Hurray! New chapter! Usual stuff here and all that, but onto the chapter!
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Levi POV
I scramble up, the sleeping bag unzipping as I sit up, Eren helping me stand as I look over at Harry's bed. He hadn't made any sound since he screamed, instead he thrashed around his bed, head turning from side to side, covered in sweat as he dreamed. Eren and I rush over, not caring how were dressed, as Eren's shirtless and I'm not wearing pants as Eren grabbed onto Harry.
Neville shook his head and said "I'll go get McGonagall. She'll be able to get him to the infirmary." Before he was running from the room as fast as possible. I looked across his bedside table, looking for anything he might have taken to cause this, since he wasn't waking up like he should have.
Ron was shouting Harry's name, sounding a little more desperate with each shout. Eren looked Harry over, checking for anything obvious as he thrashed around the bed before taking a breath and shouting "WAKE. UP." and giving Harry a rough shake. His eyes snap open and he struggles away from Eren, panting like hed just run a marathon.
I pulled Eren away, making him narrowly miss Harry jumping to his feet as he looked around, eyes finding Ron. He grabbed Rons arms and said "Ron!... It's your dad… He'd been attacked! There was blood and a snake and it's bad!" Ron blinked, looking very afraid for his friend as he said "Harry… You were just dreaming…" Harry roughly shook his head, making his already messy hair spike out in every direction physically imaginable.
"No! It wasn't a dream!... Not an ordinary dream… I was there Ron... I did it…" He was muttering by the end as Ron made Harry sit on the bed and said "Calm down Harry… It's okay… Neville went for McGonagall…" Under normal circumstances I'd have called them mad, but somehow this felt different.
Eren nodded at me and said to the others "Calm down all of you. Harry, I won't doubt what you saw, but perhaps it wasn't quite the way you're putting it. Seamus, Dean, go watch for the professor." They darted out of the room instantly, sticking close together. We sit in silence than, Harry shivering on his bed while staring at nothing, Eren gently stepped over to my side and wrapped an arm around my waist, letting me lean against him as we waited.
A few minutes later I hear someone running up the stairs, before the door smashed open and Professor McGonagall stood there in her tartan nightgown, glasses slightly askew on her nose. "What is it Potter? Are you hurt?" She asked, worry apparent in his voice. "It's Ron's Dad! He's been attacked by this giant snake and I saw it happen!"
The Professor looks confused as she asks "You saw it happen? So you dreamed it?" Harry shakes his head, seeming to become more agitated as he nearly shouts "No! This was real! I wouldn't imagine something like this! Mr. Weasley was asleep on the floor, than he was attacked by this giant snake, there was a load of blood and he collapsed! You have to find him or else he'll die!"
I blink before looking up at Eren, who nods sharply as I say "Grab our wands. Professor, let's get him to Dumbledore." She nods sharply, fixing her glasses and saying "Let's go Potter. Put on your dressing gown." Eren walks around his bed and grabs our wands, tossing me mine before grabbing his shoes and yanking them on, passing mine over to me as Harry jumps up, the Professor looking at Ron and saying "You better come as well Weasley, you two as well."
She opens the door begins walking, the rest of us following her. We walk passed the others, who are all silent downstairs as we walk by, Harry looking like he wanted to bolt down the hall as we walk, Eren reaching out and grabbing my hand. I weave my fingers through his, squeezing tightly as we walk. He squeezed back, and we walked quietly, feeling for once like we were back at the base, being woken up by Erwin for an emergency meeting.
Filches cat was the only thing that got in our way, but was shooed away by McGonagall before she's even moved toward us. We calmly walked, making our way through the halls and walking up to Dumbledore's gargoyle. McGonagall stepped forward calmly and said "Fizzing Whizbee." Before stepping up the staircase, Harry on her heels.
Ron is barely far enough behind Harry to allow him to walk as I follow him, Eren a step behind me as we approach the Headmaster's office, which sounded like he's hosting a large party with all the noise and talking coming from it. Yet as McGonagall knocked the room went silent as Dumbledore said "Come in?" Sounding rather confused. The door swung open without any of us touching it and the Professor walked in.
"Ah. Minerva and… oh…" He says, face falling as he sees Harry walk in. The room was dark, save for the candles around his desk, which illuminated that half of the room. His Phoenix slept beside his desk, the size of a large swan, resting silently as I saw the portraits around Dumbledore's desk, which I belatedly realized had been there since I first came here. They all seemed to be sleeping, however I saw a few crack there eyes open or shift.
Dumbledore leaned forward, staring at Professor McGonagall intently, the light reflecting off his purple and gold embroidered dressing gown. McGonagall glanced at Harry and said "Professor Dumbledore… Potter has had… a nightmare of sorts…" Harry instantly says "It wasn't a nightmare!" Looking from Mcgonagall to Dumbledore, who was keeping his eyes firmly upon his hands as McGonagall frowned softly at him and said "Well then Potter… Please tell him what you saw…"
Harry looks down then and says "Well… I was asleep… But it wasn't a dream! At least not a normal one." He takes a breath, before looking up and saying "Ron's dad. He's been attacked by a giant snake." The words hang softly in the air, and not a single person moved or spoke for a moment.
Dumbledore seems to be lost in thought a moment as Ron's face pales, and he looks between Harry and Dumbledore as Eren softly squeezed my hand. "How did you see this?" He asks softly, voice barely above a whisper. Harry seems annoyed as he says "I don't know, in my head? I'm not sure-" Dumbledore cuts him off and says "You misunderstand. I mean, from what perspective did you see this from?"
Harry blinked before saying "I was the snake. I saw everything from the snake's point of view…" Everything was silent again, even the portraits didn't seem to dare breathe as Dumbledore's gaze turned sharp as he looked at Ron and asked harry "Is Arthur badly injured?" harry nodded and said "Yes!" In an exasperated tone, as I looked at Dumbledore, who seemed to be piecing something together.
Harry went to say something as Dumbledore jumped up so fast that even Eren and I, with years of battle training, jumped back a little. Eren instantly moves closer, standing behind my left shoulder, and I felt like I was back in Erwin's office, discussing how we would keep Eren. However it was a little relaxing to have Erens first reaction to step into his place at my side. He'd taken down more than one person from that place over the months.
Dumbledore looked up at the portraits on the walls, high up upon the ceiling and said "Everard! And you too Dilys!" Voice sharp and commanding. An elderly wizard and witch open there eyes as Dumbledore asks "You were listening?" The man nods as the woman says "Of course." He nods and says "He has red hair and glasses, raise the alarm and make sure he is found by the right people-" they nod and move left, vanishing from their portraits.
He nods at us and says "They may take a few minutes. They both were much loved Masters of this school in their time. They posses portraits elsewhere that they can move to freely. Please sit all of you, Minerva? Please pull up a few extra chairs." She nods at him and grabs out her wand, waving it and creating five straight backed chairs.
I saw now that all the previous professors were all snoring and drooling convincingly, but were very much awake. "Mr. Weasley could be anywhere!" Harry says to him, looking slightly agitated. He nods and says "Sit. They shall return." As Dumbledore turns and walks over to his Phoenix, gently waking the lovely bird and saying "We will need a warning…" the bird vanished in a flash of flame.
Eren and I sat down, the both of us as straight backed as our chairs. I watched everything calmly, waiting for Dumbledore to include us, and respecting his choices if he didn't. We weren't of this world anyway. Dumbledore grabbed a fragile silver instrument from the numerous spindly tables around his office and took it back to his desk. He tapped it with his wand gently as everyone else sat down.
The silver instrument tinkled to life, clinking rhythmically as tiny puffs of pale green smoke came from a tiny silver tube at the top. Dumbledore stares at it intently with his brow furrowed as the smoke thickened into a thick coil as it took the form of a snake. The snake opened it's jaws wide, as though about to bite someone.
Harry seemed to be eager to get some reaction out of Dumbledore, as Dumbledore continued to look anywhere but at him. He murmured "Naturally… but divided in essence?" The question did nothing more than confuse me as Eren reached out for my hand, and I gently squeeze it as he weaves his fingers through mine.
The snake divided suddenly in the air, the two snakes coiling gently before Dumbledore gave a small nod, face that of grim satisfaction as he tapped the instrument again, and the smoke vanished. Dumbledore stood and replaced the instrument upon its table, the portraits watching Dumbledore closely as he walked. Harry opened his mouth to speak as a shout came from above, the Wizard in the portrait, Everard pants softly in his portrait.
"Dumbledore!" Dumbledore instantly moves so he has an easy view of him and says "What news?" He nods and says "I shouted until someone came running. I told them I'd heard a shout from downstairs. They were skeptical but checked nonetheless, you know there aren't any portraits down there for me to enter. They carried him up a few minutes later, covered in blood. It looks bad Dumbledore."
Ron made some kind of twitching movement as Dumbledore nods and says "It's good they found him. Dilys should have seen him and return soon." Within moments she had, and she sunk into the armchair behind her and said "They took him to St. Mungo's, carried him right under my portrait… It looks bad Dumbledore…" She panted softly as he nodded.
Ron was now as pale as a sheet as Dumbledore looked at McGonagall and said "Minerva. I need you to go and wake the other Weasley children." She nods and says "Of course… what about Molly?" He replies "That shall be Fawkes's job when he has finished keeping lookout. She may already know with that clock of hers…" McGonagall nods and swiftly stands, rushing from the room.
Dumbledore rustled through a drawer, apparently looking for something as he pulled out an old blackened tea pot. He set in on his desk and gently muttered "Portus…" the pot trembled a moment as it flowed a soft blue, than it stilled and returned to normal. After that, he immediately marched over to the portrait of a Slytherin colored wizard.
He however, was apparently so deep in 'Sleep' that he didn't hear Dumbledore when he nearly shouted "Phineas! Phineas!" The wizard continued to drool and snore softly, ignoring Dumbledore completely. The subjects of the other portraits around the room ceased in their sleeping facades and began to shout for Phineas as well.
When one last witch gave a rather high pitched scream of "PHINEAS!" That made both Eren and I flinch, a pulse of pain coming from Eren as Phineas 'jolts' awake. He gives a convincing act as he says "Did someone call for me?" Dumbledore gives a nearly silent sigh of exasperation as he says "I need you to go to your other portrait again, and take a message."
I feel Eren's annoyance slowly start to build as Phineas said "My other portrait?" His reedy voice almost made me sigh with exasperation as Dumbledore had as he gives a long false yawn and says "I'm afraid I'm far too tired for that.." Every portrait instantly broke out in outrage, shouting at Phineas.
"Insubordination and Dereliction of duty!" Shouted a corpulent, red nosed wizard. "You, just as we, are bound by honor to serve the current headmaster of this school!" Shouted a small, frail looking man. "Shall I convince him Dumbledore?" a small, gimlet-eyed witch, who held up a stubby wand that looked much like a birch rod.
Phineas sighed and said "Oh very well…" While giving the witch a rather wary look and saying "He probably destroyed my portrait anyway, he has to the majority of the rest of the family-" Dumbledore cuts him off saying "Sirius knows not to destroy your portrait Phineas." Harry gives a small start at the name.
"Now, tell him that Arthur Weasley has been gravely injured and that his wife, children, Harry Potter, and two more shall be joining him there. Do you understand." Dumbledore says, staring him in the eye. He nods lazily and says "Arthur hurt, wife, children, Harry, and two others to be joining him."
He nodded and walked out of his portrait without another word, vanishing from the room. After that the door opened again and McGonagall ushered Fred, George, and Ginny into the room. "Harry, whats going on? McGonagall said you saw dad get attacked." Before Harry could speak Dumbledore said "Your father has been injured in his work with the order, and has been taken to St. Mungo's. I'm sending you to Sirius's home, it'll be easier to reach the hospital from there. Your mother shall meet you there."
They nod as Fred asks "How are we getting there?" Dumbledore motions to the kettle and says "Portkey. We are just waiting for word from Phineas Nigellus. I don't wish to send you there without clearance…" Eren and I walk over to the table with the others. He nods at us and says "I wish I could have sent you here under better circumstances." I shrug and say "Life doesn't give us those. It throws shit at us and expects us to live with it."
He nods and says "Wise words." Harry however threw us a look that was crossed between hatred and suspicion. However a giant flash of flame appears from above Dumbledore's head as a large golden feather floats down. Dumbledore catches it and says "Fawkes's warning… She must know you're out of your beds. Minerva, go head her off. Tell her any story, just keep her away for a few minutes more."
She nods and is gone in a swish of tartan, Dumbledore waiving all of us close together. "He said he would be delighted… My Great-Great-Grandson always did enjoy houseguests…" Phineas says suddenly, and Dumbledore nods and says "Everyone, touch the pot. A finger will do, just be touching it. Quickly, before someone else joins us."
We all shuffle forward, everyone laying a finger on the teapot, Eren's chest against my back as he wraps his arm around my waist. I grab onto his hand, gripping it tightly as Dumbledore says "On three. One… Two… Three!" Before I could even blink something hooked behind my navel and I was spinning, we banged into the others as the ground spun from beneath us.
In a swirl of colors we suddenly landed, my legs nearly buckling under me as we met the ground. Eren hissed softly as his feet slammed against the floor, and we cling to each other for balance, looking around the unbelievably filthy kitchen. Suddenly I hear a woman scream "Back again, the blood traitors brats, is it true there father's dying?"
After that a male voice bellows "OUT!" I saw the others scramble to their feet, looking around as I take a closer look at the filthy place around me. The floor has a thin layer of dirt on it, as though people were running in and out often, the kitchen seemed to be a little worse for ware, dishes in the sink yet the counters seemed fairly clean.
What little light there was came from the fireplace and a small candle on a table. The whole place looked like it had been left to rot, yet someone was recently trying, horribly, to clean on it. A small, elderly house elf hiked up the small loin cloth they wore and walked out of the room as a man ran in.
He hurried over to Harry, in clothes that looked like he'd been wearing them the last few days, face almost sickly pale, like he hadn't seen sunlight in a few weeks. He had thick, slightly matted hair that looked like it needed to be washed, and he had the faint scent of stale drink about him that I could smell from here.
That must be Sirius… He helped Harry to his feet and said "Whats going on? Phineas just said Arthur was hurt!" Fred nods and says "Ask Harry." George nods and says "I want to know too." Harry looks a little upset at them before nodding and patiently telling them what he saw, accept he said he was behind the snake instead of acting as it, causing all of them to pale in horror as Eren and I didn't even flinch. We'd seen horrors far worse.
"Is mom here?" Fred asks, looking back at the paler Sirius who shakes his head and says "No. Dumbledore is probably telling her now." George nods and says "We have to get to St. Mungo's then." Sirius blinks and says "You can't just go running off to St. Mungo's!" Fred moved so he was beside his brother as he gained a stubborn expression and said "Yes we can! He's our dad!"
Sirius glared and said "And exactly how are you going to explain the fact that you knew Arthur was in the hospital before they even told his wife? Or had the time to notify anyone at all?" George glared and said "Why does it matter?" as Sirius angrily snaps back "Because you'll draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions about things hundreds of miles away! What do you think the Ministry would do with that information?"
The twins looked like they couldn't care less, Ron stood nearby with his face as white as a sheet as there little sister Ginny said "We… We can say someone else told us… Someone without any links to Harry…" Sirius sighs sharply through his nose, as though he was trying to calm himself down and failing.
"Like who?" He snapped, glaring at all of them and saying "You have to understand. Your father was hurt while on duty for the Order. The circumstances are fishy enough, without his children barging into the hospital moments after it happened. All of you could seriously damage the Order's-" Fred cut him off shouting "WE DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR DUMB ORDER!" As George followed with "THIS IS OUR DAD WERE TALKING ABOUT!"
Eren crouched down to my ear and said "Intervene. I'll get Ginny out of it, and keep Harry from joining." I nod as we separate and I step forward, moving between Sirius and the Twins, holding a hand out to both, palm out, warning them to stay back. "All of you, stop this a moment and listen to me." I look at the twins, who glare at me, but remain silent as I turn and look at Sirius who silently sizes me up.
I turn back to the Twins, seeing Eren gently pull Ginny away, over toward Ron. Harry stands motionless, watching all of them with a worried look. They seem to be relaxing as I look at Sirius and say "Look. I honestly don't care about the Order, but I will say that if he was risking his life, he must have thought it was pretty important right?"
Sirius nods as I look over at the Twins and ask "Right?" The two of them quickly nod as I continue with "I'm not saying that you shouldn't run to your father's side, but I will say why you shouldn't." They nod in silence as I say "Your mother loves you just as much as he does. Enough that she'd risk life and limb if it meant your safety. If you go running off like chickens with your heads cut off, than you'll worry her, and in turn him. And if he's worrying about you, than he can't fight whatever wound he has. So sit here and wait, your mother will come for you."
George looked like he was going to argue, yet Fred got a pained look and gently pulled on his arm and gently said "He's right Georgie… It won't help dad… It may just make him worse…" I'd never heard Fred call George that, yet I saw all the anger drain out of George as he softly replied "I know Freddie… I just don't want to sit here doing nothing."
He nods and says "But maybe that will help mom and dad more than being there will." George let's Fred pull him over to the table, setting him down in a chair before sitting next to him. Ginny finds a chair herself, Ron following her softly. Sirius glares at me, suspicion shining in his eyes as I realize that this was who Harry was talking to earlier this year.
Instead of chewing him out for handling the situation so poorly I turn away from him and step over to Eren, who sits down and let's me sit in his lap. Sirius says "This is better… Let's have a drink. That'll help the time pass." He waves his wand toward the cupboard and eight bottles shoot out, rushing over and sliding across the table, scattering the plate of food upon the table as the bottles slide in front of us.
I open mine as Eren does as well, smelling it for anything, as his nose could even detect the scentless Veritaserum in drinks. He said it smelled like the soft scent of chemicals, but was noticeable. When he took a drink I knew it was safe and drank some as well, finding it to be a warm butterbeer.
I liked the taste as I leaned against Eren calmly until I looked around the room again and all of my disgust came back full force with such power it made Eren jump slightly. He looks at me before kissing my cheek and saying "Want to wait a minute? Or right now?" I squirmed softly, looking up than down at the table and say "Wait till we have word… Than were cleaning." He nodded without any complaint as he took another sip of Butterbeer.
Part of me wanted to jump up now, but it felt like I shouldn't break the silence of this anymore than I had already. As Harry set his bottle down hard enough to make it slop drink across the table I glared at him as flames suddenly flared above the table, making everyone jump or cry out, Eren jolting slightly as I nearly coat myself in drink. A small scroll of paper lands on the table with a Phoenix feather laying upon it.
Sirius grabs it and reads over the outside as he says "Fawkes… This isn't Dumbledore's handwriting… It's Molly's." He hands it to George, who tears it open and reads "Dad is Alive. I'm setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mom." George's face pales as he says "Still alive… That sounds like…"
Fred takes it from him and reads it again to himself, than looked at Harry who shook softly. Ron hadn't moved as everyone sat still. Sirius asked if anyone wanted to sleep, yet was met with stony silence. After that no one spoke, Eren gently buried his face in my shoulder, but I could tell he wasn't asleep as I leaned against him. Ginny curled up in her chair, but her eyes were wide open, reflecting the light of the fire. Everyone else slowly sipped at there drink.
I hadn't had a night that felt as long as this one since the night after the Fall of Maria. Yet this one was far different, as there were genuine children. They weren't kids who grew up too fast and lost every bit of the childhood they should have gotten. These were children who were used to the safety and security that their parents provided. It almost hurt, the way they mourned, and I couldn't bring myself to break the silence.
So I leaned against Eren, keeping my eyes in my lap to prevent my skin from crawling from the sight of this place, noticing that I wasn't wearing any pants. I partially wanted to create a pair, but Dumbledore didn't know if the magical tracking spell would be on us, and had advised us to not practice magic until there was two over age magical adults there, and he'd told everyone about us. And so hours ticked by slowly in silence, and as morning slowly slipped by with the ticking of Eren's watch.
Suddenly, around five in the morning, a redheaded woman opened the kitchen door with a bang. She was a little large, yet had the same hair as the rest of the Weasley's and a kind look about her. She must be there mom… Fred, Harry, and Ron all rose half way out of there chairs. She gave a tired yet relieved sigh and said "He'll live. He's asleep now and I'll take you to see him later. Bill is with him now, he took the morning off work."
The relief in the room was instantaneous as Fred collapsed back into his chair, hands over his face, Ron let out a laugh and downed his drink in one go, while George and Ginny went to hug their mother. Sirius seems to brighten, looking like a man five years younger than before. "Breakfast! KREACHER!" He calls out, yet the elderly house elf doesn't return. I blink in slight surprise before standing as he says "Oh well… Bacon, eggs for all of us?"
He steps over to the kitchen, Harry grabbing the plate from the table and walking after him, only to be caught in a hug by Mrs. Weasley. After that she sniffs as Harry quietly slips over to Sirius. She walks over to us as Eren and I stand, she gives us a small smile and asks "Who are you two?" Fred walks over and says "This is Eren and Levi… They're George and I's friends."
I nod as I say "Dumbledore sent us here." She nods before she pulls Eren and I into a hug, squeezing us tightly before pulling away and walking back over to her daughter. I stare at her a moment before Eren gives a smile and says "I like her." I nod as we walk over to Harry and Sirius, who both throw us a suspicious look. Ron was to relieved to be throwing us looks. I rolled my eyes and say "Wanna get some cleaning done, it'll be better than this."
Eren nods and moves over to a closet, grabbing a few candles and a box of matches. I grab a broom and dust pan, Eren lights one candle and sets it on the table, before we walk into the hall. When I realize how dark it is. I slowly forget the fact that I'm still not wearing pants as Eren and I start lighting the way down the hall, finding the place beyond filthy. Eren vanished a moment before returning with more cleaning supplies, and we set to work on the hall.
Before we'd gotten far though Mrs. Weasley walked out and said "You two can pick a room on the third floor, you may have to clean it a bit though." I nod at her as she walks back into the kitchen. Eren did a lot of the higher up cleaning, or boosted me up to get it. We finished the hall rather quickly, and moved onto the stairwell, nearly scared shitless by the house elf appearing with a crack.
He seemed to be just as startled by us as we were him. He glares at us though, going to shuffle away as I say "Wait… what's your name?" He blinks up at me, seeming to be extremely wary and says "The house of Black have always called me Kreacher." I nod at him, looking around and asking "Do you know where I'd find some copper cleaner? For the chandeliers?" He stares in awe and asks "You wish to clean the house of black?"
I nod as his face twists to hate and he says "You wish to tarnish it, to remove it's precious items and-" I shake my head as Eren says "No we don't. If anything we just want it clean. We don't care of the familial items here. However we'd like to know what can be moved and what can't, also what rooms are unoccupied." Kreacher gapes at us before saying "One moment… I shall collect the varnish…" before vanishing with a miniscule pop.
Before I'd even blinked he returned, holding a small bottle that he hands me. I give him a small smile as I take it and say "Thank you Kreacher. What to help us?" He becomes wary again and I say "Unless you have other things to do." He doesn't reply to me, simply moving away and walking down the hallway to our right. Eren shrugged and said "Is guess his recent masters haven't been the best people."
I nod sadly as I look at the bottle before saying "Will you boost me up there? It'll just take a minute." He agrees and lets me sit on his shoulders as he holds me up. It takes a minute to shine the chandelier properly before I softly say "Dammit. I need a new rag…" only to hear a tiny pop from below me, and see Kreacher holding a small rag, and hands it to Eren. Eren grins and says "Thank you Kreacher."
The house elf bows deeply before vanishing again, but I could see him hiding out of the corner of my eye on the landing above us. I finished this one and Eren moved us to the next one, since there were three here. It wasn't long before we were done and he gently let me down. I we left the rooms alone, but we cleaned the hallways on the floor we were on before moving back to the stairs.
Kreacher watched from a distance, sometimes appearing with supplies we needed, or lighting the old candles in the chandeliers. Everyone went off to bed not long into our cleaning session, and luckily we were on a floor above them. As everyone slept Eren and I got every hall done and the stairs, Kreacher joining us on our final level. "Master Regulus kept roses in the vases during winter." Kreacher said softly as he cleaned a vase with a large B on it.
I nodded and say "Maybe we can get some, or grow them." Kreacher nods enthusiastically and says "That would be enjoyable." After we finished the halls I smile at Eren and say "See you brat? It wasn't that hard." He scoffs and playfully says "Easy for you to say you midget, you were working on the low stuff." I stick my tongue out at him as Kreacher looks between us and seems to relax.
He than says "The guests usually slept on the second floor of the House of Black. However those rooms are full right now. The third floor is open and the largest room is the second to the right." I give him a kind smile and say "Thank you Kreacher. Want to help us clean it? Or would you like to do something else?" He looks a little wary still, yet says "I shall assist you." I nod in acceptance as Eren and I move toward the stairs.
The hardest part of cleaning these halls had to be the house elf heads that hung on the walls, yet there weren't any upon the floor we were on. Kreacher stepped in front of me and said "Be aware sir, there are spiders here." I pull a look of disgust and say "Nope. Eren you go first. I'm not dying today. And call me Levi Kreacher. And him Eren. No need for such formality." Once again Kreacher gapes as Eren nods and moves to the door.
He opens it to reveal a rather large bedroom, that was covered in dust and spiderwebs. "This was the largest family guest room… the ones below us were for guests of no blood relation." I nod as I pick up a thin, clean rag and tie it around my mouth, handing one to Eren and Kreacher. Eren ties his instantly yet Kreacher looks confused as I say "It'll keep you from breathing in the dust. I don't want you to get sick."
He blinks softly at me before taking the rag and I say "Try and tie it over your mouth and nose. It'll work best." He does so, his long nose looking rather odd tied against his face as Eren walks in and used a broom to knock off the webs he sees, taking care to swipe the ceiling. And that's where we spent the next three hours, cleaning and scrubbing and shining ever surface we could. We have what we didn't want of the Black family to Kreacher, who stored them in the attic.
He even found us some clean bedding for the king sized bed in the center of the room, and helped us change the curtains on it. The pillows were useless so Kreacher fixed them, and we rolled up the thick rugs so we could wash and fix the floor. We cleaned the dressers and end tables too, along with the joining bathroom. By the end of it we were all exhausted and filthy and hungry.
"I'm starving, but I'm to tired, and filthy, to go cook." I say to Eren, who nodded. Kreacher looked us over and slowly slipped away as we exited our room, I look around for him, a little upset when I didn't see him. Eren rubs my side and says "Our clothes are filthy too, so a shower is out of the question till we get new clothes."
I nod before pulling off my mask, Eren doing the same and saying "We could always go nap elsewhere." I shake my head, regardless of how tired I was, I wasn't going to sleep filthy. Eren nods and say "So, until our stuff gets here, what would you like to do? The others are asleep, and the only other being awake is Kreacher."
I shrug and say "Since we have everything out, why not go ahead and clean up the kitchen?" He nods and says "Sounds like a plan." So we collect out supplies, giving the stairs a sweep as we go down to collect what little dust had settled as we worked, and walked toward the kitchen. Yet as we stepped close we heard the sounds and smells of someone cooking something, yet I couldn't quite identify what.
Eren gently opened the door, which had swung closed at some point. We saw Kreacher, who looked like he was stirring a massive pot of something. He looked back at us quietly and said "Sir said… Levi, said he was hungry. Mistress Black loved beef stew." The elf snapped his fingers and the ladle swung up, and ladled out two large bowls of food and placed a thick piece of bread on the rim before they flew over to the cleaned table, two spoons gently setting themselves beside it.
I smile at Kreacher and say "Thank you so much. You didn't have to do this, but it means a lot." kreacher gives us a ghost of a smile and bows without replying. I nodded, accepting his silence as I pulled Eren gently over to the table, letting him sit across from me as we ate, finding the soup to be amazing.
I look around the kitchen, finding it to be sparkling clean, unlike it was hours ago. While I finished my soup, the door opened again and Mrs. Weasley stepped into the room, two trunks floating in front of her. I nearly cheer when I see mine. She blinks at us as Kreacher tries to slip away quietly, but fails and vanished instead with a small pop.
She gently sets them down beside the table, before looking around and saying "Did you two do all of this?" Motioning around the room as I shake my head. "Kreacher did that. He helped us clean the halls and our room though." I say as she nods slowly, looking around at the brightened room, which had candles around it and a roaring fireplace.
She shakes her head before saying "I'd suggest you two go get dressed. Maybe take a shower, I'll come grab you from your room soon. Were going to see Arthur, and I can't just leave the two of you here with Sirius. Remember to wear your muggle clothes." I nod at her before standing up, Eren standing as well before he says "I'll wash these. You go get cleaned up. I'll take your trunk up in a moment."
I nod at him, throwing him a soft smile as he says "Also, remember that you're not wearing any pants." I blink and look down, realizing that I'm not. I shoot him a deadpanned look and say "Don't forget you're shirtless." He chuckles as he takes my bowl and walks to the sink, Mrs. Weasley looks pleased at our antics as I exit the kitchen and walk up to our room, stretching and yawning as I step into our room.
Yet as I look I see that our bags were suddenly there, and I smile to myself and say "Thank you Kreacher." Knowing he probably heard me. I grab a towel, which was placed on the bed as I walk over to the bathroom, which is really nice by my standards. I turn on the water, and strip off my outfit. I know this time Eren won't join me since we're on a schedule.
So I quickly wash up, finding that there's a few new products here, all of them scentless. I shrug and use them, cleaning up quickly. I sigh in relief at the clean feeling as I exit the shower, not bothering to turn it off as I walk out of the shower, towel around my waist. I see Eren smiling at me from his place in the middle of our room.
He chuckles and says "You look happy. I'd kiss you, but I'm still filthy." I nod as he grabs his towel and walks into the bathroom. I smile after him as he walks into the bathroom and shuts the door. I dig through my trunk, moving books and clothes until I find my normal clothes. I pulled on my boxers, a pair of tight black jeans and dark blue flannel button up. I towel dried my hair, moving to hunt for my socks as Eren stepped out of the bathroom.
I belatedly heard the water turn off as he walked out with a towel around his waist, giving me a grin. His hair is soaking wet, dripping tiny drops of water down his face. He runs a hand through his hair and says "You look cute." I give him a small smile and say "Yeah. The ring on my finger means I'm cute and taken." He claps a hand lightly upon his chest and jokingly says "And what fabulously sexy, green eyed, sex god placed that there?"
I shrug and say "The sex god is currently standing here in a towel and getting water on my clean floor." I reply playfully, watching as his eyes dart down and he softly says "Shit." I laugh, making him smile again as he walks over to his trunk, digging through it and pulling out black jeans like mine and a thick dark green flannel button up.
He yanks his outfit on, tossing me a pair of socks after I couldn't find mine, and dries his hair roughly. I rustle through my clothes, yanking out a pair of knee high black boots, lacing them up tightly. I stand up, pleased with the feel the boots had. Eren pulled a pair of ankle boots out of his, they looked like the hiking boots I saw some workers wear back home. He pulled on a pair of thick socks and his shoes, standing and bouncing on his heels a moment before grinning at me.
He steps over and gently moves a strand of my hair, running his knuckles down my cheek as he says "I love you okay? Regardless of what happens." I hum in acceptance as he kisses my forehead, hands cradling my face as I nuzzle them and say "You sound like you're leaving." Before running a hand through his hair, which had gotten a longer over the last four months.
He shakes his head and says "I won't be unless you make me." I nod and say "Then I guess you'll be stuck to my ass forever then." He smiles as I pull him down for a kiss, one that's soft and sweet before pulling away, leaving Eren's hair a tousled and dampened mess. I move away and close my trunk, not feeling like letting anyone go through them before moving to the mirror and making sure my hair isn't as ruffled as Erens.
Once I'm sure Eren grabs his pouch of money, grabbing some out, before tossing the bag back inside and shutting it. He offers me a hand and says "Ready?" I nod and take his hand before stopping and saying "Shit…" as Sirius's actions last night came back. "Eren… Harry thinks we're Death Eaters. That means he's going to tell everyone else that were Death Eaters or evil or wanting to disrupt whatever the fuck this is."
He nods and says "I was doing a little research of the last Wizarding War. Apparently at the end of it, a man named Sirius Black apparently caused an explosion after his friends Lily and James Potter were killed, in effect killing over ten people. Kreacher said this was the House of Black, meaning that he has to be Sirius. So why, is a convicted mass murderer, friends with the order? There has to be something I'm not getting here."
I nod and say "If he was framed for it, than it was probably by a supporter of Voldy. Meaning that he'll be more prone to believe whatever Harry tells him whenever it involves that." Eren nods slowly, contemplating something before saying "Let's get downstairs, they'll want to know where we are."
I nod as we leave our room, tucking our wands into different pockets as we walk downstairs. The rest of them all crowded around the table, eating the food Kreacher made or sandwiches Mrs. Weasley made. Mrs. Weasley nodded at us as we entered, Sirius threw us an angry glare, and the Twins looked angry at Harry. Harry and Ron seemed resolute upon something however.
The twins grinned as we looked at them and George said "Hey! It's nice to see you two." While Fred looked sharply at Harry and Sirius, as though daring them to say something to us. I lean against Eren, calmly waiting for them to finish. Mrs. Weasley looks us over and says "You'll want a jacket. It's a bit chilly."
Her voice was soft, almost like she was contemplating telling us before she did. I nod as Eren says "I'll go-" There was a small pop and Kreacher stood before us, holding up two thick jackets and a scarf. Everyone else froze, I even heard something fall to the floor as I take them and say "Thank you Kreacher." Eren says the same as he gives us a tiny smile and vanished with another pop.
I ignored everyone for a moment as I questioned exactly how Kreacher got into our Trunks but shrugged it off and let it drop. I pulled on the smaller of the two, handing the other to Eren. The coat was black and went down to about mid thigh, and had two sets of buttons that went up the front, pulling the scarf on afterwards.
I glance up at everyone, seeing that it had been Sirius who had dropped his spoon. I raise an eyebrow at them as Fred says "But- How- He hates everyone!" Eren shrugged on his coat and said "He seemed like a nice little guy. If anything I'd say he was just wary and wasn't really treated well." The blink slowly, looking down a little ashamed of themselves as the door suddenly opens.
Just as the door shut I heard a thunderous crash, which was followed by a woman screaming insults at us. It was silenced after a shot of a spell, and two people walk into the room. One of them was a short woman with bright pink hair, and the other was a gnarled man with a peg leg, a walking stick, an electric blue eye that whizzed around independently of his other one, and half his nose missing.
He gave off a rather annoyed feeling, like he'd rather be doing anything but this. He looked sharply over Eren and I, eye whizzing across us before he moved on. However everyone was laughing loudly at the bowler hat he wore. "Mad-Eye! I told you that hat would be more attention catching than Tonks hair!" Mrs. Weasley said, glaring at the man.
The next few minutes passed easily, Mad-Eye talking to her a moment before saying "Let's go. I don't want Potter in the open for long." They nod and we all shuffle toward the door, save Sirius, who got a depressed expression and left the room. Tonks gently pushes us out of the house, and we all find ourselves on a street in a massive town. The walk to the bus stop was one of the most amazing and puzzling things I'd ever experienced.
I knew that normal people lived elsewhere, and had many different things than the magical folk did. I just didn't think it would be so much of a change. Yet as we stopped at a new stop Tonks, who had been talking to Harry, stood and we all exited the bus. I clung close to Eren, the chilly air making me shiver. Yet Eren smiled down at me, not even feeling the cold air whipping down the streets.
We walked suddenly into a large and closed building, which looked like no one had been inside in years. Tonks took a moment and arranged everyone certain ways and said "You all will go through in these groups okay?" We nodded as she stood between Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, with the twins standing behind them with Ron. We came after, and Mad-Eye stood with Harry.
What came after was an extremely weird conversation with a Mannequin, in which said inanimate object nodded before Tonks pulled Mrs. Weasley and Ginny through. When it was our turn Eren and I walked into the glass, which part of me still said was solid, only to feel like I was walking into a pool of very cold water. I shivered and clung to Eren as we appeared on the other side, warm and dry.
We moved over to the twins, who's separated themselves from Ron as fast as possible and linked arms with Eren and I before leading us over to Mrs. Weasley. The room was bright and as loud as the street outside, save that this was far weirder. Some people looked perfectly normal, sitting on small wooden benches, waiting to be seen. However, some were as far from that as possible.
One woman had a elephant trunk instead of a nose, one man couldn't move without making a loud and deep bell ring, one pair of people had hands sticking out of there arms and chests, which had clasped to the hands of the other person. There were all manner of maladies, and some dressed in white robes with a symbol on the front walked around, jotting down notes and fixing other things.
I heard Harry ask Ron "Are they Doctors?" Ron gapes and says "Those muggle weirdos that hack people open? No. There healers." I feel Eren's annoyance spunk instantly as he says "Doctors don't just hack people open…" voice soft as Fred asks "Oh? That's all that we hear about them really. So we're not really good judges." Eren nods and says "Most Doctors focus more on putting you back together than actually. They try there best to fix you without 'cutting you up' like Ron put it."
The twins nodded as their mother went to find out where their father was. As I saw a man drag his daughter, who was flying above him with giant wings, away by the ankle like some bizarre balloon Mrs. Weasley finally got to the front and asked about her husband, and was promptly directed to the first floor. Mad-Eye kept us all together as we walked toward his room, finding it rather easily.
"We'll wait out here Molly, he won't want to many people at once." Tonks said, giving her a gentle smile. Mad-Eye grunts and placed his back against the wall, eye whizzing about as Molly nodded and looked to us. I hold up both hands and say "We'll stay as well. He's important to all of you, we don't really know him…" Fred looks surprised as George said "You're our close friends. I'm sure dad won't mind. If you come in. But if you want to wait I won't stop you."
I nod as Eren pulls me a little closer, the two of us moving to stand against the wall opposite to those two as the others walk inside. Mad-Eye gives us another look as Eren tilts his head back, and puts his amazing hearing to use. I lay my head against his shoulder and watch those across from us. Tonks seems to be happy as she hums a small tune as we wait for them to exit.
When they finally walk out, Mad-Eye and Tonks walk in, after Mrs. Weasley beckons them in. Fred and George instantly look annoyed and Fred mutters "Fine… Don't tell us what's going on…" they both dig through their pockets. George beckons us over and says "Put this in." Holding up a long extendable ear that they'd shown us a while ago. I put mine in, Eren copying as we listen in, Harry throwing us a suspicious look.
I glare at him and listen. "They searched everywhere, they didn't find it. You can't really think that You-Know-Who thought that the thing could get in could he?" Tonks says softly, apparently whispering. I hear movement before Mad-Eye gruffly whispers "No. He sent it as a lookout. Just a precursor so he knows what's going on and what he has to get past. If Arthur hadn't been there, that snake could have done as it pleased. Potter says he saw it all?"
Mrs. Weasley answers uneasily with "Yes… Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for Harry to see something like this…" More shuffling before Mad-Eye said "There has always been something funny about Potter. And all of us have know that for years." I hear Molly sigh and say "But Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when we spoke this morning… He'll be here in two days to explain something. He didn't say what… just that the entire order had to be present."
I hear a few gasps around me as Tonks says "Wow… But Harry-" Mad-Eye growls out "Who isn't worried about Potter? He said he's seeing things within You-Know-Who's head. That means he can posses the boy and-" I glance at Harry as he yanks his extendable ear out and stared at everyone. The others all looked terrified, and Harry for once seemed to join in, truly terrified of himself.
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Eren POV
After we got back from the Hospital I drug Levi off and told him what I heard, how apparently this order was hiding a weapon from Voldy. However oddly I saw Harry and Ron drag Mad-Eye Moody off when we got back and spoke for a moment before he left, and I couldn't catch what they said. After that Sirius seemed to brighten considerably and made it his job to brighten and make this home as festive as possible.
Word that Dumbledore would be here in two days was a relief, as it meant we would soon be able to explain things. Yet Harry hid from everyone, and Kreacher quietly helped Levi and I. As Hermione arrived on the second day, the order began to assemble. Hermione, Ginny, and Ron managed to get Harry out of his room as Mrs. Weasley made it her job to keep Levi and I working.
Meaning by the end of each day we passed out into our bed after a shower, clinging to each other as we slept. Yet as we stood in the Kitchen, Dumbledore had sent word that everyone would be here. Even the Weasley children, something Molly was upset about but didn't fight. Levi stuck close to me, and tightened his grip when we were forced to meet Mundungus.
"Seriously… who named these people?" Levi muttered as he walked off, watching him go. I laugh softly as Sirius grins and hugs a tall, lanky blond man. He walks over to us, seeming to go for a handshake before I see his eyes widen. What on earth… I'm suddenly attacked by his hug, as he grips both Levi and I tightly, letting out a pleasant hum.
Ahh. He's a werewolf. I hear the whole room go silent as I smile softly and feel Levi come to the same conclusion as well while I gently hug the man back, as he seems to realize that he's hugging me. He pulls away after a moment and says "Sorry… I don't know what came over me." I shrug it off and say "It's fine."
He nods as he and Sirius move away, Professor McGonagall walking into the room and giving us a small nod before walking off to sit at the large table, which had as many chairs as possible drawn around it. The Weasley children all seemed like they were just happy to be included this time, instead of forced to leave.
Levi and I lean near the table, yet closer toward the door. The spot at the head of the table was left alone as everyone sits down, waiting for the last of them to arrive. Bill and Charlie walked in, two I'd met the day before, who sat next to their mother at the table. A man named Kingsley Shacklebolt also appeared at the house.
He was quiet and kept to himself, however when Snape swept into the room many went silent. He nodded at us and says "I do hope that the two of you are completing the essay I set for you." I nodded and said "It's already done." Levi nodded and said "It's sitting in our Trunks." He nods in approval as he moves to the table, sitting near the empty head seat and across from Sirius.
At this point the room was almost bursting with people. Dumbledore had yet to arrive, and as Moody walked down from the upper floor he glances at us and says "You two, go get Potter and his friends. There in the drawing room, hurry up." He shuffles off to the wall opposite to us, and I glare after him.
"His box is gone…" Levi says as I nod. Mad-Eye was holding a box before he'd gone upstairs a few minutes ago. I shrug softly and say "Let's go get them, it won't be to hard." Levi nods and We walk over to the drawing room. Levi opens the door first, and as he does, I see the box Mad-Eye had earlier on the floor.
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Armin POV
I read over another book, glancing between this one, and the small excerpt I'd taken from the book Mikasa had brought back. We had so little on the first sightings of the Titans, and what little we had, was broken and partial. We'd never been able to find a full account, but this seemed like it was the first Titan to have appeared.
And so we'd started up a rotation of who would research and who wouldn't. I was on with Petra tonight, and we'd found our own books to read over. She was reading over something from the military section of all places, yet seemed to be entranced. She suddenly stood, smacked me on the arm and showed me the book.
"What?" I question before she points at a paragraph and says "That sounds… So much like what happened to them…" I look down and read The Titans appeared in the forest after a large and thunderous crash, we took them down with many losses, including my closest friend. Yet as the dust cleared, I saw a small object lay upon the ground. I do not know what this object is, but it almost appears to be a small piece of jewelry, and once I know more I shall write about it.
His words cut off after that and another hand write out Soldier Harrol Meyers vanished from his surviving platoon and was never heard from again. However, some say it was almost like he vanished out of thin air, the item in his hands with him. I blink, and look up at her. I grab the book and flip back a few pages, trying to find the place.
"The field outside Rose Castle… Petra. That's the base! Three people, from the same place, in different times!" I say, grinning as she says "We need to find out what took them, and why that jewelry had anything to do with it. Wasn't Eren holding a bracelet when he vanished?" I nod sharply as I stand.
The last month had been hard on everyone, yet as we slowly found out more it became more bearable. And as everything slowly came together, I finally felt like I might be able to get my friend back, after he'd been gone for so very long. And maybe, just maybe, Mikasa would start smiling again.
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Aaaaaaaaaaaand that's this chapter. I want a fucking cookie for writing all this in five days. Comment, review, tell me how I did! I tried to not end on a cliffhanger this time.