Outsider Chronicles: Dark Eclipse
The First Year is over and Leo is already working to right wrongs. However, darkness is beginning to stir, and not just at Hogwarts. As Leo gets more powerful, his nature as an Outsider begins to take effect and worlds are drawn together. Add in some family drama and reveals and Leos migraines are only going to get worse. Sequel to Black Zodiac
And we're back for more! Enjoy!
Chapter 2
The next morning dawned bright and early with the incessant ringing sound of my alarm clock. I groaned and turned over, my hand blindly searching for the source of the infernal noise. However, instead of a snooze button, my hand landed on something warm and soft. I frowned and opened my eyes to see what the object was.
"Oh, its just you Holly," I mumbled, closing my eyes again.
Wait…
My eyes snapped open and I shot upright in bed and looked down. There, laying on her side, clad only in Pajama bottoms patterned with holly leaves and a black tank top with a heart shaped design on the chest, was Holly. I stared at my friend, mentally noting how adorable she looked in her sleep with her hair splayed out around her head like a halo and her lips slightly parted. I shook my head and got my mind back on track so I could figure out exactly how I ended up in this situation. It took a moment, but then the memories of the night before returned.
Shortly after Holly had woken up, a Healer from St. Mungos had arrived and taken a look at her, healing the wounds in no time. While she was being healed, I sent Dobby of to collect Hollys stuff which was, thankfully, still intact. After greeting Hedwig, Holly and I went to work on our summer Homework. While I wanted to talk to her about exactly how she'd ended up back at the Dursleys, Holly clearly didn't want to talk about it, not that I didn't understand why. I'd find out eventually anyway.
Once our homework was done, I showed Holly around the Malfoy Manor which was big, extravagant and full of trinkets and shows of wealth. I hated it and it seemed that Holly shared my distaste if her expressions were anything to go by. Fortunately, we didn't have to put up with my Father or Draco as they were both away for most of the day, Father on business and Draco staying with 'friends'. When my Father and Brother returned late in the evening, we retired to my room, leaving Mum to make an excuse for me. She agreed with me that the headache the two morons would cause us if they found out about Holly staying wasn't really worth it. We'd move her to the Greengrass manor tomorrow until Sirius got of of prison.
Anyway, after vacating the room to let Holly get ready for bed and changing in the bathroom, I was ready to spend a night on the couch (Not something I thought I'd be doing for a few years), when Holly had tugged on my hand, blushing bright red.
"Y-you don't have to sleep on the couch," she said, "I-I don't want to kick you out of your own bed."
I sighed.
"I appreciate the thought Holly, but I don't mind," I said, "Besides, what kind of a host would I be if I let my guest sleep on the couch?"
Holly's blush deepened, but she seemed to steel herself and drag me towards the bed.
"H-hey!" I spluttered, turning red myself, "W-what are you doing?"
"S-shut up, idiot!" Said Holly, "I'm not kicking you out of your own bed. Besides…"
Her voice dropped and she looked down, looking incredibly vulnerable for a seconds.
"I-I don't want to be alone," she whispered.
Immediately, any protests I might have had melted from my mind, although that didn't stop the intense blush from appearing as we slipped under the covers. My bed was rather large, especially for an 11 year old, so their was plenty of room to lie without touching. However, that didn't stop me from lying rigidly on the far side of the bed from Holly, who looked equally uncomfortable. Needless to say, it took us a long time to fall asleep.
I came back to the present as Holly shifted, letting out a low groan as her hand flailed about, searching for the cover that had been pulled of her when I sat up. Instead, her hand found the edge of my shirt, before working its way up to my collar.
"Glerk!"
Holly had taken my collar in a surprisingly strong grip and dragged me back down next to her, where she proceeded to snuggle up to my chest while keeping a very strong grip on my shirt. It was a damned good thing I didn't need to go to the loo because it didn't look like I was going anywhere any time soon. Deciding to make the most of the fact, I pulled the covers back over us and closed my eyes.
FLASH!
I snapped awake as a camera flash went of, my eyes darting to the culprit, a grinning Tracey who had a camera in her hands.
"Good morning sleepyhead," she said, handing the camera to a house elf that left before I could summon it, "Sorry I woke you, you two looked so cute!"
She grinned, ignoring the death glare I was using to try and turn her to ashes.
"Anyway, your mother sent me to wake you two up. I wasn't expecting to find you in bed though, you sure do work fast!"
She ran from the room and slammed the door, just in time to stop the tickling charm I sent her way.
"Bloody annoying brat," I grumbled, already knowing that that photo was going to cause me problems in the future.
I looked down at Holly as she shifted against me. She opened her eyes, blinking slowly as her emerald orbs met my own black ones.
"Morning Holly," I said with a smile, "Sleep well?"
Their was a moment's pause, before Holly let out a squeak and shoved me so hard I fell out of bed with a thump. I really should have seen that coming.
"Oh God, I'm sorry Leo!" Said Holly, "A-are you OK?"
"I'm fine," I said, getting to my feet, "And don't worry about it, you were just startled. Come on, we should go and see if there's any breakfast left."
Holly nodded and we quickly made our way to the dining room where Mother was sat with Tracey, Daphne, Astoria and Blaise and a number of breakfast dishes. While Holly greeted our Pureblood friends and was introduced to Astoria (Who had recently acquired red highlights in her hair that pretty much ruined any chance she had of not being mentally compared to Ryoko. Seriously, I was actually looking forwards to Kill la Kill coming out, just so I could see the looks on their faces) I joined Mum at the table and picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet.
Peter Pettigrew Alive! Sirius Black Exonerated!
"Wow, Madam Bones sure works quick," I said as I looked at the two photographs that dominated the front page.
One was of Pettigrew being dragged into Azkaban, while the other showed a very ragged and surprised looking Sirius being lead into . I opened the paper and began to read the story.
Early yesterday morning, the Aurors received a call from an unnamed source wishing to report a suspected Animagus they had found in their home. Upon responding to the call, the Aurors found the caller with a caged rat that came up positive when tested as an Animagus. As is standard practice, the Aurors immediately reversed the transformation, expecting to find some young man who had decided to sneak in for a prank or something similar. What they found instead however was a Wizard that has been assumed dead for nearly 11 years.
I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone what happened that night, all those years ago when the Girl-Who-Lived vanquished He Who Must Not Be Named.
It was believed that You-Know-Who was able to find the Potters that night because Sirius Black, the best friend of the Potters and Godfather of their Daughter. It was then believed that Peter Pettigrew, another friend of the Potters, had tracked down Black to attempt to get revenge, only to be blasted to pieces by Black, along with 12 Muggle bystanders. Black was naturally sent to Azkaban.
However, with this latest discovery, numerous new truths have come to light, least of which is Blacks innocence. After questioning both Pettigrew and Black, it was revealed that the Potters were hiding under the Fidelius Charm with Pettigrew as the Secret Keeper, a charm cast by Albus Dumbledore. That means, ladys and gentlemen, that our Chief Warlock knew that Lord Black was innocent and yet still allowed a Lord of an Ancient and Noble house to be sent to prison WITHOUT TRIAL!
Thats right dear readers, Sirius Black was never even convicted of his supposed crime, let alone given a trial, a right that was even given to the likes of Bellatrix Lestrange.
What does this mean? Does it mean that we can expect the Ministry to simply sling Lords in prison because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or is something more sinister going on? This Reporter intends to find out.
Below that was a bunch of pages, but I had already stopped reading by that point. It looked like Dumbledore had been naughty. Strike one old man, three strikes and I'll make sure your out.
Just then, two owls flew in, one landing in front of Mum and the other flying to Holly, who looked surprised.
"Leo, hurry up and finish your breakfast," said Mum once she'd read her letter, "We need to go to St. Mungos."
"Let me guess, Sirius?" I asked.
"Correct," said Mum, before turning to Holly, who looked stunned, "And I suspect that you need to come as well, right Holly?"
Holly nodded faintly, before standing and leaving the room. Mum turned to my friends.
"I'm sorry about this you four, but this is important family business."
"Of course Lady Malfoy, we'll see ourselves out," said Daphne, before dropping the Pureblood mask, "See you soon Holly, Leo."
Our friends headed for the Floo as I finished my breakfast and headed to my room to get dressed. In my room, I found Holly sat on my bed with a book in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she cried silent tears. I stepped up to my bed and crawled across it until I was sat next to Holly and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. The book was the photo album Hagrid had given her and was open on the page depicting Lily and James' wedding day, specifically the one with Sirius stood beside James, a proud smile on his face.
"Why?" Whispered Holly.
One simple word, but one that held so much weight.
"That I can't answer," I said softly, "You'll need to ask Sirius that."
"I-I don't know if I can," she said, "I mean, what if he…"
She trailed off, but I could guess where her mind had gone. A year of having good and true friends wasn't anywhere near enough to fix 10 years of being told that no one wanted her. I got of the bed and knelt in front of Holly, taking her hands in mine.
"Holly, hes your Godfather, the only real family you have," I said softly, "And you're also the last bit of family he has. OK so Mother and I are here, but as far as Sirius knows, we're firmly in Fathers pocket. I suspect that the only reason he's asked to see us is because we were the ones to get him out."
I smiled.
"Besides, who wouldn't like you? I mean you're one of the smartest girls in our year, you have a wicked sense of humor, you are unbelievably powerful and…"
I trailed off, blushing at what I had been about to say.
"Anyway, my point is that he's going to love you. Besides, you won't know until you meet him, right?"
Holly hesitated, before nodding.
"You're right Leo," she said, "I need to at least try. Thank you."
She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, before grabbing a bundle of clothes from her trunk and sprinting from the room with her cheeks on fire. I blinked and slowly raised a hand to my still tingling cheek as my own cheeks turned red.
"Your welcome," I muttered.
A short while later, Holly and I met Mother at the Floo grate ready to head to the hospital. Holly was still a little red and wouldn't look me in the eye, not that I was much better. Mum seemed to pick up on it and gave me a grin. I just rolled my eyes.
"Now, since you've never traveled by Floo before, you can come with me," said Mum to Holly.
Holly nodded, looking a little nervous.
"Don't worry dear, I won't let anything happen to you," said Mum with a smile, taking Hollys hand and leading her into the already green flames.
After waiting a moment, I followed and was sent flying across the waiting room as the Floo spat me out to slam into a wall that was cushioned against just such an event. Accidents while Flooing were actually more common than you'd think, even among Purebloods who used it regularly. It was usually among school aged kids since their magic was in constant fluctuation, which caused the magic in the Floo to become unstable, hence the cannonball impression.
I got to my feet, ignoring the snickering Welcome Witch, and joined Mum and Holly as they approached the desk.
"Narcissa and Leo Malfoy and Holly Potter to see Sirius Black," said Mum, causing the witch's eyes to widen and flick to Holly, who shrank behind me.
She still wasn't entirely comfortable with people looking at her like a celebrity since it largely stopped after a few days at Hogwarts. Mum tapped her fingers on the desk, getting the Witches attention again. She blushed and looked down at her book.
"You want the First Floor, room 2," said the Welcome Witch, her eyes returning to stare at Holly.
"Thank you," growled Mum, glaring at the Witch for her rudeness.
We made our way upstairs to the first floor and quickly found the right room. As a Lord, Sirius had his own, private room for the duration of his stay. Outside the room Holly paused and seemed to collect herself.
"Are you OK?" I asked.
Holly nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, before pushing the door open.
"Holly?"
And thats the end of this chapter! Now before you lynch me for the cliffhanger, this seemed like as good a place as any to end and now I can take my time with the meeting and you get a chapter to read.
So, Dumbledore already has one strike against him for sticking Sirius in Azkaban. I wonder how long it will take for him to add up to three?
I'll be honest, I've been wanting to do a scene like the one with those two in bed for a long time so I'm glad to have it out of my system.
For those who haven't figured it out yet, yes, those two are going to get together, but not yet.
Oh, before I forget, I'm changing the Malfoy twins birthday. It is now the 30th of September. Hmm, I wonder why I did that?
Next time, a Grimm meeting! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Until then though, leave me a review!