, you're blocking my way again." A blurred voice of James came from the fireplace.
"I can't help flooing faster than you in the fireplace." Sirius said with pretended innocence.
"Yeah, you kick my shin sometimes and push me backwards the rest of the times."
"Hey, I don't do something like this. Sometimes I can't control my limbs movement, you know??"
"Hahaha. I don't know. Then what is your brain for since you can't control your movement in fireplaces??"
"Must be the guys." Stefanie said laughing at the commotion in the fireplace.
"Dusty dudes." Lily commented, laughing at the soot-covered threesome.
"You aren't too clean yourself either, your red hair looking darkish and graying." James said grinning.
"Alright, so your black hair is graying as well, or so I noticed."
"It's alright, I just look more mature in that color."
"Mature isn't exactly the word. More likely it's, you know, aging."
"Girls are said to age faster than guys, you know that??"
"Not all, most girls can still look their age."
"Attention please." Came Dumbledore voice
from the back of his chair. He turned around and smiled at the six soot-covered
students in various stages of coverage.
"Aren't you going to make your way to the lake or something??" Dumbledore suggested with a wink.
"Yes, we're going right away. Thank you sir." The six exited Dumbledore's office chatting rather excitedly. The group was now making their way towards the lake. Most of the students were in the middle of their afternoon classes at the moment.
"So how would it feel to have a fish tail rather than legs??" Stefanie asked.
"I don't know, never try before." Lily said, laughing at the thought of being leg-less. "I only remembered reading about mermaids and stuffs in storybooks."
"So how're we going to get into the bottom of the lake??" Sirius asked the group.
"I noticed you had either forgot what you had learnt in the last five years, or you simply didn't remember going for lessons in the first place." Arabella commented.
"We were taught how to go underwater??" Sirius scratched his head. "I don't remember we had any practical lessons about going underwater."
"The bubble head charm, you idiot." James gave a gentle slap on Sirius' head.
"That's the one?? I thought what??" Sirius said, with an expression of understanding.
"We're allowed to breathe in all environments with that charm." Lily said, laughing.
"No wonder everytime we dungbombed the school or something, the fifth-years and above always have no problem with that." Sirius commented. "A total waste to our effort and dungbombs."
"What would be the result if we release dungbombs in the water??" James asked, wondering the reactions of underwater creatures.
"The smelly gas will be stored in bubbles and move upwards until the surface and release the gas." Lily said, not knowing exactly what might happen anyway.
"Alternatively, the smelly gas can dissolve in the sea water and whoever underwater can smell them." Sirius said, laughing.
"The sentiments of a prankster indeed." Remus laughed. "I was thinking along the same lines."
"Ok, we're at the lake. So bubblehead charm now??" Lily asked.
"Sure." The group cast bubblehead charm on themselves by the lake. James gave a signal and the group walked down the shore and dived into the water, their clothes and backpacks were drenched throughout.
"Maybe we should have cast a bubble charm on the entire body and not just our head." Sirius suggested to the group.
"I can't hear you." James said. Apparently no one heard him, Sirius shook his head and they continued diving downwards.
Remus pointed at the bottom of the lake where the corals looked magical with many magical underwater animals swimming around them.
Wow!! This is beautiful!! Lily thought, looking around and admiring the bottom of the lake. They were exploring the deep seabed, looking and admiring this beautiful part of the lake they never knew.
"What are you all doing here??" A voice boomed from somewhere behind them. They turned around and saw a group of human-bodied-cum-fish-tailed mermen holding onto some strange weapons.
"We're looking for the Undersea City of Atlantica." Lily said from inside the bubble skeptically.
"This way please." The mermen gave her a look and turned to their right. The six of them just followed the group silently, looking at one another with the same doubtful looks.
The mermen swam in the water and stopped so suddenly in front of the tunnel like place.
"Go in and say the place where you want to go." One of the mermen said.
"Thank you very much." They said gratefully and the mermen swam back.
"So where does this tunnel leads us to??" James asked. The rest shrugged, clearly understanding the question even though they could not hear anything.
"I go first." Lily signaled. Arabella and Stefanie followed and all three girls were now standing at the mouth of the tunnel. The tunnel looked scary and it was pitch black inside.
"Undersea City of Atlantica!!" The three girls linked their hands and shouted after Lily gave the signal.
"AAAaaaaahhhhHHHHH!!" The girls screamed and shut their eyes tightly as they zoomed head-wards into the dark tunnel.
Lily opened her eyes a little to peer what was surrounding them but could not see anything or one another in the darkness, all they could feel was one another hands which was linked tightly together. The strong gushes of waters brushed past them as they traveled forward, attempting to break up their linked arms.
"Why are the girls screaming until like that??" Remus asked with concern. They had never traveled in this strange mean of transport in their whole life.
"Erm.. It's scary??" Sirius heard a little of Remus' dialogue and peered in the dark tunnel suspiciously.
"Well, their screams sound distant." James said, not sure if any of them heard him in the first place. "It's Undersea City of Atlantica, right??" Remus nodded.
"Let's go??" Sirius signaled them to the mouth of the tunnel.
"Undersea City of Atlantica!!" They shouted after James finished his three, two, one signal.
"Woooohhhhh!!" They called out in surprised. They were traveling horizontally head in front at very high speed. They were not able to see anything in the darkness which made them felt giddy and the water gushed passed them which made them separated from one another slightly.
"Wow!!" Lily breathed. The three girls looked in awe at the undersea castle. It looked grand, like Hogwarts, except that it looked magical more than mystical when it's seen under the sea.
"This place looks magical!!" Stefanie remarked. There were colorful fishes of all sorts swimming around them, stopping by to take a look at the three strangers and swam away quickly.
"Beautiful." Arabella commented. In the middle of the city, there was a castle, standing high above the surrounding. The castle had lights within and shone outstandingly underwater.
"Hey, what're you three standing there for??" James called out, totally forgetting the three girls was not able to hear him at all.
"Woooh!!" Sirius suddenly took notice of the surroundings. The three guys looked at the place in admiration and swam towards the girls.
"Look at that!!" Lily exclaimed pointing towards the place in front of them. The place where they stood looked like the entrance to the Undersea City.
"Hi, who are you looking for??" A male voice called out. And surprisingly, all of them heard the voice clearly. They looked at one another and all looked clearly stunned to be able to hear this particular voice. "It's really insulting but I'm down at your feet." They looked down and saw a red crab talking to them, the six of them leaped back in surprise.
"Er.. Hi." Lily was shocked to find a talking red crab.
"Hello, I'm Sebastian. King Triton had asked me to escort you all back to the castle." The red crab smiled politely at the visitors.
"Ok, thank you." Lily was not sure what to say. It was not an everyday thing to see a crab talking and smiling at you, not even in Hogwarts.
Sebastian the crab was walking on the seabed while they were swimming, together the seven passed many Underwater creatures talking animatedly with one another and stopping to take a look at the visitors. They looked at the place in awe and were in total astonishment to see so many fishes and merpeople playing around. He led through a series of pillars and places before they reached a big room.
"King Triton, they're here." Sebastian greeted the king politely.
"Thank you Sebastian." King Triton said and turned around to face them. Lily was not the only one who was surprised to see King Triton as a merman because it was clearly an old man walking with legs and not a tail the last time they saw him at Hogwarts. This time, he was still having his Trident within his reach as well as a golden crown on his head. Instead of clothes, he was topless with sea green fish tail. "Welcome to the Undersea City!!" His voice boomed. They were clearly surprised that they can hear his voice as clearly as Sebastian but not one another.
He waved his Trident and pointed at the six, immediately their bubblehead had disappeared, leaving their face in contact with the water. They held their breath, but after awhile, they realized that they can breathe under water.
"I can breathe." James said, clearly surprised at his newfound ability.
"Yes, you can, I charmed you the ability so you can breathe underwater." King Triton smiled at the group. "So would you all want a feel of being merpeople with a tail??"
"Yes please." They said excitedly. With another wave, the Trident emitted some blue light and all of them had greenish color fish tails.
"Sebastian, take them to the guestrooms please."
"Yes, Sir." Sebastian strutted forward and started leading them to another part of the castle. They bowed at the king politely before leaving.
"Thank you very much for your kind hospitality." Lily said respectfully. Addressing a king and visiting an underwater city was definitely not an everyday event.
"This is exciting!!" James called out.
"Yes man!! There's so much to explore." Sirius said agreeing.
"This place is so – so brilliant." Lily told them.
"It would be so nice to be able to stay here." Arabella said enthusiastically.
"These are your rooms." Sebastian led them to two adjacent rooms, which are separated by some seaweed and walls. "I'll be back to take you around in an hours' time."
"Thank you Sebastian!!" They called out to the crab before entering their guestrooms.